Layla is the cutest dog under 40 lbs that I've ever seen. She's like a little mini BearDog without the crabbiness.

I accidentally avoided them, this year. I didn't mean to though, and now I am sad, and will not have Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties. Very sad.

Me too! Except at least at our supermarket, they are often outside the market shilling the cookies. And thank god for it because I have a yen for Tagalongs.

Lee, in Cook's Illustrated this month they have a Tasting Swiss Cheese article. Just thought of you.

But sometimes, it's a case of you both working outside the home, 40+ hours a week each, for a net gain that isn't financially worth it to you.

I think when it happens, this is the most common case - or at least has been with people I know. I think it's fairly common for the mom returning to work to have a lower paying job than her spouse. I've had friends who just quit work because they were stuck in a low(er) paying job that wasn't personally gratifying and there was lots of pressure and hassling if they missed work because of sick kids or something.

OTOH, I have a good friend whose husband is in construction. His work is pretty seasonal and she's feeling a lot of pressure to get back to work 6 weeks after her baby is due to keep them afloat financially.

Can you go to jail for merely being stupid?

In a perfect world, God yes.

And I'd be the one to get to decide.

Yeah. My mother returned to work, because my father lost his second job which had provided our benefits, as his primary job was carpentry, and he was self-employed. For some people, it's not a choice. For others, it's not a choice that works (because of career type, interests, etc.), but for some people, us included, it ended up being simpler. In our case, because it was simpler, and it was also what we wanted, it wasn't a tough decision to make, but it was a really tough decision to adapt to. In my s-i-l's case, she does better financially, working part time when her husband is home (so, no daycare costs), than she did working full time, with two kids in daycare.

Okay. Okay. He bought a product called "The Whizzinator" off the 'net?

I think all the spam we get is his fault. He's the guy buying the stuff advertised in spam. He should go to jail 4EVAH.

What's going to be faster in about half an hour- the 101 heading west, or the 10 west plus a brief stint on the 405?

oooh. tough call. I'm scared of the 405.

This is odd.

I got an e-mail from a professional genealogist who was hired by the Lower Manhattan Tenement Museum to find and contact the descendants of Solomon Wronker, my great-great-grandfather. It seems he once (about 1900?) owned the tenement building that now houses the museum.

Yay?

Have any of you NY Buffistas ever heard of it, or been there?