I'll be the first to say that Americans eat too much, and that part of the problem is portion control. We can't control our portions. (Well, some of us can. But most of us can't.)

With rising food prices and a sinking economy, now is the perfect time for restaurants to give us the food we need -- nothing more, nothing less. I'm not talking about the trendy places that artfully place bits of food on a plain white plate. I'm talking about the regular eateries that families frequent. If portions were smaller, people would eat less -- and restaurants might charge less.

I'm one of those people who likes to get her money's worth. I will gobble down a large salad in one sitting because everyone knows that the lettuce won't be crisp the next day. And who am I fooling by getting a salad anyway? Just because the cheese and dressing and nut-encrusted chicken are on a bed of lettuce doesn't mean they're any less bad for you.

This weekend, I had two meals out. I also brought three meals' worth of food home. If I could have ordered half-portions and paid half as much, I would have.

Of course, that would have meant I would've had to cook three more meals. But who's counting?

I spent this weekend alternately celebrating joyous occasions with my family and trying to fight an oncoming cold. I timed the doses of preventive medicine so that I would be able to sleep during the night and be relatively coherent during the day and dinner hours. (I did, however, keep driving to a minimum, just as a precaution.)

Tomorrow, it's back to work, in the Building of 1 Million Germs.

I hope the bathroom hasn't run out of paper towels.

Well, it took nearly a week, but Elton John has finally left the building.

I wrapped up his birthday concert tonight, and I am exhausted! I don't know how he can perform 33 songs in a row and still appear to have as much energy on the last as he did on the first.

But, I guess that's what makes him who he is. And that's why so many people -- including Kiefer Sutherland, apparently -- love him and enjoy the work he's done for 40 years now.

Here's to 40 more.

The middle third of Elton John's 60th birthday concert kicked off with a visit by Whoopi Goldberg, who introduced Robin Williams, who introduced Bernie Taupin. Then, Taupin instructed everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to John. This was followed by the traditional confetti drop -- "like a Head & Shoulders commercial," John said -- and the raising of the banner the commemorate John's accomplishment at Madison Square Garden.

Then, he continued with the concert, reminding people that this would be a long show, and that when they were creating the set list, they actually 20 songs out and he was performing what was left. From the obscure "Roy Rogers" to the New York City ode "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" to "The Bridge" from the recent album, "The Captain and the Kid," John's songs were from all over his catalogue. And, yes, there were hits: "Daniel," "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," "Rocket Man," "Bennie and the Jets" and "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word."

And there were more stars singled out, too: Jon Bon Jovi, Pierce Brosnan, Michael Caine, Billy Connolly, Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Hurley, Rosie O'Donnell and Brian Wilson were all there. One of the camera's favorite subjects, though, was the woman who help up a Connecticut license plate that said J-ELTON. Now, either she's a really huge fan, or her name happens to be Jamie Elton. Either explanation works in this case.

Coming up: I will attempt to finish the concert. There are only 11 songs left, so cross your fingers -- it could be tomorrow! (Then, when I'm good and rested, it's on to the special features ...)

In honor of Elton John's 61st birthday, I was planning to plop down in front of the TV and watch the second half -- well, more like two-thirds -- of his 60th birthday concert from Madison Square Garden.

Unfortunately, those plans were put on hold for 20 minutes when my mother called.

I was finally getting comfy and was about to head to the couch when the phone rang again. This time, it was my sister.

Long story short: Elton will have to wait for another day. I mean, he puts on a great show, but my sister comes first. After all, I don't have her on DVD.

Tonight was the much-discussed-in-the-media guest appearance of Britney Spears in "How I Met Your Mother." I'm not a fan of hers, but I'm a fan of the show, so I was planning to watch anyway. My guess is that the show runners wanted to do something to get this again-on-the-bubble show a little more attention -- and maybe a few more viewers who actually live in Nielsen households.

My verdict: She wasn't bad. She wasn't amazing. She was fine. She could have been anybody.

But the real revelation of the episode was Sarah Chalke as Dr. Stella Zinman, the dermatologist whom Ted sees for 10 sessions in order to have his "tramp stamp" removed. Stella tells him she won't go out with him, but at the end of the episode, we see Ted "turn a 'no' into a 'yes'" and take her on a two-minute date during her lunch break. When they part, it's left wide-enough open that Stella could be the "mother" in the title.

And, Britney ends up with Barney -- a much better match for her than Ted would have been.

However, the best half-hour comedy of the night was "The New Adventures of Old Christine." Hamish Linklater is brilliant as Christine's brother, Matthew, and whoever came up with the idea to make Wanda Sykes her best friend deserves an Emmy for casting. Watching the two of them try to hide their affair from Christine, then find themselves out of lust once she does find out was pure joy. Their subtle facial expressions had me laughing out loud.

As they say in TV Guide, I'd live to give a "cheer within a cheer" to the dream sequences where Christine and Richard are making out with Matthew. Again -- comic gold.

I have to give credit to the Miami Hurricanes for making it as far as they did. Although they lost in the second round of the NCAA South Regional Basketball Tournament, they didn't go down without a fight.

The final score, 75-72, was much closer than I had expected. At one point, with just 4:15 remaining on the clock, the Hurricanes were down by 16. But they fought hard and came within one three-point shot of tying things up in the game's final seconds.

The meeting between Miami (seeded No. 7) and Texas (seeded No. 2) was a reunion of sorts for UM Head Coach Frank Haith and Texas Head Coach Rick Barnes. For three years, Haith was an assistant to Barnes -- even helping to recruit such players as A.J. Abrams, who scored 26 points against UM -- before arriving at Miami in 2004.

With a 23-11 record on the season, UM had 11 more wins than a year ago, when it went 12-20. The sixth-most-improved NCAA team this year, it was just one win off its school record for wins in a single season. This was only the third time in school history than UM made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Here's looking forward to next year!

Today was the early birthday celebration for a young cousin, who spent most of the party moping because his other cousin was not yet in on the festivities. Once said cousin arrived, all was well in the birthday boy's world.

But, other than that, all went off without a hitch.

The preschool-age kids were well-behaved. The gifts were accepted graciously. A good time was had by all.

Next up: A major milestone in the life of my "little sister."

In four days, it will be Elton John's 61st birthday. So, I figured it appropriate to finally break into my copy of "Elton 60: Live at Madison Square Garden," the DVD of John's 60th appearance -- the most by a single artist at the Manhattan venue -- which took place on March 25, 2007, his 60th birthday.

I've had the DVD set -- of course, I had to get the deluxe, three-disc version -- for four months now, but once the strike was on, I made a vow not to watch DVDs until it was absolutely necessary. Now that my favorite shows have begun to return, I feel it is time to supplement the occasional half-hour comedy with something a little different.

Anyway, about the show: It's a 33-song set, with lots of oldies and obscure songs I'd never heard before. But, when you're Elton John and it's your 60th birthday, you get to make all the decisions. And, you get a nifty, custom-made jacket with a "60" in gold on the back. And you get thousands of people to pay lots of money to sit in an arena and sing along with you. Some of the famous faces I saw were Brian Wilson, Jake Shears, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Bill Clinton and Eric McCormack. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, like normal people at a concert would. (That's opposed to the not-so-normal people in attendance, one of whom was wearing a giant birthday cake hat.)

Notes on the set list: DVD 1 only included the first dozen songs (so the other 21 will have to wait for another day). John began with the appropriate "Sixty Years On," then "Madman Across the Water," "Where to Now, St. Peter," "Hercules," "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun," "Take Me to the Pilot," "High-Flying Bird," "Holiday Inn," "Burn Down the Mission," "Better off Dead," "Levon" and "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)." Before he sang the latter song, he mentioned that his two most vivid memories of the previous 59 concerts at the Garden were the one after Sept. 11 and the one on Nov. 28, 1974. On that night, John Lennon came out and sang three songs with John in what would be his last public performance. John said he wrote "Empty Garden" for Lennon, and only sings it at the Garden, as it is very difficult to perform. I have always loved that song, even before I knew the meaning behind it. Watching John perform the song live brought tears to my eyes.

A few other observations: John has this habit of standing up from the piano after every song, acknowledging and thanking the crowd. I don't understand this. It just screams, "Look at me! You paid a gazillion dollars to hear me play! You love me so much!" Also, when he sings, it looks as if he's going to bite the head off the microphone. What did the microphone ever do to him? Can't he back it up an inch or so? And then there's the giant widescreen video monitor behind the stage. I'm all for a little bit of visual to go with the music, but it was a little too stimulating. In front of the giant screen was the Brooklyn Youth Choir, which was singing backup to songs that were all released before any of them were born. (This fact, however, did nothing to hinder their enthusiasm. They were so totally into it.) My question is: Do they even know what they were singing about? Are they aware of the importance of their performance and that they were a part of a historic moment? Had they even heard of Elton John before? No matter. At least they got to look out into the audience, and not at that big screen.

Coming soon: Part 2 of the concert, "Live, Rare & Unseen" and "Elton's New York Stories" -- all part of the fancy box set. (Hey, now: Don't judge me. At least I didn't wast hundreds of dollars to fly to New York for the show. I have a better seat at home, plus I have an available, clean restroom and I don't have to munch on overpriced snacks during songs I don't know.)

In preparation for next month's return of new episodes of "Scrubs," I have watched the entire 22-episode sixth season on DVD. All that's left to watch are the special features.

At this rate, I won't have to worry about breaking open "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" until late summer, when I'm really itching for some good-quality programming.

Another long workday, ending with another issue put to bed.

It amazes me that, some weeks, the paper is so tight that we have several stories left over. Other weeks, we are scrambling to fill a couple of pages because we have an unusually large news hole.

And then there's this week.

We're already down a reporter, with another on vacation. And an extra-large news hole.

At the start of the day, we had five pages that were "empty" -- there were no stories our reporters planned to generate that could fill them.

Luckily, sister papers in Orlando and Seattle came to our rescue. And we scooped up some briefs from our own Web site, which was nice.

All in all, it was a long day. But we did it, just as we always do.

Now that the return of "How I Met Your Mother" has come and gone, there's only one thing I have left to look forward to: the return of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup.

The calendar has been marked for April 3. On that night, "My Name is Earl" returns with a one-hour show, followed by "30 Rock" and "The Office." One week later, "Scrubs" returns. (There are five episodes of that show already 'in the can,' as they say, and I have a feeling those are the last five we're going to see on NBC. But, I'm not 100 percent sure, so keep fingers and toes crossed that there will be more.)

My dilemma: On April 10, I will be in Denver at a conference. There's an opening reception that night, offering free food. (Well, technically, I -- no, my employer -- paid for it as part of the conference registration fee, so no additional cost, as my high school AP Economics teacher would say.)

Bottom line: Do I pass up free food and geeky copy editor conversation for two hours of sitcoms?

Or, do I just set the VCR and wait to see it when I come home?

Today is not only St. Patrick's Day, but it also marks the return of one of my favorite current shows, "How I Met Your Mother."

As I have mentioned in the past, the writers strike -- which began in November and lasted 100 days -- left little to no new episodes of scripted TV series. But, today, after more than three months away without a new episode, my favorite New York fivesome is back.

Ironically, the show takes place on St. Patrick's Day (which is much better than another show, which, because TV executives decided to hold some completed episodes, just got around to airing its holiday episode). I can't wait to see what kind of hijinks Ted, Barney, Robin, Marshall and Lily get into. And, I hear Vanessa Minnillo is the guest star.

Next week is the much-reported appearance of Britney Spears, along with Sarah Chalke. (Chalke plays the dermatologist Ted sees about removing his 'tramp stamp' and Spears is her receptionist who falls for him.) I adore Chalke from my absolute favorite current show, "Scrubs," but I know Spears can do comedy from her spot on "Will & Grace" a few years ago. I wouldn't watch the show just to see how this casting stunt turns out, but since I'm already a fan of this show -- again on the bubble -- I'm not going to turn off the TV, either. Plus, the HIMYM cast has been saying nothing but good things about Spears, and I can't wait to see what happens.

Today's baby shower was an amazing showcase of the latest in fashions and accessories ... for a 2-year-old. (Admit it: Buying clothes for a baby girl is way more fun than buying clothes for a baby boy.)

When Jonna (nee Zhanna) meets her new parents and big brother, she's going to have more than enough "stuff" to keep her occupied. I just hope it does not overwhelm her.

Today is the first day out of the last five that I actually feel enough like a human being that I don't need to take any medicine.

It's also the first day out of the last five that I haven't had to commute to work and put in a work day of more than eight hours.

Coincidence?

I think not.

Happy to be home, but still a little sniffly, so it'll be another early-to-bed night for me.

But not too early. I'm going to focus on getting through as much of Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse" as possible. I've had this on my night table for months, yet I haven't been able to pick it up as much as I'd like.

I suppose that's the downside of reading for a living: I don't want to do it in my free time.

I finally gave in and took my place with the rest of the sickies -- and the cold medicine is kicking in.

I'm feeling very, very sleepy ....

What does it mean when you walk through your front door 15 minutes before you usually go to bed?

It's been a long day.

I left home at about 6:45 this morning, and returned at 9:45 this evening. I was in traffic for about 90 minutes, at work for about 11.5 hours and running errands for about two hours.

Nighty night!

Last night, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum (in Cleveland) held it's annual induction ceremony (in New York City). The performer inductees were: Leonard Cohen, the Dave Clark Five, Madonna, John Mellencamp and the Ventures. Little Walter was inducted in the sideman category, and the newly named Ahmet Ertegun Award (formerly the non-performer category) was presented to legendary producers Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff.

I'm familiar with Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," the Dave Clark Five's "Glad All Over" and the Ventures' theme for "Hawaii Five-O," but it's Madonna and Mellencamp that are nearest to my heart.

I'll always remember the first time I heard Madonna. It was 1983 and the song was "Borderline." Little did I know that the voice singing that catchy tune would become the top female star of the 1980s, with seven No. 1 hits, three No. 1 albums and 17 top 10 hits in that decade. From the "Like a Virgin" album, I loved "Dress You Up" and "Material Girl." And in the fall of 1986, I practically wore out my "True Blue" cassette. And "Cherish," from the controversial "Like a Prayer" album, is still a favorite. Today, Madonna continues to reinvent herself and, while I don't follow her music as much as I did 20 years ago, I respect what she is trying to do with each successive album. (I can even find it in my heart to forgive her for her misguided attempt to cover "American Pie," a classic epic that should never be tampered with.)

And then there's Johnny Cougar.

I think the first time I was aware of Mellencamp was when I was watching a video for "Cherry Bomb" on MTV. (It was a good thing they put all that handy information on the bottom left portion of the screen at the beginning and end of each video.) I followed his career on and off -- when his songs were on the radio and when he took time off between albums. I enjoyed "Jack & Diane," "Little Pink Houses" and "Authority Song," despite the fact that I wasn't really aware of the world of which he wrote. There was absolutely nothing to link me to the Indiana-born Johnny Cougar, aside from his music.

And then, I read that he was born with spina bifida, just like me.

It changed my perception of him, but in a good way. Ten years ago, I sat in awe of him as he performed a thorough mix of hits to an enthusiastic amphitheater crowd on a hot summer night.

When he released the song "Walk Tall" in 2004, with an accompanying video that featured a young girl in a wheelchair -- who bonded with a dwarf who was being persecuted for his stature -- it brought tears to my eyes.

This morning, when I read that Mellencamp made reference to the life-surgery he had when he was six weeks old that prevented him from being paralyzed from the neck down, my eyes welled up again.

"I'm lucky to be standing here," he said.

And I'm lucky to be able to look up to John Mellencamp as someone who has succeeded, despite what was probably a bleak outlook at the start of his life. To me, he's an inspiration.

I got nothing.

Seriously -- I have nothing to say.

I've been on the phone for the better part of more than the last hour, and I'm all talked out.

I know, I know: I don't have to physically open my mouth and speak to communicate in this fashion.

But, nonetheless -- I'm all talked out.

Maybe I'll have something interesting to say tomorrow.

Although my attempt to procure stamps failed miserably yesterday, I do have a bit of good news to report: A new cousin should be arriving in about six weeks.

Of course, I have nothing whatsoever to do with the new arrival. But, I am nonetheless thrilled.

My cousin and her husband are adopting a little girl from Kazakhstan. At almost 2 years old, she is exactly two years younger than their son, who will be 4 in a little less than a month.

I don't know how a little girl who's lived in an orphanage for all of her short life will react to living in South Florida, but I can only hope that she comes to realize that our family is really quite loving, once you get past what at first appears to be a whole lot of crazy.

As for me, I just can't wait to get the future fashionista into something pink.

On May 12, the price of a first-class domestic postage stamp will rise a penny, to 42 cents. Postcards are to be 27 cents. (That seems excessive to me, because the earliest first-class denomination I can recall is 19 cents, and now they're saying I can't even mail a postcard for that much? To me, that's crazy.)

Last year, upon the rise from 39 cents to 41 cents, the U.S. Postal Service announced it would issue a "forever" stamp. You'd be able to buy this stamp at the current rate and use it forever -- or, until you run out -- regardless of any future rate increases.

I use about five stamps a month, to pay some bills and send out the occasional birthday card. But I'm also a fan of some of the beautiful themed stamps that the postal service issues each year, whether it be beautiful blooms, the annual Valentines' Day issue or the art of Disney. So, up until this point, I have wanted nothing to do with the forever stamp, a simple Liberty Bell design. (Nothing against the bell, but I like a stamp with a little more excitement and color to it.)

However, at the moment, I am down to my last two 41-cent stamps, the aforementioned beautiful blooms. I figure I could buy 20 more stamps, use 10 of them and buy an additional 10 "make-up rate" stamps to use with the 10 that remained when the rate increase went into effect, two months from now. But, cheapskate that I am, I decided to just get a set of "forever" stamps. It would save me 20 cents in overall postage, and I wouldn't have to worry about going to the post office to get the "make-up rate" stamps in two months.

So, this morning, I drove to the post office to mail a package. The guy behind the counter asked (as they always do) if I needed anything else. I said "20 forever stamps, please." His response? "We're out of forever stamps. We should have them in a couple of days."

I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted to save 20 cents.

"Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

How is it that I've made it through a week of March already? Things have been so busy that I haven't really had any time to stop and enjoy each day. Not that I'm complaining. I just think that, so far, 2008 has been whizzing by at a frenetic pace. And, if it keeps on, at this rate, we'll be at Labor Day within a few weeks.

Alright, maybe not weeks. But I'm sure it will feel like it.

I hate caller ID.

I've never paid for the service, but when my workplace phone system was upgraded, we all got it.

In some respects, it's been fun to have. When my mom calls, I can pick up the phone and say, "Hello, Muddah," and we both get a quick laugh.

Recently, the phone has been displaying a name, if possible, with the phone number.

Last week, a good friend of mine called me at work from his cell phone, a number I would have recognized anyway. However, due to the extra information on my phone's display, I picked up the phone and said, "Hello there, wireless caller!"

But, in other ways, it makes me nervous.

Today, I received an incoming call from my great-aunt's home. She loves me dearly, but she never calls me at work. And, she's been under the weather lately. So, the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the number was that something bad had happened.

Luckily, I was wrong, and it was just my mother, calling me to tell me something. She had stopped to check in on her aunt during the course of her daily errands. Crisis averted.

And, even if it was a crisis, I think I can handle waiting until the person on the other end of the line can confirm it to me.

Now, I understand that caller ID may be helpful for screening calls from people we don't want to talk to -- and telemarketers. The former is not really an issue for me. For the latter, I have a simple test: If the person can't properly pronounce my name, I am not home.

Besides, caller ID takes away the joy I feel when I pick up the phone and find there's someone there who I haven't seen or spoken to in a long time on the other end.

Maybe that's why I don't have it at home. I also don't have call waiting. Or cable television.

On the other hand: Maybe I'm just cheap.

Happy Hump Day!

I made it through what seemed to be a neverending day -- and I'm pooped.

'nuff said.

What's there to say about a Tuesday? Not much. Every other day has something going for it:

• Monday is the first day of the workweek, so we get to complain that it's arrived too soon.
• Wednesday is "hump day," the midpoint of the workweek.
• Thursday is the night for really good television -- and the day people start thinking about what to do during the weekend.
• Friday is the last day of the workweek. They didn't come up with TGIF for nothing.
• Saturday is the greatest day ever created.
• Sunday is laundry day. Anyone who says otherwise is wearing smelly clothes.

So, there you have it. What are we going to do about Tuesday? Discuss.

Monday, Monday -- what can I say? It was a mediocre day, at best, but nothing terrible.

I once read that Monday was "the 12 percent day" -- people only use 12 percent of their energy (or something like that) for the week on Monday.

So my question is: If I use more than 12 percent on a Monday, do I get to slack off a little bit on Thursday or Friday, just to make up for it?

I can't believe it's March already! I know February was a extra-long this year, but it still seemed to fly by even quicker than I remembered.

Soon, I will have to worry about the ides of March. And, a fortnight later, it will be my parents' anniversary, followed by my sister's 30th birthday.

The fact that my younger sister is about to hit this milestone is harder on me than the day nearly four years ago when I hit it myself. I suppose it's because my memories don't go as far back as my beginning, but they go as far back as hers. And the fact that it's been almost 30 years really makes me stop and think about how far we've both come.

Am I nostalgic for the day first I held my new sister? It's possible. Am I in awe of the fact that the small person I once held -- in a moment captured on film that has become one of my favorites -- is now a brilliant, hard-working young woman? You bet.

Today, my family went down to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, near Coral Gables. I'd been there once before, during the first run of an installation of glass artist Dale Chihuly's work.

This time, Chihuly's A Garden of Glass exhibit was jointed by a collection of Roy Lichtenstein's pop art and Fernando Botero's sculptures. Each of the artists has a distinct style, and I could appreciate them all. I took several pictures, but definitely missed a lot of the art. This weekend was Fairchild's 6th Annual International Orchid Festival, so it was quite crowded. (It didn't hurt that the weather was beautiful.) By the time we arrived in the afternoon, there were no maps left that pointed out where the art was. So, we just followed the paved walkways and sought them out. (And saw some really cool orchids, as well.)

I hope the powers that be at Fairchild continue to bring artists whose work meshes well with the flora and fauna on the grounds. One of the more whimsical pieces we came across was Michele Oka Doner's Pollinators -- a 2006 installation made of bronze, silver and found objects -- from Fairchild's art & flowers exhibition. Situated on a tree in the butterfly garden, it was a pleasant surprise on a day that was practically perfect.