It's been a LONG time since I've blogged with any kind of regularity. And I miss it!! Facebook and the ease of quick status updates versus lengthy blogs has played a big part in my blogging decrease. I've missed the interaction in the blog world though! I think I slowed down when most of my friends and siblings switched over to Blogger and readership/commentary slowed way down over here, as well. I'd toyed with the idea of switching to Blogger myself, but Xanga is what I've known and used for YEARS now - since 2006 I believe? So I was reluctant to learn a new format and abandon something I've loved so much over the years. But it's changed a lot over the years and doesn't feel like the right fit any more. Also, I've been chosen to participate in a cool weight loss contest hosted on a blogger blog starting on Monday July 11th and I'll be a contributing blogger on their site during the contest, which meant it was time to learn to use Blogger anyway. 

Sooooooooo..... I'm making the jump. My new personal blog can be found at http://angcampbell.blogspot.com/ and I really hope you'll follow me over there! I've made some great friends in Xangaland over the years and I hope we'll be able to easily keep in contact!

PS I'll be linking to my weight loss contest posts directly from my new personal blog so if you want to follow that weight loss experience you'll be able to find the links from my new blog!

It's that time of week again when my American Idol fan friends come flocking to my blog to read my commentary on the performances of the night. Oh wait. That's not quite what happened two weeks ago when I posted my commentary. It wasn't the AI fans who came to read at all. It was the *non* AI watchers. And they thanked me for saving them the trouble of having to watch the show since I reviewed it so thoroughly. LOL. That totally cracked me up to see all these non-AI watchers commenting on my comments of the show. So my review this week is for AI fans and non-fans alike. (But as always, if you're uninterested, this is where you may be excused. Thanks for stopping by!)

The good:

Lauren. Much better vocal performance tonight, despite the flu. She showed a stronger range and power to her voice. I enjoyed it a lot.

Scotty. Still not my favorite type of music. Still undeniably talented. And you can't help but love the kid. He's so down home country boy. With a maturity to his voice that NONE of the other males in the competition have.

James. It wasn't my favorite performance of his, but I loved his confidence and the twinkle in his eye. When he challenged Steven Tyler to sing with him *WHEN* he was in the finale I cheered for him a bit. It was a humble, playful confidence - no arrogance at all. I love the guy even though, again, he doesn't sing my favorite type of music.

Casey. He is the perfect blend of his parents, appearance wise! I couldn't believe how well they were evenly matched in his appearance. That red hair of his was a-blazin' with that funky yellow and chartreuse light show going on around him and he pulled some faces that totally made him look pupule, but I loved his performance. Smells like teen spirit? That's a first for the AI stage! Way to rock it Casey. 

The bad:

Pia's outfit. Who dressed her?! And then who told her to stand with her knees slightly bent, creating the most unflattering belly bulge ever shown on prime-time t.v.? (Arguably, she sang amazingly well. I'd be happy for her to ditch the Divas though!)

Paul's "dancing". He looks like a total spaz on the stage. His vocals sounded a lot better on my sound system at home than they had on the tiny, tinny t.v. in the ER waiting room while Brady and I waited to have his lip stitched up. (Brady vs. the swimming pool feature at the skate park. Skate park totally won.) But his vocals coupled with his dancing tonight just had me scratching my head a bit. I can't tell if I love his originality or hate his Rod Stewart sound.

Thia's underwhelming power song. The girl needs to infuse some youth into her performances. She took it up a notch by going with a more powerful vocal selection but didn't quite deliver. She is such a beautiful girl with a beautiful talent. I really wish she could get in the right groove for her!

Naima's inability to get on and stay on pitch.

The ridiculous:

Randy name dropping every opportunity he gets, and feeling the need to list all his own accomplishments each time he comments on a contestant's performance. "Well as a musician, artist, producer, writer, stylist, mailman, preacher and car wash attendant... I really know what it's like to..." Get over yourself, Dawg!

Karen's hair. What was that?! It didn't help with her old lady image, in my humble opinion. It just looked like a slightly updated beehive. 

The judges fawning and freaking out over Stefano's performance. Paula Jennifer thinks he could win the whole thing?! Gag! I can't even watch him perform, let alone listen to his shrill tone. Gag gag gag.

Lauren's mom. Seriously? The hat? Grow up Mommy. Let your baby girl be in the spotlight pretty please.

Haley's make-up malfunction. (And wardrobe disaster.)

And finally.... "lusky skank". Ri. Damn. Di. Cu. Lous. 

My predictions for this week: Haley, Karen and Paul in the bottom three. Karen going home.

There you have it. The good, the bad, and the ridiculous of the top 12. NOT my favorite week (and yet I watched every performance, and a few twice since I had to be sure those first few performances were really as bad as they seemed in the hospital waiting room. They were.)  See you next week! Here's hoping for a little less flat and a little more FUN!

I'm just going to say it. I watch American Idol with pen and paper in hand. That's right folks. I take notes as I watch. I'm that much of an American Idol dork. I can't help myself. How else am I going to remember the funny little bits that come and go so quickly during the show. Like all three judges totally grooving to someone's performance, but all three of them apparently hearing a different groove based on the way they're moving. And Steven's killer comeback to Randy as he said "If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong." Take that dawg. (Although Randy is kind of the only one apparently listening to the performances this season because JLo and Steven just want everyone to leave the stage smiling, it seems.) So yeah. I take notes. If I didn't I'd never be able to give you my overly wordy, usually catty and random thoughts on the show! And what a sad, sad world it would be without my review, right? Right??? Ha.

To my non-AI friends, this is where you're welcome to politely excuse yourself. You can even roll your eyes at me as you leave if you want. I don't mind. My husband does it all the time. To my fellow AI watchers, please pretty please leave a comment and tell me your opinion of this season's talent!

GUYS NIGHT

Clint Jun Gambon - Superstitious? Is it just me or do we hear this song every season? Whatever. He sang it well. He's got a great voice and fun stage presence. I can't hate on his glasses because for some reason my 13 year old (who has no vision problems whatsoever...) is currently in a sport-the-black-rimmed-glasses phase and it's pretty dang cute on him so I'll let Jun's slide. The verdict is still a little out on this guy because of that whole kicking Jaycee out at the last minute thing during Hollywood week, but he can definitely sing.

Jovany - Please make him go away. Sooooo boring and out of his league.

Jordan - Please PLEASE PLEASE make him go away. This guy makes my skin crawl. He was a complete pig during Hollywood week, thinking he was so superior. GAG! He picked the lamest song ever and sang it even worse than the original. Cheesy performance, over-the-top but undeserved confidence. If that's not the style of music he wants to do why in the world did he pick that song? He's an idiot. That's why. Please. Make. Him. Go. Away.

Tim - Nothing to woowoo or boo about. Just meh.

Brett - Monsieur Hair Flip Extraordinaire. Someone get this kid a rubberband please. He can sing, but UGH that song :P

James - Clearly being pimped as the next Adam Lambert. Did you notice the fancy lighting and effects during his performance? He was good, don't get me wrong, but I just totally feel like we're about to have him shoved down our throats the way the judges tried to spoon feed Lambert to us. I just want them to let us love him. Because I do. I think he's great. I like his story and his personality and he can carry a tune. Way to go James!

Robbie - My friend mentioned this and now I can't stop seeing it: Robbie looks like Aladdin. As in "Prince" Ali who loves Jasmine and hates Jafar and hangs with blue Robin Williams when he comes out of the lamp. I dare you to not see the similarities next time you watch him. It's incredibly distracting and freaking spot on! He's got a really nice voice though. Hated his version of the song and got tired of the vocal gymnastics. But he can sing. "I can show you the world..."

Scotty - I'm not a country music fan. But I'm kind of a Scotty fan. He's likable. He has a cool style about him. He sings really well and actually stays on pitch. I make myself giggle thinking of him singing during some theme weeks though. Can you imagine him having to sing a Michael Jackson song? 

Stefano - Here comes a catty comment. He's too squinty. That drives me nuts. OPEN YOUR EYES. Love the song but did NOT love his performance in any way. The high note was excruciating (JLo's face said it all in that moment). Considering Randy's trusty standby comment "It has to be better than the original artist's version" Stefano flopped in a big way. Bruno Mars rocks this song. It's one of my favs and Stefano's take on it was painful to me.

Paul - Awesome, unique voice. Singing Rod Stewart was almost too perfect for his voice though. He seems very likable and real. I'm digging Paul.

Jacob - Okay. He can sing. Yes. He has great control of his voice. Yes. He seems absolutely and completely likable. Yes. Am I a fan? NO. Do I think there are fans watching the show whose taste in music matches the kind of music he's likely to sing over and over and over and over again this season? NO. Do I think the judges will still probably save him when America doesn't vote him in? Yep. Probably. Yuck. 

Casey - Was a favorite. Still has potential. I thought he was a hot mess during this performance though. Bring back the bass Casey. Bring back the control.

GIRLS

Ta-Tynisa - Seriously? That's how you spell her name? Wow. This girl should never EVER have been given a chance in the top 24. She didn't just forget a line or two of lyrics during Hollywood week she completely made up random illogical words to a song that I've probably heard three times ever and could at least sing a few lines with the correct lyrics. She drove me crazy in that audition bit and she drove me crazy tonight. She started flat and never managed to find her pitch (or catch her breath it seemed.) I thought she was straight up awful and I was kind of embarrassed for her. Now watch... she'll be in the top 12 and I'm going to have to invest in ear plugs. Sigh.

Naima - Her performance was a little obnoxious and stagey but she has a great voice and her last note was hot.

Kendra - I thought she did an excellent cover of a really beautiful song. She tweaked just enough that it wasn't a total copycat but stayed true to the song and did it justice. I don't really know anything about her though and I feel a little bad for her that she's one of those contestants who didn't stand out during auditions and we're kind of left scratching our heads wondering what her story is and how she got to be in the top 24. I mean clearly she's there because of the singing. She has a great voice. She could work on her stage presence.

Rachel - Jazzy version of what I consider a crazy sexy sounding song did not work for me at all. The dramatic cape toss was a big fail, too. I like her but the arrangement was awful and her performance didn't do anything for her chances to stick around I'm afraid.

Karen - Spanglish? Really? Yuck. I hated that. I know JLo loved it. I did not. Karen has a GORGEOUS voice. And she's a beautiful girl. She had the old lady performance of the night though. I hope she doesn't do the Spanish/English blend every time because I may just have to use the earplugs I invest in for when Ta-Tynisa (seriously... is that how we spell that?!) sings. Spanish? Fine. English? Great. Bouncing back and forth? Totally irritating.

Lauren Turner - Don't know much about her. I do know that outfit wasn't very flattering. And I do know she can sing. I can't decide if I like her or not LOL. I'm not going to get too invested in her because I doubt she'll stick around. We don't know enough about her back story.

Ashton - Dumbest song I've ever heard. Was it just me or did it sound like she was singing about dog poop? "Must not have been paying attention - I stepped right in it" I really really hated that song. She's a diva. There always has to be one who makes the top 12. Meh.

Julie - *JAZZ HANDS* Someone give this girl something to do with her hands please. And help her pick a better song for her voice? I think the nerves just totally ruled her performance. I've really liked her before tonight. Tonight was not great for her. At all.

Haley - She has a schizophrenic voice. She goes from nasally whiny to growly husky and back again all in the same musical phrase. It makes me a little nuts. Combined with the wrinkled nose and other interesting facial contortions and she's like an episode of Barney. I can't make myself look away. I kind of slip into a weird trance. I don't like it. She seems really real and genuine until she starts singing and then it's all sorts of oddities. The killer is she can sing. I don't know why she does all the weirdness. Jury is still out on Haley.

Thia - Love her. Love her. Love her. Did I mention I love her? Easily one of my top three of the season.

Lauren Alaina - Love her. Love her. Love her. Did I mention I love her? Another of my top three. I hadn't heard the country in her singing before tonight and although I'm not a country fan I can see her as a really great cross over artist. I LOVE her seeming effortless confidence and presence on stage. I think she's adorable. I loved that Randy compared her to both Kelly and Carrie because that's what I'd been doing as I watched and listened to her, too. She will go far. No doubt.

Pia - Amazing vocals. Great control. When the coaches are done teaching Julie what to do with her hands maybe they could spend a few minutes coaching Pia, too. That's all.

So we're off to a fun start. I'm anxious to see how the top 10 rounds out after America's voting. And I'm terrified to see who the judges throw back into the mix with their wild card picks. I'd be pleasantly surprised if they brought back Chris Medina for the guys! But I'm pretty sure we'll be stuck with Jordan or Jacob even when America resoundingly says "NO!" to them both.

What did you all think?

If you want to play along with my American Idol Pick'Ems game on Facebook come join the fun! Bragging rights at stake :) Just check out the notes section on my profile to find the details. 

We had houseguests last week! Two sets even! My sister Mindy and her husband Damon came and so did Willy's parents! We thought logistically it would be tricky, but as it turned out we only had them all in the house together for 2 nights (and they barely saw each other because they were going in different directions). We had SUCH a great time with them!! Karen and Lloyd had been here a few times before so they were mostly here to just visit and love on the kids which the kids LOVED. And it was awesome to have them here because they were incredibly generous in offering to stay with the kids so we could go out and have some fun with Mindy and Damon a few times. It was a busy, busy week filled with all the good ol' touristy activities that we love and lots and lots of just hanging out and enjoying each others' company. The sun came out after weeks of rainy weather and we spent a lot of time in the water and it was just wonderful! The only negative about the week happened on Friday night while we were playing in the water at Waikiki Beach and suddenly Willy realized his wedding ring had come off somewhere in the water. It was crystal clear water and nice and shallow and about 10 of us searched that water for well over an hour until the sun set and we couldn't search any more. Walking out of the water and leaving the ring behind was gut-wrenching. I actually hired a guy yesterday to go out in the water with his metal detector to give it one more good search, but of course a couple days had passed so the ring was nowhere to be found. Someone probably found it and now we're just hoping that the person who has it tries to find the us on Craigslist before taking it to a jewelry or pawn shop. I've just been heart sick about it. 

But on to happier stuff! Pictures, pictures and more pictures! Prepare to be bombarded.

We went to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling with Mindy and Damon right after they got off the plane! Damon and Willy saw an octopus and a couple of turtles. (Hope Willy doesn't mind me sharing his octopus video. It is SWEET!) Mindy and I saw lots of fish and were just glad to get out of the water with no puking incidents. (Mindy got a little motion sick in the waves hehehe. She did GREAT for her first time snorkeling though! She was nervous the way I was when I first started but we stayed out quite a while and she did awesome!)

Then we went to the lookout to watch for whales and we weren't disappointed! Several sprays, humpbacks and tails!

On Sunday, Nana and Papa got here and we enjoyed a relaxing Sunday visiting with them while Mindy and Damon celebrated Damon's birthday at the Probowl.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were just fun days with our guests coming and going and doing their thing. Mindy and Damon got an awesome little condo on the Leeward coast for a few nights and really enjoyed their stay right on the beach. One of the nights I was there with them I actually saw the green flash at sunset for the first time! A bunch of people on the beach saw it and cheered and clapped when it happened! Super sweet :) (And Brady had a blast boogie boarding with Damon in the HUGE waves while Toby and Molly played in the sand.)

Thursday, Willy's folks offered to watch the kids so Willy and I could have a day with Mindy and Damon. We headed up to Waimea Falls and enjoyed the hike and the F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G cold water at the bottom of the falls. My toes were numb within 15 seconds of being in the water! We've never felt it that cold, but we still played in the pool at the bottom of the falls and enjoyed the magic of that place.

We also got shave ice that day, and relaxed on the beach in Hale'iwa. A LOVELY day!

Friday we were supposed to go out on the boat with some friends but the timing didn't work out so we ended up with a pretty relaxing day at home until the late afternoon when the kids got out of school and we headed for Waikiki. Fun times... till the ring was lost :(

Now he has it...

Now he doesn't :(

Ended the night with Teddy's and fireworks, but nothing could really make me feel better. So devastated by the ring getting lost!

Saturday was the BEST day of the week! We went out on the boat with our friends and had an amazing time! The conditions were perfect and it was a beautiful day for a little whale watching cruise :) We were treated to LOTS of whale sightings, dolphins jumping and spinning for us, and the scariest 2 or 3 minutes Willy has ever been in the water. Check out the video! He's always been really nervous about swimming in the "deep blue" (as opposed to the reef waters where he can see the bottom) and sure enough, he jumped into the water and practically landed on one of five sharks that were RIGHT THERE in the water! When he popped his head up and said "There are sharks!!!" and then almost immediately added "Okay! I'm done!!" my heart was racing and I can't even imagine how hard his must have been pounding. And then he had to get his fins on so he could get himself back into the boat, all the while trying to keep an eye on the sharks :P C-R-A-Z-Y!

Getting ready to jump in...

This is what he saw immediately when he jumped in the water! He cut this video down in size because the rest of it is just him trying not to panic in the water as he got his fins on so he could get back on the boat LOL. 

Getting hauled out...

The adrenalin rush that stuck with him for a long time after getting out of the water...

Whales and dolphins galore!

Saturday evening Nana and Papa took the boys to their hotel (they got a room in Waikiki the last couple nights and Mindy and Damon came back to our house those nights) to go swimming while Mindy and Damon treated Willy and I to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum yum!!! (Molly tagged along with us.)

And then Sunday was just about the most depressing day ever. We went from a house full of 10 people to a house with only 5 in just a matter of a few hours. So sad! First we went to church just for the first hour, then we had to take Willy to the airport for his business trip to Manila. Then we headed to Waikiki to pick up Nana and Papa and we went to a park to kill a bit of extra time before they needed to be at the airport. Then we dropped them off and headed home where we hung out and relaxed with Mindy and Damon, had dinner and then took them to the airport too. It's so lonely around here now!!! Here are some pics from that day.

Now we're just holding ourselves together while daddy's gone. Wheeeeee. Someone come visit! I'm lonely!

That's the number of birthday wishes I got from friends on Facebook today. When I checked my email for the first time this morning I had 124 new emails. WHAT?!?! It was a little overwhelming, and even at one point I thought "Okay. Fun's over. Enough email notifications of FB wishes already!" But the reality? It's 11:25 p.m. and I just counted all the Facebook birthday wishes I got today. Because it was so. dang. cool. to be showered in love all day long. I had my email box being refilled throughout the day, my phone was pinging my notification of new emails throughout the day, and frankly, I loved it.

So here's how I spent my day when I wasn't checking my email or my Facebook wall.

• Enjoying the sound of the rain. It rained a LOT today.
• Sending Brady to school early in the rain because he had JPO (Junior Police Officer, aka crossing guard) duty today.
• Allowing two of my kids to skip school today. Partly because we were going to meet a friend at the Aloha Stadium Swap meet today to say good-bye before he leaves the island, but mostly because I didn't want to get out of bed and take the kids to school in the rain. How lazy/cool am I? (Depending, of course, on who's interpreting my actions...)
• Getting a call from the friend leaving the island and finding out he wasn't going to the swap meet due to the rain. Bummer! We'll try to see him off at the airport tomorrow night, instead.
• Deciding whether to take Ben and Toby to school for the rest of the day or just let them stay home since we weren't going to meet friend after all. Kept them home. I'm not even going to try to pull off cool. Total laziness.
• Finishing up a digital scrapbooking product to release in the Scrap Girls boutique tomorrow. Gotta love boutique Thursday!
• Wondering why I had to cattle prod the kids to help with anything around the house, when the only thing I've been asking for for my birthday is a clean house so I don't have to clean on my birthday.
• Cleaning on my birthday.
• Specifically, cleaning the boys' bathroom.
• Taking the requisite shower after cleaning the boys' bathroom.
• Picking up Brady early from school and having to explain why he was the only one that had to go to any school today. (See above. Lazy/cool, depending on who's interpreting my actions.)
• Cleaning on my birthday.
• Folding laundry on my birthday.
• Cleaning on my birthday.
• Cleaning on my birthday.
• Cleaning on my birthday.
• Losing my patience with the kids who reluctantly helped around the house when I was watching but would gravitate back to the t.v. when I wasn't looking.
• Picking up after Monsoon Molly and Typhoon Toby who managed to undo everything I did today when I would turn my back on them.
• Hollering at my kids and laying the guilt trip on T H I C K for no one caring enough to grant my one lousy birthday wish.
• Finding that Brady had "cleaned" his room by shoving quite literally everything he and Molly own into his closet. 
• Throwing a giant temper tantrum at the discovery of Brady's cleaning method, which included the declaration "I'm done! I'm leaving!", stomping to my bedroom, locking the door and folding more clean laundry as I contemplated how good it would feel to actually run away for a few minutes. Just to the 7-Eleven or something. Just away. I would have liked to go sit on the beach. Did I mention the rain, though? Sigh.
• Feeling pounds of guilt weigh down on me as I heard Brady start sobbing and begging Ben to come help clean because "Mommy said she's leaving! I don't know where she's going but please come help so she doesn't leave!"
• Deciding the house was "good enough" for our house guests and realizing that my friend has seen it worse than this so enough needed to be enough, for the kids' sake and mine.
• Experiencing a moment of thrill when FedEx showed up at the door with a package for me. Found a "You've won a sweepstakes!" notificationalong with a prize: a facial cream set for women aged 60+. Uh. Nice. Happy NOT 60th birthday to me!
• Excitedly greeting my friend and her daughter when they arrived on the island for a visit.
• Talking. And talking. And talking some more, as if no time had passed since the last time Kristi and I got to gab face-to-face, even though it's been about a year and a half since we last visited in person.
• Meeting Willy at one of my favorite restaurants, Buzz's Original Steakhouse for Ahi, steamed veggies, garlic mashed potatoes and the best salad bar on the island (fresh avocados! killer pickled cucumbers and carrots! amazing pineapple!), and free Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie with a lit candle for my birthday.
• Having my friend and her hubby (who arrived a few hours after her) meet us at dinner. More talking. And talking. And talking.
• Stopping at the mall with Willy to check out phone accessories for our new fancy-pants phones. (Didn't buy any because we can get them MUCH cheaper online it turns out. Even with the ridiculous shipping rates to Hawaii.)
• Allowing one of the kiosk people to coerce me into her chair so she could make my hair pretty. Pamper me? Play with my hair? Okay. Twisted my arm. Just please don't burn my ears with your super sweet flat iron. Also don't count on me dropping $200 (or even the $100 one-day deal you offered for my birthday) for an impulse buy. And tell me again how sexy my quickly growing patch of gray is so I can pretend for a minute that it actually is. Oh, and I liked the part about my beautiful eyes. Definitely feel free to mention that again.
• Feeling sleek and sassy with my uber shiny, straightened hair as we meandered through the mall. I know. I'm living the high life.
• Feeling my uber shiny, straightened hair return to it's normal frizzy, messy state when I had to dart through the rain to the car. 
• Watching the lightning and listening to the thunder as we headed home from our night on the town.
• Tucking the kids in bed after a brief bit of drama about who was sleeping where and with whom due to house guests needing a place to sleep and being given one of the bedrooms for their stay. Oh how we need a 4th bedroom!
• Opening a wonderful present from Willy: the Willow Tree nativity! I've wanted it badly and he wanted to give it to me for Christmas but it got delayed in shipping so YAY for a birthday three weeks after Christmas LOL.
• Counting Facebook birthday wishes.
• Blogging.
• Enjoying the sound of the rain.
• Saying good night.