NonEssentials

Today was a double-whammy weather day: High heat index (>100), plus we were put on ozone-alertness. I was very alert to ozone. I saw it here; I saw it there; I saw, I saw it everywhere. As always when the temps exceed 90, I slogged into the bedroom, dropping clothes, bags, etc, as I walked. After putting away a few things, I began this internal dialog:  ME: You know what I'd love to throw on right now? A house dress.  INNER ME: (pause) What?  ME: Yeah, you know, one of those loose, cotton dresses -- sleeveless, underwear optional, but definitely no bra.  IM: I know what that is. Why would you..  ME: I'm hot, tired, and I need to loosen the air around my bod.  IM: Eww  ME: Really, right now, this is so appealing, only I don't own one of these. Maybe I need to hunt one down this weekend.  IM: No. You don't.  ME: What's the big deal? My comfort is important, right? In the privacy of my own home, I should be able to wear this. ...

I cannot go to sleep in silence, so I usually have talk radio on as I drift off. Most times, the cadence of the talking head becomes the white noise I need. But sometimes I actually listen to the conversations. As much as I hope for Clark Howard, Dave Ramsey happens to be the head that's talking when I go to bed. Gradually, I became aware of his philosophies. He has many, but I'll focus on just a few: 1) Get Rid of All Debt - I really like this one. As someone who wants the points my credit card awards, or the cashback my other credit card awards, I feel like I'm always a month behind. I pay off my balance in full each month, but by then of course, I have lowered my bank account and have less to spend in the current month. I do wonder what it would feel like to pay just the bills for my current living expenses. I plan to give it a go, but I won't buy Ramsay's book or go to Financial Peace University. "Where debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid off mortgag...

Never once did I think it was a good idea to have a rat helping out in the kitchen. As a matter of fact, even after I saw "Ratatouille", I still wasn't convinced. Fortunately, I never had to worry about that --until recently. I was taking Angel to park one weekend last month when she started going nuts in the garage. She was sniffing and scratching around boxes and getting more and more agitated. I thought she may have found a gecko -- you know those cute green lizards that sell insurance. I certainly wouldn't mind giving shelter to that little Australian-accented bugger, so I called the dog off, got into the car and didn't give it a thought...until I was in bed that night. What could have set the dog off? What if it wasn't a little lizard? So, the next night, I opened both garage doors and let Angel at it. I even gave her an assist -- at one point moving a box when she couldn't get behind it. That's when I saw it. Was it a mouse? At first, I thought...

"500 Days of Summer" looked like a cute movie. I've been fond of Joseph Gordon-Levitt since his days as the youngest of that crazy cast from "Third Rock from the Sun." I didn't know much about Zooey Deschanel except that she has a nice voice ("She and Him"). I heard good things about the movie so I decided to see it this weekend. Knowing it was already popular, I made sure to get to the theater a half hour before it started. I waited in line and went to my favorite spot -- the last row, center seat. Nerd alert: I even brought a book (and booklight) to read while waiting for the coming attractions. Sure enough, the theater got crowded, but I had an empty seat on either side of me by the time the movie started. Now, here comes my luck: the woman to my left decided to play theater usher. She noticed a couple looking around for a place to sit. She asked me, "Is anyone sitting on the other side of you?" Was I going to lie? I said no. Then -- ...

Last week I bought a pedometer. Not your ordinary piece of plastic -- a real, state-of-the-art (by my standards) pedometer. Here's the way it works: you set your stride and the time & date, and clip it on. Get this--the pedometer automatically resets at midnight! It also came with SOFTWARE, so you can download your data and track your progress. The pedometer even senses when you do aerobic walking/running and will measure that as well (I have to take that on faith). I was so proud and happy as I made sure to eke out 10,000 steps a day, and I was successful beyond my dreams. For 3 days. Because on Day 4, I lost it. Somewhere in my travels, it fell off my waistband. I'm beyond bummed. But, I am not about to give up. I own a treadmill. I know this because I just have to shift my view about 25 degrees from my TV to see it. It's there and I willfully ignore it. The other day, motivated by my new toy and the incredible last set of the gentlemen's Wimbledon final, I climbe...

Many years ago, young boys with beautiful voices were castrated to preserve the gorgeous timber of their voices. How could society condone that? Music was the priority -- it was all for the glory and the beauty of the music. Michael Jackson was a true, gifted talent, but unfortunately, he was a "castrato." Last night, I caught the very end of Martin Bashir's infamous interview with Jackson. Michael spoke openly about how he wouldn't be upset if his children slept in a grown man's bed. He talked about how beautiful and non-sexual this practice is. He also described how Debbie Rowe allowed him to take the infant Paris from the birthing room before the umbilical cord was removed; before the baby was cleaned up. He said the children were Debbie's "gift" to him. He was naive, needy, uninitiated, unaware of how surreal he sounded. During an Oprah interview, when she asked him whether he was a virgin, he visibly blushed. Michael Jackson was a child. Yet i...

Sarah Palin quit. She just left. It's like if you were a contractor who hired someone to work on the roof of a house and at the halfway point he said, "Hey, find another roofer. I gotta go, but don't call me a quitter, 'cause I'm not." A part of me says, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass." But another part of me says, "You really got the short end of it, Sarah. You were analyzed up, down, sideways and with about 10 different standards." And a big part of that was because she was a woman. Look at Mitt Romney. Don't you think if he were a woman, the press would have worked like mad to figure out what-the-heck kind of name "Mitt" is? Quick: how many kids does John McCain have? I know he has Megan and a kid in Iraq, but other than that, I'm at a loss, and this guy was running for president! So as I watch Keith (Olbermann) and Rachel (Maddow) castigate Palin, I have misgivings. I don't like Sarah as a leader or m...