From The Stupid Files: Y7, W40

Day 159: Cold, low 40s; 77 t/a

ASM:  Shannon

HC:  Madi

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) Customer tried to buy blinds, but card wouldn't work.  Said her hubby would be in to get them; he never showed up.

2) Another customer bought 3 boards, then left them at Pro while he bought nails. Left w/o the boards. I looked up his phone #, but got a strange recording. Sent a text, but it was 'wrong number'.  We put the boards back on the shelf.

3) Texted Kait if she was still driving me home; she'd forgotten to call me about her own truck issues, so Ben drove me home:)

Outfit:  Blue hooded Cabela's sweatshirt, sugar cookie tee, patterned leggings, new faded jeggings, diamond 'flowers'.

Off the next two days; was supposed to go to Lafayette, but van isn't running.

Day 160:

Day 161:  Rare Sat

Day 162:  Rare Sun

Survivor 45

 Ep 1:

3 Tribes:  Reba (red), Lulu (yellow), and Belo (blue)

Red and yellow in the lead, then yellow falling behind as one member can't get up the rope ladder.  Winning camp supplies:  Reba gets their flint off the pole 1st!  

Bruce from 44 is back!

Sweat:  Moving Logs

Savvy: Untangling a key

Yellow:  Kaleb and Sabiya; get to the puzzle 1st.

Blue:  Brando and Jake

Nobody got it.

Yellow:  Hannah and Brandon having a meltdown over no machete or pot

                Emily FURIOUS about the situation, and it's turning the others against her.

Red:  Sifu is raising eyebrows, b/c he's been caught searching and spying.

          Austin finds the Beware Advantage.  1st task, decipher the letters on the tribe flag, and there's a code.

Immunity Challenge:  Obstacle course and puzzle

Blue through the mud 1st, and emptying the coconuts

Red 2nd

Yellow 3rd

Blue then red gets their keys and to the wall

Red up top 1st

Blue right behind them

Yellow last

Blue wins Immunity, followed by Red:)

Tribal Council:  Brandon, Emily, or Sabiya?

Brandon:  Panic attack at beginning, then trouble getting up the tower, and having acid reflux.

Sabiya:  Came back from 1st challenge empty-handed, then took a long time getting through the mud, PLUS had issues getting up the tower.

Emily:  Perceived as a pessimist. Wants Kaleb???

Hannah:  Wants to go home???

Hannah goes home....no need to vote.  WOW.....I think she even left her bag?!?!?!?!?!

Ep 2:

Red:  Austin has a few minutes alone and decodes the letters on the flag

Yellow:  Brandon finds the Beware Advantage; gives it to Sabiya!

Journey:  Brandon, Bruce, and Drew

Puzzle:  Bruce opts out, thus saving his vote.  Brandon and Drew play; Drew wins the Safety w/o Power advantage, meaning he can opt out of any tribal council up until the merge.  Brandon loses his vote, realizing too late two of his tiles didn't match, and he was trying the wrong combination.

Immunity Challenge:  Swimming obstacle and puzzle; Reward:  Fishing gear

New Rule:  No sitting out back-to-back challenges!

Reba wins, Belo in 2nd.  Lulu can't figure it out.

Sabiya gets the idol, but it's encased in wax, and she has no fire.

Tribal Council:  Brandon or Emily?

Brandon voted out, 3-0 (Brandon and Sabiya don't have votes)

Ep 3:

Emily picked up on the fact Jeff only read 2 votes and immediately called out Sabiya, who denied losing her vote.

Over at Red, Drew and Austin get caught trying to find the idol

Reward Challenge:  Tossing a ball, then rings.  Fruit platters and a camp raid:)

Yellow to the rings 1st!

Lulu wins the larger reward!  Chooses Kaleb to raid Reba and takes their fishing gear.  He also gives Drew the goodwill advantage of restoring their lost vote:)  Drew gives it to Austin if he can't find the idol.

Reba wins the smaller one!

Austin and Drew let Mama J and Dee  in on the idol news, then Dee finds the rope which leads to the hammer.  Mama J gives the hammer to Austin, who finally breaks the right rock and gets the idol.  BUT, it has conditions:  If he sacrifices his vote at his 1st tribal, the idol lasts until merge.  If he sacrifices it a 2nd time, it lasts until there are 5 players left in the game.

Immunity Challenge:  Obstacle course and large block puzzle

Red and Blue get both their keys 1st

Belo in the lead getting cart through obstacle, then to the cube puzzle

Lulu through the obstacle, then Reba

Reba wins Immunity, then Belo, sending Lulu back to tribal.

Sab plans to drop her waxed idol in the fire at Tribal, in hopes of getting her vote back.

Emily tells Kaleb the plan is to vote him out, but he doesn't fully believe her, since that's what Sab told him to tell her.

Tribal Council:  Kaleb, Emily, or Sabiyah?

Sab tosses her wax in the fire, then checks on it regularly until it melts. Kicks a scroll over, which Sean pours water on it to cool.  Once it's cool, she puts it in her pocket.

Sebiyah doesn't use her idol and banks her vote.

Sebiyah is voted out, 2-1, and goes home with her idol in her pocket.

Ep 4: Tribe Switch-Up!

Red:Sifu, Mama J, Sean, J, Dee

Yellow:  Katura, Kaleb, Jake, Bruce, and Kellie

Blue: Kendra, Brando, Emily, Austin, and Drew

Immunity Challenge:  Bring in a cage from the water, then shoot baskets from inside

Lulu and Belo get to land 1st 

Kaleb scores with 3 baskets and Lulu wins their 1st Immunity!

Austin finally sinks the 3rd ball for Belo, sending Reba to Tribal!

J tells Sean Sifu is on the outs

Tribal Council:  Sean or Sifu?

Holy cow.....the plan was to blindside Sifu, then all of a sudden, Sean says 'vote me out.' 

HUH????????   Whaaaaat just happened????  Your husband is at home saying, "NO!  You just gave up your shot at the million dollars!!!!"

Sean voted out, 3-1 (Sifu)-1 (Dee)

Ep 5:

Jake passes out, much like he did on Day 2.

Katurah gets caught looking for an idol

Over at Reba, J decides she's going to tell Sifu she wrote his name down (it was actually Dee), and then he'll keep his (fake) idol in his pocket and they'll vote him out.  But Mama J and Dee speculate about writing J's name instead.

Immunity Challenge:  Obstacle, then firing sandbags at targets.  Reward:  Fresh Fish!

Lulu in the lead, followed by Reba

Reba gets their pole 1st to get the sandbags

Reba and Lulu 1st to start firing sandbags

Reba wins the 10 fish!

Lulu wins the 5 fish, sending Belo to tribal:)

Journey:  Reba chooses J, Kellie, and Austin

Choice:  Pick Food or Safety?

Austin wants food; J wants the amulet; Kellie chooses amulets.  They decide to work together.

3 amulets=extra vote

2 amulets=steal-a-vote

1 amulet=immunity idol

Tribal Council:  Drew or Brando?

Austin shows Emily his amulet, in the hopes she goes with him and Drew, and considers using his Goodwill advantage while Drew uses his Safety w/o Power.

Walking to Tribal, Emily is still torn.

Austin uses his GW advantage; Drew does not.

Brando is voted out, 3-2

Kendra is devastated.

Ep 6:  Merge Time!

Bruce finds the Beware Advantage; idol is buried in the center of their camp. Finds it minutes before departing for Reba beach:)

Boat arrives to merge the tribes at Reba Beach:)

Immunity Challenge: Obstacle with puzzle with 2 parts

Red: Kaleb, J, Jake, Dee, Emily, and Kellie

Blue: Sifu, Drew, Bruce, Austin, Mama Julie, and Kendra

Extra:  Katurah, who picks Blue team.

J gets hung up in the rope and mud

Blue gets to the tower 1st

Blue starts working on their keys

Blue gets to the boulder....

Red arrives at the tower

Drew and Austin working on Pt 1

Red gets to the boulder

Jake and Kellie on Pt 1

Julie and Kendra start on Pt 2

Blue wins!  They get their buffs, the meal, and immunity!

I have a slight gripe about the merge meal.  Why won't they let everyone clean up first?  The last thing I want to do, covered in mud, is eat.  Get me clean, then feed me.

Kaleb discloses Bruce has an idol.  Will it be enough to sway the votes to J?

Tribal Council:  Kaleb or J?

Austin banked his vote....

Kaleb plays his Shot-in-the-Dark and he is SAFE!!!!

REVOTE!  Emily or J?

J voted out, 10-1

Ep 7:

Bruce vs Katurah war heats up

Bruce vs Kaleb war heating up

Immunity Challenge:  Clinging to the pole; Tacos. 2 teams, 2 tribals

Red: Jake, Dee, Austin, Mama J, Kaleb, Katura

Blue:  Drew, Emily, Kellie, Bruce, Kendra,Sifu

Emily drops after 10 seconds

Mama J out

Kendra and Jake are out.

Sifu and Bruce drop

Austin drops

Drew is out

Kellie wins Immunity

Kaleb drops

Katura's out.

Dee vs Kellie for Reward:  Dee wins tacos for Red!

Tribal Council #1: Bruce or Sifu?

Sifu voted out, 5-1 

Tribal Council #2:  Kaleb or Julie?

Kaleb voted out, 4-2 and is the 1st member of the Jury.

Ep 8:

There are six women and only 4 men.....Kellie is ecstatic when the women come together and decide to take the men out, one by one!

Reward Challenge:  Survivor Auction is back!  Twist:  Whomever has the most amount of money when the auction ends, loses their vote.

First of all, a race to find as many bamboo rolls of $$.  Dee has the highest amount, $900.  Bruce ended up with $80

Pretzels and beer:  Kendra $360

French fries and a drink:  Kellie $500

Charcuterie and wine:  Emily $440

Chocolate milkshake:  Dee $900

Fish Eyes-Katurah $450, then Austin for $100

Candy-Drew $520

Pepperoni Pizza slice-Austin $600

Toothbrush and paste-Julie $420

Chocolate cake-Jake, $320 chooses Julie and Bruce to help eat it

PB&J, and a margarita-Kellie $200

End of Auction:

Bruce loses his vote; he had $80 left; Emily had $60.

Emily tells Drew about the women's alliance and he, Julie, Austin, and Katurah all decide to vote Bruce out 1st, followed by Jake, or at least flush his idol.

Immunity Challenge: Endurance Challenge:  Holding a log weighing 1/3 of their pregame weight with one hand.  Katurah, Dee, Emily, and Drew sit out for rice.

Kellie loses it at the end of the rope

Kendra drops, followed by Austin, Jake, and Julie.  Bruce is safe....which throws a monkey wrench in everyone's plans.

Tribal Council:  Jake or Kellie?

Kellie voted out 5-3

Jake played his Shot-in-the-Dark; not safe

Ep 9:  

Splitting into groups of 3:

Austin, Emily, Katurah

Drew, Dee, Jake

Bruce, Kendra, Mama J

Austin gives Mama J one of his idols, in case her group loses and goes to Tribal.

Immunity Challenge: Obstacle, then endurance.  Reward:  Rotisserie Chicken TWIST:  1st group out loses their votes, but will go on a journey to earn it back.

Stage 1:  Balance beam and ball  Emily, Austin, and Katurah are out.

Stage 2:  Rope bridge and getting balls onto small hoops.  Drew, Dee, and Jake are out.

Stage 3:  Keeping fingertips against discs.  Kendra drops.  Julie drops, Bruce wins again!

Journey:  Math question:  

Austin solves it; Katurah and Emily do NOT.

Tribal Council:  Jake or Kendra?

Kendra voted out, 6-1

Ep 10:

OMG....Bruce tells Katurah and Jake that Kellie left with his idol.  He came clean with Kat, just to test his acting skills.  He's hoping Jake tells the others so they'll try to vote him out; he'll play it; someone else will go home.  Rather risky....

Reward Challenge:  Obstacle and ball maze  Thanksgiving food!  And spending the night in comfort.

Emily and Austin neck and neck.....then Austin drops.  Emily wins!!!  Chooses Mama Julie, Dee, and Katurah for 'ladies night'.

YES!  Kat spilled the beans about Bruce's lie!

The girls are strategizing; the boys are 'bro-ing' out....farting, belching, talking about guy things.

LMAO....Jake tells Drew the lie, who in turn tells Austin.  Emily sets everyone straight.

Immunity Challenge:   Endurance challenge

Emily drops, followed by Kat, who was afraid of the water; stepped off to the platform.  Mama Julie drops, followed by Dee, Drew, Jake, and Bruce.  Austin wins!

Tribal Council: Bruce, Jake, or Mama Julie?

Bruce didn't play his idol!!!!  Voted out, 4-3 (Jake)-1 (Mama J)!

Ep 11:

Awwww....Dee and Austin sittin' in a tree.....

Kat's never heard 'upset the apple cart' before???

Damn....Kat's family joined a cult and pulled her out of school after her 5th grade year.  When she was 13, due to whatever SICK thing the leader said, they packed up and left, putting her back in school at 14. She managed to get good grades, learn, and graduate law school, and is part of the LGBTQ community, advocating for black and LGBTQ folks.

Journey:  Can't decide who to go, so draw rocks.  Emily ends up going

Another puzzle; she chooses NOT to do it and retain her vote, vs attempting it, losing her vote, or gaining an advantage/idol.

Meanwhile, back at camp, her name's being tossed around as the next to go.

Then the target shifts to Mama Julie. Austin is torn; he knows it will blindside not only Julie, but Dee.  Is he willing to risk his relationship with Dee in order to vote Mama J out?

Immunity Challenge:  Untangling rope, then solving a word puzzle.  Reward:  Hamburgers and Hot Dogs!

Drew wins!  Austin had it on side, but not on the other:)  Takes Jake, Austin ala 'Boys Night 2.0'

Austin tells Dee, who in turn tells Mama J.

Tribal Council:  Mama J, Austin, or Emily?

Julie played her idol; Austin did not.

Emily voted out by Mama J's sole vote

Ep 12:

Dee puts on the performance of her life to not clue everyone to the fact she told Mama J to use her idol

Austin catches Kat searching, but she doesn't find anything.

Reward Challenge:  Walking on a barrel to collect keys, then slide puzzle.  Picnic on the line

Austin to the puzzle first, followed by Drew

Austin wins!  Picks Dee and Katurah for the helicopter ride and picnic on a sandspit (bar)

Drew is pissed; Julie and Jake go idol hunting while Drew cooks the rice.

Jake finds a clue to the idol, then finds it!  Austin loses his at 6; Jake's good to 5,  This is gonna be interesting.

Immunity Challenge:  Balancing a ball on a plank with their foot

Julie drops, followed by Jake (after 2 mins!), Katurah, Drew drops (12 min), and Austin (21 mins)

Dee wins!

Tribal Council: Mama J or Drew?

Drew voted out, 4-2

Austin used his idol on himself; said he didn't need any souveniers.

Finale: Austin, Dee, Mama J, Jake, and Katurah

Kat's getting pissed about the Dee/Austin relationship

Advantage:  Count the number in each station to open a combo lock and get the advantage

Jake wins!  18 crab, 43 coconuts, 25 bamboo.  Gets an advantage in the immunity challenge:)

Immunity Challenge #1:  Obstacle and 3-tier puzzle and steak dinner

Jake's advantage:  2 of his sandbags are already in the basket; he just has to land one.

Austin to the machete 1st

Dee drops her sandbags 1st

Austin to start throwing sandbags 1st but Jake lands his 1st

Jake solves the combination, but forgot the key.

Austin to the puzzle 1st

Austin has his 1st tier....Jake has his

Austin finishing the 2nd tier....then Jake, who misplaces one piece and can't figure out why one of his 'legs' is short.

Austin wins!  Chooses Jake to go on reward with him.

Jake and Dee want to take out Mama J; Katurah wants Dee; Austin wants Katurah.

Tribal Council #1:  Katura, Dee, or Mama J?

Jake plays his idol for Kat!  

Kat was going to vote Dee, but switched her vote to Mama J.

Mama Julie is voted out, 2-1 (Jake)-1 (Dee)

As she was hugging Kat, she whispered, "Go to law school", not knowing Kat IS a lawyer!

Immunity Challenge #2:  Stacking pots while stepping through rope obstacle

Austin dropped his entire stack at 7

Jake's drops at 13; Dee in the lead with 14.

Jake broke his grid; he's out of the challenge.  Was he throwing a mini-tantrum, or was he just trying to hurry, as he said?  It looked as if he deliberately stepped ON it, instead of THROUGH it.  He did apologize for breaking it afterward.

Kat loses her 11

Dee places her 17th and heads back....and WINS!!!!

Jake WANTS to make fire.   Dee promises to send him against Kat.

BUT.....Jake is having issues making fire.  Kat makes hers on her 1st try.  Austin urges Dee to pit him against Kat, but Dee promised Jake, AND she doesn't want Austin claiming victory in front of the jury!

Kat is furious at herself for switching her vote.

Tribal Council #2:  Dee picks Austin to sit beside her.

Fire-making Challenge:  Jake vs Kat:

Kat's flame keeps going out; Jake's is growing.

Jake wins!

Kat comes clean about being a lawyer; Jake yells, "Yes!  I knew it!"

Final Tribal:

Dee wins, 5-3!

From The Stupid Files: Y7, W39

 Day 156:  Warmer, 60s, windy; 73 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Austin

Loaders:  Jax, Conrad

1) Customer brought in his cart, but left it sideways instead of joining it to the others.

2) Customer 'helped' by sweeping all his little pkgs into the bag.....but dropped one, which went unnoticed until the next customer in line.

3) The Wed pm closer did NOT put a trash can liner in the one under #2.  WTH???

4) The right Pro door refused to open/close all the way, which created a wind tunnel which kept making the concrete bags fall off.

5) Jax broke 2 bags of concrete, so I swept them up and he dumped them, resulting in my jeans and shoes covered in concrete dust.

6) Was able to wear both tennis shoes!!!!

Outfit:  Black/gray tee; black vest, new dark jeggings, small crystal drops.

Off tomorrow and then Sat, since Aunt Louise's funeral is at 1:00 in Avon.

Day 157:  Rare Sat Colder, low 40s; 11 t/a

ASM:  Shannon

HC:  Kaitlyn, Madi

Loaders:  Jax, Isaiah

1) I was SUPPOSED to be off, due to Louise's funeral; I went and enjoyed seeing everyone. Kait called me as I had reached I-70, asking me if I was on my way.  I explained the situation....and mentioned I could be there in 2 hours.  So Riley showed up, and covered my area until I got there at 7:30.

2) My broom was missing; Isaiah found it back by the hopper.

Outfit:  Maroon sweater, patterened leggings, new dark jeggings, moon and stars danglies

Day 158:  Rare Sun Cold, low 30s; 44 t/a

ASM:  Keri

HC:  Kaitlyn

Loader:  Jax

1) Didn't get my break

2) Saw Dr. Eric:)

Outfit:  Black l/s tee, black/white poncho, patterned leggings, new dark jeggings, red head wrap

Survivor 44

 Ep 1:

-Bruce smacks his head on 1st challenge and begins to bleed.  Later, Medical is called in and he's pulled, due to increased BP and light headedness.

-Matt falls and injures his shoulder, but an afternoon in a sling and sitting out of the Immunity Challenge helps him heal.

Journey:

Matt, Sarah, and Laurenget picked to go.  Matt loses his vote, then gets an advantage. Sarah loses her vote TWICE. Lauren gets an advantage to bank her vote

-Ratu loses, and Maddy is voted out. Jamie and Matt play their Shot In The Darks and Jamie's keeps her safe (apparently 1st time in history???)

Immunity Idol:

-Brandon finds it for Ratu and plays it at Tribal

-The other tribes search, but no luck.

Ep 2:

-Danny (Soka) and Carolyn (Tiki) find the Immunity Idols and manage to keep it to themselves.

-Claire (Soka) sits out again???  When did the rule change about NOT sitting out back-to-back????

-Tiki loses and Helen is voted out.

Ep 3:

-Danny plants his zero power coin back in the birdcage, then hides the key again.  Matt finds it and thinks he's safe.

-Over at Ratu, Matt finds the idol, but makes a FAKE one, which Jaime finds.

-Claire sits out AGAIN, and when Soka loses, her tribe votes her out.

Ep 4:

-Sarah finds the fake immunity idol that Carolyn planted:)

Reward Challenge:  Soka and Ratu win tarps!

Journey:  Jaime, Carson, and Josh

-They all have immunity idols,that expire at the merge, but have to switch tribes.  Josh goes to Tika, Carson to Ratu, and Jaime to Soka

Immunity Challenge:  Soka and Ratu win!

Josh plays his immunity idol and Sarah is voted out, with an idol in her pocket.

Ep 5:

-Whoa....JOSH is gay?  He and Yam-Yam bond over their shared sexuality. Josh even made a fake idol and showed it to him.

Immunity Challenge:

Ratu and Soka win!  Send Brandon, Danny, and Carolyn on the journey.

Jeff had Medical look at Matthew's shoulder.  Dr told him he probably tore something in his shoulder.

They just get to chill at the Sanctuary!  I can't believe they're not checking for hidden clues....Brandon and Danny hit it off immediately, and Carolyn is just eating and listening to them talk.  I'd be looking under everything......

No tribal council, due to Matthew opting to get medical attention for his shoulder.

Ep 6:  Merge Time!

Challenge:

Purple:  Matt, Frannie, Carson, Carolyn, Jaime, Brandon

Orange:  Heidi, Lauren, Josh, Yam-Yam, Kane, and Danny

Purple wins Immunity, their buffs, and a Merge Meal!  Carson had prepared by making a 3-D model at home and put it together many times.  He FLEW through the puzzle!

Tribal Council:  Josh, Yam-Yam, or Kane?

Josh voted out, 7-5

Ep 7:

While chatting with other members, Matt realizes he's been duped by Danny, and his idol, the silver coin, is fake.  He suspects Danny has the real one.  It also comes up that Lauren has an extra vote; Danny schemes to get rid of her.  But....Matt, Carson, and Yam-Yam decide to blindside Danny...if he doesn't win immunity.

Immunity/Reward Challenge:  Balancing on a beam while balancing a ball on a pole

Contestants are split into two groups:

Orange:  Heidi, Kane, Frannie, Carolyn, and Danny

Purple:  Lauren, Jaime, Yam-Yam, Matt, and Brandon

Carson, the lone gray rock, chooses Orange to win.

Carolyn drops 1st, followed by Lauren.

Kane drops after the transition to the next area on the balance beam, followed by Heidi

Danny drops, giving Frannie Individual Immunity

Jaime drops; Matt and Yam-Yam drop, giving Brandon Immunity

Frannie vs Brandon; Brandon drops; Frannie and Orange win!  Get PB and J sandwiches:)

Twist:  New Advantage in the birdcage!

Heidi gets it!  She can tell one person how to vote, and ONLY good for the upcoming vote.

Tribal Council:  Matt or Yam-Yam?

Yam-Yam and Matt want to vote Lauren; Brandon, Lauren, and Jaime want to vote either Matt or Yam-Yam. Heidi is going back and forth between the three.  Matt doesn't even have his bag, unless Frannie brings it; his Shot-in-the-Dark is in it.

Heidi takes Lauren's; tells her to vote for Yam-Yam.

Matt is voted out, 3-2.  He's the 1st member of the jury. (Lauren kept her extra vote!)

Ep 8:

PB&J made Carson sick; Carolyn volunteers to be his partner in the Immunity Challenge.

Immunity:  Run in stages.

Everyone but Carolyn gets through the twisty net. She fights through it finally, but when Carson goes through, Jaime and Heidi finish digging up their planks.  Carolyn and Carson are out.

Stage 2, the rope bridge with 3 planks.  Danny and Lauren are 1st, followed by Brandon and Kane.  Others are out.

Stage 3:  Balancing on tiny footholds. Kane drops on the 3rd foothold.  Brandon drops.  Danny can't hold on to the final foothold, and Lauren wins!

Tribal Council:  Frannie, Danny, or Brandon?

Brandon, Lauren, Jaime, and Kane plan to vote Frannie.

Carson, Yam-Yam, Carolyn, Danny, Heidi, and Danny plan to vote for Brandon, with Danny playing his idol for Frannie.

BUT.....Heidi tells Yam-Yam about Danny's idol, who considers going to Brandon and telling the plan.  We don't know if he does or not, and now Danny's torn between using the idol on himself or Frannie.

Danny plays his idol for Frannie.

Brandon is voted out, 4-6!

Ep 9:

Heidi finds the hidden immunity idol!

Immunity Challenge:  Balancing a ball against a block of wood while standing on one foot in the pouring rain

Carson, Lauren, Heidi, and Kane sat out for rice

Carolyn drops, followed by Jaime, Yam-Yam, and Danny.  Frannie wins!

Tribal Council:  Danny, Heidi, or Kane?

Jaime gives Kane her (fake) idol; Lauren's giving her extra vote to Jaime.

Yam-Yam wants Kane; Carolyn wants Danny. I would LOVE to see Kane play a fake idol!!

Jaime pulls out Lauren's extra vote, votes Heidi

Kane is voted out, 5-2-2

Ep 10:

Reward Challenge:  Tacos and letters from home:)

Frannie wins!   Chooses Carolyn, Lauren, and Heidi

Jaime comes clean about her 'idol', but no one believes her.

Immunity Challenge:  Obstacle course and puzzle

Danny led to the puzzle, but Carson flew through the puzzle with Frannie on his heels.  Carson wins!

Tribal:  Franny, Danny, Jaime, or Heidi?

Frannie voted out 5-3

Ep 11:

Heidi lies to Danny about writing his name down.  Danny thinks it was Yam-Yam.

Immunity Challenge: Endurance in the water, under the grate as the tide comes in

Lauren lasted one hour, then dropped out.  Jamie drops out, followed by Carson, Carolyn, Danny.

Heidi or Yam-Yam?  Heidi drops; Yam-Yam wins!

Tribal Council:  

Yam-Yam's name was being tossed around by Danny, Lauren, and Jaime, in order to break Tika up.  Will they focus on the other 2 now?  Or will someone finally join Tika and get Danny or Jaime out?

Carolyn tells Carson she has the idol, and debates playing it for him, in case Danny has an idol (he doesn't).  If they vote Heidi and she uses her idol, then Carson's gone.  VOTE DANNY and GIVE CARSON THE IDOL!!!

YES!  SHE PLAYED IT FOR CARSON!!!!!

Danny is voted out, 3-2 (Heidi)-2 (Carson-DNC)

Ep 12:

Reward Challenge:  Foot massage, sandwiches, cookies, fruit

Purple:  Jaime in the ball; Heidi and Carolyn blindfolded

Orange:  Carson in the ball; Lauren and Yam-Yam blindfolded.

Orange gets to the maze 1st

Carolyn can't find the ball

Purple finally at the maze; too late.

Orange wins reward!

Jaime and Lauren want to vote out Carolyn, or at least one of the other Tika members.

Immunity Challenge:  Balancing a ball on a disk

Jaime drops, followed by Carolyn, then Carson, then Yam-Yam.

Lauren vs Heidi:  Lauren wins!

Tribal Council:  Carolyn, Heidi, or Jaime?

Heidi plays her idol for herself.

Jaime voted out, 4-2

Final 5 taken to a new beach; they brought their rice and camp supplies!

Finale:

Idol Hunt:  They've all been within reach of it; they just didn't look UP.

Immunity Challenge #1:  Obstacle course and puzzle; Reward:  Spaghetti meal

Carson and Heidi in a dead heat!  Who will do the puzzle 1st?  Carson's practiced.....

Carson wins!  Takes Yam-Yam on reward:)

Girls decide to vote Yam-Yam

Carson is adamant Lauren needs to go, even though Yam-Yam thinks it's Carolyn's turn.

Tribal Council:  Lauren, Yam-Yam, or Carolyn?

Lauren voted out, 3-2

Immunity Challenge #2:  Mousetrap challenge!

Carolyn drops at 2 balls

Yam-Yam drops at 4 balls

Carson drops....Heidi wins!

Yam-Yam, Carolyn, and Heidi can all make fire; Carson struggles,  Gets help from Yam-Yam.  But will it be enough, should Heidi choose him to make fire?

Tribal Council #2:

Heidi chooses Carolyn, and sends Carson to battle against herself.  Yam-Yam and Carolyn advance automatically.  To my knowledge, this is only the 2nd time the person with Immunity has taken on the fire-making challenge.  I don't remember if it panned out or not the 1st time.

Fire-Making Challenge:  Heidi vs Carson

Heidi wins!  The fastest fire EVER in the finale:)

Carson's fire was decent, just didn't have any height to it.

Yam-Yam wins!!!!!!

  

January 2026 Goals

 Whew!  December alternated between flying by and taking its sweet time!  What did you experience?  I DID get quite a bit accomplished!

-Lose 5 lbs (start: 244) Maintaining

-Get 2nd opinion on foot/leg Check!  Begin going to E'ville every week...fun, fun, fun....

-Do well at GSH event Check!  Sold 5 Wed, and 2 Thurs for a total of 7:)

-Have fun at Amy Grant concert CHECK!  OMG it was wonderful!!!

-Bake cookies

     12/6:  9 Doz Choc Chip (consumed by 12/8)

     12/13:  9 doz Oatmeal-Raisin

     12/15:  6 doz M&M (consumed by the 18th)

-Attend Austin's concert 12/6 at 6pm Too much pain

-Sing well at Cantata Check!

-Get hair cut 12/12 canceled appt due to snow

-Attend Kristy's Visitation/funeral Snow and cold temps prevented me from attending.

-Write/send Holiday newsletter and cards Written, but not ssent.

-Write/send Nov/Dec newsletter Check!

-Have an enjoyable 60th birthday Check!  Lunch @Cafe Moonlight; dinner @El Corral

-Do well at Holiday Creative Market Sold 2, and Marcia paid my booth fee as a b-day gift

-Have an enjoyable Christmas Check! Slept late, watched Stomped and House, ate ham and mashed potatoes and rolls. Zero travel:)

-Finish watching Bones Check!  12/24

-Enjoy NYE Check! 

-Edit and RELEASE Heart Song Edit, check!  Uploaded the e-version, but probably won't release until after the 1st, due to the holidays. UPDATE:  1/2:  Released on Smashwords!

-Add new words to dragon/fairy story and Hallmark-inspired story Check!

Health:  Foot/leg issues continue, with two more red splotches on top of foot.  Head stopped up for a week (mainly due to the falling temps), beginning 11/23 -present (12/1).  Even though my voice is in the basement, I can surprisingly still hit the high notes at choir practice!

Sad News:  One of my mom's oldest friends passed away Jan 1st.  I'm hoping to go to her funeral or visitation, since I wasn't able to go to her husband's services two years ago, due to finding out too late.  RIP Jerry and Louise Botzum....tell Dad I said hello:)

Books Read:  2

            Print:  1

        E-book:  1

             DNF:  2

2026 Events:

Feb 7th:  Winter Creative Market, 1972 KCARC

March 4-5:  GSH Spring Vendor event ($50)

March 13-14th:  Big River Comics, Hannibal, MO ($122) Looking doubtful....

April 11th:  Dreaming Dirty In Michigan (Pd $140 still owe $40) Looking doubtful...

April 18th:  Saluki Con, Carbondale, IL ($50?)

June 5-7:  Indy Comic Con (Panelist)

June 12-14:  Superman Celebration, Metropolis, IL

July 17-19:  Imaginarium, Louisville, KY (Pd 8/2025)

Aug 8th:  Indy Author Event ($250; Pd $50 5/16 still owe $200)

Aug 22nd:  Geek Con, Evansville Museum ($40)

Sept 12th:  StompCon, Fowler, IN

Oct 24th:  Lafayette Con, Lafayette, In ($40)

Nov 11-15:  ICGAHS

Nov 28th:  Creative Holiday Market, 1972 KCARC

Dec 2-3rd:  GSH Christmas Vendor Event ($50)

January Goals:

-Lose 5 pounds (start 244)

-Fill out passport paperwork and turn it in

-Find out about passport photo

-Publish Heart Song (e-book) Check!  Jan 2nd

-Publish Heart Song (paperback) Check!  Jan 6th

-Order inventory (Heart Song Check!, Teacher's Pet Check!, Catered Romance, Playing With Time Check!, Defending Destiny Check!)

-Redo font in Hotel Stories and republish

-Finish watching Survivor 44 Check!  Now onto 45

-Find House on other streaming platform and finish SE2 Bleh...looks as if I'll have to subscribe to Prime.

-Be able to wear tennis shoe on right foot again Have to wear croc 'clog' on rt foot; dress shoe wearing out!

-Create new website

-Buy new soap dish for MBa 

-Finish trim, lights, medicine cabinet, and shower guard in MBa 

-Pay down CC and start pecking away at med bills

-Read 6 books

-Finish current e-book 

Jan Reading Schedule:  

The Restless Few-James Watjen Interesting story!

How To Raise Viking Children-Troy Maynard

Trick of the Tale:  Genesis-Jen Selinsky Loved this!  Had no idea Genesis existed before 1981!

Echoes of Vengeance-Stephanie Lanham Chose not to read

Memoirs of an Angel-Brian Rodman Chose not to read 

Kingdom of Ambrosia:  Soul Walkers-Howlett and Dixon

October Forever-Katie Cawood

The Chosen 3:  And I Will Give You Rest-Jerry B Jenkins

Fiction Favorites:

-Welcome To Murder Week-Karen Dukess

-I Need You To Read This-Jessa Maxwell

-Yours, Eventually- Nora Maznavi

-Perfect Storm-Paige Shelton

The President and the Freedom Fighter- Brian Kilmeade

Die Laughing-Benjamin Oneal

Someone Like You-Karen Kingsbury

George Washington's Secret Six-Brian Kilmeade

Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates-Brian Kilmeade

Bride-Ali Hazelwood

The Good, The Bad, and the Aunties-Jesse Q Sutanto

The Hating Game-Sally Thorne

The Choice-Anne Greene (misplaced??)

Louise Penney book

A Quiet Strength-Janette Oke

Valley of the Shaman-Arlen Andrews

Joyful Poems For Children-James Whitcomb Riley

I Heard God Laugh-Matthew Kelly

Life Is Messy-Matthew Kelly

Franklin and Eleanor

-29

E-book:

Party Planning Can Be Murder-Kerry Schafer Finally finished reading it:)  Definitely an interesting cast of characters.....

Murder In Disguise-Sandra Sookoo

Carbon Copy-Terri Ventures

Peonies For Paige-Kasey Kennedy

Naughty and Nice-Phoebe Alexander

Defending Devon-Shannon West

Twins-RG Miller

Dare To Love-Sandy Sullivan

TBB (on wish list-was tired of not finding them!)

The Marriage Bargain-Jennifer Probst (2013-$10)

The Marriage Trap-Jennifer Probst (2013-$15)

The Marriage Mistake-Jennifer Probst (2013-$10)

The Marriage Merger-Jennifer Probst (2013-$10)

Into Thin Air-Jon Krakauer (2013-$15)

The Cookbook Collection-Allegra Goodman (2013-$11)

The Girfriend-Abigail Barnett ($5)

The Summer Without Her (Men???)-Siri Hustvedt

Searching For Someday-Jennifer Probst (2014-$8)

Hard As You Can-Laura Kay (2014-$9)

The Year of Living Biblically-A.J. Jacobs (2014-$15)

Retaliation-Yasmin Shiraz (2014-$10)

Accused-Yasmin Shiraz (2014-$10) 

Romulus-Marilyn Campbell ($5)

Gaslight Chronicles-Cindy Spencer Pape ($8)

So Far Away-Dakota Madison, et al

Love Realized-Melanie Codina

Love Resisted-Melanie Codina

Assumptions-Melanie Codina

One The Run-Jade C. Jamison

Decker-AD Ellis

Sawyer-AD Ellis

Monster Among The Rose-Linda Kage ($6)

Flower of Heaven-Julien Ayotta

Dangerous Bloodlines-Julien Ayotta

If I Fall-Lydia Michaels ($5)

If You Want Me-Tara Mills

Tomorrow-Samantha Kane

Backdoor Billionaire's Bride-Roz Lee (2019-$5)

The Play-Tawdra Kandle

Hopeful In Yellow-Sandra Sookoo

Magic In Mayflowers-Sandra Sookoo

Zero Chance-Linda Kage (want entire series in print)

Paging Dr, Breakup-Jillian David

The Girl Vanished-Jessica Ann (Jessie Clever)

The Lost Summers-Jessica Ann (Jessie Clever)

Ballad of Us-Sasha Marshall

Naughty, Nice, Never Been Kissed-Cassidy Hudspeth

A Party To Die for-Kerry Schafer

Happy New Year!

 I hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe holiday season!  Ours was quiet, since our family is scattered.  Monday Dec 22nd, my hubby and I traveled to Lafayette to take my mom to an appointment and drop off her gifts.  We took her out to eat at The Olive Garden, and returned home.

Tuesday the 23rd, we traveled to Evansville for a recheck of my leg wounds, then picked up our daughter and grandson and took THEM to The Olive Garden (Mon, I had Fettucini Alfredo, Tues the portobello Ravioli).

Wednesday the 24th, we traveled to Freelandville, a small town about 30 minutes from us, and had Christmas with our oldest son and his family.  The girls were a delight; they're 4 and 3 now, and my DIL's sister's daughter just turned one.  The plastic track and battery-operated car I'd bought was the hit present of the day!

Christmas Day, we slept in, then woke up our youngest son and 13-y/o granddaughter to open their gifts. Put the ham in the oven, then W went back to bed; Granddaughter Alex went to her room; I hopped on Peacock and watched House; Hubby was in the living room watching his favorite Christmas Carol movies.  At three-thirty, we ate dinner, then everyone resumed their respective activities.  Hubby and I cleaned up the kitchen.

New Year's Eve, the granddaughter went to a friend's house; I had one day to watch as many House episodes before it left Peacock.  I poured myself a glass of wine at 11:30, and took a selfie at midnight.  Completely forgot to watch the ball drop.  I did finally go to bed after watching SE2, Ep 15.  Guess I'll have to find it elsewhere to watch the rest.  Meanwhile, I'm catching up on missed seasons of Survivor.

On the writing front, I spent all day Dec 30th editing the long-awaited Heart Song. Then NYE Day, I formatted and re-checked things, finally uploading it at 6pm.  Today, as I write this, I've just received word it's now published on Smashwords:)

So What Are My Goals For 2026?

-Cutting back on my in-person events, due to needing more $$ in my account.  Basically, any event in which I did NOT break even last year, I won't be there.

           Feb:  Local show

          March:  Hannibal is still pending; I did well there, but haven't paid my fee yet.

              -Local Show

          April:  Dreaming Dirty In Michigan (still pending; I've not made a decision on this yet. Depends on if my car is still out of commission.)

            -Saluki Con:  I don't even think I've reached out to Nathan about this yet.  If I don't go to Michigan, this is still doable.

         June:  Superman:  I'd still like to do this.

         July:  Imaginarium is a must, though I probably won't stay over til Monday.

         Aug:  Indy Author Event

             -Geek Con.  It's only an hour away from me.

         Oct:  Lafayette Con was fun last year!

         Nov:  Not giving up my Christmas show!

              -Two local shows

         Dec:  Local show

-Finish writing Dragon/Tooth Fairy story for 2026 antho

-Finish writing Hallmark Movie-inspired story and publish it

-Publish Rock Star Antho

-Get passport and go see my Great-Niece in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Canada

-Start investigating alternate living arrangements for my mother, should the need arise next summer.

-Get my hair cut!

Financial Goals:

-Pay down my credit cards

-Put more $$ in savings (trying to save another $3500 for NYC trip, if we go next year)

-Might be in the market for a new (used) vehicle if we can't fix my van.  Replaced the fuel pump in November, and began acting up, not wanting to start.  Now the battery's dead every morning.

I do NOT expect this to happen all at once.  I'm hoping to get my hair cut on the 13th, and I did receive a $100 gift card, which I plan to put toward ordering inventory.(Heart Song, Teacher's Pet, Catered Romance, Playing With Time, and Defending Destiny).

I'll try to remember to check back in 6 months, to see how I'm doing.

Come back tomorrow for the regular Monthly Goals!

From The Stupid Files: Y7, W38 (NYE Week)

Day 151:  Cold and breezy, low 20s; 85 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Austin

Loader:  Jax

1) It was VERY cold; wore 3 layers again.

2) Edits for Heart Song arrived at 6

3) Granddaughter's appointment next week is the same day as my foot appointment; trying to get it changed.

4) Had to clean out BOTH coffee carafes

5) Riley, who closed Sunday night, used the wrong trash bags for the larger trash can.

6) DS Ian took down the Christmas tree and the decorations; tried to get him to leave it up until Epiphany.

Outfit:  Blue Cozy Blankets sweatshirt, white s/s turtleneck, black l/s tee, patterend leggings, new faded jeggings, textured gold hoops, red head wrap.  Didn't need the fingerless gloves until Jax brought in the concrete.

Off til Friday, unless I get called in!

Day 152: New Year's Day, warmer, high 30s; 77 t/a

ASM:  Shannon

HC:  Madi

Loader:  Isaiah

1) Was called in, due to Talon calling off; clocked in 1:30.

2) Couldn't my schedule to print

3) Forgot the coffeepot when I went to break; fortunately Riley came back and cleaned it out.

4) Time DRAGGED until 4:30!

5) Lady @closing bought our entire cull cart.  Thank God Isaiah wrote down the item #s and quantities!!

Outfit:  Gold sparkly l/s tee, black vest, patterned leggings, new faded jeggings, rhinestone danglies

Day 153:  Day After NYs 30s; 62 t/a

ASM:  Keri

HC:  Austin

Loaders:  DS Charles, Conrad

1) Worked with Jayden until 6

2) Took 15 min break to clean out the coffee pots and take back the returns....then learned I should have been on lunch.  Took lunch at 5:30

3) Had customer with rebate card, then tell me about the 10% coupon. Had to cancel/redo payment 5 times!

Outfit:  North Pole Book Club sweatshirt, red polo, white s/s turtleneck, patterened leggings, new faded jeggings, small gold hoops

Day 154:  Rare Sat Mid 30s; 57 t/a

ASM:  Keri

HC:  Madi, Austin

Loaders:  DS Charles, Isaiah

1) Cust brought in lumber to return, but pushed it against the endcap, then got the ones he wanted and walked off.  Riley tried to put them away twice, but stopped him.  I'd written down the item # of the returned ones, so when customer returned, was able to refund/rebill.

2) Moon was low in the sky and looked as if it had a halo around it!

3) My pain meds didn't kick in until after 7pm.

4) Ordered 3 boxes of Thin Mints from Theresa.

Outfit:  Mama Bear sweatshirt, sugar cookie tee, patterned leggings, new faded jeggings, small gold hoops

Day 155:  Rare Sun High 30s; 57 t/a

ASM:  Alex

HC:  Madi

Loader:  Isaiah

1) Lady wanted help getting drywall mud. I paged for Isaiah to aisle 19; she looked up at the '21' sign and walked toward Plumbing.  I went after her and explained the mis-numbering of the aisles, then paged for Isaiah again to 'drywall'.

2) Madi forgot my break; Isaiah took over so I could make a pit stop.

3) Didn't wear my compression wrap and pain was minimal.

Outfit:  Brown sweater, black l/s tee, patterned leggings, new faded jeggings, small gold hoops