Pink Carpet Couples

Trump with his wife, Melania. 

How I LOVE her shoes!

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning with wife, Abby McGrew

Can I please look like her?

Is that asking for too much?

Keeping Up Appearances

She's beautiful, skinny (size 0 Lucky jeans) and RICH. The Washington Post's recent article is titled, "Letting Her Hair Down, but Still Keeping Up Appearances". CNN reports, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, hate me because I'm rich." Personally, I think it's fabulous that she takes such great care of herself (she ran a marathon 8 months after having a stroke!) and I could care less that she won't release her tax returns for all of us to see. I don't think the fact that she is gorgeous or has millions of dollars makes her any less American than the rest of us. I think it's un-American to begrudge her of her money (even though it came from a beer company). I would much rather see Mrs. McCain as our nation's first lady than Michelle or heaven forbid Bubba!

Future First Lady? All-American, Cindy McCain

Completely off subject (though it does have to do with keeping up appearances) I have always loved the BBC comedy of the same name. Each episode cracks me up as I observe the great measures Hyacinth takes to make her life seem oh-so-perfect while everyone thinks she's a complete lunatic. DK teases me that I am like Hyacinth. I want everything to be just so. Well, I do like things to be perfect, that's the OCD in me, but I am willing to admit that my life is not always a dream. There are days when it's a nightmare, plain and simple.

Richard & Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced 'bouquet')

Keeping Up Appearances

A Grieving Heart

While JK and I were out this morning I heard on Fox News about the tragic accident that killed Maria Sue Chapman. How my heart jumped into my throat while I listened to the rest of the story. According to the report, "The 5-year-old daughter of Grammy-winning Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said."

So horrific. Such tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Chapman family at this difficult time. May you find comfort and healing in the sure foundation of your faith in God.

To "meet" Maria, click here.

With tears streaming down my face, I will now wrap up this post, go scoop my baby up and snuggle with him. I hope to always remember how important it is to say "I love you" to my children and strive to be the best mama possible.

Glenn Beck

I'm a news junkie for those of you who do not know.

I'm sitting here watching Glenn Beck and I just have to say...

I love that guy!

Great book. I highly recommend reading it.

Platypus' and Democrats

The world's first platypus twin puggles born in captivity are shown at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney in 2003.

Check out the WSJ Health Blog's post about the latest discoveries concerning platypus' genes. Weird stuff...but definitely cute little critters!

I found a particular comment to this post quite humorous:

"This article could have also been about Democrats, a curious species that defies explanation."

A very interesting comparison...if you ask me!

Health Benefits to a Big Bottom

"A type of fat that accumulates around the hips and bottom may actually offer some protection against diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday, (May 6th)."

Finally some good news for those of us that seem to hold on to fat in those areas. My hard-to-lose areas just happen to include: buttocks, thighs & saddlebags.

For the complete article, click here. 

Lasik Surgery

The FDA is looking into patient's complaints concerning Lasik surgery.

"About 700,000 Americans a year undergo the elective laser surgery. Like golf star and famed Lasik recipient Tiger Woods (I went to TLC....same as Tiger), they're hoping to throw away their glasses, just as the ads say.

And while the vast majority benefit — most see 20-20 or even better — about one in four people who seeks Lasik is not a good candidate, and a small fraction suffer serious, life-changing side effects: worse vision, severe dry eye, glare, inability to drive at night."

To read the entire article, click here.

I am thrilled to say I have had Lasik surgery and have had ZERO issues or problems. It will be 3 years in June (can you believe that, Susan?)In fact, right after the procedure I sat up in the chair and could clearly see the clock across the room! AMAZING!!! I must admit it was a little bit scary signing waivers saying if I went blind from the operation the vision center would not be held responsible. BLIND? Uhhhhhh..............

Every morning I wake up and still marvel that I can see without the aid of my contacts or glasses. Especially now, during allergy season, I am 100% grateful to not be dealing with itchy watery eyes and contacts. What a relief!

Lasik is NOT for everyone! In fact I checked out 4 different centers before deciding on TLC. I was not at all pleased with some of the places I checked out. They were extremely pushy and very lax in their exams. If you are looking into Lasik, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

So, WOULD you or WOULDN'T you?

Have you ever RESEARCHED Lasik in the past?

Is MONEY a consideration as to why you WOULDN'T?

Wondering minds want to know.......

Allergy Season Has Officially Arrived

Can I just say how happy I am that I don't live in any of these cities?

The top 2008 Spring Allergy Capitals:

1. Lexington, KY
2. Greensboro, NC
3. Johnson City, TN
4. Augusta, GA
5. Jackson, MS
6. Knoxville, TN
7. Birmingham, AL
8. New Orleans, LA
9. Little Rock, AR
10. San Diego, CA

(A complete list of the rankings for 100 metropolitan areas can be found here)

For those of you who do not suffer from seasonal allergies, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS! The chick-a-dee's and I spent most of the day home but did venture out this afternoon to the bookstore. People looked at me as if I had leprosy. I don't know, maybe it has something to do with my RED eyes, DRIPPING nose and NON-STOP sneezing!! I would stay away from me too if only I could! 

They're BA-ACK!!

Well, they will be soon! Last month I was complaining about the Writer's Guild Strike and how unfair it was of them to keep my favorite shows from being on the air! As of April 13th Desperate Housewives will be back on the air! Unfortunately I will have to wait until April 24th for Ugly Betty.

I do not watch TV at night when the episodes are on. Instead I DVR the shows and play them the next morning while I'm on the treadmill. It makes the 45 minutes fly by and as a bonus I can fast forward the commercials. Monday mornings have been very hard for me knowing I will be getting up and Desperate Housewives will not be waiting for me. Well, not for long! Thank goodness for Top Chef, The Biggest Loser and Lost! If it were for these shows I probably would have stopped exercising by now!

Anne Frank's One True Love

I love the book, "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl". So I was pretty interested in this article which explained the photograph of Anne's "one true love" had recently been released. The photo of Peter Schiff was donated to the Anne Frank museum by his former childhood friend Ernst Michaelis who realized after rereading Anne's diary recently there were no known pictures of Schiff, a museum spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

A picture of Peter Schiff, the young boy who Anne Frank wrote of in her diary, is seen in a card to his school friend Ernst Michaelis.

Anne wrote in her diary: "I forgot that I haven't yet told you the story of my one true love."

"Peter was the ideal boy: tall, slim and good-looking, with a serious, quiet and intelligent face," Anne wrote of the 13-year-old she had fallen for in 1940 when she was just 11.

I highly recommend you check out the article that tells more about where and how Anne and Peter met. Such a sweet, sad story of a truly horrible time in the history of man-kind.

One last thought. If you have never had the opportunity to read Corrie ten Boom's "The Hiding Place" I have this to say: READ IT TODAY! Again, another amazing story!!

Will This Ever End?!

OK. At the risk of sounding completely SHALLOW.......I am going to share a discussion my sister and I had on the phone this morning.

We were talking about the Writer's Guild Strike which started back in November and just ended earlier this month. I was lamenting how sad it was for me to get up on Monday morning and not find "Desperate Housewives" recorded on my DVR from the night before. What am I supposed to watch while I run on my treadmill?! Does the Guild know how hard this has been for me? Do they even care?

And of course there is "Ugly Betty" on Thursday evenings. I have missed Betty Suarez and her kooky little life. Not to mention Wilhemina Slater and her sidekick, Marc (Michael Urie CRACKS ME UP!).

Towards the end of our conversation we were joking about when we're old and gray and have great grandchildren. We'll sit in our rockers and tell them all about the "Writer's Guild Strike of 07-08". Our grands will look at us and say, "Like, what in the world is a TV? We don't even know what that is!" Because by then, who knows where technology will have taken us!

Froggies

"This undated handout artist rendering provided by Dan Klores Communications shows a Beelzebufo ampinga facing off against the largest known living Malagasy frog, Mantydactylus ampinga. A full -length pencil provide size perspective. A frog the size of a bowling ball, with heavy armor and teeth, lived among dinosaurs millions of years ago — intimidating enough that scientists who unearthed its fossils dubbed the beast Beelzebufo, or Devil Toad." To read the article in its entirety click here.

For some reason this story struck me as funny and I wanted to share it with all of you. This past month Rand has gotten three different frog stuffed animals (the Webkinz Love Frog, a sparkly frog & a little green frog from a birthday party) and Kenners was given the Webkinz Tie-dye Frog for her birthday. As you can see, we're going a bit froggy here at our house. Thank goodness no one gave us a frog the size of a bowling bowl that was fierce enough to go after dinosaurs. Yikes!

A Sad Announcement

It is with a heavy heart I write this posting. DK and I voted for Mitt Romney two days ago. Though he did not win the state we live in, I am still proud to say he not only received our vote but in my opinion deserved our vote. I do not regret voting for Mitt Romney and will gladly do so in 2012 if he decides to make the run for President again.

I took Kenners to the pediatricians office on Tuesday for her annual well visit. I asked her doctor if he had taken the opportunity to go and vote. He said he had. He knows that my family and I are Mormon and I said to him, "Well, I'm here to tell you, I did not vote for Romney because he is Mormon." Kenners pediatrician turned and looked at me and said, "I'm here to tell you that I DID vote for Romney because he IS Mormon." Wow! 

Romney had many supporters but unfortunately he did not feel he had enough to win the amount of delegates needed to take the nomination. I respect his decision to suspend his run for the White House and wish him and his family all the best in their future endeavors!

Mrs. Comeback Kid

All I can say about this is: Ugh!

Okay, so now you know I am NOT a Clinton supporter. Not for Mrs. nor was I for Mr. When Bubba (Bill) ran for office 16 years ago my family was bound and determined to move back to Europe. My father's saving grace was retiring from a U.S. Naval career before Clinton took office. His discharge papers and certificates have Bush's signature on them. He made it just in the nick of time. Bubba took office in January 1993 while my father retired in December 1992.

If Mrs. Clinton takes the Democrat nomination I guess it will be time to send DK's resume out for an overseas position. Anyone have any leads for me?