Monday on Today 8/6

Happy Monday, hope you all had a great weekend. Today's Money was today's first feature in the third hour with Dr. Gail Salz and somebody else--probably a money expert--sorry I didn't catch her name. Anyway the topic was, Kids And Debit Cards. I can sum it all up in two words: bad idea. Instead, teach kids financial responsibility. And again from today's page of the book of the obvious: be a good role model. Whenever there is a segment dealing with kids, it always comes back to that. Kids are going to do what they see, not what they're told. Require them to earn their own money and talk to them about responsibility. Open a savings account for them and match their savings (optional). Just get smart and they will too.

Today's Woman had The Ultimate Spa Guide with a list of some of the best spas in America by Lisa Drayer--didn't catch her title, but at least I got her name. One of the best spas is Miraval Spa in Tuscon, AZ where you can learn about medicinal plants, ageless radiance--how to age gracefully and learn how to communicate with horses. Did you know horses can read our body energy? I didn't but it doesn't surprise me. My dogs can too. Anyway, that sounds like a great place. If I had more money and time I'd book a spot right now. Maybe after I win Publisher's Clearinghouse. What? I could be a winner. Lake Austin in Austin TX is described as the perfect girlfriend getaway with mother/daughter weeks and urban cowgirl weekends. Sounds like fun. Red Mountain Spa in Utah has 30 hiking trails and a cooking school. Kohler Spa in WI is called the ultimate in pampering with delicious foods and in-room spa services among other perks. And of course Hilton Head, SC is on the list. They help guests lose weight successfully by not focusing on short term fixes but long lasting changes.

Rosario Dawson stopped by for a visit to talk about her new revenge thriller about a woman who gets raped and doesn't tell anybody. As long as she gets revenge, it sounds like a good movie to me. And what would a visit on The Today Show be without their clever subtitles to go with your name? Hers was Dawson's "Descent": Rosario's Revenge. Descent is the name of the movie. It should be hitting theatres near you soon.

Today's Home with Eric Villency was all about Transforming Bath to Spa, for those of us who can't make it to Miraval. He suggested adding stone to add an earthy feel to the bathroom--I never considered "earthy" to be a bathroom requirement. Also adding things like wooden toilet seats and tables made out of bamboo and teaks--renewable resources. It's all about creating warmth and texture with stone tiles and rock formations, which are not easy to clean. But if you're adding these to your bathroom, you're probably not doing your own cleaning. He also talked about adding free standing tables, hydrotherapy using air jets and a $3100 tank-less toilet that uses an electric motor. What happened to using renewable resources? And talk about impractical; a three thousand dollar toilet? You can add color with shower curtains, toilet seats, benches, stools and candles. My advice: save your money for the real spas. How much time are you really going to spend in the bathroom anyway?

They usually do the weekend box office at the top of the hour but today it was toward the end. Maybe because "The Bourne Ultimatum" set a new August record, taking in over $70 million. And it didn't even have to open on a Wednesday to accomplish it. That pushed last week's number 1,"The Simpsons" back to the number 2 spot with "Under Dog," which was filmed here in RI, coming in at number 3.

Today's Kitchen was Smokin' On The Plaza, featuring an industrial smoker to smoke baby back ribs and sweet potatoes with a side order of cole slaw. You can also get a Weber Mountain Smoker for about $200. I didn't catch the chef's name either because my Boston Terrier was in the middle of a trifecta--grabbing a teddy-bear off the couch, running over my foot with his sharp little claws and knocking my toddler off her feet. Yes, the same adorable Boston Terrier who's pictured at the top of this blog. He's almost 9 years-old and shows no signs of slowing. I guess that's good and bad. For more pictures of him and my bulldog visit http://cafepress.com/karmicbulldog.

Till tomorrow.

Friday on Today 8/3

Today's Consumer Smarts with Janice Lieberman started the third hour today with a segment called Going To The Mattresses. She showed Al Roker a vibrating mattress that cost 30 grand, a Sealy pillow top with foam for $799 and one that its makers say is like sleeping on a cloud. That one costs 60 grand, so for that price they ought to fly you into outer space and let you sleep on actual cloud. The whole point to this--I'm not exactly sure why they wasted their time having Al trying out a bunch of mattresses--is to save your money for college tuition, cars and other necessities. Al actually liked the cheaper mattress best anyway.

Today's Style featured a Fall Fashion Preview. The look is all about dressing up without getting dressed up--whatever that means. A 70's chic dress that looked like a brown top with a checkered skirt finished off with a wide waist belt was the first look, followed by metallics. Wear metallics with a neutral palette. This model had on a beige metallic, matching jacket with black leggings and leopard print shoes. It didn't look as awful as it sounds. The thing about leggings that most people don't like is their clinginess, but these were loose fitting and looked more comfortable. The next look was sophisticated - blacks and creams are always classic. Update the look with this season's blazer. Grey is the new black. A few weeks ago on Today's Style, white was the new black, now it's grey. It looks polished and professional. This model wore a long grey jacket over black slacks. Return of the shape: form-fitting shapes are back. The only looks I'd spend money on are the cream and black as well as the grey and black. They also suggested wearing colored tights with some of these skirts--especially the shorter ones.

Joan Allen stopped by for a visit outside on the plaza. The catchy titles they used for this were: Bourne In The USA - Allen's Ultimatum. In case you didn't know, she's in "The Bourne Ultimatum" as well as the other two movies in the series. She's a three time Oscar nominee and one of my favorite actresses. See her amazing performance in "The Contender" and you'll see why. "The Bourne Ultimatum" opens today--as if you didn't know that already.

Natalie Morales was still in Minneapolis covering the bridge collapse: Saluting The Rescue Workers. Brad Stencel is a paramedic and one of the first responders on the scene. Natalie asked him what kind of injuries he saw in the people he helped to rescue. He said mostly orthopedic injuries--broken bones, blunt trauma and lots of bleeding. This is his first big city tragedy and he says he's emotional but getting through and now helping the recovery workers. Not a pleasant job I'm sure.

Next they had a one-on-one from Southwest Airlines CEO, Gary Kelly, who answered some e-mails. More likely, he covered his ass and answered the questions about long waits and consumer complaints like a member of the Bush Administration would answer questions about the war in Iraq. Everything is great and Southwest is the best. Did anyone think he would give honest answers? He's a CEO.

Vince Gill and Amy Grant ended the show with a song that she sang and he played guitar to along with a big back-up band. It sounded pretty good out on the plaza.

That wraps up this week. Have a good weekend.