"you will pet me, or you will bleed. the choice is yours."

I get what you're saying. Girl Scouts isn't like that in my area, or at least it wasn't when i was a kid, but there was an all girls camp I went to as a kid that had a huge impact on me. It gave me a sense of confidence and independence that I really couldn't have gotten elsewhere. It sound like you're making a great…

typical DIY gifts from me include stationary, soap, bath salts, herb blends/extracts/salts/sugars, solid perfume, baked goods/nuts/candies, preserves and jellies, and mix CDs.

Even taking into consideration that "eggs" is slang for "testicles" in french, i am still baffled.

On the bright side, it is just a plant. It's not like if the plant died all memory of your grandfather would be wiped off the face of the earth.

I get it. My fiance grew up in a household where one of his parents totally ran the household and the other parent didn't even know what their mortgage payments were each month. When he and I first moved in together, if I were to say, "just give X amount to me from your paycheck each month and I'll take it from…

You sound like a really good friend. Good luck!

I really like Ramit Sethi for the same reasons, very straightforward and easy to understand.

because it makes it sound like something too complicated to make yourself.

Maybe it's because I grew up in a terrible household full of lies and terror, but I can't imagine just taking my fiance's word for something as important as our household finances. We are all up in each other's business with that, we know each other's account balances, salaries, credit scores, debts....we review our…

I'm touched every year my mother in law renews my AAA membership. She's so sweet.

Honestly, if you were my best friend, and i chose you to confide in about terrible things happening in my relationship, i would be really touched if you were to provide me with useful resources for improving my situation. I'd just want you to give me those gifts privately, possibly with a little speech or note that…

i mix honey and cinnamon into some softened butter and then put it on the sweet potato biscuits fresh out of the oven. then i make happy noises while i eat it.

have you discovered the joys of butternut squash yet? that was another magical day for me.

Wow. I can't believe that's a thing. I can't even picture how that would taste.

I made sweet potato biscuits last thanksgiving, and people just weren't that impressed with them. i don't give a fuck, i made 40 more this year. they're incredible.

....what recipe for a salad did you get off the back of a pistacio pudding box? i need to know.

The day i discovered sweet potatoes could be prepared as a savory dish was the day my consumption of sweet potatoes skyrocketed.

most brands are cut with veggie oil and corn oil. always read the label to make sure you're getting the good stuff.

Agreed. I thought I hated vegetables until I realized I just grew up with bad cooks. This year I'm serving roasted brussel sprouts, roasted butternut squash, steamed green beans with almonds, and real cranberry sauce. I am making steamed broccoli with cheese sauce, because it just wouldn't be thanksgiving without a…