What about if you go to a rummage sale in another state? No one's required to determine and pay in sales tax from those, I didn't think. A lot of ebay seems to me like an online rummage sale. It does make sense to have the seller keeping track, however, considering they are tying it to how much the seller sells--the buyer would not know if they are dealing with a $100K seller or a $1M seller to then determine whether they are required to submit the taxes or not.

Those people I know who have divorced were almost always children of divorce. I think that might be one of the biggest predictor of whether a marriage is going to last or not. In my family, both sets of grandparents were shotgun weddings and neither ended in divorce, but, also divorce in either family was very rare (can only name one aunt on my father's side and one uncle on my mother's side who ever divorced). Whether everyone was 100% happy all the time, I can't say, but they all had careers (in the case of one grandma, it was started after the kids had grown) and seemed fulfilled as people and as couples (only they knew for sure, of course).

Delta college? Ferris State? We must live very close to each other.

I am a spouse of an alcoholic, whom I love very much. When we got married he was in recovery and I was very naive. At one point after we were married and before we had children, he relapsed. It was an awful experience and I initially left him. My leaving prompted him to seek recovery. However, every 3-4 years over the past 20 years of our marriage, it has been the same cycle. He has never been abusive and has always maintained employment, but he's not a nice person when he drinks (argumentative, beligerant, lying). It is like living on eggshells. And, now, unfortunately, my children get to experience the roller coaster ride with me whenever he falls off the wagon. My advice would be this: if your friend does not have children, she should leave the marriage now. That's the advice I wish I'd gotten and followed oh so many years ago. Once you have kids, you get to live with the guilt of messing with their lives also and risking the cycle repeating for them when they grow up. Two of my children have already gone to counseling and have anger issues, one is very young. But, I'm keenly aware of what leaving him could do. Divorce becomes a crap shoot in your mind....do I stay in the marriage in order to make sure my kids are protected when he drinks (not if, but when) or do I divorce and risk my kids being vulnerable when they go to Dad's for the weekend and I can't be a buffer? It's such a difficult situation and I will keep your friend in my prayers.

...my best friend has just decided to leave her dh. They have 2 kids (12 and 8). She says she doesn't feel like she loves him anymore. He's overweight and in her words "I never pictured myself being with someone that isn't fit." The reasons she has are so extremely superficial. He snores. She doesn't feel attracted to him anymore. He doesn't do things around the house. He works, but then comes home and sits in front of the TV. IMHO, I think he's afraid to do anything as she's a real nag. If things aren't done to her specifications, she treats him like the scum of the Earth. She gives him an allowance and then blows their pittance of an income on ridiculous things like new iphones for her and her daughter, rather than pay the mortgage pymt (which they're behind on). I try talking to her, but she's very stubborn. The worse thing is her dh doesn't realize she's about to up and kick him out of the house (yes, she plans on keeping the house). Also, she feels she could get government help (insurance for the kids which they don't have as well as college for her) if she's a single mom. The one thing this man does excel at is being a dad. He's a fantastic father to their kids. They adore him. When I try to point out the pain she's going to cause them, she says their pain will be worse by living in a home of a loveless marriage. I'm sorry, but that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. What kid would rather see their parents divorced? Has anyone here wished their parents had gotten divorced rather than stick it out?

Unfortunately, no AAA. Busch Gardens is sounding better and better price wise.

oops, just read the 9yo part of your post-- sorry about that

Actually, I'm the only adult in the party.

I'm in FL on an impromptu trip with three of my kids (ages 10,7 and 6). We have enough money to hit one theme park. Which do we choose? I am driving distance to both Orlando or Tampa, but love the idea of staying one night in a hotel and going 2 days to a park. I have $350, so maybe that's unrealistic. Would you choose Disney (and, if so, which part), Busch Garden, Sea World or Universal and why? Thanks for all the help.

I have a casserole recipe called Kielbasa Apple Bake that calls for, among other things, rigatoni noodles, fuji apples and extra sharp cheddar cheese. Do you think it would still taste good if I used instead elbow macaroni, gala apples and american cheese? I've never put apples in a casserole with cheese before but according to the description it's supposedly yummy, but maybe only with cheddar cheese (i don't know).

Ones I blubbered over while reading aloud: Island of the Blue Dolphins Sign of the Beaver Old Yeller I Love You Forever (for the 1st 10-20 readings, now not so much)

Here's an interesting part of the article: "Previous studies found that pledgers were more likely to delay having sex than non-pledgers," said study author Janet E. Rosenbaum, a post doctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "I used the same data as previous studies but a different statistical method." This method allowed Rosenbaum to compare those who had taken a virginity pledge with similar teens who hadn't taken a pledge but were likely to delay having sex she said. She added that she didn't include teens who were unlikely to take a pledge." So, this leaves a couple of questions: 1. How did they decide what teens were likely to delay having sex. 2. Did they remove from the pledgee group those teens who--previous to the pledge--would have been considered likely to have sex? (If not, this new "statistical method" is a crock, imo)

I've been volunteering in a local Christian preschool. All the kids are great and I've really enjoyed them until the new kid showed up. This boy has tremendous separation anxiety issues when his mother leaves, so his mother started hanging around while he's there (she feels as an only child the boy needs to start socializing). Anyway, everytime the boy's mother leaves the room, he turns into something else entirely--the vision that comes to mind is the child from that old, old movie "The Bad Seed." I hate to put it that way, but the facts are that he will reach over and hurt others, like pull hair or hit them on the head. Or he will take away whatever's in their hand or deliberately destroy their property (ie. tower of blocks, art project, etc...). He is maliscious and destructive and out-right defiant when the lead teacher tells him what to do. It is so disturbing to me. I want to cry when I see him turn into this other person. When we tell his mother, she tells him to stop but doesn't really do any other discipline (may be a clue there). Also, the mother has mentioned that the boy can't be trusted with small animals and has been caught hurting them despite everything they've tried to do to get him to stop (!!!). What would cause a small 4yo boy to act like this? Being undiscriplined is one thing, but this is something I've never encountered and it really horrifies me for some reason. Has anyone ever had experience with something like this?

I also got 87.88%. That was pretty fun.

Thanks for the thread link!

I'm hesitant because I wouldn't want him to ever say that he didn't follow his dreams because of me. Sometimes I feel he's stuck it out for 17 years because he didn't want to "rock the boat." The result is that he is miserable. I guess I don't want to point out that this choice might "rock the boat" and have him miserable for another 17 years. I just do not know what to do.

My dear, sweet dh hates his job. He has a pretty good job as a construction foreman but it is very stressful for him. His biggest complaint is having to meet deadlines without being given all of the resources he needs (materials, helpers, etc...). This is his chief complaint. Also, money is tight. But we do have good health insurance and they match retirement, etc... He only works 4 days/week (4 10's). But, while home he is miserably depressed. He simply hates, hates, HATES his job. He's been doing this sort of work for 17 years. He won't explore the idea of switching to a diff. company because he also feels the actual work is taking its toll on him physically (his back, knees, etc...). Well, now he has it in his head that he would like to go into a new career. It's one that he daydreams about all of the time and feels it would be so much less stressful. The career? OTR truck driving. So, you can see my thoughts on the matter, right? However, I've not been negative to him. I want to be supportive of him. We have a great marriage with 4 dc. He is a fantastic father who really loves the kids (ages 5 to 13). My big fears are that getting into a new career, he won't be making as much money (stress), he will be expected to make many deadlines on the road under conditions that are sometimes beyond his control (ie snow, traffic, etc...) (stress), his kids will miss him and he will miss his family (stress). So, I really don't see how this type of career move will make his life less stressful. Am I missing something here? Does anyone here have experience or know someone who is an otr truck driver? How tough is it on the family? Do the men really enjoy the job? I really want my dh to be happy. I feel helpless as his helpmeet because I do not want him to be held back by me, yet I don't want to see him jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. What should I do and how should I react?

I think yours is a very healthy attitude and you are teaching your children a very valuable trait. Both believers and unbelievers would do well to follow the same path.

Yes, I agree that this is most likely the AIM of most humans on earth (of course, there are a few--very few, I believe--exceptions). The reality is that no one (not one single person) practices what they preach 100% of the time. Perfection is impossible. The reason? Because we are humans and we make mistakes. God knew this. And so He sent His Son. IMHO.

I can listen to December over and over and never grow tired of it.

This is a pet peeve of mine and I think the reason is this: my maiden name is also a very common first name, but spelled differently. All growing up I had to contend with people misspelling my last name (they just assumed it was spelled like the commonly spelled first name). I hated it. Also, I always feel so sorry for those kids who go to buy those tourist trap, personalized pencils/license plates/note pads and can't find their name. At age 8 and with friends running to the cash register to buy theirs, that would suck!

Does this mean we should cut medicare/medicaid payments to Catholic-run hospitals? (or should nuns get the boot?) Should we say to the veteran coming back from his tour of duty that he CAN"T use his GI bill to go to a Christian college? Well, heck, shoudl we allow any employee of the federal government to spend their tax-funded incomes on religious activities (or, at that point, has it been laundered enough for the secular purists?).

I am so disturbed by all of this--it's way too third-worldish to be America, imo.

:iagree: My family has owned a small business for 40 years. It exists in a small, rural community and is, by no means, greatly successful (they've had to cut all health insurance and lay off nearly all employees in the past 2 years), YET it is not difficult to reach the $250,000 threshold in sales (it's not based on profit, mind you--never has been). Right now, taxes are killing them (our state has additionally higher taxes for businesses and, not suprisingly enough, a correspondingly higher unemployment rate than the rest of the nation--go figure!). Under Obama I shudder to think what is in store for them (bankruptcy? An end of an era in my family?). Few people realize how disconnected Obama is with real life business owners. His proposed policies and plans will be devastating to them, and, ultimately, to the entire nation. IMO, he just doesn't "get it."

The President, for a brief time in history under Clinton, did have the line-item veto power when he signed the Line Item Veto Act. That was short-lived, however, when the Supreme Court declared it unconsitutional. Amending the Constitution has been considered but not yet accomplished on the matter.