Ok, so my prediction was wrong.

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Last week I predicted that the brown team would fall under the yellow line again. I was wrong. But, I still maintain that they are not long for this game! (Watch them make it to the final two now, just to make me look like a moron.)

My Recap:
1. They did a challenge where they had to stand on one foot. Whoever held it the longest won their loved one coming to visit for 24 hours. They all thought it was going to be easy. Are you serious? That is tiring. And I am not nearly as fat as you. Imagine all their mammoth weights on one foot. A few people fell, but most of them ended up letting Mandi win since she apparently whined enough. I don't have a ton of sympathy for people that are away from their spouse for 6 weeks while they're at fat camp. I guess I'm still unimpressed from doing an 8 month deployment (ok, I didn't do it, I sat at home while Lee did it), and I know that even WE were lucky since the Marines are stuck over there for 15 months!

2. Jillian was PISSED that Mandi won the visit. She knew it would screw Mandi up in the head and mess up her weight loss.

3. At the challenge, the teams had to hold a bar up over their heads. Whoever dropped the bar last won immunity. Like the one leg challenge, I thought this was tough. It sounds easy, but they did it for like 3 hours. Imagine how asleep your arms would be... And how every drop of blood would pour out of your arms. Blech. It came down to the green team and the purple team. They were also complaining about how cold it was. Lee started ripping on them since they were in Cali. Then they said it was 38 degrees out... Oh, that is pretty cold.

4. The purple team ended up winning! I was happy for that. The green team kind of annoys me. Laura is a cry-baby and Tara is loud and I feel like she is always hitting on the dudes. The married dudes...

5. Mandi's husband comes to visit. He is very country. Then as a surprise, her two sons are there too. One of them was named Remington. Lee kept saying "Her husband has to be a hunter." As Jillian predicted, Mandi spent the entire 24 hours with her family instead of working out. She also boo-hoo'd so much. She really needs to keep her head in the game. I mean, if she lets their visit screw things up too much, she'll end up on the plane with them on the way home!

6. At the weigh-in, Blaine & Dane fall below the yellow line. At this weigh-in, just one team falls below and one of the two partners gets voted off. I don't mind the black team, but their names are too similar and confusing, so I'm kind of excited one of them is going home.

7. Blaine talks to the other players and asks them to send him home and let Dane stay. He wants to be with his new baby and he thinks he can lose the weight at home easier than Dane. Everyone starts debating this. The contestants on Bob's team want to send Dane home as payback for when Jillian's team sent Damien home unstead of moron-Joelle. I totally think Bob's team should do that. Payback's a bitch. Tara sobs and slobbers and says they have no heart. Blah blah, she's just mad because the black team is her #1 source of dudes to flirt with.

8. In the end, they respect Blaine's request and vote him out. Pussies. At the vote, Tara totally professes her love to Blaine. What is his wife thinking watching this at home?

So, here is an update on who Lauren likes and who Lauren doesn't like:

Likes:
The blue team, Sione & Filipe
The pink team, Heather & Shannon
The purple team, Kristen & Cathy

Dislikes:
THE GREEN TEAM, LAURA & TARA
The yellow team, Mandi & Aubrey
The brown team, Mike & Ron

So so:
Dane (I'm just glad I know which one he is now that Blaine is gone.)

Su perro is muy tonto!

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Ugh!

So, the Mexican family across the street got a puppy about 4 months ago. They don't let the puppy into the house, so it is always in the yard or in their garage. This isn't that awful when the weather is nice and the kids are out a lot. But, during the winter, the puppy doesn't get too much attention. (And I feel sorry for it because it is butt-ass cold out.) So... Where does it go? It is at the bus driver lady's house more than it is at home. It also comes over to our house and hangs out in our yard and has even been caught in our garage a few times when we have the door open for more than 30 seconds.

Well, today, I hear barking outside our house. Apparently the dumb puppy got chased into our yard by a big yellow lab... And it went to hide under our deck. It barked and barked and barked. Lee and I went out and stomped on our deck to try and get it out. Nothing. We tried to lure it out with some catfood. That worked momentarily. It got out as far as the garage door and then bolted back under the deck. As I write this, it has been under the deck barking for an hour and a half. I am usually very pro-animal-rights, but if I had a bb gun right now, I would be using it to get that freaking dog out.

I wish our neighbors would freakin' take care of their dog. They are very close to getting a strongly worded letter in their mailbox...

Congratulations to the Howards!

Yesterday Ahow & Marlene welcomed little Adelaide & little Miriam into the world! They were clearly anxious to meet everyone since they were born 11 weeks early! Adelaide was 2 lbs 6 oz and Miriam was 2 lbs 2 oz. So, they should outweigh their dad & their uncle Lucas any day now. (Those Howard boys are bean poles!)

Oh, and another congrats to Ahow for starting off my Monday morning with a visual of Marilyn Manson banging Rose McGowan to the song "Rock me Like a Hurricane"... (From the movie Jawbreaker.)

I may kill my husband...

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Every Sunday, I get an email from the American Pregnancy Association. It tells you what's going on with your bun in the oven, what to expect, etc. There is always a section called "Tips for mom's partner". Lee was reading this section today, and it was all about how fat & unattractive I may be starting to feel and how to make me feel better about myself.

Lee apparently chose to go another route. He gave me a new nickname today, and it is not flattering.

This morning, I was opening a pack of Chips Ahoy (see previous post about my love of cookies). I guess I made a loud noise while opening the container. So, Lee said it sounded like a grizzly bear was tearing into it. My mom laughed, Lee laughed harder... I did not laugh. And now he won't stop making grizzly bear jokes and comments.

Update: He just told me he is surprised I can type so well with my big grizzly paws. He's gonna get murdered.

The hilarity continues. Topics for today's jokes:
- Our baby is now a bear cub.
- I hunt for salmon.
- I hibernate.
- Best of all, I steal picnic lunches in state parks.

Double Digits Baby! (And I do mean baby this time!)

Today is 100 days until our due date!

This countdown feels quite similar to our Navy countdown.

Like Michelle, I have been getting a lot of the same questions over & over. So, I figured I would answer some of them here:

When are you due?
May 19th. Exactly 100 days from today!

Do you know what you are having?
We think so. I mean, there's always that scary scary chance that we plan for a baby girl and our baby comes out with a surprise tallywhacker! Hopefully we'll get some confirmation at our 3D ultrasound on March 7th!

Can you feel her moving?
I've been feeling movement for quite awhile, however just in the last 3 weeks has it gotten crazy powerful! Oh, and she also discovered my ribs, which is fun... Not so much. She also has some flips up her sleeve that make it feel like I'm on a rollercoaster.

Have you had any weird cravings?
Yes & no. For the most part I have just been craving the normal things that I like a LOT MORE. Like pizza, spaghetti, ice cream & cookies. But, I have been totally craving carbs like a mad woman!

Do you have a name picked out yet?
Yes. We have a first name. We'll see about a middle name... And fortunately, I know that the name is not on the Reuter or Howard short list, so I don't have to lose sleep over that!

How are you feeling?
This is definitely the #1 question asked by absolutely everyone. I feel fine. I am enjoying the time between the nausea of the 1st trimester and the big-as-a-house-ness of the 3rd trimester. But, if I were the complaining type, heartburn, bachache and severe severe hip pain would be on the list.

Are you still going to the gym?
I don't get this question since I never was a gym rat.

Do you have the baby's room ready?
Not at all and it makes me nervous. We are getting a crib from my uncle, but he isn't giving it to us until the end of the month. So, we have a crib mattress and crib bedding... But it's laying on the floor. We also have been storing all the trim (and an air compresser) from our bathroom remodel in the baby room, so that doesn't help things either!

What color are you painting the room?
We're not. For a few reasons. 1) Lee and I are neutral wall people (aka boring). I have owned two places in my life and I have yet to re-paint anything. 2) We may be moving in the next year, and have watched enough HGTV to know what house buyers do when they walk into a room where they don't like the color.

Are you going back to work?
I will be a working mom for sure. What I will be working as remains to be seen.

Are you getting nervous?
Yes, I'm a worrier in general. I'm not scared of the labor or the baby coming home. I'm nervous about getting all the stuff we need. And trying to buy stuff now so we can spread out the cost of all the baby needs, yet leaving enough on my registry for my baby showers... Plus, Lee & I have a lot of job changes that could happen in the next few months, so that is always fun to add to the regular baby anxiety!

BAM!

MAN FUR!

Gary, IN - Fur capital of the US?

Every Tuesday & Thursday, I pick up the South Shore Train to Chicago at Gary Metro Center in downtown Gary. Gary has had a pretty reputation for being the murder capital of the US for awhile. Those times have changed...

Now I'm pretty sure it is the fur-coat capital of the US.

There are freaking fur coats EVERYWHERE. Short ones, long ones, hooded ones... And the best... The man furs.

I have also learned SO many random facts about fur coats that I didn't need to know.

Like every fall Macy's has a big deal on fur & fur maintenance.

And I didn't even KNOW there was maintenance to do to a fur. Apparently you have to wax it,basically. What? So weird.

The ones with the shorter fur are more expensive because they are more "groomed".

I also had to listen to this moron lady talk about how she is shopping for furs and she found one that was chinchilla. Well, she didn't know what a chinchilla was, so she went online and checked it out. She got grossed out because she thought the chinchilla looked like a rat. So, she was just going to go with mink... Um, does she have any idea what a mink looks like???

chinchilla -----------------------------mink

Personally, I think fur is really gross. I'm not one of those people that is going to dump ketchup on you or anything, but I could really do without seeing & hearing about it every Tues & Thurs!!! But, hey, I guess it is better than being the murder capital of America...

Joelle is a Moron

So, the theme of the last TBL blog was about what a horrible partner David was to Dan. This week's theme? How horrible of a partner Joelle is...

I think the Joelle may be the most hated contestant BY OTHER CONTESTANTS. (This takes nothing away from Vicky who was most hated by America.) It is easy to see why too. Joelle watches & talks more than she works out. If the picture on your screen were to go out, you would think that she was working her a$$ off. But she's not. She has pushed Bob's buttons more than I have ever seen anyone do! I'm not sure why Carla 1) asked Joelle to be her partner. I mean, is she her only fat friend? Surely you could come up with someone with a little more work ethic. 2) left Joelle on the ranch. Yes Joelle did succeed by some miracle to bring Carla back to the ranch. BUT, even if they were voted off at the same time, had Carla stayed, she would have at least gotten a month on the ranch. And it would have been a blissful month without Joelle's dumb a$$.

Recap:

1. The players that had gone home weigh-in for the first time back. No big surprises here. Some people did well, some people sucked. A lot of them boo-hoo'd about how hard it is at home. Aubrey losing only 2 lbs at home spurred Jillian & Bob to go off on a huge rant about not making excuses. It was pretty hadcore. At the end, Sione won the weigh-in giving the blue team immunity for the week. He mentioned how he thought he didn't have time to work out yet watched 3 hours of tv a night.... Hmm. Ironic to say on a tv show that is 2 hours long... I blame my fat-ness on the Biggest Loser!!! Filipe was pumped to say the least.

2. In the challenge, the players had to unravel themselves from a big long pipe by jumping over it and then crawling under it. All while being tied together. This really didn't seem all that hard to me... The pipe was only at waist height. The brown team made it LOOK really hard though. In the end, the yellow team won and got to choose between $5k and 2 lbs at the weigh-in.

3. Insert lots of footage of Joelle being a slacker. She WATCHES people workout about 100 times more than she actually does anything.

4. Weigh-in time. The yellow team takes the 2lb advantage. Nothing too terribly surprising from the weigh-in. Joelle ended up losing ZERO lbs. Zero? Hmm, that is strangely similar to how much work she did all week. Joelle starts blowing some smoke about how she didn't lose weight because she was "upping her intensity"... Bob didn't have any idea what she was talking about. Um, if your trainer doesn't have a clue what you're talking about, you're probably full of it. The silver team clearly drops below the yellow line. Along with the brown team.

5. Have you noticed that it has been all the same teams below the yellow line week after week? It has been silver, orange, brown & yellow. Once the last of the dead weight gets voted out, the game might actually get interesting.

6. Ron, the brown father makes another tearful plea for his son. Deja vu? I'm not sure why I don't feel sorry for the brown team, but I just don't.

7. All the contestants attack Joelle and she makes a million & one excuses that don't make any sense.

8. At the vote, the silver team goes home. Every single vote had an indication that it was JOELLE they were voting out and they would miss Carla. Then everyone gave Carla a hug and no one said anything to Joelle. Harsh, but I can't say it wasn't warranted.

At the "where are they now?" update, Joelle & Carla were NOT friends anymore. Both had lost some weight, rather surprising for Joelle. I really hope that Carla can lose a ton on her own!

My prediction: The brown team falls below the yellow line again next week (3rd time) and FINALLY gets sent home. Then the real contestants start doing battle!

The Superbowl Rollercoaster

My company had the traditional Superbowl squares for sale, so I bought 5 of them.

Lee and I ended up not getting back from Monticello until the middle of the 2nd quarter, but I checked online, and none of my squares had been the correct 1st quarter score.

Then I realize... Hey, the 2nd quarter is ending and the score is:
Steelers 10
Cardinals 7
And I have the squre for that! Awesome. NOBODY SCORE.

Next thing I know, the Cardinals are on the 5 yard line. This sucks because I am cheering for the Cardinals, so I totally want them to score... But, I would also like the $40. Decisions decisions. So, I am half cheering for them to get a touchdown or field goal, but half being selfish and wishing for them to get stopped.

Well, I guess the greedy side wished a little harder and they turned the ball over. For about 10 seconds I was like "Cool, $40 here I come!" Then I realized that freaking Harrison was still running. OH CRAP! TOUCHDOWN STEELERS.

I lose the $40 and the Cardinals are down even more. Not cool!

At halftime, Lee got hooked on the show Wipeout (he seriously just sits and laughs and laughs at it), so we didn't watch much of the 3rd quarter. We finally flipped it back to watch the excitement of the 4th quarter, thankfully.

SO, Monday morning, they send out an email of who won each quarter. I begrudgingly open the email. OH MY GOSH, I won the 3rd quarter and didn't even know it! I guess the Superbowl gambling gods felt sorry for me!

But, I'm sure the people I work with do NOT feel sorry for me. I won about $80 in the regular season NFL pool while Chris M that I work with came in 2nd. Now in the Superbowl, I won a quarter and Chris M won the first TWO quarters. They're probably ready to uninvite Chris and I from participating! They are probably pretty sick of sending us money!

TBL

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I know I am a total slacker. I thought I better address last week's episode before this week's airs! (And I fear the wrath of Jess.) I had missed the week before, so I was catching up at the beginning of the episode. Apparently they voted Damien off instead of Joelle. Hmmm.

* My initial question is: When was this show taped? Was this taped before the finale of last season? Because Alison is looking pregnant. So, I'm assuming this was taped before the finale when she was ready to pop. I'm confused.

* I am so amazed that Joelle is still around. She is so freaking annoying. If talking burnt as man calories as working out, she'd be above the yellow line every week. I mean, this chick has pushed Bob to the edge and he is usually a very patient man!

* Dan's (the fattest man in TBL history) partner David totally sucks. He's back home smoking and eating horribly. What an idiot.

* Blaine gets to go home & be with his wife while she gives birth. That was nice of them. I mean, I know it is like kid #8 for them, but I would be pretty annoyed if I had to go through labor alone! (Note to Lee: Don't go on TBL in the next 3 months.)

* Dan is not a hard worker. He has already been below the yellow line once, and he should be coasting right now. I mean, he's insanely fat. He used to eat terribly. And he is only 19, which means he should have some metabolism buried deep down in there. Oh, and he has total sausage fingers. WOW.

* Before the weigh-in, they bring back all the partners. Stupid David.

* It ends up being the brown team & the orange team going below the yellow line. This is pretty sad since the brown son & the orange team are the youngest players on the show. Kids these days... I tell you.

* The brown dad (Ron) tearfully fights for him & his son to stay on the ranch. This is ironic since just a couple weeks ago when Dan fell below the yellow line, Ron was making the biggest deal about how Dan should stay. The tables turn when YOU'RE the one up against him, huh Ron.

* Stupid David opens his big yapper and basically says that he doesn't want to be there and he can do it on his own. Yeah, we saw how well you were doing at home smoking and eating hot dogs. Idiot.

* In the elimination, David gets his wish and they get sent home. Worst partner ever. Dan was no TBL star by any means, but David was MVP of the brown team.

* The good news of the show was that in his video update, Dan had lost a LOT of weight. I hope that he can keep it up! David can be a fat blob forever for all I care.

Can't wait to see the partners weigh in on tonight's show!!!