American Idol - Top 36 - Week 2

Before I start with the blogging, I'd like to say a little something about the way Idol is going this season. 

Ahem.

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY ARE ONLY PUTTING 3 PEOPLE THROUGH EACH WEEK!!!!!!

I feel better now.  Well, not really, but what can you do?

THIS. is A-MER-ican Idol.

Jasmine Murray - "Love Song" I think the 2nd half was better, but it didn't blow me away.  Not crazy about the song choice.  And girlfriend can SING, so I hate it for her.  Daniel says, Who's doing Ryan's wardrobe this year?  I agree, it's looking a little casual.

Matt "Dueling Piano Player" Giraud - "Viva La Vida"  Not great.  A little rough.  Maybe he should stick with the piano? Per Paula, he did bring what he brought.  (Whaaa?)

Jeanine Vailes - "This Love"  I don't remember her from earlier shows.   Am I the only one?  Hate the short shorts with the jacket.  Not loving it.  Not good.  Ok, everybody has complimented her on her legs first.  Bad sign.

Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell - "And I'm Telling You"  Oh gracious.  There really are no words.  He called out Neil Patrick Harris in the middle of the song!   Doogie!  Y'all, he is really funny and cracks me up, but he doesn't belong on Idol. 

Allison Iraheta - "Alone"  Best song choice so far.  Best performance so far too.  Although that's not saying much considering, I think she's great.  Loved it.  She's a little weird.  But I loved it!

Kris Allen - "Man in the Mirror"  Last week they said not to mess with MJ.  Uh oh.  Dude can sing, but I don't love the song choice.  Good job though.

(can they please leave the names up a little longer than 1.5 seconds?)

Megan Joy "Single Mom" Corkrey - "Put Your Records On"   Three notes in and Daniel says "She's already better than the rest of them."  Good song for her.  It was ok for me.  That little twisty dance she kept doing was bugging me.  Totally agree with Simon, the first part of the song was better. 

Matt  "the Welder" Breitzke -  sounds like a WWF name "If You Could Only See"  I really like him.  OK  job.  Weird song choice though.  Kind of boring.  (I totally said all that before the judges!)

Jesse Langseth - "Betty Davis Eyes"  This song brings back memories of being at my friend Mandy's house.  I guess we listened to it.  Anyway, I thought it was ok.  I like her voice.  She's cool AND she's too cool for school. 

Kai Kalama - "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"  Just ok.   I hope he makes it because I think he can do better.  The fact that he takes care of his sick mom just endears him to me.  I'm a sap.  I admit it.  And I embrace it.  

Mishavonna Henson - "Drops of Jupiter"  I don't like this song.  But girlfriend can sing.   Hopefully she'll get another chance. 

Adam Lambert - "Satisfaction"   Looking forward to hearing him, so hope he doesn't disappoint.  There's something about that I didn't like.  He's no David Cook.  He has a good voice but I didn't like the performance. 

My picks: Allison, Kris, and Adam

I'm off to watch LOST.

Bloggy Meet-up

Guess what I did yesterday?  I met Deidre from For Such a Time as This!!

I've been reading her blog for a while now but didn't realize at first that she lived pretty close to us and very near to my hometown.   Deidre and Faith have become bloggy friends too and we all have had our family's pictures taken by Heather.  Our friend Amy, who also had a session with Heather will be moving to Deidre's town in the next year or so.  So we all have this connection and thought it would be fun to meet in real life. 

Today was the day and it was soooo much fun!  We ate and talked and laughed and talked and laughed and did I mention talked? 

And of course I forgot my camera!  But luckily everybody else remembered theirs!  Except I don't think Heather (the PHOTOGRAPHER!) brought hers either.  Probably didn't want to show us up with her mack daddy one.  That was nice of her. 

It was great to meet Deidre especially since we have SO much in common.  She commented on this post a while back and told me how much!  Since then we've found out other things as well.  She was just as funny as she is on her blog and even prettier than her pictures! 

                      

Me, Heather, Deidre, Faith, Amy

 

 Amy, Me, Heather

 

Deidre and Faith

It was a blast, girls!  Can't wait to do it again!

American Idol - Top 36, Week 1

So after my difficulty with blogging lately I decided to just stick with what I know. And after homeschooling and chocolate chip cookies, that would be TV.

Because who really wants to read a post about homeschooling or cookies? I mean, maybe read a post about homeschooling while eating cookies. Sure, yeah. But that might be hard to organize, so I'll just go with TV, 'k?

And it's Tuesday so you know what that means.

THIS is A-MER-ican Idol!

(Who else thinks Cara (Kara?) looks like Katherine McPhee?)

Well, Paula is starting the evening off with her well-thought-out comments as usual. Apparently if you are the best this year you will be going home. Now that's a different way to go.

Tonight's theme: Hits from the Billboard Top 100 Since the Charts Began (aka the longest theme title EVER)

Jackie Tohn: "A Little Less Conversation" Oh bless her, she's rockin' the tight spandex and what looks to be old school Air Jordans. With a strapless polka dot top. Not crazy about that performance or song.

Ricky Braddy: (from NC! Seriously don't remember him!) "song by Leon Russell, no idea what the title is" Loving the velour jacket. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen him before but he was GOOD. I LIKE him. He's representin' well. Thanks to Paula for clearing that up---I'm not crazy---he wasn't featured in earlier shows.

At this point, Daniel walked in and wanted me to rewind and maybe add his own color commentary to the blog. And I said, "Honey if you want to do color commentary, get your own blog Sure, Honey!" So I'm watching Jackie again and it is not pretty the second time either. Just FYI.

(Is Randy wearing a scarf?)

Alexis Grace: "Never Loved a Man" Girl's got some pipes. Maybe next time she'll wear a skimpier dress or something. And some red lipstick. All that aside, I like her voice and her cute little hair cut. Even the pink.

(Hey, Doogie Howser!)

So far, nothing from Daniel except sarcastic comments. If you know Daniel this doesn't surprise you AT ALL.)

Brent "Dimples" Keith: "Hicktown" Good performance, dude's got stage experience. Like it a lot. Cara says take more risks. Good advice. Careful talking back to the judges there, Brent.

Stevie Wright: "You Belong With Me" (she has your earrings, Faith!) The beginning is rough. And the middle. Ooo and the end. Not good. Really not good. Peanut gallery Daniel says Simon was too brutal. She's just 17.

Anoop "Dog" Desai: "Angel of Mine" (From NC, too! Chapel Hill.) Other half says I just don't think I can pull for a Tarhole. Although I do like that a Tarhole is being called Anoop Dogg. He's a State grad. I LIKED it. I'm just surprised when that voice comes out of that body. Tarheel or not, I like him.

Hey guess what. I'm totally eating chocolate chip cookies. AND MILK!

Casey Carlson: "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" What up with the faces? Not good. Oh honey. I can't watch. She's got good hair though. And a sweet mama.

Michael "Roughneck" Sarver: "I Don't Wanna Be" A little rockin' arrangement of it. I like the One Tree Hill theme song. Not sure about this version. I like him though. Not sure this was a good pick for him. Watch the judges totally disagree with me.....nope. However, I think he's probably safe. D commented on the microphone thing before Paula.

Ann Marie Boskovich: "Natural Woman" That was ok I guess. Not crazy about it. Ted Danson gave her a standing ovation. Simon compared her to a hotel singer. And then bashed the studio audience. Nice.

Stephen "Forget the Words and Walk off the Stage" Fowler: "Rock With You" Hubs says they're gonna say you can't touch Michael Jackson songs. I say it depends how well he sings it. Not all that great I'm afraid. There you go, Hubs, Paula said it. He's there by himself? Oh that's cold, man.

Please don't let Tatiana talk. Please don't let Tatiana talk. Please don't let Tatiana talk.

Are they seriously only taking 3 from this group? I already like way more than 3! Oh no!

Tatiana Del Toro: "Saving All My Love" Can't touch Whitney! Somebody has GOT to take that nasty florescent pink lipstick away from her. I've been telling her from the beginning and she isn't listening to me. Not great. I didn't like it. Weird. Where's the Tatiana we know and um, know? Who gave her the Prozac? THERE'S the laugh. And there's the talking.

Danny "The Widower Whose Friend Totally Should Have Made It Too" Gorkey: "Hero" I seriously love him. LOVE HIM. AND he's a church music leader. Let's just make him the winner now, ok? He did good. Master of the understatement. I actually clapped. Oh, Simon. Come on. Drink the Kool-aid.

Well, that's it. I'm off to vote for Danny once or 24 times.

My picks: Danny, Anoop, and Alexis.

Jennifer. OUT.

Scripture Memory - Verse 4

This week I'm officially signed up for the LPM scripture memory challenge.  My verse for the next 2 weeks comes from the Target group at our new church.  It's actually 3 verses, but I'm learning the first 2 this time and I'll add on the last verse next time. 

"So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."  2 Corinthians 5:9-10

I'm off to learn some scripture!!

I can't think of a title....

Apparently I'm on a blogging break. I've been toying with the idea of closing up this ole blog. I'm not motivated to write lately but I really have a lot to write about!

I've been examining my motivations for blogging and I'm kind of at a loss. I find myself thinking about the changes in our lives lately and really, I only want to share them with face to face friends.

I fluctuate between wanting to pour my heart out and just wanting to write about how much I can't stand to hear Tatiana speak/scream on Idol. Where's the balance? :)

Basically I'm just in a blogging funk. Maybe I'll snap out of it soon, maybe not.

In the meantime, I'll be watching Idol and hoping Tatiana gets laryngitis. (Is that bad?)

Condemnation vs. Conviction

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1-2

That is the verse I'm memorizing the first 2 weeks of February. I'm doing the scripture memorization challenge from the LPM blog although I haven't actually signed up for it. So I guess I'm not officially participating, but participating all the same.

I've recently been able to put a name on the feelings I've been having. Condemnation. Not conviction from the Lord. But condemnation from the enemy.

Perhaps you've felt it too and didn't really know what it was. That feeling of not measuring up. Of thinking you'll never have a powerful quiet time like so-and-so does. Or you aren't worthy of blessings from the Lord. Or if anyone knew your past they would never look at you the same.

Or that because God DOES know your past and your thoughts He doesn't love you like He loves somebody else who seems to have it all together.

Here's a little clue I've received lately that you may or may not know.

NO ONE has it all together.

Not me, not you, not your friend who never seems to yell at her kids. Not your boss, not your pastor, not your Bible study leader.

NO one. Because we are all human. And we all mess up. But we ALL by the grace of God have the same chance to be saved from our crazy past (and present and future) sins and live in FREEDOM!

Salvation means freedom! Freedom from condemnation. Freedom from trying to do it all by yourself. Freedom in life and freedom in death.

"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36