Who Will Win American Idol?

LaKisha Jones - will win American Idol. DONE!

I understand Hurley (Chris Sligh) rocks - but he's got nothin' on the depth and attitude of my girl LaKisha!!
(and did you SEE his HOT WIFE???)

Jared? VERY easy on the eyes. Ahhhhh

Bye Bye Sanjaya. What a nice boy - but OMG.....he's done for.

And I'd be ok if I never saw A.J. , or Nick or even Justin Timberlake (Chris) ever again.....

Do we really have to go through two more rounds just to get down to the good stuff??

At least I know I can get an "OFFICIAL" American Idol Judges Coke Cup at my local grocery store. It makes all my choices and opinions feel "oh, so, official" : )

Who do you think is gonna win?????????

Cheers! Heidi

What's your favorite pick-me-up flower?

It snowed like crazy the other day, again, and the bright grey sky and slushy grey streets got to me.

I needed to get some flowers to perk up my apartment. I rarely buy flowers for myself, since it's a waste of money and they die. Quickly. And my fiance is great about bringing some pretty tulips home every now and again. But this was an emergency - winter doldrums were setting in and I was having a friend over for dinner! I headed out to find a cheap solution to a dreary problem. To the grocery store!

Perusing the pitiful grocery store selection, I almost came away empty handed:

Roses are for romantic occasions. Reject.

The Gerber daisy is beautiful, lasts a long time, but it just doesn't look like it occurred in nature. Reject.

Carnations: Not appropriate, ever. For anything. They remind me of junior high school proms and funerals. Reject.

Lilies, the kind at the grocery store, are magnificent but I'm a little allergic to the smell. Reject.

Tiny flowering potted plants - like violets or something - looked interesting but unfortunately I have a track record of killing such lovely plants. Reject.

Finally - what's that there in the corner?? Hiding from view? Daffodils!! YES! They're bright, cheery, and sunny! AND - they were on SALE! Done, and done!

It totally worked - I've been smiling at these lovelies for about 4 days now, and they are smiling back!

What's your favorite pick-me-up flower??

Cheers, Lara

The Oscars: Who Should Win

I love awards shows! And this weekend is the BIG ONE, baby - The Academy Awards.

I gave you my picks for the Emmy's - now here are my "who should win" picks for the Oscars.

Note, the Wall Street Journal issued the best scorecard. It only has a couple of categories, and they have left room for you to fill out "should win" and "will win" selections. Thanks, WSJ!

Here's the science behind my picks: I selected my "should win" winners based on the following criteria: I saw the movie, I have a crush on someone who's in the movie, I have always loved someone's work, I like the name of the movie, or the concept of the work. Also, since I've recently moved home to Boston, I'm voting for a lot of homeboys. And no, I haven't seen all the movies.

Here's who I want to see take home the statues:

Best Picture:
Babel
The Departed
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen

Best Director:
Clint Eastwood, "Letters from Iwo Jima"
Stephen Frears, "The Queen"
Alejandro Gonzalez, "Babel"
Paul Greengrass, "United 93"
Martin Scorsese "The Departed"

Best Actress:
Penelope Cruz, "Volver"
Judi Dench, "Notes On A Scandal"
Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"
Kate Winslet, "Little Children"

Best Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
Peter O'Toole, "Venus"
Will Smith, "Pursuit of Happyness"
Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

Supporting Actress:
Adriana Barraza "Babel"
Cate Blanchett "Notes on a Scandal"
Abigail Breslin "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jennifer Hudson "Dreamgirls"
Rinko Kikuchi "Babel"

Supporting Actor:
Alan Arkin "Little Miss Sunshine"
Jackie Earle Haley "Little Children"
Dijmon Hounsou "Blood Diamonds"
Eddie Murphy "Dreamgirls"
Mark Wahlberg "The Departed"

I can't wait to see what everyone's wearing and to hear all the speeches, too! And hello - Ellen is hosting? Pop me some popcorn and make room on the couch!

What are your picks? Will you watch the Oscars?? Have you seen all the movies??

Cheers
Lara

*Update: 3 out of 6...oh well! Maybe I should actually see the movies next year.

How did you do in your pool??

Dear Mr. Jet Blue CEO

So Jet Blue has some fancy pants new "Customer Bill of Rights" - but what about all those people who were stuck on the tarmac for hours and hours and hours? I FEEL their pain!!

If it were me? THIS is what I'd demand from our pal Jet Blue CEO, David.....

Dear David:

Would you like me to forgive you? Would you like to make it up to me? GOOD....here's what you're gonna have to do to make me feel better....

GET STUCK ON A FLIGHT YOURSELF. For 10 hours.

The flight is PACKED.

There are 12 screaming babies, and one toddler behind you kicking your chair.

You're tired and hungry and you forgot to bring reading material (it was SUPPOSED to be a short flight.)

You are in the cattle call - CENTER chair.

You are the row in front of the bathroom.

And? yup, the bathroom REEKS to holy high heaven.

Its very very hot. There is NO air. NO circulation.

You have an enormous woman on your right - she's hitting on you.

You have a big man on your left, he's chatty...and he smells.

(and, remember, there is NO air circulation...)

Oh, and the chatty man on your right is ALSO hacking, and sneezing...

You haven't eaten in hours, you had to rush to get ready, drive through traffic and wait in security.

You have no food and no water.

OH, and the stewardesses long ago ran out of 'snacks' (plus they are tired and grouchy anyway)

Planes are taking off and landing all around you -- there is NO rhyme or reason that you are trapped.

Oooops - looky there, you just missed your connecting flight!

NO one tells you what is going on.

Your wife is a half a country away, in labor.

All of a sudden, it starts to get really really cold - your sweaty self gets clammy - you are forced to use that blue crusty blanket.

When they finally get you off the plane, you get to board a stinky bus for a 2 hour ride to a flea bag motel.

Oh and your luggage? That's right - gone. And you won't see it for a least a week. If EVER baby!!!!

huh, I'm starting to feel better for all those poor passengers already. This would make a GREAT youtube video : )

Cheers! Heidi

Would you be a hair model?

Oh Brit-Brit. BALD Brit-Brit. Shaved your head and got you some tattoos. Poor dear. I've heard that your hair was so damaged from extensions and coloring that you already had some bald spots.

I get it - you were just finishing the job. Starting from scratch. Cleaning your pate (get it?). I get it, Brit-Brit! My hair almost fell out after too many perm + highlighting sessions, too. Maybe you're not going crazy, after all, you just were having a bad hair...day? week? month?

This is what my hair looked like in High School, I swear it was blonder in person:

That era was really the last time I cared about my hair enough to spend a fortune on multiple processes. In fact, shortly after that photo was taken, I started hair modeling. Brit-Brit, when you get your hair back, maybe you should try hair modeling, too! All you do is let a student cut your hair in a style that they think will suit you, or whatever trend they need to practice.

In other words, you have to be willing to let the student do whatever they want to your hair. This is where I usually lose people. But seriously - you can get a $150 haircut for $20 if you go to a fancy salon. And Brit-Brit, I think you'd be into this. I mean, anyone who would go bald is probably not too concerned about getting a bad haircut, right?

Last time I hair modeled, here's what I came back looking like:

Nice 'do, eh?

I have no idea how to make the back of my head look that good. And, I don't have the emotional attachment to my hair that so many women seem to have. Maybe Brit-Brit is more like me - with severely damaged hair I can see why you'd think it's easier to shave it all off. It grows back, people!

All you have to do is find out when the salons in your town have teaching days, and sign on up.

So are you game - would you try hair modeling??

Cheers, Lara

Is it Naked Jogging? or Streaking?

So sorry ladies of San Jose California - last week they 'caught' the naked running guy in your local Open Space Preserve.

(personally, I think the other men were just jealous - geez, taking away our free show like that, shame on them...)

Darryl says he just enjoyed the 'liberating feeling' of jogging 'au natural' -- but some people (men I assume?) called in and reported him "streaking."

Hmmm...what IS the difference between a Naked Jogger and a Streaker?

1. Is it SPEED with which one moves?

2. Is it the act of being CHASED?

3. Is STREAKING IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER?

Just to confuse the issue a little more, people are actually allowed to sunbathe nude in this park. Hmmmmm...so you can be naked ONLY if YOU DON"T MOVE.

So, does this mean that NAKIDITY plus MOVEMENT = BREAKING THE LAW?

I guess so. Darryl got a $95 fine.

I ask you - is this FAIR?

Cheers! Heidi

Would you go to the "Running of the Brides?"

Today was the "Running of the Brides" - an annual event in Boston's own Filene's Basement where they sell designer wedding dresses at deep discounts. It's the chance for (mostly) women to sharpen their elbows and their nails and get alllll their wedding stress out with a very physical search in an actual basement for The Perfect Wedding Dress.

Yes, it's world famous. Every year you see pictures in the paper of brides lining up at 4 am to get into the store. I'm sorry, I'm too old for that crap and I don't care about The Perfect Dress enough. It was dark and about negative 7 degrees out at 4 am today! I wonder how big a crowd there was?

Last week I thought about going, and started to assemble a crew. I'd heard that it was critical to have helpful friends with you. But I lost interest and didn't really get anyone to commit to going since I barely wanted to go. So this morning, I hauled my cookies in single-digit weather across town, in search of the perfect wedding dress alone. I got there before ten, and found out the store had opened at 8 am. So I missed most of the craziness, but there was still plenty of crazy left to see!

Inside the store it looked like this:

There were film crews, photographers, and thousands of dresses. There were packs of girls who had come with their mothers and bridesmaids, trying on dresses in the aisles and in corners. Some had worn similar clothes so they'd find each other in the crowd:

Some even had made t-shirts for the occasion, I was impressed! Here's my favorite:

At the end of the half hour I was exhausted! I'd only tried on one dress (almost impossible if you're on your own), but I understand why this girl Elizabeth was lying on the floor, exhausted:

There were piles of dresses everywhere! It was intoxicating and frustrating - is that "The Perfect Dress" in the corner? There were over 2300 dresses - in all sizes - it was too much for me!!

So the bottom line is that you can find a $5000 dress for $500, but you have to really want it. The Boston Globe sent a crew out, to see their coverage click here.

Would you do this??

Cheers, Lara

What Did YOU Get?

Did you rake in the loot girlfriends?

Well, maybe not. Next best thang?? .....at least for me.........

Mmmmm, CHEETAH! My son asked if they were "studio pants" (we do our show from the "Cheetah Lounge"!)

BUT, I also got THIS!

Now THAT'S a fun new twist on the candy necklace....

And ladies, it does come in the male version...WHO KNEW???

Ahhh, the childhood memories......all shot to hell now!

Hope you day was "all that" - - and then some!!

Cheers! Heidi

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!

If you grew up with snow, you probably remember being a kid and hoping for a snow day.

Well, thousands of kids are home today, wreaking havoc on their parents' work days and Valentine's Days.

I can remember being in elementary school...waking up super-early to listen to the radio, to hear if the Newton Public School system had canceled classes for the day. We didn't have the "crawl" on tv back then, so even on TV the poor anchors had to read all the schools.

Since I work from home, usually Snow Days don't affect me at all. Today though - I get to have my fiance & his sweet girls home with me all day long. Since they're 9 & 13 years old, they're napping and watching last nights' dog show and drinking hot chocolate and chillaxing.

Here's what it looks like outside the window of the Cheetah Lounge North today:

If you know Boston at all, that grey building in the middle is the John Hancock Tower - it's one of the tallest buildings in town, and you can't even see the top of it!

The streets are a mess, too:

If you can get to a set of speakers today at 3:30 pm ET, we'll be talking to iVillage's own Josey Miller about Valentine's Day! You can listen in here.

I hope you're making the most of the weather, and having a great Valentine's Day! What are you doing?

Cheers, Lara

Do Real Men Drink Pink Champagne?

I saw a review of Pink Champagnes in the newspaper. I noted one in my price range and thought it would be great to drink more pink champagne....but then I hesitated....would my husband drink Pink Champagne?

In the 80's style of "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche -- I came to the conclusion that Real Men Don't Drink Pink Champagne.

I don't even want to bring some home or ask my husband to drink it. I'll stick with the yellow/beige stuff if any at all!!

I want my man to drink something brown, and hearty, and shall we say "manly!??"

Is this wrong?

Cheers! Heidi

(P.S. BTW --Published in 1982, Real Men Don't Eat Quiche was on the New York Times best seller list for 53 weeks, and sold over 1.6 million copies....wow)

Eye Candy Friday!

Ah, Taye Diggs....you may recognize him as Kevin Hill, or from "Rent" or even from Day Break. He helped Stella get her groove back. He's married to the lovely Idina Menzel (they met while doing "Rent" on Broadway together, how cute! A workplace romance!).

But I like to think of him like this:

Source: GayWired.com

Since Hugh Grant has a new movie out that looks totally cute and fun, I was reminded how cute he is. Purr....

Source: funmunch.com

For some reason though, I don't need to see him without a shirt on. Is that wrong??

Who would you like to see in Eye Candy Friday??

Have a great weekend - Cheers, Lara

Barbie Does M.A.C.

Launching TODAY - M.A.C. "Barbie" !!! Available everywhere by March is my understanding...

MAC Cosmetics is teaming up with toy company Mattel to launch a line of 'Barbie inspired' cosmetics.

The kitschy Barbie color cosmetics will include lipstick, glosses, eyeliners, shadows, blushes, nail polishes, mascara and make-up brushes. and of COURSE a black and pink make-up bag!!

BONUS???Selected MAC stores will be temporarily transformed into Barbie bedrooms!!!

And no Barbie branded makeup would be complete without a limited-edition MAC Barbie doll!!!!

A girly-girl dream come true. But the real reason? RETRO '80s. Big hair. Big gloss. Big shine. Big color. Its just ALL in!

Cheers! Heidi

Meet the Lovers of Valdaro

Awwwwwwwwwwww! Have you met the Lovers of Valdaro? They've been hugging for 5,000 years, and the scientists think they're a young couple! Isn't that sweet?

How does a young couple wind up like this? There are a couple of theories. Maybe the guy (on the left) died, and then the chick was killed "in sacrifice" so his soul would have someone to be with in the after life.

Then again, the guy has an arrow in his back, and she has an arrowhead in her side. Ouch. I wonder how young they were. Was it some kind of Romeo & Juliette suicide pact? Maybe her parents objected to him, and sent someone to kill him, and then she found out, and wanted to die with him so they could be 2-getha 4-eva. Maybe they were attacked by some evil enemy in some war that we don't even know happened.

Even though it's a couple of skeletons, I find it really sweet and romantic that this couple has been wrapped in each other's arms for an estimated 5,000 years. My fiance and I can barely take a nap together because of my (alleged) restless leg syndrome; this picture looks great to me!

Do you think this is romantic?? What do you think happened to the Lovers of Valdaro?

Cheers, Lara

Do Men Hate Valentines Day?

I think Valentines Day is for the girls. Men should buy women gifts. Lavish attention on us. Kneel at that pedestal and pour out their deep romantic feelings to us. A girl can dream, right?

I'm sure this is why many men hate Valentines Day. But exactly why do guys hate Valentines Day? The pressure?

I think this is only fair because guys are the ones that get to ask a woman to marry them. Girls have to wait to be asked. And while we wait, and wait, and wait-- and even after we wait -- all we ask is a little worship on a special February 14th day.

And really......by lavish, I mean one card with heartfelt note and home cooked meal (froz lasagne is fine) and bottle of wine. And undivided attention and adoration. Is it really that hard? Because you all know the reward!!!

I never stress about what to do for my man for Valentines Day -- the only thing men want for Valentines Day is the same thing they want for New Years Eve!!!

No planning needed.

Cheers! Heidi

What did you register for?

I spent most of the weekend doing wedding stuff, including registering. It was fun for the first hour, or until I had to force myself into a full-blown fantasy to stomach the exercise of telling my friends and family which expensive gifts we want them to buy us. It just creeped me out.

The trouble started in the fine china department, right next to the registry desk. My fiance and I agree on just about everything except china patterns, which we decided to tackle another day. China will be a problem because our styles are different. This is the pattern that's in my family (it's called Rutledge by Lenox), which I love because it's what I grew up with:

Naturally, the places where we've registered don't carry it. When we realized that china wasn't going to happen, we bolted for the kitchen and bedding areas of the store.

On the upside, my favorite part of registering has been food-related. I registered for a pink Mixmaster and thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I saw a deviled egg plate! I always wanted one - if you're wondering, it's that round plate in the picture below with the divets to hold eggs - how cool is that?!

Other random fun stuff included a "seafood set,' since we are in New England and we eat lobster all the time (by all the time, I mean once a year for special occasions!), a pie pan that comes with a Tupperware-style cover, a sauce boat with a ladle, and a ton of vases.

While we wandered stores with the scanner, tagging all the items we liked, I started feeling really weird. It's just so strange to make up a gift list for your friends and family, and as time went on I started feeling greedy. "Hey, friend with a bunch of kids and at least one mortgage - buy me this expensive present just because I'm getting married!" I started feeling worse and worse.

Finally I decided that registering was a fantasy - I don't expect to see any of this stuff cross my doorway, it was just fun to "shop." In my fantasy, I set such a beautiful table that no one notices that the chicken is dry and the veggies are mushy. There are lots of candles and a colorful tablecloth and maybe even fresh flowers.

As we scanned pillow cases (I mean really - my friends and family are supposed to get me pillow cases? Really? Isn't that creepy AND presumptive?), I started to really feel like I was doing something wrong. So I focused on the dinner party in my head. I would feel compelled to use alllll the serving pieces, so there's be soup, salad, an appetizer course, maybe a couple of veggie choices, and dessert. We'd use all of our tableware at this dinner party - especially the wine glasses - and it would be so fun! I stopped short of planning the guest list, but that was because it was time to go home and watch the superbowl.

Anyone else feel like a jerk when they registered? Did you register for any weird stuff? Any indispensable items, or things you thought you'd use but don't?

Cheers, Lara

PS If you like what you see in the picture with the egg plate, click here to check it out.

How The SuperBowl is like your Wedding Night

It's SuperBowl Weekend! And much of America will be watching on Sunday.

But is the SuperBowl the "ultimate" football game?

I think not. I think The SuperBowl is more like your Wedding Night.

There is a huge season leading up to it with games, and planning, and "practice"

And then on "the night" it can't always live up to all the expectations.

I've been on the field for a SuperBowl Game. I was a Washington Redskins Cheerleader when the team went to SuperBowl XXVI. (puleeaaase -I beg you not to do the math on that...)

It was most definitely VERY exciting. But the best game?

I think the best game was....
At home.
In our homey RFK Stadium.
It was a one of the last two games before playoffs.
And the crowd was SO excited because they knew we were going to playoffs.

Everyone in the stadium knows each other
Season ticket-holders have been together for years, decades, even generations.
And you could FEEL the power, excitement and fun.
And the whole stadium "shook."

I think the crowd did "The Wave" at least half the game....no one sat down at all.

It seemed to last forever.

It was INCREDIBLE.

Sound more like a recipe for a great night? Sure does to me!!

The SuperBowl? I wonder if its the best game for the players...??

Cheers! Heidi

No Love for American Idol??

We've all been had! Courtney Love is not going to replace Paula Abdul on American Idol! It was a prank!

One of the suits that runs AI released a statement that he never called Courtney, and said that Paula, Randy & Simon are the judges, and that's that.

Courtney also made a statement:

"i woul dnever ever do that, ive never watche dthat show except once with my daughter i went to the final night, I couldnt even get ON that show nor would i wantt o and no offense to anyone who has been on that show and wantsto be on that show- i have no interest at this point in my life, im interested in putting this record out- doing films and doiung rock shows this summer and being on the road, and thats what i shall do. US misrepresented and misquoted me and nothing i said was ever meant for any publication. I didnt kn ow it wa sgoing to be a big deal but then again ive been very busy and id ont exactly pay attention to pop culture and id ont read tabloids and idont have a google alert i find lofe fAr easier without those things"

I love Courtney Love - not so much the music, but the person. I think she's a wonderful spectacle, and if she was on AI, I would finally watch every single second of air time. Apparently my earlier post about her is up for interpretation - but I'm SERIOUS. I LOVE HER. I think she's fantastic, I'm not being sarcastic I just think she's cool.

Are you with me?

Cheers, Lara