Friday, March 27, 2009

Fort Worth Date Night: A little fuzzy & a little fishy (FW Business Press)

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Fort Worth Date Night: Chocolate...shaken, not stirred (FW Business Press)



Saturday, March 14, 2009

Fort Worth Date Night: Oh Goody! (FW Business Press)


Sunday, March 8, 2009

The Bachelor: After the Final Rose! The Most Controversial Blog Post EVER!


It's been a week since America "officially" found out about who The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick, picked as his final choice.  Well, so we thought.  I've been going back and forth on whether to write this blog entry.  I finally gave in.  So, here it is.  I am happy for Jason from this season of The Bachelor.
 
As not popular as this is, it's my blog and I can write if I want to.  Trust me, I've seen the status updates on Facebook and heard the radio call-ins.  People are pissed.  Especially, the female gender.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have tons of female friends, usually side with women and often see things from the girls' angle.
 
I also loved Melissa from The Bachelor.  She's one of those unique girls where guys want her and girls want to be BFFs with her.  She's a guy's girl.  Naturally gorgeous, loves sports and is totally fine with hanging out.  And, her goal in life is to have a family, marry her best friend and please him.  Sign me up!  She's in Dallas and I'm in Fort Worth.  The demographics work out perfectly.
 
I guess I should back up if you didn't watch The Bachelor this season.  The producers picked the runner-up from The Bachelorette the season prior.  His name is Jason.  One of the reasons I was so interested in watching this season is that Jason reminds me a lot of me...a good guy.  Not edgy, not dangerous...not boring, but, responsible and genuine. 
 
So, Jason dates 25 girls throughout 6 weeks or so and, by the end of all this, hopes he finds his wife and future step-mother to his young son, Ty.  Fast forward to the end of the show.  He's left to pick between Molly and Melissa.  He goes with Melissa.  Drops to one knee, pops the question, finally tells her he loves her...the whole nine yards.  Fast forward 6 weeks.  Jason has a change of heart at the reunion show and breaks up with Melissa and picks Molly.  The world is pissed!  You would have thought that someone told President Obama that he wasn't the president of the free world any longer and McCain has taken his spot.  At any time, Ashton Kutcher comes out and punks the president.
 
So, at this final reunion show, Jason officially breaks up with Melissa and tells her he still has feelings for Molly.  Melissa is livid, gives the ring back, yadda, yadda, yadda...commercial break...Molly comes out.  Jason tells her he still loves her, she's is shocked, they talk...ride off into the sunset like an old western.
 
Let me say that I was, and still am, a huge fan of Melissa.  Dude...she's hot!  But, so sweet and you just rooted for her.  It was obvious that Jason was crazy about her, too.  So, why did he pick her if he wasn't going to stay with her?  And, embarrass her on national tv?
 
That was not Jason's intent.  However, these relationships begin and end on the most bizarre circumstances.  Who has a first date where you are flown to another state and get a helicopter tour of the city, wrapping up with a celebrity coming out to give you a private concert?  Oh, and I did I mention that these contestants are living in a mansion?  Who wouldn't get completely engrossed in all that?
 
Here's what I'm thinking...  Jason shouldn't have proposed.  But, hindsight is 20/20.  At the time, I believe that is what he felt.  Then, the cameras were off and they really got to know each other.  Something clicked in his head and thought, "I can't go through with this."  You have to commend him for following his heart.  Did it suck that the breakup was on national tv?  Absolutely!  Was it horrible that he broke up with America's newest sweetheart, in general?  Yes!  The ironic part of that was that week in and week out, we rooted for Jason to break up with some of the girls.  Some of us yelling at our TVs. (not me)
 
There is also a buzz going around that Jason and Molly had contact between them before the actual reunion show.  I'm guessing..."probably happened."  Apparently, Jason broke up with Melissa a week before the reunion show.  And, officially ended things on the show.  Now, everyone is mad at Molly.  "Homewrecker!"  People...give me a break!
 
Molly wasn't my favorite.  However, after watching all that transpired, Jason and Molly belong together.  And Melissa can't be too heartbroken.  She apparently is dating someone from her past.  Ironically, his name is "Ty."  Sound familiar?  What's strange is that Melissa talked about never picking the right guy and now she's gone back to someone in her past.  So, maybe Jason did make the right choice.
 
Now, Melissa is rumored to be a last-minute fill-in on this year's Dancing with the Stars.  So, if she is completely hurt and devasted, then, she is getting over it by throwing herself back in the limelight.  It sounds like Melissa is going to be just fine. 
 
Here's the real question to ask yourself.  Why does this show strike such a nerve?  Do people watch and are displacing their personal feelings towards Jason based on their past.  Without going into psychology, displacement can best be described as you've had a long day, traffic sucked coming home and you had a flat tire. You're livid!  You get out of the car, are greeted by your sweet cat and with one swift kick, the cat goes flying over the house.  You weren't actually mad at the cat, but, you took it out on the cat.
 
Perhaps, Jason's actions have prompted the same emotion in millions of people.  He represents the guy who dumped you for another girl, the husband who didn't want to be married any longer or the "typical" male that gives so many guys a bad name.  Or, it could be that since we had preconceived notions that Jason was a good, decent, genuine nice guy, we are doubly disappointed in him?  And, throw in the fact that we all loved Melissa and it makes for a messy situation.
 
We have to remember that is "reality" TV.  Because what we see on TV is real, right?  Not!  I was fortunate to have done a reality show a couple of years ago.  Fortunate because it took place in Bora Bora.  But, the experience was not all that great.  I can remember spending 2 hours driving around Santa Monica.  For the first hour, I had the camera man next to me and the producer in the back seat.  All while I had fake phone conversations on my mobile phone.  Then, more of the same for the next hour so they could get a different angle, the producer was in the passenger seat and the camera was in the backseat.  Over the next 5 days, this scenario was played over and over again.  I have no doubt that it wasn't any different for The Bachelor.  And, I won't even get into editing.
 
Here's what I wish for...  (1) Jason, Molly and Ty live happily ever after. (2) Melissa and her "Ty" live happily ever after.  And, if not, and you know Melissa, please give her my contact info and (3) that the month of May would hurry up and get here because I can not WAIT until The Bachelorette starts and we get to see Jillian go through this process all over again!  I LOVE her and I LOVE this darn show!!!


Friday, March 6, 2009

Fort Worth Date Night: It’s all about ME! (Fort Worth Business Press)


Last Friday was my birthday.  I’m not the type to get excited about birthdays.  Everyone around me gets excited.  Me...not so much. A few weeks out, the questions and e-mails started, “Are you looking forward to the big day?”  And, this wasn’t even a big one. I suppose that, growing up, I never wanted to look forward to something just in case I was disappointed. This transferred over to adulthood. I’m very baseline when it comes to the excitement level in regards to my personal celebrations.

Back to last Friday.  PR Chick asked me weeks out to take me to lunch on my birthday. Her birthday actually fell the day after, so, we were looking at a mini-combination celebration. However, since lunch was transpiring on my actual birthday…the focus was on me. PR Chick lives in Dallas and we decided to meet in Fort Worth. After much thought, I chose Lili’s Bistro on Magnolia. I’ve heard about this place, read about it, sent clients there, but, had never personally experienced what all the fuss was about.

So, last Friday was the big day. I arrive to see PR Chick holding a huge “birthday-looking” gift bag. I already love Lili’s. It’s not a big place.  And, everyone in Fort Worth must have gotten the same memo as there was a bit of a wait.  I’m not a big fan of waiting, but, we were already there, that was the plan and nothing was going to change. I’m eating at Lili’s!

After we were finally seated and given menus, I did what anyone else would have done. I ripped into my birthday bag. Then, it was time to focus on the matter-at-hand. It was time to order. The menu is diverse, but, EVERYTHING on it sounded amazing. People waiting around us talked up the burgers.  I was really leaning towards the Tilapia tacos. However, when it came time to make the decision, I went with the sesame seed chicken. As long as the wait was, the order seemed to come out pretty quickly. I was not disappointed.  And, the portions are huge. Two of my favorite things…large portions and great food! 

The perfectly-crusted chicken was sitting on a bed of rice. However, one of the most impressive parts of the plate was what came with the entrĂ©e. A basic lettuce wedge with a Gorgonzola dressing and bacon crumbles.  Sounds pretty ho-hum, right?  PR Chick and I both agreed that we could have eaten just a large plate of the salad. By the way, PR Chick ordered salmon and was “Mmmm-ing” equally as much as I was. However, the “Mmmm’s” turned to “Ahhhh’s” when dessert arrived.

We went with the Rocky Roady Fudge Torte. Words can’t really do it justice.  Perhaps, the menu says it’s best… “Chocolate chip cookie crust, Belgian chocolate, butter, cream cheese and almond middle, and a cream cheese frosting top. Drizzled with chocolate ganache.” My first bite was pretty intense.  So many things going on at one time. It was time to turn our lunch into a CSI crime scene and unlock each mystery layer one-by-one. After dissecting this cake and sent walking with a full belly and a bag of birthday presents, there was only one thing that could top lunch at Lili’s Bistro on Magnolia…a birthday nap!