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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Tuesday on Today 7/31

Reality Check: Is Your Child Overweight? Director of Kids Weight-Down Program and child psychologist, Trish Gallagher and Dr. Louis Arnone say parents underestimate their kids and should pay more attention to their kids' growing weight. Maybe because parents see their kids every day they don't notice when the kids start packing on the pounds. Kids don't just wake up one morning fat. They gave some advice to parents to help their kids get to and stay at a healthy weight. Make it global. Talk about the childhood obesity epidemic without pointing fingers and don't lecture. And from today's page of the book of the obvious: practice what you preach. Chances are if your kid is overweight, you are too. So set a good example. And there's more where that came from IE: get family involved, cut down on high calorie beverages, limit TV and computer time and kick them out the door to get some physical activity. Parents are also urged to get schools to get rid of soda and snack machines. They're your kids. Make sure your schools--which you're paying taxes for--listen up and get healthier foods. It's much easier to prevent obesity than it is to treat it.

Today's Travel editor, Peter Greenberg showed how you can learn a new skill during your next vacation. How-to vacations are becoming popular and there were several featured today like a boat building vacation in Maine. You can build your own boat and take it home--that's the down side. It costs about $3,000. New Orleans Glasswork Studio has glass blowing, paper marbling, and hand casting. I'm not sure what that costs but there's more information on the website. In Hoboken, NJ you can make your own handbags at Avery Design. And if you have a spare $32,000 and seven friends, you can go to Amici Vineyards in California and make your own wine--288 bottles of it--with your own label on all the bottles.

Next there was a story called All In The Family about a 23 year-old raising his three nephews on his own. They're his sister's kids who were taken away from their drug-addicted mother. She also happens to be his twin sister. Joseph Democko stepped up to the plate and had to convince social workers that he would be a good parent for them after months of parenting classes and getting a steady job. Plus one of the kids is disabled with spina bifada, so he has more than his hands full. He's what Ann Curry referred to as the hero of the day. Unfortunately, she referred to him as Joseph "Alexander" after Today contributor, Peter Alexander signed off on the story from California. I had to google him because he deserves his correct name in print. He is a good man indeed.

Take It Off Today featured a no cook diet by Today food editor, Joy Bauer, with meals you can either use in a microwave, blender or toaster. It's a 1600 calorie a day diet and you can mix and match any meals. You can get more information on the website. She showed a few options such as Go Lean waffles with a low sugar syrup for breakfast or a smoothie with milk and fruit. For lunch you can have something like chunk light tuna (white has too much mercury) with a reduced calorie mayonnaise on whole grain bread or crackers like Triscuits and a salad with Paul Newman's light vinaigrette. A Boca burger with reduced fat cheese makes a good dinner as does supermarket sushi (or takeout) or lean cuisine brick oven style pizza. There are seven options for each and every category listed on the website. It's also featured in this month's Self magazine.

17 year-old singer, Sean Kingston ended the show with a cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry." His parents should pay attention to the information on the first segment of this hour about childhood obesity.

Monday, July 30, 2007

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.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Friday on Today 7/27

Who Wears The Pants? Women Take The Relationship Lead. That was the topic of the first segment of the third hour. Anthropologist, Helen Fisher and Clinical Sexologist (I had no idea these actually existed) Ian Kerner discussed the power struggle in relationships between men and women. Gender stereotypes are dissipating and there is more equality in couples. Men are doing more housework and content with being stay at home dads. The thing is everyone thinks they wear the pants in the partnership. That's the way it should be. No single person should be in charge of all the decisions in anyone else's life. The message in this is that men and women are different but equal.

Today's Health was all about Summer Heat: Fighting Odor and Perspiration. Each of us have 2-4 million sweat glands but some of us sweat more than others. Antiperspirants block the sweat glands so they actually stop you from sweating where as deodorants just stop you from stinking. But antiperspirants with deodorant do both. They suggested using antiperspirants at night because they're more effective then. If you're an excessive sweater you can get Botox injections--if you don't mind spending a $1,000 per visit--and wear special sweat clothes, underarm pads and dress shields.

Today Throws A Wedding was all about the cake--Take The Cake. Not much information here. They showed a beautiful square wedding with doves on top instead of the traditional bride and groom.

Today's Tech featured Video Game Wars. I loathe video games so this segment meant nothing to me. Xbox 360 has a consumer warranty extension--a polite name for a recall because there's something wrong with the hardware, but they won't specify what. That has the most popular video games. The second most popular games are in Playstation 3, which has the highest resolution games there are. Nintendo is number 3. I don't know what the best thing about them is.

Marc Anthony sang a song as women wearing wedding vales danced around with their partners. Then they signed off early again and showed highlights of Al's stops around the country looking for the couple to get married on The Today Show.

And that wraps up another week of Yesterday on Today. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Thursday on Today 7/26

Today Al Roker was in Chicago looking for that special couple to perform their nuptials on The Today Show. More on some bridal hair do's later.



Today's Style contributor Bobbie Thomas offered a fashion show featuring Chic Cover ups and a bag that will keep your make-up from melting in the hot sun at the beach. Do you really need to bring a make-up bag to the beach? It's one thing to wear a touch of waterproof mascara and maybe some tinted lip balm but your whole make-up bag? Come on. They showed some beach dresses you can wear as part of your bathing suit that dry quickly and look better than just a skimpy suit for walking around in. There was a safari themed look, a terry leaf halter and Nautica beach hoodie, as well as a crochet dress, a floral caftan and a Jantzen short caftan. All the models wore these hideous shoes--plastic wedges that made their feet look something straight out of a horror flick. The idea is that they can get wet, but why not just wear flip-flops or go bare foot? Who needs plastic wedges? You can take your shoes off when you go for a swim.



Moving on to number eight on the America The Beautiful tour: Arlington National Cemetery. David Gregory was there doing the Washington, DC on $50 segment, where he visited The US Mint and all the famous landmarks like the Washington Monument which are all free. He ate lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl and visited the Spy Museum for $14, but you can visit The Smithsonian museums for nothing. Then he had dinner (ribs) for $5.49 and had ice cream--Swiss chocolate honey malt. Seems like Washington, DC would be a pretty easy place to do this--spend $50 or less--because so many places are free.



Today's Fitness featured the author of the book "The Abs Diet For Women," David Zinczenko showing us "How To Flatten Your Abs" and "Keys To A Flatter Stomach." How many subtitles do they really need? And don't you love that a man wrote a book about how women can get into shape? Anyway, he says you need to eat more, which sounds good but he doesn't mean more in volume, just more often and you still need to eat healthy foods, especially protein which keeps you fuller longer. Eat more to weigh less means eating around six small meals a day--taken from today's page of the book of the obvious. How many times have we heard that before? Also you have to add weight training to your fitness routine--if you haven't already. Is there anybody who doesn't know this? He demonstrated some exercises that work many different muscle groups like the squat and the plank--a yoga move. When I do the plank during yoga I do it with my palms flat on the floor, but this demonstration showed a version with elbows on the ground. For a good power snack he suggested a smoothie. For more suggestions, check out the book. You can use my Amazon search box.



And from Today Throws A Martha Stewart Wedding there was a Beauty On Call "I do" hair do's for weddings segment. They showed an up do for a formal wedding, a half up do for an informal wedding and a loose side bun for a beach wedding.



And that's a wrap. Till Tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Wednesday on Today 7/25

Al Roker was at The Loews Hotel in Miami today on his search for the Today Show wedding couple. Besides briefly taking comments from prospective brides, I'm not exactly sure what the purpose was today.

The Gift Of Gab was a segment that promoted the benefits of gossip. Professional gossiper Wendy Williams of "The Wendy Williams Experience" and psychotherapist Robi Ludwig told about why gossiping is actually good for you. As long as it isn't too mean spirited and not about your friends. In other words, keep your gossip focused on celebrities--they're always fair game. It's actually in our DNA to gossip. And 70% of female conversations are about personal matters so it's only natural that they focus a lot on gossip. And let's face it, tabloids sell so gossip is here to stay, like it or not.

Mo'Nique was a guest today in a segment called Fabulous And Thick, where she talked about her new show "Fat Chance," in which she has a beauty contest in Paris for plus-sized women. She's promoting the idea that big women can be beautiful. She even bares all in body paint on the show. All I know is that she's funny and she also has a big heart--no pun intended.

Next up was a quick visit with a couple of the stars of the new USA show "Burn Notice." They called this Miami Heat--how original. Gabrielle Anwar and Bruce Campbell talked a bit about the show and bragged that is totally shot in Miami, unlike CSI Miami.

Then they had to talk a little bit about troubled tartlett, Lindsay Lohan getting arrested for DUI and possession of cocaine. She could get six years in prison. I say good. Let her serve the time. How many times can she go to rehab for a few weeks and then get out only to drive drunk again and put other lives at risk. Obviously rehab does not work! When are people going to stop falling for the "Oh, I'm quitting, I'm entering rehab now" routine. And if she wants to get drunk and high, I couldn't care less, but why does she have to drive? That's why she needs some time in prison. She just doesn't care about anybody else. I'm so sick of the excuses that it's in her blood because her father is an alcoholic. So was my father and I'm not driving around drunk and crashing my cars. Nobody is sticking a gun to her head and making her down shots and snort lines. And she's got money. Why can't she hire a driver? Because she's a selfish bitch that needs to be punished. And her career should be over or anyone hiring her should go to prison too. Okay, end of rant.

All About Summer Beverages was next up, where Today's food editor talked about all those enhanced water products that are mostly for marketing. They don't do anything special except pull money from your pocket. But there are some products out there worth a taste, such as drinks with green tea--loaded with antioxidants. A good one to try is Tazo diet mojito. Also recommended was Sence Pare European Rose Nectar and Aloe Breeze which revitalizes and heals. Something called Fruitzzo is a mother-load of antioxidants and Propel powder packets are convenient and you don't waste so much plastic as you do with all those other products. Didn't anyone see the Live Earth Concert? Stop using plastic water bottles! Tap water is just as healthy if not more so than bottled. And guess what? It's a hell of a lot cheaper. Think about it.

Today's Kitchen featured, surprise surprise, A Taste of Miami. Three different chefs from three popular Miami restaurants delivered their specialties like stone crabs and one had giant hot dogs--like three feet long.

That's it for today. Till Tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Tuesday on Today 7/24

We started the 9:00 hour off with Today's Classroom: Preparing For Preschool. The authors of "Practical Wisdom For Parents," from the 92nd Street YMCA preschool gave tips to parents to get their kids and themselves ready for that daunting first day of school. You have to first make sure the kids are able to communicate well and have good verbal skills. Are they able to say goodbye for a few hours while you're away from them? Can they take off their coats and shoes and use the bathroom independently and put toys away? They also suggested to wait until the week before school before talking about with your kids. Show them the school and read books about going to school to get them prepared. And only one parent should go to drop them off. Don't make a big fuss and try not to look so distraught. It should be a positive experience for all involved. And take it from someone who's been there, it's not that hard. Once you get past that first day and your child realizes that school is fun, it's routine. Get more parenting tips in the book.

Today's Family featured iVillage on the road again for a second day in a row. This time with a huge box they call a first aid kit filled with stuff like allergy medicine, band aids and pain meds. They also suggested you pack a stomach med such as Pepto Bismol and alcohol wipes for cuts and scrapes. There was a thermometer and cold meds in their box along with instant ice packs and lots of water. In case dehydration sets in, there are some kind of electrolyte tablets you can put into your water to relieve it. For the full list of things to pack, visit the website at todayshow.com.

Today Throws A Wedding: Looking For Couples In Las Vegas. Al Roker was in Las Vegas today auditioning people who want to get married on The Today Show. He gave the couples a quiz about Las Vegas weddings. The men also had to sing a couple of bars of That's Amore while riding in a gondola at The Venetian Hotel.

From there we moved on to A Hostess Gift Guide segment where they showed different ideas like personalized soaps, Table Topics--a box of cards with conversation starters written on them, and a salad bowl on ice. They also showed candles in keepsake containers as well as mobile serving trays that float. Obviously those are meant for pool parties. There was a bunch of ideas including gifts for dogs--if the hostess is a dog owner. For the full list visit the website. And if all this sounds a little too weird, you can always opt for the more traditional bottle of wine. Though, I do like the idea of the gifts for dogs. Everybody always seems to forget about the pooches. And what better gift for the dog than an adorable dog T-Shirt from The Karmic Bulldog store at http://cafepress.com/karmicbulldog. Right now you can buy 3 t-shirts and get one free. I just did. Hey, why not get one for the hostess too or one of many other adorable gifts? It's original. While you're there, you can pick up a card to go with the gift.

Another segment called Passion For Fashion had The Girlz of Bratz as guests. I guess there's a movie based on the Bratz dolls. Bet you can hardly wait for that one to open.

Today's Kitchen had two chefs from The Venetian Hotel "Cooking At The Venetian." They made truffles and wild prawn hash browns as well as other interesting edibles that I'm sure you can get recipes for on the website.

That's a wrap. Till Tomorrow.

Monday, July 23, 2007

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.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Friday on Today 7/20

We started the hour off with Today's Travel: Places To Add To Your List. Peter Greenberg gave some destinations to add to your places to see. At the top of the list is Greenland. Not where most people want to go in the dead of winter, but it is ground zero for global warming. See the glaciers before they're gone. You can also go kayaking. It is the world's largest island. Number two is Tasmania, which is 150 miles south of Australia. It's got 18 miles of parks and it's easy to get around. Not to mention you might just get to see a Tasmanian devil. They're cute little devils. Number three on the list is The Republic of Montenegro. It's smaller than Connecticut without the attitude--those were Peter's words, not mine. They've got great seafood coming in fresh every day. And finally on the list is Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America. It's like St. Bart's without the attitude and crowds.

Next was a segment called, Oh Baby: Easy Showers For Modern Moms. First of all, showers don't have to be all women anymore--I don't know why they ever did. Dads had just as much to do with making the babies, why shouldn't they be there? In other words, why should females be the only ones to suffer through watching the expectant mom opening baby booties and blankets for what seems like hours on end. I wanted my baby shower to be a regular party with men invited --especially my husband. But my family is too old school and set in their ways to break any traditions. As far as decorations, they suggested asking the mom-to-be her favorite color--though I don't really know why. Are you supposed to dye your furniture for the day? Then they showed a gigantic mobile you can make with construction paper and hang it from the ceiling. Ann Curry asked what for and was told it's a nice addition to the nursery. She agreed, but I think people waste too much time and energy on throwing parties these days. Just invite people over, serve them some food and drinks and give the gifts. What more could anybody ask for but some nice baby gifts? Isn't that enough? They also suggested soft drinks since preggy can't drink, nobody else should either. There was plenty of booze flowing at my baby shower--though not through me--and I didn't mind at all. If people are going to sit through this insufferable boredom, at least let them drink something that will make it a little more tolerable. One good idea was to create a scrapbook of family members so the little one will get to see where she came from. Also, you can create a personalized CD.

Next up was a little feature called Photo Frenzy: Paparazzi Gone Wild, which asks the question, "Do they go too far?" I think we all know the answer to that. Look what happened to Princess Diana. They showed some pictures and a video clip of one of the stars of CSI, Gary Dourdan, coming out of a nightclub and confronting a photog, then slamming his head into the ground. Maybe the paparazzi do go too far, but this looked pretty brutal on film. These paparazzi have to remember that celebrities are people first and foremost and deserve respect and peace. They'll never be totally left alone, but they shouldn't have to be constantly hounded either. And why do the paparazzi have to get up in their faces like that? It's so rude. Maybe they do deserve to get their heads slammed into the ground. They don't listen to the pleas by their celebrity prey to be left alone. Maybe that's the only way to get it through their heads--by slamming it in.

Today's Kitchen featured Grilling With Fruit. Peaches, to be more specific. They also grilled a chicken breast and made a peach glaze for it. The peaches were sliced in half and dipped in bourbon before being laid on the grill for a couple of minutes--just to get the grill marks. I guess it caramelizes them and makes them taste better with the chicken with peach glaze. They also made an arugula salad to go with it.

And then the cast of Hairspray--minus John Travolta--brought down the plaza with two numbers from the movie, which opens today, Run And Tell That and Big, Blond and Beautiful--sung by Queen Latifa, the new queen of musicals. She always looks like she's having so much fun singing and performing. That's probably why she's so successful.

They closed the show with quite a few images from the America The Beautiful segment while playing sappy background music, one of their favorite time killers.

Have a great weekend.

Till Monday.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Thursday on Today 7/19

Today's Woman started the top of the hour with a question: What's your type, A or B? Opposites attract--usually. They had someone from Men's Health magazine and a Relationship Expert (another one of those self-proclaimed "experts") who gave different celebrity examples of A and B relationships. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are one such match, and I'm sure you don't need to be told which is which. But just in case, Tom is type A. That means Katie is type B--obviously, if she let Tom talk her into becoming a scientologist and have a silent birth. I think doormat might be the better term there. Anyway, this is the typical (old school) pairing of a man as the dominant type A with a woman as the caretaker type B that still works well for some couples. The Clintons are an example of two type A's which can work through all the storming and clearing. They may break a few of dishes and scream a lot, but they work it out in the end. The reverse of the typical pairing is Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, where she's the dominant type A and Brad is the more laid back type B. And an example of two type B's is Eva Longoria and Tony Parker, which they said can also work as long as someone takes charge and remembers to pay the bills. Two type B's can tend to relax maybe a bit too much. My husband and I are more like Angie and Brad--not a bad comparison. If we looked like them it would be even better. If you want to figure out what type you are you can take a quiz on the website.

The America The Beautiful tour continued today in Charleston, SC. And apparently they're doing every city or town the same way--on $50 a day. Though Natalie Morales wasn't there. I'm not sure who the guy being the tourist was; I've never seen him before. Anyway, he started with breakfast for $12.96 and rode his bike around town where normal tourists can take horse-drawn carriage rides. He had lunch for 10.90, continued his bike tour, took in a museum for $5 and ate dinner for $15.32. Of course, they say you can do all this for $50 a day, but most people travel with companions. And I also think most people would prefer to have a drink or two with dinner. I mean, they are on vacation, right? It's not realistic for the average person to spend fifty bucks or less if they're eating all their meals on the go. Where do they find such cheap places to eat? Most of us don't have production teams to scout out the cheapest places to eat before we arrive at our vacation destinations. It would be nice, though, wouldn't it?



Next up was a Harry Potter Trivia Contest with a bunch of prepubescents competing--for what, I have no idea. I'm so tired of all this Harry Potter mania.



Moving on to Today's Family: Birthday Fun and Games. Not a lot more interesting, I know, but if you care they featured a surf party where you can throw blankets on the ground, pretend you're at the beach and the kids can make beachy necklaces. Then there's the pirate theme (so overdone right now) where kids can search for hidden treasures and dress like pirates. They also featured a carnival theme where you can have egg and spoon races. Kind of a back to the basics game that doesn't cost much and is a lot of fun. Maybe I'll try that one for my five year-old next year.



Today's Kitchen featured A Taste of Hawaii where they steamed some corn on the cob, shellfish and other stuff in a giant Jiffy Pop-looking tent of aluminum foil. If you'd like that recipe or more info about the Birthday party games you can visit Todayshow.com--God, I sound like Al Roker now. And this is only my fourth week on the blog.



Till Tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Wednesday on Today 7/18

Today's third hour started with House Call Therapy: Help At Home For Parents. They have parenting coaches now. What's next? Spousal coaches? Sex coaches? There are so many different types of private coaches from life coaches to fitness coaches, you name it. The thing about being a coach is that you need no formal training or licensing to become one. Anybody can be some kind of coach. Maybe I can become a writing coach. Anyway, these parenting coaches can charge hundreds of dollars per session and the parents say it's well worth it. Well, they do make house calls. Not many people do that, right? I guess they help parents deal with everyday frustrations from tantrums to potty training. At the very least it's someone to lend an ear and help you figure out a solution. Sounds like a good idea if you can afford it.



Today's Style featured Beach Chic For Teens. Susan Schulz, Editor of Cosmo Teen, had some teens model bathing suits such as the Retro one-piece, the Sporty Suit (a two piece with a skirt bottom) which was very cute, the Plaid Tankini and the Floral Suit. The best part about this segment is it showed normal looking teens. By that I mean they weren't rail thin like most of the models (especially bathing suit models) that you usually see. These teens were healthy looking and the suits they wore were to please their parents. Let's hope teens like them as much as their parents do, otherwise more arguments are on the horizon. But isn't that always the case with teens?



Next up was Today's Home: Fun With Outdoor Furniture. The idea was to create a room outside, no matter how big or small your yard is. Most of the furniture looked like it belonged inside, but it was built to withstand weather. They also showed some cabanas, resort pool chaises and a dining table and chairs. There were some nice sets there and you can get more information at Todayshow.com.



Then they had a story about Love and Hard Work: Student Of The Year. This kid was raised in a household where he sold drugs and was beaten until he was rescued by relatives. They took him in with low expectations but were surprised by his progress from junior drug dealer to student of the year. Their message was not to give up on any kid. Or raise your expectations, or something like that. Either way, it works--at least sometimes.



Today's Kitchen had a segment called $300 For Cooking Essentials for the No Frills Kitchen. Some of those included a food processor for $60, a Japanese Mandoline (which dices food) for $25 and the other must have must have been the blender I saw next to the food processor. My toddler was having a tantrum, so I couldn't hear much about it. Maybe I should call a parenting coach.



And that's a wrap.



Till Tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Tuesday on Today 7/17

We began the third hour of Today with an introduction to Peter Alexander, who was filling in for Natalie Morales. She is probably still making her way across the country for the continuing "America The Beautiful" segment. Last week she was in Niagara Falls.

Today's Style featured Summer Hair Makeovers. Two women received cuts and highlights and a third got a cut and went from yellow/red hair to a darker red. They showed how to use Knotty Knots and giant pin curls to make waves and the redhead got twisted dreadlocks while her hair was wet and then dried into curls. This segment was supposed to be about how summer is for carefree hair and easier styles, but all that twisting and knotting seems like too much work for me. My summer hair-do requires a towel fluff and a comb. Same as my winter do. If I want to make waves I'll twirl my hair into a bun with some gel for a few hours, then set it free. That's carefree summer hair. They also suggested using leave-in conditioners--I like those too. And not washing hair every day if at all possible because it usually looks better on the next day. That I also agree with since my hair tends to triple in size right after it's washed.

Take It Off Today: Frozen Not Fattening. Nutritionist, Elizabeth Somer suggested some alternatives to the usually fat laden frozen desserts. Slow churned ice creams are delicious and much lower in fat than regular ice cream, according to her. Also ice pops are good for portion control. And why not make your own smoothie? She also suggested reading labels and opting for the ones with no more than 150 calories per serving and two grams of fat. But many of the low fat kinds are high in sugar and vice-versa. I say you're eating ice cream because it tastes good, not because you feel like a healthy snack. Otherwise you can grab an apple. Just don't have too much and you should be all set. Why make more work for yourself?

Moving on to Today's Health: Dealing With Summer Bummers (catchy title, eh?) and how about, Summer Bummer Fast Fixes? They love their subtitles over at Today. The "Summer Bummers" they refer to are sunburn, bug bites and dehydration. Chocolate, walnuts and green tea are all good at preventing sunburn--though, I don't think you're supposed to rub them on your skin. And here is today's page from the book of the obvious: Use a sunscreen with at least an SPF of 15 and reapply every 2-3 hours. And there's more: Drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration. And to avoid bug bites (I love this one): Wear long pants and long sleeves and use bug spray. This is summer time! Who wants to wear long pants and long sleeves when it's 85 degrees outside? Here is something you might not know: Poison Ivy can remain on clothing for years. She suggested using something called "Ivy Block," to prevent it and "Domeboro" if you're not so successful at that. Also, food left out for more than two hours can cause food borne illnesses--keep it in the fridge.

Today's American Story featured a man called The Tree Doctor from Bay Bridge Island in Washington. He studies dying trees and brings new life into them by figuring out what's causing their decay. I could use him at my house.

And they ended the hour with Military Workouts: Shaping Up at Fitness Boot Camps. These are places where people actually pay money to have their butts kicked into shape by drill sargents. You couldn't even pay me to go through that, never mind fork over cash for someone else to do it to me. People will go to almost any lengths to lose weight. Except, of course, maybe giving up fast food or walking instead of driving everywhere or maybe using the stairs instead of the elevator. No, just enroll in a week or two of hell. But what about when it's over? Don't they realize that unless they change their habits, their change in bodies won't last? Then again, we're talking about people who are willing to pay to get screamed at by fitness militants at 5:00 in the morning.

Till Tomorrow.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Monday on Today 7/16

Hope everyone had a great weekend. According to The Today Show news, it was a good weekend for Harry Potter which took in more than 77 million at the box office, followed by Transformers and Ratatouille--which Ann Curry still either refuses to pronounce correctly or just can't. Anyway, it's no surprise that Harry Potter was the biggest movie, after all, it did open on Wednesday with practically no competition except for a few art house and foreign films. I hate when they brag about how much money a movie made over "the weekend" when they add two more days and neglect to mention it. Since when did Wednesday and Thursday become part of the weekend?

Moving on to Today's Money: Best Places To Live. Money Magazine's Jean Chatzsky focused on the top three places: 3) Louisville, CO, which about six miles outside of Boulder. A great place for outdoor life. It also has a booming economy. 2) Hanover, NH, where Jean went on about how you can get a house for under $400,000. Is that what she considers affordable housing? I live in the highly overpriced Northeast and that is around the median price, but she didn't elaborate on what you get for that price. A four bedroom colonial? A two bedroom ranch? A one room shack? I think they're really out of touch with what the average home buyer can afford. 1) Middleton, WI topped the list for its slow pace and 350 acres of nature conservancy. One thing Al pointed out was that all these areas are cold. So if you're looking for a warmer climate, number four on the list was Lake Mary, FL. You won't get any snow, but hurricanes do a lot more damage. Isn't there a place on that list where you won't have to deal with either? Check Money Magazine's website for the full list.

Today's Style featured a segment that I'm sure will be extremely helpful to those of you who have sarongs and don't know how to tie them. They showed how to tie the hip hugger--wrapped around the hips, the halter, the wrap skirt and the strapless dress. This was hilarious because this so-called expert could barely get them on the manikins by herself, yet you're supposed to wrap them around yourself with no problem. Ladies, skip the aggravation and just get a cover-up for the beach. Who needs clothing that you need a tutorial to figure out how to wear?

They had another Today's Harry Potter Mystery question, read by Sarah Ferguson, who was just on the show last week. Perhaps she's looking for a career change? Just what is her job, anyway? Go to the website if you care about that question.

On to Today's Health: Eating For A Beautiful Smile. Here is today's page from the book of the obvious: brush your teeth every day and don't forget to floss. This is The Today Show, not Sesame Street, right? Here is some more useful and less known information for your teeth: cheese neutralizes tooth decaying acid. Drink out of a straw to keep staining and enamel damaging liquids away from your teeth. Vitamin C helps prevent gum disease. Get at least 1000 mg of calcium every day. Black and Green teas help protect teeth and some even contain fluoride. Cranberries and Shitake mushrooms are good for preventing bacteria growth. And finally, crunchy veggies help clean your teeth.

Today's Summer Page Turners featured one of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich, talking about her new book in the Stephanie Plum series, "Lean Mean Thirteen." In this one, Stephanie's good for not much ex-husband goes missing and she's the prime suspect. I love this series and have a few to catch up on, but they are all must reads. These books are so funny. There's always a good mystery, a taste of chick lit and a whole lot of humor thrown into every one. And you'll fall in love with the characters--especially Joe Morelli and Ranger. Use my Amazon search box and start reading now.

A new segment (at least to me) is Take It Off Today which today featured best hotel workouts. The Hyatt hotels have a stay fit @ hyatt program where you can do stuff like a bedtime yoga routine that you watch on TV in the comfort and privacy of your hotel room before your turn in. Westin Workout rooms have fitness equipment in your hotel room, but you do have to pay extra for it. The Fairmont Fit Program has mp3 players. Hilton has Precor equipment and Marriott features a Navy Seal Workout.

Phew, that wraps up today's info-packed final hour.

Till Tomorrow

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Get Good Karma!

This is a rare Sunday post to let you know about my new store at http://cafepress.com/karmicbulldog. Come and see my adorable bulldog cards, baby cards, baby clothes, t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, bags and more. If you've read "The Secret" or seen the DVD, you know you've got to have gratitude in order to attract more things into your life to be grateful for. Why not start by sending some gratitude cards to people and watch your return on investment soar!

My gratitude is sent out to you, readers. Thank you for visiting.

Till Tomorrow.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Friday on Today 7/13

The final hour of The Today Show started with The Three Year Itch--The new Seven Year Itch. The sad fact of this story is that people are too selfish to care more about someone else than they do themselves. And, surprise surprise, men get the itch (and act on it) more than women. Maybe if they'd start thinking with their brains instead of some other parts of their bodies they'd learn to stay out of trouble. Ironically, one of the most important things a marriage needs for success is faithfulness, followed by a healthy sex life (which would be easier to have with your spouse if you didn't cheat) and sharing household chores. This was according to the experts they had on the show. They suggested to be more spontaneous and stop being so preoccupied with work, kids and other things. Spend more time with each other. They also suggested something called the 5-1 zone, which is keeping in mind five positive things about your spouse to every one negative. This sounds like an idea taken from "The Secret."

Moving on to Al's book club, Reading With Roker, which is a book club for kids. This discussion was about "The Sword Bird," by 13 year-old Nancy Yi Fan, who wrote the book when she was only 11. Pretty impressive. And most of the kids in the reading group loved the book full of bird characters. The main theme of the book is to stand up to bullies. The next book club pick is Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.

Today's Family had a feature on dealing with sibling rivalry. There are benefits such as kids usually learn how to compromise. And they also go on to be more productive and successful. I guess they mean more than only children? Anyway, the main messages for parents to deal with it are: 1) Don't compare your kids. 2) Know it's normal. 3) Draw straws. And another helpful hint is to use a timer and let kids take turns for a certain amount of time. Unfortunately, I know it won't work with toddlers. Not much does. And the last thing is to step aside and let them work it out--if they're not gouging each other's eyes out.

Today's Consumer Smarts with Janice Lieberman was all about standing in line. End The Line. For instance, who doesn't hate waiting in line at the DMV? So they suggest going on a Wednesday or Thursday--the least crowded days. At least until word gets out, and then they'll be more crowded on Wednesdays and Thursdays than the other days. From today's page from the book of the obvious: go shopping in the early morning and avoid weekends.

The show ended with KT Tunstall rocking the plaza with her first hit, Black Horse and The Cherry Tree. It was a great performance that had my almost two year-old daughter singing "woo hoo," and dancing around. She loves that song.

Have a great weekend. Till Monday.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Thursday on Today 7/12

Yes, I have the right date today. Seems I got a bit ahead of myself a couple of days ago and skipped over the 10th. Anyway, I'm back on track now. The Today Show's third hour started with a clip of Matt Lauer's earlier interview with troubled Miss New Jersey, Amy Palumbo. She finally decided to release the facebook photos in question in a Today Show exclusive. The beauty pageant committee is reviewing them to decide whether or not they break the moral clause and if she should lose her crown. The pictures were in poor taste, but not what most would call obscene. Everyone was fully clothed. One showed her boyfriend "playfully" biting her her breast. Another had her lying on her back holding her legs up in the air, spread eagle. Those were, as she admits, the worst of them. The others were mostly stupid party pictures with her drinking shots with her friends. And one had her making out with some guy dressed as a wrestler. Then making out with another guy. They may have been the same guy, but it didn't look that way to me. Ironically, even though there are several photos of her doing shots, she claims she rarely drinks. I had to laugh at that. Those were such rare occasions that she had to post them on the internet? Who's she trying to fool--besides the pageant committee, of course? I said it before and I'll say it again, if you're any kind of a public figure, don't do stupid things like post pictures on the web of activities you'll probably regret ever doing. If this were a brain pageant instead of beauty pageant, she'd have lost hands down.

From that stupidity we went on to a segment entitled, One Child's Dream: From One Heart With Sarah Ferguson. Remember Fergie? And no, I don't mean the singer from The Black Eyed Peas. The former Dutchess of York is helping this kid, Pat, who has leukemia and is "driving for donors" to get more people to donate bone marrow--which leukemia victims need transplanted to survive. From what I've heard, that's a painful process, but there are a lot of people with leukemia who are in desperate need, so Pat is doing a lot of people favors by spreading the word and getting more donors. He actually put ads on his bald head to raise money for his dream.

Next, we went to Niagra Falls--the first stop on the America the Beautiful tour--where we learned you can have fun on just $50 a day. You can get a $28 Niagra Falls passport for a trip on the Maid of the Mist. Don't forget your slicker. You can have lunch for 5.95 (they didn't include the tip), go to a museum, visit a theme park, go to the Seneca Niagra Casino. I don't think you can do all this on that $50, those were extras. They did fit the museum and dinner under fifty, but I guess you don't get a beverage and you probably have to stiff the waitstaff.

Today's Kitchen featured former supermodel, Carol Alt, who's promoting her book, "The Raw 50." It's a raw diet and she claims it makes her feel great. I don't think I could stick with it--unless they consider ice cream a raw food. They made some pine nut paste for beet ravioli. They also made something you pour into a glass that actually looked like a smoothie, but the phone rang so I couldn't hear what it was. Get the book if you want some raw recipes. You can use my Amazon search box here on this page to find it.

Till Tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Wednesday on Today 7/12

On The Couch with Dr. Gail was how today's third hour started off in a segment called How Sex Keeps You Healthy. It's good for your relationships as well as your physical health--unless you're having sex with people with STDs. Yeah, I don't know about you, but I've heard most of this all before. She rattled off a list of reasons to have sex 1-2x/week, including reduced risk of heart disease. Then why do all those ED drug commercials say you must ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough to have sex? If you're having sex, then it should be healthy according to Dr. Gail--who is not a cardiologist. And there were other benefits like weight loss and better bladder control. Also from today's page from the book of the obvious: if a woman (or a man) is confident about their sexuality, they'll be more confident in other areas of their lives.

They moved on to a segment about wedding gifts with Elizabeth Mayhew, Lifestyle Expert. Like yesterday's Pet Expert, I wonder how one gets to be a "Lifestyle Expert." Anyway, she had a few suggestions for different wedding gifts such as customized wine bottles with labels like "Perfect Vintage." If that isn't corny enough for you there's more. You can get soda bottles featuring the happy couple with labels such as "Pop Star Couple." You can also get monogrammed napkins. The best/worst wedding gift idea (at least according to me) was the key chain engraved with "The Key To My Heart." Ugh. Why not just get them something they could use--like cash. But if you're thinking of buying any of these gag-me gifts for them, they obviously don't need any--and neither do you.

They held up the cover of OK Magazine which featured Eva Longoria and her new husband, Tony Parker, on the cover.

Then Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, stopped by for a visit. He's promoting the fifth movie installment, "Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix," which opens today. Daniel was sporting his old dorky do that he wore in all the Harry Potter movies. He sure looked different from the pictures I saw of him when he did that play recently in London. You know, the one where he stripped naked onstage?

Moving on to a segment entitled, Trash Talk: How To Declutter Your Car. Rose Mary Ellis from Good Housekeeping Magazine suggested three items to make the job easy: a laundry basket, a garbage bag and a box. You can guess what the garbage bag is for: cleaning your crap out and getting rid of it. The box is for taking the stuff you still need and storing it somewhere else. Do people really carry that much stuff around in their cars? I've got two kids and two dogs and still haven't accumulated enough to fill up a garbage bag of junk. The laundry basket was a good suggestion, though, because you can use it to store your groceries, library books, DVDs--you get the idea. That way they don't rattle around while you're taking corners. Also, use baby wipes to clean the inside of your car like the dashboard and dials. Those baby wipes can be used for almost anything, I swear, including cleaning out the wrinkles on my bulldog's face. You can also use pill bottles for storing coins--if you pay a lot of tolls. And you can use hand sanitizer to get stains out. I guess it's for all that spilled coffee, juice and whatever gets dumped on your car seats and floors. Some pretty good tips there.

Today's Kitchen featured Ingrid Hoffman from the Food Network in a segment about Latin cooking with lemon. Simply Delicioso is the name of the new show on Food Network.

And there you have another hour of fascinating facts.
Till Tomorrow.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Tuesday on Today 7/11

There was a whole lot of stuff featured on Today today. For the rest of the week they'll be going to different cities to audition couples who want to get married on The Today Show. And the competition for The Today Show Wedding begins.

Today's Travel had World's Best Awards, starting with the best cities: 1) Florence, 2) Buenos Aires, 3) Bankok, 4) Rome 5) Sydney. The best islands (according to whoever compiled these lists) are: 1) Bali, 2) Maui, 3) Kauai, 4) Galapagos, 5) Santorini. They also listed some top hotels but you'll have to log onto their website for more information at TodayShow.com. They did say the number one U.S. hotel is in Oregon.

Moving onto Real Estate 101: Condos For College Students. Parents, you buy them for your college-bound kids and charge rent to their condo-mates and make a profit rather than paying for your kids to stay in a cramped dorm. Sounds like a good plan. The example they used showed you can make a profit of $325 vs. paying $300 for the dorm. This is a great idea if you have the time to go out and shop for a condo for your kid and pay a property manager (which they suggested is a must) and make sure it's within two miles of campus to make it attractive to other college students (renters). You also need to make sure those renters get their parents to co-sign the lease. College students are notoriously bad tenants. Just ask their neighbors. If you've got the time and means to make sure it all gets done right, great. Otherwise, just write that check for the dorm. Unless you like the idea of becoming a landlord to a bunch of college kids your own kids are going to party with and trash your new condo.

Outside on the plaza today was Bruce Block from "America's Got Talent," performing The Great Escape, which is getting out of a straight jacket. I know, it's been done before, but it's always interesting to see people practically yanking their shoulders out of socket on national TV just to get some attention. This guy had a pretty good act I caught on AGT with a rabbit that stands at the mic while he becomes an offstage ventriloquist. But the escape act got cut off as they went to a commercial in mid-sentence. It happens a lot on this show. Anyway, when we came back, he was still struggling (obviously not setting any time record) but he did manage to completely get it off.

From there, they went to a couple getting married in a box on 47th and 5th. Like I said, people will do almost anything to get on TV. This was a stunt arranged by iVillage.

Then they had a segment called Today's Update, featuring teenage golfer, Mackenzie (Mac) Kline, who was born with a congenital heart defect and beat the odds. Apparently, now she's an excellent golfer and has set up a children's heart foundation. There was too much noise in my house at the time to really hear what she was saying except that she feels great. But she can't go on roller coasters--no big loss there.

Trophy Wife - Is it offensive? Do we really need to answer that for them? I guess the reason they asked is because Senator Fred Thompson, rumored to be testing the waters for a presidential run, has what many political pundits call a trophy wife. She's 40 and 24 years younger than he. And she happens to look great, otherwise she wouldn't be much of a trophy. Yes, it's offensive and chauvinistic. What if the sexes were reversed? Would he be considered a trophy husband? But if you're in the public spotlight--especially for a presidential run--you'd better get used to it. So, my question is: he's a senator and still has time to play the DA on Law and Order? How does one relate to the other? And what are his credentials for president? Does he think people will vote for him just because they've seen him on TV? If any actor runs for president, it should be Martin Sheen. At least he played one on TV.

The show ended with Chrisette Michelle singing a song. No Today's Kitchen today.

Till Tomorrow.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Monday on Today 7/9

Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July weekend. The movie Transformers did as it took the number 1 spot at the box office, followed by Ratatouille (last week's number 1) and Live Free or Die Hard (last week's number 2.) The Today Show is asking people to send in photos for the America the Beautiful segment--they must be running low on content again--where they showcase pictures from around the country sent in by viewers. Go to their website for more information. I believe the address is Today.msnbc.com.



The big story of the morning was about Miss New Jersey being blackmailed. I can't even write this with a straight face. Why is this news? It seems beauty queen, Amy Palumbo, put some controversial pictures up on her myspace page for friends and family only and they got into the hands of someone threatening to make them public if she doesn't give up the crown. Wow, imagine that. She publishes pictures of herself on the web doing God knows what and then complains that they were meant to be seen in private. Give me a break! Quit your whining and talk to somebody who has some real problems, like a kid who lost a parent in Iraq. Or a parent who lost a kid in a car accident. And if your pictures are so innocent, as you claim, then why not just tell the blackmailer to release them? Who cares? Ahh, but she must be hiding something, otherwise she would have already. She claims they break the "moral clause." They're probably pictures of her making out with her girlfriends. Blackmailer, if you're reading, just release the embarrassing pictures and get it over with. This girl needs a lesson on what a crisis really is. And for future beauty queens out there, keep your personal pictures off the web if you want to keep them to yourself! And stop complaining when someone catches you doing something "immoral."



Today's Travel focused on Splurge vs. Steal getaways from a splurge in Stoneover Farm, Massachusetts at around $380/night to a steal at The Valley Hotel in Scottsdale, AZ. Al Roker couldn't contain his laughter at that name. There were many others in between, but my 2 year-old was screaming at the time and I couldn't write them all down--too many anyway. This segment basically took some high priced hotels and then gave some cheaper ones--how original.



Moving onto deeper issues like Girls and Body Image, they featured a book by plus sized model, Emme entitled: "What Are You Hungry For?" It focuses on body diversity. Not everybody can be or should be a size 2. Attractiveness has little to do with body size. It's a good message to get across. I hope it works. They also give more information from the book of the obvious and that's that parents need to be role models. If you eat a nutritious diet and live a healthy life-style, then guess what? Your kids probably will, too.



Surviving The Dog Days of Summer was focused on--you guessed it--keeping your pets safe in summer heat. Andrea Arden, pet expert (how do you get that title? I wonder) gave some good tips like using sunscreen for pets. And don't laugh, my dog got melanoma. You can buy cooling vests or just wet a bandanna, freeze it and tie it around their necks. This is something I actually used on myself and it works. But only for a few minutes. It's a comfortable few minutes though. They also showed a pool alarm that goes off whenever something more than 10 pounds hits the water. Good idea but what if you have a 5 pound yorkie? Crates are a must for traveling and so is something called Contenteze--like a doggie downer. A great idea for high-strung dogs. In this segment's page from the book of obvious information ,they said to make sure your pets can't get to the antifreeze. In case anyone doesn't know, it's deadly! The best part of all this was an adorable pug that Natalie had on a leash and a kitten that kept mewing throughout the entire feature. It was nonstop.



Today's Kitchen featured sweet and savory foods for the grill such as marinated shrimp and strawberry and avocado salad with some kind of vinaigrette dressing. It looked pretty good. Also, the off-camera kitten kept up the noise while the food was being prepared, prompting more laughter from Al. That cat refused to be upstaged by anyone--even Al Roker.



Till tomorrow.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Previous Posts From Former Site

Friday on Today 7/6

Today’s Family: Fighting in Front of Your Kids. Okay, in case you didn’t know, this is not a good idea. You should try not to fight in front of your kids. If you do, make sure the kids know that you still love each other and it’s okay to argue once in a while–everyone does. Psychotherapist, Robi Ludwig, from a story out of “Cookie Magazine,” gave advice to “wives and mothers” that your child can really be affected by your fighting. Excuse me? Wives and mothers? Who are they fighting with, themselves? Why wasn’t this advice geared to both “wives and mothers” and “husbands and fathers?” In another segment of obvious information, this psychotherapist managed to insult half (if not more of) the audience by putting all the blame on “wives and mothers” for their kids’ psychological problems. Read more of this if you care to on The Today Show website or “Cookie Magazine,” but I’ve heard enough.
Moving onto Today’s Travel where they featured The Best Island Beaches. Lizard Island is in Australia and costs about $1,000/night. A better deal is on The Greek Isles - Shipwreck Island in The Ionian Sea which only costs $380/night. On to The Bahamas at Pink Sands Beach on Harbour Island which costs $600/night. Then to Jamaica, 7 Mile Beach in Negril which will run you only $365/night. But a better deal is right here in the U.S. on Ocracoke Island Beach in North Carolina at $200-260/night. If you care to go to Texas, you can stay at South Padre Island where it only costs $199-289/night. But don’t go during spring break since it’s legal to have kegs on the beach.
They have this thing going on called Harry Potter and Today’s Mystery Question, with this being the fourth installment. I’m not a Harry Potter fan, so this means nothing to me. Not knowing the names of anyone else but the main character (why is he the only one with a normal name?) I can’t even attempt to remember what the question was or who it involved. I don’t even know why they’re doing this. Maybe the winner gets some kind of prize. I’m sure there is more information on their website if you need to know.
Next was a story entitled, Just as Sweet: Fake Cakes at Weddings. They’re made out of styrofoam and cost much less than their edible competition. And you can rent them! With costs in the hundreds to thousands for a real wedding cake, I think it’s a great idea. Some of them even come with secret compartments where you can stash twinkies. Who wouldn’t rather have a twinkie than a miniscule piece of overly decorated wedding cake?
Onto Today’s Kitchen: Grilling Around the World: Going Greek. They roasted some peppers and some kind of meat–probably chicken. There was an array of other foods for the grill, too.
Fall Out Boy was their Summer Concert Series musical guest and finished the show with their first hit “Dance Dance.”
Obviously running long on time again and short on content, they ended early at around 9:52 with sappy hightlights of previous shows.
Maybe they’ll have heavier stuff next week when the regulars come back from vacation.
Till then. Have a great weekend!
Thursday on Today 7/05
Friday, July 6th in Lucky Seven Getaways, Dr. Scholl, building strong bones, the new face, personal trainers for kids, Feet No comments (Edit)
We started off the day with Today’s Fitness about keeping your kids healthy. Some people are now hiring personal trainers for their kids. Whatever happened to sending them outside with some toys and maybe tossing the ball around with them? Well, obviously everyone can’t afford to hire a guy built like LL Cool J to keep their kids in shape, so they focused on some things parents can do. Such as the obvious: turn off the TV and computer. Perhaps so they can go out and play? Then more obvious: be a role model. If they see you working out and staying shape, they’re more likely to do so themselves. And even more obvious: focus on nutrition and have family meals. Is any of this news to anyone? If it is, then I’m glad you tuned in (either to the show or to my blog) so you learned how to keep your kids from growing out while growing up.
Next up was a segment on Turning Feet Sultry Soft, or Toe Time: Feet, The New Face–who comes up with these titles? Anyway, I’m sure that’s at the top of everyone’s to-do list. Some common problems for feet are blisters, to which they focused on prevention: moisturize, use bandaids, wear properly sized shoes–and it probably doesn’t matter how well they fit if they cram your feet into a shape they weren’t meant to be in, like an arrow. Another common problem is corns which you can use some kind of Dr. Scholl’s product to put on them–really that’s what they said. This segment was obviously sponsored by Dr. Scholl. Moving onto nail discoloration such as yellowing or toenail fungus. You can put some polish-like substance on to get rid of it. Ironically, the yellowing is caused by polish, particularly dark colors. The last problem they discussed was bunions which are hereditary and sometimes require surgery. But you can try orthotics and/or splints first.
Today’s Health focused on building strong bones. Here’s more from the book of the obvious: eat 2-3 servings of dairy a day to ensure good calcium intake. Here is something that you probably didn’t know: chick peas and walnuts are good sources of calcium. I actually learned something there.
Today’s Travel was focused on Lucky Seven Getaways. In case you forgot, Saturday is 7/7/07. You can get special vacation packages from a $77 hotel room in LA to a $777 spa stay in Las Vegas. I don’t get it. It’s just a date. But if people can make money off it, they’re sure as hell going to try. I’ll stay home and watch the Live Earth concert.
Today’s Kitchen: Grilling Around The World had BBQ Bon Appetit with blue prongs, watermelon, spicy relish and horseradish. Grilled watermelon–interesting.
Till Tomorrow.
Wednesday on Today 7/4
Thursday, July 5th in kid etiquette, 100 dollar bottle of beer, Polo for the people, Work to Ride, Fourth of July, beer is the new wine, The Today Show No comments (Edit)
Hope everyone had a happy Fourth of July! We started the 9:00 hour today with a Kid Etiquette class. Kids need to learn to be polite, and have style and grace. As well as to be kind, courteous and respectful. Unfortunately most of them don’t. They learn from their parents so this segment was geared more to them. Know what to expect and expect it (rather vague). Always behave the way you want your kids to behave. Easier said than done but very true. Then again, whatever happened to “Do as I say, not as I do?” Of course, “Practice what you preach,” is an even more widely known cliche.
Ride to a better life is what the next segment focused on. Polo For The People. The work to Ride Program. (Why must all these segments have so many names when one would get the point across just as well?) Anyway, it’s a program that gives inner city kids a chance to learn how to play polo. Getting kids off the street and into the stable is their motto. Sounds like a good idea. Something about horses seems to soothe even the harshest of criminals. But some the kids end up in jail anyway. Oh well, you can’t save them all.
Today’s Kitchen was again focused on Grilling Around The World with a Fourth of July Feast of chicken and grilled corn on the cob, followed by peanut butter and jelly cupcakes. Yum. They were supposed to feature red, white, and blue desserts and I guess they somehow got those cupcakes to become those colors, but they ran out of time to get to any more.
Moving onto a beer segment. Beer is the new wine. How to match beer with food. Serve fried food with hoppy beers such as IPAs (India Pale Ales). Serve lighter fare with pilsners. Lager goes better with foods crisp in style. Potato chips, anyone? Ale is good with heavier, richer foods. Such as those peanut butter and jelly cupcakes? There is also a beer that costs a hundred bucks a bottle. It’s made by Sam Adams and is 25% alcohol. No thanks, I’ll stick to something like Twisted Tea if I want to drink something like a beer with more of a kick. Again, the Today Show hosts were enjoying a little nip on this Fourth of July morning. I’ve got to get a job on that show. They’re always having fun, no matter how early.
They signed off early today. And why not? None of the regulars were there on a holiday. Except Ann doing the news. And drinking beer with her co-hosts.
Till Tomorrow.
Tuesday on Today 7/3
Wednesday, July 4th in How to Lose 10 pounds without really trying, The best boardwalks in America, Larry King's interview with Isaiah Washington, T.R. Knight, Larry King, The Today Show No comments (Edit)
We started off the the third hour of Today by welcoming a new third hour co-host, Stacy London. Then it was onto Spa Dentistry where you can get everything from facials to manicures while you get your teeth worked on. I’m sure most of the procedures are cosmetic since I would imagine getting a massage during a root canal would kind of ruin the relaxation. Plus that was all they talked about, whitening and veneers. In case you hadn’t noticed, this show is dedicated to making yourself look better. At least this hour. And I doubt your dental plan will cover pafafin wax even if you get it while having your cavities filled.
Onto Today’s Travel where they showed The Best Boardwalks in America. Most of them are on the East coast. Only one on the West coast. Let’s see, there’s Atlantic City which is about 4 miles of boardwalk. Then there’s Coney Island which is 2.5 miles long and Ocean City, MD which is 3 miles long. Santa Cruz, CA is considered the Coney Island of the west. Fascinating stuff.
Larry King’s interview with Isaiah Washington was the next feature where Isaiah complained about being a victim and blamed the whole gay slur problem on T.R. Knight–you know the one Mr. Washington called a faggot? He blames T.R. Knight for using it to get more publicity. Oh yeah, well who’s out there doing talk shows and shooting his mouth off about being unfairly treated? Quit your whining and grow up. Obviously he learned nothing in “rehab.” Please, since when is rehab the answer to everything? And what kind of things do they teach homophobes in a few days of rehab anyway?
Moving on to How To Lose 10 Pounds Without Really Trying. Before you get your hopes up, I’ve got some bad news for you: it’s all done with make-up. You’re not really going to lose weight, just look like you have. At least according to make-up artist, Eve Pearl, who uses lots of blush to create a hollowed cheek and what she calls a facelift. Of course, you have to use concealer under your eyes and around the mouth to camouflage those pesky lines, but if you have the time to spend on all this primping, maybe you’ll shed a few years as well as pounds. I doubt it. Especially if you’re not a make-up artist, or should I say an illusionist yourself.
The show wrapped up with another Grilling Around The World segment. This time grilling Japanese style. Looks like they used fish again–not sure. They probably added some veggies.
Till next time, happy Fourth of July!
Monday on Today 7/2
Tuesday, July 3rd in weekend get away kit, Today Show Wedding, Mommy Envy, weekend box office, Ratatouille, The Today Show No comments (Edit)
Good morning. Hope everyone had a good weekend. The weekend box office was good for the movie Ratatouille, which apparently nobody on The Today Show can pronounce. It’s Rat-ah-tooey just in case anyone was wondering. Anyway, it came in at number one so they should know how to say it right. Coming in at number two was Live Free or Die Hard followed by Evan Almighty at number three. They don’t give the rest, sorry.
Following a news and weather update, we went right into a segment entitled “Mommy Envy,” about moms being jealous of other moms that seem to have everything together–at least more than you do. I was there a few weeks ago myself while watching my son’s preschool class put on a performance for family members. While other moms had their toddlers sitting quietly in their laps, mine was squirming, crying, and trying to join her big brother up on the “stage.” I kept wondering why mine was the only one misbehaving. Anyway, I certainly understand mommy envy as I wondered how all those other moms kept their sedate toddlers in their laps. The advice to all moms was to 1) let go of perfection–or the illusion of it because let’s face it, nobody has it, no matter what it looks like on the surface. 2) If you want something for yourself, get it–whatever that means. I want a new iphone, but it’s not in my budget. And finally, 3) appreciate yourself and keep things in perspective. In other words, since you’re probably not appreciated by others–lots of moms aren’t, especially stay-at-home moms–at least know that you’re doing a great service and someday it will pay off. Being a parent is the toughest but most rewarding job was what I gathered to be the theme of that segment.
Today’s Style: How not to overpack for a weekend getaway. They showcased a weekend getaway kit that included a sarong which doubled as a shirt. I had to laugh at that one. Looks like you’d have to be an engineer to figure out how to wrap it right so it doesn’t look you’re wearing a shower curtain. Pack one clutch and one day bag, two pairs of shoes, again one for evening and one for daytime. Pack a white sundress (white is the new black) and a couple of tank tops and you’re done. Oh, and don’t forget the shorts and maybe some jeans. I’d leave the sarong at home–just pack a beach cover-up and a normal shirt. How much more room is going to take up in your suitcase?
Then there was a big announcement on the show: they’re doing another Today Show wedding and are going out to find couples to audition to get married on The Today Show. Who wants to see strangers get married on TV? I don’t even like going to weddings of people I know. But at least then you get a meal and and an open bar–if you’re lucky.
Today’s Home: How to have a party on a budget with patriotic party ideas. Some of the suggestions were to use bandanas instead of napkins. That would probably save money unless your guests decided to toss them out with the paper plates. Make food the centerpiece with a giant glass box of chips and another of salsa. Interesting idea but I don’t know where you’d get containers like that. And does anybody really care what the centerpiece looks like (or if you even have one) when you’re eating outside? They also showed colored soda bottles as centerpieces. Again, why bother? And who wants to drink soda at a party? If you’re serving it to kids–bad idea since it rots their teeth. And adults probably want something with more of a kick, and I don’t mean from the salsa. By the way, the patriotic part was because most of the plates and balloons were red white or blue–how original.
Gene Shallot reviewed “Evening,” which opened this weekend. He said it is a must-see and I’m happy after seeing Richard Roper and his co-host give it two thumbs down last night. That surprised me because of the all star cast including Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep, Miranda Richardson, and Claire Danes to name a few. The movie got four stars in my local paper, and it’s on my to-see list mostly because of the beautiful ocean-front scenes that were shot right here in my home state of RI. Newport and Tiverton provided the houses and scenery.
Moving on to grilling tips where they barbecued shellfish. Since it’s Fourth of July week, they’ll be throwing anything they can find on the grill.
That wraps up Yesterday on Today for Monday.
Till Tomorrow.