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TianXiaXueXiao

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Everything posted by TianXiaXueXiao

  1. Ok, Hive, I could use some of your wisdom. We are a single car family with a Honda Odyssey. Over the last month, everything that can go wrong with our car has started going wrong. We spent $2400 over the past 4 weeks to repair failing sliding doors and a misfiring engine. My car has been riding rough for about a year and having trouble with down-shifting. Apparently our transmission is failing and will cost about $4000 to get a new re-built one. We also have a bad axle boot and our A/C system has been disabled due to a clog in the system. It will cost us $5000 to repair all of these things. We owe $8000 which is roughly what the KBB value is for retail. Trade-in value is about $4k. In order to afford the repairs, we would have to take out a $5000 loan which would mean we would really owe $13000 for a car that's worth $8000 max. My husband and I are trying to determine the best course of action. We need a car and we live in a rural area but dh works in the city and all of our activities are in the city. Public transportation is an option but it means adding 45 min. to an hour for any trip we would use the car for. What would you do? Thanks in advance!
  2. I have mild ED hypermobility type. It didn't really show up as problematic until adulthood when I lost a lot of my original muscle tone and core strength from a childhood of gymnastics, track and field, and rock climbing. After hitting age 20 I was having regular flairs of neck pain, frequent headaches, and incredible shoulder pain with thoracic outlet syndrome, tmj, and costochondritis. (In fact, I'm miserable at the moment with bilateral arm and shoulder pain stemming from my thoracic spine being out of alignment.) You do want to check for mitral valve prolapse. You also want to be aware the we don't always respond to anesthesia well. It takes a good 25-40 minutes for me to get numb at the dentist so they have to schedule me extra long time. General anesthesia takes a long time for my intestines and bladder to recover from being asleep. Also I started bruising really easy as an adult. The hot tub leaves red hicky-mark type bruises where the jets were. Backpacks leave the same kind of bruises on my shoulders as does anything that puts prolonged pressure on the skin. Also, adhesions after surgery are a problem to be aware of. We get a lot more than the average person but massage and percussion to break them up seems to help. It's also problematic for digestion: silent GERD is common as the sphincters along the digestive track do not hold up well, so is hiatal hernia and slow motility (I have all of these and so do my kids). You need to get in touch with a specialist as soon as possible. Look up rheumatologists and other connective tissue specialists. ED has a spectrum with mild to severe cases, so you will want to know where your child is. Building and maintaining core strength and joint stability are very important. Proper body alignment and posture are key. Slouching will make matters worse. A good physical therapist will train you and your child how to do exercises and postures which support joint stability and build core strength. Keep us posted on how things go with the doctor. I hope your kiddo feels better soon! (((Hugs)))
  3. My children will get phones when they can afford to get them. We are weird to many people but all of our close friends are similar. My kids have access to plenty of technology and can use my phone when they need one. Dd thinks it's incredibly rude when people play on their phones instead of acknowledging others in the room. I hope she stays that way.
  4. Following this thread for wisdom. We are pretty much starting over from scratch with savings and retirement after buying our house. I think we will need a miracle to not have to work in our 70s and 80s. We needed a home and couldn't afford to rent in this area.
  5. I started panicking a few months ago with my 7th grader's time consuming school work (and tween 'tude!), so I started looking at schools (public and private) and was pretty disturbed by what I saw in our local brick and mortar options. Then I decided to look into online options. Dd started courses with an online Orthodox homeschooling program last month and I'm relieved that I don't have to do all the grading and assessing by myself anymore. She really likes it and I like that I only have to focus on a few courses of study and not the whole shabang. I also like that she is reading Don Quixote after finishing The Sword in the Stone. They use CTC Math which isn't half bad. I recommend outsourcing. I have heard really good things about Veritas Press and WTM Academy.
  6. Ride the Skunk Train in Willits. Head to Fort Bragg and Mendocino. You won't regret it! There's some nice hot springs near Ukiah (Orr hotsprings!). While in Ukiah, go to the Coffee Critic coffee house and The Mutt Hut for tasty fresh grub. Also go to Hopland and tour the Real Goods Solar Living Center. While in Hopland enjoy some delicious goodies at the Cheesecake Momma Bakery. I'm a Northern California girl who misses home! You can't not see the redwoods. Avenue of the Giants is always a treat. Lots of good camping in the parks there! Have fun and let us know what you plan.
  7. I also cannot just let my legs dangle or place my feet flat on the floor when seated. It is a special kind of torture to be forced to sit "proper." I have flat feet but I disguise them when barefooted by flexing my arches so it looks like I'm not. I do not like my feet. I have a dent in my forehead over my left eyebrow that literally just appeared one day with no explanation. I cannot tolerate the sound of metal scraping against metal or against teeth. Use your lips on your fork, please! I cannot stand to hear my own or anyone else's heart beating. I like knowing we're alive but ironically the sound of a heartbeat always makes me think of death and mortality and makes me very sad. I think everyone looks familiar. All the strangers I see out and about look vaguely familiar and not at all strange to me. It's kind of like dejavu. It's not as if I mistake strangers for people I know, I just feel like everyone I see is someone I've seen before.
  8. This will be a fun party! Just say no to goodie bags.
  9. I really don't want to derail the op's thread here. While Orthodox Christians fully embrace St. Augustine as a saint, we do not maintain his doctrines on Original Sin and we do not share the views of the Roman Catholic Church on this matter. We could have a separate discussion on a different thread, if you like.
  10. Forgive me for going off topic, but I would like to state for the record that Eastern Orthodox Christians do believe that humankind has an innocent nature that we are all endowed with by our Creator, and made so in His very image. We absolutely do not believe that everyone is born sinful. This is one of the defining differences between Eastern and Western Christianity. Thank you and back to the topic at hand.
  11. Joseph Basil Joseph Barnabas Joseph Bele Joseph Benedict Joseph Bernard Joseph Brioc Joseph Brendan
  12. Prayers for your loved ones. Thy departures from this earthly life is a cause of grief and sorrow for your parents and all who love you, O little children; but in truth you have been saved by the Lord from sufferings and snares of many kinds. O Savior and Master of our life: comfort the faithful parents of these departed twins with the knowledge that innocent children, who have done no deeds worthy of tears, are granted the righteousness, peace and joy of Thy kingdom. Amen.
  13. In Dan Zan Ryu Jujitsu we use knife, gun, stick, bo, and sometimes sword.
  14. That is unethical and wrong-headed. Prayers that this will be resolved to your satisfaction. If not, let us know if there is a way we can lobby to change / enforce laws. I would write to my lawmakers on your behalf. Lord have mercy.
  15. I second the advice to say that this is how God is calling you. People often take it personally as a rejection of themselves when someone they care for changes her world view or religion. Perhaps it would help to minimize discussing doubts regarding the faith you were brought up in and to keep the conversation positive about the particulars in Roman Catholicism that attract you. I wish I had more to offer but there many who have btdt who I'm sure will respond. Prayers for you!
  16. You will find there are many of us who converted to a different religion or from being a none to being religious. Becoming Christian has completely changed and transformed every facet of our lives. The majority of the people we once called close friends were non-traditional / spiritual but not religious or atheist. It was painful to experience being excluded from our former community of friends. We once overheard friends talking about how we had become "nutty and quirky Christians" as we were arriving at a party. Another time, one of my closest friends told me that he could no longer let his daughter come over to play with my kids since I had become a child abuser in his eyes by becoming Christian. I won't say it was easy. My husband and I cried a lot over devastated relationships. My mother is very devoted to her religion. She did not speak to me for 6 months after we became catechumens and wouldn't see us for 3 years. By the grace of God all this was happening while we were also forging new bonds with others within our faith community. We had to be very intentional about focusing on the people who showed up instead of on the ones who turned away. It hurts to be abandoned. Despite those initial growing pains, it was so worth it. We are 4 years into our journey and so grateful to have the (Eastern Orthodox) Church to call home!
  17. If it were me, I'd make the dog live outside. If that wasn't an option, I'd try allergy shots, air purification, limit areas of the house where the doggie can go, vacuum everyday, and wash hands anytime they come into contact with the dog or other things that have had contact with him. I have very bad dog dander and saliva allergies. I have always had hypoallergenic dogs with hair and not fur. Alaskan Malamutes are large and wonderful dogs that have hair instead of fur. They are not easy to train but if you put in the time, you won't regret it. Standard poodles make great pets and they are large, too. I had roommates in college that had dogs I was allergic to. I kept my allergic reactions to a minimum by vacuuming daily, keeping an air purifier in my room and never letting the dogs in my room. I couldn't really enjoy the communal areas of the house because of all the dog fur.
  18. My 4 year-old has an imaginary friend. This friend just had a birthday and apparently she was born in 1928. Lol!
  19. I don't know if you are religious, but this sort of thing would cause me to have my house blessed by my priest. My friend had this happen all the time at her house. I even witnessed crazy things happen with lights coming on and garbage cans spontaneously spilling over. They got the house blessed and it stopped.
  20. Love this! It's how I feel about the Divine Liturgy in the EO church. There's no place else I'd rather be than heaven on earth at the Lord's Supper.
  21. One of my Roman Catholic brothers or sisters please correct me if I'm wrong in what I'm about to say regarding hell. I can't speak to the topic of mortal sins since I'm Eastern Orthodox and as far as I know we don't have a list of different types of sins in the same way that the RC church does. I do believe that we share a common understanding about hell, however. Hell is not a place one is sent to by God as a punishment. Hell is the experience of pain and suffering in God's immediate presence due to one's opposition to God and disdain for Him. I don't think you need to worry about small details like this. We will all fall short and miss the mark, and ultimately it will come down to how repentant we are for the sins we've committed, whether knowingly or unknowingly when we find ourselves before God's Great Judgement.
  22. I don't think it's a good idea for you to fill this role. Your husband and children are your prority. It would be different if you didn't have small children in the home and if dh was on board 100%. I would not recommend you take this on. There's too much at stake especially for your nephew who needs and deserves undivided attention. Do you have any other siblings who have fewer commitments and more availability to fill the role this child needs?
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