Table for Eight

Survivor Caramoan cast, Day 3 in the game. (c) CBS, 2012, Monty Brinton. Last night was the TV Guide Preview for our season of Survivor. And I have to say--eve n after having lived this experience once before -- holy cow, I forgot how vulnerable you feel watching your self o n TV .   And I'm not alone in feeling vulnerable. I talked with 3 or 4 other players last night after the show aired and everyone said pretty much the same thing: -- "I'm excited it 's finally here." (We filmed a while ago.) A ND   -- "Did you see my X, Y, or Z ? It's aw ful." (F or me, it was my posture and sau sage thighs. For another, their acne. For another, their smir k in one cut-away.) Isn't that the way it goes? Here we are, living out our dream to play Survivor and be part of the Survivor Adventure, and yet we feel super insecu re as we watch the expe rience with friends , family, and 10+ million other s. It's made me think. A

Survivor Caramoan: Bikal Tribe. (c) CBS, 2012, Monty Brinton--a fellow Utahn, PS! I promise not to post about Survivor and self-promo te EVERY DAY. I do! But today I have to talk Survivor. I've waited so long to share the experience with my family-- and no w it's finally here!  Plus, m y mom will never find t hese clips on her own. (Sorry, mom. True, right?) At any rate, my point! CBS posted new video footage/clips for each of the 20 Survivors yesterday. Yay! (T he clips are on YouTube and C BS.com . I've included link below.)   In the se clips, each Survivor respon ds to the question "What's Your Most Memor able Survivor Moment ." For p reviou s players, we were asked to respond to our favorite moment on our own previous season ; n ew players were asked to share their favorite Survivor mo ment of all time. Here's t he YouTube link to min e :     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLBHzVCMF-E Oh, and then I have one las

Me, holding onto what looks like Shamar. (c) CBS, 2012 (along with TV Guide and SurvivorFever.net for the screen cap). I'll tell ya, Februar y can't come soon enough at the M eehan home. (February 13th at 7pm Mountain Time, to be exact.) But, in the meantime ... at least we have the TV Guide "Survivor Caramoan Fans vs. Favor ites Pr e view" to keep us war m. Woo hoo! Check local listings for details. I think the show actually airs on a TV Guide channel.  ( PS: Th e preview show  includes pregame interviews with the cast, info from Jeff Probst, and clips from our f irst challenge, etc.)   I can hardly wait !         

(c) Iyanla Vanzant, 2012. I love thi s q uote. Do esn't it just fire ya u p?     H ave a beautiful weekend!

Survivor Caramoan FvF, (c) CBS 2012 (and TrueDorkTimes.com). (Psst: Yes, looks like I'm wearing a dress again.) In case you're new to my blog and are wondering how life changes once you go on Survivor/TV, well let me tell you ... If I win the million this time, some things are going to change around here! Pronto! But in the meantime, things aren't changing too much. See ... I still spend most of my time being "just mom." (PS: LuLu still thinks she's old enough for a phone-- and we still think she's too young for one. So, she routinely takes photos of herself USING MY PHONE to show me her frustration.) I still drive carpool. Although we do have STRAIGHTER teeth post-Survivor-- Jay got his braces off yesterday! I'm still teaching at BYU. Two classes this semester--with two great groups of students. (And I don't think any of them have seen Survivor before.) I still run my own errands. And take photo

Well, i f theme music is any indication of what Survivor C aramoan Fa ns vs Favorites is going to be like, we may be in for an AWESOME SE ASON. Be cause Ozzy O sbourne's "Crazy Train" is the theme song I keep coming a cross in our promos. Eeek! I can't wait for the season to be gin . How about you? PS: Epsiode 1 ai rs Wednesday, February 13 on CBS. (It's a 2 hour prem iere.) In the meantime, here are three other p i c tures from the first few days in the game (and yes, they a re complet ely self-indulg en t and focus on ME!) . Survivor Caramoan Fans vs Favorite's cast--The Favorites, aka Bikal Tribe. (Specifically, Brandon, Me, Cochran, Corrine, and Erik.) (c) CBS, 2012. Our first challenge: #BikalTribe From L to R = Brenda Lowe, Andrea Boehlke, Fran Hogi, Erik Reichenbach, Me, Phillip Sheppard, and Jeff Probst (ahhhhhh!). (c) CBS, 2012. Me vs. Fan/Julia in our first challenge. Not only d

Lots to rememb er and  honor here in the US today: 1. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, legacy, and birthday observance today. 2. The Inauguration of President Barack Obama. (c) Lainey Melnick, via @pinterest at the Inauguration Ceremony ***** I hope you have a beautiful start to your week! PS: I wanted to share this with you today.  Yes, it's religious. Ye s, it's forward of me. But for me, God is LOVE--regardless of your belief-system. So everywhere and every time I hear GOD, I think LOVE. Much love to you today. God Is Able by Smokie Norful God is able, God is able God is able and He won't fail Tell me who can make a mountain Move out of my way And who can make a miracle Because of my faith And when the doctor says no Who can still say yes And when I'm in trouble Who's right there to help me pass every test God is able, God is able God is able and He won't fail Tell me who can make a r

Lu and Me getting ready for her baptis m--two weeks after m y return from Survivor South Paci fic (2 summers a go). First of f, Happy Friday ! G uess what? It's snowing here in Utah this morning. Woo hoo! Okay, so back to my point : I have a confession to make. A s much as working out and taking care of my phy sical/mental body/mind has CHANG ED my life (Survivor was the o riginal cataly st) ... after Survivor Caramoan, I somehow lost my love for doing anything remotely physical. And I mean anything. And as a result, I stopped working out (minus a few random long walk s, hikes, and trips to the pool) until this past M onday. This past Monday! Yup. I hadn't worked out--really worked out--si nce Monday of this past week. It's hard to believe (for me) , but true. I don 't know why I stopped ( W e 'll I do. My brain just said "NO " ) . And I'm not sure why I started again ( T he brai