mightynancy

Paid educator. What's the prob?

It sounds like your marriage has an admirable foundation of love and respect. :) MoMu said what I would in his #4. FHE can be a great family togetherness time focused on developing character and finding ways to serve others in your community. My husband isn't active, and is really passive when it comes to my getting the kids ready and off to church. I have just accepted that. I have a don't for people who find friends like you and me in a ward: don't ask every single week, "Where's Spouse?" I am not responsible for Spouse's whereabouts; you'll have to ask Spouse yourself. Woo, touched a nerve! Back to you (sorry!), you said, "I've tried to focus on being supportive, loving, compassionate and considerate," which sounds loving and peaceful to me! Be sure to meet your needs as you accomodate hers - you'll have greater reserves of compassion as you do. :)

In many years of using CFL's, we have only broken one, which probably released what, about 5 mg of mercury (in a CFL, it's vapor - in contrast a mercury thermometer has about 500 mg). How much mercury is released by the power plants generating the excess electricity used by incandescent lamps? We're ALL taking the risk of ill health with our unchecked consumption of power. I concern myself with everyone's house, not just my own.

It's still a priesthood thing. It's just not a man thing.

I'm with Suzie. The whole beard business is absolutely ridiculous.

Suzie, I share your hope. If the church as an organization would just clear things up (to the extent they can) bluntly without beating around the bush, these things could be put to rest.

On a practical note, find something to replace the drinking. When we give up a habit, it leaves an empty spot where it used to be. If you fill it with something else, it's easier to keep from going back to the habit. What's the drinking do for you?

My daughter has a hard time with pills. She put them in a blob of ice cream at first, and now (sorry for the ick) will chew up a bite of food, open her mouth, shove the pill into the chewed-up food, and swallow. Works for her. Best wishes on the wisdom teeth! It's not pleasant, but doesn't have to be awful.

Here we go.

Unless you're living in a bubble where you generate your own clean power and create water from nothing, your usage has an impact of the rest of us. I can't believe that Christians, of all people, are so willing to be irresponsible stewards of creation.

There's no one answer as to whether LDS people would be comfortable. There are LDS people like me who love celebrations from many different spiritual traditions. There are LDS people who don't let their kids read Harry Potter because of the witchcraft. I think it's nice that you want to bring your guests up to speed about your ceremony. I would appreciate that as a guest, just to be able to ponder the significance of your actions and to more fully be happy for you. :)

While each ward does indeed have a culture, ward leadership will most likely turn over a few times before your kids are in Primary. I'd look for neighborhoods that have a good sense of community - a school with an active and positive PTA/PTO, parks (are there people there? Are the parents there approachable?), etc. Are there quality, affordable preschools or MDO programs? That would all most likely translate to the ward culture as well. I'd add to your list: Do the young moms in your ward have some sort of play day or co-op? Is the elder's quorum socially active? What sorts of enrichment activities are promoted? While ward cultures are often well established, you can add to it and shape it with your efforts. Good luck.

LOL our YW are planning a gun skills workshop this summer. I was just released from YW, but I'll share some of what we did. Regarding the sexist lessons: We modified them or skipped them. The Resource Guide is your friend. We especially love the new "accept and act upon" part - it helps make the topic relevant today. I found that the lessons don't emphasize repentance enough. In a lesson on eternal life, the atonement was not mentioned AT ALL! I was shocked by that, so we had a great discussion about the role of Jesus Christ in our salvation. It's fine to adapt the lessons to meet the needs of your YW. We really emphasized each person's relationship with Jesus Christ. The family is a means to an end, not the end itself. We openly recognized that not all women will marry, not all women with have children, but all women can receive eternal life. Education isn't solely so we can be better mothers, but also to bless us individually and as part of a community. We did not minimize the importance of motherhood and marriage, we just recognized exceptions along with the rule. We had the YW plan most of the weekday activities. We are few in number, so every four months or so, we'd have a planning event. We had 3 big sheets of paper on the wall for brainstorming. They were labelled: "We want to learn...", "We want to serve...", and "We want to enjoy...". It helped the girls keep the program balanced between just-for-fun-and-fellowship activities and activities that help the girls really grow. We had planning sheets for the girls to use, which gave structure to the planning process. :) Crashdown, you'll be glad to hear that our scouts just had an activity on laundry and ironing.

Regime change is a rotten business to go into right now. I hear the market is just saturated. I mean, you go in, bust some chops, but after that it's nothing but work, work, work. I kid. I agree that it's right to protect the defenseless against the powerful who would harm them. That said, the President did beautifully coordinating and team-building with our allies, but he didn't do so well at following our internal procedures.

The thing is, we were kind of early adopters with the whole CFL thing. I don't have my panties in a bunch over it. Those in government HAVE violated a lot of things I care about. Like not requiring an actual judge to sign a warrant for a wire tap. Data mining willy-nilly. Starting wars either on false pretenses (Bush) or without going through proper channels (Obama). Letting monied interests call the shots in the health care debate (and SO much else!). Please don't insult me by presuming ignorance or apathy. It reminds me of a former neighbor who was certain we'd all live in fear like he did, if only we knew what he did.

Oh, I'm sorry for answering the question you initially asked, and for not recognizing the subtext you have so kindly pointed out now. To be clearer: I'm not stocking up. To play your game: I'm sure the scary PTB behind the NWO don't care what my electric bill is, nor whether I can find that candle-like incandescent glow. They have bigger fish to fry. Unless they are going to FRY the FISH by controlling my LIGHT BULBS. What if we want chicken? We won't stand for this! Better?

I imagine some sessions with a counselor can help you find peace. Forgiving ourselves and others can be really hard, but it's worth the effort! Forgiveness doesn't require that the person who wronged us do anything at all - forgiveness is something that happens inside of you. Beware of the desire to ensure she is punished (by you, by remorse, by authority)...it's very destructive to a partnership of equals. If you don't feel like your eternal companion is your equal, well, work on that, too. Best wishes to you!

We switched to CFL's long ago and saw a large reduction in our power bills (enough to offset the cost of the bulbs many times over). We're looking forward to LED-based lighting for residential applications! My daughter actually broke one of these right above her head (playing a modified game of handball against the stairs IN THE HOUSE). She is fine - the cleanup steps are simple. We take the burned out ones to our community's hazardous waste collection site.

If there's no medical or law enforcement paper trail, I'd be more inclined to let the military know what to look for. If there's a paper trail, I imagine they'd find it (but a headsup may be in order anyway). What a tough spot to be in.

No. Then the church wouldn't be sexist anymore.

The reason I (a faithful, religious person) am happy to keep religion out of politics is that *I* want to choose which religion is promoted for my family. I don't want the school, the local government, the feds promoting a religion. Chances are, it won't be the religion I want. Also, the whole civil rights/religious freedom/let them worship how, where, or what they may bit means a lot to me. I don't want government to trample those rights.

Awww, I hurt to think of shredded sea grass wall covering! I love that stuff. A lot of little pictures can look good if they're hung correctly. I have a photo of one in my inspiration binder. Most of the time, though, it ends up looking cluttery. I do love the clever solution for the kitty! My dd has some little posters on her wall about a foot off the floor - for her American Girls' viewing pleasure.

I'm on the left. And I'm a Mormon.

Yeah, I think I already said that. *I* understand that all light and goodness are of God. However, I think it's dandy for anyone to be good and do good works for any reason at all. It's all the same if someone wants to care for the needy and call it "ethics" or "giving back" or "liberal guilt" or "humanitarian service." The end result is no different; the service was given. We don't currently have insurance, and tomorrow my daughter is going to receive a free dental checkup. I don't plan to interview the dentist to find out if he's doing this because he wants to please God, or if he's just doing it because his code of ethics tells him he needs to serve his community. The end result is the same: scrubbed teeth, fillings as needed. I imagine the Lord will be pleased either way. By their fruits and all that.

Wow - there are men who would begrudge buying chocolates for their wives and feel ripped off if someone else got away without paying? There are women who *expect* something from the bishopric for Mother's day? Last I checked, those guys up there in suits are not my sons. I think any gesture at church is sweet. I also think that any recognition at church should be extended to all men or all women, regardless of reproductive status. Our single Primary President surely did a lot of mothering! Our YW either bake cookies for Fathers' Day, or they get candy bars and deliver them to Priesthood and the men in Primary. On Mother's Day, the sisters usually receive a flower to plant in the garden. The YM and a few elders carry the flats of flowers around to RS, Primary, and YW.