The Fashion Golden Nugget

The best fashion advice I have ever received came to me about two weeks ago in a voicemail from a friend:
"I have this to say to you - don't wear skinny jeans if you aren't. Thanks."

Words to live by, people.

You are an enigma wrapped in a schizophrenic

So apparently, all I have to talk about these days is my favorite TV.  I promise that I do actually want to give a run-down on my recent weekend activities (ooh, fun for you!), but Burn Notice is just too good to pass up.  This is one of my favorite shows ever.  It is funny James Bond, and in sunny Florida, too!  Spies meet fast cars meet fabulous clothes meet dry humor, and we have a recipe for delight.  

I love the combo of a super-spy with an old FBI buddy and a romantic interest in an Irish guerilla.  These people kick some serious boo-tay, friends.  I love them.  They can do anything.  Michael's (super-spy) ex-fiance makes an appearance in this episode, which makes for some excellent sexual chemistry.  I'm not sure how I feel about it, seeing that I am a HUGE supporter of Michael and Fiona (IRA expert).  I hope she doesn't stay on the show.  But she is pretty.  

The bad guy this week is a total blowhard.  I loathe him.  I also loathe the other bad guy.  And I want them to hurt someone...but only in the name of good conquering evil, of course.  

Ok so if you haven't seen it, you should check it out.  I might find myself talking about it on the world wide web all over again.  (:  

THE SEASON FINALE IS NEXT WEEK?  But we've only just begun...dangit, USA.  

American Idol bandwagon - 36 Group 2

Live blogging, here we go: (How's THAT for a fancy intro?)

01 Jasmine Murray, singing "Love Song" - bless her heart for sticking through Hollywood week with the CRAZIES.  The girl's got some chops, for sure.  I didn't totally love the song, but I thought she did pretty well.  I love the original, but it was just kinda strange.  

- Also, I'd like to add that I think Crazy Paula is back.  And stop boo-ing Simon! - 

02 Matt Giraud, singing "Viva La Vida" - I cannot get over his "Georgia On My Mind" performance.  YUM.  I really like his voice.  I think it's hard to take that Coldplay song and really rock it.  I don't know that I believe it was the best for his soulful voice, but it wasn't terrible.  (Yes, Kara just spoke my mind.  Boo-yow.)

03 Jeanine Vailes, singing "This Love" - Holy legs!  She sounds pitchy.  I'm not feeling it.  Also, I'm not a big fan of watching her sing, with the flailing.  Kinda crazy for me.   That's all I've got. 

- And plus, I have so say that I think Ryan is so cute.  I love his outfit. - 

04 Norman Gentle (Nick Mitchell) - SERIOUSLY, why is he on here?  One of my BFFs LOVES Nick/Norman.  You think you know a girl...  But for reals, I think he is funny and absolutely insane.  And really, hot a completely horrible singer, but there's no way he should be on this show.    

05 Allison Iraheta, singing "Alone" - She seemed a little, uh, nuts in her interview?  Bless her, she's so young.  They're calling her the Dark Horse...I'll be the judge of that.  (:  It is BRAVE to rock a Heart song, especially on the first night!  OOh.  And I think she IS rocking it!  Holy moly!  How is it possible that she has that kind of vocal prowess?  I loved it.  Okay.  And Paula just said that she worked the microphone stand?  What the heck does that even mean?  Oh well.  Get it, girl!

06 Kris Allen, singing "Man In The Mirror" - Uh, oh, with the MJ...I'm nervous.  Like Ricky Bobby, I've never heard this guy sing before.  I think he's super cute, and he's got a good stage presence.  I think if he was going to sing Michael, it was the best song for him.  Not terrible.  I really can't believe that Simon liked it that much.  I'm more inclined to agree with...Kara.  I do like him.

07 Megan Corkrey, singing "Put Your Records On" - I love this song.  And I loved her in the auditions, and I do remember her.  I hope she does it well.  She has such an interesting voice to me, and I really like it, oddly enough.  I just think she's so cute, and I think it's awesome that she rocks those tattoos.  Sorry, mom. 

08 Matt Breitzke, singing "If You Could Only See" - I think he is precious.  He's a tad bit awkward on stage, but maybe it's just because of the pauses in this song where he's not singing.  I don't think this song is really a singer's song, but he did okay.  I agree wholeheartedly with Simon.    

09 Jesse Langseth, singing "Bette Davis Eyes" - I think this is a cool song for her voice.  I am maybe a little saddened because there was nothing new about her arrangement.  I think she's nice and she's got a good cool level.  (Thank you, Randy, for using the word "cool" - I wholeheartedly agree.) I love that she actually delved deeper into REAL feedback from the judges, without being sassy.

10  Kai Kalama, singing "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" - He's just not working it for me.  I dunno, he's never really reached my soul.  I think he's a nice guy and a pretty good singer, but it was just alright for me, dawg.  We could be friends, but I didn't like his particular brand of karaoke.  

11 Mishavonna Henson, singing "Drops of Jupiter" - Interesting song choice, I think.  She's got a pretty cool voice, too.  I kinda like what she did with her interesting song.  She's not one that has really reached my soul, either, but I liked it overall. 

12 Adam Lambert, singing "Satisfaction" - Pretty good hook, to start.  Still, not so much a singer's song, though I think he made the best of it because he has got some CHOPS.  It is so crazy to me how he can just scream away like that, but on pitch!  It's so surreal.  I think I like it. I think he shall forever be known to me as "Guyliner."  Okay, THANK YOU, Randy, with the Twilight reference (Edward, hi), and the perfect vocab word for his performance: manic!  And Kara, you're totally right.  

My votes tonight are for Kara and Randy.  But really, I'm going to actually call in and vote mostly for Allison.  Then Adam.  Then Matt Giraud, just because I know he's awesome.  

I'm tired!!

Real-life funny

Y'all.  I would like everyone on the internet to know that I saw, in real life, a man whose hair looked like this:

I have had several chuckles over that today.  It might last me quite a while.  (: 

American Idol bandwagon - 36 Group 1

Okay I am forced to now blog about my American Idol thoughts. I'm a little frustrated after last week (hello? Tatiana?), and I'm even more frustrated right now at their thoughts for how we get to the Top 12. At first, I thought it was going to be a pretty neat new development. The top male and female voting earners in each of three groups of twelve these next three weeks...plus the next top earner in each group...and then a final three from a wildcard round. BUT - Y'all, Danny and Anoop are in the same group! And Michael-the-Roughneck! What is a girl to do? Carrying on...here goes nothing:

01 - Jackie Tohn, singing "Little Less Conversation" - First, let me say, Olivia Newton John much? Anyone else taken back to the end of Grease by her outfit? I thought she was entertaining, and not a horrible singer, but she didn't do much for me. I agree with the judges.

02 - Ricky Braddy, singing "Song For You" - Who is this kid and why haven't we seen him before? That boy can SANG. Once again, I agree with the judges, and especially Simon, that he won't make it through because he's not been featured enough. No "star quality." And I think I'm going to call him Ricky Bobby from here on out, because SHAKE & BAKE!

03 - Alexis Grace, singing "I Never Loved A Man" - she can sing, too. Maybe one of my favorite females so far. And I do love her pink tips in her hair.

04 - Brent Keith, singing "Hick Town" - There is possibly not another song tonight that seems to fit a contestant more. He is so cute (hello, dimples), but I'm not sure he can roll on past the other boys with that. Again, I do agree with the judges.

05 - Stevie Wright, singing "You Belong With Me" - Hm. Stevie. Bad song choice, I think, and weak vocals (which, don't hate me, but is characteristic of Taylor's songs). I think the nerves hit her HARD. And hello? -Is that Paula, making real, constructive criticism? Also, I'm totally proud of her for not crying on national television. Bravo, Stevie.

06 - Anoop Desai, singing "Angel of Mine" - I love his R&B singing, but I wish he had sung something a little more upbeat and BLOWN THE DOORS OFF. I think that boy can sing. And may I please just say that he totally doesn't look like he can sing? That's my favorite. I also love that he is so well-spoken. That's all.

07 - Casey Carlson, singing "Every Little Thing [S]he Does Is Magic" - I don't think it was as fun for me as she had hoped. I love the song, but I think she cheesed it up a little bit. She doesn't have the "cool" to sing The Police. All in all, it wasn't fantastic for me. Judges, we are of one mind this evening.

08 - Michael Sarver, singing "I Don't Wanna Be" - I like the words of this song for him. I do wish he had sung more of a singer's song. I think he had a couple of pitchy moments, which makes me very sad because I do love him so.

09 - Ann Marie Boskovich, singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - C'mon, girl, if you're going to sing it, you've got to SING IT! I don't think she really worked it. But I could be friends with Ann Marie, I think. It's too bad since I don't think she'll be on the show much longer. Or really should be. I do love looking at her sitting next to Ryan. (: Love that shawty!

10 - Stephen Fowler, singing "Rock With You" - I do love some old school MJ...but I don't think he really hit it. It was a little boring in my opinion. I'm glad he admitted he wasn't yet comfortable singing without the piano, because it felt like it. It's too bad.

11 - Tatiana Del Toro, singing "Saving All My Love For You" - I just can't get past her personality. She's got some power to her voice, but it was a little pitchy in some parts. Overall, not too shabby but I want her gone. I'm sorry.

12 - Danny Gokey, singing "Hero" - My word I love his voice. Just a little bit of grit. Delightful, though I wasn't crazy about the song choice at first. And then, he kicked it! Thanks for that. Hello, my favorite.

Okay I think I might have to vote now. I will say this final thing: It drives me CRAZY when they boo Simon. Hello, general public? - Simon is almost ALWAYS RIGHT. That's all.

Thank you, and goodnight. (:

Belated Valentine

Three posts in one month!  Must be some kind of record for me...at least for this year.  (: 

My life lately has been a little lackluster.  I don't have a whole lot to say except a play-by-play of my weekend.  Woo hoo!  De-lightful.  The boy was in town for Valentine's Day.  I was quite happy to spend some quality time with him since it's been a little while since I've seen him.  We got to catch up on some TV Friday evening, because that's what all the hot couples are doing these days.  (:  We are both fans of The Office, Burn Notice, and Psych, so we watched all three. 

All I have to say about The Office is this - SHE LICKED THAT CAT.  Oh my word, I like Angela less and less these days.  But I still love the Creed quotes: "$7,000 for a cat? I can get you a kid for that."   

Burn Notice is one of the most delicious shows ever.  Not only is it filmed in my fair state, but those characters are the ultimate in COOL.  And they drive cool cars.  And they like mojitos.  And they kick some bad-guy boo-tay.  This week Michael got stuck in a bank heist and had to ruin the robbers' lives.  Not only did he overpower a cell phone jammer by hot wiring a broken phone to a massive ethernet cable, but then he froze the inside of a gun with liquid nitrogen so that it broke apart INTO the shooter's hand, plus Fiona got to blow up some stuff.  Delicious.

Since it was on Friday the 13th, Psych was creep-tastic this week!  All psycho killer stuff and I will admit that I jumped a few times.  I love Gus and his attempts at bravery.  That show is some good comedy. 

On Saturday I tried my hand at making my favorite sugar cookies.  All for my man.  I've loved these sugar cookies for my whole life and I would like everyone to know that I made them FROM SCRATCH.  I made that dough and I let it chill and I rolled it out and I baked it and then I iced them with the icing I also made from scratch.  However, there was no heart-shaped cookie cutter in the whole of Tallahassee so they were just...round.  Boo.  Because I am so dedicated, I free-handed two hearts.  Anyway, I went over to his house and we made homemade pizzas together - and they were DELISH.  Then we played some Wii and watched Get Smart.  I think that movie is hilarious.  Here are some of my favorite V-Day pics:

Yes, I took a picture of them baking in my oven.  I'm proud of it.  Don't judge me. 

 

The finished product: 

Thank you, everyone, I am a "bodybuilder" in the Wii Fit.  As evidenced here: 

And I have been sick with a fluish head cold ever since.  It was a good weekend, folks, and totally worth it.  Hopefully this week will be good, but even if it isn't I've got next weekend in Atlanta to look forward to!  I can't even stand the excitement.  

TV weekend

And now, I would like to comment on the Grammy's.  

Starting with, "Let's Stay Together."  Al Green, I love you.  And you've still got some CHOPS!  

And of course, now my TV isn't working, and I get no picture.  I will try my hardest-best not to throw something.  Thankfully I can still get the sound, enough to be listening to Carrie Underwood right now.  It's really too bad that girl can't sing.  Seriously.  She is one of my favorite singers ever.  But I wish she had sung a less...shall we say...trampy song.  But still.  The girl is out of control good!

And now, for my soapbox.  I like Sugarland, I do.  They are a mystery to me, since the way she sings drives me a little nuts but I LOVE all their songs.  But I am so angry that they won a Grammy for that song.  I hate that song.  Sure, the melody is pretty, but she is singing about being the "other woman."  Why is that okay?  Stink.  I love Lady A the best and I'm sad they didn't win.  I would've been ok with Rascal Flatts, too.  But whatever.  Sugarland...  you cut me deep, Shrek.  

Okay and my cable is officially freaking out.  I've got nothing right now.  But I still haven't thrown anything, so I consider my evening a success.  

Hello, bandwagon

25 Random things about me:

1. I love doing this stuff, but I do not like feeling obligated to do so. Nor do I like obligating anyone else to do so.  Thus, if you'd like to share 25 things about yourself, feel free, and I will love to read it!

2. I like challenging myself and I do not enjoy being told I cannot do something. This is most especially applicable when it comes to feats of strength and agility. Scrappy? Yes.

3. I love the water. I love to swim and ski and boat and just be close to the water. This is possibly what I miss most about living in Tallahassee - I miss the beach and the lakes and the rivers in and around OP! 

4. I wish I could play the piano by ear. I took piano lessons for 8 years and I love to play. Except I stink. I am constantly amazed at how much my ability to play my old songs is based purely on muscle memory. 

5. I have always wanted to work in covert ops. I love a spy game and I once tried to tail someone. 

6. My lifelong dream is to be a backup singer. 

7. My other lifelong dream is to be a record producer. 

8. My other lifelong dream is to be the "professional driver, closed course" on the car commercials.

9. I named my dog George, though she is a female. This is because of the Nancy Drew novels. I love Nancy Drew. Nancy loved her BFFs, Bess and George, both females. George also liked feats of strength and agility - she was awesome. 

10. I like math. 

11. I am not a girly girl. I'm making peace with that. But I LOVE clothes. I LOOOOVE J.Crew. 

12. I am not a fan of talking on the phone. I like to say what needs to be said, but I am not a chatter. 

13. I don't know how to dress in the winter.

14. I laugh silently. It frustrates me because I do not feel it adequately expresses my enjoyment of the funny.

15. I have a touch of the OCD. Not the clinical kind, though.

16. I am a rule-follower by nature. However, if I'm going to follow rules I'd like for there to be a POINT.

17. It's true, I enjoy manual labor. This perhaps stems from my love of World Changers. I love roofing and construction because I like making something and seeing the results of working hard.

18. I like matching my underwear to the rest of my outfit, even though no one else will know but me. And I do the same with argyle socks. 

19. If I ever build my own house, I will have an outdoor shower. 

20. I think I would be a great architect. 

21. I once had a "moment" with God, sitting in the parking lot of the Tallahassee Mall at sunset. I love Him best at sunset ever since.

22. I hate being videotaped, but I would make an exception only to be on What Not To Wear. Clinton, Stacy, and I would have SO much fun!

23. I have been to at least 5 Point of Grace concerts. Don't judge me. 

24. "What I'm saying is all I really want is someone to hold me and tell me that everything is going to be all right."  I like using movie quotes in my everyday conversations.

25. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm in a Cosby lip-sync. 

and p.s. I love facebook.  (:  

Love,