1.  This past Friday gave us a brand new episode of What Not to Wear, featuring Courtney, a woman who lost 170lbs through gastric bypass surgery.  I wrote about the episode over at We Are The Real Deal. I looooove WNTW so I was super excited for this episode and did enjoy it.  It wasn't perfect, but it was quite good - and so far I really like and appreciate the reader comments.  Getting feedback on my writing is so cool.

2.  There are a slew of commercials getting on my nerves lately.  I probably could do a list of seven of those on their own, but that would turn out sounding cranky, so I'll just mention: the sneaker commercials that spend most of their time focusing the camera on a woman's ass (it's a great ass, I'll admit, but the commercial is so objectifying that it's maddening); the sandwich commercial where the guy says to the woman, "You know I'm checking out your two, right?" meaning her two lunch choices, of course; and the cereal commercial where the mom goes on a diet because she gets stuck in a children's chair (Dear cereal company: a grown woman's hips are not meant to fit in a children's arm chair).  There are many more, but those three are the most maddening right now.

3.  To follow-up on yesterday's post, I'm happy to report that Oreo has been a super happy dog in the past two days (i.e. since we took Buster back to my parents' house for the week).  So, okay, she's not thrilled when he's here, but she's not showing any indications of permanent trauma.  Good sign.

4.  This Saturday the hubby and I have tickets to see Eddie Izzard at Madison Square Garden.  I bought these tickets last June and have just been holding onto them.  I can't believe the show is finally here!  And it means a trip into the city, yay!  Maybe we can even do dinner in the city, like a real grown-up couple with free time and a few dollars.

5.  I won a $5 Amazon giftcard from Tara over at 25 Hour Books, which I used today to order Michael Pollan's latest book, Food Rules: An Eater's Manual.  I still have to read The Omnivore's Dilemma, but In Defense of Food remains one of my very favorite books I've ever read.  I think everyone should read it.  Michael Pollan does really great work in food awareness - how what we eat affects our bodies and the world.

6.  I didn't watch The Bachelor premiere (why would I) but I can't help but stumble upon stories about the bachelorette who "cheated" on the Bachelor with a crew member.  She says nothing happened, and I understand this is generally against the rules on any reality show, but what's bugging me about this is the labeling of her as a cheater:

Bachelor Jake Pavelka, who claims he has never been cheated on, was shocked by the news. (US Weekly)

Guess what US Weekly and Bachelor - you still haven't been cheated on!  You're dating 25 women and one of them is rumored to have become friendly with a crewman and this is now cheating?  The hypocrisy here is staggering and disgusting.  It's not like the show was ever a great example of feminist thinking, but this is just beyond the pale.

7.  Yesterday I tweeted that "All web surfing roads lead back to Etsy."  No matter what I do, I stumble across links to Etsy - and then I get lost in the Etsy pool for hours.  This year is my big "house into a home" project/resolution, so I think next year will be the year I get my personal style back into shape.  It really tanked when I went to grad school and gained weight.  I had little reason to get dressed nicely most of the time and, as I put on weight, I just got depressed and felt like nothing looked good (I even hated buying new clothes).  I used to relish dressing and accessorizing - now it's more like, "Eh, whatev."  But I feel the pull when I look at personal items on Etsy - scarves and rings and dresses (in plus sizes!).  I don't know what my body will do after I have the baby, but I'd like to obviously lose the baby weight . . . and then some.  I think next year will be the perfect opportunity to re-style myself.