The most embarrassing moment of my life had to be about 10 years ago when I was at the Louvre in Paris. I was trying to get a funny picture of me in the fountain outside and ended up falling on my butt in the fountain and getting completely soaked. If that wasn't bad enough, just as everyone in the area was laughing at me, a security guard came over and started yelling at me in French (which I don't speak). Turns out the security guard thought I was trying to steal all the pennies
that had been thrown in the fountain.

Okay, so I wasn’t fully prepared etiquette-wise for this embarrassing situation, but I think I did a pretty good job of covering. I was the first of my friends to marry, so I had a bit of a clue, but not much.
Living in Tennessee and having moved 5 times in the past five years, my address was somewhat elusive to my friends, and so I never received a wedding invitation to my friend Andrea’s wedding. About the time that they’re trying to count plates, I received a phone call asking why I hadn’t responded. I spoke with the groom, whom I’d never met, at length about how we’d love to come. I called him Scott.
Hanging up the phone, I had a horrific thought: His name is Stuart. Why, why did I call him Scott? And about thirty times. And why didn’t he correct me? I was mortified. Embarrassed about the whole situation, I proceeded to write my RSVP—without the benefit of a written invitation to pull from.

A lesson on never making assumptions.. especially while on the job...
I was probably a few weeks into my first real job that I was proud of(although not much of a salary to brag about) at a contemporary art gallery. Part of my job included giving tours of the art work to visitors which requires a bit of cliche chit chat during the elevator ride between floors. One day, three lovely women, all with southern accents, came into the Gallery. They all looked familiar and were talking about family matters. Two were pretty and think and looked to be in college, the other middle aged and heavy. On the elevator ride up I asked if they were family and they nodded and smiled, and I went on to say, "so you two are sisters and you are their moth".. "THEIR other sister" she interjected! Oops! I wanted to run to one of our storage rooms and lock myself inside. It was a bit awkward after that needless
to say they did not buy anything) and I definately did not share this story with my co-workers. I still worry about the lady and her self-esteem and hope her sisters are not bitchy enough to secretly enjoy what occured that day.

So when I was sixteen and had first gotten my driver's license my parents wanted me safe and wrapped in steel, so I drove a Chevy Suburban without running boards. I am a petite 5'2" young women and getting in and out under normal conditions it is quite a stretch. It was Sunday afternoon and I had been working late at church cleaning a

Here are some more winners from ASL's "This Life Thing" contest!

The most embarassing thing happened when I was sixteen, before I wisened up and went for dick. there was this french exchange student - we will call her veronique - and i was madly in love with her. Her awkwardness was enchanting and sexy as hell. I was nervous, and had no will to hit on her. This was in California, where one can buy booze in the supermarket and, most importantly, one can shoplift huge jugs of
rum in one's raver pants. Again, I was sixteen. There was a party and I drank tumblers of hard alcohol and suddenly veronique was before me, an angel. i had no idea she would be at that party! in my excitement I talked with her, then grabbed her in a warm hug. the hug was important: i projectile-vomited over her shoulder, onto the people behind her. She ran away, screaming.

My most embarrassing moment happened about 6 years ago. My then boyfriend (now husband) were practicing safe sex, and when we were done he threw the condom in the trash can. At the time I had a crazy dog, she went dumpster diving after it while we were out of the room. We had no clue she had done this.
So the next day we were going out of town, and my mom came and took the dog with her to my grandmothers house. Well, my dog ended up pooping under the guest bed, and apparently pooped out the used condom.

Lizzie Post is the great-great granddaughter of Emily Post, THE foremost expert on socialite behavior and human interaction. Lizzie has just come out with a new fabulous book, "How Do You Work This Life Thing?"--a practical guide for all of us living in the real world, who are trying to figure out how to act in some of the stranger situations in which we find ourselves.

I had a chance to sit down with Lizzie and chat about her new book and some of her favorite tips from it!

CW: Tell us a little about yourself.
LP: Well I'm 24 years old and I live in Burlington, VT. I went to University of Vermont and got my B.S. in Art Education, and decided I hated the 5:30am-3:30pm schedule, so I didn't pursue teaching. I'm a painter, but for some reason, my couch sees more of me than my easel. My family and friends are very important to me and I'm lucky because they're all pretty cool. Let's see... I love to cook; I mean, I really love to cook, especially for my friends. Nothing beats getting a bunch of people together and making something yummy.

CW: How important is etiquette in your family?
LP: Well, you know, it pays the bills. Seriously, etiquette is very important to us, but not as you might think. What we really care about, is making people comfortable with each other.

Does this sound familiar to you? 

"My roommate leaves her clothes all over the place!"  "I loaned my friend fifty bucks—I don't know when he'll pay me back."  "That's the third night in a row that Tom's friend has crashed on our couch.  Someone needs to say something. . . . "

You're on your own—and it's great! Except when problems crop up: roommate hassles, dating dilemmas, work stuff, social stuff, and just stuff. Finally, expert help is here. In How Do You Work This Life Thing? Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post, shows how to navigate the pleasures and perils of independent life, offering advice on everything from getting along with roommate(s) and dating to getting the job you want.

Highlights include Prospective Roommate Checklist . . . Romance, Dating, and Sex at Your Place . . . The Get-It-Together Party Prep List . . . What to Wear When . . . Cell Tips: What to Do Where . . . Top Ten Table Manners . . . Dating 101 . . . Tipping 101 . . . Landing the Perfect Job…