Yeah, I'm not a sociopath! Woohoo!

Now to let all my exes know! ;)

In response to the young pregnancy issue, I don't want to come off like a jerk here (probably will anyway) but if I was a friend of one of you two and you told me about an unplanned pregnancy at your age and in your situation, I'd probably be angry too, but not because of some shallow reason like "oh you won't be fun anymore", but rather because of the situation you are bringing a child into.  I doubt either of you thought about the child when you were being so irresponsible.  You two made your own decisions, but that baby hasn't made ANY decisions and is going to have to suffer for your poor judgement, even if you do the absolute best you can for it, it's still not going to be an ideal situation to bring a child into.

It doesn't seem like abortion is an option for you two at all, so we won't even get into that here since that would be a whole other can of worms.  However, I would seriously suggest you two consider adoption.  You two are in NO way ready to raise a child and there are many couples who are ready and desperate for a baby and would give that child a much more solid chance at a decent life than you two could at this point.

In reply to Silver_Cat (msg # 77):

That doesn't make you a jerk. It makes you a concerned friend.
I agree with the Abortion though. Didn't want to mention it in my first post as I know it can be a sensitive subject. But I'm uncertain it is a better option than your adoption thing.
Whether it is a good idea raising the kid or not isn't up to us, but you have grandparents (and hopefully a network) that hopefully will step in and supplement where your weaknesses are. No reason borrowing trouble. But experience? At any time please! ^_^

Just be aware that nothing is going to be the way any of you planned/vision (or "want" if I am going to analyse most of my friends). Get the best out of it and for all you love: Don't ever regret it!

Even if you're not ready, with the right support system in place, a serious commitment to the future and making it work, and a mature focus on the reality of the situation, you may be able to make it work. It won't be easy more than likely, but people are capable of so many things if they mean enough and they're dedicated to them working out.

Consider your options but follow your hearts absolutely in this, or it may lead to regret in later life. No matter what you choose, you can be happy and accomplish many things. One road is harder than the other, but with enough love, help, support and opportunities, I believe you can do it.

I don't have kids, but my impression is life won't be easy no matter what you do (what anyone does).

Dang weeds love the hot weather and rain. I wish I could say the same about the grass. Now a fondly refer to mowing the lawn as going out to mow the weeds...

Bloody headache medicine gives me hot flashes that make it feel like I'm roasting inside an oven and the wife won't let me use the sprinkler inside the house for some odd reason...

In reply to rogar308 (msg # 81):

One thing I've found that sometimes helps my headaches when the ibuprofen alone isn't cutting it is cold-packs on my head.  And thanks to a friend on Facebook, I actually have a good, reusable cold-pack that was home-made...

Take a couple of zip-lock-style freezer bags.  Fill one up part-way with a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water, get as much air out of it as you can as you zip it shut.  Put it, zip-side first, into the second bag and zip that shut.  Put it in the freezer.  The alcohol mixed with the water won't freeze solid (if the dilution isn't just right, you might get a few odd ice pockets, but it basically turns into a gel as it cools down), so you can put it inside a dishcloth or lightweight towel and use it as an ice-pack that can be re-chilled at your leisure.

I was skeptical when I first read it, but the alcohol/water mix is basically how automotive anti-freeze works, so I gave it a shot.  I'm sold.  On really hot days when my AC can't keep pace with the temps outside, I pull it out of the freezer and move it around on my body as I'm sitting at the computer (ie, for a while, it's resting on the back of my neck, on top of my head, in my lap, etc).  Does a great job and since some of my headaches are heat-induced, it's really good at breaking the cycle on those.  Don't know how well it would do with hot-flashes, but it might be worth a shot...(it's certainly a lot less messy than a sprinkler...)

Interesting. That's a pretty good dang suggestion. I'm not sure I'm going to do it exactly as that but some version sounds plausible. It's weird, I'll get hot for a few minutes and then it magically goes away though I think my overall temperature is a little higher. Most of the time between wearing appropriate cooler clothes and turning down the AC I'm ok but every once in a while I get a heat spike. Your suggestion is a good one that I will try to keep in mind. I know we've got a variety of ice packs, including gel ones in the freezer already. Old age must have kept me from remembering that lol.

Feeling very depressed today and I don't know if I want to hit something,scream or just cry until I have nothing left in me. That is my vent thanks for listening.

In reply to tardis (msg # 84):

I always suggest assessing one's vice, locating it; latching on, and then deciding if one wants to partake in it.  Sometimes mere consideration of one's vice is enough to overcome the difficulties of the day.

Oh I know whats the cause of my problems and that is the reason why I am feeling the way I have for awhile now. *sigh* And there are two many reasons for my feeling this way and for some unknown reason I cannot seem to find a good reason why I don't go see someone for my situation.

In reply to tardis (msg # 86):

Probably not a good response -- but, this is part of why I smoke.

Ya I couldn't smoke and only drink on occasion but I have considered drinking more and more lately. Its just been a really really bad year and I never used to be a depressed person but I am now trust me. And the worst thing is knowing that I am depressed.

In reply to tardis (msg # 84):

I've never tried it for depression, but for cases of really extreme, I-wanna-punch-someone-in-the-face frustration, I've filled a plastic shopping bag about half-full of rags (the lighter weight, the better), tied it securely shut, and proceeded to kick it around as hard as I could until I ran out of steam.

(As it wraps around your foot when you kick it, it becomes very difficult to actually propel the bag away with enough force to break or damage anything, but if you've got lots of very fragile stuff, I wouldn't recommend it indoors.  I didn't at the time...and now I've got so much stuff crammed into my apartment that there's not enough room to do something like that with and degree of satisfaction, though I could always go out back and boot it around the yard.)

That is really good advice and if my old punching bag wasn't in danger of a hole being put in it I'd take out all of my issues on that since hitting that is safer than hitting someone in the face but not nearly as satisfactory and hitting a wall hurts to much. I broke knuckles doing that when I was younger.

I think until I am able to move on past my dilemma I am forced into periods of misery unfortunately.

I used to go bang weights at home or the gym to release stress but now I'd probably end up ripping my muscles badly. Now I'd more likely go for a long walk/hike. Barring that, play some sort of computer game where I can blow stuff up.

Minecraft update 12 for the consoles is taking way to long to come out :C

And the Character DLC for my favorite game borderlands is extremely expensive :C

Yellow jackets.

Nests of them around my house, but more importantly in my rosemary bush.  I didn't realize they were in my rosemary bush until I went to cut some for my lamb stew and pulled back a hand with three stings.  One of the buggers even followed me into the house.

I didn't get all the rosemary I need but I'm not going back out there.  :(

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 94):

Get some wasp spray and go out there at dusk.  They've gone into their nest for the night, at that point.  Hose down the nest with the spray and go back inside.  Check it for activity the next day, and repeat as needed until they're gone.  Shouldn't take long...most wasp sprays are residual...if you only get the entrance to the nest, even, they get exposed to the toxins when they come in or go out and it will take care of them.  And it may be multiple nests.  I had an old truck that I left sitting for part of a summer and when I went out to do something with it, I discovered (the hard way) that it had become home-base for a multitude of wasps and yellow-jackets...they had probably a dozen starts on nests in various locations (inside the door frames, under the wheel well, there were four of them inside the camper-shell)...three days and the truck was clear.

Yeah, but they're in my herb garden... I don't want insecticides on my herbs.  I've got a black thumb as it is, I can't afford to lose the stuff that's managed to survive my clumsy attempts at gardening.  :(

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 96):

I forget what I used to use (one was an insecticide, but others were safe for herbs), but check for non-toxic ideas.

You can use boiling water.
It's absolutely harmless to the plant, but will cause most parasites to die off.
As for the Yellow Jackets you need to find the nest and smoke them out.

Edit:
These two links seem to know what they're talking about
http://eartheasy.com/live_natwasp_control.htm
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7450.html
This message was last edited by the user at 20:24, Sun 04 Aug 2013.

In reply to Evil Empryss (msg # 96):

I'd look at some safe-for-human options, then, or something that won't be a residual poison.

But, ultimately, I'd rather have a dead garden than have a live garden full of hostile insects that deprived me of the benefits of the garden, anyway...if you can't harvest any of the herbs for fear of getting stung, you're not getting any real benefit from the garden, after all.

Good ole boy method. Cigarette lighter and can of hair spray. You now have a portable flamethrower. Also best accompanied with maniacal laughter and foul language as you viciously roast your enemies. YMMV.