Jody Allard

For all of the touchy-feely awesomeness of the idea of "focusing on compassion," there are moments in life when it's simply not practical. One of those moments is when it takes every last bit of internal fortitude simply to survive.

ICYMI, half of my home state of Washington, as well as our neighboring state of Idaho, has been or is currently on fire.

ICYMI, there's a war against Christmas and nowhere is it fiercer than a Minnesota school that dared to include a Muslim hymn in its annual holiday concert. The rest of the program was dedicated to Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs, but many parents are up in arms that a lone Muslim song was included in the program.

You're 15 years old now. You're not a little girl anymore—even though you wish you were, just a little bit.

Instead of delving into the psychological and scientific impacts of their work, reporters asked the astronauts how they would survive without makeup and men in space.

In case ground meat wasn't sketchy enough, a new study by Chapman University found that as much as twenty percent of specialty ground meats are mislabeled –– and many include ground horse and even beaver.

"However, if you've ever met a teenager, you know that roughly 75% of them will never willingly walk into the school nurse's office and ask about birth control. But, even if they do, they still won't necessarily know which form is best for them, and they certainly won't be given the advice they need to dump that player and move on already. That's where us parents come in. Except, of course, that half of our kids won't talk to us about the ins and outs of sex and relationships."

As you've probably gathered by the explosion of pink everything, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And, while many people try to spread awareness with the best of intentions, there isn't anyone left on this planet who hasn't heard of breast cancer. Breast cancer patients need many things, but sharing silly Facebook statuses and engaging in other click-it-and-forget-about-it forms of awareness isn't one of them.

9. Use Timeouts—For Yourself!

If you're anything like me, your first coffee of the morning is just a warm-up for your next cup of coffee. But now, thanks to the wonders of science, you can chug those buckets of joe guilt-free because coffee may actually make you live longer!