awaken

That was pretty obvious the whole way through, but a good blindside nonetheless! Two jerks gone, two weeks in a row! Reed is all but invisible. Yes, Julie did look as if she had received a fresh injection of collagen to the lips!

Add me to the chorus of those who are truly baffled by Sean's design and the judges LOVE for it. It seemed like a old-fashioned nun/nurse/flight attendant uniform, was not body conscious, and looked uncomfortable as far as having to be careful not to wrinkle or dirty it simply by putting it on. I don't see how it was spectacular and how everyone had chills. Amanda's looked like a clown outfit, I hated how it pouched out at the hips and leg area and make the model look very wide and pear-shaped. I like that she's "found her voice" and enjoys color blocking, etc but this had way too much volume and wasn't flattering. I knew she'd be in the finals though, since she seems to be the anointed one from the beginning. Again, making the "comeback" relevant since having her go out without redeeming herself would make their bringing back an old contestant pointless. I love Char as a person and would love to be friends with her. She is a very classy individual. But she should have been out several weeks ago and should not go to fashion week. She is a great designer for the average person, but it's not high fashion and I don't think she has amazing construction skills. (Although we've certainly seen in the past that that doesn't matter too much on this show!) What kind of accent does Emily have? Is that a California Valley Girl accent? The way she says "hoodie" like "hiddie"? I knew she would be out, it seems like the judges have not liked her much from the beginning. She seems to mostly have gotten no feedback by being in the middle, or negative feedback. I think she is quite talented, creative, and deserves to be in the finals. Certainly more than Char. I don't know why they seemed to be so down on her. Didn't they used to have months to do a collection? Now it's less than a month? And I"m sure they'll have extra looks thrown in at the last minute, too. Too bad :(

I don't follow baseball and had never heard of John Rocker, but wow, he is one of the ugliest people I've ever seen, inside and out. I hate when they put "celebrities" on the show and have the big reveal of tribe mates finding out how famous and amazing they are. YAWN. His belligerence and "fame" does not stir up my interest at all. I'd be much happier getting to know a group of regular people each week. Even recycled Survivor castaways would be better than cocky athletes. And what is with Jeff being so obvious during the challenge between John and Julie- "NO ONE would have predicted this!!" No one would have predicted that a woman could win against the almighty baseball player? Puke. And Julie stands there and takes her boyfriend fuming and spewing about being beaten by a girl. Shameful. I am sorry Val got voted out. I really liked her, and thought she would go much further. I think the other half of the male couple is smart- Josh? He seems very intuitive and says what he needs to to make alliances and be a part of things, but keeps quiet when it's smart to do so. I hope he makes it far! And duh, why is it so ironic that a firefighter lost the flint? (Or maybe that was the 1st ep.?) It's not like firefighters START fires with their bare hands!!

I'm surprised we haven't had a Michelle grandchild yet! I'm not sure if this has been brought up, but it saddens me that Derick works for WalMart. yes, of course he needs to provide for his family and it's great that he has a 'real' job in the outside world and I respect that he's out there earning a living. But walmart has so many policies that harm their workers and that are so contrary to Christian beliefs. I'm surprised that what Walmart does is ok with them, and I wish a family that gets so much publicity as they do would take a stand. I wonder if it bothers them at all that he's working for a company that has a history of treating its workers so poorly. But I'm assuming being in Arkansas, no one can speak an ill word of walmart?

I've been wondering where in the DC area they live- thanks for satisfying my curiosity! For some reason I thought before they mentioned they were in Virginia; didn't know they were in Ft. Washington. I was super annoyed by the whole farmer's market and home cooking scene. It was like fruits and vegetables were a foreign concept to them. Yes, I love to take my kids to the farmers market every week and we really enjoy it and learn about where food comes from, budgeting, etc. But they are so over the top amazed- OMG a TOMATO!! I was horrified by how Josh and the kids seemed so skeptical about the "healthy" (i.e., normal) food. By squash I thought she meant some kind of really different kind of squash...maybe spaghetti squash or a local heirloom variety from the market or something, but no, regular old yellow squash!! And they're all going nuts about this new crazy food they're going to try, this amazing new dish that you'd need someone to come over and teach you how to make. Cut up squash and green beans and sauté it. What have they been eating all this time?! Oh, "biscuits" out of a can, I guess!! Oh, and I was kinda glad to hear Anna inject a little bit of reality about baby-making. That they're not dying to be pregnant or constantly have more kids, and they want to focus on enjoying the three kids they're been blessed with. That was really refreshing to hear. I don't know how true it is (the part about being ok with not being pregnant at the moment) but I appreciated that she would even think that way enough to say it.

I was also assuming the mobile was made after they knew Jill was pregnant already, and made to seem like a wedding gift. But the comments by Mckynzie (urgh, just typing that hurts!) about the wedding coming up were puzzling...hmmmm.... And oh my, now we're filming laying carpet. It's mind boggling that this is even being packaged and sold as a tv show. (yet, I watched!)

In the recent Maryland episode, they emphasize several times that it's in Silver Spring, and show downtown areas around the city several times, which are on the border with DC- but where the HH's were actually looking and bought was no where near there- quite further out in the "cookie cutter" suburbs and far out from the city! Strange how they didn't just say "outlying DC suburbs" instead of specifically naming and showing an entirely different city! I enjoyed the NY episode with the prom staircase and ideal christmas tree spot! Also really enjoyed the doctor who was moving back home to ?Idaho? and trying to decide whether to downsize or not, but either way, wanted a dining room that seated 24. She ended up buying the huge old house with a duplex next door, and doing major renovations on the kitchen! I thought it was way too much for her, with a busy job, and being later in life and thought she should have bought the first house! Glad she'll have family around to share it with, and hopefully help out with the reno and maintenance!

Yuck, just saw the Australia episode with the "demanding" couple with 3 kids. That was one of the more memorably awful eps I've seen. The woman sneering at every gorgeous home she saw, sniffing at stunning views, dismissing a beautiful infinity pool, saying "it's not TOO bad" about everything, and nothing was "impressive" enough for the guy. Then he keeps harping on her needing to go back to work if they go $200 over budget, yet the first thing he does when the move is to buy his own boat. Oh! And she says they never expected to walk up a HILL to the house, CERTAINLY not one that's unpaved!

Wow. That was terrible. Amy would not make it past Hollywood round on American Idol, much less to Nashville stardom. If she does, it will be on name recognition alone, and not her voice. I did not hear anything noteworthy or special about her performance. It sounded so timid and flat and out of tune.

Finally stopped by Spike's burger place in DC a few weeks ago and it was terrific! Good Stuff Eatery. I keep thinking about the awesome salted caramel milkshake! Can't wait to go again! That was an amazing description of your meal at Volt! Would love to do that some day!