Amber

Today I got to see a great old friend of mine from Tampa, Amber. She is in town with her friend Hope to see Dave Matthews in concert. We met up for lunch at Yard House and walked around Town Square for a little shopping and did a lot of catching up. Hope and I also discovered we know a lot of the same people or have lots of degrees of separation, though we've never met, so I'm glad to have spent some time with her too. Good friends like Amber are always a great reminder that my time in Tampa was not a complete waste of time! :) Love you Amber! :)

Eight Down, Four To Go!

Holy crap! That's all I can say! I wanted Lil' Kim to go so badly, and I wanted Ty to stay. My voting paid off! And apparently I am not the only one with a soft spot for Ty Murray (or an annoyance with Lil' Kim). No matter how you swing it, Ty made it to the semi-finals and Lil' Kim didn't and I'm shocked! I don't think anyone was more shocked than Ty, however:Right after they said "Lil' Kim and Derek," Chelsie and Ty just stood there like they weren't sure if they had just announced who was going home or who had made it to the semi-finals. They hesitated until they were sure they were staying. And when they were saying their goodbyes, Ty was still in shock! I'm sure I'd have looked the same way! Sorry Lil' Kim...but good job.
Bye bye Lil' Kim and Derek!I have decided not to vote next week. That is historical for me in my watching Dancing With The Stars career. It used to be that the semi-finals was the only time I bothered to vote. But I love all 4 contestants left, I think they all deserve to win, so I am not going to vote. (I will also be in Oregon next Monday and Tuesday night finalizing a bunch of wedding stuff so I won't be able to watch it until Thursday when I get home...on the internet, so DON'T talk to me about it until Friday! Traumatic, I know!)

Week 9!

This week there were 2 rounds of competition...ballroom and Latin. So I used 2 email addresses and voted for each round. Here's what we got going on tonight!

The Ballroom Round
Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas ~ The Quick Step always entertains me and theirs was no exception. It was so much fun. Their facial expressions were hilarious and Shawn didn't seem to miss a step! It was a great way to start off the show and for once, the judges agreed with me! :) They win my vote! :)

Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower ~ I thought Ty NAILED his Argentine Tango. He worked hard, he was determined, and he was right on all of his steps and he wasn't too stiff (even though the Tango is a more stiff looking dance). He brought the right emotions and at the same time, seemed to be enjoying himself. I thought it was great, but the judges wanted more out of him...WHAT-ever! :) I was so proud of Ty he got 2 votes for this one!

Lil' Kim and Derek Hough ~ Since Lil' Kim annoys me (see an example of why in the picture to the left, her mouth is always wide open while she dances), I try to have an open mind every time she dances. This was a good Waltz, very pretty and mostly graceful, but she seemed to be stuttering in her steps which bugged me and took away from the grace. She didn't open her mouth as much during her dance though, that I noticed, which made me happy! Not happy enough though...no vote for you sister!

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke ~ I LOVED their Foxtrot! It was a great performance. They weren't only dancing but acting the part and playing out the song. It was really hard to stop watching. The only problem was, it didn't seem much like a Foxtrot to me. It had too much Latin action and not enough ballroom action. They were trying too hard to make it memorable and seemed to lose some of the actual dance. It was still excellent though. I gave them one of my votes. I REALLY think Gilles is going to win!

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani ~ The Viennese Waltz generally bores me. Melissa is so pretty and so was her performance. She's definitely got the sympathy thing working for her from being dumped on The Bachelor and then getting hurt last week, but she and Tony are clearly grateful to their fans for giving them a second chance. She was definitely working her legs and arms in this dance which made her look amazingly graceful and angelic. I couldn't pick out any mistakes, so even though I was bored, I liked her better than Lil' Kim so I gave her my last vote.

The Latin Round
Shawn and Mark ~ WOW! That's all I could think during their performance and all I could say when they were done! I love me some Paso Doble but this one was AMAZING! Maybe it was because it was this sweet, innocent, smiley girl being all serious and tough. Maybe it was because she nailed every step and every move was so clean. Or maybe its just because her partner is HOT. But this was AWESOME! 2 votes for sure. Maybe more if I have some left at the end! WOW!

Ty and Chelsie ~ Oh poor Ty. He had to do the Rumba. The guy with the lowest ability to move his hips had to do the dance which has the most hip movement. He tried, oh he tried his little heart out and you have to give him a lot of credit. He's shy and had to do a solo too, so he walked on over to his wife (Jewel) and swayed those hips at her for his entire 15 required seconds. If he can't do that for Jewel, he sure ain't gonna do it for all of us. And he did it! :) I don't care what the judges say. They may be judging on ability, but I'm judging on likability and I LOVE TY so he gets a vote from me, mostly for his heart and dedication and effort and improvement! Though I have a bad feeling he's going home tomorrow night! :(

Lil' Kim and Derek ~ The Salsa was quite possibly made for Lil' Kim. The girl can move her booty and her hips like nobody's business. So of course she had the perfect dance to have a solo on. I didn't think her dance as a whole was good. It felt off, like she was watching Derek and then doing what he did. But the part where they did the traditional (to me anyway) Salsa moves was great. And though her solo was a little crazy, it was good. It didn't really seem like she needed a partner throughout the entire dance though, not just the solo...Derek was nothing more than a prop at best. Anyway, she just BUGS me. I don't think she deserves to win because I just think dancing is part of her element anyway. I can't bring myself to vote for her, I just can't.

Gilles and Cheryl ~ Like the Salsa was made for Lil' Kim, and like Rumba was NOT made for Ty, the Rumba WAS made for Gilles and Cheryl. Good Lord I don't think it is possible for this man to exude any more heat than he already does (and I'm not talking about the high desert temperature kind of heat)! I thought it was GREAT. It was sexy but not too trashy (Rumbas are borderline trashy anyway...). His solo was smooth and sexy, but borderline pompous (like he doesn't KNOW every single woman thinks he is HOT). His hips move like they were only meant to Rumba. Overall I thought it was an excellent performance. The judges didn't seem to like it. I thought they were way too hard on him in critiquing but they weren't so bad when they actually scored him, giving him all nines. He for sure gets a vote from me!

Melissa and Tony ~ As Bruno said during his critique, when you're doing the Samba you should look like you're having the time of your life and THAT is EXACTLY what it looked like for Melissa. She had a huge smile on her face the entire time...maybe she was having fun, but I think she was also smiling because she was nailing every step and doing a great job. She gets a vote from me! (Two if I had any extras...but I don't.)

Every single dance got a standing ovation tonight. It was intense. I don't think the competition has ever been this close in any other season of this show. That makes it so exciting. :) Did I mention how much I love this show?! :)

April 2009!

A Day Maker for Heather :)

If you take one good look at the recent posts on this blog you will see that I am borderline obsessed with Dancing With The Stars. Which has also led me to be borderline obsessed with Mark Ballas and his band with Derek Hough. I found this video of one of their songs on Mark's website today and it has the whole cast of this season's Dancing With The Stars, a few stars from last season, and even some guest singers and random stars in it. Its great! It made my day for sure! :)

Seven Down, Five to Go!

Melissa and Tony were spared by their fans last night, it appears. I am glad for that, she deserves another shot, since she's been a great competitor from the start. I just hope she doesn't bust her ribs more. I am sad to see Chuck and Julianne go, just when they were starting to get really good! :(
Bye bye Chuck and Julianne!

Week 8!

Oh, tonight's episode was something else. I laughed, I cried, I was shocked, disappointed, and pleasantly surprised all wrapped up into 90 minutes. I mostly completely disagreed with the judges tonight. This is the closest season of Dancing With The Stars I've watched. There are 6 people left and its next to impossible to predict the ending like I usually can. Here's my rundown of the evening (with new photos to spice up the blog a bit!):
Gilles and Cheryl:Let's start with those god-awful costumes. And even worse, his hair! LAME! The judges loved their dance, as usual, but I didn't like it. I thought Gilles was too hesitant with every form of a lift he did with Cheryl which made the dance absolutely not fluid and fun like I think a Lindy Hop should be. Sorry guys, no votes from me! :(

Lil' Kim and Derek:
I have so had it with these two. Everyone thinks they are so great, but I just don't. Sure, she has spunk, but I cannot stand Lil' Kim's facial expressions. The Paso Doble is one of my favorite dances and this one was boring to me. Lil' Kim did a great job with the emotional side of the dance, but it seemed to me like she was always one step behind Derek instead of dancing with him. I know they have a good chance of making it to the semi-finals if not the finals, but I'm over this pair personally so no votes from me.
Chuck and Julianne:Either silk is working for this guy or he is getting better and better every week. Last week their Samba was my favorite dance and this week their Cha Cha Cha wasn't much worse! Their chemistry works in these kinds of dances so they have that going for them, but even more working for Chuck were those hips he's learned to move! NICE HIPS CHUCK! I loved this dance and they got one vote from me for the dance (and another one for their team dance...see below).
Shawn and Mark:Always my favorite, Shawn and Mark were flawless in their Samba. They have a fun chemistry when they dance that makes everything they do super cute. I like how Shawn looks up to Mark while they're dancing like she is having a blast but also in awe of him (I would be too!). They got one vote for this dance and one vote for their team dance (see below) from me.
Melissa and Tony:Poor Tony, all by his lonesome tonight as Melissa has hurt her ribs even more and couldn't dance. They judged them by the last practice they filmed which wasn't even their dress rehearsal but their morning rehearsal. Poor girl was in her bra and jeans. :( For a practice it started of great, but somewhere in the middle she lost it and was soft during the rest of the dance, putting little effort in, almost like she just wanted to start over. And why couldn't she? Its a rehearsal. Its not like she knew she was going to get judged on it. Tony kept saying they could do 10 times better than that, which I know is true, so even though the judges based their votes on what they saw, I based mine on what I would have seen had she have been there. And my emotions...Tony was so choked up during the judging, I couldn't stand it. They got one vote for me and I sure hope she can finish off the competition. She's really a great dancer and I love her and Tony together.
Ty and Chelsie:The spray tan really was Ty's secret weapon for his Salsa...and maybe those buff arms too! He did AWESOME. This guy started off so bad and so stiff and so boring and has turned out to be a great dancer. He's definitely not the best in the competition, but he's probably most improved! I LOVED his Salsa...particularly that hip action, which was a new arrival for Ty. I didn't like that Len told him if he didn't nail the team dance, it was time for him to hit the trail (even though I have a terrible feeling he's leaving tomorrow night), but he did nail the group dance (see below), and since I loved him in both of his dances tonight, they definitely got a vote from me. :)
Tonight was also my second favorite Dancing With The Stars addition. The team dances! Tonight the teams were:Team Mambo: Shawn & Mark, Chuck & Julianne, and Tony & Lacey (standing in for Melissa, but not counting toward the judging):andTeam Tango: Gilles & Cheryl, Lil' Kim & Derek, and Ty & Chelsie:Both dances were excellent. The solos were clean and the teamwork was unified. The judges preferred Team Tango over Team Mambo, but I think the fans will agree with me...Team Mambo was creative and FUN and distracting only in a good way and most definitely memorable. In fact, I would say this is the most memorable dance in Dancing With The Stars History, and definitely my favorite of all time. See for yourself: