Amanda's picks for best Oscar gowns of all (her) time

The red carpet ... for me, even though it makes me out to be all girly and such ... it's just a huge part of the Oscars experience. I literally watch hours of red carpet coverage on E! before the big show. We're talkin' early coverage, like when the nobodies are told to show up to allow for the more dramatic entrances during the last few minutes before the show.

I love seeing the gowns my favorites will wear. Kate Winslet never disappoints. She's the one I always look for first. Lately, Viola Davis has really upped her game, so I'll be watching for her as well.

But my top 5 Oscar gowns of all time (or at least during the years I've been watching) were donned by neither of these lovely ladies. In fact, only one of them in the bunch (No. 5) is on my list of favorite actresses. Still, each managed to pull off a stunning moment on the red carpet.

Here they are, folks!
Top row: No. 1, Penelope Cruz, No. 2, Anne Hathaway, No. 3, Keira Knightley
Bottom row: No. 4, Halle Berry, No. 5, Cate Blanchett

That's all, folks. Couch to 5K is off.

Last night I was nervous, but excited about attempting to run again after 9 days out due to knee injury. So I went online and bought a pair of Nike Duel Fusions I had my eye on. Black and pink. Very sassy. Might catch people's eye as I blow past them like a rocket on the track!

This morning the knees felt good. I did what Runner's World advised, and I didn't attempt a return until I felt absolutely no pain in my knees. Runner's Knee, as they call it, can become a chronic condition if you push before you're ready.

I strapped on my knee brace, put on my runner's under things (heehee), slapped on my watch with the timer, and I put orthopedics in my shoes for added support. Felt like a suit of armor or something, all for a few spins around a track.

But I still had that uneasy feeling in my tummy. It was that feeling of dread I had every morning I was headed to the Y last year to meet my personal trainer. I knew she was going to put me through the ringer, and she always did. Today's nerves were about whether my knees would hold up to jumping back into week 2 of the couch-to-5K program.

The Y is crazy on a Saturday. The parking lot, alone, is an epic battle. And then I got into the track and there was some event going on in the gym below, so it was loud and distracting. Not to mention the various walkers and runners on the track. These were the first couple of elements to begin building the dam of frustration.

The actual running built the rest of it. Pain. Both knees. And after just over a week, I took a hit to the stamina. Three minutes of running was hard for both of those reasons. After 10 minutes, I was done. So was my left knee, already swollen inside the brace.

And as if the running gods hadn't had enough of a laugh at my expense already, as I climbed onto the elliptical feeling defeated and powerless, "Born to Run" came on the mp3 player. I kid you not. I never thought I'd have the urge to turn that song off, but today, Bruce, you had to go.

So I was the idiot near tears in the Life Center today deciding that I'm quitting Couch to 5K for now. Maybe I'll try again this summer, just so I don't feel like I completely wasted a ton of money on all that running crap I thought I would need. Or maybe one sad little mile is my running-legacy. (As you can tell, I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself. This isn't pretty.)

Thanks for your encouragement, anyway. Now off to ruin the rest of a perfectly good Saturday by staying inside grading a ton of papers and essays. Best weekend ever.

Is Tweten's run on 'Idol' almost over?

So far, the rumors surrounding North Mankato's Shelby Tweten on "American Idol" have all checked out.
Before the show even started widespread rumors swirled that Shelby had auditioned in Colorado and that she did well enough that she likely would be featured during the audition rounds at the beginning of the season. Check!
Then there were rumors that a leaked list of the top 42 contestants was floating around the Internet and included Shelby's name. Check!
So I'm definitely paying attention to this last rumor I have gotten wind of, which is that last night's advancement in which Shelby did indeed make it into the top 42 after performing "Great Balls of Fire" with her group ... well, folks, it might be her last.

Rumor has it that Tweters didn't make it into the top 24, when the top 12 boys and the top 12 girls are selected and the show begins airing live for viewer votes. Those cuts are scheduled to be made next week, I believe, so it's possible Wednesday or Thursday's episode might be her last.

That's not to take away from her great success already. Making it into the top 42 on a national singing competition is an unbelievable feat. And hopefully it has inspired her to keep singing professionally. She's definitely got the pipes!

Hopefully Billy Crystal won't ruin the Oscars

The biggest night in Hollywood is just 9 days away! Oh my! ... But my excitement is tempered by the fact that I will endure two-plus hours of Billy Crystal. I'm not sure they could have chosen someone more out of touch with the public tone and discourse.

How do you even describe his humor? It's observational, which I like. But maybe it's his delivery. It's old-fashioned. Passe. He does "bits."

I don't blame the Oscar folks for freaking out after last year's disaster when they hired James Franco and Anne Hathaway to co-host to reel in the "younger viewers." Franco decided to phone it in, causing Hathaway to overcompensate, and between the two of them, they became the worst Oscar hosts in the 83 years of the show. But they've really over-corrected here by dialing the show back 25 years by inviting someone so out of the public eye to host.

Who would have been good? Ellen. Ellen definitely is both beloved and strikes the right comedic tone for our time. One website suggested Ryan Reynolds and Sandy Bullock cohost. Both are hilarious and have great chemistry. I'd be all for that. Ryan Gosling would be my personal choice. I mean, the absolute TRAVESTY of him being shut out of best acting nominations this year for "Drive," "Crazy, Stupid Love" or "The Ides of March" ... what does a guy have to do to get some Oscar love? Three great movies? Three great performances? In one year? Are you kidding me? The Academy could make it up to me by asking Gosling to host ... in his boxer-briefs ... or something.

Hopefully Crystal won't embarrass himself. He'll definitely sing, which he seems to enjoy doing. (Jeez.) And he'll do "bits," incorporating himself into the best picture nominees. (Ho-hum.) But maybe in an effort to keep the show at two hours, they won't let him try to milk too much limelight time out of this. It'll probably be his last, after all, until he's old enough to start collecting those life-time achievement awards.

Went rogue and I'm warming the bench

I debated about whether or not to post about my knee(s). I mentioned in my last post about couch-to-5K that my knees had been sore after my runs, so I was going to pull back a bit and really stick with the program as its laid out and intended.

But when I got to the gym on Saturday, two days after I'd run my first mile, I couldn't even make it around the track once. I was hobbling along in terrible pain in both knees, on the inside under the knee cap. The pain was worst in my left leg, though.

Then on Sunday, I ran to beat my mom into the movie theater (or she wouldn't have let me buy the tickets), and I further injured it.

So I haven't run since Thursday, and I've been really depressed about it. I spoke with a coworker who started running last year, and he apparently had the same injury, and it kept him out of the program for two weeks. It's a pretty common injury among first-time runners.

I didn't want to post about this because I don't want to discourage others from trying the program. I still think it's great. But I decided maybe I should mention that I learned the hard way why the program is laid out like it is, with slow progressions made over time, and that it's not a good idea to go rogue and run extra just to see if you can. It's not just about stamina. It's about your body acclimating to a high-impact activity.

So, anyway, I'll be warming the bench if you need me. : ( At least for a while.

Sophia Grace and Rosie risin' to the top

I just can't get enough of Sophia Grace and Rosie, the 8 and 5-year-old British girls made famous by "Ellen," YouTube, frilly pink tutus and Nicki Minaj songs that they sing.

If you missed last week's "Ellen" featuring Sophia Grace's rap, you have to see this. At first she covers a rap song by Keri Hilson, and to be honest, the poor thing is pretty off key. But about halfway through she launches into a rap about her and Rosie that is about the cutest damn thing I've ever seen, and actually pretty good too. Embedded below for your viewing pleasure. Also, the girls have their own YouTube channel now, where you can catch up on all the back videos if you haven't seen the girls before.

Also, Ellen sent them to the Grammys to be her red-carpet correspondents. The segment featuring their coverage is on Tuesday's "Ellen."



I had to also post this video of when they covered the red carpet for "Ellen" at the American Music Awards. When they meet Katy Perry, it always makes me laugh, no matter how many times I watch it. (Which is a lot.)

I ran a mile, and I liked it

What nobody ever tells you when you're considering a couch-to-5K program is how FAST your body adapts to running. It's not their fault. They can't get a word in edgewise when newbie runners are coughing and wheezing and complaining about how badly their frickin' lungs burn and how stupid it was to attempt to run in the first place.

Since I started running less than two weeks ago, about a dozen people I've talked to about this -- some of whom are in very good shape -- have said almost the exact same thing: "I just don't like to run." They do other things, like yoga or speed walking or team sports. I used to say that exact same thing. There are so many other exercises and machines you can use. So why do something you hate?

I've really been trying NOT to become one of those people who say, "But, seriously, if you just try it -- if you just get through that first week or two of misery -- you'll love it. It'll be like a drug." But it's so hard! When you find something you enjoy, you want EVERYONE to do it, too.

I had a pretty huge breakthrough on day 8 or 9 of the couch-to-5K program this week. I ran a mile. It was the first mile I had ever ran in my life. And it felt amazing. This week consisted of running two minutes, walking one minute, and repeating that pattern 10 times. But at the end of each session, I did this thing where I thought, "Just run for as long as you can without stopping. Just to see how long you can go." The first day it was five minutes without stopping. The second it was 8 minutes, 20 seconds. And the third, I went for it, and I ran a mile. Now, granted, it was the slowest mile in the history of running-miles: 13 minutes, 03 seconds. But we are talking about someone who, just eight days prior, had not run in 15 years. In just eight days my body adjusted that much. It's pretty incredible to think about that, to think about what we are capable of.

I hate this expression, but it so very much applies here that I have to say it: If I can do it, anyone can do it. So, please, do it! It'll make you feel so good about yourself!

I plan to run the Girls on the Run 5k on April 28. That will give me plenty of time to prepare. My only big roadblock now is my knee pain. I've been advised by friends to stick with the program and stop running those extra minutes after each session because my knees get so stiff and achy a few hours after running that it's worrying me a little bit. Maybe if I dial it back, and just stick to what I'm supposed to do, it won't be so bad. It's a bit frustrating, though, because when your lungs and heart are totally into running, you really wish the rest of your body would cooperate.

But I guess I've got more than two months to get the knees on board, too.

Today, I shall run four minutes, walk one minute, and repeat six times. And I promise not to run an extra mile afterward. : )))) Of all the promises I never thought I'd have to make ... haha.