We have been in our 100 y/o fixer-upper for 8 years now. 8 years worth of work, either done by us or by paid contractors. Still to come: a complete down-to-the-studs remodel of the (only) full bathroom and stripping the lovely oak staircase of its 10 (yes I've counted them) layers of paint.

You did have a home inspection done before you signed the mortgage, right? Get it out now.

If you haven't, sit down now and make a list of EVERY project that needs done in your house. Also be honest about being able to do that work yourself and which of you is willing to do what; if you aren't moderately handy, accepting of the chaos that remodeling brings or willing to devote the time and energy the contractor bills will offset every savings.

A few areas to pay serious attention to:

*windows

*Lath & plaster walls- if they are cracked now, they will be in the future. Patching them is a temporary fix.

*lead paint. If your house is over 35 years old, you may have exposed lead paint, which could be a danger to your son.

*if you have a basement, is it generally dry?

*is your wiring and plumbing up to code?

You have your work cut out for you, for a long time . Good luck

LisaCD

After 8 years of lessons she can probably play well enough for her needs. After all, she's not going to be playing concertos, and there is always an accompanist somewhere.

What she needs now is a teacher who can help her with reading chords, more improvisational type playing. That will be more helpful to her in the long run.

Going anywhere with a newborn requires more planning, equipment and flexibility than went/goes into the Iraq war. It's work, hard hard work.

If the GF doesn't deliver before your wedding, she may be too miserably uncomfortable to come. If she does, she will still probably be too miserably uncomfortable to stay. Not to mention that her pediatrician should encourage her not to expose the baby to a large group of people.

She will need a raft of diapers, a suitcase of clothes, bottles and formula if she isn't breast feeding. That's a ton of stuff to haul around.

If your BIL is tied up w/ wedding responsibilities he won't be able to help her.

I honestly wouldn't stress this. It's probably not going to happen.

As a grassroots activist involved in multiple campaigns I have to say that we planted questions in every forum during the '06 and '07 fall elections. And I know the other candidates did also. One particularly high profile candidate was asked the same question at the 4 debates he was in. I've watched people hold up cards 15 seconds into the debate. It happens much more than it doesn't.

I don't know if this makes me(us) part of the solution or part of the problem. I just know that Hillary won't get my vote in the primary, but otherwise better dead than red.

New Orleans chef John Besh? Former Marine, father of 4 boys, was out in a row boat rescuing people after Katrina. Oh, and he can COOK!! He can make me cheerios any time.

And actor William Fichtner. He's great to watch no matter the role.

and it has been a complication over the years, particularly when voting. However it was worth all the trouble the first time one of my right wing family started ranting about Hillary Rodham Clinton using both names and I stopped him cold by informing him that I too was using both names. the look on his face was priceless.....

I have always thought I was just a weirdo for thinking that colors and numbers have gender.

so...

Do most of us dream in color?

Does anyone else see cars, trucks, and even houses as having a 'face' and 'personality characteristics'?

Interesting, I'll add 'Blue Cats and Chartruese Kittens' to my reading list...

thanks

of the plastic kind

Like Lived It, my parents were born into large families during the Great Depression. My dad is one of 12, and my mom is one of 10. I've heard the stories about how Grandma C. baked her way through 25 pounds of flour every week, and how the older sons with jobs had first dibs on leftovers (the younger had to make do with bread and milk).

I've found myself using all my mother's budget stretching tricks to make ends meet. All errands done on the same trip into town, buying day-old bread, cheaper tougher cuts of meat cooked in a crock pot..... Yes indeed I have become my mother. I just hope I don't have to become my great grandmother.

Another really good area to save some pennies is while doing laundry. I tumble dry shirts and pants just long enough to get the wrinkles out then finish on hangers in my basement or on my *horizontal green energy powered garment dehydrator*. A drying rack is also useful.

Oh, and FWIW.... A libertarian friend sarcastically announced to me that SHE was a Bitter American! I shot back that I was not only bitter but scared and that I was going to learn to fire a rifle this summer in case I ever had to hunt to feed my family. End of Discussion.

Thank you HH for voicing my fears with your usual wit and flair

Nothing says "higher office" like hitting the rubber chicken dinner circuit, and Sebelius has made 2 trips to Ohio in the past 3 months. In May she spoke at a dinner for her father's Gilligan Institute. She was also the keynote speaker at the Ohio Democratic Party's annual dinner in June. For the record, Sen. Obama spoke at the 2006 ODP state dinner, and Sen. Clinton spoke at the 2007.