You're seeing red today. It is, after all, Elmo's birthday! You can't help but smile whenever you see this now-iconic character, so celebrate his big day with color appropriate foods. Apples and strawberries come to mind, but Elmo would probably prefer a big slice of cherry pie.

You may not even realize that February is National Cherry Month. Being an independent thinker, you may want to celebrate in creative ways that don't involve cherry pie or cherries jubilee. Cherry sabayon or chicken flambe with brandied cherry sauce can be your own unique way of painting the town red.

Engaging in deep, philosophical conversation could be impossible when you're surrounded by birdbrains. Which could make the office lunchroom an intellectual desert. Your choice is to eat your roast beef on rye on a freezing cold park bench, or take it indoors and suffer through coworkers talking about 'American Idol.'

What the heck has gotten into you? Seitan burgers? Butternut squash soup? Stir-fried tofu over quinoa? Have you taken leave of your senses, or have you just come to them? Whatever it is, keep on keeping on with all the good eats!

It's a good thing it's Friday, because your brain just can't take any more thinking. Putting it on the shelf for a few days should bring welcome relief, although deep thinking may become a challenge. That's okay; you don't need to analyze the tiniest nutritional breakdowns of a plate of crab stuffed ravioli. Just eat it and shut up already.

Here comes the weekend, and your inner wild child is chomping at the bit. You might want to take it easy tonight, and reserve your energy for the next two days. Make yourself some popcorn, watch a movie or two, and hit the hay early for some quality beauty rest. The nightlife is waiting for you tomorrow.

Weigh each and every word before uttering them today. You could be feeling spontaneous, and prone to blurt out whatever crosses your tongue, including words like cheese, extra mayo and deep fried. Big mistake! For today, just say 'turkey on wheat' and end it.

Your friends know you too well, and they know how you can get on the weekends. Listen to their advice when they tell you to reel it in. They have your best interests in mind, and they don't want you to look foolish or do damage to yourself. Remember the events of last weekend. That dare to eat a habanera-laced burrito didn't work out too well for you, did it?

Carefully weigh the risks before diving into foolhardy behavior today. The back-alley Japanese joint with the special on day-old sashimi? Bad risk! Going for the puffer fish instead? Even worse risk! Staying home and making a tuna sandwich? Now you're talking!

Today could be as good as eating spicy chili crab at a waterfront eatery in Singapore -- or it could be as bad as finding that your passport has gone missing. Looks like you could be stuck there until you untangle this mess, but a few more days of yummy Singaporean cuisine might not be so bad after all.

Take the cheese, sour cream and refried beans out of your lunch burrito and you're stuck with half a burrito, which doesn't make sense when you paid for a whole one. The thought of eating those waist-expanding extras could literally make you nauseous. What to do? Go for a deli turkey on wheat instead, and it's like this whole dilemma never happened.

Accidents could easily happen today, so be careful of your actions. This could make cooking at home verboten, what with all that fire and those sharp, pointed objects. Eating out is the only solution, but avoid Chinese, Japanese, Thai or any other cuisine that requires chopsticks. You could take an eye out!

That pointy-head in your night class may actually turn out to be a fascinating individual, and something more than friendship may be in the air. You may have to ask yourself if you play in the same intellectual ball field. If they can actually give you the nutritional breakdown of your tuna and chickpea fedelini without looking at a book, you may be out of your league.

You could be at the point where things are getting serious, and your new squeeze wants to reveal secrets. You feel comfortable about disclosing some facts, but some things, like your childhood penchant for bed-wetting, your love of Adam Sandler films and your recipe for Tuscan acquacotta, are better off left in the closet.

You're not the 'all talk and no action' type, and when pressed into action, you go at it with the gusto of a samurai. Rise to the occasion today should someone challenge your expertise. Knock their socks off with your Japanese okonomiyaki savory pancakes thick with cabbage, pork and udon, and then challenge them to spell okonomiyaki.

You may not be able to paint, sing or write the next great novel, but there are plenty of things you do well, so show them off today, no matter how minor or inconsequential they may seem. No one puts together a pot of spicy Louisiana jambalaya with the same sense of stylish aplomb as you, so whip up a batch and treat your family to your latest masterpiece.

You can already see that you have a lot going on this weekend, so make an organizational list. Rank your activities in order of importance, which could require you to make some tough choices. Hitting the farmer's market to buy what you need for a homemade pot of lentil soup: important. Shopping online for yet another pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes: not so much.

Watching just a single episode of 'Jersey Shore' may have left you feeling dizzy and nauseous, so take some quick yet natural action. Peppermint tea is known to quell the queasies, as are bananas, chicken broth and an hour or two of 'Masterpiece Theatre.'

The work week is finally beginning to even out, and it looks like the worst is over. Don't let your guard down just yet. Taking a long lunch could be a big mistake. A call to action could come right in the middle of your tuna tartar and something that good won't deserve being carted around in a doggy bag.

Better carry an umbrella today, because your creative brainstorms is drenching. That's the kind of perfect storm that you just love, so run with it while it last. Your mental deluge could run dry at the most inopportune time, and you could suddenly forget the recipe for the tofu and brown rice maki you had planned to make for dinner.

The temptation to fall off the diet wagon is intense today, and it's all you've got to keep from diving headlong into the office pizza party. Be strong, because the guilt of overindulging isn't worth it. Hopefully they also ordered salad to go along with those pies. If not, you might have to watch from afar as everyone else has all the fun.

The birdbrains flock to you like a scene out of 'The Birds' today. Your natural inclination is to flee, but today you may want to actually hang out with them. You may find their larrikin way of not taking things seriously to be refreshing, and lunch at a Vietnamese sandwich shop is a lot more fun than some snooty French bistro.

The kiddies could be at each other's throats again today, and it's up to you to sort things out. Getting them to hash out their differences could be tough, but serve your world-famous grilled cheese sandwiches and you could at least get them to sit down at the same table together.

Poetry bores you, foreign art films confuse you, and you can barely pronounce some of the menu items at that fancy-pants French restaurant, let alone force yourself to eat them. That's okay, because down and dirty is the way you like it today. Sloppy Joes and onion rings: Now there's something you can really wrap your brain around!

You don't want to just eat food today, you want to be challenged by it. Korean cuisine can pack quite a spicy punch, and Korean specialties like red pepper pork, spicy chicken stew and, of course, kimchi puts up quite a tussle. Avoid the sannakji, because eating live octopus might be a fight you can't win.

It may only be Wednesday, but a weekend-style feeling of decadence could overtake you today. Heavy responsibilities may keep you from splashing out in grand style, but you can still get your kicks in small but satisfying ways. Treating yourself to midweek hot fudge sundae should keep you going until the weekend, when the real extravagance begins.

As a child you dreamed of being an astronaut, if only to see firsthand if the moon is made of Swiss cheese. Now that you're older you know better than that, but your sense of exploration may still be strong. Your first attempt at Swiss cheese and bacon soup may leave you positively moony-eyed!

Avoid any conversations today that involves petty chitter chat, mean spirited gossip or water cooler fawning of last night's episode of 'Glee.' You can't stand anything that shallow, so make your dialogues count today. Talking to a like-minded coworker about the merits of a vegan diet is more mentally stimulating than obsessing over what Brad and Angie are up to.

Focus on the larger issues today, because there isn't much you can do about the smaller ones. Appreciate the big, bold flavors of a plate of pasta puttanesca, and don't worry about the minor annoyances. Try as you might, you can never pull out all of those tiny anchovy slivers.

Petty people jealous of your many impressive achievements may do their best to tear you down today. If you must retaliate, do so in creative ways that make them eat their words. Bring in a bunch of homemade mini crab cakes and share them with everyone but your naysayers. The effusive praise you receive from the rest of your coworkers is the best revenge.

You really know how to crack that whip at work. While you drive your people hard, you also know when it's time to play. Throw an after work pizza party at a hip Italian joint to show your minions just how much you appreciate their hard work. They love you even more, and they might even reserve that last slice of pesto pizza just for you.

Ooh-la-la -- you feel randy and racy today, a real hot tamale. Get out there and stir things up, but don't be tempted to bring friends along for the ride. You might want to indulge with a Mexicali pizza loaded with diced habanera peppers, or Chinese 40-clove garlic chicken, but they don't. Today's a good one to fly solo.

So you took the plunge and made that ice-breaking phone call, and a first dinner date is the pleasant result. Choose a place with a relaxed yet lively vibe where you can get to know each other better. An energetic Mexican joint sets the stage nicely as long as you don't go crazy with the habanera hot sauce. Having your stomach pumped on a first date can be a real deal breaker.

You may have a taste for something foreign today, perhaps the cuisine of Iceland? If so, check out some online recipes from the land of fjords and Bjork. Fish and lamb are high on the list of Icelandic faves, so give baked halibut or lamb stew a whirl. Puffin, however, may be too foreign for even your exotic tastes today!

Speak your mind today. If an annoying coworker is bothering you, tell this person to shut up and leave you alone. If family members are feeling sorry for themselves, tell them to get over it and move on. If you bite into a Granny Smith apple that's bursting with intense and wonderful flavor, express your joy in loud and certain terms.

A wonderful romance can make you feel like you're on top of the world, but that fall from the top can be quite painful. Unfortunately, this could be you today. Feeling sad is natural, but don't beat yourself for too long. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, dig into a baked ziti casserole and move on. You're too much of a catch to be single for long!

The end of the month is here -- a time to reflect on the progress of those healthier eating resolutions. Hopefully you can give yourself an A for effort, but a C for actual execution. It's okay if you snuck in a few pizza slices or spread cream cheese on your bagel. Enjoy your little indiscretions, and try to do better next month!

Keeping yourself constantly ready for the possibility of romance can be exhausting. You cannot always be seen in the most favorable light, so don't be afraid to drop your pretenses and act a little goofy today. Who knows, someone out there might find the way you spill chocolate ice cream on your chin as you lick a cone to be really cute.

Your day is frustrating, maddening, infuriating and any other negative adjective you can come up with. Things get much better when you get home and your homemade stuffed pork chops and mashed garlic potatoes are amazing, superb, heavenly, and downright awesome!

Cultivating qualities of deep focus today is like trying to grow daisies in a desert -- so you can let the fog envelope you, or do everything you can to keep it at bay. Tea has been proven to help with focus and concentration, so brew up a pot. It doesn't matter if it's green, oolong or black -- it's all good!