As for cost: My taijiquan class is $80/mo and the traditional karate school my family is preparing to join will be $250 for all 4 of us for unlimited classes regardless of rank.

This is a humorous read as well as being true. http://www.karatebyjesse.com/93-signs-of-a-mcdojo/

This is a sign you've joined a belt factory and not a traditional karate dojo. Many truly traditional karate dojos will not promote any child under 15 to black belt. What style of karate is he learning? Perhaps this is normal for his style, but it would be a signal for me to find a more traditional school and not a belt factory.

It's definitely my tonsil and none of my other lymph nodes are swollen.

How did you find out it was viral meningitis? The doctor had me look up and down and said it probably wasn't that since I could do it. It's side to side that I can't do. How long did it take for you to recover?

I have been sick since last Sunday. It started with a sore throat, laryngitis, and a headache. On Monday Aunt Flo arrived and with her came a crazy hormone headache on top of the other sickness symptoms. Then it morphed into an incredibly painful tmj flair that has lasted all week. It is miserable. Instead of recovering, I'm getting worse with each day. My sinuses are congested and it has migrated to my chest. My throat feels like I have a golf ball for a right tonsil and it looks it as well. Today, I'm in agony and the pain has spread down my back and into my hips and legs. I cannot turn at the waist without excruciating back pain and I can hardly walk. My muscles are literally spasming from head to toe. My voice is still thin and raspy and every swallow is ridiculously painful. I went to my doctor today and he said the usual, "call me if you're not better in 3 days." I don't have a fever and strep test was negative. It feels like my whole spinal cord is lit up with inflammation. I had this happen to a lesser extent about 3 months ago also with my period. Can this be related to my menstrual cycle? The pain in my throat is not the raw scratchy pain that comes with cold and flu; it's a dull, achy, and sore feeling like I pulled a throat muscle. Any ideas? I'm so miserable and cannot sleep. :( I have been taking ibuprofen and today went to the maximum dosage of naproxen with no relief.

If it were me, I would fly into SF with a connecting flight to Arcata-Eureka Airport and spend the entire weekend in Trinidad, CA. No where matches the beauty of Trinidad.

This happens to me frequently in church, while listening to live music, and while reading. Beautiful writing, especially poetry can give me chills. I also experience this when listening to a well written speech or homily.

The Gangster We're all Looking for by le thi diem thuy The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Ann Fadiman Wild Swans by Jung Chang Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah

Praying for your daughter. May God grant her strength to endure her treatments with optimism. May you take comfort and courage from the knowledge that all things work together for good to them that love God. Please keep us posted. (((Hugs)))

If you train or have trained in this tradition, what do you like or love about it? I formerly trained Dan Zan Ryu Jujitsu which is very different so this would be brand new for me. TIA!

Sophiology is a heretical teaching that is not embraced by the Eastern Orthodox church even if some well known philosophers of the Church engaged and encouraged discussion of the concept. It is not an Orthodox dogma. Full stop.

Can you share your book title with those of us who are behind?

With regard to the first point quoted above, you may want to experience an Eastern Orthodox worship service. The Scriptures are very much alive in each and every Orthodox service. Honestly, I have come to understand the Holy Scriptures in a much more meaningful and applicable way just through church attendance. The main point of Orthodox Christian worship is to encounter God which is accomplished in large part through not only the Gospel readings but through the Epistle readings and Old Testament readings, the Hymnography, the Prayers, and receiving of the sacraments. As for your second point, I will reiterate the advice that you talk to God and I follow that with encouraging you to start discussions here. I would happily participate in a thread devoted to Scripture and I know many others would, as well! :)

Please take him to the ER. This isn't something to mess around with.

Before I found the Orthodox Church, I visited and attended a good number of churches. At that time in my life, a period which spanned 20 years, I considered myself a mixture of Daoist/Pagan/Spiritual but not religious. I was looking for fellowship with people who believed in God and Jesus Christ, but would be open and accepting of me and my lack of belief. I found that in the UU Church and the Friends Meetings but neither of those congregations were particularly focused on spirituality and the soul. They were more focused on human rights which was nice but secondary to what I was after. I wasn't looking for the true church when I found the Eastern Orthodox Church, so I find it infinitely ironic that I was able to easily slough off my old cobbled together belief system and embrace this very clear and explicit doctrine of Christianity.

Lord have mercy. What an ordeal. Praying for you to have a full recovery.

I'm so sorry! (((Hugs)))

Up until about age 33, I was naturally fit (muscular) and slender at size 6. Now at age 40 (41 a month from today), I have to work very hard to stay below 190lbs. I fluctuate between 175 and 187. My feel good normal was 145. I would love to get back down to the 150s but I'm not even sure it's possible without starving myself. I eat very healthy and avoid excess sugar and carbs. I exercise daily and break a sweat but still I struggle. I wear a size 8 or 10 and I do have a lot of muscle under the flab, but I hate the flab and the double chin! I feel your pain!

Another Orthodox Christian here. I'm going to talk about the health benefits of Orthodox fasting, however. There's an Orthodox Christian nutritionist named Rita Madden who has an excellent podcast and a book titled, "Food, Faith, and Fasting" which is intended for a broad audience, not just Orthodox Christians. I recommend you check out her work as it is much more in depth and compelling than what I can speak to. http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/foodfaithfasting For starters, as other EO boardies already stated, Eastern Orthodox Christians fast roughly half the year. This includes almost every Wednesday and Friday in addition to the 4 extended fasting periods. During fasts, we avoid rich and fatty foods including oil, meat, dairy, and eggs. Sometimes we can have fish during certain fasting days, and usually weekends are relaxed to include oil and wine. Not only do we limit the kind of foods we eat, but we also stop eating when we still feel just a little bit hungry, never letting our bellies feel stuffed. During major fasting periods, it is not unusual to lose weight and gain a brighter and clearer complexion. One way to get the growling tummy to quiet down is to drink water (and pray!) whenever the urge to snack comes on. The benefits of reduced fat and cholesterol intake coupled with increased water consumption is that many toxins get flushed from the body resulting in a leaner and healthier body, healthier heart, lower incidences of heartburn and acid reflux, lower chance of type 2 diabetes and other diet related health problems. During normal, non-fasting periods, we keep the Wednesday and Friday fasts which help us to maintain the health benefits gained during extended fasts. In the diet world, this is known as intermittent fasting. See the "fast diet" http://www.abebooks.com/FastDiet-Lose-Weight-Stay-Healthy-Live/11350934096/bd?cm_mmc=gmc-_-new-_-PLA-_-v01&product=COM9781476734941NEW There was more I wanted to say but I am so tired from taking care of sick kiddos that I lost my train of thought. I will come back if something jogs my memory. I hope these resources and perspective are useful in your research.

I don't mean to be rude or insulting but tai cheng is not taijiquan. It is a new exercise program with characteristics that appear similar to Tai chi but it is not Tai chi.

I completely understand where you are coming from and I will tell you that you simply can't achieve your stated goals with dvds or videos. Taking a class with an instructor is really the only way. If you start with a dvd, you will have a very difficult time learning this martial arts system. Tai chi (Taijiquan) is a wonderful way to get in shape and to learn martial arts, but there are so many minor adjustments that cannot be translated across the screen to you in your home. You will miss quite a bit by not having a teacher show you proper posture and technique. The philosophy is also passed down form teacher to student and just like learning anything new, you need an instructor to meet you where you are in a dialogue. You can read about philosophy but it won't inform your practice without having a teacher to help you apply it. You will also need a teacher to assist you in your progress and develop throughout the form because there is an approach to learning that starts with a beginner's understanding but will develop over time, so even though your movement and postures might appear the same, what you will actually be doing will be different as an intermediate student than as a beginner. With dvd/video you will not even reach a beginner stage. I personally prefer Chen style because it hasn't been watered down as much for Western students and if you find a teacher who knows the Chen style, he will likely also know Yang style which can be easier for a beginner to learn. Please feel free to pm me if you want me to look at classes in your area to help you find a good one. If you still just want a dvd, I would recommend this: http://smile.amazon.com/Taijiquan-Classical-Yang-Style/dp/0940871645/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462219892&sr=8-1&keywords=taijiquan+dvd Here is a short video about it.

Do you want a long form or a short form? Yang style or Chen style? Why do you want the dvd? Is it for learning Tai Chi or for having a new way to move your body for exercise?

Most of my career before quitting my job 3 years ago to do full time sahm/hs was spent as a grant writer. It's possible to be a consulting grant writer and you can charge $50 per hour and more in my neck of the woods, but you often only will get paid an agreed upon portion for your time until successful grant award which will not occur for every grant application unless you work with an ngo that has revolving funds. You will need to have some major successes before anyone will hire you so you'll need to do your first few as a volunteer (and they need to be successfully awarded) unless you are doing them as part of your current job which is paying you.

When we bought our house last August, I thought I was going to hate it because we really were just settling for a house that had no competing offers and was in our price range (low 200ks). I find that it has really grown on me. It's small and manageable. It has decent sized front and back yards. It's walking distance to stores, a park, and a nature preserve. It's quiet and doesn't smell too bad given that the former owner smoked. I only notice the leftover smoke scent every once in a while and fortunately burning incense is beginning to overpower the smell. It is strange that I like this house so much because nothing about it stood out as particularly charming. It's a very plain 1960s ranch. It's built solid but there are no nice touches of fine craftsmanship or the like. I am quite content in this boring brown little L-shaped box!