Iggy

Each time you respond you are allowing the conversation to continue. You want it to stop, so quit responding to them. I had a neighbor who persisted in arguing over the Gospel Principles of the LDS church. We had been fairly good friends, went on shopping trips together - his full sized truck really was an asset, so was his perspective on products, from a male point of view. I had him over to dinner when I fed the Missionaries, and he cooked several meals for them also. He was a Big C Catholic (his words). He would not stop with the questions, pushing his point of view, demanding that I was being foolish and brainwashed. Finally I quit taking phone calls from him, changed the locks on my house (my out of town landlord had given him keys to the house & he flat refused to give them to me- so I changed the locks), I bounced his emails to me. I felt that I was not a good enough Mormon because I couldn't answer his questions, and I fell flat in discussions and debates with him. He made me feel as though I was the most unworthy human in existence. I was a mess, yet I turned to my Priesthood leaders in the Branch- most often crying in frustration - they comforted me, and counciled me to be rid of the neighbor. I couldn't move- but I could ignore him. He ended up doing the same thing to the Missionaries- finally our Branch Missionary Leader sat down and had a long discussion with him. What we all discovered is that my neighbor was never going to allow himself to understand our LDS belief. He got his thrills from debating us, belittling us, and it made him feel superior to toss scriptures around. When us Mormons quit playing his game, he actually started in on his own Pastor at the Catholic church. You are never going to win any faith based battle with your nephew & niece, ever. I am sure Vort, Dravin, Ram and some others can post the links to several LDS Apologetic forums, where they can join and will then get their daily dose of arguments from. At least it will keep them off your back. After two years of ignoring my neighbor- and him moving from Oregon to North Dakota & me marrying and moving from Oregon to Arizona- we are now friends again. What caused him to stop with the debates? He spent 4 months at a Monastery in the Dakotas (can't remember if it was South or North) and they pretty much cured him. Not with debate, but with SILENCE and HARD PHYSICAL LABOR. He didn't realize that when he signed up for the 4 month sabbatical what all it entailed. Personally, I think it was THE best thing that ever happened to him. Being silent, no outside communication (TV, internet, newspapers, radio, or even conversation with the community out side of the monastery)- just a wee bit like being a LDS Missionary:). Then the hard physical labor. It was more intense than he thought- he was and is used to tending a garden, doing carpentry work (makes fantastic book cases, etc.) chopping wood and stacking it, etc. But what they did was much more intense. Anyway, Peanut- you have to end the debates- the battle. A dog can't chase you if you don't run! Stop running. Turn inward to God in prayer- ask for blessings from your HT, your Bishopric, and your husband, for strength, comfort, and to reinforce your own prayer of banishing evil. Pray for your nephew and his sibs to have a softening of the heart, and for their safety and comfort. (I know this worked for me regarding my ex when I left & divorced him, and he was not nice back to me). Peanut, where is your husband during all this? Has he become active in Church? Don't know how much of a comfort this will be, but you are being attacked because satan has lost you, and he is really mad because of it. You also have to come to the realization that it is NOT your responsibility to fight and defend the LDS faith. It needs no defense. It is your responsibility to find uplifting and spiritual friends, words, and to seek comfort through the Holy Ghost. Hold tight to the rod- keep your heart turned to God. I found that by playing LDS music all the time I was in the house helped me to stay focused on good and to build a wall against the battering of my neighbor. I was very fortunate that I had no other close neighbors who would be bothered by the music playing loudly 24/7- me I slept easily with the music playing.

Each time she disrupts the spirit, have someone give a prayer inviting the spirit back. Worked for the YW group when I was secretary. The leader would say: Well, did you all feel that? The Holy Ghost has left because of <insert comment, or what had been done to drive the spirit away->, Sister YW 1st Counselor, will you please offer a prayer for His return, and for ALL of us to keep spiritual thoughts, words and actions this day? This may involve doing it most of the lesson time, but it needs to be done EACH and every time she disrupts the class. Took a month of doing this for her to finally vent her intense anger. Once she vented, we were able to address her problem OUTSIDE of the classroom, and the disruptions ended. She was a joy to have in YW. Getting the child to admit and address the reason behind the disruptive behavior is necessary. Are they mad at Mom & Dad for dragging them to church. Do they dislike someone in class? Another child? Or one of the teachers? Or like what has already been mentioned- are they screaming for discipline? It was me that was the catalyst in getting the YW to explain the reason behind her rude & crude behavior. That Sunday I was overly hot, tired, and in a really bad mood- mostly caused by her and her foul mouthed acting out- I blurted out: What have any of us ever done to you to make you treat us like this? What have I done? She yelled at me: Why should I be nice - I don't even want to be here- If I want to eat at all next week, I HAVE TO COME TO CHURCH. No going to church on Sunday, no food during the week. YW Pres and the Bishop dealt with single Mom's really bad choice of getting daughter to Church.

The car rental places offer insurance - Enterprise offered it for $250.00 for the 14 days we rented the car for. They were the beneficiaries - we would receive NO compensation if our belongings were stolen or destroyed. The up side was, we would not have to pay to replace the vehicle or pay compensation for lost income to Enterprise!

Need a car to get insurance. You can get insurance on your drivers license, I think. My ex did this over 20 years ago. Check with your agent where you have home owners insurance. Almost Off Topic: For those who rent, it is wise to get renters insurance. Your landlord carries insurance on the building you are occupying, but there is no way s/he is going to carry insurance for your personal property. You have to get the insurance and pay for it. Take pics of EVERYTHING you own, download to a CD and go talk to insurance agents. Those of you who do have home owners/renters insurance, when was the last time your agent did a walk through? When was the last time you updated your pic of your belongings? Scan receipts of items purchased too. Thanks HEP for letting me derail your post a bit - Iggy.

Don't understand what you mean.

Pam, where in AZ are they? Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe then south towards Tucson is a dust bowl. If your friends lived in Northern AZ then there are the mountains and trees and no dust. Depends on where they live. I never, NEVER called them liars. :confused:

Finally found what month and year the one I experienced was in: Huge 'Wall of dust' covers Arizona valley June of 2006.

Oh, that is so not true, yes it happens. Not every year, but it happens. Happened while I was living there. I had to stay at work for an additional 3 hours before I could even venture home, because of one. It started south of Casa Grande and ended up Northwest of Phoenix! Oh, by the way, I left Casa Grande (50 miles south of Phoenix) in Nov of 2010. Dust storms during the monsoon season are normal, and nearly daily. First the horrendous winds of dust, then comes the deluge of rain, then you wade through hot grimy water to get to your car. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt to remind me to NEVER go there again.

No, Backroads was NOT using hyperbole, as the following post attests to., You offended me when you attacked Bini and Applepansy. How in the world do you know that the announcer KNEW what you attribute to him? Do you know him personally? I do not agree with what he did. He should be reprimanded, and made to apologize PUBLICLY. I lived in southern AZ- I was affected on a daily basis by the illegal Mexican that crossed over the boarders. Many of them were looking for a better way of life. Many of them were crossing to deal drugs. A few of them were crossing to enforce Mexican drug dealers- to kill those Mexican Americans (two to five generation Mexican Americans) who opposed the illegal aliens who crossed over to sell drugs. I heard the gun fire from my home, and saw the illegal Mexicans as they drove by in their cars firing at my neighbors. I saw their enforcers walking down MY alley shouting at my Mexican American neighbors, telling them that if they cause his dealers trouble they will all be killed. I am of Norwegian (Father), British (English,Welsh,French,Irish,Scottish=Mother) descent- ALL of my neighbors were of Mexican descent, 100% of them came into the US LEGALLY. Pam, this post was a tinderbox of emotions. Trying to stay on topic is next to impossible. In summation: The announcer was wrong and should be made to PUBLICLY apologize and to remove the sick joke from his repertoire.If a member of this forum is going to post hyperbole, then preface the post with the warning: Hyperbole coming up. Since all remarks are in writing and facial expressions, and more importantly body language is totally absent, there would be no way to truly know when one is using Hyperbole!For What It Is Worth- I have a hearing disability, have had it since childhood, never was diagnosed & fitted with hearing aid till I was in my mid 30"s (am now 59 yo.) I DEPEND on my other senses PLUS my ability to read body language. THUS I take what I read, literally. If you want to use Hyperbole, then state you are using Hyperbole. Smilies are NOT good enough.

You are correct. A Sister in my Branch finally received her endowments- her husband never has been a member and after 35 years of marriage, and their three grown children receiving their own endowments and going on missions, he FINALLY gave her permission!

SIGH - Backroads, please read what is written in RED, That is what I am asking you. Where did you find those words in the original article and/or in Bini's or Applepansy's responses? Where does he say it? The words, violently grab them and making a spectacle of them??? This is making Much Ado about nothing. Taking Rounding them up and turning it into something that was NOT said. The announcer NEVER used the words you used. The words you used ARE mob mentality- Again, you are adding inflammatory words where none were used. Applepansy, Bini, and myself NEVER said that we supported the humor, did not support the announcer in what he said, nor did we use the word garbage, neither did the announcer. I didn't miss a thing, I chose to not comment on how I felt about what the announcer said. The reason for my post was to ask you WHERE you got violently grabbing people and making a spectacle of them. On the other hand YOU are inserting what you think I might be feeling or thinking. Don't assume, don't add verbiage. You Backroads didn't read my post- I do not give a royal FLIP about the announcer. I was calling attention to your adding words where they were not. Rounding up is not a violent act. I toss this back to your court - READ my post - then answer the question, I am quoting it here again

My little (age 51 yo) sister is educated and trained as a phlebotomist, yet she refuses to apply because she knows that the hospitals are hiring traveling phlebotomist and she wants a sit at the work area and do the work and not even walk to the patients rooms job. She is now working at Deseret Industries, and walking all over the place! She moved to the Pacific NW from Atlanta, GA. Just recently, according to her FB account, she is also employed with a collection agency. At one point in my life, had I lived closer to DI, I would have gone there for employment and hopefully retraining. Lived 350 miles from the nearest one. Instead, through the State Employment Division I was introduced to Community Services Consortium. CSC is federally funded, it re-trains, educates and teaches one how to find and keep jobs. It paid for my on-line schooling, the classes taught me how to write a resume, resume cover letter and provided role-playing classes on job interviews. Took the scary right out of it for me. Have you talked with your states employment division? See if they can direct you regarding re-training, education, etc.

I like the mushroom explosion cloud much better. I love your signature! Am going to borrow and add it to my collection of signatures on my email program!

Backroads, where did you find the phrase that I have bold-ed in red, in the article or listening to the video, Or in ANY of Apple & Bini's comments???? I will answer for you - you didn't. I agree with Apple and Bini. All illegals should be rounded up, or in politically correct terms: gathered together, and sent back to their country of origin. Also, neither Apple or Bini EVER said they thought what the announcer said was funny. They BOTH said that they agreed that the venue was not appropriate. In my personal opinion ALL illegal aliens should be gathered up and sent to their country of origin. If they want to come here, then go the legal route.

nada, it is empty.

You would have to drive 40 miles north and attend the Waldport Branch to see me. BUT you are more than welcome to do so. First meeting is Sacrament and it starts at 10 AM. We love our summer visitors. We used to have a father and son bicycling duo come ever summer. They would come early to the branch, use the restroom and put on their Sunday clothes for the services.

UPDATE: We left AZ 16 Nov 2010- took 4 days to get to our new home. We took our time really. Stopped around 5 or 6 pm, started out in the morning around 8 or 9. When we got here, the first thing we unpacked was the two cats in the med size dog carrier, their litter box, and the food we got at Fred Meyer. Oh, and the suitcase that had our traveling clothes. We were unable to unpack the next day- no men at the branch that were not down with the latest outbreak of cold or who were not disabled. We had to hire two guys to unload for us a few days later. As you can see it is now 27 June 2011- I only have two partial boxes left to unpack. Finally got all of my books put into new book cases, got the guest room done: bed made up, pictures on the wall, 6 cube unit put together and alarm plugged in and set. All of the tools in buckets are now in the shed. The living room is set up, the dining room is just about done. Have to find a home for my cloth place mats and their matching napkins and all of my napkin ring holders. The kitchen is 98% done. Still have to put the peg board up to the left of the range top, & hang my most used pans, pots, etc. The handicap ramp is completed and husband fixed the drawers a week after we got here. The master bedroom is 98% done too. Have to make a trip to the local laundromat to clean my three heavy queen size quilts. I made bread this last Saturday. 6 smallish loaves that I gave to the neighbors and two large loaves for us. Man, the house smelled so dang good. I am home- finally. There is still my office to set to rights, but there is no big rush to get it down. I do want to have the handicap toilets installed by the middle of July, and purchase two or four used chairs. Need one in each bedroom and two more for the dining room. Road trip to Florence OR to the St Vincent dePaul thrift store to purchase the chairs. YEAH! I love thrift stores, especially St Vinnie's- they have good stuff at real reasonable prices. Even have some of our pictures up. Husband told me today, that the house feels like home. Comfy, familiar. Yeah, it does.

1. Jello--side dish or dessert? Either 2. Soda, pop, or coke? Soda 3. Mac and cheese--side dish or main dish? Side dish 4. Biscuits and gravy--tear up the biscuit and eat with spoon or split biscuit and eat with knife/fork? Biscuit with gravy-YUCK! Seriously wuld you eat pancakes with gravy??? Another YUCK! Biscuits with honey, syrup or jam- Nummy Num. 5. Grits--sweet or savory? YUCK! 6. Bathroom tissue--over or under? Over 7. Green onions or scallions? Green onions eaten alone or cut up in salad, on pizza, or in omelet. Scallions are too expensive to use, chop an onion instead. 8. Pecan: pecahn or peecan? Pea-Can. Prefer Hazelnuts myself From the Pacific North West.

Ahem, you know me- I am from a Branch in Oregon. The difference is that Branch's have less people, and if putting those less people into neighboring Wards makes the Wards too big, then they remain a Branch.The area the people live in our Branch encompasses a lot of land. The neighboring Ward used to be the largest Ward in the Stake. 80 of it's members (30 families) were just reassigned and are now in our Branch. About half of them are inactive. Our membership needs to double for us to attain Ward status. That is something we are working on, that and helping our inactives become active again.

Welcome back Skal- - -Marc, Glad you were able to land on your feet running. Will be looking forward to your posts.

Dang - Canuck! I just spit my lunch all over my keyboard and monitor!! I was wondering what magazine has the masculine test- for women those kinds of tests are in Cosmopolitan!

Refresh the web page.

Colored hair spray. That stuff has been around since the Roman's! Well not quite THAT long. I used it in High School (1967-1970) to put a grey streak to match the light brown streak my Mother had going through her silver grey hair! I graduated in 1970- so it has been awhile. BTW the only colors available were grey, black, brown and what they jokingly passed off as auburn. It was Ronald McDonald orange/red- the foot ball team favored it.

I live apporximately 320 miles from Seattle. My sister lives near Northgate- so I have a place to stay. Also have a friend who lives in Auburn that I can stay with.I was thinking of coming up for the Puyallup- Sept 9 -25, 2011. Would any of the other PNWestener's be up for a meet somewhere at the Puyallup?

Happy Birthday