finlyngrace

I may be taking a cruise (carnival) that stops in San Juan and while I know it's beautiful and there's a lot to do I am wondering about excursions. The few listed on the carnival website aren't what I'm looking for. I don't really go to see the history of a town but rather for the beach and swimming. I'm going with a friend who doesn't swim well so no snorkeling but just a beach day. Have you ever been to San Juan? Is there a nice beach in walking distance from the port? I want to get the most of my trip but I don't know what to sign up for. Or should I wait until I get on board to see what other options are?

I have 3 devices to make pasta dough (well, 4 if you count hands). I have a stand mixer with a dough hook, a food processor with a dough hook, and a bread maker with a dough setting. I want the easiest one with less clean up or just the best. What have you used?

Also, do you use all purpose flour or semolina? I've never tried semolina but want to.

I have 3 kids of my own but my husbands ex step sister really wants kids and can't have them. I want to offer my body for them to use so I'm looking for feedback if anyone has ever gone through it or reasons not to. I'd like to use their...stuff and not my own eggs and my body is stretched out from my own kids so I don't care about weight gain and/or stretch marks. I'm in good shape, I eat well, and I'm not looking for money. What do you think?

My sister has a 4 year old and a 2 year old that I babysit and I want to do a project for her birthday that the 4 year old can do with me. I just am stumped on what to do.

We did a scrapbook last year and she's got frames galore of the kids. She loves to entertain but has very simple minimalist taste ie her entertaining items are all white or lacking in color for the most part. I thought about letting him paint a glass platter then bake it on but I don't want it to be tacky.

I want something useful that won't look like just another preschool art project. Any suggestions? And maybe something I can do in the $20 range? Thanks!

I want things like Black Like Me, Into the Wild (that may be a stretch) or Last Lecture. I don't want historic things; wars and politics bore me! If there was a book that someone wrote about their Titanic excursion then that would work too. I want to read true stories that are set more like a novel. Easier to read... Any suggestions?

I only watch TV online and lately it has been abc that has been having issues. It starts up just fine and then a few minutes into it it freezes the frame but the timer keeps moving and then 5-10 seconds later it resumes with where it should be but I've missed the previous few seconds. Or the video goes slow and the audio is playing real time so the scenes are off. After it does that it loses the full frame option and only lets me watch it in a thumbnail. If I try to do anything firefox freezes and says it's not responding. So I have to close it out and start over. Anyone have any advice? Thanks!

I lost the ballot that came in the mail and I still would like to vote if possible. Is there any way of voting like they did way back when? You know like go somewhere and vote at a booth or something? I've never lost a ballot before and I need to vote now! Can someone help me with this. I live in Oregon if that makes a difference. Please and thank you!!

If so why? I was driving by a park today and someone had spray painted the sign showing the name of the park. I just want to what the draw is and why destruction of property is fun or whatever.

My husband and I have 2 kids together(3 and 1 1/2, both of which were 'accidents'. We are starting the process of a divorce but not going to be living apart nor do we hate each other. He just has some things he needs to figure out so we're essentially pushing the pause button on our marriage. We're best friends and love each other very much and I just want to have one baby that wasn't an 'oops'. But that's not it. I just really want another but he says he's done. I went through a really bad postpartum depression with my last one and am still supposed to be taking medication for it but I want to do it on my own. I just don't know why I am thinking these thoughts or how I can get them to stop.

I had a PC that crapped out so I bought a new one. It frequently shows that it is connected to the wireless network and doesn't load a page when I log on to the internet. It only does it about half the time. Sometimes it comes up just fine and others it won't load. Is there a setting I've missed when I close the lid or anything? Please don't tell me it's because I didn't buy a MAC because I have 2 already. Any help anyone can give is appreciated. Thank you!

I love watching the leaves change color because that means we are that much closer to Thanksgiving. I love the smell of the pumpkin pie and all the prep work to go into the glorious feast. I have only attempted to make it once and I've learned from all my mistakes except for the gravy. My bird gave off little to no juices so I wasn't left with a roasting pan to make the gravy in but a blackened pan I made crap in. How do you make gravy successfully!?!? Am I missing something? Recipes on the web suck and I am more of a 'wing it' kind of person (when I cook I don't use exact measurements). Someone help me please! I can't have another failed Thanksgiving! Thank you!

My son goes to a private grade school. Every year they hold an auction to raise money for the school. They want to find someone to donate a large prize package (ie a golf trip, Vegas vacation, weekend spa getaway etc). How can I go about finding a company to donate these things? Do I have to get a hotel to donate and an airline or do I go through somewhere large like Orbitz or Expedia? Anyone have advice for me? I will take any tip anyone has! Thank you so much!

I'm trying to lose a few pounds; I exercise, eat fairly well, and only want to lose about 10 pounds. But I love to drink. I don't drink to get wasted just to get a little buzz. So is my best bet drinking light beer with only 5 carbs per bottle (and have up to 4 of them) or have vodka which has no carbs but mix it with juice which is full of carbs? I don't drink caffeine and I don't like straight alcohol so what should I drink to watch my weight. Oh and I'm not going to stop drinking because it is something I actually enjoy.

Because I'm not poor and I like my money to not be taxed to every extent and the troops are coming out soon enough anyway. So what is the draw here? If he were an old white guy would you be feeling the same? I'm just curious. And honestly I don't know who I am voting for.

I go in today to get impressions made for Invisalign braces. I have been so excited and waited so long to be able to get my teeth done. But I mentioned it to my brother he told me about a girl at work who said they hurt so much all the time. He said the bad thing is that you have to take them out to eat and stuff so putting them in each time really hurts. Is this chick just blowing it all out of proportion or does it really hurt that bad? My teeth aren't that bad and I plan to follow every rule to a T if that helps. Please let me know if there is nothing to worry about or to brace myself (no pun intended) for pain and suffering for the next year!!!

I go in tomorrow to have impressions made for Invisalign braces and my brother told me some chick at his work has them and they hurt like hell all day everyday! Is this true or is it manageable?

Yesterday morning I ordered two cakes from a very reputable, very expensive bakery for a birthday party and asked if they would be ready for today (making sure I allowed enough time). They asked me when I wanted to pick them up and I said "after 3:00". I went in today at 5:00 to pick them up for the party and they were closed. Turns out they closed at 4:00. I was furious! Not only did they not tell me when they closed but they didn't even give me a courtesy call saying "hey we close in a half an hour did you want to pick up your cakes?" NOTHING!!! I have ordered 2 other really expensive cakes from them in the last month and love their cakes but this really made me mad. Do I have the right to be upset? Should I call in the morning and tell them how I feel? I didn't pay for the cakes in advance (that's not how it works) but I still had a birthday party with no cake and had to put a batch of Betty Crocker brownies in the oven just to have something to serve. If it helps this was a party I was invited to and offered to bring the cake and I showed up empty handed. Please give me some advice!!! Thank you!

This girl I've known for about a year was friends with me and my sister and we all used to hang out all the time. We all lived close and did things nearly daily. I moved 15 minutes away and she moved a few blocks away from the hang out (which was my sister's house). Our husbands did things together and we had a total of 9 kids; the youngest of these were all really close in age. My sis and I noticed she and her husband lied to us, each other, and other friends. Well we had an issue and she called my sister claiming my husband was all sorts of things when in reality it was a story her husband had falsely told her (it was really his fault). I got mad and told her it wasn't right to go behind my back to my sister to bad mouth my husband. We haven't spoken for a few months but she just emailed me telling me she wants us to all be friends again. She invited me to her son's first birthday party but I don't know how I feel yet to know whether or not to go or even contact her. We were really good friends but I hate lying and I have a hard time trusting people who lie to me or talk about my family to my family. So what should I do?

I have a bunch of fresh lemon cucumbers and I can't find a recipe to pickle them. I can only find regular pickle recipes but didn't know if I should modify it in some way to really get the flavor of them. Any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated!

I have a rather large butterfly bush at the corner of my deck that has taken over the yard! It is nearly done blooming but I need it to be smaller than what it is now. I have read contradicting advice saying to only prune in the fall while others say to prune in the spring. I need help knowing if I can prune it now (and if so how much) because I can't even mow under the arched branches. Or should I wait until spring to do so and tie it/stake it now?