LOL! Tomato Freak, my whole gardening adventure started with tomatoes. I bought a little seed starter tray from Burpees, back in January, and some tomato seeds - three kinds: cherry, roma and Bloody Butchers. I started 72 plants! Can you believe it? 72 tomato plants! I didn't have anywhere to put them, when they grew too big for the seed starter tray, so my husband built me some boxes to use until we had the money to rent a tiller and get them in the ground. The money took too long in coming, but it came. We went to Home Depot, bought some landscaping bricks - the kind you build a wall with. We got enough for one row, 20 feet long and two feet deep. We also bought some "composted mulch" and rented the tiller. As we tilled our little garden, we mixed in the composted mulch. (Obviously, I didn't know the difference between compost and composted mulch.) My tomatoes were very tall and skinny and very root bound in their boxes. I had way too many for the little garden spot, so I gave a bunch to my son. He planted them and his dogs promptly killed them. I picked out the best of the bunch I had left and planted those. I think I had 15 plants by then. I watered them every day and gave them plenty of Miracle Gro, until I learned Miracle Gro doesn't help the soil. Remember, my soil was half mulch. Stopping the fertilizer was probably quite a shock to the plants. After several weeks, my tomato plants were out of control, but I only had a few tomatoes and if they didn't get blossom end rot, it was a miracle. I found out about bone meal. That ended the rot problem, but still my tomatoes were few and very tiny. The Bloody Butchers were as big as cherry tomatoes. The cherries were smaller than grapes and the romas... actually, now I think of it, I never could get them to quit rotting. Still, everyday, throughout the summer, I went out with my hose and sprayed. I ate what little tomatoes I could find during the process. It was very exciting. Somewhere, I learned about dirt and I realized composted mulch wasn't compost. Someone told me I might have better luck, if I put in tomato transplants. I found this site and read about Early Girl tomatoes being so good for the area. When the fall plants showed up in the nursery in August, I bought four Early Girls, a soaker hose, some top soil and some real compost. I dug up my entire tomato patch and started over. (I did keep four of the old plants, just to see what would happen. I'm down to two old plants and they don't look good.) I have three Early Girls left. Remember, I assassinated one last week, thinking it might be contagious? I also have four Anaheim chile plants, one jalapeno, a watermelon patch, a pumpkin patch, I had a canteloupe hill. I've got four roses, a vinca, a star flower, a Mexican pansy (from the garden party), three drumstick trees growing on my window sill. I just planted five royal poinsiana seeds, a clivia seed and five hyacinth bean seeds. (Those are from the garden party, too.) I have spearmint, sage, oregano, basil (out the ying-yang), and cilantro. I just started some lettuce, spinach and brocolli. I've built a wall for a raised bed out of rocks. I fertilized the grass and started feeding and watering my orange tree. (Which, of course, caused most of the oranges to split, as it's not used to being taken care of.) I know the names of everything growing in my yard. Oh, and this doesn't count the jasmine I fried and the begonia I choked. ALL of this, because I wanted some tomatoes! I will say, the tomatoes that are on the vine look BEAUTIFUL! But, this morning, when I had my breakdown over the top leaves, I thought to myself, if I could just get ONE, BIG RIPE TOMATO! That's all I want... and some chiles... and some lettuce... and brocolli... and...

I'm with the rest--whether you have your degree, or are 3 credits short isn't something I'd see as a big deal no matter what. And make no mistake about it--you should be FURIOUS with your husband. HE GAVE YOUR SS # OUT. That's not cool. It's so far and beyond the teeny little infraction of how close you are to graduation that it's mind-boggling. Your husband says he can't trust you? YOU can't trust him on important things. You have no way of knowing, now, how far that # has gotten, and if in years to come you're going to be dealing with identity theft. You need to make sure your husband knows that he is NEVER EVER to hand that number over to anyone, ever, without your permission. I've been married 39 years, to a wonderful man I have always trusted, and who trusts me. To this day, I will not put his SS # on anything or give it to anyone without checking with him first. It's not my place to disseminate that info--it definitely wasn't your husband's place to use it against you. You have some serious issues to handle--probably time to consult with a counselor and your own (not your family) lawyer--you have some potential legal issues here, that need to be properly handled so things don't get worse.

boxerpups - such a sad situation for that young girl - and surely her sister too. it does sound like she is acting out and I do agree that you should contact the teacher. maybe someone can intervene with her. life is tuff enough for young people today and that girl has more than any one young person should have working against her. i don't think i'd go the court route (don't think you will either). in the end it could cause more trouble for your dd and your family than it's worth. i'm not saying the young girl isn't worth it or that we don't have the right to be upset when someone damages our property. but in the end, a fridge is a fridge and hopefully will be fixed w/o much expense. OTOH, I do think the young girl needs confronted about it. for her good! and i think it is something you could handle. holding someone to account is not mean, it is the more loving thing to do for them. short term upset for long term gain. it might not show in her in the near future, but it will be going around in her head that someone was more concerned about her future than a material thing. it sounds like she has been raised to think that things are more important than she is. until you decide how to fix the fridge door, i think i'd use it as a prayer reminder for that young girl. and a thank you for the blessings you and your family have in each other. and as for getting a new puppy after the loss of another very loved furbaby, my belief is that the best way to honor my precious gone to heaven furbaby is to find another furbaby in need of a loving home and lots of spoiling! i think that makes them very happy!

SAS, the attitude you describe is, in my experience, prevalent in the ID business. It seems a lot of folks have trouble reconciling the concept of luxury goods and value (maybe this means most luxury goods are poor value!). I also agree with the OP that it is the principle more than the cost. Nothing enrages me more than the sense that people are ripping me off "because they can". I've told the story before about the guy who quoted an AV system for our house. First he kept asking if I wasn't sure that I wanted every kid to have an AV system (I am totally sure, mister ... I don't want AV zombies). Then, when he gave me the quote, I asked him (perfectly nicely, I promise) some clarifying info about the pricing. He declined to answer and then withdrew his quote! Ahh the cast of clowns and criminals that one had to deal with in this industry! That said, IDs do hold the keys to all of the "to the trade" goodies, which I personally could not decorate without. Moreover, they do know the rudiments of scale and traffic flow and have a sense of color. I have picked some of that up but still need help with it. Lastly, a really good ID knows where to find good labor and how to manage it...