nova_queen_28

I'm truly clueless on wine & just read that you shouldn't put it into a standard fridge (which I did on Tuesday night). I thought it was supposed to be served cold & I have guests coming tomorrow night that I was planning to serve it to. I do not know the variety (I didn't bother to read the label), but it is pink in color if that matters.

Should I leave it in the fridge? Should I take it out? Will it be OK to serve tomorrow night?

Can anyone point out where in the IRS documents a "half-time student" is defined?

My husband is going to school part time, we took an education credit on one of our tax returns & the IRS is denying it -- I just realized that his 1098-T form did NOT have the box checked saying "at least half-time student", which is probably why the IRS is denying the credit to us.

I am trying to find the definition of a half-time student so I know if we were wrong & we have to correct our return, or if the school is wrong and he really WAS at least half-time and that means I did our taxes correctly and now must have the school correct their records that went to the IRS.

Can anyone find where the IRS defines a "half-time student"?

My husband & I have purchased a new home, but we are keeping our old home as a rental property.

I am curious if we should have it staged with some furniture or if we should keep it empty as we show it to potential tenants.

We did move out everything - even items we plan to donate because we are currently painting the whole house and replacing the carpet in the bedrooms. So we were leaning towards keeping it empty -- but if putting some furniture back would help get it rented, we would be happy to do the legwork.

My husband has suggested re-gifting something we were given as a wedding gift and I am curious if anyone else has ever done this (or considered it)?

The item that we are considering re-gifting is a very pretty scrapbook album, wedding themed. I do alot of crafts, but I have just never taken to scrapbooking so it is really not something I could use. The couple we are considering re-gifting to is a couple we know well and we know the bride does scrapbook, so I think it is something she would actually use.

So, have you ever regifted, or considered regifting, a wedding gift?

Do you think re-gifting is ever OK, or would you rather the recipient holds onto the item - even if they wouldn't use it?

I use flea & tick treatment, but my dog got bitten by a tick. I am going to have the yard treated to help in the future. My concern is that the tick was on his face pretty close to his eye and he has a bump where he was bitten. We cleaned the area.

I'm pretty sure I got the entire tick off of him (from what I could glean off the internet). I am hopeful that because the bite was in a sensitive area that is why it looks as it does. But I was wondering if anyone with tick bite experience could clue me in as to what to watch for so I can get him to the vet if something is wrong.

He is his usual playful self, eating fine, going potty as normal, so I'm not worried on that front. I've just never had a dog bitten by a tick before and am concerned I might overlook something that someone with more experience in this area would know is a sign of trouble.

Your guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

My dogs have plenty of appropriate chew toys & plenty of other toys but today they chewed up the wood on one of the steps in our new house.

We will apply bitter apple spray to this & the other steps, but I am curious about their motivation for this inappropriate chewing. They chewed a window sill at our old house, too. Anyone have any thoughts?

We've all seen them: "I want a bridal shower & bachelorette party, but am eloping" or "I want only my family at the wedding, but a big blow-out reception" or "I couldn't afford a REAL wedding 3 years ago, so I want to have one now"

And many of us try to correct these folks with their rude and etiquette-breaking thoughts, but they just get huffy about it.

Is it that they were here looking for affirmation and are ticked off that they didn't get it?

Or do they feel etiquette can apply to everyone but them?

What do you think?

We have left a message for our vet and are awaiting a callback now.

I am suspecting an allergic reaction, but figured I would see if there are any other suggestions.

I have a rescued beagle-jack russell mix that when we woke up this morning we found that his whole face - around his eyes and his snout - are swollen.

He only goes outside with someone for walks, he normally sleeps with my husband & I but chose to go into his crate sometime in the early morning (3-4am).

It is perfectly normal for him to need to go out during the night, but he did want to go out more than normal last night -- which happens every so often -- he was eating alot of grass when I took him out, he did throw up once. Again, he does this every so often so it was not completely out of sorts.

I've looked in my books & online and an allergic reaction is the prime suspect here. But does anyone else have any thoughts/ideas? He is not lethargic. He has eaten his breakfast and has drank water. He has gone potty normally. His face is just swollen and we are concerned.

Thanks,

A very dear cousin (the groom-to-be) is getting engaged to a woman who lives out-of-state. They have invited a small group of family (about 15 people) to come to dinner at a nice restaurant in celebration of their engagement.

They are not billing this as an engagement party. Some of the family has not met the bride-to-be because she lives out of state, so this is their chance to even meet her. My husband & I have met her and like her alot.

I don't know if this matters or not, but both are established adults, the groom-to-be is a widower with no children, the bride-to-be is divorced with 3 children from her marriage.

I'm definitely getting them a congratulatory card, but really want to do something extra for them -- because they are established, they don't need typical stuff. So I was thinking flowers, a gift basket (fruit/tea/cheese), or something like that -- basically something that they will use up, rather than some knick-knack that they don't need.

Would it be inappropriate to bring a gift to the dinner?

If it is not inappropriate, does anyone have any tips on what might be a nice gift for them?

I'm willing to go as far south as Ft. Myers and as far north as Sarasota, but would really love to find something in Port Charlotte or Punta Gorda.

I am going to be visiting some family and want to take them out to a wonderful dinner. Price isn't a huge issue, so long as it isn't too crazy (I'd say $40/plate would be my maximum so this shouldn't pose any issue in the area). I would like it to be a little nicer than the local pizzeria or diner.

If anyone has some recommendations, I would be really grateful. My husband's Aunt & Uncle have been a huge help recently and we really just want to thank them with a nice meal.

I have a rescued toy fox terrier. We got him in the spring and temps are now getting cooler and he starts shivering.

I figured he would need a coat for winter so I had bought one already, but the past few days it has been between 45 and 55 degrees farenheit and the poor little guy acts like he is freezing -- I have put his coat on him, but I am concerned that when it gets really cold, his coat won't be enough (I live in PA and in winter it gets down to zero).

My dogs are inside dogs, but do go out to potty so its not like he spends all his time outside -- but there are times he will need to be outdoors when it is cold.

My previous dogs were well suited for winter temps so I am in unfamiliar territory here & looking for someone with experience.

How do you keep your dogs warm in the winter? In particular a small breed that seems to get cold very quickly and not at extremely cold temperatures?

I am out of state so when I got the shower invite in July (shower in mid-August) I logged onto the registry and ordered a gift to be sent to the address the couple included in their registry -- through the store (Macy's), they don't show you the shipping address.

The order was placed July 18th and noted to ship by July 20th.

I am figuring that its been about a month since the shower and closing in on 2 months from when the gift was shipped & should have been received. The wedding is this coming weekend.

I'm not super-close with the cousin whose wedding it is, and I think it is possible that they might have confused the gift I intended for the shower to actually be a wedding gift so *maybe* they are going to acknowledge the gift after the wedding (we are attending the wedding & will be giving a gift for that).

At what point do I ask: Did you get the glasses I ordered from your registry for your shower?

If Macy's messed up & didn't ship the glasses, I want to follow-up. But I also don't want to be pushy knowing how frantic it can be before a wedding.

Yesterday a cool weather front moved through my area and the temperatures are going down (into the low 50's F at night) and my small dog seems to be cold (he was adopted in late spring, so this is our first experience with him & cooler temperatures).

I knew this day would come so I already had a fleece jacket on hand & I have put that on him. My concern is that if he is chilled now, how do I keep him warm enough in the winter when we have to go on our walks??

My dogs are house dogs, but they potty outside - I am always with them when they are outside in the yard or we are going on a walk. While I have had dogs before, they were larger & better equipped for cooler temps (Husky mix & St. Bernard mix) than the two I have now -- Beagle mix & Toy Fox Terrier.

Does anyone have recommendations on warmer clothes/coats I can get for my dogs - especially the Toy Fox Terrier? Has anyone found booties that their dog didn't hate?

I didn't expect for the little one to need to use his coat so soon, I really want to be prepared when we have snow & temperatures in single digits.

I would just like some opinions here.

My husband & I are purchasing a new home and plan to rent our current home for income. I want to have a "pet friendly" rental, but I am wondering how people will take my requirement that the pets be spayed or neutered & we have a copy of the vacciniation records.

Are potential renters going to think I am off my rocker by wanting this?

I'm an animal lover & rescuer & I just don't want someone in our rental that is contributing to the pet overpopulation problem.

My husband & I are buying a new home and there is wallpaper all over - which has to go. Once we tackle that we are clueless on what color & paint schemes will work for all the different rooms.

Our current home is small and was hubby's before we met so aside from the kitchen (coca-cola red), he put eggshell in every other room of the house.

Without paying tons to hire a designer we need help, are there any websites, books, or magazines that give suggestions on paint schemes for an entire house (kitchen, dining room, living room, bathrooms, bedrooms, hallways)???

Thanks!!

I have a huge picture window in the front of my home and my dogs go absolutely crazy when someone walks their dog in front of our house.

We've tried leaving the room and ignoring them, clapping loudly and saying "enough" or "quiet", but they don't care & carry on like a pair of lunatics. I've tried squeaky toys to distract them, they pay no attention. I HAVE found that going into the cookie jar (dog cookies, of course) gets them quiet, gets their attention, and they follow me into the kitchen.

My concern is that I am training my dogs to bark like crazy-nuts in order to get a cookie. So far, I haven't seen them make this connection, but I'm worried it could happen.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can ensure that they don't start barking like crazy because they want a cookie?

I don't mind giving them a cookie if that is what gets them to stop going crazy at passersby, I just want to be sure I'm handling them properly.

This is just total curiousity. For a long time brides were choosing 2 or 3 wedding colors, but more and more I see 4, 5, and sometimes more colors being announced as the wedding colors.

I'm curious how people bring those colors together when there are so many?

My wedding was black,white & cranberry (red). Tuxes were black & white with red vests. Bride = white dress. Bridesmaids - red dresses. Flowergirls - red & white dresses. Flowers: red & white with black ribbons. Invites: white, with red & black accents. Linens: black & white. Centerpieces - red, white & black. Our cake was actually red with white lily of the valley (one of our flowers) piped on and black bands at the bottom of each layer.

So for weddings with 4 or more colors, how does it all come together? What colors are used where?

Until now, I've been SUPER lucky -- all my rescues have a way of letting me know when they need to go outside to potty. My newest little guy had a tough start to life - he was bought by a man & kept in 1 bedroom of the guy's apartment, when the guy got sick the roommate dumped the dog at the shelter. We don't know if he ever even went outside (I know some small dog owners litter train or only use wee-wee pads).

My older dog will go to the door & scratch at it - the new guy doesn't seem to let you know at all that he has to go out, you turn around & there is a mess on the floor. We do go out regularly, and he is now 1yr old (we've had him 4 months) so we're not dealing with a little puppy that can't hold it at all, but I would really like to teach him to give me a signal he needs to go out.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips for teaching a dog to give a cue that they need to go potty -- such as my older dog that will paw at the door.

I usually spend $50 - $75 on a gift for the bridal shower - which I thought was pretty decent, but I'm at a bit of a loss on this one.

My "worst case" scenario is going to be a $50 gift card to the store where the registry is, but I like the idea of giving something that the bride-to-be can unwrap. I don't like to deviate from the registry.

Is it a totally crappy gift to buy a few washcloths ($12 ea) or hand towels ($20 ea) -- since I can only afford a few of each due to the steep price tag on them???

Or just not have that box for the bride to open and give the gift card?

I know this isn't a wedding question (although it does pertain to my hubby), but you folks here are nicer than other areas so I wanted to ask here.

I am planning his 40th Birthday party and noted that it is casual BBQ/Picnic to celebrate. I am renting a pavillion in a local park. We will have burgers, dogs, salads, fruit/veggies, chips/dips, and cake.

I am wondering if I am supposed to have party favors? Are they expected for a "big" birthday party such as this, or not?

Thanks so much for reading my question & giving me some input!!