Thoughts on Thursday

I decided to copy my BB, Carolyn and post some random thoughts I am having on this chilly Thursday morning.

-My personal trainer watched Biggest Loser for the first time on Tuesday night and decided to try some of the workouts out on me....not cool. He kicked my ass and thought it was hilarious. I can hardly lift my arms this morning. I like being sore because I know I worked hard and got a good work out, but it hurts when I pour a latte and that could be a problem.

-In my quest to add all of the pictures I have to Shutterfly, I brought a bunch of discs of old college photos to upload, I cannot wait to see what is on these discs. I may have to do a post of all the random pictures I'm sure I am going to find.

-It is freezing this morning so to warm up I made myself a delicious soy chai tea latte BUT I was too anxious to drink it and just burned the crap out of my tongue.

-I am really excited for the new Chronicles of Narnia movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to come out! It comes out the weekend of my birthday! SOOOOOOO EXCITED! There's a new theater near Coffee Buzz that we haven't been to yet, but they have the VIP seating where you can bring in beer or wine and order food and sit in big comfy chairs! What a fun birthday date that would be! *HINT! HINT!* :)

-I am going to attempt to make a pie for Thansgiving. I am not much of a baker and have never made a pie before, so it could be interesting. I will definitely post on how that goes.

-Timberwolves games are fun again! Minnesota's professional basketball team has been oh-so-terrible for the past few years and it makes it really hard to cheer or watch the games. BUT, J and I went to a game on Friday and again last night and the games are starting to feel like they felt in the past. We have some great young players who are really coming in to their own and starting to play together like a team. We have a ways to go but there's potential and that's so exciting! The game that we went to on Friday, the Wolves came back from a 20 point deficit to beat the Knicks AND Kevin Love scored 31 points and pulled down 31 rebounds! I statistic that has only been achieved one other time in NBA history and it was back in 1982! SO AMAZING! The crowd was going bananas it was an amazing moment in basketball history and it was so fun to be a part of it!

Then, last night's game was a close one! It was a close game from start to finish and came down to two last second shots, one by the Wolves which we made! And one by the Clippers which they missed! It was another great and exciting game and it is so wonderful to see Target Center energized and loud again! And, I was on the jumbotron, by myself, like suuuuper close up. So embarrassing! I got a bunch of text messages and apparently I had like 20 friends who were also at the game. So random!

-I am so sick of people saying that Bristol Palin has only made it this far on Dancing with the Stars because of the Tea Party. She's not the greatest dancer but she's trying hard and people can relate to her because she's no a performer. She's just a normal girl who got thrown in to the spotlight. Why do we need to make Dancing with the Stars political?! Whether that's why people are voting for her or not, WHO CARES?! Can't we just go back to enjoying celebrities making fools out of themselves? Sheesh!

-I had a dream last night that I was on a fishing boat looking for dolphins with the Voltaggio brothers from last season's Top Chef. They were both trying to date and me but J was there too....it was very awkward. I know my grandma Alice made an appearance and so did my dad but I don't remember what they were doing there. So weird!

I'm just going to leave it at that.

Thoughtless Thursday

It's Thursday! Which means everyone needs to go Katie's amazing blog and link up for...

I was looking through some old picture the other day and came across one of my all time favorite pictures....

This picture was taken three summers ago and is of me and my two best friends in the entire world...Christina and Libby. I have been friends with these two since middle school. Libby and I took drivers ed together, Christina helped me through my first semester of college when I was completely miserable. We stood by each other through boyfriends and breakups, the death of a parent, the drama of high school, and the struggles in college. I love these girls so much and feel so lucky to have two such amazing friends! If you're reading this, I Love You! I thought I'd better throw in a few of my other faves with my buddies....just for good measure.

This last one is St. Patrick's Day two years ago and that is my little brother, Nate...the four of us are trying to make a human four leaf clover. One of the MOST FUN nights ever!

All right...now it's time to get down to business, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!

Was it just me or were the judges particularly cranky last night? They were so harsh and overly critical if you ask me. I realize this group of dancers is amazing and we're already down to the Top 10, but sheesh, they were so nit-picky!

Contestant: Cristina
Routine: Paso Doble
Choreographer: Jean-Marc and France
All-Star: Pasha

I know the judges LOVED this routine but I wasn't overly thrilled. It was a good routine and Cristina did very well, but I just don't like her...AT ALL.I felt she could have been stronger and more dominant in her movements, but what do I know? She'll probably be in the bottom again and the judges will wrongfully save her, yes I'm still bitter.

Contestant: AdeChike
Routine: Contemporary
Choreographer: Mandy Moore 
All-Star: Allison

Again, I was pretty underwhelmed by this routine. I know there wasn't supposed to be a story and it was supposed to be all about feelings but the routine just felt really disjointed...like there were very seperate parts to the routine, instead of a full flowing routine. I thought AdeChike did really well. I know the judges want him to show more emotion, and I agree...he tried this time but I felt the smiles were really forced and awkward and didn't really match the routine. That goes for Allison as well. This was my least favorite routine of the night and I think AdeChike may end up in the bottom three.

Contestant: Alex
Routine: Broadway
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
All-Star: Lauren

Blah, I do not like Alex. He has the personality of a wet mop. I LOVED this routine though! I wish Kent or Billy could have danced this one...they would have rocked it! How hot was Lauren? I watched her the whole time! It was such a fun and quirky routine and I was bummed that Alex kind of brought it down. Totally agree with the judges on that one....I think he'll be safe though.

Contestant: Ashley
Routine: Jazz
Choreographer: Travis
All-Star: Mark

Ok, I agree with the judges that this routine was more contemporary than it was Jazz....but cripes! Give Travis a break! With the ever-expanding talents of dancers and choreographers the line distinguishing different styles is getting thinner and thinner. I mean, Alex's "Broadway" routine could have been "Jazz." I just feel bad for my boy Travis because I thought this was an amazing routine and all they focused on is how it wasn't Jazz. Lame. I love Ashley, she's my new favorite girl, sorry Lauren. She is so stinkin' cute and such a great dancer. I think and hope she'll be safe tonight.

Contestant: Billy
Routine: Krump
Choreographer: Lil C
All-Star: Comfort

Billy Bell and Krump go together like oil and water and the judges made sure to make that point known....over and over again. I thought Billy did GREAT! This is a style that is polar opposite to his own, and no it wasn't a perfect routine and no Billy Bell is not "buck" but I think he did a hell of a job and the judges were WAY to hard on him! I think he'll be safe.

Contestant:Robert
Routine: Tango
Choreographer: Jean-Marc Genereux
All-Star: Anya

WOW! This routine was HOT! Pretty sure my TV was steaming! Favorite routine of the night!!! The Tango is my favorite of the Latin dances and this one was amazing! I thought Robert did awesome considering how fast the routine was, how much footwork there was, that is isn't his style and he was dancing with the Latin queen! Again, the judges were way too hard on him! Robert is definitely one of my faves, maybe even my #2 behind little Kent. Geez, just look at this picture....great, now my computer is steaming!

Contestant: Melinda
Routine: Contemporary
Choreographer: Stacey Tookey
All-Star: Ade

Yuck! I can't decide who I dislike more...Melinda or Cristina. Melinda got extremely lucky with this routine. She had a great partner, a great choreographer and a great routine with a great meaning. That dress however was the opposite of great...I agree with Mia, it was really distracting. I get she was the earth, but couldn't the costume department come up with something that wasn't so literal? Anyways, I thought she danced this well but not great. I would have LOVED to see Ashley or Lauren dance this! Anyways, I think cocky, overly-confident, self centered Melinda will be in trouble again tonight, at least I hope so.

Contestant: Jose

Routine: Bollywood
Choreographer: Nakul Dev Mahajan
All-Star: Kathryn

I LOVED THIS! I love Bollywood routines in general (Josh and Katie season 4 anyone?!) I really liked the Genie in a Bottle theme. I thought Jose did really well considering he has no formal dance training, is a B Boy and Bollywood is frickin' hard! It definitely had some mistakes but it was so fun to watch and Jose is just so cute and happy and excited and I love him. I think he will be just fine tonight.

Contestant: Lauren
Routine: Hip Hop
Choreographer: Tessandra Chavez
All-Star: Dominic

I liked this routine. I think it was good for Lauren to do something outside her comfort zone and challenge herself to prove she deserves to be there and isn't just a fan favorite for no reason. I agree with Mia that the "fight" scenes needed more emotions, it looked like a hip hop battle not a domestic dispute. Overall, I thought it was really good. Lauren took the judges criticism from last week and improved! I still love her and think she'll have no problems sliding by tonight.

Contestant: Kent
Routine: Jazz
Choreographer: Tyce Diorio
All-Star: Courtney

LOVED IT! What a great routine!!! And I don't think Courtney "ate Kent alive," I think he really held is own and did a great job portraying the character. Of course, it's hard to believe the character when we all now how damn cute, sweet and funny Kent is. I think he needs his own reality show where he just sits around and says funny stuff.....who's with me? He is still my favorite, I thought this routine was way better than last weeks and I think he'll FOR SURE be safe.

All photos from Fox.com

Alright, my prediction this week may be biased because of hatred, but once again I am choosing MELINDA to be sent home.

Wow, that was long! Kudos if you got through the whole thing! Have a great Thursday everyone!

Thoughtless Thursday

It's another "Thoughtless Thursday" over at Life in the Fulmer Lane!

Since it is Thursday and So You Think You Can Dance was on last night you all know that I actually have MANY thoughts! But, to stick with the point of "Thoughtless Thursdays" I thought I would treat you all to a little pictorial treat! Cat Deeley, the host of SYTYCD, always looks absolutely stunning! Whoever her stylist is should be winning awards! To prove my point, here are some of my favorite Cat looks from the past few seasons...

Credit

Alright, now to the thought-filled stuff. Last night's show. I thought overall it was good. The first few weeks are always tough because no one has really come into their own yet, you don't really know all the contestants and they're still working with nerves. This season it, the first episode was especially tough because we have to get used to there being an all star dancer paired with each contestant....I'm still not sure how I feel about the format. Okie dokie, I know you're all DYING to hear my thoughts, so lemme break it down for ya!

First, before I can talk about the contestants, I have to get one thing off my chest. When did Adam Shankman become soooo annoying! I used to love him and he is obviously a creative genius (Hairsrapy, anyone???) Maybe it's just becuase he's a full-time judge now and it's just Adam overload. He CANNOT give a critique without talking about himself! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU! And he can't give a critique under 5 minutes long. Drives me nuts-o!

Ok, back to business...

Contestant: Billy
All-Star: Lauren
Routine: Tyce Diorio Broadway

I found this routine to be too fast, it looked panicked. It was too quick to really enjoy the movement and the playfulness the routine could have had. I didn't like it at all. Billy is clearly an exceptional dancer but this was not the routine for him. He was too feminine. I mean, Kevin Bacon did some pretty feminine moves in Footloose but he made them look masculine and sexy...this was definitely missing from Billy.

C

Contestant: Cristina

All-Star: Mark

Routine: Sonya Tayeh Jazz

I loved this routine but I can't stand Cristina. I don't know what it is but I'm not a fan. I love Mark and it was great to see him back...especially dancing this routine. The judges loved Cristina in the routine but I didn't see it. I give her props because she is a Latin dancer and this is way out of her comfort zone but I didn't get anything snake-like from her.

Contestant: Jose
All-Star: Comfort
Routine: Tabitha and Napoleon D'uomo Hip Hop

I was disappointed in this one. Hip Hop is my favorite genre and Tabitha and Napoleon are my favorite choreographers. I felt like there was too much crawling on the ground and not enough dancing. I get the premise was that they were wild animals....but crawling on the floor is not Hip Hop. Jose did well and I really like him but I wanted more....Comfort + Jose + Nappy Tab (should) = amazing! But it fell short.

Contestant: AdeChike
All-Star: Kathryn
Routine: Travis Wall Jazz

I really liked this routine! It was super fun...Travis Wall is amazing!!! I agreed with the judges, though, that there wasn't much chemistry coming from AdeChike. Technically he was great but he was lacking in the performance part. This was one of my favorite routines of the night.

Contestant: Melinda
All-Star: Pasha
Routine: Tony and Melanie Jive

Disaster. I actually fast forwarded through a good portion of this routine because I felt so bad for Melinda. This was just not her cup of tea. I thought maybe she could pull it off because of her tap dancing...but I was wrong. Yikes, without a doubt the worst routine of the night.

Contestant: Alex
All-Star: Allison
Routine: Sonya Tayeh Contemporary

I'm not an Alex fan. He's for sure my least favorite of the boys but you would have to be a complete MORON to say an ill word about this routine. It was unreal, amazing, beautiful, dramatic, everything you could use to describe a flawless routine. By biggest beef with Alex is his personality, it's obvious that he is a remarkable dancer (maybe the best to be on the show) but he's stoic. He actually let feeling show through routine and that did wonders for him, SIMPLY AMAZING!

Contestant: Alexie
All-Star: Twitch
Routine: Tabitha and Napoleon Hip Hop

Again, this Hip Hop routine fell short. It was better than Jose's but it was forgettable. It didn't help that Alexie had to follow Alex's routine. She danced it well, but it wasn't anything to write home about. I like her though.

Contestant: Lauren
All-Star: Ade
Routine: Mandy Moore Pop Jazz

My home girl, Lauren, got it rough from the judges. Unfortunately, I agree with them. She is such a strong dancer but her feeling and emotion in the routine are void. I LOVED this routine and thought she danced it perfectly. But, instead of being flirtatious and feeding off of Ade she was flashing cheerleader-esque smiles (no offense to cheerleaders, but you know what I mean). I really hope she takes the judges criticism to heart and works on it because she has MAJOR potential.

Contestant: Kent
All-Star: Anya
Routine: Tony and Melanie Cha Cha

This was soooo fun! Kent is by far my favorite contestant. He's so stinkin' cute! Technically he wasn't perfect, but talk about performing! Oh man! So cute, so full of energy! LOVE IT!!!! LOVE HIM!!!!

Contestant: Ashley
All-Star: Neil
Routine: Tyce Diorio Contemporary

I really like Ashley, she is sneaking up on Lauren as my favorite girl. I thought this routine was solid. She danced it beautifully. I agree with the judges though that the emotion was either lacking or directed in the wrong way. I don't know, overall this was there. Nothing exciting. Maybe I was just distracted because Mrs. Bear told me a story about what a jerk Neil is. Sad! I think Ashley has a ton of potential and could go pretty far.

Contestant: Robert
All-Star: Courtney
Routine: Sean Cheesman African Jazz

I LOVED THIS ROUTINE! This was my favorite of the night! There was so much energy, it was so fun to watch, and how difficult it must have been! SOOOOO good!

So there you have it....my review! Now, my prediction: 

Melinda's going home.

(All pictures from Fox.com)

What did you think of the show? What was your favorite routine? After week one, who is your favorite contestant?