Soon to be Mrs... Chevillet?

Last weekend we celebrated Jamie's upcoming nuptuals with a bachelorette party! To explain the title, Jamie is planning to keep her last name when her & Garret marry. I think that is very cool, but I do know she is in for a lifetime of confusion. No matter what her name is, people will always assume it is Mrs. Schneider. Thus is the world we live in.

This is Jamie & her mommy, Teresa. We started out with dinner and some gifts at DT Kirby's. I was fortunate enough to find the exact same "veil" for Jamie that she got for me 4 years ago for my bachelorette party! Ah, payback... You know what they say about payback.

Yes, yes, that IS a penis whistle around her neck. And a shot glass. Which got utilized. After dinner, we walked around the Taste of Tippecanoe (like the Taste of Chicago only like 1/100th the size) and hit up all the bars there. We watched the fireworks and then headed over to the piano bar at the Neon Cactus. This is the must-go-to place for bachelorette parties. Jamie had to stand up and get heckled about getting married before getting serenaded with the song "867-5309".

We made it out until 2:30am (I think?) and Jamie and I were the last two standing for the evening. We thought we were pretty toasted until we saw the girls that took the cab ahead of us. WOW. One girl couldn't process words. The other girl basically did a back-smacker while getting into the cab. Fortunately someone caught her and dragged her into the cab like a sack of potatoes.

I could tell that my body (and liver) is four years older because I was not right for four days after that night. (Four years older... Four more days of pain... Correlation?) It was a total blast though. Although, I can't say I'm anxious to do it again anytime soon!

Can't wait for August when Jamie will be a lovely, blushing bride!

Dear DeAnna,

(Bachelorette spoiler alert)
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Have fun marrying the guy with the goofy long hair and questionable career plans.

And you turned down poor Jason! After he made you a romantic boardgame. WTF?

Sincerely,
A Jason Fan

The Bachelorette & the Men Tell All

Since we only have 2 episodes left, I decided to do this one running diary style. This is going by DVR time, not real time. In case you care.

Men Tell All
8:00pm - They introduce all the dudes that are there. Why is Jeremy there? Did I miss an episode? Isn't he still in it. Crap. Nope, I wrote this a week ago. I'm so confused!

8:01pm - Graham gets a ton of applause. All those chicks think they can change him into a sweet guy. YOU CAN'T!!

8:07pm - Darby steps on my keyboard. --> ,.21,.w11

8:15pm - They show a video of Jeremy getting eliminated. MOTHER F-ER, I JUST REALIZED THAT THE MEN TELL ALL IS AFTER THE REAL EPISODE. F***. Well, there goes the suspense.

The actual episode
7:00pm - I'm so frustrated.

7:01pm - Have you noticed that Jason always puts his hand under her chin when he kisses her? Yeah, that's cute & sweet every now and then, but every time?

7:03pm - Blah blah, Graham this, Graham that. He's an a-hole!

7:04pm - It's time for Jeremy... Dude, I know you go home. I'm so pissed at myself for starting the wrong episode first. This is like the time I was watching Tivo'd Survivor and went online and accidentally saw who was voted off. I'm an idiot.

7:05pm - Jeremy goes "That was fun..." Followed by an insanely uncomfortable silence. DeAnna finally had to tell him not to be so serious.

7:07pm - Do you think DeAnna has people help her get ready? Jeremy keeps laughing like a weirdo. This is awkward. I think I could have seen him getting kicked out even if I hadn't screwed up.

7:09pm - It's the overnight invitation to stay "as a couple". Jeremy answers "Should we go down?" Um, Freudian slip much?

7:10pm - They're making out. It seems to be going pretty well now... Hmm...

7:13pm - Jason comes running to meet DeAnna. Seriously running. He looks like kind of a dork. He is still my fave though.

7:15pm - They go "off-roading" on a road...

7:17pm - Now they are kayaking. Wow, they suck at kayaking.

7:22pm - Jason seems to always have that perfect amount of stubble on his face. How does he do that??

7:23pm - Jason takes the topic off of his son Ty and puts it on DeAnna and says that she & Ty are the two most important people in the world to him. Wow. Good move Jason... Good move.

7:25pm - Jason gets 1/2 way through the "you can share a room" card and tosses it aside and says "Yeah, let's go!" Someone is enthusiastic!

7:27pm - Jason has another killer line about DeAnna teaching him that he could fall in love again. He is good. Jesse better do something super impressive because I think Jason has this wrapped up.

7:30pm - DeAnna talks about how she didn't kiss Jesse until the hometown date. She is basically implying that he needs to put out a little more, I think.

7:31pm - Jesse comes running up to her. Has he been taking notes from Jason?

7:32pm - Jesse attempts a kiss while they are horseback riding in the ocean. It doesn't work. A minute later he pulls it off.

7:34pm - They makeout in the water on the rocks on the beach... Get a room! Oh yeah, they might later on.

7:39pm - I'm still just not a fan of Jesse's hair.

7:40pm - Jesse asks when DeAnna wants to have kids. They both decide on before they are 30. DeAnna and Jesse are both 26, so that works out well.

7:42pm - Jesse talks about "shredding" and his dream to be a sports agent. Ok, really?

7:43pm - DeAnna just wants to go get busy in the fantasy suite. Jesse says "Not until I meet your dad." DeAnna looks like she is going to fall out of her chair. Jesse starts laughing and says let's go. I haven't been paying attention, have the suites all been different? Because if not, that's creepy. Yeah, I think they're different.

7:50pm - DeAnna talks about how she has 3 guys now and she is about to send 1 home and then she'll have 2. Good job! You can subtract!

7:51pm - She mentions Jeremy being "perfect" again. Yeah, perfect like a statue!

7:52pm - DeAnna says "My heart is breaking right now." TAKE A DRINK! (If you're playing the Bachelorette drinking game I made up last week.)

7:52pm - Jeremy looks shocked when she chooses Jason. I totally saw it coming. I feel bad for him though.

7:55pm - Jeremy says this is potentially one of the worst days of his life. This is coming from a guy who has lost both his parents. You've known this girl for like 2 months. And she has been dating many other guys the whole time. Really?

7:57pm - DeAnna is holding hands with Jason & Jesse at the same time. It looks like they're about to play ring around the rosie. This is awkward.

7:58pm - Jeremy makes the limo driver stop so he can walk around. Is he going to puke? I know how that feels. You don't even have time for the driver to stop and get a cheeseburger. You just have to get out of the car.

Next week DeAnna takes Jesse & Jason home to meet her family!!!

Men Tell All (Ok, back to this...)
8:16pm - Jeremy says he might get sweaty palms and run off stage when DeAnna comes on. That would be a first!!

8:21pm - Graham gets called up to the "hot seat". More hoots and hollers. Girls love jerks.

8:22pm - They show a clip of Ellen Dgeneres saying that Graham is scared to death. Graham looks like he despises Ellen. "Damn you Ellen!"

8:25pm - Yup, he just confirmed it. He hates Ellen.

8:31pm - DeAnna is on the scene.

8:33pm - DeAnna explains what happened with Jeremy. Then there is an awkward silence. I want to fast forward. I'm uncomfortable.

8:34pm - DeAnna zings Graham. Haha. Those two just can't get along.

8:36pm - We find out that Paul took a bubble bath in DeAnna's bathtub while she was out. That's a little weird!

8:42pm - They show a clip of DeAnna. "My heart is breaking right now." "This is breaking my heart." TWO DRINKS! I bet you could do a whole clip show of her saying things like that.

8:44pm - The virgin football player goes off on DeAnna. He is such a weirdo.

8:45pm - Some clips. In one, DeAnna's horse takes off. Hilarious! A few of DeAnna struggling with grammar.

8:46pm - They show the barber being annoying. And the weird dude that tore off his shirt and howled.

8:47pm - DeAnna announces that she IS engaged... Oooh!

8:48pm - They allow crazy howling dude to tear off his shirt and howl them into the commercial break. Some women in the audience look impressed. Some look scared. Some are doing what I would and laughing their a$$es off.

8:52pm - They show a clip where DeAnna tells Jesse she doesn't usually fall for guys "like him". That's not a compliment!

8:56pm - They show some clips of Jason and his chin hold kisses.

The finale is next week! Can't wait!! I'm predicting Jason, but we all know he's been my favorite all along. Whoa, they show that BOTH guys come to her parents' house at the same time. That's weird... And they both get down on their knee to propose. Are you serious? That is just torture.

8:59pm - Fred (from Chicago) gets asked out by a girl in the audience. And he says yes. Wow!

The end! I'm going to bed. (No, it's not 9pm.)

The Bachelorette - We're down to THREE!

SPOILER ALERT... FUBAR...
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Last night was the hometown dates. The 4 dudes left were Jason (Seattle), Jeremy (Dallas), Jesse (Colorado) & Graham (North Carolina).

Jesse's family was really cool. And Jesse took her snowboarding. Wow, he's a good snowboarder! He opened up to his dad and told him how DeAnna makes his hands sweat. The big mistake Jesse is making right now it not kissing DeAnna. He's got a one-way ticket to the FRIEND ZONE.

Jason's family was insanely sweet and welcoming. DeAnna met Jason's son, who is super cute. The family even made a Greek meal for DeAnna. The one weird part was where they all played leap frog in the back yard. Ummm. Yeah...

Jeremy's brothers were really overprotective and tried to be harda$$es, which was kind of lame. Jeremy had a pretty amazing condo though. Like DeAnna says, everything about him is so perfect. She likes that. I think he is a 2-dimensional cardboard cutout. I wonder if she has checked for this...

Graham started off the visit really well. He was super open and fun. His parents were really nice, but I think Graham's mom shot him in the foot when she talked about how she didn't think Graham was ready for a long-term relationship. Then, at the end of the date, it was SUPER awkward. Graham wouldn't talk and kept being all blah and dickish. Then he ended it up with a HUG. We all know how frustrating that can be.

So, in a VERY dramatic end to the episode, DeAnna sent Graham home. I never really saw the attraction here. Yeah, he's attractive to look at, but he's always pouty and just doesn't talk half the time. DeAnna was almost falling into that trap that so many girls do where they end up dating jerks. You could even see it when she was talking. "I really think he has feelings for me..." "I think he could be different with me..." Blah blah. Yeah right. Girls always think they can change a guy. They can't. He's always going to be emotionally unavailable and kind of a prick.

In the long run, DeAnna actually did make the right decision in sending Graham home. Adios poopy pants Graham!! I just hope she can get past him to focus on the guys she has left!!

Next week: The romantic overnight dates.

{sidenote} I think you could make this season of the bachelorette into a drinking game. Any time DeAnna says "My heart is breaking right now," take a drink. You'll be hammered!

Fess up DeAnna!

Last night I watched Monday's episode of the Bachelorette. First though, I watched the hour long recap/interview with DeAnna. During this episode, DeAnna kept trying to claim that she didn't already have a "favorite 3". I wasn't buying it. I've been watching all season, and I agree with the other guys. Her top 3 is OBVIOUS:
(in no particular order)
*Jeremy
*Jason
*Graham

So, I next watch Monday's episode. At this time she narrowed it down to 4 guys. Surprise surprise, it is:
*Jeremy
*Jason
*Graham
*Jesse
And she kept talking about how she wasn't all that attracted to Jesse. Come on DeAnna! Don't feed us BS!

I'm boring!

So, I haven't been blogging that much lately. You probably didn't even notice, but that's ok. I'm not quite to Blog-a-Mania levels yet. (March 24th Bryan???? Really???) My main reasons for lack of blogging have been: mowing, total dullness last weekend, my tv shows all ending. So, here's some random thoughts:

* CONGRATULATIONS TO JAMIE! She got a job offer from our hometown newspaper, the Journal & Courier, as a photo-journalist! While Jamie isn't quite as thrilled as I am about living in Indiana, I am hoping that she learns to love it! It will be SO good to have hear nearby after her stints in Tennessee, Korea, and Ohio. (Oh, and my year in Virginia.)

* I was reading about Vice Prez possibilities for Obama. I was fully expecting to not recognize a single name (I'm not CFunk). I was surprised to see Evan Bayh on the list. That would be a major mid-western ticket right there! Obama from Chicago and Bayh from Indiana... Sweet.

* This weekend, Lee and I decided to meet halfway between DeMotte & Norfolk. This ends up being on the very western edge of West Virginia. We are staying in a cabin and going whitewater rafting. It should be a fun time (minus the driving). Lee will also be home for 5 whole days next week. I'm letting the grass grow just for him...

* Next week will be a busy week. I am attending a case race on Monday (Team PBGC, Deloitte's pension drinking team, is defending their title. Oh, and PBGC stands for Pension Beer Guzzling Crew!). Then, Wednesday I fly to Pittsburgh for a BIG client meeting. Thursday, I fly back into O'Hare 30 minutes before Lee is set to arrive!

* I finally got a new camera! (Ahow, I almost wrote phone. I still get confused!) It would cost $107 + shipping to fix my old one, so I just went ahead and got a new one at COSTCO. It is weird how 5 years ago I bought a camera that had like 4 mega-pixels and I paid $350 for it and now I can get a 8 mega-pixel camera for $160.

* Farmer Wants a Wife is on tonight. I missed the 2nd half of last week's episode because of a stupid baseball game or something. I'm going to see if I can watch it online before tonight's new episode. Reuter watched FWAW and was not a big fan. He thought that Matt was an idiot. I don't think that Matt is an idiot... He has a college degree, so he isn't uneducated. Plus, it said that they farm 2,000 acres. I am guessing that they don't own all the land that they farm, but probably a good chunk of it. I'm not sure how much farm land goes for out in Missourri, but here in Indiana it goes for about $5k/acre which would make 2,000 acres... Get the calculator... $10 million. Plus, he's got killer abs and he looks good riding on a tractor with no shirt on! My favorite on the show is Amanda from Chicago!! I think she looks a little like Summer from the OC. She is fun and not one of the weird religious virgins.

* Apparently some people don't agree, but I am with Stacia, the Bachelorette is addictive! And I totally agree with her assessment of creepy Ron & Jeremy. The best was at the end when Ron kept going "DeAnna didn't reject me. She just chose other guys. She didn't reject me. I haven't been rejected." Yeah, keep telling yourself that weirdo! My favorites are Jason, the single dad, Brian, the football coach from TX, Graham and Jesse. Although, I'm not attracted to Jesse, I think he is a good, funny guy. I'm just not into long hair. Is it just me or does Robert the chef remind anyone else of Brian Jones?

Ok, that is enough rambling. I better get back to checking data.

Bachelorette - Episode 1

Guys are weird. Last night we met 25 dudes. Some were nice, smart, & sweet. But, most were weird, awkward & made me feel uncomfortable. In the end, I think DeAnna made some good choices. Here are my cheers & jeers after episode 1. (We can compare to who I liked before the show.)

Cheers:
Jason - Jason is a single dad. He seems sweet! AND cute!
Brian W. from Texas - He is a football coach in TX. He makes grey hair look good. I thought he seemed like a nice guy!
Richard - He is a science geek, which some of us can relate to. He got one of the first impression roses and said he felt like it was redemption for all the people who made fun of him in high school. Awww.
Jeers:
Robert - The chef. He was pretty cocky about his seduction skills. And he isn't even hot.
Brian W. from Indiana - He was not getting any attention from DeAnna, so he pulled up his shirt and forced her to rub his abs. EEK! Way to make our state look like a bunch of buff molesters.
Spero - He's an actor. I couldn't stand the glasses or his personality.
Sean - I can't stand his hair. He is a martial arts master, and he kicked a lemon off of a guy's head. It flew across the room and sounded like it broke something. Great first impression... I hope you do that when a girl takes you home to meet the parents!
Patrick D. - I think he boozed it up a little too much. While he was being interviewed by DeAnna's friend Jenni, he asks her to sit on his lap and cuddle with him. Seriously? Is that the way to get a rose?
Greg - At the end of the night, Greg didn't get a rose. In response, he ripped off his shirt and howled... Um, yeah.

So, it looks like the only one from my original top 3 to remain in my favorites is Richard.

In the previews, it shows that the guys are all staying down in a bunk house, but a few of them get to come up and live with DeAnna at certain times. That'll be interesting!!! Can't wait to see how this season pans out!

Don't forget to set your DVR for BACHELORETTE!

Premieres Monday May 19th 9/8c. DeAnna, who was ditched on the last season of the Bachelor (before London Matt) is back to look for love. And this time she's the one packing the heat (er, roses).

From looking through the bios, I am anxious to meet:

1. Patrick C. from Chicago
2. Richard from Binghamton, NY
3. Ron from Kansas City, MO

I'm not that impressed with the pool of dudes. I guess DeAnna and I do not have the same taste in men!

Lady blog readers, leave me a comment with the bachelors you want to see!