Sophra

There are these little spots that look like blackheads all over my patio furniture. They are so hard to clean but this can be accomplished by picking them off one by one. Any suggestions as to what they are and and easier way to clean my white plastic furniture? I'm wondering if they are bug poop or something.

My 12 year old dachshund has been having accidents in the house during the last two weeks where he poops when he's home alone for more than a couple of hours. He normally is quite nicely housebroken. He HATES the winter and is often stubborn about going potty when there's lots of snow outside, so we figured he was just being a brat. However, we went to the vet today and it turned out he needed his anal glands expressed BIG TIME. I forgot to ask the vet if that had anything to do with the recent potty issues. Aside from the incontinence that naturally occurs with age, does anyone know if these potty issues have to do with the anal glands?

I was thinking about sending out invitations via Facebook and email to invite friends to come out and celebrate my 30th birthday with me in a couple of weeks. Nothing formal, just dinner and cocktails out downtown somewhere. I'm really weird about inviting people to my own party but I also tend to overthink these things. Should I have a friend handle sending out the invites or is it okay for me to do it myself?

I'm looking for a graduate level History of Psychology course that I can take online. Does anyone know where I can find one? It needs to be based at an accredited college/university. Thank you!

I just noticed this little single bump on my dog's head that looks like a small flesh-colored blister. It's soft and doesn't seem to bother him at all. I tried popping it (I know, don't remind me) but just a little drop of blood came out. He's an 11-y.o. dachshund, so maybe it's an age thing?

I went to a mom and pop mail place to send a letter overseas via FedEx, which ended up returning to me unmailable - in a USPS express mail envelope. Note that the charge I saw on the USPS envelope was half of what I paid for FedEx service. I went back to the mail place to ask what the heck happened, and the proprietor told me something like FedEx operates via USPS. He insisted that the price difference wasn't him cheating me, but that he had to incur some kind of costs for the transaction. This of course smells fishy to me but maybe there's a relationship and process between FedEx and USPS I don't know about. Any ideas about if this makes sense before I go back and chew this guy out?

I cooked my very first batch of beef stew on low heat in my new crock pot for 10 hours. It tastes amazing but the meat is still a little on the tough/chewy side. Can I add anything to tenderize it more or is it too late?

I cooked my very first batch of beef stew on low heat in my new crock pot for 10 hours. It tastes amazing but the meat is still a little on the tough/chewy side. Can I add anything to tenderize it more or is it too late?

When making placecards for married couples, should both cards address the husband's name? For instance, should one placecard say "Mr. John Doe" and the other "Mrs. John Doe," or can it be "Mr. John Doe" and "Mrs. Jane Doe?" Ideally, I would like to identify the wife's first name for mingling purposes while using titles to maintain some formality of the event.

We are hosting a coed wedding shower for pals who are getting married out of state. What's the best way to acknowledge that we'd love guests are are not able to go the the wedding to come and celebrate, or is it sort a given? I don't want it to look like we're trying to just hustle for gifts. also, do we put registry information on this invite or should that be left to word of mouth?

We should have pulled the trigger last month when we would have lowered our rate by 2 points. Since rates are creeping back up, I'm wondering if it's still worth it to refi a $128,000 loan balance to a rate of 5.25% with 1/8 discount point. We do plan to stay in this house for a while.

My team is trying to come up with a clever name and we thought it would be funny to name ourselves after a bowling phobia or something like. Thanks!

I downloaded some fonts for the designing of my wedding invitations and when I went to test print there, the text came out in Times New Roman. Can they install fonts or do I have to make do with what they have installed on their computers? Printing myself is not an option as my cardstock is too thick.

One of my good friends opted out of being a bridesmaid so that she can better help me coordinate my wedding. I don't want to call her my wedding coordinator but I do want to acknowledge her as a special person involved with the wedding. What do I call her in my wedding program?

I have an image that was created on Photoshop and it looks sharp and great when I view it as a jpeg, png, or gif. But when I insert it onto a Word document it becomes sightly pixelated and blurred. When I print it, it is still pixelated. I'm trying to make invitations so this just kind of imaging issue? Specific how-tos or details would be appreciated.

I have an image that was created on Photoshop and it looks sharp and great when I view it as a jpeg, png, or gif. But when I insert it onto a Word document it becomes sightly pixelated and blurred. When I print it, it is still pixelated. I'm trying to make invitations so this just kind of imaging issue? Specific how-tos or details would be appreciated.

Is there a specific kind of paint I need to use, minding the heat when the fireplace is in use? There's about 10-12 inches of tile between the actual fireplace and the mantel, which sticks out less than an inch from the wall. I've got a can of Behr Kitchen and Bath paint and I wonder if I can use that unless someone has any suggestions? Thanks.

We have a "great room" where our living room, dining area, and kitchen are essentially in one long room ending in the kitchen and lots of honey-colored cabinets. Our living room and dining furniture is very dark brown leather and wood. The way our house is positioned this room gets limited natural light so I'd like to choose colors to maximize what light we have and compliment the furniture. I'm considering painting the cabinets cream or white to lighten up the kitchen. I tend to gravitate to warm colors but am open to suggestions.Help!

We bought our first home last fall and are eligible for the 2008 tax credit that, from what I understand, is unlike the 2009 credit and actually needs to be paid back like a loan. Do I HAVE to take it? I'd rather not be in debt any more than I need to and hear from others who decided against it or are on the fence. Thanks!

I am Catholic, and my fiance is non-religious. Our wedding will be in my homestate of California in August (we now live in Michigan where I go to school). I thought my priest could marry us but he is unable to, although he will perform our blessing later on in December. So need someone to perform the civil ceremony at our wedding but I have no idea how to start looking. I tried a non-denominational church but they require 6 months of premarital counseling, which won't work since we currently live out of state. What to do?