My American Idol commentary...

So last night the men brought it, but this week the women just didn't excite me much. Maybe it's because something screwy happened to my VCR and half of the show had no video, only audio, so I could only hear the program. Let me tell you, if you ever think that this show is ONLY a singing competition, try watching the show with your eyes closed. I almost stopped the tape because it just isn't the same without being about to SEE how the singers present themselves...their appearance, their mannerisms, etc. It DOES make a difference. Anyway, finally the video came back for the last 3 or 4 singers, so I was happy. Definitely throwing that tape in the trash though.

Anyway, here's my picks for 2/28/07:

My vote went to:
Stephanie Edwards - I didn't 'love' the song, but, for me, there was no denying that she had the best vocals of the night.

Who I think should/will go:
The "A's" have it...
#1 - Antonella Barba - I didn't really like her last week, didn't really like her this week...time to go, girl...sorry.
#2 - Alaina Alexander - Although she did do better than last week, it just wasn't at the same level as some of the other girls.

My "Did the judges here what I just heard?" moment:
Sabrina Sloan - She was the last performer of the night...all three judges gave her a good review, but I thought she sounded pitchy all over the place. I almost put her in my two to go, but not sure she will get the boot from America with all three judges backing her.

Any other opinions? Feel free to share them in a comment here. Tomorrow night we'll get to see how I did in my predictions this week and who'll be the next four to go...

A Review of Expressions: Taking Extraordinary Photos for Your Scrapbooks and Memory Art by Allison Tyler Jones

A review of Expressions: Taking Extraordinary Photos for Your Scrapbooks and Memory Art by Allison Tyler Jones.

Amazon's description:
Photography instruction for scrapbooking and memory art. Focuses on creative new ways to capture the most popular photograph subjects, family and everyday life. Offers additional tips and suggestions for designing unique, expressive scrapbook pages and memory art.

Great-looking and memorable photographs are the centerpiece of any scrapbook. Now, scrapbooking and memory art enthusiasts have a photography instruction book written just for them. Expressions reveals how to create extraordinary photos that will make any scrapbook or display project a vivid record of special events and everyday life. Focusing on portraiture, the book follows the family life cycle, from babies to grandparents, with each subject explored from a fresh perspective.

MY REVIEW:
I love, love, LOVE this book!! This is wonderfully inspirational! For me, it was the perfect balance of text (basic explanations and ideas) and photo examples by some extremely talented photographers.

This book is all about photographing people (the author says as much right in the introductory paragraph), so you won't find photos of inanimate objects or sweeping landscapes, but aren't scrapper's mainly about people anyway. It gave me a ton of ideas for future photos of my daughter.

I also love that that in the back of the book, it offered links to the websites of several of the photographers featured in the book - I checked them out - even MORE great inspiration!

MY RATING:
5 STARS

My American Idol commentary...

Okay, so the boys REALLY stepped it up this week. I can honestly say that there wasn't one that I felt didn't do a good job...vocally. Some of the song choices weren't the best and I felt that some of them could have done 'more' with their talent, but it wouldn't be much of a competition if they were all perfect every week, I suppose, right?

Anyway...here's my picks for 2/27/07:

My vote went to:
Phil Stacey - I really like this guy. I like his song choices. I like his tone. I'm starting to wonder if I have a thing for guys with bald heads as Chris Daughtry was definitely one of my favorites last season...hmmm...

Who I think will/should go:
#1 - Sanjaya Malakar - Sorry, I didn't like him last week and didn't like him this week. Granted, he can sing, but personally I just don't like his voice or his song choices.

#2 - Brandon Rogers - I LOVE the song he sang (Time after time by Cyndi Lauper), and although it was O.K., he just didn't do it justice...it seemed way too slow and lacking energy. If there is anything Lauper isn't, it's lacking energy and he didn't really do anything to make it his own either!

My vote for most improved from last week:
Hands down - AJ Tabaldo - Last week he seemed so uncomfortable in his skin on that stage and it was evident in his singing. This week was totally different and he did a GREAT job!!

So, American Idol watchers...what do you agree? What are your votes for who should stay, who should go and most improved?

Have you ever had a bad day at work?

Who said desk jobs can't be dangerous?



Okay, so at work, it always seems like we get the 'left-over' rubber bands...like from the 1970's or something. There always so dry and brittle. This would never happen in our office...the darn thing would break before we even got started.



Now, paper cuts I've had...those suck! I don't even want to think about how may applications and letters I've folded and envelopes I've stuffed (I avoid licking the envelopes like the plague though) when our rush mass mailings roll around.

A quote to think about...

I don't even remember where I found this quote anymore and tried to find out more about who Douglas Pagels is/was, but all I could really determine was that he is/was an American poet...sappy stuff...kind of like Susan Polis Schutz, but this quote really jumped out at me when I first read it and immediately saved it to my computer.

"I am aware that I am less than some people prefer me to be. But most people are unaware that I am so much more than what they see." Douglas Pagels

Just a little bit of snow...

It finally warmed up above freezing all of last week and almost all the previous snow was melted. Note - the operative word being WAS. It started snowing yesterday at about 2 p.m. and in about 12 hours, we had another 9 or so inches of snow!!
This is one time when I'm pretty happen with our agreement - Justin shovels snow, I mow the grass. I might have to mow a lot more frequently than he has to shovel, but I'd much rather be outside when it's warm than when it's like this!
Although Kaitlin does love the snow, I think she is missing being able to play outdoors more...maybe the fact that she's trying to dig out her play set is a clue that she's ready for some warmer weather, too!

Sunday Spur for Scrapbookers Meme #6 - For Pete's Sake!

Tomorrow is "For Pete's Sake Day." In honor of it, what makes you say, "Oh, for Pete's sake!"? Perhaps your phrase isn't quite so PG...that's okay. I won't tell.

Your challenge - List as many as you can think of in a comment here or leave a link back to your list in your own online journal.

My list of "Oh, for Pete's sakes!":

-Drivers who don't use their blinkers...
-When Kaitlin can be bouncing around the room, but as soon as I ask her to pick up her toys, she stops and says, "Mom, I'm just too tired."
-When Justin turns what should be a 2 minute story into a 20 minutes story complete with reenactment.
-When someone pulls out in front of you and then proceeds to drive 20 miles an hour under the speed limit.
-When someone spends 20 minutes at your desk interrupting your work to complain about how much work they have to do.

Secondary challenge - Take one or all of the items on your list and scrap 'em...a mini album perhaps!