Archives for May 2011

American Idol Top 3

May 18, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

Scotty McCreery

Scotty’s Choice – I felt like this was a good pick for him since it was more current. However, it was good but didn’t blow me away.

Jimmy’s Choice – Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not– One of my favorite performances by him so far. He owned that song and I know his little girl fans are swooning in the chat rooms right now.
Judges Choice – She Believes In Me – This was just so beautiful and moving. His voice is so pure and beautiful. I’ve been to enough concerts to know that people just do not sound that good live sometimes. *cough* Taylor Swift *cough* He’s just a natural talent to me that is going to be a huge country star. I can not wait to see him follow Carrie’s footsteps with hit after hit.

Lauren Alaina

Lauren’s Choice – Wild One – I thought this song moved way too fast for her. She was breathy and it seemed like she could never catch up with it.

Jimmy’s Choice – If I Die Young. She reminded me so much of Kelly Clarkson when she was singing this one. I thought it was gorgeous.
Judges Choice – I Hope You Dance – I felt a few rough spots during that but I think she pulled out some unique moments. I’m not sure I’m with Jennifer that it was her favorite tonight but it was a good note end on. Hardy har.

Haley Reinhart

Haley’s Choice – What Is and What Should Never Be – I have to admit it was fun seeing Haley sing with her dad. I felt like she had a confidence that we haven’t seen before. She’s been confident before for sure but this one seemed a more humble one, born out of comfort of being with her dad. I thought she sounded great.
Jimmy’s Choice – Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac – I think this is in my top songs for Haley for sure. I thought it was a perfect fit for her. In fact, I think Jimmy did a fantastic job picking songs for all three of them
Judges Choice – You Oughta Know by Alanis Morrisette – This was the old Haley I do not like. The verses were insanely bad and I hated the performance aspect. Not a good way to close out the show.

Favorites: Scotty’s Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not and Haley’s Rhiannon

In trouble: I really have no clue except to say one of the girls. I still think this is Scotty’s to lose and he had 3 good and 2 fantastic performances tonight. If I were to pick, I think Lauren SHOULD leave but I WANT Haley to leave. Basically I think technically Haley can out sing Lauren any day but I think Lauren’s personality and style will take her way farther.

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

May 18, 2011 by Amy 1 Comment

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a pre-screening of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I’ve attended similar pre-screenings before but this time we were press! I have to say I smiled inside a little when we went straight to our reserved seats in an otherwise packed house where some had admitted to standing in line since 4pm! Thank you, Disney! AND I didn’t realize it at first but we sat right in front of local radio celebrity Paul Schad (in the morning). Charlotte folks, can you say his name without saying the rest?? I realized after he helped me get my stubborn arm rest down that I recognized his voice way before I saw his face. Also fun? Seeing his co-host Meg show up a few minutes later.

And while we’re speaking of local celebrity, I got to meet Sarah Pinnix! Sarah and I have been online friends for a while. She even jumped on Sisterhood of the Traveling Belt last fall and made an awesome video during her turn at Blissdom. Anyway, all that to say there were no introductions as soon as we spotted each other, just a big hug, lots of chatter and of course, a picture.

I also got to meet a few other bloggers while were there. So great to meet some other local bloggers. Check out @maricrisg, @sweetsadiemarie.

Ok, ok, yes, there’s a movie review in here somewhere!

Just going to be honest and say I went into this knowing that the last few Pirates of the Caribbean had not lived up to the original for me. I was quite the skeptic. But I have to say, this is a must-see-in-theaters installment of Pirates of the Caribbean. Jack Sparrow was charming as ever. I enjoyed every single new cast member as well as how they used some familiar faces. It was a strong, interesting storyline. In fact, I’ve been debating whether or not I enjoyed it more than the first.

That’s the short version. For those of you who are going to see it, come back here after you see it and let’s compare notes or if you don’t mind spoilers, keep reading!

I thought Penelope Cruz was a perfect match for Johnny Depp. I enjoyed her with him more than Keira. While tenuous, it was good to see some more of his history. I loved that she matched his deception and lies and even he was impressed with her pirating ways. I enjoyed the chemistry they had while at the same time not turning Jack Sparrow into a softie. Hey, I enjoy my softies but that’s not Jack Sparrow! One of my favorite scenes his him describing his “stirrings”.

I loved the action-packed scenes. While hard to believe most of the time, it’s still always interesting to see how Jack gets himself out of situations. The tree scene was probably the least likable while the scene with King George was so entertaining.

I love, love that they put Barbossa as one of the King’s men. Did you not love King George?? I love that they ended up having Barbossa and Jack nearly working together. They are a perfect match of pirates. Although I still liked that Barbossa had his own agenda and parted ways with Jack at the end.

I loved the missionary they introduced Philliip. I think he was able to keep the movie grounded as much as possible in a pirate movie. There was a good good vs.evil storyline with him. It really gave you someone to root for besides Jack.

The mermaids! Those were some scary mermaids. In fact, the only part that I felt uncomfortable in was that. They were almost a mermaid/vampire combo and it was just…ugh. I’m glad they really only lasted that one scene, unlike the Kraken and zombies we were introduced to in previous films.

And to combine the last two points, I super-duper loved the Phillip/Syrena storyline. They fill the spots of Will and Elizabeth with perfection and I just loved how their storyline played out.

I think most of all I liked that this was just straight-up pirating. There weren’t too many mystical characters or plot points. Just a few great pirates fighting over a good ‘ol fountain of youth.

In summary, great, great movie. Like I said, probably the strongest out of the four. I’d pick up some tickets and a babysitter now for the weekend!

Stop the Shine

May 16, 2011 by Amy Leave a Comment

If you have ever felt like your forehead morphs into an oily mess each day, please read on. If not, please be assured I have beautiful, flawless skin like you and the rest of this is all a lie.

So yes, I have an oily T-zone. And it’s not fun. But I’ve found a solution–literally.

When I did my first Mary Kay order a few weeks ago I tagged on a tube of their Oil Mattifier after one of my friends ordered it saying she had heard good things about it. So glad I tried it! I just rub a small amount on my forehead just after my moisturizer and shazam! No oil ALL DAY. The first day I used it I kept looking in the mirror all evening waiting, waiting for the shine and it never showed. If it does happen to show up, you can just rub some right on top of your foundation. But honestly, the stuff is so good I haven’t found a need to do that.

This is no sales gimmick, just an honest review that I think will help but I can order the product if you want to try it out. Mary Kay has a 100% guarantee so if it doesn’t work, you can return it with no cost you (or me!).

Weekend Recap

May 15, 2011 by Amy 1 Comment

Now THAT felt like a weekend. I was home 90% of the time and CLEAN was the key word. Boy howdy, after 2 months of a house in disarray, it felt GOOD to clean.

We got our old bedroom completely cleared and Scott took down the chair rail. I’ll be calling the carpet people in the morning to schedule a cleaning. As soon as the walls are patched, I’ll be able to paint. I’m still looking out for their new beds and then they can move in!

I got the playroom completely cleaned. All of this mess is gone, gone, gone. We are back to looking like a playroom. Tables are cleaned, bins are organized. I even vacuumed in there.

I moved all my stuff out of my dresser and into the new one I got from IKEA. All of my clothes are super organized. It feels SO GOOD not to fight my closet and dresser for clothes. And they’re all now in the closet so it’s fantastic not having to go back and forth between rooms to get stuff. Wow, that sounds so lazy but it really was a pain to leave the bathroom/closet just to get underwear and come back to get dressed.

Scott got our A/C working this weekend! Hallelujah! OF COURSE it’s only going to be in the 70s this week but that’s ok, I’ll take it. Our power bill is always at least $90 and can get near $250 in the summers so after getting our $63 power bill this weekend I’m fine with cooler weather.

Other than that, I did stuff like washing our tile floor down for the first time, washed our hardwoods that were dirty once again from all the A/C work, laundry was going all weekend, we went grocery shopping Saturday. Just STUFF I’ve been needing to do and never felt like I could catch up given all the addition stuff going on.

It feels good to go into the week with everything behind me. It’s my long week in the office but I feel so much more available than I was last week to leave. I even have dinner planned for half the week.

We are still not 100% done on the addition. We are still waiting for shower doors, mirror and our cabinet doors/drawers. Really hoping to call it finished this week!

Hope you guys had a great weekend and have a good Monday!

American Idol Top 4

May 12, 2011 by Amy 1 Comment

James
1st- Standalone, I think this was a great performance. However, all I could hear was Glee’s version and I much prefer theirs. And I’m not even a Gleek.

2nd – Again, James attitude is a little grating. At the same time, it’s nice to see some confidence with this type of song. He sounded great though and I liked his version.

Scotty
1st- Very smart song choice. He sounded fantastic.

2nd- I felt like this was too cheesy for this late in the game.

Lauren
1st- Beautiful. I felt like she stepped it up with that Martina. There was one note I gasped Everyone loves Martina and it plays well to Lauren’s similar strengths.

2nd – I hated it. I hated the repetitious “evil” and I don’t think the style fit Lauren at all.

Haley
1st – Did not care for this. Another screaming performance.

2nd – Haley was mad and all that emotion played well to the song. Gorgeous vocals and a great performance.

Favorite: James and Haley’s 2nd

In trouble: Either Haley’s 1st or Lauren’s 2nd should send them home.

Who’s winning? Tough one but I think we’re looking at a Scotty and James finale. Scotty had been on the top of dialidol since day one so I think I’m sticking with him, especially once Lauren is out.

Adoption: Hidden Issues and Older Children

May 10, 2011 by Amy 1 Comment

I’ve been following Julie’s blog for years. I couldn’t even pinpoint when it started. Sometime after their Ethiopian adoption and their daughter is now 5. Anyway, I’m just about to bust out of my skin about their latest post. It is nearly textbook to what we learned in training the past 2 weeks about kids who have suffered neglect, abuse or abandonment.

The first thing I could connect is that things that you don’t think are issues may/will surface years later. One example they gave in class is one I mentioned a few days ago…a 9 month old that was sexually abused. No one knew about it at all until years later when the child started showing very bad behavior in day care. It wasn’t until a sibling that was adopted by someone else uncovered it during an art therapy session. The abused child had no clue what had happened and could not verbalize it. And yet, they said his little brain and body knew he had gone through trauma and was reacting to it. Julie’s daughter, although she had been taken care of from birth and adopted at only 8 months is displaying behavior issues caused by abandonment. I’m not thankful they are going through this, but I’m thankful Julie shared that. Because I can see how much love there is in that family and see that they can get through it.

The second thing we learned that I think most people don’t understand is the younger the trauma happened, the longer lasting the effects. Things that happen as an infant can have lifelong issues whereas if they are school-age the effects are shorter term. For example, for those babies that are neglected, they develop attachment disorders and can never, ever get that back, even with therapy. There are just things that have to happen biologically as a baby to work right. Our worker told us the older the child is when the trauma happens, the less long-term effects it can have. I just think that people assume you are better off to adopt a younger baby that has experienced traumas because oh, they were young and don’t remember, or oh, you have more time to help them. And while partly that is true, it’s not always. If it happens when they are older, although you have less time with them before adulthood, you need less time to work with them. Maybe I’m generalizing and have no idea what I’m talking about. I’m no expert but from the training we experienced, that is what I’m hearing. I guess I just want to debunk the theory that getting a baby is the best/easiest way.

Let me be clear, I think at ANY age there will be issues. There is no question. We are aware and we are preparing ourselves mentally that this is coming. But I know God is leading us to this and He will see us through it. Just like Julie and her sweet Marlie. A big thank you again to Julie for opening up about their issues. You give us so much hope even in your struggles!

Top Ten Tuesday: Lessons from an Addition

May 10, 2011 by Amy Leave a Comment

So we’re *this close* to be being done with the addition and we’ve learned a few things along the way.

I love air conditioning! I used to think I could get along without it. I am always cold and usually have a jacket on. Well, a few nights with your house above 80 and it has you standing in the freezer and taking cold showers begging for some cool air. I completely believe that theory that people get more violent in hot weather.
Usability matters. When designing a space, it’s great if it looks pretty, but if it’s not usable, then it’s worthless. Say, for example, you put your shower head on the opposite end of the shower door so you have to climb into the shower to start the water. *cough*
Details matter. Scott, bless his heart, just threw up all the light switches one night at random places. Some were at 51”, some at 53”, some close to the door, and some further away. As I was going through the rooms before they sheetrocked in, I noticed this and it was amazing to me how my hand expected it to be in one certain place without even thinking about it. Even now, our closet is a few inches out from the door and I’m having to get used to it.
Knowing where your furniture goes beforehand matters. Yep, we would have moved the fireplace a few inches this way and the french doors a few that way. We did spend time laying out the furniture but even a few inches off and it really makes a difference.
And even more, you need to know what color scheme you are going with. It’s hard to pick carpet and paint colors when you don’t know what the rest will look like. I picked a picture from my old bedroom I wanted to keep as a starting point. Sure, you could go with a neutral, but even though you need to know what undertones to go with.
Having a detailed budget is key. Maybe a no-brainer but wow, it’s so easy to go above your budget. Little things like foam and door handles add up fast!
Related to above, make sure to budget for closets! It’s not something your builder will need to buy but it is a huge cost and will really bust your budget fast.
Let Craigslist be your friend. Everyone knows about my $75 fireplace by now. But on the flip side, use it to sell all those little extras. Like maybe an entire box of tile that didn’t get used and can’t be returned *cough*
Some things are worth fighting about. I hate to be sexist but in my experience, guys just don’t think about how some things are going to turn out. As long as it gets done, it’s good for them. And sometimes, it’s worth fighting about. Number 3 caused some raised voices around here but it was worth it. And Scott admitted he should have paid more attention and we made up.
But some things just aren’t worth fighting over. When you get home and see a tile is a little out of place but it would require the entire floor to be ripped up, just zip it. No one can do a thing about it. It’s not the end of the world and there’s no point in making someone feel bad about it when there is nothing that can be done short of starting again.

I guess in closing I’ll say the best thing we’ve learned is it’s all worth it. When you’re lying in bed and looking at the light you spent hours trying to find and watching the fire from a fireplace you found on a deal and you walk through a carpet you were scared to pick out but is so soft you could sleep on it and you walk on tile you spent hours deliberating over, well, it makes it a rich experience that makes you ever so grateful.

But…ask me again what I’ve learned when our first new mortgage payment comes due!

This post is linked up to Top Ten Tuesday

Countertop, Backsplash and Closet

May 8, 2011 by Amy 7 Comments

It’s been a whole 3 days since my last update and oh my, some great updates!

First off, we got to work on those awful closets. Now it’s hard to get pictures properly of the new master closet since the door is in the middle of the wall. I need some of those magic disappearing TV walls.

We emptied out our old closet…

…and bought some wood racks from Lowe’s. Really glad we splurged instead of using wire racks.

To the right from the door:

I love that Scott has his uniform area there to the right. That’s what used to hang in our tiny laundry room.

To the left:

Please ignore my pile o shoes and that green container of boots will be GONE. Update on my shoes below. I LOVE that all my clothes are out of boxes and organized without fighting to get something out.

Last night after our adoption training Scott bought the wood and created my shoe rack and one for the girls in our old closet where they are moving. I stained it this morning and polyurethaned it tonight. I’m pretty sure I broke a few staining timing rules but I couldn’t wait!

Look! Look!

Holy cow. Is that not fantastic? I got rid of 7-8 pairs of shoes and Scott was able to grab two rows at the very top for his shoes too!

Now we are still not done with this closet. We’re still planning to put a small dresser under that window. The plan is to get rid of our big dresser in the bedroom and have a seating area instead of having a big dresser. I’m going to love having all my stuff in one room!

OK, so that’s not it. The countertop and backsplash got done on Friday. Scott put in the faucets. And we are STILL waiting on our doors and drawers from our cabinet guy.

Now all that’s left is the shower doors and mirrors that should be in by the first of next week!