Sad!

I'm sad that Brooke got voted off! She's so cute and I love her voice; I'm going to miss seeing her every week. I'm sure she will still do very well in her career, though. I think Jason got REALLY lucky but I wish it would have been Syesha to go--she's just so boring! I'm rooting for David A. all the way! I thought it was so freaking cute when Natasha Bedingfield went and hugged and kissed David A. on the cheek--his reaction was so totally cute. And how adorable was it that she said if he asked her she would go to the prom with him?! She's knows who the top Idol is!

Future American Idol?

Here's my niece, Belle, singing "Veggie Tales" into the microphone of my piano:

Doesn't she have the cutest voice ever?!

Speaking of AI, last night was pretty lackluster--especially the first 1/2. I wasn't totally thrilled with any of the first performances. I think they need to stop making the kids do certain genres/songwriters and just let them do what they know and love. David A.'s was the best by far of the first performances but I still didn't absolutely love it. Jason's was lame, David C.'s was bad (I don't like his lower register), Brooke's was pretty cheesy (even though I think she's adorable), and Syesha's was just blah. The 2nd batch was MUCH better. I really liked the two David's performances, as well as Brooke's. Jason's was just OK (I thought he was gonna do really well with Neil Diamond but he just didn't do anything with it), as was Syesha's. I think Jason might go tonight but I kinda hope Syesha will. We'll see!

I feel so old!

I went to Cub Scout day camp yesterday in Gonzales (about 50 min. from my house), which lasted from 8am-4pm (was supposed to go 'til 5 but it rained). I helped out with the Webelos all day (10-year-olds). They made wooden toolboxes, went canoeing, shot BB guns, went swimming (learned water safety), made and cooked tin foil dinners for lunch, raced regatta boats, had an archery lesson, and went on a hike. The hike was interesting because it started pouring and the trail was rough and extremely muddy and had been worked over by horses so it made walking through it very difficult! I also stood most of the day, which is never good for my back. By the time I got home last night, my back was spasming, my feet ached, and I was exhausted. It was a lot of fun, though. They even fed us jambalaya at the end.

The downside is that I was supposed to go straight from there to my niece's birthday party. She turned 3 at the end of March and we had a family party at Chuck E. Cheese on her birthday (it was EXTREMELY crowded on a Sat. night!!) but her parents threw a party for her yesterday evening to celebrate with her friends, as well. I was in so much pain and so extremely tired, though, that I just came home and showered, vegged for a couple hours, took a long hot bath in the jetted tub, then went to bed early. It didn't help that I was soaked through and through and would have had to come home, take a shower and change, then go all the way to their house (30-35 min.). The party would have been way over by the time I got there. Anyway, I feel pretty bad about not going but at least we had already celebrated with her and had a party on her actual birthday. BTW, I don't have any from Belle's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese because I forgot to bring my camera--something I never do. I was so upset but I will just have to get pics from my brother.

I still feel beat because I had to wake up at 6am this morning to drive to Slaughter for a meeting with their Primary presidency and their branch conference. At least they fed us REALLY WELL afterwards so I didn't have to worry about coming home and making lunch (and Jared ended up having to work all day, anyway).

I finally put pics from my camera onto the computer, so here's some from the last few weeks:

I watched Belle at my house for a few hours on 3/28; here she is feeding the duck in the pond next door:

I babysat her all day on 4/19 and she was having fun singing into the microphone:

She also played on my marimba:

And we played outside for a bit:On 4/20, we all went over to my parents' house for dinner. When we walked in the door, this what we saw (sucker given to her by Maw-maw!):Belle sure does love her Uncle Timmy!

Jared just walked in from work (poor thing got called into work on his way to church this morning and has been working all day), so I'm gonna go hang out with him. Bye!

This week's AI

Here's my weekly run-down:

*David A.--"Think of Me" is one of my favorite songs ever and I would never have expected to hear a guy sing it but I LOVED what David did with it and he sang it flawlessly. That could totally be a pop hit. Loved, loved, loved it! Not sure what Simon was listening to but I thought it was a great performance--definitely not one of the weakest of the last few weeks, as Simon stated.

*David C.--Really like his performance of “Music of the Night” until the last note--I hate how he ended it. Instead of ending it sweet and loving, he screamed out the last note. Kind of ruined the whole vibe of the song for me.

*Brooke--Way too bad she had to start over but I agree with Randy and Simon that it was the best choice. Simon told her he thought it was a brave thing to do and said "It's your opportunity, why not?" And I totally agree. The song was a little shaky but I didn't hate it--I love the emotion I feel from her and I love her husky voice.

*Jason--I thought it was kind of cool for him to pick "Memory", and I like the spin he put on it but he just doesn't have the vocal capabilities to really pull off a song like that. It was way too shaky for me. This was just not a genre he could really do his thing with.

*Carly--I've heard the song “Jesus Christ Superstar” before but don't really know it too well. I liked her performance and vocals--fun to watch. Probably the best I've liked her so far, even though it was a tad bit "shouty" in some parts. Great song choice for her, though.

*Syesha--Most personality she's shown on the show so far. I didn't know the song at all but it was a good song for her. Too little, too late, however, as far as I'm concerned.

I think Brooke or Jason could be going home, with Syesha in the bottom three with them, or maybe even Carly. Who knows. I think the Davids are the only ones who are absolutely safe. I'm anxious to see the results but will have to wait 'til I get home from church tonight (Young Women's activity--we're making buddy burners for camp). I don't want Brooke or Jason to go home. I would love to see what they can do next week with Neil Diamond songs!

Finally!

Kristy Lee Cook went home! She's a very cute girl but was far below the others in regards to vocal capabilities. I don't think she ever sang more than 80% of her notes in tune.

My thoughts on this week of AI:

David A.--not my favorite song but he sang the heck out of it. I just love his voice. And I want to squeeze his cheeks and say "you're so cute!"

David C.--the beginning sounded a little rough to me at first but I ended up loving the arrangment and his performance. The end of the song, when he got out of his lower register, really rocked!

Brooke--Loved her version; had a couple of rough notes and I agree with Paula that she lost confidence and rushed the end but I still enjoyed it overall. I love that I always feel her emotions when she sings.

Jason--Don't know what Randy was smokin' but I loved his version and thought he sang it great. I'm glad he turned the guitar part over to someone else so we could concentrate more on him and his voice. Don't get me wrong, I love when he plays guitar, too, but it was nice to see him without it, too.

Carly--Pretty good, not great. Simon was right on the money about her over-thinking and being wound up. All her smiles while the judges talk seem SO fake to me.

Syesha--I barely even remember that she performed.

Kristy--I agree with Simon--whiny! And mostly out of tune. Yuck. Mariah must have been on crack when she said she gave her goosebumps and sang the song better than she did!

Any bets on who gets booted next? I hope it's Syesha or Carly, not Brooke.

American Idol top 8

Here's my assessment of the performances this week (in order of my preferences):

*David A.--I loved him singing that song and thought he did great; although I have really liked him on the piano previously, I think he could have sung it even better if he hadn't played piano. It was definitely 100 times better than the Jessica Simpson version, that's fo sho!!!

*David C.--I have liked him so much the past few weeks but he really stunk up that song!! I'm sure he'll do much better next week.

*Michael--I loved the performance. I really didn't think he would go to the high notes but he did and I liked it!

*Brooke--There were a few shaky notes ("pitchy" as Randy would say) but I really liked the performance as a whole; I thought it was really heart-felt.

*Jason--Loved his rendition of that song. Suited him very well and I just love his style.

*Carly--Looks way too angry when she sings! Good voice, though.

*Syesha--I just don't ever feel a connection with her. I'd rather listen to her sing any day rather than Fantasia, though!

*Kristy--Eh. OK. I didn't think it was as good as other people are saying. Too many pitch problems. I think she has the weakest voice of the bunch, too.


I think/wish Kristy would go home tonight but I'm pretty sure it will be either Carly or Syesha. If I had to bet, I'd say Carly.


Not much else to post about. Besides the usual piano lessons and playing volleyball every Friday, I've just been doing lots of Cub Scout stuff and gearing up for girls' camp, which includes going to their activities every Wed. night. Now if I can just get the fundraisers done with!

New look!

I changed the look of my blog! Let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions. Also, tell me what you think about having to log in to look at my blog. Would that keep you from coming to read it?

On another note, I've done the speed test another 5 or 6 times and got up to 86. Trying not to do it too much! :)

Speed test

Try this fun typing test! The score below is from my second try--I didn't realize I had to enter after I typed the first line and that messed up my score so I tried it again. I typed 447 characters per minute and had ZERO words wrong. :)

83 words

Speed test

I'm gonna see just how fast I can get. If I can get a higher score, I'll let ya' know, hee hee!