Reality Bites

He chose Shayne!

O.K. I was wrong on the outside about who Bachelor Matt would pick at the end and propose to. But on the inside, I tell you, i really did want Shayne to win. Sure, on paper, Chelsea looked the right choice.
But despite the spray tan and bleach blonde hair and the closet full of shoes, Shayne was likeable. She held her own when she met his parents. And there was something there, that made her Matt's ying — or at least ideal monkey.
While it wasn't the most romantic proposal ever on the show, Matt did a nice job in telling her she's the one.
But now that we know they're engaged. it's time to guess how long they'll stay together.
I'm a romantic at heart, so I'd love to see another Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter love story.
Or at least, enough time to see them strolling the red carpet.

My girl Marissa made it!

O.K. My girl Marissa made it to the top four on "Dancing with the Stars," and I'm happy for her. But I think that's as far as she's going to go.
I have to agree with the judges about Christian de la Fuente dancing great, despite the injured arm. I really enjoyed seeing him dance with Cheryl (originally my favorite professional dancer until Julianne Hough came into the picture) on this week's show.

So I'm switching gears and rooting for Christian de la Fuente and Cheryl and Edyta and Jason as the final two.
I don't know much about Jason, but I'm starting to find Kristy Yamaguchi kind of mechanical. And Mark is a nice guy but not much personality.
Plus, these days, Jason and let's-see-how-much-skin-I-can-show Edyta seem to sizzle on the dancefloor!

Women tell All, or not

Well, The Bachelor's "The Women Tell All" show wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. They gave too much time to Marshana and Robyn, and didn't leave time for questions.
I would rather seen Ashley and what she had to say, or sing, about all the singing she did on the show.
Here are other thoughts:
•I knew Stacey would be asked about her little or not so little underwear gift. I still don't think we have an answer as to why she thought it was a good idea to try to stuff underwear in the Bachelor's pants (who didn't even have pockets). She should have at least blamed part of it on the free-flowing alcohol.
But really, she's just one more of various women throughout the show's history who have chosen embarrassing ways of making an impression.
There's been women who have declared their ovaries ripe for making babies, and women who have twisted their bodies into human pretzels. And every season, the degrading behavior just seems to get worse.
What ever happened to intelligent conversation and a little flirting to get a man's attention?

•On Robyn, it's evident she doesn't have a lot of female friends. Anyway, I don't think acting like you don't need friends is ever a smart move - especially if you're going to be living with other women for weeks.

•Then there's Marshana, who had a pretty strong personality and made history, going the furthest of any African-American girl on any Bachelor show. My only question is if it ever bothers anybody else besides me that producers think the show is culturally diverse just by having only one girl of color on these shows. What's up with that?

•As for the Bachelor Matt. I still couldn't quite tell who he is going to give the ring to. But I'm still putting my dollar on Chelsea!

Now this is what I call a "Work Out"

Yeah, I should be going to the gym. But who wants to do that when you can sit back and watch athletic trainers go at it (know what I mean) on "The Work Out"?

Did you see last night's episode with Jackie and the female trainers on their lesbian cruise? I don't know if something happened between Jackie and the new trainer Renessa but it did seem like Rebecca was enjoying spreading the rumor.

Still, it seems like the kiss and innuendo did some damage. Look what Jackie says on her recent blog:

"This is the hardest episode for me to watch. It is the only episode that I get tipsy and it looks like Renessa and I may or may not have had a moment (not true!) I didn’t cheat on my girlfriend and was deeply committed to that relationship. Notice that Rebecca starts that rumor and nobody actually saw anything …well, that’s reality TV for you. Opinions are formed largely by what others say about me -- not what I have actually done. I feel that Rebecca was coming from a vengeful place and I wished she had stayed out of my personal life like I have always stayed out of hers. I am so sad and angry that a stupid rumor hurt and humiliated the girl that I loved. Sorry B, you shouldn’t have had to go through that."

So what do you all think of Peeler and Jackie's rocky relationship? I think he should have been a part of that meeting to organize an event in memory of Doug.

Oh and on the mud run: good for Jessie! Remember how hard they were on him last season for being out of shape?

My money is on Chelsea

As we get closer to the end of the show, I always try to look for those little signs that might tell me whom the bachelor is falling for. I can't quite say I've seen too many with this British bachelor Matt. And the fact that they all end up in the Fantasy Suite is not surprising or telling of whom he really wants in the end.

Anyway, here are my observations from last night's trip to Barbados with Shayne, Chelsea and Amanda.
•Again, with Shayne, I think it's all physical. He certainly enjoyed her straddle jumps on the trampoline! But at dinner, I could see he was trying to see if there's more substance.
Even though he calls her his "monkey," I don't think he can see himself with her in the long run. So I'm not surprised she made it to the final two, but I just don't think she'll get the final rose.
•Amanda is a nice gal and all and can certainly carry a conversation. But beyond the pretty face and the occasional funny Meeps, I don't know that she's all that compelling. I wasn't too surprised when Matt let her go.
•As for Chelsea, this is where it gets interesting, if we want to look for signs leading to the most "romantic proposal ever" that the network is promising.
I've always believed in the mantra that you have to make a man work a little for one's affections. And that the chase is what makes the whole dating ritual AND keeps men interested in the end.
So on that note, I have to believe Chelsea's cool demeanor during the daytime date, swimming with the turtles, is exactly what frustrated (but ultimately kept) Matt interested.
It helped her case that she admitted to not feeling at ease, knowing two other girls were in their midst.
Or course, once he saw her in the black lace dress (sans underwear), any lingering frustrations about whether she liked him or not went out the window.

So who do you think will get the final rose? Because he kept Chelsea, instead of Amanda, (whom we saw more showing of affection with) I'm putting my money that it's her that he's smitten with.
Plus, when they showed the clip of the ring on the hand, it was a short nail — some how I can't see Shayne without some glamour nails.

Don't forget to tune in next week, when it's the girls tell-all show. This is where the nails start coming out! Gotta love it.

Dancing with the Stars - Go Marissa!

I enjoy Dancing with the Stars more, when there's someone I like rooting for. So my fingers haven't gotten as much work as when Mario Lopez was on the show. I still remember his paso doble!
On this show, I enjoy watching Cheryl and Cristián de la Fuente, and Kristy Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas.
But for this one, I also can't help root for the underdog, Marissa Jaret Winokur (who is not your typical Hollywood body type) and Tony Dovolani.
While she can be a little too perky, she has improved greatly, now that Tony is giving her more to do. I remember that first dance they performed, it was all about him.
By the way, Dovolani was supposed to be in El Paso for the El Paso Heart Association's Heart Ball at Grace Gardens, but was a no-show. Rumor was that he wasn't expecting to still be on the television show when the event was scheduled.
His partner, Elena Grinenko did show up along with dancers from "So You Think You Can Dance." Here's a link if you want to check part of Dmitry Chaplin and Snow Urbin's routine.

Tonight, I think it's the end for sweet Marlee Matlin and Fabian, tonight?
Am I wrong?

The Bachelor - Can we say botox?

The home dates on The Bachelor usually are fun to watch, since you get a better glimpse of who these women are, based on their families.
Here are my observations from last night's show, with Matt visiting the families of Shayne, the actress, Chelsea, the pharmaceutical sales rep, Noelle, a photographer, and Amanda. I can't remember what Amanda does, only that she gets hiccups when she's stressed and they're called "Meeps."
•First up, was a visit to Shayne's divorced parents, in Los Angeles. I was really wondering what dad, Lorenzo Lamas was looking like these days. Have to say he has aged well and I see where she gets her good looks. The most interesting thing here was seeing dad and daughter bond.
But her mom, man, can we say "bad case of botox?" Take note, women of "The Real Housewives of Orange County."
Anyway, I like Shayne, even though she comes across as a pampered girl. And I think there's real chemistry between her and Matt. But when I saw the dog with the tutu, I had to think, "run, Matt." Too many high-maintenance women in this condo.
•Then it was on to Colorado, to meet Chelsea's parents. I have to say, I always root for the girls that don't show their attraction/love etc on their sleeve. (Remember, Tessa, Moana?) So I have to give Chelsea brownie points for telling her dad she didn't want to like him, but couldn't help it.
•If you watched it last night, you know Noelle, got the boot. So I won't waste blog time on that visit.
•And then, there's the visit to Amanda's home in Florida, where she played a big joke on him by having fake parents meet him. The mother was all over him and the dad was the angry type, asking personal questions, such as if the two had been intimate etc.
My first reaction to this, was why do this to the poor guy? And why waste the home visit for a big joke. But I'm not big on practical jokes and Matt seemed to like her sense of humor. So maybe, there is something there.
...
So for next week, who do you think will be the final two? I'll put my dollar on Shayne (purely because of chemistry) and Chelsea (because she seems to have it together).

My Guilty Pleasure

Everybody has a dark side and I'm definitely not proud of mine.
By day, I'm a respectable wife and mother and a reporter at the El Paso Times, writing about beautiful homes and awe-inspiring gardens or wonderful things Godly people are doing to change the world!
By night, it's quite a different story. When the lights are off, the kids and spouse have gone to bed, it's just me, some chocolate, a Diet Coke and the remote control.
With one click, I'm immersed in foreign worlds — where women become pretzels or break into ridiculous songs in at attempt to impress a man or rich, California women go get botox treatments as often as I go get milk for the kids' cereal.
It just never gets boring on reality TV. Right now, I'm tuned to "The Bachelor," "Dancing with the Stars," and "Top Chef." And when I can, I also watch "Little People, Big World," "Work Out," and "Hell's Kitchen."
So share, what is your guilty pleasure? I promise I won't tell.

Reality TV

Don't deny it, you know, you watch them. So join me in dishing on the most popular (sometimes outrageous) reality programs on television. And remember, if I don't like what you have to say, I'm voting you off.