By LETITIA STEIN, St. Petersburg Times

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Enock Mezilas' first shot fell short of the hoop by several feet. His kid brother Standley chased after the basketball, rebounding it back. Enock took a deep breath and shot again.

The ball landed with a thud. Still short.

Confession time: I've fallen in love with elastic waistbands. The thicker the better.

The baby bump needs room to expand.

Yep, I'm expecting. And I'm all about cheap maternity clothes, even if it means a few frumpy days while preggers. I can't see the point to investing in huge, scary clothes that hopefully will be banished from my closet in a few months.

Some girls hoard lip glosses. For the same money, my friend collects vintage minks and furs.

She finds them at flea markets around Tampa Bay, where the prices are cheaper than at antique malls and vintage-clothing stores. She's never paid more than $35 for a fur, and that was a gorgeous dark mink coat with an emerald-green silk lining.

A rainy day is no reason to get the fashion blues. With a few wardrobe updates, you'll be splashing through the puddles in style!

Summer vacation is a time when lots of kids are hanging around the house more than ever -- and potentially getting into trouble. It's up to you to keep them from shopping online, sending thousands of text messages or letting strangers in to the house when you're not home.

Have you ever read the nutritional info on those little cups of yogurt at the grocery store? Ack!
I can't tell you how many hours I've spent in grocery-store aisles going from one brand to the next, trying to find something that's not basically a molten candy bar, or loaded with all sorts of artificial sweeteners.

Brides, unite! We deserve a better wedding-dress experience.Two years ago, I was there. Crammed into a stablelike dressing room at a wedding-dress warehouse. Wearing a corset that felt like a body diaper. Feeling enormous under mounds of taffeta and florescent lights.