If you are seeing a therapist/counselor type person, and they are suggesting medication, I would follow their advice. I didn't realize I needed the medication, but after it started to take effect, I realized I'd been seeing the world through dark glasses, and it had gotten into every crack and crevice of my life, including my marriage. :grouphug:

I live in one of the suburbs south of Dallas and my DH commutes to work in downtown Dallas. It's a service job, however, so the hours are not 9-5 and he is able to avoid the traffic to some extent. Living south of Dallas isn't as bad as others have made it sound! ;) We used to live in Irving, and it is a very mixed bag. North Irving is nice, South Irving is not so nice. Irving is a fairly large city on its own. I feel like everywhere is a mixed bag -- live in Dallas/north of Dallas and things are nicer, but the traffic is worse and everything is more expensive. Live south of Dallas and everything is more affordable, but you may have a longer commute and perhaps higher crime. Really I think south of Dallas is pretty nice...possibly getting nicer as you go farther south. Cedar Hill has some nice shopping areas, for example. Midlothian has great houses, but is actually pretty far away from Dallas. TBH I probably wouldn't choose to *move* into my particular city if I was coming from elsewhere, but living here is not bad. I love that I can get to everything I want easily and without dealing with crazy local traffic.

Going by common human nature, it seems MUCH more likely to me that administration is forcing their employees to work sick instead of the employees choosing to come to work sick because they like it so much. Honestly, I really don't want to be at work when I'm sick, do you? And if someone is coming to work sick because they can't afford NOT to work, the solution is NOT to fire that person. This goes for any job, IMHO.

I don't shop at Aldi much. I'm suspicious of the quality of some of their items, and they don't have everything I want and I don't like making two trips. Also, my husband thought about working there - and a Google search turned up several places where people were complaining about how Aldi treats their employees. Basically, it sounded like they were overworking their employees in order to cut costs, which really isn't okay. I've shopped there before and I would again - I'd rather shop there than Walmart. But it's far from my preferred place to shop.

I have distinct memories of playing on the covered slides at McDonald's...those going down would call down "Going down!" and those going up would call "going up!" Not listening in either case risked a collision. It seemed to work well enough. :)

To prove your identity, as a substitute for a driver's license, just without the driving. A nearby city asks for ID when you use a credit card. You have to have an ID and be a certain age to buy alcohol, white-out, cold medicine with pseudophedrine. The local library requires a photo ID and proof of residence to get a free card. The ID says you are who you say you are, and makes it possible for the library to track you down in case you decide to check out a bunch of books, never return them, and move. Proof of residence includes a photo ID, but can also be other things. If you fly, you need an ID. I didn't get a license until I was 21, and I live in an area where public transportation ranges from not the greatest to nonexistent. In a city with excellent public transportation, one may never need to drive - but one will definitely need to have proof of their identity at some point.

My maiden name is my legal middle name, because I have many younger siblings (in some cases, much younger) and that way there's a connection if I have to take care of them in some way (e.g. picking up from school, emergency situation, etc.). My college diploma has all four names on it (I graduated almost a year after getting married).

That seems incredibly odd to me. My husband and I were both under 21 when we married, and we stayed at a nearby hotel on our wedding night. We had no issues, and we were the ones bearing all responsibility for the room. I concur with other posters that the hotel is worried about under-21s not being responsible. If your mother is booking the room and paying for it, then *she* is the responsible party.

The news story I saw on our local news was an interview with the mom in which she said that her kids were playing outside for a couple hours, she was outside in a lawn chair, they came home, she was getting them ready for bed/they had just been put to bed, and then the police showed up.

I didn't but I wish I had. I follow a birth photographer on Facebook and have seen some of her pictures, and they are simply gorgeous. Nothing crude or bloody - they are all very tasteful: pictures of labor, sometimes pictures of the actual birth, but focusing on mom and dad's expression, no crowning pictures!! Also pictures of the family after, and siblings meeting baby (if there are siblings), etc. I really do wish I had some photos like that.

I've lived practically my entire life in the DFW area of TX. Other states don't have their state flag everywhere. No Sonic or Whataburger. Most places don't have multiple skyscrapers. The warning sign outside a Chili's in CA about how some of the things you eat there could cause cancer. Strict crosswalk laws in CA - if a pedestrian is in the crosswalk and a car enters it, the car is in big trouble. Very much unlike here. Bike lanes in CA. Calorie counts posted next to item descriptions in a Starbucks in NYC. (This was before calorie counts being posted was made part of the ACA.) The sidewalks in NYC were almost as wide as some of the streets! The corner grocery store in NYC with extremely narrow aisles. That's all I can think of right now!

Wow. You all are really making me appreciate the library I work at!! To the poster who mentioned the really loud kids' computer: HEADPHONES are the answer. All of the computers in my library are set up so that the only way you can hear anything is if you have headphones. The pre-K/K game computers have headphones there; for all the other computers, you have to bring your own headphones - and have a valid library card with no fines, and have consented to a computer use policy. The public access computers are *INCREDIBLY* important. I've had multiple people ask me how to do things as simple as *print documents* or *open Word.* We provide computers to people who would otherwise be unable to access them at all, and that is *VITAL*. However, we do have our share of teens on Facebook or playing games. I've seen very little violence, though I'm sure people view somewhat violent things. The way our computers are set up, you can't see the screen unless you're quite close - the desks are divided up by wood on 3 sides, like voting booths sort of. I do not think you can play any video games on our computers. I would be extremely surprised if a public library actually *approved* of p*rn viewing - ours has filters to prevent that, and p*rn viewing is cause for immediate (and, IIRC, permanent) loss of computer privileges. If I saw that at any library I would notify a librarian immediately. We also still have all the classic books, too, and we aren't an especially large library.

This is the first time ever that all the countries are sending at least one woman. It's also the first time that female American athletes outnumber the male athletes.

YNAB's philosophy revolves around using credit cards as basically debit cards. So, you enter transactions on your credit card and it takes it away from your total. When you first enter a credit card, if I remember correctly, the idea is that you *owe* that money and therefore need to pay it off. Make sure that debt is going to the next month - that may fix your problem. But yes, it will tell you that you are at -$300 if your bank account balance is less than the balance on your credit card! Yes, you have to add the credit card interest manually. I would highly recommend checking out the YNAB help and the YNAB forums - the folks over there are great, very friendly, and much more educated on YNAB than I am, even though I've been using it for months. :)

I really enjoyed these ceremonies... :) Loved the bit about all the history, and the way they transformed the "stage." The children's book section was pretty amazing, too, I thought. It was very interesting to me that they paid tribute to their National Health Service. BUT! You know that Michael Phelps interview? Apparently, at that point during the opening ceremonies there was a tribute to victims of the 7/7 London terrorist attacks - and NBC didn't air ANY of it. Here's a link to that portion online if anyone wants to watch it. http://deadspin.com/5929778/heres-the-opening-ceremony-tribute-to-terrorism-victims-nbc-doesnt-want-you-to-see

The Business of Being Born is clearly biased against hospital births, but it is also an accurate picture of the way some hospitals can be. I think the most important thing for individual women to do is talk to other women in their area and find out what the hospitals are like there. Hospitals and doctors can vary WIDELY, as this thread has shown. I live in the DFW metroplex. I am positive that my chances of a C-section would have been extremely high if I had been in a hospital instead of a birth center. I was induced (at the birth center, with cytotec) and I pushed for 2.5 hours. I think in a hospital, with monitoring, limited movement, no tub, pitocin, probably an epidural, I wouldn't have fared so well in labor. I don't know if they would have let me push for 2.5 hours, and they probably wouldn't have been so accommodating regarding positioning (I gave birth on a birth stool). There are ABSOLUTELY necessary C-sections, and necessary interventions. It's up to every woman to judge her own births, and the rest of us really should keep our mouths shut about births that have passed. I think it's good to mention alternatives before births occur. But, as others have said, a 30%+ C-section rate is not a good thing. As for the doctors who do anything to a laboring woman without consent (vaginal checks, manually stretching the cervix, episiotomies...), push C-sections and interventions, and are generally bullies - they are a******s who should no longer practice medicine, IMO.

According to this table from the IRS regarding dependents, you do not even have to file a tax return if your unearned income is less than $950, your earned income is less than $5800, and your gross income is less than the larger of $950 or your earned income plus $300. However, you must pay self-employment tax if you make more than $400 as a self-employed person. Here is an article about who qualifies as an independent contractor and who qualifies as an employee. It's written to the employer. Hope this helps.

That is such a complete pain in the butt. So you are supposed to keep track of all this on your own?! I don't mind paying the taxes as long as Amazon is collecting them for me (Texan here). It would take WAY too much effort to keep track of the taxes myself.

I voted other. I have in the past, but don't usually. I have never been able to figure out whether or not they get paid minimum wage. If they get paid less, then I want to tip. But I usually pay with a credit card, and I do not think there is a way to tip on the credit card at our local Sonics. In TX, if a waiter doesn't make minimum wage with tips then the employer has to make up the difference. I would assume the same would go for Sonic employees if they are paid less than minimum wage by Sonic. As for carhops being forced to pay for food when people drive off: How is that even legal?!? HOW in the WORLD can they justify that?! Unless they're assuming that the carhop will know if the food's been paid for before they walk out with it, they will get the money first before handing over the food, and if they don't then they are complicit in the stealing. I've heard of restaurants doing this to waiters when people walk out, too, which makes even less sense. Thankfully none of the places my waiter husband works has had this vile policy.

There are also some great books about journaling. One of my favorites is Creative Journal Writing by Stephanie Dowrick. I got my copy at Barnes and Noble. :)

I have two five year journals, one for me and one for my daughter. I write in these every day - the mundane details, like "Went to work, so-and-so came over, watched TV." My daughter's has all of her important milestones and words and cute things as well. :) I only started doing this about a year ago, and I *SO* wish I'd done it for years before. It's so nice to have that record. I'm very glad I started this when my daughter was small, and back-filled what had happened up til then. I also have a personal journal. I do these by hand - I tried computer journaling but I prefer the paper so far. However, I've begun the process of transferring old journals (Internet and paper) into a computer journaling software. My personal journal has all sorts of things - processing, sometimes recording of events, sermon notes. I keep all my journals and I hope they will be of some value to my descendants after I'm gone. I still write "shocking" things in them though. I figure my descendants can deal with it ;)

Around here, there are NO bike lanes. None whatsoever. Bicycling on the roads is uncommon, but I see them occasionally - most frequently on one of our few two-lane roads with no shoulder to speak of and a couple of places with very little ground between the road and a drop-off (next to a creek). I get nervous when I have to pass them, but they're always over on the right and the road isn't very busy so it isn't an issue. I do think it should be legal. I've had bigger issues with pedestrians jaywalking, and as a pedestrian I've had issues with cars not paying attention to crosswalks. Cyclists have to follow the rules of the road - they ride with traffic, they cannot ride on sidewalks, they should use hand signals. I do not think they are allowed on highways, but I'm not sure. If they are, it's certainly dangerous. Someone I knew in high school passed away within the past year after being hit by a vehicle on the freeway while riding her bike. :( I do not cycle and I wouldn't want to ride a bike on the roads around here. I wouldn't feel safe.

Harry Potter magic has not and will never be real. Is that discussion seriously happening?! Oh, dear. I do think demons exist, but I don't know about magical powers - or rather, I wouldn't use the word "magical" considering that you appear to be intending HP-style magic there. I think it's possible that demons can have great influence on the world around them, but I live in the US in the 21st century so it's unlikely that I will see it. I also think that things attributed to demons in more ancient cultures may actually be caused by other things (eg mental illness).

That seems way too extreme to me. Most administrators can already disable anonymous comments if they wish - they can require registration in order to comment, or link comments to Facebook. I know that there can be a problem with anonymous commenters being incredibly rude, but requiring a legal name and a home address (?!?!?) is a HUGE stretch.

After reading more of this thread, I've decided to post again... My best friend is someone my DH is also friends with and cares about, though of course he doesn't know her nearly as well as I do. Because of this, he will sometimes ask how she is doing or what is going on. He will know if something is wrong with her and she's talking to me about it - it would be impossible to hide it. I will often say something in general terms - family issues, or worried about x thing in her relationship. He doesn't ask for details and even if he does, I probably won't provide them even though I know them. I don't see how I could *not* do this, except in hypothetical extreme situations - in which case I'm sure she would tell me that she did NOT want this to be shared with even my DH. In those cases, I would probably ask if I could tell DH if I wanted his input. If I didn't, I would tell him that it was a personal matter and he'd leave it at that. She and I will also often discuss very funny, light, but personal things which also involve our significant others, and I do not share any of those details with my DH. My best friend's significant other expects that much of what happens in their relationship will end up being told to me... :P but it doesn't go farther than that. None of this involves significant-other bashing, either - I avoid that as much as possible. Usually when discussing frustration with my spouse, I find that I'm talking about my reaction and not so much his action. My husband may share a general "status update" about a mutual friend that he is closer to - he's doing fine, or his job is bad, or there are family issues. He wouldn't tell me more than that, most likely. I don't see a problem with this, and I have no problem with that level of information being shared with others' significant others. I also trust that most people do not run home and share every detail of their conversations with their spouse - I expect it will be discussed if it comes up, and if so it will probably be fine. I wouldn't hesitate to ask a friend not to tell a spouse if I felt uncomfortable with the spouse knowing about it, but there's little in my life that I feel that way about.