American Idol Review #2

Welcome to this week's Idol Review. We'll start with a brief rundown of each performance. By the way, I make my own notes before I hear what the judges say. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't.

1. Lakisha Jones - "It was just okay for me, dog." I like her fine, but she's not in the running for me. I don't know why, out of all the songs she had to choose from, that she picked that one. I don't even remember the name- that's how memorable it was for me. P.S. Her fingernails need a trim.

2. Chris Sligh - I love him! However, I did think tonight's performance was a little pitchy. I thought it was the perfect song for him though. His hair was a little tamed down it looked like. I wonder why he doesn't wear his wedding ring?? I wouldn't like that if I were his wife. On a side note, remember last week when I wrote that I thought he was a worship leader? I was right. Check out this article I found today. Can you believe some people from his hometown are questioning his faith just because he's singing secular music as opposed to Christian on American Idol???

3. Gina Glocksen - She always seems to pick the right songs for her voice. I thought tonight was perfect!!! She's still a favorite of mine.

4. Sanjaya Malakar - I'm literally speechless. Are we all on an episode of Bloopers and Practical Jokes or are we in the Twilight Zone??? Seriously? Is he dealing with a whole deck of cards here??? Was that a mohawk??? Oh my word.....GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!

5. Haley Scarnato - Last week, she was moving up on my personal charts. This week, she bumped herself back down. I love the song "True Colors," but she sounded like she put an opera spin on it. It was just weird for me. I still like her, but she's just not going to win, period.

6. Phil Stacey - Perfect song! He's another one, like Gina, that seems to always choose wisely. I thought he did very well.

7. Melinda Doolittle - I love her still, but I didn't like tonight's song. As Randy said, she does do well regardless of what she sings.

8. Blake Lewis - I LOVE HIM! He seems like a genuinely good guy. I loved his hair tonight. I'm a big fan.

9. Jordin Sparks - I still love her, too. I didn't love the song for her though. It just didn't give her an opportunity to showcase her vocals.

10. Chris Richardson - He's such a cutie. His smile is precious. I thought his song choice was a little strange and I just don't see him winning. I don't think he's good enough, bottom line.

In other news- Was Paula wearing a banana clip? Did anyone else notice that her hair looked a little less "poofy" towards the end of the show than it did at the beginning?? I'm going to rewind the tivo and see if I'm right. She probably saw herself in that monitor and forgot that she wasn't supposed to dress like the 90s, the contestants were just singing music from the 90s.

So America (ha ha, I'm getting into this, can you tell???), let me hear your thoughts. Why is Sanjaya still here? How can we send him home???

The Hicks Coat Of Arms (This is hilarious! Notice his shirt...:)

Spring Break is over. :(

Well, spring break has come to a close. I am somewhat depressed about it. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself this week. I stayed pretty busy. Cort and I went to Huntsville Monday. We got to spend time with all the kids, in addition to Paige, Brooke, Ben, and Anna. That was great, as always....except for one minor mishap. Cort and I were playing baseball with the boys. When Camden swung to hit the ball, Caley walked up out of nowhere and he hit her in the head instead. Her forehead turned blue immediately and was swollen. She was pretty tough though. A sucker seemed to help soothe the pain and she was back to herself shortly after the incident. Tuesday, we went to see my grandmother and mamaw. It was good to catch up with both of them. Cort left to go back to Birmingham and I headed home. I spent Thursday, Friday, and today outside for the most part. I will probably hate myself in the next few days because my allergies will probably bite me in the butt. I got some color on this pale skin of mine though, so hopefully it'll be worth it. Thursday night I went to Girls Night Out (see pic below) with some of my favorite people in the whole world, which happen to be co-workers of mine! I'm so blessed to have a job in which I work with people that I actually not only enjoy seeing outside of school, but LOVE to hang out with. We watched The Holiday (If you haven't seen it, skip Blockbuster and go straight to buy it.) and played Rummicub.


Me, Kristi, and Dena (my co-workers), Courtney, Katie, and Lyndsie. Lauren was taking the picture!

I'm back to the ole routine Monday. It's okay though. I'll be out for the summer shortly, where I'll still be busy and it'll fly by as spring break has. But, I wouldn't have it any other way.

American Idol Review #1

From now on, it will be my goal to post an American Idol review on Tuesday nights after the show. I watched tonight and have several thoughts I'd like to share. I'll also include my opinions on who should stay and who should go. Please let me hear your comments.

1. Haley Scarnato- She is growing on me. I think she's really pretty and has a great voice. She's improved and I enjoyed her performance tonight. I think she chose a good song. Overall, I enjoyed it. She did need to let the hem out of those shorts though.

2. Chris Richardson- He is just precious. His voice is so soft but controlled. He reminds me of someone-still trying to figure out exactly who it is. He seems somewhat shy...I like that. He's got pretty eyes too. He won't win, but I'd like him to make it to the top 10 so I can see him on the tour this summer.

3. Stephanie Edwards - She's incredibly talented but not one of my personal favorites. I didn't think those boots went with that dress.

4. Blake Lewis - LOVE HIM! I've always loved beat boxing. He's awesome at it. I love his voice. He's way cute and I think will make it at least to the top 5.

5. Lakisha Jones - She's great but I wouldn't buy the record. Personally, I don't think she has the "it factor." She sounds like lots of other artists popular today. The best thing about her tonight was the diamonds. The dog wears his diamonds too, remember.

6. Phil Stacy - He's a worship leader at his church, so says People magazine. I like him and think he has one of the best voices on the show. I think he needs to grow some hair though. He looks sick without it.

7. Jordin Sparks - As of tonight, she is one of my favorites. She's beautiful and her voice amazes me. It's so pure and strong. I loved the song she sang tonight. Great job.

8. Sanjaya Malakar - Wow. I just can't even get into it. He better be gone this week. Someone needs to loan him a scrunchy.

9. Gina Glocksen - She has been one of my favorites previously. Jordin is surpassing her in my book though. I love how raspy her voice is but she didn't sound great tonight. She was very pitchy. I hate the tongue ring too.

10. Chris Sligh - From what I've read, he's a worship leader at his church too. He's precious and I feel like he's a genuinely good person- from what I can tell from the show of course. His wife is adorable and I just love him. I hope he stays around for a long time.

11. Melinda Dolittle - Wow. She's amazing. I love how humble she is and how much she appreciates her opportunity to perform on the show. I think she really is as nice as she seems Simon!

Additional Notes:

What in the world was wrong with that little girl? Bless her heart. Maybe she's why Sanjaya is still there.

My pick to win as of today: It's a tough one. I would say Melinda or Blake. Jordin is really close too. I'll have more predictions as the show progresses.

Tune in next week for more American Idol Reviews!!!

I can't help it, I had to do it.......

So I found this picture and had to post it. It's just so cute. And, since I had to post the picture, I thought I might as well share this story.

I was walking down the hallway yesterday afternoon after school, about to leave to begin my spring break. A lady that works in the registration office was walking towards me and stopped me to ask if I had gotten a weird email yet. I told her no and asked why I should be expecting one. She proceeded to tell me that a lady had come in the office to register her daughter for kindergarten next year and told everyone that her cousin played the keyboard for Taylor Hicks. That means that I actually met her cousin, Brian, at the concert. Anyway, she gave this lady my email address and told her how infatuated I am with Taylor. Who knows if I'll hear from her and what, if anything, will ever come of it. I thought that was crazy though! I have all these connections to him around me. Ugh- I thought this mild obsession would be over by now but I was very, very wrong..............

I MET HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my goodness- Let me just go ahead and warn those of you that may not enjoy reading my blogs about Taylor Hicks. You may want to just click on a link to the left-hand side of my page to read about someone else's life because this one is devoted to only him....and me of course!

I cannot even describe what an amazing time Bridgett and I had not only at the concert, but on the way, during dinner, and afterwards. I'm going to try my best to write out every detail I can remember, not only for those of you reading, but for myself to read again later when I want to relive this incredible experience. Get ready- it's a good one!

I bought tickets on opening day from Ticketmaster. The best tickets I could get were on the 13th row from the stage. I thought that was pretty good. The concert was in the Concert Hall instead of the arena so I figured there probably wasn't a bad seat in the whole place. Now that I had tickets my mission was to get backstage passes. I did everything I knew to do. I heard about a local radio station giving them away the day before the concert so I had several friends trying to win them for me but didn't have much luck. I tried calling in and flat out asked them to give me some but was of course, turned down. At this point, I told myself that I would be content if I didn't meet him if I knew I had done absolutely everything I could possibly do. That, I did, so I was okay....still hoping something would work out, but I was okay. I did have the idea the night before the concert to look around on ebay to see what was out there. I was still hoping to get some backstage passes but instead found two tickets on the FIFTH ROW for TEN DOLLARS!!!!!!! I bought them, they were emailed to me Tuesday afternoon, and we were on our way.

I pull in the driveway at home Tuesday afternoon to Bridgett standing there waiting for me with a video camera. She had the wonderful idea to bring it along to film a "documentary" she entitled "True Life: I'm a Taylor Hicks Fanatic." Silly or not-I am soooooo very glad she did it. I changed clothes really quick and we were on our way.

We stopped for dinner really quick (which could have been an entire new documentary if we had only videoed) and then went straight to the venue. We pulled in around 5:00 and not knowing where to park, asked a security guard where we should go. As we looked around, we saw Taylor's bus directly in front of us. At that point, we didn't care how far we had to walk to get to the Concert Hall, we had found our parking place. We got out of the car with the video rolling, and headed straight over to the bus. We met two girls from New York that had driven down for the concert. They had been out there since 3:30 and had already gotten to meet Taylor and take pictures with him. Right then I knew I wasn't going ANYWHERE.

I took some pictures of the bus, talked to our new friends Jessica and Gillie, and then focused my attention on the door waiting for Taylor's appearance. Finally, I saw him. He came out of the door but then turned around and went back in really fast, as though someone had called him back in. Wow- I was freaking out at this point. So, we waited. He came out again on his phone for one second, only to turn right back around and go in again, as if someone called him back like the first time. Next, he came out one door and walked down a little hallway to get to another door. As soon as I spotted him I waved. He waved back at me! I was the only one waving so yes, it was at me for all you skeptics!! :) We continued to wait, trying to decide if we thought he was really going to come out and talk to us. Regardless, I still wasn't going anywhere. In the meantime, we met Brian the saxophone player. Wow- very easy on the eyes was he. He was really, really nice. I was actually calm enough to carry on a conversation with him. He talked to us and laughed about the video camera. We met one of the keyboard players, also named Brian. He played with Taylor in his band, The Little Memphis Blues Orchestra, before Taylor won American Idol. He was very nice, too. He said he went to school at Alabama and of course, I had to rag him about that.

So, we're still waiting patiently outside, cameras in hand ready to go. We waited until about 7:15 and our patience finally payed off. He came out the door again but this time didn't go back in. He started walking toward us with whom I assume was his manager. He looked so cute! He had on a long coat with jeans and his new balances. He was drinking some coffee but put it down to start signing autographs. I was hoping to get my picture made with him but his manager said, "We don't have time for pictures folks. He's not even supposed to be out here right now but he appreciates you guys so much he wanted to come and sign a few autorgraphs." I was disappointed for a split second but it went away quickly as he was approaching me to sign this little piece of paper I had taken out of my purse for his autograph. Closer, closer, closer.....Okay, talk about freaking out. Actually, I think I stayed pretty calm looking on the outside but inside I didn't know what to do or say. He was now right in front of me. I gave him my piece of paper and HE TOUCHED MY HAND. Wow- He signed it and gave it back to me and looked me in the eye. That's all I remember. My goal was to just make eye contact and I did. What he said to me? I have no idea. We later referred to the video, in which Bridgett got it all on film, and found out that he signed my paper, looked right at me for like three seoncds and said, "How's it going?" I was too frozen to say anything other than a quiet "good." I could kick myself now for not talking to him and actually carrying on a conversation. I can think of several things sitting here now I would liked to have said but they just wouldn't come out at the time. Anyway, I met him. Not only did I meet him, but I got TONS (and yes, tons) of pictures, his autograph, physical contact, and my favorite- he looked me right in the eye. Time stood still folks.

He went on the bus to change before the concert so we felt good about leaving and going to find our seats inside the concert hall. The fifth row was AMAZING. We were so close, as you will be able to tell by the pictures I will post at the end. His performance was remarkable (I'm running out of adjectives here). Brian (both of them but especially Brian on the saxophone) is incredibly talented. He was a huge part of the show. Taylor was running himself ragged and didn't slow down the entire time. His shirt was sopping wet from sweat. The backup singer was fantastic. I can't say enough about how enjoyable the show was. It wasn't just because I love Taylor so much. These guys are truly incredible.

I was sad when the concert was over. It was about 10:30 at that point, and seeing that I had to be in Birmingham the next day at 8:30 for that workshop, I didn't feel like I needed to hang around for long. Did that stop me? NO! We ended up going straight back to the bus. There were lots more people out there this time. We waited about 30 minutes before Taylor came back out. He still wasn't able to take pictures, but signed more autographs. I felt like I needed to make eye contact one more time with him before I left. The only problem was I didn't know what to say! I decided to keep it simple and just said, "Taylor, thank you." He looked right at me again and said none other than, "You're welcome." That was good enough for me. My night was set and it couldn't have ended any better.

So, after tons of pictures and a little bit of freaking out, we were on our way home a little before midnight. I was sleepy the next day, but it didn't matter. I couldn't keep my mind off the night before. It was such a wonderful experience- every bit of it. The best part is we have it all documented on video. It's almost an hour of coverage from our special night. I will never forget it. Enjoy the pictures!!!!

This week.....

Wow- I have to take a deep breath thinking about the week to come. Can we say busy with a capital B??? However, Tuesday night will be great. Guess what it is everyone......that's right, Taylor Hicks in Huntsville. I'm really excited. I've tried everything I know to get backstage. There's only one hope left. If any of you reading in my area have access to a radio and time to listen to 96.9 on Monday, they are giving away THREE sets of tickets and BACKSTAGE PASSES from 8-5. Of course, I'll be teaching and can't listen. I've already called and asked them to give me some and can you believe they refused?? :) I'll be okay not meeting him. But, I have to know I've exhausted all of my options first! So, help a girl out if you can.

In other news- I'm going to the beach with the family in May. I can't wait! All EIGHT of the kids will be there. I will shower my blog with pictures as soon as I get back. I think I took about 200 last time we went- literally. That was three less children, too!

Cortney ran the Seaside half marathon today. I just talked to her and she said they all did well and her knees didn't even hurt. For my faithful readers, I've posted before about a marathon she ran in Nashville and had to have cortizone shots in her knees. She avoided that this time. It's definitely a blessing that she made it so far without any pain.

I guess that's all the news. I will try to post pics about the concert but as I said earlier, this week is going to be crazy busy. The concert doesn't even start Tuesday night until 8 and I have to be in Birmingham for a workshop Wednesday morning by 8:30! It'll be a struggle to stay awake but I'm absolutely positive it'll be worth it.

Have a good week everyone!