Top 24 on American Idol

So as always, I'm a little behind on American Idol. It seems like I have a million shows to watch these days and just not enough hours to watch them all! But I just got finished with the episode where they revealed the top 24. This is always a nerve-wracking episode that has be on the edge of my seat because out of 50 people that they are left with, only 24 make it through!! And in every single season that I've watched of this show, there are always a handful of people in that top 50 that I absolutely love that don't make it to the top 24. This season is no different because there were some people that I loved since their audition but they just didn't have what it takes it make it to the next round.

So here are my favorites from the top 24 of American Idol


1. Layla- She is from Oklahoma and came into her first audition with her cute little sister Dixie. Her very first audition was adorable and I hope to see her to go far!

2. Gabby- She came into her audition wanting to do a Carrie Underwood song but they wanted her to do something different so she did. Well on her last performance before the top 24, she decided to take the risk and sing a Carrie song. That was really risky, but really good and good enough to get her to the top 24!!

3. Catie- She is definitely a character! She's got a quirky personality and a great voice to go along with it. When it was her time to hear the news from the judges about making it through to the top 24, I didn't think she was going to make it because they showed her reaction first and it was just her bawling her eyes out as she walked out of the room. But she made it!!

4. Jurnee- She is another one that I loved since her first audition!

5. Ada- This is an interesting contestant. He tried out for season 12 and actually made it to Hollywood but was cut during Hollywood week. But then since then he created another side to him that he named Ada and is a woman. I'm haven't read too much online so I don't know what America thinks of Ada, but I think she's got a good voice. We'll see how far she can go.

6. Mara- Another young contestant that I've loved since the beginning. At just 15 years old, this girl can sing!! I could definitely see her in the top 12.

7. Garrett- Another favorite of mine since his first audition. He's a grandma's boy and called her on Factime after getting his ticket to Hollywood which was so cute!

8. Marcio- He came to his first audition with his then-6-month old son. It was his sister's son but she couldn't care for him due to drug abuse problems. The police and a social worker came to Marcio when the baby was only 1 week old and said he had to make the decision of putting him in the system or taking him to raise as his own. He chose the latter because he grew up in the system and didn't want to repeat that cycle.

Favorites that didn't make it through to the top 24:

1. Trevor- He is the guy that is in a love triangle with Katy Perry. She fell in love with him at his first audition but he has a girlfriend who is a little jealous of Katy. The back and forth between him and Katy has been hilarious!

2. Noah- He came into his first audition saying that when he wins he wants to get an alpaca. That is one of the strangest things I've heard a contestant on American Idol say, but I thought he was pretty good. And so did Katy, Lionel, and Luke because he made it all the way to the top 50 out of thousands of people that tried out.

3. Laine- He was a country singer that reminded me of Scotty McCreery a little bit. He was good, but I guess just not good enough.

4. Maddie- She played guitar during her first audition and thought she could go pretty far in this competition. It's a bummer that she didn't make it.

Now I have 2 more episodes to watch before being completely caught up. I have a full-work week this week (just picked up a job on Friday), so I won't have that much time to watch this week. But somehow or another, I will get caught up.

It's back!

American Idol is back and I'm finally sharing my thoughts about it!! I absolutely loved the beginning of the very first show!! I knew it was Carrie Underwood speaking as soon as she started talking! I'm so glad that Ryan Seacrest decided to stay on as the host otherwise I think the whole show would be a lot different! It already is going to be different because of the judges, so it's good they kept at least one constant. It is also on ABC now instead of Fox, so we'll see how different that makes it. I think I heard that they are going to be showing more of the good auditions than the bad.

Big E was sitting on the couch beside me, watching along with me! I never thought this day would come!! I always thought that I was going to just have to show Big E and Little E American Idol shows from seasons past! So it is so cool that she can actually watch a new season with me! I'm not sure how much of it she will actually watch, but so far she made it 10 minutes into it!! I kind of got her to watch it because I told her how Kelly Clarkson was on this show and won the first season. She just said "That's not Kelly Clarkson!!" But then she proceeded to say "I have that song in my car," so I think she recognized the song that was playing. There are actually a few songs that play on the radio that Big E loves! Her favorite at the moment is "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons.

So far I have just watched the first episode of Hollywood week and I'm really digging this season. There are so many great contestants so far and I can't wait to see who actually makes it through to the first voting round. There is a girl who is a karaoke singer and has never actually performed in front of other people unless she is singing karaoke. There's a 16 year old named Layla that comes from a small country town and has a great accent and singing voice!! There's Noah who wants an alpaca if he wins.

I'll be sure to post occasionally about my thoughts on the show! I am excited the show is back and can't wait to see how this season turns out!! As I wrote about here I am also watching The Voice because Kelly Clarkson is a coach on that show. I have only watched 1 other season of the show (and it probably wasn't even the whole season), but I'm really getting into it because of Kelly!! Do you watch American Idol or The Voice? Who are some of your favorite contestants that have been on either show?

I love my Cricut!!!

For Valentine's Day my wonderful hubby got me a Cricut!!! You can call me a bit spoiled, it's ok! I only decided I wanted one a few days before Valentine's Day because I found out from my aunt that she got one for Christmas. I started thinking of all the things I could make with it and thought that I would enjoy using it a lot more than I did my sewing machine.

I finally did get rid of my sewing machine and all of the fabric I had to use with it. Now I am waiting until we have the spare room finished so I can move my Cricut up there and have more room to work.

Right now this is what I have to work with. It isn't the best setup but it's working for now. The thing that bugs me the most is that I have to move my box of vinyl every time I go to use it. And since my computer is to the right of my machine, I don't have much room to work on my cut out pieces once they are done cutting. I've already made a bunch of projects with it, mostly shirts!!

I even had a friend ask me to make her a shirt because she saw from my Facebook posts that I had gotten a Cricut and made some shirts. I've heard of a lot of people starting little businesses using their Cricut and have actually been considering it. I think I'll just start small though because I don't want to go crazy with it and then have it not work out. Just like with my oils, I will just post my projects here and there on my Facebook (and here of course) and then just see where things go from there.

If you have a Cricut, what are some of your favorite projects that you've done with it? Leave me some comments!!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!! I hope you all have a great Easter spent with friends and family. We will be spending the afternoon/evening with some of my husband's family that lives an hour away. Even though they don't live that far away, we don't get to see them that much. The last time we saw them was about 3 months ago for Christmas. But I'm hoping we can change that and see them more this year!

Things have been going great with me and my family recently. I know I haven't been blogging as often as I keep saying I am going to. I've been busy substitute teaching and when I don't work, I'm busy either cleaning the house or spending time with my kiddos. Because I don't have a full-time job that would make my schedule more consistent than it is right now, there are days when I'm off work that I kind of feel like I didn't get too much accomplished. I'm so ready for the day where I can start working a full-time teaching job where I'll work every Monday-Friday (except on the occasional holiday) and will have some more consistency in my life. I guess I could try and set up some kind of schedule for myself now, but I feel like that's hard because I don't always have the same amount of days off each way. So I can't just say "3 days a week my schedule will look like this...". Last week I had 3 days off, but this coming week I only have off 1 day. And it's actually starting this week that I'm going to be pretty busy each week for the next 7 weeks. For the next 7 weeks I work at least 3 days a week which is going to be really nice!!

As of right now, my last day of subbing is May 21st and I don't expect to get too many more jobs after that date because it is so close to the end of the school year. But when I am done subbing for the school year, you can bet that I'm going to be creating a schedule for me and the kiddos to follow during the week!! One thing that is definitely going to be on the schedule each week is going to our local YMCA to go swimming!! I keep saying that we need to go more often, but like I just said, it's so hard to be consistent with anything during the week because I don't always have the same days off week to week. I also want to start doing more intentional learning activities with Big E because I don't think I'm going to get to put her into preschool in the fall. If I'm still substitute teaching, I don't know how I would be able to get her to and from preschool. And if I get a full-time position (fingers crossed), I definitely don't know how I could get her to and from preschool. I could possibly enroll her in the program that the YMCA has because working full-time I would be making more than I am now. But we will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it!

Today in the class that I was subbing for, we read a poem called "Dreams" by Langston Hughes.

Dreams

Langston Hughes, 1902 - 1967

Hold fast to dreams 
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

This poem is so great because it is so true. Just think about it. Everyone, I don't matter who you are, has some kind of dream, something you want to achieve in life. It might be a certain job that you want to attain, finding your soulmate, traveling the world. We all have a goal, or multiple goals, that drive us and motivate us. If we didn't have those dreams, then what would be the point of living? Wouldn't life be so boring if we just got up, went to work, came home, slept, and did it all over again? Having dreams keeps us going in life and gives us something to work towards.

For me, my current dream is to have my own classroom and be a full-time teacher. This is a dream I've been trying to reach for at least 10 years now. I can't remember the year I decided I wanted to be a teacher, but I knew in my senior year of high school which was exactly 10 years ago, that I wanted to go to school to get a teaching degree. And now it's crazy that 10 years later I still have the same dream of being a teacher. And I'm working towards that dream by substitute teaching. I'm hoping that this fall will be my year to start my teaching career.

Another dream I have is to make tons of memories with my husband and 2 kids. I hope that we can visit new places together and just enjoy the time we have as a family. There have definitely been a lot of reminders within the past year alone that have proven the point that life is too short and you never know how much time you have left.

So what are some dreams you have? I would love to hear them!! Have a great rest of your Monday!!

TGIF!!!

This is the first time in a while that I've been so excited for Friday to finally be here!! My hubby has been gone for work since Sunday so for the most part it has been just me and the kiddos. I say for the most part because my mom came over Monday night and stayed the night Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. My mom had to work each day so I was still on my own a lot of the week. And then today I had to work which was kind of weird after being off all week and then working one day because now it's the weekend!

We have had quite an interesting week. Let me tell you about it! On Monday morning I was sitting out in the living room getting some class work done and the kids were playing in the playroom. Well, after a little while, it was too quiet so I decided to go check on them. The coat closet wasn't locked so either Big E or Little E (I think it was the big one), got into sunscreen and had it on the floor and windowsill in the playroom. It was then that I decided to get rid of the foam floor mats that we've had in the playroom for almost 4 years. It was just way too hard to get the sunscreen out of them. Plus I wasn't able to vacuum them because the suction of the vacuum on the foam mats was way too strong and didn't allow the vacuum to move.

On Tuesday, Big E made a huge mess with nail polish and the cats' food and water in the hallway while she was supposed to be up in her room napping. I thought she was doing pretty good with staying in her room ever since we got her the alarm clock that turns green when it is ok for her to come out of her room. But that only does that in the morning, so I guess she thinks the lack of color on the alarm clock means she can leave her room. Also on Tuesday (I think) is when Big E got an egg from the fridge and cracked it on the playroom floor. But not just onto the floor, it went onto a foam mat! So guess what, the rest of the foam mats in the playroom are gone. In fact, the whole playroom got a makeover!!

As you can tell the playroom is a complete mess at the moment. But that will change before bedtime tonight! It actually isn't as bad as it normally gets so it shouldn't take the kiddos too long to clean up. The living room actually looks pretty good as well. I just decided it was time for a change in the playroom so that's just what it got!!

On Wednesday our mess of the day was the downstairs toilet getting clogged and overflowing. This happened right after the kiddos went down for their nap and my mom hadn't left for work yet. With almost all of the towels in the house, we cleaned it up and then ended up having to wash those towels 3 times before they smelled good again. Wednesday afternoon the kiddos and I went to the pool and had a great time!! We would have gone on Tuesday but didn't because of Big E's huge mess she made.

Thursday was one of the best days we had this week. I had no messes to clean up so that's definitely a win! We went to story time and then Chic-Fil A for a lunch playdate and both kiddos did a great job!!

And then we come to today, Friday!!! I was in for a 5th grade teacher that I will also be in for on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. I love assignments like this because being in the same class for 2 days or longer makes me feel a little bit like a full-time teacher. Today was interesting because I had to cover for a 4th grade teacher for a period in the morning and then one in the afternoon. Plus I did some copying so I did a lot of walking around that school today!!

And now it is dinner time, which means bedtime is not too far away!! A few hours after the kiddos go to bed,  my hubby will be home! That's going to be one of my favorite parts of this day and this week!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Zumba!!!!

I've mentioned Zumba a few times in previous posts but I just felt like I needed to do another one! It has now been almost a year and a half since I took my first Zumba class at our local YMCA. I used to go on just Monday's but then one time when my hubby was on a work trip, I decided to go an extra day and go on a Monday. Then we put Big E in gymnastics and it just happened to be the same night as that Monday Zumba class so I decided to go to that class every Monday. Then even after Big E was done with gymnastics on Monday's, I still kept going because I just loved the instructor! I love the instructor that teaches on Thursday night's, too!!!

I also wrote in the past about how I went to a Zumbathon and at that event I decided I wanted to become a Zumba instructor. Well, that hasn't happened quite yet but I have been thinking about that again. I just looked up info on the training for it and it's only $225. I know that seems like a lot, but if I could get a part-time job somewhere teaching Zumba, it would definitely be worth it. As you also may know, I have a teaching degree and am substituting right now but am hoping to have a full-time position this fall. So teaching Zumba would be perfect for me.

The only thing is...I don't really have a background with dance. I didn't do any sports in school and I don't really have an athletic bone in my body. But you know what...I feel so alive when I'm in a Zumba class. I have always enjoyed music (hence my American Idol obsession I had when I was younger) and Zumba is all about music! I don't quite know how to explain it but it's like I feel so pumped during a Zumba class. I almost feel like a different person. I feel part of this great community and feel so good about myself for that one hour of exercise that doesn't feel like exercise at all. Now I'm not saying I don't feel good about myself any other time, because I definitely do. But it's just, I don't know, so hard to put in words.

So I'm going to continue going to Zumba twice a week and maybe even watch some videos on YouTube to figure out how I can improve on my dance moves. Because there are just certain things I can't do. Like move my hips or shake my shoulders. But then there are a ton of other moves that I feel like I have down pat! There's a lot of songs that I've danced to a bunch of times and I get so excited when they start playing! It makes me feel even more confident knowing that I know the dance moves really well!! Who knows, maybe within the next year I'll actually go to the basic training, we'll see!