American Idol Top 9

I saw this on another blog and I really enjoyed it, so I thought I would give it a try. Every week I will post my take on all of the performances for that week. This week the theme seems to be pick your song. This should be interesting!

Anoop Desai- I like Anoop. I think he looks like my friend Kala's brother, just the Indian version. However, I don't think he is quite cool enough to pull of an Usher song. I don't think this song is going to make him stand out by any means. So, overall, I am not feeling this performance. HAHA Kara! I totally agree. It looks like he is a frat boy dared to sing an Usher song. 

Megan Joy- Bob Marley? Really? I am not so sure about this. I liked her voice at first, but I am now tired of it. I am also convinced that she has some sort of vocal fold pathology. Anyway, I do not like this performance AT ALL. I think it is time for her to go home. 

Side note: Kara is by far the best judge. I am glad they added her this season. I still love Simon, though.

Danny Gokey - I don't love this song (What Hurts the Most) but I think he can probably sing it well. I think it is just a boring song. He did sing it well, in my opinion, but it was still boring. Not necessarily a memorable performance to me. So, Simon, I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. (By the way, his family/friends are holding a sign that says "Go Go Gokey." Can you come up with something better than that?)

Allison Iraheta - Ben and I don't really like this girl for some reason that we are unable to identify. But I love this song! (Don't Speak by No Doubt) Her hair style makes me think about that bird at the beginning of the Monster Plantation ride at Six Flags. I think this was a good performance. Ben says "Well, she ain't no Gwen Stefani." I agree with Ben. Randy, thanks for calling out that crazy outfit.

Scott MacIntyre - Let me start out by saying that I think it is time for Scott to go. I don't think he can win playing something on the piano every.single.darn.week. (Does he have a mullet tonight?) That's what Stevie Wonder does though , right? So maybe he can. He did a very nice job with this song, however. He seems like he should be playing at motivational conferences to me. He's just so darn nice!

Matt Giraud - He sang "Let's Get It On" last week and it was fabulous. This started out a little rough. He's in the middle of the audience! That's exciting, at least for those audience members. I think this is really interesting. He can definitely hit the high notes. His voice sounds very gruff and raspy to me. Overall, I am a little disappointed. I think he is really good, but this song/performance didn't do the trick. 

Lil Rounds - Whoa! A wig! I don't know about that. The camera just got her from the side and her dress, while nice, is way too tight on her rear-end. That girl can sing, she never seems to pick the right song. She seems to scoot on through every week. Her kids are super cute! Awww, the one with Randy is so sweet!

Adam Lambert - He was also fabulous last week. He seems like he is a good musician. I think he is probably the best performer this season. He looks like Elvis with that slicked back hair. He was very good, the best so far tonight by far, in my opinion. 

Kris Allen- "Ain't No Sunshine"- I really like him. He is the only one that I could see myself buying a cd from this season. I also like that he can play instruments while he is singing. His performance was very good. The last two performances were by far the best of the night. 

Bottom 3: Anoop, Megan, Lil Rounds

We will see tomorrow!

JT

Justin Timberlake was on Oprah last Friday, and they played a clip of a skit he did with Beyonce. It was pretty much one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I have been wanting to put this on my blog since I saw it, but I have had a hard time finding the clip online. It is not on SNL's site. Apparently there is some sort of weird agreement and that it why it is not on there. Anyway, I had to find one on YouTube, which was difficult. A lot of the ones on there went back and forth between the skit and Beyonce's original music video or they didn't have the full clip. Here is the link to the best one I found. (Please ignore the Georgian style thing, even though it adds some humor.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBC7pilGoPc&feature=related/

So, thanks my MIL, I now have a much better clip! Check out this link.

http://www.offuhuge.com/media/197962/justin_timberlake_snl_beyonce_single_ladies_video/

Cleo got stuck

We have this drawer thing that goes under our bed. The weenies like to play in the drawer and sometimes sleep in the drawer because it has blankets and beach towels in it. This morning while I was getting ready for school, Cleo went under the bed to sleep in the drawer. After I finished getting ready, I went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. I heard Cleo make a noise, but it sounded like she was yawning, so I ignored it. Well, she kept on making that noise. I went over to pull the drawer out and this is what I found.  

She got stuck! They have chewed holes in the lining thing that covers the drawer and cleo got her head stuck in one. Y'all, I laughed so hard.  

Why do we have a dishwasher when we have Eleanor?

I added the third picture because it shows how big her ears are. 

Student of the Month

My BFF's little sister, Hannah, is student of the month at her school. She is the shortest girl in the picture, next to the administrator. She is just so proud of herself! Isn't she cute? 

If you were a lesbian, you would want Ellen to be your girlfriend?

I love the Ellen show. A lot. I DVR it every day. She is so darn funny! Anyway, Ben enjoys it as well. So today as we are watching yesterday's episode, this is the conversation between us.

Ben: If you were a lesbian, you would probably want Ellen to be your girlfriend, right? 

Me:  That was a weird question.

Ben: Well, isn't she your favorite lesbian?

Me: I guess so. 

Anyway, it was strange. I mean, I love me some Ellen, but I don't know where that came from. 

thoughts from my brain

Nothing too exciting is going on with us right now. I'm still a student (ugh!) and Ben is still trying to get registered (we found out he passed exam #5, so only 4 left). Here are some random thoughts:

-Eleanor chewed a hole in our sheets, specifically in the fitted sheet. We have been looking for new sheets, but sheets are really expensive! I am considering going the ebay route. For now, we can operate on one set of sheets. It just means I will have to wash them and then put them right back on the bed. 

-I am so sick of school. Not that anyone who reads this blog didn't already know that. I just thought I would say it again. 

-Ben participated in a basketball pool at work. He entered two brackets. (I'm not sure if my terminology is right, so hopefully you will get the idea.) One of the principles at his firm has a son, H, with a disability (it is actually some sort of disease, but I don't remember the name of it) that works in the office. Actually, he has two sons that work in the office, both with the disease, but the one I am referring to has it much worse than the other, including some cognitive issues as well as some pragmatic problems. (Am I making sense?) H works in the office and gets paid to do office tasks such as delivering the mail to peoples desks, coordinating golf tournaments, and coordinating the office pools (baby pools, basketball pools, whatever else you could have a pool for, you get the idea). By the way, I think this is great. He is lucky that his dad owns a company that gives him a paying job that gives him purpose in life, as many people with disabilities aren't so lucky. Anyway, each person is allowed to enter two brackets. Apparently H's brother and dad either don't know anything about college basketball or have been conned into allowing H to do their brackets for them, because H basically enters 6 brackets. Anyway, ever since Ben has worked there, H has won the pool every time! So this year before it started, Ben and I were discussing his winning streak and laughing. Monday night at dinner, Ben gave me an update and said that H was again in the lead, with both of his brackets in the top 5, along with his brother's. Anyway, I think he cheats, which is really funny to me. The winner gets money, as in several hundred dollars, so he has major incentive to win. Not that he needs the money or anything, since he lives with his parents and they cover all of his expenses. Ben has decided he is not going to enter anymore because he is never going to win. On another note about H, Ben was talking to the print guy at work, who said that H told him he was pretty upset that his hours were cut back (like Ben's were originally), meaning one less day a week and no more overtime. Overtime?! Seriously? They are paying him overtime?! I guess delivering the mail can be quite time consuming. Also, Ben says that H sets up the teams for the golf tournament and somehow always ends up on the team with the best players that wins. Hmmm.....

-Ben and I signed up for the Peachtree Road Race this year. I am quite certain that there will be no "racing" on my part. I just want my tshirt. 

-Did I mention that I am sick of school? 

-Our neighbor, baby E, had her stroller stolen out of her parents parking space in our building this morning. Who steals a stroller? It had to have been someone with access to the building, which leads me to believe it was someone in our building. 

-I am having trouble going to sleep at night. I don't know why, but I sometimes I just lay there until 2:00 or so. I thought maybe it was my daytime naps, so I cut those out, but that does not seem to be the problem. 

-I have been thinking about my mom a LOT recently. Not sure why on this either. I even have been dreaming about her every night. A year ago today, she was healthy. A year ago today, I had no idea that less than 6 months later, days after my first anniversary, she would die. A year ago today, Mom and I were talking about taking my baby crib from mawmaw's basement and storing at her house so that she could use it when Ben and I have kids. Maybe I should have made her go to the doctor sooner. Maybe there was something that could be done. Maybe I should have been with her when she died instead of at home, avoiding the extreme sadness of the hospital room and the inevitability of the situation. I took so much for granted, and I wish that there could have been another way for me to learn to appreciate everything I have been given. Anyway, please excuse the pity party. 

-I love to read, and I have been contemplating/planning the order of books I will read as soon as I finish this semester and have my evenings to do whatever I want instead of school work. I think being able to read again for fun, as opposed to textbooks (what am I talking about, I don't read those things!), is what I look forward to most after I finish school, except of course actually getting paid. 

-Ben and I are going to Seaside for a short vacation the first weekend in May and I am SO EXCITED! I seriously need a few days to relax. 

Well, these are my thoughts, from my brain to yours.

I'm sure you have good intentions, but please go away.

There is a man "saxophone man" outside my window right now, and it is loud. Now don't get me wrong, we love where we live and the excitement that comes with it. We gets lots of entertainment just by looking out our window. However, there are times when things just really get on my nerves, like the Final Four weekend, or gay black pride weekend, or saxophone man. He only comes every now and then, but he is SO FREAKIN' LOUD. Time of day (or night) does not seem to influence when he chooses to play. Basically, 3am is just as good as 3pm to him. I'm sure he has good intentions and he is just trying to play his music, but it is so distracting. And irritating. Oh, and loud. So please find a new spot for playing.

Side note: I am currently watching Ellen, and there is a kid on there that dances at the Celtics games and he is SO CUTE. And he can dance. Watch the clip here: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2009/03/watch_this_7-year-old_celtics.php/

We tell you all about some of the crazy things we see outside our window, and it can be pretty funny. (It usually isn't very funny in the moment when you are irritated, only later after the irritation is gone.) But it is very difficult to truly explain to y'all since you don't live here and therefore can't quite appreciate the craziness. A couple of months ago, we went over to our neighbor's (T&M) to hang out. Well, we got on the topic of some of the craziness that goes on around here. T proceeded to tell us a story about when saxophone man decided to play at 3am. T was equally as irritated as we were on this particular night, and he proceeded to tell us how he went down there at 3 am and had words with saxophone man. These words included something about if he didn't quit T was going to take that saxophone and shove it up his a**. HAHA!! I am laughing out loud as I type this. It takes a neighbor to understand these things...

Eleanor

Eleanor is growing up! She is the longest weenie I have ever seen. We don't have a picture of her all stretched, but we will take one soon and post it. Isn't she pretty?

A Day at the Grandparents

Ben's parents (grandma and grandpa Hudgins) have both been out of town a lot recently, so we haven't gotten to spend much time with them. So, we decided we would go out to their house and take the weenies for the day. We also had to do a clothing changeout, since they are nice enough to store our off-season clothing (along with lots of other stuff we don't have room for!). Anyway, they got to see their uncle Bailey, and most importantly, play with his toys. Here are a few pictures of Cleo and Eleanor playing with Bailey's toys. 

Cleo found this ball that stores treats and was obsessed with it, even though it was a large toy. Grandma Hudgins said Bailey did not like to play with it anymore, so she gave it to Cleo. 

They both played so hard! They had to sleep all the way home. Once we were home, they ate dinner and went right back to sleep. 

Cleo and Eleanor had so much fun and were so tired from all the playing! 

BFFs

Just some thoughts for my two BFF's, HH and KH. (I just realized that we all have "H" as our last initial. Weird.) I am so happy for both of them. They have some positive things going on right now. KH has someone special in her life, and HH lost 30 pounds!!! So exciting!! We all know that I have had an especially rough year, and they were both great friends through everything. 

The 3 Day

I signed up to do the 3 Day walk in October on Friday. A few of my friends are going to join me. I am excited about doing this, but I know that it will require some training! It will be a great way to celebrate mom's life while raising money for continued research. One of the biggest challenges, other than actually training for and completing the 60-mile walk, is raising the required amount of at least $2,300. Soon I will post a link that will allow any of you blog readers to donate to my account, if you wouldn't mind supporting me!

Laundry Services Available

Cleo needed an escape from the constant Eleanor attacks, so I picked her up while I was folding Ben's clothes. She LOVES laundry, especially Ben's shirts and underwear. I put her in the dryer with Ben's clothes. She is so cute!

Side note - I am watching American Idol from tonight, and is it just me, or does Paula look especially strung out tonight? Maybe that is why she has all that glitter around her eyes.

The time change did not go so well for the weenies this weekend. They did not want to go to bed an hour earlier. Instead, they stayed up for an extra couple of hours. Eleanor was especially bad, and we threatened taking her back to the mountains multiple times.

Cleo says she is available for laundry services, so just let her know. 

Shamwow!

I have to confess that I wanted a shamwow. I'm not normally one to be interested in infomercial products, although I have visited the "As Seen On TV" store and used to occasionally watch QVC. That thing just looks cool. The part of the commercial where he pours the Coke on the carpet and then soaks it all up with the shamwow was impressive. I was seriously considering calling in an ordering this thing (only $19.95!) and I figured I should hurry (we can't do this all day, people!). However, Ben taught me well, so I knew I must first extensively research the product and read reviews by people already using the shamwow. Apparently, the shamwow! is really just a sham! Oh well, at least I saved my $19.95. 

Kilwin's!

My sister-in-law KK introduced me to wonderfullness that is Kilwin's a few years ago. She lives in Florida where there are several Kilwin's locations. My favorite things there are the chocolate covered pretzels and the ice cream, which are both quite yummy, but everything is good. A couple months ago I noticed a "Kilwin's Coming Soon!" sign as I drove through Atlantic Station. I immediately called Ben to pass along the good news. Now it is open!! We went last night after dinner. Ben got the New Orleans Praline Pecan in a waffle cone, and I got the Turtle Cheesecake in a waffle cone. (Calories/fat don't count at Kilwin's!) Let me just say, it was SO.DARN.GOOD!! I hope there is a Kilwin's in heaven, and if there is, mom, you should try it! (You would love the chocolate peanut butter.) 

A good day

Yesterday was supposed to be Kimberly's bachelorette party, which was basically an all day event. I got up early, headed to mawmaw's to trade cars so that I could fit everyone in the same car. On the way up there, I got a call that Kimberly had gotten sick overnight. So, we decided to do a wait and see kind of thing, but we ended up having to cancel everything. Anyway, Kimberly I'm so sorry you got sick on your bachelorette party day! Too bad you can't schedule and plan for being sick...

Due to the change in plans, I ended up spending the day with mawmaw. We went shopping and had lunch, and it was nice to spend time with her. 

Ben has his next ARE test on Monday, so he spent the day studying. Since it was nasty and we could not take the weenies out, we decided to take them to PetsMart when I got home for some exercise. Cleo met a cocker spaniel and peed on the floor. She was also determined to find her puppy class instructor, because to her PetsMart=David=treats, and we all know Cleo will do anything for a treat. 

After we got home, we had to decide on dinner. Ben likes this place Taqueria del Sol, but I went once with him and didn't love it. I am a picky eater, but I have gotten significantly better about my pickiness. Finally, I agreed to go there and give it another try for dinner and Ben promised to take me to a certain new dessert place in Atlanta. (This deserves it's own blog post because it is so exciting!) So we went to dinner, stood in line for about, oh 33 hours, and then realized that you could put your name on a list to sit on the bar, which we did and were seated quickly. The only positive part about standing in line is that you can get a margarita from the bar while you wait, and the margaritas are fabulous! We sat at the bar, ordered, got our food, and guess what? It was so GOOD. So, Ben, you were right, and now we can go there anytime. As long as I can have a tasty margarita (or 2!). 

It was fun to have a date night since we don't do that very often. After dinner, we went to the promised dessert place, which again, deserves it's own blog post. 

Anyway, I had a good day!