Earthquakes really are strange. I've never been in or near a big one, but I was only 40-something miles from one with a magnitude of 4.6 in NE Alabama (I live in NW Georgia). It was felt in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, etc., yet I didn't feel or hear it at all. My nephew, who lives another 30 miles east of me, was shaken awake, yet he can generally sleep through a tornado. Our house is basically sitting on solid rock, so we assume that that was the reason we didn't feel it.

:grouphug:

I don't get it, either. In my experience, the same people who freak out over "knowing" someone has on underwear freak out if they can't tell that someone has on a bra. Go figure.

At age 14, I had three goals in life: (1) To be able to drive (For most of my childhood, we lived out in the boondocks. My mother was mentally ill and wasn't able to drive. When Daddy died when I was 8, that made things worse.) (2) To have carpet on the floor (3) To have central heat and air (though I didn't even know what it was called at the time) My 14yo self would be glad that I met all my goals and then some (though now I'm not so thrilled with carpet). LOL However, she would be sad that my health isn't good, which greatly limits me now. She'd also be sad that I wasn't able to have but one child.

Add me to the list who says "her-uh-cane." Of course, being a native Southerner, I suspect I drag out the "a" in "cane" far more than most other people do.

Do you have plastic on the ground in the crawl space, or is it just uncovered dirt?

One of my sisters, my brother, my sister-in-law, and a few cousins say that they experienced things, but all of them have a history of either being dramatic or of being very superstitious. When my family first moved to the home (before I was born), neighbors told them stories about the house (one of the neighbor kids wouldn't even spend the night there), and I truly believe that that put ideas into my brother's and sister's heads, and they told my cousins and sister-in-law, which made them look for things as well. The father of my cousin who says that he had experiences there was so superstitious that he himself never stepped foot in our house; and he taught a lot of those superstitions to his son.

I'm glad you're all okay!

:001_smile: Happy birthday. :)

You can't be pushed into orientation. The "molestation" cause of gay is inaccurate, and terribly flawed math. I don't think at this point in time we can say this with 100% certainty. Science still doesn't know everything by a long shot. At one time scientists didn't believe that the brain could change after a certain point, but now we know that trauma can change the brain, chemicals in the body, and more. As such, it's not totally impossible that trauma could influence some people's sexual orientation. (We still don't truly know at what point in development orientation comes about—at conception? in utero? after birth?) I have a cousin who is gay. She was a small child when she saw her father kill her mother. She tried to wipe the blood off her mother's head before her father told her to get the baby (her baby sister) and go to her grandmother's (through a field). Her father shot himself as soon as they got outside. She thinks that seeing what she did may have in some way affected her sexual orientation. I'm certainly not going to argue with her.

:grouphug:

My dream place would have wonderful air and water quality. Also, it would have mild temperatures and moisture levels (not too hot, not too cold, not too humid, and not too dry). I'd be in the middle of at least 20 acres so that I wouldn't have to smell the neighbors' laundry and, thus, could enjoy being outdoors. On top of all of this, I'd either need to win the lottery first, or my husband would have to be able to find a job in the area that would pay for all of this!

No, I don't believe in ghosts, spirits, or anything of that nature. I grew up in a house that was supposedly haunted, yet I never had any experiences myself.

Keeping you in my thoughts. :grouphug:

Decisions, decisions!

Very interesting! Thanks so much!

I'm very glad to read the updates! After knowing how sick our puppy was, yet he still recovered, I'm not surprised to see the good news. :)

I would start with a regular doctor and have blood work done to rule out physical conditions that can manifest themselves as psychiatric conditions (thyroid problems, diabetes, etc.). These types of conditions can also occur along with psychiatric conditions. I also agree with gardenmom5 about investigating gluten sensitivity (non-celiac), but also celiac disease. Actually, there is evidence that for a subset of people with schizophrenia, gluten does appear to "cause" schizophrenia. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16423158 http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/news/20040219/gluten-intolerance-linked-to-schizophrenia This is an interesting article, too: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201103/wheat-and-schizophrenia-0 I suspect that the gluten connection is not only true for schizophrenia but also for some other mental health conditions as well. My depression and anxiety improved greatly after I went yeast-free and gluten-free. Also, after going yeast-free and gluten-free, my thyroid levels are now normal without medication after being on the equivalent of 150 mcg of Synthroid before changing my diet. I have Hashimoto's disease, which quite commonly occurs with bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions, and many people in my family are diagnosed with both. (There is actually a good bit of research about the connection between gluten and autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto's, and there is evidence that some mental health disorders may actually be caused by problems related to the immune system.)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll compare all of these.

Welcome! :)

The cat pee smell would bother me, but having the carpet cleaned while staying in that room would be even more dangerous for the kids' health. I'd put them in a different room.

Dh has been a huge help to me while I've been sick. I will not, however, post pictures of the kitchen I faced when I felt up to venturing downstairs! :p

Ds will be in 7th grade when we start school again after Labor Day. I was originally going to let him use online maps, but he wants a book. Suggestions? Thanks in advance!

I like the Yellow River Game Ranch, which is about 10 minutes away from Stone Mountain.

What are the instructions? Might they want her to factor in the first one? What grade is this?