Random Thoughts Vol.17

Hello Friends! Well, I've been blogging for a year now. Who knew? Certainly not me. Thanks for stopping by over the past year to check in on what is up with our family. I have lots of random thoughts going on, so I'll get to it.

I watched the inauguration yesterday and found myself tearful through much of it. It's a privilege to live in this country. I'm grateful for religious freedom. I'm grateful for checks and balances. I'm grateful that I don't have a hat like Aretha Franklin, but that she has the right to wear one. God bless the USA!

American Idol has started, but I haven't watched any of it. I don't usually watch the audition rounds. I wait until Hollywood week to start watching, and really kick in at the top 24 (which this year is a top 36 instead). I do, however, read the ew.com recaps of it, so I'm not completely out of the loop.

Tonight is a big night because LOST IS BACK!!! Since it's AWANA night, Ryan and I are going to dinner while the kids are gone, then we'll put them to bed and watch the premiere. I've kept myself as spoiler free as possible, so there's a good chance I won't be able to sleep tonight. I often mull over this show long after it's over. Unlike Heroes or 24, two other favorites of mine, Lost can truly mess with my head!

This weekend is WINTERFEST the big annual scrapbooking weekend I attend. This year I'll be rooming with Tina "I hope my bathing suit doesn't injure you" Green, Debbie "I just found out I have to work on Saturday" DeBoer, and Cheri "All I can think about is pie" Boudouris. I think what I love best about this weekend is that it's the most time each year that I spend just being me and taking care of me. I love my kids, but it's nice to not have to provide anything for them for 2.5 days. I'm looking forward to catching up my albums, having some great conversations, eating yummy food, and engaging in soul cleansing laughter.

Finally, on Monday we were at Target and I bought some little outfits on the clearance rack for our baby girl. I think I bought 3 things for like $7.50. I love sales! I'm so thankful that our contract was extended, otherwise it would be about to expire and we would be figuring out what to do next. God is good, and I love Him. Here are some pictures of the things I bought her.

Random Thoughts Vol. 11

Hi again! Time for more random thoughts, and what will probably be my last post before leaving for vacation on Monday. Please try to survive without me. I know I will be trying to survive without internet access for a week. It's good for me!

Well, one of my two favorite contestants won American Idol. Congrats to David Cook! I truly feel he was the best over the entire competition. I missed most of the finale, but caught the stuff I missed on Youtube. All I can say is, why have George Michael sing a song that Carrie Underwood conquered on Idol Gives Back night? He had no hope of singing it as well as her, especially with the "cold" he mentioned that he had. Also, I laughed out loud when David Hernandez whispered "naked". Too funny! Oh, and one more thing, I'm glad Amanda Overmeyer won't be on the tour this summer. All those group sings might kill her!

Yesterday was our last day of school. We are all so excited! Our trip to Lincoln Park Zoo was fabulous, and I highly recommend it, especially if you're a big zoo person. The weather was great (a little cool for Madison, of course), and Michael loved getting a chance to be in downtown Chicago. It was a great way to finish off the school year. The picture above is of the kids in front of a cool building with a rainforest area.

The reason I missed the American Idol finale was because we were at the AWANA awards night. Our kids did a great job. They all completed their books, which is exciting. At the awards, Michael recited John 3:16 in front of everyone, and Madison received an award for good sportsmanship, since she's always smiling. Ryan and I were, of course, very proud. Way to go, kids!

Finally, I wanted to post one more picture. It is the wild flowers that I wrote about in my post "Potential". I thought you would like to see them. I call it "Beauty Realized". Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and week, and I'll fill you in on our vacation when we get back!

Random Thoughts Vol. 10

Welcome to random thoughts, where the post lives up to its title. I'm having trouble realizing that the end of May is approaching, probably because it's been so cold here. I'm ready for warmer weather, but not the summer humidity. I can be as fickle as the weather, I suppose.

Behold the picture - a Cricut machine, which is what I received as a gift for Mother's Day. It's fabulous! I'm excited for the next time I have lots of pages to scrapbook so that I can use this little beauty. A nice bonus is that one of my friends also has the Cricut, and she has several different fonts that I can borrow and use with it. To that all I can say is, "Shazam!"

My American Idol thoughts are that I'm way more likely to buy a David Cook album in the future than a Little David album, so I guess it doesn't matter who wins. I think Cook has consistently been the best, and deserves to be declared the winner, but I think he'll do just fine without the title. I'll miss American Idol when it's over, mostly because I'll miss the fun videos done by EW.com.

Lost isn't on this week. The 2-hour finale is on next week. What in the world? How are the Oceanic 6 all going to end up rescued together since they are all separated? Is Claire dead? How can the island be moved? Is Ben one of the best characters ever, and is that actor one of the best as well? If the freighter blows up and takes Desmond and Jin out, I will not be happy, because Desmond is one of my favorite characters.

Tomorrow is our last day of school. We plan on spending our last day at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. We are all excited to go, and very excited to be finished with this school year. We've never been there, so I'll let you know my thoughts when I get back.

American Idol - Rewind

So last night I was watching American Idol Rewind. In case you don't know, this is the syndicated reruns of past seasons. Now they are on season 2, and I saw the episode when it was the top 4 - Ruben, Clay, Kimberley, and Josh. This was my favorite season, simply because they were all such good vocalists, and I would have felt good about any of them winning. It's so weird to watch the older episodes. Simon's hair was very bushy,Paula is so refreshingly lucid, and the stage isn't like a giant spaceship. The performances were all good, with the exception of Clay singing the theme song from Grease (is grease really the way we are feelin'?). One odd thing is that each contestant was to sing 2 BeeGee's songs (yes, you read that correctly), and Clay and Josh each chose the same song. I doubt they would allow something like that now. Anyway, it was interesting to rewatch this past favorite. As for the current idol season, I'm disappointed to see Michael Johns go. He was never my favorite, but I really enjoyed his Dolly Parton performance, and just about any other performance of his more than ANYTHING Syesha has done. So, best wishes, Michael Johns.

Random Thoughts Vol. 8

Happy Spring Break to those of you partaking! Madison keeps asking me why we are still doing school if it's Spring Break. I keep trying to explain that we took time off to go to Pokagon a couple weeks ago, and that we will finish school earlier if we don't take a break now. But, like most humans, instant gratification sounds more fun.

I've enjoyed having some not-so-busy weekends lately. In fact, this past weekend, I spent on inordinate amount of time on the mental floss website. They have lots of great trivia to read and quizzes to take. I'll warn you, it's addicting.

Yesterday I bought the book Mistaken Identity (pictured above). It's about the Taylor University (of which I am an alumnus) students who were in the car accident, and the bodies where misidentified. I highly recommend it. I read the entire book in about 4 hours last night. The story is fascinating, just because it's so unbelievable. But more than that, the story is absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful testament of grace. I briefly saw the famiies on Oprah, and it's exciting to see them boldly share their faith. May God richly bless them all!

As far as American Idol goes, I was happy to see Ramiele leave. She never impressed me. If only Syesha could have gone with her. It's strange, I don't really like Kristy Lee, yet I want her to stay more than Syesha. I think I just never enjoy Syesha's song choices. I'm not so much looking forward to the inspirational theme tonight, and I probably won't partake in the Idol Gives Back fest - some stories are too heartbreaking. I heard someone predict Little David singing "The Greatest Love of all", which makes me want to urp, but since that's a Whitney classic, Syesha will probably cover it, which will induce full-on vomiting for me.

So, I saw this video and enjoyed a good laugh while watching it. I think I actually figured out how to post it - we'll see! Anyway, my favorite parts are the shopping cart and the "I've done all I can do!" quote. Enjoy!

American Idol - Dollywood

I remember one time seeing Dolly Parton interviewed on television and the person asking her if that was her hair. Dolly responded, "You bet it is, I paid for it!!!" How can a person not appreicate that kind of honest wit. I enjoyed Dolly night on American Idol, except I would have loved to have heard more of Dolly talking, because she makes me laugh. Who knew she had written so many songs, and many of them have beautiful lyrics.

So, here are my thoughts: I wish there had been a venue for me to put money down on Syesha singing "I will always love you". I would use it to buy a cricut. I think this song choice may be the death of her. Her only hope is that whoever has been voting for Ramiele realizes they've been misdialing. I wish it was double elimination and they could both go - Syesha for song choice alone. Kristy Lee did a nice job, and at least she's been more interesting to watch than Ramiele. But, her idol days are numbered. At least she can sing "God Bless the USA" on the tour this summer. I will say, I think Kristy Lee is the best dressed girl. Brooke sounded great, but Jolene is a song not to be smiled through. I read on ew.com an article with different Dolly quotes, and her explanation of this song is a riot! All I can say is, Jolene beat the crap out of Dolly, but Dolly kept her husband. Then Dolly went home and beat him up! RIOT! A final thought on the women: for the first time last night, I really liked Carly. I thought it was her best yet. Now, just some sleeves would be nice.

On to the men! Again, like Carly, for the first time, I really liked Michael Johns. I thought it was well done and more original than usual. David Cook and Jason Castro continue to be my favorites - I like their unique sounds. If I had an ipod, I'd download Jason's "Travelin' Thru". I'm a little worried about Jason, so for the first time this season, I voted for David C. and Jason while I watched the last sobfest filled hour of The Biggest Loser (this is a topic for another time, but this round of The Bigggest Loser has been very entertaining!). That just leaves me with Little David, and I just can't find the love. He seems like a nice boy, and he has a nice voice, but I don't enjoy his performances, and his voice is not as good as they say. If he wins, it will be a travesty. And no one over 12 will buy his records.

I want the bottom 3 to be Little David, Syesha, Ramiele.
I think it will be Kristy Lee, Syesha, Ramiele.
I think the bodyguard will kill Syesha (YOU SHOULD HAVE PICKED A DIFFERENT SONG!).

Random Thoughts Vol.6

Welcome to random thoughts, basically a purging of what is in my mind whether truly interesting or not. Don't you love the picture above? That would be my mouth, with my newly installed bottom braces. All I can say is that I truly hate them. My mouth is getting better - I only need wax on one side now instead of all the way across - but things are still very achy. Plus, I will occasionally spray saliva out of my mouth, which is just inconvenient. Oh well, as Ryan says, only 18 months to go!

You may have noticed that I didn't post my opinion on last week's
American Idol. The reason is that my mom always taught me if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. So, this once I will heed my mother's advice and only say that I hope this week is better.

As far as other television viewing, Lost continues to entertain and astound me. I'll miss it while it is off for a few weeks. Even though there have been a few flawed episodes, its worst is better than most that is on network tv. I've missed the last couple of episodes of Survivor, but since I read spoilers online, I usually know pretty much what will happen anyway. Our church is starting a new sermon series using Survivor as a theme, so there are cool Survivor decorations all around. Very fun! One show I find very fun to make fun of is America's Next Top Model. Ridiculous!

This weekend we finally bought a new refrigerator. The kids are more excited than Ryan and me! They are mostly excited about it having ice and water in the door. I'm excited because we bought our old one used when we moved into this house, so it had seen better days. I was finding it funny that Michael was so interested in how much the refrigerator cost. After we left the store, Michael asked Ryan how much it cost, and when Ryan told him, Michael asked, "How much money do you have left?" Then we had to explain the whole working for a living, saving money, blah, blah, blah. It is funny how their minds work!

While we were at Pokagon State Park last week, we stopped at the outlet mall in Fremont and as a family we picked out a snuggly blanket for our baby girl. It's one of those unguarded heart moments, but that's okay. I'm doing much better with that. I'm choosing faith, hope, and joy. Here's a picture of it. It says "butterfly kisses" on it, which reminds me of an episode of SpongeBob Squarepants, which makes me smile.

Random Thoughts Vol.5

Welcome to the weekend edition of random thoughts. I decided to post a few things before our family heads out to Pokagon State Park in Angola, IN for a few days. We are all excited about a few days away and a break from the routine. So, here are my random thoughts before I head out:

*Although I'm disappointed, I'm not surprised that David Hernandez was voted off of American Idol. I think several other contestants should be quite thankful to be still going in the competition (Ramiele, Syesha, Kristy). I'm also disappointed because they are doing Beatles week again. But, it's better than Gloria Estefan week.

*All I have to say about Lost is, what in the world is going on, and WHEN in the world is it happening????

*Today we finally painted Madison's bedroom. I think it's been over 2 years since we started talking about doing it. It's a small room, so it seems like it should be pretty simple, but there's always more to it than you expect. Ryan and I are both exhausted, but her room is done (well there's still finishing touches to do). It is now a wonderful shade of pink, and it makes me want to eat cotton candy.

Have a blessed Holy Week, and I'll check in when we get back.

American Idol - Beatles Night

Well, American Idol's Beatles Night wasn't the complete disaster I thought it would be. In fact, in some ways it was pleasantly surprising. Here's my list, starting with my favorite:

1. Chikezie - Wow, I loved it! I've not been excited about him, but I thought this was great. I hope he sticks around and we see more great stuff like this.
2. Jason & Brooke - I like the same things about them, so I'm putting them together. I just enjoy the raw, not-so-powerhouse voices they each have. Jason's wasn't the best of his, but still I really enjoyed it. Brooke is growing on me week after week. I want one or both of them to go far in the competition.
3. David Cook & Carly - They seem similar to me as well. I think they both did a great job and I enjoyed listening to them. I'm okay with either of them going far in the competition.

Note a big gap here!

4. David Hernandez & Syesha - They both sang well, but their songs and performances weren't up to par with the others. I've never been a Syesha fan, so she can go at any time, but I would like David to stay so we can see him reach his potential, but I fear it may not happen.
5. Rocker Nurse - She gets this spot because at least I can say she isn't boring. I just don't thing she can last, however, since she can't truly sing.
6. Michael & Ramiele - Neither of them have blown me away and I find them both very boring. I won't be sad to see either of them leave.
7. Kristy Lee - It was a disaster, but I'll give her this - at least she tried. She was doomed if she did and doomed if she didn't. If she would have stood up there and sang the song straight, the judges would've creamed her for it. So, I look at it as at least she tried. And, she sang it fairly well and REMEMBERED ALL THE WORDS, which is why she's in this spot and not last. She is a top candidate to leave tonight, but history shows that sometimes America comes out in full force to give the train wreck one more week. I wouldn't be surprised to see the boring and forgettable Ramiele leave tonight instead of Kristy.
8. Little David - I just feel at this point it is completely unacceptable to forget the lyrics not once, not twice, but three times. This is a young man who won the Star Search competition, and has sung on national television other times. People have been destroyed for making less egregious mistakes in the past. I doubt he'll be voted out, but he should be - he not only forgot the words, but he didn't sing well.

So, I'm not sure if I'll watch tonight's results or just wait and find out on the internet after it's over. It can be unbearable to watch 57 minutes of filler to get 3 minutes of information. Feel free to leave comments telling me how much you agree or disagree with me!

Random Thoughts Vol. 4

Welcome again to random thoughts, occuring at a very early hour on a Monday. So, this version will probably be even more random than usual.

*It's officially Monday, March 10th, which means it's my mom's birthday. Happy 66th Birthday, Mom Deak. I'll probably call and tell her that since the chances of her even knowing what a blog is are very slim :)
*Our church had a big bowling party today, with about 180 people participating. All I can say is 7 is too many people to have bowl on one lane, especially when half of them are kids, and their bowling balls move down the lane at an inordinately slow speed. Regardless of this, a good time was had by all.
*American Idol is now down to the top 12 and for the most part I agree with those who made it there. As for last week's performances, Jason Castro and David Cook were my favorite guys. I still like Stripper Hernandez, but I didn't think he did the best last week. My favorite girl is Brooke. My least favorite fashion trend: high waisted pants with funky buttons. Please, someone help these people!
*Survivor has been pretty interesting so far. I'm not sure I needed to see Jonathon get his leg stitched up, but there have been lots of blindsides which are always interesting. But, I'm not sure I really care who wins. I probably have a bigger list of people that I don't want to see win than a list of those I want to win. I guess as far as this season goes, the glass is half empty for me.
*Lost continues to entertain and confound me. I guess this is the relationship many have with this show. Last week's episode wasn't the best, since it didn't really move the story along. But, Ryan and I both enjoy the insanity that is Benjamin Linus and the freaky actor who plays him (see above picture). For those who were watching all I have to say is, "YOUR MINE! Take all the time you need."

Random Thoughts Vol. 3

I had planned to post some random thoughts yesterday, Monday, but it just didn't get accomplished. So, here is the new Tuesday edition of Random Thoughts:

*I spent Friday and Saturday in Fort Wayne with my college roommate, Amy, and another college friend, Deanna. We try to get together once a year, and this year opted for the girls only outing instead of the entire family event. It was a very nice weekend, but it went way too fast.
*Since I was gone on Saturday, I missed Michael's basketball game, so I missed the first time he's scored a basket in a game. Despite not witnessing it, I was incredibly excited and proud.
*My favorite TV show, "Lost", continues to blow my mind. All I can say is that I hope my IQ is high enough to understand how this all works out. Crazy!
*I found out today my favorite American Idol contestant, David Hernandez, used to be a male stripper for males. I've decided to root for him anyway in hopes he can leave this past life behind him. But I will say, I'm not sure I'll watch his dance moves the same. Maybe I'll just listen. On a whole, I'm underwhelmed by the competition, and hoping for some people to have some break out performances soon. I'm not a big fan of the younger David - I'm sick of hearing how wonderful he is. The same thing happened with Melinda last year. I stopped wanting her to do well because I was tired of them fawning over her so much. My second favorite contestant is dred-head, guitar-playing, Jason Castro. I don't have a favorite girl contestant, but I do have favorites to leave, and at the top of that list is the rocker nurse.
*Sunday we watched the movie "Facing the Giants". I had actually purchased it a few weeks ago, but we finally had time to watch it. We had seen a couple of scenes from the movie during church, but this was the first time to watch the whole thing. I really enjoyed the movie and would highly recommend it. I was expecting a cheesiness that often accompanies "Christian" films, but there were only a few cheesy moments. So, if you're looking for a good, wholesome movie, appropriate for the whole family, I definitely recommend "Facing the Giants."

My Favorite Things - Vol. 2 - American Idol

It's that time of year again. American Idol is back in full swing, and it's finally to the portion of the show where I start watching. I'm not into the early audition episodes, so I only catch bits and pieces of it. I really start watching when you can start voting, although I watched the Hollywood episode last night, while flipping over to catch The Biggest Loser, another one of my favorite things. The only problem with The Biggest Loser is that I can't stop snacking while it is on! It's like watching these people work out and deprive themselves of food is more than I can bear and the next thing I know I'm at the pantry looking for something to eat. I could probably use some help with that, but I digress...

This is suppposed to be an American Idol post, so I'll get back on the topic. I've watched American Idol since the top 10 of the first season (which I've watched reruns of on American Idol Rewind and man, are some of them just HORRIBLE singers!). My favorite season continues to be season 2, with Reuben, Clay, and Kimberly. They were all excellent singers. I'd like to pretend the Fantasia season didn't happen - I'm NOT a fan. And, as much as I enjoy Carrie Underwood now, I was always sad for Bo Bice, who was one of my favorites. It's a shame Bo's loss didn't net him the career that Chris Daughtry's loss got him.

I liked some of the changes to Hollywood week, especially the exclusion of the group sing portion. It was always a lot of fighting and whining, which, although it can be entertaining, would just become annoying. That said, no one should be allowed to play the drums and sing, especially a Tom Jones song. I'm not sure the instruments really added anything - they didn't show too many people who were successful with it. The homeless kid is getting on my nerves, and I don't think the Janis Joplin/rocker nurse is going to make it too far. My favorite of who they showed (that I saw) was one of the first guys - the one who sang "Love the One You're With".

So, what did you think? Any favorites? Who are your favorite idols from the past? What would be your audition song? Mine would be DankaShane (sp?).