I think that is horrible advice. She should let herself

this is horrible [2008-11-19]
He wants to (literally) have his cake & eat it too? He wants to eat the same amount but spend less, & the way he will go about this is to starve you? Outrageous. Borders on, if not spills over into, abusive. All you are doing by going along with this is proving that his plan works. For heaven's sake, don't enable his creepy behavior by quitting eating! You eat what you need to eat, & the first time he can't have seconds he will know the plan is unworkable.

this is horrible p.s. [2008-11-19]
If you don't stand up for yourself (and your kids) you will end up with a son who treats his wife the way your husband treats you and a daughter who feels it is okay to be starved by her husband. I get that you have creditors, but you are a family. You can't have some members paying the price and others not. Either everyone eats a little less or no one does & you find a different way to deal with the situation. Food is not a luxury.

Need some advice on an old friendship -- [2008-11-16]
I got divorced 7 years ago. Started out as a friendly divorce and then I started dating a man that my ex did not like (because he is black) and we quit speaking at all. Then, one of my very good friends started backing off from the friendship andI thought it was because I was openly dating a black man. Well, 4 months later, I heard that she was dating my exhusband. I called her and asked her about it and of course she denied it, could not believe I accused her of that, she would never do that to me..... on and onand on. To make a long story short, of course 2 months later I found out it was true, they had bee seeing each other for about 6 or 7 months. Anyway, during that time period after I knew that they were together but before they broke up, I would call her occasionally if I needed information on my son (who lived with his dad and would not speak to me at that time becaue of brainwashing) and we stayed friendly on the phone, felt like old times, etc. Then they broke up and now occasionally I get the urge to call her or she will call me for something, and it is like nothing ever happened. We laugh and cut up and it I have some thoughts though about when it really started, before we were even divorcing or during the divorce, and then sometimes I get really mad because she lied to me in the first place and let me keep trying to have a friendship, and then sometimes I miss her and think it does not matter because we were divorced and he was free and I definitely did not want him back. My problem is what to do? Forgive her and forget her... forgive her and be friends again... ask her the questions I need answers to and then decide whether to be friends??? And the other big problem is my new husband gets very upset every time I even speak to her because she did thatto me when she was my friend and he says you never go behind friends to their love interests. Advice please....

I need some advice [2008-11-15]
Ok this is the story: My husband is still friends with his first girlfriends family. This does not bother me. She did a couple of things to really disgrace her family when she was dating him but after a period of time he still kept in touch with them as we live in a very small community. When we met and got engaged they were all very kind to me and the mother even did the cake and flowers for our wedding. The ex is never around much so no big deal. Well this past weekend her great grandmother passed. My husband had known this woman for sometime and the mother asked him to come to the funeral and told me I was not to feel like I shouldnI. To which the ex rolled her eyes and looked at her HUSBAND. So we walked away. To tell you the truth, we didn't really care. Well we get a phone call about an hour ago from the exum we aren Well, knowing how immature the ex and her husband are, we knew they were behind this (plus we could hear them in the background). So my husband told the boy Look, it Well a few minutes later he gets a text message from the brother saying my mom can (which obviously is not true since we saw her Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon and she was obviously not mental). So my husband sent back a message saying Look, whatever issues your sister has with me and your mom having an ADULT friendship, she needs to take those up with your mom, but quit trying to start drama. Well a few minutes later the phone rings. My husband handed me the phone. Knowing how mad he was at the moment, I answered. It was the ex. She asked if she could talk to him, and I said No. This needs to stop right now, it She said well my mom is really going crazy and she can. She went on for about five minutes and I said fine, we won I'm just so angry right now! I mean this is high school drama! What would you do? I know the mom will be absolutely heartbroken if my husband and I just stop coming to see her and talking to her (since her lovely daughter never comes home). I mean except for the funeral, we never go around if she is going to be there, and we don't sit there and talk bad about her or anything. I honestly think she knows she screwed up by messing around on him SIX YEARS AGO and is just upset that he's married and happy and it sounds like her husband is a jerk.

Any advice for lice? - sm [2008-10-30]
My kids came home with this almost 2 months ago, got rid of them (I think---all 4 of us had them and 3 of us are clean now), but 2 weeks ago my older daughter had a new outbreak.I have treated 3-4 x with Rid and Nix (Nix the second time around per doctor), olive oil, and listerine/vinegar. Called the doctor again last night begging for the prescription (they don My daugher Now the doctor wants me to try 50:50 of mineral oil and vinegar.Icould not do it lastnight as I had already had her wash her hair after I found the 2 lice (did Nix again last night).I am so sick of these things. I have washed, and washed, and washed, vacuumed, etc. until I never want to wash or vacuum another thing in my life. My kids stuffed animals, etc. have been bagged up in the garage now for 8 weeks.....never undid them luckily....so at least I had a little less to do this time. ----the other thing that tics me off is the girl next to my daugher on the bus has them too, probably from mine but who knows, and the policy is that the child has to contain their hair for a week or two until the nurse declares her clean. This girl is not pulling her hair back in a ponytail because she does not like them. I complained to the nurse once, and am doing so again today. So that probably is not going to change soI had the bus driver move my daughter today from that seat....they sit 3 to a seat and they are mashed together, hence easy transfer of a bug crawling from one head to another.My daughter was not happy about it, but this other girls mother is convince they are cured asshe put listerine on her daughter If one time fixed it then lice would notbe such a problem. I really think this lady is in LA la land considering the trouble I am having, and I have combed, and combed too, so I am not doing the half-assssseeedddd either. So does anyone have anything that they swear by? I know I could make my kid go to bed with mayo on her head for 10 days straight and that would in theory eradicate them, or any smothering agent, and it may come to that, but if anyone has anything else, please feel freeto tell!

My only advice is [2008-10-29]
Go to the store (Staples or Office Depot or wherever) and try them out. Even some of the expensive ones are surprisingly UNcomfortable. Also, don't expect one to last forever. We spend way too much time sitting at our desks for that.

Homeschoolers - advice please! [2008-10-21]
I am considering homeschooling my son. What are your pros and cons of homeschooling. Please also include how it affects your life and work. Are you more relaxed at your household because no pressure to get off to school, all homework done? I have talked to a few friends and would like some objective viewpoints. Thanks :)

I need advice. I think my16y son is smoking weed... [2008-10-17]
He downloaded some pictures on MY computer for his MySpace page. Anyway, there isa picture of a bag of weed(I was young once, I know what it looks like so he cant try to convince me it was oregano) and a picture of his friend holding the bag of weed.By the way, the bag was on my table so hecaneither. I really don A long time ago I found a pipe in his room. I honestly thought it was over with after that. (guess I can be niave). Between his dad, my husband and I we dealt with it in a mature and appropriate way.But I always stayed cautious after that so I was always watching. I hadn Haven Anyways, my problem is what to do now. I really do not want to tell his dad because hewill be soooo angry. See, dad was really p**sed the first time and told my son that if he ever finds out he I know that sounds harsh, but I know his dad, he will kick him out but only for a little while just to make him think.Tough Love, he calls it. I think he may have even threatened him with a beatin (That is just a scare tactic. He I thought that by me telling his dad the first time he'd know that I was serious and that he wouldn't be able to get away with it with me. See, my problem is that my son idolizes his dad. He I can almost feel his pain already.I feel like heI He knows it too. I hate it and I I know some of you are thinking well he should But remember when we were 16. We didnThat So I have understanding, I just can't let that interfere with tolerance. So what do I do? I haven I know one thing I have to do is forbid him from hanging out with this friend anymore. Which is another issue....Do I tell this boy A part of me wants doesnHeIt Oh, and I haven Heanything my son likes.He wouldnHe tends to overdo the punishments. Then there What if he sneaks out? What if he tries to be....what's the word???...um, like just rebel and walk out anyway or worse, what if he runs away? I know what a lot of you are probably thinking right now. I KNOW I I KNOW III hate it. I I really cannot help it. However, this is a very serious issue to me and I want to find the right thing to do. I doneither (but he doesnYet I don He has to learn. This is not acceptable. Not even to me. If I let it go who knows what the future will hold for him. So any reasonable suggestions out there that a doormat like myself can put to use? I really appreciate any help. I

My first advice would be [2008-10-16]
Take the dog to the pound. I'm not saying that to be cruel but even if you yourself can get the dog looking better chances are they cannot afford to keep it that way. If that is not an option then go to Wal-Mart and get flea shampoo/spray, some Sulfodene (for the itching) and some ear wax/mite remover. Some vitamins might not hurt either.

Thanks for the kind words and advice - sm [2008-10-15]
I think I will look into CCCS. A friend of mine used them 8 or so years ago, though she did not have to pay a monthly fee (asked her about this yesterday), but things are probably different now especially with so many people using them now. Luckily my DH is not on any of my cc accounts, though I am on one of his as a user, but that one will be paid off in full in about a month or less, once we get the money from the loan. We woke up yesterday to finding out my daughter had lice again so I think that distraction is actually helping things, he stayed home with her while I had to go out, had a school committment I could not get out of, and re-treated her (after I had already done Rid, he did olive oil as he could still see critters). So he got a taste of what I did 5 weeks earlier. So I was glad, kind of afraid to leave him home alone in case he ended up getting really depressed and doing something to hurt himself. Obviously he is not happy as a lark or anything but at least he is talking to me. Got the loan paperwork all filled out and mailing in today. Once his are taken care of he will be a bit more happy, though not about the loan, but it is really the only way as we don't want to do a home equity loan/line, and that would be a worse thing to do financially. Yes, I do feel a lot better though at his expense. At least he got up and went to work today, so that was good.

Some advice from experience [2008-10-15]
If you dongood daughter, all my other siblings quit speaking to my father years ago, I should have joined them! Good luck.

Any advice and/or experience with teeth whitening? [2008-10-11]
NM

need advice on what i can freeze [2008-10-10]
ie, casseroles, for a family (mom having cancer surgery) that freezes well. (i know beef does, but ) does tuna freeze well, ie tuna noodle casserole? Does green bean casserole w/soup do well? Would it matter if the beans were previously frozen? thanks.

Great advice - thanks for sharing! [2008-10-06]

TY for replies/advice - see "wait a minute" below for [2008-10-01]
update. I plan on talking to principal and teacher today and go from there.

Advice needed - school incident [2008-09-30]
Okay,I will try to make this short. We send our son to Catholic school. We are Catholic but we also love the atmosphere, i.e. safe and a good community environment. He is in second grade. When I pick him up today, he tells me this classmate girl has stabbed him in the arm with her pencil! He had to have an ice pack on it for an hour and it still hurts him. She poked thru his shirt and now it She has a short fuse and apparently was mad that he was invading her space. They have 4 stations at one table, soitcould be difficult for achild to discernwhere onespace ends and another begins. I am pi**ed off about this. 1. The school didnthey did the other mother. 2. The girl's mother (whom I know) hasn't called me about it. 3. I spoke with the principal briefly because his teacher had left by the time I got there, but he is going to talk to the girl and my son about it tomorrow and about personal space. She was in his office for an hour until dismissal today. I know if it was my kid, I would be calling that mother right up and apologizing. I amso ticked off right now about it thatIam worried if I do call, I will lose mycool. The other thing is this:We have always taught our son to respect others and treat others how you would want to be treated. He has a good moral compass. He is also a big and tough kid.We have always taught himto neverhurt others unless itdefense. I feel as if they are brushing this off because he is a boy. I think if the shoe was on the other foot and he did it to her, it would be bad news. All hubby and I know is that we don How do we get our point across? SHould I call the mom and tell her that? My son told me this is not the first time she has done this (poking with the pencil) but it is the first time it hurt like this. She could have gotten him in the eye or hurt someone else altogether! I don The school doesn I am so mad right now I could spit.

Need advice on [2008-09-24]
My husband interviewed for a job with the state last week on Tuesday. They said they should know in about a week. This is a huge move for us, because if he gets the job we have to move, so the sooner we know, the better. since today is Wednesday, should he try to call and inquire? Or should he just wait? We are really hoping for this so of course we are very anxious, but I don't know if he would seem overly anxious by calling? He had tried to call the interviewer last week because he had to ask him a question or two (he had applied for a lower position here where we live and wanted to know if turning it down would affect him there, you know how the state is!) and left a message with his secretary. The guy never called him back, but his secretary sounds like a bit of a ditz. Anyways, what do you think? This interview is not his first but it's his first time trying to go for a career position, so we are really nervous and excited! (We just graduated college btw)

Very good advice. I stayed for the sake SM [2008-09-11]
of my daughter, until she finished high school. I don't regret it and I'm very happy now, but I'm older. Women today tend to end things and I honestly don't think that is especially bad.

Thank you for the advice and N/T [2008-09-10]
She took 9th grade science and did very well. I'm not sure why they didn't let her take 10th grade science and jumped all the way to 12th. I'm leaning towards letting her drop the class, but then I was told by my neighbor that once they're in accelerated classes, she was told that it's almost impossible to get out. She told her father that she was having a meeting with the teacher today. As for N/T, it won't be on again until January!! I have the seasons on DVD so I can get me some Julian anytime I want. LOL.

Need advice again - Dementia (sm) [2008-09-02]
Hi all. I just want to start off by saying that whenever I post on here I always get kind responses, and I may not always get a chance to say thank you. Wanted to let you know that I do appreciate it. Here is my latest challenge. I have an uncle who is in his early 70 I grew up watching my grandmother, his mother, go through the stages of this horrid disease. I have a pretty good grasp of what we are up against. Thing is, I was a child when my grandmother started her decline, and boy things are different when you are an adult. I honestly don Here is what complicates the situation. My uncle is divorced, has been for some time. He has no children. He has three sisters, my aunts, living. One is in her 80s, one is two hours away and not in great health, and the third is 12 hours away. The oldest cannot help, given her age, the one that is two hours away has told me that she really doesn It gets a little more complicated. My uncle is a hoarder. He also has been notoriously bad about managing his finances for many years. His house is in a very bad state of disrepair. He is at the stage where he really needs someone to look over him, not live with him but maybe go in once or twice a week and help him with bills, meds, etc. However, his house is so bad that I truly fear it is going to fall down around him. My questions: I know that he needs help, but I also know that he has to ask for that help (up to a certain point, which would be where we would then go to court and ask for a conservatorship). He is not at that stage yet. If something happens to him, no one has legal medical proxy, he does not have a will, he does not have an advanced directive. We have talked to him about the importance of doing this, but he does not want to listen, even though he admits he needs to do something. He also has not been formally diagnosed. I think he is afraid to get confirmation that he is suffering from the same disease as his mother. How do we help him? What should we do? What is the procedure here? I honestly am at my wit I donand have him thinking that we are wanting anything. I don It is his. But something has to be done. I want him to be taken care of when the time comes. Any advice would be appreciated, as always. Thank you. HC

Time for a new car - need advice [2008-08-29]
My 2001 car is on its last legs so I have narrowed my search to a new Honda. I don't normally buy new but this is reasonably priced (Honda Fit). My question is . . . are the sticker prices on new cars negotiable? I have never bought a car brand new before and have no clue!

some advice about animal abuse [2008-08-20]
turn him in as soon as possible. People like that do not deserve animals. Someone ought kick him once in awhile. Call the Animal Protection Society in your area immediately. I can't stand people who abuse animals and someone who knows this is being done and not doing anything about it is just as bad

Need some advice about possible animal abuse sm (this is long) [2008-08-19]
my son rode school bus home with afriend to the friendhouse last friday (i had never been to their house, but his friend has been here once and i these people some like really nice people, very religious. i went to pick up my son friday evening and was a little shocked. had a weird vibe about the dad right off the bat. i dontheir house was ok, but i felt dirty when i left. he has a couple of dogs, one he says he doesn seems very lovable) and another dog that has puppies and he bragged listened to him very well. when i was getting ready to leave, this momma dog comes around to the front and seemed extremely scared, especially when he was by her. he was trying to show me how good his dog listened to him. but she was putting her head down, slouching down like he it made me feel so uncomfortable. i so the next day my son goes back for a b-day party. on the way to their house, my son tells me that the dad kicked the momma dog because she was eating the cat (the cat is really skinny too). when i got to the house i was able to get a better look at this dog because it was daylight and the poor thing looks so unhappy and her rear end area looks like her hair is coming off, i don i just felt so helpless for this dog. i called my vet office and asked them who can i call if i suspect animal abuse (we don i but the look on the dog oh, another thing, when i was leaving there friday evening i said something about keeping the kittens (yes, they have kittens too) away so i don so my question is do i get a hold of the police and tell them this???? i just want the dogs taken away. i want to be anonymous. i don the dad told me that this is the third litter of puppies for this momma dog since last november, and if he finds out who the daddy is ........ well i thought to myself, why don i was furious! i thought about writing a letter to the police station. what do you all think? thanks

Great advice. [2008-08-05]
I actually have told him that when he grows up and he gets a dog and hurts it, I will be the one to call the police because it is against the law. A friend of mine drove her three boys to the police station just yesterday and took all of them in, they were all acting up and out of control. She is a single mom. She asked them if she could spank her kids and told the officer what they were doing. He said YES! Bring Maybe a trip to the police station is enough to scare him out of doing it. Thank you for the advice about taking things away and such. I do believe I will try that fora while and if it doesn't work then to the police station and then on to counseling or something.

Not too much advice, but... [2008-07-22]
you need to find a psychologist who is on YOUR side...cut the being nice route, she obviously needs straight, to the point, no BS handling. Trust me, I was there once...being nice will only get you treated more like a door mat. YOU are the parent..that being said, if she goes, she goes; ifshe gets into trouble don't bail her out, let her have it a bit rough for a while. In a couple of years she isn't your responsibility any longer. Hope all works out for you.

Anyone ever do you wrong and you got [2008-11-21]
so angry you can I am stewing and no doubt making it much worse on myself, but it is hard to let it go. I went out of my way to be kind to this person on so many occasions only to be treated badly. Any advice?

No I live in the boonies. In Nothingville. SM [2008-11-21]
I think he has had someone for so long and my mom took care of the bill paying and he never had to worry about bills or shopping or being alone. And now he can't deal with it. They divorced because he was cheating with another woman. I told him go be with her. I mean they are divorced now. If that is what he wants go get it. He said she has a 28 year old son and a 22 year old daughter with a baby who neither one work and lay around her house. He says how am I supposed to be with someone with that kind of mess. He said if I am with her I will basically have to take on her grown kids too. I said well that is her own fault she allows her grown children to be bums. It is just a dang mess. He got himself into it though. With his bills it is like he can't sit down and say hey I can't pay for 2 vehicles and I have to get rid of one and he has other multiple bills I won't even go into. But if he is struggling to pay for both let one go back. I told him go file bankruptcy if you are having really bad problems with finanes. He said I don't want to file bankruptcy. Oh no. I said well that or lose your stuff. I have tried to give him advice and help him but he won't listen. He is stubborn.

I think you are right. [2008-11-20]
I have had most of the day to think things over and cry. I did talk to him a bit and realize that it is mostly his pride (man-ness) that is the problem. I just have to stand my ground and not feel guilty for it, although I will anyway...I think that is just the female (or pregnant hormonal lol) way with feelings, etc. I have also been thinking today that even though things are getting really tough, we have been able to pay our bills so far. It's really going to suck with the holidays especially but it will be past in a couple months and life will resume as normal. Who knows where we will be by then but for now things could be much worse. Even with all the headaches, stress, tears, etc. it could be much worse if we lost a job or...well I don't even want to think about the other horrible things that people go through. Thanks for your support and understanding. Some times women just need to know that they aren't alone in their struggles.

I am so sorry! [2008-11-17]
That sounds like a horrible disease. Is there any treatment? Do you know what causes it? I hope you get better!

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.

Need some advice on an old friendship -- [2008-11-16]
I got divorced 7 years ago. Started out as a friendly divorce and then I started dating a man that my ex did not like (because he is black) and we quit speaking at all. Then, one of my very good friends started backing off from the friendship andI thought it was because I was openly dating a black man. Well, 4 months later, I heard that she was dating my exhusband. I called her and asked her about it and of course she denied it, could not believe I accused her of that, she would never do that to me..... on and onand on. To make a long story short, of course 2 months later I found out it was true, they had bee seeing each other for about 6 or 7 months. Anyway, during that time period after I knew that they were together but before they broke up, I would call her occasionally if I needed information on my son (who lived with his dad and would not speak to me at that time becaue of brainwashing) and we stayed friendly on the phone, felt like old times, etc. Then they broke up and now occasionally I get the urge to call her or she will call me for something, and it is like nothing ever happened. We laugh and cut up and it I have some thoughts though about when it really started, before we were even divorcing or during the divorce, and then sometimes I get really mad because she lied to me in the first place and let me keep trying to have a friendship, and then sometimes I miss her and think it does not matter because we were divorced and he was free and I definitely did not want him back. My problem is what to do? Forgive her and forget her... forgive her and be friends again... ask her the questions I need answers to and then decide whether to be friends??? And the other big problem is my new husband gets very upset every time I even speak to her because she did thatto me when she was my friend and he says you never go behind friends to their love interests. Advice please....

Yes, God bless Fred, and God Bless you in your kindness and love...sm [2008-11-16]
We had to put two of our pets, to gorgeous cats that had been our babies for 16+ years, in much the same story, they had gotten to the point where they were suffering and would suffer more. Horrible, heartbreaking decision, hurts like heck, but I do believe there have to be darling pets in Heaven, I cannot imagine how it would be heaven without them, they are so precious and give us so much love and happiness! So sorry for your loss!

American Girl Doll things [2008-11-16]
I posted this before and a very kind MT responded with American Girl dolls for sale for Christmas. I am still searching for Samantha, Kitand Nellie and I am also looking for extra American Girl outfits. Any suggestionswhere elseto look? I have watched Craig If any MT would like to sell American Girl doll things, please let me know. You can reach me by e-mail through this site. Thanks for any offers or adviceon getting second-hand AG dolls for Christmas gifts.

I'm so sorry for you pain... [2008-11-14]
My dad drank a lot too. I donan alcoholic though. My dad was a horrible father when all five of the kids were at home. He beat my oldest brother horrendously in front of all of us many, many times. He lined us all up by age when I was 5 (I There is a long list of other things that happened. Once we moved out of the house, he turned into a different man. He did apologize to us. He became the best father and friend I could ask for. He was always so thrilled when I stopped by and made me feel more loved than anyone ever has. Fourteen years ago yesterday, my dad was killed in an airplane crash. He had an experiemental airplane and was flying by himself. I have never forgotten my childhood because it has a lot to do with who I am today, but I am so thankful for the time I did have with him once things changed. Maybe you could tell your dad how you feel about him, explain how hard it is to be around him now and let him take the next step. It might beworth a shot. I I know it is really difficult to sort out all the emotions sometimes. I'll be thinking of you.

Please...I need someone to talk to...sm [2008-11-13]
Okay, its pity party time. I may need to get a professionalfree therapy. I am feeling really, really guilty about not seeing my dad as much as I should. So, heredad just up and leaves sort of way. He got a job in another city about 5 hours away. I remember we were all really excited about it as it was a really good career move for him. Mom didnagreement was that he would come home on the weekends and see us (right). So this turned into seeing him every month, to every couple of months, to about twice a year (thanksgiving and Christmas). Him and mom are still married (don't know how she does it) but I feel such resentment toward him that it is hard for me to go see him. We only live about 15 minutes away from my parents and are in their town a lot to see my husband's family. However, I choose not to go see my father because it is awkward and weird and it stresses me out to the max. I get to see mom about 3 times a week as we work together (both as transcriptionists) at our local hospital. I love spending time with her, but not with my dad around. I know I'm hurting his feelings when I don't see him but on his birthday, father's day, holidays, etc. He doesn't drink THAT much anymore, a beer or two a day (we think), but it still bothers the heck out of me when I see him drinking. Although it is better than mom and I trying to get him to bed while he is falling down drunk or driving away, getting a DUII, etc. I would never tell him how I feel because I love him and wouldn't hurt him like that. He isn't very healthy (hep C, high BP, neuropathy, etc) and I don't think he'll be around for that much longer. NEway..getting off track...I just need some advice and/or to hear someone else's stories about something like this. I don't know what to do and it is really getting to me. It does feel better to be able to talk to someone about it though (husband doesn't understand and talking to mom about it just makes her feel bad). Thanks ladies for all of your support!!!

We have grown children and paid up condo. SM [2008-11-13]
I think about advice I would give others. Getting any part-time job I could, delivering papers, selling Avon (people still buy Avon), renting room out in house. If elderly people near you, offer transportation or shopping service. One thing is, no matter what, no one should just sit around waiting for another job, be they male or female.

One thing I forgot to add was that - sm [2008-11-11]
a big part of the problem is owners who don't neuter their male dogs. Most of the attacks on the news in my area seem to involve un-altered males. The dog that had me cornered was also an un-altered male. There was a really horrible attack in San Francisco a couple years ago... a 12-year-old boy was killed in his own home by the family's pet pitbulls. (Un-altered males). Apparently there was already a problem with them, and the mother knew the dogs couldn't be trusted with her son (who was afraid of them) home alone. A female she had was in heat at the time, too. The boy was home alone, and the mother had locked the dogs in another room. Somehow, they got out, and tore the poor boy to shreds. Imagine being the mom and coming home to that! When animal control picked up the dogs, they had the boy's blood all over them. I actually recognized one of them - had seen someone walking it through the park one day. So the problem was... even though the mother knew the dogs might be dangerous, and she tried to do the right thing by locking them up, on that particular day, that wasn't enough. Granted, they don't all act like that. Plus just about any breed can revert to a predatory pack mentality under the right conditions. But again, irresponsible breeding has changed the breed in large part for the worse (they're bigger and more aggressive). Unresponsible owners who don't properly socialize the dogs (or who fight them, or encourage them to be aggressive for 'protection') are the worst offenders. And those who are backyard breeders. Now there are 'way too many of them, and 'way too many with the bad bloodlines, too. And you won't believe THIS: Remember the story about the huge Presa Canario dogs that killed a woman in a San Francisco apartment hallway? (Earning their owners some well-deserved jail-time). Well, some people are actually crossing pits and Presas! Saw some for sale the other day on Craigslist. Talk about breeding 'biting machines'! Those things will grow up to be 150-lb. pitbulls-on-steroids.

Perhaps did not explain sm [2008-11-11]
We have youth programs where a member of the department will come and talk tokids about the dangers of the internet. You know they never listen to parents, and you donbeing directed there.Perhaps some don't know the horrible crimes that come out of youths being lured by porn and the sooner it's dealt with, the better. I don't mean to have the police come in uniform with sirens and lights blaring. There are simple solutions to this problem and I am all for putting away these slime balls, some of them are judges, ministers, etc., so-called trustworthy people hurting our youths. Perhaps I misspoke but you may have read more into it. It's a common problem we all share and it could end up with a dead or kidnapped kid. I'd rather get tough early and save a life. Overreacted, maybe! I would never roll on the floor laughing about it but then again, we're all different.

Re-gifting keeps me from going broke [2008-11-10]
I would throw away any food that I had reservations about, but I look at it as a challenge sometimesto find those horriblegifts a good home :) To me there really isn Look at it this way - if it makes you happy making a friend/relative happy by giving them the gift, then it has given you something.to be thankful for, albeit in a roundabout way.

I actually think [2008-11-08]
if you look up advice yourself and you don I recently decided to take control and just hunker down, not buy, get on a strict budget, pay my bills in a timely manner after I reviewed some articles online.Seems ya can You are told tokeep an eye on yourcredit score and then seem to be penalized for simply requesting the information. You can certainly buid any negatives up and if you check your report and find something is not accurate, use the time to correct it and have it removed/updated. Good luck. Doneconomy but I do think we all need to be more careful and cautious right now.

I don't have a pitbull personally [2008-11-08]
But I do know that they can be well-tempered. A lot of the time, the problem is having more than one. Dogs have a pack mentality and if one decides to bite, it sets the others off and they tend to join in and things escalate. That is such a terrible, sad story. What a horrible way to go.

Could someone help with posting a pic, please [2008-11-08]
Every time I have tried to do this by clicking on a javascript error occurs, with javascript:void(0); in the bar at the bottom of my screen. I thought I had uploaded a pic withno problems here before, but cannot seem to do it today. I finally was able to get my son to take a couple of pictures of my recliner with footpedal setup and was all geared up to post them TIA for any advice/assistance!

Soooo....I'm getting braces...please sm [2008-11-07]
Does anyone have any advice for taking care of braces that the dentist doesn't tell you? What to expect while getting them on, how to take care of them afterward, etc. I've never had to deal with braces before...no kids. And I'm not sure what to expect. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks

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?

Anyone bake & decorate cakes a lot? Can you give me some tips? sm [2008-11-06]
I am working on a 12 inch round extradeep cake and another deep 8 inch top layer. Does anyone have advice on making sure deep layer cakes cook evenly? Does anyone have any tips on decorating with fondant?Particularly getting things likelong stripes tostay fairly solid when placing, and how to get fondant roses to keep their shape.I'd really appreciate it - thanks!

dental procedure: root planing [2008-11-06]
dentist says i need this because of moderate periodontal disease. $200 a quadrant x4 = $800 for what sounds like a horrible, bloody procedure. they say they only do two quadrants at a time. does anyone know anything about this, had it done? please let me know what to expect.... thanxabuncha

I too get the opposite [2008-11-04]
Lots of people call me or ask me for medical advice. I don't like it because, although I am familiar with most medicines, disease, etc., I am by far a doctor and hate to diagnose someone's illness. I do however like to make an educated guess as to that I think it is, but that's as far as it goes...

Who would be the best to ask [2008-11-03]
advice about money.I just received my credit score and it is less than 700. However, I paid $6 and received 1 credit score and read at another place I should have 3 after I did this. It did tell me why my score was so low, one was that I don I just paid off my mortgage and I thought that was a good thing. According that that, it is not. I thought maybe I should take out another mortgage against my house. I have a 10K cc bill that is at 28% and thought if I barrowed against my house, I would probably get a lower % and maybe that would help?? but.......another reason it saidwas that I had too many recent inquiries about my credit report. Well, if I borrowed against my house, thenanothercreditor would probably have to look up my report. Another one was that I was 30 days late paying on something too recently and that I had opened and closed an account in too short of a period of time in 2005. Anyway, my 401K guy is always full of good advice and so is HNeither menever seem to want payment for their good advice as of yet anyway. I just wondered if these are the people I should ask OR is there something better out there. Another problem we are faceing is that our checking account seems to always go under at least 1 a month. Everything is such a mess, I am trying to get it all straightened out. I don

So sorry - this is a tough one [2008-11-01]
I REALLY feel badly for you. This has got to be absolutely horrible for you to deal with, as there is not much that can be done, and it is hurting your health. There is only one thing you can do, and that is move. Is there some way you could find a way to do it? The problem with apartment living is that this could happen again, even if you do move, but don't know if it would be this bad. I truly feel your pain, I wish there was a more helpful suggestion to make.

thank you so much..i am planning to ask the mgr for new apt...sm [2008-11-01]
I have lived in apartments all my live and have never experienced anything as noxious as this lady Thank you all so much for your comments, since my DH does not care to exert himself, it is all on me, and so I will ask for another apt. It If that doesn Thanks again. I sincerely appreciate your great advice.