Twitter's video-sharing app Vine has attracted all different types of people, from high school teenagers, to entrepreneurs, to celebrities.

The mobile app, which is currently only available for iOS, lets people take short, six-second clips and edit them as they record. 

Some celebrities, like Kate Upton and Jimmy Fallon, can't seem to get enough of Vine. But they're not the only ones who feel compelled to share random, and sometimes very odd, details of their lives.

Model Kate Upton gives her followers backstage access to her life

Backstage @chrissyteigen is sleepy vine.co/v/bvdeMIharq0

— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) February 11, 2013

Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee does a quick light show

The Lights! vine.co/v/b5Q1XrQ7YKE

— TOMMY LEE (@MrTommyLand) January 25, 2013

Comedian Jimmy Fallon rocks some sweet yellow shades

Eeeny weeny teeny weeny. #Supersonicvine.co/v/brIhpLr9H59

— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) February 16, 2013

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Wall Street is an easy place to pick up the habit of overeating.

Think about it: It's a place that embraces taking clients out to lavish dinners, working long days and sometimes splurging on meals to make up for those miserable hours.

And then there's the time honored tradition of the Wall Street eating contest.

Eating contests are the product of bankers — competitive by nature — having down time during their long days at the office. All of the sudden, someone decides to bet someone else that they can't eat the entire contents of a vending machine... or 60 hamburgers... or 500 Starbursts.

So you can see how bankers may start thinking it's okay to stuff themselves to the brim. It's not. Overeating can be addicting, and that addiction can make you depressed and spur disease.

It changes your body clock.

That means you start to crave good more, and at times when you normally wouldn't have.

From NPR:

"If mice eat a high-fat diet, they actually wake up during what is nighttime for them and eat," says Dr. Joe Bass, a Northwestern University endocrinologist and molecular biologist who has published numerous studies about the body clock and mice. "It would be as if you were waking up every night during holiday season and eating all the sweets in your refrigerator."

It can make you addicted to eating.

From Scientific American:

Like many pleasurable behaviors—including sex and drug use—eating can trigger the release of dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter in the brain. This internal chemical reward, in turn, increases the likelihood that the associated action will eventually become habitual through positive reinforcement conditioning. If activated by overeating, these neurochemical patterns can make the behavior tough to shake—a result seen in many human cases, notes Paul Kenny, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Fla., and co-author of the new study. "Most people who are overweight would say, 'I would like to control my weight and my eating,' but they find it very hard to control their feeding behavior," he says.

...and that addiction can make you feel depressed.

"Food highs" that come from over eating can actually cause the same vicious cycles in the brain that highs from addictive drugs can cause, according to research from the University of Montreal.

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The heads of nearly every government agency have announced their plans to implement sequestration, and the results aren't pretty. 

Sequestration cuts will result in $85 billion of across-the-board budget reductions for each non-exempt government agency in 2013. 

Every agency will have to deal with a budget reduction, but some will have to take especially brutal measures.

600,000 low-income women and children could be thrown off the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

Source: Department of Agriculture

Budget cuts for animal disease prevention and response will lead to a higher probability of disease outbreaks among livestock.

Source: Department of Agriculture

The Treasury will have to cut investigations of international money-laundering, including schemes to send cash to terrorist organizations and drug cartels.

Source: Department of the Treasury

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Last night's Oscar awards carried on for a lengthy three-and-a-half hours. 

If you turned away, or tuned out before the marathon event was over, you may have missed an Oscar-worthy moment on or off stage.

Jennifer Lawrence fell during the show, Sandra Bullock made a GIF-worthy face while presenting, and Ben Affleck was brought to tears by the end of the night.

Charlize Theron was one of the first actresses on the red carpet to stun with a short cut and a white Dior Couture.

Jennifer Lawrence joked around with "Silver Linings Playbook" costar Bradley Cooper on the red carpet.

Kristen Stewart hobbled around on crutches off the Oscar stage.

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In airline travel, the phrase "free upgrade" is something we often hear about, but few of us are ever lucky enough to actually see.

Not so for John De Langhe, who was recently traveling economy on an Emirates A380 flight, returning from Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam to Amsterdam with a layover in Dubai. As the flight was overbooked, John and his girlfriend were moved up to business class free of charge.

"The upgrade came as a complete surprise since we were going through the checkpoint at the gate," John told us in an email. "It was only there that during the ticket scan, the machine started bleeping, so we thought the worst and thought there was something wrong with our tickets, but on the contrary, the ground crew smiled and announced we were upgraded to Business Class."

John uploaded his photos to Reddit over the weekend, and was kind enough to allow Business Insider to republish them with his captions.

It's a great glimpse into what John describes as the best flight of his life.

"Best seat ever."

"Girlfriend getting comfy."

"Me, smiling like some schoolgirl."

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This is part of our series on the Sexiest Scientists Alive.

Bobak Ferdowsi, the mystery man who made waves over the summer for his rocker hairdo during NASA's Curiosity Rover landing on Mars, has quickly become an icon.

The 33-year-old is a system engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory with a jam-packed schedule.

Since he hit the big time during the rover landing in August, he's been to visit the White House during the state of the union address, walked in the inauguration parade, and even got to meet the First Lady Michelle Obama and the First Dog, Bo.

We've dug up a few interesting facts about the mystery "mohawk guy" that everyone wants to know about.

He's a California guy at heart.

His full name is Bobak Ferdowsi. He's 33-years-old, and lives in Pasadena. He's originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and still has family there.

He learned from a nobel laureate.

He earned his bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Washington, and he went to MIT to get a master's degree in the same subject.

While he was a student at the University of Washington he did research under Nobel Laureate Hans Dehmelt in the Department of Physics.

He says his job is out of a movie.

He's the flight director of the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Mission at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California, he's worked there since 2003.

He describes his job as similar to Ed Hariss's role in the movie Apollo 13.

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This is part of our series on the Sexiest Scientists Alive.

A buzzing bee is not always something to swat at.

Even though 30-year-old Noah Wilson-Rich was afraid of every creepy-crawly passing by when he was younger, he is now a scientist who studies bees and bee diseases.

Bees are important not only because they pollinate flowers and crops, but also because they produce honey for our teas and beeswax, an ingredient found in products like lip balm, hand lotion and furniture polish.

Wilson-Rich, who received his Ph.D. from Tufts University, founded Boston-based Best Bees Company in 2010. The company supports people who want to own and care for their own beehive.

The scientist snapped some photos and explained his typical day at work.  

Wake up time is around 7 a.m., give or take a few snooze button smacks. I organize my day during my first cup of coffee. Today is Valentine’s Day, so I’m wearing my red hoodie while conspiring how to balance my two jobs and my relationship on this special — and busy — day.

The “Best Bees beemobile” is my ride on most days involving field work visiting beehives.

By the time I arrive at the Best Bees Company Urban Beekeeping Laboratory around 9 a.m., two of our fabulous interns are already hard at work processing beeswax. Peggie dePasquale (left) is a student at Simmons College in Boston and Alia Marinone (right) is a student at Lesley University in Cambridge.

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This is part of our series on the Sexiest Scientists Alive.

It's surprising that some people who made our sexiest scientists list still haven't been snapped up.  

These men and women make the perfect marriage material: intelligent, ambitious, successful, and they have the looks to boot. 

For clarity, we define bachelors and bachelorettes as anyone who is not yet married.

#42 Physician-scientist Daniel Kraft

Age: 45

Position: Executive director of the FutureMed program; Faculty chair of medicine at Singularity University; Founder & CEO of IntelliMedicine

Nationality: American

Fun Fact: Kraft has served as a Flight Surgeon and Officer in the Air National Guard with over 100 flying hours in F-15s and F-16s, and was a finalist for NASA-Astronaut Selection.

Kraft, a physician-scientist, explores ways to use developing technology, including new tools, tests, and apps, to improve health and medicine.

He invented a device called the Marrow Miner that quickly harvests bone marrow with less pain for the donor. This makes bone marrow transplants, which treat diseases like leukemia and lymphoma, easier, quicker and less painful for the organ donor, lessening the hurdles to donate.

His other research focuses on stem cells, which could pave the way to regenerative and anti-aging medical applications. He's also worked on heal care statistics and data flow optimization.

#38 Associate physics professor Martin Hanczyc

Age: 42

Position: Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Pharmacy 

Institution: University of Southern Denmark

Nationality: American

Fun Fact: He's the founder of a vintage bicycle club chapter. He also speaks Italian and Danish.

To demonstrate how early life may have formed on Earth, Hanczyc makes chemical droplets, called "protocells," that behave like living cells. Specifically they behave like the first pre-life chemical compositions — stripped down versions of cell containing only the most fundamental chemicals of a cell.

In these droplets he can simulate how the chemical precursors to life became the cells we know today.

#40 Researcher Rachel Armstrong

Age: 44

Position: Co-Director an architectural research group

Institution: University of Greenwich

Nationality: British

Fun Fact: She enjoys writing science fiction.

Armstrong uses artificial cells that have life-like qualities (but are not fully alive) to create sustainable construction materials that can (hopefully) repair themselves after a crack, bend, or break.

She thinks this type of technology could be used to prevent Venice from sinking. And, these semi-living materials would also take up carbon dioxide (a potent greenhouse gas that drives climate change) from the atmosphere.

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It's hard to make microbes, telescopes, and math calculations appear sexy. But we found 50 scientists who pull it off fabulously. 

These aren't your typical lab coat-wearing, messy-haired brainiacs — with the exception that they're all pretty brain-y.  

Some of the people who made our list are rising stars. Others are already well-established in their field. All of them are making a difference (or on their way to) by improving our lives through research and new discoveries.

We thought this was important, to highlight the brains along with the beauty. But, they're not bad to look at, either. 

#49 Cheska Burleson

Age: 27

Position: Marine researcher

Institution: Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute 

Education: Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from the University of South Florida; B.S. in marine and freshwater biology from The University of Texas at Austin

Nationality: American

Burleson identifies and analyzes toxins created by the "red tide" phenomena — an algal bloom that looks red or brown and can make oysters and shellfish toxic to eat. It also poisons and kills fish.

She's also investigating potential drugs that can be made from algae to treat human pathogens, including Staph infections and malaria. 

Fun fact: She figure skated competitively for 10 years and enjoys eating painfully spicy food.

#48 Heather Christofk

Age: 32

Position: Assistant professor

Institution: University of California, Los Angeles

Education: Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Harvard; B.S. in molecular, cell, and developmental biology from UCLA

Nationality: American

Christofk studies the genes and proteins behind the way cancer cells use sugars to live and grow, which is different from how normal cells do. Cancer cells use much more sugar than normal cells, and they do it by changing the way they use these energy sources from the environment.

These insights can give us knowledge that can help fight cancers by helping us design drugs that attack the cancer's "sugar tooth" through these growth pathways. The theory is that if the cells were cut off from sugar, they couldn't grow as fast.

Fun fact: She's a huge college basketball and Boson Bruins fan. 

#47 Paul Zak

Age: 51

Position: Professor of economics and department chair and founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies

Institution: Claremont Graduate University

Education: Ph.D in economics from the University of Pennsylvania; B.A. in mathematics and economics from San Diego State University. (He was first in his class!)

Nationality: American

Zak, a neuroscientist and economist, is best known for his research on the hormone oxytocin. Called the "moral molecule," he believes oxytocin is responsible for virtuous human qualities like empathy, generosity, and trust. Hugs and even social networking can trigger the release of oxytocin in the brain, according to Zak. This knowledge can be used to design high-performance teams for business or the military, reduce conflict, and improve the lives of patients with neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

Zak explores oxytocin in his book The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, published in 2012. 

Fun fact: He recently started skydiving. 

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Some people get flack at their jobs for taking too many days off, or perpetually coming in late. Those things are common, so when they happen no one bats an eye.

There are other people, however, who get in huge trouble (or even fired) at their jobs for seriously bizarre reasons. On Wall Street, those incidents become legend — the stories get passed around trading floors, become lessons for newbies, and if we're lucky, get leaked to the media.

Business Insider collected a dozen ways that Wall Streeters have gotten in some seriously hot water in the workplace.

Take note. Seriously.

Bringing an inappropriate item such as a fake grenade to work

It's probably not the best idea to order something that resembles an explosive and have it sent to your office.  

EXAMPLE: Last April, a Nomura employee had a UPS package sent to the office containing a novelty grenade on wooden plaque with a sign reading "Complaint Department: Please Take a Number," sent to the office.

The object was discovered during a routine screening causing parts of World Financial 2 to be evacuated on initial fears that it might be a real explosive.  

It was later determined to be a fake grenade, but the bank placed the employee on administrative leave for bringing an "inappropriate item" to work. 

Source: Bloomberg News 

Bitching about your bank on Facebook

Be careful who you're friends with at work on Facebook.  Also, be careful with what you post on the social networking site. 

EXAMPLE: An RBS employee was fired without compensation after one of her co-workers told their boss about some Facebook statuses she posted. 

After Kate Furlong read an article saying RBS would axe around 3,500 jobs, she posted, ''I speak for myself when I say WoOOOOooooOooooHOoooOooOoo' it was pretty damn obvious something like this was coming. I'm neither stupid nor naive ... and quite honestly it is the best news ever as far as I am concerned!''

Source: UK Parents Lounge 

Mooning your boss at the office

Don't expect to keep your job after showing your boss your naked rear-end.

EXAMPLE: Back in 2005, Chicago-based investment banker Jason Selch was fired and forfeited his $2 million partnership when he mooned his bosses. 

At the time, Selch was an employee with Wagner Asset Management when it merged with Columbia Asset Management, a subsidiary of BofA. 

Shortly after the merger, Selch learned that a friend of his had been fired for not accepting lower compensation with Columbia.

This really ticked him off, so he went into the conference room where some execs, New York-based COO Roger Sayler and Chicago-based CIO Charles McQuaid, were meeting and asked if he had a non-compete agreement. He did not. 

That's when he dropped his pants and mooned his superiors and told Sayler he hoped he would never return to Chicago.  

Selch was eventually fired and he ended up suing the firm, but an Illinois appeals court said last month he deserved to be fired. 

From the judge's ruling: 

"Plaintiff violated the rules and regulations in the (employee) handbook by behaving in a disruptive, unruly and abusive manner - 'mooning' Sayler and McQuaid and informing Sayler that he was not welcome in that office and that plaintiff hoped he would never return to the Chicago office - that also may be considered obscene behavior." 

Source: Courthouse News 

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These buildings were the headquarters of Sears, Roebuck and Co., America's greatest retailer for seven decades.

Sears tested its products and printed the famous catalog in the complex just outside Chicago.

But in 1974, the company moved to the Sears Tower and these buildings were left deserted for 30 years. In that time, Sears went from being on top of the world to being one of the most distressed American brands. 

While developers used some of the site to build the Homan Square area in Chicago, some buildings still remained empty and are considered historical landmarks. 

Local photographer Martin Gonzalez took eerie photographs from inside the old headquarters. Despite the decay, many signs of the office life remain. 

The old Sears towers are just outside Chicago.

Source: Martin Gonzalez 

The grounds are unkempt and deserted.

Source: Martin Gonzalez 

The complex is located on Homan Avenue just outside Chicago.

Source: Martin Gonzalez

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If one thing is made clear by the latest Census report on the geographic concentration of high-income households, it's this:

Wealthy people love living on the water's edge.

The report, which is based on data from the American Community Survey (2007-2011), zeroed in on not only which metro areas are home to the biggest bank accounts, but where these well-heeled residents are the most concentrated. Coastal towns were by far the most popular, including long-time favorites like California and Florida. 

With the final ranking in hand, we decided to dig a bit deeper. By breaking down each metro area in the report's top wealthiest metropolitan areas by income tax rates, household income, and home value, we sought to explain not only where the wealthy live, but why.

These are the biggest metro areas with the highest concentration of wealthy residents. 

Tax rates are noted as percentages of income and were compiled from Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy data. Average household income data was provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Average home price data was compiled from Census data and Zillow.

21. Philadelphia

6.9 percent of households are in the top 5 percent of earners. 

Average household income: $61,496

State tax rate for wealthiest 1 percent: 4.4 percent (Pennsylvania); 7 percent (New Jersey)

State tax rate for next 4 percent: 6.8 percent (Pennsylvania); 8.8 percent (New Jersey)

Average cost ofsingle-family home: $214,900

Well-known wealthy inhabitants: Mary Alice Torrance Mallone, Brian Roberts

Extra: Philly Mag recently published an exclusive feature called "Confessions of the One Percent." It was billed as a chance for the city's richest to anonymously spill their secrets about life at the top of the economic food chain.

20. Honolulu

7 percent of households are in the top 5 percent of earners. 

Average household income: $71,263

Hawaii tax rate for wealthiest 1 percent: 8 percent

Hawaii tax rate for next 4 percent: 7.5 percent

Average single-family home cost: $607,600

Well-known wealthy residents: Pierre Omidyar

Extra: Although they aren't residents of The Aloha State, many people on America's rich list have oceanfront vacation homes in Hawaii, including Michael Dell and Charles Schwab.

19. Seattle

7.1  percent of households are in the top 5 percent of earners. 

Average household income: $67,023

Washington tax rate for wealthiest 1 percent: 2.8 percent

Washington tax rate for next 4 percent: 4.7 percent

Average single-family home cost: $295,700

Well-known wealthy inhabitants: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos

Extra: Washington's tax rates are known for being the friendliest to the wealthy. The state doesn't have a tax on income and has low business taxes as well.

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Over the past few decades, Hong Kong has become one of the world's most important cities and a global financial hub.

However, increased prosperity hasn't trickled down to everyone. According to the Gini co-efficiency, which measures inequality, Hong Kong is the least equal city in the developed world.

Local advocacy group Society for Community Organization says that hundreds of thousands of people are still living in caged homes and wood-partitioned cubicles. What's worse, the number of people living this way appears to be increasing, as economic migrants arrive in the city from mainland China.

To highlight the struggle, SoCO took shots of the homes to show just how tight these living quarters are.

The apartments were so small that they had to be photographed from the ceiling to capture them.

Hong Kong has a shortage of public housing, meaning many on the lower end of the economy must pay market rates.

In a city so densely populated, rents are extraordinarily high.

$80–90HKD ($10.3–11.5USD) per square foot per month is common.

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The French Laundry — Chef Thomas Keller's iconic Napa Valley restaurant — is no stranger to accolades. It has topped Restaurant magazine's annual list of the world's best restaurants, and Anthony Bourdain has called it"the best restaurant in the world, period."

Now The Daily Meal has named it the best restaurant in America for 2013.

What makes the restaurant so great? It's a combination of a stunning location, stellar service, and outstanding food. The chefs create two unique nine-course tasting menus every day, and make sure no ingredients are repeated throughout the meal.

Arnold Inuyaki, who writes the blog Inuyaki — 'Surprisingly Good,' ate at The French Laundry and met chef Thomas Keller in December 2009. He shared pictures from the incredible five-hour+ meal with Business Insider.

Back then, the price-fixe menu cost $240 per person; today it's $270. Add in wine, and the cost jumps significantly. But if you are going to splurge on a once-in-a-lifetime meal, this should be it.

The French Laundry is located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley wine country.

Source: The French Laundry

It's surrounded by gardens and greenery, and you enter through this pretty blue door.

Source: The French Laundry

Special clothespins hold the napkins together. Great marketing!

Source: The French Laundry

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A new study from office furniture-maker Steelcase found that new technologies like smartphones, tablets, and laptops have completely changed the way we sit at work.

Specifically, the study of 2,000 people in 11 countries uncovered nine novel new postures that people take when interacting with technology and working that have the potential to cause pain and discomfort.

They range from the combination slouch/ hunch common to people working on laptops, to strained attempts to use a phone and laptop at the same time. The result of the study was their new Gesture chair, designed to account for the way we interact with devices and technology.

'THE TRANCE': This will be familiar to anyone who's had a long day at work. Over time, you lean towards the screen, putting strain on the neck and back.

'THE COCOON': Used for smartphones and tablets, the bend in the knee reduces circulation, the neck is angled down, and the lower back is not supported.

'THE DRAW': A posture born of the tablet. Without persistent lumbar support, this will result in back pain.

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Actor Tommy Lee Jones has just listed the 50-acre polo farm he owns in Wellington, Fla. for $26.75 million, according to a South Florida gossip blog (via Zillow).

Jones bought the property a decade ago and built the equestrian center himself. The Lincoln star is a known polo lover who also owns a ranch in Texas.

In addition to recreational facilities and miles of horse trails, there's a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house on the property.

The 50-acre ranch is a half-mile from the International Polo Club.

The main house is 11,000 square feet.

Inside, it's pretty simple.

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The reality of air travel in the 21st century is that flying economy is unpleasant.

Airlines are cutting service and packing planes to improve razor thin profit margins, while flights aren't getting any shorter.

If you don't have the cash or the points to secure an upgrade, there are ways to make flying more pleasant, but they depend on everyone's cooperation.

To play your part, here are 13 basic rules of etiquette, for everything from how to get through security, to whether or not you should recline your seat, to getting off the plane politely and efficiently.

Follow them, and your flight might just be bearable — along as everyone else does, too.

#1 Remember how security works.

This is all about thinking a few steps ahead, so you get through the screening process as quickly as possible.

Before you get to the x-ray machine, take everything out of your pockets. Put it all in your bag, or the pocket of a coat that you'll put through the machine.

When you belongings come out, collect them quickly and move to a spot where you’re not blocking anyone. Then you can put your shoes and belt on.

#2 Don't hog the overhead bin.

In the era of checked bag fees, carry-on space is at a premium. If you have two carry-on bags, keep the smaller one at your feet.

And, as the flight attendants will likely remind you, don't take up someone else's space by putting your bag in the bin horizontally.

#3 Don’t fight the flight attendants over electronics.

The ban on the use of electronic devices during takeoff and landing may be absurd (and soon to be done away with) but that doesn't mean it's not a rule.

Furthermore, the flight attendants didn't create it. Giving them a hard time is obnoxious, and just delays the plane getting to cruising altitude, when you can finally get back to Words with Friends.

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The Vanity Fair Oscar's after-party at Sunset Tower hotel in West Hollywood was even more star-studded than the Academy Awards.

Hosted by VF editor Graydon Carter, this year's attendees included everyone from Rupert Murdoch and Harvey Weinstein to Chelsea Handler and Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio.

Those lucky enough to get an invite to the super exclusive affair walked a black and white carpet before heading inside to dance the night away -- and chow down on In-N-Out burgers.

After the Oscar show, celebrities braved traffic on Sunset Boulevard to attend the Vanity Fair after party at Sunset Tower hotel.

Stars walked a black and white carpet and smiled for tons of cameras.

Model Chrissy Teigen tweeted a picture of the exclusive invite. Arrival times were stacked and set before the event.

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In the years since the recession, the median household income in the U.S. has dropped to just over $50,000, while fixed costs like health care, higher education, and housing have only soared. 

Now imagine trying to support a family of four on a fraction of that income. 

It's a reality that stay-at-home wife and mother of two Danielle Wagasky has lived for the last four years. 

And, perhaps a little surprisingly, she wouldn't have it any other way.

 Wagasky, 28, lives with her her husband, Jason, 31, and their two young children in a three-bedroom family home in Las Vegas, Nevada. While Jason, a member of the U.S. Army, completes his undergraduate studies, the family's only source of income is the $14,000 annual cost of living allowance he receives under the G.I. Bill. 

Despite all odds, the family has barely any credit debt, no car payment, and no mortgage speak of. 

Wagasky has been sharing her journey to living meaningfully and frugally on her blog, Blissful and Domesticated, since 2009. 

She was kind enough to chat with BI and tell us how she makes it work.

Wagasky finds inspiration everywhere from the library to tips from readers on her blog.

"My husband told me he'd heard about this book, ["America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money]," she said. "We talked about it over the phone and I read it and thought how it could apply to us." 

The couple had a single savings goal in mind –– scraping together $30,000 for a downpayment on their home in their native Henderson, Nevada. 

The mindless spending was out, and Wagasky came up with a budget she could make work. 

"I changed the way I was grocery shopping and started working my way up, " she said. 

She stopped eating out and learned how to cook.

Wagasky barely knew her way around a kitchen when she started her money makeover.

Now she's an avid cookbook collector (she checks them out from libraries or asks for them as gifts to save), and it's one of the simplest ways she's managed to cutback on spending. 

With a $7 bread-maker she scored at a local thrift shop, she never spends on store bought slices. She's not shy about professing her love for wholesale stores like Costco, which is her go-to source for baking ingredients. 

Everything in the home is either hand-sewn and or made from scratch.

"Everything must be budgeted," Wagasky wrote in a June entry on her blog. "From family outings, to toiletries to clothes purchases. It must be budgeted."

And she takes Do-It-Yourself to the extreme. Everything from laundry soap and clothing to the kitchen her husband installed in their new home was either crafted by hand or thrifted.

She swears by this home-made laundry detergent recipe. 

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The tiny monarchy of Bahrain is struggling to hold on during a time of unrest and constant regional tensions. Thankfully, they've got some help.

Bahrain is home to America's 5th Fleet, which extends a decisive presence through the region.

Last fall I was invited to take part in international mine clearing exercises in the Persian Gulf.

It was an opportunity to step inside a place full of contradictions, from luxurious developments built with oil money — to the squalor of immigrant workers who built them — to cordoned-off military zones.

Bahrain looks calm, tranquil and hot at just after 5 a.m.

Ruled by Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, this small island monarchy is linked by bridge to Saudi Arabia (and in a few years to Qatar).

Bahrain has been vital to the U.S. presence in the region since World War II and is host to the U.S. 5th Fleet.

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