Baseball Monster

I really like how this monster looks. I tried to give him an eyebrow but it ended up looking like the brim of a cap. His arms and that band across his chest ended up looking like a shirt.

Jon commented that this particular monster looked like he was going to a baseball game, so . . . well you know the rest.

Half Birthday

Today is my half birthday, meaning I am 40 and six months.

Happy half birthday to me.

Black and White Sock Monster

This is my third sock monster and as you can see, he wasn't made from perfectly clean socks. I'm using our old socks to try out different ideas. I have some great new materials that I'll use once I've established a few different patterns I like using.

Blue Bunny

I can't help it. I just can't stop making these cute little dolls. I'm happier with this bunny than others. Embroidering their faces is getting easier and I'm happier with the head shape.

Spitzer Resigned

Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned this morning, three days after the NY Times broke a story about his involvement with prostitutes. He said that he resigned at the request of Lt. Governor David Paterson.

As of March 17, Lieutenant Governor Paterson will move up the ladder to become the state's first blind governor. He'll also be the first African American governor of New York State, if I'm not mistaken.

I watched quite a few interviews with fans of Lt. Gov. Paterson. He's well loved. The talking heads on television predict that he'll do well as our new Governor. I've heard him described as a 'mensch' and an all around decent person.

We'll see.

Pastels and Monsters

I improved on the dog doll but am still having trouble with attaching the heads.


I even made my first monkey. His body came out great but I had trouble embroidering his face.



But after a week of making sweet pastel kittens, puppies and bunnies, I've switched to making monsters. Here are my first two.

Spitzer Screwed

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has been implicated in a high end prostitution sting. He allegedly invited a stripper from the tri-state area to a hotel in Washington D.C. Apparently, when you invite someone to have paid sex in a different state than where that person lives, you're violating the Mann Act(no pun intended).

It's not surprising that a government official was caught using the services of a prostitute, because that's not a new offense. What's surprising about this case, is that Spitzer hasn't resigned yet.

And while I'm not surprised that our governor was with a prostitute, I am disappointed in him. I'm sure his family is also disappointed.

Good luck Mrs. Spitzer. I hope you and your three teenage daughters come out of this scandal unscathed.

Read about the Spitzer case:
NY Times
NY Post
Daily News
Newsday

I made two more dolls. And finally, my dolls are starting to look like dolls.

Gypsy - Patti Lupone

Previews for Gypsy starring Patti Lupone started this week at the St. James Theater. I've been working it all week. I missed the Monday night performance starting my week on Tuesday night.

I am so excited to finally see a production of Gypsy. I have wanted to see it on stage since I saw the movie 20 or so years ago that stars Rosaline Russell and Natalie Wood. I have a recording by the original Broadway cast which includes Ethel Merman. It's one of the best musicals of all time.

I missed the Tyne Daly production long, long ago in the 90's. I missed the Bernadette Peters production back in 2003. Finally, I get to see the show and it's starring the amazing Patti Lupone. She's truly amazing. And not just because she's a great singer.

Wednesday night something out of the ordinary happened at the opening of Act II. Act II opens with Rose, Louise and a troop of girls camped out in the dessert. They're rehearsing the new act for Louise. Just as the curtain opened a lightbulb fell center stage. That wasn't supposed to happen. Patti Lupone didn't miss a beat. She continued with the scene. As she was saying her lines, she went back stage and got a broom and started sweeping debris off the stage from side to side. Laura Benanti as Louise practiced her baton twirling and the girls backed her up. All the while Patti Lupone was cleaning up and performing. When she was done sweeping with one broom, she went back stage and got another to push the debris off stage because the first broom didn't work so well. It was seamless. The way she did it, you'd think it was written in the script that a lightbulb should fall from the sky.

Last night something else extraordinary happened. And this will tell you how amazing is Laura Benanti as Gypsy Rose Lee. There's a moment in the show that's referred to as "THE MOMENT". It's when Louise, getting ready to perform her first strip tease is standing back stage in a gown, looking in the mirror. It's when she discovers her own beauty and she says, "I'm pretty. I'm a pretty girl, Mamma." Just as she said it last night, a curtain mistakenly came down practically on top of her. The curtain covered half of the mirror. Laura Benanti pulled the curtain aside and pushed her head through to say her line. When the curtain came up again, the back drop for a future scene had mistakenly and mysteriously moved into place.

There was no recovering from that. Laura Benanti finally had to say "stop the show". And they did. An announcement was made informing the audience of technical difficulties. The audience applauded. And they sat there in the dark whispering to each other for 10 minutes. Nobody got up, well a couple of people did but mostly people remained in their seats. After 10 minutes. the curtain came up again and they'd reset everything so Gypsy could have her "moment". The show continued. And we all got out late, after 11 pm.

Gypsy is a long show. Add technical difficulties and forget about it. I didn't get home until after midnight last night. My last headset was finally returned when the theater was almost empty of patrons. Then I had to wait half an hour for an N train. Ugh.

Anyhoo. You should go see Gypsy. It's great. I don't know if anyone will ever be as great as Ethel Merman. But Patti Lupone comes darn close.

And she's amazing.

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew - Finale

The show is over. Three of the seven celebrities decided to go to Sober Living, to continue their treatment - Jessica Sierra, Mary Ellen and Seth Binzer. Four decided to go it on their own and swore to Dr. Drew they would fight to stay sober - Jamie Foxworthy, Joanie Laurer, Brigitte Nielson and Rico Rodriguez.

The ceremony was emotional and very serious.

This show is a departure from VH1's regular "Celebreality" programming. There was nothing to make fun of and I don't have anything witty or clever to say about any part of it really. When the celebs behaved badly, they evoked sympathy from me. And when they behaved well, I felt proud of them.

The show was a success for me.

I'm looking forward to the reunion show, to see how everyone is doing.

Softies

Since I made that first pink bunny, I found out that there is a whole community of people making these sock and glove dolls. The name for these dolls - Softies. I haven't officially joined the community but I have made some dolls and I wanted to share them with you. You've already seen my VERY pink bunny which I posted a few days ago. Since then I've made this very sad looking dog out of an old pair of Jon's tube socks.

As you can see from the expression on his face, he knows that he's not quite right. This has to be the ugliest doll in creation. He basically looks like a stuffed sock with sewn-on buttons.

But I did not lose hope. In fact, I bought some new materials and started over again.

I decided to try another bunny. I used a soft, terry cloth, pastel pink pair of gloves. He came out pretty cute, although, I had some trouble with his neck. The bunny is very soft. I'm much happier with his appearance, although his ears are rather lopsided. I embroidered a mouth under his nose, to give him a smiley appearance. It gives the doll a little more personality. It took me a little over an hour yesterday to make him.

Today, I decided to revisit the dog. Instead of a sock, I followed the instructions for how to make a dog out of a glove. I embroidered the face because potentially, I'd like to give the doll to my niece who is still very small and going through that phase where children explore the world with their mouths. Buttons would probably be a choking hazard. Anyway, here it is.

I'm fairly happy with the result. The arms on all the dolls have been giving me problems. The patterns I'm following show the arms as lying flat against the sides of whatever creature you create, but mine stick out. It could be stuffing, it could be stitching. I'm still trying to work that one out. But I think the face is really cute. And even though it looks like a lamb, I'm still calling it a dog.

Pink Bunny

I picked up the supplies at Michaels on Northern Blvd. I chose to make a bunny first. And I followed a pattern from the book Sock and Glove. I made my bunny out of a pair of cheap pink gloves bought at the local 99 cent store.



The bunny did not come out as cute as I would have liked but I'll give myself some credit for getting started. I can't expect the first toy I make to be perfect. I watched Martha Stewart make a perfect bunny in 10 minutes on her show so I really thought it was going to be very, very easy.
I'll keep practicing until I get better. I've already started work on the dog pattern, using an old pair of Jon's socks.

Historical Society of Princeton

On Thursday night, Jon participated in a panel discussion on crime in the 1930's with a focus on the Lindbergh kidnapping. The event was hosted by the Historical Society of Princeton and the event was called The Great Crime Wave of the 1930's. Jon's fellow panelists were Lloyd Gardner, author of "The Case That Never Dies" and John F. Fox Jr., FBI Historian.


Lloyd Gardner started by setting the scene. He wrote a book called The Case That Never Dies which discusses the Lindbergh case in great detail. He's pretty impressive. He teaches at Rutgers and he seems to put out a book a year. He was animated and engaging and pitched his book beautifully and obviously. He wasn't even subtle about it, but he was so charming that his presentation wasn't effected by his book mentions.

Jon was next and he discussed three interesting characters involved in the case but not directly; Ellis Parker, a celebrity detective of the time; governor Harold Hoffman and gangster Longie Zwillman. All three wanted to make an impact on history but ultimately had no real effect on the outcome. For a variety of reasons, Hoffman thought the man convicted of the crime, Bruno Hauptman was innocent. Ellis Parker worked for Hoffman in trying to prove his theory by beating up a false suspect until he confessed. This resulted in a temporary stay of execution for Hauptman. (If you want to learn more about it read Jon's book, Notorious New Jersey.) Longie Zwillman claims to have offered his services to the Lindberghs, to try to find their kidnapped baby, because, Longie Zwillman longed to trade in his criminal reputation for a one that was more reputable.

John Fox spoke about crime in general and explained how FBI and forensic sciences were in their infancy. He also explained a lot about jurisdiction, which I thought was very interesting.

It was a nice event that was very well attended.

Sock Shirt

My doll making books came in the mail yesterday. And I got started right away. From the book Sock and Glove, I decided to make a shirt for a monkey doll we brought back from our trip to Barbados. I made the shirt out of an old sock. Is that just the cutest thing?

Today I'm going to pick up some supplies so I can start making dolls.

!!!! Happy~Leap~Year !!!!

Curliest Hair EVER

Last night, I set my hair in curlers in preparation for an event Jon and I are attending later in the day. I kept the curlers in my hair for 12 hours. This is the result.



It looks fairly ridiculous, like a bad 80's perm - which I managed to avoid getting in the 80's. But don't worry. In a few hours, the curls will die down and my hair will look wavy and pretty. Jon and I had a good laugh.

Guess Who

Super Fine Day

I had two productive days yesterday and today. One day was socially productive and the other was housework productive.

Yesterday, I had two friends over. One friend came over while the sun was out. Together we prepared some food and hung out until the sun went down. It was really nice time spent with a really good friend. Then last night, my friend and neighbor joined me for the Oscars. Jon came home from work about hour or so later. Basically I wasn't alone the whole day. I can't remember the last time I've spent whole a day exclusively with friends and loved ones. Even on days that I visit with family it's for five hours at the most.

Excellent day. Excellent day.

Today. Well. Today was laundry day. Jon and I were in and out of the laundromat in an hour. And we spent $16.00 total doing it ourselves. The cost to have had it done would have been at least $36 or $37. But I did end up spending over an hour folding it at home. The cool part about that is I was able to watch some mind numbingly entertaining television. Have you ever watched Judge Joe Brown? He's like the Shaft of TV judges. Very cool. Very laid back. Very entertaining. I also watched 10 minutes of Ellen after which my mind went blank. But at the end of that hour or of television watching, my laundry was folded.

Today was an excellent food day. My weight dropped a few more pounds, so I decided to eat something naughty. I ordered a wrap with french fries. Our local diner makes this Mexican style chicken wrap with avocado and salsa and it's deliciously sinful. It's also extremely filling. I'm still full from my 4pm lunch. I haven't eaten dinner. Tomorrow, I'll get back on track.

And tonight, Jon and I watched next week's episode of The Wire, which is in its last season. HBO on Demand has this nice feature where you can watch some of their shows in advance. We've been taking full advantage of this for The Wire. It's an excellent show. Consistently, the writing is great, the acting is brilliant and the cinematography is meaningful.

I would write about it but I wouldn't know where to begin. The show is so intricately tied to everything that's happened in the past, I'd have to begin with the first season to bring you up to speed on this one. The show has everything - witty dialogue, sophisticated cultural references, gritty realism - and the people making the show leave a piece of themselves in every episode.

That pretty much brings me up to date. Maybe if I'm feeling frisky tomorrow, I'll tell you about working at the Walter Kerr Theater for the last two weeks of A Bronx Tale, which closed yesterday.

Crafting

You don't know this about me but I love crafts. I haven't made in anything in a while but I have a book shelf dedicated to crafting books I bought during my last manic phase of creativity. Back then, I loved doing cross stitch.

I just ordered three books on crafting stuffed animals. I'll let you know how they are and might even post photographs of my little crafting projects. I'm so happy I DIDN'T throw away all the orphan socks I just pulled out of our drawers. I knew I was saving them for a reason.

Yay!!!

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew- Four Days Left

FOUR MORE DAYS
At the group therapy session at the top of the episode, Dr. Drew asked his patients to make predictions about everybody's future sobriety. Jeff Conaway said something nice to start. He predicted that Jamie Foxworth would be the most successful because she seemed the most stable. I have to agree with him, although outside of a few outbursts, we didn't really get to know her. And that's fine by me. I don't need to know anything about her personal life to wish her well. With that said, Jamie predicts that Jeff will not succeed because of Vicki who is his enabler. The group pretty much agrees that in order for Jeff to succeed he's going to have to stay away from Vicki. Jessica pokes at Rico and accuses him of holding back, not opening up to the group. She predicts that unless he starts opening up about his past, that he'll revert back to old behaviors. She's probably right about that. He used to gamble, lose and rely on his muscles to get himself out of trouble. He gambled away a small fortune and lost custody of his kid. This segment ultimately leads to footage of a one on one session between Dr. Drew and Rico where he tries to find out what else exactly is in Rico's past that he's ashamed of. Turns out he's a criminal and doesn't want to discuss anything in detail because he's scared of the repercussions.

Four days left of treatment and our celebrities don't seem ready to leave. Dr. Drew is proud of the progress his patients have been making so he has them visit a "dry" coffee house to put on a talent show. Dr. Drew schedules these outings to give them a taste of a life with drugs and alcohol. My only other experience with rehab is a movie that Sandra Bullock made called 28 days, in which a young woman goes to rehab to sober up or goes to jail. I recall that the patients in that movie also went on an outing or two. So maybe the outing thing is legitimate. To tell you the truth, I hope to never find out whether or not that fact is true. Truly.

SOBER LIVING
Anyway, it's nice that the celebs have the talent show to look forward to because most of them are freaking out about what comes next. Dr. Drew suggested to the patients that they move on to a facility called sober living which sounds like a halfway house for recovering addicts. Apparently, it's a safe environment where they can learn how to make a sober transition back into their lives. Sober Living scares them. And some of the celebs are shown talking themselves out of going and making excuses why they can't afford it. For some of the celebrities this is a real problem. Jessica Sierra from American Idol, doesn't really have money and she doesn't have a job. All she has is one hit single that may or may not be providing her with an income. And on top of that, her whole life is in Florida, while the Sober Living facility is in California. Seth Binzer doesn't sound like he really wants to go to the facility either. And while his isn't a money concern, his interest level just isn't high enough. So what does he do? He agrees to move into an apartment with Rico the Ultimate Fighter/Cage Fighter/Real Man Fighter and together they will get tattoos and remain clean and sober. Hopefully Seth Binzer will see what a bad decision that would be for him. Rico is in no position to help anybody. His life is a bigger mess than Seth's. But I do appreciate that they honestly want to help each other out and believe they could prop each other up during the tougher days ahead. My wish for Seth Binzer is that he moves back in with his lovely wife and potentially chemically imbalanced child. (And I say that because Seth's DNA might have been effected by the crack he was inhaling when he conceived Halo.)

THERAPEUTIC OUTINGS
Long after group, everybody got dressed up and headed out to the sober cafe. Rico did stand up, Jessica sang a song, Seth Binzer spoke rapidly into the mike and everybody else supported them. It was nice to see the celebs relaxing a bit outside of the center. And it seems like everybody had a good time. Since that trip went so well that Dr. Drew thought he would challenge his charges with a trip to Catalina. I think Catalina was a boat because everything we saw from there took place on a boat. Jessica led a couple of the girls in a rousing chorus of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall and Rico jumped off the boat into the engine churned waters, in spite of warnings from the crew that Harbor Patrol would arrest him for doing so. That trip didn't go as well as the outing to the coffee house. Rico almost did get arrested were it not for the slick talking of Dr. Drew and his crew. But Rico wasn't the only one to act out. The show ended with Seth Binzer and Jessica Sierra participating in a food fight which really messed up the common area outside by the pool. But I guess it's normal for people to act out when they're scared and Seth and Jessica are good examples of that. Both fear leaving and both are acting out. I'm guessing they have to act out because they don't know how to process their emotions without drugs and alcohol. They're like children who haven't yet learn NOT to hit another child when he's angry.

JEFF CONAWAY LEFT
Jeff Conaway left the facility. I assumed it was because he wanted to get back to his drug seeking life style. But I found out after reading an interview with Dr. Drew about the episode that Dr. Drew advised Jeff to see a neurosurgeon for a back operation. He said that after watching a sober Conaway walking around he observed that something was wrong with how his body was moving. Turns out he was right. Jeff Conaway had an operation and Dr. Drew is still hopeful that he'll be able to recover from his varying addictions. If Jeff Conaway hadn't been sober, doctors wouldn't have been able to see that there was a problem.

Winter? What's That?

We've been having been such mild weather lately that I almost forgot it is winter. Today I was sadly reminded how cold it can get in New York in February. It's always a surprise when it snows, isn't it? The last time it snowed like this, Jon and I flew to Iceland - after 6 hours of sitting on the icy runway. Fortunately, we are not travelling today except for in and out of Manhatten.

February is our worst month for cold weather and snow. And February is almost finished. The weather will be warming up soon and outdoor exercise can recommence.

Happy Couple

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew - Friends and Family

The Jeff Conaway Show
For 10 minutes at the top of the episode, I thought that this was going to be yet another episode where Jeff Conaway dominates. He started complaining again about the imposed limitations and restrictions of rehab and he sucked everyone into a hugely upsetting discussion where he tried to hurt everyone with his words. But eventually he settled down and Dr. Drew convinced him to stay one more night.

Friends and Family
Friends and Family was about the family members of the residents of Dr. Drew's rehab center participating in individual and group therapy. Dr. Drew managed to get everyone to invite at least one member of their family but he was concerned that Joanie "Chyna Doll" Laurer didn't seem to have anyone to call. He wanted her to call her sister and repair their relationship about which we know nothing. But Joanie's adamant refusal to call her was very telling.

The whole idea behind counseling friends and family is to make sure everyone in rehab has a support system in place when they go home. We met everyone's families.

We were privy to a private counselling session between Seth Binzer and his wife. She seemed very stable when she expressed her wished to divorce Seth if he couldn't clean up his act. For all his tattooes and strange hair and general gruff exterior he seemed very fragile in that session. You could see he loved his wife and that her opinion means the world to him. Apparently living with him is very scary especially when he's stoned or looking to buy some drugs. He wants to clean up his act for his son - it was nice to see Seth swimming in the pool with his kid. He looked like a big kid himself. Their son's name is Halo. No comment.

We also met Mary Carrey's mother who survived jumping off a building. Turns out her mother is mentally ill. Mary explained how she made a deal with God to get well if her mother survived her injuries and they shared a warm hug. Her mother expressed great pride and joy in Mary's efforts and Dr. Drew admired Mary for being so patient and caring with her mom. Mary is now my favorite personality on the show.

Outside by the pool, Dr. Drew and a family therapist participated in a huge group meeting with all interested parties.

Brigitte Neilsen's husband and sons came to visit. She had to translate everything they said from Italian to English. Turns out the boys knew all along about their mother's drinking problem and were collectively glad that she was receiving help for her problems. Her husband was lovely and supportive and explained to the group in broken English how much he loves Brigitte and how he hopes she'll be okay in the long run.

With the support of her father, Jessica Sierra's sister told her and the group how scary life was when Jessica lived with her and her son. And with the group's support, Barry Williams told Chyna how embarrassed he was the one time she ran up on stage with him while he was performing. Barry Williams showed up out of nowhere. With no explanation he started speaking to and about Chyna. Very weird. We have no idea at all why he was there.

We also got to see that Jaimee Foxworth has a lot of family ready, willing and able to help her with her problem. But the show still hasn't focused on her too much. Except for when she's told off Jeff Conaway. As I mentioned ealier, at the top of the show, Jeff Conaway was blathering on again about how he wants to leave rehab and he started lashing out at everyone around him. She stood up to him and told him off in the nicest way possible. She's a likeable lady and I hope she gets over her long term pot addiction very soon. I'm guessing, she'll be one of the more successful rehabbers judging by how much family showed up.

At the end of the group meeting, Jeff Conaway's girlfriend Vicki showed up. He mentioned in their session that Vicki brought vodka into rehab and she responded with "You told me too." She then went on to explain that Jeff wanted her to be drunk when she visited so Dr. Drew could invite her to live at the rehab center so he wouldn't be so lonely. He must have because he responded that he was only kidding when he said that.

But Dr. Drew learned that Vicki might really have a drinking problem and may be in need of rehab herself. Apparently, she needs to drink just to get by sometimes and on occassion drinks to help her migraines. She seems to think that keeping alcohol in the house won't be a problem after Jeff comes home. Because for her, his problem is drug related and not alcohol related. Dr. Drew made it clear that all alcohol and drugs must be removed from their house. But I don't think his message got through. As long as Jeff stays with Vicki, he'll never get better. From everything I've seen, she's just absolutely the worst, most enabling person he could have in his life. She a psycho sycophant.

Family Dinner
The episode ended at a restaurant where our rehabbers prepared and served dinner for their friends and family. According to Dr. Drew, there is some therapeutic value in serving others. I'm not exactly clear what it is, although I can see how the rehabbers might find it enabling to know they can care for themselves as well as others. Maybe that's what Dr. Drew meant.

Brigitte Neilsen had a hard time because the restaurant had a full bar and she got deeply depressed but she pulled herself out of it. Jeff Conaway fell asleep cutting tomatoes. Everyone seemed to thrive in the environment and it seemed like everybody had a good time.

La Vie En Rose

Jon and I just watched the French movie about Edith Piaf. I can't believe this movie wasn't nominated for Best Foreign Language film. I'll be rooting for Marion Cotillard to win best actress. The movie was unbelievably good. I cried from beginning to end. Edith Piaf's life was so tragic, it was hard not to cry.

Buy a box of tissues and watch this movie.

Xanadu

I'm working at Xanadu this weekend which is now playing at the Helen Hayes theater. I was happy to see that Cheyenne Jackson is still in the lead. He may have actually gotten better looking in the months since I've worked the show. But not only is he good looking, he's a super great singer as well. It's almost unfair that he is both that good looking and that talented but he's so likeable as a performer it's impossible to hate him. Kerry Butler continues to amaze as the muse Clio. Talk about great singers, she has the prettiest voice. And she's funny and campy and delightful to watch. Cheyenne and Kerry have a great romantic chemistry on stage that seems to have gotten even better. They work well together and they're adorable of course. As a whole, there have been subtle but apparent improvements in the show. The humor seems to flow more naturally and everybody's timing is a lot tighter.

See a Broadway Show
This time of year is slow for Broadway. If you're thinking about seeing Xanadu and in you're in the local area, now is the time to see the show. Today's matinee was only 70% full. The same holds true for many Broadway shows. If the show you want to see was sold out over the holidays, you may be able to get a decent seat in February.

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew - Baldwin Quits

Episodes 1 - 3
The story lines were pretty much the same. We met the celebrities and learned why they were there. The strongest narrative came from Jeff Conaway, who suffered greatly during his first few days of withdrawal. Everyone at the rehab facility seemed very concerned for him and behaved very supportively. Daniel Baldwin was the most supportive. After Conaway returned from the hospital, Daniel Baldwin called Conaway out for having drugs in his pants pocket. Daniel found this a threat to his sobriety. He upset Conaway so much, that he rose out of his wheelchair long enough to deliver a physical threat against Baldwin before falling down again in pain. Even after that incident, Baldwin's support continued. He helped talk Conaway OUT of quitting the rehab facility which he so obviously needed.

He not only gave support to Jeff Conaway but to other members of the group as well. For Jessica Sierra, fallen American Idol contestant, he served as a surrogate father. And for the group, he always had helpful words because he came into the situation already sober and wanting to help those who had not yet seen the light. He seemed earnest in his belief that his presence among the broken celebrities would not only serve to strengthen his own sobriety but he himself would bring to the group, the wisdom that comes with age and experience.

Episode 4
Daniel Baldwin quit therapy, citing a BBQ as the reason. Earlier in the episode, we learned that Daniel and Mary were sending text messages back and forth. And we saw him telling her before group one morning, to destroy those messages. But back to his excuse for quitting. Dr. Drew allowed his patients a BBQ with friends and family as a reward for their hard work. At the BBQ, Seth Binzer's girlfriend/wife/baby's momma jumped into the pool with Jessica and Mary. When their t-shirts got wet, this proved too tittilating for Baldwin. He retreated to his room and promptly called his wife to tell her the temptation was weakening him. And then he called his sponsor and his agent so they could get him out of a situation that was "no longer condusive to his sobriety."

At 1 am, Drew Pinsky called a group meeting so Daniel Baldwin could explain to the group why he was leaving. He left a trail of disappointed friends in his wake. Jessica Sierra felt abandoned by her surrogate father, and to tell you the truth, I'm not really sure how the others felt. I'm only guessing they were disappointed. It's entirely possible that they were relieved that he left because in the end, it was starting to become ALL ABOUT him instead of all about everybody else.

Episode 5
Dr. Pinsky had to deal with the fallout of Daniel's leaving. He knew something wasn't right about what happened.

Mary Carey
Dr. Drew learned from Mary Carey, in a private session with him and a therapist that deals with former porn stars in recovery, that Daniel was communicating inappropriately with Mary. She felt guilty about Daniel leaving because she felt responsible for his sexual feelings towards her. Dr. Pinksy complimented her for her insight into Daniel's behavior. He also noticed that her outward appearance had changed over night. While Daniel was there, she was dressing in a more suggestive, sexy manner. But starting with the morning after, she was wearing a dowdy sweatshirt that covered up her enormous boobs. In that therapy session, Dr. Pinksy told Mary that he signed her up for a ballet class, because before going into porn, she was going to be a ballerina.

Before group, at breakfast, everybody learned about Daniel's messages and Mary received a lot of support. And everybody reacted differently. Generally, everyone felt that Daniel took advantage of the much younger porn star. Everyone that is except ultimate fighting champion Ricco Rodriguez, who believes that both should share the blame for the irresponsible communications. While everyone else in group therapy demonized Daniel Baldwin, Ricco took a more objective approach, reminding the group that Mary is almost thirty years old and not a child easily taken advantage of. Later in the episode, Mary took a break from all the drama at the facility. This segment made me cry a little bit. Mary expressed to the teacher and ultimately to the cameras, how much dancing meant to her. And I could see it as I watched her. If it hadn't been for that extra bone in her ankle, she probably could have been a very good dancer.

Jeff Conaway
Jeff Conaway's girlfriend brought an alcohol laden drink into rehab. He kicked her out and then called her later to yell at her. How she could do that to him was the jist of the call. He yelled at her for bringing alcohol into his treatment center because he is afterall an alcoholic that is trying to get better. The whole incident seemed a little staged to me. According to the coming attractions for next week's show, we'll learn more about what happened. If it wasn't staged, we should all be proud of him for owning his sobriety like that. And if it wasn't staged, there could be hope for him.

Golf Outing
Episode 5 ended on a golf course somewhere in California, where our broken celebrities spent the afternoon having fun and bonding. Dr. Drew provided exploding golf balls as part of the afternoons festivities, which led to light hearted antics and good natured goofing about their more serious drug problems. At the end of the outing, Jeff Conaway presented everyone with a big golf trophy that the members of the group will pass to each other every time they meet for lunch.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

Nutritionist Update

Goal
I saw the nutritionist today. My results were better than last time. Last month, I'd lost 3 pounds and change, almost 4. I was upset because I'd set a goal of five pounds and didn't quite make it.

But today was different. Not only did I lose 5 pounds, but I lost 5.6 pounds. That means I'm down over 20 pounds in total. I was so excited I didn't even get the specifics with regard to my BMI and body fat percentage.

Checking In
At today's meeting, the nutritionist and I discussed the difference between contemplation and commitment. The nutritionist explained how frustrating her job is sometimes because she meets people contemplating weight loss without being ready to commit.

My friend B asked me later in the day how I felt about my new style of eating and I told her that it's not something I think about. It's just something I'm doing. It's just how things are. I'm completely committed to losing weight. My new habits are ingrained. I don't really have to think about my diet beyond paying attention to my food counts.

Clothes Shopping
I'm excited at the prospect of being able to shop in stores that DON'T have special sections for people who wear larger sizes. I've been contemplating going clothes shopping - a lot actually - but I'm not yet committed to that idea. It still makes me angry that larger runs of clothing that I like are almost impossible to find. And don't get me started about Macy's. If you want to buy plus size clothing at Macy's you have to go all the way to the 8th or 9th floor. At Lord & Taylor it's the same thing. Lane Bryant has great clothes but I always have the same problem with their shirts - too much of a seam allowance in the chest because the assumption is that if you wear a larger size you have a larger chest.

Anyway, I'm not quite ready to deal with all that yet. I know I'm rambling. Issues relating to weight loss and self worth are serious. And almost everyone deals with self esteem issues at some point or the other if not daily.

I worry that a negative experience clothes shopping will undo the small gains I've made toward recapturing the self confidence I had when I was thinner. Not that self confidence comes from weight but you know what I mean, right? What I mean is I'm starting to feel better about myself again.

Me doing laundry

Persepolis

Jon and I saw Persepolis yesterday at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas. It's a French film based on the graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi about her life as an Iranian. Compelling.

She's a great story teller and the animation is beautiful.

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew

I'm four episodes into the show and I've decided that it's definitely worthy of a weekly writeup. The premise is pretty basic. Several wrecked celebrities have enrolled in a rehab program run by celebrity doctor, Drew Pinski. I don't want this post to overwhelm so I'll start simply with the basics.

Here's a list of the celebrities participating thus far with a brief history.

1.Jeff Conaway - best remembered for his role as Kenickie in Grease, he is also remembered for playing out of work actor Bobby Wheeler on the TV show Taxi. If you look at his resume, he's worked a lot in both film and on television. But his most recent appearances on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club proved to be the most revealing. It was on Celebrity Fit Club that TV audiences learned how far his health has deteriorated. Not only did he appear bloated and out of shape but it was apparent he was dangerously medicated. While all the other celebrities have serious problems, without a doubt he is the most heavily damaged celebrity on the show in terms of drug years.

2. Brigitte Nielsen - Remember how gorgeous she was? She had a few good years in film. She starred in Red Sonja with Arnold Schwarzenegger; she played a villain like person in Rocky IV and she had a good part alongside then husband Sylvester Stallone in that forgettable movie Cobra (which starred an actor who looked a an awful lot like Schwarzenegger but then ended up dying in the end because he was a bad guy). She disappeared for a while but VH1 found her for Surreal Life and stuck her in a house with some other forgotten celebrities.

Thanks to this show, we were able to see how far her looks and health have declined, thanks to alcohol. While appearing on the Surreal Life, she had a drunken affair with Flavor Flav which was followed by VH1's Strange Love. Now, thanks to VH1, perhaps she'll be able to sober up and stop appearing drunk on VH1. It's hard to believe she's only four years older than me. Drinking has caused her to age badly.

3.Daniel Baldwin - This guy is famous for being a mess. He's probably best remembered for being the Baldwin brother with the most problems but I like to remember him from Homocide:Life on the Street. While doing research on him for this post (two minutes on Wikipedia), I learned that he also participated in VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. He's been in and out of trouble for years because of his drug problems. And he joined Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew to help reinforce 9 months of recent sobriety. Unlike the other participants he was sober when he walked through the front door.

The above three people are perhaps the three you would consider celebrities. The others are famous, if you happen to be fans of the specific genre where they excel; a porn star; a rock star; a would be singing star; a wrestler; a former child star; and an ultimate fighter.

Let's start with the porn star.

4. Mary Carey - doesn't want to do porn anymore. She's learning it's not healthy for her and is a gateway to other bad behavior like drinking and doing drugs. When she arrived at rehab, the staff removed all her porn and sex toys when going through her belongings. I think she's interesting. She's certainly not stupid and she doesn't possess a mean bone in her body. Also, she ran for governor of California during the recall election. You may recall that Schwarzenegger won that election. (Perhaps Schwarzenegger is the gateway).

5. Seth Binzer - He is the lead singer of Crazy Town, whose one big hit I've heard but couldn't sing back to you. He's pretty messed up. In the first episode, we watched a home video of a typical night out for Seth which included an intimate closeup of Seth smoking from a crack pipe. He's a good looking guy with a great singing voice and a serious addiction problem. And yes ladies - he's Jewish - which I found surprising because he is covered with tattooes. But according to his myspace page, he's married. So. You'll just to wait his marriage out before trying to hook up with the hot Jewish rock star. Oh and you'll have to wait until he sobers up because you probably don't want a crack addicted boyfriend, even with the shortage of available and exceedingly hot Jewish men.

6. Jessica Sierra - is the least famous person on the show. She had a brief moment in the spotlight as a contestant on American Idol but only became a headliner when she got arrested for something or the other having to do with drugs. She's very young and very sad. Her mother was a drug addict whose bad behavior left Jessica emotionally scarred and ill prepared for the world. The kid is a mess but like Mary Carey, she's very sweet and seemingly good natured. For me, watching her is like watching Britney Spears in rehab by proxy. And I'm sure it's no accident the producers put a young blond singer on the show. Pretty smart move on their part. I'm hopeful that she succeeds and achieves sobriety in this bizarre environment.

7. Joan Marie Laurer - aka Chyna Doll - formerly a wrestler with the WWF. She also starred on a season of Surreal Life and became good friends with Brigitte Nielsen on Surreal Life Games. (I have not seen any of these shows but somehow I know a lot about them). Chyna does not seem to be addicted to anything. I'm not quite sure why she is in rehab. While she's not exhibiting drug seeking behavior, she is definitely exhibiting attention seeking behavior. Not to say that she doesn't need therapy or counseling but I'm not exactly sure she needs rehabilitation. Maybe VH1 felt like they owed her one for all the ratings she generated by being on their programs.

8. Jaimee Foxworth - she was the little girl on Family Matters. I don't know much about her except that she's seriously addicted to marijuana. And she seems very nice. Even though she says she's got this really bad problem, she seems to have more control over her life than all the other celebrities.

9.Ricco Rodriguez - is either a cage fighter, a mixed martial arts fighter or an ulitmate fighter. This guy definitely needs to be in rehab. He's got real problems. His problems with drugs are so bad that the courts took away his kid away not only him, but from his baby's drug addicted mama as well. I think the producers knew that either Jeff Conaway or Daniel Baldwin was going to leave the show, so they brought in another guy in episode 3 to fill a potential void. Daniel ended up leaving the facility in episode 4.

I think that's everybody. And now that you know who everyone is, I can write about the show freely without having to explain everyone's background each and every time. I'll provide links back to this post in my future recaps.

Notorious New Jersey:100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels

“Notorious New Jersey” by Jon Blackwell is the defininitive guide to murder, mayhem, the mob, and corruption in the Garden State. With tabloid punch, Jon Blackwell tells riveting accounts of Alexander Hamilton falling mortally wounded on the dueling grounds of Weehawken; Dutch Schultz getting pumped full of lead in the men’s room of the Palace Chop House in Newark; and a gang of Islamic terrorists in Jersey City mixing the witch’s brew of explosives that became the first bomb to the rock the World Trade Center.

Blackwell also sheds light on some historical whodunits - was Bruno Hauptmann really guilty of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby? Who was behind the anthrax attacks of 2001? Not forgotten either are notorious characters who may actually be innocent, including Hurricane Carter.
Through 100 historic true crime tales that span over 300 years of history, Blackwell shows readers a side of New Jersey that would make even the Sopranos shudder.

Online Jeopardy Contestant Test - Part II

THREE THINGS

1. I found an unofficial transcript of the test online and determined that I answered 30 out of 50 questions correctly.
2. Since I posted this I've edited out any answers that would allow people to prepare in advance for the next two tests just in case the test for Mountain and Pacific are the same as the East coast. I did this because a lot of people have been googling around for the test and it's only fair that they have as little advantage as the East coast people did.
3. I'll post a link to the unofficial transcript when the test is finished.

===================================
I guess I did okay on the test. Not as good as some but maybe better than others. I probably finished somwhere right in the middle.

There I things I just didn't know, like the country where a famous politician's alleged cousin speaks out against the government or the name of a particular Shakespeare play or the name of a rap artist who won a bunch of awards. I left all three of those answers blank.

There are things I forgot which make me want to kick myself like who created an important artwork in the MOMA, a state capital and an international capital. I knew all three of those answers but went completely blank.

And then there are the one or two answers that I just got plain wrong. For example it was what's his face and not BLANK who directed a recent film. I guessed an architect instead of a furniture designer as someone who desiged a significant piece of furniture. And I totally blew the Sherlock Holmes question.

Then there are things I DID know.

I knew the answers to the questions relating to American politics; the four letter word that means a certain kind of horse; the author of two ancient literary works; someone who recently won a Tony for best actress; an important Oscar winner; and a few others that really surprised me.

After discussing my answers with the two people whose intelligence I admire most in the world, I think I stand as good a chance as anybody else that took the test tonight of getting a personal audition.

Taking the test was exciting. You should definitely sign up to take it. There are more online tests coming up for the Mountain and Pacific time zones. There is no reason why you can't take them.

As a matter of fact, here is what it says on the Jeopardy website. " We strongly encourage you to take the test in your own time zone. However, you may take the test on another night depending on the demands of your schedule. Remember: you may only log in and take the test once. Subsequent attempts will result in disqualification".

Just be mindful of the time difference when signing in.

Jeopardy Online Contestant Test

In about 13 minutes, I'm taking the Online Contestant test for Jeopardy. It's the first of several steps toward becoming a contesant on the show.

We'll see how I do. I'll let you know.

Neighborhood News?

Last night, when I left for work use, there was an ABC News van in front of my building. This morning, when I woke up, there was a news van in front the building across from us. Now, when I looked outside, there is a small contingency of photographers hanging out in front of the building across the street. And I'm pretty sure, I can hear a van idling.

I can't imagine what is going that would warrant this kind of attention. I thought maybe Heath Ledger's household help might live nearby and people are waiting for some kind of statement from either his masseuse or his housekeeper. That is based purely on my imagination and the inevitable news feeding frenzy that follows a young celebrity's death.

There's all this gossip now based on why the masseuse did or didn't call 9-1-1 right away regarding Heath Ledger's deep sleep. I don't want to contribute to the gossip.

I'm just sad for his family.

Heath Ledger Dead?

I just heard a news report on ABC that 28 year old Heath Ledger was found dead in a Manhattan residence. He was found by a housekeeper, surrounded by sleeping pills.

Amazing Race

Last night, I watched the season finale of the Amazing Race.

Fueled by adrenaline and good vibes, TK & Rachel floated onto the mat where Phil K. and the previously eliminated contestants awaited. In the end, they both said that they were most happy that their relationship grew while they were on the race without ever mentioning their joy at winning $1 million. I guess it's possible that they are more into their relationship they money but it's more likely that the news of their huge winfall hadn't yet sunk in.

It would have been satisfying to see any of the three remaining teams win. They were all inherently likeable.

Ron and Christina Hsu - the father and daughter team - were smart and worked well together. Additionally, I enjoyed watching their relationship grow. It's nice to see fathers and daugthers in healthy-ish adult relationships. Between the two of them, Christine was the stronger player. Throughout the race, she managed to pick up important words from what ever language was spoken in which ever country they were racing. And she was level headed even when her father was saying things to her that could have been construed as mean. Confidence is appealing and I'm glad I got to watch her succeed. It was inspring.

Nicholas Fulks and Donald Jarousek - the grandson and grandfather team - were intelligent and tenacious. I couldn't help but think about my own grandfather, who has long since passed away (may he rest in peace), and how much fun it would have been to have some kind of adventure with him. Unfortunately, that's more of a regretful fantasy, because with our lives the way they were, we never would have had that kind of opportunity. There always seemed to be other people getting in the way of our own one on one relationship - like my grandmother, or my cousins, or any other family member with whom I had to share my grandfather's love. Anyway, that's what I think about when I think about Nicholas and Donald.

Regarding TK and Rachel - the couple that is newly dating - they were exactly the kind of team you want to win the Amazing Race. Very often it's an annoying couple like Jennifer and Nathan who win but not this year!! This year three likeable couples made it to the end and TK and Rachel were the most likeable of the three. They had great attitudes. And they always behaved kindly to each other. They're sweet people.

Congratulations TK and Rachel. I hope you remain together and enjoy life and your great reward!!

Afterthought

I do wish that Kynt and Vyxsin had won because I really liked them. They were interesting and really nice to each other as well. They were just so directionally challenged. I'm sure they were fan favorites and if Amazing Race does another fan favorite show, they will certainly be included.

Design Your Own Band And Album Cover

I discovered at this neat idea at the DSO website. It's a step by step guide to designing your own album cover.

1. Use the random Wikipedia article feature — the title of the article that appears is the name of the band.
2. The name of the album is the last four words of the last quote on the random quotes page at Quotations.com.
3. For the cover art, use the third image that appears when you visit Flickr’s interesting photos for the last 7 days.

Here's what I came up with. Of course, I made the same mistake he did and I forgot give credit to the photographer. I've had no luck finding the image again. But if this is your photo, please contact me so I can give you credit for your amazing work.

This is a fun project, but please remember to give credit to the photographer.

Broadway Update

I'm working at The Lion King this week at the Minskoff. The Minskoff has a great lobby with a 180 degree (give or take a few degress) view of Times Square. So I took several pictures of myself with the northerly view in the background. You might be wondering why I wasn't inside watching the show. Well, aside from the fact that I've seen it at least 10 times, I just don't like the show.

I did noticed something interesting this week. The Lion King is loyal to its dancers and several of the performers have been in the NY production since the beginning. But several of those performers are losing their dancerly forms. In other words, some of the male dancers have gotten a little pudgy. It's pretty distracting.

I don't mind regular bodies but then again, people with regular bodies don't walk around in spandex. Now, interestingly enough, the female dancers all look to be in decent shape. But the guys. Some of the guys have really let themselves go.

There's a scene in Act II where the dancers perform to Can You Feel the Love Tonight. The setting is a wild garden. And several dancers are dressed up to look like wild plants. There's one guy in particular, up stage and center posing like an exotic plant, with arms stretched out to either side and his big belly hanging out. There's also a pas de deux with two dancers who have definitely put on some weight since the last time I saw the show.

I know my critique is harsh. I've been struggling with my weight for years, but then again, I'm not a dancer on Broadway. If I were, I'd be mindful to stay in shape. Of course, this is not ALL the dancers - just a few. I guess it's possible that DISNEY could be making some kind of statement about body image and healthy weights, etcetera. But I think it's more likely that the dancers are locked into really, really good contracts and DISNEY would get rid of them if they could.

Don't go by what I say about the Lion King. I don't like the show which doesn't mean it's bad. I don't have a kid and I'm not or have ever really been a big fan of Disney. This is just my opinion. If you have a kid that can sit still for almost 3 hours, by all means, take that kid to see this show. In terms of family friendliness and production value, you can't beat the Lion King with a stick.

The moral of this anecdote is that if you are a dancer, get a job with the Lion King. You'll have a job for life.

877-393-4-4-4-8!!!!

This is my favorite commercial. It works. Once you hear the song, it stays in your head all day. And it's a good song too, which helps. Who wants a bad song stuck in their head? I certainly don't. The commitment level to the theme is to be admired. Choreography and costumes should not be ignored either. Watch it and let me know what you think.

Spam Spam Spam

Have you seen the spam website?



Make sure you click on everybody.

Wile E. Chayote

Someone told me a while ago that they were asked to buy chayote for someone, and explained that they had never heard of it. It wasn't something with which I was familiar, before moving into this neighborhood. Even though I've seen it for the last 11 years or so, I've never eaten it.

When you start increasing your vegetable intake, the tried and true veggies with which we are all familiar start to get a little boring. So, on our last shopping trip I decided it was time we try it. I bought two chayotes not even knowing whether it was a fruit or a vegetable.

Got home. Looked it up on wikipedia. Found out that chayote is a squash. And I looked up some recipes. And of all the interesting recipes I found, I ended up using the recipe with which I was most familiar. I sauteed onion with tomatoes for 5 minutes and then added some peeled and chopped chayote. It's pretty much how I cook zucchini or string beans or most vegetables if I want to do something other than grill them or steam them or stick them in a soup.

I learned that chayote doesn't have much flavor as it picked up all the other flavors from the pan. Although, I did notice that the seedy part of the plant had a nutty bit of flavor.
========================
Let's Hear It For Bok Choy
Also picked up some bok choy. I've eaten bok choy before -and I know this is completely unremarkable - but I've never cooked it.

You may be wondering how I prepared it. You may be asking yourself,"Self. How daring could Valerie be with bok choy?" Well. I'll tell you.

I found a recipe that suggested cooking the bok choy with some ginger. Actually, I'll share with you right now, what I saw when I read this recipe.

chop one blah
add some blah
blah blah blah ginger
blah vinegar blah

I fell back on my standard chopped and sauteed onion. But then I chopped up some garlic with some ginger. I let those ingredients sweat in the pan before I added some boneless skinless chicken thighs. I browned the chicken in the pot and then I set it up to braise by adding just enough water and vinegar to cover it. Once that cooked for about 10 minutes, I added the chopped bok choy. With the pot covered, everything cooked together nicely for 30 minutes.

Now I know that you know that bok choy is Chinese cabbage, so I was expecting that the taste would be similar to the kind of cabbage you might use for sauerkraut or coleslaw. WRONG. It had a really interesting licorice type flavor that I wasn't expecting.

I served it with some pasta and the dish turned out way better than I thought it would. I'm not being fair to myself. I had no expectation as to how the dish was going to turn out. But I was pleased in the end.

A Bronx Tale

Last week, I worked at A Bronx Tale which is playing at the Walter Kerr Theater. A Bronx Tale is written and performed by Chazz Palminteri. If I had to describe his show and his performance with two words, those words would be SURPRISINGLY GOOD. I was skeptical going in. How many one person shows have you seen that are actually good?

He tells the story of someone's life - I imagine his own - and it's very entertaining. In 1993 Robert Deniro made his directorial debut with this story. I watched and enjoyed it, never knowing that it was based on the play by Chazz Palminteri. As much as I liked the movie, I never really thought it was GREAT.

That's what was in my head before seeing the play. That's why, no disrespect to Mr. Palminteri, I was so surprised that it was such an amazing work. He doesn't play all the characters as much as he tells stories through their voices. The characters are colorful, scary and interesting. Apparently young Chazz Palminteri lived in a dicey neighborhood with a strong Italian American criminal presence. The strongest of those criminals, Sonny battles with his hardworking busdriving father for the soul of his younger Chazz self. It's an insightful, moving piece.

I recommend you see it before it closes. It's only running into February and it's not selling out, so you should be able to purchase a decent seat.

Nutritionist Update

I promised you an update from the nutritionist and an update is what you'll get. I weighed in. And I was disappointed with the results. Even though the doctor said the results were good. I almost lost 4 pounds since my last visit. Almost. Not quite a full four. Which means I've lost almost 16 pounds since I started with her in October.

My personal goal for the month was 5 pounds. But I didn't quite get there. I know I should be happy that my weight continues to decrease; that by BMI is now less than 30 as opposed to being more than 30; and that my body fat percentage has gone down from 43.9% to 41.5%. The nutritionist has explained to me at every session that this number takes the longest to change, that to lose body fat takes a long time. But I can't help it. My body fat percentage is supposed to between 23 and 33 per cent. At the rate I'm going, it'll take me forever to get into a healthy range.

But she says I am right on schedule and I have to listen to her. I believe when she tells me these things. But the heart wants what the heart wants and I want to be thinner now - well much thinner anyway.

It's good that I'm seeing her because she understands the psychology behind weight issues. I never thought I needed a counselor to help me with my weight but it turns out I do.

For example, I explained to her that I've been enjoying wearing my loose clothing - that I resist buying new, better fitting clothing. She advised me to stop doing this and to just wear clothes that fit, otherwise I'll have a harder time judging my body size and I might get too comfortable at the weight that I'm at.

Every issue I bring up is something that she's heard before. And she knows exactly why I'm thinking and feeling everything that I'm thinking and feeling. She knows exactly what to say to set me straight. It is so satisfying to speak with someone who knows their job that well.

If you are thinking about pursuing a weight loss program, I strongly recommend seeing this woman.

A Beautiful Day

Dear Reader: If you are not interested in the mundane details of my daily life, then you might find this post a little boring. Consider yourself warned.
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The weather is unseasonably warm and wonderful. Yesterday, it was so lovely that I walked from my dermatologist's office on 86th down to Columbus Circle where I visited the Time Warner Center. On the way down, I ran into a friend I hadn't seen a very long time (hi friend!) and learned he's doing very well after getting a well deserved promotion about a year ago. Once I arrived at the Time Warner Center, I went up to Borders Books to say hi to a friend (hi friend!) that works there. Then I went downstairs to Wholefoods to find some golden beets and red beets.

When I got home, I stuck my beets in the oven for some slow roasting and started preparing lunch. Along with the beets I'd also bought a pound of shelled and de-veined shrimp which I sauteed in (I can't believe I'm telling you this) Mazola non-stick butter flavored spray. I also made some pasta as a side dish. It was great lunch.

I kind of phoned it in for dinner. For dinner I steamed broccoli, prepared some brown rice and cooked up a lite Hillshire Farm sausage. Even though it was low-fat it still contained quite a bit of fat. 4 oz. of that sausage used up 4 of my 5 fat counts for the day. Fortunately I hadn't had any fat during the day so that was okay.

With regard to my diet, I'm down 16 pounds and I'm seeing the doctor on Thursday. Depending the results, I may divulge more specific information about my weight loss, including my starting weight and body fat percentage.

That's all for now.

Personality

I saw this on my friend's blog. And instantly wanted to post one on my blog too. At some point I've wanted to be or have been a number of professions on the list.

Career Inventory Test Results Extroversion 50% Emotional Stability 56% Orderliness 66% Altruism 63% Inquisitiveness 73% You are a Guide, possible professions include - career counselor, psychologist, educational consultant, special education teacher, librarian, artist, playwright, novelist/poet, editor/art director, information-graphics, designer, HRM manager, merchandise planner, environmental lawyer, marketer, job analyst, mental health counselor, dietitian/nutritionist, research, educational consultant, architects, interpreter/translator.

Take Free Career Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Tropical Oasis

The day of New Year's Eve, Jon and I went to the Central Park Zoo. Our first stop was the Rain forest building. I was looking over some pictures from that trip earlier and thought how wonderful to have these memories on a freezing cold day like today.




It was a fun day. We also went to the Children's Zoo where we saw this beautiful snow white rabbit.


And Jon got this great shot of an Alpaca at the petting zoo. I later went on to the feel the alpaca.

America's Most Smartest Model - Finale

It's time for the long overdue finale recap that I promised you but unfortunately, I no longer have an episode from which to pull the information to write a thoroughly entertaining synopsis.

Two nights ago, I went through the shows we've been saving on DVR to make sure I had room to save the various episodes I wanted to grab from the Twilight Zone Marathon. I discarded the AMSM finale because I figured I'd be able to watch it on the VH1 website. Boy was I wrong. I just checked the site and it's no longer available. Grumble.

My memory of the episode is spotty at best but I can give you a few highlights.

As you may recall, the two remaining models Andre Birleanu and VJ Logan had to create presentations defending why they should be America's Most Smartest Model.

The strongest point of VJ's presentation happened when he compared Andre to a Rottweiler. The judges seemed impressed at his ability to find a stock photo of a growling dog. He also apparently overcame some kind of problem with the audio on his presentation.

The strongest point of Andre's presentation was when fan favorite Jeff Pickel, previous contestant, spoke on Andre's behalf. Unfortunately, Andre became impatient and interrupted Pickel. He couldn't help himself and ultimately sabotaged himself.

In the end, VJ was chosen the winner. But the life winner is definitely Andre. He was smart enough to hire someone to set up a beautiful website that fully takes advantage of the fact that he received tons of free exposure by being on the show. VJ Logan has yet to set one up. That's just one example.

Another example - Andre isn't that good looking but he works it. That takes some kind of talent or smarts to convince people that they should hire your ugly ass to model their ridiculously fashionable and unwearable clothes. VJ is good looking already. It won't be THAT hard for him to convince people he's handsome.

But being that Andre is 29 and probably at the end of his modeling career it made sense, from a financial perspective, to award the $100,000 prize to the 21 year old at the beginning of his career.

It does make sense if you look at it that way.

But Andre was definitely the best and smartest model of that group.

Happy New Year!!!