thornfield8998

On Thursday, my eyeball swelled up. My eyeBALL. I had this enormous bulge in the left corner of my left eye, and I couldn't close my eye all the way to blink. Best I can figure, I rubbed my eyes a bit too enthusiastically after I woke up, possibly after petting the cat. I am allergic to dander, and I must have gotten some deep into my eye. After some time with a cold compress the swelling went down and hasn't returned. However, since then the outer layer of my eye has been saggy, like the swelling stretched it out, and when I look closely at my eye I can actually see the sclera wrinkling in response to my blinking.

It's Sunday, and I can't very well go to the doctor. It's not causing me any discomfort or affecting my vision. I'm just afraid 1) of wearing my contact lenses; 2) of rubbing my eye accidentally and tearing something; and 3) of NOT taking care of it and finding myself in worse shape later.

Is there anything I can do, at home or over-the-counter, to help my eye?

A friend of mine is a teacher whose method of teaching elementary-level writing has gotten a lot of support and positive feedback from his peers, and has actually shown consistent improvement in his students' writing scores on state testing. He's considering putting his method together into a book and/or seminar, and I'm wondering what kind of funding might be out there for that kind of work. Also, how does one go about promoting such an idea?

I'm considering a job at WDW. I'm interested in details, specifics, rules, and general overall impressions of the Disney childcare program. It's Disney, so I can imagine all kinds of good things about it. But what is it really like?

I suspect my son may have ADHD. I'd like to go in to the pediatrician with as much paperwork, like parent evaluation and observation forms, etc, as I can so I can offer the doctor an informed history of my son's behavior and problems. Are there any online forms or surveys I can print out? What sort of information would be useful to a pediatrician in this situation?

We are going to Magic Kingdom tonight to see the holiday lights and the Spectromagic light parade. I want to take good pictures without carrying a lot of equipment. It will be night, and I will be taking shots of lights and moving lights as well as shots around the park. Here's what I have:

Nikon D80 with three lenses:

AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 DX SWM ED

AF Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 D

AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 DX SWM VR ED IF

The latter is my preferred lens for walking around, but I only have the built-in flash, and the long lens casts shadows. The 50mm is best for low light and motion, but I also plan to take close-up shots, which the stationary lens doesn't allow for. The first lens is OK for regular use, but it's slow in low light. However, I'll be taking photos of lights, so will this compensate for the low light surroundings?

Two questions: What lens should I use, and on what settings? I need help as soon as possible on this one!

We're going to Fort Lauderdale in June, and I was wondering if anyone had any preschooler (age 4) friendly suggestions for activities or places to see while in that area. I'm open to trips north or south of Ft. Lauderdale. I already know about the Discovery Science Center and Butterfly World, any other ideas?

I'm going to a concert at Orlando's Amway Arena (formerly TD Waterhouse) and I'd really like to take my camera, but I don't want to deal with any hassles about it. Has anyone recently attended a concert there and brought a camera in without trouble? I'm talking about regular cameras, actually a digital SLR, not cell phone cameras.

I live in a cinderblock-and-stucco house in Florida. I have a west-facing sliding glass door in my family room as well as a "pool door" in my bathroom that I want to take out and replace with windows. Do I call a contractor? A mason? How do I go about getting estimates for this kind of work? What should I ask/look for/expect?

I have a Sony Mavica CD500 and want to upgrade. I primarily take photos of my 3-year-old, but I also do some portraits and landscapes and shots in low or natural light or at night, so I need a good flash, stabilization, fast shutter, no lag time between shots, and good overall low-light speed and quality. I want something fast with good lenses so I can increase zoom and angles, yet fairly easy to use. Here are my questions:

1) I'm looking at the Nikon D80 and the Canon 20D or 30D, or possibly the Canon Rebel: Which would be best?

2) What lenses should I start with? Most of my shots will be close, but with the occasional long-distance shots that need a decent zoom length. I also do macro shots from time to time.

3) All these cameras have viewfinders. My Mavica shoots strictly from the LCD, so I've gotten used to that. Is it possible to shoot from either the viewfinder OR the LCD on these cameras?

I live in zone 9 (central Florida), and my yard has full sun all day. I have few trees and no shade. I'd like to start developing my garden, but my thumbs are far from green. I'd like to feature some orange colored plants and flowers (my house is yellow with a red door; the orange would tie it together), but I need hardy plants that can tolerate the sun and heat and some neglect. Can anyone recommend any good plants? I'm looking for plants that have a more tropical feel than your basic marigolds or mums.

I had a root scaling and planing done last month on both sides of my mouth. I'd never heard of this before, and had just gone to the dentist for a long-overdue cleaning, but apparently my gums were in bad shape (not severe, but there was some tarter under the gums). Now the dentist tells me I have to come back for another $180 periodontal cleaning every 3 months for an indeterminate length of time to make sure that the tartar doesn't come back. Is this really necessary? I'm prepared to go as often as I have to, but I can't really afford to go every 3 months if that's not necessary. I just don't want to continue feeling like this dentist is "drilling" me for every penny I have. I've already spent more than $500 on the work I've had done so far (obviously, my dental insurance is a joke). I just want someone who knows about this sort of thing to tell me if I'm being treated right or ripped off. Thanks!

We'd like to take a day or weekend trip to a beach in Florida (we live in Kissimmee), and I'd like to know what beaches have the most to offer for a family (our son is 3). I don't care how far the beach is from home, but I do care that it's clean, family-oriented, and relatively safe. Please tell me all you can about whatever beach you recommend, including activities in the area, best places to stay, what the parking is like, how crowded, etc.

I'm originally from south Jersey, so my idea of a weekend at the shore is based on Wildwood and Ocean City NJ, with crowded beaches and the fabulous boardwalks. I'd like to find some new favorites here in Florida where we can start a family tradition of visiting often!

I live in Osceola County, in an area known as Poinciana. I know that there are lots for sale in my neighborhood that are listed as high as $75000. My lot was valued at $25000 in a recent appraisal, and I would like to find out if that is accurate.