I have lived on the west coast for more than fifteen years, but every time I talk to one of my midwest friends and they mention a particular hardware store, the jingle runs through my mind on repeat for the next day or so. Whoever wrote the little "Save big money at Menards!" bit was an evil genius. Do you have a jingle that takes over your brain?

It sounds like a scene from Father Ted. :lol:

Now I want cookie dough.

That is awesome. I want one too.

Really? Everyone likes flour tortillas? I think they taste like play-doh. Soft corn tortillas are the best.

Happy birthday! :party:

The whole thank-you-note-industrial-complex makes me so anxious. Do I sound appreciative enough? Is my handwriting nice enough? Did I take too long procrastinating while I stewed about what to write? I don't like getting them, either--I worry that the gift recipient will have the same anxiety I feel about writing them. I want to give a gift, not an obligation. I have started giving gifts secretly so nobody worries about writing them. Although now that I think about it, maybe people are anxious getting unsigned gifts because maybe it's from great-aunt Mabel who will judge them for not writing a note, and the card got lost, and they have to avoid great-aunt Mabel for the next three family funerals. Something else to worry about.

Unfortunately, I understand. At this point I would be happy if just the dogs who are known to bite were kept leashed. I can deal with the slobbery annoying ones. OP, did you get medical care for your wounds? If your bite was from the other dog, your medical insurance might go after the dog-owner's home insurance.

Love my laminator. We use it all the time. The kids are always asking for things to be "plasticized." :lol:

Ask a teacher for a recommendation before buying a cheap instrument. There are a lot of really crummy instruments on the market--keys bend or break, then can't be repaired. On the other hand, there are a lot of solid beginner instruments on the shopgoodwill site that are extremely cheap and could be great for beginners. Brand matters with student-level instruments. Flute, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone are probably the least expensive band instruments for getting started. Saxes are a bit more, double reed instruments are expensive, plus the cost of reeds, and beginners go through a bunch.

Thank you. I rebooted, I have 8 gigs of ram, and a 2014 Mac Mini, so I don't think that computer is the problem. It still isn't displaying properly, but I got where I needed to go by randomly clicking on blank spaces until I got to where I could reset P's password. His side is working okay, so I think we're good. :)

I purchased access last fall, but we haven't been using it. I thought we would use it this summer, but the website isn't working for me. It loads, but it doesn't have all of the buttons so I can access my son's account. Does anyone know if the company is still active?

Because if there's anything better than having one parent tell you that you look trashy, it's having both parents tell you that you look trashy!

I wish the dog next door was a chihuahua! I won't name the breed because I'll be accused of being a dog racist, but suffice it to say it is a good deal bigger and more menacing than a chihuahua!

How does one learn how to get a decent job? I have a MS but have never had a job that paid more than $10 an hour. I have zero charisma, and was once told at a temp agency because I wasn't qualified for their lowest-tier job, a receptionist position. I never had a good job---just crummy service-industry jobs after my degrees, and now I've been out of the job market for 9 years. My biggest fear is that my husband will leave and have full custody of the kids because I'll be living in a cardboard box.

The syringes are from random junkies throwing them out of car windows, I'd guess. The problem isn't centered around one particular house. I have called the police to come pick up syringes that are on my property--I'm not going near them! The dog is another story. Frankly, my biggest concern about taking action is retaliation from the dog's owners. I've considered making an anonymous complaint to the property management company. I suspect that if they knew a tenant had a documented dangerous dog, their insurance company wouldn't cover any future incidents, and something would have to change.

I really don't think that I am an unreasonable neighbor. I really don't care if you paint your house in neon colors, have a lush dandelion forest in your front yard, or park your car in front of my house. Whatever. There are two things that people around here do, however, that make me see red. I turn into an complete misanthropic a-hole and start muttering about moving to an area with fewer than 5 people per sq. mile. 1. Throwing syringes on the ground. Seriously. WTF. Nobody wants your sharp biohazards in their yards, in the park, etc. I try to have sympathy for people struggling with addiction, but when they leave sharp little HIV/hepatitis bombs lying around, all bets are off. Holy shit. 2. Letting your dog (especially if it has a history of biting!) run loose in the neighborhood. I do not want my kids being bit. I do not want my kids stepping in your dog's crap. If you can't keep your dog contained, find it a new home. I am seriously considering acquiring a firearm to protect my kids from vicious dogs. If you can't be bothered to keep your dog contained, especially when you are required by law to keep it in because it sent a kids to the er for a bunch of stitches last summer, you obviously don't really care about it, or anyone else in the neighborhood. Please DIAF and take your dog too. Now that that's off my chest, I don't actually feel better because I still have to watch for dogs and syringes every time I step outside my door. Crap.

Ha! I did the same calculation yesterday, just because I was curious.

I'll be sitting on the lawn with a hose, watering the roof to prevent fires from the illegal fireworks. I can't believe some of the things that our neighbors shoot off. At least the guys who used to shoot their guns in the air(!) have moved out.

I have recognized people who I know irl, and many who I "know" from other forums. Some people have such distinctive posting styles (or overly specific signatures :huh: ) that it's easy to find them all over the web. Once in a while I'm surprised when I see someone from one of my "main" forums at one of my "secondary" forums--I've recognized people from parenting or hsing forums at a low carb forum, a dollhouse miniatures forum, and an Appalachian dulcimer forum!

Both times a younger sibling has hit 3 and become mr/miss whinypants, I have been tempted to send him/her to preschool. It has been your "con" list that has held me back. If I had more than 3 kids, though, it would probably be a necessity to keep me organized enough to homeschool the olders.

I know that everybody likes to hate on Barney, but the characters are always kind to each other. After hearing a few hours of his silly voice, the big purple guy has kind of grown on me.

Shave your head and have Voldemort's face tattooed on the back, Professor Quirrell-style.

The trouble with controlling health issues with diet is that different health issues need different diets. My two health issues demand opposite types of diet, so I have to choose to eat for one and medicate the other. I don't know if that's a factor for your daughter, but it might be something to think about.

I'm imagining a canister set--the usual flour, sugar, coffee, tea, and then a five gallon canister labeled NUTS.