By LEIGH GROGAN, Sacramento Bee

Father's Day 2008 might be the day of the gas and/or grocery gift card.

No bad ties, no grilling tools.

Just a full tank and a loaf of bread.

According to the National Retail Federation, consumers plan to spend an average of $94.54 on Father's Day gifts. Total spending is expected to reach $9.6 billion.

It often strikes in the dead of night.

You hit the sack, your skin all clean and clear.

You wake up, and there's been an overnight visitor -- an unwelcome one at that.

Call it a bump, a blemish or a zit. If you're 35, even 45, you're just as frustrated by your rebellious complexion as you were at 15.

There's a decidedly new trend influencing maternity apparel this spring, heading into summer.

Instead of everything being designed for an under-the-belly look, more pieces are designed to go over the bump.

America has yet to begin voting and there's already controversy (mostly online) over "American Idol" -- this time whether it should have included contestant Carly Smithson among its Top 24. That's because she once had a recording contract.