DWTS: Brookek are the champions!

I love this show. Isn't it strange that this is the only reality show on TV (that I can think of) where the title is just a title, the trophy just a trophy--there is no cash reward or record deal or TV show or anything attached to winning--and yet, the finale is always more satisfying to me than any Survivor or Top Chef. Here's why: this competition puts competitors in a place they never pictured themselves, where most are totally uncomfortable and afraid. We are truly watching people face their fears, performing in a field in which they have little or no background in front of millions of people! That's almost like telling one of us to sing a duet with Celine Dion on national television. Yeah, you can take voice lessons for a few weeks, learn how to let her take the lead and all, but you've still got a mic in your hands! And oh yeah, after accomplishing this seemingly insurmountable task, you're going to be evaluated by a panel of judges. Also on national television. And then, you're going to be put through a popularity contest, AND THEN you have to stand nervously under the bright lights in your ridiculous costume for an hour and wait for your name to be called to validate your worth as a person.

I mean, yes, these people are used to the spotlight, and some are used to performing. But none knew how to do these very difficult dances. The final two in tonight's finale had both never danced before, except for striking poses while a fan blows her hair back sexily, or doing a sack-dance on the field.

So even though it is only a trophy and only a title, tonight's crowning of Brooke and Derek as the new champions was really a lot more. It was a celebration of trying something new--and did I see Miss Gabriella Montez, aka Vanessa Hudgeons in the audience tonight? Coincidence? Or perhaps a reminder that trying something you've never tried before can bring you happiness you never planned on, which, as it turns out, is actually the most satisfying kind of happiness.

And that's why I love this show.

Until March!

DWTS: It all comes down to this!

As always, the season finale is great fun to watch. For once, this season's off-kilter format served the show well: A group dance with lengthy solos seems appropriate for the finale, and as always, the freestyles are tons of fun, if not also a bit frightening at times.

To me, the freestyles can be more scary than fun if the lifts seem dangerous. This was the case a couple times for me for Brookek and Kym and Warren. And geez, why can't Lancey catch a break? Len gives Kym and Warren a 10 for entertainment--what was Lancey's dance if it wasn't entertaining? Especially if you love to rock out to Tricky, as Len apparently does.

So is anyone else a tad disappointed with this season? I mean, this time last year, Kristi was getting I think her second 60/60, with her dances being knock-your-socks-off fraktastic. She was a season-long leader, but she continued upping her game with every dance. And wasn't Joey from *NSYNC in second? He was such fun to watch! This season, we get the ever-gracious, but somehow not-so-entertaining Brooke, perhaps because she doesn't seem to have gotten much better than she was at the beginning. And then Lance, who is kind of a Cinderella story, but not really, because let's not forget he has probably 10 years of training in choreographed dance! That doesn't make for a very good underdog. Warren would be, but he never has taken his dancing up to a level truly comparable with Lance or Brooke as far as footwork and content.

In short, where's the rise to greatness, the joie de vivre, the X factor? I'm wondering if perhaps the afore-mentioned shaken-up format has something to do with it. Perhaps it's because we haven't been able to compare all the dancers as we used to when the whole group did only two dances per show, one Latin and one ballroom? Did that format help display the dancers' growth and skills better? This season, we've gotten a hodge-podge of dances every performance show, with these stagey smackdown comments between the pair of stars doing the same dance.

I don't know...In any case, something seems to be missing this season, and I can't quite put my finger on it. Suggestions?

This season's DWTS champ: A part of me would like to see Lance defeat Brooke--it would seem like the closet-trapped musical geek beating out Ms. Popular. But then you gotta remember Ms. Popular tried something new here, while the former boy-bander has oodles of experience. In the end, I think it will go to the deserving and delightful Brooke and Derek (really, I'm speaking mostly about the latter, who is quickly approaching Maks as my fave male dancer).

Excellent weekend!

Okay, everyone who has read Twilight or is thinking about reading it or just likes a great romance/thriller should definitely go out and watch the movie right now! Seriously, stop reading this post, click over to Fandango, and buy your tix! It was a Grade-A movie, and those of you who know me know I am a critical movie-watcher. For example: Ten Things I Hate About You: More like 10 reasons to hate romantic comedies; Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3: Curse of the bad writing; and 21: That was definitely not a winner, winner, chicken dinner.

That was really just a Schrute-esque way to show I'm picky; I'm not a total movie snob! I love some cheesy flicks too, like High School Musical (all three, thank you very much!), Stardust, Enchanted--well basically anything with singing or a fairy tale quality to it!

But, back to Twilight: I have read all four books; passed them around to my students at school last year, got our library to order the whole set, discussed the last one in my book club, basically, I'm a Twihard. I went with two girls who are also Twihards, and one who just wanted to go for fun, and we all loved it! We bought tickets to a 10:20 showing on Friday night, and got there an hour early to see that probably 75-100 people were already waiting in line to get in! Good thing we bought our tickets like two weeks ago. (We're hardcore like that.) Dani and I were rocking Team Jacob shirts, and we were not mauled by any crazed Edward fans, thank goodness. I was a little worried; I read one Twilighter actually got trampled at an event with Rob Pattinson, who plays Edward. Yikes!

Like I said, my friend who hadn't read the book loved it, and her hubby, who has read the book, went and watched it with her the next day, and he loved it, too! So initiated or uninitiated to Twilight-mania, male or female, you should definitely go. It was a movie I really can't compare to any other of my fave movies--equal parts romance and thriller! Anyone who would like a more complete review, I would be happy to chat about it, but I know I'm probably boring some readers!

AND big news: Because of this weekend's phenomenal numbers, the sequel, New Moon has already got the green light! Yay! Also, I read that it was the biggest first-weekend box office take ever for a female director! Girl power! Too bad the franchise itself is a bit weak on the girl power, though, imho.

Saturday was a baby shower for my cousin Dave and his wife Liz--their baby Izzie is due December 27! (Family members reading who would like to buy them a gift: they're registered at Wal-Mart and Babies 'R' Us.) And they need to start a blog so we can see the bebe grow! But alas, Saturday night found Jay and I both sick--yuck!

We're all better now, and excited to see a lot of family, eat a lot of great food, play some games, go hunting (Jay), and do some Black Friday shopping (me) this week during the Mauck family Thanksgiving!

Claire while I was gone!

You guys have got to go over to my SIL's blog to see pics of what Claire was up to last weekend while Kyle, Audrey, Carson, and Kerrigan were visiting. There's a pic of Claire sleeping that is hilarious! Conked out in the middle of the living room, shoes and jacket still on, back at almost 90 degree angle on this huge pillow. That's Daddy's philosophy for ya: Play hard and then pass out wherever you lay still for a minute. I think he's snoring on the couch fully clothed right now!

DWTS-The Kimster is WRONG!

Wow, am I the only one a bit surprised that Cody and Julianne's star power didn't carry them through to the finals? I mean, yeah, Cody's title is "Hannah Montana star," while Warren's is "Super Bowl Champion," but still, Disney is Disney. And those tweens can be quite devoted to their stars! But apparently, they're either not big on DWTS or not big on voting!

But I gotta say, did I call the correct source of Cody's determination or what? Tonight in his post-dance interview from last night, he said, "I just really hope that wasn't my last dance with Julianne." Yeah, that's what I thought. He LOVES her! Too bad she's dating super-cute country singer Chuck Wicks...as of August. Hmmm...wonder if that's the lastest on Ms. Hough's relationship status? Oh, to be friends with her on Facebook...then I would know the TRUTH! Can I just say that this Mormon gal is my fave? Living the pure life in an impure environment--I applaud you, Julianne! Great perf tonight of My Halleluja (sp?).

Also: Maks and Karina--steamy rumba! Well I suppose the rumba is always steamy, but don't you think Tom did an insinuating little eyebrow wiggle when he said afterward, "Maksim and Karina--What chemistry." A DWTS couple? That's the buzz, people! I didn't find any reputable sources reporting it in my Google search, but there's definitely buzz, is all I'm saying.

DWTS: Brooke Burke-Don't you just feel sorry for her?

Brooke Burke officially went from "Don't you just hate her?" to "Don't you just pity her?" tonight! Whoa, that was a shocker. For once, the little errors I thought I saw in her dance were actual errors the judges saw! I think I usually just notice little things that aren't that big a deal, while the judges see her beautiful lines and technique and all that. Anyway, I felt so bad for her and Derek during that trashing after her jive. And then I felt sorry for her AGAIN when I saw what those crazy DWTS costumers put her in for their salsa! Those gold fringed pants have got to be the grossest monstrosity I've ever seen on this show, and there have been some deliciously awful costumes, let me tell you. But of course, the salsa was back up to "Don't you just hate her?" standards.

And then on to our little engine that could, Cody. I'm starting to think that the only thing that separates him from The Head is sheer determination and boldness. Cody's fun to watch, but it's a tad painful at the same time. He reminds me a bit of the Texas Giant rollercoaster, known for being the largest remaining wooden rollercoaster. It's good for a few thrills, but it's really very uncomfortable. I'm afraid he really doesn't have much rhythm and I've never seen his hips move well, despite Dancemaster's best efforts.

But then we have Warren, who has all the rhythm in the world, but very little desire to do difficult moves or learn technique. I can see why, with his schedule. It looks like he has the tightest one of anyone. Of the remaining contestants, I would say he's grown the least as a dancer. He was fun to watch in the beginning, and he's still fun to watch. No game-changing surge in confidence like Lance, or fierce energy to stay with his lovely partner as long as possible like Cody, or staggering approach to professional level like Brooke. Just a big man having a good time.

And last, Shoeless Lance Bass. Wow. What can I say? He was pretty freaking awesome tonight. Lacey's choreography was fun and tight, and Lance was workin' that big ol' booty off. The Dancemaster cured him of his pigeon toe with one little tip to turn his thigh out. Their jitterbug was right up there with Derek & Brooke's and Julianne and Cody's. Lacey won the cutest costume of the night with her adorable sailor suit with the red, white, and blue tulle underneath her skirt! (Had to make up for that peacock-booty mini from their mambo!)

My votes went to: Two for Lance and Lacey, two for Cody and Julianne, and one for Brooke and Derek

Encore prediction: Lancey's jitterbug or maybe Brookek's salsa

Ouster prediction: I'm going to say that Warren will be gone, mostly because I think Cody (and possibly Julianne's)'s fans are more fanatical about voting than Warren's.

I'm live here at Quartz Mountain!

This is Kim reporting live from the beautiful Quartz Mountain Resort in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma! What a beautiful place this is! Right on Lake Altus, surrounded by the red, rocky mountains of eastern Oklahoma, dotted with cacti and sporting fall's showy colors, this place is a fall paradise! I've seen probably 10 deer since I've been here, and I've been inside with no windows for most of the day! Last night, I was outside talking to Jay (not much cell signal out here), and I about freaked out when three does came out of the woods not 20 yards from me! They just went abou their business, snacking and looking beautiful!

I'm having a wonderful time working for hours each day with young adult author Lois Ruby, who's published 14 excellent books. I can't really vouch for all of them; I've only read one, Miriam's Well, which I read as a young adult, but I remember I really enjoyed it! She's been putting us through lots of fun and challenging writing exercises, as well as giving us lots of tips and valuable information about writing and the writing business. We share what we write in class a lot, and there are lots of talented writers in there! They're mostly middle and high school English teachers, who obviously know good writing so thoroughly that of course they're naturals when they actually give themselves the chance! But alas, it is quite difficult to be both a teacher and a writer, as I found out last year. It is truly a blessed life that I have as a mother and writer!

On to the babe: She had a great day with Mamaw and Papaw yesterday and today, but kind of a rough night. What about Daddy you say? Well readers, it's hunting season. And we've just hit a cold snap that has made the deer get a little frisky. That means my hub has to be up in a tree watching them move. He will shoot precisely one of them this fall, maybe, but this takes many many hours of just watching them first. This means that Jay is essentially getting a hunting vacation while I was foolishly hoping that while I was gone, he would get a little taste of what I go through everyday! Anyway, he was supposed to have taken Claire home tonight, so we'll see how that goes. Every few days, maybe once a week, she wakes up crying for me. She will bawl and bawl my name, even with Jay right beside her trying to comfort her. I'm praying they don't go through this this tonight!

I think I'm missing Claire more than she's mising me--except for perhaps at night, I suppose, when she usually wants me. Earlier in the evening, I called to talk to Jay, and he asked Claire if she wanted to talk to mama, and I could hear her shout quite vehemently in the background: "No! Nooooo!" What a little stinker! As I said before, No is her favorite word, even when the answer is really yes (which is what I'm assuring myself her true answer was in this case).

DWTS: Julianne's back with a vengeance!

Big sigh of relief, everybody! Gosh, after that heart-wrenching, teary lovefest between Cody and Julianne in Dr. Drew's office, I was a wreck hoping they weren't eliminated! I confess to you all that I shed two fat tears during that! Anytime a boy (okay, a MAN, Cody!) cries, I'm generally right there with him! Anyway, when that awful drum started pounding before the final elimination, my heart was beating, "Not Cody, Not Cody, Not Cody." Whew!

And WOW was that the jive of your life that Derek and Julianne gave or what? Absolutely amazing. I just love how goofy and animated both of them are on and offstage, and when they're together on the dance floor, it's nonstop grins from me! Can I just say also, that Derek is hilarious? When he's not speaking on camera, you can just see him constantly thinking of a new way to contort his face to be funny. I loved when the ever-awkward Samantha said something about how Julianne has taught Cody so much "about dancing..." implying the "nothing else, kids!!" and Derek craned his giraffe neck over to stick his head in front of the camera with an "I don't approve of this!" face. Also his crazy little kick when Samantha announced DWTS is up for a People's Choice award. Ah, Derek. I could go on, but I won't. You're welcome.

And please people, replace Samantha! She done pulled her last straw with me, folks! Julianne is back from major surgery, Cody has gone through a terrible time while she's gone, having to deal with dancing with someone new and intimidatingly gorgeous, and here she is, our blond dynamo, back for her first show since recovering, and what is the question Ms. Dimwit-in-a-ballgown asks? "Cody, what's in been like to dance with the two hottest gals on the show?" or something to that effect. It's been terrible, you idiot! NO ONE on this show would have wanted to trade spots with him, no matter how long-legged and sexy Edyta is! That's it, I'm having my people call Drew Lachey's people...

Introducing Huck!

I'm sure most of you are dying to know all about our new cat, Huckleberry Finn, Huck for short. I named him after one of my favorite literary characters because the cat was about half-wild when we got him, and we're doing our best to civilize him. We had a time catching him! He was one of four half-grown kittens living out in the country in a cat wonderland, at my new stepsister's house. I managed to pick Huck up for a second before he got scared, and then Grant, my mom's husband, grabbed him from me, and oh man did Grant get it! His wrists and hands got scratched up and the cat peed down Grant's jeans, and I thought Grant was going to break the poor cat's back, he was holding him so tight! Anyway, it's taken a few days of Huck hiding out in the garage under a portable clothes closet, us petting him by sticking our arms underneath. But today, he actually came inside and stayed out in the open for a while, not crouching underneath something. And now, when I go into the garage, he comes out to me!

Claire LOVES him, I mean will try to crawl anywhere he does just to try to touch him. And suprisingly enough, she hasn't been scratched yet. She's really pretty gentle, if perhaps a bit sudden in her attacks of gentleness. I tried to capture in this video how excited Claire was to see him--she had just woken up, and it was like she was thrilled to discover he was still at our house. She just followed him around saying "dat" and "mow" (meow) and trying to touch him and doing her happy dance. I kind of caught the tail-end of her excitement here, but you get the idea.

We're hoping Huck is going to be a good mouser, considering we've got a serious problem with those disgusting little rodents right now. After I bought traps, we caught three mice and a frighteningly huge rat in four days, all of these in our garage and Jay's shop building. And we sometimes hear noises in our pantry that sound like the scritchy-scratchy of a rodent. Chills up my spine!! Mice completely FREAK me out, I mean, almost to the point of tears. I'm really a little ashamed to admit that, but they just seem so dirty and creepy to me!

Shadow has not yet had the pleasure of meeting Huck; we've so far kept the cat strictly in the garage, our house, or in the front yard. We really hope they can learn to be friends, despite the genetic pecking order.

DWTS: They're bringin' crazyback

What a great night of dancing! The solos were a bit overpromoted, considering what they actually came down to, and I prefer not having quite so many different kinds of dances, but all the stars really stepped it up, with the exception, of course, of Brooke "Don't You Just Hate Her?" Burke.

I bet Lance's self-esteem suffered another massive blow, what with Len finally stating the reason Sir Lancealot has trouble looking smooth while he's dancing: he's pigeon-toed! Yikes; that's kind of like Tyra Banks telling an ANTM contestant she's a hunchback! (and no, I don't watch that show...anymore). It's like, you're actually struggling against your biologic make-up to win this competition and defeat all your crippling insecurities.

I don't understand why Julianne's extra week out wasn't even mentioned until after Cody and Edyta's dance, before their scores were revealed. Good grief, when Marie Osmond fainted, that clip was shown a hundred times, and for several eps after, both hosts had to make some kind of comment on it. The only person who mentioned Cody dancing with a new partner was Carrie Ann after their dance. Julianne is just as important to me as any of these stars, and I'll feel really bad for her and Cody if he's eliminated before they get to dance again. Whew, that was tough to say all that without one sarcastic remark!

Warren finally got me back into my turbo-grin mode during his dances. Crazy-fast footwork on the jive, and I can't remember anything about his tango right now except that it was good!

Here's what's annyoing to me about these judges: they give great reviews immediately after the dance; no specific criticism, and then they all give 8's. That seemed to be the case with Cody's foxtrot and both of Maurice's dances! Those boys just can't seem to win! I hate it when it gets to this pointin the show, b/c one of them is going home, and neither one really seem to deserve it!

And then, Miss Perfect gets out there, does a solo in which THE JUDGES CAN'T SEE HER FEET, and almost gets dropped on her head TWICE on those crazy moves Derek gave her, but they just rave about it--except for Len, the voice of reason. The way he stated his reasons sounded a bit unfair, like he was holding her to a higher standard, but I really thought I saw some mess-ups out there, which Carrie Ann and Bruno didn't comment on in all their raptures.

On the solos: I really thought these were not so much a display of the stars' dancing abilities, but a comparison of the pros' choreography skills. Lance's and Cody's looked almost like improv, sloppy and all over the place, while Warren's, Maurice's, and Brooke's were choreographed to really fit into the dance and play to the stars' strengths.

Best solo: Warren, hands down. Although I did enjoy Maurice's, it didn't seem to require much skill.
My votes went to: NO ONE, b/c all of a sudden the ABC website needs Flash for me to vote, and my comp is not taking to Flash for some reason...and I thought I already had that? Anyway, come on ABC! Aren't I an American? Don't I have the right to have my say? I call this technological discrimination!
Encore prediction: Warren and Kym's tango
Ouster prediction: Maurice and Cheryl? I don't know; that's really just my hope, for Julianne's sake.

Halfway to the terrible twos!

Claire was 18 months old last Friday, and it kind of passed me by until Audrey commented on it on here! I've been telling people she's 18 months old for a couple weeks now, so it was kind of anti-climactic when it actually came!



Here's an 18-month snapshot of our little girl:

Appearance
Weight: 22lbs
Length/Height: ? (Haven't been to the doc or measured in a while, will try to post this later)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: light to sandy blonde mullet

Favorites:
Word: NO!
Veggie: Green beans
Foods: Tomato-ranch chips, grilled cheese bread, almost any kind of meat, noodles (spaghetti), almost any fruit, esp. strawberries, blueberries, apples and oranges.
Toys: her new toy kitchen and her "baby," any number of baby dolls she has just started showing an interest in; and a Cadoo game I picked up at Goodwill called Caribou (find the balls under doors you have to open with a simple key--she points and says "ball" until I say "your ball game?" and then she nods.)
Books: New faves are the "tactor" book, which is just an informational kid book on milk cows with some tractor pics; this Goodwill book about Tilly and her tutu; the bear book, an illustrated "Hush Little Baby" book with bears acting out Papa's elaborate gifts. Old faves are Yes Yes, No No! (which she can read half of by herself), Big and Little, Curious George lift-the-flap book
TV/Movies: Harold and the Purple Crayon, Elmo's World, Backyardigans, Dancing with the Stars (well she does dance to the Latin numbers!), and High School Musical (seriously, she is transfixed during all the songs!)
Activities: Our daily afternoon walk with Shadow (she has her snack, "counts" rocks that I put on her tray, names everything around her she can, and then watches Shadow take a dip in the neighbor's pond.); riding the four-wheeler or tractor with Dada or Papaw; just being outside doing whatever; reading her books; wearing mama or dada's shoes.


Pets: Da-woh (Shadow the black lab mutt) and our new cat, which we all only call "cat" for now. Will do an intro post with pics on this cute little orange, half-tailed tabby later.

Originals

• The Mamaw-Papaw song: In the sweetest little falsetto, "Mamaw...Papaw...Juice" and repeat.
• Any fat book is a "Bible," including hymnals at church, which she can usually leaf through for a good ten minutes of each service.
  

New skills
Naughty face: sticks out her tongue; surprised face: opens her mouth really wide; in addition to old happy face/smile pretty trick of squinching up her eyes and showing her teeth. (We have a book called Funny Face that tells the boy's face with each change of feeling.)

Counting: I've been counting to five on lots of stuff recently, and she will often try to guess the next number, which is usually "two" or "dive". Sometimes I'll hear her "counting" things to herself, usually saying "two, two, two, dive" or mixing them up a little bit more.

Colors: She can consistently identify red, yellow, blue, black, and orange, b/c these are the crayon colors we have left of her bathtub set, which is where we've practiced the most.

Cleaning: Anytime she sees me wiping down a table or sponging off the countertops, she says something like "kee" because she wants to clean, so I give her a dry sponge or a paper towel and she wipes various things down. She also uses this excuse when she gets into her diaper bag wet wipes or antibacterial wipes.

New words
Down, up, "wa-wa" for water, eat, candy, cookie, sucker (whoa that's a lot of sweet words!), movie, milk (where she used to just say bah-bah, but now she's having milk in a cup more often), meat, bread, apple (for all biggish round fruits), orsh (orange), poo-poo (one step closer to potty training!), elmo, abby, sticker (when we enter Wal-Mart, she starts saying this, I'm not kidding!), color (for crayons or other writing utensils), paper (when we get the mail at the end of our walk, she usually requests the paper--a news junkie already!), heh-woh (hello, when playing on the phone), amen (at the end of a prayer, when we've told her we're praying), sun, moon, stars, lots of animal names: horse, cat, dog, cow, duck, bird, mouse, and sounds for elephant, alligator, giraffe, and snake that really only Jay and I can understand.

Even though I'm with her most of her waking (and a lot of her sleeping!) hours, she still surprises and delights me each day. Life is so much more meaningful and fun with her in it!

My favorite things!

Inspired by Lissa! I'm only doing things, a la Opera, so only things you can have, too.

1. McDonald's Iced Coffee: large vanilla. So smooth and delicious! Makes me sing and dance down the aisles of Wal-Mart!
2. Harold and the Purple Crayon DVD for naptime and bedtime.
   
3. Reporter's notebooks--the medium-sized ones with the spiral binding on top and yellow pages. I have probably a dozen filled with interview notes that I can't throw away!
4. Stonyfield organic yogurt. I don't even like yogurt, but this stuff is delicious!
5. Dole frozen strawberries and blueberries--as good as fresh and keeps longer! Great for smoothies with Stonyfield!
6. My Nike flip-flops. I see everyone wearing these; love 'em!
7. My black Juicy sweats. They've got bleach spots and a fraying hem, but I still rock those things every week (only in the house!).
8. Victoria's Secret PINK lotion. Delicious, mild scent.
9. Sharpies. Felt-tipped pens and markers.
   
10. Panera Cinnamon chip bagels.
11. Those fuzzy socks you wear around the house.
12. Baby Name Wizard: I was obsessed with this book when I was pregnant, and I still keep it in the living room to look up names all the time! All the info you need for most names!
13. I'm with Lissa on Express Editor pants.
    
14. High School Musical. Okay I said it. Laugh if you will.
15. Fiestaware. Every color, vintage and new! Love it!
16. Pride and Prejudice, the six-hour BBC version starring Colin Firth.
17. iPod car radio transmitter. I sincerely hope it doesn't ever cause me to wreck.
    
18. My star necklace with Claire's birthstone and name--from Etsy!
19. My hair miracle products: Chi hair straightener and Biosilk spray.
20. GreenWorks cleaning products from Clorox. Eco-friendly and smells like coconut! You'll have to ask Claire if you want to know if it tastes like it, too. (She didn't drink it or anything; she stuck her finger in it and licked it.)

Looking back at this, I'm so boring. I could go on and on, racking my brain for cooler things I like, but this is me right now. It's fun. Try it!

The Head shall bobble no more

What a gracious loser she was! I'm so glad it wasn't Cody; that would have been totally unfair. Poor Edyta! To take your partner from top half of the leaderboard to dead last in one week flat can't be good for your self-esteem, no matter how hot you are. Although, truthfully, Cody's--along with the rest of Team Cha-Cha--positions were very skewed by the terribleness of Susan.

Edyta and Alec...smokin' rumba (did I get that one right?)!

And loved the shot of Bruno rocking out to Lionel Ritchie. You had to know he's a Lionel fan.

Kenny Mayne is getting a little too full of himself, if you ask me. DanceCenter used to be hilarious; it's getting a little old now. Jerry Rice should take over. Now HE is funny!

Hey, both my predictions were right this week! Go me! Although tonight's decisions were really no-brainers.

DWTS mayhem!

Ah, DWTS, how I love thee, let me count the ways, in High School Musical style:

1. Fabulous! The unheard-of level of ridiculousness in costumes (Susan's long fringe that covered her frontal area...weird and a little bit gross).
2. Getcha head in the game: The intensity with which the stars approach this: someone has gotten injured almost every week (this week, it was Maurice), and yet they continue and dance their hearts out (with the exception of the tragic loss of Misty May and Maks, of course.).
3. Work this out: The pros and stars always seem so lovey-dovey on the live show, but it's delicious to see the drama that goes into those performances. (Although Lacey was a bit harsh on Lance: Griping at him for being in pain? Ouch.)
4. We're all in this together: The team dance was actually kind of a fun addition to this cuh-razy season! I like seeing the dancers help each other and have confidence and pride in their team. Although didja see Edyta and Cody and Lance and Lacy watching Tony and Susan rehearse. That didn't look too much like confidence!
5. Scream!: The judges often make me crazy, but tonight, Len showed that he's not trying to haze Lacey, but she just might be trying to make a name for herself on the show by rebelling at every opportunity. He didn't like her choice to go barefoot (which, I didn't really either, considering it seemed painful for Lance), but he praised their more straightforward cha-cha. Lance and Lacey's whining about the judges not liking "their style" is wearing on my nerves. (I saw Lance on Chelsea Lately the other night, and he said he thought the judges were trying to haze Lacey as the new kid on the block. Whatever...)

Other thoughts:

That group paso was pretty freakin' awesome. But was it really perfect? Or was it just awesome compared to the sloppy-joe cha-cha?

Shouldn't the judges have cut Cody and Edyta some slack? Geez Louise, it wasn't that bad! He was the low scorer of the night, which doesn't really seem fair, considering he had one week to get to know and work with Edyta. Remember that before the show ever begins, the stars and pros rehearsed together for five weeks, and this week, Edyta had to teach Cody two dances!

I kind of agreed with the judges on Warren and Kym's foxtrot. At the beginning of the season, his moves were astoundingly quick and goofy-giggle inducing, but now he just seems a bit slow, a bit more wooden.

The Head remains fragile as the Precious Moments doll she so closely resembles. When Tony dips or twirls her, she looks like she's getting jerked around like a rag doll!

My votes went to: Cody and Edyta (3, not b/c they were the best, but b/c his bottom-of-the-leaderboard ranking was totally unfair), Brooke and Derek (1), Maurice and Cheryl (1), Lance and Lacey (1)

Predicted encore: the team paso

Predicted ouster: The Head, you have bobbled your last.

Since I'm at the bottom of a guilty-pleasure post, I'll go ahead and further shame myself by saying that HSM3 was lots of fun, and I'm super-excited that Twilight tickets went on sale today! November 21, here we come!

Make your own tutu!

In response to Lissa's comment, YES I did make Claire's tutu! It was super easy--no-sew--and I highly recommend it to anyone with a little girl--very fun for dress-up and Halloween! I got my directions here, and Audrey got hers for Kerrigan's super-cute punk-rock one here. Audrey's directions are better, I think, because they call for Velcro on the elastic waistband, which makes it easier to put on. I did a ladybug one with black felt dots fabric-glued to red ribbon. This Etsy seller, where Audrey and I both got our inspiration for our tutus, sells them for $20. Hers are probably neater than Claire's, but mine only cost about $10 to make. Five yards of tulle in your choice of color(s) and elastic for the waistband is the minimum! Then you can add hanging ribbons, a ribbon sash, a flower on the sash, whatever!

New look!

This is WAY overdue, I know. Picking up on the bird association with our last name and one of my fave poems! Bloglines readers, be sure to click over and see.

Get candy get candy get candy

Claire's first time trick-or-treating was great fun. We went to a grand total of five houses, but this ended up taking three hours! Guess that's what happens when you're really just using Halloween as an excuse to visit friends and family.

We could not get the girl to stand still for a solo pic! We've got pics of her with Tyler (dressed as some obscure Star Wars character from the new Clone Wars movie), her with Mom, and her with me, but none by herself, showing off her mom's rather clumsy handiwork at making a ladybug tutu. Thankfully, Kerri managed to get a few of her in her full regalia at Audrey's house a couple weekends ago. In any event, Mom finally had a reason for calling her Clairebug tonight!

After trick-or-treating, we got to spend some time with family and friends at my Uncle Mike and Aunt Penny's house, including my cousin Cristy and her beautiful daughter Hannah Rose. Claire took right to Cristy, even though we haven't seen her in three months or so. She kept crawling into her lap with a book!















We've also got a great shot here of Claire's current hairdo, which is becoming quite mullet-tastic. YIKES! Talk about karma! Jay and my first date was counting mullets at the Sand Bass Festival in Madill! Now our daughter could be mocked in like manner! Horrors! I don't want to sacrifice her beautiful curls in the back with a premature haircut, so all I know to do is pull it up as often as possible. Pigtails are preferable, but she usually yanks those out within 15 minutes. Bows are also helpful, but she enjoys pulling those out, too. HELP!