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The tub in our hall bath has only one knob for both hot and cold water. Now only cold water comes through no matter what position the knob is in. Any ideas about what would cause that or how to fix it?

In Texas, when an unmarried adult dies without a will, do her belongings have to stay at the physical address if she was living in another person's home?

My sister in law recently passed away without a will, and my parents in law are her next of kin. SIL was living with friends in a home she didn't own. MIL is insisting SIL's belongings have to stay at SIL's physical address, but the home owner wants to put some things in storage until the state tells her what to do with them. Does the homeowner have the right to put the deceased's belongings in storage, or does she have an obligation to keep them at the physical address?

Sorry this is so long, but please read and let me know what you think...

Last month I took my daughter to a new dr.'s office that was highly recommended by a family member. My daughter suffers with eczema and was having a bad flair-up that wouldn't go away. We saw the Nurse Practitioner, who specializes in allergies and skin problems, and she gave us a list of things to do and supplements to take hoping that we would not have to use a topical steroid, and gave us orders to get allergy testing done as soon as my daughter's arms were well enough. She did spend a little longer with us than what I would normally expect from a visit to the Dr's, but it was our first visit and she wanted to make sure she understood the problem.

We had to go back last week because the supplements were not enough to stop the inflammation and the outbreak was getting worse. The same NP saw us and asked about the things she told us to do, and kind of put me on the defensive because I stopped one of the treatments that seemed to cause a lot of pain and we had not gone to have her tested for allergies yet (because her arms were still so red and inflamed). She finally agreed to give my daughter a prescription, I think only because I insisted, and wants us to come back in two or three weeks to do the allergy testing.

After the second visit we got the bill for the first visit, $231.38. They submitted it to the insurance after the first of the year, so we have to pay this out of pocket because of our deductible (which I knew would be the case). I was just surprised because it's so high, I've never had a Pediatrician bill this high before, and we saw the Nurse Practitioner, not the Dr. Now I'm wondering what the bill will be for this past week's visit, even after we pay our deductible we're still responsible for something like 30% of the bill. Normally that's not a problem because the bill is under $100 at any other pediatrician we've been to.

What do you guys think, is $230 high for a visit to the Pediatrician, or is it reasonable because the NP specializes in allergy and skin problems?

Sorry this is so long, but please read and let me know what you think...

Last month I took my daughter to a new dr.'s office that was highly recommended by a family member. My daughter suffers with eczema and was having a bad flair-up that wouldn't go away. We saw the Nurse Practitioner, who specializes in allergies and skin problems, and she gave us a list of things to do and supplements to take hoping that we would not have to use a topical steroid, and gave us orders to get allergy testing done as soon as my daughter's arms were well enough. She did spend a little longer with us than what I would normally expect from a visit to the Dr's, but it was our first visit and she wanted to make sure she understood the problem.

We had to go back last week because the supplements were not enough to stop the inflammation and the outbreak was getting worse. The same NP saw us and asked about the things she told us to do, and kind of put me on the defensive because I stopped one of the treatments that seemed to cause a lot of pain and we had not gone to have her tested for allergies yet (because her arms were still so red and inflamed). She finally agreed to give my daughter a prescription, I think only because I insisted, and wants us to come back in two or three weeks to do the allergy testing.

After the second visit we got the bill for the first visit, $231.38. They submitted it to the insurance after the first of the year, so we have to pay this out of pocket because of our deductible (which I knew would be the case). I was just surprised because it's so high, I've never had a Pediatrician bill this high before, and we saw the Nurse Practitioner, not the Dr. Now I'm wondering what the bill will be for this past week's visit, even after we pay our deductible we're still responsible for something like 30% of the bill. Normally that's not a problem because the bill is under $100 at any other pediatrician we've been to.

What do you guys think, is $230 high for a visit to the Pediatrician, or is it reasonable because the NP specializes in allergy and skin problems?

Any one else find this section a little, um, over burdened?

We're going to the Ft. Worth Zoo tomorrow, and we'll have some young children with us. Our lives will be easier and the trip will be cheaper if we bring our own food. Do you know if the zoo allows outside food and drinks or if they allow re-admittance if we trek out to our car for lunch?

There's a family in my neighborhood we've become friends with, my dd is friends with their girls, and my dh and I hang outside with the mom. She goes to a small church, and lately *all* she has really talked about is "end times" and how everyone needs to accept jesus and walk the narrow path to heaven because we're all running out of time, etc. I can see where this is going and I'm *not* interested. In the past she's said things like "you guys know about jesus, right? How he died for our sins and all that?" Today she got more specific and more personal, and asked me what I believe. I was vague, the only specific thing I said was I don't take the bible as literal truth, and kept everything else very universal. I'm learning to follow the Wiccan path, and I'm not ready to share that with her, only select people I trust.

How did/do you handle questions about your beliefs with people who insist on preaching, but you don't want to be open with?

Earlier this year I was researching a subject unrelated to religion when I found a connection to pagan and wiccan traditions. I started reading, and the more I read the more I realized that much of what I believe that I couldn't fit into christianity was fully embraced by Wicca.

So I've read several books, and done some spiritual work, and I'm learning to meditate, but I feel like I'm in this weird state of limbo. It's more like I'm at a cross road, I've chosen the general direction, but I'm still waiting for the light to change. Sometimes I feel a little isolated, but I'm not sure if/how/when I should reach out to local wiccans/pagans. Only my hubby knows of my spiritual interests.

Has anyone else gone through this? Do you have any suggestions or advice?

I prefer to make 80-95% of our family meals vegetarian, but lately I've been in a rut with the same recipes over and over. Mostly I do one or two lentil dishes per week, one or two bean dishes, a soup of some kind (often split pea, everyone's tired of that), and frozen veggies and noodles for a quick and easy back up meal.

Know any great kid-and-husband friendly dishes that can help me liven things up around here (with out giving in to dh, who keeps asking for more meat)?