After the holidays are good, JZ. Maybe I will be healthy by then.

Be sure to redirect Teppy over to me the next time she starts in about how you suck, 'k?

Woot!

Teppy, EAT IT.

Oh, as usual, dear: [link]

This is the PREMIUM BUNDLE BOX only. It would include bonus accessories, if it were the actual PREMIUM XBOX 360! DOES NOT Come with 20GB Hard Drive, Console, HD Cables, Wireless Controller, Headset! In other words for those of you who do not understand, YES YOU ARE GETTING AN EMPTY BOX SO DO NOT ASK!

Well, it seems that JZ *does,* in fact, suck.

But not as much as Perkins.

Sorry I didn't say hi back to everyone earlier! These pills, while doing nothing so far for the pain, did a decent job of knocking me out.

Dear Santa,

This year for Christmas, I would like a new back. Oh, and a pony. Ponies rule.

XOXO, Lilty

Andi bought a 16 ounce bottle of Walnut Oil this week.

I never knew they needed oiling.

Oof. Emmett had a meltdown at his Mom's house about his baseball tryouts tomorrow.

He's announced his intention to quit baseball entirely, rather than deal with the pressure of the tryout.

Great.

Sometimes he gets stuck. But his Mom and I are going to disabuse him of the notion that quitting and digging in his heels are optimal life strategies.

Our enlightened approach to this is going to be to bribe him. Or rather, get him to focus on the after reward and getting through the difficult thing he doesn't want to face.

Gershwin Girl has a question for the peanut gallery.

For the last several days her breasts are really sore, and the only time they're generally sore is right before her period, but that's usually much shorter time and she is not on the period now. She's not taking any hormones/birth control, and hasn't been for quite a while. AND her chest size has definitely increased, and she has gained no weight.

Oh, and she's not pregnant.

This is a nosy question, but is she positive--is pregnancy an impossibility or just an improbability? I'm only being this nosy because pregnancy was the first thing that popped into my head. With all three pregnancies, I was tender and sore at a time of the month that would have been way ahead of schedule, if the tenderness/soreness was a PMS symptom. Then, on the days I should have been getting tender were PMS the cause, I felt normal.

Second: How long is--for quite a while (re hormones/birth control)?

Third: is she on an oral antibiotic for her eye ook, or is she just using a topical antibiotic ointment/drops?

Fourth: has she had way more caffeine than usual this month?

Fifth: What amych said, all of it.

black coffee

Poor Emmett. I hate when the ought-to-be fun stuff stresses them out. Can you remove any of the pressure, Hec?

I know he's imposed it upon himself, but I've noticed with Ben that a lot of times, when I get to the root of his stress, part of it comes from what he thinks Scott and I are going to think. Usually, we're much more mellow than his imaginary version of us.

my 4am wisdom says Emmett is worried about failing ( D'oh) and Cindy mihgt have the best idea - he needs to know thast as long as he is trying, y'all will be happy. plus focusing on after also sounds good. so ... what everyone else including dad said.

for gershwin girl I have no other advice, except what everyone else said.

for me - I would like the money hamster to stop running around in my head. I know I spent a lot today. But except for DH I am done with shopping. that was the point. I told the hamster that January is the planned date for budget reform. stoopid brain hamster.

My friend Suz went to a wedding ceremony in Mexico and part of the ceremony involved releasing baby Tortuga turtles into the surf.

Huzzah! More weddings should include this. And possibly christenings. And the occasional graduation.

Note to billytea: Owen's newest word is "occopuss", per the picture in his alphabet book under the letter "O".

Huzzah! It's just a shame that the occopussies may not be compatible with the baby turtles, or they could go in the ceremony too.

With any other baby, I'd say "ewww", but since she's mine, it's cute.

Huzzah for baby snot monsters! Echidna snot is a key evolutionary adaptation, yet probably should not be included in more weddings.