It's gross. How is the average American supposed to make healthy lifestyle choices when exercise is synonymous with starvation and deprivation? This kind of approach to health is shortsighted and punitive at best.

I, for one, am tired of pop culture's approach to fitness. Instead of relying on thinspiration for my workout routines, I plan to use the following motivational quotes for exercise in the new year.

1. There are no limits

2. A lifestyle of health

3. The strength of a woman

4. Earn your rest

5. Stay away from people who belittle

6. Mind over matter

7. Just try

8. Check your motivation

Jen Keck (change the quote to "train because you love your body, not because you hate it" since that's what she actually said)

9. Talent doesn't matter

10. Don't give up on a dream

11. Building the new

12. Closer than yesterday

Tell us: Which one of these quotes will help you push past your barriers, so you can live the healthy lifestyle you want?

More workout motivation

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Supplies:

• Artist's canvas
• Painter's tape
• Scissors
• Pen
• Paint

Directions:

1. Make your heart

Lay several strips of painters tape out on the table so that they overlap each other. Use your pen to draw a heart shape, then carefully peel the tape from the table and cut out the heart shape.

2. Make the letters

Stick the heart shape to the upper right corner of the canvas, then use painter's tape to spell out the other letters. Be sure to press down firmly along the edges of the tape to ensure a good seal.

3. Add the paint

Squirt the different colors of paint all over the canvas.

4. Spread the paint around

Now comes the fun part. Gather your little helpers and have them use their hands to spread the paint around on the canvas. Make sure that all of the white parts of the canvas are covered.

5. Reveal your design

After the paint has dried, carefully peel the painter's tape from the canvas.

6. Display your masterpiece

Now you are ready to display your kid-made Valentine's Day art.

More Valentine's Day crafts for kids

Make a Valentine's Day mailbox
Valentine's Day crafts for kids
Homemade Valentine's Day gifts for teachers

OK, I won't keep you from watching this any longer. Take a look:

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Monroe is fresh out of the studio where he spent two months working alongside the notoriously bad-tempered Chris Brown. While we had plenty of other questions to ask Monroe, we were curious what he had to say about the hip-hop icon. Turns out, he could only praise him.

"I enjoyed it because we didn't really do the hanging outside the studio so much," Monroe shared. "We were in the studio a lot, so I got to see the whole full-blown experience every night. It was just full-out. And it was good because he was just knocking out stuff so fast, and it was just interesting to watch his process. I mean, it was two months every night I was in the studio with him. We did a full-length album, and we did everything. So I really got to see everything and it was great. I learned a lot."

How'd a kid straight off a television set and finally stepping out from a mildly successful boy band find himself working with Brown? It turns out the powers that be decided they'd make an awesome pairing and threw the two together. It worked out well, though, Monroe said. After all, the two guys are roughly the same age, and they could bond over their home state of Virginia. Monroe said he learned a lot from his time with Brown. He was especially impressed with the way Brown and the engineer communicated so intuitively and how Brown is such a hard worker.

More: SheKnows chatted with Matt McAndrew

"He would lock in himself into the studio," Monroe said. "He worked with his engineer and they had such a flow. It's funny — when I first saw him working with him, they were working so fast back and forth. But, Chris wasn't saying, like, English. If that makes sense. He was going so fast and saying these, like, stutters. But, the engineer was so in sync with what he was thinking that the guy knew exactly what it was. It was the craziest thing.... You know when you work with somebody so much that you have your own flow, so that was the first weird thing. But, they got it done, and they were knocking it out super fast. So that was interesting."

Another big perk to working with Brown is the star power he pulls in. Monroe saw an almost never-ending rotation of big names coming through the doors of the studio.

"Every night, we had someone like Rihanna or LL Cool J or someone huge come in the room and there was always some interesting characters coming in and out of the studio," Monroe revealed, sounding almost starstruck. "And that opened the doors to features and collaborations.... There's a reason why he only works there."

With so much time spent with Brown and so many rumors always flying about the current bad boy of hip-hop, we wondered what Monroe thought of the rumors. He offered both a warning and a better understanding into Brown's life.

"You know, it's hard when so much is going on around [you], and I can see how hard it is for him. I know he doesn't want that image portrayed," Monroe said. "But, I also know if you continue to make stupid decisions, it's going to have a negative impact on your career. But, like I said, I didn't really see that. I just saw what we were doing in the studio — the creative side."

With such a good head on his shoulders and a kind outlook on celebrity life, we think (and hope) Monroe will go far in the music business. And we can't wait to hear what he has in store for us next.

More: Get celebrity interviews in your email when you sign up for our newsletter

Eugenia and Corinna are not your perfect, femme, lesbian couple. Don't get me wrong, they're absolutely adorable, but in a totally real, relatable way, which in my opinion, makes the ad that much more successful. In it, they're just sitting on a couch talking about how they first met and began to fall in love. As the spot progresses, they're taken into different spaces where they're each prompted to describe and eventually write down exactly what it is they love about each other. This is the idea behind Hallmarks #PutYourHeartToPaper campaign, and the results are natural and beautiful. Watch the whole video here:

If you're like me and love seeing ads that finally show us what modern love looks like, here are a few more that are sure to tug at your heart strings.

1. The Honey Maid Love Commercial

This ad came out last year and showed all sorts of families — gay, straight, interracial, single parent, etc. — living life and loving each other in and around eating Honey Maid graham crackers. It initially had an incredibly positive reception, and the company's response to such encouragement was equally lovely: "As a brand that has been a part of families' lives for nearly 90 years, Honey Maid recognizes that while the makeup and day-to-day lives of families have evolved, the idea and importance of wholesome family connections remains the same."

2. The Honey Maid 'Love' in Response to Anti-Gay Commercial Backlash

And then, because we still live in a country where people fear change, there was the inevitable anti-gay backlash to the company's initial 'Love' Campaign. However, the company's response to these messages of hate was perhaps even more epic than their first commercial. After all, everyone knows the strongest weapon against hate is love.

3. Cheerios 'Game Day' / 'Gracie'

Aww jeez, this one just kills me. Cheerios' Super Bowl ad last year featured an interracial couple with a little girl who learns her family is about to welcome a new addition. Again, there was some bigoted backlash, but YouTube simply removed those comments. This one is super cute, so be prepared to giggle awkwardly if you're at work.

4. Coca Cola 'America is Beautiful'

This one will definitely give you chills. Coca Cola's Super Bowl ad last year featured couples of varying races and sexual inclinations enjoying the simple pleasures of our country while voices trade off singing "America The Beautiful" in different languages. For whatever reason, the backlash against this ad was so strong, people were actually trying to organize boycotts of the brand. A silly notion considering how many interracial ads Coke has run in the past, and they're still at the forefront of the beverage train in America.

5. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Commercial

OK, so I love this one especially because I did not see it coming. And the reason I did not see it coming is part of the brilliance of the ad — the gay couple represented are not stereotyped in the slightest. It's a little surprise wink at the end that pretty much calls you out for making snap judgments, but in a clever, funny way. In my opinion, this is the most brilliant kind of advertising — when you're essentially being called an idiot, but you wouldn't know it because you're enjoying the punchline too much.

6. Tylenol - For What Matters Most

Let me bookend this article with another lesbian-centric ad from Tylenol that I think is astonishing for how it essentially rebrands our idea of "traditional." This commercial is relatively new and reimagines Norman Rockwell's "Freedom From Want" painting with three diverse families, including a pair of lesbian moms who are raising their children with one partner's ex-husband. It asks us what Norman Rockwell's traditional family dinner would look like today, and what we get are three very distinctive representations that each answer that question perfectly. If you're not a sobbing mess on the floor right now, you should get your tear ducts checked out.

More on great commercials

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On Monday, Banks raised eyebrows when she posted a picture of herself with white makeup on her face, along with the caption, "#whiteface."

More: Azealia Banks blasts Iggy Azalea for staying silent on black issues

And when her followers reacted badly to the post, Banks took to Twitter to tell people that she wasn't doing whiteface; she was being an "ice princess" for her latest music video.

However, in the process she proceeded to insult her critics by calling them "crackers," and when people were upset by the name-calling, she then tweeted, "I use the word crAcker [sic] just as much as I use the word n*****... Don't get mad now."

More: Kendrick Lamar and 7 celeb feuds with Azealia Banks

Banks later explained that the backlash for her picture was "#MISOGYNOIR at its finest!!" "Misogynoir" is a term coined by gay black feminist scholar Moya Bailey and refers to anti-black misogyny.

And to further prove her point, Banks later posted other pictures of her ice princess transformation. However, it was her first hashtag that clearly offended people.

More: 3 Ways bashing Perez Hilton backfired on Azealia Banks

Tell us what you think: Was Azealia Banks out of line with her whiteface hashtag?

If your kids and kids' friends are like mine, they probably have an everlasting love of anything LEGO related.

With a couple of ice cube trays and some candy wafers, you can make some LEGO-inspired bricks and LEGO-inspired minifigures to add to your valentines.

Once you get the technique down, these little guys are easy to make. To make it super fast and easy, you can use just one color for the minifigures.

To make your lives easier, there's also a free printable to use for the Valentine's Day cards.

How to make edible LEGO-inspired valentines

Inspired by Sugar Swings!

You can find the LEGO ice cube trays/silicone molds on Amazon or also at the LEGO store. A rainbow of candy melting wafers are available at most craft stores (stores like Target and Walmart also carry some colors now). If making 3 colors for the minifigures is a bit hard at first, you can always use a solid color, which would be just as fun.

Yields 24

Prep time: 2 hours | Assembly time: 30 minutes | Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups yellow candy melting wafers
• 4 cups blue candy melting wafers
• 4 cups red candy melting wafers
• Sprinkle hearts
• LEGO minifigure and/or bricks ice cube tray/silcone mold
• 4 sheets LEGO-inspired Valentine's Day cards printable

Directions:

For the minifigures (3 colors)

1. Add the yellow, blue and red candy wafers to separate quart-size freezer bags.
2. In 20-second intervals, melt each color until all the candy is melted in the bag. Each color should be melted when you are ready to fill the molds.
3. Starting with yellow, snip a small end from one corner of the bag, and "pipe" the candy into the head part of the mold. Fill it only halfway.
4. Snip an end of the red candy bag, and fill the body part of the mold. Fill it only halfway.
5. Snip an end of the blue candy bag, and fill the leg part of the mold. Fill it only halfway.
6. Once all 3 colors are filled halfway, tap the mold gently on the counter to even out the colors and remove any air bubbles in the candy.
7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 until the mold is filled. If the candy starts to harden, soften it again in the microwave in 20-second intervals until remelted.
8. When the entire mold is filled, place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to let the candy harden.
9. Once the candy has hardened, pop it out of the mold.
10. Attach a sprinkle heart with more melted candy.

For the bricks

To assemble

1. Print 4 copies of the Valentine's Day card printable onto cardstock, and cut out individual valentines.
2. Attach LEGO-inspired candy to the valentines with some dollops of melted candy wafer.
3. You can put the finished valentines into individual plastic sandwich bags, or wrap each in plastic wrap to give out on Valentine's Day.

More Valentine's Day food crafts

Adorable 3-D lovebird cookies
Heart-shaped brownie treasure boxes
Fruit Roll-Ups fortune cookie valentines

It has been over 50 years since To Kill a Mockingbird, the story with themes about racial injustice and the destruction of innocence, was published. Now, the sequel, Go Set a Watchman, will be released on July 14 and there is a very special story behind this book. Initially written in the 1950s and put aside, the novel was once lost and only rediscovered last fall by Lee's lawyer.

More: To Kill a Mockingbird author tricked out of royalties

According to Fox News, Lee, now 88, said in a statement, "In the mid-1950s, I completed a novel called Go Set a Watchman. It features the character known as Scout as an adult woman, and I thought it a pretty decent effort. My editor, who was taken by the flashbacks to Scout's childhood, persuaded me to write a novel (what became To Kill a Mockingbird) from the point of view of the young Scout.

"I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told. I hadn't realized it (the original book) had survived, so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it. After much thought and hesitation, I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years."

The new book will be Lee's second, and the publisher HarperCollins plans on a first printing of two million copies of the 304-page book, which has already been described as "a remarkable literary event."

According to BBC News, in a statement, HarperCollins' Jonathan Burnham called Go Set a Watchman "a remarkable literary event" whose "discovery is an extraordinary gift to the many readers and fans of To Kill a Mockingbird."

More: 10 Lessons from your favorite fictional American icons

He continued, "Reading in many ways like a sequel to Harper Lee's classic novel, it is a compelling and ultimately moving narrative about a father and a daughter's relationship, and the life of a small Alabama town living through the racial tensions of the 1950s."

More: 15 Best mean tweets read by celebrities on Jimmy Kimmel — ranked (VIDEOS)

In the latest segment of Mean Tweets read on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, we see just how nasty Twitter users can be as musicians, including Blake Shelton, Josh Groban, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande (who couldn't read her mean tweet without giggling), Jessie J, Haim and Lady Gaga, read the disses about them

But our favorites are the comments that Katy Perry, Wiz Khalifa and Drake read aloud.

Perry's tweet was pretty harsh, and it's clear the Twitter user is no fan of her voice, as the person wrote, "katy perry has a voice that reminds me of balls covered in glass sliding down my throat. nice gal."

More: Tim Tebow is Jimmy Kimmel's latest victim in Mean Tweets (VIDEO)

Drake's mean tweet said, "Drake looks like voldemort with hair." But it was his deadpan expression that made this comment hilarious.

And the best mean tweet goes to Khalifa. The rapper proved he has a great sense of humor when he read, "Wiz Khalifa looks like a homeless woman." And we totally loved his expression.

More: Benedict Cumberbatch introduces himself with horrible new names (VIDEOS)

Watch the hilarious segment below.

The World Mayor website explains "the organisers of the World Mayor Project are looking for city leaders who excel in qualities like: Honesty, leadership and vision, management abilities and integrity, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as the will and ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds." That is a whole lot to excel at! We are so happy to hear Mayor Nenshi is being recognized for his efforts. Congrats, Mayor Nenshi!

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Data is typically boring, but data about sex is something we can get behind. The Schick Hydro Silk TrimStyle Report decided to take a peek into the sex lives of Canadians to get the scoop on the common trends in the bedroom. The report found some obvious results — like the fact that 57 per cent of men wish they were having more sex. They also found that 73 per cent of people are more likely to have sex if their partner is neatly groomed — down there. The good news? Valentine's Day just got a whole lot easier.

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When was the last time someone called you and you got this excited? We hate to break it to this kid's dad, but his excitement seems to stem more from the fact this cell phone is making noise and less about the fact his dad is the one making the call. The boy's dad sounds a little like Chris Pratt, though, so if his excitement is less about the ringtone and more about who's on the other end, we completely understand why the call elicited such a reaction; we'd lose our minds, too, if Chris Pratt called us.

Don't be too demoralized, though, Dad. Your son's clear affection for you was very much on display when he adorably tried to kiss your face on the screen while talking to you. But it's good to know that all you need to do to send your son into a state of complete wonder is hang up and call back.

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What is the Best of Craigslist, you ask? Well, for me personally, it provided hours of LOL-cry entertainment as I browsed some of the strangest Craigslist listings I had ever seen. According to the official Best of Craigslist page, the list is compiled from the best Craigslist postings nominated by Craigslist readers.

Grab your popcorn. It's about to get real. Here are 10 unbelievable Craigslist listings, courtesy of the Best of Craigslist:

1. Free giant cardboard dinosaur

Image: Craigslist

The action shot taken whilst riding a bicycle really highlights the versatility of the costume.

2. Free photo of a free mattress

Image: Craigslist

The photo is free. The mattress is long gone by now.

3. Free Shakeweight

Image: Craigslist

Duh, this is what every person with a free hand needs. But free doesn't always mean free on Craigslist. You have to meet this poster's lofty requirements to earn your free as-seen-on-TV exercise gear, "Must include a worthy response stating why you want the Shakeweight."

4. Holy shrimp! This "scampi" happening!

Image: Craigslist

This poster wins the award for the best puns you will ever find in a personal ad, ever. Take notes. "I figured all the good gills already had a buoy in their life. Whale I was dolphinitely wrong. No squidding! Let minnow, I'd turtley like to hook up sometime. Or maybe you're koi and need time to mullet over? I hope to be herring from you soon!"

5. Idiot needed to beat Vanilla Dome in Super Mario World — SNES

Image: Craigslist

Can someone throw this guy a bone please? He can't beat the Vanilla Dome in Super Mario World after trying 476 times. Now he seeks a random idiot to come over and do it for him.

6. I think I was kissed by a ninja

Image: giphy.com

What exactly went down in this missed connection (w4m)? The OP says, "The shadow blocked out the sun for the briefest moment in time, as I felt a slight pressure on my lips. I think I was kissed by a ninja. I know this is a long shot, but I'm hoping to find you."

7. Let's f*cking Frisbee

Image: Craigslist

The OP sounds like my kind of guy, "All I wanna do is toss a goddamned Frisbee at you, and you throw it back."

8. Looking for six corgi rental for wedding

Image: giphy.com

As if the posting title wasn't funny enough, it gets better. The OP states, "Traditionally, bridesmaids hold bouquets; in our wedding, I want them to hold corgis. Unfortunately, I do not have enough corgis for my bridesmaids. I require six more in order to make this dream come true."

9. Open margarita mix and used lipstick

Image: giphy.com

If you have ever given away used crap on Craigslist, this PSA is for you. The OP rants in response to other Craigslist listings for open margarita mix and used lipstick, "There's a line between upcycling and not knowing when to just let it go."

10. Sharpie on napkin portraits

Image: Craigslist

"I draw sharpie on napkin portraits only. Must send an email with clear forward facing picture. Nothing else is necessary. Upon completion I will hide the picture at a public place in your area and send you instruction (sic) on how to retrieve it. I don't want your money, and I don't want to meet you." Seems legit.

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One mom, who just so happens to be a model from Australia, received a slew of mean-spirited comments from other women, who seem to resent the fact that she has a rock-hard body just four weeks after giving birth.

Erin McNaught, 32, shared this photo of herself in a bikini on Instagram last Friday, with the caption, "4 weeks [post part] and I'm starting to get my stomach back! Aside from lots of walking and eating healthily, I've been doing loads of pelvic floor and transverse abdominus exercises. Still no traditional ab work though which is driving me crazy! #bodyafterbaby"

Most of the comments Erin received were positive, with women citing her as an inspiration for getting her shape back so rapidly. Maybe we should only focus on the positive comments, because the negative ones are downright nasty.

One commenter named Shonyasingh wrote that her photo was "Unrealistic." Another, Smashhappiness, lived up to her name and asked, "Did she have a surrogate?" And, perhaps the meanest one of all, posted by gclovin: "We have to stay relevant in the media somehow I guess don't we? Goodness knows you don't do that just being a mother."

That's true. You also rarely get press attention just being an actor who hasn't starred in a great film or a police officer who hasn't saved a child's life — what, exactly, is the point of that statement?

To be fair, the commenters don't deserve to be slammed any more than Erin deserved their harsh criticism. They are just three of many, many women (I'm guessing they are female) who have been taught to dislike their bodies and feel threatened by other women who appear to have so-called "ideal" figures.

And, boy, do the gloves seem to come off even faster when we're talking about women who have just had babies. Instead of protecting new mothers, many of whom are living through a glorious, but incredibly vulnerable and frightening stage of life, we consider them easy targets and don't think twice before shoot, shoot, shooting away.

In a perfect world, we'd either praise Erin and derive inspiration from her healthy example, or be able to say, hey, that's great for her, but I'd rather do about a million other things (like sleep) during the first few months of my child's life. But more power to her.

This woman worked hard for her body. Every time her baby takes a nap, she probably makes that difficult choice to exercise rather than pass out on the couch. She isn't pretending her abs are a result of fairy dust and genetics — she's being real with women about what it took to get herself in fighting shape so soon after birth.

Spreading negative messages about another woman is never going to make us thinner or, more importantly, happier.

More about body image

Why you shouldn't compare your body to others' bodies
8 Thoughts I have after reading a fat-shaming headline
Secrets to having a positive body image

Week 5 starts with host Chris Harrison informing the 11 remaining ladies that they'll be heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for this week's one group date and two one-on-ones.

Megan is super pumped about traveling "out of the country" to visit the "beach resort place" that is New Mexico.

Meanwhile, Soules suspects Sante Fe will be the perfect place to fall in love, and he's looking forward to "taking these relationships to the next level." Heretofore, Soules suspects Sante Fe is a good place to get laid. Amirightoramiright?

Carly — who, ICYMI, is the sister of Zak from Desiree's season — nabs the first one-on-one date, which she was not expecting.

Carly rushes out of the car and jumps into Soules' arms, admiring how "Southwestern" the house they are visiting is. I love how all the girls say "Southwestern" like it's just a style trend and not an actual region of the United States.

They head outside, where they find... Ashley S.! Ju-u-u-u-u-ust joking. But, seriously, how much fun would it have been if she had turned out to be the love guru? Now that's a show I'd be interested in seeing. I mean, Mesa Verde... Santa Fe... think about it.

In reality, they find some shaman woman chilling by the pool, wrapped in a fabulous pashmina.

To kick off the date, the love guru starts burning some sage, which tells me she is clearly trying to exorci-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ise the demon of sexual repression.

She then makes them dress up like cult members and sit back-to-back with locked arms, like my middle school gym teacher used to make us do — sit back-to-back and work together to rise to a standing position, that is. Not wear cult robes.

Act like it's the first time you've even touched a body, she says. Smell him, she says. Totally, do that. Because I always just run up and smell someone's body on the first date. Dudes dig that.

Carly starts rubbing a chocolate-covered strawberry around his mouth in what may be the most unsexy display of fruit-involved sexual act ever, right up there with practicing putting condoms on bananas.

Which, let's be real, could also still happen on this bizarro date.

Then it dawns on Soules that he didn't hire a love guru; he hired a sex guru. Hmm, what gave it away? When she was giving you pointers on your doggie style technique?

When Carly prefaces them disrobing with a disclaimer that she hasn't shed her clothes in front of a man for a long time, I thought for a split second she was going to reveal she's still holding fast to her V-card, too. But virgins are great mythical creatures, like unicorns, and I'm not convinced three could even be in the same room at the same time.

Just before Carly gets Soules' pants off, though, she stops and tells him she's really uncomfortable. Thank God, it wasn't just me. The secondhand embarrassment I'm currently experiencing has reached epidemic proportions.

Feeling generous/horny, the love guru says they can keep their pants on, but they have to shed an emotional mask. He says he doesn't let himself fall in love; she's afraid she isn't worthy of love.

He gazes into her eyes. "You are worthy," he says. OK, that was kind of sweet.

Carly then sits on his lap, where they breathe heavily all over each other as the googly-eyed love guru looks on unnervingly.

They are breathing like Darth Vader. Or like Kelsey when she got stung in the vadge by a bee last week.

Speaking of Kelsey, she is discussing the story of how her husband died with all the emotion you might have as you recount what you had for lunch the day before.

Hmm, this oddly feels like the start of an episode of Forensic Files or The First 48.

Back on the one-on-one, Carly tells a sad story about how her last serious boyfriend didn't want to get physical and that she hasn't felt beautiful in a long time. It's sad. Mean boyfriends suck. Booooo on mean boyfriends. If you're reading this, Carly's ex, quit being a dillhole.

Interestingly, Carly also asks Soules if he feels like a woman might run away at the sight of his home, and he says it's a possibility. I wonder if it's full of deer heads and corn husks and the lingering aura of a sexually frustrated 33-year-old farmer in a town with two single women.

The group date card arrives and surprise! They're going whitewater rafting. Between this, the zombie paintball and the camping, I'm starting to feel dangerously close to calling myself his #soulesmate. I'll do my best to keep my composure.

Megan is predictably excited to be there — it's like the best day ever — and she can't wait to raft down the Rio Grande. I especially love how she pronounces "Grande" like she's ordering a skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks.

She's a little nervous, though, because "this river could be full of alligators, dead bodies, who know?" Sayeth the girl who still has no clue she is on U.S. soil.

A man from Deliverance shows up to tell them they might die if they stand up in the moving water, causing their limp bodies to bob like corks in the rapids. If that doesn't turn a gal on, I don't know what will.

Jade goes overboard but, on the plus side, we can all rest easy knowing the black box that formerly covered Jillian's ass won't be standing in the unemployment line — it appeared on Jade's ass when she hit the water. Such a hard worker, that guy.

In amusingly dramatic fashion, Jade says she felt her life flash before her eyes. This makes more sense a minute later when she reveals she has a rare condition in which she gets hypothermia at higher temperatures than other people.

Then all of the other girls guzzle some haterade while Soules rubs Jade's numb <del>vagina</del> legs.

Mackenzie is pissed that she doesn't have selective hypothermia, too. I mean, damn, can't we all be blessed with rare medical conditions? Some girls have all the luck.

Kelsey, meanwhile, is fine, y'all. She's fine, OK?!

Later, just as Soules heads out to meet the ladies, OMG, Drunk Jordan intercepts him. Only she swears she isn't Drunk Jordan anymore... just regular Jordan.

She drove all the way from Colorado, and I highly suspect she is still wearing an adult diaper (maximum absorbency) from her road trip.

What's with all these chicks coming back? I think Chris Harrison should wear a long robe, carry a giant staff and block the path of any girl who tries to come back.

Image: Giphy

Settling in among the other girls, Jordan downs a vodka tonic, er, water with lime. Yeah, that's what it was.

She sort-of-halfway apologizes to the other girls, but Kardashley is not having it, y'all. She wants the other girls to gang up on Jordan and bully her into leaving. She keeps making these crazy faces, and I wonder if she is having the same mini-stroke Soules had last week when Britt called him on his shit.

Whitney earns a few extra points in my book by being classy and insisting, "Chris doesn't want a mean girl for a wife." Preach, Whit, preach.

Soules steals Jade away for some one-on-one time, and she asks how he's doing. "I'm OK, if you're OK," he tells her. "I'm OK, if you're OK," she tells him. Oh, gawd, these two would totally be the couple that takes 10 years to hang up the phone: "I love you more." "No, I love you more." "You hang up first." "No, you hang up first!"

Back at the hotel, Carly and Britt talk about Britt's impending one-on-one. Carly says Britt hasn't showered in weeks.

Wait, what?

I'm sorry, but if that's what her hair looks like after not showering for weeks, sign me up for that dirty girl's bathing habits.

When the date card reads, "The sky's the limit," Britt inexplicably starts freaking out — like Kardashley-style bawling. Apparently, she's terrified of heights.

Back on the group date, Soules sends Jordan packing, and Whitney and Kardashley are still arguing about the ethics of mean girl-ness.

When Soules sits down with the women, Megan and Kardashley are crying because, well, Megan and Kardashley. Perhaps Megan is upset because someone informed her she wouldn't actually be getting a stamp in her passport this week.

Soules has a rose to give, and he gives it to Whitney. Yay! Chalk one up for the nice girls.

Kaitlyn adorably calls out the drama girls: "Who's pissed? Who's pissed?" And I am officially giving up all hope for her and Soules because I want to see her be the next Bachelorette.

Kardashley is pissed, though, and she hysterically storms off in a dress so short I'm pretty sure I can see her uterus.

Lying in bed and venting to Mackenzie the Child Bride, Kardashley refers to Whitney as "that," and accuses her of being fake. Pot, meet kettle.

In Mackenzie the Child Bride's most redeeming moment thus far, she tells Kardashley, "I've never seen anything bad about Whitney. I just think that you don't like her." Oooh, burn! Do you want some french cries with that wha-a-a-mburger, Kardashley?

For his one-on-one date with Britt, Soules barges into the one hotel room shared by all 11 girls and wakes Britt, who is basically unconscious, up.

He remarks that she looks just as beautiful at 4:30 in the morning as she does all dolled up for the rose ceremony, which is probably because she is still dolled up for the rose ceremony. Homegirl doesn't shower, remember?

On the way to their secret date, Britt imagines they willl be jumping off a bridge. Or a cliff. Because those are clearly things people do on dates.

Magically, Britt's for-real-phobia of heights disappears entirely when she sees a hot air balloon. I mean, for a girl who was afraid of plummeting to her death five minutes ago, she seems pretty psyched to float tenuously above the earth in a wicker basket of impending doom.

Up in the air, she says it's like seeing the world in a way she never has before. Then this happened:

OK, it didn't. But it would have made this date way better.

Soules and Britt start getting hot and heavy in the hot air balloon, which must have been super fun for the balloon operator cowering in the opposite corner of the basket.

Back at the hotel, Kardashley and Megan tell the other girls that Britt says her main goal in life isn't to get married and have kids right away.

Wha-a-a-a? The sacrilege. How could she not abandon all aspirations in a rush to harbor Prince Farmington's offspring? That shady ho.

Back on the date, though, Britt tells Soules she wants, like, 100 kids. She has clearly never experienced childbirth.

When Britt makes it back to the hotel, she sugarcoats the experience for the girls, telling them about the hot air balloon ride and that she and Soules then "took a nap" in his room.

Kelsey disappears and can be seen headed through the hotel in search of Soules.

"I feel like Britt's date today diminished the importance of my relationship with him. It's possible they continued to delve into the wondrous land of physical affections," she says. With the way this chick talks, I wouldn't be surprised if she stayed up all night sewing scarlet "A's" onto all of Britt's clothing.

She gets to Soules' room and recounts how her husband, Sanderson, died, and she begins to cry. Interesting, because she's so unaffected and glib when she tells the girls the story.

Soules goes in for a hug, and you can see pit sweat the size of his home state — most likely because his body senses this looney bird is about to roofie his ass and imprison him in a basement or something.

To the camera, Kelsey gushes, "Isn't my story amazing? It's tragic, but it's amazing. I love my story." As my 3-year-old would say, this lady is a bag of nuts.

Awaiting the pre-rose-ceremony cocktail party, all of the girls are feeling extra nervous. Nikki, who, until this week I was halfway convinced was a mannequin producers kept moving around, is determined to get some one-on-one time.

Soules comes in with his cute little farmer chin quivering and reveals his very emotional convo with Kelsey and, just as quickly, exits.

Kelsey comically tries to let the other girls down easy. "He knows what he needs to do... it means I have to say goodbye to people, and saying goodbye is hard."

Harrison comes back into the room and drops a bomb — there will be no cocktail party. Soules knows what he wants to do, so everyone needs to get ready for the rose ceremony.

In news that comes as a shock to no one, Kardashley is crying. "She has a story that is so much more traumatizing than mine... ugh!" And she reminds me of a little kid screaming through clenched teeth, "But, Mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-om!"

Naturally, Mackenzie — who was jealous of Kardashley's virginity — is also miffed that Kelsey has a sadder story than hers.

My God, where do they dig up these girls?!

Five seconds later, Kelsey is on the floor of the hallway, screaming and writhing around. A medic appears to ask if she is in pain, to which Kelsey responds remarkably clear for someone in the throes of crisis, "No, I think I'm just having a panic attack."

Interestingly, on Harrison's blog, he reveals Kelsey's mic was off when she went into the bathroom and then she turned it back on shortly before collapsing in the hall. Say wha-a-at?

The medic says they might need to call 911. Really, though? That's weird. When our kids fall on the floor screaming for attention, I usually just nudge their bodies out of the way or step over them.

"To Be Continued" flashes across the scene, and it makes me want to pull a Jordan and drive to Santa Fe to see what happens.

Happily, next week looks to be even effing crazier, with not one, not two, but at least three ladies having total meltdowns. Plus, we get to see them cart Kelsey off in a straitjacket.

Ha-ha, j/k. That's just wishful thinking.

The show leaves us with a clip of Megan wearing a sombrero and, heaven help us all, doing the Macarena. "All I need now is to learn a New Mexico song — or a Mexican song, I guess," she says, then proceeds to do what sounds like a Native American chant.

¡Ay, Chihuahua!

More on The Bachelor

Was The Bachelor's Ashley S. faking her craziness?
The Bachelor Week 4: Did Jillian seriously just ask Soules that?
The Bachelor exercise game to burn calories while you watch

Image: Giphy

But here's the good news — your favorite social activity, drinking, is better for you when you're sick. Thanks to the hot toddy, a warm cocktail infused with herbal tea, lemon and honey, the symptoms that accompany the flu can be relieved, and we couldn't have been more excited.

Image: Giphy

The best liquor to use is whiskey or bourbon, as the alcohol helps thin the blood to relieve congestion, and will have you knocked out in no time.

Image: Giphy

Be careful, one too many and you might end up back where you started.

Image: Giphy

More warm cocktails

Slow cooker cocktails that practically make themselves
20 Bourbon cocktails to cozy up this fall
15 Time-saving holiday slow cooker cocktails

I may be back to routines and embracing my healthy smoothies, but I still want something sweet at the end of the day.

I love nut milks; they're amazing in my smoothies, perfect with a bowl of granola or just straight up, but I'm trying to use them more in my cooking and baking. cashewmilk is exceptionally creamy and delicious, making it perfect for recipes that I want to change up so that I can indulge with a little less guilt!

This cashew butterscotch pie is extremely simple to make and extra creamy from cashew milk.

There's even crushed cashews in the chocolate crust, adding an extra crunch to each silky bite. You'll be surprised at how quickly the pudding comes together over the stove... and how quickly the slices will disappear!

Cashew butterscotch pudding pie recipe

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 10 sheets chocolate graham crackers
• 3/4 cup roasted cashews
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 1 envelope gelatin
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (I prefer salted, but unsalted is good too)
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups Silk® cashewmilk, divided
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 egg yolks

For the cashew whipped cream:

• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup raw unroasted cashews
• 1/2 cup Silk® cashewmilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a pie pan by lightly spraying with coconut oil or baking spray.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until you have fine crumbs. You should have about 1-1/2 cups of chocolate graham cracker crumbs. Add the cashews and sugar and pulse until the cashews are finely chopped. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture comes together and the butter is evenly distributed. Transfer the crumble into a pie pan and press into an even layer along the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake the crust for about 12-17 minutes, or until it is baked. Set on a wire rack to cool.
3. Meanwhile, make the pudding filling. In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in 2 tablespoons of Silk® Original cashewmilk. Set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the back of a small paring knife. Drop the bean and the seeds into the melted butter. Once the butter begins to bubble and brown, stir in the brown sugar and salt until the sugar is coated with the butter. Turn off the heat for a moment.
5. Whisk together 1/4 cup of the Original Silk® cashewmilk with cornstarch until smooth and free from lumps. Add the egg yolks and whisk until blended.
6. Pour the remaining cashewmilk into the brown sugar while whisking. Whisk in the cornstarch-milk-egg yolk mixture. Turn the heat back on and bring it to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently. Once the pudding begins to bubble and thicken, lower the heat to a simmer, and whisk constantly, allowing the pudding to thicken a little more until you are able to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and discard the vanilla bean.
7. Pour the pudding into the cooled crust. Place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours to cool and thicken.
8. Make the cashew whipped cream by placing raw cashew, Silk® Original cashewmilk and vanilla extract in the blender. Pulse until the nuts are chopped, then blend on high speed for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the blender periodically. Sweeten with confectioners' sugar. Blend until thick and creamy. Chill in a tightly sealed container.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored collaboration between SheKnows and Silk. All opinions are 100% my own.

As so many other single fathers have lamented, one of the most intimidating parts of being a single dad to a daughter is learning how to style hair. For most men, especially men with short hair, this is a "sink or swim" moment in caring for a young daughter.

And like many other great single fathers before him, Greg decided to face the problem head on. Greg asked the cosmetology department at his college for help in learning how to do his little girl's hair each morning. Greg sacrificed his lunch breaks to get a crash course in beauty school with tutorials from a college cosmetologist.

Greg, a.k.a. the Father of the Year, caught on immediately. As he tells BuzzFeed News, "It blew my mind how easy it was to do a bun. I thought it was something super special, like real intricate, especially the one where you don't finish pulling the ponytail."

After mastering the ponytail and the bun, Greg was ready to move to the next level: complex little girl hairstyles that even moms have a hard time with. He says, "I spent a couple hours just working on a mannequin, and she showed me how to do a bun, a French braid, all the different styles."

Moving from the simple ponytail to the bun to the French braid, Greg is now a pro-hairstylist. He has shared his new passion for styling his daughter's hair on Facebook, where he is now affectionately known as the "hair dad."

Greg posts pictures of his own hairstyle creations to Facebook and receives hair tutorials from other parents in return. Greg reveals that a few mothers have even asked for his help in learning how to do their daughters' hair. If that's not street cred, I don't know what is.

Perhaps the best part of Greg's adorable story is how it breaks down the bumbling single dad stereotype. This is the new millennium. Families come in all shapes and sizes. Greg has just proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that single dads can be just as dedicated and nurturing as single moms.

For Greg, learning this new skill was worth it because it gave him yet another opportunity to bond with his daughter. Greg says that doing his daughter's hair is the best part of his day, "My favorite part of the day is when I wake her up and get her out of bed, and she’s still sleepy, so she nuzzles her face into my neck. That love right there, feeling that love and that trust is the most rewarding part."

More on dads

Say what? Ryan Reynolds says his daughter's name isn't Violet
Why dads are basically superheroes
Dads bare all for breastfeeding

One of my favorite meet-cutes, a story called "Challenged" by Toni-Michelle Nell, opened our book about true love. Toni-Michelle was 26 and had just bought her first home. When she stopped by her friend's house right after the closing she met a man named Martin. His clothing was horribly coordinated, basically all one color, and he stammered and stuttered when she politely tried to engage him in conversation. Toni-Michelle assumed the man was developmentally challenged. A few days later she visited her friend to borrow a drill and Martin was there again. Toni-Michelle was horrified when her friend suggested that Martin drive her home and put up the blinds in her new house.

There was no way out of it. Martin, horribly attired once again, drove her home and proceeded to install her blinds for her. His speech problem was even worse than the first time they met, but Toni-Michelle noticed that he spoke better when his back was turned to her. When he asked her out, she surprised herself by accepting. Four months later, they were married! Martin eventually explained that he had fallen for her instantly and had been tongue-tied because she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. And the clothing? It turns out Martin is colorblind.

Toni-Michelle concludes her story by saying, "I guess it goes to show you that you cannot always go by first impressions. If I had, I would have missed out on being married to the most wonderful man on the planet for the past eight years."

Another meet-cute that I love is the first story in our book Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game. In "Love, Off the Record" Amy Gray Light tells us how nasty her now-husband was the first time she spoke to him, having been told to interview him about his latest architectural design by her magazine editor. He was surly and uncooperative, upset that the editor had assigned the story to a junior writer. Years after they were married, she learned that her husband had called the editor-in-chief to complain and had been told that this was a setup and that he absolutely had to meet her and take her out to lunch. They've been married 23 years now.

So this upcoming Valentine's season, keep your heart and mind open, because you never know; that disastrous first encounter could be the beginning of a great romance!

Sometimes a meet-cute is a "Miracle Meeting" like in this story from Chicken Soup for the Soul: A Book of Miracles.

Image: hafecheese via Flickr

My kids are growing up in a town not unlike the one I grew up in, where there are more faces that don't look like us than ones that do. That didn't bother me growing up. Why should it have? I had friends of all races. We played with white Barbies and black Cabbage Patch Kids. We didn't care.

And then high school happened. Somehow in the blink of an eye, race became important. I had my white friends who were in most of my classes. I had my black friends who were everywhere else. Then you had the smart kids. The band kids. The athletes (believe it or not, I was all three of those at one point). As a smart black kid, you were sometimes accused of "talking white." As a smart black kid, you were sometimes praised (uncomfortably) for being "articulate," as though a black kid speaking the Queen's English was a surprise.

The uncomfortable truth is that for too long, many of us have put each other in boxes when the fact is, there is no more box. Or rather, there shouldn't be.

As women, each of us has our own story to tell. Some of us are nerds and we like Jay-Z, but we also listen to Taylor Swift sometimes and yeah, we know what ratchet means, and yes, this is my real hair, but no you can't touch it, and just because I'm black, please don't look at me when referencing life in the inner city because even though I'm from Mississippi, I grew up in the suburbs.

We marry our high school sweethearts or the guy that we thought would only be a one night stand or the woman we met through mutual friends. And sometimes we think these people are the loves of our lives and instead they abuse us, but we don't let that write the entire story of our lives.

And some of us have jobs where we carry guns or train people who carry M-16s on a regular basis. Some of us are viral internet sensations. Some of us specialize in taking sexy, empowering photos. Some of us stay at home to take care of our kids. Or our grandkids. Or our parents. Or our dogs.

How could you possibly put all of that in a box?

It's no accident that we have chosen this month — Black History Month — to celebrate and recognize how diverse we are as women. We will spend these 28 days sharing, talking, laughing, crying — embracing who we are as women. Come in, have a seat, stay a while. Get to know these women who have, in many cases, bravely agreed to share their lives with us. These women who have agreed to help us illustrate our point: that we are all women, living our lives on our own terms. Writing our own stories.

And that's what makes us so beautiful.

Read more in our Diversify the Story series