[jQuery] Validation plugin -- need help attaching 'pending' label and one other issue

[jQuery] Validation plugin -- need help attaching 'pending' label and one other issue


I apologize for the double post. This subject line is a little more
specific.
I'm trying to do two things that seem as if they should be very simple
(for somebody who has a little more experience than me, that is):
1. Attach a pending label to a currently validating field, like the
error and checked labels
2. Prevent validation on a field with validation rule, but which is
optional and empty.
Can somebody please help me with a concrete answer or a code example?
Thanks,
Rus