Everybody's workin' for the weekend!

Everybody needs a new romance! I'm singing the lyrics to crazy 80's tunes in my head. I was in college when Loverboy was at the top of the charts. I still hum this tune every Friday, but I don't use up a can of Aquanet getting my hair that big anymore. No, twenty years later I burn my finger tips on a flat iron every morning trying to make my hair as small as possible. Go figure.

• I love a mystery in a cool old spooky mansion in Los Feliz.

• Adorable Valentine's Day knitting pattern for 'smittens' has one inherent problem: finding a straight man who would be willing to go outside of the house holding your hand in a smitten. Not going to happen. Just not.
  


• Had a bad date? Why not tell the whole world about it? I'm sure that will make you feel better. Or him worse...

• I totally related to this article, but more than anything else I kept wondering how I could get her writing gig.

• Speaking of publishing deals I'd like to steal, Miss Piggy has just published her new book about how to deal with men, er, frogs. Whatever.

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...

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

• 'Women over the age of 45 feel unrecognized and unsupported.' I hope that doesn't come as a shock to anyone. I don't know about you, but I plan to do everything I can to fight that trend. Because I'm like a fine wine...I'm just getting better. But I don't want to be corked!

• Sarah Palin's academic career made no lasting impression. Really? You don't think it has anything to do with the fact that she the personification of style over substance. Very expensive style so it turns out. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Someone needs to give her directions to the 'clue bus' stop. This is getting ridiculous!

• 'Tis the most wonderful time of the year! I love Halloween. Here's some inspirational Jack o' lantern carvings to help put you in the mood.

• Check out how Ahnuld's mother-in-law lives. Hasta la vista, baby! I'm moving to Maryland. Okay, I'm moving after I raise the scratch to buy the house. Click on the thumbnail photos to get a good glimpse of the traditional interior decor and beautiful grounds around the estate. Yummy!

• Are you still going out to eat? Get with the program, we're all staying home for supper. I made Stovetop Stuffing the other night for the Handsomest Man Alive, and he thought he'd died and gone to Heaven. Isn't it cool when cutting corners turns out to be so much fun!

Daily Hot Flash

• I've had a rough week. A really, really rough and very sleep-deprived week. To comfort me, Betty sent me a link to this movie of my beloved home in Leelanau County, Michigan. It was made in 1949. I find nostalgic glimpses of the past to be almost as comforting as tuna noodle casseroles with potato chip crusts. Leelanau is my favorite place on earth...and this is my favorite time of year there. I miss it very much. Take a peek and you may fall in love too. Here's what I suggest...wander on down to your company's break room and put some popcorn in the microwave, and then hurry back to your cubicle and dim lights. You may also need some Junior Mints if your vending machine's got 'em. And then, lean back in your painful little office chair and enjoy MGM's "Roaming Through Michigan." Tell your boss that it's the best use of your time...because it is!

• One of the best things about the internet is that so many people seem to put their creative genius to work for no good purpose. With all credit to my dearest Javier, this is one of my most recent favorites. Don't stop moving around the Oval Office until you kill the deer.

• What IS she thinking? No -- not Sarah Palin. The other one.

• Here's the reason why all us gray hairs are online...And perhaps it also has to do with why we've become a little more unpredictable in the voting booth. I love to keep them guessing, don't you?

• Meet the Rumormonger-in-Chief.

• Did you know that your sign determines how your career will go? Yes, well I'm almost willing to believe anything these days.

• And finally... because we all need to believe that good triumphs over evil....that brighter days are ahead...that the Red Sox can beat the Devil Rays and get to the World Series...here's a story from a small town in Texas that will make you believe again that the world has not completely gone haywire and there are places where beauty is still measured by what you look like on the inside. And the other lesson in this story is that when you're given a tiara -- it is best to never to take it off. How else will the world know that you're the Queen?

Daily Hot Flash

• Who won last night's debate? Two out of three experts say it was 'that one.' The third expert must've been watching 'Dancing With The Stars.'

• Celebrate Cinderellas! Good times! Esquire Magazine gives women over 40 their props by declaring on their cover that the sexiest woman alive is 42 years-old. "I share this title with every woman, because every woman is a nominee for it at any moment," she says.

• Turns out it's women who bear the heavy load when finances become a stress point. Did they really have to take a poll to figure that one out?

• Another story to file under 'tell me something I didn't already know.'

• A new documentary examines why so many women go to art school, but more men succeed as artists....hmmm, makes a girl think, doesn't it?

• I'm fascinated by these kind of projects...definitely a book I want to add to my cue at the library.

• I love birds. And it's sometimes hard to love birds when you live with a cat. I'm currently feeding a little hummingbird named Frank who hangs out around the pool at my building. He's one cool cat. Why is his name Frank, you might ask? It's the way he wears his hat.

Daily Hot Flash

• Someone ate crabby corn flakes for breakfast and got a little confused when talking to the press early in the morning. I'm not naming names...John McCain.

• Sarah Palin is excited to debate Joe Biden tonight and finally get her views put forward to the American public because the 'media has been censoring' her. Huh? In all the video bits that I've seen the media has been letting Sarah Palin run her mouth. Is it at all possible that Sarah doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'censor?'

• Why is it that Paul McCartney seems to be dating someone age appropriate because she's over 45? There is twenty years difference in their age...but no one is calling him a 'cradle-robber' or her a 'gold digger.' She seems nice and stable...and must be a huge change for him from his previous dry cleaning experience.

• I've been watching a lot of baseball recently with the Handsomest Man Alive, Part One. I must admit my mind occasionally wanders and I start to wonder about things that have less to do with the game and more to do with HGTV. This New York Times article answered a lot of my questions.

• One of the most intriguing blog posts about Spinsters (can't someone think of a better word?) that I've read in like forever!

• Here's a list of the world's best paid authors...yes, it is a chick on the top of the list.

Daily Hot Flash

• This weekend my beloved 'Mad Men' has a chance to do something no other television show has done before -- be the first non-HBO show to steal an Emmy from the networks. I have my fingers crossed for Don Draper, Joan Holloway and the rest of the gang at Sterling Cooper. The Los Angeles Times has their priorities in a order, instead of going over who the nominees are in all the various categories -- they've devoted their editorial space to an Emmy fashion preview. I love those guys!

• New York Times columnist Judith Warner chronicles another miracle of middle-age -- attending the wedding of a friend's children.

• I would so read a book of Carrie Bradshaw's teenage diaries. Why do they always market the good stuff to young women? Just because I'm old doesn't mean I want to read dreary and depressing unrequited love stories like all the time. I want to read juicy and deliciously vapid books too.

• Long Beach, California is the new Hollywood. Say what?

• Great idea, Caribou Barbie! Too bad Barack Obama has already been there...and back again.

Cinderellavision

Watch this! I'm a white woman who's voting for the cute girl...Michelle Obama.

Daily Hot Flash

It's all 'Lipstick Politics' today. I thought I mentioned here prior to the Democratic National Convention that I thought that women were a force to be reckoned with in the 2008 Presidential race -- but no one seemed to be listening. They begged for Hillary Clinton to bow out of the race with grace. Well, they're listening now -- unfortunately, women want to see a woman succeed in politics so badly that they aren't listening to Sarah Palin. Her politics are right-wing fanatical. She's James Dobson in a skirt. She scares me to death. I know she never took an economics class in college. I know it without even looking at her transcripts. And her knowledge of foreign affairs is frighteningly lacking. But it doesn't matter to white middle-aged women who feel like they haven't been heard or seen. They look at her and they see a familiar face. I don't know how Obama can combat this kind of rage once it's been unleashed. I don't know if I can survive financially during another four years of disastrous Republican economic policies, and I don't understand why people don't want someone smarter than they are leading the country. I want the best -- not the best dressed. Obviously, I'm in the minority...I'm frightened.

Forbes has put together a field guide to the modern American mom. They're not your momma's mamma.

Here's a Cinderella who's been cooking with her Prince Charming for 53 years.

My Detroit Red Wings have signed Chris Chelios to a one-year deal. It's his 25th year playing in the National Hockey League. He's the Methuselah of hockey players.

And yet another reason that I wish I had money...

Morning Hot Flash August 5, 2008

I'm so tired of that little cupcake Sarah Palin dominating the world that I decided this morning to turn my attention to cupcakes.

• A cupcake always make me happy. The way I feel about cupcakes is probably the same way that John Denver felt when he sang about Sunshine on My Shoulders. I think that it's hard not to smile when you're looking at a cupcake. Of course, these days cupcakes are all hip and trendy and so the cupcake wars have broken out. Can you believe it? Yet another reason to enjoy being over 40 and truly in capable of being hip and trendy...

• And get back to cupcakes...check out Bakerella who has devoted herself to all things cupcake. Love it!

• Okay, cupcake break over. Here's Gloria Steinem with good reasons to not-so much like the Caribou Barbie.

• Now that the Democrats and Republicans have wrapped up their conventions, I've got a great idea for a new television chat show -- I'm calling it MamaZ -- co-hosted by Mama Biden and Mama McCain. I have no doubt that these two crusty old cupcakes operate in a no-bullshit zone.

• Olympic cupcake Nastia Liukin let Michael Phelps take the Frosted Flakes. She's going for the real deal.

• And by the way...just in case you enjoyed the kinder softer version of John McCain that you saw address the RNC last night, I think you ought to know that he called his wife the c-word. And I don't mean cupcake...
  

Morning Hot Flash August 25, 2008

• Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do with my free time now that the Olympics are over? I honestly don't have any idea what I used to do with myself in the evenings before the digitally enhanced opening ceremonies in Beijing. Oh, wait....here's a little something that will take up some time this week...and I have a feeling that some of the speeches will provide me with more than ample opportunities for nap time.
  
  
• Misty May-Treanor! You just won the gold medal in beach volleyball at the Olympics, what are you going to do now? Zoinks!
  
  
• There are three chick flicks coming out this fall? Three!!! I demand a recount.

• Just another reminder to never ever...no matter what...judge a book by its cover.
  
  
• I used to work as an administrative assistant to a yoga instructor. She would freak me out by screaming, 'Namaste!' at people she was fighting with over the phone. My current yoga instructor is the most intense person I've ever encountered. If I had to describe her, I would use the word 'brittle.' But I love the little old building where the classes are held with the high ceilings, skylights and polished wooden floors. The people in the class are friendly including an elderly couple in the back of the room who sweetly assist each other as they attempt to twist their bodies into the yoga positions. Now and then the teacher barks at them to be QUIET!!!! So I'm not completely conviced that the yoga is the thing to take the edge off of menopause...

Morning Hot Flash August 18, 2008

• Take a moment from celebrating the achievements of Team USA swimmer Michael Phelps, who won his 8th gold medal of the Beijing Olympics over the weekend, to celebrate the life of one cool California girl and a ground-breaking athlete in her own right.

• A new documentary focuses on America's obsession with unattainable beauty. Hmmmm....
  


• If you still haven't gotten enough peeks of Michael Phelps' abs...I don't blame you...then maybe you should visit his website.
  


• Middle-aged chicks get married. To each other.
  
  
• Have you been following the saga of Tom Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner? It's really starting to get interesting, more interesting, in fact, than most of the material that Cruise probably has in development right now. Although his most recent turn as a studio chief in Tropic Thunder shouldn't be missed.

• Jon Stewart is the most influential journalist of our time. That's funny, because I'm so old I remember when he was a comedian and television host.

Morning Hot Flash August 13, 2008

• The Women On The Web website has come up with a list of the best breasts on women over 40. Unfortunately, a few of the picks probably made it onto the list because they're friends with someone on the panel...but I think it's nice to celebrate boobies of every age. Click here to see if yours made the cut!
  


• I didn't even know we had a Stoll, and now he's marrying Rachel Hunter. You go, girl!
  


• More and more reasons to smile in the face of your future. Rock on!
  


• No one could possibly be enjoying the Olympics more than I have been loving them, but it is dis-heartening to learn about all the fakery going on behind the scenes. It's an athletic competition, not Hollywood.
  


• See...you're getting older and better...that's why there's more of us at the Olympics this year.
  


• One of the most interesting articles I've read recently is this Atlantic monthly feature about why Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign failed. I'm a big fan of Hill, but if she wasn't able to get her house in order, I'm almost glad that she didn't get the nod. The United States has been operating without a Big Cheese that actually knows what's going on for too many years -- it's time for someone who knows what they're doing to run the show.

Morning Hot Flash August 3, 2008

• "You can take the girl out of Michigan, but you can't take Michigan out of the girl," the Material Girl said during her weekend visit to the Traverse City Film Festival. Thanks for the great reporting, TMZ! Michael Moore and Madonna aren't from Traverse City, Michigan -- they were both born and raised in the thumb, but once Moore became rich and famous, he realized the error of his upbringing, and moved to the beauty of the northwoods around Traverse City. Madonna's Dad owns a winery in the Leelanau peninsula. And how do I know all this? I'm from Traverse City, and I have the birth certificate to prove it.
  
  
• Finally! The first photo of the Brangelina twins have been posted on the Internets...anybody else think they just look like babies?
  
  
• I had always heard that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was a secret druggie film. Thanks to the editing wizardry of some guy on YouTube, we all can see the essence of chocolate is cacao.
  
  
• Here's an idea for how Whole Foods can seem less expensive in tight economic times...cut the prices!
  
  
• I'm nursing Charlie Brown's tomato plant out on my patio, but in my delusional mind, my garden looks like this.

Extra Tit-Bits

• The fact that the economy is in the toidy is bringing us a new look on fashion runways this season. It's Neo-Depression era chic! Hello! Can you say Charleston lessons?

• Silly me! I thought it had something to do with personal hygiene.

• He's currently vacationing on a South Sea island with Amelia Earhart...

• Why is it that when powerful women write books for how to tap into your power the books are always geared to young women? I need a book about harnassing my middle-aged girl power. Can someone get Wonder Woman on the phone? Anyone? Bueller?

• I'm a time-waster...I'm a time-waster...(Sing-along to the melody of girl watcher, please.)

• Turns out my dream house is located in Stillwater, Minnesota. And it's got the dreamy Sam Shepard already living in it! Oh-so incredibly convenient.