OK, I know I love dolphins, but I don't LOVE dolphins.

Well, Bob Hope has officially died. I say "officially" because over the past couple weeks, at our lunchtime discussions, Jenny has been unsure if he was still alive or not. The rest of us thought yes, but weren't 100% sure. But now, alas, he is definitely gone.

In other news, Liza Minelli and her hubby split. Now that's a shocker (not).

While hungry... and commiserating with Jenny about the places we want to eat but shouldn't (because one meal would contain about 3 days worth of calories), I came up with an idea. One day a month we should eat just the bad stuff we've been craving yet depriving ourselves of for the sake of our asses. So I think that day would look like this:

Breakfast @ IHOP (eggs benedict, hash browns, pancakes, etc.)


Lunch @ Pellegrinos (buffalo chicken sub w/blue cheese, maybe fries)


Dinner @ Dinosaur BBQ (pulled pork, corn bread, fries, maybe a couple beers)


Snacks @ the movies (popcorn and a giant coke... I'd like some popcorn with my butter please)


and, to finish off the evening...
Dessert @ Krispy Kreme (as many piping hot glazed as the ole bellies can handle)


That would be one helluva day!

Vote for Guster!

Guster, my favorite band, is up for viewers-pick on MTV.com for their video for the song Amsterdam (you can listen to it on their website) - please help vote it into on-air rotation. Pleeeaaassseeee.

http://www.mtv.com/music/viewers_pick/

Oh, and vote for them here too:
Fuse's Oven Fresh: http://www.fuse.tv/ (click "quality tv shows" then "oven fresh")

Got a facial last night at Waterlilly... it was 90 minutes of heaven. They're supposed to be an hour, but I think the new aesthetician wanted to make a good impression... and that she did!

And for a glimpse into my demented psyche (which I am STRONGLY in need of Therapy for - according to the quiz on Psychologytoday.com)... here's a general summary of my thoughts as I lay there in the quiet room, eyes closed, listening to Enya-ish music and getting lotion upon lotion applied and wiped off...

aaah, warm... bright light, bright light!... skin inspection... time to hear my flaws... what? I have hyperpigmentation? But I've been wearing sunscreen daily for over 15 years... must stay out of the evil sun... ugh, reprimanded for picking at my face... wonder when she's going to pick at my face... aaah, darkness, soothing steam mist... aaagghh, bright light! bright light!!... the picking begins... this is satisfying... no, don't stop picking, there must be more clogged pores! aaah, darkness again, soothing cream, smells good... oh yeah, here comes the back massage... rub my knot, rub my knot... ooh, she found it, yep, grind that knot out... harder... oh, knots in my left shoulder too - she's goood... wow, that was great... oooh, that sounds like mousse being dispensed... ooh, it feels cool on my face... I must look ridiculous but I don't care... I could lay here forever... where is she going? why is she pulling the sheet away from my feet? Oh my God, my feet probably smell horrible! And I probably still have ugly sock rings! OH MY GOD, I haven't shaved my legs in 3 days! Ah, but that foot massage feels so good... please don't be done, please don't be done... she's done... I'm glowing... that was incredible!

Animal Factoids

We had our group picnic at the Seneca Park Zoo today. I was a docent (educational volunteer) at that zoo from about 1993 to 1998... It was alot of training, I had to learn about EVERY animal at the zoo and be able to spew factoids without a cheat sheet.

I also got to handle a few animals - hedgehogs, Rommel - a Fennec Fox, Daisy - an albino (yellow) Python, Shelly - a tortoise... along with other birds, mammals, and bugs. I hated the bugs - sorry, but I'll take a pass on letting a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach hang out on my shirt like a "roach broach" (another zoo-nerd docent I worked with used to do that!). As a matter of fact, I'm so skeeved by them, I can't even post a picture! UGH!

Sooo, though it's been over 5 years, I was just itching to share some of my useless animal knowledge with anyone who would listen..

"Did you know that snakes cannot hear your screams of terror, they are deaf"

"Do you know how to tell a seal from a sea lion? Sea lions have external ear flaps and articulating hips, which allow them to 'walk' on all fours, seals cannot and thus 'blob' along" (ok, I couldn't remember the technical term for how seals move)

"Did you know that Reindeer are the only deer where both the males AND the females get antlers?"

"Do you know the difference between an antler and a horn? An antler is made of bone and antlers are shed and regrown each year. Horns are permanent and are made of keratin - which is the same material as your fingernails!"

"Well actually, Polar Bears are great swimmers and have been spotted in the open ocean miles away from the nearest piece of land."

AAAHHH, it feels good to say it all again!

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Five gay men makeover a straight man and his home. They each have different specialties: fashion, food & wine, grooming, interior design and culture. Watched two episodes in a row last night. SHEER GENIUS! It's Changing Rooms, What Not to Wear, Fashion Emergency, Will and Grace and Queer as Folk rolled up in to one. Funny, entertaining, suspenseful, practical... I LOVE IT!

OK, so I really only ate a can of asparagus, a piece of chicken and some cheese... but writing it all down felt good. I did have a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast this morning though.

I am so on the verge of plummetting off the wagon. We're talking going to Pellegrinos and getting a large Buffalo Chicken sub and eating the whole thing while washing it down with a giant NON-DIET Pepsi, then swinging by Krispy Kreme and getting a dozen glazed for dessert, followed by running in to *bux for a Venti Mocha Frappucino to perk me up... maybe waiting an hour or two, then polishing off the three packages of peeps that have been hibernating in my freezer for months. I'd slip some chocolate in there too, perhaps a Heath bar or a Clark bar or a Butterfinger or a Zagnut. I might also take the time to whip up a batch of brownies, cook half the batter, eat the other half raw (salmonella be damned), then gobble down the cooked ones. I'm sure I'd also have to make some vanilla cake batter and eat it up like pudding. Then I'd sleep for three days, wake up and think I was dreaming, but the cake-batter encrusted drool on my chin would let me know that it was all real.

Dead Like Me

I'm really digging this new show Dead Like Me on Showtime. It's about an 18 yr old girl who dies and becomes a Grim Reaper - her job is to take souls from people at their 'appointment with death'. It's different, interesting.

It gets my imagination going... lets me think that maybe my Mom is "working" in the afterlife and somehow interacting with the living. I picture her in charge of providing "warm fuzzies"... like how I feel when I drink a good cup of coffee or drink a Jamba. Some tiny bit of comfort. A moment of escape. Some small healing. Barely noticeable, yet critical to my survival. I can see Mom loving that job - she had years of practice making the little things count.

Bittersweet Birthday

My niece Mya's first birthday has been bittersweet. I'm so happy she's here in this world, healthy and doing well... but I'm so sad that my Mom isn't here to see her first Grandchild grow. When Mom last saw Mya, she was a scrawny little 2 month old baby, barely 5 pounds, barely cute - and now she is this gorgeous little cherub you just want to cuddle and kiss.

My Mom truly would have been the best Grandmother, hands down - just as she was the best Mother.

I used to be so much funnier in my blogs. Harsh reality: I've lost my wit. I was looking back to the beginning and found this gem. Is it horrible to replay a blog? Isn't it like watching Seinfeld reruns... you probably already saw it, but it's still funny? Anyway, here's a really long one I posted back in September 2000:

Food Fantasies
Joel insisted I rename my blog something to do with food because everything I write relates to food somehow. It's true, I am obsessed with food. It's not so much that the actual eating is out of control, it's more the thoughts of the food. The food fantasies, if you will.

I can't stop thinking about food. When do I get to eat again? What will I eat next? Is it lunchtime yet? Don't I have brie in the fridge at home? Ooooh, must drive home fast! What festivals are coming up so I can get Kettle Korn? Do I hear the Dinosaur BBQ calling my name? If I don't eat a marshmallow peep soon, I think I'll die. These types of thoughts are constantly floating around in my head at any given moment. Maybe that's why I like to sleep so much, it's the only time I can escape the food fantasies.

I really should weigh alot more than I do. Luckily, I manage to temper the internal monster and actually control my eating habits pretty well, maybe because I spend so much time thinking about it, I don't actually need to eat so much. But if people really knew what was going on in the head of this skinny* little girl, they'd be shocked.

To be honest, I'm a bit worried. A Krispy Kreme donut shop is opening here in Rochester in December. I keep hearing raves about how good Krispee Kremes are, the fantasies have started... Jenny and I are planning a party for the day they open. I fear that I will become weak and succomb... I can see myself now... A cold december day... "hmmm, I really should take 390 instead of 590 to work today, I think traffic will be better. Oh geez, look at that, I think I need some gas, I'll just get off at Jefferson Road and filler up. Ooohhhh, lookee here, I just happened to go to the Mobil right next to Krispy Kreme. I bet everyone at work would be thrilled to have me bring in some donuts. OK, I'll take 3 dozen." arriving at work... "Hey everyone, I brought in a dozen Krispee Kremes so if you want one, hurry up and grab one." My thighs are scared too. I equate my thighs to the big ball of evil in the movie "The 5th Element"... EVIL BEGETS EVIL. The Krispee Kremes attack! My thighs grow, threatening the safety of all around them! Be afraid. Be very afraid.

*I don't really consider myself skinny, but it sounded right for the story.

I watched this show Hopelessly Rich last night on VH1... a bunch of filthy rich kids living off their parents $$...

Bottom line: rich men become womanizers, rich women become shopaholics.

When the lottery was up to $180 Million, I was hoping to join the ranks (since I already have the shopaholic part down).

Jenny always says she wouldn't want to win a huge lottery jackpot... she says the money would change things too much... I reassure her that I will help her spend it and help keep things real... but she's still concerned...

But for those of us who wouldn't mind a bit, MSN posted some pointers with this article:

You've won the lottery! Now what?

Mya turned ONE today!!

Went to Ottawa on Saturday, didn't get "the purse". Decided it was not worth the $$, the pockets were too hard to get in and out of and the main section buckled closed (ie, picture me taking 10 minutes to get my purse open to pull out my license and registration to show to the nice police officer, then getting accused of dwi because I'm fumbling with my purse)

Did get some good stuff - all on sale - cute FCUK pants, some Club Monaco t's and eye shadow and this Guess skirt for only $25 canadian!

At the in-laws this weekend, I was shocked to realize that QVC is quite "hip" to cool products. When my mother-in-law flipped to it the other night (as she often does), they were selling Smashbox cosmetics. I was ready to dial up and spend a good chunk of change on all the goodies... but I didn't.

Later I went to qvc.com and surprisingly they offer a few of the high end beauty product lines - Philosophy, L'Occitane, Caudalie... not sure if they're deals, but some good stuff there.

Let me elaborate on the BET Awards I attended last week in LA. Got offered $500 box tickets - couldn't pass up. Ran out and bought an elegant awards-show dress, new shoes, new purse (woohoo, an excuse to shop)... only to realize, upon seeing the crowds, that I could have worn my underwear and a cut up shower curtain and looked more approriately dressed.

Seriously though, it was an interesting mix, many people dressed up and elegant, many looking ready to hit the clubs, and many of the young guys looking ready to break into a basketball game at any moment.

But though I felt uber white and slightly out of place, it was a great show.

My favorite part happened off camera - they played the beginning line of Nelly's "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes". When the music stopped, all the female fans kept singing the next line, "I am getting so hot, I'm gonna take my clothes off." It was a great moment. (Note: no one actually took off their clothes)

Ever notice that most all the items women tend to covet and buy lots of - clothes, shoes, cosmetics - get noticed by men in some way or another... but the one thing women LOVE to buy, spend alot on, have many styles of - purses - men don't even give a second glance to? But other women are drawn to them like a bee to pollen. "Oooh, I love your handbag, where did you get it?" Interesting.

And I shopped and I shopped and I shopped

OK, let's get back to the more frivolous stuff. Went shopping while in
LA/LV (shocking!)... got some good stuff:

At Sephora

Cellex-C Under-Eye Toning Gel
Not sure if it works, but if feels nice and tingly


Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream
Love this stuff, works good on wet or dry hair.
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At Steve Madden Shoes

These very tall Lain sandals
4" platforms but still comfy.


And these funky Stash sneaks/sandals in Pink from Steve Madden
Nice height on these too, mostly comfy.
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At Lucky Jeans

They were having a great sale - 50% off

Linen pants - very comfy!