Hi everyone, Liz Masters here. I'm filling in for my friend Dan who is on assignment this weekend covering the Daytime Emmys. Before I delve into the goings on this week, I would like to share something interesting that I learned about my mother-in-law, Bev. Bev is one of those mother-in-laws who should probably be featured on Oprah as the world's best mother-in-law, next to my own mother of course, who isn't too shabby in that department either. Bev worked many different jobs to support her four children. One of those jobs was for General Motors, where she retired from a couple of years ago.

The other day, Bev was visiting me when All My Children came on. Naturally, I plopped my soap-loving hiney on the sofa and started to watch. She joined me. Within moments she asked "Is that Tad?!?" "Yes," I replied. "He just recently divorced Krystal."

A few minutes later, she interrupted my viewing pleasure to comment, "Wow! Is that Angie? She is stunning! I've always loved her dimples." The commercial came on so I temporarily unglued my eyes from the TV set to discuss Debbi Morgan's timeless beauty and find out that Bev used to watch All My Children before her shift at GM started.

When the program resumed, Opal was on. Bev was stunned; Opal looked better now than she did 20 years ago, Erica too for that matter. As the show progressed, Bev chuckled that it felt like visiting with old friends. She's right. I think that, more than anything is the reason why I love my soaps and why I stick with them even through the bleak times. I honestly couldn't imagine not knowing what's going on in Pine Valley, Llanview, or Port Charles.

This week was an interesting week in Pine Valley. Randi discovered that being a mommy was more than rocking cute babies and cooing to them all day long. They get sick and when they do, no one is happy. A crying baby can send even the most stalwart person running for the liquor cabinet. I understood her anxiety over Trevor/Matthew's fever and non-stop crying. Been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt - twice.

What I didn't understand was Randi's decision to call her crime fighting sister-in-law for help rather than her husband who is a doctor. And why in blue blazes did Frankie advise Randi to go to the hospital rather than simply going home to examine the little tyke? Oh right, plot point; silly me.

However, that brings me to another curious scene. Was anyone else chuckling when Amanda was stumbling around the hospital in a drugged haze mumbling "I'm coming baby" while all manner of medical professionals passed her by without giving her a second glance? Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that Amanda is finally going to find Trevor. I want the truth to be out because I'm ready for this story to move forward.

There was never any question in my mind that David would learn the truth sooner rather than later. Jake and Amanda aren't exactly criminal masterminds, so their scheme never had a prayer. Frankly, I just want them to work it out and move on because this situation makes everyone look bad. The way that Jake, Amanda, and David have been behaving, I think Trevor might be better off being raised by Janet.

Moving on, I have to comment on the Ryan and Erica hook-up while I can. Now, I'm not a big fan of Ryan's, so I tend to cringe when any woman catches his eye. However, I cringed less when that woman was Erica. I'm not exactly a fan of the pairing, but I can see their potential, so I'm willing to see where this story is headed.

Erica is a woman with a vast amount of experience with different types of men. She's not likely to fall to her knees to worship at the altar of Ryan. She's also not going to put up with Ryan's temper tantrums and high-handed manner. Erica is used to calling the shots and getting her way. I think that's exactly what Ryan needs at this point in his life.

Okay, there is a small part of me that is dying to see this year's Christmas celebration as Kendall explains to the boys why Spike's Daddy is making out with Grandma under the mistletoe. It's going to be a scream.

Speaking of screaming, I'm ready for the Stuart's murder to be solved. I can't take Adam in this dolt mode one more minute. How can the man not see what Annie is really up to? I keep hoping that when this is all said and done, we will discover that Adam had been working to ferret out the truth from Annie. Sadly though, I think they might go for shock and awe by pinning the murder on Adam.

The writers are really in a Catch-22 here because if Annie is the killer, it will be anti-climatic. If Adam did it, then we are stuck with Crazy Annie until she commits another crime. It's not that I don't like the actress, I do. I am just tired of the character. She's not really a core character and unlike Janet, Annie is not all that amusing between felonies.

Pairing Annie with Scott won't help. I'd rather see Scott explore something with Madison. I know Madison is just as bad as Annie, but Madison is more entertaining simply because she's completely unrepentant. She reminds me of a young Helena Cassadine from General Hospital. Someone like that has the potential to truly wreck havoc on a town because no one will realize how dangerous she is until it's too late.

Finally, there's JR. I love Jacob Young (I'm rooting for him on Emmy night) and I've grown to love his version of JR. My heart bled for him when he got the news that he had cancer. These stories always hit close to home because I've lost people I've loved dearly to cancer and watched others, like my mother-in-law, successfully battle the disease. Also, a couple of years ago I had my own scare.

Watching JR get the news took me back to that place when the doctor came into my cabana to tell me that they found an "area of concern" and decided to do a biopsy on my left breast. It was a sobering moment. I can understand JR's desire not to talk about it. He's been through so much and now he has to deal with the possibility of leaving his son an orphan. No parent wants to go to that place. It's unthinkable.


I know that in the coming months we are going to be exposed to powerful, gut-wrenching scenes. I'm confident that Jacob will do a phenomenal job and I look forward to it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my opinion. Don't forget to watch the Daytime Emmy's on the CW Sunday, August 30th at 8 pm ET.

Liz Masters