gadgetlady

Well then it's a good thing we all have guns :-)

Wow! Have we actually reached a consensus on LBT?

I hope you don't take this wrong. The best admonition I could come up with is from the Bible, in 1 Cor 15:33: Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." It is rare, in a relationship, for the "good" person to pull the person with the corrupting influence up to their level. More often, the good person gets pulled down.

The other night at about 2am we heard helicopters over our house, sirens, looked out the window and saw search lights, and heard the police on a speaker telling someone to get down on his hands and knees. With 2 sleeping children in the house and a lot of sliding glass windows opening to our backyard, I was thankful to have guns in the house -- just in case the guy broke free and decided to use our house as a refuge. As many people as there are that don't feel safe being around guns, I told my dh that I wouldn't feel safe in a house without guns. When the riots broke out in Los Angeles back in the early '90's, all of my unarmed friends showed up at my house because they knew they'd be safe® or at least have a fighting chance. I abhor violence but I would never want to be without the ability to protect myself and my family. I also believe strongly in firearm education. But in my book, gun control is being able to hit your target.

No problem. If parents want to kill their kids, it's their right. They own them anyway. I'm sure my 7yo and 10yo will be glad to hear this.

I am, indeed, a travel agent. I specialize in cruises and resort vacation, so I can definitely help you. Alaska is a wonderful trip! I'll PM you with my contact info so we can connect :-)

:confused: Haven't we had the discussion about the poor choice of wording in this poll already? I haven't sacrificed my beliefs at all. I believe categories 1 and 3 in this poll represent those who are pro-life.

Yeah, the opinions of 39% of the people don't really matter.

Good choice. I'm a big fan of being conservative :biggrin1:. I think everyone should be conservative :heh:.

My goodness. I am astounded that adults have such poor communication skills and so little regard for others' feelings that simple questions and posts degrade into this type of discussion. I feel like I should give some instructions -- like I do to my children -- on how and how NOT to phrase things to avoid riling people up. Just today, they fought over who got to drink out of the blue cup at lunch. It's probably best to not call someone else's information "wrong". It might be better to simply say you disagree and state your reasons in a polite manner. No one likes to be told they're "wrong", especially when they might not be. An "in my experience" phrase does a lot to temper statements. Also, a "please ask your doctor if you need clarification" is better than "This is right and I'm sure your doctor would agree" (especially because he might not!). surfbored, welcome to LBT, where tensions and tempers run so high that a simple question and a simple response can start a fight.

LOL! I don't have time to do this either, but I'm a major "deal hunter" and I couldn't pass this one up. Because we're in US waters for 3 out of the 4 days, I'll have my laptop and my cell and I'll be doing some work while vacationing. I am happy to hunt for deals like this and will keep everyone updated. If there's a particular cruise you're interested in, let me know. I specialize in cruises and resort vacations. And no, no discounts on food

I know this has been talked about before and nixed, but I've set up a group cruise for personal friends and family and thought it'd be neat to invite bandsters as well. It's an incredible deal. Here are the details: December 3 - 7 Monarch of the Seas (RCCL) Los Angeles - San Diego - Catalina - Ensenada - Los Angeles I have 3 cabin categories available: I (deck 8, partially obstructed view): $470.94 PER COUPLE F2: (deck 4, ocean view): $530.94 PER COUPLE F3: (deck 5 or 7, ocean view): $550.94 PER COUPLE These rates INCLUDE ALL TAXES AND PORT FEES and are for BOTH PEOPLE in the cabin. In addition, you will also receive a $50 CABIN CREDIT! I have 7 staterooms available right now (I might be able to add more). The deposit is only $200 and the final is due September 24th. If you're interested, PM me. Don't miss out. I don't have time to take this cruise but I couldn't pass up such a steal of a deal!

I'm not Catholic but I take communion every Sunday. Our communion is a bit more sturdy than the Catholic "wafers" that dissolve so easily -- it's more like a cracker. I've never had a problem.

My swimming days have come to an end, at least temporarily. Thursday, I injured my rotator cuff swimming. My right arm, of all things, leaving me with difficulty doing everything because I'm right handed. I've been in a sling for 2 days. I don't know how I'm going to feel about going back into the pool once it's healed, because I certainly don't want this to happen again!

Can anyone tell me what the symptoms of both slippage and erosion are? I'm having some weird things going on. Last night I took a bunch of pills (my bad; I should have taken liquid) because I injured my rotator cuff from swimming (grrr). I had trouble all night getting the pills down, and woke up at about 4am with pain in my back and chest which felt like they were still stuck. My back still hurts. I don't know if this is just irritation or something more. So if anyone can give me a brief synopsis of the symptoms of both, I'd appreciate it. TIA!

<sigh> I've been swimming for exercise for the past few weeks, and I've noticed as my endurance increases and I do more, my lungs / chest have been hurting when I breathe (after the exercise). It's a bronchial / airway thing and I've really had it all my life (again, after I have exercised in the past). I remember feeling it in my teens and 20's, but since I've never been an exercise guru or stuck with exercising for more than a few months at a time, I never paid much attention to it. I've been trying to figure out what it is and the only thing that I can find on the internet that seems to match is exercise-induced asthma. I'm not wheezing (yet), but I am taking short breaths because it hurts to take deep ones, and it reminds me of a very mild version of bronchitis (which I've had in the past, sometimes for months on end, but not recently). Any ideas? I really don't like to exercise but I'm trying as hard as I can to keep it up. This might just be a dealbreaker unless I can figure out how to solve it.

CONGRATULATIONS! The band will wait. Take care of yourself and your precious cargo.

I've been swimming now for 4 days and already I'm noticing a difference in my shape - arms and waist mostly. Of course, I had to go out and buy goggles and ear plugs because I was getting water in my ears, but other than that it's been smooth sailing!

I started swimming today with my new "tools": Swim-in-Place Aquacise Pool Tether for Low-Impact Aquatic Fitness and Training Exercise (we have a small pool that was built just for the kids so you can't really swim laps in it) and ZENASWIMWEAR Designs custom made Swimwear, Bikinis, Tankinis, Swimsuits, Bathing Suits for Full Figure, Large Figured, Plus Size, D cup, DD cup, Large Cup Swim Wear (WOW! I've never had a bathing suit that FIT ME PERFECTLY! It was expensive but well worth it; I don't feel like I'm hanging out all over when I swim -- even though it's only my family who sees me). I figured I take a shower every morning anyway; why not get wet first in the pool and then shower? As long as the pool heat kicks in before I wake up and the pool's up to about 85 or higher (I like it warm), I'm good to go :biggrin1: Looking forward to tomorrow's exercise.

I prefer the ACLJ - American Center for Law and Justice - ACLJ • American Center for Law & Justice instead of the ACLU.

Thanks, guys. I've been feeling crampy all weekend and it's just not going away :-( I don't know if I should go see a dr tomorrow or not!

Last night at about 3am I felt the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. It was worse than labor. It felt like intense cramps and started in my lower abdomen, dead center (so I knew it wasn't my appendix), and radiated occasionally straight up my centerline to about where my port is. It felt like cramps, a bit like extreme constipation, and it debilitated me. I couldn't move, I felt like I was going to vomit several times, I was pale and had chills and cold sweats, when I got into a position and the pain came on I couldn't move, it was just awful. It lasted about 2 hours and I've been achy and sore all day today. Anyway, I know gallstone pain usually happens much higher than this pain was (this was directly above my pelvic bone) so I don't know what it could have been. If I have another "attack" I'm going straight to the ER and/or going to see a doctor on Monday. I should have gone to the ER last night but I kept thinking it'd be over any minute. Anyone else ever had anything like this? Gallstones / gallbladder removal does run in my family.

Do you mean the one in Summerlin?

OK, gadgetlady reporting in here. I asked my dh to create a username at LBT as "that's.mr.gadgetlady.to.you" but he declined, wanting to use my name instead. So I'm turning over my keyboard . . . ----------------------------- I'm sad to report that in the last 20 years I've gotten used to seeing bare-breasted women tattooed on the arms of men at 7-11, "skin industries" decals on the backs of vehicles driving down the road, and, worst of all, women in their 40's who have had breast implants, liposuction, lip enlargement, and who-knows-what-else done to their bodies, not because they think it makes them look more beautiful, but because they feel that is the only way to get noticed in this day and age. When I first discovered pornography, I knew it was bad. Instinctively, I knew it was something that I shouldn't be looking at. And I would be willing to bet that 95% of American men had the same reaction and they just "denied their way" into a belief system that it's OK. Tell yourself whatever you want to make yourself feel good about something, but that doesn't make it OK. If you're a single man and you don't ever plan on getting married, and you're absolutely certain that you can never become a rapist or a serial killer, then I say "knock yourself out". Get season tickets to the Playboy Mansion and write letters to Larry Flint telling him how wonderful his product is. But for every other man out there, if you think it's not affecting the way you look at women, you're living a lie. I want to address the "sex is just a physical release for men" issue. There's a big difference between a guy who lives alone, has no one to be intimate with, and feels the need to find "release", and the man who has a wife who sleeps right next to him every night. Unless for some strange reason she has actually encouraged him to go and "find release", then he's fooling himself if he thinks she doesn't crave his affection. And what may seem to him like a harmless "release" will actually have a great affect a couple of hours later or a few days later on the amount of desire he has for her. Unfortunately, most men were exposed to the idea (as young boys) that sex was this thing you try to get away with with someone cute when no one's looking. It's treated in the same manner as underaged drinking. It's this fun thing you get away with, you do it for selfish reasons, you do it because other people are doing it, you do it because you think it's cool. It all seems so harmless to approach things this way. But in the end, what you get in many men is a "wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am" mentality. And that's just not what it is, what it should be, or what it's intended for. So yes, some many may believe sex is just for physical release, but that's because that's what they've been conditioned to think. I hope that helps you ladies! I'm turning the computer back over to gadgetlady.

I've missed this thread until now. I'm a travel agent and would be happy to help if you still need any help. You might also consider Lake Las Vegas. It's about 20 minutes off the strip (depending on traffic) and a whole 'nother world. It's a pretty incredible, relaxing place, and you can get to the strip pretty easily for shows, etc. See The Official Home Page of Lake Las Vegas Resort for more info..