Natalie M

I have an older gas range which is original to my 1969 home I just moved into. I have had about 3 repair people out here to check out the range; the ignitor has been replaced and adjusted. I was told the oven was in great condition for its age and that a faint gas smell was normal and OK for a range of this age.

Is that true? Every time I bake something it just worries me having that smell in my kitchen. It's not really strong, but I can definitely smell it and it lasts for a few minutes, then fades.

I just want to make sure it's safe. Thanks.

Lady Primrose is now closed (previously located at the Crescent in Dallas). They had really great scones and I had the recipe (still do just canNOT find it). If you have it, can you pass it along?? Thanks in advance. =)

The office manager where I work (and for whom I worked directly for the majority of my time at this company) has been a very rude, hostile, hypocritical person the entire time and even before I came here 2 years ago. All the admins as well as the other staff (including officers, managing directors, etc) have all said and agree that she makes the work place really unpleasant and stressful for everyone.

She made me cry many times (though I didn't do so at the office) because of hostile comments, poor instruction and subsequent unwarranted scolding, condescension, public scolding, etc. She has made my replacement cry (only been here for about 6 weeks) in front of several people here in the office. She says one thing and then instructs the opposite the next day causing complete confusion and then chews us out for not doing it the “right way”. She favors one employee (or department) over another and makes it obvious to the whole office that she likes or doesn't like someone. She then assists or withholds assistance based on that preference (as the office manager, I believe it is her job to assist us all equally). She flirts with the younger male staff. She is rude for weeks on end and then nice for one or two days so it's sort of obvious that she isn't genuine. She makes it really difficult to enjoy coming into work knowing we have to interact with her and risk possible mistreatment.

She has been reported to HR repeatedly: reviews have been submitted, phone calls made, e-mails sent ... yet nothing has changed.

Is there something that can be done (legally, something HR can do...) about this person's unprofessional, hostile behavior and her mistreatment of the staff?

Lately, the company I work for has 'cracked down' on administrative staff overtime hours. Apparently there are some admins in other offices around the country who would leave for lunch without clocking out, etc in order to get the overtime they weren't actually earning. I think that's horrible and that those people should be corrected.

However, no one in my office is abusing the system. If we got overtime, it's because we were actually working. And it wasn't even that much -- maybe 2 or 3 hours over the course of a work week, and most weeks, even less.

Now, corporate has commanded all administrative staff to take full-hour lunch breaks (previously, 30 minutes was the minimum required and many of the admins were so busy, they would work through their lunches to get everything done) and any overtime -- even 5 or 10 minutes -- has to get approved in advance in writing. We've been told to do personal things (one suggestion was applying our make up) in the mornings if we get here early because we can't clock in more than 5 minutes before our start time.

I really, truly understand trying to cut back and save for the company. But when this office is hiring two new employees (6- and 7-figure incomes respectively), I don't see how they can justify scolding me over, literally, $12 worth of over time.

This week they have e-mailed me saying I need "watch [my] OT" -- I had .25 in OT ... I mean ... seriously?

Honstly, am I making a big deal, or is this just a little too much? The admin team here has already felt lesser and unappreciated in general. This just makes it even worse.

Thanks for reading ...

- intense fatigue, sleeping all day and unresponsive when roused

- sluggish movements and slow response time

- detached

- incomplete sentences; will start to speak and then stop in the middle of a sentence and not pick back up, just sit there as if they didn't know they were speaking in the first place

This is going on with a person I know who doesn't have insurance and doesn't have the money to pay for the Dr or ER visit unfortunately. I am just curious to see what this might be so we can try to help. I know symptoms can often point to multiple health concerns so this could mean any # of things that a Dr would be better able to narrow down. But ... any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

All the money that goes in in disappearing, so why not use it for something worth while like paying off debts, for example?

I can't help but feel that they are the only minority truly 'entitled' to that considering they are so poorly represented, their land is not theirs anymore (they are somewhat confined to their reservations), etc ...

I don't know ... I think there is increasing representation of different minority groups in the country. But we sort of took the country from the only indigenous group that populated this land and they are still under-represented.

Any input?

Any particular lenders (banks, websites) that might have a positive track record/reputation?

I would be a first-time buyer.

Thanks. =)

I have the first 5 seasons and each box seems different than the others in some way: the color of the spine (some are red, some are white) or the side of the opening (sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right).

Is this some "inside joke" considering the nature of the shows star?

... maybe I'M just being OCD!

I have the first 5 seasons and each box seems different than the others in some way: the color of the spine (some are red, some are white) or the side of the opening (sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right).

Is this some "inside joke" considering the nature of the shows star?

... maybe I'M just being OCD!

In TX they issue a warrant for your arrest if you don't pay or pay late a traffic ticket.

Is this legitimate and does it require a lot of work or experience to get into this field?

What do you need to have or know before starting out with this kind of work?

Is it better to have someone as an investor and then do all the research work FOR that person?

Links:

http://www.rogueinvestor.com/Tax_Sales/Texas/index...

http://www.wealthnetwork.com/products/prod_judge/t...

From what I know, one might go to local courthouses, request the deed (or lein), take down all the information from that piece of documentation, and then present it to, I suppose, a property broker. They would then present an offer to the owner of the forclosed property. If the offer was accepted and the property sold to the broker, the person who went to the courthouse (say, the 'researcher') would also turn a a profit.

If the way i described this even makes sense (sorry, I'm not close enough to this field to explain it much better), is this something that is a viable income? Is it something that will be around for a while? Are there lots of these forclosed-deeds (especially in this housing market) from which a profit can be made? And how might someone go about connecting with a broker who works with these types of properties specifically? Is there a name for this type of work (other than 'realty')?

Thanks for any help ...

Is that something she wants to maintain, as in something of an alliance? It seems that the US has had close ties with and has backed Isreal for years. Does she want to maintain that?

Didn't see any info about that particular issue on her website, but if there are other helpful sites, I'd appreciate links. Thanks. =)

Contact with this person has been lost for about 10 years and they have been married and I don't know their married name.

Are there places on the internet that are free? It seems that most of the public records sites cost after the initial search that tells you there's more info out there. To see it, you have to pay some membership fee...

Any input or website recommendations would be appreciated. =)

Or is that taboo? My husband and I didn't really have a wedding, so there was no money spent there. We are hoping to get our first home in the near future and don't have the 20% that s typical of a downpayment.

I don't normally ask people for money, but in this type of situation is it acceptable?

I know circumstances are different for everyone but ... on average?

That breaks down to about 3,300 a month ...

idk. i'm just thinking here.

any insights from homeowners or clever people are appreciated. ; )

Positive or negative experience? Any feedback would be appreciated. Or any other places who offer this service for a good price ... Thanks. =)

I'm trying to remember who made a children's clay play set. I had one when I was a kid. It was made of plastic (primary colors), and came with the clay and all the tools for cutting, rolling, etc. It was just a small, maybe 9x9 set with a handle on the top...

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance. =)

I play DDR about every other night for at least 45 minutes and work up a sweat. I know it's a great work out and my legs especially feel really worked afterwards.

Any ideas how this would compare to other forms of excercise, and maybe how many calories it burns? I was thinking it might be similar to running? ...

Thanks!