So Random.

I know this is totally from left field, but oh well. You get to hear it anyway.

Have you ever seen 'Return to Oz'? It's this totally neurotic sequel to 'The Wizard of Oz'. If not, well.....this will probably not make much sense. If you have seen it, then go with me on this:

I was cleaning out all of our loose miscellaneous junk and I found this little happy massager guy I got years ago when I worked at Bath and Body Works.

I found myself looking at him and thinking of this:

Okay, so I told you....very random. I will be back soon with something a little more, um, normal.

Panic and Absolute Hysteria

As many of you know, my number 1 biggest hang up about moving here BY FAR was tornados. Tornados have ALWAYS been my most feared natural disaster...I am an absolute wreck when I even think about them. So, when we were looking at homes here, I insisted on a basement. Cemented. I grilled our realtor about tornado warnings (how often, what months, where do you go if you are not at home, etc.) I made Mike look up statistics about them. Yes, I was a total freak.

Which is why today, when I was sitting here watching the girls play, and I heard a strange noise, I IMMEDIATELY thought it was a tornado siren. My eyes shot to the window and I laughed at myself because it was a gorgeous day outside. But the sound continued. It was strange, and the only way I can really describe it is it was the same noise that a table saw makes when you put a piece of wood in it. That, crossed with a dying cat. It sounded far away, and I thought maybe my microwave or washing machine was going whacky. So I went upstairs, and I could tell it was coming from outside, and getting louder.
I cautiously opened my door (because I was in my bathrobe) and peaked outside. The sound was definitely out there, and it seemed to be rolling accross the town. It progressively got louder and louder until it right upon me. Even though I had never heard them, I knew that it was DEFINITELY the Tornado Sirens.

Confused, I grabbed my phone and called my sister, and then I LOST it. Bawling my head off in a hysterical panic. I think I managed to spit out that the tornado sirens were going off, and she told me to go to the basement. I sobbed for awhile longer and then managed to tell her that there were no tornados, that it was sunny outside. Yes, I sounded like a real lunatic.

But you see, just HEARING the sirens put me into complete panic mode. I have no idea what the heck I would do if they were going off during an actual storm. I think I need to keep a stock of Xanax for this very reason. I am going to have to sedate myself everytime there is a dang tornado warning. Just kill me now!

Oh, and I think I managed to traumatize Rachel pretty well, she is absolutely petrified of the sirens, she thinks they are going to get her. Nice.

I googled and found this siren. It sounds pretty close to the ones I heard today. So if you haven't heard it, take a listen. It's totally creepy sounding.

Oh, and apparently that siren was part of a drill that they do EVERY MONTH. Heaven help me and my fragile nerves.

WPPI Rocks

Time for a post about something other than TV, right?

Lucky you, you get to hear about my amazing time at WPPI! For those of you who have absolutely no clue what WPPI is, let me fill you in. It is the coolest photography convention held yearly in Las Vegas. I had been planning since last year to attend since we lived within driving distance of Vegas...up until we decided to move that week. I was SUPER bummed- until we pushed the move off a week and I decided to go up for 2 days while Mike was off work.

So, I rang my friend Kathy, who is also an awesome photographer (for those of you in AZ, she rocks! Book her now!) and she agreed to brave the 4 hour drive with me and go. Yeah!
We were all set to go when Mike informed me that he not only had to work, he had to leave town. Sweet. So my awesome friend Wendy stepped in and took my girls for me so I could still go. Thank you Wendy! You are the best! (And Ashley, too!)

Kathy and I jetted up to Vegas for the most awesome learnfest ever! We met up with Jean, and some of her awesome friends (Heather, Jennifer, Laurel, Kellee) and we got a rocking group picture with a Chippendales dancer. Well, there must have been a Chippendale's theif running around because that picture mysteriously disappeared! And there were 6 copies!
Oh well. I did get one with Jean:





And of course one with Kathy (which is kind of hideous of me so I turned it to black and white in order to soften the blow. Give us a break, we had been up all night- more on that below).





We perused the amazing trade show (seriously amazing) and went to some awesome workshops, like the Sallees, who were completely unbelievable, and the fabulous AUDREY WOULARD!!!


Yes, we got into Audrey's class! If you are a children's portrait photographer, you are now on your knees crying tears of jealousy. She rocked! We went to her room an hour and a half early to get a seat and barely got them. And I nearly had to fight a lady to hold Jean's seat while she ran to get a drink. Seriously, it was almost a smackdown! The room was filled to standing room only and then the fire marshall came and kicked everyone out who didn't have an actual seat. I was thanking my lucky stars that we skipped dinner to get there early!
Anyway, she had an awesome question and answer hour where she answered EVERY question asked of her. She also showed a full session and talked about how she handles her sessions, how a typical session goes, etc. It was all precious info. I am SO completely glad I went!

After her seminar we were famished so we went to the Buffet. Heck yeah we had to hit at least ONE buffet while we were there! It was so fun chatting with all the girls, and we were so sad we had to get back to Phoenix...we ended up leaving late and getting home at 4 am! YEESH! Completely worth it, though!!

As a side note, WPPI was being held at MGM Grand, but hotel rooms were sold out. Not a problem, we decided to stay right across the street at the glorious TROPICANA!

Let me tell you. We were spoiled there. Not only did we get a gorgeously decorated room,

But we were blessed to have an ALMOST complete picture frame in there!

And I think they left a puke stain by the bed, just for my viewing pleasure.

I opted to skip a shower in their luxuriously footprinted tub,

And decided to conserve water by using their spotless toilet as little as possible.

And look! A friend to keep us company! (I really did throw up in my mouth when I saw this one again.)

We also had a lovely 4 am wake up call by a security guard screaming his guts out in the hallway. It was so thoughtful of them to make sure we didn't miss our first workshop, right? ;)

Seriously, though, it was totally worth staying in that dump to have the awesome trip that we had. I had SO much fun and I cannot wait until next year!

One final(e) recap.

I know that some of our blog readers (ie: my parents) probably wish the suject of Jason Messnick would die, but I have just a few more things to add. I watched Jason, Molly, Chris, and Melissa on Ellen this week, and she asked the hard questions for us (haha.) Here is the info I got:
According to Chris (the host): None of it was set up. Jason told him that he and Melissa were breaking up and he wanted another chance with Molly BEFORE the show even aired...so ABC scrambled to film the first segment of 'After the Rose part 1' so that Jason would be able to tell Molly how he felt (and according to Jason, he was worried that ABC would ask her to be the Bachelorette before he could tell her how he felt.) Chris is mad that his 'integrity is being questioned.'

According to Melissa: She knew things were ending with Jason before the 'After the Rose part 1' aired. She was confused as to why it was taping early and repeatedly asked Jason if it was about Molly, which he denied. When he told her ON THE SHOW, she was angry (hence, calling him a B*******) because he had lied to her about it. She also said that he and Molly HAD been in contact. She said she knew of at least one phone call between them after the show ended but before he broke up with her (melissa).

Then Ellen asked if the emails that had been leaked onto the internet were real...and they ARE!!!
Oh, you haven't read them? Well, here ya go!


—– Original Message —–
From:
To: Jason Mesnick
Sent: Mon Jan 19 08:18:10 2009
So last night didn’t go NEAR how I thought. I didn’t think I would be
that angry (I’m not sure I’ve EVER been that angry to be honest with
you….), but I’m sorry for how heated I got. At the same time though, I’m not. I still can’t believe how you can’t give reasons other than ‘It changed.’
In relationships (especially ones where committments are involved), you FIGHT,you TRY, you COMMUNICATE to make things work. You know as well as I do that you didn’t give 100% to me or the relationship. And I don’t understand how you can walk away from something without giving it your all - but I am walking away knowing I did.
And getting confirmation about Molly in front of people like that was a
complete classless move if you ask me - how could you do that to me
after Irepe atedly asked you about it??? I’m not stupid, I knew about
Molly…knew you guys had been talking….and you lied to me about it. For you to choose to b e with someone who most of the girls in the house didn’t get a long with, and bashed me when she left, then more power to you both. You owed it to me to tell me this before last night…and I can’t believe you did that to me publicly. I can’t even tell you how much respect I lost for you….but it makes this whole process from here on out much easier for me.
Please don’t respond…I really just wanted to apologize for getting so
angry last night - but I hope you understand why I did….
From: “Jason Mesnick”
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:52:58 -0800

To:
Subject: Re:
The producers had a lot to do with it. I am so sorry. This is so
horrible


Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 9:11 AM
To: Jason Mesnick
Subject: Re:
(This coming from the man who told me not to trust producers…..) Then
congratulations on being produced….but I don’t believe you. You are a
grown man, and perfectly capable of making your own decisions. Own your actions and stop blaming this process..

From: “Jason Mesnick”
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2009 01:37 AM
Subject: RE:
I wish we could have had that same conversation away from cameras. You are so right about feeling everything you do. I deserved everything you said.
They really didn’t want me to say anything to you until the cameras were there and you know that I couldn’t do that. I tried and I hate what I
have done to you. You don’t deserve any of it at all. I wish there were more that I could say. Its just things really felt different and I didn’t
want to be thinking about her and wish I could control it. I want to take all of your pain away and put it on me. If you are talking about Karma, I
slipped and fell and had a huge gash in my leg 3 inches wide and to the bone. I deserve so much worse for what I am doing to you. Obviously you know more about me now and you just deserve so much more. I hate that I had to say that to you, and you had to hear that. You do need to heal and if that means never talking to me again or if that means, you getting angry with meas often as you want, I will do it all.
You do not need to give me any reasons for your actions; I think you did
what you had to do.
-J

—–Original Message—–
From
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 8:24 AM
To: Jason Mesnick
Subject: RE:
I do hope you understand my frustrations then. The fact that even after
‘production’ was wrapped, you still let producers manipulate our
‘relationship’ is frustrating. At what point do you say, “Hey,
guys…youdid your part, and now it’s our turn to have a real relationship without you meddling and telling us what to say and do?” When I look at it that way, I’m thankful I found this out now. And I’ll just say, the Molly thing wasn’t a secret….just wish you’d had the decency to tell me before I was put in front of TV cameras - regardless of what Martin was telling you, as a person, a friend, etc…you owed me that. Especially since you were the one who kept saying you didn’t want any surprises at this thing……ironic, eh? Seeing the person that you became, you are right: a relationship between you and I would never work out - and that’s why I’m thankful this happened sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, you were not the person that I thought you were - and that’s ok….just a little embarrassed I fell for it I guess. I do think it’s a little ironic, though that you kept telling me, “morally, how could I ever get back with DeAnna after what she did to me?” And I agree….just seems like a very similar situation with your new lady…..Just a little irony I guess.
Anyway, I’m not mad…I’m not hurt - seeing how things were handled,helped me get over things very quickly. I do wish you both the best though.
Take care.

I understand everything and I wish more than anything I didn’t let them
get in the way. I handled that part so poorly. It sounds like you are
doing well and am so glad. Just know that I feel so horribly about this.
It is a pain I will live with forever. I will not make any excuses you
are a wonderful person and I am sorry for everything. I do want you to
know that when I proposed to you it was from the heart and wanted to be with you forever.
-J

YOU GO GIRL!! I love Melissa. She has a new man, so we can all stop feeling so bad for her. :)

Jason and Molly were last to come on the show, and once I cleaned my drink that I flung at their faces off of the tv, I was able to see that, yes, they have something to prove. And they are proving it by molesting eachother on TV. Seriously, I do have to admit that I feel VERY bad for Molly, she was worried that they were going to 'boo' her when she came out onstage. Oh Molly, don't be silly! We hate JASON, not you! Anyway, apparently they are planning to live apart for awhile, then maybe she will move to Seattle, and we will see from there. No marriage plans according to them.
Jason did say that he made a huge mistake going on national television to break up with Melissa. YA THINK?

Anyway, again, I appreciate all the comments about this. I love hearing what everyone has to think, and I love hearing the scoops and scandles now that it is over.

I do plan to blog about our new life in Indiana soon....I have been busy unpacking, editing, and trying to get to know our surroundings, that I barely have 5 seconds to google Bachelor gossip! hahaha.

She's going to do her stupid hotdog stuff...and I am going to watch. Because I am stupid...and a fool.

A direct quote from Mike right there after the announcement that JILLIAN is the new Bachelorette. My reaction?

BRING IT ON!!!

I am soooooooo excited. For all of those who have declared that they are swearing off the Bachelor forever (ADRIENNE)...can you really turn your backs on Jillian? I know I can't!!! We only have to wait until May 18th to bask in the goodness. Mike's dark horse didn't leave empty handed after all!

A few comments from tonight...I was so disgusted by Jason's display. It was like he was SO anxious to prove to everyone how real and in love they are...by molesting her on the stage. Gag. I am so sick of hearing his pathetic sob story. I saw him on Jimmy Kimmel last night and he claimed that Melissa already knew it was over before they went on the show. I also heard a rumor from a reliable source (source...do you want to be revealed?) that Molly is preggo and that is why the emergency break up occured. I guess we will know if that one is true in a few months, huh?

I loved all the comments on my blog today. It's almost like I had a room full of friends Bachelor-gossiping with me. I went to a playgroup today and I could tell that no one there were Bachelor fans, and all I wanted to do was grab someone by the arms, jump up and down, and DISH!!! So thanks again for the comments, insights, opinions, theories...I love them ALL. This season has been so fun for me because I have had so many people to share it with. MWAH!

Am I Dreaming?

.......Did that just happen? Did that really just happen?

I have come to realize that perhaps I am a little too invested in The Bachelor. I felt my heart stop multiple times tonight and I think at one point my fingers and toes went numb.
SERIOUSLY????
I don't even know what to say. (I am sure I will think of something, though.)

I was absolutely ELATED when Molly stepped out of the limo first (wearing a purple dress, which I knew was NOT the winner.) I was thrilled when he let her down. As thrilled as I was when he shot down Deanna (Was she FOR REAL? Can you imagine if Brad had come back and said those things to her? She would have flipped out-and not in a good way.) I was so happy when he got down on his knee to propose to Melissa...although her reaction was a little theatrical, I was so super happy.

And then it all went to pot.

I cannot BELIEVE he broke up with Melissa like that- on television? Why couldn't he have voiced these concerns over the past 6 weeks when they were talking...on trips...spending holidays together? I know some might think she didn't handle it with much class, but I actually think she handled it quite well considering the circumstances. My heart literally broke in two when she made the point about him taking her one and only engagement from her. Ugh, I felt so sorry for her. MELISSA!!! MELISSAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

So, he crushed Melissa's heart...and then came Molly. Now, no one throw anything at me, but when it became apparent that Melissa had no chance, I kind of started hoping that at least Molly would have a happy ending. I know, I know. I can't stand her...but I found myself getting really excited when she was telling Chris that she was still in love with Jason. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for him to spill the beans. It was just the excitement that all her wildest dreams were about to come true, I guess. I loved how SHOCKED she looked. The whole thing felt kind of scripted (her admiting how she still had feelings and would love for him to change his mind) until I saw her reaction. She almost seemed like she would pass out. I am happy that things worked out for her.

But I seriously hate Jason. Stop crying, Jason. You brought it all on yourself. Talk about a flakey man. Watch out, Molly, he will be calling Jillian next week.

Can't wait for tomorrow's installment of the Final Rose...Part TWO!