Thanks, everyone! This is a small town, and the loan officer at the local credit union did seem to think that national banks might be more lenient? Of course, the credit union's fees are much lower than the banks I've tentatively looked at, and I had wanted to work with them because that's who I've gotten loans from in the past, always paid on time. :( Bill: The loan officer's fees were separate from the closing costs, in addition to them, and labeled as loan officer's fees. All the usual fees were also listed. The problem with living in a small town is there is not a lot of competition around, so fees are hiked up for EVERYTHING just because they can be. This county, incidentally, frequently has the highest price of gas in the continental U.S. It's just like that for everything - but it is a gorgeous place, very mild climate, surrounded on one side by the Pacific Ocean and pristine forests on the other, so people get really attached to this place despite the hassle. The credit history thing is really frustrating. I've even paid rent that was higher than the cost of this mortgage at the credit union (if I had qualified by being in business a few months longer). I have a phone appointment w/ Bank of America today - I'll see how that goes...(We don't even have a local loan officer for B of A, apparently)...

Hi, Charity. If your heart is cold for your husband, I disagree that your marriage is intact. You may still be married, but it's not what marriage is supposed to be. Of course, swinging isn't supposed to be a part of marriage, either, if you believe in the traditional marriage vows (forsaking all others), but I realize that you don't. For me, and I realize not for you, living with someone for whom I have a cold heart just isn't a good, fulfilling life. You and he are getting your sexual kicks otherwise, but if you're getting your emotional needs met outside of the marriage, why don't you just divorce? What in the world is the benefit to anyone of staying married? NOT trying to demean or start an argument. It's just that your way of living and values are apparently so opposite of mine that I'm intrigued. I get my sexual kicks and my emotional and companion needs met by my husband and realize that I am very, very fortunate.

With so dimensions of the room you should buy a queen size bed. Now you can get the dimensions of your room on paper and you can get dimensions of your bed , make piece of paper and try to fit in your room.

Terilyn wrote, "My mom and dad had a brother and sister marry." And Pekemom wrote, "3 of my Polish aunts married 3 Italian brothers. One of my mother's brothers married one of my father's sisters." This was actually quite common in the 1800s and early 1900s. In our family tree, we have several instances of siblings from one family marrying siblings from another family. There are also instances where one spouse died and the surviving spouse then married a sibling of the original spouse. And, yes, there are a couple of instances where two unrelated people with the same surname married. JoanEileen wrote, "My cousin Tommy Kelly married a woman in New York State. They divorced, she moved back home to Florida, and married a man named----Tommy Kelly!" Offhand, I can think of two instances in our family tree where someone married, was widowed, and then married someone with the same first and middle names, but a different surname.