Jadalina

We are planning a trip to Japan in 2011 and would like to learn enough conversational Japanese to get around without being completely confused. I live in a VERY rural area, and there are no Japanese speakers anywhere close for me to work with. The colleges in the nearest city do not offer Japanese classes. SO, I'm looking for a good language program. I've looked over Rosetta Stone ($500), Instant Immersion ($50), Pimsleur ($250). Does anyone know of another one I should check out?

Since they're making a comeback, I thought it might be fun to try out false eyelashes. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube showing how to put them on, but was surprised to see the girls putting them on after they'd done their eyeliner and eye makeup. I guess it makes sense, would be hard to apply eyeliner on top of the lash base. Then I read the lash box, and it says they're good for wearing 3 weeks. I'm confused, I thought you took them off at the end of the night. If you didn't, how could you get your makeup off? Or do they stay like a weave?

SO, my questions are, put them on before makeup, or after?

And, should I take them off at the end of the night, or can they stay on for a few days?

My favorite nephew is getting married in October to a girl who is really awesome, and I'd like to send her a little "welcome to the family" giftie. However, I've only met her a time or two, and don't really know what she likes. I'm looking to spend between $20-30. Any ideas?

My future in-laws are serial smokers. Their home is so foul smelling I can't go inside without my eyes burning and my stomach revolting. I have been in dive bars that had fresher air than their home. Everywhere you look, there are ashtrays overflowing with butts, and the walls are stained a streaky orangey yellow from the nicotine. The last few times we've gone by their house, I stayed in the truck under the excuse that my asthma was acting up and I couldn't handle the smoke. Sadly that won't work every time.

What's the nastiest thing your in-laws do or have that makes you cringe to be around them?

We're working on the guest list and I have some people that I would love to have attend the wedding, but I know they will not be able to make it. These are people I'm not real close to but I genuinely like them and enjoy their company when they're around. I'm sending them an invite anyway, because I want them to know I thought of them and wanted them to come. One is a client of mine, an 85 year old woman who herds bulls around her 10,000 acre ranch with a Gator and a cane. She cracks me up, and I'd love to have her at my wedding, though I know she won't be able to make it.

A friend of mine is telling me that since I clearly know these people cannot attend, they will likely view my invitation as not so much an invitation, but as an expectation for a wedding gift.

Is this really something I should be concerned about? I know I've had my feelings hurt in the past when I wasn't invited to an event because the planners assumed I couldn't make it. I thought it was rude they didn't even bother to ask me. Now apparently it's rude to invite someone if you know they can't come?

My fiance and I are in the process of buying a house. We found the house we wanted and put a contract on it around the 18th of Jan. We were supposed to close on the 14th of Feb so he got all the utilities set up on the 13th so it would be ready to move in. The 14th rolls around and we find out the appraiser hasn't shown up yet, so the date is pushed to last Tuesday. Wed he finally goes out, turns in his appraisal, and it's 1500 less than what our offer on the house was... and our offer was 10k less than the owners were asking too. Now the bank says, you gotta pay that 1500, we're not doing the loan for that extra amount. The owners say they won't take 1500 off the price. I'm ticked because they'd already had one contract fall through after the other buyer's bank refused the loan and I'm betting it was for the same reason, so they knew this would happen. My fiance wants to tell the owners to keep their house, and we find something else, but we just paid all those utility deposits plus the $500 earnest money. I'm letting him make the final call on this, but my question is, can we get the $500 earnest money back? Clearly we were sincere about the offer, and if the appraisal had matched what the sellers wanted we'd be closing it up today. I don't really understand how earnest money thing works. Also wondering about the utility deposits.

I am getting married in Sept and one of my bridesmaids has decided she's going to dye her hair, top layers blonde and bottom layers an alternate color. I wasn't too concerned about it when she was debating on pink or green, at least they'd match the dresses. However today a friend told me she's planning to dye the under layers blood red. Not only is it going to look like crap on her, it's going to look awful with the dresses. Her hair grows very slowly and there's no way it'll be gone by Sept. She still has pink in it from dying it this time last year.

Here's my bridesmaid dresses, etc.

http://www.ginroadranch.com/layout.jpg

I'm trying to talk her into going with aqua or pink so she'll at least match but she's determined she wants the red. Would it be unreasonable for me to insist she dye it back to something less obnoxious before the wedding? I don't want to be a bridezilla but geez.

We are putting together our own food for our reception and I need ideas. The wedding and reception will be on a boat out on a lake and we've got a sort of beach theme to the wedding. The boat has an air conditioned interior so no worries about food sitting out in the heat. There will be about 70 guests. I'm thinking primarily cold food, as it will be in late summer and hot outside, however it will be in the evening so we want to have plenty available. Ideas tossed around so far include trays of hot wings, maybe boneless honey bbq wings, blue cheese bacon slider burgers, an ice bucket o shrimp with cocktail sauce, fruit (watermelon, canteloupe, etc), meat and cheese party platters with subs cut in half to make sandwiches, and some cracker and dip trays.

Any ideas? Suggestions? We do have access to a full kitchen about 5 minutes from the ship, so we can do hot stuff if it seems like a good enough idea.

We're heading to Vegas this November, and are looking for any advice on where to find the best buffet in town. I mean one of those huge ones that has everything from prime rib to tacos to egg rolls and everything in between. We figured we'd hit one or two while we were there so any suggestions are welcome. :)

In my rich little fantasy world I have this idea that someday I will be able to afford ridiculously expensive horses, and my two favorites are the Friesian and the Gypsy Vanner.

The Friesian is all style and elegance and power, while the Vanner is like a sherman tank with a LOT of hair. I've heard that the Vanners are not nearly so impressive in real life, that their glamour is mostly photographic, but I've never seen one in real life so I don't know. Given the price tag on them is about the same, I can't figure out which one I'd want to have. So whatcha think? If you had 20k to blow on one or the other, which would you get, and WHY?

http://www.blackmagicfriesians.com/webpix/elli-nw3...

http://www.vannercentral.com/images/RKP6026549.jpg

My boyfriend's ex wife is so funny. She demanded the divorce, told him he was a worthless POS and she didn't need him. Yet, when she needs something, he's the first one she runs to. He put a stop to it, and now she's mad. She came over one night to gloat over something she bought, something she knew he'd always wanted, and oopsie, that's when she discovered me. I started dating him about 6 months after she kicked him to the curb so my conscience is clean, but oh she not happy with him. I think she divorced him to teach him a lesson thinking he'd come crawling back. Instead, he moved on with his life and is happy. As far as I'm concerned, she's a fool for tossing him out. He's kind, considerate, faithful, honest, faithful, and great in bed.

So would it be evil of me if I sent her a Thank You card for throwing him away so I could snatch him up? Just thinking of how that vein would start pulsing in her forehead makes me all warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

Where can I go to have prints made from my digital camera in Beijing? Somewhere I can just hand them my Compact Flash card and they can make prints quickly.

I just got a notification that my flight from PEK to LAX has changed departure time, and also they've extended the flight duration from 11 hours to 12. This means I've gone from a comfy 4 hours between landing at LAX and catching my flight to DFW, and 1.5 hours. My LAX-DFW flight is the last one out for the night, so if I miss it, I'm stuck until the next flight at 6 am.

I've never missed a flight so I'm not too sure what to do. I can't change the PEK-LAX leg because there's no other nonstop flight out that day... I'd have to route through JFK and then to LAX, making the flight 21 hours and getting in even LATER.

What happens if I miss the flight? Will they just put me on standby for the next flight out? Should I call now and try to switch to that flight anyway just to be on the safe side? This is for the last week of October so I have some time.

I'm heading to Beijing this October and am taking some of my art work to give as gifts to a few friends. With the TSA scarecrows running amok at the airport, and weight considerations in mind, I'd rather just have the pieces framed after I get into Beijing than risk having it done here and some over zealous airport security person ripping the backs off the frames to see if I've got more than 3 ounces of shampoo stashed inside the frame.

So, anyone got any recommendations for a good frame shop in Beijing?

This will be my first international flight (flying AeroMexico to Cancun doesn't count) and I am wondering if anyone can help me out on this. I'm flying Air China from LAX to PEK and the Air China website doesn't give any info regarding drinks on the flight. Will they provide bottled water free or do I have to buy it? Also, will they accept US$ for it or do I need RMB? That may be a dumb question but anyway.

Also, the Air China website says that the carryon bag should be limited to "around 5kg" which I figured out is about 11 pounds. That's hardly anything! Do they actually weigh your carryon? My bag is 6 pounds empty. AND, someone told me they heard Air China only allows that one bag, not that bag plus a purse.

Anyone know?

Anyone know what year this Valiant is?

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/valiant-ford-sch...

Does anyone even restore these things? We're not sure if it's even worth parting out, maybe just send this one to the scrapyard.

My buddy bought a pasture full of old cars and trucks and school buses and parts. We're trying to figure out what some of the years are, as well as how much they might be worth. Anyone know what year this VW Van is? Any idea on the value? It's parts only I know but someone told me the back seat alone could run $900 even in awful shape.

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/vw-bus-front.jpg

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/vw-bus-passenger...

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/vw-bus-driver.jp...

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/vw-bus-frontseat...

Anyone have any idea what this truck might be worth? It'd be a major project for someone, but I think it could be rebuilt rather than just part it out.

No links to Kelly Blue Book, ain't gonna be in there.

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/58-F100-passfron...

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/58-f100-driver.j...

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/58-f100-driver2....

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/58-f100-rear.jpg

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/58-f100-inside.j...

Any ideas what this car might be worth? I realize it's probably only good for parts at this time, but a serious rebuilder with the shop could bring it back.

Please no links to Kelly Blue Book, it ain't gonna be in there.

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/58-ford-fairlane...

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/fairlane-driver....

http://ginroadranch.com/cars/cars/58-ford-fairlane...

For the last 2-3 months, some idiot has been sneaking into my yard and leaving gallon milk jugs half filled with some foul smelling fluid (looks like icky water) all over the place. I throw them out, they reappear a few days later. Usually they will be placed along a straight line, maybe one in the pasture, one in the fenceline, two across the yard, another by one of the pens. I have a pretty good idea which chucklehead is doing it... Mexican guy fresh out of the looneybin who got pissed because I wouldn't pay him to mow my yard (that I was in the middle of mowing myself!)... and the general consensus among my Mexican friends is the fool is trying to place a voodoo on me. None of them know enough about the subject to have a clue about the intended result though.

Anyone know much on the subject? I'm getting tired of picking up these stupid milk jugs every few days.