Hello again

Sorry for the delay in posting. I had a close friend lose her mom this week, and blogging just didn't feel right. Things will return to normal now, I promise.

For now, let me just say that Kris Allen was great last night. And could he BE better looking? I also loved Adam, but I voted about 60 times for Kris. We'll see if it was enough!

Leo's luck

This is Leo.

Leo is a character on a children's show called Little Einsteins. Leo and his friends travel on their spaceship, Rocket, to various adventures while learning about music and art.

Tonight Leo is on a solo mission and he's likely not too happy about it. Leo, or at least his likeness in plastic, is part of a bathtub play set that Ethan got for his birthday. Rocket is sitting happily on the side of the tub. Leo, however, is currently (at Matt's approximation) two feet down the pipe of our toilet.

We are seriously considering sending Ethan down after him.

Finally, reason triumphs

Well, thank goodness.

I am satisfied with the three chosen to move ahead on AI tonight, though my picks would have differed slightly. Danny was definitely deserving, and the girl (see, already forgot her name) is good enough. The "roughneck" is not that spectacular though--I would have rather seen Anoop or the guy with dreads make it. I think they'll get another chance in the Wild Card round. Of course, so could Tatiana, so I'm not breathing easy just yet.

I am going to complain, though, about the new process. It's horrible. The way three people get in, and everyone else is just out of luck? Blech. I will be REALLY surprised if they keep this up past this season. It's crummy.

Next week looks like a decent crop--Kris Allen from Conway will be on, so get your dialing fingers ready! You gotta root for the hometown boy.

I want my RTV

It's amazing to think that 10 years ago, no one had heard of reality tv. Now you can't escape it, and it's not going anywhere. I resisted the enticement until we had Abby--then there was a period of weeks that I was home all the time and in front of the television a LOT, and I got pulled in. The market is flooded with wannabe reality hits now, and I consider my standards pretty high. Now that we're thick in the season of the best, I thought I'd give a countdown of my favorites. (is it actually a count-up since I'm starting at #1? No matter.)

1. American Idol. A few reasons I think this is the best: it's based on actual talent, it involves the viewer through voting, and it captures the essence of the American dream: a nobody becoming THE somebody. When you watch the final 3 contestants meet swarms of screaming fans on their hometown visit, you realize how quickly fame can be achieved.

2. The Amazing Race. I love this show! The places the contestants get to go, and the things they have to do, are ingenious. They are challenged in every possible way. There are always bizarre personalities, but there are always people that you want to root for and wish you were BFF with, too. Plus I like trying to catch the host, Phil, slip a little of his New Zealand accent into certain words. Why does he try to hide that lovely sound?

3. Survivor. The daddy that started them all. The producers of this show are genius because 1) they have continually managed to keep the show new and different, so you never have the same game twice and 2) they have done whatever necessary to keep Jeff Probst on as host. That man IS Survivor, and if he ever leaves the show is doomed. He is funny and he tells it like it is, and if you have as many whiny idiots in one place as Survivor tends to, that's crucial. Anybody can be a polite host--I want clever.

4. Project Runway. This is the only non-network reality show that I watch, and I really don't know how I got sucked in. I just know that I love Heidi Klum, I love Tim Gunn, and I love being shocked at the absurd clothes these people create. Matt eventually got addicted with me despite himself, and I will never get tired of hearing him say something like, "Those ruffles just don't mesh with the overall look she was trying to achieve, and the fabric choice is all wrong." Nothing like a man unafraid of channeling his fashion sense.

5. The Bachelor. I know, I know, this one borders on sleazy. Well, it's really quite over the border. But still, it's silly fun, and every once in a while there are moments of sincerity that are worth the effort. Still, if the bachelor (or bachelorette) is a schmuck, I refuse to watch it.

I realize that there is an absence of any cooking, hairstyling, or drug rehab shows on here, and that is by choice. I have reached my limit. What about you? What do you think I got right? Wrong? Have a swayed you to watch anything new? Convinced you to throw out your television?

Things that happened today that I would rather have NOT happened

1. Abby asked me if they had stores back when I was a little kid.

2. Annie, our dog, drank out of Ethan's training potty. In case you aren't up on training potties, they don't have water in them--just whatever the trainee puts there. Mmmmmmm.

No ordinary day

Today has been one of those days that all of my stay-at-home days are supposed to be like. Abby's out of school, so she went with me to take E to mother's day out. Then she and I went to the public library, where we read books together and I made her year by letting her get her own library card. You'd have thought it was a no-limit Visa. After that, we ran to the grocery store and then met Matt for a lunch date. Now we're cleaning house and about to go get E. I can actually see over the pile of laundry, there is room to set something on the kitchen counter if I so desired, and both children's bedroom floors are visible. Yay me! Now if only I could get more than one of these days every six months.

One of us has got to go, and I prefer that it be her

NOOOOOO.

WHY?

That obnoxious girl overshadowed every good thing about the semifinalists. Down with Tatiana!

Have you heard how they are doing the next three weeks? Talk about convoluted. Search for American Idol Season 8 on Wikipedia to get a rundown.

I have to get everything ready for Abby's Valentine party at school tomorrow, so I'm going to go hot-glue out my Tatiana agression.

American Idol travesty

If Tatiana makes it through to the finals, I will not watch the show again until she's off. Mark my words.

Even trees need a break

Ethan and I were driving down the street this morning, jamming to a little Veggie Tales. We had a great conversation that reminded me why "cute" is the most often used adjective to describe kids (right ahead of annoying and exhausting, but that's beside the point).

Ethan: Mommy! Turn down the music!
Me: Okay, why?
Ethan, pointing to a large stack of pine branches that have been cut down after the storm and are laying in a pile on the side of the road: We have to be quiet, because the trees are sleeping!

I love to think that in his mind when we are tucking him in at night, trees all over the world are stretching their limbs, shaking their leaves, and laying down flat on the ground for a good night's rest.

A moment of weakness

For ages, friends have been ribbing me because I am not on Facebook. It's not that I don't like technology; I have a blog, right? I think it's just one of those things where I resisted for resistance's sake. Well, last night the kids were in bed and there was nothing on tv, so I was surfing the web. On impulse, I went to Facebook. My brain screamed not to do it, but my fingers had a mind of their own, and in moments I was on, finding friends and reading way-too-detailed descriptions of what people I know are doing every second. It's like opening Pandora's box.

It's crazy how Facebook knows who you know. Matt says it's suspicious, and he's probably right. But it's fun in an I-can't-stop-looking kind of way. I can already tell it's going to suck up large amounts of my time. I'm still trying to figure it all out. Can everyone who is my Friend see every conversation I have? That seems a little...transparent. And creepy. But it's not like I have anything terribly exciting to talk about.

If you are on Facebook and I didn't ask you to be my Friend yet, it's only because it's hard to think of every person you know on the planet at one time. Let me know, and I'll hook you up. You'll have the honor of being friends with the last person on the planet to join.

It's a conspiracy between the weather and my home electronics

Clearly, someone does not want me watching American Idol. First our DVR went berserk. The ice storm. Now--our television is broken. Seriously? NOW? Why can't it break in the summer, when all that's on is reruns and absurd wannabe reality shows? Thankfully our DVR is behaving itself again, so Matt hooked up our (teeny weenie) (okay, it's 25 inches but when you're used to 46 that's teenie weenie) bedroom tv so I could watch both of this week's shows tonight.

I think there are a lot of great contestants this season. I am VERY ready to get past the ridiculous drama. Can I get a witness? Ugh. But when they're good...they're really, really good. I love the group that sang a cappella (Danny from that group is the one that's my brother Sam's twin) and the punk guy with the spiky black hair. Oh, and there was a guy in the first group that sang (LOVED them too) that's from Conway! His name is Kris, and he is a praise and worship singer at my aunt Linda's church! Gotta root for the local boy.

I am super glad they are devoting two weeks to Hollywood--it's very worth it.

On another note, remember my frantic search for where I had heard the phrase "a place for every thing, and every thing is in its place"? FOUND IT! Thanks to my friend Sarah (who is the one I was talking to when I started trying to figure it out in the first place). It may not be the only place it's ever been said, but it's definitely the version that was repeating in my head. It also happens to be the funniest thing EVER. I'm too lazy to import the video right onto the blog, but here's the link to watch it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXRKetgHHs8

Really, watch it right now. You will be glad you did.