I am not paying enough rent!

There's an easy fix for that...

Man, the childcare costs are freaking me out. We've been (finally) talking about the subject, but I dunno if I can handle it in general, least of all the finances.

YOU CANT AVOID THE GIRLSCOUT COOKIE MAFIA!

Not when they bring the youngest girls to your desk, who then look at you with bigbig eyes and say, all in one breath, "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies they're made with real Girl Scouts". Word has gotten out through the Girl Scout Mafia: quote Addams Family at the scary people in black clothes, and they'll buy boxes of Thin Mints.

But we get to talk to Mr. Vartan while waiting on line for coffee.

We get to grocery shop with Eric McCormack and Chad Michael Murray and buy pet food with the T2 guy. whoo.

And we haven't even gotten to the weather thing.

Which, the thing where it's coastal fog alla time? Have you gotten more used to the cold?

That's the other cool thing about the bales, that you can shape and mold them as you please.

This is one of the coolest parts of my parents' house. Basically, the house is one big and one small octagon. The walls are all sort of rounded with huge window ledges. It makes for really cool spaces. My mom is a big fan of The Not So Big House . Straw bale is a form that is pretty conducive to the ideas in the book.

Hee! I have not been gotten by the Girl Scout Mafia. Hopefully the SO will pick some up when he hits the supermarket today and the cute little girls are standing outside in the rain looking all pitiful and sweet.

Have you gotten more used to the cold?

No, which is why I don't want to live anywhere with FROST, thankyewverymuch.

There's a bit of research about how in some families taxes keep the lesser-earning spouse from working. The husband can easily bump them up into a 40% tax bracket, at which point having the wife take a $20,000 job and pay for child care just isn't worth it.

Man, the childcare costs are freaking me out. We've been (finally) talking about the subject, but I dunno if I can handle it in general, least of all the finances.

Yeah, but y'all aren't in a situation where you've got two people who will be working 9-5 40 hr/week jobs with commuting and whatnot. Also you're not in the Bay Area. I'm sure your childcare expenses will be much cheaper.

the second spouse's job actually cost the family money, when everything was taken into consideration (higher tax bracket, take out food, dry cleaning, commuting costs, baby sitting costs, workplace gifts and parties, lunches out)

People who do that math always forget to take into effect retirement for the second spouse, in particular your salary basis for Social Security and your 401(K). Not to mention forgetting to take into effect that salaries normally compound, getting a little higher each year, so losing (for example) 5 years of salary raises can make a significant dent in your lifetime income.