Fun times on DWTS and Sweet Deals on Little Tikes!

Okay, first off, for you non-DWTS fans, let me get the personal stuff out of the way. We had a great fall break with family, even though none of us are directly affected by fall break anymore! My almost-14-year-old cousin Holly spent the night with us Thursday night after we, along with my mom, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Betty, went and saw the movie City of Ember. You probably haven't heard of it unless you're familiar with the best-selling YA novel. Well, Mom and I had both read the book and were dying to see it, but were a bit disappointed. Examples of how Hollywood messes up a wonderful story:

1. A 12-year-old character is played by a real-life 24-year-old.


2. A giant, man-eating mole is added to the story for no apparent reason. (But at least it gave me the opportunity to movie-whisper "Holy Moley!" and get a good laugh from Mom.)


3. A narcoleptic old man who served primarily as comedic relief is suddenly The One Who Sacrifices His Life for the Main Characters.

The story was still good, but Hollywood has a weird idea of what it has to do to entertain us.

Friday, Holly, Claire, and I went shopping. Fun times! Toddler girl clothes are so fun to shop for!

Saturday, Mom, Claire and I went to Norman to visit Amanda, and on the way back, we stopped at this swap shop in between Norman and Noble. Wow did we find some sweet deals on Little Tikes stuff! I got Claire a play kitchen, doll carriage (which she likes to ride in, too), toddler trike, and dolphin swing for $50!! After hosing and bleaching them down, they're as good as new! Claire has been having so much fun!

As you can see, she got a lot of satisfaction from moving the baby from the floor to the carriage. For some reason, this baby likes to drink its bottle from the floor.

I moved the kitchen inside after Shadow kept trying to make off with various pots and pans or food items in his mouth. Claire likes to go around with a plastic hamburger patty or hot dog weenie in her mouth, so I didn't think it was a good idea for them to share chew toys.

Okay, now for my faithful DWTS readers!! (The rest of you can roll your eyes and move on to something more important.)

Overall, four very lively dances! Definitely a great night of DWTS. Some particulars:

The Head strikes again. All three judges finally comment on the fact that yes, Susan Lucci does get the moves right, but she moves so carefully. Isn't it obvious she has to move carefully to avoid tipping over from the weight of that massive cranium?

I just wanted to cry for Lacey tonight! She is quickly becoming one of my fave pros, and the judges gave her what has got to be the very worst thing for a pro to hear: that they're hogging the spotlight! I don't get this at all! I mean, I can't take my eyes off Julianne or Edyta when they dance for all their whirling and kicking, but Lacey does some tricky West Coast Swing moves, and the judges throw a hissy! They definitely deserved better scores, I thought.

Warren is freaking awesome! What a fun hustle to watch! BUT I don't get how the judges rave about him, don't give him any kind of criticism, and then give him 8's!

Maurice finally got some judge love. He deserves it. And way to speak out on the judges being unfair! No need to take that sitting down (although he was in the rehearsal room).

The jitterbug was totally a cartoon dance, and so much fun to watch. Although it seems very similar to the jive, except crazier. I even noticed some of the same moves (i.e., the ever-popular grab your partner's ankle and twirl while looking out to sea). I'm VERY TICKED though, that Cody and Julianne didn't score at least as high as Miss Perfect (aka Brooke). C&J's routine had way more tricks, jokes, and precision, in my opinion. Brooke and Derek's was great fun, don't get me wrong, but C&J's was the whole package. That Cody Linley is slowly winning my heart! He just seems so earnest and sweet!

Toni, Cloris, what can I say? BO-ring!

My votes went to: C&J (3), B&D (1), Warren and Kym (1), Maurice and Cheryl (1), Lance and Lacey (1)

Encore prediction: Probably B&D, even though I wish it would be C&J

Ouster: Cloris, it is TIME!