I used to run with a pretty judgmental crowd, I guess. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one :) Also, I'm obsessed with pickled beets, so I really appreciate your SN.

That sounds horrible :( I also had incredibly bad digestive problems (I felt like I was having morning sickness with one brand, I think it was Yaz, and threw up every morning), but at least I didn't have a never-ending period. I'm glad your partner did right by you with the vasectomy — you've got a good one!

I AM crazy on hormones. I instantly become a danger to myself and others. Off hormones, I am calm and balanced. It was just not worth it to me.

Thank you so much for the link! I just donated $50 to the cause, because helping prevent HIV is incredibly important. You made my day :)

I think jalapenos have too much water. Good hummus should have a drier texture, I think. I love that you call it masala dabba! My family calls it that, too, even though we're mixed and from the Islands. So cool!

A copper penny?! I can't even imagine where she came up with the idea, if it's a true story, or how it would have stayed in place. There were all kinds of grandma birth control stories in my family. There was Lysol, toothpaste, what happened when the Rhythm Method book got passed around and that's why your auntie…

See, I'm one of those people who just :::knows::: that "tonight's the night." I've never been wrong. I am always prepared.

Is that so?! I had no idea! How cool is that! I've had enough women tell me that my method is "for '50s housewives" and "messy and disgusting" that this sort of news really cheers me up. Here's for preventing HIV!

!!! I'm not the only one using this thing?!??!??! You are my friend now, I hope you realize.

Only if I get to work the pyrotechnics.

Lots of women think it's messy and gross. I'm just not bothered by that, which is sort of embarrassing in and of itself, but it has worked for me. Sometimes I decide I want to be normal and stray from it, but I always end up coming back because I can't deal with any other method.

I usually use the dried ghost chilis that you get in the Indian shop. I crumble three of them with my fingers into the soaked chickpeas, add just a hint of olive oil, some sea salt, some black pepper, and a few squirts of lemon, throw the lot of it into the blender, and eat immediately.

The thing with diaphragm is that you have to be very comfortable with your body and with bodily fluids. I'm usually soaked in my own sweat and I help fit similarly sweat-soaked teens for pointe shoes, so I'm more comfortable with smells and textures than the average person. Diaphragms are not tidy, but for me that's…

Thanks for the kind words. I do still feel like a square, but at least I have a method that works for me.

I promise you, that wet, fibrous flavor you don't like? Add chilis and that flavor goes away and changes into AHA! DELICIOUS FOOD!

THIS IS DELICIOUS I AGREE WITH YOU.

I could never tolerate any hormones. I instantly turn into the suicidal puke factory. I have used a diaphragm for the last twelve years. Yeah, it's weird but my body is used to it. It has worked! I don't recommend it to people, though, because I have a very strange personality and the diaphragm suits me. I'm…

My hummus is the best hummus.

I'm also old, and I have old (amazing) friends. One of my best friends grew up in East Germany behind the iron curtain. Average East Germans apparently had no idea that the wall was going to fall, and a newspaper reported that there was "a hole" in the wall. My friend remembered reading the article, which did not…

It's caused by this: