The Bachelor: Juan Pablo (Girl discussion)

Okay, let's talk about the women on the Bachelor. I don't plan on giving a play by play of the latest episode, if you are even reading this you probably already watched it. Instead I want to focus on the people of the show.

My favorite girls are Andi and Renee. I explained in a previous post why.

The girls that I think are making the biggest flash with viewers are Sharleen and Clare, oh and of course Nikki.

Clare got the first one and one date of the season and since then she has felt entitled to Juan Pablo's attention and affection. The show has decided that Clare will be the villain of this season. They make her off to be possessive of Juan Pablo and the girl that other girls dislike. So far I greatly dislike her, too.

Nikki is another contender for this season's villain but I'm not convinced she is going to be a villain. She comes off as an okay person, pretty honest, too. However, she complains a lot so I'm not her biggest fan.

Sharleen seems to be the girl that many viewers dislike but I find her very refreshing. She comes off as awkward on camera, but she has also pointed out how awkward it is to have all these cameras following your every move. I like that about her, I like that she points out the elephant in the room. She also comes across as very honest. It is so refreshing to see a girl who is realistic in her approach to this show. Sharleen doesn't automatically swoon over Juan Pablo, and she made it clear from the first night that it is a two way street, she wants to make sure there is a connection between the two of them for her to continue. After this week's episode she has stated that she could see herself falling for Juan Pablo, unlike the other girls who said those words even prior to even meeting him.

Juan Pablo said that Sharleen is his favorite so far so I don't see her going anywhere unless Sharleen is the one who leaves on her own.

Can I just say how happy I am that Elsie was eliminated this week? I disliked her since basically the beginning with her crappy attitude and then last week how catty and rude she was to Chelsie.

This Monday they will go on romantic adventures in Vietnam!

Who are your favorites? Least favorites? What are you thoughts on Sharleen?

Comment below and don't forget to subscribe!

The Bachelor: Juan Pablo (Episode 2)

I am going to be honest and admit that I was hesitant to watch this season of the Bachelor. I had nothing against Juan Pablo, it's just that he had so little screen time on Des's season and I didn't feel like I got to know him (not even the made up for TV version).
I asked some friends of mine who I knew were Bachelor/Bachelorette fans if they were going to watch. They all said yes and how much they adored Juan Pablo. So I decided to give it a shot. The first episode was pretty normal. The second episode, the one that I am commenting on tonight helped me realize why this show is so fun to watch.

The first two dates were honestly forgettable in my opinion (the girls, not necessarily the dates). They were both blonde and the first one basically said some romantic nonsense to the camera about how Juan is probably the one for her. I do remember the second date, her name was Kat, and they flew on a private plane to Utah. They did an electric run. Both girls got the rose.

The group date would have been a date where I would have easily signed up for. It was a photo-shoot with DOGS! Rescue, shelter dogs! I would have been the giddiest girl surrounded by dogs of all shapes and sizes. It was a charity photo-shoot where the girls each got to pick a dog and then had a special scene for the shoot.
The shoots included plenty of bikini clad women, fun and quirky costumes, some glamour, and two girls were chosen to do the nude shots. The two girls who were initially chosen to do the nude shots were Andi and Elise. Both girls were incredibly uncomfortable with the idea, especially since all the other girls were more covered.

Andi is an Assistant District Attorney and Elise is a first grade teacher. Elise was particularly worried about bearing all since she wants to remain a good, clean example for her students. She went to the exhibitionist Lucy to switch scenes. Lucy was wearing a fire hydrant costume and gladly switched to do the nude photos. Lucy is known as a free spirit, there was a scene of her walking one of the dogs outside in public...completely naked. She lives her life with no regrets and no shame. It may be strange, but I do give props to her for being so comfortable and completely one with herself.

Elise then went on to complain how she would rather do a bikini shot than wear a silly fire hydrant. I went from respecting her to wishing her gone. Seriously, she was a bad sport and I hope her days are numbered on the show.

Andi was still nervous about the shoot when Juan talked to her and decided he'd do the nude shoot, too. It turned out the nude shoot wasn't so bad after all. It was actually tastefully done and the pictures were really nice. You don't see any private parts of Andi or Juan (maaaybe Lucy but probably due to her own posing). And it was all for a good cause, to help get those dogs adopted!

PSA: Do you know how many shelters kill healthy dogs every day? So many it is heartbreaking. There are so many unwanted dogs that need a loving, forever home. If you or if someone you know can bring a lifetime of happiness and care to just one sheltered dog, please, do it. Adopt a dog!

Back to the commentary!

The group date continued to the poolside. One girl named Victoria got wasted and went crazy. She quickly showed she is too immature to not just handle her booze but also that she is not ready to become a step mom. This was where Juan Pablo impressed me. He came off as mature, responsible, and caring. He has a daughter and kept saying that this whole thing was not just for him, it was for his daughter, too.

A lot of roses were given out because it was only episode two so I won't even bother going through them all.

But I will say who my favorites are: Andi and Renee.

Andi is the Assistant District Attorney I told you about. She seems really nice, kind, and over all good character.
Renee is a single mom and a real estate agent. She seems to be the maternal one of the group of girls. She helped try to take care of the drunken mess Victoria, and another crying girl in the house later on. Renee comes off as very mature and kind.

I hope to see more of these girls and see their relationships progress positively with Juan Pablo.

It is still early in the season so things can change. Here's to Monday night's on ABC!

Elizabeth Smart: My Story (Book Review)

A gift I received this past Christmas (2013) was the book about Elizabeth Smart's traumatic kidnapping. I have always felt a connection to Smart, not only because we share a religion, but we also share a birthday. I remember being hooked to the news for any sort of new information concerning her. When she was found I rejoiced along with the rest of the world. So I knew I had to read her book. 

I knew going into the book that it probably wasn't going to be that detailed. After all, it was being sold at Deseret Book (a conservative LDS store). As morbid as it might sound, I was hoping for a thoroughly detailed book, similar to the details given by the Child called It series. However, Smart's book was detailed enough to give the reader a glimpse or even an idea of what happened and left plenty to the imagination. If books were given a rating, I would think it would be rated PG. 

Even though it did not contain the details I was desirous to devour, the book was captivating and engaging throughout.  I didn't want to put it down. It was detailed enough to give me nightmares of her kidnapper, though (I read it at night, not so bright move on my part). 

The horrors she went through were like Smart said, indescribable, or impossible to put into words. She was forced into a form of polygamous marriage at 14. She was chained to a tree like an animal. She went without water and food for days at a time. When she did have those basic necessities they were rationed into minuscule portions. She was forced to get drunk, and she even once woke up in her own vomit. She was forced to smoke cigarettes as well as other drugs. She was also forced to spend some days completely naked. She spent her days sitting outside in the harsh desert heat of either Utah or California. She spent her nights sleeping in a tent next to the man who raped her daily (sometimes multiple times a day). The clothes she wore were tattered rags, or clothing that even the homeless discarded as being too dirty or too worn. Her showers were maybe once a week and they included just a few cups full of ice-cold spring water being poured down her body. 

What was very frustrating were her recounts of encounters where she almost was saved. They happened a few times and if only someone looked closer. There was a helicopter so close to their camp, clearly looking for her, it was so close that their tent was blowing fiercely...but it did not see their camp. There were hikers and other passerby's that ran by or looked away. There was a police officer so worried about offending the captor's religious freedoms that he was helpless and let them go. It made me yell out NOOO!! many times. So close were some of these encounters, it was heartbreaking. 

 

I found her very brave and strong throughout it all. I was shocked to learn that she was sometimes sassy to her captors. She would talk-back and even tried to talk reason into them. Throughout her miserable journey she showed courage and strong faith. She never wavered in her belief in a God. She believed her grandfather was one of her guardian angels. She said she experienced miracles, one of which was during the first few weeks of her captivity. She was desperately thirsty, as were her captors, but the evil man (who doesn't deserve to even be mentioned by name) was lazy and didn't want to make the arduous journey to the springs or even into town. On a cool night she was woken up by a slight breeze, her captors sound asleep, she looked next to her tattered pillow to see a cup of water. She had no idea where it came from, her captors surely would never have shared if there was any more water in their camp. Yet, there was a cup full of water, sitting there next to her pillow. She drank it and it was ice cold. She believed it was a miracle letting her know God was there for her and was taking care of her. 

One might think her silly to believe in a God who was supposedly watching out for her but let her get kidnapped. Her explanation for this is amazing.

“I don’t think what happened to me was something that God intended. He surely would not have wished the anguish and torment that I was about to go through on anyone, especially upon a child.

But since that time, I have learned an important lesson. Yes, God can make some good come from evil. But even He, in all His majesty, won’t make the evil go away. Men are free. He won’t control them. There is wickedness in this world.

Which left me with this: When faced with pain and evil, we have to make a choice.

We can choose to be taken by the evil.

Or we can try to embrace the good.”

She had such faith throughout her time in what she described as "nine months of hell." She was only 14 years old and had more faith than people twice her age. When many people would have given up and given in, she held onto her faith, it was what kept her going. Her faith gave her the desire and strength to survive. She would tell herself that she would do whatever it took to survive. 

Some people may wonder why she didn't speak out during the times she was walking around in public with her captors. By then she was thoroughly brainwashed into believing that if she did that, her family would be in grave danger. She did everything in order to protect her family. She suffered believing that the man who held her captive would find her and not just physically hurt her family, but kill her family. She believed without a doubt that the man was capable of committing those murders. 

Elizabeth Smart continually denied throughout the book that she developed any sort of affection for her captors. She hated them through and through. She did what she had to to survive, that was it. She never liked them, she never loved them. She believed they were pure evil. 

Near the end of her tortuous time, she was living in California when she got a brilliant idea. She was able to convince her captors into going back to Utah. She pretended to temporarily buy into the evil man's ideas that he was a prophet and told the man that God told her that they needed to preach in Utah. The man ate it up and back to Utah they went. Once they made it back to Utah, (they hitch hiked the whole way) a few police officers stopped them and questioned her and her captors. It was then she had a moment of pure bravery and said the now famous words..."I am Elizabeth Smart." 

When she was reunited with her family I burst into tears. It was a wonderful moment. I could feel the love, the gratitude, the anxiousness, it was overwhelming. Smart goes on to say how she never received professional counseling afterwards. Her therapy included horseback riding, and playing her harp. She has such a good attitude about it all. She describes her life as truly blessed. She said she has lived a little over 300 months, and just 9 of them were bad...so her life in the grand scheme of things was not too bad. My jaw dropped when I read her explanation. How she could have such a positive attitude about her ordeal is beyond me. She is truly a remarkable individual and a shining example for the world. 

I recommend this book and I think everyone should read it. It strengthened my own faith and made me appreciate life for all its beauties and glories. Life is something to be cherished. Life is meant to be lived. I am grateful for the opportunity, for that was truly what it was, to have read Elizabeth Smart's memoirs.