A Wheaten terrier has high exercise needs -- else they get bored and make their own party. They also bark a lot, which would not be good in a dorm room.

I was amazed that swallowing a cherry pit didn't result in a cherry tree growing in my stomach and out of my mouth, that pickles were made from cucumbers and were not the fruit of pickle trees, that what I read in nonfiction books wasn't always factual, that women would purposely marry men who leave their dirty clothes on the floor, and that some church-going Christians commit adultery, For a long time, I thought people got pregnant by kissing and that women gave birth through their navels. I was amazed when sunlight streamed through our bedroom window in Boston at 5 a.m., a lot earlier than the sun rose in Atlanta. I thought a space ship had landed in the parking lot. The sad part is that when I woke up my husband to go check, he said, "That is sunlight, not a spaceship", and went back to sleep. Who knew he knew me that well, especially since I have never thought aliens and spaceships were real ... until that morning, briefly.

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If two people are having stomach issues, I supply each of them with a box of Kleenex and large stainless steel mixing bowl.

How many dogs do you have currently? One What breed? Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier What brand of food do you feed them? Annamaet Grain-Free and Earthborn Holistic Grain-Free How much do you think you spend on your dog every year? $1500 (food, treats, bully sticks, supplies and toys, pet insurance, vet, heartworm and flea preventatives) How often do you leave them to travel? Or do you travel with your dog? I travel with my dog unless I fly. In that case, he stays home with other members of our immediate family. What do you love about having a dog? Everything. Aidan is like having a toddler who has a fantastic sense of humor. He is smart, a great problem-solver, communicates his wants and needs very well. We play a little game in which I say each possible want or need and when I get to the right one, he wags his little tail. We play a lot of games, mostly ones that he thinks up. He is a cute, cuddly, affectionate, mischievous, and friendly dog. He behaves perfectly when I clean his teeth or groom him. Sometimes I have to outwit him to give him meds by offering him a plate with four little lumps on it so he thinks it is a snack. He can take a full 20-oz. cup of milk off a table and set it on the floor without spilling a drop. He can eat 3 raw one pound steaks in less than 5 minutes -- without accidentally eating any of the packaging or the grocery bag. If he didn't bark at everything, I would have not seen the turkey vulture walk down our long driveway or a parade of 14 deer come down the path out of the woods, among many other interesting sightings. I can go on for pages with Aidan stories that illustrate what a wonderful dog he is! What do you hate about having a dog? Absolutely nothing. Unless you count their short lifespans. Will you always have a dog? Yes How many dogs have you had in your life? 5, one at a time (Sheltie, Wire Fox Terrier, mixed breed stray dog who chose me, Rough Collie, and my dear sweet Aidan. Why do you have a dog? I am, some might say, dog-obsessed. I love dogs. Terriers are never boring!

I'd call the vet.

We live in the country, 30 minutes from town. It took me 3 years to adjust, keeping in mind that I had never stepped foot on a farm before and was used to big cities. We do not have a farm, though. I wanted to get chickens and keep them in the basement to stay warm in the winter. I wanted a cow, sheep, goats. DH nixed all that, primarily because he does have farm experience and realizes that my version of farm includes no bugs, clean animals, no bad smells, and no plan for how to deal with their excrement. Basically, the old movies starring NYC have lots of horses on the streets (pre-automobile), but no manure. My imaginary farm is similar to that. It was a PITA to have to spend an hour just on travel time to go to town. Now I'm used to it and the higher gas bills. The smell of manure pits is the worst odor ever, but it doesn't happen very often, and doesn't bother me because I've adjusted. The first time I smelled it, I called DH, frantic. The sewer lines must have burst open, I said, the smell is horrific, call someone. He said we have a septic tank. There are no sewer lines. Gunshots were hard to get used to. At first, DH told me it was cars backfiring. Nope. Hunters, target shooters, farmers killing livestock. We hear a lot of gunshots, and naturally this terrifies the dog, especially when really loud guns are fired close by. Sometimes it sounds like a war zone out there, but that's only when several people are target shooting together and think 2 hours is an optimal time to spend on that. At first, the isolation bothered me. I was sure a serial killer would come marching out of the woods. Now I feel safe here. In all these years (since 2009), no crime has happened. It takes the state police about an hour to get out here. My plan is that if a criminal shows up, call a neighbor -- they all own guns -- or use a baseball bat or cast iron skillet to defend us. I doubt that will happen. My kids went to high school in town. Town kids bugged them a lot to hold parties here. Since the cops aren't around, the kids can drink and use drugs without worrying about getting caught. Of course, we didn't do that. Instead my kids held and attended bonfire parties that were alcohol and drug-free. So wholesome! My kids don't like living out here. There is nothing to do in the small town nearby. There is a skating rink and a movie theater. Restaurants. A mall that is practically empty even at Christmas. They are urbanites, even after all these years. If you have a volunteer fire or ambulance company, pay the annual dues. The code of the country (at least here), is to mind your own business (notwithstanding newsworthy gossip). Do not call the EPA if your neighbor is burning mattresses or the Game Warden if you hear rifle shots at night or someone has made a deer-attractive area in their field (to lure them there for hunting). News spreads quickly. We got a puppy and when we brought him home, it was nighttime. He had to go out at 4.30 a.m. That morning, people began calling about the puppy. A farmer had driven by and saw him, told someone (there is no real news here), and it got around. Propane costs nearly $5 a gallon, but lasts a long time since we only use it for the stove. Heating oil costs are a different story -- my #1 dream is to live in a house that doesn't rely on it. The cost, even when low (compared to over $4 a gallon), is hefty. We have a well. Replacing parts is expensive. Water has to be tested. And the water pressure is horrible. We have a septic system and have to buy septic safe toilet paper and flush Rid-X down the toilet every month. Trash can security is vital. There are wild animals that will get into it if they can. I had heard people drop off unwanted pets in the country. So far, we've had several cats dropped off (including a 13 oz. kitten). We have a terrier who cannot be trusted around cats. It is a real PITA to secure a home for a cat. The farmers have tons of them, but their cats don't welcome strangers. Naturally, no dogs have been dropped off -- which was DH's greatest fear, that we would become a dog commune. I now hate places that are covered in concrete and congested with cars and buildings. I was shocked that people burn things -- including mattresses. If it burns and they want to get rid of it, that's what the burn pit is for. What doesn't burn is saved in a shed or behind it. Environmental issues, surprisingly, are not a big concern. So there is fracking and pesticides are used. If you want something to die, put out poison. I have a dog, so I wouldn't do that. I once waited nearly 30 minutes for a chicken to cross the road. SUV vs. chicken sitting in the middle road ... I was sure if I went around it, that would be the time the chicken decided to move. I am still waiting for a neighbor's cow to escape and come here. It is really fun to watch the cows and calves. They all need baths, but aside from that, they fascinate me. Mice come into the house in the winter. I have seen a snake in the basement. No big deal, it was not a venomous snake. Great Horned Owls can carry a 16 lb. animal, so if you have small pets, they shouldn't be outside alone at night. I spent many a night out with my puppy, waving my arms around so owls would think I was a bigger owl. Hawks go after them too. It is a lot of fun to watch a murder of crows go after a hawk that is trying to capture one of them for his dinner. The crows always win. They make so much noise that I cannot hear anything else -- including phone conversations. If you hunt, do not mistake a turkey buzzard for a turkey. My neighbor did, and ate buzzard for Thanksgiving dinner once. Know your animals! The dog and I watch for deer in the evenings. Once we saw a parade of 14 deer walk down the path from the woods, heading for the cornfields. Another time, a vulture was walking down our long driveway, all the way to the end. Birds nest on the porch and kitchen window sill -- we always have several nests of Robins. In fields and woods, watch for carcasses and groundhog holes. Wild aniimals hunt other animals for food and leave the remains. Step in a groundhog hole and you will sprain or break your ankle. There is mud everywhere when the snow melts or it rains a lot. It gets tracked in the house. No point cleaning your floors until the mud outside dries; it is an exercise in futility. When I moved here, I knew nothing about country life. It helped to refer to myself as a Citiot. People laughed and relaxed. I wasn't moving from a big city to the country so I could complain about the smells and try to turn it into an urban oasis. The other thing is, I now have a great desire to own a large pickup truck. Seriously. It would be useful. PS I love living in the country, in case that wasn't clear.

No. Absolutely not. Although I suppose it would tell me a lot about the giver. Granny pants, they think I'm old. Thong, they think I'm ultra hip. With bra, they think I am floppy. Without it, I still look young and firm. Lingerie, they think I look sexy. Pajamas, they think my primary concerns are warmth and being comfortable. Too large, they think I'm fat.

I am in a store with my 4 kids, ages 3 and 4. It is Christmastime. A very overweight woman enters the store. The kids spot her and all 4 yell at the top of their lungs, "Mommy, Mrs. Santa Claus is here!" Small store. Can't ditch such young kids or say they aren't mine. They are super excited. Staying with me, like they were supposed to, Little Horrible Critters.

DD and I have one more episode of The Gilmore Girls (latest Netflix-produced one). Then we will have watched it all, the whole enchilada.

I don't like it when people comment on my weight or on what I eat, which they do all the time. The first thing anyone from away notices when they come to our town is how many obese people there are. My doc says our county is in the top 3 in the US. Whether it is or not, everyone thinks I am too thin, don't eat enough, will become seriously ill, and so forth. They watch me eat and comment on my choices. I eat breakfast at a diner with a large group of friends every 2 weeks. I order the same thing every time -- 2 eggs, 2 toast, 2 bacon, hash browns. This is a meal I look forward to. From what my friends say, it is the only healthy meal I have ... ever! Because they are truly worried, I am pleasant about it -- I reassure them that I am fine. My BMI is 19.8, and my physicians are happy with it. I think most people here (who have lived here all their lives) have a different view of what constitutes being overweight. Kind of like how some people who have fat dogs and don't realize their dogs are fat. That size dog has become normal to them. Because I am not super thin.

There is a bright side to this. You can buy frozen pancakes and microwave 3 of them at a time 1 minute. I think that is a brilliant solution. Pancakes or starve!

I've always thought I would make a great criminal, if it weren't for the guilt and the possibility of ending up in jail. I guess you can say I've been scared straight! :laugh: Of course, I'm always thinking I would be great at lots of things. But the fact is, being a lobster fisherman (cold, wet, hard work despite all the "free" lobster) or a farmer with lots of animals (the dirty animals don't get baths every day and there are flies and all that excrement to clean up) or a famous chef (varicose veins must be rampant among them) or a trapeze artist (deadly falls) just isn't in the cards for me. I might rethink the criminal mastermind thing if prisoners were still fed lobster because they were too gross for law-abiding people to eat. Maybe I should put a bumper sticker on my car: Will Work for LOBSTER!

Yeah, but I don't like feeling guilty, so I try to avoid it. Replacing junk for healthier junk doesn't bother me because it is advantageous to the guys. Plus, it's undeniable that if someone can't tell the difference, they deserve what happens to them (even if it's good).

I don't like making dinner. It starts with figuring out what to cook. Then remembering to get the meat out of the freezer. The microwave is my defrosting friend now. Then cooking it takes about 1-1.5 hours, depending. During this time, I daydream about buying processed foods, instant this and that, frozen pre-made things. Then I swing over to at least I don't have to raise and kill my own animals to get meat. At least we have snow (also something I hate), so there is no gardening in the winter. Then I switch to thinking about all the people who are hungry and can't get enough food, and how grateful I am. Since killing animals and hungry people and snow are depressing thoughts, I switch to what I will do with my lottery winnings. I'm not altruistic ... first order of business is to hire a chef. It has to be one who will clean up the kitchen, plan meals, shop, do everything even remotely associated with food. I mull over whether a maid will be necessary to assist the chef. Pretty soon I have a whole staff in my imagination. They will all have good health insurance ... yes, I even know the benefits they will receive. My imaginary servants will be very happy. They will not live in, though. The other day, DS1 suggested he pick up dinner from Wendy's. I agreed. I was flabbergasted that I had so easily gone over to the dark side. It was so nice. Everything went in the trash afterward, no dishes to clean up. Then DH bought home bagged salad made with iceberg lettuce. I was so grateful not to have to put together a salad that I actually did not give my usual speech about the horrors of iceberg lettuce (usually I include white rice in this lecture, too) versus every other kind of lettuce (and brown rice). I have a menu plan of 30 meals. Just pick one, I say to myself. But they are all so boring and take so much work, even though they are nutritionally balanced. To keep them that way, I have to take into consideration everyone's dislikes. If the carb is mashed potatoes, what will the carb be for the guy who won't eat them? What about gravy on everything guy vs. no gravy guy ... especially if there is is no gravy. Only one guy can be pleased at a time. What about no canned vegetables girl? Why does she care? It's not the 60s, canned veg are rarely used. What about no onions ... that's 2 guys. The problem is the guys. They have got to go. Sadly, they would all be happy eating Stouffer's frozen meals or going to fast food restaurants. When I die, because face it, that's the only way out ... they will celebrate by eating at Burger King. They will eat dessert three times a day. They will gorge on the unhealthiest of foods -- Pizza Hut fat-filled pizzas. The fact that they are alive and relatively healthy because of all those nutritious meals will not cross their minds. They will be joining me on the other side within a few years, mark my words. Meanwhile, I slog on. Refilling the fat-full jars and bottles with fat-free, so no one will notice. Putting the sugar-free NesQuik in the sugar-full containers. Refusing to buy soda, chips, and candy. Reading labels to make sure horrible ingredients aren't in the foods. Keeping stocked up on catsup for those gravy-free meatfull meals. Buying eggs that don't have salmonella in them (maybe I should rethink this, my dark side says). Keeping the kitchen so clean that no one gets sick eating my food. Then I think, what if I did have a chef and maids? What would I do with all that free time? My whole identity is tied up in keeping one cutting board for meats and another for veg and fruits.

Ours was 11 on Fridays and Saturdays, and 9:30 on school nights. My thinking was that the kids would be off the roads by the time most of the drunks were driving on weekends.

I have had the flu since 12/28. Down to the end now -- only fatigue remains. Had a flu shot. It is possible that DD has the flu, but the symptoms may be of severe anemia instead. Everyone else had the flu shot and has not gotten sick so far.

I buy Aidan bully sticks (odor free, USA) from www.bestbullysticks.com . For a puppy, I'd try the thin or standard thickness, 12" bully sticks. When the sticks get small enough to worry about the dog swallowing the remainder and possibly choking on it, I take it away. I store bully sticks in the freezer, and I buy them in bulk because they are the only thing my dog will chew. It is okay to give the frozen ones to a dog. I buy odor-free because the last batch I bought on sale at Amazon smelled so strongly that it was awful to be in the same room with the dog while he chewed one. During previous years, the regular bully sticks were not smelly. I've bought all sorts of chewables for my dog (except for rawhide), but he doesn't like them. There is another one called Benebone (Amazon has them) that is popular with dogs, but mine didn't like his Benebone either. The dog is not supposed to ingest Nylabones or Benebones -- when they start looking raggedy or pieces can come off, you are supposed to replace them.

My kids all love Hamilton, and I like it, too. But they play the music, sing the songs, and even their conversations include Hamilton quotes. I must have told them to talk less, smile more about a million times! I am considering playing the South Pacific soundtrack continually for a few days. Then I will find a way to quote the songs during every conversation I have with them. If that doesn't work, I'll engage them in duels.

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I work for a dog rescue. We get a lot of owner turn-in dogs because having a dog is too much additional work when the family has very young children and/or a lot of outside activities from which the dog is necessarily excluded. It is very common that families cannot handle having both a dog and a newborn. (There are other reasons for owners to turn their dogs over to a rescue -- this is just the reason that is in first place.) From the dog's point of view, at least until we find it a great home, this is a terrible situation. They are very stressed because they have lost their families and cannot understand what is going on. The families are also very upset. It takes a rescue dog about 6 months to adjust its new situation ... regardless of whether it appears to the new owners that the dog has adjusted immediately. True, a lot of families keep the dog in this situation, and it results in there being a lot of lonely, bored, untrained dogs who have owners who feel guilty about that or who are too overwhelmed to change the situation or who don't care about their dog all that much. It is a double-edged sword. I know a lot of families (and dogs) in this situation. I advise you to wait to get a dog until your children are older. I know this is difficult. I waited until my kids were 7 years old before we got a dog, simply because I didn't think it would be advantageous to the dog or to me to add one to the mix. (I do realize that since my kids are close in age that my wait was shorter than it could have been.) My thoughts on this are based solely on what I've seen happen in nearly 3 years of working for the largest rescue in the U.S. for my breed. It is heart-breaking to deal with families that have made the mistake of adding a dog to their family at an inappropriate time. These families love their dogs, but there is a limit to the time and energy they have to devote to their dog. Everyone has time and energy limits, whether or not they have a dog or kids. I am not someone who castigates people for giving up their dogs to rescue. We always find great homes for the dogs ... but it would have been better for the families and the dogs not have been in that situation in the first place.

Well, 23andme said my dna results show that if I eat X calories per day, and 10% or more of the calories are from fat, I will gain weight. Same calories, <10% from fat, I will not gain weight. That does not mean I can eat any amount of calories and lose or maintain weight as long as my diet is low in fat. That is just one factor. For me it is an important factor, and I had already realized that decades before 23andme informed me.

Foodsafety.gov says that pies made with eggs have to be refrigerated. This includes pumpkin, pecan, custard, and chiffon pies. https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/eggstorage.html Auburn University says pecan pies may remain at room temperature. "Pecan pie is the exception, however—it may remain at room temperature. All other pies should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer." https://aufsi.auburn.edu/thanksgiving/planning-your-feast/storing-leftovers/

We are using Chinette because we no longer have a dining room (it is now a combo room, no table/chairs any more). So I am not messing with china or with most of the cleaning up afterward. This gives us the suitable casualness of the dinner, plus I don't have to worry about the family breaking or chipping my good china or putting it in the dishwasher. Plus we aren't having guests.