CAITLIN

Instead of telling me what the best thing you received was, how about telling me what you were most excited to give to somebody this year and why it was so special?

For me I was very excited about giving my boyfriend a watch that did not have the traditional 1-12 hour markers on the face. Instead the hours were marked as mathematical equations where the answer was the hour. He's a high school math teacher so it was not only unique but personal.

It seems to be that holiday commercials get dumber every year. My least favorite commercial for the holiday is the Burlington Coat Factory commercial where the woman asks a young girl if she believes in Santa and the girl replies "I believe in cashmere". I haven't seen it yet this year and I hope they don't use it again. I also hate this year's Kohl's Black Friday commercial with the talking dogs who wake up their owner to tell her that Kohl's opens up at 4 AM on Black Friday. The dogs are cute but who wears red patent stilettos out shopping at 4 AM?

This is just for fun. I don't work in advertising. I'm just taking an informal poll. Please no rude comments about there being better things to worry about than commercials. Thanks.

My boyfriend and I, both in our early 30s, just booked our fall trip to Disney World. He's never been there before. I have been there three other times but the last time was 11 years ago so I am sure things have changed. We are staying on property and have the 6 day park hopper tickets. There is so much to do but I want to make sure we experience the best of the best. Is there any must see attractions? Obviously the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, The World Showcase and The Great Movie Ride are at the top of my list. What else? We want to build our daily schedules around the attractions we *must* see.

Also what restaurants should we consider trying? Neither of us are picky eaters and will eat virtually any kind of food. We prefer the full service restaurants for dinner but will be okay with fast cafeteria style dining for lunch.

Thanks for any recommendations.

I'm turning 30 next month and up until a few weeks ago, I was really excited and planning a huge celebration. Now I'm feeling really depressed. I have a great successful career, in a 2+ year relationship with a great guy, in pretty good shape, and I'm relatively independant. But I feel like something is missing. I want to get married and have kids and I feel like I am running out time because I don't want to be an older bride or thinking about retirement when my kid goes off to college. I've been hinting at marriage to my boyfriend but we haven't seriously discussed it yet. I don't know how to get through the next month and a half without breaking down in tears every day. Did anybody else go through this? What did you do to make it better? Most of my female friends are younger than me and my boyfriend doesn't understand the whole biological clock thing or that after age 35, the chances of a healthy pregnancy start to decline. I appreciate any advice that you offer. Thanks.

My boyfriend and I have been together for just over 2yrs. We have met each other's family and friends and everybody gets along really well. However, lately I feel like his sister is against me. She gets mad when she tries to make last minute plans and we tell her that we can't go because we already made plans with my family. I make every effort to participate in his family's events no matter how small they are but I feel that my family is just as important. She and I are both the Alpha-Female type so I know that there are bound to be times when we clash but I try hard to just smile and go along with things just to keep the peace. Do you think she's acting like this because she feels like another strong female is coming into her territory and "stealing her brother"?

Latest example to follow. Please wait to answer....

I am looking into purchasing my first home and I have found a really cute 4 bedroom, 2 bath Cape Cod in the same neighborhood I grew up in. I am not sure what I should do next. Should I go to the bank and see what I can get pre-approved for? Or should I contact the realitor and do a walk through before going to the bank?

First let me start by saying that my brother and I are both in our late 20's and both work. I live on my own and my brother still lives at my parents' house. About 2 years ago, my mom got laid off from the job she was at for 35 years. She found another job a few months later but took a $20K pay cut. Then she got laid off again. It took about 6 months for her to find work and she took another $10K cut in salary. Money has been tight for them. The first time she got laid off, it wasn't too bad for them because she had gotten a severance package that paid her for several months. But by the second time it happened, because of the cut in pay and the lack of a substantial severance, things went down hill really quickly. To help ease my family's deprrssion about holidays and celebrations, I started hosting the holidays and co-hosting large birthday dinners and picking up things for them here and there but I get nothing but grief from my family everytime I try to do something.

There are so many young people posting their pictures on this site asking people to rate their appearance? Are people really that insecure that they have to ask perfect strangers what they think of their looks? What is the difference if 15 people you will never come in contact with otherwise think you're a 5 or an 8? Is it really going to help you sleep better at night knowing that somebody rated you a 7 out of 10? And what if they all rate you a 2? Are you going to go into hiding? Run out and get a nose job? Or just delete the question so it and the answers never existed?

The most disturbing part is that these 15 year olds, many times, post pictures where they are all sexed up and posing provacatively and because this site is not monitored, they open themselves up to being viewed and possibly contacted by any pedophile that happens across their question.

Does anybody else agree with me?

When I was about 22, I gained a lot of weight from a medication. I lost all of it through Weight Watchers. After a car accident, I was having chronic pain and anxiety and a doctor suggested that I see a therapist and think about an anti-depressant, which may also help with the pain. I was first put on citalopram, which I believe is like Celexa. I was still doing Weight Watchers but I stop losing weight and started gaining again and couldn't lose weight no matter what I did. Then she switched me to Wellbutrin and I didn't gain any more weight but I didn't lose it either. Then I went off Wellbutrin and gained more weight.

I'm trying to lose weight again and I'm back on Wellbutrin because that seems to be a factor in how my weight fluctuates. Has anybody experienced weight loss with Welbutrin and weight gain when stopped?

Please note that I had anxiety, not depression. The events causing anxiety has been resolved.

It has become obvious that texting with cell phones is now the prefered method of communication for teens and early twenty somethings. However, I now have to work with these early twenty somethings, just out of college, and I am finding that they cannot spell nor can they write a grammatically correct sentence. Some of these people even pepper written business communication with things like "OMG", "LOL", or ":-)", all of which are highly inappropriate in the corporate setting.

Even on Yahoo Answers, there are times when I can barely make out any of the details because the spelling and grammar are so bad. Plus, it never seems like anybody uses the phone to actually talk to each other.

I am 29. Growing up we didn't all have cell phones so we learned how to write correctly. We didn't write "B4", it was "before" and it wasn't "CUL8R" it was "See You Later".

Are we going to become a society that is illiterate to tranditional written and verbal forms of communication?

I was just reading an article about retailers feeling the pinch this holiday season. It said that rising fuel costs were causing shoppers to down grade to discount stores or buy less so retailers were decreasing projections of sales.

I know it's still early but has anybody decided to limit their budget this year because of rising costs? Have you decided to shop at discounters to get the most bang for your buck? How many people are on your list and what is your total budget?

I have 11 people on my list (all adults mostly family and two close friends). I'm almost done shopping. I shopped mostly online but I did shop in some brick and mortar stores but nothing that I'd consider to be a discounter like Wal-Mart or KMart. I used special sales or promotions when available. My budget is about $1000-$1200.

What do you believe is the worst fashion trend out there today? I want to know about mainstream trends. Not things like all black cothing of the gotic subculture or Emo hair. Just the things you see on every day people.

My least favorite trends are those sweat pants that have words printed across the butt and the really big round plastic sunglasses that cover up half the face.

What is out there that you don't like?

For the past several years, my company has given all of the employees gifts from Tiffany & Company for the holiday. We usually have a choice of crystal stemware or crystal serving pieces or something like a silver plated pen set. This year our gift choices are coming from Brookstone. I'm not sure what to choose because I don't want or can't use anything on the list. What would you choose?

A. A Digital Photo XMas Ornament

B. A Foot Massager/Warmer

C. A Shower Caddie For The iPod (I never use my iPod)

D. A Portable Martini Set

E. A Massaging Back Cushion

Please keep in mind that what ever I choose cannot be returned because it's part of their corporate gift program. And everybody I know has to make the same decision or doesn't want what's being offered either so regifting is not an option.

The original mortgage was granted through one loan company but over the years, it has been sold off to other companies. The note is now held by a third mortgage company. In the beginning much of the monthly payment went towards the interest but now most of it is going towards the principle. The mortgage will be paid off in 6 months which is earlier than negotiated. Because all the interest was paid in the beginning, we have essentially overpaid the interest and should be getting a credit. So who owes us the credit? Is it the mortgage company that collected the payments initially or is it the current mortgage company because they have assumed all responsibility for the note when they purchased it from the other company? Can you please also send me a link to some documentation that will support your answer? Thanks!

We lost touch a few years back and I don't have any contact information for her anymore. I think her parents still live in Woodbridge. If you know her, please let me know. Thanks!

I am not overweight, although I'd like to slim down by losing some body fat and gaining muscle. I work out for about 30-45 minutes a day a few times a week doing aerobic-strength training or cardio. After each workout, my abs, hips, thighs, and arms seem a bit flabby compared to before my workout. Why does that happen?

Only serious answers please. Thanks!

: My brother and I are both in our late 20s. My bro has been with his g/f for over 3yrs and since they started dating, she has been included in most of our family activities. My mom has even changed dates of celebrations to include her- like last year having Xmas dinner on 12/26 and pushing off my fam's traditional Christmas Eve celebration so that she and my father could accept a last minute invite from her family (I wasn't invited). She gets mad at my bro for things that are out of his control- like she and I giving him similar Xmas gifts. My mom loves her and thinks she and I should be friends. She barely talks to me when we are together and has recently told my bro that she doesn't like my b/f so there is little chance of a double date. She is a nice girl but nobody I'd really be friends with. We have nothing in common. I think my only obligation is to be cordial but my mom thinks differently. What should I do?