It always makes me so mad when I see stars that have a baby and two weeks later, they’re running around Cabo in the skimpiest bikini they could find looking as though they’ve never eaten a cheeseburger, let alone given birth. It sets such an unnatural precedent for women who live in the real world and don’t have chefs who only use organic, fresh fruits and vegetables and who don’t go directly to their West Wing to meet with their trainer exactly 60 minutes after eating these nutritional meals. It often doesn’t seem fair and it’s easy to forget that sometimes, these celebrities have other celebrities looking at them and feeling bad about themselves as well. Such seems to be the case with Tori Spelling, who just added another little one into the family she has with Dean McDermott and their son Liam, who isn’t even two. Apparently, Tori hasn’t dropped the pounds as quickly as some of her Tinseltown peers and - get this! - she doesn’t even feel bad about it! From Celebrity Baby Scoop,

“I would look at pictures of myself and compare them to Jessica Alba, who had her baby two days before me,” Tori, 35, tells In Touch. “I’d see photos of her two months after and go, ‘Look at her!’ ”

Tori gave birth to daughter Stella Doreen in June, and since then she discovered she has developed a healthier attitude when it comes to weight loss. Tori has passed up fad diets and personal trainers and instead has enlisted the help of husband Dean McDermott, as well as their 19-month-old son Liam and 4 1/2-month-old Stella. Together, they “cook healthy meals” and “stay as active as possible.”
“The best way to lose weight is to make it a family affair,” she explains. “It has changed my life. I’m embracing the fact that it’s a struggle for me to drop the pounds. It’s easier now because I’m not as focused on it.”
Her advice to other moms trying to lose weight?
“Take your time,” says Tori, with Stella. “If you get obsessed, you’ll miss out on great moments with your children.”

I have to say that I have never been a big fan of Tori’s simply because she can’t act and was a huge superstar purely on her dad’s name and then she came out with her book, which has been faulted for being filled with lies as to what happened behind the scenes of Beverly Hills 90210. However, this story does make me see another side to her that may not be entirely caught up in the world of Hollywood, glamour, and beauty. It’s always nice when stars come out and admit that the Size 0’s and perfect, hourglass figures with the flawless skin are not always what they appear and that women can be healthy while remaining whatever size they are naturally. And whether I like her or not, I can’t even believe that anyone would say that Tori Spelling is having a ‘battle with weight.’ I think she looks terrific and I wish I had looked half as good 3 months after having my baby!

Now this is a story that saddens me. It’s no secret that ever since her breakdown in January, Britney Spears has worked to become a totally new person - sort of like the Britney we once knew but older and maybe just a little bit wiser. Certainly with more life lessons under her belt. And it’s no doubt due in part to the fact that her father, Jamie Spears, has been in control of pretty much everything that happens in Britney’s life. But ever since the hearing in July that would determine whether he would retain control or whether Britney would be left to have another go of it herself, I’ve been sort of leaning towards the latter side of things. But now, it seems as though that will never, ever happen as Jamie Spears has just recently been granted permanent conservatorship over his daughter. From the Daily Blabber,

“The pop star’s dad, along with her attorney, was granted permanent legal control of his daughter, a court ruled yesterday. The temporary conservatorship was set to expire on Dec. 31, but after court meetings and evaluations of Britney’s mental health records, her lawyer told the judge that the singer has no objections to Jamie Spears remaining in control.

“The court finds the proposed permanent conservatorship is necessary and appropriate [because of the] complexities of her financial and business entities and also potential for her being susceptible to influences,” said Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz, who has been presiding over the case.”

My problem here isn’t really with any particular person in this story. I have no doubt that Jamie only wants what’s best for his daughter and since this has been working so far, why not stick with it? However, with all of the great strides that she has made, I really would like to see her have enough confidence to try and remain on the right track all by herself. I mean, she’s gotten the proper help now and her family could be right there, waiting to step in should it really be too early for Britney to try this but I think she should at least be given the chance. Firstly though, I think that she should realize herself the positive moves that she’s made and she needs to give herself a chance.

Since she began dating Tony Romo and their subsequent breakup, people have been very interested in Carrie Underwood’s love life. And since she’s one of my favorite artists, I always have been too. The last rumor had her hooking up with Michael Phelps in what looked to have the makings of a bizarre love triangle with Lindsay Lohan. Well that seems to have naturally dissolved and while Phelps has started to make his own name on the Hollywood scene, Underwood has been looking to those who have graced the star scene in the past. And this time, she’s looking towards the former Bachelor, Travis Stork. From Angry Ape,

“Carrie Underwood is dating Travis Stork and the two have been romantically linked for months, say reports.

The country singer met the reality TV doctor in 2006 says the National Enquirer, and according to a source: “Carrie and Travis quickly developed a long-distance phone and text-message relationship.”

“They’ve kept the romance under the radar, but Carrie’s been telling friends that it feels like they’ve known each other forever. They are so sure of their feelings that they’re already talking about settling down together.”

Now although the Enquirer has proven to be factual just recently in their celebrity news, I do still have a twinge of doubt about this story. That being said, I would love it if this were true! These two make a totally hot couple and they’d be so pretty to look at as the papps snapped away at every little outing they went on together. Underwood obviously has her fair share of men falling at her feet but it seems as though she’s having trouble finding that special one. Or maybe she’s just been having fun up until this point, enjoying all that celebrity life brings. Aww, that was…until Travis….*sigh* We’ll have to keep an eye out for these two to see if this rumor proves to be true.

Celeb’s Halloween costumes are always so much better than the rest of ours. Their nearly limitless budgets make it hard for the rest of us to compare in our $30 ill-fitting, glued together costumes. Parties have been going on all week on both coasts, with some pretty impressive (and not-so-occasionally skanky) costumes. Kim Kardashian made a perfect Wonder Woman, while Lance Bass had (what Websters is my Bitch pointed out) the laziest costume ever.

As great as everyone looked, absolutely no one compared to the cast of the Today Show. Their costumes were insane. They showed a commitment to costumed entertainment not seen since… well ever. I seriously doubt they got any newsworthy work done, because I doubt there’s any news fattest than Matt Lauer as the biggest Humpty Dumpty ever.

In what has become an annual tradition, the Today show hosts (and newsreader–of all four hours!) dressed in elaborate Halloween costumes. This year, the theme was a storybook Halloween: Matt Lauer was Humpty Dumpty, Al Roker was the Gingerbread Man (with a suggestively placed… decoration), Meredith Vieira was Pinocchio (she said was “high” from the glue on her nose prosthetic), Ann Curry was Cinderella (”an ethnic J-Lo Cinderella”), Kathie Lee Gifford was the Big Bad Wolf, Hoda Kotb was Little Red Riding Hood, and Amy Robach was Rapunzel.

And why a storybook theme? Well, Today’s parent company–NBC Universal–has the animated film, The Tale of Despereaux, coming out this fall. Hello, corporate synergies!

[From Gothamist]

I don’t care why they did it, those costumes are awesome. Meredith Vieira’s Pinocchio looks so good that it almost appears painful. Being made out of wood can’t be comfortable for the joints. Though it was one of the more subtle costumes, my favorite was Natalie Morales and her baby. She was dressed as Princess Leia, but the best part was the baby was wearing a little tiny Yoda hat.

I don’t even want to imagine what the costume budget was for this thing. But if you see the reporters writing on white boards on Monday, you’ll know why.

Amy Robach, Hoda Kotb, Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Kathie Lee Gifford, Al Roker and Jill Rappaport at NBC’s Today Annual Halloween Show at Rockefeller Plaza today. Also shown are Kim Kardashian with mom Kris Jenner and Cheryl Burke, Lance Bass, Kris Jenner and Lara Spencer, Kim Johnson, Derek Hough, at PAMA’S Halloween Masquerade at Stone Rose in L.A. last night. Photographer: Jody Cortes. Images thanks to WENN.

Jennifer Hudson has done quite the good deed after major tragedy hit her family last week. She’s created a foundation to assist the families of murder victims and named it after her deceased relatives.

Jennifer Hudson’s family announced Thursday a new foundation for families of murder victims. The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims is named in honor of the singer-actress’s slain mother Darnell Hudson Donerson, brother Jason Hudson and nephew Julian King.

“The specific purpose of the Foundation is to care for the needs of families who have lost relatives to a violent crime,” the family says in a statement. “This encompasses their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter as well as grief counseling.”

Donations to the Hudson-King Foundation can be sent:
c/o Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP
Attn: William L. Abrams, Esq.
237 West 35th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10001

The foundation announcement followed a prayer vigil Wednesday night in Chicago.

“Jennifer sang her first song in this church – she said her first prayer in this church,” her cousin Shari Nichols Witt said of the Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church. Witt also spoke fondly of the actress-singer’s slain nephew, saying 7-year-old Julian King “seemed like he was ahead of his time.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who spoke at the vigil, told PEOPLE that Hudson, 27, and her family “are overwhelmed by the suddenness and the unexpectedness of it all. This family knows triumph, and they also know tragedy.”

[From People]

Most people don’t realize that services like this don’t exist in the vast majority of cities. I had a criminology professor tell a class about cleaning up a crime scene in her mother-in-law’s home. Her brother-in-law was schizophrenic - one of the very rare ones who could be dangerous when he was off his meds. He’d been living with his mother when something triggered him and he stabbed her 20-some times. The mother lived (and the son kept living with her after that), but it was up to the family to figure out how to clean up the crime scene. My professor described it very vividly and really explained how upsetting and deeply emotional the process was. I just remember thinking how out of this world hard that would be on top of everything else.

It sounds like the Hudson-King Foundation may fill in some of the gaps in the legal system that don’t properly take care of victims. What a deeply considerate way for Jennifer to honor her slain family.

Here are mourners gathering at the murder site of Jennifer’s mother and brother on Wednesday. Photographer: C.M. Wiggins. Images thanks to WENN. Header of Jennifer singing at the Democratic Nation Convention on August 28th. Images thanks to Fame.