(Ray)2

I had a dream last night that I was telling my husband that I was pregnant. I wasn't very happy about it in the dream, more a feeling of being resigned to the fact. He appeared fairly grim at the news as well.

That was the extent of the dream. There was no conversation. My husband and I are facing some difficult decisions in our future, and while I wouldn't be thrilled to find out I'm pregnant at this point. I am inclined to think that the dream isn't really about pregnancy at all, but would like other opinions.

I have never had a regular menstrual cycle which, of course, makes getting pregnant difficult. I never worried about it to much as I always felt that if I was to have children I would. A couple of years ago I had a sudo-pregnancy. I say that because when I had my first prenatal visit, it was discovered that I had sac that measured 9 weeks, but there was no baby. I was more devistated than I thought I would be. I had to have a D&C which made me feel like I was killing something I should love, despite the fact that there was no baby. My brain kept irrationally telling me that maybe the doctor was wrong and there was a baby there and now I was killing it. I was really messed up more than most people realized at that point. That was about two years ago and I haven't been pregnant since...until now.

I just discovered that I am about six weeks pregnant and I am terrified. What if this pregnancy is like the last? What if there is no baby? What is wrong with me? What if there is a baby and I miscarry? Why can my sister who leads a much unhealthier life style than I do manage to have four beautiful healty children and I can't get past 10 weeks with a pregnancy?

My fears and questions are irrational and don't have answers. I don't expect them. What will happen will happen I will do the best I can to make things go well and the rest is up to God, or fate, or nature, or what ever has control of these things.

I guess what I'm really looking for is a vent and maybe a few helpful words. If you want to tell me that my questions are crazy and irrational that's fine I know they are, but remember that fear is irrational. We can't control what brings it on we can only control how we deal with it. Telling me not to worry is like telling the sun not to shine, but tho' it may not stop my worries it might make me feel a little better. Please be kind.

Thanks for any wisdom you can give.

The Egyptian god of dreams is Serapis. The Greek god of dreams is Morpheus. What is the name of the god of dreams from other histories, legends, folklores, mythology or realities?

I'm a total beginner when it comes to photo editing and manipulation, but I really want to learn. I'm hesitant to fork out the money for Photoshop, especially since I'm not sure if this is something I will want to pursue beyond the "dabbling" point. I read a bit about Gimp and it seems to be the way to go for me, but like I said, I'm a total beginner and I really don't know what I'm doing or what I need. To give you a frame of reference, the only photo editing software I've ever used are the ones that came with my cameras. I don't even know how those would compare, though I can guess it isn't favorably.

So what advice would you give me? Is Gimp easy to learn? How does it compare to Photoshop? Is there another photo editing program you would suggest?

Like I said, I'm not looking for full blown professional grade programming right now, just something to learn on.

Thanks in advance for the help, and just in case your interested you can check out some of my photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27020793@N04/

I read a LOT, but right now I'm in a funk and don't know what I'm in the mood for. I'm a big Sci/fi Fantasy fan, but I like general fiction as well. I like a little romance but can live without it. I love a bit of humor and prefer a happy ending. Here is a list of some of my favored authors:

JK Rowling

Tamora Peirce

Karen Marie Moning

Kasey Michaels

Garth Nix

Cornelia Funke

Nora Roberts

Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

Jane Austen

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Juliette Marillier

Stephenie Meyer

(Just to name a few). I like Terry Pratchett (even though I can't spell his name :P ) and Mercedes Lackey is okay too. ( I really like the fairy godmother series)

Maybe this novel will give you a general idea of my likes, Suggest away!!

Would you pronounce it like Kay-lee or would it be more like Kay-l (rhyme with gail)? Maybe you have another suggestion.

I have my opinion, what is yours?

The Navajo have the dreamcatchers, Greek mythology has Morpheus. What are some other stories, legends, or myths about dreams? People that send us dreams, items that keep dreams away or make your dreams come true.

I would like to hear stories from different cultures about why we have dreams and who gives them to us. Do you have one?

I am looking into setting up a small (in-home) bindery. I need suggestions for equipment that is economical but durable. I don't plan on being a mass publisher so I'm not looking for a room sized saddle stitcher or any think like that. Any other advice or suggestions in connection with a bindery would be appreciated.

I don't mean just synonyms (I can look those up myself). I'm looking for change in other languages i.e. latin, greek, french, chinese etc. Also, if there are obsolete synonyms for change or some very unusual synonyms that don't usually appear in a thesaurus, I would like those as well.

Thanks for the help.

What name would you choose for a traveling sales person that sells dreams and nightmares?

I was watching a Doctor Who the other day and the Doctor tells Martha, "You can tell people you saw Shakespeare." She replies, "Yes, then I'll be sectioned."

I'm guessing that means she'll be put under psychiatric care. In this part of the U.S., we would say "I'll be committed".

Is my guess correct or am I way off base?