I saw this program featured on Oprah on Friday. Puppies Behind Bars is a program in which prison inmates (and I mean hardened criminals) train puppies to become service dogs for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is such a touching and beautiful program; I bawled like a baby throughout the entire segment. Just ask Stephen if you don't believe me! (Okay, you already believe me. You probably don't need proof. ;-)
Also on this particular episode are heartwarming stories about other animals (animals other than dogs) that have made a difference in people's lives. There's a story about a couple who took a female hippo into their home (they treat her like she's their daughter), and a young man who started raising a Grizzly bear from cubhood. All of these stories are sweet, warm and fuzzy. I recommend seeing them if you get a chance.
I recorded the entire show on a DVD if anyone's interested in seeing it. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the waterworks!
If you know me well, you must know that I'm a die-hard American Idol fan. I've been watching the show religiously since Season 3, which was the year FantasiaBarrino was crowned. (Fantasia is a very talented vocalist and has found success in the R&B genre of music, in addition to Broadway. She played Celie in Oprah's production of The Color Purple.) Unfortunately I missed one of Idol's best seasons ever, Season 1, which is the year KellyClarkson (one of my favorite Idols) was crowned. Kelly has, of course, enjoyed huge success over the years as a pop music star. She has seen many of her singles score big on the music charts.
Up until now, my favorite season of AI has been Season 7, because that was the year DavidCook won the show. David Cook is awesome. He's the first rock musician to ever be crowned the American Idol. He is so talented and creative when it comes to writing music, but also in taking an already existing song and making it his own. Every week last season, Stephen and I would eagerly tune in to see what David was going to do next. And without fail, he would deliver. He would meet our expectations and then some. Even though we knew he was the best and deserved to win the competition, we weren't sure America would agree with us. We were worried that the teenyboppers of the nation would vote in DavidArchuleta, who is a very good vocalist, but doesn't come near David Cook in terms of having the entire package. Cook can sing, he can perform, he can write... he has it all. My family and I all met on a Wednesday night last year expecting to see Archuleta named the American Idol. Amazingly (shockingly!), he wasn't. Cook was crowned, and we were ecstatic. (I cried!) He deserved it, and to this day he proves to us that he deserved it. He's got some really great music out, and I'm so happy for him. [On a sidenote, David's brother had been battling brain cancer for years, and sadly, he just recently died. I'm very glad for David that his brother was around to see him win American Idol, and to see him achieve all this success.]
Well, I thought for sure we wouldn't be seeing anyone as good as or better than David Cook... and boy, was I wrong. Enter Season 8... and AdamLambert. Now, I might think for a split second that I'm biased, because Adam just so happens to be from my hometown (his alma mater is my alma mater's rival school), but the fact that he has now landed in this season's Top 3 shows me that I'm not alone in my assessments. Adam is AMAZING. He's INCREDIBLE. Just as I said about David, Adam has it all. He has a fabulous voice, and his performance skills are unbeatable. Each and every week, he gets out on that stage and BLOWS us all away. He is PERFECTION. What's wonderful about Adam is that he's so versatile. He can sing ballads, he can sing Broadway showtunes, he can sing pop, and he can rock out like nobody's business (rock is definitely his strong suit). David Cook paved the way for a rocker to win American Idol, and Adam is running with it! I love, love, LOVE Adam. He's hands-down my favorite Idol EVER (with David Cook coming in at a somewhat close second, and Kelly Clarkson coming in at a fairly distant third). If you've never seen Adam Lambert perform, I urge you to look him up. (Or you can check out some of the links at the end of this post.) Some view him as over-the-top, but I think it's just because he's so different that some people simply don't know what to make of him. But that's the beauty of it all. He's unlike any other, and after performing, he leaves so many of us utterly speechless. I've found myself with my jaw left hanging open after an Adam Lambert performance or two. Stephen and I have just looked at each other and then back at Adam, at a loss for words. Words escape us at that point. He's THAT good.
I had been telling anyone who'd listen that when Adam made it into the finals, I was dead-set on attending his homecoming concert and rally. He's from Rancho Penasquitos, for crying out loud! This was the chance of a lifetime!! Last week, AllisonIraheta (one of our favorites) was voted off the show (she should've scored second place, but instead she placed fourth), and Adam landed a spot in the coveted Top 3. RyanSeacrest announced that the final three contestants [Adam, KrisAllen (who's really good, by the way) and DannyGokey] were about to go home to visit their friends, fans and family. I was SO excited, and Stephen went online right away to try to find out the specifics. We couldn't find many details Wednesday night, but the following day my sister found the entire Scoop. My dad is a big fan of the show and of Adam Lambert, too, so he and I made plans to go to Mt. Carmel High School the following morning (last Friday) so we could see Adam and hopefully hear him sing. My sister was kind enough to take a few hours off from work so she could watch my girls. (My mom had to take care of other things at the time.)
So my dad and I left his house at 8:30 a.m. for the 11:00 a.m. concert at Mt. Carmel. We had originally planned to attend the parade at 10:00, but when we got to the school, we decided to just go ahead into Sundevil Stadium and wait for him to arrive and perform. We waited from about 9:00 to 11:00 in the brutal sun (I was starting to worry about my dad a little bit there, 'cause he doesn't do well in the sun, but he did okay). It was nice to hang out and chat with Pops for those couple hours.
Once we heard and saw the chopper overhead (and I could see through my binoculars that it belonged to the San Diego Police Department), we knew that Adam was about to enter the campus. After he arrived, we had to wait another 30 minutes or so before his convertible, red Ford Mustang got to the stadium's entrance. When his car appeared, I immediately grabbed Dad's binoculars to see what I could see, and there was Adam, in his newly blue hair (the color changes from week to week). I couldn't help but smile and exclaim to my dad, "There he is!! He has blue hair today."
The car carrying Adam drove him around the racetrack so he could wave to his adoring fans. The public sat on the "Visitor" side of the stadium, because the "Home" side was reserved for Mt. Carmel students and faculty only (which was actually fine by us, because the Home side ended up getting the brunt of the sun's rays!). From what I understand, each side holds about 4,000 people, and both sides were pretty full. Adam drew quite a crowd. After his lap around the track, Adam got out of the car and he took his place onstage. After thanking everyone for turning out in support, he spoke directly to the kids. He told them it's okay to be different, and that they all need to embrace one another's differences. "It's cool to be different!" he said proudly. After speaking for a few minutes, he asked if we wanted to hear a couple songs, and of course we all screamed "YES!!" He then started out with Michael Jackson's "Black or White"... and it was TERRIBLE. I was SO bummed. 'Bummed' doesn't even describe how I felt! Adam's singing wasn't terrible; the performance was. And Adam wasn't to blame; the SOUND SYSTEM was. I just couldn't believe how quiet and crackly he sounded. The quality was beyond horrific. I told my dad that I was certain the "Idol" people would've been on top of that, or at least that they would've checked it out ahead of time to make sure it was working decently! It was pitiful. We could hardly hear his voice, much less make out the lyrics to the songs he sang.
After "Black or White", Adam sang Tears for Fears' "Mad World". I love that song, and that's one of my favorite Adam performances on Idol thus far. After "Mad World", Mayor Jerry Sanders presented Adam with a key to the City, and he also declared the day "Adam Lambert Day" in San Diego. I got a couple pictures, but they're pretty hard to make out. Not enough zoomage. ;-)
Adam then got back in the Mustang and did one more lap around the track. The first time I got a pretty good picture of him, so the second time I took a few seconds of video. After that, Dad and I collected our belongings and exited the stadium. We were about to turn left and exit the campus, when suddenly my dad asked me if I wanted to turn right instead (which is where the Home side of the stadium lets out) to see if we could catch another glimpse (or more) of Adam. I was hesitant, but I agreed. We walked over and saw the really long Limo he arrived in. (It was waiting to take him to his next event.) Just past the Limo, we looked up the hill, and we saw Adam in the Mustang heading down toward us. His posse was surrounding the car, trying to get all of us crazies out of the way. I thought we might get hit! Then it happened. My dad told me to get the camera ready, because he was going to give Adam a high-five. His words didn't really register in my brain, though, because I was already trying to take pictures of Adam coming toward us, and I couldn't think fast enough as to what I needed to do next. "Do I take a picture? Do I take video? What should I do? What should I do? Is Dad really going to give Adam a high-five? I wanna see that happen if he does!" It's really hard to live in the moment when you've got a stupid camera in your face. Ugh. A split second later, as the men surrounding Adam were trying to push us all out of the way, my dad very casually walked up to the car with his hand held up in the air, and fairly quietly said, "Adam." Adam turned and looked at my father, saw his outreached hand, and he put his own hand out to meet my dad's. It was awesome! Unfortunately I missed the photo op. I really regret not getting that picture, but I'm glad I at least got to live the moment. :-)
And as disappointing as it was not being able to hear Adam sing, like I told my dad, it was okay with me, because I at least got to see him. I'm proud to be able to say that I was there for his homecoming; there for his beginning. (Not really his beginning, but the beginning of life as he'll know it from now on!) Because this guy's gonna be a big star. I just know it. He's gonna be HUGE.
And ya know, I think that's what's so cool to me about American Idol. I get to see these guys start to live their dream. I get to see them in the early stages, before they become the stars they end up being. It's neat to see them a few years down the road and think, "Hey! I remember watching when they were just starting out." It's sort of inspiring.
From the Associated Press: Simon Cowell: Adam Lambert Will WIN 'Idol' -- Simon told Oprah his money's on Adam because the contestant is fearless, unique and "he's got swagger."
Below are thoughts that have been stewing around in my head the past few days for quite some time. Rather than write 30 separate posts, I decided to just post an "all-in-one". I warn you... it's overkill!
There's this blue bird that hangs out around our house all the time, and I've named him Bluey. Of course I can't be sure that he's the same bird every time, but I like to think that he is. He's very pretty. He has a bright blue streak that goes down his back and he has some of the same on his head. He has a whitish/grayish belly. He may be a Western bluebird, but I really can't be sure. He seems to have some black on his head and body, and it doesn't look like the Western has that. Anyway, whenever we go outside to play, he makes an appearance. I would love to get him (or make him) a birdfeeder. I like him very much and I wish I were a better photographer than this. Hopefully one of these days!
Emily starts soccer a week from tomorrow, and I'm SO excited! I can't wait to watch her first Pee Wee "game". (I say "game" because the kids are so young and are just starting to learn, so I doubt it'll be much of a game; it'll be more of a lesson, I bet.) She's going to play with her friend, J, who she's known since birth. Stephen and I met J's mom and dad at our childbirth preparation class in the fall of 2004. Lisa and I ended up having our girls only three days apart!
My parents' 50th wedding anniversary is a little over a year from now (in July of 2010). My brother and I were talking Thursday morning about how we really should start making plans! I need to create a Yahoo! group for us siblings so we can start researching, discussing and planning.
That same brother, Jaime, and his wife, Debbie, just bought a beautiful new home in Massachusetts. They moved in this week and sound very happy. (They're in the same town they were in before, so the kids didn't have to change schools, which is nice.) I'm very happy for them and wish we could go see the house (and throw them a housewarming party)!
Since he's on a roll, I'll mention one more Jaime thing. When he graduated from Harvard Medical School in the early '90s, PBS aired an episode of Nova which had, up to that point, been following several of his classmates, documenting their journies. That original episode was called So You Want to be a Doctor?. I remember getting excited when I saw my brother speaking in a scene or two. Anyway, when I couldn't sleep the other night and was flipping channels at around 2 a.m., I flipped to PBS and somebody caught my eye. I soon realized that he was one of the young doctors who was featured in So You Want to be a Doctor?. It had been years since I'd seen that original show, but I still recognized him. I watched this episode (called Doctors' Diaries, which is a follow-up on the doctors some 20 years later) as long as I could, hoping to maybe see my brother, but I never saw him (and I ended up falling asleep at around 2:40 or so). At one point I wanted to get up and go program my DVR to record the show, but I didn't, because I didn't wanna disturb Leah. Fortunately, Jaime gave my parents a heads-up a few days ago that the show was about to air, and they ended up recording it. I hadn't realized that it's actually a two-part show. I'm looking forward to seeing it in its entirety. (And in case you're wondering, my brother IS shown a couple times, but very briefly. His coverage isn't as good as it was in So You Want to be a Doctor?.)
I'm loving AI this year. I think the order should end like this: 1)Adam Lambert, who's from my neck of the woods, by the way, and is a BRILLIANT artist and performer; 2) Allison Iraheta; 3) Kris Allen; 4) Danny Gokey; 5) Matt Giraud; 6) Anoop Desai and 7) Lil Rounds. (Poor Lil Rounds is not very good. For some reason there was so much hype surrounding her in the earlier weeks of the season, and she was so overrated. She really isn't that great of a singer, and is a pretty bad performer, in my opinion.)
Facebook's addictive! (MySpace is obnoxious; Facebook, I like. And Twitter, I just don't get.)
Angie, one of my best friends, (we met during my short year in Illinois, when we were sophomores in high school), is over 35 weeks pregnant right now with her third child -- a (third) baby girl. Her babies tend to make early appearances, so Baby Girl J #3 could come any day now. I'm very excited for Angie and wish I could be there to meet the baby!
Fallbrook is hosting its annual avocado festival tomorrow, and we might go. I *love* avocado, and besides, it's an excuse to get outside and walk around with the kids in what I'm sure will be fabulous weather. Fallbrook's not my favorite place in the world, but for an avocado festival, I'll try to overlook its faults and enjoy myself. ;-)
Since I'm on the topic of food... a couple days ago, my mom made an old family favorite for dessert and sent some home with Stephen. (He picked it up from her house on his way home from work.) It's banana pudding with Nilla wafers, and it's yummy!! My sister, V, used to make it all the time when I was a kid, but it's been a while since any of us have had it. Thanks for making it for us, Ma!
One more food post... I want NEED to try this place. It made the list of the five top American burger joints on CNN... and it's here in SD! Actually, it's in OB. Their burgers look AMAZING. To DIE for. We MUST go. NOW.
Kathryn's 40th birthday is today (happy birthday, Kat-ryn!), and we're going to her party tonight. She's renting a bouncy house for adults. Did you catch that? Bouncy house. Adults. Adults will be drinking yummy Stone beer... wearing funny hats... and bouncing. I'm there!
It's springtime. What does that mean, you ask? It means Xyno's hair is falling off his body in mad chunks and it's time to get him shaved! It's times like these that I am SO glad we have our new floors. (I also feel surges of gratitude for these new floors when someone spills something. Now when we have a spill, we think, "What, a spill? No prob. Bring it on.")
Speaking of springtime, the Carlsbad flower fields look cool. We should go. Maybe next month.
Emily learned about camping from Olivia. After she watched that particular episode, she asked me if we could go camping soon. I looked at her and said, "What a great idea!" After all, it's been YEARS since I've been camping. I can't even remember my last time camping, it's been so long. (I was definitely a little kid at the time -- possibly when we went to Yosemite when I was 10 or so?) So seeing as how Stephen and I have never been camping together, and it's been so long since either of us has been, and seeing as how Emily's NEVER been, I thought it would be nice for us to pack up and go in the somewhat near future. I told Stephen what I thought and he thinks it's a good idea. He thinks we should start out on a small scale and choose a local site. Maybe he's right. (I was thinking we should venture far out, but I'd be willing to go close by.) We bought a nice tent years ago, and we finally might have a reason to actually use it!
Another thing we've never done, even though WE LIVE IN SAN DIEGO, is Legoland. I hear all the time that it's ideal for kids Em's age, and I do think she'd really like it. They even opened a *really* nice-looking aquarium nextdoor to the park which I'd like to check out. I happened to see it featured on an episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 (which I do NOT watch regularly, by the way; I just couldn't sleep one night and when I flipped to it, I saw that they were in San Diego, so I kept watching!) -- the Gosselins were on vacation here and they visited Legoland and the Sea Life Aquarium. They were actually the first-ever visitors to the aquarium; it wasn't even open to the public when they were there, but the officials let them tour it anyway. It's just all so gosh-darn expensive! Maybe one of these days.
Stephen and I are going on a date to see The Offspring in concert at SDSU's Open Air Theatre in early June. This'll be our fourth(?) time seeing them live. The last time we saw them was at Open Air, and I was about a week pregnant with Emily. (Didn't know it yet.) We really like the feel of OAT, because it's relatively small and kinda cozy. I'm looking forward to this!
G, my beautiful goddaughter/niece, turned 12 a few days ago. It happened to be a hectic day for me, and I tried calling her on my drive home from dinner out with friends, but she was unfortunately in the shower and would be in bed by the time I got home. I told her brother to pass along our love and "happy birthday", and that I'd hopefully talk to her soon. I'm glad I was able to send her a birthday card last week and that it got there on time!
Stephen's brother, Mike, has been coming to San Diego for business on a monthly basis lately. Sometimes the two brothers meet at a restaurant for dinner, and sometimes Mike comes to the house to see the girls. Emily always looks forward to seeing Uncle Mike. Whenever he comes knocking on the door, she hides from him and he has to go find her. He was just here the other night, and Emily enjoyed entertaining him like usual! :-)
Speaking of Lawlesses, it looks like all seven Lawless siblings and their spouses and kids will be descending on Oklahoma in August. I'm bummed because Em, Leah and I won't be able to make it. I'm glad Stephen's finally able to get out there to see his family and visit their properties, though. His brothers and parents have been out there for a long time, and this'll be Stephen's first time visiting, which is great.
I realized the other day that I haven't been to my OB for an annual well-woman check-up since my 6-week postpartum appointment after Leah was born. I really need to get on the phone and schedule that. (I'm surprised they didn't send me a reminder in the mail!) Oy, I also recently realized that I haven't scheduled Leah's 15-month well-baby appointment yet. Gotta do that first thing Monday!
How come when I feel like I'm "caught up" with my housework (like yesterday), I then slack off and let things go to heck again? On Tuesday I picked up and vacuumed in all the bedrooms, I swept and picked up in the rest of the house, I cleaned the kitchen, cleared off the hi-fi furniture piece in the entryway (the "hot spot" of our house), and cleaned the main bathroom. I felt pretty good about myself, but instead of maintain or tackle other areas, I totally vegged Wednesday, and come Thursday I was completely annoyed with myself. Speaking of cleaning house, I've heard good things about FlyLady, and I keep meaning to take time to thoroughly check out her website and ideas, but I never get around to it. Someday.
Another complaint... why is it that I feel like I'm exercising my butt off, but not seeing or feeling results? (I was doing so well with an exercise routine up until October of last year. For some reason I stopped working out, and I then went on to gain between five and 10 pounds between November and January. I'm just now getting around to doing something about it. Ugh.) I know it's only been a few weeks since I started a workout routine again, but I just hate how I don't see or feel any change. It's so discouraging. My gut says it's because I'm such a night-owl... I go to bed too late (and end up late-night snacking) and consequently I wake up too late, and I don't eat breakfast like I should. I don't think I eat poorly or too much; I just think I need to be better at my scheduling and I definitely should make breakfast a priority and I need to cut out night-snacking. The exercise isn't the problem (I've been enjoying regular activity, whether it's step aerobics or Tae Bo, and I look forward to jumping on the treadmill again really soon); the problem is eating right. *Sigh.*
The other day, I was reading a blog post written by a woman who's due to give birth to her second child any day. She said that a part of her wants the baby to hurry up and come out, but the other part of her knows that her first will be an only child for just a short while longer, so she's trying to savor every last minute of alone time with her. Reading this prompted me to think back to when I was due to give birth to Leah. I do remember making a conscious effort to lie down with Em and cuddle her. I remember trying to filter everything out and simply focus on enjoying her, because I knew our alone time was running out. They were beautiful times; precious moments. Until reading that woman's blog, I hadn't really thought about those days since they happened. I enjoyed going back and remembering what it felt like to enjoy my Em... when it was *just* Em. What's crazy is that we'll never have those days again. Along these same lines, I do cherish the time when Em's in school, and I get to focus on Leah alone. She and I do lots of cuddling and snuggling during those three hours twice/week. It's heavenly. I do it because I know time goes by so fast!
School has been SO GREAT for Emily. She's really thriving. Every Monday and Wednesday night, she looks forward to the following morning so she can go to school to see Mrs. M. and play with D, T, A, and all her friends. She loves it when they paint, and she still loves to "vacuum" her classroom. She also digs snacktime and playtime outside. Mrs. M. is a wonderful teacher (my goddaughter/niece, G, had her when she was in preschool, too), and Stephen and I are very happy with how Em's first schoolyear's been going. She's really come out of her shell socially, too. A year ago, she was literally hiding her head when we were in a social setting she wasn't comfortable with; but now she seems very confident, playful and friendly. We're thrilled!
I (we) really should be signing with Leah. She (and we) for some reason stopped signing poop after a while, and I never took off with milk like I wanted to. Just now we showed her the Mommy and Daddy signs. There's really no excuse not to do signs with her, especially now that I've found a nice site to refer to.
I *knew* I was a mom when I bought this. The first time I saw it at Costco I resisted, but a couple visits later I gave in to temptation. I thought, "This is the answer to transporting cakes and cupcakes!!" I mean, you know how you put cupcakes on a plate and then put Saran Wrap over the top, and the frosting comes off? Or you can only put one layer of cupcakes on the plate, because adding another row on top would also de-frost the bottom row? Well, this fixes all that. I actually have Snapware storage containers -- I bought a set at Costco one day, came home, cleaned out all my mismatched Tupperware, and vowed from then on to *only* use Snapware. (I gathered all the Tupperware and gave it all to my mom. Sorry, Ma.) Since that day, I've only had and used my Snapware... and I *love* it! It was a great move. Anyway, this cake/cupcake carrier is a Snapware product, so I'm pleased. It's great, too, because it comes with three tiers, and you can use one, two, or all three! You can even add on if need be! Oh, and I got it for a MUCH better deal at Costco. ($17 instead of Amazon's $25. Target's much more expensive, too. I think I saw a one-tier unit for $10 at a Target store.) I think this is such a "Mom" thing because I envision using it to take cupcakes to Em's classroom and such. Awwww. I'm a Mommy!! (Sometimes I still have a hard time believing it!)
My neighbor suggested I buy a long-handled dustpan for our new floors, since we now do much more sweeping than we used to. I bought one at Target (it was designed by Michael Graves) and I'm pretty disappointed in it. The concept is great (I hate bending down for my regular dustpan), but this model's not so great. The dirty stuff sweeps right underneath the pan and just ends up on the other side of it, rather than inside of it. I found one on Amazon that got good reviews... I'm debating whether I should return the one to Target and go ahead and try the Amazon one. (It's twice as expensive, and if I don't like it, returning it would be a bit harder since it's an online store, but I think I might go for it.)
Speaking of neighbors... I love ours! We live in a great neighborhood. I love our street (to be specific, our *end of the street). It's a pretty quiet area, and there's not a lot of traffic, which gives me peace of mind when the girls are playing outside. Even though it's pretty quiet around here, there are still kids around for Em to play with. In fact, two families moved into the house across the street (Steve, his daughter and their dog Scruff had to move out late last year, and we miss them, but I admit it's nice to have more little kids around for Em to play with). The families are related to each other: there are a sister and a brother and their spouses. Each couple has two sons: one's 5, one's 4, another was born just a few weeks ago, and one is due to be born in a couple months. Also, the nice couple who live two houses down have three grandsons (ages 7, 6 and almost 2), and those boys live just a couple streets over (but they're at their grandparents' house at least a couple times a week). They're very nice boys and Em loves to play with them. [As a matter of fact, she was playing with them today (they like to make believe in the playhouse), and I noticed they had a yucky cough. Man, I hope my girls don't get sick. I really don't want Em to have to miss her first soccer game next week!] Then there's Jean and Dearie, who I've known since I was born... their granddaughters (ages 10 and 8) are often over, and Em loves them, too. And THEN there's of course Dave and Lee, who have two kids: J (age 14) and H (almost 12). We've known them since we moved here five-and-a-half years ago, and we've always been pretty close. J and H are both very good with Em. So I feel very lucky to live around such nice people, and I'm thankful that Em almost always has someone to run around with outside! :-) * Down the street, it's not quite so peaceful. There's a house down there that's occupied by a bunch of older men who apparently like to drink, yell and play *really* loud music. And by play, I mean THEY do the playing. They break out their microphones, electric guitars and amps, and go to town. Oy. I'm SO thankful I don't live directly nextdoor to them!!
I wrote down 29 items, and I just had to write down a 30th, so here it is. Hmm. Did I mention I get to bed too late? It's almost 2:00 in the morning!!
Wow. The guys did an excellent job on Idol on Tuesday, especially my man Blake.
The originality and creativity in his performance blew me away. His interpretation of "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi was unlike anything I'd ever heard, and I loved every second of it. From start to finish, I cheered him on and was thoroughly entertained.
Now, I know he's gonna get a bad rap because he mentioned on the results show last night that he uses a computer program to aid him in his remixes. I already read one editor who said she was disappointed. I'm not, though, because I trust that he uses the program just to help him piece everything together. The creative mixing of the original song is all him. I highly doubt the program does that for him.
I've always been a Blake fan. I'm also a fan of Jordin's, but I think I'm beginning to hope that Blake wins it all. Whatever the outcome, I predict it'll be between these two in the finals. Even though Melinda has the perfect voice and can outsing any of the others on any given day, she doesn't have the "total package". I believe Blake and Jordin do. They can sing, they're different, they're young and modern, they've got the "look", and they connect with their audience. (Speaking of Melinda, Stephen said it best the other day. He mentioned that technically she's the best, but not creatively. I then went further and compared it to judging ice skating. She'd get a perfect "10" in the technical aspect, but not in the artistic. Her vocals are consistently flawless, but she doesn't communicate with her audience. She doesn't evoke emotion the way Jordin does, for example. I mean, last week Jordin blew everyone away with her performance of "You'll Never Walk Alone". I'd never even heard that song before, but still she managed to make me cry and get goosebumps. She started out a bit shaky, but by the time she finished, I felt like she took my heart, stomped on it, and broke it into a million pieces! Honest to God, she took my breath away for a split second. Melinda (and LaKisha, for that matter) doesn't do that, at least not for me. Week after week she's the same. She sounds amazing time and time again. So much so that it's gotten boring.
I can't close this post without giving Chris some love, too. Just as I've always been a Blake fan, I've always had a soft spot for Chris as well. Based on the voting track record, I knew Chris would be voted off last night, and I was right. If it were up to me, he'd have finished third (after Blake and Jordin). Unfortunately he placed behind Melinda and LaKisha, making him #6 of Season 6. I thought he did a fabulous job with his rendition of "Wanted Dead or Alive". I looked forward to his performances week after week and I always felt that he did a great job. One of my favorites of his is when he sang "Geek in the Pink" very early on in the show. He's constantly compared to Justin Timberlake (which is funny, 'cause when we first heard him sing, I told Stephen that he sounded a lot like JT), but I don't think it's quite fair. He's got his own style and I'm sure he'll be successful on his own. (I hear people say he looks like JT, but I don't think so. I think he sounds sort of like him, but I bet he's getting sick of hearing the comparisons!)
Season 6 has really turned out to be a great one. Last year was pretty bad; the only one we truly rooted for was Chris Daughtry, and he placed fourth. This year, the final six are ALL very talented, and they're all likeable. No one's arrogant or annoying; they all seem to be nice kids who have become good friends throughout this process. It's hard to see them go each week, but I know they'll all be fine. They'll all be offered record contracts and will be heard from again, in the not-so-distant future.
If you're not watching Planet Earth, you should be.
Much of what we see in the series is subject matter that has never before been caught on film.
Stephen and I have tuned in since the series started two weeks ago. We're fascinated and so impressed by the exquisite camerawork and effort that went into getting such incredible footage. It's such an intimate look at what goes on in our planet, and so much of it I had no idea even existed!
We plan on buying the DVD set at some point. (It's that good.)
The 11-part series airs Sundays on the Discovery Channel. You can access the guide here.
I realize that many of the stories I post on this blog are awfully "Debbie Downer", so here are a couple uplifting stories about beautiful, inspirational people.
First, meet Patrick, a young man who was born blind and is unable to walk. Patrick sees his blindness not as a disability, but rather an ability. He says this is because he can see the inside of a person much better than sighted people can. He started playing the piano at the age of two! Patrick must have inherited his inner beauty from his father, because Patrick Sr. is truly someone to emulate. He works the graveyard shift at UPS, goes home and rests for a few hours, only to then get up and accompany his son to college, where he helps him navigate through his classes! Patrick (Jr.) was invited to join the University of Louisville marching band. In the fall of 2006, he and his dad became the only two-person marching band member in college football. What remarkable men!
Next, meet Lysa and her family. Lysa and her husband have three biological daughters and two adopted sons. They adopted their sons from an orphanage in Liberia after Lysa saw them sing in a concert choir. Lysa said that as she watched the boys perform, she felt God telling her "two of those boys are yours". What's so beautiful about this story is that not only did Lysa and her husband adopt these boys, but many of their friends then decided to adopt other boys from the choir. Some even took in the boys' siblings -- in fact, one couple adopted six children at once! (And this was after their two biological sons went to college and they thought they were going to have an empty nest!) In all, 14 families from this North Carolina community adopted children from this one orphanage in Liberia.
I was moved to tears when one of the fathers in the community said, "Everyone looks at us and sees us and says, 'Wow, you guys have done a great thing,' and it's so funny because, really, the blessing's been ours."
I saw this piece on 60 Minutes earlier this year, and I was touched. These guys are so dedicated to their work, and they make sure that their charges receive the best care possible. Those who work at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust are good people, no bones about it.
This is an excerpt from the 60 Minutes piece:
Just about the best people you’ve ever met are the gentle men who work here.
They are called keepers, and they have extraordinary jobs. There is one keeper per elephant; he spends 24 hours a day with his charge, seven days a week. A keeper feeds his elephant every three hours, day and night, just like mom would.
He keeps his elephant warm, not like mom would, but with a blanket. When it's sleep time, the keeper beds down right next to his elephant. If he leaves, if ever so briefly, the baby wakes up and broadcasts his displeasure. The keepers are rotated now and then so that no elephant gets too terribly attached to any one of them.
At dawn, the elephants are taken from their dorms out to the bush. They hang out for a while and even play some games — soccer is a favorite. The elephants decide when it's halftime by trotting off the field for a break.
The days are pretty much the same here. But on Fridays, the orphanage becomes a spa, when the keepers give the elephants a coconut oil massage.
"We can't do exactly what the mother can do, but we do something close to that," explains Edwin Lusichi, the head of the keepers.
A program called In the Womb is airing tonight (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET) on the National Geographic Channel. We get the NGC since we have digital cable, but I don't think that basic cable subscribers get it. You probably get it if you have satellite TV, but I'm not sure.
The show looks pretty neat. I don't know much about it, other than it looks like a technologically updated version of The Miracle of Life. From what I understand, the program shows the baby at various stages of growth in the womb. With the advanced ultrasounds they have available now, I bet the images will be fascinating.
"With ground-breaking photography, computer graphics, and 4-D imaging, In the Womb reveals this amazing process as the first heart cells begin to beat, the nerve cells flicker to life, and the senses develop."
"Your children are more sensitive, more powerful, more spiritually atuned, more psychically attuned, than ever. As they get older, they will lose some of that. You lose it because the world makes you lose it, but when you're that young, you pick up on everything. All the energy around them, they're taking in." -- Oprah Winfrey, telling mothers how we need to be careful about and really pay attention to what messages we send our daughters (even starting at a very young age)
"A mother who radiates self-love and self-acceptance actually VACCINATES her daughter against low self-esteem." -- Naomi Wolf
Kashyap was on the show because the episode was all about "little geniuses". Oprah featured a boy who could count and recite the alphabet at 11 months(!); a 4-year-old boy who paints, an 8-year-old girl who writes poetry and short stories and types 80 words a minute; a 12-year-old girl who discovered that the ice at many fast food restaurants contains more bacteria (including e-coli) than their toilet water; a 16-year-old girl who is an amazing pianist (she can compose beautiful original pieces of music on command!); a boy (another San Diegan) who swam to Alcatraz in the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay to set a world record AND to help raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina; and a little boy who swears he will be president when he turns 35. These kids rock!
Oprah also interviewed Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and 12-year-old Keke Palmer, the stars of the upcoming movie Akeelah and the Bee. This looks like a great movie. All the reviews I hear say that everyone should see it. Starbucks is even promoting it. And we all know how much I love Starbucks and their causes!
A couple months ago, Stephen, Em & I were at Denny's. Why, I have no idea. We never go to Denny's. But this particular night, we did. (We're talking class here, people!)
We walked in, and immediately I saw a woman who looked an awful lot like Melissa of Family Plots. (If you read my "Family Plots" post from January, you'll see that I'm a big fan.) "Stephen, is that Melissa Wissmiller?" I asked. "Yeah, I think it is." I was pretty excited to see her, and then, wouldn'tchya-know-it, the host/waiter guy sat us at the table right next to her and her date.
We sat so that I was facing the back of Missy's head and her date's face. Stephen was sitting facing me, so he had his back to both of them. I kept telling Stephen, "I want to say something to her, like, 'I love your show!'" He said, "No, don't bother them." I agreed.
Then, at one point, as she was sitting in her highchair, Emily started talking and of course sounded really cute. I noticed that Missy and her date had turned around and at this point were staring at our baby. I looked at them and smiled.
"She's beautiful," Missy gushed. "Oh, thank you!" I replied. Missy: "How old is she?" Molly: "She's just over a year old." Missy: "Aww." [Big smile.] Molly: "I wanted to tell you that I love your show!" Missy: "Oh, thank you very much! What's her name?" Molly: "Emily." Missy: "Emily? Then you know..." Molly: "... that that's your sister's name!" Missy: "Yes! I didn't realize that 'Emily' is en vogue now. I mean, my sister's 32 years old." [I think it was 32.]
And that's pretty much the gist of our "conversation". It was actually very delightful. I was pleased because I was given the perfect excuse/opportunity to tell Melissa how much I enjoy watching her show, and she told me how beautiful my child is.
I'm not ashamed to admit that we are big American Idol fans here at the Lawless home. I started watching the show at the beginning of Season 3, and after a couple episodes, I got Stephen hooked. (Muah-ah-ah!! ;-) It's funny, because Stephen just does not seem like the kind of guy who would watch this show, much less look forward to it and watch it with me religiously!
Last season (Season 4), I recruited another faithful AIer -- my sister, Cecilia. She got into it about halfway through the season. And this season, she's gotten her significant other, Ken, into it as well. He's another one who I never would have thought would give it the time of day, much less get into it. Actually, he did used to always scoff at us last season, saying how dumb and scripted the show was. Sister (Cecilia) made him sit down for the first episode this season, however, and much to our surprise, he liked it! He said that many people at work watch it, too -- educated, "cultured" people. Who'da thought? Ken still does say that the show's somewhat scripted, and I agree that it somewhat is, especially the scenes with Simon & Paula barking at each other, but oh well, it supposedly makes for good TV. I watch it for the competition and the seeking of talent. It's just a fun show to watch, plain and simple.
I know that deep down inside, I wish I could build up the courage to try out for the show (or at least something like it). I believe that I'm a pretty good singer, but I fear that if I were to ever get up on that stage (during auditions OR competition), I'd croak. There's also the issue of my weight. Of course, I could always lose some, but the idea of trying out for American Idol isn't incentive enough to get me motivated. Health and comfort should be reason enough, but that's another story altogether!
At this point in the season, Idol is showing us the audition part of the process. I'm not sure when we'll get to the competition, but it's okay, 'cause I enjoy it all. Many people (like my neighbor) only get a kick out of seeing the auditions, so that's all they watch. Many of them are amused by the surprisingly big number of people who go before Simon, Paula & Randy and make total asses of themselves. Quite a few of them say that they think they can sing, they know they can sing, or they've been told they can sing. Whatever made them think they can? Whatever made others tell them they can? So many of these people are AWFUL. Simply awful. I can't imagine getting up there in front of millions, thinking I can actually sing, just to end up sounding like a dying cat. How sad! Then again, some of them probably do know that they sound terrible, but just want to get on TV. Better yet, some of them probably sound terrible on purpose, just to get on TV. And the crazy thing is, it sometimes works!
I've gotten hooked on a reality show on A&E called "Family Plots". One of the interesting things about this program is that it takes place here in Poway!
Family Plots features the Poway-Bernardo Mortuary. A family which consists of a father and his three daughters all work at the funeral home, along with Rick, the boss; David, the funeral director and John, the funeral assistant. Chuck, the dad, works as the body remover; Melissa, the oldest sister, works in the office and comforts grieving families who come to the mortuary for visitations; Shonna, the middle sister, works as the embalmer; and Emily, the youngest, works in the office and greets clients as they arrive at the mortuary. Matt, the newest addition to the team, works as an assistant funeral director. His main job, however, is as a Baptist minister here in Poway. It's hilarious to watch him interact with Rick & the Wissmillers (Chuck & his daughters). No one at the mortuary has a problem with swearing (to the contrary, they all seem to enjoy it), except for Matt. He is visibly uncomfortable in the presence of the constant "Goddamnit", "shit", what-have-you. The look on the poor guy's face whenever he hears the profanity is priceless.
At the beginning of the show, a little blurb pops up which states something to the effect of "you will probably find this both moving and strangely amusing". That is so true. I find myself really feeling for these people, and more so for their clients, who come to the mortuary to make funeral arrangements for their dearly departed. This looks like a pretty tough business to be in, and the crew of the Poway-Bernardo Mortuary are to be admired for their ability to not only to keep it together, but also to feel for the people they serve. I also find myself chuckling quite a bit when it comes to these people's antics, especially Chuck's absent-mindedness and the love/"hate" relationship he has with his daughters. I enjoy watching David & John's reactions to the family, too.
If you ever get a chance, go ahead and check it out. It airs twice every Tuesday (once in the morning and once in the afternoon). Some people aren't "into" reality TV (my Dad being one of them), but if you are, you may find yourself getting hooked on Family Plots like I have.
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