For the next 9 days, I will be sharing helpful hints and advice:D:P Most of you will be on vacation for spring break, and I would hate to have you miss the funny stuff:lol: I'll save all that for later.

1. Look for signs of panic. If they fidget and stutter, they're nervous about something. (on the other hand, practiced liars can also appear unnaturally calm, cool, and rigid.)
2. They won't answer a direct question. Liars usually stall for time so they can think up a good story. They say things like, "Well, that depends on..." and "Why would you say that?"
3. When people say, "To be perfectly honest," they're usually not.
4. The person constantly changes the subject when you ask a pointed question.
5. Liars try not to make eye contact with the person they're lying to. They're afraid that if they make eye contact with you, you'll see right throught them. So they look around the room for a distraction or cast their eyes downward.
6. Body language tells the truth. Are they suddenly fidgeting or fixing their hair when it doesn't need fixing? Also, look for a jiggling leg and a sudden, maddening itch.
7. Blushing and sweating are obvious signs.
8. How credible is their excuse? Is it so outrageous that it could only have been dreamed up? Made-up stories tend to include too many details, some of which contradict each other.
9. You have a gut feeling that the person is lying. Trust your instinct, especially if the liar is a stranger.
10. They laugh nervously.
11. They pretend they don't know something that you know they know.
12. Look for tense muscles around the mouth and cheeks of liars. They also bite their lips and raise their eyebrows when they speak.
13. Liars talk fast and in a voice that may be just a little higher than their normal voice. Also, look for fake coughing and clearing of the throat (while they think up a story).
14. Experience is a good teacher. If a person has lied to you many times in the past, you have reason to be suspicious about everything they say. (Never being trusted is one of the high prices liars pay).
15. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I survived the first night with the dog:D He slept on my bed, so I kept waking up when he moved or itched. As a result, I only got about 5 hours of sleep:x Webster decided he had to go to the bathroom at 8 this morning. I took him out in slippers and a robe - when the neighbors were outside working on their deck. I was so embarrassed:roll: It was also really muddy because it rained last night, so I had to wash his paws and my slippers before we came back in:x This is why I'm a cat person...

I also have another cold:evil: I got one in January, one in February, and now I have one in March:evil: I think I have a pattern going here:? That is very strange...