Unfortunately Chef's team made the playoffs. Its wall to wall football here. EVERYTHING revolves around the football programming. All necessary house maintenance/repairs comes to a grinding halt.

I have two cats. A 16 yr old female siamese mix (apple head, medium length hair with lilac pointing) and a 9 year old male bombay. Yesterday it was quite frigid here (still is) at about 10 degrees F. So I went home during mid day on my lunch break to re-stoke the two wood stoves.

It dawned on me a few minutes into it that my bombay was nowhere to be seen. He is VERY shy around strangers and will run when we have company (probably due to post traumatic SKID syndrome as the two youngest skids were and still are animal torturers.)

here it is; my collection of "common themes" that kept cropping up early in the relationship:

1. Does your man allow co-sleeping with his children? (aka the kiddies routinely jump into bed with him at night)

2. Does he have to lie down with them to get them to sleep?

3. Do the children seem somehow "stunted" socially? Do they have poor hygiene habits, eating habits, bedtime habits?

4. Does your man subscribe to the "one big happy family" model? (expects you to love his children as much as or more than him)

Went to Chef's work's Xmas party. A co worker that Chef was touting was there. She's about my age but thinner and much more "crinkly" (smoking, sun damage, drugs etc) A lot like Chef's older half sisters. Anyway I could tell this woman was sweet on Chef yet she could never be a sugar mama (high school drop out and strictly pink collar) She made it a point to sit very close to Chef. I'll call her "Jackie"