Amy J. Bennett

American Idol Top 13

March 9, 2011 by Amy 14 Comments

OK, it’s time to start weekly reviews!

Lauren – I love Lauren so much. I love Shania so much. And I think Lauren did the song justice and even had a few nuances to it but honestly, I felt it was kind of boring for her. I think she’ll still sail through though.

Casey – Standing ovation. That was awesome. I mean, dare I say, almost sexy. Who knew that song could be so fun?

Ashthon – I felt that was so out of touch with today’s world that no one could connect with it.

Paul – That beginning was really rough. It was hard also to connect with because I was clueless about the song and his movements are so hard to follow but his voice is so amazing. If you close your eyes and listen, I can completely hear him on the radio. He’s so unique and I want him through because he’s one of the guys I would buy an album from.

Pia – She just nailed a Celine Dion song. Omigosh. I think she just converted me as a huge fan.

James – The best news about James is he lost his tail this week. Finally! But wow, even better, I LOVED that song. I was grinning and clapping before he even finished!

Haley – Haley has a gorgeous voice there is no doubt but I just, I don’t know. I feel like she’s a little fake and have a hard time connecting with her. I mean,she seems sweet enough, but I guess she’s just not my cup of tea.

Jac0b – Jac0b is another that I probably won’t be buying his album but have mercy, he can SANG. So impressive.

Thia – Not a fan of whatever they did to that song. Too bad because I really liked her.

Stefano – Sorry, not a fan of that remix. No thanks. He sang it ok I guess but just not a fan.

Karen – I felt like someone pulled the power plug on Karen this week. I haven’t been a huge fan of her to date, but she’s always had a huge, powerful voice. Just wasn’t seeing that tonight. I was waiting on those big moments like Selena had and just didn’t feel it.

Scotty – I think I liked last week better but still a great rendition of Garth. And hello? Can anyone else tell how much all the little girls LOVE him? He is definitely a crowd favorite.

Naima – I felt like this was her weakest performance honestly. She was breathy and off-pitch and her moves seemed a little spastic to me. I did enjoy the Reggae thing. I don’t think it was enough to send her home but I’m not sure how long she’ll last with performances like that.

Favorites: Casey, James, Jac0b, Paul

In trouble: Thia, Ashthon, Karen

Daily Addition Update: Crawlspaces and Coupons

March 8, 2011 by Amy Leave a Comment

OK bad news. We’ve had so many layoffs at our permit office that it’s taking until Wednesday to get it.

More bad news. It’s supposed to rain Wednesday night. So that means no digging footings until Thursday. Bummer since I was kind of hoping we’d be pouring concrete today but, that’s the way these things go I hear.

In good news, our builder came over with the brick guy and it looks like we’ll be able to do the cheaper crawl space instead of a slab. No breaking up concrete if something ever goes wrong! Woot!

In FUN news, our money cleared today so Scott and I went on a spending spree at Lowe’s for my lunch break today. It’s so much fun just strolling the store and throwing stuff in the buggy, even if it is electrical wire and a toilet! Of course thinking about the fact we’d be paying for all that stuff over the next 30 years brought us back to earth in a hurry. The best part is we had a 10% coupon and got several things on sale so yay!

And finally, our bank said they owed us $150 from closing and they’re sending us a check. Now that is what I call good news!

And So It Begins

March 7, 2011 by Amy 4 Comments

Today is the day, pending a permit, we’re breaking ground. I’m so excited to get started!

This weekend I spent time clearing out Scott and the girls’ closets as they will be GONE in just a few weeks! My understanding is the foundation, framing and roof will be done within 2 weeks and that’s when they’ll “blast through our wall” to make way for the hall.

So I put the girls clothes in empty racks in the playroom closet and boxed the rest of the stuff up. As for Scott’s, I stuffed as much as I could in my closet which happened to be less than full since I consigned a whole bunch of stuff as month. But he still has quite a bit of clothing. So we’re planning to get a free-standing clothes rack and park it right in the middle of our bedroom until the new closet is ready. Oh joy!

I thought I’d show a few before pictures.

Here is the girls’ room (please ignore the half-made bed and messy dresser. I did clean that this weekend too. The new closet will be right where the headboard is. The window will be taken out and dry-walled in.

And from this view. The closet will be GONE as that whole wall is the other side of the new hallway!

Right on the other side of that wall is what will be the other side of the hallway in our bedroom. Just imagine this whole section you see being the new hallway headed straight out of the house. The window will be dry-walled in as well:

A new wall will be built about 3” inside the room to make sure we meet code for the width of the hallway. Pretty soon our TV will have to come down and the dresser moved. And as I mentioned, all those clothes are going to have to find a temporary home.

And here is outside before we do any digging. The hallway I mentioned is right in between those two windows on the side of the house.

Man, I can not wait!

And in case you need to catch up or need a reminder, here is the floorplan. A few things have changed but it’s pretty close.

Must-Have Chrome Extensions

March 4, 2011 by Amy 6 Comments

First off, if you’re not using Chrome as your browser (instead of Internet Explorer or Firefox), go here immediately, download and begin using. I switched last Spring and haven’t looked back. Browsing is FAST. The other thing I love is the Extensions you can install to make browsing even more efficient. Firefox has these as well so if you’re switching from FF, these will definitely interest you. And to those who don’t know about them at all, this will be a treat!

Chromed Bird Why I love it: when I get a reply on Twitter, it pops up in the lower right hand corner of my browser to let me know

Clip to Evernote – Why I love it: Evernote is like making a bookmark but you save it to your evernote account and can access it anywhere, even your mobile phone. No more syncing bookmarks when you get a new computer!

Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google) Why I love it: Automatically previews pdfs, powerpoint presentations, and other documents in Google Docs Viewer. Pretty!

goo.gl URL Shortener – Why I love it: Get a shortened URL for the page you are on OR clicking on fast!

Google Mail Checker Why I love it: Displays the number of unread messages in your Google Mail inbox. No more switching to your Gmail tab to check it.

Google Talk Gadget – Why I love it: It shows you a pop-up in your browser when you get a new Gchat message.

LastPass – Why I love it: It remembers my info and types in all those web forms for me!

RSS Subscription Extension (by Google) – Why I love it: Adds one-click subscription to your toolbar similar to how Firefox already does it.

Screen Capture (by Google) Why I love it: It screencaps your web page as a PNG image.

Scroll To Top Button Why I love it: If you’re scrolling down a page, just hit this button that shows up on the top right of the screen and it does all the scrolling to the top for you. I particularly use it when I’m on Twitter.com.

Send from Gmail (by Google) Why I love it: Makes Gmail your default email application. I HATE when a browser tries to open Outlook instead!

WiseStamp – Email Signatures for GMail – Why I love it: Creates a professional footer to all your Gmail messages with pretty social media icons.

Rapportive – Why I love it: It pops up social media info in Gmail about the person you are emailing to/from. Makes it so easy to connect with people!

So there you have it! All you Chromers, what extensions am I missing?

Celebrating His Word

March 3, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

Tomorrow morning I will read the final words of Revelation, closing out 88 days of reading through it. I’m so in love with spending time with it every morning and finishing is bittersweet.

I saw this video today and felt so blessed at having about 82 different ways I could have completed it and honestly, ashamed at our lack of respect and excitement about the OPPORTUNITY and PRIVILEGE we have to read His word every single day.

The Kimyal People Receive the New Testament from UFM Worldwide on Vimeo.

Hat tip to @drpoulette for the link.

5Before Mary Kay Look

March 2, 2011 by Amy 1 Comment

How about something fun for today? I had some sweet comments about my makeup in the 5Before and I thought I would pimp out my Mary Kay products and consultant. Yes, it was all Mary Kay! Out of all the makeup I have tried they are still my favorite. The skin care line is perfect for my finicky skin and I love that I can try out colors before I buy them.

So here we go:

Mineral Powder Foundation in Ivory #2. I hope you’ve tried this stuff because it is GREAT!

I use the Coal eyeshadow with their angled brush to make the eyeliner. It doesn’t move!

I have these three eyeshadows on Ivy Garden, Emerald, Moonstone

Love their mascara! I get so many free mascaras from CVS and this one by far surpasses them!

I used a combination of Shy Blush and Golden Copper blushes

Bronzer on my forehead, nose and chin

Apricot Glaze lipstick

And to top it off, Bronze Bronze lipgloss

Whew, are you as tired as I am after all that?

If you’re at all interested in trying any of this I have some great news! My wonderful consultant, Jo Ann Blackwood will give you a free consultation and because she loves me, she’s offering a 15% discount to anyone that mentions Permission to Peruse when you order!

If you’re really wanting or needing some product, I highly recommend holding a party with her. JUST for picking a date and not changing it, you get $25 in free product!! You can make up to $100 just for having friends over and playing with make-up for an evening. You know I love a good deal and this is one of them!

Jo Ann is a dear friend who recently lost her job and is trying to make a full-timer career with Mary Kay. I hope all of us can help support her efforts and end up looking great in the process!

Check out her site to or email her to set up a consultation. She’s willing to work with you no matter what your location is, so give her a shout. And let me know, what’s your favorite Mary Kay product? Obviously I’m very willing to try any of their products!

My Experience with The Daniel Fast

March 1, 2011 by Amy 32 Comments

This is going to be a long one. Click in if you’d like to read about my experience with The Daniel Fast

Culmination Week

February 28, 2011 by Amy 4 Comments

Wow, so many things happening this week. I feel like I’m getting bowled over with everything. Nothing fancy today, just some updates.

#1 – I want to blog more about this since I haven’t mentioned it but I just finished up 10 days of a Daniel Fast this weekend. I did it for both spiritual and physical reasons. I’ve never done a fast quite like this and let me tell you, it has been amazing in so many ways.

#2 – This week I finish reading the Bible in 90 Days. I’ve loved it just as much as the first time. I can not recommend it enough.

#3 – I GOT THE JOB. It took forever to get approvals but I got the offer on my job this morning and pending drug tests, fingerprinting, etc I should be working full time by the end of the month. There are going to be changes around here. And no, I’m not sure all for the better. Definitely some sacrifices. However, lots of wins too. Yay!

#4 – We found out this morning we have our closing for our financing on the addition on Thursday. Hoping to break ground next week!

Wow, those are huge! All happening in the same week! Crazy right? I mean, this job thing has been in the works for 8 months, we’ve been holding out on the house for weeks and now it’s all happening within days of each other!

In other random news, Emma caught a stomach bug so she is home with me today. We’re a little tired from being up so much and I think that is adding to what feels like the craziness going on today.

Hope you’re having a great Monday!