Six Flags called and wants us to come visit!?!

That is the text I recieved on Sunday morning from my friend Jay who thought it was about time we put our season passes to good use and hit the six flags for some Sunday afternoon fun!

All in all it was a great day and Jay and I had a blast. Ben had decided to stay home and relax and thought we were crazy to go but it worked out ok. We were able to get on the rides we wanted to and still have a good time. We were able to use this special pass so we didn't have to stand in the actual line for rides and deal with stairs or such for Jay. You essentially still wait to go on the rides but in a different way (details on that can also be found on LJ).

But here, I wanted to talk about Six Flags Great Adventure and some of the changes I have noticed them making over the last year or so and what I think of them. As someone who has been going to Great Adventure for years, I think some things are great and others are not so much.

Overall the park does seem to have cleaned up its act in the sense of actual cleaning. Of course its also the begining of the season so who knows what it will look like in October! But I felt like the place looked cleaner, there were more trash cans and plenty of people walking around cleaning up.

The park has seemed to add a good amount of attractions that are geared towards kids. The addition of the Fast pass as a pay option for people is a nice attempt but I don't think it is as effective as it is in Disney World or Universal Studies. But they are learning so hopefully it will improve as time goes on.

What I was not impressed with however was the new locker/bags policy enforcement. The new thing this year is these lockers that cost $1 every time you use one and they are time limited to 2hours and all bags MUST be with a non-rider or in the lockers. While I understand the park does not want the responsibility of bags on the side of the rides and stuff, having to put items into a locker before you go in line can be inconvient when you are standing in line for 1+ hours. If you have a drink, you can't take it with you in line unless you are SURE you will finish it. What about a cell phone? Maybe you don't want to ride with it in your pocket but want to have it with you while you wait in case its needed. And honestly, $1 every time is just another way for the parks to nickel and dime visitors while they are there. So after spending $60 to get IN to the park, you now have to pay $1 at every ride if you want to have a bag in the park and don't have someone to hold it for you. I don't know but I just felt like it was a slick way to just squeeze people a little more. I mean really, was putting the bags to the side in the little bins or against a wall REALLY that bad? And if people were losing things because of theft, it still wasn't Great Adventure's responsibility. I didn't leave valuables in my bag but I often left food or drink that I already paid $20 to have. That is just my opinion.

I do think its cool they have more characters walking around and even have some specific times and locations for kids to get their photo with the characters and meet them. They also added some night time parade (they aren't trying to be Disney at all!LOL) but we didn't stick around to see it so I can't really say much about it.

All in all it was a fun time and I am sure I will be there a few times this summer!

Work

Posted a work update on LJ if anyone reading this is on my LJ list you can see it.

TV Talk: "Workout" aka the "Jackie Warner I am all that matters" show

I can not explain why I go back for more other than pure curiousity to see how low Jackie will go with this season of Workout. I am only half way through this week's episode Jackie has already shown her power trip of the day act when it came to the trainers having gone out partying the night before while they are all on a retreat for the "Skylab". Ok, I will admit, it was completely wrong of Gregg Plitt to not show up for training session the morning after, BUT, Renessa DID show up and she should not have had to apoligize for her actions. Jackie, the almighty that she believes she is, naturally assumes the trainers partied with the clients, which of course they did not!I could understand if they had and she was upset about that but they had no way of evening knowing the trainers were out until she made a big deal of it when Gregg didn't show up. I think Renessa said it best when she said in one of the "confessionals" that she is of age and should not have to apoligize for drinking, especially when she DID show up the next morning.

The segement with the Skylab client and her daughter with CP was a nice touch. No marketing strategy there.

Ok, so Jackie calls Don Scott the guy running the fundraiser for Doug to tell him that Peeler no longer works for her. I thought the whole exchange was stupid. She seems to be the only one who feels the need to make a point to mention the night should be about Doug's memory. Seriously? And then she is all trying to make it like she wants Brian at the fundraiser. Who is she kidding? That was strictly for the cameras because there is no doubt in my mind that she will be thrilled if he didn't go!

OMG, they just showed Jackie's workout video! It looks as cheesey as any workout video can look. All I could do is laugh.

Ok, I am watching the clip about the fundraiser now and I see all the ladies all dressed up, looking nice, as well as the men. Even as Jackie is entering she is talking about how she was looking forward to this event, got all dressed up and had Briana on her arm. But apparently all that mattered was that she was on her arm but it didn't matter that Briana looked like she was going to the mall in simple t-shirt and jeans/pants. WTF?

Jackie laughing at Peeler when he made his offer during the auction just seemed more obnoxious than anything else. She obviously doesn't know what is going on with him (its not like she would care)but when he asks to talk to her she tries to turn it and make it look like she cares. Give me a break. I don't buy it for an instance. I am not convinced she is even listening to him and then chalks it up to he is being nice because of his "buzz". I don't think it was the smartest of him to try and talk to her however I felt like she was trying to make it all him which it is obviously not.

Next week's episdoe looks like it will be another one full of Jackie embarassing her mother and making her uncomfortable-wahoo! Isn't that what every watcher wants? Actually it will be interesting to see Greg perform as well but I do feel for Jackie's mother. She is obviously conflicted and uncomfortable with her daughter's choices in life and whether or not you agree or disagree with her mother, it does just seem a bit wrong for Jackie to continually make her mother uncomfortable, especially in front of cameras. But again...its all about Jackie:)



but she doesn't seem to think that this event wouldn't

TV Talk: American Idol....And the winner is....

I am going to blog during the show then post. Winner will be at the end of the post!
And so it begins...

I thought it was strange to have the "Top 12" perform tonight. I understand the top 10 because they all go on tour but I don't know why you would include #11 and #12. Its not like we really saw them anyway but I just thouht it was strange.

The David-David performance after the opening segment I thoguht really demonstrated when they are side by side that Cook really does have the stronger voice. And he is a stronger performer.

The "Spritual advisor" was entertaining. And I thought David Cook showed he is definately more comfortable on camera than David A and could act better than David A. David A is cute...but other than a decent voice that is all he has going for him. David C. has a voice, style and even a bit charm that isn't "cutesy", its real person charm. I don't know how to explain it.

Syesha and Seal??? Didn't see that coming but thought it went well.

Jason castro singing my fave song he did!! I LOVED it. I could listen to him sing that all night!

The Ford video was cute too. Fun to see some behind the scene type shots.

Ok, girls singing...WTF is Amanda doing there to begin with? Let's not talk about how she sucked and looks completely bored and angry with the world for having to be there. I think she is mad she had to do anything since she got booted before top 10 and watching her tonight I can't figure out how she got to stay as long as she did! At least all the other girls look like they are having fun with it-and none of them are in the finals!At one point in the segment it looked like Amanda didnt even sing at one point! You could tell she totally did not give a s--- about being there, they even showed her walking abd she was looking down.

Carly and Micheal Johns-eh. She is still annoying but looks like she is trying harder to not make faces while she sings, although she still does it when she sings high notes. I am convinced they have been with voice coaches and acting coaches since they got the boot-prep for the concert because they are all better performers than they were and "no pressure" only goes so far because they still performing in front of more people than ever. I imagine they have had a few weeks to reherse too!

Jimmey Kimmel was entertaining. Got a few good laughs.

Top 6 guys performance was a fave song of mine so that was cool. And I think a good choice in songs. Then they bring out "the finalists" and I am sorry but yeah David A can not sing that song from the top 6 guys, I am sorry he is just too young. David cook can sing that song with meaning, it doesnt have the same effect with David A.

Jordin's Disney commercial tells me too things. One, American Idol is BRILLANT. I can't believe it has taken them this long to hook up with Disney with the demographic they sell too and two, when David Cook wins tonight, it seels the deal for me that David A will have a Disney contract by sun up!

David Cook and ZZ Top-AWESOME. I thouht it was fantastic and I think its fantastic he got to perform with such an icon. He must be in heaven from that alone!

Brook White also did fantastic with Graham Nash. It was a perfect song for her and she did fantastic. I imagine that was quite an experience for her too. They really have done a lot for the contestants I think this year.

Jonas Brothers...yeah, I just don't get it. THey are not bad but not really anyone I listen too but the little firls in the audience seem very happy. And they ARE from NJ!

The clips of the bad auditions were funny. Reminded me of the girl who was going "actressing" although I do almost feel bad for those people because they seem to really believe they were better than they are. The big thing with the Brother forever guy was nice with the USC Band and all. It must have been quite an honor and exciting for them! Ben enjoyed the cheerleaders too! Although I really do think that Paula and Randy are such attention whores to go up on stage with the band. Simon was the smart one to stay put:) I think its because they have nothing else and Simon does have other "gigs".

One republic "apoligize" is a good song for David A but it is still not as cool as ZZ top for David Cook. That was awesome. But I did enjoy the One Republic segment.
Although David A is just not anything close to as good at performing as David C is land as andrew llyod webber says, David A needs to OPEN HIS EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jordin Sparks, last year's winner performed and did a good job. Jordin is only a year older than David A and has such a difference maturity and stage presence. THAT is what it is-David A has no stage presence and when he is not singing he is boring to watch. He is cute/adorable but not entertaining. He seems too young to have really developed a strong personality-I think he IS his fathers pawn-I dont care what the news says and I think that hinders him b/c he can't make his own thoughts/decisions so he is just a bubble with whatever someone else tells him to do.

Quick shot of Blake Lewis in the audience-wahoo! It looked to me like he had the word COOK on his knuckles!

The Aretha Franklin and the "Pips" thing was hilarious. Much better than the stunt with old footage they did last year with Elvis. This was really funny.

Ok, the contestants all perform again and my goodness was Amanda awful. She didn't look good, she didn't sing well and looked not only uncomfortable, but unhappy to even be there. Everyone else looked like they had a good time. It seemed to me she was a sour puss all night. All the boys looked well in their suits! The guy in the white feathers singing Brother Forever was better than Amanda.

At the end of the evening when it was really time to find out the winner and they asked the judges for their last comments I thought that Simon's comments were awesome. Not only did he state that it was closer than they thought when he went back and watched but he apoligized to Cook for verging on being disrespectful too him. He did not have to do that and the fact that he did shows character.

But without further ado, the winner was announced and that winner is...DAVID COOK!

And America got it right!

I can not wait to see him in concert this summer. And I think David singing the winnin song was awesome. I really enjoyed the song he sand (and even bought it on itunes today!LOL)

All in all I felt like I enjoyed this years finale more than last years. It could be I just don't remember much of last years but for a two hour finale to find out one thing that takes 10 seconds, I felt this finale keep me interested and for that, I am glad!

Til next season....

TV Talk: American Idol Final Showdown Performance!

Tonight is it....Its the final showdown on American Idol! It is David vs David and neither of them were ever in a bottom three the entire season! I am pulling all my love for David Cook! The show has this whole "boxing" theme going and I think its a perfect fit and its entertaining too!

Tonight is 3 performances each. David A won the coin toss last week and opted to go 2nd in performances.

Judges advice prior to the show....Randy/Paula=useless, Simon...has the only thing useful to be said.

Round 1: Songs picked by Clive Davis!
David Cook singing "I still haven't found what I am looking for" gave me the chills. I like the stlye he added to such a classic song. He looked like he enjoyed himself, natural, and was a good performer with the song. I thought it was great! And Simon thought it was phenomenal (The others liked him too!)

(On a side note, I just say Luke Perry must be his children's god to have got them front row cushy seats for the American Idol Finale!)


David A. singing "Don't let the sun go down on me" starts of sitting on the stairs. Sweet voice, its the type of song that does well for his style. Very standard, doesn't really bring too much of his own style into it but it is not a bad performance, we know he has a good voice but he just doesn't seem as comfortable on stage as DC. And he bounces a lot :) Without bias I do not think it was as good as DC but it definately was not a bad performance. Judges said: Randy-called it the best of the season, Paula-yada yada (she just uses cliches) and Simon-said best he done so far, and gave round one to DA (whatever!)


Round Two 10 fave song entries, each picked one they liked. These are NOT the winning song from the song competition.

David Cook singing "Dream Big" . My first instinct, I could definately hear it on the radio. I think its interesting that they take a song and put it out there that no one has heard before. I think he choose a good song with fitting lyrics and he did it well. I liked it and could see jammin in the car on the way to the beach:)
Judges: Randy-didn't care for song but thouht he did well, Paula-yada yada, Simon-called him lightweight, didnt feel like a winning moment for him and paula did make the point the song was not the "winning song" that simon compared it to.

David A singing "In this moment" Nice job but didn't leaving me with a lasting impression and I didn't feel the same way about hearing it on the radio as I did with David Cook's song. The Judges loved him and gave round two to David A as well although to me it really seemed like they were trying to push the audience for him. I didn't feel the crowd was even into it as much as they were with David C but that could just be the way it was shown on TV.


Round 3 Personal Choice
David C singing "The World I know". David C choose to pick a song he had not performed for his personal choice.I do believe someone said that it was refreshing because it was not common for contestants to do that. I thought he did a good job. Simon was disappointed he didn't choose one of the songs he had previously sung but David explained he thought it was better to do something new.

David A singing "Imagine"-again:)Choose a song he sung well the last time. Understandable why he would do it. I think it was a safe choose and I understand why he would choose it. In all honesty, that song I thought he originally performmed wonderfully and got me to keep an eye on his progress. However I do think it says a lot for a contestant's overall maturity and talent to take the "safe" route vs trying to learn 3 new songs instead of 2. Just my opinion. The judges of course LOVED him again and said it was a knock out night. I thought they both performed well and I do not think it was a "knock out". But we will find out tonight!

While watching last night I had more comments but I forget them now-sorry! I was too busy trying to get our American Idol Tour tickets to think about blogging. I did see some polls on tvguide.com today and the 4 polls I saw, 3 which were ones people voted who won each round and 1 poll was who should win, all 4 of them showed people voted that David Cook won all three rounds AND should win tonight, and those polls were not close. I can only hope that the people who voted in those online polls are the same people who phoned in their votes last night. I know I did. And I even stayed up late to get some votes in after the young kids who call in had to go to bed, it was a school night ya know!

What has been going on around here....

I have been pretty good at writing some TV blogs and after my experience last night at Taco Bell I will be starting a new series about reviews of serices from business, stores, whatever. But I will get into that more later. For now I thought I would just drop a line to check in and update what is gonig on.

I am not sure where I left off but there hasn't been too much going on lately. I know I am due for a big photo post and it will be coming! Work has been pretty hectic and I doubt it will get any less hectic anytime soon. Last weekend we didn't do too much was actually a nice treat. Although that friday we did go out with some friends for dinner which was nice. Then the weekend was very mild.

It was a short work week for me this week because I took off on Thursday and Friday and we had a conference all day at work on Monday off site, os it really only felt like a short work week.

Thursday I took my grandfather to the Dr for a check up and things went ok. After that we did some work on the computer and got him all set up for ebay like he was trying to do. Then we went to dinner at our fave italian place and had a great meal. Normally I would have hung out a bit after dinner but I needed to make a stop off at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to visit someone before going home. The visit went well and the baby is doing ok and actually went home on friday. Still have some more tests to do to try and find a cause of what brought her to the hospital but the name they gave it for now is opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome. I will write more about this as I learn more.

Friday was errand day for me since I had taken off. I had to go out and get a bridal shower gift and in my travels I was lucky enough to get myself a new phone!! It was a fluke actually. My good friend Kim told me about her new phone and I went to the verizon store to check it out. While I was looking at it one of the guys asked if I needed help and I told him I didn't think I was eligible for a few months for a new phone but he said he would look me up to be sure. That was when he told me I WAS eligiable and that the phone I was looking at was on sale for $150 and with my new for two credit of $100 and then the mail in rebate of $50, that made the phone FREE!!! Of course I had to pay the $50 for now but I get it back soon:) And how could I pass up a free phone-especially the one I wanted. I never get that lucky that the phone I want actually falls into the FREE zone! I told the guy to do it up! I was leaving with a new phone! And the first thing I did with it was text Kim and let her know I was texting her from me new phone!

The phone I got was the Verizon LG env2 and I LOVE it. I am still getting used to it and other than a little trouble I had with the bluetooth today I have been happy. I do agree with Kim's review that the vibrate option is pretty light compared to some other phones. When its in my pocket I felt it but when it was on my hip in its case I did not. I still haven't found the right combo of rings I want to use yet and Ben said I could go on and try to find some new ones I like or get the ones I couldn't transfer to this phone again. So I will be playing tonight! I saw an old env today and I can really see the difference, especially on the front and I think that is one of the improvements I like best. Of course I LOVE the size because I wanted something simlilar in size to my razr. Not only was the env2 the right size, it was the right price and it had all the features I liked and wanted and thought the Voyager (The over priced phone that it is) was the only one to have. And actually seeing it side by side with the Voyager its a much nicer phone. I will do a real review later but I had to share my excitement!!

Today I went to a bridal shower for a friend of ours who is getting married in July. It was a nice time and they had some very creative things from the bridesmaids that I thought were cool. I took a lot of photos and need to go through them tonight and get them up for her as soon as I can. After the bridal shower I went back to the verizon store because I was having trouble getting my bluetooth to connect and the guy got it to work. I also took atvantage of a special they had on the Music Essentials Pack 2.0 which includes a stereo headset (Which I think works for the music and for calls but I haven't tried it out yet) and a 2GB miniSD card for the phone. I had a 512 miniSD card in my old phone but it had issues and and since the price was so reasonable ($30) I figured I would go for it!

After all that I came home and have been catching up on my Tivo and playing with the new phone, well reading the manual at least. I am hoping to do some digital scrapbooking tomorrow (and maybe later tonight!) because I really need to get a few projects done before the end of the month.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and I will be back soon!
Ta ta for now!!

TV Talk: Workout Season 3 on Bravo "No pain, No Gain" 5-13-08 airdate

So, its another week of Workout. I am a sucker for this show and my curiosity gets the best of me and so I will watch again and see where things go. The show has just started (with the recap from last week which just re-ignites the anger I felt toward Jackie's behavior and it just replays the scene again where it is completely obvious she acted out of line and unprofessional and her statement on her Bravo Blog is just BS trying to make herself feel better and justify what she did and how she acted.)

Its funny because now that I am blogging about the show I watch even the intro with a more critical eye and even in her intro to the show her attitude has completely changed. Oh Ok Jackie, Shannon is one her "pets". No ego there!

Wow, what spin. I know Peeler was not an angel but the spin she just put on why she fired him to the client from the Skylab that was visably upset about losing her trainer, was just ridiculus. And even the whole "trust me I had a good reason". I know from a business standpoint is not advisable to tell someone why you fired an employee and it all honesty it really is not their business but if that client only knew the truth. I wonder what the client is thinking now having seen the show. I know I would be pissed and feeled that Jackie pulled one over on me. I also can not get over how negatively she talks about the Skylab client's abilities. I don't remember her being so crass last season. When she first came up with the idea she genuinely seemed to want to help people. Now it seems like she wants to make it look like she wants to help people but in reality she is so disgusted she can't believe people live the way they do and doesn't understand why they are not performing up to her standard. Um, Hello, Jackie? Don't you realize as a trainer that people have to work up to it?

I am watching the segment on the beach bootcamp right now. I do agree that the one client does seem to make her injury her excuse for everything and does not seem to be putting in as much as others but instead of saying negative things (which, by the way is what got Jackie into trouble with the whole Peeler thing but she doesn't think she did anything wrong), why not try and help this girl and find things she can and is willing to do? Even if it isn't up to the normal standard, if she is using her injury as a crutch, she obviously has other issues and is scared she won't succeed which is why she blames it on the injury because if she does fail, she has a built in scapegoat. Instead of focusing on pushing her to do things she doesn't feel she can do, why not find alternatives and help to find something that does motivate her and she does feel successful at. If she feels successful at anything she is going to be more inclined to try other things too!

I thought the boogie board thing was nice and a good alternative to regular exercise which was nice. I do think I would be a little put off by her retreat stuff but I am not one to get sucked into those type of things anyway (don't get me started on some stupid stuff I have to do for work because of one of those silly "trainings" even though its not workout type stuff). I do think that massage stuff is a cool perk though :) And interesting tip on that Epson salt being a "miracle" thing!

I did enjoy the segment with Peeler at Greg's house and Renessa coming to talk to him. It was nice to see them supporting him because he treally did stand up for his integrity.

The new female trainer, Agustina seems to genuinely cares about her clients. I thought it was great how she went to his home to support him and show him some things he can do. Very thoughtful too.

Oh goodie, back to Jackie:) BLAH! So now she is talking to the new trainer/massuse that she hired (obviously to replace Peeler before she fired him because she was just waiting for the right moment) and now he has not trained a client but she thinks he is ready to get a client and she wants to give him Shannon-Peeler's old Skylab client to take on. She says how nice of a match it will be...blah, blah, blah. In case Jackie missed it, Shannon was quite happy with Peeler. Jackie screwed that up.

Ok, so in regards to this retreat....before I even get really into it, when did Jackie and her trainers become Life Coaches? Who does she think she is? This Skylab is no longer about helping people, its all about Jackie and making her feel important. And Jackie continues to say that the skylab clients are not at a point where they should be so "this is going to be really hard". Is it just me or if the group as a whole is not where you thought they should be, instead of making it worse for them and make them play catch up-why not adjust your program? There is a difference between having 1-2 people who are not with the rest but if the group as a whole is in a different place, shouldn't you pick up from there? And is it a good thing when you push someone so hard that they throw up? It just doesn't seem right to me.

The pool exercises were good. I think Greg is knowledgable and seems to be a good trainer. The clients seemed to really get into it and thankfully we did not have to hear too much from Jackie.

Now the food segment that came up next....I think the basic cooking stuff was interesting not only for the clients but for viewers but I have to agree with the trainer Jesse who said "if I have to listen to one more Jackie Warner product I think I am going to have to jump off a cliff" was the truest statement that could be made. That whole "teaching" them about the food had nothing to do with teaching them about the food. It was Jackie selling HER product. Again....it all comes back to the fact that it is all about her. The show has seriously declined into an hour infomercial on Jackie Warner products. How much more of this can we take?

The whole thereapy thing is a bit abrassive too if you ask me. Who is Jackie to decide that people need to participate? Seems to me its more about Jackie wanting to hear the stories because when she hears the other people's stories makes her feel better. Again...all about Jackie. Change the name to the Jackie Warner show-not Workout because that is what it is really about.

So next week's episode looks interesting when she sees Peeler. And I can't wait to see why she is accusing Greg of being an alcoholic. Jackie gets worse and worse each week but I am a sucker who must stick it out and see where it goes...

ta ta for now

TV Talk: American Idol Results *spoilers* 5-14-08

It's results night! Is everyone ready for a DAVID-DAVID finale as I predict? I will be surprised if somehow Syesha worms out one of the Davids (and if she does I hope its David A!)

The show opens with the trio singing "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" and I have to say I thought they did a good job. I also really liked Syesha's hair this evening (Short and straight-good look for her) even though my opinion on her hair has little to do with the competition:)

Ok, so the Ford video was cute. (Of course Syesha was back to the poof with her hair and it just does not do her justice!) Up now is the recap from last night.

After the recap we honored with a performance by Fantasia. Ok, so I get she has a good voice although I really don't get this performance but there is just something about this girl that gets under my skin. I didn't watch American Idol when she was on it so the only things I know are from interviews I have seen of her on TV and such but her singing voice is ok but boy can I not stand to listen to her talk. And this performance is not enticing me with her singing either. Sorry-I know lots of people like her but I think I am glad I didn't start watching Idol until last season because I think I would have been turned off. Ok...I got to fast forward now. Although I did appreciate Simon's look of disbelief on her performance LOL!Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard!

First real part of the show is watching the visit home with David A. Its sweet to see all the support he gets and how emotional he is by all the attention and remind you how special a moment this whole event is, especially for such a young kid.

Next up is Syesha's visit home and then her "journey". Its sweet to see-I am honestly surprised she made it as far as she did but she does have a nice voice and it was better than some others, she has just had a bit of ego although in all honesty I am just glad we have been done with Carly!!! I will take her over Carly any day and twice on Sunday!

And now David C visit home and journey. It looks like he truly enjoyed himself and appreciated the fans and such. I thought it was so sweet how he surprised his music teacher-very cool. I REALLY hope he wins.

After all the feel good stuff (which I did enjoy) it was time to get down to business! And Ryan announces that it will in fact be a DAVID-DAVID finale! Wohoo!!

I really hope David Cook wins. I think it will be tight though so we will see what happens! Til next week....go David Cook!!!!

TV Talk: American Idol Top 3 Performance Show

Its that time again....."It's American Idol!"

Tonight is the top 3 performances, with clips from home I believe and they each sing 3 songs. Each judge choice a song, the producers choice one and contestants got to chose one.

First up....
Judges Choice:
David A. singing "And so it goes" by Billy Joel. Ok, already I have trouble listening to him. His voice is just not something I really enjoy listening too.And why does he have to slow down EVERY song he sings? My dear husband is big Billy Joel fan and as he puts it "he is horrible. If you know this song, he is horrible". I am not interested (as shown by my typing this out AS he sings instead of after. I won't say he can not sing because he does have a voice and ability to sing, but he does not sing to my tastes and I would not purchase his music. I am uninterested in his performances. And I am so sick of Randy pushing David A on everyone every week-Paula is not much better. Simon at least tells it like it is, that is was good but predictable and nothing outstanding, it was just good.

Syesha is singing "If I ain't got you "by Alicia Keyes. It was nice. She has a pretty voice and can do those nice songs but like Simon said, she does often try to mimic a song instead of making it her own and her "acting" still kind of gets on my nerves.

David C. is singing "First time ever I saw your face" by Roberta Flack. I liked it. He made it his own and did do something different. I thought he performed well and he demonstrated he could take a risk as Simon likes to say and I think it went well.

Up next, Round 2~Contestant's choices!
David A. singing "With You" by Chris Brown. Not as bad as some others but he sounds like he is out of breath as he sings, as Simon likes to say (although typing this before he speaks) he sounded like a wedding singer to me. Now having heard Simon's comment "it was like a chiwawa trying to be like a tiger"-I liked his analogy! LOL

Syesha singing "Fever" by Peggy Lee. She is such an actress first and singer second and tries too hard when she is singing to act but does come over better when she DOES get to act. She is perfect for Broadway-no question! I see her in a show by the end of next year if it takes that long. She has a voice but she is not a pop star and I cant' see her singing without the ability to act at the same time, ie broadway. And Paula's comments about not showing who she, but she does show what she wants, to ACT AND Sing. I think she knows she will not win in the votes to get to the final two and by picking the song she did she basically did a national audition for broadway and I think that IS what she was trying to do.

David C. singing "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot. It was good. I will say a bit predictable with what type of music he sings but I was ok with it. I think he was better on his first song but it might have to do with me not really knowing the song this round and that can make a difference in appeal.


Round 3~Producers choice
David A. singing "Longer" This is the perfect type of song for him to sing. Its not preachy, its just singing softly and simply which is what he showed early on he was good at with "Imagine". He still seems still and uncomfortable when he sings but I think that is really just age. He is young and I think that really does come into play on a show like this. Overall, I would say this was his best of the evening and the only one I halfway liked. (Although I am done with Randy and Paula's comments. Its so so evident Randy is all about David A and doing anything he can to promote him).

Syesha singing "Hit me Up" Again with the acting. She is definately a performer and she is not bad at all. Not really my style but it is her niche and she does it well. Like I said with the last song, I think she is auditioning for broadway with these songs.

David C singing "I don't want to miss a thing" I like it. I like the song and his raspy rock voice fits it well by still showing his personality and style. It doesn't completely go "soft", but its a nice song you sit back and listen to and enjoy. He puts his style on it by really breaking it out of the normal "box" and I think he really pulled it out. I agree with Simon that David C won the night.

Now for my Judges rant of the evening (it wouldn't be complete without it, now would it?)
Randy-I am so over him. Its so obvious he is pushing for David A and knocking Syesha down so they get their David-David finale. I read an article today in Entertainment Weekly by Mark Harris who I think said it best when he said "his autopilot appraisals". Seriously--does the man know any other phrases than the 3-4 he uses over and over? I am so over him and I know he is an iconic part of American Idol but I truly doubt anyone takes a thing he says seriously. I know I only half listen because he says nothing of value.

Paula-Again...she is entertaining in her "cookyness" however it adds nothing to the show, nothing to the contestants (she provides no real valuable feedback for the contestants). And I really think it was quite obvious that she too was pushing the Davids for finale and trying to softly set up Syesha to expect to go home. I am over her.

Simon-As normal, Simon gets it right. People don't always agree with what he says but typically his comments have value to them, good or bad. He doesn't seem to push one person solely because he wants things and if he does, he is just not as obvious about it as others.

The article I read in Entertainment Weekly was truly on the spot with what the authoer said. I agree with him on two main points that were made. The first that I do think American Idol should raise the minimum contestant age to 18. I think its nice to see a "kid" for a while but if everyone is considered adult you won't get the sympathy thing for the young person, and even more importantly, there is no need for anyone to be studying or getting lessons and missing out on other things. I was actually surprised when I first heard the minimum age was 16. The other point I agreed with was getting rid of Paula and Randy and brining in some people who can offer "quick sharp critques" that mean something to the contestants. Or at the very least I do think it would be a good idea to ban the judges from dress rehersals. I was actually appalled to hear they sometimes go to them because its not fair to the contestants that their comments could be based on comparison or performances from their rehersal! The one other point the author made that I did agree with is that it wouldn't hurt to have some more current mentors. Music Legends are great but more current might be more impressionable to the contestants. Just my thoughts.

So there you have it...my thoughts on American Idol this evening. My votes went all to David Cook tonight and I am hoping he takes it all-I know I would buy his music!

ta ta for now...

TV Talk: Workout Season 3 on Bravo

Ok, I am going to write about a show I have probably not mentioned before because after watching this week's epissode I just need to let a view things out. I think I might try to be more regular with my TV Talk because I do have a lot of opinions on TV and I try to watch a variety of shows, not always just what everyone else is watching.

So today I am going to talk about "Workout: Season 3" on Bravo TV. I tend to watch it in the off hours because I have my tivo tape it in the middle of the night but I believe it is on Tuesday Nights at 10pm.

This year it is the shows 3rd season. I started watching it on a whim during the first season because I think it came on after something else I figured I would give it a shot. I thought it was interesting to see the "drama" but also the little odds and ends related to working out and I am a sucker for this type of show (person builiding their business, etc). Here is a brief decription from the Bravo Website (www.bravotv.com):
"Following an emotionally charged second season, Bravo's docu-series "Work Out" starts its anticipated third season on Tuesday, April 15 at 11:00 PM ET/PT, catching up with fitness maverick Jackie Warner as she prepares to tackle her personal relationships and business endeavors with a newfound maturity. The third season introduces the four skilled trainers Warner recently hired at her exclusive Beverly Hills gym Sky Sport & Spa, and her new live-in love, Brianna. "

I really enjoyed the first season and the second season I was reeled in with the banter between trainer Rebecca (who I recall from The Amazing Race) and Jackie as well as the tragic unexpected death of one of the trainers, Doug. I did feel Jackie seemed to have changed a bit from the first season when I could appreciate how she seemed down to earth and really into building a strong business and helping people by sharing her information with others who needed to learn. But, that was Season 1.

Season 2...I started to notice the way Jackie had changed and seemed to have more of an ego than the previous season but I chalked it up to that is what happens when you have a TV crew following you around. The season was still interesting and heartbreaking with the death of Doug but overall I enjoyed it.

This season, Season 3, I still find interesting when Jackie is not on screen. I find that I get more annoyed each time she talks or is shown on screen. I also think the addition of her new assistant, Lisa, who is totally there to be her eyes and ears and "tattle" on the trainers really degrading to the quality of the show. I think this year Jackie's attitude towards the trainers and people in general seems to have just gone down and she tries to cover it up with how she is doing such a good thing with her Skylab clients and how they "need" her help and its just the way her ego has enlarged I think. It may be because in the earlier seasons she tried too hard to be chummy with the trainers and has realized that running a business that does not always work and now she tries to distance herself but overall it seems like she has little respect for the people who work for her.

If you are still with me at this point, let me give you a few examples of how I think the show has started to take a turn for the worst when it comes specifically to how Jackie is shown on the show. Let me also preface this with the fact that I do understand that the show's producers and editors really have the final cut with what we see and what we do not see but as with any "reality" tv or "unscripted drama" there is some qiggle room in maybe not getting the who picture but there is also truth to what you do see.

First example is with the cruise Jackie took the female trainers on. I don't recall exactly why she was going but I believe Jackie was asked to speak or something and was holding "boot camps" on the cruise for people who were interested. On one of the mornings she had Erica and Rebecca run a boot camp for cruise guests. Partway through it, Jackie comes in and starts changing it up. This confused and offended Rebecca and Erica a bit and rightfully so. When it was brought up to Jackie her only answer was "this is my boot camp and if I want to come in for 30sec (although on tv it did seem like a few moments at least!) I can do that". It was an "all about me" type of response and she had no time for her trainers to be offened and couldn't imagine why they would be since "its all about jackie".

The next big example is from the most recent episode where Jackie fires Brian Peeler. Some quick back story for anyone who has not watched the show, Jackie and Peeler (as he is referred to most commonly) have always butted heads. It became even more evident an episode or so ago when she was having a meeting with this guy Don who set up a charity in rememberance of the trainer, Doug, who died last season. Peeler thought he was to be a part of that meeting because he was involved in this charity event, and Doug was his best friend. Jackie completely shut him out of the meeting and seemed offended that Peeler even thought he would be included. He genuinely seemed perplexed as to why he was shut out because it was something about Doug and not something personal. This past episode (befor the firing incident) Jackie's assistant "tattled" on Peeler that he had called Don to complain about being excluded. Talk about being someone's pet!

Anyway, so back to this most recent event that has completely shown to me the true colors of Jackie Warner. Peeler was training a client one evening and Jackie and her assistant Lisa were watching through the glass and Lisa made a comment about the clients breasts that was inappropriate. The clients boyfriend/husband heard it and was offended and let them know that she was a cancer survivor and that he was offended about their comments. Lisa suppossedly apoligized and that was all that was said. We later learn that the client's husband/boyfriend told him about it after the training which basically says it was still upsetting to them and so Peeler felt it was best to go and talk to Jackie about it. (And I have to say I agree with him on that. If I were him I would have done the same thing.)
So, Peeler goes into Jackie's office and says he wants to talk about his client and what happened the night before and she basically tells me she is not going to talk about it. And he didn't want to drop it because he thought it was important and she threatened to fire him if he kept trying to talk about it and he said to do it and so she did. Jackie tries to play it off like Peeler was just picking a fight that was not important and she really didn't seem to see how it did matter and that even if she didn't make the comments, she allowed Lisa too and it makes sense he would go to her first to get the situation cleared up.

I think she totally took that opportunity to fire him because as much as she disliked him he has not given her a real reason before and she felt she could. I actually wnet to the Bravo website and saw her reaction on her blog and I have to say that she did not help herself. It seems to me she tried to play the "Editing" card and that we didn't see the nice stuff but honestly, we DID see the conversation and the way she told him she wasn't going to talk about the incident was not the way she tried to play it. Her comments made it sound like she tried to say "not at this time, I am busy" type of reply to Peeler but on camera it was an "I am NOT going to talk about" reply and then a "if you continue to try and talk about it your are fired" statement.

I was comforted to see that the comments on her blog for the most part seemed to agree with my observations about how her "Character" has changed from the first season and how put off a lot of fans currently are after the last episode especially and even that many felt she handled the situation completely inappropriately.

Overall this season I am unimpressed and a bit turned off by Jackie on the show. I do think it would be interesting if Bravo go Peeler his own show because I tend to think it would get a lot of viewers, even if just out of curiosity. I am not one to let one episode stop me from watching, I do like to give a show a chance to redeem itself and in all honesty, as much as I don't like Jackie, I do enjoy other people on the show and the pure curiosity I have of seeing how things turn out is often my downfall in watching shows that have annoyed me. We will see where it goes...

ta ta for now...

TV Talk: Survivor Fans vs Faves 5-8-08 *spoilers*

I will keep this short and sweet but I had to make some mention of how fantastic of a show I thought this past week was. No one in Survivor history has ever given up individual immunity, especially when having it will guarentee you a spot in the Final Four...until now!

This past episode had Erik giving up his immunity necklace to Natalie thinking that she and Cirie would vote out Parvati and not him. Boy was he mistaken! I don't think the girls who got him to do it ever really believed he would fall for it and yet he did.

I am excited to see who is the one to win tonight on the finale-I am sure I will have tons more to say then.

But for now, I also want to point out this site the CBS has with video clips of the jury after they are voted out and sent to "Ponderosa" aka the place with food and things to do while they wait to vote! Its really interesting to see and hear some of their thoughts after being voted out. I hope they do it again next season and I think it might even be interesting to see a little about the people before the jury and where they go too but I don't want to push my luck!
Check it out here: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor16/video/ponderosa.php

ta ta for now...

TV Talk: American Idol Results *spoilers* 5-7-08

Tonights show is the Results where we go from Top 4 to Top 3. I predict a bottom two of Jason and Syesha. Either could go and I am not really sure who it will actually be.

Ryan starts the show by saying it was the highest number of votes (51 million) and that the top 3 are all within 1 million votes of each other. Exacting!!!

They top four are now singing "reeling in the years". The corny choreography is really cheesey if you ask me. Its actually a bit distracting but oh well. It is what it is and it IS American Idol. Its like watching an old episode of The Brady Bunch singing group! I think half of the smiles on the contestants were because they too knew it was so silly!

First safe....David A.
Second safe...David C.

Up next who is staying and who is going....
But before that...questions from the audience. They were ok-entertaining but nothing overly exciting although I did like the question about why Simon hasn't been Knighted yet by the Queen.

Next up was Maroon 5...I didn't really watch it. The lead answering questions was a little silly but whatever. We tend to fast forward through the performances. Up next was Bo Bice...didn't care for hhim either. Didn't think he had a whole lot to say that was overly interesting either.

Staying....Syesha

and the one going home is....Jason.

I like the montage he had because I think it really shows his personality and it just didn't always fit on stage. I still expect a David-David finale and so in all honesty I don't think it mattered who went home. I will miss Jason but I think he was a little relieved. He even said he didn't know what he would have done next week when they have to sing 3 songs and he could barely do 2!

I think he did make it interesting and now all my love is going for David Cook to win it all. David A will do fine in 2nd and he can still go do Disney, Syesha will do broadway and David Cook will win and the world will be right with itself.

Til next week....

TV-Talk: American Idol Performances "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" (live blog)

Ok...its that time again for American Idol and I am going to try again to "live blog" my thoughts.

Tonights theme is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. An interesting theme but gives a bit of a variety to choose from so it should be interesting.

Up first....
David C-He sang "Hungry like a Wolf" (Duran Duran) and for us it was not one of his best. It wasn't bad but it was ok. I think that while he does make a lot of songs his own, his voice and singing style is consistant through those songs. You can identify it against others. I think this is something that makes him strong but can also be difficult because on a show like this it can make him "predictable". He is still one of our faves and I will be giving him so lovin votes tonight. I am hoping he does a slower song like when he did Music of the Night for his second song because a night like this where they get two songs is a good opportunity to show the "rock" side but also the "ballad" side and hit both types of audiences desires.

Syesha-Sang "Proud Mary". It was an ok performance. She does better when she can "act" and sing but she falls into characters instead of making things her own or being her own person. I still think she has a nice voice but I am not interested. She is definately talented and I really think she will excell on broadway but I just don't get excited or interested in her performances. I do think Simon described it well when he said it was a "bad impersonation of Tina Turner". That hits it because all she did was impersonate, she didn't make it her own. Let's see what she brings with the next song....

Jason-Sang "I Shot the Sherif". His "intro" was very cute and I have to say right off the bat he already seems like he is having more fun with this song/performance than he has in a few weeks and I think if nothing else that is cool. I don't know if he will be able to pull it off with things being so tight but I still personally like him better than Syesha or David A and I will through a little vote love his way. It was in no way his best, but I don't think it was his worst either and I don't think its as bad as the judges tried. I personally think they were just upset about the way he liked it because it was Bob Marley. We will see what is next...

David A-Sang "Stand By Me'. I think it was "ehh". I really like that song and I was not into it at all. I am not even sure what to say about it I was so unimpressed and I really wanted to like it. I really do think the judges are trying to pit a David-David finale (and even Simon's comments reflect that theory).

Round 2:
David C-Sang "Baba O'reilley" I LOVE this song and think its a good choice for him. It allows him to show some soft and some hard singing and I enjoyed it. I even got chills and this season I didn't get them nearly enouhg (although my fave of his is still Music of the Night!) But I did enjoy this, especially since they have to chop the song to make it fit the show. I am happy with his performance and the judges are just annoying me tonight:)

Syesha-Sang "A Change is going to Come" by Sam Cooke. Of course her interview starts out a little odd to me when she compared being in the top 4 to the civil rights moment. No, Syesha, you are NOT full of yourself like I have thought all season:) Ben thought it was great but I still am just not overly impressed with her. I say it again and again, she has a nice voice and she is talented but she is just not as good as I think they are trying to make her. I really think this week they want her to knock Jason out because I think the judges are just tired of him and how "laid back" he is. I will make a special spot about the judges at the end of this.

Jason-Sang "Mr Tambourine Man" Another song I like and I think that whether people like Jason or not, it is going to be a bottom of two of him and Syesha (although I wouldn't mind seeing a bottom two of him and David A, I could deal with that but I know it won't happen.) I think honestly, Jason picked the songs he liked and wanted to sing because he had nothing to lose. He probably has a pretty good feeling he is on his way out one way or another and why not pick things you like and go out (if you do) by performing something you enjoyed performing instead of killing yourself to sing something to make the judges happy but you could care less about.

David A-Sang "Love me Tender" Ok, How is this kid still in it and NOT know Elvis songs (or the Beatles songs if anyone recalls). Seriously. And he turned it into another one of his "inspirational type" songs that is his sound. For me, it was nice when he did Imagine and it was the first time. I even liked the Phil Collins one he did "another day in paradise" but you don't do this to Elvis. Not such a recognizable song. And it ticks me off the way the judges coddle him and his songs yet didn't like when Jason changes up a notable song. Not impressed and I REALLY don't think he is as good as the judges are trying to make him sound. I think they are trying to hard to make it David David and need to emphasize David A "being so good" so people will believe it. I don't. I liked him early on but now I am over him.

Ok...so overall for me I thought the show was not bad. Not the best, not the worst. I thought the judges were overally critcal of Jason this evening and overly praising of David A. I think they are trying to "stack the deck" and I am un-impressed by that. I personally did not mind Jason's songs that they thought were so "awful" but I do think they were not his best. I also think that the judges just didn't like the song choice and were taking it out on him. I think Randy is trying to be "Simon" but he is not, I think Paula is useless and continues to be useless and I think Simon is still very honest but I do think he decides different reasons for liking people than just their singing but he is also a good person who knows who is profitable and who is not quite as profitable.

So that is my thouhts tonight...we will see if America gets it right tomorrow!

Happy Anniversary....to ME!

So today is my 4th anniversary! I can't believe its been 4 years already, where does the time go?

So in honor of my anniversary, I thought it would be fun to post some photos from that day. Most of them are scans and not the best quality but you can get the idea!

On my way to get married....

Our candle favors label

Our location

Our cake cutter











































I know I posted a ton (and have tons of others!) but I wanted to keep them here for save keeping! I know I have my wedding scrapbook but I have been thinking about maybe making a storybook (one of the bound books I did for Buffalo and our Honeymoon) to keep handy too. Decisions decisions!!!


Ta ta for now....