Dancing with the Stars Last Two Eliminations: My Thoughts (Spoilers!)

If you haven't seen the Disney Nite episode from last night - STOP READING NOW!!

Okay. Sorry for shouting. 

For those of you pissed off about who went home, both last week and this week -

I will say it again. 

Dancing with the Stars is NOT a dance competition. 

It is a popularity contest. 

The goal is not to crown the best dancer of the season, although they claim it is. 

Hilaria Baldwin was the contestant with the most dance experience. 

Her Disney Nite Quickstep was praised by the judges and earned her good scores. 

But she was not a popular contestant. 

And once again, Andy Richter, whose dance skills are clearly the most lacking of all the contestants this season, was voted through to the next round.  

Was he even in the bottom 2? 

We don't know. 

It's not Andy's fault. 

He is trying. 

And he can't help it that the audience loves him, cheers for him, and votes for him. 

He is the underdog of the season. 

And Dancing with the Stars viewers, and voters, love an underdog. 

It would be nice if there could be a better scoring system. 

For the last two weeks, Andy's scores have been too similar to dancers that are more advanced than him. 

But even if the scores were more realistic, the voters still have a bigger say than the judges in determining the outcome each week. 

Forty million votes, if that number can be believed, is a powerful statement on the popularity of the show - and some of its contestants. 

Did Lauren deserve to go home? No

Did Hilaria? No

This season, in my opinion, is going to be very interesting. 

Because other than Andy, everyone else is doing well. 

So we could have a few more *shocking* eliminations. 

One more thing. 

I absolutely LOVED Mark & Whitney's Foxtrot to the song from "Hamilton"

I have loved every dance of theirs so far. 

I was thrilled that they got a 9 from Carrie Ann. 

But I watched an interview with Max, and he was said the dance was not a Foxtrot. 

He praised the performance level but seemed to question the high scores because it was not a Foxtrot. 

I found that interesting. 

librarianintx 

Big Brother Season 27 Finale: My Thoughts

One word: Ugh!

Now, to be fair, I haven't seen the Jury Q&A yet.

Because I don't care anymore. 

Neither one of them deserved to win in my opinion.

Vinny racked up an impressive resume of HOH's.

But his social game was abysmal. 

The jury was justified in their bitterness.

Meanwhile, Ashley took showers and let her allies protect her. She only won once, the first Veto of the season. 

But then she did win when it was do or die.

And she was smart enough to vote out Morgan, who she knew she couldn't beat.

Speaking of Morgan - What the hell happened?

Does anyone but me think she threw the last challenge, hoping that Vinny could win against Ashley? I just can't believe she got that many questions wrong. And she seemed too calm about it. 

Anyway, the bright spot of the finale for me - Keanu won Favorite Houseguest! Yay! I'm SO glad so many fans shared my appreciation for Keanu - as a BB player, and a human being.

The season started slow for me, but then I got hooked. Keanu, Ava, and Will were my favorite houseguests. 

And I'll leave it there.

See you next summer BB fans -

librarianintx 

Big Brother Season 27: Who will Win?? Who Should Win?

Don't be confused. 

The finale was last night.

But I haven't seen it

So I'm still going to do my predictions 

Now that it's down to Morgan, Vinny and Ashley, I am emphatic about ywo things:

Morgan SHOULD win.

Ashley SHOULD NOT be in the final two.

For me, the final two should have been Morgan and Keanu.

If Morgan makes it to the final two, I think she could win unanimously.

Ashley had a great social game, but as I'm writing this she has won nothing. 

Vinnie has an impressive resume of wins, but his indecisiveness and foot-in-mouth condition will be his downfall. I think the judges on the jury will vote for Morgan, and I definitely do not see Ava and Keanu voting for Vinny. Now Lauren - Lauren could keep Morgan from winning unanimously. It depends on how bitter she is against Vinny. If Ashley is against Morgan, she could get a vote from Ava.

I will watch and find out.

librarianintx 

Big Brother Season 27

Took me awhile to get invested, but I'm there.

Having said that, I'm two episodes behind.

Where I'm at, my two favorite houseguests, Keanu and Ava, are on the block.

I don't want to see either one go to jury.

I wanted them to be the final two.

So I'm scared to watch.

Now you are likely thinking: Keanu is one of your favorites? He's full of himself. And he's a bully.

I absolutely agree that his social game is lacking. But I don't think he's a bully, or a blowhard. 

He's very confident. 

And to get as far as he has with no consistent support is impressive. 

I definitely do not consider him a bully.

I am amazed by his ability to keep his cool with both Rachel and Vince.

Rachel WAS a bully at times.

And Vince's indecisiveness and penchant for trying to make everyone happy (especially Lauren & Morgan) was painful to watch, and I'm sure to live with.

I think Keanu has more than proven himself to be a worthy winner.

But I also adore Ava. She has been a joy to watch this season. Her social game is fantastic. Her personality is so fun. She's hilarious and authentic. Has she done enough to win? That I'm not sure about.

What I do know - I better catch up before I get spoiled.

librarianintx 

"Be on Time Chronicles": Sometimes It Works Out

Yesterday I scheduled rides to go to work, then to the grocery store to get a flu shot. I scheduled 2 hours and 45 minutes to get from Point A to Point B and do what I needed to do at Point B. 

Turns out, I needed every minute of that time.

I don't know what happened with the pick-up from the library. 

The app said the vehicle arrived at 3:15. I was outside but no vehicle in sight. I called dispatch. They said the vehicle was 7 minutes away.

I got picked up 45 minutes later, at 4:00.

At one point I started getting stressed. But then I said to myself, "Maybe it will work out. Calm down, and enjoy being outside."

I then rode for an hour and a half.

The driver was stressed out.

Traffic was bad as usual

A passenger was being annoying. 

His schedule was bananas. 

"Maybe if will work out," I thought.

Spoiler alert:

It did.

I arrived at the store at 5:15.

I had 30 minutes.

I got my shot, then raced out and grabbed a few groceries.

My ride came less than two minutes after I paid for my groceries.

Success.

It was a challenging afternoon. 

Patience and a positive attitude got me through it.

librarianintx 

Poem about Fall

We had a poetry contest about Fall at work.

I don't write poetry.

But listening to the submissions gave me inspiration. 

Here's my stab at it.

Fall officially began yesterday.

In Austin, it was one of our hottest days of the year.

Not unusual, pretty typical. 

The calendar says Fall.

But I am keeping to my Summer protocol.

Jacket, pants, and shoes in the chilly library

T-shirt, capris, and sandals at home.

For me, the library is Fall / early Winter all year long

My part of Texas has two parts of Fall:

False Fall / Second Summer

Actual Fall (brief)

But we still do the Fall things

High school football

College football

Pro football

Pumpkin patches

Pumpkin food and drinks for some - not me

Leaves changing colors and falling are part of Winter for us

What is my favorite part of Fall?

Thanksgiving!

So while the rest of the country is enjoying Fall

We are looking forward to it

While we wait -

Keep swimming 

Wear sunscreen - and a hat

Don't leave your children in hot cars

Protect your pet's paws from the scorching pavement

And eat lots of ice cream

librarianintx 

Mindfulness

 Mindfulness is all about being in the present moment. 

There are health benefits to mindfulness, including 

    decreased anxiety

    decreased depression

    decreased stress

    decreased rumination (dwelling on negative thoughts and experiences)

 Mindfulness contributes to neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the brain to change in response to experience 

Mindfulness can help with 

    executive functioning (skills that you use to manage everyday tasks)

    emotional regulation

    fight, flight or freeze response 

    higher reasoning (critical thinking and problem solving)

You can practice mindfulness any time. 

Even a few minutes a day can be beneficial.

Examples of mindfulness activities are

    mindful eating

    movement, such as yoga and stretching

    being in nature

    journaling 

    breathing exercising

    practicing gratitude

a few examples of breathing exercises are

    box breathing

    4-7-8 breathing

    candle blowing breathing

    humming bee breathing

Because my disability affects my lung capacity, I haven't been successful with the first two types of breathing exercises. I was recently introduced to the other two types, and they are easier and more helpful for me. 

Ways you can incorporate mindfulness into your day

    Take a few deep breaths when you wake up

    Observe your surroundings during your daily commute

    Move and stretch during work breaks

    Listen fully during conversations 

Mindfulness is beneficial for your brain, your physical health and your emotional health. 

There are books and apps to learn more about and help you practice mindfulness. 

    Apps:

        Headspace

        Calm

        Insight Timer

        Smiling Mind

        Mindfulness Daily 

        Aura 

And here are a few links too:

From NIH: Mindfulness for Your Health | NIH News in Health

From Mindful.org: What Is Mindfulness? - Mindful

From Psychology Today: Mindfulness | Psychology Today

librarianintx