I find TV people in my dreams and am tired of it. OC

My town has 25,000 people but when I first moved [2008-11-22]
here 23 years ago, it only had 5,000. We had a Tastee Freeze and a Chicken Country and that was it. Our town has gotten to big for our liking but the school system is excellent so I suppose we'll just bear with it for a while.

Go to etsy.com. You'll find a gazillion [2008-11-22]
xx

yeah, i'm 55 and people keep [2008-11-21]
asking, how long are you going to work? but i can only say, as long as i can. One hardly dares to stop do they?

Mine hit 50% for me. So long, retirement dreams! [2008-11-21]

My husband can't say no to people either...sm [2008-11-20]
Unless he gets mad about something. We don't really work it out. I am usually just stuck as you say being the bad guy or give in. Find comfort in the fact that you aren't the only one who struggles with bills. I bought my son a Playstation 3 for X-mas this year for $400 but the only way I was able to do that was to put back money all year and hide it. It seems just typical man, most anyway, that you tell them and tell them but they don't pay you any mind or they don't want to hear it. Just sit him down and talk and tell him it isnno. Throw in some tears, which shouldn't be hard to do, for more effect. Maybe he will feel bad.

Four people and roughly spend about 700+ per month. sm [2008-11-19]
However that includes everything including cleaning products, oil for cars/semitruck, hygiene products, socks/panties (don't put those in the clothing budget), etc.

Any creative people out there? [2008-11-19]
In giving gift cards to kids on Christmas, how would you do that? I think it would be sad to just hand several gift cards to a kid that are in a tin or such. No christmas fun in that!

The people across the street from [2008-11-18]
have pumpkins sitting on their front porch as well as their outdoor Chirstmas lights up. They don't turn them on, but they are defenitiely up.

too tired to cook [2008-11-18]
We just have homemade tostadas and microwave them. You can put anything on them and there are no dishes, pots or pans.

Too bad more people do not do this - [2008-11-16]
I think this shows how much you have grown up and how caring you are. I think this will bring the other person closure as we all need that when we are hurt. I had my heart broken 10 years ago and not a day goes by where I think what did I do wrong to be treated so horrible. I don't dwell as much but I wonder how people can be so cruel. I commend you and hopefully, this will bring closure for you too.

People leaving their McMansions and traveling West [2008-11-14]
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Crazy people............ [2008-11-13]
who want to show that two lesbians can have a biological child.

You know how they say dogs sometimes can sense things about people? [2008-11-12]
We had that ATT U-verse stuff installed in October and three installers came to the house. Not a single problem with the dogs. (We still had LouLou at the time.) They sniffed the installers and then let them go on about their business. The one installer was at our house for 12 hours. On Saturday, two ATT techs came over to fix the computer. Again, not a single problem with Duke. He sniffed them out and didn't bother them for the rest of the time. On Sunday, the ATT tech who came over called to say he was on his way. He said he was somewhat spooked by dogs and he just wanted to make sure we had a friendly one. I assured him Duke wouldn't bother him. Duke didn't care for that man in the slightest. He growled at him and the hair stood up on his back. Every time the man came in the room, Duke reacted the same way and would back away from him. I wonder what it was about him that Duke didn't like?

Seems to me the people you call friends... [2008-11-11]
were trying to teach you a lesson. You are the one with the cell phone who doesnOkay. You don If I were you, IThank you very much. Your lesson was very well learned now get the h**l away from me. For crying out loud, with friends like that, who needs enemies. Life is too short to deal with that kind of crap. Go find some new friends who don't care if you text or not.

People love my bread stuffing sm [2008-11-11]
I use Pepperidge Farm seasoned bread stuffing, donare out there, this is put out by a bread company. Theninstead of water, use orange juice. I once tried chicken broth but too greasy. I add freshly chopped onions, celery and sometimes raisins and small amt. of chopped cranberries. I never stuff the turkey but bake it separately in a casserole. If it looks too dry, I may add a teaspoon or moreof the final turkey drippings just over the top. This is one time I use butter. I have tried rubbing the bird with mayonnaise and that works well. Like to experiment but always the turkey comes out just fine at 20 minutes per lb. and use a thermometer. They always ask for more stuffing.

accounting is awesome and nurses have to touch sick people -nm [2008-11-10]
x

Same here - I can always find something nice to say if I try. [2008-11-10]
My mom always said if you donOh, that is so soft! or colorful, or unique...lol My MIL is notorious for thinking she knows me when she has no clue...even my husband will tell her I won't like something but she will still give it to me. If she mentions where she got it I will return it. If I can't return it I will re-gift it or use it as a tax deductible donation or regift. I try not to regift though because it usually means I'm going to give someone else a gift that isn't perfect for them. The way I look at it is this. If I gave someone a gift they didn't like I would want them to think of it as a nice gesture and thought of them BUT I would WANT them to get something else or give it to someone they know would use it. I wouldn't want them to feel obligated to use it or to hide it except when I come over, etc....so I follow suit with gifts that I am given.

Why do people ask you how you are today [2008-11-08]
and then walk away before you really even geta chance to open your mouth. Or why does that perky little young girl at thebank say Have a good day when she really could give a rattail about whether I do or not. She doesn

All these people are coming for thanksgiving... [2008-11-07]
My house is a cluttered mess. I just don I mean, I guess I do...I What I thought would be fun is giving me heart palpitations. Any advice?

There are people out there though . . . [2008-11-04]
I had a PA struggling to diagnose me in the office one day and she was telling me probably lupus, blah, blah, blah, all of this crap and she had the doc come in and he said do you know who she is??? (yea, she did). He said to her, this woman is a member of the medical profession and she is going to go right back to her office and look up everything you just told her and panic. She knows what you are talking about, you don't just throw out diagnoses. That's probably not exactly how he said it but I get the meaning of, don't cross this MT off the list, honey, she knows everything you are saying!!

Why do people say [2008-11-03]
(especially kids) when they heard you the first time.

Why do people expect [2008-11-03]
You to do something for them, when they know there is no way in @#$% you can do it. Why am I still here?

for short people [2008-11-03]
why is it the one item i need is on the very top shelf so far back i cannot reach it?

OMG Yes!!!!! It's a conspiracy against short people! [2008-11-03]
I get so aggravated! And then it never fails you go looking for someone who can help you or has a ladder and no one is EVER working on the floor! At Wal-Mart, I THEN an employee appears and tells me I can I said, then you need to be out here doing you job so I don Man, being short sucks!

some people did, some people didn't. It's their choice. [2008-11-02]
x

Well he finally left....sm [2008-11-22]
He asked when my husband would be home and I said tonight and he left. He is staying somewhere else. He is getting an apartment next week 30 miles away from here he said so I am glad. I hate to say it but I am tired of babysitting. I got to where when he comes and won't leave I just stay in my office.

Probably self-explanatory... [2008-11-22]
On a personal level, I'm gothic... On a professional level, I'm an MT. People are somehow always taken aback at that combination, but I rather enjoy demolishing the preconceived stereotypes of others, so it's all good. Rock on, my fellow MTs :)

I've been there. [2008-11-22]
I don't believe in getting even - although, whew! I'm human. I've performed several mental castrations. But through quiet observance, being stuck around this person albeit distant, I learned I didn't have to stoop. Life took care of that time and time again with the fool. Talk it out with the right person, cry it out, write it out as much as you can; key word is out. Find an outlet, running, drawing; don't bury it within.

Bring ads from other stores. Most pricematch..sm. [2008-11-22]
So you donThus eliminating running all over town in a mad rush. All you have to do is get to the sale item at that store first before it It makes it sooo much easier and a lot less stressful. I hope I worded that so it makes sense. I'm tired. Or, get together the day before with a few other people who are going.Each of you is designated a different store and picks up what the others want at their designated store. Then meet for breakfast afterwards to exchange the purchases as well as horror/humor storiesfrom theadventures.Thus, again, eliminating the rushing from one place to another. I think I I heard you can do that for theblack friday sales and some store will even let you buy online and pick up at the store. (later, after the rush and madness is over!) Forthe virgin poster, beware, some people can be downright mean, nasty,rude and even violentthat morning. Seriously.Oh, and NEVER leave your cart unattended if you were lucky enough to getone of the limtedamounts per store items. People will literally take them right out of your cart if you And keep your purse in sight at all times. If you bring a purse, have it hang in front of you and not on your side. I like to just keep my money and/or credit card tucked snugly in my front pocket of my jeans and not even bother with a purse.

live in a town of <150. No zeros. [2008-11-22]
that's less than 150 people, 13 miles from nearest grocery, in the middle of the USA...and i grew up in a big city in CA. but whoohoo!! now we have a cell tower too. turkeys roam the yard every day. sometimes deer, right in town :) and we've been upgraded to high speed I/N as well. Living is good!!

Everyone seems [2008-11-22]
pretty happy. It doesn't seem prurient. I've been in favor of other situations in which people are free to develop on an internal time clock rather than one imposed externally & in that regard there's probably something to this, but the siblings following the first probably got the idea to continue for a long time from watching, so there's definitely a bias there. Would be interesting for someone to design a study comparing long-time thumb-suckers with children weaned at a later age. This woman would probably say that the experience of breastfeeding can't be duplicated or substituted with a bottle or a plastic nipple because the emotional part of it would be lost. I don't know. I guess it depends on the family involved. I remember on Six Feet Under, how Lisa & Nate were letting Maya sleep in their bed until she decided she didn't want to any more. I think there's just a whole movement out there comprised of people with similar ideas, & until someone does a long-term study, I guess I'd have to say any suggestion that it's out-&-out wrong is just conjecture or has a cultural bias.

Does anybody live near Trenton, NJ? If so a hospital position 40 hr week is available...sm [2008-11-22]
This requires a quick response on your part, because there are two positions open and I don The ft position is hospital transcription, hourly wage, all bennies and PTO and holidays. The other position is team leader for the MT department, directing work flow and working with staff. People are now interviewing, but wanted to give a chance. email me if you want to, because I will not name this on post. Thanks

150 inhabitants? Is this really a city?...s/m [2008-11-22]
Are you the same person who posted this nasty reply to 'abc' on 11/16/08? Now I can undertand that living in a VILLAGE (or BOX) with 150 people gives you a backward insight on a lot of issues.

OMG! I did the same thing. I have a picture..sm [2008-11-21]
I My kids were younger so the dollar store was great! Seriously, my living room was full! It For little kids that was easy. But now they I miss those days of buying from the dollar store and filling the living room. Now, theyonly get 1 or 2 presents and I hate it. It makes me cry every year. I'll look for that picture on my break and try to upload it.

Jeez! Awful! ...sm [2008-11-21]
I don't have a 401K though because I am a IC. I am saving though and I will open an IRA one day. A lot of people are losing a lot of money in their 401K.

Oh my! I feel for you.. sm [2008-11-21]
Yes you are definitely depressed and with good reason. I don't know what to say. Can you find a cheaper place to live? Better yet, go move by your family. If you cannot afford it then go to your children and ask if you can stay with them a while while you save the money up to move. I would want to know if my mom was depressed and needed some help. You need to be around family. You don't need to live there alone with noone around for 50 miles. Go to family.

Help is a safety net you have paid for sm [2008-11-21]
Food stamps are a safety net we all pay for, all forms of public assistance are things we have been paying for all along. TAKE the help you need! Do move closer to family if you possibly can. I have been in your shoes myself. I lost my home to foreclosure 4 years ago because of having a near-fatal drug interaction and losing my job of nearly 7 years. I made a couple of moves and finally ended up in a small town out of state from where I had lived for 30 years. I lived with a close friend for about 9 months and had the opportunity to buy a mobile home for $3000. The people I bought it from said I could make payments and I was able to pay it off in 5 months. It needed a lot of work and it has gotten it, most of which I have done myself. This project really helped me to regain parts of myself I had lost. It gave me a reason to get up and get going on my days off. I turned this ugly old thing into a lovely, comfortable home I cherish. I have lost about 50-60 lbs since living here and I have brought the idea of vastly cutting expenses in line with making more money. The end result is that I am very well off financially, better than in my entire life. DO get medication to help you if you can. I didn't have medication to help because I am allergic to every psychotropic in existence. I did this by pulling myself up by the boot straps, but if I could have had help, I would have. There IS a brighter future out there. You CAN have that brighter future because you DESERVE IT. That said, no one expects you to get there alone!!! Don't be embarrassed to ask and receive help. You will be able to help others later. Years ago, when my kids were young, I was a single parent, no support and it was Christmas time. My kids didn't even have adequate clothing or food. A neighbor I hardly knew handed me a Christmas card. Inside was a $100 gift card to K-Mart. She said that many years before that, she had been in my shoes and someone had given her $100 one Christmas, she was now paying this forward to me. The only provision was that I return this favor when I could, and that I bought something for myself too because I deserve nice things for my hard work. It was a turning point for me. I have been more of a giver since. Although I could have paid this back last year, I didn't know anyone who would appropriately benefit. This year, I do and I had to tell her that I was going to do this and why. She cried and felt embarrassed because, she said, she was usually in the position to give and it hurt a little to receive. I reminded her that she was GIVING me the gift of giving with pleasure. Others are going to give to you with pleasure, love, friendship and concern for your well being. TAKE IT. One day you'll post back here about how good things are and I'll want to hear it.

Just check all the ads in the newspapers. [2008-11-21]
Most stores have special coupons for early birds on Friday morning. Around here, stores open around 4 a.m. and last year we got there at 3 and stood in line in the cold just waiting to get in. Good luck. Don so unless you are first in line at those places you are usually out of luck. I know last year, people were in line at Best Buy at 2 a.m. waiting for it to open at 5.

Private counseling [2008-11-21]
Go to a private counselor yourself if he wonANONYMOUS programs attract those who do not get it and go around town blabbing your business, ruining your lives even moreso. Yes, they save lives but they often ruin them with their gossip, even the name gossip hisses, it ruins lives, topples marriages, loses jobs. Be sure before you let these people into your personal, private lives and your homes. Sometimes private, closed-door counseling is the best way to go. Then if you are both comfortable with going public that is your own personal decision. Beware of who you let into your life. If you were going to take a plane ride you would want to know the pilot.

You might try posting [2008-11-21]
On the main board about this. If find that I get more help about equipment and IT issues over there. I would say find a used computer store. Some times they only charge $50 an hour to look at it for you and if they can fix it in that hour there are no additional charges. I would definitely work on it before it goes out completely on you.

Has our country taken a turn for the ... [2008-11-21]
Our once great country, I afraid, has just turned a corner for the worse. I have watched as the mentality of our country has gone from setting your mind to something, working hard, and you can accomplish it to giving up, sitting back, and letting somebody else take care of them. I was brought up, as many were, with a good work ethic that was instilled in us by our parents. With the idea that if you want something you had to work for it, and by working for something you learned quickly the difference between wants and needs. There were always incentives for a person to strive to better themselves. Whether it were financial incentives, or just the pride you gained in knowing that you did something yourself, it didn�t matter. I wasn�t long ago that people had that �small town� mentality, and everybody knew their neighbors. And those neighbors helped each other out, in any situation, it was just what you did. And people were so proud that some times help would have to be disguised, you remember the lines like..�Mom made more stew than we could eat, could you help us out by taking it so that it doesn�t go to waste?� But, somewhere along the line those thoughts of some (I guess now the majority) have changed. Some how, if somebody works hard to gain something others feel entitled to have the same things, even if they didn�t have to go through the struggle to earn it. Some how, things like big screen TVs, cell phones, and shiny new cars have wrongly slipped from the �wants� list to the �needs� list. Somewhere the incentives to strive for betterment have been replaced by incentives to be lazy. The easy way out and hand outs are now the norm. The feeling of pride about being self sufficient is supposed to be replaced by guilt for having more than others. The �small town� mentality is gone and our neighbors have turned into strangers. People no longer help out their neighbors or even themselves, instead they sit and wait for the government to come solve things for them. And when help does come they complain that the help wasn�t good enough or didn�t come fast enough, the pride is gone. Well, I refuse to think that way, my small town roots and work ethic runs to deep. I refuse to let somebody take care of me while I am willing and able to take care of myself. I will continue to meet and know my neighbors and help them out when they need it. I will continue to work hard to take care of my needs and by doing so, my wants will take care of themselves. I will continue to volunteer for things and give to charities of my choice regardless of what the government wants to take away from me and give to the undeserving. My hope is to change the thinking back to the way it was. The sun will rise again tomorrow, I�ll keep doing what I do, and this country can be great again�.at least in my little corner of it�

i know what you mean, but maybe [2008-11-21]
you should move! we still have small town atmosphere here. Neighbors and i share food like you described, look after other's animals, help each other. When i got seriously hurt a few years back, so many brought food, even people i didn't know, and offered help...

it never really goes away, you just have to chalk it up [2008-11-21]
as a lesson learned. this is amazing, cuz the same thing just happened to me this week. been helping someone for ages, then they turn on me !! blew my mind and i we can only learn to surround ourselves with the loved ones around us. you can I and go down the long list of things that you know you are blessed with. this is the worst: youall the people who have done me wrong. so much for getting back to sleep once that list starts creeping into your consciousness. forgive yourself, realize it and remember, no good deed goes unpunished. -- sorry.

What about the ones that are solar-powered? [2008-11-21]
Easy to find in most mail order catalogs, probably places like K-Mart or Walmart, too. Then you can have your lights, and thumb your nose at PG&E!

This may sound a little weird [2008-11-21]
But I live in a really big city and I would put him in a retirement complex. That is a really good place for people with lots of money who don't feel like cooking for themselves or being alone. I hope you live in a big city too. Good Luck!

hide it and give them a pirates' map or [2008-11-20]
give them a note in a stocking (or whatever) with a riddle sending them somewhere else where they would find another note and riddle sending them yet another place, and so on, and so....until they finally get the gift card! then you could put the card in a really funny place like the frig.

I only have one child, a son..sm [2008-11-20]
so that helps. I usually spend about $300 on my son, but this year I have spent $400 already on a playstation 3 he has wanted ever since they came out last year. I can't just give him that so I have to buy him some other little things to open. My mom and mother-in-law and sister-in-law are going to buy playstation 3 games because after spending $400 on it I can't buy the games too, which are about $60 each. So I still have to buy some small things for him so I will probably spend about $500 on my son this year. The most I have ever spent on him and he is 10. Like I said it is usually no more than $300. I try to spend no more than $100 on my husband, but this year I know he has said how he would love to have an ipod. So I am going to buy one for about $150. I have my dad to buy for and mom. I know I will probably spend about $50 on my mom. My dad I am not sure yet. In-laws are usually about $20-25 each. My sister about $25. My brother in law about $20. My 2 nephews about $20 each. I also have a niece I will spend about $20-30 on. I try to spend a little more on my niece because my sister in law spends a lot on my son. So you see I have a lot of people to buy for. I don't even know how much that is all together but it ain't cheap. And the people I buy for I have to cause they do for us.

ooh...that is a bad word in our house! [2008-11-20]
I have trouble dealing with the day-to-day rudeness of people out in public. I have too many urges and have to bite my tongue. I actually shop online for most of my stuff. I am one of those people that get irritated if my trip to the grocery store lasts more than 30 minutes, so I think it is best for everyone involved that I stay home on Black Friday.

Christmas Club...sm [2008-11-20]
I have three grown kids (includes 1 in-law) and I have money taken out of my paycheck through the year and whatever the amount is when I get the check, I divide that by 3 and that is how much I spend on the kids. It I put back through the year from my OT and get my husband something nice and then I just pick up a few inexpensive things along the way for a couple of other people I like to give a little something to. I don't think anybody really cares how much I spend on them, but I do try my best to be equal in what I spend on the kids, even at their ages now!

According to DH, our budget is $1,000 [2008-11-20]
But more likely I We have 3 kids. We usually get them 1 big gift to share and then round it out with smaller gifts. This year, they It The breakdown of the other $350: Parents $150, Grandma $25, Gift Exchange $60, Siblings (from my kids $20, Niece/nephew: $40, Teacher Gifts $30, Student Gifts: $15. The remaining $30 will go to Toys for Tots! Each of my kids like to pick out a $10 gift to put in. I have 3 siblings and 1 that My brother that Of course, my 2 unmarried siblings also buy small gifts for my children, so we always get them a little something from them -- usually lottery tickets or a gas card for Sheetz. $10 used to fill We do our exchange party on Christmas Eve. It keeps the kids entertained and gives them a little preview of what I have to say I enjoy Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day. It Teacher gifts kill me. It I usually go for a coffee mug with a Christmas scene or teacher saying on it and fill it with candy. Of course, DH thinks I do all this for Christmas for $1000, but why tell him and spoil it? We do a Christmas Club for $1000 every year and I just buy the other stuff here and there. We already got our Christmas gifts for ourselves -- a 46-inch LCD TV for DHand a Dooney Bourke purse with matching wallet for me. Now you all got me excited again about shopping next week. I I always wait until the day before Thanksgiving to do that so I know I won For those of you below who posted that you don Let me just say that I don I sometimes snag a deal or 2, but I learned a long time ago not to wait until Black Friday to get the most sought after items. Best to get them in Sept or Oct.