Jen, that is how all the other plants look. This plant was one of the very few that I received with only one tip, it has not even gotten claws yet. I just could not figure out what was wrong. Carol said that it happens from time to time. I guess I have always been lucky. Jen, the kimo cutting I got in April from John in Corpus, not only has leaves but also has a bloom coming out. I can't believe its been only 4 weeks, and it is doing so well. I need your address so I can mail you the seeds from Gladys O'Neal. I have them in an opened ziplock bag. I will not be able to bring them to the meeting, since I still cannot drive. I don't know how long the seeds can stay, they opened the fist week of April. Barbra

Younger kids are easier to buy more for... there is so much cute/fun stuff to choose from that they'll like and as kids get older, they may have particular interests and it' gets harder to know what they'll like or think is silly. But, the issue isn't really about the gifts, right? (Gifts are given from the heart & should not be forced.) I decided this year, to buy SD separate gifts than what DH gets her. I bought a few nice things but nothing fancy or off her "list" which consisted of iPod, laptop, PS3, & lots of other expensive, unrealistic items. Then DH went shopping on his own. He spent more $$ than me, but he got her... well, I thought it was boring, lame things like a comforter & backpack. (just plain ones too!) and I pictured SD opening them & then the tears... nothing from her list. I know she will not tell DH anything about the stuff he got her, she cares about his feelings. So, I went & got a few more things & added them to the "from Santa" pile so she won't know they are from me. I don't plan on being around when she opens them. (she comes back on Sunday night) My presence would probably make it less comfortable for her so I'd rather her share the moment with her dad, unless she asks for me. As for her noticing favoritism & it affecting how she feels about you. That could be happening. But, sometimes there are differences in how stepchildren relate to the stepparent based on gender. Son's usually 'like' and are nicer to a stepmom than a daughter. That could be because two females are 'competing' for dad's attention/affection. A stepmom might be seen as a rival to the daughter but the son may see the qualities in the stepmom, that attracted the dad to her. Likewise, son's may feel more rivalry with a stepdad... it's seen more when they are 'competing' to be man of the house. Daughters may see the qualities in the stepdad that mom finds attractive. There could be many factors in why people like or don't like someone, and in step situations it's more complex because there are the stereotypes, different perceptions, assumptions, etc. It's made worse when kids experience mom & dad splitting to two houses... but when they hate each other, find someone new & want the kids to be as excited as they are, etc. Imagine how a child feels hearing mom say she's found her soulmate in the new BF.... what about my dad? or vice versa. Oh yeah, I have three kids. I love them all. I'd jump in front of a bus for any of them but they all have different personalities & traits. They all get on my nerves at different times... occasionally all at the same time. I do more for one or another when I feel they need more & trying to be fair or equal doesn't work. I don't consider how many gifts or the price of the gifts when shopping for them. I try to get them what I think they want, need & will appreciate. This year, I bought my middle son many things (he has moved out & is his first apartment, struggling financially), my daughter got less but everything she asked for (she still lives at home), and I have not yet bought my oldest son anything... I may give him cash because he has to fly back to his base & it would be very expensive to ship anything back east. He needs furniture for his new apartment so cash will suffice. I bought his son (DGS) about half of what SD got, mostly because he doesn't really need anything & he's running out of room for toys & clothes. He's 21 mos... he won't really care.

Crack me up! I like the rug chair too :-) and I like their clothes. I guess what I like about anthropologie chairs is that they have the traditional style that I love but just "funked up" a bit. But I just couldn't spend $5k on a chair. If you had lots of free time and found a great bones chair you could try to recreate the look for less. Or pay more and get an upholstery shop to do it. I have seen the house of the guys that own Anthropologie in design mags and it is soooo gorgeous. I used the Magnaverde method to paint chairs before and they turned out scratchy. The problem was that I got tub chairs from goodwill that had very stiff synthetic mohair upholstery fabric. When done there were spots left like sandpaper. I do think the method would work very well on a smoother fabric and I think you could recreate that chair on your own. The added bonus would be that most people would never have seen the anthro one and think you were really cool and artsy :-)

I'm at work, so these are the pics I have already on the computer. Here's one after the cabinets were going in. Here's the view from the family room into the kitchen. The crown in just floating beyond the wall/soffit over the fridge (which is full depth), then steps back for the double oven stack, then steps back again for the cabinet above the snack center. My plan is to paint the soffits the wall color (the blue in the second picture) and have crown molding added too. Hope that helps. If you need a better picture I can take one later tonight after the kids get in bed.