Monday, March 28, 2011

Spring Fever

Typically, I don't remember getting this feeling of spring fever inside. I actually don't mind the long, cold winters we experience here in Wisconsin. (After all, it makes for great hair-straightening weather). At a certain point, I get sick of the snow, but the cold usually withers away by the end of March, and signs of spring arrive.

Right now, we are experiencing unseasonably cold temperatures, and it feels like winter will never end. It looks sunny and pleasant outside, but I still have to wear my bulky winter coat and mittens when I go outside. I can still see my breath in the cold, I still get frost on my car, and the heat still runs far too often inside our cozy condo.

So, I started thinking - when is spring ever going to get here?

They say that by the end of this week, temperatures should go up and get closer to normal. But for now, I feel like we are experiencing the never-ending winter. I'm probably being over-dramatic.

You know, I don't even like spring all that much. It's full of rain and mud and melting mush. For me to get spring fever, things must be cold. I just want to be able to go outside and read or write. We have a tiny little balcony with a table and two chairs, only I've never used it. Summers get too hot in the afternoon, since our condo faces the west, and the sun beats down in the afternoons. What I need is a relaxing, spring afternoon to enjoy the balcony, as it was meant to be enjoyed.

Thankfully, I do get a break from the cold - for a day this week, the husband, some family, and I are heading up to stay overnight in a four-bedroom villa at an indoor water park about an hour away. Nothing like breaking out the bikini a few months early and enjoying some time indoors in 80+ degree temperatures. Perhaps by the time we come home, spring will have arrived. It sure has been taking its sweet time.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

American Idol Conspiracy?

If you haven't watched Thursday night's American Idol results show, you missed out on one crazy night. Take a look at my episode recap here.

With the shock of Casey being the one with the lowest amount of votes this week, something simply doesn't seem right. How does a guy go from the top to the very bottom? Check out the gang's Twitter follower count, as of Thursday night a couple hours after the show:
  1. Scotty McCreery: 44,001
  2. Casey Abrams: 41,640 
  3. Paul McDonald: 35,661
  4. Lauren Alaina: 31,149
  5. Pia Toscano: 30,378
  6. James Durbin: 28,619
  7. Thia Megia: 28,609
  8. Stefano Langone: 26,949
  9. Jacob Lusk: 17,766  
  10. Haley Reinhart: 14,230
  11. Naima Adedapo: 13,662
Not too much has changed. Scotty moved right up to the top, James moved up above Thia, and overall, everyone's follower numbers increased. So, if the same people are voting every week, why would things change so drastically that Casey would have been voted out if the judges hadn't used their only save...with 11 people left in this competition?

At first, I was skeptical. I've watched this show for years, and there have always been shocking exits...but they typically come once they reach the top six. Never with this many competitors! It was my husband who commented that the show was rigged. I denied it. Why would American Idol rig the votes? How can they do that?

When you think about it, there are a few reasons they might have wanted to do this. For one thing, they lost out on ratings last season to Dancing With the Stars. So, maybe they want to ensure the ratings are better this year. For another thing, ticket sales for the American Idol tour were abysmal last year. In fact, they even ended up cancelling some of their shows altogether. What better way to spice things up than to take 11 contestants out on tour after a controversial episode early on in the season? Finally, the judges save is completely out of the game this early in the season. Now, they can work the angle that America has to vote in order to keep their favorites in the competition - there is no back-up plan. After all, when the show first started out, the judges save never existed. That was a recent addition from just a couple seasons ago.

On the flip side, maybe America just thought Casey was safe and didn't need their votes, so they voted for others instead. Maybe they didn't like his performance. But, I guarantee you the same exact people vote week in and week out. How do you explain that drastic of a drop in votes for a fan favorite and possible Season 10 winner? You can bet all his fans will be voting for him like crazy and this guy won't be in the bottom three anytime soon after what happened Thursday.

What do you think? Was the vote rigged? Did American Idol put poor Casey through hell just to get a ratings boost? Or, do you think he just didn't get enough votes because America didn't like his performance or thought he didn't leave them? I'd like to hear your thoughts. To weigh in, leave a comment!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Has Emily Maynard Been Cheating on Brad Womack?

Women across America fell in love with Emily Maynard during her stint on Brad Womack's most recent season of The Bachelor, and many think she can do no wrong and is the victim in her rocky relationship with Brad. Others think she is a big part of the problem after watching the couple interact on After the Final Rose, which aired immediately following the finale special in which Brad proposed in South Africa. The couple admitted to having their fair share of arguments and having broken up once during their engagement.

If you've read the March 28th copy of In Touch Weekly, you more than likely saw the whopping two-page, (four including pictures), article claiming Emily has actually been seeing another man while engaged to Brad.

As for the other man in Emily's life? A guy by the name of Brett J. Barniske-Bertolami. (And I thought my last name was rough). Apparently, Brett owns a car dealership in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is where Emily is from. He has pictures of Emily on his phone that are "a couple years old." Supposedly, she had scheduled a dinner date with this Brett fellow right before going on After the Final Rose with Brad, but cancelled at the last minute because she was sick.

Do we believe it? Is sweet little Emily really a cheater? In Touch is convinced and wants you to be as well, but I don't buy it. Seems like the guy can easily just be an old friend or ex-boyfriend who conveniently (and creepily) has some old pictures of Emily saved in his phone. I need some solid evidence before I can be convinced.

Emily recently posted a cute picture of her and Brad on her Twitter page and said this:
"Don't believe everything you read! And by everything I mean anything."
I assume this is her way of saying all the rotten things coming out in the tabloids about her and Brad is false. I think these two left a lot of doubt in people's minds of whether or not their relationship will actually work, and the tabloids are going to take advantage of that. Anyone can go to North Carolina and take a look at some ex-boyfriend's cell phone pictures, but until I see some actual proof, I'm not buying it.

This couple obviously has a lot to work on in order to make their relationship work, and I'm sure articles like this one have not made it easy. Not to mention, given The Bachelor's track record - one married couple out of 15 seasons - their future looks pretty bleak. (The Bachelorette has produced one married couple and one currently engaged couple out of its six seasons). They thought once the show finished airing, they wouldn't have as much to argue about, since they wouldn't have to endure Brad making out with 10 other women every Monday night, but articles like this one make it clear the couple has an uphill battle ahead. Whatever happens, I wish the best of luck to Emily and Brad. Or Brett. Whoever makes ya happy, lady.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Guys Are Lucky

Today, I attended a friend's baby shower. Let me tell you - this was one of the best showers I've been to. For one thing, it wasn't for me. I got to sit and talk and catch up with some ladies I haven't seen for quite a while, eat some delicious food (which included wraps and tasty cake), and I even won a $10 Target gift card. I wasn't the center of attention, I didn't have to open presents in front of everyone, and I didn't feel pressured to talk to every person in attendance or wonder if I'd missed someone. For another thing, we didn't play a single game. Not one. Awesome.

Do you have any idea how much I despise wedding and baby shower games? Okay, you probably don't. I don't like them. At all. Some have been pretty painless, I must admit. Wrapping someone up in toilet paper to make them look like they're wearing a wedding dress? No problem. Slightly annoying, but not a big deal. (As long as I'm not the one being wrapped like a mummy, of course). But, the mash-up-a-candy-bar-in-a-diaper-and-then-shove-what-looks-like-a-poopy-diaper-in-everyone's-faces-so-they-can-figure-out-what-candy-bar-it-is game is awful. Definitely not painless. It has quite possibly scarred me and my love of candy bars for life. (Maybe).

The fact that today's baby shower was game-less was a definite plus, but I couldn't help sitting there and thinking how lucky guys are that they don't have to partake in any of these experiences. Maybe when they get married or have a baby, they make an appearance to help unwrap a couple gifts or load up the car. More often than not, they aren't a part of the process. No game-playing, no present-opening in front of a large crowd - no appearance necessary! Why do guys get off the hook so easily? It's the women who go out and buy the gifts, wrap the gifts, go to the shower, and play the ridiculous shower games. Guys can sit home, play video games, watch television, and enjoy an afternoon without the wife or lady friend around.

I am just entering into a life full of wedding and baby showers. Most of my friends aren't even married yet, so I'll have all those, plus when they start popping out kids of their own, I'll have even more. Thankfully, the husband and I plan to wait a few years before we have kids. Until then, I hope to attend many more showers like the one I did today. Short, sweet, and game-less. With cake.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Will Twitter Give Away Season 10 of American Idol?

For "The Remix" season this year, contestants on Season 10's American Idol each have their own Twitter page fans can follow them on throughout the journey. While at first, I hadn't given this much thought, after catching part of The View this morning (I'm sorry. I watch it sometimes. I'm ashamed.), they brought up an interesting point. Can the amount of followers each contestant has on Twitter predict when they will go home?

Last week, Ashthon Jones was sent home, and she had the least amount of followers. Tonight, however, Karen Rodriguez was sent home, and the person with the least amount of followers was actually Naima Adedapo.

If you're weird like me and wonder if something like this could actually work, here are the follower counts as of...about 30 minutes ago:
  1. Casey Abrams: 34,215
  2. Scotty McCreery: 34,077
  3. Paul McDonald: 27,972
  4. Lauren Alaina: 24,278
  5. Pia Toscano: 23,419
  6. Thia Megia: 23,299
  7. James Durbin: 22,281
  8. Stefano Langone: 20,295
  9. Jacob Lusk: 13,892
  10. Karen Rodriquez: 12,160
  11. Haley Reinhart: 12,143
  12. Naima Adedapo: 10,931
This seems relatively accurate, but we just saw Karen go home tonight and go against the "system." I just want a place to monitor this concept throughout the season and see where things go!

To read my recaps of the show, check out my articles on examiner.com!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Hoarders: Why is This Show So Addicting?

As my husband finally sat down to clear some of his recordings off the DVR, I couldn't help but let my eyes wander and watch some of A&E's Hoarders. This particular episode had two of the angriest hoarders I've ever seen - one hoarded chickens in her trailer and the other hoarded bunnies in a rental home.

These two people were incredibly defensive. Hanna, the chicken lady, refused to let any of the injured or starving chickens be taken to get cared for. Instead, she constantly screamed and shouted, swearing like a sailor at anyone who crossed her path. The cleaning crews pushed through to try to clean the place up, anyway.

The bunny hoarder, Gary, was apparently angry that the Animal Protection Agency never came to pick the bunnies up the first time. He kept ditching out on the clean up process, making snide comments, and acting like a child. After they removed the hoard of bunnies, they found mice. After they let the mice go in the field and cleaned the house, some bunnies started popping out of the holes in the wall.

This episode wasn't even the worst of the ones I've seen! There was another where the home was over-run with cats. There were dead cats everywhere. Another, (which may have even been the cat house), was so terrible that the occupants of the home were actually going to the bathroom in bags and throwing them in the stairway because they could no longer get to the bathrooms.

The worst part is that neither of us can stop watching. I sit here on the couch with my mouth hanging open and just stare because I can't believe what I'm seeing. I don't know what's worse - the fact that these people have such horrible hoarding problems, or the fact that it makes for such good, fascinating television.

I'd elaborate more, but we just started watching the last episode on the DVR: a man that hoards rats and was forced to move out of his home because the rats took over and started pulling his hair out and licking him when he slept and a woman that lives with about 50 cats. Can't wait to see where this goes...

If you have found yourself hoarding and in need of help, finding a local therapist may be the best first step for you. Please see this article for further information: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/therapy/how-do-i-find-a-therapist-near-me/.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

May I Offer You a Sample of Our Wine?

Tuesday night, I went out to dinner at the Olive Garden with two of my friends. While I love the Olive Garden, along with their delicious salad, bread sticks and Five Cheese Ziti, I often times start my experience off awkwardly. Tuesday was a rare exception.

The moment you sit down at the table, your waiter or waitress should offer you a sample of the wine. Although I am only 23, I feel there are ways to offer a sample of wine without making things awkward. Our waiter on Tuesday night did just that - he offered the sample, politely asked my friends and I for our IDs, and poured the wine. That is how it should be done.

In the past, my friends and I have had the same waiter twice who has made things entirely uncomfortable. In fact, the last time we went before Tuesday, he said he would like to offer us a sample of their wine...if we were old enough. When I said, "We are old enough," he took away the glasses and whisked away with the bottle of wine, and that was that. Apparently, he thought I'd said "aren't."

Other times, I haven't even been offered any wine at all. They've just assumed I wasn't old enough and moved along. It literally ruins the whole experience, because from that moment on, I never liked any of the waiters and waitresses who assumed I was a young, bad tipping teenager.

Tuesday night at the Olive Garden, not only did I try the sample of wine - I actually liked it and ordered a glass to enjoy with my meal. And, our waiter received a generous 20% tip, despite the sluggishness on bringing my friends and I glasses of water. Thank you, whoever you are. I enjoyed the best Olive Garden experience I've had in a very long time.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

My American Idol Top 12

They've been calling this season of American Idol "The Remix" because of the new judges and all the changes that have been made. One of the biggest changes actually relates in large part to this week. For one thing, the top 12 guys' and top 12 girls' performances were not live - they were actually taped in advance over the weekend. In addition, instead of the usual three weeks they spend narrowing the top 30 contestants down to the top 12, they cut the group down to start out with 24 and will eliminate half of those people right away tonight on the live show. It seems drastic, but it has actually helped move the show along and get to the part most of us like best - the top 12!

The top 12 will be made up of the top five vote-getters for the guys and the top five from the girls. The remaining two contestants are wild card choices from the judges.

With the majority of my decision being based off the past two nights of performances, here is the group of contestants I would personally like to see in the top 12, who I think deserve to be there (and some of my thoughts on each):
  1. Casey Abrams (So good. Favorite guy in the competition at this point).
  2. Naima Adedapo (She's all right, but I sure could use someone in Milwaukee to help localize my articles as the Milwaukee TV Examiner).
  3. Lauren Alaina (My absolute favorite. I think this girl could win the whole thing).
  4. Jordan Dorsey (Even though I'm still mad at him for being annoying during Hollywood week. Poor song choice during his performance, but he still has a good voice. I'd rather see him stick around than Jacob Lusk, Mr. Screaming Pants).
  5. James Durbin (I know. I never liked Adam Lambert, so why do I want another one in the top 12 this year? I just think he deserves to be there).
  6. Scotty McCreery (How good is this guy? With or without American Idol, he can easily just go out and record a CD. No problem).
  7. Paul McDonald (A little quiet at times, but he has an amazingly original voice. I can't see him winning, but I think he did much better than a lot of the other guys that performed. And, did you see those teeth?!)
  8. Thia Megia (Really? She's only 15?!)
  9. Robbie Rosen (Also one of my favorites. Does his voice remind anyone else of Anoop?)
  10. Pia Toscano (Another one of my favorite girls. She's awesome).
  11. Lauren Turner (I don't think I realized who she even was until last night, but the girl has a good voice. All she needs is a little hydrating product in her hair, and she is all set. I doubt she will make it through, but I think she deserves to).
  12. Ta-Tynsia Wilson (While I wasn't necessarily a fan of her song choice last night, overall, I think she has proven herself).
Close Calls and Other Comments:
  • I previously really liked Julie Zorrilla, but she just did horribly last night, so I took her off my list. I'd still be happy if she made it to the top 12.
  • Brett Lowenstern was too concerned with swinging and flipping his hair around to pay attention to the song he was singing and how off-key he sounded.
  • Poor Stefano Langone seems like such a happy fella, but his performance was just...not good.
  • Haley Reinhart made me feel slightly disturbed during her performance. It was like she was making out with the microphone...or the crowd. Not sure which, but it was uncomfortable.
  • I just have not liked Karen Rodriguez the entire competition, and I didn't think her song choice was that amazing, like the judges did.
I also felt like the judges were afraid to give criticism this week. Even when performances sounded pitchy and off-key, they still told them they were amazing, and maybe Randy would tell them they were pitchy, but he loved it. I hope as the season goes on, they are more open to being honest, or they start to realize that sometimes, they may have to give a negative comment or two.

Now, I know that this probably won't even be close to what happens tonight, but I have to hope that most of these people will make it. In recent years, getting to the top 12 seems to be the hardest part - America votes for dumb people. And, this week, being the first week America has even had the opportunity to vote, could shake up this entire competition. I bet we're going to see quite a few surprises.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Cubicle Resistant

At the age of just 23, I have now been laid off from two different jobs within the same company in the last month or so. Neither were performance or attendance-related, and the second one was somewhat expected after helping that branch out for about a month. All Managers and Supervisors involved told me many times I can use them for references, so I am pretty confident in the fact that it was nothing personal - just a matter of being hired at the wrong time and them not having enough work to keep me busy and require my services any longer.

One thing I have learned from this short stint in cubicle life is that I don't like it. Not one bit.

I know. It's what we, as Americans, do. We wake up early, we head off to that 8/9-5:00 job in rush hour traffic (both ways), we come home, have dinner, watch some television, and head to bed at an early hour. Grocery shopping and errands can be taken care of on the weekends, when we spend time with our families and friends and attempt to have social lives. Now, call me crazy, but who actually enjoys that routine? Just because it's what everyone else does, why do we have to do it?

I am not a morning person. I absolutely hate waking up early. Every once in a while, sure, no problem. But, having an obnoxious alarm clock going off at 5:30 every morning, (followed by two other alarms since it is that difficult to drag myself out of bed, and I'm always afraid I will fall back asleep), is no way to live. That feeling of waking up early and dragging myself off to work for eight hours, (with an hour unpaid lunch break in between), is something I think I'd be happy if I never felt again.

After sitting...just sitting there, at a desk, staring at a computer monitor all day, in my own little personal box without a ceiling, once 5:00 rolled around, I could finally drag myself back home. There, I'd cook dinner, try to get some cleaning done, catch up on some DVRed shows, and try to crank out a blog, all without falling asleep on the couch prior to 10:00. I felt like I had no free time because all I did was work during the day and sit on the couch most of the night before going to bed.

The best thing about not having to be at work everyday? I can go out to breakfast with my family at the Cracker Barrel. Do you have any idea how delicious breakfast is at the Cracker Barrel? Something is just even better about it when I don't have to work and can accompany some fine people on their breakfast excursion. I love going out to breakfast. Please, please don't ever take that away from me. It is just too...delightful. Who wants to scarf down a piece of raisin toast and eat 100 calorie pack snacks in the morning to make it through to lunch when you can go out for breakfast instead?

Due to the reasons listed above, I have determined I am cubicle resistant. I don't want to sit in one ever again. In fact, I might be allergic. I am going to make this work-from-home-business a success. Then, who's going to lay me off? Myself? I think not! It's the perfect solution to all my problems. I can wear sweatpants to work, I can decide when I start working, when I stop working, when I eat breakfast, when I eat lunch, when I want a day off, and when I want to take a vacation. It's no wonder working from home is the next big craze - there must be a lot of other cubicle resistant folks like myself out there, too.