I recently saw Tyra being interviewed by Larry King. I guess there was a photo of her in Australia taken recently that made her look fat or maybe she was fat. Either way, it wasn’t a great picture and some people said some things about her she says were hurtful. Pahleease!

Give me a break Tyra. You have got to be kidding me! What the hell kind of impression is she setting for young girls with this statement? That it is hurtful to be called fat? There are a lot of fat girls out there that put up with this abuse everyday. Girls much fatter than Tyra has ever been. She should worry about something more important. Especially if she has the time with Larry King on national TV, she should’ve made a better statement and set a better example. She’s beautiful, who cares what people say or think? Don’t teach girls to worry about stuff like that!

I love Grey’s Anatomy, but this was painful to watch.

They won a SAG award and the acceptance speech given by Ellen Pompeo was such a catastrophe it looked like her cast members were in pain listening. Watch the video below to the end if you can stand it.

Here is my understanding of some new rules for the road in SoCal.  Be safe, be cautious!  They forgot to add a fine for applying mascara while talking on the cell phone and drag racing!

1. Carpool lane - 1st time $1068.50 starting 1/1/07 
    (NOT $271, posted on the highway is old).
    2nd time offense - Doubled. 3rd time - Tripled, and 4th time License Suspension.

2. Incorrect lane change. Improper lane crossing of solid lines or intersection - $380

3. Blocking intersection - $485

4. Driving on the shoulder - $450 

5. Cell phone use while driving.Effective July 1, 2008 - Minimum $70 ; Subsequent $175 additional.     a). Cell phone use while driving in the construction zone. - Double the fine

6. Passengers over 18 not on the seatbelts - Both passenger(s) and driver get tickets.
    a). No “Trunking” - Both driver and “Trunk” Passenger - Fines and Points in driving record.

7 . Speeders can only drive 3 miles above the limit. Street racing commits felony on injuries.

8. DUI - JAIL

Long day today.  Got up at 6 am.  Took the kids to school.  Worked , then went to do that volunteer thing I talked about earlier.  Went back to the office.  Came home about 8pm after having to stop at Kinkos to copy a super bowl pool.  Had a small bowl of tortellini for dinner.  I am tired.  Oh, I forgot I had to do the dishes too.  Anyway, I am so glad the volunteer thing is almost done.  We have to be in Huntington Beach at 8:15am tomorrow, so my pillow is calling me.  BTW That’s about an hour drive.  Ahhh nighty night!

My daughter grew up a bit today.  While I don’t really want to blog about the details, I am very proud of her.  She basically had to approach a teacher about an issue that had come up at school.  Discussing something with a teacher that is out of the realm of the normal class activities can sometimes be difficult.  Well, for some people it is.  I know this was a difficult thing for my DD (Darling Daughter) to do.  But she did it.  She went in to the office at lunch to speak with her teacher and had the discussion they needed to have.  It’s a stepping stone to adulthood for her.  Heck, I don’t even know if I would’ve been able to do it.

  I don’t get it.  I was a cheerleader in high school.  Never in my life have I had so much attention from boys and men.  It was a strange place to be in because it’s really not the norm and it’s not reality.  In our local youth football league, there are cheerleaders as young as 7.  Seven years old!  There they are in short skirts learning how to shake their bums and pose provocatively.  It bothers me that the stadiums are filled with strangers; perhaps there might be a petafile among us in the crowd.  Maybe the guy is taking pictures of these young girls.  Who knows?  Why would any parent put their daughter in a position to be viewed like that?  I just don’t get it.  I don’t get the whole beauty queen thing either.  Are the cheer moms are trying to relive their youth through their young daughters?  Can’t young cheer leaders be taught to cheer loudly and clap hard?  Can we save the hip gyration for the older girls? 

Getting old sucks.  I mean I don’t feel old, but then when I look in the mirror all I see are wrinkles.  Recently, on top of the wrinkles I see spots on my face.   New ones everyday.  It’s hard because I do feel like I have to keep up and try to stay looking young. 

Enter, the Foto Facial.  Getting a Foto Facial is kind of scary at first.  I mean you have to sign this release basically saying that it could burn your face, you may get scars, yada yada.  Yet somehow, the desperation takes over and you are willing to do anything to rejuvenate your skin.

So, I lie down on the table, then nurse comes in and applies this thick gel on my face that is really cold.  I think it’s the same stuff they use for ultra sounds.  She covers my eyes with goggles, then the doctor comes in to do the laser.  So, it doesn’t hurt.  It stings a tiny bit in some areas where there is more pigment.  It takes about 5 minutes.  After the procedure, I wash my face apply sunscreen and I’m done.  My face is slightly red.  The doctor said the more treatments I do, the redder my face should be when I leave.  That sounds scary.

For the week after the procedure, I see some of the brown spots literally flake off like a scab.  My skin is dryer than normal.  It does look better though.  Fine lines have diminished a bit.  I know this because I am totally obsessed with looking at them.

I am going in today for my third treatment.  So far so good, I like what I’m seeing.

It’s been a rough week.  I’ve been really pre-occupied with things.  One thing in particular that’s been bothering me is that I volunteer for too many things.  It takes away from other things I should be doing.  I am constantly trying to help people and I’m really sick of it.  This week I volunteered to help with this casino night fundraiser at the high school.  I regret it.  The event is this weekend and I just can’t wait for it to be over.  Worst part is that the coach that asked for the help doesn’t seem to appreciate it.  It’s a new year for me. I am changing this aspect of my personality.  I am going to start saying no.  It’s time for me to be selfish and do what I need, not what everyone else needs.

I took a leap and asked my husband for something I wanted this week.  He totally shot me down.  Made me feel insignificant.  I’d say 99% of the time he doesn’t deny me anything.  My life revolves around him and his around mine, his work and our kids, so hearing him say I didn’t deserve something really hurt.  I know he had his reasons.  I also had mine.  He didn’t care.  Like I said, it’s been a rough week.

We just got back from a 5 day trip to Mazatlan.  We stayed at the Inn at Mazatlan.  This is a great hotel.  We had an opportunity to go next door to a room at El Cid in the new tower El Toro.  The walls were so gross.  They had so much “cottage cheese” on them, it seemed as though the room was going to consume you.  I don’t think I would’ve been too happy there. 

The Inn at Mazatlan offered a nice 2 bedroom 3 bathroom suite.  We stayed in Suite 1501.  We had a magnificent view of the ocean from our balcony and a view of the city from the front.  The floors are all marble with ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathrooms.  My husband and I had to laugh though when we saw the craftsmanship of the work in the rooms.  All of the corners just had clumps of putty, then someone painted over it.  There was no smoothing out.  It was comical, but did not take away from the experience at the Inn.  They also have a great restaurant there called Papagayo.    May I recommend the fish tacos?  Yum!  They offer fabulous poolside service as well and really cater to your every need. 

While we were there we went and saw a baseball game.  That was weird.  Fun, but different.  We bought some pizza there and instead of sausage, they u se hot dogs.  Didn’t taste too bad, just looked strange.  The ceviche was fabulous. 

In the evening we spent most of our time at Gus Gus across the street from The Inn at Mazatlan.  This is an outdoor bar/restaurant that offered some great choices on the menu.  They also have this great band that played some awesome rock while we danced and drank the nights away. 

If you go to Mazatlan my only warning is don’t fall for the time share sales scam.  Eat free, free, this, free that.  Nothing is free.  If you can avoid the sales pitches it’s really a great and cheap place to go for a quick vacation. 

It’s a 2 hour 40 minute flight from LAX.  The Inn at Mazatlan is about a 30 minute drive from the airport and it should cost you about $270 pesos to get there.  They even have a beach cam so you can check it out for yourself. Inn at Mazatlan Beach Cam

 Well, after being in Mammoth, then Mazatlan, I came home 4 pounds heavier.  Time to detox.  No more soda, no more alcohol for 30 days.

We spent a few days in Mammoth again this year.  We’ve gone for the past 5 years because my friend has a condo there.  Mammoth is a great place to go, but oh my God, do I get bloated up there.  I mean, as soon as I get there, I feel like the Pillsbury dough girl.  The altitude doesn’t do good things for me.  This year I got this weird sinus thing and it pretty much ruined the trip for me.  It’s a good thing I’m not an avid snowboarder otherwise, I would have been pretty upset.  I took medication (Vicks Sinus) and it did nothing.

We usually stay at the Chamoneix Condos which are located right by Canyon lodge.  It’s so convenient because you can just walk up to the lodge so parking is never an issue.

I am home now and feel better and 5 pounds lighter.