i promise i don't "have it out" for smokers, and i don't have it out for the broderick/ SJP family ('cause i wrote something less than favorable about her in one of melissa b's diary entry).  smokers either love the habit and will take the consequences, or they would give their right arm to quit. 

when i read this article about this family's smoking habit it was a wake up call for me that children do live what they learn.  up to a certain age their innocence doesn't decipher good and bad acts.  teaching children values is probably the most daunting task in parenting.  anyway, to end on a positive note, this article made me look at my actions and how they can effect my girls.

has anyone seen the commericals on bravo for "date my ex" with jo and slade from the first season of "the real housewives of orange county?"  now i'll admit to watching a segment of some bad reality shows, but this show, i promise, i won't even watch a second.  

"date my ex" looks horrible and completely unoriginal, and it's a real low for bravo. 
i googled the show (yea, it's not even listed on bravotv.com yet), and i found the "plot," which has been basically stolen from abc's "the batchelor."  if i was a betting person, i predict that there will be a moment when slade tries to restart a relationship with jo because he thinks all the guys are losers.  if any of you can stomach 10 minutes of this show, hat's off to you.

"In each episode, De La Rosa will go on a series of dates that have been set up by her close friends, Myia Ingoldsby and Katy Metz. But in a bizarre twist, the men must all live with Smiley, who has also moved to Los Angeles and remains De La Rosa's closest confidante. Following their dates with De La Rosa, Smiley will grill the guys and voice his opinions on which ones he deems most suitable for his ex. He will also test them in an attempt to find out which ones are there for the right reasons. De La Rosa will choose one suitor from each episode to pass to the next round – in the end, whittling the choices down to that one special guy."

i live near boulder, CO, and well, it's a crunchy town. on sunday boulderittes participated in the annual naked bike ride to protest oil dependence.  well, ladies, there's a video (click on the "out there guy's" naked bike ride video), and i'm happy to report it's pretty tame.  there's tail and the occasional ta-ta.  gotta love free spirited people!

the craze to stay thin is getting ridiculous.  i saw this story and was stunned that women are choosing multiple martinis over baked chicken and steamed vegetables.  moderation, people, moderation!!!!!

so i don't know if anyone else happen to catch this story, but this couple had sex for 101 days straight.  doug brown, a reporter for the denver post, chronicled their experience in the book "just do it."   their story is very similar to many couples who've been together for a long time:  2 careers, exhaustion, family activities, a move, kids.  while they weren't in a sexless marriage, the bedroom activities could of been more frequent. 

so, bottom line, what did they get out of the whole experience? 

>>>“We touch more,” said Doug. “We would have entire days and maybe had a peck at the end of the night, and that was the only time we touched. During the 100 days, it wasn’t just the sex; we were hugging each other, and that has carried on.”

“What we really learned is that we have to take care of each other more and pay attention to each other in ways that we haven’t since the early days of our marriage,” said Annie.<<<

i believe they are back to the average 2-3 times per week.  while i don't think that a marathon session of whoopie is called for to spice things up, this story does solidify the saying "everything is moderation."  i really like that this story highlights the importance of taking care of your partner with nonsexual displays of affection, something that is free, only takes a few seconds, and makes a person feel truly loved.

here's a book excerpt.

so a lady in my mom's group is a master knitter.  she dyes her own yarn and everything.  inspired, i decided to try knitting.  it's a great way to work the mind and have a sense of accomplishment, important for a stay at home mom.  interested?  here's a couple of tips.

no need to sign up for knitting lessons.  www.knittinghelp.com will get you started.  it has all the videos one would need to get started.  no user accounts, no passwords.  a great resource.

www.ravelry.com is a knitting and crocheting community that is immensely popular.  when you sign up for a user account, you will have to wait for a ravelry invite.  mine took about 2 weeks.  it's a real start up website where the owners only add so many users at a time.  it's like christmas day when you get your ravelry invite.

you can search for patterns and read other knitter comments about the pattern.  you can log your stash of your yarn and needles.  you can favorite other patterns and  display your projects.  i'm still learning all the features, but it's quite impressive.

my current project is a sunhat using circular needles for my 3 year old daughter .  so far i've started it 3 times, but that's part of learning.  hope to post a picture soon of my finished project.  here's what i hope mine will somewhat look like.
http://www.adorabubbleknits.com/pages/sunhat.php

for various reasons i didn't buy a double stroller after the birth of my second daughter.  they aren't exactly the easier thing to haul around shopping or for a day trip.  instead my husband and i decided to get a bike trailer/stroller for this upcoming colorado summer (coloradoans are ALL ABOUT biking on a sunny day).  i did need something to carry the girls around for my 45 minute power walk for my own "operation milf."  i'm right there with you, melissa!!!!

so my internet search began.  reviews for a bike trailer/stroller in the $100-$200 price range were mixed, but the comments about difficult assembly, uncomfortable seatbelts for children, and poor functionality steered me to keep looking.  chariot and burley are the higher end bike trailer/stroller brands, and they are nice.  however, the $500 price tag was too much to take.

but i didn't walk away empty handed on sunday afternoon.  i went to an independent bike shop that carried croozier.  this trailer was everything i was looking for.  it functioned equally well as a walking doubler stroller, jogging stroller, and a bike trailer.  it comes with all the attachments one would need.  and at around $375, it was a great investment for my health.  it's great!  i love, love, love it!

yesterday i watched 2 episodes of "tim gunn's house of style" and "the biggest loser."  his shows rehabbed a mother and a jeans-n-t-shirt girl.  on "the biggest loser" he helped the contestants, after having lost huge amounts of weight, buy their first real, stylist outfit at macys. 

all of these people tim styled were dealing with fashion no-know-hows and emotional baggage about their body image.  as he transformed these women AND men, you could see the weight of the world removed from their shoulders.  he has such a great way of telling people to embrace their bodies and to find the right clothes (and FIT) to make their bodies look great.

at the end of these shows i found myself boo-hooing in happiness, ALONG with tim gunn, that his clients simply felt good about themselves and how they looked.  he really is "the extreme fashion makeover" of TV.  LOVE HIM!

kennedy.  adams.  bush.  clinton. 

i recently read an article in us news and world report about dynasticism in us politics.  this question, quoted in the article, posed to hillary clinton during a CA debate really got me thinking.

"I am 38 years old, and I have never had an opportunity to vote in a presidential election in which a Bush or a Clinton wasn't on the ballot."

this person really opened a can of questions for me.  why has this been the case for the past 20 years?  is it the cost of campaigning?  does the media play a role in not reporting other good, underdog type candidates?  have the democratic and GOP parties taken the easy way out in selecting their candidates the past 20 years?  furthermore, have americans taken the easy way out in electing a president? 

i think the new names that are being thrown around in 2008 (mccain, obama) are creating good energy in this presidential election year.  there's uncertainty and excitement from my vantage point.

i'm guessing this link was too long for my "what to" list.  i'd copy/paste highlights, but the entire article is great.  even steven spielberg is getting in on the action.  GOD BLESS AMERICA and our freedoms!!!!!

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/world/2008/02/14/preparing-for-the-2008-beijing-olympic-games-chinas-authorities-go-after-human-rights-advocates.html