Let me tell you about my old neighbors..

How many neighbors could you borrow something from? [2008-10-30]
If you're baking a cake and run out of sugar or an egg or something similar. I've got three.

Is it because of the neighbors in general [2008-10-30]
or just that you don't want to impose on anyone? I have 3 that I can borrow from and have. My very best friend who lived across the street up until last year was someone I always went to and vice versa. We could borrow anything from each other and I mean anything. We joke with each other all the time now when I need to borrow something really crazy that I wish she was still here because if I asked the others, they'd think I was nuts.

My neighbors [2008-09-14]
and I have talked to her quite a bit. Her husband is also out of town most of the time so she is on her own. She has home schooled 3 kids total. I believe she is down to 1 now. From what she has told me the biggest thing is to have a strict schedule, just like the children would at public school. They still have to wake up early mornings and keep school hours. They donschool with desks for more structure and privacy. She also said when her husband is home he enforces the homework to give her a break. She has also said there are a lot of home schooling websites and organizations out there. She does field trips and everything like normal school would. Apparentnly they are easily found online. Hope that helps but sorry I can't say from experience.

Your mom's neighbors should not have...sm [2008-06-14]
dogs if they can't have a fenced in yard to keep them in their yard. Nobody wants someone elses dogs coming over making messes in the thrash and trying to bite and going to the bathroom in their yard. Dog owners should be responsible but not all are.

Let me tell you about my old neighbors.. [2008-05-19]
Sorry itin regularly. My neighbors across the street moved in 2-1/2 years ago, drove a Cadillac Escalade, worked at Wal-Mart. Got to know them a bit. Found out they bought their house for cash because the father won a few hundred thousand in the the lottery. FOund out they did drugs and kept my distance. Hubby lost job so they got a new hobby, breeding pit bulls. Nothing like seeing a yard full ofpit bullsevery few months. Animal control put a stop to that as did the owner of the female pit bull dog, whose dog they stole to breed. Last year in January traded Cadillac in for brand new mustang which someone crashed into a wall 3 weeks later, had no insurance on it and that was their downfall from there. Totaled mustang stayed in front yard up on blocks for 6 months or more before they sold it for 2000. COde enforcement came and went with them. They like to drink A LOT and play rap music..boom boom boom until 3, 4, sometimes 5 in the morning. Wife doesnt work or does work until she quits, gets fired. Convicted of welfare fraud, found this out by searching for convicted felons/child abusers/sex predators in my neighborhood one day. The couple like tofight daily, police called constantly. They also liked to dodrugs and soon a family of 2 adults 3 kids turned into tons ofpeople hanging out daily and/or moving in. It was really niceto see anotherperson moving in to their house walking on the sidewalk towards their house carrying their garbage bag full of clothes/stuff.Rap music started playing loudly from 10 a.m. on, cars stopping in their driveway and driving off as fast as they stopped. Cops now becoming aware of what is going and watching the drug dealers. A few busted, sent to jail but out of jail as fast as they go in. The week before lastThanksgiving theirelectric was turned off because they were caught stealing it and then the water soon followed.Both companies had to put locks on it because they kept trying to turn them back on.They kept stealing our water, we think. Somehow our hoses outsidewould get turned on at night and we would find them on in the morning. After 2-3 weeks with no electric I called child neglect hotline as I think it is neglect, turns out it is not but the state gives them a generator that they run for 12 hours a day. Love the sound a generator makes but a lot less aggravating than rap music.End of March, one of their great new roomies was arrested for murder but we all know he didnt do it, he was framed, he's a good boy, he wouldnt do that (what every person says when arrested for a serious crime) Then May 5, 2008,the greatest day EVER. They had to move out.Itasking me where Kevin went. I tell them to try the local jail.

How are your neighbors [2008-05-18]
Well it started off to be a wonderful day. I made myself a cup of coffee, grabbed a new book I wanted to start reading, and just wanted to sit on my back porch and relax in the morning breeze and listen to the birds, but 5 minutes later it just went downhill.Problem is my neighbors have now decided to play music quite loud. It wasn So forget about reading and the peace and quiet. Came inside and the neighbors on the other side decided to mow their law, and then neighbors next to them are hedge trimming. So, now im on the puter looking up other places to live that are a little more in the country where neighbors are not so close (right now if I was to talk to one neighbor the other 4 neighors on all sides of me would hear the conversation. I grew up in the country where the closest neighbor was my grandparents and it took us 5 minutes to walk to their house - so I really really really miss the peace and quiet. Wanted to know what other people think of their neighbors and if they get equally uptight when their neighbors place loud music (and its not like classical or smooth jazz or anything - it Oh yes we have another neighbor who decides to mow his lawn between 8:30 and 9 pm, and the other neighbor across the street (we call him Mike the Mechanic) has opened a car repair thingy at his house (but no business signs) and he Drives us nuts! And on top of that school is not even out yet and there are lots of neighborhood kids that scream and play on the weekends (some are funny and a delight to watch, and some are obnoxious), so know once summer vacation hits it will be worse (we moved in last September so we don't know what the summers are like yet). Is anyone else like us and does anyone think there is any place in America that you can get some peace and quiet from all the noise.

Personally, I have neighbors who are sm [2008-04-22]
teachers. The rule in the high school here is that Cell Phones are to be turned off while the students are in the classroom. If it rings, it is confiscated. I totally agree with that rule. School is for learning, not text messaging, etc. However, in case of an emergency, of course, they should have the ability to dial out in an EMERGENCY situation.

We were next door neighbors at an apartment complex. [2008-04-08]
c

Hahaha, cute. Dogs are not only smart, they are good neighbors. nm [2008-02-13]
x

Well, I'm guilty of giving neighbors' dog [2008-01-16]
he does come over our fence, literally climbs over, and comes into our yard and then our house. He goes straight to the kitchen, waits for a treat and then goes out the front door and to his yard. He gets ignored a lot so I feel sorry for him. He's so cute.

I'm with you - we made the mistake of become friends with neighbors [2007-12-31]
but after a short while, when i'd get home from my day job, I'd call across the street and invite her (her husband works a LOT) and her kids over to swim with us before I'd fix dinner and then log in for MQ. We'd wait and wait and then she'd never show up. I'd call back over and she'd say the boys were asleep (it was 5:00 in the evening and the boys were 5 at the time - don't think they were asleep). The straw that broke the camel's back for us was the time they invited us all over for dinner. I tried calling her the morning of to see what we needed to bring so I could run to the store. I got no answer so I went across the street and rang the doorbell -no answer. The time came for dinner (the time that SHE designated) so we went across the street and rang the doorbell. I could hear the kids inside but they never came to the door. I was SOOOO mad - and then had to cook dinner for my family at the last minute. Several months later, I was in my front yard gardening and she came across the street with a half-hearted apology after saying that her husband told her to come over there. She admitted they were home and that they just didn't feel like company that night. BURNED me up!! They are welcome to come over swimming or whatever but we no longer invite them - for anything and no longer accept any of their invitations. It's kind of sad actually because our kids are in the same class together this year - weird!!!

Speaking of cookies, do you exchange with neighbors, bake only for family, or [2007-11-23]
s

Beach/road trash pickup, help neighbors [2007-11-17]
with yard work, or help little old ladies do things around the house. Not sure what things you've tried that require them to be 14, but there's always animal shelters and teaching little kids to read. I'm not sure if you need approval, but they could help collect canned goods or toys for the Salvation Army or other charities.

Are you friends with your immediate neighbors or just acquaintances? nm [2007-11-11]
s

yep, friendly with ALL my neighbors [2007-11-11]
x

my neighbors are all [2007-11-11]
anal retentive fuss-buttons. I guess it could be worse, they could be a bunch of messy, dirty people. They're not very friendly though. They're all older and retired, and we're younger and still work, so I feel they don't respect us.

Are you sure you aren't one of my neighbors? [2007-11-11]
Sure do have the same attitude. Have a good day!

Friendly with all the neighbors except [2007-11-11]
for the ones directly across the street - they are loud, obnoxious, lazy and don't know the meaning of the word neighbor and are raising their 2 kids to be the same.

That is such a sweet thing to do for your neighbors! [2007-10-10]
There's only 1 family around here with little kids...most everyone else are older or seniors, and I think they would get a kick out of it. Every Christmas I make up little centerpieces out of balsam and different evergreens I scavenge from the woods here, pretty them up with acandle, bow, and a festive pick and give all my neighbors one. I was always able to deliver them during the day and leave them on steps or front porches...again, in the safety of daylight. Last winter I had to delivery my goods at about 11 p.m. because of my crazy schedule. I hoofed it, in the snow, with just my arrangements and a flashlight. One of my neighbors heard me come down the driveway (cruncy snow) and cocked his gun--it was that distinct CHI-CHINK sound, and itmade me stop dead in my tracks! Can you imagine?! Apparently someone had been threatening them in a domestic-disturbance kind of way and they thought I was that person! They apologized up and down but I nearly shat myself, know what I Lesson learned...never go roamin Folks is packin' heat!

Our neighbors used the yellow caution tape [2007-10-04]
and I thought it was a very clever idea. Their house looks great. Myabe depending on the area you live in. We are in a new housing development and they are at the end of a cul-de-sac.

Should add, these neighbors are not nice at all! I am afraid of what sm [2007-09-04]
they will do to me and my family if I tell them what I did. I'm just being completely honest with you.

Your neighbors should suffer some sort of consequences... SM [2007-08-15]
for how they And let me tell you, it My ex-in-laws, a very wealthy couple who were known throughout their church and community as giving and loving people would go out of town and leave their dog chained up in the backyard for weeks at a time. They They wouldn We lived in another state at the time and I continually threatened to call animal control on them but my now ex-husband would beg me not to get his dad in trouble and would always call one of their neighbors to check up on the dog. After one of their trips, the dog disappeared never to be seen again. She was a beautiful white shepherd. They had the audacity to call me and my ex up and cry on the phone about how awful it was and expected me to sympathize with them! I just simply said, that dog probably got herself loose and ran for her life. I hope she's found a new home with better owners! Then they went and got another german shepherd and didn We moved in next door to them (never be your in-laws Then the dog was sick and in pain and could hardly move around and I told them repeatedly she needed to go to the vet. Did they ever take her? NO! I had to scrape together the money and take that poor dog to the vet to find out she was anemic and had bone cancer. It was suggested that because she was in so much pain she should be euthanized. My ex-husband didn So when we told my in-laws, they broke down crying and said they didn WHAT!!?!?!? So they let the dog suffer until I called the humane society on them. So you see there are just people in this world that don Those people deserve to be chained up in their backyards for a few days with warm, nasty, days old water and dog food. See how they like it!!! I'm glad your situation was resolved, but I would keep an eye on your neighbors though. Anyway, I I would have cried right along with you.

my neighbors waiting for snow outside [2007-07-13]
with a flashligh in North Carolina!!

VEGETATION AND NEIGHBORS [2007-06-29]
Hi: Do you know them? If you do, have you said anything? If you havendon if they come on your land to cut back their vine. If this is not a possibility, then get some of that vegetation killer and put it on the vines on your side. I think some of them even will go back to the root, so maybe it will kill the vine on their side too. That might not be all bad for you. So, when it is all gone on your side, re-landscape your areas and dig down with one of those sprinkler shovels (the ones that cut and look like a pancake turner straightened out) and put a barrier, like chicken wire or something more solid. I think they hve plastic things for that atHome Depot. I guess it wouldn I have a trumpet vine I have been nursing along for 4 years and the weather is so bad here that it is still a tiny thing. Maybe I should pull it out?

Thanking god for my neighbors. [2007-05-21]
I got lucky when I bought my house about four years ago and am surrounded by home owners. Many of our houses are duplexes or duplexes converted into single dwellings (like mine). We had one bad group down the street on the corner (the landlord lived next door) and they were almost impossible to get out he spent gobs of money to get them out and in the mean time they trashed his property. The neighbors all kicked in to help him repair. This time he checked all the references and made sure none were bogus it took an extra month of the property being empty but he has had no problems with them and they are extending their lease and other than that home there is only one other house that rents and the owner (a sherriff) lives on one side and rents the other. My suggestion is try to move into a neighborhood that has very limited or restricts renting.

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...

Hot chocolate mix [2008-11-20]
My sister-in-law to their homebound friends at church. They used powdered hot chocolate mix but added creamer and milk chocolate chips to it. They put it in a Mason jar covered with fabric and tied a ribbon around it. It was really cute and it really does taste wonderful!! I don't know if you would want to give that to your boss, but I might make some for neighbors and keep some on hand for unexpected gifts we receive.

Our tree is undecorated until 12/24. [2008-11-17]
Maybe itLittle Christmas on January 6. Then all the decorations come down. A few of our neighbors do the same, but it seems that most people start Christmas at Thanksgiving and then have everything down the day after. I do have a selfish reason for enjoying the Christmas season, which is that my birthday is 12/26, and I LOVE having Christmas decorations up on my birthday! People with normal birthdays in the middle of the year don't get to do that!

All they do around here for Copperhead bites - sm [2008-11-09]
is antibiotics, people included. We have lots of Copperhead here though they seem to keep to themselves for the most part, have only seen 3 in our yard in 10 years, but I know they are out there. But their poison is not poisonous enough to require antivenin luckily. It basically does nothing to dogs neurologic wise (neighbors dog has been bit by copperheads numerous times, dog is fine, only treated with antibiotics), though it can cause neuro problems in people, it cetainly won't kill you, not like your rattlesnakes there. Used to watch that show Venom ER, nasty around there, you really have to be on your toes in that area. I have almost stepped on 2 copperhead just while walking on our road, since they like to come out and lie on the rocks of the gravel road we live on, I never look down at the road while walking.....not good. I can spot the black snakes a ways off as they obviously stand out, see lots of them, just go around them and they usually sliter off when they hear someone coming close, the copperhead don't unfortunately, stand their ground, so have to be careful when walking, luckily it is getting colder now though so they should be going into boroughs for the winter.

All they do around here for Copperhead bites - sm [2008-11-09]
is antibiotics, people included. We have lots of Copperhead here though they seem to keep to themselves for the most part, have only seen 3 in our yard in 10 years, but I know they are out there. But their poison is not poisonous enough to require antivenin luckily. It basically does nothing to dogs neurologic wise (neighbors dog has been bit by copperheads numerous times, dog is fine, only treated with antibiotics), though it can cause neuro problems in people, it cetainly won't kill you, not like your rattlesnakes there. Used to watch that show Venom ER, nasty around there, you really have to be on your toes in that area. I have almost stepped on 2 copperhead just while walking on our road, since they like to come out and lie on the rocks of the gravel road we live on, I never look down at the road while walking.....not good. I can spot the black snakes a ways off as they obviously stand out, see lots of them, just go around them and they usually sliter off when they hear someone coming close, the copperhead don't unfortunately, stand their ground, so have to be careful when walking, luckily it is getting colder now though so they should be going into burrows for the winter.

Oh boy, it will go into the dumpster. Thanks. [2008-11-05]
. I wonder if these cats belong to neighbors. They don They were shy of me at first but are warming up. I kind of want to keep them around, because we have mice problems.

Now that I live in town -- 3 [2008-10-31]
We In that time, I We have also asked another neighbor to dog-sit for the weekend and my other neighbor I I'm literally right around the corner from the grocery store, so it would be very hard for me to ask for an egg or milk, etc. When we lived in the country, we only had 2 neighbors, but I the last things I borrowed from them were lemon juice and eggs. When I first got married, though, I used to live right beside my grandma and just across from parents. We used to always call one another for a roll of toilet paper. I don I guess it was just part of the newlywed process for me (don't know about my parents and grandparents).

At least 9 [2008-10-31]
I am friends with many of my neighbors; in fact, the neighbors on either side are very good friends who we socialize with frequently and are like family to us. We also get together from time to time with our whole cul-de-sac and know people further up the street, as well. We all watch out for each other, take care of each others' pets when we leave town, help in emergencies, etc. In fact, I have a key to my next-door-neighbors' house and could probably just go in and help myself if I needed to borrow something, LOL! And I don't think they'd mind at all.

That sounds like my neighborhood [2008-10-31]
Don't you just love it? I hear a lot about awful neighbors and neighbors being unfriendly, and I can't even imagine. I used to just walk into my friend's house and vice versa. They're definitely like family. Unfortunately, they moved about 10 miles away, but we see each other every weekend for get togethers. In the summers we have no less than 20 kids running around pool jumping from house to house and general fun.

0 sm. [2008-10-30]
Growing up we had two neighbors that we could but we lived in the country so they were not next door or even across the street. Now I live within 3 miles of 3 grocery stores so I never had but I wouldn't think anything if one of them came to me, I just can't do it.

I have 2. [2008-10-30]
It's funny that this question is asked. The other day I was running out to the store to grab eggs and wondered why I did that instead of just asking one of the neighbors. Growing up my mom borrowed from the neighbors all the time but I have never really thought of it. I usually just send the hubs out. I know 2 of them wouldn't mind though. We swap veggies and other garden items during the summer and I bake them cookies, cobblers, and things from time to time just because they are nice.

Find a lawyer, find out where you would stand - sm [2008-10-26]
in the event of a divorce/separation, regarding custody, house, etc. Custody was my main concern as well since I lied on numerous occasions about the finances. Where I am I was told that would not factor in to the custody at all. I can prove that I am my kids caregiver 90% of the time, I ferry they around everywhere, help with homework, get ready for school, meet at busstop, etc. I could also point out my husband is an alcoholic, self treats his depression with alcohol instead of getting proper medical treatment, has threatend to kill himself (or me) numerous times (though he always says he was joking and did not mean it.....that is his standard answer to everything, or that he never said that). Now I do love him enough to deal with all that because deep down inside my DH is full of it, luckily for me, he has never followed through on anything he says he is going to do. But I thought my confession would be the straw that broke it all and send him over the edge. He still is angry with me, I am sure he will be for a long time, but is keeping it together pretty well, though he has said the stress was going to kill him, now he know how I felt I guess. I am sorry your husband is such a smuck. I feel like a dog sometimes with the sex demands, have to do it the night before he goes out of town....he will be traveling a lot for work for the next 3-4 months, which I am more than glad about, much calmer here then, though it gets tiring for me but as he is not really helping much right now it really won't be much of a change. As for yours going on 5 day weekends.....have you considered having him followed, sounds like there may be some infidelity afoot, and if so that would strengthen your case in the event of a divorce and custody I would think. Sounds a bit fishy going out until 1 a.m. and his frequent trips. My DH fishes too, but he goes 2 miles from here with one of our male neighbors, they shoot the breeze and he gets to unwind some which I encourage. Very rare weekends with a buddy of his, I am talking once every 2 years, which again is fine with me. Start keeping track of all you do, when he is home, where he supposedly goes, with whom, etc. He cannot show he will be a responsible dad if he is never there or never interacts with his own kids. My DH would probably suggest I take our older daughter and he the younger, spliting them up, he has the same perception, the oldest is mine, the youngest is his. Our younger daughter is much easier to deal with, our older daughter drives him nuts and she is only 10. My younger one (8) knows something has been going one though, and worries we will divorce, which she does not want. She is very perceptive for her years. I hope that if you do go the divorce route, which would actually probably be best in your situation, that it all works out for you and you get your fair share of assets, etc. Make sure before you do anything like that you have all your ducks in a row, so talk to divorce lawyer. I talked to one for 45 minutes, cost me $160 but was worth it to set my mind at ease. Good luck.

I have fostered a few [2008-10-22]
It is great and sad at the same time. I have never fostered animals through an official organization, but I will often pick up strays and contact the area animal shelters and vet offices and try to find their owners. I had one dog who stayed with me for a month. She was a walker hound. I found out later that she and 12 other hounds had been dumped out near my house because the owner could no longer care for them. I found two more dead on the side of the road. Don't know what happened to the others. I became pretty attached to her, but seeing as how I already had three dogs of my own, I really couldn't take on another. So I found her a home. An older man adopted her and he called me a month later to tell me she was an amazing dog and brought a lot of joy to him and his wife. It was very reassuring to hear that, but it was hard for me to let her go because I was already attached :(. If you have a big heart and you can learn to let go, it is definitely a rewarding experience. I just had a chocolate lab here last week who was digging in the trash by a restaurant. I picked him up and called all the vets offices and animal shelter and eventually found the owner. They came to get him the next day and were so happy. He had been missing for a week and they had almost given up. From what they told me they were having a riff with their neighbors and they believe the neighbor opened the gate and let him out while they were at work. Good luck! It takes a big heart to want to foster animals! I applaud you for thinking about it!

Has anyone here trained (haha!) a cat to stay in backyard? [2008-10-18]
This is a long shot, but here goes: I adopted a 1-year-old cat from the pound 6 months ago. The original plan was to keep him indoors but a couple of times he got outside; however, he stayed in the backyard. Unfortunately, he trained me to let him out for a couple hours a day and started wandering beyond the yard. For right now, he is indoors only but it is pitiful watching him stare out the windows and meowing. My last cat trained himself to stay in the backyard and never wandered. Does anyone know of any tricks to teach this new guy? Please do notcriticize me for letting him out. I am well aware of all the dangers but I do not live near traffic or dogs other than my own, and he is only out for a short time, comes in when I tap on his food dish. He obviously does not use theneighborsas a toilet--a well-used litter box is a testament to that. Thanks for any ideas.

Today's children are tomorrow's leaders and [2008-10-16]
your future neighbors be closed-minded and intolerant of you? What if YOU had something about yourself that was [gasp!] 'different'? Would you want neighbors and community leaders who persecuted you and limited YOUR freedoms? Or would you want to be an equally-valued member of society?

No work for me today [2008-10-12]
I don't work at all on the weekends. And today I'm extra glad. The weather here in NY is beautiful. About 75 and not a cloud in the sky and this is the second week of October. Just got back from visiting the neighbors and watching all the kids playing outside.

Both of my sons are in college now. [2008-10-06]
It's very easy to become overwhelmed quickly during the search. My husband and I approached the process a little differently. We didn't do anything like the other parents and high school juniors/seniors were doing. We did pretty much... well nothing. We let our kids lead in the process. We didn't even look at the applications unless our sons asked us to. We felt that our job was to guide them and to keep them from getting caught up in the college search mania that seems to grip everyone during those last two years in high school. My husband and I went to the same, very large university (Temple U). Back all those years ago, it just seemed that there wasncollege experience for us was living at home and going to school. College was more of a practical work-and-study experience for us. And we received very good educations. Fast forward to our own children. We told both of our sons that they should think of their college experience as the preliminary work for their careers. They didnexperience. Our oldest son was not quite sure what he wanted to do, so he wisely chose to spend a year at the local community college. We were thrilled! It cost us less than his high school tuition! He checked out different options and settled on a meteorology major. With that decided, he discovered that there was only one school that we could afford and that had a great program. He applied, was accepted, and his community college credits transferred. He is now a junior. Our younger son wants to be an engineer, though heoptions and fits. Why such a long post that seems a bit off-topic? Well, because I see so many people stress over this decision. It really isn't the end of the world. It's four short years of a person's life. They're important years, to be sure. But they don't have to be make or break years. Most college students will change majors at some point, many will transfer to other schools. These decisions can be re-made later on. You are in the market for a product, just as if you were shopping for a car or other big ticket item. Try to keep calm about it so that your student doesn't pick up on the stress. It is stressful, but if you keep it all in perspective, the stress doesn't have to feel so overwhelming. And for the short answer: We liked visiting the schools at open house to get a general feel for the place. At that point you can usually tell if the school is a viable option or not. If not, no reason to revisit. If yes, then visit again and make an appointment for a personal tour and/or interview. Don't worry! You'll survive!

You need to have a talk with him, and tell him what you need. [2008-09-30]
Regardless of the risk, the choice to take it or not should be yours. Tell him that you NEED this, it's important. I think you both need to get out and help others, and you will probably get more help out of it than they do. Can you volunteer someplace where there children, or elderly people? Homeless people? You need to stop moping around going oh dear, oh dear all the time, and go help someone who really needs help. It will definitely help your mood and make you feel better. Do you have any friends, or good neighbors? You don't sound like you have much of a life there, other than working and listening to your husband whine.

I've read that they're happy to just lie around all day, but [2008-09-29]
if they get out, they could take off and sometimes see little pets as prey. I have neighbors who have little dogs and wouldn't want to risk having a dog that would eat their dogs.

I seriously thought about adopting a greyhound once, [2008-09-27]
but then after reading more about them, I found out it could possibly run away and eat my neighbors' little pets. If it weren't for that, I probably would have done it.

Last year I said same thing, Christmas is for children. SM [2008-09-18]
And I got clobbered on this board. Practically called un-Amreican. I believe Christmas is for children. Up to age 18. After that, perhaps a check is in order, but that's about it. As far as gifts for aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, postman, WHOMEVER, forget it. Bake cookies. Have a party and invite friends and neighbors. Say you are sending check to charity of choice and ask family and friends to do same. That is charity of their choice, since I know my family doesn't agree on anything. But presents? Presents most of the people would not even want? Forget it.

Don't get me wrong... [2008-09-18]
I love my hubs with all my heart. I would never re-marry and I know we would stay close friends and probably be neighbors if possible. He's been married before so I know how nasty divorces can get and hateful people who once loved can be towards each other BUT I can understand what you mean by truely love and cannot imagine your life without them. At the same token I look at cheating as a deliberate lie and never a mistake...yeah, in many aspects of life I am a plain and simple harda$$. There are just some things that are unexcusable in my book and this is one. I feel like morally the decision would be made for me. Despite love and feelings, he put my life in danger (STDs, a freak that goes psycho, etc. - you never know) and I won't put up with it for a second. JMO. I respect yours and would of any friends of ours who made the same.

In a perfect world [2008-09-05]
What is your idea of a perfect world - it can be anything from the craziest of crazy ideas to very simple ones. Here's my ideas: 1. No more pharmaceutical commercials. Let our doctors tell us what meds we need, not us tell our doctors we think they should give us. 2. Pharmaceutical companies would not rule the doctors (okay sort of part #1, but a little different). 3. No more stup!d commercials that demoralize our intelligence like the pepto bismol commercial, free credit report, and about 95% of the other commercials. 4. Every child would be considered a gift from the gods (whatever one you believe in), and their lives would be treated as precious as they are and there would be no killing or abuse of young children. If parents cannot handle having children they would bring them to the nearest safe place and say I canthem (instead of killing and burying them out where no one can find them). Then couples who can 5.The government would tell us the truth about why they are spraying chemicals (chem trails) into the atmosphere and poisoning all of us. 6. The goverment would tell us what I think we are all adults and can handle the truth. 7. Hollywood actors actresses would quit announcing to everyone all the lavish money they are spending on themsleves (mansions,$12,000 coffee table, etc) and instead we would hear that Brad Angelina spent that $12,000 to help the hungry and needy. 8. They would turn all the abandoned buildings into housing for the homeless. 9. People wouldnonly because of what political party they belonged to, and politicians would keep the promises they make while they are campaigning (haven't met one yet that did). 10. Lawyers would not be trying to re-write the constitution. 11. All people would be considerate of their neighbors and not mow their lawns after 8 pm in the evenings or before 8 am in the mornings. 12. Everyone could pick whatever time you wanted to start working and quit working. 13. We would have an alternative reliable transportation method instead of plane, train, or automobile similar to the transporter you see in Star Trek. So if you live in Washington state, you could still go to Maine for dinner and be back by 9pm. 14. There would be no more gangs. The people who want to be part of a gang would now be part of an Infantry unit. They would learn out to use weapons but they would use them responsibly. 15. There would be no more bullies in the school system. 16. There would be no animal abuse. Every person would take care of animals and love them, and if caught being cruel to an animal you get branded or something so that everyone in public would know that person is cruel to animals and they would be ashamed of what they've done. 17. No more reality shows. Enough with American Idol and Survivor. 18. Scam artists would not try to swindle money out of people (especially the elderly). 19. Everyone would grow food in their yards and neighbors share with others.

San Diego got way too expensive [2008-08-29]
Rent was about a grand a month eight years ago when I was 36 and had my precious baby I left there when he was eight months old. I stayed with my two of my best friends (gay couple) in Atlanta for over ayear in their mansion-like home. I then came back here to MI, where it surely is cheap to live and he and I could be near my family. I bought a house last year for$13,000 (thatnot a typo) and the cost of living is very reasonable here. No, 27 is certainly not old and youcrisis -- justwild oats. I used to call itworld ofhate when I would be ready to leave a city: Sick of traffic, sick of the people at the grocery store, sick of my neighbors.Then, I would plot out a journey and move on. Now, though, with my sweet childof school age, we can only wander off and travel in the summer months. So,do it while you can, girl!!