Oh Laura, I wish I had something to say other than I feel for you. This is not your fault, but I can only imagine how agonizing it is watching B make choices that hurt all of you.

Much love to you.

I don't know what to say, because it can be hard to know where support ends, and attempting to...function for someone(whatever the underlying causes might be for being erratic) starts. I also feel a little bitter to this day that my stepmonster only read the *tough* part of the Toughlove articles, but hopefully you all have a deeper shared history than we had. And you're not a nutcase.

And you're not a nutcase.

Well, the jury is still out on that one.

Oh, Laura, that is so hard and it's painful for me to read as I was basically B at that age. I partied hard, failed/dropped out of college, and was pretty much going nowhere fast from about 20-23. My parents had paid for school and living expenses until I dropped out. Then they told me if I went back to school, they'd cover school expenses, but I had to cover my own rent, food, etc. Here are the two things that finally turned me around, and unfortunately they are not things you can force:

1.) I moved from San Diego to a smaller, less party friendly town (to live with my boyfriend at the time!), so I was out of my party girl environs and settled into a relationship.

2.) The first job I got in the town was with someone I went to high school with and she was an accountant who had graduated from USC. I was the receptionist. It didn't take me long to be all, "Huh. Look at how well Jen is doing over there! I don't think I really want to do this job for the rest of my life."

So I figured out what major I wanted (English - was Journalism), enrolled in classes at the local junior college and transferred as a Junior to a local state school. My parents kept their word and covered school tuition and books, but that was it. I had to (and did) find a job that worked with my school schedule and paid me enough (barely) to live. And I graduated in 2 years!

I guess that's a long way to say he is young and there is still hope. I think you're going to have to employ some tough love to get there, which sucks. Hugs from a reformed crazy party girl!

I just submitted an application to adopt this dog: [link] They say they'll take a few days to respond, so I guess now I wait.

Aw. She's like Darby, where video of her is video of walking-away-from-the-camera-that-is-not-helpful-dog.

Hil, she looks absolutely adorable.

Dinner fail, twice tonight. First I figured out that the tomato sauce I took down for dinner tonight was actually soup. Then, I went out to the spare fridge that we keep in the laundry room to get seltzer, and realized I took down beans from the spare freezer at some point. I don't remember what day I took them from the freezer and put them in the fridge. So, hivemind question: How do I know if they are still ok to turn into chilli tomorrow? They are dried beans that I cooked with herbs and garlic and then froze. Smell test?

Good luck with the dog application, Hil! I love how she's described as being more "lap oriented" than dog oriented.

You could see it in the longer video, too, the way she was hovering around someone's ankles and kind of hoping she could jump up.