What a lovely letter...sm

Really lovely. Thanks for posting. I don't [2008-11-03]
xx

Really lovely. Thanks for posting. I don't [2008-11-03]
xx

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

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

That is lovely. nm [2008-09-04]
x

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lovely [2008-02-26]
by Sarah Jessica Parker

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

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

In lovely Montana. :-) nm [2007-12-30]
x

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And a lovely thought at that. nm [2007-11-15]
!

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

I think you are an inspiration for wanting to do this....sm [2008-11-16]
I guess a lot of us can relate; I have 2 or 3 people from my past that have moved far away and I have no way of finding them right now, but please believe me, I truly want to do the same thing, go to them and make peace, to say be able to forgive each other and leave things on good terms. Regrets and guilts can slowly eat away, and it is good for your own personal health to do this, you must feel so much better. WE all mess up, we all need forgiveness now and then, or to grant forgiveness. You are a lovely person with integrity, honor, and caring to do this, such a lovely post to read!!!

My thirst is Sjogren's disease! sm [2008-11-15]
I am always, always and forever chronically thirsty, but I don't have the polyuria to go with it. I have dry eyes, dry nose (to a point where it is usually pretty full of scabs), dry mouth with caries at the gumline. I have gastroparesis and proctalgia fugax which often go with Sjogren's just like the rest of it. Dry skin and feeling like you are drying out from the inside out is part of it. I even get a nasty, clay-like sludgy feeling in my mouth and throat from my stomach being too dry to digest. It is misery and even better than a gallon of water a day doesn't fix the dry feeling, but it keeps my kidneys from shutting down from being dry. Lovely huh?

I need some advice [2008-11-15]
Ok this is the story: My husband is still friends with his first girlfriends family. This does not bother me. She did a couple of things to really disgrace her family when she was dating him but after a period of time he still kept in touch with them as we live in a very small community. When we met and got engaged they were all very kind to me and the mother even did the cake and flowers for our wedding. The ex is never around much so no big deal. Well this past weekend her great grandmother passed. My husband had known this woman for sometime and the mother asked him to come to the funeral and told me I was not to feel like I shouldnI. To which the ex rolled her eyes and looked at her HUSBAND. So we walked away. To tell you the truth, we didn't really care. Well we get a phone call about an hour ago from the exum we aren Well, knowing how immature the ex and her husband are, we knew they were behind this (plus we could hear them in the background). So my husband told the boy Look, it Well a few minutes later he gets a text message from the brother saying my mom can (which obviously is not true since we saw her Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon and she was obviously not mental). So my husband sent back a message saying Look, whatever issues your sister has with me and your mom having an ADULT friendship, she needs to take those up with your mom, but quit trying to start drama. Well a few minutes later the phone rings. My husband handed me the phone. Knowing how mad he was at the moment, I answered. It was the ex. She asked if she could talk to him, and I said No. This needs to stop right now, it She said well my mom is really going crazy and she can. She went on for about five minutes and I said fine, we won I'm just so angry right now! I mean this is high school drama! What would you do? I know the mom will be absolutely heartbroken if my husband and I just stop coming to see her and talking to her (since her lovely daughter never comes home). I mean except for the funeral, we never go around if she is going to be there, and we don't sit there and talk bad about her or anything. I honestly think she knows she screwed up by messing around on him SIX YEARS AGO and is just upset that he's married and happy and it sounds like her husband is a jerk.

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

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

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

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

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

How to get paw prints off polished furniture [2008-10-30]
I have a small mahogany chest next to my front door. My son's girlfriend's cat is living with us temporarily while his owner moves into her new house. She's a lovely cat, but she likes to hop up on the mahogany near the front door to see who is coming and going. She's left lots of paw prints on the shiny surface. I tried polishing with pledge. I tried cleaning with Pergo wood floor cleaner, and I've tried something called Cabinet Magic, a cleaner for wood cabinets. I've gotten a lot of the prints up, but there are a few still there. I've put a towel over the surface until Kitty moves to her own home this weekend. But how can I get those last smudgy prints off my shiny wood surface?

My thoughts sm [2008-10-27]
I have seen corsages made of baby ruffled baby socks, which is not practical for a baby boy. I have seen where people make a christening bonnet out of a lovely antique handkerchief without cutting it at all so it stays a handkerchief that is later carried on her wedding day. Again, not practical for a baby boy really. I like your ideas. I'll share mom's favorite baby shower party favor: Pacifiers made of a mint lifesaver, a Necco candy and a jelly bean. She held them together with stiff frosting and they took a couple of days to make with drying time. These were part of other favors she didn't make, like triangles of flannel made into a diaper shape, pinned and dipped in wax so they held their shape for nut cups and baby bottles without the nipples, but with a straw for drinks. It is a very 50s and 60s thing, but then that is when my mom and her friends were having babies. I'll be remembering the blanket wrapping idea. Thought of a gift certificate to like JCPenney's Pixie Pinups photography? That is different at least.

basket sm [2008-10-27]
A few of us chip in, buy a lovely woven basket with gingham trim and buy tiny clothes pins at the dollar store. Then buy different size clothing because they outgrow so much. Buy a clothesline at the dollar store, remove wrapping from all, onesies, bibs, nightgowns, PJpull me sign, then when she tugs on the line all the items come out and brings lots of oohs and ah's. It works and it's fun. Use neutral colors if you don't know the baby's sex.

basket sm [2008-10-27]
A few of us chip in, buy a lovely woven basket with gingham trim and buy tiny clothes pins at the dollar store. Then buy different size clothing because they outgrow so much. Buy a clothesline at the dollar store, remove wrapping from all, onesies, bibs, nightgowns, PJpull me sign, then when she tugs on the line all the items come out and brings lots of oohs and ah's. It works and it's fun. Use neutral colors if you don't know the baby's sex.

NO! Great idea and this is sm [2008-10-23]
I think it is VERY RUDE to expect people to take their hard earned money and be EXPECTED to go out and BUY you something!!!! I think it is shallow, selfish and certainly NOT in keeping with intent of the season. The intent of Christmas, in my book, is to be with people you love and celebrate that love. I can't think of a more lovely way to bless the season and those you care about than taking the time to make a lovely meal and a setting for memories...the greatest gift of all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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