Top 10 American Idol Boys

I think this week was much better overall then last week. Everyone seemed a little more relaxed. They also seemed to really be enjoying themselves more. I like to see that. It makes it so much more fun to watch!

Michael Johns- I still love my Australian boy. This week wasn't my favorite performance of his but I love Fleetwood Mac and I thought it was good. What's interesting is Michael's worst performance is still much better than most of the others best performance. I like him. He gets my vote this week.

Jason Castro- Oh honey I just wanna touch your locks. I so love that hair. I think he is great on the guitar. I am so glad they let them use instruments this year. That makes me happy. What a pretty boy with a wonderful voice. Good times watching him!

Luke Menard- I just really can't get excited about Luke Menard. The boy looks great. He's hot as fire but his singing is cold as ice. I just don't feel like he is really into it. And I don't feel like the audience ever connects with him. But then it might just be me. Thumbs down in my opinion. I wouldn't be disappointed if he went home soon.

Robbie Carrico- I love love love him still! The rocker makes me happy inside. He is so comfortable on stage and I enjoy that the most about him. He looks like he is supposed to be on stage and has been doing it for years. Rockers don't seem to last long on Idol but I think we could see him get a record deal out of this regardless of how far he goes in the competition.

Danny Noriega- It just hit me why it is that this kid creeps me out a little. When I watch him sing I feel like I'm watching an after school special about coming out to your parents. He is a cute kid, has fun hair, and is a great entertainer. But I can't get away from the fact that it's always a show and it seems like he is totally acting rather than really enjoying his moment on stage. I don't know if that makes any sense but he just doesn't set well with me.

David Hernandez- Every season there is the one contestant that makes me think he might be a child molester. I always get that Pee Wee Herman he's not quite right feeling at some point each season. This season it's David that give me that feeling. He just creeps me out. I honestly can't even tell you what I think of his singing. I can't get past the creepy feeling to listen to him. Bye Bye David!!!!

Jason Yeager- This week was like watching a totally different person. This week didn't even compare to last week. He was so much better. I still don't think he will last long but he at least seemed to be with it and seemed to have some fun. Way more energetic. He might make it another week with that performance but I think he will still be in the bottom two or three.

Chikezie- I like his voice. He actually reminds me a lot of Luther Vandross in his early years. But I think he is to old fashioned for this competition. I think he would be a great recording artist and I think he could get an album and do fairly well. But I just don't see him fitting in this competition much longer. Very talented guy just not quite right for American Idol.

David Cook- Another sexy rocker. You can never have too many hot rockers. I actually think he might be able to hang in there for quite awhile. I am going to predict the top 8 at least. I really think he has a unique voice, is versatile and would sell records. He has my vote this week.

David Archuleta- This kid blows me away!!!! He sang one of my favorite songs this week. Imagine. Let me tell you I can imagine him in the finale! He has mad skills, control, passion, and crowd appeal. LOVE HIM!!!! Two votes from me this week. I think this boy could take the show!

So that's my opinion of the boys this week. We get the girls tomorrow. I'm excited to see what the girls do. I think tomorrow will be a fun night too.

Jessie

Upset

Someone named Roy Keighley is upset with me. He doesn't think that I should post on my own blog about him being a thief. He doesn't like for people to know that he is stealing my credit card information and bank information and purchasing things without my permission. He doesn't want the public to know he is a criminal. In fact his anger is boiling over and he is being pretty inappropriate.

Tonight while I was trying to sleep he started text messaging me. Since he doesn't have any defense for his actions he started to attack my sister and I personally. He texted about my failed adoptions and tried to use that as an attack on me as a person. Pretty low I think. Then he moved on to making racist comments about the possibility of me adopting a child of another race as well as my sister dating a man from Africa. I think he is reaching a bit and making poor choices while his ship goes down.

He seems to think that he will scare me into silence. I'm not going to be silent. What he is doing is wrong. I have proof that he has stolen from me. I have plenty of evidence. I'm not going to stop until he is in jail. I will continue to contact law enforcement regularly and I will continue to encourage them to pursue him. I want them to arrest him and ensure that he will never do this to another person.

Jessie

School Daze

I had my Saturday class today. I'm so disappointed with this class. I was really excited when I enrolled in it. It's a Bowen Family Systems Theory class. I love Family Systems Theory. I just really get it and it's very interesting to me. So I thought the class would be a great opportunity to learn more about it and improve my skills. But it is so BORING! Listening to the prof is as interesting as watching grass grow. What's sad is that it's so basic I could be teaching the class. So getting up at 6 to make it to class on time is rather hard to do.

After wading through the boredom of class I rewarded myself with some Mattie time. I spent the afternoon hanging out with Shawn, Amanda, Kaitlyn and Mattie. We had a fun time. Mattie is walking all over the place now. She will walk and walk and then she drops down on the floor and just laughs! She is such a silly little thing.

Miss Lena and I are going hang out tonight and play a bit while I work on some homework. Fun times.

Jessie

Saturday Special

Pastime Repeats ~ What Is The...~

1. One Movie You'd Watch Over & Over Again?: The Butterfly Effect
2. One Book You'd Read Over & Over Again?: This Much I Know Is True by Wally Lamb
3. One TV Series You'd Watch Over & Over Again?: Lost
4. One Song You'd Listen To Over & Over Again?: My Wish by Rascal Flats

Beef Potpie with Biscuits

I meant to give you all the recipe for the Beef Potpie that I made. But I posted the last post without including it. So here it is.

1-1/2 pounds boneless beef top round steak, cut into 1/2 cubes
2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed (I used organic)
1 large potato, peeled, cooked and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar 18 oz beef gravy (I just used two packets of gravy mix and followed those directions)
1/2 t dried thyme
1/4 t pepper
1 tube refrigerated biscuits

In a large skillet, cook the beef over medium heat until no longer pink, drain. Stir in the veggies, gravy, thyme, and pepper. While I was cooking the beef I was also mixing and cooking the packet gravy.

Transfer to a greased deep dish pie plate. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Place the biscuits in a single layer over the meat mixture. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until biscuits are golden brown.

Very easy and delicious!

Jessie

Cooking

My sister-in-law Amanda is an amazing cook. She makes all kind of things and they are so delicious. I'm always envious of her cooking skills. I'm not a bad cook but I'm for sure not as skilled as her. So I've been paying attention to her and I'm learning a few things from her.

1. Spices are important. Amanda has an amazing spice rack and she uses it. This is something I need to get more comfortable with. I'm always a bit fearful about what some of the odd spices will do to the food.

2. Plan ahead. Amanda is good about planning her meals ahead of time and having lots of options on hand. I tend to buy groceries ahead of time but it's more like sandwich stuff, cereal, easy to make stuff rather than real meal makings.

3. It doesn't have to be hard. Sometimes I think a really great meal involves hours and lots of pots, pans, skillets, etc. She makes some really great meals involving one pan and 30 minutes.

4. Try new things. I tend to stick with the same 5-10 recipes and don't go much out of my comfort zone. Amanda has lots of cookbooks and tries lots of things. It makes every meal a surprise and you don't get sick of stuff as quick.

So to challenge myself to try the things I'm learning from Amanda I got a cool little Taste of Home Casserole Cookbook. Amanda got the same one so we are taking turns trying the new recipes. Last night I made Beef Potpie with Biscuits. It took a whole 30 minutes and everyone loved it! It was really good. Tomorrow Amanda is making the 4 cheese chicken fettuccine. Next Thursday when they all come over I'm going to try another new recipe. It's kinda fun and I'm learning new things. I even minced my own garlic! I'm cool like that.

Jessie

Struck Again

The identity thief has struck again. Today $506 worth of jewelry ordered in his name arrived on my doorstep. $506 of really crappy tacky jewelry. So I instantly ran to check my accounts and sure enough he somehow managed to get into my bank account again. I'm now overdrawn. I'm so freaking pissed!

I filed another police report which is probably useless. They aren't doing anything to help me anymore. My case isn't "high profile" enough at this point. How many felony charges does it take to make someone "high priority"??? My credit is in the gutter, I have no cash available to me at this moment and no one wants to help. It's ridiculous. I could potentially be on maternity leave in a few weeks with no available cash. Thanks a lot asshole!

So since the police don't want to help and he seems to think this is fun I'm going to take matters into my own hands. I'm placing an ad in the newspaper with his picture warning the public that he will steal from you. I'm also going to start mailing him a letter everyday with a picture of the local jail.

So Roy Wayne Keighley you are on notice. I know you read this blog so take note. If the police won't help me I'll help myself. I'll warn others of the things you do. I may never get my money back but I'm getting my power back. My advice of the day is if you encounter him you should hide your purse, computer, and any cash. He will rob you blind.

Jessie

American Idol Girls

The top 12 girls performed tonight. I was really excited to see the girls but honestly I was a bit disappointed. The weren't as good as I thought they would be. Shockingly the boys seem to be off to a better start than the girls. I really thought they were all very nervous and off tonight.

The Girls I Love

Brooke White- I really like Brooke. She is just pure and gentle when she sings. I like that. She is also very unique and I like that. The girl can sing. She was a bit nervous tonight and she didn't do as well as her previous auditions. Even with that said I do think she will hang in the competition for quite awhile.

Alaina- This girl can sing. She is a young thing. Only 16. But she came out looking like a champ tonight. You would have thought she had been singing for years. Very controlled voice, fun performance and a lot of energy. She is off to a wonderful start!

Amanda Overmeyer- Gotta love my rocker girl! I really dig Amanda's voice. She has a really strange and amazing voice. I wasn't feeling the song she picked tonight but I still really love her. Her other auditions were wonderful. While I love her I don't think she will make it too the end. It seems like the rockers don't stick around to long. But I guess we will see.

Asia'h Epperson- Asia'h has some mad skills. She sings from her soul and she can entertain. I love her personality and every song she sings she makes it her own. I think she is going to go pretty far in the competition.

Syesha Mercado- LOVE HER, LIKE HER, WANNA KEEP HER! She is for sure my favorite right now. She has a big old voice and she has a great look. I love her hair and Heather and I think she has a bangin body. She has the look and the talent. I think she will be in the top 6 for sure.

The Girls I Can't Stand

Amy Davis- Amy made me very sleepy. I just realy don't like her at all. I don't like watching her on stage and I really didn't like her song choice. I'm hoping she won't last long.

Kady Malloy- I'm not feeling Kady at all. She can impersonate Britney Spears but she has no skills of her own. I don't expect her to last long at all. She really is just very bland.

Joanne Borgella- I really wanted to like Joanne. The whole fat girl unite part of me just really really wants to like her. And I do like her. She is really a beautiful girl and has a fun personality. But I don't like her voice at all. I just can't get into it.

Carly Smithston- The judges love her and I'm just not seeing it or hearing it at all! I find her to be a bit frightening. She is so dark and vampire like. I just really don't like her. I just want her to go away soon!

The Girls I Don't Care About

Ramielle

Kristy Lee Cook

Alexandra Lushington

Tomorrow night we will find out who stays and who goes. Don't forget to vote!

Jessie

Wonderful Wednesday

Today was a really good day! Libby came back to work and I feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. It is really wonderful to have her at the office. Today she started wading through all her emails and staffing cases with her staff so she will be back in the game in no time. I'm so excited to just get back to my regular responsibilities.

School was good today too. My prof actually got my name right! I'm no longer Jancy. That rocks. I have a lot of homework to do this week so hopefully the weekend will be pretty quiet so I can get a lot done. I just love writing papers. :-) That's always good times.

American Idol is about to start so I gotta run.

Jessie

Wordless Wednesday- Birthday Girl

American Idol Boys

Tonight was the first night American gets to vote for the new Idol. The top 12 boys performed tonight. I am so excited we are too this point. I love the voting piece. This is when I think the show gets really fun. So here is my run down of the top 12 boys....

The Guys I Love

Robbie Carrico- He sang love is the Lonliest Number. I really dig Robbie. He is one of my favorites. I like the rock star quality. I thought he made the song cool again and really proved himself. He looks like a pro on stage.

Danny Archuleta- This boy is 17 years old and he has pure talent in my opinion. He just makes you feel like you are watching someone do something great when you see him. I think he is going to go pretty far in this competition. For being so young he really has a great voice and great control.

Danny Noriega- I think that Danny will hang in the competition for awhile. He is fun to watch. He has a lot of energy and is a fun performer. I didn't like his song choice and he can be a bit annoying but I think he will end up with a good following of people.

Jason Castro- This boy is HOT! I love his hair and his beautiful eyes. He is very talented. It just seemed right to see him on stage. Gotta love that guitar and his sweet as sugar voice. We are going to be seeing him for awihle.

Michael Jones- He sang Come On Baby Light My Fire and trust me he lit my fire. I love his accent, his voice, his look. He could sing to me every night. He picked a great song for his voice and style. Very good choice. We are gonna see him for awhile too.

The Boys I Can't Stand

Garrett- He sang Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. Well breaking up with him wouldn't be hard for me. That boy is weird. He looks really sick and he scares me a litlte bit. What's up with the weird hair and the odd little creppy mustache. Not a big fan of him. I think he will go away this week.

Colton- He sang Suspicious Minds and didn't sing it well. I don't like that. I'm a big Elvis fan. I don't like it when people mess the songs up. He also seemed really fake on stage. I'm guessing he won't last long.

Chikezie- I really liked him in the auditions but now I'm not a big fan. He didn't seem real comfortable on stage and I don't think the crowd was really feeling him. He just seemed really nervous. I'm hoping he can come back next week and get it right.

Luke Menard- Luke is really handsome and I thought I would really like him. I wanted him to be really good. But his song made me tired. He doesn't sound right and doesn't seem comfortable. I'm not sure what the deal is but I don't dig him.

The Guys I Don't Care About

David Hernandez
David Cook
Jason Yeager

So get to voting folks. The girls perform tomorrow and then they start eliminating on Thursday. I think we have a fun season ahead.

Jessie

I Made It

I've been covering a lot of extra responsiblities at work for the past 12 weeks. The other supervisor has been on maternity leave. But Libby is coming back to work tomorrow. This has been an incredibly long twelve weeks. Lots of hours, lots of work, lots of stress. But I made it through and so did all our staff. In a way it's been a good experience because I've really learned how to manage many different things at once. I've learned how to delegate and ask for help when needed. So there were lots of benefits but I'm sure glad Libby is coming back tomorrow! It's going to be a wonderful Wednesday!

Jessie

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things I Love

1. My camera

2. Greenworks Cleaning Products

3. Product Red items

4. Books

5. Crystal Light

6. 100 Calorie Snack Packs

7. Wii

8. Blogging

9. Lost

10. Diet Dr. Pepper

What 10 things do you love?

Tackle It Tuesday

This weekend I had a big birthday party for my sister Heather. I love having parties. I love the decorating, the cooking, the planning, the food, and most of all the houseful of people. But I hate the cleanup! So I put it off until I couldn't stand it anymore. So I had no choice but to tackle the mess of the house and the fridge. So I cleaned up the living room and got it back to it's normal state. And I sorted through all the leftovers. Here are the before and after pictures.

Birthday Pictures

I finally got the pictures from Heather's birthday party edited and uploaded. It took me awhile but I had a bunch of them. So here they are!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Kaitlyn

Miss Kaitlyn really wants me to do a blog post all about her. Mattie gets lots of posts and Heather gets some so Kaitlyn really wants a post about her. So since I rock I'm giving Kaitlyn a post complete with pictures.

This is Miss Kaitlyn



Kaitlyn is 16 and enjoys talking on the phone for hours on end, listening to her ipod, trying to figure out ways out of doing chores or homework, and spending time with her niece Mattie.

This is Kaitlyn with Mattie



Kaitlyn is like most teenagers. She loves her family a lot. She is a happy kid. She helps out and trys to do nice things for others. But like most teenagers Kaitlyn's mood can change with the wind. Here is the proof of that. These pictures were taken just minutes apart.




So Kaitlyn here is a post all about you! Hope you enjoy it.

Jessie

Busy Weekend

It's been a busy couple of days around here. My Dad and Cricket flew in late Thursday night because we were having Heather's 21st Birthday Party this weekend! We had it last night. We had a lot of fun but the rain and snow kept some people away. We still had a good turnout and a good time. I'll post pictures later.

Everyone else is still sleeping so I thought I would log on for a minute or two. I've got plenty of cleanup to do today so I might as well get started before everyone else wakes up. I love parties but hate the aftermath. I really thought when I went to bed last night a little fairy would come and fix the house in the nighttime but no such luck. I better get on it.

Jessie

Love Thursday

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'm not a real big fan of Valentine's Day but for some reason this year I'm a little more into it. My Dad and Cricket are flying in tonight and I'm excited about being able to see them. That may have something to do with it. At least I get to spend the day with folks I love! Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day.

To see more pictures of love visit Shutter Sisters.

Jessie

1000 Posts

This post is post number 1000! How cool is that. I'm pretty excited about it. When I started this blog I just mainly had friends and family reading it. Now becausse of this blog I've made new friends I never would have met before. I have blogging buddies that know me better than some people I know in real life.

What's also weird is that when I started this blog it was for other people. I was going to keep my people up to date on the things going on in my life. But the more I wrote and the more I blogged the more it became about me. It became my sanity, it became my daily routine, it's what has helped me find who I really am. I'm so grateful for that.

So here's to 1000 more!

Jessie

Wordless Wednesday- Dog Days