Why not fill out her family tree anyway and put in some stupid, obvious mistakes, like double the number of children and add a few random spouses. Then forward for her input and claim it's all public record.

Just if you want to wave that red flag at the angry bull, that is.

I just checked, and found that she's on at least three other public trees on various genealogy websites. (Or, at least, her parents are, plus two children -- it doesn't show names for living people.)

I guess she figured if it's a security question like oldest cousin or mothers middle name or something?? But yeah, hard to hide.

Yeah, seems like ignoring her is a good idea.

I sent back a message, "Thanks for reaching out! If you want to be excluded from the family tree, that's fine. I'd never share any information that anyone was uncomfortable sharing."

I did not point out that all of this information was easily available.

That was big of you. I would have been all "However, if you are disturbed by this, you may want to check out ___ where similar information can be found."

Passive aggressive and petty? Moi?

And fuck, I lost a favorite earring. Even more annoying because I touched it earlier and realized that it didn't have a keeper on the wire and thought "need to make sure that I put one on when I get home." grrrrrrrrr.

That was big of you. I would have been all "However, if you are disturbed by this, you may want to check out ___ where similar information can be found."

I typed and deleted similar several times.

Oh I hate that Vortex—I'm mad because I thought I lost one of my favorite earrings, and then I found it, it had fallen out at home rather than on the street. And I was so happy! And then a week later I lost it again. This time I think for good.

Late to the chili party, I like mine thick enough to stand a spoon in. So, my current version of chili (which does vary based on mood/ingredient availability), party-size, is something like:

1.5 to 2 lbs ground beef browned with salt, garlic, chili powder, a dash of cajun seasoning, a little cumin, and a can of diced green chiles.
3 cans of chili beans, heat level depending on your taste buds.
2 cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 8 oz can of tomato paste
1 yellow onion, diced

Mix it all together, simmer until the flavors meld, and eat with diced tomatoes, sour cream, extra onion, and cheese for toppings.

I've been away from the computer a few days -- hurt my back and couldn't sit very well (or stand, or walk, stupid back), and work and therapy are kicking my butt.

Someone scammed Greg's debit card number out of his pocket a couple of weeks ago and ran off to have a "spree" at an Oklahoma City Walmart (huh?) and we didn't know about it for a while because we hadn't been anywhere to spend money and have it declined. The bank cleared everything, it bounced all over the room, fees piled up, and we gave a fraud report, but it took them over a week to clean it up....stressful times.

edit for formatting.

Oh, and in totally other news, Aidan asked me a couple of days ago how old he had to be to have gender-reassignment surgery. His reasons:

1. He wants to look good in a skirt.
2. He wants to have a higher, prettier voice.
3. He wants to look pretty and maybe wear makeup.

I asked him if he felt like a girl inside, and he said he didn't know, but he felt all shaky and his heart beat really fast at being asked that, so maybe.

I mentioned Tep's boy and ND's kilts. I told him he didn't have to worry about gender at all, but could dress up any way he liked, and if he wanted to do it "boy-style" I'd get him a kilt. We looked at kilts, and I think he didn't think they were pretty enough.

He thinks the idea of wearing girl underwear is gross. Also, he needs boobs. He doesn't care what his external genitalia looks like, but he supposes they'll cut off what's "down there".

He was all over the map, but relieved he didn't have to make a decision right away.

He is interested in the idea of makeup but maybe just eyeliner, and black nails so he can wear them all week without generating too much commentary at school, or some pretty color, but only on the weekends.

I'm kind of thrown for a loop, really. I don't quite know how to address any of this, but we're working on it.

I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with these kids, but it's certainly huge.