Amych, much peace for you and good passage for Lucy.

.... I had so much to say, and I've mostly forgotten it.

The underwater archeologist sounds very neat and it's nice that Mr. Raq has a distraction that's so cheery for Raq as well.

Brenda! I got the package! Aidan appropriated the flip-flops and loves them to bits. They each got a coloring book with one extra for whomever runs out of pages first, and it was such a nice thing, thank you so much.

I can't believe how beautiful Olivia is. I ought, considering her mother, but it just bowls me over, every time. Poor Owen; poor Cash. He's so cute. Nick had me cut his hair very much like that, only worse... on purpose. Now he has hair paste and does strange things to make it look even worser. Except, he had to get it cut for work so he's all verklempt it looks almost normal.

Oh, and Nick's working! This is very good news. He's actually working at a job and is one week away from his first paycheck and the job is more than 5 hours a week! Wheee! Today he had me bead his jeans in order to look flashy for his band's first show. He's a happy boy and if he actually sticks with this job I'll be happy with him.

I'm sorry about your kitty, Amych. Still miss my Beastie.

Nora, you can say something like "Thanks for the offer. I am very excited about working for you, but I was really looking for something in the range of $XXX to $XXX; is there any possibility of that?"

Be careful not not go too high. I had one applicant that I offered $25K. He came back asking for $35K. There was no way I could get even close to that, so I just said thanks, but I don't think this is a good fit for us and turned him down.

Oh, good Nick news, Deena! Yay!

Counteroffer, Nora. What ChiKat said, basically. Not that I've ever done it, but I hear tell that it sometimes works.

I'd just like a bit more of a bump up... it's so hard to get decent pay raises here (it's totally dictated top-down) that this is the only time I see having any negotiation power.

Just phrase it as you are still considering the offer and a higher salary (do specify what you would like to make) would make accepting it more certain. Unless you really wouldn't take it with a salary below X, then say that.

This is getting silly.

CJ's teacher just called me (she talked to DH this morning) to MAKE SURE he will be at the show on Friday. Cause he is the star. OMG.

CJ's teacher just called me (she talked to DH this morning) to MAKE SURE he will be at the show on Friday. Cause he is the star. OMG.

You should go all diva on their asses and insist that CJ's dressing room have a bowl of M&Ms with all the green ones removed....

Toto thinks we're playing the most fun game EVAH. It's called, "Toto! You're all wet! Stay on that towel!" He kicks it away. I come pick him up, lay the towel back down, put him on the towel, then he kicks it away again.

I wouldn't care so much, but he's decided to plant his wet little body where Emily likes to sit and relax when she comes home.

Oh, and I called the vet today, because I was really not happy with the way his ears looked last night. They looked filled with puss. Apparently, this medication, when mixed with ear wax, can do that. Now, wouldn't that have been a nice thing to tell a mom?

No, no! this is Suzi! All green and yellow ones!