Awkward things...

I'm the queen of getting in awkward and uncomfortable situations. I feel like I should create a running tally of the various awkward situations that come my way. For instance, and this is the inspiration for this post--overhearing something you weren't supposed to hear but that you have to address because it directly affects you. How do you start that?

"I promise I wasn't eavesdropping, but...."

"You probably didn't realize I was in earshot, but...."

"So I hear (quite literally) that you think..."

"I may have heard this out of context, but I heard you say..."

Seriously, what do you do? I'm not very subtle, so this should be an interesting challenge... and I can't just let it go, because I'm incapable of just letting it go. Conversation starter suggestions?

Butternut Squash

My garden is on the verge of yielding about 10 huge butternut squash. So here's the question: What in the world can you do with butternut squash!? I probably should have thought of that before I planted this green monster that has taken over my yard.

New Study-- Scary predictions

Health studies, especially when they involve American eating habits tend to be all doom and gloom. This one from Johns Hopkins is no different, but particularly frightening considering it's abundantly clear that there's a correlation between obesity and overall health. Epidemic is definitely the right word here. The prediction: 3 in 4 adults will be overweight by 2015; and, 41 percent of Americans will be obese.

If that's not inspiration for me to put down the Peanut Buster Parfait and hit up a spin class, I don't know what is.... (Man, but I LOVE my Peanut Buster Parfait)

All About The Benjamins

I was on the Consumerist website yesterday and I came across a link to this article from the Get Rich Slowly site. Basically, the site asked MSN money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston how closely she follows the advice she gives readers, and she offered to write a column detailing how she lives her financial life. As somewhat of a personal finance geek, I thought it was cool that Weston was willing to pull back the curtains a bit and let us peek in. I was also impressed that she drives an old-ass car--a 1993 SUV with 250k on it--which made me feel a little bit better about the 1997 Buick Century with 100k on it that Rob and I have been driving around in for the past few years. We've started to kind of loathe the car--particularly because it feels sort of like we're driving a boat--but Liz has convinced me to stick with it for a bit longer.

Speaking of Rob and money, I assume that probably 100 percent of our tiny blog readership knows at this point that Rob got laid off last week. We're also in the middle of buying a house, so timing... could have been better. But, Rob's lined up some freelance work, and has some job prospects, so things are looking up.

But it all comes back to my personal finance obsession. I've been a little lax this past year, largely because we were finally in a place where we had a good amount of income coming in and our fixed expenses had dropped. We definitely managed to save, but I also spent probably a little too much time on the Banana Republic site ordering sale merchandise. Now that we're looking at a mortgage payment--and a potential/possible/likely drop in income, I've started re-dedicating myself to a few of my favorite financial resources on the web. Here's what I've been looking at:

I'm not sure why, but I'm a huge fan of the money columnists, advice and message boards on the MSN money site. As a recent college graduate with a journalism degree and mostly non-existent math skills, this is the website I started scouring during my first job, before we got married, and when we were carrying $10k-plus in credit card debt between the two of us.

I learned about the 60 percent solution, which I've been following a modified version of ever since. And I met, and fell in love with, the Women in Red, which started out as a twice-monthly column about a group of women that know very little about "the rules" of personal finance, but want to get rid of their debt.

So, this week, I'm going back and reacquainting myself, discovering some new stuff, and learning some old stuff all over again.

Summer TV, take two

A little over a month ago, I blogged about how the lack of solid original programming on TV during the summer months usually means my summer is kind of boring.

So yeah, I've been watching Murder, She Wrote. And Law & Order. But I've also decided to give some of the minimal new summer programming a try. The Closer, for example, on TNT. It's great. It has the procedural thing going for it, which I love, so I can watch virtually any episode and not have to worry about knowing backstory. And Kyra Sedgwick, as a Southern transplant in Los Angeles with a penchant for junk food, is amazing. It's good stuff.

I've also decided to give Mad Men on AMC a chance. It's an hour-long drama about the advertising industry in the early 60s. I usually think anything remotely historical equals boring, but... I guess the 60s weren't that long ago, so I can handle it. It was created by Matthew Weiner, an exec producer and writer for The Sopranos, so the script doesn't suck. I'm only one episode in, but I like it. The clothes are great, anyway.

Condom Controversy

So, have you heard about FOX News not airing a new Trojan ad because "it objected to the message that condoms can prevent pregnancy," according to the New York Times.

All I can say is this just reaffirms why I don't watch that station.

RIP Cincinnati and Kentucky Post

It's always a sad day when a newspaper announces it's going out of business.

Maybe This Will Get Me To Exercise...

I'm super-excited about the new Wii Fit. It kind of reminds me of the old-school Nintendo Power Pad. Too bad it's not coming out for awhile....