Fasten Your Seatbelts...It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night

If asked to come up with a one-word summation of 2008, I would have to say, "Bumpy." 2008 was full of surprises, unfortunately so many of them were disappointments. I am, however, most grateful to have my health and be gainfully employed going into the new year. In order to create a new world order for the year of 2009 that will dawn on the morrow, I have taken to repeating a one-word mantra for the New Year.

Bliss.

It is my hope for the new year.

Bliss.

It's a lovely word, isn't it? Saying it is almost as good as taking a spa vacation. It trips over the tongue as deliciously as a chocolate truffle. I've been silently repeating it over and over in great hopes that I will be able to manifest a "blissful" new year. You too should find one-word mantra of your very own to help guide you into 2009. I'd love to know what your word is. Please let me know.

• Don't try to fool me. I know you got a copy of "Dewey the small-town library cat who touched the world" about the life and times of Dewey Readmore Books in your Christmas stocking. I'm certain that you haven't been able to put it down since then, but to shuffle into the kitchen to make a cup of herbal spiced tea. Well, listen up fans of Dewey, the word on the street is that librarian and best-selling author Vicky Myron has adopted a new kitten -- appropriately named Page. Photographic proof available here.

• Continuing on the same theme...here's another cat who was in the news in 2008. Check out the photos of Frankie the cat burglar. He has no remorse about his crimes. None whatsoever.

• What's up with the chick flick? It's always been my favorite genre. Why is Hollywood trying so hard to harsh on my buzz?

• Do you remember when it was cool to be a tomboy? Nowadays everyone just assumes being a tomboy is the same as lesbian. It's really too bad.

Editor's Note: Today's "blissful" woodland scene is brought to you by the Handsomest Man Alive whose plans to travel back to sunny Southern California for New Year's Eve have been changed by a snowstorm in the Northeast. Falling snow is so beautiful when you're some place safe and warm.

Daily Hot Flash

• Tonight is Betty's favorite television night of the year. Yep, she considers this even better than the annual Christmas time broadcast of The Sound of Music in high definition. Shocking, I know, but true. This year, they're going to be honoring her boyfriend, Morgan Freeman too. It's almost too good to be true. Please, no phone calls after 8:00 p.m. EDT !

• Thinking about making a change in your appearance for the New Year? There's a fantabulous website that allows you to upload a photo and then preview what different styles would look like on you before you commit to one particular look with the scissors. I personally only have one or two good hair days a month -- which when working in tandem with the severe PMS I seem to be afflicted with means that I really only have a couple of days when I can interact with the public. A new hairstyle might be just the thing to turn it around for me.

• Here's a Cinderella who's not going to go without a fight. Hey sister! Go sister!

• A reporter is given the assignment to cover the current economic crisis from the perspective of people who've lost their jobs. And then she's finds out she's being fired as part of a big cost-cutting layoff at NPR. Ugh!

• White House Press Secretary Dana Perino went on Christmas vacation and left the interns in charge. Did anyone see the deputy press secretary give his briefing yesterday? Seriously! He looks like a junior in high school. What happened to gravitas? And does anyone know where George W. Bush is spending the holidays? I've heard it's Camp David, but I've seen no photographic evidence of the leader of the free world -- which makes me nervous because there's an all-out war going on in the Middle East. Could someone take the candy cane out of his hand and tell him to act like a world leader?

• I want one of these!

Daily Hot Flash

• Didja watch The Sound of Music last night on an HD television? Oh yeah, you did. Stop denying it. You know you can't turn away when Maria and the kids break-out the marionettes and start singing "The Lonely Goatherd." It's as much of a holiday tradition as the Christmas tree near the front window in your living room. Every time I watch, I have a new favorite scene. Last night it was when Maria and Captain von Trapp do the little folk dance in the garden and they're discovered by the evil Baroness who sends the virgin governess packing in the next scene. Passion! Intrigue! Jealousy! Woo-hoo! In real life, Maria wasn't as cool as Julie Andrews, but that doesn't mean that I'm not just as intrigued by the idea of spending a weekend in Vermont. Yo-da-lady-hee-hoo!

• When I run away from home...this is where I will be found. I hope.

• 39 years-old and she's never looked better. Go Cinderella Cate!

• Turns out it's the Internet that's killing the book business . It has nothing to do with the current recession...

• Colonel Peacock in the drawing room with the lead pipe! Please forgive my irreverance, a life has been lost, but Agatha Christie would've loved this. If only Hercule Poirot was onboard, the murder mystery would've been solved by the time they reached port and everyone on the ship would've had their fingerprints on the murder weapon.

• Single and solvent is the new luxury lifestyle being targeted by a new glossy niche magazine...raise your hand if you're solvent enough to buy a glossy magazine to read with your $4 coffee! I don't see many...

Cinderellavision

Happy Day After Christmas! Here's a criminal we can all cheer for...

From My Potty To Yours...Merry Christmas!

It's become a Christmas tradition in my family to have stopped up plumbing during the holiday season. And this year the tradition continues.

One year I arrived at my mom's house in the northwoods of Michigan during a patch of extremely cold weather. After a long plane trip, I slipped into the downstairs bathroom not knowing that the pipes in there faced a cold exterior wall and had frozen solid. What followed after the flush can best be described as a hiccup from Hell. We had to wait until the next morning to call the plumber. My mom and I were horrified by the state of the bathroom and we hid in the living room when he arrived. My mom's husband welcomed the plumber warmly with a cuppa joe in one hand. We listened with awe as the two guys chatted amiably as if nothing was amess. After finishing the repairs, we heard the plumber call for some cleaning supplies as if he was just going to shine up the faucets a bit. We couldn't believe it.

This year the plumbing exploded in my little apartment just in time for the holidays. I'm sure I'm the culprit again...but my mom was the one with her handle on the flusher, so I'm letting her carry the burden of the guilt. In an act of generosity and goodwill, the Handsomest Man Alive stopped by the local Do-It Center and purchased a plumber's helper to make the stoppage go away. Decorated with a tasteful Christmas ornament, it was waiting for us as we returned home from shopping. I must tell you that I think nothing says Merry Christmas like a plumber's helper on your doorstep, but I'm hoping that next year we'll start a new tradition in my family. Something that has to do with a fine wine, a toast to health and happiness or White Elephant gifting...anything other than a backed up toilet.

In the meantime, from my front door to yours...may all of the joys of this holiday season be with you. May you celebrate in the company of your nearest and dearest, may the fire in the hearth be warm, the food on the table delicious... and may your plumbing be unclogged.

Hot Holiday Wishes

• Last night we went on a tour of local homes decorated with Christmas lights. When we pulled into one neighborhood we couldn’t believe our eyes. The neighbors had all pitched in and stretched sparkling lights across the street between their homes. I thought I’d seen everything when I spotted a car parked at the curb covered with at ten-foot tall Santa cap, until I saw the guy who was himself covered in Christmas lights. Throughout the neighborhood, groups of people had bundled up in warm clothes and gathered in front of woodfire pits in their driveways to watch all of the festivities. My favorite was the guy who was playing Christmas tunes on a piano in his garage, amped up so that the line of cars could hear him. And as people drove past small children offered the lookiloos ‘free candy canes.’ So if you want to be a Scrooge this holiday season, you’re going to have to do it some where other than the Santa Clarita Valley, because folks here seem to have the spirit – struggling economy or not. Need a little Christmas, right this very minute? Then you should go on your own holiday light tour.

• And then we stopped for some Hot Chocolate! Yummy!

• Don’t expect to see the President-elect and his family bundled up against the bitter chill of a Chicago winter this Christmas. The future first family will be chillin’ and keeping it real at a ‘multi-million dollar resort’ in Hawaii this year.

• Meanwhile, when the current President isn’t doing the terrorist fist bump with Santa, we hope he’s spending his time in the White House packing up his stuff this holiday season. There are plenty of volunteers willing to come over and help him put his stuff in boxes. Can I get a show of hands? Amen!

• In this holiday season when so much is so wrong and there is so very little to celebrate, we have People magazine to let us know that one type of pine tree is more trendy than any other. This type of fir tree is the choice of all the Hollywood celebrities. Not only are you supposed to feel bad about not having a Birkin bag tucked under your arm at the mall, you’re also supposed to feel bad about the Charlie Brown Christmas tree in your living room.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Thank you to everyone for their prayers and well-wishes. I am home and resting comfortably. The only sources of irritation during my ordeal have been that Goldie was reluctant to give up the sunny spot on the patio chaise lounge, and there was some minor drama surrounding the pain medications I was given. My career as a habitual narcotic drug user was cut short, and I will be forced to live the rest of my life as a plain ole grande non-fat vanilla latte addict.  C'est la vie!

Cuts like a knife...and it don't feel right

I have a mass on my left ovary. I'm having surgery tomorrow to find out what it is. Ironically, according to the ultrasound report my right ovary is completely normal. But nothing feels normal anymore. I have never felt so alone in my life.

It all started back in September when I started having a searing pain in my pelvis. It was like there was a red hot jawbreaker trapped in the crook of my thigh. A trip to the urgent care provided medicine for a yeast infection. A trip to the ob/gyn provided medicine for a bladder infection. My pain subsided -- but then came back with a fury after I had worked an eighteen hour shift on Election Day. I felt like I had a gunshot wound and spent two days in bed. I went back to urgent care. The nice doctor told me he thought it was a cyst and ordered an ultrasound. He told me to follow up with my ob/gyn. That's when I learned about the mass.

"It's just a cyst," I said positively.

"It's solid. Cysts are fluid-filled. It's not normal," said Dr. Kittur (which sounds like couture.) "It has to come out."

"But I feel much better now," I pleaded. "Can I just keep it?"

"Sure. We can wait. Do another ultrasound...and then we'll do the surgery in two months."

Getting out of the surgery was not an option...nor was getting out of spending the night in the hospital. I begged, cried and pleaded.

"I've never been in the hospital!"

"Yes, you have," Dr. Kittur responded. "Unless you were born at home, you just don't remember it."

Just my luck, I've managed to find the only doctor in the Santa Clarita Valley with a wicked, dry sense of humor. Just the kind of sense of humor that I usually find irresistible in men. Yessiree, I've met my match in Dr. Kittur, who, by the sound of it should look like Project Runway's Tim Gunn, but instead actually looks like combination of Statler and Waldorf -- the two muppets who used to argue in the balcony during The Muppet Show.


My age and health history make me a high risk candidate for ovarian cancer. In case you didn't know, ovarian cancer patients rarely have a good prognosis. I pointed this out to Dr. Kittur.

"Well, you're at high risk for uterine cancer too," he responded.

Ah yes! Wicked, wicked dry.

My closest friends and family seem overwhelmed with the news. They don't know what to do for me. The handsomest man alive has shouldered the burden of having to spend time with me in the days before the surgery. I've had my moments. He's been as solid as a rock. What else would you expect from the handsomest man alive?

I've also been given a big assist from the Xanax that was given to me by Dr. Kittur. It has helped. A lot. As I was leaving the office with the golden prescription in my hand that day, I heard him dictating his notes in his office.

"Patient has an anxious personality..." he said. I know I should've been insulted, instead all I could think was how that was THE understatement of the year.

I debated about whether or not to blog about my left ovary. It isn't what this blog was supposed to be about -- I was hoping to celebrate middle age. But life is what happens to you while you're making other plans. And so as much as I can, with as much bravery as I can muster -- I will try to continue to share here.

Here's what you can do. I really need to know that there are people reading this blog. I need comments and well-wishes to feel less alone. Of course, I need your prayers, but I'd also love it if someone could call me on the phone and discuss last night's episode of The Big Bang Theory. And please keep telling me that it's going to be okay, even if it's not going to be okay, because my definition of okay may never be the same again.

Daily Hot Flash

Photographic proof that Santa got my Christmas wish list. I wonder if George is on the nice list or the naughty list? Yeah. That's what I'm thinkin'. I've just gotta few articles of interest today. It's Monday, so I'm not quite up to speed.

• "Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window."

• This is Betty's favorite television viewing night of the year. Mark your calendars. This year's Kennedy Center Honors is broadcast on Dec. 30. Oh, and here's everyone looking all glammed up at the event this past weekend.

• Nina Foch was my acting teaching when I was at USC Film School. I was intimidated by her because I remembered her so distinctly in "An American in Paris." She never took a shine to me mostly I think because I didn't have any self-confidence -- something that she oozed from every pore. She was great at breaking down a scene, and making it make sense for an actor. A true actor's actor. The other thing she taught me was that if you want to seem sexy to a man then you should act as if you have secret. It will make you seem irresistible. I have attempted to use that technique on numerous occasions, but with little success. Nina was a bright light, and the world will be a little dimmer without her.

• Here's the top 20 trends in fashion in 2008...I doubt I hit one of them. And you?

• And they call it puppy love...home sweet home.

Cinderellavision

What I'll be watching this weekend...an adaptation of one of my favorite books by Jane Porter starring Heather Locklear. Set your Tivo! If you're a chick flirting with 40 you won't want to miss it!

Daily Hot Flash

• Best headline news story of the day...Old is the new sexy. I couldn't be more pleased.

• Start humming a happy song...because I need to get happy and I've got to catch it from someone. Doctor, doctor...give me some good news...I need the 'get happy' virus.

• Wallets are very thin this holiday season. Here's some tips on how to have happy holidays when unhappiness comes knocking at the door.

• Here's a little nugget that you might find very intriguing...who's taking over Hillary Clinton's desk in the Senate?

• Honestly, I can think of only one worthy punishment for this guy. What a turd!

• Go mad for Jon Hamm on 30 Rock.

Daily Hot Flash

• Oh happy day! I have a kindred spirit in Noelle Carter at the LA Times. It was brought to my attention yesterday that Carter, a self-professed 'bacon fanatic', prepared a list of 1001 things you can do with bacon. Number one on the list is a Candied Bacon Martini...my interest is piqued...but what really intrigues is the recipe for an Apple Bacon Coffeecake. Yummy!

• NHL thug and Vogue magazine intern Sean Avery proved he's got a way with the ladies this week when he referred to his ex-girlfriend actress Elisha Cuthbert as "sloppy seconds" in pre-game comments. Cuthbert is currently dating Calgary Flames superstar Dion Phaneuf. I think the one thing that Avery made crystal clear with his statement is that while he's dated way, way more than his fair share of beautiful women...they've all dumped his ass and he's a bitter and lonely man. I have a feeling he'll find that hooking up with sober chicks is going to be much more difficult for him. Girls love hockey, but we can tell the difference between guys with talent and guys with nothing. And yes, I am using the word 'talent' as a euphemism.

• The other dude who bent over backwards to make a gigantic ass out of himself this week was Pennsylvania Governor Ed "Yes, I'd love another doughnut! Why not? I'll take two." Rendell, who backhandedly complimented Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as a good choice for Homeland Security Chief because she has "no family." Yes, despite the fact that this hard-working woman is smart -- she still has a vagina that might make her trip and fall down -- but since she's chosen not to use hers -- we can expect her to work 18 or 20 hours a day. Gosh, I don't know who should be more insulted -- unmarried women or working mothers. The one thing I think we can all agree on is that Rendell is a big fat boob. No wait -- boobies are good -- Rendell is a big fat moob. (That's a man-boob, Betty!)Let's face it -- with or without children -- women are capable and hardworking. I'm tired of the same old song about how women have to choose between children or a career. It's time to move on! Have we learned nothing from Hillary and Chelsea Clinton?

• I am the walrus...and I play the saxophone. Koo Koo Ka-choo!

• Cinderellas sell rocks when times are tough.

• Fashion designers submit sketches to Women's Wear Daily for Michelle Obama's inauguration gown. What will she wear?

Daily Hot Flash

I spent the morning in the doctor's office, so today's hot flash will have to be quicker than usual. That doesn't mean that it won't be just as much fun!

• I've been wearing her clothes all of my life...I can't afford it, but I would rock one of her outfits in a jiffy...if someone else paid the bill. I think Lilly Pulitzer is just one cool chick.

• Isn't this the premise of Devil Wears Prada? Someone is loving watching kharma coming back around to smack Anna in the backside. I loved the book because of all of the years I spent being someone's assistant. (Yes, I did it all...the kitchen sink and I wiped their butts!) But I have to admit that I think the screenplay is a better story...it's rare when that happens so I think it should be pointed out.

• I believe the headline of this article is "He's So Old." And I might add...he's only one year older than me. This does not make me happy.

• How fun would it be to have a signature scent created for yourself? You don't have to be one of the Olsen twins to make your dream come true.

• Oh, look! It's House Hunters International in the New York Times. How many BEAD-rooms does it have?

Daily Hot Flash

• Ah! The memoir of the arrogantly lovely Christopher Plummer -- yes! I want to read it! The seduction of Maria by Captain Von Trapp (as played by Christopher Plummer) in The Sound of Music remains one of the most beautiful (and cheesy like Velveeta) onscreen romances ever. It rates right up there with Casablanca and Notorious in my book. It's Christmas, it's time to dust off your DVD copy and watch it again. (Don't tell me you don't own it!) Is there a plain Jane spinster in the world who isn't holding out a hope of meeting her own surly Captain with a beautiful schloss in the bucolic countryside near Salzburg? Yes, I have a feeling there are a lot of other people who feel the same way. When I was in my twenties, I was a bridesmaid in a wedding where the bride walked up the aisle to the "Maria" wedding processional played on a gigantic pipe organ. It was totally over the top! Why are the bridesmaids smiling as they watch her march up the aisle? More Velveeta, please!

• Did you read any of these in 2008? Me neither. Why doesn't anyone ever come up with an end-0f-year list of notable trashy books that we devoured like chocolate-covered candies? I read some great chick lit this year -- Kristin Harmel and Jane Porter became two of my new favorite authors. Delicious stories about real women. And did you know that Sue Grafton's latest mystery is out in paperback for Christmas? Yum. Yum. I'm sure the books on the New York Times list are very notable, but I'd prefer a list of books that are as delicious as 'sugar plums.' Maybe the LA Times could do it...or not.

• One of my favorite little corners of Los Angeles is Tujunga Valley. I didn't know that it had name. Not only is the food at the magical Aroma Cafe fantastic, there's a wonderful little yarn shop just across the street. Oh, and did I mention that Robert Blake popped his ex-wife at the Italian restaurant on the corner? I mean, he 'allegedly' popped his wife...I didn't follow the case and don't know how it turned out...

• Hello aspiring screenwriters! Here's another news story that is easily adaptable into an action film. All you need to do is attach Bruce Willis and you've got the outline for Die Hard 4: Rough Water...Get thee to the closest Starbucks and fire up your lap top now!

• He's no Tim Russert...but then those are awfully big shoes to fill. Go Bills!

Daily Hot Flash

I've been struggling with life lately...I'll tell you why when I get the courage. So I haven't been blogging. I know, I probably should've...but I'm not that brave. I was pushed into posting some links today because there were so many articles about stuff that interests me in cyberspace...and I thought maybe you might be into it too.

• I have two words for you...Steve. McQueen. Immortalized on film and in one my favorite songs by Sheryl Crow, he's the sexiest man who ever lived. And since I've been living in Santa Clarita, I have also fallen in love with the adorable little Santa Paula Airport. It's the opposite of LAX. Which for those of you who use it regularly know...is another word for Hell.

• When I interviewed to intern at Lightstorm Entertainment when I first moved to Los Angeles, I told them that my favorite film was "A Room With A View." What do you expect from a girl who loves books? I'm certain that's the reason the people behind films like "Terminator" and "The Abyss" asked me to read scripts for them. Since I'm unable to travel -- can't afford it and can't do it due to health problems -- I've been doing a lot of imaginary travel. I'm living vicariously through friends who are traveling and watching a lot of House Hunters International. There are three places I have always wanted to see in person...Italy, Hawaii and India.

• Ok, so even if I AM dying, my plans to have my ashes scattered near my girl Jane Austen have been foiled. Not to mention the fact that obviously, my idea was NOT original.

• I don't know who I love more...Maureen Dowd or Tina Fey. They're both in my top ten of favorite girl writers.

• I love it when the press refers to my plans to overeat over the holidays by the euphemism "eating issues." As if!

Rats!

Cinderella is under the weather and the rats have taken over the castle. Unfortunately, they don't know how to blog...I will be back online as soon as I'm feeling a little better.

Daily Hot Flash

• Tonight is the night! Top Chef takes a bite out of the Big Apple. I don't know about you but my New York City will always be Holly Golightly's version.

• Boxers, Silks Or Briefs...Maureen Dowd hits the target.

• Hold the popcorn. I can hardly afford the ticket and the parking. Hey! Can I get the senior discount? I still have my student ID...yes, it has been twenty years...

• Feeling a little blue? It's time for Puppy Cam. No seriously, you thought that Facebook was taking up all your time. I dare you to look away when these little guys start to squirm. And yes, you can watch in full screen.

Free TV Show from Ustream

Cinderella Loves A Man In Uniform

Thank you for all you do!

Daily Hot Flash

• Michelle gets the VIP tour and then calls Hillary for some tips on living in a fish bowl. As for Sarah...God help us!

• I love chocolate...I'm just not sure I love chocolate that someone has worn all that much!

• Don't forget to stop into your local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf today for yer FREE holiday beverage today! You'll be humming "Fa-la-la-la-lah!" for the rest of the day.

• Oopsy Daisy! This is why I've never wanted to take the helm of an ocean-going vessel. I've never managed to master the art of a three-point turn (mine are in double digits) in a Civic for heaven's sake.

• I can't believe that the Beaver's older brother is an artist worthy of the Louvre. It seems crazy, doesn't it? Just yesterday morning I was watching an episode where his parents were worried that he was getting too serious with a girl.

• Visit glamorous locations where James Bond movies where filmed. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that most of the chicks I know believe wherever Daniel Craig is at any given time is the most desirable place to be.

• Just because she's gay isn't going to keep this Cinderella from getting married...again...and again...and again.

• From the Department of Could-be-true...Could be crap. In the interest of full disclosure, I've always been on Team Aniston.

Daily Hot Flash

• It's the most wonderful time of the year...when you read this, think of it as sung by Andy Williams. Branson, Missouri is so lucky to have him year-round. His Christmas album is a classic. I have to force myself every year to wait until after Halloween to listen to it. I love the holiday season. I spent the weekend looking at festive holiday decorations to cover my windows and tabletop. Of course I didn't buy anything because things are so tight this year. I think everyone is feeling a little pinch in the pocketbook. I thought this might help with some ideas to keep your Christmas shopping on budget.

• Best news story of the month...so far.

• Two really cool things are happening for web surfers -- One is that the Obama Administration is going to continue to use the web to directly communicate with the American population. The other is that MGM is going to start posting full films on YouTube. Both moves are incredibly forward-thinking and will reward those of us how are frequent internet users.

• An intriguing article about Malcom Gladwell. He's the writer who brought us both the Tipping Point and Blink. I consider both books to be MUST READS in order to understand the current economic climate and digital media explosion. Gladwell is a little strange, yet he covers some really relevant topics.

• Because women only want men for snuggling...here's a gift only a man could think was cool.

• A fixer-upper to end all fixer-uppers...you have got to see this place!

• You've heard of Cat-in-the Hat...Here's the Cat-in-the Box. It's Maru, who never met a box he didn't want to attack. Apparently he's huge in Japan. Here's his blog. I can't read Japanese (in fact, my computer doesn't register all the characters) but his photos are cute.

Cinderellavision

Kristi Yamaguchi is 38 years old, a hockey wife and mother of two children. She's Cinderella on ice...and she makes it look way better than the girls half her age.

Daily Hot Flash

• What's a girl to do now that she doesn't have Sarah Palin to kick around anymore? Escape to a tropical island? I wish...

• Back when John McCain first picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, I was enraged. How dare he believe that a rockin' chick like Hillary Clinton could so easily be replaced with just another vagina. It doesn't work for me...and it doesn't work for Gloria Steinem. I love it when a chick with some serious gravitas gets your back.

• The Handsomest Man Alive sent me the link to this article by Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. He has pretty good taste, I think. Don't you?

• I'm thrilled to say that the Brit comedian Stephen Fry started following me on Twitter this morning. Me and 10,000 other people across the globe. Now if only Rachel Maddow would follow me back. Yes, I have become addicted to tweeting...but that doesn't mean that Miss Goldie Rush will be getting her own twitter account any time soon.

• Joan Allen is going to play artist Georgia O'Keefe in a made-for-television movie. Joan and Georgia are two of my favorite artists.

• This post on Jezebel combines two of my most very favorite things: Project Runway and Michelle Obama's fashion sense. Thank you!

• Are you sleeping? Yeah. Me neither.

Cinderellavision

Michelle Obama is my new fashion role model. I love how she creates classic looks from the collections of cutting-edge designers.

Daily Hot Flash

• Gobama! We've got high hopes!

• Some words of wisdom from a real Cinderella.

• Rumors of the new First Family adopting a labradoodle puppy to go with them to the White House may be untrue. The Obamas may be looking to adopt a rescue puppy to be First Dog. I'm working on the screenplay over the weekend about the puppy on death row at a Chicago shelter that is chosen at random to go and live in the White House. No stealing my idea!

• I'm just not sure if this is a good idea...or not. I was very disappointed in the first movie version...if the second one is just as depressing...I'll save my $14 for a Cosmopolitan at the bar.

• The GOP is sending Sarah Palin to virtual Siberia. Did they not know that she's from Alaska? She knows how to deal with the cold and the snow. Geesh! You guys fight like girls!

• The L.A. Dodgers show Manny the money.

Cinderella Wears Slippers

Yesterday I left the house to go to work at 5:15 a.m. It was cold and rainy. Anyone who lives in Southern California knows it loses all its charm when it isn't warm and sunny. I knew I had to work until noon and then go vote, have lunch and go back to the office until midnight. When you work in the world of news...a presidential election is kind of like Cinderella's enchanted night at the ball. It's a really big deal. And so when I left the house at 2:15 p.m. to go back to the office for the second half of my split shift, I put my bedroom slippers in a bag with a change of clothing.

My bedroom slippers are the most comfy footwear I've ever owned. I think it's the combination of a very thick sole and the memory foam cushion, but I have never in my life owned footwear as comfortable as my white scuffs. They are not glamorous or sexy...that has been pointedly pointed out to me on more than one occasion...but I worship them as if they were a pair of stilettos. I bought them on sale at Mervyns. I went back and bought a pair for my mom a few weeks later. My cat has peed on them and I put them through the washer and dryer. I frequently take the garbage out in them. I have them waiting for me at my bedside every morning when I get up so I don't have to look for them. Some mornings looking forward to putting on my deliciously comfy slippers is the only thing that gets me out of bed at 4:30 a.m.

Last night around 8:00 p.m. when I realized that I'd been in my work clothes, and at work for more than twelve hours, I changed into my second work outfit of the day, and put on my slippers. I changed in the ladies room and then shuffled back in my slippers to the newsroom. At first, I wasn't going to leave my desk wearing my slippers, I didn't want anyone to know I was wearing them, but by the time the clock struck midnight everyone in the newsroom had been informed that I was comfortable and I was wearing slippers. I'd been up and down every hallway in the radio station in my slippers. When the AP flashed across my computer screen, 'Obama wins presidency,' I was happy and wearing comfy slippers. No, Cinderella wasn't wearing glass slippers at midnight, but at least I didn't embarrass myself wearing bunny slippers in the newsroom. I'd found a way to get through my nightmare workday...with a little bit of comfort. I think it's a good omen for the future.

Cinderella Votes

Daily Hot Flash

Cinderella is working overtime today, so I'll keep this short. Even though I'm looking at a twelve hour plus workday, I want you to know that I'm making time to exercise my privilege as a United States citizen to vote. Please make sure that you do too! You can be certain we'll be talking about the results of today's vote tomorrow.

• Did you have your lucky charms for breakfast? You can bet Obama and McCain did.

• A classic gets a little bit of a nip and a tuck here and there...

• Have you met Rachel Maddow? She's the new girl on the block on MSNBC.

• And she twitters!

• Just be glad you're not voting with these guys!

• We're either all going to be in our jammies by bedtime...or it's going to be a long night.

Daily Hot Flash

With 24 hours to go until Election Day...all I can think is...what am I going to do with my free time when it's over? What will I do with all of my pent-up aggression if I'm not raging about Sarah Palin being received as if she had earned a place on the national stage? If I'm not defending Hillary Clinton? If I'm not checking the polls? If I'm not surfing past all of my favorite political websites? What will I do? Suggestions welcome, but keep it clean, people...

• As we wrap up the Neverending Election Year...here's a few last items on the agenda. The New York Times has a really intriguing article about how the 'interwebs' made the presidential race an entirely different ballgame. The Los Angeles Times puts the focus on all of the people who became celebrities as a result of their roles in the media commenting on the campaigns. 'Saturday Night Live' has become must-see TV and no one will ever underestimate the power of Oprah again.

• Voting can be stimulating...and then there's ice cream!

• When you read this article, please remember that someone was paid to write it. Can you believe it? Like any woman over 40 needed to know that pretty trumps smart. Really? I'm shocked!

• Are you missing Tim Russert as much as I am? I think he'd be gleefully enjoying this election season. NBC executives are getting close to announcing who they're planning on having attempt to fill his huge hush puppies.

• Take the time today to celebrate a chick who did it her own way.

Daily Hot Flash

Happy Halloween! May all your trick-or-treat buckets be filled with chocolate. I, myself, am going to attempt to eat my weight in candy corn. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. There's so much to talk about today...

• Did you know that 2008 was the year of the nightly newswoman? Oh yeah, sisters are doing it for themselves.

• The LACMA (which used to be a block from my house when I lived in Los Angeles) has succumbed to the cult of celebrity. I am still a member of the museum and I just might have to swing past and check it out!

• Just so you know, you're not the first person who has announced (usually under the influence of a couple glasses of cabernet) that if John McCain wins the election, you're moving to the great white north! So many people are packing their bags for Canada that someone's taken the time to put together a soundtrack of Canadian music for your listening pleasure on arrival.

• Wait a minute! Brit guitar god Peter Frampton lives in Ohio! How did this happen?

• I'm not sure if this Frenchy film about a woman of a certain age who pays for sex is intriguing or insulting. I'll let you read over the review and decide for yourself. Films with subtitles have to be very very good for me to want to go see them. Especially now that my eyesight is not my most highly developed of the senses. To be honest, the only sense I have left that is highly developed is my sense of humor. (Insert rimshot here!) Two shows nightly, ladies and gentlemen! ...And try the veal!

• It's 'Little House On the Prairie' on Manhattan! Laura Ingalls Wilder would be sooo jealous!

• Just in case you haven't had enough Halloween haunts yet...

Cinderellavision

office cat
by pocarisweater

Tama the calico cat won nationwide popularity in Japan with the publication of a book of photos featuring her and the intensive media coverage after she was appointed in 2007 as stationmaster of the unmanned station on Wakayama Electric Railway’s Kishigawa Line, which runs between cities of Wakayama and Kinokawa.

As a result, the number of passengers using the Kishigawa Line increased dramatically bringing $10 million into the local economy.

Tama, the $10 million cat, spends her days posing for photos wearing a jaunty little stationmaster cap at an angle on her head. Do not try this at home! I assure you that your cat will resist this procedure. You will end up at the very least maimed -- if not, as in the case of my own darling cat -- completely dead.

Daily Hot Flash

• "I'll have what she's having..."A few years ago I went to see a film adaptation of Henry Miller's "Golden Bowl" at a small movie theatre in Beverly Hills. It was a Saturday night and I was all alone in the theatre. Who else would be interested in seeing a costume drama/tragedy on a Saturday night? Much to my surprise, a few minutes after I sat down, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and their respective wives sat down in the row right in front of me. I was beside myself. I wanted to call everyone I knew on my cell phone and tell them what was happening. I wanted to go all James Lipton on them, and ask them questions about writing comedy. And I thought Anne Bancroft was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I'm so sorry they're both gone.

• Elizabeth Edwards seems like one of the most genuine political wives in recent history. She handles life's hurdles with grace.
  

• I don't know who this dude thinks he's kidding. I have a feeling there are a lot more people who'd like to see a 50 year-old supermodel naked than see him stripped down to his boxer shorts.
  

• Still searching for something fun to do on Halloween?

• If you have some extra cash lying around, you might want to consider bidding on this auction.

Daily Hot Flash

• I never wear red. Never! Until now...

• Fashion has gotten all political. I've become fascinated with the retro-classic style of Michelle Obama. She reminds me of Jacqueline Kennedy and the women who rock the world of Mad Men. This new blog follows the fashions of Mrs. O.
  
  
• Obviously whatever the boys in the band were smoking in the 70s is still effecting their ability to tell the difference between reality and La-La Land. Zeppelin without Robert Plant is just another dinosaur long-haired hippie band from Britain. Don't believe me? Listen to "Kashmir" again...that's what I'm talking about.

• Don't you want to know what books the enigmatic Don Draper keeps on the shelf behind his desk?

• Are you still trying to decide what to be this Halloween? Saucy pirate or buxom milkmaid? The Los Angeles Times has come up with a top ten list of Halloween costume ideas.

• Everything old is new again...Counting calories is back in style again. When I was little my mom had a couple of rules about counting calories that I still maintain to this day. First, half cookies do not have any calories. Second, any bites of food stolen off of someone else's plate (my dad was her favorite target) also contain zero calories. I guarantee these two rules will help make your dieting easier, if not a little slower.
  
  
• Cloris Leachman may have gotten the boot on Dancing With The Stars, but Frau Blucher could be going to Broadway.

• Screenplay by Maureen Dowd.

Cinderellavision

Daily Hot Flash

• From the department of tell-me-a-little-something-that-isn't-playing-nightly-in-the-privacy-of-my-own-home: we're all losing sleep over the current state of the economy. I vote we all designate one person's house (Does anyone know anyone in Kansas?) as the meeting place. Middle America just seems cozy and most convenient. We can gather there in our jammies for some cocoa and late night chit-chat. If you don't think that'll work, there's always yoga, pilates, a spicy cabernet or, if you can get 'em...prescription drugs.

• I went with the Handsomest Man Alive, Part One and The Sequel last night to see the L.A. Kings play the Detroit Red Wings. He shoots! He scores! He shoots! He scores! It was great!

• I just love it when real life turns into the plot of a Disney movie. If only for a few minutes, an entire major metropolitan airport is foiled by the hijinks of a poodle.

• One of my favorite children's books ever -- Walter the Farting Dog -- is coming to the big screen.
  

• I was watching the other day when MSNBC commentator Chuck Todd made a reference to Shakespeare in his election coverage. And I'm still watching...

• Meet Amy Adams. I believe she's a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.