Don't paper the house

It's hard to stay on top of your finances if you can't tame the paperwork; and yet many people keep more paperwork than they need, which makes the beast stronger and more difficult every month.

Last week, this column looked at investment and tax paperwork. This week, it moves on to the rest of the financial documents that can quickly build and create a paperwork mess.

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Switched at birth, women meet 56 years later

On a spring day in 1953, two baby girls were born at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in eastern Oregon. They grew up happily, got married, had kids of their own and became grandparents. Then last summer their lives were turned upside down.

Kay Rene Reed Qualls found out that she and DeeAnn Angell Shafer were switched at birth.

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How I spent 3 days gorging in Ann Arbor

"The first time I heard that people lived in Orlando, I couldn't shake the idea: Where would such people sleep? The Magic Kingdom? There's a government? A mayor who doesn't wear a mouse head and pose for pictures?

This is an occupied territory. Not a city.

To that list, add Ann Arbor.

If you've ever lived in this bucolic college town (population 114,000), gone to school here (at the University of Michigan), worked here (home to Domino's Pizza and Borders world headquarters) or dreamed of living here (Ann Arbor routinely lands on those Best Places To Live lists), you might take umbrage -- but never has a nice Midwestern town been so dominated by a delicatessen."

Click here for the juicy details!

Shuttle lifts off for last Hubble repair job

The space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven thundered away Monday on one last flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, setting off on an extraordinarily ambitious repair mission that NASA hopes will lift the celebrated observatory to new scientific heights.

Atlantis rose from its seaside pad just after 2 p.m. ET and arced out over the Atlantic, ducking through clouds. Hubble was directly overhead, 350 miles up (560 kilometers up).

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Art Car bash shows how Houston rolls

"The intricately painted cars drove down Allen Parkway Saturday afternoon, drawing squeals from adults and children alike.

Included in the celebrated procession: A giant, rolling living room, complete with couches and a bar.

One car was made to look like a peacock with a giant waving tail."

Click here for the rest of the story, the photos and the video -- but stay within the speed limit, okay?

California Ghost Town Honors Historic Memories

"On Saturday at 10 a.m., a local ghost town will shake off its cobwebs and open its gates for a bash to be held in its honor.

The remains of Clarksville will be open to the public for a celebration of the town’s history. The family friendly event will feature Pony Express Remount demonstrations, a Civil War era encampment, the Mormon Battalion re-enactment group, gold panning, music and more."

Click here for more on this living-history event.

‘i-house’ is giant leap from trailer park

From its bamboo floors to its rooftop deck, Clayton Homes' new industrial-chic "i-house" is about as far removed from a mobile home as an iPod from a record player.

Architects at the country's largest manufactured home company embraced the basic rectangular form of what began as housing on wheels and gave it a postmodern turn with a distinctive v-shaped roofline, energy efficiency and luxury appointments.

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