Our American Idol is...

The songs have been sung and the votes have been cast. Another season of American Idol is coming to a close tonight. Yes, I was one of the just under 100 MILLION votes cast last night. It took me until 10:15 to get through, but I was bound and determined that my favorite was going to have my vote! I have to wonder how many millions of people gave up because they had better things to do? Like sleep:) Some people actually have a life...

The two hour show began tonight with a look back at our journey this season. They had some cute video clips of the Judges and their little "quirks". Randy with his "For me, For you, for me", Kara and how she always says "Sweetie", Paula with the way she butchers the vocabulary and Simon - "What?"

The Top 13 started us out musically tonight with "So What?" Man this was a great group this year - lots of talent!

Our reigning Idol, David Cook is performing for the last time as the American Idol. "Permanent" was a VERY powerful, emotional song. David's older brother lost his battle with brain cancer earlier this month. This song will be available on iTunes and proceeds from the downloads will go to ABC squared to help with cancer research. It is a great song, and it reminded me why I loved him so much last year!

Every year they have the Golden Idol Awards that they hand out to those memorable contestants or wannabe's. The first award of the night was for the Outstanding Male, and went to Nick Mitchell - AKA Norman Gentle. I am still shaking my head on this one. WHY he wasn't dismissed during auditions I will never understand.

Next up is the first duet of the night. Lil Rounds got to sing with Queen Latifah. They did "Que the Rain" and Lil did great. She just needs to relax and she'll do fine. Jason Mraz stopped by to sing "I'm Yours" with Anoop, Alexis and a few of the other Top 12.

Kris Allen and KEITH URBAN y'all! performed "Kiss a Girl" Oh my GOODNESS! That was such a treat. I bet if you asked Kris right now, he would say that was one of the highlights of the season for him. Win or Lose.

Oh my Gosh! I forgot about Jasmine! OOPS!

Time for another Golden Idol. This time for Outstanding Attitude. The award goes to Bikini Girl. She comes out in a bikini again to prove she can sing (she still can't) and is joined by Judge Kara proving that she can. And then Judge Kara surprises us all by flashing open her dress to reveal a very nice bikini body. We then learn as she is clutching the dress closed that she did this on a dare with proceeds from the bet going to her favorite charity. The Handsome Prince then turns to me to ask, "We are recording this, aren't we?" LOVE this man.

OH! My little Danny Gokey is singing "Hello". LOVE me some Lionel Richie. OH MY!! There he is! Two of my very FAVORITE people! I will totally buy Danny's CD. sigh

Now Adam is singing one of my favorites, "Beth". What the heck is he wearing? Some sort of black alien costume. Oh, his performance is with KISS. Not at all obvious who the Judges, Producers and everyone affiliated with this show are for. Come on.

WOW! They have some great guest performances tonight. Santana people! Now THAT. That is good music! No screaming, no weird noises and grabbing at themselves. Just good old fashioned guitar and great vocals.

Jorge'! I forgot about him too. Now you know why I have to take notes...

Somewhere in there the Top Idol girls got to perform with Fergie and The Black Eyed Peas. And Adam and Kris were presented with new 2010 Ford Focus Hybrids. I got bored and my kitties were lonely and wanted to come in and snuggle with their new Mama awhile. That whole "not getting attached to them" speech I gave? Out the window. They are just too sweet. I digress...

Rod Stewart! Another favorite - "Maggie" This has been like being at a star packed concert tonight! How fun!

The Final Golden Idol goes to the Outstanding Female. And the winner is Tatiana Del Toro. I'm not sure how, but I had managed to wipe her memory from my mind. She's back like a bad dream. Handsome Prince says "She is like a cockroach - hard to kill" THAT my friends, is why I love this man! He can make me do the "snort laugh" when you least expect it:)

Finally, we have Adam and Kris performing"We are the Champions" with Queen. Wow.

And now, what we really want to know! Who won this thing?? Our American Idol for 2009 is:

KRIS!

He is shocked and doesn't even know what to say. I am screaming and whooping and hollering! I am surprised but SO SO HAPPY!!

YEAH!!!

And there you have it. Another season for the record books. Tuesday Treats will be back next week. The pressure is on...

American Idol Finale

Tonight is the final performance night for Season Eight. It makes me a little sad to see it come to an end. We have our little routine down, rush home from work on Tuesday night, cook something quick and take our positions in front of the TV. Handsome Prince has the recliner, and I have a big comfy chair. I have my make-shift office - TV Tray with the laptop, pen and legal pad for note taking. Typing that, we sound like we might be a bit pathetic! We do enjoy us some Idol!

Wow! What a talented bunch of young people there were this year! Did I just sound like my Mom? There were several Contestants I really liked this year. Scott was an inspiration and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for him - I bet as a singer/songwriter/producer he will be successful. Anoop had a lovely voice, and I don't think we have heard the last of him. I was really sad to see my little Danny go last week, but I know he will get a record deal and I can't wait to buy it!

There were a few that were disappointing. I really thought Michael and Matt had more potential than we saw from them. For Lil, I think she never got comfortable with the big stage and Alexis was a victim of the fact that there was just SO MUCH talent this year. Allison is just a young'n - you KNOW we are going to hear more from that fiery girl!

Then there are those that I am still shaking my head at. Nick?Norman? WHAT were they thinking?? Megan Joy, had a last name, lost a last name stayed WAY longer than I ever thought she should. What a journey this has been!

And it ALL boils down to the Final Two tonight. Adam and Kris will sing three songs each - one of their choice, one that Simon Fuller chose for them, and the song written just for the winner, to be their first single. Judge Kara was one of the co-writers. They flipped a coin backstage, and Adam will perform first.

Adam went with "Mad World" for his personal choice. Mr. Fuller chose "Change is gonna Come" and the song that was written for the single is called "No Boundaries". Y'all, I just can't imagine listening to an entire CD of this guy. All that screaming just gets on my nerves, and I can not watch him sing. The whole black nail polish, tight pants and tongue sticking out just grosses me out. I can't get past it.

Kris was at the piano for his personal choice, "Ain't No Sunshine". For Mr. Fuller's pick, "What's Goin' On" he played the guitar, and for "No Boundaries" he just belted it out. Now with Kris, I can totally imagine spending the money and listening to his CD, OVER AND OVER. He has a beautiful, pleasing voice. Judge Kara described it best tonight - Kris draws you in and makes you feel as if he is singing just to you.

I'm not even going to pretend to be impartial - I think you know me better than that by now! I REALLY want Kris to win. LOVE HIM! And I am hoping that it took me until 10:15 to get through to cast my vote is a good sign! We'll find out tomorrow!

What do you think? Let's discuss your Idol thoughts!

And The Winner Is...

Those of you that have stopped over from Kelly's Show Us Where You Live Tour - Welcome! I have a tour of my Guest room too, but I need to take care of a bit of business first. I had a little giveaway this week to celebrate my One Hundredth Post, and I need to announce the winner!
We went really high-tech determining the winner:) I put every one's name in a dish, and my Handsome Prince drew one name out. Congratulations Lisa!! Thank you for your sweet comments, and I will be delivering your prize to you soon.

Now for the reason you are here!
Welcome to our Guest Room! This is one of my very favorite rooms in our house. LOTS of very special things are in this room. This is the view as you come down the hall from the Formal Living Room. I spent a weekend painting the walls a cheerful shade of pale yellow and all the wood work is painted Gloss White.

I am VERY Blessed to have several of the quilts that my Grandmother and Great-Grandma made. This pretty pink rose quilt on the bed was made by my Grandmother Johnson and given to Larry and I when we were married. Grandma was very proud of the fact that she made each of her grandchildren a quilt as a wedding gift. This quilt is special to me because Grandma taught me to cross-stitch and she cross-stitched the squares and then hand pieced the squares together. She also made the crocheted throw pillows you see on the bed.

I also love Bunnies! There are many in this room. Here is a close-up of one of the tassels I got from The Nester. LOVE IT! He looks so proud hanging there with all his lush frilliness! I also love my white crocheted curtains I found at WAL*MART! They are perfect in this room.

The Bed from the other side of the room. I have a few babies too...

The wall opposite of the bed. We got the vanity and dresser from Larry's sister Deborah. It was painted Bright blue with white trim before we were able to have it refinished. I am very pleased with how it turned out. The baby carriage was a gift from my Mother-In-Law.

Special Family photos. Top Row: Left to right we have my Grandparent and Great Grandparents on my Daddy's side, three Generations of wedding photos (My Great Grandparents, my Parents and my Grandparents on my Mom's side) More old family photos of my Mom's family. Bottom row: The Handsome Prince's Family photo, the smaller photograph is the last Thanksgiving before his Sister Deb passed away. The long skinny one is my Great Grandma Eckman's farm. The family is standing in the yard, and my Grandma was just a young girl. The Baby picture and shoes are my Mommy's, along with a more recent photograph of them.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great weekend!!

American Idol Results Show and a Reminder! Giveaway is Friday!

Over 88 MILLION Votes.

And less than One Million separate the Top Two.

**SPOILER ALERT** Go read my Monday post, leave a comment to enter my Giveaway, and come back after you have watched tonight's results show! I'll announce the winner of the Gail Pittman Bountiful Cross on Friday:)

It was a busy night on Idol tonight. Lot's of "Fill" for the hour show. Alicia Keyes stopped by with an Idol gives back update and she introduced a young man named Noah who performed a song that he learned this week. Jordin Sparks, Season 6 Idol performed her new single "Battlefield".
And Katy Perry sang "Wakin' up in Vegas".

Remember when the results show was only 30 minutes? I want that back...

We were treated to video footage from each of the Top Three going on their home town visits. Danny got to be reunited with his good friend Jamar when he went home to Milwaukee. Jamar SO should have been picked instead of that crazy Norman/Nick guy. Danny has overcome, and grown alot during the last 10 months. He is my favorite, and I can't wait to buy his album! I know it will be good. I love his voice.

Kris came home to Arkansas and we gave him the royal treatment. His Daddy cried when he saw Kris the first time since he's been in Hollywood. (I did too!) I think Kris was most excited that he got a gift from his Favorite Restaurant - free cheese dip for LIFE! It's the little things in life, isn't it?

Side note - I'm so excited about GLEE next week!

Adam had some crazy big crowds in San Diego. He visited the local FOX station where he shared eyeliner application tips with the weather girl. He got to go back to The MET where he performed when he was a 10 year old. He even had a girl jump up on stage and pull her top off at one of his appearances. It takes all kinds...

Let me just say I have not had a good feeling about how the results are going to go this evening. My "dream finale" would be Kris and Danny, but I just don't see that happening. Even though my Danny has never been in the bottom three, I am worried for him tonight.

Okay, Dim the Lights, here we go...

The First Contestant that has made it to the Finale next week is:

KRIS

His Daddy is crying again. So am I. The local boy is making us proud! Even though I wasn't on board from the very beginning, Kris has really won me over more and more every week.

So it comes down to Danny and Adam. Many thought this would be the final two. I am now really certain I am not going to like this next announcement.

Who will it be?

ADAM

Yep. My Danny's going home.

And I cried again when he sang "You are so Beautiful"
I know Sophia is looking down on him, beaming with pride.

American Idol: TOP 3

Tonight marks the 300th episode of Idol. Congratulations! And thank you for for all the enjoyment you have brought to our living rooms! After the Top Three were treated like Royalty during their home town visits, it's time to get down to business. They must sing two songs tonight, one that the Judges choose for them, and one they chose for themselves.

Up first is my favorite - Milwaukee native Danny Gokey. Paula chose "Dance, Little Sister" by Terrence Trent Darby. Not what I would have picked, but They didn't ask me. I don't think Paula should have gotten to choose either. Danny did a good job with the hand he was dealt. Randy and Paula both thought he did really good. The most negative thing Kara and Simon could come up with is they didn't like his dancing. HELLO! This is a SINGING competition.

For Danny's personal choice he went with "You are so Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. He changed the arrangement up a bit and it was nice. Good Job! VOTE!! VOTE!! VOTE!!!

Local Guy, Kris Allen is from Conway, AR. Kara and Randy chose " Apologize" by One Republic for Kris' first performance tonight. He played the piano and did a really good job. The Judges were all impressed too.

"Heartless" by Kanye West was Kris' personal choice. He went with the acoustic guitar and no band. Great Decision. VOTE.

Time out for a mini Rant. I don't think it is fair that Adam got the coveted last spot again this week. (his duet with Allison last week) I also think it stinks that the Judges have all but crowned him Idol Goddess. I think they are stacking the deck by having Simon choose the song for Adam too.

And I am hoping he chose to do a repeat performance of "Ring of Fire" for his personal choice song tonight.

Adam Lambert travelled home to San Diego this week. Simon called U2 personally to request permission for Adam to perform "One". For me it was just more screaming from him, and more gushing from the Judges.

For his personal choice, much to my dismay, Adam chose "Crying" by Aerosmith. Again, with the screaming. We get it. You want to be a rock star. I'm sure someone will pick you up.

In a perfect world, Danny and Kris will be the two Finalists, and then I will be happy no matter who is declared the winner. But I'm very afraid I will be sad tomorrow evening.

What do you think? Let's Discuss!!

My 100th Post - It's a Giveaway!

In October of last year I started a little experiment that has grown into a really fun hobby for me. A few of my "Real Life" friends have blogs, and I enjoyed reading them. Then I began reading some of my friends favorite blogs, and I was discovering so many women with wonderful recipes and decorating ideas! I found myself drawn to some of these blogs on a daily basis, and began considering them my "friends" too. Soon, like it does for almost everyone I suspect, I found that I was hooked. I needed to try this too!

I have had so much fun watching Mason and Mackenzie and Peyton grow in real life, and keeping up with their activities through the blog world too. Even though I have never met her, I was so excited for Kelly as she and Scott looked forward to the birth of Harper. Like you, I cried and prayed like crazy in January when Harper was so sick when she was born. And I rejoiced and Praised God as HE performed a Miracle and Harper is now healed and home. My Husband can't understand this. "Have you ever met her?" No, but I know we would be friends if we did meet! Just like I know Shannon, and The Nester and The Mama's - Big and Boo, would be a blast to have over for a girls day out. Someday. Maybe!

No one is more amazed than I am that today I am posting for the 100th time. Did I really have that much to say? Wow. I started out with big plans for daily or weekly "themes". So far the only thing I have done consistently is my weekly American Idol thoughts. But you know what? Nobody is going to fire me because I haven't posted a Tuesday Treat every week! And if I need to take a few days off because "Real Life" happens - that's okay too! I'm still having fun, and I am documenting little pieces of our life along the way.

SO -

How would you like to win this beautiful Gail Pittman Bountiful Cross? To celebrate my 100 post milestone, I will give one special reader this beautiful cross to call their very own. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me how much you LOVE my blog, and how much you would LOVE to have it! Or just leave me a comment! I'll draw for the winner and announce it on Friday.

Show us where you live Friday! Living Room Tour

Welcome to our Home!

Kelly started a fun theme last Friday. Each week she is hosting a little linky party touring different rooms in our homes. This week is the Living Room and this sounded like fun to me, so I'm joining the party! I haven't put the Easter Decorations up yet, so you get to see those too! Just keeping it real. HA!!

When you come in the front door, this is looking in to our Living Room from the Entry. I am a big collector of things - art, crystal, Cobalt Blue Glass, Precious Moments. I got this Sofa Table from my parents. A few of my collections are here. I made the floral arrangement on this table.

This is the view from the hallway on the other side of the room. I love my Curio cabinet! It was a gift from Santa a few years ago. Yes, Santa still comes to our house.

View from the Kitchen.

I love antiques, but I don't have as many as I would like. I am very fortunate to have a few very meaningful pieces. This drop leaf table was my Great Grandmother's. Mom and Dad had it refinished and gave it to Larry and I when we were married. Very Special. We got the wonderful rockers at the Amish Store in Branson. That was a funny sight if you saw us hauling them home! Worth every bit of the grumbling I heard too! :)

This table belonged to Larry's sister Deborah. She passed away in 1996. She gave it to us when we were first married and it was used ALOT. It was in sad shape, and one of Larry's brothers likes to refinish furniture so we asked him to see what he could do with it. LOVE what he did with the black and natural pine. We just got it back a few weeks ago and I like how it looks in here.

This old Barrister Desk is a rescue from someones garbage. When Larry was a little boy his Dad found this by the curb and hauled it home. When we got it, it looked like it should go back to the curb. Little bit of love, and this is another one of my favorites. The Chair is a Flea Market find.

Sorry about the glare! Some of my Precious Moments and Cobalt glass. You can't see them, but the Rudolph Collection is on the bottom shelf for safe keeping through the year. I get them out at Christmas so they can be seen.

I really like the window treatments in this room. It's a HUGE window, on the north side of the house. I didn't want to block what little light we get in here, so I did sheers across the window and panels on each end.

SEE? It's dark in here most of the time! I wanted to try and show you how big the window is, but I'm not sure you can tell from this. It runs almost the entire length of the room.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the tour. Hop on over to Kelly's Korner to check out some other beautiful homes. You can click on the link below.


On Monday I will be posting my 100th post! To celebrate I'm doing a giveaway. I hope you'll stop by to check it out!

American Idol Results Show

**SPOILER ALERT** Come back later if you haven't watched the results show yet!

Well I've suffered through another hour long show that could have been done in 5 minutes.
Tops.

We've heard Slash.

We've heard Paula. Yeah, she's been on the show for EIGHT seasons and NEVER performed.
Huh.

No Doubt stopped by before going on tour. No new material, just going on tour. Probably why they were available.

Daughtry (one of my favorites, he SO got ROBBED) sang "No Surprise" from his new album. All of this while we are sitting on pins and needles waiting for them to JUST. TELL. US. WHO. THE. TOP. THREE. ARE.

Pretty Please.

The top three get to go on a hometown visit. They are treated to parades and get to do interviews - generally get the STAR treatment. WHO will it be?

Ryan points to the stools at the side of the stage. Tonight, you want to sit in one of those three stools. Side note: Don't they look UN comfortable?

The first Contestant that is safe and sent to the stool is Kris. WOW! I'm happy, but surprised.
And more nervous than ever.

Second person that is Safe and going home this week for a visit is Adam. Not surprised at this, and getting very scared for my Danny.

Allison or Danny? Who is safe? Who is headed home for good?

DANNY! He is SAFE!!! Happiness!!! He admitted that they could not hear on stage last night, and when he listened to his performance afterward he said he laughed at how bad that last note was! I'm so glad he's safe.

Have I mentioned Danny is my favorite?

Next week each contestant sings two songs - Judges choice and their choice. I can't wait!

So what did you think? Were you happy with the results? Let's Discuss!

American Idol: Top 4

I know, it's only Rock-n-Roll, BUT I LIKE IT!

Tonight is rock week with Slash as the mentor. Are you like me and didn't know that Slash was a who, and not a what? Good thing Ryan filled us in that Slash was the lead guitarist for Guns-n-Roses. Now THEM, I know! This should be interesting, because we have two contestants who are obviously rockers, and two - not so much. I think it will be interesting to see how everyone does!

Adam started things out tonight in typical Adam style. He chose "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. Side note: this is the first time this song has been approved to be heard on Idol.
Let's be honest. At this point in the competition, your opinion has most likely been formed. Unless the performance by the contestant just really flops, it probably isn't going to sway your vote at this point. That is, if you vote. I do, but not for Adam.

Allison is up next with some "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin. Our local FOX station had audio problems through most of her song, so we didn't get to hear it. I did hear the part where she told Ryan about going to Adam's hair stylist this week. You could tell - she has the longer version of Adam's hair now. I like her, but no vote.

Next, we were treated to yet another First for this season. Tonight there will be two duet performances. The first duet tonight is Kris and DANNY singing "Renegade" by Styx. I think this is a neat new addition to the show, but WHAT are they thinking putting the two, not so much rockers together? Rubbing salt in the wound? No voting on the duet performances (thankfully). I do think they harmonized well together.

Kris is next with "Come Together" by the Beatles. He had originally wanted to do Revolution and I have to wonder if that would have been better. I really like Kris, but he could be in trouble. No vote.

My FAVORITE! (I told you, opinions have been formed!) Danny chose "Dream On" by Aerosmith. Not his best performance to date, but I think he'll be safe. I VOTED

The final performance tonight was Adam and Allison performing "Slow Ride". I have to say that this was my favorite performance tonight. Their voices really compliment each other. No huge surprise, since these are the two obvious rockers. I enjoyed it because Adam wasn't screaming.

So what do you think? Who is your Favorite? Who do you think is in trouble this week? Let's Discuss! For more thoughts on this week's Idol, hop on over to BooMama's Blog. She graciously hosts a little Idol Linky party every week!