Thank you for all of your advice. I have changed the mast. Bath to outswing (THANKS!). We are building in GA, have one child, and have covenants that require the home to be 3500 Sq. Ft. We don't require a mudroom, but the Storage Room will be used for winter coats/Storage and a general oversized storage area. I am not a fan of natural lighting in the closet, for fading/loss of hanging space issues. I do prefer the toilet to be to the deep interior of the Mast. Bath so that there is some privacy when using the toilet while the significant other is sleeping (it's an issue!). I have fought for more windows, but he does not like a lot of natural light for some unGodly reason?? I do not like J and J's at all! This will be primarily used for guests. It's unlikely to be used at all. I'll be playing around with the kitchen island to have symmetry with the sink and also room for the DW to be placed NEXT to it, and not around the corner. My idea for the kitchen is to be a hard working one, with large and rarely used items placed in the pantry on a counter, with storage shelves on the opposite wall. Thank you all so much for your suggestions. It gives me an idea if we are going in the right direction. I have so much to learn! A

This goes way beyond normal kids staying up late at night; just the sleep deprivation alone is torture & abuse. The stepson enjoys doing it, & his father enables it. "My family doctor and my psychiatrist feel that I should leave this unhealthy environment but I do love my partner and that is what keeps me here." I hate to say it, but I think you'll leave pretty soon one way or another. If you don't go under your own steam, an ambulance will take you to the hospital or the nursing home or the funeral home. & this "partner" will not come visit you; he'll throw your belongings out & forget about you (although if you're in the cemetary, he may tell people how broken-hearted he is). This is how abusers are, I've seen it before. & he *is* an abuser; even though it's the son who's mistreating you, the father is making sure that the son can keep doing it. sort of abuse at arm's length. It doesn't matter how often you catch the son & present concrete evidence to his dad, the dad will somehow sweep it under the rug & turn the tables & accuse you of causing trouble. That's called blaming the victim. Loving somebody does *not* involve taking whatever abuse they or their messed-up offspring dish out & coming back for more. Loving someone doesn't mean throwing yourself on the floor for them to wipe their feet on & pleading for them to stop; (& why would they? hey, they've got a good doormat there). Loving relationships are just that, *relationships*. Love is a 2-way street, & you are going against traffic on a 1-way street here. You've already gotten to a stop light, & your doctors have told you to take a sharp turn, but you keep thinking that the oncoming traffic will let you through. Take that turn & get off that street. Since you are seeing a doctor & a psychiatrist, I'd guess that you can afford to get a place of your own, but if you can't, call a women's shelter for guidance. Please take care of yourself & be good to yourself.

Chiming in to say I love the women's Angel...just not on me! I had a pedi earlier today and as I was leaving the salon I got a wonderful whiff of someone wearing the scent. MamaP it seems like there are two camps with this particular fragrance "Love It" & "Hate It"! I now need to seek out the men's version to check if that smells better with my body chemistry. I did purchase the clean cotton but in the Cool scent as that was better for me than the Warm.

Thanks so much! I think part of my challenge is combined with our many trees, covered deck and angle of the home, the lighting is super dark in our house. I think that is why I'm struggling. I placed a garbage bag on our cupboard doors and I worry about the black hole that Rachel mentioned. We are painting the walls Chantilly Lace but there is still a lot of dark.