Opera Diva

My son is 3 1/2 months old and had been prescribed breathing treatments for his bronchialitis using a nebulizer. The first time I did the treatment, he screamed the entire time. The second time, I let him fall asleep, then started the treatment, which woke him up but he was fine. I realized a few seconds in that his pacifier was still in, but I figured he was breathing it in through his nose, so it was probably ok, right? He didn't fuss at all the second time, and the pacifier was only in about half the time. This is the mask-type nebulizer, not the tube.

If anyone has experience with a nebulizer and knows the answer, I appreciate it!

My sister bought a car last year, and can no longer afford the payments and insurance. She's only about 1 month behind on payments, but they've sent her a repo notice. Is there any way for her to just surrender her car to the loan company without them having to put it down as a repo on her credit?

I have had my Chihuahua mix for a little over a year, and when I got him I knew he was a prior abuse case, so he might need a little extra help. His temperment has always been scared, but really sweet once he gets to know you. When I got him, he was scared of EVERYTHING, but since then he has really started to come out of his shell.

My big issue right now is that he is IMPOSSIBLE to house train as far as I can tell. I am crate training him right now, and it worked for about the first day, but now he just looks at me like I'm crazy when I take him out.

I'm really starting to think I've done all I can for him, and I need to pass him on to someone with a little more dog experience who can help train him and find him a home that will be better for him. Not that there's anything wrong with my home, I just think it may not be the best place for this particular dog.

Any suggestions?

I have never had regular periods, I started for the first time at 15 (even though I had been fully developed in every other area from about 10-11), and for a while had one EXTREMELY light period every so often (never a regular interval between them). I am now 21, I went on the pill a little less than three years ago, and while I was on it, I had regular periods (although still a little on the light side). However, I also had a lot of emotional/hormonal issues while I was on it, so I decided to stop taking the pill in April, and I haven't had a single period since. I am not pregnant (took a test this morning), and I am in a normal weight range, no eating disorder or abnormal exercise or anything like that.

I have had 3 thyroid tests, all of which came back normal, and my gynecologist just says to go back on the pill and come back with questions when I want kids.

Is this normal, or does it sound like there is something going on that I should try to figure out?

I am going crazy! I have been studying for about 3 months straight (not to mention doing well in all of my classes before that), and I am STILL worried about my TExES Music All-level exam tomorrow! If you don't live in Texas, this is the first half of the exam required for teacher certification. Everyone else who is taking the exam, my thoughts are with you!

They just charged me $490 in overdraft fees!!!!!!!!!! For less than $80 worth of purchases (mostly 4-5 dollar items)!!!!! I hate them so much. I am definitely switching banks. Tomorrow. There is no way I can afford that, any chance I will get them to cut this down a little? Do you have some strategies to use on the bank employees to make them consider forgiving some of these outrageous fees?

Hi, I have had Buddy, a white longhair chihuahua (mix probably, he looks just like a chi but a little bigger, about 8 pounds) for almost a year now, and he is proving very difficult to train in any way. He is still not housetrained (granted, I don't know how to housetrain a dog, and have never had an indoor dog before), and is extremely skittish around people. He was definitely abused and neglected before I got him, although how much I will never know (he is a little less than 2 years old as far as anyone can tell, so it was obviously done when he was a puppy). He absolutely adores me, wagging his tail furiously when I get home, and jumping around, but still not allowing me to pet him very often. He is terrified when I try to catch him, which I need to do periodically to trim his nails, get his collar and leash on him, etc. He is a lot better than he was when I got him, and I think he's to the point now where training would help. Any suggestions for good, CHEAP dog behaviorists in DFW?

If you could be anywhere in a matter of minutes or seconds, how would you use this to your advantage?

I know for me, personally, it would open up a Professional performing career because I would be able to be in New york, Italy, or California for rehearsals all in the same week.

What would you do?

I have been married for two years, and can't seem to convince my husband that he needs to help out around the house. He works full time, 40 hours a week, and I am a full time college student with two part time jobs. The only thing he is responsible for is taking out the trash, which he rarely actually does. I am responsible for the laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cooking, shopping, mail/financial stuff, and pretty much all other types of cleaning and housework.

In addition to all of this, he expects me to give him a back rub every night, while I have had about 5 in the 2 years we've been married.

Am I being irrational or is he expecting way too much from me? Do you have any suggestions about a good way to share the workload?

Hi, my sister and I are considering going on an organic, mostly raw diet. We are not vegetarian, nor do we really care to be, but as far as meat goes we plan to eat mainly chicken and fish. We love most fruits and veggies, so this probably won't be a huge problem for us.This is not to lose weight, but to be healthier and cleanse our bodies of preservatives. I was just wondering if anyone had some suggestions, and maybe recipe/meal ideas? We are fairly petite, so plans for the day should be no more than about 1500 calories. Also, we can't have any foods from the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, and other kinds of peppers), so keep this in mind when suggesting recipes! Thanks in advance!

Ok, this may end up being too medically technical for anyone to answer, but here goes.

I (and my mother and sister) have all realized fairly recently that Bell peppers cause us gastrointestinal distress. We all also have problems with caffiene in coffee, although green tea seems to be fine in small quantities.

Anyway, my question is: does anyone know some places to find out more information about solanine sensitivity, and maybe a list of foods that have solanine in them? I am seriously thinking about implementing a strict diet to get rid of all of the things that have solanine in order to try to get my body in good working order.

To start off with, I am happily married (2 year anniversary was last week) and will graduate from college next May. I stopped taking birth control this past April, because I was very unhappy with the side effects (depression, anxiety, etc.). While I am not necessarily wanting to get pregnant right away, I wouldn't mind if I did get pregnant within the next few months. I have had irregular periods that were extremely light, almost like spotting, my entire "adult" life, starting when I was almost 15 (I was fully developed by 9 or 10) until I started the pill. While on the pill, I was completely regular. Since going off the pill, I have had one period, about 2 months after I stopped the pills.

Which brings me to my question: Does anyone know the average amount of time it takes for someone with irregular periods for no known reason with no obvious hormone imbalances to get pregnant? Is this something that is going to take a long time for me? I appreciate any input!

I am thinking about auditioning for american idol this weekend, and I was just wanting some suggestions for what I should sing. I am a 21 year old female, I usually sing Opera but that obviously won't work for this audition. I have a very extensive range, but prefer to sing in the middle/high part of my voice. Nothing that requires a lot of growling/throaty singing please. Thanks for any suggestions!

I will graduate college and be a teacher next year, and I am trying to figure out a good way to cut my hair. My current hair situation:

Medium brown shoulder length hair with caramel highlights. I chemically straightened it about a year ago, and it has stayed mostly straight ever since, but some of it has grown out and gets a bit wavy now. It is layered, with the shortest layer about chin length. My face shape is oval/round. I don't think it's quite tall enough to really be oval, but it's slightly taller than it is wide. I am petite, 5'2", 120 pounds, so I feel longer hair makes me look shorter/younger. I am wanting something a bit shorter than I have now, that looks very professional and makes people take me seriously. Be as specific as you can, pictures would be great!

I have been thinking about doing a detox program, and the cheapest one I can find is called Detoxatrim. It is technically a weight loss/detox pill, designed to curb appetite and cleanse all the excess matter in your colon. I don't need to lose much weight, and I am eating well and staying fairly active (I am a waitress, which i firmly believe is a form of exercise). Do you think this is a good cleanse, or are there other ones that are better? I have a family history of colon cancer, and would really like to prevent it if possible!

Next sunday is my 21st birthday, and I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for what to do and where to go for a memorable night. I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, so anything in either city would be fine! Also, would it be a good idea to just go somewhere late the night before, just before midnight so that by the time I get in I'll be 21?

I will graduate next may with a B.A. in Music with Teacher Certification, and I have a few questions if anyone can help! I will have finished my degree in 4 years (it is a 5 year degree btw), and upon graduation I intend to get a job in a public school. My question is, does the state of Texas or any other organization that you know of give any kind of loan repayment/tuition reimbursement/anything like that to students who graduate on time and pursue a career in teaching? Any information would be very much appreciated!

I have been going to the same church for 10 years now...it is actually the reason my family moved to Texas, because one of the Pastors is a good friend of the family. I am now married, and in the past few years my eyes have really been opened to some odd things in my church. For one thing, it is very clique-ish. I am not just talking about the kids either; if you do not attend EVERY sunday ALL day, as well as most Wednesday nights, people tend to avoid you. When living with my parents, I went all the time, but now we go somewhat less frequently because of my husband's job, and hardly anyone in the church talks to us anymore. Another major problem we have is that the pastors are constantly degrading other beliefs from the pulpit, talking about how wrong they are, but they disguise it so that it sounds like they are the good ones, and are always right.

I really do believe in what the church teaches, but the way they teach it almost seems like a cult to me! Should I find a new church?

Well, yesterday my eye was leaking a lot of watery discharge, as well as sometimes some really sticky yellowish discharge. Last night, I noticed it was a little swollen, and when I woke up, it is swollen to the point where I can barely open it! The eye itself is quite red as well. I do wear contacts, but I did not wear them yesterday. I would contact an Eye doctor, but they're closed today for the 4th. Also, could this have anything to do with the abdominal cramps/dizziness I've been having for 2 days?

Ok, as background, I am almost 21 years old, and I am happily married. I went off birth control pills in April because I didn't like the way they made me feel (very emotional), and we rarely use other forms of protection. I haven't had a period since going off the pill, which isn't unusual, esp. since I was very irregular before starting the pill. I took a test about 2 weeks ago just to check, and it was negative. Yesterday morning, I woke up with horrible cramp-like pains, worse than my regular cramps, yet no sight of bleeding (fyi, I NEVER cramp until i'm actually bleeding). The stomach pains lasted throughout the whole day, and were later accompanied by dizziness, fatigue, and some nausea. I have also been avoiding foods I normally like for at least the past week, because they just seem gross to me. Do these sound like pregnancy symptoms to you?