But yikes, I can’t say Big Bro pulled me like I thought they would with the new Til Death Do Us Part twist. Of course they couldn’t just match people and get on with it, noooo. They had to have one recently broken up couple thrust back together (yay, what fun! Not!) and then a couple who thought they’d be playing secretly together, only they got matched with other people, much to their surprise. And then we have the one contestant who is my age, who makes a complete ass out of herself when she gets paired with a Nottie. Sigh. So…yeah. So far, same old Big Brother.

Americal Idol Hollywood week was fun to watch, right up until the ice storm hit and knocked out my sat dish reception. But there were some gems in the part I got to watch. I’m sure they’ll recap ad nauseum tonight. And I’ll enjoy every second! I think this is shaping up to be an intersting season. At least I won’t have to worry about competing shows now…

I did see where they listed auditions for the next season of So You Think You Can Dance, which means, we’re having another season! Yay!

Don’t forget to enter this week’s SHaQ Attack. Winner gets an advance copy of my August release, The Black Sheep & The English Rose. Woot! Details in Monday’s post.

Happy hunting.

Aaaaaaaand, dish!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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But I don’t want the cure! So, the satellite service guy is coming today to switch out my old DVR unit for a new, dual receiver unit that more than quadruples the amount of recording time I had (hey, I had a Jurassic version, only a measly 35 hours!) AND this one will allow me to record on more than one channel at the same time.

Which will come in handy, oh, later this evening when I am out teaching class (remind me to tell you all about that!) and both American Idol (Hollywood Week - finally!) and the launch of Big Brother, Till Death Do Us Part starts at the same time. Now if I can just figure out how to use it before I have to leave….

In other news, in response to questions about this week’s SHaQ Attack contest, YES, if you get the bonus question right, it counts as one of the three critters you need to enter the contest. And really, just in the Black Sheep series so far, well…that’s as much of a hint as I am going to give!

Happy Hunting!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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Okay, so I haven’t made you guys do much scavenging in our Scavenger Hunt Question contest, (yes, that is where the “SHaQ” of SHaQ Attack comes from, in case newer Blog Babes were wondering…) so this week? We’re hunting. A wee bit, anyway. Valentine’s Day is this week, so I’m giving away a special prize, although the winner will have to wait a wee bit as well.

The contest? Name three books that feature an animal as part of the cast of characters. I know, I have animals in almost all of my books. It’s not that hard. The catch? Has to be three different animals. I need the animal’s name, what type of beast it is, and the title of the book.

Bonus prize if you also name the book with the upside down swimming goldfish!

Email your answers to donna@donnakauffman.com with It’s a zoo out there! in the subject line.

The prize? An advance reading copy of the final Men of Trinity, Inc book, The Black Sheep & The English Rose! They won’t arrive until March, but hopefully it’s a prize worth waiting for. You’ll still beat all the other mere mortals by about six months as it doesn’t hit the shelves until August. And don’t worry if you don’t win this time around…I have a birthday coming up next month and I think that it might be fun to celebrate by giving away a few more!

But you could be the very, very, very first if you win this week. So give it a shot!

Good luck! Happy scavenging!

Tags: Uncategorized by Donna
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I wasn’t sure how I’d feel going into a Fans v Faves season of Survivor, but I found myself surprisingly enjoying the whole episode. It was great fun seeing my old faves, Cirie, Ozzy, and Yau Man, and I enjoyed watching the immediate strategy sessions happening withthe faves.

I thought it was also interesting watching the fans bond as underdogs and just go adrenaline nuts during the first challenge. While I find myself rooting for the faves (no idea why really) I liked that they lost out of the gate. Keeps things interesting from the start.

I was kind of amazed at the role Fairplay was able to land himself in right off the bat, too, and - shockingly - was kind of sorry to see him as the first to go. Not that sorry, but he is entertaining, no doubt.

So…all in all, looks to be a kind of high octane, interesting - and apparently soggy - season. Also - the romances already getting going? Yikes. But…also interesting.

Yay. Survivor’s back!

Happy Friday everyone - have a fabulous weekend and I’ll be back on Monday with a new, regular length, SHaQ Attack contest!!

Aaaaaaand, dish! (Come on, you know you wanna! Who’s your fave already? Who ya rooting for to go home? Eliza? Yeah, me too.)

Tags: Writing by Donna
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It’s been a looooooooong contest two weeks, but it’s finally time to announce some winners! Woo hoo!

Last night’s episode was hilarious for me. You know, at this point in the competition, with only 6 designers left and fatigue setting in, usually they are all cranky and catty. And while this group surely has their bitchy moments and personality tangles, what is striking to me is how much fun they all have together. Much like Amazing Race was this year, they are all fiercely competitive, but seem to understand it’s up to them to win and just enjoy each other in the meantime.

I credit a lot of this to Chris and I think that’s why they were all so happy to have him back. His humor is always present and his dry wit seems to keep things in perspective with everyone. I think he’s the reason everyone tolerates Christian and his prima donna antics as much as they do. He makes me laugh all the time and his comments this week as they have to create a ring outfit for the WWE Divas were truly hilarious. Christian had me laughing as well. At least he totally owns his prima donna moments…and backs them up with amazing stuff.

So, Jillian, Chris and Christian end up as the finalists. Totally correct choices and I liked all of their costumes. It would have been a toss up between the two Chris’s for me and I love Teddy Bear Chris, so I’m really happy he won, though, personally, I do think Christian did a more fabulous job. Still, for even more reasons, I was okay with seeing him denied the win again. It keeps him humble, or as humble as possible anyway. Still, I think he’s been the most consistent designer all throughout this competition and it wouldn’t surprise me if he wins.

On the bottom - Rami, Sweet Pea, and Ricky. Rami is safe (what was that hot pink mess anyway?) which leaves Sweet Pea and Ricky. Both quite deservedly. I think Sweet Pea rescued her outfit from the disaster it was earlier, but still missed the mark. She was the landslide choice to go home from the Blog Babes…but, Ricky’s swimsuit and gold tunic were a total miss, and FINALLY he goes home instead. I am completely okay with this and think it’s a few weeks overdue.

He got his fair share of Blog Babe votes this week, too, so we do have our three winners! Joyce, Patricia L, and Susan, you are the winning blog babes this week. Woo hoo!!!! Send me some book choices (in case I’m out of your first pick) and mailing addresses and your SHaQ Attack prizes will be on their way.

Tomorrow? Survivor MAC - yay!! And next week? Big Brother!

Okay, I know, I know, it’s almost un-MAC-able, but they kindasorta got me with this season’s twist. At least it will have me tuning in anyway. Seems as our 16 Hamsters had to fill out all sorts of dating/lovestyle type stuff along with the regular applications but only after they were safely tucked (locked) away in the house did they find out why. This season’s twist is that each of the 16 houseguests has been paired up with their supposed love match/soulmate. HA! It’s Big Brother Meets The Bachelor! They have to sleep together, compete together, win reward or take punishment together,and possibly be eliminated together. Wow, the possibilities here are both horrifying and, well, hilarious. I must tune in. At least initially anyway, if only to see the looks on their faces when they find out.

Oh, and only one of the contestants is over the age of 29. She’s 45. What hot young thing did they pair her up with? I mean, hey, I’m a single 47 year old, where was MY application???? Dammit.

So, we have Survivor, Project Runway Finale, and now this to tide us over? It’s almost delicious. Take that writer’s strike!

Aaaaand, dish!

Tags: Writing by Donna
2 Comments »

Woo. (Honestly, I vote, I do.)

But! That means you have until tomorrow at 10EST to get your MIV (Most Important Vote) in. Yes, of course I’m talking about your vote on who is going home on Project Runway. (Duh. What vote did you think I was talking about?) I think this “election” has seemed almost as long as the national race. It’s the longest SHaQ Attack in history anyway. (Why, with the writers strike, does the one show that actually has unaired episodes in the can have to show a repeat? I ask you.) But it will finally air tomorrow night, then I will announce three, count em, three winners on Thursday. Friday? Survivor MAC is back!

So, I found out from my older son that he actually knows one of the kids on Dance War. Seems he lives right here in our town and they played football together as tots. Naturally, I had to check this out. And…..yeah, so it’s Phillip. Who isn’t my favorite (cute, great arms, but boy cannot sing.) Still, we rooted for the hometown boy, and though his team lost, he wasn’t cut. It’s still a lot of talk and not much dancing. I had much higher hopes for this dance show.

In other news, it looks like the writer’s strike is almost at an end. Yay! However, they say that most shows will take 4 to 6 weeks to get back up to speed and cranking out new episodes. Boo! And that it’s almost spring, when shows go on hiatus for the summer season. Hiss! But maybe they’ll throw us a bone and extend the season a wee bit. Or just bring back So You Think You Can Dance and we won’t care. Just sayin.

Hope everyone has a Super Tuesday!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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I watched Eli Stone…did anyone else? I enjoyed it, found it interesting, though I think Boston Legal is still my fave when it comes to courtroom summations. I did like the accupuncture dude doc. I will tune in next week, mostly because, hey, what else have we got to watch? I mean, other than Survivor. Did I mention Survivor is back next week, did I? Not that I’m looking forward to it or anything.

Don’t forget to enter this week-and-a-half’s SHaQ Attack contest! You can check out last Monday’s blog post for the details. Since Project Runway was a repeat this past Wednesday, you have until this Wed, Feb 6 to get your votes in. Winners (three of them!) announced Thursday.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Tags: Writing by Donna
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