Lately, I’ve been trying my best to lose the rest of the baby weight (yes, I know the “baby” is 15 months old…shut your pie hole! ), so I hired a trainer to kick my ass once a week and I’ve been eating as healthy as possible most of the time.

My husband (a.k.a. the Food Nazi) had me convinced that frozen diet dinners are evil, but lately they have been touting “no preservatives,” so I’ve been keeping a few around for those days when I need something fast. I was enjoying a yummy Garlic Chicken pizza when I picked up the box and saw the following.

I guess you don’t need preservatives when something is only 14.1% REAL! EEEK!

I will never admit that the Food Nazi was right, but I won’t be eating any more Lean Cuisine Garlic Chicken Pizza that’s for sure!

Yesterday, I had the incredible pleasure of going to a luncheon featuring Helen Thomas. At 86 years old, she is quick-witted, smart, opinionated, and inspiring. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Thomas)

Not only is she a legend in journalism, she was a trailblazer for the women’s rights movement. When asked about that, she said “I was just one angry woman…part of a mob.”

Helen and me!

Here are a few tidbits I wrote down:

– When Fidel Castro was asked the difference between U.S. democracy and his democracy, he said “I don’t have to answer questions from Helen Thomas.”

– When asked about “leaks,” Helen said “leaks are absolutely necessary. I salute all whistler blowers.”

– Asked about the best presidents, Helen spoke on the achievements of JFK and LBJ. “That’s two Democrats, now let’s take two Republicans,” the moderator said. “WHY?” she said.

So a BIG shout out to my friend Stasa, who invited me to this fabulous event. As a former high school newspaper editor and journalism major, it was a real honor to meet Helen Thomas. She rocks.

P.S. The moderator made a major faux pas when he mentioned that Helen was a guest on “The Daily Show with Stephen Cobert.” EEEK! My poor Jon got dissed.

If so, then I guess I’m just waiting for that last thing to drop.

BT #1 – Remember last week when I was out buying you guys a Banana Republic? Well, 10 minutes after I took those photos my car completely froze. I couldn’t get it to move an inch. (Picture me out in the pouring rain pushing my car out of the middle of the street. Fun.) Even though it was pretty annoying, the guy at the dealership went on and on about how unusual it was for that to happen (the front differential was toast…whatever that means), so I felt pretty special and wasn’t going to give it a second thought until….

BT #2 – Sunday afternoon. I was chasing Anabella around the house (she’s 15 months old, so it was a trot at best) and suddenly I felt a “pop” in my leg. Ever heard of “tennis leg?” Yeah, me either. (Basically it’s an injury to my Achilles tendon where it connects to the calf muscle.) I got a big lecture on stretching more before I work out…blah blah blah…and now I have to sit around and wait for it to heal. Hooray.

Still, I’m in a pretty good mood…worse things could happen (and still might). But it’s definitely got me wondering what might be next. Afterall, it is Halloween…..BOO!

So what do you think BT#3 will be?

Once again I found myself crying during Extreme Makeover Home Edition. (Tonight featured a family in Iowa…they lost their home to fire, then their dog ran away, etc. Of course they built the family a lovely new house, refurbished their barn, and bought them cattle to start up the farm again.) It’s always so touching, but I think parenthood has definitely “gotten” to me. I am a total puss now. Crying? Geesh. So the point is…while I know it is all about ratings, it is still nice to see a reality TV show actually doing something worthwhile.
(But if you want dirt… http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0327062extreme1.html)

And now, here is the list of trashy reality TV that I love. These shows don’t make a positive contribution to society in any way, but I don’t care. 🙂

1. The Girls Next Door. Usually stupid people annoy the crap out of me, but Kendra is pure entertainment gold. And Hugh Hefner is still partying like a rock star at 80. Crazy.

2. The Bachelor Rome. I had pretty much given up on The Bachelor, but then the producer was quoted as saying that Lorenzo “wasn’t a douchebag prince” in Entertainment Weekly and I was immediately hooked. They have a elitist freak named Erica (daughter of a plastic surgeon here in Houston…hooray, more good publicity for us!) who makes it all worth my hour (her occupation is listed as “socialite”), but now that she is gone, we only have ticking-clock girl, Lisa (she’s going to be the psycho this season), who has a three-year plan she hasn’t told our dear, sweet bachelor about yet. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

3. Hogan Knows Best. I adore Hulk. His parenting style cracks me up (he put a GPS on his daughter’s car…without her knowledge of course…so he knew exactly where she was on her first date). They are always doing silly things (once they adopted a monkey), but you can tell they are a real, close-knit, loving family. I also think it’s hysterical that they are always showing Hulk in his thong…he’s in great shape, especially for his age, but come on!

Happy channel surfing.

P.S. If you are interested in seeing a photo of the cutest little kitty in town, check out my other blog. http://mommystimeout-rhonda.blogspot.com/