Mama Carol

I got involved with CASA through osmosis. They are a very special charity for me. I donate when I can. Hoping to donate to my favorite charities by the end of the year. Money has been really tight this year but there should be enough we can make a donation to all our favorites. Quite honestly, I'd rather help people here, too.

I'm partial to health organizations. Next comes hospice and then children's advocacy. So, to be exact: Iron Disorders Institute American Hemochromatosis Society Wellstar Foundation CASA Shriners St. Jude's Children Hospital

I just spent $100 on groceries. For two people. That will give a few things in the emergency supplies but the majority of it will be gone by Tuesday when I'll have to go and spend another $100 on groceries. I used to feed five people on $60 a week. Prices go up because someone has to have more money--the CEOs, the shareholders, the government, just to name a few. Unfortunately, it doesn't trickle down to the average worker. History shows that prices rise when minimum wage goes up as well. Oh, and the price of corn and corn products went through the roof about 18 months ago when

Thank you!!!! You're absolutely correct. I had a wonderful employer who gave me four pay raises in one year. I apparently added something to the company (like I stayed through all those who came and went). COLA raises should not exist. Merit raises should be the way to go. You add value to the company you work for, you get more. Simple as that. One should not get paid just to show up.

In my life B.A. (before accounting), I was a medical transcriptionist. I was charging 10-12 cents a line for transcription in 1994. Now the going rate is 9-11 cents a line in 2013, nineteen years later. My husband used to be a machinist. He was bringing home over $40,000 a year in the late 1980s. Now, median salary for a machinist is $42,103. Some salaries aren't just stagnant. They have dropped. Both of us used to hold what was termed "skilled" jobs. Now those jobs don't require much skill. Case in point: one of my husband's former co-workers had never even seen a CN

That's part of why most companies give you a 90 day trial period. You're eligible for unemployment at 100 days. Like me, employers may consider you overqualified for those low paying jobs. I've been asked, "you are very overqualified, so why do you want this job?". I think Forbes is wrong, too. Maybe 20% would be closer to correct. I have basically stopped looking for a job and those people I know who have jobs are mostly working part-time in low paying jobs and can't find anything else.

I've thought about getting my license and then seeing if I could get a job as an assistant to another agent. I don't care to do everything an agent is required to do but I'd LOVE to do the marketing and handling the paperwork. I know agents who hate those aspects of the job but love to be out showing houses. Not me. I've seen enough houses, thank you.

Insurance will not be required to be furnished by an employer unless they meet the requirements. Insurance will be required of individuals. If the employer provides it, that will still be a huge benefit for someone looking for a job. Life insurance through an employer generally is like health insurance--cheaper than buying it as an individual. And often the employer will pay it for the employee, as it is so little more for them. Often, too, health insurance companies will offer coverage for employees as a perk of the employer signing up with them. Or at a very, very low cost to the em

I made pretty decent on unemployment. At least it was steady through the holidays, which was always a slow time for us at work so during that time I made more than when I had worked. Just like to have a JOB!! I can't get calls back for jobs I'm qualified for either. Can't get calls back for jobs I'm not qualified for, for that matter. I did get a job offer after an interview. Only problem was the pay was really low (about 65% of what I had been making), they wanted me to sign a no-compete agreement and they seemed to have a revolving door. I would have been replacing someone who had

Or retired people. Anyone who has never tried to live on Social Security alone has no idea how difficult it is. Our only source of income right now is Social Security. I've been unable to find a job since moving here. The jobs I have interviewed for were paying $8-10 an hour, pretty much what they were paying up there. Even jobs like I had, making a whole lot more than $8-10 an hour were only paying that. I'd love to have one of those, though. BTW, minimum wage here is $7.79 an hour, so $8 isn't much more than minimum wage. But still it would be better than NO job. If someon

Minimum wage in Texas is the same as it is in Georgia--$7.25 an hour. But quite simply, most employers will not start you off making what you were, regardless of where you moved from unless you are only making minimum wage in both jobs and you moved from a state with a $7.25 an hour MW to one that has a higher one. States with a higher than the federal minimum wage are also the ones where the cost of living is higher. States with higher minimum wage than federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour: Alaska $7.75 Oregon $8.95 Washington $9.19 California $8.00 Montana $7.80 N

I have no sons.

FYI, fast food restaurant managers make darn good money. Many started flipping burgers and worked their way up. Hubby used to work with a man whose early 20s son managed a Taco Bell. This kid who started out working the counter in a Taco Bell when he was 16 was making more than his dad was within five years. It truly was a career for him. I think few people make a career out of working at the counter but if they work hard and show some interest, there is real money to be made in fast food management. Hubby enjoyed the time he did that.

I should have also added that if you can afford it, go ahead and get a longer rental than you think you'll need. We managed to turn it in a day early but that's only because we lucked out and hired two guys for $100 to unload the truck. If we had been unloading it, we would have needed every single minute possible. We were a day later leaving than we thought we would be, too, so the extra day helped. On the second trip, we got a three day rental because that's the minimum they would do for that distance. Turned it in the second day. But that load was just garden stuff and took maybe

You have to be careful putting oil in them and them storing them. Some oils can cause rust.

We used U-Haul, twice. Got the first one at Alpha-Omega on Brownsville Road and the second at the Texaco on Veterans Memorial in Lithia Springs. Price is pretty much the same regardless of where you rent. It's the where from and where to and how long that dictates the price. And if you can get a bigger truck for just a few dollars more, do it. You'll find it fills up fast.

One needs worldly experience of some kind to decide if that's what they want. This book gives the impression that S&M and stalking and controlling are OK. Someone who didn't have any experience in things of this nature might be believe this is how every acts. That could lead to either disappointment or hurt or both. Studies have shown that if a girl is raised in a household where abuse occurs, she thinks that is normal. That could easily transfer over to women who had no good male role model thinking that all men are like Christian Grey, and that they are OK. Not to say it's not

All valid points. My point being that isn't healthy for someone who has no sexual experience. And hell, it isn't healthy for someone to relinquish their self to another to the extent that that other person controls what you wear, how you wear your hair, etc. And yes, the key to being controlled by someone is allowing them to do so. Once you take away their ability to control you, they have nothing. Far from being a prude (trust me on that) but the story sucked. The whole plot was too stalker-ish to suit me.

A fairy tale geared toward young women who may think what it portrays is OK. It is NOT OK to give up yourself or have someone else control your every move. I wasn't interested in that crap enough to read the second and third books. The first one was enough wasted money.

Controlling might be a better word than abusive. He sought to control her every move, not just while participating in the S&M.

Or those who don't actually MAKE those tips. On the plus side, perhaps now restaurants will more fully report wages and taxes.

A spritz of non-stick spray works wonders, before cooking of course. If they are well seasoned, you can use *limited* detergent on them. I wash mine with dishwashing liquid when I have something really bad on them. Normally, just a good rinse using a plastic scrubber does the trick.

Yes, but the kinky sex and S&M were barely mentioned.

EXACTLY!!! Yeah, I think a lot of women do feel that way--if he's good looking and has a lot of money, he can treat you any way he wants and that's OK. NOT. Awful story line and terrible message to send to women. Again, EXACTLY! There is plenty of erotica out there that portrays a healthy relationship. This was NOT a healthy relationship. And it's one thing to be a willing submissive and another entirely to do so because you want the person to "like" you.