Gory Girl Blogs September 2009

Paris or Bust

Well, I am off to Paris and I am not sure what blogs that will bring but I am sure some will sprout up! I don't have a plan for the shows but I do have the list of where they will be being held - so if all else fails I can grovel and try to see what fancy talking I can do to get in.

I don't speak French, so I'm going to have to rely on my driver to help me out. I will know inside 10 minutes how easy or hard it will be to actually get in. Regardless, I am sure to have a interesting time. I don't see why they make things so hard for people but I guess it's their party (the designers) and they can invite who they wish... but come on, Lindsay - hot mess - Lohan? She seems to be able to get front row, so I tend to get confused as to what that's all about.

It's like the coveted pair of Rodarte Louboutins I want in the worst way. Just 'not available'. I emailed them and that was the response NO LONGER AVAILABLE. How is that possible? They were part of the fall collection and its only September. They graced Mrs. Beckham's feet, grrrrr - but I'm not bitter. I will just search for them while in Paris.

On a happy note Paris will be all a buzz and The Louvre is calling my name, so readers be sure to email me anything Parisian you want me to do see or experience while I am there. I will be more than happy to check it out for you and blog about it. This will be my 4th trip there and there is a ton to see still. One place I know I will not go is Disneyland (although their Space Mountain is much better than ours!)

'Au Revoir' until my next blog - remember to follow my Tweets while I'm away!

Roman Times

So it seems the law finally caught up with good ol' Roman Polanski in Switzerland last week when he was arrested for skipping out on his 50 year sentence 31 years ago.

If you're just hearing all this now I'll give you a bit of a recap. In the seventies, about 30 odd years ago now, Jack Nickolson was having a shindig at his house with Roman Polanski (film director) and a bunch of hollywood big wigs. A 13, yes 13, year old girl was there and Roman thought it would be cute to get the girl fucked up on Quaaludes and Champagne and then have sex with her. Well he got arrested and the Judge who got the case was a real ball buster and tried to make an example of him.

He was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 50 years in prison. So while out on Bond he decided to flee to Europe, where he has lived for 30 years. They have now arrested him in Switzerland on his way to a film festival. The Judge that originally sentenced him is now dead and Roman is now in his seventies.

SO, my first problem with this is this; It's been 30 frickin' years and I have always had a problem with this whole thing. The first being, what the hell was a 13 yr old girl doing at Jack's house at such a party in the first place? Secondly, where the hell were her parents? At 13 you know better than to take pills from a dirty old man. At least I did. The Victim, now 45, is pleading to have the case against him dropped as she is now happily married and does not want to rehash all the events. She has also filed a legal order of said request. This whole thing stinks top to bottom and why the hell is a judge even bothering with this. If this was originally a violent rape I could understand a bit but it has been proven that he did not realize her age at the time. He must have been really loaded cause I don't think I even had boobs at 13.

Anyway I think the fact that he has been known as a rapist and has had to live with the French for 30 years is punishment enough and lets not forget that the man had his child and girlfriend Sharon Tate hacked up by Charles Manson. I would have to say the guy has enough crap Karma as it is and should be left alone with his regrets and this should all disappear.

This state has bigger criminals to take care of. I think its time we let this one go.

You're Kidding me RIGHT???

Today was a bit of a head fuck, I must say. In preparation for my trip to Paris (yes, I'm still going) I had to run some errands and pick up a few things. So I start the day off packing the husband and little dog Becka into the car to start the day. 1st stop is 'Shoe Lab'. I pull up to Shoe Lab and hand him my Mui Mui boots to have the heel repaired and a pair of Louboutins to have a 'no slip' thingy added to the heel of the shoe so they don't fly off my feet. BTW shoe lab is a must have to fix up and repair all your fave shoes! They do wonders. Anyway, that all went well and so I'm starting my day with a smile and move on to my next stop Barneys NY to pick up my jeans.

I pull up and get the dog out the car only to find out that she threw up all over the seats and decided to lay in it...so being that I am always prepared I handed my husband the baby wipes and asked him to clean her up while I clean up her car carrier. He starts on about the fact that the dog is a pain in the ass and how he is not going to be caught carrying a little dog in Barneys and how he would rather carry my Fendi bag. I'm like are you kidding me? - all you do is kissy kissy and baby talk to this dog when we are at home but you can't carry her in the store? So I proceed up to Level 3, dog and Fendi in hand to get my jeans. I sit my husband on the sofa with the dog and go get my pants. Great they are done, one more thing out the way I thought. Next lets eat. We go up to 5 and the guy says NO DOGS so now my husband's bitching about how he was looking forward to the sandwich there and I told him it was NO biggy as we can find a place down the way. Then on the way down I just pop over to shoes and grab a few pairs to try on. I love one of the pairs and said "Hunny don't you like these?" - he grunts and grumbles with a look of YOU HAVE ENOUGH SHOES. I said I'll take them and then he asks how much are those? Well I was like "I don't know hunny somewhere between 6 and 8" - so then he asks the salesman, who was clearly caught of guard, and he said about 9. Then I get a "are you fucking kidding me?" I said "Babe, they are Louboutins!" - so being the good husband he just ends the argument before it starts.

We end up having a nice lunch at the BLVD at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and then we are off to D&G, where 3 weeks ago I had ordered some runway pieces. Now then, a week ago I had gotten a call that my stuff was in and went down there to find that only 1 dress (not even in my size) was there and I annoyingly told the sales guy NOT to call me until ALL the pieces came in. So 4 phone calls and a week later I drag hubby and the dog back to D&G. I get there and the smiley sales guy comes out and says "Hi yeah, I have the dress in" - I said great and the other stuff? He says "No just the one dress". I see my husbands face and he knows I'm pissed and with good reason, so I explained to the guy that I had asked them to call me when ALL the pieces came in. He said "Well the blouse is still in the warehouse and is being sent" and I said Yeah well that was 3 weeks ago what's it coming by boat. SO I try on the one dress (hated it) and asked when the blouse that I originally went in there to get will be in and he says next week sometime and I say well I'm in Paris so you will have to hold it until I return and then he says that he can't hold runway pieces. WTF!? Grrrrrr, so I leave ranting about how no one can do anything right and in his rush to sell me something he irritated me so bad that I will most likely never go in that store again and I will just pop in to the Paris store to see if I can get it there.

So off to home we go the whole way my husband is bitching about how I should have had got more angry at the guy for dragging my ass all the way down there when I clearly asked him last time not to call me unless it was all there. Anyway, I get home and finished my holiday packing but before I throw the jeans in that I just had hemmed and pocked up I figure 'hmmm better try them on'. WTF?! They are short as shit and flooding! Really, I mean, really? Clearly the seamstress fucked them up or I got the jeans of a 4ft tall person, so needless to say I have to haul my ass all the way back down there tomorrow to exchange the jeans and HOPE to God they can hem them fast so I can pick them up on Monday or Tuesday before I fly out on Wednesday.

I think next time I'll leave the husband at home...looks like he could possibly be my shopping jinx!

Purpose

This is the last year I will be a thirty something. I never really thought that I was 'old'. I mean I don't feel old. Or I didn't used to anyway. I am fortunate that I look a little on the younger side - thanks, of course, to botox and a wee bit of filler in my face ;)

Next year I'll be 40 and I am not sure how I feel about that. I look around sometimes and notice how things have changed quite a bit -although not too much being the eighties made a big comeback recently (therefore I've lived through it TWICE!). I felt safer on the streets back then, people genuinely looked out for one another and drugs were not nearly as big of an epidemic as they are now.

I remember in Junior High school my step father had one of the first CAR PHONES - the thing was huge and like a big rotary dial with lots of button things. These first cell phones were HUGE, like some big ass beige plastic box with a large antenna. God, how things have changed. It's hard to look in the face of 40 and not be a little nervous. I haven't really accomplished much - I have 3 kids and I am praying that I dont fuck that up in some way by spoiling them to much. I have no real career, just a website that keeps me busy and a husband to keep me on track. I wonder sometimes where the years went.

I am overall a happy, fortunate and very lucky person, who loves her life. I hope this year goes by really slow... I am going to ring in 40 with a bang and do not fear it. I have heard this is a woman's prime after all and the bonus is that we know we have botox to help us feel young just a little while longer! I have realized that 10 years can fly by fast and I am going to try to savor as much as I can. I think we all can look back on our own mothers and remember when they turned 40 - and say to ourselves "am I like that?". The answer 9 times out of 10 will be YES I AM.

I am the mother that says "because I said so", the one thing you swore at 15 you would never say. I am the cougar that looks at 25 year old men and growls a bit, I am the woman that looks at her wrinkles and wishes they will stop coming.

But with those wrinkles come life lessons that I would never in a million years want to trade that up for youth. They were hard to come by and painstaking to swallow and I hope I will always look back and be proud. I have accomplished happiness with myself and thats a hard thing to do, that and I have one hell of a shoe collection ;)

Happy Place

Ahhh the Happiest place on Earth...DISNEYLAND!

Yes, It was a day filled with joy. I strangely thought that it would be a good idea to lug all 3 of my kids to the happy place for a little "Have a good week at school" outing. SO, I packed up the car with food and drink - I always bring my own water and snacks to Disneyland being that their food is extremely overpriced. I threw in the kids and off I went. We started off at California Adventure and there was surprisingly NO lines what-so-ever. We were able to hop on and off most of the rides and were done with that park in about an hour.

My goal was to tire out the kids by doing both parks in 8 hours. 10-6 was what I was aiming for. Good cardio for me, power walking from Jungle Cruise through Frontier Land and up to Small World, ending with Pizza Port. See, I love that place. Whenever I get low, that place always seems to cheer me up. Even when there are lines and it's hot and the persons kid in line next to you is crying like a banshee. It just makes me happy.

All the rides except Space Mountain were open and I gladly rode them all. My oldest (who I ruined as a 3 year old by putting him on Big Thunder Mountain) finally got past the fear I had instilled and rode Matterhorn and Splash Mountain! I was really proud of him for that. My youngest, seemed to freak out on Pirates (he choked me the whole way through by hugging my neck) and the middle one...well he goes on everything regardless. Bless him, he has so much trust. When he doesn't like something he just simple says that wasn't fun, maybe when I'm older. No crying, just that statement and that's it. So during our visit we decided to have a bit of a rest and watch the Star Wars Jedi show. My youngest seems to love Stormtroopers. SO, I found a nice spot on the ground and decided to sit. Well minutes later a man decided to walk and stand right smack dab in front of me. I sitting there with his ASS in my face thinking you have got to be kidding me? I mean how do you not notice me sitting right there. So then as I am analizing him I notice he is wearing a woman's ring and I think, Hmmmm that's a big strange. He's dressed casual grey jeans and white t-shirt. Not a bad body, hat - then I notice the watch (you can always tell a man by the watch) and I think Hmmmm nice expensive watch. He then notices that he rudely stood in my face and said sorry and moved his ass from my face. Low and behold it ends up being Nick Cage.

I look and then look again. The first thought that came to mind was wow he's not bad looking. He is far better looking in person than on film. How does that happen. I though film would make you look better. (Meg Ryan, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore etc all look far worse in real life!) but in his case I must say he is a rather handsome guy off the screen. I was happy to see that he noticed his ass was in my face and apologised. Anyway the happy day ended with a Mickey ice cream bar and a repeat ride on the Grizzly Water Ride at Disney California.

I left tired and soaking wet. The kids ended up having scrabbled eggs for dinner and off to bed they went - all asleep by cpm. I managed to accomplish 2 parks in 8 hours avoiding traffic jams and getting home by 7 ish. I was also in bed by 9 after a long hot relaxing bath - a good day was had by all.

Fashion Faux Pas

Well, I just got the news that unless I have actual tickets to one of the shows at Paris fashion week, I won't be able to go. Yep, the hubby put his foot down (well not really, but kinda) - said "Do what you want" but I know what THAT means!

It all started at the start of summer while I was shopping at McQueen (my slight obsession). My sales associate David said "You know you really should be going to the shows" and I said YES you know I should! I mean I spend enough for it and God knows I'm loyal, I try to wear him for EVERYTHING I attend. He then said he would call the NY office. Well, weeks pass and I get the best news a girl could get. I go to the store to pick up my items being hemmed and he said "You have 2 seats at the spring shows in Paris this October!"

WOOOWEE! I say, so my LA BFF Daniel and I decide to plan out our trip with all the excitement a fabulous gay and a Fashionista could muster...

Cut to JULY - I come back from my trip only to find that my sales associate no longer works for the company. I am figuring, Hmm - I think we are fine still, after all I already have the seats. SO, I ask the other employee "Can I have the exact date of the show and the party info so I can nail my arrangements down?" Well that's when the crushing news came... "Oh. I'm sorry it seems we have over booked the show so you don't have any seats - but I can offer you a private show of the collection at the store". WHAT THE FUCK - you have to be kidding me?

I have been on a mission ever since trying to get in to this show. I called CAA (talent agents), publicists, managers and whoever else I knew to see if ANYONE could get me in. However, I have struck out so far. Well, now it being September and the show being on the 6th October I am starting to lose faith. Fashion snobs are a whole different animal I suppose and they love to say NO. I guess if I were Madonna I would be fine. But I'm just Jennifer, wife of Anthony who helped create the BIGGEST TV show in history and no one cares if I'm sitting at their show.

It's sad but true. I still have a glimmer of hope that someone will come through but its fading fast. If the man lived in LA I would knock on his door and politely grovel for seats - but he doesn't, so Im just going to have to wait to see the show it seems. Damn those sales people to Hell...

Anyway, I'm certainly not above party crashing and dropping names to sneak in either. I'll keep you posted - It's still a real possibility!

A Royal Pain

Today I get an interesting invitation from my husband. He said "I have something for youuuuuuu" (as he wiggles a card in my face).

He hands me the most beautiful looking invitation I have every seen and I have seen quite a few. It wasn't even made of paper, it was some kind of embossed silky - I don't know what!. Very classy, white on white, sealed by a big wax seal and little diamond crystals on the front all lined up nice. I say to myself - Wow, this looks good. Then I slowly open it and I am shocked by what it says...

H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco requests the pleasure of the presence of Mr Anthony Zuiker and guest at a private reception on Saturday 24th October 2009 at 6:30pm

OH SHIT! How fabulous is that, I think to myself and then I look at the date again. SHIT SHIT SHIT. You see, every year I throw a big Halloween party. It's my one BIG event of the year. I spend all year preparing for it and buy all the newest and best props for the occasion (reason for the Gory Girl name). Each year the party takes place the Saturday before Halloween. This year, being that Halloween falls on a Saturday, I decided to do it the Saturday prior (I trick or treat with my kids on actual Halloween) Saturday October 24th.

Yep, you see my problem. So now I weigh it all up and I think to myself, I already sent out the Save the Date Cards for Halloween but I haven't sent out the ACTUAL invites yet. I would have to call up and email everyone I sent the Save The Date cards to letting them know of the date change. Then I would need to contact the entertainment and the caterer and reorganize the staff...Arghhhhhh!!!

How many times does a girl get an invite from a Royal? Not a big Royal (like Harry, William or even the Queen) but a proper Royal none the less. NEVER! So I decided to change my event so that we could attend. SO, the next week will consist of reorganizing things that I have already organized and hoping that people will still be able to attend my party with the new date.

What in the World am I going to wear. I guess this gives me a new excuse to shop?I'll keep you clued in to what I decide on and how it all goes. The party will go on and I'm hoping that I will have enough energy after my big chibang to attend and most importantly look radiant for the Prince of Monaco.

Luv his little country BTW its truly decadent!

Puppy Love

Today I woke up on a mission. It is 5am and I had a dream that I got a new puppy...so, as you do, I opened my laptop, grabbed some coffee and decided to do a little dog research.

I already have 2 dogs, a Mastiff (Daisy) and a Australian Shepherd (Maverick). Daisy is this 100lb, lazy, drooling, "I don't want to leave the house" monster that lays about and snores. Maverick is a 13 year old, barking, hyper-mess that bites the gardener at any opportunity.

SO, I thought - Hey! how about a little dog? Something small but not a yippy yapper. I started to look up and read about all the little dog breeds and finally saw one that may be a good fit for my house. A Papillon.

I started looking around the net for a breeder in the area and puppies. I found a website (who said they were a California breeder) and saw a pic of the cutest little puppy named Becka.

Later, I filled out the form for more info and a man instantly called. I was a little put off that he rang so fast I felt like it was a sales scam or something and he proceeded to tell me the dog was in Oklahoma and they would have to fly her to me. I was a little annoyed that the website said CA and the dog was in OK - plus the guy was selling the puppy like a used car salesman would. So, I said, how fast can I get this dog to me? - he said let me call and I will get back to you...

10 minutes pass and I get a call back and he swears to me that the puppy would arrive on Sunday. I said OK fine and gave my credit card details and proceeded to my morning exercise class, happy about my new dog. Once I got home, I received another call from a lady saying that the dog has to have all these checks and could not get there for Sunday and that the guy lied. NOW I'M PISSED! I had a weird feeling about this from the beginning and I hate getting lied to. SO, I told the girl this is what I was told and she said I'm really sorry but he should have never said that yada yada... Now that I was angry I told her to reverse the charges on my card and that this was turning in to an all day event. After all it was supposed to be a puppy in CA that I could just buy and collect.

The lady called back and said there was no problem and that the breeder was very upset and so forth. I said, well fine if you could get the dog here by wed I'll take him - "Oooh no problem" she says.

2 hours later while myself and the hubby are picking up the dog crate, toys and food I get another call. "Oh were are sorry but now there is only a flight for next Friday". I'm like, you have to be kidding me. WTF I was supposed to get the damn dog tomorrow now its another week? This is the most annoying dog pimp service I have ever seen. Plus now I had the hassle of picking the damn thing up at LAX on a flipping Friday, one of the busiest traffic days on the 405.

So we proceeded to lug all the stuff we bought back to the house and told the woman it was fine as we have no choice. SO, with that said we are getting the puppy (checked and rechecked the dealers!) on Friday and I am hoping that she comes happy and healthy and I am not met with any new surprises. The kids are excited and we are all set up for the new addition. Next time though, I will just go to the damn pound and find a small mutt.

That always works out better anyhow!

Sucking' Face

So, my lovely friends decided to take me out for a wonderful post birthday dinner at a lovely little French bistro in West Hollywood called Comme Ca. I decided to get all dressed up in my new Gucci frock and Louboutins and I head out the door.

We get to this really cute bistro and decided to have a seat in the quieter of the two rooms. Well before the bread hit the table a popular Hollywood actor, JG, we will call him and a young tart (looking all of 20) were seated right at the table in front of me. He looks okay for his age but he's a freakishly 'tall guy' I must say.

Anyway, I decided to order and started chit chatting with my friends - then I hear "slurp slurp slurp" and I look over to see this guy eating the young girls face like something from 'Jurassic Park'... Yep, teenage obnoxiously loud!

Look Mr, I know your going through that mid-life thing but when I am about to eat ,or anyone is for that matter, the last thing I want to be is a 'fly' on the wall as an old guy sucks off a teenage girls face over my salad course. I mean really, I am not sure why people feel the need to fully make out at a restaurant. There is a time and place for all things and a nice dining establishment is not one of them. There is a respectable amount of PDA and then there is the 'make me vomit up my food, loud face suck' and I know you're most likely feeling old and want to impress us all with your young bird - but sorry thats just GROSS. You know what? I left feeling sad for him. Yep, sad.

I mean, who leaves the house that horny? Order take out if you're so captivated by your date you cant keep your hands off each other and spare me the show. Warning to all next time - I snap a picture and forward it to Perez. I guess the one good thing is we had a lot of laughs over it but I don't think I will ever be able to see a movie of his without a flashback of that dinner...yuk!

Air Rights

Today, I was reading a response to an article having to do with air travel and how travellers should not be entitled to compensation. So this blog goes out to you 'Al from Minnesota'.

Al claims he is a flyer that has logged more than one million miles and believes that we as air travellers are not entitled to any compensation for being left on a runway without food for 6 hours or more. ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME?!? He is, of course, talking in regard to the latest airline debacle - where flyers were left sat in a plane for hours on end with no food and over flowing toilets. Jet blue compensated some travellers for the inconvenience. He believes that travelling is in no way fun and should not be something that we would consider as fun. Well, once upon a time travelling was fun and convenient and the airlines (brace yourself) used to care about service and quality. But somewhere along the line that got all messed up. We stopped expecting airlines to cater to the most basic of our needs. Being on time and comfortable with a nice drink and small snack gave way to the (my favorite) throwing peanuts on takeoff down the aisles as passengers grab them off the floor (Southwest).

Its frankly appalling. I as a human being should not loose my right to choose to get off an aircraft if delayed on the runway longer than an hour with no indication of a take off time. They threaten that you will be arrested if you try to disembark from the plane and they refuse to let you off. Look, I personally would rather sit in jail than be stuck on a plane for that long. I realize that due to weather it may not be in the airlines control but they should know this before boarding people on the plane. Even after we are boarded and have sat for an hour or so, they should make an announcement stating that at this point anyone that wishes to get off can do so and allow those people to get off and change their flights. I don't think that is breaking the law and I don't believe that anyone should be forced in to that kind of situation. I DO expect my travelling to be nice and I think that everyone should. We pay good money and should be treated as we were back in the glory days of aviation. So, compensation? HELL YES!!! - they should be entitled just like anyone else held prisoner would want compensation.

I have faith that eventually airlines will realize that better service means happier travellers and happy travellers book more flights. There are certain airlines like Singapore that still realize this and are a pleasure to fly but American carriers are way behind and figure we will just put up with it. The sad fact is that we will. However, I'm hoping that one day that will change and then our friend Al will know what having a nice travel experience feels like.

Avatars Made Easy!

Hi guys - thank you all so much for joining up to my site and all of your sweet comments! Just wanted to point out to you how to place your profile photo into your avatars, as quite a few are missing and I'd like to see your faces!

Please log in as normal and click on your profile (in the top right corner) - from here you can press 'edit' and you'll be able to transfer your uploaded photo to your avatar box.

Simply draw a square over your picture with your mouse and it will 'magically' appear in the avatar box - you can then pull the box in and out to display your photo as you wish! Clever, huh?

Anyway, on with my rants!

Mic Swipe

I was appalled today, once again, by the sheer lack of respect that some people give to one another. Kanye my man...WTF?

The VMA's were on Sunday and the man swiped the mic from young Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech for 'Best Female Video'. It was a well deserved win and she was giving a heartfelt speech about her being a country singer and how much the win meant to her when...BAM!...Kanye jumps on stage and swipes the mic like a hooligan and proceeds to say how Beyonce deserved the win!

Even the look on Beyonce's face was of utter shock and she was visibly confused by the outpouring of nonsense by Kanye. When the mic finally found its way back to Taylor she was speechless and they then broke for commercials. What an idiot. Now I see he has gone on Jay Leno to try and regain some ounce of respect, apologizing for the act in question. Your allowed one pass my man so this is it. This is the same week we had the Venus Williams row with her threatening a line judge with violence causing her to loose the US open.

What is wrong with successful people today? I have one thing that has been eating me up on this matter. If the races of those involved were reversed and a white person did that, Al Sharpten would be all over the news claiming that there is no respect for African Americans and much more. WHY IN AMERICA is that still an issue?

I go to France and there are no issues like that. England, again, nothing - but in this country it's being talked about constantly - blurring the real problems we have. The entitlement of unearned respect is still being demanded by all races, colors and creeds. To me respect is something you EARN from people - not something that is automatically given. Those whose blame this behavior on our country's embarrassing past are missing the point - many countries had slavery as well as us but they have been able to come to terms with their mistakes and live without this apparent 'race war'.

It's really getting OLD at this point. Last I checked the poor girl wasn't even part of that she just wanted to accept an award for a video she did - Taylor Swift is 19 years old! White artists can win music awards too you know. Besides - how is this a race thing? - It's an ARTIST thing. The irony is that Beyonce still ended up winning - if only he had been patient and kept his feelings to himself, he would have felt justified in his beliefs by the end of the show.

Beyonce handled all of this with class. Maybe she should teach Kanye and Venus some manners. There is still plenty of ignorance in America but we will only overcome it if we don't act as ignorant as those we complain about.

Bite Me

I was watching the news the other day and I was appalled at what I saw. Apparently there was a protest being held at a town hall meeting. Things got heated and a man, who was rudely pointing at another guy's face, got his finger bitten off! At first I thought, Oh no that's nasty but then I thought, Jeeze, what has the world come to that 2 people can't have a discussion without it turning violent?

The discussion that has been fuelling all these heated debates is the Health Insurance debate. What really irritates me is that the man probably NEVER even read the 6,000 some odd page bill proposal. Personally, I don't see what the big hubbubs about. Why, in this day and age, do people in this country die and face bankruptcy over being sick? I would think that every person in this country would want healthcare for everyone. I know many people who live in fear of something happening because they can't afford health care. That's a shame and completely unnecessary.

The scare tactics being used in the commercials are just way out of line. I have friends that live in countries with socialized medicine. They don't have to wait for operations. It's the simplest thing - if you want private, FINE you pay extra but if you don't want or need it you don't have to have it. YOU STILL GET TREATMENT. It's a joke how miss informed people (who most likely have never left this country) are. They think they know what socialized medicine is about. I travel and I have been plenty sick overseas and guess what? I was treated and I was treated well and NO BILL - yep NO BILL. How about that and I am not even a citizen of their country.

I don't think that taking care of your fellow AMERICAN can get people so upset. I watched the President's speech and he clearly said "IT WON'T INCLUDE ABORTION" so why the people are against this say it will be used for that need to use a Q tip and clean out their ears. I am by no means a political activist and I don't consider myself an intellectual but come on I do have common sense and am a bit worldly. WE are the only country, not including the Third World that doesn't take care of our own people. I talked to my Doctor (who, like most, drive fancy cars with kids in private school) what's so bad about it and his answer was that the lady at the DMV would be the one in charge of my health and that we wouldn't be able to get state of the art scans anymore.

SO I asked WHY, is the government removing and disposing of the all the scans we already have? In addition, Marge from the DMV would have nothing to do with it. I am sure that the insurance companies that have had a good scam going for years will not be able to sell me bull shit anymore and the drug companies will not be charging me $200 for something that should cost $10. I guess all those luncheons and golf activities will not be able to be footed for all those Doctors if that happens.

What a travesty. I don't think we can AFFORD NOT to have global health. I was taught that if you want to argue a point be sure to research what you are arguing about otherwise you just look like an 'ass' or an 'elephant' so it seems. SO, I will continue to read both sides of this but from what I know about it now - I'm all for the reforms.

Communication Breakdown

How far can one seriously be pushed? I am on my last good nerve with Air France. You see, I painstakingly (like most Americans) save up all my points so that I can travel for free by using my accumulated air miles. I spend on my AMEX card and hoard points until I have enough for a lovely first class flight to wherever. I have been doing this for years and am quite successful at it.

Well, recently I planned a lovely trip (not really...it was a nightmare actually but thats another story) in July with my entire brood - husband, kids and all. At the end of the month I was going through my statements and low and behold I was not only charged for the flight (in excess of thousands of dollars) but the fuckers even took my hard earned points - around 500,000 worth of them. So for the past 2 months my tavel agent and I have been dealing with them to have them refund my money, as well as the 200,000 of over charged points. Oui Oui they say - and that they were very sorry and it would be fixed ASAP.

Ok, I thought, cut to August - I am now getting ready for my trip to Lake Como and Milan, once again I am flying with Air France. I talked to my agent and said "Ok, so they used my points RIGHT?" - "Oh yes" she said, "and you should see a credit on your AMEX for the refund" (incidentally, I have still heard nothing so I am contesting it...more fun).

Anyway, I am all set and I get on my flight (lovely flight BTW) and I arrive in France - not a problem until I look at my reciept (that should only reflect the taxes from the flight) and I notice that they charged me a fortune for the flight. REALLY?!? I mean REALLY?!? we are back to this shit again. How hard is it to just do things correctly? I know the airlines are hurting but come on, let's at least try to please a valued costumer that flies almost every fucking month. I just don't know where the communication breakdown is or if there even is one. It could just be one big running scam they pull on people, who knows...

Regardless, this time I am hot as the Vegas desert and I am ready to throw down. Beware Air France, you are going to pay me back and refund my points if its the last thing I do. Oh and I'll take a couple of free gifts to boot (the new fab Prada handbag to start with). With all my complaining though Air France still remains my airline of choice. The rock star service you get is superb. From the moment I arrive in France I am 1st off the plane with a host that wisks me away from the public and takes me, by car no less, to a private security where I am screened and then brought to a lovely lounge full of great food and all the ammenities one could ask for (something that seriously lacks in the US!). Then, when my connecting flight is ready they come greet me and, once again by car, wisk me off to the plane where I board before the genral public.

I dont think I have ever actually seen the airport (other then the duty free YSL and Prada shops). SO I am now off for my Birthday trip to Lake Como and Im hoping that my wiz of a travel agent and main money man can sort out the points/cash discrepencies before I return.

Let the celebration begin. Ciao

Ahhh - the joy of flying domestic in America!

Every time I plan a trip, there is always a bit of stress involved but that elevates by 100 when I am flying domestic around the US. Believe it or not, flying overseas is very organized and the members of staff at the airport always have a smile. It's only in this country that everyone is rude and miserable.

Anyway, I knew my good mood wouldn't last long but was I still hopeful as I arrived at the airport. The funny thing is, I was reading the night before about how these poor people were stuck on a plane for 22 solid hours in Minneapolis. I thought to myself "Oh no, it would have been the exit door for me for sure." I would rather sit in jail over a plane for 22 hours, poor souls. Where was I? Oh yes, as I said, I started off the morning in good spirits - I was going to Vegas with my 3...yes 3, kids in tow plus my husband. This particular morning we were flying out of Burbank (a nice little small airport with far less hassle than LAX).

I had no checked luggage, just a tote and a laptop bag. So I printed out boarding passes for myself and the kids and was as organized as I could be. Then I stood in line, kids shoes off (ridiculous and only in the US), laptop out (only in the US), no liquids - everything was in its place. I had to walk through the very inefficient blow air scanner thing that they have now upgraded to and stood like a monkey, arms over my head, touching fingertips or some such shit and let the contraption scan me. As I walked out, to my amazement, the lady said you have to wait for the results before you can go through. OK...so waiting, waiting, waiting (really that long) and then she said "okay fine".

So then I grab the kids (who couldn't walk through the new wizard machine) and wait for our stuff to go through the belt. BUT NO. The kids had brought their BRIGHT ORANGE plastic potato guns (a little toy gun you stick in a potato and it shoots out a little piece of potato). Hours of fun for $4.99 and well worth every penny. Anyhow, the rude man yells BAG CHECK!! He grabs the bin and the guns out of the bin and said "you cant have these". My 6 year old says "its my potato gun", then my older boy said "but its plastic!" and the guy continued by saying "well, it's in the shape of a gun". I said "your kidding, It looks nothing like a gun and its florescent orange!". He said "Sorry I have to destroy it or you can check it in baggage". YOUR FUCKING KIDDING RIGHT! It's a plastic potato gun!

So in the end I had a crying 2 year old and kids asking why the man was so mean about it and had to destroy their toys. This is a prime example of why traveling in the US sucks ass and I only do it when absolutely necessary. I need a cocktail and some shopping therapy...thank goodness for Las Vegas.

My new site, bugs and all

Okay so, my site is finally up and ready for you to register. As with all new websites there are certain tweaks to be made here and there and quite a few 'technical' bugs to fix, so please bear with me while I get these ironed out over the next week.

In the meantime, there's nothing to stop you enjoying my blogs, reviews and tips - and feel free to comment and offer suggestions of what you would like to see!

What makes you feel pretty?

Well, I'll tell you, for me its my hands. For the past 14 years I have been very diligent about keeping my nails nicely manicured and nicely polished. For me, always having well tended nails and toes makes me feel pretty.

It was my weekly little luxury I did for myself. I have used the same nail tech for the entire time and she is a master with the hands. I had to actually go on a waiting list years ago before she could take me as a client. Luck was smiling on me though when someone moved out of town and I got the coveted slot that I would hold on to for 12 years.

Last November I moved out of Vegas to California. The one person that I knew would be hard to replace was my manicurist. I searched high and low for someone to replace her and 8 months later there is still no one. Well today I had had enough so I cut them all off...The once a week ritual I had always had seems like a distant memory. I was so distraught without my pretty nails that I cried and was depressed all day.

I am going to start from scratch and hope that I can find a way to keep them pretty without the $350 charge I was getting from the girl that came to the house in California. Yes, $350 for something that used to cost me $80 - and the funny thing is she couldn't hold a candle to my former girl. I am trying to feel pretty without my nails but it will be quite some time before I can get used to the idea of short stubby nails.

I will keep searching for a nail person here but until one can be found that is as good I will just have to keep them short. I am sure every girl has their "one" person that makes them feel pretty whether it be a hair girl, wax girl or nail girl. All I can say is bring them some flowers and appreciate them cause its a hard job to make someone feel pretty - but an important one and I'm sure many are highly under appreciated.