niffer

I live in MN. I created a raised bed this year, filled with compost and peat. I overplanted a bit, its a bit crowded. It is surrounded by a 26 inch tall fence, with 1 1/4 inch spaces between the wires. Its fairly sturdy. There are no hole going into or out of the garden.

The plants are getting eaten. Today I noticed that my pea plants were no longer connected to the ground. Its okay cause they were on their way out anyway, but I was waiting til they were all the way done to cut them out. My Brussels sprout plant is missing half its leaves. My bean plants seem to be missing tips of the plants, but only randomly, at all different heights. The tomato has had the tips chomped off. There was a peanut plant, but it got eaten all at once a while ago.

What could be eating this? Its all different heights- a rabbit wouldn't eat the top inch of a tomato plant, and a deer wouldn't eat the bottom of a pea plant. I haven't seen any bugs that look like trouble....

The Brussels sprout had a few bites out the leaves a few days ago, but then they were suddenly GONE.

Any ideas?

I let a friend borrow our bounce house (its a smaller one, Little Tykes) for her kids birthday party. It began to rain and she ignored the giant warning label that has pictures telling you not to leave it or the electric motor in the rain. When we went to pick it up, it was just sitting there, drenched, still plugged in. I tried not to act irritated even though I thought she should have brought it inside or at least her garage as soon as it started to rain.

I spent hours drying it. Sprayed it with vinegar etc and hoped it would be okay.

It wasn't. I have mold spots all over.

I just bleached it and hopefully that will work.

I was going to bring it to church for our winter time play group- people bring toys and store them there throughout the winter. I would be happy to share, but I need it to stay dry! I wont be able to dry it outside for hours in MN winter! Would it be rude to possibly even tape a sign on it, saying "please help me keep this dry" to prevent sippy cups and accidents on it? The lady who borrowed it originally may be there, and I don't want to offend her.

So, I try to be understanding, and I know parenting is different. However, I just don't get something she did. She posted (many times) on FB about how she told her kid she would buy him a Wii if he ate an entire McDonalds hamburger. I know he has been in food therapy for a long time, and he struggles with it. She never expected him to actually eat it. So, my first question is why would you make a promise to a child like that? Shouldn't you set "attainable goals"? Isn't that really inappropriate? A Wii? and the worst part, to me is the food she chose. Why would you choose a McDonalds hamburger? Why not something somewhat healthy? I sometimes wonder if she is just a nutcase, or if this is actually appropriate?

Any thoughts?

When I turn the key I get absolutely nothing. No click, no sound at all. The battery is good- checked it with a multimeter, we have 12 1/2 volts. The battery is connected. The radio, clock, lights, door power locks etc do not work.

On Saturday my husband tried to fix our overhead lights(they hadn't been working, nor had the radio) by replacing fuses and lighbulbs. They worked on Satuday, but were broken again yesterday. However, the car was still driving fine last night and the locks, and clock and windows and stuff worked fine. This morning... nothing worked at all. Ideas?

I am just making cakes out of my house for my friends and neighbors. Birthday type cakes. Any ideas for a cute little name for it?

do you know a brand with the stretchy sides? I live in the phoenix area- we have frys, safeway, bashas, albertsons, target, walmart etc...

I have a wall with photos of my (and my husbands) grandparents etc. I have also added some small momentos, such a plaques and stuff. My MIL just gave me a beautiful pearl necklace. How can I display it? Are there frames made for that? I dont want to just hang it on something since my wall is nearly white.

There will be 30 people, we are staying at a beach house, so there should be a basic kitchen. I want it to be inexpensive yummy and simple. Any ideas?

I started about 4 weeks ago- it is two days a week for an hour. It is jogging and resistance training and pushups and stuff. She really stresses cardio. So, I am always slightly sore lately.... well, since I started. I wasnt a total bum before... weekend hikes and such. Yes, I am 30 pounds over weight. So.... seriously. how long until I have more energy?

So, preschool is expensive. So we have been doing a home preschool. I have chosen a theme for the week, and then we go on a fieldtrip. Examples: A was airplane museum, D dino museum, P was a tour of a local pizzaria, F was a visit to the firestation. We sometimes bring friends to the tour so we have more children. (My kids are 3 and 5)

So, here is my problem. I need ideas for :: L N S (thinking symphony) T (thinking childrens theater) V , W X Y Z (not the zoo, we have a membership and go all the time)

I wanted to tour a vetrinarians office, but they said no, wanted to tour newspaper, but they said no....lots of places have said yes in the past though...

My neighbor asked me to babysit her 1 year old kid while she works. She is a massage therapist and goes to peoples homes. This makes her work at different hours (some mornings, some afternoons) different days. She offered me 6 dollars an hour. So, I have worked for her for 6 days now, and only once has she paid me the agreed on amount. It is ALWAYS less. I dont mind being flexible, but she is also always late by about 30 minutes, and once dropped him off an hour early.

Any suggestions?

I am thinking of starting a little business out of my home. I was thinking of home cooked takeout. I would make a menu a week in advance and you could order 2 days or more in advance. You could order for 2 or 4 people. Tonight for example I would have brown sugar roasted pork loin (2 pounds) mashed red potatoes (3 cups) and cooked baby carrots (1 pound) and fresh pear cobbler for dessert. This would feed 4 people. I would charge 17 dollars. This is actually a relatively healthy meal- pork loin is a lean cut and I would minimize the added fat in the potatoes. It would be nutritious and yummy. Would you be interested in this? Would it be worth picking up on your way home from work?

I would like to know if there are any factories in Phoenix. Specifically I would like to take a tour of some factories with my kids. There is an awful lot of stuff around and it has to be made somewhere, so what is made in Phoenix?

I am thinking of things like making toys or peanut butter or processing cotton or .... well anything.

Our car is broken. We tried everything we could to fix it, then decided to bring it to Aamco. They towed it for free and I thought they said they would look at it for free too. They told us it would be 1900 dollars to fix, and the car isnt worth that. Now they are saying that it was 243 dollars to look at it and tell us what was wrong (they included the cost of some parts in there as well, but we never gave them permission to do any repairs) is that really fair?

I am so sick of being pregnant- and there are 3 more months left....

My back hurts like it needs to pop. I have tried and tried and tried to pop it- and stretch etc...

any ideas?

I would especially like to know if you are an ob nurse or doctor what most people do. I really worry about this for some reason. (If I shave or wax I get horrible ingrown hairs for weeks... but I dont want to be gross either...)

Okay.... so I thought I would give my husband a strange gift for Christmas.... I was thinking maybe some lingerie, a pair of toy handcuffs etc and a coupon book for some "adventures" together. Is that too wierd? I was wondering if anyone has ideas of what to put on the coupons- NOTHING TOO WIERD PLEASE!

I bought almond extract at safeway a couple years ago. It had a really yummy recipe on the box for a butter cake with almonds. I found a recipe online that looks similar, but doesnt seem quite right.... the one online is calling for 2 teaspoons of extract. That seems like a lot. It also says it takes 50 minutes to prepare and the same to bake, which maybe is a typo ....

Does anyone have this recipe?

So, I never really know what is "normal" with that hair down there! I am always so nervous to go to the ob for my first doctor appointment when I am pregnant because it is so revealing! What do most pregnant women do? Shave, wax, clip, etc? I dont mean to be gross, but I really dont know what to do!

I am like 6 weeks along. This is my 3rd baby. Why do I have to wake up so often to pee? I am exhausted!