Category: life

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The Truth Behind How Alcohol Really Impacts Your Mood

It’s a pretty commonly held belief that if you’re stressed out after a tough day, a drink (or two) can help you wind down and relax. This belief is bolstered by the fact that a glass of wine in the evening has become a crucial ritual for many a stressed parent trying to relax.

Luckily, for us, it’s not an unsubstantiated practice. Believe it or not, studies have shown that certain types of wine can have legitimate health benefits beyond the mental stress relief.

Photo Credit: Pixabay 

 

Alcohol quickly boosts our serotonin levels, which results in an elevated or euphoric improvement to our mood. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (a biological chemical, basically), and it’s a key player in our happiness and mood. People who experience anxiety and depression often have lower than average levels of serotonin in their gut, blood and central nervous system.

The problem is, after that initial boost in serotonin brought on by a couple of drinks, serotonin levels fall down even lower than they were prior to your drinking. So if you drink habitually, it means that you’re regularly lowering your serotonin levels to below what is considered average, and that can eventually rewire your brain.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

If you’re someone who doesn’t struggle with depression and anxiety, then you may not have anything to worry about – but if you do, having a drink or two every day might be something you want to rethink.

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Southwest Airlines Apologizes to a Passenger After Employee Mocks Her Daughter’s Name, “Abcde”

Ya know, I’ve seen some “weird” names in my day. Heck, i watch enough professional football to know that people can sometimes have… interesting… names (like Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Taco Charlton, or D’Brickashaw Ferguson). I try my best not to be too judgmental. Apparently, the folks at Southwest don’t feel the same way…

Traci Redford, a Texas resident, complained that a Southwest employee mocked her daughter’s name. She said, “The gate agent started laughing, pointing at me and my daughter, talking to other employees. So I turned around and said, ‘Hey, if I can hear you, my daughter can hear you, so I’d appreciate if you’d just stop.”

Oh, I forgot to mention her daughter’s name. Are you ready for this? Abcde. It’s pronounced “Ab-city.” Yes, you read that correctly.

Photo Credit: pxhere

The employee apparently took a photo of the girl’s boarding pass and posted it online, which is how Redford found about it and reported it to the airline.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Southwest eventually apologized to the woman and Abcde, saying “We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our Customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online.”

You’re probably not going to believe this, but there are several hundred people in the U.S. with the name “Abcde.”

Wow, we live in strange times.

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10 Scientific Reasons You’re Always Freezing, No Matter What

Are you someone who’s always cold? My mom is actually like that. No matter what the temperature indoors or out, she’s almost always reaching for a sweater. I think I at least partially inherited that tendency, because I definitely have a much lower threshold for cold weather than, say, my wife for example.

Maybe you know someone like this too? It could be your spouse, or a family member, or maybe a coworker. If so, you might want to show them these 10 reasons that might explain why they’re always cold.

1. Women are usually colder than men

Photo Credit: Pixabay

One study showed that women’s hands tend to be colder than men’s, so sex might just be one of the answers to this puzzling question. Sorry, ladies!

2. You might be anemic

Photo Credit: Flickr, Quinn Dombrowski

Iron deficiency (aka anemia) could be to blame for your chills. Iron is a key component of red blood cells, and if you’re lacking it, it’s tough for your blood to carry oxygen as efficiently as it should, which can lead to feeling cold. If you have anemia, you might also feel lightheaded, tired, and have a rapid heart rate or shortness of breath.

Anemia can also be the result of having low B12 levels, something that vegetarians and vegans should be on the lookout for.

3. You have a bun in the oven

Surprise! Many pregnant women wind up with anemia and poor circulation, which can cause them to feel cold or like they have a chill. Though you should definitely take a pregnancy test before jumping to this conclusion.

4. You’re dehydrated

Photo Credit: Max Pixel

Drink up! Water speeds up your metabolism and breaks down food, which creates energy and heat. Most people are at least a little dehydrated, so maybe you just need to drink a whole lot of water.

5. Anxiety

People with anxiety tend to feel colder than others. If you suffer from anxiety, your amygdala is activated, the part of your brain that is responsible for responding to danger and protecting the body. It floods your system with chemicals that force your body into using its energy to keep you safe because it thinks you are in danger.

But when your body is focused on keeping you safe, blood flow stops working the way it should to keep you warm.

6. Your age

The older you get, the more your metabolism slows down and the less heat you produce. Decreased muscle mass in aging people also contributes to feeling colder.

7. Hormones might be to blame

Hormones in both males and females can affect body temperature. Women’s menstrual cycles can also cause changes in body temperature and sensitivity to the cold.

8. Poor circulation

If your hands and feet are much colder than the rest of your body, you might have circulation issues. Bad circulation can can be genetic, but it can also be a sign of cardiovascular disease. Smoking also contributes to constricting blood vessels, so if you can knock off the cigarettes, you’ll have a better chance of keeping warm.

9. A problem with your thyroid

Photo Credit: Flickr,Alpha

Your thyroid may be under-active (this is called hypothyroidism). Because the thyroid helps regulate body temperature, if you are constantly cold, it may be a sign it isn’t working like it should.

10. Check your diet

Certain foods might be to blame for your constant coldness. Clinical nutritionist Josh Axe says, “People who eat lots of water-dense, cold foods are going to feel cooler.” These include salads, smoothies, and iced drinks. Try eating more warm foods, like soups or stir fry.

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5 Uniquely American Traditions That the Rest of the World Find…Odd

People are different all around the world. From the way we eat o how we dress to the language we use, every country has its own unique culturat traditions. While that diversity is a beautiful thing, it also means that what might seem perfectly normal to you might seem absolutely bizarre to someone else.

Here are 5 things that Americans do every day that the rest of the world finds a bit odd:

Photo Credit: Pexel, rawpixel.com

Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving, shoppers head out in droves to claim steeply discounted merchandise for Christmas. A cheery, exciting day to bond with family and physically fight your way to the best deals. But Black Friday was not a positive term when originally coined in the 1950s. Back then, the mobs of shoppers and spectators out for the Army-Navy football game in Philly made it chaos for the police force. But retailer spun it into a positive by the 1980s. Yes, we still see the reports on chaos, but we don’t necessarily feel bad about it.

Whether we should is another question…

 

Photo Credit: Pexel

More Ice, Please!

In America, we love our ice. From iced tea to ice-filled fountain sodas to a refreshing glass of water, you can get a cold drink most anywhere drinks are served. But in many other areas of the world, iced drinks are nowhere to be found – in fact in many countries putting ice in your water is thought to be unhealthy.

Photo Credit: Pexel, Susanne Jutzeler

The Pumpkin Craze

You either love pumpkin or hate it. Since 2011, the pumpkin obsession has grown almost 80% – as measured in sales of pumpkin products by Nielson. What started out as a Halloween tradition quickly moved to a Thanksgiving dessert and then exploded with the pumpkin spice craze. Marketers capitalize on the pumpkin craze from the beginning of fall well into the winter.

Photo Credit: Pexel, J Carter

Baby Showers

In America, we celebrate everything “baby”, starting with a gender reveal with family and friends, name reveals after the baby is born, all the way to the over-the-top annual birthday parties! But let’s not forget the baby shower. A day devoted to “showering” gifts on the mom-to-be as she prepares for the birth of her child.

Whereas in Israel, families don’t even talk about baby names or set up the nursery until the baby is born. They feel the American way is a “counting your chickens before they hatch” mentality, which can come back to bite you in a worst case scenario.

Photo Credit: Pexel, Pixabay

Doggie Bags

If you don’t finish your meal, at many restaurants you are automatically asked by the waiter if you would like to take the rest home. And it’s normal to say yes. It means you don’t have to buy lunch the next day. Score!

Well, in certain countries, taking home food is a no-no. According to the manager of a fancy restaurant in Moscow, “We use fresh, high-quality products here. It makes no sense to let it grow old. Pasta dies after 20 minutes; things lose their taste.” Europeans believe it to be a health hazard and a way to avoid unnecessary food poisoning.

Photo Credit: Pexel, estocks.org

Coffee on the Go

Starbucks has changed the way we “coffee”. A quick stop at your local beanery, and your day is underway as you go out to win the business world. But overseas? Forget about it. Coffee is meant to be savored. It’s a way to socialize and relax. Most cafés don’t have cardboard cups, leaving you out of luck if you want to caffeinate on the run.

Silly Americans!

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This Vending Machine in Indiana Gives Out Clothes and Blankets to the Homeless

Homelessness is a serious problem in this country. It’s the kind of thing that could easily happen to anyone. Having spent some time volunteering with this population, I can tell you that their stories have impressed a simple truth onto me: anyone, and I mean anyone is only a few really bad days away from being homeless.

That’s why this vending machine in Muncie, Indiana dispenses clothes, socks, and blankets for free to help homeless people stay warm during the frigid winter months is such an incredible idea!

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Matt Collamer

The machine was set up outside a fire station to serve the estimated 200 homeless people who live in Delaware County, Indiana. People must first register with Bridges Community Services in Muncie before they can use the service. They are then given tokens to put into the machines to receive the goods.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Country 106.7

All of the items were donated by the community, and Bridges Community Services is still accepting donations. So if you’d like to help out, get in touch with them HERE.

A similar vending machine opened earlier this year in Nottingham, England, stocked with food, clothes, and toiletries, to assist the homeless population in that city.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Action Hunger

Help out if you can, and hopefully other cities will follow Muncie’s example.

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The Trend on Amazon That’s Landing People in Jail

Can you imagine a life without Amazon? What started as a way to buy books online way back when has now evolved into a trillion dollar corporation that’s become a part of our lives in ways we never could have anticipated even a decade ago. Today, we use Amazon to shop, read, sell products, watch television and movies, and even as a personal assistant!

Photo Credit: Pixabay

It’s so big that it shouldn’t come entirely as a surprise that young people are finding ways to defraud the conglomerate.

Amazon’s return and replacement policies, which are generous by industry standards, are the root of the majority of the fraud taking place. And even though they’re not losing money fast enough for it to impact their stock prices or bottom line, the company recently decided to prosecute some of these fraudsters.

One of the cases they’ve brought is against 24-year-old Joseph Sides of Boca Raton, Florida. He was taken to trial on federal charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The arraignment listed a litany of complaints:

“Between March 2016 and June 2018, Sides created approximately 501 Amazon accounts using false names, multiple email addresses, and altered shipping addresses to place approximately 1227 orders.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Simply by telling Amazon sellers that merchandise never came or arrived damaged, he acquired a stunning $229k in merchandise, replacements and refunds. However, since they caught him, he could face up to 20 years in prison for each charge brought against him.

Last year, Indiana couple Erin and Leah Finan pled guilty to similar charges, except that they had been able to defraud Amazon out of a whopping $1.2 million. They were sentenced to 71 and 68 months in prison, respectively.

These types of retail cons aren’t exactly new. In the days of brick-and-mortar shoplifting, thieves would steal an item from one location and then return it to another belonging to the same company. This is the same type of scam, according to Michael Benza, a criminal law professor at Case Western Reserve University. But, he tells Vice, the prosecutions probably aren’t about the money:

“To most people, $230,000 is a lot of money, but for Amazon, it probably doesn’t do anything to hurt its stock price. However, if a very large number of customers do this to Amazon, the company will see a lot of money going out the door. I imagine in this case, Amazon got involved to send a message to cybercriminals.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Amazon assists in catching these types of offenders in order to save the data it mines from its transactions (yeah, they really do that), and it’s likely they will continue given that these types of online return schemes are on the rise. Red Soto, the director of security research for the cybersecurity firm Jask, told Vice just how quickly they’re popping up:

“Some involve sophisticated groups that purchase programming scripts on the dark web that allows them to automate the creation of fake profiles and follow certain items to purchase. It’s a lot easier to catch one person, but when you have 30 people placing orders at different times and sending items to different addresses and foreign countries, it is a lot harder to track down.”

However, if Amazon’s third quarter earnings report is any indication, the company is doing just fine. They expect some loss, fraud and abuse, and figure it into their bottom line. And, frankly, the retail side of the business is nowhere near as profitable as their web services.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

That said, these recent arrests and prosecutions prove that Amazon isn’t just going to let people get away with defrauding them left and right. So behave out there on the internet, friends. You may be sitting behind a screen, but companies like Amazon see right into your thieving little hearts.

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Three Years Later: Grandma Who Accidentally Texted a Teen is Still Sharing Thanksgiving

The holidays are all about family. It’s a time to get together with your loved ones and celebrate your good fortunes. We can all use a little love during the holidays, and there’s something even more special about celebrating with the family that you chose (usually in the form of good friends).

That’s what happened in 2016 when Jamal Hinton received a text from an unknown “grandma” in 2016.

Photo Credit: Twitter, @CertoNego

Photo Credit: Twitter, CertoNego

Photo Credit: Twitter, @CertoNego

Photo Credit: Twitter, @CertoNego

And their relationship grew from there.

Hinton took Wanda Dench up on her offer and enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with his newfound family – and he continued to do so in 2017 and 2018.

Photo Credit: Twitter, @kingjamal08

And it doesn’t stop there. They even meet during the off-holiday-season!

Photo Credit: Twitter, @kingjamal08

Hinton posted a Q&A session with Dench (aka Grandma) about the mishap that turned into a blessing.

Dench said, “I grew up in the military and moved around a lot so I was always going to new places…strangers were not strangers to me…you open your ‘door’…it was normal for us.”

Photo Credit: Twitter, @kingjamal08

Always remember: kindness is free and the word “family” knows no bounds.

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10+ Photos That People With Clubbed Thumbs Will Definitely Understand

If you’ve got normal thumbs, you may not realize how good you have it. Clubbed thumbs can definitely cause a lot of headaches throughout the day, but luckily those who have them have formed a tight support group online (a “club,” if you will!). Check out these 12 encouraging posts to see what we mean!

1. Your thumb is constantly going through an identity crisis.

Photo Credit: Instagram: skopuningurin

2. There are Facebook groups for people just like you.

Photo Credit: Instagram: gonzaaerro

3. People want to see your thumbs.

Photo Credit: Instagram: smcfarfar

4. And then, you know, compare theirs.

Photo Credit: Instagram: origami67

5. You might feel self-conscious if you Instagram a picture of you holding something.

6. Polishing your nails is a bit more challenging.

Photo Credit: Instagram: baymaxbaeby

7. You stick together with other members of the “club!”

Photo Credit: Instagram: asteffy

8. Autocorrect is your best friend.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @itssmeg

9. They need custom gloves.

10. People always think you jammed your thumb when you were little.

11. Deep down in your heart, you are proud of your unique features.

12. So you give the universe a thumbs up!

Here’s to all the thumbs out there!

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15 Women Reveal Why They Refused Being a Bridesmaid (and What Happened After)

If you’re asked to be a bridesmaid (or a groomsman) for one of your friends, the acceptable response is to jump for joy, say thanks, and accept the honor immediately.

That said, there are exceptions like financial problems, health issues, and being asked by someone you’ve never even met before (true story). Sadly, the AskReddit stories that follow don’t all fall into the above ‘acceptable’ reason column, but most still make a great deal of sense once you read them.

1. A proposition

“I’ve said no at least three times because I absolutely hate being a bridesmaid. But each time I’ve offered to play violin for the ceremony instead. All three times I was taken up on the offer.

Saved me the expense of being a bridesmaid, saved the bride $ on music for the ceremony (I always played these weddings for free), and I still got to be an important part of the event. Win, win, win.”

2. Selfish

“I told her I wasn’t even going to be able to attend the wedding because of health issues. She had selected an out-of-state rural location that was not accessible for my wheelchair. I wouldn’t have been able to afford the trip to begin with anyway. She got upset and said I was just being cruel.

I guess she talked to someone else or had time to calm down and called me the next day apologizing for accusing me if trying to ruin her special day. I mean I had been dealing with the same health issues long before she got engaged or even started dating the man she was about to marry. Also, asking someone in a wheelchair to attend a wedding in the forest off a hiking trail with no easy access isn’t well thought out is it?”

3. Very weird

“Had a girl I had never met or heard of before call and ask me to be her bridesmaid.

She was a friend of a friend whom I had helped out years before by being a bridesmaid and doing all her flowers and such because that friend wasn’t very well off. Apparently this girl thought I was some sort of volunteer paratrooper bridesmaid florist? It was very weird.

I told her that I couldn’t because:
A) I didn’t know her

AND

B) I was going to have a three week old baby at the time if my due date was correct and didn’t want to drive 8 hours with a newborn.

She seemed ok with this and hung up, only to call again a few minutes later to ask if I was refusing because he was so much older than her and I was being judgmental and I said no, because I literally knew none of this because I do not know you. I have never heard of either you or your fiance before. Which is – again- the major reason I would not be your bridesmaid…

I wished her every happiness and hung up.”

4. Sister story

“My sister asked me to be her Maid of Honor and I declined. She was like “What the heck, why?!” I told her “You’re just asking me to be nice and because you think it’s the right thing to do. But I’m not your best friend. Jocelyn is your best friend, and she should be your maid of honor.” My sister cried and said what a good sister i was. So i guess i demoted myself to bridesmaid.”

5. A long story

“My sister had a destination wedding in the beginning of August of this year. I have three sisters, and the one getting married is the youngest one. All of the sisters would be bridesmaids (plus like 5 of her best friends). Problem was, I got pregnant and my baby was due in the middle of June. Fortunately, she was also pregnant and due in March, and she totally understood.

The timing was so borderline. If he was born on his due date, he would only be 7 weeks old by the wedding. They recommend waiting until two weeks after the 6 weeks vaccinations to fly, but they could do the vaccinations as early as 4 weeks. If he was early, we might be able to make it. If he was late, maybe not. This was also my first child, so I had NO clue what to expect. Maybe it would be chaos and traveling was a horrible idea. I just had no way of knowing.

As it turned out, I had an induction 5 weeks early due to a medical emergency. I missed all of the wedding planning stuff due to being sick and then having a newborn. But baby was healthy, really easygoing, and it was looking like I was going to be able to go. Not only that, but my husband wanted to take two weeks of his parental leave so that we could take a family vacation just the three of us. We were going to island hop for two weeks, visit one of his friends, etc. We were so excited. I told my husband that I would book our travel and accommodations for Oahu first (where my sister was getting married) and the rest of the trip was up to him. I was down for whatever. I bought my bridesmaid dress and booked our travel. Everything was coming up Millhouse.

Then my husband passed away suddenly two and a half weeks before the wedding. Obviously I was a total f*cking wreck. But literally all of my family was going to Hawaii for the wedding. My in-laws live across the country from me. Nobody wanted me to be left alone so they insisted baby and I still come to Hawaii. One of my sisters helped me cancel my husband’s flight, move mine so that I wouldn’t have to travel alone, cancel my accommodations and crash in their room with the baby.

Now, I thought it was obvious I wasn’t going to be in the wedding anymore. I thought I didn’t have to have that conversation. It was already always up in the air whether I would be able to attend the wedding at all, let alone be a bridesmaid. I thought it would be clear that a wedding would be really f*cking hard for me as it is. I didn’t want to ruin all the videos and pictures with my thousand yard stare, running mascara, and bags under my eyes.

Well, it just never occurred to my baby sister that I wasn’t still one of her 8 bridesmaids. God love her, she is amazing and thoughtful and the most loving and sweet person I know. But she just had a lot going on and she probably hadn’t thought about it.

The day of the rehearsal, I put the baby in a stroller and hoofed it from the resort. We walked around Waikiki and I tried to not be desperately miserable behind sunglasses. I took pictures of my son with the Duke Kahanamoku statue, bought and ate a rapidly melting pineapple soft serve cone, and window shopped. My parents called me and told me to come back to the hotel so we could “go shopping” so I sighed and went back. When I got there, they were like, OK we’re going to the rehearsal. I said, uh you guys are, I’m not. They said, “[your sister] wants you there.”

I thought it was weird, but I went. And I sat in the back with the baby while everyone chatted and got directed around. Then the wedding coordinator kept making references to where I’ll be standing and sitting, etc. All the bridesmaids and groomsmen and my sister and brother in law were standing fanned out up front, when the wedding coordinator started talking about where in the order I will be standing during the wedding (mind you, at this point I’m sitting in the third row with my baby).

So I said flatly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not a bridesmaid.” And my sister, standing where the bride stands in front of everyone says, “yes you are.”

And I said, “I thought you knew I wasn’t going to be. I didn’t have time to get my dress hemmed. I didn’t even bring my dress.”

LONG PAUSE.

I don’t remember what happened after that except for they reset to do the whole march again and I picked up my baby and walked away to sob behind some bushes. Once I got all my sh!t together I went back and watched the rest of the rehearsal. Afterwards I immediately went back to the room, where one of my sister’s friends was working on handwritten name cards.

That friend was the first people who had donated to a GoFundMe after my husband died, so as soon as I parked my stroller in the room I started crying and thanking her. She gave me a big hug and I told her about how I had a mega meltdown during the rehearsal, and she held me and told me it was OK, that it’s understandable. My sister walked into the room while I was crying and she gave me a big hug. I told her that I was sorry, I messed up her rehearsal, and I should have told her I wasn’t going to be her bridesmaid. She said it was OK, she wasn’t mad.

SO yeah. That’s how that went. The wedding was hard for me, but I was happy for my sister. She still included me as much as I was willing to be included. She still had my makeup and hair done, and I was in her video a little and in family photos. During the reception my sister and BIL gave a speech, and she gave a shout out to my husband and I ugly cried. Anyway, I’m still glad that I went. I love my sister, she was there for me when I had my baby and she was there for me when my husband died. I wish I could have been there for her during her wedding, but I did the best that I could. Super glad I wasn’t a bridesmaid, though.”

6. Excited for her

“She asked, and thus ended up being one of the first people I told I was pregnant. I couldn’t even go to the wedding—I lived 500 miles away and on the wedding day I was 8 months pregnant on no-travel orders. Baby was born 2 weeks later.

Bride was excited, not angry.

Over a decade later I am still sad I missed that wedding though—so many of our friends and families have not all been together since.”

7. She got mad

“I was a broke college student that had my own bills to pay on a student worker part time wage. She expected me to buy my own dress, and the one she picked out was $400 and refused to change to a cheaper one. I literally made $400 per month so there was no way I could afford it. She got mad and has not talked to me since, which does not bother me because she was being extremely selfish.”

8. You don’t know me

“My then-boyfriend’s brother’s fiance asked me to be her maid of honor. It was a shotgun wedding due to her pregnancy but it was also about 6 weeks away. I barely knew her and thought it was really weird. I told her she should choose someone she’s known longer and has a deeper connection with or perhaps a family member. I also pointed out that if my bf and I broke up, she would probably hate having me in their wedding photos. That’s got a weird reaction from everyone involved.”

9. Not a good idea

“I turned down an opportunity to be in a wedding party on the summit of Longs Peak in Colorado. Start hiking at 3 am so we could be off the summit before the afternoon lightening storms killed us. Sounds great! (actually sounds awful, let’s be real.)

All of us were in sh!t shape, bride especially. WTF were they thinking? I heard later that it was absolutely miserable. I guess it turned out so badly that multiple people dropped out of the hike. We didn’t get the full story for months. Lots of minor injuries and they didn’t make it to the summit until noon.

No one could tell her it was a stupid idea.

This was long before social media. I shudder to think what she could have come up with in the age of social media. They would been dropping on to the summit with parachutes.

Yes, they divorced in a few years.

I have no idea why a chubby bride thought her chubby friends would all enjoy hiking up a 14K foot mountain for a sunrise wedding.”

10. No thanks

“Yes….I declined because I saw the groom to be picking up the bride by her neck. We were young, we were out clubbing, I don’t know why these two were even trying to get married, this was back in say, 1998. Anyway, groom-to-be picks up bride by the neck, I call cops, they come arrest him, she bails him out same night. It was about 3 or 4 months later that they were getting married and she asked me to be the maid of honor! No can do I told her, I told her the truth. And she was okay with it.

They were over within a year. I just remember she was crying and so embarrassed that she had just gotten all these gifts for the wedding, and that all those people who came to her wedding would find out that it was all for nothing. As far as I know she moved back in with her parents for a while, she was quite young.”

11. Short notice

“Bride asked me to be a bridesmaid on a Wednesday. Wedding was on a Saturday. Across the country. She claimed she had ‘asked my Dad to tell me’ (I don’t even live with him anymore) and spent years without talking to me after I declined.

Not a big loss.”

12. A true bridezilla

“I had a friend from high school ask me to be her maid of honor. I said yes, but I was worried about the money. I bought the dress, started planning her shower and she was already hounding me about her bachelorette party, even though she was four months away from getting married. Bridal shower went well in my opinion, until the bride kept making side comments about how there weren’t enough games, or prizes. (I was recently unemployed and didn’t have money, but my parents were helping.) I had planned four games, and I thought that was fair. She also said the food wasn’t good enough either, and spent the entire time talking to her other friends and ignoring me.

The next day she messages me saying we need to meet and plan her bachelorette party. She wanted all the bridesmaids to come over and have dinner. Well, night of the dinner I was really sick. I have a lot of health concerns and she was aware of them, but still got mad at me. Keep in mind I had been planning and trying to accommodate her requests for the bachelorette party while also making it feasible. She wanted an over night weekend get away in a air B&B and it would have been like $300 per person or something like that. I tried to convince her it wasn’t feasible and wanted to plan something else. I found something else to do, but hadn’t told her about it yet.

She messaged me later that night saying how disappointed she was that I wasn’t being a good maid of honor, and that she shouldn’t have to plan her own bachelorette party, and she basically yelled at me and said that I was a terrible friend because I did not do what she wanted exactly. Our entire friendship she always made it about herself, and I had distanced myself from her recently, and so I was surprised she asked me to be her MOH. After that message I was like fine, I’m done. And I quit her wedding.

We are no longer friends, and When we met in person to discuss it she blew up at me for not being there for her, that I was ruining her special day, and that she wasn’t getting what she wanted. I knew I had done nothing wrong and she was being a bridezilla. Their wedding recently happened and I could care less. She was a toxic person and I don’t need that negativity. Sure I feel bad about it, but I also know I needed to stand up for myself as our entire friendship she always walked over me.”

13. Drama

“My half sister asked me to be her bridesmaid at her extravagant, not small wedding. All good, until I was told she wasn’t inviting my dad, because he ‘wasn’t her family’ despite financially supporting her for 15 years while her dad refused to pay any parental contribution.

I wanted nothing to do with the wedding after that. I attended, and went to bed very swiftly after I had a free meal.

To this day, my sister is still very standoffish and rude to my dad. It’s caused no end of drama in our house, but I love my dad to pieces and I will always stick up for him and all the amazing things he’s helped us achieve and experience even as adults. He’s a very wonderful man.”

14. Not on speaking terms

“My ex husband’s sister had asked me to be her bridesmaid. I declined because it was shortly after his affair and there was a lot of bad blood between his family and me. It was really heartbreaking to do; we had been best friends for years prior. Unfortunately, we no longer speak.”

15. You’re disinvited

“A friend of a friend asked me to be a groomsman at his wedding. I thought it was odd because we only ever saw one another when we were hanging out with our mutual friend. I don’t even remember if I ever met his fiance.

At the time my wife was pregnant and due to give birth right around the time of the wedding and also I had just gotten a job again after being unemployed and was trying to catch back up on finances so paying for a tux wasn’t an exciting prospect. I declined and told him I didn’t want to leave them in a lurch if my wife ended up going into labor because it was such an important day for them. I thanked him for inviting me and told him I would attend the wedding but this way at least they weren’t depending on me.

He understood and was fine with it but called me a couple days later, clearly embarrassed and told me his fiance was furious and had disinvited me from the wedding.

They ended up getting divorced a few years later.”

The post 15 Women Reveal Why They Refused Being a Bridesmaid (and What Happened After) appeared first on UberFacts.

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Divorce Lawyers Share the Worst Ways People Got Revenge on a Spouse

Divorce is a nasty business. While it doesn’t always have to be this way, chances are that more often than not, it’ll become a battle of he said/she said that gets ugly fast.

These AskReddit users share the worst ways they’ve seen divorces play out in court.

1. Lost her mind

“Worked at a law firm that was subpoenaed as part of a divorce between a partner at the firm and a partner at another major law firm.

The woman issued more than 70 subpoenas to banks, firms, investment companies — you name it — because she was convinced he had squirreled away $20+ million overseas behind her back. It got so bad that she dug up receipts from 25 years ago to try to put together this grand conspiracy puzzle.

In the end, after she racked up $1.5 million in legal fees, and 7 different lawyers, the judge said this sh*t is ridiculous — there was no conspiracy, and you are not entitled to a portion of this phantom $20 million.

Mind you: this was a major law firm partner who was acting this way. She made millions per year in her career. But she apparently lost her mind.”

2. A final f*ck you

“Not a divorce lawyer, but my father went through the process recently. Amounts of money aren’t the real concern. The assets must be split as close to 50/50 as possible. So the f*cking over generally comes in the form of inequitable distribution of one-of-a-kind things.

My father had a precious set of old, inexpensive kitchenware that his late mother gave him before he even married my mother. When the divorce went to mediation and she told the mediator that she wanted those pots and pans, she got them. She got them because she was willing to give up something else of equal monetary value (so, something worth less than $10), and was willing to sit in mediation for hours, racking up thousands in lawyer fees for both sides, until my father consented. Again, an even financial trade, but a sentimental trade of overwhelming disparity. Just as a final “f*ck you.”

3. Scummy

“Not a lawyer, but I met with a scummy one when I was looking to get a divorce. The first lawyer I met with, who had been recommended by a coworker as an amazing divorce attorney, suggested that, if I wanted full custody, I should make sure people knew the relationship was abusive. Tell my friends/family, make sure the neighbors heard me screaming/begging him not to hit me, document every bruise even if I wasn’t sure it came from him.

Thing is, my relationship wasn’t abusive and I’d already told her that multiple times. She never outright said I should fabricate evidence or anything, but she ignored my repeated statements that there was no abuse and kept on with her detailed instructions of how to document any abuse that might happen. I got the distinct impression that she was letting me know how to create an abusive relationship out of thin-air in order to get custody of my kids.

I ended up not using her as an attorney, for obvious reasons, and in the end my ex and I shared 50/50 physical and legal custody of our children and raised them together despite whatever issues we had with each other. I can’t help but wonder, though, how many dads lost a relationship with their kids because of her zealous coaching.”

4. Screwed over

“A friend of mine in high school worked at a pizza place. One of the delivery drivers was just ridiculously smart when I talked to him. Later I found out that he use to be a nuclear physicist. His wife was also a nuclear physicist, but left him for her lawyer.

He got screwed out of his kids, most of the assets, and had to pay a lot towards alimony/child support. He did the math, and figured out the tips he didn’t get taxed on plus his minimum wage delivering pizza was more than keeping his job as a nuclear physicist. Plus he got a little satisfaction not having to pay her as much. The guy was really nice. I always felt bad for him.”

5. A sad tale

“My dad actually got f*cked by his divorce lawyer during my parents’ divorce last year.

My dad and my sister have never gotten along, and over the years it got more and more strained. They eventually got into a physical fight which led to a CPS report and him getting slapped with a child abuse record (they labeled it as ‘confirmed but isolated’, so he’s not on the registry and you can only see it with certain background checks).

In this case, my mom was OBVIOUSLY going to get full custody of my sister. My mom also wanted to give my dad the house, and his cars, and his money pit of a boat.

Lawyer decided, because my dad is stubborn as f*ck, that he would string ol’ dad along. Lawyer spent HOURS with my dad trying to convince him that Dad could get more money and custody from my mom.

They did a divorce mediation (so they wouldn’t have to go to court), and lawyer dragged it out for 4 hours. The whole time he was riling my dad up, thinking he could get things like the original down payment on the house, half custody of my sister, my mom’s car, etc. At the end of the 4 hours of mediation, Lawyer told my dad he should take the deal that my mom and her lawyer had originally offered in the first place, and Dad signed that.

So he paid about $12,000 in completely unnecessary legal fees.”

6. Geraldo even covered it!

“Parents divorce seemed simple: dad cheated on mom, mom gets custody of me. Dad didn’t like paying alimony and child support to the tune of $2k a month after he gave up rights. Dad had great idea, pay a hitman $15k to kill soon to be ex-wife. Dad goes through with it, idiot actually pays undercover cop the money.

Dad then flies back to Canada (home) and wait for results. International task force is formed to try and detain him. Geraldo Rivera covers story, idiot dad gets arrested in Toronto and flown back to California. In this process I was 3 in care of family back down south, mother in protection by police. Dad’s family is apparently wealthy, gets a good lawyer, is charged with 17 felonies can’t remember how many he was convicted of. He gets 18 months. After all of this mom still had to sue for divorce it still took 2 years.”

7. Toxic

“My uncle represented this guy getting a divorce from his wife of 15 years. Super toxic breakup and they split everything 50/50, even the land that the house they lived in sat upon. Well she decides to build a house right behind the other house, mind you this was a lot of land probably 200 yards separating both home sites, so that the back of the houses faced each other.

The house gets built and my uncle gets a call from his client asking about the legality of a situation he had gotten himself into. Apparently his ex wife would spend a lot of time in her backyard, so he saw her all the time. What he did was buy a female dog and name it the same name as his ex-wife. Anytime he would let his dog back in from letting her out he would yell “Susan you b*tch! Get in here!”

He would also yell if she was peeing on the flowers,”Susan you b*tch! Quit pissing on the flowers!” or “Susan you b*tch! Quit digging in the dirt!” The ex-wife called the cops on him a couple of times, but there was nothing they could do because the dog was registered under the name of Susan, and it was in fact a b*tch so there you go.”

8. A real piece of work

“My mom was a real piece of work in this department. My mother is mentally unstable and was very abusive to me as a child. When my father finally moved out and asked for a Divorce I was luckily old enough (13) to legally decide who I wanted to live with. I, of course, chose my dad and that enraged my mother. By court order, she was allowed to live in our 4 bedroom house while me and my dad had to move in with my aunt into a two bedroom house.

We lived there for 4 years while my mom did everything she could to slow down the divorce proceedings. During this period my father was court ordered to pay the mortgage and utilities on the house my mother was living in. She would leave all the lights on and crank the heat with the widows open just to drive the utility bills up. She once left the garden hose on for a week into a drain to even make the Water bill outrageous. When it was finally all over and she had taken my dad for as much as she could she decided to sue him for my college fund.

I called her and told her if she went through with it I would never speak to her again, she told me if I wanted it I needed to move in with her before I turned 18 so she could get child support from my dad. I refused, she won the case for the money and my dad had to use most of what was left of the fund to pay for her lawyers costs.”

9. C’mon Dad

“Dad was a real *sshole and mom tried to save him a lot of money during the divorce. They have 3 kids who were 16, 13, and 8. Dad wouldn’t sign ANY agreement my moms lawyer produced. It had to be his idea and from his lawyer or it wasn’t getting signed. Dads lawyer was incompetent and sends an agreement that states he will pay $2,000 a month in child support until all kids are 18.

Mom tried to explain to dad that it needed to be revised to lower every time a child turned 18. Dad called mom a c*nt during that negotiation so mom said f*ck it and signed the agreement and dad paid the $2,000/month for 10 years when he should’ve been paying around $1,400/month for 5 years and $700/month for the last 5 years.”

10. Wow

“My friends husband was a cop, got a judge friend to commit her. He filed for divorce while she was committed, got same judge to grant him custody while she was committed. When she was released because she wasn’t a danger to herself or anyone, she had no one to come get her, (she was committed in Atlanta, no family anywhere close) she had nowhere to go and nothing with her, had to spend 3 homeless nights in Atlanta before someone came and got her. She still only has supervised visits 3 years later.”

11. No moral compass

“A good family friend was a lifelong post office employee, 30+ years of savings and retirement. Mid 50’s, one of the funniest, best natured people I’ve ever met. Married an early 30s woman, very well educated and seemingly nice person. They had a child, shortly after she filed for divorce for no apparent reason. Family friend never owned a credit card, excellent money management his entire life with a credit score over 800. Proceedings start, he finds out she opened over 13 credit cards in his name and drained his accounts of over $70,000.

He’s had to relocate to another part of the state just to see his only child, and will never be able to retire. Somehow she has gotten away with fraud to the tune of over a quarter million dollars, and the courts have done nothing thus far to prosecute her for anything. It’s the disgusting reality of modern day human nature, and it makes me sick just to write this out. Stuck with massive court costs, absolutely no savings and a sub 600 credit score just so his ex wife can live the extravagant lifestyle she wants. Some people have absolutely no moral compass whatsoever.”

12. Humanity at its worst

“Handled a divorce between a teacher (wife) and a CVS cashier (husband.) I represented the wife.

For all intents and purposes, the wife was the breadwinner of the family and she supported herself, her husband, and their two children. I should note: one of the children was severely autistic and required intensive (and expensive) rehab and education.

During the process of the divorce, the husband (living alone) sued the wife (caring for both children) for temporary spousal support. He met all the statutory guidelines to receive it. But, it just came off as slimy.

At the day of the hearing, the judge reviewed all of the facts and spent 20 minutes lambasting the husband. He called him a “vile creature” that was everything wrong with society.

The judge then told us that his “hands were tied” and that he was forced to grant the spousal support. But he let everyone know how little he thought of the husband.

As we were leaving the court, the husband just kept saying to my crying client “Just like Goodfellas – F*ck you, pay me.”

It was literally humanity at its worst.”

13. Extreme

“In family law particularly, people can behave in extreme ways because this is the most emotional flash point in their lives. It usually involves their children or their home, or both. However, clients with character who care about their children, go about divorces in the same way they do the rest of their lives; and they are a pleasure to represent.

The problem clients… As you practice law longer, you recognize clients that aren’t emotionally functional and do crazy sh*t. I want to list some comic examples, but once you really understand that these are human beings who are victims of physical and sexual abuse, suffer from debilitating addiction problems, or have serious psychiatric disorders, it loses its panache. The hardest thing to do is look at some ignorant alcoholic 45 year old 250 pound tattooed bully that just beat the sh*t out of his wife and see that he’s really a 10 year little kid that watched his mom get beat up and he never moved on from that.

Or some screeching middle aged woman that lights a car on fire but it turns out she’s really a little girl that got molested and told her mother and her mother told her she was a liar and never to tell anyone. Or the innocent spouse that never saw that one coming. Now try switching the races. Being a lawyer means getting uncomfortable insight into people’s lives and it usually isn’t very funny.

From the lawyer’s perspective, he or she is putting their reputation alongside someone going through this. These are red flag clients and our job isn’t to fix all these problems. If they are abusive or display psychotic behavior to their spouses, they will do it to you. Same principal as seeing as how they treat the waiter. They also won’t pay your bill or be satisfied with your legal work. I generally turn these clients away unless I know their family and no one else is going to represent them. But you have to be very heavy handed with them.”

14. People are sketchy

“There’s the typical cleaning out the accounts and running, claiming the children first on taxes so the other party can’t, claiming the other party as a dependent so they can’t file separately, stuff like that.

Then there was this one case.

My client fled the home with her baby after an incident of domestic violence. In my state, both parents have full rights to the children unless a custody order in place. In other words, whoever has the kid, gets the kid. Police will not intervene where one spouse is withholding a child from the other spouse if there are no orders in place.

Well my client had the child for two weeks at her new place when H showed up demanding the child. She refused. He called the police. The responding officer was a family friend of both, but originally a friend of H. This PO shows up and decides to try to mediate the conflict. The PO tells my client something along the lines of “let him hug his son goodbye and he will leave peacefully.” My client was hesitant, but agreed. H took the kid and exclaimed “he’s mine now!” And ran to his car with the baby. No supplies, no clothes, nothing. The PO claimed he had no idea what was happening (yeah right). And since no orders were in place, there was nothing my client could do.

While we were trying to track him down, we got an order returning the child to my client’s possession. He suddenly contacted my client saying he was at a hotel in the area and if she wanted her son back, she could if she came over and slept with him. We sent the police.”

15. Quite a story

“I do some work for the attorney on this one…

Local investment broker has done well. Strong practice and very affluent client base. Wife owns a small shop in the local community (a pet pastime – doesn’t really turn a profit). Been trying to get pregnant for a couple of years – working with reproductive doctors / clinic. Wife finally gets pregnant – one in a million chance. Has the baby – its a boy! Fast forward a couple of months. Wife has to go to market for her shop and takes a day trip to “the big city” a couple of hours away. Husband prepared for this and takes opportunity to have baby tested for paternity – not his. When they started fertility clinic, he was tested and knew he was shooting blanks.

So, he contacts his attorney (my “boss”) and we start “the plan”. While we are preparing the case, we have PI follow wife. A few doctor visits, tennis lessons, lunch at the country club daily, hanging out with her friends. Her friends decide to throw her a birthday party at the Country Club. This is our opportunity.

I serve her the divorce papers, loudly asking her name and, after confirming, announce the reason for the divorce – infidelity. You are hereby ordered to appear, in the {blank} county court, blah blah blah… Her friends are stunned. Discovery reveals that she and her friends are all cheating in the same circles. Go to court – present evidence showing husband is not father and request to have his name removed from birth certificate. Judge, not wanting the child to become a ward of the state orders her to produce a list of all people she has slept with during the reasonable window of conception. She provides list. Next court appearance, ten men show up running the full gamut of “personalities”. One doctor, one architect, a tennis coach, two chefs, one “trust fund prince”, and a few others to “round out the mix”. One was actually the father of the person they really needed, but when she said, “John Doe”, she didn’t specify “John Doe Jr”.

All ordered to take a dna test. Our client succeeds in getting his name removed from birth certificate, no child support, no alimony. Wife strikes a deal with baby daddy for child support and “support payments” for a number of years – she “wins”, it’s the doctor. Part of agreement is she has to move from area (paid by Dr.), NDA signed, Doctor VERY rich and must protect his name / reputation. Court allowed no dad on birth certificate because of guaranteed support for child (trust fund).

Yea client. It sucked for him keeping everything secret, but he a smart and patient man. He has since remarried and is very happy. Because of evidence produced, several other high profile (but low key) divorces followed.”

The post Divorce Lawyers Share the Worst Ways People Got Revenge on a Spouse appeared first on UberFacts.