Sugar Magnolia

My Hubbby's 99 Wrangler has been having the weirdest problem for the last year. It will work fine & the all of the sudden he goes to start it & it won't start & stay running, unless he keeps his foot on the gas. (this is a manual of course) There is no rhyme or reason as to why this is happening, since the lights & stuff will come on, and it happens at different times (morning, cold, hot, wet, etc) Today he went to start it after work & nothing happened, completely dead. He says he just kept turning the key over & over until it started. He drove it to school, shut it off & it started fine. He thinks its an electrical problem. Does anyone have any ideas what this could be?

Thanks!

I usually do my own taxes each year online using free efile. This year though, I need help! I got married on May 31, so I know we are going to file married, jointly. I make about 28k, he makes about 30k. We also have a child, who in the past I have been eligible for EIC for. Did I earn any EIC this year? (Before the marriage obviously) Also-hubby has an HSA through his job that covers all of us. I know we will receive a statement from them to file our taxes. I know I need form 8889 for this, but will this affect me being able to file online? We also have a mortgage, in both our names. We purchased the house in 4/07 so he claimed the property tax & interest stuff on his return. I am scared about not being able to do the step-by-step online this year because the forms are complicated! Does anyone have any advice for me?

When we moved into our home last year, the guy we bought it from had put up some beautiful oak trim in the kitchen, around the windows & doors. It is not finished, by that I mean that its not shiny or stained, becuase I will try to use pledge on it but it kind of stains it in spots & doesn't rub smoothly. I know that wood has no finish on it. I would like to keep it the same color, but just put a nice shiny finish/protector on it. What do I use? I don't want stain, just something to let the natural look show through. I am painting my kitchen soon, so I wanted to do this first. What product do I need to use that would be easiest for someone who has no idea what they are doing?

Thanks!

Okay....we have a little extra cash right now, and my hubby has been wanting the PS3 for so long I am sick of hearing about it. He only plays ONE game ever on his PS2, and that is Madden. It will be the same for the PS3 too, so I am having a hard time justifying spending $400 on the PS3 for ONE GAME! I know the Xbox is cheaper, but I have never played one so I don't know if its better or not. So tell me Y!A, if he is only ever going to play one game on his game system, should we get the Xbox or the PS3?

Thanks!

I noticed my Jeep was leaking first a pinkish/rusty color fluid out the middle/front. Then I see yellowish/rusty color too, on my driveway & inside engine a little. Its a lot of fluid that came out, my hubby looked & thinks it may be a hose. But I am worried it could be more costly, like a whole radiator? We put anitfreeze in it a year ago that was pink. I am really worried this could be a huge cost, my jeep has about 95k on it right now, we had it in the shop in may for a routine check & nothing was wrong with it.

Any ideas?

So my hubby & I decided that we wanted to switch to Direct from Dish because Direct has Sunday ticket. So he calls them Friday night, & is on the phone with them for an hour. Our final agreement with this guy over the phone was $45.99 per month for 2 years. My hubby talked this guy down so low because we were switching companies. I was standing there, and he had asked this guy over & over again that $45.99 was our deal etc etc & the guy kept saying yes yes etc. So were were all excited to get this great deal for Direct &Sunday ticket, but then they called yesterday to make sure we were ready for our install & my hubby asked them one more time about the price. And they tell us, no your price is $74.99, we have no idea what you are talking about. So my hubby talks to about 4 different managers, who tell us yes, the guy you talked with made that deal, but we can't honor it. Which is crap, because they could send us a $10.00 bill if they wanted! Anyway, is this allowed? Since we agreed, over the phone, to $45.99, can they legally tell us that their rep made a mistake & too bad? This is really ticking me off!

Thanks!

My daughter will be 7 on Sept 7th. We have decided to get her a kitten for her b-day because our other cat, Carmen, passed away a few months ago. We found Carmen as a stray at my parents house a few years ago, & my daughter fell in LOVE! Anyway, I need some original ideas of how to surprise her with this kitten. Its all she has been asking for for her b-day, & I know she is responsible enough to feed/water the kitty because she does the same for our dogs (yes, they are cat-friendly dogs!!) My hubby & I wanted some original/good/fun ways to surprise her with the kitten. Please help us make our daughter's Golden B-day the best!

Thanks all~

Peace

(I put this in P&S because I know how fun everyone is in here!!)

My daughter will be 7 on Sept 7th. We have decided to get her a kitten for her b-day because our other cat, Carmen, passed away a few months ago. We found Carmen as a stray at my parents house a few years ago, & my daughter fell in LOVE! Anyway, I need some original ideas of how to surprise her with this kitten. Its all she has been asking for for her b-day, & I know she is responsible enough to feed/water the kitty because she does the same for our dogs (yes, they are cat-friendly dogs!!) My hubby & I wanted some original/good/fun ways to surprise her with the kitten. Please help us make our daughter's Golden B-day the best!

Thanks all~

Peace

We were married in a private ceremony in May & are having a big, informal "reception" at our home at the end of July. I am trying to decide how to do invites for the "reception" (I think its more of a party to celebrate with our friends & family that didn't go to the wedding) I want something fun, because we are pretty laid back people. I have searched for templates, but all I find are either formal ones or wedding ones. I need ideas on how to word it also. Please help~I would like to get them sent out at the latest by the end of the week.

Thanks all!

PS-Its kinda gonna be an open house type thing, starting at like 3 or 4, going to whenever, so that people can stop by when they can.

I need ideas for snacks! We are leaving on our honeymoon on Sunday, & the drive is 9 hours (it was waaay cheaper to drive than fly!!) I want to take some good snacks with us, but need some inspiration!

Thanks All!

Peace

Hello all P&S 'ers (if you say it fast enough it sounds like pissers..hehehe!)

I want to know what the funniest/weirdest/best bumper sticker you have seen on a car said....or maybe you can make up your own!

Love you all!

Peace

I have medium length (past my shoulders, not quite to the middle of my back) dark brown hair, very straight, which doesn't curl well, but will hold some curl. My wedding is pretty casual, we are getting married in a garden/gazebo type location with about 20 family members present. My dress is @ www.davidsbridal.com style # BR1014. I don't want an updo, because I never wear my hair up unless I am working out or hanging at home. I would like a half-up do that I can do myself if possible. I also have a pretty tiara that my mom & I found for $10 on clearance...its not big & doesnt stick up a lot. Anyway, I have been searching for days to find something I like online that is close to what I want....Does anyone have any ideas? It doesn't have to be a half-up, I can go for all down, but definitely not all up! All suggestions(positive only please!) will be greatly appreciated....

Ok-my fiance proposed to me with his grandmothers engagement ring. It is a beautiful platinum ring, with a 1 carat round stone in the middle, and 3 small stones inlaid on each side of the ring. I love my ring so much, and didn't even need it sized! My problem is, we are getting married May 31, and I don't know what to do about a wedding band. I am thinking just a plain band, but a plain platinum band is pretty expensive (at least $400) and just won't work in our budget right now. I know there is a difference in color between white gold/platinum, but the white gold plain band is about all we can afford. Do I have to have a wedding band? Can he put the engagement ring on me during the ceremony? I am soo confused about what to do! Please help with suggestions!

One side of our yard is completely ruined by gophers. They moved in last fall, and I have no idea how to get rid of them. They make huge mounds of dirt & tunnels all over(too big for moles) we also want to plant grass seed in this area as we had a new septic put in last year. I also have 3 bigs dogs & a cat who don't do anything about them! Anyone have any suggestions? I don't want to use "bombs" because they are near our septic lines.

Thanks!

We are having a small wedding (me, fiance, my parents, his mom, step-dad who is also minister, his real dad, and my sister & her fam, and his 2 brothers & their families) It will be in my parents backyard, not a very formal affair, but he is wearing a tux, me a dress & are wedding "party" is our daughter as flower girl. My sister is making invites, even though everyone knows about it already. We are going to treat everyone to dinner afterwards, but how do we word invites? I don't want them too stuffy, but I don't want them jenky either. Also, we are going to have a reception for ALL friends/family etc a week after we get back from honeymoon, it is going to be very casual at our home, from 2-whenever, big bonfire, food, beer etc. How do we word the reception invites? Thanks All!

OH MY GOD!!! I am soo mad right now...gas went from $3.00 to $3.30 today!! Is it frustrating to anyone else that no one in our gov't seems to care about this issue? No wonder Americans are in debt! All of our $$ goes to our gas tanks, just so we can get to work!

Sorry guys...just very frustrated right now....so whats the price in your area?

My usual day goes like this:

Breakfast: 1 slice whole grain white toast w/ less than 1 tbs margarine.

Snack: 1 Apple

Lunch-: Healthy Choice/Smart Ones meal, usually between 290-310 calories.

Snack: Orange/Pineapple

Dinner: Usually just 1 serving of whatever I make, jambalaya, tacos (no sour cream) Pretty much just eat the recommended serving, plus steamed veggies or salad.

Also, I drink 2 cups of coffee every morning, and drink nothing but water all day. At night, I do elliptical for 3 nights/week @ 30-40 minutes, resistance @ starting at 2 then up to 6. I also do Pilates crunch or Taebo the other nights of the week. I fell off the exercise wagon a year ago, Trying to get back in shape. How does this look to you guys? Oh, I am 26 yrs, 5'6" 150lbs. I would like to lose 25lbs.

Ha ha! The great question of which to buy! Here is my story: We are looking to purchase one of these, just not sure which one would be more beneficial. The biggest problem is that we have to spend less than $500. From reading tons of websites, I know that the more $$ you spend, the better, but spending $1000-$3000 on a treadmill etc is not gonna happen for us. I used to work out regularly, doing pilates crunch, tae-bo & walking, but have fallen off the wagon during the holidays. My knees are not in the best shape either. My question is, which is gonna give us more bang for the buck oin our (me & fiance) weight loss quest? If you have recently purchased one of these machines for under $500, let me know the model etc & how it has worked for you.

Thanks All!

Peace

Yes we are engaged, just trying to figure out how to have a "cheap" yet memorable wedding. (By the way, we already live together) My idea was to host a 1st Annual Luau Party at our home, send out invites with RSVP 2 months ahead of time, and then say, hey we are getting married today! My future father in law is a pastor, & he is going to marry us, so he will know about it. Then after the simple ceremony, we will barbecue or have a big hog roast & let everyone party down. Then every year after, we can still have are annual Luau party & celebrate our anniversary. Obviously it will only be with close family & friends, less than 100 people. I have searched for this on Y!A & see positive & negative answers. We don't care about gifts as we have everything we need already. Any ideas from you all about how to pull this off? We really wanted a relaxing day for the wedding. I think we will have a small wedding party, maybe just 1 person standing up for each of us and my daughter as flower girl.

Hey I have a general question on taxes, hopefully one of you is an expert out there! WE will be going to HR block or somebody this year...Anyway, my fiance & I bought a house together this year in April, it is in both of our names, but I think he is the "primary" or something. I also have a dependent(6 yr old daughter) Can we both file head of household? he makes a little more $ than I, but I have the dependent. I am so confused on how this will work. Like I said, we will be going to a professional, but I was just curious if anyone has been in the same situation.

Thanks!!!

Hope everyone gets a huge refund!