Girls Turn

It was the girls turn last night on American Idol. Mom and I watched it together and objectively scrutinized each performance. The 10 girls started out with 5 dynamite performances and then it started to go downhill quickly, with surprisingly, Amanda Overmyer AKA "The Rocker Chick". She chose poorly with "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas. The song definitely did not suit her voice and style. Really disappointing. But, I think that America remembers her good performances and will overlook this. I was very surprised by Brook and her "You're So Vain" performance. She nailed it.

Right now, I think the best female vocalist is Ramiele Malubay. However, she is not as good as David Archuleta, who is going to win.

My predictions for who gets voted off:
Alaina "what the heck was she thinking" Whitaker
Kady "I am too snotty" Malloy

G'uhbye Gurlz!

David Archuleta ~ The next American Idol !!!!

OMG! I was absolutely AMAZED at David's performance tonight. He just nailed it. What a gift he's got. Like my mom, I am obsessed with AI, only my guy is going to win. The other performances seemed quite karaoke in comparison. Except for David Hernandez' His was very good too, but not quite up to David Archuleta's.

My prediction for who gets cut: Sanjaya and Jason Y.

Whether it's presidents or idols, I always say, "vote and vote often".

Wintergrass

What a blast! Last night Ward and I took my mom to check out Wintergrass: http://www.acousticsound.org/ Wintergrass is a Bluegrass music festival, which is hosted at a hotel in Tacoma every February.  My mom was particularly interested in hearing a band named "Jackstraw", because one of the guys in the band is the son of a guy she went to high school with back in Newton, Kansas.  

We had so much fun. Ward picked up my mom Friday afternoon and headed down to Tacoma. I had to work for a few more hours, so they got a drink at the local watering hole. Then I met up with them and we wandered down to the hotel that was hosting the festival. There were "pick-up" bands playing around most every corner, and they were just fabulous.  Lots of great pickin' & strumming!  

My new quilt (the star is red)
Then, outside on the patio, this guy was selling beautiful hand-made quilts.  He said he got them from an estate sale in London.  They were all just amazing to see, and seemed to be of very good quality.  We bought the one in the picture.  It's white with red stars quilted into it.  The star quilting detail is absolutely beautiful.   So, we hauled the quilt back to the car and wandered over to the venue that Jackstraw was playing.   Mom met the band member (son of her classmate) and they talked for quite a bit.  They were able to get caught up with the happenings in each other's families.  It was really great and she was happy.  

After Jackstraw wrapped up, we got a bite to eat and then checked out Darol Anger,  Mike Marshall, and this Swedish bluegrass band.  OMG - they were absolutely amazing!  So fun to hear.  Then it was back to the first place, which has a huge dance floor, to listen to the "Ebony Hillbillies".  They were so fun and we danced ourselves silly.   After they wrapped up, we went back down to the bar, ordered a huge plate of nachos, which were amazingly good at 12:30 in the morning...  Then headed home.  

American Idol

Many people are blogging about the presidential race.... Not me!

I admit it, I am hooked on Idol. Until this season, I scoffed at those 'reality shows' like Survivor, et al. I lumped "Idol" in with that batch. However, I do admit to have a passion for 24 and think Jack Bauer should run for president. But Nick got me hooked into Idol when he invited me to watch one of the first shows of season 7 with him. I thought that would be a nice thing to do together. Next thing I know, he is bored with it and I am hooked! So, this week they got it down to 24 contestants: 12 guys and 12 girls. I am obsessed with that David Archuleta. Yeah, I know. He's 17. But, wow is he talented! and quite cute. He is the one I am hoping goes all the way. The girls are all very good as well, and I don't have a favorite on their side yet. It's like, girls? what girls? Well, on to next week. 5 days with no Idol!!

Go David!!!!

Busy Busy Busy

I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I would drop a quick line or two. Let's see..... Baseball has swung into high gear now. We have been busy helping with tryouts this weekend and last weekend. Nick's practices have started, and I think they are almost every day. Ward is coaching the team, of course. When he is not there, he is down at BLE for indoor lessons. See "Dodgers Calendar" in my LINKS section to see when and where games are, etc. And yes, basketball is still going on for a few more weeks. The Mighty Bruins won their game yesterday by one basket. Too close for comfort! But - my school commitment is now over, so that is one less thing (I was co-teaching a class at Northwest University).

Have a great week!

Chris

I'm getting SMARTER by the day...

My New Toy

I just got a Nintendo DS Lite and that Brain Age game. You know, the one that is supposed to exercise your brain, thus reducing the "age" of your brain. It's pretty cute, and cool, and fits in my purse next to my super cool iPhone and my lame Treo from work. I started my daily 'brain exercises' tonight. So far, my brain age is 150 years old... (just kidding). However, it ain't 20, like Dr. Ryuta Kawashima says it ought to be. I will try it a few more nights and report the progress. It only takes about 10 minutes a day.

The Mighty Bruins Chalk Up Another Victory!! 39 - 10

Nick hustles down the court

Nick jumpshot is good - look closely!

Go Mighty Bruins!!

Nick scored the first two baskets of the game, and contributed a total of 8 points to the Mighty Bruins victory today. So far, Nick's team is undefeated. Ward (their head coach) had to leave mid-game to lead a coaches' clinic for Little League. But the assistant coach was able to step in, thankfully. Nick had lots of family at the game to cheer him on: Christina, Megan and Miranda, the next door neighbor, and of course grandma! Afterwards we went out to lunch and then got ice cream. Then we made it back home and played "Apples to Apples" - what a fun and kid-friendly game!