The Little Mermaid

I have a Wolfgang Puck Automatic 8-quart Rapid Pressure Cooker. At first this worked wonderful! It made great roasts and chicken stock. Even some amazing Mexican rice pudding.

However now whenever I use it and it's time to vent the pressure, a literal trickle of steam poops out. Even after something has been in there for 30 or 40 minutes. Should I be looking for a leak somewhere? Or is time to look for a new pressure cooker?

I've made 2 cloth diapers for my daughter so far (I've actually made more, but these last two turned out perfect). And almost every time I put her in them, she leaks. I've bought bamboo fleece to help with the leaking and it will be here soon, so in the meantime I make sure the soaker I made is totally tucked and still she leaks. And help from other cloth mamas who have been there, done that?

My daughter has had this rash for around 2 1/2 weeks now. At first this rash was horrible. It was red, angry, bumpy, raised and felt warm to the touch.

I immediately took her to the doctor, who prescribed nystatin cream and recommended I put cornstarch during a diaper change. Didn't really do much to this rash. Then I tried a brand called 'Butt Paste.' It worked in the sense that it took some of the redness away, but the rash pretty much remained.

Then I started to notice that in her inner thighs, there was horrible chafing from the diaper. That area was very bumpy and red. I changed diaper brands. I started using diapers from the Honest Company.Then I remembered with my other kids, I would let them air dry completely before putting them in a new diaper. Didn't really work either.

I've also tried oatmeal baths, changing my diet and a trip to the clinc, because it looked like the rash spread (the bumpy texture, little to no redness) and another trip to our doctor. All she said that time was that it didn't look like a yeast infection and to use A plus D cream (which I was already using!).

I should also add that her rash is very itchy. My little girl (6 months old today) scratches whenever she gets a chance.

The only thing that makes a dent and keeps most of the rash at bay is bag balm. It worked great. My girl's bottom was starting to crack and peel. I slathered that stuff on her and in the morning her rash looked 80% better. Any thoughts on what this rash could be?

I'm looking into making some cloth pocket diapers.

I plan on making pocket cloth diapers with PUL fabric and microfleece or wool to put up against my daughter's skin (she has a really bad rash at the moment and I read that cloth diaper help reduce diaper rash).

If I use PUL fabric will I need to make and use diaper covers as well? Or does the PUL fabric take the place of the diaper cover? And what are nappies? Is that another name for diaper cover?

Any other information on cloth diapers (especially patterns) will be welcome!

I have a Singer 75FW Featherweight sewing machine. But it's basically a Singer So Simple 4166 sewing machine. Anyway, I've had it for a while now, I think around 5 years. I'm looking to upgrade from this small lightweight model to a Babylock Melody sewing machine.

Only thing I've some to learn about sewing machine shopping is... I CANNOT get any idea of pricing online. This is especially frustrating since I do ALL of my comparison shopping online for everything. I've called a babylock retailer and the nice lady I spoke to kindly told me she couldn't quote me a price because Babylock doesn't allow them to. I have to go to the shop to get a price.

I understand Babylock not wanting to people to comparison shop (not really, but whatever), but I really wanted to get an idea how much it's going to cost to get this machine. Just so I can plan ahead and save some money up if I have to.

Then I've read that you can actually haggle with the dealer. Which makes this whole sewing machine shopping even more difficult for me, because I'm not really the haggling type. My mother-in-law bought me my first sewing machine from HSN, so I had no clue sewing machine shopping would be a teeny frustrating.

Can someone please tell me around how much a Babylock Melody will cost me?

Thank you for answering :)

I have been looking a replacement part for my Singer Featherweight that my MIL bought for me on HSN about 2 years ago. Could never find a thing. On the back on the machine, it says model 'FW 75.' I couldn't find anything with that model number. I did another search today and saw another number pop up, which was 4166. I looked at the picture and read the description and it is the EXACT same machine.

I have been driving myself crazy as to why I could never find parts for my featherweight. Is that common? Why would the model number on my machine and the actual model number be different?

About a week and a half ago my miniature dachshund, Ariel, hurt her neck and the vet gave her cortisone and predisone (I hope I spelled that right). The cortisone was given to her once every 8-12 hours and increased her thirst A LOT (which the vet told me). And the predisone was given once a day, every day for 5 days and then given once every other day. A few days into her medicine regimen, we noticed that she was peeing in the house.

She barks, but does not bark to be let out to use the bathroom anymore. And when we put her outside, she almost has to be forced to go to the bathroom. She'd rather go indoors now. We're scared for our dog. She's been done with her medication for about 2 days now. Otherwise she acts normal now. Her neck is feeling better and we are now carrying her up and down the stairs, no matter if she is feeling better or not. She'll be 8 years old in December. Has anyone's dog had this kind of reaction to these medications?

Ever since I stippled my first quilt on my featherweight, the tension has been a bit testy on it. I had many problems with it while stippling. The thread would snap and then the bobbin thread would pull up through the quilt sandwich. I readjusted the thread tension time and time again, but it hardly worked. The thread would still tangle or just snap. I looked online and saw that I could adjust the bobbin tension and did that and had less problems than before with both lines of thread (I still ended up snapping needles, 10 to be exact).

Last night I made a little star for my son and the bobbin thread was pulling up through the fabric and I set the tension to 2. No bobbin thread pulled up through the fabric, so I looked under the fabric to check underneath and saw that a lot of upper thread was getting pulled down. Now I'm starting to wonder if I forgot to readjust the bobbin tension... Anyways, I'm going to check the bobbin tension, but I would still like any tips or tricks anyone has on getting the right amount of tension for fabric or quilts, so I don't snap any more thread or needles!

My sister and I are thinking of signing up for makeup classes come fall. We were wondering if anyone out there knew of a great professional line of brushes and foundation.

I've heard great things about Bhumi brushes, but my sister isn't so sure about them. If anyone has any information about that brand, please let me know!

We'd also like to know of long lasting, pigmented foundation and concealer brands that professional makeup artists use.

Thank you so much for your help!

My husband recently bought me Fujifilm Finepix S4400 and I've been taking pretty good pictures with it. My best picture so far has been of a full moon that I am proud to say was my first time using the camera while in a manual mode.

I would like to get a little better though. F-stops, aperture and ISOs get to be a little confusing for me (Okay, A LOT confusing). Can anyone refer a book that will help me become a better amateur photographer?

Thanks!

My husband recently bought me a Fujifilm Finepix S4400 digital camera and I'm trying to find a shutter release for it, but I can't seem to find the right one for my camera. I need help. Does anyone know of a good website or store where I can buy one?

Thanks :)

I bought a 1,000 yd. spool of King sulky gold thread. I'd say 30% of the time I don't have a problem sewing with it in my sewing machine. Other than that it gets stuck or it breaks... Ugh! Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? I've checked the tension, but that doesn't seem to matter. Something almost always happens.

I've changed the spool to a "normal" spool of cotton thread and of course, I have no problem with it. I only have a problem with that specific gold thread.

The King Sulky thread has a 'supposedly' strong polyester core wrapped with metallic foil.

HELP!

It's been 4 weeks since I began dieting and exercising. First few weeks, I lost weight (about 2 or 3 pounds a week), but then last Wednesday when I weighted in I somehow gained weight. I think I gained... about a 1.5 pounds.

My workout routine for the first 2 and half weeks was running on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Then I switched over to aerobics. I've upped my aerobics routine from 30 minutes to 50 minutes.

Today I weighed myself again and it seems I've gained one more pound, but this time... my BMI score was lower ( last Weds. I was 28.29 and today I'm 28.17).

Please keep in mind that I've been keeping true to my diet ever since I have started. Can anyone tell me how I've gained weight but lost some on the BMI? And how does one gain weight while dieting anyway?

Thanks!

I received my cricut cake machine today! I was so excited that I went out and bought frosting sheets. But they just keep tearing up while they are in the process of being cut. I've tried adjusting the speed and pressure, but that doesn't seem to work.

I am not taking this machine back, so I need help from seasoned cricut cakers!

Do morphine and heroine come from the same poppy plant? A friend of mine says that they come from different poppy plants, so I just wanted to clear that up for myself. Thanks!

My little one year old has a runny nose, cough and watery eyes. He, however, doesn't have a fever. I want to know some home remedies that others use to comfort their 1 year old.

Right now, he's just in my lap and looks just miserable!

Thanks!

I have a recipe for angel food cupcakes and I want to turn them into mini cupcakes. The recipe has them baking in a 12-cup muffin tin @ 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.

Should I cake bake them in a mini-muffin tin at the same temp and time? Or should I cut the time in half? Here is the recipe if it helps anyone:

5 large egg whites

3/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 salt

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup yellow squash puree

1 tsp. pure lemon extract

1 tsp. grated lemon or orange zest

Thanks!

I'm starting to do a some baking and I've recently bought a silicone muffin pan and a metal muffin pan.

Does anyone know which one is better? Or is it just a case of preference? What are the differences in how they bake?

My husband and I just had a fight. We weren't screaming or yelling, but had a fight nonetheless.

Now when we fight, I'm usually the one whose ends up sulking about it. I mean I've gone a whole weekend making life miserable for both of us.

I am NOT proud of this behavior. He's a really great husband and I don't want to do this anymore. How do I stop? I've noticed that I'm passive-aggressive toward him after we've had our fights.

I admit that I have gotten slightly better, but not by much. When I see that it's something that is my fault and apologize, things are a whole lot better. But this doesn't happen a lot.

We don't fight a lot, but when we do, afterward... ugh! It's terrible! I need to find the off switch for this childish sulking thing!