I started this season of Dancing with the Stars the same as most everyone else, including the contestants, less than sure if this would work. They had names I hadn't heard of in decades and some names that no one had ever heard of. There were the required sports stars, the young dynamos, a rapper/r&b star, a woman with huge breast, and someone past their "prime".

I watched that first show with one hand on the remote just in case I was bored by the first hour and surprisingly I wasn't. Ralph was a delight, Chelsea was adorable, Romeo surprised (especially being the son of Master P and that disaster), and Kristie could actually move. Most of the others fell somewhere in the middle.

That became the story of this season; somewhere in the middle. It seemed like unlike past seasons where you had front runners like Kristy Yamaguchi, Nicole Scherzinger, Mel B, and Jennifer Grey; this season they all where evenly and sometimes uneventfully matched. Kristie had multiple problems, Ralph fizzled after such a wonderful start, and no matter what Chelsea and Mark did they just weren't getting the judges scores.

Then about the late middle of the season two emerged as real front runners. Mark started just letting Chelsea dance instead of interpreting the music and Hines found his Superbowl commitment. They both danced their hearts out week after week and traded the top spot on more than one occasion.

That is why when I turned on Dancing with the Stars last night to see who won (I'm out of town so I wasn't able to catch the whole show) I was almost floored to see Kristie and Maks standing there with Hines and Kim. Where the heck was Chelsea and Mark?

I know that more often than not these shows, Dancing with the Stars and American Idol, boil down to who is more popular or who has the biggest fan base. Time and time again we have seen people with real talent or top scores end up being sent home without so much as a "we wish you well". Still shouldn't talent count for something?

Did I think Chelsea was going to win, no. Again though that had more to do with popularity than actual dancing. If we were going with dancing then I think it could have easily been a tie or Chelsea could have taken it. She had a fluidity and connection to the music that Hines sometimes lacked. Even with Marks sometimes out there choreography she still shined and more often than not had me confused between whether she deserved a 10 or a 9.

I am glad that Hines won. I really did like him and I thought that he had great personality on the dance floor. My issue is that although America likes to vote sometimes they have no idea what they should be voting for.

We all think we can drop it like it's hot or sing like Whitney and Mariah (in the shower if no where else) but that doesn't mean that we can or that we understand what it takes to really make it in either profession.

In my opinion, I think the better of the two remaining won. I'm not sure if I think the best dancer won but if it had been Kristie this post would have had a decidedly more hostile slant.

My only hope is that by the time next season comes around they have a better cast, they actually have a front runner, and that America listens to the judges. They have spent years in their chosen career. Even if you don't like what they say, respect it and let it guide your opinion. But as they say; to each his own. Congrats Hines and Kim.

Week two started out a little more like I thought the season would. The excitement of night one was long gone and most of the pack landed in the middle. However, there were a few couples that came back strong. Let's take a look.

Sugar Ray & Anna - Sugar Ray looked more relax even though I was first out the gate. He came out with an entertaining jive that was full of energy but still need technique. In my opinion I still think he will be around awhile but he has to work on combining his enjoyment with his feet.

Kendra & Louis - The playboy bunny showed signs of some gracefulness but truthfully her blinding forced smile distracted me through most of the dance. You could see that this the quickstep wasn't anywhere near her comfort zone but she but forth quite a bit of effort. I think if she can come out of her shell than she might just make a run for the mirror ball.

Chelsea & Mark - I guess since Derek isn't here this season his BFF Mark decided he would be the one to piss off the judges. They completely ripped his jive as not being the time or the place as Carrie Ann said but in my opinion it might have been the wave of the future. Look the music choice sucked for them but they made it work. It was slightly outside the box of a "traditional" jive but still think they will be around for quite a while.

Chris & Cheryl - After admitting that his is rather scared of Cheryl Burke, Chris turned in a wonderfully exciting quickstep. He looked more natural on the dance floor and as if he was really, truly enjoying himself. I'm thinking he might be the dark horse of this competition if he keeps a healthy dose of Cheryl fear.

Petra & Dmitry - My height issues aside, Petra's jive was a little jerky and surprisingly stiff. Sure she ripped off half her clothing and showed that she still has her runway figure but there was disjointedness about the performance. Still in true DWTS judge format they appeared to love it. There was some criticism however which made me smile just a little; height issues aside.

Kristie & Maksim - I am trying my best not to go all team Kristie but how can you help it when she is turning in really good performances. Sure she had a little oops, actually maybe two but if the judges didn't see it then I'm not going to point it out, but you could see the work. For week two her quickstep was lighter than I would have imagined and faster than she probably wanted. Overall in my opinion another solid effort.

Mike & Lacey - Mike, Mike, Mike. Look I give credit where credit is due and Mike put in the effort this week and turned in a middle of the pack jive. It was way better than I ever thought it would be after week 1 and in my opinion I think it should have earned him at least one more week. Will he get to stay is the question but still not that bad.

Romeo & Chelsie - While I might be a little bias since they danced to one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite musicals (You're the One that I Want, Grease) I absolutely loved it. Sure Romeo was quite a bit more bouncy than most doing a quickstep but it almost looked effortless as he moved around the dance floor with Chelsie. Len actually said it was the best dance of the night. That might be first time a rapper on the show as ever heard those words from Len. Way to go.

Wendy & Tony - Okay if you have already had a song on previously in another season and the routine for it was absolutely phenomenal; why would you bring it back? Yet that is exactly what happened here. A song from Basement Jaxx that helped win Shawn Johnson the mirror ball during her freestyle was played to Wendy's very, very boring and lack luster quickstep. It was almost painful to watch her move so sluggishly to such a great song. It made me long for Shawn and I had to YouTube the original performance after the show just to feel better.

Ralph & Karina - I have to say that I am really taken by the Karate Kid. Although his jive wasn't as amazing as the foxtrot last week he still brought in a really wonderful dance. Plus the personality that he brings to life on the floor is great to see. I am looking for him to be in the final three and if he is not I will be extremely disappointed.

Hines & Kym - While Len may say the dance of the night went to Romeo I think it went hands down to Hines and Kym's quickstep. He was light on his feet. He kept his bum in check and they glided around as if they had always moved that fast. His charisma shined from the moment he steeped out and continued through the entire performance. My vote for encore dance goes to him without question and I hope that I get to see it again tonight.

After the second night of competition I think the real loser of the night was the overall music selection. I can already tell that is going to be one of my biggest pet peeves of the season. Music not withstanding my choice for the first to leave the ballroom would have to be Wendy and Tony. I love Tony and you can tell that Wendy really wants to do well but after turning in two painful to watch performances I really don't think I could handle a third.

Sorry honey but you just ain't doing so good.

I will freely admit that when I first saw the new cast for this season of Dancing with the Stars I was less than excited. Sure there were a few that sparked an interest. Like would the Playmate fall out of her top? Would Kristie implode during the show? That was provided she could move at all. Could the lil' rapper really do better than his infamously low scoring dad? Still with all those questions the names left me feeling less than interested.

That was when I decided that I would give it one maybe two weeks and I was sure that I would ready to move on by then. So last night seven rolled around and sadly I was still making my dinner but finished just as the line up was standing all glittery and spray tanned on stage ready to dance their hearts out for mirror ball glory. The Disney star, the football hero, the boxer and the talk show host all gave me pause but again interest was barely there.

The music started, the couples moved, the judges paddled, and two wonderful hours later I was hooked. People I didn't expect to capture my attention held me captivated, folks I thought would suck wowed me and end the end I had taken to my Facebook to alert the world that Dancing with the Stars was back.

Here is a our first breakdown of the season:

Chelsea & Mark - Mark fresh of his surprising rise with Bristol Palin has comeback with a lovely little partner in Disney darling Chelsea. She is cute, petite and unlike Bristol has personality on the floor. I'm not sure if Mark always ask to go first but for the third season in a row he started us off with a interesting Foxtrot. It was good and showed that Chelsea had potential but it wasn't a jaw dropping routine. Overall, my opinion week 1 is that they will do pretty well but I'm not sure I see them taking it all the way to the finals.

Wendy & Tony - Oh Wendy, how you doin? Not so great. Wendy's ChaCha was painful to watch. I don't know if she was nervous, not feeling the music or just to much woman for Tony to handle. Either way it was awful. For someone that is such a huge personality it was confusing for myself and the judges that looked stunned that she didn't pull it off. My opinion for Wendy is about as bad as her dancing. Two maybe four weeks if she doesn't learn how to pull that personality out and move those hips.

Hines & Kym - I will be honest; I'm still mad at Kym for stealing the trophy from Mya a few seasons ago but that aside I see good things for her this year. First off she is paired with a football player with personality. That always bodes well for "Dancing". In the likes of Emmett and Warren, Hines came on strong. The packet they showed before they started dancing was hilarious. Then they took to the floor. He wasn't the best of the night and there is much room for improvement but his personality more than made up for his lack of talent. Week 1 opinion is promising. I think his personality will hold him until he can learn the talent to stay.

Petra & Dmitry - I learned something watch Petra dance last night. I think I'm a heightest. For some reason as graceful as she was last night she just seemed too tall for the Foxtrot. That said, and my issues aside, she was good. However, she admitted thanks to her personal experience in the 2004 Tsunami her flexibility is awful and she experiences lost of pain. Still with all that my opinion is that she will make it far in this competition. After all Jennifer Gray won last year with a pin in her neck.

Romeo & Chelsie - Romeo, Romeo how you have grown up Romeo. True to form Carrie Ann seemed to be a little smitten with our lil' Romeo as she proclaimed how much sex appeal he had. However, sexiness aside he could have come out and pushed Chelsie around to the beat of the music and everyone would be glad because it would have been better than his father. Thankfully he did a little better than that. Like most rappers/rnb performers he showed musicality and hope. The question now in my opinion is if he can calm down enough actually learn the technique.

Sugar Ray & Anna - The first thing that surprised me about Sugar Ray was that he was paired with Anna and not Cheryl. She always seems to get the sporty black men but Anna lucked out this season with the legend. The jury is still out as to whether that is a blessing or a curse. Last night I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was his nervous that kept all his personality shine. The opinion for Sugar is that if he can get the nervous under control then he might end up kinda sweet.

Kendra & Louis - Go Kendra, go Kendra. Yes she sung her own theme song while showing Louis that she could shake that thing. Truthfully, she was one of the ones I was looking forward to seeing. I didn't expect much from her. Kinda a cross between Pamela Anderson and her former playmate Holly. Still she came out, calmed her booty shaking down and did an entertaining ChaCha. It was a little wild but so is she and it was week one. Will a little polish and some technique my opinion is that she might be around for the long hall.

Ralph & Karina - It was good to see Karina back and looking lovely as always and to be paired with the karate kid well that might be every girl from the 80's dream. The 49 year old actor (still shocking me) came out and delivered one of the best dances of the night. His Foxtrot was fun and flirty and full of content. The judges loved him and so did the audience. He had personality, style and my opinion is provided he can keep up the potential we could be looking at a finalist.

Chris & Cheryl - Just as I'm not sure if it was a blessing or curse that Cheryl didn't get Sugar Ray, I am also not sure if her actual partner, Chris, is the same. It was apparent that he was trying his best and I hate to talk bad about someone that tried but I'm going to have to. Chris was heavy-footed and painful. He wasn't the worst dance of the night but he was really close. In my opinion I see Cheryl carrying him to about the middle of the pack but that's it.

Mike & Lacey - I love my Lacey and when she first came on this season I was like what is going on with her hair. Her roots looked as if she had a dark bowl hanging out on her head. Yet as she started dancing with Mike I finally understood. It was so that her hair could distract you from the pain that was going on with her partner. Mike, Len said it best. Get better next week or that might be it. For this opinion I am going to follow my mom's advice. If you can't say anything nice then just shut up.

Kristie & Maksim - Some might say that they saved the best for last or at least the most controversial. Surprisingly, both might be right. Kristie's ChaCha was wonderful. She moved better than I think anyone would have guessed and really put it all out there. With a little help and continued pushing from Maks my opinion is that she could really, really do good here. In my opinion she deserves a "cheers" for her performance and I can't wait to see what she does next week. Let's see if she can do ballroom before I give her a complete thumbs up.

So that was it for week 1. I am not making predictions for who will go home this week considering that they have another Monday night before the first elimination of the season. Check back next Tuesday to get my thoughts of next week.

Until then, what was you impressions of last nights episode. Leave your opinions below.

With Cheap girls guide to DVD/Movies underway I thought it would make sense to come up with a rating system like all the good movie reviews have. I thought of doing popcorn cause who doesn't love movie popcorn but that has been done before. Then I thought go with what works for you and how decided to go with how I decide what I'm willing to pay for a movie. With that said here we go:

The Date Night Movie: When I think of movie prices then I think of the "date night" as the ultimate movie night. When you are willing to spring for the trip, the ticket, popcorn and maybe dinner or desert. That is why this rating is at the top of my list. If a movie is worth $30 to $40 dollars than it has to be dang good.

Personal Movie Night: Some movies are good and worth going to the movies to see but they just aren't worth the big ticket price. That is where the personal movie comes in. When the movie is still worth the drive and the ticket but you might want to bring your own popcorn, skip the dinner and definitely forget about desert.

Make It a "B" Night: Since I don't want to step on any toes (Blockbuster) I am trying not to completely rip off their saying. This is for that movie that is worth checking out but save some money and rent it. Also when I say rent it I will be specific. With cable rentals almost as much as a movie ticket I am for sure going to let you know if it's worth it.

Catch It When You Can: I am a big lover of just about all movies but some are just better when you didn't spend a dime for them. That is where this category comes from. Just wait for it to show up on cable. You are already paying for the good movies might as well watch the not so good one too.

Just Skip It All Together: If you notice there is nothing for this one. My goal is to not to have to use this rating at all but if I run across something is a complete waste of your time then I will let you know. Hopefully we will not have to see this one make an appearance.

So there you have it. Hope that helps and serves as a helpful guide once I really start reviewing. Until then keep watching those movies and if you have one you would like my opinion on then leave it below.

Who doesn't love a good movie? Absolutely no one. We all love that little escape that it gives us. For the hour that we are gone we can relax or get scared. We can fall in love or get all emotional without anyone saying anything.

However, with the cost of gas slowly reaching $4.00 (or $5.00 in some places), movie tickets around nine dollars each, and let's not even get into the cost at the snack bar. A relaxing night at the movies can run you close to thirty bucks if you aren't careful. There is nothing relaxing about that.

Not to mention that movie companies in my opinion are starting to slack some on the content and greatness of movies. Gone are the days of the brat pack and being able to count on a good John Hughes movie to get you through the weekend. Now we are lucky if there are two good movies to get you through the month.

Therefore with my cheap butt I am starting the "Cheap Girls Guide to DVDs". Every other Wednesday I will be posting my recommendations of new DVDs that I think would make a great movie night. If it catches on then I might got to every week. I will also be adding in any great tips I have for saving money while still enjoying the movies today.

Alright so look for my first recommendation in a next week to get started. Some of these might not be newer movies but they will all be great. At least in my opinion. :P