MY younger sis need a jod?

my sis Lily need a job she is 14 years old and she wants to be a babysister or a mother%26#039;s helper... where can i look for a jpb at her age...any job.... if any one live in new york in westchester can you plaese e-mail me at streetfootball1334@yahoo.com


and can you put your name and what job your thinking for my sis...she can do anything..

MY younger sis need a jod?
Don%26#039;t do this, dear. You are going to get all kinds of weirdos, some of them downright dangerous, e-mailing you. Don%26#039;t follow up on any of the %26#039;jobs%26#039; offered to your sister. Go through trusted channels such as friends and relatives - it%26#039;s a creepy, dangerous world out there!
Reply:Look at job websites, or advertise in a local paper %26quot;Babysitter or mother%26#039;s help available, preferrably local but can travel, Westchester phone ---------%26quot;



dry skin care

What is with all the celebrities getting pregnant?

okay first it was nicole richie then jessica alba, lily allen umm christina aguliera umm jenniffer lopez andrecently jammie lynn spears (wow spears gone wild this year) and probably more





why is it all happening now it is kinda weird


it is like the new women trend is a baby belly

What is with all the celebrities getting pregnant?
maybe because they are ready to have a baby except jaime lynn spears hers was by mistake kind of but not really
Reply:That%26#039;s what%26#039;s called GLUTTONY. They have EVERYTHING. Hollywood is the land of sin and narcissism.





It destroys them all. They can%26#039;t fart without it being on the evening news.





That girl has lost it all. One little act and poof...she%26#039;s branded for life.
Reply:wow your right!


i think britneys pregnant too but i dont know if thats true i only heard it like once
Reply:I don%26#039;t know ! It is so weird. Like 2008 will


be the year that celebrities baby will be


born. At least Christina Aguilera and Jennifer


lopez are married.
Reply:It%26#039;s nothing new. What%26#039;s new is the media%26#039;s fascination with celebrities.
Reply:We need rising celebrities to take common sense tests before they sign contracts for movie deals, doesn%26#039;t it look like that?
Reply:its like a freaking epidemic. its funny, because that happened when i was in high school. one teacher would get pregnant and a bunch would follow.
Reply:i know right
Reply:Because society is falling down the tubes.


Celebrities are getting dumber by the minute...
Reply:A lotta horny people, not a lotta sense or birth control.





Jazzy
Reply:that%26#039;s life
Reply:it seems kind of like the new trend right now, everyone wants to be pregnant.
Reply:its the hollywood baby trend :)
Reply:naughty celebs
Reply:most be the new trend in the celebrity world
Reply:I think it is the new trend
Reply:omg, its like such a fashion statement to get pregnant and fat now!



online payday loans

What's your opinion on a name for a Duck Toller?

After asking a question about a month ago (with really great answers, thanks, guys) about whether or not I should get a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, I have decided that I should get one. I think I%26#039;m ready for a dog, and I love this breed! Now, the question is this: What should I name my new puppy? I wouldn%26#039;t get it for over a year, but I like to be prepared. So, for a girl, which of these do you like best - Brook, Delta, Roxy, Lily, Jasmine or Rosa? For a boy - Dexter, Rusty, Dusty, River, Takoda or Hunter? If you have any other ideas for names, feel free to share them. (By the way, if you don%26#039;t know what a Duck Toller looks like, it%26#039;s about the same colour as a fox, with or without white markings, and looks a bit like a smaller Golden Retriever) Any suggestions or opinions on names would be most welcome. Also, Merry Christmas to everyone and their four-legged friends!

What%26#039;s your opinion on a name for a Duck Toller?
I love duck tollers and am jelous of you.I cant decide between your lily or rosa.I like Abby or Grace. I do like River the best.Iv learned even when i pick a name ahead of time on any dog ive got it changes once you see the dog . The name you pick out just doesnt seem to fit the dog. I went to get a female that i was going to name gypsy and i ended up with grace.( Ohhh I like Gypsy too).Gypseyjust didnt fit her and grace popped in my head. For years my husband wanted Thor for any male we got but when he got the dog he named it Boomer, a name that had never been an option.**Don%26#039;t get too stuck on a name ahead of time, as much as the name seems perfect it may very well chanege***Good Luck
Reply:i like Brook for a girl seeing as how thats my middle name and Dusty for a boy...my neighbor once had a golden lab named Dusty
Reply:Scotia. Could be a boy or girl name. Hence in which from where they came........ :) Great Holidays to all and be safe!! Lisa
Reply:I%26#039;d name it Hunter if it was a male or female.
Reply:Lily %26amp; River
Reply:Ducky!!



skins.be blog

Little One to old? Wish they had that when mine was tiny!!?

Hi





Another question....


Whats the item thats on the market now, that you wish you had for your baby under 1 year? Or your defo getting for your next baby!





I often check through mothercare cataloge and see things I would of loved to have when my daughter Lily was a newborn.





My thing is the glider fisher price have, looks so soft and comfy! And the new slings which can be used upto toddler age, in different positions! wow! my sling I had hurt my back like hell! Defo getting both for my next baby......





Get the idea?


Come on ladies!!

Little One to old? Wish they had that when mine was tiny!!?
I%26#039;ve found a lot of things that I would%26#039;ve rather had than what I bought for my daughter.





I have a regular Graco swing - next time I%26#039;ll definitely spend the money for a cradle swing that goes side-to-side. My daughter rarely uses her swing, and I think it%26#039;s just plain uncomfortable. The Baby Papasan swing looks so much nicer than what we have.





I%26#039;ll also go for a convertible carseat next time. I wasn%26#039;t expecting to have an almost 9 lb baby - she%26#039;ll be too big for the infant seat by 6 months! She%26#039;s too heavy, so I almost never use it as an infant carrier. What a waste of money - it wouldn%26#039;t been so much better to have the convertible and never buy a carseat again.





I%26#039;d also love to have one of those big, comfy upholstered gliders that look like a regular chair. I have a wooden one with padded seat, but I%26#039;d have loved to have gotten a big, $500 soft one! Just no room in the nursery for it though.





I%26#039;m also about to dump my Diaper Genie in favor of a diaper pail that uses regular garbage bags. What a racket they have going with those refills!
Reply:i had a kid 12 yrs ago %26amp; i so wish i bought her one of those life size barbies! Report It

Reply:well at toys rus they sell these playards with twin bassinets. i was looking around for one with every pregnancy ( two sets of twins) and now that i have bought 2 new ones for my babies i just see it now, i wish i would havw noticed the twin playard sooner.
Reply:Well Im telling my age here but disposable nappies, i mean when I had mine the hard work in washing and drying nappies, it was almost a full time job!
Reply:There are always new things, Ive noticed this with every pregnancy. This time round I notice how much more common cloth nappies are again as they just weren%26#039;t in the shops when I had my last one just 4 years ago, and how much they have changed from the ones 15 years ago!


I like the little bumbo seats and bebe pods, the tummy tubs and of course there is much more variety for twins and triplets nowadays as well and for people with children close together.


I love the new style fabric slings, there is so much more choice of them now than just the traditional ones.



hotels

Please help interpret my dream.?

in my dream i lived in this house and across this house was another house and inside that house were murderers that were trying to kill me and my family. They kept sneaking in with knives and axes and they tried to kill me.So then a year goes by ad i go into that creepy house with the murderers and i took an axe and killed everybody. Then 10 years later i go back and i live in my old house and i see people moving in the creepy house. Turns out new people live there and they are all like jacked up. Then it switches.I%26#039;m at an amusement park and I%26#039;m on a roller coaster but i fall off and land in Christian%26#039;s roller coaster car and he%26#039;s like hi lily and we start laughing and we got married and we live in that creepy house and the people i killed didn%26#039;t die and they come after us.it was so realistic and i thought that i was gonna die and the blood was everywhere when i killed them.

Please help interpret my dream.?
You zee your fazzer az a threat ont vant to haz ze sex wiz your mazzer... zat iz quite comon..
Reply:www.dreammoods.com
Reply:I cannot interpret your dream. Neither can anyone else. ONLY YOU know what your dream means, and ONLY YOU can %26quot;interpret%26quot; your dream. No one else had it, and no one else lives your life or within the context of your life.





Dreams are your thoughts while you are sleeping. Thoughts and dreams are your mind%26#039;s way of doing what your mind does: solve your problems and make sense of your life.





So look at your dream, consider what problem it is trying to solve, and the rest will fall into place. That is, you will begin to understand FOR YOURSELF what your dream means in the context of your life.





Please don%26#039;t be distracted by the nonsense that has grown up around dreams: That they are message from your unconscious, that they are secret codes or symbols you have to get help to figure out, that books of dream interpretation can do anything other than cost you money, or that dreams are predicting the future. All of that is hogwash. -- Dr. Bob




commericial loan

Hillary vs. Rudy on health care, is Hillary crazy?

Hillary vs. Rudy on health care, is Hillary crazy





Today’s health-care debate previews the fall 2008 election, if today’s presidential frontrunners win their respective party nominations. Senator Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) and former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (R., N.Y.) are promoting reforms that contrast like midnight and high noon.


As Clinton cheers, Congress moves to reauthorize the State Child Health Insurance Program. Launched modestly in 1997, SCHIP was targeted at kids whose families were too prosperous for Medicaid, but too poor for private coverage. Like nearly every federal scheme, SCHIP is metastasizing. Clinton, her Democratic comrades, and some weak-kneed Republican appeasers are widening SCHIP into a self-contradictory contraption, complete with a tax hike and a fiscal blunderbuss.





“It is one of our most important national priorities to cover all Americans, and that should start now with all of our children,” Clinton said July 16. Of course, it depends on what the meaning of the word “children” is. Washington already lets 14 states cover 670,000 “boys” and “girls,” up to age 25, some of whom have been drinking legally for four years and voting for seven. Ninety-two percent of Minnesota’s SCHIP budget insures adults.





Clinton’s proposal, like the House Democrats’ bill, would cover children in families up to 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL), double today’s target. Thus, a family of four making $82,600 could receive federal-government medicine. Meanwhile — the Heritage Foundation’s Rea Hederman estimates — 70,000 “American families are both poor and high-income — simultaneously.” They qualify for SCHIP and the Alternative Minimum Tax.





Madder still, 77 percent of children between double and triple FPL and 89 percent between 300 and 400 percent of FPL already have private health insurance, notes Cato Institute scholar Michael Cannon. Nonetheless, the Democratic House Wednesday night approved $47 billion for SCHIP through 2012, 88 percent above its current $25 billion, five-year budget.





Senate Democrats would fund this extravaganza via a 156 percent cigarette-tax hike — from 39 cents to $1 per pack. Heritage forecasts that 22 million new smokers would have to light up by 2017 to keep SCHIP afloat. So, SCHIP promises to improve children’s health while exploiting adult tobacco addiction. And if those smokers never materialize, future Congresses simply will invoice smoke-free taxpayers.





“The Left is pretty blatant about this being their vehicle to move to universal coverage,” one health-policy expert told me. “Make kids think you get health insurance from the government, and in less than a generation, you’re there.”





While Democrats and some lily-livered Republicans ceaselessly invoke “the children” to impose government medicine, Giuliani does the reverse. His just-unveiled health plan rejects public entitlements and tax hikes and embraces private property and tax incentives to extend health coverage overall — beyond just kids.





“America’s health-care system is being dragged down by decades of government-imposed mandates and wasteful, unaccountable bureaucracy,” Giuliani told New Hampshire voters Tuesday. “To reform, we must empower all Americans by increasing health-care choices and affordability, while bringing accountability to the system.”





Giuliani specifically would grant uninsured families $15,000 tax exemptions, and singles $7,500, to help them buy private coverage that they, not their bosses, would own, control, and transport throughout their careers — much like car, home, and life insurance. Funds remaining after insurance purchases could be deposited tax-free into Health Savings Accounts for routine medical expenses.





He also would let Americans acquire health plans across state lines, as they now do with non-medical insurance. For instance, unmarried New Yorkers, who now must buy such unneeded mandatory benefits as in-vitro fertilization, would be free to secure no-frills plans from insurers in, say, mandate-light Ohio.





Giuliani also would curb malpractice costs by capping lawsuit damages and requiring frivolous plaintiffs to cover victorious doctors’ legal bills.





“If a person gets injured, he should be compensated, but he shouldn’t get the brass ring or win the lottery,” Giuliani explained.





Unlike President Bush, whose happy talk fuels Leftist disdain, Giuliani describes Democrats’ ideas with bracing candor. He calls their health proposals “heavily influenced by Marxism.”





“We’ve got to solve our health-care problems with American principles, not the principles of socialism,” Giuliani says. “I know Democrats will say this is unfair, I know they’ll squeal…But I am a realist. I face reality, which is: If you take more people and have government cover them, it’s called socialized medicine.”

Hillary vs. Rudy on health care, is Hillary crazy?
Neither Hillary nor Rudy have offered anything that will help America with our flawed health care system. Until the profit incentive is removed from the care equation, Americans will continue to be uninsured, under-insured, denied care, suffer, and die needlessly.





Only by replacing the private health insurance industry with a single-payer national insurance will America demonstrate true compassion for its citizens.





Please join us at http://www.myspace.com/onecarenoworg
Reply:Wow ! I hadn%26#039;t heard of this.





Of course, we all know from her past production on this matter, that hillary is good at throwing out ideas but, cannot formulate a plan. In fact, I have no trust of anything she says after her last %26#039;reform%26#039; ending up tripling my contribution for coverage.





Guiliani%26#039;s plan makes A LOT OF SENSE, however. In fact, I can embrace that proposal. It provides for a solution without taking away from personal freedom of choice. I don%26#039;t know why anyone would argue against his plan and agree that it is in line with traditional American principles and values.





I like it - very much.
Reply:The idea behind Unversal Health Care is that everybody is covered.





There are people from the right complaining that they don%26#039;t want their money going to pay for the health insurance of someone who doesn%26#039;t work.





In reality, that is exactly how health insurance works. They money you pay for premiums goes into a pool to cover everybody%26#039;s health care who also pays for the insurance. Those who are not covered, we end up paying for in the form of higher premiums.





The term of %26quot;socialized medicine%26quot; is a right wing term used to scare people into thinking that the Government is going to intrude in every facet of our lives.





Never mind the fact that a lot of them want the Government to legislate morality.





Guiliani%26#039;s plan is severely flawed because tax breaks won%26#039;t help the poor at all. How far would $7500 go in a tax free health account if you get very sick or get into a bad accident through no fault of your own?





I also don%26#039;t know if Hillary%26#039;s plan would work. Most %26quot;socialized medicine%26quot; plans require extensive taxtation. In other words, the money we put into premiums now would go to the government and with worse service, so nothing will actually change as far as those paying it and those who don%26#039;t except that everybody will have it and get worse service on top of it.





Health care should not be a profitable businesses, these are people%26#039;s lives here.
Reply:No, Hillary is not crazy, just misguided.



world history

Kyrie among nations!?

at this time of year, many people are celebrating the traditions of their cultures, i hope all of you have a very enlightening and powerfully spiritual experience.





lifting you on eagles wings,


lily





ps...if any would like to share a tradition with me i would enjoy reading. in my family cooking the meal is a very important part of the season. i try very hard to remember that each of them is worth my time, even if i am mad. and when we set the table, we set out an empty plate to invite into our lives, the love and energy of those who have passed and our higher power. we come together and share not only nutrition but our love and support of each other as well





thank you for listening and have a great new year!

Kyrie among nations!?
eleison...ELEOS!!!!



breast cyst

Has anyone ever heard of the musical "Pal Joey"?

My high school is doing the musical %26quot;Pal Joey%26quot; and I heard a brief synopsis from our director, however it wasn%26#039;t really enough for me to get a good idea of the characters I%26#039;ll be auditioning for. Last year we did %26quot;Carnival!%26quot; and I had no idea how to portray Lily when I tried out, so this year I%26#039;m making sure that history doesn%26#039;t repeat itself! :)

Has anyone ever heard of the musical %26quot;Pal Joey%26quot;?
Pal Joey, featuring Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, 1957, A Rodgers and Hart film.
Reply:All i know it has Frank Sinatra! sorry


Hope It Helps
Reply:The character of Joey in the Broadway musical was much more conniving and cynical than in the Sinatra film version.
Reply:With no offense meant, but first to answer,,,YES.





It would seem that even at an age of being in high school one could relate to the fact that trying to secure a part in a play, might require research,,,much in the same way one studies to pass an exam? maybe I%26#039;m wrong?????????? NAH,,, I%26#039;m totally correct.





Certainly on the WWW there are Hundreds of links, in the form of resources, with material describing what you seek.General search///browser///keywords,,, IE: %26quot;Pal Joey%26quot;





To portray a character one must not only KNOW the character, but BECOME that character. One would hardly be able to do that, if one was ignorant of the play, or characters as they were presented and developed through the performance.





Good luck.





Steven Wolf


Exiting,,, Stage left.
Reply:I%26#039;ve heard of it. So has google %26#039;synopsis pal joey.%26#039; Give it a shot.



beauty quotes

Who should he end up with?

We were assigned story lines in English class.





♥ Plot Line - %26quot;Ryan%26quot; (didn`t come up with the names) is new in town and meets two opposite girls at school, on the first day. The girls are described below:


(I got to make up this part)





-Jennie: Used to be a %26quot;loser%26quot; with only one friend and a bad reputation. Can relate to Ryan because he has no friends at his new school at first. She has a ton of friends this year, however, and is very full of herself--especially her outer appearance--and that sometimes gets annoying. Has a bad home life and is known as a %26quot;slut%26quot; now, rather than a loser.





-Lily: Used to be known as the %26quot;nice girl%26quot; and is now maturing and learning to deal with real life. Has lost popularity since her two best friends left, but is still well-liked. Can relate to Ryan because they are neighbors and talk often. Is pretty but doesn`t know it, and is self-concious most of the time.





So, who should Ryan end up with?


They%26#039;re complete opposites..


Jennie or Lily?

Who should he end up with?
jennie.
Reply:Lily, Jennie doesn%26#039;t have space for Ryan in her new life. Lily seems nicer and is probably lonely and ready for some love.



skin color charts

What do you think would be the best punishment in this tragic case?

When Nicholas Gianquitti moved to Daisy Court in 2005, he entered a model of quiet suburbia, where all the split-levels came with backyard fences and neat yards and children played in the cul-de-sac.


One problem: Gianquitti seemed at odds with the neighborhood children.


Their balls were always bouncing across his lush lawn or hitting his polished car.


Gianquitti complained about this last year to a friend from his old neighborhood, Oakwind Terrace.


The kids’ balls “were always banging his cars,” recalled Ron Silvestri of his conversation with Gianquitti. “They were brand new cars and he didn’t like his cars being ruined.”


Gianquitti, a slight man who drew a disability pension from the few months in the early 1990s when he served as a Providence police officer, complained to his neighbors on Daisy Court as well. And parents there and on the adjacent cul-de-sac, Lily Drive, warned their children to keep clear of the man with the tuft of orange hair sprouting from his chin.


On Sunday, Gianquitti’s next-door neighbors, James and Adriana Pagano, hosted a birthday party for their young son. Some kids were playing in the street and, neighbors say, Gianquitti, who is 40, came out yelling and swearing at them when a ball struck his car.


Pagano, 44, a Cranston firefighter for 15 years who had been officially promoted to lieutenant just last week, rushed over to confront Gianquitti.


The confrontation led to punches and then, with children and others watching, the scene turned surreal.


Witnesses reported hearing several shots and seeing Pagano, lying in the street, mortally wounded. Many of his neighbors and relatives began calling 911. The time was around 3:15 p.m.


Yesterday, while a District Court judge ordered Gianquitti held without bail on a charge of murder, police investigators probed the dirt and leaves blown against the sidewalk outside Gianquitti’s home at 16 Daisy Court, searching for evidence and trying to piece together a neighborhood killing.


Law enforcement officials say Gianquittihad been licensed to carry a concealed weapon since 1993 when he left the Providence police force after six months after suffering a knee injury.


Police confiscated several rifles and pistols from his home following the shooting.


McGrath said some of the gunshots may have been fired from inside Gianquitti’s house and others from outside.


Pagano grew up in the Garden City section of Cranston and graduated from Providence College in 1989. After college, he served as an aide in former Cranston Mayor Michael A. Traficante’s office before joining the Fire Department in February 1991. He was promoted to lieutenant in January, taking part in a department-wide promotions ceremony just last week. Married to Adriana Pagano, a part-time hairdresser, he had a daughter and a son. He was an avid golfer and a big Red Sox fan, known for cooking veal and mushrooms at the fire station and laughing easily.


Sunday afternoon at Fire Station Three, where Pagano had worked for some 15 years before a recent promotion and transfer, Lt. Mike Procopio and Firefighter Ray Giguere heard the call of a man shot on Daisy Court and sped to the scene.


They did not know, yet, it was their friend. But they were concerned.


“We knew it was his street,” Procopio said, in an interview at the station yesterday.


Gianquitti, married with a teenage daughter, had retreated to inside his house by the time the police arrived. And with reports of an armed man inside, officers initially cordoned off the street, with even the paramedics restricted to the perimeter.


Police took Gianquitti from the scene without incident, the chief said, along with his wife and his daughter.


McGrath said the department has 15 officers from the detective division working on the case, including three from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which is examining forensic evidence from the crime scene.


In May 2006, Gianquitti filed a formal complaint with the Cranston police of kids in the neighborhood playing with hardballs.


He wanted to get it on record, the chief said, in case there was damage to his property at some point.

What do you think would be the best punishment in this tragic case?
Since the man did not go to jail, then he needs to be removed from the subdivision because he is a nuisance to the neighbor hood.
Reply:If you are a juror, then you need to make your own decision or talk to the other jurors. Don%26#039;t make your decision based on feedback from internet strangers that have read a few little paragraphs about the case. It%26#039;s not responsible of you to be influenced by outside sources,....I also don%26#039;t think it%26#039;s legal either to even talk about the case.





On another note, my opinion is that in the end it is murder and the guy should go to prison for life.
Reply:He has shown that he cannot be allowed out in society. He should get life without parole.
Reply:This is terrible. Both sides are at fault. The terrible ideals of limited freedom have failed us again.





His guns should be taken away and he should be banished from the state.





The kids can be left off easy.
Reply:Life +1year!
Reply:Murder second degree
Reply:Interesting. Pagano the firefighter would probably have been more than a match for Gianquitti, a %26quot;slight man who drew a disability pension%26quot;. It%26#039;s possible that Gianquitti acted, or believed that he was acting, in self-defense. He clearly believed himself to be in the right as far as his rant against the children is concerned. The property damage justifies his anger and frustration.
Reply:Murder, plain and simple. 15 - Life
Reply:Well,I think the guy Guianetti should obviously spend a long time in jail for taking the life of Pagano.. This is a horrible thing to have happened to what seems like a decent hardworking man.
Reply:i don%26#039;t think that the guy should have been shot, BUT I would be pissed off too if kids kept hitting my car and making all kinds of ruckus
Reply:Not in Texas! I would have shot the guy too. You should see what I do to the kids that mow my lawn while mowing the neighbors weeds! I own a shotgun and IT%26quot;S LOADED!





Don%26#039;t fu%26amp;^% with my Truck!





Fighting happens. Guns are always raised, but I would have done something different with the kids. Here, the cops will hold your children down while you spank them, if you ask!





Those kids should have been held accountable for pissing him off in the first place!





Sorry, it%26#039;s Texas. You shoot me, I will shoot you back!





yes, it%26#039;s loaded.
Reply:There%26#039;s not enough information - and it%26#039;s obviously written with a biased slant. Sorry, but there%26#039;s no way to make a just evaluation from the available information.
Reply:ughh..charge him with first degree murder of course
Reply:Oh, what a psychopath. I feel SO sorry for that family, and for all the kids that had to witness that! What an awful scene..... :(





I think the lowlife should get life in prison. I think the Death penalty is too nice, their suffering is put to an end. Let them rot away to a fine old age, including whoever was shooting from indoors, if they get solid proof of that.





Those poor, poor kids.... The son will have a very VERY hard time on his birthday for the rest of his life. That makes me so mad.....
Reply:it dosent matter if the ball damaged his car, his reaction was uncalled for and should be punished for the max.
Reply:If someone came out and attacked me for complaining to children about hitting my car, I wouldn%26#039;t hesitate to defend my life either.
Reply:I think this is a terrible tragedy. The car guy....he has some serious problems. If he could afford the nice new cars, why couldn%26#039;t he %26quot;afford%26quot; to build him an extra addition to his garage, or build a new one or what ever he needed to do to accommodate his %26quot;property%26quot;.


Better yet, if you %26quot;love%26quot; your %26quot;possessions%26quot; more than you value human life, take your crap and MOVE .


He doesn%26#039;t deserve to have neighbors and neighbors don%26#039;t deserve him.





I have a pretty nice car, it is older but in very good condition. 96 sebring con. I really like my car, but the other day when all the kids,some mine,some neighbors%26#039;, were out in the yard playing ball, the thought just didn%26#039;t cross my mind to try to shoot anyone when my car got hit ! I was thinking more along the lines....hmmmmm..I might want to move my car.





There is no excuse for what this man did. He totally put an object above a human life.





I know for a fact he could have done things differently and should have.





He showed No mercy and is very,very shallow. Whom ever is in charge of giving him his punishment,I hope keeps this in close mind.





It is so hard for me to understand how people can do the judging and sentencing because quiet frankly, you have to almost become the monster that the criminal is, for a moment.





I wouldn%26#039;t want that job.





I am so sorry for this senseless loss.



finance

What should I do with my calla lilies?

I am container gardening in zone 7. I planted 3 calla lily bulbs, and only one is producing. Same with one of the cannas--lots of roots, but after many weeks, that%26#039;s it. The ones that made it are flourishing. Should I dig up the others and store them until next year, wait until the end of the season, or what?

What should I do with my calla lilies?
If they have roots do they also have leaves but no flowers?


Sometimes they will grow but not bloom for a year or two in a new site.





Calla%26#039;s are picky about their temperature wanting a minimum day temp of 65 and 55 degree nights. They like morning light but need afternoon protection in warmer areas.


They like a pH of 6-6.5 in a rich, organic heavy soil.


They like a steady supply of water. The tuber should always be damp. Once the leaves unfurl water uptake is greatly increased. Water should not be diminished until the plants foliage begins to fail in fall.


Calcium is needed to prevent soft rot. Because they grow in wet soil they are susceptible to fungal diseases.


Tubers need to be at least 2 inches up to 4 inches deep.
Reply:I agree with answer one. Get rid of them-- it%26#039;s possible for them to start rotting or attracting pests, which could in turn infect your healthy plants.
Reply:Asuming the care is the same, those are dead. Toss %26#039;em.



makeup tips

How can I convince my cousin to let me watch his kids?

My cousin and his fiance just had a new baby girl. His fiance already had a two year old daughter. She is 20 years old-I am 18. I%26#039;ve offered to babysit-I actually REALLY want to! But they don%26#039;t think I can handle it. I know I can and would like to be given a chance. I%26#039;m very responsible. How can I convince them to let me watch my sweet little Lily and Rose?

How can I convince my cousin to let me watch his kids?
Tell her you will watch them for an hour or two while they go to dinner. With cell phones at the ready she needs to take some tilme off from her kids anyways and you sound reponsible enough in your question.


I think once you show her that short dinner date babysitting works out fine you can ask for a longer times like 2-4 hours while she shops and gets some lunch. If you never babysitted before she might be just concerned.. but if she is overprotective I would say more than likely you will never get to babysit her kids. It all comes down to the fact.. does she trust you?
Reply:Screw them, babysit for people who would appreciate it and make 10 or 12 bucks an hour.
Reply:Hi,





There is no easy answer except for you to tell them that you really want to and would really love to do it. Ask for a trial and if you really can do it the kids would sure help tell their parents that they want their aunt. :)
Reply:the mother should take care of their own daughter. why isn%26#039;t she taking care of the kid, did she go back to work already? I%26#039;m a stay at home mom, and was raised by a stay at home mom and wouldn%26#039;t want it any other way.


would u rather be raised and educated by your own parents or by a nanny/babysitter, daycare personell?





thank you!



tax credit

What is this song?

Ok, there was a song on Yahoo Music by Mark Ronson called %26quot;Oh My God%26quot;. Yahoo music doesn%26#039;t carry this song again, but has a new one with the same title featuring Lily Allen. The previous one they had under the title %26quot;Oh My God%26quot; was in some foreign language, was live, and had a lead singer with fake angel wings on her back. It was rock music and sounds something like U2 and Coldplay would play. Now this is not the %26quot;Oh My God%26quot; song with Lily Allen. I youtubed that. that is a completely different song. I think Yahoo Music made a mistake posting that song under the title %26quot;Oh My God%26quot;. could somebody please tell me what that song is, what concert it was performed, year, etc. i love that song. if u could provide me with a link, that%26#039;ll be fine. yahoo music under %26quot;Mark Ronson%26quot; still carries this old rock version i%26#039;m talking about last time i checked. just it doesn%26#039;t play, the video is all broken up. please, i need to know what song is that, found under Mark Ronson, Oh My God%26quot; in yahoo music.

What is this song?
The original version of this song is called %26quot;Oh My God%26quot; and it%26#039;s by the Kaiser Chiefs:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00gaovhrI...





As far as I can tell the only people who covered this song are Lily Allen and Mark Ronson. Both versions are available on Youtube. I couldn%26#039;t find any version in a foreign language.
Reply:it%26#039;s by the kaiser chiefs



beauty

Beta Bowl/tank question gravel?

I have had a beta for about 1 year now in a vase with a lily plant. I have fish gravel used for the bottom of it.


I have this bigger vase i wanted to put the beta in. It was a decorative vase that came with black and white stones on the bottom of it, and a little decorative figure thingy that i wanted to keep in there.


Would those rocks and the figure be safe because i did not get them from the pet store??





Thanks

Beta Bowl/tank question gravel?
I think he%26#039;ll be fine if you wash the gravel and the figure really well. But if you have any more concerns and you think it isn%26#039;t safe then take it out.





Good Luck!
Reply:I agree. Keeping a betta in a bowl or a vase is like keeping a housecat in a broom closet its entire life.





Use the vases for your plants and invest in an aquarium for your fish. Bettas are tropical and need temps over 75F in order to maintain health and vitality. I wouldn%26#039;t house a betta in anything less than a 2.5 gallon heated tank.








%26quot;Betta Vases or Death Traps?%26quot; article:


http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/fishbert...
Reply:I%26#039;d take the rocks and figure and either boil them or wash them in a mild bleach solution and rinse really well before I used them.





The vase with the plant it a horrible way for a betta to live. They need to be able to come to the top to breathe properly so nothing should ever be on the top. You really should get a proper 5 gallon tank with a filter and heater to be looking after you fish properly. There%26#039;s a difference between surviving and actually living a decent life.





**
Reply:I wouldn%26#039;t take the chance, personally.





Also, those betta vases are just awful. I%26#039;d really suggest a 2.5+ gallon tank with a heater. Bettas are tropical fish, and keeping them in unheated vases shortens their life spans. Plus, they like to have lots of room to swim and explore.



beauty

Cats and peace lillies?

I have 2 Balinese cats just over a year old. I have had a peace lily since before I got the kittens and they have always chewed at the leaves. I have only just found out that lillies are toxic to cats. My cats seem to be fine but should I be worried? Do I take them to the vet? Also how do I get them to stop eating the leaves?





Thank you

Cats and peace lillies?
If they arent showing any abnormal symptoms, you dont need to worry, but I would definitely remove it from the house. Peace lilies are not as dangerous as some other types of lilies, but they can still cause problems.





http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pag...
Reply:Peace lilies are not true lilies. As such, unlike true lilies, they are only toxic to cats as opposed to being deadily. Obviously if you can avoid having the cats chew on it, all the better, but don%26#039;t throw them out as quickly as you would an easter lily. Report It

Reply:I have 4 cats and I have heard these are poisenous and also lily of the valley. try buying kitty greens from the pet store and keep them growing so your cat can get the greens he needs and put the peace lily out of reach or give it away u can also plant some catnip but give it spareingly as it can cause severe hyper activity
Reply:A coating of Cayenne pepper will cure it.
Reply:how long ago did they chew it? Sometimes it can take a little bit for the toxins to have an effect. Lillies can kill cats.
Reply:Get rid of the lilies.
Reply:Put the lillies up where they can%26#039;t get them in they are in a vase. You can get a list off of the purina.com site of the plants that cats can sick on. call the vet and make sue what you can do if they do it again. Get the list off of purina.com it helps I did and I have it up where i can see it.
Reply:you wont be able to stop them unless ou put the lillies where they cant get them (good luck)


and i wouldn%26#039;t worry unless they start acting sick, but definitely do not allow them acceo the plants any more, get rid of it if you have to



skin disease

Tattoo ideas?

I got my first tattoo in Dec. of last year. It%26#039;s a bumblebee and a lily on my ankle. I%26#039;m ready for another one. I want something pretty. I%26#039;m leaning toward a fairy on a flower reading a book, but I%26#039;m open to suggestions. Is there anyone that can draw that would sketch me something for my tattoo?

Tattoo ideas?
Take a look at www.tattoojohnny.com they have almost everything you can imagine.
Reply:i cant draw anything but what about a heart angle it has wings and a haloe or a sun and moon those are always pretty so ya hope it works out and tell me witch one you chose if you chose mine
Reply:If i ever get one I want an Angel satting on an unicorn. I am not good an drawing yet!
Reply:As the previous poster said, go to www.tattoojohnny.com. The site features downloadable tattoos with matching stencils! You can print the one you want and take it to the tattooist of your choice!








The %26quot;blueprint%26quot; for my next tattoo came from there! Good Luck!!



computer

URGENT HELP!! IS MY BETTA DYING? Running out of options and time...?

Got my betta July last year as a gift w/ a peace lily. I moved him to a bigger 1 gallon glass vase with a big opening to allow air %26amp; did full water changes every 7 days. He was always a good eater and made his %26#039;happy%26#039; bubbles... everything was good. Abt 3 weeks ago, I noticed a change. He stopped swimming around excitedly as his usual %26amp; stayed mostly on the surface under the roots of the plant. Another week passed %26amp; I noticed that he stopped eating which was unusual. I tried the pellets to maybe give him a change. He never touched it. I even tried thawed bloodworms... yuck! I read up on the web and decided to try treatment based on some of the specs using a flashlight %26amp; tried to see fish%26#039;s face - looked like it %26#039;may%26#039; have some gray spots so I tried BettaFix to treat him for fungus and added aquarium salt... but no change. I took out the plant, cleaned the bowl b4 the treatment. No change. As of yesterday, he%26#039;s lost color %26amp; stays below the bowl as if he sank head first. HELP Please..

URGENT HELP!! IS MY BETTA DYING? Running out of options and time...?
If he has a diagnosable and treatable disease like fungus or ich, you will be able to see it without a flashlight.





Do you know how old your betta was when you get him? Bettas in captivity, even when properly cared for, only live for 3-4 years. And your betta did not receive adequate care. A vase is just not a healthy environment with a betta. Breeders can get away with it because they keep the water warm and they do daily water changes. But if you%26#039;re keeping your betta in a vase, at room temperature (much too cold) and only doing weekly water changes, then you%26#039;re getting an awful lot of ammonia building up in the water, and your betta, having a decreased immune system, will succomb more easily to illness.


The best chance you could give him at life would be to get him a real tank, 5 gallons would be fine, with a small filter and heater. With a heater, you can do weekly water changes and it%26#039;ll be perfect for him.





Good luck with the little guy!
Reply:I%26#039;m really sorry, but there probably isn%26#039;t anything you can do. I had a Betta as well. The same thing happened. It died. We tried everything. Sorry
Reply:FIrst, when you change water, put him in water at room temperature, preferably water that has set out for at least a day to let the chlorine gas escape (we used to keep a jug of water around, and fill the new tankful with that, then refill the jug).





Second, put him in a very small bowl. Unlike regular fish, Bettas need to get to the surface for air (that%26#039;s how they blow their bubbles, which is actually their nest). If he%26#039;s not feeling well, he%26#039;ll have a hard time swimming up. Giving him a shallow bowl will make that easier for him.





Unfortunately, he doesn%26#039;t sound like he%26#039;s doing too well. You might still be able to rescue him; hope for the best but prepare for the worst.





Good luck!
Reply:it has died i think you need it in a tank
Reply:Of course he is dieing!!!!! everytime you do a %26quot;complete change%26quot; of his water you wash away all the benificial bacteria that helps him do every thing nessicary to live like digest or fight off bad bacteria. And the worse he got the more you changed it.... one more thing... I sincerely hope you didnt use tapp water, the chlorine is sure to cause damage especially with out the benificial bacteria... I%26#039;m afraid that there isnt much hope for your little guy.... if you ever decide to get a new one I would suggest you put out the 9 dollars that it costs for a book on bettas and read up on how to care for them properly. It may save you the heartache of realizing that you are killing your own fish.








Stop dumping all of the water out of your container!!!! leave atleast 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water in the bottom of the bowl/vase. and you only need to clean it when it starts getting murky, and it wont get as murky if you only put in 3 to 4 food pellets every 3 hours or as directed on the food wrapper. You dont have to heat the water unless you dont live in home with a heater... they are a ROOM TEMP fish. they live in what are called %26quot;Rice patties%26quot; in Siam and Japan. these are no more than puddles that are not much bigger than the little dishes you see them being sold in. this is why they are so territorial. Please just go get a book!
Reply:This could be a number things. The floating, and sinking sound like swim bladder disorder, or just plain stress. Bacteria infection, velvet, and a host of other candidates come to mind. (Look at the fungus, velvet, and bacteria infection sections of the link.)





Recommended treatment-





0)Keep the betta warm, and his water clean. Be sure not to subject him to rapid temp changes when you clean his tank.





1)Read betta talk.





2)Continue bettafix treatment, and add either Jungle Fungus Eliminator (if he%26#039;s got any fuzy/cottony growth), or a broad spectrum antibiotic like trisulfa (broad spectrum antibiotics will claim to fight gram positive, and negative bacteria infections.)








PS- Blood worms come freeze dried which carries less risk of disease, isn%26#039;t gross, and keeps well.
Reply:Try using stress coat. You might also want to remove any plants, gravel or other objects from the tank, just for now. Make sure you are cleaning the fish every three days and feed him small amounts every other day to every day. As for food try the little brown spheres. There is also an effervescent fungi medication that turns the water blue, that always cured my beta of any sickness. Each tablet resembles a little hockey puck (like alka-seltzer) Remember this though, only use about a tenth of it. I wish you and your beta the best of luck.
Reply:When by betta was dying, I tried giving him different make of the food that you usually give it. Try that. If it doesn%26#039;t work, clean its bowl and put in some water treatment made for bettas. It prevents sickness.
Reply:I am very sad to say your beta is probably going to die. Don%26#039;t take it to hard fish just die sometimes......sorry....I%26#039;m sure it%26#039;s not your fault souds like you did everything you could.
Reply:If he%26#039;s having problems with sinking and/or floating, you can try adding a crushed up pea (the little green ones that parents try to make you eat) or two. It could be a build of gas inside the beta. The peas break down gas. Make sure when you change water that it%26#039;s the same (or very very close) to the same temperature. Beta%26#039;s are a warm water fish, are you using a heater? They should be kept in around 78F - 82F. Are you using water conditioner when changing the water? Tap water has nasty stuff in it and could be making him sick.



dental

2006 survey?

A survey for this year, i made it myself, ;)





Fave song of yr?


Fave band of yr?


Hero of yr?


Villain of yr?


Person you now love?


Person you now hate?


Fave hoilday you took?


Nes best friedn?


New enemy?


Best memory?


Best thing you bought?


Fave celeb of year?


Least fave celeb of year?


New idol?


Fave word?





What do you think of:


Tony Blair:


David Cameron:


George Bush:


Kate Moss:


Pete Doherty:


Artic Monkeys:


Russel Brand:


Lily Allen:


X Factor:





Overall thought of 2006?


:

2006 survey?
Hinder: Lips of an angel ~or~ Nickelback: Far away


Nickelback


My b/f


My roommates =~P


B.W.


A.B.


My vacation to Florida back in Feb.


D.L.


A.B.


Falling in love with B.W.


A new DVD player


Nicholas Cage


Vince Vaughn


N/A


Uh huh


My overall thought for 2006 was; Can%26#039;t wait for it to be over.
Reply:Favorite song of the year? --- Irreplaceable by Beyonce. I just think it%26#039;s hysterical.


Favorite band of the year? --- New band you mean? I have no idea. I am more into the old music anyways.


Hero of the year? --- Nacho Libre. lol. I%26#039;m just messing, I never even saw the movie.


Villain of the year? --- I love all villains.


Person you now love? --- My fiance, Douglas and my son, Preston.


Person you now hate? --- Rachel.


Favorite holiday you took? --- Thanksgiving trip to my old stomping grounds to show off my fiance and son, lol.


New best friend? --- Two gay guys, James and Anthony.


New enemy? --- Rachel


Best memory? --- Having my son.


Best thing you bought? --- New big screen TV


Favorite celebrity of the year? --- Adam Sandler


Least favorite celebrity of the year? --- Angelina Jolie


New idol? --- I don%26#039;t have any idols.


Favorite word? --- Bullsh!t





What do you think of:


Tony Blair: the skinny white dude of England? Don%26#039;t care either way.


David Cameron: I have no idea who these people are and am much too lazy to look them up.


George Bush: I think people are way too hard on the guy. He is a hell of a lot better than John Kerry.


Kate Moss: Too skinny.


Pete Doherty: I know I have heard the name, but no face comes to mind.


Artic Monkeys: uh...what?


Russel Brand: Again...what?


Lily Allen: Ditto


X Factor: Man, I really wish I had that over here. I would loooooove to watch that show.





Overall thought of 2006? --- It%26#039;s been a ROUGH ROUGH year, but I made it through and hopefully 2007 will be a lot easier.



Payday Loan

RIP to Bill Walsh?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Bill Walsh, the groundbreaking football coach who won three Super Bowls and perfected the ingenious schemes that became known as the West Coast offense during a Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 75.





Walsh died at his Woodside home Monday morning following a long battle with leukemia.





%26quot;This is just a tremendous loss for all of us, especially to the Bay Area because of what he meant to the 49ers,%26quot; said Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, the player most closely linked to Walsh%26#039;s tenure with the team. %26quot;For me personally, outside of my dad he was probably the most influential person in my life. I am going to miss him.%26quot;





Walsh didn%26#039;t become an NFL head coach until 47, and he spent just 10 seasons on the San Francisco sideline. But he left an indelible mark on the United States%26#039; most popular sport, building the once-woebegone 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s with his innovative offensive strategies and teaching techniques.





The soft-spoken native Californian also produced a legion of coaching disciples that%26#039;s still growing today. Many of his former assistants went on to lead their own teams, handing down Walsh%26#039;s methods and schemes to dozens more coaches in a tree with innumerable branches.





ADVERTISEMENT








%26quot;The essence of Bill Walsh was that he was an extraordinary teacher,%26quot; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. %26quot;If you gave him a blackboard and a piece of chalk, he would become a whirlwind of wisdom. He taught all of us not only about football but also about life and how it takes teamwork for any of us to succeed as individuals.%26quot;





Walsh went 102-63-1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles. He was named the NFL%26#039;s coach of the year in 1981 and 1984.





Few men did more to shape the look of football into the 21st century. His cerebral nature and often-brilliant stratagems earned him the nickname %26quot;The Genius%26quot; well before his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.





Walsh twice served as the 49ers%26#039; general manager, and George Seifert led San Francisco to two more Super Bowl titles after Walsh left the sideline. Walsh also coached Stanford during two terms over five seasons.





Even a short list of Walsh%26#039;s adherents is stunning. Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes and Bruce Coslet all became NFL head coaches after serving on Walsh%26#039;s San Francisco staffs, and Tony Dungy played for him. Most of his former assistants passed on Walsh%26#039;s structures and strategies to a new generation of coaches, including Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.





Walsh created the Minority Coaching Fellowship program in 1987, helping minority coaches to get a foothold in a previously lily-white profession. Marvin Lewis and Tyrone Willingham are among the coaches who went through the program, later adopted as a league-wide initiative.





Walsh was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004 and underwent months of treatment and blood transfusions. He publicly disclosed his illness in November 2006.





Fellow Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, who hired Walsh to his first college coaching job, last spoke to him about six weeks ago on the telephone.





%26quot;I asked him how he was doing, and he said he had come off a certain type of a treatment and he felt much more energy,%26quot; Levy said. %26quot;But he told me then, he said, %26#039;Marv, I don%26#039;t have long.%26#039; He said it honestly. He was vibrant. Understood it. And yet, I was sad to hear it.%26quot;








AP - Jul 30, 3:46 pm EDT


More Photos








Born William Ernest Walsh on Nov. 30, 1931 in Los Angeles, he was a self-described %26quot;average%26quot; end and a sometime boxer at San Jose State in 1952-53.





Walsh, whose family moved to the Bay Area when he was a teenager, married his college sweetheart, Geri Nardini, in 1954 and started his coaching career at Washington High School in Fremont, leading the football and swim teams.





Walsh was coaching in Fremont when he interviewed for an assistant coaching position with Levy, who had just been hired as the head coach at California.





%26quot;I was very impressed, individually, by his knowledge, by his intelligence, by his personality and hired him,%26quot; Levy said.





After Cal, he did a stint at Stanford before beginning his pro coaching career as an assistant with the AFL%26#039;s Oakland Raiders in 1966, forging a friendship with Al Davis that endured through decades of rivalry. Walsh joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968 to work for legendary coach Paul Brown, who gradually gave complete control of the Bengals%26#039; offense to his assistant.





Walsh built a scheme based on the teachings of Davis, Brown and Sid Gillman -- and Walsh%26#039;s own innovations, which included everything from short dropbacks and novel receiving routes to constant repetition of every play in practice.





Though it originated in Cincinnati, it became known many years later as the West Coast offense -- a name Walsh never liked or repeated, but which eventually grew to encompass his offensive philosophy and the many tweaks added by Holmgren, Shanahan and other coaches.





Much of the NFL eventually ran a version of the West Coast in the 1990s, with its fundamental belief that the passing game can set up an effective running attack, rather than the opposite conventional wisdom.





Walsh also is widely credited with inventing or popularizing many of the modern basics of coaching, from the laminated sheets of plays held by coaches on almost every sideline, to the practice of scripting the first 15 offensive plays of a game.





After a bitter falling-out with Brown in 1976, Walsh left for stints with the San Diego Chargers and Stanford before the 49ers chose him to rebuild the franchise in 1979.





The long-suffering 49ers went 2-14 before Walsh%26#039;s arrival. They repeated the record in his first season. Walsh doubted his abilities to turn around such a miserable situation -- but earlier in 1979, the 49ers drafted quarterback Joe Montana from Notre Dame.





Walsh turned over the starting job to Montana in 1980, when the 49ers improved to 6-10 -- and improbably, San Francisco won its first championship in 1981, just two years after winning two games.





Championships followed in the postseasons of 1984 and 1988 as Walsh built a consistent winner and became an icon with his inventive offense and thinking-man%26#039;s approach to the game. He also showed considerable acumen in personnel, adding Ronnie Lott, Charles Haley, Roger Craig and Rice to his rosters after he was named the 49ers%26#039; general manager in 1982 and the president in 1985.





Walsh left the 49ers with a profound case of burnout after his third Super Bowl victory in January 1989, though he later regretted not coaching longer.





He spent three years as a broadcaster with NBC before returning to Stanford for three seasons. He then took charge of the 49ers%26#039; front office in 1999, helping to rebuild the roster over three seasons. But Walsh gradually cut ties with the 49ers after his hand-picked successor as GM, Terry Donahue, took over in 2001.





He is survived by his wife, Geri, and two children, Craig and Elizabeth.





Walsh%26#039;s son, Steve, an ABC News reporter, died of leukemia at age 46 in 2002.

RIP to Bill Walsh?
Truly One of the greatest of All time. He took Paul Browns strategy and ran (or passed ) with it. Great man an none like him couching today. RIP Bill and Peace to his family.
Reply:Godspeed Bill!
Reply:This can happen to anyone, Bill Walsh is the most recent legend to die of an uncureable disease, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Kay Yow, John Lester, Mark Fields, Magic Johnson, they all have an uncureable disease of some kind and are all powerful sports figures that will die younger than expected, it%26#039;s part of life.
Reply:RIP Bill you have earned and your legacy will live on
Reply:this isn%26#039;t a qustion.but they article was nice
Reply:Bill will be missed.
Reply:This is a nice article, thanks for posting.



Soles

Glazing a chocolate torte?

I make a great chocolate flourless cake. Normally I dust with cocoa and confectioners sugar to serve. This year, I really want to guild the lily and glaze the cake with a chocolate ganache. I have never done this before. I am looking for that smooth fudge like frosted consistency that comes from pouring the ganache on the cake that is sitting on a wire rack.


The cake is time consuming to make and since I only get one shot at this I want to do it right. Any advice from you professionals on how to do this the right way?

Glazing a chocolate torte?
This Ganache recipe is from Gourmet Magazine. I%26#039;ve used it before and it is a great sauce that will work for your cake quite well. Don%26#039;t use Baker%26#039;s brand chocolate on this. It%26#039;s crap. Use a good quality chocolate like Scharfenberger or Ghiradelli. You might want to double the recipe just to make sure you have enough. You can use what%26#039;s left to dip strawberries.





1/2 cup heavy cream


8 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate


1 tablespoon unsalted butter





In a small saucepan heat cream to a simmer. In a bowl pour simmering cream over chopped chocolate. Add butter and stir until smooth.
Reply:Why do%26#039;nt you try making wine instead?. it is very easy an a good X%26#039;Mas recipe.
Reply:just pour it over the cake....not really much too it....just make sure its really pourable so that it doesn%26#039;t started to harden on the top of the cake...and not flow down the sides...if its not runny enough, add more liquid and keep stirring...





as for the chcoolate ganache....i would go with a recipe that calls for more then just chocolate and heavy cream....too common....there are good ganache recipes on epicurious...
Reply:This is the one!


2 squares Bakers semi sweet chocolate


1 Tbsp. butter


1 Tbsp water


Melt chocolate, butter and water over low heat. Spread evenly over cake. Garnish as desired.



acne scar

What should I do?

This is long and kind of complicated, but please, read to the end anyway.


Okay, so last year my 4 best friends and I were really close. But this year, a few new people have come and someone who I%26#039;ll call Callie befriends them. Callie gets in these moods sometimes where she likes to think she%26#039;s our leader, and she and I often get into catfights. The new girl Karissa and Callie are immediatly BFFs, and new girl Julie is more on my side.


My BEST best friend of all, Maddy, has been hanging out more with Lily, whos still my friend, but Maddy and I used to be really close. Ali, who used to be Lily%26#039;s BEST best friend, is now closer to me.


And on top of all that, Callie, Maddy, Lily, and Karissa are all angry with me for %26quot;ditching%26quot; them for Elysia, a more %26quot;nerdy%26quot; (callie%26#039;s words) girl. Ali told me that Callie said she was mad at me for hanging out with Elysia, but thats only b/c we have one thing in common.





The person I feel comfortable talking with about this is Maddy, my BFF (detadd

What should I do?
You should do home schooling, then you wont have all that drama.



hairstyles hair style

For Those Who Remember The Lost Boys: Who Wants A Sequel?

Here%26#039;s something that will make your mouth water:





20 years after becoming a half-vampire, Michael is still living in his late grandfather%26#039;s house in Santa Carla. He%26#039;s divorced and his two children, 16 year old Christopher and 13 year old Carly, are coming from New York to live with him. Christopher is resentful and has a huge dislike for his father. The events that had led up to the divorce has sent Christopher into a downward spiral of extreme behavior that has gotten him into trouble more than once, and his mother decides that she can%26#039;t control him anymore, which is half of the reason why Christopher and Carly are moving to Santa Carla.





Another conflict with Christopher is Star. The one-time half vampiress also decided to stay in Santa Carla and she happens to be the catalyst in Michael%26#039;s divorce. Now that Michael is a free man, they are dating once again and Christopher doesn%26#039;t like it at all. Carly is unaware of what happened that led to the divorce, so she doesn%26#039;t understand why Christopher has such hard feelings towards Star.





As Christopher is getting acquainted to his new hometown, he meets a sexy, unbridled, carefree, Angelina Jolie-esque 16 year old girl that happens to be surrounded by a group of 3 guys and 2 girls. She is known to the group, and the outside world, as Rogue. Christopher is immediately attracted to Rogue and doesn%26#039;t think that he should be concerned about Jamie, the extremely charismatic and seductive leader of the group who has an unknown connection to the wild girl. But, her true identity is Lily Rose Parker, and she just happens to be Star%26#039;s oldest daughter who had constantly been in trouble, not getting along with her mother and has a huge dislike for Michael.





Soon, Christopher falls into the same pit that his father had fallen into once before, and Carly reluctantly aligns herself with Rogue%26#039;s %26quot;weird%26quot; 13 (and a half) year old twin sisters, Tara and Cassidy, to get both Christopher and Rogue out of the trouble that they are in.





The main questions of the movie (which I have the answers to) are:





1) What happened to make Christopher hate Star, and Rogue hate Michael, so much?





2) Is Jamie the head vampire or is he protecting the true identity of the head vampire, like David had been protecting Max?





3) Is Rogue a vampire?





4) Is Rogue playing Christopher or will she have feelings for him?





5) Does Michael and Star know about the vampires that are back in Santa Carla?





6) Will Michael and Star find out about Christopher and Rogue%26#039;s involvement with the vampires? If so, what will they do to protect their children?





7) Will Christopher and Rogue confront their parents about whatever happened?





8) Will Star and Michael stay together if they have to keep Christopher and Rogue away from each other?





9) Will Carly, as well as Rogue%26#039;s sisters stop the vampires before they find themselves in danger?





10) What is the relationship between Rogue and Jamie?








What do you all think?





Should something be added or should it be left alone?





What do you think that the answers to these questions should be?





Only serious, and non-sarcastic replies, are welcomed.

For Those Who Remember The Lost Boys: Who Wants A Sequel?
First of all, The Lost Boys was awesome. I love that movie. And second, it%26#039;s been such a long time from the first movie that I think a sequel would be interesting, kind of a long awaited continuation of the story.





And now for your questions:


1) I think Star seduced Michael and the result was Rogue. Christopher hates Star because his mom found out about Michael%26#039;s infidelity and that led to the divorce. Rogue hates Michael because of some tall tale spun by her mother of how Michael didn%26#039;t want to be her father because of his marriage while in reality, Michael doesn%26#039;t know Rogue is his daughter.





2)I think Jamie is the head vampyre but there would be twists in the story to make you think she is one moment then she%26#039;s protecting the identity of the head vampyre the next.





3)I think that either Rogue or Christopher is a vampyre, but not both.





4)Rogue knows that Christopher is her half-brother, but Christopher, who has feelings for Rogue, doesn%26#039;t find that out till near the end of the movie.





5)I think Star could possibly be the portrayed head vampyre and has lured Michael and his family into these problems and Michael is too infatuated with Star to see the bigger picture.





6) I think Michael will eventually find the truth to Star%26#039;s real game of leading the children into the %26#039;child vampyre coven%26#039; and Michael, with his prior experience will help Christopher, Rogue, and Carly come up with a plan to figure out the head vampyre and defeat them.





7)Christopher and Rogue will find out the truth of what happened through Michael (the same time that Christopher figures out that Rogue is his half-sister)





8) No. Michael won%26#039;t stay with Star when her true colors come out.





9) As with any good movie, the danger will proceed until near the end.





10) Jamie is the head vampyre, influenced by her mother, Star, making Rogue and Jamie half-sisters.
Reply:As the #1 fan of this movie (I%26#039;ve been in love with this movie since I was 2, and I%26#039;m 21 now), I have to say that I love this premise. I could so see that this is a plausible sequel. I don%26#039;t think that there is a possibility that everyone will be back (except for flashbacks or something) but it%26#039;s not important that everyone comes back because I%26#039;m under the assumption that this will primarily be about Michael, Star, their children and the new vampire gang, not the old gang.





I also think that 20 years is the perfect time for a sequel (in time for it%26#039;s 20th anniversary) because it is more believable that Star and Michael would have 16/17 year old kids (if they were 17 in the movie, and Christopher and Rogue were born when Star and Michael were 21/22.) Jason Patric and Jami Gertz are the perfect age now.





Here is what I think the other answers are...





1) What happened to make Christopher hate Star, and Rogue hate Michael, so much?: Maybe Christopher and Rogue caught Star and Michael in bed at one time or another.





2) Is Jamie the head vampire or is he protecting the true identity of the head vampire, like David had been protecting Max?: I think that he may be hiding the real identity of the new head vampire. Maybe it%26#039;s David because I read that he didn%26#039;t die.





3) Is Rogue a vampire?: I%26#039;m not sure. Maybe she is, because her mother was once and if she%26#039;s hanging around the new vampire leader, there%26#039;s a chance. Or maybe, he wants her normal because he%26#039;s feeding off of her or something.





4) Is Rogue playing Christopher or will she have feelings for him?: That%26#039;s a toughie, because maybe she will end up having feelings for him and she%26#039;s not supposed to. Maybe he breaks through her tough exterior and wins her heart, which isn%26#039;t so good for Jamie.





5) Does Michael and Star know about the vampires that are back in Santa Carla?: Maybe they do, but they don%26#039;t know that their children are knee deep with the vamps.





6) Will Michael and Star find out about Christopher and Rogue%26#039;s involvement with the vampires? If so, what will they do to protect their children?: I think that they will towards the end and if they do find out, I think that they will do everything in their power to save them.





7) Will Christopher and Rogue confront their parents about whatever happened?: I think so, because neither of them seem like they are meek and passive.





8) Will Star and Michael stay together if they have to keep Christopher and Rogue away from each other?: Probably not because they will be hypocrites if their kids can%26#039;t be together and yet they are.





9) Will Carly, as well as Rogue%26#039;s sisters stop the vampires before they find themselves in danger?: No, because they%26#039;re 13 and they probably won%26#039;t know what they%26#039;re doing. Remember what happened to Sam and the Frog Brothers when they killed Marko?





10) What is the relationship between Rogue and Jamie?: Probably ex-lovers, probably something else.








What do you all think?: I think that this is greatest plot idea for a sequel because I read that Britney Spears was supposed to be in the sequel called %26quot;The Lost Girls.%26quot; What is that?





Should something be added or should it be left alone?: You should maybe add a little more of a backstory and then it will be complete.
Reply:I would never go see a sequel to The Lost Boys, unless you got the entire original cast to do it.





I saw the original in a movie theatre, and I would probably wait for the DVD of this.





Sequels never compare to the original.





You should pray that it will get beyond development.
Reply:I loved that movie! I haven%26#039;t even thought about it in ages. I wonder if it has stood the test of time? I%26#039;ll need to watch that again soon, but I don%26#039;t necessarily crave a sequal.
Reply:Great Idea, but sdome flaws too, just don%26#039;t think they should mess with a sequal...all loose end were wrapped up in the end.
Reply:There was supposed to be a sequel not long after the original was released. I don%26#039;t think it would be a good idea this far into the future and I LOVE that movie.
Reply:Seriously I don%26#039;t really like sequels that have a large time-gap...example Dirty Dancing Havana Nights (not exactly a hit). This would work better as a book. As a movie I don%26#039;t think it would draw in the crowd. That%26#039;s just my opinion. I also think that %26quot;Movie-makers%26quot; should come up with a unique kind of movie...lately it%26#039;s been a lot of re-makes.
Reply:Ok first I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!


Second, I think that any sequel or %26quot;remake%26quot; will just fail! I think you had some good ideas but I think that in this day and age it will most like A) SUCK! or B) be really good but flop in the theaters!


Good thinking with some of the ideas though!!
Reply:any sequel to The Lost Boys would be welcome.



genealogy mormon

What do you think of my story?

Just the five of us. Valerie, Shannon, Amanda, Lilly and me, Megan. We were so close, until high school. So we all had completely different interests, but that’s what brought us together. Valerie was so into nature and animals, she loved horseback riding and had a bunch of pets. Shannon was a dancer, a performer, a singer. She was very funny and likable which made her popular. Amanda was so smart, teachers loved her but she had so many friends, she managed to stay a straight-A student but still be considered cool. Lilly was an athlete. Volleyball, basketball, lacrosse you name it she loved it. Me? Well I don’t even know. I wasn’t smart, funny, athletic, I wasn’t special in any way. But my friends loved me and I loved them. We did everything together. I can’t even begin to name some of our inside jokes. At the time nobody would have guessed in just a year we wouldn’t even talk to each other, Shannon would have an eating disorder, Amanda would be taking drugs, Lilly would get charged for underage drinking, Valerie would have nothing, and I would be alone. All good things have to come to an end; I guess our friendship was one of them.


First day of eighth grade the five of us walked into school together strong, confident, and excited. As soon as we got our schedule we compared them to see how many classes we had together. I guess that’s the bad part about having friends with completely different interests as you, we have hardly any classes together. When we got to the lunch period on our schedules we found out they split the lunches according to what high school you’re going to. The way the middle school works here is half the students go to one high school while the other half goes to the second high school. This would be fine but Lilly was going to East High and Val, Shannon, Amanda, and I were going to West High. Lilly stared in disbelief and the rest of us were speechless. This was a disaster our last year together in middle school and we can’t even have our normal lunch period together!


“Well it’s okay. I mean we’ll see each other all the time. In the hallways and we’re having a sleepover this weekend so it’s okay.” Lilly tried to convince her friends as well as herself.


But this was just the beginning, as the year went on we changed, our lives changed, our thoughts and feelings changed.


It was in October when I could first see our friendship failing. The week before Halloween I called up Lilly to see what our planes would be for trick-or-treating. At first she sort of tried to avoid the subject but then went right out and told me; she had plans without me and Valerie and Shannon and Amanda. She was going to hang out with her new friends, Lauren, Lindsay, Mike, and Ryan. Don’t get me wrong, I was totally happy for her making new friends but I didn’t understand why we couldn’t all go together or why she hadn’t told me earlier. To make matters worse Amanda didn’t want to go trick-or-treating. She said she was too old. Valerie, Shannon, and I planned to go together. Halloween day and Lilly was basically ignoring me the whole day and then it happened. Shannon got her first boyfriend. Nick had asked her out and she said yes and when Nick asked to go trick-or-treating together she couldn’t say no. But she did say she already had plans so now he’s coming with us. It’s wasn’t the same as last year when we were all together, now, it was only two of my best friends and a boyfriend. Shannon spent the whole night flirting with Nick. But my night wasn’t the one that made front page on the local newspaper.


Turns out Lilly went with her new friends to a party Halloween night. Lilly, and her friends, Lauren, Lindsay, Mike, and Ryan went to Mike’s neighbor’s high school party and got drunk. No one at the party was of legal age to drink either. To top things off when the police came to the house at midnight Lilly and her friends were so drunk they tried to outrun the cops on foot. When they were caught they were brought down to the police station where they were questioned thoroughly. I still don’t understand what could have happened that made Lilly want to drink. She was always so smart and independent. She had her own style, she never followed the crowd. Lilly was a smart girl who made a foolish decision. Lilly and her friends each had to pay a 250 dollar fine and do 32 hours of community service. Lilly’s parents were furious, apparently Lilly had lied and said she would be trick-or-treating with me then sleepover my house. The party story got front page the next day including Lilly’s picture. No one treated her the same at school and she was very quiet the whole day. She didn’t say a word and I was scared to talk to her. I think Valerie, Shannon, and Amanda felt the same way because they didn’t talk to her either. During lunch, the next day, we were all quiet. It was as if the world had been halted. The next day I waited at Lilly’s locker for her.


Lilly broke the awkward silence with, “I know what you’re thinking. No I’m not going to drink again. Megan, I made a mistake and I’m sorry but please tell everyone to stop acting weird around me.”


I didn’t know what to say. Well, what could you say to that?


We walked together to Shannon, Valerie and Amanda but Amanda and Valerie weren’t there and we weren’t too surprised to see Nick with Shannon at her locker. They were talking but Shannon looked hurt and Nick looked mad. At first I thought Nick must be breaking up with Shannon. I gave Lilly a worried look and I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was. As soon as Nick left we ran over the Shannon and she started crying just as Amanda came running over.


“Oh my gosh, Shannon! W-w-what happened? Are you okay?” Amanda stammered.


“What did Nick say?” Lilly asked together.


I couldn’t think of anything to say so I just hugged her and Valerie followed.. I couldn’t stand seeing my best friend so upset. She just stood there limply staring off into space. After what seemed like forever she said, “I don’t know.” And walked off. I followed her with Lilly, Amanda, and Valerie just a step behind her. Shannon either couldn’t hear us or ignored us. I called her later that day but she didn’t pick up.


The next Valerie, Lilly, Amanda, and I were afraid of what Shannon might say. We walked to her locker where she was talking again with Nick, this time smiling and laughing. Nick looked so happy to see Shannon smile.


“Hey guys.” Valerie said as we came up to them.


Nick glared at us then gave Shannon a hug and said, “I’ll see you later. Love you.” Shannon looked pleased. Did Nick really love her? That seemed like a big step to me but Shannon thought it was fine so I ignored it.


Never one to work around the obvious Amanda said, “What happened yesterday with you and Nick?”


Shannon looked shocked. “Yesterday? Oh, with Nick? Nothing we just got in a little fight forget about,” she giggled.


That’s the day Nick started sitting with us at lunch, which isn’t a problem at all that’s what all boyfriend girlfriend couples do in our school. Valerie wasn’t afraid to have a bad first impression; she went on with her full lunch complete with a cookie, pizza, ice cream, and fries. Yet she was the thinnest out of the Shannon, Amanda, Lilly, and I. Shannon didn’t eat anything. She ignored us pretty much the whole period, she just talked to Nick but when she did talked to us she talked about Nick. This went on for the next two months. Their relationship was rocky at times but they stayed together. At lunch Shannon talked to Nick or about Nick and never ate. Amanda joined the math team and the science club. Valerie got her own horse so now she could horseback ride even more often and Lilly made the school volleyball team.


It was the holiday season yet the jolly feeling hadn’t quite reached me yet. Teachers didn’t go easy with the homework and Lilly began to hang out more and more with Lauren, Lindsey, Mike and Ryan. I was beginning to miss her. Valerie and I were just talking about what we were going to do for Christmas when Matt, a boy in their grade, walked up to them. He looked nervous and glanced at me, I took the hint and backed away. He stared at Valerie and told her what beautiful eyes she had. She looked surprise but thrilled. When he hand her a bracelet she couldn’t hold herself any longer. She let out a little scream and gave Matt a huge hug. His eyes glowed with happiness as he asked her to be his girlfriend. Valerie accepted graciously. Just then Shannon hopped up to us a shoved her wrist in my face.


“Isn’t it gorgeous! Nick got it for me,” Shannon nearly yelled.


Valerie responded by shoving her wrist in Shannon’s face and yelled, “Me too!”


“Oh my gosh! Who?” Shannon asked.


“Matt, from Social Studies!” Valerie responded and Shannon looked impressed.


Amanda and Lilly came up to them together. “Wow, Shannon, you got so thin!” Amanda said sounding astonished. Shannon grinned. When Amanda and Lily heard Valerie got a boyfriend they were so happy for her. “Having a boyfriend can be great but we’re single and loving it!” Amanda said wrapping her arms around Lilly and me.


Lilly looked confused, “I have a boyfriend.”


“What! Who? Since when?” I practically screamed.


“Steven. Since last month, I must have told you guys a million times,” Lilly responded.


“No, we would remember something like that, Lilly,” Shannon commented.


“Oh, well now you know,” Lilly said a little coldly.


Valerie, Amanda, Shannon, and I were still in shock. How could she not tell us? I thought we told each other everything. Apparently Amanda got out of her state of shock faster than the rest of us because she was angry. “You never tell us anything anymore! You only hang out with your other loser friends! Lilly, you never hang out with us anymore or anything!” she yelled. Lilly was stunned, she gave Amanda the coldest, meanest look she could and walked off. Amanda walked in the opposite direction, but Valerie, Shannon, and I still stood with our mouths open in shock. We were speechless.


When New Years came around we had our annual party at Shannon’s house, only Lilly wasn’t invited. None of us had talked to her since the last incident. She just changed so much since she met her new friends. Lilly never even smiled at me in the halls and she still gave Amanda nasty looks whenever she saw her. I really did miss her but I couldn’t talk to her Amanda would get so mad and I did sort of agree with Amanda for getting so upset. Getting a boyfriend is not something you just forget to tell your best friends. So, anyway, we had the New Years party at Shannon’s house without Lilly but with Shannon and Valerie’s boyfriends. At the party there was tons of food and Valerie and Matt were all over the place trying to stuff their mouths with as much food as they could. I guess they did have something in common. Shannon didn’t eat anything and I was starting to worry. She hadn’t been eating very much at all during lunch and now that think about she hardly ate anything. Shannon got so skinny and she always looked sad or scared. Valerie and Matt were talking and they were both laughing. On the other side of the room Shannon and Nick were talking but they weren’t laughing in fact they looked like they were arguing. This didn’t surprise me they had been arguing a lot lately. Amanda began to walk over to Shannon and Nick but stopped when she saw they were arguing. I went up to her and told her how they had been arguing basically the whole party, we started listening to their conversation.


“Shannon, I just don’t want to be embarrassed by you!” Nick whispered sounding frustrated.


“You shouldn’t be! What am I doing, Nick?” Shannon pleaded.


“You have to stop! You have to stop eating so much. I don’t want a girlfriend who’s fat!” Nick said furiously


That’s when Shannon started crying, she mumbled something about apologizing for being so ugly but then Nick hugged her. Amanda and I marched right up to them and stood in between them. Amanda yelled loudly at Nick and wasn’t afraid to cause a scene. Everyone stared I hugged Shannon as she sobbed. Nick slapped Amanda hard across the face and stormed out of the house.


“How long haven’t you eaten?” I asked Shannon quietly.


She mumbled a response that I couldn’t understand. Eventually she spoke clearly and said, “Three months. But I’ve been eating some salad without dressing.” I was dazed. Three months! That’s horrible!


“Oh my gosh! Shannon, you have to eat something now!” I pleaded shoving a cookie in her face. She smiled a little but shook it away. “Shannon, I’m serious! I have to tell your mom she’ll get you better help.”


“No! You can’t! I don’t want to be fat and ugly!” Shannon exclaimed.


“I have to,” I began walking upstairs to Shannon’s parents.


Shannon grabbed onto the back of my shirt and stopped me. Her eyes burned with anger. She begged me not to go but I had to. I loved Shannon and I couldn’t stand to see her get hurt.


“But I love him!” Shannon blurted out and ran outside to Nick, she flung herself in his arms and he held her tight.


I didn’t know what to say. Did she really love him? That was a really big step. But I had to tell her parents no matter what Shannon said. Nick was not being good to her. As much as I didn’t want to admit it Shannon was becoming anorexic and was in a horrible relationship. I told Shannon’s parents about what had happened and now she’s not allowed to see Nick anymore and she has to quit dance and see a therapist until she’s not anorexic anymore. Shannon hasn’t talked to me since. Whenever I try to smile at her or say hi she ignores me. I messed everything up! Why do I always do that?


That’s it we were slowing growing up and apart. I hated it but I guess it was fate. Valerie and Amanda didn’t talk to me as much but they were still close as ever, I thought they just ditched me. Amanda started to hang out a little more with her math and science friends and Valerie joined the science club with Amanda. I wanted to join too but I didn’t want to seem too clingy or needy. Valerie and Amanda’s friends were so smart, some were geeks but some were actually pretty popular kids. I always loved that about Valerie and Amanda. They made their friendships not according to popularity and looks but to personalities. Amanda had reached her peak intelligence level when she started to drop. Her grades dropped, her energy dropped, and now she didn’t even talk to Valerie anymore. I didn’t want to get involved I had done enough of that. Apparently Valerie wasn’t afraid to get involved. She talked to Amanda trying to get her to tell what was bothering her. Valerie even pried through Amanda’s things until she found them. At first Valerie didn’t believe it, she told me and I didn’t believe it. But it was true. Drugs. Illegal drugs. Marijuana to be exact. I tried to tell Lilly and Shannon but they refused to listen. I didn’t want to listen either to be honest. I wished it would all just go away and that Lilly, Shannon, Valerie, Amanda, and I would be back to the way we used to be last year. Amanda was one off the smartest people I knew. She was known for her intelligence and I know she knew how horrible marijuana was for her. So why? I didn’t want to make things any worse than they already were. Valerie was the on to confront Amanda on the drugs.


Amanda was so embarrassed when we told her we had found the drugs. She turned bright red kept looking away and mumbling something under her breath. All we wanted to know was why. Valerie and I weren’t going to tell anyone else if she promised to stop.


Finally Amanda answered, “It’s because I’m stupid. I’m stupid, stupid, stupid. Everyone in the math and science clubs were so much smarter than me, and they were all taking marijuana. I was stupid and thought that that’s what made them so smart. So I tried it.”


“Amanda, first of all you are not stupid. Stop saying that. Second, the other people and the math and science cannot possibly be that smart if they’re taking drugs.” Valerie pointed out.


I was afraid to talk so I basically just watched. Valerie reminded Amanda of the dangers of taking illegal drugs and so I was the only who noticed Lilly and Shannon walking by with their boyfriends talking and laughing. Shannon had ignored her parents’ rule of not being allowed to see Nick anymore. They shot me a mean stare. Great, so now two of my best friends had teamed up on me. Amanda wasn’t like that though. She actually tried to stop taking drugs, it took her a couple months to stop completely but she did it and I am so proud of her. In those few months Lilly and Shannon had become best friends and for some reason grown to hate Valerie, Amanda, and me. I don’t why or even what we could have done.


One day Lilly and Shannon approached Valerie, Amanda, and me. I was so hopeful, I really wanted them to be my friends again. But the words Shannon spoke were not the words I had hoped for and far less what I had expected.


“What do you have against us? Why are you doing this to us?” Shannon said to us.


“I-I-I don’t know what you’re talking,” about I managed to stutter. I honestly had no clue what they were talking about.


Amanda looked disgusted and just started to walk away but Lilly stuck her foot out and tripped her. Apparently Lilly and Shannon found this really funny, they were laughing so hard. Valerie pushed Lilly and Lilly looked disgusted. Lilly was never one to let something go. Oh no! I knew where this was going but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself do say or do anything. I just watched like a loser. I watched Amanda ready to jump on Shannon to bring her to the ground I watched Lilly aim a hit at Valerie. I felt like I was in a dream, watching from outside. Finally the principal noticed the fight but not after enough damage was done. The principal, with the help of a few teachers, tore the girls apart. Shannon looked furious, Amanda and Valerie were ready to cry, but Lilly had a big grin on her face. I couldn’t believe it, this was Lilly, my best friend, the girl who stayed with me when all the other kids made fun of me, the one who I had helped to the hospital when she broke her leg. The same girl was standing in front of me looking thrilled to have hurt a friend. I couldn’t accept it. This was possibly and probably the worst day of my life. I walked Valerie home. I loved Valerie’s house, it was almost like a cottage with so many trees around it, it was so peaceful. She still had tear stains on her face, I didn’t realize then how many of those tears I would see later on.


We got to Lilly’s house and there was nothing. Ashes. That’s all that was left. Fire trucks were in front of the ashes but I guess they didn’t notice, they didn’t say anything. I began to walk forward towards a fireman but Valerie stood still as if her feet were glued to the ground. She didn’t speak, she didn’t move. I felt like crying, I can’t imagine what Valerie must be feeling now. Her house was burnt down, her family nowhere in sight. It felt like a lifetime when we stood in front of the house. Valerie showed no emotion what so ever. I asked her if she wanted to go talk to the firemen and see what happened, I couldn’t stand the silence any longer. She burst out crying, I couldn’t talk to her. Finally one of the firemen asked us if we knew who lived there, I told him Valerie did. The fireman explained to us that someone had left a candle burning and one of Valerie’s pets must have knocked the candle over. Since Valerie’s house had so many trees around it, the fire spread quickly and her house was so cut off from the others that no neighbors could have seen the fire before it was much too late.


Valerie didn’t say a word but I could tell what she was thinking. “How is everyone, is her family okay?” I asked.


The fireman looked Valerie right in the eye and said, “Your mother was taking a nap when it happened. She had no escape by the time the fire reached her bedroom. Your sisters and brother are okay though, they’re over by the fire truck. I don’t know where your father is yet.”


Valerie was silent. I started crying but she stopped. All of a sudden she ran, she just ran off. I tried to follow her but she was so fast. I didn’t know where she was going, I chased after her for minutes after I lost her but realized it was useless. I called her cell phone over and over but it didn’t surprise me that she didn’t pick up. Valerie’s father had died a couple months ago in a car crash. Valerie and her father had been very close, and I loved him like a father as well. He was a great man. I talked to Valerie’s younger sisters and brother. They were all crying and couldn’t say much. I was so happy they were alive. I cried with them as if it was my home and my family. Valerie came back at midnight. I was waiting for her with my mom. We had taken the younger kids home already, they would stay with us until the police could find a proper home for them. When Valerie did come back she didn’t say a word, I felt like crying just from looking at her. She didn’t say a word for the rest of the week but she didn’t cry either. It was as if she wasn’t here, she was here physically but mentally she wasn’t.


A month passed before we heard back from the police. I didn’t think about what they might say before, I tried to avoid the topic all together. I didn’t want to face reality. The police called sounding like they had great news but the news they brought was no where near great, it was horrible. Valerie and her siblings had been adopted by someone living in Mississippi. They had to move there. The police said there was no way they could find a person to adopt five young children in New York State. Valerie still showed no emotion, she didn’t care she was leaving, she didn’t care about anything. When she left the next day my world turned upside down yet Valerie seemed untouched, unaffected. I never heard from her again.


Amanda stopped talking to me when Valerie left. I thought Amanda was my friend but apparently she just hung out with me to be with Valerie. Amanda made new friends, and Lilly and Shannon were still best friends, but I never got over it. I never made new friends.


I am writing this in tenth grade looking back on eighth grade. It was the worst year of my life. There was no happy ending. I never made new friends. I did find my passion though, writing. As soon as Valerie left and my best friends turned against me I started writing. I wrote poems, stories, songs, anything. This wasn’t a fairytale, this was real life, and for this story I never got my happy ending.

What do you think of my story?
i think you shouldnt end the story so soon, keep going rather tahn say u made no friends and just became a writer. i was so into it but the ending dissapointed me, thats my suggestion, u dont HAVE to follow it, but it would make the story much more interesting. but its really great!
Reply:Very detailed!
Reply:I think it%26#039;s sad and so typical of how friends you thought you knew you find out you never really knew them at all. It%26#039;s so sad for Valerie losing everything she holds dear for her. I and I%26#039;m sure so many others had the same drama unfold in middle school. My closet friends then, turned against me and we%26#039;ve never talked since. Their lose, not mine. I like the story b/c these are the things that happen in middle school, unfortunately.
Reply:the valerie part touched me the most. but shannon is a loser and amanda is to but you we%26#039;re the problem you have to make friends if you just let them alone you would still probably talk to them I%26#039;m glad you took up writting just I%26#039;m sure you have friends that%26#039;s like impossible that you don%26#039;t,and it doesn%26#039;t matter if ther losers(no offense)



flower