A Very Big Day

I'll write more about this very soon, but today is a day that came much faster than I thought it would. Today my daughter is graduating from Wellesley College.


Wellesley is the alma mater of women like Hillary Clinton, Diane Sawyer, Nora Ephron and Madeleine Albright to name just a few. To walk through Alumni Hall is humbling and awe inspiring.


The first time I took my daughter to visit the school when she was a junior in high school I knew there was no way I could have gotten into this academically rigorous institution. Thankfully, my daughter has gifts I don't.


To say I am proud would be a huge understatement. I am proud of all of my children, for all their differences and similarities. All three are amazing people who have achieved wonderful things.


My daughter is my youngest, my baby so this is an especially significant day all the way around for both of us.


As I head off to the ceremony I just want to say thank you. Thank you to a universe that sent this girl into our family's life, because I know none of us would be the same without her.


Congratulations, Emma! I love you more than I can ever say.

Is Oprah's Crown Slipping? I Think Not!

There was a piece in the New York Times the other day that said things are not all well in "Oprahland."

They noted a dip in her ratings, fewer subscribers to her magazine and that her night-time reality show, "The Big Give" lost viewers as the weeks went on.

There has been speculation that her endorsement of Barack Obama, and her 10-week online class with Eckhart Tolle focusing on his book, "A New Earth." Apparently Christians are possibly upset with her about touting the book, which in reality does nothing to undermine Christianity.

It's an interesting culture we live in - a place where if you lose a couple of ratings (even though you're probably the wealthiest, most powerful woman in the country, maybe the world) that you could be looked at as "slipping."

Oprah still has the power to make books best sellers, movies hits and does more to encourage giving than anyone I've seen on TV.

It's a well known reality that people love you when you're on the way up and you're the underdog, but once you've reached the top and maintained that for a while, this unpleasant side of human nature seems to erupt and folks find delight in taking you down.

It seems inevitable that at some point there would be some Oprah backlash. Several years ago when Oprah did a regular segment called, "Remembering Your Spirit," critics fell over themselves saying she was proselytizing to the masses. In reality she was trying to get people in touch with their spiritual side by doing subversive things like taking a walk outside or keeping a journal of the things you're grateful for every day.

I have no doubt Oprah will rise above all this speculation. She has a thriving production company, has bought her own TV network and produces both Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray's talk shows.

Nothing anyone says can keep me from planning my trip to "Oprahland," it will be the day I get to sit on her set and talk about my book. That's my dream and I'm sticking to it. Ratings and articles in the NYT be damned.

Sisterhood of the Not-So-Smarty Pants

Tonight on E! two new shows premiere - "It's Complicated" and "Living Lohan."

"It's Complicated" stars former B-list (now more of a C-minus lister) actress, Denise Richards. Unfortunately what she's most well-known for now is her extremely ugly divorce from actor Charlie Sheen. Well that's not exactly true, she's also known for having a relationship with Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi fame, who used to be married to one of Denise's friends, Heather Locklear. Are you keeping up? My sense is she's not a rocket scientist, but who knows, maybe she's hiding a 140 IQ under those extensions, but I kinda doubt it.

The other new show starting tonight, (that I not-so-secretly can't wait to see) "Living Lohan" stars the family of rehab-frequenting, alleged fur-coat stealing, maybe-girlfriend of Samantha Ronson, Lindsay Lohan. Mother, Dina now has her talons sites set on making Lindsay's younger sister, Ali a star. This woman actually has four children, heaven help us - there may be two more Lohans to see stumbling out of Hyde and hanging out with inappropriate people.

I often straddle two mindsets when writing about celebrities and kids. First and foremost I am a mother. I like to think I wouldn't want to profit from my children, but I would probably have to eat my words because I have written about them, and probably will again at some point in time, so apparently I am a big hypocrite. The other side of me is the celebrity journalist/blogger so I find it all so fascinating. For all my tsk'ing about poor Angie and Brad being subjected to endless hounding by the paparazzi, I have to admit to glancing at photos of their children and Angie's ever-expanding belly online. More hypocrisy!

So maybe for all my high-horse stances about how not-smart these two women are, I'm thinking they're a lot smarter than me. They're sure making a lot more money that I am, and there's nothing dumb about that.

George Clooney's Rockin'Abs

The second of these two photos of George Clooney, 47, unwrapped, cropped up on the Internet this week. I was kind of surprised when I saw the difference in him from a couple of years ago, evidence right below.

It got me thinking about how perhaps having a girlfriend almost 20 years younger can really help your body.

Back when George was sporting a little bit of a tire around his waist he was a swinging single guy, and despite the softer stomach, this "Sexiest Man Alive" was still, well, the "Sexiest Man Alive."

It's so not fair that guys can still be considered very hot and sexy even if they enjoy pasta and cheese. I saw a photo of Sharon Stone this week that focused on her sagging bottom in a bathing suit, and the misogynistic guys over at TMZ were picking on Alanis Morissette because she's put on a few pounds since her breakup with Ryan Reynolds.

The pressure put on women to be skinny isn't fair. It's especially not good since Alanis had come out in the past and confessed to having been anorexic. Nice going guys! A woman overcomes an eating disorder and you call her fat! No wonder women have such body issues.

I'm happy for George that he looks so good, (Though I hope he's not becoming manorexic) but he's in the enviable position that even if he decides to back off a bit on the crunches and relax and enjoy the fresh pasta in Lake Como, he'll still be one of the sexiest men alive.

It's got me wondering though - maybe I should start dating men twenty years younger so I'll get a rockin' body too. Nah, most guys are so not worth it. I'd rather have the pasta.

Listen Up: "Candy on the Cape" Hits the Airwaves!

Starting tomorrow morning I am going to be appearing once a week on WQRC (99.9 FM ) radio giving a pop culture update. If you aren't on the Cape you can listen from the Web site.


I recorded my first appearance today and think it went pretty well! Not having a lot of experience with this kind of thing I wrote myself some copy, and got ready for my 90 seconds of air time. The only problem was, it was more like 3 minutes. I'm kind of a chatty gal. Time will tell (literally) if she uses it all or if I get edited down.

It's kind of a funny thing to do as a writer. So much of what I do involves the written word. I spend hour upon hour crafting things that read well, but trying to write something that sounds good is a little different.

The listeners will be the judge as to how or if I succeeded! Times are such that you can't just sit in your office, bedroom, or wherever you choose to write and have that be that. Now you have to do it all and be all to everyone across the board in all areas of communication. Some times we will do better than others.

Maybe if I get comfortable with radio, TV won't seem so intimidating. I'm not ready yet - I still need my notes! But, since the eventual goal is to sit with Oprah and talk about my best-selling novel, and talk about how you CAN recreate your life after 40, I'd darn well better learn to lose those notes. Just give me some time, I'll get there yet.

Listen in to see how I do on WQRC at 8:50 a.m.!

"Gossip Girl" and "Desperate Housewives" End Their Seasons With a Bang

Warning: Spoiler Alert! If you have yet to watch these shows get to your TiVo immediately, watch, then come back!

Last night was the first season finale of "Gossip Girl," and the show did not disappoint. I had more fun watching this episode more than any others of late.

I will admit that part of that was because I got to watch it with my 22-year-old daughter and seven other soon-to-be-graduates from her college who had come to the Cape to relax after weeks of academic pressure leading up to their graduation. By myself I may gasp and talk to the TV, but it's nothing like being with a bunch of women yelling, "Yeah, you go Chuck Bass!"

From the opening scene of Lily Van der Woodsen waking up (on her wedding day) in bed with Rufus Humphrey it was clear this was going to be a great episode. By the end, the evil Georgina had been brought down by Blair, (yes!) and the only people who could render such an diabolical girl powerless - her parents. She's now off to a boot camp for troubled girls. but don't relax yet folks - she's coming back next season as a series regular. She'll certainly wreaking more havoc on the folks of the upper East Side.

Lily did marry Bart Bass, but something tells me things aren't done with Rufus just yet. Two of the biggest shockers were the break up of Serena and Dan, but we had to know this was coming eventually - the course of true love never runs smoothly. The final scene with Chuck was a jaw dropper. He finally declared his love for Blair, but after a mind-warping lecture from his father about how being in a relationship changes a young man, he left her hanging at the heli-port while he was busy trying to seduce his father's new decorator. A classic Chuck Bass move, just when you thought he might have a heart after all. But don't feel too sorry for Blair, she hopped that helicopter with a very cute guy, and as she said to Georgina, there's only room for one crazy bitch in their world. I have a feeling Chuck will pay.

As for "Desperate Housewives,' I was shocked by two things - Susan and Mike naming their baby Maynard (yikes!) and by the final scene, a flash forward five years in the future. I chuckled at the site of Gabrielle a bit heavier than we're used to, and as the mother of two unruly little girls. Bree seems to have become the next Martha Stewart, and she's still married to Orson. There wasn't a lot of shock that Lynette's boys seemed to be having some troubles with the law, but it was Susan five years in the future that made me audibly gasp - she was no longer with Mike Delfino, she was with some other handsome man.

It's going to be a long summer waiting to find out what happens on these two shows. Thank goodness I'll have "Living Lohan" and "It's Complicated" to sufficiently numb my brain until then.

A Hooting Good Time

I went to a most unusual bridal shower today. It was for the soon-to-be daughter-in-law of a good friend of mine.

I didn't know anything about any sort of entertainment. I was so busy up until I went that I didn't have the time to get myself stressed out at the prospect of some Chippendale-type guys showing up. For some reason the thought of half-naked men dancing and wanting me to put dollars in their G-strings has never been my thing.

I brought my gift, and showed up on time (almost) and was surprised to find out that there was indeed going to be entertainment. No half-naked men were going to dance, we were going to have an hour long demonstration with owls!

Unbeknownst to me, the bride-to-be LOVES owls.

This lovely woman named Marcia from Eyes on Owls brought six with her - from a tiny Saw Whet, to a spectacular Snowy, a Screech and a couple of others I can't remember.

I had never been that close to an owl before and they were gorgeous. We couldn't touch them though, which was frustrating. I love animals and am always wanting friends cats to sit on my lap and will hold gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs - but nothing slimy. Ever. No snakes, No reptiles. Nothing personal, I'm sure there are some lovely snakes and reptiles out there, but I'm sorry, I can't warm up to these cold-blooded creatures.

I loved being able to eat chips and dip and commune with owls. There was something very fun about going to a shower that did something so outside of the box. I applaud the young bridesmaids who know the bride so well that they planned a party that was so...her. So many times parties play it safe and go all traditional. I think unusual is always a good thing.

Given the choice of men wearing bow ties and little else, or owls, I'll take the owls any day. I think they have a lot more dignity, and I didn't once out of embarrassment try to figure out just where to look. Thankfully their feathers covered everything quite nicely.