So…last week we had designers on Project Runway making outfits for the latest “fashion accessory” - which turned out to be adorable little doggies.

Well, this week in my SHaQ Attack giveaway, we’re going to the dogs, too. Or at least one very cute little puppy. Meet the newest addition to my youngest sister’s household (as of this coming weekend…)

She is a little Boxer puppy and, as of yet, has no name.

But we’re going to change all that!

Yes, this week your mission, if you choose to take it, is to Name That Puppy! Now, Boxers are German by origin, so that might be a place to start, but is just a suggestion. Any and all name ideas will be accepted.

Please send your name suggestions to donna@donnakauffman.com with “I Named The Puppy!” in the subject line and as many name suggestions as you want in the body of the note. In fact, you can send along names all week if you’re so inspired. On Friday, my sister will pick the name she likes the best and that person (or persons if it happens that more than one offered up the same name) will win a book of their choice from my bookshelf (and the pleasure of knowing they Named That Puppy as well!)

Here’s one last look for inspiration…

Good luck, Blog Babes! And happy Monday!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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Let’s start with the losers…(save the best for last, right?)

Who went home on Dance?

My prediction was Natalie and Ryan. Was I right?

The opening number to He Had it Coming from the Broadway musical Chicago was just okay for me this week. Tyce and Broadway aren’t the strongest combo as it turns out. On with the show… The bottom two girls and guys dance solos tonight, so half the dancers this week dance solos. (Thank goodness they cut them from last night’s show.) Dancing solos this week are Natalie, Alison, Ryan, and Travis.

It was tough this week, because I had a clear pair going home, but beyond that, it was a really tough call. I was surprised to see Alison there, but I would have been equally surprised to see either of the other two, so someone had to be there. Same with the guys. Ryan was definitely there, but tough call on who to put there with him. I’d have picked Ivan over Travis, but Travis did have the weaker night last night (thanks to having the worlds worst dance selection karma.)

So…they all bring their solos…and Busta Rhymes does his thang…and now we’re at the moment of truth:

But first! Nigel has Tour News! It’s official. There will be a tour featuring the Top Ten dancers. Woot! Tickets go on sale August 12 - first show is Seattle on Sept. 12. They’d better be heading east!

Now…going home this week are: Alison (WOW! shocking, really shocking! and she handles it like a major pro at a whopping 18 years of age. Incredibly impressive and I have NO idea how that happened) and making her dance again? Not cool. They did their solos, let them go hug and be hugged by their fellow dancers, I say. And then she does this solo with Travis on the sideline that has everyone sobbing. God, Travis. Your heart just bleeds a little. What can you say? What are you people thinking sending her home?

Anyway - on the guys side (it had better not be a shock and Travis is totally freaking on the inside you know it) it is Ryan. Well, we got one right.

Next week will be downright brutal. I have NO CLUE who will be going home, except it probably won’t be Benji. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.

So, on with the MAC. Who went home on Project Runway 3?

Well, this week it was back to more fun with the designers and not All About Vincent. Thank dog. They all had to design a fashion based on the latest “accessory” which turned out to be wee little doggies. It was all very cute. And for the most part, I thought they all did really well.

I must admit to being fairly stymied by the whole Bradley storyline. I was thankful he got something on the runway before deadline, but honestly, I thought it was horrible, so I was shocked, shocked I say, that it was top three. What were they seeing that I wasn’t? Loved the doggie wear. I do think the right person went home. (Bye, Sporty Katherine.) Although an Angela loss would have been fine by me, too. Keith realllllllly needs knocked down about ten more pegs, as being bottom three didn’t do it to him. Laura got on my nerves a bit, but I like how she is with Michael. As always, Kayne and Robert were gems and entertaining to boot. I thought Kayne’s outfit rocked and the dog’s was the best. I would have put him top three easy. It was so fun. Loved it. Still not a Jeffrey fan and Bonnie is kind of invisible this week. Vincent is still clearly insane and if you listen to Tim’s podcast, you’ll learn that he has no love for the guy either. I heart Tim Gunn.

I thought Cute Alison deserved the win over Uli, but I could at least see where the judges were coming from. I love having Vera Wang on the panel this week. And yay, Ivanka! The only really great thing Trump ever created. I heart her, too. If you missed it, NBC repeats the show Monday night. 8pm. EST. And if you don’t want to wait, you can also see the fashions on Bravo’s Project Runway homepage and play Rate the Runway.

But most interesting of all? Next week one designer gets kicked off the show. Oooooooh. Any takers on who it is??

And now….drum roll……time to announce this week’s SHaQ Attack Winner!

The question was: Who was the real Dear Prince Charming?

The correct answer was: Eric Jermaine, who was the real man behind the Dear Prince Charming column in the book of the same name.

The Blog Babe who wins a signed copy of Dear Prince Charming AND a book of her choice from the bookshelf is…..Kathleen E from storm struck St Louis! Woo hoo!!! Hopefully your power is back on. Or I’ll have to send a little flashlight along with the books!

Tune in Monday for a new SHaQ Attack hunt! Thanks again for joining me over at Lucy’s this week. Hope you had a good time hanging out at the blog party. Have a great weekend. Stay cool..and read something hot!

Tags: Writing by Donna
8 Comments »

Dance!

Eight dancers left…what happens tonight? Two dances each pair, no solos tonight. (My typing fingers thank the producers.) And all that jampacked into one hour.

Was it me, or where the dancers a bit lackluster in their opening sequence? I’m guessing they are whipped puppies at this point, so I can hardly blame them for conserving energy. But there was a definite sparkle shortage there. (Okay, so the crowd loved the Benji-Natalie dip at the end…)

Welcome Cat. Don’t you love how big a dork she really is? I mean, she’s gorgeous, but the girl has no rhythm. It’s endearing.

Welcome judges…Uncle Nigel, Crack Mary, and Doinky Dan.

Getting right to it, the first couple this week will be Donyelle and Travis. They get both choices of dance in one selection and because he lives under a dark star that refuses to go away, Travis picks Hip Hop and Quick Step (aka the Ballroom Dance of Death.)

On the bright side, for hip hop, they get Shane Sparks. Hello sweetie! Okay, the jungle animal thing was a little whack, but I can see where he’s going with it, in terms of getting all earthy with their bad selves. But still….

Dancing to London Bridge by Fergie…here we go. Okay, they’re both in hooded sweatshirts with blank white face masks on. Different. It gave it a really spooky kind of feel. Not sure if I like it, but you don’t look away, that’s for sure. The hoods come off to reveal masks on the back of their black stocking covered heads. Increasingly different. Just looking at the dancing…the routine is interesting and good, and they’re giving themselves to it, but they’re off with each other and it comes off looking clumsy, which is a shame. The ending thirty or so seconds was hot, but overall, good, but not great.

Judges? Nigel felt the masks cut off the connection to a dancer’s eyes and spark, and he has a point, but the starkness of it was also riveting. Crack Mary agrees with me, which is somewhat disturbing (and what is in her coke anyway?) but I was glad to see them get some props. She points out how hard it must have been to stay in time with your partner with such limited range of vision - great point! Doinky Dan Says it was more good than bad.

Next up is Alison who gets Ivan again. Their dance styles are Hip Hop and Argentine Tango. Which they rocked once before, so this whole thing is a bit redux for them. I wonder if it will help or seem to repetitive.

For tango, they get Alex de Silva who knocks it up a step for them, which is good. As impressive as they were last time, then it was a surprise, now they have to out do that performance.

Here we go…Alison is wearing a barely their clingwrap dress and Ivan is in black suit and fedora. It’s good, but not quite the same sizzle factor. Again, I’m not sure if it’s because we’re expecting this time and the surprise factor is gone, or if the dance itself is a bit lackluster. They’re good, but it doesn’t rock. The music isn’t really riveting either, to be honest. All in all, Alison was the better of the two - but that dress did her body no favors, and the girl has a solid dancer’s body, so that’s saying a lot. The end had some flair, then Ivan abandons her to stride over to the judges. Not particularly cool, even if unintentional.

Judges? Nigel thought they were tremendous, minimal critique. Mary says it was great, too. So it’s just me, then. Dan says Ivan worked Alison in this dance. Again, were we watching the same thing? But….whatever. America? What do you say?

Next up is Natalie who picks Ryan - so he finally gets his dream come true, as he’s wanted Natalie as his partner from the start. We’ll see where that takes them. For dance styles, they get contemporary and disco. They’ll nail the first, or should, but Ryan and disco? Not so sure on that one.

For disco, they get Doriana-Mistress of the Dark…and here we go. To Turn the Beat Around, Natalie is in a slinky short dress and Ryan is in purple bell bottoms and a pink silk shirt (because someone in the sylist trailer hates him.) Natalie has her knee wrapped, so another injury alert. She is very open and outward with her style, while Ryan looks all fierce and concentrating the whole time. Not exactly a team the way they should be, despite dancing the heck out of it. I think he’s just so worried, he’s forgetting the performance part and focusing on the specifics of the routine. He gets into it more toward the end, and i think he does a good job, but they don’t really connect beyond being proficient. (I’m a cranky demanding sort tonight, aren’t I? What’s in MY Coke?)

Squee! Dmitry with a GO Natalie sign in the audience! Yes, he’s in a shirt, but you can’t have everything.

Ahem. Judges? Nigel praises Natalie and slams Ryan and you do have to feel for him, how stoic he is, standing there taking this week in and week out, though often deserved, it’s still got to grind your soul a little. Mary says she didn’t buy the chemistry either. Ryan is thrown under the man bus again. Dan says it was painful. And you know, I agree to a point, but thought the previous tango performance was far more into that subpar zone than this, so I’m a little stymied. But…say good-bye Ryan, this will be your last week I fear. And deservedly so, but dayum.

And this means Heidi gets Benji! Whoa!! Cousins who have danced together for years, the expectations from the judges will be off the charts. Something tells me these two will deliver and then some. I’m SO excited. They get Mambo and Broadway. Could this BE any more tailored to these two? And this means they close the show tonight, too. Cool!

First up is the Broadway with Tyce! Church revival theme - again, perfect fit. To Fake Your Way To The Top from Dreamgirls, they start out on the rear stair railing (the crowd is just screaming the whole time.) Benji in 50’s suit and skinny tie and Heidi in a short silver and purple maribou Supremes dress. To be honest, the routine itself didnt do much for me, not enough together dancing (which, I know, I know, it’s Broadway) but they did dance the heck out of it. Very commanding performance, easily the best so far, though not all that surprising given their experience dancing with one another. A total pro performance there. The crowd, literally goes wild, chanting Benji.

Judges? Nigel loves it. He’s been drinking Mary’s Coke. Mary takes a sip and is saved. Dan says Broadway needs them. Best of the night so far - and they close the show with the mambo later? Yeah, that’ll rock in such a big way I’m tempted to do as my blog talked about yesterday and ff to the end, just to see it next. But I won’t, I swear! Anticipation….

Now, on to Round Two.

Travis and Donyelle get Glen Weiss as their Quick Step coach. I fear nothing will save them, though. Donyelle and her busted toe and the two of them don’t mesh well together body-size wise, so it’s just going to be a bit of a train wreck I fear. I hope I’m wrong! I really do! But this dance kills everyone, and I don’t think tonight will be different. At this stage of the competition, I think it was really rotten for them to even have this one in the hat at all. Travis couldn’t catch a break with a mitt on these days.

Here we go…to Dancin’ Fool by Barry Manilow (yeah, I said it) the crowd is already behind them with huge screams, they start by coming down the steps in the rear… Travis in tails and Donyelle in a lovely dark green sparkly gown. Really great showmanship opening. Smart choreo there, very smart. A lot of fun and very attention grabbing right off. My hopes increase. But the partnering part? Ouch. They are like three feet apart and their bodies should be meshed. And it’s like on half speed. Which the quick step can’t be. It does pick up after awhile, but they never close the grand canyon of space between them, which dimishes the power of the dance completely. Ah, you guys. My heart bleeds. But this? Isn’t good.

Judges? (Covering eyes.) Yep, ouch across the board, though nicely delivered. I hope they both make it through. I think tonight Ryan and Nat will be the unfortunate victims of the voting pool.

Next is Alison and Ivan with one of Shane’s hip hop routines. Slow hip hop to Neo’s Sexy Love, here we go, complete with umbrella props. Okay, this is perfect for the two of them. Very cute, adorable, young lovey. Alison’s straightened hair is perfect for this, too. And they are moving so smoothly through this. Very very very well done. Top Two of the night. Shane totally did it for them.

Judges? They all loved it. Dan totally gave them props for this, very very well deserved. Maybe my fave of the night so far.

Now we have Natalie and Ryan with their contemporary routine, choreo’d by Tyce. If they’re going to get anything, it will be this. To a Boyz to Men song, it’s very lovely and well danced. Perhaps no chemsitry with them, but they do a lovely job. I feel it’s their farewell, so not a bad one.

Judges - Nigel gave them both props, which was nice to hear. Mary also gives them props and Dan concurs.

And squee! Benji and Heidi bring it with the mambo. They get Alex de Silva. He challenges them with a super speed mambo, which they both agree is the hardest thing they’ve faced, which is saying something. Will they nail it? I think they will.

Here we go….to Black Mambo…Oh, that was SO cool! They started with Heidi over his head in this pretzel loop, then he drops her and she slides down around his whole body like a human ring toss. Very show stopping opener there. And they just rock this thing all over the damn stage. And the ending was ohmygod. Totally pro, the whole thing. Fast, sharp, and flawless. The crowd is insane, chanting both of their names, and they are clearly high from such a great routine, as well they should be.

Judges? Gushing praise. Across the board. Well earned.

And Nigel mentions the tour again…I hope that means these guys are coming to a town near ME!

I think Ryan and Natalie will be leaving us. I fear Travis and Donyelle will be next to last this week, but only because we’re down to the final four and Ivan and Alison lucked out with the dance styles this week. Benji and Heidi ain’t going nowhere.

Tune in tomorrow for the Results MAC and Fabulous Tim Gunn MAC from Project Runway as well.

Don’t forget to get your answers in to this week’s SHaQ Attack by tonight! See Monday’s post for the details. Winner announced tomorrow!

Tags: Writing by Donna
5 Comments »

First I want to thank you all for blog partying with me yesterday. I had a great time, hope you all did as well - and I hope you won something, too! Keep checking out Lucy’s Blog Party all week long for chances to win all kinds of amazing great prizes. (See yesterday’s post below for a direct link to the party!)

And speaking of winning free stuff, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to enter this week’s SHaQ Attack giveaway here. See Monday’s post for all the details.

So, okay, I have a confession to make. I know that tonights Dance episode was actually taped on Monday. And I know a place where I can find out exactly what happened. Normally I hate spoilers (and no fears, I am not going to spoil anything here) but I’ve done this for the past two weeks now and have actually kind of enjoyed knowing ahead of time who is going to be paired with whom and what dance styles they get. I just anticipate seeing it even more. Oh, I can share one thing, which isn’t giving anything away in terms of who, what, what kind, etc - really - but I did find out that there will be two dances for each duo tonight, but no solos. Which I’m actually really grateful for. We get to see almost everyone perform again tomorrow night anyway, doing the same solos, so it keeps it from being repetitive like it was last week. So good move!

Anyway, back to finding out stuff in advance. I normally don’t like to know anything in advance, but the fact that I’m sort of enjoying this spoilering thing has made me wonder about all that. I know there are a lot of readers who read the end of the book first. I even know writers who have to write the last scene or chapter of their book first. I can’t imagine doing either of those things. But for some readers and writers, it’s the only way.

So, tell me….are you a “last chapter first” type? And if so…what is it about knowing the end first that is so appealing to you?

Happy Humpty Day all! Check back tomorrow…It’ll be Dance MAC central!

Tags: Writing by Donna
12 Comments »

So, today is Guest Blogger day for me over at Lucy Monroe’s site. You can click Blog Party! to check out my little feature.

Head on over anytime and get your names in on the giveaways. If you comment on my blog, or any of the participating guest authors’ blogs, during the week-long party, you’re eligible to win free stuff! Lots of prizes are being handed out every day. So hop on over and join the fun!

In other news…on Treasure Hunter the Fogels are no longer. Is anyone choked up about that? Didn’t think so. Somewhere Kayte’s husband can finally come out of hiding. I had a hard time watching this week. I’ve really lost interest. I found myself working and doing other things instead of watching. Again, cool clues, but the repetitive nature and lack of any real caring for the teams has just sort of made this a non-event for me. Which is saying something considering they went to Paris and London (one of my fave places) this week. Great premise, just the follow-through is lacking for me. Sorry!

Hope you all have a fabulous Hump Day Eve. I’m going to head on over to Lucy’s Place and join the rest of the fun!

Tags: Writing by Donna
22 Comments »

But first! I have a fun announcement to make. Tomorrow I will be guest blogging on fellow Brava author, Lucy Monroe’s site. This week is when many of my writing compatriots head down to Atlanta for our national conference. Alas, some of us won’t be traveling this summer, myself included, so Lucy came up with the great idea of having her own little block party all this week. Stop by for some fun and maybe win free stuff! Click Blog Party! for all the details.

Hmmm….okay, we need a new theme for this week’s SHaQ Attack book giveaway. Tiger won the British Open in spectacular fashion yesterday, taking his third claret cup and his 11th overall major. It’s a damn shame I don’t have a book that has anything to do with golf. Would have been soooo easy.

But no.

So! Since he had a “Cinderella Run” I’m going to go with a Glass Slipper series question this week. (I know, it was a stretch, but go with me on this…)

Here we go: Who was the real Dear Prince Charming?

Send your answer to donna@donnakauffman.com with I’m no princess in the subject line.

One Blog Babe will be chosen from the correct entries and announced on Friday. He or she (hey, a babe’s a babe, we don’t discriminate here) will win a signed copy of the book in question AND one of their choice from my website bookshelf.

The answer is on my website. I swear. If it takes more than two minutes, you’re not doing it right. (The contest people, I’m talking about the contest.)

So, other than winning free stuff, what are we looking forward to this week? For me, it’s a little dancing, a little fashion design, a little reading (still working on Angel’s Fall - deadline hell is killin’ my reading time) a little guest blog partying, some tennis…and, of course, ice cream will be involved at some point. Okay, maybe at a lot of points. It’s hot out. Give me a break.

What are you looking forward to this week?

Have a great Monday. Stay cool. Read something hot.

Tags: Writing by Donna
7 Comments »

Sorry for the delay but I’ve been trying to post this since early this morning and something is wacky with my blog site and it just wouldn’t let me post it. Anyhoo…

So, about Project Runway…this wasn’t one of my favorite weeks in this series. In fact, it was kind of meh all the way around. A lot of drama that was hard to care about and not a whole lot to get excited about.

The challenge this week was to design and execute a gown for the reigning Miss USA to wear in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant. Pretty big deal for the winner, given the massive global audience. It should have been more exciting. Of course, had they spent most of the hour focused on anyone other than Psycho Vincent, maybe it would have been.

The designers had to each propose a design, after which Miss USA chose seven of them to be created. Those seven designers than had to choose another of the unselected to work with as a team partner.

Most of the teams seemed to get alone rather well. Except for Psycho Vincent and completely unprepared Whiny Angela. I didn’t like either one of them and hope they both go home. Tattoo Jeffrey was paired with Cute Alison. His dress was a hot mess of I don’t know what. But they got a bye. Keith (the ass) was paired with quiet Bradley and I must say I thought his dress should have been in the top. It was beautiful, well constructed (actually didn’t have sagging boobs - is that a new in thing? Unfettered breasts? Because it looks horrible - his didn’t.) But for the swelled head factor, I was glad they were somewhere in the middle.

Severe Laura ended up with Not Hip Hop Michael, a pair who got maybe a minute of screen time the entire show. I liked their dress, it looked great, but it was very simplistic. Uli and Bonnie worked well together on a dress that I loved except for the dangling boob part. What is up with that? They came in second. I’d have gone Keith’s route instead, but the dress was lovely. But structure up top, people, structure! Malan ended up with Jock Katherine and went in Santino overlod with the ruching.

My favorite pair by far was Pageant Boy Kayne and Barbie Boy Robert. Now is that a winning combo in this particular challenge or what? And so, it wasn’t a huge shock when they won. I wasn’t surprised that Malan ended up in the bottom two, along with Angela, but I was surprised they sent him home. Such a quirky quoo, but he was growing on me. I was sorry to see him go, sorrier to see how much it hurt him. Hard, frankly, to see anyone go while Whackjob Vincent is still there, much less his evil useless sidekick Angela.

If you want to see the gowns, go to the Project Runway website and Rate the Runway. I just did and my ratings were almost exactly what the public has voted. Nice to know I wasn’t alone on the Keith love. Well, for his dress. Definitely not for him.

So. I wasn’t feeling it this week as I usually do. It looks like next week promises to deliver a little more on the entertainment, a little less on the whiiiiining.

Overall impression? We saw very little most of the designers this week as the focus was on Whackjob and Robin, with side order of Malan. Yet, I’m developing my favorites.

I like Robert, like Michael and even Laura, and like Keith’s stuff, not Keith and kinda like Uli and Kayne. Meh in the Middle is Bradley, Bonnie, and was Malan before tonight. And at the bottom are Jeffrey, Angela, Katherine and reallyneedstogo Vincent. I just can’t stand even watching him, which is why this episode was so ugh for me.

And yet, I will go listen to Tim’s Take podcast and get the behind the scenes scoop. And I see on the site that my fave from last year, Daniel Vosovic has a blog on the site, so I will take a peek there, too.

Until next week…..Carry On!

Tags: Writing by Donna
3 Comments »

Mea culpa, but there is some Dance MAC today, but no Project Runway Featuring the Delicious Tim Gunn. Life managed to get a bit in the way. But!! There will be Bonus Blog Saturday MAC just for that. Woo hoo! (And remember, if you missed PR3 this past Wednesday…NBC will repeat the show Monday night. Join me in the fun that is Fashion Under Pressure!)

Okay…so last night on So You Think You Can Make America Vote two dancers found out how wrong they were.

But first, the opening number, which, just from the costumes alone I immediately assumed had been choreo’d by Mia …or whoever did Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. The women were a bit too ghoulish for me, but I thought the guys actually looked pretty cool. Well, sans the makeup would have been more fun. (And what WAS that song? And I use the word “song” lightly.) But I loved the routine. Loved.

Welcome Cat…and the routine was choreo’d by the famous (infamous?) Wade Robson. So…pretty cool. And 8 million votes last night. Dang.

Highlights and lowlights ensue…and now we find out which girls are in the Bottom 2. (My guess, Martha and…you know…I really have no idea!) Donyelle is safe. Martha is one of the bottom 2. Alison is safe. Heidi is safe. Natalie is the other bottom 2. Not deserved for how well she danced last night, I thought, but perhaps it’s a rollover from past weeks.

Now we find out which guys are in the Bottom 2 — my guess is Ryan and Ivan. Possibly Dmitry. Ryan is in the bottom 2. Travis is safe. Benji is safe. Ivan is safe. So….My Dmitry is in the bottom 2.

We get solos, even though it’s for no real reason as the votes are already in and the losers already determined. Martha does a replay of her solo. Ryan too - altho he adlibbed a bit more. It’s a good routine for him. Natalie does a replay too and it’s more light than last night, but good. Dmitry gives us one last Chippendale, hip swiveling ride. And Cat gives him one last snuggle.

Ooh! News alert! Nigel let’s it slip that they’re trying to put together a Top Ten Tour to go around the country and perform. I’d actually pay to go see that. Hope it works out!

We get Chris Brown as this week’s musical act. He does a good job. The dance solo at the end (which ironically samples from Thriller) was nice to see. He gets wild applause and a standing O from all the judges.

Now we find out which lady goes home (Martha) and which guy (Ryan)….and I am….wrong! Martha does go home and Natalie is a pro in how she handles the news she’s safe, more worried about Martha than celebrating. But it’s not Ryan tonight…it’s My Dmitry heading out. I think he’d have been gone next week anyway. It’s the ladies I have no idea about. I think after Ryan it will be Ivan. Benji and Travis will battle it out. I think the next two weeks it will be between Natalie and Heidi…leaving Donyelle and Alison as the last two women standing. That final four? Brutal. I think Alison might be the final woman standing, but Donyelle has a huuuuge fan group from her Benji Days. As to the guys…I think Benji has it there, but Travis certainly won’t hand it to him.

Should be a great couple of weeks coming up!

Now…on to the SHaQ Attack winner this week. The correct answer to what book, other than Bayou Heat, was set in New Orleans? The answer was Your Wish Is My Command with my favorite privateer hero, Sebastian Valentin. And getting her very own copy of that book is Danny from Germany! Way to go, International Blog Babe!

Tune in tomorrow for my exclusive Saturday PR3 MAC….then we’ll see you all Monday as usual for the next SHaQ Attack book giveaway hunt.

Hope you have a safe weekend. Stay cool and keep the ice cream handy!

Tags: Writing by Donna
9 Comments »

It’s Thursday, so it must be Mondo MAC day…

First up, some Dance MAC and aton of it. Ten dancers, ten paired routines and ten solos. Whew! ::doing finger limbering exercises: :and we’re off….

Our Girl Cat comes out with bed hair and a slinky blue dress (that actually shows off her figure, thank you stylist! Did they get a new one?) An improvement over her Garanimal look, fo sho, and I imagine an even bigger hit with the men in the viewing audience.

Tonight we get two hours, three dances for each dancer - two paired routines with new partners and one solo each. That’s a lotta dancin’ for these tired peeps.

10 dancers say hello…so, I’m not feeling Martha or Ryan already. Sorry to say.

Our judges tonight…hmmm…no CrackMary, Dan Says, BoyfriendBrian, or MissingInAction-Mia. Instead, we still get Uncle Nigel and with him tonight are Jean Marc (who so cracked me up last week, so I’m board with this substitution already) and the hip hop choreography duo, Cicely and Alisa. Whatever. I already miss BFB. No one else pulls the crazy leprechaun accessories like he does.

The judges don’t send anyone home this week. America votes for each individual dancer and the male and female dancer with the lowest votes will be packed off tomorrow night.

First up…Ivan. Buh bye Alison. Who does he draw for his partner this week? He gets Martha (sorry, Ivan) and they select Hip Hop as their first paired routine. They get Shane Sparks (say a prayer Martha, because that might just save you) and here we go. Clearly they are already feeling the pressure of more work and greater expectations, and as Martha says, finding out which dancers have been using their partners as a crutch. (Um, that might be you just a little bit, Marf. Certainly in terms of popularity if nothing else.)

Here we go with routine one: hip hop to Me and You by Cassie - wearing jeans, white tees, black trench coats, and black fedoras, we’re off to a good start… I liked the routine, thought I thought the coats to some degree hid their movements from the viewer. They did a nice job, but for all the routine was fun, there wasn’t a lot of energy in it for me, from either. I thought Ivan would totally rock this, and he’s good, but it’s low key. Zero chemistry between them. The ending was the best part - wish we’d seen more of that.

Judges? Nigel agrees with me on Marf and their lack of chemistry. C/A say Marf isn’t stepping it up and I agree. Jean Marc’s accent is cute. He coasts, not harsh, not gushy.

So we’re apparently not going to follow any kind of pattern tonight. Next up, we’re having our first solo performance of the night with Donyelle. (Woot! Hope her foot is doing okay!)

No behind the scenes, she’s just right out there doing hip hop to Git It… Satin jacket, cammie pants, black leather military boots and she bri-ings it, y’all. Now that’s the kind of energy we didn’t see with the previous pair. The solo’s are really short - I’m guessing that was 30 seconds, tops. I think she did very well. (Limping over to Cat…sniff! sob!) But she looks really beautiful tonight - great makeup, gorgeous smile.

Judges? Nigel gives her kudos. C/A says she’s their numero uno. JM says she’s a money player. At least I think that’s what he said.

So…what’s next? Woot - I get My Dmitry right off the bat with his solo. Yay, me! Doing a solo of his own choice, he comes out wearing black ballroom pants, a silky untucked shirt and hits it hard to Pump It by the Black Eyed Peas. Keeping the energy flowing….whoo! He totally ignores Nigel’s warning that he’s getting too Chippendales dancer on us, clearly knowing where his voting bloc lies, and gives us all the hip thrusting, hip twitching, hip…everything, we could want. And ends by ripping his shirt off. Take that, Uncle Nige. Cat is clearly in lust and is barely paying attention to the judges comments because she gets to drape herself all over him for a few minutes. (Can ya blame ha?)

Judges? Nigel, who, to his credit, did laugh at the shirt rippage, has to wait for the crowd to stop cheering before he can go on. He does get that this will get the phone calls. C/A are right on board the Ab Train, and JM is like Paula with an indecipherable accent. Yeah, don’t try to actually imagine that.

Next? The next couple. Travis loses Marf and gets Heidi! This is a Good Thing I think, as her tiny body will match his far better than muscular Martha’s did. They draw paso doble. Two weeks ago, even a week ago, this would have brought fear to Travis’s heart. But he’s done well with ballroom challenges..and he’s got a latin dancer for a partner now. I think they’ll do very well with this. And they get CrackMary! The blonde on blonde looks good on the two of them and I think they’re getting the matador/cape thing. They seem to have some chemistry, which is nice to see from Heidi.

Dancing to a song from Mask of Zorro, they enter with him holding Heidi upside down, down his back. Whoa. They dance with a lot of intensity. It’s not perhaps the most riveting thing ever, but the choreography is what it is. I think they do a very nice job with what they had.

Judges? Nigel says it was the best dramatic opening. Agreed. He loved it and saw their chemistry. C/A enjoyed it, all props. JM says….something. He liked them.

Yay, MIAMia is finally back - she’s choreographing tonight!

Youch, Ryan gets Alison. (I am SO sorry, Alison. SO sorry.) They get Mia for contemporary, which is both their specialities, so if he can bring it with this, and with Al as his partner, well then, we know don’t we. But I want him to go home anyway. I just don’t want him to bring her down. I imagine she’ll shine through just fine. Mia works them hard, y’all. HARD. Wow. I’m exhausted just watching the clips.

Here we go to Ethna…and wha? They come out in short black catsuits and….eye patches? Hunh? The routine is slinky and aggressive, but it would have been nice of they’d clued us in to what the hey the patch thing was all about in the clip piece. Oh well, I’ll just ignore that and watch the dance. Damn distracting though. The dance is incredibly sinuous and extreme and very engrossing to watch. They do a really nice job with it. I don’t get the “story” but clearly they rock this. Athletes, both of them in this. I think I lost five pounds just watching that. They end with this wild leap off the back of the stage into the crowd that I had to watch twice. Whoa. I liked that. Damn you Mia! You’ll keep Ryan in this thing.

Judges…Nigel, C/A, and JM are all duly impressed, even if they don’t “get” the story either.

Now it’s Marf’s turn for her solo. Wow, this show is just gonna keep coming at you tonight. She comes out in a skin tight Audrey Hepburn number to Gwen Stefani’s What You Waiting For. Loved the hat, but I thought she’d take it off. It was distracting after a while. The routine had a lot of energy, but was just okay for me.

Judges? Nigel thinks she’s in the danger zone, and I agree totally. C/A says she’s holding back and JM coaxes a smile.

Ivan comes out to do his hip hop solo and….are you kidding me? He’s wearing skate shoes? Rilly? Wow, that’s just so…mall boy. His music is slow and dreamy hip hop as with his last solo, and it’s smooth but not as innovative and sharp, and the skate shoes kinda killed the wow factor for me. He lost his edge with that trick. Very gimmicky, Ivan.

Judges? Nigel says he’d pick the phone up for his contemp from last week (agreed) but not tonight. Also agreed. C/A said it was too gimmick, not enough heart. JM…I have no idea.

Now we get Dmitry picking a new partner. (Will he continue to be the Partner of Death?) He draws..wow..Donyelle. Nooooooo! Except, yowza, this could be hawt! (I was kinda hoping Natalie, but this could be interesting!) They get lindy hop. Hum. Dmitry has the partner element down, which Donyelle is well aware of. I hope they nail this! (Wish her foot was 100%!)

Here we go…to Sing Sing Sing, It’s high energy, and Dmitry is looking okay, but Donyelle looks like she’s dancing on her heels, like her shoes are weird or something. Hmm. It looks like he’s just winging her around - not much style going on here. Like they are so far behind the music and just rushing to keep up. A shame. And her shoes are odd, they make it look like her toes are curled up or something. The tricks at the end are impressive but still realllly sloppy. Given how complex the contemp routine was for Alison and Ryan and how well they did, it’s hard to say they should be given a bye here since they had to learn so much this week. I’m not feeling this at all. A real shame. Way too jumbled.

Judges? Nigel says he liked the energy. Oookay. They did have that. C/A enjoyed Donyelle more than Dmitry and I just didn’t see that. JM scares me by totally seeing what I saw. He says he liked their passion. I’ll go for that.

Now we find out who Benji gets partnered up with…Natalie! And they get Jazz. And YAY they get Tyce. He’s thrilled and I’m thrilled they’re thrilled. He’s got a modern African routine for them. Oookay. I trust him. Natalie was a little overwhelmed with the work load and Tyce helped her simplify. No cut up and kidding around this week. All work.

So the results of their labor? Here we go to Wonderful by India.Arie. I can’t say I was feeling the whole African vibe from these two very not African dancers, but they worked very well together and I liked their vibe a lot. A whole lot. It was more contemporary feeling to me than jazzy, and the music was a little inaccessible, but the did a great job with what they were given. (Sorry, Tyce, you let me down a little this week, baby.)

Judges? Nigel thought they were great, agrees with me on the chemistry. He likes the routine more than I did, but it was joyful, I’ll go with that. C/A liked it. JM loved it. They do fit very well together. This could be the best thing that happened to Natalie.

Heidi is up next with her solo, to Dum Diddly by the Black Eyed Peas - she starts on her back at the top of the stage stairs, head down on the riser below…and we’re off. Wearing a flesh toned slinky, sparkly short clingy dress, she goes barefoot with her swishy-hipped ballroom solo and is as good as she always is, not quite as manic. The beige look might have served to tone her down a notch, not a bad move I think.

Judges? Nigel gave her well deserved props. C/A loved her energy. JM says it’s a smart solo. Agreed again.

Next up, we begin Round Two of partner dancing.

Ivan and Marf pick smooth waltz. You know…they might both be in trouble this week. Ivan was so powerful and moving last week, but it’s like he’s reverted a great deal. Of course, he doesn’t have much to bounce off of with Martha. And she’s not bringing her game up, it’s just staying on a level field. I think Ivan has the fan base to maybe carry him another week…but after seeing Natalie and Benji, I think Martha’s days are done.

To Sandy’s Song by Dolly Parton (I know,but it’s nice) Ican is in tails and Martha’s dress is stunning. They actually float across the floor quite well. A shame they dont’ have more chemistry, because I think they are doing a lovely job. (Except Marf has a tendency to lead a little bit.) We know he can be a leading man, but she clearly doesn’t trust him that way. Ivan is enjoying himself, she’s just getting through it, wishing she had Dmitry or Travis. Lovely spin move at the end. I wish she’d give herself over to dance more.

Judges? Nigel felt they didn’t bring it as a couple. C/A say they didn’t bring it, either. JM nails the coffin lid shut, but hopes he’s wrong.

Now we get Travis’s solo, which after that lackluster judging review, will likely bring the house down. He does a great Travis athletic routine. Lots of spins and leaps. It seemed really short to me, even though its’ short already.

Judges? Nigel totally gives him his due. C/A says he brought it. JM says he can go all the way. I’m glad to see him get some props this week. Deserved.

Next Alison and Ryan with routine 2 - they get Broadway. I love how Alison just never says die. Always upbeat, always giving her all to the dance and her partner. Her unrelenting enthusiasm, especially now, is really commendable. And they get Tyce - woot! Don’t let me down, buddy! He’s promising quirky and fun. Good! For all they down on Ryan every week (and duh) he is working hard with her, which is nice to see. He still whines a bit, but he is smiling more. If anyone can bring infectious fun, it’s Alison. Maybe if she’d had him sooner, he’d have come out of his shell more. But he might pull this out and put Ivan at risk this week. Hmmm…..

Here we go…to Bye Bye Blackbird from Liza with a Z Minelli, they come out popping. Alison is in a Natalie stockings and heels number and they’re both in red with white fedoras. You know, it’s a shame Ryan doesn’t smile more. When he does, you do feel him more. It’s just not natural for him I guess.

Judges? Nigel is hard on him (I almost feel sorry for him - I mean, I want him to go, but it’s just a bit relentless with the critique.) I just think he brought it more than he’s being given credit for. It might not be enough to keep him on the show, but my god, these guys are killing themselves. Lighten up already. C/A were a little kinder to him. JM makes some good remarks. I just feel like they’re almost being too hard, and that might backfire. He has my sympathy. I’d have long since been in tears.

Natalie’s turn for her solo…and she drops the sex kitten and goes back to her core, which is pure contemporary/lyrical and it’s very emotionally executed. She’s really shined this week for me. And I’m not a real fan of hers.

All the judges give her props and her parents are in the audience (nice looking parental units she has there.)

Oooh, now we get Benji’s solo to Land of a 1000 Dances by Wilson Wicked Pickett (LOVE this song) and he rips it from the start. He uses the stairs like nobody’s business, then spins all the way across the floor so smoothly. The audience is going wild, I’m totally digging it, this is what a solo should be, people. Fantastic. He works the audience and the camera in the end (bad pun there as he moons the camera, clothed.) The crowd starts chanting his name….crazy.

Judges? Nigel applauds. C/A dug it. JM was totally there for it. Then Nigel makes a point that no gimmicks are needed when you can dance. And though I love my Ab Man, he totally has a point. Way to go, Benj!!

Dmitry and Donyelle get Samba for dance #2 - Mary is their choreographer and (squee!) she has Artem as her partner. And we get Dmitry/Artem talking Russian to me…and, anytime boys, anytime. ::fanning self:: They had fun and they danced, it was really nice to see. I hope it translates to the dance floor tonight…

Continuing with the Black Eyed Peas lovefest, dancing to Hey Mama….here we go… Okay, Dmitry is seriously hot in all black, but Donyelle looks the best, the hottest, we’ve seen her look in weeks. Shew, mama! The go for it, totally. I loved the hip hop feel to this and she brought the hip hop, he brought the samba and they both just really looked like they were having a blast out there. I really enjoyed it. WAY better than dance number one, thank goodness!

Judges? Nigel is kind to Donyelle, talking about her facial technique, which is great and well deserved compliment, and mercifully didn’t pick on her footwork, which was definitely shaky at times, but she was in heels for the first time in a while, and it had to hurt like hell with that broken toe. So I’m glad he lightened up a little there. JM said it was a great performance and he critiqued it well. C/A says he finally found a partner and that Donyelle held up her end.

Travis and Heidi get contemporary for dance #2, which is good news for Travis, but not so sure for Heidi. I personally think she can pull anything off, she has great range of emotion. And I was spoiled to the fact that this is the dance of the night. So I can’t wait to see it! They get Mia, so this should be wild, people. I think Heidi is so used to her “performance face” emotion that what Mia is trying to pull out of her, on top of everything else they are doing this week, pushes Heidi to the verge. But I’m kind of glad she is, only because I’d really like to see her dig past manic pageant girl performance face to whatever else she has, which I suspect is a whole lot. We know Travis will bring this. And she’s determined.

Here we go, to a Celine song… They begin on a metal mesh park bench in the center of the stage. She does a nice job with what is a very demanding piece, although it looks subtle. I think they really are doing well together. It’s an emotional piece, and I like how well she brought herself up to speed for this. She’s nowhere near in his stratosphere, and this definitely showcases how hard this genre is, because he makes it look so effortless and we see her struggle, yet do pretty damn well…but he’s phenomenal with it. All in all, a real growth piece. I’m not moved to the level I was with Ivan and Alison,their connection was way stronger. But for a new pairing, this was impressive for me.

Judges? Nigel was truly moved, nice to know he has a heart. C/A were also moved. JM gave a really nice critique, all positive. Well done, JM, very well done.

Alison is next with her solo. I’m expecting a lot here. Especially after that. She comes out to Pat Benatar, We Belong, wearing a stunning Survivor like garment. She did really well. Very joyful. Enough to make sure that, despite her critiques with partner Ryan, she’s not going anywhere. Not her best week, but certainly good enough.

Judges…Nigel goes give her a bit of critique, nice to hear. She can grow, too. C/A follow suit. JM says she has depth. He’s been a good judge, as it turns out.

Natalie and Benji get hip hop and Shane. Who cracks me up talking about his none-ghetto pair. Whatever the case, this is gonna be fun!

Here we go to She’s Freaky - They’re in black grease monkey overalls with red caps. And they go for it. It’s not going to be ghetto, forget that happenin. But it’s certainly energetic and entertaining as all hell. As much as I loved him and Donyelle, dare I say these two physically match up perfectly. Both so high energy and athletic. They do bring out the best in one another. I loved it. Ooooh, at the end they strip down, y’all. Dang. Most fun routine of the night for me, easy. Natalie rocked that one, and Benji held his own pretty well.

Judges - Nigel is totally bringing the wanker. No chemistry? Is he on crack? It’s hip hop, not the most chemistry of dances, but I thought they complimented each other beautifully. So much fun. C/A agree their timing wasn’t on as a pair, but that they were good individually. JM thought they brought it totally.

Solo from Ryan…(god, poor guy, on top of everything else, he has to not only close the show, but close it after fan favorite Benji. Sigh. But if he really wants a chance to prove he belongs here, here is his big chance.) He wisely chooses an upbeat song from Jamiroquai. He does a nice job with it, and I think he puts as much into it as he can, but I don’t think it will save him this week. I think the judges sealed his fate earlier, but it would be nice, with this their last chance, to give the boy at least a few damn props. He can dance.

Nigel? Does give him props as a soloist, which is absolutely dead on. He’s not made for partnering, we’ve all said it all along. I’m just glad he’s being given props for what he does excel at. C/A follow suit. JM does a nice job propping him, too. Nice for him to get at least that and end with a smile.

My prediction is that Martha and Ryan will be leaving this week. But we could be surprised.

And that’s all she wrote, folks! I’ve hit my MACLoad for today. Tune in tomorrow for some dishy PR3 MAC and the result of tonight’s DanceFest!

Enjoy your Thursday and don’t forget to enter the Book Giveaway, cher! I’ll announce the winner tomorrow, too.

Tags: Writing by Donna
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So, did I mention it’s hot? My poor flowers are struggling. Heck, I’m struggling. The upper floor of my house, despite having air conditioning, more closely resembles a sauna now than actual bedrooms. Which would be great if I was at the spa. Or if it was the deep of winter. My dogs, who normally beg me to go out every other minute, now just look at me like, “Do we have to? Really?” They spend a lot of time hanging around the water dish. Which means I have to take them out anyway, and we both just whimper a little.

You know it’s bad when you need to run out and get something from your truck in the middle of night…and it’s still eighty degrees and a million percent humidity. When did night become day, just with no sun? There is no early enough court time to make a set of tennis something you can do without keeping the local ERT guys on call.

And cooking….ahahahahahahahhaa. Yeah. I’m not doing that. Besides, who wants hot food? My poor neighbor just rebuilt his entire deck, it’s gorgeous, and front and center is this magnificent grill that George Foreman would sell a George Jr. for. Of course, he can’t use it. It would be like making hamburgers in hell.

I worked at the shop yesterday and it was a ghost town. No one wants to go out. The ones who did brave it (because crafters are dedicated folks, I tell ya) just sort of staggered in–the temps were in the low hundreds with a heat index of the surface of the sun–with a kind of vacant look in their eyes.

My sons have totally screwed themselves, though. They just haven’t realized it yet. They’re working outside this summer. It’s scary hot out there, yet off they go at 5 am, already a zillion degrees humidity, coolers loaded with frozen water bottles, enough Gatorade to hydrate the Green Bay Packers, and cold sandwiches they made and stuck in the fridge the night before (which they eat for breakfast and lunch. I know.) I do not know how they do this, and yet they do, and have been for some time now. It’s enough to make you want to find the Fountain of Youth. What they’ve yet to realize, is that I will now no longer accept the excuse “But moooooom, it’s too hot” when I ask them to mow the lawn.

Ha. I knew there was an upside to this.

There’s a rumor that it’s supposed to cool off today. And by cool, I mean only ninety-million degrees. It was supposed to rain last night. I peeked out back this morning as the sun was coming up…nary a wet deck plank to be seen. Dare I open my door? Dare my dogs get their hopes up?

I’d be happy with just a few cool nights, so we could open windows and let the heat of the day (week, month, century) ooze out of the upper level of my house. So I could sleep without dreaming of packing dry ice around the bed to cool things off.

Is it fall yet?

Okay…I’m all done whining. For now. I totally reserve the right to whine again if I open my front door later and walk into liquid air in an effort to find my morning paper.

In an effort to be more upbeat…. Yay, it’s Dance and PR3 day. Woot! It takes so little to make me happy. Just the thought of Dmitry ripping his shirt off…and Tim Gunn saying “Designers, make it work!” is enough–well, that and a mug of cookie dough ice cream–to keep me whine-free for a few hours anyway.

And hey! The blog babes are knocking it out with this week’s SHaQ Attack question. I knew I couldn’t stump ya. What? You haven’t entered yet? Well, whatcha waiting for? Oh the peer pressure! Come on! If you missed it, check out Monday’s blog post for all the details.

Stay cool out there! And remember, ice cream is key.

Tags: Writing by Donna
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