Well, we can all step out of character at moments and it can also bite us in the ass. Yours is going to be sore for a while. It will heal.

Cass has ass lotion. I bet she'd share. t /cilantro

I am going to ask that we move on. If you have further issues with me, please take them to e-mail. I promise I will respond and deal with them as they come in. I want to repair this. I will not be avoiding it. But, for the sake of the thread, I think we should move on.

vw, as you know (or should, any second) I've already responded to your email. Sail's response (posted right after your apology, this morning) largely expresses what's on my mind. Thank you for apologizing. It's gladly accepted.

I've been churning over a response (to the incident itself, not the apology) all morning. I've been doing this in part, because (as I mentioned in my e-mail) I conflated my personal lack of interest in certain conversation topics with my only pertinent objection to the incident. I'm sorry for that.

If I decide it's even worth expressing, I may well decide to post it on the board though, because it doesn't feel like a personal issue between the two of us. As far as I'm concerned, that's settled and over. I'm just mentioning it now, because I may not be able to keep it to e-mail; that would not work as a forum for what's running through my mind.

Cindy, would maybe lj be a better forum to bring up your part of the discussion you want?

I for one, would like this taken out of here. I don't share the same feelings as most everyone, but I understand why buttons were pushed and can empathize with that.

However, as Cindy and Steph (and a couple of those who agreed with them, as I do) both pointed out, this has become a pretty damned depressing thread and I think that one step in making it not so depressing is to say, "Ok. This incident sucked out loud. Let's try to forget it." and move on to whatever it is people want to talk about to feel better or just talk.

I'm not trying to be snarky or rude r gloss over the feelings that were hurt, I'm just attempting to make things better for the thread.

On a completely different topic, my little dinner last night went very well, everyone enjoyed the food, and we had a good time. I need to learn to chill out better before though. I'm becoming my mother wrt totally freaking out before having guests to dinner.

sj, what's the cannellinni (crap, I have no idea how to spell that) dip you make? It sounds like something I'd really like.

I'm becoming my mother wrt totally freaking out before having guests to dinner.

You had mentioned that calling her was no help, right? I'm guessing this is why. It's perfectly normal for her--she might not even mind.

My mother hated food prep with a passion, but it manifested as anger after the fact. All my negative association with guests to dinner are from the scutwork she'd have us kids do rather than her approach.

Which are significant in their own right, and I haven't had anyone over to dinner in over five years.

I love dinner parties. I love the prep, I love the cooking and shopping and set-up. But then, I was a one-woman catering business for awhile so I'm probably a great big freak.

I love setting up for parties, too. The cooking and arranging and planning things are fun.

Sail, here is the recipe. It is super easy if you have a food processor. I don't usually make the pita chips to go with it. I usually double the recipe and add an extra clove of garlic for a big party. Warning: It is a Giada recipe.

ita, thanks for reminding me of that. It's hard for me to see what is right in front of me sometimes. I used to dread the day before Christmas Eve because my mother would become so snappish, etc. I don't want to do the same thing to my kids someday. I need to remember that not everything has to be perfect.

I can't wait for B's shower next month. All the cooking and such. Although, I've had to alter the salad. No spinach for us! I'll use arugula instead.

I appreciate vw's response, both to me personally and to the Board. I trust that folks who have residual feelings will get the chance to work them out somehow, if not here.

Since I'm so hit and miss, I haven't noticed a negative downtrend in the thread but certainly enjoy the discourse as a whole, most of the time.

InmeNews, I have a request for advice...I've messed something up where my taxes are concerned. All me...totally my bad...and now I am girding my loins (I typed 'lions', ha!) to face the music.

I know the i-s is the 'new' i-s but I wonder about getting an advocate to help me navigate the process.

Has anyone ever done this? Where might I find someone like that?

I've read the 'tax advocate service' stuff but that doesn't really apply and I'm a little leary of the companies who claim to be able to help. I'm ready, I just want to make sure I do it the best way possible!

Any thoughts here, or at my profile addy would be gratefully accepted.