Just looked over the estimate on the Jag. It's ridiculous! 16.5 hours labor for the dent. Just the dent! They also included taking off the door, repainting, sealer-coating, owner's daughter's braces, removing and installing mirror, etc., etc. Now I'm almost glad I had to report it to the ins. co., so they can fight this complete BS.

Brenda & Betsy - those are horrifying.

GC, niece & pup are sooo cute.

{{{KristinT}}} Good luck to you both in incredibly trying times.

Oh, Epic, that bites. Good that it's not coming out of your pocket ... well, not all of it, not all at once. Insurance is like betting, except I'm not sure you can win.

{{{Kristin}}}

The niece and dog photo is damned funny, isn't it? I have it as my desktop at work and everyone's been really tickled by it. (Tickled? I think I've just officially become my mother.)

{{{Kristin}}} You have both my sympathy and my empathy. If I can do anything to help, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Kristin, much -ma to you.

Oh, Epic, that bites. Good that it's not coming out of your pocket ... well, not all of it, not all at once. Insurance is like betting, except I'm not sure you can win.

Yes, this! I feel like I'm finally getting a payout after all these years. Unfortunately, it means they're gonna up my ante in the next hand...

So, anyone know how we'd get the nice people at Cedco (purveyors of Buffy, Angel, and Spike calendars), to do a Firefly or Serenity calendar? Probably not the right thread, but I'm mostly just thinkin' out loud here...

I think my cat has a cold. He was very sneezy and seems to have a runny nose. and I don't think he can smell his food.

Kristin, much strength to you, and love.

We've been running around all day, first to the good outlet grocery store on the Eastside (well worth the drive--unlike the chain Grocery Outlet stores, this place has an incredible selection of natural foods and cleaning products), then to my parents' place (I now own a Cusinart, with many attachments including a pasta maker, and an electric teakettle that is somehow both ancient and still in its box), then to Ikea (only purchase: hot dogs) and Babysaurus, where we got a booster thing that attaches to the table itself instead of getting a high chair.

We have organic rice cereal, and a jar each of organic bananas and organic pears. With the Cusinart, I'll be making up a bunch of slurpy blueberries to freeze in the extra ice cube tray we got from Mother. (Who, incidentally, kept pronouncing "pasta" with that weird flat "a" until it was pointed out to her that she was doing so.)

Six months comes up in a week. We'll be introducing solids in the next couple.

We are prepped and ready.

I can't believe it. I just lost yet another contact lens. At least there is a couple of months between this one and the last one -- but that's three in one year.

It just flipped from my finger right down into the drain.

::head explodes::

Damn. The local area Kindercare has an infant slot, but it's $350 a week.

That's, I think, $125 a week more than the one in Lynnwood where our friends have their baby (I contacted Kindercare based on how much they liked their center), and about half my estimated weekly takehome if I get an Eastside contract at about what they usually pay me.