Don't hate me.

I know, I know people. I've been out for a while. A long while. But what do you expect from a girl who dropped her laptop down the stairs? Not a lot, I agree. So go ahead & curse me, spit at me, yell at your computer screen, talk to me through the super-highway of communication...I deserve it, plus much more. It's A-OK, my friend. I'll take it all in stride...why, you ask? Because I'm here for you. Only for you...to light your way through this tunnel of darkness we like to call American Idol. So the torch is on fire tonight & I'm ready & willing to let it all go for you, the readers. Give me a shout-out if you're alive out there. Are there any readers?
Let's boogie:

Simon is his usual sweet self to all the nerve-wracked contestants, & says it's too late for advice tonight. What a douche.

Jasmine Murray: What a cutie this girl is. She sings "Love Song" by Sarah & I'm not hugely into it. I like the way Sarah does it...and that's that. I do love Miss Bareilles & I don't want to hear anyone else doing her stuff. But Jasmine is darling & a good singer, so I sat through it with good intentions. Randy says "yo, it's funny to me & weird to me..." Yada yada yada. Kara thought it was all over the place, Paula thought she gave it her all but it made her go off-pitch, & Simon was disappointed.

My Sweetie: I won't say anything to diss on my boy. Sexy. Hot. Nothing else but good. And gooder. He sings a Coldplay song, & he does it up right. He takes a white-boy song & makes it uh-mazing. He added a little bit too many runs in the song, but Kudos! to him for getting out from behind his piano. Kara says the song was all wrong, Paula thought the song was quite risky, Simon thought it was verging on a "horrible performance", & Randy thought he had mad talents, but it just wasn't the right stuff tonight. Boosh.

Naughty-Little-Thing: She sings "This Love" by Maroon Five. Her legs are about a mile high! Wowsa...she sounds OK, but not fantastic. She doesn't sound anywhere near the right key. I mean, seriously...she needs to enroll in Ear Training 101 at Belmont. Ick. Paula says she has great legs, Simon says it was horrible (I totally agree, S) Randy thought the best part was the end of the song. That's harsh.

Norman Gentle: There is a fine line that is cropping up with me & American Idol. This fine line finds itself right between quippy contestants who don't have a chance, & downright ridiculousness. The line I speak of is teetering heavily towards the latter. I almost had to break up with this American Idol blog post because of what I am watching. But then I realized that a divorce was a bit harsh...I can continue, but know that I am so annoyed with Norman/Nick/whoever he decides to be. I will not comment on this man's performance. Two Words: OFF. BROADWAY.

Allison: Please do not do a Heart song. Carrie Underwood is the only Idol that has done it justice since the original singer. Dunzo. Randy thoght she "blew it out the box..." I don't agree. Paula says she could sing the telephone book. We've heard that joke for the past 5 years, Paula. I think it's time to get some new material. Simon says she is the best tonight by a clear mile...I don't think she was that good to write home about. Am I the only one? Do tell.

OhDearGodWhyAreYouDoingThisSong: I don't know his name, but I don't think I really need to. He sings Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. I don't think he's great. Kara's not impressed & thought it was the wrong song, Paula thinks he showed his personality & he nailed it, Simon agreed with Paula, & Randy thought he did well without the guitar tonight. Nice jump-off, Baby. Baby you, Baby.

Long-Haired-Red-Head: LOVE her. She sings "Put Your Records On" & does awesome. Simon calls her a "funny little thing"...cute. She's a great singer & really pretty. I think she rocked it. Randy calls her "drop dead." Kara calls her a package artist. I agree.

Matt-the-Welder: This guys is in love with his family & wants to do everything he can to better his life. I hated his song choice, & thought he sounded like a karaoke singer, straight up. I'm sleeping, now I'm snoring, now I'm in a deep REM cycle.

Jessie: What a little firecracker! She said, "Oh, you're talking crap!? I'm in!" I like this girl already. She has on a really cute one-shouldered sweater tonight. I feel like she's trying to manipulate her voice to make it sound like someone else entirely. I thought she was really pitchy throughout the whole thing, though. I'm not thinking this song is doing her voice any justice whatsoever. Randy wanted her to "blow us out DA box"...and she didn't do it. Randy's still in da-box, I guess.

Ky-I-Have-A-Perm: I think this guy is really good-lookin' & is easy to watch. I hated his song choice, though...he sings "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted". He does way too much growling for my taste. Ew. Simon thought it was corny & old-fashioned. He also says he'd be a good back-up singer. Ha, you make me laugh out loud, Mr. Cowell.

Jet-Black-Hair-Meeshavonna: Sings a Train song "Drops of Jupiter", & kinda gives it a soulful R&B groove. I'm liking it lots. Does anyone else think that she's got a pig nose? It turns up, oink oink. None of the judges were impressed. And to make matters worse, Simon says she acts like a 50-year old. Awwww, Simon, you're sweet.

Adam Lambert: I will now refer to Adam as "Musical Theater Man". He sings The Rolling Stones "Satisfaction", & from the first guitar chord, I'm grossed out. He is grunting & moaning, & making weird faces at the camera. So weird, in fact, that I feel the need to turn my head away. You wanna see a karaoke song right before your very eyes? Well, watch Adam's performance & you just walked yourself right into one. Musical Theater Man wailed so much that he wailed my vote away. Far far away from anywhere in his vicinity. Does anyone need to be screamed at relentlessly? Well, you're in luck tonight!

Before I get to the Results portion, I want to tell y'all my take on the whole 4-judges thing that's going on. I still don't feel like Kara's opinion matters as much as the original 3. Whenever she talks, I just throw it out the window. Is that bad? I just view her as a guest-judge, no matter how many comments she makes about the contestants. And, I feel that after 3 judges have commented, the fourth judge (no matter who it is) tends to agree with everyone else & not have their own opinion...I'm not a fan of the 4-judge system. Give me the old school program or give me death...

Results Night was fun for me, b/c I love Neyo & I enjoyed the "Closer" group number. I'm confused at who Norman is...anybody got a guess?

I don't know much you guys, but I do feel like Allison looks like she's wearing a polka-dotted bikini over her black dress. I don't like this look. It's way too teeny-boppy. Or maybe I'm just getting old. She makes it into the Top 12. And so she sings again?? I hate this format, folks. But I did like her Heart song a little bit more than the previous night. I kinda like her edge. We'll see how far we get.

The next contestant to get through is Kris Allen. He looks shocked & can barely contain himself. I don't see how he got through, & I don't think he'll get through many more weeks. I hated his performance, personally. But evidently, I'm in the minority.

Then Brooke White comes out & does a song on the piano. Her single came out Tuesday & so she promotes it on the old stage of hers last season. I can totally hear the song on Mix 92.9.

It comes between Adam & Nick. America has spoken, & Nick is NOT through to the Top 12. Adam gets in & seems very at-ease & 'of course I got in, duh...'. He sticks out his tongue so far when he hits his high notes. Double Ew.

You scream, we all scream, Adam screams incessantly...make it end. Do you think Mick Jagger likes his rendition? Hhmmmm...

OK, that's it for now. Apologies again for the delay in the posts. One more thing: has anyone seen the cover of Shape magazine with Julia Louis Dreyfus on the cover? OMG, there's one more reason to love that girl. 48 & she looks like that?!? Smokin' hot, girlfriend. "New Christine" is one of my faves, and now knowing that she's so healthy & fit makes me love her even more. I hope I look half as good as she does at that age. I need to keep on doing my Zumba!
Ta-Ta for nowsies,

Dizzy Disney

We have been at Disney World all week this week, & spending time with my parents & my sister's family. It has been so wonderful, & full of fun. We return home tomorrow night after a 12-hour drive through the night. Whew. The drive here was amazing...the boys slept & watched movies. I hope tomorrow's trip is the same.

I've taken lots of pictures while we've been here, & I wanted to share them with y'all. We have certainly been dizzy while we've been at Disney...total sensory overload. Lincoln had no expectations because we didn't prepare him for the trip. The day before, we told him we were going to Florida & to see Mickey Mouse. He got excited, but was more excited to stay in a hotel ("my new house") & to see Mimi & Papa & his cousins. When we arrived at Magic Kingdom, he just sat there & stared. With every single ride we went on, he said nothing, made no exclamations,...just sat there wide-eyed & in complete awe. We went on our first roller-coaster with him, Thunder Mountain. He was white-knuckle-ing it the entire time & loved it. It was a mixture of glee & terror, & really really great.

Levi came with no expectations & will leave with no memory of this trip.

Here are some pictures that we have captured. I hope everyone's had a good week. I didn't catch American Idol this week; how was it?

Meeting McQueen:


Ben & the boys watching the Disney Playhouse Show:


Lincoln meeting June & Quincy. He was smitten with June. He kept saying to me, "Mom! June's so pretty! She has a pretty dress on & red princess shoes!"


So happy to be hugging June:


We tried so many times to get a good picture of the boys with my parents. Can you believe that this is the best we could do? What can I say, it was the end of a long day at Magic Kingdom, for cryin' out loud:


Lego Land, which was probably one of Lincoln's favorite things:


Showing off the Lego car he made:


Levi just sitting back, snacking, & watching it all happen. Heart.


Here Lincoln is at Epcot, right after we got out of the Finding Nemo ride (which he loved):


And here are the boys when we got in the car after our very long day at Magic Kingdom.

"What?! We're leaving? But I'm totally awake & happy. I've been in the stupid stroller all day long, watching kids scream & ride on big things. I'm ready to play!"



Sweet Linc so pooped:



Much Love from the most magical place on Earth...

Last night I created a post about American Idol on Ben's old computer, circa 1996. After I was finished, I tried to click Publish Post...in which the computer promptly shut off by itself & I'm convinced it uttered something nasty on its way to its untimely demise. This then led me to promptly bang my head against the wall until I blacked out, just like that stupid computer.

So let me sum up last night's American Idol in one sentence: Will you marry me, Matt Giraud? No ring necessary in this endeavor. You just need to promise to sing to me every single day & I'm all set.

So I'll say a few things about tonight's Idol. I have made up my mind about Adam Lambert. Gay or not gay? The votes have all been counted, & the decision is made. Gay. What made up my mind, you ask? Only the fact that he pulled out the big guns & sang Cher's "Believe" last night. Cher ranks right up there with Babs, & you know what that means. He's just a little too stylish & hip to be straight, I think. And the fact that he wore slouchy pointy boots over his jeans. He gets in because his voice is really good & everyone's happy. I think he'll make it possibly to the Top 24.

I'm getting a little annoyed at Ryan constantly calling tonight's episode "Final Judgment Day". I know Fox wants us to be glued to our TV with suspense, but c'mon. I don't need words from Revelation being spewed at me regarding a singing competition. And a sing-off? This is starting to frighteningly resemble the infamous "dance-off" between Justin Timberlake & Brit-Brit. Not good.

The married couple? How did this one slip by me, under my radar? I've never seen these people before. I don't like either one of them, & they totally want to be Tim & Faith...or maybe I should say McHill? I tried, I really did. But we just can't beat TomKat or better yet, Bennifer. Ya know what ours is? Bendi! Ha, I love it.
I watched her sing with my hands covering my face.

Alexis gets through, one of my faves. Woot woot.

Frankie needs a bra with better support.

Matt gets in. If he hadn't, that would've certainly caused another black-out.

Stephen gets in, even though he pounded on the piano all the wrong notes & stormed off stage last night.

Tatiana gets a message from God to buy Paula's bracelet. She gets through, to everyone's surprise. Tatiana needs a Xanax.

Nathaniel is trying to start a new trend. Guy headbands. This I cannot vote for. Ya wanna know who has the hardest job tonight? Seacrest. He's just doing everything he can to not start laughing.

It was a fun night. We'll be in Orlando at Disney next week, so until next time...

Fun with Bubbles

Here are some pictures of Lincoln blowing bubbles out on the deck. But mainly, I just wanted to try out my new lens I got for my camera. Fun stuff.






Toodles.

oopsie daisies...

A coupe weeks ago, I dropped my laptop down the stairs. I raced after it, once I saw it bouncing down the stairs (literally). My computer broke into two separate pieces, true story. I have not been able to post anything new, except when Ben is home & I can use his work laptop. I'm sorry if I haven't been able to update my American Idol posts...I don't know if anybody cares, for that matter. I just thought I should update you on the reasons why my posts are so slacked out. Oopsies.

I pray that your weeks have been full, joyful & laughter-filled. I know ours have been. Lincoln has been making me laugh like it's nobody's bizness. His latest thing? He's been singing a song for the past month...the same song that he supposedly learned from school. With every single time he has sung it, he's used different lyrics for it. We just can't figure out what the correct lyrics are. I need to ask the music teacher at school what the correct lyrics are. Something about the world, the music & the stars. Cute, but also kinda confusing.

This week in CBS (community bible study), we have been studying the Resurrection. This past week has been like a re-birth for me. Sometimes I wonder if I've been a Christian at all. I've always looked at my 'Christianity' as Jesus dying on the cross for me, taking away my sins, & taking them upon Himself. Not once has the Resurrection happened into my thinking. My CBS completely catapulted me this week. I mean, it has taken my brain, shaken it around several times, & then placed it back on my body completely different than before. I'm praising God for His newness, His steadfastness, the fact that He never gets tired of me (because Lord knows, I can be so tiring), & the fact that Jesus was indeed, raised from the dead. I am praising God from the depths of my heart for this. Some of you may be wondering, "what the heck? how can she not realize the resurrection?" I don't know. But I do know that the Resurrection has new meaning for me this week. The stone was rolled away....that's what makes Him a Savior. The cross? Yes, that was a horrible way to die. But without that stone moving a few inches away from the opening, Jesus was just a really noble man who died a noble death on 2 wooden pieces. I'm not betting my life on 'just a noble man." I'm betting my life on the man who was slain, buried, & resurrected. Raised. At the right hand of the Father. That's something to sing praises for.

I've missed you guys this week...
xo