Alls I have to say Robin, is that I'm not picking apart anything you did. I'm just telling you that at my age, I've seen a lot where kids and divorces are concerned......not only as a family member of some, as a peace officer, as an employee of a Child protective service, and as a kid's nurse. I am just saying that you would never believe how twisted some things can get, when/if they end up with third parties having to step in. You cannot help another person's agenda......and it isn't always clear what the best action is when you are put on a spot. What I am saying is that it seldom is any benefit to do anything out of retribution and that you need to CYA in all your actions, evidently and do everything with a clear head and forethought. It might be very helpful to you down the line to keep a journal and document everything with times/dates/names. If your ex-partner is gaming with you, resist playing along if possible. What I have seen over the years is situations do not necessarily resolve automatically when divorces are final. They can get even grosser. How you deal with your ex now can impact tremendously what gets dished back at you down the line. That's why I mentioned sometimes it's best to keep your cards close to your breast at this point. There may be nothing at all you can do to work this out amicably........but it would be very sad if every time there is a visitation LF has to be in the middle. I have no answers or advice, really. It's just hard enough for a kid to have divorced parents without having to deal with issues. Even in 'easy' divorces, they have their plates full.

Aha, there it is!!! What a trooper, GT! Sooo glad you didn't lose that pretty baby, Brandy...looks kinda cool with a few elongated leaves too! It will return to its former glory next spring but for now you can enjoy both shapes! Jo

We have life alert, but even with that I'm paranoid about my purse being stolen. I always though having one stolen when I was in ninth grade made me overly vigilant, but in the last decade or so I've realized one can never be too careful when it comes to things like this. Because of a neck injury and now my shoulder and arm, I can no longer carry my purse for long periods of time on my shoulder so I use the child strap to run through the purse handle. If anyone tries to grab it they'd pull the whole cart with it. My wallet is safe in a zippered pocket. The most valuable things in the open part of the current purse, is my cell phone. I no longer carry my Craftsman tape measure for fear of losing it as they no longer make them. Hubby bought me a five dollar one that works just as well when I'm away from home and need to measure something. When I'm at a restaurant my purse hangs from my knee. When I go to the rest room I hang it over my head. Yeah, weird, but no one can get it without taking me with it. As the economy gets worse, these type of thefts seem to increase. We just heard of one that happened close to us and we live out in the country. Someone stole 35 bales of hay and some tools.

Haahahahaa! Karen this is SO funny. I'm bursting into laughter reading these posts again, and remembering writing and reading them at the time. Well done! And my favourite part about Martha Stewart dropping in with her dish towel parachute!!! WAY too funny!