No to pierced ears here. But this week, I wish I had. I am trying to find a pair of dangling earrings for my son's wedding next weekend. Clip earrings are very difficult to find to start with but when you have an idea of what you want that makes it impossible! To give you an idea: I am a plus size woman so that cannot be too dainty, but then again I am not a "bold" person either. I do not want hoops. I want them to dangle about 2 inches (cant' be much longer because the neckline on the jacket of the dress has a lot of beading and I don't want tangles. They have to be silvertone and could have clear crystals mixed in. I don't want to look like I am putting on the ritz because to me that would look fake because there is no way we could afford anything like that. I just want them to be dressy but not over the top. So, not that I wanted much, huh? :) When I read this back, it is funny - no wonder I cannot find what I want from the 5-10 pairs that a store might have if they carry clips at all. Maybe I won't even wear any. The beading on my jacket and a necklace may be it. I am wearing a very special piece of black hills silver for my necklace. It is an angel that I wear each and everyday in memory of our daughter. She will be sooooo missed at the wedding. It will be 6 years this July. On some days it still seems like yesterday - she would be 27. However, she will be in our hearts. She would be so happy for her brother and will be watching from heaven I am sure. (Better quit here before the tears come.) Have a happy day!

I went through this too, but will never let Katie go. She is more like a friend than a cleaning lady. My kids adore her. She was a doctor in Albania and came to this country and had to start over doing anything she could to make money, including waitressing, babysitting, and cleaning houses. Cleaning is where she found she could make the most money, but in the meantime she put herself through nursing school, while working fulltime cleaning houses. She graduated last spring and now has a full time nursing job but still comes to help me when she can. Some weeks she can't come at all and every week the day changes, but she always comes in the afternoon so that on that day my son can take his nap in his bed instead of in the car (since I have to pick my daughter up at 3 ). She loves to cook like me. She brings me recipes and I share mine with her. She lets my son follow her around the house and gives him little jobs to do. When my daughter is around she does the same for her ... she'll have my daughter pick up her stuffed animals, etc or bring laundry downstairs. I like this, because I too worry about the kids thinking they don't have to pick up after themselves. Anyway, post renovation, I researched different products and am using different things now, but it was just a one time short conversation about the new stuff we are using (most particularly, this Bonax wood flooring cleaning system). She knows that the new house is my baby and I did tell her that I would take care of certain aspects (like cleaning the Butcherblock counter). She'll move on eventually. She is still cleaning because she is saving up money for her wedding next year. She is such an impressive young woman. So personable, hard working and caring. She is so there for me when I need her. She babysits in a pinch (or gets her sister to babysit for me). I hope I won't have to do without her until I am done with the classes I am taking because she is part of the infrastructure that is allowing this to happen for me. sorry so long winded but I feel so fortunate for the situation I have and wouldn't give it up.

HJ, I occassionally get this urge to stir people (just in fun of course), I suppose it's from putting up with my practical joker husband and son :) actually the whole family is like that! Even though it was in fun I am interested and I have even been checking out different varieties myself, much to my hubby's disgust because I'm always complaining about having to extend the gardens. My kids prefer to eat their tomatoes fresh from the bush or sliced on a sandwich or in a salad, though I make up a few bottles of relish for myself and friends and I make a tomato soup/sauce which I keep in the freezer to add to meals. My youngest won't eat cooked peas or carrot but loves peas straight from the bush and raw carrots (turns her into supergirl, as she says). Sugar Snap, I was quite excited when I first realised bandicoots were visiting until they uprooted strawberries, corn, tomatoes and watermelon :( Also bandicoots are the main carrier of the paralysis tick. I have a 4 month old pup which has recently recovered from tick paralysis. He hadn't been out of the houseyard for a fortnight and has daily tick checks and had regular tick rinses but I missed a tick deep in his ear. Normally I use frontline but I had run out of it and as I was selling him I hadn't bothered to buy more. The frontline I use on his parents is a larger size so couldn't use it on him. At least now that he is fully recovered, I can try selling him again.

Awww! So cute! Dog ears should be rinsed generoulsy with ear cleaning solution. This cleans the gunk out and usually causes the dog to shake their head vigorously, which further dislodges the dirt and "stuff" from the canals. I then use a cotton ball to clean the exterior and interior, as much and as gently as I can. Dogs licking each other's ears isn't going to clean the ear canals, where bacterial and yeast infections can fester. If you find your dog's ears need constant cleaning, and get brown "potatoes" as I call them, you should have your vet test for bacteria and yeast. Both are easily treated with medication. Of course, you need to watch for ear scratching, rubbing and sensitivity, too. Beagles, unfortunately, are prone to ear infections. FTR, I use Zymox. http://www.zymox.com/products#earCare