Mini Shopaholic

"Mini Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella is the latest installment in the "Shopaholic" series, which started with, "Confessions of a Shopaholic". I've read every one of Sophie's books and I loved this latest one!

I started reading the Shopaholic books when I was in highschool and after the first one, I was immediately hooked! Becky Bloomwood, the heroine, never disappoints! She's a great madcap sort of character who's constantly getting herself into trouble, which is something any shopaholic can identify with. But the great thing about this series is that it's truly entertaining and laugh out loud funny, so even if you aren't an actual "shopaholic" you'll appreciate the books just for their wit, charm,, and really interesting writing style. Sophie Kinsella writes in a sort of signature first person-present style so that you're experiencing events as the characters are. It keeps the story fresh, interesting, and it also keeps you on the edge of your seat a bit wanting to know what happens next!

I don't want to give too much away a bout the book, so I'll just briefly reveal a bit of the plot:

Becky by this point is Becky Brandon, ever since book 3 where she marries Luke Brandon, a big tycoon. They have a daughter, Minni, who it seems, is destined to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a shopaholic herself. At age three, she already knows how to shop online! It's very amusing and entertaining to see Becky as a Mom after reading all the books to see how she's grown and developed but still manages to maintain her basic enchanting qualities. There are always lots of great subplots in Sophie Kinsella's books, some of which include a surprise party Becky is trying to throw for Luke which becomes a complete fiasco, Luke's estrangement from his biological mother Elinor, and the fact that they are living with Becky's parents because each house they try to get falls through for some reason or another.

This one is another triumph for Sophie in that you simply can't put it down. So, fans of the series will really love it, but if you haven't read the other books, I doubt it'd be easy to follow. If you saw the movie, "Confessions of a Shopaholic", do NOT judge the books on that. I found the movie entertaining as a fan of the books, but it was nowhere near as good as the books are! There were so many changes, not the least of which was that the movie takes place in New York where the books take place in England, which in my opinion, makes them even more intriguing for American readers because Sophie Kinsella lives and works there, so that adds a lot of authenticity and gives you a good idea of what life is like in England.

So, if you haven't already, I'd highly recommend starting with "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and working your way up to this one! You won't regret it. Just make sure you hide your credit cards because you WILL want to go shopping! ;)

The Nook Color

I received my Nook Color in the mail today and I have been unable to put it down! The Nook Color is the first full color E-Reader. It's actually much more than I expected and well worth the money ($250). The screen resolution is unlike anything I've ever seen before and really does make it easier to read for long periods of time. It has wi-fi capability so you can actually use it to go online and check you email or facebook or whatever.

It's very similar to the iPhone and iPad in a lot of ways, except it's the size of a paperback book and much easier to organize (in my opinion). I was on the fence about digital readers for a long time because I love books so much, and even though I'm sure I'll still be buying actual books, I'm really glad I decided to get this! The prices of the Nook Books are great too! I got all fifteen original L. Frank Baum for 99 cents! I also bought a magazine. Now, reading a magazine on this thing is probably one of the best features because there are several ways you can go about it. My favorite is the "article view" option, which allows you to just read the article without all the pictures and interruptions in between. I normally HATE touch screen devices, but this is EXTREMELY responsive and quick! When I look up a web site it's up in a moment!

You can also put files on there from your computer like word documents, music, and pictures.

If you're in the market for a digital reader, I would absolutely recommend this! Barnes & Noble did a grade A job with this device and I know I'll get a lot of use out of it!

"It's not the loss of innocence that counts. It's the innocence itself"

I recently spent some time over my friend, Andrew’s house with him and his family and on one particular day (when the power went out and I had absolutely nothing to do), I decided to sit down and write Andrew a letter. This is a habit of mine. He must have a drawer full of cards, letters, and poems by now. I’m a sappy sentimental, what can I say?

At any rate, when I started, I had no idea what I wanted to write about or what I wanted to say. As I began to write though, it came to me. Part of the reason (I believe) that our friendship has endured is that neither one of us has ever truly let go of the child within us both. We all have it. Now weather we chose to acknowledge or pay attention to it, is another story.

I find this to be an extremely important part of survival in this world that we live in. With the pressures, the money, the illness, the every day mundane tasks we’re forced to do, it’s so easy to forget about that time when almost nothing mattered; when your biggest problem was what kind of ice cream you wanted from Mr. Softie. In recent years, I’ve come to embrace that child. That kid who danced in front of a mirror for hours with a cheap fedora singing “Get Happy” is still here and he gives me hope and encouragement every day. He had a dream and it’s up to me to follow through with it.

We as humans need dreams, we need fantasy, we need things that make us happy. Though we can never return to that time of monsters under the bed, Santa Clause, and Tooth Fairies, we have the memory of it. The memory of that time when absolutely anything was possible if you believed. Kids have it all figured out. It’s we, as adults who over think and complicate things.

In reference to Judy Garland, I once heard someone say, “It was not the loss of innocence that counted. It was the innocence itself.” How true that is. Don’t let the pressures of your life force you to forget that there was a happy time and mind set and that there still can be.

We’re still those same kids with the same hearts and minds and hopes and dreams. We owe it to them to give them what they dreamed of. They’re always with us and the sooner we embrace them and love them, the sooner we can embrace and love ourselves.

I’ve seen parents live through their children yet still be completely unable to relate to them emotionally. I don’t understand this. I feel like our childhood shapes who we are and who we become. How could you completely forget what it felt like to be a kid and how dare you think of yourself as to “grown up” or “mature” to sympathize with them?

I think it’s time we all sat down, took a long, hard look at ourselves, tear down that brick wall we’ve managed to build over all these years and just let ourselves be. Remember the child, remember the innocence, remember the excitement, the possibilities. Keep in mind the Lands Of Oz and the Neverlands that got us through. It was like that once and it can be again. Just have the blind faith of a child. Stop allowing yourself to become so cynical and put some trust in humanity and in yourself. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Depression

Before I begin my rant here, I just want to let everyone know that I most certainly DO NOT see Judy as the poster-girl for depression. I just love that picture and I've seen that face many times on many depressed people (including myself) so I thought it would be a good example.

Depression. So many things come to mind when we here that word. We live in a society where nearly everyone's answer to "How are you?" is "Tired" or "Depressed". Even though, medical science has made extraordinary advances in the treatment of depression and similar emotional and psychological disorders and diseases...yes, DISEASES, many people are still scrutinized and judged for their way of dealing with them. And, as usual, by people who have no idea what they're talking about.

Depression is a disease just like diabetes or alcoholism (which is also controversial, but trust me, it is a genetic disease). Most of the research I've done for this article has been by myself. I've read a bit, but I've been doing that for years. My goal right now is to share my own personal experiences and opinions on the subject.

I've suffered from mild to severe depression for a great many years. Many members of my family also suffer from it, indicating it's heredity. Finally, after years of absolute inner torment, and trying everything I could think of to "snap out of it", I decided to give antidepressant medication a try. And it saved my life!

Now, it wasn't without trial and error. I tried Zoloft (which helps my mother a great deal), cymbalta, Prozac, Wellbutrin, and a few others before I discovered Pristiq, which is one of the newer names on the market and part of the new generation of antidepressants. This was at a time when I had hit what I'd call rock bottom. I didn't get out of bed for three months. When I first started my regime of 50 mg a day, It was slow acting, but after about three weeks, I had the courage to get up and face the world again.

Many things cause depression and there are many kinds of depression. Hereditary, post-pardom, seasonal, environmental...and there are many different ways to treat it. Drugs are not always the answer.

With me, the best way I could describe it is that it was like living in the eye of a storm, never knowing what was going to happen next. I'd be fine one minute and then the next minute I'd be crying. One minute I'm happy, the next, I'm enraged. And all the time with this crippling anxiety that sometimes became so severe I was sure I was having a heart-attack. It's then that you start acting out and then it's not about you anymore it's about the poor people around you who have to deal with it as well. Therapy or at least someone who understands is essential to the healing of depression because if you've never been through it, you simply don't understand. And watching from the outside just makes the person in question look like a crazy attention seeker, which is absolutely ridiculous. No one would chose this.

Here are just a few of the things that just piss me off about people's narrowed views of depression. The thing that probably makes me the most mad is the drug thing. People who call antidepressants "Happy Pills". My father for example, is under the impression that you pop one of these pills and get high. Far from it! They take weeks and months to work and even then, you don't feel any sort of extra pleasurable effects. You feel normal. The whole point is to align the chemicals that become unbalanced in your brain naturally that cause depression.

I've heard so many absurd things... "You want to be this way", "You have no will power", "You're weak", "Just snap out of it", blah, blah, blah. It's not that simple when it's all out of your control. If it was in your control it wouldn't be happening to you.

My point is this, if you or someone you know suffers from any type of depression, don't turn a deaf ear to them and don't allow yourself to feel guilty for feelings and behavior that you have no control over. Help is out there. Even though it may seem like it, you're not alone. So, please, be honest, recognize the problem and do something about it. Otherwise, this disease will take hold of you and rule your life. You can be stronger than it. Sometimes all it takes is a little faith in yourself.

Tyler Clementi

Ellen's Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br7nbQSIyhg

Article:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/victim-secret-dorm-sex-tape-commits-suicide/story?id=11758716

A few days ago, I was sitting out on the porch with Andrew having a cup of coffee and relaxing. His mother, Robin came home with red eyes. She had been crying. She told us that she couldn't wait all day to get home and see us and call her son, Matt because she had read about Tyler Clementi's suicide. Tyler was an 18 year old college student who committed suicide as a result of a rather despicable case of cyber bullying. I'm pretty sure everyone knows the story by now, so I'm not going to rehash it. I posted the ABC News article and video above this entry.

It's rare that I comment on stories like this. It's not that I don't feel compassion for these kinds of things, I'm just not usually inclined to openly share my opinions. However, this hit really close to home. I know a lot of Rudgers students and I also know a lot of victims of bullying and teasing and ignorance. Well, to be honest, I've been one myself. After seeing how upset Robin was about this, it really made me think. First off, that is exactly the reaction that all parents should have when hearing things like this. She's a textbook example of a good parent and I look up to her. The more I hear and read about this, the more it just makes me sick to my stomach. I have to let it out somehow.

There is no one in the world who has the right to pass judgement on another person for any reason, especially about something they can't change about themselves. And no one has the right to use the word "shame". Anyone who says to a child or even an adult, "You should be ashamed of yourself" needs to realize the harm they can be doing. This kid was 18 and felt he had no choice but to end his life because of some meaningless, senseless, act of spite, hatred, and I'll bet anything, a healthy dose of insecurity and self-loathing on their part.

This kind of hatred and intolerance starts very early. I've seen it happen. I've always loved the Rodgers & Hammerstein song, "Carefully Taught" because it's true. Children watch you so closely. They're like sponges that soak everything up. It's every parents responsibility to be there for their kids, to support and love them unconditionally. It's also our duty as humans to be there for one another and really think to yourself, "How would I feel if someone did this to me?". And if the answer isn't a good one, DON'T DO IT! I've grown up around intolerance, negativity, and all the rest of it. I was lucky enough to find a strong sense of myself and to find people who would be there to help and support and love me. Not everyone is so lucky.

What else has to happen before we all step up and do something? Before people realize that hating another person for any reason is just a complete waste of energy and makes no sense? I just think we all need to stop being so apathetic and silent and pay more attention to the people around us. If you see someone who looks a little down, would it kill you to ask them what's wrong? It's so important to let the people you care about know how you feel about them. You never know when that knowledge might come in handy. I think we're often too shy or embarrassed to share those feelings. Why? I don't see what harm can come from letting someone know you care and that they're not alone. People thinking they have nowhere to turn is what leads to things like this.

Another thing that needs to stop is the ridiculous and completely out of hand spreading of lies and gossip about people. I've always been amazed by the projection of self-loathing onto others. It's incredible to think how many people feel better about themselves when they hear something negative about another person. It's a little sick when you think about it. If you need another person's downfall to feel good about yourself, then you have a serious problem that has nothing to do with them. There's no reason for anyone not feel comfortable in their own skin and others shouldn't give them a reason. The reasons don't really exist and they're dangerous weapons that can destroy you.

In the final analysis, I suppose the whole point of my writing this was just to put my two cents in and express how I feel about this. But also to say that the world needs to realize how much we all need each other. We inhabit this tiny planet together and to survive, it will have to be together or not at all. No matter what they are or what they do, people are people with feelings and hearts and minds. Everyone needs to remember that and not let one thing about another person define your opinion and drive you to do things to hurt or harm them. These kids who are teased and tormented aren't just pictures in your mind. They're human beings just like you, and they're entitled to the same respect that all humans are.

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear
You've got to be taught
From year to Year
It's got to be drummed
in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught
To be Afraid
Of people whose eyes
are oddly made
And people whose skin
Is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught
Before it's too late
Before you are 6 or 7 or 8
To hate all the people
your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught

Liza's Confessions...

Liza's new album, "Confessions" is unlike anything she's every done before. In fact, it's unlike anything anyone's ever done before and here's why:

Anyone who knows anything about Judy or the Rat Pack or old hollywood social life knows about all those wonderful parties they would give and how at every party, inevitably, someone (often Judy herself) would go over to the piano and sing a song or tell some jokes and entertain. That's what this album is based on. Those nights that Liza observed as a little girl and later took part in. It comes through so clearly and if you close your eyes, you swear, your sitting next to Lauren Bacall with a cocktail in your hand listening to a fellow performer entertain you. It's incredibly personal and intimate. And best of all, every song is just Liza and Billy Stritch at the piano. No orchestra. Just pure and organic and simple.

The song choices are flawless. The album is an interesting mix of standards, some popular, some not. Every one has a life of it's own. My favorites are the title song, "Confession", which I really want to do myself, She does a rendition of "I Hadn't Anyone 'Till You", which Judy recorded in 1960 on the album, "That's Entertainment!", which was also a jazzy album (much like this one). She sings "All The Way", no doubt as a nod to "Uncle Frank" Sinatra, a great version of "I Got Lost In His Arms", and she kicks ass in "You Fascinate Me So", but I have to say my favorite song on the album is "On Such A Night As This". Not only is it a beautiful lyric, but she nods to Judy and even more subtlety, Vincente, which makes it just that much more personal and meaningful, at least for me.

I'll be honest, I love Liza and everything she does, I support one hundred and fifty percent, but I didn't know what to expect from this album. Just when you think she doesn't have anything left in that sequined bag of tricks, she hits you with a new one and wows you! And that's exactly what happened here! Also, I really need to comment on her voice. It's like she turned back time. I first saw Liza as a kid in 1996 with my Aunt Linda and my Aunt Nancy in Atlantic City. It was right after her triumph at Radio City and that's the image and the voice of Liza that I always carry in my head with me. I'll never forget seeing and hearing her for the first time live. She sounds EXACTLY as she did back then and I feel like a kid again listening to this album. It's my favorite recording to date of Liza's. Personally and professionally, this is another huge triumph for my little girl and I'm overjoyed to have it to put on and hear whenever I want!

<3

Confession
You Fascinate Me So
All the Way *
I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You
This Heart of Mine *
I Got Lost in His Arms
Remind Me *
Close Your Eyes
He's a Tramp
I Must Have That Man
On Such a Night As This *
Moments Like This
If I Had You
At Last

The Body Shop: Vitamin C Facial Radiance Capsules

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I LOVE The Body Shop! They have a great selection of all-natural skin care products that very few other brands can touch! They're also very affordable! I'm a big fan of their vitamin E line, which is for all skin types, but works really well for dry and sensitive skin.

Vitamin C does Fabulous things for the complexion! These little capsules are amazing (and very cool). The little pods the serum is in helps protect the ingredients and keep them fresh. They're loaded with vitamin C and each jar comes with 28 capsules (it's a 28 day night treatment) and each one has just enough in it to cover your whole face. It spreads really well! I've used these a few times and they always give my skin a noticeably rested and healthy looking glow! The Vitamin C line is one of Andrew's favorites too. He loves the way it feels on your skin. He's a huge tea tree user. I can't use that stuff, so maybe I'll have him review it ;)... at any rate, these are fun, affordable, and they really work wonders for your skin! Give them a try!

From the Website:

Best if you want to: Smooth and revive skin's appearance to enhance your natural glow.

Best for: Dull skin

How it works:
Antioxidant vitamin C encourages collagen production, improves elasticity and protects against damaging environmental aggressors.
Community Trade Brazil nut oil moisturizes and softens skin.