Patricia from Maryland Heights, Missouri! Woo hoo! Your books will be heading your way later today. Thanks for being one of the Blog Babes!

Boy, what a week. I’m very glad it’s Friday. I’m entering the acute phase of deadline hell (28 days and counting…) so that means there are no days off. BUT! And this is such a sweet BUT (you know, that didn’t come out sounding exactly right…) I will be taking off for five or so very fine hours on Sunday evening to watch MY STEELERS return to the Super Bowl. The last time I watched them win the big game, I was 20 years old. Almost 26 years I’ve waited, y’all. That’s some loyalty right there. So here’s to you, Jerome. Take it home, baby, take it home.

Okay, lotsa MAC today because, in their infinite wisdom, the tv gods decided to put two of the only four shows I watch (okay, okay, five when my Favorite Show Ever starts later this month, yes, I’m talking about the Amazing Race and the even more Amazing Host, Phil. Ahhhh, I can’t get my fill of Phil…) Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, they put them on the same dang night, at the same dang time. What is up with that anyway?

So…Dancing with the Stars first. Great show, fabulous dancing. With P gone, there were no uncomfortable moments. George was entertaining. Finally got to see Stacey shake her hips, and boy could she. Lisa was spunky (even if they did give her dreadful disco music to dance a samba to. And on top of that it was too slow. Hello? Music director? Come on!) Jerry worked his fine fanny off (and has an adorable daughter, to bootie.) Tia was admittedly off, but she’s so sincere - and her music didn’t exactly help her out, and Maksim’s choreography didn’t either. For me, it’s still all about Drew and Cheryl. They bring it every week and this one was no exception. Fantastic. The judges tonight? Not so much. Carrie Anne was bitchy, Len was playing mediator and Bruno needed a Xanax. Still, though I thought they were hypercritical (and CA, you might want to lead with the praise, then slam with the “helpful hints” k? Lighten up, man, they’re competing for a glittery trophy for gods sake, not the national title. And working their asses off.)

Anyway….yes, they were a bit much, but if you removed George’s ridiculously inflated score and put him at the bottom where–I love you man, but you know this is true–he belonged, then the rest of the rankings held up pretty well, though I might have altered the actual numbers a bit. I threw all my votes to Drew and Cheryl. Not enough people left to risk sympathy votes, though I was tempted to toss some to Tia…I have a feeling my girl is going home tonight. A week early, in my opinion, but still. Episode Grade: B+ (woulda been an A without all the bickering)

Okay, MAC #2 - SURVIVOR IS BACK ON, SURVIVOR IS BACK ON! Sorry. Ahem. First, a confession. I was SUCH a reality show snob until a few years ago, when I was finally dragged, kicking and screaming, into watching this show with my younger son. (Yes, that was the start of my complete descent into being reality tv’s bitch. I know. It’s sad. But so much fun! As guilty pleasures go, it packs a lot less calories than chocolate.) So..my virgin Survivor season started out with men versus women and it turned out that it provided the two of us with such a great opportunity to share our perspectives on the whole gender/age issue, that I was totally drawn in. More because of the dialogue it started between me and my son–I loved our Thursday night “Chinese food dates” with Jeff and his gang of dysfunctional castaways–but eventually the show itself, the concept, all of it, drew me right in, too. Haven’t missed a season (or a night of sesame chicken and debate) since. My youngest is hitting 16 now, and what with a long term girlfriend now and a new perspective on relationships, it’s been an interesting couple of seasons, with increasingly more interesting dialogue.

This season, we have four tribes of four. Older men, older women, younger men, younger women. I was naturally pulling for the older women right off, but my son ended up allying himself with the older men. He thought the younger guys were slackers. lol It’ll be interesting to see which of our pre-conceived ideals might be rocked, and which ones will simply be underscored. So far, it’s already pulled us both in and started a fun conversation about why we think certain teams are doing better than others. Is it just age? Just gender? Or more specific to the actual people involved on each team?

And the whole Exile thing? I love it. I love all the twists this year so far..and its only the first night! Changes all the strategy right off the bat. And in a good way, I think. Sucks to only have 4 people to rely on right off to build shelter, get food, make fire. Sucks worse to be only one of four when it comes time to vote off the first person. I felt sorry for Tina, felt horribly bad about her recent tragedy in losing her son…but that aside, in terms of game play, a little more self awareness and a lot more humble pie would have gone a long way to securing her staying longer. I have to credit Cerie with both keeping it real, being very self aware of her (extreme) limitations, and finding a way to work it to survive anyway. This week anyway. You go, girl.

Tune in Monday for news on the next Giveaway!! (Hint: if the Steelers win, I might be feeling really generous!) Me? Extorting support for my team? Nooooo.

Tags: Writing //