Season's Readings!

 I'm so thrilled to share with you this fabulous promotion by eight of the most charismatic authors that I know! The couple of books that I haven't read are on my "TBR" list.  If you need further proof that these ladies are adorably fantastic, check out their individual blogs for their answers to some burning holiday questions,  such as Santa: Sexy or not, how to make a snow slut, and which celebrity hottie is on their New Years Eve kiss list.

In the spirit of coming together for the holidays, eight popular Chick Lit authors are "partying it up" with a shared promotion for book lovers! That means eight fun and fizzy e-books, each priced at $3.99 or less, that are packed with plenty of laughs and romance to keep you entertained on those long winter nights! And if you'd like to gift one of these books to a Chick Lit fan, we've got you covered with your choice of paperbacks!

Which books are featured in this festive promo?

Finding Lucas by Samantha StrohBailey - Daytime talk show producer Jamie Ross is beyond fed up with her toxic bad boy turned metrosexual boyfriend. Spurred on by her gang of quirky friends, she goes on a hilarious, at-times disastrous, and totally life-changing hunt to track down the "one who got away." But are some loves best left behind? E-book and paperback available on Amazon. 

In Need of Therapy by TracieBanister - Handling the problems of hysterical hypochondriacs, lovelorn neurotics, and compulsive man whores is all in a day's work for super-shrink Pilar Alvarez. But can she deal with her crazy Cuban family, a trio of unsuitable suitors, and a threat to her practice without ending up on the couch herself? E-book available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble; paperback available on Amazon. 

What the Dog Ate by JackieBouchard - Discovering what her dog ate turns Maggie Baxter’s world upside down. With her chocolate Lab, Kona, as her guide, can Maggie forego her overly analytical ways to find a new life filled with tail-wagging joy? E-book available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes; paperback available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

The Girl, the Gold Tooth, & Everything by Francine LaSala - Suburban housewife Mina, beaten-down and struggling with amnesia, starts getting her memory and her mojo back. But she soon learns everything has a price in this fast-paced, richly layered, and darkly humorous satire! E-book and paperback available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie - When Roxy Rule shares a passionate kiss with her lifelong best friend, she must come to terms with her feelings for him while dealing with two sisters in full crisis mode, a boss who makes her want to stab herself with a letter opener and a fiancé who can't wait to walk down the aisle. Can she keep it together--or will she break under the pressure? E-book available on Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble; paperback available on Amazon. 

Fashioning a Romance by Libby Mercer - Devastatingly handsome and deliciously weird, John Harrington is the man of Caitlyn Taylor's dreams… and her nightmares. She has no use for a womanizer like him, and dodges his advances like a pro. But when they end up in Paris together, Caitlyn feels her resolve begin to slip. How will she ever be able to resist the irresistible in the most romantic city in the world? E-book available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. 

A State of Jane by MeredithSchorr - Jane Frank is newly single after nine years and looking for a second chance at love. But when she dives head first into the NYC dating scene and finds it infested with flakes who are interested today and gone tomorrow, it may be time for Jane to turn the tables! E-book available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes; paperback available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Picture Perfect by Lucie Simone - Lauren Tate's perfectly planned life quickly unravels at the seams when a smear campaign threatens her career as a top TV executive, but she learns just how cutthroat showbiz can truly be when the hottest scandal in Tinsel Town turns deadly and the Hollywood hunk who's stolen her heart goes missing. E-book available on Amazon; paperback available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Happy Publication Day, Meredith Schorr!

Another lovely author friend of mine is releasing her second novel today!

Congratulations, Meredith Schorr, on the release of "A STATE OF JANE"!!! I can't wait to read this one and will be starting tonight!

"Jane Frank is ready to fall in love.  It's been a year since her long term relationship ended and far too long since the last time she was kissed.  With the LSAT coming up she needs to find a long term boyfriend (or husband) before acing law school and becoming a partner at her father's law firm.  There's just one problem: all the guys in New York are flakes.  They seemingly drop off the face of the earth with no warning and no explanation.  Should she join her best friend Marissa in singlehood, making cupcakes and watching True Blood?  Or should she follow her co-worker Andrew's advice and turn the game back on those who scorned her?  As Jane attempts to juggle her own responsibilities and put up with the problems of everyone around her, she starts to realize that the dating life isn't as easy as she originally thought."

Happy Publication Day, Jen Tucker!!!

Why yes, I am still alive and I do plan to get some updating and blogging going on over here.

But today is something else…today is a big day for my darling friend, Jen Tucker!

Today is the day that her second book, The Day I Lost My Shaker Of Salt, comes out!!

Yes, she checked to make sure her panties were not inside out when her day began heading south. Jen Tucker returns with her latest memoir, The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt. Her dogs sample ant trap delicacies, a dentist appointment goes awry, and she battles her own version of animal road rage on one thorny day. Tender at times, funny as always, one of your favorite girlfriends returns to show you there are silver linings in the midst of bad days.

Jen’s debut memoir, The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out, was a 2011 Goodreads Semifinalist in the humor category. She is a regular contributor at Survival for Blondes, where she marries humor with preparedness. Jen lives in Indiana with her husband and three children.

Do yourself a favor and head over to Amazon and buy, buy, buy!!!

I'm moved!

I had hoped to have pictures to share today, but I am still unpacking and settling in.  It has to be perfect before I can share pictures.

Saturday was a chaotic and long day, culminating in me getting dehydrated and getting sick, but we were done moving things to the apartment by 12:30.  Not too bad. Now I just have to go over to my parents and clean out the closet, which is full of my junk.

Tyson has been moved over and is adjusting pretty well. He is like a little stalker, though.  He follows me everywhere I go and watches me.  If a door is shut in his face he yowls loudly until the situation has been rectified in his favor.  I always tell him that he is lucky he is cute. I continue to stay this.

I have to cover my couch up while he is sitting on it or it would have his cat hair all over it.  But look at him! Cute sleepy kitty! I envy the positions that boy can get himself into and sleep so comfortably.






This past weekend, after getting moved in, I did haul myself off to the movies....it was time to assemble with The Avengers, which broke records for their opening weekend.  BEST movie I have seen so far this summer. I urge everyone to see it...you are not going to regret it!

Almost there!

Bear with me, folks!  Just a couple more days.  I will be back on Wednesday of next week with an update on everything that has been going on.

This week, however, is crunch time for the move!  EEEP!!

Excuse me while I freak out!

First up, let me pass on the link for week 4 of the Dancing With The Stars blog. This week we took on Rock & Roll week.

It hit me yesterday while I was settling in to my new work station at work that I am moving in 3 weeks!! April 30th I sign the lease and get the keys to my new place. This thought fills me with extreme happiness and equally extreme dread. Why dread, you may wonder? I have a storage shed full of furniture from the last apartment. I have packrat tendencies and I need to go clean that sucker out and throw almost everything away that is in there. (I am going to yard sale a lot of it, I hope!) I have made a vow to myself that this time around I am NOT going to hoard things, simpler is better, and all that jazz.

Regardless, you will need to forgive me if I am in the middle of mild freak outs and melt downs over the next couple of weeks. I have packing and purging to do and procrastination is my first thought process. (Oh and if you are in Phoenix on May 5th, you can come assist in the moving process. I know you want to!)

Happy Easter!

Hoppy Easter wishes from me to you!
Hope THE Bunny brought you all sorts of chocolate and jelly beans!

Dancing, Direwolves, and Awards

My fabulous friend, Jen Tucker, asked if I would like to join her and our friend,Tracie Banister, for a weekly blog for “Dancing With The Stars”…you know that I said YES!!! You can check out our very first post right here: Dancing With The Stars week 3

Leave comments, do a little waltz, have fun with us! I don’t watch every season of DWTS, to be honest. I have a big issue with DWTS and the fact that they do a two hour results show. (I hate this about all results shows that are over 30 minutes. Let’s be honest, you don’t need to give us a ton of filler fluff to lessen the blow of your favorite going home. Rip that band-aid off and get it over with. ) However, this season I tuned in to see how Laura “Half-Pint” Ingalls aka Melissa Gilbert would do while paired with the ego that is known as Maks. And then got sucked in, mainly due to the most gorgeous specimen I have seen in a while – William Levy!








“Game of Thrones” also made a spectacular season debut on April 1st Last year when GoT was getting ready to debut, the New York Times had a woman review it. She called it “boy fan fiction” and eluded to the fact that only weird girls who enjoyed p0rn would enjoy this series, but no female she knew would be caught dead watching something like this. Gee, I must know a lot of dead people because I actually know more women that watch GoT than men. And I have to tell you - they aren’t weird. They come from all walks of life, but they are all well adjusted adults. This year, NYT again did a review where they assumed that only the Dungeons & Dragons crowd would be watching GoT. Hmm, you know what happens when you assume, right? (This amused me as they ran, at the same time, an article on Peter Dinklage, who not only stars on Game of Thrones but won an Emmy for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.) Luckily Huffington Post got it right. A great article by Alexandra Gekas. I embrace geek happily and I *LOVE* Game of Thrones!




The absolutely lovely, Tracey gave my Book Nook blog the Liebster Award! I am so touched that she did that! Please check Tracey out, she is one witty and fun lady to chat with. And watch my Book Nook blog for the award posting.

Random is as random does.

Oh let’s see…how about some random things for today!



First off, I am moving!!! Into an apartment on May 1st. I can’t wait! I’ve been shopping like a lunatic for a couple of months now to get everything I need. Now I just find myself buying the more frivolous things instead of the can opener, toaster, and lamps that I need. I put the deposit down yesterday and am now in full on “I need to get organized’ panic. Pictures will come soon!



Speaking of pictures, my computer crashed on Sunday. In the process of said crash I lost everything on there. Including all music files and about six months worth of pictures that I hadn’t saved. Sad thing is I lectured my dad just recently on doing just that. Yet I kept telling myself “later, later”. Now it is too late. I was a sad panda, man! It sucked. That will teach me, however.



My friend, Brenda, is in town this weekend to attend some Spring Training games. Hopefully I will get to see her one of the nights she is in town. *fingers crossed* I haven’t even attended any Spring Training yet this year and it ends on Sunday. Pffft, where did that month go? I kept thinking I had a little time to worry about it.



“The Hunger Games” – have you seen it yet? Have you read the books? The book is, of course, better. But the movie is all sorts of amazing and definitely worth taking in a showing of! I am firmly in the Team Gale side of life, just because I think Peeta is kind of a wuss. But it is really all about Lenny Kravitz and the gold eye shadow and guy liner. HOT!!!



This Sunday, April 1st, is the return of Game of Thrones. THAT is what I have been anxiously waiting for. If you haven’t seen the show, please do yourself a favor and give it a try! HBO is free this weekend in anticipation of huge numbers for the premiere and this season is going to be good! The casting is excellent, the setting is phenomenal, and it is just an intense ride. (And don’t taunt me with the fact you get to watch it while I’m at work during the day, Marika!!!)

WonderCon = Geeky Good Time

Last week I headed over to Anaheim to attend WonderCon for three days. I love geek time and sharing it with Angelina and Desi was even better!

HBO had an opportunity to get your head superimposed on the stake, much like Ned's poor beheaded head from "Game of Thrones". (This show...oh I can't even begin to tell you how much love I have for this show. Watch it if you have not!)

We wandered the vendor floor and did a little shopping on Friday. I came away with a stuffed R2-D2 as he was only $10 and the real deal is $5K. OUCH to my checkbook! But R2 is such a little pistol, I would really like one.

Saturday was movie day in the ballroom. We saw a couple of panels for movies that are complete pass for me: Locked Out and Sound Of My Voice, in particular. A few that look interesting: Resident Evil Retribution, Looper, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. And some that I am bouncing off the walls in anticipation over: Prometheus, Battleship, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Snow White & The Huntsman.

Two of the most gorgeous men I have ever seen were in the house for panels: Michael Fassbender with the Prometheus panel and Alexander Skarsgard with the Battleship panel.

**These two pictures are not by me. I was not able to get pictures during the panels that turned out, it was too dark and we were about 20 rows back.**

Sunday was TV panel time. We went specifically for "Once Upon A Time". That show is fabulous! They showed us the episode that was going to air that night and the two writers that were there did a great panel. There is some good stuff coming up on the show - the appearance of the evil queen/Regina's mother, answers as to who August (the writer) is, and the return of a character. Angelina had never seen the show before and got hooked with that episode.

I had wanted to meet Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor on "Game of Thrones" so we went to the exhibit hall to find him. Hodor is one of my favorite characters...all he says is Hodor. Mala and I speak Hodor to each other often so I wanted to get his autograph for her. He is such a nice guy! I mean, seriously a genuinely nice guy. He was so laid back and having a good time. I was impressed.



To end the fun CA trip, I met up with the lovely Natalie at Fat Dog in LA for dinner and gossip! She is as awesome in person as you would imagine she would be and we had a great night.

Now it is back to the grind of the j-o-b this morning...I need a vacation!

Some various pictures of the weekend:

It's no surprise to me, I am my own worst enemy

If there is one area of my life that I am really picky about and strive for perfection in, it is my professional side. I will say, with confidence, that I am a damn good employee. I will work extra hours, I will take on extra responsibilities, I pride myself on doing a good job.

I am also extremely critical of myself when I make a mistake. I know we are all human and no one is perfect, we all make errors. I get that. Unfortunately, I am so aware of the mistakes that I make that I get overly uptight over it.

I made one of those mistakes this week. I didn't know that I had to make a change in the system and a payment went out that shouldn't have. The big boss is not happy, my manager told me he will have to give me the lecture and they do understand that I am still new to the job, but the lecture will be coming anyway. *sighs* I told him that it didn't matter what he had to say, I can guarantee that I kicked myself harder than he could ever imagine. I didn't sleep Monday night, in fact. It plagued my mind.

I don't know how to accept the "you're only human" excuse. While no, I didn't know about the change I had to make to stop the payment as I wasn't trained about it, I still own up to the mistake and it is not easy to handle.

Vacation tomorrow cannot come fast enough!!

Book giveaways!

I have two book giveaways going on over on my Book Nook blog. Both end on Monday, March 12th and all you need to do is comment to be entered to win.

Forged In Fire by Trish McCallan.

Favorable Conditions by Kathleen Kole.

Stop by and leave a comment. :)

MARCHing on

It is hard to believe that it is March 7th already! How did that happen? This year has definitely started off with a bang. Unfortunately, for quite a few people in my life it has also led into 2012 with job loss, illness, and heartbreaking deaths. Makes me all the more thankful for the job that I have and the fantastic people in my life.

March is stacking up to be a busy one! Today, if I convince myself it won't be chaos, at Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall is the Hunger Games Mall Tour stop. I did finally read "The Hunger Games" and it was such a good book (I've only read the first one). I would love to stop in at the mall tour just to see Liam Hemsworth. He isn't as hot as big brother Chris "Thor" Hemsworth, but he is cute in that boy toy kind of way. However, I have a feeling that the mall tour is going to be reminiscent to the 90210 mall tours of the 90's when there were riots and the talent had to be rushed right back out the door.

Friday is Jen Lancaster's book signing for the paperback release of "If you were here". Very excited for that and hoping that my mom will be able to join me for another fun night of Jen's exploits.

My Uncle Ron and Aunt Faye will be here this weekend.

On Thursday (the 15th) I'm leaving work at 11AM and heading over to California to attend Wonder Con with Angelina, Desi, and thousands of geeks. I'm excited to see my girls, Alexander Skarsgard (Eric, True Blood), and the Once Upon A Time panel on Sunday. I'm also excited to see my friend's Brenda and Kent...and to meet the fabulous Natalie! Plus, anytime to get a break from work is a good time, right?

The end of the month Brenda will be here to attend some Spring Training games so I'll get to see her at some point.

Also the Phoenix Film Festival is taking place and I have passes for the showing of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's new series.

In between all this, I definitely need to take time to read some, see some fabulous cinema, and just have a good time with friends.

We are also moving at work. April 5th is our final day in this building. This past weekend they moved the Telecommunications team out and our section of the third floor is pretty barren. I took a picture, which prompted some hilarious comments from Jen Tucker, Heather Hummel, and Jazz.



From roller rink to water balloon fight to turtle racing, they kept me laughing the morning away at work. I always thought with the cubicles there we could have an awesome game of hide-and-seek. Now I think we should be able to have chair races. (We were warned, by management no less, to stay off the hand carts that are all lined up against the wall. Pfffft!)

I'd like to thank the Academy

To wrap up the awards season, I asked Danielle, Natalie, and Tracie from the previous post to come back and do a little wrap up with me on the Academy Awards.

First off, congratulations to Tracie! She called all the big winners! And as she said in email:

Michelle,

So, what's my prize for getting all four of my Oscar predictions correct? :)

Hmm! Have to think of something good, right? I already showed you Tom Hardy and his pooch...shared some Alexander Skarsgard...what else?

Best dressed female/male?

Natalie: Best Dressed Female - Slightly torn between Michelle Williams and… (reluctant sigh) Gwyneth Paltrow. Michelle Williams’ Louis Vuitton gown was stunning (I loved the bodice, the brooch, and I thought the color was perfect for her.) Then you have Gwyneth Paltrow's gorgeous Tom Ford gown (she got to wear a cape!) It’s a tough choice but since I was less than pleased with Gwyneth’s low ponytail – Michelle takes the win!



Best dressed male? Colin Firth. What? He looks good in a tux.



Tracie: I get to pretend to be Joan Rivers. Fun! This will probably be controversial, but Best Dressed Female for me was Emma Stone. Her gown had the "WOW!" factor for me. The color (raspberry) was gorgeous and complemented her pale skin and fiery hair very well, the design was interesting (not usually a fan of bows, but the one on that dress was architectural, not cutesy), and the silhouette (yes, I watch Project Runway) was really flattering and lovely. I, also, thought that her hair and make-up were perfect.



Best Dressed Male? That's tough, but I'm going to go with Jean Dujardin. He looked like a winner before he even got his trophy! Very suave and debonair in his classic black tux.




Danielle: Mila Jovovich and Brad Pitt (still hot)






Michelle: Best Dressed Female. Ya know, this year there wasn't that dress that stood out and just screamed "THAT is the dress of the evening!" It took me a while of looking at the dresses to decide on the best dressed and I'm going with Cameron Diaz. The color flattered her, I liked the cut of the dress, and she didn't over accessorize.



Best Dressed Male? Robert Downey Jr. And at that, I think RDJ would be a GREAT host for the Oscars next year.

Worst dressed female/male?

Tracie: Hee hee Worst Dressed Female was without a doubt Shailene Woodley. That cream-colored Valentino Couture gown was so horribly wrong for a girl her age. It looked like she'd pulled her grandmother's old dress from the 1970s out of mothballs. Every inch of skin was covered, the design was bizarre (weird cut-outs on the chest - why?), and the color, or lack thereof, completely washed her out. So dowdy and boring! Act your age, Shailene!




Worst Dressed Male goes to Jonah Hill. He lost all of that weight, then he wears this fugly, ill-fighting tux that makes him look more chubby than ever! And was that a navy blue shirt with a black coat and shiny bow tie? SHUDDER The slicked back hair made Jonah look like a little boy going to his bar mitzvah. Major faux pas all the way around.


Danielle: Viola Davis (I just didn't like this dress) and George Clooney (his tux was boring)





Michelle: Worst Dressed Female is a toss up between Rooney Mara and Shailene Woodley. I think that Rooney just looked odd with the haircut and the lines of the dress. And Shailene's dress was just unflattering.



Worst Dressed Male is Sacha Baron Cohen and this ridiculous persona of The Dictator.



Natalie: Worst dressed female – It seems like a cop out to name Stacy Keibler since I never knew her name before the Oscars, so I’ll go with Sandra Bullock. I thought her gown was an ill-fitting, off-putting, confusing mess. And she looked oddly botox-alicious.



Worst dressed male? Jonah Hill. Black on black - who thought that was a good idea? And was the shirt shiny? And somehow the blacks didn’t match. Basically, he looked like a cheap prom date.

Biggest shock or surprising moment?

Danielle: Sasha Baron Cohen dumping Bisquick on Ryan Seacrest

Tracie: That happened out on the red carpet when Borat, I mean, the Dictator, dumped an urn full of "ashes" all over Ryan Seacrest. I will never forget the astonished/horrified/pissed off expression on Seacrest's face. I'm not normally a fan of juvenile pranks, but seeing someone discompose the robotic Ryan Seacrest made my night!



Michelle: And I agree one hundred percent. Seacrest stammered and blustered, then made sure to milk it for attention. "I got bisquick dumped on me." THAT should have been the drinking game for the red carpet.

Natalie: Eh, for lack of a better surprise I suppose it was “The Dictator” but it left me a little cold. It’s not like it happened during the red carpet coverage on ABC - he did it on E! with Ryan Seacrest. Had he braved the network (and therefore the Academy) I would have been truly shocked but to pull a stunt like that on E! seemed slightly anticlimactic. (Although I agree with the gang here, I did enjoy seeing Seacrest sweat a little.)

Who got robbed?

Michelle: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows pt 2. I can't believe it didn't win a single award it was nominated for.

Tracie: Nobody, as far as I'm concerned. I was very pleased with all of the winners, although I did get a bit tired of hearing the name "Hugo" called.

Natalie: I think I have to agree with Michelle and say Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows pt. 2. Admittedly, I didn’t see Hugo… but really?

Danielle: I haven't seen any of the movies but I'm guessing people think Viola Davis was robbed

How did Billy Crystal do as host?

Michelle: Ya know, I didn't go in with high expectations for him and he actually did a pretty good job. A little too much wasted time with silly skits, but overall enjoyable.


Natalie: The ladies here know I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of The Crystal – however there were a couple of chuckles and nothing offensive (I can’t really call the dreaded musical number offensive.) But overall, I felt the Oscars were slow - I didn’t love the talky clip packages, and it wasn’t exactly a banner year for the movies. So if you add it all up, I suppose Billy Crystal did just fine.

Tracie: So much love for Billy. I haven't enjoyed an Oscars ceremony that much in years! He's funny (I love his ad-libs!), not offensive, and keeps things moving at a fast pace. No one can beat him as Oscar host.

Danielle: Billy was surprisingly funny (sorry Natalie)

Best acceptance speech?

Michelle: Octavia Spencer. She was so genuinely overwhelmed and gracious. I got choked up before she even started to speak, just by the joy she was showing.



Danielle: Octavia Spencer's speech was so sweet and humble.

Natalie: While I loved Meryl Streep’s humor and candor, I have to go with Octavia Spencer because her emotional speech proved once and for all that I’m not completely dead inside (I nearly felt a tear coming on – shhh don’t tell.)

Tracie: Meryl Streep! I love how self-deprecating and down-to-earth she is. She honestly seemed shocked about winning. It was nice that she started out her speech by thanking her husband and I got a little choked up when she acknowledged her "departed" friends, as well as her friends in the audience. Such a classy, talented lady!

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There you have it, folks! Our thoughts for the 2012 Academy Awards. Care to share yours?

And a huge thank you to the lovely ladies who joined me - Tracie, Danielle, and Natalie. You three are the best! Looking forward to next year!

And the Oscar goes to...

I'm a massive movie fan and what movie fan doesn't love the pageantry of the Academy Awards? In preparation for this Sunday's telecast, I asked three of my favorite tweeties to participate in a little Oscars fun.

Best Picture:



Michelle: I have everything crossed for "The Artist". Such a cute charming movie!

Danielle: The Artist

Natalie: "The Artist" seems like a sure thing to me.

Tracie: I don't think we're going to see any surprises this year. The winners will be the ones who have the most heat coming into the Oscars. Best Picture will be "The Artist."

Best Actor:

Michelle: I really want to see Jean Dujardin win for "The Artist", but have a feeling it will go to George Clooney.

Tracie: Best Actor will be Jean Dujardin for "The Artist."

Natalie: Best Actor: This one is a toss up. Will it go to suave newcomer Jean Dujardin or the old charmer, Clooney? Since Clooney has only won for Supporting Actor – my money is on him. (Insert Tracie/Danielle/Michelle retching noises here.)




Danielle: Best actor- George Clooney (even though I don't want him to win, but Hollywood likes to kiss his ass!)

Best Actress:

Danielle: Viola Davis.



Tracie: " Best Actress will be Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady". (Those Academy members love them some Meryl!) I think that the supporting categories are sewn up, too. Christopher Plummer ("Beginners") for Best Supporting Actor and Octavia Spencer ("The Help") for Best Supporting Actress.

Natalie: I’m going with Viola Davis. While Meryl Streep is always a favorite, “The Iron Lady” seems way too safe. I agree with Tracie's picks for Best Supporting – but I wish Melissa McCarthy would win to mix it up. (Fine, I know she should just be happy to be nominated, but I miss "Gilmore Girls," dammit.)

Michelle: I'm going out on a limb here and saying Michelle Williams for "My Week With Marilyn".


Who would be your dream date if you were attending?

Tracie: I wouldn't just want eye candy for an Oscar date. I'd want someone who was really talented and charming, as well as good-looking. So, my pick would be Jude Law.



Natalie: Hmmm. Michael Fassbender? Ryan Gosling? Tough choice – but I choose Michael Fassbender. Sigh. (Thank you, Magic Genie!)
I'm withholding comment on Tracie & Danielle's picks (although I do realize that by pointing out that I'm withholding comment I am actually commenting) let's just say it looks like Michelle and I will be double dating on Oscar night!



Michelle: Can I have a date for each different commercial break? No? Okay. Sheesh, I have to go with Jeremy Renner! Or Dwayne Johnson....



Danielle: That's easy, RPatz (my boyfriend).



What would you wear:

Danielle: Something elegant by Oscar de la Renta.

Tracie: Something red and sparkly. I prefer classy, feminine red carpet attire, so I'd be happy with a gown designed by Elie Saab, Chanel, or Armani Privé.

Natalie: I'm assuming the same Genie who procured my Fassy date is at work here? If so, then I choose Givenchy. (I loved Cate Blanchett’s beautiful gown from last year!)




Michelle: Something in purple, of course...maybe Dolce & Gabana.

Taking a wild guess, which red carpet interviewer is going to make an ass of themselves first?

Natalie: Seacrest & our friends at E! are always cringe-worthy but I’ll pick the first person who gets stuck interviewing the Brad/Angelina-Bot. Awkward.


Michelle: Billy Bush or Seacrest. If we are talking interviewee, I just fear what Nick Nolte will say.



Tracie: Well, it's a tradition for him, so there's no wild guessing required - Ryan Seacrest.

Danielle: James Franco.

Who do you think, undoubtedly, will end up worst dressed?

Danielle: Glenn Close

Michelle: Tilda Swinton. She scares me!

Tracie: Is Tilda Swinton going to be there? If so, she'll undoubtedly be Worst Dressed. I think she delights in horrifying the fashion pundits. If Tilda doesn't attend, I'm guessing that last year's Best Supporting Actress, Melissa Leo, will show up in something atrocious. She's an attractive lady, but she goes terribly wrong with her fashion choices nine times out of ten.



Natalie: The Swinton is my pick too – she never disappoints on the red carpet! (Wondering what Danielle has against Glenn Close…) Michelle - Your earlier mention of Nick Nolte has reminded me that he is also a hot mess to be reckoned with.

We'll see on Sunday who has picked the most winners!

Thank you so much to Tracie, Danielle, and Natalie for joining me on my blog this week. You three are simply the best!

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Natalie Aaron works as a reality TV producer in Los Angeles and is the co-author of "Unscripted" with her friend and fellow producer, Marla Schwartz.
Follow her @Unscriptedbook on Twitter
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Tracie Banister is the author of the Oscar-themed Chick Lit novel "Blame It on the Fame," now available at Amazon and Smashwords. She blogs about books and other fun stuff at Books by Banister
and her Twitter handle is @traciebanister

Danielle, to quote her Twitter page, is a mother, aspiring published novelist, carnivore, marathon runner, and celebrity obsessed.You can catch her on her blog or on her Twitter, @daniellequinn77