Well, hello once again, this is Billy Jeffrey and welcome to my second “True Beauty” blog post.

First off, if you watched episode No. 2 last night, Thank You! “True Beauty” is one of the hottest shows on television. Over 10 million viewers tuned in last week to catch the drama of my house mates and I and we are all very thankful you’re there with us.

I have received hundreds of e-mails, MySpace and Facebook messages and text messages from people here in the valley and around the world and I want you to all know I really appreciate your feedback — positive or negative.

Wow, what a difference being on a reality TV show makes … lol. My life has literally changed overnight. Sorry for the delay in my blog today; I began my day with 30 radio interviews from New Jersey all the way to Idaho and everywhere in between.

This episode started with the ever-so-popular Chelsea Bush once again, being Chelsea. I’m telling you out there, Chelsea is hilarious. I know there are some “Chelsea Haters” out there and all I have to say is, I don’t know if I have ever met someone so animated and so entertaining while just being themselves in my entire life.

Chelsea did an impression of me that had me laughing most of the night. In the house, I would often make protein shakes for my fellow house mates for breakfast. It was easy to see last night, that Chelsea wasn’t really down with protein and couldn’t really understand my excitement with my daily routine. Chelsea, you’re hilarious!

So, the lovely Vanessa enters the room and gives us this week’s challenge. We were challenged to shop on Melrose Avenue and find the “Million Dollar” look. The catch, we were in teams of three and we only had $100.

On my team were Julia and Laura Leigh. I was very confident in my team’s ability to do well at this challenge. These girls are so hot and personable and that’s what we were going to need going in to this challenge.

Keep in mind though, although we had to stick with our team, we were being judged individually. If you know me, you know I’m a team player and of course I went at it with my team in mind. If you haven’t been to Melrose before, it is a great shopping area with some of the best thrift stores you will find anywhere and the new clothing isn’t too bad either.

Well, as the teams began their strategy, so did I. My plan was very simple, put myself in the position of the store manager or owner – what if someone walked into my GNC store, cameras and all, and asked me for vitamins with no money – how would I react? What would convince me these people were for real?

So I devised a plan, we were going to pick one store and spend our time “building a relationship.” I knew the other teams would be going from store to store asking for “free stuff.” I wanted to find out who the store owner or manager was and build his or her trust. I didn’t want to ask for the clothes for free, but to “borrow” them. I promised the owner I would send back the clothing when the challenge was completed.

Although this plan was a good start I needed a back-up plan just in case. So, I had the girls grab their driver’s licenses before we left the house without the other teams knowing. This, I believe, was the icing on the cake.

The store was called Showtime, and if you ever have a chance to get there, do it. The selection was unreal and the service was awesome. Thank you once again to Showtime and their staff; they truly made it happen.

So, I get a great sport coat, the girls get two fabulous dresses and we were pretty much set, except of course, the girls needed shoes … lol. We found two great guys who bought the girls’ shoes and our “Million Dollar” looks were complete.

Keep in mind, I had no idea the other team was lying about a charity to get money and they even named it! Remember, I haven’t seen the episodes so when you are at home watching it, I am also seeing it for the first time. To be honest, that was tough to watch.

As I was getting dressed, paying attention paid off. I had been watching Nole, the fashion expert and judge, from the beginning – what he wears and how he wears it. I had a few small things that I had picked up on, one being “the tuck.”

I have more than 200 text messages on my phone right now that say, “THE TUCK IS BACK … lol.” Second, you never see Nole without a handkerchief in his pocket, a lesson he calls “Fashion 101.” Well, being from Idaho, I had to learn fast, and I did.

I have to take a second to tell you the scene CJ made backstage. He wasn’t able to buy or obtain shoes during the challenge so he didn’t have any. The fuss he made about not going down the stairs – well, a bit over exaggerated but, if you were there, you would have seen those stairs did have some serious metal points sticking up.

I was so nervous going up there for the runway fashion show. I haven’t been on a runway since high school when I was part of “Teen Board” modeling at our city’s little shopping center!

To my astonishment, I actually win the damn thing. Trust me when I say this, I about fell over: $5,000, I was speechless. I said thank you and took my price tag, turned it around and held it under my arm so as not to boast. I saved it as a souvenir and have it in my “True Beauty” memory box at home.

So, after the fashion show CJ and Ashley end up in the bottom two and they head to the Hall of Beauty. I’ll be honest, I was sure CJ was going to be eliminated due to his lack of participation, respect for the judges and respect for the competition. But, I also didn’t know that Ashley had pulled the charity scam and that Chelsea and CJ had backed out after feelings of guilt.

It was sad to see Ashley go, I really didn’t have a chance to get to know her, but what I do know is she is a sweet girl and is going to do some big things out there. If you have a chance to run into Ashley, this girl will only make your day a brighter one.

On a side note: I have been asked repeatedly over the last few hours if I really sent the clothes back to Showtime. Not only did I send the clothes back, I also wrote a hand-written letter thanking them for everything and gave them my contact information. At this time I have not received a response.

I also obtained the addresses of the two guys who so generously bought the shoes for the girls, and a girl on the street who gave us a pair of her earrings. I also wrote letters to these people thanking them for their kindness and mailed checks to the two gentlemen for the amount they spent on the shoes.

Will I make it another week? Tune in Monday, Jan. 19, when episode No. 3 of “True Beauty” airs on ABC.

Did you miss episode No. 2? Remember, True Beauty replays the current episode on Saturday nights at 10 p.m. Visit the abc.com message boards.

What are your thoughts?

Last 5 posts by newsroom

• Letter from Stacie Badertscher to Lewiston mayor, council - January 12th, 2010
• Local actor has starring role in "Twilight" sequel - March 18th, 2009
• "True Beauty," the final episode - February 24th, 2009
• "True Beauty," episode No. 7, a visit from Dad - February 18th, 2009
• "True Beauty" blog coming Wednesday - February 17th, 2009