"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.

BeeOhio said, "If you worked under & qualify for both Social Security & a government pension, your SS monthly benefit is probably going to be reduced. Very unlikely you would draw the full amount of both. It is called the Windfall Elimination Provision (see SS.gov for further explanation)." No need to unnecessarily frighten anyone. Here is a direct quote (cut and paste) from the Windfall Elimination Provision information on the Social Security Administration web site (which, by the way is www.ssa.gov): "The Windfall Elimination Provision affects how the amount of your retirement or disability benefit is calculated if you receive a pension from work where Social Security taxes were not taken out of your pay." Also from the same publication: "The Windfall Elimination Provision primarily affects you if you earned a pension in any job where you did not pay Social Security taxes and you also worked in other jobs long enough to qualify for a Social Security retirement or disability benefit." My first year with earnings (all $892) was 1968. I had five years with no payment into Social Security. My last year of earnings with payment into Social Security was 2013 (significantly more than $892!). I worked for the State of California from January 2, 1990, through December 30, 2013 (December 31, 2013, was my first day of retirement). The first 8 months of my state service was for the Legislature, and Social Security tax was not withheld. Nonetheless, I had enough quarters/years of paying into Social Security that even though I am collecting a monthly retirement benefit from the state as well as a monthly social security retirement benefit, my SS benefits are not affected. The SSA web site has a worksheet/calculator so you can figure out whether or not the Windfall Elimination Provision will affect your SS benefits. Just because you worked for the government doesn't automatically mean the WEP will affect you. This post was edited by Lindsey_CA on Sun, Sep 14, 14 at 3:06

tape up the hosta .... as to the conifers.. do not water them like hosta .... in shade.. they simply dont need a lot of water .... hopefully.. when you water.. it almost immediately runs out the bottom .... whats the little one, bottom left??? .. do you plan on training it for height ... i would be tempted to plant the root mass a bit sideways.. so the leader is more upright ... and then stake it ... rather than trying to bend it alone ... ken

Spicy Chickens wings and a salad. That was our lunch today. I'll probably have to eat something light for supper like a couple of Rye crackers with tuna, pickle, onion and pineapple.