Bachelor Spoiler Alert

If you want to know in great detail what is going to happen Monday and Tuesday on "The Bachelor," click here: http://realitysteve.com/.

I simply cannot wait to see this...... and to see if it's all true. It truly will be THE MOST EXCITING BACHELOR EPISODE EVER (said in the voice of host Chris Harrison).

Spring Yawning

Last night Mr. Love and I traveled to Wharton Center to sit through "Spring Awakening."

Can you tell already how much I enjoyed it?

Before we went, I knew very little about it. I heard that it was a racy story about teenagers who lusted after each other. I pictured it kind of like "Rent".... meaning a little saucy, Bohemian, sexy, with great music and a lot of fun.

OK, so it was teenagers in (I think) 1940's Germany. Already it's fascinating, right?

The boys all had odd hair styles yet wore stiff German school outfits. The girls were all homely and wore dresses that reminded me of Mary Ellen Walton.

The acting was somewhere between high school and college level, except they appeared to all take themselves very, very seriously. None were great actors, and although they could all carry a tune, I wouldn't exactly say they were ready for Broadway.

The band leader was a young lady who looked about 25, and as the music played, she would shake her head up and down so her hair went flying. I sometimes found this much more interesting to watch than the actual play.

The older lady next to us purchased gummy bears at intermission and proceeded to rattle the plastic bag through most of the second act. It only added to my intense pleasure of the evening.

Speaking of intermission, when it came, we stood up to discuss. I expressed how bored I was, and Mr. Love expressed his enjoyment. He loves artsy fartsy, and boy was this artsy fartsy. He went on to explain that he loved the struggle the young boy was having with shame and how interesting it was to see that exploration.

My response? "I didn't get that at all." Remember, I was watching the hair flying to beat of the music.

I don't do artsy fartsy. Remember "Atonement?" Oh, my goodness I thought THAT would never end. 10 minutes of a good story. 1 1/2 hours of 3 men walking across France during the war. Then it ends with 10 more minutes of a story I no longer care about because I just had to sit through 1 1/2 hours of 3 men walking through France! Randy loved it, and I seriously wondered who it was I had married.

Back to Spring Yawning.

Here's a sample of the lyrics of one of the songs:

O, you're gonna be wounded
O, you're gonna be my wound
O, you're gonna bruise too
O, I'm gonna be your bruise

HUH? They sang that song three times.

In the second act, they sang a song - I kid you not - called "I'm Fu&#ed." After repeating in verses one and two, the song writer must have run out of lyrics, and the kids just sang "Blah Blah Blah" all through the third verse.

Mesmerizing.

That's my opinion. Mr. Love thinks otherwise, and I'm sure he'd be happy to share his opinion with you if asked. Please just ask when I'm in the other room. :-)

Found on Facebook

One of my friends posted this on her Facebook page, and I started my morning by sitting at the computer dying laughing. Please to enjoy....

Bad Thing Happened

Mr. Love got it down just now, but it's a mess inside. Anyone know a good garage door repairman?

Much Better

Doesn't that look better? What a productive day here at the Willett household. I spent hours continuing on my quest to post things on ebay, and I'm done for now. I know I will have a second round of items later on, but right now I've posted everything I wanted to get out there. For the next few days, I can just sit back and watch the bids, hoping that things sell. Last time I sold on ebay, I couldn't believe how well I did. That was two years ago, and the economy is hitting everyone these days. I know I won't come anywhere near what I did last time, but I know I'll make something. AND.... I'll get rid of some things that need to go!

As you can see, I also cleaned my craft room. I really went to town on it, and it's so much better now. When I got laid off, a lot of things from my office went in my craft room, because I wasn't sure where to put things and didn't think it would be for long (HA). Now I'm able to organize things much better, and having gotten rid of all of the ebay stuff gave me more room to organize and store things until I get my next job.

Mr. Love worked all day on our vacuum cleaner. It's not that old, but it really needed to be taken apart and cleaned thoroughly. He had it in a million little pieces in the basement most of the day, but it's all back together now and ready for use. I love it that he's so handy. He even gave me the night off and made dinner for us AND cleaned the kitchen. Gotta love that man.

Slow Week

Not much new happening around here. The longer I'm off work, the more boring I become. I was busy this week putting some things on ebay, and I'm amazed at how much I have to put on there. It's all craft stuff that I don't use any more, and I'm going to be so glad to get it out of this house. It will also be nice if I make a little money along the way.....

Randy and I don't usually exchange gifts on Valentine's Day, but since we're not even doing birthdays this year, he got me a snuggie for VD. I LOVE IT. I have wanted one since the first time I saw the commercial, and it does not disappoint. Jack and I hunker in with that thing, and it's perfect.

I'm so excited for the finale of The Bachelor. There are a lot of internet rumors floating around out there, and I won't spoil it by posting anything here. Let's just say that if the rumors are true, this truly WILL be THE MOST EXCITING FINALE EVER (If you watch the show, you know that I say that with just a bit of sarcasm!).

We're planning on a pretty quiet weekend here, just hanging out at home. My craft room is a disaster, partly due to not putting things away after having a friend over to scrapbook last weekend and partly due to pulling out so much to sell on ebay. Does anyone want to come over and help me?????

Here's something new at our house......I feed the dogs every day at 4:30. Mr. Love gets home from work around 5:20. Jack has started a new thing where after he eats, he gets in the green chair and stairs towards the door, waiting for Mr. Love. He sits like this, still as a statue, until he hears the back door open. It's stinkin' cute.

Bite Me Update

Mr. Love was on a quest, to find a conversation heart that said, "Bite Me" just to prove he had seen them before.

He googled and searched, and what he found is that we're just a bit before our time. "Bite Me" hasn't ever been on a conversation heart, but it's going to be. They're making special hearts all themed around the "Twilight" books, and "Bite Me" is going to be one of the new hearts. I guess they're going to be released in March, along with the DVD of the first movie.

So, we here at Casa Willett are trendy and didn't even know it! And now you know the rest of the "Bite Me" story. :-)

Yes, You Can Get Shingles On Your Butt

This cracks me up.

A few months ago, I installed a tool bar on my blog. It tracks people who visit. I don't know who they are or anything, but it tells me where they are and how they got there. For instance, it will tell me someone in Lansing came directly to my blog. That means they either typed in the name of the blog or have it marked as a "favorite."

If someone finds my blog by a google search, it tells me that as well. It also tells me what they were searching for when they found my blog. So, if someone searched for "Lori Willett," they could then find my blog, and I would know how they found it.

Remarkably, the number one way new people find my blog is by conducting a Google search for "shingles on my butt." Nearly every day, someone finds my blog by using that search! It's happened so many times that my blog is now the #1 search result from the CNN search page!

I don't know that what I blogged when I had shingles would be particularly helpful to anyone else, but I hope that those visitors enjoy the blog nonetheless.

Bacon Bacon Dip

I've promised to share this recipe with a number of people, so I figure that by putting it on here, you will all receive it.

This is a recipe that uses Bacon Bacon, made by Tastefully Simple. Please note that it's not using just plain bacon bits - Bacon Bacon is very different than plain bacon bits, and the recipe won't turn out the same if you substitute.

Awesome Bacon Dip

2 Tbsp. Bacon Bacon

4 oz softened cream cheese

3/4 cup mayonnaise (NOT miracle whip!)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

2 chopped green onions

Combine all ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Serve with freshly made Beer Bread (also by Tastefully Simple!).

NOTE: I always double the recipe, and it makes enough to match one full loaf of bread. I also use more green onions than called for in the recipe.

Enjoy!!!

Bite Me

Last night I went scrapbooking at the church with my friends. I decided to make a Valentine's Day garland to hang in the dining room. I wanted something that looked like those little candy hearts with the words on them. I think they're called "Conversation Hearts."

So, I took my supplies, my lap top, and my Cricut machine to the church and spent the evening creating the garland. When I got home, I hung it up and waited for Mr. Love to get home to get his reaction.

Me being me, tormentor that I am, I made my little hearts with cute messages, except for one that says, "Bite Me." I wanted to see if Mr. Love noticed that little slip up, or if he would just take a cursory glance at the garland and not even notice.

He came home, and to my surprise, he actually read every message out loud. He didn't even hesitate on the "Bite Me" heart. I asked him if there was anything unusual about the garland. He studied it and studied it, and he was stumped. I finally pointed out the "Bite Me" heart.

He INSISTED that there really is a "Bite Me" message on conversation hearts!

He's still insisting it, and, in fact, he's decided to go buy a box to prove it to me. I told him if he could find one, I'd glue it to the heart I made just so he could forever know he was right.

I'll keep you posted........

Back Into the Routine

It's Monday, and things are back to normal. I was in Okemos the last three days, scrapbooking with the girls. It was so much fun. I was FINALLY able to start working on my heritage album, and I made some good progress on it. I can't wait for the family to see it. I've learned so much by doing this, and it's been a lot of fun to put it all together. I've still got so much more to do, but I'm on my way.

I haven't been blogging much because I haven't had much to say. The days are pretty much all the same, with a few hours each day devoted to searching for a job. Then I have all of the other exciting things to do like dishes, dinner, laundry, etc. After a while, there's not much to blog about unless I rant and rave about the latest episode of "Real Housewives" or "Young and Restless" (does anyone else believe Brad really isn't dead?).

Last week we did go see "The Color Purple" at the Wharton Center. It was incredible. I never thought it would be that good. The girl who played Celie stole the show. She was a little bit of a thing and when she opened her mouth to sing, she brought the house down. By the end of the show, most of the women (and some of the men!) shed a few tears to see the sisters reunited. I'm so glad we were able to see the show. We had great seats, and it was a great night out.

Just A Week Away

Have you figured out what you're getting your sweetie for Valentine's Day? How about some chocolate from the Alpha Avenue Chocolate Shop?

Click on the link to the right to be transported to the Shop, where you'll find all sorts of Valentine's deals, including the opportunity to order a handmade card with your candy!

Time is ticking away, so don't put it off. Drop on over to the Shop and place your order today - your sweetie will be so glad you did.