6:30 p.m. — I've been puttering around the house since I got home, putting things away and straightening up in preparation for our friends' arrival tomorrow. My mom instilled in me an obsessive need for my house to be spotless for guests. My husband and I go back and forth about what to do for dinner, and finally decide on our favorite hole-in-the-wall bar around the corner. I order a burger with green olives and American cheese, and he orders nachos. We run into an old acquaintance of my husband's, who buys our first round of beers. After those, we have one more of the same, and pick up a drink for the old friend. There's a work acquaintance of mine sitting on the other side of us at the bar. He orders microwave pork rinds and we chat with him and laugh about the absurdity of such a thing…and then we buy a package to take home and try ourselves. The total comes to $26 before tip, and my husband pays.