ShareThisIt's every paraskavedekatriaphobic's worst nightmare and it's coming up soon. Yes, another Friday the 13th is almost upon us, and in its honor here are some of my favorite Friday-centric things out there. Don't worry; they're not all scary.Friday Fondue: I'll say it here: I love to know the origin of things, which brings me to Frigg, the goddess of fertility, after whom Friday was named. Given the day's romantic genesis, grab your sweetie and celebrate good old Frigg with a dreamy pot of melted chocolate goodness. Couples fondue pots available for under $20 at cooking.com. Romance not included.Friday Fun Night: Yeeeeoooowww! Friday means the weekend is here and the time to celebrate is now. Enjoy some low-key or high-spirited (depending upon your crowd) fun with a game night. Classics like "Pictionary" and "Scattergories" or newcomers like "Hannah Montana Mall Madness" and "Indiana Jones DVD Game" available at boardgames.com. Mix them all and imagine the good times.Casual Fridays: Especially during the warm weather, lots of companies loosen their ties and ditch their pantyhose in exchange for more relaxed wear. If you're among the many who partake in this ritual, consider updating your look at jcrew.com. Men or women can both find some cute but not outrageous office outfits.Freaky and Frightening DVDs: If you're in the mood for some good old-fashioned Disney fun, why not give "Freaky Friday" a whirl? You've got your original 1976 version with Jodie Foster or the 2003 adaptation with little Lindsay Lohan on the complete opposite end of the spectrum.I would, of course, be remiss not to mention "Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection Series DVD Box Set." For you or for the Jason lovers in your life, what better gift could there be than the slasher films that keep giving -- eight times over! Get these and about a trillion other movies at Amazon.com.And if you're not inspired to get out there and have a little fun this Friday the 13th, then it is truly bad luck for you.(Helen Malani is the chief shopping expert for Shopzilla.com, an E.W. Scripps company, and the largest comparison shopping search engine on the Web. E-mail Helen at askhelen(at)shopzilla.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.net.)
Celebrate Friday the 13th ... or else.
Paying taxes unites us. It also divides us. People can pay five and even six times more in state and local taxes than other folks in similar circumstances making similar incomes.
Who's got your number?
In one of the fastest-growing forms of identity theft, crooks are stealing tax refunds by swiping personal information and using it to trick the Internal Revenue Service.
