The Hills Are Alive...

The folks at Gawker talk about how The Hills is the shit.

Start watching. It's TV crack. I swear to it.

Will It Blend? - iPhone

This is the most amazing abuse of technology I've ever seen. The iPhone is great, but the crappy network it's on may spur angry blending incidents all over America.

Any Hills Fans In The House?

Team Lauren or Team Speidi? Please weigh in. I'm a Team Lauren gal all the way.

Also, Justin Bobby? Funniest thing ever.

My Latest TV Find

I've decided that the USA show Psych is the new Scrubs. I used to think Scrubs was the funniest show on TV--got to love those wacky hijinks--but then I kept reading about how Zach Braff is a huge asshole, so that kind of took the fun out of it for me.

Anyway, Psych is heavy on the hijinks, which I love, and as my friend Tara (who introduced me to the show) says, it has "more obscure pop culture ‘80s references than any other show." True that. It's a winner!

Home on the trail

I love the Little Miami Scenic Trail. For those of you not from the Greater Cincinnati area, it's a bike trail that weaves up the eastern side of Cincinnati, then on to Lebanon (Ohio, obviously) and Xenia. From there, you can pretty much find your way to Lake Erie. Pretty great, right? Yes it is, and for me especially.

One of the things I love most about the Little Miami is the number of fun cyclist friendly businesses right off the trail. I really enjoy hopping on my bike in Milford, riding the 9.5 miles to Loveland, stopping for a breakfast sandwich and heading back. Actually, the downtown Loveland stop on the bike trail could be my version of utopia, which is really shaking my formerly firm philosophy about where I will and will not live.

The philosophy now: live in a more urban area, close to downtown where I work to minimize my commute time. Also, by living in a more urban area, I'm more likely to have a home with character (and I do) and have many more activities in close proximity (which I also do).

I don't live in the heart of the city by any means, but I definitely have the perks of living close-in. My neighborhood in Covington is only a couple miles from the riverfront and all the great festivals and things to do that come with it. But there's one thing I don't have... the bike trail.

I want to ride from my house to the bike trail. I want to ride my bike to the canoe rental place and spend a leisurely afternoon on the river. I want to go on breakfast rides and get a coffee and sit, relax and read my newspaper before going back. I REALLY want this! But to achieve this, I'll have to be much farther from downtown and the riverfront. What to do?

I'm not moving anywhere anytime soon. But when the time comes to move again, it's going to be a very very interesting decision. As I get a bit older, my idea of a great Saturday shifts from spending the evening at the Levee to spending the day on the trail. I guess that's a pretty good sign--but knowing me, I'm likely to change my mind.

Power for good, not evil

I've apparently gotten quite the reputation for ruining my friends' favorite fast food items. Really, all I've done is research and find out how bad certain delicious items are--like the delicious Chipotle burrito. My usual at Chipotle (at least until I learned this information) clocked in at 1420 calories. Really, what I do is a public service... I do it for YOU people.

But, as a way to make amends, I thought I would use my research powers for good, not evil. I'll give you a couple healthy fast food selections from your (well...my) favorite restaurants.

Wendys

Instead of a Baconator combo, try a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, side salad with Italian dressing and medium Minute Maid Light Lemonade. The damage: a tiny 540 calories. If you can't give up fries and ditch the salad, you'll be at an acceptable, if you eat carefully for the rest of the day, 710 calories.

Taco Bell

Order your tacos "fresco style"--that's without the cheese and sour cream. A fresco style beef taco is only 150 calories. Not too shabby. Eat two and you're just a tad higher in calories than a lean cuisine. (I know you Lean Cuisine fanatics will point out the higher fat content, but here, we're just counting calories, so give me a break!)

Ikea

Today, Rob and I made the 45-minute drive to Ikea for the second time in the last month. The first time, we went to pick up a bunch of goodies for our new place before the big move; the second time, we ran out to pick some stuff up for Rob's mom.

As much as I love Ikea--and I do love everything about it, from scouting out what I want online to walking through the faux home setups to picking up random shit in the marketplace area--my favorite thing about a trip to Ikea is, of course, food-related.

For $2.50, an Ikea shopper can get two hot dogs, chips and a drink. This is the tastiest, most filling, $2.50 you will ever spend. You can also get a delicious $1 fro-yo cone for the road. We love the Ikea hot dog deal so much that we have planned every Ikea trip--even the ones we made to NJ when we were in NY--around a meal time so we can take advantage of it. I love it just for the good deal; Rob actually drinks the disgusting Swedish soda when he's there, too.

File Under Dream Jobs

I secretly (OK, maybe not-so-secretly) think writing for TV is probably the most amazing job ever. So when I caught this article with the creators of How I Met Your Mother (one of my favorite shows) discussing the creative process and how they got their start, I was jazzed. I'm probably not going to quit my day job anytime soon, but it's a fun read.

What $1,000 Can Do...

While doing my weekly scan of kiplinger.com, I came across this article on the different ways you can use $1,000 to change your life--or someone else's. I like reading personal finance articles in general, but I find I respond to these people-focused articles more than ones that are strictly about... portfolio diversification, for example. Anyway, my favorite bit is the piece on kiva.org--an organization that allows individuals to invest in small businesses in developing countries.

Harvest!

I just harvested an eggplant, a butternut squash and four tomatoes out of my garden. MY GARDEN! Yippeee! They are beautiful!

Dear writers of Law & Order....

Dear writers of Law & Order,

I came across two stories this week that seem primed for some good, old-fashioned, ripped-from-the-headlines action. Thought you'd want to know.

Best,
Loree Stark

P.S. Also, maybe once or twice when you get famous actors for an episode, you could consider NOT making them the bad guy? Just for the audience's sake, you know. When Rebecca De Mornay popped into view within the first five minutes of an SVU rerun last night, it kind of took the guesswork out of the rest of the episode.