No, but hopefully it is honest. Families are just tough.

You online, Trudy?

P-C, I'm still with Trudy, Cass and Hil. And here's the thing, if your parents get you to take the phone, or to lie, or to be snarky to them, they have controlled your response and actions in one way or another. In other words, if you lie, or end up giving a nasty retort, they win every bit as much as if you took the phone.

If they keep up after you say, "I'm all set, but thanks for asking," all you have to say in reply is, "No, really," and "Really," and "No, really." If they start to get all, "You don't want to be part of the family," you call them sillyheads. Don't buy into this dynamic.

You can stack cats while you do the "No, really," and "Really," dance. Just turn the sound off.

Yay! My new favorite musical got a good review in the Times!

I slept like crap last night, and now I really, really don't want to go to school. I'm afraid I'll have a breakdown of some sort.

PC, you've gotten some good advice--and, there's an actual term for what people are advising you to do. It's called "broken record." It's taught in assertiveness training. Just stick to your values, and keep saying the same thing over and over again.

Sometimes it's still not gonna work, but it's honest and it's true to yourself.

Morning, Bitches!

ion, I thought pigs in blankets were sausages wrapped in bacon. Only not 'hot dogs', because hot dogs are the food of satan. Real sausages. Sausages that are nice. Wrapped in bacon, to make them even nicer.

YES, this is what I had at a (british) friend's house over the weekend, and I was going to scamper in and report! Delicious sausage, surrounded by delicious bacon.

PC, good luck with the sticking to your phone plan. It's worth it... if it were me, I wouldn't want any more obligation to them (i.e., them paying the bill) or their involvement in my personal life in any way.

I think the broken record, not-lying approach is the best way to go. It will be a battle (because it's about more than just the phone) but I think it's one worth sticking to your guns for.

ION, geez, I'm tired. I spent all weekend cleaning and then having Tom's boss + wife over for dinner last night. (they are getting a kitchen renovation and have previously not-so-subtly hinted that a home cooked meal would be great.) We made cassolet with chicken thighs, lamb shoulder, andoille sausage, and flagolet beans. Loaf of bread, salad= dinner. Also, it went great with our porter!

Exactly. Broken record.

PC, you've gotten some good advice--and, there's an actual term for what people are advising you to do. It's called "broken record." It's taught in assertiveness training. Just stick to your values, and keep saying the same thing over and over again.

Huh. I think everyone in the Bush administration must have received this training.

Did you hear yesterday's bit of inanity? According to Soulless Leader, the problem in Iraq is that we are not succeeding as quickly as he had hoped.

Hugo Chavez's "smell of sulfur" bit is ringing truer and truer every day, I swear.

Huh. I think everyone in the Bush administration must have received this training.

Suddenly, things are making much more sense.

Did you hear yesterday's bit of inanity? According to Soulless Leader, the problem in Iraq is that we are not succeeding as quickly as he had hoped.

So that's a linguistic conundrum. If, say, the rate of achievement of success is lower than he had hoped, then that makes sense. But can he still say that if the rate of achievement of success is negative?