I'm considered pretty conservative around here. I don't wear clingy clothes, spandex, etc. I insist DS teenager wears untorn, unwrinkled to visit grandparents, and try to stop the jeans from showing more than two inches of his boxers. Other than that, oh, well. Personally I have more trouble with his slouching and bad posture. I'm a teacher, and I don't like kids coming to school in beachwear, ie. very short tops and shorts. Parents don't get it and when we try to insist, there's trouble. OTOH, I have not shaved my arms or legs since I was 14, and then only enough to realize it's not for me. Therefore, there's very little, since the constant removal makes it heavier. But heaven forbid I should wear a sleeveless shirt or skirts at work!!! I'm called dirty, unkempt, un-feminine and slovenly. By my co-workers. The judgement is amazing. My tattoo, though, is ok. Odd. As a young girl in the late 50's, my mom put my sisters and I in blue jeans and my grandmother (she of the white gloves) was horrified. I also get in social trouble cause I don't give a darn about what's in fashion, just what looks decent and is comfy. I wear no makeup, don't dye my hair. (I'm not going grey, I'm turning silver). I refuse high heels. I have, however, been known to paint my toenails and wear perfume!! There are many here who try to look forever 19, and it's silly & a waste of money, men as well as women. People watching for me is a constant delight and I do it all the time, and yes, I sometimes wonder if they own a mirror, but, frankly, I wonder more about their lives and hopes, than their clothes. There is a thin line between "allowing" folks to dress as they please and too much information, but the fashion/beauty industry has some folks so besotted with image that many just toss the baby out with the bathwater. Fashion dictates that thin people's clothes should just be made larger for the un-thin, so I ignore them. What I really find disturbing is the trend encouraging pubescent girls to dress like 20-something sexbombs, and the lengths to which parents will go to go along with it and exclaim how grown up they look. But that's another thread.......Batya

Here's one example of trusses exposed and clad in a ranch house. Note there was no rebuild of the trusses to gain any pitch to the ceiling a la scissor rebuilds discussed in this thread. Just left open and insulated up top. I also like the use of skylights spanning multiple truss bays. (No association whatsoever to this project.) Gallery: http://planforward.photoshelter.com/gallery/Adrienne-Craftsman/G0000L341r.kL4zQ/C0000343iOOnp1Bg Construction Photos/Blog: http://planforward.typepad.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Exposed & clad truss kitchen

"I am somewhat uneducated on what an alchohol evaluation entails, and not being much of a drinker -- I dont mean to be pessemetic, but is it something that if you have some notice, you can fake your way through it." Good question! DH asked the same thing today. He was concerned, as well. Because this is court ordered, and because it will be done at a state treatment center, ALL the court records will be sent over ahead of time. So whoever does the evaluation will have seen the police report, the GAL's report, and the court order. Don't forget, too, BM had a DWI a few yrs ago and she blew so high on the breathalyzer that she had to do a special SATOP lock-down weekend at a hotel. They only do this for people whose blood alcohol level is extremely high. This is on her record. So BM can sit there and say "oh, I don't have a problem" but my guess is that's going to be tough to argue when the evaluator has all the facts on the table. I would expect (hope) that these people are trained well and know that many addicts/alcoholics will lie and deny, deny, deny. ANOTHER added bonus to DH paying for the evaluation is that DH will also be "interviewed." This is really good! Our attorney also said the evaluator will most definitely want to meet with the GAL on the case, as well. AND we also found out that the CURRENT GAL had contacted the old GAL we had for the school district---to get his thoughts on everything--and he said BM definitely has a problem that needs to be addressed. He said that was his impression before, but that there just wasn't any concrete reason to investigate further.

Update... First off, thank you all very much for every single comment, advice and resource! Of course, I did my own research, but getting a varied response of peoples views is what is really helpful. I went through every comment and summarized a point by point list of advice, resources and Do's and Dont's for this person. We met a couple of days ago. he still thought he wanted to sell his home and just be done with it. I was able to show him how spending $7000 to get $8000 is not a smart financial move, on top of the fact that he would no longer own a home, no longer have any equity to his name and on top of it all, be paying more per month in rent. He eventually saw the light, and is not going to sell. He found a room mate yesterday for $500/month, and he is going to call the collection agency's Attorney every week to offer what he thinks he can afford. This way, we thought he could show this effort to any future Judge and the Judge could see that it was them that were saying no to a settlement as opposed to the other way around. I told him to keep track of every correspondence, and to bring this to court if they sue him. (The "summons" he told me about was not a summons at all... it was a certified letter delivered by the Sheriff, just explaining that the agency had now hired an attorney to handle all negotiations. The attorney was the last person he spoke to who refused his offer. There is no court date set.) Thanks again for your help. He feels much better now.