Trav's Thoughts

I'm so pleased today to be with my family. It's been a long time since I got to spend Thanksgiving with what I consider to be my whole family - my mom and stepdad, my sister and brother-in-law and niece, and of course my Lady.

We usually have a pretty traditional meal with turkey and all the fixings. Since I'm writing this post in advance, I don't know if we'll roast the turkey outside. My brother-in-law does that really well.

Of course there will be football on all day.

And we'll finish off with our standard pumpkin pie.



I hope your day is as wonderful as mine!

Well, somebody won it. Since I'm visiting with family, I'm unable to do a real time review of the final results show.

But have no fear! I shall do a fabulous recap upon my return.

It's the final performance show and it's live from Hollywood!!

Each pair gets to pick their favorite Latin and ballroom dances from the entire season. Click on the names of the dances for links to each performance.

Brooke and Derek select Quickstep as their best ballroom, and Paso Doble as their best Latin.

Lance and Lacey select Tango as their best ballroom, and Mambo as their best Latin.

Warren and Kym select Viennese Waltz as their best ballroom, and the Paso Doble as their best Latin.

We have junior champions now! And the fabulous mini mirror ball trophy goes to Craig and Samantha.


And poor kitty did not have to choose.



Now the competition is on with a group Samba. Brooke and Derek lead off with ambitious choreography - it was a bit too much for us and there's still something off about Brooke that we can't quite put our finger on. Lance and Lacey follow high energy and solid tricks - Lance has improved so much, and the two of them together are clicking at just the right time. Warren and Kym keep the momentum going with one of his best performances of the season - he cleaned up his sloppy footwork and really danced well. And as a group they finish off strong.

That was outstanding!

Judges scores are:

9,9,10 for 28 Brooke and Derek
9,8,9 for 26 Lance and Lacey
9,7,9 for 25 Warren and Kym

Next up is the freestyle round. Anything goes, including lifts and tricks. My favorite freestyles are the ones that incorporate something of the actual ballroom or Latin styles into the choreography, and then push the boundaries in those styles.

Brooke and Derek are up first. The music is from Grease, You're the One that I Want. The choreography is basically Jive and Jitterbug. There were fantastic tricks and great dance steps. They had a terrific mix of actual dance with lifts and throws. I didn't see any missed steps and the lifts looked so effortless. The judges went nutty over it and called it the best freestyle they have seen. It's up there. It was really good. And one of the best things about it was that Brooke didn't sacrifice her technique at all. Judges say 10's across for a total of 30.

Lance and Lacey are next, wearing their Lancey T-shirts. They both should absolutely shine in this freestyle format. They chose a hip hop style, but I don't know the music. We loved the whole thing. It was modern and creative and upbeat. It was accessible hip hop with fun choreography that engaged the crowd. We liked that they threw in a bit of Cha Cha Cha toward the end. That was a good style choice for them, consistent with what they've brought to the ballroom all season. And the performance was solid. Judges say 9's a cross for a total of 27.

Warren and Kym close out the night. Great choice of music...it's Proud Mary, the Ike and Tina version. They went for a show dance full of lots of different ballroom and Latin styles. It was heavy with amazing tricks. They threw in the Tina Turner shimmy several times. The dance was so entertaining and fun, and Kym's choreography really showed off Warren's strengths. It's a shame that the judges have the double standard about technique, but it is what it is. We've got no complaints about that dance...not a one. It was terrific. Judges say 9,10,9 for a total of 28.

Here's the leader board:

58 Brooke and Derek
53 Lance and Lacey
53 Warren and Kym

One pair will be eliminated on the results show, and then the final two will have one more dance for judges' scores, but the voting is now done. My votes went to Lance and Lacey. And in a stunning development, Pam has defected from Brooke and Derek! She also voted for Lance and Lacey.

HA!

We can't predict the winner. We want Lance and Lacey to win. Brooke and Derek have been the most consistent, and are likely to win. But the voters have 50% say in who wins. With that, could Warren and Kym charm and entertain their way to that fabulous mirror ball trophy?

We shall see.

Our plane leaves at 6:04am Tuesday morning, headed south for a Turkey Day celebration with my family. We're very excited, but it does mean that we won't be able to post a recap of the final results show.

We'll be watching though!

We'll be back late Sunday. I'll put together a full and proper recap post sometime next week.

I've got a few posts scheduled for the next several days. We wish you all a grand holiday! We're outta here!

I got this in an email from a friend today and had to share it...Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino. Enjoy!

Senior Day is special. It's the last home game of your high school or college career. Most football players won't play in the NFL. So as the NCAA says, they'll go pro in something other than athletics.

I salute all seniors playing their final games over the next couple of weeks. And I say thank you and congratulations to the following seniors from my favorite program, Notre Dame.

Mike Anello
Thomas Bemenderfer
Justin Brown
David Bruton
Maurice Crum
Paul Duncan
David Grimes
Ray Herring
Pat Kuntz
Paul Kuppich
Terrail Lambert
John Leonis
Kyle McCarthy
Kris Patterson
Steve Quinn
Nikolas Rodgriguez
Asaph Schwapp
Evan Sharpley
Kevin Smith
Scott Smith
Jeff Tisak
Michael Turkovich
Kevin Washington

Good luck to you all. GO IRISH!

Of course I would love this program! It's all about CAKE!

Ace of CAKEs (my caps) airs two 30 minute episodes back to back on Tuesdays at 10pm on Food Network. The program is about Chef Duff Goldman and his band of merry bakers at Charm City CAKEs (again my caps). You can read more about Chef Duff and the program here.



Here are some of the creative CAKEs.







Visit the Charm City CAKEs (my caps again) website. They do deliver up to 4-6 hours from Baltimore, but they don't ship their CAKEs.

Cue that theme music and let's have some results!

It's a double-super-mega-step-over-lip-lock kinda show! For those of you who just can't handle the pressure, skip on down and see who will be the last three couples competing for the fabulous mirror ball trophy.

For all the rest, buckle up bay-bees cause we got a party going on!

OK...I get a little carried away.

First up I have a special encore for my friend Julie.


This is the Mambo from Lance and Lacey.


They danced like they were there to win it. This Jitterbug is terrific! And Lance blows a tire in the first 30 seconds but never misses a beat.


Let's check out our leader board from Monday night.

57 Lance and Lacey
49 Warren and Kym
49 Brooke and Derek
46 Cody and Julianne

Yup...judges agreed with me that Lance and Lacey ruled the night.

We've got Aretha in the ballroom. And John Legend. And Leona Louis. And even Julianne Hough sings! Plus the ballroom kids dance for our votes. We will not be voting unless we can do so evenly for all of the kids.



First up, it's Kirill and Hannah dancing Cha Cha Cha as coached by Tony Dovolani. Some of the lines these kids hit are amazing. Excellent combination of classic Cha Cha Cha with age appropriate modern movements. Great job! Len says the footwork was crisp and clean with great leg action...truly fabulous. Bruno praised the precision arm placement and recognized the lines. Carrie Ann was totally impressed.

Next we have Mitchell and Maria dancing Samba as coached by Julianne Hough. These kids are technically outstanding and dance much older than their ages. He is an excellent lead. Bruno calls it a power Samba with staccato sharp movements. Carrie Ann calls them sophisticated and graceful, and praises Mitchell as a partner. Len compared them to young Julianne Hough and Mark Ballas, calling Mitchell and Maria better. Wow.

Finally we have Craig and Samantha dancing Jive as coached by Maks Chmerkovskiy. Lots of energy and complex choreography. They really went for it with non-stop movement. Another excellent performance. Carrie Ann said they were fantastic, bringing the characters to life. Len was knocked out by the terrific flicks and quicks. Bruno said it had a light quality, and said they floated through the dance.

While only one of the kid couples gets the fabulous little mirror ball trophy, all six kids get trips to Disneyland! Good luck to all!

Now we come to the double-super-mega-step-over-lip-lock portion of our program. HA!

Aretha Franklin y'all! She sounds fantastic singing Chain of Fools accompanied by Karina Smirnof, Anna Trebunskaya, Dimitry Chaplin (from SYTYCD), and Louis van Amstel.

Now we have Leona Louis, performing Bleeding Love accompanied by Maks and Karina. I love this song. This song was part of a signature moment last season on So You Think You Can Dance, when Chelsea Hightower and Mark Kanemura interpreted the brilliant choreography of Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo.


Julianne Hough sings her country hit Hallelujah Song accompanied by Lacey, Derek, and Mark Ballas. She sounds pretty good and of course the dancing is excellent!

John Legend was fantastic. My computer crashed right in the middle of the performance. Dangit!

Aretha returns to perform Respect, accompanied by current champs Kristy Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas. Yeah baby!

OK, fun over now. Let's get to it.

First to advance to next week's performance finale are Lance and Lacey. They will be joined by Brooke and Derek. The last couple to advance is...

Warren and Kym!

Awwwwww...that means Cody and Julianne are out.

Pete Newell, 3 Aug 1915 - 17 Nov 2008

OK. Let's cue that theme music now because it's live from Hollywood!

The finals are one week away! We're down to our final four celebrities now.

Brooke Burke with Derek Hough
Lance Bass with Lacey Schwimmer
Warren Sapp with Kym Johnson
Cody Linley with Julianne Hough

I can't believe we're almost finished. We've got two dances tonight. Each pair will perform a style that they haven't yet danced this season, as well as one of the four new styles performed for the first time this year.

First up is the style that each pair has not yet danced.

Brooke and Derek dance Jive. She's got fantastic LEGS, but she was so unsure during that dance. She wasn't tight and her musicality was off. She got really flustered toward the end as well and just lost her steps. That choreography may have been just a bit too ambitious for her. It was a poor performance and that's a shame. They went for so much content that they missed on the basics. We applaud them for really going for it, but if you go for it you better hit it. That was Brooke's worst dance of the season. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21. Ouch!

Cody and Julianne dance Paso Doble. The stiffness and aggression Cody has shown in his dancing could be good for Paso. But we don't understand the music or the costuming. It makes it very difficult to follow what the dance is supposed to look like. We did not care for that dance at all. It was too jerky and disconnected. We appreciated what Julianne tried, but the performance missed for us. The innovation didn't make any sense and the musicality was way off. It might have been ok if Cody had danced it well, but we don't think he did. It just didn't seem like a proper Paso. Not good enough at this stage. Judges say 8,7,7 for a total of 22.

Warren and Kym dance Mambo. We're doing the Mambo to Tequila! It was a very slow Mambo with some gimmicks in place of real Mambo steps. It was an ok performance but really not up to semi-final quality. It really looked like he didn't have enough time to practice this week, as the rehearsal footage seemed to indicate. The crowd enjoyed it, but the dance just wasn't very good. He continues to rely on his charm, and that's fine. But at this stage, his lack of technique needs to be addressed in the scoring...to be fair to the others who were nailed for issues with their dances. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. The judges talk about his flat feet, but they just don't seem to want to hold them to the proper standard when it comes to scoring.

Lance and Lacey dance Mambo. Now we've got a dance that is living up to semi-final night. The choreography was ambitious and the dance was well-designed from move to move. They were right on their game. The performance was controlled but still fun with plenty of energy. Lance spent some time on his footwork and his posture this week and it really showed. Very well done That was great! Judges say 10,9,9 for a total of 28. And Len finally gives them credit for an excellent performance.

Here's our leader board after the first round:

28 Lance and Lacey
24 Warren and Kym
22 Cody and Linley
21 Brooke and Derek

Now it's time for one of the four never-before-performed styles...Disco, Salsa, Jitterbug, or West Coast Swing. The couples get to choose from the styles they did not dance earlier, and each pair will get a master class lesson from Len Goodman.

Len worked on Lance's pidgeon toes, Cody's stiff hips, Brooke's flexed LEGS, and Warren's flat feet.

Brooke and Derek dance Salsa. She seems off to us tonight. This is better than the first dance, but we're still not liking it. There were a bunch of tricks in the choreography that were well performed. She definitely finished strong. We just didn't care for the performance, even though technically it was very good. Judges say 9,10,9 for a total of 28. Based on her entire body of work this season, Brooke definitely deserves a spot in the finals. We really want to see what Derek comes up with as a show dance.

Cody and Julianne dance Salsa. Again, stiff body posture and jerky exchanges from move to move. And limited hip action. The performance was fun and cheeky, and we enjoyed the energy they had. He's done about as well as he can do. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. It would be great to see what Julianne could come up with for a show dance, and we'd love to see her compete against her brother. Cody's young fanbase could get them over the top and into the final, but it won't be on the strength of his dancing.

Warren and Kym dance Jitterbug. The music was way too slow for Jitterbug. It just didn't have that fun and out of control flavor of a classic Jitterbug. They tried, but they were really hamstrung by the slower tempo of the music. There were the same issues with flat feet, but Warren seems to get a pass on his scores for the bad feet because of the way he works the crowd. Judges say 9,8,8 for a total of 25. Warren's advantage is his charming personality. Fans overlook lots of issues with technique, and that could be what gets him to the final. If he does make the final, watch out because the show dance is all about performance and nothing to do with technique.

Lance and Lacey dance Jitterbug. Now we're up tempo. And Lance danced right out of his shoe! Now we watched his feet specifically...and he followed Len's advice and kept them turned out. That had all the classic Jitterbug elements and they were incredibly well performed. That was fantastic! Lance and Lacey were the couple of the night! Judges say 10,9,10 for a total of 29. Lance has overcome whatever lack of confidence he's been carrying all season, and Lacey is taking full advantage by giving him difficult choreography. The two together have developed great chemistry, and they are both performing so well to the crowd. He has the fanbase, and if Brooke continues to falter, L&L could be the pair to beat.

Here's the leader board after both dances:

57 Lance and Lacey
49 Warren and Kym
49 Brooke and Derek
46 Cody and Julianne

No changes in our voting this week. I went for Lance and Lacey while Pam went for Brooke and Derek.

Check it gang...Aretha Franklin is in the ballroom for results!

Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at the Manic Monday blog. Today's theme is Season.

The video is the opening song from the movie Rent. The musical was written by Jonathan Larson (1960-1996), who died suddenly from an aortic aneursym the night before the off-Broadway premier. The show won a Pulizter Prize as well as a Tony for Best Musical. The film version was released in 2005.

The lyrics are simple, yet indelible and profound.

Seasons of Love
lyrics and music by Jonathan Larson



All:
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Moments so dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?
In Daylights - In Sunsets
In Midnights - In Cups Of Coffee
In Inches - In Miles
In Laughter - In Strife

In - Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure A Year In The Life?

How About Love?
How About Love?
How About Love?
Measure In Love

Seasons of Love.
Seasons of Love.

Joanne:
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Journeys To Plan

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure The Life Of A Woman Or A Man

Collins:
In Truth That She Learned
Or In Times That He Cried
In Bridges He Burned
Or The Way That She Died

All:
It's Time Now - To Sing Out
Though The Story Never Ends
Let's Celebrate
Remember A Year
In The Life Of Friends

Remember the Love
Remember the Love
Remember the Love
Measure In Love

Joanne:
Oh you got to you got to remember the love,
You know that love is a gift from up above
Share love, give love, spread love
Measure, measure your life in love.

ALL
Seasons Of Love(2x)

Joanne:
Measure your life, measure your life in love

A one star general is a Brigadier.

A two star general is a Major General.

A three star general is a Lieutenant General.

What do you call a four star general? You call her Ma'am.

General Ann Dunwoody, US Army, was awarded her 4th star today, the first woman ever elevated to that rank. Click here to read the full story.

General Dunwoody comes from a service family. From Wikipedia, in her own words...

"I grew up in the Army and came from a family who, since 1862, has defended our nation. My great grandfather, my grandfather, my father, my brother, my sister, my niece and my husband are all veterans of this country’s wars. My father is a veteran of three wars and is one of the 25 million veterans living today who served the nation with such incredible courage.

While I joined the Army right out of college, I planned to only stay in the Army to complete my two-year commitment, but it wasn’t too long before I realized that there are no other shoes [boots] I would rather fill than the ones I am wearing right now. As a soldier you can continually serve. It is a calling to be a soldier and there is a great sense of pride and camaraderie in serving the greatest Army in the world."

Sorry gang...I was really sick yesterday and wasn't up to a recap post during the show, although we did watch. Maurice and Cheryl had the lowest vote totals, so they are out.



The Final Four pairs are:

Brooke and Derek
Lance and Lacey
Warren and Kym
Cody and Julianne

Julianne returned from her appendix surgery in fine form. She and Derek were selected to perform the final Macy's Stars of Dance segment, chosen from a season long fan vote that picked the dancers, the dance style, the costumes, and the music. Julianne and Derek were the winners, and they performed an outstanding Jive.

You have to check this out!


I had some misinformation at the end of my Monday recap post. I heard Tom Bergeron announce that John Legend would be performing on the results show. That wasn't correct. It turned out to be country singer Brad Paisley. He performed his song Ticks, joined by Lacey and her brother Benji.

This is also a must see!


I expect to be back to my normal enthusiasm in time for next week's shows.

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, major hostilities in World War 1 ended with the signing of the Armistice.

Thank you to all of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and members of the US Coast Guard for their service and sacrifice. May you all be safe today, and in all the tomorrows of your service. And if you must make the ultimate sacrifice, may you go to your rest with the humble thanks of a grateful nation and her citizens.

Thank you for the freedom to engage in frivolity.



Now let's cue that theme music because it's live from Hollywood and we're only two weeks away from the finale! Last night we had our remaining five couples performing two dances each, with a bit of solo in the Latin round.

The ballroom round is first.

Cody and Edyta (still dancing for Julianne) dance Foxtrot. The problem we have with Cody is that he isn't smooth and graceful with his movement in the ballroom dances. And he was awkward again in that Foxtrot. His feet are heavy and he just falls short in his attempts to be elegant. Part of that is his age. We did not care for that dance and evidently our opinion is wildly different from the judges. Carrie Ann spotted a lift. We didn't see it. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. I hesitate to say the score is too high. He didn't miss any steps and the choreography was classic Foxtrot.

Brooke and Derek dance Tango. Is it possible that a dance can be very good, but not enjoyable? That dance was very good, but I didn't like it. Pam gave it a WOOOO, but I didn't care for it. I didn't like her body lines or posture. I thought there were problems with her footwork. I don't think it was "riddled with mistakes" like Mr Cranky Pants said, but I just didn't enjoy it. Judges say 10,8,10 for a total of 28. I'm sorry...that dance was not perfect. Even Pam agrees. She enjoyed it, but saw footwork trouble and some poor posture. She thought 9's across.

Maurice and Cheryl dance Quickstep. This must be technically precise with proper posture and footwork. He looks very elegant and he is much more relaxed than we've seen him in ballroom styles. That wasn't bad. He held his frame for the most part and he didn't miss any steps. The dance was classy and refined. He held his energy all the way through the dance, and that helped with his performance. The dance was complete and there really was very little to pick apart. Well done! Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. We think he earned at least one 9 for that performance.

Lance and Lacey dance Foxtrot. That was also a classic Foxtrot. We saw fewer issues with Lance's footwork. We saw no issues with his posture and frame. The dance was elegant with a dash of cheek. And since they've solved many of those issues with footwork and posture, they can work on entertaining. The dance was so well made. The performance was outstanding. Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26. We've been frustrated with Len many times in the past, but he's taking it to a new level with Lance and Lacey. That dance should have been 9's across.

Warren and Kym dance Tango. Ahhhh. This is much better than last week. He is in character. He's got his feet right. His posture is good. And with all that squared away, the charm is back in the performance. That was fantastic! The big man got his mojo going on! Wow! He was a strong lead, in control of the dance throughout. Outstanding. And big props to Kym for helping Warren focus after a bad week and for making an excellent dance that showed off his skills. Judges say 10,9,9 for a total of 28. I don't know about the 10, but it was a great performance.

Here's our leader board after the ballroom round:

28 Warren and Kym
28 Brooke and Derek
26 Lance and Lacey
24 Maurice and Cheryl
24 Cody and Edyta

Next up, the Latin round. And each star has a 15 second solo.

Cody and Edyta dance Mambo. He's still having trouble connecting his feet to his legs to his hips. He just isn't smooth putting multiple steps together, and that gives the dances a jerky quality that just isn't appealing. But that Mambo was better than some of his earlier Latin efforts. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. Props to Edyta for stepping in for Julianne. She did a great job. If Cody returns next week, Julianne will be back to dance.

Brooke and Derek dance Mambo. Now that's Mambo! Extended and exaggerated hip swivels. Lots of turns and shimmies. We've got no complaints with this dance. Excellent job with classic Mambo, very difficult choreography. It was fun and sexy and totally HAWT. There were a few issues with posture, but they didn't detract much from the performance. Judges say 9's across for a total of 27.

Maurice and Cheryl dance Paso Doble. Lousy music. He did well with the cape, which wasn't really dancing during the 15 second solo. He had the aggressive intensity of the dance, but he didn't hold his posture well enough in his upper body. He was great with his lower body and his footwork. It was a good performance, but it wasn't among the best dances. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24.

Lance and Lacey Samba. The solo was a bit weak without much Samba content, although he did pull the crowd onto the floor with him. That comes from playing huge arenas during his N'Sync days. But we loved the choreography in the rest of the dance. It had the bounce it needed and it was quite intricate with classic Samba elements. The music irritated us after awhile, but we really enjoyed that dance. Judges say 8,7,9 for a total of 24. We get that Lance is pidgeon-toed and bow-legged, but Len is simply determined not to like this pair if he can find the slightest thing to pick at.

Warren and Kym dance Jive. There's that 300lb defensive lineman bouncing around the floor. He didn't have the best technique, but we had the most fun watching him dance! And he had a great time too. That was way too much fun! The solo was right on the edge of being out of control. Kym made a great dance for him, although it really was not good technically. We did enjoy the performance though. Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26. There's your double standard. Warren entertained in a dance with poor technique, and was rewarded for performance over precision.

And our final leader board of the night looks like this:

55 Brooke and Derek
54 Warren and Kym
50 Lance and Lacey
48 Maurice and Cheryl
48 Cody and Edyta

I'm still with Lance and Lacey. They got all 5 of my votes. Pam stuck with Brooke and Derek.

Hurrah! Lacey's big brother Benji joins her tonight on the results show! Benji Schwimmer won season two of So You Think You Can Dance. If you've read this blog for awhile, you'll know he's one of my favorite performers across all seasons of all the dance shows I watch.

And check it out...John Legend will be in the ballroom.

We'll be down to the Final Four after results. Just two more weeks and we'll have a winner of the fabulous mirror ball trophy!

Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at the Manic Monday blog. Today's theme is Bounty.

Last week was historic. It was big and bold and kind of difficult to absorb all at once. Here in the United States we had an historic election result. And then around the world bloggers participated in another amazingly successful Blog Blast for Peace. If you didn't get a chance to post your Peace Globe, or don't know about the movement, you can check it out at Mimi Writes. And you can visit the official Peace Globe Gallery.

So today's bounty comes from an assortment of peace posts that inspired me.

Mojo from Why? What have you learned?

Carver from Carver's Sight or is that Site?

Ferd from The Best Parts

Michelle from Crow's Feet

Robin from Around the Island

Lifecruiser

This Eclectic Life

Lisa from Groggy Froggy

Lee from Tarheel Ramblings

Mary's Writing Nook

Melinda from Life Is All About Balance

Speedcat Hollydale

Laane On the World

Debra from A Printmaker's Blog

I visited more than 240 peace posts. But there were more than 500 bloggers who signed in on two of Mimi's posts. Many signed in on the Nov 6 Dona Nobis Pacem post. And many more signed in on the Sept 10 kick off post.

I wish I had time to visit each of you. But know that I join with you all in hoping and working for peace.

In keeping with my goal to be part of the change and work for an end to the politics of fear and divisiveness, I have sent my Peace Globe to the office of President-Elect Obama. I have done so by going to the website http://www.change.gov/. This is the website for the transition team.

There is a form you can fill out to send an email to the President-Elect, in which you can "share your vision for what America can be, where President-Elect Obama should lead this country". I encourage you to do as I have done. I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to write to President-Elect Obama. Use your voice to tell him you are out here.

Speaking to my fellow citizens, whether you voted for him or not, we are all Americans and we need to stop spreading fear and distrust and start looking forward.

I was chatting with a friend yesterday, and she asked me where I thought idealism fit with pessimism and optimism. I said...

Idealism is about reaching as high as you can, even it if seems to be too much.

Pessimism says it is too hard to do any of it and you'll be lucky if you just make it to tomorrow.

Optimism says let's give it a try and see how far we can go.

My vision is to see the divisiveness end. I'm tired of the politics of fear. I'm tired of asking questions of my leaders and being told that I'm not a real American because I doubt the decisions being made in my name.

Please fix that.