I think that is really a touching letter. sm

he did send a thank you letter [2008-09-24]
the following day. See I don't know if the secretary gave the interviewer the message and he didn't call back or if he didn't get it. If he did get it I'm worried if he calls again he'll seem to pushy. They should just make it a law that you have to tell them right after the interview!! LOL

I would also call the superintendent's office or send a letter. [2008-09-11]
I'm sure you will not be the only one to file a complaint. It has not happened yet, but our school says they will call. That's part of the PTO room parent's job is to break down that list and help call. The list isn't necessarily only in the building.

Aww, I think it's touching. :) [2008-08-19]
nm

If its a business letter, [2008-07-25]
I wouldn't use Thanks. It's too informal for me. I use the old standby Sincerely most often.

For anyone who has received a stimulus check by mail, have you all gotten a letter about a week [2008-06-03]
before the check stating when it would be arriving.

Stimulus Letter [2008-06-03]
Even though I had my direct deposited, I actually got a letter two days after it was already deposited that it would be coming.

I think the letter is fine (sm) [2008-05-08]
until it reaches the Bullying is... paragraph. I would have left that section out. At that point, it appears you are attempting to psychoanalyze these children, which is strange (and arrogant).

This is a letter I sent to the parents of a [2008-05-07]
I am writing to inform you that, after much discussion with other parents of children who are in direct contact with your son, Matthew, and daughter, Samantha, i.e. on the bus and in school, it has been the consensus that your children seem to be modeling quite a bit of inappropriate behavior, including bullying and inappropriate language, as well as not being able to keep their hands off of other children. As parents of children in this community, we are concerned about your children’s apparent complete lack of respect for not only the rules of the school and the bus, but also lack of empathy for the feelings of their classmates and fellow bus riders. Bullying is not only painful to the victim, but is also a reflection of the bully’s own ineptness at dealing with their own feelings of insecurity and perhaps a direct reflection of a dysfunctional home life. It also interferes with all of the children’s education and the feeling of safety and community in the school environment. As the parents of these children, we would avail you to please work with your children to teach them appropriate behavior and to keep their hands to themselves in order to not be disruptive and stressors to the other well-adjusted children in the classroom setting. Thank you in advance for your efforts to teach your children appropriate behavior and social skills.

anything positive come out of this letter? [2008-05-07]
x

no letter p was allowed on this street [2008-04-23]
When my dd was first learning her alphabet we were driving down the street one day and she asks me why no letter p was allowed on this street. It took me a minute to realize she was talking about a no parking sign.

I just read a letter I received from the SM [2008-03-31]
ASPCA thanking me for my membership and devotion. The letter describes a gift they will be sending in appreciation. They indicate a gift from Miss Bea will be comiing. They tell the story of this darling little dog who was locked in a closet with atrophied muscles from no exercise, etc. This dog was living with pounds of matter fur and living in urine and feces. The letter went on to say that every time they go into the field to rescue an aminal people like me are with them. I just needed to share this with you, and to urge you to donate to either the ASPCA or your local animal shelter in behalf of these defneseless animals. The level of cruelty and ignorance is apauling. I am reduced to tears with emotion at this story, and the fact that I am so appreciated. Thanks for listening.

I would write a detailed letter - sm [2008-02-05]
to the teacher, school counselor, principal, and send a copy to the school board. No resolution, no satisfaction, no kids in your school! That counselor was way out of line but the blame also falls to the principal and teacher for not following up and making sure you were able to get a meeting. They have some nerve. They forget WHO pays their salaries.

Letter or card writing to Iraq sm [2008-01-11]
Get an address for someone in Iraq and have them all write a letter or draw a picture for them.. All it will cost you is to buy some paper envelopes and provide a stamp, won't cost much more for material than most projects. There was an address on here and perhaps she will e-mail you. My brother never forgot that my son's class did this for him. At that time the postage was free, not so with this president, I assume. I put postage in mine to Iraq, didn't ask.Dont know what the postage is today - it should be free but I seriously doubt it.Perhaps some parents would donate stamps as well.

Dog killing and mayor involved in letter writing [2007-12-12]
I am really in a twizzy this morning. Shirley Franklin, city of Atlanta mayor, wrote a letter to the judge involved in the Michael Vick dog fighting/killing asking for leniency as, how she put it, Vick had done a lot for the community and helped folks out. Phooey!!! I hope personally he never is able to return to the Falcons or any other football team. I think whatever he was able to accomplish was blown by the fact that he participated in the killing of dogs. How inhumane is that? I hope PETA gets out and strikes each and every time (if he is rehired by any jackoffs) he is supposed to be playing. Came from the ghetto and I suppose the thug still in him. What a shame. Never made a million in my life and he made mega millions and then threw it all away for ??? I am vexed by her doing such a deed and will send letter stating my feelings.

My daughter came home from school with yet another letter...sm [2007-11-30]
saying that a classmate has lice. This is the same little girl over and over. She had lice the entire year last year in kindergarten and has now had it all of this year so far. Why should she be allowed to come to school and infest everyone? I understand if this is a random thing and it is taken care of, but when it is a constant problem she should not be allowed to attend school. Last year she infested most of her kindergarten class and when I treated my daughter with the shampoo she ended up with an allergic reaction and a flaming red scalp!!! People have even take free products and left them on their porch so mom could use them. She is just to darn lazy to do it. Why should lice be treated any different than when a child has chickenpox?? I am having a meeting with the principal today and then if nothing is done I am going to the school board of education. These kids are crammed 24 in a room and are expected to share computer headphones. I know some people are going to say jeez its only lice, but ya know what it is nasty little bugs and we shouldnt have to get them or suffer with flaming heads because people cannot be clean and get rid of them. I say this kind of infestation should require the child to stay at home and no school. She has so many bugs you can actually stand by her and see all of them crawling!!!! Sorry to be so angry, but this is so frustrating. I have three daughters all with long hair and I have thick, long hair also. Last year it cost me a fortune and took forever to get everything out of everyones hair. It is just nasty and disgusting. The nurse even said they called the health department and got no help on this. Unbelievable!!!

Romey, how touching the video, I just [2007-11-21]
loved Sophia, have sent her photo out to many.

I wanted to share this letter I sent to my mom who now lives sm [2007-11-20]
3,000 miles away this Thanksgiving/Christmas season.....I hope someone gets a kick out of it. I'm so sad today. Good afternoon Ms. Best-Thanksgiving-Cook in the whole world! How are you today? You know, I got really sad this morning when I was looking at all of the groceries I bought for my thanksgiving dinner. I wasn I became sad because growing up at 16, 17, 18, 19+, etc., I don I was too busy being dumb! I do remember eating like a hog though. That makes me sad. Because I didn Why didnI did other things in vain that didn When do I start defrosting it?? This is really my first real turkey! I was going to do it last year but I think I just bought a little hen.This year, we are going to have some military families come over (maybe I inherited that much from you), so I went ahead and got an 18 pounder and a large ham with the bone in it. I don I spent 200.00 on all kinds of things and now IOkay, what do I do with all this food and spices? I bought a couple of cans of pumpkin mix and Chris asked me, What are you going to do with the pumpkin mix? I was like, I have no idea. I just thought I needed it. You do something with it! Where in the world is grandma Howard when you need her to come over and bring her world-famous Sweet Potato Pie!? And your famous stuffing which I haven't had in 10 years?! ------------------- I sent this letter to my mom this week. I am a married mom of 3 now with regrets of not spending more time in the kitchen with my mom. Instead I remember getting ready and going out with friends and ditching her on Thanksgiving and returning home late at night and eating leftovers. What I wish I knew then what I know now...and need to know now...

I think that is really a touching letter. sm [2007-11-20]
I could send the exact same letter to my mom, unfortunately she is no longer here. Not trying to bring you down, but I am going to start paying more attention to my MIL cooking. She does the Thanksgiving dinner every year and I just make a couple of casseroles. Just may have to spend the day with her which is something I really enjoy doing, most of the time. LOL

What a lovely letter...sm [2007-11-20]
Thanks for sharing it.....My Momhow to for your first turkey and all the trimmings...Shethe secretfamily recipes....Have a great Thanksgiving! Cat

Be thankful you have your wonderful mom to write that letter to..sm [2007-11-20]
It has been a little over a year since my mom passed away. I miss her so much. I would love to be able to write my mom or call her. I was fortuante enough to have spent many, many holidays in the kitchen helping my mom. I sure do miss it now. Give thanks that you have your mom in your life. I am also a married mother of 3 and am 36 y/o with no mom for the holidays. God Bless you, your family, and most of all your mom. I am so sad every day without mine.

That letter brought tears to my eyes [2007-11-20]
and I miss her every day. I could She was a beautiful lady and I miss her, especially at the holidays. At Christmas 1993, my husband said Let's go see your folks. I said it's such a long trip, etc etc. Next year! Well, 10 days later, momwas gone from pneumonia. Just like that she was gone and I was left with a big gaping hole in my heart and plenty of I wish and Why didn't I? God Bless all of us orphans on the holidays. I

Some of those places are terrifying and include things touching you when [2007-10-19]
s

Sad letter to granddaughter [2007-08-30]
My GD has started college now. This is sonblood for my present husband? I could not believe what she said. She said saw her great-aunts more than she does me or even communicates with me- This went on from the time she was born and it was due to her mother basically taking the kids around her family more than me. I used to cry, I was sad but finally just gave up and I mean no visits, no calls, no nothing. I cannot tell her why- she probably would never believe me and why should she? She is her mother's daughter and extremely close to the maternal side. I wrote her back and told her unable to say why, would not be believed anyway- would only cause people to feel worse towards me (I never explained to anyone there why I stopped coming around- just stopped). I have been passed over all these years, just basically ignored when it came to the kids and now this?? I told her I would be the fall guy and to believe the ones she has heard for years, I would have nothing more to say. My father (prior to his death) had given the GD and her brother both $5,000.00 in their high school years to buy their clothing until they got out of HS- her mother spent that but does this daughter know? I kept that a secret- never said anything, would not be believed probably but yet this GD says I bailed when times got tough? My father also gave the GD and her brother (both my g-children) $20,000.00 several years ago for their college- I have no idea if any of that left in the bank as after father's death the parents of these children had access to the accounts- and yet I am to blame for bailing so to speak? I could write a book on this. My heart has been heavy for years but no way could I find to squeeze into their lives and now this. The no visiting and so forth started way before this marriage and now I have a DH who loves and adores me and yet I am catching flak for dropping out. My GD says the bad thing is that I seem to be content with things as they are- I have had to learn to live and accept things as they are if I could not change them and I am content now .Anyone else have a similar problem? Oh BTW, I moved to my new home in 2004- son who lives about 15 minutes away has never been to my new home nor even called.

Write an anonymous letter. Type it up if you are that concerned, although I sm [2007-08-24]
am a big fan of minding my own business. You need to talk to her first instead of about her like this. Tell her your concerns. Be real and up front. Say, I don't respect you for this because you seem to be able to do such and such and I should turn you in. Don't be scared to do this. But if you are afraid, then write a letter since you say you know the insurance person and secretary.

To the poster that got the certified letter from the ER [2007-08-16]
Been thinking about you and hoping everything turned out okay.

apologies [2008-11-16]
I just wanted someone When I was young and stupid I broke someone We were best friends. I have been thinking about this person a lot lately. They moved on to get married and have a family, so that is great. I recently sent a letter saying howsorry I am for being so terrible and asked for forgiveness. I did not give my number or put a return address on the envelope becuase I did not want anyone to think I was wanting a reunion or anything. I just really wanted toapologize and maybe get some sort of closure. Do you think there is a statute of limitations on saying I'm sorry and asking for forgiveness?

LOL My son is about this age [2008-11-10]
and I dread this day. lol I would run down to the nearest best buy and see what they offer as far as packages with updates. I know they have such things. Haven't bought one myself but know of people who have. Then, I would sit down with him and let him know that it's normal for a boy to be curious but that he needs to give things a little time. I would also discuss the dangers of the internet. i.e. purchasing things you don't want to purchase, crazy weird people, etc. 9 is very young in my opinion but kids are exposed to so much these days it doesn't really surprise me. He will be learning about these things in school very soon, not the way he wants to lol, or maybe suggest that you can get some videos for him to watch if he is interested. Usually the school will allow you to check them out and sometimes they are available through your library. I know this because our son's school mentioned it if the parent's wanted to view the same video as the kids or wanted additional resources for kids with questions. Around that same age my son started asking a LOT of questions just because of commercials and things he picked up on television. We had the talk and told him that he could talk to us any time, write a letter, make an appointment with a counselor or his pediatrician, or whatever he wants if he is embarrassed, etc. Since he has continued to ask questions openly. I think most of it is that the parent's don't make it weird.

nursing home - hardest decision ever sm [2008-11-09]
I had also made those promises to my folks, Dad was kept home on hospice 14 months, he had suffered brain damage from not being found for hours and was awful to all of us but we managed with a hospital bed, hospice and nurses, however, my whole family fell apart, fighting, etc., until he fell so many times and was so sick, we called 911 one night for help and hospice literally threw us out of the program. You are supposed to call them (in my state anyway) and they will sit with you while you watch them take their last breaths. Could not go through with that. Then we had no choice but nursing home, they took every cent they could get their hands on without touching my momshow up to check on them. Sometimes theyassisted living scenario, and after they clean out the bank book, they put them in a nursing home anyway, so thatsandwich generation between what to do with the parent and if you have kids, what is best for them. Itshow up and if you don it's tough to walk that walk. Take care, hopefully you will make the right decision. In some states you can have her in a nursing home and if she qualifies, you can also have hospice go in there for special care such as you desire for her comfort. Good luck, know we are all thinking of you.

I wrote a $10 check to Wal-Mart and turned in to a $40 mistake so far. [2008-11-05]
Here is what happened. When you write a check at this Wal-Mart here, they have you sign something and give the check back. I stuck it back in my purse. They are supposed to void. I was cleaning at my purse that day and paying bills at the same time. I wrote a $250 to pay a loan. I really don A week later, i was looking at my acct online. I notice that that $10 I had written to Wal-Mart went through twice. I called the bank and asked why. They said, oh, it looks like Wal-Mart double dipped. so I was refunded the money. I don Anyway, I became concerned about why that 250 check didn They said $10 was credit to my acct. I did not connect the 2 at the time. I thought, 10, I don The man told me he would look into it incase there was a mistake. He called back the day later and said that was a $10 originally written to Wal-Mart and we cashed it. So I called the bank and told them. They then had me go to wal-mart because they said I owed them $10 back. I go to wal-mart and they say no it is the Telecheck, company they use for this service andthey thanked me for trying to clear it up and said Telecheck will be contacting me. So I get a letter in the mail saying I owe $40 plus I am not allowed to write checks anywhere that uses their service until I pay that $40 back. Whatscares me is that that check said VOID on it and that other bunch wasstill able to cash it and get their money, which I think was dishonest of them...also my bank let it go through.Now what if I were to loosea bunch of those type checks and someone cashes itAGAIN. Man I would be out a lot.Do you think any of this is right? TIA.

That's crazy! [2008-11-05]
I would write a letter to the bank and cancel my account with them. That is wrong that they cashed a voided check. Can't fault Wal-Mart for wanting their money, but the bank should be paying that $40, not you! Not saying its right, but the other place probably doesn't look at the mail-in checks very closely but just send them through to the bank. Bottom line, the bank should have caught that.

Yes. [2008-11-02]
I think this is a reasonable explanation for the lump. About 3 weeks ago my son bent one of his fingers backward while playing and his finger became swollen and bruised. He kept ice on it and it went away. When we went to the pediatrician the next day they felt he had hyperextended the joint and to let them know if it did not continue to improve. It did improve after a few days. As far as the behavior, I think a lot depends on the age of the child. No one wants to think of their child as a liar but I think all children go through phases of telling stories just because they can and to see how it plays out. No they don't always make sense as to why the child would say that. It's just something they do...from my experience tends to be 1st to 3rd grade age, give or take. With that being said, I would not assume my child was lying. If the pieces of the puzzle do not fit, which it sounds like these don't, I would investigate further. I would make an appointment for a meeting with the principal. They can cover up all they want but I would want it my complaint documented in my child's file with the school (maybe write a letter to take with you to the meeting) and I would make it clear that if ANYTHING even remotely happens between these 2 children again that you will be filing a complaint with the superintendent's office and you WILL pursue it as far as necessary. After that, I would let this circumstance go. Thankfully, your daughter seems fine and hopefully the teacher and office have learned their lesson (or will have after you speak to them) and they will keep a better eye on (or get an aide) for this student. I wouldn't involve the other parents. Who knows what kind of parents he has that they don't have him under a special behavioral plan if he has had recurring problems.

A few weeks ago I included in my post [2008-11-01]
that I will include the ASPCA in my will. Yesterday I got a letter from them thanking me for deciding to do this and telling me all the ways they help animals. They said that anyone who includes the ASPCA in their estate gets mentioned in their printed reports, with or without your name published. Am I being too proud to want my name printed? It is my wish that my family and friends remember me most for my love and dedication to animals. It would be wonderful for me to see my name printed, declaring that I support this wonderful organization. Sometimes people say you should just give anonomously.

You must have done something right! [2008-10-29]
That is so sweet and touching. I wish more people said these things. Everyone wishes they had when its too late. I think I am going to get a nice notecard to send a similar message to my mom. I have told her on several occasions in recent years that I now understand why she did certain things and thank her for doing them. Everything is different when you are able to look back at the entire picture and not just a small (often one-sided) piece of it...especially through the teenage years! lol

hubby just called our 5 year old a dumba__ [2008-10-27]
He was in the living room making a fire and my son kept touching things he told him not to and i heard him say, I said quit touching the wood, dumb__ I came out of the bedroom stomping down the hall and took my son back here with me. I am in tears, I can't believe he would call him that!!!! am i over reacting??

If this was MY child??? sm [2008-10-16]
I would be working my way up the food chain at that school. Who in the he!! at that school thinks they know what my child needs or doesn not the school, not the state, and CERTAINLY NOT A LESBIAN TEACHER!! I was so upset when I just READ the story that it was all I could do to stop myself from sitting down and writing a letter to the school and giving them a piece of my mind. To any and all parents in that school district...the threat of recall is an extremely potent weapon. Use it!!

I posted back in late August about cc debt - sm [2008-10-14]
in response to someone else giving advice on what to do. I told you about how I had a ton of debt my DH knew nothing about, how I was afraid of him, etc. and that I just did not know how to tell him.I consulted a lawyer and got some insight and advise in case things went really bad whenIdid tell him.Well I finally bit the bullet and told him on Monday. He was off from work, kids were in school, I wrote a 4 page letter laying it all out. I went out in the LR and I asked him if he loved me and was happy in our marriage, I got yes Then I handed him the note (bawling at this point) and said I was going out for a little while and we would talk when I came back. He called me 10 minutes later, upset yes, but not nuts as I expected. We ended up talking for 2 hours. He was quite good about it which really surprised me, he was in shock though. Later last night after he got drunk not horribly so but enough, though he did not turn nasty. I hadasked him not to drink but he ignored that, so as a result he broke down said a few things which I probably deserved, though he does not believe I was scared of him....denied ever threatening to kill me, said if he did he was kidding and it was his sick sense of humor. I told him I take all death threats seriously. But comes down to he does not want to divorce over it, for which I am happy and grateful, and I think this will ultimately help us. We are taking a 401K loan for the debt on his cards, and I will go to a credit consolidator for the debt on my cards......any recommendations on that front? My credit is in the dump so this is not going to make it much worse. In five years we will be free and clear, paid off debt and house at that point. I have a huge breach of trust to heal and don So he learned whata conniving wife he has and I learned that I had what I wanted all along, just didn We still have a lot to work out, and I am in for 5 or more years of snide backbiting remarks at times I am sure, but I think there is hope for us actually.

My 'to-do' list: -sm [2008-10-10]
1. The dishes: (No more clean ones left. Tired of pulling dirty ones out of the pile and rinsing them off.) But of course, am I doing them? NO! ID 2. Vacuuming: When a dark red rug is starting to look white instead, that's enough cat-hair to build yourself a whole 'nother cat! 3. Car-Maintenance: Poor thing is overdue for oil-change, tires, you-name-it. But I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and get it taken care of, if I'm going to be able to rely on it to get me 'over the river & thru the woods' to family Thanksgiving this year, 400 miles away! 4. Yard Work: My landlady wants me to keep the plants in the back yard watered. Instead, I keep hoping it will rain. 5. Laundry: I currently have a good excuse - washing machine is broken and I'm still waiting for the part that was ordered. But MEANWHILE, I'm having to dig back in the closet to my worst, oldest clothes in order to find something to wear each day. And I'm down to the underwear your mom tells you never to wear 'because you never know when you might be in an accident and have to go to the hospital, and then wouldn't you be embarrassed.' Well, actually I woudn't, 'cause I would be in the hospital, and I wouldn't care! 6. Replace missing skate wheel: I broke an axle on my inline skates 2 weeks ago, and had to 'limp' along for miles on 3 wheels instead of 4. That sucked. 7. Letters/Emails: I owe ) Which I guess I'd better do now, in order to fix that car, buy stamps for my unwritten letters, buy a new axle for my skate, buy dish-soap, buy new underwear, and get the vacuum-cleaner fixed after it dies from vacuuming up all that cat-hair!

How old is your son? Something similar happened to mine in first grade and it escalated. sm [2008-10-01]
It was because he was a bigger, tough boy, and like yours I have taught him to only hurt others in self-defense. This girl ended up dragging him around the playground by the hood of his jacket and almost choking him to death before a teacher who happened to be looking out the window (not the ones who were gabbing on the playground unaware) noticed and ran out to help him. Even after that the teacher was just going to make the girl sit out for a little while because the girl has a little crush on your son. I made such a big deal that the teacher called a class discussion about safety and not touching others and how you can hurt people, etc.

All I can say is ... [2008-09-28]
For Immediate Release:September 23, 2008Contact:Ashley Byrne 757-622-7382 Burlington, Vt. - This morning, PETA dispatched a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of ice cream icon Ben Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace the cow's milk in their products with human breast milk. PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves. PETA points out to Cohen and Greenfield that such a move on their part would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health at the same time. The fact that human adults consume huge quantities of dairy products made from milk that was meant for a baby cow just doesn says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. Everyone knows that JerryFor more information, please visit PETA's Web site Blog.PETA.org or click here. PETA Jerry's Homemade Inc.Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield, On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's. Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers--and cows--would reap the benefits. Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease--America's number one cause of death. Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup. And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around. The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely,Tracy ReimanExecutive Vice Presidenthttp://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=11993

do not feel guilty [2008-09-25]
Do not feel guilty and do not second guess yourself. You know your daughter. And no, you are not over-reacting. If you feel there is a problem, there most likely is. I went through this same thing with one of my daughters. She had been a straight A student, triple-letter athlete, etc., etc., etc., and then bang....whole new kid. She couldn for my family the counseling paid off. I now have a very close relationship with this daughter. I hope you find the same.

I don't know what state you're in or if that [2008-09-24]
makes a different but when my husband was hired by the state, he interviewed in July and didn First off, as someone else mentioned below, it depends on what the closing date is. Whether they have 3 applicants or not to interview doesn it goes by the closing date. They legally cannot make their choice until the position is closed. After the closing date, they will do an extensive background check before notifying the chosen applicant. My husband They only check the top choice If his/her background check, doesn After the chosen one You go through a bunch of blood work and a physical exam and a TB test. Then finally, you get a start date. Depending on the type of facility, he may need to go for training. My husband works for the state pen and had to go for 6 weeks of defensive training. All in all, it The waiting is agony, but if he gets the job, it The benefits are unbeatable. Good luck -- hope your hubs gets it!!!

My husband I have, many times. Gas gouging, oil, immigration, Iraq. sm [2008-09-17]
he calls about anything he feels they should know about. You would be amazed at how easily you can get through to talk to them. If they are not there, their aide will take a message and you either get a phone call back or a letter. In Michigan we have Carl Levin, Debby Stabenow, and Vern Ehlers. Their aides and my husband are on a first name basis. Literally. The aides are the front line of the reps and sens etc. They DO make note and you DO get a letter in the mail about your phone call. It doesn't really change anything, but at least the elected officials are aware of what the temprament of the voting public is.

Our schools do the same thing [2008-09-12]
Having kids from 7 up to 19 in our district, I But the difference is, our school district sends home on the very first day of school, a form that tells you if there is an emergency and kids have to be dismissed early, what you want to happen. I elect for my kids to get on the bus and if no one is home, they will be sent to Latchkey. When they take the bus, the bus driver will not let them off until an adult appears. She will sit there and honk for a few minutes and then go. Working with headphones on makes that difficult too, but I normally get someone calling telling me they heard about the school, etc. as a warning. They don Not to mention, if the power is out at our schools, the phones go out as well. Now we have had practice evacuations in case of fire, bomb threats, etc at the lower age and the teacher has to get them to our local fire dept, which is a very short walk away. They wait there until the buses can get there and take them home. They had to do this one time and it was a mess. Of course parents heard about the bomb threats (blanket threat over the whole district so everyone was evacuated), so they showed up to get their kids or sent friends, but they would not release kids to no one but parents. No grandparents, nothing. Reason being, if a true emergency like 9/11 happened, would they honestly have time to get those emergency forms? No one knew that they were not going to release the kids to parents only. Now that they I know its hard, but I would at least write a letter explaining your situation, but be compassionate to what they are experiencing as well and come up with a compromise. They shouldn I They knew they were liable.

Timeshare/Vacation Club [2008-09-11]
Last summer, my husband and I got suckered into one of those timeshare talks while on vacation. We ended up buying into the trial program. It wasnprice freeze should we decide to buy in after that. After returning home and reviewing the package a little more closely, we decided that we wanted to cancel the trial package. I did a little research online and found that we had 7 days to cancel a timeshare. I immediately sent a certified letter to the resort company requesting to cancel the purchase agreement. They never responded and I ended up calling them to see if they had received my request. They confirmed that they did but that it was non-cancellable. We stopped the autopay that we had set up on a credit card. From that time on, we began to get collection letters. I contacted the real estate commission for that state and asked for this to be investigated, to which I received a blanket letter from them stating that they tried to mediate but that the resort refused to resolve this. The resort basically stated that it was not cancellable and that we owed the money. What I am wondering is, what happens now? The resort said they would continue to pursue this issue through third-party collectors. If I legally am obligated to this debt, why wouldn Why would they continue to draw this out? What effect will it have on my credit score? Anyone ever been in a similar situation? I should also note that we never used this vacation package. It expires July 2009. The total due has now escalated to about $1500 due to their late fees. I don Any suggestions?

if it does show up on your credit report sm [2008-09-11]
You could try to get it removed. Tell the credit agency to remove it because you don't owe the money, that you sent a certified letter within 7 days to cancel this and that legally you don't owe it. Check out the state attorney general's office. If it were me, I would not pay it. If it does end up on your credit report, i don't know if paying it will get it removed.

I had started thinking [2008-09-10]
after telling my husband about it, he said that he would have smarted off at her. And obviously after reading what everyone has said, something should be done. I don't know that she is necessarily picking on my daughter, but they had homework the other day to draw a gingerbread man to put up at the school as posters. Well, my daughter worked diligently on hers and it turned out adorable, and the day it was to be turned in, I checked her folder, and there it was. Her homework. I took her to school today and there were other posters up everywhere that other children had done. It is THEIR JOB to double-check her folder IMO. Being only 5, she could have forgotten that it was there! I am definitely going to send a warning letter to the teacher in the morning, before it gets any more ridiculous than it has.

I like clean but don't like to clean (sm) [2008-08-30]
My house is cluttered and it's hard to clean or dust. When I worked at home I would wash my hands every 5 minutes or so because I was always touching dust and the sink was so convenient. Now I work outside in the dirt and I go hours without being able to wash up. I hate touching trash cans without being able to wash, but I remind myself it's just potting mix and and plant material we put in there, so I try to convince myself it's okay, LOL. I do keep handiwipes on my golf cart to use after touching really stinky, rotten dead plants. There is usually a trace of dirt under my nails now - so weird. I have to shower twice a day when it's hot.

See inside for an answer..... [2008-08-24]
Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the Editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps. DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? VIRGINIA O'HANLON. 115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET. VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

thanks for the advise, you say some very smart things - sm [2008-08-24]
though I am really not sure about the in person thing. I am serious about trying not to be killed in this, he has threatened to kill me before over some really stupid stuff (and we have a lot of guns in this house), and as this is a major thing, and he has been through this with me before....just before we married I was $12K in the hole. I paid it all off though within weeks of the wedding and we were debt-free for about 7 years (except for mortgage). He has told me before if he ever kills me, he will kill himself too....not that this is any solace to me as I really want to live. Generally he is full of hot air, but you never know what will send a person over the edge and I think this debt may be what does it for him. There are a number of extenuating circumstances that caused the debt, it was not me alone of course. He likes to spend as he pleases and I do try to stop him as much as I can but sometimes it is not possible (unless I drop the bomb of course), family illnesses, we did private school for a while too which did not help, and just got a new used car....which we owe his parent $10K for which I am paying them $500 a month for as well which is really putting a crimp on things...but he insisted we had to get rid of my reliable truck for better gas mileage....the new car has needed $800 in repairs so far in 4 months which is just wonderful. When I do drop the bomb, probably in the next month or so, I may try to farm the kids out to friends houses then give him a letter with all the dirty details and the possible solutions. I think having it all down in writing will help some. I know there will be tears on both sides, and my stress level will plummet once it is off my chest. I notice my skin problems act up when we are short on cash, then clear when we get a paycheck. I am sure my BP is jumping about and I cannot lose weight no matter how hard I try too, though I think that is a mechanism to keep him away from me as much as possible. Needless to say it is a total mess.

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