I love that stuff!

Like PP have said, it really does depend on the dog. I have an Akita and she very rarely needs bathed. She is ten years old and has had a half dozen bathes in her lifetime. Akitas are a special case though, her coat resembles cat fur in a lot of ways. She doesn't have any dog odor ever and her coat is very thick. It takes a good eight hours to dry if she is soaked to the bone. When I've had her groomed she has to stay all day in the dryer and still comes home quite damp. She also cleans herself (insofar as she can reach) very meticulously, I'm talking cleaning her face with her paws like a cat. Lastly, she blows her entire coat twice a year, it's like a built in bath! We are very lucky she doesn't require bathing because she likes it about as much as a cat and weighs 95 pounds!

My boys each got a Nabi for their birthdays a few months ago. I really like them. I like that you can download the Kindle store and get apps from there. I think my DD will be getting one from Santa. I didn't want one that required game cartridges so the Nabi fits the bill for me.

Oh my word! This makes me feel really young, but The Lion King was the first I remember. My moms says she had taken me before that though. Also, Jurassic Park, when I was like 7. My mom sent me with one of her friends DD's who was 15 or 16. She didn't have any clue what it was! I remember watching after it came out with my mom and she freaked out that she sent me to see it in the theater. I loved it though, still one of my favorite movies ever.

The ears kill me!! I shall name her Tupelo :-D!

Me too! A French bulldog to be exact :-)

Whole wheat toast, mayo, provolone cheese, bacon, turkey, lettuce, sprouts, thinly sliced cucumbers, tomato and avocado. My favorite ever. Not sure why I don't make this more often.

What a good idea! To bad there is a tower less than a quarter mile away.

I am glad I'm not the only one! I don't know how you manage with only 10G/month! We get 30G/month to share between two iPhones and two hotspots (DH has one for work). I cannot bring myself to admit out loud how much money AT&T receives from me!

So, I feel like I am the only one here that doesn't have high speed cable or DSL Internet! I live in a semi-rural area. I live on a private road, two houses up from the main road, which has internet! Ugh! So my options are satellite internet which is an expensive joke, or a cellular hotspot. Luckily, we have a great 4G/LTE signal so I have a hotspot through AT&T. But it is so blasted expensive! I see all these threads like "what we show should I watch on netflix" or "what's good on Amazon Prime". I don't bother with Netfix because it uses WAY to much data, and I have Amazon Prime but I would have to give AT&T my firstborn if I watched anything on there! Ugh! First world problem for sure, but I needed to vent lol! Am I the only one?

I make these too! We call them "pretzel turtles" :)

I think it can work. It all depends on the people involved. And how old they are when the relationship starts. My dad is married to a wonderful lady 16 years his junior. He is 53 and she is 36. It was a tiny bit strange at first, she is only 10 years older than me, but they are perfect for each other and you don't notice the age difference once you are around them for a while. An added bonus is that she and I are now best friends and her kids (12 and 14) babysit my little ones :-). We joke around sometimes about the gap and give her grief for being a "grandma" already, but all in all, it's a perfect match. On the other hand, I met DH when I was 15 and he was 19. At the time this was a bit sketchy. My parents were not very happy about this but 12 years later a four year age difference means nothing.

71 here and it's 5:45pm. After growing up in Alaska, this weather is still crazy to me.

So sweet!

This sounds like how my DH would react. As soon as that puppy crawled up into his lap, it would be over.

This is good to know. Thanks. That wouldn't bother me, it's the barking for no reason that is problematic.

She just turned 10, so getting up there. While she is in very good health and shows no signs of old age, big dogs just don't live to be 15+ years old. I am pretty darned sure she will accept and new dog as she has done it twice before. She is not a fan of other dogs in general, but has never been anything but accepting of a puppy we bring into the home. Your argument is a good one and I will give it a shot. His main reason for saying no right now is two fold. First of all he loves Akitas and would just as soon never have any other breed of dog again. I agree and will always want an Akita as well, but we can have two dogs! His other hesitation is that we currently live in a trailer home (huge, 2000 square feet) while we save to build a house. Well, I'm not sure I can wait! He is the type that says no but once it is in the house he will fall in love. Maybe I just need to send him a picture of a Frenchie everyday lol! P.S. Yes much cheaper than a human baby!

Any tips on convincing a DH that I need a new puppy? Ask permission, or ask forgiveness? ;-)

On top of a cabinet in my kitchen. Don't be like me.

Thank you. I mean I don't thank you. I mean, yes, thank you. Lol. I think I almost died.

I do know that they tend to have health issues and that doesn't discourage me. And that they are stubborn and hard to train, but I have an Akita so... Ya, kinda used to hard to train lol.

I want one so stinking bad!! Aside from them being the cutest creatures ever, why do I want one? What are they like? Easy to train? Hard to train? Good with kids? Anything I need to know... Thank!

The factory outlet often does have good deals. They tend to have one particular color on a really good deal and the others will be a bit more. So if you aren't super picky about color you can find a great deal. My dad just picked up two pans, a large skillet and a 7 1/4 Dutch oven for around $100 each. The color he bought was 50% off and the other colors were like 35% at the time. But even their not on sale prices are cheaper than direct from Le Creuset. I think it would be worth a look. My husband bought me two new pans for my birthday from Williams Sonoma and their prices were very good as well. I hope you can find a good deal!

I have Le Creuset and absolutely love them. I have a 5 1/2 quart and 7 1/4 quart and love them both equally. I am having a hard time deciding which to recommend! I got the smaller one first and used it a ton but I did have a lot of occasions when I wished for the bigger. Now that I have both, I use both equally. So, all that being said, maybe go for bigger. At least, then, you aren't wishing for more room. After all, you can make a smaller amount in a big pot but not vise versa.

It was more of a frustrated vent about the situation and I'm not sure why I worded it the way I did.