more idol remarks

* R&B Night with Usher as mentor of the week *

1) Siobhan Magnus - "Through the Fire" - Unusually off key and nervous, but I still love this girl and her voice
2) Casey James - "Hold On, I'm Coming" - All around, a pretty good performance from Casey and his guitar
3) Big Mike - "Ready For Love" - I *loved* this performance. Genuine vocal and guitar talent, and so lovable
4) Didi Benami - "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" - Her voice sounded very strange singing this song...
5) Tim Urban - "Sweet Love" - Another strange selection, but young girls can't get enough of this so-so singer
6) Andrew Garcia - "Forever" - Way to go Andrew! We finally see the talent and spark we saw way back when!
7) Katie Stevens "Chain of Fools" - Too big of a song but she did all right. I'm not sure she'll stay much longer
8) Lee Dewyze - "Treat Her Like a Lady" - Yeah Baby! Finally some good vibes with his awesome vocals!
9) Crystal Bowersox - "Midnight Train to Georgia" - Still prefer Crystal with her guitar but she did a brave switch to show the judges she was more versatile - and she still did Gladys' classic song proud. 
10) Aaron Kelly - "Ain't No Sunshine" - Almost but not quite. Little bro may not be around much longer either

Tim, Little Bro & Little Sis may be in trouble... or possibly Didi, since those first 3 have so many fans...

What do you guys think? I'd love to hear :) 

switcharoo

Well, I had something completely different planned to blog about today, but after watching this video
 sent to me by my dear friend Kim, I felt I really wanted to share it with all of you. STICK WITH IT.
At first I though oh - it's gonna be another mushy one I've heard a gazillion times - blah, blah, blah.....
Actually my friends, this one hit very close to home. Oh, so close.
I would love for you to view it, and then grab every single moment, and hold it to your heart.

earth hour

Today is the day we celebrate Earth Hour. When I say "we" I'm talking globally. As in the entire world. EARTH hour.

At 8:30PM we are supposed to turn our electricity off for one hour. Just one hour. No biggie.

When people all over the world combine together in a conscious effort to save Earth's energy, it makes an impact.

I'm definitely planning to be part of that impact, and I hope you will too. I'm keeping a low profile however...

Last year I committed to Earth Hour, and then completely forgot about it. Forgot! Oh my gosh, what a loser.

So this year I'm writing it on my hand. You give it your best try too. I won't judge anyone, believe me.

And if you'd like some great information from the official Earth Hour website, click HERE   

ocean toes friday

Yes, as a matter of fact, I *did* get a pedicure. And yes, as a matter of fact, it *was* glorious.

My friend Diana and I went a few days ago. It was better than eating an undisclosed amount of chocolate.

So I am dipping my fantastic blue toes in the ocean to test out the water, and wishing all of you a happy Friday!

xoxo 

idol remarks

I'm giving my idol remarks on American Idol as I watch my dvr'd version, and I'm going to pause and write *my* opinion of everyone's performance before the judges rip them apart. I will just go ahead and get it out of the way - I thought having Miley Cyrus as a mentor was pretty odd. Awkward. I also want to add that I'm not going to blather on and on like I did last week. Embarrassing. And this has still got to be the weirdest Idol season EVER.

* * *

1) Lee - "the Letter" - I thought he did great. He's got an awesome voice but this guy has got to loosen up. 
2) Paige - "Against All Odds" - Man, she is gorgeous. But wow girl... that was absolutely... AWFUL :(
3) Tim - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" - Love this song & Tim had fun, but this is a *singing* competition!
4) Aaron - "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" - Hate this song but I think he did a pretty good job. He is so young!
5) Crystal - "Me n Bobby McGee" - Loved her song. Loved her voice. Love her guitar. I get freaking goosebumps every time this chick sings. I never want her song to end. She owns the stage every time she steps on it. I wish she had a record I could buy. I just want to listen to her, and eat granola, and weave flowers in my hair. 
6) Big Mike - "When a Man Loves a Woman" - Great song. Love his voice. Love this talented, sweet bear.
7) Andrew - "Heard it Through the Grape Vine" - Gesture malfunction! Why is he signing the song? Poor guy :(
8) Katie - "Big Girls Don't Cry" - Good choice of a younger song, but to use Randy's favorite word... PITCHY
9) Casey - "the Power of Love" - GOOD GRIEF he's adorable! He sounds exactly like Huey. Love his guitar.
10) Didi - "You're No Good" - Not a smart song. She did a terrific job though, and showed good personality. Her voice is one I wouldn't usually care for, but there's something about it I really like. 
11) Siobhan - "Superstition" - This girl ROCKS. Talk about quirky. Loved what she wore to meet Miley. Loved how she talked about being different all her life. Loved the Stevie song. Loved her stage clothes. Her performance was awesome - she is very comfortable on stage, with an *amazing* voice. I must admit, the screaming might get old. Adam Lambert she is not :/

Paige... Tim... Andrew... One of them is going home. At least that's what I think. Actually, what I really think is that they should put us out of our misery and give all three of them the boot... plus avoid the Christmas rush and send those cute kidlets Aaron & Katie packing too. I know - I shouldn't mince words. I should just say how I feel. 

 What do you guys think?

me. me on life.

 This  is Me.                                           This is my brain on Life.

I don't know why that stupid line has underlined the words up there either. But I can't get them to go away. 

I've been underground a bit lately. Been busier than usual. I've taken on a few projects that are awesome but it meant that an old dog had to learn new tricks. Luckily for me, I happen to know that old dogs can learn new tricks even if it cramps our their brains a little. After avoiding Photoshop for years, I finally had to learn a few things about it in order to do my best on one of these projects. My oldest son tried his best to help me over the phone from out of state, bless his heart. But I'm just too visual for that. My friend Brad came to my rescue and patiently helped me. Yay Brad! So I've had my eyeballs glued to my laptop even more than usual the last few weeks, and the headaches to prove it! But it feels good to have learned something even if I have a long way to go. And as I stated before, I will tell you about this new project soon.

Good grief, what would families do without moms!?!? Yeah, I know my kids think I sit on the couch and play on my laptop all day, drink diet Coke, eat Ruffles, get pedicures, have lunch with friends, take naps, spoil my dogs, and stay up all night watching my favorite shows. What a stress-free, cushy life! That's probably what they see from their perspective, though some of those things like pedicures and lunch with friends (and naps!) only happen occasionally. And when I'm "playing" on my laptop, I may zoom in to check on my Facebook buddies, but for the most part, I am working on photographs or blogging. I wish kids could see more of a behind-the-scenes perspective of all the things we do to keep our nutsy families running - while at the same time try to continually develop ourselves as people too. It's a hard balance. But it's really important to make that effort.

So since I've been a bit absent lately, here is my peace offering. My friend Elise posted this instantly recognizable cover by a duo called Pomplamoose, on Facebook. Pomplamoose has made a LOT of very cool stuff and they have it offered in all kinds of places, even on iTunes. So check them out on their YouTube music channel - with links to their other channels. Let me know if you think they're cool too.

P.S. Cindy, I hope everything goes well with your tooth today :/

wheels

I debated titling this post 'survivor' but decided to go with the obvious and talk about the less obvious. First of all happy Friday to everyone and TGIF to one and all! At least here in southern California it was a glorious week spring weather-wise - even verging on too hot - and a very busy week to say the least otherwise!

Being forced to clean his room under great duress, the Mouse closed himself in his private quarters for a very lengthly period of time, and as he was 'cleaning', he took out his old bin of Hot Wheels. Or, it should be stated, the bin of surviving Hot Wheels. I gotta tell ya... those Hot Wheels bring back a ton of memories.

Over the years, my 3 boys have been through literally thousands of Hot Wheels cars. Including the sacred few John happened to save from when he was a boy. I believe they have set the record for everything that could be done with and to a Hot Wheels car. Set up an elaborate network of tracks encompassing two floors of the house - duct taped to every surface. Organized neighborhood races/trading events. Whipped each other with the old orange plastic track. Set up tables and sold their cars on street corners. Tied cars to the cat's tail. Organized every car by color, or category, or by fastest to what a joke. Played Criss-Cross-Crash for hours. And hours. And hours. Oh, the batteries we went through! Decorated all the VW Bugs with Sharpies. Okay - that was me. Smashed them to smithereens with hammers. Doused them with gasoline and set them on fire. After the latter two activities, we put the survivors in the bin and moved on to less juvenile hall prone hobbies.

But I must say, the only reason I put up with all their Hot Wheels shenanigans for so many years - and even encouraged it - was because I am the biggest Hot Wheels lover of them all. It's true. I absolutely LOVE them. A super cool, smooth and fast, shiny new car for 99 cents? How can you not love that? Biggest bang for your buck. And Hot Wheels came out with new models all the time - as well as reissuing my favorite classic models from time to time too. Although I must confess I was slightly horrified when they came out with that toilet model. 

I miss Hot Wheels. I really do. It's one of the things I miss most about my kids growing up and not playing with anymore. I don't miss stepping on them or finding them in the washing machine, but I miss everything else about them. Especially my kids laughter as they played with them.  

I was always a fan of the Bug models of course :)

A few surviving drag racers still looking pretty scary

I think this may be the one and only "old time" survivor

the heavy duty 4-WD trucks - the Mouse said his favorite was always the big truck with the flames :)

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!

couldn't... hold... back

I know, I know, I know...... girl couldn't help it peeps. If the images I swiped courtesy of Fox weren't bad enough, suffice it to say my kids will be mortified when they see I've actually posted about American Idol but hey, this is MY blog so whatevs. Now that we're down to the final 12 (was that a long and painful enough road or what), I can see some genuine improvement and effort being put into these performances, and some real potential emerging. I'm not sure this season as a whole will equal or surpass other seasons, but that's okay. It is what it is. From here on out is seems like we're going to have a pretty good ride from these 12 (soon to be less) very diverse people.  

Rolling with the Stones

Last night the 12 chose songs from the Rolling Stones. Here's my recap, and remember, this is just MY opinion!

1) Big Mike chose "Miss You". Not only is the first performance of the night a nerve-wracking slot to fill, but he decided to take a risk and mess with the arrangement. He gave the song a surprising soulful twist that reminded me a bit of Stevie Wonder. In a good way. I thought it was genius. And I thought he did a terrific job pulling it off.

2) Didi Benami sang "Play With Fire", and I was not familiar with this song. I think she did a fine job. I like her quirky, jazzy voice - it has a good quality to it. But I don't think the song or performance was anything special.

3) Casey James chose "It's All Over Now". Casey is confusing to me. With his amazing good looks, his sweet demeanor, his obvious guitar skills, and his singing voice, he seems like the entire package. But it's his quivering country-like voice that just never seems to click with me. I keep wanting it to because I genuinely like him. I don't consider it a bad voice, I guess it just never seems to rise above average.

4) Lacey Brown gives us "Ruby Tuesday". Up until now I have not liked Lacey's voice much. It has that baby voice quality that you either like or you don't, and I don't. But I think this was a really good song choice for her, and I think she sang it really well. She was strong and confident, at least more so than in the past.

5) Andrew Garcia sang "Gimme Shelter". Looong sigh. I was rooting for Andrew from the beginning, but week after week he just can't seem to get it together. It's painful. Read the last sentence of Casey's critique again.

6) Katie Stevens chose "Wild Horses". I thought this was a pretty big song for Katie but she actually sang it well, for the most part. For me it was her best performance so far - and that's hard for me to say, because I thought she should have gone home instead of Katelyn. Not that I don't care for Katie - I think she's sweet and has a great voice. But she's young and I think she could use a few more years to develop that voice. I think Katelyn showed a lot more potential and was totally robbed. But good for Katie that she tamed the wild horses.

7) Tim Urban performed "Under My Thumb". I didn't agree with the judges AT ALL regarding Tim's performance. Up until now I have wondered in awe every week how he got on American Idol at all. Oh, he's cute for sure. But the poor guy can't catch a break. I think his singing stinks. And then he actually took a risk (!!!) and decided to make a song his own (!!!) and have some fun with it (!!!) which I thought he pulled off REALLY well... and the judges skewered him. Wow. I was really impressed that he did all that. But I think that was his demise.

8) Siobhan Magnus sang "Paint It, Black". I think Siobhan rocks. I get the feeling there are a lot of people out there that don't, but I really like her. I think she's got an awesome voice (gee, what concept, considering this is a singing competition) and I like her quirkiness. I can't wait to see what she comes up with every week. I thought it was genius how she completely changed the beginning of the song to grab our attention, then totally rocked the rest of it, and ended on the slow beginning vibe. I thought she was fabulous.

9) Lee Dewyze chose "Beast of Burden". Lee definitely has my favorite male voice. I thought his song choice was awesome and was glad he stuck with playing his guitar, but I was sad he didn't do more with the song. If he had just been more relaxed he could have had so much fun with it. With a song choice so great for his voice, it was the perfect opportunity for him to give it more and show more groove, more range, more personality, more HIM. I think he did a fine job and I hope he'll stay around a while to develop more. I think he shows great potential.

10) Paige Miles gives us "Honky Tonk Woman". Well, considering she had laryngitis, it was amazing she belted out what she did. For me it was her best performance ever, which is unusual for me to even admit. Remember how I felt about Katelyn going home instead of Katie? I felt the same about Lilly going home instead of Paige. So there - I said it. But in all fairness, she did a great job and I was surprised. 

11) Aaron Kelly sang "Angie". Another contestant I am puzzled about every week. Not that I don't think he's a total sweetheart. He shows great potential and is extremely likable but even his voice shows from week to week that it's not consistent because it's not developed enough yet. But I digress. Choosing "Angie" was a genius move. He sang it like an absolute angel and it was, for me, his best performance ever. Way to go Aaron.

12) Crystal Bowersox chose "You Can't Always Get What You Want". She gets the coveted last performance slot which of course comes with extra pressure to deliver. Well, she delivered. Not with quite the energy I thought she would - it would have been nice to see a little more - but man, is she good. She just puts her heart and soul into everything she performs like it's part of her. She just is who she is. I have been a big fan of hers from her try-outs. I absolutely love to watch her perform, and she's one heck of a guitarist too. For some reason there seems to be so many rumors going on about Crystal... I can't figure out why. I think viewers are mistaking her shyness in front of thousands of people for being smug or aloof. She is obviously uncomfortable being thrust into this type of arena until she is in her element performing - and then she completely transforms. I think she's just incredible.          

So what do YOU think about all this? And tonight is elimination night! Who do you think it will be? 

have a hippy day

Just bringing you a little tie dye love to help you WAKE UP! the week of daylight savings... now that we've sprung ahead and lost an hour. By all the comments on Facebook it seems like everyone is having a rough time of it! Except you lucky people in Arizona who don't acknowledge it. Way to go Arizona! I'm not having a hard time this time around, but overall, I am NOT a fan of daylight savings. WHY can't we just let it go, for heaven's sake!?!?

This week is my photo/Photoshop week. Supposedly. I am working on a lot of projects regarding all my photographs, including trying to get them all organized in one place (yeah. I wasted my entire day yesterday doing it all wrong) to eventually make it easier to locate them. Then of course I need to enhance the ones I'm using for so-called professional purposes. And then comes my new Photoshop skills which my friend Brad taught me (read saved my skin) in order to do a special project I've been hired to do and I will announce soon. Fun :) Stress :/

And yes, these pics are from my own tie dye shirts. Those of you who know me well will recognize them immediately :) I probably have about 6 or 45 that I rotate frequently. I don't dye them myself - these ones are complicated and require actual skill. I get the vast majority of them from HERE. They are expensive but by far the best quality. Very cool designs too. Well my peeps, I hope all of you have an extremely GROOVY day today!

52 pick-up

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! We had gorgeous weather and, as you can see, lots of eye candy!

Our Saturday morning was spent at the one-and-only True Tone Music in beautiful Santa Monica, California.

Even I, who unfortunately let my guitar playing skills wane years ago, admit to pangs of guitar coveting here. 

Saturday was my husband John's 52ond birthday, and True Tone was his outing of choice. Two weeks earlier Davy had picked out a really lovely mandolin here for his 19th birthday, and it needed some service. So what better day to bring it in than John's birthday? And of course in the meantime, he got to play the Special Edition Gretsch guitar both he and Davy have been drooling over for quite some time. Is this a HAPPY FACE or what :)   

Both guys got to play it for a while. In the end though, John settled for a new capo for $20 instead of the $2400 Gretsch. I'm thinking that was a pretty wise choice. I'm sure the boys will end up with that Gretsch at some point - they have practically every other make of guitar known to man - but all in good time. The Mouse's orthodontist will certainly thank us. And the Mouse's teeth will look better after Phase 2 than that guitar would look up on our wall.  

You know how everyone has their own version of what they think Heaven will be like? Well, I can't help but think John's Heaven is going to have a lot of guitar walls like this. Oh, it will have all the usual things like gardens and sunshine, blah, blah, blah. But just like my Luna will have fields of grass as far as the eye can see, with bunnies to chase, and trees to rest under? John will have guitar walls as far as they eye can see. Guitar Heaven.

A close-up of the Gretsches - the light & dark orange ones are the Brian Setzer signature models... VERY COOL

Last but certainly not least, stacks upon stacks of Orange Amps. I've never seen so many in one place at one time. The cream of the crop of the amplifier kingdom, coveted by Walker boys young and old. Which is ironic because I'd have to sell all 3 boys to purchase one. And speaking of boys, I realize the Mouse is not in any of these photos. I wanted to get a pic of him playing the electric stand-up bass you see in the center of these Orange amps. But he was no where to be found. I think he was upstairs wreaking some type of havoc in one of the practice rooms - I really didn't want to know what he was up to. It often involves a lot of money or bad smells.

Anyway, John ended up having a great birthday. I love you old man - hee hee :) 

tray chic

It's been a while since I've posted a fun craft/tutorial on my blog, so today is the day! I recently decorated the slick plain surfaces of these 2 red trays as a gift for a friend. This project has a sweet bit of recycled sentiment attached. It was not only fun to do but hopefully my friend will enjoy the spirit in which it was made just for her.   

I began by sanding only the bottom of the trays. You can see the difference of before and after. Without sanding to rough up the plastic, the paper and Mod Podge would not be able to adhere to the tray. Then make sure you clean off all plastic particles (it gets surprisingly messy!) before you begin the rest of the project.

Lay out your main design in several configurations until you are pleased with how everything looks. This is where my little bit of sentiment comes in. A year ago for Christmas, my friend gave me an adorable wall calendar about friendship. It was all done in black & white, and along with sweet statements about friendship, it had darling hand drawn, doll-like figures representing friends. I really loved it and could not bear to throw it away when the year was over. So I decided to repurpose and give back to her what had meant so much to me. 

Lay out your background paper, especially since you are working with rounded edges which can be tricky. Don't worry if things look a little wonky! Mine did! Just make sure you get the bottom of the tray covered and the edges look nice and clean. For those of you that recognize this paper, you get a star on your foreheads! It's from THIS!

Ah, Mod Podge, how I love you. I even love the smell of you. But not as much as the smell of spray paint. Or permanent marker. Or spray acrylic. But I digress. If duct tape holds the world together, then Mod Podge holds the craft world together. You can quote me on that, Amy :) Amy is the Queen of all things Mod Podge and I hold her responsible for my love of it. She is the Pied Piper that has led countless unsuspecting bloggers down this road via her blog Mod Podge Rocks. But I digress yet again.

Make sure you use a generous amount of Mod Podge on the entire surface of the tray bottom as you are laying down your background paper. Add another nice, even coat on top of your paper. Place your main decorations on top of your paper, making sure they adhere well and coat them with Mod Podge blending it into the coat on your paper layer. When that coat is dry, put one final coat over the entire surface of the tray, making sure everything is covered evenly. Carefully wipe away any Mod Podge that gets on the sides of your tray with a damp cloth.

I waited a few days and then sprayed 3 coats of acrylic glaze as a top coat. If this were a project that was not going to be around liquid, there would not be a need for an acrylic top coat. But since trays frequently come into contact with liquid, a few coats of an acrylic glaze is a good idea. I learned this from Amy when I did THIS! The acrylic dries to a hard shell and is wipeable when spilled liquid gets on your tray. Whatever kind you get just be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions. I shielded the sides of the tray with paper as I was spraying. No, I did not suggest you smell acrylic. I only admitted I like to smell it in an unventilated area the smell of it. A lot. 

So this is what it will look like when those first few coats of Mod Podge are done - pretty cute :)

Below are close-ups and a few more pics of the finished version.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR FRIENDS!!!

Diana's quest

Diana has been my dear friend for 22 years. She has held my newborn babies right after my husband. She has gone on trips with me. She has stayed in the hospital with me. She has helped my kids learn to swim. She has held my hand when the climb was too steep. She is the first one to roll her eyes over my germ phobia :) We have watched endless movies, exchanged countless gifts, eaten an insane amount of Mexican food, received who knows how many pedicures, cried occasional tears, and perhaps most importantly, laughed extraordinary amounts of laughter. Diana has been the most wonderful friend, but she is also the most wonderful person. She is loving, giving and has the most generous heart. I have to tell you about her amazing quest, because it is very important. 

This is Diana and her *awesome* husband Larry. Many years ago, while still raising their 3 kids and just after completing her RN degree, Diana went as a volunteer nurse on an expedition to Ethiopia, Africa. She and Larry took their whole family. It touched their hearts so much, Diana and Larry decided that helping the people of Ethiopia was their personal quest. They have since gone on many expeditions - usually twice a year. In fact, Diana eventually became the person in charge of them. And now, after more hard work than you could possibly imagine, Diana has finally launched her own non-profit organization for the people of Africa! The website is up and it is a beauty! So well done and so informative! You must go visit to see what her work is all about! Click below!

ENGAGE NOW AFRICA

Engage Now focuses on 5 main areas: to empower the women of the villages (the ones who really get things done) through micro-credit programs, to teach about basic health care and immunizations, to get clean water to the villages.....

..... to help with orphan support.....

..... and to help with education for all village children.

In May/June of 2009 my oldest son Daniel was an intern for Diana, as he is studying education in third world countries. He will always be so grateful to her for that amazing opportunity. It touched him deeply. He loved Ethiopia, especially the people. Please take some time to look at Diana's site and the difference she is making.

Alice inspired... headboards?

Well knock me down the rabbit hole and force Johnny Depp the Mad Hatter upon me... I do declare, these oversized headboards are the most glorious things I've seen in some time! I admit that even on my beloved Apt. Therapy, where I found these images a few weeks ago, I get weary of seeing what seems to be the same mid-century modern pieces of furniture in the same mid-century modern influenced homes time and time again. These caught my eye because they were so outrageous! Would I have something like this on my own bed? Are you kidding? In the drop of a Mad Hatter's hat I would! Of course my headboard fabric would be a solid color, knowing my penchant for patterned quilts on the bed. Oooh, a lovely saturated color like turquoise - and tufted with wild buttons - maybe even a collection of all different buttons! Mad indeed! Oh, how extraordinary! FABULOUS!  

*Before I get too carried away, I'd better make sure I get my article and photo credits on here :) The original Apt. Therapy article I got these images from, entitled Giant Headboards, was from San Fransisco contributer Susie Nadler. The images are from Coco + Kelly, and A Lovely Thing, respectively.

The older kids all went to the midnight showing of Alice, since it opened TODAY! Oh, you should have seen them! Their eyes were all done up in sparkly make up and they looked mighty ready for a visit to Wonderland. I am dying - DYING - to see how their evening went and what they thought of the movie! But I digress... I have one more MAD headboard to show you, and it's my personal tribute to the opening of Alice. I drew it myself which is an oxymoron because I typically don't draw. But I do like how it turned out. It's Mad Hatter inspired. And so my friends, I give you the Mad Hatter Tufted Headboard - - - 

wait for it..........

wait for it..........

oooooooooooh! ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!!! :D