Thursday, May 24, 2007

Dancing with the Stars


Since I have faithfully devoted my Mondays and Tuesdays for the last ten weeks to Dancing with the Stars, I believe it deserves a post. I've watched the show for two seasons and the last part of Season Two. Finally, the couple I rooted for through the whole thing was named champs: Apollo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough. Is it because she is from Utah? . . . a little. Or because they match each other so well? . . . there is that. How about I loved Apollo when he won the Olympic Gold and even when he didn't. I admired his focus but also the grace with which he handled all the attention. The fact is: these two really look great on the dance floor and Apollo showed improvement every week. Julianne is so cute and so is Apollo. And let's not forget the other contestants this year. Joey Fatone, although a little cocky, really shone from the very beginning. He would try anything and most of the time it worked. He was so fun to watch. Laila Ali surprised me. I couldn't picture a professional boxer being so graceful and what an attitude! I was always impressed with Ian Ziering. I thought he was really good, but the judges didn't seem to see it that way. Maybe he wasn't quite as loose and relaxed as the first three. The most amazing was Heather McCartney. What she was able to do with a prosthetic leg was quite inspirational. Of course, you had to deal with the skimpy costumes, (Yes, Edytta, you're very nicely built, now cover it up!) and the wardrobe malfunctions. (It was a crack-up with Billy Ray's watch got caught in his partner's wig.) As you might imagine, figure skating and gymnastics are my favorite Olympic sports, but with Dancing with the Stars, you get to know the contestants better and see them more often in various performances. The last ten weeks have been a great escape for me. Now it's over and maybe I will get a little yard work done.


Saturday, May 05, 2007

Financial Activity

On May 15, we are having a financial activity at church. There will be a speaker telling us how to avoid Identity Theft and then we will be playing a game based on the Game of Life. I have a roulette wheel so eveyone can spin to find their monthly income. I will have them roll a pair of dice (hopefully a pink and blue) to find out how many kids they have, and each couple will pick a housing card and a transportation card to find their monthly house and car payments. There will be another set of cards which will say if they have savings, budget, pay tithes and offerings, etc. But I need help with some life situation cards. I'd like each couple to have to take five cards with different situations on them, like medical emergencies, vacations, etc. Some will just say to add or deduct from their balance, some will be based on whether they budget, pay tithing or save, and some will involve the roll of a dice or be based on how many kids they have. It's been years since I've played this game so I am asking for suggestions on what to put on these cards. Humorous is good, but remember this is a church group. Please Help!!! If any of you are in my ward, please keep these ideas to yourself but be sure to attend since it will be fun and there will be prizes (small, but still).