spring hibernation

tonight i switched out closet from fall/winter to spring/summer. while doing that, i realized that many of my spring/summer clothes would not work this year. so i packed those away too. usually, one plastic bin is enough, but now i'm not so sure. this pile looks smaller than it is.
these are all the clothes left that i hope to be able to wear this spring (in addition to tshirts and the two blazers on the opposite side of the closet). there will be a few more dresses and skirts. i have surrendered to the idea that i will not wear another pair of pants for the next six months. this makes me sad because i am a pants kind of girl.
in addition, i have started the maniacal habit of wearing things now that i don't think i'll be able to wear in a matter of weeks. in contrast to my livelihood, i don't care very much about clothing. to rephrase, i guess don't care to have very many clothes but am attached to the things i do have. a few times this past week, i changed my outfit twice in a day. usually, jse thinks this habit is funny and cute, but when i've crossed the line and my clothes look like sausage casing, he will look at me up and down and say that it's time to "temporarily retire that".

garage renovation pt 2

this week, garage renovations continued. jeremy and his guys installed the siding, ceiling and windows. next week, electricity, sheet rock, painting and a very special jse creation, carriage doors.

here's part one:
http://roachehotel.blogspot.com/2010/12/garage-renovation-pt-1.html

"it's not always fun"

during the viewing of the final rose ceremony, two girls had the runs, one girl had to change clothes, and everyone fit into the category of what dgh would call "stress eating". it was a little intense, even though the final rose was no big surprise.

first i would like to say that while emily's punctuated childhood romance is very terrible and sad, it makes for an AWESOME story. instant tears, unyielding empathy, makes you want to empty your pockets, donate your organs, bank account, heart, all to her. jse clarified that "ricky tick" comes from "rikki tikki tavi", which is a childhood story i must have missed because i was busy at orchestra practice. or math camp. or day dreaming about what my white friends were doing.

chantal officially scraped the bottom of the style bucket this week - a backless top to meet parents? layering a crumpled grayish white camisole underneath does not make you modest. it is like trying to enter go to church in a string bikini (in her case, crocheted) with a cardigan on top. man, i would have preferred the green burnout tee to that.

however i did love the dress chantal wore to the final rose ceremony. wouldn't you give a rose to her?

by their final date, channy channy sniffed out that brad has never reciprocated any of her feelings toward him. so to be memorable, she picks out an even shorter pair of shorts, duct tapes her boobs together and swims with sharks to prove her love. did you know that you can buy map colors in africa? you can. and you can find tracing paper and maps too. and if you ever want a boy to fall in love with you, draw him a map of every location where you've kissed. and if he doesn't tell you he loves you, he will at least give you an awesome nickname.

on brad and emily's date, the two things that she seemed most concerned about were 1. whether brad was ready to be a father and 2. fighting to keep the part in her hair perfect amid the tornado that was apparently breeching cape town. that conversation was rough. at one point, i thought she would admit that no one can ever quite be prepared for what it will be like to parent, but she didn't and instead brought up being sick at 3am or going to the emergency room. nice. emily was definitely poking the bear.

the rose ceremony was sad if your name was chantal. she kept glancing at the rose which made me wonder if she was going to grab it and make a run for it. she didn't. she and her feathers and taped boobs got back into the "coming to america" limo with poise. good moment. and the fairy tale engagement between brad and emily was pretty perfect and romantic...

...and then the after show was a complete disaster. worse than when jessica simpson became a size 8.

i have championed brad's cause (therapy) all season. however, the way he handled chantal at the show left a lot to be desired. i think being verbally attacked by emily every tuesday morning for the last two months has beaten the guy down. even though brad knew that emily was the one he wanted, i think pursuing someone totally opposite of her gave him the confirmation and contrast he needed, especially over an abbreviated length of time. and more importantly, he really did have a connection and comfort with chantal that he didn't (and from the looks of it, still doesn't) have with emily. it seemed like chantal was just looking for confirmation that her intuition was right, that they did share something deep and important, and brad couldn't admit that. instead he says "come here", holds her and kisses her on the forehead. good move, brad.

i did love when brad brought up that chantal had a new man in her life. her tears immediately evaporated and she proclaims that after 2.6 days, he has taught her that she can love again. that he is everything she has been looking for. that he shows his commitment by eating as many burritos as she does.

the interview with brad and emily was rough. emily had what i like to call "empty eyes", like tom cruise. they smile and say nice stuff but their eyes are dead. emily said she loved brad and that she was hopeful about their future, but i felt as if you could finish all of her sentences with "..but he's not ricky." sad.

they're trying to have a normal relationship with very abnormal circumstances. all of the turmoil is understandable. maybe, hopefully, they'll find a happy place. i'd like to see their toothy, blonde children.

evan's new ride

hold on tight, little buddy
happy kiddo.

last man standing

i feel a little "pressured" to write an entry on the bachelor: women tell all (one person is an albino and the other is a milk factory) even though i don't have much to say. i usually don't give into peer pressure but it's sunny outside. why not.

maybe i don't have much to say because michelle's reptilian tongue was a HUGE distraction, i wanted to ask chris harrison to give the girl some carmex. other distractions included shots of britt's hands, which i wondered if shawntel embalmed pre-show, ashley's jaundice spray tan and alli's greasy bangs.

it was strange that women who never made it past the first rose ceremony had such a strong opinion on things while shawntel, who was part of the final four, did not speak the whole two hours. jackie seemed to be the leader of the pack, her forehead and under bite seemed to become more pronounced with every verbal dagger she threw at michelle. i started imagining her dragging a club behind her. then i imagined if brad and jackie were a cro magnon caveman couple.

at some point in the show, michelle woke up from amnesia and remembered that she had a daughter. probably because she realized that she was wearing her daughter's heart print tank top.

i wish ashley would realize that things with brad didn't work out because she made no indication that she was willing to move to austin, not because she and brad spent so much time "reassuring" each other.

brad did a great job, although it's alarming to me that he has become the man on a pedestal for a lot of these women. because truthfully, botox + creatine + purple going out shirt + neutering (in that order) will get you something pretty close.

i'm not sure who brad will end up with!!! this whole time i've been positive that it's chantal, but i am still in shock that emily told r2d2 that she was in love with him and even more shocking that he reciprocated!

we're having a costume party for the last episode if you want to come, seal said he might be available.

balenciaga 11, what's to love

the drape
the shifting proportions
the energy of black and white
what's not to love..

today i smell like

him
plus her

i'm terrified of ending up alone..in south africa

no one got the pronoun memo, fine. i would like to go into adverbs, but it will be of no use.

i am also starting to look at things in the shop and think about what the girls on the bachelor would look good in.

brad kicks off the only girl without implants this week, i'm fine with that.

love that when brad is boarding the plane, the flight attendant lingers for an uncomfortable amount of time. "ginger ale? and, meet you in 5 at the restroom?"

brad and chantal: safari date. chantal found the bongo jean shorts i wore to orlando on my senior band trip in high school and decided to wear them on her date with brad. unfortunately, it is clear at this point that she traded up burritos in anguilla for frappuccinos in seattle. as kk says, "look at those arms!" the continuous breakaway shots to the hippos were not helpful. neither was the muddy creek running behind them, brad's teva resurrection or the derivative safari commentary. we have lions in america. try the austin zoo. or come to waco and you and jeremy can see the lions at cameron park and talk about being vulnerable.

from their dinner date:
"i'll say this..oh wait, should i say this?"
"yeah, if you are asking, then you definitely should."

huh, i never learned that principle.

in the end, brad says that he loves chantal's boldness, but i think he is getting her personality mixed up with her grateful dead tour dress.

emily tick is dressed for a date in south texas, not south africa, but her charming southern idioms, cute personality and hot bod make you forget that she missed her target by 9500 miles. minus one point for "this feels like the lion king, but better" comment. the daytime date was fun, but brad awkwardly mentions how he loves baby elephants and how he misses ricky. i felt a little manipulated.

for their dinner date, brad attaches the sleeves to his convertible v neck tshirt while emily knocks it out of the park with a black mini dress. the conversation is nice but brad always looks so nervous, i guess because even he knows that emily is not on his level, she is aspirational. i was not expecting emily to tell him she was in love with him. AND, i COULD NOT BELIEVE that brad said the same thing back. it made me wonder why he hasn't said the same thing to chantal.

the date with ashley was not interesting at all until their picnic, when the difference in their life goals became abundantly clear. from that point on, they both annoyed me so much that i had to mute at times to block out smurfette's squealing or brad's endless repetition of whatever ashley just said. at dinner, she says "like, i really feel like we really do want the same things, but i have a hard time communicating that to you.." unless ashley has an android twin like brad does, who can have a family and iron brad's purple shirts and drawstring cargo pants, while pursuing a time consuming career, they do not want the same thing. i also don't know why brad keeps saying "i'm frustrated, frustrated with myself". i'm sure that is a technique that dr jaime taught him, but it releases ashley of any responsibility, which is a problem.

by the rose ceremony, it is clear that brad is not doing well with the time change. with every date, his eyes became a little bit more puffy, and by the rose ceremony, he looks like he is strung out on peyote. he may have forgotten a converter for his battery charger. but his suit looks nice, i like his tie, especially.

ashley gets the boot, with good reason, and next week, brad, emily and chantal will go to cape town to meet his family. the ending is inevitable, but i'm still looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds.

from sunday's paper

meatloaf, sure

i didn't think it was possible, but e is getting even cuter..

and the little one said..

baby girl echols, coming to you in july..