I Promise I'll Stop Soon...

But I have a bit of photography business news to share...


The new blog is done! I just updated the layout of the old blog because I thought the new blog would take a bit longer to set up, but since I live with a technological WIZARD and I refuse to sleep until I'm finished with a project, I got finished faster with the new blog faster than I thought I would.

Next order of blog business - change the header for this blog. :)

I'm going to leave the old MSR blog up, but all new posts will go up on the new blog. You'll also find links to my new website and other info on the new blog.

When you have time, I would love it if you could go over there, check it out and let me know what you think!

Thank you for all your support and encouragement!

A Visit from Grandpa Toad and Grammy

The title of this blog post sounds like the name of a children's book, doesn't it? A little? Maybe not...anyway...

We recently had a visit from my dad (Grandpa Toad) and stepmom (Grammy A.K.A. Super Kimmie). Super Kimmie stayed with us for almost a month when G-Man was born and then turned around and came right back with dad for G-Man's blessing. (Which ended up being three weeks after he was born. Which was too soon. It was a rough weekend for me. But that's another story for another day.)

This was their first visit back since the blessing. We had a great time the first part of the week just hanging out at the house. Not much picture taking went on. What did go on that was amazing? Dad built new shelves for our office. And he fixed up the shelves in our utility closet, and made a little shelf on the bottom of the closet so our vacuum could go in there. (I'll post some pictures when I finally paint the office and reorganize the utility closet.) And I got new tools for my birthday that Dad used to build the shelves. Sure, my birthday isn't until May, but birthday presents are always welcome! :)

Near the end of their week here, we decided to go into Boston. Dad wanted to find this sign and get his picture taken next to it:

I guess when they were here for G-Man's blessing, he had his picture taken by the same sign. I didn't realize when I was taking the picture, but the building behind him is a retirement home. If you look closely to the left of Dad's face, there is an old man kind of glaring at Dad. Or maybe he's glaring at me.

Then we went to the New England Aquarium. We had such a great time when Matt and Emily came to visit, we thought we'd go back. It's tough finding activities in Boston in the winter. Spring and fall are much more exciting times to visit the city. Summer can be oppressive, but at least you can get out in the morning and do things outside.

G-Man had a great time. He spent most of his time trying to climb things, but he enjoyed the fish too.

The part of the week that wasn't spent building shelves was spent with G-Man being chased by and chasing Grandpa and Grammy around the house. G-Man yells "RUN" and then he takes off running around the front-room-front-hall-kitchen-dining-room circle in our house. I've tried to take up the slack since they left. It's pretty exhausting.

G-Man also loves this stuffed animal that Diggity bought for Amanda in Japan. She couldn't fit it in her boxes when she left Boston, so she left it at our house. G-Man found it in our guest room a while ago and really loves to play with it. Before this chasing session began, we heard something rolling down the stairs. We thought it was G-Man, but it was the pig. They all played with it for a long time. (Sorry, Amanda. I'll hide it better.)

Thanks for coming, you guys! We miss you!

American Idol - Top 36, Week 2 Results

I'm watching the results show on Friday morning with my friends Dana and CRob. Yes, I DO love them to wait and watch the results show this morning instead of last night. :)

We have done our run down of the performance show and we're ready to watch.

Poor Ryan is sick. Get some sleep, dude.

I was wondering how they were going to keep last week's winners visible - they are waiting in the weird spaceship Top 12 seats.

Dana and CRob like Normund Gentle. I like him, but didn't vote for him.

It's kind of interesting to see the recap of their journey so far. Since a few of these people didn't show up in the audition footage, it's a little weird to see them auditioning now.

Group Performance - "Closer" by Ne-Yo
This could be bad. They sound good. Nick Mitchell lost the words. Hee hee. Matt and Adam are in the front because they have the moves. These group performances really reveal awkwardness. Welder (can't remember his name) has no rhythm. Also, just noticed that Matt Giraud looks an awful lot like Michael Buble. The girls lucked out with lyrics on this song. Super easy. Nick is HIGH-LARIOUS. I really love Adam Lambert.

Last night's recap - Nice to see the backstage stuff. Sad to see all that awkward singing and onstage movement in such a concentrated format.

We don't like Jesse. She's annoying.

RESULTS -
Allison is first. Ryan, you're annoying. Don't quote Randy. Allison is pulled to the side, and they bring Jesse down. Now, Jesse is by Allison and Matt B. comes down. Allison is through!!! She gets to sing again. The one bright spot of this year's format is that we don't have to listen to the rejects again. Allison sounds even better than Wednesday.

Megan and Kris are next. This doesn't bode well to have both of them down front this early. Now, Matt Giraud and Janine are down front. And all are scooted to the side. One of the four is in the top 12. It's not Janine, it's not Matt G. It's either Kris or Megan. Kara rambles...and the person that is through is Kris. Poor Megan. Maybe they'll bring her back for the Wild Card. Kris is so excited he's jumping while he sings. Cute. We're wondering if he is LDS. Does anyone know?

Idol retrospective video clip over past season. Lame. Double lame because they already showed it on another episode.

Brooke White is here! You're so pretty, Brooke. She's here to drop her single, "Hold Up My Heart." We're talking about her dress because this is kind of a boring song. I'm sad that's her first single. It sounds like it belongs in the 70s. And she was kind of smiling through some pretty sad lyrics. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Last set of results - They're going to bring everybody else down. Nick, Kai, Mishavonna, Adam & Jasmine. If it's not Adam, I'm going to be angry. It looks like from the order that they are standing in that he is probably okay. He talked to Mishavonna, Kai and then skipped over to Jasmine. The three of them are going home so it can be Nick vs. Adam. And now a commercial break to add to the tension...and Adam is in the top 12. Woot!!!

There's Been a Slight Delay...

...and the AI Results Show Recap will be here tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!

American Idol - Top 36, Week 2

I have to get something off my chest before I start:

Dear Blue Team from the Biggest Loser:
That was undoubtedly the most idiotic elimination I've ever seen. You're going to continue to lose weigh-ins and you're going to get picked off one by one. Aubrey, I blame you. You could have forced a tie and sent home the person who SHOULD have gone home. Lame.

Okay. Glad I could say that.

The more I think about the way they are putting the top 12 together, the more annoyed I am. Adam Lambert in the Pimp Spot! I'm surprised Jasmine Murray is first. I thought they liked her.

Jasmine Murray - "Love Song"
Bold choice. It's too low for her at the beginning. And she's messing with the melody too much for me. It was just alright for me, dawg. It's getting better as she goes on. Never mind. She's oversinging at the end. The judges are confirming my every word. I feel good about that.

Sweet! No parents/friends in the Red Coke Room tonight. That will save them a boatload of time and me a truckload of annoyance tonight.

Matt Giraud - "Viva La Vida"
I dig him. He's a talented dude. I'm sad he picked this song. I wish he'd chosen a different one. He's singing it well, but I don't think this song was a good idea. The #1 rule of American Idol song choosing is: Don't choose a song that is heavily associated with the original artist. As much as this song has been on the radio for the past 6 months, and as great a song as it is, he should have chosen something else. It becomes too karaoke when you do songs like this. Plus, this performance backed up to his awesome Hollywood Week performance makes him look even worse tonight. Who is helping these people pick songs? And I'm sad because in a normal year, he would cruise through the middle to next week and would have a chance to develop. But this year, he's probably not going to make it through. *sigh*

Jeanine Vailes - "This Love"
Cannon fodder. She's awful. I love this song and now I almost hate it. Bad sign that I don't recognize her from any of the previous footage. And now that I've watched enough of it to see how her name is spelled...."boo doop!" goes the Tivo.

Nick Mitchell - "And I Am Telling You"
He's dressed in normal clothing for the opening. But here's "Norman" on the stairs. White tux coat. Wow. I have to say, I would pay to see this guy do cabaret. He'd be AMAZING. But, here not so much. He was pitchy and the performance was crazy. He basically threw it. Vote for the Worst is going to be all over this performance. "Karate Kid!"

Paula is way too lucid this year. I have to admit, I miss the crazy. Never mind. There it is.

Allison Iraheta - "Alone"
Another girl I don't recognize. This could be awful. Ever since Carrie sang it so well in her year, I get nervous when people try it. She's got PIPES! First good song choice of the night. She's losing her high stuff as the song goes on, and she didn't go for the huge note at the end. But best performance so far. 866-IDOLS-05

Kris Allen - "Man in the Mirror"
This guy looks vaguely familiar, but this is another one that didn't get much face time through the auditions. And a bad, pitchy start on a Michael Jackson song. That's tough to recover from. The beginning was too low. The high stuff is better, and he is really trying. I'm not sure he'll make it through with votes. But the judges might bring him back if he doesn't get through.

Megan Corkrey - "Put Your Records On"
This is my friend Leah's former choir student. She's cute. I like her. And this is a perfect song for her. She oversang a bit as the song went on, but she's doing well. Thanks for agreeing, Simon! Favorite Randy quote so far: "You're definitely drop dead." Go, Megan! 866-IDOLS-07

Matt Breitzke - "If You Could Only See"
He's got a good voice. He doesn't have the image so much. Maybe it's the song not matching his image. I hate to say that, because he seems so nice. But it just didn't work. He didn't look comfortable at all while he was singing. It's a good song, he just shouldn't have sung it. I swear - it's like the judges are watching me type!! :)

Jesse Langseth - "Bette Davis Eyes"
She's a little bit of a plant. Her brother is Jonny Lang - a very famous blues guitarist and singer. I like her voice. I like her 80's shirt. But I didn't see her connecting with the audience very much. It was kind of like she was singing for herself. Lots of jazz singers feel that way for me. Like they're singing for themselves and don't really care that I'm there watching them. I want to be connected with as an audience member. Not so much connection from her.

Kai Kalama -"What Becomes of the Broken Hearted"
I have liked him from the beginning. He sounds great, but I'm not sure this was exciting enough of a song. He's trying really hard to make it exciting, but it's just not quite there. Bummer. I don't think he's going to make it through.

Mishavonna Henson - "Drops of Jupiter"
Wow. Her name. Ok. I'm trying not to let my prejudice for this song cloud my judgement here. I don't think anyone should ever sing this song. It's just boring. Her falsetto was a little pitchy. The last note was awful.

Ah...the one I've been waiting for. Sing to me, Adam.

Adam Lambert - "Satisfaction"
Normally I would really worry about someone singing this song, but I think he's going to kill it. Ok. That was GREAT. He's got an insane range and flawless vocal technique. He's fun to watch - it was amazing. Go find his performance on YouTube or buy it on iTunes. That was awesome. Paula's giving the weird-hand-clap-standing-ovation. I'm kind of amazed to hear a musical theater singer be able to transition to pop/rock like that. He deserved the pimp spot.
866-IDOLS-12.

Voting for: Megan, Adam & Allison

ATGDTW - Feb. 25, 2009

ATGDTW = Awesome Things G-Man is Doing This Week

I'd like to promise this will become a weekly feature on a specific day, but...it probably won't.

1. He has started greeting and saying good-bye to inanimate objects. Example from breakfast this morning:

G-Man: (while waving hand) "Hi, cheese! Hi, milk! Hi...(he can't say grapes, so he just stopped for a minute) Hi, eeches (peaches)"

2. Earlier this week, we talked to Chris & Heather and Amanda on a three-way iChat. G-Man was in rare form as our resident performer, showing off all his tricks. He played his solo version of ring-around-the-rosie, he made his animal sounds...it was darling. But the best was the next morning when Diggity was working on his laptop and G-Man crawled up next to him, looked right into the computer screen and said, "Hi, Guys!" and then looked puzzled and sad when his siblings weren't there to say hi back to him.

3. He's carrying on a proud Sanderson tradition of heavy liquid consumption:



4. When feeding him string cheese, he insists on having it cut into spheres (thanks, Grandpa Toad!) and as I type this, he has lined up all the grapes on the far side of his highchair tray and is racing them across the tray. He's saying "Go!" as he flicks each grape.

I'd better go. Have a good day! AI tonight! (thanks Pres. Obama for the panic attack I had last night when I arrived home and realized the Tivo wasn't recording anything.)

Catching Up

I've neglected this blog a bit when it comes to reporting on the family. I admit it. But I'm repenting.

To be honest, we haven't had any huge events going on around here. Diggity isn't traveling much right now, courtesy of the economic slowdown. G-Man and I are hanging out and reading books and playing. He's learned some cool new stuff. For starters, he can say "cool." Cracks Diggity and I up every time. We don't even know where he learned the word. He's in that stage right now where we try to get him to say funny stuff. Endless entertainment. He also learned how to kick a ball, so that is the game of the moment. He stands by our front door and kicks the ball into the kitchen and you have to stand in the kitchen and kick the ball back. It's great fun.

We have had a few picture events this month, so I'll catch up on those too. First, we had a 50 degree day about a week and a half ago. Normally, that's not so noteworthy. But, with the winter we have had, it was fabulous to be outside and have it be warm. I told G-Man we were going outside and started to put his vest on. He was very confused and kept pointing to his parka. Once we got outside, he forgot all about his parka.

The snow is gross right now. And because it was so warm, there were lots of puddles. Which G-Man kept kicking/hitting his ball into. He wants my help in the next two pictures. I did help. I just had to take some pictures of the cute, angry face first.

And I realize he looks like a ragamuffin with that hair. And that was days ago. He got his hair cut today.

We had a wonderful Valentine's day. I found a box of our favorite sugar cookies in the sugar-free variety and sent them to Diggity at work, and he got some books from my Amazon list and a photography magazine. He also got me a beautiful flower arrangement with Gerber daisies - my favorite - and we went to breakfast at a local diner. We spent the evening celebrating as a family as well. We went to hang out with the L. family and a few of our other friends came by too. We had Moe's queso and yummy treats and learned a new card game. Good, good times.

Doesn't he look excited? He was actually pretty thrilled to be sitting up in this chair. He always tries to climb into it when we got to their house.

Next up....a visit from Super Kimmie and Dad.

American Idol - Top 36, Week 1 Results

WARNING - If you don't live on the East Coast, the results of tonight's AI are included in this post. Stop reading if you want to watch it first. But come back and read it later. :)

A group number? This early? I liked it, I'm just surprised.

I really like Anoop. Tatiana is nutty. Dial Idol has Danny Gokey as the top boy and Alexis Grace as the top girl. They're not sure on the third person. We'll see if their right.

Results:
Casey Carlson - OUT
Stephen Fowler - OUT
(Sort of tough that they have to sit on the stage once they are eliminated.)
Alexis Grace - IN! Dial Idol has it so far. And nice that the people who make it through get to sing again instead of us having us listen to the crappy people that got voted off. This is a huge improvement at this stage in the show.
Ricky Braddy & Jackie Tohn - Both OUT. That was unnecessarily cruel to bring them both up.
Anoop Desai & Michael Sarver - Anoop is OUT (waahhh) and Michael is IN. I'm sad about this one. 20,000 votes separating them. That explains why Dial Idol couldn't call the third place vote getter. I'm sure Anoop will be on the wild card show.

Random Filler Time:

• Taped Package of the opening of the new American Idol experience at Disney World. Carrie, you're so pretty! :)
• Carly Smithson & Michael Johns are here! I think they sang this on tour, from what I remember reading. Meh. I didn't like it.
  

Back to Results:
Stevie Wright, Brent Keith and Ann Marie Boscovitch all had to stand up at their seats and sit right back down. All OUT. Rude, Ryan. That was rude.

Of course they are going to finish the show with Danny and Tatiana center stage with one spot left. And we're going to commercial. Ryan, you're lame. Obviously, Danny got the most votes, but watching Tatiana lose it could be fun.

(It doesn't help that I'm watching this without a Tivo buffer and I have to sit through the commercials. Though, I did get to see the version of the Subway commercial where my cute former student Brianne Healey is one of the dancers and there is a closeup of her at the end.)

Tatiana is standing there flipping her hair and on the verge of tears. Wow. She's amazing. Not in a good way.
Danny = IN and Tatiana = OUT And looks like she may faint and is very upset. She's being shepherded offstage by Jackie Tohn. Thanks, Jackie. Though, they keep cutting to her watching Danny sing and she looks like a wreck. She's sobbing and not clapping and hiding behind Stevie. Lame. If they bring her back for the wild card, I'm going to be annoyed.

Speaking of the wild card, I've been looking for information everywhere to figure out what is happening with the show as far as who will be on and how they will advance. I finally found this via Wikipedia:
However, the semifinals will see the biggest change as the Wild Card round returns for the first time since American Idol (season 3). Also, there will be 36 semi-finalists picked instead of 24. They will be divided into 3 groups of 12. The groups of 12 will perform on Tuesday. At the conclusion of each results show on Wednesday, the male and female semifinalists who received the highest number of home viewers votes for their previous night's performance will instantly become a Top 12 finalist. In addition, another semifinalist that had received the next-highest number of votes after the performance episode — regardless of gender — will also become a finalist. In the wild card round, the next highest finishers plus other eliminated semi-finalists will return for one more chance to compete. The judges will pick the 3 performers left that they consider the best. No voting by the public will be done at this stage.

Interesting. Very interesting....I can't say that I hate this new system, but I feel badly that these kids get one week to perform and then get thrown into the pressure of the Top 12. Not to mention that some of my favorite performances have come from Top 24 weeks. (David Archuleta's "Imagine" for example)

See you next week! (Wednesday and Thursday instead of Tuesday and Wednesday for some reason.)

American Idol - Top 36, Week 1

WOO-HOO! We're back!

New format this year - The top twelve are being put together over the next 4 weeks. Instead of the bottom two going home each week, this year the top three people are the ones that get through. The top girl, the top guy and the next highest vote getter. This way, there will be some gender equity, but the best people will get through. Or at least the people with the most votes will get through. The 36 will perform in groups of 12 over the next three weeks, then they will have a wild card show for the last three spots in the fourth week. It's going to be interesting. Having the chance to be seen week after week in these early rounds can be helpful later in the competition.

Nice that they had access to the stylists this early. This is the best I've seen contestants look on a first show. I'm more than a little disturbed to see more than three of the people I like in this group along with crazy Tatiana. Since I'm quite sure the folks over at Vote for the Worst are going to vote for her, that means someone I like will probably get passed over.

The Singing:

Jackie Tohn - "A Little More Conversation"
I really like her. I think she's fun. Not so in love with the performance. I loved the way it started, but I got a little uncomfortable by the end. I completely agreed with Simon.

Ricky Braddy - "A Song for You"


Don't remember him from the auditions. He's at a disadvantage going in tonight, at least in my mind, since I don't remember hearing him sing before tonight. And I would have remembered - he's a great singer. That was an OUTSTANDING performance. (Kara - back up from the microphone!) Again, Simon gives some good advice. Not as kind, but probably true. He's a good singer, but he needs to step up the personality.

Alexis Grace - "Never Loved a Man"


I can't believe that voice is coming out of that tiny little person. She was amazing. I've been a fan of hers through the auditions so far. What a voice.

Star Spotting!!! Ted Danson and Neil Patrick Harris in the front row! I love Doogie! Wow, rough live show tonight. Bad mikes, missed a tape roll. Holy cow.

Brent Keith - "Hicktown"
Does that sound like a country music name, or what? I'm not a fan of this guy. He's pretty forgettable. Good voice, but I think he's done after tonight. He might make it back to the Wild Card show. Simon just said he was forgettable too. Simon and I rule.

Stevie Wright - "You Belong With Me"
A Taylor Swift song. I already hate this. You shouldn't sing songs written by people who can't sing. She's done too. Poor thing. I had to fast forward that. Couldn't watch it. The low notes were awful for her and she never recovered. Simon is going to rake her across the coals. He did. She deserved it.

Anoop Desai - "Angel of Mine"
I like this kid a lot. And I really dig this song. He's sounding pretty good - is it me, or are the background singers a little pitchy on this one? There were a couple moments where someone sounded off key. Okay. Randy says Anoop was sharp. I believe that. I'm glad they showed him a lot during the auditions. I'd like for him to make it through.

Casey Carlson - "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
Oh, no. Not a Police song. No, no, no!!! Aaaahhhhh!!! *I just screamed in pain* Oh, yikes. This is awful, awful singing. She's destroying this song. You don't wink at the camera. You DON'T WINK. Simon tried to find something positive, that was nice. Though, he's right - the winking was the least of her problems. Her mom needs to sit down and be quiet.

Sidenote - I'm a little relieved. The first three singers were pretty memorable, though not perfect. I'm glad there are some people that are going to definitely be voted out.

Michael Sarver - "I Don't Wanna Be"
I'm sad. I liked him. But, it's not working for me. His personality doesn't match this song. And he didn't hit the high note. I'm not sure he's going through. He was already sounding tired by the end of that. The audience seemed to like it, but I think he'll hear it back on TV and won't like it. The judges said some really nice things about him as a person. That was refreshing.

Ann Marie Boskovich - "You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)"
I like her a lot. I hope she sings the crap out of this song. She's doing well. Has a good voice. She's a little dead in the eyes though. Not the best stage presence. But as I just said to my dad, most demo singers are killer vocalists, but not as good on stage. That's too bad.

Stephen Fowler - "Rock With You"
Ooo..Michael Jackson. This better be amazing.
Meh. It's not great. He started out doing Michael's moves from the video. That's uncomfortable. He cracked a couple times. Not good. The song choices are really rough tonight. I feel terrible for the last few contestants.

Tatiana Del Toro - "Saving All My Love for You"
Here comes the train wreck. Wow. I can't stand her. Unfortunately, she has a pretty good voice. Sanjaya's personality, but a much better voice. I'm trying to decide if I liked the changes she made. It made it more interesting to listen to. But she's just far too dramatic and wacky. And she's completely changed her personality. She's creeping me out too. Wow.

Danny Gokey - "Hero"


He's my favorite. He's in the coveted spot. I couldn't be more thrilled. I just hope he sings well.
He's singing well. What a stud. KEY CHANGE! Nice! I dig the ending. Very, very good. Paula is doing the above the head clap. She must have liked it. :) And, "sold-out arena" is three words, Paula. Not two words with a hyphen. Simon tried to bring that one down to earth, but he's wrong. It was great. Like Kara said - to sing that song and kill it is quite an accomplishment.

I'll be voting for Danny (1-866 IDOLS 12), Ricky Braddy (1-866 IDOLS 02) and Alexis Grace (1-866 IDOLS 03). I thought Anoop was good too. Vote for the Worst is voting for Tatiana. Rickey.org is pushing for Anoop. Pick up the phone and vote for the good people. It's critical at this point. It doesn't usually matter this early in the show, but since they've changed the format, you need to vote.

Fun stuff...

Lots of fun new stuff going on over at the photography blog...

New logos and website! See here.

New pictures of my amazing grandparents! See here.

And coming tomorrow (and for a few days after that), fun pictures of the young women in my ward.

Thanks to those of you that have added my fan page on Facebook and have been over to the website and let me know what you think. Please know your support and kindness means the world to me. And just so you know, I'm going to still be posting here, (AI performance show later today!) but I'm going to be splitting time, stories and pictures between the two. So if you don't see much going on here, you can check over there too.

Also over on the photography blog, but it belongs here too...my new favorite picture of Diggity and G-Man:



Have a great Tuesday!

The BabySuperModel Chronicles - Vol. 2

As you long-time readers may recall, G-Man was signed to a modeling agency in Boston last year. Though they were enthusiastic when they signed him, he has only been on one casting so far. We hadn't heard anything from them in a while, but a couple weeks ago, we got a call.

And not just for a casting, for an actual job!

Remembering all the things I learned last time, G-Man and I arrived early for our appointment on the day of the job. The shoot took place at a new home that had been finished, but not purchased. The company rented the house and some furniture and had a pretty elaborate setup for the product shots. The shoot was for packaging for a safety gate company. You know, safety gates. Like these:



We walked in the holding room where three other kids and two large dogs were waiting for their turn to go onto the set. All the kids were about the same age - two girls and another little boy besides G-Man. We were the last appointment, so we waited while all the other kids went in. The first little girl seemed to do okay. The second one had a complete meltdown. The first little boy was crying too. And since we got there early and G-Man's appointment was kind of late, I was a little concerned about how he was going to behave. He was delightful when we arrived, but after an hour of playing with the kids and running around the room and petting the dogs, he was getting tired.

They had G-Man change into a short-sleeved shirt and brought him onto the set. A woman in her early 20s was there playing his "mom." They had me put him on the floor and see if I could leave the set so they could take pictures without me there, but at that point, he was tired and wasn't having it. So, I played with him and the model and then stepped out of the frame. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. A perfectly normal looking living room, except I was surrounded by gigantic lightboxes and reflectors. The shot setup was an adult model and a baby model in front of the safety gate. Then in the distance behind the safety gate, they had the dog sitting up. It was a smart shot - you could see that the baby was tall, you could see that the dog was tall and that the safety gate was keeping both of them separated. The problem was - we would get G-Man settled, and the dog would move. The dog would get settled and G-Man would move. Or G-Man would look at me and walk over to me. The photographer was shooting tethered to a laptop and an additional 30" screen, so I was able to see some of the images. They did get some great shots. I can't believe they got any shots with all the moving and craziness that was going on.

I was completely geeking out over the lighting and equipment setup. I was trying to scan and take it all in while keeping G-Man happy. It was fun for me to watch. And there were people everywhere. In addition to the photographer and his 3 or 4 assistants, there were a couple people there from the company to approve shots as they were taken, then they had a whole other crew that was handling the getting ready part.

I really wish I could have taken more pictures. I wanted to get shots of the camera setup, but there was no way. The only shot I have for the day is of G-Man playing with the other little boy in the holding room:



He was exhausted and slept all the way home. He had a hard day earning his first paycheck! I'm really interested to see if any of his pictures get used. If you are walking through the baby section of a store and see him on a box, snap a picture with your cell and send it to me!

Amercian Idol - Hollywood Performances

I really love these performances at the end of Hollywood Week. They allowed the contestants to play their own instruments last year at this stage of the competition and they did it again this year. I love when people can sing and play an instrument, and I think it added some legitimacy to the competition last year.

First, what is up with Randy's chain shirt? Also, Paula's necklace is horrific. I do like the way they've structured this episode by showing the people in the rooms the entire time. It makes it way more tense.

My early favorites:
Adam Lambert - musical theater actor in L.A. He's an OUTSTANDING tenor. Total rock star. He sang "Believe" by Cher, but slowed it down. Very cool.

Matt Giraud - He's from the Louisville auditions and works as a dueling pianist in a piano bar. What a fun job! And he's fantastic. If they don't keep him, I'm going to be mad.


Danny Gokey - Why do I like him? 1) he's a music teacher 2) his wife just died - super sad story=fan favorite 3) his voice ROCKS He sang "I Hope You Dance" and was amazing. Fabulous arrangement.


Scott Macintyre - Amazing, amazing musician. He's blind and plays the piano and sings. What a sweet kid.

I'm not loving any of the girls I'm hearing at this point in the show.

I hate when I move them into the rooms. It hurts my brain when I see who they have placed together in the rooms.

Tatiana Del Toro - hate her. Someone needs to slap her. But they'll probably keep her because she's GREAT TV.

Joanna Pacitti - there's an interesting story. She won a competition to play Annie in the 20th Anniversary of Annie on Broadway. She went all the way through the out of town tryouts and then got fired right before the show opened on Broadway. If you want the whole story, check out Vote for the Worst here. She's also been previously signed to a major record deal (like Carly from last year) but got dropped by her label. She's got an amazing voice, but just completely bombed her lyrics.

Nick "Norman Gentle" Mitchell - He's hilarious, and an amazing singer as his alter ego. I've not seen him sing well as himself though. I don't think Simon can handle this guy without getting completely annoyed.

I hate the room reveal part. The fake acting by the judges just seems so cruel.

Results: Wow. I"m kind of surprised about this first room. I thought Joanna Pacitti was going down. Jason Castro's brother didn't make it through in the second room. Woohoo! My favorite boys are through in the third room. Crazy Tatiana is in the last room. Having a breakdown while the judges do their fake rejection speech. She has a decent voice, but she's great TV. The people over at Vote For the Worst are going to be in heaven if she makes it through tomorrow's show. (Actually, I think the Vote for the Worsters are already thrilled about the choices they have this season.)

I also hate this next episode. The walking across the room and sitting down and getting more fake rejection. I fast forward through most of it. The good part is, we're in the real competition next week! Hurray!

P.S. I placed in the top ten of the Adults section of the "I Heart Faces" competition I entered with my picture of Dad & Kim. I took fifth place out of 100 entries. Cool, huh? Check it out!

Pictures via Rickey.org

I Heart Faces - Week 4

Kids:

I love this picture of Miss K. from the end of the summer. We had taken a bunch of pictures outside on the swings and I asked her to go get her favorite toy so I could take some inside with natural light. I just love her eyes in this picture.

Adults:

This one cracks me up. I asked my dad to stop squinting if he could and open his eyes a bit more, and got this as a result. You can see some more of their session here.


If you enjoy portrait photography, you should check out I Heart Faces. It's a new blog and they hold a themed contest every week. You can post your entries from your blog or Flickr account. This week's contest closes on Wednesday. Check it out here.