That? Was a blast! Dancing With the Stars is back and it looks like a ridiculously fun season. Even if I only know a fraction of the celebs they snagged. Who cares? Everyone looks like they’re having a good time and committed to doing their best, and their enthusiasm is infectious.

Okay, boy, I hate to say it, but as excited as I was to see Drew Lachey standing in for New Mom Sam, he…..well, he’s not really all that good winging it, is he folks. Maybe he’ll loosen up. Maybe he’ll make me appreciate Sam Harris more. Who knows.

What I do know is that the band is playing Our Song and it’s time for some dancing! (Btw, I love Harold the Band Director Guy, but is it just me, or when they show his singers, do you always kind of gasp at the freak show element that always seems to hover about them? Who dresses these people? What are they on?)

First up we get a dance number by all of this season’s pros, and we have some new ones this season. It’s wicked fast and exciting! And we get to meet Our Judges, all of whom are back for another season of Sniff n Snark.

Finally, it’s time for the competition to begin. Tonight, the six women will compete, doing either the cha cha cha or the fox trot. We will meet the men romorrow tonight (and hey, this is a pretty good looking group this year. Maks? You’ve got company.)

First up is Jennie Garth, from 90210 fame. She seems so incredibly sweet, girl next door, and she is definitely trying her hardest. She gets Cutie Patootie Juliane’s brother, Derek, equally cute in the patootie department who is a new teacher this year, and I think they look adorable. I’d hate to go first, especially as it’s clear she’s not naturally in her element here, but working really hard. So what do the Producers That Care do to her? They give her Uptown Girl. For a cha cha. Wha?? It was ridiculously horrible music that even a good dancer (see: her instructor) had a hard time making look good. I really think she got royally screwed over on that one and I felt sorry for her. Despite that, she did a decent job and her scores – straight 7’s for 21, reflected that, and were on target. The judges were nice to her, too, which I was glad to see.

Second up? We get a super model I’ve never heard of before, Josie Maran, but then, I’m not a big reader of the SI Swimsuit Edition, so go figure. She actually seems cute and funny, and really wants to do this. Very unfortunately, she is the Kenny Mayne of female dancers. I mean, this chick cannot dance. At. All. Of course, she gets poor Alec Mazo, who, if he washed his hair regularly, would be a hottie in my book, and won the first season, but since then has had horrible luck in partners. His luck will not change this season, I don’t care how hard he works with her to get her strong. He did, however, have the funniest line of the night. He tells his partner that she looks really good, but is “deceptively unfit.” HA! But it’s so incredibly true. Girl is WEAK. But they get decent music for him to literally drag her around to. The judges are kindly harsh, but man, it’s hard to find anything nice to say. She’s really not good. She gets 6, 5, 5 – for 16, which is actually kind.

Third up, we get another chick who, not only have I never heard of her, I’ve never heard of her group. (Singing group? Dancing group? Television group? I have no idea.) Her name is Sabrina and she’s from the Cheetah Girls, who, if she is any indication, are Super Energizer Bunnies on Crack. My god, this girl is Wound. Up. Another thing this girl is, is a ringer. She’s a rap singer/dancer (I think) who can dance quite well, thank you. Just never did ballroom before. But dance training, to some degree, is dance training. She has another one of the new instructors, Mark Ballas, who I actually like quite a bit in all his dorkstarryness. He’s got some cuteness. Plus he seemed to feed off her energy well. (And, I just heard he is Julianne’s pro partner and I bet they are the super cuteness! So, we like him.) They even put some rap dance moves in their cha cha (which almost gives Uncle Lenny a heart attack, but which I secretly loved.) I did love Lenny cracking on Wayne Newton that he didn’t want to see any of that rap nonsense from him tomorrow night. HA! Lenny has a sense of humor! Who knew? Anyway, they hit the dance floor like an explosion of energy and sound and speed and dang!! You couldn’t help but just sit there and goggle. And feel really exhausted. But she’s good, and he choreo’d well for them, and I like him. So, by default, I was all into watching them. But I can’t say I love her. I do respect her work ethic and the way she attacks the dance floor though. Girl sold that one well into next week. Dang. They get a well deserved 26 and are most definitely the Couple To Beat.

Next up we get Poor Marie Osmond, who is only Poor because she has to follow that volcanic eruption, and really, who could? A shame Sabrina and Mark weren’t last instead of third. But what Marie lacks in dance skills (it’s a long list, y’all) she makes up for quite well with showmanship. And she’s funny. I liked her. But then, I’m from “her generation.” Sue me. I was happy to see she did well, and she scored well, too. A very decent (and kind) 21. Oh, and she has cutie patootie Jonathan as her partner and I think they are beyond the perfect fit. He always gets a great performance from his partner and choreo’s really well for their strengths and weaknesses. Go Jonny and Marie!

Scary Spice Girl, Mel B is next and she’s partnered with (SQUEE!!!) Maks!! Okay, is it me, or does Maks look really…..lean? I mean, he’s just not bringing the same Big Guy Mojo he has in the past. Plus, they saddled him with Laila last season, who matched him muscle for attitude. And this year he gets much the same in Mel. (Who I liked.) I think they are a great pair in terms of temperament, but I don’t see any chemistry there. He and Laila managed to find it, though, so I have hope. They do a very decent cha cha, and Mel’s stage training shows, too, but I wasn’t all ooh and ahh over them. 24 for them.

Last of the night is Dr Quinn, aka Jane Seymour, who looks a good twenty years younger than her 56 years of age. I hope I look that good….ever. She gets Tony and the fox trot and is just wonderfully lovely in a very Julie Andrews kind of way. The judges gush and I enjoy her, and I think she’s safe this week. It will be interesting to see how she tackles the sexier, faster numbers though. They get a 24 as well.

All in all, a good night. The judges, I think, were on point. Tom was in fine form. Drew….is cute. Ill leave it at that. And we get a peek into the guys side of things and they look like a lot of fun!! I don’t know most of them, but who cares! (Is it just me, or is Floyd Merriweather a serious little boxing cutie patootie?? I think he’s going to be great fun to watch.) I think they are all ready to rumble and tonight is going to be wonderful. Yes, even Wayne Newton. The only one I can’t say I’m all that attracted to caring about is Mark Cuban, but this comes as a surprise to absolutely no one. He is an incredibly young billionaire and I give him all the kudos for tackling something he wants to do for the hell of it, so publicly, because he can. Aaaaand, I hope he falls on his ass. But that’s just me.

So, join me tomorrow for all the MAN MAC you can stand!!

In the meantime…who were your faves? Who would you like to see conquer the odds? Who would you send home?

Don’t forget to enter this week’s SHaQ Attack contest. Seriously! See Monday’s post for all the details.

Yay, Saturday was the first official day of Fall!! Woo hoo, Fall! And the weekend was great – the Mountaineers crushed East Carolina, the Steelers took it to the 49ers, and my son won his opening lacrosse game against last year’s runner up state champs. In overtime. He scored. Truly…could it get better than that?

Why yes, in fact it can! Because?

The Fall Season is back, the Fall Season is back!! (It takes so little to make me happy. Which would be sad really, except I’m too happy to care.) And you know what that means! Tomorrow? The MAC is BACK! Woo hoo!! I’ll have all the Dancing With the Stars MAC you can stand, so set your TiVo’s, DVR’s, VCR’s and whatever other letter combos you might own and join in the Blog Babe MACfest discussion tomorrow.

Who will we love? Who will we hate? Will Uncle Lenny be nice? Will Bruno ever make any sense? And how great will it be to have Tom back but no Samantha? (Who became a mom yesterday – congratulations, Sam! I hope she enjoys a realllllllly lengthy, lovely maternity leave. Bond with the little cutie. Maybe give up the hosting gig altogether….just an idea.)

Of course, we’re also having a SHaQ Attack Contest this week! This time, in honor of it being Season Premiere week, we’re going to guess who will be the first character on Grey’s this season to say “seriously.” Send your guesses in an email to donna@donnakauffman.com with “Seriously!” in the subject line. And if Shonda doesn’t make anyone say it in the season opener, everyone who guesses anybody will be in the running for the prize. Winner announced Friday morning. For a complete cast list, check the show out on abc.com. (Hey, occasionally I have to make you guys work for this or you’ll get spoiled. Seriously!) You have until Thursday night, 9pm EST to get your votes in.

Good luck!

Survivor China? More like Whiner China. Dang, where did they find this bunch? And I thought Amber was bad.

So, in the opening segment, we already don’t like Courtney Stefani. Could she, like, be any more, like, disrespectful? We get pretentious Jean Robert who really needs to keep a shirt on until at least week 2. Of course, we get the adorable cuteness of Todd, but it’s shortlived as we shift to the other tribe, where Wrestler Diva’s boobs and lip rings just sort of seem to be everywhere. Chick can build a shelter though, I’ll give her that. And then there is Sherea, who….um….I’ll just say that this show has been running now for HOW MANY SEASONS? Has she not seen ONE episode of any of them? Survivor is all about the disgusting and the nasty. I’m thinking she will not be a big part of this season. Just a guess. (And please, take Courtney with you. A show of hands for a double elimination the first night?)

Pandas!

Aaaaaand, back to the grind. It’s going to be a tough season of no food, a whole bunch of rain if opening night is any indication. We get Shelter Building 101, and poor Chicken (I know!) just can’t barely stand watching them young fools build such a shoddy lean to. He’s….colorful. He might try giving something useful for people to work with from his apparent fount of knowledge on the subject, instead of ‘just givin’ them his ‘pinion” all the dang time. Is there room on the boat next to Ms. Stefani please?

So….Sherea decides it’s time for, I don’t know, cheerleading practice? Dance Dance Revolution? I couldn’t quite get any of that. I actually agree with the rather sour faced Peih Gee who knows she’s stuck on the Bubblehead Squad but can do nothing about it. She’s like ninety pounds soaking wet, so building a shelter by herself? Probably not happening. And did I mention it rains? Like, a lot?

Back on the Worker Tribe we’re shelter building. Heck, I’m surprised they don’t have an entire village erected already. I mean, have you seen James? He just pushes a tree, and it goes down y’all. Paul Bunyan’s got nothing on James. Damn but he’s a big guy. More Gentle Ben though, which is nice in a grave digger. Oh, and Surfer Dude? He can keep his shirt off all 39 days and I’m perfectly fine with that. Fine, I say. Of course, they have Courtney on their team, so it’s a good thing James can do the work of several people, because I’m not thinking she’s going to, like, jump in, like, at any time and, like, you know, like, help.

And I wasn’t sure I was going to like Church Lady, but when she took Big James under her wing and tried to help him with the social game? Yeah, she scored some points there. And don’t worry James, you’re already loved. What a sweetie.

So, stranding them with the clothes on their back, then having torrential downpours the first night, followed by blistering heat? Yeah, you get a bunch of Survivors who immediately get nice and intimate all wearing their skivvies. That’s one way to get past the stranger barrier. Of course, it doesn’t keep us from having to look at their half naked, soaking wet selves. Okay, so Aaron and James in their boxer briefs aren’t such a bad deal, but otherwise i spend too much time looking through parted fingers. (Lunch Lady? Wow, Tim Gunn would so not approve of your look. And I’m not talking about the mullet. That I could live with.) Not such a great idea, Probst. Too much, way too soon.

Way.

Immunity Challenge Time – Damn, Big J is big and agile. His team wins the challenge, sending the Bobbleheads back to figure out who is going home. ::raising hand rather enthusiastically:: Oh! Oh, oh! Can I make a suggestion? But do they listen to me? Of course not. In the end, Chicken goes home. Not that he played the game right at all in the limited time he was there, but he was so sincerely disappointed to go, and his exit speech was a really sweet one…I felt bad for him. Especially when there are others in the game who could have gone sooner. (Yes, Sherea, I’m looking at you.)

Next week? More rain. More mud. No food. Good times.

I haven’t watched the Very Last Comic yet, but I hear through the grape vine there might be a nice surprise waiting for me when I do. Yay, viewers!

And on Top Chef, Sara takes her leave on some undercooked chicken, which leaves Hung, Casey, Dale, and Brian as the final four. I’m okay with that. Go Casey!

Now for this week’s winner of the advance reading copy of The Black Sheep & The Hidden Beauty. Everyone wave your sundae spoons at Blog Babe Thuy! Woo hoo!!! Congratulations – hope you enjoy it!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! See you Monday for a new SHaQ Attack contest.

(And don’t forget to head over to Novel Thoughts to see the winner of the book giveaway there – click on the link in Tuesday’s blog.)

Tonight we return to MAC-worthy tv. Well, I hope. See what summer tv and winning Donatos have done to me? I’m so jaded and cynical now….)

Things have to improve, right? (And, really, after Evil Dick winning half a mil, they really have nowhere else to go but up.) So tune in tomorrow for all the peachy Survivor MAC you can stand, along with some Top Chef and Last Comic Finale MAC (though I’m finding it hard to care about that last one…it’s sitting on my DVR, not particularly calling to me.)

AND! We’ll announce which Happening Blog Babe wins the advance reading copy of The Black Sheep & The Hidden Beauty! It’s not too late to enter – see Monday’s post for details.

Thank you for all the nice comments and emails about KittyCooper. She is the cuteness!

Happy TGIF-eve!

So how did it get to be fall already?

Okay, deadline hell aside, I am kind of excited about it. I mean, I can sleep with the windows open, it’s football season (What a weekend we had!! WOOT!) the leaves are about the change, which means me and my MINI can have some fun in the Blue Ridge mountains here shortly, and we’ll be back to regular MAC’n on here soon. What’s not to love?

Speaking of my wee car, it’s about to undergo a few….moderations. First, I should explain that the tags on my little British import say ELO KTTY (which must be said in your best British accent) and there might be a wee Hello Kitty decal on the rear window. So when I rallied this past weekend with my MINI Cooper car club, I realized that alllllllll the other wee cars had names. Alas, mine did not. (I know! It’s so sad.) Well, the fellow members immediately took care of this tragic oversight by christening my MINI the KittyCooper.

So it only made sense that when a fellow member just happened to mention he did aftermarket vinyl/decal work, that we go one step further and put a Kitty on the white roof of my car. Yes….the KittyCooper has indeed been born. Her bow will even match the color of my nightfire red car. It’s ridiculous how cute this is going to be.

I will, of course, keep you updated, complete with pictures when her little transformation is complete.

Here is the “before” pic….

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out Monday’s blog for all the details on how to win an advance reading copy of my upcoming release, The Black Sheep & The Hidden Beauty!

Oh yeah, that’s right. We’re in Reality Show Purgatory until Thursday, when FINALLY the Fall Season starts with Survivor. I never thought I’d be this happy to see Jeff Probst again.

In the mean time, we can have fun by giving away free stuff! Check out yesterday’s blog to learn how to enter this week’s contest to win an advance reading copy of The Black Sheep & The Hidden Beauty. Be the first blog babe on your block to own one!

Also, I am guest blogging today over at Novel Thoughts . I’m not sure when my blog entry will go up as they are very kindly posting it for me, but check in and see what’s happening…and you could be in the running to win a copy of the first Black Sheep book! Score!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

This week’s SHaQ Attack contest prize is an advance copy of my January book, The Black Sheep & The Hidden Beauty. Woo hoo!! (This is second in the Men of Trinity Inc series…The Black Sheep & The Princess is on the shelves now.)

To enter this week, just send me an email saying “I want a Black Sheep of my own!” to donna@donnakauffman.com. I will draw one name from the entries and announce the lucky winner on Friday. Good luck!!

Okay….so this week’s SHaQ Attack was to guess who went home on Top Chef . It was CJ, who was chosen by a number of Blog Babes…but there can only be one winner. And the winning Blog Babe is? Tammy from Utah! Woo hoo, Tammy!!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. I am off on another MINI Cooper rally tomorrow – a short one this time. I will be back on Monday with a Very Special SHaQ Attack….some advance reading copies of a certain upcoming release have found their way into my mailbox, so I thought it might be fun if one finds its way into your mailbox.

Tune in Monday for all the details!!

Last night….sniff, sob…wasn’t my favorite night on Top Chef. Of course, at this stage, I’m not excited about anybody leaving. Well, maybe except Hung. He could go. But I like the other remaining 5, which is really saying something compared to previous seasons.

Tonight they had to prepare haute airplane cuisine. Yes, I know. Shudder.

Once again, Hung proves he’s the Howie of Hungstinia. Yes, you did break the truffle oil bottle. Jeez, at least own up to the fact that you’re like a rabbit on crack when you cook. Be self aware.

So, Casey, Dale, and, yes, Hung, prevailed with the Good Dishes. Leaving Brian, CJ, and Sara to be reamed over by Padma, Chef Tom, Anthony Bourdain (Squee! I love him, I’m sorry) and the Continental Airlines Chef Guy (who makes airplane food. This is the guy I want judging my food. Not.)

In the end, Casey wins again! Yay, grrrrl power. I’m all for it. Love that she’s getting the Cool Prizes, too. And that she’s so sincerely humbled by her wins. Probably why she does so well. Right, Hung? Hung?

On the losing side, sniff, it’s CJ who has to leave. I love his sense of humor, and I think all the judges do, too. Padma seemed sincerely choked up in telling him to pack his knives, and he made a very classy and humorous exit. Love him. He’s going to do well in Post Reality Show World, I’d bet on it. Why, cold, cruel, Reality TV World, why? Why not take Hung? We’d have cheered.

Next week? French food. Oh. Goodie. (Can you tell how much I like my food cooked in wine? Yes, that was me shuddering.)

But I’ll tune in, if for no other reason than I have to believe the Top Chef editors won’t let me down and are setting us up for a really great Hung Smackdown at some point. I’d be perfectly fine with that happening next week.

Oh yeah…on Last Comic? The world just ain’t right y’all. They do some whack King of the One Liners contest, which Lavell wins after Jerry totally throws it with a lame knock knock joke and Jon Reap totally won, followed by the brilliant trophy presenting blonde coming out and giving it to the wrong guy. She hands it to the host? What was the point of all that anyway? Finally, after clips of horrible comics I fast forward through, and a cute set by Kathleen Madigan (always liked her) we find out that Jon Reap is safe and in the final two. The world is getting better!

Please, oh please, Last Comic producers, tell me that you came up with that stupid trophy thing so Lavell would feel special before you sent him packing. Crossing fingers…..aaaaaaand……we get Greg Proops. Love him, too, except his political set took a while to take off. Okay, it never really took off. A shame, because he’s usually funny.

Put us out of our misery please….aaaaaand no. We get a set by Gilbert Gottfried. Who, granted, can be funny, but I can only take in small doses. Which, turns out, is smaller doses than this. Come ooooooonnnnnnnnn. Please, just get on with it.

Finally…we find out that, the comic going home is? Jerry Dee. While Lavell looks all smug and “I knew it was me” when you know he totally didn’t. Gah. I’m power voting for Jon right now, just for that alone, and I don’t even know where to go to do that, but I’ll find out.

Final sets: does it matter? Jon pulls a Lavell and tells a long story that doesn’t really go anywhere. Sigh. Lavell screeches, but actually tells jokes, although, as usual, he goes onnnnnnnnn forever with it, and yet, everyone will vote for him because I don’t know why, except we have known he was going to win this since, what, episode one? Suspense over. If it had been a Jon/Jerry final two, it would have actually been a contest. Ah well, why should any reality show be that during this, the Summer of Horrible Programming?

I should have just stuck with my DVD setof Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth series.

Tune in tomorrow, where you will learn which one of the Blog Babes who correctly guessed that CJ was going home will win a free book!! (Biggest vote getter? Brian, in a landslide. Hmmmm…..)

Happy Thursday, y’all.

Okay, Blog Babes! Today is your last day to enter this week’s SHaQ Attack contest. See Monday’s post for details – you have until 10pm EST tonight to enter your votes.

And, thanks to sharp-eyed Blog Babe Darla, I realize I left off one contestant name. Ooops! Dale should be listed also. If any of you want to change your vote to Dale, please do!

I’ll be back tomorrow with all the MAC.

And thanks for the comments on the new cover – I think it’s gorga-mous! (as my nephew says it. ) I’m hoping for another sneak peek of the cover art for the final book in the Men of Trinity, Inc. series. And as we’ve all seen the first two, I have no idea how they’re going to top those! Of course I will share the moment it hits my inbox.

Happy Hump Day everyone!!!