Wow, now that I look, I must have lost the smiley that I put after the fiancee comment while I was rewording it. He doesn't quite understand why I need more and more plants, but he'd never actually do anything like that. As to the money, I'm really not that stingy (I promise! :) ). I'm buying a number of other plants as well, and the plants mentioned above are just the whipped cream of the order. I can live without them, but I thought it may be fun to get something random. Also, if I at least stay close to the amount I told him, I'll be easier to pretend that I will spend a reasonable amount on lights - which of course I won't :) And Howard, while I wholeheartedly agree that we should have individual spending budgets, it would be really unfair in our case, not because of salaries (ours are almost the same), but because pretty much anything that he would want I want too. Maybe I can convince him to get that salt water fish tank we've been talking about for a while and he'll have an expensive hobby too.Then again that too is not fair, because it would be as much my hobby as his! As to the reason I wanted to get something selected by C&H is purely because I don't have the guts to buy seed-grown plants and take a chance. This way I'll barely be out anything and there's a chance I'll get something I really like. I'll also have a few years to research what the flower might look like... Oh and the reason I'm ordering from C&H is because they are coming to our society meeting next month, so no shipping and a discount (yay!). Ok, I'm done rambling now. And please don't be too hard on my sweetie, he's quite patient with my obsession, really! Thanks for all your advice, it is greatly appreciated. ~Jem

Heavenlyfarm, I'm fairly new to africian violets myself. I first bought a NOID plant from my local Lowes and then I began to look for other plants online, thinking I could find other plants that were much more unique in there ways. Now, I'm a very active eBay user and buy and sell all the time. So back in July I bought 4 leaves from a seller and I didn't have any problems what so ever. I received the leaves in 3 days and within three months I finally got babies and there gradually getting bigger. Like I said, violets are new to me but I've been raising orchids for eights years. Now if you want to learn to be patient, go after orchids and they teach you that. But to each our own. The whole orchids began when I bought my wife one for Valentines Day and then she began to want more, and now it's an obsession. We presently have a dozen different orchids, which is actually down from 18 which were given as gifts to others within the family looking to try there hands at orchids. Anyways that's more for the orchid forum, I will continue to learn new info from these forums and because it's a joy to read about other peoples experiences. Dan

Oh my goodness - you are all amazing at this! I can't wait to stop by the paint store to pick up chips for all of your suggestions! Jeana these options are all fantastic, and the Kilim Beige might fit exactly what I've been imagining to add that richness compared to the BM Summer Harvest...But I will consider them all. I'll try to post actual pics on the weekend, and pics of the finished product when it is freshly painted. Roarah, you place is lovely! The gray would be very dramatic with my dark trim, but with white trim it is beautiful :)

I use American Express for all major purchases because they are so good at resolving disputes in favor of the consumer. If you really want to try to get out of the contract, then you should write a nice but firm letter to the company today. Do it today, because some states allow you to rescind a home improvement related contract within a certain time period (it could be 72 hours or less, if your state has such a law). Send it via both fax and certified mail so you have proof of how soon after you ordered the product you canceled it. (The fax guarantees they receive it today, but the formality of certified mail sometimes carries more weight.) I would use language like the following: "Dear _______: As you know from our conversation in your store this morning, I am very concerned that the Kashmir White granite I ordered from your company will be too susceptible to staining to use as kitchen counters. I appreciate that you gave me a sample of sealed Kashmir White to take home to test. I took the sample home and promptly tested it with food samples. Unfortunately, certain food products stained the sample easily; therefore, the product is not suitable for my stated intended use as kitchen counters. As I told you this morning, I would like to cancel the contract for Kashmir White counters and request that you reverse the charge for my $________ deposit. Because I am canceling within 48 hours [change time period if necessary] and before any templating or other work has been performed, I believe you should return my entire deposit." If you have to dispute the charge with Mastercard, the letter and proof of when it was mailed and faxed may help your case. The letter establishes that you promptly notified the merchant that the product would not be suitable for your intended use before the merchant did any work, and you had the slab on reserve for a very short period of time, so the merchant is not harmed by your cancellation. There is no guarantee this will work, but it is what I would do. Good luck.