Chatterbox Thread-Cmon in and Jabber! Everyone is Welcome!

[Funball]

What is great is you don’t have to take that *extra* trip to the vet when not needed. You can just order the stuff online and it comes really quickly! My parents have been using them for a few years, and love it!

 

[sameyeyam]

Yeah I used to do the shots myself but actually it is not the shots that are so bad it is the flea and heart worm meds. The shots were only like 16 bucks each. But the 6 month supply of the advantage is what is a killer but they really need it SOOOO one must do it.

I get my Frontline from 1800 Petmeds. But before you do, go to www.retailmenot.com and check for a discount code. Use whatever code works the best for you and it can really save you money.

 

[kelmac284]

Cool thanks for the info. Are they online? Or do you go through the vet? How do you know which stuff to order do I just look at the stuff I have now? I know there are several different ones and I think it goes by weight or something that is why I ask. I would hate to get the wrong thing.

 

[kelmac284]

Interesting. I just goggled it and I actually paid from my vet what Petmeds has for their "sale" price. Weird. I paid 84 for the 12 months of the interceptor which is the heart worm. And I paid 67 for the Advantage and I actually got 2 extra. They always have some kind of deal where if you sign up for a mailing list you get 2 more. So I got 8 months for the price of 6 and it was the same price as 6 on the website. You know it is funny that you bring this up cuz my ins is always trying to get me to do this with MY meds. Get 2 months supply at a time and save money but my stupid docs won't give me a big enough refill that I can DO that! I don't know what the deal is but I told them that my ins wants me to do it and it will save me money but I can never get them to give me more than 1 to 3 refills at a time and to do the mailorder you need like at least a 6 month refill or something. SO stupid! I think they said I could be paying the same price for 2 months that I am paying now for one! But what else is new!

Anyway thanks for the info. I will see if I can find a discount code.

 

[funnygarcia]

I don't do heartworm prevention for Poly, reading from various vet websites and discussion with the vets who run the shot clinic at petco.... she is a very low risk as she is strictly indoors and has been all of her life (except for her first early weeks after birth). It's rare for us to have any sort of bug inside... third floor, enclosed hallways, screened windows.

Cats are generally at lower risk compared to dogs. If you have an outdoor cat, live in an area with mosquitoes/high number of heartworm infections (higher risk) and the cost does not burden your budget... the theory is to go ahead and give the preventive as it does not cause harm.

Up on the soapbox!

I can understand letting a cat outside if you live in the country, but for the safety of your precious pet.. please keep them inside if you live in the city.
No fights, no exposure to feline leukemia, no parasite exposure, no fleas, no tangling with a rabid animal, no chance of being killed by a car.

stepping down...




Poly likes to slink out into the hall, but bolts back to our door the minute she hears anyone in the halls. I like that little bit of fear to keep her safe.

 

[funnygarcia]

My head is spinning with the details on how Alison is paying for college.. kudos to you for figuring out how to make it work. It makes me dizzy... but then lots of things make me dizzy. or is that ditzy?

Here's my beef with the financial aid/ college cost situation...
At age 18, your child is considered an adult.
You no longer have him as a dependent on your taxes, if the parent receives ss disability the child's portion stops when he graduates.
He can sign legal documents, he can apply for credit (not that he will likely get any but..), he can enter legal agreements (lease, purchases) , he is required to sign up for selective service(unless he proves conscientious objector) , he can vote, he can make his own medical decisions, he can join the armed forces, he can apply to college of his choice....

YET we as parents are expected to pay for their college education.

Financial aid is based on the student's and the parent's info. EVEN if the student moves out of the home, they still need the parent's info until they are married or have a dependent or reach the age of 24.

Okay, I realize many 18- 24 yr olds are kinda stupid.. or rather they make some stupid choices... I was one of those, but hey that's life and I'm happy.

so why?? why do we have this ideal of parent's helping the young adult long past the time the legal world says he is an adult??

Call me the evil mom... I'm not paying for my kid's college education.

I will help them by providing a home until they graduate or have employment at a livable wage level. But there has to be a time line in mind, a purpose, a goal, an end.
I Love them enough to let them go and become the beautiful people that I know they can be in the world.

Will they crash and burn?
You bet and that's okay, it's fixable.

 

[kelmac284]

B FYI the heartworm is for our dog not our cat And we do live kind of in the country. Suburbs. We live on almost 2 acres and for years I had strictly indoor cats even when I lived in the country/suburbs but cats have this urge to roam and my cats used to rip up my carpet and walls itching to get out and one I even had to have declawed because he RUINED my house. Finally I gave in and let them out but built a door so that they could come in and out as they pleased. Now with this cat she is in MOST of the day/night but goes out mostly to do her business and roam a bit. She is in a lot of the time though during the day to sleep and sometimes at night. I do agree with you and if I could keep her in more I would because I have had a cat get hit by a car and it was heartbreaking but luckily mine pretty much sticks to our property. What makes ME angry is the people around us who attract the strays and take NO responsibility for them. They simply throw out some food but don't get them neutered, no shots etc. Then THOSE cats pick fights with my animal and cost ME money. I have thought of calling the SPCA on those cats but I feel sorry for them too and know they will be euthanized as they are all adults. It is a no win situation. Our dog is a doberman and he is the one that gets the heartworm and we have a BIG mosquito population here so it is def needed. He lives outside in our backyard. He DEF doesn't come in. He weighs almost 100 lbs.

And as for the college thing I agree. When my stepdaughter left she called us and wanted all this personal info and I was like HUH? She had dropped out of high school and basically broke all ties with us but then when she wanted to go to college completely on her own she wanted to get financial aid and said they needed OUR info. I was like, hey if you want to do this ON YOUR OWN then do it ON YOUR OWN. I am not giving ANYONE my info! I agree with you on that one. I don't see why they need MY info if they are considered ADULTS by every other standard. And IF they are doing it "on their own" then WHY does the school need MY info. If I am NOT participating then WHY do they need it? In case she defaults??? Uh NO! I am NOT going to be responsible for someone who ran off and is doing something that I had NO say about and want NO part of! We offered her a chance to do a VA sponsered college program when she was living with us but it had to be on OUR terms and she didn't want ANY part of that. So we told her if she wanted to do it on her own then she was truly ON HER OWN. Of course she never did it and is now off doing some other completely irresponsible thing but that is a whole other story. But I think it is great the people that CAN afford to help their kids but I can tell you we certainly couldn't. I only work very limited part time and dh with his huge pay cuts these laste several years there is no way! I am just so thankful that we even have this va program so we can even offer THAT to the girls. It sucks that the kids have to get the loans but unfortunately there aren't a whole lot of choices in this day and age. My dh never went to college and I paid for my own schooling and JUST finally paid off my loans a few years ago. But unfortunately it is a sign of the times I guess.

Like B said we have always told the girls as long as they play by the rules, stay in school, keep up their grades and don't get into trouble they are more than welcome to live here and we will help them as much as we can but if they want to do it "their" way then they are on their own.

Anyway off MY soapbox today the girls and I are off to work and I have LOTS to do according to mom so it is going to be busy today. Then tonight as SOON as shane gets home we are off to Toy Story! We were going to do something "else" for him for father's day but he said this is all he wants to do so it looks like we are celebrating father's day a bit early which is fine. So I am really excited. Can't wait to see it and hope that it isn't too crowded and not sold out!! Usually though the theaters round here have multiple showings so hopefully we don't have a problem.

Then tomorrow bright and early we have yet another meet and then not sure if we will do anything with mom and dad on Sunday. They have to move out of their model condo up in Truckee over the weekend so they are actually going up there tonight and are packing and they may or may not be back on Sunday and we may or may not get together with them to celebrate father's day. If so it will prob just be a bbq at their place which would be nice to relax the day before we leave. I know Sunday DAY I will be busy getting all my last minute stuff together and printing boarding passes and such!

We leave BRIGHT and early Monday. Have to be up at 5 as our plane leaves around 7! I am so excited!!! I just hope it isn't horribly crowded. I heard that it is supposed to be but if it is we will just do other stuff like go to innoventions or go see Captain EO. Stuff that doesn't require a fast pass cuz I am afraid by the time we arrive most of them will be gone. We ARE doing the bbq that night so I am excited about that!! And worst case scenario if it is too ugly we can always go back to our hotel and swim. But I think we are going to try and see the fireworks that night as that is the only night I think I figured we could see them.

SOOO anyway that's it for now. Have a GREAT day all and talk soon!

 

[sameyeyam]

My head is spinning with the details on how Alison is paying for college.. kudos to you for figuring out how to make it work. It makes me dizzy... but then lots of things make me dizzy. or is that ditzy?

Here's my beef with the financial aid/ college cost situation...
At age 18, your child is considered an adult.
You no longer have him as a dependent on your taxes, if the parent receives ss disability the child's portion stops when he graduates.
He can sign legal documents, he can apply for credit (not that he will likely get any but..), he can enter legal agreements (lease, purchases) , he is required to sign up for selective service(unless he proves conscientious objector) , he can vote, he can make his own medical decisions, he can join the armed forces, he can apply to college of his choice....

YET we as parents are expected to pay for their college education.

Financial aid is based on the student's and the parent's info. EVEN if the student moves out of the home, they still need the parent's info until they are married or have a dependent or reach the age of 24.

Okay, I realize many 18- 24 yr olds are kinda stupid.. or rather they make some stupid choices... I was one of those, but hey that's life and I'm happy.

so why?? why do we have this ideal of parent's helping the young adult long past the time the legal world says he is an adult??

Call me the evil mom... I'm not paying for my kid's college education.

I will help them by providing a home until they graduate or have employment at a livable wage level. But there has to be a time line in mind, a purpose, a goal, an end.
I Love them enough to let them go and become the beautiful people that I know they can be in the world.

Will they crash and burn?
You bet and that's okay, it's fixable.

You're not evil...you know I always say, do whatever works for YOUR family. DH & I put ourselves thru college without family help, we are both very proud that we did it (and without student loans). It took us much longer than usual, but hey, that's life.

We have been very fortunate to have good jobs and the ability to pay for their college. I know that not everybody has the means to do that. It is the one gift that I want to give my kids. And it truly is just that, a gift. If they irritate or annoy me I have the ability to kick them out and make them do it on their own. I don't know why, but it's something I've truly wanted to do for my kids since they were born. Maybe it's because I know how hard it was for me to do without parental help.

That's not to say that DD won't have to do some work also. I am NOT her ATM machine. I will pay for her gas & insurance to commute to college (much cheaper than paying for a dorm room & meal plan), but that's it. She will need to get a part time job for her spending money. She is also expected to sign up for on campus work. They guarantee about $1000-$1500 per year, she doesn't get cash, but instead goes on her account and she will pay for her own books and lunches at the cafeteria if she doesn't like pb&j from home!. In all fairness, she has already paid for 1-1/2 years of college on her own. She gave up a lot of free time her junior & senior year of high school in order to have the state pay for her college classes. So I consider that a HUGE contribution. Also, if she wants a Master's degree, well she'll have to pay for that herself. My buck stops at the Bachelor's degree.

BTW, you can continue to claim your full time college age student up to age 24 as a dependent on your taxes if you are providing more than 50% of their support. There are some rules (scholarships don't count toward their income, student loans do, unless they are student loans taken out by the parents instead of the student). Not only that there is a $2,500 college tax credit available. You would get this money back if you contribute to their college education, even if you didn't pay that much in taxes. My understanding is that tax credit applies to student loans taken out also.

You also don't have to pay for your kids college education, even if the FAFSA shows that you are able. If it says you can contribute $20,000 a year, you don't have to give them a single penny. All it does is qualify them for certain types of financial aid. Unfortunately we made too much, so all we qualified for were student loans.

Wow! I think I've become the "how to use all the available resources to get your kid thru college" expert this year.

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

I don't do heartworm prevention for Poly, reading from various vet websites and discussion with the vets who run the shot clinic at petco.... she is a very low risk as she is strictly indoors and has been all of her life (except for her first early weeks after birth). It's rare for us to have any sort of bug inside... third floor, enclosed hallways, screened windows.

Cats are generally at lower risk compared to dogs. If you have an outdoor cat, live in an area with mosquitoes/high number of heartworm infections (higher risk) and the cost does not burden your budget... the theory is to go ahead and give the preventive as it does not cause harm.

Up on the soapbox!

I can understand letting a cat outside if you live in the country, but for the safety of your precious pet.. please keep them inside if you live in the city.
No fights, no exposure to feline leukemia, no parasite exposure, no fleas, no tangling with a rabid animal, no chance of being killed by a car.

stepping down...




Poly likes to slink out into the hall, but bolts back to our door the minute she hears anyone in the halls. I like that little bit of fear to keep her safe.

We live in the middle of nowhere (on 2 1/2 acres, dirt road...) and we have lost two kittys to the "wild" outdoors. Too many coyotes and owls and bobcats around here. The two kittys we have now are only indoor cats. The older one tries to sneak out (and does sometimes) but she always just hides under the front porch, too scared to go anywhere else. The younger one will sit in front on an open door and not go out.

 

[sameyeyam]

We live in the middle of nowhere (on 2 1/2 acres, dirt road...) and we have lost two kittys to the "wild" outdoors. Too many coyotes and owls and bobcats around here. The two kittys we have now are only indoor cats. The older one tries to sneak out (and does sometimes) but she always just hides under the front porch, too scared to go anywhere else. The younger one will sit in front on an open door and not go out.

Our two kitty's like to stay outside during the day (but mostly they hang out on the back porch & deck). They sleep in the garage (yes I spoil them, they have a nice bed that I put a heating pad under). When we are home on weekends and evenings they seem to be in & out of the house, depending on which one needs to be petted at that particular moment.

We kind that having a huge dog tends to keep the other critters out of our yard, so the kitty's stay pretty safe. The dog likes to chase one of the cat's, but when push comes to shove they turn around and hiss at him and he runs away.

 

[Funball]

Interesting. I just goggled it and I actually paid from my vet what Petmeds has for their "sale" price. Weird. I paid 84 for the 12 months of the interceptor which is the heart worm. And I paid 67 for the Advantage and I actually got 2 extra. They always have some kind of deal where if you sign up for a mailing list you get 2 more. So I got 8 months for the price of 6 and it was the same price as 6 on the website. You know it is funny that you bring this up cuz my ins is always trying to get me to do this with MY meds. Get 2 months supply at a time and save money but my stupid docs won't give me a big enough refill that I can DO that! I don't know what the deal is but I told them that my ins wants me to do it and it will save me money but I can never get them to give me more than 1 to 3 refills at a time and to do the mailorder you need like at least a 6 month refill or something. SO stupid! I think they said I could be paying the same price for 2 months that I am paying now for one! But what else is new!

Anyway thanks for the info. I will see if I can find a discount code.

yeah well they do have coupons and stuff! and sometimes free shipping deals

 

[Funball]

ok i am a bit annoyed.

ok first off i have had this headache thing in the back of my head for 4 days, could not sleep at night with it, anyhow finally today it's going away as i feel less pressure and headache feel. so that is a relief--but still annoyed--i posted a thread asking if anyone needed a park map for DLR and or DCA, well then some poster just hijacked my thread and told the last person that posted that she had a bunch of maps to give..it's like what the heck, i was trying to do a service..

 

[Funball]

but the good outcome of this annoy day is that it's friday. and i am going to bbq lobster tails after work for dinner!

 

[funnygarcia]

If they irritate or annoy me I have the ability to kick them out and make them do it on their own.
Also, if she wants a Master's degree, well she'll have to pay for that herself. My buck stops at the Bachelor's degree.

I can just imagine the rolling eye routine and you threatening.. I don't HAVE to pay for your college you know to pull her back into line. Sounds good to me!

If our circumstances were different I would help him out.. because that's what you do with family. It just peeves me that even after a young adult moves out they need parent info for financial aid, I don't mind sharing the info I mind that the EFC reflects the parent's income... hurting the student who is trying to do it alone. (It did for me, I got nadda zip because my parent's owned property.. hence I went to job corps and they paid for it!)

It boggles my mind how long BIL has been in school, he keeps changing his degree. Did I tell you he left his radiology program because the teacher was being a little rough on him? He claims the teacher was racist.. if that's the case, then stick it out and fight back!
Now he's going for IT support, I asked why not go for nursing as he already had all the science courses? His reply was "well I was going into radiology for the technology aspect.." uhhh what?? I don't get it.

He has exhausted his financial aid because of the length of time and how many credits he has earned. I don't see him being able to pay off ANY of his loans, including the ones his mom co-signed!! And he's not a youngster, he's in his 30's. You know my foot would connect to the boys' rears if we had that situation here.

The dog likes to chase one of the cat's, but when push comes to shove they turn around and hiss at him and he runs away.

Cats are good at defending their space. They have no concept of pack/ family dynamics and go about life as everything revolves around them..

As evidenced by Poly laying on my magazine on the coffee table right now. You know you don't belong there, she glares at me "meow!" and sticks up her chin as if to scoff.. yeah, what ya gonna do about it. Like having another teenager in the house. And I have lots of them in my apt today.. they keep coming in and taking over, no where left to hide..

 

[funnygarcia]

but the good outcome of this annoy day is that it's friday. and i am going to bbq lobster tails after work for dinner!

mmm, sounds good. Hard to come by good fresh sea food here. Lake trout, northern, cat fish.. sure no problem. Lobster, shrimp.. uhhh fresh frozen and packed in salty brine.. ewww.

 

[eatmypixiedust]

Hello,

Earlier this week I thought I was suffering from bad allergies. It got worse and I went to the doctor yesterday. I was told that I had a left ear infection, a fever and I was coughing at times where it was like choking. I also had a runny nose that just wouldn't stop.

I was given some antibiotics and some strong cough syrup. It's only been a day but I do feel better after taking the meds. I hate being sick and just want this cold to go away!

 

[Funball]

mmm, sounds good. Hard to come by good fresh sea food here. Lake trout, northern, cat fish.. sure no problem. Lobster, shrimp.. uhhh fresh frozen and packed in salty brine.. ewww.

Yep they are good, they are small, only 4.99 for one! But I got them at this chain store called “Albertsons” if you live in California you probably heard about them, they are good size! Great for grilling. And my annoying day is starting to take a turn!! Finally!

 

[Funball]

Hello,

Earlier this week I thought I was suffering from bad allergies. It got worse and I went to the doctor yesterday. I was told that I had a left ear infection, a fever and I was coughing at times where it was like choking. I also had a runny nose that just wouldn't stop.

I was given some antibiotics and some strong cough syrup. It's only been a day but I do feel better after taking the meds. I hate being sick and just want this cold to go away!

ohh it will the meds will do that!! keep ur hopes up dear!

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

Our two kitty's like to stay outside during the day (but mostly they hang out on the back porch & deck). They sleep in the garage (yes I spoil them, they have a nice bed that I put a heating pad under). When we are home on weekends and evenings they seem to be in & out of the house, depending on which one needs to be petted at that particular moment.

We kind that having a huge dog tends to keep the other critters out of our yard, so the kitty's stay pretty safe. The dog likes to chase one of the cat's, but when push comes to shove they turn around and hiss at him and he runs away.

Our dog (a Staffordshire Bull Terrior) likes little critters including cats. The kittens love to snuggle up with him in his doggy bed and rub them selves all over him and he just looks at us like why me.

 

[kelmac284]

Morning gals. Didn't have time to read back but just wanted to check in real quick before we leave. Toy story was REALLY good! Loved it. Had fun last night!! We are off to our meet here in a minute and then Shane has tickets to a River Cats game (minor league baseball) but the jury is out if I will go or not because I usually end up with a headache after a long day at a meet. So they may go without me. Hope everyone has a GREAT day today and talk later!!