That would be me (poster) and as a NY City person....

This shows what one person, acting [2008-11-29]
upon their thoughts, can do. Look how many lives were touched and the day made special. thanks for sharing.

he's not a real person, but that feeling is real - the magic. nm [2008-11-26]
.

What a wonderful person you are [2008-11-25]
To think about taking in and caring for animals the way you do. I'm the same exact way. I saw you had 2 Maine coons. I take it you live in the state of Maine? If so, I love it there. I grew up in CT. Anyway... please, please, please go get him or her. With the winter coming I'd hate to think of any animal outside in the cold. Your deck would provide shelter for the harsh winter, and you said you'd provide food, a warm place to lseep and vet care. That is so wonderful and what makes you a wonderful person. You know you have 4 inside cats, so what's another one. Cats are a bundle of joy. I wish our cat would get along with other cats, but she doesn't. She was abandoned and we took her in (or rather she adopted us). If you have cats already I'm sure your husband is a very kind person and cares deeply too and I'm sure he wouldn't mind just one more little kitty. For your own conscious and well being I would take the kitty in. Otherwise you will always worry about her/him all the time and wonder if he's cold or hungry and what is happening to him. P.S. - my dad took in stray cats and he ended up with 24 cats (mostly outside). He said there was no way he would ever consciously let a cat suffer from the cold or be hungry or lonely. Over time some coyotes got some and now he is down to 7 cats and he loves them all.

Fourth largest city in US [2008-11-23]
with strong sense of pride and community, economically sound, cutting edge medical facilities, greatest mayor ever, friendly folks, culture of all sorts and decidedly international in nature.

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

Agree with poster below that [2008-11-20]
you need to get out of that situation, especially after reading what you son said. He is being damaged, and I have seen firsthand what that damage can do to you as an adult. Dysfunctional doesn't begin to describe it. Take action ASAP. I wish you the best of luck, I know it isn't easy.

The other poster is correct.... [2008-11-19]
I think it was on What Not To Wear or one of those shows where I heard if you have that problem it is because the cup size is not big enough for you. With that size naturally I wouldnpush up because those have a lot of extra padding to give the push. Maybe go to a store in the mall and talk to them. Surely they will have a suggestion for your size and style interest. Doesn't mean you have to buy it there, just get the idea and then go to Target or someplace and buy what you want a little less expensive.

Anonamiss, you are a sweet person too [2008-11-16]
and you I I had a neighbor drop 2 elderly ponies offin my pasture under the pretense of needing a place for them to stay for a week until she sold them.I fed and cared for them for half a year before my husband called her and demanded she come pick them up. They went to a really good home at a therapeutic riding stable that same day, thankfully, but it turned out she was trying to get money for them all that time and HER husband didnUGH. I would have kept them myself if it came down to a choice between that and letting them go back to her. Blondie, men don Women are caretakers by nature. I think your husband and his friend are inconsiderate and immature, but my husband is like that too. So glad to know the dogs don't hurt the rabbits!

Craft person sm [2008-11-16]
If someone is a craftperson and likes to sew, I have seen these doll clothes at craft shows for reasonable prices. I donlabel clothes or just to fit the doll. As for the dolls themselves, I don't know. Perhaps your local town has a regional newspaper that advertises for less than the metropolitan editions. Good luck with it, they are expensive and I hope someone can help you.

Craft person sm [2008-11-16]
If someone is a craftperson and likes to sew, I have seen these doll clothes at craft shows for reasonable prices. I donlabel clothes or just to fit the doll. As for the dolls themselves, I don't know. Perhaps your local town has a regional newspaper that advertises for less than the metropolitan editions. Good luck with it, they are expensive and I hope someone can help you.

Poster below is right -- this Saturday [2008-10-27]
Nov 1, before you go to bed, set your clocks back 1 hour. Spring forward, Fall back. Happy Halloween!!!

Am I the last person on earth to know... [2008-10-20]
that queen latifah is gay? She is marrying her longtime GF. http://www.denverpost.com/celebritybuzz/ci_9488366 I never gave her sexlife any thought, but it surprised me to hear this.

I saw that in the latimes. the poster didn't take that. [2008-10-18]
nm

above poster is not shellly I am [2008-10-17]
I sign my name to my posts. I actually signed off and left to make dinner. that was not me

Agree with this poster, you cannot let [2008-10-17]
this slide. Also, if he is posting pictures on the Internet, in certain parts of the country schools monitor this and they can and have taken action against the student. You need to be firm on this and definitely discuss it with his father. So what if your son is devastated by his father's reaction, in the long run it is the best for him.

In a city with a large gay/lesbian population, gay -sm [2008-10-16]
marriage is an everyday issue. The kids hear both sides of it. They're not isolated in coccoons, and they watch TV and see the negative ads running right now. If they go to Sunday school, then they probably get fed a large dose of fear and intolerance there, as well. I think it IS educational for a bunch of SF kids to go see a wedding, especially if it's their own teacher. They already know she's gay. And they already know she's are real human being that they probably all love. What they get out of the experience is a very strong reason to question the hatred & bigotry surrounding the issue of who should be allowed to marry, and who should not.

It is strange. I will bet all of them have at least one person in their family [2008-10-16]
nm

So what? It's a minor blip in everyday city life. [2008-10-16]
X

You think gay people are the equivalent of a person [2008-10-16]
Addiction to anything is a disease, an illness, a condition. An addiction to drugs is no different than someone obese with an addiction to food. Come on! You are out in left field on this one.

I agree with the other poster. [2008-10-16]
Unless its a kid that you know has been in trouble before, I wouldn't assume anything. My son is not a teenager yet but he says things that he just says because he thinks someone else will think its funny or cool...not because he is doing it or agrees. I also have 3 older nephews, in and just beyond teenage years, and they do the same thing. Two are great kids, they say things but clearly do not participate. Being the aunt they tell a lot more with honesty than they do to the parents. The other...well is just irresponsible. I think he says a lot to keep up with people too but wouldn't put anything past him if peer pressure is involved. Just his personality and demeanor says a lot. If you sit down with a teenager and talk to them as if they are adult you would be surprised some times at the things they will tell you in honesty.

My state you yield to the person to the left [2008-10-14]
nm

not so much a cat person but... these little ones get me every time!!! [2008-10-09]
adorable!

We have a city ordinance about pit bulls [2008-10-06]
You have to provide proof of $100,000 insurance to have it; it cannot roam free; and anyone has the right to kill it if they feel they are under attack. If your pit is found running free, it is put down. Pits do not have to be used for fighting to be aggressive. It is part of their nature - far more aggressive than other dogs. Yes, I've had plenty of up close and personal experiences with pits that were friendly but that has nothing to do with their underlying aggressive nature. Dangerous animal.

I disagree with the other poster [2008-09-30]
While forgiveness is divine, forgetting is just plain dumb. I would not let this incident go by without discussing it with the mother of the daughter as well as the teacher and the school principal. Personal space or not, that girl had no right to put her hands on your son. She was not defending herself. She was not in harms If she gets away with this now, it will only continue. In public school, this kind of thing would be handled by suspension of the girl. Boy or girl, big or small, every child has the right to feel safe in school. That See to it that this private school enforces it. Only you can make them accountable. I realize how angry you must be right now, but hopefully by posting this and sleeping on it tonight, you

You're right. It's totally dead. Just that Cat Person. Why? [2008-09-26]
NM

Why don't you just hang out with [2008-12-01]
your older sister that you enjoy being with? Simple as that. Nobody is forcing you to feed your sister You probably just want to get along with everybody which isn Just don You sound like a very nice person but maybe too nice to your sisters and they take advantage of you. Remember, nice guys finish last and start getting a little tougher. Don It sounds like you worry too much about what your sisters think of you. Go a week without talking to them and see if your self-esteem improves. Your sisters sound very toxic. Good-luck and let us all know how you are doing.

I agree with Stardust and Deb...... [2008-12-01]
your sisters are toxic and you need to let them go. Even though they are family, there is no reason why you have to put up with that crap. When people take away your happiness knowingly, it is time to let go. It sounds as though you have done all you could and things obviously are not going to get better. Keep your relationship with your older sister but cut ties with the others. I have an aunt who is like that. Unfortunately she is 80 so because of that, I try to suck it up but it is so hard. If she were younger, I would have cut all communication long ago. She is abusive, insults me at every chance, etc. Funny how I am the only one who calls her every two days and goes up to see her all the time. When I call or go up, it is very stressful. I know what you are dealing with and no one should have to feel inadequate at the expense of another person.

I have something in my past [2008-12-01]
That I haven't told my husband and I don't plan on it. No one but me and one other person knows about it and the other person is long gone. It was something medical, and no it wasn't an unwanted pregnancy or anything like that. There's no need for him to know since I didn't know my husband back then and it doesn't have any bearing on anything in our relationship now.

2 problems with hubby - any advice??? [2008-11-30]
Problem #1: His hearing. He will not go to the doctor, complains to me all the time that he can not hear me and talks SO loud. I can't tell him anything in the stores or I might as well announce it over the loud speaker which in turn creates an argument (hence, miserable day out shopping yesterday). Problem #2:I dread this time of year with him. He turns into this greedy person that is beyond comprehension for me. Every time he opens his mouth it I always grew up being thankful for what I got and can I never ask for items for Christmas - I appreciate the thoughtfulness that a person puts into getting me something (even if it I also believe the kids come first (3, 2 of which are teenagers) and we buy for them first but it seems I always have to budget my money for the kids and then for him. He does not like inexpensive items either. The last few months I'm the only one who has bought gifts for the kids - he hasn't spent any of his money and is counting on a bonus from his employer that may or may not come through and you never know how much it's going to be. Sorry - and thanks for letting me vent. I've been so stressed lately.

Men [2008-11-30]
I think his quality of life would go up if he'd be willing to see an audiologist and have his hearing evaluated. There are a lot of new technologies on the market these days. They will usually allow a person to take a device home for a trial before purchase. But it sounds like he doesn't want to admit his body is aging. He still wants to act like a kid and spend money on toys instead of health. My hubby is 50, and is just now realizing sometimes expensive electronics just aren't in a real-world budget. I haven't cared about gifts since I was a kid. I found gifts very disappointing and giving them a lot of work, so thank goodness we only buy for nieces and nephews now and all the adults go without. It had just become a silly exchange of gift cards anyway.

I just need to VENT and see what you all think...Beware...this is long...sm [2008-11-30]
I have tried twice to tell this story but deleted it both times because the story is just too long so I will be as short as I can. I have a bunch of ROTTEN TO THE CORE sisters.My sisters are just about the worst people I have ever met in my whole 43 years on this planet. There is one who is especially bad and I just told my other sister that if she ever dies, to please not call me as I won I come from a very large family with 5 sisters and 1 brother with my brother being the oldest. He is not involved. He sort ofleft the family years ago because he couldn They did terrible things to him after his divorce. We rarely see him now.I am considered a scumbag and a loser because my husband and I don We don We don We can We love our children with everything in our souls. They have made fun of me and my husband and insulted us to our faces.My husband and I have a difficult marriage as he is tough to get along with so they hate my husband My sistershave all gone out to dinner without inviting me. I have found out because of someone They have made threats and sent rumors flying throughout the family, without me knowing, about calling DCYF on me. I heard that one too from a slip of the tongue. I cried for 2 hours in the shower that day. They talk about everyone and I mean everyone badly. They have awell known reputation ina couple of our towns here for being mean horrible girls. They are about as fake and phony as a person can get. Sweet and all smiles to your face and when you turn around, they stick that knife in as far as they can get it in. They have what they have in their lives because of what someone has given them. My sister had her property given to her by her in-laws. It is worth about $1,000,000. My other sister had land given to her by her husbandto lessen their mortage burden so now they owe almost nothing on their $500,000 house. They think they are fabulous people. They think they are the cat In the past years when we were all talking and I would be invited to a holiday, I was not spoken to at all the whole time I was there. I am a venter and I always have been so if my husband and I are fighting, I will always go to my older sister (one up from me) and vent and vent until I can She gets on the phone the second I leave and tells every person in my family what is going on. They in turn judge me and my husband, make their threats, and so on. This is also happening to my oldest sister and her partner (she is in a gay relationship but was always dating a man and was married twice) and my sister The three of us, me, my sister and her partner, and my sister We get along well. We are happy with each other. We don Whatever happens in each other lives, we just accept it and don I now attend holidays at my sister I don I don The sisters (I like to call them the Witches of Eastwick) all attend holidays with each other up at my sister The three of us are not invited. My older sister has a son. Several yeas ago, my sister and her partner had a terrible fight with him. He went to the witches and told them a bunch of lies and now they have pretty much shunned her and her daughter and me too because we still talk to her.I have a sister, who is involved in all of this, that I speak to on a regular basis. She is close to my kids or at least my oldest son. She pretty much ignores my other two children and they tell me, It She is the one who has spread rumors about me in the family trying to get everyone to call DCYF on me. I heard this too by a slip of the tongue from another sister a few years back. I tend to be a forgiving person so I quietly forgave her for this without her ever knowing that I knew what she was trying to do. Now that they are all inviited to the holidays up to my sister They are extremely fat just like her. These holiday trips up north are usually kept quiet and I only know about it the day before they are leaving to go, which is when she inevitably asks me to come feed her f******g cats. This is how Iknow that a big party is going on up at the cabin and once again only the chosen selected few are going. This is usually for 3 or 4 days and they get fed twice a day so I have to goto her house twice a day. Sometimes I have to give them medication and the last time she asked me, I even had to soak her sick cat She lives about 20 minutes away from me. This girl would NEVER, NEVER, EVER do this for me. My husband and I took our children on a cruise 3 years ago and we have a cat and I never asked her to do this for me as I know she would have laughed in my face. I have been feeding her cats for years now when she goes away. Keep in mind though that she was in the select chosen few to be invited up to the cabin. I was not as I am considered trash in the family. I am SICK AND TIRED of feeding this girl My sister who invites everyone to go is a mean, horrible, sadistic, vicious, backstabbing wretched b***h. No one will say anything to her like, Gee Pat, where is everyone else? Didn They could care less. All they know is that THEY were invited. Anyway, I am sorry this is so long. I cananymore. I have been thinking of this all day all weekend long. I am really to the point where I just don I am goingto tell my fat a** b***h sister to fnd another way to get her cats fed because I She is just using me and believe me when I tell you, she enjoys it. She is verydiabolical. She loves it that I am not invited and she and her husband are.She even questions me and counts the cat food cans to make sure that I came on all of the days they were gone. These people have balls of brass and I have had ENOUGH.I am just sitting and waiting patiently for the next time she says, Oh, we Can you come and feed the cats? I just canNo. I can I will never feed your cats again! Find some other sucker to do it! I believe that they are severely narcissistic people and this is nothing to take lightly.These types of people are very destructive. Do any of you have family members like this and what do you do about them? How do you stop them from making you feelsad, lonely, excluded andless than you are or deserve? I think it is time for me to cut all ties with them. I just can

They also are looking for the people who stepped all over her... [2008-11-29]
because no one came forward...like you don't know that you are stepping on a person??? So sad...

we don't exchange gifts either [2008-11-29]
We stopped exchanging gifts about 30 years ago. When my husband and I first approached the subject, we met with some resistance, but we stood our ground and said we would not be buying gifts. My husband is the oldest in a family of 7. By the time they all married and had children, the number could have been quite staggering to buy for. I was a surprise baby, my sisters being greater than 11 years older than I am, so when they began their families I was too young to buy anything to buy for them and so never started doing so. Now both of our families agree the holidays are much more enjoyable without the stress of the gift buying, worrying about what to get, how much, will the like it, can I afford it, etc., etc. The true gift of Christmas is the love we feel for our families and all we ask is time with them, and everyone agrees on this. We usually bake or take small treats to the families are who have misfortune of spending Christmas at the Ronald McDonald House in our city due to the illness of a child. Often the other kids in the family (the healthy ones) get lost in the shuffle of caring for a child with cancer. There is no gift one can give as great as giving and bringing joy to a family in such a situation. Anyway, my point is that there may be others in the family who will feel the same way, that it is just too stressful, and you may find that they will appreciate the holidays much more if the gift stress is taken out of the equation. I should add here, I do buy something for my own children but usually one or two things and my grandchildren because, after all, Santa still comes (!) and I do think Christmas gift giving is for children. Watching my little ones open is a gift a truly a fun thing to do and makes me happy. I do ask my kids not to buy for me or my husband because they have young families and can't afford the extra money. I have always told them I would rather they spend time with me any day then go out and buy a gift.

Has society become this bad and why [2008-11-29]
I saw the post down below about the Wal-Mart worker. Here is a new article that just came out (link below). The police are now looking at video surveillance to see who trampled this poor worker to death. Personally I hope they find all responsible and prosecute them to the fullest. It doesn I like their store just fine, it is what society is doing to people that nobody even bothered to stop and help this person. I grew up in the 60s/70s in a small town in New England. Maybe I'm old fashioned but my parents/grandparents taught me better than this. I just can And for what? Getting a Christimas item? This is one of many reasons why I do my Christmas shopping (what very little I do) online and gift cards. I think the traditions of the big shopping day the day after Thanksgiving should go away. I really donlove thy neighbor, not trample, bite, and spit at them so you can grab that item. (BTW - you can shop online at Walmart too). I think to myself that I thought the spirit of Christmas was supposed to celebrate Christ. Oh yeah, I'm sure he is so proud of people like those who harm others and cause death so they can get what they want. I hope those guilty are sitting at home worrying about whether or not their face is going to show up on the video camera. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081129/D94OJ4NG0.html

you sound like me - [2008-11-29]
for the past couple of years, I have said, let's forget the gifts and just spend the day together at my mom's house -- but oh no, that would be horrible if we did not buy presents. This year, my sister's husband lost his job and now it's automatic, we are not going to be buying gifts. I always wonder, why is it that one person in the family always seems to make the decisions for everybody else?

Wal-Mart worker dies after shoppers knock him down [2008-11-28]
just read about it online. people are jerks. I can remember one time being in a line for ice cream at a fair, a very long line, and the person behind me was pushed right up against me. If anything like that ever happens again, i will turn around and says, keep your freakin boobs off me, you weirdie.

holiday shopping [2008-11-28]
Did anyone see on the news the WalMart employee trampled to death by the mob storming the place when the doors opened? What a sad commentary that is on society. I will be saying a prayer for this person's family.

i read that the mob broke the doors down [2008-11-28]
if they got it on camera, i think whoever knocked this person down should be held accountable.

Boy men are such children - sm [2008-11-26]
my DH is a j*e*r*k like that too sometimes. He refuses to stay at my dad's house because he re-married so quickly after my mom died. (he wants to stay in hotel--which is very expensive where they live--....though we have not done it yet because as yet he has refused to go, so I go w/o him and the kids and I have lots of fun--he did go once 2 years ago though he made us stay at a friends apartment, very silly). There is more to it than that but that is a big part of it, and he thinks my stepmom's family thinks he is a loser. He is hung up on what people think about him and imagines slights, looks, etc. all the time, very hard to live with. But he know I will leave him in the dust and do what I want as he is acting like a 2-year-old. I would just go and not worry about him acting like a baby. If you stay home with him you will be mad, resent him for making you miss out spending time with your mom (which you will regret if something happened to her any time soon), and probably have a boring day at home while he watched football all day and you cook or twiddle your thumbs. He will probably never be the bigger person and bite his tongue and go, though he should. Men really are babies though at times.

just go, forget this child play and really, really enjoy ---- [2008-11-26]
yourself without him. He'll change his tune. If you allow this behavior and kiss pratt for it - you'll have to do that whatever and whenever the whim suits him. agree with other poster - he he can't put himself aside for a couple of hours for your sake and the sake of the whole family...then it is he the problem.

Depends on who's bringing the desserts. [2008-11-26]
In my family some of us are cooks and some aren So it depends on who brings what. If it If Ibringing dessert, I usually make the pies.I have a sister who does not cook, so she always buys them. BUT she buys really good ones from local pie shop.For the first time, this year my 12 yo niece has been put in charge of dessert for Thanksgiving, with my SIL overseeing it. She I P.S. I do have a pumpkin pie stashed here at the house for later tomorrow night though!

Your mom probably didn't want you to [2008-11-25]
give your kids McDYour mom probably sees in you the parent she wishes she had been. It may help to tellyour mom yourealize she did the best she could. She must have done something right because you sound like a pretty decent person.

STOP IT [2008-11-25]
quit putting yourself down - Your child will never hate you - your husband will not hate you - You have done nothing wrong.. SOME people today do put too much emphasis on material things -but you know as well as I do that material things are not that important. . Your heart is what is important. . Love your child and husband and continue being the good person you are - Do you think those people are better than you because they have a lot of land? No - they may have more money but they are no better - and from the way they treat other people - it sounds like they are not as good as you. . And the gifts you gave the child were fine - people would be a lot better off playing board games with their kids than letting them play video games all the time.

I think you hit the nail on the head. [2008-11-25]
I have also had a few more days to think about what the other posters said too. Whether I want to admit it or not, hormones do make the moment seem worse and make me want to snap into all or nothing. You have some great ideas. I agree that she didn't need to get me a gift if she wasn't coming to the shower, and probably would have preferred that rather than get me a gift of the wrong gender. At any rate, I will send her a nice thank you and call her to see how her wedding went since I was not able to be there for the big day. I will also make mention to her that evening before I leave that I would still like to see her, if even for a few minutes. It's a male/female shower at a sports bar so if nothing else I would like to get to know her husband better. I don't want this to ruin the small bit of friendship we still have left or my shower but she was honestly the only person I was really looking forward to being at my shower. but I must get over that and be greatful that we are still friends in some way.

I think what you did was great. [2008-11-25]
I'm sorry it turned out that way. You are right, most kids don't play board games or card games any more and lack imagination and development that is necessary for school. I think you can have a mix of both but sadly many parents don't uphold guidelines in their household and it's easier for them to let the TV/video games babysit their children. It is also sad that they are acting so childish when you are grown adults with children of your own. I wouldn't make any effort to be around them or be friendly any further. The mom of the birthday boy, maybe invite her to coffee or a playplace for the kids, just the 2 of you and get to know her better. I can understand that and think it would help her to see what a good person you are and make her own opinion despite what the others may or may not say to her. If she doesn't seem receptive, let it go. You can't control what happens at school but keep your eyes and ears open. If there are any problems that develop between the 2 friends at school, I would address it with the teacher.

What a wonderful person you are [2008-11-25]
To think about taking in and caring for animals the way you do. I'm the same exact way. I saw you had 2 Maine coons. I take it you live in the state of Maine? If so, I love it there. I grew up in CT. Anyway... please, please, please go get him or her. With the winter coming I'd hate to think of any animal outside in the cold. Your deck would provide shelter for the harsh winter, and you said you'd provide food, a warm place to lseep and vet care. That is so wonderful and what makes you a wonderful person. You know you have 4 inside cats, so what's another one. Cats are a bundle of joy. I wish our cat would get along with other cats, but she doesn't. She was abandoned and we took her in (or rather she adopted us). If you have cats already I'm sure your husband is a very kind person and cares deeply too and I'm sure he wouldn't mind just one more little kitty. For your own conscious and well being I would take the kitty in. Otherwise you will always worry about her/him all the time and wonder if he's cold or hungry and what is happening to him. P.S. - my dad took in stray cats and he ended up with 24 cats (mostly outside). He said there was no way he would ever consciously let a cat suffer from the cold or be hungry or lonely. Over time some coyotes got some and now he is down to 7 cats and he loves them all.

D and Jane [2008-11-25]
I was so surprised to see D and Jane books in our local book store this past weekend. I didn't think they were still in print. When I told my daughter about them she looked at me like I had two heads! LOL. I didn't realize I couldn't type out D???. I couldn't even use the ! in it like the poster above.

Go get him, but PLEASE neuter him! [2008-11-25]
I think you Good luck with the kitty.

Go get him, but PLEASE neuter him! [2008-11-25]
I think you Good luck with the kitty.

Me too....in the suburbs, outskirt of Philly. sm [2008-11-24]
Grew up in Philly, moved about 15 minutes out of the city. Love it here!!