Please Tell Me Next Week Will Be Better!

Watching tonight's show I find myself yawning, checking the clock, counting how many contestants we have left and wondering why they put all the mediocre singers into one group. I just can't believe that after such a strong start last week we have to sit through so many so-so performances. With two exceptions tonights show was a wash for me.

Jasmine Murray - I distinctly remember her being in the awful girls group with Bikini Girl during Hollywood Week and was looking forward to her performance. I was anxiously waiting for her to knock a Whitney song out of the park, but no, she sang Love Song a bouncy pop song I usually hear at Old Navy. She never really took off with the song although she did the sticky-footed walk really well. Cute girl, and not dressed like a skank. For that alone I raise my grade to B-. p.s. does anyone else think she looks like Angelina Jolie in Shark Tale??

Matt Giraud - I remember thinking he was a very good singer, but as the judges said, he picked the completely wrong song with Coldplay's Viva La Vida. When he originally announced he was singing that song I winced a little bit thinking that this would be awkward...and I was right. He may have picked that song because he knows it is on pretty high rotation on the listen-at-work stations and let's face it, those listeners are a big part of the AI demographic. So strategy-wise I kinda see where he was going, but the key is not to sing a British "rock"(insert pop) group's song like Justin Timberlake. It just doesn't work and I don't think JT himself would have tackled it. I think he is still pretty cool despite being a dueling piano player but overall tonight was a bust. Grade: C+

Jeanine Vailes - Wow, wow, wow. Wrong song (This Love), wrong performance (way oversang it), wrong outfit (Daisy Dukes, my mom's rayon blazer circa 1992 and open-toed booties) Trainwreck. Grade: F

Norman Gentle/Nick Mitchell - After three subpar performances, Norman/Nick's comic relief was a welcome change. And the kicker is he really can sing...or saaaang as Randy likes to say. Tonight was not his best vocal but in past performances he shows that he has a great voice. He is a guilty pleasure and like the 15th Tagalong cookie that you know you shouldn't have, I just can't say no to him. Grade: B-

Allison Iraheta - Being that she is 16 I was nervous when she said she would attempt Heart but whoa -- that was amazing! She is definitely edgy but it seems authentic, like this is her actual style not something she is trying to be for the show (ahem, Alexis Grace) I love, love, love her. Incredibly strong vocals and she completely deserves to go through to the top 12. Grade: A+

Kris Allen - Tackling MJ should not be taken lightly. Proceed with caution. Be able to do something amazing with it or don't bother. The fact that Kris covered his face with his spazzy mic hands was the least of his worries. He made the song sound even whiter than MJ himself. I am not sure what Paula and Simon were thinking in their critique. It wasn't awful, but not great. Grade: C-

Megan Joy Corkrey - I love Corinne Bailey Ray and I love Girl Put Your Records On. This was rough for me. The beginning of the song she was flailing her arms waiting for the music and by the end of the song it sounded like she was yelling. I also didn't like her sass back to Simon...or the sewed on rosettes on her bodice. Am I the only one resisting the early nineties fashion comeback? I had those huge hideous rosettes on my Daddy/Daughter Date Dress in the 6th grade. It is a look I don't want to see any time soon. Grade: C-

Matt Breitzke - Matt the Welder this Group 2's Michael Sarver. Normal "working" guy, family responsibilities, late nineties fashion choices. To be fair, I may judge him more harshly because I hate the song If You Could Only See. He just seemed to sing it like a karaoke performance. It just wasn't great for me. Grade: C-

Jesse Langseth - Her performance of Bette Davis Eyes was ok...boring...whatever. Compared to Allison she has no chance. I can't believe the judges (Paula) are using the words "captivating", "unique", and "memorable". Simon's critique was dead on. Grade: C.

Kai Kalama - He sang What Becomes of the Broken Hearted well, but to me it was nothing special. I guess I am still waiting to be blown away. It was just ok. Grade: C.

Mishavonna Henson - I am starting to think this night is a cruel joke. Most of the contestants are picking songs that I hate. Drops of Jupiter is one of those easy, meaningless, non-threatening songs that just doesn't do anything for me. Mishavonna also has the same problem most of Season 7 contestants had which is taking the song too seriously. She acts like she is reciting the preamble to the Contstitution when in reality she is singing a Train song. Cute girl, but not wowing me. Grade: C.

Adam Lambert - I loved his original audition and I think he has real singing chops. I Can't Get No Satisfaction didn't seem like a great song to choose melody-wise, but I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. He knows how to dress and how to work the camera. I also think because he has a theatre background that he will be able to sing a wide variety of songs because he clearly knows how to get into character. I agree with Randy that it was a little manic, but at least it was not boring. He worked the stage and made changes on the melody that livened up the show if only for the last five minutes. Finally someone seems to care about singing. Grade: A.

After watching the whole show now, I feel like Adam and Allison are the clear leaders for the guy and girl pic and if I HAVE to choose a third it would probably be Jasmine because I have heard her sing well in the past. I would not be sad if Norman/Nick went through just so I could laugh again.

What do you think?

Blah, Blah, Blah and Amazing Talent

Back by popular demand I am starting up my American Idol posts again for season 8. I have to say when they originally announced the top 36 I was very confused as to how they would whittle the crowd done in enough time. This new plan of keeping the top 3 of each night and then having a wild card night is ingenious. I really hope this makes this part of the competition less painful. The night was a mixed bag of amazing, mediocre and awful.

Jackie Tohn - ugh! I have not liked her since her original audition and tonight just solidified my feelings. Singing A Little Less Conversation in a raspy tone and looking like Sandy from Grease in the world's tightest black pants was not my idea to a good start for the night. It is obvious the judges love her, hopefully there will be like-minded people to me not voting for her tonight. Her personality grates on me and I really do not want to see her perform again. She also kept popping up throughout the night like Where's Waldo making sure to get camera time after everyone else's performance. Grade: C-

Ricky Braddy - Where have you been all my life? I do not remember him from the original auditions and only recall seeing him a few times during Hollywood week. Amazing vocals and he is someone that becomes more attractive as he sings. By the end of his song I wanted to set him up with my sister. His voice and control is so good he could easily transfer to B'Way in a big way. Love, love, love him! The night is looking up. Grade: A+

Alexis Grace - I have not enjoyed her thus far because I could tell the judges were favoring her and encouraging her to "dirty up". I also hate it when girls are told to change their image and they run for the nearest hair salon to get chunky pink streaks in their hair. Why is that the universal sign for "edgy"? That aside, she did perform very well tonight especially since she tackled the enormous sparkley gray bow-hat lady Aretha herself. If she does I hope she doesn't wear black lingerie for her next performance. Grade: A-

Brent Keith - Hicktown was boring, forgettable and mediocre. Grade: C-

Stevie Wright - The lower parts of Taylor Swift's You Belong to Me were awful. She does not have control of her lower range. Also the late eighties step touch dance moves were very strange to see on such a young girl. It was like watching Destiny's Child early home movies. It sounded like the band was overpowering her, and half way through the song it looked like she knew this was a bad idea. She is a cute girl so I feel bad for her, but it was a really bad performance. Grade: D

Anoop Desai - I was surprised when he announced he'd be singing Angel of Mine because the judges usually don't like when a female artist song is sung by a male, but he did a really good job. I think Simon is right he has a huge likeability factor and seeing how Slumdog Millionaire is sweeping the awards show it just may be his year too. His voice definitely has a good tone and I wouldn't mind seeing him again. Grade: B+

Casey Carlson - A weak interpretation of Every Little Thing (s)He Does is Magic. Again I felt like the band overpowered her. Her performance was awkward and hard to watch. It was like seeing the popular girl in school completely embarrass herself at the high school talent show. Seen in that light it was semi-enjoyable but painful none the less. Grade: D

Michael Sarver - Here is another example of someone I want to like, because he has a nice backstory but I just don't think he has the talent to back it up. Unsurprisingly, he chose to sing Gavin DeGraw's I Don't Wanna Be, the anthem of the modern "common man". It was okay but I had to laugh at the shirt with a fiery cross on the front AND back...and a leather pendant necklace. Oh yeah, somewhere Dawson Leary is cheering. Grade: B-

Anne Marie Boskovich - Her voice was definitely not big enough for that song and I feel like she is a pretty face but not a star. There is a possibility her skin-tight turquoise dress will get her through, but with Alexis singing Aretha so much better, that chance is slim. Grade: B-

Stephen Fowler - After his weak performance of MJ's Rock With You I thought again that this new elimination schedule is a VERY good idea. Stephen made the fourth underwhelming contestant and I was very glad the judges all agreed it was not good at all. Grade: D

Tatiana Del Toro - For anyone who has had the misfortune of watching this season of AI with me they know I usually yell at the screen any time Tatiana appears. She is just SO over the top and not talented enough to back it up. Tonight's performance wasn't awful and she wasn't as annoying as she usually is but I agree with Simon that she is just trying to be famous she doesn't care how. To me, that is not why someone should be the next American Idol. She also has the oddest fashion sense - fake eyelashes ready to fall off, electric pink lipstick and then a flowy, flowery dress. It was like an outfit you'd see on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras. Now that I think of it, she reminds me of a giant, oversized child beauty pageant contestant. Perhaps that is why I don't like her. In any case, this review has gone on long enough. Grade: C

Danny Gokey - Here is someone that has a terrific, endearing backstory and has an amazing voice to back it up. Finally I remember that this is a singing competition and am glad Danny is included in it. His performance of Mariah Carey's Hero was strong, powerful, original and humble at the same time. I love him. Grade: A+

So at the end of the two hour show I am left with a few questions. Why wasn't Danny's BFF Jamal included in the top 36 but Stephen Fowler, and Brent Keith were? Who is the "real" Tatiana? Were the girls included this season due to their looks or talent? Will anyone tell Cara not to swallow the mic when she gives critique? For tomorrow's results show I think it should be Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace and Ricky Braddy. Hopefully Anoop will get put into the wildcard show.

What do you think?

I can't even stand it...

So I know I haven't updated in a LOOOOONG time and I am working on correcting that. I guess I am not even sure where to start. But...this picture of Carter is so cute I can't even stand it. He is such a little man. To see our full collection of Carter pics, check out our Flickr page.

Happy Halloween

As most of my friends know, I am not a big Halloween fan, in fact, I avoid most of the merriment associated with the holiday. But, I loved the idea of putting Carter in a costume, so here is my attempt at participating in Halloween. If you want to see more pictures, click here.

Here's Hoping...

Here's hoping I win a super cute handbag from HandbagPlanet.com. Go check them out and enter to win a free handbag - www.handbagplanet.com. Thanks to Emma for the heads up!

Like the Corners of My Mind

My SIL, Hannah, posts memories called "Flashback Friday" on her blog and she shares funny stories of what it was like for her growing up or milestones in her life. In tribute to her, and since I will probably forget to post this by Friday, I am sharing this memory of mine for those who read this blog to laugh at. I was reminded of this by reading Monica's post on food aversions and conversions and it made me remember the horror that was school lunch for me.

My mother was deeply against buying us hot lunch at school. She felt that $.85 a day was too pricey and that we could pack our lunches cheaper with food from home. Despite our protests and pleadings that all the other cool kids bought hot lunch, she insisted that we "brown bag" it or in our case "Playmate" it. For those of you who don't know what a Playmate is (other than the girl with bunny ears) it is a small personal cooler put out by the Igloo company. In the early 90s when I was forced to start Playmating it my mom bought us all matching "Little Playmates" which where even smaller versions of the Playmate cooler with fuschia and teal accents (as I said it was the early 90s). Playmate was such an ironic name for them since they were in no way a playmate and certainly did not attract them.

In our Little Playmate there was a Rubbermaid sandwich container, drink container and ice pack. There was also usually room to store an apple, pretzels or whatever other snack item we could scrounge up when we packed our lunch five minutes before the bus arrived. Since my first day of first grade my mother never packed my lunch. She claimed that she was teaching me to be self-sufficient, but really I think she wanted to sleep in a few more minutes. My first grade teacher actually brought this up at parent-teacher conference after she noticed some of my creative choices for lunches, but my mother stood by her decision and insisted that I continue Playmating it for myself.

During one school vacation over Christmas break, I forgot to empty my Playmate and the drink container stunk so much that it had to be thrown away. Instead of buying me a new drink container which were available at Wal-Mart and several other fine retailers, my mother wanted me to live with the consequence of my negligence and replaced the plastic Rubbermaid drink container with a Ball canning jar complete with metal lid. As cruel as I think this was at least my mother was consistent and made the other kids do the same when they ruined their drink container. Not only did the canning jar make the already bulky Playmate heavier it was difficult to casually drink out of a canning jar at the lunch table. I would usually drink the whole jar while the other kids were going through the hot lunch line so they wouldn't see me tipping back a 16-ounce glass jar when they were daintily sipping out of a milk carton.

The other logistical problem with the Playmate came on the bus ride to and from school. School bus seats are built to fit two sixty pound kids with normal backpacks and the aisles are only wide enough to walk single file. When you are a large kid to begin with and then are carrying a boxy cooler that weighs ten pounds getting seated on the bus becomes tricky. Most days my brother and I would suck it up and sit together with our Playmates instead of forcing another hot-lunch-child to be embarrassed with us.

Looking back on it I still laugh that my mom, being a middle school teacher herself, sent us to school with dorky Playmate coolers knowing we would be ridiculed. I guess she wanted us to get a tough skin early on to prepare us for real life. The funny thing is, as soon as I could get a job when I was fifteen, I used that money to buy hot lunch and never Playmated it again. Sorry for the really random post but when Monica asked for comments on food aversions I couldn't help but think of how much I really hate lunch food (sandwiches in particular) to this day.

Big Bang Theory

So, as some of you know, I got my hair cut into a Pageboy on Wednesday. I blame my urge to cut it mostly on Mad Men, which I have to say, if you are not watching it...you should be! If you have Comcast you can watch all the episodes for free on OnDemand. Okay, so enough of the Mad Men plug! My other beauty inspiration, as always, is Katie Holmes. I thought this cut would make me look more sophisticated, but so far I think it is just cute and vintage-y (which is always good). Mike thinks it looks like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction...and that's not the worst thing.

Special thank you goes out to Erika at SoHo Salon & Spa in Rye. She did a great job and was very easy to chat with. For anyone that is looking for a new stylist in NH, I highly recommend her services and the salon in general.

Here are a few pics...Mike trying to be "artsy" and put me in the "golden third" of the photo

From above

I was sick of the photo shoot at this point but I wanted to show a side view