As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push ‘anti-diet’ advice

General Mills warns of ‘food shaming’; dietitian influencers promote junk foods and discourage weight loss efforts, from The Washington Post

3 new memoirs tell stories of struggle and resilience

‘This American Ex-Wife,’ ‘Everywhere the Undrowned’ and ‘The Manicurist’s Daughter’ delve into the challenges of knowing oneself and one’s family, also from The Washington Post

It Took Divorce to Make My Marriage Equal

I spent 12 years fighting for an equal partnership, when what I needed was a divorce, by Lyz Lenz, in Glamour (yes, she's the author of "This American Ex-Wife")

The All-American Father

When I became a father, I felt a torrent of love, pride, and terror. Now, looking back on the rules of manhood that shaped how my own father raised me, I wonder: did he love me the same way? (from Esquire)

My mother is not surprised that her children are well-off. Her two daughters are business executives. Her oldest son is a lawyer. She predicted it all long ago. “Someday,” she used to say when we were young, “you will all grow up and all be very rich. You’ll have lots of money to buy me presents. But I’ll be a little old lady. I won’t have any teeth or hair. So you’ll have to buy me soft food and put a blue wig on my head. And you’ll buy me a big fur coat. But you’ll only be able to see my eyes.”

  Every Christmas now the floor around her feet is carpeted with red and green wrapping paper. And her feet are wreathed with gifts.
( Read more... )

This Dad was super thoughtful to leave his teenage son a note with and some cash to order a pizza. Even better is that he specifies that he left the money with “Meatloaf”.

As it turns out, Meatloaf is the cat, who is still daintily holding a twenty-dollar bill between her paws. Let’s hope the son was willing to share his pizza with this talented kitty!

http://www.giveitlove.com/these-parents-left-their-kids-the-funniest-notes-ever/2/

(there are more funny notes from parents in that gallery)

"If you think you're enlightened, spend a week with your family"

(Ram Daas)

Elizabeth Gilbert

This one never grows old!

Let's give thanks for all the people who we love and need, and who drive us crazy, and who share our weird crazy history, and who always manage to push our buttons, and who we sometimes can't figure out how we could possibly be related to, and who we sometimes can't imagine living without, and who test our hard-won patience, and who make us revert to embarassing old versions of ourselves, and who never (for better or worse) let us forget who we are (or, at least: who we used to be...)

Happy Father's Day to all fathers! Here's a song about dads: "Daddy can do anything"
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Translation of lyrics:

( HERE: )

 Picture originally posted by levkonoe at Robert Duncan "Good Memories"**
WHAT A BABY COSTS

by Edgar A. Guest

"How much do babies cost?" said he
The other night upon my knee;
And then I said:  "They cost a lot;
A lot of watching by a cot,
A lot of sleepless hours and care,
A lot of heart-ache and despair,
A lot of fear and trying dread,
And sometimes many tears are shed
In payment for our babies small,
But every one is worth it all.

 

( Read more... )

First time I've heard this in Russian:
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( In English and in Yiddish: )

"MY MOTHER'S GARDEN" Her heart is like her garden, Old fashioned, quaint and sweet, With here a wealth of blossoms, And there a still retreat. Sweet violets are hiding, We know as we pass by, And lillies, pure as angel thoughts, Are opening somewhere nigh. Forget-me-nots there linger, To full perfection brought, And there bloom purple pansies In many a tender thought. There love's own roses blossom, As from enchanted ground, And lavish perfume exquisite The whole glad year around. And in that quiet garden - The garden of her heart - Songbirds are always singing Their songs of cheer apart. And from it floats forever, O'ercoming sin and strife, Sweet as the breath of roses blown, The fragrance of her life.   By Alice E. Allen Photo by John Peters - used with permission from: http://www.istockphoto.com/

From http://www.marinrose.org/poem-springsummer07.html

Why I'm Here
by Jacqueline Berger

Because my mother was on a date
with a man in the band, and my father,
thinking she was alone, asked her to dance.
( And because... )

Originally posted by levkonoe at Marius van Dokkum - "В ногу со временем"

Originally posted by levkonoe at Diane Dengel - еще одна умильная картинка-валентинка

Hey, goldvermilion87 and sherlockiangirl --check this out ;)

Song's title is "The musical family" XD
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( Several more...the first and the last picture are clickable :) )

Time for eharmony

After I popped the question, my fiancee said two things: "Yes!" and "Now I have to change my Facebook status!"

My friend's boyfriend broke up with her by kicking her out of the guild on World of Warcraft.

(Jason Michaels, collegehumor.com, found in Reader's Digest)

In honour of Mother's Day in US, coming up tomorrow, Sunday, May 9 :)
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My Mother's Garden

Her heart is like her garden,
Old-fashioned, quaint and sweet,
With here a wealth of blossoms,
And there a still retreat.
Sweet violets are hiding,
We know as we pass by,
And lilies, pure as angel thoughts,
Are opening somewhere nigh.

Forget-me-nots there linger,
To full perfection brought,
And there bloom purple pansies
In many a tender thought.
There love's own roses blossom,
As from enchanted ground,
And lavish perfume exquisite
The whole glad year around.

And in that quiet garden--
The garden of her heart--
Songbirds are always singing
Their songs of cheer apart.
And from it floats forever,
O'ercoming sin and strife,
Sweet as the breath of roses blown,
The fragrance of her life.

(Alice E. Allen)

This collection was put together by and is reposted from anastgal 
**
( Lots more happy paintings this way: )

www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/pets/2010-04-30-pets-vs-spouses_N.htm

Life's Scars

They say the world is round, and yet
I often think it square,
So many little hurts we get
From corners here and there.
But one great truth in life I've found,
While journeying to the West-
The only folks who really wound
Are those we love the best.

The man you thoroughly despise
Can rouse your wrath, 'tis true;
Annoyance in your heart will rise
At things mere strangers do;
But those are only passing ills;
This rule all lives will prove;
The rankling wound which aches and thrills
Is dealt by hands we love.

The choicest garb, the sweetest grace,
Are oft to strangers shown;
The careless mien, the frowning face,
Are given to our own.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.

Love does not grow on every tree,
Nor true hearts yearly bloom.
Alas for those who only see
This cut across a tomb!
But, soon or late, the fact grows plain
To all through sorrow's test:
The only folks who give us pain
Are those we love the best.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

http://www.poemhunter.com/