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• Carolyn Hax: Father's secret past threatens her trust
  Dear Carolyn: I'm 16 and a member of a nuclear family with several siblings. In my family, trust has always been stressed as very important: My parents have drilled it into our brains that once trust is lost, it is hard to gain back.
  
• Carolyn Hax: Older sis worried about teen drinker
  Dear Carolyn: My younger sister, "Alexis," is a college sophomore, and in the last year or so has gotten very into drinking with her friends (she is underage). It started because she is in a small town and said there was "nothing else to do on the weekends." In the past when friends drank, she would tell them they were being stupid and irresponsible. She now thinks it is funny to see her friends acting drunk, and has told me about their exploits on occasion.
  
• Beau's mom has given her a peek at future
  Dear Carolyn: My boyfriend's mom recently sent him a book about tips for a successful marriage. Our first reaction was to have a good laugh about it; we're not ready for marriage yet, and neither of us has talked with our parents about it.
  
• Soldier mom refuses deployment; may face charges
  An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas.
  
• Better communication in blended families
  An Andover couple created a website that lets families share information in a way that keeps everyone accountable, and keeps kids out of the middle of conflicts.
  
• Palin says she didn't know Bristol was having sex
  Sarah Palin says she didn't know her daughter Bristol was sexually active before she learned the teenager was pregnant.
  
• Genetic love matches go cheek swab to cheek swab
  Looking for love? Try leaning in for a ... cheek swab.
  
• Carolyn Hax: Little sister is left out
  Dear Carolyn: As a mom of three girls, is it in my job description to try to ensure my daughters are close? My two oldest (10 and 8) are inseparable, which is great, but they have never had much interest in their 5-year-old sister. They have started asking whether I will take just the two of them on special outings. I don't know whether it's jealousy or they consider themselves too mature for her or what, but I have nightmares of raising two daughters who are best friends and one who feels like an outcast.
  
• Woman told a tall tale about his height
  Dear Carolyn: I recently started dating somebody new who is considerably taller than I (I'm a guy). It's not news to me that I'm short, and even before we met I'd advised her that it wasn't an issue for me if she was taller, and I hoped it wasn't an issue for her.
  
• Teens and texting
  It'll take a village - parents, safety advocates and driving instructors - to stop teens from texting behind the wheel.
  
• Carolyn Hax: Time to leave lying married man? Yes
  Dear Carolyn: I'm involved with a married man, which (1) I didn't know until after we became involved, and (2) breaks one of my core values -- so even though I love his company (we're no longer physically involved), I hate that I'm in the middle of someone else's marriage.
  
• Brazil college backs down on mini-dress expulsion
  Brazil's case of the pink mini-dress that went viral on the Internet has left many scratching their heads: How could it be that an outfit, no matter how short, would cause such an uproar in a tropical nation where skimpy clothing and tiny bikinis barely raise an eyebrow?
  
• Tips on entertaining from the Department of Deportment
  Since a blip just after the middle of the last century, when "let it all hang out" roiled the world of party protocol, social graces are in, and bad form is so five minutes ago.
  
• Carolyn Hax: Role of 'daddy' more important than title
  Dear Carolyn: I share custody of my 3 1/2-year-old daughter with my ex-wife, who got remarried last year. Her new husband describes himself as a "nice guy," and is overtly hoping that somehow I fail as a father so he can be "daddy." The divorce was anything but amicable. While things have been relatively smooth for the past nine months, I still hear my daughter from time to time refer to him as "daddy." I reinforce she has only one daddy but this is really getting old.
  
• Woman in wrong-embryo case hopes to see child soon
  An Ohio woman who was implanted with the wrong embryo says she hopes to visit soon with the baby boy she delivered and turned over to his biological parents.
  
• Younger men, older women may be hot in Hollywood, but few of these relationships last
  Darin Riggio has a thing for older women — he dated his first "Cougar" when he was a 19-year-old college student. She was 43.
  
• His & hers rooms
  When relaxing at home, what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander. Some couples compromise by creating separate, gender-friendly retreats.
  
• Carolyn Hax: Try seeing rude sister-in-law from new angle
  Dear Carolyn: I do not get along with my sister-in-law. She is nosy, rude and catty, and it is very difficult for me to be around her for more than a few minutes. However, it is important to my husband and me that we spend time with his brother and our nieces and nephews, and so we continue to be friendly and take whatever she dishes out (asking how much things cost, opening drawers in our home, eating our food without asking, asking personal questions about our relationship, gossiping about other family members, talking nonstop about herself, etc.).
  
• Don't be duped by common myths about flu
  If there's one thing that spreads faster than the flu, it's unfounded rumors. We asked Dr. Dean Blumberg, pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, to debunk a few common myths about the H1N1 vaccine.
  
• Sick kids. We've had 'em
  Sick kids. We've had 'em. I was recently home for a long four-day weekend to nurture the house of sleeve-coughers. There were a variety of ailments that evolved into another grab bag of illnesses. Fortunately, no H1N1 -- but just about everything else.
  
• Reader query: Celebrating the season
  What’s the story behind your favorite holiday decoration?

  Send a brief description and photo, if possible, to: kim.palmer@startribune.com.

  
  
• A lifetime of memories
  For 55 years David and Mary Jo Monson have been going to Stillwater's Lowell Inn for their anniversary. They talk about their memories and why they return.
  
• Getting guest-ready
  "Stealth sleepers" offer options for housing those overnight guests who make your household population bulge during the holidays.
  
• Simple truths relieve kids' fears of death
  Dear Carolyn: My husband and I had a discussion on mourning practices, in particular my mourning my sister, who has been dead for 12 years. He said that when we have children, he wouldn't want me taking them to her gravesite because he does not believe children should be exposed to mourning or a depressing situation. I think it's important for children to understand death at an early age. And I think it's OK for them to accompany me to the cemetery.
  
• Cheating teens tend to become dishonest adults
  LOS ANGELES - "Once a liar, always a liar" is a proverbial parental admonishment.
  

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