American Idol Top 9

It was Idols Choose Their Own Song from the Top Downloads? Is that right? Ok, whatev. I think that is what all that was...interesting. Here we go...

Anoop Desai - Gotta Hold On Me/Crampin' My Style...sumin' sumin' by Usher? Eh. Not a fan of this performance. I couldn't understand the lyrics at several points and it was just too low in parts or too flat or just weird. I don't know. I just can't watch this guy. Sorry.

Megan Joy Corkrey - Turn Down Your Lights Down Low. Uh huh. Well, it was a tad better than last week, maybe? I'm being nice. Ok. It was just strange, nasal at times...teeny bit whiney. She has such a unique sweet spot with her vocals that if she doesn't choose a song in that sweet spot she sounds just awful. And babe, don't be too cocky...take the pros advice.

Danny Gokey - What Hurts the Most. GO GO GOKEY!!!! Loved it. We say, Danny BrInG iT and da Boy BROUGHT IT!!! What?!!! I loved it. Felt it. Got chills with it. Niiice baby. VOTED.

Allison Iraheta - Don’t Speak. You gotta admit, the girl belongs up there on that stage. She's a natural and will do well no matter when her Idol journey ends. She's SIXTEEN!! I really liked her take on this song...fab intro with the guitar!

Scott MacIntyre - I Love You Just the Way You Are. I thought tonite's performance was way better than last week's. He looked nice too!

Matt Giraud - You Found Me. I agreed and disagreed with the judges on Matt tonite. I agreed in that this song was in his sweetest range. BUT...but I actually really enjoyed it! I loved the bit of edge to his voice and the whole piano in the crowd bit. He threw in some of his wowzer falsetto and yay...I'm STILL a fan, baby! VOTED. totally did not deserve to be in the bottom 3 last week. what??

Lil Rounds - I Surrender. OI with the dress, girlfriend. Oi. Just oi. This did not impress me at all tonite. Just boring. I wasn't it to be over. And btw, what up with her changing her look every week?? Girl, be who you are and stick with it.

----Can I just add...the most endearing part of the show, when Lil's little girl walks up to Randy and gives him a giant bear hug??! Come on, don't tell me you didn't feel a tear in your eye!----

Adam Lambert - Play That Funky Music. Whoa, this was pretty unexpectedly fun to watch! I mean, who saw THAT comin??! He worked it out...though a tad screamy. Not as good as last week but fab and funky. He showed us a truly unique version of that song and no whack makeup! VOTED.

Kris Allen - Ain’t No Sunshine. HELLO...like MOLTEN HOT LAVA??!!!! Wow, loved him at the piano...sweet Kris-spin to the song. FAB. He keeps raising the bar every week...slammin vocals. Well done. VOTED.

Ok, so my favs tonite were Danny of course and Kris...

Who should go home...I'm thinkin' either Lil or Megan.

Oh, and HI...David Cook is gonna be on tomorrow y'all...yay, he was my pick last year!!!! :D

Sweet Giveaway

This chick totally rocks...go check out her amazin' skills and her excellent giveaway!!! :D

Black and White

I know...I'm addicted. I admit it. And I'm ok with that.

Camera: Canon Rebel XSi

Mode: Manual

Exposure: 1/10

Aperture: f/5.6

Focal Length: 49mm

ISO Speed: 800

You Capture.

This week's You Capture challenge was reflection. It was a great challenge but I actually captured this shot without knowing the challenge being without my computer all week. Anyways, I'm thrilled that my drive home is so photographically is that a word? rewarding. Yay! Super fun...head over to Beth's by clicking the You Capture button for some great shots!! :)

Camera: Canon Rebel XSi

Exposure: 1/200

Aperture: f/5.6

Mode: Manual

Focal Length: 55mm

ISO Speed: 200

American Idol Top 10

It was Motown week in American Idolville and we had ourselves a competition, y'all. Smokey Robinson was the contestants mentor, what a sweetheart he was! Since I kinda grew up on the oldies, I was lovin' it tonite. Here we go...

Matt Giraud — Let’s Get It On: Whew!! This was a hot one tonite...Matt looked like a star up there. I loved his piano intro and then his move to the stage, he worked it out baby. What a fab performance, so current...I would buy this off iTunes for sure! Suh-weet mercy. VOTED.

Kris Allen — How Sweet It Is: What a great Michael Buble feel to Kris' performance tonite. I liked the jazzy feel to his voice. It was fun and enjoyable to listen to, he makes it look so natural. The personal spin he put to it was niiiice.

Scott MacIntyre — You Can’t Hurry Love: Oh, what can I say? This guy is like a rare gem these days. Scott is a sweet and gentle guy with a wonderful smile, you can't help but smile back. I'm not too sure what the stylists were thinking with the pink pants but he did say they only told him about them 10 min before the show, that's just mean. I did enjoy the more upbeat performance from him, good energy but agreed with the judges that it was just ok. I so want this guy to just blow us out of the water!

Megan Joy Corkrey — For Once In My Life: She is just stinkin' beautiful, cute dress and lovely hair tonite. But uck, her performance was just off, flat and off beat/key. It was rough and just not good. Poor girl. I don't know what happened, the song just wasn't a good choice for blending with her unusual voice.

Anoop Desai — Ooooh, Baby Baby: What an enigma. Nice vocals, though the performance was pretty similar to the original. Love the song but it was like too slow or something. I wasn't feeling it. A tad bit boring?

Michael Sarver — Ain’t Too Proud To Beg: Hmm, great guy here but this performance really fell flat. It def had a karaoke ora about it unfortunately. I just can't see this guy selling out concerts in the future. It was just average for me.

Lil Rounds — Heat Wave: She looked just lovely tonite, was that her real hair?? Cute dress. Ok, the girl can sang we've established that. This song was a little too loud, too heavy for me. Almost like I got blasted out the water from start to end. There wasn't any room for her to show off that great multi-faceted voice of hers. It was just power through the whole thing then take a deep breath at the end. It was eh for me tonite. I still love her.

Adam Lambert — Tracks of My Tears: Um, hello somebody call the LAVA POLICE cause this guy was HOT HOT HOT tonite! Wow, off the hook i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.e. I love the no-makeup-no-nail-polish-no-hairinface look...hey, who knew? There's a cute guy under all that!! I loved the halla to Elvis, slammin' suit man. This was totally contemporary, I would def download this one off iTunes. Sweet falsetto, sweet spin to it...I got CHILLS y'all, chills. VOTED.

Danny Gokey — Get Ready: I love this guy. This was a super fun performance. Danny has such a great personality, you just wanna squeeze him! It was not his best performance tonite however. There was no moment in the song when you were like...aahh, nice. Kinda a not great choice for him but I am behind this guy 100%. VOTED.

Allison Iraheta — Papa Was A Rolling Stone: Baby hit this one outtathepark tonite! Wow, perfectly suited song for her amazing voice. This was one of my fav Allison performances! Niiice. VOTED.

Ok, so my FAV. performances were Matt and Adam.

I'm thinking that prob. going home will be either Michael or Scott.

What did y'all think??

Ultimate Blog Party y'all!

Hey y'all! If you're here for the PAR-TAY then you have found the right place for sure... so WELCOME to Just Another Day in Paradise. I'm Kari and this is my bloggy home :) Thanks so much for stopping by I just love meetin' new bloggy friends so hang out, chat, browse around and tell me a bit about yourself.

In the meantime, let me share a lil bit about me ~

A great place to start is my 100 things about me post. If you don't want to torture yourself by reading all that stuff then I will attempt to condense it down to a few of my fav things. Youaresowelcome.

Here we go...

I love Jesus and I believe with all my heart that He is the only begotten Son of God and I intend on spending the rest of my days on earth, knowing and loving Him with all my heart!

This is my sweet husband of almost 10 yrs, Joel...I also love him with all my heart.

Being a Momma is one of the best things I will ever do in my entire life!

My 2 cherubs are the bright spots in my day...Alex is 7 1/2 and Chloe is 5 1/2.

Our Chloe has an amazing story of how God spared her life and is working wonders through our little Blooming Joy!

This is my baby Canon, a b-day gift from my honey...

I'm a photo-freak!!

Ok, a few more fun facts about myself...I know, What? There's more? Oh yes, y'all there's more.

I just love me some country music. Now I don't care if it's not popular or whatever cause I love it. And I especially looove Kenny Chesney and this picture was taken last year at the 2nd KC concert my Momma and my sister went to together. It's a tradition and I'm all about tradition. In fact, this summer we are going to see him AGAIN...I know, lucky me. ;) *sigh*

And if you are STILL wantin' to know more about me...fine, I love American Idol...I do...and I post my opinion on the performances every week. I'm just sayin'.

There are some great places and websites and things that I'm pretty passionate about on my sidebars. For example, I am a ginormous fan of Compassion International. My family supports a little boy, Syrus who lives in Uganda through Compassion. If you have never heard of them or visited their website please please go on over and read what incredible things God is doing through Compassion!

There is also a March of Dimes widget on the sidebar with a picture of my sweet little nephew, Abraham. You can read more about his story over here at my sister's blog. But for the past couple of years I have been privileged to walk with my sister and Abraham in the March of Dimes. This year is the first year I am helping to raise money for this amazing organization.

Lastly you may wonder about the name of this blog..."Just Another Day in Paradise". No, I don't live in Hawaii darnit but it comes from the Phil Vassar country song. I heard it one day and it just struck me how it fit perfectly how I feel about my life, it's not perfect but surrounded by loved ones and walking with Jesus...every day I live and breathe is truly another day in paradise! Click play to listen...

Just Another Day In Paradise - Phil Vassar


Head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom...the wonderful host of the Ultimate Blog Party '09 and visit some other party-goers!! :D
Thanks for visiting...y'all come back now ya'hear?!!


P.S. There are a TON of prizes to be won this year and everyone loves to win free stuff, right?!
So here are my choices...

Gift Certificate to the Vintage Pearl...I adore this chick and her beautiful jewelry!! :)

Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer...from Moms Who Think.

Savy Girl Candy Apples Bracelet...so cute!!

Gift Certificate from Bliss Living...Mother/child jewelry.

Gift Certificate from Kristen’s Custom Creations...also another wonderful jewelry maker!

Sterling Silver Earrings...from Ice.com.

And if all those prizes are taken then I would love to win any gift certificates from Target, Amazon, Ebay! YAY!! :D

Look, No Flash!

The challenge this week was to snap a shot with NO flash!

I had fun with this one...

Missing my iMac

Well, normally I would be posting my You Capture picture and other such posts...however, my iMac in the shop getting fixed. *sigh* Yes, it was having a few shutting down issues and so here I am with our old PC with NONE of my photos on it. I have some great shots on my camera but my PC cannot read my RAW images. I'm in a pickle. But hopefully I should be back up and operating by Friday. I hope I hope!! Fingers crossed. I'm lost without my Mac. :{

American Idol top 11

It was Grand Ole Opry week for the contestants and I'm always up for some country y'all! :D And wasn't Randy Travis just the sweetest ever? What a classic gentleman for sure. Ok, here we go...

Michael Sarver -- Ain't Goin' Down til the Sun Comes Up: This is def. Michael's genre, he was totally comfortable up there singing away. However, I found it just ok. It was fun but there was alot lot of low/flat parts to this performance and not enough change of key or something. It was a basicly a poor rendition of Garth's song. I'm a little afraid for this guy tonite.

Allison Iraheta — Blame It On The Heart: I totally love this girl! She looked really really nice tonite, great outfit/hair. Her tone and vocals were fab as always. This genre doesn't really seem to fit her however she did a great job with it!

Kris Allen -- To Make You Feel My Love: Oh, man I love this song!! This was pretty wow for me. I really liked that he didn't sing with his guitar again tonite. Changin' it up. Very nice, you could clearly hear his pure vocals. Love the Kris-style he put to it! VOTED.

Lil Rounds — Independence Day: First of all, she looked amazing tonite. Wow! Love the hair, so much better than that long straight piece hanging in her face. Ok. I agreed with the judges on this one, it was just ok, not fab. like she normally is. Eh. I am starting to wonder if she is just another good singer, not very unique.

Adam Lambert — Ring of Fire: OhAiYaiYai. What the dear is going on with this guy?? Man, last week I loved him and this week I cringed through the whole thing with my mouth gaped open. Yikes! This was horrible for me just horrible. Like Bollywood on crack. Ugh.

Scott MacIntyre — Wild Angels: This guy is so super sweet you just can't hardly dislike him or criticize him. He looked great tonite, the stylist got to his hair and everything just worked for him. This was way better I thought that last week's performance. I'm not sure if I agree about losing the piano. That really is his niche.

Alexis Grace — Jolene: Much better again than last week I thought as far as going over the top. But last week had a bit more feeling to it I thought. This was ok, some great parts and some not so great parts. You can def. see this girl is trying! I hope she sticks around cause she's got alot of potential. Funny, now I can't get Dolly's image out of my head!!

Danny Gokey — Jesus Take the Wheel: Ok, y'all KNOW how I feel about this guy here. I'm totally hooked, he could sing my car manual and I'd listen and love it. Seriously. I thought he looked like a star tonite....slick outfit and those glasses are killin' me! Wow, love the song, perfect song choice for him. It had a nice slow build to a power chorus that he knocked out of the park! Niiiice. VOTED.

Anoop Desai — You’re Always On My Mind: WoW. Noopdog is def. back. I am so proud of this guy. He really took to heart last weeks bomb of a performance and turned it around. His vocals were off the hook, perfect tone and it was super contemporary. But. What up with his outfit? I mean, it's hard to take this guy serious with these heartfelt ballads when he's wearing a purple and green hoodie??! Goodnightalivin'. Come on buddy. I loved listening to him but had to look away from the tv screen.

Megan Joy — I Go Walking After Midnight: THE GIRL HAD THE FLU! Holymuttchops. I give her big big props for looking amazing and actually sounding better than she has in a long time! Wow. I loved the dress, it was lovely and elegant...her face was a little made up so I got what the judges were sayin. Nice song choice for her, I really loved the throwback sound of the what, 30's 40's? I loved it! And it seems like she tried not to do that weird twisty dance so much. Thankyousomuch.

Matt Giraud — So Small: Oooooh, Wow!!! Sweet sweet vocals from this guy who's sorta been a bit in the background. I've thought he was great for a while but tonite he really shined! He put his own style to it that really worked out, it was heartfelt and so believeable. He was the package deal tonite. VOTED.

Ok, my favs tonite were of course, Danny Gokey...I also loved Matt Giraud and Kris Allen. I'm thinking it's going to be a male winner this year for sure! What do y'all think??

Who should go? Hmm...I'm going with Michael Sarver. Sorry.

Jewelry Lover Alert

Kailani is hosting another FAB giveaway

from one of my all time favorite jewelry designers...

Twisted Silver.

Y'all head on over there and check out Twisted Silver's sweet designs

and the giveaway too!

fix-it friday

There is a new blog that I've literally stumbled upon and it is incredible!! Right up my beginner-photographers-heart...y'all must go check it out. This photo was a beautiful SOOC shot of Lolli's little girl. In Fix-It Friday, we download the photo and edit it the best way we can. You can click the button below to see how others have edited this photo as well as browse around this FAB blog! :)

Oh, yeah I almost forgot...I edited this photo using Picnik. I don't have too much it the way of programs for editing photos. However, I'm on the lookout for a good one so if y'all have any fav editing programs leave me a comment and share your fav! Thanks!!

You Capture.

Can I just say how much I LOoooove Beth's photo carnival You Capture.?!! Yah, I L.O.V.E. it cause she's gives you FAB. new ideas for shooting picts and great challenges to streetch you as a photographer. Well, you know...in my dreams I like to call myself that. You know. A Photographer. Hee. Ahem. Ok, so this week's challenge was TEXTURE. Ooohh. Super fun!! Click the button to see MORE TEXTURES!! :D

American Idol Top 13

Hey, Final 13 baby! It was Michael Jackson night...big shoes to fill for these guys but overall I thought it was a great night of performances so here we go ~

Lil Rounds - “The Way You Make Me Feel” - She looked lovely tonite, though I would have traded in those white pants for some other color. Any other color. However, she once again did her thang and worked it out on the stage like a pro. Lil has great energy and style and def deserves to be there. But even though I love her I found myself wondering what was different about her from the rest. Is she just another good singer? We'll see.

Scott MacIntyre - “Keep the Faith” - Hmm, first off just love this guy. His story. Everything. He looked graeat! Absolutely LOVED the piano in his performance but tonite wasn't fab for me, the vocals were good but a little flat. I agreed with the judges, the song didn't do him justice.

Danny Gokey - “PYT” - LOVE.LOVE.LOVE.THIS.GUY. From the beginning...I have a feeling Danny is gonna be 'my guy' like David Cook was last year! WOW performance, great song choice. He looked great where does he find with these matching glasses?? Danny is just awesome to watch, I already feel like I'm watching a concert. Excellent. VOTED.

Michael Sarver - “You Are Not Alone” - What a sweet sweet family guy, Michael is. He looked really nice tonite and seemed very comfortable. I enjoyed his performance alot. Great tone and loved this softer side of him. Good job.

Jasmine Murray - “I’ll Be There” - Her dress was so pretty tonite with her beautiful smile. This was just nice for me not wow. She's seems a bit out of her league but I totally think she has great potential!

Kris Allen - “Remember The Time” - This guy is so easy to like, easy going and great smile. And how cute was his and his wife's story...5 months married?! Simon's a ding dong. Anyways, loved the guitar in his performance. Really fun! Nice.

Allison Iraheta - “Give In To Me” - Ha! Not super crazy about this song BUT totally perfect for her! WOW what a performer, she's a natural. Incredible composure. Loved the rocker edge to her voice! Fab. VOTED.

Anoop Desai - “Beat It” - Hmm, he looked really nice tonite. Uh, but hmm...not super great for me. Too bad. He went out and sang a M.J. song he loved and kinda got set up by it. How do you pick from M.J. songs and not "try to sound like a bad version of him"?? I don't get it. Sorry.

Jorge Nuñez - “Never Can Say Goodbye” - Poor guy, not the best choice for him. Stinks cause I really like him. Still love this guy but I totally agreed with the judges. A disjointed and unconnected song for him. Ugh.

Megan Joy Corkrey - “Rockin’ Robin” - YIKES.YIKES. I have thought this before but WHAT in the great wide world is this girl thinking??! I mean, sheesh there's different and there's DIFFERANT. This was terrible, the judges were too easy on her. Like a bad joke. And what up with the cawing at the end, oh man, like baaaad impromptu. Oh dear.

Adam Lambert - “Black & White” - Ah, I know this guy....I know. But WOW. This guy totally rocked this song and looked like he belonged up there on that stage. Great job, this was his best so far in my opinion. VOTED.

Matt Giraud - “Human Nature” - Yeah, loved the piano...wow, just hints of J.T. This was the perfect song choice for him and he totally redeemed himself. Loved it. Nice. VOTED.

Alexis Grace - “Dirty Diana” - I really like this guy but hmm, was a little too much tonite. And I'm not liking the vibe she's heading into. Kinda abit too edgy for me. Man, she started out like this sweet little Mama and whoa nellie. Come back to us girl. VOTED.

Ok, so my FAVs of the night were Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert.

My picks to GO are Megan Corkrey and Jasmine Murray.

Sunday Grace

Fill the frame.

This week's challenge was to...FILL the frame! I love trying shots like this, cutting out the background and just focusing on your subject. Of course, my fav subjects are my cherubs!! I know, I'm biased. It's hard getting my son to sit/stand still for 5 secs while trying to take his picture so when he's agreeable, I GO for it!! Check out 5 Minutes for Photography for some great tips...zooming in, focusing and for some great shots!

Tiny Prints

This was week 2 of Beth's You Capture...the challenge was 'Perspective'. I thought about it alot this week, what to look at differently and what I could capture on film. Walking around with my camera the other day on the lookout, I stumbled upon these cute little things! :) How must it feel to be sooo tiny?! Head over to Beth's place to see some awesome shots!!

"Tiny Prints"

American Idol third 12

Tonight was the third group of 12 to perform...interestingly enough, at first I thought hmm, not crazy about any of these but in the end there was a few that really impressed me. Here we go...

Von Smith — You’re All I Need to Get By: This whole thing was strange for me, from the red tennis shoes to the oversized suit. Hmm, not a fav of mine. Little cheesy, sorry.

Taylor Vaifanua — If I Ain’t Got You: Beautiful girl, cute outfit...btw, girl I want my boots back thankyousomuch. This was a super big song for her, some of the lower notes fell flat. Eh, just not sure about her niche here.

Alex Wagner-Trugman — I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues: Ugh. He was overdid this one and it was just not great. Poor guy.

Ariana Afsar — The Winner Takes It All: I really liked her in the beginning but What? Why did she sing that song? Too many runs, kinda some voice crackin going on there.

Ju’not Joyner — Hey There Delilah: Really liked this guy in hollywood week! I really really like his R&B style he put to this song. Wow, nice! But whatup with the handcuffs?? VOTED.

Kristen McNamara -- Give Me One More Reason: This girl has a great voice but she's all over the place and has not found her sweet spot. Kinda karaoke, too like peppy. Weird.

Nathaniel Marshall — I Would Do Anything For Love: Love this guy's grandma. But yikes. Fun but just totally not my style.

Felicia Barton — No One: Wow, great performance! She came out with a bang and seemed really comfortable up there. Great smile, the whole package. Doin' the Mamas proud, girl. VOTED.

Scott MacIntyre — Mandolin Rain: Impressive and Inspiring. Some great high note rifts there. Super super nice guy, feelin what he's singing. Love him, maybe not all out crazy about his voice but how can you not love this guy? VOTED.

Kendall Beard — This One’s For the Girls: All y'all know I love a country girl now. Um, Martina leaves big shoes to fill sooo. Um, she is a little bito'sunshine for sure. It was a little off here and there, overall good. A little growth is needed.

Jorge Nunez — Don’t Let the Sun Go Down: PIPES, wow! He does so not sing like he talks. Really felt the emotion he was putting out there. True genuine sweet guy. I cried, really. VOTED.

Lil Rounds -- Be With You: Really like this Mama! Go on girl. Great smile and love her vibe. I can def. see her as a recording artist! VOTED.

See what I mean? My voting was out of control tonite. :) But my top 2 favs are Ju'not and Lil Rounds...what did y'all think?? Come on, spill.

Sunday Grace