Paris Paris

If you haven't seen this--it's hilarious...enjoy!

Brad who?

I gotta tell you....Ocean's 13 will probably not be nominated for any theatrical awards but it could be nominated for lots of attractive men. George Clooney has got to be my favorite bringing a sort of Cary Grantness to the film...he's fun to watch and it's true....this guy is definitely getting better looking as he's getting older.

Which brings me to another thought I've had lately...what's up with these women wanting to be "cougars" in our society?? I think it's great if you look fabulous for your age but why would you want to go after the twenty year old man when you've got men like George that are your age and that you'll have much more in common with. I think the same applies to men as well dating women that are half or more of their age. I get it. They're young, beautiful, but don't you want more than just looks? Don't you want a conversation, some history, some point of view? Don't you want someone that knows what an "album" was or a "typewriter" or who John Lennon was? (okay...I was going to say Donna Summer or The Monkees but you would have winced)

Eye candy...easy on the eyes and no calories. Seems sort of tasteless to me.

Late bloomer

I admit it...I'm a little late to jump on the bandwagon but atleast I'm catching up now. I'm addicted to Season 1 of 24...thank you Netflix. I love the idea of the "real time" when I KNOW that I have just saved myself 4 minutes of commercials (and minus the fumbling with the remote when you only have the television show recorded with the commercials).

And you know what else I love...when you tell people that you are really into this show and they've already been fans of the show for season after season, they just look at you with a certain gleam in their eye. It's almost like they realize that you just started with a mind blowing drug...or are on chapter one of the best book ever...or they remember the good old days when they too were obsessed with Jack and how in God's name would he save the world?!

Where's my flipflops?

"Tom, it's just too difficult for me to walk in these....can I please take them off?"

10 years younger with no downtime

When you have yourself a great hairdresser you can shoot for the moon when you want a different look. I am happy to say we went for "Ellen Barkin" and am quite pleased with the result. The hair is awesome and perfectly manicured with Roscoe's sharp, well tuned scissors and his amazing eye for detail.
I love Miss Barkin's comment in a recent interview when the topic of considering plastic surgery came up: “It makes me a little nervous to look like someone that doesn’t look like me.”
I think it's great to look like you...whoever you are...change the hair but leave the face the same, please.

Happy Birthday, girlfriend!

Birthdays are fun. Birthdays are fabulous. You should shout it from the rooftops when it's your birthday. It's a time to celebrate...it's YOUR day...the day you arrived on the planet! Happy Birthday!
Being a woman, I am anticipating the birthday when I truly celebrate what my body has done for me the past year. I would hope my birthday wish would be for more adventures and good health with my bod in the future years. I am tired of obsessing of what my body may look like...be it too heavy, too thin (I'll let you know when that happens), bad hair days, puffy eyes, whatever the ailment may be. Hey! I'm alive and doing a pretty good job of kicking on this end.

We need to celebrate the good that our bodies can bring us. Don't worry how your legs looks when you go for a run--isn't it AMAZING that you are running and your legs are pounding the pavement? Better doing that then rocking in a chair thinking of the days that you used to go out for a walk. Complaining about dark circles or puffy eyes? Think of what fabulous things your eyes have already seen or plan a trip to take in even more. Let's cross over from thinking in the negative about our body's appearance to congratulating ourselves for what our bodies can do....you're amazing, birthday girl!

A funny thing happened on the way to the pool

Swimming pools sing summer. Kids love to splash, adults like to swim, and everyone likes to cool off.
If you have your own backyard pool..great...this isn't directed toward you. It's those Petri dishes of community pools that I loathe and disgust.
It is hard for me to fathom how one has the temptation to swim in this mass of germs and human oils collected into a body of water known as the neighborhood pool. It totally reminds me of the Roman times and the baths they had created where everyone would go to commune, to share, to...ewwwww. It just totally grosses me out.
I know, I know...I can hear you telling me of the chemicals, the chlorine, blah,blah,blah...doesn't matter. All these human bodies sharing one body of water just wigs me out.
Some may call it a neuroses not being able to swim in a pool inhabited by unknowns. I can honestly say that I don't force others to follow my opinion on this and I allow them to use their own free will.
When my kids were younger (and obviously could swim) I would take them to the pool, sit in the lounge chair with lots of sun protection on and enjoy my time protected from the elements while they enjoyed carousing, splashing, and frolicking in the pool. Afterwards they would wonder why I insisted they take a shower and to scrub themselves clean when they returned home. Happy Summer.

To bidet or not to bidet

It must be said. I went to Europe...of course, it had to come up. I don't have one and color me curious I wanted to know more about them. Although I knew what they were (I must admit, the first trip to Europe had me do the double take) I had decided that this trip I was going to conquer this mystery. The bidet.
Jokes were tossed about doing the laundry in it, not to rinse your toothbrush in it, and the luxury of having another sink in your hotel room but I had done my research dear reader. So, how necessary is it to one's way of life?
It's a cultural thing I would say. We like our Starbucks...they like to linger in the cafes. They stop and smell the roses while we tend to run right by them. Automatic cars are the norm for America and not so much over there. And for the bidet? They like to bathe after utilizing the lower portions of their body while we tend to call for Mr. Whipple. It's quick. It's easy. That's what we're about.
Is paper better than a quick shower? Will middle America ever ask where the bidet is at the local Holiday Inn? I don't think so. Kind of like a vacation...nice place to visit but you can't really see yourself living there.

Climb every vineyard

American in Italy

Here's the deal. When you travel you have to get in the mindset that you are on vacation. This is a time to relax...to get into the groove of the country or place you are visiting. And so, when you're in Italy, when you're in France, be prepared for a slower pace of life. Embrace it.
While we were at an outdoor restaurant at the Piazza della Signoria where a copy of the famous David by Michelangelo is placed (and what girl wouldn't want to eat with a 17 foot naked guy looking at her?) I felt like I was watching an Italian version of 90210.
I believe the schools were letting out for summer and we watched young Italian high school men and women bustling about, socializing, doing the dance. And we had front row seats.
The boys with the vespas proudly carried their helmets while the girls chain smoked like fiends. Although I wanted to smack them and ask them if they knew what tobacco was doing to their young lungs (hey, I saw BODYWORLDS) a part of me delighted that this Americano would probably climb a mountain faster than they would one day and have smoother skin while I was doing it.
Then, I remembered I was on vacation. We ordered another bottle of wine, kicked back, and enjoyed the scenery.

An appetizer

...and this is how we say "picnic" in Italian.