Thank you everyone for your responses. I will look into everything later. It's been a long day and I'm exhausted. After I posted earlier today I went to run errands and to visit my parents. While I was there my mom went into cardiac arrest. Dh attempted CPR and the paramedics were able to revive her. I've come home for a bit to eat and rest and wanted to come back to let you know I'm listening.

She complains about anything fitting. She doesnt like the waistband but she tolerates it. Usually she pulls her shorts lower on her hips to make them more comfortable. Odd, I know, because it makes them tighter. I am fine with her wearing skirts but when it is 40 degrees (or colder) and she is wearing a skirt with no legging, tights, or even socks and shaking because she is cold, something isn't working. I would like to her to be able to wear something else when necessary. ETA: I have tried sweat pants and she still fusses. She is just anti pants.

I've just started seeing ads for fall clothing and I'm starting to stress. Dd is very sensitive to clothing. Summer is easy because she will wear short shorts, knit dresses and flip flops. Cold weather clothing is so hard. She refuses anything that feels binding. So, no pants, no socks, no leggings, no tights. Shirts have to be super soft and loose. Last year this meant knit dresses and boots with the fur inside. Even in the snow. On top of the fact that she is sensitive, she is also big boned/muscular (particularly in the legs) and has a long torso. When she turned 6, she was the average height of a 7 yr old and the average weight of an 8 yr old. I cant size up because then clothes are seriously too long. Not just a little. I've seen pants that are snug on her be 8 inches too long. I try to be understanding because I know she doesn't do any of this on purpose. But, Im frustrated. Not because of her but because I dont know what to do. I dont know how to shop for her in the winter time. Last year I ordered hundreds of dollars worth of clothing for her only to keep about $40 worth. I guess I'm looking for two things. One, does anyone have any advice on how to shop for her body type? And, two, how can I help her overcome some of her sensitivity?

I agree. I have had them for nearly 20 years and their customer service has gone down the tubes. I dread calling them because of attitudes and the upsell. If I didnt think they offered great ho insurance, I would switch in a heartbeat.

I agree that this depends on the state. We use USAA for homeowners and another company for auto. USAA was twice as much for half the coverage. As for denying claims, my parents had a house fire last year. My mom was definitely at fault and never denied it (it was accidental but the result of her actions). It was fully covered by USAA. Everyone involved in the process was happy to work with USAA because they claimed they were the easiest company to work with and wouldn't haggle over every little thing.

I guess I just feel like half-siblings are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, in a sense. We didn't have anything to do with the situation and shoudn't be held accountable for it. The OP doesn't want contact and I don't think she should feel bad for that.

I struggle with this. I think sometimes people chose to stay away. I have a half-sister. My Dad didnt reject her, her mother moved to another part of the country when she was very young. I knew about her growing up but didnt know her. She only visited once when I was little. When she married (very young), she stopped contact. She made contact 25 years later and then stopped again. She knows I exist. Obviously, I know she exists. Her name, where she lives, a little about her family, etc. She knows the same about me. And we don't contact one another. I have no desire to know her. I have nothing agaisnt her. I just dont see the point. We may share DNA but that doesnt make us family, IYKWIM? If she did contact me, do you think I am obliged to develop a relationship? That seems unfair, as well.

Praying. Dd has the same sort of bug. Bad congestion and vomiting. I think the vomiting is from the congestion. There is a cold/flu virus of some sort going around in the south. I know of people in three states who have had it. It's too early in the year to be starting this!

Making small changes like changing the turkey to ham can be helpful. Eat cream dressings instead of oil based dressings if you eat salad. I dont know why you dont like milkshakes but you can add your Carnation Instant Breakfast mix to one. I drank those for breakfast when I was in middle school.

Mae is my dd's middle name and my grandmother's and great grandmother's and my other great grandmother's...lol. And no, you can't fix people and it is so hard to sit back and watch. Anger is pretty common feeling for people who live with those with addiction or mental illness or just people who aren't in control of some aspect of their lives in a majorly damaging way. Telling them they shouldn't be angry can be damaging.

That's good. I'm glad to hear they still teach it. It was such a huge help for me.

When I had my first panic attacks, I had some of the same symptoms. Sometimes my attacks would last for 30 minutes. It's so awful and I wouldnt wish it on anyone. I'm so sorry she is going through this. Probably the most helpful coping mechanism I learned when it all started was to play 5 Things. It sounds silly but it gets you out of your head and off the panic thoughts. Basically, you name 5 things you see, 5 things you hear, and 5 things you feel. So, I see the doorknob. I hear the tv in the other room. I feel a breeze from the fan. (The feel things need to be external. You dont want to focus on your heart racing or feeling cold because it will perpetuate the panic.) Anyway, you name five of each thing, then four, then three, then two, then one. Usually, by the time you finish, the panic is gone. If not, rinse and repeat. As she gets better, she won't have to do a full cycle. I know it's not a cure, but hopefully it will help while you're looking for the root cause/waiting to see if the meds will help.

I was thinking this, too. Scarlett has every right to her emotions. Watching someone struggle and make poor choices is frustrating. Not being able to help someone you love is frustrating. Even when you know it isn't their fault. My advice. It's okay for you to be upset right now. You're watching someone you love struggle. You just have to own it and work through it. When you want to say something, vent to someone safe. Write a letter and burn it. Just get it out. And though you shouldn't take it out on him, it is okay to say you are frustrated but you are trying to understand and work through your own emotions. It's healthy for you and will help your dss in the long run. When you suppress it and pretend like everything is okay, it still comes out. They will know.

I dont know if they will let you do that but it would kind of be pointless. The bank is going to order an appraisal for the loan either way...so, basically you would be paying for that twice. You should have an inspection once under contract and you can back out if things look too bad during the due diligence period. A good agent should point out any potential problems with the house and should know what a reasonable offer would be. If they aren't doing that, find a different agent. And you won't be stuck there forever! New listings pop up every day...inventory is just really low right now. Can your agent set up an auto search for you? That way you can get emailed when new listings pop up.

I live about 35 miles from Atlanta and nowhere near a highway. Land here is all over the place price wise. It depends on the quality of the land and the zip code. The land might be worth more than the house if its in that bad shape. Your agent should be able to tell you if you're making a reasonable offer and give you some idea of what it might appraise for. You can always make an offer and see if it sticks.

Asking for 57k off the top is a pretty big ask in any market. If you are near Atlanta, that's probably not going to fly given that it's a seller's market right now. Everything is going for ask or above. And if the property has been sitting that long, they are probably willing to wait for the price they want. Even if it is over priced. It doesn't mean you cant try, though. You may not live around Atlanta so that might be useless to you but I think I would talk to an agent and see what the market is like in your area. Eta: It looks like you already have an agent if you have done a walkthrough. Im sure they have already told you all of that.

Often times drs will give an antianxiety med along with an antidepressant so that you can ease into the new med more easily. It will also help combat any anxiety that might be caused by the antidepressant in the beginning since that is often a wonderful side effect. It is usually only done for a few weeks but can be really helpful. I get the same way with new meds and this really helps me. It might be worth talking to her doc about.

I understood that you supported their choice, for the record. I am just struggling with it. They denounced her views...as if that was even necessary. I think most of us are intelligent enough to know that a single person's views do not represent the whole. That's what I'm struggling with. The idea that people burn bridges so easily. I had not seen that everyone was leaving the show. Only one cast member.

This is the struggle I am having. They cancelled a show and 200 or so people lost their jobs over a single sentence. Plus, they knew exactly what they were getting into with her....she's always been a loose cannon. To be clear, I'm not defending her. That was one ugly sentence and I understand the backlash. I'm just not convinced that cancelling the show was an appropriate response. Sara Gilbert's tweet about the show came across (to me) as if she didn't support the choice of ABC, either.

Sam's club carries a two pack set of Tramontina dutch ovens for $60. One 4 qt, one 7 qt. I can't figure out how to link on my phone but the website says online only. I know they carried them in our local store, though, because my Mom bought them there.

Dh is 6'1 with a very bad back. He works out of his car so he has to be comfortable. He tried sitting in every car out there and the Nissan fit him best. American made cars were the worst for him. They just didnt have enough room. (I'm specifically talking about the smaller, fuel efficient cars.) He loved his Sentra and he got great mileage but I don't remember specifics.

On a micro level, I kind of think of what youre describing as a family. One where you have a group identity but where you have freedom to be an individual within that family and there is a respectful give and take between family needs and individual needs. I think we all know how hard that can be at times...when you bring it to the macro level it gets exponentially more diffifult. How do define a common purpose among 100 people or a thousand when it is so hard with 4? I think this is why we default to individual freedom. How do we define a common purpose within a state without losing individualism on an scale larger than most of us would be comfortable with? I don't know. I keep thinking that we lost much of our sense of community/belomg when we moved from small town living to city living. Obviously, small towns still exist but I think 1950's America was quite different in many ways than today. I'm not harkening back to the good ol' days. I just keep pondering how small communities may have fulfilled the need for a tribe better than our current city centers. I think I just went off on a tangent or two, but I agree with you. You sound like me. I invent plans and checklists only to rebel agaisnt them. It makes planning for the school year pretty interesting. lol I second The Four Tendencies as some pretty good insight on the rebellious nature.

I don't like/dislike rules. Honestly, I don't know what they even are most of the time because I don't usually bother reading them/paying attention to them. If I am living within my own self-imposed limits, I dont care if I break their rules. So, I don't generally care if others break the rules, either. I am assuming they are living within their self-imposed limits. All of this is within reason, of course.

Joining a group of people with shared interests is slightly different than being born into a group that expects conformity, wouldn't you say? Forced comformity (even under the guise of expectations vs rules) lends itself to oppression. We need a certain level of conformity for society to function but we also expect a certain amount of freedom to move within those "rules". Religious groups are often a perfect example of how precious that wiggle room really is. In terms of rules vs limits, I would agree that while most people don't like rules, they do like limits. Society tends to use rules to set limits, though. A rule follower is going to work within the given limits. A rebeller is more likely to reject those limits and set their own. So, both have limits. One more external, one more internal. Maybe? Still thinking this through...

Thought to ponder...Do rebels need rules more because in order to rebel, they must have something to rebel agaisnt?