very glad I live in California since I gave birth the days ago. I just got the approval for my state disability. They make the submittal process very confusing though. You need to get the medical form submitted between nine and forty nine days from your disabled date. And your employer has to make sure they full…

I really tried to stop watching this season, but I'm on the baby-waiting part of my maternity leave and there were five of them on the DVR. But I refused to watch the crossover episode with Chicago Fire and Chicago PD. That's taking it too far. I gave up on those two series last year.

The new album is very reminiscent of Sea Change.

There are SO, SO many problems with the implementation of common core. But one of the biggest ones is the fact that it wasn't slowly implemented. My mom teaches high school English and her students are expected to perform as if they've been learning with these standards their whole lives instead of being thrown into…

Teaching it lots of ways is great and that's what I do with my students (high school and college math) as well. The problem is that every time they learn a new way they are then expected to show that they know every method on each problem. And then write a paragraph about it. The busy work associated with elementary…

I may not agree with her 100% (8 month emergency fund might be excessive), but I love her attitude and her no-nonsense style. It's really just the audio of her weekly CNBC show, but we don't have cable so this is the best way for me to "watch."

I don't agree with him politically, but his personal finance advice is pretty spot-on. I almost always enjoy his show when I make the time for it.

I don't agree with him 100% but I certainly enjoy listening to him.

Now if only maxing out my 401K and Roth IRA didn't take a quarter of my income . . .

I wish I could just always shop in "girls" but they are always too wide for my short, skinny feet. Usually, I just go to Nordstrom Rack if I want a pair of shoes that will really fit my size 5 feet.

Those are my "game day" shoes, but mine are red with gold. Since I only wear them seven days a year, they've lasted a very long time. Love that they come in small enough sizes to fit. And I get compliments on them every time I wear them.

Exactly. I've had some great experiences on Frontier in the past, but I booked my mom on a flight this past summer and discovered they put her in a non-reclining seat. It wasn't the last row, it wasn't near the exit row, it just didn't recline. It was like a penalty for not paying the extra $8 per flight to pick a…

Also, even with the Nordstrom's debit card, you get $100 of free alterations per year. And they still have the bonus point days. The same alterations and bonus point days work at Nordstrom Rack as well.

During one of my last semesters of grad school, Cal State Fullerton added a similar convenience fee, so no more rewards points for paying my tuition. But five years later, my husband's school (Cal State Dominguez Hills) still hasn't instituted a convenience fee. Same system, different rules.

I'll admit, I'm actually going out a little more now (9 weeks left) than I did before because I know how little I'll be going out in the future. This fetus really likes to get out of the house; she loves concerts and football games especially. But the eating thing is beyond stupid. Personally, the only thing I "crave'…

It doesn't take long to get used to a husband that likes to sleep in. I like the quiet time to sit and read anyway.

Now how do I get the checkers from giving me dirty looks when I bring my own bags. Even in places where they've already been banned (LBC, LA) it seems like they are on auto-pilot with stuffing my things in the paper bags. And everywhere else, they act like I've made their life a living hell.

My BFF was complaining about his wife doing this just the other day. She could just spend $0.10 on each paper bag, but instead she has 50 reusable bags that never get re-used.

My husband is the exact same; kindle, library, and all. He'll read the news all day, but no books unless it's a textbook for class.

I'd rather have my husband's last name that that of my good-for-nothing step-father that legally adopted me when I was 10. Luckily, my mom wised up a couple years later and kicked his ass to the curb, but she kept his name. Before that, I had the last name of my bio dad, who I have never met. Seriously, my husband's…