Messages By: druidcanuk

I did indeed dance.  

I never took any yoga classes - just started with the DVD "Yoga for Dummies' and built a routine from this - adding poses as I got better at the standard poses.  

Now I do about an hour a day and it really invigorates me each time. Pilates was too harsh for me - I like the gentle rhythm and the emphasis on breathing and stretching that yoga provides.  

I agree with the Vice Principal. Those boys should be dealt with in the courts. Dr. Phil really seems to believe that harassing a teacher is okay - because had those boys raped someone or shot someone, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be saying 'Oh dear, should they have felony convictions follow them all their lives?"

That act was a form of public sexual humiliation. No one gets a free pass for that - and apparently school discipline is just a 'free pass' for these boys, since it didn't work up to this point, did it?

Maybe instead of a law suit the boys should be forced to go to another school away from all their friends. Or perhaps suffer some public humiliation of their own - like shaving their heads and attending school. That's equivalent to what happened to that Vice Principal, and she did nothing but her job to deserve that.

So, then Christians don't believe in jail, I take it? Why get revenge on the poor rapist? Forgive him and get on with your life? I don't think so.

That teacher was wronged - badly and deliberately. It is a felony and deserves to be treated that way.

If those boys had done that to some cute fellow student, Dr. Phil would have been falling over himself to give her gifts like a scholarship or a car or at least some therapy. To the teacher he basically said, "Suck it up, honey. Maybe you could make them write some lines."

I disagree. This was no minor infraction of the rules. It was cruel and carefully planned. It was sexual humiliation that was meant to put the Vice Principal 'in her place' and Dr. Phil should never have taken the stance that 'it was not so bad'. It is a felony and needs to be treated as such. In fact, when the guy was on a few months ago complaining about the website that a woman created about him, Dr Phil was on the guy's side!

Was it just because this woman was a teacher that she should be restrained from pursuing her legal rights? If those boys had done this to someone else, they'd be prosecuted [as they should be.]  What if they had done this to another student in the school? Would it be a harmless prank then?

Teachers do care about children but there is a point where teachers must also be protective of themselves and their own families. Remember that this woman ALSO has children who are probably going to be shown this material by some friend of theirs. Should their innocence and pride in their mother be disregarded because Mom is a teacher and should care about other children more than she does her own?

I'm not for banning, principally because I believe that negatives don't change behaviour. What we need are more 'positives' - by which I mean that we need women of normal sizes portrayed in positive ways in various media. Sit coms, talk shows, movies, singers, dancers, models, commericals, even cartoons, should have women and men of a variety of body types.

Now, whenever you see a larger person portrayed on the media, they are generally shown as lazy, unintelligent, unattractive or 'the bad guy'.

Instead of banning skinny people, let's celebrate diversity and insist on people who look 'real' in our movies and magazines.

Teachers only have responsiblity for students during school hours - not when the students are in the custody of their parents. During their 'home hours' the students should have been monitored by one or both of the two adults who are their principle caregivers. If the students had taken a gun to school would that be the responsibility of the teacher as well?

Computer use should be monitored. Put the computer in a public area of the home like the living room. Check the cookies and the history on the computer. Look at your child's MySpace pages. Most of all, teach your child that s/he WILL be held responsible for his/her actions - even actions from the virtual world of the Internet.

No one gets a free ride in this world and it's inhumane not to teach this to your children.

I agree. It is so unfair to expect a man to be a mind-reader. If you want something - tell the poor guy! So what if he doesn't understand your taste in clothes - surely YOU know what you like and what would look good on you. Point it out to the guy. Or register for Christmas gifts the way you might for wedding gifts. Then he just goes into the store and picks out something you've vetted as 'suitable'. Do you really think men WANT that much grief on Christmas? I'm pretty sure they're doing the best they can.

If you really doubt that - then tell the guy to get you a gift card. It might not be romantic but at least you'll be able to get something you want.

[My hubby takes me to my favourite electronic gadget store on the day after Christmas and says "Get whatever you want and take as long as you want to find it, discuss it with the salespeople and play with it." [Now there's a man who KNOWS what I like!]

Most of your recommendations are good. However there is no salt that is more 'real' than any other salt. All salt is either left from prehistoric ocean deposits or made by dehydrating existing salt water. Although there is some extra mineral in the evaporated sea water salt you would have to eat two tablespoons to get the nutrition found in a single grape.

Calorie counting works for some. For others I think it's better to view your life in terms of positives - I CAN eat this and this and this [[rather than 'I can't eat that'.]

I definitely recommend exercise. Yoga has made a different woman of me. And the transformation of my body through yoga inspired me to start making healthy food choices. I'd never go back now.

I tend to think of the 'expense' of the chips in terms of the child's body. You are filling the child with fat, greasing up his arteries and building a life-long addiction to something that will hasten his death. So 'expensive' is a relative term. Sure apples are more 'expensive' in terms of money but chips will cost you more in the long run.

HOwever, that being said, part of the problem is the way we buy food - only when needed. I buy apples in the fall when they are extremely cheap and make them into applesauce which I bottle and keep in the fridge. I buy blueberries when they are cheap and freeze them. When I buy whole grain bread and don't eat it all quickly, I season it, dry it in the oven and create my own crackers/croutons. Or I use the whole grain bread leftovers to make bread pudding.

That convenience food may be convenient - but it's conveniently paving the way to an early grave.

I don't think it will matter what the mother does - for the daughter in law it is all about control. So even if they did reconcile, the DIL would find ways to make the mother-in-law miserable.

Can you imagine buying Christmas presents for the DIL's children? They'd have to be pre-approved before delivery, and then she'd probably find fault with them. No one is ever going to be good enough for that one!