Top Ten Tuesday: My favorite TV shows

I haven't done a favorite things list in a while (or probably ever for that matter).  I really like reading these types of posts by other bloggers so I thought I would share one too.  I got the idea as I was scrolling through my very long list of TV shows on our DVR the other night.

10. Dance Moms: I know this show is PURE TRASH, but I can't turn it off.  I started watching it when a marathon of the first season while we were "hurricaned in" at the beach one Labor Day weekends.  I initially watched it because I was amazed at how good the dancers were at such a young age.  The show has really focused more on the mother's and their crazy antics during the second and third seasons, which I guess is appropriate since it is called dance MOMS.

9. Hawaii Five-O: When this show came on last season, it was my very favorite show.  Will and I watched it together religiously every week.  Maybe it came on 2 years ago?  I can't remember.  Anyway, this season has been less than stellar in my book.  Of course, we have about 11 episodes built up on the DVR that need to be watched.   

8. Go On: I love Matthew Perry.  In this show, he is in perfect neurotic Chandler from Friends mode, which is his finest.  The other characters in her therapy group are really funny too. 

7. Nashville:  This is another show Will and I watch together.  We watched the first 8 episodes over Christmas break and were hooked.  We're not really sure if we like the show all that much or just like seeing all the local footage of Nashville.  Some of the supporting characters really annoy me.  I love  the actress who plays Rayna (I'm a big Friday Night Lights fan) and I love hearing great country music!

6. How I Met Your Mother: This show had gotten a little blah this season (the 8th season ... we've watched since the beginning), but it started to pick up around Christmas.  All the characters are really funny and Will and I use lots of funny sayings from the show (like Doppelganger, "bro code" and "legen ... wait for it ... dary").  It reminds me of Friends in that respect.  Next season is the final season and I hope we finally find out how he met your mother.

5. Duck Dynasty: This show is so funny. We got hooked during another marathon when we were "rained in" at the beach (on a different trip).  The second season seemed a little staged to me at times, but the third season has been really good.  I love the good, wholesome family values they portray on the show. 

4. Modern Family: Oh my goodness, this is the funniest show on TV.  We watch it every Wednesday night after we get in bed.  All of the characters are so funny at any given time.  Will and I have discussed how we really couldn't choose our favorites.

3. Grey's Anatomy: I started watching this show in Season 1 (when I was home on maternity leave with Claire).  It has definitely had its high points and low points and I wasn't sure I could continue watching this season after the killed off 2 of my favorite characters at the end of the previous season.  But, this season has been good.  Different, but good.

2. The Good Wife: This is by far one of the best legal shows on television.  And this comes from someone who has watched a lot of them!  (nI watched L.A. Law long, long ago ... probably when I was too young to be watching it.)  Juliana Margulies is excellent in her role as Alicia Florrick and the show does a great job of pulling current legal and political events into the storyline.  If you don't watch this show yet, you should!

1. Scandal: I just started watching this show in December, but it is the most exciting show on television!  I watched the whole first season and the first half of the second season over Christmas break and it was INTENSE!  It is one of those shows that you really have to watch from the beginning to get all the back story.  But it is totally worth the time investment.

Other shows we watch: Parenthood, The Big Bang Theory, Gold Rush, Storage Wars, The Voice, Smash and Private Practice.

Have a nice day ...

AKA our date night with Bon Jovi. 

 

We started out with dinner at Fulin's.  It's about 1 minute from our house and we've never eaten there.  And I had a Groupon.  My sushi was excellent!   Will went all Kung Fu Panda on his spicy chicken dish.  It was yummy too! 

 

Then we headed downtown to see Bon Jovi in concert.  Will got me these tickets for Christmas.  Our seats were way up high.  But we had fun.  The tickets said the concert started at 7:30 but it actually started around 8:20.  Bon Jovi was in no hurry to get on stage ... clearly they didn't realize we were on the clock with the babysitter!

 

They opened with a few songs from their new album coming out next week.  And then it was on to our old school favorites ... for the next 3 hours.  Jon can sing the heck out of some songs ... and Richie Sambora can play the guitar.   

 

My pictures of the band on stage are not that good because we were VERY FAR AWAY and I just had my phone.  But the music was loud, the crowd was fun and the jr high/high school memories were flowing!  I think "Slippery When Wet" was one of the very first CASSETTE tapes I bought with my very own money.

 

We were hoping for a guest appearance by Jennifer Nettles for "Who Says You Can't Go Home" since they were in NASHVILLE and all, but honestly, it was just a good without her.  Richie can sing some mean BGVs.

 

Of course, I had to run home and buy Bon Jovi's greatest hits on itunes and I have been listening to it all day long.  (I believe I have finally gotten over my obsession with the Les Mis soundtrack.)   So, here is my Top Ten list of favorite Bon Jovi songs after my little trip down memory lane.  I'm pretty sure we heard all of these last night. (It's all starting to run together now!)

 

10. Runaway

 

9. I'll Be There For You

 

8.  Blaze of Glory

 

7. Have a Nice Day

 

6.  Always

 

5. Bad Medicine

 

4. We Weren't Born to Follow

 

3. Born To Be My Baby

 

2.  Livin' on a Prayer

 

1. It's My Life

 

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite Bon Jovi song!

Me, me, me ...

I know the blogging has been a little sparse here lately.  I have several posts started, but I can't seem to find the time to sit down and finish them!  Hopefully soon!  We have been busy, busy, busy with just life stuff in general.

So, in my effort to put something new on the blog for my few loyal readers (I know you're tired of reading about what we eat!), here is a little questionnaire all about me! 

1. Most hated chore on the household chore list? cleaning tubs and showers, unloading the dishwasher

2. What bad habits of other people drive you crazy? forgetfulness
 

3. What is your worst travel experience? 8th mission trip to Jamaica ... driving from Montego Bay up into the mountain on small, curvy road in small, cramped bus.
 

4. Last thing you ate? Caprese lasagna and salad (for dinner last night)
 

5. Favorite lunch meat? turkey
 

6. Favorite cereal? Honey Bunches of Oats (with almonds)
 

7. Where's the farthest you've been from home? Italy
 

8. Favorite TV show? The Good Wife and Parenthood
 

9. What time did you go to bed last night?  10 pm (that's a little early for me)

10. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? play the guitar or speak another language fluently

11. If you have 30 minutes of free time, what do you do? surf the Internet or "tidy up" the house

12. What did you do growing up that got you in trouble? talking back to my parents

13. What one thing do you miss about being a kid? nap time

14. Song stuck in your head today? punctuation song from Leap Frog "Learn to Read" DVD

15. If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to? I like my name now, but growing up, I wanted a more trendy name (at the time), like Suzanne, Jennifer or Melissa.

16. Sweet or salty? both together

17. Favorite home cooked meal? my mom's friend chicken

18. Favorite grab and go meal? grilled chicken dinner from Zoe's Kitchen

19. Have you ever been horseback riding? yes ... my childhood best friend had a horse growing up

20. Favorite soup? tomato and Italian wedding soup

If you get bored and decide to complete this survey, pleaes comment with a link.  Thanks!

Ramblings of a tired pregnant woman ...

I have neglected the blog over the past couple of weeks so I thought I would share a few things that are going on in our lives right now (in list form).

(1) The heat heat has finally subsided some this week. There is actually a hint of cool in the air in the mornings and evenings. We have enjoyed playing outside more and hanging out with our neighbors on their back porch. It has been nice to get out of the house without melting.

(2) The kids start preschool this week. I went to their open house this week and met their teachers. I think they are great! The kids are definitely ready to go back to school and so am I!

(3) All the big kids in our area have gone back to school now, which makes traffic into work very bad. Even if I leave a little later than normal. My commute to work has gone from 20 minutes to about 30-35 minutes. I am glad I don't have to drive it that much longer (at least for a few weeks anyway).

(4) Baby Luke is still growing. I really don't think my belly can get much bigger. I have officially gained 40 pounds this pregnancy (which is 10 more than ever before).

(5) I am super busy at work. In fact, I worked over 100 hours this month. Normally I work between 60-75 hours per month.

(6) David is a fast food restaurant spotter extraordinaire. He can spot Sonic, Chick-Fil-A and "HotDonalds" from a mile away. He is also very good at spotting Target.

(7) After 15 years of playing their lottery, Will finally got tickets to the Masters golf tourney (one of the practice round days) in April 2011. He got the letter in the mail yesterday and he was super-pumped.

(8) Claire was evaluated for free speech services through Metro schools last week. They are almost positive that she will qualify which will put an extra $150 back in our pockets every month (and we had really affordable speech therapy through a good friend).

(9) Will wants to put our house on the market in October so we can move into a neighboring county with a better school system. I want to wait until the spring for my sanity's sake! And, I don't want to lose our free speech! (See #8)

(10) We have not been to the pool since our vacation in mid-July. How sad is that? Maybe we can squeeze in one more pool trip before it closes Labor Day weekend.

Happy Tuesday!

This and that ... for memory's sake

-My new year's resolution schedule is slowly killing me. I have been getting up at 5 am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to have my quiet time, and then going to the gym for spin class at 6am. I get home around 7:15am, get ready, and leave for work at 8:30am. (I don't work on Fridays.) By the end of the day, I am pooped and have been going to bed before 10pm. Yikes! That is early for me. But that explains my very sporadic blogging this year.

-Claire saw her first movie last Sunday. Will took her to the matinee while I stayed home with David during his nap. It cost a small fortune even with it being a matinee, but she loves her some popcorn and we wanted to make her first real movie memorable. She saw Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel. She did good although had some problems with the chair closing up on her so she sat in Will's lap for most of the movie.

-Speaking of entertainment, Will and I finally caught up on LOST. This summer, we started watching the TV show on DVD. Our goal was to finish all five seasons before the sixth and last season came on TV (starting next month). Season 5 came out Dec. 12 and we finished it up last weekend. I am pumped for the final season, but it will be weird having to wait a week in between episodes as we would usually watch several episodes at a time because we couldn't wait to see what happened. We are trying to decide what show to start watching next. (I love TV on DVD!) We are thinking either Mad Men or Friday Night Lights.

-David's new nickname is Linus. You know, from Charlie Brown. He carries both of his blankets with him all the time when we are home. He even holds them up close to his ears like the Linus character. He is too cute. He has always loved his two blankets (a blue crochet blanket made by a member of Will's parents' church and a white knit waffle-weave blanket with his name on it from a close family friends) and he must have them to sleep, but he just started carrying them around all the time around Christmas. Fortunately, we do have two sub blankets that he takes to nicely when it is laundry time.

-Claire is learning a lot at school this year. She can spell her name (we are still working on writing it), she recognizes a lot of letters, and she can recite the fruits of the spirit.

-David is talking up a storm. I don't understand a lot of what he says, but he certainly has a lot to say!! I understand most of the single words that he says (like walk, up, open, shoes), but have a harder time understanding his longer phrases. He does has "wake up Daddy" and "let's go" down pat.

-We had a new nanny start last week and she is great! I have come home to a picked-up house and clean kitchen every day. Yesterday, she straightened/organized my refrigerator. It looks great!! The kids really seem to love her too. When she left yesterday, Claire gave her a big hug. She is trying to make it as a country music singer and yesterday she brought her guitar. Claire said she had a "singing lesson".

-Lastly, David got some new rain boots right before our so-called Winter Storm of 2010. He needed some anyway, but I thought he could wear them in the snow too and keep his feet dry. He wears them all the time around the house. It is too cute. Pictures coming soon.

Sorry for all the randomness. Just wanted to do a quick update of what was going on in our lives at the moment.

"Miss Amy"

I think I have mentioned before that our nanny had her baby in October (6 weeks early). We were very saddened by her sudden departure. Fortunately, baby Isabella was healthy and happy and didn't spend a minute in the NICU despite her early arrival.

Well, a visit to see "Miss Amy" and her new baby was long overdue. We finally made it out to her house to see that sweet new baby a couple of weekends ago. Here are some pictures from our visit.

Congrats to Amy & Isaac on your sweet miracle!! We will miss you!!

A few "notes" from our errand outing today

Dear Costco:

Please do not tell me that my pictures will be ready at noon if they will not be ready. When I arrive at 12:15 with both kids in tow (in the rain) and they aren't ready, it does not make me happy. When I go eat lunch with my kids in your store to wait on the pictures and I return 30 minutes later and my pictures still aren't ready (4-4x6 prints mind you ... not a whole order of Christmas cards), please offer me a little sympathy because now I will have to make a second trip to your store to pick up my pictures (that I need to give my family at Thanksgiving) tomorrow or Wednesday on days that I am supposed to work and when your store will probably be even more crowded.

On a positive note, we enjoyed our lunch for three that cost $3.81.

Your friend,

Susan

***************************************************************************

Dear Publix:

Please tell your cashiers not to scold my children for standing up in the shopping cart when I am standing right beside them. (1) Not only does it make me feel like a bad parent, it made my 3-1/2 year old cry. (2) I am their parent and I am not going to let them plunge to their deaths from a shopping cart. (3) Maybe if you would keep the seat belts in your shopping carts in good working order, my children would not be able to stand up in the shopping cart.

On a positive note, my son thoroughly enjoyed the pumpkin pie samples you were giving out in the store. He gobbled it up like I had not fed him in days.

Your loyal customer,

Susan

Bedtime Routine

Will and I have a pretty good nighttime routine down. While I clean up the kitchen after dinner and get things ready for the next day, he takes the kids upstairs for their baths and puts them to bed. By the time I finish up downstairs, Will is finished upstairs and we meet up for a little downtime in front of the TV.

But, sometimes we have to switch things up a little bit for one reason or another. This week, Will had to do some online training for work at night, so he started the baths and I finished things up ... which means I got to read a story and share some bedtime snuggles with this little guy.

And I got to get this little gal out of the bathtub, lather her up with lotion, zip her up in her pjs and put her to bed.

As Martha Stewart would say, it was a "good thing."

Re-Gifting ...

at its finest. We gave this garage to my nephew for Christmas last year. Since he recently celebrated a birthday, my sister was trying to make room for all of his new toys and asked if we wanted the garage for David. I said, "Absolutely. Yes!"

As you can see from David's BIG smile, it was a BIG hit.

Do you re-gift? I do sometimes, but only if the item is: (1) new/unused, and (2) something I would give the person anyway. It is the thought that counts right? We are thankful that Aunt Ashley thought of us when she was getting rid of Ian's outgrown toys!

Pardon the mess ...

I'm redecorating a little bit. I've been fooling with this for a while tonight, trying to get everything just so.

I'll finish cleaning up tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Fall TV

Last spring, I really cut down on my TV watching. I stopped watching Desperate Housewives and Law & Order: SVU, because the episodes were just piling up on the DVR ... and who has time to sit down and watch an hour long TV show? (I have watched both of these shows forever.) Plus, SVU was starting to creep me out a little now that I have children.

This summer, I got hooked on watching A LOT of reality television ... of the celebrity nature. Specifically, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami, Kendra, and Giuliana & Bill. I also snuck in episodes of Toddlers & Tiaras (on TLC). You must watch this show. It is CRAZY!

Anyway, Will and I were also sucked into the LOST madness as we watched Season 1 and Season 2 on DVD this summer. We are hoping to finish Seasons 3-5 by the end of the year just in time to watch the last season (starting in January 2010). I cannot do anything else while I watch LOST (see below). I must concentrate on the story or I would be completely LOST ... no pun intended.

I am excited about the Fall TV season that started back this week. I am looking forward to watching some of my old faves ... Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Law & Order, How I Met Your Mother, 90210, The Office and 30 Rock.

I also want to check out some new shows that are on the schedule ... The Good Wife (another lawyer show with Juliana Margulies from ER and Chris Noth), Community (with Chevy Chase and that guy from Talk Soup), Modern Family (looks very funny) and Three Rivers (a story about organ transplants told from three perspectives - the donor, the recipient and the transplant team).

Sadly, some of our new faves from last season are not on the schedule. Chuck, Lipstick Jungle and Dirty Sexy Money. LJ and DSM were cancelled, but I thought that Chuck had been picked up for another season. Maybe it will start later in the season??

How do I watch all this TV you might ask? I always do something else while I watch TV ... like fold laundry, iron, sew, scrapbook, etc. We just switched from Comcast to AT&T Uverse, which allows us to watch anything recorded on our central DVR on any television in the house, including the TV in our extra bedroom where I sew! I am pumped!!

What are some of your favorite shows? Like I need anything else to add to my list.

American Idol, Top 4

Tonight's theme: rock and roll. With the exception of the Beatles song that Kris sang, the only reason I knew any of these other songs was because my hubby and I spent almost every night last summer playing Guitar Hero on the Wii after we put the kiddos to bed. Thank you Nintendo Wii for broadening my musical horizons. (The only reason I knew that "Come Together" was a Beatles song was from last season of AI when they sang Beatles songs for about 5 weeks in a row.)

Adam Lambert - “Whole Lotta Love”: This was a good performance, but what did you expect from Adam on rock and roll night? Seriously ... the judges might as well just hand him the trophy on a silver platter. See BooMama's rant on this subject.

Allison Iraheta - “Cry, Baby”: I personally would like to hear Allison sing a little Joan Jett, but obviously she did not ask me what I thought about her song selection. This was a good performance too, but again, this was an easy genre for her. It seems as if the judges are trying to guarantee her a spot in the finals with Adam.

Kris Allen and Danny Gokey - “Renegade”: The harmony in this song was great! And, they actually sang a duet, which is more than what I can say about Adam and Allison, who basically just took turns singing except for a couple of mediocre attempts at harmonizing. I thought this was a really pleasant and enjoyable "rock" (maybe "light rock"is a better term) performance.

Kris Allen - “Come Together”: I was a little worried about Kris tonight ... not that I doubt his ability to perform, but this was definitely not his genre. It was really good though and he still managed to make it his own.

Danny Gokey - “Dream On”: The first part of this song was a little boring and the end was a lot shrieky, but the middle part was genuine Danny and it was good. (You know, the part where he got to the chorus, but before he got all shrieky and tried to hit a note that only a person named STEVEN TYLER can hit.) I respect Danny for taking a risk and hope that it will pay off for him tomorrow night at the results show. We shall see.

Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert - “Slow Ride”: Both singers were good in this song but it wasn't really a duet.

Best Performance of the night was Adam. My favorite performance was Kris. I think Allison will go home tomorrow night. What do you think?

American Idol, Top 5

Tonight’s theme: music of the Rat Pack.

Let me just say, if I was giving out prizes for "Best Celebrity Mentor", Jaime Foxx would win HANDS DOWN. He was great!

And, too bad Anoop got send home last week because I really think this genre would have suited him well. Nonetheless, this is definitely the best top 5 EVER.

Kris Allen - “The Way You Look Tonight”: He's just such a cutie pie, you have to love everything he does. And, this is one of my favorite "rat pack" songs. (Will and I danced to this song at our wedding.) This was not the most memorable performance of the night, but it was strong.

Allison Iraheta - “Someone To Watch Over Me”: This was probably one of my favorite Allison performances. First of all, she looked beautiful ... very age appropriate too. Second of all, I liked hearing her sing something that was not so "rock", but still had a little "edge" to it. Well done Allison.

Matt Giraud - “My Funny Valentine”: Y'all know I love Matt, but I was not really sure about his performance when he first started out. It turned out much better than I expected. It was not a perfect performance by any means, but it was good and it was Matt ... and that's what we love, right?

Danny Gokey - “Come Rain or Come Shine”: I was a little bored at the beginning of this performance, but he definitely "worked it out" in the words of Randy Jackson. This was my favorite performance of the night by a landslide. He seems like such a genuinely nice guy you just gotta love him.

Adam Lambert - “It’s A New Day”: Technically, this was a good performance, but I just wasn't digging it tonight. It was a little shrieky for me. As Simon pointed out, he is definitely in it to win it, which you have to respect at this point in the competition.

No one except Danny really blew my socks off tonight, but no one really stood out as the person who clearly deserved to go home either. From past voting results, I am guessing Allison or Matt will be going home tomorrow night.

I'm off to bed ... go here for more commentary.

American Idol, Top 7 (Take 2)

This week's theme: Disco.

Lil Rounds - “I’m Every Woman”: She looked good ... you wouldn't catch me dead in a black spandex body suit in public. Performance ... not so good. We are at the point in the competition where just being a good singer no longer cuts it. Lil just brings nothing original and unique to this competition.

Kris Allen - “She Works Hard For The Money”: Best performance of the night by a mile. Why has no one discovered this guy before? I can't wait for his album to come out. He is consistently one of the best performers week after week.

Danny Gokey - “September”: I like that this song had a little original spin on it by Danny, yet still sounded "Disco". Danny seemed to be having a fun time on stage and that made the performance fun to watch.

Allison Iraheta - “Hot Stuff”: Allison does what she does (with the punk rock thing) very well ... but week after week, I am getting a little bored with it. According to my hubby, it looks like she borrowed her outfit from Kiss. A good performance, but nothing special in the land of Allison.

Adam Lambert - “If I Can’t Have You”: I am liking Adam and the suit and slicked back hair. This was a good, controlled performance. I liked it. He seems to be a very humble person always giving shout outs to the band, arranger, etc.

On a side note, could Paula please GET A ROOM with herself and all her swooning over Adam. It made me feel just a little bit uncomfortable. The weird camera shots during and after his performance did not help the situation at all.

Matt Giraud - “Stayin’ Alive”: This performance was 100 times better than last week and should put Matt safely in the top five. With that being said, I didn't watch the show until later on the DVR and missed the voting window. Not my favorite performance I have seen from Matt, but definitely good.

Anoop Desai - “Dim All The Lights”: The first part of the song was great and really showed off Anoop's vocal skilz, but when the tempo picked up, it was all down hill. The tempo never really seemed to pick up enough and Anoop was really pitchy from that point forward. I am afraid this may be the end of the road for Anoop.

Talent wise, Anoop and Lil deserve to go home this week. They are good, but in this group, they don't bring anything really special to the table. As Simon would say, they are "forgettable". Kris was my favorite by far. See what other people thought here.

American Idol, Top 7

Tonight's theme: songs of the cinema. Surprisingly, there was no Whitney and no Celine, but a lotta Bryan Adams. Not real sure what guest judge Quentin Tarantino can offer in the way of musical instruction, but he seemed to be a big fan of the show. None of the actual performances seemed to reflect any of the tips he gave the contestants, so they must have been thinking the same thing that I was.

Alison Iraheta - “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”: Warning: you might be blinded by her REALLY RED HAIR. Looks like she had her color done this week. The judges LOVED this performance and I just really didn't think it was all that great. It was good, but not my personal favorite and far from her best performance.

Anoop Desai - “Everything I Do I Do For You”: Great vocals and great performance. It was pure and simple and sounded better than the original version. (Sorry Bryan Adams, I will still listen to your Greatest Hits album religiously, but this song is a bit overplayed in my book.)

Adam Lambert - “Born To Be Wild”: Since I missed Adam's performance last week, I couldn't really compare, but apparently the judges (i.e., Simon) thought last week's performance was better. In the words of my husband (and I got permission to quote him), "What the hell was that?" This performance was a little over the top for my liking.

Matt Giraud - “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman”: Matt, oh Matt, why do you send us on the roller coaster week after week? I agree with Boomama's comments on this performance 100%.

Danny Gokey - “Endless Love”: Good performance overall. A slow, start, but a strong ending ... Gokey-style.

Kris Allen - “Falling Slowly”: I have not heard of this movie or this song, which in tonight's genre, might have worked to Kris' advantage. Probably my favorite performance of the night.

Lil Rounds - “The Rose”: In theory, this was a good song choice and good arrangement for her with the funky gospel feel, but she did not execute. I think she may in trouble this week.

In summary, Kris and Anoop were my fave performances of the night. I predict the bottom three to be Lil, Matt and Allison. What did you think??

American Idol, Top 8

Tonight's theme-songs from your birth year-made me feel about 90 forms of OLD. Especially since the oldest contestant is three years younger than me and the youngest contestant was born when I was in high school.

Danny Gokey - 1980 - “Stand By Me”: I didn't recognize this song at first, but sort of liked the new arrangement. Danny gave a good solid performance as usual, but nothing that made him stand out from the crowd tonight.

Kris Allen - 1985 - “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”: Y'all know I am a BIG Kris fan, but this was not my favorite performance of his ... it was still much better than others though.

Lil Rounds - 1984 - “What’s Love Got To Do With It”: I thought this was a good song choice for her, but it turned out to be another fairly lame (and forgettable) performance. On another note, she has looked great the past weeks ... maybe her stylist can pick a song for her next week? It was interesting to learn that her real name is "Lil" and not a stage name or short for "Little" ... obviously Simon missed this since he still called her "Little" in his critique.

Anoop Desai - 1986 - “True Colors”: one of my favorite performances of the night. Anoop can sing. Tonight he showed his true colors ... like a rainbow ... or a yo-yo. You pick. Does anyone else get the sense that Anoop just sings as a hobby and will one day take over the world with his brilliant mind?

Scott McIntyre - 1985 - “The Search Is Over”: I was so having junior high flashbacks during this song. Can you vote people off on this show ... if you could, I would vote for Scott. (NOTE: I have never actually voted for a contestant on American Idol.) I like Scott, but he is clearly out of his league as far as singing goes. I think overall, he is a great singer/songwriter, but he does not have the chops to go much further in this competition.

PAULA-YOU HAVE LIPSTICK ON YOUR TEETH.

Allison Iraheta - 1992 - “I Can’t Make You Love Me”: Good performance ... no GREAT performance. One of the best of the night. She is so mature and controlled as a vocalist to be so young.

Matt Giraud - 1985 - “Part-Time Lover”: Matt is finally back ... he did what he does best tonight. Great performance. I think I like watching him perform just as much without a keyboard as I do with.

Adam Lambert - 1982: Our DVR cut off too BooMama so I missed Adam's performance. (The ONLY drawback to watching AI on the DVR.) I'm sure his performance was very "Adam" whatever it was.

Favorites of the night were: Matt, Allison and Anoop. Least favorites were Scott and Lil.

American Idol, Top 9

Well, my husband made fun of me a little bit tonight when we started watching the show for writing this little recap every week. But, obviously he reads it so who is he to cast stones.

This one will be short and sweet because (1) I didn't really LOVE the show/theme tonight and (2) I have to finish sewing up Claire's Easter outfit for her to wear to her school party on Thursday. (When you make something with bunnies on the fabric, you have to get maximum wearage out of it and due to spring break, the Easter party came a little early.)

Anoop Desai - “Caught Up”: Don't know the song. Didn't really like the performance. I do hope Anoop sticks around for a few more weeks though.

Megan Joy - “Turn Your Lights Down Low”: I wish this girl's singing was a good as she is cute. She sounded really nasally tonight.

{I think I have made up about 3 new words so far in this post. Is nasally a word?}

Danny Gokey - “What Hurts The Most”: I LOVE RASCAL FLATTS, so I was pumped to hear Danny perform one of their songs. He sang with soul and power. Good performance.

Allison Iraheta - “Don’t Speak”: Good performance. She was looking very Cyndi Lauper-ish tonight. I thought the outfit was cute minus the WHITE SHOES! Oh my word, those were awful!

Scott MacIntyre - “Just The Way You Are”: Good performance for Scott, but not in a league with the other contestants vocally. And really, no one should take on Billy Joel on the piano. My husband thought he looked like a character from the movie "Grease" with the new hairdo. I tend to agree.

Matt Giraud - “You Found Me”: I LOVE Matt and I LOVE The Fray, but obviously the two do not mix well. Matt, oh Matt. Why don't you listen to the judges advice? I think the judges' will save him if he gets voted off tomorrow night, but they were NOT happy with his song selection.

Lil Rounds - “I Surrender”: I didn't really like this song when Celine Dion sang it. Lil's performance didn't do much for me either. Someone needs to help that girl find a song that defines her as an artist. She can definitely sing, but she hasn't really connected with a song yet.

Adam Lambert - “Play That Funky Music”: Good arrangement of this song and great job making it current. I liked this performance, but it was a little over the top in places and a little screechy. I think my friend Mary said it best (from a comment on Facebook earlier tonight) when she said, "could you really listen to a whole album of Adam?". I think probably not. He is still VERY GOOD and deserves to go far in this show despite his bouts of weirdness.

Kris Adams - “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone”: Could he be any cuter? I loved this new and contemporary arrangement of a kind of slow and boring song otherwise. According to my hubby (who thinks it's stupid to write this recap), Kris will sell more albums than any other contestant this season. He is probably right.

Kris was my fave tonight ... by a mile. Danny came in a very distant second. Bottom three prediction: Scott, Megan and Matt. Check out BooMama's comments on the show here.

American Idol, Top 10

I had so much fun writing this post last week, I thought I would write it again this week. Please indulge me. Tonight's theme: Motown Music.

Matt Giraud: “Let’s Get It On”

What a great way to start the show. Matt did not disappoint. I could watch this guy perform all day long.

Kris Adams: “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”

Another great performance, especially having to follow Matt. Kris definitely made this song his own, but still with a James Taylor-laid back kind of feel to it. I love to watch his facial expressions when he performs.

Scott McIntyre: “You Can’t Hurry Love”

Did I just imagine this or was he wearing pink pants? All of Scott's performances are starting to sound the same to me. I admire the fact that he has overcome the adversity of being blind, but I am ready for him to go home.

Megan Joy: “For Once In My Life”

I actually liked this performance from Megan compared to the previous weeks, but the judges obviously did not. I loved her "look" tonight. Maybe I can borrow her stylist.

Anoop Desai: “Oooh, Baby, Baby”

This performance was just okay for me. I think it would have been better a little more up tempo. And, singing in falsetto is definitely not Anoop's strong point.

Michael Sarver: “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”

I just don't like this guy very much and I'm not sure why. He seems nice and likeable, but I just never made much of a connection with him. My husband fast-forwarded through the last half of his performance, so that pretty much sums up how he (and I) felt about it.

Lil Rounds: “Heat Wave”

Good performance, but not great. I expected a little more originality. I hope Lil makes it another round because she is a good singer and performer, but this may be the beginning of the end for her.

Adam Lambert: “Tracks of My Tears”

Adam cleans up very nice. Talk about extremes ... this guy is all over the place. He was smart to bring it down a notch after his creepy performance last week. He can definitely sing ... maybe he could give Anoop some lessons about singing in the upper register. I don't know that I have ever heard this song before, but I really liked it. You gotta love it when Smokey Robinson gives you a standing O.

Danny Gokey:“Get Ready”

More of the same from Danny ... a good solid performance. He has great stage presence and I love the tone of his voice. I loved how he kept running back to dance with the backup singers.

Allison Iraheta: “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”

I am officially an Allison fan. She nailed it tonight. {Kara gushed a little much.} Loved her outfit tonight too ... she looked like a fun, hip 16-year old.

My favorites tonight were Matt, Kris and Allison. Least favorites were Scott and Michael. Check out BooMama's review here.

American Idol, Top 11

I love this show. I can't wait until every Tuesday to get here so I can watch the performances this season. This is one show that my hubby and I will sit down and watch together, so not only is it entertaining, it is good for my marriage too. (That may be a stretch).

I look forward to reading Boomama's review of the show each week almost as much as I look forward to the show itself, so I decided to Mr. Linky to her post with my own comments.

Michael Sarver: "Ain't Goin' Down 'Til the Sun Comes Up"
This should be a Texan oil rigger's forte. He should have blown it out of the park. But he didn't. I was not impressed.

Allison Iraheta: “Blame It On Your Heart”
This was a good performance but the raspy voice is not my fave ... nor did I like the red leather jacket/red hair combo.

Kris Allen:“To Make You Feel My Love”
I have a secret crush on this guy. Well, not so secret anymore. Loved this performance. One of my favorites of the night.

Lil Rounds:“Independence Day”
Singing Martina McBride on country night is like singing Whitney, Mariah or Celine on any other night and Lil missed the mark. Before tonight, I definitely thought she was the best female in the contest, and she still probably is, but I hope she makes it through this week. I thought she might put her Lil Rounds spin on a country song instead of singing something pure country. I was wrong!

Adam Lambert:“Ring of Fire”
I am an Adam fan, but tonight he was a little creepy. Okay ... he was a LOT creepy. I applaud him for trying to put his own spin on a country song when he is clearly not a country song kind of guy. But he took it a little too far. I think he might have scared off some of his fans?

Scott MacIntyre: “Wild Angels”
As my hubby said, Scott is inspirational. And he is. But he is definitely the weakest singer remaining in this competition.

Alexis Grace: “Jolene”
An "okay" performance. I'm kind of indifferent to Alexis. I thought this was a good song choice, but she didn't really deliver.

Danny Gokey: “Jesus Take The Wheel”
A little slow during the verses, but he totally made up for it in the chorus. I love this song and I loved Danny's spin on it. Go Danny!

Anoop Desai: “You Were Always On My Mind”
My hubby was a big Anoop fan from the start and we are proud to say that "Anoop Dog" is now back in the house. He has a good voice and finally selected the right song. I don't expect him to be in the finals, but I think he will be around for a few more weeks.

Megan Joy: “Walkin’ After Midnight”
Props to this girl's stylist, but somebody needs to give her some dancing lessons. Geez! If she stands behind the mike for another week and shakes her hips, I am going to go crazy. Her performance was good, aside from the un-attractive dancing. I am also distracted by the VERY LARGE TATTOO on her arm. It really doesn't go with the image the producers of the show are trying to create for her.

Matt Giraud: “So Small”
I love this guy and I love this song. He is AWESOME! I think he will be in the finals with Danny. I can't wait until tomorrow to download his performance from iTunes. Definitely the best performance of the night in my book.

I predict that Scott, Alexis or Michael will be going home tomorrow night.

(Okay, I totally need to be in bed instead of writing this post, but it was much more fun to watch the show while thinking about my commentary. Plus, it made watching television seem almost educational knowing that I was going to write a report about it later.)

25 Random Things about M-E!

This is all the craze on Facebook right now so I thought I would post my list here since (1) I have not posted in a while and (2) it does not require pictures (see #1). If you read this and want to play along, leave a comment with the link to your own blog so I can read all about you.

1. I have flat feet.

2. I married my high school sweetheart.

3. I am adopted.

4. I was born in Houston, Texas.

5. I love coffee. I drink 2-3 cups a day. I started drinking coffee when I got married so I would not waste the pot of coffee we had to make for my hubby each day.

6. I love all things Disney. My husband and I have been to Disneyworld every year since 2001.

7. I love to plan and organize things ... events, meals, closets, etc. I would like to become better at executing all of those well laid plans.

8. I was very overweight in high school. I'm not going to give you a number, but I lost 40 pounds between my sophomore and junior years. I lost an additional 15-20 the year after I graduated from college.

9. My middle name is Claire, which is also my daughter's name.

10. My undergraduate degree is in psychology. I wanted to continue and get my Ph.D. and teach college students, but decided law school was more practical. I wish I had gone to nursing school instead. Can you say "job security."

11. I have never gone to a movie alone, but I think it would be nice.

12. I am afraid that my children will have weight problems like me, but I don't want to be one of "those" moms.

13. I played softball in high school. My position was catcher.

14. The song "You are Worthy (Prince of Peace)" makes me happy ... and a little winded after singing the chorus.

15. I love to write with sharpie markers, especially when I am marking things off a list.

16. When I was little, I wanted to be a doctor and a mountain climber.

17. I would love to make a quilt one day soon with my big basket of fabric scraps in my sewing room.

18. My children are my proudest accomplishments and the joy of my life.

19. We are huge Alabama football fans. My husband and I are both alumni.

20. I wish I had not had a serious boyfriend in college. But, I also know that I might not be where I am in life today had I not gone down that road, and for that, I am thankful.

21. We have the best next door neighbors in the world. We love hanging out with them on their back porch after work (when it is warmer of course).

22. I wish I had the girlfriends that I had now when I was in college. I have great friends!

23. In law school, I observed Lent every year even though I am not Catholic. One year I gave up pizza (you eat a lot of pizza in law school) and one year I gave up caffeine. (Obviously, that was long before children.)

24. I would like to run a 5K this year. That is a big goal since I have not run more than one mile since I got pregnant with my daughter in 2005.

25. I lived in Auburn for one year after I graduated from college.