Elvis night.

And we’re down to four: Chris, Elliott, Katharine and Taylor.

Hey – as a quick aside – David told me that Monday he was listening to one of his favorite local talk radio shows, and apparently word got out on the interweb that Taylor Hicks is sometimes a topic of discussion. I mean, it makes sense…this is, after all, his hometown. David got very tickled listening to callers from all parts of the US call in and “talk Taylor” – apparently he has a pretty loyal following. Whether or not his following can pull him through for another week remains to be seen.

Anyway, two songs a piece – and bonus points, at least from me, to whomever sings “A Little Less Conversation.” Best. Elvis. Song. Evir.

Taylor Hicks –
“Jailhouse Rock” – I think this song is probably an obvious choice for Taylor. TOTALLY in his element. And I ADORED that ending. It’s a genre that suits him, don’t you think?

“In The Ghetto” – Before he even sings a note, I’m going to say this: EXCELLENT choice. And now that I’ve heard it – I love that Taylor gave a calm, controlled performance, and I thought the message of the song really came across. Loved it.

Chris Daughtry –
For what it’s worth, I’m always a little bit goobed out when reality TV people talk about “their fans.” But that’s neither here nor there, I guess.

“Suspicious Minds” – What’s up with the glasses? Okay. I was just a little goobed out when he was talking about his fans. But the glasses have sent me straight over the goobed out edge. On top of that, this performance was sort of boring to me. It felt like a warm-up.

“A Little Less Conversation” – BONUS POINTS! BONUS POINTS! I wish I could’ve seen Elvis perform this song live. That being said, I like how Chris sounded, but I feel like he missed the fun part of this song – because anyone from the South knows that this is a VERY fun song. I detect that maybe Chris was taking himself a little seriously this week. Am I the only one who feels that way? Here’s what I think it is. Elvis was a great singer AND a strong personality. Chris is a great singer – but he’s weak on the personality end, and that was painfully obvious in this song especially.

Elliott Yamin –
“I Can Dream” – A little bit of a rough start, but I think he found his groove about 30 seconds in. I know that he’s probably the favorite to be voted off this week, but I think he did an awesome job. He made it sound like a contemporary song, and on top of that he’s such a likeable guy (i.e., he doesn’t talk about his “fans” and doesn’t go all Bono on us with the sunglasses).

“Trouble” – Did anybody see how much fun the band and the back-up singers were having? My favorite Elliott performance yet. He is really, really growing on David and me. I think the underdog just may make it to the final three.

Katharine McPhee –
“Hound Dog” / “All Shook Up” – I’m a Katharine fan – but this performance was a little hyper. It seemed like she was trying so hard to be fun! We’re having fun! Everybody! Fun! Look what a fun! performer! I am! Hoping for better things in song #2.

“Can’t Help Falling In Love” – I’m afeared that this is going to be boring. Now I’ve listened. Yep, boring.

Once again, the judges seemed mystified as to why the performances were so good. Here’s the answer: THE SONGS WERE BETTER BACK THEN. It’s so clear that the musicians have more to work with, the singers have more to work with – because these songs are more than just a clever hook. There’s some meat to them, you know?

Best of the night: Elliott
Should go: Chris
Will go: Katharine

Tracey emailed me this video – it’s called The Evolution of Dance. I thought y’all might get a kick out of it, too.

Crazy Blogger problems this AM.

For a little while I thought all my files were gone, that I was left with nothing but a bright green background and a swirly border, and I was. not. happy.

I’m still waiting for my blood pressure to get back to normal, but in the meantime, I’ll tell you this.

Last night I had a dream that I was playing around with Photoshop (hubby actually gave me a short tutorial a couple of days ago in real life), and I found a hidden window in my little corner of Photoshop dreamworld that was filled with all kinds of blog banner templates in bright, vibrant colors. And they were 3-D and I could make them spin around and joy – deep, abiding joy – filled my soul.

I should probably be embarrassed to even tell y’all that.

When I was re-hashing my dream this morning as I drank my coffee, I determined that I may need one of you to approach me ever-so-gently and help me back off of this interweb precipice. Because clearly I am a woman obsessed.

I HAD A DREAM ABOUT A BLOG TEMPLATE.

I mean, y’all. Seriously.

I am obviously in danger of falling into some geeky technological abyss.

I haven’t told David about my dream yet (would you tell YOUR husband about such a dream?), but I know exactly what he will say when I do:

“NERRRRRRRRRRRD!”

I so am.

Last night my mama called and asked if I’d help her with the wording for an invitation. She explained that she and Daddy were hosting a neighborhood dinner for someone who’s moving away, and in true Southern fashion Mama wants to do a printed invite.

She can do a formal dinner for 30, you see, but the whole potluck thing throws her off completely.

Here is a re-cap of our conversation:

Mama: “I start off with ‘Please join us for a Potluck Dinner’…”

Me: “Okay.”

Mama: “…honoring Neighbor Lady” [in case you didn’t catch it – that’s not her real name]

Me: “Okay.”

Mama: “In celebration of her retirement from” [then reads name of Large Government Entity where Neighbor Lady works]

Me: [starting to get puzzled] “O. Kay.”

Mama: “On May 21st, at 6 o’clock, in our home.”

Me: [feeling better now] “All right.”

Mama: “Please bring your favorite Southern dish…”

Me: [puzzled all over again] “Mmm-hmm.”

Mama: “…to accompany fried chicken.”

Me: [now totally puzzled] “Keep going.”

Mama: “Bobby and I will supply all the ice, drinks, paper goods and desserts.”

Me: “Hold on, Mama. You’re giving too much information. This is turning into a paragraph, not an invitation.”

Mama: “Well, how will they know if we don’t tell them?”

Me: “How about if you just say, ‘Please bring your favorite Southern side dish’?”

Mama: “Okay.”

[long pause]

Me: “What?”

Mama: “You don’t think I need to mention the fried chicken?”

Me: “No. No, I don’t think you need to mention the fried chicken.”

Mama: “Well, what about the paper goods? Don’t I need to mention that your daddy and I will have all the paper goods?”

Me: “Mama, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that if you and Daddy are having a group of people over for a cookout, they are going to assume that you’ll have some plates and forks and cups so that they can, you know, eat. They are not going to arrive with a pack of Hefty plates and some Solo cups.”

Mama: “So you think it’s okay?”

Me: “I think it’s okay.”

And by the way, the irony of my mama having a dinner with paper plates is not lost on me.

The OCD apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree, does it?

I got a little tickled when I saw the Blessed Beyond Measure sidebar:

Do y’all see that?

Do you see?

It’s me. Right next to Blair Warner.

BLAIR WARNER!!!

I mean, she was the coolest.

Well, technically Jo was the coolest, but the girly-girl in me was always drawn to Blair…with her perfectly coiffed hair and ever-present strand of pearls. Natalie was funny and all, but she never could deliver a punchline without laughing a little bit herself.

But Blair – well, she had it all.

The only thing that could be cooler?

Sitting on a blogroll next to Tootie.

But I don’t think she blogs.

LBY post is below if you have clicked over to read it.

Otherwise, here’s what’s going on with us and the toddler:

1. I’m fairly certain that there was not a single moment today – aside from a 35 minute catnap – when Alex was not talking. Or singing. As a result, David and I are sitting in our den with neither television nor music playing. SILENCE, blessed silence, how we’ve longed for thee. Maybe that should be a hymn.

2. For a thirty minute period tonight, Alex ran from the den to the kitchen to the den to the kitchen to the den to the kitchen (starting to see a pattern?), all the while trying to keep his feet in his daddy’s Crocs as he sang, “Riding the range, riding the range, let’s go, riding the range, YAHOO!” from The Backyardigans. And on “YAHOO!” he would fall down and kick the shoes off, die laughing, and then start the whole process over again. By about minute 17 of this endeavor, I’m fairly confident that I developed a nervous tic underneath my left eye that will remain with me for the rest of my earthly days.

3. Consider yourself warned. If you call me on the phone, Alex will want to talk to you. Sister, Daphne and Emma Kate will vouch for this. And when he talks to you, he will tell you hey, tell you what he just did and what he’s doing next (“Hey Emma Cake. I’m goin’ home. I just went to Publix and saw Blue’s Clues book.”) And then he will say, “I love you! Bye bye!” and hand the phone to me. It’s one of those things that’s cute to David and me, but I know it’s really annoying to the people who have to listen to him, so I’ll go ahead and apologize in advance. But it’s either let the child talk on the phone, or listen to the child talk about how much he wants to talk on the phone while trying to have a conversation. Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.

4. Emma Kate (or as my daddy likes to call her, Ezra Kyle), her hubby, and several of their friends will be in church with us tomorrow morning. I AM SO EXCITED. We’re having a big ole lunch afterwards at my friend Sandra’s house (I’ve got pork tenderloins marinating right now, and I just made sweet potato casserole and cheese grits – and other people are bringing yummy stuff, too). I was reminding Alex earlier today that he’s going to ride home with our neighbors tomorrow after church so that his daddy and I can go to lunch at Sandra’s without having to worry about getting him home for his nap. After I “broke” the news to him, he looked at me for just a second and then said, “I get to play with Sarah? BYE BYE, Mama and Daddy!” So he’s heartbroken, obviously.

5. Last night at our church? VEGGIE TALES! The little man was riveted…he sang and clapped and clapped and sang. And then screamed when the show was over. I’m fairly certain that he will be expecting to see Larry and Bob in the sanctuary again tomorrow morning. So it should be lots of fun to explain that they’ve left our church. FOR-EV-ER.

Hope y’all have a great Sunday.