Top 12 Girls American Idol - Feb. 23, 2010

It's that time again...American Idol! This is the second season I've watched from the beginning (boring auditions and all), but it still can't beat last season....for me, anyway!

If you don't want to be tagged in this or future AI notes, let me know and I'll remove you!

I said after watching last season that I wasn't going to watch again, that there really was no point since Adam had been discovered. And since Paula would be gone. And since Kara would still be around. Also, I wasn't excited about Ellen being added to the panel. I love her and love her show, but I had seen her as a guest judge before and wasn't impressed. Somehow, even through all that, I got roped back in to watching the show.

So...here are my opinions from last night. Yes, I am very critical and judgmental of the contestants. It's what I do.

Judges Still not crazy about the 4-person panel (ie, mainly Kara) but Ellen gave some pretty good advice and criticisms. I think her being there will grow on me.

Paige Mills I thought she was lacking energy. Yes, I know she walked out onto the stage clapping her hands, but there was something missing. Also, there were a couple of spots where the backup singers were singing but she wasn't--there was too much "dead space" there. [Didn't remember her from the auditions]

Ashley Rodriguez She does have the commercial look, but after watching her audition again and then her performance, she seems like a really good karaoke singer. She sounds like the original artists. Not impressed with her. [Didn't remember her from the auditions]

Janell Wheeler She was a little better than the first two, but I still wasn't jumping out of my seat excited to see what else she has to offer. [Vaguely remember her from the auditions]

Lilly Scott She was closer to what I was looking for from the contestants, but I have to be honest and say that I don't know the song, so I don't have a point of reference. But, she didn't seem nervous and seemed confident and was fun to watch. [Remember her from the auditions]

Katelyn Epperly I liked her slightly less than Lilly Scott, but I did like her. Wasn't sure about the song choice. [Remember her from the auditions]

Haeley Vaughn As a general rule, the teenagers in high school that show up on this show really get on my nerves. I don't know why, they just do. However, she was the first contestant to take a song and make it her own and I enjoyed watching her. [Remember her from the auditions]

Lacey Brown I had high hopes for her, but I wasn't crazy about her or the song. [Remember her from the auditions]

Michelle DeLamor I wish the contestants wouldn't sing Alicia Keys or Leona Lewis. I love Alicia Keys' songs, but I love to hear AK perform them. For some reason, this contestant bored me. [Didn't remember her from the auditions]

Didi Benami I loved her from the auditions and liked her tonight. She has a unique voice, and she didn't stray too much from the original version of the song, but I liked it. [Remember her from the auditions]

Siobhan Magnus I wasn't crazy about this song. I remember her having a really strong voice, and I didn't see that her song selection reflected that. [Remember her from the auditions]

Crystal Bowersox I think she is a great artist, but her song sounded just like the original, and I thought she could have done a lot more with it. I think she'll be one to watch. [Remember her from the auditions]

Katie Stevens I didn't really dig her song. I remember her having a better voice, but they saved her for the very last so there must be something there. [Remember her from the auditions]

No one blew me away. I think most of the girls had a case of nerves on Tuesday's show, and hopefully that doesn't carry over all season. I didn't feel a lot of energy or excitement on the show and am hoping the guys can do better! :)

Little lambs

Things you see at a flea market...

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Project Curtain Call: Day 2

The curtain fabric and blackout fabric have all been measured, cut and washed. Now it's time for sewing! It is all steadily coming together...

Stayed tuned!

Project Curtain Call: Day 1 Pictures

The fabric and blackout material

 

The current curtains

 

Hey!

 

Done with measuring and cutting the curtain fabric!

 

Project Curtain Call: Day 1

I'm starting a new project this week: curtains for the windows. Our house faces south and gets tons of light from sun-up to sun-down. This is great for the later days of winter, because the house gets heated and we can save on the gas and electric bills. The rooms that get heated are the den, eating nook, and master bedroom. On 65-degree days, the house can warm up to 74-76 degrees in the house. Jump ahead to the good ol' summertime and things really heat up! We have blinds and some curtains, but we wanted more to keep the unwanted heat out.

We hit the fabric store a couple of Saturdays ago while they were having a great sale. Remember, the whole point of this project is practical and cost-cutting. We got blackout material and curtain material. The blackout was already on sale, so we had them cut that into 2-yd sections for us. However, the fabric for curtains was on sale with a coupon, and the coupon only allows for one (1) cut of fabric. This is where I'm starting today, dividing the one (1) cut of fabric in to 2-yd sections. We have 9 windows that need coverings and today is Day 1 of PCC.

45 minutes into the project (aaahhh!! English 101 flashback! Should I have spelled "45" since I'm starting the sentence with a number??) I have run into a slight problem. Not a bad one, but I have 14.5 inches of EXTRA fabric. I immediately think the fabric lady cut too much fabric (she seemed new and didn't really know a whole lot any time I asked her a question), but it could very easily be my measuring that's off.

Part of the project plan is to include pictures as I go along, and I took some before starting, but have not uploaded them yet as my batteries have died. I wil post them later today.

Time for a quick snack and back to measuring, cutting, and enjoying the lovely day!

Scanning

I've been having trouble with my scanner lately. Or maybe the trouble is that there is a total of 3 working computers in the house: a desktop, and two laptops. The scanner/printer/copier was bought the same time as the desktop, and beyond the (what I call normal) hiccups every now and then, it has always worked fine. If I want to print something from my laptop, I usually can just plug in the USB cord and type 'Ctrl+P' and I'm good to go. This used to work on Chris' laptop, too, but for some reason it doesn't recognize it anymore. No big deal, since we have 2 other sources if needed. What has really bugged me for some time now, is that the scanner doesn't work on my laptop. And it's frustrating, because I know for a fact that over a year ago it did work. Well, today I set forth on a mission to figure it out once and for all.

After hours of installing, uninstalling, starting, restarting, plugging in and unplugging, and reading message boards, the scanner finally works for me!! I read a few posts and thought, "These people are nuts! What does that have to do with anything?" Why did I think they were crazy? Because they mentioned that after installing a Wacom writing/drawing tablet, their HP scanning machine quit working. I had no clue why that would cause a scanner to stop scanning. And still don't. Turns out, when a Wacom tablet is installed, something is disabled in the secret inner workings of the computer and renders your scanner useless! Who'da thunk it? Not me! Anyway...I found a patch and installed it and now I'm a scanning queen!

Yay!

That's it...that's all I've got. Get back to your Monday night tv.

:)

Testing

Testing 1 2 3.....testing
TCB :)

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