Not What I Expected

We went through a lot to get Little Man. And now that we have him I am finding I don't want anyone else who isn't blood related to have him.
This is going to be a major problem.
In the beginning, before he arrived F and I were looking at day care places. I remember sitting in the first place feeling just fine about leaving him there until we started discussing drop off and pick up. And that's when the panic set in. It wasn't the person or the center that I had an issue with, it was with the base premise of leaving him. I don't want to leave him.
This has been delayed by the fact that my mother up and announced at my shower that she would be watching Little Man when I went back to work. This was news to us. VERY WELCOMED news. So for the last few weeks I have been happily dropping Little Man off with his very loving Grandma. She loves having him, I love her having him, all is right with the world.
Until this morning.
Last night she asked for a week off. Not a problem!  This morning she upped it to two weeks and when I hesitated she then tells me that we'll have to put him in daycare come April. Now I am sitting here at my desk with the bile churning in my stomach and tears welling in my eyes. He is just a BABY!!! He needs cuddles and love, not to be one of many. This is going to kill me, I can tell. I already feel like I am missing out on so much. I hardly see him at all as it is. But to hand him off to strangers when he is just months old. I can't fathom the idea. I never expected this from myself. I thought I would be glad to rejoin the adult world. And to an extent I am. But I miss him so much. I don't want him smiling at someone else. I don't want him adoring someone else. I want him to be all ours. Sharing with family is one thing, but sharing with outsiders? I can't do it. Oh how my heart is breaking already.
Why does this have to be so hard? Why can't I work from home? I don't need to be in this office to do what I do! Why can't we be rich enough for me to stay home or work part time?
I'm going to go cry while I pump now.

Advise Me Please

For the last several years I have been on the hunt for a new winter coat. The coat I currently have, albeit extremely warm is over 10 years old. I bought it while still in college. I graduated from college in 1998. Needless to say, it is out of fashion.

Ahem.

Anyway, I thought it would be extremely easy to lay my hands on a coat that I would love. I do after all live in the Midwest, home of the great white winters and freezing temps. I could not believe how sadly mistaken I was. This hunt has gone on for at least 3 years now. I came oh so close last year while “Back East” for Christmas, but they did not have it in my size.  Bastards. However, it did lead me to know that I could find a coat in their store if I started looking early enough.  The ninety degree heat of August was apparently the right time.

I purchased about six coats, all of wool. I settled on this little number.

I really love it. I will wear it without the belt however because it just cuts me in the wrong spot. It is currently with ES because in order for the coat to close over my chest I had to order a bigger size. So she is taking it in to give it more of a nice shape.  The color is amazingly rich and the double collar really completes the look.

Where I am stuck at however is what color I should have for accessories. My last coat was tan suede so it really doesn’t go with egg plant.  Because the throat/upper chest area is so open, and I’ve been known to get bronchitis at the drop of a hat, I really need to have this area covered and warm.  So I need scarf. And of course matching gloves.  My neighbor and I thought dark green, but then I decided that I didn’t want to actually look like this:

So I’m on the hunt for color suggestions. Cream? I already have a lovely cream scarf from my mom to go with another coat. But I don’t know if it would "pop" enough.  I’d really like to stay away from black. Multicolored? I just don’t know! HELP ME my digital friends!!!

Rental Reduex

This week our Tenant informed us that his hours have been severely cut at his job and he will no longer be able to rent from us. (I'm not completely sure I believe this because not too long ago Tenant informed F that Tenant's mother was seriously ill and he was hoping to get her house when she died. As far as we know this hasn't happened yet. But that is who Tenant is moving in with.)The end of May will be his last month. F thinks that maybe Tenant was hoping we would offer to reduce the rent. The rent that isn't even covering the full mortgage payment. That is not going to happen. This of course then spurred the discussion between F and I about what to do with said house. I personally am done being a landlord. I am highly concerned about who will end up being the next Tenant. What state the house will be in with current Tenant and what the state could potentially be in with the new Tenant. In other words, I want to sell it. Selling it of course would be taking a MASSIVE hit on it and would mostly result in us "finishing" paying on a house we no longer possess. F is decidedly against this. Which I of course understand. But I currently feel that paying on a mortgage on a house we no longer own is better than the tension and stress caused by being a landlord. To me, being done with that is worth making a monthly payment. I do realize it would be a waste of money. But I also realize that the roof on the rental needs to be replaced. And that the "sewer" backs up EVERY February when the snow starts to melt and the rain starts to come. We've replaced the washer and the dryer. I just, I just don't want to do it anymore. F wants to continue to rent the house out. I want to sell. F thinks that doing background checks and whatnot will insure a better class of renter. I'm not sold on that idea one bit.


I, no, WE do not need the added stress of trying to figure out what to do about this. There are so many other things going on with us right now that we really don't need more.

****NEW INFO****
I called my mortgage company and after 3 transfer was given to Jeremiah in Liquidations.  When I posed my question to Jeremiah; "If I sell my house and don't get the amount that is still owed on it, what will happen then?"
Jeremiah: "That amount will be forgiven."
Me: "I'm sorry? Forgiven?"
Jeremiah: "Yes. It is not your fault after all that the market crashed. Few homeowners know about the Debt Reduction Act that Bush enacted before he left office in 2007."
Jeremiah then went on to tell me to SELL SELL SELL!!! He was amazed that we were getting the amount of rent that we are getting. He was shocked at how "little" of the difference we were making up.  Then he told me again, "Sell now. Put it on the market NOW. I doubt you will get a tenant in there for the same amount you are getting now."
The conversation continued in the same vain for about 20mins, but it that was the gist of it.
So, assuming everything works out the way we hope, F and I will no longer be landlords!!! PRAISE BABY JESUS!!! I can not tell you how happy that will make both of us. F even wants us to sell our house and move somewhere "better". I personally don't think that is necessary, but we'll cross that bridge if we get to it.
SO if you know anyone who has done this, please let me know. I want to know if it is as scott free as it sounds.

When Your Stomach Drops to Your Shoes

The Tenant called. I waited for F to start swearing. It rarely feels that any time Tenant calls, it is something good. This time was no different, however, F didn't swear.
 The night before a lovely high heat, high humidity day, the A/C goes out.
The hard ass in me comes out, "You know, we DON'T HAVE to provide him with a/c."
F just stares at me, then walks away.
OK, so yes, maybe we DO have to provide him with a/c, even though that's no where stated in the contract. My point is, I hate being a landlord. It seems that every time F and I plan something that requires us to spend money, something at the Rental goes awry. This time? Replacing the ceiling in the 3rd bedroom that is frontin' as our dining room. That in itself is a story. 4 coats of paint bubbled and peeled off like pulling a sticky note off your desk. All my hard work, undone. Everyone we spoke to was baffled. Except Eldest Sister. "Sounds like moisture to me, a ventilation issue." Ah, her environmental engineering degree finally comes in handy. All 3 of the contractors we had come in to look said the same thing. So there goes $850. Plus whatever is wrong with the A/C that we are having professionals look at.(Tenant still has not called them, so he is still without a/c. His own doing.) Not the guy F knows who took 5 days to fix our A/C in 90+ degree weather. Yet another story.  Anyway, every time Tenant calls I dread what I'm about to hear. My stomach drops to my shoes. I love my old house, I really do, but like many people in the good ole' USA, I'm "under water" on it. And there is no way Tenant, who filed for bankruptcy in the past, is going to be able to get a loan for any amount that would come close to paying it off.  *sigh*
I guess the good thing is he wants to sign on for another year, however, with the clause that if he buys a house he can break the lease without penalty. My thought on this is, what if he just wants to break the lease and is just SAYING he's buying a house? Can I force him to prove that he's buying a house in order to break the lease? I just don't know these things. I am a lazy landlord. I am a lazy landlord because I don't want to BE a landlord.  I hate the feeling I get when Tenant calls. The overwhelming dread. The worry about how we are going to cover whatever expense is going to come up this time. The tense between F and I over it. We need to sell it, and be done with it, but in today's market? Um, yeah.

Any suggestions?

A Realization I'd Rather Not Have Had

Remember this wedding F and I went to back in August? I thought I told you about the woman who showed up towards the end, but now I see I did not. I must have thought better of it at the time. The wedding was going all fine and well, we were all having a great time, when the origin of the word "Frenemy" walked in. Our table fell silent. Now this woman, I had not seen or heard from her in almost 20years. I was completely shocked to see her. And then I was completely upset. After almost 20 years the old rage and anger and hurt came exploding to the surface. I had no idea anyone was still in contact with her. Frenemy was the queen of the cut down, friend or foe; no one escaped her cutting words. She could deliver a backhanded compliment that would only dawn on you days later, that, HEY! That was MEAN! She always thought she was better than the rest of us, even though my circle took her in when the "in crowd" tossed her out. Out of all the girls in our circle of friends, I seemed to be the main focus of her attention when it came to slights and belittling. More often than not I held my own against her. But it stung. It hurt. And when we all scattered to different colleges, I was not at all heartbroken to be rid of her. Every now and again when I would go home for a visit I would hear what she was up to. Kicked off the college volley ball team. Dropped out of school. Drugs, she told me herself at a wedding one year. Then the reports stopped coming. I didn't really care. I felt that I had finally moved on. Then I heard she gotten married. And had the mother of our mutual friend,  R, do the flowers for her wedding. Not once did she try to contact R when she was in town dealing with R's mom. It appeared to me, that she'd had no problem cutting ties with her old h.s. acquaintances.


The Bride from the wedding in August sent out an e-mail announcing she was expecting. So I waited for the invite to her baby shower. It never came. So I put out feelers to those I knew keep in better contact with her than I do. In the end we decided to throw her a little shower of our own. A few ladies from way back were invited, no prob, it would be nice to see them after all these years. But then the Face Book message arrived from R: "A sent me text telling me she invited Frenemy and wants to honor her as well since she just had a baby."

Well ok. That little message sent my anxiety sky rocketing. I do not want to buy her a present. I had no idea she was even pregnant. My anger rolled over me. I shot off an e-mail to a friend who had recently come to me with a similar situation. I was disgusted with myself for still allowing Frenemy to affect me. To still be able to get under my skin after almost 20 freaking years. I tried to search myself for the forgiveness that I see in so many others. And that is when it hit me. My anger, my hurt, came not just from what Frenemy had put me through all those years ago, but from the lack of support from the other girls.

No one ever told her to stop. No one ever stood beside me in my defense. No one else, to this day, will admit what a bitch she was. A's husband actually told F at the wedding that "she's just a poor misunderstood little rich girl." Maybe. Maybe not. But it is with this realization that I am still hurt by my friends’ lack of support, that I feel calm. That I feel I can handle seeing her again, and being forced to interact with her.

It also comes with sadness. Sadness at the realization that my friends maybe weren't, and possibly aren't the good friends I thought they were/are. I am a ferociously loyal person. Every personality test and horoscope will tell you the same thing. I expect the loyalty I give to be returned, in full. And now I finally have to admit, that my childhood friends possibly aren't that loyal. Something F has been telling me from day one.

This saddens me to no end. And I am not sure how to move forward from here. I do not want to cut ties altogether, after all, R and I have been friends since 3rd grade. That is a lot of history to walk away from. But at the same time, walking away may be the only way to let the healing begin.

What to do my digital friends? Have any of you found yourself in this spot???

The Battle Rages On

I've told you recently of the battles my face is waging against me. It does not rest. It does not quit. It marches on across my face.  Last week, it was my chin.That was but a small skirmish, and cleared up quickly.  The mound from this post has dug in and refuses to leave.  It appears to have left a small force behind to maintain the fort, but has moved the mass of the troops to a new locale. The troops marched around the southern half of my nose to settle on the RIGHT side where my nostril flares out and meets my face. I continue to battle, alas half heartedly, against this unrelenting injustice. I purchased a new bottle of foundation fearing that the Old Foundation, and I DO mean old, at least 6 years(yes i know, but i RARELY use foundation), was a double agent and was supplying arms to the enemy. This tactic seemed to work for a few days, but either the enemy has turned New Foundation against me, or I executed an innocent old friend for desertion wrongly. I noticed New Foundation feels less greasy, which is a plus. I believe however this tactic was used to lull me as it went about escalating the number of creases and lines under my eyes. New Foundation is clearly working for the enemy.


I am losing the war my digital friends. I need reinforcements and potentially new supplies.

Can the U.D.N. (United Digital Nations) help their battle weary Blogger out? Supplies? Tested and True battle plans? ANYTHING??????

S.O.S!!!!!!

What Do You Say???

Remember awhile back when I told you things were changing in my division?? I was worried and concerned, but it turned out the change was GOOD. G got us some training. And honestly, she is a pretty good boss. Another change was made. Our big boss went to part time and has one day off a week. We all knew this meant she was on the road outta town, after all, she only signed on for a certain number of years and those had past. This has been going on for about a year now.


A few months ago meetings behind closed doors started happening. When Crazy Co-Worker and I would express our issues with G she would tell us to "be patient".
 Change was afoot.
That change has now STEPPED UP and shown itself.
Our big boss is now G. She is the BOSS of our division instead of just CCW and me. And our "old" boss? She has been moved to "special projects" and will be going even more "part time" than she is now.

While CCW and I smile and sign to ourselves, others are NOT AT ALL HAPPY. Retirements, which have been a long time coming in some cases, have been announced.

The question I pose to you, my digital friends is, What should I say to my old boss? I've given G my congratulations. But what about old boss? Congrats on your downsizing?? Lucky you! You figured out how to continue to screw our system???

I mean seriously, what do you say?????

I'm all ears here people. Help me out!!!

To Bang or Not To Bang....In a non-Sexual Manner

My digital friends, I am getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow evening and I cannot, CAN NOT express to you how truly excited I am!!! It has been, THREE MONTHS, THREE ENTIRE MONTHS since I have had my hair done. The gray is a showing. The roots have probably 3 inches showing which makes them not so rooty anymore, and just more like "natural". And my BANGS are so long that I've already had to cut them myself. Plus, they are doing this weird, thinning thing. Not that my hair has ever been thick, but my bangs have pretty much always made a good showing on my forehead. Now they are whispy and it drives me crazy. Can your hair line change directions as you age? I mean beside moving backwards down the back of your head? Can it move SIDEWAYS??? My bangs are clumping in weird little clumps like they have never done before. So, I'm asking you, my digital friends, should I continue with the bangs or let them grow out al-aha Ugly Betty style?? Go in a new direction?? I have seriously considered going short again, but F freaks out every time I come back from the salon and my hair is shorter. I'm just so tired of having to put the effort in of styling it every morning. I'm feeling a sense of déjà vu, have I asked you this before??? My hair is so thin, or FINE as I was once corrected (again with the déjà vu) that if I try to do the bone straight no frills type of style it just looks flat and boring. There are a few women here in the office that can pull that look off, but I cannot.I would be happy with hair like these women:

But I just can't seem to pull it off. And another thing, I'm a tad clueless as to what my face shape is. Round maybe? Oval? Square? Heartshaped?? How am I to know?

Men have no idea just how easy they have it!!

Not as much of a Hardass as I thought

I just mailed the Tenant a late payment notice, and I'm scared. All of last year we let him slide, he was constantly late. This time around, we told him he had better be on time or we would start assessing the late fees that are outlined in the lease agreement. So far, he's been good. Except for the fact he seems to think we are at his beck and call to come collect said payment. It is clearly stated in the lease agreement that he is to MAIL us the payment. So now, I'm a little freaked. He could destroy the house. He could claim he never got the notice. He could claim that he is withholding payment because the dryer "keeps" breaking. However, I believe on that last one he has to notify us of his intentions via a written letter. We have not received any such notice. And we DID fix the dryer. Well, F fixed the dryer, replaced the motor. But apparently the dyer belt keeps slipping off. We got one call about it, several months ago, but haven't heard anything since.


I am not cut out to be a landlord. Or, maybe it would be easier if I was an unseen landlord? Maybe if he didn't know my first name? I don't know something that would make me more Official. Maybe if I insisted he call me, instead of F. Whom he started calling after we got married. Of course, I don't want to deal with him, so it's probably better that he calls F, who also doesn't want to deal with him.


What makes your landlord seem “Official” my digital friends?? Any tips you can give me??

IF we do this again after his lease is up, things WILL be different. I WILL be a hard ass.

 I promise.

Shoe Daddy

CBF and I have decided that instead of a Sugar Daddy, I need a SHOE Daddy. Someone who will give me free range to purchase any and all kinds of shoes that I may or may not be able to actually wear while standing up let alone be able to walk in.

I bought these shoes in black 2 yrs ago? And the heel cap thingie came off last winter.

I know it would be much more fiscally responsible if I took them and got them fixed, because I still love them.

But wouldn't it be way more fun to add these to my closet?

I own another pair that is very similar, but in navy blue:

And now I'm kind of in love with them in this color as well.

Or how about these?

This red is SASSY. But I have nothing to wear red sassy shoes with, so I would get them in black.

And remember these boots I bought in brown from Sears?

The buckle keeps coming off and the toe area rubber has completely eaten away so it is right down to cardboard and cloth. And I have NO IDEA how that happened since I don't scuff my feet when I walk or walk about on tip-toe. Again, I STILL Love them, but would be happy to love these as well:

Or love these.....

And how cute are these?

I have no idea why this picture is so small.

Purple. Sexy. Sassy. Who knew?

For some reason these speak to me as a Corporate Sexy cut-throat woman CEO. Amanda Woodward anyone? RRRAAAAOOOOOW.

Or you know, pretty much anything from Aerosoles.com would make me happy.

I'm not Techie

I got the e-mail below. Has anyone heard of these people? Is this something I should do? Anyone?

Hello.This is Howard from feedmil.com, a new real-time search engine dedicated for fast feed discovery. I am writing to invite you to submit a short informative description about the feed you publish at http://adulthoodsucks.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default .At feedmil, we provide not only feed search but also individual feed pages so that users can conveniently examine more details about a feed before they decide whether or not to subscribe to it. For instance, your feed page at feedmil can be found at [redacted]. Description about your feed in your own words will be listed under the section titled "Words from the Author(s)" of your feed page at feedmil, and we believe that it will help your potential subscribers better understand what your feed is mainly about and what kind of feedback you want, possibly increasing the number of subscribers to your feed.You can send me any content you like to be displayed under "Words from the Author(s)" for your feed by replying to this email, and any kind of additional materials in the form of attachments in the reply email would be welcome as well.I sincerely thank you for all the great content you publish, which makes the service like ours possible. Your attention would be highly appreciated.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Howard The Feedmil Team

Monkey in the Middle

Before F arrived on the scene it was just me. Just me and my family. I may have been the go-between, between siblings, but it was rare. Now? Now I find myself caught in the middle often. A sibling will do something that negatively(perceived) affects F and I, and F will go into a tailspin of anger. Over the last few months he has been butting heads with SES. He does not let these "slights" go easily. He will fume about her and the "incident" and I will be caught in the middle defending her to him, or defending him to her. I do not like discord amongst those that I love.
I suppose before F arrived on the scene if there was discord among the family I tended not to notice. Assuming that everything was fine, and everyone got along fine. Once F arrived, my eyes were opened, I guess you could say, or people became more open, and I began to see that everything is not fine, and everyone does not get along.

I do not know what to do about being the monkey in the middle. Be it between F and the sibs or the sibs themselves. I am very concerned about how everyone perceives each other. Does SES think F is a lying loud mouth ass? Does F think SES is a nosey bitch (pretty much, yeah)?
I feel like I have to choose a side. But I can't because that is never a good idea. Someone always ends up hurt. And ususally, both sides have valid points.
How do you, my digital friends handle these kind of conflicts? Because right now, I just want to go home and mix myself a VERY large adult beverage and watch hours and hours of Clean House and Say YES to the DRESS! and pretend that a pretty dress and a shiny new kitchen will make everything all better.

You get the AX yet???

Here's a questions for yas my digital friends.

It has been widely publicized that a very LARGE Corporations was going to announce massive lay-offs and firings on a certain day. You know several people who work for said Corporation.
Do you call them mid-day and inquire if they've been let-go?
Or, do you wait for them to contact you?

What say you?

Please, Make Yourself Comfortable!

There is a woman I work with, who doesn’t make much effort to get to know anyone. She hasn’t worked here very long, and I can’t seem to get a real good read on her. My impression of her is a woman who could easily be referred to as a “Ball Buster”. She is from the old school of thought where a woman had to fight and scrap her way to the top by being one of the boys. (which in some cases is still true today, glass ceiling anyone? Uneven wages?) I don’t know how long she thought I worked for another office in the building, even though I’m at all our office meetings. She was genuinely surprised when I told her that we did indeed work for the same company. There have been several times when she’s barreled her way into someone’s lunch hour, disrupting the lunch not only of the person she’s talking to, but also disrupting the lunch and conversations of everyone seated around that person. It IS their lunch after all, and I think we can all agree that for the period of our lunch we should be absolved of having work–related conversation thrust upon us. She doesn’t even give the cursory, “I hate to interrupt your lunch, but….” She also “pops in” to offices when other people are there already. Actually, she pushes her way in. Shoving aside anyone else who is there having a conversation. I’ve experienced this first hand. More than once. And I’ve just about had enough of it. Take today for instance. I was in my friend’s office, which does happen to be located next to Mrs. B.Buster, chatting about life, and work when Mrs. B.Buster appears in the doorway, notepad and pen in hand. “OH! I need to talk to my friend! How are you?” as she slides by me (I was standing by my friend’s desk) and plops herself in the “guest” chair. My friend turns from me, to her, “Oh fine.”
“Do you guys have a meeting?” I asked, knowing full well they didn’t because my friend had just finished telling me she wondered why she’d even bothered to come back from a meeting held off “campus”.
“We do, she just doesn’t know it yet.” Says Mrs. B.Buster, without even bothering to glance my way.
“Ooooh?” my friend giggles surprised and a tad uncomfortable because of this sudden development.
“Yes! I need something from YOU.” Demands Mrs. B.Buster.
“Well. I guess I’ll leave you to it then.” I say to them both and then turn directly to my friend and say pointedly, “We’ll finish this conversation later.”
As I turn to leave Mrs. B.Buster has already started in on their “meeting.”

I was a bit miffed as I made my way back to my desk. I was only in my friend’s office for maybe 10 minutes and I wasn’t having a loud, inappropriate conversation. I do keep my voice down because I know rather well how sound carries in this place. So I highly doubt we were disturbing her. She seems to have no clue when it comes to unwritten office etiquette. I’m quite done with her behavior, but I don’t know how to tell her to knock it the hell off. Normally I would say something trenchant; however she just so happens to be one of the Big Boss’ "people", so pissing her off is not a good idea.
What to do, oh WHAT TO DO?

To Ignore, or Accept, That is the Question

I find myself in a new age predicament. I have a “Friend Request” from someone with whom I was friends with in college, on Facebook. I know many people have debated this topic, via their blogs or otherwise and I now find myself having the same debate. This friend became my friend through another friend. We both ditched the mutual friend in favor of each other. Sounds bad, I know, but there’s always more to the story and I don’t plan on boring you with it. Anyway, I got her a job working for S.E.S. and we hung out and partied together. Our friendship was always touch and go. I was always there for her when she needed me, I can’t say the same for her. She would break up with which ever guy she was dating and call me crying. I would drive to her and hold her beer while she cried into. This went on for several years. Then she dropped out of school because she was flunking. Things spiraled down from there. I tried to maintain our friendship, giving her the benefit of the doubt, hard times and what-not. I watched her drug dealer’s kids while she, the drug dealer and her Thug boyfriend all went into the bedroom and got high. I was constantly getting stood up when she would get booty calls, whether she was with Thug boyfriend or not, I might add. I re-arranged my New Year’s Eve plans at the last minute to include her, and then she stood me up, for a booty call. That was the last straw. I’d had enough of her drug use, her crappy men and her constant emotional roller coaster late night phone calls. I cut off all contact. I moved on with my life and only thought of her occasionally. And then I get a Facebook request from her. She’s finished school, and has what sounds to be a pretty techie job. She married the Thug boyfriend and they have an adorable little girl. From the things on her page, she seems to have returned to her religious roots. I however am unsure if that is a door I want to re-open. I know for a fact that F will want nothing to do with them. I don’t want to waste time and emotions on a situation that my gut tells me will just end badly. I try to listen to my gut, it is usually right. But. But what if I’m wrong? What if they both turned their lives around? What if they are really great people? I used to enjoy hanging out with them. Thug boyfriend was always nice to me. However, she was never really dependable. I’m so confused! Do I hold her former behavior against her? A leopard never changes its spots? Or do I turn my cheek and give her a second shot? A reformed druggie who has seen the error of her ways and has bettered herself for the sake of her family? Also, if you ignore someone, do they know? Do they get a message saying I refused their request? Damn this new social networking!

My Registry Advice

Let me preface this Blog entry by saying, I (we) are not ungrateful. We love (maybe a tad picky, but not ungrateful) every single gift we have gotten thus far. I (we) realize that money is tight for a lot of people right now and I (we) know it is asking a lot of people to purchase us gifts for our wedding as well as take time off of work and spend money to travel here. I do not have inexpensive taste and I tried my damnedest to pick a wide range of items to cover every budget. With that in mind, I was struck by this idea while checking on our registry. (yes I gave into temptation AGAIN, it is very hard to resist. leave me alone.)

This advice goes to any store that offers any registry for any occasion.
As much as we, the registrar love picking any and everything our little hearts desire there are some things that we truly would love to get above all else. For example, I would love to have this large suitcase (which I just discovered we got!!!! again, leave me alone)

instead of the 50 towels the BB&B guy insisted I had to have. Or this electric indoor grill (again we got it!)

over the 40 napkins (20 of each color for a 2 tone display) and 20 place mats, which again, the BB&B guys insisted I had to have to flush out my "elegant" table cloth. So I suggest that you include a rating system. Use hearts, or wedding rings, or champagne glasses, whatever symbol you want, but it would be just like rating a hotel. Out of 5 champagne glasses the towels would have been 3 glasses as opposed to the electric grill which would have been 4 glasses, where as the suitcase would have been 5 glasses. The actual China place settings would also rate 5 glasses where as the china serving bowl that goes with the set, would be 3.5 glasses. Thus giving our guests a TRUE guide to what we really want/needed as opposed to what we were talked into by a pushy BB&B guy. (Which, HI BB&B guy, NO ONE has bought us any of the 50 towels you insisted I NEEDED. So there. )
And since the majority, if not all registries are kept online, the couple or person could log in, at their leisure, and rate their items. If they wanted to, it wouldn’t be required. I think it is a fabulous idea and I’m itching to do it.
Or is this a sucky idea and just makes us seem greedier?
Now I’m torn.
What do you think my digital friends??

*Composer's note* F and I had a discussion about why I(we) need 20 china sets and goblets etc, and I explained that even though the normal amount you ask for is 12 (he INSISTED it was 10, silly boy) that my immediate family(siblings and kids) already comes in at 12, and that doesn't include US. So if we have any company,(the oldest girls are now teens, so BFs are soon to follow) we'd be using paper plates. Make sense? Or makes greed?