AND WE'RE BACK!

 I have to post this video because I can't say the phrase "And we're back!" without thinking of this old skit.

I can't explain why, but I really love it.  Okay, for real though, I'm back now, so I should be back to (fairly) regular blogging.  Since it's been awhile, I have a lot to say, which means I'll probably have zero to say tomorrow night...

So we're back in DikDak now, which is kind of bittersweet.  I mean, really it's only sweet in that I'm super glad to be back with my boys.  I missed them like crazy all week while we were in Houston, and I'm so glad to be back with them.  Otherwise...eh.  Being back isn't that great.  It doesn't help that our weekend ended on a really crappy note.  First of all, let me say where I'm at right now with traveling.  I can't even say that I hate it, because that's not strong enough.  I loathe  flying.  I dread it and I hate every second of it.  I was so miserable on each of the four flights I had over the last week and I just am NOT looking forward to doing it again in like 6 weeks (but I AM looking forward to Michael & Kayla's wedding!!!!).  I was super nauseous on every flight and I just hated it.  Not to mention that traveling is just such a pain where we live.  I'm sick of driving to Bismarck and I'm sick of taking these tiny little planes to Denver.  I'm pretty sure the baby is too, because those flights were seriously miserable.  So yesterday we land in Bismarck and realized they've lost all THREE of our bags, which seems like statistically that shouldn't happen, but it did.  Then, we drive home and Jacob starts inputting our receipts and realizes we've got fraudulent charges to BOTH of our debit cards.  So that sucks.  We still aren't sure how someone was able to hack into our account, but it sucks.  So yeah...it's just not been great since we've been back.  Thankfully our bags showed up today, so I guess I can't complain too much, but seriously, that's ridiculous.  Since we've lived here, I've only flown United 3 times.  They've lost my bags twice.

But BESIDES all that, I had a really great week last week.  It was so nice being back in Houston and I had a great time with my family.  Everybody was super surprised, and my only regret is that I didn't have my camera out and ready to take a reaction picture when we pulled onto the street and I leaned out the window and yelled at my sisters.  I got some pretty great faces.  The surprise must have been great for my niece because she attacked me with a hug and then immediately ran in circles, laughing.  It was awesome.  While in town, I was able to get some awesome food (love you, Whataburger!), and I went to Target 4 times.  ALSO, I was able to go to my favorite frozen yogurt place, so I got my Raspberry Pomegranate/Euro-tart on!

And it's non-fat!!  To me, that's a super successful week.  Also, I was able to buy some maternity clothes, and I got some super great deals, so I'm really excited to start wearing those...but hopefully not for a few more weeks.  Anyways, it was an awesome week and I'm really glad it worked out that we were able to fly down there.  I'm already missing the sweet kiddos we got to see while we were in town...

In the 24 hours we've been back, my life has already fallen right back into what it was before we left--consumed by tv.  Tonight was the premiere of season 4 of the Real Housewives of New Jersey.  Since I missed the second half of the previous season, I spent most of the afternoon watching a season 3 marathon so I could get caught up.  I'd like to say I was doing other things while watching it, so I could justify that and say I was at least being productive, but the most I did was switch couches with Oscar.  I was anxious to see how the last season went because I knew that everyone I know that watches it hated Teresa by the end of the season.  Previously, I've never had a problem with her, so I was curious what happened that made everyone turn against her.  Yeah, she's always been selfish and pretty dumb, but whats the harm in that, right?  It's not like she's some trashy teenager pulling someone's weave out...

I've always been inclined to like Teresa, and I think, subconsciously, it's because I grew up loving the Muppet's.

I don't mean that as a compliment, Teresa.  So after getting caught up and watching the first episode of this season tonight, I'm not really sure what I think.  I mean, Teresa still seems really selfish and dumb, and she definitely does NOT have the ability to see things from anyone else's perspective, but I'm not sure if I hate her.  She seems much more mean-spirited, but she also seems kinda clueless, like she doesn't even realize when she's offending someone.  I guess she's the new villain of the show, though, which is fine, because it makes it more enjoyable.  She's just not nearly as entertaining as Danielle was when she was on the show.  Talk about a villain.  That lady was pure evil.  BUT she was great entertainment.  Here's the thing, Bravo.  If you're looking for a cold-hearted villain to really draw in ratings, I just don't think you can beat Danielle.

Teresa may be mean and egotistical, but Danielle is a complete psychopath.  What can I say, she's great tv.  The season premiere otherwise was good.  It was mostly centered on where everyone stood with Teresa and how her relationships have been effected.  The season overall looks super awesome and I'm pretty sure we've found a replacement for Dance Moms on the blog.  Looks like Monday mornings will be RHONJ recaps.
There were a few other things that stood out to me during the episode: 
1) Caroline, Lauren and Jacqueline were walking through their neighborhood and Jacqueline made a comment about how she feels old because the construction workers don't even pay attention to her anymore.  She turned to one of the houses with workers and yelled "There's nothing wrong with this!!"  The only comment I'll say about that is that I want to be best friends with Jacqueline.  She is the greatest.
2)  I'm troubled by all the drastic changes Ashley is making to herself.  First of all, she had her named legally changed to Ashlee, which I'm assuming is influenced by Ashlee Simpson.  I can't express how much concern I have about that.  I refuse to spell her name with two E's when I talk about her.  Also, she's dyed her hair blond, and it's really not a great look for her.  She's naturally got this super beautiful black hair, and she totally jacked it up with some expired Garnier Nutrisse or something like that.  Look, I'm the cheapest person on the planet, but even I would be like "hmmm this is probably something I should pay a professional to do."  It just looks really bad.  To go along with the bottle blond, she's also taken up fake tanning in a bad way.  Either that, or her new-found love of tattoos is worse than any of us realized and she's had her entire body tattooed orange.  She looks like a melted Dreamsicle.  What was perhaps that MOST frightening to me was the obvious injections/fillers she had put in her lips.  Might I remind you she's only 20 years old.  She's entirely too young to be messing with her face and the fillers do NOT look good on her.  Honestly, it looks like her lips are having an allergic reaction to all the chemicals she's subjected her body to with the tanning and the hair dye.  What I'm wondering is how she's paying for all of this.  We know she doesn't have a job...

So obviously her mom and/or step dad are paying for her unnecessary changes, but that seems a little counter-intuitive since they're always preaching about how she needs to become more independent and become a real adult.  It's just shocking to me how I love Jacqueline so much and how her daughter might be one of the most annoying people on the whole planet.
3)  I can't tell you how happy I am to see Kathy's sister, Rosie, already getting some screen time this season.  She's a gem and I wish they'd add her as a full-on cast member.

That would never happen, since she doesn't exactly have the lifestyle they're looking for, but I totally love her.  I'm not sure if it's the hats, the gruff attitude, or the wardrobe full of menswear, but Rosie reminds me exactly of Megan from Bridesmaids.

 So...yeah.  That's basically episode 1 of season 4, RHONJ.  Not a super in-depth analysis, but it's not really a deep show, you know?  

Okay, I've actually got a lot more to say, but I really need to get ready for bed.  I am DREADING going to work tomorrow.  I'm expecting it to take me at least an hour to go through my emails and I know our staff meeting is going to make me want to rip my own face off.  Ugh.  I am so ready for tomorrow to be over with.