a day in the life

Ten on Tuesday

1. Well, we do still exist around here, but somehow haven't figured out to fit everything in. Namely, me time. I am behind on emails, blogs, favorite shows, and writing down anything. But my hampers are almost free of laundry and my laundry baskets are completely empty, we had a real dinner tonight, the kitchen is clean, and I mopped the kitchen floor this morning. And I am attempting to blog at 10:47, approximately 47 minutes after I turned into a pumpkin.
2. Jackson is two months today! He is a chubby boy at 11 pounds 2 ounces, 21 3/4 inches tall, bigger than Charlie, but smaller than Lily at that age. He smiles all. the. time. And makes the cutest noises. He made the most heart-wrenching horrible screams today at the doctor during and for about ten minutes after his shots. That, was very, very, rough. No semblance of a schedule yet, but mostly eating every three hours, sometimes longer. And we won't talk about his sleeping. I am not going to fall for THAT again. He is totally out of newborn, wearing mostly 0-3, but is starting to get into some 3-6  hand me downs from his brother. Lily is my calming influence during dinner making time as when she sings to him he immediately calms down. It is great. Oh and he spits up. A LOT. Here he is looking at his brother. Watching, and waiting.
Note: This photo is named Jackson5. Ha.
3. Lily just told me today that a while ago a boy kissed her. SERIOUSLY???
4. Charlie has the ability lately to go from super cuddly happy boy to full on almost three year old who MUST get his own way. Guess what version I enjoy more?
5. I am really ready for Spring.
6. The new gallery at Write. Click. Scrapbook. is up. You should definitely check it out. After all you can read more about this
and see all of the other projects that have been sitting around waiting to be finished. It only took me 16 years to do this one.
7. Does anyone know anything about working simultaneously in Photoshop AND Aperture? I need some help. My brain cannot seem to fix the problems I am having.
8. I am really hoping that our snow is done-at least our snow days. We have already lost our March break and one of our three days of Spring Break. Our Superintendent doesn't believe in snow days. REally? After Snowverkill 2010?
9. Lily is equally into princesses and superheros. Last week a princess book came home from the library, this week a 5000 pound encyclopedia of superheros. 5000 POUNDS.
10. I will get caught up on 365 soon and share the next monthly attempt at a good Taylor children photo. It was an adventure again this month. Until then, Jack Popeye.

The Sing Off

Yes, it is yet another review-and for those of you who haven't seen it yet, spoilers are abundant, so you might want to check back later...

I LOVE The Sing Off. Last year Bj and I started watching it because of Ben Folds-well, I wanted to see if for the music too, but Bj, was all about Ben. Let's just say that Bj is NOT a fan of any kind of reality show (the only member of the Willis/Dillow/Pershey/Taylor clan to NOT watch Project Runway) but this is different. We have more fun watching this show than any other.

Nick Lachey may be Bj's new Robert Goulet. He really doesn't like "smug" people and his da da da dah? da da da dum. up and down speech patterns drive him crazy. But of course Bj can add another impersonation to his resume'.

We quickly realized last year that we are not fans of Nicole Scherzinger. We actually ended up fast forwarding last year any time she spoke because 1. there are no musical comments that ever come from her mouth and 2. there are no intelligent comments...ok maybe a bit harsh, but really Bj gets me laughing anytimes she speaks.

Shawn Stockman is totally the therepist. If someone in the group has an inkling of a human interest story, he is sure to make them feel better and worthy of being on the show. And, some decent musical critics.

Now Ben. Oh how I love Ben. He is witty, intelligent, and gives real musical knowledge. Sometimes he doesn't say exactly what he is thinking I assume, but for the most part he is spot on. Now for a few thoughts...

• After Ben identified who sang which part and talked about the tightness of the moving chords and the troubles with the static chords during The Eleventh Hour's performance, Nicole said...
  "When the beat dropped in and you guys did your thing, I felt the groove. Definitely."
  Wow. That's really helpful.
• The only way Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town should and could get knocked out is when the public starts voting (and this is all Bj) and their fans can't figure out how to text from their rotary phones. I really don't know what is going to happen with them because they are in another league. Plus, they were on Jack's Big Music Show so really, no competing. 
• Ummmm-Berklee? Your professors are all embarrassed that you called yourselves "Pitch Slapped." You deserved to go home solely based on your name, but really you all were trying WAY too hard.
• Ben, you are hilarious. "The cymbals...It's not against the law or anything but in the bridge, when some dude walks in and goes pssssshhhhhhhhhhhh...it's the only thing that takes down the perfect score" Then I loved at the end when the beat boxer and Ben shared a moment after he "cymbal crashed" again.

So all in all, my current picks are

1. Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town because they are amazing. They won't win, but I hope they will have some new interest and have some new gigs.
2. Committed. Wow. Their sound was incredibly rich and their bass was AMAZING. Their balance was a little off-perhaps a little too much bass overpowering the lead, but seriously, those guys are good. Not just thrown together for this show, but adapted their sound for this show. 
3. Groove for Thought. Although I am not the biggest fan of their lead, their accompaniment is awesome. So nice to hear real jazz. Reminds me a bit of Manhattan Transfer which will always be one of my all time favorite groups. But diction lead singer, diction.
4. Street Corner Symphony is Bj's choice. Mostly because their bass looks so much like Mitch Hedberg but they were good too. But mostly because of Mitch (rest in peace...)

Ok so I probably won't do a review everytime, but we do really, really enjoy this show and I am so excited that the overall quality of the groups is so improved. And hello? Whiffenpoofs? There is some amazing history there. Let's just say the whole thing makes this former music teacher and performer very happy...and sad that all I am doing is watching from my comfy chair.

 

Ten on Tuesday

1. Look! It's Tuesday!
2. I still have not gotten a hang of the whole shift return thing. I think it is DUMB. And yes, I am using DUMB which is a banned word in our house but since Lily isn't going to read this an police me, I will say it again. DUMB.
3. I have been a busy little bee with my photography business as of late and can I just say that I love it? Love meeting different families, love capturing their personalities, their lives. It is just so much fun. So have you become a fan of A Day in the Life Photography on Facebook?
4. Speaking of, beginning to have a need for a new lens and am thinking of either the 85mm 1.8 or the 50mm 1.4 (I'm afraid my 50mm 1.8 is beginning to have a major focus issue.) Anyone have any experience with either? Reviews? No matter how many reviews I can read on Amazon it still doesn't seem to be enough. I can't decide.
5. Pretty much anything can set my children off in to wild laughing hysterics. Tonight it was Charlie breathing heavily with a frog in his throat. Like I said-anything.
6. I heard tonight of scary weather in Wyoming tonight. Yuck. Reminds me of the weather we had last Friday. Those who live on my street can attest to the INSANE wind and rain-so bad that I literally could not see an inch out of my window. Things not rolling down the street, but FLYING down the street. Although I can't prove it, we all think we may have been on the outskirts of a funnel. I have never seen anything like it before in my life. Scary. And I'm officially done with scary weather stories for the year.
7. I'm still taking photos for my photo-a-day in May and I will catch up here very soon. It has been our busiest May on record. And the busiest part is starting with a carnival, a birthday party, a visitor, graduation, recital, editing, among many other things. Yes, a busyMay indeed.
8. And our June is turning out to be just as busy.
9. I am completely in love with this.
10. I can't believe LOST is almost over. And I can't decide if I am relieved or not.

Ben and Straight No Chaser

As many of you know I am a musician. A musician on hiatus, but a musician just the same. I have spent thousands of hours practicing, listening, singing, performing. I miss it. A lot.

Last night there was a show on called The Sing-off. Bj and I watched it together (a miracle in itself as Bj hates all form of Reality TV.) We totally watched it for Ben Folds. Although I really do love A Capella singing, I really could just listen to Ben Folds talk/sing/play the piano for two hours for the next three nights. Seriously. I even love the way the man talks.

So many of the groups were eh, some were just plain screaming and out of tune, some were just entertaining, I totally called the Mormans, and the Puerto Ricans should totally win. They were the tightest and had the best harmonies. We both agreed that the girl from the Pussycat Dolls is kind of a complete idiot who was completely passive aggressive all night. "For a group of just girls, that was good." "For a group of housewives, you did pretty well." And on and on. We were also in agreement that we were so glad that Shawn Stockman from Boys II Men was part of the judges because they were really are the epitome of a quality sampling of A Capella music. For a pop group at least. We both laughed out loud at his comment "It's going out of tune-hey look over there!" Funny.

But again, Ben? I could listen to him talk all day. He seriously sings when he speaks. What a great voice. There wasn't a "mean" judge so he did sugar coat much of what he said, but there was real constructive criticism there, perhaps a little poetic and watered down for people those who probably haven't really spent a whole lot of time in music classes, but still, good solid critics. I hope those groups actually take what Shawn and Ben say and apply it. And I hope they realize they should completely ignore everything what'shername said. Again we found ourselves laughing out loud when he told the Mormans "Yeah it was good, but there could have been a little more cussing." Solid critic Ben.

So this brings me to Straight No Chaser. I can't remember who tipped me off to them-Daddy perhaps? I absolutely love this arrangement of The Twelve Days of Christmas.
And I was very excited to see they have come out with a full studio album of Christmas music. You can listen to the whole album here. It's entertaining, funny, and really, good A Capella singing. Check it out.

My Oscar recap

1. I laughed out loud at the beginning when I heard through somebody's mic "Open the curtain, STEVE!" Anyone else catch that?
2. I loved every minute of Hugh. I have always wanted to see him perform and was excited to see he truly is a triple threat.
3. Speaking of triple threat, I thought Anne Hathaway looks absolutely stunning I also thought she sounded pretty amazing too. I kept thinking, when did she have time to warm up her voice?
4. Not worst dressed, but I really did not like Heidi's dress It looks poorly fitted and kind of looks like it is falling off of her. Maybe it is the angle, but blah.
5. Poor Christopher Walken. Surely someone could have straighten his bow tie before he went out.
6. I also thought Alicia Keys was gorgeous.
7. This thing was way. too. long.
8. I am so happy Heath Ledger won for Best Supporting Actor. He totally deserved that award because he was just that good in this role. Amazing...and very sad.
9. I thought the music and set were very, very cool. Very retro of them.
10. Kate Winslet probably had the best speech of the night, but I also really enjoyed Kunio Kato's speech ending with "Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto !" Very cute.

Ten on Tuesday

1. My first Ten on Tuesday of 2009. I wonder what I will come up with this year.
2. I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I am attempting a photo-a-day for 2009 (album to the right.) Ohmygoodness that means 365 photos. Not that I don't take MANY more photos than that in a year, but I do need to fill the daily void as Elizabeth is done with her's. *sigh*
3. I can't tell you how excited I am that Scrubs is not done, but has moved to ABC. I love that show.
4. It is really gloomy and gray around here today and supposedly we are scheduled to get a terrible ice storm, but just gloomy and gray so far.
5. Charlie is really fighting naps at the moment. Sometimes one, sometimes none, and we are all feeling the effects of that lack of sleep-especially the one on one Mama/Lily playtime. I really miss that.
6.  Did you know that Katherine is doing a weekly photo? She started out with a very cool picture that once again I request a copy of ;)
7. Why yes, we really do like photography in this family.
8. Not that this is any photographic genius, but I love this photo of Lily trying with all her might not to smile.
9. The smile won in the end 10. So far this year I have read two books. The Host by Stephanie Meyer and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I would recommend them both. Now what to read...

Ten on Tuesday

1. Charlie's going to be a hair/necklace/earring puller. Lily never was. I am in trouble.
2. Did you know that Stampin' Up stamps actually DON'T wipe right off tables? No? I found that out the hard way today while stamping with Lily. Probably doesn't help when I left to feed Charlie and the pad was turned face down on the table.
3. Bj had a really, really hard day at work today. Around 4pm he decided that he needed a change of scenery and brought his laptop down to the kitchen table to work for a while. Lily sat down next to him coloring peacefully for a while then decided to gift him with the stickers off her shirt. I think they stayed on his arm right where she put them for about ten minutes. What a sweet Daddy.
4. You better believe I have to have Charlie has to have this. 5. Dear Jerky guy who honked his horn at me at the mall for no reason except to make me jump and elicit the Willis startle noise. Hope you enjoyed your little laugh. Hmphf.
6. I scrapbooked. No really. As soon as I get off my rump and scan them in you will see them. I promise.
7. I am beyond done with living in limbo. Seriously.
8. Stinker. This is how I found Lily when she woke up from her nap the other day. She also was wearing two diaper covers under this. Please also noticed that she also dressed Elmo up in her Bitty Baby's pajamas. She was warned if she got into her dresser again she would go to the trouble chair. Guess what. 9. Charlie has not only decided he would turn over from his belly to his back, but yesterday morning he turned from his back to his belly. He also is flipping himself around in his crib already. And if anyone has any swaddling tips (even double blankets don't keep him in) I am up for options. He sleeps SO MUCH BETTER when swaddled. And so do I. :)
10. Can you say PROJECT RUNWAY?