Raeanne - You are so right about having to sit down and have a good cry if that sauce fell!! Now I think I will be even MORE cautious carrying it downstairs! LOL Don't beat yourself up about the cheesecake. We have to allow ourselves treats. The trick is to take small amounts and stop when you are satisfied. I am finding that the longer I stay away from sweets, the easier it is to take only a small bite or two. The fear that I will become addicted again is too great! And the fear that my new pants won't fit is even greater! LOL Speaking of sweets, I am testing my willpower today and making pumpkin bread for a bake sale. I just put 6 mini loaves in the oven (and didn't lick the beaters or my fingers) and plan on giving 5 away and keeping one for DH and I. I will have my share for breakfast and when it is gone, there won't be anything else to tempt me. This is what I have been doing since July and it has been working so far. Then I am making a banana cake for my sewing club and I plan on having a small piece Tuesday night and giving away what ever is left. The ladies can each take a piece home, I will take some into work for the secretary and my cohorts, and DH could take some to work if there is any left after that. I still don't trust myself to have the leftovers sitting around for a week while I wait for DH to eat them. Laundry calls! I washed a Kleenex this morning in with a dark load and you know what that means. 1000s of little white flecks all over the place. I put the load in the dryer, but it didn't get rid of all the flecks, so I am running the load through the rinse cycle. Sheesh! Like I don't have enough to do. And I can't even blame the Kleenex on DD since she doesn't live here anymore! LOL Later, Marci

Hi Mona, Thanks for that info. I can't seem to navigate through the SS website and was having concerns about how part time work would affect my benefits. This job market is making me consider early retirement. I was let go last year at the time of my 61st birthday. Unemployment has helped me make is so far but will run out in August. I had some addiional money coming in from a retirement account but foolishly used it to start a real estate business that failed thanks to this ugly economy. Now I'm facing living on SS income alone. I'm scared. Linda

I just want to say.....I just read all these now. My dh had absolutely NO say in my ss name. She had ss, named him then called my dh to tell him he was here. My dh doesn't like his name either. He also has her last name. I've been trying to get my dh to get that changed since we now have custody and she's married and lost that name. My ss also is overly affectionate with my dh. He is almost 11 and still sits on his lap. Even in public. I've tried discouraging it by telling him his friends will make fun of him. He doesn't care. My dh did make him get up the last few times. His bm is also wierd over affectionate with him. One time I actually saw her kiss him and slip him the tongue. It was disturbing beyond belief. SS comes to snuggle with me now since we have custody... I'm ok with it most times but I get grumpy sometimes and want my space. My ds8 has never been that way with me and when he sees ss he immediately wants to snuggle with me too. So sometimes I eat it up... other times I want them to leave me alone! HAHA! I also think you really need to reevaluate your relationship. Your dh is rude! The kids in our home get treated as equals no ifs ands or buts. I also won't allow my dh to tell me his job is more important then mine. I work hard for my job and I'll not let him beat me down.

If it were me...I'd start with at least one of your beds...just pick one and test! My theory is that you probably added compost to one, compost to all, nutrient to one, nutrient to all..they should be at least close, if money for the tests are an issue..but I would test at least one. Compost is good, but what if..for example...you are lacking magnesium, and the compost you add has everything BUT magnesium? I have things here that I know my soil lacks because of my location..I'm sure it's the same where you are. Adding compost from another nutrient deficient part of town/state, etc...won't help. You may have just reached that point in your garden where you have depleted something. What specific types of vegetables did you see lacking vigor? If they were in the bean/legume family, then you most likely would benefit from an innoculant...the drought you are having may very well have killed off your beneficial bacteria... There is an answer for you...we just have to find it...don't get frustrated...if your garden did well once, it can again! Here is a link that might be useful: soil test in California