Sunny Knoll

Should I go to a co-workers good-bye lunch with the rest of my department when this person has been annoying, obnoxious, and has constantly talked behind my back?

I have a Cocker Spaniel mix that will be turning 4 in May. She's currently in the hospital for the removal of a large bladder stone and was treated previously for recurring UTI's. Before the surgery, the vet put her on my antibiotics that didn't help, along with the Royal Canin USO diet for urinary health.

When I pick my little one up, the vet will be prescribing me a different type of food and since it's a different food, I think he's going to recommend/prescribe something other than the RC brand.

Any suggestions on prescription food to help prevent as much as possible, regrowth? Also, are there any supplements, food to give that will inhibit the regrowth of stones?

My first car was a VW. I loved the style and purchased 2 more after which were complete money pits. I really love the style of the newer Jetta's 2011 and 2012's and wanted to see what the reviews were like for reliability on the newer models.

I found a worm on my dog's chest the other night after I took her for a walk. It was smaller than a worm you would see on the ground after it rains, with two black stripes down its back and a flat, hammer like head. I immediately removed it and checked her body. Tonight while out on our walk, my other dog was fussing with her leg and when I bent down to see what the matter was I could feel something slimy. I immediately took them both home, checked my other dog and found the same worm. I bathed her right away and checked and didn't see anything else.

I am going to take them into the vet immediately but wanted to know if anyone has experienced this. What type of worms are they. They're not white rice in resemblance like a tape worm and I read that hook worms are not seen by the naked eye. Than what type are they?

What is a ballpark for a 3 - 4 day, 8-hour shoot that includes 12 commercial models, booked at 1 1/2 hour increments for a professional photo shoot that includes either a studio location or at the client's location to capture an office setting that includes head shots and full body poses?

Need to account for make up artist, time for scouting potential client campus, studio time if we go in that direction.

Is there something I can use over the counter that can darken the too blonde highlights I had professionally done today and have it look natural?

Has this ever happened to anyone? That you think about this person being in your life again that sometimes they come into your dreams?

Have you ever wished for someone to come back into your life again even after a falling out?

It's not like my thoughts are consumed but I do think about this person a lot depending on what's going on with me. It's just been difficult because it was a friendship I valued and we had a falling out so there was no closure.

My dog has had an increase thirst within the past 2 weeks. She's also been stopping to urinate more frequently than normal over the past few days and has been recently been having accidents in the house.

I've also seen her squat to urinate for a long time without it looking like anything is coming out. I saw her go out and relieve herself on the patio and little dribbles came out.

I'm taking her to the vet on Monday, but need to know what to expect.

She does seem to urinate normally but the increased stops and the prolonged squats with nothing coming out seems odd.

I noticed that my dog has been chewing on her forearm and now there's a small bald patch. The area that she chewed on had what looked like a blemish, but it wasn't pussy, it was white and didn't have too much cause for concern.

A woman at my office, told me it was a hot spot and to rub corn starch on it. I didn't do that, but I did put an antibiotic ointment on it and have been watching it closely in case I need to have her seen by the vet.

Any other suggestions? I guess it could be a number of things, so I'm just keeping a close eye on it just in case.

I guess I'm just shocked by some people. I worked with this group almost a year ago and we all got along great. I succumbed to pressures by the owners of the company who operated under so much confusion because of one would say to do it this way and not know what the other was doing. I'm extremely organized and structured but am flexible and I just let the chaos get to me. Needless to say I left that position and went on to sue and win $5K from the company because of mismanagement.

The thing that continues to bug me is the way I was treated by my fellow co-workers, 1 in particular who I was becoming close to who completely disregarded an apology I sent him after I left and he's never tried to reach out after that. In fact, he left the company or was fired shortly after and I just wonder why people do this.

I still think about it, because there was no closure and just am shocked and amazed by it. I've moved on considerably but obviously I question not really how things played out, because I can't control that, just how this person was treated very well by me, received an apology from me no doubt, went through the same nonsense that I did, yet just has 0 ability to reach out to say, I'm sorry.

Ahhhhh! Some people.

I am submitting an application for a design patent of a product and am wondering if the trademark of the name that is available, as I've confirmed through the USPTO, needs to be submitted independent of the patent I'm applying to for my product.

Or, will the USPTO consider the trademark along with the patent I'm applying for under the application and the fee I'm submitting.

My younger brother has always been very spoiled growing up and my mom and dad really started to draw boundaries after he turned 18 because he was just so disrespectful to them especially my mom. My mother adores him and has always been such a support for him growing up. I think that as he got older she became more cautious about certain things.

They didn't buy him a car out of concern that he would just trash it. They helped him after high school with college but it wasn't the right fit for him. A couple of years ago, my mom had just had enough of his disrespect and it was really bad, and she told him to pack his things and leave. As an adult, both my parents felt that they didn't want the tension in the home with him being an adult and acting so cruel and disrespectful. He came home 2 weeks later to tell her that he had enlisted in the Navy which was a great thing. He comes home when he can and things are seemingly better, but he's still disrespectful to our mom.

Her birthday was last month and he didn't even call her on her birthday to wish her a happy birthday. She later told me that when she brought it up to him, he just jokingly laughed and said he forgot yet he still hadn't acknowledged her birthday. I think he's an asshole and just don't get it.

My mom told him, that he hadn't changed. She keeps her distance with him now and remains to herself when he's around but it's not how she wants their relationship to be. He's the one that can't handle things. He mistakes her kindness for weakness I think but I know how much it hurts her. I told her to think about what he did and give him a taste of his own medicine when his birthday rolls around and not to acknowledge it. Do you think that's the right thing to do?

I swear, without fail, when I'm put into a situation where I feel out of place, because I don't know anyone, I start to get so much inside of my own head that I just shut down and it just rattles my confidence. I have so many rules for myself and am so worried about how others perceive me if I'm meeting them for the first time. I have no problem, opening up and being myself but am better in one-on-one situations to start off with.

A month ago, I went to a get together and while I knew several of the faces there and they know me because of my community involvement, I felt like I was at a loss about how to start things. I just started noticing that conversations were happening around me and I didn't want to insert myself into existing groups because to me it would have seemed desperate.

I'm super fun, but to the people that know me. I just have a tendancy to get quiet, observe the conversations going around me and get so much in my own head, I start to wonder what people must be thinking about me.

How do I change the rules for myself or in my case throw the rule book out as it seems like it's totally stifling my ability to loosen up? My confidence just gets shaken, and I want to know what to do, in these situations.

What do I need to look for to invest in the right ones and where do I start?

I'm applying for a provisional patent and was wondering if I need to consult with an attorney first to obtain a docket # as the application asks for one although it's not mandatory?

I rescued her last year and she's about a year old. She's super sweet and as good as gold but she's a chewer. She has a lot of energy and is constantly foraging for something to eat despite being well fed twice a day. I'm training her as well and she gets healthy treats, walked at least twice a day and has my other fur baby in our home to play with.

I've given her bones to chew on as well as appropriate chew toys but she continues to chew. I read it's a sign of boredom but she'll chew on my son's blankets when I put her in bed with him at night.

Chew, chew, chew. How can I get her to stop?

I have a new product that is in it's infancy stages and have put together a business plan, marketing strategy, etc. I have a prototype and samples are being made as we speak. I'm looking at securing an investor and working on the patent, so what is the recommended quantity to manufacture when rolling this out?

I read that if you're creating something and basically improving on an existing product that you can't obtain a patent on it. Is this true? Can I instead get a design patent to protect my concept?

For example, there is and was a Snuggie before there was a Snuggie. It just so happens that the person who introduced the Snuggie was more successful in his marketing efforts and sold more of them.

I've started updating my home recently and a close friend of mine's husband has worked in the painting industry for over 10 years and has done a nice job on his mother's home. I always told my friend and her husband that when I'm ready to paint, that I would love to work with her husband to come and paint my home.

I invited them over for dinner before Thanksgiving and wanted to get the ball rolling. They came over and the first thing her husband did was go upstairs and start telling my husband the colors he likes and thinks we should paint our walls with. I had already established a color palette and was annoyed that I had first invited them over for dinner but felt like I was chasing him around my home trying to get him to listen to what I already had in mind and also inquire as to what the right tones would be for what I wanted to see up on my walls in my house.

I told him I was ready to get the project started immediately and we agreed that the next step would be to get a cost estimate to paint the interior of our home. When I didn't hear back from him until a week later, I sent a text to my friend letting her know. He then texted me back with the cost. The next day I sent him an email with the scope of work along with a text letting him know that I emailed him and to let me know any additional costs involved, again didn't hear back. So at that point I started receiving bids from other painters.

When my friend texted me about getting together I called and left her a message letting her know that I was getting other bids because I hadn't heard from her husband. Again another week has gone by without a response to my email. I also need to mention, he was laid off of his job a few months ago so the opportunity for me to hire him for my project would have worked out for both of us.

He got in touch with me following my message to my friend and we arranged a time to meet to go over the additional things I wanted done. He was supposed to bring his friend to assess the work but at our scheduled time, he showed up without his friend, quoted me sight unseen for what I wanted his friend to do and told me it would be $600 more than the estimate he provided, and he was clearly under the influence of alcohol. I was so frustrated I told him that I didn't appreciate not hearing back from him the first two times and that he knew I was ready to start on this. I finally just gave him a hug goodnight and told him I'd been in touch.

With that said, how should I tell my friend I'm going with someone else to paint my home? How should I tell her husband?

I have a 2 1/2 year old Cocker Spaniel who despite being so sweet, is also very stubborn. When I took her for her initial training the trainer said that coins in a can work for barking. It certainly didn't work for my dog. We've tried clapping our hands, rewarding when she doesn't bark, etc. I'm now wondering if anyone has had a good experience with using a shock collar as a barking deterrent and a way to correct this annoying behavior.