Thank you! I think I'm mostly ok, but I've become acutely aware of this tendency in myself, so what I see as something BIG is probably really not that big a deal at all. Taking a soft-skills course is a really good idea. I'll look into it.

I learned in college not to ever date a guy who thinks I am cool. He is attracted to my independent spirit and then TOTALLY ANNOYED BY IT.

I haven't, but I've been looking for them! I want to toss a few in.

It is fantastic. I have a cold and I can feel my body starting to fight back after one mug of stock. The one thing I will caution you about is don't use more vinegar than suggested. I read a lot of reviews from people who didn't measure and they were all "it tasted funny!"

I make chicken stock all the time, but this time, I used the Nourishing Traditions method. It basically was what I already do, but at the beginning, you soak the bones in filtered water with some apple cider vinegar, to make the minerals more accessible. And in the last 10 minutes of cooking, you throw in a bunch of…

As a former nanny, I can attest to that. Asking a child what's wrong, and what they would like to be different is really effective. Even if they can't have it, allowing them to express their feelings is very validating.

Yep. Feelings = Drama. That's why I NEVER respond to anyone who says anything about drama in an online profile. Huge waving, screaming red flag.

That is so frustrating. People always want to blame you for having feelings, because you know, feelings are awful and uncomfortable and god forbid your feelings make someone else have feelings. But it's a rare person who actually says "Ok...what is making you feel this way. What do you need to shift your feelings?"

YES! THANK YOU!

Yes, except he framed this in the space of "what men want," not "what introverts want."

What? I can't even...

Yeah, I have to remind myself that just because I see a lot doesn't mean I'm seeing everything, and I need to reserve judgment. Most of the time I'm in the space of "ok...that's interesting...I'll file that away for reference."

Thank you - that is really helpful. I think it's not going to be a huge shift. I just have to learn a few communication tweaks to smooth things over.

I've really become an expert at keeping my mouth shut. The biggest challenge I have is finding a way to communicate directly, but gently, when I'm having conversations that require directness. I'm working on the middle ground between silence and bluntness.

YES! If you can eat sugar, Larry & Luna's Coconut Bliss is the best. If you can't eat sugar, the Soy Delicious Coconut Milk ice cream sweetened with stevia is very good.

Oh I keep my mouth shut all the time. I see people doing things that are doomed to fail and I just smile and nod. I learned that a long time ago. When people come back I make sympathetic noises and say "I'm so sorry that didn't work out."

You are absolutely right. And I'm not really trying to change who I am. I'm always going to be direct. I'm just trying to figure out ways to soften my communication a little bit.

Ugh. I've been the bulldog before, and I'd like to avoid that this go-round.

Drug testing is the freaking worst. It's only done to get lower insurance rates.

I only use it on my macbook, but it works really well for me. I'm running Chrome.