My cat Nala, though we just call her cat. Turned 2 on January 5. This is my Chihauhau Sophie. Turned 1 today actually, January 22. Thinks she's a little human girl. This is one of my rabbits, Efram. He'll be 2 on June 25. I have 5 other rabbits (Ruddigger-2 on May 30, Dingo-2 on October 27, and Loki, Spockles and Chester-all 1 on March 25) but I don't have pics of them uploaded on my comp yet. And this is an old picture of a wild jack rabbit that I found as a little baby and raised to adult. His name was Boots and he's just a baby in this pic. Maybe a month old or so. Fed him with a syringe until he was old enough for solid food. Sadly I couldn't keep him because, well, he's a wild rabbit. Had to let him go. But I'll always love him.

Klick, you can now put me as RECEIVED. Luna's/Jenell's box of wonderful gifts came today. And here is what she sent: -B&B Works lavender aromatherapy bath/shower gel that came in the shape of a champagne bottle -bath beads, bath salts, and bath fizzes -a bag full of Ghirardelli squares-milk chocolate with caramel filling-you used to send those to me two years ago--I still love them! -a cute flowered can cuzee with black feathers around the bottom-woowoo -white chocolate raspberry scented lip balm-it is awesome! -Life Savers fruit tarts-never had these before-really pucker your lips-sooo good! -a very cute flowered pen and sticky note paper set -stickers which I will take to school-the kids will love them -500 piece puzzle of a beautiful building surrounded by gorgeous flowers-I will also be taking this to school. When the kids have a bit of time toward the end of the period, I have a puzzle out for them to work on. This will be perfect! They love to do them. -a beautiful wrought iron scrolled wall hanging of two flowers with leaves and a butterfly. Jenell, I absolutely love this!!! Thank you so much! I can hang something from the end of it, too, I see. -some cool garden gloves-the kind that are porous material on the top so your hands can "breathe," and the palms are rubberized but not so thick that you can't pick up small objects. Great! -3 painted terra cotta planters on a terra cotta tray. Very Pretty. -a new journal with a gorgeous daylily on the front. Jenell, what a beautiful book you chose. I will be using this for my 2007 plant journal. Thank you for this, too. -lock de-icer -AND something I can't wait too take to school and display. A sticker that says WARNING-BEWARE OF THE TEACHER It's done in the usual warning signs that you see of black, red and white. Jenell, when I saw this I just burst out laughing. I LOVE it!!! DEFINITELY worth waiting for! -and last but not least, I now possess The Perfect Man. He's "sweet" and decadently "rich!" Just how a man ought to be!. It's 3.5 oz. of solid milk chocolate in the shape of a muscle man with white shorts with red hearts on them. This guy has a real 6-pak, short stumpy muscled legs, no neck, muscled arms, and a belly button. This is a HOOT! Maryanne, are you jealous??? Jenell, you really made my day with all of the fun, wonderful, and thoughtful things that you sent. If you were here, I would just hug you to pieces. Thank you so much for everything and for being such a wonderful bloomin' friend. Mary Ellen

My guess as to "where the money went" is college and (possibly) new house expenses. If they have two recent college graduates and one who's still in college, that's three tuitions. Just out of curiosity, I took a look at current expenses at my alma mater-- a state school. Expenses for in-state students were estimated at roughly $19,000 per year. For out-of-state students, the estimate is about $33,000. And an Ivy, like Harvard, has as estimate of about $50,000. Your friends may not need to have some other problem going on if they're trying to cover those kinds of expenses for three children. Especially if they had their children early-- if they started having children in their early 20s when they themselves still had college debt, they probably didn't have enough earnings to start saving for the kids' colleges when the children were young. And that may also have set a pattern of them knowing that they could get along without savings. So when they bought a new house when things were good for them, they may have felt okay about buying new furniture or new electronics or whatever, and leaving themselves without much of a safety net. If I were them, I think I would definitely shift the burden of college loans to their children now. It's loving of them to want their children to start their careers debt-free... but it sounds like the parents are starting to go under themselves. Would the older two kids rather pay their own college loans, or would they rather their parents and younger brother/sister have to move in with them? Beyond that (as everyone else has said), they need to really analyze their financial situation, figure out what they can cut, and determine if they could afford the house if they were to change their spending. And if they can't, their choices are to sell it or be foreclosed upon. It's a hard situation. As their friend, I would maybe think about ways to shift our socializing time to less expensive venues. It may not make much of a difference, but if I know that my friends were having problems I would feel more comfortable with visiting one another's houses or going on hikes or doing other activities where spending wasn't part of the environment. They don't need to know that you're doing it. It's just that that way, you'll at least know that you're not contributing to the situation.

Hi again everyone, I think the problem that's depressing her so, is that he doesn't really take part in many of the responsibilities of being a homeowner. He helps her with the dishes, laundry, and running the kids around, but he doesn't know how to care for the furnace, watersoftener, lawn equipment, cars, etc. He doesn't even know how or who to call. He never takes any initiative or responsibility for any improvements or even plain maintenance of things. Sure, it's great that he helps with dishes, but he's totally uninvolved in all those things you think a man should be in charge of, or at least help with. She loves her flower garden in the back yard, for example, but the rabbits keep eating them. He keeps promising her a fence, but never does it. She has had to build all the shelves and storage in her house, be in charge of any changes and repairs that are ever made. Her husband works hard at his job, but has no interests or motivations for anything in the home. She has tried talking with him, but he gets angry and blows up. I think, unfortunately, it's one of those "irreconcilable differences" relationships. She's an interesting, bright, funny, perceptive person, who enjoys all sorts of things, but has become limited because of her fibromyalgia. Her husband is content to work too much and come home and have no motivation or personality left. I feel really badly for her. I guess I just need to encourage her to do things that bring her pleasure and comfort and listen to her. But it's sad, that she feels so trapped in this relationship. Thanks again for your suggestions.