OK, what the heck is going on with American Idol? I wasn't too surprised that Michael went home, but why was Scott in the bottom three? And Matt too? But not Megan? I think that's why I watch that show because it's such a train wreck. Oh and speaking of train wrecks, what the HECK was Paula wearing? She looked like a ballerina on crack or something. And that business with the mustache - sheesh people. You're supposed to be music professionals, not High School kids.

I need to stop watching this on Tivo and watch it in real time so I can Tweet about it to all my friends. I'm always just as interested in what the people are wearing or what they're doing as what they end up singing about. Smokey Robinson - what is up with him? He's kind of got a problem with personal space or something. He was singing with Joss Stone and he was so in her face it was really odd to watch. You could see her just inching back to get away from him and he kept following her.

I'm really liking Kara DeoGuardi. She's so much more coherent than Paula (and she doesn't clap like a seal!) and sometimes she really gives the contestants some very smart advice. You can tell that she really knows a lot like about the music business and I think she and Randy really have a good "cool" vibe going on that balances out the craziness that is Paula and Simon.

As for the contestants, they've really got a mixed bag this year. Some of them I think are really fantastic and some of them are just kind of puzzling. I LOVE, love, love Adam and Danny. You can tell they are just really something special. Plus Danny looks just like my oldest son, Ryan. (I tried to upload a picture of him, but Blogger isn't cooperating, so you can click here to see a picture of him.) I really like Lil and Allison and of course, Scott. Allison is particularly amazing because she's just a High School kid, isn't she? Kris, Matt, Michael, and Anoop are decent, but a little forgettable to me. I think they'll all be going out in the next few weeks. I liked Michael, but I think he is going home at about the right time because he wasn't that good, but he was a cute guy and seemed like a lot of fun.

Now, Megan is another story. I feel like I should root for her because she is literally from my home town. I mean, she probably lives within just a few miles of me, as does Archuletta. And she's a seriously gorgeous girl - except for that nasty tattoo. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a small tasteful tattoo here or there, especially on the inside of the wrist or on the back of the shoulder, but that big ugly thing all down her whole arm - what was she thinking? It isn't even anything pretty. All I can think is that she must have been dating a tattoo artist at the time or something, but she's sure stuck with it now.

But here's the problem - the girl cannot sing! Really, she is just terrible. I'm not sure how she got out of Hollywood week. And her movements (I refuse to call that dancing). She is so darn awkward! She looks like a little kid who is learning how to dance and has totally no rhythm. But on the other hand, it's like a car accident, you just can't look away because you can't believe that someone on TV can be so uncoordinated! I simply cannot understand why she hasn't been in the bottom three yet. She must have a LOT of friends and family or something....

I guess that's why this show is so popular - it can be really fascinating. I'm just glad they axed Tatiana early on - I couldn't possibly have tolerated another week of that phony drama queen - ugh!

PS: Adam - wow! He was SO handsome with his hair done up like that. He totally looked like a young Elvis Presley. I think he's amazing and totally unique. He's very confident for a guy that young and he's really talented. He'd be my choice for a winner.

I had an epiphany today. I think I've finally figured out the whole recession thing. I know they've been saying it's the whole subprime mortgage business, but I don't think that's it. I mean, that is certainly a factor, but I think it is a lot more far-reaching than that. I'm no economist - I can't even balance my checkbook, but I think what caused it are those high gas prices that were going on last Spring and Summer.

I mean, think about it. Within a 3-4 month period that gas prices shot up from about $2 a gallon to over $4 and even close to $5 in some places. People freaked out - rightfully so, and started desperately looking around for ways to save money. Because these gas prices affected literally everyone, rich people, poor people, middle class, big businesses, small businesses - every government office, hospital, construction company, and school district in America.



Out went manicures, piano lessons, vacations, cable bills, eating out, and every other "luxury" item that people could possibly eliminate. So all the small local businesses like nail salons and restaurants had to start cutting back and laying people off. Same thing with larger businesses because the school districts and large companies started cutting back as well to compensate for their astronomical fuel costs. So, as people started being laid off, they couldn't pay their bills and their homes started going into foreclosure and their credit card bills weren't being paid. This caused companies to start forecasting losses for the quarter and the stock market guys started freaking out. Then the 401K's and the home values started going south and it just caused a complete panic cycle around the whole world.

It didn't help things that every news show, magazine, and newspaper started spouting "the sky is falling" stories. I really think the power of the press is terrifying. All they have to do is whisper the words "recession" or "depression" and the cycle kicks right into gear. I really think they've played a huge role in the last few recessions.

What I don't get was why the oil companies were allowed to do all this to us? It's a matter of public record that their profits in this leanest of lean years are the highest that have ever been seen in history. Everyone is screaming like a scalded cat over these AIG bonuses and all these other obscenely huge bonuses that have been handed out to all these executives, but that's a tiny fraction compared to the kind of money these oil companies pocketed from all those months of $4 a gallon gas prices. Yes, the President should have done something, but so should the rest of us. Every member of Congress and every business owner and every citizen should have been squawking our little heads off. What are we - sheep? I guess so, I didn't really do anything either - baaaaa.

I think we need to learn some lessons from Rosa Parks and Ghandi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. about civil disobedience. I think it's too late to fix by going after the oil companies - it's kind of like putting the toothpaste back into the tube at this point, and I don't honestly know what is going to fix this mess. It's definitely going to take something big -we're in pretty deep doo-doo, but I think it will sort itself out if we give it a little time and try to keep everything from completely coming unglued. But I think we're definitely going to have to learn how to stand up for ourselves so that this never happens again.

Just think how satisfying it would be to stand on every street corner and form a human chain around every gas station? Wouldn't the press have a field day with that? Or even better - don't barricade the gas pumps, barricade the damn mini mart section! All that gourmet coffee getting cold, all that milk going bad, all those cigarettes going unsmoked, all those chips just sitting on the shelf uneaten - wouldn't that give them a bite in the wallet? Let's make a pact - the next time somebody gets out of line like that, we're going to step up to the plate and let them have it!

Went to the Scrapbook Expo this weekend. Usually I go all nuts and buy tons of stuff, but this time I was pretty good. I got a couple of nice framed pictures for my kitchen, a scrapbook album, some page kits, and some vinyl words for my walls. But I did find something really fabulous! I found a little booth that was selling perfumes that are based on the Twilight books. Pretty original, I thought since those books are such a hit.



And yum! I'm truly not a big perfume girl, but I loved these. Alright, I didn't like the Jacob scent one bit, but I went nuts for Edward, Bella, and Alice. Especially Edward - oh my gosh, if that's what he smelled like, I'd be hooked on him too. It's described as honey, lilac, and sun and it even has a little bit of a shimmer to it, so you'll shine in the sun, just like a vampire!

They offer free samples, so pop over there and check it out - EssenceofTwilight.com. I'm not working for them or anything, though I wish I was. Actually, I wish I'd thought of it first! Feel free to mention my name - maybe they'll send me some freebies.

If you'll notice, there is a new little goody over on my sidebar. Several of the blogs I read have been talking about this new website - Fishful Thinking.com. So I decided to pop over there and see what all the fuss was about. It's a website sponsored by Pepperidge Farms, the people who make the Goldfish crackers. It's all about using optimism and positive thinking to raise great kids.

This really struck a chord with me because I am all about the positive thinking. I literally have an entire bookshelf at my house that is devoted to Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, Anthony Robbins, Rhonda Byrne and other positive thinking gurus. So, when Tiffany of the R Family Diaries and SITS invited me to sign up as a Fishful Thinking Ambassador, I thought that sounded like a perfect match for me.

I really like the website. It has a ton of articles, quizzes, and ideas for making your children more positive and resilient. There's even a kid's portion of the website that has fun games for your kids to play. I found one article that I particularly liked that I passed onto my son's teacher. It's all about "how" to praise your children for the best results. If you praise your child just for being smart, it doesn't have as good an effect on him or her as if you praise them for trying hard. Praising them for trying hard gives them something concrete to do the next time, while praising them for being smart just makes them feel like they are dumb if they aren't successful on the first try. HERE's a link to the article.

Or go over there and click on that cute little fishy on my sidebar to visit the site. The more the merrier. More info will be coming along soon.




Legal stuff: As an Ambassador, I get to participate in contests and incentives for participating in this activity. But that's not why I'm doing it. I just want to share this great info with other Moms, 'cuz I think we can all use the help we can get.

This is one of the few times you'll ever see a picture of me on my blog. I'm notoriously camera-shy, but I wanted you to see my favorite St. Patrick's Day sweater. My Dad has been gone for a lot of years, probably 15 years now, I don't even remember any more. But this was one of his golf sweaters and at least once a year, I get it out and wear it in his memory - usually on St. Patrick's Day or Christmas because it's such a bright holiday-ish green. It's actually amazing it's held up after all these years!

My Daddy was a golfer and an insurance agent and I remember he had rather bizarre taste in clothing. I remember he used to wear this sweater with some pale yellow pants that always seemed a little out of place on a six foot, 200 pound man, but they were his favorite. Then he had a sport coat that I called his circus tent. It was literally red and white striped, very narrow stripes, not quite as wide stripes as a circuit tent, but I couldn't believe he actually wore it work with a straight face. Wish I'd thought to get a picture of it because I can see it so clearly in my mind, but who'd have ever thought I'd have a blog when this was back before computers were even invented - (boy does that ever date me!) I'd almost forgotten about his Union Jack hat. I think I do have a picture of that one somewhere. It's a newsboy style hat with a picture of the British flag on it. He used to wear it all the time when he was golfing, even though he wasn't British or anything. Bizarre!



Here's my Dad in his favorite ratty old chair with his favorite grandson (Matt), in his favorite ratty old bathrobe. Hi Daddy! Miss you!



Here I am on my work at home day. Wow, I didn't realize I looked that tired, but this was at the end of a nearly 12 hour day, so I guess that makes sense. I kind of get this "Phantom of the Opera" thing going on with two both computers going full steam sometimes. Notice that whomping stack of phone bills I'm processing? That's about half a days worth, actually. That's why I was sneaking in a couple of hours of overtime - shhh don't tell my boss. I get crazy when I get too far behind, but they changed us to hourly from salaried last year, so we are limited to 40 hours a week no matter what. But when I've had a week like this one, I sometimes sneak in a couple of extra hours to keep my sanity!

Remember my post a few months back - to grey or not to grey? Well, obviously I decided to give the grey a try. It's a slow process. I stopped coloring it in November, and we even tried a couple of applications of a color remover, which lightened it up nicely, but didn't totally remove the colored part, so right now we're at the half grey/half blonde stage. I figure another couple of months, but so far, I'm kind of liking it.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Being in the blog world is hard to explain to non-bloggers. But sometimes you can really get some great ideas from other people's blogs. For instance, right after the first of the year, I was poking around over at Life With my 3 Boybarians (love that name!). She had just redone her schoolroom and I liked the color scheme so much, I sent my husband straight to Home Depot to get some paint and get right on that basement. Click HERE to go take a peek at her schoolroom. Naturally, he thought I was crazy, but if he doesn't know that by now... And anyway, it was a holiday weekend and he was bored, so he went, and a few weeks later, it looks like this:



Doesn't that look wonderful? I especially like the high gloss white on the bookshelves and fireplace. It looks SO much better. In the right light, you can even see the reflection of the books in the paint. I also took the opportunity to reorganize my bookshelves and shift some of the furniture around.



I think my husband did a great job too. He apprenticed with a professional painter for about six months and he really does very meticulous work on all the trim and everything. Although, I do have to give props to the guy at Home Depot for helping us pick out the paint. Below was my original paint color. I thought a rich chocolate color would be just great, but when we got it on the wall, it looked exactly like someone had smeared a Hershey's bar all over the wall. So I was glad that we switched to a much lighter shade and Tim, the paint guy showed us how we could take the same can of paint and just lighten it a few shades for the contrasting trim.



Here is what the basement looked like when we first bought the house two years ago. It looked like they had taken a 5 gallon bucket of some kind of cheap, nasty off white color that looked sort of like a dingy tooth color and put it on every wall in the house. I'm serious! The entire house - every single surface in it, was this nasty dingy, yellow-y color. It was the only thing I didn't like about the house, well besides the ugly carpets, because I just love color in a house. My Mom always painted everything either white or off white, but I've got to have color around me. So we painted several rooms before we moved in, and several more since then, but we've just gradually been eliminating that yucky color a room at a time.



The basement was a challenge though because the walls are all textured. You know, like they texture ceilings, well they did that all the way down the walls through the whole basement. I wasn't sure how well that would look with a color, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think it looks great with the color. It feels much warmer and much more "finished" than it did, less like a basement. What do you think?

It has been SO pretty lately. The snow is almost melted and the sun has been shining, although it's been in the low 20's in the mornings when I take the kids to school (brrr!). It's feeling very Springlike lately and I love it! Spring is definitely my favorite season. So, today I decided to get my nails done in a pretty Flamingo Pink just for the heck of it.



I even got some pretty sparklies put on them. They have a girl there who is a pretty good artist and she does these pretty flowers all freehand and embellishes them with tiny little rhinestones. Isn't that pretty?



And yes, those are my real nails. I've never had an artificial nail in my life. I wish I could brag about it, but it's just genetics. All the women in my family have these really thick nails that just grow like mad. Kind of a shame that all I had were boys, but at least they have great nails! Maybe it will carry though to my granddaughters.

I got such cute jokes for my Spring Fling contest. You can view the comments to see some of them. I thought I'd keep the fun going with some fun jokes my sister sent me:

How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest ?
They Take The Psycho Path

How Do You Get Holy Water?
You Boil The Hell Out Of It (I love that one!)

What Do Fish Say When They Hit a Concrete Wall?
Dam!

What Do Eskimos Get From Sitting On The Ice too Long?
Polaroids

What did the hippie say to the pencil?  
Write on, man

What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn’t work?
A Stick

Why do bikers wear black leather?
Because chiffon wrinkles

What Do You Call Four Bullfighters In Quicksand?
Quattro Sinko.

What Do You Get From a Pampered Cow?
Spoiled Milk.

What Do You Get When You Cross a Snowman With a Vampire?
Frostbite.

What’s The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup?
Anyone Can Roast Beef.

Where Do You Find a Dog With No Legs?
Right Where You Left Him.

Why Do Gorillas Have Big Nostrils?
Because They Have Big Fingers.

Why Don’t Blind People Like To Sky Dive?
Because It Scares The Dog.

What Is The Difference Between a Harley And a Hoover?
The Location Of The Dirt Bag.

What’s The Difference Between a Bad Golfer And a Bad Skydiver?
A Bad Golfer Goes, Whack , Dang!
A Bad Skydiver Goes Dang! Whack

My school friend Yvonne sent this to me and it so describes me to a "T". How 'bout you??
Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.  As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.  I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.  But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of soda I'd been drinking.  I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the soda aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.  The soda is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.  As I head toward the kitchen with the soda, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye - they need water.

I put the soda on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.  I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.  I set the glasses back down on the counter,fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.  I realize that tonight when we watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.  Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of soda sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Do me a favor. Send this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to.