'Jon & Kate' Sickness

What is the national obsession with the TLC show 'Jon & Kate Plus Eight'? I just do not understand the fascination with watching a couple that have a set of twins and then were crazy and had sextuplets through invitro fertilization. Why would anyone watch this show?

Okay, I admit that I caught an episode while on the treadmill at the gym because there wasn't much else on at 11am. It was amusing to watch her shop for groceries and made me feel glad that my grocery bill would never amount to as much as hers did. But I had to turn the channel when she interacted with her husband at a toy store when shopping for birthday/Christmas gifts. She spoke to him like he was one of her children. It was embarrassing and I felt uncomfortable for him and I had to change the channel. If I spoke that way to Hubby our marriage would be over and vice versa. Perhaps couples should watch this to see how NOT to treat your spouse. Honestly, is anyone really surprised that this marriage is on the rocks?

After watching this trainwreck of a marriage does anyone in the United States still want to tune in to watch more episodes? I only feel pity for their poor offspring who will have this unfortunate chapter of their lives captured on film forever. Jon & Kate need an intervention immediately to save their children from years of therapy later on. Let's do them all a favour and not watch this horrendous show.

Packing

I've really got to start packing. At this point our bed is covered with clothes, but I still haven't dug out the suitcase. Instead, I've been busy buying music from iTunes and watching a documentary on PBS, 'We Shall Remain', about the 1838 relocation of Cherokees from Southeastern US to Oklahoma territory. Must start packing.

Trip

I'm starting to get excited about the upcoming trip home later this week. Unfortunately, I'm not as enthused about packing; in fact I hate packing. Packing makes me irritated, and so I tend to procrastinate and that makes it even worse.

Can't wait to see my friend Amanda. We're going for dinner on Thursday evening and it will involve lots of alcohol, news and gossip. The sad thing is the forecast calls for cold, rainy weather that day/evening. What to pack?

What's Up With Elizabeth Edwards?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard that Elizabeth Edwards has written a book about her husband's affair. All the media outlets are giving her air time to promote it so that people will run out and buy a copy. What I want to know is: what drives her to do this?

If I were Elizabeth Edwards I would keep all of this private. Time has a wonderful way of burying scandals until they become footnotes in history. New scandals emerge to shock the population and gradually we forget past transgressions. Lie low and the tabloids will drop the subject, but if you try to capitalize on your scandal by writing a book then be prepared for the glare of media scrutiny. The National Enquirer, which broke the original scandal, probably has already paid hacks to follow Rielle Hunter around trying to get DNA.

Oh, Elizabeth, when will you realize that your man let you down, and if you take him back you must accept all the dirty laundry: skanky woman he cheated with and the possible child he fathered. But, most of us wash the dirty laundry in private and do not write books and go on 'Oprah'. Does she need: money, fame, sympathy?

All is Lost on Lost

Last night's episode of 'Lost' still has me baffled and questioning what the point is for this season. It has been explained that the six must go back to the island to save it, but Locke and Sun are in the present while the other four are in 1977. The beginning of the season was interesting when Ben and Locke were trying to get the six to go back to the island, but the second-half has been, well, a tad boring. Here's hoping that they wrap up this year with a huge cliff-hanger and the writers make next season more action-packed without giant plot holes.

Phineas and Ferb

Last weekend Hubby was at a photography workshop around Yosemite and I tagged along. While I didn't actually attend the workshop with him I did the 'Lost in Translation' thing and hung out at the hotel we were staying at. I indulged myself and went to the spa for a facial. When I went back to our room I soon discovered that the channels on the tv were either sports or children's programming. Somehow I found myself watching the Disney channel's marathon of the cartoon 'Phineas and Ferb'. Shockingly, I could not switch the channel as I became more and more engrossed in this crazy cartoon.

At first, I thought it strange that Phineas had a triangle for a head, but after an hour I stopped noticing it. I was amused by the bizarre and outlandish inventions the step-brothers create in their backyard, and how they never get into trouble because their parents never discover their antics.

Since arriving back home I have been searching for the Disney channel and --gasp-- recording 'Phineas and Ferb'. Hubby thinks I've gone loony; he laughs and shakes his head when he checks the DVR recordings and sees 'Phineas and Ferb'. Perhaps now my niece and nephew will think I'm cool.

When an ipod Just Isn't Enough

Word has it that President Obama, who is visiting the UK for the G-20 Summit, presented Queen Elizabeth with an ipod. Apparently, the aforementioned ipod was loaded with photos of the queen during her last visit to the United States, but what kind of gift is an ipod to a reigning monarch in her 80s? After giving the Prime Minister of England a boxed set of classic American movies on DVD (that were apparently non-compatible with British DVD players), this is another indicationn that the White House is in dire need of a top-notch protocol officer...or perhaps a staffer that could give more thought and substance to these official gifts. Do they really believe that DVDs and ipods are not availble overseas?

Breaking Bad

Yesterday we received season one, first disc, of Breaking Bad from Netflix. It's a television show on cable, I think AMC, that won some awards and the second season has recently started and so Hubby and I thought we should check it out.

The show centers on Walt, a high school chemistry teacher, who discovers he has terminal lung cancer shortly after turning fifty. A meek, mild man, Walt is emboldened by his diagnosis to seek a financial nestegg for his family by starting a meth lab. Perhaps it is some sort of mid-life crisis, or a sense of breaking free from his overbearing (and pregnant) wife, and his responsibilites at home.

Much like the substance he cooks up with the help of a former student, Breaking Bad is highly addictive. We watched the disc in one sitting and will pop it in the mail today so that we can continue watching.

Problems Sleeping

It's Saturday morning, sometime before seven, and I can't sleep. Alright, I've slept through the night but I have woken up and I can't fall back to sleep. It's been two weeks in a row where this has ocurred. Strangely, on weekdays I have no problem sleeping in. It's strange why I can't sleep soundly on Saturday mornings...and it drives Hubby crazy.

Helicopters and Hospitals

One can only hope that the Government of Quebec finally gets an air ambulance system up and running in the province as a result of the untimely death of Natasha Richardson. Perhaps if one had been operating she may have made it to the trauma center in Montreal within minutes instead of hours.

I never really gave much thought to medical helicopters until we came upon an accident (in the middle of nowhere) on a mountain road South of Taos, New Mexico last year. By the time we got there the police had stopped traffic going both ways and allowed for enough space for the helicopter to land and load the victims. It was amazing to watch it land on a tiny highway clinging to the side of a mountain, and how it probably saved lives that day because an ambulance would have taken hours in Memorial Day weekend traffic from Santa Fe.

Quebec has many remote areas (I know because I grew up in one) served by regional hospitals and if you require seeing a specialist you must travel hours to Montreal. (We always felt that the government believed the province ended just past Montreal.) Not every regional hospital has a CT scan or MRI. Actually, I think there may be more MRI machines in Dallas hospitals than there are in Canadian hospitals. (At the time we first moved to the US there was ONE MRI for the Eastern Ontario region and it was running 24 hrs a day!!) The regional hospital in the town where my family lives has a CT scan thanks to local fundraising, so I really do not know if the hospital in Ste Agathe has one.

Perhaps it might be in the best interest for all if the regional hospital in the Mont Tremblant area is equipped with a major trauma unit, CT scan, and MRI. Since this world-class ski hill caters to international travelers wouldn't the Quebec Government want to leave injured skiiers with the best medical experience? It's no secret that downhill skiing involves injuries so why not have the best medical facility available like Aspen does. The Aspen Valley Hospital is a 25-bed facility with a level III trauma center, CT scan, MRI, and state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I would choose Aspen over Mont Tremblant any day.

California Blonde

This morning I dragged myself over to my hairstylist because I could no longer tolerate my root situation. What with these tough economic times I was attempting to drag out the time between highlights...and I made it a whole eight weeks, six days. I tried, I really did, but those pesky white hairs drive me batty and I had become obsessed with them.

I love my stylist. She is super attentive to the highlighting process and, as a result, my blonde tendrils are healthier and less prone to split ends. The downside is she takes three hours to highlight and cut my hair. Okay, today it was more like two hours, 45 minutes, but that's still a long time. Perhaps it's because she uses an iron to straighten my hair instead of blowing it out. All the time it takes to be a California blonde.