And who are their competitors? My daughter wants some new frames.

Does Southwest do a Black Friday (or maybe the whole weekend) sale? We need to purchase a flight in the next few days. They have a sale that ends Thursday going now and I wonder if I should hold out. But the related question is do they usually only put specific routes on sale? When they have a sale and I type in our nearest airport, it seems like the same cities always come up on the options page. Do they ever do an across the board sale with ALL flights? Thanks for any information you may have!

Oh, this is so strange! I just switched *back* to Firefox from Chrome because FF is so much faster now with this latest update than it was six months ago when I switched away. I use the internet for work and it was stalling too much, so I sent to Chrome. For some reason, I opened FF on my computer the other day and it updated. When I tried it, I noticed right away how much faster it was. I used it today for work and it was great. Besides the speed, what else about it didn't you like? Other than the squared off corners of the tabs now, and the new speed, I haven't noticed much difference. I have an aversion to all-things-google because of the privacy issues.

We just did a week away for the first time ever, in September, and while I'm so glad we went, it was probably bordering on too long for us given our current circumstances and home situation (kids). So don't beat yourself up if a week isn't possible! Like you said, go for the 1-2 nights first, then maybe later get a few more days in.

If cost were not an inhibitor, Greece. With a more limited budget, my husband and I just spent a week in New England and had a fabulous time. We flew into Boston and drove up to south of Portland, ME. We found an Airbnb a block off the ocean beach and stayed most nights there. It was perfect for us (if you want the link, let me know!). We drove into NH one day, spent one day in the city of Portland (given my way, we would have attended a play or something similar), did a boat tour around Casco Bay. day We hung out on the beach a couple of days. It was very nice. I'm also interested in going to Old Quebec City some year.

This is right along the lines of what I have been reading and working toward. I love to go for a 45 minute to an hour brisk walk, but I transcribe from home for work, homeschool the kids at the kitchen table, and love to crash at the end of the day with a good movie. Too. much. sitting. I do have a stand up desk, so that I can transcribe on my feet some of the time, but we moved a couple of months ago and I haven't gotten it set up again yet. I do have a vibrating wrist thing that buzzes at the time intervals I set but [see excuse in last sentence]. I read in one of the books on this topic that doing the up and down movement from sitting to standing about 30 times a day is a good goal. There's something to that up/down motion that is beneficial, and doing the motions slowly and controlled is even more beneficial; because it helps us practice the balance that is important as we age. If I want to be the person I envision myself being in 20 years when I'm 70, I need to start doing these things now.

You want Lavilin. You're welcome. :D Seriously, lasts for days even if you work out, shower, shave, etc and it's chemical and aluminum free. It's a thick white paste that you spread on with a plastic applicator (think the zinc sunscreens but probably even thicker); you just need a thin layer. Lavilin works wonderfully, at least it has for me. I've been using it for a couple of years now. If you search around at Amazon, there's a newer formula than the one I linked, and other application options to make that part easier, but from the reviews I read, it doesn't work as well. ETA: It seems expensive, I know! But you get two and you don't have to apply it every day. One container can last for a couple of months.

I have said, eternalsummer, that I have never felt so valued as a woman, when it comes to church, than I do in the Orthodox Church. Even though we seem patriarchal because of our all-male priesthood, seeing those priests all honor the Theotokos and other female saints with deep reverence speaks volumes. They love her and know they, as males, could not fulfill the role she played in establishing the church, and they look up to her as she points us toward her Son. In a related way, I think, I've seen priests submit to the abbess of a monastery when she shares her thoughts and wisdom and opinions. I know we've veered off topic a bit, but it's very close to my heart. Forgive me. OP, for moving away from your original questions. ETA: Just read CaliforniaDreaming's post and love that perspective.

I have appreciated this conversation today, thank you to those who have partaken. I, too, have learned some things. I do admit that it's difficult for me at this juncture in my life to fathom how we can accept the Scriptures from the early church fathers, but not the things they themselves believed and practiced. How -- or better yet, why -- would they allow into the canon of Scripture words or concepts that would condemn what they themselves practiced? The same bishops that gathered the writings and canonized the Scriptures over time venerated Mary, asked her to intercede for them, and called her blessed. The church was pretty fairly united back then. There weren't some Christians over here doing and believing one thing and some over there doing pretty different things and another further afield coming up with their own way of worshiping God; I've heard the concept of some secret remnant keeping things pure, but history doesn't bear that out. There wasn't one group giving us the Scriptures, having non-liturgical services, and receiving communion as a symbolic gesture while another was venerating Mary, honoring the saints, and serving Divine Liturgies where they received the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ, and yet another sort of making things up as they felt led by the Spirit. No, there was unity for the most part until the schism* and historical texts make pretty clear what the beliefs and practices of the early church were. Which just brings me back to the original point I made above -- the Scriptures came from bishops who were highly liturgical, who called the Theotokos (God-bearer) blessed, who venerated saints and icons, and who believed that the bread and wine became the literal Body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. That was the sticking point for me anyway when we were deciding which route to traverse: What was the early church like and does that church still exist today? Please forgive if I have offended anyone. *I'm obviously speaking very broadly here as there were some minor schisms, some smaller disagreements within the church (some of which eventually did grow into ones big enough to split the church into East and West), and of course people who did walk away from the Church for different beliefs; but it was nothing like what we see in Christianity today.

Well, that's interesting. I don't see anything in that particular prayer of concern. What part do you disagree with? You quoted the Bible about not having a mediator but she's interceding, not mediating. Don't you pray for other people, MercyA? Or ask them to pray for you? To me, read carefully, this prayer is asking Mary (who is not dead, but "alive with Christ") to intercede for us, much like we'd ask a pastor or friend or grandmother to pray for us. We're hurting, please pray for us. And then the prayer ends with a plea that in all the suffering, we ultimately see Jesus (the fruit of her womb). Now that's not to say I agree with all Catholic theology and practices regarding Mary, but now being in a liturgical church that reverences (not worships) Mary for a good several years now, I get it. We are told in Scripture that "all generations will call [her] blessed." Does our generation, does our church today, do we in our home -- regularly -- call her blessed? It should, we should. I think a lot was thrown out with the bathwater at the reformation, to the detriment of Christians. But then again, all that was a non-issue in the Christian east.

Thank you for posting, Laura! Such good information and a topic that has been on my radar lately, too. The books I've been reading are along the lines of get up from your chair, sitting isn't good for you, in addition to walking distances, be busy about during the day. Rake leaves, sweep the floor, work at a stand up desk instead of sitting with a laptop on your lap, working on balance on your feet, etc. "They" say you can walk or run or work out an hour a day, but if you're sitting the rest of the time, no es bueno. And that is how I envision my aged years -- walking, yes, but moving around a lot, too. A a busy body in a good way. :)

What a difficult place to be in! I'm sorry you're facing so much turmoil in your spirituality. As noted by someone else above, there's quite a big difference between Catholicism and the Baptist sect, so that would be very hard to navigate through. Please be gentle with yourself, your husband and your journey. The church will always be there and isn't in a hurry. You probably know this, but I didn't after being a Christian for 20+ years, but way back in the day, like waaaay back in the day (in the first 800-1000 years of Christianity), the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church were one church. "I believe in one, holy, catholic (small c meaning universal) and apostolic church" included the two of them united as one. Then there some things happened and there was a schism -- the Roman Catholic Church became the church in the west and the Orthodox church remained the church in the east. We live in a very western culture with very western-based history, but believe it or not, the church of the east is still an option. It's liturgical with the order you described, it's ancient like Catholicism, it's just coming at the faith from a bit of a different perspective. This was our decision about eight years ago when we were struggling yet again with where we were attending church. Do you have any Orthodox churches near you? That might also be worth a consideration. No hurries, no worry. God is there and will be there and the church is there and will be there.

I've done a ten to fourteen day "master cleanse" lemonade fast 2-3 times and loved it. The recipe for one glass is 2 Tblsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 1-2 Tblsp dark amber robust taste (not rich taste) 100% pure maple syrup, 1/8 tsp. or to taste cayenne pepper (less if needed, but as hot as you can handle), and fill the 8 oz glass with water. I chug it, I know some people who sip it. I swish with clear water a couple of times after drinking it. That's all I had for the ten days and you do have to come off it slow (the literature for this recommends completing the ten days, so it may not work for Thanksgiving week, but maybe another time; or it wouldn't kill you do not do the ten days). I've also done a 10-day organic raw milk fast. I just like the self control that fasting for a few days like this develops. It doesn't necessarily last, so has to become a lifestyle and not just a thing to do once in awhile, but it is a good tool in the toolbox, IMO.

I was out of town for the weekend so hope it's okay to reply even though it's been a day or two. OP, we have some a couple in our parish whose story (to me) sounds similar to yours. I don't know which group you're leaving, and it doesn't matter, but theirs was "The Local Church" and it was an all-encompassing, decades long life. I admit, I don't know much about it and out of respect for their privacy, didn't want to ask too much. From what I do recall, they both came from families that had been in the group when they (my friends) were very young, they met and married within the group, and I believe started having children within the group (their children are now grown). They have been out of it for quite some time (my guess would be 15-20 years?), but as they became Eastern Orthodox, they revisited its reality again as they went through catechism with our priest. I don't know why I say all that, it just touched something in me when I read your words; the background seemed similar. I loved your approach, by the way! Leave the hold behind, the new has come. I am so glad for you that you are tasting some freedom and are seeking wisdom. Prayer is good, seeking Christ is good. My husband, our children and I went through a radical change about eight or nine years ago when we went from conservative active-in-ministry evangelical Christians to becoming Eastern Orthodox. For us, the two major reasons behind our decision were history (we understand the EO church to be the most ancient form of Christianity)* and mystery (our faith is not based on our intellectual understanding, it's about being and practice, with incomprehensible things left as "mystery" instead of being explained). One of the readers in our parish has a favorite saying, and I like it, too: "Orthodoxy: It's not what you think." There's a lot more to the story, but I didn't want to go into a lot of detail in case that's not what you were after. I just wanted to say, yes, we've gone through a major, tumultuous change that affected so very many things. There were times we questioned ourselves and our path. But we moved forward with resolve and now, this many years in, we're here for life. There are ways in Orthodoxy, practices, things we do, sacraments we partake of, prayers we pray, etc. These are all part of Orthodoxy throughout time and throughout the world, but within Orthodoxy there is freedom, too. We do things because we want to, not because we have to. That's the ideal anyway, the one we press on toward. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ *It was actually time here at WTM that helped me with this. I was woefully ignorant of church history (sad, as a Christian for 20+ years by that time) and a few times within a short amount of time, I saw it stated here (even by non-Christians) that "if anyone has a claim to being the historical church, it's the Eastern orthodox," and then I happened upon this graphic from U.S. News and World Report which gave me visual context for the words. That forms the beginning of our story.

Dagny. I loooooved this name when pregnant with my last baby (who ended up being a boy). Every single person I mentioned this name to, outside my dh and kids (who all loved it, too), either hated it or was noncommittal (probably because they hated it). I even had a friend who may or may not be reading this right now who is famous for being supportive of baby names no. matter. who said, "You can't name a baby that!" But I still love it. If you name your baby Dagny, please let me know. :D

Don't pluck 'em! They come back and stick out because they're shorter than the others. I tried coloring for a little while and decided I didn't want to go down that road. I'm graying naturally.

Our parish is pretty much made up of the age group you inquire about. We have a few seniors (60+), mostly 30-50's, some young adults, and a lot of kids of all ages. Everyone who comes seems pretty active in / committed to their faith. Eastern Orthodox, Antiochian jurisdiction.

Well. I did my level best to find a place to watch the game (using the above methods) and as described ended up using ESPN Radio and their live play graphic instead. But by the 5th inning or so, even that wasn't working! So, so frustrating. I honestly wondered if I had inadvertently downloaded something that was now whacking away at the innards of my laptop. By the end of the game, I had nothing. After alllll that effort (four hours of trying to do something to watch), I gave up. And then found out that much of the internet in our region (eastern Washington down to San Jose CA), provided through one of the major providers, started to fail around the beginning of the game and eventually crashed. It was down until about 3.5 hours after the game ended. Made me wonder if it was game related, but they say it was a physical equipment failure (fiber optics). Something was trying to tell me something. Thanks to everyone who tried to help and the game was puh for a Dodger fan.

Nope, never found a place to watch it. My sis even gave me her log in information for their cable company and I couldn't even get that to work. Sigh. I do have ESPN up (radio in one window and live action graphics in another) so am following it a bit. Gosh, I hope the D's give the crowd something to cheer about. If the game plays all the way out like it is right now, I'm super glad we sent my dad to Game 2 and didn't wait for an if/when Game 7 option.

Lanny, I know you may be busy because the game will start soon and well, you don't sit around here at my beck and call, but I downloaded Fubo. Do you know anything about it? It's only showing me a DVR option for the game right now -- do you think that's because it's not live yet, or would it be blocked somehow? Anyway, I'll keep messing around with it!

Ahhhh, that's it. You have television service -- we don't. We stream anything we want to watch on the internet and don't have cable or a dish or anything. I may try a VPN and see if I can get YouTube TV that way.

Gah, I checked out the Fox link and I don't know if it's going to work. I think you have to have cable to use even that link. :( I really don't mind paying a little bit if anyone knows a reputable pay-per-view option.

Lanny, thanks for your helpful and kind comments. I do think it's going to show on this FOX channel (here) but I'll check out ESPN as a back up (or do you have a direct link I can bookmark?).

Wish that idea would work for me! I checked and it's not available in my area. :( But I'm thinking Fox network TV might work (found this page) -- but it says it doesn't go live until 5:00 pm PST tonight which is the same time that the game starts. Hopefully it will work or I'll find another solution before then. Thank you!

Sorry, I meant to say online because we don't have any TV service (although maybe they stream their broadcast channel online?).