One of my pet peeves, thank you notes. I told my son and my daughter when they were young that if someone thinks enough of you to buy you a gift, the least you can do is write them a thank you note. Just because you receive an invitation to a graduation, shower or wedding, a gift isn't mandatory! Write a thank you note to thank them for the gift they gave you and for remembering and thinking of you. I do agree that any thank you is better than nothing, but not much. I helped with a wedding shower a few years ago, the hostesses bought the couple their cookware and had a nice shower for them. A year and a half after they were married I got a form letter, and so did everyone else, I assume, telling us what all they had been doing, how busy they were and "thanks for the gift." I think after that amount of time, I would have just as soon they hadn't bothered. I'm sorry, but to me not writing a thank you note and thanking the person for what they bought and gave to you is simply bad manners and thoughtless! Anyone has time to write 10 or 15 notes in the evenings, until you get it done. If not, don't socialize so much!!

DH is built a lot like the photo pesky posted (who is NOT her DH, let's reiterate LOL), sans champagne, cigar, and truly frightening mullet. ;-) So I really, REALLY feel for her. DH is also extremely difficult to fit, especially those dang Incredible Hulk legs of his! Buying the suit for his mother's funeral about 8 years ago was a complete nightmare; we spent an entire DAY shopping, it all ended up costing us a month's house payment, and it doesn't fit right anymore either even though he weighs exactly the same now as he did then. (Ditto for the black dress suit I bought, although I was able to get it in 15 minutes and it cost a LOT less because unless I wanted to go to Boston I had a selection of Lane Bryant, Lane Bryant, and Lane Bryant! I weigh the same, wear the same size clothes, but neither the jacket nor the skirt hang right, and let's not discuss the trousers.) 99.9% of the time, unless it is specified that it is a formal occasion (and the last two evening weddings we went to were most decidedly NOT formal, so that "rule" is out the window!), DH gets away just fine with a NEW (unfaded) pair of black khakis/chinos/whateveryouwannacallthem, pressed to within an inch of their lives, black shoes (but you can get some good-for-a-half-dozen-wearings boring men's black shoes at Target for $20), new black socks (again, no fading), and a drycleaner-pressed button-down-collar white or oxford shirt. Regular undershirt, please, no "wifebeaters"! Tie for the ceremony itself but it comes off when the reception starts. LOL Back when they were more widely available DH found tab collars and band collars a lot more comfortable for thicker necks, but they're hard to find now. Thank heavens DH works in a business-casual office - if someone's wearing a tie to work there's instant gossip that they either have a date or an interview! - because if he had to wear suits we'd probably be living in a tent! I don't buy expensive shoes for DH because he destroys them. It doesn't matter if they're $20 or $200, they're trashed in short order (he wears through the leather on the sides). The $200 ones might last a few months longer, but they DEFINITELY don't stay nice looking ten times longer. The only time I spend money is on his running shoes (he does a half-marathon every other day), and even then I get last year's style/color at Sierra Trading or Campmor for half price. :-) Personally, unless you've got the bucks to burn, I think it's downright daft to spend a big fat wad of cash on a few pieces of clothing that you almost certainly will not ever wear again, and that may or may not fit (then there's more money down the drain on alterations, IF they can be altered), and that may or may not be hopelessly out of style should the occasion come up to wear that kind of clothing "someday"! If you KNOW the clothes will be worn again enough to justify the expense, that's another story, but I think pesky's made it pretty clear where on the spectrum her DH is... :-)

"I wish her parents would fade off and quit reminding us of what we are at our worst. Oh, come one. This is about Chelsea and Marc and about wishing them well. Not the time, and certainly not the place. "What I can't get over is the multi-million dollars they spent on the wedding. I guess money=being a princess. lol." It's their money and isn't coming from the taxpayers, so whay in a flying fig does anyone care how much they spend? More power to them if they absolutely adore their daughter and want to give her a beautiful and expensive wedding. And money does not = being a princess. I've seen money spent by people who have it but have absolutely no class. At least Chelsea Clinton appears to have brains, common sense, a good work ethic and good manners. Gheesh.

I once lost a good friend because I told her I was in a panic that she was about to marry a guy who had "swept her off her feet", promised her the moon, &, as I found out later, already driven wedges between her & me...he'd done this before & knew exactly how to isolate a woman & control her. He was a detective for a drug manufacturer; he never said how he got started in that field, but I later wondered if he had been in law enforcement & had been forced to leave. I tend not to see red flags; if *I* can see the guy is bad news, he's probably a serial killer or some such. She was angry, she was defensive, she cut me off. They married, he got her to quit her job so he could "take care of" her, leaving her completely dependent on him. He got her to trade in her economical car on a big sedan that she "deserved". only thing, since she wasn't working, she couldn't get a loan, so new car was in his name. She knew he'd been married twice, since there were a couple of kids he had to explain; after the marriage, she learned that he'd been married 5 times. One of the women had died young, of a heart attack if I remember correctly. She came to me once looking for a safe place to stay...& missed him so much that she called him to come get her. I came home to find him *in my house*. He smirked at me. I stormed into the house & told her he wasn't to walk through that door again, & she drew herself up to her full 5'2" & frostily told me that that was fine. She carried each of her belongings outside, & he carried them to his car. It was the last straw. I'll do anything for anybody, but this put my life in danger, & I never spoke to her again. I did see her at the grocery store one evening, with him hovering very close to her; she was as thin as a rail, she had shadows under her eyes, & she looked very fragile. Years later, I googled her & found her obituary. No cause of death was listed. She had been in her late 50's. I apologize for the long story, but the moral, if there is one, is this: When a bad man worms his way into a woman's confidence, there's nothing you can say or do that will convince her; he's already brainwashed her, already taken control, & time & experience are the only things that will convince her that he's a predator or abuser. If I had it to do again, I think I'd get *a man* to talk to her about the danger signs; if I had it to do again, I'd love her & go to her wedding & make sure she knew that I was there for her. but, sadly, I'd send her to a shelter to protect myself.