I think this kind of thing is way more common nowadays, because people are marrying older and living together before marriage much more often. By the time they walk down the aisle, they already have a 4-slot toaster and a set of mint green Egyptian cotton bath towels.

Meanwhile, plane tickets are getting more and more…

I guess. I was mostly making the comment just to express how amazed I am that other celebrities-of-the-moment have faded away (like Paris Hilton) but the Kardashians are here forever (it feels like at the moment). I don´t think they´re any better or worse than others of their ilk.

I wish it were as easy as that. But they are omnipresent in all forms of media and even if you don´t click on their articles, 'news' and various other clips, they are in front of your eyes at all times.

I think she also chose that word for the alliterative effect.

My family´s favorite story about names is that when my arrival was imminent, my brother asked what I would be named. My mother jokingly told him, 'Gertrude Mae,' and he threw such a screaming, rolling-on-the-floor tantrum that it lived in infamy. In his four-year-old opinion, this was an utterly Shit Name.

As a…

Oh, no, how awful! I´m a teacher as well and these stories just break my heart. First of all, because so many other teachers are working hard and hoping to keep their jobs from year to year, and THIS is what is in the public´s mind when it comes to education and second of all, that children should come to harm by…

I had one of these. Same situation - an older uncle who moved in with my grandmother during an extended period of unemployment.

Yeeeeeeeech! I had no idea!

Ah, CRAP. Katherine Heigl sucks. It´s nice to see her playing something other than a tight-lipped, disapproving mommy figure to an infantile 30-something male who should know better. But that´s all I´ve ever seen her do. (I´ve never seen Grey´s Anatomy, so I have no idea if she can actually handle drama worth a damn.…

True story. I once attempted to read Shape when 'trying something new' Lifestyle, healthy eating, blah blah. The whole magazine seemed to be about how all food was bad for me and I should eat the low-fat, no-calorie cardboard-flavored version of it instead. Silly me, I was just looking for some perspective and…

Yes. I had a very anal retentive mother. The kind who would criticize if you did something around the house, because you didn´t do it like she would do it.

Here in Iceland, we don´t have any McDonald´s. They have a franchisee agreement that all the ingredients must be shipped from their factories and their suppliers, the closest of which is in Denmark. It was way too expensive, so McDonald´s went away.

True that. I had one 'friend' who did several small things, like buying hamsters and putting them in the vending machines at school where they would run around and scare people who stuck their hands in to get their bag of Funyuns. Not too terrible, and quickly remedied by the janitorial staff.

I have never seen those Butter Bell crocks. Now I want one. ::shakes fist at you::

Try to keep your head up. I know a lot of people reading are thinking, 'This guy sounds like an ass. Why would you put up with that?' but I know it´s not always so easy. Often this stuff starts so gradually that you don´t notice how little your guy (or lady) is doing.

I´m so glad! LOL I was just checking!

LOL Ok. Whew! Glad he´s ok. I did think it was sort of weird. Like 'My husband has cancer, and so does my cat, but let me tell you all about the cat!' ... And then I thought maybe you were having a hard time coping and focusing on your fuzzy buddy instead of your husband. Glad to know he´s all good. :)

So what happened? Did he come back and did you guys talk? Or was it all bad?

...Is your husband doing all right? Maybe you don´t want to talk about it, or maybe Madison is easier to talk about because she´s an adorable furball, but I found myself worried about him, too, after your opening sentence.

Please don´t mind me if I´m intruding.

I think this version, by Thomas F. Wilson (comic, actor, cool guy) gets the point across in a much more clever and fun way. Bonus points for not using the word 'spunk.'