Disney on My Mind...

So, turns out the woman who was reported "kidnapped" simply grabbed a fake i.d. and ran off to the Grand Floridian Resort in Disney World. Whil part of me realizes that she must be a sad, troubled woman, part of me is thinking..."Why didn't I think of that?" My feelings of sympathy are all mixed up with a pinch of envy. Maybe it's being on the cusp of summer, knowing we can't go this year. Maybe it's the episode of Full House where the Tanners go to DisneyWorld buzzing in the background (a guilty pleasure...).

Last year, close to this time, Mikey and I took an impromptu middle-of-the-marriage honeymoon to DisneyLand (California), and next year we're planning a 20th Anniversay 10-day trip to Florida (with the kids, of course!)--so this year seems like another of those midpoints. But, it all goes to the goal. We go to Disney about every other year, and every other year I come home with picture after picture where I'm disappointed in how I look. Right now, I'm a full ten pounds heavier than I was in this Minnie portrait. So...it's the one-year count-down...working toward a mini-er me for next year!

So, in the meantime, it's another summer of Six Flags Fiesta Texas--look for me at the waterpark all sunscreened up with a book! But, to keep the Disney dream alive...I figure by this time next year, given my nightly 3-mile walk with Stella, I will have walked the distance to Orlando! How's that for inspiration?

And you? Any plans for this summer? What's inspiring you?

Summer Shift--G+40

First of all, Yaaaaaaayyyyy Kris!!!!! Now, that's out of my system. So, American Idol is not the only reality show I follow. I'm also a huge fan of The Biggest Loser. This year, what an inspiration to see the winner turn out to be not only a woman (3rd in a row!), but a 48-year-old woman at that. Yay Helen!!

So, every season, I watch the contestants week after week, weigh-in after weigh-in, and there's always the week where they step on the scale and the number on their scale matches the number on mine. And it makes me a little sick inside because I see it in two ways: First, they were my weight at one time and continued gaining and gaining into obesity. Second, they are at my weight now, and on their way down and down. Makes me feel like I'm just perched in the middle, able to go either way. And right now I see everything I eat as making a choice, because it's becoming more and more obvious that I can't just stay here forever.

Idol Chatter...Double Treble

You know how sometimes you're driving down the highway, and you see a wreck coming up on the side of the road, and you know you're coming up on it, and you don't want to look, but somehow you can't help yourself--even though you know it might be awful? Like, you want to turn back, but you're caught up in the traffic, and there's just no going back? That's how I feel every year when we're down to the final two contestants on Idol, and it's time to sing the Idol Anthem.
So, I went into this year with a true spirit of hope, thinking, for Pete's sake--the songwriter is one of the judges! She has a vested interest! How awful could it be? And then, no turning back. It's 7:45, and we're howling about mountains and bowndrays.
Sigh.
No need dwelling on the first two songs--they were perfectly awesome. I thought they were a little tough on Kris for his second number, but yadda, yadda--haven't they been all season? They're still reeling from the shock of his presence on stage tonight. I'm a little suprised Paula didn't accidentally stick with the script and call him Danny. And Adam was as consistently good as he has been all season. That's what you can say about both these guys. You can count on a great performance, originality, arrangement...
And then...Kara's song. So, I guess this one is hands-off for arrangement? Because it seemed to me they both had identical orchestration and--to Kris's detriment--an identical key. It's like it was written for Adam's acrobatic vocals. Look close, and you can actually see Kris rising to his toes trying to hit the notes. Ah, the final conspiracy of the season.
So, my final prediction? I've got to go with my human behavior instinct here and think, yeah, Adam has had momentum all season, but I can't see all those people who voted for Danny switching their votes to Adam. Therefore, I'm predicting Kris.

Three's A Crowd...

Eeeeeek!! Just realized we're just a few hours away from results show, and I didn't get a recap blogged. Blame it on the combined factors of a looming deadline, coupled with being out-of-town (visiting my lovely parents!!) where internet is just a bit wonky.

Anyhoo, last night's show was awesome!!! My Danny-gag-reflex was subdued, though I would have put money on him choking out a few tears at the end of "You Are So Beautiful." And, you know, Adam didn't do a lot for me in either song. He was fantastic, of course, but he's always fantastic, no?

But Kris! My goodness, he was just in a whole different league! I had the great pleasure of watching this episode at my sister's house, where the Danny/Adam split was pretty obvious. We each had a few choice words to say about the other's fave, but our common ground was Kris. Which makes me worry a little bit. It's my hope that the Dannyites voted for Danny and the Adamites voted for Adam, and EVERYBODY ELSE voted for Kris.

So, to post my prediction, hmmm....this is really tough, because it's hard to separate what I want to happen from the inevitable. But, you know what? I'm going out on a long, skinny, tremulous limb here. Ready? I think Adam...is...going...home. There!! I typed it!! And I'm ready to be wrong, whether it's in rejoicing that America finally got a collective brain and got rid of Gokey, or in mourning that America was the willing pawn in the producer's evil scheme. Hm. I guess that's my middle ground.

OK!! We'll find out in a few hours!! I'll call you, Roi!

When Idol Rocks...

Disclaimer: I did watch this episode under the increasing pressure of a looming deadline, so I apologize in advance for the disproportionate crankiness.

I was soooo looking forward to this episode, because I'm a Rock-n-Roll girl at heart. And then--wham! Somebody in my family must have hit the channel button and switched us over to one of those childbirth shows on the LifeTime Network. But, no, it was just Danny s(cream)inging. Sheesh, that was awful. And I thought his attitude toward their criticism was awful, too. I hope he did go back and watch that tape. Over and over. Or at least twice. I mean, we had to hear that final note twice, didn't we? How could he possibly not know how bad that was? And I thought he was awful in the duet with Kris, too. Not his singing, which was just as moderately adequate as it's been all season, but again, his attitude. No attempt to engage or really sing "together." You could see Kris trying to work into his space, but Danny wouldn't even look at him. But, back to Aerosmith: there's only one logical reason behind his decision to sing that song: Hubris. All these weeks of undeserved praise have given him an imaginary range... Poor boy, maybe his life of church music left him too sheltered, and he mistook being mentored by Slash as auditioning for a slasher film.

Sorry, like I said, I get cranky when a deadline looms...

Adam was freakishly awesome,and I think properly humbled by last week's bottom three placement, and watching him sing with Allison was really a joy. You could see that neither of them were threatened by the other. It was like watching some FogHat tribute concert with seasoned singers. But, you know...Allison just doesn't seem 17 to me. I totally see her like the 38-year-old truckstop waitress who finally gets to belt one out after some talent scout accidentally overhears her singing with the juke box one night as she's mopping up the floors. Like Susan Boyles with cooler hair.
But she sooooo deserves to be in the finals over Danny.

And, I actually liked what Kris did last night--he was the only one who really did any kind of original arrangement. (Besides Adam's performance from the final act of Zeppelin: The Musical and Danny's arrangement from Aerosmith meets Freddy Kreuger). I'm just really hoping that Kris got all of Matt's votes.

So, if you hear a mysterious, tortured scream wafting on the breeze, it's just me screaming at the injustice of Kris going home. Or, your DVR kicked in and it's replaying Danny's final note...