~ Should I be proud or ashamed that I have played 119 games of computer spider solitaire this month? Does it change your answer if I tell you I won 88 of them? I could claim productive neglect but, truthfully, it's not productive. It's just neglect.

~ Does a peanut butter, chocolate & banana panini count as a balanced dinner? (This was actually created and eaten by G, not me, but it looked really good. Okay, I admit it, I had a bite. The new panini maker may become our new version of our newlywed FryDaddy, which is a little alarming. Those little appliances are kryptonite to my super healthy intentions.)

~ What is the expiration date on outdoor Christmas decorations and how does one tactfully notify neighbors of this? [Edited to add: Oh dear, I didn't know that was going to be controversial. By decorations I mean blow-up Santas, dying wreaths with red bows, glowing plastic reindeer on the roof, colorful lights-in-motion displays that are still turned on. These tend to make me depressed as we head into February & March and also make me think of the aging Miss Havisham in her decaying wedding dress. You are exempt if you have lights on your house rooftop. You can, I think, have them as long as you want & I won't say a thing. As my mom reminded me, I come from a background of year-round light keepers. These are my complex and admittedly inconsistent personal Christmas decorations beliefs. What are yours?]

~ Why oh why are high schoolers allergic to wearing coats (and why does this bother me so much)? At what point on the New England winter thermometer does it become parental duty to insist that Lauren must wear one, even if no one else wears coats and it's "not that cold"? {Although insisting doesn't really work. One day I happened to be doing dishes & looking out the window at the moment she came home from school through the back yard. She walked into the yard in shirtsleeves, stopped just inside the gate, pulled out her coat and put it on for her entry into the house, I guess to appease me. Busted! We both laughed.} And why oh why did she ask for a nice new coat for Christmas (or, more to the point, why did we buy one)?

Your wisdom on these matters would be greatly appreciated (feel free to add questions of your own).