Quof

Even fathers who claim to be fully involved co-parents are usually the Deputy Parent, while the mother is the Chief Parent. As I discussed with a male friend, if your wife said your child needed shoes, you would know where to shop, that the child has to go try them on, what is a reasonable price to pay for a pair of child's shoes..... but you would never have noticed that the child's shoes were too small. If your wife told you your child had a dentist's appointment, you would take the child there, you would know the name and location of the child's dentist, where the insurance card is kept.... but you would never remember that your child was due for a dental checkup and you needed to schedule the appointment. Dad is still the helper parent, while mom performs the executive function.

I make lasagna with ricotta and fresh spinach, none of that cottage cheese and frozen spinach crap. If I'm feeling carnivorous, I add crumbled turkey sausage.

Except that Carla's insurance company would respond to the suit, not Carla personally. Her personal assets would never be in jeopardy. And the payout for 2 adult offspring who were not financially dependant on the deceased would be a pittance.

Nah, I really think they're just typical 20-somethings who can't do anything without constant attention and validation. Hence the constant Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc of every second of their lives. (I once heard the typical 20 year old's Facebook stream is "Wah, wah, wah, Look At Meeeee!. Wah, wah, wah.) Also why, in those rare moments they are alone, they are texting. It's like they are incapable of being alone with their own thoughts. Kind of like tree falling in the forest with no one there to hear it.

I have a friend who has to stop and touch every single item in a store. The third friend who shops with us is like me - we can stand at the front of store, case the entire joint, and determine there is nothing there we like. Once on an exhausting trip to the mall, she went into a plus size store. My friend and I took the opportunity to sit on a bench and rest. We made it clear she was to take as long as she wanted, we would wait as long as she asked. In truth, we could have done every other store in the mall in the time it took her to do this one. She later told other friends we were too embarrassed to be seen with her in a plus size store!

Or the shopping en masse. Six women enter a store - think TJ Maxx, with its narrow, crowded aisles - and proceed to travel in a pack. All 6 of them roam together, all 6 of them stop to examine and exclaim over every item.... Really? Do none of you have individual tastes, or shopping lists? Are you all looking for the exact same thing? Is only 1 of you actually shopping, seeking validation from 5 people? Most importantly, can you not get out my damned way?

I have a hankering for tabbouleh. I had the best recipe, from Ladies Home Journal, bookmarked, but now it's gone. I don't remember why it was so much better than all the others, perhaps the ratio of lemon juice to oil or something, but it was the best I ever had. Anyone have a recipe to offer?

Compounded by the fact that an ounce is a unit of measurement of both weight and volume? One of my pet peeves: the US refusal to switch to metric.

When I lived in university residence, the cafeteria was closed on weekends. I was POOR. Every Saturday and Sunday, for 3 years, I ate half a box of Kraft Dinner (that's Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, in the blue box, for you Americans). One box a week, 4 boxes for a dollar. I often miscalculated how much of the cheese mix was half, so Sunday's dinner usually wasn't as good. I can't even look at the stuff now.

Actually, I like the fact that the family apparently chose to keep it private.

Since she just chewed up the scenery on my television for three hours..... Kristin Chenoweth makes me want to stick needles in my eyes, and ears.

Hobnobs are awesome, particularly the dark chocolate. A local specialty store carries a large selection of British products, but they are pricey.

Hey, I found dark chocolate HobNobs on sale for $0.99 a package yesterday. We realized it was because the expiration date was in 10 days, so we did quick math on how many our office could eat before then and bought a whole lot. I mean, a whole lot.

A week? The fire started last night in Canada.

But horse owner defendant was absolutely entitled to testify to what someone told her. The evidence was not being offered for the truth of its contents - that the plaintiff wasn't taking care of the horse - but as the foundation for what she did, which is take back the horse. That's not hearsay.

Nope, not your machine yet. How does she know that you aren't going to seal more envelopes, or do other things, before you're ready to use the machine? And what bank requires you to include a deposit slip??? While not all banks have the fancy-dancy machines I mentioned in my earlier post, any other machine I have ever used simply requires you to press "deposit", then "amount", then "Okay", before deposting the envelope. I've never even signed a cheque I'm depositing.

Ah, the ATM annoyances. I always seem to get stuck behind someone who is doing an entire month's worth of transacations, on a couple of different bank cards, including updating their bank book (Who even has a bank book anymore?). They're checking balances, transferring funds...... That's why we have online banking. ATMs should only accept deposits and spit out cash. My bank has a new machine at their drivethru. You simply hit "deposit", then feed in cash and or cheques. It scans the paper, and the screen displays "cheque for $14.54" or "10 x $5". I assume there is some button that lets you correct an error the machine has made, but I have never seen it make an error.

So, how do we think the truth about the fire will come out? Because it will come out. My theory is that high end flats such as Victoria Court would have CCTV, that goes back to the management/security company, and some one (duh) will eventually think to look at the recordings and see Tracy coming and going.

She looks like she's just had dental surgery, that's how my face looked after my wisdom teeth extraction.

2 baked potatoes.

I made the double chocolate banana bread (too rich? pish posh), and a banana muffin with nutella in the middle. That took care of about half a dozen bananas. Lots left, maybe I'll make some pancakes this weekend and freeze. Qoass, if you're feeling energetic you could make Compost Cookies. Graham crumbs are one of the 23 ingredients.

That's a pretty perfect manicure for a spontaneous, unexpected proposal and engagement ring photo.

God, don't let this be another "Dad can't handle his own kids alone" story. Toby seems a pretty competent and involved parent.

I'll believe she's gestating when I see it crowning. She is SO bringing this baby home in a shopping bag from the surrogate.

theredhead, Nova Scotia here, giving you a wave. But I have no idea what candy bar you are talking about.