Thursday and Three...

This week has been so beautiful. I hear we're in for some less than pretty weather, but I have absolutely loved all the sunshine and breezes and warm air of this week! The last two weeks were pretty crazy for me, so I've very much enjoyed the chance to take it easy this week. Right now That Thing You Do is on the TV in the other room...I love that movie. I used to own it. Someone borrowed it and I've not seen it since. But it's been on TV Land a lot lately, so I've been catching up. Of course all day tomorrow, that song will be stuck in my head. Oh well.

Here's a peek into the year I turned three - told you that big mouth would be back.

Phats - this is as close to karaoke as you'll ever see out of me...

Woo Hooooooo and Two....

I was a little more than excited at tonight's Idol results...and I screamed so loud I scared the daylights out of Kaegan. Sorry, buddy. I told Mom (who doesn't watch Idol but does like to be up on what's happening with it) that I didn't think Kristy Lee was the best singer, but my biggest issue with her was her flippant attitude toward Simon...and I see she threw in one more dig right before she was eliminated.

And as for Brooke...I know she had a rough night but I was so hoping she'd make it one more week...if for no other reason, than just to make it worth missing her sister's wedding.

And here's a glimpse into life as I turned two...

Such a ham. I see they tried to get me to have an early love of mowing the lawn. Something went wrong there. Still not one of my favorite chores.


The theme of the year must have revolved around getting me ready for the great outdoors. I remember that lawn chair - had it for YEARS. Years after I outgrew it, even.

And so begin the pictures of my big mouth. You'll see more of those.

And Now that the Mascara is Gone...

Well I may not be right in my Idol predictions tonight, but I was right in my prediction to cry over BOTH the Biggest Loser and Idol.



First of all...YAY for Miss Ali for being the first ever girl to win the Biggest Loser. It was only my first season to watch, so I couldn't compare to other seasons, but I was so stinkin' proud of her for how hard she worked on and off the campus. And I was blown away by some of the other contestants when they came back. Bernie, I've decided, is my favorite guy, and I was SO excited to see him win the $100,000.

And now on to American Idol. When I heard it was Mariah night, I felt REALLY bad for all the girls...especially Syesha. They always get in trouble for trying to pull off diva music and then they were given a diva to sing?? Good grief.

* David Archuleta - Was it just me or did he look even extra young tonight? Still as cute as he can be, but tonight he looked about eight. BUT. He did a great job with the falsetto and of course he delivered yet another great performance. He's just too good to mess up much, I guess.

* Carly - Since I always pick on what she wears, I'll say that she looked very nice tonight. I liked the hair and the outfit very much. HOWEVER. I thought she sounded better on the lower notes and I didn't care for the power ending. May I just say (again) that I don't know the songs that these people sing and I couldn't pick out a Mariah song if you gave me five to choose from, so I wasn't comparing her version to Mariah's. I just didn't love it.

* Syesha - I l-o-v-e it when she wears her hair like that. She looked amazing and I thought she did a great job. I loved the ending. Obviously the judges didn't love it quite as much, but I thought it was super.

* Brooke - MAN that girl has some good posture. I thought the song was very pretty, although at the end I could tell she was getting nervous. Her husband is such a cutie and they're just such a down-to-earth looking couple that they're the kind of people I'd like to be friends with. I know that has nothing to do with her song, but I just wanted to say it. I was actually pretty hungry for a Whopper Jr. once the judges got done with the hamburger analogy.

* Kristy Lee - And while we're on the subject of hamburgers, I think Kristy Lee looked like she was eating a dill pickle the whole time she sang. Her face looked very pained. I thought her low notes sounded off, but otherwise...ehh, okay.

* David Cook - And THIS would be where I bawled my head off. NO question that he's my favorite to win now. I thought his song was exceptional, I was glad Randy stood up for him, he was my favorite of the night, and....just WOW. And seeing his brother there...oh that was just the end. And then when he started to cry...goodbye the rest of my mascara. You go, David Cook. You win.

* Jason - I liked his song, but I wish he could have performed before David Cook, because once David sang, I was ready to be done. I think Jason has come a long way from the beginning as far as having more fun and enjoying the whole experience.

And I agreed with Simon that the guys did the best tonight.

Well overall I wish that Carly and Kristy Lee would go home and the other five could all win something, because I think they're great and I don't know how to pick among them.

BUT. I rarely get the bottom 3 right, so I'll just give you my own personal bottom 3 - Carly, Kristy Lee, and Jason. Going home? Kristy Lee.

One

I'm about to settle down for a long evening's meltdown. Earlier today I was teased for planning my meltdowns...perhaps the ultimate sign of organization? :) I am only planning to cry because I'm about to watch the Biggest Loser finale, and those two brothers cry on EVERY SINGLE SHOW, and I have a feeling tonight will be no exception. I'm such a sucker for that sort of thing. After that I'll watch my American Idol tape. I read earlier today that David Cook's brother (the one with cancer) is going to be in the audience, so I'm sure I'll cry over that too.

So before I lose my mascara...

In keeping with the count-up to my birthday, I bring you the festive one year celebration.
My one year party was a family-only celebration that I am not quite sure I entirely comprehended. I seemed pretty happy about the balloon, though! And Skyepuppy - you'll notice that I was easing my way into the blonde moments...


Clearly I had no intentions of being a classy lady at this point in my life. My parents must have been so proud.

I'm a hands-on participant in celebrations. I don't remember that little riding/walking toy, but I had that toy cart for YEARS. It was a Precious Moments cart. Doesn't really look like I went without a whole lot at that celebration. And my Grandma made the cake up there behind me. It was a clown cake. How appropriate.

The Original Birth Day

...where it all began.

I have said bits and pieces of this before, but in case you're new to my blog, here's a trivia fact for you. I was born on Mother's Day - decided right from the start to make her work on her own holiday. How rude! Actually, I think she prefers to look at it as a great gift. I didn't have a lot of money back then, so I had to work with what I could, you know? (Don't have much more now, but I can't quite top THAT gift.)

Here's my mother's version of how the whole six or so hours prior to my arrival happened.

I worked Friday, May 12th, at school, and part of Saturday the 13th was spent preparing for Mother's Day (which was going to be held at your aunt's house). I decided to fix - for the first time - a peanut butter pie. I had the crust baked and the rest of the ingredients ready to put together Sunday morning. At supper on Saturday, I reacted to something funny Julie said (Julie is my next oldest sister...she would have been 15 at the time and will now probably kill me for giving you a way to figure out her age) about applesauce. (If I could just interrupt myself again to say...what is funny about applesauce?? Julie, Lori, if you have any additional insight on this mystery of my birth...please do share. Perhaps the trauma that ensued has led to my great dislike for applesauce to this very day?) Rowena and Norm (friends of my parents') stopped by. He ended up recording my contractions. We finally left for the hospital after contacting the doctor, but I didn't think it was necessary. Dad decided he should put gas in the old green van. While I waited on him to fill it up, my contractions increased. We arrived at the hospital about 11 p.m. and you were born a little over two hours later. All the pie stuff was still in the cabinet when I came home. I have still never made a peanut butter pie. And by the way - this was the year of the blizzard, so we all missed a lot of school because of weather, but I didn't miss any because I was old and pregnant.

May I also add that this "old green van" was...well...it was a piece of work. It was definitely old, although we still owned it until I was about ten. It was one of those Dodge vans with a flat nose and no seats except the front two...and carpet all over the inside. It was the chosen vessel to get her to the hospital because if they didn't make it...it was the backup plan for a roadside delivery.

Don't you just love this look I'm giving the nurse or whoever took this? Obviously this was prior to ten in the morning! :)


Oh Mom is gonna kill me when she finds out I posted this one. I actually think she looks really good for having been up all night on a holiday giving birth to a baby! And actually, when I looked at it just now I said, "Oh I have become my mother. I look exactly like this!" It's one of very few pictures I have together with my Mom when I was a baby. She was always the one taking the pictures - rarely was she in them. My hands were in mittens because I had some frighteningly long nails (already!) and they were trying to keep me from ripping up my face.

Well, in my defense, the mask IS scary. Meeting my Dad for the first time. He wrote in my scrapbook by this picture, "I had just seen the most miraculous event nature has to offer - and now I am holding her." Pretty sure I was the only one of the three of us that he got to be present for. Dads weren't allowed in the room for the first two.

Bits for Sunday, April 13, 2008

Well, the great countdown is upon us…starting tomorrow. One month until I cross the bridge from being twenty-something to being thirty. I am genuinely excited. I love celebrations and have decided, rather than to dread this impending over-the-hillness, to just embrace it and have as much fun with it as I possibly can.

Earlier today I updated my lovely layout here with a baby picture from my tinier days and a countdown banner to keep track of just how many days I have to go until the ultimate party day arrives. I looked at that picture of me in my little dedication dress…and I thought about the adventures of these years…adventures that I knew nothing about when I was propped up against the photography rug, smiling through some drool.

I think about that sometimes when I watch my friends’ kids. I see their little personalities start to pop out and I wonder what they’ll be like as adults…how will they grow and change? What things will impassion them and what things will make them giggle and cry and blush? What lives will surround theirs and what paths will they choose to walk to leave their footprints in the world?

My parents probably didn’t expect that little Drooley in a dedication gown would grow up to be a girl who tries to find the perfect blend of sarcasm, humor, and deep contemplation. A girl who drags a camera everywhere to capture any possible moment and glue it in a scrapbook. A girl whose idea of a journal is a massive hardcover book that gets to hold the memories of everything from ultimate humiliation to complete joy to “this-would-only-happen-to-you” ridiculousness. A girl who hates getting up in the morning no matter what enticing day stretches out ahead, but will stay up until 2 in the morning to cry over a sappy movie or bake chocolate chip cookies and resist getting sleepy for fear she might miss something exciting if she calls it a day.

I’ve exhausted my parents to some extent, I’m sure. But of course, giving birth in their forties probably made that a given. I listened to a tape earlier this weekend…Mom “interviewed” me on my fifth birthday, and I wore me out just listening to the tape. It’s just an audio recording, so you can’t see…but I am sure I was bouncing all over that room while she was trying to pull out of me important information like my favorite color (to which I answered “Red, just like it always is”) and my favorite food (“pizza” – which I had probably only eaten twice in my entire life at that point). I distinctly remember exasperating both of them with my “I will find this penny in my checkbook if it’s the last thing I do before I die” attitude in high school. And even now, just as they’re curling up for a long night’s rest, they’ll groan at my news of “Well I’m off to start cleaning the house” or some other craziness to be starting at 11 p.m.

In the last 30 years I’ve desired every possible career path from zookeeper to secretary to pastor’s wife to teacher to nurse to….financial aid counselor? Hmmm. I think that one just found me. I’ve had a number of hair colors and styles, and yet they accepted me as a daughter with each one – even as Ronald McDonald’s love child and bangs that required more hairspray than the family budget could afford. (These were not simultaneous do’s, you understand. Thankfully.)

They carted me to and from babysitting jobs prior to my license-holding years. Dad even drove all the way to one of the jobs when I called in a panic that I’d overloaded the toilet with baby wipes after one of the kids had an illness-induced diaper blowout and I didn’t know what to do. (It’s truly a wonder I made it this far into adulthood, now that I think about it.) They lived through dozens…hundreds?...of crushes and my cries of “but if I don’t marry him, I’ll just die” – assuring me with pats on the back that I would in fact, NOT die. And so far they’ve been right.

Yes, if they’d known all of this (and more) that 30 years ahead of them would entail when they stood over to the side and watched Drooley smile at the photographer, they might have sneaked out a side door and run for their lives.

But they didn’t, and I came home and managed to grow up and make it out on my own for lo these many years…and now I’m excited to look ahead to untold adventures to come.

This month I’m reading a book by Nancie Carmichael called Desperate for God. She writes about prayer and how a person’s prayer life can follow the stages of life itself…from infancy to youth to middle age to maturity. In her section on infancy, she writes this, which reminded me that regardless of how old I’m getting in real life, and how far behind me those childhood years get, I need to hang onto a bit of that innocence in my prayer life: “We come as children, pouring out to Him the essence of who we are – confessing our sin, our weakness. And as we grow to know Him more, our prayers take on different dimensions. But primarily, it is important to be very simple, very honest in prayer, calling out to Him from who and where we are, believing that He hears us.”

That’s something I learned as a child (somewhere in between drooling and driving) and I hope to never forget.

Well.

In response to the Idol comments on my last post....I have no words to say except WHAT????

That was not the right outcome. I don't think that Michael would have won the whole thing, but I also don't think he should have gone home last night - and apparently I am not alone in that opinion!!

I enjoyed the Shout to the Lord performance - hadn't seen that one on Idol Gives Back. (Didn't watch the whole thing.) That was really well done, I thought - and FINALLY!!! A song I knew!

This week has been a VERY crazy week. Tons of working over and very little free time. I enjoyed the work I was doing but I am 100% exhausted and ready to take it easy. Except I don't think I have time to do that - but at least the busyness will become another kind of busy.

I'll just sit here and continue to shake my head in amazement.

Totally Two

I've been working on my scrapbook of my 1-5 year old years. (This is how I am choosing to be able to relate to my friends who have kids and scrap. I scrap my own kid years and therefore have something in common with them. When I'm done...guess I'll borrow someone else's kids and start over until they move on themselves.)

Anyway, I found these pictures (don't you love the tint?) from when I was two. When I, as my sister so eloquently put it, "parted my teeth down the middle." She could say that. She did it too.

As I wrote in my book, I don't know if I truly went through the "terrible two's" or not - but obviously I started off the year with a full-fledged meltdown at the photographer's.

Mom told me tonight, when we talked about this particular picture...she was NOT amused when it was happening. I said "You weren't happy with the photographer or with me?" She said, "YOU! You were old enough to know how to sit and smile." Oh I just love it. I would have been annoyed with me too. She said it's cute now. I don't know about that.


I recovered...parted teeth and all. And for the record - if you look at where my knuckles SHOULD be - and all you see are dimples in fat? That went on for YEARS. I think I graduated from high school with baby fat on my hands. I thought it would NEVER end.

Top Eight Inspiration?

I hate saying this since I do love this top eight so much, but I didn't love this night as a whole. I wish I had loved it more. I am, however, looking forward to tomorrow night and the people who will be part of the Idol Gives Back show.

* Michael - He actually scared me. Especially on those high notes. I really didn't care for it at all, and I agreed with Randy that I don't think his song tonight showed who he really is. And I think he's seasoned enough to know who he really is, so I want to see more of that.

* Syesha - I cringed when I heard them say she'd sing a Fantasia song because I am not even remotely a Fantasia fan. And I don't remember her singing it at the finale at all...probably because I didn't really pay attention to anything she did. If Syesha wasn't as "emotionally connected," it's probably because Fantasia cried all the way through it or something. Anyway, I thought she did a FANTASTIC job and I wish she'd have gotten better reviews. Syesha, that is.

* Jason - I don't know that I would ever call him the "hottest" performance of the night. There's still too much quirk in him to fall into that category. Having said that, I thought he did a great job and was consistent in bringing his own mark to his music. I liked it.

* Kristy Lee - To quote my notes that I took (short term memory is not good...have to make notes) - "Rats. She did a good job." Other than Jason's song, this is the only one tonight that I knew, and I had some pretty high expectations for the song because Martina is Martina and you really shouldn't mess with her. And I actually thought she did a good job, and I agreed that it was her personal best of the season. HOWEVER. I'm still not thrilled with her attitude from last week...and I thought she kind of continued her "dig" of being consistently in the bottom by choosing the line from the song that talked about when people forget what you sing. But vocally - much better.

* David Cook - Oh I just love him and I hate it that he just seemed off tonight. I thought his voice sounded different. I liked it...but it sounded less rocker-ish and in that, it lost some of its definition that makes it HIM. But he's still the great David Cook.

* Carly - I didn't like it at all. I was once again distracted by the tattoo. I didn't agree with Simon on the outfit...I didn't like that at all. I thought Simon made a good point, though, that it seemed an angry performance, because her facial expressions were scary to watch. The screaming got to me - I thought (and Randy said it was so) that there were pitch issues. I just didn't like it. I agree with Simon that she could be in trouble.

* David Archuleta - Of course he did a great job. I am impressed at how well he handles playing while singing...for his age, that could be a tough thing to handle on that stage. I don't think it was his best EVER, but the end was awesome and he'll be just fine.

* Brooke - I'm scared for my Brooke. I just love her but the farther into this we get, she seems to be...I'm not even sure what to call it. I don't think she's losing confidence, but she seems more cautious...maybe? Guarded? I'm not sure what she's doing, but she's better than what she seems to be giving herself credit for....or more than she gives herself permission to be. Something. It was better than the Sunshine week or whatever that song was, but it didn't quite seem right.

Well last year on Idol Gives Back week they ended up not sending anyone home, but it didn't sound like they planned to repeat that this time. So this week I'd say the bottom 3 are Carly and Brooke...and then my third vote is a toss-up between Michael and David Cook. Neither of them should go home, but I am worried that they were just enough "off" their norm that whichever one has the smaller fan base could be in trouble.

Bits for Sunday, April 6, 2008

This week I had one of those moments that not so long ago would have really annoyed me…but this time I took great pleasure in it. In a meeting, someone questioned my age and seemed surprised to know I had worked at my job for as many years as I have. When I first started working, I was frequently (and skeptically, I might add) questioned about my age and it irritated me to the point of purchasing fake glasses…a move which did result in greater respect, interestingly enough. But the onset of prematurely graying hair has obliterated my need for fake glasses and has also hushed all questions of age. Until this week. The hair dye must be working. I wanted to skip as I left the meeting – excited to once again be mistaken for someone fresh out of college.

I say that because what I’m about to say borders on sounding old and sentimental, and I wanted to remind us all that while I am sentimental before my time, I am not old.

This morning in our Sunday School class (I’m retaking junior high, in case you forgot or didn’t know) – we read Philippians. The entire book, which in all fairness, is only four chapters. I found my study-loving self wanting to stop in between verses to talk about all the rich words…but we foraged ahead. At the end of class, Pastor Brian told the teens that there were so many things we could have gone back to look at more in-depth, but he wanted to just familiarize them with that book…and for the next few weeks, we’d work our way through some of the other letters and accounts of Paul.

As we read and familiarized…I found myself remembering times when the words of this tiny book had first come to mean something so important to me. Some of those times occurred when I was not much older than the teens in our class. By the time Sunday School ended, my mind had wandered down multiple paths of those days when Philippians came to the rescue. So I came home, pulled the study Bibles off the shelf (I switch Bibles every so often to get a fresh perspective) and looked back at the notes I’d made along the way.

1:6 – “…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” That reminded me of years ago, during the phase when I escaped into the world of headphones and music in the car rather than paying any attention to the conversations of Mom and Dad…and I learned this verse through a duet sung by Steve Green and Kelly Willard. I still remember that little chorus. And below this verse in one Bible, I’ve written a quote by Oswald Chambers – “Think of the enormous leisure of God! He is never in a hurry!” And He still isn’t.

1:9-11 – “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ Jesus – to the glory and praise of God.” According to the margin, these verses were my theme verses for 1998 – when I would have been a sophomore transitioning into a junior in college. I found the verses after reading a book by Joshua Harris and being challenged to work harder at my faith.

2:14 – “Do everything without complaining or arguing” – This verse is highlighted in bright blue in another Bible, and I wrote in the margin, “Everything is all-inclusive. This is a virtue to strive for. It builds and reflects character.” Sigh. And I still have more character to build in this area.

3:12-14 – “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Verses given to me on scraps of paper in high school study hall from a sweet friend named Emily. I miss her. She was a friend who always brought her Bible to study hall and on the off-study moments, she’d write encouragement notes to her friends, and I often received them…shoved across the aisle when the teacher wasn’t looking.

4:12 – “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” This verse struck me today when we read it, because it made me think of my sister and brother-in-law and niece and all they’ve been through in the past year since the tornado. They can say these verses in a very different and much more complete way than I can…and I can learn so much from that.

There were more notes and highlights in the Bibles, but I chose those to show that in these past 15 or so years since I began really reading and studying, God has brought different verses at different times to show me His power and presence in my life. Sometimes through songs, sometimes through sermons, sometimes through the forbidden notes in study hall. And I love this heritage of scribbles and underlining and highlighting that reminds me of the paths I’ve walked.

It makes me excited to see the day when the teens in that Sunday School class discover that kind of excitement for preserving their own journey of faith…a journey that took a big step for most of them this morning when they were baptized. And I hope in 15 or so years, they can look back over Philippians and see a verse or two that they remember from a Sunday morning when they read through the book in a day…and God planted a seed.

And We Will Miss Him...Or Her...

My parents and some of my friends were without power yesterday for a while. Here is the explanation according to the Kokomo Tribune...

A raccoon is responsible for turning off the lights in Greentown and eastern Howard County on Wednesday morning.Apparently the critter was able to scale a fence or dig underneath to get inside the Maple Street substation, said Duke Energy spokeswoman Angeline Protegere.The power outage lasted nearly two hours from 4:11 to 5:47 a.m. Protegere said 3,415 customers were without power.The raccoon did not survive.

The only raccoon in the world who got a newspaper obituary, I'm sure. His/her family is probably so grateful.

Eyeroll

I enjoyed last night's Idol results show and was glad to see I was close on the bottom 3! That may be a first. But I do have to say that the guest group scared me. I appreciated their obvious musical talent, but the singer looked petrified. And his method of screaming at me that Jesus was on the main line did NOT make me want to call Him up and tell Him what I want. I do love that song though. I especially enjoy the GVB version where Mark Lowry sticks his shoe in Bill's face while they sing it. I prefer to be entertained rather than scared while listening to music.

But anyway, here's my Bekah moment for the day - to which I have no response OTHER than a giant eyeroll at myself. Monday I mailed a whole bunch of stuff, including a letter to a friend of mine. An encouragement letter. Never written to her before, hoped it would be a good thing...went on with my day.

Later, I decided to mail my Mary Kay payment check to my friend Marie who had so graciously allowed me to take the new mineral powder foundation and mail the check after payday. I distinctly remembered writing the check, tearing it out of the book, putting it on the desk, and I thought for SURE I'd packed it in my work bag to mail that day. I had the envelope but no check. So I thought perhaps I'd just forgotten it at home. I checked when I went home that evening....desk was empty. At that point I did the only logical thing I knew to do. I blamed Braeya. I figured she stole it and I'd have to turn over all the furniture to find it.

And then today I got an email from my letter friend. She thanked me for the kind words and inquired about the check enclosed in the envelope.

Way to go, Bekah.

Eyeroll.

Top Nine

I don't want to disappoint Deb, so I'll make sure I get my post out here pronto!

I told Phats early on this season that I thought they were over-pushing the whole "best season ever" thoughts, but I do have to say that even with nine still to go, I do have more favorites than I've ever had before. Maybe they were right!

* Brooke. I just love everything about her. I loved her country sound...I thought she did a good job connecting with the song and the audience. She looked beautiful. And Paula's right - she does a great job of being consistent. I think in this competition that could be a risk to take, because if everyone else changes things up all the time, she could get the boring reputation, but I think she's amazing and I want her to do well no matter what week is her last.

* David C. I just love him. (Seeing a pattern here?) Phats, were you at all happy about the haircut? I know his hair bugs you. I loved his song...I loved the falsetto...I loved the arrangement...and I loved knowing he did it himself. I think he's a lot like Chris Daughtry in that he knows what he wants, he isn't afraid to tackle it himself, and no matter when he exits, he'll become someone big in music.

* Ramiele - I have to admit I enjoyed the sound of the song, but I didn't enjoy watching her. A couple of times I looked away and when I wasn't distracted by the awkwardness, I enjoyed the sound. Maybe it is her age, but she just doesn't seem to have the command that so many of the others have. Maybe in another season she would have stood out more?

* Jason - Quirky is his thing and it works for him. He's kind of a happy go lucky little singer, but it works for him in ways it wouldn't for anyone else. I liked it, but a couple of times, when the camera wasn't zoomed in and I watched him standing there with his guitar, he reminded me of the free credit report dot com guy - selling fish or iced tea or whatever it is to tourists in t-shirts.

* Carly - Brace yourselves. I actually liked her tonight. I like her much better when she's got a softer image about her. When her hair is softer...her voice is softer...I like that side of her. I TOTALLY agreed with Simon about her wardrobe. I'm still distracted by the massive tattoos - and the whole workout looking pants with a dressy shirt...wasn't helping.

* David Archuleta - What a sweetie! I know he is actually younger than Ramiele, but he has a much better grip on things, I think. I loved his song, I loved his voice - and I hope whatever it is that his Dad does that drives everyone so crazy won't end up hurting him in the long run. He's got really good star potential.

* Kristy Lee - I know country is her thing and I know it was a good week for her - but I still didn't get that into it. I am just not a fan. I thought she looked beautiful. Oh and I absolutely could have done without the comment she made to Simon at the end. I know he always says she's forgettable (uh, probably because she is???) but there's no need to be rude to the judges.

* Syesha - Okay this was the one song from this week that I knew, but even though I know it and I know Whitney sang it, I don't have that "only Whitney can sing this song" mentality, so I thought she did a FANTASTIC job. FANTASTIC. Especially sitting down! However, I do respect the power of a song. I don't appreciate it when people try to sing David Phelps and don't do a David Phelps job. So I can see how people loyal to the Whitney version wouldn't like it if she didn't live up to that particular way.

* Michael - He's just so good. At first I didn't think I was going to like the song, but he won me over. I hated it for him that they were out of time and had to rush through it all because he deserved more time to enjoy the praise for that one.

So my bottom 3? Well I'd say Ramiele and Kristy Lee (country fans at least can spread the love this week since they got a dose of everyone trying it?) are my two shoo-ins. My third vote is torn between Jason, Brooke, and Syesha. I don't want any of them to be there, but since Jason was there last week, I question the strength of his fan base...Brooke might be in danger if people were wanting something less safe, and if the Whitney thing gets the best of Syesha, she could be in trouble.

I'd say Ramiele or Kristy Lee should be the one to go, though.

Bits for Sunday, March 30, 2008

I took a look at the content of my posts this week and my only topics were American Idol and the quality of the ply of toilet paper at my work. Needless to say, I don’t think I have much of anything deep or meaningful running through my brain right now. I could, however, use a laugh, so I dug into the annals of both my life and writing and found this, which I thought you might find humorous. I know this is a bit longer than I normally write to you…but hopefully you’ll find it worth the extra time…and certainly of more entertainment value than toilet paper. I wrote this my senior year of college and it was requested by my peers to be the paper I read at the senior reading. I’m not sure what that said about the overall quality of my work…but with a unanimous vote (and a very red face in parts) I read it anyway.

I’ve never cared much for doctors. When I was little, I didn’t like them because I got strep throat every winter, and the doctors always stuck those giant Q-Tips down my throat to get a culture. When I was in kindergarten, my strep throat infection spread so much they had to admit me to the hospital. And while there, I had my finger pricked for blood tests so often that I had no desire to ever repeat the experience. The last time I went to an actual doctor was in sixth grade when I fell off my bike and broke my leg. I decided at that moment in life I would avoid doctors at all costs in the future. And I have, for the most part…until last summer.

I came down with a minor sore throat while on vacation. I took aspirin and ignored it. That usually works. But on the eight-hour ride home, it got worse. It didn’t hurt to talk, but my throat closed so much that I could barely swallow. In fact, for the next two days I lived on ice cream, because it was the only thing I could swallow. My roommate at the time hadn’t been feeling well either, and one day she announced that she had been to the clinic, and she had strep. I cringed. I could see that whole kindergarten hospital experience about to be repeated.

“Did they weigh you at the clinic?” I asked her. I hate that about doctors.

“No.”

“Did they stick a giant Q-Tip down your throat?”

“No.”

“What exactly did they do?”

“They looked at my throat with the flashlight, said I had strep, gave me drugs, and sent me home.”

This was my kind of doctor’s appointment, I decided. No scales. No Q-Tip. Medicine. I was all for it. The next morning, I called my friend Cathy and asked her to drive me to the clinic. She called ahead and found out they had a long waiting list, so she called another clinic and made an appointment for me there. I figured one clinic was as good as the next, so I agreed to go. Big mistake.

I spent about fifteen minutes filling out paperwork when I got there. While I wrote, I watched the receptionist fill black and dark purple balloons with helium and decorate the back room of the clinic. I sincerely hoped she was decorating for an over-the-hill party and not a funeral.

At last a nurse came to get me. She was armed with a file newly created just for me. I didn’t want a file. I wanted medicine, and I wanted to go to bed. I was headed straight for the room on the right when that nurse said to me, “Stop here, hon.”

I hate it when strangers call me “hon.” I looked over to where she was pointing. Scales. I stopped right in front of them, just like she said. She never said to get on the scales, but apparently, from the look on her face, that was precisely what she wanted me to do. I got on, and while she fidgeted with the weight measurements with one hand, she pulled up the height measurement with the other.

“You’re 5’4”,” she announced. I panicked. I’ve been 5’6” for about four years now, and anyone who cannot accurately measure height should not have access to my medical records.

The nurse put me in the examining room and did all the temperature and blood pressure things. She told me to wait for the nurse practitioner, so I did as I was told. Pretty soon, the nurse practitioner walked in. She was wearing a sleeveless red dress and black heels. I thought, Correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t you have a white coat or a badge or something that lets me know you have the authority to do what you are about to do? The woman opened up the file and began at the beginning.

“You have a sore throat today?”

“Uh-huh. And a little bit of an ear ache. My roommate just came home with strep.” I know you’re not supposed to suggest a diagnosis to doctors, but I just wanted to get this whole visit over and go to bed.

“So when was your last visit to the gynecologist?”

“Excuse me?”

“The gynecologist. I see that you’re twenty-one. You should go to the gynecologist when you’re eighteen and every two years after that until you’re thirty and then every year after that.”

“Oops.” What was I supposed to say? I’ll worry about that later. Now I have a sore throat. I’m not an anatomy expert, but I think she was worried about the wrong end of the body.

“It’s real easy, hon. We just take a tool and…” I quit listening. I didn’t even want to think about that right now. “…and we do offer that here. You need to think about having that done.”

She moved on. I was so glad.

“Are you sexually active?”

I almost got up and walked out at that point. What did it matter? I had a sore throat, and that was all I cared about. Instead of saying all that flooded into my mind at that moment, I simply replied, “No.”

“I see here that you drink caffeine. Do you drink a lot?” She gave me that squinty I-hope-you-won’t-say-yes-but-I-think-you-will-look.

“Depends,” I answered. I was thinking, Lady, if you were going into your senior year of college with no clue about what you want to do when you grow up, working a full time job, and trying to keep good grades, you’d take in as much caffeine as is required each day to make your life bearable.
“Well,” she said, “you really shouldn’t have more than two glasses of caffeinated beverages a day, okaaaaaaay?” She talked to me like English was not my native language. I nodded. She never said what size glasses those two should be. I could drink two sixty-four ounce Mountain Dews and still be in her limit.

“So what did your grandparents die of?” I know I gave her a look on that one. I didn’t know I was going to have a full interview. She hadn’t even looked at my throat. I tried to think.

“I don’t know…cancer?”

“Mmmmm.” I figured I was due for a lecture on cancer exams now. “Which ones died of cancer?”

“I think my Dad’s Dad did. I don’t know. It was before my time. I think Dad’s Mom did, too.”

“Cancer of the what?”

“Colon?” At this point I was thinking, Pick a body part, any body part, hope it’s feasible to get cancer there, and be sure to avoid the throat. Well, she liked my answer so much, she wrote it down.

“And how about your Mom’s parents?”

“I think Grandpa died of…you know, I have no idea what he died of. He had a lot of things wrong with him. And Grandma had some strange disease that eventually made her heart stop beating.” After all, isn’t that what ultimately kills everyone?
“How are your parents?”

“Oh they’re fine.” In perfect health, I wanted to add. That is why I am here with a sore throat and they are at home with fine throats.
The lady finally got around to looking at my ears and throat. She called for a throat culture. I said with fear in my voice, “Is that, by chance, the giant Q-Tip?” She nodded.

The incompetent nurse returned to do the culture. “I’ll throw up,” I threatened.

“No you won’t.”

“I’m pretty sure I will.” I distinctly remember when I was in the hospital that time in kindergarten and I made such a threat, the nurses held my hand. They also talked loudly and tried to distract me so I’d forget the giant Q-Tip was playing Twister with my tonsils.
This lady apparently did not graduate from the same friendly institution. She just stuck a puke pan under my chin and said, “Here. In case you throw up.”

She did the throat culture, and I was so mad at her that I refused to throw up. She left for a while, and while she was gone, I made a solemn vow to never recommend this place to anyone, no matter how much I disliked them. The nurse came back a few minutes later and stuck a Polaroid camera in my face. “We take a picture of all our new patients on their first visits.”

You have to understand that I looked horrible. I had not brushed my hair. I was wearing no makeup. Not even zit concealer. My clothes were dirty because they were the only ones I could find that morning. This was not how I wanted to be remembered every time someone opened my file. She didn’t care. She took the picture anyway.

My favorite nurse left again and returned a few moments later. She handed me a giant sticker that showed a cartoon turtle with a thermometer in his mouth. It said, “I need some T.L.C.” I was slightly offended, so I said to her, “My boyfriend is 500 miles away from here right now. This is not going to help me.”

As a consolation prize, she stuck out three Dum-Dum suckers and said, “Pick a flavor!” I was thinking, What! I am twenty-one years old and you are giving me a sticker and a sucker?
The nurse practitioner returned in her red dress and black heels with five days of complimentary antibiotics and a prescription for the other five days. I took one look at those pills…they were the size of three aspirins put together! I could barely swallow water at that point, and she expected me to swallow those horse pills? I politely thanked her and left that examining area as fast as I could.

I left that clinic as fast as I could. I still have no idea why the nurse practitioner wore a sleeveless red dress and black heels instead of the traditional white coat. I don’t know why they were decorating the back room with black and purple balloons. But there is one thing I do know: next time I’m going to a real doctor!

One More Thing About the TP

What a week! Our busy season is officially upon us at work and the loss of my entire mind and sanity...extremely probable.

Because of this, the level of deep thoughts from my mind...minimal. The level of totally chaotic ramblings....well, expect it.

So today I had another toilet paper observation to tack onto the previous discussions found somewhere in a post below that I'm entirely too tired to link at this moment.

I think Kristin was the one who left a comment about how the work bathrooms sometimes put in the TP so it comes out the wrong way. And today I made the following additional observation about work TP. The size of a full roll of work TP is similar to that of a car's tire. I guess they don't want to change it except every six months or so? I'm not sure. Anyway, the problem is that when the roll is full and you pull on it, it breaks off, leaving you with about an inch of TP...so you try again...and again...and again...and after while, you realize you have this fist full of TP shreds and the tire is still firmly affixed to the wall....because the TP is half-ply! It can't support its own weight until it's time to change the roll!

It is a very sad point, I do realize, that after an entire week of having said nothing other than chatter of Idol travesties...all I have to talk about now is toilet paper.

To that I just say, TGIF.

Top Ten

Hey Phats, guess what! I knew TWO songs tonight on Idol! That's more than in the last two weeks COMBINED!!! :) I thought you'd be proud.

* Ramiele - I actually liked the background vocals better than I liked her. Not sure that's a good thing for her, but way to go for them! I agreed with Randy (often, tonight, actually) that she was way off pitch several times.

* Jason - I spent the first half of the song getting over those EYES in that baby picture! I kind of lose the eyes in the dreds now, but when he was a baby and he was bald, you couldn't notice anything else! The second half of the song I spent wondering if he had an aversion to singing a whole song through in English...and alternately laughing because right before I watched Idol, I watched an episode of Friends where Phoebe and Monica were making fun of the way someone said "mo-bile" (in reference to a phone) and his "fragile" reminded me of that. So I'm actually not sure I paid enough attention to the song to know how well he really did.

* Syesha - You go, girl! That was just amazing. I still love her because I think she is one of only two or three in the whole thing who can already pull off the entire star quality factor. I thought she did a super job.

* Chikeze - I know his choice was not popular with the judges, but I actually liked the slower song. I do wish he and Simon would stop trying to outlast each other on arguments. That part gets old after while.

* Brooke - I loved it that she stopped and restarted because I think it made her real. I also love it when she plays the piano. It was 100 times better than last week, and I think she is definitely making a place for herself in music, whether or not she wins this.

* Michael - I really really loved it - and this was one of the two songs I knew. Song totally gets on my nerves, but I thought he did a great job with it and I loved watching the audience really get into it. I agreed with the judges that it was his best night ever.

* Carly - I liked the beginning, but I did NOT love the part where she tried to be a rocker. I was glad Simon agreed with that.

* David A. - I'm still a fan, but I really thought that it sounded like a high school talent show tonight. I was waiting for Simon to say that (since that's one of his commonly used descriptors) but he went the theme park route instead.

* Kristy Lee - Okay first let me say that I do think the song is an amazing song and I appreciate the respect it gives to our country. BUT. It's been played so much that I was not excited that she chose it. I would agree that it was her best, but not the best (by a long shot) that song has ever been performed. But since she'll get all the country music lovers' votes, it was good enough, I'm sure.

* David C. - I want this guy to win it. He's amazing and I loved what he did. Loved it. My favorite of the night.

Bottom 3? You know I never get this right. Um, Ramiele, Chikeze, Carly?

Game Night and Easter

Well, Cara and Phats beat the snot out of me in Dutch Blitz, but this is one of two rounds I did manage to win. I'm pointing to my empty card pile...I was so proud of that because you have no idea how good those two are at this game!

We played a new (to us anyway) game this time called Three for All. It was pretty fun, and Phats won the first round - so Cara posed as the loser.


And this was the Easter dress. I especially appreciate how you can STILL see my tan line (at the sock level) from last year. Good grief.

And Then Sometimes It Is

Okay so if you read about yesterday, this is the conclusion of the photo lab story. I wrestled with whether or not to say anything when I picked up my pictures today. The consumer part of me wanted to ask for some sort of compensation for stuff not being ready when they said it would be. The works-in-customer-service part of me didn't want to become that customer that creates the need for exceptions and checking with the manager and all that.

I was definitely not the poster child for filing a complaint. This is how it went. I approached the counter where a very nice and coherent-looking woman that I've never seen before was working. I said (while twisting my purse handle and looking down) "Um, I know that maybe there's nothing you can do about this, but for what it's worth, I came to get these last night when they were supposed to be ready well before closing time and they weren't done and while that might not be a big deal in the grand scheme, I didn't even get an apology or anything...and..." (at this pointed I decided to just stop rambling.

She said, "Well I heard they had paper jam problems last night. Do you want to check your pictures to see if they're okay?"

I said, "Well, I'm sure they're fine. It's just that I intended to send them out to someone and then I couldn't and..."

And then came the famous, "Let me check with the manager." Rats. I became that person.

But it worked out. The manager gave them to me for half price.

And to top it all off - front row parking. AND I managed to locate my OWN car this time.

Sometimes it Just isn't Your Day

This morning I was actually RELIEVED for the alarm to sound. That's never good on a Monday. I'm not sure what I ate or drank (or didn't eat or drink) before bedtime last night that led to this, but I had entire night packed full of the most awful dreams. I kept waking up and I would go back to sleep thinking that waking up would solve the problem...but no. I'd have more dreams.

I went to the shower to discover that the shower head which has been working fine since I fixed it on Saturday...has in fact, unfixed itself. I didn't have time to mess with it, so I tossed all my showering stuff in a towel and carted it to the other bathroom. It's been a while since I used that shower and it turns out that the water actually pelts you as it comes out of the shower head. I did not appreciate the pelting of hot water after so little sleep.

The day at work actually went fairly well - another scary thing. Whenever you have a Monday (when you're down two people at work, no less) that is actually GOOD during office hours and BAD off the clock? That's not a good sign.

Anyway, so I came home, decided for once in my life to exercise early instead of after I'd completely run out of energy, changed into my workout clothes, climbed onto the elliptical...

Batteries are dead.

Fortunately I remembered that I also had pictures to drop off to the photo lab, so I changed back into the non-workout clothes, drove to Wal mart, dropped off the pictures with 40 minutes to spare before they stopped processing for the night and came home. I figured I would go back in an hour, pick up the pictures along with the batteries, come home, exercise, and still be done early. While I waited, I redid a scrapbook page (finished it over the weekend...a baby page...and today I got the birth announcement in the mail, so of course I had to include that), and then back in the car I went.

I arrived at the photo lab to find the "Here's the envelopes if you want to drop off pictures" display out and the lab guy cleaning equipment at the back. I've played this game before. I re-read the posted hours which said "lab open until 9 pm, last drop off of pictures one hour before closing." So I stood there. I'm fairly certain he saw me a couple of times before he actually acknowledged me. He hunted around for my pictures, couldn't find them, hunted some more...finally discovered my request ticket on the printer. With no apology, he told me that they hadn't "come through" until he'd shut down the equipment for the night. When had I come in? I said, "An hour ago...and I omitted the part where he watched me put in my order at the little computer.

I guess I'll see what kind of fighting mood I'm in tomorrow. I have my "this is not a receipt" that clearly states my photos will be ready for pickup at 8:21 pm TODAY. So, Cara, if you're reading this, THIS is why you don't have an email full of pictures from game night. They're not DONE YET.

At this point, I had to wonder...why do I continue to put myself through the Wal Mart hassle?

I used to take all my pictures to CVS, but I began to have problems with them chopping off random (and sometimes necessary) parts of my pictures, so I stopped.

Then I went to Wal-Greens, but the last straw there was at Christmas when they printed all 125 of my Christmas card pictures in some really bad quality and then gave me a bit of hassle over fixing them at no charge.

So for all of this, I have concluded that I will welcome the arrival of Meijer in town...perhaps I will enjoy their photo lab?

And just as a bit of polish on my evening...I walked out into the parking lot, still rather steamed over my picture fiasco, strolled confidently toward my car, and as I nearly approached the driver's door, I hit the remote lock...and definitely heard the car BEHIND me unlock. Woops. I was headed straight for my car's twin. I did an embarrassing about-face and slid into my car before anyone (that I could see) saw me.

Perhaps tomorrow will be better?

Easter Pageant Pictures

My Sunday post is two posts down...but since I talked about the Easter Pageant, I thought I would post a few pictures I have.

This was the part that was happening on stage when I was sneaking out the side during the Hallelujah chorus (that will make sense if you read the post below) - so I didn't see it for many years. Once I switched roles, I got to sneak a peek (supposed to be "sleeping" while this happened) and watch it. The tomb always fascinated me because there was some sort of screen over the entrance, so the person inside always looked...not like a person. It gave that "angel" thing more of a real feeling.

Oh Mom would not be amused to know I have posted this, so don't tell her, okay? This was a picture...probably from when I was about a fifth grader (judging from the hair) of our "Pilgrim Family 3." The Pageant took place in a coliseum and the whole basketball floor was the "stage" - along with an actual stage at the end of it. Because we were so far away from the crowd (who sat in the bleachers), we had to wear heavy makeup so we didn't look washed out. After the Pageant on Sunday morning, we would rush home and have to scrub all the makeup off our faces, hands, and legs (anything that showed had to be made up) and then start over getting ready for church. I was usually finding traces of makeup even after several showers. That stuff stayed around forever!