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My husband's boss has been telling his other employees not to associate with my husband because he is a "loser and a drug dealer". My husband does not deal drugs. We're a pretty straightlaced family, really. He's sick of hearing from his coworkers what (boss's name) has told them about his alleged 'drug problem'. What can we do about this? (Other than quit; I wouldn't have come to Y!A if all I wanted was a simple answer.)

For the last two months or so, I've been breaking out in hives. After paying close attention, and process of elimination, it appears to be coming from something I'm getting bit by. Here's what happens:

I'll feel the prick of being bit by something. If I look at the area, I see no bug, but a tiny red dot will appear. Off to one side of the dot, a raised white circle will form. Soon, I'll begin to itch. Hives will break out on the body, though not in the area of the bite(I'm assuming this means I'm allergic to whatever I'm being bit by). The itching soon subsides, though the hives will stay anywhere from 12-72 hours. Sometimes, tiny bumps will appear without the white circle or hives forming, but those don't typically itch much.

My husband and older son are not affected at all. My younger son will occasionally appear with a tiny bump or two. Half the time, the area around his bump will grow red, other times, nothing happens. I've taken him to a doctor, but they just declared it dermatitis, and said his skin reacts to everything(its true; his skin is overly sensitive to just about anything), so there is the possibility its unrelated.

If anyone has heard of critters that bite in this manner, I'd greatly appreciate some information on what the pest could be. I have eliminated both the possibility of fleas or bedbugs. Any other ideas?

Note:I'm not asking for advice on handling the problem, or asking what I should do, just information on what the issue is.

I was a Sims 2 player and bought the Sims 3 today for PC, assuming it was similar. When I played Sims 2, I'd make a Sim, eventually make another Sim for them to meet and marry, and would play with all the children, watching them grow, moving them out, and doing the same with them. I'd get multiple generations, watching the family line grow.

From what I'm reading, Sims 3 doesn't allow you to do this, though there's talks of patches and tricks. Has this ever been amended to allow play like the Sims 2, or did I just waste my money?

After the cat spilled a bag of poppy seeds all over my kitchen, I learned that I seem to have developed an allergy to them. I had noticed I had been breaking out in hives for a few days, but was unable to find the trigger until I stuck my hand(knowingly) directly on some. Of course, more hives popped up.

My question is, what precautions should I take in the future? Is there anything else I should be aware of about this food allergy? I've never been allergic to a thing until now(I'm 30).

Also, I had eaten some in bread two weeks prior to this, but hadn't noticed any symptoms. Why?

I suffer from both anxiety and depression. I'm having a difficult time coping, and I think it is from the combination of either my mind going too fast in all different directions or me not having enough energy to get anything I'd like to accomplished.

I have obsessive and unrealistic thoughts quite often. This results in fear and anxiety, and more unrealistic thoughts stem from that. I have difficulty concentrating or remembering anything because my mind is so scattered and spastic. I'm always stressed out.

On the other hand, I'm always tired. I never want to do anything, and I spend most of the day yawning, rubbing my eyes or lounging because I feel like I'm on the verge of falling asleep. Even when I'm not drowzy, getting up and doing anything feels like a mountain of work. Nothing feels fun and I'm usually quite down, emotionally.

The problem lies in when I try to treat one problem, the other gets worse. If I treat the anxiety with medication, it does work for calming the thoughts. I am less stressed, but I get more lethargic. I gain weight ad become more depressed.

When I try to do something about my low energy, I have the opposite problem. I can get up and about, and often times feel much happier at first. However, the mind soon starts going, and all the energetic positive thoughts I had soon turns into fear, and I find myself having a panic attack over some insignificant event.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to treat the combination of these symptoms without making the other worse?(I'm already seeing a therapist.)

My taxes were filed Monday, Feb. 3rd, 2014. The return was accepted immediately. However, most people I know got theirs back within 10 days. I'm still a few days short of 21 days, but I'm curious; what factors hold up a refund?

When I check my online status of it, it says "Your return has been accepted, and is being processed".

I had my truck parked in the street for too long. Parking in the street is legal on my block, but only for a certain amount of days. I admit, I went over. I'm not questioning the parking ticket, but when I went outside, the cop was in my vehicle. She said she was putting the ticket inside because of the snow. I didn't think a cop could enter your car without a warrent to do so(or an emergency). Is what she did legal?

I had chosen a best answer for a question and it had been moved to reference. Why was it later deleted?

So, how's your day going? What went wrong, what went right, and how are you feeling about it?

Always nice to be asked...

For almost 15 years now, I've been tearing my hair up. I don't tear it directly from my scalp, but I handle and bend it so it breaks, and then I tear the broken end off. I do it to individual strands, not usually chunks, but its really taken a toll on my hair. It used to be halfway down my back, but now its only an inch or so below my shoulders. It makes me so sad when I haven't seen a person in awhile and they think I've gotten a haircut. It just keeps getting shorter and shorter; I know its going at a slow rate, but in another 5 years it may be chin length!

I've tried to examine the habit to determine why I do it so I can break it. It seems its a tactile thing. I tried to find something else to mess with, but nothing seems to have the right texture for me to actually be compelled to do that. I also do it more when I'm stressed. The cleaning person at my old job told me there was pieces of my hair everywhere(my hair is easy to pick out because its unusual colors). So far, though, I haven't been able to come up with anything to end the habit.

Can anyone suggest anything?

In an assignment recently, I've been asked to try relating to and connecting to poetry, both reading and writing. In my teens, I enjoyed it quite a bit, and wrote often. However, at 29 I'm having a hard time with it. It seems the words do not come out of me so easily as they did then. I have trouble finding anything I'm able to write about at all period. As to reading it, I'm having trouble finding things I relate well to. Much of what I find is quite flowery, and confuses me.

I'm not sure why this is so much more difficult for me now. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to reopen this chapter of my life?

The sink full of dishes. The garbage by the backdoor on a rainy day. The cleaning list at work while there's no one around to check it. That one last errand all the way across town...

Neglecting any of these things won't send the world crashing down. Its tempting at the time to put them off because it sees like they won't matter. But consequences do come... Your kitchen gets smelly. You kick over the trash and have to clean it up again. Someone at work complains about the mess. You put a bill off and its now late, so you have a late fee.

What are some ways you push through to take care of tedious tasks so they don't come back to bother you later?

What got you to start using Y!A? For me, it was being stuck in bed long term and needing some way to pass the time. How about you?

For those of you who had sex before the typical 6 week postpartum doctor's checkup, and went ahead and did it anyways, what was it like for you? Good, bad, painful, improved?

I'm asking for personal stories here, not opinions on whether or not one should, or to be scolded to get medical advice. Answer the question asked, please. Thanks in advance to those who do!

For those of you who had sex before the typical 6 week postpartum doctor's checkup, and went ahead and did it anyways, what was it like for you? Good, bad, painful, improved?

I'm asking for personal stories here, not opinions on whether or not one should, or to be scolded to get medical advice. Answer the question asked, please. Thanks in advance to those who do!

My husband and I have been married 2 and a half years. I am 29, he is 26. I look my age, he could pass for a bit younger. I have a 7 year old son(who most assume is his), and am very very pregnant(actually, overdue at this point). We have wedding rings(well, mine is a tattoo ring). We get along very well; we probably only fight about once a season.

My sister and her husband(ex husband now)were 21 and 22, looking their age. They have two kids. They also had wedding rings. They got along terribly(which is why they're divorced now).

When people see my husband and I, they assume we're dating. We've even had to continuously correct certain people when they ask things such as "how is your boyfriend/girlfriend". People almost never register that we're married. It wasn't like this with my sister and her ex; they always assumed the correct answer, which was that they're married(well, used to be).

I'm curious on why this is. I'm not so much troubled, I just don't understand the mindset! Any input?

I'm 2 weeks from my delivery date, and was wondering what some tell tale signs that labor is near would be. I know the obvious ones, like water breaking, and mucus plug, contractions, etc, but was looking for some personal accounts of what happens in the days up to labor. I have a son who's 7, but I can't really remember what happened near labor with him, other than I was easily winded and had swollen legs. That was so many years ago...

Any stories will be appreciated!

After having an unusual dream last night, I picked out some of the main figures, trying to make sense of it. I've been pondering it all day, but really haven't come up with any conclusion.

A quick run-down of the dream plot as remembered(I lost details quickly, so I tried to jot the main points):

I was sick and tired of a problem, so tried to seek out a counsellor to help me. A leader or king was there instead; their offices were locked, so he said he could help.

After listening to my problem, he took me instead to a discrete roof worker on the building, who said mascaraded as a worker, but was really a sort of guru. This guy listened also, and silently took me to another.

This last person was young and frail, rather unappealing. She listened, and motioned for me to follow, jumping into a pit. I climbed down after her, but it soon became clear it was a kind of ambush. I yelled for help, and others did help, and she was defeated(I don't know what became of her), but the other two whom I had spoken with said this was supposed to happen. Never did get the problem resolved, though.

Who/what were these characters, or what could they be representing?

I have one of those 'notebook' laptops, an Eee PC. We have a very weak wifi signal, and have to sit just right to pick it up.

Lately, I've had alot of breathing problems and find it easiest to breath while laying on my side. Needless to say, this gets pretty boring, and I try to use the computer while doing so.

Now, I can find a spot where there's signal, but if I flip the laptop on its side(either side) so that its vertical(which is easiest for me to see), it often times cuts out. Why does it do this, and can this situation be improved?