Ok - we can all relax. I have at least! :) We met with builder #1 on the proposal and discussed all the items, etc. DH grilled him....but in a professional/respectful way. A few things he had down re: allowances for items I selected were listed at his cost, not what we identified/expected as the pricing/allowance. So, the items we selected were covered and there's no issue. (ex. - my hw floors, same vendor/floor but the vendor sells to the builder at a reduced price) So, all the drama over my hw floors was for nothing :) A few other items, he had alternative suggestions for because his contractors prefer certain brands, etc. However, he did say he was willing to put our selected brands in and not impact the total $ as it was negligible amount, and he hates paperwork and didn't want to figure the difference. :) Then there were some items we had not specified so he did a middle of the road pricing and told me to let him know what we wanted and he'd include it. And (how stupid do I feel) he also had with him a list of all the items a client selects. In there were my items to date and he said we will continue to fill in over the next month with additional items I select. Anything not selected will come from an allowance he'll update the contract with. We did not get through everything and have a follow up meeting scheduled for next week. Of course, it would have been nice to know this when we received the proposal. I would have spared everyone my "venting" thread, and I wouldn't have had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach for a week. Which, I shared with him during our conversation. But, I do feel much better about the situation. So, all in all, DH & I decided builder #1 is horrendous with paperwork. And, I can deal with that issue various ways. We are going to wait to see what the final # comes in from him before making a final decision. The good thing that came out of it was a sanity check re: the 2 proposals and what builder #2 offered re: pricing. We aren't that far off (from what we can tell...it really is nearly imposssible without selecting every little thing). Oh, interesting note...we found out inadvertantly that builder #2 was the builder for a another friend of ours. Sent them an email asking about their experience...and all she replied with was "nothing I'd respond to via email, but happy to talk with you". I thought that was interesting! Given the misunderstanding on our end with builder #1, his references and the response from my friend on builder #2, we are leaning towards builder #1....

Never accuse anyone without proof, simply because you 'think' they may have done something. Years ago, I was missing money after a family party. I kept that to myself, because the only one I could think of doing such a thing was my 8 year old nephew--not because he was untrustworthy, but simply because he was the only child at the party, and I couldn't imagine adults doing something like that. Well, fast foward about 25 years--one of the other guests was proven to have stolen a quarter of a million $$$ from a disabled relative. I still don't know who took my money, but it's obvious that there was more than one possible suspect. Look, in the past few months, anything could have happened to those coins. Maybe you put them away someplace 'safe' and forgot about it--I've done things like that. Maybe a guest in your home took them. Or possibly you had someone in doing work (electrician/plumber/rug shampooer/chimney sweep). If your home is anything like mine, I don't know how you could assume that one person was the likely culprit--so many people come in and out of a person's home in a few months. Surely you have some record of the coins--I collect them, and keep a detailed log of what I have, when/where I bought it and for how much. You have to, to be able to have the proper documentation. Your husband almost certainly has those records someplace. I'd take a look around to see if you can find them. Lastly, I'd strongly recommend that if you have any other valuable items, take pictures of them for a record (and store the pictures away from the items themselves), and please, get yourself a safe and have it properly installed. With coins, you really do have to be so careful, because they're small, easy to hide/transport, hard to trace and easy to sell. Even so, I'd call the police and make a report. They will understand that if this was your husband's collection you may not have so many details--but you still need to report it, and who knows, something may just turn up. Sorry about yoru loss, good luck with working through the aftermath.

We're back from the vet. Whew, what a day. The poor girl has still not stopped vomiting, even after getting an anti-emetic administered at the vet's office. She was dehydrated, so he gave her a subcutaneous fluid injection as well. She looks like she feels much better, but she's still getting sick a lot. The vet gave us some special food for her, which she will at least eat, but she vomited a good bit of it back up and a good portion of the rest came out as diarrhea. He said it was probably gastritis, which just means that we don't know what's causing it. I'm giving her some medicine for the next two weeks in case it's a bug. The fecal sample came back negative for worms, and he doesn't think it's something really serious like parvo. However, if she's still like this in a couple of days he wants to test her for it. She's *acting* like she feels better, but I don't like the fact that she can't seem to keep any food down. :-/ My poor baby.

Hi Josie, I'm late in posting my comment, but someone else already did. I'd sick my hubby on him, and be done with dealing with this guy. I own a business, and even in this day, there are times I have male clients that would rather deal with a man. I can tell by the disrespectful way that they speak with me. My initial reaction is to tell them where to go - but it's business. My husband is also my business partner - so rather than lose a customer, I take the easiest way to get to the common goal with our company and our client. It's hard to stomach in this age - most men are happy to deal with us both - either one of us, male or female. But it is what it is.... so it's easiest to just accept it because you're not going to change them. I find that the ol Dr. Phil saying comes into play here "How's that workin' for ya?". If it's not working, then *you* do what *you* can to change the situation. Good luck! Boxie