Carlene

This may be more self-esteem related than sex addiction - a not uncommon thing in fat (or formerly fat) women. Going out with men who use you is very bad for your self-esteem. What you need is a brand new boyfriend - one who doesn't have so much baggage, and who isn't such a little boy at heart. Tell the ex to find himself a new counselor (aka shoulder to cry on). If the guys from the casual makeout sessions pop back up, be busy and don't return their calls. It's time to start over, with a clean slate and a new, I-deserve-to-be-treated-like-a-princess attitude. After all, who would try and grope a princess on the first date?

I think THAT'S a little weird. Sorry, but I don't get the point.

That wasn't Missy....that was mysherrijo.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Here's my two-semesters-of-psych diagnosis...I think this guy has a sex addiction. At the very least, he has rotten relationship skills. Anyone past the 8th grade knows that you don't mourn your ex to your present girlfriend/boyfriend. "Athletic", by the way, does not necessarily mean skinny - unless you are a 14 year old gymnast.

Sunta, I'm older than you and I promise, even back in the Dark Ages when I was a schoolgirl, we were told that Jesus was most likely born in the spring. It would be pretty hard to convince even really old people - older than me - that shepherds were camping out with their flocks, in Israel, in December.

James Dobson must be a Republican. I wonder exactly who might consider sexual misconduct with a child "sort of a joke"? On the October 6, 2006 broadcast of Focus on the Family, Dobson commenting on the congressional page scandal stated, We condemn the Foley affair categorically, and we also believe that what Mr. Clinton did was one of the most embarrassing and wicked things ever done by a president in power. Let me remind you, sir, that it was not just James Dobson who found the Lewinsky affair reprehensible. More than 140 newspapers called for Clinton's resignation. But the president didn't do what Mr. Foley has done in leaving. He stayed in office, and he lied to the grand jury to obscure the facts. As it turns out, Mr. Foley has had illicit sex with no one that we know of, and the whole thing turned out to be what some people are now saying was a -- sort of a joke by the boy and some of the other pages

Sounds like the Protestant version of Purgatory!

This (the breakup) may be a blessing in disguise. If this man enables or encourages you to do "bad things" - things you probably would not do if he weren't around - then there is a really good reason you broke it off. But you already knew that, didn't you? Stay strong. Give the new guy a chance.

Unfortunately, the second coming will also reduce the rest of us "to rubble", as well. The second coming is more than just the second earthly appearance of Christ; it is also the end of the world.

Someone sent this to my DH, though he couldn't possibly appreciate it to the fullest. I laughed til I cried.... WAX is "Not your Friend" All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: "Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet." So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those "cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean,I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!) So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ("Cold wax," yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works! OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire. With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the one strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my *hoo-hoo* and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (Yes, it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!! I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. OH NO! What have I done???!!! Another deep breath and RRRIIIPPP!! Everything is swirly and spotted. I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal. I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip! There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX??? Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip. I touch. I am touching wax. WHAT?! I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped up on the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down. My LIFE FLASHES BEFORE ME!!!!!! I hear the slamming of a cell door. *hoo-hoo*? Sealed shut! Butt?? Sealed shut! I penguin-walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself "Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!" What can I do to melt the wax? Hot water!! Hot Water melts wax!!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right??? WRONG!!!!!!! I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit. Now, the only thing worse than having your nether, regions glued together is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax. So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cement-epoxied myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!! I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter - "So, my butt and *hoo-hoo* are glued together to the bottom of the tub!" There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, "Are we talking cheeks or *hoo-hoo*?" She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box. YEAH!!!!! Right!! Like I should be the joke of someone else's night. While we go through various solutions. I resort to scraping the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major dive and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event. My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GOD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. "IT WORKS!! It works!!" I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair.... THE HAIR IS STILL THERE.......ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!! So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point. Next week I'm going to try hair color......Not!

Susan... You are a good mom. My mother did the same thing. She wouldn't even wrap my BD gifts in Christmas paper, although it would have been much easier. And my BD cake/BD party NEVER had a Christmas theme unless I wanted it to. But I always thought my mom should have named me something seasonal, like "Holly" or "Noel". My daughter was born June 21 (first day of summer) and I wanted to name her "Summer" but I got out voted...LOL

I bought a Magic Bullet right after I was banded. It worked great, but wore out in about 6 months. Almost everyone I know had the same luck with theirs - 6 or 8 months seems to be the average lifespan. At Wal Mart I found a Hamilton Beach personal blender. It cost less than $10 and works just as well as the MB. I wore that one out, too (in about 6 months), and just purchased another one. I figue it's a better deal - $10 twice a year as opposed to $60, twice a year.

Very interesting, Green.....and SCARY. I never realized that Methodists and Presbyterians and Episcopalians were "the spirit of the Antichrist". I'll bet that's news to them, too.

Thanks, Mary. The DFW Bandsters met last Thursday, as usual, and as always we had a good time. They also had a holiday dinner,which we had planned to attend but then something came up and we didn't make it. Once the holiday crazies are over I hope to get back on track, too. I have made enough cookies and fudge and peanut butter fudge in the last couple of weeks to put the entire state of Texas into sugar shock. See you soon.....

Thank you, BOH. Everyone asks me if it isn't the pits to have a Christmas birthday, but since I know nothing else, it really doesn't bother me. People are singing and the whole world is lit up like no other time of the year. I'll admit, a July birthday might be nice, though. You could go swimming or have a birthday picnic. I always felt a little guilty, though I don't know why, since I had nothing to do with my own conception and/or gestation, but because my mom was in the hospital, my brother had to spend Christmas with the neighbors the year I was born.

Christmas is not "based on" a Pagan festival. The early Church, in a PR move designed to lure the masses away from Pagan festivals taking place around the same time, simply said, "We are going to celebrate Christ's Mass (Christmas) on Dec 25th to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Come join us instead of going to that Pagan winter solstice festival." Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21st. The weather in Great Britain is notoriously nasty in April, so the queen's "official" birthday is celebrated on the third Saturday of June. It's pretty much the same thing.

The "night coughs" are a sign of reflux. Make sure you aren't over-filled. And don't eat after 8 PM. Also, try some Nexium or OTC product for heartburn just before you go to bed.

When you look at a member's profile, there is a line that says "Referrals", with a number after it. What is a referral?

Good luck, Becka. And let me know if your folks back out. You can fly me to Hawaii and I will babysit for you while you're in Mexico.

I get reflux from hell if I am too tight. Even the best case scenario for me means taking Nexium daily and nothing except Water after about 8 PM. If this came on suddenly and is not associated with a new fill you may need to get it checked out via a swallow test under fluoro. You could have a mild slip.

For many years, I was the director of a social service agency. We accepted people from the criminal court system who were assigned community service (free labor). Every single one I supervised who was busted for credit card fraud was a restaurant server, without exception. We do not include the tip when we pay by CC in a restaurant. We pay the tip in cash, because they run your card, bring you the slip to sign, then go back and modify the transaction to add the tip. That's usually where/when the fraud occurs.

My local paper this AM announced the indictment of a man who had beat and kicked his pregnant girlfriend so viciously, the placenta was torn loose and the baby died. She was 5 months pregnant. The grand jury has charged the man with child abuse with bodily harm. Originally he was charged with homicide, but the grand jury agreed to the lesser charge because they did not believe he intended to kill the child, which was his biological daughter. This is an interesting case for several reasons. First, it legally defines a 20 week fetus as a "child", with standing and rights under the law. Secondly, it raises the question: did the grand jury do the right thing? Should this man have walked free, or been charged only with the misdemeanor offense of assault, simply because his victim was, as yet, unborn? This is quite different from abortion, as the mother did not choose to have her pregnancy terminated. What's your opinion?

I have a soft spot for Rosie. She had a rough childhood. And she's an overweight gay woman, trying to make a living and support a family in a thin, straight, male oriented society. She does, however, act a bit kooky at times. But not as kooky as "THE" Donald. As for Barbara Walters, I never understood what she was doing on The View in the first place.

Does this work as well with golf, I wonder? I may try it on my own "tired old man". Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Not in the south. Everything is a Coke here. But if you are in a restaurant and you want a Dr. Pepper, you have to say so. If you say "Coke", that's what you'll get.