BlueAngelGal

I've lost a bunch of weight, and now I'm noticing all of these new things and wondering if they're normal. Here's the latest:

Lately, I've been feeling this odd... I guess it's sort of a settling, or a clicking-in, in my sides, just a little above my hips. It's almost like my bottom rib is slipping into a spot underneath it, or something. It's not painful, but it's uncomfortable and unsettling. If I lean in the other direction or stand up very straight, it stops, but it comes right back again (on one side, the other or both) as soon as I let down my guard. I know I have lousy posture, which I imagine could be related somehow... but what is this? What's going on in there, and should I be worried about it, or is it normal?

The wedding is not likely to be on a beach, for the record. And it'll probably be in mid to late September. Would a beach theme be odd? We both really love the seashore. Maybe we should try to keep it to more sea than shore? Or...?

I got a new tee today, and it's my first burnout tee. It's a dark charcoal color. Having never worn a burnout before, I'm not sure what's the most proper/fashionable way to do it, seeing as it's semi-see-through -- should I buy a tank top (black, I guess) to layer under it? Or is it considered better/more stylish just to wear it alone (with a nude-colored bra)?

I'm trying to find something I can make for my boyfriend to take to his family's Thanksgiving dinner, three hours away by car. I want to come up with something that will impress, but here's the hitch -- I only have Monday to make whatever I'm making. The rest of the week is booked solid, and I won't even be there the day of, 'cause I have other obligations. So whatever I make needs to be something that will keep for 4 days, from Monday until Thanksgiving, and something that doesn't need much/any last-minute prep, 'cause it'll have to be my boyfriend handling it. Any suggestions? I was thinking maybe a chocolate tart, but I'm not sure if that will keep 4 days, plus I'm not sure if that would need a garnish (and if it does, I probably can't pull that off).

I've been diagnosed with a ganglion cyst in my finger, and I'll probably have to have it aspirated. My appointment is on a work day, before work. Is it an easy enough thing, where they'll just slap a Band-Aid on it and I can go off to work, or will it be heavily bandaged/splinted/sore/anything that could impact my ability to work afterward?

I know someone who's retired, and she sits around the house all day, doing not much except watching TV and reading. She gets bored, but she doesn't have the money to go out and do anything (even gas money). And now, she's feeling the empty-nest syndrome, 'cause she's devoted her whole life to being a mom, and with nobody at home to mother, she's feeling very sad and alone. She doesn't like the group politics of the nearby senior centers, and working was taking too much of a toll on her health, so going back to work isn't an option.

I see her or call her when I can, but that isn't often enough. What can I do? What can I suggest to help her?

I baked a pound cake for the first time today, and I had a couple of issues (and I used a well-rated recipe, so...)

First, I had a horrible time getting it done properly. The recipe said bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes, using the toothpick test. The edges kept getting browner and browner, but the center just wasn't done -- I finally pulled it at 60 minutes, when it started to actually smell a bit burnt. The slightly overbrowned edges wouldn't be so bad, though, if the middle wasn't STILL underdone -- just a touch, just in the very center at the top, but still, what gives?

This may have something to do with the second problem -- why did the shape come out sort of oddly? The edges are higher, then it dips down, and then it's really domed right in the middle.

I followed the recipe exactly, and the result was still tasty, but these pesky problems are bugging me and I'd like to be able to solve them.

Here's the recipe I used:

http://purplefoodie.com/chocolate-chip-pound-cake/

I think I might be invited to a red egg party, and I'm trying to prepare for the possibility. What should I wear to such an event? I don't own anything red. I was thinking dressy pants and a nice top, but all of my dressy pants are black, and black is a bad-luck color, so would that be poor etiquette? Otherwise, I'd probably have to go with a dress, a really dressy dress, which might be overdressing, or else jeans, which might not be nice enough.

I've heard that when you get married, you can change your name legally for free by just writing the new name on your marriage license. Now, I know that some people change their middle name to their maiden name at the same time. I'm wondering, can I legally change my middle name to anything else I want (not my maiden name) at the same time, so I don't have to pay for a legal name change? I've always wanted to change my middle name.

I've had someone ask me to help him with a résumé, 'cause he's never written one -- he's been with the same company his entire life, and now, at age 60-something, he's looking to explore his options. But I'm a little stumped how to format it, especially since he doesn't have a high school diploma. He dropped out after ninth grade, then got a GED decades later.

How would you format this résumé? And how would you word the education section? Should he include the name of the last school he attended, or where he got his GED from, or both, or neither, leave it out entirely, what? I'm clueless.

I've made four different recipes for homemade brownies, and I'm satisfied with none of them. I don't want them to be totally cakey and dry. But I DEFINITELY don't want them to be fudgy, and most of the recipes I tried yielded a brownie that actually had the texture of fudge when I bit into it, very creamy and melty on the tongue. I want something chewy, something with more body than that, but not quite on the level of cakey, not dry. My only other requirement is that it be doable with cocoa powder, not solid chocolate ('cause I have a ton of cocoa in the cupboard already). Help?

I know someone who will never tell anyone about her problems -- she insists on being strong for others, like a mother figure to those around her, but when it comes to her own problems, she'd rather keep them to herself and stress herself out about them, because she doesn't want anyone to worry about her -- she actually gets upset when others try to offer their support when she does let something slip, 'cause she feels guilty that she's making them unhappy with her problems.

What can I do to help her? I've encouraged her to open up and vent about things, told her that she doesn't need to feel bad about these things, 'cause that's what friends are for, friends are there to worry about you and make you feel better when you're upset. That actually made her more upset, though. I'm stumped, 'cause it seems like I can't offer her a sympathetic ear without her actually feeling worse.

NBC requires you to 1. Download Microsoft Silverlight (no, I'm not downloading anything, screw you) and then 2. Use your cable bill to show that you're a cable subscriber (if I have a cable bill in my hand, I'm probably at home, near my TV, and I could just watch that). CTV requires the same, and the BBC is blacked out due to regionalization. Is there anywhere I can watch the Olympics online, from my computer, not near a TV or at home, and without downloading anything?

(Side note: NBC, you suck for making this difficult.)

I'm trying to decide whether I should stick with my local insurance agency, nice people who seem to be very helpful, or whether I should switch to using a cheaper company and buying directly, so I wouldn't have a nice, local agent to call. What's your opinion? How much more would you pay per year for insurance to have a helpful, friendly person to go see in person when you need questions answered or a claim filed, rather than just having an 800 number to call?

I've never thrown a shower before ... I know I'm supposed to give out favors, but when do I give them out? It's not going to be a sit-down-at-a-table thing, so there won't be place settings to put them at. Do I hand them to everyone as they leave? Give them out when they enter? Just leave them in a basket somewhere for people to take?

I have a recipe for plain brownies. And I have a method to make caramel sauce. Can I just dump the caramel on top of the batter in the pan and swirl it together with a knife? Or is there some other technique I need to use to make the brownies come out properly?

I've heard that in Cantonese, your mother's mother is pau-pau and your mother's father is gung-gung. But how about your father's parents? I found yeh-yeh for grandfather and yun-yun for grandmother. But another site said grandmother should be mah-mah. Which is right?

I've been picking up little bits of Chinese here and there, and I'm curious about something. I've been taught that "bao" means pocket or pouch, like in "char siu bao," roast pork pocket (bun). I was taught this by Cantonese-Americans. But I was looking up some things about Chinese New Year today, trying to refresh my memory, and I read that "hong bao" is Mandarin -- it's "lai see" in Cantonese. If this is true, does that mean "bao" is a Mandarin word, not Cantonese? Have I been learning culinary Chinese from Cantonese speakers but somehow learning Mandarin instead? Or is there some overlap between the dialects that explains this?

If an Asian person (of 100 percent Asian descent) and a white person (of 100 percent European descent) had a child, what are the odds that the child would have this characteristic?

Remember when you were a kid, you'd sing it like this?

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Reindeer!)

Had a very shiny nose (Like a light bulb!)" etc.

Where did those extra callback lyrics come from? When did they start? My boyfriend and I were having this debate last night, 'cause he'd never heard of these extra lyrics and neither had most of his co-workers.