It does sound horrid, and I empathize about lack of sleep (if I don't get enough, I'm worthless). My mother has Restless Leg Syndrome (they make medication for it) and she does not stomp or thud around the house at night (or day). It's just as is sounds, her legs are restless during sleep and might involuntarily kick, jerk or twitch. I was thinking about the LL's perspective, tho. If I had a tenant that was disturbing others, but said tenant told me they had a medical condition that led to frequent need for nocturnal walks, I'd probably find myself in a pickle. Even if I knew the condition, and that symptoms or remedies didn't mesh, I'd still be in a pickle. I know this is a stretch, but say LL keeps after stomping tenant. Stomping tenant could well produce a doctor's letter that says 'my patient needs to walk at night for relief'. That's just something a LL really doesn't want to push, because pushing it hard enough might find them slapped with a discrimination suit or something. But obviously you can't continue to live like this. I'd suggest something along the lines of larke's suggestion. Be sure to let LL know you understand that she might be dealing with a tenant's medical condition, and you respect that. (That will help keep LL from being put on the defensive. A defensive LL is an uncooperative LL.) Then let her know that you are developing health conditions of your own, find that you can't perform your job as expected, find yourself nodding off at inappropriate times, your heart races at night when stomping starts, etc. (Yes, the hassle part of changing units would be as camlan mentioned in 1st paragraph, 12/5 post.) Despite LLs predicament, and upstairs tenant's stomping, you are still entitled to peaceful enjoyment. Hopefully you can get it with some good old-fashioned open communication and a little psychology thrown in when talking with LL.

DH has problems going to sleep, especially when he gets thrown off his schedule. After 27 years married to the guy, it's my opinion that people should not get locked into strict go-to-sleep schedules because of the problems this causes when they get off of them. But, we are doing many things right. I don't have a problem sleeping, but these are the things we do, for DH . . . and ultimately for me, as well. We keep our bedroom cool and crack a window in Spring and Fall; we keep the patio doors open when the weather permits (Late Spring- Early Fall). We always keep the ceiling fan on. I think that cool, fresh air makes for a better, deeper sleep. I like to read before I go to sleep, but not some hair-raising thriller! If I'm not reading a good before-bed book at the moment, I'll look at a magazine or just daydream for a while with the lights down low. Low lights in the room with a good reading light next to each side of our bed is a must for me. DH likes to watch the nightly news, but I find that listening to all the bad news in the world ~ or to politics ~ just gets me stressed and/or thinking about sad or scary things. Because of that, I've put my foot down and said no tv before sleep. If DH ever feels like he needs to watch tv then, he can do it out in the family room or in the study. I've noticed that he does sleep better when he doesn't watch tv right before bed, though. We don't snack right before bedtime either, although DH likes a glass of vanilla soy milk (yuck!). I prefer hot tea or ice water. Both of us try not to do any thing, like laundry, dishes, cleaning, working out, paying bills, etc. before we head off to bed. The only light in our room when we sleep is from the moon and stars if they're out. I'm glad we don't need to hang blackout drapes here, but I would if we had lights outside that warranted it. Quiet: we live in the mountains and the only sounds we hear at night are the crickets and occasional coyotes. I've never allowed our kids to fall asleep to music or tv. I've read that falling asleep to tv or music can be counter-productive to getting a restful sleep and set you up for a lifetime of sleeping problems. That may not be true in all cases, but it made sense to me and it works for my family and myself. I've heard that a warm, relaxing bath or shower also helps you relax before bed. When my kids were young, I always gave them their baths right before bed and then read them a story or two in their rooms with their lights down low before putting them to bed. From all that I've seen and heard over the years, we are our own worst enemies when it comes to problems sleeping. Saying/believing that we have to do certain things or can't do other things in order to be able to go to sleep only reinforces our sleep problems, IMHO. I know that it's hard to break that downward spiral. Perhaps a hypnotherapist could help. Or maybe your family doc could prescribe a mild sleeping pill for a very short while to help you break your sleep cycle? Whatever you do end up trying, I think the most important thing you can do is stop saying "I can't . . . . " and start believing that you can. Lynn

In terms of percentages, 80 percent of list price may be a very reasonable OFFER, ie, a place to begin negotiations. I'm not saying that someone should "accept" an offer of 80 percent. Perhaps that is a fair price, and perhaps it is not (most likely in many cases it is not). Obviously, some properties are priced more reasonably than others and every listing and negotiation is unique for many reasons. In the $400K house example, if someone offered $320K, my guess would be that they are hoping to get the house, after a counter-offer exchange, for $360K (unless they truly are trying to see if they can steal the house with a low-ball offer). If you are looking for $380K, then the deal might not work. That's where having a great realtor comes into play. Maybe he/she can get the deal done to your satisfaction. Or, maybe buyer and seller each end up sacrificing another $10K to meet in the middle...? In the end, even if the offer and subsequent exchanges don't end up panning out, are they so far off that you would call them "ridiculous?"

Ahhh, kitchen progress. Isn't it wonderful? Your floors are beautiful! And your little helper in the fancy shoes is so adorable! She also sounds like a girl after my own heart! I *heart* shoes. ;^) Keep the pics coming! (BTW, everyone that comes over opens and closes my [IKEA] drawers over and over again--I was thinking maybe I should start charging!~ ;^p )