Back by Popular Demand: American Idol Results

And by "popular demand," I mean because Jessie said so.

In case you missed the American Idol results show, and you depend solely upon me for your American Idol fodder, here's who left the show last night.

These are the girls I predicted would leave, but both of the girls I chose were in the last two. So close! I wasn't all the impressed with Alaina. She wasn't bad, but she wasn't really good either. She's only 17, though, she still has a long way to go. I did like Alexandrea. Her last performance wasn't that great - she picked a really safe song, and she looked terrible - but she really has a great voice. I think she would have been a force to be reckoned with on the show.

But seriously, neither of these girls should have left yet. I stand by my verdict: Amanda is awful, and I had to change the channel when Kady sang. Even Kady knew she should have left - she looked awfully suprised when she heard Alaina was out and she was safe.

BAM! Right on. Who's amazing? That's right - me. Did I call it or what?

Here's the deal with these guys. At the risk of sounding homophobic (which I'm not, I swear) Jason was just too fairy-ish. Danny Noriega is too (he's clearly gay), but he manages to do it in a fashionable, teenage-boy-emo sort of way. Jason is just a Michael Buble style flamer. Although, come to think of it, I'm not sure Michael Buble is a flamer. But you get the drift. As far as Robbie goes, his was mostly a case of supply and demand. There just wasn't enought room for two rockers (three if you count Amanda) on the show, and he got out-sung by David Cook.

Join me next week for American Idol recaps!

American Idol: Girls

I have to say, overall, I don't think the girls are nearly as entertaining as the boys. My prediction is that we'll have a guy American Idol this year. That said, last night's show was a lot of fun. The best part was that Simon seemed to be in an unusually good mood, and there was very little bickering. I wish Ryan would stop snubbing Simon - it's getting a little too "Junior High girl" for my taste.

And now, without further ado, THE GIRLS!

Best Performance:
Brooke White

She sang Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" and she rocked it! I also like the guitar performances that are being done this year. When Brooke came out with that guitar, I was nervous, but it worked! It was the perfect song for her, the perfect style, and even though she sat the whole time, she still managed a killer performance.

Best Vocals:
Carly Smithson

This girl has got one big voice! Most of the girl can belt it, but Carly belts it well. Plus, she's got that cute hint of an Irish accent.

Worst Look:
Amanda Overmyer

Y'all. She looks like Cruella Deville. What was she thinking? I'm not a fan of the outfit, either, although it might have worked without the horrible hair. Her performance was lousy too. She wants to be a rocker, but she just doesn't have the chops.

Overall Favorite:
Asia'h Epperson

Despite the cheesy name spelling, I'm totally picking up what this girl is putting down. Last night she sang Celine Dion, and Simon told her she almost got it, but just wasn't good enough to pull it off. I have to say, I agree. It wasn't the best song choice for her, although she did come amazingly close. I just love her personality and her willingness to take risks. This picture is from last week, since this week she had her hair straightened. Why anyone would straighten great curls like that is beyond me.

My votes for who should go: Robbie Carrico, Jason Yeager, Amanda Overmyer and Kady Malloy.

American Idol: Boys

I have a confession. I watch American Idol. And I like it.

I'm a discriminating fan. I didn't watch last season, for example. I tried, but it felt like watching a high school talent show. I just couldn't take it.

This season looks to be shaping up nicely. Here are my picks from the top 20 boys:

Best Personality:
David Cook

In his pre-performance interview, he admitted to being a "word nerd." Then they showed a montage of his spouting big words, like "juxtaposition." Suddenly, I'm in love (and a little hot and bothered). What can I say? I'm a word nerd myself, and I find it kind of sexy. I'm a sucker for intelligent conversation.

Are you a word nerd? Try Free Rice. I've made it to level 40, but I'm consistently a 38. If David Cook could score higher than me, I'd marry him.

Best Vocals:
David Archuleta

This kid is 17, and he is A-MAZING. Tonight he sang "Imagine All the People" by John Lennon, a very risky choice. Even riskier, he made dramatic changes to the melody. I don't even particularly like that song, but I LOVED his performance. Instead of sounding like a pathetic remake, he made it his own song with stunning vocals.

Biggest Hot Factor:
David Hernandez (Got a thing for those Davids, don't I?)

Three words: OH. MY. GAWD. He's beautiful. Olive skin, piercing, sexy brown eyes, and subtle dimples. I want to have his babies. And nibble on his ear.

Overall Favorite:
Jason Castro

I missed most of his performance tonight due to commercial channel flipping. I did manage to make it back in time for the judges comments, and they didn't like him. I saw him last week, though, and he was fabulous (do I say fabulous too much?). He played the acoustic guitar while singing, and he had a very Jack Johnson-y vibe. I'm not crazy about the dreads, but I can totally groove to his mellow strains.

Verdicts on the girls tomorrow!

You Might Be a Redneck . . .

To steal a line from Jeff Foxworthy:

If your local Wendy's can't spell frosty,

you might be a redneck.

Or, at the very least, you live in a redneck town.

Still Here . . . Sort of

I'm going to let you all in on my secret.

I have depression.

I'm not talking about the blues. I'm not feeling down. I'm talking about serious, can't-get-out-of-bed, must-be-on-medication depression. When I tell people, they always ask me if I'm on medication, and I always laugh. If I wasn't on medication, I would be in bed ALL THE TIME. I need the medication to function.

The thing is, like any other disease, sometimes this depression thing flares up, for no apparant reason. This is one of those times. I'm weak, sad, anxious and feeling hopeless. I know this will pass eventually, it's just a matter of how long it will take.

It's hard to not be able to go to work, or do my church calling. I know it looks a lot like laziness, but I really want to go to work. I want to go to Primary! I just can't seem to do it. I went to work for four hours yesterday. It was the longest four hours of my life, and when I came home, I was a mess. I've been trying to talk myself into going for three hours now, and I can't do it. I just can't.

So now you know where I've been. Have you seen the "Depression Hurts" commercials? I've been there. I can't watch, those, by the way. They hit a little too close to home.

I know it's pretty much impossible for people who have never experienced major depression to understand how debilitating it can be. It's not really something you can explain, either. Emotional pain this bad is beyond imagination.

I've been dealing with this for almost 10 years now, so I'm very open about the whole things. If you know someone with depression, and you have questions about what they are going through or how you can help them, feel free to ask.

Hijacked!

I hijacked this meme from Madame Queen. I thought it looked like so much fun, I just couldn't resist.

The Rules: Answer the questions below using only images from the first page of your Google Image search. [Ed. note: When I first read this, I thought it said "using only the first image from your Google Image search. This is MUCH easier.]

1. The age you will be on your next birthday. Don't hate me because I'm young.




2. A place you'd like to visit.




3. Your favorite place. Te Anau, New Zealand




4. Your favorite object. Madame Queen stole my answer!




5. Your favorite food.




6. Your favorite animal.




7. Your favorite color.




8. The city in which you were born. Circa 1930. Not when I was born.




9. The town in which you live. How embarrassing.




10. The name of your pet.




11. The first name of your love. Your guess is as good as mine.




12. Your nickname/screen name. Think "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."


13. Your middle name.



14. Your last name.


15. A bad habit of yours. Don't hate me because I'm fat, either.




16. Your first job. Except we didn't look like this. Not. Even. Close.




17. Your dream job.



18. Your current job. Thank you, Nepotism!



19. A picture you find hilarious. These guys crack me up.




20. A picture that inspires you.



****
I've been MIA for a while. Things have been weird. I think I'm back now.

I love Disneyland!

Okay, seriously. I had SO MUCH FUN in Disneyland. I only have a few pictures to post, as Jessie is sending me a disc. She took all the pictures because she's like five times more amazing than me, and her camera is a billion times more amazing than mine.

So, on Thursday I drove out to Cedar City to meet up with Jason and Jessie. I left my car parked at my aunt and uncle's and we drove their Prius (which I love) to Victorville. It was a long drive. We had reservations an a Motel 6 (oh, the class) just off the freeway. Jessie said it was a creepy hotel, but I didn't really notice. I just took off my bra and crawled into bed, wearing the same clothes.

I did notice in the middle of the night when someone tried to come into our room, though. It wasn't someone trying to break in - they had a key. The hotel had double booked our room. Luckily, we had fastened the chain, so they couldn't get in. Jason pulled up the curtain and looked out, at which the guy said, "Hey! There's someone in there!" The girl said, "No way!" And he said, "Yes! Someone just peeked out at me!"

My hotel standards are pretty low, but strangers coming in while I'm sleeping definitly crosses into creepy territory.

The next day, we drove the rest of the way to Disneyland and met up with my cousin Randy, who works for Disney. He signed me in on his pass, so I got in for free! I love Randy. The first thing we did was Space Mountain. I hadn't been on it since the remodel, and it was fabulous! It's my favorite. It was a fantastic day - it rained a little bit in the morning, just enough to keep people away. I didn't wait in a line more the 20 minutes the whole trip. It was perfect.

Oh my gosh, we saw SO MANY characters! It was definitly the most I've ever seen in Disneyland. Maybe they were just easier to spot because there weren't crowds, but I saw some people I didn't even know were at Disneyland! We tried to keep count, but it was too hard. Here's what I can remember: Cruella Deville, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Honest John, Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, Brer Bear, Jack Sparrow (not acutally Johnny Depp, we checked) Mary Poppins and Bert, and that's all I can think of, but I know I'm missing some. But heck! That's 15 right there! And Mary Poppins! I was estatic. I was embarrased how excited I was to see her. She was fabulous, too. The Bert was okay - he acted really well, but he didn't look anything like Dick VanDyke.

We also went over to California Adventure, which is a bit of a letdown, but it had Tower of Terror and California Screamin'. I was nervous to go on Tower of Terror because I have this thing about falling, but it was unbelievably fun. Totally scared the pants off me, though. California Screamin' is - no joke - the best roller coaster I've ever been on. It shoots off, leaving your stomach behind, and then it's filled with fantastic drops and turns, and even a loop, which is amazing.

I think my favorite part of the whole two days was the parade. I loved it! It started out with fairies - Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the fairy from Pinnochio, and FLORA, FAUNA & MERRYWEATHER!! I was so excited. There was a float with Tink on top and Peter Pan driving. That was followed by a Beauty and the Beast float, complete with dancing flatware, then an Ariel float being chased by Ursula. The princesses came last. Frankly, I was happy after seeing the 3 Good Fairies and Tink.

Three highlights of the trip: 1) The parade 2) Turtle Talk with Crush 3) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (I know I didn't write about it, but it's so fun!).

Two lessons I learned from Disneyland: 1) Your most comfortable shoes are not comfortable enough, unless you're Jessie and your boots are made of clouds. 2) All rides are better in the back!