LorieByrd.com

We Have Puppies

These are the first pics.  There are five and they are all midnight black labs.  They are all extremely plump and appear very healthy.  I will post more pictures next week when their eyes are open and they are a bit bigger.

American Idol April 25

AI Liveblog:

8:12 -- I did not agree with the judges.  I thought that Katharine McPhee gave her best performance yet, with tons of personality and gusto.  They just hate it when anyone tries to sing Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey.  The vocal was not the best Katharine has done, but the performance was incredible.  The camera showing her dad in the audience, who crys everytime he sees her sing, should be good for a few votes, too.  It gets me everytime.

8:20 -- Elliott was great and I don't always like his performances.  I finally started closing my eyes when Ellott sings and I enjoy his perofrmances much better.  Not anything against his looks, but he just doesn't look like he sounds and I have a hard time appreciating his voice when I am distracted by the visual.  The judges liked it too, but they almost always like Elliott.  Paula cried, but I think she might just be drunk again.  He did really well tonight though and my guess is that he will not be going home.

8:32 -- I disagree with the judges again.  I thought Kellie was really good.  I agree with the judges that there was not enough emotion in her singing, but I really enjoyed the performance, although part of why I thought it was so good was because I expected it to not be good because Unchained Melody is such a hard song to sing. 

8:40 -- Paris sang The Way We Were and I didn't really like it.  It was not as good as I thought it would be considering her truly incredible voice.  The judges liked it.  I liked Katharine and Kellie better, but what do I know? 

8:50 -- I thought that Taylor's choice of Just Once was a good one for his voice, but I don't think he sang it well.  I actually have not thought that Taylor's vocals were as good as they should be the past few weeks, but he has made up for it with his dancing and personality.  I think that Taylor has a big group of fans that will vote for him no matter how he sounds.  I just wonder how far that will carry him.  And I say that as a fan.

9:00 -- Vote for Chris!!  I loved his version of the Bryan Adams song.  It not only suited his voice perfectly, but it fit his personality.  Loved it, loved it, loved it.  Vote now!  1-866-436-5706 or 866-436-5712.

Update 4/26:  Kellie is out.  I am sad to see her go being an NC girl and all, but she really has had some trouble the past few weeks so I am not shocked.  I hope Paris is next.  I am still pulling for Chris to win it all, but the way the votes have gone so far this season, it really could be anyone.

Update II:  SarahK had another great liveblog and correctly picked Kellie and Paris as the bottom two and picked Kellie to go home.

Poli-blogging

For some reason I am not able to post at Polipundit right now.  Hopefully the server will be back up soon, but in the meanwhile, there is a lot of blogging going on regarding the Mary McCarthy story.  Ace of Spades has about a half dozen posts on the subject already, and they are all a bit different and all interesting.  Another must read on the McCarthy storyregarding a connection between Joe Wilson and Dana Priest's husband is at Sweetness and Light (via Lucianne).  Check them out.

Shocking Charges Against Charlie Sheen

Evidently believing in wild conspiracy theories is not Charlie Sheen's worst problem.

Miss USA 2006

Last year Miss North Carolina, Chelsea Cooley, won the title of Miss USA.  Tonight a new Miss USA was crowned.  I thought Miss California should have won, but Miss Kentucky, the winner, was really pretty.  She just seemed a bit ditzy, even for a beauty queen. (I am just judging from the last 20 minutes, so I might be wrong.  I can never watch more than that much of a beauty pageant.)

The thing that was so great about Chelsea Cooley, is that she is as intelligent and well spoken as she is beautiful.  Here is a link to a story I posted last year about Chelsea Cooley from my aunt, who knows her personally and says she is as sweet as she seems on television.  I watched her on the celebrity cooking show on NBC recently and she is full of personality.  She was working the crowd like a pro.  I predict she will go on to have a very successful career in whatever field she pursues.   Be on the lookout for her.  I am guessing she will be on television alot.

Southern Rock

I am watching a show on CMT called American Revolutions:  Southern Rock.  So far it is all about the Allman Brothers.  I have always liked them, but did not fully appreciate the brilliance of their music until seeing the history of the band and listening to all those old songs again.  I did not realize that Duane Allman was responsible for much of Eric Clapton's "Layla" sound.  The way the band was marketed was incredibly innovative and rather revolutionary, as well.  It is an interesting look at the history of the music.  I am sure it will be replayed again, so if you get a chance, check it out.

AI Shocker -- Chris In The Bottom Three

I was not surprised to see Ace leave, although I thought he actually gave one of his best performances this week.  I was shocked, however, to see Chris Daughtry in the bottom three!  It is all my fault.  I did not even try to vote.  But next week I will be dialing and I will bet a lot of other Chris fans that thought he had nothing to worry about will, too.  Remember, Rueben Studdard was once in the bottom three, too.  Chris is still my favorite to win. Go Chris!

Thanks For The Thoughts And Prayers

My daughter’s surgery went well, but it was quite an ordeal. The surgery only lasted about an hour, but she got really sick from the anesthesia so we had to wait several hours, and watch her be really miserable for most of that time, until she was able to hold down some liquids. Thanks for all the kind emails. I really do appreciate all the thoughts and prayers.

This surgery was for strabismus. A muscle was moved to properly align the eye. She had it done on both eyes today. I was really nervous, but she can see fine and I can see an improvement already, although things may shift some as she heals.

What was really scary was how her eyes looked. I was told they would be red, but I thought that would mean like bloodshot. They looked bloody. When she first woke up they were draining some and it looked like she was crying tears of blood. When she kept throwing up, the pressure made it even worse.

She is home now, though, and after sleeping all day is pretty much back to her old self. We watched American Idol with my mom, who came and cooked us a big pot of chicken and rice. We have to use eye drops daily for a week or so to prevent infection, and it was not pleasant putting those in, but other than that, things are great.

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Happy Easter

Remember the reason for the season.

"Peeps" Cupcakes

These are the Easter cupcakes I decided on.  The ones in the top picture are from a batch I made for my daughter's class party last week and the second picture with the chicks all in a row is the batch I made tonight for Easter.  These were really easy.  Just decorate a cupcake with green frosting, then put a marshmallow Peep on top.  We added a couple of speckled jelly beans on each side of  the Peep.  I frosted and the girls decorated.  It was not only easy, but really quick, too.