That was the hardest thing for me when Frisco was born. Ellie liked him for the first 24 hours but then she was ready to return him and have mom's attention again. Thankfully, Joe and my mom did a great job of keeping her occupied.

I'm so sorry for your loss, GC.

And Sparky, I didn't quite put it together before that Kalliope was born on May 18th. That was my mother's birthday. It's a good day to be born.

Laura, I think it does have brownish tile on the floor. There's beige in places and white in places on the walls. Since paint will be the easiest quick fix I should think about brown.

It looks like you have the tile I have in my bathroom. I tried brown. Brown is dreadful, because there are no brown towels that are really a shade of that pinkish beige. After numerous tries, I found that teals and dark blues work. I suspect purple could work, but there was no purple when I was doing my original choices. Anything in the browns or reds clash in some inexplicable but awful way. I finally ended up buying four or five washcloths to try against it.

Did anyone else sniffle a little at vw's honors ceremony?

I'm sorry, GC. This dying young thing has got to stop.

I have considerable empathy for Connie. I now have heavy-duty antibiotics and blessed codeine. I've often wished that they could put you in a medically induced coma until the flu or a cold went away. Usually I can't really sleep and I can't really think, so I just wander aimlessly around my house, trailing Kleenex.

Usually I can't really sleep and I can't really think, so I just wander aimlessly around my house, trailing Kleenex.

Great herds of the medicated and woozy, wearing incompletely closed robes, eyes and mouths half-open, bumping into walls and each other, standing in one place and weebling back and forth slightly before shuffling off to bed and a few hours of mindless remote-clicking before falling into uneasy dreams full of gameshow hosts and Oprah and dancing creatures trying to sell you something.

I am having a case of Righteous Indignation.

I have sent the following email to our County Clerk of Deeds and General Asshattery:

I am writing to you in hopes that you can help me with a situation that has arisen between myself and your Vital Records Department.

In April, I requested and paid for a copy of my marriage license via the Washtenaw County website. I received an email from the department stating that my request had been received, my credit card payment had been processed, and that my license was sent to my home on April 22, 2009. I never received it. I verified the address with the clerk and it was correct. I have contacted the Ypsilanti Post Office as suggested by both the supervisor and the clerk, and they have nothing being held for me. I have never had any issue receiving anything I have ordered via a website until this instance.

This afternoon, I called the Vital Records department and spoke with two people, one of whom was the supervisor. I was informed that the "policy" is that if one does not receive their requested record and then contact the Vital Records department within 30 days, then a new request and a new payment has to be processed. No where on the website, nor in my confirmation email was this mentioned. This fact was confirmed by both the clerk and the supervisor I spoke to today. And while I can appreciate the supervisor's stating that she would "get it on there", the fact remains that this policy is not stated clearly anywhere. Any other website that allows consumers to make purchases has their policies regarding unreceived or returned orders stated clearly. Therefore, I am requesting that another copy of my marriage license be placed in the mail as soon as possible so that this matter can be resolved.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you for your time,

The Empress

I mean, What the Eff???? You didn't adhere to our policy that you had no way of knowing so eff you? Oh I don't think so, Asshat.

Aimee, that's total bullshit.

I know, right? And the the supervisor had THE NERVE to tell me that in nine years, there has NEVER been an instance in which the policy was overridden. Srsly? You expect to believe that? Never ever ever? I'll bet my tiara collection and all of my Chucks it most certainly has.

When did you verify the address with the clerk? Was that within the 30 days? When you did so, did the clerk mention their 30 day policy? (I'm assuming not.) Perhaps you could add that a) you are only 6 days past the 30 day mark and b) you did contact them within 30 days but they failed to advise you of their policy and that you, reasonable person that you are, relied on them to tell you any relevant information.

If we have another boy, Joe likes the name Zachary.

Though I would note that there are gross tons of Zacks in the little league world so it's a pretty common name in the elementary school cohort.

Stephanie, none of it was within the 30 days. I only called the office for the first time today.