Adam Lambert in "The Ten Commandments - the Musical". Just awesome. If you wanna skip to the chase, listen from 3 minutes on. I love this guy - but he needs to watch himself sing in the mirror and not thrust his tongue out. Bad habit; worked for KISS, but not for you!

Results Night!

So who goes through tonight!? Obviously (to me at least) Adam has to go through, but let's see.

Ok, first up is Allison; she got the first chair. I so saw this coming. I'm happy for her.

Second chair went to Kris? OMG.....he must have a rabid fan base. I really thought Matt G. or Megan would get this spot. Hopefully they'll be back for the wild card show.

Now we're wrapping up, and they have "Normund" and Adam up....do you even think that Normund will get the spot? We'll see after the break!

Oh HOOOORAY! Adam is in..buh-bye Normund! (Pleeeease do not bring him back for the wild card!)

American Idol: Group 2

Wow...another night of Idol. Will we be wowed? Or sadly disappointed? Will the judges make ANY sense? Let's see how they did.

Who's gonna get the pimp spot? (last spot). I'll bet it's Adam Lambert.

I'm going to do my critiques as they're singing - and before the judges do. Will they agree with me? Let's see.

Jasmine Murray: "Love Song". Ugh. Bad karaoke at it's best. Her lower register was awful and shaky; she finally showed some better singing towards the end, but it's not good enough to get through (IMHO).

Matt Gireaud: "Viva la Vida" Just didn't like it. His Hollywood stuff was so much better. So sad...I think he's canon fodder (especially being in the #2 spot - usually those folks do NOT make it through).

Jeanine Vailes: "This Love" by Maroon 5...She struts out in teeny tiny shorts (isn't it winter?) and starts singing. Oooh, soooo flat on "mind" and "heart". It's painful. Only good thing I can say is she has nice muscle tone in her thighs. As for her singing, nothing too redeemable - but hey, her boots were uber-cool - that should count for something, right?

Nick/Norman: Ok, before he performs I have to say that I could care less about him. When he sings seriously he has a nice voice, but not nice enough for Idol. His "shtick" is so off-putting I never would've put him through to the Top 36! When he auditioned I was sure it was a joke and he was something like 38 years old. He looks alot older than he is (and not in a cool Taylor Hicks kinda way). He is on now: AAARRRGH! He's that freakin' character, singing, "You're Gonna Love Me". I don't love you. He so does not deserve a place in the Top 12. Believe me, I don't have to love you. Is he trying to be the VFTW pick?

Allison Iraheta: "Alone" by Heart. Oh wow, she's 16. I hope she doesn't make it through so I don't have to hear Randy talk about her age all over and over. Her pre-sing interview from Ryan was very uncomfortable and not good at all. We didn't see much of her before, so that usually means she'll not go through. I don't like her antics, but she has a very strong, soulful and cool voice. Oh great, Randy points out she's 16. Am I psychic? I hope the stylists do something with that hair color and "do". Ok, changed my mind - she tore that song up. So far she's the first one I'd download from the night.

Kris Allen: "Man in the Mirror". His first "Ooooh" was so off key - don't these potential idols know not to start AWFUL? He sang the rest pretty well, but I don't really like the song, so that's a strike against him. Did he pick this song out of a hat? I'd love to be behind the scenes, 'cause I don't think they pick such poor songs for themselves! Wow...Simon liked it? Egads. He seems like a nice guy; and I liked the little bit they could show from Hollywood week. Guess we'll just see how bad/good the others do whether he deserves a spot in the Top 12.

We're only halfway through - it seems like forever (and I LIKE Idol!).

Megan Corkrey: "Put Your Records On". She has more tatoos than Carly from Season 7. She has a two year old son? Her tone is interesting, but very nasally. She pushes through her middle ranges and doesn't transition well into her upper range. Shows very poor breath control. Very breathy in areas like "got" and the last "somehooooow!", and weird dipthongs on "down". Weird shimmying of shoulders; awful dress. Still, even though I said all that, I like her.

Ryan announces Matt & Jessie are up after the break. This is draggin on waaay too long. I believe it's due to having four judges who critique stuff for 3 to 4 times the legnth of the actual singing. Adding Kara was a HUGE mistake.

Matt Breitzke: "Tonic". Another hard-working stiff trying to make it in the music world. He's a welder - that's a pretty good paying job! So far he's singing well; but it's kinda boring. I truly appreciate people who sing on pitch - but he has to be a bit more exciting to get through. As Simon might say, "Very forgettable". Oh wow, spot on; Simon said the same things. Of COURSE he's going to say he would've picked the same song again. Good thing he has a good paying job to go back to - 'cause I think he's heading there. Then again they put through that other dude last week that I thought was not very good (who worked in the oil fields?).

Jessie Langseth:"Bette Davis Eyes". She's a decent singer - but she keeps dropping the ends of the words/notes. I'd say a mediocre performance. You've got to BRING IT for this level.

Oh goody; Kai is next.

Ok, interrupted from Idol for REAL life. My daughter needed help with her french horn work. Said she has to learn 8 pages by tomorrow? Something tells me she was behind a long time ago!

Ok, snuck in to the last few minutes....ya, Adam Lambert was in the pimp spot. I'll have to go back and give a listen to the last contestants off my DVR.

I'm back!

Kai: What's Become of the Broken Hearted. This guy has a nice voice and sang mostly in tune - but WHY THIS SONG? He looks so current - yet he sings so old. Bleh.

Mishavonna Henson: "Drops of Jupiter" Personally I hate this song, but whatever. She did a good job with a load of bullhocky of a song. Judges didn't like it - don't know why.

Adam Lambert: Do a youtube search- he's done some wacky, weird uber-glam stuff (look here) but that boy can SING! He so reminds me of Steven Tyler. He got the pimp spot as I knew he would and he BLEW IT OUT OF THE PARK with "Satisfaction". It was amazing.

Ok, I think Adam DEFINATELY makes it through; then either Allison or Megan vie for the top girl and third spot.

I'm Gonna Rip Your Wings Off!

Ahhh yes, family game night. While others were watching the Oscars, we sat down to a family friendly game of Scrabble tonight. Of course the youngest two girls couldn't play on their own, so Mom & Dad each took one to be on our "Team".

The youngest, Queen of all the Princesses named her team "The Beat-alls" recognizing that she was spoofing the Beetles AND telling us she was going to whip us - all in one name! So, not to be out-done, my teammate says, "Let's be the Butterflies!". Oh great....how the heck do we go up against the "Beat-alls"? The older children wisely chose not to go incognito - they used their real names.

As usual, the game got loud, and Queen Princess got raucous. Finally, she was laughing so loud she could barely spit out - "We're going to rip your wings off Butterflies!".

Nothing like a blood-thirsty baby Scrabble player to add merriment to the day. Butterflies got the last laugh - we got the most points. Guess our wings will survive and we'll live to battle in scrabble another day.

American Idol Season 8

What would blogging be if I didn't mention I was an AI fan? I've read all kinds of wicked and horrible things about the singers and their fans; I choose to take the funny and leave the rest behind. Most of the people who claim they know it all can't even put a sentence together, are jobless and live with their mother until they're 40 - and certainly haven't earned a degree in music. Since I do have a degree in music - I'm tempted to critique their singing styles and quirks as many others do...but I think that Masterclass Lady does that much better than I could, so I'll leave that up to her.

I've watch Idol since season one; my hubby dragged me over to watch it against my better judgement on the second show - and I was hooked. I've gone to two different season's concerts; Season 4 (Carrie Underwood won) and Season 7 (David Cook won); they were just a lot of fun. I liked almost everyone in the top 10 last season, and so it was neat to meet them in person and see them perform live. I took my daughter to a concert last summer, and she met David Archuleta - her friends couldn't believe it!

My faves out this section of the Top 36 were Anoop, Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, and that guy-who-sang-second-and-never-was-seen-before (turns out his name was Rick - I had to look it up). Tatiana sang pretty well but annoys me with her over-the-top hystrionics. Jackie sang actually pretty decently - but I couldn't stand looking at her flopping around like a wounded chicken on the stage. Stage presence is a biggie in my book!

Now the results: Danny Gokey, Alexis and MICHAEL? HE'S going through? Stranger things have happened, of course. Ummm...ok. I liked Michael, but thought his song choice wasn't that good. Thought he might be a wildcard pick, so I'm shocked he's in the top 12. Guess that makes him cannon fodder when we do get down to the top 12. I'd bet he won't be on the tour. But then again - he may surprise me!

I haven't read anywhere a difinitive decision on how the wildcard show will go this time. I liked how they did it in season 2 I believe - each judge got to pick a few for another group of 12 sing off. They even were allowed to pick from people that didn't make it into the top 36. That's where we picked up Clay Aiken.

There are only a few faces in the next group of 12 coming up next week that I even recognize - people who didn't get much face time on the audition or Hollywood weeks. The ones that strike me as the "ones to beat" are Jasmine Murray and Adam Lambert. Only time will tell!

"Stone Soup" or "I Always Knew Diet Pepsi Would Kill Me"

Everyone should know the Grimm Brother's fable...in case you don't, I'll throw in a refresher here. It's a heartwarming story of how these travelers came to a village with just an empty pot; and since the villagers wouldn't give them food, the travelers decided to put a stone in their pot and insist that this was good soup - they just need "a little garnish" or a bit of this or that to make it perfect. The villagers fell for it, of course, and the travelers made something out of nothing. Ok...maybe it's not so heartwarming - more like a con, but hey, it worked and they were hungry! (and not as violent as some of the other Grimm fables!).

Some of the best learned life lessons are the painful ones - either emotionally or physically. In my case, these stones are turning my insides to soup. Not a pretty picture. Yup, I'm gonna say it, kidney stones. One night last December I thought I was dying, and asked my husband to take me to the ER. Usually I just take some ibuprofen or a pain killer if anything at all if I'm hurting - so it was a big deal for me to ask him (at 1:30 in the morning no less!). A few hours in the ER and they told me I had a small stone (felt like a boulder wrapped in porcupine needles passing through my body!). I'm not sure what kind of stones they are yet (I'm not even going to describe the discovery process!) so I don't know what first went into the pot. What led up to it though was a cruel trifecta of genetics, less exercise and poor drinking (water) habits. In my case I don't meet any of the other risk factors. Only approx. 5% of the population gets these foolish things even if they have the other risk factors.

When I was younger - even up to my teens we were not given soda to drink. It just was a luxury we couldn't afford. It was milk, water or juice. That simple. Once I got to college I learned of the joys of caffiene. My sister had introduced me to TAB (bleh....but don't laugh, I still like it!) which has an awful after taste. Once I discovered Diet Pepsi though, I was hooked.

Even so I still drank milk, juice and the like, but that dwindled as the years went on. Pregnancy made me drink more water, and less caffiene, but it was hard for me. I've read plenty of medical reports and contradicting statements on exactly how MUCH water to drink; and how MUCH sodas should/shouldn't count towards liquid intake. They all seem to agree that at least 4-6 glasses a day; many of them demand more. I think I'll go with the kidney expert from U of P - who published his findings; then reported them on NPR

Bottom line? I'm slowly drinking my way up to better health, one glass of water at a time.

Why 3Princesses1Frog?

Many people have asked over the years that I've sold on ebay why my username was 3Princesses1Frog. I'd had other usernames, but at some point I wanted to change. A few dinner-time discussions ensued, and between the muffled sounds of scarfing down food and the solid burps of my middle daughter, I actually asked my rugrats what they thought about it. I figured that the girls would be fine with being referred to as princesses - but what about my son? How would my oldest - our only boy - the one to carry on the family name feel about it?

My eldest, my pride and joy, turned to look at me and said, "Well mom, I was thinking of 3Beauties1Beast". Wha-wha-WHAT? LOL...guess that boy does have a sense of humor after all. I said, "Well, if you were considering being referenced to as a beast, I suppose a frog is nothing!".

I'm sure I'll use tons of pictures during the course of my blogging, but here's the run-down on my kids. These first three pics were taken at Disney World a few years ago; upon their father's insistence. You know the kind - stick your head through the hole and they snap your picture. In this case, they must've used an early version of photoshop. I thought that $25/picture was outrageous, and he didn't. Turns out he was right - these pics now are so precious to me!

The Frog Prince: He's now 16, but when this was taken he was 12. His main hobbies now are chess - and he long ago surpassed my feeble abilities at trouncing him.









My oldest Princess: She's now re-living the Terrible Twos - those years are highly over-rated compared to teenage angst years. Her loves are art (manga), cooking and making AMV's. She is also a gifted writer. Perhaps we'll see her in print some day.







My middle princess is quite the Tomboy. You usually can find her up a tree - the higher the better. She's informed me she wants to play football next year...in 7th grade, instead of being a cheerleader. She may as well play now before the boys get big enough to smush her like a bug! (and she will get interested in them soon enough). She literally just came ramshackling through my den informing me she wanted to build a rocket, promising that she would shoot her eye out before I took one more picture of her...oh wait, she didn't say that, that was just me. She did promise to NOT explode said rocket in my dining room.

Then there's "the baby". When she actually was a baby, and eventually a toddler, I called her "the Queen" quite a bit, because of the instant authority she had in her voice. I just love this picture of her, so decided to use it today. She's already 7, and that's so hard for me to fathom. I would wish that she weren't the baby - that we could have one more, but that's probably not going to happen. My youngest princess is also an aspiring author - she's been writing stories and illustrating them since she was three. I'll probably share some here. I'm hoping this blogging helps me remember and share all those little moments we so often forget, such as my wee princess' penchant as a toddler for being calm up until we got near a McD's, then saying, "Ma...french fry..mmmmm. Ma...Ma....MOMMMMMY! FREEENNNCH FRYYYYYY!" As her speech improved (which is quickly did) she then reprimanded me in stronger terms. "Mommy - you just PASSED the McDonald's".

Yes, I used to be one of those Mommies who withheld sweets/fried food/goodies to their youngins. As the kids rolled on, the ways of the world eased, and by baby #4 things were much more lax. There is something to be said for being the last kid - Mom and Dad are so much less uptight about things! My kids are generally healthy and happy - and that's all that matters.

Friday the 13th...My Lucky Day

Wow...my first blog. The first time my words will be a voice in the wilder-net. Hopefully it will be a funny and/or amusing one. I like to talk about my family, and hope you will enjoy the stories I share from my unique perspective. So many times I've thought about blogging, and now I'm jumping in feet first. What better day than on my lucky day?

Many people claim that Friday the 13th is soooo unlucky. I've always claimed, since I was a young girl (and perhaps some day I'll let you guess my age!) that Friday the 13th was the LUCKIEST day for me. Things always seem to go more smoothly on that day; and I've never had a lick of trouble with it.

Oh, I can see why many people rue the day's approach; after all, things didn't work out too well for those kids in the Friday the 13th movies, did they? I remember the very first job I had - working at the candy counter at a movie theater when I was ...(ummm...mumble mumble....anyway, my age wasn't important to this story!) and the very first Friday the 13th movie played. And played. And played. Back then movies stayed a much longer time in the theater, so night after night I heard the screams and shrieks of the pseudo dead and dying while happily scooping pop corn and selling candy for movie patrons. I was happy to have a job, and even happier not to be witnessing the slaughter of innocents on the big screen!

I suppose some people would consider it a lucky day if I found a coin (or lots of them? Dollars too?) or drew the winning numbers in the lottery (although that would be nice too). These things didn't happen for me, but I'm still blessed and lucky; I have an interesting and loving family;a few close friends, and that is enough. There are no plastic-coated blood sucking/hacking/sawing freaks chasing me so I'd say today is a good day. A lucky day.

A bit about me: first and foremost I'm a teacher at heart. I taught music for almost 10 years in a variety of situations. Currently I'm a grad student in education and have stayed home raising the kids for many years while hubby goes to work. While at home I sold on ebay. Over the course of my blogging I'll write eclectic articles about successful selling techniques on ebay, my thoughts on education and teaching, my ranting over adverbs and the "ly" that people have dropped from the English language - and insights to the oh-so-crazy life of four great kids, (just to name a few topics that come immediately to mind). I'm privileged to be their mom - and hope to share with you the joys and concerns of everyday life in our house. Tomorrow I'll introduce the kids. I'll probably even include pictures. The older ones will be mortified, the younger ones will think it's neat. I'll chuckle. We'll be together, hopefully laughing. At the end of the day, that's all that matters.