I've been very depressed lately. I'm nearly 40 and feel that I'll never become the person I want to be. Perfect Me = Loving, attentive Mother Real Me = Screaming, reactive Mother who spends too much time in front of TV/computer Perfect Me = Eats healthy and exercises regularly Real Me = Eats healthy and exercises 1 day out of 5 Perfect Me = Reads my bible, prays, writes in my journal daily Real Me = Nothing is done daily (only sporadically) Perfect Me = Loves to clean the house, makes a schedule for the house, sticks to it Real Me = Does the bare minimum, straightens to make things look good when dh walks in the door, but please don't look in the corners My whole entire life I've been a procrastinator. Except for brief times in my life (2-3 months), I've never been able to stay on a schedule and keep things predictable and I can't stand it. I also feel like if I haven't changed by this age, how in the world can I expect to ever become my perfect me? I'm sorry for this depressing post, but wonder if any old dogs out there have ever learned new tricks and changed?

My fav episode has this line from Jerry to George: "And you want to be my latex salesman!" Remember Van-Delay Industries? Other favs: When George believes he's bought Jon Voight's car The ugly baby episode When the reporter believes Jerry is gay and they keep saying "Not that there's anything wrong with it!" George deciding to go against every instinct he has and ending up with a girlfriend working for the Yankees. The Kramer Marisa Tomei liking short, bald, quirky men

I recently saw Magnolia. It was over 3 hours long and filled with actors who are throughout the movie at the edge of hysterics. Toss in terminally ill people, Tom Cruise in his sleaziest role ever, a part where all of a sudden one of the songs of the soundtrack is lip-synched by all the characters, and a rainstorm of frogs (yes, FROGS), and you get what I knew in all of my heart to be the worst movie ever made. I couldn't wait to jump on imdb.com to make fun of it only to find it ranked in the top 250 movies of all time (????!!!!)

In essence, this death can indeed be scripturally explained: the love of money is the root of all evil.

Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Sign of the Beaver were the worst for me when I read them to my sons. They couldn't understand what I was even saying at the end of the latter.

Sects and cults have always interested me as well. I haven't read that book but will look for it. I did pick up a fascinating text that summarized different cults of the past that I'd never heard of, including the Father Divine Movement and the Oneida Community. If you ever want an eye opener, read up on those cults (very freaky). We have Amish around here and, to be honest, I sometime wish I could be one. I know it would be hard work, but life would be so much simpler without the distractions of the outside world (or so I think).

Wow! Can you imagine all the murderers who could be freed based on this ruling? If you thought your boyfriend or husband could murder you, telling someone your fears would not help put him behind bars later on. What a dire situation.

Praying here too.

I want to thank everyone for their replies. I agree with all of you, but am having a disagreement with dh. Thankfully, I found out today that dh does support my opinion that the vacation idea is out of the question. Unfortunately, he has allowed our ds to go over to girlfriend's house for several hours at a stretch. I'm very uncomfortable with this, but this is girlfriend #2 that dh has allowed ds to hang out with and I'm beginning to wonder what kind of mothers do girls these days have? I don't know what to do or how to convince my dh that it's too dangerous of a road to go down. My dh and I are in complete agreement that we want our dc to lead Godly lives, abstain until marriage, go on to college, etc, etc.. BUT, my dh's opinion is that our ds can be trusted and that as long as he gets good grades and is trustworthy, we should let him go over to his girlfriend's house. I think I'll print off all of your replies and let him read others' opinions. Please pray for me that it either will change dh's mind or that my mind will be at peace and my ds kept safe as things are now. Also, to answer others' questions, I do not know this girl's mother, but the background does scare me a bit. The girl's stepdad committed suicide last year and Mom, imo, seems to run a pre-teen frat house (ie. every kid in the neighborhood and beyond hang out there day/night). There's no drinking and I'm told that the family are good people, but it still frightens me. Another side note--one that I was reluctant to, at first, disclose: my ds has admitted to "making out" with the first girlfriend when over at her house. This was when he was 12yo. I'm sure everyone's eyes are bulging out of their heads now, right? Well, you can understand the torment I'm going through over this issue. I love my dh, but I think he is being dangerously naive right now. Please pray.

I need everyone's opinion. Do you/would you allow your 13yo ds to do the following: 1- Spend the entire day at his girlfriend's house and, taking it a step further.... 2- Go on vacation with girlfriend and her family Please give me your reasons why/why not.

U2 (it's actually a concert DVD while on my treadmill)

:iagree: This was my main problem with Hillary. She represented the archetypal snide, conniving, cold, calculating women I avoided all through school, college and life. You know the ones, right? You can't leave the room without them talking about you behind your back. They are never completely honest and should never be trusted. They act like their your friend but are only being nice to get what they want (ie. boyfriend/pocketbook/election vote)?

What a coincidence! I just picked up a yogurt maker myself at a thrift shop. Might you have a link to Camy's recipe?

To explain my family's philosophy on our dc music choices, I have to give a little background: We personally know two Christian families who had children "jump ship" (ie. forsake belief in God) when they got into their teenage years. Both families homeschooled. Both families have parents who are not religious hypocrites (appearing to be Godly, but not so behind closed doors). But, both families also had in common the practice of tightly monitoring and controlling ALL exposure to media. As the kids became teens they got curious, they started "sneaking" music/other media experiences with friends/neighbor kids/other church kids/etc... that they knew their parents would find objectionable. It became an obsession and cost them dearly. The Mom and Dad of one of these families had 12 children and once this happened with child #3 they decided that in the area of music they would no longer stifle their remaining children's choices, reasoning that choosing music/bands in those pre-teen years was ultimately a way for them to explore and develop their identities/personalities independent from mom and dad. It gives them something of their own. So far, their remaining children have experimented with different music/genre, but all are strong Christians who love the Lord (even if they do listen to non-Christian music). Because of our friends' experiences, my dh has decided that "music" choice is not something we will concern ourselves with. My dh says there are other much more serious issues (their education, smoking, drugs, sex, etc...), and we need to choose our battles wisely. This has been difficult for me, despite our friends' experiences. As a Mom, it does concern me when my 12yods listens to heavy music. However, as a side note, I do think back to when I was his age. At that time I did experiment musically. My parents never said a word about (nor listened to) all the records I purchased (some not so good). But, I was a Christian teen and even if I listened to a song with something "questionable" in it, the "questionable" portion was noted in my head--I could distinguish between the "good" parts (the parts that jived with my beliefs) and the "bad" parts (the parts that didn't jive). My parents had done their jobs well in having taught me the difference between moral/immoral choices and thoughts. They didn't have to take a highlighter to my music lyrics to let me know and I really appreciated the freedom they entrusted to me. I didn't let them down. After experimenting for a few years with diff. bands/sounds I filtered out and chose for myself the bands that I ultimately called "my own"--all of which my parents would have picked for me to begin with, so it all worked out well. Now, I need to also clarify that I don't for a second believe that all parents who control their childrens' media choices are going to end up like our friends, but just wanted to explain what lead to my dh's decision regarding choosing music for our dc.

Tony Geary from General Hospital Rick Springfield from General Hospital Jack Wagner from General Hospital (anyone noticing a trend here?) Then, I graduated to: Harrison Ford (BIG time crush) Jameson Parker (Simon & Simon) John Schneider Mel Gibson Finally, my devotion in upper high school/college was to: Bono (continues to this day, but not quite as fanatical)

I remember exactly what I was doing the moment I learned that Elvis had died. I was playing restaurant and was typing up the menu. When it came on the TV I called my best friend who was one of the biggest Elvis fans I knew (along with her mother). She was so torn apart she couldn't even come to the phone. I also remember exactly what I was doing the moment I learned about the Space Shuttle blowing up with the teacher inside. I was in high school Government class. Our teacher came in and told us the news. The whole rest of the day everyone was just sort of numb. Another celebrity death that really affected me was when TV actor Jan Erik Hexum accidentally killed himself with a set prop gun that he had put to his head and pulled the trigger. I had been a fan of his from the TV show Voyagers and was very disturbed by that happening for a long time after (don't know why).

I agree with most everything you've said and believe we basically have the same view of government. I would like to quote from a book written in 1850 that, for me, became the foundation for everything I believe about government. It's called "The Law", by Frederic Bastiat. Here is the my basic view of the role of government (ie. "the law" as he refers to it): "What, then, is law? It is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense. Each of us has a natural right — from God — to defend his person, his liberty, and his property. These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two. For what are our faculties but the extension of our individuality? And what is property but an extension of our faculties? If every person has the right to defend even by force — his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right — its reason for existing, its lawfulness — is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute. Thus, since an individual cannot lawfully use force against the person, liberty, or property of another individual, then the common force — for the same reason — cannot lawfully be used to destroy the person, liberty, or property of individuals or groups. Such a perversion of force would be, in both cases, contrary to our premise. Force has been given to us to defend our own individual rights. Who will dare to say that force has been given to us to destroy the equal rights of our brothers? Since no individual acting separately can lawfully use force to destroy the rights of others, does it not logically follow that the same principle also applies to the common force that is nothing more than the organized combination of the individual forces? If this is true, then nothing can be more evident than this: The law is the organization of the natural right of lawful defense. It is the substitution of a common force for individual forces. And this common force is to do only what the individual forces have a natural and lawful right to do: to protect persons, liberties, and properties; to maintain the right of each, and to cause justice to reign over us all." If anyone is interested in reading the book (which is, suprisingly, very interesting and short) in its entirety, here is a link: http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html Now, I fully understand some will say this view of government is too simplified. Government has grown way out of proportion when compared to this definition. However, I do believe for those who think the same as I that ours is a constant battle to attempt to take back from government those liberties we have so foolishly surrendered over the years. I am also happy to say that of all the governments in the world, I believe America (with all its flaws and even taking into consideration as far as it has strayed) still comes closest to matching this ideal "hands-off" role.

Prayer for Owen Meany

For a long while after viewing them (though I no longer feel bothered by them), I wish I'd never seen: -Deliverance -Hell Raiser: Hell Bound (Went with friends and didn't know anything about it--should have walked out of the theater--almost did--wish I would have) -2001: Space Odyssey (I was terribly depressed after this movie--crying hysterically about my abysmal life--don't ask me why but that movie triggered something deep inside) -The Doors (really disturbed by the Satanic wedding, etc...) -Poltergeist (couldn't sleep with any doll/stuffed animal in my bedroom from then on)

Might you be thinking of a different movie, by chance? I only ask because the While You Were Sleeping I saw was a cute romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman (and I just can't imagine it haunting me).

I was so scared while reading IT. It got so bad that I ended up throwing the unfinished book into our woodstove and burning it, because even having it in the room was terrifying. And, perhaps we were separated at birth, because I also read all the Flowers in the Attic books (though I never would have thought to do a book report on one--I think I would've been too embarrased).

I have a lot of leftover spaghetti noodles but no idea what to do with them. We don't want to do spaghetti again. I do have green peppers, mushrooms, and other frozen veggies. I also have mozz, parmesan and cheddar cheese. Meats that I have: chicken, tuna, shrimp or hamburger. Any ideas?

I haven't read the articles, but here are my thoughts. We don't live in a democracy, we live in a republic, so I don't think we should elect based on popular vote. Think of it this way: if we elected based on popular vote, candidates would only have to visit America's top 5 or so cities in population to campaign. The rest of the country wouild be SOL. Candidates would only have to worry about the concerns of urban citizens. Their whole platform woiuld be centered around how to best meet the needs of people living in the thick of New York City, Houston, ATlanta, etc... Does anyone here disagree that the qualities most wanted in a President might be different for, say, a farmer in Nebraska? Or, a homeschooler in rural Michigan? Or, a coal miner in Virginia? Or, a park ranger in Yellowstone? Or, (whether we agree with their lifestyle or not) an FLDS church member in Texas? I think we've seen in the Democratic primaries just how different some of the mind sets and concerns are from state to state. When Clinton/Obama were in Pennsylvania, they talked about much different things then when they campaigned along the border states, etc... Should small population states be left in the dust when it comes to choosing the leader of our country? I say no.

What about fried potatoes? Can you get them nice and crispy without them sticking using this method? Also, can you put stainless steel in the dishwasher?

Which Calaphon do you have? (nonstick, tri-ply, etc..)