I must be psychic

I be-bopped over to Mel's blog and saw she was doing a blog tag - and I knew - knew that she had tagged me. Anyway, I'll play along:


Four movies you would watch over and over:
When Harry Met Sally
Titanic
Roman Holiday (Audrey Hepburn/Gregory Peck version)
It Happened One Night

Four places you have lived:
Pasadena, Texas
Houston, Texas
Katy, Texas
Baytown, Texas (I know, I get around)

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Desperate Housewives
Dancing with the Stars (when it's on)
Ellen Degeneres
Seinfeld re-runs

Four places you have been on vacation:
Hawaii
New York
Las Vegas
Los Angeles

Four websites you visit daily:
Cathy
Sandra K. Moore
Laura Drewry
The Cupcake Police

Four of your favorite foods:
Pizza
Tacos
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae (Weight Watcher's 2 points)
Chicken Crispers (at Chili's)

Four places you would rather be right now:
Paris, France
Rome, Italy
New York
Las Vegas

Tag four friends you think will respond:
Okay, Mel tagged the two people who ever read my blog so...I'll just have to let these people know they've been tagged. hehehe
Honey
Laura Drewry
Jan Conwell
Pamela Hathaway

Sinking of the Titanic

I have a friend who has no luck when it comes to sailing on cruise ships. Seriously, I swear this woman was on the voyage of the Titanic - in another life of course.

A few years back this friend went on a cruise with her sister and mother in tow. Her mother and sister flew in to Houston and the three of them drove to Galveston to board the ship. As it set sail, a tropical storm entered the Gulf. And as is the case for any storm that enters the Gulf, the National Weather Center makes predictions as to when and where it will make landfall. This prediction can change 50 times in the few days before it actually makes landfall. But it's on these predictions that ships make decisions about what they're going to do.

So anyway, the prediction that the decision was based on said that the storm was headed towards the Texas/Mexico border - first stop of the cruise ship. The ship decided it couldn't take the chance and turned around, deciding to dock in New Orleans instead.

As the ship docks in New Orleans, they learn that the storm has taken a turn and is headed straight for them! It's too late for them to pull out, so they have to stay and ride it out. Meanwhile, because the storm is headed towards them and they have no choice to stay, the crew won't allow any of the passengers to leave the ship! So, not only do they not get to go to the exotic ports of call they were supposed to go to, they can't even enjoy the one they were forced to stop at.

A lot of complaints were made and those making the complaints (my friend included) received a coupon for another cruise (only discounted - and not by that much). It had an expiration date and I don't think my friend got to utilize it before it expired.

Anyway, her mother finally talked her into going on another cruise out of Galveston. They left last Sunday. (Neither of them wanted to go again during hurricane season.) I spoke to my friend on Friday and she was sick as a dog and unable to get in to see her doctor. I'm sure that made for a fun cruise.

You know, now that I think about it, it's not just cruises she has problems with. Last September she scheduled a flight home to visit her family. Had it booked months in advance. And it just so happened that the weekend she was supposed to leave was the weekend we had a visit from Rita (that's Hurricane Rita to you) and all the flights were cancelled.

This friend has tried to talk me into taking vacations with her and the more I think about it, the more I'm glad they haven't worked out. I love you Suzanne but you and vacations just don't mix. :)

And the Oscar goes to...

Tonight the 78th Annual Academy Awards is on. I plan on watching but as I looked at the list of nominees, I realized, I haven't seen anything that is nominated.

Seriously, the only movie up for any awards, that I've seen is The Constant Gardner (loved the movie, the book it was based on - not so much). I was present at a showing of the Star Wars movie but it never grabbed my attention and I couldn't tell you much that happened in it. (It also marked my last date with this man I was seeing - but that's another story.)

So if I haven't seen anything up for an award, why do I want to watch the show? For the glitz and glamour. And just because I haven't seen anything doesn't mean I don't have an opinion of who should win. ;o)

Here are, in my "I have no basis for my opinion" opinion, my picks for tonight's awards:

• Best Actor - Joaquin Phoenix
• Best Supporting Actor - George Clooney
• Best Actress - Felicity Huffman
• Best Supporting Actress - Rachel Weisz (remember, I've seen this one!)
• Best Animated Feature - Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Johnny Depp did voices - that's enough for me)
• Best Achievement in Directing - Good night, and good luck
• Best Motion Picture of the Year - Tie - Crash and Good night, and good luck
• Best Adapted Screenplay - The Constant Gardner (In my opinion, they improved on the book - big time)
• Best Original Screenplay - Good night, and good luck

There you have it. My top picks, based (with the exception of The Constant Gardner picks) solely on who I like and not at all on who may be deserving.

Good luck to all the nominees.

Gossip Mongers

I admit, I love celebrity gossip. In the morning, as I get ready for work, I put on the news. All I'm really interested in is 1) celebrity gossip and 2) weather report (gotta know how warm to dress).

I subscribe to People Magazine. I read the headlines on the tabloids as I wait in line at the grocery store (I won't pay money for those though...so if you want to send me your copies when you're done..... ;o) ).

But, where's the line of what's acceptable to write about/ask about a celebrity? I read an article online yesterday (and I wish I had saved the link, I would post it here) where Bruce Willis went off on reporters. He was doing a press junket for his upcoming movie 16 Hours and got asked questions about his personal position on matters, unrelated to his movie. Expletives flew left and right as he railed on them about the questions they were asking. And all I could think was good for him. Everyone, celebrity or not, deserves to have their privacy respected. The individual should get to determine what is public and what's not. No one should ever have to be in a position where they feel they have to explain or defend their thoughts or opinions. He wasn't doing an interview with Barbara Walters (where anything is fair game and you know it going in) - he was doing a press junket for his movie, and that's what the questions should have been about.

On the other hand, for people, like Tom Cruise, who behave like an insane person at every opportunity, I think they've consciously given up their right to privacy. I think it's all fair game. (I think he gets off on the publicity.) I say this knowing that I have no interest whatsoever in knowing anything that happens in that world. He's gone off the deep end and he's inviting the publicity he's getting. For people like that, I have no sympathy.

I still like hearing the gossip and I have no intention of giving up my People Magazine subscription any time soon but I think reporters should respect the privacy of celebrities and boundaries of the interview topic/intent. Celebrities that behave like lunatics hopped up on drugs though, is an entirely different matter.

But hey, that's just my opinion.

Last Dance

Tonight they crown the winner of Dancing with the Stars. In my opinion, Drew Lachey deserves to win the title. He's been consistent throughout the competition and all of his dances have been fun to watch (which, for me, is important). His freestyle dance on Thursday was awesome! He deserved every 10 he was awarded on Thursday - again, in my opinion. He got every one of my votes and I couldn't put in all I wanted because it was impossible to get through (and I kept calling until they told me it was too late to call) - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Next there's Stacy. I really like Stacy. She's pretty, she seems genuinely sweet and she's a good dancer. But, it was several weeks before I was impressed with what she'd done on the dance floor. She'd done fine but nothing that made me wanted to vote for her and I really didn't see / understand the fascination with her. Now, though, I'm a fan. I wasn't, however, impressed with her freestyle dance. There was so much they could have done with that and it was so plain, so unspectacular. The judges were right when they said that she'd set the bar high for herself and that she just didn't give what they'd (or the fans) expected. I wouldn't be heartbroken if she won but, in my opinion, I think Drew deserves it more (and I'm speaking from an overall perspective - not just the one dance).

Jerry's the one that scares me. Personally, I don't think he deserves to be in the finals, much less win the title. I thought he should have gone several weeks ago but obviously he has a large fan base - and that's what scares me. Realistically there could be a three way tie tonight (if Jerry got the most fan votes and Drew got the least) and if that happens, Jerry would walk away with the trophy (fan votes trump judges votes) and he so does not deserve it. Don't get me wrong, he has worked hard but he has struggled from day one. He still does not look like a dancer. Having said that, I will say that Thursday was, by far, his best performance to date. His freestyle dance was a lot of fun. He deserved to place second in that category. However, that does not entitle him to the title. If he wins, I will be upset.

Now the other thing, I'm excited that the other dancers will be back tonight. The thing I don't understand is, why the heck does the show have to be for TWO FRIGGIN' HOURS? Last year the longest show was one hour - period. In that one hour the couples danced their dances (even when they had two dances in a night) and one was eliminated before it was over - all within an hour! This season though, the shortest show was an hour? And that was elimination nights. At this rate, in a couple of "seasons" Dancing with the Stars will be on seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Seriously, I like the show but don't cause the viewers to burn out. We have lives too, you know.

But hey, it's only my opinion. :-)

Here I come to save the day

My first "real" day at work (you know, when other people are actually there) at my new job, I go out to my car, turn the key and hear "tick". That's it..."tick". Not the Vrrrroooooooommmmm you expect to hear. Just "tick".

Just great, I think to myself.

I go in and make a few phone calls and get a ride into work. (My friend offered to get jumper cables from her boyfriend to bring over but since neither one of us know how to jump-start a car, I didn't think that was such a good idea.)

I get in about an hour late - on the first day - but oh well.

Anyway, I finally get home that evening and my friend's father agreed to come over to help me get the car started (he lives one block over from me). Since my car was in the garage, I thought I'd get it out to the driveway before he got there, saving him that trouble.

I put my car in neutral and slowly start to push my car out of the garage, hoping it goes straight so that it doesn't hit the garage walls on the way out, doing damage to the car and the garage. It did great until it hit the slope of the driveway. Suddenly it starts flying down the driveway, heading straight towards my mailbox (which is all brick because my neighbor kept mowing the "post" mailbox down with her car). So what do I do?

Being the ever-calm in a crisis person that I am, I grabbed the bumper and tried to stop it that way.

Yeah, and when that didn't work (gee, don't know why it didn't) I ran to the side of the car, flung open the door and slammed on the brakes, just shy of it smashing into the mailbox. Did I mention that my neighbors were out in force and witnessed this great feat? Uh huh, not at all embarrassing. LOL

Tune in tomorrow when I leap a tall building (or a Barbie dream house) in a single bound. ;o)

People are funny

I recently (think yesterday) changed jobs at work. I didn't leave the company. I didn't even leave the building...I just moved to a different department, two flights above where I worked before.

But, people acted like I was moving far, far away to a land where I couldn't communicate anymore. I forward to a co-worker an email I receive that gives updates on soap operas she watches. At my going away luncheon she approached me and asked if I was going to continue to send them to her, like by changing groups I could no longer communicate with the old group. My reply was something like "I'm going to the third floor, NOT a third world country that doesn't have internet access. Of course, I'll continue to forward the emails."

And suddenly everyone from my old group wants to schedule lunch with me. I'm not anti-social or anything but I usually take lunch in my office and read a book. I like to get out once in a while but it's rare that I do, and rarer still that I go with someone from my old group. But now that I've left the group, I'm suddenly in demand and my lunch schedule is booked into the next millennium.

People are funny.

Ex-sighting

I got divorced in 1991. I haven't seen or heard from my ex-husband since 1993. But, I know exactly where he is tonight. He's in California, apparently working as a camera operator for Dancing with the Stars. Did you see the shot of the floor and someone's feet? My ex did that shot. If you don't believe me, come watch our 1988 Hawaiian vacation, that'll make a believer out of you. ;o)

Anyway... the competition is getting so much tighter. I think the final dance off will be between two of the following three: Drew, Stacy and Lisa. I wasn't a big fan of Stacy's in the beginning. I really didn't see what was so special about her dancing but the last two weeks, I'm convinced. I really think she deserved all the 10s she's gotten. I think she has a good shot at winning the competition.

Lisa has come so far, in my opinion. She's fun to watch. Tonight though, I didn't think the song fit the dance. I like the song but it made the dance seem slow and draggy. I tried tuning out the music and I enjoyed the dance more but the two didn't seem to go together. It helps me though, knowing that they don't actually pick the song they dance to...it's kind of "given" to them. Knowing that, I think they did a darned good job with what they had to work with.

I wasn't overly impressed with Drew tonight. He was technically "perfect" I suppose but I was watching thinking I wasn't really seeing him cover new ground. It looked like the same old dances to me. I guess what I'm saying is it didn't seem "fresh" to me. I really wanted to see him shine and I didn't see that tonight.

I love George. I really hope he makes it through tomorrow. Next week should probably be his last week but I really want to see him make it to next week. He's so much fun to watch. :)

I think Jerry needs to go next. Let me rephrase that, I want to see him go next. There are several reasons but of the remaining dancers, he seems the least comfortable with it. Dancing doesn't seem to come naturally to him. It appears forced and it's not as enjoyable to watch.

So that's what I think. What do you think?

I want to live in a soap opera

Seriously. Think about it.

You're driving down a winding road, down a hill, in a mudslide and lose control of your car. It goes off the edge of the cliff and your car goes up in flames. But your body is never found. That is, until you show up at your husband's (he thought you were dead) wedding, right after the minister has pronounced them man and wife.

Did I mention that the intervening years didn't prove a financial hardship either? Despite the fact that you had no money on you and never accessed your trust fund (well actually, you couldn't because before the fire was put out on the car, your loving family had divvied up your assets).

Or, if you were a particularly awful person before the car went up in flames, you lose your memory and come back as a sweet, kind, generous, giving person - and everyone accepts you.

You're offered jobs, hand over fist. And none of them expect you to work more than six hours a year, five of which are spent fighting with your arch enemy, who, of course, shares your cubicle. But never fear, if the boss complains, you buy the company and fire their hineys.

Then there's the facts of life. Kids are a gift from God. As such, they are perfect from the beginning. They sleep through the night and apparently are self sufficient from birth, as mommy and daddy galavant around town, never hiring a sitter. And as they approach the terrible twos, they aren't seen for a couple of weeks and are miraculously aged into their teen years, potty-trained and all. Not that being potty-trained was a problem, since soap babies never make a poopy diaper.

And murder. Where else can you kill a man in cold blood, admit it to the first officer on the scene and never see the inside of a court room? And if you do get as far as a court room, the right accessories can get you off of any crime.

But don't worry if you're the murder victim because, despite the fact that we saw you die on the operating table, watched as you were cremated and your remains scattered in the ocean, tomorrow is another day and death will never be final as long as there are rating sweeps to win.

A dog's life

Watching Ellen DeGeneres' show today, I got an inspiration for a book idea.

Blair Underwood was talking about his new book, Before I Got Here : The Wondrous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children. It's filled with stories about the profound things kids say, a couple of which were read. It sounded like a sweet book.

Here's the deal, he created a webpage and solicited stories about things kids had said. Being a celebrity and all, he received a lot of entries. Then he went through them and compiled his favorites for the book and he's making a bajillion dollars now, I'm sure.

It got me to thinking. Who doesn't like animal stories? Okay, I know there are people who don't but the majority of people do like animals. So why not have a compilation of animal stories? I'd like to start with dog stories. You know, fun, sweet stories about man's best friend. I think it would sell well.

So here's what I need you to do: Send me all your fun, sweet dog stories. Tell all your friends and family to send me their fun, sweet dog stories. It would be helpful if the breed of dog was identified but it's not entirely necessary (I can improvise if necessary ;o) ).

I see a different book for every breed.

And don't think that because I will be keeping all the proceeds from the book that I won't recognize everyone - I will. Of course it might be something like, "I'd like to thank everyone..." But make no mistake, when I say everyone, I mean you and only you because it's your story(ies) that are going to make it happen.

Yes, this could work.

One Classy Lady

All of the dancers have really been doing incredible work. It's getting harder and harder to tell who the professionals are and who the "students" are. It's incredible.

Last night, for the first time, I was awed by Stacy's performance. She was incredible. Every 10 she received was well deserved, in my opinion. It was fun, it was fast and she looked great. But how intimidating would it be to have to follow someone who got a perfect score? And she went first! Wow!

Tia Carrere had the lowest score from the judges - it was a score of 22. Last season, that was the average score of all the contestants. On an especially good night, the top score might be 25 or 26 so that shows the level of work this season's dancers are putting into it (well to me anyway). And that's not to take away from Tia's performance. Although it wasn't my favorite performance, she did a good job and I enjoyed her dance last night.

Anyway, tonight was elimination night. Tia is one of only four of the contestants I knew who was when this competition started. And I like Tia. As such, she's had my support from the beginning. I'm at a point where I don't want anyone to be voted off because I really like everyone. More so, I really don't want those I knew (and liked) going in being voted off. But, having been in the bottom two a couple of times now, and having the overall lowest score from the judges last night, I knew in my heart that Tia had in all likelihood danced her last dance last night.

I gave her all of my telephone votes (and one of my online votes) but alas, she was voted off anyway tonight. When her name was announced as the contestant being voted off and she did her final "interview", she was so gracious and classy. I really hate to see her go.

Maybe when they do that "surprise" bring back of Giselle, they can bring back Tia too.

Fashion

A friend of mine recently gave in to the pressure of blogs and got one of her own (I would post a link here but I think it's a secret blog, if you know what I mean). Anyway, she posted a blog about how she'd gone shopping and ran into a little old lady who had her arms in the air and was asking for help.

Turns out she'd tried on a dress that was missmarked and it got stuck as she was trying to remove it - arms in the air. As women, we know how this works. We can fit in a size 5 with one cut and in another we do good to fit in the size 9. There's little, if any, consistency to how women's clothes are cut. And that's just how it is.

It reminded me of when I was married and my then husband had put on some weight. He'd always liked his jeans tight so he was having a difficult time getting them on with the additional weight. I finally had to raise the subject that maybe he needed a bigger size pants. OMG, he balked at that in a major way. "The pants shrunk," he wailed. "You've had them for years but they didn't shrink until now?" I argued back.

We went back an forth until I finally convinced him to try a larger size. I drag him (kicking and screaming I might add) to the department store and select the next size up in jeans (for men, that's their waist size - pants length stayed the same) and point him in the direction of the dressing rooms.

He comes out a few minutes later, the jeans all but cutting off the circulation to the lower half of his body and says, "They're cut small."

Yeah, 'cause that's how it works.

Go Lisa Go!

I will eventually blog about something other than Dancing with the Stars. LOL I'm just excited about the dances they did tonight.

Let's start with, I thought I was going to miss the beginning of the show. I had a 5:00 doctor's appointment so I thought I had plenty of time to get home before the show started. I walked out of the doctor's office at a quarter of. I was a bit panicked because the way home is paved with construction. But I made it home with about two minutes to spare. *whew* ;)

Anyway, Lisa Rinna is really starting to shine. I think she has a strategy though. Have you noticed that the last two weeks she's opted to dance the same dance as the celebrity men rather than what all the other celebrity women are dancing? That way she can't be compared to the other women when being scored. Of course she's doing the same dance as the professional women but you know, she's really stepping up. I'd really like to see her stay in the competition to the end.

Who did you like this week?

Devastated

So this isn't a shot from the Tango which got her eliminated (those aren't posted yet) but does this shot look like a person who isn't flexible? How many 45 year olds do you know that could strike that pose? I'm not 45 yet and I know I can't.

At week one of the competition, I knew who four of the ten celebrity dancers were. I wasn't really all that invested in the show. Now, at just week three, I care about all of them. I don't want any of them to go. And it's only going to get harder each week.

Anyway, I was so disappointed to see Giselle eliminated last night. I thought she was doing so well. I also feel a little bad because I really didn't think she was in elimination range and I don't think I voted for her at all, although I know I considered it. (I was distributing my votes among those I worried might be eliminated by not getting enough viewer votes.)

They showed all the dances again, in their entirety again and I felt the same way as I had on Thursday...and I was looking for the flaws and strengths the judges said they had and I just didn't feel any differently about the performances.

I honestly believed that Jerry and P Miller would be in the bottom two last night. As such, Jerry got some votes from me (although I had a very hard time getting through on his phone line, which encouraged me). When he was the second named celebrity as staying, my first reaction was relief. My second reaction was "oh *censored*" because who was going to be down there with P? I got concerned.

Then, when a little later in the show, P Miller was saved and there were still four couples left, I knew I wasn't going to like it. I hadn't prepared for a contingency.

The last three standing were Drew, George and Giselle. A no win situation. They say they call the names in random order (although I don't recall them saying that last night) but who knows where they actually placed. I started feeling real bad about Drew, concerned that I was taking it for granted that he would continue on - and I honestly think he is doing the best job out there, regardless of his advantages. He's working hard and doing a wonderful job - he doesn't deserve to be eliminated. I silently promised myself if he made it through, I would vote for who I thought did best from now on. I also honestly believed he wouldn't be in the bottom two. He wasn't.

When it came down to George and Giselle I was sick. I wanted them both to stay. Of the two though, I wanted George to stay more (he got more than half my votes for Thursday's performance). But regardless, I thought it was a wrong call either way.

To Giselle I say, you did a wonderful job. You inspired me. You shouldn't have had to leave. Thank you for being such a good sport about it. Hopefully in a twist, they'll bring you back later in the season. :)

To P Miller, P it's time you really stepped up to the plate. We both know that if you didn't have such a strong fan base, you'd be gone by now but you need to put more into it. You are improving but I need you to convince me that you deserve to be a contender. Make me want to vote for you to stay.

I dare you.

Wanna Bet?

Okay, since Honey asked so nicely, I'll give my review. :)

I have never in all my years of devouring books, read the last chapter of a book to see what happened. I've always come to the last chapter as a natural course of reading the book. But, when the book opened Once upon a time I had to know...was the last line and they lived happily ever after? As I was flipping to the back page I thought, "Naw, that would be too cheesy."

But sure enough (at the risk of giving out a spoiler) that was the last line. I rolled my eyes and thought, "this is going be great" (and not in a good way).

You have to understand that I've only read one other of Jennifer Crusie's books and I absolutely hated it. Not disliked it. Not didn't care for it. I hated it. I didn't like the characters - at all. One pissed me off so bad it wasn't funny. But a friend had recommended the book so I read the whole thing (based on her lie that the secondary character I really, really hated wasn't in much of the book...I was kinda ticked at my friend after that and haven't really read anything she's recommended since). So I was very skeptical going in reading Bet Me.

With that in mind I will say this, had I read this book first, I would probably be out buying up all the Jennifer Crusie books I could get my hands on. It was so funny and I was hooked very early on. I would read something and I would have to put the book down because I was laughing so hard (and couldn't read while laughing).

There was one thing though - I really hated Min's mother. Fortunately she wasn't in much of the book but she annoyed the heck out of me. I guess she was needed for the story that was being told but I was having flashbacks (not the good kind) when she was in the story. If not for her, I would still (despite my feelings for the first book) probably be buying up all the Crusie books I could find. It leaves me with the impression that Ms. Crusie likes to have over the top characters that create friction or conflict. But seeing as I know these people personally - have lived with these people but have finally gotten them out of my life, I don't want to revisit them in a book - it just brings me down. I like to read for escape and those types of characters make the enjoyment difficult. As I said though, Min's mother wasn't in much of the book so she didn't take over the overall enjoyment of the book. In fact, if I hadn't read the other book first (and hated the characters), I probably wouldn't be near as annoyed with Nanette's character - but again, she wasn't really a key player. Anyway as a result I will read more of Ms. Crusie's books but it will be sporadically (and somewhat skeptically) rather than buying out the book store.

Bottom line on this book though is, I loved this book. It was a lot of fun - very funny, and I liked the way it was all neatly wrapped up at the end. :)

Can you say Ouch?

I know I said I wanted a P elimination - and I do - but could Len have been any more harsh? He told Master P that it was time he and the competition parted. All I can say is Ouch!

I was so excited to see Lisa and Tia break out. They were great! And to see them do so well in the rating. I was very pleased with that.

And I absolutely LOVE George Hamilton. How funny was it that he went to the Assisted Living Center to solicit votes? He got my vote for that alone - and his dance wasn't too shabby either. :) And Giselle was funny when she interpretted what George was saying, "He said, 'Vote for Giselle'. " Even George laughed. Teehee

Like the judges, I was a bit disappointed with Jerry tonight. It seemed too slow and wasn't up to what he did last week. I still gave him a vote though because I do not want to see him leave and P stay (but I still thing Len was too cruel).

I disagreed with the judges where Giselle was concerned. I thought she did a good job. Of course that's my "I know what I like when I see it" trained eye, not a "I know the hell what a tango should look like" eye, but I thought she looked great.

And lastly, I think Drew is the breakout leader. I think he will be the one to beat this season. He does so good and just seems to really enjoy himself. I think he has an edge because his wife is a choreographer and he can practice with the "professional" a gazillion hours a day and then go home and get coaching from his wife (and I read he does do that but that also indicates his dedication, so there you go). He hasn't gotten any of my votes yet but not because he doesn't deserve them. I just don't want the wrong people being eliminated just yet. :)

Buh-Bye Tatum

Is anyone else following the Dancing with the Stars? I love watching the celebrities learning to dance.

This season though has been somewhat disappointing to me. Last season the celebrities seemed to check their egos at the door. Yes they knew it was a competition but the goal was to do their best, however it worked out. They seemed to be having fun.

This season, however, some of the egos are huge and distracting. Last season the judges and audience were voting on different dances so they changed it where everyone is voting on the same dance and rather than wait a week to find out who is eliminated, you find out the next night. On the second night, they show some backstage happenings and comments by the contestants.

Tatum took a firm stand and said she would be the winner because she was the best out there. But when it came to the bottom two contestants for elimination last night, it was P. Miller and Tatum O'Neal with the two lowest scores. Personally I would have been happy if they'd both been eliminated but they only eliminate one at a time.

P. Miller has been totally disrespectful to the judges, his partner and the audience. He refuses to wear ballroom dance shoes, despite instruction from the judges and requests from his partner but he goes out each time and talks about doing this for Katrina victims, which I'm sure is why he's pulling in the call-in votes. Thing is, nothing has been mentioned about any charities benefiting from this competition.

Anyway, Tatum was eliminated last night and when she went to have her final comments with the hosts she whined "But I'm an actress!" Um, Tatum hon, none of the celebrities are dancers - they all are learning to dance, just like you were.

Next week, I'm hoping for a P elimination.

Recommended List

The Players:

Jane Marlow: Jane is an Estate Attorney up for a partnership in the firm she works for. She's known for being reliable, dependable and very predictable. Her life is very structured. She's the person whose throw pillows are placed at a specific angle (forty-five degree angle if you want to be exact), her money in her wallet is arranged by denomination, face up. Her CDs are alphabetized by artist and then chronological, in order of release. And, like Monica Gellar (of Friends), she'll chase you around the house sweeping up food crumbs.

Teddy Rock: Formerly known as Theo Brockford. Teddy is the aging rock star who wants to make a comeback. His one hit Janey 245 made him a household name back in the late '80s. His fall from grace was long and very public. His latest album is about to be released and he has to convince the public that he has changed his ways so they will buy his album.

Andy Marlow: Andy is Jane's brother. Irresponsible and impulsive, he's the opposite of Jane. But when he catches and episode of Off the Record and realizes that Teddy Rock is the quiet boy from their childhood neighborhood, Theo Brockford, (not to mention that he and Jane grew up at 245 Memorial Circle), he is convinced that Janey 245 was written about his sister and is determined to capitalize on that fact.

Drew Weston: Drew is a partner in the firm Jane works for. He works out of the DC office but has come to Chicago to help Jane with a case that went from estate planning to litigation between grandmother and granddaughter. He has a reputation of being a playboy, reportedly having his way with the temporary receptionist on the xerox machine at his going away party (he worked in the Chicago office before transferring to DC). He's going to have to work very closely with Jane to settle the dispute with Jane's biggest client.

Jane is working towards becoming a partner in her law firm when her brother suggests she is the inspiration for Teddy Rock's one hit, Janey 245. He wants to capitalize on it to help save a family friend's (Sam) bar. When Jane is reluctant to participate in her brother's scheme, Andy sets out to put her in a position of not being able to say no.

Drew Weston has been brought in to help Jane on a big case she is handling. She set up the financial planning of Kitty Farnsworth's estate and it was being contested by Kitty's seventeen year old granddaughter, Darcy, despite the fact that Kitty was still alive. Jane believed she had set up airtight legal documents and that is what Drew was there to prove, and Jane's partnership depended on it.

Jane had heard (specifics) of Drew's playboy ways so she was expecting him to be making advances left and right. When he didn't, she confronted him about it. His response was not what she'd expected. He had heard about her reputation as well. When he described her life (quite accurately), she wanted to prove him wrong. That she wasn't a no nonsense, hospital corner kind of girl. So she invited him to Sam's bar.

And that's when everything changed.

Off the Record was a fun read for me. It follows, in a humorous way, the career of a has-been rock star that wants to make a comeback, with newspaper and magazine articles starting each chapter, chronicling the rise and fall of Teddy Rock and potential rise again. The story is told from the perspective of the rock star's muse, Jane Marlow.

Jennifer O'Connell told a fun and touching story that made me both laugh and cry. I recommend it highly.

The Bloggies

On my nightly blog hopping I came across something interesting. There are blogger awards. That's right folks, you can nominate and vote for your favorite blogs. And like the academy awards, there are a number of categories.

I be-bopped over there and checked it out. You can only submit nominations once. It's late in the week and I confuse easily so I hope I did everything right when I made my nominations (nominations made incorrectly will be disqualified). Now I'm wondering at what point the nominees are notified and if they are told who nominated them.

Oh well, know this, if you're reading this blog, chances are you were nominated for something. :)

Good luck!

It's Raining Books

Yesterday (my first day back after being off for two glorious weeks) I was talking with a co-worker and I mentioned that I had an exercise video that gives you a good workout without making you sweat. I asked her if she would workout with me during lunch if I brought it up to the office. She said she would.

So last night I dutifully set out to locate the video and put it in my car, before I forgot. Only it's MIA. I couldn't find it anywhere.

I did, however, find seven - count them seven - books I'd set aside but haven't read yet. Seven!

I thought I'd done so well over the holidays, reading a book almost every day and now I find out I'm right back where I started in the TBR pile. *sigh*

I never did find the blasted video.