Just to clarify, Hobby Lobby has a self-funded health plan (see the Supreme Court filing). Under a self funded plan, Hobby Lobby uses a plan administrator (ie Anthem or Cigna) to process the claims but HL pays the bill for those claims plus an administration fee. They ARE being asked to directly pay for what they consider abortifacients. As for number 3 - we as Americans have a choice of how we want to spend our money, time and talents. I would suspect that just as some posters on this thread avoid HL because of their beliefs, there might be a much greater outcry against a business not covering mental health, blood transfusions or vaccinations. If a company is unable to get quality employees or turn a profit, they may have to compromise their beliefs, just as employees we sometimes compromise ours.

Under the ACA that is not an option. If an employer does not provide insurance, they must pay a fine of $3000 per employee. That fine is not tax deductible like insurance or salary. So about $4000 per employee that HL was contributing towards healthcare costs would now just go to the federal government instead. Eligibility for subsidies would then be determined under federal guidelines. If HL was not contributing $4000, then I guess the rest would have to come out of employee raises and salaries. The employee gets hurt even further.

And that's the rub. My husband, a physician, does not believe that the flu vaccine is medically necessary for otherwise healthy adults and that it provides a false sense of security for hospital staff. Of the physicians at the hospital, 1 contracted guillaine barre years ago from a flu vaccine and many others contracted the flu this year even after being vaccinated. Dh has had to put aside his genuinely held beliefs to work at that hospital. I envy the person who has not had to ever compromise their beliefs. I still hold that if you are not happy with your employment, then find something better. I also find it ironic that on 1 hand people claim that HL is a corporation so it can not have beliefs and, in the next, talk about the morality of putting people out of work. HL could also choose to cut the medical coverage and hours of its employees following the lead of other businesses to avoid the ACA penalties. It could also cut salaries in order to cover the fine and continue with its current insurance plan. There are many options other than to shut its doors or to provide coverage for the morning after pill.

I love the store in Manchester, NH. The worst part is that it's so busy that the checkout lines take forever. The reason that an entity is formed as a corporation rather than a general partnership is to limit the liability of the owners. But a Corporation still has owners/stockholders and they should be able to follow their beliefs in the running of their company. This includes the hours that the stores are open and the benefit packages they provide to employees. In this case, the business is owned by 1 family and they run their corporation based on those beliefs (ie closed on Sundays). And it's not as if the owners are saying that employees can't get the morning after pill, just that they won't allow a healthcare plan that they pay a portion of to pay for it. Many employers have conditions of employment that employees have disagreed with (ie flu shots for medical providers) and these have been upheld. This is no different. If you don't like the conditions of your employment (hours, pay or other benefits), go work someplace else. Jenn

Did week 2, day 3 of couch to 5k this morning with a couple extra intervals. 3 miles over 45 minutes. Offset any goodness by eating a Dairy Queen sundae for dessert tonight. Exercise is starting to become a habit now 2 weeks in. Now what do I do about my bad eating habits? Don't get me wrong. It's better than it was 2 weeks ago, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Jenn

My 7 year old is already leaving me in the dust. At the last race we did, I had to send him on ahead with another mom and her 7 year old daughter and I met them at the finish line. Grateful to the mom but embarrassing at the same time. Not a strenuous workout this morning. Did a couple minutes of stress relief yoga, but after 4 minutes of just breathing, switched to intermediate/expert yoga. That lasted until the kids started fighting and the instructor started doing head stands. Yelled at the kids and switched to yoga for runners. All told, about 35 to 40 minutes, but it was a learning experience. Tomorrow will be week 2, day 3 of couch to 5k. Jenn

Did week 2, day to of couch to 5k with a couple extra intervals. Total was 3 miles over 45 minutes. Then, this afternoon, I did about 30 minutes of an adult gymnastic class. Not as impressive as it sounds. Just cartwheels, handstands, a little balance beam and kick overs off a 16ish inch mat. If nothing else, a good stretch. Tomorrow morning - goal is to get up and do something. Jenn

My goal today was to just do some sort of exercise. Sounds bad but it's the first day I'm exercising on a non-run day. That said, I did some Michelle Rogers personal training videos on On-demand. Day 2 chest/tris, Day 3 Cardio and Pilates basic for a total of about 40 minutes. Disappointed I can no longer do a "real" push-up and weights were lower than last summer but not really surprised. 6 months of no exercise and eating terribly has taken its toll. Goal tomorrow is week 2, day 2 of couch to 5k. Jenn

I had a REALLY bad weekend and am just trying to get back on track today. This morning I did Week 2, Day 1 of Couch to 5K with a couple extra intervals - total 2.75 miles, 40 minutes. I'm planning on doing Day 2 on Wednesday and Day 3 on Friday. I'm still not positive what I'm planning on doing tomorrow. Possibilities include the rower and/or an exercise video. Jenn

Took yesterday off because my shins were sore and I haven't figured out yet what to do on my "off" days from running. This morning, I did week 2, day 2 of C25k plus some more on the treadmill. Total of 3 miles over 45 minutes. It kills me having to start over when last summer I was able to run a 5k in under 30 minutes. Now I struggle to run for 1 minute straight... Current plan is to run Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Trying to figure out Tuesday and Thursday still. I have a rower, a BowFlex, free weight, tv with access to Comcast On Demand and a DVR. I have a DVD player but I find it difficult to switch over to it. I have the P90X videos but thought those were tough even when I was in "good" shape. I'm stuck exercising in the house because my children are only 6 and 7. And my husband leaves for work at 6:40 in the morning and never knows when he will be home - last night was 10pm. I think I'm going to try the personal training workouts on demand.

I'm tired of being the maid and cook to my ungrateful children. I'm tired of having to lose my cool and scream to get them to do what I ask. And then feeling bad about it. I'm tired of the hours DH has been having to out in at his job. It's 10 pm and he's still not home since before 7am this morning. What's sad is that I'm not surprised. I'm tired of feeling like a single parent. I'm tired of the children sleeping in my room every night. I'm tired of having no time for myself. I'm tired of being fat because I have no time to exercise.

Decided to start Couch to 5k (again) this morning. Thought it would give me a roadmap for getting back in shape. Did week 1, day 1. 2.5 miles in 40 minutes. Jenn

I hope no one minds me posting. I'm hoping it will provide me with some accountability. We started homeschooling in September and I have been in a downward spiral with my workouts since then. Prior to September, I was generally running 3 to 4 miles or swimming 1 to 1.5 miles per day, 5 to 6 days per week. I finally feel like we are in the swing of things for homeschooling and have committed to getting up early in the mornings to get in a workout on the treadmill. Hopefully I can lose the 30 pounds I have gained (140 to 170 in 6 months). This morning I jogged / walked for 30 minutes and covered 2 miles. My shins are a little sore, but I felt great the rest of the day. Jennifer

Carolinagirl1 - I could have written your post. This is my first year homeschooling and I have gained 24 pounds. Last year I would drop the kids off at preschool/kindergarten and either swim at the gym or go for a run on the treadmill. I was upset that I weighed 147 pounds, but consoled myself that I could run a 5k in under 30 minutes and swim 500 yards in under 8. I swore that this year I would finally lose the last couple pounds and my house would be clean now that both my children were in school at least 24 hours a week. Then...life happened...and we ended up pulling older DS from public school to homeschool. Clothes don't fit and I struggle to find time to shower, never mind exercise. I've been thinking for the last couple hours and I realized that I need to come up with a new routine and make exercise and meal planning/prep a part of it. I'm starting tomorrow morning. Hopefully you do, too. Even if it's just a couple jumping jacks, planks or push ups. Jenn

We love our slicer. It is a commerical grade Fleetwood that my in-laws gave us about 10 years ago. I'm not sure how much they paid for it, but they found it at a restaurant supply store. We really enjoy taking a top round, cooking it in the over that medium, refrigerating it overnight and then slicing it. Really good roast beef. We've also sliced boneless pork loin.

That's funny how children are so different. My 5 and 7 year old boys love crafts. I actually had to sign my 1st grader up for a once a week art class because I hate the thought of having to plan a craft on top of his other school work. Luckily the 5 year old still goes to school and gets his crafts there. Did you ask the boy's mom how he feels about them?

She seems extremely young to me. And I don't think it's because of her age (22).

This will be my first time with a second grader and only my second year homeschooling, so my plans may be a little aggressive. Will cut back as necessary. Language arts: 2nd grade Treasures, Easy Grammar 2 and FLL2. Phonics: continue ETC. On level 3 now, so would like to do 4 through 6 Spelling: continue AAS. On last step of AAS 1 this week, so would like to get through level 2, and begin level 3 Writing: writing strands 2 Vocabulary: try Wordly wise book 2, continuing on to 3 if like it and have time. Handwriting: HWOT 2 Logic: we're just finishing Lollipop Logic 1, so finish levels 2 and 3. Begin Logic Safari if time. Math: finishing MM 1B by end of February, so would like to get through at least level 2B, hopefully start 3A. Continue LOF. Science: use the Mcgraw hill 2 book as a spine and supplement with bill Nye, magic Schoolbus, read and find out science. History: finish SOTW 1 in August and change gears for a year of American history using Beautiful Feet, Liberty Kids and Living books. Social Studies: studies weekly and time for kids, geography as it comes up in our reading. Spanish: continue Salsa series. Add more worksheet based vocabulary using Teach Them Spanish level 2 Latin: I bought Prima Latina but am now considering waiting until 3rd grade. Extras: cub scouts, piano, gymnastics, rock climbing and skiing.

We host a large yearly party. I don't even know who's playing. I'll be picking up the catering order at Bertuccis consisting of chicken parm, chicken Marsala, rigatoni abruzzi, 4 party pizzas and rolls. I'm responsible for chips, dip, salsa, guacamole and warming the kielbasa and frozen meatballs. Dessert is store bought cupcakes, cookies and bite size brownies if I can find them. The real fun will be cleaning the house Monday.

I find the proposal that parents need to choose at age 6 the child's educational pathway concerning. I had no idea that I would be homeschooling my first grader until after we experienced the public school option.

Wanted to add Disney Educational Products to the good list. We bought a Bill Nye video but when we went to play it, the wrong video was on the disc. I sent them an email about the problem. A day later, I received a phone call back from a rep. She thanked me for letting them know of the problem and told me that they had checked their stock and had found the same problem with other copies of that disc. She told me to keep the disc I received and that they would send out a correct version of that disc as well as another disc of my choice as a thank-you for bringing the problem to their attention.

Email and phone service at Rainbow Resource has always been great. Phone reps at wayfair.com were wonderful when I had to return something. For groceries, Market Basket employees are the best. They always offered to help bring out the cart when I was wrangling 2 small children, cover you with an umbrella when it's raining and help put things in your car. Disappointed in Kohls lately, especially when I had a return.

I never thought I would homeschool. We moved to our town because it is considered an "excellent" school district (ie all schools get 10/10 on great schools,etc.). My children loved our private preschool/kindergarten and I loved "my" time to exercise and clean my house. Unfortunately, we started getting concerned at the public school's 1st grade orientation when the principal seemed more concerned about pick up and drop off process rather than curriculum or what a typical day consisted of. We did find out that they used "Everyday Math" which was concerning. But we did enroll DS1 for first grade. That lasted 4 days. During that time, he came home with a migraine because he had under 15 minutes for lunch, an hour of homework one night which was more an assignment for us, and was taught how to twiddle his thumbs so that he didn't disturb the other children when he finished his work. And DS was on grade level, not advanced, but, with 21 kids in the class, the teacher had to be "all inclusive". After I received several notes home from the teacher with grammar/spelling issues ("their" rather than "there" and "closepin" instead of "clothespin" to name just 2), I figured I could do better and pulled DS without having anything in place. I just wish I had known earlier that we were going to do this so that I would have had longer than 1 weekend to research and purchase materials.

I have a 2012 Traverse. We live in New Hampshire, so I love the roominess for ski and other sports equipment. It's nice to not have to use a roof rack. The car has, however, been in the shop a couple times already which has been inconvenient and worrisome. We have 2nd row captains seats and have been able to put a couple adults in the third row. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

I ran into the same issue when my mother in law bought me clothes for my birthday in October. As usual, they were not my style so I went to return them to Kohls. In the past, they would give me a merchandise credit for the amount she paid. This time, because she had earned kohls cash on the purchase, they told me that I had to find items for the same exact tag price which would have been impossible or be refunded $10 less. I ended up having them do a return without receipt which came out within a dollar of what it would have been had she not earned kohls cash. I did end up calling customer service and they told me the store was following policy which had not changed (I call BS on that). They did offer me a 15% coupon for my disappointment (a joke if you shop at Kohls). I came home and promptly sold my stock in the company and will now not buy anything there except for socks and underwear for the kids.