Everything I Like Causes Cancer

Congratulations to LM, who won the last of the NaBloPoMo weekly contests! This means that she and Lori W. both have two entries in the Grand Prize drawing which will be held in my office today at 3 p.m.

I have recruited a neutral third party (one of my co-workers) to draw the name. Check back at 3:05 to find out who won the super-fantastic NaBloPoMo Grand Prize, a $50 gift certificate to Bridgeview Stained Glass.

Big hugs to all of you who played. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

These two are in Memphis right now running a half marathon. They'll get back to draining kegs in a couple hours.

Seriously, though, I am so proud of them. I was surprised when they announced they were going to do it. I realized they were serious when they actually sent in their money for the race. They have both pushed themselves beyond their own expectations and impressed the hell out of all of the rest of us in the process.

I feel terrible that I am not down there for them, following the race course with stupid signs and noisemakers. And Gu. I've heard tell they like the Gu. Gals, I'm sorry. I realize now that I should have gone, but I am cheering as loud as I can in the back yard. As big as my mouth is, you can probably hear me. I'm proud of you.

*The gender of the song title has been changed to fit the blog topic.

For the most part my married friends were relaxed and fun on their wedding day, but no one can touch these two. They are welcome to hang out with us any time. Happy Friday!

Here is a list of things I DO NOT WANT today:

1. To get out of bed.
2. To take a shower.
3. To drive to work.
4. To work.


Here is a list of things I WANT today:

1. To stay in bed for one more hour. It's so warm and comfy.
2. To put up more Christmas decorations. If I could stay home I'd even do the outside ones.
3. To drink hot chocolate all day
4. To snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie and then read a book.
5. Not to work.


Happy Hump Day, everyone. I hope we all get through it. Only four more days of NaBloPoMo.

"What Other People Did While I Sat on the Couch and Ate Candy"

This week we found the contestants still in Burkina Faso. At the start of this leg of the race, they had to find a marked path to a nearby village where they looked for Dakissaga, the tribal chief, who would give them their clue along with a customary gift of generosity, a chicken. We learn that they have to keep the chicken with them at all times during this leg - no chicken, no check-in! Shana and Jen actually named their chicken Phil. Hee.

They then took a taxi 100 miles to Bouda Peletanga where the Detour was "Shake Your Pan" or "Shake Your Leg." In Shake Your Pan, contestants had to pan for 1 ounce of gold. In Shake Your Booty they had to learn and perform a dance for three local celebrity judges. Nate and Jen and Ron and Christina's dances weren't good enough and they had to sit out a ten-minute penalty. It seemed to me that Shake Your Pan was easier and quicker.

Once the teams completed the detour, they then had to walk through the village to find Peletanga Market. Along the way was the first U-turn of the game. When one team chooses to U-turn another team, the U-turned team has to go back and perform the Detour activity that they did not complete. In this instance, Shana and Jennifer U-turned Jason and Lorena. Jason and Lorena had just completed the Shake Your Pan, so they had to go back and also perform Shake Your Booty.

I can't believe they did it. It's stupid to use the first U-turn - doing so makes enemies that you don't need this early in the game. I was certain that Shana mistakenly thought that TK and Rachel, who were right behind them, were Jason and Lorena. A quick check of the official site confirmed it: it scared her that J/L, a competent team, were right on her heels. Still a stupid move.

I was, however, really impressed with Jason and Lorena. They took it well - didn't even waste a second being angry or freaking out. They simply took stock of the situation, opted to remain positive, and moved forward. You never know what is happening to the other teams, so you never give up. Jason mentioned karma when interviewed about it and it pleased me to no end when Shana and Jennifer struggled at the Road Block.

Speaking of the Road Block, after stopping at the U-turn box contestants were directed to taxi to the outskirts of Ouagadougou to find the Tampouy Goat Market. On finding it, contestants also found the Road Block. In this Road Block, one member of each team had to load a bike with three African print blankets, a plant, two yellow containers, a bundle of sticks, two teapots, two hoops of twine, and a goat. They then had to ride the bike through the marketplace to a specific vendor and sell the supplies for their next clue.

The next clue pointed them back through Ouagadougou to Hotel de Ville, this week's pit stop. The contestants arrived at the pitstop in this order:

1. Azaria and Hendekea - Yamaha motor scooters (third first-place win)
2. Jennifer and Nate
3. Ron and Christina
4. Nick and Don
5. Kynt and Vyxsin
6. Shana and Jen
7. TK and Rachel

Sadly, Lorena and Jason were the last team to arrive and this leg of the race was an elimination.

Of Note:

• I was really moved by Kynt and Vyxsin's experience in Africa. She was overcome by the contrast between the kindness of the people and their abject poverty. It was good see some depth in them.
• The 10-minute penalty is the obvious reason Jennifer and Nate barely missed first place. And wasn't she a baby about it? I can't believe she expected Azaria and Hendekea to slow down and LET them have it. Sportsmanship, please, girly.

Here are the pictures from Mike and Melissa's wedding party Saturday night:

Behold the fruit of my Sunday labors: