Texas Time

This week’s episode was so much fun to watch! Texas has a special place in my heart, since I went to school there and I have a lot of fond memories there. I knew I needed to show these girls a little good old Texas fun and get them out of the Newport Beach! Of course that included horseback riding, dude ranches, Texas BBQ, bull-riding, and line dancing! I am pretty sure all of us girls had a really great time, and there is so much we did that you did not even get to see! It was sincerely one of the best trips I have had with this group since I joined this cast. It was nice to be with girlfriends and have no judgments, no drama. We just let loose and had a good time. No one had to worry about anyone getting them naked wasted or not having their back. Finally an episode that was all fun and no cat fighting!

My daily life and relationships are more like what you see in this episode. I am a very happy go lucky kind of girl, who always tries to find the fun in something! I always have a great time with my girlfriends, and luckily in my day-to-day life I hang out with women who are uplifting. I am still very close with my girlfriends from high school and college, and I feel so blessed to have those close relationships still in my life.

This trip was a nice time away from our all our daily routines and a great time to bond and get to have some quality girl time. I really wanted no drama on this trip, and I knew having Alexis, Peggy, and Fernanda would create a fun energy with no back stabbing. I didn't know Fernanda that well yet, so it was nice to have her around and get to know her a little better. Peggy is easy to get along with, and we have always had a good time together. Alexis and I are both so busy (her with the kids, and me with work), and we tend to spend a lot of time with our significant others, so to have some girl time without the boys was good for us!

I know it looks like Alexis was drinking like crazy and was the only one that wanted to continue drinking, but we all were having tons of fun and all of us were drinking that night! However I must say it was nice to see Alexis finally just let go, unwind, and have no worries (and that has nothing to do with Jim being controlling as some want to believe). You see as a mommy and wife her first priority is always Jim and the kids and taking care of them. She is always thinking about their needs before her own (which most moms do). Therefore it was great to see her just relax and not worry about getting up early the next morning, stress about getting the kids off to school, cooking, dance classes, gymnastics, or some sort of practice. Alexis said to me that first night that she was going to get up and go workout in the morning. I looked at her and said, "Oh no you're not!" She asked me why, and I said that she needed to give herself a morning off and sleep in! Sometimes that is what friends are for, to remind us that we need to give ourselves a break every once in a while. I am happy to report that Alexis thought about it and agreed. The next day she said she was happy that she listened to my advice!

I sincerely believe in every mommy having some me time and getting away from the daily grind of what motherhood can bring. Even though I am not a mommy yet (of another human being at least), I know being a mommy is one of the toughest jobs in the world, and I think all moms should always find time to go be with their girlfriends (who they trust have their back), unwind, and let loose every once in a while. For me it was great to see Alexis in a different environment and focused on just herself for a day.

This episode Alexis said and did things that literally had me laughing out loud. She is truly one of the most unique girlfriends I have ever had. Her quirky ways are very endearing and constantly have me in stitches. For instance we were on our way to a dude ranch with horses, dirty animals, and dust all around us, and she shows up blinged out from head to toe with a gorgeous diamond necklace on, not to mention white jeans and a white Birkin bag. She is hilarious! She was the hottest cowgirl you have ever seen! She even admitted that she went bull riding to prep for the trip. Hilarious! However my absolute favorite scene this entire season had to be when they showed Alexis sharing her list of things that made Jim and her work, and one of those things on the list was that she didn't have to go tinkle every two minutes. I seriously had tears running down my face when I saw that. That was so random, but so Alexis! I mean, what? I just get the biggest hoot out of her sometimes.

During that lunch I asked the girls how you know someone is "the one." Since I have been through a divorce and my relationship with Jeff did not turn out how I thought it would, I am very hesitant to jump back into anything without every bit of knowledge I can get. I ask questions, because I find you can always learn something new and gain knowledge from others' experiences. It was interesting to hear all the different answers floating around the table. I do know a lot of the answers already for myself, for instance for me it is important that my partner and I connect spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically (thankfully Slade and I have all those things). As we all know finances can fluctuate so easily and quickly depending on external factors that we do not have control over, and for me that does not define someone's character. How they handle hardships financially and how they recover or learn from financial hardships is much more important than how much money they did or didn't have when I first meet them.

It makes me sad that it continues to look like this competition is brewing between Alexis and Peggy. I hope that regardless of what is happening in their relationship, that one day they can sit down and work it out. I know they were very close friends at one point, and I hate to see friendships ruined by miscommunication or assumptions.

Overall the trip was a great success! At one point the girls came to my room and got to check out all the handbags and make-up for themselves, because I had traveled with it to Texas for my appearance. They all were very supportive, encouraging, and seemed to really be happy that all my hard work was paying off. Unfortunately I have become accustomed to the other women constantly tearing me down or having something negative to say about my hard work. So it was a nice change of pace for once with this group.

It was hard to watch Tamra and Jeana meet. I know Tamra was going through a hard time, and I don’t wish unhappiness on anyone. Let me also be clear that in no way do I condone physical abuse from a spouse either way. However I do agree with Jeana on a few things. Tamra has admitted that she does things before she thinks them through. Unfortunately it seems she does things that are best only for her at the time, and she does not always take into consideration how her actions can affect others in the long run, including her own children. Tamra certainly can run her mouth about everyone else and talk about what she thinks she knows about everyone else's life, but then when someone does it to her, she all of a sudden expects others to have compassion for her. It's like the boy that cried wolf. I was flabbergasted when Tamra was so upset and expected Jeana to have some compassion towards her, since Tamra is the least compassionate person when it comes to how she affects others lives with her trash talking. Seems as if Tamra is finally getting a taste of her own medicine. She just always uses the lame excuse of, "I just speak the truth." Whose truth? The world according to Tamra and the internet? Well news flash, Tamra, Jeana was just speaking her truth too. She believed you were over dramatic and lied about Simon being abusive. The main difference between Jeana and Tamra to me is that when asked, Jeana gave an opinion regarding her personal interactions with Simon and Tamra based off the numerous times she spent with them and seeing them interact as a couple. Tamra on the other hand goes out of her way to sling accusations and spread gossip and rumors in a malicious and evil way, and she does so without having any real knowledge of the situation. Makes me wonder if Tamra will ever realize that she has done the exact same thing she was crying to Jeana about.

It was nice to see Vicki, Donn, Tamra, and Eddie go to dinner and have a good time together. The restaurant they went to was beautiful, however I was a little confused about something. Eddie left the table because Tamra was discussing Simon and he did not want to hear it. However in the next scene with them in the kitchen his tune changes. Is it just me or did you all of sudden feel like you were watching an audition for a soap opera? Eddie says he is there for her over and over again, and that he is her shoulder to cry on. Huh? I'm confused. Either you want to be there or you don't want to talk about Simon, which is it? I hope Eddie sincerely wants to be there for her and help her through her divorce, but for me it was kind of a cheesy scene, contradictory to the dinner before, and the way it was delivered it felt like he was trying to get cast in Days of Our Lives rather than sincerely being there for Tamra. I can only hope Eddie truly makes Tamra happy and that they have each other's best interest at heart. More than anything I hope Eddie can teach Tamra that she needs to do unto others as she would like done unto her.

Well that's it for this week's episode. On another note, my life has been just jam packed with work lately. I feel so blessed to have so many amazing new projects in the works including my new collection for GCC. I am so happy that my daily work involves something I love, beauty and fashion! I continue my tour de America this weekend and head to Whiskey River in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday night. Then Saturday I have been invited to the Nascar race, which I am so excited about! Sunday I fly back over to New York for WWHL that night and then business meetings out there on Monday. I am enjoying the busy life right now. I might be exhausted, however my motto is that I can sleep when I am dead! I still have a lot more to do! Thank you to everyone who continues to come out and meet me! I have sincerely enjoyed getting to meet my amazing fans in Addison, Texas, Jacksonville, Florida, and Columbus, Ohio, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and this upcoming weekend in Charlotte! Here is one of my favorite pictures so far from all my traveling!

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Till next week,

xoxo

Gretchen Christine