I hardly ever go to the movies, so who wins the Oscars means little to me.

But I always relish a chance to look at pretty dresses! Apparently, the Go Red movement made it to (where else) the Red Carpet!

Did you have any dress loves (or hates) you wish to share?

PS: Johnny Depp did not comb his hair last night. However, he is still hot!

There’s nothing like a night of winter weather in New York City. You know that cinematic view you may have viewed of white billowy clouds of snow? Not so much. Try muddy, slushy, messy, grossness.

However, my beautiful surroundings have given me the opportunity to do some reflective reasoning. And because you are my near, my dear, and my soap box, you will be my captive audience.

1 - I have the inability to say no. All day today, various friends and gigs have asked me to complete a domino-effect of tasks for them. “Read this?” “Make this call?” “Get that contact?” “Do that research?” I find myself so overextended that having time to sleep and properly groom is sometimes an issue, but am compelled into submission by my inherent fear of disappointing people. Just wait for the mass chaos the world-through when I eventually go batty and my worth is finally realized.

2 - Cold conditions and being trapped in the house is terrible for one’s diet. So, looks like I will be fat *and* batty. How sexy an image is that?

Thank god for my bathrobe…it knows no girth.

Note to self: Frigid air is not an excuse to have that hot cocoa, unless you want to spend the remainder of your Friday nights at home in said bathrobe, feeling equally sorry for yourself. Such a reality would thus render the current blog you are reading, well, moot.

3 - I really need to clean. I’m suffocating in my own surroundings.

4 - Related. Remember the panty fire of a few weeks ago? Apparently my favorite silk PJs were too a victim. (No, this is not a plea for more stuff!)

5. This is quite possibly my most depressing blog ever. I promise to give away something shiny next week to make up for it. Then again, I was told in a recent conference call that women readers allegedly are drawn to reading what they themselves feel. So perhaps those of you who are too home and feeling sad can feel the bond. Then we can go back to talking about sex lingerie and lip stick next week, feeling just a little bit closer.

PS: iZac is doing well…he thanks you for your well wishes!

I apologize for the crankiness. Perhaps it is time for a mass cyber hug (or some negative calorie chocolate). We return to you to your happy twilight snuggles.

PPS: Go see my friends Spiraling at Southpaw in Brooklyn this Wednesday, Feb. 27th. They rock. And if you tell me you read about the gig here, I’ll have a special surprise for you!

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: MESSY worth 25 points good through 03/02/08.

Attention all co-MAC-addict friends and readers,

Just about six months ago, beautiful little iZac came into my life. Never, not once, did he have a problem. Not even the slightest freeze or lag or smudged key. He was, he is, perfect.

Tonight, as I was doing some content work in the CMS for one of my editorial jobs, iZac suddenly froze. I could not shut down, I could not force quit, I could not restart. Nothing at all worked.

My heart started palpitating. Pains started to shoot through my arm. (This has nothing to do with the latte, two cups of coffee, and one cup of kombucha I had today.)

I had no choice but to shut down via the power button. I tried to turn it back on. STILL nothing worked. Finally, because I had no idea what else to do, I put put in the install disc so I could do a hard disk problem check, and it claimed no problems were found. I turned off again. Waited 10 minutes. (Pacing.)

And then it started up again…seemingly fine.

I was traumatized enough that I immediately backed up my entire hard drive. But still…as my computer contains my entire life, and without it, I cannot work…I am still having heart palpitations. Has anyone ever had anything like this happen before??? Is it a sign of impending apocalypse? Should little iZac be writing out his little will???

I could really use a drink.

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: IZAC worth 25 points good through 03/02/08.

Today’s horoscope:

You’re chafing a bit under someone’s authority, whether it’s legitimate or not. Do your best to get along, but if things start to get much worse, you may need to stage a mini-revolt. 

This describes pretty much every area of my life.

I have officially hit the 500 friend mark on Facebook. Being that triple digits of acquaintances is what made me tire of MySpace, I wonder if it’s a sign I’m way too social network oriented, and need a new hobby.

That said, at least Facebook affords me Yelp metafeeds and endless games of Scrabulous - thus keeping my mind active, despite the inanity.

So, my parents’ shih tsu, my beloved Lily, is getting fixed today.

Why?

“I don’t want her to have to go through being in heat anymore.”

Fair enough. At a year and a half old, she’s already the unwed mother of four. Clearly, she was on a bad path.

Still, I can’t help but be a little jealous. I’ve been in heat for just about….fifteen years. I’m not doing so well at it either. Where’s my salvation???

Attention all: SheKnows is this week embarking on a new column. It shall be titled Aly’s Beauty Picks, and have my weekly must-have finds. Check out our first installment, below!

http://www.sheknows.com/articles/beauty-and-style/makeup/802696-Aly-s-beauty-picks-Three-products-you-must-add-to-your-arsenal.htm

And if you know of a product I must include, leave me a comment and I’ll look into it!

Eek…check out the most adorable gift that just arrived in the mail!

From SimpleTech, part of the Fabrik family, check out the adorable Bubblegum pink portable high-speed USB 2.0 drive. It holds 250 chomping GBs!

It is MAC-friendly, and provides two layers of protection — it offers both local backup software and online backup one place.

Check it out here!

No, I’m not giving any away this time. It is all mine! Feel free to help me name it though.

PS: It comes in other colors, for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: PORTABLE worth 25 points good through 03/02/08.

Shame is a powerful motivator.

My best friend and I are engaging in a bit of a goal-buddy challenge, in which we both hope to become slimmer, sexier versions of ourselves in time for bathing suit season.

An integral part of our plan is reporting daily “food diaries” to each other. The idea behind this is that if we only have ourselves to answer to, that afternoon latte and cookie may seem forgivable. But if we know we have to record this as data and share it, suddenly the forbidden food stays as far away as it should be.

So far, it is going swimmingly. I’ve discovered myself (at least for the past two days) making smarter food choices - I confess, more because I wanted to have good things to write down than even about the whole watching-calories-so-I-stop-gaining-weight thing.

The only downfall has been exercise. While my partner-in-crime is eagerly jumping atop the fitness DVD train (and she does this while working full-time and going to grad school, so I have no excuse) - I find myself finding compromises that will work in my favor. Sure…I’ll take my computer to that coffeehouse this afternoon and work. The trip back and forth will equal a mile of exercise!

Of course, this is true. But it’s also true this is something I would have done anyway, and thus, my body is already pretty used to it. Repetition is a good thing, I’ve been told. However, challenge is an even better one.

And thus, I’ve decided to come to you all for camaraderie. Share our own workout secrets (or tell me you suck as badly as I do). Maybe you’ll inspire me. Maybe we’ll inspire each other! And perhaps…just maybe…we’ll all get to wear bikinis this summer.

As incentive, the three best answers will win a bright pink premium yoga mat from MyGymFloor.com as well as a package of yoga mat wipes.

The My Gym Premium Yoga Mat is a full ¼” thick mat, which helps a lot in providing safety in traction during your yoga workout. No matter the flooring in your yoga space, a yoga mat will go a long way to help you keep firm footing. And, speaking of firm footing - yoga is an excellent way to keep your diet and health on even keel. Which means that if you give great advice and help me fix my own, we shall be paying it forward!

Deadline for entries is February 25. (Or when I explode. Whatever happens first.)

PointsandPrizes.com Keyword: DIARIES worth 25 points good through 03/02/08.

I’m currently working on a pretty huge project involving writing a bunch of tanning-related copy (re: 150 300-word blurbs plus a series of articles!). It is interesting to note that I myself know nothing on the subject, and have thus spent the last week or so engaging in rapid-paced information immersion.

Just now, I went to google “high intensity tanning” and realized I had typed “high interest banking”

Where on earth is *my* head?