Laura,
Keep your Toshiba plugged in as much as you want. It doesn't matter if it's on or off, connected to the computer or not. Just plug it in and relax 8)
Not to get in between you and your boyfriend,
but discharging your battery all the way before recharging it does more harm than good. In fact, that's about the worst thing you can do for your battery life.
Like I said above, you have an L-ION battery not a Nickel Cadmium. If it was NiCad, then you would want your battery to run all the way out. L-IONS work much much better with constant charging or "Topping off"
Hope this helps,
Brad