One word for you … sham.

72 days. That’s all it lasted. Even by Hollywood standards that was short.

Glad I’m not a fan, and now never will be.

Egg-on-the-face of tabloids that paid top dollar for the wedding. What was it $20M?? Shameful all around.

Sophia Grace and Rosie on Ellen / Image rights - warnerbros.com

Have you seen Sophia, the little 8 year old Nicki Minaj wanna-be sensation? And her quiet little back-up-dancer-cousin Rosie (age 5)?

Cutest little tiara-wearing-tutu-sporting-sprites ever. Sophia is hard to miss, but how ’bout that Rosie?

Aren’t we all Rosies? The ones in the background, the back-up singers, adding a little more umph to the show, helping the Sophia’s of the world really shine?  Without Rosie, Sophia wouldn’t be as confident, perhaps. Rosie is very likely the voice of reason, in fact at one point she tries to settle Sophia down, perhaps in a quiet whisper saying, “Easy cousin. Tone it down. We’re on ELLEN!!”

Adorable.

Go out there and have a great day blog readers. Be a Sophia today, or a Rosie. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Image rights - AP Photo / The Canadian Press

I enjoy running.

Am I a fast runner? No. A long distance runner? Not really, my longest run was a half marathon, twice, and not without injuries. Does it come easily? I wouldn’t say so. But nonetheless, I enjoy it.

Every now and again I toy with the idea of running a marathon, but then I think about the time required to train, the injuries, and the … injuries. If I recovered quickly I wouldn’t mind them as much, but they often sideline me for extended periods of time, months, and it’s not worth it to me.

And then someone like Fauja Singh comes along and it makes me wonder if it’s in me. I mean, if he can do it at 100 years old, why couldn’t I??? (Don’t you just love his smile?!)

He ran his last marathon in 5 hours, 40 minutes, and 1 second … 8 years ago at the age of 92.

Mr. Singh is my hero. I love his story and youthfulness. The marathon may not be for me, but I love that he will motivate someone to lace up their running shoes and get out there.

Maybe it’s you.

UPDATE:

Mr. Singh completed his marathon yesterday at 8 hours, 25 minutes and 18 seconds. Pretty darn impressive.

Image rights - LATimes.com

By now, I have to believe you’ve read Kathryn Stockett’s, “The Help”. I loved this book. And when I sold it for $1 at our twice-annual garage sale, I almost told the buyer that I’d changed my mind and I wouldn’t be selling that book.

What’s even more wonderful than the book is the author’s resolve to get it published. She was rejected 60 times before finally getting it published. SIXTY TIMES!!!! She’s my reminder for the day to never give up. If you’re that passionate about something and truly believe in it, it’ll come to fruition. Believe in it and yourself.

My favorite quotes if you don’t get a chance to read this article (but you should):

• Her first rejection, “Story did not sustain my interest.”
• 4oth rejection letter, “There is no market for this kind of tiring writing.”
• After rejection #45 she’s rewriting the last chapter WHILE in labor with her daughter, “…nurse looked at me like I wasn’t human and said in a New Jersey accent, ‘Put the book down, you nut job—you’re crowning.’”

And my favorite…

“The point is, I can’t tell you how to succeed. But I can tell you how not to: Give in to the shame of being rejected and put your manuscript—or painting, song, voice, dance moves, [insert passion here]—in the coffin that is your bedside drawer and close it for good. I guarantee you that it won’t take you anywhere. Or you could do what this writer did: Give in to your obsession instead.”

I’m looking forward to seeing this movie very soon. Let me know what you think of either (the book or movie)!

Image rights TMZ

Arnold, Arnold, Arnold … just a gentle reminder … she’s still the mother of your children.

Regardless of how poorly those divorce negotiations might be going, this t-shirt is in poor taste.

What do you think, dear reader?

Image rights - babylifetime.com

1. Skinny girls with cellulite
2. Cool-as-a-cucumber people who experience moments of insanity
3. Spotting bunnies on my morning run
4. Watching Penny get yanked back on her leash when attempting to chase said bunnies
5. Babies laughing
6. Babies sleeping
7. Quiet mornings with my cup of coffee, just before the rest of the house wakes up
8. Brilliant people who can’t spell
9. Friends who clean up after dinner when I’ve asked them not to
10. BFF (big fat friend)
11. Jillian Michaels who after 20 days of her 30-day Shred tells me that by now I should be seeing a 6-pack
12. A young couple going on vacation alone without their 6 children
13. Birthdays, especially mine
14. Scoring 102 points on a 4- letter word on Words with Friends
15. Harry Potter July 15

Appreciating the little things ….

I love the Smitten Kitchen. This Peach Blueberry Cobbler is so delicious that I’m making it again tonight.

I’m not feeling all too well but I’m still going to do it. One, because my peaches are ripe and ready, and two, because I hear there’s some home remedy for a cold that involves a peach blueberry cobbler.

There might be.

Penny broke her leg the other day. She won’t fess up as to how she did it. I suspect it had something to do with that skateboard trick (the KickFlip) she’s been trying to perfect.

Lucky for her we had the American Girl Feel Better First Aid Kit for Dogs Dolls laying around, ready to help get her quickly on the mend.

I got sick of hearing her walk around at night with that damn cast banging against the tile.

So … she’s learned how to use the crutch.

Eggcelent Daisy / Image rights allthingsana

I made this unbelievable chocolate cream pie the other day. I actually made two of them in preparation for a BBQ we were having at our house. Turns out that you have to let these beauties sit for a total of 8 hours (2 hours for the custard to cool; then 6 for it to set). Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I hadn’t  read that before embarking on my baking adventure, and so ended up with 2 pies.

Lucky for my neighbors I was feeling generous and so gifted them one. Had I tasted it first, I WOULD HAVE KEPT THAT ONE TOO!!

This was so good that I’d make it again in a heartbeat. It was easy too.

My youngest thought it was too “chocolate-y”. (This is where teeny tiny Ana living in my brain, who knows to keep her mouth shut so as to not hurt her children’s feelings, would say, “PUHLEEEEEASE!!! What do you know about ‘chocolate-y’?! YOU’RE EIGHT!!! Go play with your dolls!’). In this case though, I would agree with her. (Teeny tiny Ana living in my brain… silenced.)

Next time I’d do half bittersweet chocolate and half milk chocolate.

The only thing I changed was I didn’t make a crust.

Why make a crust when there’s Oreo cookie crust?!

Yummy!