I'm so sorry to hear about this. I will be praying for your recovery, Faith, and for that of your son. I'll also be praying for the doctors and nurses treating you both.

In reading a lot about intermittent fasting, I don't think skipping breakfast is necessarily the nutritional/health evil that we were led to believe. What about just drinking a glass of chocolate milk. Make it organic, real sugar sweetened kind. I've seen a couple of studies out there that show it's a great post-workout fuel…so I'm assuming it has benefit as a breakfast too.

See, I thought people were bowing out because somebody attacked JWs….and they wanted to support them. I guess I misread things. In terms of verbal persecution…. yes I've had two very large men come up to me on a beach, and tell me "Isn't this beach for Americans? Why don't you go back where you came from." I've had a person bang on my window, while I was at a traffic light. I view those more as verbal assaults, though, then persecution. For me, persecution is more long-standing.

Yes…and historically Muslims believed that God gave revelations to many different prophets (like Moses and Jesus) and God would judge people by those revelations (of course, nobody can underestimate how much God's love and mercy weighs into said judgement.) I have seen, though, a trend towards Islam is the only right religion….which troubles me. I think that there are many different ways/paths to God/Spirit. I tend to see if a person is on the right path via their actions, rather then what they claim to follow. If you're more loving, compassionate, kind…then you're probably on the right path…and yes, I even believe that can be true for agnostics/atheists.

Any sort of organ meats….brains…etc. (Common/loved in DH's culture.) Seafood except shrimp. Collard greens/kale. Sourkraut….and cole slaw…although I love Napa cabbage. I think I have the genetic thing for hating cilantro….but I don't hate it to the extent I hate seafood or organ meats. I can choke down cilantro if I have to.

I totally forgot about that. :) I need to watch the Simpsons again. I don't think I've watched it since I've had young kids, although my 8 year old channels Bart. I'm Muslim and I get "Merry Christmas" all the time. So do all of my friends. We just say, "Merry Christmas" back. It's not like it's a big deal. Now, if you actually say "Happy Ramadan" or "Ramadan Mubarak" or "Ramadan Kareem" or "Happy Eid" or "Eid Sayeed" (any of the greetings for Muslim holidays)….and you're not Muslim? Well, we'll fall over from shock. ;) (Not really…it's actually very nice, but definitely a surprise. :))

Muslim men are required to attend Friday congregational prayers. (Women's attendance is viewed as optional.) These prayers refer to the 1:00 or so prayer time. They last about an hour, although most Imams try and make it even shorter, if possible. It is a group prayer and sermon/khutbah. Most Muslim men in this country cannot get time off then. Some are able to use their lunch hour (or hours for Thursday and Friday) and work with a reasonable employer. Others have no chance of attending. Some may get to attend once a month, depending on their schedule. It really varies. Most schools (public or private, save religious) will not excuse Muslim kids on Fridays for an hour to an hour and a half to pray. I've actually tried to get them to hold a "make-up" prayer Friday night…but I've received push back that it wouldn't count, because the noon-ish prayer is specified as being the required one. (I argue that 1) it's up to God and 2) getting some spiritual nourishment is better than none). Is that religious persecution? No. It's the culture/norms of the country where we are. It's based on a Judeo/Christian norm which has the weekend as Saturday-Sunday. (I'm not sure how things work for Christians in the ME when Sunday is a workday.) Is it annoying? Yes. It's equivalent to religious Christians always having to work on Sunday, and never being able to attend church. I actually wonder if it makes people seek out Internet Shaykhs…which makes them more vulnerable to extremists. (No community watching/listening when it's on the Internet.) Muslim kids have also faced required state tests on Muslim holidays. So, for example, your kid has to take the state standardized test on Christmas day. I understand that the Muslim calendar is troublesome because it is based on moon-sighting, so it is difficult to plan. Still, I think there should at least be an alternative day for the kids. None of these are persecution. BUT, being targeted by the NSA, TSA, or cops strictly because of one's faith…for no other reason, yes. Being fired because of your faith? Yes. Receiving harsher jail terms or more serious charges because of one's faith? Yes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/barrowford-school-letter_n_5588988.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000023&ir=Good+News Imagine how wonderful it would be if all schools did this…but even personalized it regarding that child. "Please find enclosed your end of KS2 test results. We are very proud of you as you demonstrated huge amounts of commitment and tried your very best during this tricky week. However, we are concerned that these tests do not always assess all of what it is that make each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you- the way your teachers do, the way I hope to, and certainly not the way your families do. They do not know that many of you speak two languages. They do not know that you can play a musical instrument or that you can dance or paint a picture. They do not know that your friends count on you to be there for them or that your laughter can brighten the dreariest day. They do not know that you write poetry or songs, play or participate in sports, wonder about the future, or that sometimes you take care of your little brother or sister after school. They do not know that you have travelled to a really neat place or that you know how to tell a great story or that you really love spending time with special family members and friends. They do not know that you can be trustworthy, kind or thoughtful, and that you try, every day, to be your very best… the scores you get will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything. So enjoy your results and be very proud of these but remember there are many ways of being smart."

I've always wanted a blow torch for making toasted marshmallows and creme brûlée. It never occurred to me to kill bugs with one. That's hardcore.

I would probably worry a lot, but not say anything. This comes from all of my travels in my teens and early 20s…back when there were bombings in France and Germany, Lockerbie, and the like. (Oh, we were also told to say we were Canadian back then. Not sure if that still applies in the world today.) I'm assuming your DD and her friend have some street smarts from their previous travels and won't be stupid. Maybe sign them up for a self-defense class….but honestly, other than that, let it go. I think at 21, you're definitely an adult…and need to evaluate these risks yourself.

OK…this reminds me of when I was living in a small town in Switzerland. We took the train to Lausanne to go to Wendy's or KFC (can't remember which). It was at least 4 hours, including switching in Zurich. We had Eurail passes, so it just cost us time.

OK…just saw that it's November. Can she get married in a historic library or some sort of building like that? You'd be surprised what sort of venues one can rent. Also, flash weddings are common these days. :) Look at these for ideas…some may work: http://www.punchbowl.com/vendors/md-maryland/elkton/c-venues

My friend had a lovely wedding that was low budget. Her church did have a reception hall, though. For flowers, we went to Costco that day and made bouquets ourselves. She went to a flea market and got beautiful tablecloths for a few dollars each, and used those on the tables…along with Costco roses, and tea lights. The catering was a community pot luck, really. A few of the elderly ladies of the church assigned tasks…and that was it. The food was delicious. One of the members made a cake. Friends did photography. Another friend's daughter did low-budget. They used a local barn as the venue. She got married on the farm… outside in the afternoon…and then the reception was in the barn. It was all set with wild flowers, candles in mason jars, etc. She painted her own runner and the table numbers using water colors (She's an artist). The dress was a vintage look…she had on a cashmere cardigan and a big white poofy tulle skirt…heels and pearls. As it was the afternoon, the food was all appetizers, tea sandwiches, and the like. For desserts, they had cupcakes and mini cheesecakes. For champagne and dancing, spend your money on that….limit your guest list…. and either hire a DJ or ask at a local college/music school to see if you can get musicians within your budget. It's doable…if she can get friends to help. :)

Never posted this in an attempt to say that there was a Christian tradition of suicide or anything of the sort. I just found it surprising. I've heard of Buddhist monks self-immolating to protest the occupation of Tibet or other things. There was the self-immolation incident in Tunisia which began the Arab spring. Women in some countries often commit suicide by self-immolation because they have no other options. It is not the norm in America for any faith, any person. There is nothing in any faith which promotes suicide. And the whole Christian viewpoint on suicide was not cemented until St. Augustine…so hundreds of years after Christ. There were the Donatists, who believed in suicide/martyrdom. Also, there appears to be at least some cases of women (as best I can tell) choosing suicide over being raped. "In the fourth century Bishop Augustine discussed suicide at length. Recognizing that certain Christian women had committed suicide rather than permit their bodies to be ravaged, Augustine granted that they may have done what was right in the sight of God, but in his view the women should not have assumed that rape would necessarily have deprived them of their purity. Purity is a state of mind, he affirmed, so bodily violence cannot damage it. Job kept his moral integrity amid terrible suffering and did not take his life, Augustine noted. He found it significant that at no point does the Bible make it lawful to take one’s life. The command "Thou shalt not kill" implies, he argued, that one’s own life as well as the lives of others should be preserved. Samson’s suicide was a rare exception to this rule, for he received special divine permission. Concluded Augustine: "He who knows it is unlawful to kill himself may nevertheless do so if he is ordered by God" (City of God, Book I, Sections 18-26)." It was with St. Augustine, that the views on suicide changed in Christianity…or were cemented. Just as an FYI, nor is there anything in Muslim tradition which supports it, but Americans rarely give Muslims the assumption of mental illness or other issues. It is always assumed to be condoned by faith or part of one's faith or some sort of religious act. Muslims are not allowed to be mentally ill should they kill themselves or kill others….yet people of other faiths are allowed to be mentally ill. Suicide is clearly forbidden in the Qur'an, without exception. No footnotes. The whole concept of suicide bombings is a 20th century one. The first suicide bombers are usually linked to either Kamikaze pilots in WWII or the Tamil tigers (Hindu) of Sri Lanka in the 70s. First use of suicide in Islam was the 1982 Beirut incident. So, 1300+ years of staunch forbidding of suicide. For more on suicide and different faiths, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_suicide#cite_note-Christian_Perspectives_on_Suicide-10

That could be said of so many suicides… but they still make the news. This was, at least, unusual for a person of his age, ethnicity, nationality, and faith.

Yes, agree with Crimson Wife. I looked into one year post-baccalaureate programs and I had to repeat science courses, plus take one year of Anatomy & Physiology, one semester of microbiology, and one semester of sociology/psych.

Our builder used a Lennox system which was just OK. We replaced it three or so years ago with a Trane, and there is a gigantic difference. I would recommend Trane without reservation.

Based on what you've described, I don't think this person could "fool" a memory test (mini-mental state exam or mini-cog test). BUt it sounds like you have concerns regarding this person's PCP as well…which makes things more difficult. Can you pressure them to administer one? Perhaps. I really think a neurologist is your best bet, but I'm not sure how you'll get this person to see one unless you talk up medications which could slow the onset of any sort of dementia.

I guess that's what I'm getting with. I've seen numerous random articles about people who kill themselves or are killed or what not (most recently I've seen articles on a Google executive who was killed)…. so why didn't his act, which is extremely unusual in our culture, get any attention? Is it the causes he was highlighting? It's not like he supported mass murder or racism or something else…quite the opposite. That's what makes me wonder. I guess in the 24-hour news society we live in, why didn't this get any attention?

I'd say about an hour…maybe slightly longer…. regardless of where I've lived. Typically, it's 20-30 minutes though. These days, though, I've become disappointed with most restaurants (probably because I've become a better cook.) So it takes something really special to get me excited. :)

Yes, but once they were employed, they probably did buy from Sephora. No doubt, they have gone in and bought a nail polish, lipstick, eye pencil, or what not…even if they didn't buy every single thing the Sephora folks used on them. Sephora offers a wide-variety of price points for just that reason….and for many teens/20-somethings, buying a $20 item of make-up is an affordable luxury. Is it disloyal to take a free sample at Costco? No. Because the companies who offer them know that a certain percentage will buy. The makeovers are a Brand-building technique for Sephora. It is a form of marketing. It builds Brand loyalty. No different than when Publix (grocery store) gives my kids a free cookie or balloon. One of the earliest signs any of them could recognize was Publix because of this.

I just saw this today, and I'm really surprised it did not get more press. I haven't heard of any self-immolation cases here in the U.S. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/rev-charles-moore-self-immolation_n_5584506.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000051 Was this reported where you were? ""I will soon be 80 years old, and my heart is broken over this. America, and Grand Saline... have never really repented for the atrocities of slavery and its aftermath. What my hometown needs to do is open its heart and its doors to black people as a sign of the rejection of past sins."" ""This decision to sacrifice myself was not impulsive: I have struggled all my life (especially the last several years) with what it means to take Dietrich Bonhoeffer's insistence that Christ calls a person to come and die seriously. He was not advocating self-immolation, but others have found this to be the necessary deed, as I have myself for some time now: it has been a long Gethsemane, and excruciating to keep my plans from my wife and other members of our family.""

Go to Sephora and let them make you up. Tell them what you want. Ask them to put color samples on a paper so you can show them to a friend or remember for next time or whatever. Then go to Wal-Mart or Target and match the colors. All brands out there are good…I'd say L'Oreal is probably high-end for mass merch….and ELF is definitely affordable (easy to find at Target). Go within your budget. If you don't want to do that, I like the Almay kits based on eye color, but I almost never use all the colors.

I've had 30+, sadly. Usually the lidocaine doesn't hurt…but it really depends on the skill of the PA/RN who administers it. So, you get numbed….then the doctor comes in…does the biopsy…then usually one or two stitches and a band-aid. You should not feel anything other than perhaps pressure. You'll be given aftercare instructions…and will return in about 10 days to get the stitches removed (which doesn't hurt).

Realize it's probably preachin' to the choir, but still thought this was a good read. Sad, though. I think this quote says it all, "The people who say poverty is no excuse for low performance are now using teacher accountability as an excuse for doing nothing about poverty." http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/07/21/140721fa_fact_aviv?currentPage=all