forblueskies

Yes, they do. Best corn dogs ever!

We call them Pronto Pups here in the South. It's a brand name that is old as the hills. My son moved to Oregon and he called them that, and they thought he was nuts.

Being self-employed my whole life, I have worked many holidays, esp. the lesser ones. But not by choice. It's simple: I don't get my work out when my clients want it, I don't get paid, and I may no longer have that client. I did turn down a several-hundred dollar job today because I would have had to work a part of the Easter weekend. I chose to keep my commitment to my granddaughters to be at an Easter Egg hunt and their church on Easter Sunday. Some things are no longer for sale in my life.... I do very much appreciate those who work holidays so that we may have emergency response, hospital staff, and other very vital services, and I hope you make double overtime. In my profession, though, working holidays, weekends or nights is very common and usually not compensated as anything but regular time.

Making offspring? Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it's incredibly hard for some couples, and very expensive. Carrying that "parasite" for 9 and a half months? Doing that while working a 40-hour a week job, or more? Doing that while working, without having any extra time off for doc visits or when you have morning sickness, fatigue, et cet? Try that and get back to me. Dropping it out of a vagina??? LMAO Call me next time you birth a bowling ball after 10-24 hours of labor. Oh, wait. You have a set of tiny balls, not a vagina. Recovering from childbirth and taking care of a newborn who is up half the night? Doing that after having major surgery, i.e. a Cesarean? Or perhaps, visiting a sick newborn in the ICU for a few days or months?? Yes, all of that is a choice, but your blase description makes me super glad I am not your girlfriend, or your mom who dropped you out of a vagina. I've done both, worked since I was 20, had my own company, worked 80-hour weeks, no benefits or paid time off, raised 3 children (not parasites) both with help and singly, with only 6 weeks off each time to recover from a Cesarean, unpaid, sent all 3 to college, and have produced 3 more well-paid taxpayers to support you in your old age. And I stilll had the balls to do my first skydive at 55. Compared to everything else I have done, THAT was a piece of cake. I will close this soliloquy by saying birthing and raising children through college was, by far, the hardest thing I have ever done. I used to go to work (and my work is very challenging), to get a rest from childrearing.

Are you sure of that fact, or do the more educated just have children later in life? Vanderbilt-Emory grad, mom of 3

I learned a lot from the "Wifey" videos.

The article I read said he was the same guy who took him on his 85th. The Bush family is well-known for treating all their security people and military personnel with great kindness and respect. I am sure they knew and trusted this military guy to get Sr. down safely.

By all means, take a cruise. These ships are so big and there is so much to do, you will have a blast just trying to do it all, even without a wind tunnel. The shore excursions are fun ~ I got to help pilot an America's cup in a "race"! And Royal Caribbean is the only way to go. The BEST large ships at sea in this hemisphere. I have been on several cruises. And that price is probably right. There are no gimmicks. I had a 6-day cruise with all extras included, like liquor and shore excursions and an optional gourmet restaurant meal, for less than $1200, and that included air fare. Just carefully pick the time you go. In the spring, there are tons of kids on board for spring break. You will find, however, that there is a huge mixture of all ages, and the blue hair set is only a minority percentage of passengers. The ships have so many different areas, that you can kind of make your cruise as sedate or as exciting as you want it, and be with many people poolside or all alone on a deck watching the sun set with dolphins jumping.

I bet it will be included in the travel package. That is just the way RC tries to roll. And I think there will be a lot of young guys, and gals, who want to try an "extreme" sport, and have never done a skydive before. I bet it will be a very popular activity with the general public, and there are people of all ages on these mega-ships, from about 1000 children, to people in their 20-50's, and another third 60 and up. Heck, former President Bush may have just started a run on wind tunnels and skydiving by the geriatric set today!

There are more expensive cabins on Royal Carribean ships, but all diners eat in the same dining rooms, unless you choose to visit the couple of special restaurants on board. Most of the activities on board are inclusive, except things like spa treatments. I bet this would be included in the onboard activities, but you would probably have to sign up for it. I think it sounds pretty cool. I am one of those geezers who would love to try it, since I have one jump under my belt.

OK, let me rephrase: That's too bad, because it makes sense. I wonder if there is a commercial trap (along the same line, probably for some other bug) that won't fall apart and the squirrels can't get into before I can take a pot-shot. Bingo! And I hope you have a lot of time on your hands.

There is nothing a squirrel can't get into.

But then my skin would get all wrinkled...with all due respect. Referring to living in Arizona, which lacks mosquitoes.

Being a voracious reading since childhood, I still find nothing compares with holding and turning the pages of a real book. The satisfaction of turning the last page. The feel of the pages, the smell. I was given a Kindle. I read one book on it.

Well, that's just it. For me, anyway. These football guys do something I will never get to do, being female, so I live through my team vicariously. It's also all about being with the other fans who are my friends, our rituals before the games, eating and drinking and catching up on our lives where we DO amazing things in our own lives. I choose a player or two to follow, get to know them, and it's like following anyone in any endeavor. Fun to see them develop and perform and have fun. It in no way precludes me from developing and performing and having fun in the things I do. It is a way of life in the South, and fun to travel to away games all over the South in the fall.

Like you hear the ocean in a seashell?

I'm very opinionated about this. Before you make any choice, please visit Portland, Oregon. There is every kind of terrain for every kind of sport, 100 microbreweries, great seafood, salmon, coffee, fruits and vegetables, an educated, laid-back, polite populace, amazing bookstores, every kind of music, and Portland State. Eugene is home to the U. of Oregon, and about forty miles south, a great college town. The Columbia River Gorge to the north has to be seen to be believed. Lots of sports, b&b's, a scenic route. Oregon has less rain than Seattle and milder temps. It is quite dry in the summer. Balloon festivals. a Shakespeare festival, the sea lion caves at Florence, Crater Lake, and the Bend area. It is quite truly heaven! Now, North Carolina is awesome, too, with natural beauty, pronounced seasons, culture, world-class universities, a vibrant economy, Asheville, Raleigh, and Charlotte. Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Ga, also have incredible charm, food, and lowland culture. On the ocean. Nashville, Tn. is a good mid-sized city that is quite cosmopolitan. Ditto, Chattanooga. Florida is very humid. Sarasota has sugar beaches and lots of culture. Also, lots of Snowbirds from the North.

I've had a few of these, and I agree they are terrifying. The last one was after I had taken a Melatonin to sleep. Not saying that caused it, although I have read where others say it does. Just pay attention to what you are drinking or taking medicine-wise, also. They are especially scary if you are alone, which I was. Best wishes!

Herpes is not totally physically insignificant. It can be quite painful. And there ARE blood tests that are accurate for the different kinds of herpes.

You say you are in the perfect arrangement, and then you say you are envious of your friends who "have it all." It seems from these inconsistent statements that you feel you are missing something, perhaps an intensity of feeling or a public display of affection and affirmation. I am not sure whether your guy will eventually come around to this or this is a losing battle for you. I do know that if you have to drag expressions of these feelings out of your guy, it will never feel really genuine, and I think you deserve more. I was with a guy for 6 years who verbally said he loved me infrequently and usually in response to me saying it. He left me for another younger woman. I am now with a guy who looks for excuses to say it, and with feeling and emotion. I can hear it in his voice. I feel so blessed to be rid of the old guy and with the new one. You call your relationship an "arrangement." That seems like kind of a cold, business-like way to describe it, and unless you are comfortable with the description of it like that, I suggest your words may hold some meaning you might want to explore. Just what is it you desire in a "relationship"? You MAY NOT be ready for any relationship if you can't answer that question precisely. And this has nothing to do with looking around at other women and dissecting that they have. This is about you.

Actually, there IS no good barbecue in Nashville. Just keep going west to Memphis, the Barbecue Capital of the World. It's worth the 3-hour drive. Just ate at Central last night, and it was shore enuf fine eatin. Memphis is full of great BBQ stores. Or better yet, just wait a couple weeks and come on down for the world-famous International Barbecue Contest overlooking the Mississippi River! I went to Vandy, but Memphis is home, so I know whereof I speak. But don't miss the Pancake Pantry, and go early. I couldn't get in last time I went.