Monday on Today 7/30

Hope everyone had a great weekend. The number 1 spot at the box office this weekend was taken over by "The Simpsons," which is getting good reviews across the board. Number 2 was last week's number 1, "I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry," and "Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix" came in at number 3.

First up today in the 9:00 hour was a segment called To Tell The Truth: Understanding Compulsive Lying with Today contributor, Dr. Gail Salz and Body Language Expert, Janine Driver. According to them, lying can be an addiction for some people. And obviously, like any other addiction, constant lying damages relationships because it breaks trust. That's one way to know if you have a lying problem. Another way to tell is if telling the truth is actually uncomfortable for you. Then, you might consider yourself a compulsive liar. How do you tell when someone is lying to you? They usually make deflective statements, such as "Just ask my friends, I don't smoke." I don't think that's totally accurate because I've said things like that before and I wasn't lying. I usually use the "ask so and so..." to prove I'm right because I know they'll back me up. Also, people who are lying, according to the body language expert, will use the word "but" a lot. "I know you'll think this is strange, but..." "You'll probably think I'm lying but..." I don't know. I've heard many of these kinds of statements before. If that's true, then I know a lot of compulsive liars. I'll tell you how I know when someone is lying. When their story sounds so outrageous and is just unbelievable, it usually is. Just like if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It doesn't take a genius to figure out when you're being lied to. Unless you're being lied to by a genius. Then it can be difficult. Or if you love the person lying to you so much, you just want to believe them.

Today's Woman with Dr. Judith Reichman was all about Pregnancy Fact Or Fiction. There are so many shoulds and shouldn'ts during those nine months, it's hard to straighten out the myths from reality. Fact: You should not stand for more than five hours at a time--I wouldn't want to do that even when not pregnant. Fiction: You shouldn't fly while pregnant. You can but stay hydrated and remember to walk around a lot to avoid dangerous blood clots. Also you shouldn't fly after 36 weeks. Fact: Avoid hot tubs and saunas. Stay cool and don't sunbathe for long periods--shouldn't you avoid sunbathing for other reasons anyway? Like avoiding wrinkles and skin cancer? Fiction: Pregnant women should avoid heavy lifting. The truth is you should lift 25% less than you normally would. Why should a pregnant woman be lifting anything heavy? That's what the expectant father is there for--among other things. And finally, fiction: No, you're not eating for two. You're not supposed to gain more than 25 pounds for a normal weight woman, 15-20 if you're overweight and up to 40 if you're underweight. I gained exactly 30 with both of my pregnancies, though at different stages for each. And I wasn't aiming for any particular number. No matter whether I pigged out--2nd one, or couldn't eat much at all--1st one, I still gained the same. So, I hate it when they tell you exactly how much to gain. Everyone is different. Some women gain 70 lbs. and manage to take it off later. Just focus on your health, not your weight.

Next up was Wendy The Wonder Dog. She's a Bully Whippet, so called because of her unusually muscular build. Most whippets are so skinny you can see most of their bones, but bully whippets have mutated genes that cause excess muscle. She's real cute and looks like a whippet on steroids. Since those dogs were bred for racing, I wonder if Wendy would be faster or slower than a regular whippet. Most track athletes are super skinny, like a normal whippet. Wendy would probably be better at other sports like Frisbee catching or something, though swimming is most likely not her thing.

Today's Garden with P. Allen Smith featured Safe Pest Solutions such as watering under the leaves of tomato plants where bugs like to hide. Japanese beetle traps are great, as are white fly traps. He has what he calls the Texas two step plan for fire ants--check Todayshow.com for that and other all natural insecticides. Dish washing liquid kills bugs. I used that method last year for ridding my patio of ants. It works, but you have to keep at it. Also, you can buy lady bugs who eat those other pesky bugs. And why not plant Rosemary or Basil? Those are fragrant and bugs don't like them.

Denise Jackson is country music star Alan Jackson's wife and apparently has written a book, "Love Of My Life: Inside Alan Jackson's Marriage." She tells about his infidelity and their separation and how she got strength from God to help her learn about letting go. Once she learned to let go, he came back to her and they renewed their vows. How sweet. Then her husband performed a song, "It's All About Him." The Him he's referring to is obviously God. These country people really put a lot of faith in God. Like God is what got them back together. Is God the one that made him cheat on her? Why don't these people ever turn to God before they turn to behavior that ruins their marriage in the first place? Well, it doesn't matter because God always steps in and makes it all right again. Good for them.

That's a wrap. Till Tomorrow.