AI: Season 10 Inaugural Post

::moment of silence for Brett Loewenstern::

I didn't even get a chance to talk about how he has two of the most attractive parents I've ever seen and yet.... he was adorable though.  In his own quirky way.  Sad to see him go.

::moment of jubilation that the AI posts are back!!!::  Please feel free to add your two cents in the comments as this is the first time we've discussed this season!!   I've missed you.

A quick word about the judges before we get started.

My mom loves Steven Tyler.  <---- this is a sentence I never thought I'd think/write/ type/believe.  But how can I blame her?  He is nice.  He is fun.  He can even be tender (do NOT remind me of him hugging what's his face's girlfriend in the wheelchair.  I've cried my tears and I can't go back to that place).   During auditions, if he didn't think someone was good, he'd usually just say "No" rather than the degrading, one-liners we are used to from that Brit Who Must Not Be Named.  Glad Mr. Tyler is here.   The following is an actual conversation between a friend and his dad.  The Dad:  Wow... Paula looks awful.  The Friend: Dad, that's Steven Tyler.

JLo:  Sincere.  Knowledgable.  Kind.  Helpful.  Gorge.   Not on pain meds.  I could not have asked for a better female judge.  Nigel Lythgoe is a genius of epic proportions for bringing her in.

Randy:  Oh boy.  Randy is trying to be the "bad guy" and is looking like a doof in the mean time.  But what else is new?  It's actually kind of comforting.  Like your favorite bwankie that you got to bring with you when you slept over at Gramma's house.  Makes it seem like home even though things are different. I'm glad he stuck around.  Every panel needs a doof.

And no, Ryan is not a doof.  He has grown on me over the years.  No Ryan bashing.

Now, the contestants.  Love the theme tonight, btw.... "SONG BY THEIR PERSONAL IDOL"  This will show me the kind of artist they wanna be & I will then be able to hate/love/mock accordingly.  They make it too easy.

First up....

LAUREN ALAINA

Personal Idol: Shania Twain

Song: Any Man of Mine

Is it just me or did that look like I was watching the talent portion of a Toddlers & Tiaras episode?  Too much winking, fluffing her hair and cheesy smiling.  She's cute and she's talented but I can tell right now her taste and mine are not gonna get along.  You all know my aversion to country.  Plus, ::checking clipboard::  yup, we already have a Carrie Underwood.  Sorry Lauren.

CASEY ABRAMS

Personal Idol: Joe Cocker

Song: A Little Help From My Friends

I.  Love.  This.  Guy.   He is a genius.  There, I said it.  It's out there now.  And I don't think it's an overstatement.   He has yet to let me down going all the way back to his audition.  The perfect song choice to show off his personality and sense of humor.  And he has a great voice which is exponentially more pleasing that Joe Cocker's voice.  This makes for a beautiful, nay I say, magical thing.  Absolutely my favorite this season.  You know, so far.

ASHTON JONES

Personal Idol: Diana Ross

Song: When You Tell Me That You Love Me"

So the hair is because of her love of Diana Ross?  Or she's doing Diana Ross because her hair looks like that?  I'm confused.  But yeah, she was obviously nervous.  Then was better toward the end.   She's definitely pretty.  I don't know how much she & I have in common musically but I don't loathe her.

PAUL McDONALD

Personal Idol: Ryan Adams

Song: Come Pick Me Up

Too much movement up there.  It's disconcerting.  It almost comes off as him being so nervous he doesn't know what to do with himself.   He skipped at one point fhs.  I really want him to tone it down though because I do like his style and musical tendencies.  Does he play the guitar?  Cuz I'd love to see him sitting on a stool with a guitar.  Not moving.  At all.

PIA TOSCANO

Personal Idol: Celine Dion

Song: All By Myself

Yes she done sang that song.  Hit all the notes.  Showed the right amount of emotion.  "Slammed it" as Mr. Tyler said.... and yet.... ::sigh::  I don't know.  Can't get past the cape.  And can't get past the name Pia.  It shows poor judgement is in the genes.  ::chanting "Pia, Pia, diarrhea" in my head and can't stop::  Not scratching me where I itch.  I'm realizing this is my feeling for all the girls though so don't hold it against her too much.

 JAMES DURBIN

Personal Idol: Paul McCartney

Song: Maybe I'm Amazed

::checking clipboard again:: Yup, we already have an Adam Lambert.  ::reading fine print:: Oh wait!  But not a straight one with ADHD.  Yay! You can stay.   No, not one of my favorites but I do find him interesting.  He did a great job with this song that I enjoy.   And, as Jenny has mentioned, he never takes it quite over the top.  You think he might...then he doesn't.   He's teasing us.  I think 86% of America likes being teased so he's not going anywhere for a while.

HALEY REINHART

Personal Idol: LeAnn Rimes

Song: Blue

Hmmmmmmmmm.... interesting.  She kinda made me like country and yodeling for 2 minutes.  Is that weird?  And this is the best she's ever looked by far.  But I agree with Randy a bit... she's confusing me. Only 8% of Americans like being confused so we'll see how this shakes out.

JACOB LUSK

Personal Idol: R.Kelly

Song:  I Believe I Can Fly

This boy has dressed up in drag before.  I would bet at least $20 on it.  He would give RuPaul a run for his/her money.   I don't judge him for that but I just wanted to let YOU know that I know.  A GOSPEL CHOIR ALREADY????   That's supposed to be finale material only!   What the?   He can only go down hill from here.  Unless he brings in bagpipes or something.  I'm personally not a fan of this one.   This is an example of taking it over the top & making us all go with him even though we might be prone to motion sickness.  Ugh.  I felt woozy afterward.  Next.

THIA MEGIA

Personal Idol: Michael Jackson

Song: Smile

I liked it.  I reeeeally liked it.  This girl is good.  I didn't even hear the "pitchy" that the judges talked about.  I thought it was perfect for her age and persona.  I'm not sure she has much of a personality but I can't be picky when it comes to the girls this year.  If I don't curl my lip or get up and go do something else while they sing then they are deemed "good" this year.  And so it must be.

STEFANO LANGONE

Personal Idol: Stevie "You Are A" Wonder

Song: Lately

I'm so glad Tony Danza's son is finally getting his chance to shine.  The first part was weird.  Then the end got better.  He's adorable but not in my top three guys.  I have nothing else to say about him.  Which speaks volumes.

KAREN RODRIGUEZ

Personal Idol: Selena

Song: I Could Fall In Love

If she didn't have those Selena barbie dolls I would think this was a blatant attempt to kiss JLo's butt.  Side note:  That movie was the first thing I remember seeing JLo in.  I remember at the end of the movie they showed pictures of the actual Selena and I was like "Wow, she is buttugly compared to the actress that played her."  I was literally shocked.  I kinda wanna see that movie again now.  Side note over.   Oh boy this was bad.  It had a couple of nice moments but they were fleeting.  No chance of her having a fan club let alone getting killed by the president of it.  <--- super bad Selena joke.  My apologies.

SCOTTY McCREERY

Personal Idol: Garth Brooks

Song: The River

Now this is come country music I can get on board with.  This little 12 year old George W. Bush looking kid done stoled a piece of my heart.  Doesn't it sound like his voice is being dubbed in?  I mean, that voice can't be coming outta him.  I don't believe it.  It makes me laugh liltingly with enjoyment.  And eeeeek!  Did you go back and pause it on his baby pic??  His widdle red cowboy hat??  C'mon!  I won't buy a single one of his songs later but I love him.  I do.

NAIMA ADEDAPO

Personal Idol: Rhianna

Song: Umbrella-ella-ella-ay-ay-ay

Woooooooow.   That was... um,  something, huh?  Little piece of advice Naima, show us you can sing first, dance moves later.  We are still getting to know each other here.  Too soon, N.  Too soon.  I didn't hate the Snow Patrol-esque bit though.  It was definitely the highlight.  The rest was lame.  And anyone over the age of 16 and under the age of 14 is gonna hate it.  Thirteen contestants may have been one too many me thinks.

BOTTOM THREE:

ASHTON

KAREN

NAIMA

GONE:  ASHTON

Your turn.

I Can See It In Your Eyes...

Brilliant.

Not-So-Extreme Home Makeover Pt.2

Wait, I forgot I was calling it "Landee De-Lame-ifies Her House 2011."  Oh well, you know what I'm talking about.

So my next project after the entry way was our completely vanilla half bath.  I jumped to it so quickly because I wasn't even half way through Pride & Prejudice on my iPod....and I wanted to finish it... so I started painting.  Plus, once you have your painting clothes on, why not, right?


So here is the before.  Told you it was bad.  Wave at Landee there in the mirror!  I did recently get that cute rug from Target and it helped a little.  Before it was just a plain cream-colored rag rug.  Bo-ring.

Another before...

And um, neveryoumind that patch job over there on the wall.  I may have bent down and ripped the toilet paper holder right off the wall with my butt.  And that may have been about 2 months ago.  You can see where I moved the TP.  It's much safer over there now.

So I came across this tutorial of how to frame out your blah builder's grade mirror.  I knew it would add a little something more to this bathroom which, as you can see, has a giant mirror.  When my brother would come to visit he'd take a 2 minute break from playing Fifa Soccer on the Wii with Gty & JBird and use the bathroom.  Every time, without fail, he'd come out of the bathroom and say "So, I just watched myself pee again."  So yeah, the mirror takes up that whole wall.

Anyway, here is the after. 

I think it adds a little something-something, no?  I painted the walls a nice green, which I'm very happy with, before putting up the frame.  And it really was quite easy.  I had to buy a miter box since we have no power tools to speak of (except a power drill) and even that didn't make this project difficult.  Liquid nails and I are BFFs now.  And I'm fully aware I need to accessorize.  That will be an on-going process I'm afraid.

Here is my BEST corner:

And here's my worst:

All in all this probably cost me about $70.  I wonder how much a framed mirror of this size would cost...$300+?  

PS I'm almost done with building some floating shelves for that big wall over there partially behind the door.  I'll post when those are done (because if I don't blog it, it didn't happen, duh).  They really only took about 2 hours to build but I need to paint and hang them.  I'm sure you won't get a good night's sleep until you see them so I apologize.

My Feelings Will Not Be Repressed

I have now watched three cinematic versions of Pride & Prejudice.  And I must discuss.

1) The BBC/A&E Version from 1995 starring a young Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.
2) The $28mill Universal Studios production from 2005 starring Keira Knightly as the witty & spirited Elizabeth Bennett.
3) Pride & Prejudice: An LDS Comedy, filmed in 2003.

I also have in my hot little hands, thanks to a friend, the Bollywood version "Bride & Prejudice" which I will be viewing soon.  Oh, and I've put in for the more recent BBC version at the library which I believe was produced in 2004.

But, for the purpose of this discussion, let's just focus on the first two, mmkay?  

In short, the BBC is hilarious, brilliant, sigh-inducing, follow-the-book-almost-to-a-T, charming & I will be watching it again.   The Keira Knightly version (henceforth known here as the KK Version) is a piece of poo with a few bright spots scattered throughout.  I will most likely not watch that one again.

The Best Things About the BBC Version

• As I mentioned, it follows along with the story almost exactly.  The lines are straight from the book.  They obviously figured, and correctly btw, that they should not mess with an already perfect manuscript.  
• Colin Firth is knuckle-biting hotness in this thing.  Wow.  And, with all the close ups they put in there of his perfectly set jaw and adorably curly hair, they knew it too.
• Mary.... oh my gosh.  I giggled every time poor Mary made an appearance.  She was truly as homely and socially awkward as described.  
• Mrs. Bennett.  Yes, she's annoying but she's supposed to be!  I'd put Lydia and Kitty here too.  All fit their characters perfectly.
• Mr. Bennett.  I love this man.  And this actor & his delivery of his witty lines nailed it.  
• Elizabeth Bennett.  Jennifer Ehle is truly the perfect Lizzie.  Charming, happy, witty, spirited... she made me believe that was really Elizabeth.  What more could I want?
• Mr. Bingley made me laugh.  Was he the happiest guy or what?  
• Mr. Collins.  Bwaahahahahaha!  His combover hair & mannerisms were perfection.  My favorite was when he'd be speaking and Catherine de Bourgh would start talking and he'd put his finger up to his lips to hush himself, lest he speak over her.  I adored him, in the he's-so-annoying-he's -perfect, kind of a way.

The UnBest Things About the BBC Version

• Jane.  I mean, she was nice and all, but the most beautiful Miss Bennett?  I think not.  Definitely Ed Rooney as a woman-ish.  
• Production quality was obviously not up to what films are today.  And sometimes when Elizabeth would be thinking back to something Mr. Darcy had said his head would suddenly appear in the mirror or a window quite startlingly.  I got used to it but it was a little cheesy.
• I wish they hadn't shown Mr. Darcy going to London to hunt down Lydia & Wickam.  I mean, isn't that ruining the element of surprise?  Aren't we supposed to find that out later?  

The Best Things About the KK Version

• Obviously the cinematography, costumes & sets were far superior to the BBC.  
• Jane was, at last, the beauty I had imagined.
• The balls were more fun to watch.
• Dame Judy Dench far surpassed the BBC Lady de Bourgh.
• I didn't hate when Darcy was walking across that misty field that fateful early morning.
• I also didn't hate the tension in the "rain scene."
• And, even though it wasn't in the book at all, I wish it were....the part at the end when they are all casual at Pemberley and he keeps calling her Mrs. Darcy and kissing her.  This far surpassed the post-wedding kiss in the carriage the BBC gave me.  

The UnBest Things About the KK Version

• Sorry to say, but KK herself.  She was annoying for 90% of the film.  Plus, rather than thinking "Elizabeth is doing this..." I'd think "Keira Knightly is doing this..."  
• Mr. Darcy is wholly and completely unattractive.  Really?  Of all the British actors this is who they go with?  Bad form, Universal, bad form.
• Mr. Bennett is barely even funny.  It's not Donald Sutherland's fault either.  It's the lame script.
• Wickam's ponytail bugged and Mr. Bingley was positively giddy the entire film.  Garret (who had never seen it, doesn't know the story line but was kind enough to watch with me) asked me what happens when they find out he is gay so....yeah.
• THEY SCREW EVERYTHING UP.  Including the most famous line when Mr. Darcy professes his admiration and love.  The word "ardently" never even comes up.  What the?  WHY??  Jerks. 
• Mrs. Bennett isn't nearly as embarrassing as she should be. 
• Mary was barely even mentioned and got zero face time.  

So there you have it.  My compare & contrast report on the P&P movies.  

Agree?  Disagree?  Let's hear it.

Also, have any of you read this?  Do I WANT someone telling me what happens a year later?  I can't decide.  

Entry Way ReMixx

**** If you're here from a fabulous link party, please go HERE to see this post in its proper home!****

My house was boring me to death.   Not literally, but almost.  

 Blah.

 Blah.  

 Blah.

Taupe every where I looked.  I can't live in a taupe world.  I just can't.  At least not for more than 4 years and 10 months, apparently.  I'm on a bit of a re-decorating kick so here is the first submission to the "Landee De-Lame-ifies Her House Project 2011."  It's a bit of a mouthful.  Sorry.

So here is our entry way as it was last week.

Are you falling asleep yet?

Its only saving grace was the curvature of the wall.  Otherwise it was choking on neutrals, coughing them back up and then gagging on them again.   Sorry to put it so graphically but people, c'mon!  How boring can walls be?  Nary a color nor an accessory to be spotted anywhere.  

So I put a plan in place and set off to complete it.  

We had to rig our ladder to reach up to that right hand corner up there.  The left side of the ladder was resting on the railing at the top of the stairs and the bottom part was wedged between the spindles.   We then zip tied it to the railing on both ends, zip tied a board to the top flat part and away I went.  

And if you don't think that is scary up there then you are an idiot wrong.  It was the scariest thing I've done in a long while.  I could sit on the top of the ladder and be fine, but up on my knees and stretching up?  Yikes.  I would break out in a sweat and shake the entire time.  I could only be like that for about 3 minutes at a time so that top part took a while.  

But I persevered.

After it was painted (it's sort of a robin egg blue bordering on turquoise color), I went and downloaded a template from here, printed it and cut it out of cardboard and set to work on my "painted wallpaper."  When I came across this design/technique I knew it was the perfect marriage of funky & traditional I was looking for.  Plus, it saved me $50 for a stencil.  Free is always better than $50.

I had to get an action shot.  Had to.

I decided to use a metallic white paint for the design.  I love the shimmer it gives off.  Just a touch fancier than regular white paint would have been.  It's reflecting off the flash in the above pic so it looks taupe but it's not, just FYI.

This girl camped out under the ladder for the duration of the project.  She was busy making cards for people, asking me how to spell things, and talking my ear off.  Sometimes when I was freaking out reaching up to the tippy top I'd have to ask her to please stop talking for a few minutes so I could concentrate.  It was fun having a little "helper" though.  

After the kids were in bed was when I'd listen to my audio books and paint into the wee hours of the morning.  It was really quite enjoyable but it did take a while.

So here is the big AFTER reveal.  

I am so excited with how it turned out!!  After consulting with my long-distance design consultant, Memzy, I opted to not do the design down below.  She said it would be "too much" and I said "good cuz I'm lazy" and that was that.  

That table and the pillow are from the living room and that chair was from our guest room (I would prefer a cushy upholstered one there but I'll need to keep my eye out for one).  I got that mirror at Goodwill for $4.  It is plastic and was crazy shiny gold.  10 minutes and some spray paint later it was the perfect shade of white.  I also painted a picture frame for that small table with the same metallic paint.

Here are the before & afters side by side.  

I now smile when I go up & down the stairs rather than get sleepy.  Not bad for 1 gallon of paint, a couple of small craft paint bottles of "metallic white" acrylic paint and a $4 mirror, huh?

Success. 

I Ardently Admire & Love You...

... but I'm mad at you.

Why did no one INSIST I read Pride & Prejudice?  You guys are mean.

I've been working on a few projects around the house (posts on that later).  They require time, not thinking, so I downloaded a couple of books to listen to as I worked.  As my FIL says, I paid someone to read them to me.

The first was The Sweetness At The Bottom of the Pie.  It was this month's book club at the Smart Remarks Book Club and I knew that if I did not listen to it, it would never get read.  Delightful.  And it made the tedium of painting my walls almost enjoyable.

So, when I finished my first project and started the second I decided it had to include another audio book.  I don't know if I was on an english accent kick or what, but I figured, for some random reason, that now was the time to delve into the world of Jane Austen.   A world I know NOTHING about.  No books have I read, no movies have I seen.

Until now.

::sigh::

I loved this book.

I now get it.

The beauty is how applicable it is to society today.   I swear I could name someone from my own life who mirrors every character in that book.  It made me laugh.  It made me sigh repeatedly.  It made me wish I were one of the sisters of the Longbourne estate.   I am positively in love with their father.  Hilarious.

So here are my questions for those of you more well versed in the world of Miss Jane Austen:

1) I now want to watch one of the movies, of course.   So which one do I watch first?

The BBC version (I think it's, like 8 hours long).

Or the Keira Knightly one? (I'm sure Markie is biased toward this one)

And are there others I don't know about?

2)  How long should I wait to read this?

Like, I'm sure it's funny if you grew up on P&P.  But, as a newbie, should I let the original sink in for a while before taking on this?  Lemme know.

3)  Which Jane Austen should I read next?  Emma?  Sense & Sensibility?

I await your advice on the matter.

Regards, etc, etc.

Miss Landee of Landerson Estate.

Emotional Outburst

Some emotions have been surfacing lately.   I've always considered myself quite dead inside but I think I'm morphing into a ball of goo.   This isn't a bad thing....it's just something.  

One event which has spurred this on a bit is the reality of my favorite MIL being diagnosed with breast cancer.  We've been on the complete cycle of emotions with this.  Shock....denial...greif....acceptance...determination.... that's where we are right now.  She had her surgery yesterday to remove the cancer & lymph nodes and, after recovering from that, she will begin chemo/radiation treatments for a few months.  The surgery went well.  No surprises.  The doctors expect the treatments to work splendidly with no further complications.  I will keep you posted, of course.

Gty's sisters, mom and I had a "Girls Trip" planned to Vegas but that needed to be changed due to the recent events with Mary's health.  So we switched it up to the weekend before last in SLC.  We stayed at the Embassy Suites down by The Gateway (free made-to-order breakfast!), went out to eat,  and chatted for the entire weekend.  It was thoroughly enjoyable.  4am two nights in a row did take a good week to recover from but it was totally worth it.  

Anyway, on Sunday my MIL and SIL needed to get back to Logan and left at about noon.  My other SIL flew out at 2pm.  That left Shelly & I to putter around SLC until my flight left at 5pm that evening.  So we set out on an adventure to find Elizabeth Smart's house.  K, not really, but we did want to go drive around her neighborhood because the homes there up by the University of Utah are amazing.  We did manage to find Larry Miller's house and it did not disappoint.  Yowza.  

Then, as we were driving back down out of the neighborhood, we happened upon a cemetery.  Shelly thought this might be where some prominent LDS leaders had been buried.  

Shelly was right.

We saw this:

And this:

Which were amazing.  But then I walk around a corner and BAM I see this...

... and apparently this image immediately pops into my head...

... because I immediately start bawling.  Oh how I love that man.  Apparently more than I realized because the tears would not be stopped.   It was truly amazing to stand there looking at his headstone.  If you are ever in that area I highly recommend you find that cemetery and experience this for yourself. 

Here I am standing by the larger marker:

I also thought of cute Marjorie who I adore as well.  I want to be her when I grow up.  I love this quote from her:

“I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk’s lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor’s children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden. I want to be there with children’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

How could you not love her?

Anyway, I don't want to say it was better than attending church on that Sabbath day, but it was better than some church meetings I've been to.  That is for sure.  

In the mean time I've recently acquired this image and have big plans of getting it printed & framed somewhere in my house.  I can't get enough of these candid shots.  

Speaking of emotional meltdowns, I dare you to go HERE and read this blog post and not bawl your eyes out.   Do not scroll down and breeze through the photos.  READ.  EVERY.  WORD.  Watch it unfold.  Do not cheat yourself out of this one.  It's a 7 minute novel.