FiFi la Beche

...attended as kids but are no longer active in the church? I'm the Ladies Group leader at my church, and we decided a few years ago that we would only do baby showers for women who are active members of the church. (We had done a couple for women who hardly ever attended, and some ladies were afraid it was getting out of hand, so we went back to the group's old policy that they had before I got involved.)

Now we have two girls (in their 20's) who attended church as kids and teens, but never really came back after they graduated high school. Their parents/grandparents still attend, but neither girl has been there more than once or twice in the last five or six years.

Now it gets tricky. I was asked by the grandmother of one of the girls if our Ladies Group was going to have baby showers for the girls, and suggested we have a joint one. I told her that we had decided to only have baby showers for active members of the church. I think I hurt her feelings. The girl she was asking about had been one of my very first Sunday School students, and I'd love to do a shower for her. But, the decision was made before either girl was pregnant. (The other girl never came to Sunday School, so I don't really know her.)

So, I'm just kind of getting a feel for what other churches do. What is your policy in this situation?

I'm slowly but surely catching up on the new series, and am still on the last few David Tennant episodes. But I saw some fan work on YouTube that seemed to indicate Rose, as Bad Wolf, had something to do with Clara's splitting up into multiple copies to save the Doctor throughout time. Is this true, or was that just a theory before the episode aired?

Also, why didn't Rose as Bad Wolf save herself from being stuck in the alternate universe? Surely if she had that much power and knowledge, she could've saved herself. But then, I guess we wouldn't have the tear-jerker episodes, would we?

Thanks so much!

At most of my jobs, it seems the female employees are always wasting time chit-chatting and making personal phone calls. They spend half the work day yakking on the phone to their parents, kids, hubbies, baby-daddies, best friends, whoever. Even my boss at my last job was like this! It drove me crazy!

BQ: Do the men act like this, too? In my experience, it's only the women who do this. The men are actually working when they're at work!

I added the $60 international card. It tells how to call internationally (calling some US number first), but I can't figure out how to text internationally. Hitting "reply" isn't working. What's the trick?

I work at a flower shop, and we've seen it all when it comes to the dearly departed. But this one takes the cake. A lady selected one of our little pre-printed cards that said "Welcome to your new home" to put on the funeral arrangement she had just ordered.

Now, on the one hand, it's very thought-provoking, as the deceased was indeed in her new home (which hopefully was Heaven). That's why I put it in the religion section.

On the other hand, wow. Just wow. Not sure if my customer was a deep-thinking trendsetter, or just a whack-a-doodle! What do YOU think?

I seriously saw a book by this title in the inspirational section at WalMart! What on earth was the author thinking? Does she not know what 50 Shades of Grey is about? Yeah, it's a clever title, but isn't this a little over the top? Or am I just overreacting?

I just saw an episode on Netflix of the revised series in which the Doctor has a genetically replicated daughter. (Why she was the only female on the planet is beyond me, but that's a whole other question.) Her name was Jenny, and she regenerates at the end, after the Doctor has already left.

Anyway, he mentioned having lost another daughter, whom I assume was Susan's mother. Who was she? Was she also genetically replicated, or did the Doctor get some action? Did she ever appear on the show?

BQ: Do you think that Susan was the mysterious female Time Lady in The End of Time?

It kind of reminds me of the Trix rabbit. He never gets the Trix. The Doctor never gets to be a ginger. But hey, at least those "#12 might be a woman" rumors were false!

My kitten loves to attack our hands and dig his front claws in, bite, and kick with his hind legs. It was kind of cute when he was tiny, but now that he's bigger, it really hurts! We have all started setting him on the floor and ignoring him when he does this, but he usually comes back at least once or twice before giving up.

Is this normal? I have no idea how old he is, but he's about 1/3 the size of a full-grown cat, maybe a little smaller. Will he outgrow this? Will he calm down after he is neutered? Is there anything we can do to stop this behavior, or is it nothing to worry about? I don't want a mean kitty!

Note: We found him stuck in our fence about 6 weeks ago. He was just a tiny little thing then. We're taking him to the vet this week to get him checked out and to discuss neutering.

If so, please punctuate the following sentence, and list your gender.

woman without her man is nothing

I've heard that men punctuate it one way, while women punctuate it differently. I've always been curious to see if it's true or not! Thanks!

I have had two in a row, and they both only lived for a few months. The last one was fine until I changed the water and scrubbed the algae out of the tank. My betta is fine, but the snail croaked. (I even tossed in some "sinking wafers" for the snail to munch on until the algae started to grow back.) Am I doing something wrong? Or are they just a very short-lived species?

I read a fascinating article on Yahoo about a pregnant teen whose parents were trying to force her to get an abortion. She went to court and got a court order to be able to carry the pregnancy to term. I was thinking, "Good for her! It shouldn't be anyone's choice but hers!"

But then the article took a rather bizarre twist. The parents of the pregnant teen are ordered to be responsible for half of the girl's medical bills associated with the pregnancy! I can see both sides of this. On the one hand, she is still a minor, and they should take care of her. On the other hand, she wants to be independent, so she should be willing to foot the bill with her babydaddy.

So what do you think? Should the girl's parents be on the hook for this pregnancy? Is it their responsibility?

http://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-teen-wins-abortion-...

I've seen two questions tonight in Gender Studies that weren't getting any answers, and I thought they could do better in other categories. I answered what I could, and suggested they try a different category for more answers. I've done this quite frequently. Is it wrong?

Oh, and I'm not talking about being rude to someone by saying "This isn't singles & dating" or some such. They were legitimate questions that weren't getting any answers because they weren't really in the right category.

I have a cute little Inca Gold snail, but he is always "jumping" off the side of the tank. He just seems to let go and kind of float down to the bottom. He doesn't go in his shell, and he seems to spread his body out like a little parachute, so I don't think it hurts him. But is it normal snail behavior?

I'm just curious about this. I have vegan friends who had a cat for a long time. They felt bad for feeding her meat, but they knew she needed it. I believe they added some grains and veggies to her diet, but I can't tell you exactly what the kitty's diet was.

So, do a lot of vegans keep cats and dogs even though the animals are meat-eaters? Or do they only keep vegetarian pets like rabbits and guinea pigs? Or do they oppose keeping pets/companion animals altogether?

I just saw it in a question here a minute ago, but it was deleted. What is a lesbian guy?

Those are my two options for the next hour or so. Whatever shall I do? Be productive and get things ready for a family get-together tomorrow, or slack off and watch the exciting two-part season finale of Season 1 (#9, Christopher Eccleston)?

My cat is 17, and a few months ago, he started getting really finicky. He will only eat seafood flavors. And I have to switch brands every 3 or 4 weeks, because he stops eating it. Is this normal?

I personally like the idea of girly girls and manly men. Who decided it was wrong for women to be feminine, and for men to be masculine? When did it become wrong for little girls to want to play with dolls and have tea parties while little boys played with trucks and GI Joe?

There was a big feminist stink at Christmas over Lego's new girly line that featured lots of pink, pastel colors, and curvy girly figures to play with (as opposed to the blocky figures of the traditional Lego people). One feminist was whining that the line only had sets that portrayed "traditional female stereotypes" like a beauty shop, cafe, and animal care facility. I ask, so what? What is really wrong with traditional gender stereotypes?

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I thought I'd throw out a question for y'all. I say both sides are hypocritical (which I'll explain in a minute), but which side is worse?

Pro-lifers say that life begins at conception, and that all babies have the right to life. That every pregnancy, even an unplanned one, is a blessing. Yet a vast majority of them want to cut spending to help children in poverty (whom they don't think should be aborted because the mothers are poor), like food stamps, section 8 housing, and so forth. They essentially care about the kid until it's born, then it's "fend for yourself."

Now the pro-choicers are all for social welfare programs, and pass myriad (and often ludicrous) laws to protect children and improve their lives. But only the children who make it through the birth canal. Before the kid is born, they believe a woman has the right to end the pregnancy. Even Obama yesterday waxed poetic about making America safe for kids. BORN kids. Unborn kids can fend for themselves.

So who are the bigger hypocrites? Those who only care about the kid before it's born, or those who only care about it after it's born?

BQ: Is there some kind of middle ground that isn't hypocritical?