Classic Bad Idol Auditions...

Since we are in the thick of American Idol fever...I thought I would post some classic favorite auditions from the past few years. This year's auditions seem almost tame in comparison!

I had to remove the Idol auditions...Youtube took them down and they wouldn't work on my site. For some reason, though, Rhonetta still works...so I left her on:

Dubya...

If you would rather not read my opinions about George W., please stop reading now and scroll down to look at the more pleasant things on this weblog.



I liked what Ted Kennedy had to say after the State of The Union was over...that the best thing George said was, "Madame Speaker." Everything after that was more of the same old gobbledygook that has plagued our country for six years.

Now that his direct action has killed more people than those who died on Sept. 11, his new strategy is to send in 20,000 more troops? I understand his need to finish what he started, but at what expense? More lives lost? Billions of dollars spent? We have more important needs here at home. We can't be the moral compass of the world, nor can we be the world's big brother. It's not fair that we have people suffering in our own country and we're out trying to save other countries. The Iraqi people have a completely different culture than we do, and our presence seems largely to be a major imposition. (On us AND them!)

Beyond that, what about taxing healthcare as part of our income? How much more taxed can we be? His plan is an insult to Middle Americans, who are working hard to maintain themselves where they are. This is another one of his plans that will hurt everyone except the rich.

I hate politics. More is done for those that have, and less is done for those who don't. I don't care if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or even John McCain becomes the next president, as long George is out of the office.

New Sonogram Pics...in 4 D!

My Tongue is Sore...

You know the scene in "A Christmas Story" when Flick sticks his tongue to the pole and it sticks, and the fire department has to come and release him? Well, let's just say I didn't have to call the Fire Department, but the special effect I tried to recreate turned out not to be so special. Evidently, at 17 degrees, your tongue WILL stick to metal. It hurts when you try to rip it off. It's been three hours...it still hurts.

The Nursery is FINALLY Ready!

We finally finished the nursery tonight...with a Wizard of Oz theme! Liz has collected Wizard of Oz stuff for years and wanted to use it for the baby's room. I think it turned out pretty nice. We've had the furniture for some time, but decorating and cleaning has taken awhile. Below are several perspectives:

Liz and Teaching...

She's done!

Liz finished today and will have a couple of weeks off before the baby gets here. We had testing this week and she stayed for it, even though the doctor was pressing for her to be off this week too. She's having a great difficulty walking and standing...in fact, comfort and relaxation are really not in her realm right now. Hopefully these couple of weeks will give her some much needed time to rest before the bambino arrives. We met her sub, and she seems nice. Liz felt confident leaving her kids in the subs hands. I guess the countdown really is on now!

By the way, Lily is kicking so hard now you can see her rolling around in Liz's belly. She rolls from one side to the other and has been kicking Liz so hard it feels like she's coming out! I'd videotape it...but Liz already put the kibosh on that!

American Idol Starts Again...

Some early favorites from our favorite show! Since the show is on Tuesday's and Wednesday's on FOX, I asked the OB/GYN if he could deliver Lily on Thursday. He said no, and gave me a disapproving look. We're also having to switch to DirectTV because Time Warner is losing the FOX network as negotiations are breaking down with different carriers. Besides that, Time Warner customer service has been absolutely horrible since they took over for Adelphia in our area. With DirectTV, we're getting twice as many channels, plus two pay channels, for $35 cheaper than Time Warner. There's so many people switching to DirectTV in our area that the wait for installation is over two months at this point. Ours, luckily, will be in on Tuesday, just in time for the next episode of American Idol!

All photos are from americanidol.com.

FINALLY! Some snow!

We finally had some discernable snow...what a warm winter we've been having! We had an ice storm first, making the trees appear like they were made of glass...then, we had two or three inches of snow on top of that. This is the most snow we've had since the October storm.

Shower at Maureen's

Liz had a shower this past weekend given by Maureen with help from Aunt Patty and yours truly. (I made a breakfast casserole and also did quite a bit of taste-tasting...) Almost everyone who was invited came and we got TONS of stuff...including clothes, a diaper genie, a carseat and stroller, and much, much more! In fact, we don't know where to put all the stuff and are a bit overwhelmed. Everywhere you look in our house now, there is evidence of the baby on the way. We're getting excited!

Siobhan turns 2!

Siobhan turned two on January 10th. We got together with Siobhan at Maureen's on Friday with Aunt Patty and John, as well as Walter and his sister Joyce. Note the candle in Siobhan's hair below--she REALLY enjoyed the cake. (As did the rest of us...it was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and was SOOOOO good!)

The Countdown...

1. Last sonogram at the end of January...Free (with insurance)
2. Amniocentisis on Feb. 5th to check lungs...$10 copay (again, insurance)
3. Lily's arrival around 9:30 am on the morning of the 6th...PRICELESS (though insurance will still be at work...)

Barring no trouble with her lungs, Lily will make her grand appearance on February 6th.

Liz is ready to deliver now. It's hard to walk, sleep, etc. Her sciatic nerve is killing her and she hasn't had any feeling in her hands in weeks. She's looking forward to things like regaining her sense of touch and rolling over without pain in the coming weeks.

A POSITIVE Negative...

I went to Toronto today with the Band Kids from school to see the Blue Man Group. (Liz and I went last year as well.) We went to the Eaton Center...a huge underground mall in downtown Toronto and spent a couple of hours shopping before the show. In the APPLE store, the kids were playing with on of the video camera features and took this photo of me. I know, I know, I look pretty hot, but that's to be expected. I also spent $60 on a new outfit for Lily at The Gap. It was half off...and STILL $60. (But it was really cute...especially if she ends becoming a baby model.) With the exchange rate the worst its been in years, the outfit actually cost me $58. If this had been just a few short years ago, it would have been like four bucks! I think I'm done shopping in Canada.

Baby Face!

We got to see a really good picture of her face today, but unfortunately, the sonogram technician didn't capture the good shot in time. We got this one, where you can make out the eyes, the big cheeks, and her lips. What you can't see is her tiny little turned up nose. The nurse tried to get a better shot, but little Lily was VERY active today, seeming to "swim" around from side to side, keeping us from getting good shots. She'll be out in a month though, and we'll take bunches of pictures then!

Kicking Like Crazy!

I was lying with my back next to Liz's belly last night and Lily was moving and kicking and punching! It's still hard to believe that in a month or so she'll be here. Liz and I don't think she sleeps at all. She seems to kick all day long and only stays still when we're in the car. She is particularly active when we lay down to go to bed. We're hoping that she will sleep through the night at birth, but it's beginning to look like that may not happen for a couple of years. We'll just have to be happily exhausted!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I celebrated this morning Southern Style: with

Grits and Cheerwine! What a balanced breakfast...

I hope all of you have a wonderful New Year!