SD's 28&26 are still traveling outside of the USA although OSD has split off and gone her own way and left YSD on her own. I completely thought YSD would crash and burn immediately, so I have been pleasantly surprised that as far as I know, she is getting by on her own. After months of ongoing, unannounced SD "pop-ins," these past few months have been pure bliss. NO SD drama. For those of you wondering, "Is this step-hell all worth it?" THIS is the time one waits for. 

BM moved to another state, SD's are living their own life, and DH and I get to enjoy our peace and quiet. - - - I hope I didn't just jinx it. 

To add to the good news, DH told YSD that he will NOT pay for her to get invisaline. (DH already paid for YSD to have her teeth straightened when she was a teen but she didn't wear her retainer as instructed and now her front teeth are jutting out agian.) You all may recall that YSD told DH she was coming to OUR city to have invisaline done. DH asked her "Why? You don't live in this area, why don't you have it done in BM's area where you live?" Some of you step-talkers suggested it was because BM and SD are sniffing around/scheming, hoping DH will pick up the tab. I think you ST's were spot on!

Also ... DH told her that as of next year he will no longer be paying for her cell phone or any of the other extras that he has been covering for her. So that is done. He is being more than generous to give her such long advance notice.

In other news, this week YSD's dog died in BM's care, while YSD is out of the U.S. ... Some history ... Shortly after DH and I met, BM got YSD a puppy. This is a woman that has killed many pets, birds, rabbits, you name it, she kills it. Due to her history DH predicted that it would go badly. When SD's were still teens, BM decided that it was fine to send the dog over to our house with YSD for free boarding. This dog was super hyper, anxious and not trained. Annoying. I'm pretty sure that BM's weird, anxious energy was making the dog crazy.  Sure enough, BM couldn't handle the dog and asked DH to keep it. He put his foot down on that one and said NO!  Fast forward a few months and it just so happened that DH and I got a big dog of our own that is dominate and plays rough (not aggressive, just a big and clumsy puppy.) YSD got all butt-hurt that when she brought her dog over, our dog pushed her dog around. For me, this had the happy effect of YSD no longer bringing their dog to our house, no more free dog boarding for BM. Fast forward to now, we haven't been told what happened or how the dog died but I suspect BM did something stupid and killed it. None of us will ever know for sure because BM lies about every thing. If she is responsible for YSD's dog dying, she would never own up to it, not even to SD. Perhaps not the most interesting story but now the saga has ended. The dog is in a better place now because anywhere other than with BM is a better place.