I think books are always lovely, but then I am a reader. I'm sure as a librarian, you have a good idea what's out there that will capture her interest. And if she complains? That is an excellent time to stop gifting, because a 16 year old who doesn't know better than to act grateful is one who doesn't deserve…

My first thought was "pregnancy" and you vetoed it! So I can be of no help, other than to suggest you avoid underwire bras while your boobs are deciding what they want to be when they grow up. When I was pregnant (and also now that I'm nursing, I was prone to a lot of cup size changes, and keeping things wireless…

I've never been diagnosed either, but every winter around January or so I get super down. One thing to try is lots of vitamin D, since you're not apt to get it from sunlight this time of year. (I don't know if lightboxes provide this— have never really tried one.) Do you eat much fish? I've heard that's a good…

I asked my husband, who had some experience with that, and he said that: 1) He would want a heads-up and 2) It didn't stop him from having sex with a woman. He said that when it looked like sex was going to happen (but not RIGHT before), the girl disclosed it in a factual kind of way, and they wound up dating 6…

I dunno, a skotch deeper and you're in jewel-tone territory. Totally acceptable!

I dunno, I think more people are shacking up first and getting "practice babies," as my now-husband and I sometimes call our dog. If she were less of a total spaz, I totally would have had her be our flower puppy on our big day.

My mom's family used to not put up any decorations until Christmas Eve, and they left them up for the 12 days of Christmas (which don't start until Christmas Day!). I am not QUITE that committed, but I like to wait a bit too.

Aw, poor puppy. I wouldn't confront the dogsitter about it. Water under the bridge, huge favor, etc. If your dog put on that much weight in just two weeks, it might be easier to take off. Just give some extra long walks & play sessions and maybe cut the food a bit. (I serve my dog from an old measuring cup that I…

Do not engage! Block, then if you find yourself never wandering over to check out her page, unfriend. (I would probably jump straight to unfriend, but I am a bitch like that. Sorry, dad.)

I just had an abnormal pap result a couple weeks ago. My doctor was convinced that it was a lab error, since my history (married, monogamous, just-had-a-baby, boring) did not indicate any HPV risk. BUT he went ahead and did the "next step" anyway, which was: 1. Another pap smear, 2. a colposcopy, in which he trained…

Oooh! I'm getting Dixit for my brother and his wife! Great game.

I second the classes/knitpicks recs and would like to add a plug for Ravelry.com. It's a huge online database with many many free patterns and a community of knitters that can answer questions.

Yeth!

But then you're walking around smelling like cheese or peanut butter or dog butt all day.

You're in the home stretch! Yay!

My dog had a habit of escaping her crate as a puppy. She would jostle it until the latch opened. So one evening, we put a combination lock on the latch as an extra precaution and left the tv on for background noise. We came home from dinner to find the dog on the couch, eating a bag of SunChips, watching Animal Planet …

I... never made it past pre-cal. Hangs head in shame.

Oh, I always thought proofs were the best part.

That is fantastic! I'm a Spanish teacher who, in college, got by with as little math as possible because I "wasn't good." Now, I wish I had pushed myself more, mostly because I find intellectual laziness to be embarrassing.

OHMYGOD the lattice method. I teach high school (Spanish, thank goodness) and I have encountered this now and again, and I always feel mystified and a wee bit grumpy. Like, I'm glad kids are benefiting, but at the same time, I really want my kid (who barely has teeth yet) to learn it "the real way".