Monday on Today 7/23

Hope everyone had a good weekend. The weekend box office smiled on "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," despite dismal reviews. Does anybody even read the reviews? Or do they think Adam Sandler is funny so they'll give up ten bucks even if the movie is crap. And from the highlights I've seen, it is. If a movie can't even make me laugh with their ads, it has to suck. Not one reviewer had a nice thing to say about it, and yet it still made money. The premise is funny but apparently the movie isn't. Number two on the list was "Harry Potter," followed by "Hairspray," which got five stars in my local paper, but it's not without it's detractors either. Out of the three, Hairspray would be my pick to see.

Family Affair: Working For Your Kids was about baby boomers going back into the work force only this time keeping it in the family. They featured a woman who started her own cosmetics company and hired her father to be the CEO or the numbers guy. Leigh Gallagher from Fortune Magazine and Psychologist Dale Atkins offered suggestions for making situations like this work like defining roles. In the cosmetic company case study, the dad only worked the numbers and stepped aside so his daughter could do all the creating. They also suggested asking strategic questions and to plan for conflict. I couldn't imagine working with anyone in my family, let alone a parent. So, if you're like most normal families, plan for lots of conflicts.

Fashion Forward On A Budget was the subject of Today's Style which focused on 100 buys for under $100. They had jewelry for under $10--for girls but women can wear most of it too. Target and JC penny were the places that they featured clothing from. I'm not sure about the jewelry but you can pick up a copy of the People Style Watch issue where you can get more information about where to find the best buys. They showed some bags by Devi Kroell for Target and some dresses that can easily take you from summer into fall.

Today's Family featured a segment entitled iVillage on the road which showed how to keep the sanity on family road trips. They showed different ideas to keep your kids occupied, in other words quiet, while you're on the road for summer vacation. They had some good suggestions like packing a cookie sheet with magnetic letters so kids can play word games. Bring etch a sketches, stuffed animals and books on tape. Use bribery but no candy. And divide the kids with a cooler or something big enough to keep them from hitting each other--very important. At least for my kids. And since we have a minivan, one sits in the way back and the other in the middle. Separation is a great way to avoid fights. Because when you pack the car full of toys, they'll be tearing them away from each other and complaining that the other isn't sharing. Trust me, I know. But if you do want to pack some good things to keep your kids busy, I have more suggestions from my today's Providence Journal Kidsbeat section. Coincidentally, they also featured a Fun On The Road article. They suggested fun toys such as Purse Pals that lets kids take a "pet" along. It's a cute purse with a cat inside to care for and play with. They also suggested books such as "Travel Games" and "Made You Look" as well as Travel Clue, which is a special travel version of the classic board game. If you want to read more of their suggestions, you can visit projo.com and look under the Lifebeat Kidsbeat section for Monday 7/23.


Next up was a segment called, Design Psychology: Your Inner Decorating Style. This was a story about a couple who have so much money, they paid somebody to design their house around some psychobabble about place attachment and memories. Please. I don't see the average person hiring a psychologist/designer to make sure their home decor is balanced with their inner child. If you've got money to burn, why not just hire a feng shui consultant to make sure you have positive energy flowing throughout your house. That at least has been proven to help people.

Today's Kitchen featured Mexican Cuisine by chef/author Rick Bayless. He cooked up an authentic Mexican fiesta with snapper smothered in some kind of salsa looking sauce. I'm sure you can find the recipe on Todayshow.com or buy one of Rick's books. Apparently, he has many Authentic Mexican volumes. Check my Amazon search box.

Till Tomorrow.