Sorry, its taken so long to get back to y'all. I was at work all day. About midway through the day, I started really regretting posting this, mostly out of an ostrich type reaction. Not wanting to hear from other people, what I already kind of knew myself. I do eventually expect him to get a job during college. I just kind of thought he might need at least a semester to get back into the swing of school. I mean, I have two jobs and go to school full time. So, I don't at all think that going to school precludes one from having to work. But then, I went straight from high school to college without any breaks. I just thought he might need a little while to adjust. But maybe the situation does not really give him any room to adjust and he will just have to sink or swim. I didn't really think that getting a reduction in child support was a realistic option (or even a very responsible one, I guess I was just hoping to make things easier for myself, because I doubt I would be able to manage to pay it for him on top of everything else I already have to pay for). About my parents...They know that I am planning on moving in with him. And they are ok with that. But I haven't told them my plans about me basically financing his return to school. My parents have told me point-blank that they don't want me paying his child support, so I haven't told them about my plans. More of the head in the sand maneuver, I guess. I do, I think, know that I am getting myself into a hard situation. I'm really scared that I am going to put myself in a position that basically eliminates any chance of me being able to do what I want in life careerwise. There is no school in the state of Arkansas (where he lives)that even offers my major and I really need to go to grad school to be able to get to the higher levels of my field. The nearest one is the school that I already go to and that's eight hours away. But at the same time I can't imagine my future without him.

you will pay more than 6,000 for real wood...esp if your closet is a pretty good size... but the closet companies must make a pretty good profit!! i never priced out a carpenter to make a wood closet system, but wood cabinets are more expensive than pb!! a previous home i had had nice real wood shelves, but that was before the closet companies became popular and they were open shelves- no drawers shoe shelves, etc... I love closet organizers tho-- have gone with more off name companies than CC in the past(less $ for basically same product)... our current house already had CC in most of the closets, but I added a small system to our entry closet-- espresso colored melamine kit I bought at HD for less than $100--of course, the entry closet is much smaller- a 5' wide reachin compared to a larger bedroom closet---, but I wasn't about to pay a closet co for such a small job. I am very happy with it! I also added a lowe's ventilated real wood system to our laundry room closet-- it is quite sturdy and was more expensive, but I actually prefer the look of the HD 'system I installed... possibly partially due to the laundry room system being whitish rather than dark, but I still think I would prefer the melamine one even if both were dark... whoever you go with, make sure they drill into studs- anchors aren't strong enough!! i went with a different co and my old neighbor went with CC and we both had issues with our pantry shelves having areas collapse because they weren't entirely secured into studs!!! really ridiculous for the amount they charge!

Musaburo!! Always great to see you here!!! Good points.. I do agree that climate plays a huge role and I can see it in my trees when they are coming out of dormancy here on the east coast. When I see an early inflo, I'm torn because I know it could potentially not mature and or not have the coloration that a late inflo would produce... A good example is my Kapalua. It stays inside my great room all winter because I can't move the huge container from where I have the sliding doors. It's just to big. This tree has always produced early inflos in the early spring / late winter and usually the inflos will abort. Some do stay on the tree like this year and as of today, they are growing with the leaves finally appearing as well.. This is a late tree to leaf out for me.. ( One of the last to leaf in the spring ) I do believe its the light factor in my house along with consistent heat to aid in the early appearance of inflos) this variety has always been late for the leaves to emerge. We also have to remember the early inflos are being produced from the branch from last year and at the earliest part of the tree waking up it will push these if they were forming before dormancy last season.. Kapalua is the only tree that I have that will produce inflos on most of the branches when waking.... I can't keep it cool during the winter because its in the family room. So the first hint of more sunlight along with it having heat all winter( 68-70 degrees) it wants to wake up and push inflos that were wanting to emerge... This is the best example I have of a tree going into a semi dormant state and keeping active at the same time. A few friends in Southern California would mention about the loss of inflos due to the " May Gray" and " June Gloom" when the sun is absent for a while... I have found that cuttings from mature wood are the best for rooting verses green wood cuttings, but I haven't noticed any blooms that are smaller unless its a known variety for having smaller blooms.. Look at grafts.. They are producing the same size blooms and can be from mature wood as well as green wood and can be from smaller cuttings.. So size of the cutting? Good question.... Very interesting.. Laura

This is the final incarnation ("final" being almost definitely an overstatement) of the back wall. In other fun news, one of the sinks cracked as it settled, so I'm still waiting on getting that replaced, and about a square foot of the little dot tile in the shower nook somehow discolored despite making sure to buy a grade of porcelain that wasn't supposed to absorb anything. So, that all needed to be chipped out and redone. Super fun. Also, the darker grout in the shower floor tile has some color inconsistencies that I'm just living with. And finally, trying to spray seal the gout in the shower was a nightmare and there is still some residue that I can't get off the tile. Anyone have any ideas about that?