I Love The Bachelor/Bachelorette Blog

Courtney Quotes

2012-02-15T20:01:00.002-05:00

I saw this on Facebook and had to share. I can definitely think of some others...

Hysterical Ellen - on The Bachelor

2012-02-15T19:56:00.000-05:00

It's been one of the longest days of my life and this video still made me laugh. Nothing like leaving home at 6:15 AM for a 2 hour meeting to start the day. I guess the only thing worse would have been if last night was The Bachelor, because I certainly would have just had to pull an all nighter. Am going to get into my pajamas, wait for The Husband to get home from a movie and chill. My mother told me about this funny clip on today's Ellen show. Cathi also posted it on the blog. Thanks to both of you. It's definitely worth a separate post:

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Belize It or Not: Courtney's Still WINNING

2012-02-14T18:43:00.010-05:00

There is nothing more romantic on Valentine’s Day, then that pest of an alarm clock disrupting my sound slumber so that I can get up in the dark, get ready and make it to work for a 9 AM meeting. The Husband is equally entranced in romance, dreaming away on a different planet at this very moment. Speaking of romance, it seems absurd that we are already embarking on hometown dates next week. Does Ben really feel like he knows these women well enough to merit meeting their parents? Yet all 4 remaining women, have used the “L” word on Ben, and unfortunately, I’m not talking “loser.” At least if you can't watch another second of Courtney's lip twitching, self absorbed comments on why she needs a rose versus someone else, you have to admit that Belize looks like a pretty awesome place.

Most of you have very strong opinions about our villainette, Courtney. Courtney’s haters seemed to grow exponentially since the previous episode and that seemed difficult. But at this point, I don’t blame Courtney any more. She is who she is. I get that she’s not there to make friends. We all get that. I get that the things that come out of her mouth are rude, self-indulgent, thoughtless and mean. But at this point, it’s on Ben. He’s received the benefit of a warning from multiple women. He’s seen Courtney’s reaction when confronted about the other women’s issues with her. She’s straight up told him the following: (1) she doesn’t have a lot of girlfriends – but she has tons of guy friends; (2) she thinks the other women are “vanilla,” – thus, putting down Ben’s “girlfriends;” (3) she has lost the “spark” for him; (4) she wasn’t going to accept a rose from him if she didn’t get the one on one. Holy high maintenance. This goes beyond satisfying Ben’s inner nerd by dating a model. Ben is now enjoying “the chase.” Courtney is the only one that hasn’t been pouring on the love. This is a classic pull-away-to-make-him-pursue-you move. Notice how she's not fawning all over Ben calling him her prince (aka Lindzi) or that she is "in love with him" (aka Nicki, Kacie B)? She's a challenge for him and he's loving the game. [Side note: I have a friend who is CONVINCED that Courtney is a hired actress who is actually a very sweet, loving person that was told to act like a complete biatch for ratings. Hmmmm].

In Lindzi’s defense, though the sexy laryngitis thing is like nails on a blackboard to me, I like that she has stayed completely uninvolved in the Courtney drama. She’s what we called in sorority days, a “slider.” She’s nice enough, cute enough, affectionate enough and way into Ben. There’s nothing particularly outrageous about her and she stays under the radar enough to just slide on through the eliminations. Ben likes her enough to keep her around, but if she’s still standing at the end, he will realize that his feelings for her aren’t particularly strong enough. If you read through the lines of Chris H's blog this week, Ben is still searching for a "deeper connection" with Lindzi and Nicki. He already found it in Kacie and Courtney. If this is true, I think we can pretty much predict the final 2.

The fact that Ben is already declaring that he can see “past, present and future” with Courtney is very alarming. What exactly do we know about Courtney other than that she “is the talent” during her modeling shoots and she likes to get naked?

As for Emily, I am really really sad that she is gone. Not because I necessarily wanted her to end up with Ben, but because I hate seeing girls like that heartbroken and she was the voice of reason. I thought their date was really simple and cute, but maybe that was the problem with it. It was too normal. Or maybe he didn’t like that she kept saying his name in every sentence such as, “I’m very happy, Ben.” Who knows??! It get me aggravated just to think about him keeping Courtney over Emily. I liked that Kacie B showed a little spunk with her verbal opinions of Courtney. Gold star for Nicki for speaking up about Courtney, coming out of nowhere and getting the hometown date. She may be the “dark horse” that Chris Harrison was speaking of at my press call with him.

There really weren’t any favorite moments from last night, besides seeing the amazing places and sunsets of Belize. I also liked the 4 AM wake up of the ladies for the group date and watching them too emergency shaving together. It was too frustrating watching Courtney slither her way back into Ben’s graces, trying to make us think that she had any intention of going home. Just as unrealistic as making us think that Ben would send her home. Not happening. If he finds her “edgy,” he’s going to be sorely disappointed. What is edgier or "weirder" than a rapping epidemiologist?? I can’t even imagine what an argument with Courtney would be like. She wants to be put on a pedestal and Ben is not even going to know what hit him. The question is – should we start rooting for Courtney at this point? Wouldn’t it be better that he chooses her so the rest of these women can get on with their lives? And the sooner he chooses her, the sooner we can watch the downfall? Am sorry to even be writing these worries. I had such high hopes for Ben this season, but I just think this Courtney cloud has possessed him and there is now way out alive. How scary was she when she got the rose and did a sideways glance to Emily while sniffing the rose? It was a scene out of a horror movie.

Let’s go straight to the best What The Fudge??!! moments from last night:

Lindzi being forced to jump out of a helicopter into “the blue hole.” I would not have done that in a million years. It looked absolutely terrifying and jumping into an unknown body of water from the sky is not like falling in love, no matter how many times they try to beat this analogy into our heads.
The lobster fishing thing would have scared the crap out of me. Nobody could convince me to go near a lobster in its native environment and start poking at it with a metal object. Isn't that just asking to get a body part clawed to death?
Ben thinking that being on top of the ruins makes him feel close to his father and that his father would be happy for him. This is also the "moment of clarity" where he basically reveals that he could see Courtney being his wife. Seriously? This guy is making me squirm. I'm not sure I can take this madness much longer.
Did Ben's haircut grow back already?
Ben revealing that they are swimming with sharks sends Kacie B and Nicki into a symphony of cheers. I don’t get it. I felt really bad for Rachel and was glad that Ben was there for her. But it really did make it look like Kacie and Nicki were having their own one on one date with each other.
It actually did make me laugh when Emily was horrified that Courtney dare say that Ben “was not the only guy in the world.” I mean, I know it’s The Bachelor, and we’re only allowed to fall in love with Ben and any thoughts about Ben not being the center of the universe are forbidden, but Courtney does actually make a valid point. Now whether she’s saying this because she’s confident she’s getting rose or just to piss off the other women – that’s a whole other story.
Courtney’s facial expressions right before the rose ceremony when she was sitting around with the other ladies.
I found it annoying that Ben didn’t walk out Rachel and Emily and even attempt to give them an explanation.
How pissed is Emily that she had to walk up the Bay Bridge in San Francisco now that this clown has sent her home?
Courtney's little dance of joy after getting the rose. She did everything but the shove the rose into Emily face.

Sadly, my notes from last night's show got erased somehow, and I only have my memory to write this review unless I want to rewatch the entire show tonight. I'm not sure I could take the pain of Courtney's cruelty to the other girls or watch Emily get so severely disappointed by Ben again. That said, can you all help me out and chime in with Courtney's meanest lines from last night?

Here is the most horrifying one I caught her saying:

(About Kacie B): “She’s a little girl in a little boy’s body.” WHAT???!!

Bottom line here: Ben deserves what he is getting. Even in his blog today, he still can not admit that the warning signs were all there. One of my mail colleagues thinks that Courtney might be the second pair of boobs he's ever seen in his life. I am starting to believe it. Best case scenario at this point: Ben either comes to his senses and cuts Courtney loose (never going to happen) or he proposes to her at the end and she says, "No." This has NEVER happened in Bachelor history. The girl always says yes. But I could definitely see Courtney declining. Ben is NOT the only guy in the world, afterall.

Initial Thoughts on Belize...

2012-02-13T22:15:00.001-05:00

I have a serious craving for chocolate right now and I think it's because I'm stressed. Can't Ben just open his eyes and see that a girl like Courtney will never make him happy? She will always need to be reassured, cuddled, praised, made to feel "important." If he can't do it with free access to helicopters, exotic islands and Caribbean seas - does he really think he can do it in the real world?

Can NOT believe he let Emily go. Clearly he prefers brunettes. And the sweeter, more soft spoken women versus the brainier types.

My friend Neha was recently in Belize with her family and stayed at the Coco Beach Resort where the ladies stayed. I was freaking out when they were about to go swimming with the sharks. Neha assured me these are "nursing sharks," and they are just like fish. Terrified of humans and very harmless.

Ben and Lindzi could not keep their hands off of each other. I think for about 85% of their date they were either kissing, holding hands or on top of each other. That's love. Her raspy voice is killing me. But he digs it and she's taking him home.

Nicki and Kacie kind of had their own date together with the sharks. They are twinsies. But I like them both very much and of course, they are now in love with Ben. I knew their little ambush on Ben re: Courtney would never get very far. The guy puts her on a pedestal.

As for Courtney - she knows exactly what to do to get Ben. She was so mean in the house with the other girls around - talking about her needs with Ben and what it meant to get a one on one date. Then when you see her get the rose at the very end, sniff it and look at Emily, who is going home, it's just pure evil. It even makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. At this point, I'm kind of cheering for her. Because I kind of want Ben to see her true colors unfold. Are we going to have another Jake and Vienna situation here??? I'm glad Emily is out of the running - she can do so much better. Also, their date looked like a lot of fun, but it was more chummy than the way he was with Lindzi or the way he looks at Courtney and Kacie.

Poor Rachel never really had a chance. He was just too far along with the other girls. Ok, The Husband just made me a hot chocolate w/ whipped cream and chocolate sauce. I love that man. Happy early Valentine's Day to all of you. Can't wait to hear what you thought of tonight's show...

Full post will be up tomorrow night. See you then.

In Honor of Valentine's Day, The Bachelor and Kissing...

2012-02-13T07:01:00.000-05:00

We're down to the final 6 ladies and things are going to heat up. Obviously, the critical thing to watch for tonight is whether the girls' warning to Ben will make him send Courtney home. I am 99.9% sure that this will not be the case. First, because I think he's in love with the girl. Second, because I think he probably likes her better than Rachel and Nicki (and maybe even Emily) at this point and he only needs to send home two girls tonight. Third, because he probably wants to see what her life is like back home.

Regardless of any of the results, we are guaranteed to get some serious kissing action going on. Did you know that men who kiss their wives each morning live 5 years long than men who don't? Did you also know that the average person spends more than 20,000 minutes of their life kissing? Here are some addition amazing facts about the benefits kissing that you may nor may not know (and no, The Clorox Company hasn't paid me a dime for posting this - just thought it was interesting info and would encourage you all to pucker up!). Any last minute Valentine's Day gift ideas for The Husband are greatly appreciated :) And if he is reading this, I like spa treatments, home cooked meals, vacation homes, helicipter rides. If all else fails, chocolate works.

Casey S and Boyfriend May Get Married Afterall...?

2012-02-13T05:45:00.000-05:00

Who knows if this is actually true, but I am all in favor of love as tomorrow is Valentine's Day. RumorFix.com, is reporting that they spoke directly to Michael Patak, former boyfriend of Casey S and the reason she left the show. Michael realizes that Casey was in fact "the one that got away" and is taking action to get back together. He now is claiming he would marry her. If this works out, perhaps another spinoff of The Bachelor series can be a show on the couples that form as a result of the main shows. Examples of couples that have hit it off as a direct result of being on the show (but not with anyone who was actually on the show with them at the same time):

Jenni Croft (ex boyfriend picked her up at airport after Brad rejected proposing to her)
Melissa Rycroft and her hubby (Jason Mesnick rejected her, and she decided she wanted to be back with her ex)
DeAnna Pappas (Brad rejected her. She came back as The Bachelorette. Picked Jesse Csinzcak. Got engaged. Broke up. Started dating Stephen Stagliano, Michael's twin brother who wasn't even on the show. Got married)
Kiptyn and Tenley. Kip got dumped by Jillian Harris. Tenley got rejected by Jake Pavelka. Both runner ups found each and have been dating seriously for a couple of years. They even went to couple of Grammy parties this past weekend.
Chris Lambton and Peyton (my favorite couple. Chris got rejected by Ali Fedotowsky. Met Peyton through The Bachelor network and is now engaged).
Chantal O'Brien. (Rejected by Brad, the Repeat season. She got back together with an ex boyfriend before the "After the Final Rose" was filmed. She is now engaged.)

Any other Bach favorites whose poor luck at finding love on the show led to something better? Hmmm, that may be just about everyone who has ever been on the show except Ryan, Trista, Jason, Molly, Holly, the Dentist (Blake), Ashley and JP.

Blakeley: I Wouldn't Go Skinny Dipping in Front of America

2012-02-09T22:46:00.001-05:00

It's always nice to take a break from my current life as a lawyer to do the stuff I was meant to do. Like chat on the phone with Chris Harrison and Blakeley Shea during a press call. Would any of my office mates believe me if I said that I'm on a conference call with reporters from People, TV Guide and a whole bunch of other outlets? Probably not. But I like it that way. It's best to keep a low profile in the office. Otherwise, The Bachelor talk could get out of control.

I had a dinner with a friend tonight who said she simply can not watch The Bachelor. It makes her horrified to watch these girls make fools of themselves on camera and she doesn't understand the concept of all of them competing with each other with the prize being marriage with a total stranger. She has a point. I tell her it's my way of escaping from the legal world, the 3 hour commute, the packed trains with no seats on the way home from work, the stressed out managers barking orders with no room for error, the deadlines and the exhaustion that's felt when I open the door to our apartment. The Husband is usually there - either singing in the shower, surfing the web or playing a video game. He is the happiest person I know and how else to get happy quick than be around a happy person and escape with The Bachelor. And from time to time, I get to stick my toe in the pool of the madness - by getting access to these press calls.

Here are some highlights from the call today with Chris and Blakeley:

On the Casey S departure. Chris H was grilled about the Casey S situation. Why he thought it was right to intervene here when he hadn't done so for Bentley or Wes. Whether it was fair for Casey to leave when other girls (Jenni Croft, Melissa Rycroft) certainly did not have clean slates coming on to the show.

Chris noted that with the Bentley situation, he regrets not going a little further. He says he warned Ashley about him, but could have done more to protect her. The Casey S situation was completely different, according to Chris. She had no ulterior motives. Chris notes that he's gotten a lot of backlash for confronting Casey, but that the conversation he had with her was very amicable. He said Casey was given an opportunity to deny the information he presented to her. She could have said, "I am head over heels in love with Ben and yes, I was in a relationship with Michael, but that's over and I'm not giving up my chance to fall in love." In other words, Casey had an opportunity to give her side of things if she wanted to stay. Instead, she admitted that she was still in love with her ex. Chris also noted that while everyone has some sort of baggage that comes on the show, the decision on whether to interfere is made on a case by case basis. In Casey's situation, the producers felt it was serious enough to say something. They had heard from multiple, reliable sources that they were very much in love up until she left for the show and it became very obvious from what these people said and certain things that were overhead from Casey during her time on the show that there was "no way she was there for Ben or that it would work out for her and Ben." Basically, there was more to the story than what we saw and the producers were doing detective work and background checks as the show went on.

On Courtney and why he wouldn't warn Ben about her possible manipulation - where does Chris draw the line in getting involved?

Chris responded that Courtney is a completely different situation than the Casey situation. Ben has been making his own decisions. Chris said that if he found out that Courtney had a boyfriend or fiance, etc. he would tell Ben. But he says that "Ben is dating Courtney, same as with all the other girls" and it's not his job to point out every negative trait to Ben.

On whether Courtney actually has feelings for Ben

Chris says "it's so easy to make things black and white...Courtney is playing the game, and there is a certain game element to this...this is the way that Courtney plays...I think she very much cares for him. But from her experiences in her life, this is the way she goes about (getting what she wants). She's had success with this type of action her whole life and it's working. She's gotten Ben's attention. It's hard to fault her in many ways, but man is it unpopular."

I asked Chris whether there were any more shocking surprises in store for us this season and what we could expect. He said that coming up next week, more than one girl will be warning Ben about Courtney and we'll see more of the fallout. After next week, we go to hometown dates. He says that once we start bringing in the families that, "we'll see frontrunners fall out of favor and the dark horses start to emerge...things start to shake up."

Chris got off the phone and Blakeley came on. Her first question was a reporter asking her about some wild video on TMZ that came out and whether she had seen it. Poor Blakeley sounded completely off guard and said that she had not seen it. The video was of her giving a lap dance to another girl at a wild bar somewhere. It's kind of hard to see her face, but it's most likely her.

Some highlights from the Blakeley interview:

She thinks Nicki is the best choice for Ben of the remaining girls. She's down to earth, real and knows what it's like to be married.
As for what she thought of Courtney, Blakeley says, "I didn't take the time to get to know her or vice versa. I don't think it's a bad thing...We had a really different way of going about (pursuing Ben)."
She is currently still single.
She doesn't regret being so honest and showing him the scrapbook. You have to put yourself out there. As for being sentimental Blakeley says, "that's the kind of person I am. If that's not what he's looking for, I wasn't right for him."
On Courtney's antics: "Personally, I wouldn't go skinny dipping in front of America..." Blakeley can tell that Ben and Courtney are attracted to each other, but she thinks that's just surface and doesn't see "feelings" there.
Casey S was her closest friend in the house.
Blakeley was really upset by the "hurtful and hateful things" said about her behind her back. She "tried to keep her focus on Ben...didn't realize they were saying such mean things."
As for when the turning point was of when she befriended the girls, she said after San Francisco when Shawntel came back. Once everyone stopped talking about their individual dates with Ben and focused on more girl talk unrelated to Ben, they all bonded.
I asked whether her opinion of Ben changed upon seeing the skinny dipping scene and she responded that none of the girls knew about it when on the show. She didn't understand my question. I clarified that I wanted to know what her reaction was when she watched it on TV and that if she was still in the running - if this would have changed her mind about Ben. First she said that he was allowed to do what he wanted, but then she said if she was one of the final girls or engaged to him, it would make her question what they had. YOU THINK?

So those were the highlights. Hope you enjoyed.

Just Another Typical Work Day Tomorrow...

2012-02-08T19:08:00.000-05:00

Except I'm interviewing Blakeley and Chris Harrison on a press call through my Radio Business Report connection as their Bachelor Couch Critic. Holy cow, I'm excited. Who has some good questions to ask them?

I've Got The Rose...

2012-02-08T19:03:00.001-05:00

Holy cow. This YouTube music video of Courtney-isms is absolutely brilliant. Thank you, bachelorfanatic99 on YouTube and to the anonymous reader who posted it in the comments section. If you want a good laugh - check it out:

Courtney Goes Native, Casey S Reveals She's (GASP) Not in Love with Ben!

2012-02-07T20:31:00.007-05:00

The Sniffler on my commute (see tissues)

It’s a crisp pre-7 AM morning in New York City and on this particular commute, there is a sniffling, cold ridden poor soul sitting next to me reading an Amazon Kindle. He just opened up his pack of tissues, so hopefully there will be a little less sniffing. It’s hard to write about Courtney’s see-through boobs and Casey’s sobbing with such intense, two second interval sniffs in my right ear. BTW, check out the guy behind the Sniffler, who looks like he's really enjoying his morning. Could he still be hungover from the Superbowl?? The Husband and I had a marathon day yesterday, starting with an early wake up post-Superbowl to catch a train from DC back to New York City, where I went straight to work for the next 7 hours. It was a tough end to an otherwise really fun weekend. Maybe I’ve been in New York for too long, but it was extra nice to see my DC/Virginia friends. I have missed their kind, thoughtful, intelligent and warm personalities. So what if they occasionally spill wine on the walls of house parties? They are geniuses and I love them all. My friend Anna paid me the kindest compliment by saying that she “has to watch The Bachelor just to keep up with my blog.” Anna, you have no idea how that comment warms my heart J Thank you!

Is anyone looking at my headpiece?

Ok, so let’s talk Panama. I think there may have been a lot of people that were too hungover or tired from The Superbowl to devote much time to this week’s Bachelor. DVRs and Tivos across the globe were working overtime, no doubt, to capture the episode and save it for a time where you have fully digested the wings, beer and guacamole consumed. I understand. But for those of you who couldn’t wait to watch the latest Courtney antics – there’s much to discuss.

My favorite moments from Panama:

At least this coconut doesn't taste like Courtney

Kacie B is back and on top! I was so happy that Kacie B got another one on one date. Ben could have easily given the date to Jamie, who he hasn’t had any time with, or Casey S (Paris Hilton), but the fact that he picked a repeat one on one lady is a great sign for Kacie. The whole “Castaway” island date was very unique. The Husband and I concluded that we would never survive together on a deserted island. First off, where is the bathroom? That would be my number one concern. It looked like they were out there for hours and that just wouldn’t fly with my digestive system. Second, if we had to rely on our net catching skills to secure lunch, we’d starve to death. Not to mention, having to slice the poor guy open and roast it over a fire. I’m getting nauseous just thinking about it. The fact that Kacie can so easily go along with all of this insanity means she may be a perfect match for Ben. That is, if he hadn’t been naked a couple days earlier with another woman. I thought Kacie looked beautiful on her date – I am pretty sure she has 6 pack toned abdominal muscles and I am completely jealous. I wanted to hear more about how she deals with her eating disorder, but I’m glad that Ben took her revelation well.
Once Ben and Kacie started comparing their survival island date in San Blas to making a relationship work (you have to trust your partner, you have to work together, you have to blah blah blah), I had to laugh. Maybe I just didn’t see the hardship in being sent by helicopter to an exotic island for a couple of hours (besides the lack of bathroom situation), but that’s just me. You can see in Kacie’s eyes that she’s got it bad for Ben. She’s saying things like, “we could be engaged in a couple of weeks.”
The women are very turned on by Ben’s manliness this episode. Kacie was turned on by his ability to hack a coconut. Jamie got aroused by Ben pulling up on the group date in a hollowed out tree with a motor. These are very odd skills, but good for Ben.
The Embera Village date was very entertaining to watch. Especially once the girls were freaking out about Courtney’s lack of breast coverage. One reader commented on this blog that being topless is perfectly acceptable in Panama, and the people in the village probably didn’t think twice about Courtney’s “ladies” hanging out. That said, I love how they panned the camera to the little boys staring up at Courtney. You may not like her, but she’s a strategic master. She knows what Ben likes and she’s not afraid to give it to him.
When Courtney starts dancing around, hands in the air with Ben and her bouncing boobs, I thought we could pretty much eliminate all of the other ladies there. Thankfully, Ben had the sense not to give Courtney the rose on the group date, though she tried her best to manipulate him again.
Courtney’s wrap skirt almost falling down while she’s dancing. I am shocked Courtney didn’t let it fall on purpose.
I was amazed that Emily apologized to Courtney and even more amazed at Court’s response. Cold as ice. Even more awesome was when Ben walked in on the end of their conversation and everyone went silent. Emily revealed a lot of class in admitting her “rash judgment,” but in the end, she was spot on in her initial assessment.
Courtney sounding almost in tears because Ben doesn’t come to her room (thought they all stayed in a group suite or at least doubled up in rooms??). Then says men disappoint her often because things go great in the beginning. I’m sensing a pattern here. She seduces men with her body and sleuthing and then they lose interest. I don’t think this is a problem limited to models.

Long Legged Ladies & an Ape?

Two on one date with Rachel and Blakelely – two of the longest legged women of all time. I loved the initial 3 person group hug that was done when they greeted Ben. So awkward. I felt bad for Rachel watching Blakelely stick her legs all over Ben and because of Blakeley’s hyper / overdone enthusiasm for the date. Yes, Rachel was kind of playing the Courtney coy card upon receiving the rose, but can you blame her? Blakelely had been taunting her all week. I’m kind of disappointed we didn’t get to see Ben come back to Rachel and make out. The scrapbook was the kiss of death. Those things never work.
Nicki admits that she is falling in love with Ben. I feel bad for her because I’m not sure of Ben’s feelings for her and she’s too naïve to suspect what Courtney and Ben have been doing behind everyone’s back.

The most shocking WTF (What the Fudge??!!) Moments:

Did Courtney REALLY think that Ben was going to go skinny dipping with her after knocking on the door of Room 1611? Truthfully, she has every reason to think this as he so willingly went along with her plan last time. But that was because she approached him in her drawers. It’s another thing to ask The Bachelor deity to take the initiative. Doesn’t she know the rules? It’s his job to be fallen in love with, not to prove his love to anyone. It’s kind of too bad this didn’t actually happen, if only to have the ladies catch them in the act and all leave. Now that I’m thinking more about it, it’s very probably that the producers locked Ben in his room to avoid a mutiny.
Ben in a loin cloth – hot or not? I’m going to go with “weird.” This guy loves getting naked
Courtney going in for a swim in her white bikini while Ben and Jamie are having alone time. Ben can barely keep his eyes on Jamie (though in his blog, he states that this bothered him – yeah right). At this point, The Husband declared that Courtney must be a hired actress. Either that, or the producers are telling her to go seduce Ben whenever he’s off with any of the other ladies
I have no idea what Emily was talking about when she said that there was another man in her life and then reveals it’s “The Chief.” Is she talking about the chief of the village they just went to?
Wrongfully Rejected Ugly Crier

Can we talk about the “Casey Scandal” for a minute? They made it seem like this was a huge deal and we should all be shaking in disbelief that Casey could possibly come on the show with unresolved feelings for someone else. Am I the only person who was not blown away with her little secret? Are any of these girls really a clean slate? Ben proposed to another woman less than a year before he became the next Bachelor. Are we to believe he’s completely over that? I felt bad for Casey, not only because of her ugly crying and unbearable sobbing sounds, but because I thought she deserved a crack at Ben. It’s not like she was a front runner at this point (another reason why I don’t think her being confronted and leaving is controversial), but I would have liked to see her relationship with Ben play out a bit longer. Casey is a stunner looks-wise and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders (until she admitted to Chris H that she should probably be in therapy). I think Casey had just as much a right to be there and give it the old college try. If she really was in love with a commitment-phobe and knew it was not what she wanted, why shouldn’t she go on The Bachelor and try to meet someone who is looking to get married?

Chris H says he butted in here based on his regret over not saying something during the Bentley/Ashley situation. The difference here, though, is that Casey’s intentions were not evil. She wasn’t sitting around mocking Ben to the camera all day, then sticking her tongue down his throat when she saw him. If he really wanted to be helpful, shouldn’t he show Ben the Courtney one-liners about the other girls and the “Winning!” comments she makes? How did Chris H become the show’s dedicated therapist? He cross examined poor Casey until she had to admit that she was still in love with non-committal guy. I didn’t like Ben’s reaction to Casey’s news either. It was cold, callous and lacked any compassion or understanding. One of my reader here mentioned Melissa Rycroft’s actions in coming on The Bachelor during Jason Mesnick’s season – and she has an excellent point. Melissa got out of a non-committal relationship and not only went on The Bachelor, she won the whole thing. That was, until the “After the Final Rose” reunion show where Jason dumped her and hit on the runner up, Molly (now his wife). Melissa was devastated, but not too devastated, because she ended up back with Ty, the non-committal guy and she’s now married to him with a baby. Shouldn’t Melissa have been thrown out of the race under the Casey S theory of ejection?
I absolutely loved Emily’s rap at the end of the show. She’s brilliant and funny – and has that quirky “something something” that a model-less Ben should appreciate. If she can get past the Courtney issues, I think she stands a very good chance of making it to the finale.

Most Cringe-Worthy Moment of the Season:

Poor Jamie. I was squirming on the couch watching her strategize and implement her seduction of Ben routine. It was awful. Not because she’s not a lovely girl, but because it just so wasn’t her. In her defense, she had to try something bold. She’s smart enough to realize that she was behind the pack in terms of her relationship’s progression with Ben. She’s also smart enough to see other girls throwing their assets (aka Courtney) into Ben’s face. Poor thing was probably mortified watching it all back last night, particularly since she’s a self proclaimed prude. I hope she can be consoled by the fact that she no longer has to worry about suffering the embarrassment of being engaged to a guy that skinny dipped with another woman while “dating” her. She is actually lucky. I’m sure there are plenty of other guys out there that would adore Jamie just the way she is. At one point, during the completely awkward kissing lesson, Ben says, “You’re not the first girl I’ve kissed.” EWWWWWWW. She should have gotten up and left right then and there!

WINNING!

Best Courtney Lines:

“These beads are cold…”
“I’ve got moves they have never seen” (followed by shaking her revealed boobs…)
When Ben comes to take Courtney for some private time on the group date, “I’m being stolen…take me away…”
“A lot of these girls are slow moving. They are not very sexual… They’re making it easy on me.”
Courtney: I feel like I might be going home
Rachel: Really?
Courtney: Just kidding. How’s my hair? Can you be my mirror?

Court loves "rubbing" people wrong way

I am semi-shocked that after this week, we are down to 6 women (8 if you count Courtney’s boobs). Seems like just yesterday, Grandmas and horses were showing up to meet Ben. Now we’re off to Belize for more helicopters, humidity and hurried attempts by Court to get naked with Ben. I can hardly wait. Particularly for Kacie and Nicki’s Courtney intervention with Ben. Will he listen to their advice? Will Courtney get a rose? My prediction: Ben will pull Court aside at the Belize rose ceremony, she’ll convince him she’s trustworthy (and bust-worthy) and we will be off to Santa Monica to meet her family.

Til next week, Bachelor fans. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this week’s show. Out of the girls left, who is a good match for Ben? I’m torn between the girls that I like and whether Ben is worthy of them. What do you think?

Initial Thoughts on Panama Episode

2012-02-06T22:23:00.003-05:00

First off, can The Bachelor producers PLEASE stop showing clips from upcoming scenes at EVERY SINGLE COMMERCIAL break? It was so ridiculous. Was there not enough footage of interesting clips to show that they had to keep teasing us with repeated teasers? No more random shots of blurred out Courtney boobs bouncing around in the Panamanian heat during a dance or grinding up against Ben's chest? How about some more of Casey S's awful dying goat sounding cry? For an amazingly beautiful girl (with a Paris Hilton look) she is a really ugly crier. I think the sound she made will be ringing in my head for the next few days. Poor thing. She was so busted by Chris H - not sure she would have made it very far regardless. Still, it's interesting how quickly Ben turned on her once she revealed her little secret.

Ben is really only interested in Lindzi, Kacie B and Courtney. Kacie B and Courtney I can understand. And truthfully, am I the only one that can't seem to get the Courtney/Ben getting naked in Puerto Rico image out of my head? How are we supposed to believe that he can actually be into anyone else at this point? Lindzi seems sweet and earthy and a wannabe guy's girl, but she's so love drunk, it's hard to cheer for her wholeheartedly. Every time she has a conversation with Ben, she looks like she's ready to pounce. But maybe it's because she can't see past her bangs. Who knows.

I was starting to get concerned that they may be trying to clean up Courtney's image. When they show Courtney saying that guys don't stick it out with her - they love her in the beginning and then lose interest, I thought we were getting buttered up for a "poor skinny dipping, boob showing model" act. Are we supposed to feel bad that Ben didn't show up at room 1611? And if the producers had so much time to show us spoiler after spoiler during commercial breaks tonight, couldn't they have at least showed us Courtney and Ben's confrontation at the rose ceremony party? I would have loved to hear Courtney's wrath and "I need to be reassured," speech while she scolded Ben for not showing up at her room to go round 2 of skinny dipping. Of course, then I saw how she took Emily's apology and basically spit it back in her face - any sympathy votes were thrown out the window.

I'm still really impressed with Blakeley. She's the onion of bachelorettes. Peel away a VIP Cocktail Waitress, and find a stripper. Peel away a stripper and find a hairdresser. Peel away a hairdresser and find a baseball shortstop all star. Peel that away and find a very talented salsa/exotic dancer. And take all of these things away and you've got a scrapbooker! I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that Blakeley also ice sculpts, hunts and invents batteries in her free time. I think the scrapbook may have thrown her sanity into question, though, and Rachel just seemed like a safer bet.

Did Ben get a haircut this week? It is borderline ridiculous how caught up he is in the hotness of these ladies. Just looking at Rachel and Blakelely on the two on one date - it was like the long legged sexy girls with the ape. I'm still mad at Ben from last week's skinny dipping antics. Just because he has held off going to 1611 for one night doesn't make me forgive him.

A+ effort by Jamie - the alpha girl, hail Mary attempt to seduce Ben was the right idea - he loves women putting it all out there, but I think it was a little too late. Plus, once you saw Ben checking out Courtney in her white bikini during his alone time with Jamie, I knew this poor girl was history. I'm sure she's thanking her lucky stars (like Jennifer) after seeing the skinny dipping scene.

Full post will be up tomorrow.

2012-02-06T09:12:00.002-05:00

It's Hangover Monday, the official day after Superbowl Sunday and The Husband and I are Amtrak training it back to NYC after a whirlwind weekend in DC. I hope you all feasted on pizza, wings and lots of good beer (or soy nuggets for all of you vegetarians/vegans out there). Why they don't make today a national holiday, I have no idea, but perhaps we can start a campaign out there. This train goes straight to Penn Station and then it's off to work for me. The good news is that it's Bachelor Monday - Hooray!!

Already this morning, we have a very revealing news piece - Jennifer Fritsch, the maroon/pink hair tinted down to earth lady that got the surprising rejection from Ben last week, is speaking out to the press. She is NOT a Courtney fan and any lingering doubt or feelings she had for Ben seems to have immediately evaporated once she got wind of his skinny dipping adventures. I can only imagine how the remaining women must feel seeing it on TV for the first time. You can read the full article on People.com, but here were two of my favorite Q&As with Jennifer:

Q: You called him perfect. Still think so?

A: I've changed my mind. [Seeing that skinny-dipping promo], I'm glad he sent me home. I left having no idea. I'm ok with skinny-dipping but there's a time and place. It was a little early in a relationship to take such a big leap with one girl. It bothers me that he just went along with it with 10 girls left. He's inconsistent and doesn't care what anyone thinks, especially the people potentially falling in love with him. He made his bed. If it's not Courtney in the end, I wish him luck. He'll be facing a lot of questions.

Q: Your opinion of Courtney?

A: I knew I didn't like her while there, but I had to live with her so I wasn't mean. Watching, I have a much stronger opinion. I don't have one good thing to say about her. She's portrayed as exactly the person she is. I don't think she has a better side than her looks. The skinny-dipping proves her character and it's not a good one.

Right on, Jennifer!! That is why I liked her in the first place. She has a very normal, practical attitude about this. Ben DID play the naked Courtney option way too early in the game. It was disrespectful of all of the other women and made them look like fools. On the other hand, that's partially the fault of the unspoken rules of the show. The Bachelor is allowed to fiddle around with as many other women at the same time as he wants. We've seen Bachelors kiss five, six, seven girls on one group date. So is it that much worse to go skinny dipping with one of them? Perhaps that's over the line in terms of intimacy, but the worst part is that there's this secret lingering around the whole process now and any woman with a shred of self respect would go running for the hills upon watching this. I also agree with Jennifer's take on Ben's inconsistency. He makes out with her and then sends her home.

Jennifer also opines that Courtney is actually as conniving as she is portrayed on the show. This will surely be an incredible Women Tell All, although if Courtney is one of the final two, we won't be able to see her defend herself.

Anyhow, tonight should definitely lead to more fireworks as the ladies go to Panama and Courtney has fun driving the other girls nuts with her ta-tas.

Best of luck nursing those post-Superbowl headaches and I will check in with you all later!

PS
I went to a wonderful house party on Saturday night hosted by my friend Melissa and attended by several of my original Bachelor watching female lawyer colleagues at my old law firm. The popular opinion is that Ben was certainly the nerdy type growing up and he is now living out his fantasy of having sexual encounters with model types. You can almost picture the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue centerfolds hanging on the back of the door of his childhood bedroom.

Stacey B Talks Puerto Rico, Courtney & Superbowl

2012-02-03T23:13:00.001-05:00

We're off to DC tomorrow for the weekend to visit The Husband's parents. Hope you guys have some fun Superbowl plans. Giants? Patriots? Personally, I'm cheering for an awesome Madonna half time show. And great commercials.

Some Bach updates from this week:
1. Emily Maynard said in an article on People.com this week that she's a nervous wreck about being The Bachelorette. Can you imagine being Emily and watching The Bachelor each week and then for every commercial you hear Chris Harrison advertising for your future husband? Must be strange.

2. Ben was back in NY this past week and weekend. He was checking in on Twitter to all sorts of places downtown. This guy is doing more traveling and press than any Bachelor that I can remember during the actual season. Don't they usually just promote the show during the premiere and then again when the final lady is chosen? I would think he'd be holed up with the "winner" somewhere. Hmmmm.

3. Michael Stagliano is pursuing his music career. If you google him, you can see what music venue he's playing at next. He has a couple of upcoming shows in Canada, and I know he's coming to NYC to play at Webster hall next weekend. Here's the schedule.

Here is something to leave you with for the weekend:

La Isla Bonita y Para Skinny Dipping: Courtney and Ben Get Naked in Puerto Rico

2012-01-31T18:38:00.009-05:00

For the first time in a really long time, I was excited for The Bachelor this week. Perhaps it’s the end of January blues, the bitter cold weather in the Northeast, the long, dark days – whatever it is, I found myself getting slap happy at the thought of escaping to Puerto Rico for a couple of hours with Ben and his harem of ladies. To celebrate Bachelor Monday, The Husband took me to this wonderful new restaurant in the neighborhood called Flex Mussels. This place has the largest and most incredible mussels in dozens of different flavors. The truffle fries were equally impressive and for dessert, I can’t even believe I’m admitting this, we got these 4 doughnuts filled with the insides of our choice (chocolate hazelnut, s’mores, peanut butter and jelly and salted caramel). Needless to say, I will be spending lunch on the treadmill every day for the rest of my life to burn this off.

Stuffed and happy, I tingled with delight thinking about what evilisms would come pouring out of Courtney’s mouth this week. She certainly didn’t disappoint. Could Elyse or Nicki find their place in the pack? Would Jamie actually say anything this episode? Would there be more Emily and Courtney fighting? Would Blakeley reveal that she’s also an acrobat in addition to being a VIP Cocktail Waitress, Stripper, Hair Dresser, tap dancer and professional baseball shortstop? I was giddy with excitement.

I was happy to see that the girls did in fact stay at the W Hotel in Vieques. It is a place that I have always wanted to go. When The Husband and I got married in Puerto Rico back in March 2010, we thought about doing our honeymoon there, but the hotel was not open yet. Several of my friends have since stayed there and said that while quite modern, pricey and luxurious it is absolutely incredible. I would leave this second to go there, except the thought of swimming where Courtney and Ben went skinny dipping creeps me out a little.

Last night’s show surprisingly may have been one of my favorites not only of this season, but in recent show history. Here is why:

(1) Puerto Rico may be my favorite place on earth. The climate, the people, the beaches, the sounds of little coqui frogs at night chirping and the potential for romance. Old San Juan is magnificent – and the area where Ben and Nicki went on their date was where The Husband and I were just a few short weeks ago. The wedding they saw took place at El Convento, a beautiful historic hotel restored from a 350 year old convent. I love how all of a sudden, Ben became a historian when he busted out facts about El Morro Fort. The rain that we saw during Nicki’s date is very typical of San Juan. When it rains, it pours – and that couldn’t be more true in PR.

( 2) The baseball game at Estadio Roberto Clemente was awesome. First, because I was completely impressed with how good the girls actually were in baseball, and because I think this would have been my perfect date on the show. Also – there were real umpires and catchers with equipment. And there was an announcer! Finally - there was chest bumping between Blakeley and Jennifer, which The Husband loved. I played softball in high school and college and would have loved to nail a line drive at Courtney’s face. In fact, in my perfect fantasy world, I would have gotten up to the plate, pointed at her pouty lip (see Court picture above) and then hit a home run over the fence doing a very slow victory run around the bases while pointing at Courtney and screaming “WINNING!” in her face. Ah, I’ve got to control the rage.

(3) The individual dates were both fun and shocking. I figured Ben had to send home one of the girls (Nicki or Elyse), and Elyse just seemed like the more likely candidate to go home. She’s 24 and feels she’s accomplished everything she’s wanted to do in life. She wants to be engaged, married - to anyone, preferably Ben since he was the closest eligible male in proximity, but I didn't quite understand why. She’s a beautiful girl too with a great body. I thought they seemed to be having a little bit of a romance on the mega yacht. After all, love always starts in the water, according to Ben. But it was pretty clear from their conversation on the yacht and afterwards at dinner where they were dressed up like a bride and groom for some reason (did they plan that?) that this was not going anywhere. Ben has this look on his face when he’s not interested in someone that he can't hide. Like he wants to crawl under a table and never come out. Why on earth they had to shoot a full 2 minutes of Elyse crying in the rejection motorboat while Ben walks along the ocean with the rose is a mystery. I’d take a couple more minutes of Jennifer asking the girls about where they had gone skinny dipping over Elyse’s misery. It seemed unnecessary.

(4) Kacie B. I am impressed by how much Kacie has been able to keep it together. She’s even trying to comfort Blakeley when B is ready to give her big epiphany speech to Ben. Kacie must feel secure in Ben’s interest in her. She didn’t cry this week which is a good sign and she got the rose she should have gotten last week on the group date – though I still think Courtney outwitted them all again. As for Kacie B’s hair, it’s not really her fault. Puerto Rico is a girl’s hair’s worst enemy. I don’t even have curly hair and in PR, I have to condition about six times to even get a comb through my hair. You’d think Blakeley could have helped her out with some hair products, but perhaps Kacie B doesn’t get caught up in that stuff – which is why we like her. I think it’s a good sign that Courtney says bad things about Kacie B – Court must feel threatened.

(5) Skinny Dipping Scandal. Every great episode needs a scandal to talk about the following day. No doubt water coolers, emails, blogs and articles across the world will be discussing Courtney the Model’s skinny dipping antics. Have no doubt. Courtney is playing this game like it’s a war. Her body is her ammunition and she is not afraid to use it. The way Ben looks at her when she shows up in a robe with wine and ideas of getting naked speaks volumes. Courtney is very aware of how she appears when she says, “I wonder if Ben has ever gone skinny dipping with a model?” Talk about maniacal ego centricity. She is a warrior of epic proportions and Ben is defenseless. The good news, for all of you vowing never to watch this show again if Ben picks Courtney, is that Chris Harrison said something very telling on his blog today, "this is something that will continue to work itself out..." The backlash of Courtney's behavior has probably threatened their ratings, so Chris was permitted to let out a teaser to calm us all down. He's practically saying, "Don't worry - the bitch will be gone soon enough!" There are also people out there who think that Courtney is just doing what she needs to do to get Ben. If she hadn't said such horrible things about the other girls or just kept her mouth shut all together this season, I might actually be impressed that she sought Ben out and did the nasty with him (oh come on, what do you think goes on in oceans, when naked, at night, with one's first ever super model?). Ben admits in his blog today that he did feel bad for his actions with respect to the other girls, but he tries to treat each individual interaction as if only that person existed. And if he was in PR, with his model girlfriend and she asked him to go skinny dipping, he would do it. I'm sure this is very consoling to whoever he chose.

(6) Aftermath of Skinny Dipping. So Ben is having post hook up regret, but only mildly because he will love reporting back to his friends when this is all over that he got naked with the model whether this works out or not. The only problem is how to explain this to his future fiance, if this person is not Courtney. It’s a lose lose situation. I don’t think he can get out of this one. When Ben showed up at the pre-rose ceremony cocktail hour all suited up, I got grossed out. Every conversation he had from post skinny dip on seemed insincere and tainted with Courtney’s evilness. It’s like she got her hooks in him and is riding out this whole process until she hypnotizes him into a model loving puppet. So there’s this major secret out there – that’s just sitting in the humid Puerto Rican air. All Courtney has to do is accidentally let it slip that she went skinny dipping with Ben – would any of the girls stick around? That could end the show right there. Will Ben tell the girls before they find out? Should he? Is the skinny dipping an acceptable act at this stage of the show? I mean obviously, if there were only 3 women left and these were the fantasy overnight dates, it would be encouraged, but with so many other women still around – it just feels dirty. I guess all’s fair in love, roses and war, but I lost a lot of respect for Ben last night.

(7) Emily vs. Courtney. This whole Emily trying to bring Courtney down thing is hard to watch. First because Emily has no idea how much she has to offer and that she is light years more attractive than a person like Courtney. Emily is brilliant, pretty and normal. But in this process, she's not herself. She's an emotional basketcase. All she wants to do is sabotage her time to bring down Courtney and Ben is not liking it. Watching this dynamic unfold is both heartbreaking for Emily and so completely relatable. How many of us become other people when blinded by anger or jealousy? I hope that Emily can pull it together and remember why Ben liked her in the first place.

And now let’s go straight to the most WTF moments of the night:

Ben stating that he has “a little bit of Latin swagger.” This is just not true. Just because you are in Puerto Rico and put on a completely white outfit doesn’t make you Latin.
Courtney wearing a t-shirt when she arrives to the hotel that says “Be Nice.”
Nicki saying “moooo-eee caliente” when she means “Muy caliente.” She is sooo young. The Husband thinks Nicki is a little too country for Ben. She reminds me a lot of former Bachelorette, DeAnna Pappas. Both have Southern accents, are Bambi-eyed and have great hair, skin and white teeth. Nicki may be a little too innocent for Ben, although I liked her go-with-the-flow attitude in the rain. I felt awkward for them a little when they were watching the El Convento wedding. Ben seemed like he wanted to run away. Of course we did see the first tongue kissing going on between them later that night when he gave her the rose. It was repulsive, but Nicki seemed very happy about it.
I am not understanding Blakeley’s necklace. I think it said “Tex” on it, but not sure if that’s because she’s from Texas, has a son named Tex or is just trying to be mysterious. Update: one of my awesome readers has informed me that necklace says "Fox" or "Foxy." Thanks, Anna!
“PR is known for baseball.” Ok, yes, there are a lot of famous Puerto Rican baseball players, but do you think of "baseball" when hear Puerto Rico? My Puerto Rican amigas tell me that it is known for baseball, so there you have it. PR is also known for its gorgeous beaches, Spanish history, pina coladas, Bacardi rum, coqui frogs, the Arecibo observatory (where the movie "Contact" was filmed with Jodi Foster), its rain forest – El Yunque, and its magical bioluminescent bays. And after last night’s episode, Puerto Rico will definitely be known for skinny dipping too.
Blakeley was an animal on the baseball field. Blakeley catching numerous hard to catch hits may have been the most shocking event ever to take place on this show. I was expecting all of these ladies to keep striking out or not be able to catch anything – and they pleasantly surprised everyone. Good for them! I actually found myself getting nervous for Jennifer when she had two strikes against her and all the pressure in the world. It was almost as exciting as the 1986 Mets World Series. That bus ride home was absolutely ridiculous. Too many tears, but perhaps Jennifer’s were valid. She knew that unless she had more time with Ben, her chances were history – and she was right. Chris Harrison revealed in his blog last week that Ben was very on the fence about Jennifer going into their one on one date last week. So his initial feelings for her were not very strong. After Emily’s botched her redemption attempts with Ben, I thought Jennifer was a shoe-in. Ben notes in his blog today that he wanted to let Jennifer go now, as he knew he wasn't interested in her long term and didn't want her to get any more involved. He also described their time together as "sweet." Ouch. And he referred to their date in Park City as "rad." Double Ouch.
Lindzi saying that the baseball diamond is “better than the sparkling kind.” Ok, she’s nuts. I’m getting a little sick of her playing the dirty country girl card.
After Blakeley's team loses the baseball game, Blakeley is so pissed that she says to her team, "I thought you guys wanted this as much as me..." Of course it doesn't help that a helicopter arrives on the field and the winning team is drinking champagne. Nobody feels as bad as Jennifer. Because the only thing worse than striking out in baseball is that strike out being the last out in the game. And the only thing worse than that is then getting dumped by The Bachelor (probably because you struck out at baseball).
I liked how they kept blurring out Courtney's side boob. How nuts that the entire crew (including Chris Harrison) had to watch this skinny dipping take place.
The Husband says, "This is insane. Basically, in the process of Ben finding his wife, he gets to have a bachelor party on the side in front of his future wife."
Elyse says that she gave up her job and missed her best friend's wedding to come on The Bachelor (red flag). Then she tells Ben that she loves her job and has a great job. I'm confused. Then 30 seconds later she tells Ben she gave up this wonderful job to be on the show. Huh?
Elyse is confused when Ben dumps her and wants to know what she did wrong. "You're an incredible woman," says Ben. Ah, so he's sugar coating it just like Ashley did to him. I would have loved Elyse to say something back at that point like, "Don't give me the Ashely..." She literally got voted off the island, poor thing.
Blakeley's epiphany at the pre-rose ceremony. Every day she writes something down about Ben that she likes about him. Really? I think Blakeley is like the misunderstood Renaissance Woman. Every episode we learn more and more about her and I'm starting to fall in love with her myself. That said, she has absolutely no chance of making another couple of rounds.

Best Courtney Quotes:

(About Emily): “You better check yourself, Bitch.”
"Who knew that strippers could play baseball?"
"Winning is awesome" (after winning baseball game)
"Team Blue is a bunch of crybabies all the way home on the bus"
"I don't see Ben with a lot of these girls. Lindzi has an annoying personality. Jamie is a hot mess. Casey S - I haven't seen much interaction between her and Ben."
About Kacie B, "She's really cute with her baton twirling. She reminds me of a little girl."
As Elyse is taking off for her one on one date, "I hope I have her phone number. I could use a personal trainer."
Upon finding out that Elyse was sent home, "Maybe she drank too much and the Jersey Shore came out?"
"I'm pleasantly surprised. Elyse leaving is bittersweet. Really sweet for me, bitter for her...I'm feeling like a million bucks. Another one bites the dust. It blew my panties off..." It certainly did!
Upon showing up at Ben's room in bathrobe with wine, "I don't know if he's ever skinny dipped with a model before...I'm hoping I'm a vision after a long day. I hope I'm a sight for sore eyes...I have some lotion....I'm little Miss Sunshine, I sprinkle it around..."
"I'm about to rock your world"
"You only live once, and you're only in Puerto Rico once..." (except if you're Courtney and you were just there).
At the rose ceremony, someone asks whether anyone feels confident about getting a rose. Court responds, "I feel good. Yup."
"Ben doesn't look at the other girls the way he looks at me." This is a very true statement.

So we're off to Panama City and it looks like there's only more drama ahead. As for the Casey S meltdown, Chris H reveals that what happens next week and his involvement is a direct result of his regret over how he handled the Bentley/Ashley situation. Interesting! Her leaving has to do with personal reasons and not because Ben sends her home. Death in the family? Bad news about someone being sick? Ex boyfriend threatning her family? Who knows.

Looks like Kacie B gets another one on one date so that's pretty awesome. Do you think Courtney is playing fair? And is it really her fault or is it Ben's for not seeing through it? Does anyone think Courtney is remotely interested in Ben?

PS - that chocolate bath looked absolutely disgusting with Ben and Nicki. I hope it at least smelled/tasted better than it looked because it kind of looked like a mud / fertiliziation pit. Not particularly romantic considering that Ben put whipped cream all over Nicki's scalp. How chivalrous.

Skinny Dipping with a Model: Initial Thoughts on Puerto Rico Episode...

2012-01-30T22:31:00.007-05:00

Que fabuloso!! This was one of the best episodes in Bachelor history. What wasn't to love? Beautiful, wonderful Puerto Rico, a competitive ball game, Courtney dishing out some of the craziest one liners in evil lady history and skinny dipping with a model!

- I have no idea where Blakeley's epiphany came from that she suddenly feels she deserves someone like Ben, but good for her. My feelings, like Ben, did a 180 for Blakeley tonight as well. Not because of her epiphany - but because my jaw dropped when I saw what a phenomenal ball player she is. Did you see her catch some of those hits at shortstop? If Derek Jeter was a stripper, he'd be Blakeley.

- I was 100% sure Emily was history after her "rebound" speech gone awry. It was a horrible attempt at redeeming herself, and she was smart enough to realize it. Luckily, Ben is smart enough to give her another chance.

- I felt like Ben cheated on the other women and fear he can no longer have a successful relationship with any of the other women once he made the decision to get naked with Courtney. Picture it: you're Kacie B or Lindzi or Nicki or Emily and you're watching your true love story unfold on national TV after Ben's proposed to you on the finale in some exotic island. Then on Episode 5 in Puerto Rico, you find out that him and Courtney took a bottle of wine to the beach, after hours, against the rules, threw off their clothing and giggled in delight together under the moonlight while Elyse is off crying on a motorboat somewhere to some overplayed, but awesome David Grey song. WTF?? I am just waiting for Courtney to drop this bomb on the ladies. Would you stick around if you found out that you're "boyfriend" Ben got naked with Courtney? Is this part of the rules? It's safe to assume he's making out - but is skinny dipping allowed? And who knows what else they did after that. The question is - where did the girls think Courtney was during that time and at what point will she clue them all in?? I would be outta there in less than a second.

- I felt bad for Jennifer. Thought she actually had a shot at being the normal, down to earth type for Ben, but he just didn't seem that interested. Elyse was just in love with love. They had a pretty awesome date too, but it was never going to happen. Nicki is sweet, has perfect skin and should be a Neutrogena model, but not sure she's the one for Ben.

My final thoughts: If Ben can love Kacie B and her frizzy hair in the humidity of Puerto Rico, which he seems to do, I think she may be our winner. But only if he has already confessed to her about the skinny dipping before he proposes. Otherwise, she'll hopefully be smart enough to turn him down flat. As soon as Courtney says, "I bet he's never skinny dipped with a model before..." my skin started to crawl. Ben fell right into her trap. I'm not sure I trust him with Kacie B's heart. I'm starting to feel protective of her and her curly hair.

As always, full post goes up tomorrow night. No spoilers here please - but I'm intrigued by (1) what is Casey S's tragedy from next week; (2) who supposedly has a boyfriend and (3) sounds like the girls collectively tell Ben not to trust Courtney - will he give the rose? Of course he will.

Psycho vs. Hot - The Male's Perspective

2012-01-27T06:32:00.000-05:00

I have been having a very deep discussion with some of my male colleagues at work lately. The topic is at what point the complete psychotic-ness of a woman outweighs her looks enough for a man to be disinterested in her. One particular male colleague has informed me that the degree to which a man will put up with craziness is directly related to the level of hotness of a female as well as why he is interested in the woman in the first place.

Before I share what this very senior, well respected male colleague had to say, I will need to provide some essential definitions. First off, he breaks "hot women" down into 4 categories. Don't yell at me because of who is listed in each category - this is his opinion.

1. Kinda hot (Think Jillian, Trista, DeAnna, Ashley from last season)

2. Hot (Ali Fedotowsky)

3. Smokin' hot (Chantal O, Michelle Money)

4. Mind Bending Hot (Level 4) (Emily Maynard, Courtney)

Some further definitions:

"Run of the Mill" psycho - steals something of yours during a makeout so she has an excuse to see you again, calls 10 times a day, texts 20 times a day; calls your mother to kiss up when you've only been out twice; Keeps suggesting plans over and over when you have not called her in a month; Jekyll and Hyde behavior (horribly mean to other females, but sweet as sugar to object of her affection)

"Obvious Rabbit in Pot Fatal Attraction" or "Fatal Attraction" Psycho - the name says it all. Threatens to hurt your family; Kills your pets; Threatens to kill you; Leaves dead wild animals like squirrels outside of your door, etc.

Here is what this person had to say:

A. If the man is looking for a "hot tub chick" then:

1. Kinda hot, Hot and Smokin' hot all trump "run of the mill" psycho, but out of those 3 categories, only Smokin' Hot can trump Obvious Rabbit in Pot Fatal Attraction Pscyho. Mind Bending Hot (Level 4) trumps any level of pscyho even if she is holding a knife like in the Chuckie movies and holds a sign saying "You are next to die."

B. If the man is looking for longer term (i.e., engagement)

1. Run of the mill pscyho and of course Fatal Attraction psycho trumps Kinda Hot, Hot and even Smokin' Hot

2. But if man runs into Mind Bending Hot, see A(1) above. We are very weak.

Bottom line here: If Ben is after a girl he can settle down with or if he just wants to have a good time and enjoy his new found fame a little longer, Courtney, despite her crazy antics, will still be in the running, even if she comes at him with a knife.

Do you agree with this theory? If so, are you male?

Stacey B & The Husband's Discuss This Week's Show

2012-01-26T22:56:00.002-05:00

Got a few minutes to kill? Back By Popular Demand: check out our video review of this past week's show.

More Drama To Come!

2012-01-26T19:40:00.002-05:00

Chris Harrison said to reporters this week that if you hate Courtney now, wait until you see what she does next week. Oh man! On top of that, it appears that one of the remaining contestants has a boyfriend back at home and this comes to a head. No spoilers here - but wonder who it could be? Doubt it's Courtney - that would be too easy to predict.

Interview with Creators/Writers of The Bachelor: Romance, Roses and Romance

2012-01-25T22:48:00.005-05:00

There are times when I question the effort and hours spent writing and maintaining this blog. I could, after all, just be a regular viewer of the show - enjoy it for what it is and then move on with my life. I'd be a less tired person doing her full time office job and simply watch with The Husband like the 20 other shows we enjoy. The blogging on the train, late night posts, pestering The Husband about when we're going to do our next Video Review - it's all exhausting. That said, there are a couple of things that immediately snap me back into being a Bachelor blogging obsessed fool. First off, I get contacted by some of the kindest folks out there who are fans of this blog. You guys keep me going, so thank you to all of the followers, readers and commenters of this blog!

Second, there are sometimes incredible side perks. Last season it was the Blue Bunny Ice Cream sponsored season premiere party. This season, it was something completely different. I have a strong appreciation for those who decide to turn their love of The Bachelor into a creative venture. Last week, The Husband and I had the privilege of being invited to the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City to see Leila Cohan-Miccio and Caitlin Bitzegaio's "The Bachelor: Romance, Roses and Romance." The show, directed by Beth Appel, had two performances this month. When we arrived at the theater, we were told that seats had been roped off for us. Never in my life have I felt so VIP. Not only that, but we didn't have to wait on the long line in the cold weather with the rest of the theater-goers. Once we got our tickets, The Husband and I spent 20 minutes at the grocery store next door to the theatre killing time with me squealing, "We have roped off seats!" at random intervals in the bread aisle. When we arrived at our seats, we noticed several other roped off seats as well, including a pair with the name "Fedotowsky." This obviously caused quite the internal stirring in my brain - and as you will read below, Ms. Fedotowsky was in fact scheduled to attend the same performance, only it didn't work out. Would I have fainted, or what?

A satirical one-act comedy written by Ms. Cohan-Miccio and Ms. Bitzegaio, The Bachelor: Romance, Roses and Romance follows the top five contestants in a made up Bachelor season making their way through the cocktail party and rose ceremony. It hits on some of the most loved and ridiculous themes of The Bachelor - how crazy the women get, how competitive they can be and why on earth women continue to think they can find true love on national TV by dating a total stranger along with twenty something other contenders. The Husband and I laughed a ton and truly enjoyed the night out. I was able to ask Leila and Caitlin some questions about their writing, the show and thoughts on The Bachelor. Is it me, or is there some sort of unspoken family of Bachelor loyalists who you feel an instant connection with once you exchange views on the show? In any event, Leila and Caitlin are two bright, funny and creatively talented women. Here's what they had to say:

Q1: How did you guys meet and start writing together?

Leila: Caitlin and I met at an improv class (taught by Lennon Parham, whose show BFF debuts on NBC this Spring), but we didn't really become close until I asked her to direct my sketch show, This Is About Smith in late 2009. Afterward, Caitlin and I collaborated on a web comedy about a feminist magazine, which ended up being Vag Magazine, released last fall.

Q2: How did the idea of writing about The Bachelor come about?

Leila: Caitlin and I (along with others at the Upright Citizens Brigade) are obsessed. One day, it occured to me that we should write a show about it.

Caitlin: I didn't even watch The Bachelor before being friends with Leila, but since I trusted her reality TV instincts, I tuned in and have texted her 3500 times about the show.

Q3: What was the writing process for your show like?

Leila: We initially sat down and made a list of everything we thought was funny about the show, from the weird emphasis on personal tragedy to the fact that the Fantasy Suite cards are signed "Love, Chris."

Q4: Are there future plans for your show?

Leila: Yes! The New York run is continuing indefinitely for now - in February we'll be up in New York City again at 8 PM on Thursday, February 9th and at 9:30 PM on Thursday, February 16th. You can make reservations by clicking here. We're also hoping to take it to Los Angeles this spring. Not least, because Chris Harrison wants to see it.

Q5: How long have you been watching The Bachelor and why do you like this show so much?

Leila: I've been watching since the first Brad Womack season. As much as I'd like to pretend that it's ironic, it's obviously not, since I've been doing it for five years now. I love the train wreck aspects, but I also get genuinely emotionally invested (I'm still made Brad didn't pick Jenni Croft in that first season)

Caitlin: I only started watching during Ali Fedotowsky's season of The Bachelorette because of peer pressure.

Q6: Why do you think people are so entranced by this show to make it last 10 years and going?

Leila: It's just such an effective format. Whether you're watching for the right reasons (as the contestants themselves might say) or not, you're going to be entertained.

Caitlin: I think there's a spectrum of Bach viewership from completely intense genuine belief in the romance of it to people who just hate-watch and everyone can find a place on that spectrum.

Q7: Who is your favorite Bachelor and Bachelorette and why?

Leila: I love to hate Jake Pavelka (in an early version of this show, Caitlin and I had a running joke about him being a serial killer), but my all-time favorite dude on any iteration of the show is Chris Lambton from Ali's season. He is the dreamiest - and being from Cape Cod doesn't hurt. Ali is totally my favorite Bachelorette - she was actually planning to come to last week's performance, but it didn't work out.

Caitlin: I like Ali as well. She seemed relatively drama-free and says things like "I get to go on a lot of dates with cute boys! Yay!" Favorite Bachelor is hard; they all kinda creep me out in some way.

Q8: Do you have a routine for currently watching The Bachelor?

Leila: One of us usually watches it live and live-tweets @RomanceRosesUCB

Q9: Are you watching this season with Ben? What do you think of the women?

Leila: Oh G-d, this season might be my favorite yet! It is so insane. Ben doesn't seem like he actually likes any of them, except possibly Kacie B and Courtney, which is fun as a train wreck. I don't think he finds love.

Caitlin: I think the women are there for "the right reasons," which is to say getting free wine and travel.

Q10: What do you think about Emily Maynard being the next Bachelorette?

Leila: I think all those dudes who went on Ashley's season hoping it would be Emily are going to be real mad. She seems lovely, though, so it's a good choice.

Caitlin: I am excited. I actually think it sort of overshadows Ben's season. Guys are gaga for Emily, so it should be fun.

Q11: Anything else you want to share with fans of the show?

Leila: Please accept this rose and begin this journey with us and come check out our February shows! We're here for the right reasons!

Canadian Bachelor Gets the Green Light

2012-01-25T20:38:00.000-05:00

Calling all eligible Canucks! Fall 2012 will see the first ever Canadian Bachelor. Chris Harrison announced it this week. Pre-production has already begun on the 9 episode show and the lucky Canadian bachelor has not been announced yet. That said, they are looking for eligible Canadianettes. You can apply here. The show is very popular across Canada, so it's about time they have an entire Bachelor spinoff devoted to finding some Canadian love.

The question is - will Chris Harrison host this show as well? Or will they use a Canadian look alike. Will it follow the same sort of recipe as the US version? Will be interesting to see how it does.

Courtney Reels a Rose From Ben: Manipulation in Park City

2012-01-24T18:29:00.004-05:00

Shaggy nerd turn Bachelor?

Is Courtney good or evil? She’s certainly painted as this season’s Bentley and Wes and even Michelle Money, although she hasn’t actually come right out and declared that she’s not interested in Ben. Michelle claimed to have been "misunderstood." And as she was driving the other girls nuts with her dramatic antics, she insisted that she was falling in love with Brad. So perhaps Courtney is like Michelle Money, minus the interest in the Bachelor. Nothing was a clearer example of Courtney's keen skill at playing this Bachelor game as when she snagged a rose away on the group date just as it was about to fall into Kacie's lap. As manipulative and mean as Courtney seems to be, it’s obvious that Ben has chosen to look the other way for now. He has ignored all of the warning signs. Most guys that I have polled about Courtney don’t see what’s so bad about her. Yes she bites her lower lip in a pouty kind of way. They find that endearing. So does Ben probably. They like her soft spoken, seemingly laid back persona even if it isn’t real. You’d expect her to come galloping out of a Ralph Lauren ad or something. But who cares whether she’s good or evil – the important question is whether Ben will be able to see through it all. I have this theory that Ben was very nerdy as a teenager and now that he’s blossomed into “The Bachelor,” and has access to date a model like Courtney – it’s like a kid in a candy shop. I think his inner nerd is being blinded by Courtney’s master mindedness. She even says throughout the episode – she’s had many boyfriends, she's used to being around guys. This girl needs no help finding love. This is all about publicity for her modeling career. Getting Ben is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.

Court and Jesse Metcalfe attend Emmys

Side note: My Scottish work friend told me that Courtney briefly dated Jesse Metcalfe, the underage, but sexy lawn guy of Eva Longoria's character on Desperate Housewives back in 2005. Jesse took Court as his date to the EMMY awards that year. Hate her all you want, but she's pretty stunning in these photos. If you google this story, you'll find all sorts of stuff about their very quick romance. Apparently it did not end well. There are also rumors that Courtney dumped her long term boyfriend to be on the show. Courtney does have a legitimate modeling career. She was on the cover of the April 2011 Fitness Magazine.

Favorite parts of the night:

I liked Kacie B once she got over the whole “first date syndrome” meltdown. It’s about this time we expect the person who has had the first one on one date to have a complete and utter panic attack once the Bachelor starts taking out other girls and first date girl realizes that, yes, OMG, he may have feelings for other people. She seems very genuine, real and sweet. I can now slightly tell her apart from Nicki. Her kinky hair is progressing with each location they go to, but hopefully as long as Blakeley is around, she’ll get some help in that department. Ben seems to seek out Kacie B amongst the group of women – and I liked that he took her back to his hotel room. Nice move, Ben! And I also like that he says he’s in trouble with Kacie B. Yes, we’ve heard other Bachelors declare this early on, and it usually doesn't work out. But I liked hearing that he thinks Kacie is a person he may end up with. It’s a positive sign, but let’s not get our hopes up yet. First we have to get rid of you-know-who.

Courtney’s remarks. The Husband calls her the “Queen of one liners.” I’d call her something else. But she does have quite a few last night that are noteworthy:

This is my first group date…
About Lindzi when she saw Courtney caught a fish: “Her head nearly popped off and spinned around…she could have used her teeth to catch a fish”
Catching a fish is not that much harder than catching a mam
Ben is sending home people for both of us.
I don’t start fights, I finish them.
I want to verbally assault her...She should watch herself. I might shave off one of her eyebrows in her sleep.

Could not stop laughing when Ben crossed the river on his horse and almost went flying off of it. Even better was that the girls found him even more attractive for almost diving head first into the water.
This was our first helicopter date all season! By now on Ashley's season there had been about 16 helicopter rides. Thanks for keeping it special!
Jennifer. Despite her odd maroonish pink hair dye job, I like Jennifer. She’s cute and just a chill girl. I think her personality matches up well with Ben and that she could make him happy. Chris Harrison noted in his blog today that Ben was not that into Jennifer before the date, and didn't think she'd be staying. Guess sweet Jen changed his mind, but it leads me to believe that maybe he's not over the top attracted to her? She’s not into the drama of the house. I liked that one girl said, “It’s hard not to like Jennifer.” Even Courtney couldn’t think of anything too bad to say about her. That’s a good sign in terms of Jennifer being a solid person. I hope she continues to open up more to Ben as I’m not sure they’re quite at the same point as some of the other relationships Ben’s formed. The crater descent reminded me of some horror movie. Did anyone else kind of hope that there would be snakes or eels or rodents of unusual size in the crater pond thing? Or Jenna coming out with snorkeling gear?

The Clay Walker concert. Clay was awesome! I may be a New Yorker, but I love me some country music! And so did all of the blonde ladies checking out Ben in the audience. I thought one woman looked like Samantha in the background. Figured maybe since she got sent home already, she decided to go to the concert before her flight. Jennifer says that the concert and the entire experience was a little piece of him that she could take with her.
I LOVED watching The Husband watch Jennifer and Ben’s interaction at the Clay Walker concert. He was grinning from ear to ear which is a good meter for watching love unfold. He then says to me, “She could totally be his wife or girlfriend. I could definitely see it.” Ah, The Husband – he has been so cutely sucked in to yet another season of this madness.
Ben lecturing Samantha like a parent scolding a naughty child for cheating on a math test. Given, she had the unfortunate timing of speaking to him right after Nicki declared her eternal appreciation for going on group dates. But Ben was kind of harsh on her. Telling her she was too emotional. And he doubted why she had come on the show. I didn’t think these two had anything in common and I’m pretty sure once the alcohol was taken away, Samantha would probably admit that she really didn’t have strong feelings for Ben (despite her insisting she has “crazy feelings” and wondering why there wasn’t a ring on her finger already. WTF??). She just got sucked into the Bachelor mind fudge den of hell.
Ben announcing that his wife was in fact in that room. Oh please. I'm thinking Ali Fedotowsky might be a nice match for him once all of these shenanigans are finished. She used to be outdoorsy and down to earth, I'm sure Ben could get her back there again. And they are both San Fran-ers. They can commiserate over the '49ers loss together.
Random thought about Monica - did the limo driver take her directly to her home in Salt Lake since they were in Deer Valley for the rose ceremony? If so, at what point does the camera person get out of the car?

Things that kept me up last night:

Since when has Blakeley become “one of the girls?” Didn’t they hate her about two weeks ago? Now they are doing each other’s hair? There’s major trust involved with getting blonde highlights from someone and Emily is no fool. She must really have changed her opinion of Blakeley. And did Blakeley just happen to bring blonde highlighting products with her to Park City? Isn't that stuff expensive and do they just have it lying around hotel rooms that the bachelorettes stay at? This made no sense to me. Nor did the girls' new found love of Blakeley and Monica. Of course nothing secures a friendship quite like having a common enemy. Courtney could solve the Middle Eastern crisis at this rate.

Rachel is the quintessential blonde beauty and seems very sweet. But I’m not sure this sort of process will work for Rachel because falling in love when Ben blinks is a requirement. Rachel seems a bit more reserved when it comes to love, which is NORMAL. Their date felt awkward. So awkward, that I was cracking knuckles during their date, hoping it would get better. And while the scenery was breath taking, it was kind of a lame date. When Ben says that they have a “slow burn” kind of relationship and he’s hoping that it will continue to grow, I think he means that she’s too hot to send home right now.

So Nicki is finally off the bench. I don’t think she knew she was getting into such a deep conversation about death and living life to the fullest when she approached Ben at the pre rose ceremony. But when Ben tells her that he “think she thrives on the group date,” is that not a little condescending? Yes, he’s trying to give her encouragement to stick around a little longer. But I’d go back with a big, “F you, Ben. I’m not here to thrive in a group date. I’m here to manipulate you into giving me a rose.”
Casey S is a snitch! Of course Emily should have been very careful about who she chooses to reveal her inner Courtney hatred too. And I love that all of a sudden Courtney is declaring Casey as her “best friend in the house.” I can’t stand when the girls do that. Best friends who are vying to have sex with the same man. Really? It doesn’t work.
Why was Monica crying in the limo on the way home? Didn’t she declare on night 1 that she had no interest in Ben? What exactly goes on during this show? Are the women taken into a private room and brainwashed with images of a shirtless Ben combined with roses? Are they conditioned to salivate when Ben appears in any room? I just don’t get. She was so anti, and now she’s in love? Or is this just a pity party? On the bright side, I picked Monica as the extra bonus lady in my Bachelor fantasy pool as someone Ben would send home. WINNING!

Courtney on cover of Fitness Mag - April 2011

Courtney’s little insecurity acting skills pay off. “When I’m not with you…it’s bringing me down…I’ve lost sight of everything” (lower lip bite). And after such a magic moment between Ben and Kacie B, he runs out to save the heart girl’s feelings. Ah, so he knows how into him Kacie is. He even admits he was going to give the rose to someone else and it seems like it was Kacie. But Ben is tricked into thinking that Courtney needs it more. I wonder what his reaction is to watching this all unfold on TV.
Has Courtney swallowed Charlie Sheen and started spitting out his expressions? Isn’t the whole “WINNING!” thing a bit dated? I liked the Jersey's Shore version of this expression. When Mike "The Situation" took home twins from the bar to make out with, he called it "TWINNING." Much more creative.
Is Ben’s hair flat ironed at the rose ceremony?
I felt horrible for Emily after she tried to confront Ben about Courtney. Yes, she should focus on her own relationship with Ben, but when there’s one master manipulator creeping around, it’s hard to keep your eye on the prize. Emily is way too smart for this crowd. I just hope she can keep it together and find a way to avoid Courtney, because Court is not going to turn the other cheek on this one.
It’s amazing how we have heard absolutely nothing from Elyse and Jamie yet. Jamie had such a high potential, and I fear Ben has missed the boat on this lady.
Casey S is also beautiful, but she doesn’t really seem like the outdoorsy type either. I think her job at this point is to be the mole for Courtney.

I want to kiss you, Kacie, but we're being watched.

So we’re off to Puerto Rico next week!!! How exciting for Courtney, since she kindly revealed that she had just been there. Probably on a model shoot. PR is where The Husband and I got married, so I couldn’t be more excited. Vieques is a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico. It’s made up of mostly little laid back inns in addition to the incredible W Hotel that has its own landing strip for planes.

As of now – my top choices for Ben are Kacie B, Jennifer and Emily (if she can hold it together). Lindzi seems like a little kid sister to Ben. I didn’t see him pay her any special attention this week and not sure she can get things back on track. I was surprised at how little she stood out considering she's the horse girl and they went on a horse date. Why didn't she just gallop up to Ben and steal him and his horse away? I still like Jamie, but think she may be too far behind the others at this point. Who are your favorites? Do you think Ben has a chance of getting engaged at the end of this? Is Courtney good or evil? Do you buy that she’s interested in Ben or is it one big act? If you were Emily, how would you redeem yourself??

First Impressions on Tonight's Episode

2012-01-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

Take away the Courtney vs. Emily showdown, the gorgeous Park City landscape and the randomness of Blakelely highlighting Emily's hair with foils and what we had tonight was kind of a yawn fest. I'm liking Jennifer - felt like she came out of nowhere. She seems like a calm, collected, down to earth person. She's not pouring out the Ben love declarations - she's just enjoying herself. Her smiles are genuine and I like her interaction with Ben. The Rachel date was blatantly awkward for me. She's a beautiful woman, but I didn't seen any sparks - only heard crickets when they were talking about how pretty the canoe date was.

Between Kacie B's tears at the beginning and me being overwhelmed with the desire to brush Lindzi's bangs away from her face, there was not enough to keep me very interested in tonight's show. My law school friend Nyieri texted me while watching tonight, "This show is really pissing me off! But I'll keep watching..." I wonder which part bothered her the most.

Courtney played Ben like a fiddle during their one on one time on the group date. Saying she feels insecure, etc. about how Ben feels about her - puh-lease. Guess it got her the rose in the end, but I'd be surprised if she's remotely interested in him.

More tomorrow night. Interested to hear what your thoughts are at this point in the process. Is Ben in love? Does he have a chance at making it work with any of the ladies? Did Emily blow her chance by bringing up Courtney? She seems to really regret it, but then she starts babbling about her again according to next week's coming attractions.

I am so excited that we are going to Vieques next week. They must be staying at the new, amazing W Hotel there. It's supposed to absolutely incredible though quite pricey and a bit of a hike to get to. Good thing The Bachelor is making all of the arrangements. Now they just need to bring me and The Husband to blog about it on location.

Why I Think Ben Ends Up Alone

2012-01-23T20:03:00.002-05:00

We've got 20 minutes until tonight's episode. I sent The Husband off to our building's coop meeting as it's Bachelor Monday - and how can there be anything more important than preparing for this show? Besides actually watching it and commenting on it, I guess. Plus, I'm still protesting that our building thinks it's acceptable to hold a meeting on Bachelor Monday. Don't they want to see the Emily vs. Courtney showdown in Park City?

Anyhow, on my commute home tonight, I got to thinking that all signs are pointing to Ben not ending up with anyone at the end of this season. Here's why based on all of the known evidence. This has nothing to do with spoilers or rumors:

(1) They already announced the Bachelorette for next season. Now mind you, I'm not sure that they have ever picked a second girl from a Bachelor season to be The Bachelorette. So it's quite unique that both Ashley and Emily get to be Bachelorette. Some of you posted that you would rather see someone like Chantal O get a shot. Well she might be more interesting, because she's certainly drop dead gorgeous and had a certain spunk about her, but she's engaged, so until we hear anything further -she's off the market. And the fact that they picked Emily Maynard over any of the current girls from this season (or Shawntel, who they did kind of paint a sympathetic "Mean Girls" being bullied scenario for) leads me to believe that the last two girls in Ben's season were not sympathetic and perhaps not universally loved types. The choice to give Emily Maynard another shot at love was a semi-reliable way to maintain an audience. Let's face it. Most guys and a lot of girls are pretty excited that Emily is the Bachelorette. To the guys she's a smoking hot, beautiful woman. To the ladies that like her, she's a sympathetic single mom who deserves love. And while she may be deemed to be a bit on the tamer, sweeter side than her Bachelor colleagues, perhaps the guys that come to woo her will be a bit on the wild side. Stick Michael Stagliano back in the pool. From his Twitter account he has a huge crush on her. So does just about every guy that's still single from the show. So this is a long way of saying that the reason they chose to announce Emily as The Bachelorette now versus at the end of Ben's season, is they want to maintain people's interest in the show, which would only make sense to reveal it now IF Ben's ending is disappointing and he ends up alone.

(2) Ben has been out and about and Tweeting like a wild man. Ben and Chris Harrison are doing this thing where they crash parties of Bachelor watching fans in the LA area. That sounds like a lot of fun, but wouldn't Ben be so head over heels in love that he would be at home, watching the show while on Skype with his new fiance? Or did the ending go so poorly that he can't bare to watch an episode? The other interesting thing is that Ben just took a couple of days to go to Park City, Utah to see Sundance with some of the producers of the show, including Cassie Lambert. I wonder what Bachelor related things he was doing there. I saw him give an interview with Mario Lopez, but other than that, you have to wonder whether he was there to drum up interest in the show, mend a broken heart from a finale rejection or just watch some movies - though I have a heard time he'd be doing that for fun with the producers from The Bachelor out of his own free will. They're nice and all, but I wonder what the real reason was.

(3) They haven't revealed to us whether Ben finds love. I think in almost every other season of Bachelor, we are told at the beginning of the season what happens, in some form or another, at the end of the season. Sometimes it's "I am in love." In Brad's case it was "I'm engaged." Some just say that they're happy. All Ben says is that he learns a lot and it was a wild ride. I'm not sure they're just being coy with us - I just don't see any love blooming here.

(4) Out of all the women this season, Ben seems the most smitten by Courtney. While Emily, Kacie B, Nicki, Lindzi, Jamie, Rachel and Jennifer all seem great enough, I'm not sure Ben feels the same way about any of them like he does for Courtney. Based on Courtney's Jekyll and Hyde behavior, I'm having a hard time deciphering whether she has a remote shred of interest in Ben or if she's playing the Bentley card. Hmmm.

Perhaps tonight will change my mind? I hope Ben understands the delicate balance between hot vs. psycho and how no matter how hot a woman is, the psycho part of the brain has to be a turn off at some point. Will Ben get to see the inner psycho that these women have? We shall see...

What do you think? Does Ben end up alone? In love? I'm hoping for the latter, but not sure it's going to happen.

This Week's Bach Gossip

2012-01-22T20:06:00.001-05:00

I'm slipping away from the insane screaming going on in my living room right now. You'd think someone was getting murdered instead of the Giants playing the 49ers. The Husband is not even a Giants fan. I don't get it.

So in doing a little bit of research, I came across a picture on People.com's website of Jamie Otis, one of Ben's contestants this season. As you may recall, we haven't seen much of Jamie in the last two episodes, but she's the nurse from Scottsdale who had to raise her siblings. She seems like a very down to earth type person and very genuine.

In any event, you may be surprised to learn, like me, that along with nursing she was also competing in beauty pageants. Last weekend she won "Miss Congeniality" in the Miss New York USA 2012 pageant in Westchester, NY. I have no idea how one competes in this while being a nurse, taking care of siblings and being a contestant on the Bachelor, but there you go. For a complete slide show of Jamie's competition, you can check it out here. Congrats, Jamie!

In other news, if anyone is interested in throwing a very expensive party or having a lavish bachelorette or bachelor weekend, The Bachelor's mansion is up for rent for a whopping $2100 per night. Of course maybe you just want to take a crazy vacation and sleep in all 6 bedrooms or cry in all 9 bathrooms. In which case you might want to pay the $13,000 plus per week cost. Or if you've got a lot of rich friends and all want to pool your money for a month away - you can get the mansion for the bargain price of $35,225 per month. If you are already throwing in this much money, can you at least pay for me to come join you? You won't even know we're there.

And if you're still not over the whole Shawntel coming back from last week, check out this People article where her interview can be found. It explains that Ben and Shawntel had never actually met in person, but they knew who the other was and had exchanged some message and phone numbers. It also reveals Shawntel's opinion that Courtney is the one Ben ends up with. And that Court and Jaclyn were the meanest of the mean.

Tomorrow night's show should be interesting - now I just have to figure out how to avoid everyone in my building for the annual shareholders meeting of the coop board that's taking place in our building's lobby. Why they schedule these things on Bachelor night Mondays, I have no idea. Perhaps I can convince The Husband to go...?

Hip Hip - HOORAY!!! EMILY MAYNARD IS NEXT BACHELORETTE!!!

2012-01-18T12:28:00.000-05:00

Show sources confirm to People.com that Emily is our next Bachelorette. Rumors circulating are that the show will be filmed in Emily's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina and that Bentley (the villain from Ashley's season) want's in!

Can we fast forward to next season??

Untimely Departure for Funeral Director - Episode 3

2012-01-17T18:38:00.001-05:00

There's so much to discuss, I'm not sure where to begin. Chris Harrison promised us an episode last night that people would be talking about for months. I’m not sure that "months" is quite accurate, but there were several historic moments that must be pointed out for posterity:
(1) We saw our very first rejection by a contestant of a one on one date. This has never happened in Bachelor history. Brittney shocked us all by rejecting Bachelor Ben. On a bright note, it reminded us how nice having Ben as a Bachelor is versus the previous season. The rejection does not set him into a tailspin. He’s not off crying that the rest of the girls probably wish he was Bentley or something. He’s confident and perfectly ok with Brittney leaving. He even says to the rest of the girls, “Not all of us are going to be matches.” Wow, this is the first time in Bachelor history that a Bachelor has verbally admitted it’s not possible to fall in love with everyone! This, to me, is the most shocking Bachelor moment of all time.

I love, by the way, that not only did Brittney feel the need to interrupt Ben’s group date to break the news, but that she marched right up to him with her luggage in hand – was she running late and there wasn’t enough time to take the extra 10 seconds to leave it by the doorway while she dumped Ben? Maybe she had a plane to catch or she thought Blakeley might steal one of her outfits. Either way, if despite crying during the whole decision making process, thumbs up to Brittney for admitting this early on that living with a bunch of insane women vying over one dude is just not ideal. Sounds like she may have had someone at home or she’s just not a drama queen. Perhaps I’ve overlooked her finer qualities. At least she’ll be going home to a warm grandma.

(2) In the aftermath of Brittney’s leaving, I also don’t think that we’ve seen a sloppy seconds date scenario for a one on one date. Can Lindzi truly enjoy her date knowing that it was designed specifically for Brittney? Doesn’t she have to be thinking – why wasn’t I chosen? Perhaps they did discuss this at some point, but the audience never finds out. Either way, Lindzi didn’t seem to have a resentful bone in her body. She was only too happy to be Brittney for the night. Seeing the Matt Nathanson private concert that Britt was supposed to see. Going to the speakeasy Britt was supposed to dine out at and hanging out at a piano while we once again heard the same David Gray song being played by our talented Bachelor. My only question is whether she got the Neil Lane necklace that was given to Brittney, or did Brit make out like a jewel thief? Lindzi is truly head over heels for Ben at this point – he can do no wrong. The Husband’s comment on her was that she “was very Southern,” to which I clarified that she was from Washington state. Perhaps he was confused by her doting qualities, her raspy voice or her Southern accent that she didn’t have. Who knows.

(3) During the rose ceremony, we’ve never seen a lady hesitate in accepting a rose for that long, then qualifying her acceptance by saying she, “saw (Ben) talking to what’s-her-butt…it wasn’t easy.” Ben should have taken the rose back from Courtney right then and handed it to Shawntel. There were a lot of Courtney red flags popping up around Ben throughout the episode – I really hope he starts to take notice of them.

(4) I’d say it was a first to have a bachelorette faint at the rose ceremony, but I don’t think that’s the case. I seem to remember plenty of women barely being able to keep it together at these things. It’s hard to keep in mind that these ceremonies actually last hours, whereas, we get to see it all in two minutes. Once we saw the outtake of Erika’s inner mouth tattoo, I think we all understood why she got the axe. I’m so glad Ben didn’t give her the sympathy rose. Erika seems like a nice enough person, but anyone that feels the need to tattoo the inside of their mouth every six months has to have some issues. I, myself, was having heart palpitations watching Ben decide amongst this hostile group of ladies.

And now on to my favorite moments of the night:

Julia Flajnik. How great was it to see Ben’s sister? She’s cute – and a lot warmer than I remember her being when we last met her on Ashley’s hometown visit. Too bad she couldn't have interviewed the ladies and given us her opinion. She kind of looked familiar to me, and then I realized she looks a little like Shawntel Newton herself or a brunette Ali Fedotowsky. What do you think? We picked up some interesting nuggets of information during Ben’s interaction with her. First, we learned that (1) Ben’s mom twirls a baton – just like Kacie B. We knew Kacie gained some points for being spontaneous and out-going, but who knew that she was actually reminding him of his mother? Gold star for Kacie! (2) Ben thinks that Courtney is “super down to earth and drama free.” HA! (3) Jennifer the accountant is the best kisser. I thought this was a cute comment, until he actually revealed this to Jennifer later on in the episode, which is basically spelling it out in black and white that he has swapped saliva with every woman in the house; (4) he calls Emily a “science nerd” and I’m wondering if he perhaps seems a bit of himself in Emily. From Ben’s child hood pictures, it looks like he may have been slightly dorky as a young ‘in. No wonder he’s super psyched to go out with a super model and a stripper.
The Fairmont hotel in San Fran seems pretty awesome with great views. Speaking of views, what are the chances that Jennifer would be looking through the telescope and actually find Ben and Emily on their one on one date (how many hotel rooms have telescopes to begin with and was it purposely set up to view the Bay Bridge?). Kind of a long shot, in my opinion, but it was funny to see the ladies’ reactions.

Emily’s date with Ben. The fact that Emily had to actually clamp and unclamp her own life saving devices to the Bay Bridge while she climbed 535 feet into the air was terrifying. She must have really liked Ben to be willing to do something like that with him. No person in their right mind, who is scared of heights, would ever do anything so ridiculous. But this is the infamous adrenaline date, and if Emily has been doing her Bachelor research, she knows that if she goes through with this date, it will launch her into the very top of the top in Ben’s eyes. Former adrenaline dates include: Jake and Vienna bungee jumping; Ali and Roberto jumping off a building together and Brad and Chantal O (not Shawntel from last night) also jumping off some sort of very high natural object together. These dates are a proven bonder. If Ben had a date like this with Brittney’s grandmother, he’d probably end up with her.
Me telling The Husband that “everyone is talking about how crazy this week’s episode is going to be!” The Husband responding, “Nobody is talking about sh-t!"
Nicki stating at one point that the “only way to experience (San Francisco) is to spend it with Ben.” I love ludicrous statements like this. Does she think the entire city will disappear into thin air once The Bachelor is over? Unlike some of the made up dramas and romantic date venues – San Francisco is a real city.
Emily’s smile throughout her date with Ben. I love Emily. When she’s not around the other girls, she seems to actually relax (other than being on the Bay Bridge). I like that Ben’s answer to all women freaking out is to just make out with them. He did this with Emily on the bridge and again with Kacie B to convince her everything was ok. I loved Emily’s purple wrap dress during the dinner portion of her date with Ben. I also loved Ben’s Top Gun reference, “Talk to me, Goose,” which he used to comfort Emily on the bridge.
Did anyone else notice that Ben had a shiny coat of pink lip gloss on during most of the filming of his dinner with Emily? Looks like there was some serious making out. Very nice shade of pink, Ben.
Emily revealing that she tried online dating and got matched up with her brother. This was also revealed on her profile on the abc.com website, but it was kind of funny for Ben to hear the story. I also loved Ben admitting that Emily was smarter than him, and that one of the reasons his father loved his mother was that she was smarter than him. If she can keep it together and stay away from Courtney, Emily may be a finalist.

Monica telling Ben, as they are driving to the ski date and the little photo of Rachel comes on in the dashboard followed by a picture of Blakelely, “I’d rather see Rachel…” Oooh, I guess the brief love affair between Monica and Blakeley is done.
Courtney toasting the other women at the cocktail party, moments before Shawntel's arrival, to "a drama free night."
After Courtney has a minor meltdown because she can't stand how the other girls are behaving, Emily hopes she gets diagnosed while Monica says, "What just happened with the model?"
My favorite moment of the night: When Shawntel arrives at the rose ceremony party, struts past all of the women, approaches Ben combined with seeing his reaction while the women finally realize that a hot woman has arrived to poach on their man. Let the fireworks begin!

Some noteworthy WTF (What the Fudge) moments:

Can everyone stop comparing the adrenaline dates to diving into a new relationship? Yes, we know it’s scary to “put yourself out there” but it’s not going to stop you from doing it, is it?

Leap List. I’m not sure how I feel about this expression. Is this the new “bucket list?” Is a leap list another way of sewing wild oats without getting an STD? Ben kept repeating “Leap List” throughout the episode, but I’m not sure that bikini butt skiing would ever fall on my Leap List, if I ever had one.
I kind of don’t understand the bikini skiing thing. The ladies looked very cute in their sun dresses and mini shorts on their way to the date. They supposedly had no idea where they were going, so did they all happen to just be wearing bikinis? And even if it was 85 degrees out, isn’t going really fast on slushy snow kind of dangerous? I guess padding isn’t sexy. And what better way to feature half naked women in public than to send them skiing in bikinis?
Wait, Brittney really turned down a one on one date with Ben? I'm not getting this still. Was she bored? Who turns down a solo date with the Bachelor? Nobody puts Ben in a corner!
Ben saying that Kacie B “is going to be trouble for him” in a good way of course. But then he calls her “really sweet” and that “she sparkles.” This is kind of an oxymoron.
Blakeley’s long black feather earrings. Did she kill a bird on the ski date?

Ben advising Blakeley, after Blakeley admits the girls all hate her and that they’re spiteful and jealous that she should, “try to make friends.” LOL. As if.
Rachel getting the rose on the group date (welcome to the show!) and declaring it "one of the best days of her life." Woahh. Poor thing if skiing half naked with 10 other women and 1 dude can be considered the best day of her life. Does anyone else think she has the same exact voice and personality as former contestant Natalie Getz?
What kind of ridiculous word game on paper were Ben and Nicki playing?? But boy did that trigger venom to fly out of Courtney's mouth: Courtney: "These women are naïve and juvenile. Nicki, bless her heart you look like an idiot." This was followed up by Courtney stating, "Blakeley, you’re the kind of girl a boyfriend cheats on someone with."
Courtney telling Ben that they'd make cute babies together? WHATTTTT?
Elyse screeching, "WHO IS SHE???" after she got interrupted by Shawntel and went back to the rest of the girls. I think this is the first time we've heard anything out of Elyse.

Things that really annoyed me:

Lindzi being all ga-ga goo-goo eyed over Ben when he is able to unlock City Hall with his very own key. She says, "I don't know who this guy is, but he's kind of amazing." Really? You don't know that he's the Bachelor and the date you are on is going to pale in comparison with probably 99% of all dates you'll go on in the future, and it wasn't even yours to begin with? I know, I'm being a little harsh on Lindzi, mostly because I find her name very difficult to spell correctly repeatedly, but also because I want her to toughen up a bit and stop acting like a lovestruck teenager every time Ben enters the room.
Lindzi saying she usually doesn't kiss boys on the first date, then fully makes out with Ben the entire night.
Shawntel's comment on the drive to San Fran, "He's going to totally fall in love with me." I don't really mind that Shawntel said this, so much as that the producers probably told her to say something crazy. For one, it doesn't even sound like something Shawntel would say. I hate when they put words in the contestants' mouths.
Certain girls were all talking a big game that if Shawntel got a rose, they would not stay. Yet when Ben called their names, they gladly took it, no comments made/questions asked, besides Courtney.

The reaction to Shawntel was far and beyond one of the most horrific scenes in Bachelor history. If they had shown some of those clips to Ben before the rose ceremony, he could have knocked out 2/3 of the women easily. Erika had some really nasty things to say, in particular - commenting on Shawntel's thighs. Really? You have a tattoo on the inside of your mouth and you want to attack Shawntel's amazing body? And don't get me started on Jaclyn, or I may never stop. How she can possibly insult Shawntel's profession and call her Brad's dumpster trash? It made my mouth drop open. They should throw them both off the show for being quite possibly, the meanest females on this show since Jackie Gordon insulted Michelle Money on the Women Tell All of Brad's Season. Jaclyn should not be making comments like, "I think I am better than Shawntel." Mostly because it's just not true. And all along, Shawntel just sat there, defending herself calmly, without lashing out. Then you have the criers like Nicki who are just so sad that Shawntel is there, saying things like, "What makes her better than other people who have gone home?" Um, well, nothing except who said this had anything to do with fairness? Shouldn't it be all about Ben's quest to find love? And yes, the women would be pissed, and yes, they may mistrust everything he had said to them, but if he was remotely, even a speck, interested in Shawntel, shouldn't he have given it a shot? Because what happens at the end of the show when, best case scenario, he ends up engaged to someone. Then a few months pass and thinks are rocky and in the back of his mind he wonders WHAT IF? about Shawntel. Why not date her a bit and confirm that he's not interested rather than giving in to the wackos that can't take a little competition?
I can't believe the girls blame Shawntel for Erika feeling faint at the rose ceremony. It's not Shawntel's fault that Erika drank too much and didn't eat enough and that they drag out these ceremonies for hours. It's also not Shawntel's fault that Erika had a less than stellar one on one conversation with Ben and probably knew her time was up.
Why on earth did Ben want Courtney around after she sends Shawntel off with a "Syonara!" How rude can a person be? Does he not hear this?

I will end this section with an excerpt of Ben's Blog where he clearly indicates that his lack of interest in Shawntel was not the reason he sent her home. In fact, he validates that there was a "connection." If any of these girls end up with Ben, can they honestly wonder if Shawntel will always be the girl who got away due to "bad timing?"

Shawntel and I had chatted a few times in between seasons and I thought she was an interesting, beautiful woman and she was right to assume that there was a connection. There was, but the timing was wrong. So, you can imagine how surprised I was when she showed up to the cocktail party unannounced.

I knew if I kept Shawntel around I would lose all the credibility I had built with these women and it wouldn't be easy to dig myself out of that hole.

Let's put it this way – if Shawntel had started the journey with the rest of the women it might have been different. But I was already so happy with the group of women that I had that I wasn't about to jeopardize the rest of my experience in trying to find love. I do want to thank Shawntel though for coming. She gave up a lot to try this and I really respect her for it.

These ladies may respect Ben now for his decision to send her home, but if he's even questioning the outcome had Shawntel started at the same time the rest of the group did, that's an issue. At least it would be for me. Bottom line: is this the last we see of Shawntel? I certainly hope not, but sounds like it may have to be. Chris said in his blog today that Shawntel's appearance was a "pivotal" moment that "changed the season."

And some additional comments...

Does anyone have any idea who musician Matt Nathanson is? What happened to getting a band like Chicago or at least something we could hum along to?
I thought that Sonoma was Ben's hometown, but apparently it's also San Fran. Rumor has it he spends a couple of days a week in Sonoma at the vineyards and grew up there, but currently lives in San Francisco.
Was it really necessary for all of the girls to be gathered round as Shawntel spoke to Ben?
Why does Courtney use expressions like "This is wack..."
Hooray, Jaclyn is GONE!!! What an extra slap in the face that Ben had the extra rose but was so completely turned off by Jaclyn and Erika that he chose not to use it for them (in addition to sending Shawntel home). Funny, how some of the meanest comments about Shawntel came from the two of them. I wonder what other nasty things were said that we didn't see. I'm sure the producers didn't want us hating everyone.
Are we ever going to get to see Jamie??

So next week, we are off to Park City, Utah - home of The Husband's sister!! I wonder if she passed some bikini wearing snow bunnies in the neighborhood. Looks like the Courtney vs. Emily showdown heats up! Be careful, Em!!

PS: in case you haven't seen this by now. Check out the happiest mugshot ever taken. Looks like Kasey Kahl is so delighted to be free from Vienna, that he's even happy in jail.

Lights Out for Funeral Director Shawntel Newton

2012-01-16T22:39:00.000-05:00

One more thought about tonight's show. What was Shawntel's history with Ben? It wasn't clear and the ladies made it seem like they barely knew each other. I'm sure they ran in similar Bachelor circles for a while, but perhaps neither of them pursued the other when they had the chance? Aren't former Bachelors and Bachelorettes just always on cruises together or going to Vegas on organized trips? Why didn't Shawntel approach Ben during the first night of the rose ceremony? Was she busy? Or perhaps the night before the show started? Obviously this was a coordinated intervention w/ the producers. Hmmm.

I still would have liked to see more Shawntel. She's got a good head on her shoulders (though she did fall in love with Brad too), but the poor thing was going to get abused by those animals. Can you picture her alone in a room with Courtney? She'd wake up with bruises.

Some Initial Thoughts on Tonight's Episode

2012-01-16T22:24:00.003-05:00

Maybe I'm alone here, but I was super excited to welcome Shawntel back into the picture. Yes, they painted her as the overconfident ("I'm sure Ben and I feel the same way about each other") dark horse coming in to steal Ben, but I welcome it. Shawntel is smart, beautiful and very down to earth. And yes, the entire thing with Ben seemed completely staged, but I have loved Shawntel since the Brad days, and could definitely see her with Ben. The only question is whether she'd be able to bury people in his wine fields.

I agree with Shawntel that it shouldn't be about "fairness." It should be about whether Ben could picture himself with Shawntel. If the answer is "definitely not," then fine. But if he's remotely interested in her, put her in the line up. He probably was not. It was kind of fun to see the girls squirm a bit. Particularly, Model girl. As if Courtney is really going to go home. She's bluffing. Emily, Lindzi, Kacie B, Rachel, Jennifer and Nicki are already in love - they're not going anywhere. And does he really care about Jaclyn? Good riddance.

I loved the dates tonight - the San Fran adrenaline date was "amazing" and Emily went straight to #1 on my list for Ben. I like her. That said, I would never climb up a bridge for anyone. Luckily The Husband has no interest in these sort of moronic adventures. As for the rest, I like Jennifer too. Lindzi is way more into him than he is into her. Once Ben started referring to Kacie B as "sweet," we know this is a major blow to her rankings. Whisking away Courtney to the same spot where JFK cheated on his wife may seem like a major bonus for the model, but I'm not sure anyone else sees it this way. Plus her evilness is on the verge of being displayed for Ben. Her true colors have to come flying out at any moment.

The group ski date was great - very creative way of showing the women in their bikinis during the day time. No idea why Brittney got a one on one - surprised she has made it this far. The question is whether that band that was playing was Brittney's favorite and if Lindzi would even care if it was.

Still loving Ben. Kind of bummed that Shawntel has left us as soon as she came, particularly in tears. Not to worry, Shawny - you can try it with him again - if not before the season's end (how awesome would it be if Ben chases down Shawntel during a funeral in the finale??), then after he breaks up with the last lady standing. Only ladies who stand a chance with Ben at this point: Emily, Kacie B, Jennifer, Jamie (please?) and Lindzi.

I'm terrified of Courtney.

Full post will be up tomorrow night. Let's hear your thoughts...

Stacey B & The Husband Podcast on Tonight's Episode

2012-01-16T18:19:00.000-05:00

If you have a few minutes to burn, hear Stacey B and The Husband's thoughts on tonight's upcoming episode and the "mystery" guest which is not a mystery anymore.

You can also follow Stacey at @FreeStacey B as she will be sharing some live tweets during the show. Click here: Stacey's Twitter Page

"Surprise" Guest Revealed...

2012-01-15T17:02:00.001-05:00

Last night, The Husband and I were flipping through channels on TV and caught a few seconds of the Miss Americas pageant which Chris Harrison was hosting. A commercial came on and it was a preview for tomorrow night's Bachelor episode where a "mystery" girl from Ben's past comes into the picture. Well, I'm not sure if the ratings for Ben's season have been so low that they needed to make last ditch efforts to drive up interest, but they revealed who the mystery lady is.

Because I hate spoilers, I won't reveal who it was, but it's definitely a former Bachelor related woman who was a favorite and someone who I really liked on the show. Please don't discuss it here, for the sake of people who haven't seen it yet. It's just very strange that after a couple of weeks of building up the suspense, they just show who the lady is in a commercial. Seemed very odd, like someone made a mistake, but then you have to figure the only reason they are doing that is to make people watch to see why this particular woman is back.

Ok, off to watch Golden Globes w/ some friends. Should be fun to see what everyone wears and of course, what crazy things will come out of Ricky Gervais's mouth.

Chris Lambton is Back!!!

2012-01-13T17:38:00.000-05:00

Amazing news for any Chris Lambton fans. I know you are out there, even you married ladies! I got an email yesterday to let everyone know that the gorgeous, hunky, charming, funny, down to earth, good natured, guy's guy, runner up to Ali Fedotowsky's Bachelorette season is BACK. And thankfully we don't have to worry about him wading through 25 women to find love. He's arleady got that!

Here's what the email said:

In April 2012, HGTV is premiering a new series called "Going Yard," featuring our very own landscaping professional, Chris Lambton. Going Yard features Lambton, the co-owner of a landscaping company in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, transforming neglected backyards into spectacular outdoor spaces suitable for entertaining family and freinds. In each episode, he and his team will trick out a homewoner's yard with such features as patios, arbors, water features and fire pits.

In addition, Lambton's current fiance, Peyton Wright (former Bachelor and Bachelor Pad contestant) will join the family business; pitching-in with design projects on the show and helping homeworners plan their first party in their new year.

A fan favorite runer-up in season six of "The Bachelorette," Lambton was previously a math teacher and league championship winning basketball coach.

Is everyone setting their DVRs right now? I am over the moon excited!!! I'm sure The Husband is too!

An Enlightened Moment

2012-01-11T20:26:00.000-05:00

While The Husband is in the other room screaming at the TV and clapping like a lunatic (I think there's a Caps ice hockey game on or something), I'm going to take a few minutes and share what I learned today. A very senior lawyer at my company and I were chatting about The Bachelor today, exchanging our opinions on the ladies and about Ben in general. Then he told me something which I never knew before and left me wondering whether other people out there were aware.

Did you know that "VIP Cocktail Waitress" (which is Blakeley's stated profession) can also be another way to say "Stripper"??!! According to this very intelligent, well respected colleague of mine, in many high end strip clubs, there is a VIP room where clients can take women back into for some alone time. They are often referred to as "VIP Cocktail Waitresses." Now who knows if that is actually what Blakeley does (or did) and I'm sure that if she was in fact a stripper, she would probably call herself a "Blogger" or "Medical Sales Representative," but just thought I'd share this golden nugget of information with my fellow blog readers and see what you made of this??

Rumor has it she's a former Hooter's girl. Good for her. There's not many places she can wear an outfit like the one featured above to work - and yes, that's Blakeley!

Stage 5 Clingers Need Love Too.

2012-01-10T18:34:00.003-05:00

Sonoma, California seems like a wonderful place to date a bunch of crazy women. Beautiful vineyards, plenty of wine to get the ladies appropriately sloshed and a cute little town to go on dates in. The producers waste no time throwing us right back into the tragic death of Ben’s father. But I felt like it was a little raw and a little early. I love old family photos as much as the next person, and seeing that Ben and his mother have the same exact face was kind of funny. That said, the Kacie / Ben family video and picture movie looked like something that could have been viewed at their rehearsal dinner. Of course it brought them both to tears, so in the end, it achieved the purpose of drumming up strong emotions on an accelerated basis, the mantra of this entire show. It’s always a good sign when both The Bachelor and his date are crying on their first date together.

Let’s skip right to Blakeley. Her bobbing breasts deserve a paragraph all by themselves. My first question is when did her boobs become so out-going? Last week, she was just a slightly buzzed, chilled out wall flower who Monica was hitting on. This week, we barely hear from the outspoken Monica, and Blakeley can’t stop talking. Everything about Blakeley got bigger this week. Her dangling earrings, her Alpha attitude to pounce on Ben and her ability to drive everyone around her to the point of insanity. One of my favorite parts of the episode was during the auditions for the play the group date put on. Blakeley was asked to run in slow motion. One of these kids is a Baywatch fan! She was called a number of things by the other ladies including “Jugs,” “Horse face,” “Cougar” and “Fakely.” Ouch. So she’s quickly becoming one of the most hated women in the house. No wonder Ben found her sobbing alone in a corner of the luggage room. Was he looking for her at that point? Or did a producer come up to him and say, “Hey Ben, I’ll pay you $50 to go find Blakeley right now…” Did Ben think he was in some sort of nightmare when all of these seemingly normal women started to show their true colors?

Kacie seems like a very sweet and genuine person. Her date with Ben felt extremely natural, besides the whole movie theater montage part. So many of these Bachelor seasons start off with helicopters, carnivals and private concerts that can never give the couple a chance at knowing what real life together would be like. So I love the idea that we are starting the dates in Ben’s hometown. Ben also showed us a bit of his quirky side. I loved Kacie's baton routine – had she planned this before they walked into that candy/toy store? I also love that Ben got involved (though I was totally laughing when I saw The Husband's reaction to Ben baton twirling in the streets of Sonoma). The ladies in my office thought it was adorable that he was willing to twirl. The men were rolling their eyes. Cheers to the producers for not taking Kacie to Vegas and getting her all dolled up and planning a wedding together like last season’s first date between Ashley and William (remember that fiasco?). When the two women approached Ben and Kacie on the street, I thought they were going to take her away to put her in some ball gown and do her hair and makeup while Ben was put in a tux and they were going to go ballroom dancing in a vineyard (is that possible?). Turns out these were probably just random fans of the show who walked in on a date. Lucky girls! Their date was such a pleasure to watch because Kacie is cute, bubbly and definitely into Ben. We can picture them hanging out in the restaurants of Sonoma, twirling batons and making quirky voices together on a long term basis. That said, not sure how entirely into Kacie that Ben was. Particularly after we seem him with Courtney.

Of course, poor Kacie will have to suffer the wrath of the other women for getting the first “one on one” date. The gloves are already off. Courtney calls her “kind of annoying,” within the first 3 minutes of the show. I’m pretty sure, in the entire history of The Bachelor, the person who gets the first date can never end up winning the whole thing. Usually this is because they freak out too much about keeping up the connection they established on that date while Ben takes out and makes out with every other woman in the house. I guess that kind of puts a damper on things. But I’m pulling for Kacie because she seems like a nice person with some baton personality and I think she’d be good for Ben compared to some of these other freaks.

I also loved the community date. It was a great idea to involve local kids in creating a fairytale using the women. Where did they find these kids? Were they leftovers from the Disney Mickey Mouse Club? Did they have to audition to be part of this? In any event, I was happy to see that we were not filming a magazine shoot, playing soap opera or some of the other ridiculous first group dates that have taken place. We still got to see Ben strip down at one point and we also got to see Blakeley dressed as a slutty gingerbread man. What else could be better?

Courtney is the big mystery right now. Based on looks alone she’s going to make some instant enemies in the house, though I think she thinks she's prettier than she actually is. She likes to speak very slowly and use Jersey Shore expressions to explain why she's still single like, "I was doing me for a while" and "I found panties in the bed," which I had to translate to The Husband - means her last boyfriend was cheating on her. And clearly the women let Courtney intimidate them. Why do they allow models on this show anyway? Wouldn't you always be questioning whether they are actually interested in finding love or if they just want the publicity? And if you're willing to date a VIP cocktail waitress, wouldn't you always be worried that she's off waiting on Tiger Woods?

“How did that taste coming out of your mouth?” Courtney asks Kacie after reading the date card from Ben inviting Courtney out for a one on one date.

RED FLAG, right there! Run for the hills, Ben. Now who knows if Courtney is playing the Michelle Money card – and just being very sarcastic. And perhaps it’s just her nature to be extremely competitive around other women. You can’t fault her for that. Yes, she says some mean things about the other girls, but who hasn’t? Ben is quite smitten with Courtney – you can almost see his eyes light up by the end of their date. She is far and away the front runner of the batch in Ben’s eyes at this point. Her little Jekyll and Hyde routine has been a recurring theme throughout the Bachelor seasons. The question is whether Ben will see her true colors and what he'll think then. He's starting to ask the right questions ("Is she too good to be true?") but we'll have to wait to see whether he can answer his own question.

Jenna was a big crash and burn since the first night. I have absolutely no idea what she was trying to tell Ben during their one on one time. Something about her being like a man or one of the guys or that she was a man in her former life. And that she couldn’t relate to the girls talking girl talk. She made absolutely no sense and poor Ben tried so hard to be polite. (According to Chris Harrison's blog, there was an even more awkward conversation that happened later that we didn't get to see). Even when he found her crying in a bed, he was kind to her. On a bright note, I really liked the red dress she was wearing. Was anyone else wondering why she didn’t leave in a limo as per the usual protocol when getting dumped? She just went right back into a living room area and sat on the white couch to cry. Do you think she’ll pop out of a closet during next week’s rose ceremony?

Some of my favorite quotes and highlights from last night:

Ben giving a thoughtful, well spoken speech before he handed out the roses on his one on one dates with Kacie and Courtney. He’s not cheesy and he doesn’t just ask them to accept it. He’s articulate in why he wants to give it to them, which makes it more meaningful. I’m loving Ben as the Bachelor!
Kacie’s opinion of her date with Ben: “I think I have found what could be a lifetime of happiness of Ben.” And this is why I pledge my eternal love to this show. The fact that 24 hours after meeting, someone could actually verbalize that they have found their “eternal love,” after one date is a beautiful thing. I don’t know where they find these people, but I don’t want it to stop.
Watching Blakelely impersonate a monkey while wearing an Osh Kosh striped romper with strapped in boobies.
Courtney stating that she thinks the horse got the first impression rose (not Linzie). Then she says, “I hate to beat a dead horse…”
Ben telling Blakeley during their alone time, "You seem super grounded. I feel like everyone likes you. You're super go-with-the-flow." Fast forward to finding her sobbing in the luggage room corner.
Blakeley talking to Ben after the play was over: "I'm blessed in some places. I didn't know if that was going to be ok."
Courtney's reference to Charlie Sheen. Winning! Does she drink tiger blood?
Our first bikini swim party and it only took one group date! Blakeley announces after her one on one time with Ben, "The potential for me to fall in love with Ben is so there. Gosh it feels so good."
Jennifer's kisses with Ben that echoed. I like Jennifer. She seems genuinely nice and giddy, like anyone would be, after getting some lovin' from the Bachelor. It was like watching a puppy get kicked when she saw him kissing Blakeley not too long after.

Scotch the dog! He's amazing!! I hope he becomes a character in this show. What an adorable little companion.
The Husband thought Courtney's date in the forest with the tall Redwoods looked like a scene out of the Twilight movies. How awesome would it have been if Jenna flew in dressed up as vampire?
One of my favorite parts of the episode: Ben "howling" with his dog and Courtney having no clue how to react. She's just kind of watching them, pretending to be chill, but she really doesn't know how to handle such behavior.
Linzie's private time with Ben at the rose ceremony party was so interesting to watch. She is so eager to please and make an impression and starts throwing random facts about herself at him, hoping that one of them will please him. "I'm drive a truck." "Dirt is my make-up." Ah, so she's playing the country girl card. Good for her.
Samantha telling Ben that she "hangs with the guys" and "hates drama" and then Blakeley walks in and steals him away. Samantha goes downstairs and tells the other ladies that "Jugs walked in."

WTF (What the Fudge) Moments:

Is Blakeley wearing a necklace during the community play date that says “Fox” and if so, is this because she likes the animal itself or does she think of herself as a Fox? Or is her boyfriend from home named “Fox?” So many questions.
Is Nicki a spokeswoman for the bump-it apparatus? She’s very into having some sort of poof in her hair and super white teeth. This is how I can tell her apart from Kacie at times. Nicki is a beautiful girl though.
Since when is 34 a "cougar" - Blakeley may definitely be some things, but I don't think you're a cougar until you're at least over 50.
Blakeley saying that she's passionate and a great lover because she's a Scorpio.
Is it standard operating procedure for every woman who gets a one on one date to wear tiny little shorts with high riding boots?

Hands down best moment of the night: Ben finds Blakeley in the luggage room and tells her to "collect herself" and "take (her) time." Take her time doing what exactly? Trying to deal with why the other girls hate her? Examine the corner of the room some more? Go through people's luggage and sabotage any sexy looking outfits? Ben has been spending too much time with Chris Harrison, because it almost sounded like he was about to say, "Take a moment, say your goodbyes."

I asked The Husband whether he thought Blakeley is pretty. His response: "Let's be honest, she has huge cans." Ok, not exactly the answer I was looking for, but definitely true. As for Courtney, The Husband does find her attractive. I think he's just interested in her slight overbite and the way she speaks softly - something I will never do. Unfortunately, Courtney "makes (Ben) think big picture" and I have no doubt that she's in first place after this week. Of course watching her gloat with a rose privately, has to make the audience wonder whether she's this season Bentley. Does she really have a remote interest in Ben? Can you see her hiking through Redwood forests and is she ready to give up the LA lifestyle?

Ok, a couple of last comments that must be said even though they're not pretty. Jaclyn. Really? I am not sure what he sees in her or whether they're keeping her around to bash Blakeley some more, but I can not see any sort of a connection between Jaclyn and Ben.

I'm very worried that Jamie is getting overlooked. She's a normal, down to earth shy girl - perhaps not as outspoken or dramatic as the other girls, and I hope that Ben can get to know her more. We barely got to hear much from Emily this week or Casey S (who is beautiful, but doesn't speak). Can NOT believe he chose Brittney, Monica and Jaclyn over Shawn, but there you go.

We're off to San Fran next week and I can't wait to see who this mystery woman is and whether she stands a chance at being considered amongst these women. I would welcome some new blood to this group.

So, what did you think?? Hope that Ben stands a chance of finding a diamond in the rough, cause the ratings are really starting to reflect the poor turnout so far...

I'll leave you with a teaser from Chris Harrison's blog today, "You got a sneak peek at what just may be the wildest night in Bachelor history. A woman who has a history with Ben and our show will return next week, and the fallout from this is incredible and must be seen. This is an episode that everybody will be talking about for quite some time."

Blakeley's Boobs Get a Rose...

2012-01-09T22:10:00.002-05:00

and some other initial thoughts:

Was anyone else kind of hoping that Scotch the dog would urinate on Courtney during their romantic car ride to the vineyards? There was nothing cuter than Ben wrapping him up in a towel. Scotch was so cute that I was hoping he would get the rose instead of Courtney. She does seem absolutely perfect in Ben's eyes, but she's a witch in the house.

I have no idea what Ben sees in Jaclyn. I could say some other incredulous thoughts about her, but I'll just leave it at my shock that she got a rose.

Kacie is very cute, when her hair is under control. I can finally tell a way to distinguish between her and Nicki. Nicki has the bumpit.

Emily is still cute. So is the other Casey S, who doesn't speak but is stunningly blonde beautiful. I like Jennifer the red head who made out with Ben, but then had to watch him make out with Blakeley moments later. I would have cried too.

Highlight of the night was seeing Ben find Blakeley hiding in the luggage room corner followed by him finding Jenna crying in a bed. He should have just left the show right there and then and considered himself lucky. Linzie is as happy as a puppy around Ben. I'm not sure that I believe that "dirt is her makeup," though. She's way too styled to be a farm girl.

The community day of the Sonoma kids putting on a play was pretty funny. So much better than the lame soap operas we have been forced to watch season after season. The Kacie date seemed fun and easy, but the montages of their childhood is something that should have been done during one of the last dates, not the first. Courtney belongs in a J Crew catalog. She has a perfect overbite and has this "I'm innocent and a great listener" vibe she's throwing out at Ben.

My full post will be up tomorrow evening. And we're going to bring back our video reviews starting Wednesday night.

What did you all think of this madness??? I still think Ben is going to end up alone on this show. The only normal one seems to be the dog.

Live Thoughts

2012-01-09T21:36:00.000-05:00

(1) Kacie's hair is getting kinkier by the hour

(2) Holy horse jugs

(3) Is Courtney a goddess or an Evil Witch?

(4) Was there an unspoken truce between Jenna and Monica?

Ok, back to the show...

Ben the Bachelor

2012-01-05T07:10:00.000-05:00

He used to be a Caveman. Now he's the Bachelor. Unfrozen Caveman Bachelor.

(Still think he's adorable though)

Bachelor Press & Happenings!

2012-01-05T06:45:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't seen it yet, Ben landed the cover of this week's People magazine. There's an article which basically emphasizes the nudity on this season (versus any chance of finding actual love). I guess the producers thought that since the majority of the ladies this season are a little nuts and Ben is most likely never going to find lasting love out of this group, they might as well make it as scandalous and naked as possible.

You can check out a preview of the article here.

In other Bachelor happenings, I am so excited to be attending a new comedy show in New York City based on The Bachelor. If you're in the area, you should check out The Bachelor: Romance, Roses, and Romance, a comedy one-act co-written by Caitlin Bitzegaio and Leila Cohan-Miccio. It had its debut performance last night at New York's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (307 W. 26th Street). The show, directed by Beth Appel, follows the top five contestants on The Bachelor as they make their way through the cocktail party and rose ceremony. The next performance is Wednesday, January 18th at 9:30 PM. Tickets are $5. For more information and for tickets go here. Who's coming??

I can't wait to hear about how the idea for such a show got started and to see their interpretation of the madness of The Bachelor.

Watercooler Bachelor Premiere Talk

2012-01-04T08:15:00.002-05:00

Sometimes keeping a low profile about my Bachelor blogging obsession is a bad decision. Most of the time it's the smart thing to do. I'm supposed to be a lawyer at a financial institution and all of my credibility (if I have any to begin with) would be thrown out the window the moment I start saying things like, "I wonder how Courtney convinced Ben to go skinny dipping with her knowing there were cameras around!" I have to at least pretend to be a civilized adult here, which is very difficult most of the time.

Anyhow, every so often, instead of talking financial stuff, my officemates do like to discuss TV. So yesterday, it was only natural that the chatter turned to the Bach premiere. People seem to really like Emily and Lindzi and the guys all seemed to like Kacie and Jamie. I like to politely chime in from time to time, but try not to get too descriptive in my comments for fear of giving myself up as the obsessed reality tv watching lunatic of the office. In this way, there are only a handful of people who know about my blog here. So when I was pouring hot water into my oatmeal packet contents, it shouldn't have been a surprise when one co-worker started saying, "Well I read on one of the gossip blogs what the ending of this season is and..." I didn't let her say another word. I started screaming, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" then quickly slammed down my oatmeal, put my hands to my ears, started humming and ran out of the kitchen. If HR does not report to my office in the next couple of hours, I will be shocked.

Do you guys discuss The Bachelor at work? With your friends? Family? How do you avoid spoilers? And does anyone know of any jobs in case I no longer have this one?

Bachelor Premiere Recap: Beefnuts for Ben?

2012-01-03T18:38:00.002-05:00

There's a lot of crazy in the air. My skepticism that Ben actually finds true love during his season of the Bachelor was only heightened from watching the premiere. What promised to be one of the most highly anticipated Bachelor seasons since Ali Fedotowsky’s season of The Bachelorette, is not looking good. Last night’s display of just how moronic, catty and evil women can be was a disgrace to females everywhere. It wasn’t all horrible, but most of it was. It seems as though the producers have given up on the hope that lasting love is even possible on this show. So they have thrown in the towel and have opted for fireworks and a live insane asylum dressed up with roses and romantic dates. That said, I’m here to point out a few of my favorite highlights from the premiere and then to discuss whether there are possibly any salvageable pieces of this season worth investing in. Let’s start with the positives:

(1) Ben the Bachelor. In terms of the choice of Ben as The Bachelor, he’s right on the mark. He’s not the caveman, robotic spokesperson that Brad was and this is why I like him. He seems like a nice guy. Someone everyone would like as a friend. Ben says he's got a really great life and now he's just looking for someone to come join him in it. Who wouldn’t want to spend 4-5 days a week in Sonoma making wine with your husband and his childhood friends? He’s smart. He drives some sort of a red old fashioned convertible. And he may have a boat somewhere in those Sonoma Hills. During the "learn to love Ben initial montage," we were reminded why we like Ben. He didn’t take Ashley’s rejection lightly. He was straight up pissed, “Good things don’t end, unless they end badly.” [Side note: Ashley Hebert was watching last night’s premiere in NYC at Ashley Spivey’s viewing party. She’s still happily with JP and just officially became a dentist last month]. Ben’s really tan and thankfully they didn’t show him showering and thinking deeply about his Ashley rejection. That’s probably next week. He still has the tennis player Rafael Nadal look alike floppy hair thing going, which makes him as likeable as a chocolate lab retriever. And wait, what is this? He plays the piano?? Is that really him playing David Grey or is he playing Chopsticks and they're fooling us? Ok, Ben might actually be well spoken, cute and talented? Unheard of in Bachelor land. He’s a gem!

(2) Lindzi C "Hoarse/Horse" Lady. I found her way too intense and giggly to get that excited about, but I had to laugh when Lindzi revealed the iPhone text from her last boyfriend, “Babe, welcome to Dumpsville, Population You.” If this is a legitimate dump and not something the producers (or Lindzi) made up, it’s pretty awesome. I also liked her dimples. Chris Harrison noted in his blog today that Lindzi arranged to borrow the horse from a friend that lived in the area. That's a great friend to have! She has a scratchy (or hoarse) voice, which kind of bothered me. Like she was too lazy to clear her throat or something, but I'm going to chalk this up to nerves, or perhaps dry throat obtained from a windy horse ride.

(3) I Love Grandmas. Ben's lines in between his initial meeting of the ladies were actually very funny. This is one of the first times we get to hear a Bachelor's reaction upon meeting the ladies. They rarely show this. Some of my favorites were: "I'm liking the brunettes" (after meeting Jamie); "That is a pretty girl" (after meeting Courtney the model) and "This is good" (after Emily sprayed him down and kissed him). When Grandma arrived and thankfully did not try to make out with Ben, I was happy to see that my earlier prediction about her was correct – she was in fact there to promote her ripe granddaughter. Brittney was nice enough, but seems way too normal to make it in the lion's den. Poor Grandma was already crying in the limo before the night even started!

(4) I cracked up when Jenna approached Ben and got absolutely tongue tied trying to repeat his quote about good things ending badly. The rest of their conversation was complete gibberish. She absolutely butchered the intro and then almost became the earliest crier in Bachelor history when she came into the house and got so upset about her flustered Ben introduction. (Was semi-amused that the Bach producers wanted us to think that Jenna was still getting the first impression rose while crying in the bathroom after her mental tampon war with Bullying “Let’s Be Honest” Monica).

(5) Rapping Emily. I really liked Emily’s gangsta rap and attempts to be the only person with a brain besides Ben. I didn’t like some of her comments about the other girls. The best strategy on this show is to just stay sane as long as possible. If Emily can stay the course and keep her eye on the prize without getting caught up in the nastiness that's sure to be brewing around her, she may have a good shot. I loved Ben's impersonation of Emily's rap - noticing the attitude she put into it.

(6) Beautiful Things to Look At. There were definitely some head turners, even if they did come off at crazy. It's hard to deny that Courtney is extremely attractive. She took a cue from Michelle Money, putting it out there and

telling Ben straight up that she has a crush on him (all of the ladies knew before they arrived that Ben was the Bachelor - unlike in previous seasons where they are not told who the Bachelor will be). Michelle, as you may recall, told Brad Womack and Graham Bunn (her love interest on Bachelor Pad) that she had crushes on each of them. It takes a very self confident woman to be able to put it out there. As we see in the upcoming attractions of some ocean skinny-dipping, Courtney is not exactly the "shy" type. Despite that Courtney and Ben have little hope of making it in the real world (she tells Ben that she travels constantly for her modeling jobs, which will never work with his Sonoma winery ties), I liked Courtney's strategy of letting the other ladies shoot themselves in the foot. That is, until she starts to get this glassy eyed, evil stare during her individual cameos where she declares to Hoarse Girl, "Screw you and the horse you rode in on." Besides Courtney, there was Elyse, the raven haired personal trainer, who looked very much like Pia Toscano from American Idol. She had striking dark hair and peachy tan skin. Rachel the Peacemaker in the beautiful red gown, was a classic blonde beauty. But once she mentioned that she quit her job to come on the show, I started to question her sanity. This is also particularly unfortunate, considering Ben's stated interest in the brunettes. Casey S, another blonde beauty who didn't say much, will probably go another couple of rounds based on looks alone, though not sure she's in it to win it.

Kacie or Nicki or Sandra Bullock?

(7) I keep confusing Kacie (Southern Secretary with love letter writing grandparents) who I think resembles Sandra Bullock slightly with Divorced Nicki from Texas. Nicki is slightly more Bambi-ish and has a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - the type of dog The Husband and I are looking into getting! Kacie and Nicki (and the Cavalier) are all adorable, bubbly brunettes with cute Southern accents. One or possibly both of them should have brought hair straightening products with them to whatever humid beach location they are heading to based on what I have seen in the previews. That said, they both seem like nice people so far, particularly Kacie, who was comforting Blogger Jenna in her time of complete Mental Patient Mode.

And now for some WTF (What the Fudge) moments or Eye-Rolling Worthy Acts:

(1) Horrible Introductions.

Erika (Trishelle from The Real World Las Vegas), is a law student. So somehow she thinks approaching Ben and telling him that he’s “guilty of being sexy” will make her stand out. Awful, cheeseball statement. This can not be forgiven.

Samantha Sash – Miss Palisades Barbie? Was this a joke? I wasn’t laughing when Ben gave her a rose. She’s more than a pageant girl, but I have yet to see anything appealing about her other than she may know how to compete against other Barbie dolls.
Holly Hat – send her back to the Kentucky Derby!
Anna's approaching of Ben in a dramatic sort of way. She's a walking soap opera but she keeps right on walking into the mansion - not even attempting to say a word to Ben. So she’s relying on her over made up face and dramatic stare to do the talking for her. Very risky move, which did not pay off in the end.
Monica's "confession" that she misses her dog more than anything. Really? That's your confession? How about the fact that you're possibly bi-sexual and have no interest in Ben?
Shira claiming she's an expert on wine and then when Ben tests her knowledge, she admits she knows nothing. A brain surgeon, that one. The best way to make a great first impression on someone is definitely by lying to them.

(2) Horrible, Vicious Personalities. I hated that so many of these girls played the "shy girl" card upon meeting Ben, but then turned into these nasty, catty aggressive types when Ben wasn't around. For example, Amber Bacon may be one of the meanest ladies we've seen in a while. "It smells a lot like grandma..." she hisses and then goes on to insult several other ladies in the house. I was so happy that Ben didn't choose her.

I'm part Native American

(3) Poor Lyndsie J from the UK. She tried to bring an international, cultured flare to the show but went down fast and furious - doesn't she know there's no tolerance for worldly knowledge or free spirited personalities? I was cringing at her attempts to stand out – both in her individual cameo by dressing up from the different countries she’s lived in to her quirky, odd poem that she laughed at. I also feel sorry for my UK work friends – because as one of the only female UK contestants they have had on the show, she certainly does not represent them well.

Is quitting your job to go on Bachelor considered Diverse?

(4) Absolutely no Diversity. Yes, we know there is no diversity on this show - but that doesn't mean we can't continue to ask for some. Mike Fleiss says that there are very few diverse candidates who audition. Can you blame them? To make up for this lack of diversity, they started revealing some of the ethnicities of these women, including Courtney, who is part "Native American." Does that count? I thought Dianna had a chance, because she was cute (especially when flustered upon meeting Ben) and possibly Hispanic, but Ben probably got freaked out that she showed up to meet him in a wedding dress. (Side note: I'm secretly loving Ben for not immediately saying that his wife was in the mansion. Because she isn't). I'm sure there are plenty of diverse ladies out there (Indian, Asian, African American, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, Eskimo, Pacific Islander, etc.) would be all to happy to make wine with Ben in Sonoma. The best they could do was a Canadian, a UK chick and the most Caucasian looking female who claims to be part Native American. Is that diversity? Ok, I've said my peace.

(5) The other Amber (who also got rejected by Ben) wants Ben to eat cow balls (known as beef nuts)? Really? And why does she call herself a tomboy when we she wears strapless magenta corsets? I have never met a tomboy who would wear that outfit.

(6) Blakely is a VIP cocktail waitress? What on earth does this mean? Does she know Tiger Woods? Would she not provide a cocktail to the Average Joe? And is it remotely possible that the Monica flirtations with Blakely weren’t staged? This may have been a case of far too much alcohol, but we may have seen our first semi-lesbian moment in Bachelor history (I say bring it on – any chance at a successful blossoming romance in that mansion is strongly encouraged!)

(7) The Elephant in the Room. Otherwise known as Monica. First, let's discuss the Jenna vs. Monica showdown. Jenna was wildly drunk. And my Scottish Work Friend thinks she looks like Pippa Middleton. I agree. Poor thing was an emotional wreck (Jenna, not Pippa). The Husband was angry that a spot was even wasted on Jenna, who he strongly thinks should have been stress tested before being allowed to come on this show and take up our attention. I agree with that. When Monica reveals to Jenna that she is not remotely interested in Ben and is only staying on the show to party, Jenna takes this as a personal insult against humanity. Who could possibly want to stay at an all expense paid Malibu mansion and go traveling for free? Monica picks up on Jenna's horror for such a rogue contestant, and literally starts to haunt her. The more upset Jenna becomes, the stronger Monica's cackling becomes. Then there's the whole Monica and Blakely scene where Monica is either hitting on Blakely or is EXTREMELY complimentary for no reason and REALLY wants to connect with her. Hard to believe that wasn't scripted. It's also hard to believe that Ben finds Monica attractive in any way. Perhaps the producers are allowed to pick 3 people that must be given roses? How else can you explain him choosing her over innocent Dianna and her wedding dress?

So there are 7 positive and 7 WTF moments of the week. A couple of other thoughts:

Jamie: Nurse Who Raised Her Siblings

Who didn’t feel bad for Jamie, the nurse who had to raise her siblings? She may be the best of the lot. I wonder what she meant by her mom having “dependency issues.” I hope Ben keeps her around long enough to appreciate her and so we can find out more.
Look for hummingbirds throughout the season. Ben thinks this is a sign from his father. It’s the equivalent of Chris Lambton’s seeing his late mother in rainbows.
The previews for the rest of the season make it seem like whoever Ben chooses will not choose him back and leave him standing at the final rose ceremony alone. This has never happened before - the final contestants initiating the break up. I'm not sure the show could sustain the backlash from its fans if that happens.
Crying seems to be as common as breathing on this season. Some of that seems to be triggered by a visit from a former Ben flame. If one of Ben's ex girlfriends was really to come on the show to pursue him - how exactly is this done? Do all of Ben's ex girlfriends have Chris Harrison's phone number handy? Or do all of these crazy women make Ben pine for someone from his past - making him the initatior of contact with an ex? If Ben does decide to keep her in the running, does she start joining the rose ceremonies? Wouldn't all the other ladies just walk out?

Kacie: A top eligible for Ben

Out of the 25 women, I'd say only 5 have potential for being the future Mrs. Flajnik. In no particular order: (1) Kacie (Secretary who had love letter writing grandparents); (2) Emily (the rapping epidemiologist); (3) Jamie (nurse who helped raise her siblings; (4) Lindzi (Hoarse/Horse Girl - only because Ben seems to really like her and she has a great dimple and intense adoring eyes) and (5) Nicki (divorced, Southern belle who looks like Bambi and Kacie). Honorable mention to Shawn because of her soccer playing skills and the fact that she slapped Ben on the arm after meeting him instead of giving him a fake, cheesy hug. I'm sure some of the pretty faces (Courtney, Elyse, Casey and Rachel) will stick around until Ben can determine what's behind the exteriors. The rest are history.

Who are your early favorites? Do you have any that you just can't stand? Is Jenna going to last another week or will Monica tear her apart? What did you make of the Monica / Blakely interaction?

Why This Season Will Most Likely End Badly...

2012-01-02T22:22:00.001-05:00

Just finished watching the premiere and have some initial thoughts. First off, I wouldn't get your heart set on finding a happy ending. Based on the crazies, drama queens and quasi homosexuality that has been displayed on tonight's show, there is more of a possibility of Brad Womack being the Bachelor for the 4th time than of a sane person ending up with Ben this season.

First - Ben has all the makings of a promising Bachelor. More so than the last few bachelors, Ben seems intelligent, genuine and is extremely well spoken. That said, my first impression is that I am EXTREMELY, and I mean, WITHOUT A DOUBT, more disappointed with this group of women than any other season. I can't name for you five women that I'd send Ben on more than 3 dates with confidently.

Some of them seemed sweet and bubbly until they walk into the house and reveal they are already in love with Ben. Courtney the model is evil. Monica may not be a woman. I kept confusing Kacie and Nicki, both who look kind of like a younger Sandra Bullock, and both of whom had extremely kinky hair in the coming attractions. Kacie seems nice, but who knows. I also liked Jamie, the brunette that raised her family, but she seems too salt of the earth to last very long.

Jenna was a promising Carrie Bradshaw until she became the joke of the night. I felt bad for her, until she made that disgusting tampon comment. Now I just want her to go away, and take Monica with her.

I don't feel good about any of these girls yet. I have no confidence that even if I start to bond with some of these girls, that they can get very far with the company around them. Emily, the gangsta rapper epidemiologist, seems promising, but I think these other girls will bring her down. The horse girl, Linzie, who sounds hoarse, seems a bit too enthusiastic about Ben, and not sure how she's going to stand up to the competition. She may be emotionally unstable. I think all of these girls need serious therapy.

I have no idea how Sash girl made it through. Grandma's girl seems sweet, but she needs to get a little spunky given the crowd. Trishelle (Erika) might be the first bachelor contestant to go into cardiac arrest during a rose ceremony. This is a problem.

These girls need to stop drinking, start thinking. Courtney has the right idea - just stand by and watch these girls shoot themselves in the foot. I just hope Ben is smart enough to see past all the insanity. And what's up with an ex girlfriend coming back to woo Ben? How did that get arranged? Did she look up Chris Harrison on Twitter and start stalking his account until she got an invite to fly into la la land?

Ok, more tomorrow. I'm exhausted. What did you think? Any early favorites? Is this going to be a horrible season? I really am not happy with these ladies. Hope some diamonds in the rough come through quickly...The crazies are certainly there. But I think the Bachelor producers may have tipped the scales a little too far in favor of NUTS vs. normal people.

The Bachelor Premiere Is TONIGHT!!

2012-01-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

Happy new year, Bachelor fans! Are you ready for another gripping season of The Bachelor? For all you entirely depressed to go back to work tomorrow after some much needed time off, I'm with you. At least we can escape for a couple more hours in la-la Bachelor land.

There's already been entirely too much revealed in the press about this season of The Bachelor. Just a warning to stay away from Twitter and Facebook as people just love to spoil this stuff before the season has even taken place. I'm still not sure how I feel about the fact that Ben is Tweeting away as to his current (post-filming) whereabouts. On the one hand it's interesting to find out in real time where he is going, what he is doing and what he is thinking. On the other hand, the fact that I have seen him check into so may bars and socialite events makes me wonder whether he did indeed find love. Because if he did, wouldn't he be home video chatting with the future Mrs. Flajnik or better yet, making secret trips to go see her?

Tonight's episode airs at 8 PM EST / PST and will be a 2 hour event. Ben's been all over the ABC talk shows and he's not revealing whether he found love or not. The only thing he will say is that it's an exciting season - sounds like the women are insane.

I"ll wait until I actually see tonight's episode, but my gut feeling tells me that Ben may end up alone at the end of this. We'll have to see. Who's excited for tonight? Who's depressed to go back to work tomorrow?

I am looking forward to hearing all of your thoughts and comments this season. Happy 2012 and happy Bachelor watching. Let the season begin!!

Merry Christmas to All, And to All - A Good Bachelor Season!!

2011-12-25T10:05:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and a very happy hanukkah as well! I am in my pjs, with a yule log playing on my TV from the WB11 station. Christmas music is playing and I am waiting for The Husband to wake up from his Nyquil induced coma to perhaps see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Part 1. Poor guy picked up a nasty cold, so don't think we'll be doing much for the Xmas weekend. Can't complain, though. We just got back from an incredible week at the place we got married - San Juan, Puerto Rico. What a fun week. My parents, sister, brother in law and four nephews were all there. We jumped the waves in the ocean, had dinner in Old San Juan, began a ping pong tournament that we'll have to finish next year and The Husband found a very lucky slot machine in the casino where he won the whole family dinner! I did not have as much luck in the casino, however, I did win two games of bingo which got me a pina colada and a rum punch. Some pictures of our fun adventures in PR are posted below. I highly recommend it as a long or quick getaway. Try the Intercontinental Hotel in San Juan. If I could go back today, I would.

Now, back to Bachelor land. Can you believe we are almost a week away from the season premiere of Ben Flajnik's season which airs Monday, Jan 2nd at 8 PM ET/PT?? Lots of rumors swirling around how he fairs during his season, but as you know THIS BLOG NEVER POSTS SPOILERS. We are simply here to speculate, gossip and discuss the insane events that are sure to take place and to exchange opinions with others who are as obsessed with the show as you are.

First off, for all of you that want to set your DVRs and Tivos, Ben's upcoming appearances are as follows: Dec 29 on 'E! News', Jan 2 on 'Good Morning America', Jan 2 on Live! with Kelly. It's always interesting to hear how much information Ben will reveal about the outcome of the show. Sometimes (like Brad's season), the Bachelor will say straight up whether there is a happy ending or not. Given the show's limited success rate, they may do well to leak information indicating there is a happy engagement, etc. If you want to follow Ben on Twitter (he may be the first Bachelor that has been tweeting in advance of his season) - his Twitter handle is @BenFlajnik And if you're looking for a special way to kick off your Bachelor viewing this season, perhaps you can order a bottle of wine from Ben's company: Evolve Wines.

If you need something to carry you over to the Bachelor premiere, Ryan Seacrest did a fun interview of Ben F (last name pronounced Flah-Nik (silent J)) after the season ended. You can listen to the whole 15 minute interview below, but to save you some time, here are the highlights:

Ben admits that he was actually in love with Ashley H. He doesn't regret proposing, but he does believe that being engaged and being married are two different things (good save, Ben)
Ben did go on a date with Jennifer Love Hewitt. She was testing out Twitter and got in touch with him through that. Sounds like they may have made out (not confirmed), but there was no second date.
When asked whether he was currently in love, Ben said he could not answer.
There is a lot of fighting amongst the women this year (like every season), particularly with the model Courtney (see previous blog entry).
There is also rumored to be some serious skinny dipping this season. Interesting.

My favorite part of Ben's interview was his quote, "My life is relatively quiet. I'd like to keep it that way." Well, what better way to keep a quiet life than to go on The Bachelor and have your personal life exposed to millions of people, right?

Enjoy your holidays and have a very safe, healthy and happy 2012!!

And for some highlights from Puerto Rico:

Overview of InterContinental San Juan Resort on Isla Verde Beach

Rainbow on Isla Verde Beach - this was actually the second rainbow of the week

Twins nephews, 3 years old

Beautiful Christmas Tree in Hotel Lobby

Ben's Ladies on The Bachelor Are Announced

2011-12-07T22:33:00.003-05:00

It's almost as exciting as Christmas morning - the ladies that Ben will date have finally been announced! 25 women will have the chance to go after Ben Flajnik on the next season of The Bachelor which starts Monday, January 2nd. ABC posted their pictures and profiles today and here is some initial, quick analysis.

We've got several Canadians, more than several nurses, a British gal (my Scottish Work Friend will love that!) and a grandma. That's right, I said grandma. I'm sure she's just on there to grab everyone's attention, as she's been featured in all of the coming attractions for Ben's season. My guess is that one of these girls is her granddaughter that she wants Ben to meet or she really did apply to be on Ben's season and the producers thought it would be funny to give her a shot. In addition to Grandma, there's also the typical medical sales reps, some waitresses and one straight up "model."

Based on a quick review and nothing but pure looks, hometowns and the responses to some very generic questions, here are my predictions:

Courtney the Model

The Beauties Who Will Turn Heads (think Michelle Money, Emily Maynard, Chantal O):

1. Courtney, 28, Scottsdale, Arizona. She's a model. She's not even pretending to be a "nanny" or "waitress." She's full on saying she's hot and gets paid for it.

2. Kacie, 24, from Tennessee. I'm going to take a guess and say that Kacie is very "sweet," but not sure if there's much beyond her pretty smile. She is a young Sandra Bullock all the way.

3. Nicki, 26, Hurst, Texas. Nicki's a flirtatious type. I can tell by her response on how to make a guy notice her. She says to walk by him and talk to his friend, then make eye contact. She's got game.

Emily the PhD

Down to Earth, Naturally Pretty Girls Who Will Become Favorites (hopefully of Ben's too) (think Shawntel and Ali Fedotowsky During Her Bachelorette Season):

1. Elyse, 24, Chicago, IL. Beautiful girl who is a personal trainer, so I'm sure she has a beautiful body. She's one of 6 kids, which means she was raised by an angel.

2. Emily, 27, Chapel Hill, NC. This girl has brains and beauty. She's a PhD student, and since she's from Chapel Hill, perhaps this means she's at UNC. I liked her responses to the questions. Great smile. This could be our winner.

3. Dianna, 30, San Gabriel, CA. Our token Latina? Dianna is adorable and like Ben, she's from California. A nonprofit director and a lover of camping - she may be the earthy, fun chica that Ben needs in his life.

Shayne Lamas's twin?

Slightly Disturbing (I hope these are just bad photos):

1. Anna, 25, Onatario, Canada. Is this Shayne Lamas's younger sister? Donald Trump and Anna get their hair done at the same place. She could be a cute girl, but she's way too made up in these photos.

2. Holly, 34, Salyersville, Kentucky. Another pharmaceutical sales rep. Hopefully it's a bad picture, but one eye may be bigger than the other. Or maybe it's an unevenly applied mascara job. Hard to tell. Either way, she's very blonde.

3. Lyndsie J, 29, London, UK. Ok, I hate to pick on the solo Brit here, but I'm hoping this is just another bad picture. Or perhaps her British accent will compensate?? She's got potential...

Celeb Look-Alikes:

Shawn - Julianne Hough & Lauren Alaina's daughter?

1. Shawn, 28, Cincinnati, Ohio. If Julianne Hough and Lauren Alaina had a baby, it would be Shawn. She's a financial advisor and has beautiful eyes. She could go far.

2. Jenna, 27, Blogger from Loveland, Ohio. Is this Pippa Middleton's cousin?

3. Erika, 23, Charlottesville, VA. This may be the youngest contestant of the season. But since she's a law student in Charlottesville, she most likely goes to the University of Virginia, one of the toughest law schools to get into. Which means she's smart. Which also hopefully means she is not related to Trishelle from the Las Vegas Real World season, although they do share a resemblance if you darken Trishelle's hair slightly.

Lots more to say, but let's leave it hear for now. Do you have any early favorites??

Erika the Lawyer in Training

Trishelle from Real World

Ali & Roberto's Break-Up

2011-12-05T20:36:00.001-05:00

Lots of opinions over what caused Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez, beloved former engaged couple, to finally split. They truly seemed so happy during their season and like civilized, down to earth people who might actually have a shot at making it work. I had so much respect for Ali for knowing it was Roberto by the end and telling Chris Lambton to go home (actually, I think I was just excited at the prospect of Chris being the next Bachelor). She has been the first and only Bachelor or Bachelorette to send the runner up home early. Based on that information alone, you'd think she might be the only one who had a real shot at making her relationship work.

Truth be told, it seems that the runner ups are having far more success at finding love than the winners. Chris Lambton went on to get engaged to Peyton Wright. Tenley, runner up for Jake Pavelka's season, and Kiptyn, runner up for Jillian's season, are now dating each other and still going strong. The last two runner ups for Brad's season both found men within a matter of a months after their seasons ended. Jason Mesnick's runner up, Molly, ended up becoming the "winner" and later his wife. So perhaps the goal of the show is really to become the runner-up. Because that will either make you the next Bachelor or Bachelorette, put you on Bachelor Pad, or give you a very good shot at meeting your match through the Bachelor network or from going back to an ex boyfriend (e.g., Jenni Croft, Chantal O, etc.)

But back to Ali and Roberto. I agree that it could have been a case that they wanted different things. Ali was a great Bachelorette. The camera loved her and the viewers loved her down to earth nature. She wore Converse sneakers. She loved the color yellow. She was tongue tied over Roberto, Mr. Dimples. And yet when she came back for appearances or to give authoritative advice to future contestants, something about what we loved about her just never reappeared again. Suddenly she was a fashionista, recommending certain boots, sweaters or styling tips. On Bachelor reunion shows she was all done up, over-styled and gave out advice in a Bachelorette-Dalai-Lama style that had more than a touch of self importance. She went from a gig at Facebook to a Fox 5 San Diego news correspondent, though her appearances were irregular. She would often be photographed at LA events or participating in Hollywood parties, fashion soirees, etc. Do I think she wanted it to work out with Roberto? Absolutely. But was she prepared to live a regular life in San Diego with her insurance agent husband? Probably not. Roberto made the bold first step - quitting whatever he had going on in Florida, moving across the country and building a business from scratch. He was making real sacrifices. Yes, Ali did move from San Francisco and gave up her job at Facebook to be the Bachelorette, but that was all before she met Roberto.

I'm not sure how I feel about Ali telling her break up story to People magazine. Clearly she got paid for that, the very thing Vienna - her nemesis - did when she broke up with Jake. If she truly was the down to earth starry eyed girl that fell in love with Roberto and wanted to live happily ever after, then isn't selling a break up story just more than a tad disingenuous?

In any event, there are a couple of great things that could come out of this: (1) Roberto Martinez could make one of the best Bachelors of all time. And by the time Ben's season is over, I wouldn't be surprised if ABC just decided to go straight to another season of Bachelor with Roberto being the lead guy. Hopefully over the next two months Roberto can have time to heal and be convinced to give it a go. (2) Perhaps some time apart will convince Ali that she really did have an incredible man and it's time to put the Hollywood ambitions away in exchange for the life she claims she always wanted with Mr. Dimples. I wonder if she would sell People their reunion / make up story as well. (3) Roberto and Emily Maynard ride off into the sunset??? That would be interesting.

Speaking of Emily Maynard, a bunch of the former Bachelors and Bachelorettes (including Emily) are auctioning off dates with themselves to raise money for colon cancer. If you are willing to pay bucks for a date with Emily, Michelle Money, Graham Bunn (I think Michelle and Graham are still semi dating, but who knows), David Good (ManCode Dave), Ashley Spivey or Erica Rose - go to Washington, DC next Saturday, December 10th to District Nightclub for the "Dream Date Auction." Information can be found here.

A Stressful Week, Philly Bound...

2011-12-03T10:54:00.002-05:00

Every other Tuesday morning, I have a meeting at work that I can not miss. The meeting starts at 9 AM, and the most senior managers attend from every business. This includes the CEO, several members of the senior Board, etc., etc. So basically it's a bunch of very important people doing very important things, and my job is to help organize the whole thing, make a record of everything that takes place and prepare one of the senior managers I work with who attends the meeting. Sometimes I have nightmares about missing this meeting. In the dream, I will wake up in a panic, see that it is 10 AM and have 16 missed calls on my work Blackberry. This would basically mean the end of my job, unless I came up with a really good excuse that nobody would believe anyhow.

During Bachelor season, this meeting greatly gets in the way of my Bachelor blogging duties. I mean, if any of these people watched The Bachelor, they would understand why the Tuesdays after Bachelor I might be a little bleary eyed.  Show nights often keep me up until 2 or 3 AM drafting a blog, doing a video review or just chatting on the phone with friends at something ridiculous that happened.  But since we are in the off season, I don't have this conflict.

This past Monday night, trying to burn off a few 1000 calories consumed during Thanksgiving weekend, I went to the gym after work and ran 3 miles. After the workout and to The Husband's dismay, I made a decision that I was too exhausted to shower.  The rest of the night was devoted to cleaning up the apartment and laying out my business suit for Tuesday morning's big meeting. By the time I crawled into bed, I couldn't even remember whether the lights were on or off, whether my phone was charging or if I had said goodnight to The Husband. Sleep found me quickly.

When my eyes popped open the next morning, the first strange thing I noticed was that the sun was up. It's normally pitch black when I get up for work, the alarm normally set for 6:08 AM. Had it gone off? I didn't hear anything. When I finally was able to squint at the clock, I realized it was 7:10 AM. This sent me into an immediate chant of "Oh F__K! Oh Sh__t! Oh F__k!" At 7:10 AM, I am supposed to be at Grand Central sitting on or heading towards my normal 7:24 AM commuter train. This was 14 minutes from now. I ran to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. Looking in the mirror, I realized that my hair was no longer wet with sweat from the previous night's run. Instead it was greasy, frizzy and probably smelled bad. There was no way I could go to that meeting without showering. And if I showered, there was no way I would make the train and therefore the meeting. This was a disaster.

I put on my suit, grabbed my gym bag, work bag and purse and ran out the door. At this point it was 7:20 AM. There was no way I could make it to Grand Central in time. I had 14 minutes to get up to Harlem, where the train would make a stop at 7:34. I was luckly able to find a cab and make most of the lights up to 125th Street. About one avenue over from the train station, the traffic was at a standstill. I paid the taxi driver, did a full on sprint to the train platform, seeing the train coming from a distance. Dripping sweat, I arrived at the stairs which led up to the train. I ran up the stairs just as the train was coming to a halt. The doors opened, I ran in with all my bags. Sighhhh.

Fast forward to the arrival at my office at 8:30 AM. I went from the lobby of the office building straight to the gym, where I had been 12 hours earlier. Walking into the locker room, I grabbed a couple of towels on my way, threw all of my stuff into a locker and prepared for the quickest shower of my life. There were several people that gave me strange looks. Probably wondering why someone dressed in a suit comes to the gym and showers before the workout. After the shower, I got dressed and noticed my Blackberry flashing. The email said, "WHERE ARE YOU??!"  The senior manager I support wanted to meet before the meeting to go over the agenda. It was now 8:46 AM and I was ready to go. I knew that if I didn't get food in the next 3 minute window, I wouldn't be able to have breakfast since the cafeteria stopped serving after 10:30 AM and the meeting would not be over until then. Running across the building from the gym to the cafeteria, I grabbed a small box of cereal, paid, and then took the stairwell up three flights to my floor, dragging all my bags.

As soon as I walked into my office, the senior manager's secretary said the manager was looking for me and to call him on his cell phone. I called him and it turns out he had been down near the cafeteria looking for me. We agreed to meet in the conference room to go over the meeting materials. Strangely enough, the meeting was the easiest part of my day. Lesson learned: don't forget to set your alarm clock.

As if Tuesday wasn't stressful enough, I think that I came into contact with some bad Thai food on Wednedasy night. And perhaps it's Murphy's law, but I had an 8 AM meeting at work the next day - with the same senior manager. So all of Wednesday night was spent in the bathroom playing Words with Friends and hoping that someone would put me out of my misery. At first it felt like I had been inflated and just wanted someone to stick a pin in me, but then it became a battle between nausea and other unmentionable bodily acts. The good news is that because I didn't sleep, I did not forget to wake up and made the 6:58 AM train to work.

It's time to get the Husband to stop reading the sample version of Steve Jobs' new book off his iPhone. He doesn't know it yet, but I already got him the hard cover version as a gift for the holiday season. He's contemplating downloading it as he thinks it's only appropriate to read Steve's book on the device he created. If he attempts to do this, I will need to arm wrestle the phone away from him.

Enjoy your weekends. I will check back in shortly.

OH NO!! Ali & Roberto Announce Break-Up!!!

2011-11-21T07:35:00.000-05:00

Sad day in the Bachelor world. Hopeful engaged couple, Ali Fedotowsky and Roberto Martinez, are no longer together. No details provided other than People confirming with one of their reps, that the couple split. Rumors had been circulating over the past few months that there was trouble brewing in paradise.

Together for 18 months before the split, this is particularly sad since they really seemed to set up a life aimed at beating the odds. Roberto moved across the country to San Diego, where he started an insurance agency business while Ali did a number of projects, including working on-air with Fox 5 news in San Diego.

Not sure what exactly was the reason behind their fall out, but hot tempers and frequent fights have been discussed. Also, Ali had been traveling to NYC over this past week according to her Twitter account with no mentions of missing anyone in particular at home.

Am very sad as this was one of my favorite couples, even somewhat beating out my love for Trista and Ryan.

Carbs vs. Stacey B

2011-11-17T23:17:00.000-05:00

I'm starving. Or at least I think I am. So our attempt to cook healthy meals for an entire week was a big failure. Not to worry - we have been compiling all of the wonderful recipes you all sent in (keep 'em coming, btw) and I am determined to make them at some point. We are going away the week before Christmas and with four weeks away, an emergency diet situation is upon us.

This means we are on day four of no carbs. It hasn't been pretty, but drastic measures needed to take place if we want to show ourselves in public in bathing suits. For the first 48 hours of this no carb diet, my stomach was making all sorts of crazy noises around 3 PM. The thought of flaky, steamy, tasty bread is so overwhelming at times, it is hard to get it out of my head. In fact, as I stare at the picture of this simple loaf of bread above, I find my mouth watering so out of control, that I am eager to finish this blog post. I am trying to determine whether there is such a thing as carb less bread, pasta or ice cream and what such a thing would taste like. It's not like I haven't been eating. In fact, tonight we had roasted chicken with steamed vegetables as sides. Then I ate my shoe for dessert. Or at least that's what it seemed like, because those green beans had absolutely no taste. And while I'm pretty sure my belly is full, I feel like there is something missing from my diet and it makes everything I ate seem unsatisfying.

The Husband made me a decaffeinated cup of coffee. Why does such a thing exist? Isn't this an oxymoron? Kind of like carb less ice cream, right? I guess some people like the taste of coffee, but not the caffeine. I like the carbs in coffee ice cream.

Tomorrow night we are going to a friend's birthday dinner, so our little carb free extravaganza will definitely be called into question. At some point, we'll reintroduce whole grain carbs back into our diet. Until then, I may be chewing on my fingers.

Oh, and guess what The Husband and I got tickets to for this Saturday??? If any of you are in the NYC area, you should consider coming!! It's the American Kennel Club's "Meet the Breeds," with hundreds of different breeds of cats and dogs. The best part about it is that you can learn all about the different types of dogs/cats that exist, learn what dogs/cats fit best with your lifestyle, personality, etc. AND you are not allowed to take any dogs home with you. That's probably smart. Anyhow it's this Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM at the Javitz Center (site of where I took the NY bar exam - horrendous memories there!).

Stags Responds, Then Disappears -

2011-11-17T22:59:00.002-05:00

Got this wonderful response Tweet from Stags earlier this week. I replied offering up Ro's contact details (she does not have a Twitter account), but have not heard back. Hmmm. Guess he's a bit tied up touring around North America and getting paid to appear at bars where the ladies fawn all over him. Still, I think he'd really like Ro - that is, if he's actually looking to be in a relationship. Maybe he needs to get the Holly thing out of his system before he's ready to meet someone like Ro.

Will continue to follow him on Twitter in case a NYC travel opp comes his way. Or unless Ro tells me she's ready to go to LA and meet this kid. Any other suggestions??

For those who can't read this (it gets cut off) Stags wrote, "@FreeStaceyB just read the blog. You are a wonderful friend. Does Ro have a twitter account? Won't be in NYC anytime soon tho. Whaow!"

Who wants to set Ro up with a Twitter account so she can correspond with her Prince Charming?

MichaelStag Michael Stagliano

@FreeStaceyB just read the blog. You are a wonderful friend. Does Ro have a twitter account? Won't be in NYC anytime soon tho. Whaow!

Nov 15, 1:54 AM via Twitter for BlackBerry®

In reply to…

A Letter to Michael Stagliano

2011-11-14T22:48:00.001-05:00

Dear Stags,

Can I call you that? I feel like you and I are fairly close friends even though we have never met and let's face it, you don't know a thing about me. Furthermore, I'd venture to say, you probably don't even read my I Love The Bachelor/Bachelorette blog. No hard feelings. I'm still a big Stagliano fan -- not just because you won our hearts as the breakdancing funny guy who changed clothes with his twin brother Stephen to try to fool Jillian on her hometown visit date. And not just because of how heartbroken we all were along with you while watching Bachelor Pad 2's finale (I won't even mention the name of the cause of such heartbreak). I'm a big Stags fan because you just seem like a genuinely warm, fun, loving guy. The kind of guy that any single lady would be lucky to have. I actually saw you at the NYC46 Lemonade Stand fundraiser a few weekends' ago in New York City but was too embarrassed that I was spending a Sunday semi-stalking Bach contestants to come up and say hello. It was easy to tell, however, that your smile in real life was just as bright as the one on TV. So this is why I am writing you:

Stags

Yesterday, I ran into a friend of a friend at a children's birthday party. Sometimes, I forget that people outside of my immediate family read this blog. So when Roseann, who I hadn't seen in over a year, asked if I am friends with you and whether I could help her meet you, I had to smile. Does saying that I follow you on Twitter count as being friends? Probably not. But in any event, I promised her I would write a post about her interest in going on a date with you. You should give it a shot, Stags. Ro is drop dead gorgeous, hilariously funny and she'd be a shoe-in if she was remotely interested in being on The Bachelor (which she's not). I know it sounds impossible, but Ro doesn't think she could get the time off from work to be on the show (she's committed!) and she also was not interested in all of the cattiness that goes on with the other ladies in the house (she's nice!). She hadn't even watched Bachelor Pad 2 and you should have seen her face light up when I told her you won the whole thing.

This is all to say, that on your next trip to the NYC area, you should take her out for a drink and see what happens. You seem like a spontaneous, sincere and honest person and truthfully, Ro deserves someone like that. She doesn't have any problems meeting guys - but finding a truly great one - that's where you come in. I am thinking that you may have thousands, even millions of women who are interested in dating you, Stags. But Ro is one in a million, and definitely worth a shot. And if this blog post is not enough to convince you to drop everything and take Roseann on a date, perhaps a cheesy poem and some photos of her might do the trick:

Vienna's single, but you don't care
'Cause there's a special feeling in the air
She's single and sexy, her name is Ro
A real life fruit ninja - like your Bro

A Jersey Girl, but much hotter than Snooki
Won't find her on Bachelor, cause she don't play hooky
Ro's smart and funny, loyal and kind
Better A+ material will be hard to find

She loves good music and giving back
If you respond to this, she might have a heart attack
So give it a go, and make a new friend
You just might find some love in the end.

If interested, please contact me here or you can find me at Twitter @FreeStaceyB. And for all of you who would like to see Ro on a date with Stags, don't be afraid to let him know. You can find him on Twitter @MichaelStag or on his Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Stagliano/131848952674

Roseann

Ro celebrating Xmas last year

How adorable is Ro?

Date Night and Free Coffee

2011-11-12T12:04:00.000-05:00

Some weeks are so busy that I actually have to schedule time with The Husband to see him. This past week was one of those times. Between family in town, movie screenings, football and hockey games, QT with The Husband had been hard to find. So we decided that this past Thursday would be a date night for us and as I was off work for Veteran's Day (thank you to all the vets out there!), I would try to stay up past 10:30 PM.

On Thursday, The Husband walked in the door with flowers in his hand. We then loaded up the iTunes and had an impromptu dance party in the living room. Then we walked to Patsy's Pizzeria and enjoyed some of the best pizza in the neighborhood. On our way home, we dropped into a Starbucks for a night cap. It was almost 9 PM, and kind of quiet in the shop. The Husband and I were very excited for our pumpkin lattes to come out. I'm not sure if it was the anticipation on our faces or the glow of having just consumed some delicious pizza, but the Starbucks employee said, "You two wouldn't happen to be on a date right now, would you?"

The Husband responded that we were in fact on a date. I asked the guy if he could tell whether it was going to work out between my "date" and I. He smiled and said something like, "I love love."

Then a couple minutes later, drinks delivered to the counter, the Starbucks employee said, "These are on me - for love." Wow.

I am even more in love with Starbucks than I already was. And oh yes, I should also be thankful for love, which had an equally important role in supplying those pumpkin lattes. And most of all, thanks to The Husband for an incredibly great date night.

Grandma Lillian Does It Again

2011-11-08T22:21:00.000-05:00

My grandmother turned 104 today. I called her from work in the afternoon to wish her a happy birthday. Since she lives 11 blocks from me, I figured I'd go over there with my Uncle Norman, have some cake and bring her a small gift. How many chances does a person have to be with a 104 year old person on their 104th birthday?

So when she told me that she was too busy for me, had too much paperwork, had been on the phone with Bloomingdales complaining about something they charged her for that they weren't supposed to and had a ton of phone calls to return, I was a bit taken aback. "We'll have a party on a different day, Honey, I'm too busy today." And that was that. Rejected my grandmother who was too busy to celebrate her own birthday. She's a rock star.

A few minutes later, Uncle Norman called me to say he was at Hot & Crusty Bakery and was going to get her a cake anyway. He later told me to just come over, that Grandma Lil was temporarily tied up with all her "work," but it would be nice to have a little celebration on the day of her actual birthday. So I went over there and ate some cake, shared some gifts and took a tons of photos. Every year on her birthday, Grandma Lillian likes to make a little speech before she blows out the candles. She thanked us for coming, wished us all lots of health, happiness and that we should all have another great year. She acknowledged her frustration at not being able to get around like she used to, but says she still feels very young, so that's most important. She insisted that I take the rest of the cake home with me for The Husband, and really, who am I to argue with a 104 year old woman on her birthday? So it's day 3 of our "eat at home challenge," and I've got a Hot & Crusty black forest, Oreo topped cake sitting in our living room (same cake featured in picture here). I doubt it will go untouched. In fact, The Husband has already insisted that I go to bed which is code for making sure I don't see him sneak into that cake box and swipe out some of the oreo cookie topping and chocolate frosting.

Not to worry, I'm determined to dive into those recipes left on the last post - and please keep them coming or we're going to blow up here!!

One other thing worth mentioning: late last week, I received a notice in the mail from the IRS saying that I owed $1000 from my 2009 taxes for some undeclared income of stocks that were sold. They sent me 15 pages of information, with all of these forms to fill out. Whether I agree or disagree, I am required to give them a response and if I agree, I have to send them a check for $1000. Having absolutely no idea why they think I owe them something, I asked our accountant to check it out. Turns out, the IRS is WRONG. They neglected to see an attachment I had sent them which explained the sale of the stock, and a loss incurred - no income was made and therefore no tax was owed. What a racket these guys have. I imagine if they are sending me notices telling me I owe $1000, they are probably sending out hundreds of thousands of notices to people all over the country demanding that money be paid - some legit perhaps, but many more that are not. So if you get a notice from the IRS, best to get it checked out by an accountant or someone who speaks the language of Tax. They purposely make it as complicated as possible so that regular people like myself are required to either succumb to their demands or have to hire someone to decipher their code.

Ok, have to run and pick out my clothes for tomorrow and get ready for a 5:15 AM wake up tomorrow, as I have a 7 - 9 AM call for work. Don't ask. Can already feel the exhaustion, but luckily, there's a trip to Starbucks in my future.

Good night, all. And happy birthday, Grandma Lillian!!

The Husband, The Cook

2011-11-07T23:11:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, after a weekend of carbo-loading for NYC marathon watching, The Husband decided that we needed to eat healthier. He volunteered to start preparing our dinners at home for one week instead of the constant ordering in of heavy meals, with way too big of portions. This sounded like a great idea to me. Living in the city, we are spoiled by the amount of restaurants ready, willing and able to deliver any dish you can possibly think of to your door within an hour or less. Such a convenience is a luxury during the work week when cooking up food eats away at the already limited number of hours outside of working, commuting and sleeping. Not to mention that the high cost of groceries in the city and the lack of storage space for keeping said groceries is major discouragement for exploring my inner chef.

Yes, there are times when I make a sandwich or have a bowl of cereal for dinner. But the average NYC kitchen was not intended for cooking. Which is good because I'm a bit challenged in the cooking department. Our kitchen is utilized more as a storage space for the plates, forks and knives used to eat take out food with. The rest of the space is for the rolls of toilet paper and paper towels from our semi annual trips to Costco that don't fit anywhere else in the apartment. I know at some point we had cayenne pepper in the cabinet because my sister gave me a killer guacamole recipe that required some of that spice. But the last time I tried to make the recipe, some questionably living beings were swimming around with the cayenne pepper, and well that was that. All of our spices were immediately dumped into the trash and since we haven't attempted to cook since then, I think the only thing left in those cabinets is a mouse trap. Are we hopeless?

Last night, in honor of The Husband's vow to eat healthier, he cooked me up my very own turkey hot dog in a bun with a side of vegetarian beans. It was actually delicious. Tonight, he told me that dinner would be ready at 8:15 PM. When I got home from work, he was at the movies with one of his best buddies. He called me on his way home from the movies asking me what I wanted from Chipotle. For anyone who has not experienced Chipotle, they make some mighty tasty burritos the size of your head. Their healthy version involves taking away the tortilla and piling in loads of rice or beans and maybe holding the cheese. But all in all, you're looking at over 1000 calories no matter what you get and certainly it's not really in line with our healthy week of eating. The long line at Chipotle made The Husband's decision easier, and he decided to skip it and make a decision about dinner at home. He walked in the door around 8 PM and stated the following, "I am conflicted between whether we should go out for a big meal or order in a boat load of sushi."

Again, not sure how we got here from planning healthy, well-proportioned meals prepared at home for a one week period. We opted for the sushi, and just a semi-boat load. So we're two days in and have already gone against our plan. Can someone please do us a favor and give The Husband some easy, healthy and not too burdensome recipes for meals he can prepare at home? Please make sure the recipes don't leave much in the way of interpretation and hopefully they don't require things like "Dutch Ovens," because there's only one Dutch Oven that The Husband knows about and it's not for cooking. And while preferences are for healthy, easy to follow meals, who are we to turn down the most amazing cherry or pecan pie recipe known to mankind? Thank you in advance. And please HELP!

Under the Weather

2011-11-03T13:13:00.000-04:00

I have come down with one of my infamous colds over the last few days. Not sure if it's the aftermath of the flu shot I got at work or the weather changing or perhaps it was stampeding through New York City during the snowstorm last weekend while hosting some out of town friends for the weekend. Either way, I have probably been through every cold remedy there is: Mucinex, Comtrex, Nedi-Pot, Lotion Infused tissues, Zinc lozenges, miso soup, grapefruit, Vitamin C supplements, Airborne supplements, an overnight humidifier, sleeping for hours, a steamy long shower, matzah ball soup, refusing to go to my sister's house to help out with my four nephews, etc. This is what I have learned: a cold lasts as long as it wants to last. You can do all these things or you can do nothing. If you're lucky, these things will cut down on the number of days you feel like sticking your head under the covers and never coming out. I wish there was a pill you could take to knock yourself out from the onset of symptoms through the last day of hacking up all sorts of stuff. Pleasant, I know. In any event, it's the season for colds and flu. Wash your hands often and go get your flu shots!

So what's happened since my cold kicked in? Let's see. I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure Kim Kardashian filed for divorce. This does not surprise me, but what is surprising is how much information is being plastered on every website, news show, magazine etc. My Twitter and Facebook feeds have been flooded with information concerning every detail related to the divorce. What Khloe thinks (who cares), what Kourtney thinks (who cares), etc., etc. I loved that Kendall Kardashian, on the day it was announced her big sis was filing for divorce, was tweeting how stressed she was because she didn't have a Halloween costume and asked for suggestions. I very much resisted tweeting her back that she should dress up as a Kardashian sister concerned that Kim's filing for divorce. Kendall is all of 16? Actually, today is her birthday. As a birthday gift to her, I'll say no more. There is so much information around this divorce, whether the marriage was a sham or real, what Kim's doing with the wedding gifts, the ring, how she almost called off the wedding - this divorce will be the greatest thing to happen to the Kardashian franchise since the wedding. They are playing Kim's wedding continuously, and viewership is at an all time high. If you have absolutely nothing to do, it may be worth a watch. I haven't seen it yet, but it makes for great gym work out entertainment.

What else has happened in the past week? Jessica Simpson confirmed she's pregnant. Ah, so she didn't swallow a watermelon whole. This is also not surprising news.

In Bach related news, DeAnna Pappas and Michael Stagliano's brother, Stephen, are back from their honeymoon in Belize. Rumor has that part of Ben the Winemaker's season will take place in Belize, and it wouldn't shock me if there happens to be a run in with Ben and DeAnna/Stephen. Wonder if ABC picked up the tab for DeAnna's honeymoon in exchange for a day of honeymoon filming and some words of wisdom for Bachelor Ben. DeAnna's wedding photos are now in Us Weekly Magazine if you have any interest...too bad Kim's divorce is hogging the cover of every magazine this week, or perhaps DeAnna's wedding gown might have gotten more prominence.

ABC announced yesterday that Ben's season will start on January 2nd. Not sure why this is news since it was already revealed on the finale of Bachelor Pad 2 that January 2nd would be the start Ben's season. Some other Bach news: JP Rosenbaum and Ashley Herbert are attending the Islanders' ice hockey game against the Washington Capitals this Saturday night, November 5th, in Long Island, NY. If you happen to be attending the game, you can win a chance to meet JP and Ash on the ice during half time. Not sure how many ice hockey fans would even be willing to admit they watch Bachelor (besides The Husband), so this could be a failed publicity event.

Dr. Stork and his fiance Dr. Charlotte Brown

One of the original friends that I used to watch The Bachelor with when it first came out shared some exciting news with me. She attended a party last weekend where Dr. Travis Stork, former Bachelor, was present. Not only that, she actually had a long conversation with him and was happy to report that he's a very down to earth and nice person. Dr. Stork, as you may know, is currently engaged to another doctor and has his own TV show which is doctor related. Good for him. Dr. Stork was one of my favorite bachelors. My friend resisted the temptation of getting a photo with Dr. Stork. She said several women at the party were much more shameless and requested photos with him. He gladly obliged, but my friend had enough class to resist.

In other news, the New York City marathon is this Sunday and guess who's competing?? Ryan Sutter - first winner of Trista's inaugural season of The Bachelorette. Sweet Ryan, as you may remember, and Trista are still going strong. Married, with two children, the firefighter is now a triathlete and currently is being featured in Gatorade's new web series, Inside Endurance. The series follows Ryan as he prepares for triathlons, marathons and off-road races while balance work and family. One of his latest episodes can found here: http://bit.ly/tyur0m. I have never felt lazier after watching something. If you happen to be in NY, go watch the marathon. It's one of the most inspiring events out there. 1st Avenue in Manhattan from 59th street up or along the route in Central Park are great watching spots. Or watch on your TV.

That's about all, folks. Am off for the rest of the week and am going to recover, do some writing and enjoy the weekend. I hope you're doing the same.

Krisily Plays For Both Teams?

2011-10-25T19:34:00.001-04:00

I guess when you've been rejected on The Bachelor and then rejected again on Bachelor Pad, there's only one thing left to do: it's time to start dating women. Life & Style Magazine reported on Monday that Krisily Kennedy, a former Miss Rhode Island, has been dating women for the past three years. Krisily was the runner-up on Charlie O'Connell's Bachelor season back in 2005. Now she's 31, and still hasn't found love. But if you're wondering why she went on the Bachelor if she's into women, you don't have to worry - she's still into guys too.

"I want to fall in love with anyone and I don't care who they are," she tells Life & Style. "I just want love. I want long-term and I want commitment. I really want those things and if people open their hearts to it, you can find that with anyone."

Does that include dogs and dinosaurs too? I'm trying to debate whether Krisily gave up on the men she kept meeting in the Bachelor circles, if this is another publicity stunt or if she is actually bi-sexual. She claims to have broken up with her girlfriend of a year, and that triggered her desire to "come out." Opening herself up to dating girls will certainly widen her dating pool. Perhaps she can start a Lesbian, Gay and Bi-Sexual season of The Bachelor. The contestants can be men or women, competing for a man or a woman willing to go both ways. That sounds amazing. Or kind of like an episode of Jersey Shore.

One other very important question I have besides whether Krisily is actually bi-sexual or faking it...
Is Jessica Simpson going to admit that she's pregnant or that she ate a watermelon? Because there's no way in hell she's just "curvy" as the magazines/blogs keep saying. A curvy stylista like Jessica would never wear a top that hugs at the hips, accentuating a plump belly. This pic totally sums it up.

Doing My Business at My Place of Business

2011-10-24T22:43:00.001-04:00

I take my bathroom time seriously. Sometimes during the work day, it's the only few minutes where I can let myself relax, not having to be "on." The bathroom becomes a place of solitude, my hideout from the ever increasing demands of the day. Nobody can reach me in the bathroom. They can try, but I probably won't answer. If I can swindle my iPhone into the bathroom stall without being busted and judged by germaphobes, I can usually get a few turns of WordsWithFriends, the Scrabble game, in so long as I'm sitting in the stall that allows internet access. Sometimes that work bathroom time is the best time I'll have all day to respond to an email or read an article on People.com. I've never gone so far as to actually have a phone conversation while in a bathroom stall as, for starters, the sounds of flushing clearly gives away where I am and second, I don't want anybody else listening in on my conversation. Also, I have something equivalent to stage fright when someone comes into the stall(s) next to me. That said, I envy the people that can go in to the bathroom and freely do their business no matter how crowded the bathrooms are, no matter who is listening in the stall next door and have no worries about how long a particular bathroom trip might take them.

There's only one major issue I have with the bathroom stalls at work. The cleaning lady, who comes five days a week to the office, is always in the bathroom when I need to get in there. The majority of the time she's in there, she's not really cleaning. Often, she is on her cell phone and I feel like I'm interrupting her when I have to charge into a stall and do my thing, particularly since this happens about twice a day. Blame it on the coffee. I often wonder who she's chatting with on the phone, if they know that she's in a bathroom, or mind all of the incessant flushing of the automatic toilets. I've gotten over that she probably thinks I spend way too much time in the bathroom. My biggest problem, is when she decides to mop. Because it's always when I'm in a stall for a while. And sometimes she must forget that I'm there, because she mops right under my stall, to the point where I have to lift my feet up to prevent her mop from hitting my legs. It's such pressure to coordinate doing my business in the bathroom with lifting my feet in time to avoid getting whacked with a mop.

Besides the cleaning lady, the only other awkwardness comes when running into colleagues in the bathroom. Especially when you coincidentally walk into the bathroom together, and end up in side by side stalls. I often will immediately exit the bathroom just to avoid a situation like this, opting to go to a different floor or even holding it until they exit. I realize this is ludicrous. Everyone needs the bathroom. At the same time, nobody wants to see, hear or smell what you do in there.

Have you had any awkward run ins at your bathrooms at work? How do you deal with running into people in the bathroom? Am I the only lunatic who things about these things?

Where's Wally?

2011-10-22T23:09:00.000-04:00

I have a new obsession. Every weekend day after a jog through Central Park, the Husband and I have fallen into a pattern of going to visit a puppy store a couple blocks from our apartment. It's a habit we can't seem to break as we go from sweating beasts, straight into Starbucks to grab the beloved egg white spinach wrap and an iced coffee and then happen to pass the cutest looking things in the world in the pet shop window, luring us into the store.

This started a couple of weeks back when we happened to wander in just to see what was inside. I didn't even want a dog. Had no interest in it or remote desire for that sort of responsibility. But then I saw him. Big round brown eyes, floppy ears, black, tan and brown fur color and a happy wagging tail. As soon as the dog and I made eye contact, he stuck his nose straight up against the glass cage and stared at me with his puppy dog eyes, begging me to get him out of there. His tail was wagging furiously and I scratched my finger against the glass where his face was. At that point, he got so excited that he jumped up, hitting his adorable little puppy head against the ceiling of the cage and letting out a little whimper. That did it. I was heartbroken. I looked at The Husband and he looked at me, and we knew we had a problem. Were we ready for a dog? Was this our dog? We stood there, mesmerized at how much this furry little King Charles Cavalier Spaniel had eaten up our hearts in a matter of minutes. Newborn puppies at this store were over $2000, but because the dog before us was over 5 months already, he was a discount puppy - at $799.

The Husband whispered into my ear about how you're not supposed to buy dogs at a pet store, that it's supporting puppy mills and how pet stores buy these animals from places that abuse the dogs, etc. He somehow managed to get me out of the store, but the entire way home and for the next two hours, we agonized over what to do. We did research on the breed and found out these King Charles dogs make great apartment pets as well as loving companions. They were a very popular breed for being so easy going and trainable. I called my law school friend whose mother owned one of these dogs, who reiterated how much they loved the breed.

At this point, I had already started calling the dog, "Wally." We called The Husband's parents, as they are big dog lovers and had just adopted two dogs from the pound. They were concerned by how much the dog cost and commented that we could get a dog for much less and save a life by going to an animal shelter. This was true, but it was not Wally's fault he ended up in a pet store. My mother said she'd be happy if we got a dog, as long as she could be a grandma to the dog and not have to take care of it. My father said we should get a "real" dog like a golden retriever or lab, and that we should go to a breeder, not get ripped off by a pet store.

We decided, after two hours of debating, to go back to the store and get more information about Wally. Where they got him from, what health guarantees they could provide, where the dogs go if nobody adopts them and any immunizations/neutering that would need to get done. We made a mental list of questions and talked about how our scheduling would work for walking, feeding and grooming Wally. My last hesitancy was about picking up the dog's poop on the sidewalk. Still, I wanted more information.

So with growing excitement as we approached the pet store, we walked in only to discover that someone else had bought and taken away our Wally. His cage was empty.

We have now spent the past five weeks going back to the same pet store, checking out the other King Charles Cavalier Spaniels. Twice when we were there, two of these types of dogs got purchased. Apparently they sell like hot cakes. And now every KCCS I see on the street is immediately a "Wally," and I ask The Husband if he thinks that's our Wally. Chances are it's not, but I can't help but look for him.

Are we ready for a dog? Do you have a great dog that you love? Let's hear about it.

Ladies That Lunch

2011-10-21T22:59:00.000-04:00

I finally had the day off today from work and was anxious to see what the rest of the world does when not in an office building all day. Not sure if it's just a New York City thing, but I am always amazed at the large amount of people, from all ages and walks of life, who seems to have absolutely nothing to do but walk around, shop and eat at restaurants. Who are these people and how did they come into this life of leisure?

I'm not talking about students, the ill, homeless or retirees. I'm talking about women and men in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s, dressed down as if they're going for coffee with a friend, to the movies, a leisurely walk in Central Park, just strolling around with not a care in the world. True, these people could also be on their day off or taking a lunch break, but there were so many of them - and most of them looked like what they were doing was not a novelty - it was their life style. This is unlike me who walks around with perma-smile any time I have a day off from work. I usually pack in so many things that I end up over scheduling myself until a day off seems just as action packed as being at work.

This afternoon, I was happy to get a visit from my SWF (Scottish Work Friend), who was also off from work today. She brought her adorable 7 month old baby, Freya, in to the city. It's a rare day when both of us get to be off at the same time, even rarer for me to snag some time with my favorite American born Scottish baby - so my SWF kindly made the trip into the city to hang with me and The Husband. Who knew we'd end up getting a first hand view of the city leisure crowd by going to lunch?

After getting rebuffed by JG Mellon, the NY old school burger establishment, for having the nerve to go in there with a stroller, we opted for Go Burger. Unbeknownst to us, Go Burger is the week day mommy mecca of the Upper East Side. We were immediately sat (strollers welcomed) next to a table of five, mid-20 something year old moms and their toddlers. A few minutes later, another pair of moms came with their kids. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by baby carriages, toddlers and conversations about nap times and music class. The Husband, who thought he was just joining us to eat a burger, immediately consoled himself from this Mommy Madness by ordering the Duck Fat Fries (see photo of these tasty slices of heaven). We also decided that it would be insane not to order a Twinkie milkshake as the SWF had never had a twinkie in her life (can you believe??).

Anyhow, I couldn't help wonder about these mommies, who were definitely past the point of being off work for maternity leaves. Their kids were too old for that to be a possibility. Perhaps they worked part time, or just happened to coincidentally be taking the same day off as all of their mommy friends and had planned this lunch weeks in advance. But my SWF and I decided that this must be a mommy meet up group of some sort. It was fascinating and scary to watch them all. Toddlers screaming out for no reason, food flying and them all just continuing to chat with each other through every possible disruption as if they didn't even hear or notice anything out of the ordinary. I wondered what these women did for a living, if they worked, what their husbands did and if not, how the financials worked amongst these ladies that lunch. Does the husband hand them cash every day to go for these little lunch outings? Do they share a bank account and credit card? Or do the women earn enough on their own to pay for it all themselves? I realize these are very nosey thoughts to have and definitely come from a place of complete jealousy that there is an entire sub culture of Ladies of Leisure That Lunch on weekdays - all without me in it.

Some day I will join this sub culture. Whether as an independently or dependently wealthy lady of leisure - it wouldn't bother me either way. I want to wake up whenever I want with absolutely nothing to do but the following: work out for 2 hours, get coffee, meet up with friends for lunch, read a great book, take an even greater nap, have a personal chef who can cook wonderfully healthy and tasty dinner meals for me and The Husband, curl up with our pretend dog who doesn't poop or need to be walked in rain or snow storms and watch some great TV. Is this possible during this lifetime? Apparently in New York City there are hundreds of people walking outside our apartment every day who seem to have some sort of arrangement like this. Except for the dog that doesn't poop part. Anyhow - if anyone knows an easy and quick way to achieve this, I'm all ears.

Signing off now. My Lady of Leisure status is limited these days, so it's best to go enjoy it while I can. Enjoy your weekends!

-Stacey B

More Than Fluff

2011-10-20T20:44:00.002-04:00

Today was one of my best days of work in a long time. Perhaps that's because I spent minimal time actually in the office. Arriving a little after 9 AM, my Scottish Work Friend (SWF) and I grabbed some breakfast in the cafeteria, gathered our belongings and headed over to the Habitat for Humanity team build project that our department volunteered for. Habitat is a non profit based on the notion that every human should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. That's where us volunteers come in.

Our mission for the day: insulate the ceiling of the third floor in a townhouse that will soon be occupied by a deserving family. Having absolutely no experience in the construction world, the concept of building anything resembling a place where humans may want to live is extremely foreign. Showing up at the construction site wearing contact lenses and no hat already put me at a huge disadvantage. We broke up into small groups of 2 and 3 and began insulating. See the way this room looks on the left? That's kind of what we did today, except instead of the walls (which would have been a cinch compared to our project), we did the entire ceiling. Shoving that cotton looking stuff any way we could around cable wires, electric sockets, 2 by 4s (I loved saying that word) and pipes. Only it wasn't cotton, it's fiberglass. R-38 fiberglass, to be precise and it's no joke. If you've never dealt with fiberglass before - take this as a warning: it gets into everything and feels like a thousand little splinters eating away at your flesh. This includes your eyeballs if you're smart enough, like I was, to wear contact lenses instead of glasses. We had work gloves, some dirty glasses and disposable face masks, but these didn't really help too much. My SWF's husband said that people are supposed to wear disposable suits when dealing with fiberglass. So glad we signed that waiver.

Anyhow, besides doing a good deed, I actually learned a couple of new things today in addition to how to insulate a home. After I had put in a couple of rows of fiberglass into the ceiling with the General Counsel and I sharing a ladder, I went on a search for staples for our staple gun only to have another member of the department take my spot. Not to worry, the Americore volunteer guiding us on today's build found a new job for me. He handed me a broom, told me to stand at the very top of a ladder (see ladder above - that's what I was using), and asked me to start fluffing the fiberglass up into the ceiling beams as each strip of fiberglass was set up into the rafters. So there I was, fluffing my little heart out, risking my life standing on top of the gigantic ladder, waving a broom into the fiberglass that was being inhaled into my lungs when the General Counsel of the department asked me why I had abandoned his team.

"I'm now a fluffer. I was told to fluff," I responded.

This got a huge laugh from the group and all sorts of questions such as how badly did I want to fluff and how long had I been a fluffer? I sensed something dirty going on. Turns out there's another meaning of fluffer. According to Wikipedia.com:

A fluffer is a hired member of the crew of a pornographic movie whose role on the set is to sexually arouse the male participants prior to the filming of scenes that require erections.

Commonly, fluffers keep adult film stars "cleaned up" in between takes so that the actors do not have to move from their positions. These duties, which do not necessarily involve touching the actors, are considered part of the makeup department. After setting up the desired angle, the director asks the actors to hold position and calls for the fluffer to "fluff" the actors for the shot.

Clearly I am way too sheltered. Not only was I the only person who had never heard of this term, but it seemed to be as common as if we were talking about the iPhone. I guess you learn something new every day. Now I just need to learn how to remove fiberglass from my lungs and clothing and I'll be all set.

DeAnna Pappas Is Getting Married this Weekend...

2011-10-19T21:00:00.000-04:00

To Stephen Stagliano, Michael's twin brother. The former hostess of the "Get Married" show finally gets to have her wedding day.

She tweeted yesterday (in several tweets):

What a journey I have been on to find my soul mate. Through it all, I have found a man that I can trust & depend on. A man that's leads me [not sure what she meant to say here] and a man that loves me unconditionally. Thank you all for following me throughout my love story. In 4 days, I will marry the best man that I have ever known. Thank you@StephenStag for making me the woman I always wanted 2 be. U are the best thing that has ever happened 2 me.

Wow-sers. That sounded straight out of a finale of The Bachelor! Congratulations to DeAnna and Michael Stag's brother! Here's hoping Michael can find the same.

Here's also hoping that DeAnna will have something to do once the wedding is over.

Work Dinner Gone Awry

2011-10-17T07:49:00.001-04:00

Have any of you had to attend a work dinner recently? For some reason, I am always hesitant to accept invitations to these things, though usually, there isn't much choice. At a glance, getting a free meal and having the chance to mingle with colleagues who I might not normally get to chat with during the work day may seem harmless and even a little fun. But then I remember that this means my "on" time gets extended by another 2 hours minimum and will plant me back at my apartment no earlier than 9 or 10 PM.

So while I was happy to be included on a work dinner invite list to all-you-can-eat sushi at a local restaurant near my office, I was already anticipating a long day. I left my apartment at 6:50 AM that morning and the dinner didn't start until 6 PM. And though I knew this meant a good 14 hour work day, door to door, this was a nice opportunity to spend time with a group of people outside of my immediate work group and I genuinely liked everyone that was there. Plus one of the senior managers had organized it as a "thank you" to a group of people, myself included, that had recently helped out on a particuarly challenging project. How can you turn down such a generous offer?

When I arrived at the restaurant with a colleague friend of mine, we were relieved to be the first people there. This meant that we had our choice of any seat at the table and could strategically plant ourselves to make a quick getaway when needed. We ended up sitting towards the middle of the long table, deciding that at least if the dinner conversation topics grew awkward on one side of us, we could turn the other way and have the option of diving into someone else's conversation.

So when the organizer of the event, the senior manager, sat down next to me, I was a bit taken aback. Now I really needed to be "on." No casual chatting about The Bachelor. Oh boy. Did I need to sound intellectual? What else was I going to talk about at these things? Certainly not "Banking" or "The Law." How boring!

We made small talk about the menu, the all you can eat amazing bargain of a $20 per person dinner (WAY cheaper than any sushi place I've gone to in NYC) and luckily one of The Husband's commercials came on the television in the restaurant - his voice over work is far more interesting to talk about than banking!

Then the food started arriving in an endless parade of platters. Separately, a nice big steaming bowl of edamame, those blessed little green pea pods I can eat like popcorn, came out as well. I started eating these and discussing The Husband. How he got into voice overs, etc. The Senior Manger Host Guy seemed very excited by this. Then his cell phone rang and I got the hint relatively quickly that this was a work related call. So there I was, munching my edamame, pushing out the pods with my fingers and popping them into my mouth when suddenly BAM, one of the peas shot out between my fingers and hit Senior Manager Host Guy right in the forehead.

Time was frozen as I waited for his reaction. He was still talking on his cell phone and I contemplated, then decided against, apologizing. I only had a second to do it and the moment came and went really quickly. I looked around to see if anyone else caught this edamame bullet event and the friend I had come with was already cracking up across the table. Busted. Senior Manager Host Guy never even acknowledged being attacked and I didn't want to embarrass him or myself by bringing it up in front of the group. So I did what any normal person would do under the circumstance: I pretended it never happened.

Dinner went on and the time came to leave to catch my train. On the ride back I emailed Senior Manager Guy the following:

Dear [Senior Manager Host Guy],

Thank you so much for including me in the dinner tonight. The sushi was delicious and I hope to be invited to future outings like this. Also, I'd like to apologize for hitting you in the head with one of my edamame peas. I was aiming for my mouth, but obviously missed. I hope you can forgive me.

Sincerely,
Stacey

I hope all of your work dinners this week and those in the future go a little smoother than mine did. Happy Monday!

Jake Pavelka Parties in Atlantic City

2011-10-17T06:41:00.000-04:00

Jake Pavelka seems to be recovering quite nicely from his time on Bachelor Pad. My sources tell me that he was visiting Atlantic City, partying at the Pool After Dark at Harrah's Resort and the "girls were going absolutely crazy for him!"

Rumor has it he may have a girlfriend, but apparently he would not give out specifics. Overall, he was "exceptionally nice" and "not the 'monster' Vienna made him out to be...at all."

For all of you that couldn't go another 6 months without an update on Jake, there you go...

Starbucks Battling

2011-10-14T08:05:00.001-04:00

It's not even 7:45 AM and I've already had a ridiculous encounter. How is this possible? Upon waiting for my egg white spinach feta wrap (side note: have you had one of these incredibly delicious things? They are hands down my favorite food at Starbucks, fill me up til lunch and are actually really healthy), I picked up the iced coffee in a grande cup waiting on the drinks counter. As soon as I was headed for the fixins' bar (that stressful, way too tiny counter, where multiple people crowd each other and say "excuse me" repeatedly while they plunge under each other's elbows to grab a straw, a Sweet and Low, the cinammon shaker, or the skim milk thermos), I hear the Drink Maker shout out,

"THAT'S NOT YOURS!"

I turn around to see what idiot grabbed someone else's drink, and realized he was talking to me.

As soon as I turned around, the Drink Maker, who was definitely a new employee - the rest of them know me by name and even know my order - demanded to know whether I had ordered the "iced red tea." I had no idea what he was talking about, which answered his question. Luckily, the customer who ordered the red tea, was much less concerned than the Drink Maker was. When I handed over his drink and apologized, he said, "No worries. What did you order?" We then chatted for an entire 45 seconds about our morning ritual drinks and how it was important to order a "Tall" in a "Grande" cup to leave room for the milk, etc. Perhaps this conversation would have continued if six other people didn't almost knock us over to get to the fixins' bar.

30 seconds after this, my iced coffee is ready but I don't dare touch it until Drink Maker acknowledges that this is in fact what I ordered. He gives me a silent nod when he puts it out on the counter and I take it without making any eye contact, thank him (for not screaming at me this time around), and go to doctor it up...only this time, another man has come to fix up his drink and he has barely gotten the lid off his coffee when BAM, the entire thing spills all over the counter and the floor. I don't even attempt to see what Drink Maker thinks of this poor soul. I immediately grab some napkins and hand them to him and he takes them, still cursing, to clean up the mess. He tells someone behind the counter what happened and they offer to make him a new one, no questions asked. Apparently spills are expected, but taking someone else's drink order is a crime.

While I was finally done with perfecting my drink, gathering my wrap and maneuvring around the 30 other people that had since entered the store since I arrived, I hear a woman trying to comfort the Drink Spiller.

"It means you're going to have a great day," she says.

This is ludicrous. Whoever made up this nonsense is the same person who says that a bird crapping on you means good luck. Doesn't the actual incident negate the rule?

And those are my deep thoughts on this Friday morning...

Vienna and Kasey are STILL Together??!!

2011-10-13T21:41:00.000-04:00

Kasey: Look Happy, Vienna, or I'll sing to you

Us Weekly has exclusive photos of Vienna and Kasey's home together in West Hollywood. I guess his epiphany on the finale of Bachelor Pad that he becomes an evil, spiteful, scheming, mean and angry person around Vienna was short lived. And did anyone else get a little nauseous at the last line of this article when Vienna says how much she loves going to bed with him and waking up to him? Ewwww.

The real question that I need to know is if he still sings for her and if so, how the neighbors deal with it. So what are these two up to in West Hollywood? She looks fully recovered from her nose job, so that's a relief. I wonder if Ben Flajnik sent them that wine?

Ben The Bachelor's First Official Photo

2011-10-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

It's all wine and roses for the new Bachelor to be - Ben Flajnik. ABC released his first official promotional photo and it's a good one. I was on the phone with my Uncle Norman earlier tonight, who has absolutely no interest in the show (can you believe?). He asked if the show was still on and I explained that of course it's still on, but we have to wait until January 2nd, when Dancing with the Kardashians is over, before we get to see Ben. He then said that he saw something recently in the news about a Bachelor couple who had broken up and that the man wanted the woman back. After about 5 seconds, I realized that he was talking about Emily Maynard and Brad Womack, then launched into a way too detailed history of Brad's history as The Bachelor. I think he was sleeping after about a minute, but he politely listened anyway.

Tomorrow, The Husband and I are traveling down to Maryland to visit The In-Laws! We are very excited to see them and their newly adopted two dogs, Lady and Buddy. This will be the first time we're meeting the dogs, so I hope they like us! Then Sunday will be a Redskins Party at his parents' house with some of my old DC friends (and my original Bachelor watching friends).

Last night, The Husband and I got a chance to watch American Horror Story. Have any of you seen this show yet? We saw the pilot of the season, which has an incredible cast: Connie Britton (from Friday Night Lights), Dylan McDermott (and his naked body parts), Frances Conroy (Ruth from Six Feet Under!), Jessica Lange, and 2 very creepy teenagers. The creator of this FX show, oddly enough, was also the creator of Glee. Glee is kind of like the completely opposite of this show, which makes it all the more interesting. It's definitely worth checking out, but just a warning - you will need to cling to someone or something for about an hour after it's over. I am still checking out our closets and making sure there's nothing behind the doors.

I Think It's Fall

2011-10-02T18:49:00.000-04:00

The Husband and our nephew Mikey celebrating his 3rd birthday

The temperature has finally started to drop here in New York City and football season is in full swing. What have you all been doing to keep yourselves occupied in between Bachelor season? The Husband and I have been visiting family, working hard at our day jobs and trying to get back into shape. I am currently sitting in Starbucks working on some creative writing. My legs are officially numb and I'm scared to leave my laptop to go to the bathroom, so it will only be a matter of time before this salted pretzel mocha (amazing!) something drink kicks in and I'll be back at our apartment for some relief.

Speaking of football season, JP Rosenbaum tweeted today about his decision of whether to watch football or meet Ashley at Bergdorf Goodman's from 2 to 4 PM today. Not sure why she was there, perhaps another public event to greet the fans, but I need to know what her trick is for even making her man consider another option besides nachos and football watching. I did learn that he's a Skins fan, similar to The Husband.

As for TV shows in the off season, there have been so many new ones that have kicked off recently that it's hard to decipher the good from the bad, and who has the time? I couldn't be more excited for the season premiere of Dexter tonight. There could potentially be a big issue though. The Husband made a bold decision to swap out our 2 cable boxes with the new state of the art boxes offered up by the cable company only to learn that all of our taped shows are now wiped out from the old boxes and the new boxes are having technical problems and need to be rebooted every hour or so. Boy is it fun to watch an episode of Jersey Shore only to have it black out on us just as Snooki is about to do something incredibly ridiculous - which is pretty much every episode. Cable person is coming tomorrow AM, so hopefully this will get resolved asap. What a crisis!

I haven't seen the new show "Up All Night," but I've heard it's very cute. Supposedly so is "New Girl." Have any of you seen these? Some others I've watched briefly but couldn't manage to maintain my interest: Playboy Club, Pan Am, Two Broke Girls, Whitney, Revenge, Suburgatory, Charlie's Angels etc. We taped the Terra Nova premiere, but it got erased in the cable box swap. Annoying!

Am I missing anything good? We started X-Factor, and while I was happy to see Simon and Paula back together again, it seemed to be mostly the same formula of American Idol. Big back story, underdog focus and feel good outcomes.

Alright, time to fight these Sunday night blues with a good dinner and some catching up with friends. Hope you all had a great weekend and don't be afraid to shoot me an email and make a new friend or catch me on Twitter @FreeStaceyB.

Bachelor Sightings and My Chat With Ashley

2011-09-25T17:46:00.002-04:00

It's been an insanely fun weekend. I went to my first Indian wedding last night in downtown Manhattan. I also attended my first Mehndi, which is part of the Indian wedding festivities - the bride's family gathers at the bride's parents' house and celebrates with traditional Indian dancing, music, food, etc. The night came complete with henna treatment on my hand (see pic). The Husband and I participated in the Indian dances, admired the beautitful saris and jewelry the women wore, and ate delicious Indian food.

The wedding last night was absolutely spectacular. In addition to more beautiful saris, delicious Indian food and the chance to see one of my best friends marry a really great guy, was the wedding cake. Turns out the groom is a huge Transformers fan from his childhood days, so the cake was topped by not a traditional bride and groom, but rather, a transformers head.

After a fun filled weekend and hours of dancing last night, I woke up this morning and had to make an important decision. Should I motivate to get out of bed, get over to Central park and schmooze with some Bachelors and Bachelorettes from seasons' past? An organization that Graham Bunn is involved in called 46NYC was hosting a charity Lemonade Stand to raise money for childhood cancer research. The event was on 59th Street and Broadway, so I put on some semi-fashionable work out clothes, a dab of make up and walked about 45 minutes to get across the park. I would have made The Husband come with me, but he was already at the bar watching football, so this was out of the question.

Upon arriving there, I was taken aback by how easy it was to go up and talk to any of the Bachelors / Bachelorettes that were there. Most of the people hanging out in Columbus Circle today were tourists or people that had never heard of the show. I'd say there were about 30 or so people hanging around the stand waiting to take pictures with their favorites.

Some interesting info you may want to know:

1. Michelle Money is super hot. I suspected this might be the case, but meeting her in person, I was honestly blown away by how pretty she is. She could easily have gone straight to the Victoria's Secret store and started modeling underwear. She and Graham are very much still an item. They were kissing and hanging out together the entire time, getting interviewed and hugging kids who wanted pictures with them.

2. Ames is actually attractive. I know some of you Bachelorette fans had a thing for Ames. I never saw it before. I kind of pegged him as kind of an emotionless type, but after watching him from 20 feet away, one flash of his bright white teeth and sparkly blue eyes, and I think he actually is good looking. He's tall, and a classically handsome fellow. He may have been wearing some make up, because he seemed very tan and there wasn't an ounce of sweat on him despite it being 80 degrees and humid out.

3. JP and Ashley were there and very much loving life and each other. I introduced myself to Ashley, who was TINY - a very petite lady. She had cut her hair and darkened it since her last public appearance. Check it out and let me know what you think. We spoke a little while and I learned that Ashley and JP had just moved in to their new place together the previous day. She finishes dental school in about a month and then will be in New York full time. We talked running and lunges, and hopefully we'll be hanging in NYC again.

4. Michael Stagliano was there, and there were lots of women, particularly 40 and 50 year old women who were flocking to him. He has a great smile and was full of personality.

5. William also was there, but he was kind of hanging by himself, talking to a bunch of different women, but not really with the rest of the Bachelors/Bachlelorettes there. At one point I saw him whip out his flip video and take footage of the controlled madness around him at the lemonade stand.

Emily Maynard, Jackie Gordon and a couple of others were expected but it was so hot, and I didn't want to seem like a stalker (even though I kind of am for Bachelor stars) - so I took off. Anyhow, fun to see them all in person. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Michael Stagliano hangin' at the 46NYC event

Stacey B

Holly & Michael Take Bachelor Pad, Blake Takes Holly

2011-09-13T00:06:00.000-04:00

Another season of Bachelor Pad is in the history books. It's hard to believe. And what an amazingly awesome show it was. Who needs Bachelor and Bachelorette when you can get so much drama, love connections and a marriage proposal with just 3 weeks of Bachelor Pad? The Husband and I had a bit of a war over who was going to have rights to the main television in our apartment tonight. It's Monday Night Football, blah blah blah, the first Monday night football of the NFL season, blah blah blah. Come on - it's the FINALE of Bachelor Pad - is there even a question as to who should get the main TV?

Unfortunately, I had to work late, so by the time I got home, the game was already on, a guest was already on our couch with The Husband and I was out of luck. It also came to my attention on my hour long train ride home that tonight's finale was a whopping THREE hours. So faced with the prospect of sitting in the bedroom for 3 hours listening to boys screaming at the TV while I tried to measure up whether Kasey was sincere in feeling bad about his behavior towards Jake, whether Justin Rated R felt remotely bad about saying Kasey sounded like a frog only to have Kasey reveal for the first time that he does in fact have a speech impediment, and what sort of plastic surgery Gia did to her face (the bangs threw me off, but I think she definitely did something to her cheeks and eyes) - I decided I better watch elsewhere.

So off I went to the gym and after waiting 15 minutes to get on to an elliptical and catching the end of the Men's Finals of the US Open (a great match, for the part I watched over someone's shoulder at the gym), I got to catch the first 45 minutes of Bach Pad at the gym. What a great way to pass time during a work out.

A few comments and then I'd love to hear what you all have to say. These are in no particular order:

1. I was on the lookout for the plastic surgery crowd. I'm talking about Vienna and Ella who both self admittedly went under the knife since the end of their time at the mansion. I have to say that I really couldn't see much of a difference. Besides Vienna's extensions, obviously. Unless her hair grew that much in a month. You know how Erica the Judge said that she spent a week straight with Vienna and Kasey and can honestly say that they are a good match for each other? That's because they stayed with her while Erica's father did the nose job on Vienna. And Ella also went to Erica's dad for her plastic surgeries which included a nose job, liposuction and some other fun things. I still don't get how Ella afforded all of these procedures but cried poverty (and literally cried when getting voted off by the Bach alums). Unless Erica's dad was giving out surgery like party favors. I guess it's free advertising.

2. Michelle and Graham. I was very happy to see the two of them together and connecting on a "spiritual level" since the show ended. I hope they can make it work. I like that Graham felt the need to slip in to Blake that he didn't care for him. Not really sure why that was except that Graham is best buds with Michael and clearly Michael is not a Blake fan. I also liked that Michelle pleaded against pity votes and instead relied on their strategy of running away from drama for being the reason they should win. It made no sense, but was a cute plea nonetheless. On a side note: Michelle Money and Graham Bunn have gotten together to sell shirts for charity.

3. Holly and Blake's engagement. Obviously a huge shock. I think you could hear a pin drop in the room when Chris Harrison asked Michael if he had heard Holly's news. Poor Michael. But something tells me he'll be just fine. Watching Holly and Blake's chemistry together in the clips they showed us and on the show tonight - it's just off the charts. She seemed very surprised when he proposed, but good for them. I hope they can make it work. And maybe Michael Stags can marry DeAnna's sister.

4. Crazy Melissa. I liked her make-up and thought she her arguments for why Blake screwed her over were kind of ridiculous. Still, I was hoping she would lose it all over again just because it's funny to watch her freak out over nothing. She used the word "serendipitous" 8 times.

5. Jake vs. Kasey. Unreal that Kasey owned up to being such a douche towards Jake. I can't believe he actually apologized. But what I don't get is Vienna's new change of heart towards Jake. She blurted out a very odd comment about what the audience didn't see - something about her and Jake playing charades together. I'm confused as to whether that was on Bachelor Pad or on their season of Bachelorette. Either way, it sounds like Vienna is trying to get across the fact that the bad feelings are in the past. The look on Vienna's face when Kasey and Jake shook hands might have been my favorite moment of the finale. I thought her eyes would turn into daggers and actually slice Jake across his face. Would I like to be fly on the wall of their car ride home tonight. Kasey is gonna get it.

6. Did you see Jackie's face the entire episode? It looked like she was going to cry at any second. Especially when Holly and Blake got engaged, the cameras panned to Jackie and she was the only one who wasn't smiling. I'm sure it had nothing to do with them (she voted for them to win over Michelle and Graham - which was not surprising considering her past friction with Michelle) and everything to do with her disappointing relationship with Ames. As for what the deal was between Ames and Jackie, she just needs to read that book, "He's Just Not That Into You." It always hurts when the guy who seems head over heels says he just didn't see it - particularly after spending a lot of time together. Ouch. I'd be angrier that she most definitely got screwed out of amazing box seats to the US Open.

7. Erica the Judge. Why didn't Chris grill her a bit about being a kissing bandit and her seduction scene with Blake? What about her kissing Jake? Clearly nothing ever came of this. But I feel like we missed out on some footage.

8. And does anyone care about Ella and Kirk? Weren't these guys a couple at some point? They did make out on their one on one date. And last we left Ella, she was hysterically crying and devastated that she had disappointed Kirk, herself and her 9 year old son. I guess the answer is that nobody cared what happened. How rude.

9. Ben the Bachelor. How awesome was it to see Ben again!! So articulate, so smart - I almost forgot what it's like to have someone on the show that's extremely intelligent. What a fresh breath of air. I actually got chills when Chris started asking him about the first night of meeting the women. That's what this ridiculous show does to me! The Husband gets chills when they sing the national anthem at an NFL game. I get the chills anticipating the limos pulling up to the mansion. I need a life!

10. Until January 2nd. So next week starts Dancing With the Stars and some ridiculous Hamptons drama - Revenge that they are trying hard to plug. Check back here for all your Bach updates and to hear what the Husband and I are up to. Until then - it's time to launch my writing career outside of Bachelor land. I will keep you posted on that too.

Funny, I didn't think to mention that Holly and Michael agreed to share the $125K. Probably because that was the least interesting part of the show. I didn't think for a second that he'd actually take all of it. Poor Michael is like a sad abused puppy - loyal to the end, and for no reason. I hope he snaps out of it soon and finds the future Mrs. Michael Stagliano who will adore him.

Enjoy the rest of your week and please check in and let me know how you're doing this fall. I go through major withdrawal in between Bach seasons. You can always find me at this blog or on Twitter at @FreeStaceyB

Happy Fall!!

XOXO,
Stacey B

Holly Durst and Blake Julien Are Engaged???

2011-09-08T06:10:00.000-04:00

The rumors have been circulating the past few days that Blake and Holly are actually engaged! It has not been officially confirmed yet, but supposedly this news will come out at the finale next week. Holy schmoly, poor Michael if this is true!

Holly's little love note she slipped into Blake's hand after she cast the deciding vote to send him and Princess Erica home really must have done wonders! And then one of the readers of this blog commented that her friend ran into this star crossed pair and saw an engagement ring on Holly's finger. WOW!! That was fast!

Mind you - this show seems to be have been filmed over the course of about 1-2 weeks at most -it's not like Bachelor or Bachelorette where there's a 2-3 month gap between when the finale takes place in real life and when it airs on TV. Which basically means that Holly and Blake, if they are together, have only been dating for about 1-2 months before they got engaged. WOAH.

Can't wait to hear if this is true. But poor Michael. Not only is his little heart going to break in front of us, he will be attending the wedding of his twin brother and DeAnna Pappas later this year - who he and Holly introduced. Remember when Holly and DeAnna were doing little music videos together and referring to each other as sisters when they were both engaged to the Stag brothers? Thankfully, we won't have to endure seeing any more pictures of them Tweeted in twin outfits and matching hair color.

Deep Thought of The Night

2011-09-06T20:59:00.000-04:00

On my home from work this evening, I was doing some very critical thinking about Bachelor Pad. We watched Holly torture herself over which couple to vote off, as she believed herself to be the deciding vote. So here's what her torture was over:

1) Blake and Erica, the dentist and the lawyer to be, arguably the "intellectuals" of the house, determine that their best course of action is trusting Kasey and Vienna by giving them the safety of two roses. Horrible move. Both of these couples vote out Kirk and Ella, clearly the only couple with a shred of integrity. That's 2 votes to send home Kirk and Ella.

2) Michelle and Graham, who use their brains this week, realize that Kasey and Vienna's actions are not the gospel and it's ok to vote differently. Graham honors his close ties with Michael and MoneyGram (love this combo name) votes out Blake and Erica. Kirk and Ella, pissed that they did not receive the rose, also vote out Blake and Erica. That's 2 votes to send home Blake and Erica's Lips.

3) This leaves Holly in a pickle. We're all tied up at 2 votes per couple, leaving Holly and Michael as the deciding vote. Does she remain loyal to her partner/ex fiance just because he's finally realized Holly is a prize to be lost? If she does, that's it for her blooming romance with Blake. Or does she follow her heart and stab both Michael and Ella in the back for some more making out with Blake's perfect teeth? Shockingly, Holly seems to be the only person that is thinking with her head in the house and chooses Blake.

So here's my deep thought: if Holly was so torn, and since it's her (and not Michael) who actually casts the vote, couldn't she have voted herself and Michael out of the house? Is there a rule against voting for yourself? This of course would mean that there would be a tie and perhaps we'd get to see a competitive tie breaker. How fun would that be? Why can't Holly think outside the box?

I'm off to enjoy one of the last football season free nights until February with The Husband. To all of you girlfriends / wives / partners out there who will be losing their significant others to football season, I empathize. Not to worry, you can always check in right here!

Ben's Our Bachelor!!

2011-09-06T17:15:00.000-04:00

ABC confirmed today that Ben Flajnik is our next Bachelor. Hip hip hooray!!! The new season airs January 16th. Let's get the countdown clock ready. Yay!!!!

Move over Jennifer Love Hewitt - the winemaker is getting another shot at finding love. Good for him. Good for us. This certainly made realizing that summer is over a little bit easier.

Michelle Money and Graham Bunn Are Still An Item

2011-09-05T23:32:00.001-04:00

At least as of "recently," according to an article on People.com that came out today. He's still in New York and she's in Utah, so the chances of this actually turning into something are kind of slim unless one of them is willing to make a big move. Unfortunately, the odds of a single, good looking celebrity wannabe male like Graham giving it all up to move out to Utah with a single mom are probably not so high, but all the power to them if they want to make this work. In fact, how awesome would it be if Bachelor Pad ended up with a higher success rate romance wise than either The Bachelor or Bachelorette??