The one where we all turn 30

"Friends" is my favorite show of all time. I've watched each episode literally dozens of times, and each time I wrap up season 10, I start over at the beginning.

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Well, right now I'm making my way through season 7, and yesterday I watched "The One Where They All Turn 30."

This season aired roughly 13 years ago. When it first hit the airwaves, I would have been 17. Back then, and even until recently, I remember watching that episode (and the whole series, really) thinking, Wow, these people lead such interesting lives. Look at all the life experiences they have. Now, trust me, I realize they are TV characters and not real people. And I know it's not fair to compare your own life to the lives that are depicted on TV, but it is a startling revelation that I am now the age of those characters.

Well, almost.

I'll be 30 in eight months and 10 days.

But it's really something to think about. This show, as is the same with all television shows, is frozen in time. For the past almost 20 years, since the show's inception in 1994, I've been growing toward those characters. Granted, I didn't watch "Friends" when I was 10 — most likely I started watching around the time they all turned 30. But for 13 years, I've been shaping into someone that age.

But now, I am that age. These shows are taking place in the time in the lives of those characters that I am in right now. It's just odd to think about, and you may be thinking, Yes, Shannon, it is odd that you're thinking about it. But for some reason, it just hit me.

From this point forward, essentially, I'll be growing away from those characters. As in, they'll always be no more than 33, but Lord willing, my life will move into phases these fictional people never dealt with. Not that I looked to them for advice. Again, I know they're not real.

But this show is my favorite show. It's still my favorite show, and it's been off the air for 10 years. I still watch and laugh at each episode and get overly excited when I make it to one of my favorites — as if I couldn't skip ahead if I wanted to.

I don't think that will change. But 13 years from now, when I'm 43, can I really see myself watching and laughing? Probably. Because, Chandler isn't going to be any less cute or any less funny. And Monica won't be any less anal.

That's the good thing about TV. You can always count on your favorite characters to be who they've always been despite who you are or who you've become.

Tales of a grocery shopping novice

For the first five years of our marriage, my husband was the unofficially appointed grocery shopper. Sure, there were a few times I went without him, and a few more times that I went with him, but let's be honest, when I tagged along, I only slowed him down.

For the first five years of our marriage, Josh was also the one who did most, if not all, of the cooking. He enjoys it, and he's good at it. Plus, my work schedule for the majority of that time meant that I was the last one home and had the least time to beef up (pun totally intended) my culinary pursuits.

But, this year, on Jan. 27, I began a new job with a new schedule that means my afternoons are free most days. In the last three weeks, I've become the officially appointed grocery shopper, and I'm now taking on about half of the cooking.

As I mentioned, when Josh and I would grocery shop together, I slowed him down. A lot. So it's no surprise that when I grocery shop alone, it takes a while — longer than it should take an adult, I'm sure.

The first week, I must have walked the entire grocery store about six times, forgetting an item here and remembering another on the other side of the store. At this point, I'm a 29-year-old grocery shopping novice.

Josh knows this about me, and though I'm not sure if it's exactly how the conversation started, we ended up talking about how nice it would be if there was an app you could use to keep track of all your recipes, pick a few out for the week and have it translate the ingredients into a shopping list. Yes, we're lazy Americans. But, there's an app for that.

Enter Paprika.

Josh found it in the app store and it has been a wonderful sidekick during my most recent shopping trips. Not only can you add recipes, put them on a meal calendar and add them to a grocery list — it also separates the grocery list items by aisle. By. Aisle.

Plus, we can each sign in to it on the same account and sync our grocery lists. If he adds half-and-half, it shows up in my list. If I add coffee filters, it shows up in his. Oh, the wonders of technology.

I'm going grocery shopping again tomorrow. It has become a Monday tradition. Our meals are picked out for the week ahead, and my grocery list is ready, organized and waiting. With the help of Paprika, I'm sure to turn into at least a shopping apprentice in no time.

**The makers of Paprika have no idea who I am. I'm just really that bad at grocery shopping, and I hope there are others like me who could benefit from such an organized, intuitive app.