Holy Colee!

Gina – Unfortunately painful. I really liked her last week. This week between her and the backup singers it was less than great.

Alaina – ugh

Lakisha – she’s very talented as a singer. I did not love the pumpkin shirt she was wearing tonight… paint black triangles on her and call her Jack.

Melinda – Good things come in small packages. She’s freaking amazing

Antonella – Did not love the performance. I was in another room when she was singing and I was almost afraid to come back in. I did love her dress.

Jordin – I started out wondering… but she’s a cute girl, and I rather enjoyed it.

Stephanie – Interesting, really. I don’t know how I feel about it yet.

Leslie – Really? The same song as last night? However, I loved it till the weirdness at the end.

Haley – it was really really terrible. The notes were off and a bit painful really.

Sabrina – as much as I hate to say it… because the even the thought of it sounds cliché – I’ve heard better karaoke than this…

Institute got cancelled because of snow... so I had to watch with the judges this week. Apparently I am not as in sync with Simon tonight as usual.


Phil – still creepy looking, but the performance was MUCH better than last week. Can we vote off the background singers?

Jared – mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm…. Who cares if he can sing?

AJ – I doubted when he started, as I am a pretty big Michael Buble fan, but he really pulled it off, and switched it up, just enough. I really liked it.

Sanjaya – the hat is not any better than the hair. It was not as terrible as the judges said, but it was meh.

Chris Sligh – I might be ok if I didn’t have to watch while he sang. It’s kind of a Justin Guarini thing.

Nick – I’d take that valentine.

Beat Box – The song itself does not lend to actually being sung. However, the performance was enjoyable.

Brandon – I did not love it. It was sweet enough, but a little off for me. And, WHAT was he wearing?

Chris Richardson – The head bobbing is distracting. Once again, the song was not really all that show casing… Jason Moraz can do that, Chris R can not. The scat was cool though.

Sundance Head – Ride Sally, ride… I appreciate that he didn’t try add the operatic influence, but I’m still iffy.

So, the hometeachers came over to help with the bathroom tonight... we got the cabinet and mirror hung, but the sink, while put together, still isn't really working. The underneath pipes aren't quite right, and for some reason, the brand new faucet still leaks... anyone? anyone? ideas???

On the very positive side, I finished putting the eliptical machine together. It's a harder work out than I was expecting. If it doesn't kill me first, it ought to be super helpful :)

Ok then.. it's past my bedtime....

So then... speed dating... It's kind of like Mardi Gras. I can say that I did it, but I don't have any compulsion to do it again soon. I can think of other ways to experience mass rejection. The rest of the evening was fine.

I am happy to report that I have made the necessary changes to reincorporate my favorite part of Sunday back into the schedule. Sunday afternoon naps. We have officially changed wards and now we meet at 9:00 am instead of 1:00 pm. Ironically, the Home Teachers from the last ward decided to come over last night. The superfanstic part about that is that they are coming back tonight to finish the plumbing in my bathroom and hang my mirror. The pro is that I will be able to brush my teeth in the bathroom again, the con is that now I won't have an excuse for not putting makeup on in the morning ;)

Oh yes, my other happy news is that because I am not in Truro this week, I get to go home and see my family this weekend - YAY!

Thursday and Friday, I finally got a couple of things done. I broke into my storage shed so I could replace the lock with one we actually have a key for. I also finally got to the post office and the bank, and the grocery store, and we worked on the bathroom a little more. Still no water, but the caulking is done and all the pipes are in the right place, one of them is just a little too long. I swear this is turning into the never ending project. My kitchen is also turning into a reoccuring nightmare. It's not so much the kitchen itself as the insurance company not feeling like they should have to cover it, even though that's why I pay them. Anyway, so the second claim has been filed and we'll see if this one gets any further than the first.

Friday night I went up to the institute for the kick off of their "Education Conference." I had a lovely meal with my friends and then there was a concert with a couple of local performers. The first girl is actually in my last ward. The second act was a group called Interstate Eye... maybe it's Interstate I... I'm not really sure. Anyway, they were pretty fun, but the accoustics in the multipurpose room were terrible, so I left early.

Today (Saturday) I went back up to the conference. The keynote speaker was Chad Lewis recently retired tight end from the Philadelphia Eagles. His talk was entitled, Go forward with faith. Then I went to the first workshop before leaving to meet some friends for lunch. I haven't seen Janice and Ty for over a year, so this was really nice. I need to find a reason to go to Phoenix. Of course I do have some time off I am supposed to be able to take...... It was a good day to catch up on what is going on in everyone's lives as they have moved away from working at The Verge where we all met. Of the 8 adults that were there, all of them previous coworkers, I am the only lifer. Anyway, good times.

Tonight is up for grabs. We're supposed to go speed dating. I have about 30 other things I need to get done, but if I had to guess... they won't get done anyway so we may as well go, eh?

I'll keep you posted ;)

So, today is kind of the continuation of a long week.... I feel a bit chaotic in general, but well, such is life. I still don't know if I am going to be in or out of town next week. I also still don't have a solid plan for when the plumbing in my bathroom sink will be done (though there will be progress made tomorrow). I am still fighting the insurance company on my kitchen repairs.

However, I did have a lovely dinner with James and Heather tonight. After which James got to play accountant and help me with my taxes (yay refund) and we watched American Idol. Because I was busy looking at numbers, I did not pay enough attention to chat individually about tonight's performances. Overall, I liked tonight much better than last night. A couple of the girls were really great. A couple of them, really need to go home. We'll see tomorrow, won't we :) I must admit, I did feel a little violated by the inappropriate touching in the last song...

My favorite part about taping American Idol is fast forwarding everything Ryan Seacrest has to say and not having my opinion tainted by the judges. My favorite part about blogging about AI is that I get to be completely critical of people I know nothing about. It saves me from taking out my frustration on people I actually know and care about, let’s call it… An outlet :)

Rudy – ENUNCIATE

Brandon – All right, nothing too spectacular, but fun to watch

Sundance – Off key opera?

Paul – I do appreciate the bare feet. I would have appreciated it more if he hit the notes.

Chris – Don’t sing a song that is going to get you compared to Bo… besides, there was entirely too much head shaking going on.

Nick – Get the man a taller microphone stand. Other than a couple of weird notes in his key change, I liked it.

Blake – Interesting… I’m not sure yet.

Sanjaya – I can’t get past the hair to listen to him sing. And, by definition, any song that has the line “I don’t want to bore you with this” is a risky proposition.

Sligh – My speech pathologist roommate has some exercises that can help with that…

Jared – I can watch him for a really long time…. Listening is not too bad either…not great, but well… mute is always an option

AJ – Paula was dancing, but I think she was just really trying to not have to listen too closely.

Phil – A bit scary, really…. Please lay off the close-ups


Overall, a bit disappointed tonight.

This weekend I spent time with my mom and nephew. We went to see my grandparents and took Cannon to Cabela's which, if you're not familiar is like the mall for rednecks. It's a monstrous sporting goods store, covered all over with stuffed dead animals and such... it even has a shooting gallery and aquarium. He loved it :)

This is Daralee. She's from Brandon, Manitoba
We ate at this cafe, and, well... the food was ok, but nothing to brag about, and the service was TERRIBLE... I would suggest looking else where, given the chance.
We went to a piano bar that shall remain nameless until I remember what it is called. This is Jeremy (my boss) and Daralee
This is Eric and me :)
This is the lady that was playing when we got there. She was pretty good. You could tell she enjoyed performing. There were a couple of other players that cycled in and out, but she was there the whole time we were.
How cool is this fountain? There was a fire inside it... I thought it was awesome
These ones are just proof... I was on Bourbon Street :)


This is the creepy old man who thought he was 18 dancing along to all the rap songs that were being performed at The Cat's Meow. He was really really icky.

OK. Those are the pics from the trip... the rest of the week went pretty well. Uneventful really, just work and airplane rides. It looks like I have a few more trips coming up, so that makes me happy. I'll let you know once they actually get booked ;)

Well, I thought I'd better take a minute to let people know that NO, I was not in New Orleans when the tornados went through, nor was I in SLC when the crazy guy walked in to Trolley Square and started shooting people. I have been completely secluded in my little corner of Baton Rouge since Monday afternoon.

The trip here was fine. I ran into a bit of a delay in Houston, but my boss ran into a delay in Atlanta, so we actually got in about the same time. We spent Monday meeting people and going through an overview of the program we are here to learn about. Tuesday I spent the day in training and today I have just been trying to get caught up on my real job. It's been great really. I like being able to see the people I am working with, call me crazy.

Tonight Nita and Eric are taking us down to New Orleans. Technically Mardi Gras is not until next Tuesday, but the parades have been going for weeks, so we're going to at least get a little taste of the chaos that is the French Quarter. Fortunately, Eric is a pretty big guy, so we should be relatively safe. My goal for tonight is to take a few pictures, just so I have a bit of proof ;)

To be Continued...

Is it just me, or is it impossible to go to Wal-Mart and spend less than $50? I went in last night needing spackle and stockings. Well, I found them all right, but I also found protein bars, hair stuff, excercise pants (which, btw are the smallest size I've boughten since Jr high, not that that is really saying much) oatmeal, yarn, as well as a few other things...

Ok, maybe I am just too much of an impulse shopper.

Today I am recommending a new pizza place. It's called Nick-n-Willy's. It's SO good! We got the thin crust pizza. We got it with out pizza sauce, just a little olive oil. The toppings were fresh. There wasn't too much cheese or grease. It was an over all fantastic experience. AND you can take and bake, bake and take or have it delivered. What more can you ask for?

Hmmm, other than that, I've been pretty boring lately. Monica and I watched movies on Friday. We saw My Super Ex-girlfriend and The Illusionist. The first was LAME. The second was really good.

Today I spent the day painting the bathroom. Fun, eh? But it's gonna look super classy when it's all said and done... of course it won't be done until I get back from Baton Rouge, but, oh well. I am learning patience in many ways right now.

Last night was pretty cool. I was told I should go to institute, to make up for missing on Tuesday, and I am glad I did. There was a special program done where the Patriarch for the church, Elder Smith, and his wife spoke to us. Elder Smith is cool for a lot of reasons. First of all, he turned 100 years old in January. If I could be as lively and quick as he is at 100, I will gladly. Also, he is the great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith. For those of you familiar with the LDS religion, that name will ring a bell. For those of you not, Hyrum's brother, Joseph Smith, Jr. is the first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Hyrum played an instrumental role in the early days of the church and gave his life trying to save his brother.

Sister Smith spoke to us about family. It is, after all, a fundamental in our church. She also spoke to us about Lucy Mack Smith (mother of Joseph and Hyrum) and the amazing job she did raising this family and the support they gave to each other. She brought with her Lucy's foot stool and dinner bell.

Elder Smith spoke about the early days of the restoration and the process Joseph went through to receive the ancient record that was later translated to The Book of Mormon - much of which was actually new to me. At 100 years old, he was still able to bring this story to life and portray the very humanness of these men we revere. He did it not in a way to detract, but to add to my admiration of them. He brought with him the clothing that Hyrum was wearing the day he was killed. Also the watch that he had with him, and one that had been left at home.(It is referenced in some of the stories of the martyrdom.) He also brought the box that Hyrum had lent to Joseph to carry the ancient record in.

Anyway, besides learning about stuff I thought I knew already, it was just a good meeting.

Plus, I got to see Matt. He's been avoiding me lately ;) Apparently I've pushed him over the edge, because he's moving to NC next month... I mean, really, what is up with people moving to NC.... Ok, really he's moving for other reasons... and we wish him every luck in his endeavors!

So it's been kind of a random weekend. Friday night we tried out the little place up the road called "Cafe Med." It was tasty. I haven't had a gyro or souvlaki for a long time, so that was fun. I also went and got all of the stuff to finish off my bathroom. I am so excited for Tuesday I can hardly stand it. My friend, Chris, is going to come over and help me do everything that ReBath doesn't do. I'll try to remember to take before and after pics. I just hope it turns out as nice as it looks in my head. Saturday was pretty quiet, ran some errands but stayed in trying to minimalize a cold I can feel developing in my head.
Today we came home from church and found the Salt Lake City Crime Scene Investigation unit parked outside our condo complex putting rather large bags into the back of the SUV. They must have just finished whatever they were doing when we pulled in because we went out to peek at them after we changed from church, but they were all gone. Whatever it was must not have been all that important. I am watching the news right now and we didn't make it.
We got invited to a Superbowl party... it was superlame. We only ended up staying for about an hour. I came home and made soup, yep, soup. Chicken soup has a way of fixing everything I say, so if you need some, feel free to come visit.

Today was just a good day. I am not sure if it was because of things going super well, or if I just had such a low expectation that when it went normal, the good was intensified. I spent most of the day on the phone, which, is, well, what I do... but today I did the majority of my employee appraisals at work. I DREAD this process, so I was just kind of prepared... but they actually went very positively. At least, I think they did. You can ask my team to see how they really went. I also got asked to take a trip to Baton Rouge in a couple of weeks. YAY!!! I love business travel. I do not love the thought of being at the airport for a 530 AM flight, but, well, traffic should be good ;) and I will still be home in time to go to Dingle for the weekend... I think. I haven't quite worked out how I am going to fit my Saturday meeting onto Friday after I get back instead.
Anyway... tonight was bowling. I ended up with a 113 and a 92. For me, not tooooo shabby. I ran some errands before hand and found a CTR ring, that I like a lot, and I got it a size and a half smaller than my last one, I am starting to wonder if my hands are the only place I am getting smaller, but, well... patience I say, patience. I also got new black shoes... I think I may have a problem... Here's today's question - How many pairs of shoes does a girl have to own before it's considered "too much?"