MEE

My cor-worker has asked me to decorate for her daughter's reception, I have a small decorating budget so I know she can't afford much. $500 for the supplies. I am making some of the decorations by hand so there is a time element involved. My co-worker has liked my decorating input and saw pictures of my wedding but I am NOT a professional but any stretch of the imagination. I prefer a total fee over charging by the hour.

We bought a money order at a major retailer a little more than a week ago. We paid with our debit card which is usual for us. The printer at the store was having issues with the paper loading and after about 15 minutes of waiting, the front end manager asked the associate to transfer the sale to the second register. The manager stated (to the associate but in a voice that we could easily hear) that the back office would adjust the balances so the registers came out correctly. Here's the issue.....the day after this, my hubby noticed the amount was not taken out of our account. We are worried about this for more than one reason 1) we don't want to run into a situation where they cancel the money order we gave our apartment 2) we don't want our account hit without our knowledge 3) if they do hit our account later after we have this fixed I worried there would be a double hit.

I offered our phone number to the front end manager in case there were issues and was told that was not necessary. I have gone in an spoken to a manager that has higher up who stated there was no such issue that he was aware of.

Should we just let this be and start a savings account for Christmas coming up?? or do we need to advise the business (yet again) of their mistake??

Thank you for any suggestions you may have.

About two weeks ago a car hit mine during severe weather with ice. We had caused 10-15 cars not able to enter or exit the apartments we lived in and the police were giving us an arrival time of 1.5 to 2 hours. Several of my neighbors helped break up the ice for traction. I went to park my car and told the other person I would be back. I came back immediately and he was gone. The only thing I have to go on is a general description of the car and I remember what the drive looked like. There are two cars at my complex that fit the description. I would be able to determine which it is by seeing the owners. Should I leave a note on the cars regarding this. If so how should it be phrased.

I live in an apartment and hate seeing blinds. They serve their purpose--to provide privacy but are extremely ugly at the same time. I use curtains over all my windows. The last several years I have been stumped by my patio door which has vertical blinds. The way they are installed I would need brackets with about 5 inches of projection. I have looked several times but have yet to find brackets that would work. Typically I end up screwing two blocks together and bolting them into the wall. Not the prettiest but it does the job. (I paint the blocks so they blend with the wall okay) This method also leaves a deeper hole than I like to leave as well. Any ideas, product or installation wise would be greatly appreciated.

My boyfriend is going to court mid January for a child support review. His ex-wife has very unrealistic expectations and they were not able to settle in mediation. I have been supportive and he has had to employ a lawyer to combat her demands. He has been very stressed about this. I have asked him about whether he would like me there or not. He has not given me a straight answer. Hus response has been "you can but you don't need to testify". We are planning on moving in together and eventually get married so I would like to be supportive but don't want to over step my bounds.

The only fudge I have ever made is a peanut butter fudge with Velveeta. My boyfriend is requesting a chocolate fudge. There are a lot of recipes with differing ideas on what to use. Sweetened condensed milk, marshmallow fluff, sugar and cocoa, nuts versus no nuts......the list goes on. I want chocolate, creamy, not too hard and totally addictive and first timer friendly!!

WOW, that's a list.

I had a few separate thoughts in regards to flavoring such as using some sea salt or incorporating some coffee to accentuate the chocolate flavor.

Thanks for any help!!

My boyfriend and I have dated for 6 months now (exclusive for 4.5 months). He talks to several woman that he used to date or spoke with through chat after meeting them through online dating (the same way we met). The talks are with anyone from his old high flame who he hasn't seen in 16 years to his ex girlfriend that he was with for 5.5 years and she left him about 6 months before he met me to 3 of the 4 women he went on dates with before he met me. I don't feel he is cheating but I have had so many not-so-normal relationship I don't know if this should be a yellow/red flag. He treats me fantastic, has met most of my family, introduced me to his, his children love me and I them. I go to his house most of the time (50 miles from my place). He spends a lot of his time on Facebook counseling these other women and tends to ignore me while doing so. He has no cable, and there is only so much surfing one can do before there needs to be something else to do. I don't expect 100% attention or anything but I don't feel I am being completely unreasonable expecting some undivided attention. Sorry for the rambling :)

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

Let me start here by giving a little background info. I am almost 36 years old, my mother and I have had an on/off normal relationship since very young. She has always been supportive and helpful with conditions. Those conditions usually mean that she will only help if she is able to get credit for what she does. If no one will see it or she won't be able to tell someone what she has done; forget it. When no one is around I am a "big, fat blob of nothing", ugly, the reason she had to cheat on dad and several other negative labels she has put on me. My siblings don't believe that she does this because it is never around them. Behind closed doors she yells at me, calls me names, tells me I am worthless and that she is better off without me. I am her "charity" child in that God gave me to her to test her patience. She is not this way around my siblings. I know she loves me but I don't know why she treats me this way. The last 8 years she has tried to apologize and try to mend fences so to speak. There are a few times she "slips" but for the most part she is on track and we do okay. I admit to most of my faults-- I have a shorter fuse with her and curse words flow easily around. She is the only one I curse around or because of to myself. About 3-4 times a year we have blow ups. They are happening more and more frequently though. I want them to stop before I lose my mom. A month ago we had a conversation. No blow ups happened in relation to it. We cried and I expressed some of my frustrations. She has the tendency to not give me my count to 10 space when I need it. Instead of backing off when I ask her too. She asks why, why, why. Several times in a row. I usually find enough control to tell her 2-3 times before I get so frustrated the lid blows. After that happens she finds it necessary to "tattle-tale" on me to my siblings but neglects the part of her nagging me for 15 minutes after I asked for a few moments. I have tried taking walks, driving away, going to the movies, not going over as much but nothing seems to help anymore. Any suggestions. I have tried what I thought to be the right way for 35+ years. I don't wanna give up on a relationship with mom but don't know what else to do that I haven't tried. Please help open my eyes.

I have a 1999 Ford Taurus and have added 3.5 gallons of coolant/water mixture in the last week.....seems like a lot. Temp holds but has teetered to the higher end of the spectrum a few times. The reservoir was full this morning and now has almost nothing in it. Service engine light also came on. Will get engine code read and taking to mechanic on monday. Just wanted to collect some thoughts so the mechanic couldn't take me for a complete idiot! Thanks

I have a 1999 Ford Taurus with almost 180,000 miles. The car has been running rough (like it was being choked) for the last month or so. Yesterday I heard a low thud and after that the car wouldn't go over 27 mph. The engine still revs to 5000 rpms before I gave up. I fear it is the transmission. Blue Book value for a trade in is about $950 to $1700 but that is in running condition. I would not feel comfortable throwing a tranny problem someone else's way. I have had the car for 6 years now and have invested about $1700 in the last year (tires included) and about $800 the five years before that. It seems like this car is on it's last leg. I have up to $10,000 I could put towards a new(er) car. Would you advise repair or replace? Is there a special formula to help figure this out?

I have a 1999 Ford Taurus with higher mileage (171,000 miles). About a month ago the car went from driving very smooth to extremely rough. I checked the oil level and it was almost bone dry (I usually check it every 3 weeks or so)--I added a quart and a half of oil and it was a little smoother. Then two weeks ago, it was time for my scheduled oil change so I planned on taking it in the next day and late the night before noticed the SES light was on and figured it was my cars way of telling me it wanted fresh oil. When I had the oil change done, there was oil oil on the dipstick. After the oil change, the light stayed on so I took the car to my mechanic. The mechanic said nothing was wrong with the engine and that the computer just needed to be reset. The light stayed off but only for 10 hours. I took the car to Autozone for a code reading. The error code is P1518 and probable causes are damaged/stuck IMRC (intake manifold runner controller) or open/shorted electrical circuit. I believe the IMRC is the issue believe of the poor running condition of the vehicle. Autozone also told me that the part does not exist on my car. My car has died on me 5 times in the last 2 weeks but has been able to restart immediately. It does idle at an extremely higher speed (2000 to 2700 with car in park and 1400 to 1900 in drive). I took my car to a Ford dealership and the part is available but is a dealer only part. I would need to replace both at a cost of $275 each and labor would run $700 plus a $120 diagnostic (figures rounded) for a total of approx $1500 and the cost could go up.....as it usually does. The blue book value on this car is only about $2200 is awesome shape which this thing is not.....I would estimate $800 on trade and about $1600 private sale if the problem was corrected. If I replace the car it will deplete most of my savings but I don't want throw good money at a bad car. If I repair the car I would plan to keep it for at least 18-24 months for the repair costs to balance out for the good. Any suggestions would be helpful.

In years past, I have bought dad a Macallan (12 year) and the Glenlivet (18 year). I have about a $100 budget this year.

Last time I bought him something called the Glenlivet for about $40. I can spend $50-75. Thanks for the suggestions.

Anyone have suggestions for a b-day present for my dad's 60th b-day. I bake him his favorite cheesecake (gma's recipe). I was thinking a good bottle of liquor or another golf shirt might be a little boring?!

My boyfriend, for lack of better phrasing is a pack rat. He has a 10 by 10 storage unit of junk. It was never properly packed and everything smells of mildew or has cobwebs all over it. The biggest problem is that he does not want to throw anything out for fear that he will find a match later on. He is spending $100 a month on the unit and has for 4 years. Complete waste of money. He saves his ex-wife's wedding dress thinking I would want to wear it. I don't think so--her taste in clothing was awful in my opinion. I made him a deal that if he wanted to progress with our relationship the storage unit needed to be cleared out within 6 months. How can I help him? Should we sell or donate the few items that MAY be use-able?

I have asked several friends and everyone has a different answer. I want to hear what everyone here says. My husband says that an as$ is a sexual term and a butt is there for usage only. Please help!!

I found a recipe in a cookbook years ago and lost it. The cookbook was a 4 ingredient cookbook. The ingredients were peanut butter, powdered sugar, powdered milk, and corn syrup. I forgot the measurements of each. Any one have a clue.....Thanks!

My fiance (hubby in less than a month) is tied up at work a lot. We have not know each very long and because of that he has not met my family yet. Today is my step-sister's wedding and he has commited to coming. He will be meeting my dad, stepmom, brother, sister in law, sister, and brother in law etc. I am worried that he will not show up to this event which I have told him that it is very important he show up. My problem and my worry is that we will not show up. He is a music producer and owns his own recording studio. That job has taken him away from me and special dates more than once. We made plans for him to come down last night and we would spend the day together. At 8 he texts me saying that he is at work with client and will get back to me. At 11 he texts me saying that it will be morning till he is done with the client. It would crush me if he did not show for this. I have told him it was important but not as strongly as I could have. I understand that he is working and have complete trust in him and do not believe there is any chance of him being with another woman. Sorry, rambling a lot here! Questions involving this matter are: At what point does he have the obligation to tell his clients "I have a prior engagement--we will have to hook-up some other time? Is this by itself enough of a reason to call off a marriage for an otherwise great relationship?