Congratulations to Jessica and DH!!! Much pregnancy~ma Jessica! I was beginning to think the streak of buffista babies was over.

Mal and Matilda are both super cuties!

Beth, tons of ~ma to Matt and his mother.

I am missing things, but I am blaming it on way too much wine today. ~ma and hugs to all who need it. We went up to a vineyard today, saw lots of pretty Autumn leaves, and tasted lots of yummy wines, took a wine tour, tried to shop in a couple of towns where the shops all closed at 5 (crazy!), and then went out to a yummy dinner. We just got home.

Oh my God, Jess, congratulations!

~ma for Matt & his mom, beth. I hope the powes that be listen. Als, love your walls - that may be the same color as my living room, or in the same family anyway. It's a very calm color, and looks fabulous. Also also, I love your window with the lkights beyond.

There was probably other stuff, but Beep Me ate up the rest of my brain.

Yay, Jessica!!!!

I'm very excited!

JZ, there's a huge pile of Baby Clothing that needs to go your way. Most of the 0-3 went to a RL friend, but then her baby (7 months Lillian's junior) caught up to Lillian in size, so I've got plenty of 6 month and up sizes, and a few wee things still.

Jess, that's wonderful news! I'm so happy for you guys!

I wrote a post and then didn't post it. Why? No one knows. So now, very long post which likely no one will read all of. Of which no one... All of which no one... oh never mind.

Today I went liquor shopping, which is odd, because I rarely drink. I bought hard cider (love), whiskey (Dewar's=not love, sadly), amaretto (yum), proscutto (haven't tried), and Meade! I didn't know anyone was making meade these days. I'll report on how it tastes when I get around to drinking it.

I want to see video of Attack!Olivia. That would just make my day.

Much ~ma to Matt and Matt's mom.

Congrats to Jessica on creating another Buffista!

JZ, vitamin C serum fixes up stretch marks. They don't go away but they get better, especially if you use it while they're still red. (I don't mind the white marks so much because I'm so damn fair-skinned they almost don't even show. I was never pregnant, but I was really fat for a while, so I got the marks without the bonus!new human.)

A bird in the house is supposed to be good luck. I dunno if it gets killed by the cat, if the luck leaks out, maybe. Two birds, one dead; tricky omen, that.

We had a bird get in our office building once. It was zooming overhead, back and forth, and my friend R. was huddling under a desk almost in tears from fear of the scared little sparrow. @@ Security finally caught it and got it out. I guess it brought some good luck because R. got a better job shortly after!

Once, a green snake got in our house. I didn't even know it until I discovered my cat pacing around its carcass, panting and clearly saying, "Would you look at that? WTF is that thing!" She was all upset at having to kill something she didn't even recognize and was not going to eat.

Question of the weekend - what music do you clean to?

My favorite songs by The Who, Pete Townshend's White City, and the Serenity soundtrack.

All the financial talk was very helpful! It wasn't until very recently that I actually had enough money coming in to even think about being able to save any. I already have an ING account with all my worldly savings in it: $15. Oh, well, I do have a 401k, but that $25,000 isn't nearly where I should be in retirement savings, considering I want to retire in 20 years. I don't even know how much I should have. I would have more savings, but it seems a better idea to pay off my high-interest debts. Which I'm doing, slowly but surely. If I lose my job, though, I'm fuckz0red.

Also, my employer recently signed up with a credit union. Would it be worthwhile to move some money into a savings account there? I don't know anything about the relative merits of credit unions.

Bank of America sucks. In fact, the only bank I've been with that did not suck is my little local bank, where I get interest checking, no minimum balance, and no fees. Unless I overdraw, which sadly, sometimes I still do. But the tellers know me by name!

The other good thing about a Roth IRA is that you can take out the principal without penalty, so you can use it for a house downpayment or a trip around the world.

I didn't know that! I learn so much from Buffistas. Compound interest is one of life's miracles. Note to self: start a Roth.

I have always been a bargain shopper, but I have also always bought too many bargains.

This is so me.

I don't see that there's a benefit to having more than a few thousand dollars in my checking account

P.-C., I don't know if I want to kill you or marry you!

Wait. Hmm. In reverse order...

No, never happen. I'm a Caucasian devil woman, after all. My evil plan is thwarted by my very nature.

It's 1:30 in the AM. Why haven't I gone to bed already?

Jess, what wonderful news! Congratulations to you and E!

Beth, the walls are lovely. Such a huge improvement. I'm sending peace, strength, and all healing possible to Matt and his mom, and to you, too.

Thanks for all the warm thoughts.

now I have to share the evening trauma. Watched some home design show call reDesign - we knew instantly it was not for us. but there was plenty to make fun of The room - huge 25 foot walls - funky angles - but a nice spot where the ceiling was lower - so it could have felt cozy. The two guys turned it into a dark, batcave of a 'swanky night club' so busy they you whould been jumping around no old movies or footballs games on that tv. matt made post here because I was so traumatized I couldn't stop talking about it

eta: [link]

I'm sorry to hear about your mother, Matt.

Congratulations, Jessica.

The other good thing about a Roth IRA is that you can take out the principal without penalty, so you can use it for a house downpayment or a trip around the world.

Just to clarify, you can take money out of a regular IRA/401k for a house downpayment without penalty as well. But you're SOL as far as the trip around the world.

Getting ready to head for the airport and leave Lee and Nicole (and Ashton and Bailey) behind. Don't wanna!

Oh beth, that house made me ill. The before never looked better. Ick.

Question of the weekend - what music do you clean to?

Missed that one. Showtunes or classic rock. I like to sing when I clean. I can clean to oldies too. Just need lyrics I know.