I think sometimes, as an agnostic, that people assume that you have to have a "belief system" as in religious beliefs. Because I don't have religious beliefs and accept evolution, it is assigned as a belief system. It is not my belief system . I don't organize my life around it. I don't use it to make decisions about the appropriate course of action in any situation. I don't use it to judge the morality of my actions or the actions of others. It creates no rituals. I don't feel called to any sort of leap of faith to accept it.

I would approach then all as individuals and forget about the group stuff for now. Can you set up some individual play dates with Mary and/or Jen as well as Sally? And I would not talk about one with either of the others. It sounds like there might be something sort of strange happening but hard to know who is driving it and why. But if you work on the individual friendships and then try setting up some group stuff that might work better then trying to create a group.

I vote for Spain or Portugal. I especially love Barcelona.

I have already done it and I love it. I have orange, yellows, greens and turquoise. My favorite is my orange kitchen though. so warm and cozy in the winter.

It makes me miss our backyard chickens. We have done some mouse agility though lol.

My husband is the same and I do not see it as shallow. We all have things we do to feel better when stressed or sad or whatever. Some people cheat. Some drink or do drugs. Some shop. Some overeat. Really, tea with the person you love and have built a life with seems like a pretty positive choice.

I was a non hugger who married a hugger with a large family of huggers. I have become more of a hugger. Hugs can be nice. They are also cheek kissers. That is harder for me. I once miscalculated and ended up kissing Dh's aunt on the lips instead of the cheek.

I would return him too, sad as that is.

I live in the Midwest in a city with a state university. I see both the denim jumper crowd and the tattooed, Birkenstock, power of crystals crowd. I like them all. There are also a fair number of people like me, who are homeschooling because they have quirky kids who will not thrive in the public schools. It is a nice mix and we seem to all get along in our public school district sponsored home school organization. I liked the article. I think the point of it is that home schooling can be the solution for a lot of families. I also understand why it is difficult to "come out" as a home schooler. People who are happy with the public schools can be very judgmental of someone who has had a different experience.

Most marriages have a division of labor. For example, in our marriage I deal with vomiting children and he deals with all dead things (mice, squirrels, rabbit parts left by the cat and the sad demise of pets). This is just us. To divide every single task 50-50 is silly when you consider that there are individual talents and strengths. My dh travels a lot so he takes care of any travel plans. However, if you are fed up with a particular task I think it is perfectly fair to say so and swap. As in, "Honey, I am tired of being the social planner and so you need to take that one over and plan an outing every week (or whatever) and I will take one of your tasks." I think you are getting into dangerous territory when you start talking about wanting your spouse/partner to want something that you want them to want.

No, not what you would consider blue collar or service jobs. I think two people both working full-time could support two children and it would be tight, but no way that one person could support four people. But I am also in a high cost housing area for the state, so it is harder in this community.

Paleolithic people did not have access to cornfed, fatty beef. They ate lean meat. It would have come from animals that were eating the diet nature intended them to eat. They certainly were not on antibiotics or living in filth. Eat grass fed beef (and grass fed but finished on corn is not grass fed btw). Do some research about the nutritional value of grass vs corn fed beef. You will not be worried about your Dh's health. It is a completely different food. You can also buy bison. I have bought elk too. Both are good. Venison is another option. I am lucky enough to have family who hunt. We made the switch and the meat is more expensive so we eat less of it.

I wish I could like this a million times! If you are "immoral" and poor you are ghetto or trailer trash or whatever. But if you are wealthy and immoral then you are what? You are successful, powerful, influential... or even elected to help make rules for how the rest of us should behave and be punished if we don't. How about if we just hate people who hurt or exploit others for their own gain.

I echo the suggestions about therapy. It does not sound like your dh is OK with the level of intimacy in your marriage. And you doing something that you will resent to make him happy is not a solution either. This is going to sound wacko but I am really serious, maybe pick up something like Shades of Grey and start reading. Sometimes just spending sometime thinking about 3ex without feeling a lot of pressure can help.

Soggy Cheerios smell like pee.

Load up an iPod or mp 3 with some great music, whatever you like and walk. Walk thirty minutes a day. When it is cold bundle up. Exercise is good for your mood and so is music you love. If you choose something you aren't interested in just to have a hobby it is going to feel like more work, just another task. And it is hard to to get excited about something new when you are depressed or feeling down. But just getting out by yourself and getting your body moving can really help.

I don't have strong feelings one way or the other about Love Actually. I am surprised to find that this is unpopular. I think "Sissy" would be a good nickname for Hugh Grant though.

I had hair down to my waist in elementary school and begged my mom for a shag. She finally gave in and let me get one but not before parading me around the neighborhood mourning the imminent loss of my hair. I was so happy with short hair. Why is it that the mothers who want their little girls to have long hair have kids like I was and the mothers who want pixies have girls who long for long hair? I can't think of any unpopular opinions tonight. Ok wait, I really like Penelope Trunk. How is that? I imagine she is not terribly popular among classical homeschoolers.

My 16 year old says "yes" to the first pair.

Maybe you need to step up your research?

I hate this too. My kids never wore those things. I also hate to see infants in tights, the ones with man made fibers instead of cotton. I can't even stand to wear those as and adult. Why would anyone put a helpless baby in them?

We just got our first dog. My youngest is eight. And it is still a LOT of work. I would suggest waiting but if you decide to go ahead there are tests you can take, http://animal.discovery.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds.html We ended up getting one of the dogs it picked for us and he has been a good fit.

No curtains or drapes here either, I have wood blinds where we need something for privacy. I have a lot of bare windows and I like them that way, I hate all condiments except mayo. That includes pickles. Sauerkraut is disgusting. Bathing or showering everyday is silly and a waste of resources.

Julia Child? Your library probably has it. In fact, I would just start at the library.

If you don't care about looking like a bag lady, then no problem :)! I am in a big believer in just not caring lol.