My lab mix was pee trained in one day at about 6 weeks old, only a few poo accidents sm

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.

For the last two weeks I have been listening [2008-10-31]
to Christmas music in my car. DonI have to say that when I listen to the Hallelujah Chorus on this particularCDit makes everything that is wrong in my life seem so insignificant. I love this groupIt just makes you happy. Merry Christmas, a little early!

first snow weeks ago here in Reno! [2008-10-28]
thankfully hasn't happened since... I dont want the cold weather :( I'm hoping the big storms hold out for a couple more weeks cause im driving across the country from NV to NC and want to be able to make it in my little honda! :)

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.

I would also look up stories of teenage car accidents (sm) [2008-09-24]
and show them to her, the more sad and terrible the better. I would take her on a tour of the juvenile detention center in your town. I would drive through downtown at night with her and let her see how people live on the streets. I would look up every case of STDs I could find and show her pictures. I would get just as blatant as she is. If my child ever said F* you to me, I would know it was time to jump into action. I would purposely try to scare the cr*p out of her by showing her reality. And if I had to, I would let her to to a drug rehab or juvenile detention for a while, to let her wake up.

Bring him in. My BIL had this a few weeks back... [2008-09-05]
went in, had cath done and had two 70-75% stenosed arteries, CHF, 10% function and may need a transplant. They stabilized him with meds and he is at home with a cardiac vest. He has not felt well for the past year, but kept putting the doctor visit off. Of course, they told him that had he come in sooner it wouldn't be this bad. Good luck.

Illnesses, accidents, shots are covered.... [2008-08-21]
xx

For a couple weeks after my dad died, - sm [2008-08-04]
both my mom and my brother saw him either walking in the hallway or working at his desk. They said it was very clearly him, and they had no fear - they knew he had just come back to be sure everything was OK, and that my mom was running his business correctly!

Agree, I have trained quite a few dogs -sm [2008-06-22]
some just take longer than others, I have found though that they train a lot faster if there is another dog in the house that is older and housebroken. I have had huskies take 3 months to housebreak before. My last husky was about 10 weeks old when I got her and by some miracle she was trained in about a month, but we had 2 other dogs in the house and they helped teach her I think. I get to go through all this again in a year or two when my daughter gets a dog my DH promised her....I am not looking forward to it. She keeps changing her mind on what she wants, Taco bell dog (Chiwahwa, I know I am butchering the spelling), or a Jack Russell, or maybe a pug. So who knows, I like big dogs, have a big boy husky now and a chocolate lab. Just have to make sure in this case the dog it not too small or these two will end up killing it which would not be too cool. (my husky goes after small animals in the yard, not sure if he would be able to differentiate from a pet dog or a squirrel/possom). We are trying to wait until the husky passes before getting this new dog, and he will be 9 in 2 years so his time will be done or very close at that point (I have never had a husky live pass 9.5). ---But bottom line is patience in house training a dog, yes it is icky but no worse than changing a baby's diaper, and if you have had kids then you can get thru housebreaking a dog, they are a lot easier to take care of!

My lab mix was pee trained in one day at about 6 weeks old, only a few poo accidents- sm [2008-06-20]
As soon as I got Walter home, the very second we got out of the car I put him down in the yard where I wanted his potty place to be and he peed immediately. Then I put him on a schedule where I religously put him in the potty place as soon as he woke up from a nap, about 15-20 minutes after eating, and before we went to bed. I also kept an eagle eye on him almost consistently for the first week or so (not hard because he was so cute)... he stayed on a dog bed in my office when I was working and the instant he started sniffing at anything I picked him up and took him to the potty place... a couple times I was running with him and he started to dribble before I got there. Sniffing means he is looking for a place to go! Make no bones about it, he is not doing anything else! As far as pooing, puppies go pretty consistently about a half hour after eating. They have really tiny bladders so you can count on this. No matter what I was doing we went outside at that time. Whever I heard a tiny whine I take him to potty place. I figured he had a belly ache just like a baby might and usually he would go number two. The few times he did poo in the house was my fault. I ignored the whining or was not paying attention. I swear to you... Walter has never ever ever peed in my house. But to be honest, when he was a puppy whenever I brought him to visit another house he almost instantly peed out of nerves. So embarrassing. When I realized he did that I had him meet my friends outside of their homes! He would wiggle in delight but pee. But for the first few weeks, I never left this dog alone at all and my big priority was to get him housebroken asap. You may not have that option if you have to leave for work or something. Walter went with me on errands and whenever I let him out of the car he would pee. So he also loves riding in the truck because he did it so much. When I got Walter he was a little under 6 weeks old... pretty young. So I think I became his mom pretty quick and he was pretty moldable. I have made plenty of mistake, though, like letting him sleep on my bed and now he is 120 pounds and still does that. I don Good luck!

Wait a minute. She's only 7-8 weeks old...sm [2008-06-19]
You've only had her a week, and you expect her to be housetrained already? And you're already thinking about giving her up because she isn't? WOW! Boy are you in for a surprise - if you keep her, that is, which at this point I'm not sure is the best thing for her, unless you're willing to adjust your expectations and do a bit of a 'crash course' in puppies/dogs. And please be honest with yourself, because if you don't keep her, it's much easier to find her a home while she's still young. First of all, it's totally unrealistic to expect no 'accidents' from such a young puppy. She is *very* young. In fact, it sounds like she's doing remarkably well for being so young! It isn't *physiologically* possible for a puppy to be 100% pottytrained until about... 4 months of age, if I remember correctly. They don't have the muscle control to hold it more than... 4 hours, I think it is? (I'm going by memory, so I'll have to look that up.) So, my next question is, how long does she have to stay in the crate w/o a potty break? Because it is extremely unusual for dogs to soil their living area - unless they either have no choice and can't physically hold it anymore, (or if they came from a puppy mill/pet store where they had no other choice but to go in their cage and so get in that habit), OR if her crate is so large that she can go in one section and then go off to another section and be away from it. (If that's the case, you can use a crate divider.) But as young as she is, she probably just can't hold it for more than a couple hours at a time. I had a great site for potty training stuff. Let me find it and post again later. It does s/l you're doing everything else right as far as keeping her on a regular schedule. For now, I'd suggest that she commes out of the crate for a potty break at least every 2 hours, or immediately if you see her start to sniff around in her crate or otherwise act like she's going to go in her crate. BTW, she should have stayed with her mother and littermates until *at least* 8 weeks of age, which tells me you didnleave them hanging so to speak, because it's the puppy that suffers. Okay, enough of my ranting.

2 weeks? [2008-05-15]
I just had bloodwork last Thursday and I got the results on Monday. I guess it just depends on the physician/lab. They used Quest Diagnostics.

2 weeks [2008-05-14]
as it sounds like routine blood work. If no call by the 23rd I would call the office and leave a message and then you will probably hear back on that Monday.

3-1/2 weeks! [2008-05-13]
That sounds like a wonderful vacation. . I'm taking off a few days too and I'm really looking forward to it.. Hope you have a great time!

I've been ready for Brooke to go home for weeks! [2008-04-23]
Never have liked her. She seems fake, her voice is weak, and I hate that little pouty face she makes all the time. No clue why she is still there. I'm still cheering for David Cook.

Two weeks sounds right...I do hope.. [2008-03-24]
that everyone realizes that the best tactic is to not get a refund/owe the IRS at all, easy to do by changing your withholdings. When you get a refund you are getting the extra money you gave to the government back without interest! Silly....

Got mine in 3 weeks, but sent in early February. [2008-03-24]
The later you wait to send in your return, the longer it takes.

I definitely needed him a few weeks ago. [2008-03-17]
Definitely HOT. What did you think of the season finale?

He just got a $175 fine a few weeks ago for not having a duck stamp (nm) [2008-02-27]
x

We've been spared twice in two weeks...sm [2008-02-08]
here in tornadoalley. First time you could hear the train a-comin, no elec for a day and a halfand many trees down, blown right outta the ground, root balls and all....Second time, my grown son called and left a msg on the voice mail..Hey mommy, the sirens are goin.We have no basements hereeither...I can really relate. To all yaI send good thoughts and hugs. Cat Cat

Parades go on for a few weeks BEFORE the day of Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is the END of the festival. n [2008-01-28]
s

Usually PPD onset is after 2-3 weeks of delivery. sm [2008-01-27]
I have had both OB and psychiatric nursing and the textbooks suggest that it tends to not be PPD unless it is 2-3 weeks after delivery, that is how long it takes the serotonin and dopamine levels to change for depression after birth. Sounds like she has a case of post partum blues (not same as depression) as well as a case of her child not being born with things according to her ideal baby that she had been anticipating for 9 months. Call her, stop by, research the medical issue and be there to listen and offer facts if she wants to talk about it. Otherwise, don't treat her different than you did pre-baby or you won't seem sincere.

I had calendar on fridge kept track of rotated weeks [2008-01-17]
x

I'm moving in 2 weeks - where do I start? [2008-01-12]
I Between 1996 and 2005, I moved 9 times, always with a U-Haul and hiring day workers to load and unload, except for the last move when I hired professional movers and it was smooth. I will be using professional movers again this time. Expensive but only 4 hours down time and in the MT business, time is money. Here is my problem. When I moved in here 2 years ago, it was with my now 25 yo son. He has since moved out and now I am raising my 4 yo granddaughter. II also thought I would be here a very, very long time, so I started making this a *home* again by buying nick nacks, restocking a respectable kitchen, hanging pictures, etc. I've gained a lot of weight and only have a drawer full of clothes to pack, but the 4 yo, oy, she has clothes and stuff animals and little bitty tiny things that seem to move around the house while I'm sleeping at night. I decided to finally get rid of things I Basically, I decided if I haven It is all going to the thrift store or dumpster. But, I I don And now I Of course, every time I organize one area, the 4 yo comes along with her stuff and I can I've scheduled a service to come in 2 days after everything is moved out so I don't have to worry about cleaning, thank goodness. What do I do? Am I doing this backwards? Should I go ahead and pack the stuff I want to take and THEN deal with the stuff I I am limited to 50 boxes. I have so many collections of breakables now and the company won I can only put cloth items in my drawers. It would be so much easier to pad the breakables in linens and clothing in the drawers, but I can't. I wish I could just send the 4 yo to someone for the next 2 weeks, but that isn On top of that, I scheduled myself for a really heavy work load these 2 weeks because I The new place is $300/month more than where I live now. I I The daycare across the street will be $200/month less than the one I use now, so that will help offset the cost of the new place, but I won't feel it in my pocket until the middle of next month. Please give me some tips and maybe a Valium!

Or eat the 2 weeks and get professional from here. [2008-01-10]
x

about 25% as of [2008-11-21]
a couple weeks ago, when i rolled it into an IRA that is not all in stocks now...not sure what my recent losses are, but am a lot more comfortable (?) having my wealth spread around, hah, with bonds, etc.

I live alone now, but I remember other times sm [2008-11-19]
I am vegan and a celiac, not choices here...I am allergic to most proteins. I spend about $40-$50 one time a month and about $75 another time, as I only shop twice a month. I will go and have a huge bill of about $150 when I stock up, but that is only every 3 or 4 months. I DO keep an extensive pantry and every fall I splash out on about $200 worth of canned goods for the winter. I live in a very rural place and you can't always get out on the road to get anything. I buy the pantry dry goods primarily at Walmart and buy their own brand. I buy rice in large bags because that is primarily what I eat, and I keep 5 or 6 kinds...as many as I can find. Buying stuff to make celiac bread is extremely expensive and I don't have bread like things very much because of that, and I even make my own flour mixes, but it is still expensive. When I had a family, I fed 6 of us on $250 a month, and it was not that long ago. I would go every 3rd month for bulk dry goods. I baked all our bread. We ate primarily fresh fresh and vegetables, beans and tofu. The kids had eggs and cow's milk, but I didn't because I am allergic. We always had plenty of food, except for bread. Although I baked 8-10 round can loaves 5 times in 2 weeks, we never had bread, and I can't eat it! LOL They never seemed to grow tired of oven warm bread with my homemade canned preserves and if I made 8 loaves, only 4 or 5 made it to the next day.

At certain stores in MI, s/m [2008-11-18]
They will double coupons up to $1. I do this a lot with toothpaste and stockpile it. A lot of times it is 2/$4 or 2/$5, so I either get it free or for 50 cents a tube. A lot of the $1 coupons are for new items and our local store here is pretty good about having those on sale a lot during the first few weeks it is out to promote it, so I get the new things relatively cheap as well. You just have to be careful about not getting things just because you have a coupon. When I coupon shop, it can take me 3 hours because I compare all the prices with brands to coupons, etc. You also have to really know your prices as compared to other stores. I have one store where I get my meat and I don Where they double the $1 coupon, I don I'm really careful about it and belong to an internet sites to help me as well.

I think I spend less at the store when [2008-11-18]
we eat out/order in. Of course, then our entertaining budget increases. But some things are cheaper to just order in. For example, pizzas -- I can get 2 large pepperoni pizzas from the local pizzeria for under $20. If I buy them in the store, I spend about $15 and then have to cook them and my kids don The frozen kind are also smaller. I just got groceries this past Friday and spent $200. I had an entire cart full. In addition to the coupons I had, I also had a 20% discount on everything (one of those reward plans for spending so much the previous 2 months). I got value packs of skinless/boneless chicken breasts - buy 1 get 1 free -- $15 packs of chicken, breakfast sausage on sale, ham steaks on sale, plus my 20% off all that. Overall, I think I spend somewhere around $150 a week on groceries. There are 5 of us -- me, my hubs, and 3 boys -- ages 6 to 11. What I notice that I spend more on are school lunches. It costs $2.00 a day per child and I don I $2/day x 3 kids = $6/day x 5 days/week = $30/week x 4 weeks/month = $120 for lunch. YIKES!!! I think I can do better than that if I pack them.

Live in Oregon, just DH and me, spend about 400 a month... [2008-11-18]
give or take including cat supplies. Costco every 4 to 5 weeks. Love really good bread, yogurt, real half and half for my coffee and fresh fruit and veggies no matter what the cost. Eat out on an average of 4 times a week, lunch or dinner on our days off, not fast food (Ugh). Cook everything from scratch, no boxes or cans here, except for pasta. I donat least twice a week. I have only seen a spike in dairy and bread products, but I won if I'm eating it, I want it to taste good and not be loaded with preservatives, etc. I'd rather spend 2.98 a pound for really good apples instead of 98 cents a pound for mealy ones. I'm Italian, so food is a religion for me and it better be good!

I'm embarrassed to say this, but [2008-11-18]
we usually eat out at least 3 if not 4 nights a week. Always eat out on Fridays and Saturdays and then usually Tuesday and Thursday nights. I generally cook a large family meal on Sunday with enough leftovers to last through Monday. Tuesday night we either order in and Wednesdays we have breakfast for dinner -- my kids love that one. Thursdays we usually order in because it We usually eat out Friday nights because we go to get groceries (I don Saturday we We When it was a 15-minute drive to town, I planned our meals ahead of time and usually only ordered once a week or once every 2 weeks and we only ate out on Saturdays. We seemed to have picked up these extra 2 nights of ordering in out of convenience (a nicer word than laziness). Oh the cost -- I have 3 kids and a hubby. On the nights we order in, we spend about $25 to $30 (saving because of no drinks or appetizers). When we eat out, the bill is usually around $50. So altogether, I guess I spend about $155 a week on eating out -- WOW/YIKES! Thanks for making me realize that. I think it

I'm in Delaware also and spend about $150 a week plus sm [2008-11-18]
send care packages to my son in college. I also go every two weeks and my bill comes to about $300. I wait until my fridge is empty and my cupboards are half empty. Then, I muster up the energy to do the food shopping. I hate that job....... If my hubby goes, he spends way less and buys only sale items. I, on the other hand, like to buy all the goodies....

Pitbull Hero [2008-11-17]
Stray Pit Bull Saves Woman, Child from AttackerPet Pulse Staff Reports Browse NewsFront Page BY CATEGORY:Alerts Notices Animal Attacks Care Safety Crime Law Cruelty Abuse Deaths Accidents Entertainment Health Science Heroes International Lost Found New Trends Petlanthropy Strange But True Survival BY PET:Dogs Cats Fish Birds Horses Reptiles Small Pets Other Pets November 5, 2008 A dog came out of nowhere and stopped a knife-wielding robber from accosting a mother and her young son on Monday afternoon. (Pet Pulse Illustration by Tim Mattson) PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- The wandering 65-pound Pit Bull mix might have seemed menacing to some passerby, but one woman will always remember him as her guardian angel. The dog, which authorities think is lost and not a stray, successfully thwarted a robbery attack on a mother and her 2-year-old son, who were held at knifepoint Monday afternoon. The Florida woman, who has been identified by authorities simply as Angela, was leaving a playground with her toddler son in Port Charlotte when a man approached her in the parking lot with a knife and told her not to make any noise or sudden movements. Angela didn't have to do either to protect herself and her child -- a dog mysteriously ran to the scene and charged the man, who quickly fled. I don Animal Control Lt. Brian Jones told Pet Pulse. I don The exceptional part of the story, Jones said, is that the dog had never met or even seen the people it quickly jumped to defend. You hear about family dogs protecting their owners, but this dog had nothing to do with this woman or her kid, Jones said. He was like her guardian angel. After the alleged thief ran away, Angela quickly placed her son, Jordan, in the car and tried to drive off. Before she could, though, the dog jumped into her backseat, waiting with her for the police and animal control officers to arrive at the scene. The dog was transported to a local shelter and if his owners donAngel. Animal control officers and shelter workers believe Angel is lost, and not a stray, because of his good health, sturdy weight and mild temperament. It Jones said of Angel's possible owners. For Angela, it doesn't matter where the dog came from, just that he was there when she needed him most. I don Angela told NBC2 News. For a small town with a population of 46,452, animal control officers were kept busy Monday afternoon. Jones says they department also responded to a report about a boa constrictor in a church parking lot. The snake found its way into a car engine and was able to be removed without being harmed. It took three people to move the massive, seemingly random placed snake. It he said of the Gulf Coast town. And we can go for four or five months without the media contacting us about a story. It Officers from the responding county sheriff's office canvased the area and were unable to locate the suspect described as being in his 20s, tall and dark haired. Tell us what you think about Stray Dog Saves Woman, Child Held at Knifepoint below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204. Pet Pulse reporter Amy Lieberman and NBC-2.com contributed to this article.

My tracfone does have texting capabilities [2008-11-17]
my daughter figured that one out all by herself. LOL. We've been thinking about getting her one for a long time, but our problem is she'll have the minutes gone within weeks and then she'll have no phone. I guess she'll have to learn the hard way if that happens.

I am so fustrated I am in tears...sm [2008-11-15]
Ok here goes...My husband has hunting beagles. He has about 5 of them. I love dogs and I love beagles. Well he drives an 18-wheeler and is gone a majority of the time. I take care of the dogs daily, i.e. feed them, clean their kennels, and put fresh water. It is a chore, but I love the dogs so I do it. It is for my husband anyway, and we are supposed to help each other. When he is home it is his chore. Well he has a buddy down the road who lives about 10 minutes away. They take their beagles out together and let them run rabbits. Well his buddy is bad about leaving his beagles over here and not coming to get them in a timely manner, and I have to take care of 5 more dogs. Food isn Well you have to make him come get them. A couple of weeks ago his buddy went on a hunting trip in Tennessee and needed someone to care for his beagles. Well I didn I was fustrated to learn though he brought them and left them in the kennels and left no food for them. I had to feed these dogs of his out of our food and there was 5 of them. I mentioned to my husband that I thought that was rude. I was nice enough to care for his beagles while he went away. He should have brought food for them. I felt taken advantage of. Well he came over last weekend and I thought good he has come for his dogs. Well he leaves without them. I said oh here we go again. I had forgotten to mention anything to my husband because I got busy working among other things. Well today when I went to feed the beagles I got really fustrated because he STILL has not come and got his dogs. So got downrightticked and called my husband. I said you call your buddy and tell him I am not in the kennel business. He can come get his dogs. I said first of all he is back in town and has been a week. Why hasn I said you should have made him before now. I said I was not asked do you mind taking care of these dogs for weeks. I said you should not allow your friend to take advantage of my niceness. He said well I just figure that if you are taking care of our beagles then why can What difference does it make? You are already taking care of these so what is so hard about putting a little more food out. I said I will tell you. It is twice the dogs to feed. I said he did not bring any food. It is twice thesh** to clean out the kennels, which is done, by the way, by spraying it off the concrete floors with a hose with a spray nozel. I feel like I am being taken advantage of and I think my DH should stick up for me to his friend.

My Rottie did the same thing [2008-11-13]
He loves everybody. He will get up and see who is coming in, but if we tell him okay, he goes back and lays down. We had some repairs being done after a leaking roof. Painters and carpet installers in and out. Roofers on the house. All sorts of noise and men for a few days. The day after they finished the work, I was home by myself, andone of the carpet guys came back and knocked on the door. When I opened the doormy Rottie got between me and the screen door, growled a low serious growl, and his hair on his back came up. The guy wanted to come intocheck on the carpet job. I told himthe carpet was fine, I would call the store if there were any problems, and closed the door. A few weeks later the same guy raped a woman the day after he had been to her house installing carpet. Turns out he didn I trusted my dog Although I don't know what the guy was thinking that he could come in and hurt me without fighting off me and the dog, but you never know!

Breast feeding..... [2008-11-13]
I had a child via a surrogate and I breast fed her. Sometimes just suckling the baby will stimulate milk supply but it is a very long and time consuming process. Also, I used a system called Lact-Aid that uses a small bag that holds formula and has a thin tube that is near the nipple so the baby suckles both the tube for the formula and you for the stimulation to trick your body into producing milk. And yes, I did produce some although not enough for nourishment. I used the system for several weeks just for the bonding.

No way! [2008-11-12]
I watch it on Lifetime in the afternoon...therea rat-infested house with a bunch of burping, farting, overgrown kids...no way!!!

I actually would [2008-11-12]
The only reason is I think my kids would probably appreciate me more. I watch it every day too, and I can't believe some of the families they have on there. Actually I'd love to be in the one that had the husband waiting on the wife hand and foot and her in bed all day long doing absolutely nothing. Might be fun for two weeks.

FYI [2008-11-11]
This information comes from the Mensa International web site: Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr. Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. They had the idea of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership of which was a high IQ. The original aims were, as they are today, to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions. The society welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population, with the objective of enjoying each other's company and participating in a wide range of social and cultural activities. Mensans range in age from 4 to 94, but most are between 20 and 60. In education they range from preschoolers to high school dropouts to people with multiple doctorates. There are Mensans on welfare and Mensans who are millionaires. As far as occupations, the range is staggering. Mensa has professors and truck drivers, scientists and firefighters, computer programmers and farmers, artists, military people, musicians, laborers, police officers, glassblowers--the diverse list goes on and on. There are famous Mensans and prize-winning Mensans, but there are many whose names you wouldn't know. The term IQ score is widely used but poorly defined. There are a large number of tests with different scales. The result on one test of 132 can be the same as a score 148 on another test. Some intelligence tests don't use IQ scores at all. Mensa has set a percentile as cutoff to avoid this confusion. Candidates for membership in Mensa must achieve a score at or above the 98th percentile on a standard test of intelligence (a score that is greater than or equal to that achieved by 98 percent of the general population taking the test). As this list suggests, Mensa is a remarkably diverse organization. While Some Mensans noted here are well known, many others lead interesting lives out of the public eye. Geena Davis: Academy-award winning actress, who has starred in The Long Kiss Goodnight, A League of Their Own, Thelma and Louise and Hero. Donald Petersen: A former chairman of Ford Motor Company. While at Ford, Petersen was involved in the development of two of Ford's most successful cars--the Mustang and the Maverick. Marilyn Vos Savant: Listed in the Guinness Hall of Fame for having the worldAsk Marilyn!, a weekly column in Parade magazine. Bobby Czyz: A former two-time World Boxing Association (WBA) Cruiserweight Champion. Czyz now commentates on many nationally-broadcasted fights. Dr. Julie Peterson: A former Playboy Playmate, Peterson is a graduate of Life School of Chiropractic. Alan Rachins: Portrays DharmaDharma Greg. Rachins, who left the Wharton School of Finance to pursue an acting career, also portrayed Douglas Brachman on the hit TV series, L.A. Law. Adrian Cronauer: Radio personality, lawyer and subject for the movie Good Morning Vietnam. Terance Black: Screenwriter of HBOTales from the Crypt, syndicated series Dark Justice and the feature film Dead Heat. Barry Nolan: Co-anchor of TVHard Copy. Deborah Yates: Member of the world-famous Radio City Rockettes. Bob Speca, Jr.: Professional domino toppler. Speca travels internationally doing domino shows and has appeared on TV programs and commercials. John N. Moore: University of Virginia law professor who specializes in international law. Moore was hired by the U.S. ambassador to Kuwait to help the emirate recover damages inflicted during the August 2, 1990 invasion. Jean Auel: Best-selling author of Clan of the Cave Bear, Valley of Horses, and Plains of Passage. Linda Warwick: Creator and producer of the billboard mega-hit childrensBabymugs!, and the Toddler TOGS series--the fantasy video for highly creative tots. Maurice Kanbar: Inventor and owner of Skyy Vodka. Henry Milligan: A boxer and scholar, Milligan was the 1983 National Amateur Heavyweight champion. Patricia P. Jennings: Pianist with the Pittsburgh Symphony. She is the symphony's first black member and has performed internationally. Richard Lederer: A master of the pun. Lederer has written dozens of books on word play and is a frequent guest on National Public Radio. Judge Ellen Morphonios: Nicknamed Maximum Morphonios for her strict rulings in Florida. Morphonios is a former model and beauty queen who passed a Florida exam that allowed her to enter law school without an undergraduate degree. Richard Bolles: Author of What Color is Your Parachute? which at one point had been on The New York Times Best-seller List for 228 weeks. Velma Jeremiah: A retired attorney who graduated fourth in her law school class at the age of 47. She is a former chairwoman of Mensa International. Dr. Abbie F. Salny: Author of the Mensa Quiz-a-Day books and calendars. Dr. Salny is a retired college professor and expert in intelligence who has served as Mensa's supervising psychologist. Note: most of the members listed are members of American Mensa.

Holidays - Bah humbug! [2008-11-11]
I have nice holiday memories. My mom was not the Martha Stewart type but they were filled with lots of food, friends, and family. Very happy times. This will be the first year that I cannot go home for the holidays. We will still spend it with my husband's family but it is not the same for me. I am also stressing about the holidays because his family is all about the presents and I grew up differently. His family says they are cutting back this year but I wonder what that means. To them, it is probably only $500 per person. I know its the thought that counts and you should only do what you can but I still feel bad and guilty if we cannot do for everyone else. I have suggested putting a limit or drawing names or making gifts to exchange but they look at me like I speak a foreign language. This is the first year my husband and I will not exchange gifts for each other and our son won't get much either. To top off the financial crisis facing the entire nation, we are also expecting a child in the very early spring so that has added to our expenses and dipping into our savings. For me this winter came very quickly as well which does not help. I haven't had time to ease into my least favorite season. It's been so gloomy the last few weeks I am glad that I don't have to leave the house to work but know I should leave the house occasionally to feel better. I just want to be a scrooge right now. Soon enough I'll have to put on the happy thanksgiving face to spend the afternoon with my in-laws while missing my family.

Considering my circumstances I am looking - sm [2008-11-11]
forward to the holidays. I'm the one with the mega debt who confessed to her DH a month ago, etc. We will have his debts paid off in full in about 10 days. I still have quite a mess though. We sold back 2 weeks of his vacation time (lucky for us his work allows you to do this) and half of that is paying for Christmas, the rest is being banked in our savings account which needs restoking (used to have $5K in it but only $200 now). We are taking a night and going to the beach to see the lights (free hotel stay due to his travel points) and a nice dinner-- all of this is his idea too--, and he suggested I go up (with the kids of course) and spend New Years with my friends/family up in PA so I am surprised about that. He is going to try to come too for a day or two to have a late Christmas with my family as well. Things are all roses, but considering everything I am looking forward to seeing my dad and one of my brothers, the other is in England and his family is going there to spend Christmas with him in Ireland with his wife's family there. But DH is trying really hard, he even bought me a dozen roses on my birthday a couple days ago and a really nice card, I couldn't have been more surprised....normally I get nada, not even a card. Granted my daughter told him to get me flowers, but still, he went over the top. But I digress as usual....everyone just needs to stay within what they can afford, we are cutting back some of course, but I have a bit more wiggle room now that I have that vacation money coming. Do it every year and it is a lifesaver.

I'm a dog lover, and most dogs love me. - sm [2008-11-10]
I can be walking down the street, simply make eye contact with one and smile without saying a word, and the dog will usually rush up to me, wagging his tail like crazy and acting all silly and lovey-dovey. In the past, some of the absolute sweetest dogs I'd ever known were pits & rotties. But that was in the ྌs, before the big 'gangsta-dog' thing became popular. Then people started breeding these dogs more for a surly attitude than for good temperament, and it seems to be a dominant trait that's getting passed forward, even when unintended. So fast-forard to 2 weeks ago. I was out walking in my neighborhood, and was coming up a long flight of sidewalk stairs that go up the steep hill I live on. Halfway up, I saw a big brown pit bull standing there looking at me. I had seen him running loose on my street earlier in the day, and wondered whose he was, but then forgot about him. He had an aggressive body-language that I didn't like. But I'm not afraid of dogs, and continuned on up the steps, and talked to him nicely as I reached the top. But then the dog totally went off, and began barking, growling, and making charges at me. I knew to stand my ground, and first tried sweet-talking him. Didn't work. If I tried to slowly move away from him in any direction, he'd come around and try to come in at me from behind. There wasn't a soul around. I tried scaring him off, but that only exacerbated the problem, so I decided to just stand there and let him do his thing. 20 minutes later, he was just as aggressive as ever, maybe worse, because his charges were coming closer and closer. The only 'weapon' in my possession was a single can of cat food in a plastic bag, that I'd walked down the hill to the market to buy. Considered whacking him with it, but didn't want to be in that close to him. Turns out the owners were in an apartment right across the street. A couple finally came out and called off the dog, stating Oh, we didn (I doubt that - the dog had been out all afternoon.) Anyway, I told them I'd call the sheriff and/or animal control if I ever saw him out again. When I got home, I called animal control anyway, and filed a formal complaint, so that if he bit anyone in the future, there would already be a complaint against him, and he likely would not be released from the shelter. Animal control said they'd follow up with the owner, which hopefully they did. In the meantime, I did 2 things: I programmed the sheriff's phone numberinto my cellphone, which I now slip into my pocket whenever I go out for a walk. Good thing to do, anyway. The other thing is I went to Army-Navy Surplus, and bought a cannister of professional-grade pepper spray. Not the wimpy, .02% 'dog-repellent'. I doubt that would stop a pitbull. I got the 15% stuff that will bring a 200-pound, raging crack-addict to his knees and keep him there for more than an hour. That goes into my pocket, as well. Now I can walk & bike with peace of mind. Meanwhile, those pitbull owners should consider themselves very lucky that their dog went after someone who knows dogs, is not afraid, and didn't RUN. If a timid woman, or worse, a child, had come up those steps that afternoon, the resulting attack might have made the 6 o'clock news that night. There are probably still some gentle pits left out there, but I think their numbers are declining because of the current fashion statement of being a 'big bad gangsta, with my big, bad gansta-dog'. They want their dogs to intimidate people, and then they wonder why they can't rent an apartment or get homeowners insurance to cover dog bites. In some cities you have to post a $30,000 bond in order to keep one. It's little wonder that unwanted pits and pit-mixes are clogging up our animal shelters. I feel sorry for the animals, but if I were adopting, I wouldn't want the financial liability of owning one.

My brother has has Boxers and he took [2008-11-09]
How about the surgery was $6,000.00 and the PT was $125.00 a visit for about 8 weeks. Only the best for his dogs. Now, he's contemplating putting him down because he still can't walk. The other one had pancreatic cancer and surgery and just had an eye removed due to cataracts. This totals you guys are giving aren It's a shame these vets charge so much.

Heat Surge electric fire place [2008-11-09]
I posted a few weeks ago about an article I saw for a Heat Surge electric fireplace with a wooden mantle built by the Amish. Well I received it about 1.5 wks ago and I must say that it is absolutely beautiful! It is virtually noiseless, I seriously cannot hear it running at all. The brightness of the flame is adjustable and it has a low and a high heat setting. Best of all, it works! It does exactly what I had planned on and keeps the back of my house at a reasonable tempurature during the night so I do not have to worry about keeping the wood stove in the front going full blast all night. The kids turned it on one evening when they were playing pool and they actually ended up turning it off because it got to warm. So in my opinion, if you want something that is beautiful, well built, safe, and does provide more than enough heat for a room or two (mine is between the family room/kitchen which is all one long room) then it is absolutely worth the money.

Heat Surge electric fire place [2008-11-09]
I posted a few weeks ago about an article I saw for a Heat Surge electric fireplace with a wooden mantle built by the Amish. Well I received it about 1.5 wks ago and I must say that it is absolutely beautiful! It is virtually noiseless, I seriously cannot hear it running at all. The brightness of the flame is adjustable and it has a low and a high heat setting. Best of all, it works! It does exactly what I had planned on and keeps the back of my house at a reasonable tempurature during the night so I do not have to worry about keeping the wood stove in the front going full blast all night. The kids turned it on one evening when they were playing pool and they actually ended up turning it off because it got to warm. So in my opinion, if you want something that is beautiful, well built, safe, and does provide more than enough heat for a room or two (mine is between the family room/kitchen which is all one long room) then it is absolutely worth the money.

To pit bull owners and defenders: [2008-11-08]
Two weeks ago in mycity, an elderly demented man was found dead at home by his daughterreturned home from work. Autopsy confirmed that his death was caused by his daughterI I just can Why take chances when the outcome can be deadly? Thiswoman will be blaming herself for the rest of her life. All dogs bite, but pit bulls donstopuntil they havekilled.

Know the facts... [2008-11-08]
Get your facts straight http://www.pitbulllovers.com/pit-bulls-ten-things-you-should-know.html Pitbulls were NOT bred to attack humans. Unfortunately some humans trained pitbull attacks unless I was there & I heard & seen EXACTLY what happened, I am not about to pass judgement.

I love it too. We go a couple of times a month.. [2008-11-07]
spend about 500 bucks each time. Sometimes we come home with money, sometimes not, that the second time same thing, hit for 1500 bucks. I usually do pretty well, only play penny machines and have won as much as 800 bucks on one spin. We never spend more than 500 each. It's our vice and we enjoy it. We visit my family every year in Philly and for the 2 weeks we are there we usually gamble at least half the time. We save our money, take a couple of thousand with us for that purpose only and if we win great, if not, that's okay too.

Speaking of banks... [2008-11-06]
My DD opened her first checking acct a few weeks ago. She received her ATM card in the mail and, being a young woman, didn So she took the card to the bank and had it activated. After this, the PIN she selected at the bank would not work, so she took it back to have it changed. She walks into the bank, tells the woman she needs to change her PIN cause the original one doesn The kicker is...the woman at the bank DIDN'T EVEN CHECK HER ID!!! For all she knew, my DD coulda found that card and brought it in to change the PIN so she could use it!