perhaps you can ask any Texans to PM you privately so you can ask some of your more private questions.

just seeing this but so glad it was good news. Scary indeed!

I respect that...but how can we tell if it has the kind of freedoms you're looking for if we don't know what you're looking for? There may be other states with similar freedoms.

I'm curious too... what kind of freedoms are you referring to?

oh no!! So sorry. :grouphug:

I've gone back to that article, and ones like it, more times than I care to admit :sleep:

Jasper - I don't know how old you are...but it sounds like you're over 40. Maybe this will help: http://www.socalfertility.com/age-and-fertility/

who is the Pres. of your HOA? Perhaps you can contact him/her and have them put something on the FB page. You can't be the only person who is having this problem. We have problems with one dog on my street - and he is the talk of the neighborhood. So I'm thinking there are others who are fuming about your multiple dog situation. Outside of that you cana call the pound and have them come. Perhaps if dog owners just *see* the van in the neighborhood they'll start paying attention.

I love documentaries. Here's two I watched recently that have been good. "My Brother the Terrorist" It's a follow up to his movie "My Brother the Islamist" - which I haven't seen. I can't remember, but this one may be a bit more than an hour - so it might not fit your criteria. Also, American Denial... about an hour. I found the story of a Swedish Nobel Laureate who came to America to study White/Black relations in the 30-40s.

I have no great words of wisdom, but i wanted to give you a :grouphug: :grouphug: . I hope you sleep well tonight... I know when I'm stressed it affects my sleep. Yeah, maybe taking your meds until this is all over would be a good idea.

At the risk of going far off topic: because some things can be true without being literally true. The parable of the Prodigal Son is not literally a true story...but it points to a greater truth about the love of God the Father for His children...no matter how far we wander away from our inheritance. The Bible does not clearly state exactly how old the earth is.. it just states that God created it. Some people choose to interpret "day" in the English way and other interpret "day" as "eon" (IIRC that is the Hebrew word "yom") and others believe in the gap theory (which I think means they believe in 6 literal days of creation...but then there's a gap in the history of an unterminated time).

The Church Fathers are all over the place when it comes to interpretation of Genesis. Some believed in literal reading of the text and others metaphorical/allegorical. I'm not sure the literal age of the church was ever really a topic of debate among the CFs. And still, all were considered Christians in good standing with the Church. This is why the EO church does not take a stand on the age of the earth or evolution vs creationism. The only thing we all agree on is what it says in the Nicean Creed about creation - "I believe... in one God..... creator of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible....." I think that making the distinction about someone's salvation based on their belief in Old Earth/Young Earth is very new. I like to believe that none of us on these boards believes that, no matter how strongly we may defend our personal conviction about the age of the earth.

This happened to me once with a niece. I feel for you :grouphug: I'm an introvert who hates confrontation. I'd be tempted to get away too.

i get it...i'm finding I'm having to do that more and more too. I love Vera...it's prob my favorite Brit mystery on right now

There are tests you can take online to see what kind of dog would best fit your family. I think if you do a search for "What kind of dog should I get" quiz you'll probably find several to take. We have a 60lb shepherd that would fit your bill except that they shed. There are deshedding tools to use... so I think your option is whether you want to deal with de-shedding tools or doggy clips. From what I've heard (and others will probably know better) water dogs are the ones that smell because there's a certain oil they produce being water dogs. I don't know if this is what you are referring to when you said you didn't want oily hair. We went through the doggy adoption process this past winter. I found the quizzes & talking to doggy people were both very helpful in getting me started. It esp. helped me to eliminate ones we knew we didn't want.

I've watched 2 episodes and really like it. A bit gloomy and dark- but not nearly as sad as Broadchurch. More atmospheric like Vera...as well as being a typical mystery series rather than a serial about one murder. Love the actor who plays Matthias. I love the Welsh setting. I liked the second episode better than the first - probably because the first dealt with kids. It's currently available via Netflix live-streaming. Anybody else seen this series yet? Fixed the title: adding a link: http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/70305043?strkid=1817372846_0_0&trkid=222336&movieid=70305043

Umm.... I'm Eastern Orthodox and we eat sugar, drink caffeine, and I guess some people smoke. I'm not sure where you heard we don't do sugar or caffeine, but this is the first time I've ever heard that. To the OP. While I think it is a lovely idea, I'm not sure how I can help. EO don't tend to decide on their own to fast, so that is kind of foreign to us. When I was Protestant I knew several people who would take a concern or problem and set aside a day or so to fast about it. It would often be regularly observed (like every Monday or something). I think they would not eat any food and spend a lot more time in prayer. Have you thought about speaking to your pastor and getting some guidance from him? edited to add: I see that someone already answered for you...oops, sorry.

It's one of the reasons why I rarely friend people who live close to me...esp. friends. I'm friends with a few and I kind of regret it actually. Like you I never know how much to reveal. I don't talk politics - ugh. But, my faith is pretty important to me in everyday life- but I assume most people don't want a barage of that stuff - not matter what their religious affiliation is or isn't. Can you hide everything from people like your best friend? Then just occasionally check her status in case there's something important you wouldn't want to miss.

yes, this is it exactly.

Fall person here too. I used to not mind Spring, until my allergies started getting worse and worse and worse. Also, dealing with insomnia issues that get much worse with more sun. I have trouble with the heat in humidity we get around here. I feel physically sick many days in the summer. I get headaches when I'm in the sun too much...and wear sunglasses even on cloudy days. I'm not a beach person (although I do love those northern rocky beaches, like in Maine). It's just too much sun for me. I often tell myself I should have been born in either in the UK or in the PNW. I love gloomy foggy days the best. That said, the frigid cold bothers me too... it's gotten worse as I've gotten older (as have my allergies). So, I'm glad that the worst of winter is behind us. I think my happy spot is between 50-80degrees.

The Color of Magic.... not necessarily absolute best one, but it's the first Discworld and it kind of sets things up.... then you can read in whichever order you want after that. They don't really build on each other.

It's okay.. it happens to the best of us. :grouphug:

OJ for the kids and dh. Milk & water for some for the kids (big and little). I drink water and decaf tea. Lately, it's been mostly water.

My kids are not big soda drinkers. We occasionally have it here, usually for special occasions. Occasionally, I'll get a hankering for a soda, but I usually regret it... it makes me thirstier. I think one of my married kids maybe drinks it more often than others, but I'm not sure she counts. I voted rarely for both. I don't know what ot make of the statistics. I guess it could be true, but I just don't see a lot of soda consumption amongst my friends/kids.

What did you think? I hope you took breaks between episodes... it's pretty intense.