Freaky Friday.

Freaky in that I'm going to do blog list for the first time in, uh, a year. What can I say, I'm all about building anticipation among my readership of three (HI MOM!).

1. I really want to get rid of cable. Really a lot, because our bill is topping $170/mo. And daycare is going up $80/mo starting next week. I don't know about you, but we have yet to find a house with a money tree out back. WHERE IS ALL THE MONEY? Not at our house, that's where. Cutting cable seems like such an easy money saver, especially with all the streaming options out there. Except...cable. What about the final season of Mad Men? What about Top Chef? What about the babysitt...I mean, Disney Channel?

Life is full of tough choices and I think our tough choice is going to be what flavor of Hamburger Helper to buy next (with a coupon) so we can afford to keep cable.

2. Speaking of coupons...I am dangerously close to becoming a crazy coupon lady. Ok, not really. But I do love saving money and have recently begun challenging myself to get the best deals possible at Target. Between the coupons from the paper, the coupons I get at checkout, my Target Cartwheel app (which is a little creepy but quite handy), Target promotions (get a $5 gift card if you buy three, yada yada), and my Target RedCard, I'm doing alright. A few weeks ago I saved almost $30 off my $100 grocery bill. I WIN!

Couponing is essentially sports for uncoordinated moms who love shopping. And we all know I excel at shopping.

3. Whatever happened to Supermarket Sweep? I would totally win that, too.

4. You'll be delighted to hear that I finally found a mascara I truly love. Bobbi Brown No-Smudge. Stays on, doesn't flake, and – as promised – doesn't smudge. You may not believe me on that last point because I currently have mascara smudged under both eyes, but that's only because I was too lazy to remove yesterday's.

I've also branched out and fallen in love with a few other cosmetic items. Urban Decay's Primer Potion stays on, isn't too thick, and so far doesn't get crusty and hard in the tube (my only real complaint about the MAC paints). Eyeliner has long been a source of frustration for me and I've been using shadow with a liner brush but decided to give Stila's Smudge Stick a go and I really like it. Goes on easily, stays on all day.

Now that my eyes are smudge-proof, I might have to dedicate an evening to watching/sobbing my way through some classics like Love Story or The Way We Were. Or The Notebook. Hey girl.

5. Back to TV. Nate and I recently started watching two shows which are kind of the same (cop dramas investigating murders) and totally different (Mexican border town, British coastal town). The Bridge is really good but makes me never want to set foot in Mexico again despite my deep deep love for beaches and guacamole. Broadchurch is creepy and sad but has significantly improved my ability to decipher the words of a brooding, mumbling Brit. Both are highly recommended.

6. I just finished Mindy Kaling's book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) after a two-evening reading marathon. She's so funny and I'm pretty sure that book plus a beach and guacamole (somewhere other than Juarez, Mexico) would have put me in a state of euphoria. Do you guys have any favorites in a similar vein (besides Tina Fey's Bossypants, because obviously I bought that the day it came out and finished it two hours later)?

7. Right now I really don't have the energy or mental capacity to process anything heavier than a Mindy Kaling book (I know this for sure because I spelled three words wrong in this sentence and then spelled sentence wrong, too), so I've been relying heavily on Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum audiobooks. These might require even less brainpower than Mindy's book, but they make my commute fly by and probably offer neighboring drivers a good show since I spend a lot of time laughing out loud. Something to consider if you have a long drive to work or want to drown out the sounds of your children. If your kids are anything like mine they'll either be talking too much or screaming too loud to notice the sexual innuendos and swear words. (Just kidding, I would never listen to it with them in the car. I don't need Calvin asking me why Stephanie feels all tingly when Ranger walks in. Besides, that's a ridiculous question. Obviously any woman with a pulse would feel similarly.)

8. This is so good.

9. Now that summer's winding down, I think I can safely say what worked and what didn't in the garden. Basil, rosemary, and chives grew easily. Our little strawberry plant produced all summer long and Calvin ate them all. The cherry tomatoes turned out super sweet and yummy and Audra ate them all. Zucchini doesn't like pots. Lettuce does, but I don't like lettuce from pots. The first round of roma tomatoes suffered from blossom end rot, but there is another crop ripening now and they look perfect. Our tiny green pepper plant refused to grow all summer but now there are two little green peppers hanging from it and I'm excited. Our cilantro was great but then I cut it back too much and it didn't come back. Same with the dill, but I only cut that back because we didn't really use much and it was taking over. The kids ate a snap pea every time they saw one, and scarfed down the carrots, too. The green beans were the first to arrive and the first to go, but they were abundant while they lasted.

The plan for next year is to build two raised beds on the plot of grass behind our fence. We get a ton of sun and we'll be able to plan more. We'll definitely keep the herbs in pots on the patio, but I hope to plant a larger variety of tomatoes along with more peas, carrots, beans, green peppers, strawberries, and zucchini out back. I'd like to try onions and leeks next year, too. Maybe even a watermelon? We also planted three raspberry bushes alongside our garage this year, so hopefully that will save us the big bucks next summer because my kids are bottomless berry dumpsters.

10. We're headed to the Minnesota State Fair tomorrow morning, and yes there will be corn dogs and deep fried something-or-another at 8am. When I reminded Calvin of our plan to visit the fair tomorrow, he said "Is that where we go to eat a lot of junk for breakfast?"

Sounds like he's got the plan down pat.