Hey guys,

I am writing this and OD-ing on vitamin C at the same time! If you watched this week, you know my partner Derek caught the flu. I have avoided it, but I’m a little under the weather—congested, runny nose, scratchy throat. But this show is so intense, there is no time to rest. Gotta keep moving.

So here’s how it went last week. On Thursday, Derek tweeted that he had the sweats. When I read that, I thought, Oh, boy…Then when I got to rehearsal, they told me he was in the hospital with a 104 fever!

The producers scrambled and found me a substitute partner, Max. Max is great, but I must admit that it was tough to dance with a new guy. Derek and I have such great chemistry and he really knows my strengths and weaknesses. Things were so rushed with Max that I felt at times like I was a rag doll being tossed around, but we got it together in the end.

The dress rehearsal went great. We nailed the dance—it was totally smooth. Then, of course, when the cameras went live, we stumbled. I was so upset. But Max was great, he held me up, we kept the beat and, amazingly, finished the dance on time.

I thought I had moved with the wrong foot, but watching the close up, my freaking heel caught on his pant leg! I couldn’t believe it. But the judges still gave us good marks, and I am so glad we didn’t get eliminated this week. It would have been horrible to end without my partner. I know Derek would have felt horrible.

It just goes to show how important the votes are. Natalie was eliminated, which was a really big shock. I won’t name any names, but there are definitely other people I would have guessed would have been kicked off before her! That is why it is so important that viewers vote if they like the dances we’re doing.

Next week, Derek will be back—at least I hope so. My stress levels are going through the roof! We have three dances to learn, so I’d better get back to it. Please watch and vote!

Bye, guys!