I can never decide if I love or hate Eva Longoria. I’ll come to a clear-cut decision, and then she’ll do something remarkably wonderful or remarkably annoying, and I’m back where I started. After reading an article about her in Parade, I’m again left stumped. In it, Eva talks about her respect and love for her sister Liza, who is mentally challenged. And I’m left in a bit of a pickle: do I like Eva more for talking about it, or is she using her sister’s mental illness to drum up publicity for herself? Because it’s Eva Longoria, I really could go either way.

Eva Longoria says she’s a naturally cheerful person, but her sense of optimism comes directly from her family. “I’ve learned there’s no better medicine than laughing,” says the Desperate Housewives star, who opens up about her family to Parade magazine. “(My sister) Liza is mentally challenged. She was my hero growing up,” she says. “It was a blessing to watch her overcome every obstacle – tying her shoes, putting on a shirt, getting out the front door. And yet she still had a job and would come home on the bus by herself and help with dinner. You could only imagine the hurdles she encountered every minute of the day.”

In fact she says her sister helped her career in some ways. “Liza was a role model to get me ready for life in Hollywood,” says Longoria. “You don’t take health for granted. You don’t take life for granted. It seems so insignificant to go, ‘Darn it, I didn’t get that movie role,’ or, ‘Darn it, so-and-so is wearing the same dress as me to the Emmys.’ ”

And having a supportive mother also helped Longoria learn to follow her heart. “My mother is the most non-judgmental person in the world. When I said, ‘I’m going to L.A. to be an actress,’ she told me, ‘All right. I hope that makes you happy.’ ” Longoria say’s she’s as happy as she’s ever been. “I love my husband with all my heart,” she says of Tony Parker. “I love my family. And I love my girlfriends. And I live my job. And I love my dogs. I love life, in general.”

[From People]

Yes? No? Do we like Eva Longoria more or less now? If nothing else I’m sure that I hate Parade magazine more. Is there anything else in the Sunday paper that serves less of a purpose? The auto auction announcements on page M12 have more relevance. And the cartoons just make me mad. A big dog holding a garden hose! Hysterical! F*#& off Parade.

Eva also touches on other deep topics, such as skincare.

“For me, as far as skin, I’m a big advocate of facials. And I moisturize. And I read my magazines. I listen to good advice from people who really know, and I try to watch what I eat. But it’s diet. It’s exercise. It’s maintenance. It’s checkups. It’s attitude. It’s a lot of things. And I think you just need to be aware of what’s going to work for you.”

[From Parade]

I’m not sure, but I don’t think reading magazines actually improves your skin. Probably doesn’t hurt it any, and maybe if you read something funny you might get a glow or something. There’s something so self-indulgent about Eva Longoria that even when she’s talking about something that carries some weight, like her sister, it still comes off as self-serving. But we shouldn’t complain: we’ve only got about 3 more new episodes of Desperate Housewives left, and then we’ll be begging for any Eva we can get.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Eva Longoria is shown at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show on 11/15/07 thanks to PRPhotos. Also, Eva may love her sister and all, but it’s not like she’s brought her out with her – anywhere. Have we ever seen a picture of Eva’s sister out with her to lunch, out shopping, or at an event? I’m not saying that she should be exposing her to the spotlight, just that it seems like we might have heard of her before if Eva spent any time with her. She might have, say, brought her to a Spurs game with her or something, but no, all we’ve seen is Eva.