Can i add my 2 cents worth In a mall I saw this young woman (sm)

I quit (I am still fairly young, so only smoked 8 years), but [2008-12-03]
I feel so much better. Even if someday I get lung cancer despite having quite, I am thankful to not wake up coughing every morning and to have clothes that don't stink and to be able to tell my kids not to smoke without being a hyprocrite. I can tell them why I quit. Mostly, I just feel better for the time being and that is enough. Plus, I save A LOT of money because cigarettes were darned expensive in Washington state.

When I was in school, it was 85 cents for [2008-11-18]
lunch and 15 cents for milk. All 3 of my kids do go to the same school. The discounted meals aren It We make too much to qualify for any of the state-funded programs (not that I

For what it is worth, you are right on target sm [2008-11-15]
For one thing, this didn't come from the ex's mom, it came from the ex. You are 100% right in saying if she calls or comes to your home, you will not be rude to her or ignore her. Since you are included in things with the ex's mother, I doubt she is carrying any kind of a torch for your husband and her daughter. I think she is well over that, but thinks a lot of your husband and wants him to be her friend. It sounds like the mom takes people into her life as she finds them, which is a mature attitude...then again she is an adult and you and your husband are also adults. The ex is acting like she never graduated from high school! SUCH GAMES! You handled it with much more grace than I could have. My hat is off to you.

Hi elonmt. Yes, past the Rockaway Mall [2008-10-29]
going west towards PA. Live off of Route 80. My power went out at 12:30 as well as cable. Power came back on at 3 a.m. this morning, 29th and cable back on at 10 this morning. Man o Man. It has been crazy here. We had about 5 inches. Trees were falling, power lines down, roads closed. If felt like a January blizzard when I was out shoveling. Yes, I had to do it, but it was very heavy. I could not even have a cup of hot chocolate when I was done. We had to go out to eat also, but I was not complaining. Sleep with sweatshirt on with a hood and many, many blankets. Glad it is over. Can't wait until we get into winter. LOL

A mother's dream! My children are young so (sm) [2008-10-29]
right now they say sweet things, well at least my 8 year old does...lol. I only dream that when they are your daughter's age they will think that highly of me :-) Congratulations!

Where in Northern NJ? Past Rockaway Mall? [2008-10-28]
no msg

I'm not sure if this will work - but it might be worth [2008-10-24]
a try. Does your husband pay the bills or does he give you money to pay them? Make a household budget, including allowances for gas and groceries. Either add in a little extra for the allowances to cover incidentals that might come up or present him with the receipt after he pays. Another thing I would definitely do -- you might want to consult with a divorce attorney. Don Your attorney will tell you what you would be entitled to. Depending on what state you live in, you may even get spousal support for a short time. You should be entitled to have 1/2 of everything you The debt you have accrued will also be shared between him and you. When youboth of your debt regardlesswho charges it. As for your children, you can discuss that with your attorney as well. Let him know your child Only after you are informed by a good divorce attorney, can you decide what Don Find out first and then decide. Most consultations are free or relatively low cost. If you do pay for the consultation, make sure to pay by cash so as not to leave a paper trail. It would be better to make a cash withdrawal on your credit card, if youneed to. Get your ducks in a row before he has a chance to start picking them off. Good luck and keep us posted!

Nothing wrong with believing in man/woman-only marriage, [2008-10-16]
By getting married, same-sex couples aren't 'forcing' anything on anyone. Nor are they hurting or threatening anyone. They're just trying to practice their own religious beliefs. If they're not religious, then they get a civil union, or don't get married at all. Exactly the same as the rest of us. It's just NOT any big deal.

But these are kids; they shouldn't have to fight at a young age nm [2008-10-15]
:)

Woman falls into freezer & dies [2008-10-07]
How can you do that? Wouldn't it have to be an awfully big freezer? Regardless, what a horrible way to die. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Police say a woman accidentally fell into her freezer and died before a friend found her and called authorities. Colorado Springs Sgt. Tim Hogan says a woman called police Saturday morning to report her friend was dead in the freezer. Hogan says that an initial investigation makes it appear the woman fell into the freezer, then got trapped and suffocated before she could get out. Foul play is not suspected. The woman was not immediately identified, and police didn't say how long the woman had been dead in the freezer before her friend found her.

My 2 cents [2008-10-01]
IMHO, the school officials should be ashamed of themselves for not contacting you immediately!! Somehow, I would expect more sensitive treatment from a Catholic private school, too. I truly believe that, if my son had stabbed another child with a pencil, the school would likely have called the police andcharges of assault and battery may have been filed, right thereon the spot, no matter what the age. That little girl is mighty lucky. In our public school district, a 2nd grader was suspended for 3 days because he remarked to the teacher that she was pretty. No physical harm was done. My point is, if a child can deserve such a punishment for innocently complimenting a teacher, regardless of whether or not it constitutes sexual harrassment, the incident with the pencil stab wound should not go unpunished, and, asthe parents of the victim, youshould make it clear that youdo not intend to gloss over it like just a routine event in the day of a school child. It seems to me that it is to the benefit of your child to make as big a deal of this as you need to.If you do little to nothing, what message does that relay to your child--that he is not important enough to defend in this case? That his rights are less important than those of the girl? That girls should be allowed to beat up on boys with little to no punishment? Your own son While it is good to teach him the golden rule, it is also good to teach him to assertively stand up for his rights. My son isa BIG, husky boy. Things like this happened to him during his public school years. All he had to do was look sideways at someone, and I would be called; but when someone hurt him, the school didnbother mom and dad at work. What an excuse. I started documenting everything in written form, even sent faxes. Theschool hated that I put everything in writing, but I believe they respected us or, at least, pretended to respect us, and my son experienced fewer problems with verbal and physical abuse from other studentsafter that. Best to you.

Just my 2 cents [2008-09-30]
The school should have immediately informed you that they provided medical attention to your son (yep, ice pack = medical attention). If they called the other mother then they should have called you. In my experience (I have 6 kids) talking to the other mother will do no good, when the child is at school, it is the SCHOOLS responsibility to see this doesn't happen. You should make it known that in the future you expect a phone call from them, or they can expect one from your attorney, and if they cannot control the child in the classroom, either that child, or yours, should be moved to another part of the class, or a different class altogether. Ask yourself, how would you handle this had she stabbed him in the eye? Next time she might.

woman as man of the house [2008-09-27]
We seem to have a lot of guys out there, with their ranks constantly expanding, whose only purpose in being in a relationship is to do as little as possible in exchange for a much as possible. Their sense of entitlement is huge - they expect the woman to be breadwinner or equal earner, cook and housekeeper, social secretary, financial guru, babysitter, the list goes on forever. In exchange they must be begged to do the simplest tasks like taking out the garbageor yardwork - often they just flat refuse to do anything at all and the woman ends up doing everything. The couch potato guys get their way and end up doing nothing but being a housepet or overgrown child, and eventually the woman realizes these guysare bringing nothing, and I mean nothing!, to the relationship but mess, hassle and arguments. She realizes she doesn These menengineer their own divorce, and deserve it,by refusing to be a partner in any sense of the word.

Me, too. It's just not worth all the drama. [2008-09-26]
nm

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.

Well thanks for visiting the miserable people and giving us your 2 cents nm [2008-09-24]
x

second that on condos. worth the extra $$$ [2008-09-20]
we liked that a lot!!

My 2 cents......... [2008-09-08]
Money is not the only thing he is lying to you about and you probably know it. Just what those things are, I don't know, but when a spouse lies and hides money, it is only a symptom of a lot of other things he/she is doing behind your back. That is why they become so defensive and try to turn the tables as if you are being ridiculous and just making up stuff. You know you're not going crazy.....you're a very angry fed up lady and for good reason. You know in your heart you have let this man belittle your feelings and make you feel less than a person. That's what they do to make themselves feel better about what they're doing. My husband made very good money and for years, he always dropped off his check (when there wasnhis money and what he did with his money. Told me his boss keeps hundreds of dollars at a time in his wallet and he didn't trust his wife with keeping the checkbook.... she always overdrafted, messed up stuff, etc. Well, since I had been doing all that stuff for years with never a problem, I knew it wasn't because I was doing a poor job. He always insisted I do it because he just didn't have the time. His job was high profile and many hours, so I just didn't mind. I asked him did he want to keep hundreds of dollars in his wallet, did that make him feel like a man? I didn't understand his point. He just said if he wanted to, he should be able to. I never EVER told him what to do with money. We always kept everything in the open, joint accounts, etc. So, as time went by and he became angrier when I asked why he wouldn't bring his check stubs home, I loaded up the children and left. He was the type who thought I would do nothing and he was shocked as h*ll when I did. The emotional turmoil that puts in your mind is simply not worth it. No answers from him, being told we don't have the money, when I knew full well we did and I would do without while he was out there blowing it on just stupid stuff. One day I had to use his car to take our child to school, let down the visor, and there was around 1600 dollars. That's all she wrote. I didn't believe for a minute he was having an affair. I just realized I was living with a very hateful man who didn't give a rat's butt about my feelings. It's a simple as this, it really is. When a spouse starts lying about money in your household, there is a problem. In this case, you said your husband has been lying and doing this all along. I can't imagine how you must feel from day to day. Quite frankly, I just realized my husband just was screwed up and I sure was not going to go down with him and told him if he suddenly felt the need to hide his money to make him feel like a big shot, he could explain to the judge where he hid it when child support and alimony time came around. Please give yourself some peace of mind. I know you are concerned about your children, but believe me, if they don't sense it right now, they will know daddy is doing something wrong towards mom sooner or later. It will affect them down the road one way or another. I have to tell you counseling just does not work for that kind of man. You will have to play hard ball. He will never open his eyes otherwise and be prepared that he may himself live in denial about his problem forever.....do you really want to go down that path with him? When the kids are gone, you're still stuck with those feelings or lack thereof.

Is College Worth It? [2008-09-08]
As parents pack their youngsters off to college, they might ask themselves whether itAmerica The U.S. Department of Education statistics show that 76 out of 100 students who graduate in the bottom 40 percent of their high school class do not graduate from college, even if they spend eight and a half years in college. That's even with colleges having dumbed down classes to accommodate such students. Only 23 percent of the 1.3 million students who took the ACT college entrance examinations in 2007 were prepared to do college-level study in math, English and science. Even though a majority of students are grossly under-prepared to do college-level work, each year colleges admit hundreds of thousands of such students. While colleges have strong financial motives to admit unsuccessful students, for failing students the experience can be devastating. They often leave with their families, or themselves, having piled up thousands of dollars in debt. There is possibly trauma and poor self-esteem for having failed, and perhaps embarrassment for their families. Dr. Nemko says that worst of all is that few of these former college students, having spent thousands of dollars, wind up in a job that required a college education. It's not uncommon to find them driving a taxi, working at a restaurant or department store, performing some other job that they could have had as a high school graduate or dropout. What about students who are prepared for college? First, only 40 percent of each year 45 percent never graduate at all. Often, having a college degree does not mean much. According to a 2006 Pew Charitable Trusts study, 50 percent of college seniors failed a test that required them to interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, and compare credit card offers. About 20 percent of college seniors did not have the quantitative skills to estimate if their car had enough gas to get to the gas station. According a recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the percentage of college graduates proficient in prose literacy has declined from 40 percent to 31 percent within the past decade. Employers report that many college graduates lack the basic skills of critical thinking, writing and problem-solving. Colleges are in business. Students are a cost. Research is a profit center. When colleges boast about having this professor who has won a science award or that professor who has won the Nobel Prize, very often an undergraduate student will never be taught by that professor. It is a bait and switch tactic and very often your youngster will take classes not taught by a professor but taught in large classes by a graduate student. Faculty who bring in large grants are more highly valued than faculty who teach well. Teaching excellence is so often undervalued that the late Ernest Boyer, vice president for Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, quipped that, Winning the campus teaching award is the kiss of death when it comes to tenure. Parents and taxpayers cough up billions upon billions of dollars to the nationbait and switch, confer fraudulent degrees and engage in other practices that would bring legal sanctions if done by any other business. There is little or no oversight of the nationChoosing the Right College (http://isi.org/college_guide/choosing_right_college.html).

The one with a woman who doesn't want free TV, [2008-08-31]
who turns out to be made of gold. She punches the table and runs out. Thank goodness for DVR to fly through that rubbish!

is 27 young enough? [2008-08-29]
Thank you SOOOO Much for your answer, ive been obsessive compulsively checking hoping someone would give me something! I have no husband, no kids, but two dogs... the farthest i've moved was six hours from my home town and I love where I live now, been here three years but it is time for a change. I'm curious, where have you settled? San Diego is nice... but I feel at this time in my life, like there is nothing like the warm Atlantic Ocean... I also might be having a mid-life mid-life crisis of sorts! LOL. Thanks again i appreciate your input more than you know!!!

Globe TestMarket Surveys - is it worth the time? sm [2008-08-27]
I am thinking about signing up online to do Globe TestMarket Surveys to make some extra money....but was wondering if anyone has done this and if it is worth the time? Thanks

nah, just young the first two times. nm [2008-08-21]

For the pet owners: Is pet insurance worth getting? [2008-08-21]
I know there are a lot of pet owners on the Gab board so I thought I would ask. I am wondering if pet insurance is worth getting? I have one 7-year-old kitty, a 2-year-old Pomeranian, and a 4-year-old chihuahua mix. Princess, my pom, broke her foot a couple of months ago by jumping about two feet to the concrete from my lap. I usually don't take her outside, and I think she just landed wrong. It cost me about $700 get her to the vet and have a splint put on and luckily it healed and she didn't need pins. I am really thinking about it because I know pets can get pretty expensive when you have to keep taking them to the vet. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

It's definitely been worth it for us... [2008-08-21]
We only have experience with Veterinary Pet Insurance (just go to Google and type in Itmale Rottie who had bone cancer, and our little female Rottie who just recently had immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (!) of all things. I guess if you Our dogs are like our kids, so we will spend whatever is necessary on their vet care if they get sick or hurt. Having the insurance gives me the peace of mind of knowing that no matter what the treatment costs, we will be reimbursed at least part of it, so that It doesn It LOL You go to the vet you want, pay for services, then fax (or mail) the claim form and receipt and VPI mails you a check pretty quickly for part of the cost. We just pay for the policy once a year from out tax return, but you can make monthly payments if you want. You can chose lesscoverage (lower cost) or more coverage (higher cost) and optional routine coverage for vaccines and stuff. I think you can still get an online quote. It is expensive if you want a policy on a senior animal, which is why I didn My one regret is that I never had VPI insurance for my Siberian Husky, Wiley. I spent so much on his vet care over the years with his chronic tooth issues and then cancer andjoint disease. I Insurance would have saved me a fortune.

I certainly would include them both, why not [2008-12-04]
just give a general gift card to a local mall. It does not have to be for much, $25 or $50 and be done with it.

I post this every holiday season and will try SM [2008-12-04]
posting again. Sigh. I have two stephchildren. One is 30 and one is 25. I actually love them like my own children. Problem is gift giving. Do you give gifts to adult stephchildren who do not give gifts to you? If they were small children or teens, of course I would buy them gifts, but they are ADULTS! Every year I post this same question and get same answers from people saying how much they LOVE buying hundreds of dollars worth of stuff for EVERYONE they know and that I shold get in the holiday spirit of buying. I don I have two grandchildren, 4 and 1-1/2, and have spent a combined $100 on their gifts. Ibuying my SIL a book. Last year, stepdaughter gave me a regifted gift card from Starbucks and stepson gave me small bag of candy (smushed carton). They don I find buying gifts for adults silly. And please, do not suggest handmade gifts. I made that mistake years ago, when I made stepdaughter handmade mosaic tile box, with velvet interior. She threw the thing out.Isthere some tactful way out?

You'll wake up one morning.... [2008-12-04]
skinny, wrinkled and old and think where did the time go? I thought the same when I was young and here I am! LOL

Latex foam works best for me... [2008-12-04]
Expensive, but worth every penny and contrary what the sales people may tell you, they outlast the standard innerspring mattresses.

DH and I are w/my family for lunch [2008-12-04]
and his for dinner. I have ex-aunt that still gets invited to holiday get togethers since she was married to my uncle for so long and her kids and now a grandaughter will be with us. She and a real pain in the but. Even when it is not her house she tries to dominate everything. Where everyone should sit, when we should eat, the conversation somehow always revolves around her. She will ask you a question and even before you finsih answering she is off talking about something else. We basically just roll our eyes and try to avoid her. This year she wrote a letter to my mom asking her to move her Christmas Eve plans to a different time (have been doing the same thing for years) to make it easier on her. Not going to happen. At DH I like her most of the time, but lately I have found that I just tend to tolerate her. She and I have never had any problems but I think her getting older is starting to take its toll. She and I differ anyway. Every Thanksgiving it is the same, everyone that comes brings a couple of dishes but she also does some of the cooking. She doesn This year as soon as we got there she took a hot pot off the stove and put the food into a serving dish. I decided to go ahead and wash it. The pot was extremely hot so I turned on the cold water to cool it off just a bit before I washed it. She came to the sink and turned the hot water on. I politely said I was just trying to cool if off a bit before I stuck my hands in it. No, that is not the way I do it. I was stunned. I have been married to her son for over 20 years and I always wash the dishes. I don But this year I said, well if you want me to leave these for you to do, fine. I did help clean up after dinner but I did not put my hands in any dishwater. Besides they were still a bit pruned fromcleaning upafter lunch. LOL! Btw, this is thesame woman who gives me something that she collects every year for Christmas even though I andher daughter have very politelylet herknow this is not something I want.

We just bought a new mattress - sm [2008-12-04]
It's a Sealy. Can't recall exactly which one but lower end on the price bracket. I think it was about 1000.00 for the mattress and box springs. We had one of those air beds for a long time and I will never ever recommend one of those. My husband also has back problems and needed a comfy mattress so he wanted that number bed thing. It was horrible. I would wake up with lower back pain that would stick with me half the day. His pain was worse too. Not to mention the fact that his side of the bed sprung a leak so after about the first year or so, there was no adjusting it to a comfort zone. Had to pump it all the way up and by morning, it was completely flat and he was laying in a hole inside the foam frame. It was cheaply made, uncomfortable, and a HUGE rip off. Go for a Sealy, it's worth it. I'm loving it.

No fights but [2008-12-04]
my husband's family (mainly MIL) sure does know how to strike a nerve and I can see how one could easily break out. More or less everyone makes an effort to keep their distance from her. Dinner is one thing, spending the entire weekend together is another. The kids split off to visit each other at their own homes with their kids and leave the parent's out. My family is all about family over the holidays so no fights. I think it's understood by everyone that if you don't like it, you don't have to participate but it's one of the few times a year that everyone can get together and put their past feelings aside and get along. We were taught that from a young age.

You're not a hopeless case! sm [2008-12-04]
Each day is a new beginning. Donvictor not you can get some help there. You are the victim. You are worth the effort. Some pills do cause nightmares, try Benadryl at night. I thus the need to relax, I understand, please don't give up. If you don't have a PCP, try a walk-in clinic or the pharmacist, you never know, they may have some good advice. Think of the $$$ you will save, use it to pamper yourself and your self-image will improve. You can do it, baby steps at a time. Remember, every day is a new start.

quitting smoking [2008-12-03]
You are correct to be afraid. Quitting smoking is excruciatingly painful. You have to re-train your brain to do every single daily activity without smoking. And the cravings never go away. Skullcap, Gingseng, and Valerian are extremely useful, so you don't have to suffer if you don't want to. The sore throat alone from the first week of quitting will scare you to death. You will need to eat and exercise to get the energy you get from cigarettes, and it will take awhile to learn how to take better care of yourself. Why is it worth it? You aren't a slave anymore, you can go anywhere, colors you see are more intense, all foods taste different, smells are different and more intense, (and sex is more intense also). You can quit anything if you can stand the pain. Don't be a wimp, you are worth it.

My husband and I both smoke! [2008-12-03]
This January we have decided will be it. It is no longer socially acceptable. My excuse has always been that I am afraid to gain a lot of weight. My brother quit after 15 years (early 30s) and he used Chantix. He was a 3-pack a day smoker. Let me tell you, he is so much better. No coughing. After 6 years of trying to have a baby and failing in vitro; they have just had a baby this November. They both smoked/him worse. They are now both nonsmokers for over a year, have gained weight, but have such a blessing. He swears it was the smoking that caused the infertility. This pregnancy was the natural way and she We are all elated. I am especially proud of him and feel like such a wimp to continue to smoke knowing it is killing me. It makes me feel inferior to others. Thank God my brother is an encouraging soul and not one of those horrible ex-smokers who just won't let up or are worse than just plain nonsmokers. To the OP: These poster above is absolutely correct. My brother will vouge that everything in life is better now that he is a nonsmoker (i He says the Chantix worked and he is by no means a pill-taker at all. To the OP again: If you You are worth it! You can still smoke the first week on Chantix, but then the cravings will disappear. Believe me, I also enjoy the cigarette especially after eating but smoke a lot more when I I I hate the habit, but I love the cigarettes. See what I mean? It Whaddya say? E-mail me! To the Poster Above: Thank you for your kind comments as you've also just made me decide that quitting is the best and only option at this point. I had an aunt that died of ovarian cancer and never smoked or drank a day in her life. She was thin, always health conscious. Not all cancers including lung come from smoking. Keep that in mind as you strive to quit.

i've gone out on the deck a few times, [2008-12-02]
but like the other poster, find it inconvenient. I have several items to drag along, and have to secure laptop so pets don't knock it over. Only do it on the nicest days when i can stay out there several hours and make it worth the trouble. i am very used to (and like) having everything at my fingertips in my office.

Heartily disagree with some of those... [2008-12-02]
I love the post office. For 42 cents, they will take my card or letter all the way across the US, to Alaska or Hawaii! I think it's the greatest bargain going. (And, no, I don't know anyone who works for the post office.) Secondly, I would NEVER give up my land line on my telephone. Try dealing with a few conversations getting choppy and incomprehensible on a cell. Cell phones have their place, but their quality is pretty poor compared to that line stretched on the poles.

christmas gift exchange again sm [2008-12-02]
Our family has always picked names for Christmas and bought only for that person. The limit is supposed to be $25. You know how hard it is to just spend $25 especially on someone that basically has everything. In the past this had just included the adults in their 40s and 50s. Of course one felt obligated to buy the teenagers and younger children something. I Last year I spent close to $200 on Christmas. I really couldn This year my SIL presented the idea of a low cost gift or gift card (my mother hates gift cards) and playing the game of picking a number, then picking a gift, etc. Well my otherbrother and his wife, who are well off, and my mother decided they didn I told my mom I don I can Its only $25 they say. Arenmoney?Well its never just $25 and what can I buy a teenager that has everything for $25? They turned up their noses on the small gifts I gave them in the past.I also donspend more than $25 on me when I could only afford $25. I already feel inferior about my financial status in comparison to my siblings and I feel the best thing for me is to not participate. What I really loathe Christmas anymore. No one really appreciates any gifts they are given and I donI guess IWhy can Thanks for letting me vent.

I had my own store. Got a following almost became [2008-12-02]
But the fees added up so much that is listing fees,final value fees, that I made about 33% after paypal took their fees too. Then, I shipped all over the world too so I'd be sure to make sure the shipping costs were right or I would get burned there. Then, there became the people who would want their money back even if the listing said only store credit. Customer is always right. So, by the time you count the money I spent on the item to begin with (usually something I thought I would naturally make money on), the fees, the time spent taking pictures, the digital battery, etc. I had a gigantic loss this year. Plus, if you buy on e bay, you should watch your selling, because you just might spend all your profit, which comes out to about 5 to 10 bucks an hour. I loved doing it, don't get me wrong. I met people from all over the world. I sold a dress to the Prime Minister of a University in England, and other interesting people. I still have friends on there who are sellers too. But, I had to close down shop because the fees just got to be too much for me. I would rather sit and type and have free time doing artistic things and having hobbies. Some of my friends who have a following on e bay and have been selling for years range in the 25K a year range, and they have a business license, and charge state tax. Don't forget as well, you have to pay income tax just like any other IC job. Just was not worth it to me. Good luck to you.

I knew Dr. Oz would come in handy for something [2008-12-02]
He was on Oprah one day last season when they were taking questions from the audience and a woman stood up and asked about this. She said she gets a funky odor and some fluid in her belly button. (Standing up and admitting that had to take guts) Anyway, Dr. Oz said it was caused by some type of cyst under the naval and, while it isn't dangerous, needs to be checked by a doctor to confirm the diagnosis. I can't remember what he said about getting rid of it.

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.

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.

I remember. [2008-11-30]
My parents used to take us downtown once a year to shop and look at the display windows. Then we would eat at one of the department stores. Dad would take half the kids and mom would take the other half so we could all buy for each other. I remember one year when I was about 6 I was with my dad and my sister and I saw this beautiful red coat I wanted to get mom. We took it up to the counter and my dad told us to give the lady our money. Between us we had 35 cents. We gave it to her and she wrapped it up for us. My dad still tells that story today, how we bought mom a coat for 35 cents. We never did see him give the saleslady the rest of the money, and it was sweet how she played along.

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

Plus size [2008-11-29]
I would think if she weighs 300 lbs and is 5 tall, she wears a size 30, or 4X. If she I would also try to shop at Catherine They I do buy underpants and plain t-shirts at Walmart. Catherine's is my personal favorite for both the styles and the prices. If you Oh look, theyup to 70% off sale right now! http://www.catherines.com/pagebuilder/

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.

power trippin [2008-11-29]
I told her we could make it a $5 dollar challenge for everyone like a game, but no it has to be a regular present, just at her budget. The real truth is that last year I went to the fanciest store in the mall and bought her daughter a set of coffee cups she wanted. She was so jealous and mortified that I was making her look bad to her kid. She did not know they were on sale for $2 a set. She thought I was showing off. I thought was buying a present that was requested!

No where [2008-11-28]
Friend was bitten last year by a woman. They were both reaching for the last item on the shelf and she bit him. How nasty is that?

Black Friday Shopping [2008-11-28]
My husband got up really early and went to Target. He said it wasn't bad at all. He got my daughter two seasons of House on DVD and got my other daughter one of those Crayola Light Up Boards, all were on sale. Then we went out at about 9:00. We went to Kohl's, and the line, literally went around the whole store! Needless to say we didn't need anything that badly (I bet the wait was 4 hours, no kidding). Then we went to Target again and looked around (actually not very busy at all). Then we went to the Mall and got a slew of Twilight stuff for my oldest daugter and picked a few other things for my oldest. Then we ate lunch went to Walmart and just got home about 3:00. Now my husband is finishing up the Christmas decorations outside and tomorrow is tree day. I love shopping on Black Friday. And with the exception of Kohl's are wait was 5 minutes or less.

I feel for the family as well.... [2008-11-28]
Gosh I guess even WalMart isn That ought to bring on a hefty law suit against WalMart - hmmm... I really think Black Friday shopping is overrated anyway. All of that stuff is on sale at any time of the year. It For goodness sakes.