To all those wondering about stimulus checks SM

free credit checks. [2008-10-26]
Is there a way to obtain your credit report for free? I have never checked it. I have always been afraid to, but now I would like to check it now matter how bad and figure on a way to make it better. I have looked on line and found several sites offering free credit checks, but then pay a monthly fee for something. I don I have too many straws in my bank account. I was wondering if my bank would do it or maybe an 800. If I ask, wouldI get laughed out of the building imaging something for free?TIA.

Wondering what you think... [2008-10-16]
If you saw a banner on a teenlegalize marijuana would you assume that the teen smokes pot?

i write checks [2008-10-11]
only when I have to, but I have adorable checks. I know it takes a BIT longer, but now with the new slide your own card, then type 100 keys just to say OK to the transaction it's about the same time, if you really think about it. The thing about people stopping in the middle of an aisle OMG why why WHY do they do that? GET OUT OF THE WAY, MOVE TO THE SIDE, BE CONSIDERATE!!! im with you on that one

I use checks, but have streamlined the process - sm [2008-10-11]
by filling out everything but the amount (date, signature, phone number) on the check, & entering all info. into my check register except the amount, before even leaving for the store. Check is torn out, and in my wallet where I can just pull it out, write in the total, hand it to the cashier, and take off as soon as she gives me the receipt. Nowadays their computer/cash machine setup takes only seconds to verify the check. I usually wait to fill in the amount in the check register until I get home. It's weird, but often I find it takes longer to pay with money than it does with a check. (Especially if I have a bunch of change and I'm trying to pay with the exact amount.) That seems to freak people out in line even more than using a check. Also, nowadays the checker ends up doing the bagging, too (seems the stores have cut WAY back on hiring baggers.) So as he or she finishes each bag, I put it in the cart from where I'm standing, so he or she doesn't have to walk around the counter to do it. And I grab things like milk jugs, big 12-pack soft-drink cartons, cat litter, and other big things that don't really need a bag. Anyway, I find doing just those few things seems to get me through the line pretty fast.

Just wondering with the dinner post below [2008-10-04]
and some others that istopping by and dropping off, has anyone on this board actually met? Between the animal lovers and wonderful food mentioned, wouldn't that be a great vacation to pick someone's hometown once a year and everyone gather?

LOL - Okay, my coworkers are wondering [2008-09-22]
why I'm laughing so hard. I love the pepper alley and the marshpillow (a little further down). We also used to call a creek a crick. A storm shelter has always been a fraidy hole My 7-year-old has always pronounced the restaurant Mexico Chiquito as Mexico Qachito.

thanks I was wondering too!! LOL [2008-09-03]
so the zinc helps dry out your hair? I used to get highlights for that purpose because my scalp is so oily; i wasn't aware that a dandruff shampoo would dry out your scalp, thanks!

arrested for bad checks - not Caylee [2008-08-30]
very unusual for someone to be arrested that way for bad checks, that scened was sooo dramatic. The cops must hate her too

I've been wondering about that [2008-08-11]
Do you really get a workout with it? I Do you sweat with the Wii Fit? Is there a weight limit?

I was also wondering how she had $$ or if [2008-07-19]
she had a job. Another card to play, and its tough, but you can just throw it out there, is that if she does not straighten up, for lack of a better word, that you would speak to her employer. She Though that is what she needs as well.Sorry if they don They just didnI was slick. I still got straight Awant to be kids in the end. Also, I would not let her drive, as you had mentioned. So, dropping her off at work and picking her up - that will be a lesson in humility for her as well, but again, she needs not humility as much as being reminded that she is under YOUR authority and not the boss, and not an adult. As others have said, its tough love, and a hard balancing act. Know that youbluff your way a bit thru some of this hard stuff. I would bluff my way to hoarseness if I knew my kids were doing half the stuff that I did at 16. Please don Praying, praying, praying for you, too.

Wondering [2008-07-06]
Wow! Forgive me, but I cannot even believe you are asking this question and even considering it! Forget trying to be the cool mom and do what you KNOW is right!

Wondering about your opinion . . . SM [2008-06-16]
I just read a story that one of the Charles Manson followers (female) who was involved in the Sharon Tate murder has brain cancer and is asking to be set free, 37 years later. What do you think? She claims of course that she is a changed person. I say she should finish out her sentence regardless. Just wondering about other's opinions.

still no stimulus check ! [2008-06-10]
Anyone else still waiting for their check to arrive via snail mail? Mine was supposed to be here a month ago. I

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

Stimulus checks [2008-06-03]
I had a letter a few months ago but not a week before it should have been mailed. According to the website mine was to be mailed NO LATER than 5/23 - and I still don't have it. :(

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

Well I got a notice from the IRS that I could expect my stimulus check by May 30 and I didnt [2008-05-30]
get it today. I will get mine by mail. I wonder how far off it comes from when they say it will come.

It was my understanding, the checks are mailed out on Fridays, and [2008-05-30]
delivered..provided the mailing address was correct! How much are stamps these days???

Would filing your taxes late affect your stimulus check? [2008-05-30]
We filed an extension, and then sent our return out about two weeks late. We are getting a refund, so it wasn It was just a complicated return and we were just procrastinators.

Re: Those economy-stimulation checks - sm [2008-05-29]
I still haven Worse, I just got one of those Return Information Noticesin the mail. Well, guess what? The state of Calif. dida little number-rearranging, (or should I maybe call it fuzzy math?), and my state income tax refund has been changed from over $300 down to ZERO. When you call the number on the website, and finally get a live person to help, they very helpfully refer you to someone who can go over it with you, and then the system tells you it And get THIS: The actually had a LOWER taxable income than I had calculated. So how do they figure I am suddenly owed NO refund? It sure sounds like thathow the gov Like I Looks like once again, this Calif.taxpayer has been Californicated.

I agree. We have to pay out a lot. The stimulus checks should be for everyone! sm [2008-05-29]
I owed 4800 this year. BUT no stimulus check. Ok, fine, can accept that btu shoudnstimulus check go toward what I owe!!! Sorry but my bills are going up just like everone else so I donextra either??

you can do the Where's my stimulus form [2008-05-24]
on the IRS site

To all those wondering about stimulus checks SM [2008-05-12]
who are not direct deposit . . Got mine in the mail Friday and my last two numbers were 06.

more stimulus news . . . [2008-05-12]
I just found out that if you had you taxes done by a financial institution like HR Block and you chose to have their fee taken from your refund then you receive your stimulus by mailed check, so you should check the mailing schedule, not direct deposit

Tax stimulus [2008-05-09]
Anybody with a ss# ending in 00-09 get their stimulus in the mail yet? I am not referring to direct deposit...only via mail. My ss# falls in this category and I don't have a car. Don't want to waste money on a cab to the post office unless I have a pretty good indication that the check might be there. I live in GA. Thanks

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

Me too - I want to know [2008-11-28]
I was thinking about you yesterday and today wondering how that all worked out.

Question Re: Teenagers [2008-11-26]
Would anyone here let their 13-yo daughter hang out in your front yard with 3 neighborhood boys, ages 13, 14 and 15? Also wondering what other people think about allowing a 13-yo girl to go a pizza place to hang out/have pizza with boys (no adults)? This is not something I feel comfortable with but my daughter is trying to tell me this is something other girls her age are allowed to do. What do you all think?

So It's 0200 PST.... [2008-11-22]
And I'm taking a 10-minute break from transcribing and was just wondering... Any other nightowls here working the graveyard shift? Or any other nightowls not working but just up perusing the boards? I know what I'm always doing at 2 a.m., but was curious to see what everyone else who's awake might be up to. Hope you're having a lovely night

I do very little on the way of beading actually... [2008-11-22]
I do for my own personal uses mostly. I do some drawing, painting, a few crafts. I took a lot of art in high school, but no college level, though I have been considering it. I have this thing I do every year for halloween and I make my decorations myself. People always tell me I should sell my stuff, but I have no idea where to even start. Some of my creations are my babies so I have a hard time parting with them. I was just wondering if anyone had any pointers on how to get over that?

Does anyone on here have interstitial cystitis?...sm [2008-11-14]
I was just wondering. I was diagnosed with this in September after having problems for a while with my bladder. It is a painful and fustrating illness. I was just looking for someone else who knows how I feel. It comes and goes. I mean I am not in pain all the time but sometimes.

What we do - [2008-11-13]
I have always had a plan, but I am very cautious about money and always have been. We do not spend beyond what my hubby makes, which fortunately is plenty to live on because MT sure does not pay me what it used to. I save all my checks and then as much of his as I can each month. Cut out ALL extras if you have not already and save, save, save every little bit you can. If your cars are killing you, can you sell them (and not take a bath on them!) and get something cheaper? Either you or hubby may want to get a holiday job for some extra cash and a store discount for a little shopping for gifts. Hope I offered some ideas. I do not know a single person who is not nervous about money right now to some degree. Hang in there! :-)

It's all just to confusing and weird to me [2008-11-13]
I know it's a woman with man parts, but since he/she now looks like a man, it's just too strange. I was also wondering how the wife was breastfeeding.

My BP dropped from 134/94 to 108/80 - sm [2008-11-12]
so I am obviously a bit less stressed out than I was...was wondering if it was stress or hereditary....dad and mom both have/had high BP....obviously it was stress. So that is a step in the right direction health-wise anyway, now to drop 60+ pounds.....

Question for abc [2008-11-11]
You are presuming what she understands, or doesn I took it to mean she was being sarcastic and mock-humble in stating only 99.6. Her tone was a bit smart-alecky, but I found it amusing, especially since people have also called me too smart for my own good before. Usually it means watch it, smarty-pants when people say that, and is used by an older authority figure on a bright youngster that is being a brat. I So what if she doesn Personally, I think its fun to yank their chains on forums.

With the holidays fast approaching... [2008-11-10]
I am wondering how your kids found out about Santa. My son has never led us to believe he doesnI found outthat he told a young cousin about the truths of Santa, E. Bunny, etc. My husband and I feel like we should approach him about this,not with the intent of being in trouble, but just to let him know that he shouldn Under the circumstances, I think he said it to be spiteful because he didn't want to go to bed for the tooth fairy to come. I know as a child I was afraid that the holidays would cease to exist if they found out that I (the youngest) knew the truth. It was my older sibling who finally talked me into spilling the beans so no one had to get up early in the morning. I wonder if it may be a similar circumstance. Normally he is very open and honest with us and asks questions and discusses things that most other kids would find embarrasing, etc. He is a very good kid and I was very surprised to find out that he did this.

Asthma info [2008-11-08]
So I haven Something I have just been thinking about recently and thought this might be a good place to start. Who knows, maybe someone here has looked into this topic before and can give me some good info. or starting place. :) I have had asthma since early childhood. My mother was recently diagnosed with it for the first time in her late 50s. I am wondering if there is a genetic/hereditary link (or possibility of) and it is something that I should keep in mind with my children. I had always thought it was more due to environmental with me but now I wonder if there could be more to it with my mom being diagnosed. I also have pretty severe allergies and my niece was diagnosed with the same, both of us at the age of 3.

I can see why some folks are giving up their pets [2008-11-08]
I just took Spot and Nerys to the vet for routine senior kitty blood checks. I also got Nerys a refill on her prednisalone. It cost $325. Those furballs had better appreciate it tonight when I shove pills down their throats.

Banks sm [2008-11-07]
I agree with the above poster. Your bank dropped the ball here. Did you write void on the check? Also I wouldnYou need somethingin writing from them and/or Wal-Mart. I hate the way Wal-Mart does their checks now. How do they know it is you that is cashing that check? A person could find or steal a checkbook and start signing andcashing checks at Wal-Mart. They don One more reason I don

Thanks [2008-11-05]
I was just wondering if someone had like an old school family recipe or something they didn't mind sharing. I like learning to make things from scratch. I actually made Ravioli from scratch last weekend! Noodles and all! That was fun! P.S. What is the difference between the Main board and Gab board? I get so confused!

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

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

do you talk about it? [2008-11-03]
This place is what I mean.... Sometimes I mention to people, that 'someone on the MTStars' said this or that, and they look at me like I have three heads or something!I just seem to know lots of people who don't even KNOW what a message board is ... just wondering if it's cause I live up here in the boonies?

Let's start a why do they thread! [2008-11-03]
Why do they make spice jar openings to small for a measuring spoon?Why to they pkg 8 hot dogs and then pkg 6 buns? you never catch up!Why does yellow mustard opening plug up and when you shake it, it squirts yellow oil?Why do credit card cos send blank checks through the mail, forcing you to open all of it?okay next?

A survey. See inside [2008-11-03]
Just wondering - those of you who have 16/17 year old children, what are your rules on going out during the week, other than sports or work. I let my teen go out socially on Friday and Saturday night. During the week I feel should be dedicated to school and her part-time job and I'm okay with maybe going for coffee in the afternoon if there is time, or maybe even dinner, but not all the time and don't feel she should be out at night. Especially now that days are shorter and we're headed towards winter. Just wondering how everyone else does it with their teens.

Ideas . . . thoughts on this? [2008-10-31]
Good afternoon, I am hopeful someone here can answer my question. Does anyone here type for a pediatrician? I was wondering . . . if a child bent all four fingers in a backwards position, would this action cause a lump to form on the back of the hand? Why do I ask? Well my daughter (in first grade) came home from school with a lump on the back of her tiny hand. At first she did not tell me what happened, but it has since come out that the bully in the class bent her fingers backwards. I I had planned to take her to our doctor to have it checked out, but today the lump is gone. I wrote a note to the school teacher asking that this child (the bully) be kept away from my daughter�now there seems to be this big coverup. This little boy was always in trouble in kindergarten and he was known to throw chairs etc.. .. you name it. As a matter of fact the kindergarten teacher couldn My daughter told me that when this finger bending/spitting occurred that her music teacher sent the boy to the office for punishment . . . now the school claims he was never sent to the office, like this never occurred. And no, I wasn Also, I should mention other parents found out there were coverups over bad behavior when this boy was in kindergarten. What should I do? Would a lump result from this type of bending of the hand? I guess I have to wire my daughter to find out what is going on in the classroom. Any suggestions or answers?

Good idea! [2008-10-31]
Next time I will take photos. The kindergarten teacher tried to get this kid the appropriate help but the school administration stood in the way. It's horrible. All the kindergarten parents were upset -- we even went to the papers. Nothing worked. This bully hit a girl on the head last year with a chair. He didn't get punished. I'm wondering what happened to the Zero Tolerance policy?

Crazy quilt [2008-10-29]
I was wondering if anyone had ever made a crazy quilt just by sewing old scrap material onto a sheet. I inherited a sewing machine and tons of scrap material. I also still have my children Mom said it comes out too heavy doing it that way. I don I don I am afraid though If I get someone else to do it, they would charge me an arm and a leg. Does anyone out there have any information on this? H and I could really use something this winter. The old quilt I have on there has a hole in it.

free credit checks. [2008-10-26]
Is there a way to obtain your credit report for free? I have never checked it. I have always been afraid to, but now I would like to check it now matter how bad and figure on a way to make it better. I have looked on line and found several sites offering free credit checks, but then pay a monthly fee for something. I don I have too many straws in my bank account. I was wondering if my bank would do it or maybe an 800. If I ask, wouldI get laughed out of the building imaging something for free?TIA.

Has anyone used Stanley Steamer [2008-10-23]
Most of my house has hard flooring, but our family room has a fairly expensive wool carpet that we installed 4 years ago. It's never been cleaned, and it really needs it. I have a quote of $101 from Stanley Steamer to clean the carpet in there. I could rent a machine and do it myself (if I had the time). I'm wondering if it's worth it to pay for someone else to come in and take care of it. Has anyone used Stanley Steamer before? Yeas or Nays?