Jacksons Day Off

"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

--Ferris Bueller

The high school is closed tomorrow, so Kent has the day off. I decided to join him and take a day off work myself. I haven't had a day off since Christmas, so I'm pretty excited to get outside during the afternoon, have lunch with my husband, and spend the day relaxed and having fun. Lately, my job has been pretty intense and very busy. Friday will be a nice break. Hope you have a great Friday too :)

Another post?!

We're posting again?! What's gotten into us? This isn't the once a month pace we've had. Three posts in 6 days. Holy crap!

This one will be quick though, not really. In the words of Marty McFly, "Try and keep up."

-The Tone Deafs are sitting on a 7 point lead, 22-15. How, you ask? Katie Stevens edged Andrew Garcia for the number 8 overall spot and got 10 points for me. Add that with the predictions part of the game and...well...you don't care about the system, just the score. So there it is.

Let's rank the contestants from a like-ability standpoint in reverse order just for fun. This is not based on talent, but instead how easy it is to root for the contestant.

7. Mike Lynch --there is something decidedly fake about this guy. He's got a good voice. For the most part, he picks songs that work for him. But I always feel like he's only playing the part of the big teddy bear for the cameras and then he's different when the "record" light is off. He seemed mad when he found out he didn't get the votes, and then he seemed unappreciative when the judges saved him. Also, this character that he's invented - "likable guy" - is sort of annoying to me anyway. Not a fan.

6. Aaron Kelly -- the reason he beat Mike out is because he is at least genuine. He can't dance but tries to, he seems nervous all the time, he has one trick and has ridden it all the way out. But in case you didn't know (and don't worry because Seacrest will remind you), he's only 16. So, it's at least understandable that he has all of those things working against him. And he is what he is. As Frank Costanza would say, "This guy...he's not my kind of guy."

5. Lee Dewyze -- also a seemingly one-trick pony. No stage presence, should never dance, screams a lot. But he seems like a pretty nice guy. He is humble, and the others seem to like him. His taste in music is absurd, but he at least sings those songs in a less annoying way than the original (of course with the GLARING exception of Hey Jude in which he knew he was outclassed by the song and decided to divert all of our attention from that fact by marching out a bagpiper. Wha?!). He's at least a little more like-able than he used to be.

4. Crystal Bowersox -- by far the favorite. She is humble about being in another league than everyone else on the show. She can be a little boring (personality-wise), but that's ok if the alternative is Adam Lambert. Give me boring every time.

3. Tim Urban -- I've see-sawed on Tim every week. His temperament while the judges were killing him was all an act, but what can you do? If you get mad, America votes you off. He handled it well. And he's learned a valuable lesson in life: good looking people can get away with anything...ANYTHING. Remember the slide across the stage?

2. Casey James -- one dimensional, headed for an earlier exit than originally projected (he was my number 1 pick), may be a robot. At least he's a like-able robot. He seems like he's having fun, he can legitimately play the guitar, and he's easy to root for. And I'm glad that the whole "Kara has a crush" angle is over with.

1. Siobhan Magnus -- So strange. The way she talks, the stuff she wears, the glasses, her theatrical reactions to criticisms...why is she number 1? Because she's easily the most entertaining person on the show (aside from Simon). She does have a good voice, but not the best on the show. She's scrapped the scream in every song thing. She is the like-able version of Adam Lambert because this is REALLY who she is. She's not playing a part, she is just this strange. I look forward to her more than anyone each time. Is that like-ability? Maybe so. And among this group, any entertainment is valuable.

How can she not be your favorite?

Now, for the NBA playoffs thoughts as they start today.

-Once again, my rooting interest is this: Celtics, anyone but the Lakers.

-I know the Celtics top out in the second round. So, I really just don't want to see Kobe win again.

-Looking forward to watching Kevin Durant. This seems to be the only way that OKC gets to be on national tv even though Durant is emerging as a must-see talent.

-I would love for LeBron to win this year. It would not only cement him above Kobe in the discussion, but also throw a new element into the free-agency thing this summer.

-I think Kevin Garnett needs to retire after this year. He's not going to win another title unless he pulls a Mitch Richmond and joins an NBA favorite to sit on their bench. He's what I always feared for him -- an NBA version of the guy in the YMCA pick-up games who used to be good, plays "old man" defense, and is too competitive to relinquish any of his role to players who can actually get it done. I love Garnett. He's one of my favorites of all time. But this is getting sad quick. He needs to stop now while he can still hear the cheers of 2008.

Nice and tight LeBron, nice and tight.

-My prediction is that the Cavs will win the NBA title over the Lakers in 5 games and LeBron will de-pants Kobe in the discussion of who is the better player. And yes, this is also my hope for what happens.

Other scattered thoughts:

-Even though we turned in our tax documents in early March, our accountant had to file an extension. This did not sit well with us.

-My little weight-loss resolution is off to a decent start. I'm down 2 lbs. Homewood High had a benefit for cancer research in which the students donated money for faculty and staff to sit and ride stationary bikes all day at the school on Friday. I was all about it. What I did not know was how hard this was on your, um, haunches. Those bike seats take a giant toll on your back side, and round about hour 3 I heard these kinds of comments from some of the students: "Mr. Jackson, are you ok?" "Mr. Jackson, why are you sitting like that?" "Mr. Jackson, can I get you some ice or something?"

If only I'd had something like this...

-I've been listening to Timothy Keller podcasts lately and getting a lot out of them. He's a Presbyterian minister up in New York and an author of several books. I just like the way he thinks about things and then expresses them. It's very rooted in the scriptures and helpful in keeping a good and positive outlook. Give him a try sometime when you have a 20-30 minute drive and you won't be disappointed.

Wonderful Weekend

Oh Monday, you are not as fun as Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Thus, more weekend highlights:

Mini BLTs

Kent and I attended a friend's wedding this weekend. It was a beautiful ceremony, rocking reception, and general good time with lots of friends. One of the most memorable features of the wedding though....mini BLTs, or for the non-obsessive (bite-size bacon, lettuce, and tomato). This is more than just reception food. While planning our wedding, almost 2 years ago, Kent and I tried the mini BLTs at a tasting and fell in love instantly. They were at our wedding, but as most married couples know, we hardly ate anything at our reception. We talk about those mini BLTs all the time and wish we'd had them when we had the chance.

Flash to this weekend: because I know way too much about weddings, I knew that our friend was using the same caterer we used. Imagine our excitement at the prospect of our favorite wedding snack. Imagine our joy at finding trays filled with the tiny treats. Imagine our shame at eating far more than our allotment by the end of the night. Amazing.

Prom-tastic Friday

All week, I'd been dying to go out to dinner. In the interest of saving money, we held out until the weekend, and by that point I was so excited for our dinner date. We decided on a place called Michael's, one of our new favorites because they make those awesome skinny french fries. It has good atmosphere and is perfect for sophisticated adults like ourselves. Who knew that Friday night was prom night for one of the area high schools? EVERY table in the restaurant was filled with tuxedos of ALL colors, sparkly dresses, and lots of self-portrait picture taking. I immediately felt 100 years old. Kent and I ended up eating at the only viable seat...the bar, with a bird's eye view of all the adolescent adrenaline. We made a few jokes, reminisced about high school memories, wished we'd been together back then, watched a weird man talk to random strangers at the bar, and yes, feasted on skinny fries.

It was great :)

If only we'd seen this....

Homemaking

As described in the previous post, we're all about our yard lately. The warm weather has done something to our brains. I'm obsessed with watering our plants every day when I get home (with my nifty new watering can that Kent got me). Kent is masterful at digging up ugly plants and replacing them with our little seedlings. It's been so much fun, and we love checking on them every day to see if anything has grown. Progress is slow, but our yard already looks SO much better. And the neighbors are probably relieved that the pile of leaves on our curb is finally gone after months. Aren't those supposed to just disintegrate into the ground after a few weeks? All of this yard work has gotten us thinking about other house projects, and while we may not be able to do them all at once, it's fun to dream and get to work at making our house more homey....more "us."

So, there is my random weekend recap. This may be a record-sized post for me! A new start, hmm? I'm trying to make peace with the blog.

Blah Blah Blog

not the welcome walk we need

Time to update, but there's not much going on that is big and exciting with the Jacksons. But the title of the blog is "Interesting to Us," so you will read every minute detail no matter how irrelevant you find it to be.

Dana and I have done some more gardening. No, we learned nothing from the hydrangea bush we tortured to death by planting in scorching Alabama sun and watering once a week almost two years ago. Instead we've decided to not only try our hand at flowers on the front walk, but also some camellia bushes. Why would we do this, you ask? Well because our front walk was in a sad state, and the only greenery was a hideous vine plant left behind by the last owner of our house. The vine, in addition to being displeasing to the eye, carried the added bonus of giving ants and spiders a gateway into the crevices of the house. So, a few weeks ago I pulled that up and we've since replaced it with what will surely be the envy of all the neighbors on Cottage Lane (especially old man Sapperstein who has been in a positive snit lately. He used to speak to us when he was out watering his rose bushes, then he began just nodding. But now, he just pretends he doesn't hear us at all. Well, he can kiss borrowing our snip shears goodbye, that'll show him).

Before...

and...

after...we'll keep you posted.

Now that I've painted the picture of a fully domesticated male, how bout updating you on some manly stuff...like our American Idol Challenge. Yeah! Manly! That Aaron Kelly exudes the same masculinity as all the Old Spice guys put together (Of course, I'm not exactly John Wayne leading with gardening and Idol). The Tone-Deafs - my team - got on the board two weeks ago by correctly predicting Didi was headed home. The score stands at 6-3 in favor of The Ripe Bananas. Dana was more than a little upset that Didi got the boot. I have become more and more detached with every viewing. There is no one on the show that I like that much. Bowersox is the best of the bunch, but really that is like being the best smelling sock in the UT locker room. It was nice to see Mike Lynch in the same room as Ruben Studdard so that it is proven once and for all that they are not the same person.

"I like to wear little hats. They do NOT make me look like a giant."

Speaking of Mike, I don't think I would have been all that upset if he'd been sent home even though it would have been a crushing blow for the Tone-Deafs. He annoys me with all his antics. Someone should let him know that just because a camera is pointed in your direction, you don't have to assault the person sitting next to you or try to contort your face in as many ways as possible.

My favorite moment of last week's viewing came when we had been watching for 10 minutes and Dana commented on how she had actually been liking Kara this episode, that she was the best judge. Kara then immediately rewarded that by singing during Simon's critique of Katie. There's only so many ways I can say this, but I wish I could hire someone to turn a fire hose on Kara every time she began to speak. Nothing good ever happens...ever. At least with the hose, we could look forward to her turn each time.

Going forward, this week I have a rec league game on Tuesday and will miss American Idol, so the Bananas have an advantage in the picking who gets tossed. It's still early though. The main thing is final placements because the top 8 finishers earn the bigger points for our game. Oh yeah, and I heard Adam Lambert was going to be on the show this week. I'm really going to hate to miss his advice to the contestants. "Have you thought about screaming during that part of the song? What about a sitar? Can you work that in? If you follow my instructions, maybe you can finish second like I did."

In other news, Dana won our family's NCAA bracket this year and a grand prize of $1 and some bragging rights. After losing one of her Final Four teams in the first 3 hours of the tournament (Vanderbilt Commodores -- YEEEEEP Yeep yeep pppphhhtt), she was written off. But she hung around and came back and beat her brother out for first. I finished 7th. Dana wins the sports stuff, and I win the Oscar picks and American Idol stuff.

Speaking of the tournament, I have never liked Duke, but was particularly put off by this year's team. Scheyer, Singler, and Zoubek make up the worst threesome in college basketball that I can ever remember.

The Jon Scheyer face...second only to the John Mayer face

They had an easy road to the championship and then fittingly beat a team that everyone else liked. Butler was a tough team that was fun to watch (although not because of their style of play which can be described as Wisconsin-esque), and I was pulling as hard for them as anyone I've ever watched in the tournament. So, it stunk when they came up just short (and even though the refs blew that charging call near the end, they gave Butler almost every break up til then, so we can't fully blame them). Something else I was disappointed in: they had Jennifer Hudson sing One Shining Moment instead of sticking with Luther. Wha?!?! That virtually assures the fact that they're going to 96 teams as they spat in the face of tradition and quality for new and "improved."

With bathing suit season looming and my "fondness" for sun and fun, I've been thinking of ways to try and lose a little weight (I've begun by stopping myself from eating Cadbury Eggs by the handful).

Milk chocolatey goodness leads to buying bigger pants

There's a blogger who posts his weight every few days online in an effort to shame himself into losing a few lbs. I think I may employ this strategy if things get any worse. I think it is important to hit this head-on instead of ignoring it the way Phil Mickelson seems to and just wearing tighter shirts.

Until next time, this is the Jacksons, signing off.