First comes baby, then comes marriage??

I am conservative. I am not a prude, and not (too) judgmental. I know being 27 and conservative is neither cool nor popular in the media, but I feel good in the fact that I have a strong sense of what is right and wrong. Not everyone agrees with me but at least I will stand for something. None of this, "Oh, there is no "right" way of doing something." B.S. Everyone thinks they know the right way. So be proud of your belief whatever it is.

I don't understand why there has been this reversal of matrimonial order. Charlotte Church (22) is expecting her second child with her rugby boyfriend. Here she is quoted on People.com:

"I want all my babies by the time I'm 32, so then I can have everything done," she said. "We want to have our babies young and then I'm going to get married and look fabulous for that."

Look. I understand if you don't want to get married. I understand if you want to pull a Brangelina. I may not agree, but I get it. But why have babies, and plan on getting married afterwards? Built-in flower girls? What couple do you know that says after being married 50 years, "yeah, things have been good, but I sure wish we'd had kids first and waited a good ten years?"

Holding off on the commitment of marriage if it is something you intend to do means only one thing. You don't understand what marriage really means.

And yes, because it irritated me, I chose to post an unflattering picture of her.

Snow what? Good for her!

So good for Brittany Snow. In the wake of Mischa Barton's cellulite debacle and Jennifer Love Hewitt's bikini disaster (both of whom most women would kill to look like), Brittany Snow is swearing off trainers and diets.

I don't suggest you start sitting on the couch and eating cocoa puffs out of the box, but for goodness sake....go for a jog, and enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day if you so desire.

Holy cow!

Holy heck! Jamie Lynn gave birth to a ‘lil baby girl, which (sadly) qualifies as “breaking news” from many major news sites. Her little bundle of joy is all set for a life chock-full of success.

First, her mother is 16, which means she has plenty of life experience to handle the responsibility of a child.

Second, her aunt is “show her bits” Britney, which ensures she’ll have a good role model aside from her mother.

Last, her grandmother is the woman who reared both Jamie Lynn and Britney. She made the original mold, so the little one can’t go wrong!

Not since Danilynn, Anna Nicole Smith’s baby, has there been a child so prepared to meet the world. Speaking of which, Lynn Spears, Jamie Lynn, Danilynn…anyone else see the pattern?

#1 reason NOT to buy a hybrid (yet)

I've been worrying (some may say obsessing) over gas prices like everyone else. In fact, I hate to even mention the phrase, "well, what with the cost of fuel and everything...". Yet, I've become a cliche.

Honda has rolled out a new zero-emission car. It does not run on gas; rather, it runs on hydrogen and electricity and emits water. I just saw an article that said Toyota's output of the Prius can't match demand.

So, will Honda's new zero-emission car be the auto of the future? To all those who are buying Prius', I'd watch out. They, after all, still run on gas. Honda's new car does not. Kind of common-sense which direction the technology is running in, isn't it?

Just like HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, and Beta versus VHS, there's usually only one winner in technology. Call me crazy, but I think I'll hold out on trading in my Highlander until I see who the winner is.

Ewww.

Thiiiiiiiiiiiis much (arms stretched wide): that is how much I hate summer. I am living in the wrong state/hemisphere. I'm not ashamed to admit it; I had cleavage sweat today at Costco.
What I wouldn't give to have a steaming cup of cocoa in front of a fire. I want to be bundled in my winter yoga pants and a sweatshirt.

And I'm not one of those Richmonders who complain in the summer that they want winter, and in the winter that they want summer. I like fall. And I like winter. I hate summer.

What does "feminist" mean anymore?

I'm not sure. But a friend of mine is attempting to find out through a series of questions posed to a forum of women, aged 22-30. She's taking a look at what it means to be a woman now, where we came from, and how our generation differs from the Facebook-reading, cellphone-texting, gossip-blogging one that seems to be coming up.

HH, if you're reading this, I think it'll be interesting to look at the generation that preceded us. Not just our mothers, but the women who really remember New Kids on the Block from their high school/college years (rather than elementary/middle).

If she starts posting soon, I'd love to link this to her site as well.

That's cool, Junot?

This is probably old news to my more literate friends, but I was absolutely astounded by the story of Junot Diaz, the writer who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I haven't read his book (though I think I will now), but he served as an inspiration. In the interview I saw, Diaz came across so human, so real, and so...well, normal.

I think some writers can get discouraged by the intimidating literati. It can be filled with so-called artistic types, who swill coffee and smoke cigarettes. (Yes, I know this is a cliched description, but cliches come from somewhere, and believe me, I've seen it.)

But the literary community is also composed of really normal people. That's encouraging. And also lifting my spirits is the fact that every writer seems to think their writing sucks. Even good writers. I can't count the number of workshops I been in when I am exceedingly jealous of someone else's rough draft. "Why didn't I think of that," is a common thought. And the person who wrote it thinks it's terrible. And not in that phony "aw, shucks" way.

So I take heart and feel inspired again Now if I can actually do anything with it...