Real Men of 'Housewives'

I fully admit to watching ALL of Bravo's Real Housewives of whatever. Every season of every location. Orange County. Atlanta. New York. New Jersey. Beverly Hills. Even DC and Miami. I watch them all. While everyone is so focused on the women of these shows, I'd like to spotlight the manly men who also appear onscreen. The men that sometimes steal the attention away from the stars of the shows and deserve to be appreciated on their own! So here's to them...

1. Ken Todd (Beverly Hills). This is Lisa Vanderpump's husband and all-around sweetheart. Ken really seems to go with the flow as he shuffles around the house and at parties. Him and Lisa have been married a very long time and really seem like they are in love (despite her claim they only have sex twice a year.) They work together and still manage to want to spend time together. He is simply adorable (the accent and the way he loves Giggy doesn't hurt either).

One is NOT the lonliest number

In a city as big as New York, you see people in groups all the time. On the flip side, you also see many people off doing things on their own. We are all really busy people here in NYC and sometimes we do what we need to do when it fits our schedule. We don't want to wait on someone else.

I have said many times before that I am my own best friend and love doing stuff by myself. Also because sometimes I am so impatient that when I want to do something, I don't want to wait around for anyone so I just go by myself.  There are some things that depending who you ask, are acceptable to do alone, and some that are considered pathetic to do alone. I personally think that anyone that goes out alone and has the confidence to do so should be applauded. For me, some things are easier to do alone than others, but I still give it a go. Below are four things that I have done alone before and will do again.

1) Shopping. I think this is the most common solo outing for most people. I prefer shopping alone most of the time because I can go at my own speed.  If there is nothing I like, I do a lap and I am out. If I find something I like and need to try it on, I am super fast and hate waiting on others to try their stuff on. Selfish, yes, but totally efficient. There are two times when I enjoy shopping with someone else: When they are paying for me (What up Mama?!) and when I need a second opinion on how something looks. The second one is easier to get around because I can purchase the goods and have a friend over for the opinion (or a skype date fashion show). No biggie.

Word to Your Mother

While home visiting my parents recently I was able to get behind the wheel of a car again to drive. Always a treat since I NEVER drive in NYC. Since I only drive when I am home, I love to run errands and stuff and of course blast the radio and sing out loud to myself. My mom has XM radio in her car so instead of listening to my usual, I was able to listen to the 90's station. I didn't realize how incredible it really was.  There were so many songs that came on that I still remembered all the words to. More than I'd like to admit actually. Songs that bring me back to middle school and high school but def classics and ones that were played over and over again, some that I even had cassette single to.Yeah, that's right, cassette singles. Some of the my fave hits of the 90's that I particularly remember listening to over and over again are below...

1. Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice. This song gave us white kids street cred. Still does. And its also a great karaoke song to perform to because really, who didn't know almost all the words to this? Word to your mother.

Are you "my type"?

Those of you who know who I am know exactly what I am looking for in a guy. You know what "my type" is. You will see a guy walking down the street and nudge me to point him out. Who is he? Any nice-looking athletic black guy. Kidding! Kind of.

If you have been reading this blog, you also know what my dealbreakers are and what my "must-haves" are. But who is "my type" exactly? Well, so glad you asked...

Physically, my type is tall, dark, and handsome.  The first thing I notice about someone is their build. I love a strong, athletic build. Like about 6 foot 2 and about 200 pounds. The body of a basketball player or a football player. You can't be too skinny. Ugh. I want to be able to sit on your lap and not have to worry about squishing you. That whole "I am not going to put all my weight on your lap even if it means my legs are shaking and burning from the pain squatting to make you think I am not so heavy" thing is not something I want to constantly deal with. You girls know what I am talking about, right? Also, you can't be shorter than me. Once we get the height and weight approved, I will notice your smile next. Teeth are a biggie for me. You must, must, must have straight, white teeth. No summer teeth allowed (some are there, some are not. Get it? Get it?) You can't have straight and yellow. Or crooked and white. They have to be straight and white. Period. Next, I look at the eyes. I hope they are blue, but I guess any color is okay. Not too picky there, but there has to be a "spark" of some kind. Moving on. You can't be too pale, but obviously not Jersey Shore orange. A nice natural darker tone will suffice, thank you very much. You will also probably be surprised to know that baldness doesn't bother me as long as you embrace it. I really could go on and on but I don't want to totally overdo it at the moment as you are probably thinking to yourself "no wonder she is still single...she is pretty picky." And although true, I deserve to know and get what I want.

Unhealthy Reading

I read a lot of food blogs online. Mostly about food in NYC and Chicago and learning about which resaurants have the best food in town and around the country as well.  I also watch some food shows on Food Network and The Cooking Channel (Best Thing I Ever Ate, Diner's, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Unique Eats, etc...) Because of the knowledge I gain, I am able to make recommendations to friends in the city and while traveling and use the information myself when on vacation. I also enjoy looking at, what my family calls "food porn;" pictures of specific food items or meals that others post online. Its kind of strange that I enjoy reading about restaurants and food because I rarely eat out. Looking at this stuff online is kind of a mentally unhealthy thing to do since I have such food and weight issues, but its better than eating the actual foods. Instead I stare at them and pretend that I know how good they would taste if I actually allowed myself to eat half of these things.

Because its not good for my wallet or my waistline, I maybe eat out once a week. If money were no object and food didn't have any calories, you better believe that I would eat out all the time. But since I don't make a lot of money and everything that I eat sticks to my ass, I do not have that luxury. However, looking at pictures of these foods and reading about the best of the best, might actually do more help than harm. They give me something to look forward to and I know when I do eat these foods to really enjoy them because I eat them so infrequently.

With all the reading about food that I do, and places I have actually eaten at, I sometimes think that if I had only a few meals left to eat on Earth, what would I eat? Or if I was on death row, what would be my last meal? Well, below are my top five favorite meals.

1. Lou Malnati's. (Chicago) Deep dish sausage pizza with a side of creamy garlic dressing.  I fantasize about this pizza. It's thick. It's cheesy. And and there is a whole LAYER of sausage on the bottom. But this pizza is kicked up another notch with the addition of Lou's  creamy garlic dressing. The extra flavor it gives when you dip is just amazing. If you haven't tried this combo of pizza and dressing, do it. You will thank me later. Hmmm....maybe I should have my mom send me a Lou's-To-Go?