I thought it might be about time to give folks an update on Bob and my boob. I've been afraid to say much before now because I thought I might jinx something. I can be superstitious that way. Anyway, the surgeon gave my boob a clean bill of health almost 2 weeks ago. I had an infection where they did the incision and they gave me some powerful antibiotics that knocked it out. I honestly think the infection was from the inside and not from the incision. So it was probably unavoidable. Even the nasty looking incision has softened and doesn't look quite as bad. I thought I'd have to walk around with a big smiley face on my boob! Now it isn't as noticable. Bob (my other boob - lol) is doing much, much, much better! I took him to the doctor last week and the doctor was very impressed with how well he his doing. His breathing is much better and the doctor did tell us that Bob's lung would probably take a few months to heal from the infection he had. Bob's blood sugar levels are leveling out and his white blood cell count is doing well. He has even started driving a bit on his own and going out to the store. Now I hope that next year, when I take vacation days, they won't be spent in a hospital! I am so grateful for all of you and your support and encouragement! You folks are the VERY BEST!

I'm sure I'll see bits and pieces. I do want to see the dress, LOL. I'm just hoping it isn't one of those hideous strapless numbers so popular now. It almost doesn't matter what body type you have - strapless aren't the most flattering. Small women often have the tops too big and not filled out. That looks sad. Large women often have boob muffins and back bulges. That also looks sad, LOL. And while I am not a deeply religious person, strapless is not the first choice for a cathedral wedding. Maybe later for the evening reception - I've heard speculation that there is more than one gown. Being married in Westminster Abbey, I expect the gown to have at least shoulders, and possibly sleeves. So I'm looking forward to a modern Grace Kelly sort of vibe. Simple and classy. One can dream, LOL.

amberm145: You mentioned that you'd like larger format tiles on your bathroom floor and a matching mosaic for the shower. We have 13" square travertine-style tile on our master bath floor, and the installer cut those same tiles down to 3.5" squares for the shower stall. So that may be something for you to consider. I've really enjoyed reading through this thread and all the differing points of view. I wish I'd known more about design and architecture than I did when we had our house built (in a "American Foursquare" 1920's style with Craftsman elements) 10 years ago, but we researched as much as we could at the time and are still learning. I used to beat myself up more for all the mistakes I felt we'd made, but now I try (and mostly succeed) to focus more on what I think we did right. I'm too practical to completely redo things that still function just fine, but I think about how I might re-do some of the things that still bug me over time. Some of you purists would shudder at the variety in finishes throughout our house (we did all pedestal sinks in the 3 baths, but different hardware finishes in each, for example). I have plenty of regrets I could fixate on in our house, but mixing hardware finishes isn't one of them. For us, having many things in an unfinished state (for example, our living room table/chairs were recently re-glued/refinished but the chair seats need to be reupholstered before we can actually USE them) is mainly due to my indecisiveness rather than a lack of finances to get projects done... I tend to over think things to the point of the ridiculous and drive even myself crazy sometimes, and I also feel like if it's something I can do myself (painting, window treatments, etc.), then I should. So everything takes time, and with young kids that's often a scarce resource. I've thought about asking for design advice from a professional, and will if we ever re-do our kitchen cabinets (my main regret after our build), but for now I'm trying to learn on my own here and from old house mags and such. I also come from a working class background and have lived in areas of poverty (including a mud hut in a 3rd world country), so the whole concept of design feels sort of indulgent and I guess it makes me feel guilty sometimes to even care about such things... But I do.

I've got 4 kids, the oldest is 10. The only times they have eaten in a store while I was shopping has been in the last few years when my local grocery store started offering a free snack size piece of fruit (apple, banana or orange) to kids. Prior to that; as babies in carriers to toddlers sitting in the basket to preschoolers walking along side; I never brought food for them and I didn't give them anything in the store either. If I knew I was going to be shopping and they would be hungry, I would feed them before hand or give them a snack in the car afterwards but not in a store. None of my kids have any medical conditions that necessitate an immediate dietary requirement that can't wait until we leave the store. Maybe I would feel differently if one if them did.