Almost live American Idol (May 13)… May 13, 2008

I’m late, I know. But we got a call to go have dessert with friends after dinner tonight and well the thing about living life is that well, you miss out on a lot when you don’t live it. And unfortunately, internets, that means y’all take a backseat to my real life friends. We had a great time and stayed too late. I drank too much coffee, had great chocolate cake and laughed. A lot!

But I’m back with y’all now and ready for American Idol, even if I am a little sleepy. We’re down to the final three - the Davids and Syesha. They are each doing three songs tonight so it should be interesting. Is tonight judges choice? I guess we’ll find out.

Ryan introduces the judges and my, isn’t Paula sparkly tonight? Her hair looks rather nice tonight. And I’m right - it IS judges choice. And producers choice. And Idol-ee choice. This. could. get. interesting.

We start with judges choice and we get the news live at their hometown.

David Archuletta - And So It Goes by Billy Joel via Paula - David is excited to sing the pretty song. Which makes sense since he’s such a pretty boy. He does pretty well. And he’s really pulling off the acapella thing. NOT an easy task. It’s all a little pageant-y for me. He’s doing a MUCh better job at keeping his eyes open though. I wonder if he’s reading my blog? He sang for his audience and he sang it well. It was exactly what I expected it to be. No more, no less.

Syesha Mercado - If I Ain’t Got You by Alysha Keys via Randy - Ok, first, I’m automatically put off by the fact that she says she’s going to sing it just like Alysha Keys. Of course she is. Because that’s what she does. Or what she tries to do. When she tries to be something she’s not, she usually falls a bit flat. And that’s exactly what she’s doing. She’s singing it well, but I don’t see anything that screams out and says this girl can make it on her own and do anything original. She looks pretty though.

David Cook - First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack via Simon - I applaud Simon for picking a song that is way outside of anything Cook would have picked on his own. It’s a great song. A difficult song. And wow! He really brings his A game tonight! That was amazing! I couldn’t type. I could just sit and watch.  And I think Randy’s harshness is all about Simon and not about David at all. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

And we move on to the Idol-ee’s choice…

David Archuletta - With You by Chris Brown - The poor little boy looks so nervous to have chosen his own song. But I like that he’s singing something a little different than anything he’s done before. He looks comfortable - even if he does mess up the words a bit. I swear it sounded like he just picked random names from the phone book to sing there. He hits it strong now and his eyes are STILL open! Not my type of music, and forgetting the words aside, I’m glad he tried something new. Cheesy, but some people like cheese.

Syesha Mercado - Fever by Peggy Lee - WOW her legs are long in that dress! This is VERY Broadway. And I swear I’ve seen this song done exactly this way before - chair included. She’s doing nothing original vocally. She’s a great singer, but definitely not a musician. Syesha will be a GREAT Broadway star someday. She’s got what it takes to be on stage as an actress. Not sure she’s got anymore in her as a singer though than a second-rate wannabe. This whole season has been about her trying to be like someone else.  And as harsh as that is, she just doesn’t have any originality. Broadway, baby, that’s where she belongs. But, she does look AMAZING! She does sparkly well!

David Cook - Dare You To Move by Switchfoot - It’s starting out really low. Creepy low. Which tells me there will be screaming later in the song. WOW that was short. It’s like he can just get started with the song and then it’s cut short. I feel ripped off that we didn’t get the whole song. It was weirdly short. Not a good song choice. Pretty predictable.

Up next - producers choice…

David Archuletta - Longer by Dan Fogelberg - And he’s SQUINTING again! And it’s just a bit weird to hear him sing this because the song is older than he is! He hits that last note and his fans start passing out all over the place I’m sure. It was boring and predictable. A beautiful song, done well. I was bored. But it’s not his fault - the producers are trying to sabotage him I think. It’s just weird to hear a 17 year old sing a song about loving someone forever.

Syesha Mercado - Hit Me Up by I have absolutely no idea - I hated it. That was just kind of goofy and weird. And it was from a movie with Penguins - although I can’t remember which one because there have been so many lately. That was *not* a good choice and I think the producers should stick to producing and not choosing songs. That was not good.

David Cook - I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith - Chip says, “Why did they have to arrange it like a Michael Bolton song?” And I couldn’t agree more. This is all just a bit overproduced and weird. The ending was better than the beginning but wow. I might need to watch that again to get a real feel of it all. The song is an amazing song. I disagree with Randy calling it predictable. *that* mess was anything but predictable. But it’s enough to get him into the finals.

Who goes home? Syesha. I really think that the powers that be decided a long time ago that the Davids would be the final two. And they deserve it. Cook is just a great musician and Archuletta has the potential to be given a bit of time and life experience.

Best of the night goes to David Cook. Worst of the night was Syesha. Going home will be Syesha.

Menu Plan Monday… May 5, 2008

I need to go grocery shopping. In an if-I-don’t-we’ll-all-certainly-starve kind of way! Right now I have stuff for turkey stroganoff. And some apples. And maybe some boxes of macaroni and cheese. We don’t even have any bread - or bread products. Very disheartening to our carb-loving family! And the scariest part? We might not even have time to hit the grocery store today! We’re leaving early this morning for Springfield because we have a birthday to celebrate (Seth turned 3 last Friday but we were busy and Chip’s parents couldn’t join us). We’ll do Starbucks, Build-a-Bear, Dicks Sporting Goods (Kait needs a new ball glove), Toys R Us, and Chuck E Cheese and still somehow make it back for Kait to be at softball at 4pm and then Noah has tball at 5:30pm. But we still have to eat, so we’ll find time in there somewhere to go to the Kroger.

Monday - Turkey Stroganoff

Tuesday - Grilled chicken legs with

Wednesday - Hamburgers and homemade ovenbaked fries

Thursday - Spaghetti with garlic bread and salad

Friday - Homemade pizza

Saturday - Three Cheese Baked Pasta (this is our friend Karen’s recipe - I’m hoping it’s half as big a hit with our family as it is with hers).

1 lb uncooked pasta (I use mostaccioli)
1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
6oz mozzarella cheese
6 1/2 cups tomato pasta sauce (Use your favorite spaghetti sauce)
6oz provolone cheese thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheesePreheat oven 350 degrees. Brown ground beef and onion in skillet over medium heat. Drain meat. Stir in Pasta sauce. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, then drain. Lightly grease 9×13 inch pan/baking dish. Layer ingredients as follows: Half of the cooked pasta, all of the provolone cheese (layer evenly), all of the sour cream (spread an even layer), half the sauce, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake in oven 30 minutes.Sunday - CORN (Clean Out Fridge Night) because this momma isn’t cooking on Mother’s Day!

S - CORN (Clean Out Refrigerator Night)

Sunday bulletin… April 20, 2008

• We don’t actually have bulletins at our church anymore. So it’s kind of funny that I call it that on my blog.
• The right person - Kristy Lee Cook - went home on American Idol last week. Not necessarily the worst of the week, but definitely the worst out of the people left overall. It was time for her to go. Hopefully Carly will go this week. Or David Archuletta.
• I thoroughly enjoyed my time of vacation this last week.
• I’d move to Chicago tomorrow if I could. I *love* that city! We were at Lincoln Park Zoo in downtown Chicago last Monday. My kids cannot stop talking about it.
• I’m seriously craving some Lou Malnati pizza right now. It’s just wrong that it’s not a national thing and I can’t get it down here. Another trip to the city is already in order and we just got home.
• I got the best new apron at Ikea on Thursday. It’s brown and orange and stripey and there is not a flower on it. Why do most aprons look like they were made for my grandma?
• My grandma would *not* wear an apron with flowers on it.
• Ordered some new books on Amazon today. Can’t wait until they get here. I love new books.
• My friends lost their brother in Iraq this past week. It’s weird because I can remember Ricky hanging around when he was just a little kid. It’s just not right. The funeral is later this week.

A beautiful day just for me… April 9, 2008

It’s my birthday. I was talking with Chip this afternoon and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m so very into birthdays because my dad died at such a young age. He was only 36 when God took him from this world. I can remember how old it seemed at the time (although I knew it really wasn’t), but as I turn 33, I see this as another year to live life to the fullest to and celebrate this special world/life/family that God has given me. I try to live a life with no regrets and full of freedom. In the grand scheme of things, life is very, very short (have you ever tried to wrap your head around how long forever really is?) so I don’t want to waste any of it!

So, I’m enjoying my day! It’s a normal work day for the most part. I don’t like when my birthday is on a Wednesday or a Sunday because it means that my husband *has* to work. And really, I don’t like sharing him on *my* special day, but everyone has to make sacrifices sometimes.

And you know what? My life is so full of special people that I couldn’t even sleep in this morning! The text messages started rolling in about 6:30 this morning to wish me a happy birthday. I’m not disappointed because it means that there are people who love me. How can I agrue with that?

I fought off the grogginess this afternoon with a nice long bath with a great book (Melody Carlson’s The Boots Weren’t Made For Walking - great book so far!). Now I’m sitting on the porch, watching the kids play in the yard. Seth is running up and down the ramp on the church next door. Lexie and I are playing sidewalk chalk (more her than me) while we wait for her mom to come pick her up. Noah & Kaitlyn have gone from throwing the ball back and forth to throwing ice cubes back and forth. It’s a glorious day outside and I’m looking forward to spending most of the evening out here. I might even be inspired to work on the next great American novel at some point.

Chip asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year. I had a really, really hard time coming up with something. Because honestly, my life is pretty good. We’ll have Chinese takeout for dinner tonight. There is an all new episode of The Office tomorrow night. My husband is simply the.best.husband.EVER. (I really, really wanted a snickers bar and a Dr. Pepper this afternoon. He simply said, “Ok.” and went to Casey’s and got them for me.) My kids are healthy and well behaved for the most part. I have friends. I have family. I have my Jesus. And after 33 years, I think I’ve finally found contentment. What more could a girl want?

Sunday bulletin… April 6, 2008

• I’m toward the end for the FIRST week of 100 days of blogging and nearly forgot to post today. I really have no excuse since I’ve been on the computer a couple times today.
• Service this morning was AMAZING! A couple months ago, someone donated a new laptop to the church. It gives me something to be thankful for every week as I sit at the soundboard and run the show. The old computer was awful - if I *looked* at it wrong it would turn off. Sometimes I’d get it back, sometimes I wouldn’t.
• We’re doing a study through “How To Read The Bible For All It’s Worth” on Sunday nights. I read it once in college. I’m learning to appreciate it now.
• We leave in a week to see my Gram. I. cannot. wait.
• I think I want a handheld GPS for my birthday so we can go geocaching. I’ve wanted one for a while now, but this is the first year I think I’m ready to make the investment. If I get it now, it would be something we could do on our trip too.
• My birthday is in TWO days! I accept all major credit cards via PayPal. Or if you send me an email, you can load up my St. Arbuck’s card for me.
• Speaking of Starbucks, they have a big announcement coming out on Tuesday. I’ve got some ideas to what it might be.
• Remember back in the 80’s when having small, buttons to put on your backpack was all the rage? Facebook has added an application called Flair. And I’m collecting! My favorite that I sent today? I sent it to my hubs - “I love you like a nerd loves math!” rofl
• I just made chocolate chip cookies and I think I can actually *hear* them calling me to eat them! I’m debating pulling out the french press and the decaf for a bedtime snack.
• I still think not nearly enough people are Twitter-ing. Noah (5) asked me again today if he could have his own Twitter acct. I told him when he learns to spell enough to send his own messages.
• Chip’s brother is here from Wyoming - where he says there is still snow on the ground and the temps are near 0 at night still. Chip is going to be hardpressed to get me to visit that place!
• Chip’s dad took two of the kids home with him tonight, but the two left at home are still being loud enough for four!
• Have some serious phone envy over my friend’s new cell phone. Chip would tell me my phone is fine. I’ll agree with him until August when I’ve had it for a year.
• Seth fell asleep STANDING UP tonight at church leaning against me. I caught him just before he hit the floor.
• Seriously smelling those cookies now! Can’t.hold.out.much.longer.

That’s about right… April 4, 2008

With the exception of Chip having a lingering cough, our family has finally all been well this week.

Until this morning.

When *I* woke up with the sniffles. I tried to play it off as just being allergies, but I’m fairly sure that I have a cold. A COLD! After making it all winter without any realy illnesses for me, I’m the one to finalize the season. The good thing about me being the one who is sick is that I’m a freak about washing my hands and covering my mouth with the sleeve and disinfecting anything I touch, so the chances of anyone else getting it are slim. I hope.

We’ve finally finalized the dates for our trip home. We’re going to Wisconsin on April 13th after church in the morning. I can’t wait! I haven’t seen my Gram in almost 18 months and I miss her dearly. And my other grandparents too! My Gram is going to be 80 at the end of the month. I know that time with her is short. Even if she lives to be 100, it’s still not going to be enough time. And my grandpa (on my mom’s side) isn’t in the best of health either. I’m very fortunate to have made it into my 30’s with three of my 4 grandparents still alive. And I intend to savor this trip because I really dont’ know how many more chances I’ll get.

We’re planning at trip to Chicago if it rains. Have I ever told y’all how much I *love* Chicago? (Only about a million times). We’re hoping the weather will be nice enough to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. If not, we’ve got alternate plans for the Museum of Science and Industry or the Field Museum or something. We’re hoping to join up with friends while we’re there.

And I’m going to see my best friend from high school. Which is weird because we haven’t seen each other since my wedding. She was my maid of honor and she’s never met my kids. I’ve never met her husband. I try not to live a life with regrets and losing touch with her was one of the big ones. I’m glad to be able to put it behind me. We’ve got plans for coffee (well, she’ll drink tea - what is it with me and all these tea drinkers?). I’m looking forward to catching up on the last almost 12 years of life with her.

The gauntlet has been thrown down… March 30, 2008

By my friend Lorelaicc - 100 continuous days of blogging!

And I’m not one to back down from a challenge, so I took her up on it. So, starting on April 1st, 2008, I’ll being doing 100 days of blogging. Thankfully I figured out that whole blogging from my phone thing because I’m not sure how often Chip is going to want to take me somewhere to blog from the laptop.

So, who else is in? Consider this is your official challenge. I don’t think most of y’all can do it. Do you feel threatened? I hope so. Are you man (or woman) enough to take me up on it? I’m hoping to get Chip involved. Who else? I’ll put together a special blogroll on the side for those of you who want to get involved. Maybe I’ll even try and come up with a couple meme’s we can do throughout it all to make it a little easier as we go along. I’ve done 30 days a couple times - 100 days is not going to be easy.

But I’m up for the challenge? How about you?

Some things on my mind… March 5, 2008

I just need to mind dump before bed or I might not sleep. Today was a rough day pretty much all around…

• A lady in the church - she has the same birthday as our Noah - is back in the hospital. Her feeding tube came out in the nursing home so they had to put her in the hospital to put it back in.
• A man who is much too young in our church is in the nursing home. He has a host of health problems and it’s hard to watch his wife struggle with the decision to put him in the nursing home. I pray I never find myself in the same position.
• A good friend of mind lost her brother today. Very unexpectedly. He went to bed one night and was unresponsive the next day. He would have started his 20-something year with the sherriff department with a neighboring county.
• Another good friend has a very young son (I can’t remember if he’s even a year old yet) who was hospitalized for pneumonia. His mom took him to the dr after he’d been sick a few days to be told to take him to the hospital where he was admitted. Sucks that he’s so little and so sick.
• Brett Favre retired today. He’s been the quarterback for the Packers for more than half my life. And in light of everything else, what would have been a big deal to me, suddenly seems very insignificant.
• My Gram and aunt are struggling to find quality health for my aunt - who is a quadreplegic. My Gram will be 80 this year and had to fire someone this winter because she went crazy and started yelling at my aunt. Gram said she walked into my aunts room that night and said, “YOU’RE FIRED! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” She said she was just like Donald Trump. I love my Gram! And I hate living so far away and not being able to help.

It’s just been a hard day. Tomorrow can only get better.

It’s Sunday morning… March 2, 2008

And I think we are all ready for the time change next week!  We were all awake before 8am - the hour the kids and I usually roll out of bed. In fact, they were up so early, that by 8:30 they were all dressed and ready to go. We don’t leave until 10!!! They’ve been waking up a bit earlier than normal for the last week, so I’m hoping for a smooth transition when we set the clocks forward an hour next Saturday night before bed.

Bailey is adapting well to our home. We need to get her vitamin/protien intake back to where it needs to be though so she’ll stop shedding. Healthy beagles and bassets don’t shed much - it’s one of the reason that we like them. I’m not allergic to dog hair, but if silly little things make my nose “tickle-y” and dog hair is at the top of the list! YIKES!  I’ve been sneezing all morning. Thankfully I’m still conscious! (have I told that story on my blog?)  Our biggest concern was that something would set her off in the middle of the night or she’d freak out because Chip went upstairs (we put a gate at the steps because Daisy will pee if she’s on carpet)  or something. But she did just fine. She’s fitting in well.  Maybe I’ll let the kids make a video this afternoon.

 We’re having lunch with friends this afternoon and church tonight. There aren’t many people that I’d willingly give up my Sunday nap for, but these friends are towards the top of the list. He’s a pastor so between our busy schedules, it’s hard to find time. But we make time when we can and I’m looking forward to this afternoon.

I need more coffee, so I’ll see all you internets later…

Sunday bulletin and silly answers… February 24, 2008

• Sometimes God asks us to do things that make no sense at all to us at the time. That maybe will never make sense to us. But He has a plan and our obedience can have eternal effects. I want to live a life that affects change in lives that are yet to come.
• It had been a LONG time since I’d been to Starbucks. We met up with Chip’s sister and her husband for lunch today - along with Chip’s parents and grandma. I had a triple grande non-fat, no-whip mocha. YUM! I’m already ready to go again.
• The lettuce wedge at Lonestar Steakhouse was much better when they use to put actual bleu cheese crumbles on it instead of just bleu cheese dressing. It was still amazing though!
• I haven’t even heard of half of the movies nomiated for Oscars, let alone seen any of them. Acutally, I’m not sure I’ve seen ANY of the movies they are talking about other than Pirates 3. *edit* I take that back - I’ve seen the Bourne Ultimatum. Twice in the theater and we bought it the day it came out. Just won an award for sound editing. And for sound mixing.

Ok - and the follow-up to my “Ask a silly question…” post. I got quite a few questions and here are the answers…

Who is your favorite cartoon character? I don’t really have one. My favorite cartoon movie is a three way tie between Disney movies Robin Hood, Cinderella and The Aristocats.

What is your favorite store for kids clothes? Food? I prefer stores like Old Navy, GAP, TCP for kids clothes. They just tend to hold up a little better than those from Target. For groceries, we go Krogering. Although, what I really wish is that there was a good organic food grocer somewhere nearby.

Who is your faviorte music group to listen to? Jeremy Camp, Leeland (have you heard “Carried to the Table? AMAZING song!), Third Day, Brooks & Dunn, Corrine Bailey Rae, Brad Paisley, John Mayer… My tastes are wide and varied.

Do you like ?McDonalds or the DQ play place best? As a self-proclaimed germophobe, I hate playplaces as a general rule. But we do take the kids from time to time. I prefer DQ because they have free wi-fi.

What is your favorite laundry soap? Tide - it’s the only thing I can find that will take all of the stains out of the clothes without me having to treat each spot.

What is your favorite book in the Bible? The epistles of Timothy.

Who is your favorite Bible person/people? Tough one. Probably Paul. I want to live the kind of life that makes an eternal difference in the lives of others.

Is the Mt.Zion Steak-n-Shake really better than the one on Pershing? I have no idea. The service is better in Mt. Zion, but the food is about the same. I can tell you that the cheese fries in Springfield are NOT the same as they ones in Decatur though. Don’t order cheese fries from Steak & Shake in Springfield.

Are you sick and tired of Wal-mart? I’ve been sick of Walmart for YEARS! We hardly ever shop there. I actually ran into Walmart for the first time today in a long, long time. And only because Effingham doesn’t have a Target.