| Monday, September 07, 2009 |
| Facebook Status Updates Killed My Blog! |
Did you read the title? Sadly, it's true. I usually update my FB status with what is going on in my life and I have more readers there and well, it's made me lazy! There are lots of things I need to write here, however, I'm going to channel my inner Julie Chen and say, but first, I'm going to write a little about my Idol concert experience from Saturday.
So, we walked into Conseco Fieldhouse and some random guy gave us 2ND ROW TICKETS!! Oh man, were we ever stoked! And...um...wait...hang on. That was LAST year! Sadly, I did not run into my pretend best friend, greek god, Peter from Marquis Jet this year. No matter. We still had a great time!
Now, let me begin at the beginning. Rewind to Thursday and I am at work, doing a job that is out of my normal office so I get to listen to the radio. The contest for Idol tickets was called "Simon Says." They played a short snippet of Simon and then you had to be the 19th caller and repeat what Simon said verbatim. Long story short, I WON! Yay, me!! 4 tickets, not 2! Bonus! So, I proceed to email my co-workers and call everyone I know so I can brag and make everyone hate me.
I picked the tickets up that day after work and surprised the kids with them. Brianna was home from college for the long weekend and she already knew about the tickets. Braelyn jumped up and down and Jameson pouted because he thought I was only taking Braelyn like I did last year.
FF to Saturday and after getting off work, I ran home and changed clothes and we were off to Indy for the show. It was an uneventful ride to Indy as evidenced here by Jameson.
Click any picture to see it larger.
Only $5 to park and we headed into Conseco, past all the crazies who had been lined up to 'meet' the Idols since God knows when. One woman we passed on the stairs, who had to be at least 35 said, "Adam Lambert rocks my world!" I said, (to Brianna, of course, because far be it from me to start something in a crowd of Indiana Glamberts), "Too bad he's gay." Yes, I realize she may have only been speaking of his music, but I doubt it. What I wanted to do was stand in that crowd and yell, "None of y'all are turning him!" Anyway...
Then, we stood here for at least a half hour.
My kids died at least 13 times during that half hour. DIED, I tell you!! And WHY did it take a half hour?? Because people CUT, that's why! Also, people DIDN'T. BRING. CASH. Oh em gee with the debit and credit cards! It took forever! We had our order ready before we got to the front. The lady in Pacers yellow came to us, we recited what we wanted in over-priced merchandise, she got it, we paid, we moved. The end. It was like the Seinfeld soup nazi episode, I swear. Everyone else in line? George asking where his bread was.
$20+ worth of pretzels, popcorn and drinks later and we FINALLY headed up to our balcony seats. My knees immediately turned to jello and I cried all the way up to my seat. OK, almost cried. Have I mentioned that I hate heights? Because I do. Have I mentioned that the balcony at Conseco it at DEATH degree of steepness? Because it is.
 This does not adequately show the steepness degree, but trust me.
Behold, $14 dollars worth of pretzels. $5 of it was salt.
Yeah, so our tickets were smack in the center of a row that was otherwise full. Now, as a fat person, this is a nightmare. You have to make everyone stand to let you by and if they don't stand, then you have to maneuver your fat knees past their knees and did I mention steepness? And big fat butt in their faces? Uh uh. Not gonna happen. I was begging the children to just please sit down anywhere, please oh please! So, since we were in the nosebleed giveaway section, there were a ton of empty seats so we picked a row and sat. Thank goodness because my jelly knees? Totally melting.
Approximately one minute later, the show started. Stupid debit cards.
So, yay! American Idols Live!! Starting with #10, Michael Sarver. He started with "I'm In Love With A Girl." He was GREAT! I liked him on the show, but he is so much better live! He worked the stage and crowd. His 2nd song was "Closer."
Megan was next and she looked gorgeous! Her hair is a lot shorter than it was and she wore the tight pink dress she's worn during the whole tour. The hooker heels may not be the best idea as she almost fell more than once but she joked about it after her first song, "Put Your Records On." Megan sounded fabulous! She has improved so much since the show! I didn't know her second song but it was fun and her personality shows.
Scott was up next and he came up through the stage with a piano. They've tamed his hair somewhat, but you can see his hair halo in this photo.
Now, I wasn't a big fan of Scott on the show, but he was really good in concert. he's improved greatly and I enjoyed him. He made some cute jokes about the 'high five heard round the world' and that was funny. I feel kind of bad because right now, I can't remember Scott's songs, but really, he was good.
Next up was Lil. WOW! She put on a show! She sounded quite hoarse, but it worked. I wasn't a Lil fan on the show, but I'm telling you, in concert, she is fabulous! She dances and sings her butt off. (and baby DO got back!) "Single Ladies" was crazy fun and she even did some of the Beyonce dance moves. Great! Lil also looked very pretty with long hair and a great outfit. The whole package.
Time for Noop Dawg. He started with a slow song and I hate that. I say start upbeat then slow it down, but what do I know? He was in his typical sweater vest/tie combo and his voice was nice, but he kinda bored me. Even when he sang "My Prerogative." I guess I don't 'believe' him as a performer or some goofy thing like that. Oh well. I don't have anything bad to say, really. Good job, Anoop. (Jameson wanted him to sing, "Beat It.")
Matt Giraud. Matt. Giraud. Matt freakin' Giraud! WOW!!! LOVE!!! He came out singing "Hard To Handle" and it was THE song of the night for me! He commanded that stage, captivated the audience, (well, me, anyway) and brought the house down!! I would watch an entire Matt concert ANY time! He slowed it down with "Georgia" which was so smooth and gorgeous and then sang, "You Found Me" which started...off..and then he pulled it together about :45 in. Not sure if he couldn't hear his monitor or what. I so hope he puts out an album because I am SO there!
The group song consisting of #10-5 singing was really fun. They were all dressed in black and there was dueling pianos with Scott and Matt which was awesome and even some motown-ish dancing at the end. Loved it!
After intermission, and some cotton candy, it was time for Allison. She started with "So What" and I hated it. I can't stand the song, anyway, but Allison didn't sound very good. Also, her mic was too loud. She dropped words and syllables all over the place and that drove me crazy. Even Braelyn commented. "She keeps not saying all the words, Mom." Allison also kind of just runs all over the stage willy nilly. It was just odd to me. Now when she did "Cry Baby" it was MUCH better. Her mic was still bad, but I enjoyed it so much more. "Barracuda" was OK. Just not into Allison in concert, I guess. I wanted to love her a lot but didn't.
Daniel J. Gokey!! LOVE!! Peeee Whyyyyyy Teeeee...I WANT TO LOVE YOU!! Not as growly as on the show, but WOW! He was awesome! I love his "Maria Maria" and his dancing was so fun!! And, whoa! Where did those guns come from?? HOT! "What Hurts the Most" was gorgeous! I've read comments on some other blogs about Danny's 'sermon' before "My Wish For You" and those haters can go suck a lollipop. Danny's comments were nice and heartfelt and a fitting set up for the song. Fantastic Danny set!!! (Boy looks so good in red!!)
Ah, yes. I knew this moment would come. The Adam set. He slaughtered Zeppelin. And I don't mean that in a good way. It was truly painful. The amount of screeching and weird gyrating was truly awful. Jameson kept yelling for me to cover my ears and Braelyn's face was priceless. I wish I'd gotten a picture. Braelyn said, and I quote, "Those are girl moves!" Indeed, sister. Not watching the big screens made the Adam set much more tolerable. The Muse song he did was decent, but wow, he sounded like a woman. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, but I did look up to see if the backup singer had started the song and Adam was going to join in at some point. Mad World was good, but Brianna and I spent the entire song giving Pauler commentary about the 'depth of his emotions' and fake crying. Hey, we were up high with people who didn't care.
Can't forget the Adam and Allison duet. My lord, their mics were still too loud, but it was pretty good. I thought it was better on the show, though. And then Adam had a...what's that?...a WHIP! A whip with a pink feather on the end. I kid you not. It may or may not have come from the audience, but seriously, a whip?? (upon reading other recaps of shows, I find it did come from the audience. Crazies.) And I am pretty sure he smacked Allison's butt with it. Hmm..inappropriate much??
The crotch shots and additional over-gyrating which was displayed on the big screen was too much during his Bowie medley and I felt like I should be covering my kids' eyes. Blech. Also, the screech with tongue. I caught it on the big screen. Ugh.
And then...Brianna went to the bathroom!! ha ha ha ha... High five, girl! She didn't want to miss Kris singing, "Heartless."
Yay! It was finally time for Kris!! He opened with "Heartless" which I love! "Ain't No Sunshine" was awesome. The song I don't know was great but the Kris highlight for me was, "Bright Lights!!!!" WOW!!! LOVE!!!! "Hey Jude" was great, as well. Kris has an amazing voice and he really put on a great set. There was no loss of concert energy for me, even though many have reported it as such. Indy loved Kris!
The group finale of "Don't Stop Believin'" was last but not least and was a really great end to the show! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if they had sang it like they did on "Glee."
 Lil's wearing a Colt's jersey!
I should mention here that ANOTHER whip/flogger made it into Adam's hands during the finale and I just tried not to look at it. He threw it back into the audience at the end.
And so ends my Idol experience for 2009. I managed to descend the stairs without falling to my death because of the steepness and we made it home all in one piece.
I don't care what any of the Idol naysayers say, an Idol concert is an experience. They always put on a great show with great music. I hope I have the opportunity to go again before the show ends.
It was definitely an awesome night thanks to my agile dialing fingers.
P.S. I do not care what the real Zeppelin sounds like. I do not care if Robert Plant screeched and gyrated his way through every song. I was not reviewing a Led Zeppelin show. I also don't care who else in the music industry had diction problems.
P.P.S. The above P.S. was not meant for you or you or you. Just a chosen few who want to bring certain things up when other things are mentioned. Yeah, that was vague. Sorry.Labels: american idol, concert |
posted by Angie @ 10:27 AM   |
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| Saturday, August 01, 2009 |
| Reunion |
I am currently in preparations for my 20th high school reunion. It starts at 7. I am in near panic mode.
As long as I can meet up with these girls (and a few others), I'm good.
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| posted by Angie @ 3:46 PM |
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| Saturday, June 20, 2009 |
| The leg bone's connected to the...stomach? |
The dog. He ate a chicken leg last night. Whole. Without chewing. In one swallow.
I foresee cleaning up chicken bone dog puke in the near future. Or an expensive vet visit.
While I didn't get a photo at the time, (the incident went down in approximately 2.1 seconds) I'll go ahead and share a photo of doggie cuteness from another time.
 He thinks he's a lap dog. Also, this is in the 'man cave.' |
| posted by Angie @ 9:45 AM |
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| Friday, June 19, 2009 |
| It's Alive!! ALIIIVE!! |
Whoa. My blog has become an abysmal land of awful nothingness!! I'm needin' to change that! I'm hoping to get a blog make-over sometime soon to help me get back in the groove of writing more often. (If anyone out there wants to offer their assistance for a small-ish fee, let me know!) So very much has happened in the last few months and I haven't documented any of it. I feel guilty and sad and I hope to not let it happen again!
Some things which have happened in the last few months~~
- My baby finally learned to tie his dang shoes, ride his bike without training wheels, and finished kindergarten. He still cannot recite his phone number. Not sure how we're going to make THAT information stick to his brain. (Jameson: Um...2? Ummmm...8? 5? 7?)
- My oldest baby turned 18, graduated as valedictorian of her class, is headed to college and suddenly is no longer a child.
- The middle baby finished 2nd grade with all A's and hit no other major milestones, really, but she may have puked a few times in the past few months. She IS the family puker.
- My 20 year reunion continues to loom in the not too distant future. I haven't lost a pound. Whatever. Panic attack, here I come!
- Work is/has been stressful. I don't really want to talk about it. However, I am thankful to have my job. You know, I have to throw that in there lest I be perceived as an ungrateful B who doesn't deserve a job when so many others have lost theirs.
- We had a big graduation party for Brianna in May and I survived being around all those people without curling up in the fetal position in the corner. My back, however, decided to 'go out' by the end of the night and I could barely walk. That was fun! Also, Bubba and I had to stand at graduation so everyone could see the parents of the valedictorian. Imagine how fun that was for me. An entire auditorium staring at me. I have chosen to burn it from my memory.
- Without getting into specifics, my mom had some issues with her health, was hospitalized, went to a nursing home for some rehab, is now home and is better than she's been in at least 5 years!
I suppose those are the major points from the last few months. Otherwise, life is the same old thing. Sleep, work, eat, rinse and repeat.
As I'm sitting here trying to think of what's been going on as of late, I'm listening to the new Rob Thomas CD. It's not out yet, but via vh1.com and Rhapsody, you can listen before it's released. I am loving it. A lot. Rob Thomas continues to be one of my all-time favorites.
So, that's a brief update of life in our house. I'll leave you with a few photos.
 Turning 6
 Fun at the Children's Museum
 Safari Dudes at the zoo
 Prom Time
 Graduation Party--AFTER the kids changed into play clothes
 Grad speech
 Happy Grad
 Dog In Trouble |
| posted by Angie @ 8:47 PM |
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| Tuesday, May 05, 2009 |
| Top 4 --Rock week |
THIS...is American Idol! Well, it's rock week so that pretty much means that it won't rock very much. But, maybe I will be surprised.
Ryan explains that there were some accidents just before dress rehearsal so the Idols didn't get to practice tonight. Also, there will be duets sung tonight which I predict will be perfect train wreck material. Slash is the mentor this week. I'm not really looking forward to that. Not that I don't like him, but, I'm just not interested in what he has to say. That sounds kind of mean, but whatever.
Adam--"Whole Lot of Love" by Led Zeppelin..is that right? I never can get that spelled right. Do I even NEED to say that I hated...nay...LOATHED it?? No? OK. 6 of 10
Allison-- "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin. She was good. I don't think it was her best ever. I do like her hair tonight. 8 of 10
1st duet of the night is Danny and Kris. "Renegade" LOVE! That was fun! I think they could do a lot of songs together and sound even better! I loved Danny in that red shirt!
Kris--"Come Together" Loved it! The judges went out of their way to pick it apart..but it was REALLY good!! He's adorable, too. Love Kris! 8 1/2 of 10
Danny--"Dream On" Loved it until he screamed the last note! Bad song choice for that note alone. He looks great in purple, too! 8 1/2 of 10
Allison and Adam--"Slow Ride" I liked Allison. "Nuff said. |
| posted by Angie @ 7:54 PM |
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| Tuesday, April 28, 2009 |
| Top 5 get jazzy |
Tonight with Jamie Foxx (ick) mentoring, the idols sing jazz standards from the Rat Pack. They look great...at least Kris, Danny, Matt and Allison look great. I am pretty indifferent to Adam.
Pauler is wearing one of those napkin dresses but hers has a great big napkin over each boob. Interesting. But she always looks pretty. CAR-uh has some little tank top on which looks displaced next to Pauler's frou frou dress.
Jamie Foxx as the mentor is just why-inducing for me.
Kris Allen is up first looking all cute as a button. He's singing "The Way You Look Tonight." I LOVE this song so much! Kris does a great job with it as I knew he would! It's not boring in the least. It's simple then picks up a bit and I love it. Randy says it was his best so far, which I wouldn't really agree with. The girl judges loved it and Simon didn't think it was incredible, just good. Loved the song and love Kris. 8 1/2 of 10
Allison is the 2nd to sing with "Someone To Watch Over Me." She looks really pretty tonight and just turned 17 yesterday. Love her dress. Parts of the performance I loved and parts I didn't love so much. She slows it down nicely for sure. However, sometimes, I just can't stand how she puts that H sound in front of her words like she is forcing the sound out.
"SomeHhone to Hhwatch Hhover me..." Great job, though, Allison! 9 of 10
Matt's in the middle singing "My Funny Valentine." Matt looks great in his suit and hat! Oh my gosh..LOVE! From the first note. LOVE. I absolutely loved it a lot. I don't care what the judges said. 8 1/2 of 10
Danny's 4th singing, "Come Rain or Come Shine." He looks great in his suit like Kris and Matt and he's wearing his glasses which I think he looks better with than without. OMG. AWESOME. LOVE. LOVE. 9 3/4 of 10
Adam is last singing "Feeling Good." Eh. The beginning was kind of OK. But I am just not a fan. 7 of 10
My number one tonight is Danny! Followed by Matt, Allison, Kris and Adam.
I wouldn't mind Adam leaving though I know he won't. So, I can't make a prediction as I love the other 4. Tomorrow will be sad. :(
This was a GREAT night. I am so glad the themes are working well this year!Labels: american idol |
| posted by Angie @ 8:00 PM |
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