AlmiraGulch
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Posts posted by AlmiraGulch
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My sister and I are doing Thanksgiving together and have decided we don't even care if we have a main dish meat. Then we realized we're all grown up and don't have to have one, so we're not. Hooray for adulthood! Plus, or families won't care.
So we're making a side dish menu, but then thought it would be fun to add some new things.
Please share your favorite holiday side dishes. Extra credit for non-traditional things, or traditional dishes made in non-traditional ways, or "different" ingredients.
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But is it better to do something than nothing? According to some posters here, it doesn't matter if you do nothing.
That flies in the face of all the conventional wisdom I've heard throughout my life.
Maybe there is a motivational strategy out there I have not heard of. The "it's OK to do nothing" strategy.
I'm not saying it's better to do nothing at all. I am saying that the low paying job you may work during college will have no impact (or nearly no impact) on the job you ultimately get once you complete your degree.
Recruiters and hiring managers, particularly the ones that recruit directly from colleges, are looking for how well you did in school, whether you had any leadership roles, what extracurricular activities you participated in and honors you earned, where you volunteered, and how well you interview. Many, many people's college educations are fully financed by their parents. Not one of those people will be penalized in the interview process for that, nor will the one that happened to work some job not related to what they're looking for get the job over someone else who has done those things I mentioned above.
The point being that no, it's not good to do nothing at al, but for those people going to look for a post-college professional job, it really will have little to no bearing on that job hunting process.
I'm not speaking anecdotally. I'm speaking as someone who works with this very topic for a living, and who sees, knows, and understands companies' college recruiting plans and requirements intimately.
Not to say hat no one should work, or it's pointless. It is not. For me, working whatever jobs I could get was a requirement since I paid my own way through a private school, and I wanted a place to live and food to eat. But as far as it helping someone get a professional job post graduation? No.
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It may be what you prefer, individually, it it won't hurt someone's chances, but it will make no difference at all to the professional recruiter.Well, I have hired lots of people and I say, yes it does make a difference.
Until you have a bunch of professional experience under your belt, your resume had better indicate you did something besides live off mom and dad and take care of your nails, if you want someone like me to hire you.
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My mom went through a travel agency for our group cruise. It seemed the easist. Def find someone that knows what they are doing. We loved our NCL cruise on the Epic. Howl at the Moon was so much fun.
My favorite ship! But.....she's moving to home port in Europe after the next Caribbean season, so that's out.
Royal Caribbean's Freedom Class and Oasis Class ships have Broadway shows and entertainment. So, Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Independence (I think) of the Seas. The Quantum of the Seas debuts soon, but will only have one season sailing form New York, and then she's off to China. There should be one more Quantum-class ship (for the entertainment you're looking for) coming out by 2016, but I can't recall the name, the home port (or if they've even announced it), so I don't know if it will be going to the Caribbean or not.
So do NCL's Breakaway Class (so, the Getaway for Caribbean) and Breakaway Plus (the Escape, which will be sailing starting next year).
Getaway will be sailing a Western Caribbean itinerary, including (I believe) Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize City, and Roatan, Honduras. I did that itinerary this year yet again. I love it.
Escape will be taking over the Getaway's current spot in the Eastern Caribbean, sailing St. Thomas, Tortola, and Nassau. I love St. Thomas. Tortola is amazing, in that it's a quick hop to the Baths at Virgin Gorda, or, as I usually do, a catamaran trip to Jost Van Dyke, which is one of my top 3 favorite places on earth.
NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) is my preferred line, but many people swear by Royal Caribbean. I don't dislike it, and the ships have a definitely "wow" factor, but they're almost always significantly more expensive than NCL.
Oh, and Disney. I haven't sailed on a Disney ship, but pretty much everyone who does (adults, I mean) rave about them. It's a step above the other main stream cruise lines, I think.
There are many other very good cruise lines to choose from, but for the Broadway style entertainment, specifically, and very good food, particularly in the specialty restaurants, I'd go with one of the ones I mentioned above. Just my two cents.
Good luck! I love cruising, and usually do so once or twice a year. I'd have a bigger house and better car, and would probably retire a few years sooner if I didn't, but I regret nothing!
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I found a gate. I don't know if I can mount the dumb thing because there isn't much room for the door handle, but I'm going to try it anyway.
Wish me luck!
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I'm off to look for a gate.
Guess who I just caught with a cat litter pellet stuck to his jowls? That would be my boy bulldog. He's lucky he's cute.
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I use the term call in. I'm calling into the company to tell them that I'll be out.
P.S. In reality, I email and say I'll be out, turn on my out of office message, and go back to bed.
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Oh, I'd totally bet on the dogs. I finally had to keep our litter in a room which only the cat could access because the dogs would dig through it looking for tootsie rolls.
They worshiped that cat for her ability to make tootsie rolls. :lol:
(some people put a cat flap in a bedroom/bathroom door. We ended up getting away with just using a really tall baby gate, mounted a about 8 in off the floor. Cat walked under, dogs didn't bother trying to jump it & couldn't crawl under...)
That's so gross! Mine are probably doing exactly that.
I'd put a cat door in, but he won't go through it because of the whole Lucy-bit-off-his-face-pad incident. He's traumatized. If I could get him to use a cat door, he'd just use the litter box that's in the garage and all would be well.
I'd put the baby gate up but my daughters use that bathroom regularly. Isn't that a pain for people to go through? Or maybe I can get one of the kind that swings? But then can you close the regular door?
I think you may be on to something...
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Yes, it looks better than "I didn't want to work at a job that was below me." It shows you are probably a reliable and responsible and hardworking person, which is a big deal when you're recruiting.
No, it really isn't. Not unless the next job you're applying for is of the exact same caliber as the last. It makes zero difference to someone recruiting for a professional position, ultimately.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't work, but let's not try to color it as something that it isn't.
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I don't think he's playing with them. I've never seen that, and he doesn't spend a ton of time in that room, generally. I also work in a room not far from that bathroom, so you'd think I'd hear something, being pretty close to it all day.
The dogs, on the other hand, might be playing with it. They do go in there sometime and eat the cat food (yes...the cat food is in there...don't judge. It's far from the toilet and works best for us).
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I wuv black and white fluffy kitties, we have one, too. :001_wub: We also use the Breeze system. We switched to a more traditional litter for awhile and the sand that was everywhere was driving me nuts.Our cats will get the pellets stuck in their paws sometimes and carry them across the room we have the box in. The furthest I've ever seen a pellet was on the staircase. I asked awhile back and got most of these same responses, but so far, we've stuck with the Breeze.
I swear those pellets end up everywhere in the upstairs of my house. The bathroom is covered in them. They're all over the hall, sometimes all the way at the end near the stairs. I've found a few in my bedroom (also at the opposite end of the hall from the litter box bathroom).
The traditional was worse.
I wish there was a way I could combine pellets with a high sided box.
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What a gorgeous kitty! I wonder if part of the problem might be his bushy tail -- do you think the pellets could be clinging to it and then falling off around your house? Precious Cat has a silica litter specifically for long haired cats.
I hadn't thought of that!
I assumed it just goes flying when he jumps in and out of the box, but I could be wrong.
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I do like the high-sided box. I may switch to that, put a trapper mat in front of it, and try the Precious Cat litter others have recommended.
My cat is really long, too, so I have to make sure it's long enough that he doesn't miss.
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another vote for Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat. We use the senior formula. Our cat is old, on the fat side (though much slimmer than when we got her several years ago) and only has one eye. This litter gives great odor control, doesn't irritate her and she stopped peeing outside her box when we started with it.
Seriously, the litter doesn't stink at all. And it all stays in the litter box. No scattering.
It's pricey - $16 or so a pack but we only need to change the box every 3-4 weeks so it's not too bad. And honestly, I'll pay any price to avoid the stink issues we had with ALL other litters.
So what kind of box do you use?
I couldn't care less about the cost, honestly. I cannot stand odor, even though that isn't my biggest issue right now because the Breeze contains it pretty well. But if I could get my girl cat to go in it instead of next to it that would certainly help! That scattering, though, is maddening.
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My situation has since changed dramatically (kids are with me 100% and see their father, who moved out of state, once or twice a year), but when we first divorced it was something like this:
We sold the house we'd lived in together. We chose to move into the same mixed-used subdivision (I purchased, he rented) so that the kids would have the same bus stop and be in walking distance of the other parent.
Officially, they were with their dad on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other weekend. I reality, we switched it up based on convenience and need for everyone. Work needs often dictated what the looked like. For example, their father was working third (overnight) shift for a while, so we had to adjust. Another few years I was traveling constantly for work, so they were with their dad most of the week (usually at my house, because it was more convenient for the kids) and with me every weekend.
I think the point is that we chose to remain in close communication about the kids, and always did our best to accommodate everyone's needs. We did follow the formal agreement, but altered it as often as necessary.
ETA: The same holds true now for DH and his ex-wife. There is a formal agreement, but schedules change and needs change and desires change, and everyone works well together. For example, I often take my girls to do fun things on weekends (either an event, or an overnight trip, or whatever, and I like it when DSD can go, too. I typically just call her mom and see if DSD can go with us, if she wants to. Again.....open communication is always best. It wasn't always that smooth, by a long shot, but we've worked it out.
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We used the pine pellets for a while. My cats still scatter them all over the house.
Well, crap. No pun intended.
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We used the pine for quite a while, and a variety of other kinds, but my final favorite was Sweat Scoop. It is wheat. No odor at all, easy to scoop, a little bit of tracking but not much (there would have been less if I had been using the Clevercat box). If I ever have another cat, that will be my first plan of action. :-)
I may try this. Of course i'll have to change the box, but I don't care.
I don't think my guy would use the Clever Cat box, since it's as if it's covered. That would be great, though, if he did.
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Have you tried litter mats under the cat box? They are designed to hold the litter so it doesn't scatter. I like this one: http://www.amazon.com/PetFusion-SmartGrip-Litter-Gray-Twist/dp/B007SQFRMU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414014506&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+litter+mat
I have, but they're useless. He kicks it out so far the pellets completely miss the mat and end up in the hall 4 feet away!
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We have a breeze box. We use pine pellets in it. They do disintegrate, but they don't spread as easily the cement ones did.
I hadn't thought of this! I change the stuff a lot more often than they recommend, and every time I change it I completely clean the box, so dealing with disintegrated pellets wouldn't be that big of a deal, I don't think.
How well do they control odor? And does it make the box particularly gross when they dissolve? I've never used pine pellets before.
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If your cat is using the box do not change it. Change the litter if you want to, but not the box. And FWIW I have used covered boxes and still got the litter everywhere, so that didn't change.
We have been using a litter called "Cat Attract" and it clumps into really tight balls that do not make a mess. But it is expensive.
There is a crystal litter that people say is much less dusty and doesn't track as much. I am not super familiar with how it works though. I think you fill a pan with the crystals and then toss them once a month? And then wash the box and start with a fresh container of crystals. But I might not be right about all of that.
We used to use the crystals. I forget why we switched, now that you mention it, but there has to be some reason.
My cat will use any box, actually, unless it's covered. At least he's not picky that way. I've switched many times and he never has any issues there. He'll also go in any litter, and I've changed types several times on my quest for The Best Litter Ever. So at least I have that going for me.
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Someone said on the "name brands" thread that cat litter is very much a personal thing. And I totally agree with that. I think I've tried them all over the years, and I've settled on Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat. I've decided that for us it has the best compromise between hard clumping, good odor control and little to no dust. Not tracking is pretty low on my priority list since we have a spare bedroom devoted to the cats and so the litter doesn't get tracked into the rest of the house. I do use cheap rag rugs from WalMart under the boxes and in front of them. Most of the tracked litter stays on the rug in front of the box, and I just pick the rug up and shake everything back into the box.
I'd be careful with covered boxes. If you try one I recommend adding one, not replacing your current boxes with covered boxes. All the cat experts I've read believe that cats do NOT like covered boxes.
I saw that post, and it prompted me to go look at that litter, and to start this very thread!
One of my cats will use a covered box. The other (the boy who uses the box I want to change) will do his business in front of the box if I try to cover it.
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Would your cats use a covered box? We got an end table style covered box for one of our boxes and the litter stays contained a lot better. My only problem is that my older cat is too stuck in her ways to use it with the door shut and my messiest cat is too fat to fit in the door. My little kitten has taken to it well, but she was the least messy.
If you look up Pet Loo on amazon, that's the style we have. We don't have that exact one, but it looks pretty much the same.
My cat that uses the Breeze box will not go in a covered box.
I intended to only have one box (I've always done one with two cats, despite what the experts say), but when I brought home the kitten (Breeze box boy) the old lady cat bit his face pad off when we were teaching him to go out the cat door into the garage to the litter box, so he refused (even now, 5+ years later) to go through the cat door.
He now has a problem with any enclosed spaces at all, included a covered one. It's a total pain. I hate having a litter box in our living space, but I have to give the guy a place to go, so we do what we have to.
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I hate cat litter so much! But, I have two indoor cats, so i'm stuck.
I have two boxes. One is traditional clumping-type litter and is in the garage, so even though it ends up scattered it doesn't end up in the house, so I deal with it.
The other box is a Breeze box. The litter itself is some sort of pellet, and the urine is collected in a pad underneath the solid that you just change out.
For the most part, as long as the pad is changed and the solid waste scooped, it controls odor as well as can be expected. It's still a litter box, so there's only so much you can do. The problem is that I still have those stupid pellets scattered all over the bathroom, and then they get dragged out into the hall, and I'm sick of stepping on cat litter pellets.
Does anyone have any other magical litter I haven't tried? I need it to control odor, but I really, really hate that it gets dragged all over the stupid house.
Anything?
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Peanut butter (Jif)
Mayonnaise (Duke's)
Marshmallows (Kraft)
Most cleaning supplies
Toilet paper
Soda, if I buy it at all, must be Diet Coke. Pepsi products (or generic) are never ok.
Tampons, when I needed them.
Makeup and skin care
What's your favorite holiday side dish?
in The Chat Board
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Oh, cool! I love the uniqueness!
I was starting to think that no one eats sides with their meat/meatless main.