Here's what I think: Direct TV what did you do with my HGTV!

I have the most basic package of Direct TV available and let me tell you it's not great - I have two Disney Channels and Nickelodeons but no SoapNet if that tells you anything. One of the channels that I've come to watch a LOT of over the past several months is HGTV. I could watch it all day every day, for real. But this week is the final episode of  Design Star which I've been watching every Tuesday night for months and Direct TV has had a little glitch and instead of airing any HGTV shows it has trailers for movies available on pay per view (which I don't have access to and so the trailers are of no good to me). This is unacceptable! Boo Direct TV, boo. I'm not happy.

Here's what I think: What up ABC Family?

What a great weekend! I've just been enjoying, as I always do, the Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family and as a result have seen about a million commercials featuring the ABC Family original TV shows. Even though I love commercials (seriously, I was an advertising major and I LOVE commercials), I have to admit that it took me several viewings of these ads to pay attention to what some of these shows are about. After processing it I asked my self "What up ABC Family?"

The new show "Baby Daddy" has me a little concerned. While it looks light hearted and funny, I can't help but think it is sending a really disturbing message to the youth of America. I'm not naive. In fact I come from a "non-traditional" family myself, with four loving parents who miraculously all get along like good friends. I've only seen the commercials, and haven't watched the show. However, from what I can tell, it looks like it glorifies un-married (not even dating) parents. I might be off base and maybe I'll try to watch an episode to verify my concerns. If you ask me, the portrait of a single man who becomes the "baby daddy" for someone doesn't seem like a positive family message for young people.

This on top of shows like "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" which is basically a show about a bunch of teens who think it's okay to get knocked up and then have a "pretend" marriage is a strange direction for a family oriented network. I know ABC Family likes to promote it's shows with the tag line "A new kind of family" but shouldn't it be concerned with the kind of message it's putting out there for the young target market that watches these shows?

All that being said, I do love ABC Family and will continue to watch, especially during a good long Harry Potter Weekend!

Here's what I think: Oscar Fashion Wrap Up

Last night at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, the stars were out in the finest. There were so many good red carpet gown choices that it was hard to think of any for the "worst" list! Here is a recap of some of the highs and lows of the evening.

My Favorites:

Mila Kunis: I love this color with her skin tone. The cut of the dress fits her body perfectly and her accessorizing is impeccable. When I first saw it I wasn't sold on it, it took me a little while looking at this because of the sheer portions and the lace coming up over her chest, but as an overall look I think she looks flawless!

Cate Blanchett: This is my favorite overall look of the night. I am a little in love with this dress. I love how she so effortlessly pulls off fashion risks like this. The color and fit are perfect and I love the top part of this dress with the peep hole center and all of the beading. Her hair and accessories are perfectly simple to go with this complex fashion statement.

Amy Adams: I really love this dress. The color and the silhouette are gorgeous on her small frame. What I don't love about this is the necklace and the hair. While her hair looks nice, with a high neckline like this I would have preferred to see it pulled back in an elegant up-do. I think the way the necklace lays over the dress is not very flattering, I would have gone with either no necklace and rocked just the bracelet or done a bolder and bigger necklace that came just around the collar of the dress. Her make up was beautiful and the dress alone is stunning.

My Least Favorite:

Helena Bonham-Carter: I don't want to even talk about this. I respect that she is an actress and cares more about her craft than her fashion sense, so I have eliminated her from the running of wort dressed. Because honestly, if she were in the running, this is hands down the worst of the night.

Scarlet Johansson: I don't like anything about this. I have heard some positive feedback on this dress and it confuses me. Her overall appearance is, like her hair, a total mess. The back of this dress was very beautiful, I like the cut out  to show off the back. I'm not crazy about the color, I'm confused as to whether it is sheer or not, and I really hate that she didn't put some cover up on that tattoo. As an overall look this was my least favorite of the night.

Nicole Kidman: Very sad. She is so gorgeous. Her hair, makeup and the shoes are lovely, but this dress does nothing for her figure. She has a very tall and thin, super-model-ish figure and the way the structure of this dress hits at her hips it made her waist and hips look much larger than they are. I'm also not crazy about the detailing on the front.

And with that, the awards season - and red carpet fashion season - comes to an end.

Here's what I think: Let the Hunger Games Begin

It's been a few months since I finished The Hunger Games series and I've still got Hunger Games on the brain. I'm anxiously anticipating more information about the upcoming movie based on the first book in the series and have, like any obsessive fan, been scouring the Internet for any information I can find! In my searches I've seen a lot of speculation and suggestions on who should be cast in the leading roles and I decided to throw my two-cents in.

In the role of Katniss Everdean, the leading lady of The Hunger Games, I would cast Hailee Steinfeld. Hailee has enjoyed fast recognition for her role in True Grit this year and is even nominated for an academy award for her outstanding performance. Not only does Hailee have the right look, build and is an appropriate age to grow with the character of Katniss, she had already proven her "grit" and would be well able to deliver the tough-girl with a soft edge. What I like about Katniss is that she is so flawed, she is brave and strong but is guarded and can never see through to the truth of things until it smacks her right in the face; Hailee has the ability to bring this kind of complexity to life in a realistic way.

I have a feeling that no matter who lands the role of Peeta Mellark, I will be a little disappointed. It's like when Robert Pattinson was first cast as Edward in Twilight. Fans of the book were outraged because every one of them had a distinct picture in mind of this character that they had fallen in love with. But, just like with Rob, whoever plays Peeta will eventually become a heart throb and girls will fall all over themselves for him. Personally, I would like to see someone like Chord Overstreet (Glee) in this role. He is a little older than the character but can get away with playing a younger role. His blond hair, bright blue eyes and strong build are exactly what I picture when I think of Peeta.

Where it's harder for me to cast the role of Peeta, it's exactly the opposite for Gale Hawthorne. Since the first time I saw Drew Roy, I knew he would be the perfect Gale. First, he's not bad to look at. Really, really, not bad. He's got the perfect "look" for Gale - olive skin, dark hair and piercing grey eyes. He's also got that brooding, teen angst thing going for him.

Not only do these young actors have the right look and feel of the characters in The Hunger Games, they are also very talented. I would be excited to see these three actors develop into the roles of Katniss, Peeta and Gale and really make The Hunger Games stand out among other "teen" flicks with their abilities to bring the characters to life.

Here's what I think: The Mystical Mystic Tan

"You sprayed my front twice!"
"You never turned?"
"No! I didn't even get to three Mississippi!"
"Mississippi? I said count to five."
"Mississippilessly?"

This week I had my first ever tanning experience. I am very fair skinned, even on the rare occasion that I get direct sunlight I get very little color just a faint pink that fades within a few days. Over the years I have tried a variety of different sunless tanners with varying results and that's been fine for me and I have never attempted to "fake bake."

A few nights ago my sister came over for her weekly visit and as I entered the house she pounced, demanding that I go spray tanning with her. At first I was not in to it, I was more than happy to go with her but I have friends who have had some dicey experiences with it and I really didn't want to be all streaky and splotchy.

We did some calling around and found a place that has the spray tan booth (rather than a person who airbrushes the tan on). So it sounded like a fun adventure and we made our way across town to TanWorld. First, I'm not sure why they need this information but they may as well have asked me for my birth certificate and dental records because they need a LOT of information to get you set up in the "system." Once we were done giving a blood sample and finger print (just kidding they didn't take a blood sample, but they did take our prints), we were given the tutorial on how to use the booth and then came the real adventure.

I'm left alone in the room and upon closing the door immediately lock it and check the handle to make sure it's good an locked. I turn to put the lotion on my hands and feet as instructed to do and I even put a little on my elbows just to be safe (those are the areas with the driest skin). I strip down "to whatever you want to tan in" and put a silly lips shaped sticker on my backside just for fun.

I climb in the booth and close the door and the automated voice tells me to stand on foot markers 2 and 4 and it begins! It is COLD, like a misting rain starting at the feet and going up. Then the voice tells me to turn left and put my feet on markers 1 and 3, so I do this and the mist starts from the top and goes down tanning my other side. I thought after this it would be done because my front and back were now fully misted and my arm hair was standing on end and I was shivering from the cold. But I was wrong, the voice now tells me to turn again (I can't remember which direction) and put my feet on (I can't remember which numbers). So I do that and the machine mists my side as well. Then comes the tricky part, I go to turn anticipating the direction that the automated voice might tell me to go for the next step but as she speaks I realize that she wants me to turn left not right to put my feet on 1 and 4.... odd, I don't think... oh wait! It's spraying! So now I'm moving around in a wave motion with my feet planted trying to make sure that the mist adequately covers every part it is supposed to.

The tanning is over and through out I'm thinking of Ross on Friends and hoping that I was able to get a good full coverage and don't become ridiculously browned. I step out of the booth and wipe my feet on mat, pat myself down to avoid streaking, wipe my hands off on the towel and re-robe. My sister goes through the same process and we exit merrily and look forward to our developing tans.

Over the next 4-6 hours our tans develop and overnight I begin to stink, stink like the nastiest sunless tanner you have ever used and I realized I'm going to have to wash my sheets because they are going to stink just as much as I do. In the morning I find myself with a subtle glow. Success! I am tan, for me anyway. Then I take a closer look. My hands and feet are orange and very very dark (especially the bottoms of my feet). So I scrub and scrub and there's no use it's not budging - the second day they look much better but I did end up using lemon juice and bath salts as an exfoliate to get the darkness out of my old lady looking hands.

It turns out that there are baby wipes that you are supposed to wipe your hands and feet off with after the tanning session, but whether she neglected to tell us that or we just didn't hear it we  missed that step.

Two days out my tan looks better and the bottoms of my feet are still orange but who really cares about the bottoms of your feet right?

Here's what I think: Bumper Stickers

A few days ago I was driving home from work and saw a Lexus parked on the side of the street with an Obama bumper sticker fastened to the back bumper. I'm not opposed to bumper stickers, in fact some are very funny and I totally agree with advertising your preferences, political or otherwise. But to me, a bumper sticker is the tattoo of motor vehicles. I haven't ever found a bumper sticker that I loved so much that I wanted it basically permanently attached to my car for the duration of it's life.

No matter what you may think when you buy a bumper sticker, that thing ain't coming off nicely. It will take a whole lot of effort to get the sticky residue off your polished bumper. A beat up, rusted out, crap wagon (similar to the 1980 Ford Fiesta that I was honored to drive for my first car) can benefit from a good bumper sticker collage, but why spend that kind of money on a Lexus (a luxury car) only to ruin the luxury finish?

It may seem like a good idea to plaster your opinions for all to read, but think about those poor fools who are stuck with the George W. Bush campaign stickers still today. I'm sure back in 2000 it seemed like no harm done, but eight - even four - years later regardless of whether you still supported the man, that bumper sticker probably didn't seem like such a great thing. I'm all for supporting candidates and presidents, but maybe do it with a window cling that comes off clean when you change your mind or the theme is no longer timely.

I'm just saying use your best judgment, if you think the sticker will outlast the longevity of a car (for some 20+ years- unless you're hoping to trade up within a few years) then by all means bumper sticker it up! But just in case you don't want to wreck your shiny paint job - maybe look to posting your opinions for all to see on facebook or twitter or whatever the newest and best social network is, you'll likely reach more people that way anyway.

Here's what I think: New Years Resolutions

It's that time of year when we reflect on the past year and vow to start a new. Most people make resolutions to correct some bad behavior they have, like playing video games too much or using curse words, but let's be honest the chances that you are going to fall back to your previous behavior is about 99%. I don't think there are actual statistics out there regarding this but in my experience if I decide to say drink less pop it lasts for about a week and then I'm back to not caring how often I drink it.

Rather than make myself feel bad about irrelevant things that in the long run don't matter that much, I like to take time at the beginning of the year to make a list of new things that I would like try this year. Number one on my list is learning to play the banjo. I've never played an instrument (other than the recorder in elementary school) and the start of the new year is a perfect time to take on a new project. Now I only need to find a banjo to start learning on.

Take some time to think about what you've always wanted to do, whether it's learning a new language, taking a trip to somewhere you've never been, or just reading up on a topic that you've always found interesting. Once you have thought of something that you want to do this year, make a list of ways to accomplish it. If you have several idea, like I always do, make sure that you prioritize them because chances are you wont be able to do everything you've always wanted to do in one year!

Try not to worry so much about the small things and try to focus on learning and growing. I'll tell you one thing, come New Years Eve this year I'll be keeping company with Steve Martin as a banjo playing phenom,thinking about what I want to learn to do in 2011!

Here's what I think: I'm pretty sure I could work in IT

Maybe I don't have major IT problems at my place of work, but it seems like the conclusions that IT services make are completely non-technical. It makes me think that anyone off the street could give me advice regarding my tech issues.

My computer is running slow. Did you try turning it off and back on? My email lost all of my saved messages. Did you shut off the email service and restart it? Oh you did? Try turning the computer off and back on again. The printer is printing random things in bulk that no one asked for! Here, I'll unplug it and plug it back in, maybe that will help.

Really? I thought you had to specialize in IT, but apparently all it takes to fix your tech problems is unplugging or turning off the thing that wont work.

Just kidding, I really do appreciate my IT coworkers, I mean it cant be easy when the quality of information given to them is lacking technical insight. I mean seriously, you can't figure out what the problem is when I say "something" is wrong with my computer. Come on it must be obvious, of all the number of things that could be wrong with my computer why can't you figure it out from my detailed description of "something".

Here's what I think: Domesticated Squirrels

I happened upon an article on MSN entitled "Winning the squirrel wars" - this piqued my interest because for years now I have felt that squirrels have become increasingly bold and no longer fear human presence. This has disturbed me and instilled a quite fear in me that a squirrel might attack at any moment.

As if I didn't already fear the practically domesticated rodents, the article in question added another threat that had not occurred to me. Firstly, I did not know that squirrels are in the rodent family though now that I think of it it make sense. I guess I thought that, while scary, they were closer to the cute and cuddly mammal family. So, no big surprise, finding out that they are rat cousins added to the irrational rising fear. Secondly, and related to the first, squirrels may carry diseases such as rabbit fever and ringworm- both transmittable to humans. So coming across a squirrel I not only have to worry about their bite but the possibility that they will infect me with disease.

A few years ago I was visiting Rexburg, Idaho and was on the BYU-Idaho campus waiting for my boyfriend to get out of class. I found a particularly lovely bench under a tree in the courtyard outside of the library and sat there waiting patiently. Suddenly a blur zipped past me where I sat on the bench. Tentatively, I looked around to see what it was. There sitting just behind me was a squirrel. I jumped up immediately with a yelp- probably making an arse of myself in front of the strangers that passed. This was my first indication that the squirrels were becoming too comfortable with human-kind. But at the time, I passed it off as crazy Idaho squirrels and that in my lovely home state of Iowa something like this would never happen.

Wrong. While on a run sometime later here in the comforts of my hometown, a squirrel came upon the side of the sidewalk. I figured as I ran closer I would frighten it and it would scurry away. Not the case. As I got closer the squirrel maintained his position and I noticed that it was non other than a black squirrel! Very sinister indeed. The squirrel stared me down as I ran, diverting from the sidewalk to give the squirrel a wide berth. It was then that I recognized the true threat of the squirrel, and now MSN is on to them as well.

Be on alert, they're everywhere!

Here's what I think: Whales, Terrifying or Cute?

Yesterday I got the song "Baby Belouga" by Raffi stuck in my head for the majority of the afternoon and evening. I like to think that my dog likes it when I sing to her and it just came to me as a memory from my second grade music time and surprisingly I remembered most of the lyrics. The song got me thinking about whales, first just the Belouga whale and how it's really pretty ugly. I think the Belouga is sort a mix between a dolphine and whale, I don't know why, maybe because they seem small like a dolphine? You would think a dolphine/whale hybrid in looks would be cute- not the case because Belouga's have a hideous bump on their heads.

After pondering the Belouga whale, I began to think about how people seem to think of whales as such cute creatures. They want you to think they're all friendly and sweet like Free Willy. Well news flash, Free Willy was a Killer Whale- and they have sharp teeth in order to better tear apart their prey! Does anyone else find that a little terrifying?

Sharp teeth aside, because not all whales have those pointy little daggers, the sheer size of most whales should scare the socks off of most people! They are HUGE! Open water in general tends to frighten me, however, these crazy whale watchers take boats out and try to get an up close and personal look at these gargantuan beasts. I hope it occurs to them that while their boat is feet away from a mighty Blue Whale or Humpback, that when that majestic tail emerges from the water it could slam down and cap size their vessel!

Whales are terrifying creatures, while most are beautiful and not violent, I for one think that they deserve respect and should be admired from a distance. Let them "swim so wild, and swim so free" a safe distance from me!

Here's what I think: Troll Dolls!

Troll dolls. Creepy, naked, wild haired and belly button be-jeweled. These fantastical play things have come and gone and come again over the past 46 years since their arrival on the toy scene in 1963.

From ugly bridge dwellers to lovable pot bellies, Trolll dolls have crept their way into the hearts of American children and established themselves as one of the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th Century according to the Toy Industry Association.

I associate Troll dolls with the 1980's, having grown up in the 80's and early 90's these doll lined the toy aisles like a rainbow. I'll admit that even today I find these lovable toys to be more endearing than creepy -- I even bought a bright pink Troll doll for my office. Her name is the "Cheer Troll" and we passed her around the office to those who needed some cheering up. The "Cheer Troll" was so well loved that people would hold on to her for months at a time without passing her on, so eventually I retired her and she remains on my desk to pour sunshine into our office on a daily basis.

Though Troll dolls originated in the 60's and fads of popularity have sprung up in the 70's, 80's and 90's- I believe that the current re-emergence of the Troll doll stems from a fascination with 80's culture that the youth of America have formed. 80's fashion and music, including neon colors, lace leggings and the Broadway show Rock of Ages which features 80's rock music, have become increasingly popular.

Regardless of what generation you associate with Troll dolls, these dolls have been successful primarily among young girls. A little known fact about the dolls is in the 1990's marketers attempted to target young boys with concepts such as Troll Warriors, Battle Trolls, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Trolls- all with little success. Although I'm sure the specially targeted Troll dolls have made their way into the collections of Troll fanatics everywhere along with the cute miniature trolls and pencil toppers.

Troll dolls have had a long history, and with the attempts to rejuvenate the image these dolls will continue to be among the favorites of children all over the world. I can only hope that one day when I have children of my own they can know the joy of looking in to the creepy wrinkled face of a Troll doll and feeling warm and fuzzy with the glow of Troll love.