Like every other cycle I keep an eye out for the plus size models and tend to root a little more for them. There have only been five plus size models make it into the final 13 (this cycle there's 14) but none have made it to the top three. I'm hoping this year will be different. This cycle I'm routing for 20 year old Whitney.

None of the models in the plus size division are what any woman outside the fashion industry would call plus size but they are fuller than the industry standards. Now if only we could get one into the number one slot! That would make me happy.

Should Whitney not make it my next hopeful is probably Fatima. She's an immigrant from Africa who has survived female mutilation. Other than that it's too soon to tell.

The 14 models moved into their new home for the coming weeks in New York City. The theme of the new home is, "What's your passion?" It's decorated with very large photos of previous models and Tyra Banks of course; as well as inspirational quotes.

Unlike previous homes there are only two bedrooms. One with a bunch of bunk beds and another with on humongous bed. The girls seemed to settle in ok. The biggest complaint about the house came from the no-smoking signs. There are a least three smokers in the group.

Working the Runway

Jay and Ms. J took the girls to Times Square for a runway show featuring Badgley Mischka designs. I actually liked the make up. It was very flattering as were the designs. I think Lauren was the worst runway wise and of course Whitney was the best in an amazing purple gown. She was totally working it.

Personal Evaluations

The next day the girls visited Elite Modeling Agency where they had to stand through personal evaluations of their appearance by top super model, the gorgeous Paulina Porizkova (who also is one of the judges for this cycle). The main thrift of her advice was to get use to being criticized. And she did some painful critiques - bad skin, transvestite appearance.

Homeless Photo Shoot

The models first photo shoot centered around a homeless theme and paired each girl with real homeless people who were dressed to the nines while the models were dressed as homeless women. I thought Fatima and Claire did the best. Claire reminds me a lot visually of actress Saffron Burrows.

Judging

During the judging I thought the judges were relatively nice. Whitney got favorable reviews although it seemed like less attention than the others. The biggest shock was when cute little Kimberly said she wasn't into fashion and wanted to go home... and Tyra told her matter-of-factly to go. The good news is that Whitney is still in the running for ANTM. The bad news is Atalya was sent home. I thought she was cute and she wouldn't have been my choice for going home.

Overall, this week was entertaining and seemed to go by really fast. I can't wait to see the make-over episode next week! That is always a favorite of mine. Although I think this group of girls is probably the better kept ones at this stage of the game considering previous cycles.

This is always my favorite episode. I love seeing the models transformed.

This episode opened with each model being given a pair of Apple Bottoms jeans (yes they come in plus size too). Most were very appreciative and couldn't wait to shake their tushes at one another. Allison however moped on the couch watching everyone and gloating about how perfect she is.

Cover Girl Make-up Challenge

Next up was Walmart where the girls competed in a Covergirl Make-up challenge. The winner receives their image on a billboard display across the country in Walmart.

The girls had to make a dash to pick three products and apply. Claire happily won the make-up challenge; although I think Whitney could have easily taken it. The worst was definitely Fatima who didn't look like she had applied any make-up.

Missing the Kiddies

It looks like Claire and Dominique are the only ones with children this time out. While both have a hard time being away from their kids, Dominique broke down when talking about how difficult it was to be away from her family.

Tension Mounting

Fatima really is rubbing some of the other girls the wrong way. She doesn't think before she opens her mouth. This week she told Allison that her butt was bigger. Allison was offended and held a grudge for the whole episode.

Make-over City

Now for the best part! The make-overs took place at Stephen Knoll Salon (Cindy Crawford's tress designer). This cycle the girls and the viewers had to watch the makeovers unfold instead of knowing beforehand what was going to happen. Change is nice but I like the old way better, then you can see the girls get worked up and all.

Make-overs at a glance:

* Anya - Went super super blonde and looked totally amazing. It really brightened up her face.

* Whitney - Probably the worst makeover -- going from black to super blonde with weaves. I totally hate it but I'll continue to root for her because she's plus size.

* Aimee - Was given bangs and red, red, red hair. Beautiful!

* Marvita - A surprising horse mane weave (Tyra's design). She definitely looks good with long hair but I'm not sold on the mohawkish look.

* Lauren - Really long extensions of blonde with red highlights. She looks great.

* Katarzyna - Her hair was darkened and layered a bit. Looks fabulous.

* Claire - She already had one side of her head shaved for distinction so they wasn't much they could do you would think but they shaved her whole head short and went super blonde. It looks totally amazing!

* Fatima - Had chestnut brown and lonnnnng weave added. She whined a lot during the process but it was totally worth it.

* Allison - Went to a blondish red with gold highlights from very dark. It was ok.

* Dominique - Had her long locks cut to chin length and the color evened to a dark brown. It was a major improvement but apparently not the color Tyra had asked for so it will be redone for next week's episode.

* Stacey-ann - She wanted long locks but was given a short chunky cut that is very pretty on her.

* Amis - Long blonde weaves... ok.

I couldn't believe all the blonde going around this makeover. A bit much I think. I really would have liked Whitney to have stayed dark with a longer weave.

Harbor Photo Shoot

This week's photo shoot took place on a boat on the harbor to use New York as the back drop. Supermodel Elle MacPherson was on hand to chat with the girls and market her lingerie line which the ladies modelled.

Here's how I think the final shots turned out:

+ - good
* - bad
++ - very good

Amis - +
Lauren - * (judge's favorite)
Marvita - ++
Claire - ++
Fatima - ++
Katarzyna - ++
Staceyann - +
Dominique - +
Aimee - +
Anya - +
Allison - +
Whitney - -

Overall I think Marvita and Fatima had the best pictures closely followed by Claire and then Katarzyna.

Judging

And then suddenly we were down to the final three:

Dominique
Allison
Amis

The judges really liked Lauren this round. She was the first one called to safety. After some more torture Tyra announced that Allison was going home. I think Allison went home more because of her conceit than lack of modelling skill or beauty. One of the judges paid her a lovely comment and instead of saying "thank you" she responded with "I know" which totally turned Nigel off.

Next Week

Next week is all about Runway Practice. Should be a hoot.

This week the models went to a fire station to work on their runway skills with Ms J. Their audience? Firemen in full gear. The girls were keen and giggly and the audience was all smiles.

Fatima tried to be an individual by not wearing the full required uniform (she liked her shoes better) but Ms J quickly put her in her place and she fell into line with everyone else.

In my opinion Claire had the best walk. Dominique practically did a strip tease for the fire boys. The girl must have forget it was a fashion walk and and not an interlude to a pole dance. Good thing they didn't have to hose her off. For some reason Amis decided to skip instead of work it... she said because it made her feel good. Hello? wrong attitude much.

Back at the House

This week poor Whitney got ate up for defending Aimee who wanted to have some private time inn the shower.

The Fashion Show

The girls got to put their new skills to use at a Brian Bradley fashion show. They looked fabulous in the Tuleh designs which included a combination of long and flowing dresses and fetching career.

The editor of Seventeen and Miss Jaslene were on had to judge this week's competition. The winner of the runway competetion won a photo shoot for Lot 29 in Seventeen along side Jaslene.

(Dominique had the proper hair color this week but still... she doesn't do it for me. Especially with it all slicked back like that.)

Runway faux pas: Fatima misbuttoned her sweater, Lauren flew down the runway and didn't pose (she was later asked if she really wanted to be a model as Jaslene wasn't feeling it. Lauren was hurt by this), Whitney showed the audience a boob and didn't try to cover it thinking everyone would notice. They noticed.

Katarzyna received rave reviews from the judges and ultimately won the challenge. She chose Aimee and Marvita as two friends to come along with her. They showed about 10 seconds from the shoot.

Jay Shows the Girls How to Get Raw

Next up was the fashion shoot with Jay. It was an interesting backdrop this week. A meat locker! I thought for sure they were going to use the firemen but no. The models had to play with and wear RAW meat. It was really disgusting. I don't know what the planners were thinking. Eewww!

Whitney seemed to have less confidence this week and it came across in her face. Lauren had the juice. Dominique got rave reviews. Amis was uncooperative, awkward and complaining.

Judging

Amis was the last one to get out of bed and didn't spend any time considering how she was going to "dress to impress". Her hair was a mess of bed head but somehow managed to have it combed out by the time she got to the panel but she had this goofy headband on.

Whitney was complimented by Tyra on her appearance this week (she wore her hair loose and had on a flattering, understated black dress). Anya got rave reviews for making her photo shoot work. Claire got mixed reviews. Dominique got mixed reviews.

Lauren's performance at the fashion show was the only one that was mentioned which I think was unfair considering the fashion flaws mentioned above. But they thought she made a great editorial model.

Amis was ragged because of her headband and cheesy jacket. No surprise there. I almost think that's what she was going for. Some kind of attention is better than none, I guess. Marvita received mixed reviews.

The Bottom Three

* Fatima
* Amis
* Aimee

Anya was the first model called back this week and Whitney was second. Aimee was saved, probably because of her high ranking last week. In the end Fatima was chosen to stay in spite of her small dog smile photo shoot.

Seeing Amis's performance this week it is not surprising she went home. She made her best impression I think when she was leaving. Amis didn't take the news badly at all. She thanked everyone for the experience and left with a positive message of sincere gratitude.

Next week

A posing battle in Brooklyn.

Things are starting to get tense in the house as personalities start to collide. Dominique seems to be getting on a lot of nerves but so far Whitney is the only one talking back. Whitney and Dominique had a disagreement/miscommunication about the phones which quickly escalated into Dominique calling Whitney racist. Fatima likened Whitney to the cheerleader in school who slept with all the footballers (HUH?). Oh, and Fatima complained a lot about Marvita being obviously "Ghetto". That girl has problems.

In this episode Marvita confessed about some past hurts both physically and emotionally having been both molested and raped.

Whitney gave a positive speech about her curves. "I don't believe in the world fat." She also seems to have a dislike for Anna Nicole Smith or at least being likened to her. It happened again this week and she wasn't impressed. Me either.

The Field Trip

This week the girls went to an old warehouse where they learnt about the three C's of posing: Couture, Commercial and Catalogue.

They were instructed and judged by the Poser Benny Ninja and International Supermodel Vendela (also the host of Norway's Next Top Model). Dominique received the best reviews.

Off to Brooklyn We Shall Go

The girls were divided into two groups and had to compete one at a time against a girl in the other team for points given by the group of posers the girls watched when they first arrived.

The Teams and Who they Posed Against:

Team A / Team B
Anya - Stacy Ann
Lauren - Marvita
Dominique - Claire
Fatima - Whitney
Aimee - Katarzyna

The winning team got to go to the Swag tent (I'm so jealous) supplied by Backstage Creations (they do the celebrity events). And one girl won an extra special treat.

Team B won and Claire was chosen as the best poser and I have to agree. She was the most natural and seemed to take the event more seriously than the other girls. Fatima was all crazy legged and posing into Whitney's space and eventually knocking her around. Totally unprofessional.

Claire's special treat? A trip to Bora Bora. Some of the girls (of course) didn't think she deserved a trip for her posing but she did.

The Photo Shoot

This week's photo shoot was with photographer Peter Buckingham. The girls were topless closeup with accentuated make-up and paint drizzled over their faces. They all looked amazingly artistic. Even the bad shots looked good on some level. Jay was particularly impatient with Marvita but she totally deserved it. She was not in the moment at all. I think Jay might have unintentionally psyche her out before she started.

Judging

(was Tyra wearing the same dress as last week??)

* Dominique - rave reviews (i just don't understand)
* Anya - ok reviews
* Katarzyna - complemented on beautiful eye squint
* Fatima - doesn't shave armpits for photo shoots (picture otherwise beautiful)
* Lauren - "gorgeous"
* Whitney - Vendela doesn't think she was serious about the posing task
* Claire - power poser, but needed more neck
* Marvita - "doesn't seem invested" (she looked like a depressed child in the photo)
* Stacy Ann - great energy, need to watch neck
* Aimee - luminiscent skin

The Bottom Three

Whitney
Fatima
Marvita

Stacy Ann was called back first this week followed by Dominique. Fatima was saved for another week (she does take good pictures). Not surprisingly, Marvita went home. She seemed to leave willingly. I think she might have given up before this week's photo shoot. She did admit to learning a lot and insisted, "I want a better life for myself." She also said she faced a lot of fears by participating in ANTM and that she isn't giving up.

Next Week

More posing instruction. This time with Tyra Banks!

This week Claire and Dominique seemed to be at one another's throats. They had a good go at it because Dominique set her alarm so early then ignored it instead of quickly shutting it off before it woke someone up (namely Claire).

Whitney and Lauren ganged up on Dominique a few times too. It was really weird seeing Lauren freaking out on Dom (and I really mean freaking out). She's normally so mousy looking. Later Whitney, Lauren and Claire continued to gang up on Dominique when she tried to go to bed early. They sat in the room talking about her. Whoa! that showed her.

Dominique wants respect from the girls but she won't give it to them in return. I think they all need a good sleep and a brownie... with icing.

The Greatest Poser

This week the girls went to a dance studio and dressed in these amazing deep red leotards. They learnt about the "3 second rule" from Ms. Tyra.

The three second rule refers to the end of the runway. The model needs to stay a least 3 seconds to show off the piece and to give photographers time to take pictures of the clothes.

The girls had another pose off, this time with only Tyra judging their performance (as well as giving tips for improvement).

Anya - fierce
Whitney - fantastic
Aimee - needs to commit
Claire - loses face
Katarzyna - nice

Anya's Photo Shoot

This actually turned out to be a "secret" challenge. Anya was chosen as the best poser and she won a photo shoot with Nigel Barker (FYI: Nigel has been off photographing baby seals in Canada's north in an effort to raise awareness for the April seal hunt that will result in the brutal slaughter of thousands of defenceless seals)

Anya's photo shoot represented a day in bed. She wore no clothes but was able to use a white sheet creatively. Nigel was going for a natural undated look and the results were beautiful. Nigel described Anya as a good model. It's funny but I don't find Anya overly attractive until I see her at a photo shoot.

The Music Genre Photo Shoot

The models went to Williamsburg for their photo shoot and had the pleasure of Russell James as their photographer. The theme was music with each girl dressed to represent a different genre. My apologies as I was not able to figure out all their representations.

* Fatima - Metal Rock - Excellent
* Katarzyna - White Noise - Beautiful
* Lauren - Pop - Kind of funny
* Claire - Country - Cute but didn't feel it
* Dominique - Folk - Amazing
* Anya - Punk - Not memorable
* Stacy Ann - No idea - Cute
* Aimee - R & B - Boring
* Whitney - Grunge - Stunning

The Judging

Whitney and Fatima received rave reviews this week while Anya, Katarzyna and Aimee had ok reviews. They thought Lauren was beautiful and Stacy Ann was a bit obvious (not to me). Dominique was pretty and Claire was told it was her worst shoot ever (Dominique looked like she enjoyed this).

Whitney was the first called to home free this week!!! A great improvement over last week and this is the second time she's been saved first. It's looking good for plus size models this season. Fingers are still crossed. She was followed by Katarzyna.

The Bottom Three

Claire
Aimee
Stacy Ann

Stacy Ann is safe for another week but I think she will probably go home next week. I was really worried that Claire was going to go home this week but thankfully her progress so far saved her. I think she is an incredibly beautiful model.

Aimee was chosen to go home and I think it was a good elimination choice. She's a lovely girl but she didn't seem to receive direction well at the photo shoots and there hasn't been any improvement in her photos from week to week. She left under tears and encouragement from Tyra not to second guess herself.

Next Week

Go Sees!!!

This week Lauren really seemed melodramatically aggressive with the other girls in the house. Fatima, especially, was under attack.

Go Sees

Before going on some go-sees the models were given a few tips by professional model Kristy Hinze. A familiar face on the cover of Vogue.

The girls were split into 2 groups of 4 and had to work as a team for this challenge. They were given a Sprint navigational phone with the stipulation that they had to travel to the go-sees on foot. No taxis!

Group A - Claire, Stacy Ann, Dominique, Whitney
Group B - Anya, Lauren, Fatima, Katarzyna

One of the designers they went to see was Pamela Roland who dissed both Whitney and Fatima. Pamela felt Whitney was too big in her size 10 for runway and Fatima was too small in her size 0. The smallest size she uses on the runway is 2.

Whitney took the rejection really hard and was kind of dumbstruck by Pamela's remarks. She knew it was bound to happen but was not prepared with a response. Like, "Maybe it's time to start using plus size models on the runway. I could be your first." And then give her a big smile.

Manhatten designer Shoshanna was more forgiving of Whitney's curves. She tends to include more body types in her runway shows. I loved her fashions by the way and had to go looking for them. I found this website - http://www.shoshanna.com but by the looks of it her fashions only go up to size 12.

Team A ended up winning thanks in part to cute little Stacy Ann who has been a judge favorite for some time and I predict will probably be their winner. Stacy Ann booked the most jobs this challenge. The group won a summer shoot for Seventeen magazine that will appear in the June issue. We didn't get to see much of the shoot which was disappointing.

The Water Photo Shoot

Their weekly shoot was kind of weird. Jay made the girls remove their make up and hair products and put on long flowing dresses. They had to slide around on watered clear mylar while being photographed from beneath.

Claire was up first and I don't know if she thought it would be like a trampoline or what but she let herself fall forward like a free fall and she landed like a dead weight and ended up injuring her neck. She took a break and came back and practically did the same thing again even after Jay telling her not to.

It turned out to be a neat way to get some pretty images. No one really stood out for me in this round.

Judging

This week the guest judge was Elite Model scout Karen Leah.

* Claire - Ok
* Stacy Ann - Congratulated on go-sees
* Katarzyna - Great
* Whitney - Rave reviews
* Dominique - Ok
* Lauren - Was told she looked like she was dead/weakest photo
* Fatima - Perfect
* Anya - Beautiful

To me it was obvious who was going home. The weakest person this week and overall was Lauren.

The Bottom Three

Dominique
Claire
Lauren

Fatima was the first called back this week. Followed by Anya, Katarzyna and Whitney. I was really surprised Whitney placed so low considering her rave reviews.

Dominique was saved for another week (regretfully). And then they called Lauren back!! I couldn't believe they sent Claire home. I still can't. Overall she is a stronger model than Lauren (and a few others).

Claire was sad of course and a bit defeated but feels she learnt from the experience. I also think she was a bit relieved she would be seeing her husband and child.

I still can't believe she was cut so early. I think it was a huge mistake. Lauren definitely should have gone home.

Next Week

More drama...

This week's episode was advertised as Never Before Seen moments. While there were a few new clips there was a lot of the same filler from previous weeks.

This definitely was not one of my favorite episodes. It's not like the show is hard to follow, I don't need a recap.

I still think Whitney looks better with her natural dark hair. Even Dominique looks better with her long hair. I don't think they should have gone so short on her.

Notable clip

The fire hall runway strut - there was an incredibly cute clip of the firemen walking the runway.

And Now There Are Seven

It's hard to believe we are down to seven. You can see them at right: Anya, Dominique, Fatima, Katarzyna, Lauren, Whitney, and Stacy Ann.