That's the hat that SJP wore to the premiere of the Sex & The City movie in London. I loved it immediately, because I just thought, ONLY SJP could rock that look, and wardrobe was one of the main reasons I loved watching the show. But don't take my word for it, take Robert Verdi's word for it:

"This is the fashion equivalent of getting a master's at Harvard. Seriously. There is no awkwardness, no discomfort. It's costume-y, but it's costume-y in the most fabulous way," says celebrity stylist Robert Verdi of Parker's headwear.

"Sarah is one of the only people that can make sense of fashion when it's elevated to art," he added. "I think it would look crazier in the US than it does there. I think it looks fabulous."

Do I mind that the movie premiered in London instead of NYC? Not at all. S&TC is global - it's nice to be reminded that there's a world beyond New York. It also reminded me to get a plan together to see the movie opening weekend. I miss my girls!!

So what do you think of the hat??

So, "Happy" Mother's Day news....I guess....to Mrs. Duggar.


(this picture is actually missing a couple kids....its over a year old : )

I'm torn between playing

1. "Name the 18th Duggar Child" game

and

2. "Would You Rather" -- be Mrs. Duggar expecting 18th, or a Mormon Cult Wife with six kids and seven 'Sister Wives.'

Well, I think I'm leaning towards "Would You Rather."

As horrible as I feel being pregnant for even 1 day is --would you take 11 years of pregnancy??? OOOORRR a lifetime of subservience to a bunch of gross old guys who want your teenage offspring so they can have that "heavenly act" together.... (ewwww...)

Yes, even though you get help from the other 'sister wives' - - think about it....Mrs. Duggar has 17 other kids to BABYSIT!! and do CHORES! (the real reason to have any kids at all).

But, this might be the showstopper for ya - Mrs. Duggar HOMESCHOOLS them all....

Now which would you rather???

And in case you are wondering, yes, The Duggars are all signed up for another season on the Discovery Health Channel. Which is basically the 21st century version of the circus side/freak show....is it not???

I'd pay good money to see Wife Swap do a show with Mrs. Duggar and one of the Real Housewives of NYC -- he he he.....

Here in my fancy new apartment, we have to pay for water. I've never gotten a water bill, I have no idea what to expect. I do so many other environmentally-friendly things (ie, not owned a car since the early 90s) that my one indulgence has been, until now, 10-minute hot showers. I deep conditioned, shaved my legs, and steamed my pores with a little heat. Now, I'm completely focused on getting in and outta the shower in record time. Also, I've had a hard time contorting myself to shave my legs in the new shower (quickly or otherwise). So, between the waste of water and the difficulty of shaving, I figured I'd ask for some new ideas.

How do you shave your legs?? Anyone do the sink method? Sit on the side of the tub? Any helpful hints are welcome....

Also, after a lifetime of being loyal to my razor brand, I've broken up with Daisy. You know how there are some brands that no matter how poor you are, you have to have? Daisy razors and Hellman's mayonnaise are two of those brands for me. But after my stepdaughter introduced me to Bic Soleil disposables, I knew I had to kick Daisy to the curb.

Can you teach a fish a trick to begin with?



Maybe Lara was right - that fish are interesting pets.

She loves fish -- see below picture of Lara's fish at the beach on "vacation" .....


I found this "Fish School" from our friends at Fox News.....



Geez, why DIDN'T I think of that?? What kid wouldn't wanna sit in front of that fishbowl for HOURS trying to teach a fish? (and here I used to think watching them poop was fascinating.....) Damn. Have they been on Oprah yet??

Get your VERY OWN Fish School here.

Now maybe fish will have more "personality' and we'll have a little less of the fish mutilation that Lara hates

The move is OVER!!! We made it!!

But...what about all of those cardboard boxes?

I was obsessed about saving money and the environment when I was packing. I got wine boxes from the liquor store (great for books), free recycled boxes from UHaul, begged for supplies from the grocery store, and asked the old building to save discarded boxes for me. We have so much stuff...I still had to buy 50+ cartons.

We unpacked a lot of the boxes pretty quickly, at least 100 were done within 2-3 days. I didn't want to just throw them out, so I "Freecycled" them. Freecycling is when you have stuff that's in perfectly good working order but you don't want anymore. People who want your stuff come and get it. You can also post a "Wanted" message if there are things you want.

Before the move, I tried to Freecycle our old couch but it didn't work. But I saw a "Wanted" message from a woman who said that she had 3 kids and needed to start exercising for health reasons and did anyone have any free weights? Yes, lady - yes we do! She came and picked up our weights. See how it works?

Back to the moving boxes.

I posted an offer for moving supplies on Freecycle, and there were a lot of takers. The first chick had broken up with her boyfriend and was moving out. The second chick came by with 2 little kids in the car, looking for boxes for basement storage. I didn't meet the others, I left huge piles of boxes at our front door and they magically disappeared.

Since then I've seen offers and requests for breast pumps, kids toys and clothes, furniture, random hardware supplies, weird pieces of equipment, printers, laptops, floppy disks...you name it. If it's taking up space in your home, I'm certain you can find a new home for it with Freecycle.

So, if you're doing a little spring cleaning, keep this in mind: http://www.freecycle.org

I almost missed it because it is not on a channel I watch... The CW.

FARMER WANTS A WIFE.



To me, it is an entire show built around the concept that a VERY wise Virginia Redneck once told me:

IN THE CITY, Men think they are God's Gift to Women.

IN TH COUNTRY, Women are God's Gift to Men.

And honey, ain't THAT the truth! (I married me a country boy)

BEST. QUOTE. ABOUT. THIS. SHOW. from the peeps at TV Squad.

"I'm no cynic, though: any savvy Los Angelenos bimbo would know that appearing on a third-rate reality show on The CW has about as much chance of launching an acting career as starring in a German fetish porn. Obviously, these girls are here for love!"

So don't think I take this seriously, but damn it's fun to watch : )

Mother's Day is coming up (what are you getting your mom???).

And one of my favorite moms, who isn't MY mom - is JOY ROSE.



And she isn't even in her 30's .....or 40's ......

Her is band Housewives on Prozac, and she founded Mamapalooza. And she is nothing short of amazing.


Check out ALL the things Mamapalooza has going on in your state, and nationwide (worldwide for that matter).

And? Never, never let 'em see you Frumpy.

Do you remember Brenda Dickson, from The Young & The Restless?



Neither do I. I'm told that she was a big star for 11 years. There's a video called, "Welcome to My Home" here - it is all 80s goodness...she teaches you about fashion, like how to rock a gold lame gown.

It's also really long, but I'm posting it for two reasons: First, I'm moving tomorrow, I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again and I wanted to give you something to look at while I'm off the grid. Second, I'm moving to my hometown, where I last lived in the 80s...back when Brenda's style was all the rage!

Enjoy!

What do you think of lil' Miss Miley Cyrus now? (a.k.a. Miss Montana)

Ha Ha HA! I can't wait to hear what Old Lady Lara has to say about the latest Vanity Fair pictures (in addition to the 'Behind the Green Bra' pictures).

Here is a link to the Vanity Fair slide show that has a nice slideshow of the behind the scenes pics from the Vanity Fair spread.

Sure it's Annie Leibovitz who I greatly admire...



But dude....who cares about the 'topless picture' or this 'bare midriff'....here's what I see:

1. EWWWWWW - she's all draped on her Dad like they are gonna 'make out' or something..... would YOU pose with your DAD like that????

2. Um, she doesn't even LOOK GOOD! If you're gonna have 'scandal' ...hey, at least look hot! or great! or somethin!!!

So, what do YOU think???

I can't wait to see this movie, and will see it this weekend come hell or high water!

Are you in?

(that's me and Lara in a few years.....Lara is the one in the Poncho, I will never wear a poncho....)

This is why when Lara and I are old and feeble, we'll join some cheesy Assisted Living Facility instead of living together in an apartment....

Fox News Story:

DETROIT — Detroit police say they've found the partially mummified body of a woman in her 80s on the kitchen floor of a house where her mentally troubled sister was living.

Police say they believe the surviving sister had been living with the body for one to three years. They say the body was partially covered with newspapers and that a cat and dog apparently ate part of it.

The Detroit Free Press says authorities removed the surviving sister Wednesday night and took her to a crisis center. She's also in her 80s and appears to have mental problems.

Police say they went to the house after a neighbor called to express concern.

Lara, I'd never let the pet cat eat you!

With Love,
Heidi

Lara and Heidi at the park on day some years from now.....

Remember when I asked you to guess what I made for Heidi's Birthday? Here it (finally) is -- It's a bracelet! With gold skulls and ruby-red beads! Surprisingly, no one saw that one coming... Thanks Heidi, for accepting a Birthday present that was at least 5 weeks late!

DARK is the new LIGHT. That is the idea.

I know those stupid bulbs that Al Gore 'invented' are ALL the rage....especially for EarthDay. But anyone who knows me, and I've said it before here, knows I think it would make a LOOOOOOOOOOOOT more sense to

TURN. OFF. THE. LIGHTS.

Not distribute more light bulbs.

Specifically?

The OUTER BACK 40 of the Big Box parking lots. At least from 12 midnight to sunrise?? I mean, really.....what are you protecting out there?? Is someone gonna come steal the paint stripes off the blacktop????

I'm a HUGE fan of my peeps at DarkSky.

It just MAKES. MORE. SENSE.

And us? We can buy our outdoor light fixtures for our house that light our path -not the 5 closest neighbor's yards and our beautiful starlit sky.....Look for this symbol:



Picture on the below left: Eastern North American Blackout Picture on the Right: After Power was Restored.

Look at how gorgeous our skies could be!!!



I love going out at night in the dead of winter, or on a very hot muggy summer's night.....and just sitting outside alone and gaze at the stars. But we're all not going to be able to do that much longer if we keep lighting up the sky.

Just think about it.....

And if I'm not convincing enough - maybe the risk of CANCER will get you...take it from the folks at U.S. News and World Report:

The night is not what it was. Once, the Earth was cast perpetually half in shadow. Man and beast slept beneath inky skies, dotted with glittering stars. Then came fire, the candle, and the light bulb, gradually drawing back the curtain of darkness and giving us unprecedented control over our lives.

But a brighter world, it is becoming increasingly clear, has its drawbacks. A study released last month finding that breast cancer is nearly twice as common in brightly lit communities as in dark ones only added to a growing body of evidence that artificial light threatens not just stargazing but also public health, wildlife, and possibly even safety.

Those findings are all the more troubling considering that an estimated 30 percent of outdoor lighting—plus even some indoor lighting—is wasted. Ill-conceived, ineffective, and inefficient lighting costs the nation about $10.4 billion a year, according to Bob Gent of the International Dark-Sky Association, a nonprofit that aims to curtail light pollution, and it generates 38 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.

Check out the entire article here.


And they aren't just talking about standing in the middle of Times Square at 10pm -- get THIS...even a couple minutes of a bathroom light at night can be harmful!!!!

"Plus, you might want to leave on a night light in the bathroom for those 4 a.m. visits, since flipping on the main bathroom light for even a few minutes, Brainard says, could disrupt melatonin production."

(melatonin production at the dark night is needed to stay healthy, and cancer free - more at the U.S. News and World Report healthy article here)

So, DARK, the idea is DARK. And? Save tons of Carbon Dioxide a year while you help prevent cancer.


It's a WIN/WIN !! How about it Al Gore? I'd love to say you 'invented' dark skies : )


,

The Boston Marathon ends in my front "yard." This is the view from my window - the finish line is on the other side of that huge grey building (it's the Boston Public Library)...



And as of 7:30 this morning, here's what the route looked like...



Here's the reverse view, with the Prudential Tower (big Boston Landmark) in the background:


Almost-empty stands!


Can you imagine bringing kids in strollers to the end of a major marathon?? AT 7 am?!?


At least these people brought chairs...


And here's proof that it's Spring in Boston - buds on trees! Also that's the Hancock Tower, another big Boston Landmark...


In other news, today is Take-Your-Mug-to-Work Day. You can save an entire tree this year if you skip the paper cups!

Have you seen the commercial?



Ok, so now not only do we have to stay away from Teflon pans, new carpet fumes, lawn weed and grub killers, Windex ...ok I'll stop there) we now have to worry about what's in our CAT LITTER!!!



So, is your cat "green"????

What the hell IS wrong with kitty litter? Why thanks for askin'- -- I did some research.

1. Clay. Ok, so it's not the stuff in your PlayDough....it comes from rock, from environmentally unsafe STRIP MINING.
2. Silica Dust. one word: CANCER.
3. Sodium Bentonite: it's the stuff that makes it clump.....but when you cat licks its paws, the cats insides "clump" causing Kitty INTESTINAL BLOCKAGE.
4. Aluminum Silicate: do I even have to tell you? ANYTHING with Aluminum is CANCER causing (check your deodorant and let me know how you sleep at night!!)

So the fine folks at Feline Pine have an alternative. NATURAL CAT LITTER.

What's next? We have "green" tampons, "green" kitty litter......"green" Viagra????????