What I Know for Sure

Have you ever read Oprah mag? I don't subscribe, but I have read it here and there. I always read the "What I know for Sure" article first, because I really want to know what Oprah knows for sure.

It is usually insightful.

So, here is what I know for sure.

• I haven't done a "serious" or "insightful" blog post for over a month. There is a reason.
• Heavenly Father has a "plan" for your life. (Not just the salvation one, although, that one is most important of course)
• You might think you know what the plan is.
• You might not have ANY idea what that plan is.
• There are times when you are in the "wilderness".
• My husband says I should be glad because being in the "wilderness" for 3 years, is better than 40.
• I am sure that I am not so sure I agree with that statement.
• Being in the wilderness, is BEING IN THE WILDERNESS.
• Most things happen for a reason. (I not sure about the statement "Everything happens for a reason" yet.)
• I have some true, true, true friends.
• I have known most of them for several years. And I know they will always be there for me, no matter how far away they are.
• I am grateful I know what having a true friend means.
• My true friends have been there for me while I am in the wilderness.
• Being in the wilderness is hard. I'm not going to call it a blessing. . .yet.
• You learn LOTS of lessons in the wilderness.
• Is is not always fun to learn lessons.
• These lessons will alter almost every aspect of your life.
• And they will teach you what and who you want to be.
• You usually already think you KNOW who and what you want to be, but then you REALLY know who and what you want to be.
• And definitely what you DON'T want to be.
• I don't think you have to be a "true friend" to help someone.
• As sisters in Zion, we should be there for each other.
• Heavenly Father answers prayer.
• Heavenly Father does NOT answer prayer on YOUR timetable.
• I like having my own timetable.
• Heavenly Father does NOT answer ALL prayers.
• And sometimes, he doesn't answer important to you prayers.
• And sometimes he does. Even when you didn't actually pray it.
• Life is complicated sometimes.
• I hope I can figure it out at some point.
• My favorite quote right now is from Caddyshack. I haven't seen the movie, but, my husband and I have decided that there is an appropriate quote from the movie. And it is, spoken by Carl. . . the caddy regarding his round of golf with the Dalai Lama. He said that the Dalai Lama didn't give him any money for playing the round, but that he did bless him with total consciousness on his deathbed.. . . and the quote is.

• "So, I got that goin' for me. Which is nice".

Try it after any statement. It just works.

That is what I know for sure.

Bachelor Re-cap. Highlights and Disappointments

Highlights:

*Chantal playing a mind game with Michelle over the fact her card doesn't have the word "love" in it. HILARIOUS! Well played Chantal.

*Michelle's back eye. Hysterical on So.Many.Levels.

*Michelle constantly icing her eye. With just about any frozen item out of the freezer. Even a popsicle with the awkward wrapper still on.

*Michelle's interviews. ALL OF THEM.

*Michelle's grumpiness. I mean, can Brad not see it from a mile away? I mean, you don't want to cross that girl. If he does it once, he will be in her dog house FOREVER! Do you wanna marry that?

*Ashley and the number of times she said, "uuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" It was redonkulous and became totally and completely irritating, and did you notice that she went from super cute girl on that first date, to NOT SO CUTE? I mean, it is almost like her whole face changed! Is it her hair? Or just the fact that she hasn't smiled in three weeks?

*The exit interviews: Finally some girls with their heads on! (They all took my, "What not to say class")

*Sending home THE RIGHT ladies. . except for Lindsay. She was a class act. Maybe a little on the boring side, but I would take her over Britt. What the heck does he see with BRITT? (PS- Ashley was about to get that rose before she started in with the uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhhh! on that date. Awkward.)

Disappointments:

*The fact that Brad is digging Michelle. Ew. I watched a trailer for her movie and she totally plays, HERSELF. Like, it seems like that is all she ever is. . . .an act. A crazy act. If I didn't know the premise of the movie, I would say she was playing some Glenn Close roll like in Fatal Attraction. Seriously. She even looks crazy when she is supposed to be playing "sweet". Ps- that movie looks horrible.

*The interview they cut to of Chantal where she had crazy blue mascara on! WHAT THE HECK? First of all, that interview was totally out of the blue, she wasn't even wearing the same clothes, and then the BLUE EYESHADOW! I am sorry, but as much as people try, that look will NEVER come back. . . Don't even get me started with Chambray coming back this spring. No. No. No. Chambray is, was, and always will be a bad idea. Speaking of bad ideas, what was with Chris Harrison's Mr. Rodgers's outfit? (Totally stole that one, but couldn't resist)

*Ashley's earrings at the rose ceremony. Please tell me someone else saw those horrid 80's turquoise (but not REAL turquoise, but PLASTIC turquoise) earrings she was sporting that looked completely ridiculous. Seriously? She and Chantal need to let the 80's dream DIE! IT IS NOT COMING BACK!

Any other major disappointments? That is all I can think of!

The Bachelor Recap- Brad, I'm Sorry.

Hello from the desert! Okay, I normally am in the desert, but this time I AM in the desert. Like somewhere between PHX, and Indio. Those who live in PHX know it well because it is a huge stretch of land with nothin' to look at for miles, and miles, and I have lots of fond memories of this road from when I was traveling it with a 2 month old who blew out her diaper right as I ran out of gas. PS- I was by myself with that 2 month old and 3 other kids. It was a good time.

Anyway! Isn't technology so cool? My hubby has wi-fi anywhere your cell phone works. I am blogging, and he is listening to talk radio (ew) and we are on our way to Cali while some old people watch our kids. (LOVE THOSE OLD PEOPLE! )

I aaaaaaaaaaalllllllllmost didn't write my bachelor re-cap, but I decided that I needed to keep up with my commitment to society by writing my blog posts. :) Ya, I know all 12 of you who read my blog for these updates. This is how much I love you.

So, let's start with the title, shall we? Brad. I am sorry. I misjudged you. Actually, I didn't misjudge you. I was right, you were a total commitment phobe. But with your dedicated therapy sessions, you have decided to not be such an un-emotional troll. YAY YOU! I am seriously proud of you bud. And your therapists. I have been thinking lately that I need one of those, and with the progress they made with you, I think I might be signing up soon .

Okay, now that that is off my chest, let's move on with the dates. Ashley. Sweet girl huh? Cute story about the Seal song, but seriously, these producers this season are out for some blood. I mean, do you really thing that was just a coincidence? Seriously? No, it wasn't. They wanted an emotional tear fest, and they got one. I am sure at one point in one interview at some time they said, "What is the most meaningful song to you, and why" and BAM. They have their first date with Ashley. And then making Emily get on a small private JET??? Wow. Seriously. Way to make a girl have a nervous break down.

I really liked Ashley, she was super cute, actually is anyone else surprised by the girls this season? I mean, all of the dates so far have been so NORMAL. I mean, they seem like really nice girls! (Except Michelle, Puh-lease. . . no one can like her, not even her own mother. Oh, that was mean, sorry.) My sister said how excited she was to watch Michelle's crazy. Especially with the fireworks over the head hand move, which she did several times BEFORE the kiss, and then afterword? No fireworks. Did anyone else notice this? Weird. She didn't even say that there WERE fireworks when they kissed, so, I guess we know where Michelle rates.

We all LUHUV Emily, right? But did anyone else think . . . . BORING. . . on their date? I mean, she is like the Brad of Bachelor past. An un-emotional troll. (Very very cute and sweet troll) But, unless she was talking about Rickybobby, she was all straight faced, and not so fun. I don't think she is ready for all of this. Not by a long shot. And, even though your fiance died, and you have a child with him, don't you think it is relationship napalm to mention how fantastic your ex was and how amazing he is? I mean, no one is ever going to think they can stack up to that. She needs to come up with a better way to describe him to her new boyfriends, or that might be the only one she ever has. Just sayin'.

And Madison, everyone thought what Madison did was sooooooooooooooo valiant. And it was, the right thing to do. However . . . the biggest shocker to me was. WHO THE HECK WAS THAT LAST GIRL HE GAVE A ROSE TO? I HAVE NEVER SEEN HER BEFORE!

Over and out, from the desert.

NEW AND LOVELY

Have you noticed my blog lift?

I would like to personally thank Cindy Bradwisch for pimping my blog. Gotta love Facebook for brining old friends back together.

Wanna know a secret?

I don't know html code.

I can't design my blog.

People call and ask me to help with blogging, and I say, SURE! Just sign in to blogger!

Maybe someday I will actually learn it.

But not when I have people like CINDY to bail me out!

I am going to send her something lovely from The Pampered Chef as a sincere THANK YOU SO MUCH for creating my new blog headers HERE and HERE. See how everything is all lovely and uniform now? THANKS CINDY!

Plus, she made me blog buttons for my new sites too! You can see them over here. -------------->

Guess what, you can hire her. Since she does graphic design for WORK! Ha! I am glad that she will let me pay her in Pampered Chef. But if you need her, go by and say HI!

WHO KNEW?

Who knew the that Travoltas had their temple whites ready?

Does anyone else think that pic looks a little strange?

Foggy

It turns out, even when you live in a sunny state, you can still get the January BLAHS. I have my Christmas decorations down, but I still have little remnants that are hanging around. I really ought to get those down.

I have been working on my health. But I have to admit. Peter is out of town this week, and with the added stress of being a single parent, I broken down and made 1/2 of a 1/2 batch of cookies.

I know.

Totally off the plan. TOTALLY. However, because my sugar intake has pretty much been nil, when I thought it would "make me feel better" (give me a little kick in the can) it actually pretty much took me out of commission for the rest of the day. My sugar spike was so crazy, that I bottomed out and couldn't function for the rest of the day! CRAZY! I couldn't believe the difference that it made when you have been basically putting nothing in your system but raw foods. Crazy. It has inspired me even more to "stay on the wagon" so to speak.

I made some great recipes this week that were pretty awesome, and I hope to put them on on that blog when I can pull myself up off the floor.

My house in drowning in dust, and I am hoping to get that all cleaned out by the end of this week. Can someone please give me a little pep-talk to get me going? Because, the last thing I really want to do is clean. UGH. What is it with the January BLAHS!

The Bachelor Re-cap. . .It's MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Was last night's show a boat load of crazy last night or what?

Let's start off with the most DRAMATIC event of the evening shall we?

First of all, I am sooooooooooooooooooo sick of . . . "Let's go shoot a TV spot" I can hardly stand it.

And it looks like they are going to do another one NEXT week! I mean come ON! I think that is enough. Really. Enough.

Michelle is. . . scary. The throw a fit cuz it's my birthday seemed the do the trick, but was anyone else tired of her constant interviews? It is like they don't interview ANYONE but Michelle, and Chantal! How many times was Chantal interviewed last night? 20. And how many times was she seen even talking to Brad. 0. Michelle does make great train wreck tv though, she is spooky scary.

The strangest part is when she pulled Brad away before he could even finish his toast to ask him the two most important questions she could think of. . . .Where does he buy coffee? And what does he stock his refrigerator with? Seriously? I side with Emily on that one. Who cares. Michelle. But she is the ONLY person who does.

Let's talk about the girl fight between Melissa, and Raichel (who spells it that way? seriously?) Anyway . . . . . that is all I can think about that. . . . . It was dumb. . . . . okay, I have more to say.

It was dumb. And Melissa looked like she was completely making things up, and her random thoughts about pizza while she is crying is cukoo. It was obvious Brad thought so too. Good choice to get rid of both. That way, it doesn't seem like he is taking a side.

The STRANGEST thing was the people that Brad chose to take on single dates!!???!??!?!??!???!?

Now, I can't really recall, and I already deleted it, but was Ashley H. the one last week who said she wanted to make him feel comfortable and have fun and totally set him at ease? Because if that was her, that date makes sense.

But. . . Jackie? That one came out of no-where. And what does an "Artist" do anyway. I would really like to know. But she seems so quirky -the New York City Artist- quirky, and seems like the last person alive who would want the "Pretty Woman Dream Date". She is more the, take a picnic to the park kinda girl, so, it just sat weird with me the whole time. Am I alone? It was weird. ESPECIALLY when Train started singing that "Marry Me" song. Talk about UNCOMFORTABLE. I mean, they have known each other for 2-3 days, and have gone on one date, and have seen each other about 2.5 times, and they are singing MARRY ME? Do they have another song they could sing? Are these dates seeming a little weird at such an early stage? Or is it just me? What happened to the "adrenalin date?" which is usually pre-determined to decide who the person picks? (Hello Ali, and Jake!) That would have been a more appropriate date for this stage. No?

Anywho. The person who wins most pathetic for the evening is: Keltie.

Oh, Keltie. Even if your hopes and dreams are shattered PLEASE don't lose your self dignity on national television and say you've tried everything???!!! That is just so, so, so SAD on sooooooooooo many levels. Can you just keep that to yourself? Yes, you can say your bummed. Yes, you can say it stinks.. But please don't act like you life is over.

For any future Bachelor contestants, I am willing to do "WHAT NOT TO SAY" coaching so that you don't ruin the rest of your life with anything you might say on the Bachelor. You can just e-mail me. I will be glad to be of service. And was is just me? Or did she look like she had Mickey Mouse ears on with that crazy hair do at the Rose Ceremony? Every time the camera flashed my her I thought. . is someone wearing Mickey Mouse ears??? Oh. . no. . it is just Keltie's hair.

Just sayin'

Thoughts appreciated. Let's chat! Comment below!

Holly re-capped over here!

Did you hear?

I started a new blog. I posted over there today. So, you can visit me there if you want to know what I have been up to.

One of the things are THESE pancakes. . .
They are so good for you, you won't even believe it.

I won't neglect this blog, but, since I am kind of ramping up this other part of my life, it might be sporadic for right now.

Be patient with me.

And, while you are at it, set up a feed for the new blog, because I am not always going to prompt you when I write on it. . .

Thanks for your love over there though! I am excited too!

Join me!

A new year, a new blog.

I am starting a new blog.

Now, before you get all bent out of shape about it, it is really just for me.

Well, and for you.

But mainly for me.

Because I have WAY too many topics of interest on this blog, and it is getting crowded.

Pampered Chef

Autism

The Bachelor

The Bachelorette

All of my other Obsessions

My food blog.

My kids.

I mean, do I need another subject? Apparently I do, and this blog ain't big enough for all of us.

So, let's keep things nice and tidy and I will put my new posts about my new subject over HERE. Come say Hi.

The Bachelor- Brad Womack re-cap

Let's just all agree, the first night of the Bachelor is boring. Too many girls to keep track of.

Let's start with Brad's repentance.

Adequate.

That is all I can think of. You know? I mean, I nailed it right on the head. The guy was a commitment phobe. But at least he is willing to admit it now right? I am not sure, if I was one of those girls, that him saying that would make me feel any better. But he did it. So, GO BRAD!

The DeAnna and Jenni moment was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo reality T.V. And can I just state for the record that I am DONE with DeAnna? That smug look. That attitude. Yuk. I can't stand her for another minute! Please! Do we have to have more DeAnna?? Let's not. Mkay?

Not that I am a Brad lover... I am not. Maybe he will win me over, but I kinda doubt it.

Let's get on to the ladies.

Okay, let's not.

Except for a few.

There really are too many girls. I mean, they are up to 30 now????? When it all started, wasn't it like 20? Are they just trying to confuse the poor guy SUPER bad now? Or what? I have to admit, the "real-ness" factor this season was up. I mean, the girls seemed more "real" I know that is an oxymoron since they are on a Reality TV show, but it really did seem that way! All except for . . .

Vampire girl. Totally lame. Totally. All the looking over her shoulder, flipping hair. Seriously? Ugh.

And of course, our little Salt Lake City girl. . . um. wow. Did you see the dress? Did you see the SLIT? Crazy. She seems a little crazy too.

No one else stood out to me as a total nut job, but hey, it has been at least 24 hours now since I watched it, but I will tell you who I DID like.

Little southern Belle... However, it seems like she really does somethin' to tick Brad off. She almost seems like a female version of Brad. . . I like you buuuuuuuuuuut.....

What did you think?

PS- what is with girls crying on the first night??? Weird. If you leave on the first night, don't CRY about it!?