Smudge

In the UK we don't have R rated movies (we have 12, 12a, 15 and 18) I rarely watch 15s let alone 18s - and have found recently that more and more 12s contain content which I don't think they would have 20 years ago (and I don't care if that makes me sound old!)

Speaking as the child of divorce! There are times when divorce is the only option for yourself and your children! My father was an alcoholic and drank all the money brought into the home and practiced black magic thus bringing negative spirits into the house. My mother eventually divorced him - and struggled to bring us up alone. My sister was friends with a girl whose parents both drank heavily and having seen their lifes I can honestly say that I am grateful my mother did what she did! And if it is any reassurance to you - I know that there all sorts of statistics saying that children of divorce don't achieve as much, get into more trouble etc etc as children in married families - I have an Honors degree and a total of 6 yrs post compulsary education and my sister has 2 years (all she needed for what she wanted to do!). Neither of us have gotten into bother with drugs or had major issues with drinking although my sis did fall away from the church and does drink.

I will have to see if I can get it when I finish reading my current books (only have 2 on the go at the moment!)

I earned my medallion and more badges than any other girl in my guide pack - I couldn't earn our highest award as didn't have a senior section in the area when I was younger but I really regret it

Sounds like the kind of think I would enjoy reading - where did you get it from?

MoE I grew up doing both Personal Progress and Girlguiding (the UK version of Girl Scouts) it worked well for me - and I very rarely had clashes between the 2 programs!

Until last week - the Guide promise included the phrase "to love my God" (but the word God could be replaced with other diety names if the girls needed it so I choose to drop MY - you should have seen the evil looks I would get from other adult leaders whenever we were making/renewing our promise! So I totally get where you are coming from - God is God regardless of what you might calling him and even regardless of if you believe him to be a her or a spegetti monster! And more importantly he loves us all regardless of if we express our love for him or even acknowledge him!

Maybe try something like st Johns wort or evening primrose oil

I understand that in the USA scouting and ym run hand in hand? But that doesn't have to be the cases does it they can be completely seperate - so an activity can be either a scouting or ym activity. Doing something as a YM activity shouldn't be a way of getting around BSA regulations - do it a YM activity may be a way to do the activity. A YM activity would then open the activity up to boys who maybe of YM age but aren't in scouts for whatever reason.

Why not just do it as a ym or youth activity rather than getting into murky water of it being a scout activity that isn't a scout activity especially when it comes to insurance and such

Sounds like an awesome idea

This day of the year I always count my blessings! That was my first summer working at summer camp. I had initially planned to fly home the end of the sept to give me the best chance of getting a placement. When my placement finished mid August I called Camp America to ask for a date a few weeks earlier, so mid Sept. I was offered Sept 5 and every time I tried to ask for a week later I stuttered to the point of being incomprehensible (at that point in time I had no cause to stutter (when I am tired or stressed I do but it was the end of the academic year and all my deadlines had been met!) so I just accepted the date offered. Before flying home I spent a few days in NYC and exactly a week before 9/11 I was on a subway train running under the world trade center!

Her parents started with 4 - no roosters - but the rehome battery hens.

Don't end up with 50 of them of them like my housemates parents have - you will have more eggs than you know what to do with

I even as a life long member of church I find that the only way to keep track of all the activities etc the church offers is to keep a diary to keep track of what you are doing and when - I was taught growing up that whatever was in the diary first was the thing I went to - so for example if I had a guide activity that had been in the diary for months and the church told of us an activity with 4 days notice then I would go to the guide one! Although church activities are important it is the only way to keep track and not end up stressed over lots of stuff being on the same day! Once you have been in the church for 1 year you can go through the temple - I suggest preparing yourself now by studying temple related scriptures (look up the topical guide) and making sure you are on top of things like tithing. Hope it all goes well

Unfortunately people do make judgments based on appearance! I have spent many years either unemployed or as a full time carer on state benefits - I have had times in my life where the only reason I have been able to get to church is because the church paid for a taxi as the road between my town and the town church is in isn't particularly safe to walk. Yet I turn up well dressed and looking nice at church, have done without to have new scriptures when I needed them etc and travelled to friends weddings across the country (travelling budget bus companies and getting their £1 journeys). So when I say to someone that no actually I can't afford the bus fare they are asking me to pay or that no that meal they want me to go to is not "only £10" it might as well be 10 times that when that is all I have left after I pay all my bills etc. When you make the effort that is all people see. Most of my cloths are either from charity shops or the ends of the sales when they are reduced only a few pounds. Lately I have been watching "extreme couponers" and doing so might be a way to help your friend - maybe not to the extremes of these people - I can see how even in moderation couponing can help stretch budgets etc.

They are all in the UK - and you could visit them all in one trip - especailly if you aren't adverse to budget bus travel for example using Megabus! I am travelling down to a friends wedding for a whole £2.50 for the round trip. Then you can book hotels like travelodge for £20 which is about the same as a bed in a hostel.

In addition if you are excommunicated then you can in time be baptised again - thus giving you the chance to wipe your slate clean and start again.

Living in a small rural town I was always limited to when I could go to things like Brownies/Guides - because they fell on a Monday and only a Monday we would have family home evening on a different night. And my former branch president always held his on a Sunday night because he taught piano lessons every other evening. Personally I think that the thing is that you do make time to spend time with your family - and that time can be as well spent on a Thursday as it can on a Monday. I think although I could be wrong that Monday came about because it was the only night that church stuff didn't happen on - and it was felt that for some callings which can take so much time away from the family that one night a week needed to be protected form having church stuff on it! Do what is right for you and your family and don't worry what other people think about your actions

Crafts and upcycling

I have a tiny orange tabby who lives with my mother - when I moved out my housemate already had 2 cats and a dog who wouldn't have accepted my little Shadow. My hosemate has a Jack Russell/Hungarian Vizler cross called Boston who is an absolute sweatheart and 2 cats called Morton and Oreo.

If you can get to church and institute you will start making church friends and then it i will be easier for you to stay true to the covenants you made.

because it is just sooooooooooo hard to make a PB&J

Butter makes it easier to spread a nice thin layer of peanut butter - and since my fav brand of peanut butter, Skippy, is £2.50 a jar it makes it last a lot longer. PB on toasted flat breads or in pita bread is fab!

I can't stand PB&J - however when I have made them for others - I butter both slices of bread then spread peanut butter on one slice and then jam on the other slice and squish them to gether!