more answers and advice (Q&A part 2)

A chilly Tuesday morning seems like as good a time as any to chip away at some of your burning life questions, right? Thanks again for being abundantly inquisitive and ensuring that I'll never have to come up with original blog content for the rest of my life!!

Since last night was our second-to-last Bachelor Monday, I'm gonna try and answer all of your Bachelor-related questions before the season ends! (Did you watch Women Tell All? Did you want to marry Sharleen all night too, or was that just me?)

My Important Thoughts About The Bachelor

Kimberly asked:

Who do you think has the best chance of being the next Bachelorette? Is Andi right about Juan Pablo being self-centered?

I'd better be honest, first of all, and say that I've read the spoilers for this season. And whatever I can find about next season, too. So answering these questions is a little...weird...because now my personal opinion has been tainted by what Reality Steve says happens, ha. Not that he's always right, but...it looks like he probably is this time. So anyway...

If I got to pick, I'd want Sharleen as the next Bachelorette. Not that I think she'd do it. I just think it would be really interesting and very different from previous seasons to have such a 'cerebral' lead. They'd have to drum up some super intelligent and well-spoken men and I think it would take the whole show up a notch to watch people behave like actual adults (and not high schoolers crashing a frat party). Also, then I would get to see Sharleen all season. BUT...I'm like 90% sure that isn't going to happen, so I would also like to see Andi. She's smart, pretty, from Atlanta, and her favorite show is Scandal, so...that is why we should be BFFs. Oh wait, that wasn't the question? Sorry.

Yeah, I totally think JP is pretty self-centered. It bothered me all season that he never asked any REAL questions of the ladies...and any time they tried to take the conversation deeper, it seemed like he spaced out until he could get them re-focused on making out. I don't think he's some evil jerk, but I don't think Andi was lying, either.

Nikki asked:

Who do you want Juan Pablo to pick or are you just over the Bachelor drama?

Honestly, at this point I don't even care. I don't particularly love or hate either Clare or Nikki, and I don't necessarily think either of them is a particularly good match for JP. Whatever drama goes down next week, I'm guessing that by After the Final Rose, neither girl is going to be in a relationship with JP. I bet he gets back together with Cameeeeeela's mom.

Megan asked:

Do you hate Juan Pablo as the Bachelor as much as I do at this point? #stillwatchingthough

Kinda. I don't hate him, but I'm over him. And his besitos. And his eeess okay!!!

Questions About What I Drink

Natasha has a conundrum and a question:

Dear Erika --

I lost my morning cup of tea. I can taste its sweet, hot goodness on my tongue but alas, alack -- it is only a dream. I have retraced my steps of the morning and am seriously at a loss. Please help.

Signed,
Desperate For Warmth, Caffeine And Sugar


PS. What is the one thing you need to get you going in the morning? Obviously, for me it's a hit of caffeine, usually in hot tea form.

Dear Desperate,

Since it's been five days since you posted this question, I really hope you've located that cup of tea...otherwise it's probably growing moldy. I think that the fact that you're losing your cup of it speaks to the real issue at hand here: you're drinking tea to get you going. Obviously that's the wrong choice. Tea is for mid-afternoon or late night. Or for being sick. It can't fuel your body and brain for the day the way that coffee does. That's why I make good choices and drink coffee with a splash of almond milk every morning. I have never lost a cup of it, either. I recommend that you change your ways immediately. Good luck!

********

Amanda S. questions:

What's your favorite non-wine go-to drink when you're out for a fancy evening with Matt or your friends? Coffee shops and chain restaurants are no problem for me, but I never know what to order off the top of my head when we go somewhere nice.

The problem with this question is that Amanda assumes I go out for 'fancy evenings' with Matt and/or my friends. Unfortunately, that pretty much isn't true. We are much lamer than that. We do go out to eat and out with friends, but it's never somewhere 'fancy.' So I don't really have a go-to 'fancy drink.' I almost never order wine in a restaurant or bar because the list of options is scary and overwhelming. I mostly just drink beer (I prefer stouts and ales) and Mexican-ish and/or fruity mixed drinks: mojitos, sangria, and the like. Sorry to be so boring in this department!!

********

Nikki asks:

What is your typical Starbucks order (winter, summer)?

I go to Starbucks a LOT more than I go to bars, so this is a little easier!! Oftentimes I just get a boring cup of dark roast, but let's assume this is a trip where I'm wanting something a little more exciting. 98% of the time it's going to be a flavored latte of some sort. If it's the holidays, it'll definitely be one of the seasonal lattes (PSL, creme brulee, gingerbread, cinnamon dolce, whatever). If it's just a 'regular' time of year, probably vanilla or hazelnut. Always with nonfat milk (and at my favorite local non-Starbucks coffee shop, they have almond milk as an option, which is DEFINITELY my favorite!). During the summer I usually get the same things, just iced instead of hot. Or if they have a fun seasonal frapp, I'll go that way...if I feel like drinking 800 calories, that is. (Which I usually do.)

********

Various and Sundry Things You Wanted to Know

Lauren has a victory and a question:

I had a question that I was going to post on FB page, but then realize I should post it here. I haven't been updating my blog for the past year - too busy kicking cancer's butt. I've decided to start again so I'd like to let my FB friends know about this one post. How do I link my post to my FB page?


Thanks!

First of all-- SUPER yay that you're beating cancer! That is awesome!! Now, for the question. I have to admit that when I post my blog link to Facebook, I do it super old school...I just copy/paste the address of the post into my 'update' box...wait a few minutes and it usually realizes it's a link and will pull up the little 'snippet' and picture...and then type whatever into the status update box (I erase the URL since it's long and ugly...it will still keep the little link and snippet). I know there are ways to automatically link your blog/FB so that anytime you post a blog it automatically feeds it to your FB, but I don't do that so I can't really offer any advice about that. I know that on my Bloglovin', there's a link thing that says something about "link your blog to your FB account!" but since I'm not really interested in doing that, I've never clicked it. Other people with thoughts on this: weigh in in the comments!!

********

Amy wonders:

What does a typical weeknight evening look like for you and Matt?

Not very glamorous, I'm afraid. But here we go! We get out of work at 5. We head straight to the gym, change in the locker rooms, and work out from about 5:30-6:30. We do this every weeknight except Tuesdays (unless something comes up on another night, of course). Then we head home and cook, eat, and clean up dinner...usually wrapping that up around 8:00. After that we just bum around until bedtime...reading, watching TV, mindless internet surfing, whatever. We head to bed around 10:00. One notable exception to all this bumming around would be during the summer, when our flowers and gardens are in full swing and it stays light until late... then we normally spend about an hour outside watering, weeding, mowing, or doing other outside things on most nights after dinner.

********

Brittnie asks:

If you could be on any reality show, which one would you choose, and why?

This is tough! There are so many good ones!! I think I'd probably pick Amazing Race. I don't even watch it anymore, but I think it would be really fun (and stressful) and give me amazing opportunities I'd never have otherwise. Plus the $1,000,000 prize is hard to beat in the reality TV world. 

I would also take my chance at Jeopardy and Wheel. I am basically amazing at both of those shows, but they may qualify more as 'game shows' and less as 'reality TV,' although the distinctions there are sometimes blurry.

********

That's all I have time for today!! Have a happy day!