I'm a survivor!

What's Jack up to? He's made a new friend with the sweet Fedex Lady. She got down to his level and appealed to his vanity telling him how handsome he was. Poor lady, never look Jack in the eyes or you'll be trapped in his web.

Here is a photo of Jack chilling on his bed in front of the fireplace. He's still attached to the blanket I got him when I gave him when we first got him at 8 weeks. Don't let the cuteness fool you. He's no doubt waiting until I walk away so he can sneak back up on the couch where he'll really sleep. Do you think you're fooling me, Jack? Enjoy the photo Mary-Laure!

Survivor was fun as usual. How funny was it when James came up with the answer to the puzzle and he was like, "come on guys if I can come up with it!" Too cute. James even surprising himself by realizing he's more then just amazing pecs.

Poor, Chet just sitting so silently waiting for it all to go down. Did he speak up once for himself? Have you ever seen a sadder face? The poor man can't wait for a shower and shave. He just wants to go home.

Then out of nowhere his shower was snatched from him when Mikey B got the boot. I'm not sure it was a good move for winning challenges but that Joel is pretty cagey. E-VIL.

Best,

Kwana

Talking Project Tension and ANTM

What's Jack up to? Today's he's risking life and limb by going up to the kids rooms and rooting around. Jack you don't want to do that. Teens live up there. You could be lost forever!


Project Tension
What a nail biter. I was on the edge of my seat during every moment of Project Runway last night. It's crazy how much I love this show. Here's a rundown of my thoughts if you care to hear.




Aww, check out Christian’s shoebox. Now that’s how a New Yorker lives. I was kind of sad that we didn’t get to meet his family. Great Tim Gunn quote that I will take with me everywhere: “Look at it with an editing eye.” Good advice Tim.






Jillian were you actually growing on me? How sweet was her family and her words? Who knew?





How moving was Rami’s coming out as a designer story? His red blouse was amazing. But, didn’t his space show just how far he already is as a designer? Hmmm. I still think he doesn’t need this as much as the rest of them.






Tim with Chris, too funny. Another perfect Tim point: The monkey house at the zoo. “You’ve been living at the monkey house so it doesn’t smell to you!" Ha. Who's funnier than Tim?
Was there a hint of sadness when Chris talked about his family?I think so, poor baby. But his New York family is wonderful. And that apartment was just wow.



Back in NY. No wonder Rami and Chris are is love, it looks like they were both about to burst into tears in the three tabled workroom.



Uh oh Runway show.Chris? Human hair was creepy and safety pins crazy, but all beautiful.
The night was just full of sayings.
New saying thanks to Michael Kors: Velvet condom. Huh?



Loved the Drapemaster’s Grey dress. Yes, he can drape did you know that?






I’m biting my nails who will they choose? Please be Chris, Please be Chris...
Deliberation time.
Pause- pause. Commercial. Ugh!

Ugh again!!! Where is my Chris going? Why? No fair. You’re killing me. Was it the hair? Sigh.

I’m looking into getting extensions next week in protest or at least a wig!
Oh well, at least he went out laughing and a Queen. Bye Chris!! I'll miss you.



ANTM hits NYC

Love the Marvita/Fatima smackdown. Fatima was starting to make Brandy look sweet, but the apology was nice. Could she and Marvita end up being friends? Who knows?

There are lots of girls with stinging tongues this time around. Are you hearing me Allison?


New word from Miss Jay: Draglicious.


Kim what the heck was that? You don't belive in designer fashion? What!? I thought Miss Jay would have a heart attack. That was just wrong. Did she just want to be on TV for a minute or got there and got scared?Ugh. I hope they bring another girl in next week to take her place.




I think I’m going to really like Paulina as a judge. Twiggy will be missed, but that Paulina has some fire standing up to Nigel.
I know I’m going to love them being in New York.
Bye Atalya. I hope to see you soon. You’ll make it girl. Chin up.





Oh here's a last minute new Top Model prediction. Claire. How great was her photo?

Whew, what a TV night! Isn't escapism bliss?


Best,
Kwana

Welcome to the darkside

I want to give a shout out to my knitting buddy and brand new blogger, Eileen- aka- Wish List Mom.

With a push from Patricia (thanks for the shout-out today) and I, instead of knitting, Eileen set up her blog today. She's a wife, mother, home-based business owner and loves TV just as much as I do! Could it be true.?Today she's blogging about some craziness going on at Big Brother. Hop on over and give her a welcome.

Have fun Eileen!

Best,

Kwana

image thanks to flickr

You wanna have a what?

What's Jack up to? He's chilling right now and no doubt plotting on how to get into some good old mischief. I'll be on my toes, Jack.

Tick tock.

That’s usually the start of it. Tick tock, tick tock. Damn biological clock. Why is it so loud? So you check him out again, but differently this time. Now you’re appraising the gene pool, not just his behind. He looks pretty good, you think before you wonder about past mental illness in his family. Lord, knows with your family’s background you don’t need to stack the deck further against you. Remember, Uncle Lou? You shake your head to loosen the thought. What are you crazy? You laugh and go on with your fabulous life as usual.

Then some twenty something size 4 mom-nista prances, by looking happy as a clam, pushing her Cadillac pram in her Jimmy Choos and it gets you thinking, louder this time, “I wanna baby." It’s all so damn cute. Look at that smile, those eyes and see she got her figure back. You can do it too.

Cut to you fourteen years later. Now, look what you got. Thirty pounds, a pounding headache and that cute baby is now screaming in your ear about how you don’t “know” anything. What!?
There’s a reason nobody ever says, “I wanna have a teen.”

Check out this video (thanks Wendy) that shows just how much fun motherhood is. Ugh.

Best,

Kwana

photos thanks to instyle.com and flickr

Jack

What's Jack up to? He's now over all the ice and snow. It's totally putting him off his walks. Sorry, Jack spring will come one day. I hope.

Trailing Along

One promotion idea that is really picking up, thanks to a YouTube world, is doing trailers for books like you would for movies. Part of me goes against this idea since I’m all for having a reader (me) use their imagination when it comes to characters. How many times has your favorite book been turned into a movie and when you see it you’re put off because it’s not what you envisioned it would be?

But the other argument is hey do whatever it takes to get potential readers into the bookstore and the way to do that is create some buzz. To that, I really like this book trailer (thanks to Ondo Lady) for Step On It Cupid by Lorelei Mathias. It’s quick and funny and instantly draws you into the main character, Amelie. You want to hear her story and know you’ll be rooting for her all the way.

So, what do you think of book trailers in this video age?

Best,
Kwana

Seeing Red

What's Jack up to? Today he's looking forward to a quiet Monday after the vacation week. It is going to be quiet right, Jack?

So last night was Oscar night. Thanks to the writer's strike being over it all went without a hitch. OK, well there were a few hitches on the red carpet but for the most part everyone did well.

Our favorite judge Heidi was definitely not out with her gorgeous red number which will be auctioned off for charity. We love her for that.

Red was the color of the night and worn well by many. Here are Katherine Heigl, Miley Cyrus and Anne Hathaway.

But for me, black is always the way to go. Jennifer Garner did it well here.

The biggest surprise for me was the amazing Ruby Dee not winning best supporting actress. To me she should have won it years ago and her performance in American Gangster was just wonderful. Can you belive she is 83 years old? Just beautiful.

The supporting actress winner, Tilda Swinton I'm sure did a wonderful job, but can we talk about this look? I'm all for individuality here, but, huh?

Now lets talk about everyone's favorite stripper with a heart of gold, Diablo Cody. How much we I love her snarky quick wit so evident in Juno that you need to watch it twice to get in all the jokes? And how much do we love the fact that she is and ex stripper who is now an Oscar winner? Wow. I also really liked the fact that Miss Diablo, who even got cheeky with Oprah, was at a loss for words and had to run off the Kodak stage because she was overrun with emotions. Aww.

Now the dress... I have no clue why she chose this. Maybe she wants to show she's not a conformist and will not be tamed, hence the animal print, but come on. With that gorgeous skin and hair, her body was begging to be sheathed in a simple black column with a small train. Oh well maybe next year.

As for the big Best Actor winner Daniel Day Lewis and his wife. I will not comment, but just say congratulations on a well deserved win.

Best, Kwana

Flu Shot

I'm still a bit out of sorts, but I think I'm on an upturn. Hooray! Not being able to read and make any sense of the words, I pulled out this sock that I seem to have been knitting for a year. Sigh...
But, finally I'm turning the heel! I don't think there is anything else in the world like turning the heel to make me feel so smart and so dumb at the same time. Always in the middle I swear I'm doing it wrong. I'm never confidant in what I've done until I'm halfway back down the foot. Wish me luck on my journey.

Besides my knitting, I turned to my old standby of Pride and Prejudice to lift my spirits. Now I know it's on PBS tonight, but I was in dire need of an afternoon fix. Is there anything better on a snowy winter's day? I think not.

Best,

Kwana

Audio Box

What's Jack up to? Right now he's hunkered under my bed like he's in for the night. Sorry, Jack you've gotta go to your own bed. You know I don't go for critters sleeping under me. Ahem, no jokes please!



Today I just finished listening to Janet Evanovich's Lean Mean Thirteen on my ipod. So much fun! For years I never thought of myself as an audio book girl. I mean honestly, is there anything better than a new book? The feel of cool crisp paper beneath your fingers is just delicious.


But thanks to Jack I'm now doing lots more walking and I'm totally in favor of a good audio book. And thanks to the library I can get the book on cd and download it to my ipod quick and easy. Fantastic.

My favorite audio books have been all the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum books. I often find myself laughing out loud as I walk down the street. The reader is wonderful at instantly pulling you into the story and every character has a distinct voice that fits them perfectly.

Besides that, I'm just in awe of how Janet Evanovich has made this world with these amazing characters that feel like they could be friends that you can hop in you car and go to visit. It's something I strive for as a writer. The book's over, but I can still picture them going on and living their lives. Now that's what I call a good series!

Another plus with the JE audio books in at the end of most of them is this cool question and answer session with Janet. So you get to hear in her own words how she makes up this world and what her life is like. So much fun for us newbies in the writing game. Check them out and let me know what you think.

So tell me are you an audio book person, strictly paper only or are you one of those cutting edge modern-nistas with an e-reader?


Best,
Kwana

It's Sew Not Over

And the fun keeps on coming. To keep us out of withdrawl, PR keeps the competition going with a new challenge for the designers. 12 have done collections and the winner gets 10 grand. The best part we get to vote. Check them out then cast your vote PR fans. Please no hanging chads!

Still Winter, Eh?

What's Jack up to? Hopefully being sweet and easy. Let's have a quiet day, Jack. Please.

Remember that sweet little birdie from the other day? A hopeful sign of Spring. Well, he was just a big fat tease. I went to bed with clear skies and I relatively clear head...

I woke to this:

Yep, same tree from the other day

And a head, chest and throat that's anything, but clear. I suspect the flu came in silently last night with the snow. It snuck up so fast, there was nothing I could do to stop it. Coughing, sneezing, sore throat, aching body, what a mess. So it's me, my laptop, a little misery and lots of hot tea today. Not so different from any other day, I guess..

Ugh! Am I really expected to shovel today? You've got to be kidding me.

Well, I hope you have a good one with a bit of sunshine.

Best,

Kwana

Runway Rage

What's Jack up to. It's late so he's all curled up and sleeping like a baby. Ah, bliss.

Survivor was a wild one this week. Attitudes and arguments galore. I thought blood would be drawn during that crazy football/sack challenge. I'm now ripping up my application. No diet is worth that abuse!

I can't believe that Yau-Man was voted out. I should have known though because he was my pick for the winner this season. Shows once again that I sure can't pick them. And what's with Cirie who has turned into this power hungry megalomaniac? Too bad for her that she'll be out soon.

I tuned into Make Me A Supermodel and once again couldn't help feeling like I was watching the poor man's ANTM. The water tank? Been there done that. The animals on the catwalk? What tha!? That's so stretching it. Then for much needed drama they decided to to a mid-season haircut, hoping the poor Frankie would do a freak out. He disappointed them all and took the cut like a man. For what it's worth I'm rooting for Jacki who made it to the bottom 3 this week.

Jacki in the tank photo from Bravo

Not that it's awful, but maybe now I feel all model shows should have cat fights and the airbrushed perfection of J. Manuel. And Tyson I just can't get with. He wants so bad to be Tyra that he just talks for no reason, dishing out the tough model love. Allegedly he even went so far as to bad mouth Miss T, saying he's got more clout. Um, Dude you may be all that, but crazy Miss T is really all that. And excuse me wasn't that you I saw tipping in on ANTM cycle 9 to make the girls all drooly?

Best,

Kwana

Reality Roundup

What's Jack up to? Today he's being a little devil and sneaking in where he doesn't belong causing trouble at every turn. Oh, you're lucky you are so cute, Jack.

I have to say I loved the Project Runway reunion and I will miss the show when it’s over.
My favorite moment was Heidi calling Victorya out for being such a pill then Tim Gunn agreeing with her! Man would someone tell me why she has such a stick up her butt. It’s kind of hilarious.
The Kevin cry fest was too funny. Aww little Emotionita, Were you really crying over the accessory wall?
Now I know this is totally rubbing some of you the wrong way (Mar I love ya), but the "fierce" (in his own mind) Christian won the fan favorite. Now I would have been happier if it was Chris ,but I’m not surprised at all that it was Christian. He was serving it all season with the designs and the attitude. I mean he even had Tim saying "fierce". Congrats, Christian!

ANTM- oh, my! Were there really fights in the prelims? Goodness what will happen in the house? What did we learn last night? I guess it's that crazy comes in all shapes and sizes.

Anya, is that a Hawaiian accent? Really? I’m not sure the folks in Hawaii would agree. Eek.
Claire, Why is your hair cut like that on one side? She’s just begging to have it all cut off on the makeover show. Can you say wig fest?
Kim- oh Lord, I just hope she smartens up as the show goes on. Is there anybody up there?

My surprise was Allison. She grew on me and has a real Sarah Silverman quality about her. I think she may go far. It should be an interesting season.

One other point, like Survivor and making fire, girls when you know you’re going on the show, why don’t you learn to walk? These are some of the worst walkers Ev-ah! Miss J please work it out!

I can’t wait to see how the season goes. Should be fun.

Best,

Kwana

Model TV

What’s Jack up to? Today he’s chilling on his perch, high on the couch where he can watch all of the block’s goings on and bark at whoever has the nerve to walk by our house.

I was reminded by some friends that tonight is a fun night for TV. It’s the premier of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 10.

Have we really watched this thing 10 times? Oh well… I’ll be back again.

This time they are in New York which is where all model shows should be in my opinion. Now the girls will really have to put up with something. I’m sure the digs will be quite smaller and the designers just that much tougher in the fashion capital.

There is also a new judge, Paulina Porizkova, who 's replacing Twiggy. Ms. Twiggy was growing on me. She’ll be missed.

Now, I’m going to be totally foolish and make early predictions just based on the girl’s first pictures. Here are my top 4. Now how much to you want to bet that they will be the first 4 out?! That’s always the way with me.

So there’s Fatima who has quite an Iman look that I think the judges will point out over and over. And there’s Anya who reminds me of Liv Tyler a bit.

Dominique who has a cool exotic look. And the tough girl Marvita, who if I ‘m not mistaken is back from the previous season. Did she go to anger management?

Then it’s the Project Runway reunion show tonight. Let the whining begin! Waaa....

Best,

Kwana