OMG..I love this forum. You people have the best humor. Thanks for making me laugh.. My daughter got me a few light gray bullfrog tadpoles. I have grown to love two of them. I haven't seen the other three since I put them in my pond. I named the biggest one Puffy, and the smaller one Fatty. We would stare at each other for the longest time, and they are soo cute. I am dreading for them to get big. I don't want to be afraid of them. I am not worried about them messing with my fish. They don't seem aggressive at all. The fish will taunt them and bully them around and chase them around the pond, but they won't do anything to defend themselves except to try to swim away from them when the fish won't leave them alone. I like seeing pictures of you holding them. I hope I don't get eeked out by them when they mature.

I had a lifelong addiction to sweets. I knew it often did wicked things to my blood sugar levels (and my weight), but I wasn't motivated to deal with the issue until it was pointed out to me that my dangerously high triglycerides were caused by excess carbohydrate consumption. Apparently "excess" is a relative term, depending on the person in question. I was taking in more carbs than my body could handle. I didn't wean myself off sugar. I couldn't stop smoking that way, and I couldn't give up sugar that way. I was highly addicted to both, and the only way I could stop either was cold turkey. I can relate to your feelings of depression...I was in a bad mood for weeks (maybe longer), but when I reached the point where I was no longer craving sweets it felt sooo good! In the beginning I couldn't even think about life without ice cream or chocolate, so I had to concentrate on "one day at a time." Now, almost nine years later, I'm not even tempted. I keep ice cream in the house for other people, and when I dish it up I don't even lick the spoon. I've had to be really strict about this, though. While I occasionally indulge in other kinds of carbs--bread, etc.--candy, cakes, etc., are absolutely no allowed. Not even a bite. It's the only way I can be free of cravings, and it's well worth it. Incidentally, I haven't substituted artificial sweeteners. I can't tolerate Nutra-Sweet, I don't trust Splenda (it tastes way too sweet to me anyway), and I like to eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. When you don't eat "sweets," it's amazing how many foods taste somewhat sweet on their own. Best of luck! Susan

Oh, Barb, what a sad and sorry tale. Poor little guy. I shudder to think. I think it is SOP to be on antibiotics after a procedure like that, though. I guess it didn't work on whatever bug had him sick. : ( I would die. I had a few tooth abscesses growing up, on my back molars, and the dentist would just slice them open and drain. Wonder why they just remove the tooth on these guys. Certainly, an abscess needs to be taken care of. Abscesses can cause systemic blood poisining too (whatever the correct term is). As far as routine care, it probably is a good idea to wipe the teeth down periodically. My vet recommends gauze and hydrogen peroxide to get the scum off, esp the back teeth. Two of my kitties would probably tolerate that well. Well, my cats get better medical care (and food!) than I do. I hadn't had my own teeth done in about 15 years. Ha, when I had them done this Summer, the hygienist looked like a deer caught in headlights when I answered that question! She was also in shock when my gums/teeth came up at 3's and 2's (very good). And I only had two cavities to be filled. Maybe that doesn't speak, overall, for what gets into my blood from chewing, but my teeth and gums are in good shape from daily care. One of the big reasons I had stopped getting my teeth done, though, was after reading about disease transferance through the dental drills and other tools. And I also remember how our family dentist had died of some weird (blood, as I recall) disease. Even with all the cleaning they do, there can be remnants from other patients stuck on or lodged in the tools. And, as I recall, there is specific difficulty in managing cross-contamination, in dentistry, with respect to prion diseases. I wonder if they're as careful with the instruments for animals as they're learning to be with people. Will have to ask my vet! They did have a new way of cleaning teeth, though, which I really liked! and the tool would seem safer. Forget the name, but it was with a strong water jet. They just blast the gums and teeth, like a power wash. Wouldn't want to take a blue light to that exam room or tech, though, lol.

Spoke to my KD - she agrees that the cabinets should be replaced. She (and her operations manager) thinks they should be able to be removed from the wall without damaging them (despite the glue), which would mean not all the cabinets would need to be reordered. (I hope that's true.) She's figuring out how to order them without the doors and hinges so it's a little less expensive for them - she says that's definitely possible for the uppers, but possibly not the lowers (because of the drawers). It would take 3-4 weeks to get the replacements. She checked about the countertop, and they could theoretically install the counter on the sink side so the sink & appliances could be hooked up. Then at least I'd have half a working kitchen pending the cabinets coming in. Of course, there would be a big charge for this ($640) because of all the extra trips (and I guess it covers the re-templating)... which the contractor would have to cover. I *could* do without that, so long as they plugged in my refrigerator, I guess. I don't actually cook much. (Was planning to more after the kitchen was done.) And I could wash dishes in the bathroom... Maybe I'm being too accommodating here. The foreman is taking a long weekend. I'm supposed to talk to him again on Tuesday. I may have a conversation with the contracting company's salesman before that. Wow. So this is going to be one of those projects that extends on forever...