Dear Sheila, I’m so lonely. I go to work, I come home and on the weekends I visit my parents. Sometimes I get together with the few friends that I have but mostly they are married with kids and don’t have time for a single friend. I don’t have a girlfriend-haven’t in a couple of years. Sometimes when I think about going home after work and I know it’s going to be another evening by myself I feel almost panicked. -Lonely Lance in Mukilteo

Dear Sheila, I know this sounds pathetic, but food is my best friend: it cheers me up, it comforts me, it's always there for me. I can count on food when I can't count on anyone else. How can I ever lose weight when all I think about is what I'm going to eat next? I love food, but I've got to lose weight; otherwise I'm always going to be lonely without friends and romantic relationships. What can I do? -Franny the Food Lover in Mukilteo

Dear Sheila, Every time I have a boyfriend some little thing will happen and I just blow up. It could be that he's running a little late to pick me up or forgot to call me when he said he would and I wind up telling him I hate him and I never want to see him again. Almost immediately, I realize how much I love him, can't believe what I've done and I'm frantic to get him back.

My husband has been unemployed for over a year and has given up trying to find another job. He sleeps late, stays in his pajamas most of the day, and watches TV. That’s it.