You guys are so helpful! My sister left me too much leeway, and as you can see, I literally didn't know where to start. I just need to make sure I'm not too out of touch with her taste, but I also don't want to get her something she can totally get for herself down the street.

Watching last night's Graham Norton, and I liked the Lady Ga Ga song, which I think is my first ever. Her performance distracted me, but the song worked for me on most of the rest of the levels. But, damn, she's an interview dud. It's like she put all the vibrance into her clothes. I do get what she means when she says she's doing therapy with the clothing--it's not as hair trigger as Tom Hardy, but it does kind of feel like they're not part of the game.

I don't mean game in a bad way--Judi Dench is disarmingly charming and "not part of the game", but she does act like millions of people want to see her talk, even if she doesn't get why. I'm not a fan of awkward celebs onstage.

But June Brown! I need to scrub the word "fashion" out of what I have been saying over the past day, and replace it with "style". She's stinking with it. I love that dress, and I love that she's wearing it like it's June Brown's outfit and no one else's. She's also terrific, and is working the "I don't have time for your parades and your fakery." I would love to see her go up against Joan Rivers. No surprises with the outcome there.

(Just caught up on Joan Rivers snarking on Jennifer Lawrence on Twitter. Seriously, Joan? You need to defend your chosen profession like this? Pick your battles, Joanie.)

(Jennifer Lawrence being a highly polished example of "junket? I thought we were just doing coffee and a muffin? Do you have chocolate chip? " ::insert dorky but cute anecdote::)

(Hmmph. Don't like Ga Ga's second song as much--the do what you want with my body gave me nostalgic Annie Lennox feels (as opposed to right now feels--god she's amazing.)

(Oh, hey! White Jamaican, or at least passing. And he's supporting my Nigel ethnicity theory (no need to cite exceptions, I know they exist--but damn if it isn't a black or British-assed name))

Oh, Sue, In my experience, just the smell of cat habitation has been enough to repel most rodents. But if they have superior enough numbers that that isn't working, as seems the case, you might want to call in pro pest control.

Yeah, they're my first mice in 7 years, so the cats have been doing their thing so far. So far. I don't think I am overrun yet. And they have barely ingressed into the rest of the house. (Just across from the DR is a veritable feast easy to access food.) So I'll try to find how they're getting inside and deal with it on my own first.

Would someone like to research hairstyles for me? (Chorus of NOOOO.)

I have a form of alopecia which has eroded my front hairline nearly two inches, and I am hideously self-conscious and unhappy about it. (I'm sure to most people it just looks like a high hairline, but to me it looks horrid.) So I need a hairstyle that (a) covers the front hairline, (b) works with curly hair (type 3a, I think, white-girl spiral curls), and (c) is easy to deal with. Everything I'm finding is for the wrong type hair, or would take me half an hour of cursing to fix in the morning. I'm also letting it go gray, because I suspect the irritation of the constant dying triggered the condition. So I'm gonna be fair-skinned with grey hair.

Anyone want to help me out?

I needed groceries and colored tights, so I ran to Target. Not too bad on the impulse buying - I spent more than I expected but I got two bags of canned goods to donate to the food drive at work (more than I meant to, but I feel okay about overspending there), and randomly picked up four new towels because I liked the color. Now I'm thinking getting new towels was a genius move because I've got a headache so laundry may not happen.

I am no good with hairstyles, Zen. I tell my stylist to do whatever she wants because I have no idea (which she loves, so I'm planning on tipping her well and going back to her for as long as I can). Are bangs an option?

Sorry about the mice, Sue.

Unisex products "designed for women" make me so mad.

Yes, this. I do not mind a pink option, clearly. But I don't need patronising copy that I'm supposed to relate to over and above "Here's an interesting way to get fit, whyever you want to get fit, person, pls have some exercises demonstrated by people with differing body types, genders, and fitness levels. Come on in, the endorphins are fine!"

Beverly, that's a very good point. I will check about that with my sister, and watch/verify weights with the sellers. It's something I suffer from that I forget isn't just my little problem.

Found a pic of Mumsy's hair from a few months ago. Is that helpful? Jesus, I feel like the stereotypical guy stuck in the tampon section.

Okay, I need to get *something* accomplished before the nurse comes. Maybe the new recipe oatmeal cookies? My first oat flour cookie excursion was so horrible I didn't finish the one I tried, and I threw out the rest. Other than the one I gave New No Woo Nurse, and she keeps mentioning it and saying she likes it even more than the brownies. WTF? I thought it was not fit for human consumption. Colour me confused again.

Are bangs an option?

I imagine bangs are the only option, which makes me nervous. Bangs in curly hair are really hard to get right. Also, due to the aforementioned frontal hair loss, I don't have as much hair to pull forward as I once did.

Yeah, I would have suggested long swoopy side bangs, if not for the curls. That seems like a PITA.

Zen, you don't want a center part. Blunt bangs are a bad idea, but sideswept fringe is good. Like [link]

Or shorter: [link]

My hair has thinned considerably the past few years, so I've defaulted to my highschool habit of hats and bandanas. My favourite part is that I found these tube things that you can wear as a headband or a skull cap or whatnot, and our English facilities manager now declares makes me look like a Polish widow. I don't know why he thinks my non-existent husband has died, but whatevs. The very next day one of my volunteers told me he liked my "hat", and then asked me if I was Polish. Hmmm.

I digress. The slightly sparkly tube headdress with multiple permutations helped hide my hat hair when I'd come in from work outside in the winter, and now I'm using it to avoid showcasing my scalp. And it looks more styling than my short home-cut hair anyhow (I get one professional haircut a year, yo).

Wow, Jenna Elfman sure has some body!

I'm watching War of the Worlds, as one might be wont to do when surfing HBO on a Sunday morning, and I thought it was only going to be the first half that was comprised of Tom Cruise (is he playing a character? I forget) screaming for the kids to stay put or come to him. Yelling and screaming is not an acceptable way to maintain narrative tension. Good lord.