Spring Break Day 2

Day 2 of Spring Break has been a little better than yesterday. We went to the beach this morning and the children are worn out. Things got a little hairy over lunch but now that rest time has begun all is peaceful. Am I the only person (mom) in the world that enjoys rest time and bed time so much that some days I really look forward to it? I know I am supposed to be molding their young minds but my mind is suddenly dead after a long day. Julie the Cruise Director (me) has to come up with an activity for this afternoon. What will we do? The busier they are the less they fight. And no I am not just realizing this.

Top Chef

I know that it takes me a few days to watch this show and discuss but I am starting to really enjoy it. OK, it would be better if I could eat the food (I am going to continue to say this over and over) but the drama is starting to heat up (get it heat up like a stove hee hee). Last week Erik (scary bald man) was eliminated so now on to the next challenge.

This week started with a guest judge (another very famous chef that I did not know) and a Quick Fire challenge. The Quick Fire was to create a "beautiful vegetable plate" using three or more techniques to make the plate stand out. As a non-chef I was unaware of what they were talking about when using the word technique but I took it to mean special ways to cut, arrange and prepare the food to make the plate more pleasing to the eye (my God that sounds like I know what I am talking about). Anyway, Dale won the challenge (fancy cutting techniques) and immunity for the Elimination Challenge.

The cheftestants (still love the word) were then split into groups of two (except the team that Dale chose to join) and had to create an entree inspired by a movie. Richard, Andrew and Dale seemed to be the dream team. This trio chose Willie Wonka (one move I hate with a passion, scared me as a child) and created a dish using faux caviar and white chocolate sauce. I was actually impressed with Mark and Ryan. The two seemed an unlikely duo, especially when Ryan started throwing out movies like Dumb and Dumber, but when they settled on A Christmas Story and came up with their Asian inspired duck dish; the idea really seemed inspired by their movie and they worked very well together. Once again Spike was an egomaniac and decided he wanted to do Vietnamese food before he decided on the movie (Good Morning Vietnam). Manuel just seemed to blindly follow Spike's lead which eventually led to Manuel's downfall.

In the end Richard, Dale, and Andrew won the challenge (Richard won overall) and Manuel was sent home. So on to next week to see who goes home next and who the next guest Chef may be that I do not know. I am waiting to see what will happen when one half of the lesbian couple is sent home. Also, I need for Spike to be taken down a few notches. It was his vision on the last challenge yet Manuel went home. It does not seem fair.

Spring Break

It is the first day of Spring Break for both of my children and already I am going crazy. We went to the gym this morning, then the library and then the grocery store and now that I am home all I can think of is "what am I doing wrong?" My children fight, scream, whine and complain and have basically done that for three hours this morning. Am I a failure? As a stay-at-home mother if my only job is to raise my children and they are acting this bad, have I failed? I have become angry screaming mom this morning and I don't like it. It's Spring Break we are supposed to be having fun, going to the beach chilling out. OK, OK deep breaths. This week has to get better.

Make Me A Supermodel

What a waste this entire hour was. The decision had already been made as to who was to become the "supermodel" and yet they kept us waiting for an hour to make sure to drive the point home. The models had go-sees (can they steal any more ideas from Tyra) to see if they could book jobs (and they were able to). Not only that but we had to watch each of the final four have a reunion (of sorts) with a loved one.

Did anyone else feel very uncomfortable for Ben and his wife? it was like he did not want her in his "new" life and she just seemed awkward and unsure (I think that this calls for a bless her heart). I do not see this marriage lasting at all. Especially after Ben was drooling over the other supermodel earlier in the day.

At least Holly's reunion with her fiancee was heartfelt. She seemed really excited (Holly shows emotion) and happy to see her beloved. He also seemed smitten and agreed to follow her wherever the journey took them. OK, vomit sweet but still sweet.

Poor Ronnie, no beloved only mom. He did seem happy to see his mother and she cried and said all the right things about her son who wants to be a model. Nice to see a mother so supportive of a son's dream and when she was kidding around with Ben's wife about Ronnie and Ben's bromance I was impressed with her acceptance of her son.

Now to the truly awkward (more so than Ben and his wife) moment. Perry's girlfriend arrives amidst the reports of her cheating on him. They whisper to each other, she tells him not to be stupid and like the wave of a wand all is right with the world. First of all, my God Perry, who wears the pants in this relationship? She basically admits she cheated but you accept that without any other explanation. The whole scenario made Perry look like a wuss and honestly made me like him less. Stand up for yourself. Ya'll may have been separated for three months but you did not cheat and you were surrounded by beautiful women.

Moving on (because I could bitch for hours about that one); the final runway show was fine but again a waste of time. Then the announcement came. Shock of all shocks, Perry leaves first. my money was on him all along so I was jolted by this news. Next to leave was Ben. Again a big shock. Everyone was gushing so much about his improvement that I thought he might honestly win. So the final two are Ronnie and Holly? Never saw that coming. I knew that Holly was a possibility (everyone loved her look) but I would have never put Ronnie in the final two. And the winner is.......Holly! OK, I can see it. She was consistent throughout and she will make an excellent model.

Final thoughts..will the show come back? Will we ever see any of these models grace the pages of any magazines we have heard of? What will happen to Perry and his girl (and do we care?)? Will Ben and his wife make it? Will Ronnie ever find love? This was a good show (read good not great). I do wonder if there will be another season. Stay tuned.

Teeth and Money

My oldest child lost his fourth tooth last night. The "tooth fairy" came and left him two dollars on his bedside table. He woke up this morning very excited about his money and announced at breakfast what he was going to buy with his new found wealth. As he was listing all of his new purchases I could see my youngest getting madder and madder about her lack of money. At that point my three year old announced that she was going to "make her teeth fall out because she needed money." At this pronouncement I freaked out. I had all of these mental images of my cute little three year old knocking her own teeth out just to get money to buy new toys. I tried to make her understand that all boys and girls lose their teeth eventually but not until the age of five or six. I also helped her to remember all of the "cool" toys she already had that she never plays with. I am hoping that this will be enough. I still have doubts that she understood but as long as I don't find baby teeth littering the house I will be all right.

The Real World Awards Bash

This "bash" was on Wednesday night and I just watched it last night. How old do I feel knowing that The Real World is going into its 20th season? Twenty years! Truthfully I have not watched the show the last 8-10 years. I have tried to get into many of the seasons but so much of the show now is so contrived that I cannot get past the girls kissing other girls because its "cool" and admitting that they are sex addicts.

The awards show was supposed to be a cummulation of the last 20 years before introducing the new Hollywood cast. The awards consisted of categories like; The Biggest Playa, Favorite Love Story, Steamiest Scene (yeah that was Vegas), Best Meltdown and so on. The final award was for Favorite Season. Now you know that only young kids are voting these days because Austin won for favorite season and most of the older fans did not even know that there was a season in Austin. Plus how in the world can Austin beat the first New York (still the first and the best), San Francisco (you may hate Puck but he kept you watching), or even New Orleans (I still love little Melissa).

I will say that it was interesting to see so many familiar faces from the last 19 seasons. I am still addicted to the challenges so every once in awhile an older cast member (Beth) will show up to compete. No matter what anyone says, The Real World is still the beginning of reality television and the first few years of the show were so much fun to watch. I felt as if I had a little trip down memory lane as I watched cast members (most that I did not recognize) get their fish bowl awards. I now feel old and outdated but it was fun to remember my youth. I wonder if that is how some of the older cast members feel?

Should I Stay or Should I Go....

Does anyone remember this song? Should I stay or should I go now, if you stay there will be trouble (and so on something like that). The lyrics are replaying themselves in my head right now. I have a friend who has found out that her husband is cheating on her. I actually think that she has known for awhile but did not want to admit it. Now she is pulling the martyr and has decided to stay "for the children". In fact her exact quote was "I have my kids so I will be fine." My question is, are the kids enough?

I love my children (most of the time) and would do anything for them but would I continue in a trust free loveless marriage, I don't think so. My children are great but they cannot talk to me at the end of a long day about adult things, they cannot go out to dinner with me on Saturday night and have a few drinks, they certainly cannot be intimate with me (gross) and they will not be staying with me their entire lives (God I hope not anyway). Everyone deserves to have someone who loves and respects them. In my opinion if you cheat, you no longer respect. Some people can regain that trust and respect; others just give up but no one should have to stick around and be miserable for the sake of someone else.

I got a little preachy with my friend (I did not mean to) and told her that didn't she want her children to see a happy fulfilled mom as opposed to a mom who is just settling? She had no answer for that. I guess no one really knows how we will react until we are faced with a similar situation. I just hope that I never have to find out. Sorry, got a little serious today. Happens every once in awhile.