You rock. That is all.

Not hearsay at all! A lot of parents choose international adoption because they want zero chance that the birth mother/family will try to contact them or have a role in their child's life later on. With the rise in popularity of "open adoption" in the US and most US birth mothers wanting at least some degree of…

Yes. After meeting plenty of models here in Hollywood, I would NEVER want to be a model... the agencies stick you in "model houses" and take a stupid amount of "rent" from your earnings, if you're not getting work in LA they can stick you on a plane to South Africa tomorrow (again, ticket paid out of your…

We just got our first (and still only) Australian saint, sister Mary MacKillop. in 2010. I remember it was HUGE news, especially among we Catholics or "lapsed Catholics" like myself... mum was all about it!

Yeah, I agree. I think her problem is she's so desperate NOT to appear desperate that she gives really mixed messages to him - she'll say when we're all together "when we get married..." or "if we get married..." but always follows it with a "not that I want that now, we have plenty of time, it's not like a big thing"…

Wedding negotiations can definitely be tough... I would suggest if you have your heart set on dad walking you down the aisle, have another special role for your mother at the ready - perhaps she could hold the rings, or give a reading (if you're religious) or a speech at the reception... or do what I did, I hated the…

I know Sandra Bullock, Courtney Cox and Ben Affleck/Jennifer Garner badly want more privacy for their kids (In Jen and Ben's case, it's a huge disruption at their older daughter's school and younger daughter's preschool, the other parents get really annoyed - video here:

I think as someone described much more eloquently than I can downthread, the difference in marital success rates is most likely due to the fact that people who don't/won't cohabit before marriage often have strong religious or cultural values which also prevent them from divorcing.

Whoa, culture shock! I always knew my father would walk me down the aisle... but I'm Australian. When I got engaged to Mr Cat I actually asked my mother if she would like to walk with us - she had an equal (maybe more than equal) part in raising me - but she said no, it was supposed be a special moment just for my…

They are trying to limit paparazzi shots of children, especially close-ups, at least in California:

Australia IS a really perfect, sunny, happy place to live... I wish very much we could live there (my husband is a dual citizen by birth, I'm also a dual citizen now... we could move back if only my husband wasn't so wedded to his job. TV producer = Hollywood.) I've learned to like it over the years because I now have…

I'm with you - unfortunately I'm literally wedded to the US, my husband is a successful television producer so we have to live in Hollywood for his career, the industry is here. Coming from a country with extremely strict gun laws (Australia) it terrifies me how many guns are out and about... I've been here six years…

Oh no! I'm one of them! Am I safe because I don't use Twitter or post selfies? I moved out of home at 17 and never went back or needed money from my parents. What else... my house is clean! I eat good food! I text less than 5 times a day! Surely all that has to count for something... right? Please?

It could easily be fake. I'm a writer and mostly work on ghosting projects, and it rarely takes me more than 2-3 conversations with someone to pick up their voice and write in it - but I think that comes from a lifetime of being a listener and not much of a talker. Plus, Amanda's "voice" is so random and weird you…

Just a question... how do you become "approved" to post without having your comment stuck in the dreaded grey box? I post often and pretty much always get a handful of "approvals" and a reply or two (or three or four!)... I want my comments on a white background, damnit! I did my grad work in gender studies, I have…

Ugh, some people suck. Someone stole your iPod at your son's first birthday? That's awful. And yes, I think it's harder when a "friend" steals your things rather than a stranger breaking into your home... I know it's driven me insane trying to figure out which of my "friends" is not really a friend to me at all (or,…

Ugh. Your almost ex stole your painkillers straight after surgery? That is so screwed up! I'm very similar to you - I gave one Vicodin to a friend who had thrown out her back and had to wait a day to see her chiropractor, and I once gave an Ambien to my sister-in-law when she was going through a bad break-up and…

I'm with you... I drop a pill and panic because my toddler or dog might scoop it up. But I'm even more paranoid about it being stolen... I used to keep my medication in our bathroom medicine cabinet, but after a big house party, my newly refilled bottle of Ambien was gone without a trace. Thanks, friends! When I had…

Thanks TheAdlerian. I know it means "otherwise not specified," but I'm sure a fair number of people don't. George, I don't think Adlerian was insulting you or your intelligence/knowledge, just elaborating on your point.

Um... we can totally be friends. You didn't want any of your teeth to be sad? That's pretty much the most adorable thing I've ever heard. I bet you grew up into a very sweet person :)