SNOW DAY!

As we all know, if there's a chance of snowfall in the south, go ahead and shut down everything. Because we don't have much snow, nor do we have many tools and plans to deal with the snow (see Atlanta, Ga.), it's just better we cancel and close everything and enjoy the white stuff.

And ya know what, I'm A-OK with that. Snow days give us a mini "stay-cation" and force many of us to just be. Day after day, week after week we're all so concentrated on doing things - work, school, errands - but when everything in the city is shut down, that to-do list suddenly becomes super short. Thanks to this blizzard, I've seen and talked to more neighbors today than I have in at least 6 months.

So with that said, I tried my hardest to enjoy the blizzard of 2014. Once work (and everything else) had been cancelled, it was time to relax.

After watching some daytime TV and discovering my spirit animal, I was done relaxing. It didn't take long for that to just get boring.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Komondor/the Jeremy.

Asha and I decided to venture out into the snow for a quick walk around the neighborhood. This was when I found out how much of a baby Apollo is. We were playing in the snow all happy-go-lucky, Apollo and I semi wrestling. Good times. Then, while playing, I toss some snow in Apollo's face. If Apollo could talk, I swear he would've said,

"I don't wanna play no more."

That punk dog started to cry. The same 140 lb dog that was eating the snow moments earlier, got some snow thrown in his face and began to cry. Like... for real cry. Asha and I thought he was physically hurt, but no... just his feelings.

We laughed and made fun of him for the rest of the day.

This is when he started crying. Big baby.

The next day is when things got REAL.

The day started the same way the previous one ended - laughing at Apollo. He was so unsure of everything once he stepped outside and realized it was ice and not the same snow as the day before. He was so confused.  He didn't know where to pee. 20 minutes later, he ended up peeing in the street.

Asha and I went for another walk, this time to check out a little more of the area. As we guessed... everything was white and covered with snow. We also witnessed a huge branch breaking and falling from a tree. Luckily no one's car was under it.

Once we returned home, I wasn't ready to go inside and let boredom set in, so I decided to build a snowman. There was plenty of snow to make a legit snowman, so I went for it.

Somewhere between building a base and realizing I didn't feel like building a snowman anymore, I decided to build an ice cave/igloo type thing. Not sure why... but I did. And I was so determined to finish it. Anyway, I was proud of my work. I wish I built it bigger, but I got tired and I probably looked silly out there building it by myself. I had a couple of admirers though so... mission complete.

The blizzard of 2014 was fun. It's always nice to take some time and just enjoy everything. Thankfully, our power never went out and we still had food (minus bread and milk though...). Hope you all enjoyed the snow and filled everyone's Facebook and Instagram timelines with pictures of snow!

The Bachelor: Motion in the Ocean

We're back for another week! Time for the ladies to explore the romantic land of... Vietnam.

Hmm... ok, we'll see how this goes.

8:00 PM - Watching the preview of tonight's episode. Looks like it's all about Clare tonight.

Man... he's riding on a boat and... that has to be the dirtiest water I've ever seen. But other than that, Vietnam is nice and scenic.

Ha, Kat with the "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego" reference! 2 points for you! #90sKid

Renee finally gets her 1 on 1 date. Needless to say... she is happy about it.

Wow, this first segment really didn't have much going on. We're at commercial already. Whatevs, I need to check some scores anyway.

[Commercial Break]

8:09 PM - Back on and it's 1 on 1 date time. Renee really wants that kiss.

Ya know... the more and more I watch JP, the more and more I think he maybe doesn't reeeeeeeeeeeeally want to settle down. He seems to like and enjoy the bachelor life.

Switching gears... it's apparently really hot over there in Vietnam. Renee is commenting on her sweat. However, the sweat is evident on JP's  shirt. Light colored shirts ain't exactly the best thing to wear while sweating.

[Commercial Break... ugh, Valentine's Day commercials...]

8:19 PM - Evening portion of the 1 on 1 date. Renee got her custom made dress. It actually does look pretty nice.

JP seems to honestly think he can see a future with every girl he dates. I... guess that's a good thing. Maybe?

8:22 PM - Finally back at the house and it's group date announcement time! Poor Andi is stuck on yet another group date. Andi is one of my favorites so I guess I'm sad for her, haha.

Anyway, back on the date and they talk about having a kid... again. After not eating food, Renee gets her rose! However, she still hasn't gotten that kiss. He's made some rule about not kissing her due to her having a son. It's killin' her, haha.

[Commercial Break]

8:31 PM - Group date time! They're gonna go in some little Vietnamese boats. They're circle shaped which seems like it'd be hard to steer.

Ha... Clare doesn't have any friends so when it was time to partner up, absolutely no one picked her. However, she got to go with JP so in that moment, having zero friends worked out well.

Ha... they're all just there watching Clare on a date with JP. Nice.

8:35 PM - So he randomly stops and asks some random guy if they have any food for them to eat. Except it obviously wasn't random and it was planned... but the girls thought it was totally random and that he will just always talk to random folks in other countries and ask for food.

I take that back... only this 1 girl seemed to really think this. She seems... kinda... dumb. And she's a teacher.

This little meal they're having that they basically farmed for does seem pretty nice. But Clare, of course, is barely eating anything. She's really pretty... but my goodness she's just... ugh.

[Commercial Break]

8:45 PM - So the girl with the dog... I had my doubts about her in the beginning but I'm glad she's there, she's funny. I was wrong about her.

Oh snap... not only did JP take Clare FIRST for some alone time, but he done took her back to his suite! And got in the pool with her.

But... he came back all dried off and clean. Like... he doesn't look like he was even NEAR a pool. I'm impressed.

8:52 PM - Andi finally gets her solo time with JP and it doesn't take long before they're suckin' face on the beach.

Haha, no surprise - Clare gets the rose on the group date. Clearly, no one else likes this decision. I wish Clare was more... evil. This show needs some actual drama.

[Commercial Break]

8:58 PM - Back at their... house/hotel thing. Everyone has come back all tired and exhausted... but not Clare! she's all giddy from getting her rose and now she sneaks off to JP's suite (she's already been there so she knew the way) for a night cap make out session in the ocean. Seemed like they had some fun out there in that giant fish toilet we call the ocean. Can't quite tell if they did the naughty or not.

Side note - she said she's never swam in the ocean. She's from California. She's not doing something right.

[Commercial Break]

9:05 PM - Nikki's turn for her 1 on 1 date. She's all happy, little does she know she's about to get freaked out having to repel down into a cave. Muhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Ha, the name of the cave is "Hell." Nikki is NOT feelin' this. I don't think repelling is nearly as bad as bungee jumping.

My goodness... they had to take a make out break. Oh, and she's all calm now. How convenient.

Anyway, they made it to the bottom but it's kinda creepy down there. It was definitely set up for someone to jump out and scare them. But that wouldn't have been cool.

At all.

[Commercial Break]

9:15 PM - Evening portion of the date. All I can tell ya about this portion of the date is that Nikki wore a really short dress. Like really short. My brother called me so I missed most of whatever happened. From what I saw, looked like Nikki just did a ton of talking. But whatever she said impressed him cuz she got the rose.

[Commercial Break]

9:28 PM - Man... I totally thought it was time for the rose ceremony/end of this episode. Wrong. It's only 9:30.

Ha, JP has announced that 3 (of the remaining 11) ladies are going home. That is a nice chunk which puts us just a liiiiil' bit closer to the end of this. Anyway, once he announced it, everyone got all quiet. The awkward silence was in full effect.

Hahaha - he's currently giving us a run down of the girls and how much harder it's getting. Funny though, each time he began speaking about one of them, he started with how pretty they were. They're all pretty, sir. Gotta get a lil' deeper.

9:34 PM - Renee finally got her kiss. She definitely waited long enough. I think I'm honestly happy for her, haha.

Haha... JP and Clare are talking and he's letting her know it was probably a bad idea for them to do the nasty in the nasty ocean. I get it... and I actually understand her reasoning... but yeah, you basically just did the nasty on TV in front of roughly half of America. Anyway, she cried. He tried to make her stop crying. And after the commercial I'm sure there will be a lil' more drama.

[Commercial Break]

9:42 PM - Back on and Clare basically did a walk of shame back to the rest of the group. It's clearly awkward and everyone is pretending to act normal.

Clare has walked off to do more crying. JP is trying pretty hard, but his Latin charm isn't really working very well at the moment.

Ha... Clare is really trying to tell everyone her allergies are messed up. Don't nobody believe you. (Haha, Andi made a hilarious face after she said that. That's probably what I like most about her, she makes funny faces.)

Chris Harrison just walked in and everyone was probably saying to themselves, "thank GOD he just walked in to end this awkwardness." And I know JP probably said, "Gracias a dios - I can finally get outta here!"

[Commercial Break]

9:51 PM - Alright! Finally , it's ACTUALLY 9:51 now which means we're actually in the home stretch.

Blah, blah, blah from Chris Harrison. Let's hand out some roses, shall we. Now, I know who my bottom 3 are, but let's see how this goes.

First rose goes to Sharlene.

Cassandra, Chelsea (she was in my bottom 3) and Kat (oh snap!) get the next 3 roses and just like that, there's only 1 rose left!! Man... I think I guessed this pretty wrong.

The final rose goes to.... Andi. Ok, that wasn't a surprise. Sucks for the girl with the dog, mixed girl, and... the... other girl. None of them ever got a 1 on 1 date... but at least they got 2 travel spots!

Oooo, and speaking of travel, the next stop is New Zealand! I wanna go there! If you didn't know, I've got some sort of... passion for Australia. (New Zealand is close enough so I like it too.) I think in another life, I lived there. And I loved it. I need to go there. Someone help me make this happen!

Ok, show's over. That was fun. Not gonna lie, kids, it's going to be hard to muster up enough to do this again next week. I'll try... but just know there's a chance it won't happen!

Peace out!

The Bachelor: dancing, singing and tasty octopus, oh my!

Another week, another 2 hour block of time devoted to the televised search for love. I must admit, I'm on the verge of boredom with this crop of ladies. We need a "villain" ASAP. I need something/someone to look forward to each week. Is it bad for me to say that I want some folks to go fist to cuffs at a rose ceremony? Any of you ever watch "Flavor of Love"? Yeah... I need some of that.

Anyway, let's get this party started!

8:00 PM - Starting right on time. And guess what ladies, you've made it to the TRAVELING PORTION OF THE SEASON! WOOP, WOOOOOP!

*insert screaming ladies!*

This is exciting but c'mon, ladies... you knew you'd be traveling somewhere! Oh who am I kidding, I'd probably be jumping up and down and screaming like a little school girl too.

8:05 PM - They're doing all this dang screaming in the airport. Everyone else is looking at them like, "get these white girls outta here...ugh!" ...but in Korean.

Ooo, that is a nice hotel they're in though. #GangnumStyleBallin'

8:08 PM - Haha, Nikki is CLEARLY upset she's on this group date. Like... the disgust is written all over her face. That was hilarious.

[First commercial break! I feel like I should do something to celebrate that. Maybe next blog.]

Haha, did you notice the Bachelor themed border on the TV during the commercials? You know, in case you forgot you were watching the Bachelor. Oh, still at commercial break, by the way...

8:11 PM - Back in Korea, y'all and it's time for some "K-Pop" which is Korean Pop music for us Americans that had no idea.

Haha... man, Nikki hates these girls/this group date. I hope she is forever on group dates until the end.

The ladies get to dance with the popular Korean group "2NE1" and biggest surprise... this girl sounds VERY American. Her American English is spot on.

Uh oh... rough soultrain line going on right now and everyone is solo dancing. Lemme tell ya... if you can't breakdance or don't have any sweet movies, solo dancing is really, really hard.

8:15 PM  - So Kat is super confident about this dancing thing. She's now teaching others the moves. I'm surprised there isn't more put on umm... what's her face... the former NBA dancer. Although... Kat isn't letting us  NOT think about her during this dancing stuff.

Anyway, they just found out they'll be dancing at a concert, as if we didn't see that coming. Nikki is, on cue, freakin' out. This performance could be interesting.

[Commercial break: Side note - I wanna see 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2'. I really liked that book as a kid and I enjoyed the movie. I need to see the 2nd one now. The end.]

8:22 PM - Haha... the girls are getting dressed for the performance and man... they look SO... Asian pop, haha. Like... #Anime.

This 2ne1 group is like... 4 female Beibers for Korea.

Haha... I can't type everything I'm laughing about fast enough!

Well... they're dancing now. Nikki isn't terrible. But she ain't that good either. Kat,on the other hand... yeah, she definitely thought this was her concert.

Oh... and Nikki is, of course, hating on Kat.

Oh, I really hope Kat doesn't get the rose on this group date. I don't know who should, but I hope she doesn't get it just because I know she'll be pissed.

[Commercial break: another side note - whatcha doing for Super Bowl Sunday? Got any good prop bets? Who ya picking to win?]

8:30 PM - Evening portion of the date. Time for some sake! (I know that's Japanese, but I felt the need to use it)

Kat is on her solo time with JP (Juan Pablo's new nickname) and Nikki just opens up about her judgement (aka hate) of Kat. Hopefully one of them will be the villain I've so longed for.

In other news, everyone keeps asking JP what his biggest fear is. Jeez, ladies... get some new interview questions.

8:35 PM - Uh oh... Nikki's plan may be backfiring. The other girls aren't feelin' her cattiness and negativity. Will Nikki make the classic move of complaining to JP about someone else and, in turn, getting herself kicked off? Things are looking good for that possibility.

8:38 PM - Things are getting boring... back at the house, Sharleene gets the next solo date. Will she awkwardly kiss him on the date? *shakes magic 8 ball* "Signs point to yes!"

Oooo, nice! Nikki got the rose! Not only did the hater get the rose, but now she's the hated since this is like her second time getting a rose on a group date. She's ballin' on them right now.

Oh, and Kat was, in fact, pissed.

[Commercial break]

8:45 PM - Really... we open up with a pic of JP in the shower? Not necessary. Ha... Sharleene had her hair in some big curlers... she was lookin' real Asian.

They're in some market. I bet it... smells. I remember China Town up in New York. All I remember is it smelled. Notice I didn't say it smelled bad... it just smelled. There were just lots of things happening. Anyway, they tasted lots of things at the market. They're brave cuz... I don't know 'bout that, bro.

Back at the house, the ladies are discussing how they can't picture things with Sharleene and JP. Kinda funny since he, himself, said Sharleene was his favorite.

8:50 PM - JP doesn't know a lot of phrases and words. It's kinda funny because it's just a little reminder that he is not white.

Haha, evening date time and JP wants her to sing for him. And of course she's shy about it. The professional opera singer was shy about singing. Silly.

They kissed. I have no further comment on that.

[Commercial break]

8:56 PM - We're back and Sharleene is a happy camper at the moment.

Hey, Sharleene asked some good questions (instead of "what's your biggest fear?" - I said that in a dumb voice by the way). We're finding out how/when JP came to the States. This is something I wanted to know, so thanks, Sharleene.

Haha, superb editing by the ABC crew while the ladies at the hotel talk about Sharleene.

9:00 PM - Sharleene and JP are having a very honest conversation right now. I commend her for being very honest about this. And to be honest, I have to commend JP for at least appearing to be deeper and more than just his looks.

Hey, side note - now that they're in Korea, who's taking care of that girl's dog?

[Commercial break]

9:07 PM - 2nd group date time! They're getting "Krazy in Korea". They walked up to some building with a bunch  of lil' Koreans being weird in the window. This is place is build like a lil' doll house as well... also kinda weird. And then they did some karaoke. And then they went on some paddle boats. And then they went and got a fish pedicure? Is that what it's called? Whatever, the fish were eating the dead skin off their feet. #Nasty.

Oh.. and now they're eating octopus. I've actually had octopus before thanks to Rachel Kafsky. Theirs looks fried though... mine was not. It was very chewy.

Ohh man... line of the night from Kelly, the girl with the dog, talking about Clare eating octopus,

"Her piece was like this big and I know you've swallowed bigger things in your life than that." - #Burn Great line, she just earned some points with me. I wonder how Clare feels watching that back.

[Commercial break]

9:17 PM - We're back and girls are talking about kissing JP. Umm... if you haven't kissed him yet... you're late. Step up your game, ladies.

Renee, aka House mom, looks familiar to me for some reason. She has a very friendly face. That's a good thing to have.

9:23 PM - Welp... this portion of the group date is now boring. They're just talking bout kissing JP. Blah, blah, blah...

9:24 PM - Oooo, we just took a nice, dramatic left turn! The girl who is a music composer and I constantly forget she's even on the show... she just asked for a kiss (cuz that's how the cool kids do it... just ask) and basically got rejected. He said he didn't want his daughter seeing him kiss a bunch of ladies and that's all well and good except... we all know and saw you kissing a bunch of other ladies already. Now, he actually hasn't kissed a bunch of them, only like 6 of 'em... so I guess I'll give him that. But yeah, I can see why she'd be upset about that.

[Commercial break]

9:30 PM - Yeeesss... music girl is crying.

Man... that drama ended way too soon for my liking. Ugh...

Ahhh... thank you, Kelly the dog lover. She's now hatin' on Clare. Ooo, and now Andi is too. Hehe... now they're making fun of Clare and her whole scene with eating octopus. Ha... that was funny.

9:33 PM - Ha... JP didn't last very long with his "no kissing night." Music girl is going to HATE finding this out! Hope we catch that on camera.

Sweet, Andi got the rose. She's one of my favorites.

Ok... I'm ready for this episode to wrap up. It's felt like a long one.

[Commercial break]

9:39 PM - Back on and it's rose ceremony time. Noticing a lot of these ladies haven't seemed to get much camera time so we'll see who lasts. Also, seems like more and more of the ladies aren't liking Nikki. Ha... and Nikki thinks it's all on Clare... who... right on cue... comes over and sits with Nikki and Kelly. Haha... and Kelly just went right ahead and put that awkwardness out there. Ha... I'm starting to like Kelly.

And now the 2 are "talking" ...not arguing... just talking... aggressively. And Kelly is just sitting in the middle of it. I hope she stays around for at least 1 more week.

[Commercial break]

9:52 PM - Home stretch and it' time for the first rose ceremony outside of the US!

Ooo, this week's dramatic rose ceremony music is all drums. I like it!

Renee, Chelsie, Kelly (wahoo), Danielle and Cassandra are the first 5 to get a rose. Lil' surprised with the Danielle pick but she has yet to get a one on one date so... guess we'll keep her around.

Allison and Clare are next. Oh... and just like that... it's time for the final rose. And the final rose goes to...

Ooo, this is dramatic...

...longest pause ever...

Kat gets the final rose! I actually guessed correctly. Music girl goes home... that honestly wasn't a big surprise. Elise, however, talked a lot this season about being ready for this and how other girls there aren't ready... and now she has to take the long flight home.

9:58 PM - Time to end the show and JP is talking up their next destination and it's... Vietnam. No disrespect to Vietnam but... didn't see that coming as their next exotic and romantic destination.

10:00 PM - And that's a wrap! Hope you had fun. Next week looks like there may be some good drama.

Painting for Burundi

Next month, my inspiring mother-in-law, Jessie, will pack her bags for her second mission trip within a year. She has always wanted to visit another country and serve on a mission trip and I do believe she is fulfilling her dream. Last August, she traveled to the Dominican Republic to spread God's word and this February she will be headed to Bujumbura, Burundi, a country in Africa that our church, Forest Hill, visits and aids in often.

To help raise money for the mission trip, Thrivent Financial put on an amazing event at Painting with a Twist. You simply signed up for a night to paint with friends and family and were able to donate whatever amount you pleased to help 12 women towards their mission to serve God in Burundi.

A portion of the group of women that will be traveling to Burundi. I am happy to know 3 of them!

As I hustled to get to the South Park area from Salisbury in due time, I walked into a class full of familiar faces. It turns out two of my other friends (one being the baker of our fabulous wedding cake) are going on the exact same trip as Jessie. After a welcoming hug, I soon got more as I found my saved seat next to Jessie, Reuben (one of the only 2 guys there) and Shannon! I knew it was going to be a fun night just from that.

He wasn't very enthused to be only one of two males in the room.

But his Momma was sure glad that he was there!

That blank canvas at the beginning of class always makes me a little nervous but once we got going, I eased right into it. We slabbed on globs of paint, blending and mixing our paints into a night sky with an illuminating moon. As we waited for the majority of our paint to dry, we donated money and played a few games to pass the time. Reuben also got his face painted in order to take home a painting of his choice.

Once all of the shannegans were done, we went back to our seats and class was back in session! We delicately painted on our tree branches, stars and flowers to complete the look. I must say, this has been my favorite painting out of all that I have done!

                 

The night ended with more hugs and smiles and I left feeling amazing that I had contributed to their mission. I love that Jessie is so passionate about visiting other countries and serving God's people. If you would like to learn more about her upcoming trip and to donate to help send her on her way, please visit the link below. Thank you for your prayers and donations!

https://fhc.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/jessiesingleton2

The Bachelor: If Juan Pablo told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?

Welp, another week, another 2 hours of Juan Pablo.

And speaking of... you hear what he said about possibly having homosexuals on the show? Well, if I were asked that question I'd say,

"No sir... there needs to be a black bachelor/bachelorette before there's a homosexual one. It's the least we could do for Dr. King."

Ok, that may not be word-for-word of what I'd say, but that's roughly what would be said. Anyway, now fans are all saying they won't watch anymore of this season. I have mixed feeling about moments like this because a lot of times in today's America, people aren't allowed to have personal beliefs/believe in something that isn't what all the cool kids believe in. And, we (media) continually put people in no-win situations. We don't like the standard, cliche answers, and we also don't seem to want actual honest answers. It's a vicious cycle.

Anyway, let's get this party started...

8:00 PM: SHOW TIME! And it looks like the girls are gonna start to get feisty!

Yo... this girl really gets to keep her dog the entire time?

8:02 PM: Ok... c'mon, Chris Harrison. That shirt is terrible. It looks like someone dipped you in paint up to your nipples. Go change.

Anyway, Cassandra gets the first date card of the day. Dang... and her first date is on a yacht. Wish I had a yacht. Actually, I just wish I had a friend with a yacht I can go on.

Ooo, I take it back, I wish I had that car/boat thing they're in. I be my friend Mike D'Avria would LOVE to have that for boat club. (Shout out to the D'Avrias!)

8:07 PM: Back at the house... somber moment. I'm gonna just... wait this out...

Aight, back to the date and it's yacht time! They're playing some acoustic guitar music, as usual, but they should REALLY be playing Jay-Z! #BigPimpin

[Commercial break]

8:13 PM: Second half of this date now. They're in somebody's house. He even put Camilla's artwork on the fridge. Make yourself at home, bro.

Back at the house... Kelly thinks she deserves a 1-on-1 date since she was on the last group date. Right on cue, she's the first name called for the next group date. Perfect.

8:17 PM: Now they're sharing cute kid pics. This date totally got boring for the non-parents.

Finally... Cassandra gets the rose. Not really a surprise. Juan Pablo definitely loves the ladies. He thinks they're all hotties. Can't lie though... he got a good crop of ladies.

8:21 PM: Oooohh man, previews of what's to come and there will be some terrible soccer playing on the group date. I can't wait!

[Commercial break]

8:24 PM: Group date time and Juan Pablo gets to show off his skills with the LA Galaxy B squad.

8:26 PM: The ladies are getting ready to play. They're practicing. Of all the sports that take a high combination of athleticism and skill, soccer and baseball are two sports that can REALLY make you look stupid.

Back at the house... ahh forget it, back to the group date! Blue team came out all... cute. Red team, on the other hand, came out gangstaaaaaaa.

Game time! Blue team scores first... and then start flexin' on 'em with the team celebration.

Hahahaha... Charlene keeps getting nailed with the ball. Ahh man... hilarious.

8:31 PM: Red team starts ballin' on them. Like... beat 'em down stuff. Juan Pablo tried to help the blue team out, but... yeah, too little too late.

This massacre is finally called off to end this half of the date.

[Commercial break]

8:37 PM: We're back. Everyone's all dolled up for the cocktail party. Mmm... that's... all I really have to say about this so far.

1-on-1 time with Andi. I think I like her. Oh... snap... and she got to make out with him in the kitchen.

8:40 PM: Back at the house, Elise is so excited about a possible 1-on-1 date. She said she even had a dream about it.

And right on cue... Chelsie gets the date card.

Opera singer Charlene has her private time with Juan Pablo. Uh... she got to make out with him but... she... doesn't look like a very good kisser. It just looked... awkward.

8:44 PM: I'm liking Andi less. Ugh, and Opera Singer. I guess when you go on the show, you just get lost in your feelings while in the romantic setting. You're on a show where you're 1 of the 25 ladies dating 1 guy...and you get shocked he kisses someone else? C'mon, son.

[Commercial break]

8:49 PM: We're back and it's Chelsie's turn for a date.

Uh... they're dancing in the car and umm... I don't know what song she's dancing to. And you know what... I think Juan Pablo just questioned it as well. #OffBeat

Guys... we're about an hour in and we have barely seen Hippie Lucy/a censor box. WTF, guys?!

Anyway, they're walking up to the bridge now where they're going to tandem bungee jump. If I were in her position... yeah, not sure how I'd react. I'm not really into the bungee jumping. I MUCH rather sky dive. The thought of bungee jumping makes my testicles quiver.

8:56 PM: Now Juan Pablo is trying to talk Chelsie into jumping cuz she's scared... as she should be. I'm not trying to jump off of any bridges either, Chelsie.

[Commercial break]

9:00 PM: Back on and Chelsie is totally freakin' out. They had to step off for a moment. At this point, he needs to just grab her, pick her up and jump. She's stalling. We're wasting time watching her be scared.

She's not getting a rose after this, right? I mean, you can tell HE wants to do this and she's totally been a buzz kill.

And now the instructor is getting impatient. Thanks to editing, there's no telling how long they were out there.

9:02 PM: They FINALLY jump. That took forever. Now they're hanging upside down kissing. She may still have a chance for the rose now.

Man, that took the entire time of the segment! Lame.

[Commercial break]

9:08 PM: Finally back on and it's dinner time for Chelsie. I won't be surprised if she doesn't get a rose. I have to agree with Elise, she does seem... young.

This date is boring... back to the house. Elise... again, talking about how young Chelsie is and for the 100th time, she says Chelsies seems like a baby to her.

9:12 PM: Back on the date and Chelsie gets a rose. I don't really see it, but whatevs.

I swear, these contestants act like they've NEVER seen the show before! Of COURSE there's a concert after your dinner and rose. They've only done it mmm. the past 3-4 seasons. Anyway... I'm glad she knows who this guy is singing. I know I don't know who he is... pretty sure Juan Pablo doesn't either, haha.

Also, for someone who likes to dance, she doesn't seem to be that good at it.

[Commercial break]

9:20 PM: We're back on and Juan Pablo looks like he's surprising the ladies in the house. Despite the fact that it looks like it's already noon outside there.

9:24 PM: My man Juan Pablo cancels the cocktail party and instead... we have a pool party.

Thank you, Juan Pablo.

[Commercial break]

9:30 PM: The pool party continues.

The ladies are hating that Kat got up on Juan Pablo's shoulders first. This IS a competition. This isn't the real world. Again, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ON THIS SHOW?!

9:34 PM: Dang it... I've been spelling Sharlene's name wrong this entire blog. Oops...

Anyway, she's crying. It's her first time crying... oh and she snuck in some kissing. I swear... from what I've seen, I don't think she's a good kisser. And I honestly think Juan Pablo agrees with me.

Kinda funny, the other ladies can see them kissing. I don't think people actually like watching couples kiss in public, but on this show... they all just stare and send evil glares that are like darts piercing through the kissing couple's moment.

[Commercial break]

9:41 PM: Apparently, the majority of the girls are realizing this isn't an easy process.

Hey look, there's the House Mom Renee comforting yet another person.

Uh oh... Andi just referred to Clare as a "ticking time bomb." This makes think she must be a lil' crazier than we've seen. This also makes me smile in get a little giddy with anticipation of what may happen.

9:44 PM: I bet Juan Pablo is already sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired of hearing each of these girls talk about how hard this is and how it's just difficult for them to handle. He would much rather just cook and dance and play some soccer and have fun. All these feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings. Boo.

9:46 PM: Chris Harrison arrives to let everyone know play time is over and uh... yeah, time for a rose ceremony and somebody gotta go home. Oh, and I'm really glad he's wearing a much better shirt today.

[Commercial break]

9:52 PM: Home stretch! Time to hand out some roses. Dang, these ladies clean up well too.

Aight, it's go time *insert dramatic music*

First rose goes to... Andi! No surprise there.

House Mom Renee, Kelly, Opera Singer Sharlene, Elise (man she was happy to get her rose too) and Kat are the next 5 to receive their roses. Lil' supised with Kelly, but whatevs.

Allison gets a rose! Claire gets a rose! IT's getting tight now... only 2 left!

Lauren gets a rose (surprised me... didn't even recognize her).

*Gasp* It's the final rose!

The final rose goes to... Danielle! Which means...

America must now say goodbye to Hippie Lucy. Our censor box count was dramatically lower than I'd hoped.  *Sigh* Maybe next time.

10:00 PM: Any of y'all watching the wedding of Sean and Catherine? Cuz I'm not. Someone will need to tell me how that one goes.

Ok, well that's a wrap. Fun as always, hope you all enjoyed the show. See ya next week!

Resolutions

New Years Resolutions...everyone makes them but no one really keeps them around. I, of course, have a few resolutions of my own and figured maybe I would stick to them a little more closely if I shared them with the world. Here goes nothin'!

PAINT. I hate the color of our bathrooms. I haven't liked them since the moment we moved in, yet all I've done is complain about it for 2.5 years and do nothing about it. 2014 is the year they will change from an awful gold to a more simple color. It's happening. It must.

NASHVILLE. Jeremy and I would like to visit the music city of Tennessee. We've heard nothing but good things from friends and family and would love to witness the awesomeness ourselves. We've got quite a few friends who now call Nashville home so it wouldn't be so bad giving them a visit either.

HALLWAY TABLE. I've been looking for a table to go in the hallway for at least a year now. It's time to buckle down and seriously find an affordable one. Once I've got my table, we can then work on the next thing on the list. And that next thing is...

GALLERY WALL. I want one so bad. I take more than enough pictures so this shouldn't be an issue. I'm just waiting for that perfect hallway table and then I think we'll be set for my dream wall. 

BLOG MAKEOVER. I would like to give the blog a new look. Pure Appiness isn't going anywhere anytime soon so it might as well look pretty, I mean manly, right?

5 resolutions. I think that's more than enough for me to keep up with throughout the year. I'm hoping to at least meet one of these goals!

The Bachelor: Life is about straddling people... and things.

Well, since there was a big tease for this 2-night premier... I'm late with the blog. Also, I'm not live blogging this... you're getting a recap. You can blame ABC for that.

You can also blame ABC for putting every man's dream of having 25 gorgeous women vying for 1 guy on television.

Anyway, show opens up with the usual preview of the season. Looks like some good, scenic moments as always. Also... man, Juan Pablo is SO spanish.

Oh boy, just saw the clips of all the tears.

There were lots of clips of Miami. It really made me want to go back since they were in the same spots Asha and I were in.

It's pretty clear Juan Pablo loves his daughter... as he should. Also, I'm gonna go ahead and put it out there - Juan Pablo's daughter is WAAAAAAY cuter than Ricki (Emily's daughter). Was that mean of me to say? Oh well, sometimes the truth hurts.

Moving on...

An appearance from Sean! Giving his advice to Juan Pablo on how to find true love on this crazy journey. I think he left out the part where you keep around the OBVIOUS crazy chick for our entertainment. Hopefully he slid that in there off camera.

As I sit and watch this episode, I'm reminded that I could totally play some of the guitar parts used as the music bed.

It's a shame I'm not live-blogging this. There's a lot going on. I mean... I just started and there's a single mom, a woman who's engagement was just (allegedly) randomly broken off, a girl who is clearly all work, and a weirdo masseuse. This has the makings of a good season. Hopefully there are some good moments right out of the limos.

Chris Harrison just told Juan Pablo he was sooooo popular, they have 2 extra women. I KNEW there seemed like a TON of women during my preseason blog.

"I'm liking this first limo" - Juan Pablo. I am 100% positive I'd say things like that the entire season. Way to keep it real, Juan Pablo. Oh, and he also watches each girl walk away. Gotta check the goods in the rear.

Whoa, whoa, whoa... Lucy with no shoes looks like a bit of a weirdo. Her occupation is "free spirit." How much does that pay?

And right after that this lady comes up in a piano tricycle. That was cool and all but... what are they gonna do with that piano in the driveway?

Raise your hand if you ever thought it was a good idea to impress a single guy by pretending to be pregnant?

Props to ABC and this crop of women. No one seems evil yet, but they're all pretty easy on the eyes. Lots of different occupations as well.

My man turned this into a party! I KNEW I loved that guy!

First impression rose went to Sharleen the opera singer. That was... weird. She was so surprised she got the rose, but she didn't act very happy about it. I can see why he's intrigued by her but she might make it all go down hill really fast if she keeps acting awkward and calling him "sir."

Rose ceremony goes on as usual except... thanks to Juan Pablo's awesome accent, one girl totally thought he said her name... and he didn't. It was awesome. Previews of the season also reminded me that, 'the Bachelor' is so much more entertaining than 'the Bachelorette.' Anyway, good first episode. Can't wait for this crazy roller coaster to get goin'!