The Worst Housekeeper

I am going to take a detour from Days today because I honestly don't know if I will even get to watch today's episode. I don't know if you have a friend who's house makes you feel a little better about your own housekeeping. If you do not, I am here to be that friend today! I think I can declare myself the worst housekeeper! I really do try. I just stink at it!

Take today, for instance. I spent 3 hours this morning cleaning my house. Do you know what my sister's house would like if she cleaned for 3 hours? I guarantee you could eat off the floors and all your clothes would be neatly folded and waiting in your drawers! I don't know how she does it. Now at my house after 3 hours of cleaning, this is what I am left with:

An end table with a pile of junk!

A computer desk screaming for organization!

A dining room I dare not enter!!!!

So what exactly did I do for 3 hours, you ask. I did wash dishes. I did sweep and mop the kitchen and the bathrooms. And lets not forget the monumentous task of vacuuming even though you will not be able to tell it as soon as my darling children set foot into the house. So for the 3 hours of work I do have a kitchen that looks half-way decent:

Don't hold the Totino's pizza box on the counter against me. I had to write this during my lunch break. Then it's right back to cleaning!

Shawn and Belle- The Right Track at Last

So between summer vacations and my kids starting back to school, I have been very neglectful of my blog. I have managed to watch Days, but sometimes only half-heartedly. Imagine my joy when I saw the preview this week for an upcoming wedding with Shawn and Belle as a possible couple!!!

I have rooted for this couple since that hokey last dance in high school. I have suffered through Belle's doomed marriage to Phillip and Shawn's rabbit chases of Mimi and Willow. When they finally found each other they have been sidetracked by all of these lies. It seems like today they are finally getting back on the right track- Yeah!!!

After months of Shawn calling Phillip out for wanting to get back with Belle, she finally sees it, too and calls him out on it! And he has the nerve to try to defend it! I'm a little nervous that we are going to get Psycho Phillip back any day now. Then Belle goes to the hospital and immediately tells Shawn about Phillip hitting on her. Well, how about that! Honesty in a relationship can work wonders!

How fishy was Phillips timing in finding out that Lauren was in San Antonio? I have read other's opinions that Phillip and Lauren could be in on this together to string Belle along. It might have started that way, but if it did, I certainly think he got more than he intended when she dropped off the baby. What if Phillip paid her the money the first time she asked with the condition that she help lead him on a wild goose chase to help him get Belle? If that were the case, he could have been the one that left "Pocket" at the hospital for safe keeping until he finished resolving things with Belle and Lauren. Just a little conspiracy theory. It seems like Belle is wising up to his schemes and trying to communicate better and that is exactly what I have been waiting for for these two.

Are they for real?

Oddly enough I am talking about Jeremy Horton and the DiMeras! Did you ever think you would see this pairing? First off, could Jeremy be any more of a jerk? This really seems to be his only purpose on the show. He isn't even intelligent enough to line up his own financial backers for his "business ventures". His girlfriend, Stephanie, and a girl he hardly even knows, Chelsea, had to line up Max for him. Then as a reward he treats them like dirt. The way he talked to Stephanie today was despicable and the fact that she stood up for him was just sad. I can't believe Max was dumb enough to invest in the flying part of the business and then even dumber to get in on the questionably illegal part! Clearly the guy running this "business" is not making good decisions if he has lost all his previous backing, and on top of that, who wants to be in business with a jerk!

Then we find out that Jeremy's supplier of the fake designer clothing is none other than Tony DiMera. So the DiMeras really have nothing better to do now than to replicate Guccis and sell them on the black market. They are really done tracking down and torturing Bradys and anybody else who gets in the way of their vendetta. Is this what this family has been reduced to? Just when the DiMeras were becoming the perfect family of villains, we get thrown this stupid story! I believe Jeremy has become the new Willow. He just doesn't fit and he is starting to mess up my other storylines. He may have already worn out his welcome in Salem!

Love those DiMeras

I am loving having the Dimeras back in town and back in control. This story about Colleen is such a great way to showcase how bad they can be while also showing that they can be rational about it. I love watching Stefano trying to decide whether to end the vendetta. We all know it will never end because Tony has now gone crazier than his father!

Just when it looks like you can declare all DiMeras villains, EJ starts acting like a good guy and Steve turns up at the DiMera mansion revealing Brady family secrets while EJ is lying to his father to protect the Bradys. How can this be? Is it all a ruse? Kayla would not let Steve leave that island if he was not deprogrammed. The question then becomes did he overpower her, trick her, or lie to the DiMeras? Hopefully we have the old Steve back and he is in on the plan with the Bradys. According to the spoilers for next week, he comes to Hope's rescue so there must still be some good in him. There is still no telling about EJ. His stripes can change on a dime. He better watch himself though. His daddy is not going to be happy about his deception and there are only so many times that Stefano will be made a fool!

How about this new pace?

So it's been a while since I've blogged about Days and the main reason is because of the pace of the show (and the pace of my life lately). Man they have kept things moving lately and I gotta say I like it! TPTB have started to clean house (thank goodness) and have gotten rid of some dead weight that was slowing things down - namely Willow. My biggest fear was that we would be left with a who killed Willow storyline and what happens to Willow's baby story. I was very happy with how quickly both situations were dealt with so we can move on with stories and characters that we actually care about.

Now that the DiMeras are back, it is clear who the villains in town are. There is definitely a battle between good and evil and I love that we are finally getting to see some answers about why it all started in the first place. The small battles over Sami, Lucas, and EJ are exciting and well written. I don't even mind seeing another "Who's the daddy?" story because it makes sense when you see how it relates to Colleen Brady and Santo Dimera's affair in the past.

The dreaded flashbacks have even become welcome and entertaining. I love seeing the old characters relive scenes from the past and they have done a good job of keeping them timely. Today's show used a recent flashback with John and Marlena when John was in a coma to show why Marlena was so determined to stay with him instead of leave the building while he worked on the bomb. It seems like they used to use flashbacks to remind us of what had happened the day before. Maybe they have finally realized their viewers are smarter than that!

Finally, my favorite storyline ... Shaun and Belle. I never thought Phillip could be redeemed but it looks like he has changed his ways. Whether Papa Victor has or not may determine how long it stays this way. Shaun's attitude in the coming days may influence it as well. I am again thrilled that they moved the missing child storyline along quickly. It was definitely the right way to take the story but Old Days would have drug it out all summer long. I think the real story here is in how Shaun, Belle, and Phillip rebuild this family with Claire. I see a real battle between Shaun and Phillip and for some reason I see Shaun coming out looking much worse than Phillip. If he continues to try to kick Phillip completely out of Claire's life he will look like a total jerk and like he is turning his back on the agreement they made on the boat. As much as I don't want another love triangle, I believe this has isosceles written all over it!

The Great LUMI payoff!

What a great payoff for Lucas and Sami today! First of all, thank you for not dragging out the wedding. We have seen enough Sami weddings in the past. This one was just long enough to get the sweet stuff in and of course one "Gasp" moment as we all wondered if EJ would dare interrupt.

Then on to the reception where the real fun began. Of course Kate somehow got that incriminating picture into the slide show. I love that Lucas is standing by his new wife! I wish we saw a little more of that in real life. Too many times we file for divorce just because we're bored with each other! Here Lucas had real reason to be concerned and he wouldn't hear a bad word spoken about his bride. I think that is precious. Even more precious was the new tradition he started of "sharing" cake with the mother of the groom ... smashed in her face of course! She so deserved that for all the hateful thing she has done to Sami. Way to go Lucas! You have made a great start in your new marriage!

Not to be outdone, our sweet Sami decides to makes peace with EJ on the way to the honeymoon and let bygones be bygones. She even offers him a handshake (awwww!). Who would have thought she would follow that with a left hook? Way to go Sami! He was so not happy. The wrath of EJ will be felt in coming weeks. Until then, the honeymoon should get off to a great start, once Sami finishes telling Lucas that the baby may not be his. Oops!

Dare I hope?

I just read on Dustin's Days page that the actress who plays Willow is leaving. Dare I hope they are finally getting rid of Willow? Could we possibly wrap up this awful storyline and let Salem's finest get to the bottom of who broke in to the Brady house in a timely fashion? Of course with the way Chelsea has been acting lately, I sure wouldn't mind seeing her go down with the ship for obstruction of justice!

It sure would be nice for Shawn and Belle to come home years from now (we all know they will drag their feet on that one!) to a Willow-free Salem. The question remains... what will they do about the baby? Will she leave pregnant and years from now a teenager reappears? Or will she lose the baby so they can neatly tie up all the loose ends? Who knows, in Salem time she could even have the baby next week and Beau and Hope could offer to raise it for her. As long as Willow is out of the picture, they can wrap up her story however they want!

So much for the Chelsea turnaround

I guess we can finally give up on the redemption of Chelsea. She seemed so close to being a real human and she just keeps going back to her old ways (kind of like Sami). I was really starting to like her and Nick together. I always hated the way she treated him like a "lap dog", so it was so nice to see her come around and see him as the nice guy that he really is. We all knew that would end as soon as she found out about Nick and her mom sleeping together, even though that happened when she wanted nothing to do with him!

Somehow, I was still managing to have sympathy for little Chelsea as she has been set up by Willow who has way overstayed her welcome in Salem. Poor Chelsea can't catch a break. Yet, she still hasn't learned from her mistakes! That's what frustrates me about her. She berates her "best friend" Abby about lying while she is doing the same thing. The difference is that Abby lied to try to spare Chelsea's feelings. Chelsea is lying for selfish reasons, like she always does. She is trying to cover her own butt and doesn't care who gets hurt in the path of Hurricane Chelsea! She even told Nick to his face today that she still didn't think she could trust him after he broke the law for her! Surely now he can see that she is using him to keep her name clear. When he finds out about her little rendezvous with Max coming up tomorrow, he will be so hurt. That's the difference between Chelsea and Abby. Abby may bend and break the rules sometimes, but she does it with the intentions of trying to help someone. Chelsea does it for revenge and selfish ambition. So much for the turnaround!

The Gallant Men of Salem

Nick, Lucas, Max, and Shawn really turned it up on the show today! Nick was by far my favorite. When he first came on the show, he was such a weenie! Now he has become so protective of Chelsea as well as Sami. I loved his scenes with Sami today, and the vulnerability that she shows with him is great. Of course it would be better to see a little of that with her own fiancee, but beggars can't be choosers! I like seeing that Nick has grown a backbone and is willing to stand up to EJ knowing that he is such a bad guy. Nick reminds me of a Southern gentleman and he has been a great addition to Salem.

And how lucky is Sami to have Lucas on her side as well. His scenes with EJ were terrific today. I loved that he called EJ on his crap in the hospital and told him that he needed to stop obsessing over Sami. EJ has still not done what he promised to about moving out, yet he continues to placate Lucas with excuses. I'm glad that Lucas is not falling for it. I really wish he were smart enough to call Sami on some of her lame excuses before another wedding falls through. If she can be honest with Nick and Celeste, surely she can be honest with Lucas.

Max is just adorable with Abby. I even like the girl subbing for the regular Abby. I loved hearing Max talk to Kayla about wanting to make sure he protected Abby's innocence on yesterday's show. It was a good way of acknowledging all of the character issues that he has been dealt recently. The way it is looking, who knows if this relationship will last, though, with Ashley Benson leaving show. I am hoping they will recast the role of Abby (maybe even with the girl who is subbing today) because this story line has grown on me.

Lastly, more Shawn love from me! I just love this story. I would like to see more of the vets featured but Shawn and Belle are the future of Days for me! I have enjoyed watching their relationship develop into what it is now where they trust each other completely. When Belle said, "We're staying" Shawn followed and trusted her instincts. A few weeks ago, he wouldn't have done that. Belle has finally been able to trust him when he said he loves her and honestly tell him that she loves him. That is a huge step for her. I think we are a going to see a big test in this new trust pretty soon. Gabby seems to have proven herself for now, but I think she is still up to something. As soon as they let their guard down, I think she will turn on them somehow.

Now, if only Phillip and EJ will get the memo that Salem men are to be more gallant :)

Max- Race Car Driver or Super Spy (& Shawn/Belle update)

I really enjoy having Max back on the show, but would somebody decide what he is going to do and stick with it. He was great as the new heartthrob in town: the race car driver living on the edge! Then he becomes the town womanizer. Next, he's just a boring car mechanic with a past trying to get the good girl. Now all of a sudden, I'm supposed to believe the town mechanic is jet setting to Italy to spy on one of the most sophisticated crime families in the world!!! I can totally see why Max asked Kayla why she didn't take Roman or Bo, those are the brothers you want with you for this mission. I think I would even take Marlena or Hope before asking Max!

How great was it to finally hear Belle tell Shawn "I love you" today? Can we finally get moving with this couple now? They have had so many things standing in their way, including Shawn's blind stupidity. How does he not see Belle's insecurity and jealousy of Gabby? That doesn't take a genious to figure out why she wants to leave the island all of a sudden. If they can just get off the island before Phillip spots them! Will Gabby turn them in? Has she been working for Phillip all along? There's something not right with her! Come on "Shelle" get it together!

Willow - Are her 15 minutes up yet?

I must admit I have never been a fan of Willow. I don't see where she fits into any of the storylines they have put her in. I did not like her paired with Shaun. We all know he belongs with Belle. I understand there must be bumps in the road of a relationsip to keep a soap opera going, but come on people, did you really think a prostitute was the right way to break up the next supercouple?

As if that were not bad enough, when Shaun finally got smart enough to break things off with her, you would think Days would write her off. So why is she still on the show? Her scenes with Phillip to try to get Claire back were awful! The only purpose they seemed to serve was to make Phillip more of a jerk and I think we all can agree that no one likes this side of him either. Victor makes a good villain. Phillip does not.

Now we are being treated to family members of Willow! I actually like Jed. I feel kind of sorry for him since he had no idea what his sister was doing to fund his college education! However, if this prolongs Willows stay then Jed can transfer to UCLA for all I care!

They are even putting her in front burner stories with EJ and Bo and Hope. TPTB know that the fans are screaming for screen time for their favorites that haven't been seen in weeks like John and Marlena, yet we continue to have new characters like Willow shoved into scenes where she doesn't fit. The only good thing to come of this, I guess, is that she actually did start the fire in Bo and Hope's house even though she is trying to pin it on Chelsea. The sooner Willow leaves Salem the better!

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

My six year old heard my nephew say "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" recently and has decided it is the most wonderful poem ever! After watching Days today it sure seems to fit several characters!

I love this little romance blooming between Nick and Chelsea. TPTB have taken their time and built a nice, sometimes dysfunctional, friendship between them. They have struggled through this whole Shane Patton junk but Nick finally came clean and Chelsea is learning to forgive him. So the most precious line of the day is Chelsea saying, "Promise me you won't keep anything else from me ever again." Like so many before him, Nick has not learned from his mistake and does not take the golden opportunity to tell Chelsea, "Oh, yeah, by the way, I slept with your mom." Liar, liar, pants on fire!!! In the preview for tomorrow, we see him debating with Billie about telling Chelsea the truth. How long did he debate with Abby about telling the truth about Shane Patton? We all know they will debate this for weeks, Chelsea will over-hear, Nick will grovel, etc...

Across town, Sami is still in the church "confessing" when EJ overhears that her baby might be his. Why don't these people ever learn to pray quietly? So EJ demands an amnio for a paternity test. After he leaves, Lucas returns to find his fiancee freaking out and ready to run off and get married without the church wedding of her dreams. Clearly Sami confides in the man she is going to marry ... no she is a liar, liar, pants on fire! She continues to spin this same old tale of being afraid of what people will say at the wedding. Lucas seems to be smarter than that. Eventually he will have to put 2 and 2 together and realize that she is not freaking out when she is rational. She only freaks out when he leaves her alone. Maybe he will stick around and see who she talks to and what she does. Sami is always her own worst enemy! She loves to blame everyone else, but she usually does it to herself.

Oddly enough, on a day of liars, Billie had the opportunity and the motivation but told the truth to Bo. How about that! Somebody actually learned from their mistakes! Maybe she will listen to him about all the things he said about EJ. It didn't sound like she believed him to me. She may still be a little hard headed when it comes to matters of the heart.

Amazing Grace

This whole transformation of Sami has been a long time coming. I wasn't real sure I would like it, but the scenes in the church today were very well done! I think the things Lucas said to Sami described her transformation perfectly. He said their relationship was like the song "Amazing Grace" ... they once were lost without each other but now they are found. Of course, as a Christian, when the priest required them to come to confession I would have liked him to make mention of how we are lost with the saving grace that they were talking about. If you're going to mention it in front of a priest, shouldn't he mention the real reason you sing it?

Days does a pretty good job of accurately showing things in the church, even if they onlygo to church for weddings and funerals! I loved that Sami kneeled down and said she would go ahead and have her confession right there because that's what it was really all about anyway! I've always thought it was a little sad for people who thought that the only way you can confess your sins is to a priest. I know there are plenty of Catholics who know that they can pray directly to God, but I seem to know too many who have missed that fact! It was nice to see that on TV.

The fact that Sami is still hiding one more lie from Lucas is proof that we will see old Sami again. Now that I have grown to like this reformed Sami I am sad about that. You would think she would eventually learn!

The tables are turned on Chelsea

I love that Chelsea has finally cleaned up her act and yet everything is falling apart on her! She was so easy to hate for so long! Now she is almost like a tragic heroine. She finally gets her life going in the right direction and the world is stacked against her.

Her true love "Lonely Splicer" is all a lie. Eventually she has to see how sweet Nick has been to listen to her pine over this guy right in front of him while he was in love her the whole time. Even if he was only pretending to try to track down Lonely Splicer, that is still going above and beyond when he really wanted her for himself. What she thinks is a horrible breach of her trust she will come to find extremely sexy and sweet!

How great was it to finally see Hope come around and forgive Chelsea? What a great talk they were having ... Chelsea was opening up, Hope was forgiving, Chelsea was holding the baby, then Bo comes crashing in! How great is this police work to think that a teenager was knowingly carrying information for the Dimeras? I'm sure that Patrick did ask questions and use the information that he heard from her, but she was just a dumb, self-absorbed teen who had no idea she was being played. Now her dad is falling for another ploy of the Dimeras and he is going to feel like an idiot when he realizes it and the therapy bill will swell even larger for dear little Chelsea!

Just as a side note... Abe and Celeste- ewwww! Were they really playing the romance music for them the other day when he asked her to move in and help take care of Theo? Please, please no! That is just way gross! You just don't make a move on your daughter's ex-husband! There are some lines you just don't cross! Come on, people!

Shawn and Belle

Shawn and Belle were plain adorable today! I love the looks they give each other. I can't wait until they are back together, but until then the actors are doing a terrific job of showing those stolen glances of 2 people who want to be together but can't yet. Days has been notorious for dragging these types of things out for way too long. Let's hope they keep these two moving forward and toward getting together eventually!

I love that Shawn is taking control and reassuring Belle that he can handle the situation with the immunization so she doesn't have to worry about it. Every woman wants a take charge guy and Shawn won major points with that today. Belle was showing how much she needs him and he was there for her. Now I hope they find a way to turn the tables and let him see how much he needs her. My fear is that they will be forced to marry ( a la Sami and Austin when Will was kidnapped years ago). Don't get me wrong... I can't wait for them to finally want to be married but it would be nice for someone to fall in love and then get married and then have kids for a change on this show.

John and Marlena

Could we please give the super talented Drake Hogestyn (John) and Deidra Hall (Marlena) a real story to work with here? This dream world is just horrible! I feel like I am back in Austin and Greta's secret garden ... and who wants to go back there!!!! I watch this soap for an escape from reality but this is too much of an escape for even me. You have to give me something I can relate to. I can already tell you what will happen - John will wake up with no memory of the shooting. He probably won't even remember Marlena. Sometimes I feel like the writers are just using old scripts and changing the names of the characters!

But oh how I loved Sami swapping the DVD at Kate's press conference. It is definitely time for Kate to get hers! Sami doesn't always do the right thing, but this time she really is trying to do what it best to protect Lucas. I actually feel sorry for her for once. Can't wait to see how Kate tries to spin this!

Days of Our Lives

So I totally love Days of Our Lives and am considering turning this into a DOOL blog so that maybe I will update it more frequently. I have watched Days since I was 12 (just during summers) and started taping everyday when I was 15 ... you can do the math on how long I've been watching!

Well, recently they've gotten a new writer and it has gotten really good again, like back in the day. I love having Steve and Kayla back. Bo and Hope are together, Belle and Shawn are together ... love is in the air. I love it! They have even begun to redeem Chelsea. Who would have thought that was possible?

But what is up with Philip? I don't so much mind him being a bad guy, but let's make it believable. This man was limping from his amputation before he left for his second duty at war (like that would happen!), now he is throwing people around in brawls like he is Hercules. I would believe this if they mentioned some new advanced surgery (like his miraculous no-healing time face transplant) that was performed on his leg. But nobody even acknowledges the physical differences in him- besides how he looks. I know there are amazing prosthetic legs out there, but his was always giving him problems- until now!

The other thing I really don't like right now is Nick and Billie. Eww, eww, and double eww! I was really rooting for him and Chelsea and I hope this doesn't ruin that. I'll have to see what they do with it.

I think there is a pretty good balance of love stories and villains. It is just so well written and I love to watch. There is a website that I love to check for updates (Dustin's Day's of our Lives page) but I haven't found a good blog yet. So maybe I'll just make one.

Bunko

How much do I love Bunko?!!! I went to my first Bunko game last night and can I just say, "Wow, we had fun!" Who would think 12 Southern Baptist women could be so rowdy? Most of us had no clue what we were doing but we picked it up pretty quickly. Maybe the clueless factor made it more funny. Everytime someone rolled a "Bunko" (three 6s) they had to yell "Bunko" and put on a silly pink hat. We had a ball trying to get that hat. Sadly I never got a turn with it :( After an hour of dice rolling and sheer silliness, we totaled up our points and determined who had won the prizes for the night. I love my children, but I sure had fun getting out for a night with the girls for a change!

Aren't Daddies Fun?

I've already written about what a great husband I have, but did I mention that he's a great Daddy, too? This is Alex playing on the floor at my grandmother's house with our oldest daughter and one of our cousin's kids during Christmas. I think my nephew is in the pile, too! The kids had so much fun. They kept screaming for more even after Alex was just too pooped to go on! There's just a difference between a Mommy and a Daddy (thank goodness!). I certainly don't want to do that!

Alex sometimes asks me what women find attractive in men. That picture is what I love about my husband (see previous post also). I love a man who spends time with his kids! There's nothing sexier than that!