You have yummiest sounding stuff, Kim.

do you freeze stuff like cereal and [2008-11-14]
flour for 24-48 hours to prevent weavils? Will load on toilet paper, that's for sure! Have heard some stories about that!

agree with you. This stuff has not been [2008-11-11]
available long enough to make a determination. I am reminded of Avandia which almost put my mother in the hospital because she was one of the few to have increase in fluids from it. The docs kept telling her that it was impossible that Avandia was the problem. I spoke to one OB-Gyn and one infectious disease doctor, both of whom did not recommend this vaccine, one saying why was it only for girls. This was about 2 years ago when our gov was considering making it mandatory in Tx, too. One doc said it was a lot of hype as it only protected against 4 of the more than 200 strains known. One research physician on a radio show claims it actually is a cancer trigger for later in life, so who knows? Afraid abstinence is the only sure prevention. BTW, sex ed in school does not seem to have prepared students for orally transmitted STD's - go figure.

I was not out buying designer clothes or stuff for myself - sm [2008-10-25]
in my case it was we, mainly him, spent way more than we make. Everytime one of his cards got a large balance (he never looked at the statements and I pay the bills) I would tranfer it over to one of my cards, which again he never looked at, and I had a P.O. Box for--so in my case it was very, very easy to do, and with paperless statements today even easier. We had a lot of things happen in our life over the past 4 years which made the money/credit card issue much worse, easily added $40K onto it (at $89K now)--family death, serious child illness--still dealing with that some--, job loss on my part, private school tuition ($12K a year---no longer go there for the last 2 years), inability to pay bills and heavily borrowed on cards----d-u-m-b I know. So don't be so quick to judge, it is not always so black and white. Yes I did get a few things I should not have, but I know during some of this time I was depressed though not horribly so but enough so as to buy a few things I never should have, but for 95% of it it was my DH never denying himself anything (though he would have if he'd known, and now he is --granted not too happy about it---one tiny concession he has made is only 9 beers a day, down from 12, so maybe he can get 3 days out of a case of beer instead of 2.) So my days of robbing Peter to pay Paul are over. We plan to have an open book when it comes to finances once his are paid off, and mine are enrolled with a debt management plan--- then only use his cards for gas, and work stuff basically--I won't have any as they will all get destroyed and cancelled in the DMP, and will use my debit card for everything --which I do now anyway, so it won't be a huge change for me. I don't think she is lamenting, just realizing what a horrid mess she has to deal with, it is hard, and I have to deal with my DHs comments for years to come, he did a few zingers last night. I will be okay though and have to pay the piper, it is worth it not having to go through a nasty divorce and custody fight as I know it would not have been pretty.

This kind of stuff happens every day in school... [2008-10-01]
You people overreact to everything... I understand the mother is upset over the puncture wound, but this will be the first of many hurts. Yes, the child that did the poking needs to be told she did wrong, but expelsion and calling her special needs is just plain overreacting. Of course that girl Are you all that paranoid?

Never, but I look at the stuff on there a lot. [2008-09-29]
Money is tight right now, so I never bought, but most of the stuff is cool. Some of its just weird - once I saw homemade reusable tampons made out of bamboo and yarn I think.

How about that temporary filling stuff? [2008-09-27]
I remember getting it back a few years ago OTC at a local pharmacy when I lost a filling and had EXTREME pain. I want to say DentTemp or something like that. It It had a little bit of that clove oil stuff mixed in to help numb any pain as well. Huge lifesaver since my dentist couldnfit me in for what seemed like an eternity.Good luck!

Why do men throw out our stuff and keep theirs? [2008-08-30]
Hubby did it again! I had to work a couple hours this morning and in the meantime, he decided to clean out the linen closet. Things he kept: All his stuff, plus old towels that are good for rags. Things he threw out: My shampoos, my curling irons, make-up, my electric shaver,etc. When I asked where they were, he burned them! My curling irons were brand new! Is he trying to tell me something? This is not the first time hewhim like this, but I never thought hemy good stuff.

I type this stuff all day long and I totally agree sm [2008-08-26]
that you need to get him into see another counselor - and it may be time for a medication to help with the anger outbursts. Med and therapy go hand in hand with this - ask for an immediate appointment - this is kind of a crisis sitution really when younger siblings are being hurt - it trickles down and you don't want them to have problems also. Best of luck!

But obesity IS life-threatening. I type lots of that stuff - [2008-08-23]
and for the most part the psych. evaluation is more to be sure the person has not only the desire for the operation, but the support in place to help them through the difficult time afterward. It's not a walk in the park, not only is it major surgery, but there are lots of eating problems afterward. Too much food, or too much fatty or other hard-to-digest food, and they can become quite ill. They also have to begin a diet and lose a certain percentage of their weight before they get okayed for surgery. I think in part to make them safer to operate on, but also to begin to change their eating habits. After the gastric bypass, one still has to watch what they eat so as not to regain weight. But of course the bypass helps with how much they eat - because the stomach is a lot smaller. Still, if all the requirements are in place, I think for many people GP is much preferable to dying of other diseases caused by obesity. It also can make it possible for them to exercise and build up their cardiovascular system, further improving their health.

they have really nice stuff in support of neglected animals. [2008-08-22]
nm

Google camping recipes......TONS of stuff [2008-08-21]
xx

What a nice treat...I get stuff sent to me.. [2008-08-17]
that way from Philly, cheesesteaks, hoagies, good pretzels, TastyKakes...it's nice to be able to get something good from home when you live so far away!

I understand some parents don't supply stuff- sm [2008-08-03]
but what is wrong with regular pencils, a whole lot cheaper than mechanical. I would buy some extra of those no problem, but $21 for pencils is a bit too much. In theory the teacher keeps each kids supplies in their own box at our school, so the supplies really are for my kid and not others, they supply their own note paper, markers, pencils, folders, notebooks, crayons, etc. I am sure some things end up in a general grab box for everyone, like the pencils and construction paper. I just remember when I went to school, all we needed was a few pencils in grade school.....as we got older, folders and a notebook, pens and pencils. Now you need ever little thing. The big thing was back to school clothes not supplies. I cannot even buy my kids any new clothes as I am spending it all on supplies, so far $140 and I am not done, plus it would be $11 more if I bought all the required pencils.

FYI There's stuff about this on autoimmune board. nm [2008-07-05]
nm

ME TOO i hate that stuff. [2008-05-06]
but prettier!

they have truckloads of that stuff in Big Lots [2008-05-06]
packages, never bought it. I sure won't now because you said it was nasty, tia

Kim Komando's Solution for thowing out stuff [2008-04-30]
I thought this might be of interest to some...Rather than throw away junk, try this. www.kimkomando.com www.freecycle.org

I don't believe in the good/bad luck stuff with these but [2008-03-16]
I do forward those that have cute pictures or good jokes. I usually edit the email though and take out the send this to.... part or if I don

You have yummiest sounding stuff, Kim. [2008-02-25]
x

Yes, I buy some items from them. Some stuff is very good [2008-02-21]
ice cream is great, too!

…I thought it was that stuff you pull out of your bellybutton. [2007-12-31]
NM

Ya'll are making me salivate over this stuff!! lol [2007-12-27]
zNM

At the risk of sounding very rude, I think you are the one who [2007-12-22]
needs to step away. This is a mother who wants to help her son. I don If I live to be 102 and he I They help their kids. My children are now 25 and 26 and I would turn myself inside out to help them if they needed it. That's called love.

What's the basis of their civil lawsuit if they got their stuff back? [2007-12-05]
It's not like he's a habitual criminal. Tell the court you'll just add it to your bankruptcy because that's where they're pushing you. Or see if you can make $5 a month payments. The kid is crying out for help here. How is it going to help him if you guys have more bills?

She's just trying to stir stuff up - ignore her - sm [2007-11-30]
Notice she didn't mention having to chase after and care for children. Maybe her kids are grown. I don't know about you but I am always on the go with the kids. My mom rarely had time to do stuff with us when we were kids and WE cleaned HER house too. KitKat sounds like a troll.

I love Mexican food, but sometimes I [2008-11-19]
make my own or other stuff and make my own TV dinners. Chicken pot pie sounds good with the cooler weather. Could also pick up a presmoked presliced brisket or ribs and heat in the crock pot. Have the recipe for Wendy's chili which I make (TopSecretRecipes.com).

I'm in Florida and spend about $175/wk for 5 sm [2008-11-18]
I5 and 158 lbs,eats more than my husband, who is 6 and 345 lbs. FIL had to have a feeding tube put in last July, and I had to cut down meals by half because we were having so many leftovers and wasting money. Just when I thought I had it figured out, he was able to get the tube removed, so II donwe (FIL and I) will just eat a sandwich or leftovers from the fridge As far as special foods, we dona recipe, and for a while we were buying meat ata butcher shop but have had to cut that out for now. It was really good but was close to DH's work, and if he couldn't pick it up while he was in the area, it was a 45-minute drive. I cook most things from scratch, except lasagna because I hate making it. Once a month, we have a luncheon at church that I bring a dish and a dessert, and I cook Wednesday night dinner there one night per month, but I get reimbursed for the Wednesday night dinner. I do include paper products and toiletries in with my grocery budget but that's it, and I usually go to Sam's once a month for those. I have it easy compared to my parents though. My dad got paid once a month, and there were 4 kids at home all the time, 5 when my sister came up during the summer. They used to have 3 grocery carts slap full of food, and my mom figured out that it took something like 18 boxes of cereal to last a month, each one with a date marked on it so we didnWe also hada freezer to keep extra bread and other things, and my mom also used to mix in powdered milk when the gallon was half-way gone. I never knew until I was grown, so she definitely blended it well.

I would use coupons more if FL doubled them sm [2008-11-18]
As it is, I will use them if it is something I normally buy, but most of the stuff I get is not stuff they have coupons for, or it is for a different brand that I don't like. Florida doesn't charge sales tax on groceries and we don't have state income tax, but we pay higher grocery prices on a lot of things for that reason. And as much as people hate Wal-Mart, that is where I do my shopping because it is affordable and the prices don't change from week to week because of sales ads, which is mostly bumping up prices on stuff so that you really aren't getting that much of a deal anyway.

I think this is about what I spend [2008-11-18]
I'm not sure yet, but I think it's about $200 a month. But there are people posting who spend less than that for several people! I hardly ever use coupons. It just seems like most of the time they are for stuff I never use. No one doubles coupons up here, ever. This mountain community caters to tourists, so things are more expensive on the weekends, when the skiers and boaters are here. I avoid going to town at those times.

I can't imagine affording all those meals out, but I have some suggestions sm [2008-11-18]
I usually cook from scratch. My idea of fast food is a can of lentil soup, and I have that about once a month, occasionally twice. I make crockpot soups a lot because I am busy. I will tell you, there is a place that is sort of between a restaurant meal and home cooking. I used to have kids at home, lots of them, and I would get too tired to cook. My answer was to hybrid the dinner, so to speak. You can get Stouffer's lasagne which is good. You can pickup some ready-made stuff in your grocery store deli or freezer case. We liked the frozen Banquet chicken back in the day. I might get that, a box of flavored instant potatoes, potato salad or ready-made mashed to go with it. We might get a bag of salad too. Fresh fruit cups were nice if they were on special. You know, make a nice meal you don't have to 100% cook, but isn't going out. These days, I see that you can get beef tips in gravy, or sliced beef in gravy and other prepared stuff at the store. It just takes looking. It is more expensive than doing it all yourself, but it is much cheaper than going out. You can try another thing that is NOT everyone's cup of tea, and that is OAMC or Once A Month Cooking. This is my favorite website: http://snider.mardox.com/plans.htm I donmini plans using what is on special in a given week. They have breakfast plans, muffin plans, potato plans, chicken, beef, pork plans, ground meat plans, even some dessert plans. With planning, you can do this in bits and pieces. From people who have done far more of this than I have, they tell me that with soup already made, no chopping or messing, they are more likely to make fresh rolls, salad and even a quick dessert...round out any meal because the work is done. Obviously, it saves money.

YEAH baby!! Me too. sm [2008-11-18]
About 10 years ago I bought a Honda HX with prototype gas-efficient trannie, light wheels, no frills. That puppy would still be with me if not for the prototype trannie pretty much fizzled on most of the HXs but I milked mine for as long as possible. Ex had a Prelude, same year (99). He loved the car and took great care of it. Gas was killing him though (uses it to drive and travels a bit). He wanted to keep it in the family so he sold it to me. I drive about 5000 miles a year, if that. Amost 300,000 miles on that one and what a dream it is!!! He bought a new Civic. Another SWEET car. My son has a 1990 Accord, bought it used with less than 100,000 miles about 3 years ago. We've put some money into it, mostly cosmetic and just catching stuff up, but it runs like new. My Civic was actually built in US, so I didn't feel too guilty, but how many years have US automakers had to see the writing on the wall? I'm sorry, but I like keeping a car forever. No car payments are great. Honda fits that mold.

My DH drives a Chevy Malibu Maxx... [2008-11-17]
I have a 2005 Buick LeSabre and we also have an older Ford Explorer that DH kept to use for hauling stuff..... I've never had anything but an American made car........... LOL, I'm not exactly a car salesperson's dream customer........ I keep my cars forever...... 1972 Plymouth Duster 1984 Buick Skyhawk 1996 Buick Century 2005 Buick Skyhawk.......... only 4 cars in over 30 years......

He is right on that. Sm [2008-11-15]
it is known for being fat scraps and other nasty bits that they can't use elsewhere...ears, snouts, trotters, head cheese type stuff, all the pig junk. Even a whiff of it is enough to turn my stomach, but then I don't eat pig, cow or chicken. It is all so gross to me!

Eeew - even after all these responses sm [2008-11-15]
It still tempts me, but then again, so does corned beef hash! Oh well, we all have to go from something! I think Imodified stuff tastes so good! Modified what?? Who knows - there are only so many body parts, after all! Keep laughing, we need some fun in our lives - gosh all mighty, we need a laugh on here!!!

Eeew - even after all these responses sm [2008-11-15]
It still tempts me, but then again, so does corned beef hash! Oh well, we all have to go from something! I think Imodified stuff tastes so good! Modified what?? Who knows - there are only so many body parts, after all! Keep laughing, we need some fun in our lives - gosh all mighty, we need a laugh on here!!!

Bah humbug on Santa? No way! [2008-11-14]
When kids get on the school bus or talk in the cafeteria, what would happen? Perhaps group mentality which we learn in Psych 4, is what you are thinking, but what about going along to get along? For Petep double ee on their parade. Kids know - they believe in a Sants, i.e., St. Nick, i.e., blue and white stuff for 8 days for the Jewish kids. So what -- for goodness sake, let the kid ge a kid! Play - toys - Chris Kringle - whatever! Donabove it all. Get real! DonSanta. He is not Satan - he is S A N T A. Got your letters crossed.

The whole story is just sicko.......sm [2008-11-14]
I am not going to watch either, it makes me nauseous; they are all lunatics, including BW. Lately she is so interested in sexual stuff, she makes herself ridiculous.

Been there done that [2008-11-13]
If you haven't already, read books about Adult Children of Alcoholics. My dad was a serious alcoholic who managed to hold down 2 full time jobs. He was either coming home drunk in the middle of the night and waking up everyone fighting with my mother, or when he would have a day off, he was an awesome fun Dad. He never drank at home or in front of us. So it was very confusing. Fast forward many years, at 63 he was diagnosed with cirrhosis and bleeding ulcers and had an emergency subtotal gastrectomy because he almost died. From there on, he stopped drinking because he had to, not because he wanted too. He died less than 3 years later. He lived with me for the last 2 years and I took care of him, and we became very close. It didn't erase all the bad stuff, but I was at peace when he died. I would try to make amends with your Dad now and let go of the past, because to put it bluntly you are a big girl now and you can't be angry about your childhood forever. It is not healthy.

There are no jobs where I am sm [2008-11-13]
I had thought of working part-time in a mall to get the discount, do some Christmas shopping, get out to see people, only a few days here and there. Our newspaper used to have at least 3-4 full pages, 7-8 on the week-end, down to 1 column on weekdays, 2 on weekends. Most are heavy lifting jobs for men and/or must speak Spanish, especially if medical. So I buy extra at every sale, extra everything, use coupons, got 30% off from Kohlnice dress with atoy inside.The only thing is I am getting depressed from clutter, too much stuff all over but have to remind myself some have nothing. We do not go out to eat except perhaps soup in a sour bread bowl on special just every other week or at a Panera Bread just to say we went out, bought video movies for a dollar at church bazaars (all Disney) for grandkids, using our VCR which will be obsolete soon but can still watch movies on old TVCutting back in general, baking bread, baking cookies, really clipping and saving everything I can get my hands on. Walmart does not accept internet coupons, so check the newspaper. I do read labels on food from Walmart as some is from China.Joined a wholesale club but found it more expensive than most stores, so we can get our money back, refundin 3 months so they tell us. I really wish I had been more frugal when I made decent money at MT, I can now see I was wasteful and shame on me! I should know better, have been through recessions before. They do turn around and the only good thing is they give us a swift kick in the rear! Feel sorry for those who can barely make it, work is hard to come by in New England and a lot are losing their jobs, even teachers with over 20 years. No one knows when the next shoe will fall, even malls are failing. I am leaving all tags on gifts this year, usually cut them off, but with so many people returning things for the money, they said itand even though I get gift receipts, I want them to see where it came from so the store won't give them grief. Target is the worst for returns. So that's my story here in cold, sleeting today, NE.

depression? [2008-11-13]
Okay so they say, finally, that we are in a recession. I am thinking that we may be going into another Great Depression. Call me doom and gloom but come on now, look at life. So, my question is to those of you who stock up on stuff. What do you stock up on and how do u do it? I mean, do you go out one day when you grocery shop and just spend a fortune on extra stuff or do you spread it out. Also, those of you that mentioned being stocked up, obvious it limits grocery trips and probably saves some money here and there but if we face a depression, do you think that there will be a huge shortage of food in our grocery stores?

Stocking up [2008-11-13]
I have not lived through a depression and hope we aren't headed that way but think we probably are. As far as saving, I clip coupons but only use them if the item is also on sale or something that I use regularly. I feel coupons just get you to buy the brand name product when you would otherwise save more buying generic without a coupon. I look for 2 for $ sales. A good one is cereal. When it is on sale I buy about 10 boxes. Same for oatmeal. Anything that I can buy more than one and get it on sale, I do. I add to my normal grocery shopping so its not like I am spending a lot. One time I buy my meat and higher cost items, the next I stock up on whatever I can. As far as meats and vegetables, the bulk of my list, I buy what is on sale. Lots of soups and stews now that winter is here because it seems to stretch things farther and the meat is a lot cheaper to buy. I do not take anyone to the store with me, cuts down on impulse buying. I plan all of my shopping for one day. I find that cut down on impulse buying too. If I know I bought a special shampoo or something for me at wal-mart, I will be less inclined to buy something special the same day at the grocery store. I have an area in the basement where I can keep extra stuff, especially toilet paper, canned goods, and a deep freeze.

Thanks for your suggestions and kind words. [2008-11-12]
I am a very old fashioned person and generally speaking have the ideals that you speak of above. Making gifts, thinking outside of the box because it means more, putting aside the cost and really putting effort and thought into the gift - for any occasion. I know I have a short fuse right now with the hormones and it makes me not want to even try. Really my MIL is the only problem. Everyone else would love a thoughtful, homemade gift. I guess you sort of have to know her personality too. Generally speaking, she rubs me the wrong way but I try to just let things go. I just get tired of hearing the we are really going to cut back this year! when they said the same thing last year and it was a normal Christmas, then when I offer a suggestion she looks at me like I just cut someoneretired and bored. I did stand my ground this year though and tell my husband to deal with her on the Christmas morning doings. In the past Santa only comes to her house...so all the kids and grandkids have to cart their stuff over there to put under the tree and then wake up and drive over for presents in the morning. Screw that. In what fairy tale book did they read that Santa doesn't come to the house where the child sleeps?! Crazy how different families can be. Oh well, I'm getting off subject here but I thank you for your kind words and I'm going to try to change my attitude. I can only do what I can do. I suggested my homemade gift ideas to my husband and he then went through a catalog and picked out gifts. Granted they were $15-20 a piece but still. Every dollar counts these days. HI'm trying to look at it as one less thing I have to do or think about - I'm sure that's where he is coming from anyway. Men just think backwards sometimes.

I haven't yet, but I am already browsing [2008-11-12]
I find the cutest stuff in there for my nieces who love to primp... Fairly reasonable I think as well. Easier to do a little at a time as well...

My best one was the Christmas I [2008-11-12]
After everything was open and my brothers and I were so excited to be playing, my Mom asked me to get something from the kitchen. Of course it was dark because we There it was my Barbie Dreamhouse in the kitchen! I loved that Christmas and it got lots of play... Fav foods are cookies, cookies, and more cookies that my sister-in-law makes. I have an aunt that makes Walnut cookies to die for! Every year she On a lighter note, I love seeing our kids opening their stuff! It brings back great memories!

You know how they say dogs sometimes can sense things about people? [2008-11-12]
We had that ATT U-verse stuff installed in October and three installers came to the house. Not a single problem with the dogs. (We still had LouLou at the time.) They sniffed the installers and then let them go on about their business. The one installer was at our house for 12 hours. On Saturday, two ATT techs came over to fix the computer. Again, not a single problem with Duke. He sniffed them out and didn't bother them for the rest of the time. On Sunday, the ATT tech who came over called to say he was on his way. He said he was somewhat spooked by dogs and he just wanted to make sure we had a friendly one. I assured him Duke wouldn't bother him. Duke didn't care for that man in the slightest. He growled at him and the hair stood up on his back. Every time the man came in the room, Duke reacted the same way and would back away from him. I wonder what it was about him that Duke didn't like?

I agree with that [2008-11-11]
They So I guess you need to decide, is it worth it? Or maybe they just wanted to be mean. I know where you However, she managed to visit my CITY and do touristy stuff with other people. I never would have known, but she felt the need to tell me she did it! I said why didn. She said I thought about calling you the whole time, and I guess I should have. She also likes to call occasionally and tell me about all the other people she II can do without her snotty games.

Just gained 5 lbs. reading above sm [2008-11-11]
Hash brown recipe simply scrumptious, I use crushed potato chips for the topping. I once used grated parmesan cheese (the kind you put on spaghetti) instead of grating it myself and it was absolutely delicious (expensive) but so easy. I also make a carrot cake with the crushed pineapple and use 2 jars of baby food carrots instead of shredding. (Lost that receipe someplace.) Just call me lazy, I guess. Gosh, now I have to go and stuff my face. You all make it sound so good, I can smell it cooking!

People love my bread stuffing sm [2008-11-11]
I use Pepperidge Farm seasoned bread stuffing, donare out there, this is put out by a bread company. Theninstead of water, use orange juice. I once tried chicken broth but too greasy. I add freshly chopped onions, celery and sometimes raisins and small amt. of chopped cranberries. I never stuff the turkey but bake it separately in a casserole. If it looks too dry, I may add a teaspoon or moreof the final turkey drippings just over the top. This is one time I use butter. I have tried rubbing the bird with mayonnaise and that works well. Like to experiment but always the turkey comes out just fine at 20 minutes per lb. and use a thermometer. They always ask for more stuffing.

I don't think it is a requirement in Georgia - [2008-11-11]
However, my concern is that this is an effective preventative measure and people are not getting it for their daughters. You do not have to be promiscious to get it and believe me it causes lots of problems later. I only had sex with one man - my husband - before being diagnosed with HPV - and he had only had sex with one other person. I now have constant female problems and the doctor says it is because of the HPV. My paps come back bad and I have to have the LEEP procedures done routinely, or have biopsies done, I have to have paps every 3 months instead of yearly. I have constant bacterial infections and vaginitis. Goodness knows, I wish I had had the option of having a vaccine to prevent this stuff before I became sexually active with my husband.

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