Recent Feedback

RE: Skye (Belgian Griffon)
Post by sameoleme (69)

Skye is absolutely beautiful!!!!!
And you are his Angel. I think that it is truly wonderful that you
looked at that pitiful little pup and saw beauty where no one else could.
No, you are not nuts. You are AWESOME!!!!!!

RE: In Memory Of Midnight (Newfoundland/Lab Mix)
Post by KathyRay (9)

I know "how" it feels to loose a Puppy... I call them all Puppies.. I have Seven...All indoor Puppies..
Bless your "HEART"...
I know what your going to say once I say this.... BUT get another one FAST... Your NOT replacing HIM... You are healing YOUR "HEART"..

RE: China Girl (Domestic Shorthair)
Post by sameoleme (69)

What a beautiful kitty China Girl is!!!!
How fortunate you both were to find each other.
Please give her a chin scritch for me

RE: Shelf Life of Disposable Diapers
Post by Deeli (1718)

Just food for thought but instead of selling them why not donate them to a woman's shelter or homeless shelter?

RE: Caring for Newborn Kittens
Post by Deeli (1718)

Leave it all up to mommy now and Bless you for posting a picture! Please don't worry and those babies will be wandering around on their own soon enough :-) They do need to be completely weaned (about 10 weeks) before finding them homes though!

RE: Waiter and Waitress Tips and Advice
Post by jolypa (1)

Hi. =] I've been waiting tables since July of this year and I've gotten some pretty good tips and advice over the last few months, some of which came from managers.

Take your job seriously. This is how you pay bills, I'm not saying you have to eat sleep and breathe this job, just make it obvious you appreciate being employed- especially right now.

Be organized and preplan. Grab the refilles for table A before they ask, and grab an extra ranch for the kid at table C, and print the check for table B, three birds one stone.

If something goes wrong: crouch down and look the guest in the eye- look up at them if you can. It makes them feel like you're leaving the world of serverdom and coming down to their level. The rest is simple- LAST: Listen, apologize, solve, thank. Be sincere when you apologize and thank no matter how snotty the table was. Your other tables will see that and you're make up for the stiff more than likely.

We all have managers that have bad days: when one snaps at you in FOH, still treat them like they walk on water and dont badmouth them to your table. I had one lay into me in front of my tables over something minor, and it killed my edge for the rest of the night.. but I kept smiling, I defended the manager, and tried to move on. My nearest tables noticed and I made bank that night.

This gem cam from a manager: Let. It. Go. Get snapped at? Let it go. Miss a refill? Let it go. Forget to ring something in? Let it go. DON'T let it kill your buzz, you'll never get it back.

Have a minute? BREATHE. Relax your muscles. You carry stress and tension when you don't even realize it. Also, help out when you can but do NOT sacrifice service to your tables to help another server that isn't doing so well. Get a manager.

Know your limits. I can take six tables at once, thirty people in total, with no problems. I can't, however, do that, babysit another server, watch the door, and make sure the section at the other end of the resturaunt has silverware. I know my limits, so do my managers. Don't tryto be superwoman/man. It doesnt work. =]

Remember who you work for. This goes for coworkers, mostly. They try to milk each other for all their worth. Who's your boss? Exactly.

Heres another gem from a manager: remain calm. If you don't look like you have it together, your tables won't enjoy themselves. I swear this is legit. I make better money when I look like I'm in control than I do if I look frazzled.

One more, then I'm going to bed lol: upselling. Instead of saying something like "you want to get onion rings instead of fires for .99?" make it sound like a luxury "would you like to upgrade from fries to onion rings for ONLY .99 cents this evening?" or instead of "what to drink tonight folks" ask "can I start you out with something from the bar this evening?" and instead of "interested in any dessert tonight" say "are you ready for that (dessert name here) for dessert? You can always take it to go and eat it while you watch your favorite show tonight!" It works. I swear. You're going to feel like a car salesman when you're effectively trying to upsell, just remember the customer knows more often than not that its your job, they won't hate you for it. Or stiff you.

RE: Easy Thrifty Cat Box Cleaning
Post by leopardstripes (50)

We have seven cats. This is what happens when two full-grown adults, who have their own fully developed households, with pets, get married! So, you know that this advice is coming from experience....

We got a litter box from Petsmart that has 2 pans, and a sieve-like insert. Basically, you put the insert inside of one of the pans, and fill with clumping litter (we use a mix of clay and one of the natural ones, which looks a lot like millet hulls). Then, you put the filled one inside of the empty pan, to store. The cats do, well, what cats do....when it comes time to clean, you pull the filled pan out of the empty one, then pick up the insert, and ease it out of the first pan- viola! The nasty stuff is clumped, and stays in the insert- it's like using a colander. You then put the insert into the empty pan, and cart it out to the trash can, to empty it out. Once the insert's empty, you just put it into the empty pan, pour the remaining clean litter into it, and then tuck that now-empty pan under the filled one. It didn't cost a lot (it was under $20, as I recall), and I have never found a better system, for efficiency, for cleaning effort. Also, your litter lasts a long time- I top it up with a little bit of new litter, about once per week- and we have had no "smell issues", since it gets cleaned daily.

This is what has been working the best for us- but any sifting-type of litter box is going to be a money-saver for you. BTW, my mom also swears by cutting your litter 50/50 with cedar-chip horse and livestock bedding- you can buy it in big bales for really cheap. :o)

RE: Keeping the House Clean
Post by thegoodlife (5)

You could create a chore list based on the age of you children. I have four kids; each one has one chore a day. (A chore that takes less than 30 min to do) Vacuum, dishes sweep and mop, dog duties, ect... along with keeping their rooms clean. I pay them for their chores. I divide the money daily for each chore. (5 chores 5$) If the chore is not completed by a certain time or correctly, I have them redo the chore and lose the money for that day.

RE: Determining the Best Price on Toilet Paper
Post by Deeli (1718)

I have found that the cushy two ply type TP's have much less actual useable tissues per roll than the single ply compacted tissues. Sorry to be blatant but we really don't need to be having soft and fluffy to wipe ourselves. I look for sales of the regular single ply Scott tissue or Walgreens 'Big Roll' and usually am able to purchase a months worth (I live alone and only need one roll a week) for fifty cents per roll. Pick up a solid single ply pack (like the Scott tissue) and a fluffy tissue pack (like Charmin) and you'll even find a weight difference between them ;-) Light and fluffy contains more air than tissue and costs much more per sheet than the compact single ply ;-)

RE: Shelf Life of Disposable Diapers
Post by leopardstripes (50)

Yep, mom-from-missouri's right! They don't have a shelf-life- they have a half-life! We ran across some from when my first boy was born, just the other day (had packed them in a box of baby clothes, which was then stored away....and forgotten, when my second boy was born, LOL!), and we gave 'em to the neighbors- other than having a six-year-old pattern to them, they're the same as the newest ones, and they still do the job. Disposables have silica gel inside of them, and the only way that that could be compromised would be if they were exposed to damp. So gift away! With prices for diapers being so high, I'm betting that you're gonna be one popular person, mighty quick! ;o)