Archives for March 2006

About five years ago, David and I drove to Memphis to see Faith Hill and Tim McGraw in their first “Soul2Soul” Tour. While I typically have fairly decent perspective in regard to celebrities, I have no perspective at all when it comes to these two.

I love them. I Love Them. I LOVE THEM.

So we drove to Memphis and went to the concert with Stacy and Janie. And OH MY WORD WAS IT FUN. The show was awesome, we had great seats (thanks, Sister), and we determined that two such beautiful people should not be able to marry because the sight of Tim and Faith together is really more than the human eye can comprehend at one time. It’s an overload of beauty. Well, it’s actually an overload of hotness, but good Christian girls shouldn’t say that about strangers, so I’ll steal Sister’s expression: “They are all that. And then some.”

You can imagine my reaction when I got the following email from my husband yesterday (and I would like to point out that we were both in the house, except he was down in his office, and I was in the kitchen, so the fact that he emailed me this information struck me as very, very funny): “Tim and Faith have updated their listings. They will be in our area Friday, May 26. Might you be interested in going?”

I do not even have to answer such a silly question. I could say “yes” in every language, and it wouldn’t be enough.

But just for the record: Yes. Si. Oui. Uh-huh. (I don’t know any languages besides those.)

It’s important to note that our ninth anniversary is May 31, mere days after Faith and Tim come through town.

Do y’all think they’d want to go to dinner with us? Or maybe come over? Or maybe arrange a play date between Alex and their youngest daughter, Audrey? I’m sure they would be fast friends.

I have put David in charge of all arrangements because 1) I’m far too excited to actually plan anything and 2) this is an excellent opportunity for him to hit an anniversary homerun. Which we usually don’t even try to do – we’re actually really laid-back about that kind of stuff – but FAITH AND TIM? Only five days before our anniversary? Come on.

I believe it is God’s will that they become our COUPLE BFF, which in no way interferes with Wynonna’s designation as my GIRL BFF, because everybody knows you have your couple friends, and you have your girlfriends, and there’s no conflict of interest at all.

And no, I’m not crazy. Not at all. I’m just, um, enthusiastic. Nothing wrong with that.

Now since I have confessed my pretend celebrity BFF, who are y’all’s? Don’t even try to act like you haven’t thought about it. You KNOW you’ve watched a movie or a talk show and decided that you and so-and-so would hit it off.

I will be EAGERLY awaiting your comments.

DON’T BE SHY, NOW. :-)

Last night when I was watching the American Idol results show (bye bye, Lisa), I noticed that once again the judges pointed out the importance of song choice. Randy’s comment that the contestants need “to pick better songs” led to some deep introspection on my part that I feel on some level is entirely inappropriate for a 36 year old wife and mother. But I couldn’t help myself.

Here was (is) my dilemma:

If I were a contestant on American Idol next week, what would I sing? Keep in mind that the fact that I cannot sing is by no means a hindrance here in my personal la-la land.

And somehow this question has become all-too-real to me, like at some minute the AI producers are going to walk in my house and say, “Okay – time’s up. Tell us RIGHT NOW.” I feel an odd sense of urgency about my decision, because I’m, you know, INSANE.

Next week’s competition has a country theme, but my talent cannot be limited by genre. I just can’t work with that kind of process, people. Don’t try to put a fence around my level of singing talent. Because the dogs, when they hear me, they will have to run free.

So here are my top three options:
“Independence Day” – Martina McBride – my country selection
“Bring It All Together” – Natalie Grant and my BFF Wynonna – my contemporary Christian selection
“Hard To Handle” – the Black Crowes version – this is my “break out” song to show the judges how versatile I am

Yours? And don’t be shy. I know y’all. I have seen many of you sing into a hairbrush. So ‘fess up.

So. Let’s talk about BLOGS! I tell you what – I know how to reel in an audience, don’t I?

Seriously, I’ve been giving this whole blog thing some thought, so bear with me.

As most of y’all know, I haven’t been writing this blog for very long, though I have been reading blogs for several years. I really didn’t know what was out there besides the 10 or 15 “big” bloggers who no doubt get thousands upon thousands of hits each day on their sites. And good for them, you know? They have an audience, they speak their minds, and several of them are oh-my-word-I’m-going-to-wet-my-pants funny.

A couple of months ago, though, I took a mental step back and really started to think about the blogs I was reading. I realized that the content of some of them was bothering me. Now I am certainly not Miss Prissy Prude, but there’s some stuff out there that made me uncomfortable…what Mama would call “vulgar” language, some incredibly personal details, and, on a couple of blogs, a little Jesus-bashing to boot. Please don’t misunderstand me. Those people are completely entitled to their opinions. But it doesn’t enrich my life to read that stuff. It just makes me frustrated and sad.

So I had an epiphany. Well, several. 1) If I was feeling isolated out here on the vast interweb prairieland, then I needed to seek out some like-minded people. 2) There’s some stuff that I was reading that I just didn’t want to read anymore. And finally, 3) I wish that I were a mere tenth as funny as Finslippy. I’d even settle for a twentieth.

Long story long – right about the time I was “evaluating” my reading habits, Sister mentioned a blog called HolyMama!. Sister found it by – oh, I don’t know how she found it, as she spends much of her internet time unraveling complex unsolved mysteries and pursuing justice in the Jon Benet Ramsey case. And I don’t think HolyMama! is connected to any of those things, just for the record. But I do think that Sister was looking for Christian bloggers, and HM was a great place to land. I envy HM’s ability to write short posts that generate lots of comments…I, on the other hand, seem to ramble on and on to the point that there’s nothing left for anyone to say. I believe myself to be quite gifted in that area.

Anyway, I didn’t visit HolyMama! (very important to include the exclamation point) much at first, because it takes me a while to work a blog into my daily routine (y’all know I’m OCD – don’t look so surprised). But eventually I clicked over more and more because there seemed to be a community there. And it’s not that I’m looking for people to replace my lifelong “real life” friends because why would I? They’re the best. But it is nice to read other people’s stuff and be able to ask questions and see what little buttons people have on their sites and try to figure out how to put buttons on yours. You know, geekery. (And now I’m singing “Geekery In Jesus” to the tune of “Victory In Jesus” in my head, which is proof positive that God made me, um, crazy.)

HolyMama! (again, punctuation is critical) eventually led me to Lauren’s blog, which is where I found out about the Bible study I’ve just started with some other Christian bloggers (oh, the wacky Christian bloggers). And also thanks to Lauren, I have a new blogroll over in the sidebar that links to the sites of all the other people in the Bible study. Y’all know that I don’t believe in coincidences, and I’ve shaken my head a couple of times when I’ve thought about the fact that I’m doing a BIBLE STUDY – on the INTERWEB – with STRANGER-FRIENDS. God is creative, no doubt about it.

All of the girls listed (sorry – I know I’m 36 years old, but I cannot bear to say “ladies” – ladies, at least to me, are 80-ish and use canes) will be posting about our study every Saturday for the next ten weeks. I really encourage you to check out what they have to say. I for one can’t wait to read all their bloggity Bible study goodness.

It’s gonna be good.

Apparently the folks at biblepromise.com are having some technical difficulties, because for the last two days my verse in the sidebar hasn’t been showing up. I clicked over to a couple of sites who also have a sidebar verse, and theirs is gone, too. Sigh.

Hopefully the biblepromise.com server/mainframe/whatchamajigit will be up and running soon. In the meantime, get your Bible, close your eyes, open the Bible, and point.

Voila. Verse of the day. :-)

But this is pretty impressive.

And to give credit where credit is due, I first saw this video via Woulda Shoulda, but I couldn’t get the Google version to work on the blog, so I found it on You Tube.

I’m sure you were wondering.

And by the way, this performance is so the kind of thing that Emma Kate would go see, and she would talk about it for days, and probably cry a little when she talked about it, completely overwhelmed by the talent of Chris Bliss, Master Juggler.

Only an hour-long show, so the songs will be mighty short, and that’s no fun. The non-theme (songs from the 21st century) hopefully means that folks (Mandisa, Katharine, Taylor) can showcase what they do best.

Lisa Tucker – “Because of You” – I really like Kelly Clarkson’s version of this song, but Lisa’s version didn’t blow me away. Is it me, or was she really flat? She seemed to concentrate so hard on E-MOT-ING that the singing part suffered. I almost felt a little sorry for her because Simon was so rough on her, but he was on the money, truth be told.
Kellie Dawn Pickler – “Suds In The Bucket” – She seemed hesitant to me, not to mention the fact that she sang through her nose the whole time (which was pretty accurate now that I think about it, because Sara Evans does the same thing in her version, which is really another post for another day). But it was bad. Really. Bad.
Ace Young – “Drops Of Jupiter” – One of my favorite songs, but speaking of singing through your nose…was he out of his range or what? And y’all – WHAT is going on with Ace’s hair? It looks like he’s slicking it down on the top and then poufing it out on the sides. Weird. And WHY WAS HE SHOWING HIS SCAR, for heaven’s sake? The scar next to the BIG THICK CHAIN? I don’t get it.
Taylor Hicks – “Trouble” – I’ve never heard this song before, but I like it. The only thing about it is that nobody knows the song – but he was good. I actually agreed with Paula – it was nice to see Taylor just stand behind the microphone and sing. David said that it sounded like the perfect movie montage song, which is an excellent call.
Mandisa – “Wanna Praise You” – Y’all! It’s the “Shackles On My Feet” song! Look at Mandisa breaking out the praise and worship music. But I don’t think the judges got it…it was a bold choice for her. And I don’t think Mandisa’s goal was for 40 million people to want to join the “Church of Mandisa,” as Paula said. I think Mandisa was really trying to use her platform tonight, so good for her.
Chris Daughtry – “What If” – Well, he’s consistent. But again, I’m a little tired of this one-note genre deal. I think it would be way more impressive if he would show some variety, some actual interpretation, instead of doing what feels like one cover after another. He’s good at doing covers…but I’m starting to feel like he’s not very original.
Katharine McPhee – “The Voice Within” – This was probably my least favorite performance by her. She’s so good at subtlety, and I felt like she was over-singing (I guess that’s appropriate seeing as how it’s a Christina Aguilera song). After David heard her, he said, “It’s gonna be one of those nights, isn’t it? She’s better than that song.” But the judges liked it, so that’s positive for her.
Bucky Covington – “Real Good Man” – Y’all, Bucky can’t sing. And I feel it’s a mistake to venture into Tim McGraw territory, because Tim can sing. And he’s cute. And he has charisma.
Paris Bennett – “Work It Out” – Now that was just too much. And who would let their seventeen year old sing, “We can’t make it to the bedroom, so we’ll just hit the floor”? I’m a little offended. Seriously. Too much. And I agree with Simon: it was like a little girl pretending to be Beyonce’.
Elliot Yamin – “I Don’t Want To Be” – I like the twist on a Gavin DeGraw song. This was probably my favorite performance of the night – I loved it. But again, Simon was right – the dancing was hideous. :-) Great fun, though.

What a lackluster night…I’m kind of disappointed. But I think part of the problem was that they had all of a minute to sing, so everything felt jumpy and disjointed. Eh.

Best of the night: Elliot
Should go: Pickler or Bucky
Will go: Lisa Tucker