Congratulations to Spain for winning the Euro Cup! Ole, Ole, Ole!!

It only took 44 years, amigos...



On a related note: Move over Beckham. I now have a new soccer crush:



How does Maria Casillas sound? Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

For the last few years, I've given up television during summertime. I figured that without my trusty TV as my entertainer, I'd have to, you know, actually leave the house or something. (Crazy!)

But this year, I laugh in the face of my "no TV during summer" rule. There is so much great summer fare on the boob tube this year, there's no way I'm giving it up.

Some of my new favorite shows (in no particular order, because I love all TV shows equally):

"30 Days": By director Morgan Spurlock, of "Super Size Me" fame (one of my fave documentaries ever ... and by ever, I mean that's the only one I ever watched), "30 Days" is a reality show (in the best sense of the term) that follows people who spend 30 days (duh) doing something they're not familiar with or, in some cases, are completely opposed to. There have been three episodes so far this season: Spurlock works in a coal mine in Virginia for 30 days, exposing the safety and environmental issues the industry is facing; a pro football players spends 30 days in a wheelchair; a hunter spends 30 days with animal-rights activists. It's so fascinating. And I'm continually amazed that they can get people to do the show. I mean, I wouldn't spend three days, let alone 30, with a GOP family...

"Nashville Star": Duh. You knew this one would make the list. Frankly, though, I've been a bit underwhelmed by this season. The contestants are definitely the weakest yet, and I think they've gone overboard trying to appeal to the "Idol" crowd. The move to NBC has really dumbed down the show. But I'm still gonna watch it, y'all.

"In Plain Sight," "Burn Notice," "Monk," "Psych": I love the USA Network's original shows. You can't take them too seriously, and they're so much fun to watch. And I'm so glad "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is now on USA. If I had to pick one cable channel to watch on a desert island, this'd be it (for the summer, anyway).

"The Closer": Even though you know she's totally going to win in the end, it's the getting there that's interesting. And Jon Tenney is too cute.

"My Boys": Cute show. And it's only 30 minutes long, so it's not like you have to give it a huge commitment or anything ...

"So You Think You Can Dance": Thanks to my sister, who tied me to a chair and forced me to watch last season (ok, not really, but she did ask me nicely), I'm hooked. It's like "Idol," but with talent and heart.

"Bones": Ok, this isn't technically a summer show, but since I haven't watched it during its regular season run, I've been catching it on reruns and I really like it.

Now, I know some of you actually have lives, but if you're looking to get hooked on TV this summer, any of the above shows will treat you right. Take it from me, the tube's biggest boob. (Uh, I don't think that came out right ...)

So, it's been one week since I gave up caffeine.

Yep, that's right -- no caffeine in seven days. I thought it'd be harder, but I have to say, I'm feeling pretty good. My mood swings haven't been too bad, and I'm not as tired as I thought I'd be. I still crave my morning soda, but I've found those flavored waters aren't half-bad. All in all, I'm feeling ok about it.

What? You don't believe me?

SHUT THE #@&* UP!

I'm back to (almost) normal, so I had to share this with you.

On Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in the backyard for a few minutes, trying to get some fresh air. Our house is on a corner, so the yard is accessible by the street.

So anyway, a delivery guy passes by the fence and looks right at me and says, "You smell like a bathroom," smiles and keeps on walking.

Now, I'm sure what he actually said was something like, "The flowers are in bloom," or "You should go back to your room," or something much more innocent. But because I knew what was going on with my body, I heard "You smell like a bathroom."

Yeah, I'm sure that's what it was.

But still, I did smell like a bathroom ...

So I've been a little under the weather the last few days. Without getting into too much detail, let me just say that this blog's title was a little too prescient.

I've been sleeping a lot and, of course, watching a lot of TV. I won't do a full-on post on Nashville Star, but just let me know if you watched it, whether you liked it, and whether you'll keep on watching it -- and, most important, which contestant you liked the most. I'm not sure who I'm rooting for yet, though I'm partial to Gabe Garcia. I just can't believe Melissa Lawson was in the bottom two. Come on people, what are you thinking? Yes, Justin's cute, but he can't sing. Put him out of his misery, will ya?

Ok, I gotta run (no pun intended). I'll post more later in the week ... provided I'm not dead.

Hey, any of you guys on Twitter? If so, let me know your ID and I'll follow you.

Anyone watching "Nashville Star"? If not, you should be. It's what heartless, soulless, media-whore-of-a-show "American Idol" wishes it were.

I know what you're thinking: "Maria, I don't like country music." Well, to that I ask, Do you sit at home and listen to Andrew Lloyd Weber songs? No, but you watched "Idol" that week, didn't ya? And how about Dolly Parton? Do you have all her songs downloaded to your iPod? Didn't think so. But I bet you tuned in that week, too.

Now I love country; if I had one choice of music to listen to, country would be it. So, naturally, I love this show. But you don't have to love country to like the show. Come on, give it a try. I promise you'll like it. At the very least, you'll know what I'm talking about when you read my recaps. In the wise words of Ben Stiller, "Do it. Do it."

Anyway, here's a rundown of this week's show:

Pearl Heart: Think Dixie Chicks 2.0. This trio of adorable sisters took on the Dixie Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces" (natch), and did a fine job. Even though they had the unfortunate lead-off spot, expect them to stay around a few more weeks.

Tommy Stanley: He's got quite a nice voice, but he's not one of my favorites. He'll make it a few more weeks, though; thanks to his Navy job, he's sure to get the patriotic vote.

Shawn Mayer: I don't think this self-proclaimed "redneck woman" is as great as she thinks she is, but I'll admit she has talent. And she might get the Gretchen Wilson vote, though I give her one or two more weeks at the most. There are just too many great performers on the show, and her choice of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart" was a big mistake.

Third Town: I'm just "eh" on this trio. They've got nice voices, I'll give them that. But they chose "Elvira" as their introductory song. Huh? Unless they whip out some Rascal Flatts soon, I don't give them too much longer.

Coffey: This guy is my hands-down favorite. I just love everything about him. He's cute, he's a single dad with an adorable little girl, and he's a snappy dresser (love the studded guitar belt buckle!). Ok, so I don't love that his name is pronounced "coff-ay" rather than like the drink, but hey, I can get over that. Go, Coffey!

Laura & Sophie: This duo is so darn cute! One's 16, one's 18 (I'm not sure which is which), and they are super-talented. I would buy their recording of "Stand By Your Man" in a split second. But Jewel was right -- they need better stage presence. They're young, though, so I'm sure they can work on that.

Gabe Garcia: Love him -- and not just because he's representing Hispanics. He's got one of the most, if not the most, typical country voices there, yet he still managed to make the song sound new. He'll definitely make it to the finals.

Alyson Gilbert: I did not like her at all. Her voice is ok, but, like Jewel said, she does that sort of pageanty way about her. I think she'll be the first to go. Oh well.

Ashlee Hewitt: I didn't expect to like her, but I do. She didn't overdo her singing (on Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly") like some of the others, which might actually do her in. If I've learned nothing from "Idol," I've learned that voters don't like understated -- they want runs, baby, runs. I hope she stays on a few more weeks, at least, but I doubt it.

Justin Gaston: Consider him the Ace Young of the competition. He's cute in a Hollywood model kind of way, but he just doesn't have the vocal chops. I'm sure all the girls in the audience will vote for him, so he'll be fine for another week or so, but at some point, people will have to realize he really can't sing, won't they? Please?

Melissa Lawson: This plus-size powerhouse is Amazing with a capital A. On my list of top three, along with Coffey and Gabe Garcia.

Ultimately, I'd love to see a Gabe-Coffey finale, but it's still early for that, isn't it? I'm sure I'll change my mind 10 times before then. Watch the show (Monday, 9 p.m., on NBC) and find out if you agree with me.

Do it. Do it.

So, my sister and I went hiking at the Delaware Water Gap on Saturday.

Do me a favor, will ya? Next time I say I want to go hiking -- or anything that involves nature, for that matter -- remind me of this tiny little detail: I hate nature!

I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so definitely a city girl. I mean, I love the outdoors ... just as long as it's covered in concrete. But hey, you gotta give me points for trying, right?


All smiles before the hike

Anyway, so we drive about an hour and 15 minutes, which isn't too bad, except that it's, like, 95 degrees out and it's only 8 a.m. There's no amount of air conditioning a car can put out to combat heat like that. But hey, I'm suddenly an adventure lover, right? I can put up with a little stifling, drenching, suffocating heat, right?



So we get there, and we take one of the easier trails. Everything's going great so far. We decide to try a little bit of a steeper trail. A few steps in, I hear my sister scream. I look back and she says (I kid you not), "A fly just pooped in my eye!" And wouldn't you know it, when I looked in here eye, I saw it ... all over her eyelashes. A fly had pooped in her eye. Who knew flies could even poop?



Its big brother then decided to feed on my right calf (and I've got the huge mark to prove it). We killed it, and continued on our way, undeterred by the fly attacks.

After about 40 minutes, when we stopped to enjoy the view, the fly's first-cousin-once-removed decided to exact its revenge, chasing me and buzzing from one ear to the other. I'm serious -- I know it was only a fly, but it wouldn't leave me alone! I started running down the trail like a mad woman, screaming "F***ing fly! Oh my god! Oh my god! Get this f***ing fly off of me! ARGHHHH." I took off, making it down the trail (the same one that took us 40 minutes to climb) in about, oh, five minutes. Poor Laura, she had no choice but to run after me. As she said later, if someone had told me to run down the trail, I'd look at them as if they were crazy. But get a fly after me ...



When we got to the bottom of the trail, Laura said, "Ok, if we go down this other trail, we can get to the waterfall." To which I replied, "If we get back in the car and take the Turnpike, we can get back home." And that is indeed what we did.

So if I ever get the urge again to do something that involves birds, bees, trees or any such thing, smack me, will ya?

David's graduation yesterday was sooooo cute. How cute? I was a room with dozens of 5-year-0lds and I didn't run from the room screaming or pulling out my hair...








Tomorrow, my sister and I are going hiking at the Delaware Water Gap, which I hear is absolutely stunning.

It's supposed to get to 97 degrees, though. Yikes. But the way I figure it, it's not like the summer's going to get any less hot, right? We might as well go while we have the chance. What's the worst than can happen? (Er, don't answer that ...)

Yes, friends, this is my brother, channeling Hannah Montana. I'm so proud.

Thankfully, my sister-in-law's a bit more normal:





Em, uh, ok, well how about Claudia, then?





Good lord, is anyone in this family normal? Bueller? Bueller?





Oh, thanks, David. I was starting to worry. And you know, folks, it's a sad state of affairs when David is the normal one.

Anyway, Claudia's birthday celebration was a blast (as evidenced by the above photos). We laughed, we cried, we did a Hannah Montana dance or two. Good times. You can see all the pics here.

Tomorrow's David's kindergarten graduation (go, David!), so I'll share those pics on Friday.

So you know when you buy a pair of jeans and they look great and you can't wait to wear them? And then you put them in the dryer and they get all misshapen and weird-looking?

Well, let's just say that Claudia's cake came out looking like the post-dryer jeans:



Ok, so it's not a masterpiece (I kinda missed a spot in the crotch area -- unintentionally, I assure you) but at least it's edible. And can you say that about your favorite jeans? :-)

So tomorrow's Claudia's birthday, which means ... another cake.

The soon-to-be 10-year-old(!) would like her cake in the shape of a pair of jeans. I'm telling ya, these kids are killin' me. Since when does Carvel not do the trick anymore?

(I complain, but I secretly love it...)

I'll have pics tomorrow of the cake -- good or bad -- and the birthday girl. Wish me luck.