Spex

On Saturday my husband took our 7 month old pug for a walk; she damaged some of her front nails, we're not sure how. When they got home, her front paws were a bloody mess. Upon further inspection, I realized the nails had been damaged, I assume on concrete, and the quick on a few of them was cut. By the time I was able to do my inspection, the bleeding had stopped. At no point did the puppy seem to be in pain, and had no problem with me cleaning the dried blood off of her paws. The rest of the weekend there was no bleeding and she continued with her usual activities. Now it's Monday morning and I've noticed trails of blood around the house. I checked all of the other pets, just in case, and they're fine. All I can think is that the quick has started bleeding again. I've inspected her nails, and they are not currently bleeding. I've tried searching on the internet, but all that I've found relates to clipping nails and treating quicks that are currently bleeding. What should I do? Does she need to go to the vet? I'm not sure what they could do for her, and she's not in any pain; will this just heal on it's own? Thanks in advance for any ideas, suggestions, advice, etc.

Until recently, my husband and I had one dog and two cats. The cats didn't love the dog, but tolerated him. The cats seemed happy and received many treats and special attention (out of the reach of the dog). My husband adopted a new puppy about two months ago. The cats tolerate the new pup also; one is even in love with her (they sleep next to each other and the cat grooms the dog). We've been having a little trouble house training the new dog; she does her business outside approx 75% of the time. I've gotten used to finding little surprises around the house, and cleaning them up. Last night we found a little surprise in the kitchen, but both dogs were in the living room with us. I'm pretty sure one of the cat's is responsible. We found another mess in the kitchen later last night. And my husband found another one this morning. Our cats are indoor/outdoor, and they don't have access to a litter box; until last night they always went outdoors. The weather has gotten a little colder, but they still went outside last winter. Could this be a medical problem? Are they just now realizing they're jealous of the new puppy? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

One weekend, my husband and I had the bright idea of spontaneously pulling up the carpet in our living room to reveal awesome hardwood floors. Since we did not do any research and just jumped right in, we did not know that we should cut the carpet into nice, manageable 3 or 4 foot strips. Now we are stuck with a huge roll of old carpet and padding, that our garbage men will not pick up (it's too heavy and exceeds their size requirements). It now lives in our garage, next to my car (making it hard to get in and out of said automobile). My husband works full time and is a full time grad student, so the job of taking care of this has been left to me. We used a utility knife to cut the carpet when we pulled it out, and this was a pain in the you-know-what. I thought of maybe trying the circular saw, but somehow that doesn't seem like a good idea. Do you have any suggestions of another tool or method of cutting up this large section of carpet into manageable sections our garbage men will be willing to take? Thanks in advance!

It's an electro/dance/club/techno song, circa 2002. A friend made a mixed CD for me and the song was on there, but since then the CD has been lost and I don't see that friend anymore. It has a Hawaiian/ukulele/Polynesian feel to it, and the really bad part is, it's instrumental! If it had words, I'd just google those. I have tried searching "hawaiian techno" and "ukulele techno" with no luck. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Advice on where to look for this would be awesome too. If there's any other info that might be helpful, please let me know! All answers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I'm searching for a new job and currently smoke marijuana on a daily basis. I'd rather not quit smoking, and would prefer a job at a non-drug-free workplace. Are employers required to or do they usually state in their employment ads that they are a drug-free workplace or that they require drug testing prior to employment? Also, is it likely that the office of the county clerk would do drug testing? Any info will be greatly appreciated.

I was abruptly terminated from my last position because I made a really stupid mistake. I accidentally sent an email meant to go to another coworker to, you guessed it, my boss. Needless to say, said email contained some not very nice things about my boss. Although I have been in the same job for 18 months with no previous reprimands, and do not have a record of absenteeism, they still found it appropriate to terminate my employment. I have an interview tomorrow afternoon, and I don't know what I should tell this potential employer about my termination. I know I shouldn't lie, but how do I phrase this if they ask? Thanks in advance for your help!

Before you chime in and say "of course!" you need to understand that my father is a real jerk. I'm now 23 and have not heard from him for two years (last time I saw him was at my wedding in 2006 - at which he did not give me a wedding card, let alone a present). My parents have been divorced since I was 7, but I've always been diligent in sending my dad a birthday, father's day, and Christmas card (and gift when I can afford it). He, on the other hand is very sporadic in when he decides to send something. I've talked to some people who say I should keep sending him cards even if it is just to make him feel guilty and to remind him that I still exist. I mentioned this to my husband, who said "for all you know he doesn't even open your cards and just throws them away. Why put yourself through this debate each June? Just stop sending him cards!" I don't know what to do and need some outside opinions. Please let me know what you'd do if you were in my situation. Thank you

I'm finishing up my grad school statement of purpose and I'm having trouble with one phrase. Here is the sentence:

"...to help members of my community work through difficult times and become better people because of what they have been through."

I really hate the "become better people because of what they have been through" part. Do you think it sounds okay? If not, do you have any suggestions on how to rephrase it? My brain is going numb from trying to think of a string of words that mean the same thing. :( Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I have recently begun frequenting my local roller rink to learn how to skate for the very first time. I'm doing okay in that I don't fall down too much, but the wall is still my good friend. Anyway, I am thinking of purchasing my first pair of skates, but as this is a recreational activity and not roller derby, I'm really not sure what to buy. I've heard that I should buy skates with nylon plates and the bearings should be at least ABEC-5 or higher, but does this really matter to a beginner, recreational skater? I don't want to pay too much for skates and then have to upgrade in the near future (1 year or less). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated and if any more info would be helpful, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

About a year ago I was given the most awesome succulent as a gift. The giver told me it was very low maintenance, and did not need direct sunlight. I'd give it a little water about once a month and it seemed to be a happy little plant. To take care of it, I tried to find out exactly what kind of succulent this plant was, and found no answers. Now I have moved into a new home and the plant has basically died. The mystery succulent was placed in a relatively sunny and warm spare bedroom, but I think I forgot about it and it shriveled up. I tried to rescue it by giving it a lot of water; I think that was the big mistake. Now I have this poor wilted, shriveled up succulent that I am trying to save. Some of the branches are still firm and green, so I'll be propagating them with the hopes of forming a new plan. Now, after all of that explanation, can you help me identify this plant? (Link will be in the details) Sorry it's shriveled; this will probably make id more difficult.

While tossing and turning last night, my nipple piercing (almost a year old) caught on the bed linens and tore. It's not completely torn out, but there is a sizable (about 1/4 of an inch) tear in my nipple. The bleeding stopped pretty soon afterwards. I covered my nipple with a bandaid and went back to sleep. So the question is, what do I do now? Do I need to go to the ER and get stitches (as seems to be the case when an earlobe is torn)? Do I put on neosporin and a bandaid and go on with my life? Should I contact my piercer when her studio opens later today? Any advice, suggestions, etc will be greatly appreciated. I just don't want to end up with some sort of deformed nipple. Thanks in advance for your answers.

PS Please spare me your comments on nipple piercings being unattractive or stupid; your opinions aren't going to help my situation.

In movies and old tv shows I see those old flashbulb cameras (at least I think that's what they're called), and after they take a picture, they have to replace the bulb. Now my question is, why do the photographers lick the bulb before putting it in? Is it for lubrication? Or does it make a better connection? Just my curious little mind wondering out loud. Thanks in advance for your answers.

I'm bi-racial (half black, half white) and to keep my hair under control, I have my hair soft curled or soft permed about four times a year. The process kind of neautralizes the hair and then sets it with a larger curl. It's not as damaging to my hair as relaxing. Anyway, my question is, is it okay to dye my hair? I asked my hair dresser (I don't really like her, but am having trouble finding someone else to do my hair), and she said it wasn't a good idea as the next perm would not take as well over the color. If dying is a bad idea, is there anything else I can do to color my hair? I'm so bored of natural brown locks...

Thanks!

I have two sizable tattoos on my chest which I had touched up around 7:00 this evening. I'm supposed to keep them bandaged for six hours, but I have to go to bed by 10:30 so I can get up in time for work. So should I go ahead and take them off now, wash the tattoos, and apply lotion if necessary? Or should I leave them on to fall off while I toss and turn? Any advice or opinons will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

My husband and I just purchased our first home. It currently has a newer almond fridge, a VERY old burgandy wall oven w/ countertop burners, and an older black dishwasher. We plan on taking out the wall oven and countertop burners and replacing them with a regular stove, and possibly purchasing a new dishwasher later. Now the question is, what finish should the stove be? We don't plan on living in this house more than ten years at the absolute maximum (probably closer to five). The fridge is so new, it seems like a waste of money to buy a new one. So should we buy an almond finish stove, and later a matching dishwasher? From watching many home improvement shows, I know stainless steel appliances add value to the home, but it's not worth a whole lot (we live in the middle of Missouri and are paying $110k for a 1700 sq. ft. home) and I wonder if putting them in would be upgrading the home too much for the neighborhood. Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have two tattoos on my chest. They both started out in just black ink, and healed fine with no problems. However, when I had them covered up with color tattoos, they developed these small white bumps. They are not zits, as that was my first thought. They developed after the tattoos had completely healed. I mentioned it to my doc, and she didn't know what they were. She said I could have them removed, but it would probably leave little craters in my skin. (Note, I have two other completely black tattoos and they have never developed these strange dots.) Has anyone else had these dots? Will they eventually go away? Might I be alergic to colored ink? Is there anything I can do to get rid of them? Any info you can give me will be greatly appreciated. And please don't say I shouldn't have gotten tattoos in the first place; that answer really isn't going to help me. Thanks!

My husband and I currently live in a duplex; our lease is up at the end of June. We want to buy a house instead of rent again. We cannot break our lease early without hefty penalities, so we have decided to wait 'til it's up. We are currently looking at houses and have found some we really like. The problem is, houses are selling pretty quickly and I'm worried that if we wait until closer to when our lease is up, we won't be able to find a house we really like. However, are we really going to find a buyer who would be willing to wait about three months until we close? I would like to get opinions from other people, and please, no stupid answers. Thanks in advance for your advice, thoughts, suggestions, etc.

First of all, I am in incredibly bad shape. I am a female 22 years old, 5ft 4in, and approx. 225lbs. The only sort of exercise I get is waliking from my car to a store, or from one class to another. I know I need to lose weight and get in better shape, and I thought walks around my neighborhood would be a good way to start. However, I get this awful cramp in my right leg about half way through my walk. I really want to lose weight and I thought walking would be a good way to start, but with this darn cramp I don't really get much exercise in. I don't know if it's the shoes I'm wearing or if it's due to me not warming up before walking. It seems like I wouldn't need to warm up before walking (I'd understand needing to warm up if I was running, though).

Any tips on helping this leg cramp, or other exercises for a couch patato to start with will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

(Please no rude comments about my weight. I know I am fat and I don't need you to remind me.)

There are so many questions on here that violate the guidelines, I was just wondering how many of you have actually read them. Thanks in advance for your answers (and most likely nasty comments).

I have a 14 week old Boston Terrier, and just in case you don't know, they have those squished in noses that can make it difficult to breathe. He overheats pretty quickly and the high for today is 103 (ish). We have his puppy obedience class tonight at 6:00; the classes are held outside and there is NO shade. Should I take him to class today? He's been sick before due to the heat and I'm not sure what to do. Thanks in advance for your opinions, suggestions, etc.