"It's a long shot just to beat these odds/ The chance is we won't make it/ But I know if I don't take it/ There's no chance... So take the long shot"

I'm going a little crazy with the blog today. I think I like it.

All I know is I am going to have a heck of a time editing this book. Especially when it comes to a consistent verb agreement. Cause I feel like there has been a perceptible shift since I've started writing the first chapter of the second half. I wrote an entire chapter today. This is how it used to be before I was starting to feel creatively drained and taking a few days to write a chapter rather than one or two. But the problem is, I was really seeing the chapter in my head as I wrote it so a lot of it is in the present tense. BUT. The rest has been in the past tense. Or parts of it have been. I think. I'm starting to confuse myself. Luckily, I have smart family members who are going to help me edit it right? Right! :)

ETA: I think I fixed it! I wrote a "flashback scene" which helped me revert back to past tense. And then I changed my first sentence from "I have met my match" to "I had met my match" and everything fell into place. Weird. Guess I just needed to find my bearings. Amazing how changing one little thing can change everything!

But seriously, I think I found my "creative chair" at Starbucks. It's just a purple velvety armchair at the front (conveniently located next to a well hidden outlet) and I think the fact I am not hunched over in an uncomfortable wooden chair, I really pounded this chapter out. I actually think people were looking at me funny cause I was literally pounding my keyboard trying to get all of my words out as I thought of them. But I wrote for three hours straight. THREE! Usually I write and stop and think and write a little more and then stop and think some more and then go home after two hours. Or at least that's how it's been recently. But this chapter went really well, at least I think so. Minus the whole tense-issue. But I'll figure it out.

Do we like the posts about the book? Do I sound like I'm bragging? I'm really not. It's just that if somehow by some miracle this works out, I think it would be awesome to have a record of how it happened. I still think this is the longest of long shots but just maybe. Hey, it could happen (said in the voice of JP from "Angels in the Outfield")!

"Happy birthday/ Happy birthday/ Happy happy birthday to you!"

I just put people who forget to tell people happy birthday to shame. I told my sister, LA, happy birthday twelve, that's right twelve, different ways. So if you need any help coming up with some ideas, here they are:

1. I gave her a shout out on the previous blog post. Which she didn't see cause apparently she was delirious when she read it. Still counts though.

2. I told her happy birthday on gChat at approximately 1:40 this morning. So since she lives in Seattle it was technically East Coast time and not her birthday yet. But it still counts since Georgia is her true home.

3. Obligatory (inside joke. haha!) Facebook wall post.

4. I sent her a card (along with a gift card) in the mail and it got to Seattle before her birthday. I could count the gift card as a separate happy birthday but I won't.

5. I tweeted a happy birthday to her on good old Twitter.

6. Along with a link to her family's website, I wrote happy birthday to her in my gchat status.

7. I told her happy birthday on the phone. Like the good ol' days.

8. My mom and I talked to her on gmail's video chat this afternoon and sang happy birthday.

9. I texted her happy birthday!

10. I sent an e-mail saying "Happy Birthday!!!" with each letter in a different pretty color.

11. I sent an e-card that sings, dances, and is interactive.

12. I posted a comment on her family's blog.

I contemplated making it my facebook status, sending her a message on facebook, and hiring a skywriter but it's raining in Seattle today (go figure) so that'd be a wash.

In all honesty, I had done about six of the things when I talked to her on the phone so we joked about how I was winning at telling her happy birthday (I'm competitive). And then we came up with the idea of me coming up with as many ways as possible. I think 12 suffices. She also said I would spend the rest of the day coming up with ideas. Well it's only 5:30, maybe I can get to fifteen....

Actually this entire blog post in itself is a big old happy birthday so it's thirteen! Booya!

"Christmas time is here/ Happiness and cheer/ Fun for all that children call/ Their favorite time of the year"

Sure, it's five minutes past midnight and it's the last day of November (Happy birthday sis LA!) but why not do a Music Monday? And why not make it the top ten songs to get me in the holiday mood? In no particular order (along with YouTube links so you can give it a listen):

1. Linus and Lucy -Vince Guaraldi Trio. Come on, how do you NOT think of the Peanuts gang and that scrawny "Charlie Brown" tree when you hear this song? Love it!

2. All Alone on Christmas -Darlene Love. Gotta love Home Alone 2. It is also used in Love Actually, my favorite movie of all time. So this one is an all around winner!

3. We Wish You a Merry Christmas/End Credits -John Williams. A little love for the original Home Alone movie. Plus it has part of the "Russian Dance" from The Nutcracker and for whatever reason I loved that song as a kid. Well, I still do but I would dance the shizz out of that song on our hardwood floors in our old house pretending I was in the ballet (it formed a perfect stage). Sisters, you also took part and should recall this. :)

4. O Come All Ye Faithful -Mandy (Ihrig) Mann. Now this one isn't on YouTube but it is worth checking out. Not to name drop or anything (or maybe I do), but Mandy is one of my sister's friends and she has an amazing voice. If you click the link provided, then click on "Music" and then you can either: 1) Click "Tracklisting" under the CD cover art for the song title or 2) Simply click next/ fast forward in the music player and it is the second song. LOVE it.

5. Carol of the Bells -BarlowGirl. I love this song in general but this is the version I apparently liked the most when I downloaded it last year. Any version will do though. It's so intense.

6. Sleigh Ride/ Ice Ice Baby -Gap Commercial. This is probably still one of my favorite commercials of all time. I love it. And my mom asked me to load a Christmas cd my sister made a few years ago on our family computer and this was on it! I actually shrieked with delight. It's not really an official "song" but I'm sure you'll still dance around in your seat. Any song that incorporates Vanilla Ice has to be awesome right? Well, maybe this is the exception.

7. Tinseltown- SheDaisy. I was on quite the country kick back in the day and I always like SheDaisy. So, when they had a christmas cd, I said why not? And this one is catchy and very whimsical. The video is actually a house that timed their outdoor lights to the song, so... added visual bonus for you! :)

8. The Christmas Song -Nat King Cole. A classic. Nothing more needs to be said.

9. Santa Claus is Comin to Town -Frank Sinatra. Couldn't forget ol blue eyes on this list. And it brings out the kid in you.

10. All I Want for Christmas is You -Olivia Olson. Forget the Mariah version. This one is worlds better and the girl was like 10 years old when she recorded this. Unbelievable! It's from Love Actually and it's adorable and I love it!

"Say what you need to say/ Say what you need to say"

I've been volunteering at an elementary school in downtown Atlanta once a week and reading to the kindergartners or first graders. I was signing up for dates yesterday and I hate going on Mondays so I opted for December 4th. Then I signed up for the 8th, and finally the 15th. 4, 8, 15. If you're a LOST fan like myself, you probably know what I'm trying to say. 16, 23, 42. I hope this doesn't mean I'm going to have bad luck like Hurley.

Also, if you're an Obama fan, you might want to stop reading right now:

I was playing "Loaded Questions" with my family last night and my sister AE asked the question "If you could control someone else's mind, who would it be?" And my mom, sister MR, brother-in-law BR, and myself ALL put Obama. So AE got a freebie since she didn't have to match who said what. But it was pretty hilarious. And what are the chances? Especially since my mom said she almost put me and my sister MR jokingly said she almost put her husband.

P.S. No Survivor Recap this week since it was a recap show. Sure they showed some new stuff but nothing groundbreaking. And 2) I'm not gonna do the Amazing Race anymore. I tried, it's just too long of a show for me to do a short recap. But I am cheering for the Globetrotters!

"1, 2, 3, 4/ Tell me that you love me more"

A quick family story:

I went out to dinner with my mom, sister AE, sister MR and her three daughters SD, MG, and AJ. My sister AE was saying how much she tips her hairdresser and long story short, she was saying she tips 10% and I thought that basically meant she paid $200 to get her hair done. My sister then quickly informed me how I was off by a good amount. I said, "I've never been good at math."

And then my seven year old niece SD turned to me and said "Doesn't Georgia college provide math?" clearly implying that if I have a degree from UGA I should understand basic math.

Now I really translate my love for UGA to my nieces and try to convince them that their dad's alma mater GA Tech is stinky and UGA is superior. Well, since SD enjoys math and science and I apparently can't do that, I may have given UGA big strike in her book for her future college choice. Whoops! Hey, I'm an english person and I'll always admit it!

"Oooh, we're halfway there/ Oooh, living on a prayer"

It's been a little while since I've written a post about the book, so why not now? Ok! Hence the title, I have hit the halfway point! Woo hoo! I outlined the book a few weeks ago and determined there are going to be about 26 chapters and I finished chapter 13 last week. I spent this week editing the first half and fact checking.

Is it lame I really enjoyed the fact checking? I remember reading that JK Rowling had notebooks full of facts about her characters. Now, I'm not planning on a seven book series with this crew but I like everything to be accurate and consistent so each character has a page with facts and characteristics on it. It sounds stupid but it is so hard to keep the physical characteristics of each character straight. Probably cause there are so many of them! Like the RY-inspired character, he had green eyes earlier in the book but then I had a sentence later on referring to his blue eyes! Doh! So good thing for fact checking!

Plus, I didn't really have the beginning of the book planned out in my mind; I really wrote as I went along so there were some things that I introduced once, acting like it was a given all throughout the book, only to never mention it again. Like I have the two characters playing "The Question Game" as a big factor of their friendship. Well, is it big if they only played it once the entire first half? Nope. So I had to go back through and add some of those sessions in. Just little things like that.

Now I know I've said that the second part is the part I came up with many years ago. But that doesn't mean I have thirteen chapters already composed in my head. I just had basic plot points. I sort of think the process of writing the book is like playing connect the dots. I have the big picture in mind, but it isn't clear or obvious to any one else at all (and sometimes not even to me). Then I outlined the book (after I sat down at Starbucks one day to write I think it was chapter five and I had NO idea what it was going to be about and completely freaked out) and the outline created all of the dots. But honestly, that's the easiest part. It's connecting the dots that's tough. Creating characters, writing dialogue, establishing background, and literally creating connections to set up later events in the book is dragging my pencil from dot to dot, making the lines connect and form the whole, big (and hopefully clear and interesting) picture. It's tough but hey, I'm halfway there.

My goal initially was to finish this by Christmas cause that is when my sister, LA, is coming to visit and she will most likely be the first one to read it (no offense other family members). But that's probably not going to happen. Cause it took me 3 months to write the first half so I don't see how I could cram 3 months of work into 20 days. But like I said, I do have a clearer idea so there won't be times where I sit and have no idea what to write but still that would mean working three times as fast. Verdict: Unlikely.

And I've read through the whole first half over the past two days and it's weird. It is like an actual book. I know that's dumb to say. But really, it's like a honest-to-goodness novel. Of course I wrote it so I am partial to thinking better things about it. I used to read every previous chapter before I started writing a new chapter to keep things consistent. But then I was reading a lot longer than I was writing so I had to abandon that plan. So that being said, I know the first few chapters backwards and forwards but from about 7-13, I'm not as clear. To the point where I'm like "I wrote that? Seriously? Hm, good job Annie". Not saying I am writing anything mindblowing or revolutionary but it's like reading a book someone else wrote. I know that's obviously been my goal, it's just weird that it's actually there, in black and white in front of me. Crazy!

Okay, enough self-indulgent talk. As my niece SD would say "Aunt Annie, that's bragging."

OH! And in other news: Remember Starbucks worker Mike-or-James? Well due to the fact I've been trying to find a job and doing other random stuff, I haven't been frequenting SB as often. Well I've been there the past two days editing and reading and today I was about to put on my iPod and I heard a worker call him Michael! Seriously! One of the names was actually correct! This made me very excited. Okay, I'm all done being a dork.

"1, 2, 3/ Not only you and me/ Got one eighty degrees/ And I'm caught in between""

Previously on * slight pause* Survivor: FF is managing to stay in this game despite originally being outnumbered 2 to 1. Russell successfully played the second HII. Kelly was blindsided but no one really cared because we didn't know who she was.

10 remain, who will be voted out tonight?

Night 24. After TC, Russ compares himself to Picasso, says the blindside was almost as great as the birth of his children, and thinks he is guaranteed the million at this point. Spacey congratulates FF saying it was "a good move". Uh, thanks Captain Obvious. Laura calls him a snake and someone, I believe MFBB says it's just part of the game. Yeah, sorry he messed up your plan and was able to prevent his ousting. Get Laura out of my face, pronto.

Russ and Shambo reflect on TC and laugh about how shocked Laura was. This is my question: You're in the jungle so you don't have a ton of noise going on right? So maybe you shouldn't be cackling like a hyena about voting someone out cause can't people probably hear you? This is what I've always wondered. I don't like Laura either, but Shambo needs to calm it down especially since there is no real reason why she hates her.

Day 25. Russ is rooting around for HII #3. You'd think other people would have caught on and applied this strategy as well. False. Shambo calls Laura a string of insults (to the camera, not her face, of course). Shambo tries to get John in on the FF+Sham alliance so they have 6-5. She points out how Laura is a threat since she has won immunity the past two times. John says he will keep the information to himself, he just isn't sure he is going to use it.

Reward challenge: Using a ropes and pulley system, one person will lie face down on a board while the other four members manipulate the ropes allowing the person on the board to maneuver and collect 15 flags, in numerical order and then put them in new corresponding spots. Reward: Plane ride to an island, picnic by a waterfall, and they get to use a Sprint Palm Pre to take pictures of their adventure. Hello product placement. Thanks for not hitting us over the head with it or anything.

Here is the new Sprint Palm Pre. By Sprint. And my shirt? Brought to you by Brooks Brothers. And my khakis? Gap baby! And my hat is available online at cbs.com/survivor.

Yellow: Shambo, Jaison, Monica, Mick and John is on the board.

Purple: Spacey, MFBB, Laura, Russ and Natalie is on the board.

Natalie is small and light, makes sense. John? Really? What about Monica? Oh right, she sucks and I guess since numbers are involved, they automatically assume John should be in charge.

Natalie is doing well, John drops the flag. Jeff says there is a learning curve involved (like every other challenge). Sure, whatever. Natalie is exposing herself. Shambo keeps yelling out "sit on your butts", Natalie is about to fall off of the board and is hanging on by her legs. John accidentally knocks out a flag and has to put it back where it belongs since it is out of order. Yellow is beating purple by about three flags at all times. Natalie is flailing around like a rag doll and... Purple wins!

I did it y'all!

Awww MFBB runs over to help Natalie since she is about to fall off of the dang thing. So sweet though it makes me worry about an island romance. Anyway, seriously, can they spring for some new colors. Cause I am super thrown off since Natalie was on team purple but wearing a yellow dress. I wrote "Yellow wins!" the first time. Can't we use like green and orange or something? Thanks, producers.

Russ says he is pretty sure they will get another HII clue on the reward, so now he is guaranteed to find it and they will be able to get rid of Laura. Cause that plan hasn't been foiled twice already.

Reward: They board the plane and MFBB is taking pictures with the phone. Laura is clearly aware the photo is being taken and yet is grimacing in the photo. That's an unfortunate face. Are they going to sell this phone on eBay with the pictures after the reunion? Cause it has pictures of MFBB looking all adorable and I will buy it. Just an idea if it's not already in the works. There are lots of pictures of Spacey and Natalie, so maybe she is just a flirt. Stay away from my man, skank. They freak out about the food. Natalie points out that this is the first reward for her and Russ.

Cheers to hating each other!

Aw MFBB is all about taking the pictures. I bet he was a dork in high school and always followed the rules and did what he was told. Kind of like me! MFEO.

I now understand why Laura got the boob job; to distract from that grimace she calls a smile.

Back at camp, Jaison and Mick are working on swaying Monica. She is an idiot: "I just don't know, you know what I mean?" Uh, if you don't know, then we don't know what you mean. Monica says they would only have 5 and Jaison contests saying they do in fact already have 5 and the addition of Monica would be 6. Monica speculates it's Shambo. So you're not completely dimwitted.

At the reward, they use the phone to find a clue to the next HII. Rhyming clue, the usual. And then there is a video of a hand overturning a moss covered rock. Seriously? A video?

New text message: Russell, the HII is under the third rock from the left with a gift tag that says "For Russell's Eyes Only" on it. See you in the final two! xoxo! -the producers

Some people on message boards are saying the producers want Russ to stay in the game and that's why they keep throwing it back in and making it easy to find. Well, a video? Can't say I blame that thought process.

One of these things is better than the others. Waaaay better.

They return to camp and Russ immediately tells Mick and Jaison what he saw in the clue. Russ and Jaison take off into the jungle and Spacey and Laura literally trail them. I guess to see if he finds it and therefore know and won't waste votes on him. Russ goes to the moss covered rock wall and Spacey follows him. Russ thinks he sees Spacey overturn the rock he saw in the clue (which Spacey saw as well I might add) and forces Spacey to chase Russ through the jungle. Spacey is a fitness instructor and yet he loses to Russ (a short man with a protruding belly) in a foot race. He might be losing some clients after this showing. Russ circles back to the wall and looks under the rock. Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me? Russ finds HII #3. Seriously? Props to you Russ.

He resembles a leprechaun so maybe he's just lucky?

Day 27. Monica tells Laura she doesn't trust two people on their tribe since they are supposedly voting with FF. Laura knows she is a target and tells us in her whiny, shrieky voice. Get rid of her so I don't have to hear it anymore.

Immunity challenge: Part 1) Everyone gets once chance to throw a rock at three same colored tiles that are arranged close together several feet away. It is possible to break more than one and someone else can break yours accidentally. Part 2) Everyone who breaks a tile, gets to shoot a spear at a target (one spear per broken tile). Whoever is closest, wins. Simple enough.

Shambo- Nothing. Shocking.

Russ- Nothing. But he doesn't really need it.

Jaison- Got one.

John- 0. Guess his calculations were off.

Monica- Misses it.

Spacey- Knocks out one of Monica's.

Nat- Nothing.

Mick- Gets a tile.

MFBB- He gets two tiles!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!

Laura- Nothing.

I'm awesome.

Shambo is cackling down the line at Laura's missed shot. Really, grow up Shambo. She claims she hates all of the youngin's on her tribe but she is being the most immature. And that's what you call irony, Shambo. Did you make it to that word in the "i" section of the dictionary? Or did you not make it past IDIOT?

Part Two:

MFBB's first try- He connects!

Jaison- Misses the target completely

Monica- On her stolen turn, she actually connects on the very bottom so it doesn't beat MFBB.

Mick- He connects and it's closer than MFBB's. I'm torn!

MFBB second try- He makes it but it isn't as close as Mick's.

Mick wins. Hooray! I always felt bad for Mick cause I felt like he was a winner on a losing tribe. But he wasn't doing too well in individual challenges either so this is nice validation for me to continue to cheer for him. I feel bad for MFBB but I also don't think MFBB is in danger of going anywhere anytime soon. So, yay Mick!

Finally, a victory for hot, athletic doctors everywhere.

Shambo is all smiles and says "it's the day of reckoning" since the plan to vote out Laura finally hasn't been foiled due to individual immunity.

Back at camp, Shambo tells MFBB she is voting for Laura regardless of what Galu does. There is some sad, melancholy music playing as she tells him this. Are MFBB and Shambo in an alliance? Why is she telling him this? Why does he look sad? Is he sensitive? I like that in a guy.

Oh, brooding. I'm in love.

Laura and Spacey tell John they want to vote for Russ. John immediately says no and says to vote for Nat since she is least likely to have the HII. John interviews how pathetic the rest of Galu's strategizing skills are. He calls them idiots. I think all of them are idiots personally. MFBB aside.

Monica points out how it is going to be a tie and comes up with the plan to tell FF to vote for John and pretend that is Galu's decision. Then they will really vote for Nat so it will be 5 for Nat, 4 for John, and 1 for Laura (Shambo). Might want to run that plan by John, guys...

Monica tells Russ and Mick her plan. She says "its a huge move for [me]" which sounds super sketchy. And Russ and Mick are suspicious. MFBB tells John the plan and John is pissed since that is four votes for himself and "that's not a good plan when you're John". For realz. MFBB says he would bet his life that Shambo will vote for Laura no matter what, and John says "then let's put your name down". Don't be sassing MFBB! But I would be thinking the same way.

Mick and John discuss the plan. Russ says he doesn't believe the "Vote for John Plan" and they are voting for Laura. So either John can switch and vote for Laura after the first tie, or let it go to a second tie, pull a rock out of bag and if it's the wrong color, he could be going home. I believe the answer is obvious, my friend.

TC and I'm actually giddy with excitement. Lots of talk about how it is weird how two Galu members are on the jury; FF points out how they are still four votes that could be used to someone else's advantage. Shambo says Galu is no longer a unit. Laura contests and says it is. Jeff points out if one Galu member says it's not, then it's not. Laura basically says Shambo isn't in the group and Jeff speculates that it may come down to a tiebreaker. Everyone on Galu is fine with a tiebreaker, even though Galu members have just as good of a chance going home as FF+Shambo since it's 5-5. Or 4-4 since the two members receiving votes don't have to draw rocks and would be safe. I'd throw someone under the bus to save my butt. Does this say a lot about my character?

Voting time. We see only Shambo's vote for Laura. And surprise, surprise: it's tied with 5 for Laura and 5 for Natalie. Erik over on the jury says "This is good (bleep)" and I have to agree. Also, here is one interesting vote:

I'm betting Russell. Only since we saw Shambo's vote spelt correctly.

Second round of voting. I am actually perched on the floor inches away from my television in anticipation. Dave says he is ready to roll the dice. Jaison votes for Laura. Of course those tricky producers have the votes alternating order again. Laura, Natalie, Laura, Natalie, Laura, Natalie, Laura. Ninth person voted out of Survivor: LAURA! I LOVE IT. I LOVE IT. I LOVE IT. The best part is this expression:

What? Me? Nooooooo!

Shocked expressions all around. Spacey says "Wow". Natalie is gleeful. 3 Tribal Councils, 3 blindsides. See ya Laura! I'm not gonna miss you at all.

Best episode ever? Pretty much. I love this show.

My thoughts exactly.

Next week on * slight pause * Survivor: Russ starts creating chaos by releasing the chickens. Shambo is apparently calling the shots now. And it's possible everyone is gonna vote Russ out.

"Mmm whatcha say"

A little family story:

Two of my nieces, SD and MG, come to my mom's house every Wednesday after school for "Gran's Day". And they usually stay until 5 or 5:30 when their mom comes to pick them up. Today I asked my mom what time my sister MR was coming over and she said that she was just going to drive the girls home instead. I was sad cause that meant I wouldn't get to see niece #3 AJ. I said this to my mom and she said that I could go with her to drop the girls off and then that way see AJ. In my head, I thought eh I don't want to have to go and do all that but I do want to see AJ so I reasoned I would go. I said nothing-- I didn't commit, I didn't reject. I said nothing.

Later when my mom was getting ready to go, she told me how to finish making dinner while she was gone. I objected since I thought I was going all along and my mom said that I had whined or something implying I didn't want to go. This went back and forth for a few minutes until my six year old niece MG popped her head into the kitchen and said "Aunt Annie's right! She didn't say anything. I heard her!" That's right Gran you just got pwned by a six year old. Conclusion: I didn't get to go since dinner was cooking and so I did not see AJ. :( But I'll remember this come MG's next birthday and maybe get her a little extra something.

"No one does it like you/ I tried so hard/ But no one does it like you"

This is a post I've been meaning to write forever. Seriously. I have a Note on my iPhone from 87 days ago where I jotted down some ideas. I am going to profess my love for one of my favorite authors.

Can you guess who it is?

I stumbled across Jodi Picoult during my sophomore year of college, back when I had money and could afford frivolous things like perusing the book aisle of Target for a leisurely read. I picked up "My Sister's Keeper" scanned the back and thought it sounded interesting. I purchased it and started reading it that night, which stretched into that morning. I had to wake up at 9 for my 10:00 tennis class and I would stay up until 5:30 in the morning reading this book. I was so enthralled. And I'm weird and I hate leaving off in the middle of a chapter so I would force myself to make it to the end, only to reach another mini cliffhanger and it was another chapter to go until my eyes were actually closing and I would make myself stop.

I love to read but I mainly read before bed, it takes a lot for me to read in the middle of the day when there are YouTube videos to watch and celebrity gossip to catch up on. Well I would bring this book with me to read in between classes, the minute I got home from class, any chance I got. Picoult is simply so amazing at weaving together a tale with love and suspense and twists, that you just have to know what happens. Even if that means forsaking a few hours of sleep.

Well, after I finished I had to read more! I remember buying three of her books at once at Barnes & Noble and the cashier asking if I liked Picoult and then corrected herself by saying "Well obviously you do if you're buying $45 of her books at once". I love her, I love her, I love her.

Picoult has the amazing ability to tell her stories from multiple perspectives character's perspectives. Different genders, backgrounds, and ages are the tip of the iceberg. I applaud this. When I first came up with the idea for my book, I toyed with the idea of switching back and forth between the main girl and main guy's perspectives but ultimately opted against it. I'm not a boy. I don't know how they think. At all. So there was no way I could have written from one's perspective. Picoult does it with ease. She has major characters that are males, some coping with their wife's death, others are struggling to understand why their son attempted suicide, others dealing with a daughter dying from cancer. She usually has at least four perspectives going at once in each book and the way she can create all of these unique, individual voices is nothing short of amazing.

Her books usually focus on a family and the different views of certain members, along with some outsiders so you aren't solely entrenched in the biased view of a family. In her later books, a trial is usually involved. Now, I find this fascinating. She must have to do immense research to use all of the lingo, the processes, and even graphs for evidence accurately and appropriately. And this woman is to the point that she is putting out a book a year. How does she do all of that research and writing?! That's insane! Whether it is research on indian burial grounds, rare medical conditions, or the procedures involved with school shootings, she always provides her reader with lots of information.

She also usually tackles a tricky, heated issue like abortion, stem cell research, or rape. Hence why a trial and lawyers are usually involved in her books. And that's usually my favorite part. Maybe it's because if I was smarter and more determined (and not terrified of public speaking) I would have gone to law school. So maybe I'm just appreciative of being able to experience it through the safety of a book.

And the thing about Picoult, from a girly perspective, is she uses words and phrases that just make you want to sob as you read them. I already explained how much I love My Sister's Keeper. I have read it two or three times (meaning I KNOW what is going to happen) and I sob, and I mean sob, every single time. It's like she always tries to give you a good tug on your heart strings and while sometimes it can seem forced, sometimes it's dead on and you can't help but shed a tear.

Now some of my small complaints about the Jodster. But I'm not trying to knock Picoult. See all of those little circles on the book in the picture? Those tell the awards that book has won, you know next to the "NYT Bestseller Author" tag but as much as I love her, I do have some slight issues with her writing style. She has a lot of flourishes, swirls, and dips in her writing. Sometimes I don't like it cause it's almost like she's trying too hard. But at the same time I've openly admitted I have a very simple writing style so maybe I'm just jealous. And that could be a reason why I like her so much is that we are completely different and I could never do what she does.

She also can overdo it on the similes and metaphors. I flipped open MSK for an example: "Grief is... a band-aid being ripped away, taking the top layer off a family". Sure that's good standing alone but when you've trudge through like fifty of them, you might resist the urge to roll your eyes. She also uses the strange combinations to describe people. Something along the lines of "He smelled like peppermint and ice". Really? You can decipher those two things in a person scent? Cause I always just think "Oh that's Old Spice" or "Aw that newborn baby smell", but obviously my brain doesn't work like hers.

Also, Picoult is great at delivering a great twist, usually in the last chapter, sometimes in the last sentence of the book. Some of them you never even see them coming and you finish thinking "Wow, that was awesome!" The only unfortunate thing is if you've read every book like I have, you start to catch on to what she's doing. In her second to most recent book "Change of Heart" I figured out one of the big twists in the first ten pages. I'm not trying to say I'm awesome and clever; it's just I know her writing style and she wrote something that just seemed so odd to me that I thought, "I bet [this] is going on" and I was right. But luckily she delivers a couple punches and twists in every book so you most likely won't be disappointed even if you catch something early on.

My top five I personally recommend trying are:

1. My Sister's Keeper

2. Perfect Match

3. The Pact

4. Plain Truth

5. Salem Falls.

But MSK and Perfect Match are her runaway winners in my opinion. Don't let Cameron Diaz's movie sway you; I heard it was terrible and they changed the ending. That book is freaking awesome. Read it!

I also think her 'middle' books are better cause I haven't cared for her two most recent ones (Change of Heart and Handle with Care) and in the first few ones, she is still trying to find her niche. Even if I don't love the book, I still at least enjoy it and am entertained. And at the end of the day she's a best selling author and I have a 150 page work in progress, so she gets the last laugh (and the huge paycheck).

"Keep holding on/ Cause you know we'll make it through"

Previously on * slight pause * Survivor: Merge. Natalie apparently is a major power player contrary to previous episodes since all we've seen is Russell. Russell used the immunity idol even though he received no votes and Erik was voted out (and completely blindsided), with the HII in his pocket.

11 are left, who will be voted out tonight?

Night 21: After TC we open with MFBB saying he wants a chocolate chip cookie with peanut butter on it. What does this have to do with the game? Absolutely nothing. But MFBB gets like 3 words in an episode so I gotta include him when I can.

* Happy sigh *

Moving on... Russell defends his use of the HII but knows he has a huge target on his back now. Laura says that TC was perfect because Russell played the idol and Erik is gone. I have no real reason to hate Laura but I do. She tells us Russell will be gone next. Okay, Godfather. Err. Godmother.

If you keep making that face it will stick that way.. oh too late.

Day 22. Natalie clad in a bikini (that really makes her look naked from a distance) is out for a walk and encounters a rat. She realizes it's something to eat and she beats the thing with a stick. Seriously, how she did that I have no idea. I freak out when I have to kill a roach the size of a nickel. A freaking rodent!? Props to Natalie. Who is hilariously exclaiming "Oh my word" every five seconds clearly in disbelief she just killed a rat and put it in a coconut to bring back to camp. Everyone is shocked. Jaison says she came into this game the southern belle and how proud he is of how much she has changed in 20-some days. I immediately worry for Natalie because this is a little too much background information. MFBB cooks the rat (first small strike) and they all enjoy it. Apparently it tastes like chicken but that would not entice me enough to eat a rat though.

Sunshine Killing

Mick and Russ go to get treemail about the reward challenge. Russ looks around for the HII on Galu since I guess no one knew Erik had it. He is determined to find it knowing his survival depends on it.

Challenge: Two teams of five will race to untie a series of poles with white and black coconuts and then set them up so that the white coconuts form a four digit number. Then a blindfolded member will have to use only their sense of touch to put the same number on a combination lock and unlock it to raise a flag. Who comes up with these things? Second best job on Survivor behind shooting random scenery. Reward: Picnic at a rock slide.

Teams: Mick, Jaison, Russ, Laura, MFBB on yellow. Shambo, Kelly, Spacey, Monica, John on purple. Natalie is left out so she chooses to cheer for yellow since it's all old FF members. If they win, she gets to go along on the reward.

I like to call this juxtaposition

Shambo is clearly slowing her team up. Shocker. MFBB and Mick are partnered together and I did not know so much goodness could exist in this world. Jaison runs really hunched over. Spacey is picking up the slack for Shambo. The teams are pretty much neck and neck and are trying to form the four digit number. Spacey takes control of his team and figures out the number: 4673. Monica is the blindfolded one for her team. She is shaking so badly. Poor girl is so nervous. Yellow team gets theirs: 7346. I guess those are the only four numbers the producers could make, huh? Laura is the blindfolded one for her team and she gets to work. Monica is shaking and there is an unfortunate shot of her booty shaking as well. She probably did not appreciate at that come air time. Monica gets it and purple (which was all Galu members) wins reward. Poor FF just cannot win to save their lives.

Reward: They slide down some waterfall rocks which frankly looks painful. John says the rock slides are "killer" but not in the way I'm thinking. I'd be chilling in the water, that's for sure. Kelly tells us how much fun she had. They get to enjoy lunch (where Monica says the donuts are re-donk-culous cause she is super lame but thinks shes super cool for using three year old lingo) and they get a clue about another HII being back at camp. The decide to only tell Galu members about the clue. Unfortunately Shambo is there too so FF will be finding out.

Cheers to being around til the end! BFF!

They start to talk about which FF member is going next. Kelly wants Russ gone and Shambo says no because "he sucks in challenges". Uh, really Shambo? Really? Jeff called you out for slowing up the team. I realize she is just trying to protect Russ but at least make it believable. Like, you could easily win against Russ in the final two cause everyone hates him. Better argument.

Cut to Russ at camp saying he is here to win (really, here I thought you just wanted to starve and get bug bites and sleep in the rain) and if he finds the HII he isn't going to tell a soul. He searches around treemail, the well, and the bridge which makes perfect sense cause the producers can't put it in the middle of absolute nowhere so it has to be at a landmark. I mean, I don't care for Russ but I'll give credit where credit is due: He has a good plan. And are you freaking kidding me?! Russ finds ANOTHER HII with no clues underneath the bridge. He freaks out and talks some smack the camera about it being too easy and he just traded some fried chicken and brownies for a second chance at a million dollars.

Russ shows Shambo his HII and she can't believe it, and rightly so. Shambo kisses him on the cheek and I shield my eyes and cover my mouth. She says she trusts him "impeccably" and I know she is trying to sound smart but that makes no sense. She also said "implicitly" trusts Russ last week so maybe she only studied the "i" part of the dictionary for smart words. Their plan is to get Galu to vote for Russ and he will play the HII and they will vote for Laura given she doesn't win immunity. If she does, they will vote for Kelly since they think Monica will dig her own grave with the boys so they don't need to waste time voting her off now.

Immunity challenge: Each person will use a grappling hook to retrieve two bags of puzzle pieces. The first three to do so move on to the next round where they have to put the peg in a huge board with different shapes. Each time they put the right peg in, another one drops down and they will keep doing so until the puzzle is complete. Simple enough.

Natalie: Maybe I can keep this hook and use it to kill another small woodland creature later

Monica and Laura have ridiculous flowers tucked behind their ears. Shambo, Mick, Kelly, MFBB all have bags. Mick is onto the final round. Jaison, Laura, Russ get their first bags. Shambo gets bag number 2 so she's in. It's a race between Laura and Russell for the second bag. And Russ loses his like six inches away from the finish line! Ahh!

Maybe another HII will be attached to this since, you know, they just seem to find me where ever I go!

So it's Mick, Shambo, and Laura in the final round. Shambo and Mick are getting started while Laura is still trying to untie her bag. Unfortunately Laura gets it untied and then is like clockwork and starts getting all of her pieces in fast. I mean, we all played that game with the yellow pieces when we were little when you tried to put them in the right spot before the timer ran out and it made the game jump and mess up all of your work. I want to say it was called concentration but google is telling me I'm wrong. But hopefully you know what I am talking about. ANYWAY, Laura runs away with the challenge and wins immunity, again. Super. I don't understand why Mick didn't win. Where is he a doctor? Did he obtain his medical license online? Why aren't you winning these easy challenges Mick!?! You are athletic and smart. Get your act together or I will be cheering exclusively for MFBB.

Team Mick! For now at least...

Day 24: Back at camp, Shambo whines about how her heart is broken since they can't vote off Laura. Russ tells Jaison he found the HII and Jaison says he deserves it. Jaison tells the rest of FF about the HII and they need to keep promoting voting Russ so that way they won't vote off a different FF member if they catch wind of Russ having the idol. Smart plan. Jaison says he is really beginning to love Russell and you know what, I almost agree. Mick says he is excited because he is sick of the patronizing attitude that Galu has and it will be nice to knock them down a few notches.

Spacey, John, Monica and Laura are talking about the order they are voting out the remaining FF members. Monica, shockingly, suggests they factor in what they would do if a FF member finds an idol. Spacey says they can't worry about that now since FF supposedly doesn't know that there is another idol. John says someone probably is looking for it since "it's not rocket science", reminding us that yes, John, you are smart and you are a rocket scientist. Russ starts walking by and they all shut up and stare at each other. Smooth guys. Russ overhears Natalie's name and he is now confused if he should play it.

Spacey: Shhh. Russell is coming. Oh, what a beautiful day!!

John: We aren't talking about Tribal Council where we are going to vote you out.

Monica: So what did everyone think about the latest episode of The Hills?

Laura: Pfft. He totally has no idea we were talking about him. Team Galu? Try Team Awesomely Clever!

Spacey, Monica, Laura, and John are annoying. They say once all of FF is gone they will kill one of their chickens since they are the team that won them. I understand but just shut up. Notice MFBB isn't there cause he is a good person! Well that or he the least involved in making decision with his alliance meaning he will go sooner. Noooo!

TC: Erik is brought in as the first jury member and he is walking awkwardly, holding his necklace and attempting a swagger or something. I read on Probst's blog that Erik was just so into the game and being on his team that he never really started playing an individual game. His necklace is purple so maybe he is trying to show that he is so committed to the team. Or maybe he is just weird. I don't know.

You douchebags.

Spacey and Kelly say that their tribe is still strong but Erik was a snake and that's why he is gone even though he was a Galu member. Erik is literally biting his tongue in order to not say anything. There is lots of talk about the tribes still being divided and Mick says that Galu should look at FF as four individual votes that can help some of the Galu members out later on in the game. Spacey says that the next most dangerous person is going next and that's based on several criteria. The tricky editors than pan to Jaison when he says physical ability, to Mick for mental toughness, Russ for strategic acumen. What about Natalie's attributions? Guess they will keep her around since she kills small rodents.

Time to vote. None are shown. Jeff does his dumb "go tally the votes" speech and then asks if anyone has the HII. Russell then stands up and it is just awesome. Spacey is absolutely shocked, Erik is pumped over on the sidelines, Monica looks like she pooped her pants, and Laura is pissed. Even Shambo is trying to look all shocked even though she knew. Nice Sham, I'll throw a little credit your way for that. "I ain't finished playing just yet. Keep hope alive" says Russell. I. LOVE. IT. Seven votes for Russell are all void. First new vote is: Kelly! She knows it's game over the second she sees it. Three votes later, she is out of the game.

Aw crap.

Laura is just glaring at FF memberts. Poor Kelly did get blindsided but seriously, who was she? I don't even know. See ya blondie!

Game over.

Laura says "he just stirred up a whole lot of hell is what he did". What the heck? What is FF suppose to do? Lay down and die? If I was on an outnumbered team, I'd be doing everything in my power to stay in the game. You were going to vote Russell out Laura, sorry he foiled your little plan. Gosh I really hate Laura and am starting to love Russell, at least a little. What am I thinking? Maybe I have swine flu or something. Oh and Shambo acts all pissed off and nods to Laura's comment. Nice again, Shambo. Who knew you were an actress?

How dare you not just accept you were about to be voted off and lose the chance to win a million dollars! You've got a lot of nerve little man.

We are told that the HII will go back into the game. Now, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I like FF way more than Galu (MFBB aside) but really, how many chances can they get? If Russell finds it for a third time, I'm calling shenanigans.

Next week on * slight pause * Survivor: Every one is running around trying to find the idol, with Spacey and Laura actually chasing Russ and Jaison to see if they find it. In the words of Monica Gellar: It. Just. Got. Interesting!

"Save me from being confused/ Show me what I'm looking for"

This is an open letter to the wonderful invention that is Google (and all of the employees there):

Thank you for creating the best search engine ever. And then when I thought it couldn't get any better, you gave your search engine psychic powers because you always know what I am looking for before I even finish typing. So Google, thank you for helping me: come up with Christmas shapes other than stars and bells, make sure Bloomingdales makes the "big brown bag", correct lyrics for "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, that it is in fact a palette that goes with a paintbrush, that oven mitts is two words, and what the RN nursing symbol looks like. And that was just for today. Can you tell the chapter I am writing now takes place in December?

One last time, thanks Google. You're the best!

"But I still haven't found what I'm looking for"

Alright, final five time on the Amazing Race. So... let's recap shall we?

Oh and I know this looks long but it is an hour long show and I have to use their names like 60 times each and there are only like 8 words in a line and.... I ramble. Sorry!

Previously on the amazing race: The six teams went to the Netherlands. It took Miss America over two hours to count to 64, Sam and Dan were team #1, the Globetrotters were dancing up a storm, the Poker Players couldn't swing a hammer or play putt-putt so they gave up and were eliminated. In the word of Phil, Five teams are left who will be eliminated * slight pause* next?

Sam and Dan are the first to depart at 9:33 p.m. We find out they are heading to Stockholm, Sweden and will have to travel by train and boat to get to the Tivoli amusement park. Sam and Dan are super excited to be in first place but are starting to snap and nag at each other due to their 21 years of sibling rivalry. I honestly just had to search for several minutes to figure out which was which. I think Sam is the shorter one. Don't hold me to that though.

Second to depart: Meghan and Cheyne. I refuse to spell his name that way and he will be Shane from here on out. The dating duo leaves at 9:48 p.m. Uh oh, background information: They have been dating for 4.5 years and marriage is definitely in their future according to Shane. He says they are running a good race so that shows they are compatible and have a good partnership. My guess: Either they fight or get eliminated this episode. Meghan exclaims in the car that they are going to Sweden. Did you not figure that out before from the clue? Or were you just really excited? She is blonde so this could go either way.

Globetrotters leave third at 10:32 p.m. It's Flight Time's birthday and they want to finish in first as his birthday present. They joke around about going to the red light district to "use the internet" before they have to leave Amsterdam. Teehee.

Matt and Gary (or Pinky and the Brain from here on out) leave 4th at 11:08. The Brain points out how he is the oldest contestant left and Pinky says his dad is doing a great job and he is trying to keep up with his dad most of the time. Oh no, too much background information, we always know it is the kiss of death.

The brothers and team blondie get to the airport around midnight and it's empty. The first flight is at 6:55 a.m. and a second leaves a 9:25 a.m. Blondie points out they need to get on the 6:55 flight. I'm sure the producer tells you to narrate the race but really Meghan? I think we know you want to be on the first flight.

Team Blondie and the brothers run into each other. The boys are carrying some trashbags and I'm immediately intrigued. What's in there? Dirty clothes? Some take out? Why won't they tell me? Guess I'll never know. The ticket counter is closed until 5:30 so the two teams set up camp to be first in line. The globetrotters get there as well as Pinky and the Brain.

The married couple leaves a 1:38 a.m. I think the guy, Brian, is nice (and a saint for putting up with his diva wife. Seriously, it took her two hours to count some bells in a tower) but I don't care the wife, Erika, Miss America. She's had some good oneliners but that's not enough in my book. We find out that they are doing to the race to prove to her family they are a good team because Erika's mom isn't crazy about the fact she married a white guy. Background info for them too?! That's team blondie, Pinky and the Brain, and the married couple who will potentially be eliminated according to the background information is the kiss of death rule.

Team Blondie, the brothers, and the globetrotters get onto the 6:55 flight. Pinky and the brain are getting on the 9:25 flight. Noooooo! I love Pinky and the brain. The married couple are also on the later flight. Not as upset about that one though.

The three teams in front are sprinting through the airport. Man these are some competitive teams. I know you get a prize and all for finishing first each leg of the race but seriously, there are two teams that are two hours behind you. Slow your roll. You don't want to get detained by airport security. The teams scramble to get tickets for the train using the different kiosks. Team Blondie is on the train first, the brothers are second. Aw, the globetrotters get left behind to take the next train.

The brothers point out that the GT are their main competition because they are the only other all male team left. Um, no, no they aren't. I know Matt has pink hair but he's still a boy. And so is his father. So no, they are two other all male teams left. OOoo. Unless this is footage from a later part of the race and therefore a mistake and that means P&B get eliminated. Noooo! Let's hope they are just being jerks.

The other flight departs from Amsterdam while team blondie and the brothers are on the boat. The GT get on the train. Planes, trains, and autoBOATbiles. Too much of a stretch? Sorry, I tried!

Again with the footrace at the amusement park, though I do look kind of dumb cause it proved to be vital last time since the GT missed the train. My bad. The clue reads that one member of each team must ride the Frit Fall and search for an arrow when they are at the top of the ride which will point them in the direction of the next clue box. They only have 15 seconds to search before the ride plunges 24 stories * dramatic pause by Phil * in less than three seconds. I went on a ride that was the opposite at Space Camp. This one shot you up in the air and the force would push you up in your seat and it would feel like you were floating. I almost peed in my pants on that ride... before I went on it like 45 more times because we had the place to ourselves. Ah, seventh grade memories.

Shane and Sam go up and agree to work together, scanning different sections of the park. Sam finds it and then the boys take the plunge. They each deliver a good reaction on the way down. They successfully find the second clue box. One member of the team will play ring toss with large red gnome hats acting as the goal. Ah... our product placement portion of the show. Not only must they get the ring on the hat but a Travelocity gnome must be underneath. Don't those hats just make you think of David the gnome and his wife Lisa (no, I didn't recall that on my own. Thanks google!)? The team must keep the gnome with them until they reach the pit stop. Dan gets his gnome rather quickly as does Shane. Well, that was a waste of suspense. They could have deleted that entire part of the race but we would have wondered why all the teams were carrying around gnomes.

Detour: Nobel or Viking? You fill up sandbags to create a bunker, set off an explosion, and get their clue. Or use the ancient viking alphabet to decipher a code and then find a viking to get the clue. Yeah, I'd wanna blow stuff up too so that's what blondie and the brothers decide to do.

GT are at the amusement park. Big Easy can't ride the Frit Fall cause he is taller than 6 foot four. Would they have had to chose another ride if Flight Time was too tall? These are the questions that plague my mind. Man and how tall is Big Easy cause he towers over Flight Time. I'm getting really tired of typing out their ridiculous names. Flight Time goes on the ride and finds the arrow with ease. And braces himself on the way down. He doesn't even make a peep, What a let down. Big Easy does the ring toss and is successful.

Pinky and the Brain and the married couple are at the train. The married couple makes it on and P&B don't! Rats! What is with my favorite teams getting left behind?! They are only fifteen minutes behind though so that's doable. Especially if Erika has to find the arrow on the ride, her false eyelashes clearly impair her ability to see clearly (counting bells need I remind you?).

Blondie and Brothers get a person to lead them to the quarry. GT debate names for their gnome on the way. Flight Time suggests sweet pea. Really? Big Easy suggests Louisiana Shorty, I wonder why? Where are you from again? Oh right, Louisiana. I almost forgot since you hadn't reminded us in this episode. They decide on Harlem Gnome. Uh, creative. Stick to tricks.

Brian is scared of heights so Erika goes on the ride. She finds the arrow with ease which shows a blind person could have found it as well. I want to see someone struggle producers! Come on! This certainly isn't amazing, it's not even entertaining. Get me some obstacles and struggles pronto.

Erika delivers a good "Oh hell naw" at the top and she screams on the way back to earth. Nice. She does the ring toss and "wins her baby" the gnome. Brian says how "the guy is suppose to get his girl something at the fair" and Erika retorts "It's 2009". I see what you were trying to do there Erika, but no, just no.

Pinky goes on the ride, finds the arrow, the Brain does the ring toss and gets the gnome, and decide to the dynamite task. This is becoming redundant. However, the person who is lifting the hats for the ringtoss tries to add an element of suspense by putting their leg in front of the hat so you can't see if it has a gnome or not. But the suspense is delayed all of .34 seconds. These are the small things I notice for you, readers. :)

Blondie and Brothers arrive to the quarry and are instructed to put on their safety gear. The GT arrive shortly after. The B&B complain that the GTs are there. Flight Time exclaims "We found it!" in a high pitched voice as they get out of their car. LOL. Shane says "Lucky" in a voice that is exactly like my friend Scott so that scores him a few points with me.

The three teams start filling up their sandbags. The brothers realize it is much faster to just use your hands as opposed to the tiny shovels provided. Even though they've helped other teams in the past (You know, like telling the poker player team how many bells there were so she didn't even have to climb the tower and count on her own!), they hid this tidbit. But seriously, if the other teams are that dumb, then they don't deserve to know. The GT sing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" as they shovel. How cute. Meghan tells Shane it will be faster if they work together and he holds the bag open while she shovels in dirt. Shane (and I) don't agree cause he doesn't help her out and Meghan isn't happy.

Brian and Erika offer to pay a cab driver to lead them to the quarry. Pinky and not-so-much the Brain struggle to find out their way due to the foreign street names. Oh no.

Meghan asks Shane to "please encourage [her]" and I lose some respect. You need motivation to dig some dirt into a bag? Come on now, honey. Wait, I just gave her encouragement (albeit sarcastically) when I really don't think she needs it. Oh well. The brothers build their bunker first and they cheer after the explosion. They do this many times each leg of the race.

The next stop is a farm which was the site of one of the "most infamous and daunting challenges in AR history" according to Phil. Yes! These were the struggles and challenges I was taking about!

GTs finish second and they are off to the farm. Meghan yell's Shane's name some more. She is becoming very whiny and I'm not sure I like her as much. They finally finish and are off to the farm. Meghan complains how Shane didn't listen to her the entire time and Shane says it's over and there is nothing they can do. Meghan huffs and puffs in the backseat.

Oh yeah Pinky and the Brain are still lost, literally driving in circles.

The married team get to the quarry. Erika complains that the dirt is getting into her manicure while she has a voiceover where she claims she doesn't care about getting dirty anymore. Contradicting statements darling.

The brothers get to the farm first, followed closely by Meghan and Shane. The brothers race each other to the clue box and I think Sam is about to regret expending that bit of energy. Roadblock: There are 186 haybales and only seven of them contain flags. One member of each team must unroll the bales of hay until they find the flag. Phil reminds us in a previous season that one team spent almost 10 hours looking for the clue and never found it. They were two hours behind the last team to arrive so they were eliminated. The farm is also the pit stop and the last team to check in MAY be eliminated. But they say that all the time now. In the beginning seasons they didn't unless it was a non-elimination round. Clearly too many people picked up on this since they had to change the wording. Bummer, I like mentally preparing myself if my favorite team is in last place.

Sam is up for his team. Dan is screeching directions from the sidelines and Sam keeps telling him to shut up. Sam struggles to unroll the hay quickly and Dan informs him that one team spent eight hours looking for their clue. Sam says, "Why on earth would you tell me that right now?" and rightly so. Now it all makes sense why Dan wasn't volunteering for this roadblock.

Meghan and Shane get to the clue box. Meghan asks if Shane wants to do it, he says nothing, she says she will do it since he won't speak up. Well two things: 1) Each member has to do a certain number of roadblocks. I think they each have to do six or something. I mean, it's rolling out hay, might as well pass on it if you are the stronger teammate. 2) No one is going to volunteer for that so I'd keep my mouth shut too. Meghan can try to be a martyr but it was her own stubbornness that brought this on.

Dan is still yelling at Sam. Sam is drenched in sweat and tells Dan to stop talking to him for ten minutes. Meghan is struggling and asks Shane to keep talking to her. I mean whatever works for you. She says it's the worst thing she's ever done and she is on bale #1. This is going to be fabulous. I'm actually giddy.

GTs arrive at the farm. Dan yells at Sam for picking through the haystack but I don't blame him. That flag looks pretty tiny, so I'd sort through some too. I do think that's unfair, and it should be a little bit bigger. Big Easy is up for the GTs and Flight Time says "Give me a birthday present baby!" Even though Meghan is immersed in the task she still tells Flight Time happy birthday. Aw, points for her. Flight Time tells her to not find the flag for his birthday present. LOL. She sort of half snorts/ scoffs and continues digging through the hay.

The married couple are almost done with their bunker and Pinky and the Brain get to work. Brian tells them "it's a blast" as they are on their way out. Hardy har har. P&B get the job done pretty quickly (or at least it seems that way due to editing) and are about to detonate their explosive. The camera pans over to the gnome and I sort of pray that it is too close to the dynamite and it's going to explode (even though I like them, that would be highly entertaining). No such luck, just tricky editing and more product placement. And P&B are off.

Back to the roadblock. We hear Meghan say this is the worst thing she's ever done in her life. Listen, I'm sure it's hard but you signed up for the amazing race. You know what's in store. It's not all going to be rainbows and butterflies and water rides and amusement parks. And I'm sure it's physically exhausting but just go down the row and do each bale one at a time. You have to find one eventually. And I'm sure it's harder than it looks and that's why I will never audition for the Amazing Race. :)

Dan yells some more at Sam. And Sam flips him the bird, his arm stretching out of the frame. Nice. Dan yells some more about Sam spending time going through the haystacks and sounds just like Jerry Seinfeld. That gets a double finger from Sam and a "screw you". Love it.

More jokes about how they don't have hay in the projects from the GTs. Where are you from again? Cause you haven't said it fifty eight times in eight episodes. This must be why the GTs are required to be funny visually and not so much verbally in their basketball exhibitions.

Big Easy finds a flag!!! Hooray! Flight Time reminds us that it's his birthday and he's super excited. And he looks just like a boy I went to elementary school with (David) when he says it so I cheer for him a little bit more.

Meghan is pissed that Big Easy got there third and already found a flag.

Just so you know, Safari just quit on me but because blogger is AWESOME and automatically saves your draft every few minutes, I lost none of my work. Cause if I had, I would have given up. Hm, maybe I wouldn't have lasted too long in that haystack challenge after all. Oh well.

Meghan and Sam say that the GTs are the luckiest team in the race. I contest this statement because 1) They haven't been saved by a non-elimination round 2) Poor Big Easy could not figure out the code of 835 even thought it was the position of the hands on the clock and 3) They missed the train. Someone is jealous me thinks.

Flight Time and Big Easy reach the pit stop and are greeted by a prepubescent swedish boy. They are team number one! Phil tells Flight Time they have a good present for him and it's a trip to Turks and Caicos. Flight Time asks if Big Easy knows where that is. LOL. Flight Time is proud of Big Easy for coming in first. They skip and dance off from the mat with their gnome. Love it!

Meghan asks Shane to help her pick the next hay bale and help her make a decision. Why? So when it's not there you can blame him? If I were Shane I'd keep my mouth shut.

Brian and Erika and Pinky and the Brain get to the farm. Man P&B must have done the detour fast since they get there at almost the same time. Sam and Meghan become quite downtrodden at the arrival of Brian and Erika. Brian points out that they've gone through a lot of hay already and provided they didn't miss a clue in an already rolled out haybale, then there is less to go through. The one benefit to being one of the later teams to arrive. And Brian and the Brain are up. Hehehe.

Meghan is crying that she's been doing this for two hours. Sam is yelling and threatening to kill his brother. Breakdowns. I love it. Dan is still yelling at Sam and Brian pipes in, "Daniel it's harder than it looks" in a very nice way and for some reason it finally dawns on Dan that yelling isn't helping. I understand where he is coming from where it would be hard to sit there and not be able to help but screaming out obvious instructions isn't helpful at all. Dan finally shuts up. Pinky explains how this helps their odds since so many have already been unrolled. Dan comments that the other teams are going pretty fast and Sam yells back "Yeah cause they haven't been doing this for an hour and half". True that. Pinky informs Erika about a team taking eight hours. Someone knows their past seasons of AR.

Meghan finally finds a flag and tells the camera she is going to surprise Shane. She pretends she is giving up and runs back to him. On the way, she totally trips in a ditch and faceplants. LOL. Then she shows him the flag and they take off running to the mat. Such energy we have now, Meghan, what happen to being exhausted? They are team number two. Shane says that he is overcome with pride since Meghan is his girlfriend and she's a strong woman. He says that he is glad she is his partner on the race as well as in life. He should have dropped down on one knee and proposed cause it would have been perfect (well minus the fact that she is sweaty and gross and they've been at each other's throats all day). But really, if this were a movie, he totally would have proposed.

Pinky comments that the Brain has worked with hay all of his life and they once again attribute their successes to working on a farm. Unfortunately not in this case case cause Brian finds the flag and he and Erika are team #3.

Sam sits down for a break. The Brain keeps going. Sam starts unrolling another bale and he finds a flag! Sam says he is exhausted and Dan apologize to his brother and explains that he feels terrible but then Sam goes "I'll race ya!" and they break off into a sprint towards the finish line. Sam does some leprechaun kicks and they are team #4. Dan breaks down into tears. DAN not Sam. Dan says he was being a jerk and he shouldn't have been and he isn't proud of himself. But they say their brotherly bond is stronger than any argument and they didn't just come on the race for the million but to also get to know each other better. Aw.

The Brain is still searching for the flag and a counter tells us it's been 1 hour and 55 minutes. He says giving up isn't him and he has a strong work ethic. We're up to 2 hours and 45 minutes and he finds a flag! They run to the pit stop and Phil tells us they are the last team and he is sorry to tell them..... that the next leg of the race is going to be a tough one! Yes, non-elimination. They will have to do a speed bump on the next leg but they're still in this. Awww. Matt calls his dad superman and gets choked up. What is with the people who didn't do the physical labor, breaking down into tears? Perplexing. The Brain says that they aren't giving up and are taking it to the limit. They dance and skip away from the mat and it's a happy ending until they start racing again in 12 hours.

For the record, I called it being a non-elimination round since they usually have three a race and we've only had one so far. Plus, they made the Brain keep searching after they were already going to be the last team. Guess the background info wasn't the kiss of death this round!

Next week, Matt doesn't know the word candelabra (sad!) and one of the GTs literally knock out one of the brothers. I'm excited!

I don't know how I feel about this recap. There isn't as much speculation as there is for Survivor since we always know who are the two teams racing to finish second to last. So it could have been a little boring. Let me know if it sucked! Well in the nicest way possible please. :)

"Isn't it strange how we all get a little bit weird sometimes"

It's official: I'm getting dumb...........er.

I knew writing a book would take a huge effort but I never knew it could be so mentally exhausting. And not just in the predictable way of "hm, how should I go from here? Should I have this happen or this? How am I going to get from this point to the next point?" I expected that. But it's... creatively exhausting or something. See, it's so difficult I can't even come up with the right phrase. This should be obvious though since in previous posts: a) I essentially asked for help with the word "northeast" and b) I explained my much too long thought process for coming up with the word "monologue". If you only knew how much time I spent sitting at my laptop, head in my hands, trying to come up with a phrase or word that is on the tip of my tongue. And I don't try to use fancy vocabulary; simply trying to come up with words I haven't used 500 times already is hard enough.

And spelling. Don't even get me start on spelling. Before, I considered myself to be a rather good speller. I mean, not to brag, but I was the representative for my 6th grade class in the school wide spelling bee. In fact it was down to the final three and I realized, "oh crap, if I win this I am going to have to go to the county spelling bee and that's for dorks. I'm outta here" and I purposely misspelt the first excusable word and got out of there. People don't believe me when I tell this story, but I can describe my thought process in vivid detail, down to the reaction of the assistant principal when I spelled the word wrong. SO, that being said, I was a pretty good speller. Key word: WAS. I had no idea how reliant I am on spellcheck. This is calling myself out, but when I talk to people on gchat, sometimes I give up and have to use a different word because I cannot spell the word I want correctly and gchat doesn't let you use spell check (at least when you don't have a mouse). It's terrible! In the beginning I would try to challenge myself and keep trying to spell the word correctly until I got it but that became too time consuming so that plan was abandoned. But at least I tried right? But seriously, I am a terrible speller but I think it's more so because words are no longer words, just random combinations of sounds and letters since all I do is stare at a Word Document or this here blog post template.

I've started to forget the most obvious things and this is why Sporcle has become my nemesis. I sit there, begging my brain to give up the answer to who sings "All My Friends Say" because my college roommate was obsessed with that song, along with 60% of UGA's population, and I had seen the music video 37 times, and I bought my roommate the cd for her birthday yet I could not recall the guy's name. (Luke Bryan for those who were wondering) This is just one instance, it's happened dozens of times. I can name four associations I have with the word/ phrase/ person/ title I am trying to come up with except for the word itself. It happens all the time and it is so sad.

And I forget everything. You know when you think of something and you have to go into another room and once you get there you have no idea what it is you were about to do. Yeah, that happened about four times today alone. I use to be able to reverse my thought process to get to my original thought/ purpose but that's not as common these days. Sigh. I'm a mess.

Oh and typing. I took two typing classes in middle school and I've always been pretty fast since then. Well and my generation grew up on AIM when you had to type fast if you wanted to have those brief yet meaningful conversations with the cute boy in your class before he signed off. But since all I do is type, whether it is cover letters, job search engines, blog posts, or the book, it's actually amazing how bad I've gotten. You'd think I'd be a lot better but, no. I can't explain it, I don't know why. All I know is I am probably going to wear out my backspace key in the next few months.

But after admitting all of this, I hope it IS because of the book and not because I'm getting older. I'm only 22! Yikes!

But on a happy note, sometimes I surprise even myself with how I plot some storylines or just connecting overall events throughout the book. I think, "okay this can happen, and it will prompt that, and then the reader will remember that clue from that chapter and then it will all tie together" and ta-da... a connection! Unfortunately since I am so forgetful these days, sometimes I don't remember these small bursts of creativity and they are lost forever in the back of my murky mind. Mental note: I need to start writing stuff down. And I had to make my mental note an actual note... irony.

P.S. That's right, I quoted a Hanson song. This should speak volumes about my mental state.