Our producers just told me Denise Richards will be on our show in a few days and I’d love to know if any of you have questions for her.  If you’re like me, you saw a completely different side of her in her reality show “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated”.  Celebs on our show always comment about how comfortable they feel with us and our show, and they’re usually more open to discussing certain aspects of their lives. If you have anything you’d like me to ask, please let me know (how she handles life in the spotlight, losing her mother, being a mom herself, being a contestant on dancing with the stars, etc.) I’ll try to incorporate it into her interview.  If you’re not familiar with her show, you can catch a glimpse of Denise in action at: http://www.eonline.com/on/shows/deniserichards/

See the interview here!

I don’t know about you, but I am easily overwhelmed with all the information out there about dieting, exercising, etc. One day “this” is good for you, the next day, “it” can kill you.  And you usually don’t find out “it” can kill you until you’ve been consuming so much of “it” for the past several years, right? Even as a journalist/host–we have to make sure we don’t make the problem worse by flooding you with too much information, let alone contradicting information. So, today I met Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s Chief Medical Editor.  I asked her to “debunk” some of the diet myths out there and clear up a few ”true/false” ideas out there. She is fantastic–and if you haven’t already read her book, and are looking for the bottom line, straight-forward truth about what’s good for you and your life, you should definitely check it out.  And of course, let me know what you think!

See the full interview and get answers to your dieting questions!

What piece of memorabilia do you still have from your childhood? A doll? A blanket? Let us know by posting your comments below. Don’t forget to include your name and where you live. Your comments could be read on air.

You wouldn’t expect a book on military life to talk so much about lawnmowers. But that’s exactly the kind of thing Alesia Holliday includes in her book “Email to the Front” an autobiographical tale of life in a military family. And it makes sense if you think about it. After all, along with the rockets and planes and ships and guns there’s a family back home struggling with everyday life. The dishes still need to be done, the kids still need to be fed, and the lawn still needs to be mowed.
I loved this book and knew as soon as I read it, I had to do a Better TV segment on the woman behind it. (You can watch it here.) Her strength and humor amongst the scariest situations—sometimes not even knowing if her husband were dead or alive—really impressed me. Military spouses are the cornerstones of our military and should be treated with as much respect, in my opinion, as the military themselves.
If you have a military family near you, Alesia suggests you volunteer to help them out when their spouses are deployed. And not just the “Oh can I do anything?” kind of help that’s so easily dismissed. Show up with a lawnmower or casserole. Offer to baby-sit the kids for a few hours so Mom can go to the grocery store. Remember, with husbands away, military moms are basically single parents, trying to handle all of the family duties on their own. And with their nomad lifestyle—moving from base to base every few years—they’re often far away from the family and close friends that would normally step in and help.
As for Alesia, she tells me Judd headed off for another six month overseas deployment yesterday. But she’s got her adorable kids and her rescue pugs and a new paranormal romance novel – Atlantis Unleashed — hitting bookstores this week to keep her occupied! Oh, and of course, that pesky lawnmower…
You can check out Alesia’s website and her new Atlantis paranormal romances here.
Marianne

Are you a Twitter fan? Do you “tweet” often? Let us know by posting your comments below. Be sure to include you name and city. Your comments could be read on air.

Finding the perfect pair of jeans is like the bane of my existence. I don’t know if my body’s weirdly shaped or something but I can never find a pair that fits right. And makes my butt look good. And is cozy/comfy to wear all day. And makes my thighs look slim.
Okay, maybe I’m asking too much…
ANYWAY, forgetting fit for a moment, as we go into summer there are some pretty interesting new trends in jeans. Like white. Yes, white. You will never catch me dead wearing a pair of white jeans, but there you go. Hey – they look good on the model at least!

Other trends:
* Skinny jeans
* Boyfriend jeans
* Distressed Jeans
* Trouser jeans
Sarah Bernard, Host of The Thread on Yahoo! Shine has some suggestions for how to scrimp or splurge on each of these styles.
It’s good to know that whether you wan to spend $30 or $300 – go skinny or wide, white or dark wash – this summer there’s a jean perfect for you.
Oh and as for me? My perfect pair came from the Gap. Love their dark rinse, straight leg jeans that fit me just right. I’m in jeans Heaven every time I slip them on.
What’s your fave style jeans? Would you dare to wear white?
MARIANNE

What body part of the opposite sex do you like best? The eyes? The curve of the back? Let us know by posting your comments below. Don’t forget to include your name and where you live. Your comments could be read on air.

I first met author Melissa Marr, the subject of today’s WICKED LOVELY segment, at the Romantic Times convention last year in Pittsburgh. She was a last minute addition to a panel on Young Adult fiction that I was moderating and I was so impressed, after hearing her speak, that I decided I needed to immediately run out check out her books! And let me tell you, I was so glad that I did. These dark, haunting modern tales of fairy captured my imagination in a way that no other recent book had been able to do.

Now, a year later, the third book in the series, FRAGILE ETERNITY, has been released and Melissa has another bestseller on her hands. If you haven’t read any of the series yet, you definitely need to check it out. One thing I love about these books is that, while they’re marketed toward teens and have teen characters, they’re definitely sophisticated enough for adults to enjoy as well. Maybe a mother-daughter read?

And for fans, you can rest assured, Melissa says there’s a lot more Wicked Lovely to come. New sequels and standalone books set in the world are in the works and there’s even a manga series introduced this month.

You can find videos, contests, tour dates and more at the official Wicked Lovely website or Melissa’s author page at Harper Teen.

You can also watch the interview, here.
Marianne

What’s the best consigment buy you’ve ever had? Post your comment below — be sure to include your name and city. Your comment may be read on air.

When my executive producer assigned me this topic a while back, my first thought was, “Good question!” Not because I’m looking for a job, mind you, I’m quite happy producing for Better! But I know so many people who are, because of the recession, currently out of work. Talented, smart, go-getters that just can’t seem to find anything out there in today’s tough climate. It’s really kind of tragic.

For the segment, we interviewed Marci Alboher, who’s a career expert for Yahoo! Shine. She writes some great articles on where the jobs are and how you might go and get yourself one.

I especially like the column she does on “Who’s Hiring Now” that gives real life examples of people who have gotten jobs — even with the recession. It’s a nice burst of sunshine to the gloomy marketplace.
So if you’re looking for work – don’t despair. Just brush up on your job hunting skills with Marci’s help and get out there! After all, you can’t find if you don’t look!!!
Marianne