Back in skinny jeans

Jesse's girl is back in Port Charles

Rick Springfield has returned to General Hospital as the sexy Dr. Noah Drake. See USAToday.com for story.

For those of you over 35, you will remember back in the 80's when Rick Springfield was a hot singer with the popular song "Jesse's girl." Riding on the wave of smoldering hotness, Mr. Springfield took his act to the soaps. Man, was I in heaven. Rick would appear in the pages of Teen Beat magazine every issue, and I would put him up in my locker at school. It was divine pleasure to open up that locker and be greeted with that luscious smile and dreamy brown eyes. I loved him. I dreamed that I could have a boyfriend as steamy as Rick Springfield.

I saw the story of Rick's return to General Hospital on Entertainment Tonight, and I was pleasantly surprised that after more than 20 years, Rick still looks handsome, except now he has that older man handsome look to him. Yummy! I am thrilled that he has aged like a fine wine. Not only did I feel nostalgic for those days back in Junior High when I had the metabolism of a youngster and could loose 15 pounds without much effort, I felt hopeful for the days yet to come where I too still have the chance to age with grace.

I stopped watching the soaps eons ago, but now that Dr. Noah Drake is back, I might just have to take a gander. Old habits die hard.

Liposuction to go from 2 to size 0

In last week's episode of Nip/Tuck, Christian and Kimber are going to get married. The show opens up with Kimber on the operating table. Her plastic surgeon fiancee, Christian is asking again, why is he doing liposuction on her. She answers that she wants to make sure that she will fit into her size 0 wedding dress, like size 2 is huge.

I think that TV can be a wonderful medium to inform and educate people, and then I think TV is the number one medium that makes all us women feel like we are never enough. Watching this Nip/Tuck scene made me feel angry at TV. Kimber is already a beautiful woman yet she feels like she can't be pretty enough unless she looks stunning in a size 0. Most women I know would be thrilled to be in a size 8. Heck, I think a size 6 is on the small side. But no, to be hip in Hollywood you have to be a size 0-4. Could my cabbage patch dolls wear a size 0?

When does the battle end?

As I mentioned before, I’ve been back into the skinny jeans three times in my life. However, I have been battling the bulge since 2nd grade. We are going on 3 decades of me vs. the love handles. At some point, the battle will have to end. No war can go on forever. It can go on for years and years, but at some point the battle ends and so does the war.

I have one of those unconventional body shapes that makes my weight deceiving. People in general think I am much lighter than I really am, or they think I wear a size or two smaller than I really do. Most women’s clothes are designed with a 10” difference between the waist and hip measurements. For example, if you wear a size 10 you would most likely have a 30” waist with 40” hips. In my case, I only have a 7” difference between waist and hip, so I am cut more like a boy. When slim cuts for jeans came out, I was elated because they are cut for figures like mine.

I have a thick waist and small hips. The hardest place for most women to lose weight is their hips and thighs. In my case, the hips and thighs are the easiest places to lose weight. It’s my gut and waist that just won’t budge. My ankles and wrists are also really slim, and I have really long fingers with narrow hands. Coupled with the fact that I am on the tall side, 5’7”, I can hide excess weight on my frame pretty well. But still, I battle to stay on the slim side.

I dream of one day not having to watch what I eat, exercise every day, and in general just not think about my size at all. It’s a beautiful dream, and I know that I’m not the only one who has the same desire.