TracyTN

The maximum amount you can exclude is $92,900 for 2011.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=108276,00.html

We are not dictionaries--we are people. Even using the title of "friend" is a friendly thing to do. Introducing someone to you significant other as "this is Sally, an aquaintance of mine" is pretty cold. But, of course, if you like it, knock yourself out.
Seems to me that the OP wants some social interraction with casual friends and potentially some deep friendship. She is not going to be helped by measuring just how worthy people are of the title of "friend" and how distantly you can categorize them.
Charel, good luck in your upcoming friendships. If you are ever in the Houston area, send me a message and I'd be honored to take you out and see some sights and just laugh and talk for a while.

Finally got the picture off the phone - here's Emily enjoying some of her birthday cake.

Your topic suggests that you litterally can't find ANY job. You're being darn selective if you want to have 16 dollars to move stuff. My USC husband has 20 years of US work experience and only now he's up to 16 dollars an hour.
You're trying to accomplish something we all are; finding a decent paying job. I enjoy my job even though I make 1/4 of what I used to in my home country. Sometimes, it'll lead to better opportunities. One of my customers tried to recruit me to her business. I turned that down only because I want to have the same job for more than a few months. That is also a quality to put on a resume; reliability - my employer was happy to know I kept a job overseas for years. But I'd also like to prove that I can do the same now; living up to my foreign resume.
My point is that you can't afford to vent about jobs that are actually out there yet you refuse to apply to. Lowering your standards isn't the same as having to to it for always and ever. It's a matter of building up your resume with US experience. Imagine a 17 year old wanting 16 dollars to move heavy stuff but can't really put any references on a paper saying they're hard, loyal workers.

That would be illegal.
After reading what you've written here, I wouldn't hire you. You "should" get paid $16 for lifting boxes? Seriously? You don't believe in minimum wage jobs?
You have few skills and you're demanding better pay than most CNA's I know. Lots of people survive on minimum wage. They get subsidized housing, take the bus, and/or work two jobs.
No one owes you a job. You're not entitled to a job. The longer you're out of work, the less likely you are to find any. So if I were you, I'd take anything I could get, and once I had something, I'd try to find something better.

Here's a major reason you can't find work there.
http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm/
My wife is looking for work in Minnesota, we rank number 9th lowest unemployment rate. California has only two states with higher unemployment rates under it. Its one of the worst places in the country to look for work. As to her skills to do the job using the microscope, she was trained on site and she had no skills in that area. The office work she changed to, she had lots of computer skills, but its still relatively low skilled work which she was trained for on site. Her next step is getting something closer to her degree. She's done a little bit of applying and is surprised at the responses she's already getting. Much better than just a few months ago. I'm expecting the Minnesota unemployment rate is going to show a further drop soon.
Looking for work in California is like looking for water in the desert. There might be some, but its going to be damn hard to find and everyone else wants it to.

If my mother in law lived in the states (or anywhere near us), I'd already be in the big house.
I'm jealous of the Honey Crumpet/Empress meet up! I shoulda been there! *sniff*

The one thing that really helped my husband was when the nurse at the hospital told him - you won't break her! All you really have to be careful of at this stage is that floppy neck.
Also the one thing they told us which I wish they HADN'T told us was to wait 3-4 hours to feed her. That lead to a LOT of uncontrollable crying that had us at our wits end. Finally we read in a book that some babies are feed on demand - it was like someone had thrown us life jackets! From then on, we fed her when she was hungry. Of course, this may be different if your BFing - I dunno (we formula fed) - but wow. What a lifesaver that lesson was!
Empress is right about the sleep deprivation causing all kinds of wackiness too. My husband has always had an odd schedule so I had the day shift and he had the night shift. That meant one of us was almost always rested. He was probably the one who had less sleep because hormonal post partum me just needed him sometimes, bless him. (I honestly do not know how single mothers do it - I really don't!! I bow at their feet I tell ya!!)
Ok because I'm a braggy mom, I have to put this picture on here which is a repeat for Empress but hey. This was our child in the parking lot of our favorite restaurant last night waiting for us all to stop talking and put her in the car. LOL

Awww! That all sounds very familiar. It sounds like you're doing great! Might I recommend the Nose Frida as an excellent alternative to the bulb syringe for nasal passage clearing.
I never got the hang of sleeping when Madeleine slept. I'm just not a napper. Fingers crossed that you'll have an Em-type sleeper rather than a Mad-Ag-type sleeper! Actually, Madeleine wasn't the worst--probably even typical. One thing I can say about the after-effects of the sleep deprivation torture chamber I occupied for about six months: I can now get by on only a few hours of sleep if I have to. I used to feel physically ill if I got less than 7 hours of sleep. I still have a little of that, but last summer, I went to Boston for a few days for my 20-year high school reunion. I took a red-eye from Phoenix and barely slept on the flight. When I did the red-eye in the past, I usually lost the entire arrival day to fitful napping and exhaustion. This time, I was tired but fully functional. Got the rental car, drove to my stepmother's house on the South Shore, chatted with her for a couple of hours, crashed for four hours, and woke up at noon ready to go! It was like my sleep need clock had been reset. Madeleine now sleeps about 11 hours straight at night, but I still function OK on inadequate sleep (as evidenced by a few adventures this past year too--but the Boston trip stuck in my mind).
I guess the point of this ramble: There's an advantage to the sleep deprivation hell! (Which, of course, you might not have to contend with for long. )

The one thing that really helped my husband was when the nurse at the hospital told him - you won't break her! All you really have to be careful of at this stage is that floppy neck.
Also the one thing they told us which I wish they HADN'T told us was to wait 3-4 hours to feed her. That lead to a LOT of uncontrollable crying that had us at our wits end. Finally we read in a book that some babies are feed on demand - it was like someone had thrown us life jackets! From then on, we fed her when she was hungry. Of course, this may be different if your BFing - I dunno (we formula fed) - but wow. What a lifesaver that lesson was!
Empress is right about the sleep deprivation causing all kinds of wackiness too. My husband has always had an odd schedule so I had the day shift and he had the night shift. That meant one of us was almost always rested. He was probably the one who had less sleep because hormonal post partum me just needed him sometimes, bless him. (I honestly do not know how single mothers do it - I really don't!! I bow at their feet I tell ya!!)
Ok because I'm a braggy mom, I have to put this picture on here which is a repeat for Empress but hey. This was our child in the parking lot of our favorite restaurant last night waiting for us all to stop talking and put her in the car. LOL

oh believe you me I am all about the cocktail of numbness.

Well I've not seen it here - that's all I'm saying (in this thread anyway).

I haven't heard anyone here say 'too bad' to those who lose their job and have no coverage. Anyone who would say that is just an #######.

Well I've not seen it here - that's all I'm saying (in this thread anyway).

I have no idea where you got the impression that I thought it was okay that hard working people can't afford or are not offered health benefits. I have no idea.
No. I do not think a college degree is a pre-requisite to being able to go the Doctor. I never said that. Ever. Anywhere. What I did say, is that I earned a college degree because I knew that healthcare costs money. I knew that good companies who respect their employees offer good health care. I knew that those companies hired skilled, educated workers. So, I made myself a skilled, educated worker so that I could enjoy those benefits. I also know if I got fired tomorrow, I would be in a better place to take up another job that offers good benefits to their employees. That's all I'm saying. That is all I have been saying. Anything else that you think I have been saying is not what I'm saying. I just clearly stated what I'm saying. It's all right there. Right in the open. For your reading pleasure.

this.

Don't think there are many that would disagree with you on this point, certainly not me.
I just find it always peculiar that when having this discussion, those who aren't huge NHS fans are the first to admit the failings of the US system, but those on the other side will hardly ever admit that the NHS has its faults, too. THAT makes me shrug.

Don't think there are many that would disagree with you on this point, certainly not me.
I just find it always peculiar that when having this discussion, those who aren't huge NHS fans are the first to admit the failings of the US system, but those on the other side will hardly ever admit that the NHS has its faults, too. THAT makes me shrug.

America doesn't exactly have the corner market on inequities. The standard of care across the NHS is a good example of that.

I have to say, rare is the message board whose mods/admins want to hide the actions they've taken to police the site. I really just do not understand it. Accountability isn't a bad thing.

I have to say, rare is the message board whose mods/admins want to hide the actions they've taken to police the site. I really just do not understand it. Accountability isn't a bad thing.

I have to say, rare is the message board whose mods/admins want to hide the actions they've taken to police the site. I really just do not understand it. Accountability isn't a bad thing.

I have to say, rare is the message board whose mods/admins want to hide the actions they've taken to police the site. I really just do not understand it. Accountability isn't a bad thing.

I have to say, rare is the message board whose mods/admins want to hide the actions they've taken to police the site. I really just do not understand it. Accountability isn't a bad thing.

I sure hope Nick's symptoms are teething and not a sore throat like Empress described for Mad-Ag! How is he doing today, Lisa?
Emily is slow as ever with her teeth - still only the first 4. We see hints of the two beside the top ones but have seen those hints for probably 2 weeks. SIGH.
And thanks for asking Empress - she is doing great! She is her 'own child', though, which means even seeing all the kids running around story hour doesn't make her want to walk everywhere on her own. She still prefers to fast crawl if she wants to get to something quickly. Just doesn't quite trust herself on two feet yet (at least not to go fast). But she is a fun child - really happy and always notices music, people's expressions and actions - has become quite the mimic! - loves to blow kisses and all that fun stuff.
Not that you asked but here's a picture I took of her about 2 weeks ago in her high chair. Note daddy in the background cooking.