Home Girl Blog

America's Next Top Model Cycle 8 Premiers Tonight

I hope it's worth watching this season. Cycle 7 was whack. 

Pre-season, I'm rooting for Rene. Unless she turns out to be a bitch or crazy or something, I think she has the best shot. She's definitely the prettiest. Check out all the girls and experience the awesomeness that is Rich at Fourfour. As with every Cycle, I'm more looking forward to his weekly recaps than anything.

Prediction: If I know Tyra like I think I know Tyra, she's gonna pick Jaslene for her strong exotic looks and turn around and criticize her at judging for being "too pretty".

Post-show update: About 10 minutes into the show I hit "record" on the DVR and changed the channel. I could tell I would need to fast-forward through most of this show if I was going to watch. I'm still feeling Rene for the win. Can't believe they cut the most entertaining person first. Kathleen would have been worth tuning in for. I think I'm over Top Model. I do look forward to the makeover show and Fourfour's updates, but I just don't care about Cycle 8.

Interesting clip on Fox's bitchy attempts to smear Obama

Hmph.

To: Hispanic Girl at the bus stop on Westgate & William Cannon

I appreciate that you've chosen to breast feed your baby, but cover yourself when you're at the bus stop girl!
¿Dónde está su madre? (Where is your momma?!)

My Post-Oscar 2 Cents Before Bedtime...

• Martin Scorsese's eyebrows are awesome. I'm sure he dyes them, but he should--they look great.
• Ellen was Awesome.
• Yay Jennifer Hudson! Why didn't she have a speech ready? Just a little annoyed that she didn't...it is nice to get a real, raw reaction. America's awesome. Anything is possible here.
  Update:  Click <<HERE>> to see her speech on Youtube while it's up.
• Yay Forest!
• Diane Keaton looked amazing.
• I really want Leonardo Dicaprio to win Best Actor next time he's nominated. He's an awesome actor who consistently does awesome work. And he gets hotter the older he gets.
• Where were Brad and Angelina?! Did I miss them? I didn't see them on the red carpet or in the audience. What's up with that?

Cheescake Milkshakes

I had two this weekend.

Since I'm able to focus on losing weight again, I went in to see my weight-loss counselor...let her know about pertinent recent events in my life that brought be back to the center sooner that we thought... and made a weight-loss plan for the next 30 days. After the 30 days, I'll stop the weight-loss program and try getting pregnant again.

Anyway, I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday to browse and pick the next book for my reading list (The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is officially up next). Leaving the bookstore, as I pulled out of the parking lot, I looked left to check traffic and saw The Marble Slab across the parking lot. The next 30 days flashed before me and I rationalized that ice cream was a good way to usher in a month of weight-loss. I hadn't gone to an ice cream shop in years, and had never had a milkshake from a non-fast-food spot. There was more driving ahead of me, so a milkshake seemed like the most reasonable choice. I wanted something really rich, so a cheesecake milkshake sounded about right. It was awesome. So awesome that I went back for another one today.

Monday, I'm back to hacking away at the last few pounds I have to lose. I'm 95% sure I can do without another cheesecake shake before the weight is off. I'm 5% sure I'll have at least one more before then.

Taye Diggs joins "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff

1. It's WAY too early for a Grey's Anatomy Spinoff!
2. Quit testing Taye out on new shows and just bring Kevin Hill back. That was a great show that had the misfortune of being on the wrong network.
3. Addison can't star in her own spinoff! We need her on Grey's. Forever! What about the steamy love affair between Addison and Alex they've been teasing everybody with?!
4. Don't they have room on Grey's for another black doctor? Why don't they just let Taye join the staff at Seattle Grace and give Alex Karev some competition...and US more eye-candy!
5. Taye Diggs really needs to get back in step and give his public some more of those lovely Romantic Comedy flicks. Him coming out on a new TV series that fails every year is too much of a tease.

And speaking of Thursday night TV:

I stopped watching the O.C. when Mischa Barton left. I tuned in to the series finale to pay my last respects, and have no regrets about missing the last couple of seasons. It was ridiculous and cheesy, except for the last 5 minutes, which was AWESOME! NEVER have I gotten that kind of closure from a series finale. The only other good thing about last night's finale was the the movie trailer that aired during the commercial breaks for Adam Brody's new movie In The land of Women. He's so hot. Adam Brody in pictures. Momma likes!

Also O.C. related:

Benjamin McKenzie (a.k.a. Ryan from the O.C.) is great in Junebug.

U. of Illinois to Drop Indian Mascot

"The University of Illinois, under much pressure by the NCAA, decided to permanently change its mascot, named Chief Illiniwek to the Fighting Illini because its original mascot has been deemed too offensive. "  Kenya Downs , The Hill Top Howard University, 2/22/07 More>>

It's about time.

I know we still have a long way to go in this country before Native Americans are given basic respect as humans, but this is a start. It was the right decision by U of Il, even if they were strong-armed into it.

I've said this in more words before, but to be redundant...

Why and when is it ever OK for a whole race of people  to be reduced to holiday costumes and mascots? The enslavement of Africans at the hands of the forefathers of our great nation was fugged up, but Native Americans got straight jacked. They got everything taken away from them and for that they get to sit back and watch nobody give a damn as school children make feather headbands every Thanksgiving and as people paint their faces and chop at the air and dance around like fools at sporting events.

I'm not an activist. I'm just full of opinions. Protesting and fighting for rights and respect is not my bag, but I appreciate the individuals and organizations that are committed to speaking out on the behalf of Native Americans and Black Americans and any other minority groups (in this country legally) who need a voice.

So basically, miscarriages suck.

I know y'all didn't even know I had been pregnant, but I was. We found out I had miscarried during my second sonogram. The fetus never developed. The following day I had it surgically removed via a D and C (a.k.a. DNC) or Democratic National Convention as Billy announced when he Googled it to see what D.N.C. stood for.

Yes, I cried...gut, snot, ugly cried about every 15 minutes the first 36 hours after we found out, and yes, I felt extremely bipolar because I tried to stay positive and just as I got to a point of feeling good and even smiling, the smile cracked back into gut, snot, ugly crying. After two days of trying to control the tears, on the third day I gave in to the pain and stayed in bed and cried all morning and most of the afternoon. After that I was a little better. I still cry sometimes. For the past few months I've been trying to focus on the positive things in my life (I have SO much to be grateful for) and that positive thinking has to continue even in the hideous face of a miscarriage.

If you know me in real life, you know if anybody can find the bright side of having a miscarriage, that anybody is me. I've been doing everything I can to keep from throwing myself into depression over this. So far so good.

Happy Love Day Y'all!

Just Felt This Flick: Becasue I Said So

First of all, let me just say that I LOVE Diane Keaton. She's been beautiful and amazing since forever and continues to be even more beautiful and amazing the older she gets. I recently realized that that's her in Annie Hall with Woody Allen, which I only saw part of a few months ago, but have since added it to my Netflix. I actually became a fan when I saw her in Something's Gotta Give. She was so youthful and funny in that movie. She was also a amazing in The Family Stone (beautiful family Christmas movie to watch any time of year), I checked out her IMDb bio and realized I'd seen a lot of her work in the past. Now that I am a bona-fide fan, I have more re-watching and catching up to do. Anyway, she was as awesome in Because I Said So as always.

She portrays a really neurotic and annoying mother, who meddles WAY too much in her youngest daughter's life, but you can't help but love her. Her three grown daughters played by Mandy Moore (LOVE her), Lauren Graham (Lorelai from Gilmore Girls--I also love that show), and Piper Perabo (Violet from Coyote Ugly--which I also am not ashamed to say I loved). The chemistry between them is great. They seem like a real family. Score for the casting folks...casters?

Other things I loved about this film:

• The Wardrobes (specifically Mandy Moore's & Diane Keaton's, but generally everybody's). Were awesome.
• Mandy Moore's character's career--slightly covetable.
• The Homes. Everybody's. Were awesome.
• The Men. All of them--even the little boy--were truly edible eye candy.

Most surprising thing about the film:

The Boyish Humor...specifically involving the family dog and Internet porn...definitely not moments I expected to see in such a presumably girly movie. It was really funny though. Uncomfortable at times, but very funny.

Three Things

1. I had to go out early this morning to get medicine for my ailing husband and discovered that many many people are on the road at 6-6:30 am. I totally expected the streets to be empty, but there was serious rush-hour traffic going on. If those people were on their way to work, that means they were up like an hour beforehand getting ready and whatnot. I'm struggling to get out of bed at 8am everyday. Couldn't imagine getting up before that.

2. I wear mascara and chapstick mostly, so when I find a good mascara, it takes a lot for me to switch. For whatever reason, I keep wearing this mascara that causes my eyes to water every single time I put it on...just a few minutes right after application, then it's fine. It happened the first time I used it, but I can't seem to put it down. I haven't had a mascara work as well as this one (Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara), so I'm having difficulty parting with it. I figure I don't do too many other painful things for beauty, so I can deal with a little eye irritation.

3. The Grammy Awards show was really good last night. Christina Aguillara better get somewhere with that voice of hers. Her rendition of James Brown's "It's A Man's World" was ca.ray.zee! That girl can sing! What a performance. I was a little disappointed with Beyonce's performance--she was beautiful, and sounded great, but something was off. It wasn't really her night.  I was SO happy for Mary J. Blige and that girl, Robyn Troup, who got to perform with Justin Timberlake. Loved that Luda thanked Oprah and O'Rielley for during his acceptance speech. And Prince's "Thank You to everybody who watched my Superbowl performance" commercial was really unexpected, and very gracious of him. He definitely got more nice-guy points, as if he needs them. I taped the awards whil we watched Rome on HBO, so I missed a lot of the show, but it looked like the Dixie Chicks had a pretty good night too. Good show.

Which Crayola Box of 8 Color Are You?

Cool! Mainly 'cause I am brown.

You are most like: You are Brown
Earthy and humble, you are often mistaken for being plain, when you are actually quite interesting. Your gentle spirit causes you to be very attractive to others who are searchng for genuine friends.
Take this quiz: Which Crayola Box of 8 Color Are You?
Visit Toys For Your Blog.com for more blog quizzes

Just Felt This Flick: Match Point

Awe.some. film. Awesome. I don't like suspense though. Can't take it. So near the end I logged on to www.themoviespoiler.com to find out the ending. The build-up to the end was great. I don't think I could have finished watching it if I couldn't know the ending beforehand. I literally can.not take suspense. I'm one of those people who asks other people watching the film what's going to happen next the whole time. I try to keep from watching suspenseful films in groups 'cause it's not fun being so uncontrollably annoying.

Random Confession

I've read less than 10 pages combined from the two books on my current 'Reading' list (at left). I've also had this month's Essence magazine for about a month now and have barely cracked that cover. I have time to read, but most of the time, I just occupy myself by cleaning or doing little decorating projects in my house or watching Scrubs reruns or coming up with things to Google. I feel like such a slacker 'cause I really enjoy reading. I just feel like I'm falling behind. In a month, I'd at least have read one book, you know? Oh! And I just re-uped with Netflix, so I've been watching a lot of movies lately too. Tonight it's The Big Lebowski.

As for my 'Current Car Tunes', if I don't know every song on that Dreamgirls soundtrack by now, something is wrong with me. Every time I get in my car I ready myself for the moment when I'm so over listening to any song on that CD for the hundredth time, but that moment has yet to come. So I'm STILL listening to the soundtrack and STILL pretending like I sound just like Jennifer Hudson when I sing along to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going".

YUM

1. Whole wheat cous cous, mixed with roasted pine nuts & tons of fresh cilantro
2. Herbed & lightly salted chicken breast
3. All topped with plain yogurt with peeled, diced cucumbers

SO. GOOD! Really quick and easy to make. And pretty too. I should have taken a picture of it, but was too busy yamming it down. It's really good with millet or rice instead of cous cous too. Basil instead of cilantro would be good too.

I had this at a friends house last year and got a taste for it the other day.  I'm making it again this weekend with lamb instead of chicken.

Thanks for letting me share my food moment with y'all. I get those every once in a while.

So maybe the pic doesn't do this justice...maybe it does. Trust me though, it tastes awesome...and a lot better with fresh basil instead of cilantro.