Back by Popular Demand

... by popular, I mean TWO people! hehehe

American Idol ELTON JOHN WEEK!

Scotty - Do I even need to tell you? He sang Elton John's only country song. A touching moment was when he gave a shout out to his grandma, it was so sweet. I am so glad he had his guitar to keep him from gently caressing the microphone like usual. The performance was right up his ally... a tad forgetable. I'm just waiting for the voters to get tired of his style. If they don't then he might possibly be a male Carrie Underwood for them.

Naima - "I'm Still Standing" and she turned it Reggae... and had a fake Bob Marley Jamacian accent! Oh My. I haven't heard this accent before when she was singing Umbrella. I'm so ready for her to leave, even though I give her credit for being brave/random. I can't take her outfits much longer and her voice just doesn't compare. Ugh.

Paul- I had high hopes for him doing Elton John. He did "Rocketman." He wore his crazy rose jacket and his teeth were a'blazin'. He started out too quiet for me, a little too feminine. He lacked power for me, and Rocketman NEEDS power! He fell short on this one for me, and the whispering singing ended on a bad note (or not one at all!)

Pia- "Don't let the Sun go Down on Me" She was definitely channeling JLo herself with her sparkley long sleeve mini, cute! I haven't really heard this song but of course she sang it perfectly. Sometimes perfection is boring. Some of the high notes were screaming Jessica Simpson style again, and a little nasaly. She did well.

Stefano- "Tiny Dancer," my all time favorite Elton John song, probably one of my fave songs of all time, reminds me of fun college times at The Tap! I was worried since he was a wildcard save taking on this song. He looks like a young Tybalt on the new Romeo and Juliet. This song is so epic and he did me proud! A very solid performance. I wish he'd hold some notes longer and connect the song together better, it's a little abrupt at times, but overall I enjoyed it!

Lauren- "Candle in the Wind" Love, love LOVE this song. She started at a higher octave and it made me really nervous, but OMG I could definitely hear this on the radio as a country cover. I LOVED this version, the way she tenderly hit those high notes, I am obsessed with this version. I would download it in a heart beat! Yay! the one to beat so far. Oh, and Steven Tyler likes her a LITTLE too much, creepy! Her hair looks great too!

James- "Saturday Night's Alright"A rock-n-roll theme no doubt, he took Steven's advice to not become "too pop-y." It was a fun and energetic performance, you can tell he has SUCH a blast up there, you can't help but love this kid. Fire on the piano?? They go all out for this guy. Obviously, I would never buy his album or listen to him on 94.5 the Buzz, but i can't deny his talent!

Thia - sang "Daniel," love her little dress! Ok, back to boresville we go...oh man. I think the kiddos won't get this song or her performance. She did much better when she acts/sings her age. I wasn't entertained or wow'd. Obviously she can sing cicles around me.... it's the top 11, they are good. But stakes are HIGH now and she's not doing it for me!

Casey - sang "Your Song"... personal story here, this was my mom's song with her college boyfriend, and Chelsea loves to tell me, " Hey! This is your Mom and almost dad's song!" So funny...Anyways, great song to redeem yourself on! I smiled this whole performance... I was happy for him and happy for this song. I almost teared up! The ending rocked the most, I heard a little old Casey and refined Casey all in one. Great Great Great!! Awesome! So happy he was saved!

Jacob - "Sorry is Hardest Word" I feel like when he sings his nose is full... maybe he needs a decongestant... I can make that happen. I am typing and not paying attention to him. This is a typical performace for him, I see he's about to cry at the end... Hmm... Meh. Good job. Give him some DANG critiques judges...he's not appealing to EVERYONE.

Haley - "Benny and the Jets" I guessed she would sing this... not lying, Josh is the witness! Mostly because it was the last one I could think of that hadn't been sung. I prefer her hair straight, unlike Lauren who I prefered curly like tonight. This was good song choice for her. She's kinda fun. Kinda akward. All rolled into one. Few too much yelling, and ending was weak...overall I think she did enough to stick around. Shocking to just hear Randy say "best performance of the night," though!

Ok, ladies and gents. TWO will go home next week. My WORST and please for-the-LOVE go home will be NAIMA. Joining her in the bottom will hopefully be Thia. I need to add a guy to the mix...this is hard...Josh said Stefano, but his song choice was so good, I think he held his own. I'm going to go crazy and say Scotty or Paul. Paul was just weak with Rocketman and didn't do it justice I think, and maybe people are bored with Scotty? Either way Naima and Thia BETTER go home! We'll seeeee...

Spring is here

Spring wouldn't be the same without the obligatory bluebonnet pictures! And until God says so, Shelby pup is our only child. You better believe I got her in those flowers this weekend. I'm so glad Josh lets me do all these ridiculous things with our dog.

Little Shelby loves the spring! Josh says that we should cut her hair really short for the summer. I am nervous about it, I love her coat. I know she was really hot last summer, but if anyone knows a place that is good for longer hair dogs in Houston, let me know. I just don't want her to be shaved to the skin and get sunburns. I am so nervous! I feel like she needs her fluff, haha. I also freaked out the other day after I dreamt that Shelby's teeth were rotten and fell out. So I ran to PetsMart and will start brushing her teeth. The last thing I need is for her to be put under and have a vet clean off tartar!

In baby news (or lack there of) I have found out that a few more people in our circle dealt with infertilty issues and offered some advice and hope since they have kids now. My cousin for one is very knowledgable and has the same issues as I do. She suggested that I start accupuncture, so now I need to find a place! So excited to be trying new things to help.

Keep us in your thoughts this spring! We have a great doctor who has a promising game plan for us.

Music Fun

We had a great time last night at Zac Brown Band! There were Nowaks EVERYWHERE. I didn't even bring my camera, so not like me. Josh, Ryan, Cody, Uncle Glen, cousin Donnie, me and Paige were all there. We got in free because Glen's girlfriend, Glenda is on a rodeo commitee. Yes, it's Glen and Glenda. Too funny! This is def my fave band at the moment.

I also had a small Idol Recap all written out, but never blogged it and it's kinda too late. I will say that I KNEW it'd be Karen "bee-hive" Rodriguez. She busted up her good performance of "Love will Lead you Back" with Spanish....AGAIN. It didn't flow at all. My predictions were the bottom 3 were Karen, Haley, and Thia. Well, it was Naima instead of Thia, but I was so close. Thia must have a huge 15 year old following! QUICK Recap:

Americano Idol: No mas

The group did songs from the year they were born. Can I just say WOW I'm old. I was literally older than every contestant. Naima and Paul were 1984 at least, but STILL! Paul did very well with an Elton John song, but may I suggest sitting on a stool and singing next time Paul?? Your dancing and STILL creeping me out.

Thia, who was born in 1995 of course, sang "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas. WTH! Is she going to make a Disney tribute CD? It was SO random, I could have sworn she would be in bottom three.

James did an awesome job, yet again. He rocked out to Bon Jovi's 1989 "I'll be There for You." I still liked the more sensitive performance of last week better, but the ending was awesome, FIREWORKS!

Pia is still the best girl in my opinion singing a Whitney Houston song in a nastey white romper, but Lauren A. is nipping at her heels, she redeemed herself this week, singing 1994 hit "I'm the Only One" by Melissa Ethridge, but she is SUCH an airhead. Even my mom was making fun of her, Lauren is uber-awkward when talking to Ryan Seacrest.

Scotty did a good Travis Tritt song, he's really hit his stride, but I'm still mad he's not taking my song choice considerations. Randy Travis DUDE!! Jacob is good, but sorry, hard to watch. Maybe I'll close my eyes next week. Stefano did not disappoint, one of my faves indeed. Though, I recently read that he's a little gansta' and has a DUI and marajuana arrests on his record. EEK!

Gangsta' Stefano

Lastly, Casey Abrams, back from the hospital did a crazy rendition of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." It was the first time anyone has taken on that song on American Idol, and hopefully the last. I hated that performance: So. Much. Yelling. I hope he gets back to normal next week!!

Top 13 AI Recap

It's that time of year again!! NOOO Not March Madness, could care less...also, is it baseball season? I wouldn't know. All I know is that it's AMERICAN IDOL SEASON! Whee!

OK, so I literally took notes last night, we're going to get serious this year and make some good judgements and predictions, I would love your input as well.

The Top 13 are a really good group, and some are really young...15 or 16 years old! Can I just say that they were born in 1996! Yeah... Anyways! Here's a recap of the night!

1. Lauren A. - Sang "Any Man of Mine" by Shania. It was so kareoke to me, it didn't show off her voice at all. She looked super nervous, though she is only 16 and it was the first perfomance of the night... I just think she needs to pick better songs, because she really is good, better than Taylor Swift at singing.

2. Casey Abrams - He sang the Wonder Years song. It truly was amazing. He is really great, funny, relatable. I freaking love that song, and even Josh says he likes this guy!

3. Ashthon Jones - This was one of the wildcard saves from the judges, and I'm just NOT impressed. She was OVERLY silver, big silver dress, nastey silver eye shadow and huge Snookie silver hoops. It was a forgettable performance and she's hopefully going home.

4. Paul McDonald - He has the whitest teeth EVER. He sang "Come pick me up" by Ryan Adams. He is very unique and I love this song, but he just didn't do it justice and I was distracted by his creepy dancing. I didn't wow me, and I was sad because he was awesome last week. He's still really cute and will make it through.

PAUL

5. Pia - She is probably the most beautiful constestant AI has ever had! I really am in love with her, she's so sweet and humble and amazing. Not convinced she'd win yet, she hasn't been uber-creative, she just rocks at singing, she even did Celine Dion "All by Myself" which is SO hard. A few of the high notes were screaming, but over all, very impressed!

PIA

6. James Durbin - He is the contestant who suffers from Terrets Syndrome and has a baby. He has sounded almost identical to Adam Lambert and I just wasn't a fan, UNTIL TONIGHT. He did Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" and I was blown away. It wasn't a bunch of screaming like usual, he sounded great actually singing and it was probably my favorite of the night!

7. Haley R. - She sang Patsy Cline this week, a huge change from Alicia Keys (which she rocked). I have no critiques about her singing, she's almost flawless, but I will say that she was a little "Boresville." Josh agreed. And so did Randy. She's secretly really pretty, like girl next door and I really hope she sticks around and choses a better, more exciting song.

8. Jacob - This boy is in his own league, a soulful singer who did R. Kelly's "I Believe I can Fly." He has been so impressive this season, it's hard for him to top himself. Josh LoL'ed when he mentioned Space Jam. Ok, so some of y'all will disagree, but I just feel there is no way he'll win. He's amazing and can record Christian or Adult Contemporary right now, but he's just not mainstream enough for American Idol. That's just what I think! Remember Taylor Hicks? That went far.

9. Thia - Oh little Thia, only 15 years old, voice like an angel, sang "Smile" by Michael Jackson, probably because Randy said she sounded like MJ last week. Basically, it was Boresville, USA. The begininng was pretty, then they changed it up in the middle and it was just a weird remix. Didn't work for me.

10. Stefano - I love that they saved this guy, he's awesome and very marketable. I think the little girls will love him and vote for him. However, he sang Stevie Wonder's "Lately" and it just wasn't a popular song and since I didn't know it, I couldn't get into the performance. I'm still a fan of his and know he'll go through.

11. Karen Rodriguez - UGH. So predictable. We get it. You're Latina. She sang Selena "When I Fall in Love." She sings very well, but brought nothing new to the table, sounded kinda bad at the lower notes, and there was no WOW. I was shocked she didn't bust out in Spanish again this time.

12. Scotty - Idol's resident cowboy has always been one of my faves so my expectations were really high. I was VERY disapointed at his song choice, "The River" by Garth Brooks. Don't get me wrong, that song rocks, but if you know Scotty's voice, he would do better to sing Johnny Cash or Randy Travis, some one more old school country, not a pop/rock version of country that Garth sometimes brings to the table. This just didn't fit Scotty's voice. As Josh asserted, "He wasn't the best, but wasn't the worst."

13. Naima - This "unique flower"as her name means, really is out there. She did Rhianna's "Umbrella" and I was like huh? I was left confused yet surprisingly entertained as she sang and ultimately started rapping and break dancing. It was a cool performance minus the singing, LoL. No one else took that many chances, so I hope she gets to move on.

NAIMA

So there ya go! My predictions for the chopping block tonight will be Thia & Ashthon. If I had to pick a guy that was last in my view, I guess Paul, that's hard though. I guess we'll see tonight!

I hate Stats.

So we went to the RE today. A Reproductive Endocrinologist. Sounds fancy. Anyways, after going through our charts and tests and telling me that my cycle is "out of a textbook," he diagnosed us (thus far) with 'unexplained infertility."

Now, I don't know about you, but that was pretty crappy to hear. It's like, all signs point to both of you are perfect! You just can get pregnant for some reason! Ugh, science. Anyways, he showed us some pretty grim slides about our chances on our own (2%), vs our chances with an IUI (8%)...and then on to IVF(like 50%). UUGHHHH. We were really overwhelmed with the whole diagnosis and then the cost of everything. But Josh says, "now aren't you glad I put away so much money? Are you going to be mad at me when I move so much into savings every month anymore??" Haha, oops, I was mad a little bit ago, now I'm mad we have to use it for this. Sounds terrible, but why can't we get pregnant for free like most of the world??

So, we both had lots of blood work done to check for hormone and genetic abnormalities. I'll get those results soon and take a month break from meds/charting. Our next plan of action is the Clomid/IUI : a potential "tax return baby" since the procedure costs the same amount as our return AND the month will be around April 15th! It'd be an amazing gift (but not from you Uncle Sam...from God and our own money you steal monthly!).

At church last night, Pastor Gregg said "God's timing is perfect." I have to keep reminding myself that...BUT IT'S SOoooo hard.

I'll leave you with my new 'DO...craziest thing I've done in a while. But it's growing on me. I told my friend Courtney that if I get more of a "mom 'do" maybe a baby will come! LoL

So, March. Looking forward to Karen's Fat Tuesday party, Zac Brown Band at the Rodeo, my mommy visiting in a week, and my very first Scentsy Party at Jenn's!