So sad to say "Goodbye"

It is with great dismay that I must say "goodbye" to you all, as I will no longer be able to update my blog. I have started a new job that has me working long hours, six days a week, and I simply do not have the time to maintain this site.

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my blog entries and for posting your comments and reactions. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Hannukah, and New Year. Peace!

**** PANIC ****

OMG, I'm sooooooo sorry I haven't posted in, like, a month! I've just been super-busy! In addition to the everyday chaos that is my life, the Holiday Season brings its own anxiety.

First, there is always the "get-together," which starts around mid-November with making plans for Thanksgiving. Whose house am I going to? How long am I staying? What do I need to bring? This year, I spent a couple of days with my father's side of the family in Baltimore, Maryland, and ate way too much.

Immediately after coming home from that, I have to start Christmas shopping. Normally I love shopping -- mostly for myself -- but buying presents (for other people) is hard. This time of year especially, because stores are always crowded and I never find what I am looking for. To date, I've only gotten ONE person's gift -- my brother's.

Then on Monday I had a panic attack because I couldn't find my credit card. I can't even begin to tell you how much I freaked out!!! I would rather get punched or kicked than have my credit card lost or stolen. I tore my apartment up searching for the thing with no luck. Then, I started to call around to my favorite stores to see if I had left it while shopping, and sure enough I had. Luckily, the store had kept it safe for me knowing that I would be back. No harm was done; no unauthorized purchases were made. Hallelujah!!!!!

I love "happy endings," don't you?

Can Bigger Be Better?

I'm a fan of VH-1's celebreality show "Celebrity Fit Club." On it, overweight celebrities are divided into two teams which then compete against one another -- and themselves -- in the "battle of the bulge." The team that loses the most weight wins prizes.

Mia Tyler, left, was on the first season of the show -- and I loved her! She is so cool, and probably one of the only people in the world who looks really, REALLY good fat (the only other person that comes to mind at the moment is Queen Latifah.) In fact, I think she looks even better than her (half-) sister, actress Liv Tyler. Which makes me wonder: Can being bigger actually be better?!

I've been struggling with weight and self-image for most of my life, but I've never bought into that whole "big is beautiful" notion that seems to be gaining popularity as people (and, more specifically, women) keep gaining weight. But who knows? Maybe Mia and Latifah aren't alone; maybe there are other women who actually look better being fat rather than thin. Any opinions?

Cutie Patooties!

A lot of celebrities don't want their children to be photographed or taped by the paparazzi. It is understandable, I guess, because they may be afraid someone will try to kidnap and/or harm their children...for whatever reason. (Something like that was said to have almost happened to Posh'N'Becks a few years back.) But kudos to those who will allow the world to see their "pride and joy" because, quite frankly, I love seeing the Children of the Stars.

Left, Ryan Phillipe and Reese Witherspoon's daughter Ava. Right, Veronica Webb's daughter Leila.

The Little Things

It's amazing how "the little things" can make such a big difference in determining my feelings and mood on a day-to-day basis.

Like the other day, for example, when I was walking around Downtown Brooklyn. I found two great "bargains" in the same afternoon: The first was a cheap(er) Starbucks(!) where drinks were, on average, fifty cents ($0.50) cheaper than any other Starbucks I've ever been to -- and that says a lot! The other bargain was at a shop I like, which was having a great sale on tops! :o) In the grand scheme of things these "small joys" may seem irrelevant, but for some reason it made me feel good that afternoon and made my day seem a little brighter.

Unfortunately, there are also times when "the little things" can (seemingly) ruin my day as well. Like when it rains. I never like having to walk around outside in the rain -- who does? -- especially when I am dressed up. Or the other day, when I was at the big Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, and my camera stopped working for some unknown reason. I was so mad! The parade was such a great show, and I really wanted to take pictures of all the amazing costumes and puppets...but my damn camera started having problems and nothing came out. :o( It's a shame, too, because I was looking forward to posting some of the "highlights" of the parade up here, on my blog. Instead, I just have a picture of my cat, Odin, in his Halloween "costume."


(Actually, it's just an elaborate, fabric collar with little "spiders" on the ends. Unfortunately, you can't really see the collar details in the picture.)

Dumb Celebs

To mere mortals, such as myself, celebrities seem to have it all: Money, beauty, great "freebies" from companies and designers...yet often times they make the stupidest choices. Like Britney Spears, for example. Her and her hunky (parasitic) husband, Kevin Federline, are broke BUT THEY KEEP SPENDING BIG MONEY. Now, according to Life & Style Weekly, they are bouncing checks.

Britney's latest big purchase is a third home, in England, for $6 million dollars. As for Kevin Federline, his recent "venture" is a multi-million dollar dance school he is building with Joe Jackson, Michael Jackson's father. So who has been taking care of the couple's newborn baby, Sean Preston Federline, while Britney and Kevin are out spending money they don't have? Britney's mom, Lynne Spears, of course! And Britney is hoping that her mother will "come to the rescue" financially as well, "to make sure Kevin doesn't spend all of (Britney's) money."

The other "major" crazy celeb, in my opinion, is Katie Holmes. I understand that Tom Cruise was her "childhood crush" and that she is now "living out (her) dreams" by being with him, but NO MAN is worth converting to Scientology for. I'm sorry, but this religion is just nuts. Amongst the religion's many controversial beliefs (aliens inhabiting the body, for one) is their "birthing beliefs." If poor Katie, who is pregnant with Tom's child, is going to follow the Scientologist's (Tom's) beliefs and practices, she will have to give birth (1) without any medication and (2) she can't scream out or cry. Of course the founder of this religion, L. Ron Hubbard, was a man -- no surprise there!

What is it with religion and misogyny? It seems like every religion -- at least the ones I know of -- hate women. I mean, not allowing the woman any medicine for giving birth AND not allowing them to scream or cry? That's horrible! Everyone I know who has given birth (I haven't done it, personally) says it was the most excruciating pain in their lives! If that is the case, I hope Katie goes ahead and takes the meds available to her. Poor thing. And from what I read and hear, her relationship with Tom and the whole "Scientology" thing is really putting a strain on her relationship with her family. I'll be praying for Katie Holmes -- and her family.

Someone *PLEASE* explain to me...

Why does everyone hate Kimora Lee Simmons? I have never figured that out. Is it because she is both filthy rich and extremely beautiful? Or because she is cute, perky, and outgoing? Or could it be because she has the most gorgeous daughter in the whole world, Ming Lee Simmons? (She also has another daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, but she is ugly. Aoki looks identical to her father, Russell Simmons.)

I fell in love with Ming Lee Simmons the first time I saw her, in an ad campaign for her mother's clothing line, Baby Phat. She has always been stunning. As the daughter of Russell and Kimora, Ming has lived all of her short life in the spotlight. Yet no matter how many pictures have been taken of her, she has always looks impeccable. I have never seen a bad picture of Ming Lee Simmons. I hope that one day I can have a little girl as beautiful as she. In fact, I may just go ahead and adopt, just to make sure my future child(ren) is/are cute. Of course, I doubt any little girl can be as cute as Ming, but I want the "next best thing" if I can get it.

(Pictured is Kimora, holding Ming's hand in the background; Aoki walking the runway in the foreground.)

Envy

I really have no business being jealous of anyone. I mean, I have an amazingly loving and supportive family, my good health, and (despite being out of work) I am financially stable. Yet I still find myself extremely envious of some people, especially Tara Reid. (Tara Reid is pictured left, in her normal, drunken state.)

I watch Ms. Reid's show, Taradise, regularly. Each week, Tara gets flown to some gorgeous location where she does the following: Has a photo shoot; goes to some "hot" club and dances (poorly) with the (scantily clad) locals (who also dance poorly); and gets drunk. For this, she is paid tons of money and is famous. Meanwhile, I am struggling to find a job just to pay the bills.

Of course, things could be a lot worse. I mean, just look at all of hurricane Katrina's victims...And all the hungry, poor people in the world...Compared to most, I have it good. But I want better.