brian & kerri's idol recap

OK. It's 10:30 and we just finished watching Idol on TiVo. It was an interesting show. First up was Katharine. Both Brian and I thought she was awesome, so we were shocked at what the judges had to say.

Second was Elliott - his was my favorite performance of the night. He just absolutely rocked! He's got so much soul!

Next. Kellie. Blah. It's like a different show comes on when she's onstage. She just DOES NOT fit in with the rest of them. She was flat for more than half the song, and she never shows any emotion. She just always has that blank, ditzy, blonde stare! Brian's comment: She looks dead inside.

Paris was good, as usual. She's an exceptional singer, especially for her age. Brian's comment: She's going to be the next Janet Jackson.

Taylor, my boyfriend. I thought he did pretty well, but of course, I'm biased because he's my boyfriend. I just love his voice, but I do agree that tonight was not his best performance. I also love the song he sang. Brian predicts that Taylor will be in the bottom three.

OK. Chris. I've got to say that I agree wholeheartedly with David Foster. I've been saying from week one that Chris is going to have some real problems if he doesn't start singing correctly. He sings COMPLETELY from his throat and uses a raspy tone that is not present in his speaking voice. All in all, he is doing some major damage to his vocal cords. If he doesn't change the way he sings, he won't be singing for a whole lot longer. That said, he did a pretty good job tonight. I can actually see his neck tensing up when he hits the high notes, though. That's not good! Your neck should not be strained when you sing!

My top three, in order:
Elliott
Katharine
Taylor

Brian's top three, in order:
Elliott
Katharine
Paris

I think Kellie's going home. Brian thinks either Kellie or Taylor is going home. I think Brian's just jealous 'cause Taylor's my boyfriend. :-)

On to other things. I've been working my butt off on these articles! I've done four today and will finish up another one before bed. That leaves four for tomorrow. Whew! Last night was not good. I wrote until about 2:00 am, then did Sudoku and watched a little TV. I turned off the light at 3:00, didn't go right to sleep, got up and wandered around the house at 5:00, the phone started ringing at 8:00. I was trying to sleep. It kept ringing. And ringing. From 10:00 until 11:00 this morning, my phone rang about 15 times. I was annoyed, to say the least. I finally just turned the ringers off and left them off until Brian got home from work.

So, if you called me today, I'm sorry I didn't answer! I was trying SO HARD to get these articles done. I haven't even checked messages. I'll try to return calls tomorrow, I promise. But I'll probably turn the ringers off for at least part of the day tomorrow, too. It really helped me concentrate on my articles. That's the bad thing about working from home - so many distractions!

Only one more day until the Baby B!!!!!!!!

i'm supposed to be writing an article....

....but instead I decided to blog. It's been awhile! Since I've started seriously writing articles, I've been spending less time fooling around on the computer. And that includes blogging.

But now, here I sit at Panera, trying to make myself concentrate on activities and attractions in Lisbon, Portugal. I'm having trouble concentrating! I've been procrastinating on my articles lately and I really need to buckle down and get these done!

Three days from right now I'll be with the Baby B! I'm headed out to Kansas City to visit Brad, Kari, and Braden. I can't wait! Braden will be 1 year old on May 11. I can't even believe it! Don't worry, I'll post lots of pics when I get back.

Today marks a month of my serious commitment to better health. I've been briskly walking between 2.2 and 2.8 miles every day except Sundays. Seriously. I haven't missed a day. I'm very tan!! :-) (well, for me, anyway - I guess it's really mostly freckles!) I've completely cut salt and sugar (!) out of my diet and have only had dessert once in the past month - on Easter Sunday. I've been eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lowfat dairy products, with a few nuts thrown in here and there to increase the fat intake, and I feel GREAT. I don't know that I've ever felt this good in my life! I probably have, but not in several years. And what's really interesting is that I'm doing this for health reasons, not for weight loss reasons. I suspect that I'll lose some weight too, but that's not my motivation, for the first time! But, I can tell that some of my shorts and pants are fitting a little better, so that makes me excited!

We've got some yard work that needs to be done. I want to plant flowers in the front and transplant some of the plants that are in the front to the back. That will entail digging a bed in the back. I also want to plant at least one more palm tree. And I could just kick myself for waiting so long to do it - it gets to 90 degrees almost every day now! And it's just gonna keep getting hotter!!!! And I want to get it done before fall, because the longer we leave those shrubs in, the harder they're going to be to pull up. I haven't told Brian yet. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed at the thought of a weekend of yard work in 90-degree weather!! Not!

Idol tomorrow! I thought last week's show was great. Except that I hate Rod Stewart. I forwarded through his performance on Wednesday. Oh, I also forwarded through most of Chris' performance on Tuesday. I know that saying this is going to make a lot of you mad if you're fans of Chris', but that performance just bored me to tears. In case you don't remember, he sang "What a Wonderful World" and I don't like that song, either. Double whammy for Chris.

My top three were Taylor, Elliott, and Katharine. My bottom three were Kellie, Chris, and Ace. I got it mostly right. I couldn't believe Kellie was in the top 4. Seriously - she needs to go next. But she probably won't, because she's blonde, pretty, and ditzy - and apparently America likes that!

I need to thank my fab friend Alicia for telling me about this game called Brain Age for Nintendo DS. We got it the other day and I just love it! It's supposed to help keep your brain young. It also has Sudoku! Yay! Anyway, I don't think that the brain age test is accurate, since the first time I took it my brain was 40. I took it 3 more times that same day, and my brain was 39, 21, and 23!! 20 is the best possible age. ANYWAY! It's still lots of fun and you should all go get it. I know some people who need it! LOL

All right, back to writing articles. But first, I wanna give a shout-out to the folks at Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, where my wonderful father-in-law is the music pastor. Hi, everybody! Hope you're having a great day!

what's in a name

Ah, so much to say! But not all in one post. First of all, I'm sure that everyone who reads my blog AND watches American Idol thought of me on Wednesday night when Bucky was voted off! YAY!!!! I was whooping and dancing around in my living room! I don't know why Elliott was in the bottom three, but that's another post. I'm already predicting that Ace will go home next week.

On Wednesday, I made a trip to my local Publix. We were out of food and I also needed to make a deposit - our bank is located inside Publix. On my way out of the house, I remembered that I had a pair of pants that needed to be dry cleaned. OK, I have like 4 things in my wardrobe that have to be dry cleaned, because I hate paying for someone else to clean my clothes. And I hate waiting on them to be finished, etc.

With that said, the dry cleaners are right next to Publix, so I took the pants in and set them up on the counter. The lady behind the desk asked for my phone number. I gave it to her, and when she typed it in the computer, she realized I hadn't been there before. So she asked me for my last name. I told her, she said to spell it, so I did. I watched as she typed S-O-S. "That's a new one," I thought!

Then came the first name debacle. She asked, so I said Kerri. I didn't bother to spell it, because by now, I don't even CARE how people spell my name. I figured she'd type CARRIE and we'd get on with it. I needed to get a roast in the oven.

And then, of course, she asked me to spell it. I said - K-E-R-R-I. She typed and furrowed her brow at the monitor. "K-A-R-I-E?" "No," I said, "K-E-R-R-I." I mean, how hard is it? She's looking right at my face - it's not like she can't understand me. Then she goes, "K...."

Me: Yes, K. E.
Her: A.
Me: No, E. K-E.
Her: K, E, I?
Me: K-E-R. K-E-R-R-I.
Her: K....E....(still frowning at the monitor)

By this point, I realize that I have my deposit slip in my hand. I carefully place my thumb DIRECTLY under my first name and show it to her. "Here. Look at this." She examines the deposit slip, then takes it out of my hand. She looks back and forth from the deposit slip to the monitor. After some more slow typing, staring, and scowling, she hands it back. "OK," she says, "Got it."

Then she tells me that the pants will be ready Friday after 5:00. I thank her, and she prints my receipt. I look at the receipt and giggle all the way down the sidewalk to Publix.

It says, "KARERE SOS."

tuesday's recap

Man, I've been really bad about blogging lately! Sometimes I'll think about what I want to say, and then I'll forget to do it! Signs of aging? I hope not!

Idol last night was better than last week. I liked the 2nd half - Katharine, Elliott, Taylor, and Paris. I wasn't impressed AT ALL with anyone in the first half. I know, a bunch of you are going, "What about Chris?" Well, I'm gonna go ahead and say it - I'm not a fan. He's a good singer and all, but what he sings is just not my kind of music. Brian said last night, and I agree, that he sees Chris as a front man for a band instead of a solo artist. I agree. But that band would be similar to Live or Staind or Nickelback - all bands I don't like. In fact, most of the time I rush to switch the station when one of their songs comes on the radio!

And I'm still mad that Mandisa went home last week. I'm in shock. She is a fabulous singer, MUCH better than Bucky, Ace, and Kellie! And probably better than some of the rest that are left, too. But I feel sure she'll be signed as a Christian artist.

OK, I've decided on my TOP TWO overall. And these are MY top two, not what I think America thinks. Are ya ready? TAYLOR and ELLIOTT. Yep, those are the two albums I would buy. I would probably buy Paris' album too. Katharine is a really good singer, but her nasal high notes are REALLY getting on my nerves.

Ace made a total fool of himself last night! He did NOT do well on We Will Rock You, and he really did himself in at the end when he said that he thought he rocked! LOL! Of course, you know I hated Bucky, even though he picked a good song for his style. He was still sharp for half of it. And I could not believe that out of all of those singers, KELLIE chose Bohemian Rhapsody! It wasn't horrible, but she keeps picking songs that have a partially low range, and you can't even hear her when she's singing that low!!

OK, after saying that, here's who I think will be in the bottom three: (at least, I hope!)
Bucky
Kellie
Ace

And either Bucky or Ace will go home. Of course, I'll probably be wrong - I have been for the last few weeks!

On to other things. Life is swell here in Florida, for the most part. I'm still writing lots of articles and playing at Winter Haven church. I'm walking and riding my bike every day except Sundays (because I'm so exhausted on Sundays!) and getting a good tan. For me, anyway! LOL In about 2 weeks, I'm going to Kansas City to visit Braden! Oh yeah, I guess I'll see Brad and Kari while I'm there too....! Braden will be 1 year old on May 11, so I'm celebrating with him when I'm there. I've already got his gift(s) and everything!

And my friend Meg is coming to Tampa in May, so we're going to head over there and have dinner (and hopefully go shopping a little) with her and her boyfriend. I can't wait!

That's all I can think of to say for now! Hope everyone is doing well!

tuesday's disappointment

I don't know what to think of Idol last night. Something's wrong with Taylor. I can't figure it out - maybe he was just really tired or sick, but he didn't have the same excitement he usually has. Neither did Mandisa, although I still thought they both sang well. I don't look for either of them to go home tonight, although Brian thinks they'll both be in the bottom three. I hope not.

I've got to interject that if I were on the show and they asked me to sing country music, I would probably have to do it with about as much enthusiasm as Taylor and Mandisa did last night. Unless I got to sing a Dixie Chicks song. Then I'd probably be happy. :-D

OK, so I have no idea how America will vote. It's really hard because I think the bottom three should be Bucky (of course), Ace, and Kellie. But since Bucky and Kellie are both country singers, I just don't know if they'll be in the bottom three or not! I really hope so! And Ace sang a love song, so all the girls will like that. I really don't think he's that good looking. I've got to say that I hate Ace's hair. It's so wierd, all parted in the middle and then it makes these rounded corners around his forehead. Just look closely tonight and you'll see what I mean.

I want Bucky or Ace to go home. Also, I didn't think Chris did that great last night - I mean, he sang well, but like Simon said, it was boring. I wasn't a fan. Once Bucky, Ace, and Kellie are gone, there will be only really good singers left and then it will be really hard to choose! Katharine did great last night, even though I HATE the song she sang. Paris was good, Elliott was awesome. I can't wait to see what happens tonight.

In other news, my parents are here! They got here Saturday evening, just in time for our whirlwind-of-a-Sunday at church, with all the traveling, rehearsals, etc. Since then, we've been playing a lot of games and just hanging around. Yesterday we went shopping nearly all day. They have to go home on Friday. :-(

Today I noticed that I'm getting tan. I know, if you know me, you're shocked because I'm rarely tan - some of you have NEVER seen me with a tan! LOL Anyway, I've been out in the neighborhood walking for at least 40 min. every day and also sometimes riding my bike. So I'm starting to get a little sun, and it's about time, since I live in Florida!!!!

tuesday night sum-up

Idol is getting better and worse! It's funny because when I post about Idol, I actually have to go to a website somewhere to see the contestants, because I can't remember them all! The ones I most always forget are Kellie, Lisa, and .... I seriously just forgot! Oh, Ace. The reason I don't forget Bucky is because I just want him to go home so bad! I mean, he did better last night since he was doing country, but he's still just bad - not at all deserving to be even in the top 12. I really hope he goes home tonight, although it could be Lisa. I can't believe she attempted a Kelly Clarkson song. Really.

So my faves of last night (in no order) were Mandisa, Taylor, Elliott, Katharine, and Paris. Same ones as always.

Oh, no. I just clicked over to the Idol website and saw that Shakira and Wyclef Jean are performing tonight. Now, I like Wyclef, I wouldn't consider myself a fan, but he's all right. But I HATE SHAKIRA!!!! I would honestly rather listen to Bucky than Shakira. I think she sounds like a goat part of the time, and a bad impression of Jessica Simpson the other part of the time. Ick!!!!

Back to my faves. Huge props for Mandisa singing a Christian song! Go Mandisa!!!! She is totally taking this opportunity to share her testimony and it's awesome! Taylor was great, as usual. I rather like it when he dances around and gets into it, but I liked what he did last night. Elliott was awesome, he's just got so much soul! His song was fab. I didn't think Paris looked like a little girl imitating Beyonce - I thought she gave Beyonce a run for her money! And Katharine did well - she can definitely sing, but her high range is starting to annoy me because she lets it get nasaly. Not her head-voice high range, but when she tries to use her chest voice up high. I think she's probably doing a blend of head and chest, which is the proper way to sing so she won't hurt herself and will be singing for a long time. But I think she needs to watch it on the nasal stuff.

So, for Meg, here are my bottom three:

Definitely Bucky
Definitely Lisa
Toss up between Ace and Kellie

I'm so sick of the "look" Ace gives at the end of every one of his performances. He first did it on "Father Figure" and it worked, but then everyone talked about it and he decided to keep it up. It's old. And Kellie is such a cutie, but she's not good enough to stay around for too much longer.

Man, I sound like I work for the show or something! I WISH! LOL

Brian got contacts today. He looks cool! :-)

happy birthday, brian!

Today was Brian's 32nd birthday. Yes, folks, for 3 months we'll be the same age - and then I'll turn into the older woman again.

The day went on as usual, with Brian working and me doing whatever it is I do. But tonight we went to a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater! We were served dinner while some people acted out a little play - and then we all had to try to solve the mystery. It was fun! Two of the actors were especially hilarious, so I really enjoyed them. But overall, the show was very cheesy - right up Brian's alley! ha! There were NINE people at our table, and I suspect these tables are supposed to seat SIX people, so we were squished in there pretty tight. All of the other people at our table were on vacation. Go figure!

Not much else is going on. My parents are coming to visit next week and I'm SO excited. Tomorrow night, after work, Brian's company is having a little "welcome back" party for a guy who has been battling cancer and is returning to work. I'll go to that with B, and then we'll go to Barnes and Noble, our favorite date place. We were supposed to go tonight, but the dinner theater didn't let out until after 10, so there just wasn't enough time.

Idol tomorrow! Yay! I'm still APPALLED that Kevin went home instead of Bucky. Well, we know who's going home this week! BUCKY!!!! If not him, I may lose my faith in all humanity.

bottom three

I forgot to post this last night, so I'll post it real quick before it comes on tonight! Here's who I think should be in the Idol bottom three:

Bucky
Kevin
Lisa

And Bucky's GOT to go home!!!!

God is good, all the time!

Today my mom had her back surgery. She has been in excruciating pain since September, with no relief except from narcotics, which she's getting really tired of taking. It has taken numerous doctors to figure out exactly what the problem was, and she's gotten lots of run-around from both doctors and insurance companies. The whole thing has been VERY discouraging.

Finally, a family friend recommended a doctor and pulled some strings to get Mom an appointment. He couldn't believe how long she had been living with the pain and agreed to see her ASAP. I think that was around 2 weeks ago.

She came through the surgery just fine! It didn't even take an hour. Dad just called me, and the doctor said everything went exactly as he expected, and even though she just came out of the surgery and isn't even fully awake yet, she can go home in 2 hours. 2 HOURS! Amazing! God is faithful and true.

You know, God is not just the God of big things, problems, etc. We don't have to call on Him only when things are rough. Sometimes I forget this, I think we all do, but He is so ever-present, even in the little things. Here are just a few of the many things I'm thankful for today:

*I got our Florida license plates today. Our cars officially live in Florida! It cost $380 (total for both cars), but I didn't have to wait long and it was nearly hassle-free. I was at the DMV for less than an hour, so I can't complain!

*It's strawberry season in Florida and fresh strawberries were on sale at Publix today, a 16-oz. carton for $.99! I bought 5 cartons so I can freeze some. We'll be having strawberry shortcake tonight!

*Last night I discovered a fairly easy way to get the soap scum off of my glass shower door.

*Brian and I are healthy and happy.

*I am an official freelance writer, and I've been making some extra money this month playing the piano at Winter Haven Church.

*IT RAINED TODAY!!!! Only for about 5 minutes, but I'll take what I can get! I can't even remember the last time it rained, not that I'm complaining, but my grass is brownish and the pollen is horrible!

*On my way home from the store today, a tree fell on the road in front of me. Scary, but it didn't hit my car! I think that was Providential timing!

*And lastly, Idol is on tonight!!!! Yay!!!!

what a wonderful weekend

Brian had an awesome first week at work. He is really enjoying it there and it's a smaller company and more family-like - it reminds him of VV. On Friday, Brian's office took all the employees and spouses to see "V for Vendetta." I must say, I didn't know what to expect, and it was AMAZING! Great story and fab movie. Brian has read the comic book, and he was anxiously anticipating the movie. It was great and we hadn't been to that particular theater, and the chairs leaned back and were SO COMFORTABLE! We'll definitely be going back there.

After work on Friday evening, we headed to Ft. Myers to see Nan and Pops. Yesterday was Nan's birthday and Pops' was a week ago yesterday, so I baked them a strawberry cake and we spent some time with them. On Saturday we went out to the pool - it was around 86 degrees outside and the pool was 91! It felt sooooo good. Brian and I both got a little pink. I guess our skin will eventually get used to the hot Florida sun!

As we lounged around in the pool, we discussed how much we like Florida. It's nice to be able to run down to Ft. Myers and be there in 3 hours. We are enjoying the weather so much, I just can't describe. I love wearing my sandals or flip-flops every day and seeing the sun. I love how the grass and trees are green year-round and there are new flowers blooming by my front door today. I love the cool breeze that smells of orange blossoms. Now if we could just transport our NY friends down here, we'd have it made.

Today I played piano at Winter Haven Nazarene Church again. It was a great service and as always, I LOVED playing with the band! Next week we're doing John Lennon's "Imagine" and at the end of the service, we're doing MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine." This week I'll be writing some charts for the band. This gig is seriously satisfying my desire to get back into music, and not just teaching it. I feel like I'm back in Nashville and it's wonderful.

On the way back home from church, we found a short cut. Isn't it always fun when that happens? It's just been an all-around fab weekend. Now we're here in my scraproom; Brian is on the couch with his laptop and I'm at my computer, and the cats are around us. Bliss.

This afternoon I've got a bit of work to get done for some freelance writing I'm doing, and tomorrow it's back to the grind. LOL For me, it's back to keeping the house in order and making healthy meals. I'm also going to start pursuing getting some piano students this week. I'm bored and I miss teaching, plus the extra money is always nice!