Divorce parties are great! I had one after my abusive second husband and I split and it was sooooo much fun. We got a sheet cake, one of my friends created a special ‘Split Knot’ drink, which we had with pizza and several Deadwood eps, and then we hit the local gay club for a night of ‘we don’t give a fuck’ dancing.

We could take him out like Tywin...

Thank you so much for saying this! I don’t understand people automatically taking someone saying that they have a different agenda as running down any other agenda. Like you, I have a high school diploma and got pregnant and then married in college. Now, I’m absolutely not a stay-at-home type, even if my marriage…

I hear you there. My aunt was my focus. Mother’s a lifelong Dem, Mom got fired-up political over not letting ‘THAT MAN’ in the WH, Kidlet’s a progressive Dem, and Dad’s a lost cause, seeing as how he believes Obama was ‘the worst president in [his] lifetime’. So I concentrated on my aunt, gave her facts and figures,…

Yes! Kidlet always used to drop whatever spare change he had or found on the ground into the kettles. Then a couple years ago I found out about the Salvation Army’s homophobic policies and the next time we went to the store and he started to reach for the kettle, I all but lunged for him and yelled ‘NO!’, then…

So far as I know, it’s not a huge deal. Kidlet’s 19, and when I’m at the right point in my cycle, I actually still produce a little now and then.

Can you take Tylenol in between doses? After my hip surgery, I took the hydros every 4 hours, with some Tylenol Arthritis (650mg each) in between to help with the ache. You might also try calling your doctor’s office to see if you can take an NSAID, like Advil or Naprosyn. That can hit different pain centers and…

Ugh, that sucks. I tried OKCupid for about five minutes before realizing VERY quickly that it wasn’t for me. And while any online dating forum comes with its share of derpwoods, I’ve been having some good luck on Collarspace. It’s a pretty niche community, but if you have any interest in D/s, the guys there have…

I’m so sorry you’re having heart trouble. I don’t know if it’ll help with the freak out, but my dad had his first heart issues in his early 40s and I know he expected to check out within 10 years. He turned 71 this past May, with absolutely no sign of slowing down in sight. I asked him for any advice, and he said…

Thank you so much for saying this. I had to quit working last year, and I’ve struggled with feeling like I’m ‘lesser’ because of it ever since. It isn’t until you stop working that you realize how much of your socialization and your self-worth comes from that job you go to every day. It’s not even about the paycheck -…

And what about those people who live in small rural communities? My grandfather had prostate cancer and lived a good hour and a half from the closest city. Even if there had been a clinical trial in his area, that would have meant either long drives to and from the study center or moving away from the town he’d called…

Speaking as someone with a chronic health issue, if there were an experimental treatment tomorrow that offered me the chance of living pain-free, I’d definitely consider it. And if I only had six months, then I’d have to look at what was on offer and decide if it was worth risking that six months for a shot at longer.…

Of course, if you really want to see them turn some interesting shades of color, you can always mention that a good number of the Founders were Christian deists... They just LOVE hearing that, especially when you have quotes to back it up!

Oh, absolutely! I think it’s about their worries that society at large will clash with the brainwashing that they put their children through. And I don’t mean that any religion or Christianity is brainwashing - hell, I went to Sunday school myself all the while I was growing up, and it was basically storytime with…

I just finished reading Marriage, a History, by Stephanie Coontz (highly recommended, btw) and she makes a clear case that while marriage has historically been about assets, it’s primary purpose has been about in-laws. They’re the only things you can’t acquire through any other means, so basically marriage has been…

Awww, Catalina update! She’s a sweetheart, and I’m so glad to hear things are going well. The open bassinets are a great step forward, so here’s hoping she gets her new bed soon. And as for the clothes, I wouldn’t worry too much about the newborn stuff being big. Kidlet was swimming in the newborn stuff for a good…

Thanks for all the recs! I’ve been informed that we are NOT allowed to set foot in the Luxor (Kidlet nearly had an Egypt-accuracy-stroke when I took him a couple years ago - he’s a stickler for details, and being unable to read ‘anything close to coherency’ in the hieroglyphs was enough to break him) but he…

Thank you - I absolutely needed to hear that. And hey, who knows? Maybe I’ll get lucky and like you, this trip’ll mark the end of a crappy time. But whether it does or not, just knowing that other people struggle with this as well helps, makes me feel less like I’m throwing our financial security down the drain for…

So very, very true, on both fronts! There’s a quote in a book by Laurell K Hamilton I try to lead my sex life by: “Never sleep with someone who’s mean or stupid, and ugly is a judgment call, because all three may breed true.” Now, ugly’s in the eye of the beholder, so that doesn’t usually stop me, but given the…