There comes a time when you just have to say no. Even when temptation is knocking. And even when it's so not.

I turned 30 this year. I was certain the end of the world would come before I would ever reach this age. 

(But in my mind I'm still 18.)

(And am told I look like I'm 21? Lies!)

A lot of my friends are in their 20s and yes, I am way more mature than them.

I'm not an embarrassment at all to my kids. Or to Mr Hunter. I don't dance on the front lawn. By myself. Because Mr Hunter fixed the car speakers. And the air conditioning. Or just because I want to dance.

I sing too...make my own "theme music".

And I certainly don't give sloppy kisses and sappy "I love you"'s to my children in public.

Just in front of their friends when I drop them off.

Or call Mr Hunter "Sexy Man" on facebook, for the world to see. And for all our friends to then call him that while assembling for church.

...

See, I'm totally grown up.

Dawn Direct Foam (DDF) and I are tight. We've been close since 2007. DDF gets me and I totally get DDF.  So much so that I know DDF isn't worth the price selling on the shelves. It's like three bucks for the DDF with the pump (pic above) and for the large refill bottle--fork out twice as much.

Now that's not too much money, right? I went to the Cheesecake Factory last night and spent over $20 on an entree and dessert (that's going straight to my backside) and I considered it highly worth it. But simple dollars can add up when you're going grocery shopping and notice that you're just about over your weekly budget when you remember you need the damn dish soap. And we're not about to sacrifice that Ben & Jerry's ice cream for clean dishes. Hell, we'll borrow some soap from the neighbor before we would ever let it get to that.

So you stand there for ten minutes, looking at the never ending wall of dish soap, noting that you can get a decent sized bottle of soap for a mere buck...but you want DDF even considering the price increase. So you put DDF in your cart, feeling somewhat guilty and angry that these name brands have to cost us so much.

What in the world is in this direct foam that makes it cost five times more than the generic and will WORK in your direct foam pump? Well, let's get out our periodic table of elements. The secret "ingredient" is merely two parts "H" (hydrogen) and one part "O" (oxygen). Yep, that's right--water; you know, that organic stuff that we drink that's supposed to help suppress hunger and increase metabolism? No, we're not talking about Green Tea, honey.

Now you CAN buy the generic, not feel guilty, put about a tablespoon or so into your direct foam bottle and ADD WATER. If you're a dollar store junky and like to get your dish soap from there (respect), you will need to add more than a tablespoon of soap (as it is much runnier and already has more water in it than the store brands). If you notice that your wannabe DDF isn't foamy, add more water.

The secret's out! DDF, you're amazing, but you're nothing but diluted dish soap. Forgive me?