Also, I've heard tell that the bottoms of the feet are excellent for blowing raspberries, if you're into that sort of thing, but who isn't?

My first thought on that shot. Plei! What a lovely preggo picture. Radiant indeed. Lily is a doll baby.

Erin, so sorry about the sucky boy. Fool.

I had heart distress reading meara's tale of lost tickets. I have so been there, alas not always finding the lost item after digging through the trash.

I had fun last night. Invited the back door neighbors over to shoot pool on the new table. We all work so much we never see each other except to wave from our cars. It was great to play.

Bitch question: How does one remove negative energy from a house? Said neighbors live in his parents old house. They bought it from his mother about 6 years ago. It is a wonderful house that they have spent a fortune upgrading, expanding, and improving. His business and life are tied to this community. She has grown to hate his business due to people disappointments over the years, and she is convinced that the house has bad energy from the negativity of her MIL for 30 years prior. She wants to move far far away and start over. This is a big source of conflict for them. She has renovated to the extent that nothing resembles the former house. Twice as big, new floors, new appliances, new cabinets, etc. Yet, she still hasn't made it hers and rid the house of this negative energy she feels. Any ideas on helping her get past this?

Laura, one of my friends swears by burning those little bundles of sage -- memfaulting on the name of the ritual -- smudging, or something like that?

If she's more formally spiritually inclined, I think some religions will happily send clergy over to a house that's had a lot of unhappiness and do a sort of not-quite-an-exorcism cleansing ritual.

JZ, pay-by-the-pound laundry is a good idea. Spend time with your loved ones that created the dirty socks, not the socks. (I would do your pretty things yourself because the laundry might fry them)

There is a mound of laundry up to my kneecaps in our bedroom. I'm seriously thinking about just giving up and forking over the biggish cash for the pay-by-the-pound laundry service at the laundromat down the street. The whole laundry deal is such a massive, irritating timesuck if you have a partner and both of you have jobs, and the extra laundry generated by Little League dirt and sweat is just arrrgh.

Oh, I hate that. I say fork over the cash so you can get all caught up, then try to start over. I'm so scared of what is going to happen to our laundry situation what with me working and doing school now. I don't want to go that route, but I'm betting it's gonna happen every once in a while.

Conclusion? Awake before 6 a.m. = serious whinybutt.

Totally allowed!

Any ideas on helping her get past this?

I really have no helpful ideas, but JZ's sound lovely. If it were me, I would try some radical acceptance, but since that's a fairly difficult therapy concept to achieve (and even explain), I think trying something else first would be good.

I think it was the smudging that I read about here that was in the back of my mind. I'll have to research some and give her some suggestions. I understand the run away instinct, but her husband has a well established pool construction business. Not exactly something you pick up and move elsewhere.

grammar tough after a late night

Laura, one of my friends swears by burning those little bundles of sage -- memfaulting on the name of the ritual -- smudging, or something like that?

Where I used to work, we had a particularly noxious guy leave the company. The woman taking his cubicle smudged. Worked like a charm. She's still there and loves what she's doing.

Laura, I think filling up the house with happiness is important, too. She needs to make it her own, and stop thinking of it as m-i-l's house. Have friends in. Have parties. Laugh a lot. Make love in the non-bedroom rooms.

I'd recommend the wash-dry-fold. It's money, but it buys peace of mind. I think of it less, "This is money I'm paying for laundry" and more, "this is money I'm paying so that I have more free time." Sometimes, I feel my time is worth the 70 cents a pound, sometimes, not. I think it sounds like you are at a point where it's worth it.

Lilty, the dude looooooves you. Plus? You are freaking cute. And funny and Teh Awesome, so seriously. Why wouldn't he?

I do not have a comics guy.

I am about to embark upon a day spent with family (hooray for issues and underlying hostility!) and then a freebie work thing that involves Tom and I going to dinner and a wine tasting at a Cambridge boutique hotel and then getting put up for the night in one of their rooms. Should be fun!

Awesome Lilly pics.

Sorry for teh stoooopid boy, Erin. Sounds like he's flaking out fast. I wouldn't take it personally, he's probably just scared as all hell that a lady took him up on his offer, and is secretly convinced you want something more. Because that's What Girls Do, right?

I've got two cutiepie sleepyheads under my feet. Why do they decide to sleep *now* rather than when *I'm* trying to sleep?

Y'all are very wise, though I am still looking at the 30-40 lbs. of laundry and sweating at 70 cents a pound. And we'll never be caught up, not unless we someday get a washer/dryer in our building.

I've been thinking about writing a (very, very polite) letter to the landlady and her son, who is taking over the building from her. We have five units: one with a toddler, us with Emmett (and hopefully another within the next year or so), one with a grandson who lives there at least half-time, and one disabled man who has tremendous difficulty navigating our twisty staircase. And we've got two storage rooms and an alcove on the ground floor. There's space, there's need, and I'm certain that if she wanted to invest in a washer/dryer for the building it would not only make our lives easier but increase the value of the units. I have no idea if there's an ADA compliance issue, but I can't imagine that laundry for Pete is anything but an ordeal.