2 years How did you come up with this

Fake for the past 3 years [2008-12-01]
I love it. Lights came attached and are remote control, no untangling of lights! Not to mention I bought it on sale 3 years ago for $99 so it's already more than paid for itself. I miss the smell of a real tree but not the mess and constant watering and picking up needles, trying to keep my animals from drinking out of the water in the base, etc. :)

I went through this myself about 20 years ago. [2008-11-28]
My husband is the eldest of 4 siblings. They tend to give expensive gifts, and none of them have children. I came from a very poor family, so our Christmas holidays never included lots of gifts. When we were first married I stressed over the gift selection and the money we spent. My husband, who is an accountant, stressed over every penny. When our first child came alone, I quit my full-time, downtown career-oriented job and stayed home. Our family income was cut in half, and so we had to tell everyone, our siblings, parents, friends, etc., that we couldn't afford to give any gifts. Family members wanted to give us gifts anyway, and we begged them not to, as it really made us feel uncomfortable to receive but not give. We didn't need anything, really. We just couldn't afford to spend anything on gifts. It took us about 3 years to get everyone to play by our rules. Twenty years later, and we're doing better financially, but we still don't exchange gifts with anyone but our children. Even my husband and I don't exchange gifts. We try, instead, to make donations to charities or causes that we care about. Over the years, some of our family members have experienced financial difficulties, and they opted out of the gift giving either temporarily or permanently. It always feels a little strange at first, but eventually it's ok. The season isn't about the gifts, and if the gift-giving becomes a burden, then that's certainly no fun. You have the financial responsibility for your family. You make those decisions, not family members who make you feel guilty. They'll get over it. Don't let it get you down.

500-800 Million and 12-15 years [2008-11-22]
to get something through the development process and submitted to FDA for approval. There is no incentive for the pharma or biotech companies to test an all natural product for safety and efficacy as they can't patent it and have exclusive rights in selling it. I can count on one hand the number of prescriptions I've taken in my life. I don't understand why people will take a med if its something that will run its course and your body will take care of. My doctor is great that way. He'll tell me there is a prescription, but if I'm willing to give it time I don't need to take anything. Much rather that...my belief is that every med has some level of toxicity. I'll suffer through a headache or achy bones before taking an over the counter. There is a point where I'll give in an pop a few pain relievers, but it has to be really bad.

He is 60 years old...sm [2008-11-21]
And acts like he is 2. He doesnI am not his babysitter. He is a grown man and he needs to act like it. Social service doesn't need to help him. The man makes decent money. He just won't take responsibity to pay his bills and has too many at that. He needs to thin them out. For instance, he has 2 new model trucks. He does not need 2 trucks but he WANTS both of them. But a light bill is one of your most important bills. And I for a fact know he had the money to pay it and didn't. I even told him you better go pay that electric bill. He wouldn't. I have never seen anyone who was quite like him. I love my dad and don't want to hurt him but he is making things very hard for me right now. I can't babysit him anymore. He is more than welcome to come visit me as often as he wants. He can come by everyday if he wants. But then there is a time to leave and go home. I have a family and I know I wouldnt like it if my husbands dad did this. I would not be happy at all. I am not happy about my father doing it but what do you do? Tell him get out?

Haven't done it for years . . . sm [2008-11-20]
but this year my 14-year-old daughter and her friend and mother are all going to try it again with me. I am looking forward to it, because I think it will be a lot of fun for me and my daughter! We don't go out too seriously, though, just for fun!!! I used to like to bag the bargains when the kids were little, but nowadays the bargains never match my list!!!

After years of owning only American cars, I now own a Prius. [2008-11-17]
I'm getting 50 mpg even on the PA turnpike. I'm extremely happy with it and would buy another in a heartbeat. Earlier in the year, Toyota announced that they will be building Prius in the U.S., too.

We go every New Years with friends [2008-11-07]
and occasionally once more during the year, about a 2 hour drive. For New Years we get a package deal that includes dinner, hotel, and some tokens. A few years back I hit $2000.00. I have to admit that was fabulous. Haven't won anything like that since, but I am sure we will be going again this New Years. Thay also have a dog track and we also bet on each race. Nothing more than $2.00 on each race cuz we dont have a clue what we are doing, but that is fun also. I pick the dog by his/her name.

I had it done a couple of years ago too [2008-11-06]
It really was not that bad. My understanding of why they only will do two quadrants at a time is that it is because they will not numb up both sides of your mouth at one time, so it is an upper and a lower quadrant done together. My sister also had to have it done last week, but the weird thing is they only said she needed two quadrants done (I believe on the same side, so upper and lower). She or I neither one could get our heads around that, so she decided to treat herself and have the other two quads done as well. Also, I do not have dental insurance, but had bought a plan from dentalplans.com (had the Patriot Plan at the time I had this done). It was about $90 per quad with the plan, but around here it was $300 per quad without the plan. Good luck!

All the time and I was RN years ago. [2008-11-04]
3333

When I first started out 20 years ago. [2008-11-04]
When I would tell the doctor I was a transcriptionist, he would ask if I wanted a job! I worked vacation relief and maternity leave in doctor offices, all the jobs gotten by a visit to the doctor. Wish it was that easy these days!

You've been married 15 years [2008-11-02]
and you've put up with it for 15 years. There's really no reason for him to change, is there? You've allowed him to do this to you. Sorry to be so blunt.

I am in California but I remember 15 years ago sm [2008-11-01]
requesting to be placed in a non smoking area of the apartment complex. I guess I am naive - I thought they pretty much had to work with you on this as it is a disability - your asthma? It sounds like a chronic health problem. I am not really saying actual physical disability enough for the ADA but saying it is a health issue and your apartment management should be more cooperative. I do not agree with below posters who say nothing can be done.

we had peking ducks for five years sm [2008-10-31]
I do not live in the country so ducks were kind of unusual in my neighborhood. My DD raised them from birth until they died after five years. They were in our backyard in a big walk in house my husband made. We had to take them in when it got below freezing. They would actually smile when they saw my daughter. They would bite my other daughter. They were fun

This was 24 years ago, but on our first anniversary [2008-10-31]
we went to a really nice Mexican restaurant. We spent our honeymoon in Mexico (Cancun before it was a spring break destination). Most of our bridal party joined us for our anniversary dinner, and we had a really nice time together.

I had my child's cord blood banked eight years ago [2008-10-31]
This was much more costly way back then. I compared many companies and finally decided on CBR (Cord Blood Registry). They are definitely the most reputable. The originating fee was $1200 and the maintenance fee is $95 per year. The procedure itself is virtually effortless. You are first sent a kit which you provide to your physician. At the time of your child My doctor was more than willing to perform this simple step at the time of my child Then, after collection, the kit is sent via courier to a deep freezer (I think mine is in Arizona). This is such an exciting prospect. Talk about life/health insurance. Just imagine what can be done with these cells many, many years from now. Will mychild never have to develop cancer? Could a spinal cord injury be reversed? Could he be cloned? Just imagine the possibilities. Truthfully, eight years ago was an eternity in this business of cord blood banking. I feel it is truly cutting-edge technology. Yes, it was costly, but when I think about the truly invaluable possibilities,I felt compelled to have this done. Now, it is much more affordable than it was back in the beginning stages of this technology. This is even much more valuable when siblings are involved. I, however, only have the one child. I don With my medical background, there was just no way I could not do it. Sorry I got so lengthy about this, but I am a huge advocate of this concept.

I am 123 pounds down and have been for 3+ years [2008-10-30]
I went from 235.5 to 115. I did gain some weight in the middle of my weight loss, but I was baking a 9 pound 1 ounce baby during that time. I was at my prepregnancy weight within 3 days after delivery. The weight loss on WW was the best thing I've ever done for myself. Good luck!

Really? I've been doing this over 12 years and never had the problem before nm [2008-10-29]
x

I did this 8 years ago [2008-10-23]
When my husband and I got together we had 6 kids between the two of us. His brothers and sisters either had none, or just one. They were used to drawing names, we told them we could not participate (actually my idea but he backed me up)because of what it meant cost wise to us (no matter how young you drew a name). My husband always had dinner at his house so we continued that but told everyone if they wanted to exchange gifts they would need to do it before they came for dinner. The idea went over like a box of rocks then, but they adapted and now, 8 years later when all of them have at least 4 kids (and his brother 6 LOL) the mention of drawing names sends them in to meltdown. Christmas is not supposed to be about the gifts anyway. If that is all their concerned about let them eat dinner somewhere else anyway!

Midnight shift husband for 18 years now......sm [2008-10-21]
It will get better....eventually. It took about 8 years for my hubby to realize I can't work midnights like him because we have two kids to raise. Believe me, it is very difficult at times, but it does get better. It might help if you have a calendar in full view for him to look at, so he knows what type of schedule you are on regarding work, kids activities, etc. Once he sees it in writing and realizes all the pressure that is on you, he may begin to understand. Believe me, night shift is not easy for the marriage. It takes great patience and understanding of both parties for it to succeed! I sleep with my golden retriever at night now!

Been going up and up for 2 years around here not just recently! [2008-10-11]
xx

After 5 years [2008-10-09]
of being this way, I think itparent in my own home, or not, and I would make the decision on my life accordingly. I was not content with being the friend. Things were better after that point. I think he just needed to know that I did care and I did want to be a part and it wasn't being forced on me...and more importantly the child had to know that my being there, and being included, was not a choice. It was just the way it was going to be. We still aren't as close as we used to be but I think that also comes with growing up and a boy needing dad more than mom. I know how hard this can be but do you really want to live the rest of your life this way? And what's to happen if/when the 2 of you have your own child? Do you want that child to be pushed aside too. Like the other poster said, choose the right time but I think you owe it to yourself and your relationship to have a heart-to-heart with him and let him know how you feel...don't just point fingers. Not saying this will be a quick fix, we still have problems, but it certainly opened the lines of communication for us. Good luck. I hope it works out.

In all my years of school, I was never [2008-10-01]
once assaulted. This is assault. There was, however, a girl who did this to others. I was just fortunate enough to avoid her. She ended up in prison for murder about 3 years ago. Maybe if she It is not about being paranoid or vindictive. It is about teaching, teaching a child right from wrong, teaching a child that there are consequences for bad behavior. Children need to learn that at a very early age. It helps to form their conscious.

My kids got me one for by birthday years [2008-09-26]
ago. Absolutely love it and they make their milkshakes with it, no mess at all.

I am some years your senior, but still young looking and seem to SM [2008-09-26]
be attractive to men. However, I found that men felt they had been there, done that. . . and the only thing they were missing was what you pointed out. I literally met a man who was married and divorced five times. Thanks, but no thanks. For me he HAS to be a nonsmoker, very occasional drinker, etc. My sister and I agree that after we were with a man a time or two it already became quite evident why he is divorced. I know this is not always the case, but very often it is. I met a man one time, and I must respect this, who told me sadly that he had the most wonderful woman in the world and he cheated on her and lost her. He said he takes 100% responsibility for the breakup. He said it was the worst mistake he ever made in his life. There are exceptions to every rule, but more often than not I found the ones who were looking for one thing and had no desire to begin again and have a future with someone.

Been connected with the AF for 44 years now - sm [2008-09-24]
I can tell you that security forces WILL be deployed, especially now that many bases are short handed. That means they can go anywhere armed forces are in place. I believe they deploy for up to 179 days at a giventime because to deploy for 180 days would mean a change of duty station, which is a lot of paperwork and expense. He could literally be deployed for 179 days, home for 1 day, then deployed again if they wanted to send him some place else. If they are telling him he will be gone 180 days a year then he probably will be gone at least that much. Ibelieve they do TRY to let them be at their home base for stretches if it can be done. It is a lot to ask of a spouse if and when he gets married. That said, however, I believe the AF is still a good choice for many people because of the awesome benefits and training they offer. If he can stay for 20 he will also get that retirement check every month, which is the best part of all! Best of luck to him.

About once a week sm [2008-12-02]
She is a small poodle, less than 2 years old. She runs outside every chance she gets and gets under the deck. She also sleeps on my bed every night and I will not sleep with something that smells bad. If I enjoyed that sort of thing, I would still be married. She has very fine, wavy poodle hair. She is oily and if she doesn't have a bath at least every 10 days, she freezes in the winter, even in her cute little sweaters. I give her a bath, let her dry in front of the faux fireplace, and brush her a bit. Next day, she is perfectly warm in her little sweaters and warmer at night too. If she goes very long, she develops so much eye snot that she can't see well. I do my own grooming and I keep her properly trimmed about every other week. End result is: Gorgeous little apricot poodle who looks adorable and smells like flowers. No dry skin, no flaking, almost never scratches at all unless she has had to go a whole 2 weeks without a bath. This is not too frequently for this dog.

For the sake of the cats, you should tell her NOW to make different [2008-12-01]
arrangements in the future, and that you won't be feeding them anymore. Please don't wait until she's about to leave the cats. As for your sisters, I'm not Ann Landers or Dear Abby, but I've read them for years and I think they both would tell you to dump the family that you don't get along with, and start making some friends with people that will make you feel good. They are only making your life miserable and it's obvious they will continue to do so as long as YOU allow them to. Nobody can use you for a doormat unless you lie down for it. Good luck.

My family decided last year to just enjoy the holidays [2008-12-01]
We're all adults, no children, and live in small homes or apartments. I NEED tons of stuff, but have no place to put much of anything, and can't afford to reciprocate with a gift. Same with a couple other siblings. My mom's been impossible to buy gifts for, for probably the last 10 years. I was the first to bow out the year before last. I started the ball rolling because I just plain couldn't afford it anymore, and was too busy working all the time to spend hours on end in a department store. I had a new job, no PTO, and NO money, so I alerted everyone that I wasn't going to play the game that year. Turns out it was a relief to all! And last year, without all the holiday 'getting mauled at the mall' disasters, each of us had quiet, happy, stress-free holidays. So now that we've eliminated the gift-giving aspect of Christmas, I finally can look forward to the season and enjoy it again.

I had mono or Epstein Barr Virus...sm [2008-12-01]
which ever you want to call it. Epstein Barr Virus causes mono. I had it in 2003 and I was so sick. Believe it or not, I had it for 1-1/2 years. I was diagnosed after doing extensive bloodwork. I was house bound. I couldn't rarely go anywhere. I was so weak I couldn't get out of bed some days. It was the most awful thing I have ever had. And nothing could be done about it. It just had to kind of wear off. I did take a lot of vitamins toward the end of it and they seemed to help.

These 10 things definitely ain't right: [2008-12-01]
1) MTSOs who want people with top-notch skills and experience, but don't want to pay them what that skill is worth. 2) HMO's: So-called *health-maintenance-organizations* --yet they spend every minute and every dime of their far-too-large profits on denying healthcare, meds and procedures to their patients. These organizations have ruined American healthcare, and many American lives. HMO's have been a con-game since their inception. 3) The Bailouts: Giving money to companies who can too bad for the rest of you.* Then the Big Three show up in DC to beg for a handout, and fly there in private Lear jets. My answer to them would be, *I too bad for the rest of you.* 4) Apartment managers that won't allow even a single quiet, well-behaved pet, but will rent to people with continually screaming small children, and out-of-control older children and teens. Give me the pets for neighbors, ANY day. 5) Businesses that give an age-discount to absolutely everything that walks, runs or flies, but not to the middle-aged middle-class, who need it the most. Take the ski-industry: Young children ski for next-to-nothing, and sometimes nothing. There is a Teen Discount. There is a Student Discount for college kids. There I'll probably never be old enough - it's a carrot-on-a-stick, always just out of reach.) There are even corporate (UGH) discounts. But for those in my age group, who barely make ends meet but like to go up once a year for a couple days of bliss, there is NOTHING. 6) Travel-lodging deals that are always based on double or quadruple occupancy. What about singles? NOTHING. 7) TV commercials that are about a million decibels louder than the regular shows. Why can't it all be the same volume? Same with online newscasts. THEIR commercials will blow your eardrums out if you aren't quick enough turning down the volume before they start. 8) Surround-sound: Everything is too loud, already! Why do we need it coming at us from 4 directions? Why do people living in tiny apartments feel they need it? I've lost count of how many fights I've had with neighbors over this issue. Same with movies and music concerts. Why do they feel we need to feel the music in our SPLEENS? I went to Universal Amphitheater last week. (Now named something else). There is actually a sign outside warning that the decibel level inside might damage your hearing! (?!?!?!) Why do they need this? (To avoid lawsuits, obviously). If it's so loud you have to post a warning sign outside the entrance, then DUH.... it's TOO LOUD! 9) Banks that charge you a fee to use their ATM. They (I haven't actually been INSIDE a bank in YEARS).... and they want to charge US for using the machines instead of the tellers? Forget it. I won't give those banks my business. 10) The Post Office: Talk about rewarding slow, inept performance! The worse their employees are, the longer they seem to stay there. I'd rather have a root canal than go to a P.O. during the holiday season.

Fake for the past 3 years [2008-12-01]
I love it. Lights came attached and are remote control, no untangling of lights! Not to mention I bought it on sale 3 years ago for $99 so it's already more than paid for itself. I miss the smell of a real tree but not the mess and constant watering and picking up needles, trying to keep my animals from drinking out of the water in the base, etc. :)

Charmed...I have similar relatives. Here is something to remember [2008-12-01]
MISERABLE PEOPLE LOVE TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE MISERABLE. That is why the saying misery loves company. I know they are your family. However, if they treat you that badly, dump them and move on. I went through this years ago. I have family like this. They never had anything to do with me unless they needed something from me or they wanted to belittle me. One can find friends who are more like family and treat you with respect. Make sure you have caller ID and DON That is the first step. LEARN TO SAY NO. It will not kill you, I promise. When you empower yourself, you learn to like you for yourself and it no longer matters what these people think of you. When it no longer matters what they think, they will see it and pick on someone else.

LOL - that reminds me of the other day when [2008-11-30]
my 7 year old son came home from school. He asked me did I know that kids used to not speak unless spoken too. I told him what a wonderful concept that was that we've lost over the years. He just looked at me horrified. His expression was priceless! :)

I still love giving gifts and have a solution with my family. sm [2008-11-30]
We all buy gifts for our parents (there are 4 of us, all married) but we wrap them all in the same paper and they are from everyone. That way, if someone is having a tough year, then it still looks even. Over the years, all of us have had a year that extra money just was not there during 1st babies, 1st homes, high gas prices, unexpected bills, lay-offs, new jobs etc. This way, our parents don't know who did what and they can't turn them down or worry about one family when they don't want to share with them their troubles. We treat the kids similarly. We all buy for all the kids (7 total) but no set limit. Some years, when having a good financial year, they get big presents, some years they don't. They all get to open at least 5 presents (counting Grandma and Grandpa) and we torture them until after dinner before they can open gifts! There have been years of Dollar Store gifts and years of video games. We all look for things during the year that we can give to all equally. Last year, I found pajama bottoms at Old Navy for $2 in the summer and bought a pair for everyone, including the adults. One year, my sister got them all Uno decks which were $3 each because that's all she could do and they are still the favorite gift and go everywhere. Uno tournaments, using all the cards are a family tradition and we make up different rules all the time! I am fortunate to be in a good position the last few yeas and have bought more extravagant presents. Not to show anyone up, but because I can. Not to make up for the very lean years, which were many, but because it is easy for me to do right now. We don't have jealousy and I don't expect anything in return because if I need something or want something, I usually buy it for myself. I just like to give gifts and can, and everyone is fine with that. But I have to tell you, my best gifts from the others are from years when there was no money and have now become tradition ... strawberry jam from my SIL, fudge from my brother. Christmas is what you make it. We are loud and loving and crazy and if we exchanged soup cans, the kids would still love it. It is what you make of it and how fun you make it for them.

Hubby with hearing and greedy problems [2008-11-30]
Dear NOT Silly Girl, I am a clinical psychologist and now teach medical transcription. I lost my deaf old sweetie 2 years ago. He was incredibly vain about wearing aids and/or his glasses. FINALLY got him to an audiologist in Canada (half the price than here in US) but getting him to wear the aids was another matter. Solved it by training just like dog or horse. Yep! Intermittent positive reinforcement - rewards, treats, smooches, etc. I told him I would only go out to dinner or shopping with him if he wore the hearing aids. Refused to go out of house with him unless he had them on -- and he loved going out! It worked, except then I still had to repeat everything 3 times inside! Many, many frank discussions also helped. Turned out he was incredibly vain and thought he looked old with hearing aids. I finally convinced him that shouting at people REALLY made him look old. He got contacts instead of glasses. As to self-centeredness, that has to be educated out of him, too. All this takes time. Just talk to him about values whenever he acts that way, and when he stops the selfishness, reward him. That is not acceptable behavior in an adult -- and I would tell him so directly. Good luck. Rosie By the way, I would take

Times gone by......... sm [2008-11-30]
I remember when I was a child the dime store in our town. It had everything from pencils to yard goods to toys to old medicinal remedies. They had a wonderful candy counter where you bought your candy by weight. You made your selection from the glass-fronted counter that was juuuuust above eye level for a small child. The clerk would scoop out the desired amount of candy with an old brass candy scoop and weigh it on an old balance scale. Then she would put the candy in a little white paper sack. There were all kinds, jelly beans, butterscotch that melted in your mouth, peppermint that really cleared the sinuses, and wonderful little maple goodies to name but a few. It tasted so much better than candy tastes these days. And yes, they had Evening in Paris and Old Spice and hankies for both mom and dad. I even held my very first job there in high school where I helped take inventory every year right after Christmas. We had to count each and every item (well, probably not the jelly beans) by hand. I remember counting boxes and boxes of pens and pencils and rulers. I miss that store as it closed down many years ago when the big discount houses started opening up in the nearby big town.

I just need to VENT and see what you all think...Beware...this is long...sm [2008-11-30]
I have tried twice to tell this story but deleted it both times because the story is just too long so I will be as short as I can. I have a bunch of ROTTEN TO THE CORE sisters.My sisters are just about the worst people I have ever met in my whole 43 years on this planet. There is one who is especially bad and I just told my other sister that if she ever dies, to please not call me as I won I come from a very large family with 5 sisters and 1 brother with my brother being the oldest. He is not involved. He sort ofleft the family years ago because he couldn They did terrible things to him after his divorce. We rarely see him now.I am considered a scumbag and a loser because my husband and I don We don We don We can We love our children with everything in our souls. They have made fun of me and my husband and insulted us to our faces.My husband and I have a difficult marriage as he is tough to get along with so they hate my husband My sistershave all gone out to dinner without inviting me. I have found out because of someone They have made threats and sent rumors flying throughout the family, without me knowing, about calling DCYF on me. I heard that one too from a slip of the tongue. I cried for 2 hours in the shower that day. They talk about everyone and I mean everyone badly. They have awell known reputation ina couple of our towns here for being mean horrible girls. They are about as fake and phony as a person can get. Sweet and all smiles to your face and when you turn around, they stick that knife in as far as they can get it in. They have what they have in their lives because of what someone has given them. My sister had her property given to her by her in-laws. It is worth about $1,000,000. My other sister had land given to her by her husbandto lessen their mortage burden so now they owe almost nothing on their $500,000 house. They think they are fabulous people. They think they are the cat In the past years when we were all talking and I would be invited to a holiday, I was not spoken to at all the whole time I was there. I am a venter and I always have been so if my husband and I are fighting, I will always go to my older sister (one up from me) and vent and vent until I can She gets on the phone the second I leave and tells every person in my family what is going on. They in turn judge me and my husband, make their threats, and so on. This is also happening to my oldest sister and her partner (she is in a gay relationship but was always dating a man and was married twice) and my sister The three of us, me, my sister and her partner, and my sister We get along well. We are happy with each other. We don Whatever happens in each other lives, we just accept it and don I now attend holidays at my sister I don I don The sisters (I like to call them the Witches of Eastwick) all attend holidays with each other up at my sister The three of us are not invited. My older sister has a son. Several yeas ago, my sister and her partner had a terrible fight with him. He went to the witches and told them a bunch of lies and now they have pretty much shunned her and her daughter and me too because we still talk to her.I have a sister, who is involved in all of this, that I speak to on a regular basis. She is close to my kids or at least my oldest son. She pretty much ignores my other two children and they tell me, It She is the one who has spread rumors about me in the family trying to get everyone to call DCYF on me. I heard this too by a slip of the tongue from another sister a few years back. I tend to be a forgiving person so I quietly forgave her for this without her ever knowing that I knew what she was trying to do. Now that they are all inviited to the holidays up to my sister They are extremely fat just like her. These holiday trips up north are usually kept quiet and I only know about it the day before they are leaving to go, which is when she inevitably asks me to come feed her f******g cats. This is how Iknow that a big party is going on up at the cabin and once again only the chosen selected few are going. This is usually for 3 or 4 days and they get fed twice a day so I have to goto her house twice a day. Sometimes I have to give them medication and the last time she asked me, I even had to soak her sick cat She lives about 20 minutes away from me. This girl would NEVER, NEVER, EVER do this for me. My husband and I took our children on a cruise 3 years ago and we have a cat and I never asked her to do this for me as I know she would have laughed in my face. I have been feeding her cats for years now when she goes away. Keep in mind though that she was in the select chosen few to be invited up to the cabin. I was not as I am considered trash in the family. I am SICK AND TIRED of feeding this girl My sister who invites everyone to go is a mean, horrible, sadistic, vicious, backstabbing wretched b***h. No one will say anything to her like, Gee Pat, where is everyone else? Didn They could care less. All they know is that THEY were invited. Anyway, I am sorry this is so long. I cananymore. I have been thinking of this all day all weekend long. I am really to the point where I just don I am goingto tell my fat a** b***h sister to fnd another way to get her cats fed because I She is just using me and believe me when I tell you, she enjoys it. She is verydiabolical. She loves it that I am not invited and she and her husband are.She even questions me and counts the cat food cans to make sure that I came on all of the days they were gone. These people have balls of brass and I have had ENOUGH.I am just sitting and waiting patiently for the next time she says, Oh, we Can you come and feed the cats? I just canNo. I can I will never feed your cats again! Find some other sucker to do it! I believe that they are severely narcissistic people and this is nothing to take lightly.These types of people are very destructive. Do any of you have family members like this and what do you do about them? How do you stop them from making you feelsad, lonely, excluded andless than you are or deserve? I think it is time for me to cut all ties with them. I just can

we don't exchange gifts either [2008-11-29]
We stopped exchanging gifts about 30 years ago. When my husband and I first approached the subject, we met with some resistance, but we stood our ground and said we would not be buying gifts. My husband is the oldest in a family of 7. By the time they all married and had children, the number could have been quite staggering to buy for. I was a surprise baby, my sisters being greater than 11 years older than I am, so when they began their families I was too young to buy anything to buy for them and so never started doing so. Now both of our families agree the holidays are much more enjoyable without the stress of the gift buying, worrying about what to get, how much, will the like it, can I afford it, etc., etc. The true gift of Christmas is the love we feel for our families and all we ask is time with them, and everyone agrees on this. We usually bake or take small treats to the families are who have misfortune of spending Christmas at the Ronald McDonald House in our city due to the illness of a child. Often the other kids in the family (the healthy ones) get lost in the shuffle of caring for a child with cancer. There is no gift one can give as great as giving and bringing joy to a family in such a situation. Anyway, my point is that there may be others in the family who will feel the same way, that it is just too stressful, and you may find that they will appreciate the holidays much more if the gift stress is taken out of the equation. I should add here, I do buy something for my own children but usually one or two things and my grandchildren because, after all, Santa still comes (!) and I do think Christmas gift giving is for children. Watching my little ones open is a gift a truly a fun thing to do and makes me happy. I do ask my kids not to buy for me or my husband because they have young families and can't afford the extra money. I have always told them I would rather they spend time with me any day then go out and buy a gift.

When do you buy your Christmas Tree? sm [2008-11-29]
What kind do you get and how tall do you get? We redid our living room over the summer and since then, at least once a month, I I One more question - any problems with your pets and a real tree?? Years and years ago, the guy at the tree lot swore up and down to me a specific tree (can't remember what kind now) that cats will stay out of - yeah right!! My cats still managed to drag that tree halfway through my apartment! LOL

opposite problem [2008-11-29]
For the last 20 years we have been forced to participate in the gift exchange regardless of our circumstances. This year, all of a sudden, we must all abide by a new budget, but now we have money! I think it is just a power play and nothing more.

you sound like me - [2008-11-29]
for the past couple of years, I have said, let's forget the gifts and just spend the day together at my mom's house -- but oh no, that would be horrible if we did not buy presents. This year, my sister's husband lost his job and now it's automatic, we are not going to be buying gifts. I always wonder, why is it that one person in the family always seems to make the decisions for everybody else?

Black Friday.... [2008-11-29]
I donshopon line), buy it and if it if not, oh well, makes no difference to me. My last Black Friday purchases were Cabbage Patch dolls (the FIRST incarnation of them many years ago) for my daughters. That was enough for me.

We got our tree today [2008-11-29]
We went to a tree farm, took a tractor ride and cut down our tree. We have 12 foot high ceilings and usually get a 12 foot tree, but this year we put it at the other end of the family room, and we got an 8-1/2 footer. We used to have a fake Christmas tree up until about 8 years ago or so when our cat began eating all the fake pine needles. Long story short she ate so many she had to have emergency surgery to remove them (she wasnt' able to pass them) and $1,500 later we decided no more fake trees. She's no longer with us, but when she was younger she would climb in the tree and actually knocked it over one year. We had to anchor it to the wall. Our other cat never really bothered the tree except batting around ornaments at the bottom. He's been over sniffing it today, but hasn't paid much attention to it over the past few years.

Martha Stewart's recipe [2008-11-28]
I'm sure you can look it up on her website. I have her cookbook and have been using her recipe for years! It's not fool proof, as I have found that fresh eggs don't peel as well but do peel a little better if I use her method and I NEVER get that green ring or the dot of slimy uncooked egg when I use her recipe. It's very simple too. I wish I knew it exactly from memory but I don't - the closest that I can come is this (though if you want to try it I would pull her recipe and not use mine from memory lol) Start eggs in cold water. Put on the stove. Bring to a boil. Heavily salt the water (1-2 tablespoons for a normal sized 1 quart sauce pan). Cook 7 minutes. Turn heat off and let stand for 5 minutes. Place into ice water. Peel under running water. Then you can store them peeled with wet paper towel in a zip top baggie or platic tightly covered dish for a few days if needed.

after my shift...sm [2008-11-28]
I was in Walmart for 10 minutes because there was non-Christmas stuff that I needed and then I went to the grocery store, which was not crowded at all. I was going to go to Target for 1 thing until I saw the parking lot. Not a chance! That 1 thing wasn't that important. This is the first time I've gone shopping on Black Friday in years. It was good to reminded why I don't do it.

BLACK FRIDAY [2008-11-28]
Stayed home just relaxing -- when I heard earlier on NPR that a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death when a crowd of early shoppers pushed in the front doors! They said the store was on Long Island, but gave no town. Guess what? I grew up on Long Island (that's NY) but have lived in Maine for years -- haven't seen a crowd yet! Bargains will still be there tomorrow. Rosie

PLUS SIZING [2008-11-28]
Probably a 3X or larger, depending on how busty she is. Talbot Woman Withincatalogs and search for larger sizes. You but lost 220 lb. over 13 years ago with GBS. And yes, I kept it off. Rosie

I never go out on Black Friday...SM [2008-11-28]
We live in an unstable environment, I feel at least. And I woudlnt feel safe going to a store on this day. In fact, I do all my shopping before Thanksgiving, mainly just to avoid lines, crowds, and out of stocks, but in the last few years I also have to safety into my mix of reasons for my early shopping. Crazy world!!

My sisters and nieces and nephews and I stopped [2008-11-28]
exchanging gifts several years ago. My mom and dad and my family stopped exchanging gifts a couple of years ago. This year, my 2 grown children and my husband and I agreed to keep Christmas very, very simple. One gift each. No big major spending. We havea new grandson who is a week old and, of course, he will receive gifts from us, but, even for him the spending will be kept to a minimum this year Maybe you need to just tell your family that you They may not understand, but you should not have to stress about such a beautiful time of the year. I know that I am actually looking forward to the holidays for the first time in a long time because I We are by no means rich people, but we do have what we need and a lot of what we want. There is really nothing that any of us needs. We are truly blessed.

I went through this myself about 20 years ago. [2008-11-28]
My husband is the eldest of 4 siblings. They tend to give expensive gifts, and none of them have children. I came from a very poor family, so our Christmas holidays never included lots of gifts. When we were first married I stressed over the gift selection and the money we spent. My husband, who is an accountant, stressed over every penny. When our first child came alone, I quit my full-time, downtown career-oriented job and stayed home. Our family income was cut in half, and so we had to tell everyone, our siblings, parents, friends, etc., that we couldn't afford to give any gifts. Family members wanted to give us gifts anyway, and we begged them not to, as it really made us feel uncomfortable to receive but not give. We didn't need anything, really. We just couldn't afford to spend anything on gifts. It took us about 3 years to get everyone to play by our rules. Twenty years later, and we're doing better financially, but we still don't exchange gifts with anyone but our children. Even my husband and I don't exchange gifts. We try, instead, to make donations to charities or causes that we care about. Over the years, some of our family members have experienced financial difficulties, and they opted out of the gift giving either temporarily or permanently. It always feels a little strange at first, but eventually it's ok. The season isn't about the gifts, and if the gift-giving becomes a burden, then that's certainly no fun. You have the financial responsibility for your family. You make those decisions, not family members who make you feel guilty. They'll get over it. Don't let it get you down.