Wow! Thanks for the tips. I've got to try these things out. I've used newspaper in my beds and it works wonders for keeping weeds out. Down side to it, I think it also stopped my lillies from multiplying :( Live and learn :) Happy Gardening!

Wow Christina77! I applaud your resolve and determination. Your protagonists were attacking from all sides in their futile attempt to sway you to the dark-side (the erroneous belief that hose w/open-toed shoes looks tacky), but you wouldn't budge. I tip my hat to you. I am a man and I do not claim to speak for all men, however I do know of a good number of men who share my opinion. I believe that open-toed shoes with sheer sandalfoot pantyhose is sexy as long as you have a good pedicure going on and you aren't wearing any cheap (i.e. saggy, cheap looking) pantyhose or reinforced toe pantyhose. In fact, once you are spotted wearing them you and the other young ladies who also opted to wear pantyhose with open-toed shoes, I dare say that you became the center of attention just as you said and the men (and some ladies) probably couldn't take their eyes off of you. The pantyhose haters are indeed entitled to their respective opinions and I wouldn't recommend you waste a moment of your time trying to persuade them to see things otherwise. It seems there are two camps: (1) those who love pantyhose, and (2) those vehemently opposed. I bet you looked elegant and stunning. Stay true to yourself and don't change for anyone!

I have 4 kids so we do try to be frugal whenever possible! We save printer paper that is only printed on one side for scratch paper. We save school notes that are one sided so my kids can draw or do math problems on the other. We save big plastic yogurt containers and such for leftovers. Why buy tupperware?? And with these containers I can sent leftovers home with family when they come over for a big meal. I also save grocery store bags and pack my kids school lunches in them instead of buying those small paper bags. We save napkins from the bags of fast food restaurants. We also save the condiment packets and use them when needed or to pack in school lunches. I save some sales flyers for my kids to do crafts with. I also save some egg containers and some cereal boxes for the same thing. Sometimes we stuff newspaper inside some food boxes and tape the top shut. Then my kids play store with those items till they are falling apart and we then recycle them in our recycling bin. When a board game is missing too many pieces to use anymore we still save the pieces and my kids use them for crafts or to invent new games. I save all gift bags we receive presents in and most of the tissue paper. We then reuse them to give gifts. If my kids get a present they don't really like or my dh or I get a present I don't really need (and we have no gift receipt) they go on a closet shelf and are re-gifted to someone different for a birthday or holiday. If my kids tear out the knees of a pair of pants then I cut and sew to make them shorts or capris for that spring and summer. If my kids get a stain on anywhere but the sleeve of one of those long sleeve t-shirts then they wear it under a regular t-shirt for a new winter shirt. When I get address labels in the mail from one of those places that try to get you to donate money I save them and actually use them! I have never paid to get address labels made. When we are expecting rain we put a few buckets outside to catch the rain and then use that water later to water plants. Speaking of water we have all made a conscious effort to save on our water bill by turning off the water when brushing our teeth and only turn it on to rinse our toothbrush instead of leaving it on the whole time. We also all try to turn the shower off as we lather up with soap and shampoo and then turn it back on to rinse off. If we have pencils that are too small to write with anymore, but have good erasers left we save them so we can still use the eraser.

joyful guy: There is now a device similar to a really small tall BBQ....you put the charcoal in the top part of it, the crumpled newsprint in the bottom. Set it ON TOP of the grill. Set the newsprint on fire, and in about 5 minutes your charcoal is burning nicely, the newsprint has all burned up and you pour the charcoal out of the device and into the bottom of your grill. So no lighter fluid is needed, and it makes BBQing much much easier and fun. The toughest part of BBQing for me is lighting the coals and making sure that they stay lit, this device takes a lot of that frustration out of the equation. Newsprint: They can also be rolled into "logs" to use as fireplace starters (but don't use the colored print). Passed on to a local organization that deals with children for placing on the table during arts and crafts time. Useful for creativity, having children cut out the words and make stories (kinda like old kidnapping messages). And although not for everyone, it can even be used as wall paper. I did not use newsprint, but I did use the picture books that get damaged beyond repair to "wall paper" one wall on my children's bedroom. Simply took white glue (bought in the gallon), thinned it out and placed full pages on the wall until the entire wall was covered. I used a lot of different books (cleaned out the bookshelves) and my girls are all young so the resulting wall is very colorful and the girls have fun making up new stories for their old favorites depending on the pages they are surrounded by. Since books vary greatly in size, they are placed higgly-piggly not in rows, but newsprint could be done in rows. The boys who are older wanted their room done in old maps. You could finish with a coat of varnish, although since my kids are young I did not. I foresee more pages going up in the future when their tastes change. The white glue is easily removed with a flat paint scraper, not sure that varnish would be. For the colored ads, I have started having my children cut out their "Christmas wish list" and paste them in small books (recycled paper stapled together). It helps greatly when their fondest wish is "this doll......it's got a hat....it's called Hannah (Hadley)....it's really cool! .... and they have it at Wal-mart (K-mart)." Has anyone mentioned packaging? I put it in anything I mail out that requires a bit of stuffing. The soldiers appreciate it as a little bit of home, and I'm told appreciate it almost as much as the care packages....crumpled and all. Old phonebooks: Pass on to individual who does a lot of business (personal or otherwise) in an area that lives outside of it. Perfect for small gluing projects, fingernail painting done by small children, other projects that only require a very small area. When done with project, simply rip out the pages that have been affected and toss. It occurs to me that most of mine have to do with children. =0) That's the season I'm in right now.