Last Week In So Many Ways

It's the last week of NaBloPoMo, the last week of November - which could be a redundant situation but we won't dwell on that - the last week of Dancing With The Stars for the year, the last week before all the Christmas stuff takes off. It was like the calm before a storm if one wants to get poetic. And I would but it's been a long day and tomorrow's going to be longer - yay for travelling - and it's going to be wild when we get back. So here's what turned out to be a rather low impact final competition.
Kelly certainly is the most improved. While her Argentine tango was not the most precise it was a far sight better than any one she had ever done and it looked like she was dancing instead of stumbling.
I am sure I have mentioned this before, but ever since Mel B danced it with Maksim, EVERYONE has worn a pleather bikini and cape to dance the paso doble. And Mya was no exception. It was a good dance, strong and precise, but outside of the box people, outside.
Donny's cha-cha was not bad but it wasn't up to the level of the other two. He needed more hips and arms in his down time. But I missed a lot of it watching Kym, so afraid that her outfit was going to fall off. Who thought that was a good idea?
And what was going through the minds of the people who created the Megamix? I thought all the dancers did a great job but it was oddly constructed and each part of each dance was so short that it didn't mix together well. It was like they had some pieces of dances left over so they threw them all together and everyone danced it all at once. Not really what I expected of a team dance in the the finals. But the judges placed each couple in the right order for me in the end and they all tried really hard. So, there you go.
The words 'free style' can be really great or stink really bad - as we were told about a thousand times - but it really did define them all for the competition.
Kelly's shoulder pads were huge and she fell but she had fun and to use a quote I really dislike she "left it all on the floor."
Mya's was weak, sad to say, though it was a great song and a great outfit.
Donny's probably was the strongest in showmanship and ofttimes that is what wins the freestyle round and wins the show. I am prepared to be surprised and have him win the whole shebang.

This is me, and while we won't be available when they announce the rundown tomorrow night - we will watch the whole thing when we get back - let me know if it doesn't go down as Donny, Mya and Kelly as 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

Sew, A Needle Pulling Thread

And while we're on the trend of my housekeeping skills, I finally got around to trying out the free sewing machine Rocketgirl lauded on Cheapskate.com last year. Let me first say, that if you have grand ideas of making party dresses and stuff with this thing, think again. A miniature marvel it is not.

Sure, it looks cute and all:

But that is one erractic machine with no self control. I am glad that I started with something that doesn't matter too much - one of our bottom sheets that had a huge hole:

I am not saying whose foot but that hole there but let's just say that it wasn't mine. It took a long time to repair and a lot of thread - maybe the stuff I have is old and therefore more brittle than usual? - because it kept breaking. The tension knob does not adjust particularly well and there are a lot of thread guides you have to untangle every time the thread breaks. BUT.

All the whining and cursing aside - and there might have been a lot of that - in the end it does look fairly fixed:

So, for the small things that no one else will see, it's not a bad free, tiny sewing machine.

This is me and for anything tougher than a sheet I'm gonna need a Singer.

Do You Want Quotes With That?

Rocketgirl suggested that a Jane's Top 10 Quotes list be generated. I don't know that I am that interesting but as she reads and comments on EVERY SINGLE POST I feel I should indulge her. So we're changing the layout a tiny bit and instead of Jane's Current Favorites - which I neglect to update on a regular basis anyway - we're going to have Jane's Top 10 list and you can submit your favorite quote at any time. We'll worry about what to do if we get more than 10 suggestions.
First up "...their songs did not make me want to jab a stick in my ear. So that was good."


This is me and someone thinks I'm quotable.

Reflections On The Third Year

Happy Blog Anniversary to Jane!
It's been three years, 600+/- posts and what have we learned?
Firstly, we learned that Jane is a champion whiner. Also super stubborn, a control freak and probably a little - fine, a lot - bossy. Maybe a tad critical.
We have learned that she likes her cats, her football team, live musical numbers, TV, talented women and nerdy cute men, a random selection of music that may or may not include the Top 40 depending on the decade, we know she likes to cook, and she LOVES her few devoted readers. She is overly scheduled nearly every week, especially with church stuff and she doesn't always get it all done. She's not a perfectionist when it comes to housework but she is about pie crust. Jane likes to read a lot of blogs and wants others to post more often since their lives are more interesting than hers.
But lastly, and not least, we know that she does love the weird, funny, kind, abstract sequential man known as Tarzan.

This is me and it's been three years. Are you bored yet?

I Vant To Not See It Everywhere

I realize I take me life in my hands when I ask this question but I'm feeling tough today so I dare to forge ahead anyway:
What is with the love affair America is having with vampires right now?
And because I do not understand, I find THIS
And this:
So very hilarious.

This is me, and you may now proceed to stone me for heresy.

Countdown

As I was posting last night, all complacent about the BIG DWTS finals next week, I realized that I won't be watching the BIG show. I won't know who wins for hours, or even days after the final BIG show airs. And I won't get to see the whole two-hour episode until we get home because Tarzan and I will be on a plane heading to his parents' house for Thanksgiving when Tom Bergeron is announcing the winner of Season 9. Now, while I do enjoy my Dancing With The Stars, it is not that all-encompassing.
Really. It isn't.
My amazement when I realized I won't see the show next week was more along the lines of HOW IS THANKSGIVING NEXT WEEK ALREADY?!
I am not ready. There are presents I need to buy to take with us so we don't have to ship things in the Christmas rush. There are things I need to ship to The Other Side Of The World so they don't get caught in the Christmas rush. The week after we get back starts the Christmas parties and the tree decorating at church and with the cub scouts and there's cards and things and I have to pack and it all starts with Thanksgiving.
So rather than get a leg up on it all, what am I doing? Blogging for you Internet friends. My priorities are SO in the right order.

This is me, and I'm not ready.

Under Pressure

I was hoping the judges would ask to see Donny's tango - done the way he had practiced it instead of the way it came out - but no, they encored Mya's salsa tonight on Dancing With The Stars.
The dance troupe from Nine was...interesting. It's from the movie about a guy who has a lot of women - nine apparently? - in his life and how each one influences his career. One of them is a prostitute it would seem and I'm guessing that dance came from her section of the film.
Alicia Keys and Leona Lewis are not my cup of tea, but their songs did not make me want to jab a stick in my ear. So that was good.
The film blurb was amusing - there is not a lot of lip syncing skills amongst the remaining few - but the antics were good for a laugh. The behind the scenes looks, with the professionals, are one of my favorite parts of the show.
Now the Bee Gees were awesome, especially noting there were only two of them left, but I did not see the necessity of Melissa Rycroft for the dance. In fact, she kind of stunk.
I was a bit surprised that it was Joanna was sent home, but then again, she likely has a smaller fan base than one of the Osbournes right? Did anyone else catch Ozzy's face when it was announced Kelly will be dancing in the finals? That man is still so strung out from his hey day it's really a tribute to his wife that he's made it this far.

This is me and next week's shows are going to be big, I tell you, BIG!

Dancing Etc - The Semi-Finals

One would think my entry would be shorter since there are only four couples left on Dancing With The Stars. But of course they now make them dance three routines in one night so it's like there are twelve of them.
I certainly was uncomfortable watching Donny and Kym's tango but not because of the sensuality of the dance. Let's start with Kym's dress and Donny's suit - she was hanging out all over the place and he was completely covered up including his hands. He was not holding her tight at all and the whole dress hem thing - does NO ONE wear their dress in rehearsal? - and WHAT was WITH all the jokes about Marie?
Joanna and Derek's waltz-that-was-not-Viennese was much better, but it still lacked something. I saw her shuffling her feet several times and she hesitated her turns so they looked awkward. It was a great song for the dance though.
For me, Kelly and Louis' rumba was much better than most of her dances this season. It was full of difficult poses but not as much content as maybe could have been. I have to wonder if Louis fell in that one part? Her solo bit looked like she was counting and maybe that's what she lacks...fluidity?
Mya and Dimitry's waltz was lovely - Tarzan commented on it - but I am surprised that Carrie-Ann did not mention the lift and her feet coming WAY off the floor.
Donny's samba was much better - though I do not know what Kym was wearing - his feet, his hips, his smile. It was fun and I liked it.
I did not like Joanna's cha-cha all that much. She seemed stiff and I don't like those fringed pants that everyone likes to wear. Her hips were lacking too.
Kelly's quickstep had a rather frantic song - I still would like to know who picks the songs for these things - but except for one rather poorly planned misstep in the middle as they were running across the floor, it was rather fun.
If tonight is any indication, Mya will win this whole thing. Her salsa was insanely good. My only criticism would be she misses her spots a lot in the turns and it looks a tad awkward coming out. Her song was awesome.
Donny's jitterbug was not as big as I expected it to be from him. (These little snippets of dances are so short it's hard to judge how it's going before it's done with. I don't know that they deserve a full score for only 30 seconds worth.) It was fun and it was good, but it wasn't as large as a jitterbug should have been I think.
Joanna is not thrilling me tonight. Her salsa was not all that great.
Kelly's cha-cha was cute and not bad. Can I just say that I LOVE Louis van Amstel? I really do.
Mya's cha-cha was good, no question.

This is me, and we're getting down to the end of it.

Once Was Lost And Now Is Found

For all those who were concerned, you may rest assured that we did find Tarzan's wedding ring. It was in the pocket of his pants, and fortunately for me, the washer filter does not accept metal items and spits them back out at me.


This is me, and there are times when my lack of housewifely skills is a good thing.

To Wear Or Not To Wear?

Where else in the world does the temperature rise 30 degrees in two hours? When I accompanied Tarzan and the Academic Decathlon team to their scrimmage this morning - just past 6am - it was a cool 50 degrees. That's about right for November, yes?
When I left to do other things at 8:30am it was a balmy 81 degrees. It makes it very hard to dress one's self in the mornings not knowing if it will warm up later in the day - like today - or not. (The thermometer didn't make it above 70 on Thursday.)
On the other side of the coin, it's a great day for some football. Let's beat The Farm.

This is me and what's a girl to do?