I'm on a somewhat desperate search to find a countertop, compact microwave with volume control, so I can mute the beeps. We live in a small house and need to control the noise factor when kids are napping. Compact is considered .7 to 1.0 cubic feet, I believe. Thanks!

Hello there mikie, Well I got here and saw before I opened the thread and only saw one reply. I thought, "This can't be good". LOL! I did happen to find my way there to the area you spoke of. I was going to show you a screenshot of my problem. Once I got there, I chose all kinds of sounds to try and get one that will work, but could not. Right before I gave up, I saw a sound option that said "Windows XP Start". That is the same sound I had before! GREAT! Thanks for helping me mikie. I appreciate it greatly. You're a big help to this community. Now my remaining question is how did the changes take place? I never went there and made any changes. Hmm? Thanks, Aurelius

I think it depends on how much you want to be in control and how much control you want to relinquish to others--both have pros and cons. When we redid our master bath last year it was my first experience using a designer so I was clueless about some things, as much as I have always enjoyed design. We picked things out swiftly, just going to one or 2 places she recommended. For example, for the counter she took me to the stone retailer she uses. He had a small showroom/warehouse with samples and I picked my counter from there. I had no idea at the time there were massive stone yards with hundreds of granites, etc...For the tile, I found an accent tile I liked and just went with a coordinating tile the woman at the tile shop recommended to us. And I just used the contractor she worked with. Well, the job took way too long (2 months) and have found out just now with the kitchen reno they did the plumbing incorrectly. Do I like my bathroom? Yes. Is it love, love, love? No. I am using a contractor for my kitchen (we couldnt have done much with it layout wise unless we wanted to tear down walls and neighborhood just doesn't warrant a major overhaul). Contractor also has design experience, but after bathroom designer I didn't want to leave one "stone" unturned. I went to every stone yard and tile place within a 25 mile radius. I didn't want to be in a position to make decisions or pick things out in a few minutes or just from 1 or 2 places. I did use the kitchen cabinet place he recommended and the owner, my contractor and I spent an afternoon at the house going over every cabinet, which features, etc...Some people prefer 10 choices to 1,000 and are happy when a designer says "here are 5 floor samples I think will work" and you pick one. I wanted to get a broader scope of everything available, then choose for myself. I am using the fabricator my contractor recommends. I did all the appliance research myself--with a lot of help form this forum. With an infant, a designer might be the way to go if you are in a hurry to get things done. But I would do some legwork on my own first to get a sense of everything that is out there so you aren't making hasty decisions.

My own children are grown and married. I married someone who has teen children. Two daughters aged 12 & 16, and adopted son who is 14, and came to live with us after we had been married a year. My husband kept it from me that the mother wanted this child out of her home because he elbowed her in the stomach and slammed the car door on her arm when he was 10. The reason being the mother would not buy him a stuffed animal from Cracker Barrel. The kids are still the bigger problem, but the husband is an enabler for the disrespect and behavior. I started in counseling in March to figure out what I wanted to do about this confusing marriage. My counselor told me, that you should have called CPS to protect your own child, and CPS would have handled this out of bounds, renegade son of your partner. What transacted is indeed very serious. My experience can tell you your situation is going no where. Raise your own child first, then seek out your companionship. Even in that event it may not work out, then you will still be better off because you protected your own child. You do not have any control over how his son acts, you cannot control the fact that your partner wants him around. I will tell you the kids will always come before you, probably even after they are adults. I just had something very valuable stolen from the home. My husband is acting like it is "no big deal." And why should I call the police to report a burglary, and speak to the boy about what he knows about it? I should suck up the $2800 loss, and forget and live without it. Does this tell you how the events will go in your life in the future? Right now, I am trying to find a home, so I will not have to move my belongings twice, that is why an apartment is a last resort for me to consider.