mothers

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I'm single, 27 years old with four younger brothers who are all aged in their early twenties. My younger brothers are in relationships, and one of them is currently engaged. I have been single for three years, have dated here and there.

I live at home as I am currently helping out the family, and my job recently cut back hours due to the economy we are in. My mother said she wants me married by 30. (She) states that it's not normal for a woman of my age to be single. She criticizes the way I dress and speak and says they will not accommodate a man. She makes me wear things she buys, and sets me up on dates with some of her church friends' kids.

I'm exhausted; I feel as if I can't do well by her. There is no way I'm going to meet that goal if I don't like any of these guys! I am on every dating site imaginable, my friends help me out as much as possible, but I'm feeling more and more like a charity case than anything. I have told her repeatedly to let me be, and allow me to find a man for myself.

I have even gone so far to even threaten to leave, in which "emergency problems" happen financially and now I'm bound to stay. I don't know what to do anymore; I'm so frustrated.  Meeting the "one" is difficult enough, but now I have to get married by 30, and I'll be 28 this year.

What to do?

P.S.: There is nothing wrong with me; I'm averagely decent looking, smart and educated. Yet, I still can't manage to pull a man to marry!

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Forget the familial nods in acceptance speeches, the 2011 Academy Awards is going parental! At an Oscar nominee luncheon yesterday, actors got tips for the big night and posed for pictures. But, this year it's their moms who are going to be put to the task...on Twitter! According to a Reuters report:

Producers are inviting not just the nominees to be part of the show, but also the "mominees" -- mothers of the nominated stars -- to appear on camera and share stories of the celebrities as real people. "The first thing they are going to be doing is tweeting," said producer Dan Jinks. "Now, some of your mom's may not tweet...but we will teach them how to do that."

Will you follow the "mominee" feeds?

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

People always tell me off for saying this but it's true I really hate my mother. Every time I see her I feel angry and physically sick. She HATES the fact I'm doing something with my life and makes every attempt to ruin anything.

Last month she kicked me out of home, which is fine by me but she doesn't stop. She threw my electric toothbrush in the bin, tried to force me to drop out of college, withheld my exam timetable, and even stole my comb (I know how pathetic these things sound).

She had her first kid (me) at 26 and prior to that hadn't done anything with her life — she claims to have moved out at 18 and had done A-levels but in actual fact she moved in with her sister and did NOT do A-levels like she claims. She's thick and, to make herself look smarter, tries to keep everyone else dumb. I'm the first on her side of the family to apply to university and she's doing her utmost hardest to ruin me.

Read the rest on Group Therapy.

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Reader lola82 shares this story of coping with her mom's cancer in our Why Didn't Anybody Tell Me? group.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I'd like to share a story about a small way my family coped with my mom's breast cancer.

When my mom found out she had breast cancer, it came as a huge shock. She was happy and healthy, and went to her usual annual mammogram feeling like there was nothing to worry about. But before the results came back, she inadvertently felt a lump while changing and knew something wasn't right. She spent the weekend dreading the Monday phone call from the doctor. Fast forward to right before her chemotherapy. My mom was scared about starting the treatment and the possible side effects she'd be experiencing shortly, not the least of which was losing all her hair.

Read more about her story after the break.

If Lindsay Lohan's latest stint in rehab reinforces her "it girl" status and increases tabloid attention, then Dina Lohan could care less about Lindsay obeying the law. That's if yesterday's New York Post is to be believed.

Basing its claim on a new book You're Grounded Forever . . . But First, Let's Go Shopping, the Post says New York mothers like Dina encourage their daughters to engage in fame-making bad behavior.

The author of the book interviewed women who could be straight out of Gossip Girl and considered some data — such as the fact that New York moms send their daughters to shrinks, tutors, and dermatologists at an earlier age than other girls in the US. When it comes to weight, the book highlights some depressing habits of certain mothers: they get their daughters scales at age 10 and start losing sleep about whether their girls will lose their baby fat by kindergarten. Heavy stuff.

The book identifies warning signs for all women raising girls. If you encourage material indulgence (what color would you like that designer bag in?), question what your daughter is eating, undermine her female friendships (I know she's your friend, but . . .), or help her make excuses, you probably have a problem. Do you recognize any of these traits in your mom?

• What topics get you and your mom to go at it? — Glamour
• 5 things a man should never wear on a first date — YourTango
• Bad idea to move in with ex? Most likely — The Frisky
• How to leave your job with grace — SavvySugar
• Parents can handle "touchy" subjects better than Betty Draper — LilSugar
• Can you change your personality? — Huffington Post
• 50 culturally relevant teachers — Flavorwire
• What is workplace bullying? — Double X

High-profile matchmaker Janis Spindel commands 50,000 to 500,000 for her services, but it sounds like her most important client is her 24-year-old daughter. Carly Spindel, who Janis calls "the new Carrie Bradshaw" as if we don't have enough, chronicles her dating life on Carly's Dating Chronicle. So the Wall Street Journal couldn't help but ask Janis if Carly found the perfect match yet. To which mom said this:

"She's definitely dating a bunch of guys, but she's too young. She's not going to get married until 28, and she'll have her first kid at 30 or 32, the second one at 35. I've got it all planned."

Is it any wonder that her daughter has turned dating into her life's work? It's either that or never marry out of misplaced revenge. All moms want things for their daughters, and I'm sure lots have would-be-nice plans — they're just not this fleshed out. Hopefully.