American Idol - Week 2 - in a loose mood

This week the contestants had to sing songs from their birth year. I cannot tell you how old this show made me feel! One of the contestants was born in 1995, 1995 people! I am old enough to be her mother. : / Can I just point out before we begin that I was 2 for 3 in the bottom three prediction last week and hit a home run on my prediction that Ashton would go home. Let's see if I can get it right again this week.

Naima Sang "What's Love Got to do with it?" I thought she did a great job, she was a little pitchy but I like how she made the song current and moved around the stage. I'm not sure about her outfit choice but she did her thang. Grade: B

Paul Sang "And That's Why They Call it the Blues" and it was just ok. Maybe I'm not as much of a Paul fan as I originally thought. I just can't get past his weird movements on stage. I'd like to hear him sing a song of his own, I think I would like him better. Steven Tyler said that he was a "cool dude in a loose mood" Grade: B

Thia sang "Colors of the Wind" and it was pretty but it was boring, especially put up against all the other great performances tonight. It seemed like she forgot the words at one point and she seemed very nervous, the vibrato in her voice was going Crazy! Grade: C

James Durbin sang Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There For You" and I was a little disappointed. He sang it ok but I think he could have chosen a better song, I loved that Steven Tyler pointed out that he was getting a little too "pop" LOL. James is very likable and has great stage presence so I think he'll be fine this week. Grade: B

Haley sang "I'm Your Baby Tonight". Can I give a little side note into what this song makes me think of? One day in 7th grade I stayed home from school sick and I laid in my room listening to the radio and every time I hear that song it takes me back to that day. Anyway, back to American Idol....I thought Haley did good. I like Haley and I hope she sticks around for a while. I felt bad for her that her make up got messed up, I guess that happens on Live shows though!

Grade: B

Stefano sang "If you don't know me by now" and was so amazing. He's just so great!

Grade: A

Pia sang "Where do Broken Hearts Go?" and I loved it. She is really beautiful, has a great personality and presence. Most importantly, that girl can sing! I really don't get the kind of outfits like she was wearing, it reminded me of a baby romper but she still looked good anyway.

Grade: A

Scotty sang "Can I Trust You With My Heart" and was also amazing. I'm telling you, some of the contestants really brought it this week! I loved when Scotty's parents sang "Baby lock them doors...." It was perfect, so funny!

Grade: A

Karen sang "Love Will Lead You Back" and she was also boring. She sang it well and looked great, nothing really wowed me about the performance though. It was forgettable. I really thought her mom was the sweetest!

Grade: B-

Casey sang Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", a first on American Idol. It was definitely a risk and we'll have to see what America thought of it. I thought it was a great performance and as always, loved Casey!

Grade: B+

Lauren sang "I'm the Only One" and was so much better than last week! She really rocked it. I love how she shows her personality and sings her heart out.

Grade: A

Jacob sang "How Do I Get You Alone" and as always, was unbelievable! How does he sing like that? It is not human!

Grade: A+

I'm not as confident in my predictions this week but here we go: Bottom 3 will be Karen, Naima, and Thia or Paul (not sure which). I think that Karen will go home

American Idol - Top 13 - A Rainbow of Talent

Week 1 on the "big" stage was fun. I think this will be a great season on American Idol. I love the new judges. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez (J-LO to my generation) really have gone above my expectations. I thought that with Simon gone the show wouldn't be the same anymore. Yes, it is different but change can be good sometimes. I'm going to grade each contestant, say what I think Simon would have said and then I'm going to predict who the bottom 3 will be. OK, here we go!

First singer up was:

Lauren Alaina - Any Man of Mine by Shania Twain

I thought her outfit was awful. She needs some help in the fashion department. I was glad she didn't wear the ugly pink dress / boot combo she did when the picked the top 24 a couple weeks ago, but, I digress. The performance was boring to me. She didn't really do much besides stand there a sing. Any Man of Mine can be such a fun song. A real pro would have got the audience into it. Simon would have said:"reminded me of a bad karaoke singer at a high school reunion"

Grade: C

I think that Miss Alaina will be fine though. She has a very likable personality and I think that the country music fans out there will keep her around for another week (at least)

Casey - Joe Cocker - Little Help from My Friends

I need to admit right off the bat that I am a Casey fan so my opinion is a bit tainted by that. Let me also say that I was a Taylor Hicks lover and so I tend to go for the different unique contestants! I thought Casey's performance was fun, and he made the song his own. He really got into the song and could tell he was having a good time.

Simon would have liked it (I think)

Grade: A-

Ashton - Diana Ross- When you tell me (that you love me)

Ashton was one of the singers that was saved last week by the judges' wild card votes. I didn't agree with their choice then and I still didn't tonight. I wasn't impressed with her performance. I thought it was forgettable.

Simon would have said "forgettable, no one will remember that performance"

Grade: C

Paul McDonald - Ryan Adams

I love Paul but I did not like his performance tonight. He was all over the place on the stage, his voice sounded weak and I just didn't like this song for him at all. Can I just say that I thought Ryan Seacrest was so annoying doing his impression of Paul! Ryan, stick to the hosting thing, you are not funny.

Simon would have said:"it reminded me a bit of your uncle getting up and singing at a wedding after he's had a bit too much to drink"

Grade: C

Pia - All by Myself - Celine Dion

I am quickly becoming a Pia fan. I think she has a fantastic voice, she is a beautiful girl and she seems to have a beautiful personality. The song she sang is not even close to being an easy song to sing and she nailed it.

Simon would have said" you are a bit of a dark horse in this competition"

Grade: A

James Durbin - Paul McCartney - Baby I'm amazed

I love James too. He is terrific and performed terrific tonight. I was glad he lost the tail tonight. It kind of looks like he has a scarf coming out of his backside (random) . He showed a lot of control with his voice tonight and didn't do any screaming. I think that the screaming can be over-done. I think Adam Lambert overdid the screaming and Siobhan did last year as well.

Simon would have liked it.

Grade: A

Haley - Blue - Leanne Rimes

Haley sang well but it was kind of boring and stayed true to how the original was sung. I like Haley and I hope she sticks around this week.

Simon: "forgettable, fell asleep during the performance"

Grade: B

Jacob Lusk - R. Kelly I believe I can Fly

Although his style isn't really my type of music I am still a fan of his just because Jacob has an amazing instrument and seems to have a super personality.

Simon would have loved it.

Grade: A

Thia Megia - Smile - Michael Jackson

It was sweet and boring. I agreed with the judges that the jazzy arrangement wasn't great. She's a beautiful girl and has a beautiful voice but I don't feel like I've seen anything great from her yet.

Simon would have said: " didn't like the song selection, atrocious arrangement, you may be in trouble after that"

Grade: C

Stefano Langone - Stevie Wonder

I also am a big Stefano fan and I was so glad that the judges saved him with a wild card spot last week. He has a great story, great attitude and a great voice. I thought he did great tonight. I wasn't crazy about the disco beat halfway through the song but he really showed that he belongs in the top 13 tonight.

Simon: "hated the arrangement, you sounded great though"

Grade: B+

Karen - Selena song

Boring, pitchy, seemed almost unsure of the what the song was that she was singing. I don't really love Karen. She seems so pro-Latina that it's irritating. Maybe it's just me. I don't see anything wrong with being proud of your heritage but she seems to mention on every show that she is Latino, ok, we get it.

Simon would have said something awful and made her cry

Grade: D

Scotty McCreery - The River - Garth Brooks

Scotty seems like a really nice southern boy. He has a great voice for Country music and I thought he sang this song great. While I will probably not buy his album, just because I'm not a big country fan, I hope he does well in his career.

Grade: A

Naima Adedapo - Umbrella

Nice dance moves, I liked the little ragea (sp?) twist she added to it. I'm not a huge fan of hers but I have to give her props. I was glad that she shaved her armpits.

Grade: A

Bottom 3 tomorrow night: Karen, Ashton, and Paul. I think Ashton will go home. What do you think?

American Idol Review?

Thinking of starting back up with my weekly review of American Idol. I really like the new judges and quite a few of the contestants. I was just wondering if any of my readers watch the show and would be interested in reading my take each week. Comment and let me know!

E-mealz

Yesterday, I needed to go grocery shopping and was feeling uninspired. Same old same old stuff again. I had looked at e-mealz.com before and I thought it looked like a great idea. So, I decided to try it out. It is $15 every 3 months ($5 a month) and every week they give you 7 meals and a shopping list. You can choose a family plan, low fat plan, low carb plan, vegetarian plan, even a couple's plan if it's just you and your significant other. They also have all of these by store. I usually grocery shop at Wal-mart so I chose the Wal-Mart Family plan. So far it has been good. Last night we had loaded baked potatoes with garlic bread and salad. Tonight we had crock pot beef stew with corn bread. It was so easy to just print my list, check off what I already had in the pantry and go to the store. So far the recipes have been really simple. I'm hoping that by doing this we will save money on groceries and eat out less. I'll let you know what I think of it after the first week is through.

Happy Monday

Time for new things and new beginnings. I love the beginning of a new year. The hustle and bustle of the holidays in behind us and we can get back to life as we know it. There is a freshness in the air somehow, almost like a second chance. I start my diet back today. I weighed myself yesterday and I am up 7 pounds from the last time I weighed myself in November. I am so mad at myself but I just need to get that 7 pounds plus 10 (or 15) off this year. If I really try hard and put my mind to it I can have that 20 pounds off by Spring. I wish I could do Insanity again but my knees got so torn up last time that I can barely do anything physical without my knees (and sometimes my hip) hurting. So, yeah, I'm getting old. I'll be 33 in February.

I've got lots to do so going to eat my oatmeal and green tea (instead of coffee)

1-1-11 Let's blog!

Hey, I know that you are in shock that I am actually blogging. It has been a couple months, I know! I have a good reason though. God blessed me tremendously in November and December with lots of photo shoots and I was up to my ears in taking, editing and printing pictures not to mention taking care of a 4 and 2 year old, and 2 dogs. Matt worked full time throughout half of November and all of December as a temporary Manager. We are both hopeful that he will be able to get a promotion soon. January and February are known as the "slow" season in the photography world so I hope to get my house and life more organized during this time. Hoping to stay busy enough to pay the bills though!

Hopefully I will blog more soon! Happy New Year!!

Just realized I used the word "hope" alot in this entry! Sorry 'bout that!

Wanna see some awesome pics?

Completed number 87 last night "get a family portrait made"! Check them out here! I am so happy with them. The talented Natalie Harris of N. Harris Photography took the pics. I can't wait to get some printed! Thanks Natalie, you did an awesome job, I know more than anyone how difficult my children are to photograph!