Meeting Jerry Rice and Steve Young was so cool. They are both really nice guys, and so enthusiastic about being part of the show. Steve introduced me to his wife, and she is a really big fan of BL. Steve said when he mentioned to her the opportunity to appear on BL she immediately demanded he do it! It was really cute.
But of course, being from LA I don’t know a lot about the NFL. So, before I met them, I was texting and IMing with Kyle Brandt (former Philip) and Bryan Dattilo (Lucas) about Jerry and Steve. I asked them all sorts of questions, and got tons of info about their careers. They both helped me out, and of course, couldn’t believe I was going to be meeting them. Better than that – I brought Ben with me that day. We were shooting that challenge on a Saturday, so Ben came to enjoy the afternoon on that beautiful campus with me.

And Steve Young taught him to throw a football!!!! How cool is that? Someday, I bet he’s going to love that story. I got a couple cool shots of them in action too. But all in all, it was a pretty spectacular day.

How hilarious were those 80’s outfits???!!! Hideous, right? I mean, the teasing, the crimping, the rubber bracelets… it was all working. And I loved Bob’s step class. Jillian’s team break-dancing?? All of it was just fantastic. Ed and Bob in competing short shorts. And Jill’s leopard stretch pants were stand-outs for me. And I gotta admit – I was sent back in time getting to drive that Delorian. Because who doesn’t LOVE that movie??? A side note, is that my hair was teased so high, that I literally had to scooch low in the seat so as not to ruin my hairstyle by rubbing it against the roof of the car.

Okay, so you're probably noticing that pickles keep appearing in the safe house. Uh huh - Sami's not the only one who's pregnant! :) I went through about a 2 month phase when I just couldn't get enough pickles. I love them!! And, to be honest, I still don't turn one down at the deli at lunch. Or anytime really. Sometimes we shoot those scenes at like 9am, and I am still rarin' to go - psyched to bite into a cold, delicious, sour treat.
So, I asked the prop department to put them in the fridge in the safe house, and then it just became this running gag. You'll see them appear several more times in upcoming episodes.
and, really - isn't Sami so emotional these days?? ha. not hard for me to portray those scenes!! When I was pregnant with Ben, I was seriously an emotional roller-coaster. I like to think it's not as severe this time as last. I am able to remain rational. With Ben, I seriously wept, sobs into my pillow, for a good solid hour because Tivo didn't tape my favorite show. My husband was so unprepared with my weepiness. he would pat my back while trying not to laugh. Luckily I can laugh about it now, but I do relate to what Sami's going through - and let's be honest, she's always been a bit high-strung anyway. So it's not entirely surprising that those hormones are driving her all over the place.

Wow. Talk about drama, huh? I thought that was just part of my day job! Having now been through several seasons I am often reminded how important it is to put things in perspective. Bill, Julie, Neil (season 4), not to mention the emotion we saw from the boy s in blue in Season 5, all talked about how extraordinary this journey is. Being a part of the Biggest Loser is such an overwhelming experience.