I can deal with most of the bugs we have around here as they are only a minor annoyance except MOSQUITOS! They make it virtually impossible to enjoy a summer evening outdoors here. Trying to garden on a humid day is a nightmare. Standing outside talking to neighbors can get really annoying. There is no way to really get rid of them w/o using nasty pesticides or sprays that I don't really want to put on my body nor my kids! Of course, we have other bugs that can be a pain. We have occasional issues with ants, but none that are bad. This summer though, for the first time, we had them in our kitchen, which really grossed me out. Fortunately, an ant trap took care of it so it was over rather quickly. I also had pantry moths once and that was a total nightmare. Had to throw pretty much everything in my fully loaded pantry away and discovered them while making dinner so had to stop everything and immediately start binging as I was so grossed out. I had one or two minor outbreaks after that but with traps and putting everything that attracts them in airtight containers, I've had no problems since. But mosquitos....just no way to safely get rid of those unfortunately!

I remember when the afro was popular and I asked my Mom if I could have one and she said no. I was in the 7th grade and thought how mean. Well when I was a freshman(14) in high school, I asked again and she told me that I could do it IF I was responsible about it and kept it neat and always looked presentable. I remember it as one of my first big decisions and I was so proud of the fact that she had enough faith in me that I would do the right thing and I did. Fast forward a gazillion years later and my D son asked if he could grow his hair out so that he could wear it braided. At the time he was 14 and I remembered the encounters with my Mom and I said the same thing to him. My hubby immediately said no and we had a family meeting and we made it clear that if he didn't take care of his hair AND save up the money to pay for getting it braided himself, then it would be cut off. Well my son is now almost 22 with hair below his shoulders and he is very responsible about taking care of his hair. Actually he is almost obsessed about it :-) That was one of the first real mature decisions for him, just like it was for me. I think depending on the maturity level of the kid, 14 is not too young to start experimenting with hair. As long as it is made clear to the kid what the potential ramifications are, then I think it is fine. I think we as adults have to remember what it is like to be that age and struggle with individuality vs what's popular and how hard it can be for teenagers. It is just hair and it will grow back. I have had every imaginable hairstyle under the sun,afro, long, short, asymmetrical, mullet and braids. Each style represented me during a particular period and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to do different things. We have to support, be honest but let them discover who they are. Oh yeah one other thing, as soon as my son started growing facial hair, he loved it and I hated it. He would let it grow long and I would beg for him to please shave and my hubby gently reminded ME about letting him express his individuality :-) To me he looked like Grizzly Adams but to my son it made him look older. Ughh.... So the running joke between us was that I would call him Grizzly but if he wanted to look like a mountaim man, that was his choice. Again fast forward a few years and he has a very nice goatee that is now well manicured and he looks great. I remembered my own experience and let him be and he eventually grew out of the Grizzly Adams look. Thank goodness!

IMO, the more you section off your pantry into individual compartments which need to be opened separately, the less organized it will be. Or else you have to be super meticulous about where you store stuff. For example, even if you ALWAYS ALWAYS put tuna cans in the middle shelf, and tomato sauce cans in the bottom shelf, etc. etc., then the one time you come home from the grocery store with one more tuna can than will fit in that middle shelf, what do you do with it? If you put it in the top or bottom shelf, then forget about it... well, there goes your organization! To me, the ideal is a closet pantry where you can see everything at a glance, and move things around fairly easily. If that is not possible then the fewer compartments and divisions you have the better. When you buy that jar of artichoke hearts for a particular recipe, and you don't ever buy artichoke hearts, well you have to store it somewhere... now a week later you need the jar - where DID you put it? Again, the fewer different places you have to look the better. That picture reminds me of all those ads for reorganizing your closets. Miraculously, the people in those ads always own 3 white shirts and two tan ones, three pairs of tan pants and two brown ones, five pairs of shoes, etc. OK, well MY wardrobe is a tad bit more diversified. I'd just like to see one of those ads where they take a REAL person's closet and reorganize that with their product. And the same goes here. Let's see that same set up with food from a real person's pantry. THEN we'll see how practical it is.

The little sink plunger is called the pop up. I haven't seen the ones that aren't connected. That sounds like a newer system -- no idea. Danze and Brizo are fairly high end brands though Brizo is fancy Delta I believe. It's most helpful for suggestions if someone posts photos. Vanities are generally 36" high. So, if the med cabinet is a tall one, it needs to clear 36 plus the height of the faucet, plus say 2 inches. With a 48" vanity and a single sink, I wouldn't want a tiny faucet. If you get a modern style with a top lever that ads to the height. A bridge faucet or separate hot/cold spouts should be lower. I'm planning a budget powder room expansion to add a shower to our first floor. I made sure I went to the showroom and handled the shower fixtures. I would do the same with sink faucets. The heavier the better (more brass). There aren't so many complaints about bath faucets. Most have ceramic cartridges which can break but are easy to replace. Warrantys vary so I'd read the fine print. Also, some manufacturers, like Rohl, have tiers of product. I happen to have Rohl/Perrin & Rowe nickel faucets & shower in our master. Those have been excellent and 0 issues in 12 years. They still look new. I love the color of the nickel but would likely not get it again as it needs to be polished up periodically.