FastWeb Parent Pages (www.fastweb.com)
Dads, break out the martini mixings, pull on your slippers, log onto this site, and save yourself a bundle. Putting your kid through college just got a whole lot easier.
Tons of information on financial aid is easily accessed here, from the mundane (filling out those damn forms) to the arcane (getting tax breaks out of your education expenses). Search over 500,000 scholarships for support packages that match your little one’s aptitudes and achievements, or use the online calendar to keep track of all those deadlines. And if you’re feeling particularly brave, there’s a loan calculator that tells you just how much and how long you can expect to be paying for your kid’s four-year beer-bong fest.
Fabulous Foods (www.fabulousfoods.com)
1 bottle South African Shiraz
1 cup of optimism
3 tbsp. confidence
1/4 lb. humor
Today’s modern girl has her eyes wide open, lads: uncorking a bottle of Gallo and buying prepped food at the Safeway Deli just isn’t going to cut the mustard. Enter FabulousFoods.com. Even the most bumbling bachelor chef will be able to whip up an evening of epicurean delight after visiting this site. Recipes are easily found, a cooking tips section reveals secrets that once only moms knew—e.g., the ins and outs of deboning chickens, or how to select the right cut of meat—while a glossary of terms deciphers complicated foreign words like “sauté” and “braise.” From easy-as-pie (Beefy Cowboy Beans) to rocket science (Roasted Chilean Sea Bass with Artichoke Barigoule), Fabulous Foods has a recipe for everyone.
Baby Namer (www.babynamer.com)
Ain’t thinking up baby names fun?
She shot down Hendrix. Ozzie, ditto. You know better than to bring up Rocky again… Meanwhile, you’re overhearing phone conversations in which names like Armand and Giuseppe keep cropping up. She’s got a database with 5,235 options in it on her PC; you scribbled a few ideas on a post-it then lost it in the glovebox.
She’s wondering if you’ve a creative bone in your body. You’re thinking that if the kid gets stuck with Francois, not only will he go through life getting mocked by his peers, you’ll probably catch the same from yours. Laughed out of PTA meetings. Whispered about at little league award dinners. Time to take control, guy. Babynamer.com is your secret weapon.
Woof.com, various dates