Once in a Lifetime

 Extra credit if you can name the band (without google!)

The week I Fell in Love on the Pacific Coast

I'm not going to lie, he was never supposed to be marriage material; It wasn't love at first sight.  There were some pretty major red flags.  It took him months of "coincidentally" meeting me in the library while I was studying (he allegedly commandeered a book of passes and forged a teacher's name) to convince me to see him outside school.  I was finally persuaded because he made me laugh so hard that my over-sized Polish cheeks would hurt for hours after we were together.  I didn't tell people about him, and not just because he was 1 1/2 years younger (which is a HUGE difference in HS), it was because he wasn't long-term material.  I was pretty sure I was never going to get married; fairytale love didn't exist, and I was going to be a liberated, successful, independent woman.  Men (and kids) were just too much effort*.

Ode to Our Odyssey

Don't worry, I am not going to physically write an ode, I just like the alliteration
Mini-van Confessions 

Season 1 / Episode 2

 

We walk almost everywhere, in fact, I don't even like to drive*, but most of all, I've always prided myself on being unique.  One day, a couple of years back, we were in a hurry.  I needed to swing by the grocery store so instead of walking to school to get the kids, I drove. We got back home to hurriedly jump into the van, only to remember that I had driven it to school to "save time."

Frustrated, I sighed aloud, "How did we walk right past our own minivan and miss it?"

To which my very logical, slightly snarky, and then 6 year old son replied, "Ummm... maybe because we have the same car as everyone else in Suburbia?!?" 

So how did I get to this point? of following the masses, of accepting my destiny, of embracing the Odyssey?  Just like

Frugal January

I've found 2 fool proof ways to lower our bills, and in January, with the holidays just over, there couldn't be a better time.

Firstly, I've misplaced my AmEx. No need to go into a panic, my identity is not about to get stolen and nobody is having a $100 shopping spree at Kohls on me. 
 
Although I'm organized, I am constantly misplacing my credit cards, keys, and iPhone.  Pretty much just those 3 things but repeatedly.  I stick them in a pocket* or purse or coat or book or pantry and then can't find them.  In this case, I called "New Jersey" and ordered a replacement part for my really nice but very dusty pressure cooker because I want to save money and the environment by making my own beans instead of buying them canned.  That is the last purchase.  For nearly 3

Lovin' Plum

If you haven't read in awhile and have a goal to get back into books (or start for the first time), the Stephanie Plum Series is a fun place to begin. Stephanie is an "independent" woman who needs all the help she can get from a myriad of fantastically entertaining characters.  She is consummately broke, totally tenacious, and an endearing (albeit unlikely) heroine.  The series is a really enjoyable combination of comedy, romance, and mystery.

WOW! that first paragraph is so generic that it sounds exactly like one of my Balderdash answers!  I might need to spruce up my book recommendation delivery.

WARNING:  These books are a little racy, but in a fun and non-offensive way.  There is some language and a bunch of moderate sexual references, very few between married couples.  I'm not giving anything away here, but Grandma Mazur carries a gun and is a little boy crazy.  Stephanie is constantly torn between

I Hate GS Cookies

Okay, I know, a little harsh.  I'm not normally snarky (at least publicly-- in private after a couple glasses of wine is sometimes another story) but I Hate Girl Scout Cookies^.
I don't like