American Idol - Girls Night Recap

So, I've heard the 1st three contestants on AI tonight and I have a question....they let Angela Martin go, why? Really?? I haven't liked any of their song choices or voices for that matter. I know tonight is the 1st night on stage with the lights, camera and action but so far this is bad... really bad!

My favorites tonight.. Lilly Scott (original), Didi Benami (LOVE HER!), Crystal Bowersox (engaging), Katie Stevens (it's hard to believe she's only 17)!

Paige Miles... I felt like I was on a cruise ship.
Ashley Rodriguez... forgettable, above and beyond that though was her attitude. Her chip on her shoulder alone would keep me from voting for her!
Janell Wheeler... wrong song choice, seemed very nervous.
Katelyn Epperly...good voice, bad song choice, weird stage presence.
Haeley Vaughn... so cute and such a baby, not a big fan of her song choice and a little pitchy/twangy.
Lacey Brown... love her style, wrong arrangement, different.
Michelle Delamor... there are some singers you just don't try and replicate, Alicia Keys is one of them!
Siobhan Magnus... voice too low, nasally, looks like she's in severe pain.

The Judges
Simon was Simon, which I love. Kara, as always gave constructive criticism to help the contestants. Randy seemed tame tonight but maybe it's because it was girls night. Ellen did a great job for her first night! She knows what she likes and gives good advice when necessary.

No WOW factor with anyone, but it was a good night overall.

American Idol Shocker

I am stunned that Angela Martin did not make it through to the top 24 on American Idol. She deserved to be put through. Angela has worked so hard over the last 3 seasons and she has such GREAT TALENT! Her back story was so touching but more than that, her talent alone should have gotten her through. I'm so sad for her but I hope this means this puts her even closer to her dream of being a singer. Someone needs to pick her up, STAT!



I'm so happy for all of my top picks from earlier in the season that made it through, but so sad for Angela. Congrats to the Top 24!

I pray that this story about John Edwards and Rielle Hunter are not true. The National Enquirer is reporting that John Edwards has proposed to Rielle and the two plan to wed after his divorce with Elizabeth Edwards is finalized. Normally I wouldn't put any merit to a story from the National Enquirer, but they are the ones that broke the story that he was having an affair and that the child Rielle had was John's. This will be such a sad event if this story is true. My heart goes out to Elizabeth, whether the story is true or not, what an awful place for her to be in her life.

American Idol - Hollywood Week 1

My favorite performances on AI last night were:
Andrew Garcia

Didi Benami

Lilly Scott

Crystal Bowersox


Who were your favorite contestants?

Super Bowl XLIV

Who will you be pulling for this weekend?

Oprah's NO PHONE ZONE Pledge

I didn't want to write about this when the show originally aired, but now that my car has been a NO PHONE ZONE for 2 weeks, I thought I'd share my thoughts. The reason I did not want to write about it at first was because I needed to make sure I could do it before I tried convincing others to.

Before I get started on my soapbox, I'm so glad to announce that as of 6:30 pm on 2/4/2010, Oprah's pledge has been taken by 101,750 drivers. Hopefully that number will continue to grow. You can take the pledge by going to http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4. Also, if you want to watch the full episode of Oprah's No Phone Zone show, here is the link

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Watch-the-Full-Hour-Americas-New-Deadly-Obsession-Video.

What I've learned about talking and/or texting while driving:
1.) Your brain can not keep up with driving while talking/texting at the same time. As much as we'd like to think it can, it's just not possible.
2.) Talking on your cell phone while driving is no different than having a blood alcohol level of .08 and driving. Your risk of causing an accident while driving drunk is 4x more likely, the same of that as talking while driving.
3.) Texting while driving increases your chances of causing an accident by 8x. Double that of a drunk driver or a talking driver.
4.) You suffer from inattention blindness and your peripheral vision is blurred just as that of someone who sees tunnel vision when talking/texting while driving. So, those cars or bikes or pedestrians or that stop sign that you normally see while driving, well they don't appear when you're on the phone.
5.) Causing accidents related to talking/texting are 100% preventable. Yes, 100% preventable!

A few of my favorite quotes from the show:
"It's not where your hands are, it's where your head is."
"Don't tempt f8, that txt or call can w8."
"Honk if you love Jesus, text if you would like to meet him"

I'm so glad I took the pledge and I hope you will join me. Save a life, who knows it could be your own.

To find more information on this cause, visit: www.oprah.com/nophonezone or http://www.distraction.gov/.

Question

Do you have a Kindle? What are your likes/dislikes?

Groundhog's Day 2010

Punxsutawney Phil makes his Groundhog Day prediction - Feb. 2, 2010. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have 6 more weeks of winter. YUCK! However, I'm not quite sure we should fall in to believing the cute little groundhog. It seems he's only correct in his predictions 39% of the time. Maybe he'll be wrong this year! Let's hope!

2010 Grammy's

Did you watch the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards last night? Unfortunately, I did not but I was able to catch a few of the performances today on YouTube. Out of what I've been able to see, Lady GaGa, Pink and the Michael Jackson Tribute have been my favorites. What's yours?

Lady GaGa


Pink


Michael Jackson Tribute

One For Jasmina - Remembering Jasmina

In April of 2009, I blogged about a little girl, Jasmina Anema, who was battling cancer. Many celebrities rallied around Jasmina in an effort to find a bone marrow match for her. In June of 2009, Jasmina received her bone marrow transplant and I could not have been happier. Unfortunately, in September Jasmina's family received the terrible news that her cancer had returned with a vengeance. Well, sadly Jasmina lost her battle with cancer yesterday. May this sweet little princess now rest in peace. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family.

Blog post from June
http://behindthewallsofvanderwilt.blogspot.com/2009/06/one-for-jasmina-update.html

One For Jasmina's Video

Great Quote

I heard a great quote today, I'm not sure who said it as it was on a commercial I was watching. However, I heard it and loved it! It goes like this.....

"Is this the Great Recession or the recession that made us great?"

Isn't that a great quote/question? I loved it!

Grandparent-Less

It seems both Tim and I have become Grandparent-less in a months time. I lost my sweet Grandmother December 7th and Tim lost his Grandfather this morning. We were both very fortunate to have had them through our lifetime as I know some people don't have the privilege of ever knowing their grandparents. It's weird though, I lost my first grandparent when I was in High School and it was really devastating. Getting older and seeing my grandparents live such wonderful lives makes it easier to know they are only moving on to something even better. It's also a comforting thing to know they are going to be with their husbands/wives and in some cases their own children.
Our Grandparents will be greatly missed, but we are only given our loved ones as gifts for a short time. One of my favorite lyrics comes from Carrie Underwood's song, "Temporary Home". It resembles what it means when we loose the ones we love. "This is my temporary home. It's not where I belong. Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through. This was just a stop, on the way to where I'm going. I'm not afraid because I know this was my temporary home."

My Mom, Helping Those In Haiti

My Mom is an avid stamper and she's on a crusade to help all those in need in Haiti. I took the following entry from her blog at http://thedailystamper.blogspot.com/.

Stampin'Up! announced yesterday that between now and February 28, 2010, $2.00 from every I-Heart) Hearts stamp set purchased will be donated to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief & Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.

Please go to my SU Website, http://www.shirleybmckay.stampinup.net/ to order your set now.

I (Heart) Hearts - clear mount (block D recommended) 118571 $18.95
I (Heart) Hearts - wood mount 117010 $26.95
The more stamp sets sold, the greater the difference we make in the lives of those in Haiti. I hope you will join me in purchasing this set ASAP. Thank you for your support!

Got Through....

I finally got through to the call screeners at Hope For Haiti Now. Didn't get to speak with a celebrity, but it didn't matter. I gave, that's what matters most. My heart and my prayers go out to the Haitians for the devastation they are going through. May God be with them and watch over them during this difficult time.

Hell Hath No Furry Like A Woman Scorned

This is what one Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater gets for his transgressions.

According to Splash News:

"They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

But one scorned mistress allegedly took things one step further - by plastering three cities with massive billboard posters featuring herself with her ex-lover.
YaVaughnie Wilkins, 41, picked out images of herself cuddling up to businessman Charles E. Phillips, an advisor to US President Barack Obama, and then had them made into posters after he returned to his wife Karen.

She then paid approximately $50,000 each for the billboards - one in New York Times Square, one in Atlanta, and one in San Francisco where Wilkins lives."

I feel so sorry for the wife, who probably already knew about the affair, but this just throws it in her face. Men, really think before you cheat! It can cost you everything!

Hope For Haiti Now Telethon

The "Hope For Haiti Now" telethon is tonight at 8PM EST/7PM CT. Hope you watch and can make a donation. After donating, FB or tweet who you spoke with. Many celebs will be answering the phones tonight in LA and it will be cool to see who we all get a chance to talk to.

Remembering Haiti

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by one of the largest earthquakes recorded in the region. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 and devastated one of the poorest areas of the world, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Below are images taken of Haiti after the earthquake hit.

Some content may be too graphic, viewer discretion is advised.

Upset in Massachusetts

George W. Bush started out his 1st year running our country in to the ground and continued to do so for 8 years. So, why is it that everyone expects President Barack Obama to turn things around in his 1st year?

As you can imagine, I was really saddened to see the late Edward Kennedy's Senate seat handed over to a Republican. A Democrat has held that seat in Massachusetts for close to 50 years and to see so much good come to an end is very upsetting. I agree, Martha Coakley's campaign was less than stellar. I think she thought the seat was hers, so why fight for it. However, Martha did not let Massachusetts down, the people of Massachusetts let down their own state. In the end they didn't stand for what they truly believed in. The people of Mass are mad and frustrated over Obama's 1st year in office, but honestly, look at what he has on his plate. It's unreal the number of obstacles this President is having to overcome. He was handed this turmoil on a silver platter, yet we blame Obama instead of Bush Jr.?

It makes no sense to me.

RIP Scott Penninger

William Penninger 'Scott' MOORESVILLE -- Mr. Penninger, 40, joined our Heavenly Father on Saturday January 16, 2010. Scott was born on May 7, 1969 in Charlotte, the son of Bill Penninger and Ginger Stubbs Penninger. Scott graduated from North Mecklenburg High School in 1988. Following high school Scott worked on the pit crew for NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace. Shortly thereafter Scott joined the Hough Family when he wed Wendy Hough in October of 1989. Scott and Wendy welcomed twin girls Meghan Brooke and Brittany Lauren in 1990. Scott was a longtime active member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Charlotte. He had a strong presence in the annual Bar-B-Q. Scott also frequently donated his time to the Urban Ministry Center in Charlotte through programs such as 'Room In the Inn' and the soup kitchen. Scott joined his father in the family business, as a part owner of Universal Voice/Data in 1989. Scott immensely enjoyed surf fishing at the Outer Banks (specifically, ramp 55). Scott also enjoyed playing poker and tailgating at Panther home games. Scott was a wonderful brother, son, husband, father, uncle, brother-in-law, son-in-law, friend and most recently grandfather. He truly enjoyed his family and friends. Scott is survived by wife of 20 years, Wendy Hough Penninger; by daughters Brittany and Brooke Penninger, both 19 years, daughter Bethany Harper, 21, and grandson Lucas Kahne, 2 1/2 years of age. Survivors also include parents, maternal grandmother Virginia Stubbs, sister Robin Penninger McGraw, and brother-in-law Mike McGraw. Scott is survived by loving niece and nephews, Hayden Scott and Cole McGraw, Brandon and Zack Washam, and Kelsey and Trevor Hicks. Lifelong friends Jimmy Hunter and James DeArmon were much more than friends alone, their relationships could more adequately be described as that of 'brothers'. Scott is also survived by a loving family of in-laws, including Butch and Peggy Hough and sisters-in-law Julie Hough Washam, Cindy Hough and Jana Hough Hicks. The weekly Sunday afternoon gatherings and frequent road-trips to the Outer Banks will never be the same without Scott. Scott possessed a unique combination of positive attributes rarely seen in a single individual. He loved to see people laugh and be happy; he was giving, kind and supportive. His love for his family and friends never faltered. Scott was adored by many and will be deeply missed. The family will receive friends Wednesday January 20th from 2 to 4 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 6230 Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte. A service celebrating his life will begin at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to either of the following: Urban Ministry Center, 945 N. College Street, Charlotte, www.urbanministrycenter.org, or, Outer Banks Preservation Association (OBPA), PO Box 1355 Buxton, NC 27920, www.obpa.org. Wendy, along with the rest of the family, would like to express our sincere appreciation for all of the kindness, support and prayers during this challenging time. Arrangements by Raymer Funeral Home Huntersville, NC.
Published in Charlotte Observer on January 19, 2010

Special Mommy Hugs to Savannah from Indiana!

1st Mommy Hug of the year goes to 5 year old Savannah from Indiana. Savannah saved her dad's life by calling 911 after she noticed he was having trouble breathing. Listen to the 2nd clip below to hear the 911 call in its entirety.



911 Audio Only