This is the Night

“This is the night when we capture forever and all our tomorrows begin.” – Clay Aiken

My all time favorite American Idol moment was in the finale of season two when Clay Aiken sang the song, “This is the Night.” His passion, his voice and his presence were so captivating and I knew at that moment that my life could and would be different. No other AI song has affected me so deeply until last year when Jordin Sparks came out with, “One Step at a Time.” However, I cannot deny the influence that American Idol has had on music overall. Whether you listen to Folk, Country, R&B, Soft or Hard Rock, American Idol has in some way influenced the genre of music that you hear. Think about it; if you turn on the radio at any given time during the day there is a 95% chance that as you scan through the stations you will hear at least one song from an American Idol winner or contestant.
In a recent interview, Adam Lambert said, after taking second place in season 8 that, “It’s not about winning.” His statement couldn’t be truer. Some of the contestants that have taken second (Clay Aiken) and even seventh place (Jennifer Hudson) have gone on to be more successful than the ones who got the AI crown. So I appreciate that the following ten individuals took the American Idol opportunity and ran with it so that my life could be influenced, my heart touched and my soul enlivened. Of course as this is personal opinion your top ten may differ significantly. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments. Since the number one song was already on the playlist I have added song number two because it captures the essence of the opportunity these AI contestants were given and made the most of.

10. Kimberly Locke(2) – Eighth World Wonder
9. Katharine McPhee (5) – Over It
8. Josh Gracin (2) – Nothin’ to Lose
7. Jennifer Hudson (3) –You Pulled Me Through
6. Kelly Clarkson (1) – A Moment Like This
5. Kelli Pickler (5) – Red High Heels
4. Chris Daughtry (5) – Feels Like Tonight
3. Carrie Underwood (4) – Some Hearts
2. Clay Aiken (2) – This is the night
1. Jordin Sparks (6) – One Step at a Time

No Boundaries

“You can go higher. You can go deeper. There are no boundaries.” - Kris Allen

When it comes to dreaming there are no boundaries. When it comes to parties if there are boundaries they have definitely been expanded by this amazing website. I have blogged a little bit about them before but my husband and I just recently hosted another of their amazing parties and I wanted to share the fun with all of you.
We hosted a Ford Fusion-American Idol party. Not only did Ford send us enough party supplies and gift bag items for 15 guests, they also gave us a chance to win a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Although we didn’t win the car we did get to have a 2009 Ford Fusion at our house so that we could see it, touch it, drive it and jam in it between commercial breaks of the American Idol Performance Finale. I want to thank Nate Kinghorn from Broadway Ford for taking his evening to come and hang out at our party. If you are in the market for a Ford car or truck he is definitely the man to see.
As we all rooted for Kris Allen, who we found out Wednesday night actually won the competition, we ate and talked all things American Idol. We created a quiz to see which guest knew the most about AI; kudos to Jeff and Shauna for being true fans. We even got to show an exclusive 2010 Ford Fusion commercial that starred Ace Young from season 5. He looks super hot with short hair and he has definitely been working out.
Overall it was 2 hours of fun, music and Ford and those that came were not disappointed. For everyone’s enjoyment I have included on my playlist the song that was written for Kris Allen as winner of American Idol season 8. Even though we have a whole year before another American Idol is crowned there are no boundaries on how much fun we can have at our next House Party which promises to keep our summer “sizzlin.”

You Can’t Keep a Good Dog Down

“I’ve seen pain and hurt; I’ve eaten dirt… but look pal I’m still around, ‘cause you can’t keep a good dog down.” – All Dogs Go To Heaven

Last night I had one of the oddest “missionary experiences” ever. Our stake is doing a 40 day fast where 40 families each take 24 hours to fast for the missionaries in our area and for personal missionary experiences. Josh and I started our fast at 6:00 PM on Wednesday night and ended it Thursday at 6:00 PM. At 6:47 PM I got a call from the sister missionaries asking if I could go to an 8:00 PM appointment with them. I was shocked at how quickly my prayer had been answered.
I picked up the sisters just before 8:00 PM at the Visitor’s Center (VC) near the Idaho Falls Temple. As we drove away Sister Harrison pointed out that there was a stray dog wandering on the temple grounds. We didn’t think much of it and assumed that it would be shooed out when security locked the gates that night. As missionary appointments often go, the 8:00 PM cancelled and attempts to make visits to five other individuals turned out to be futile. So at 8:30 the sisters asked me to take them back to the VC so they could pick up some member referral cards. When we got there we noticed that the dog was still wandering. Upon further inspection of the dog it had no collar or tags, it was limping, it’s eyes looked as if it were completely blind and it looked very, very hungry. Since we hadn’t had any luck saving human souls the sister missionaries and I decided to save the stray.
We alerted temple security, who seemed completely baffled as to what they should do. We then called the animal shelter, which was closed, and next the police station. We found out that the animal shelter has drop boxes that we could leave the dog in if we were willing to transport it. By this time it was almost 9:00 PM and the sister’s curfew was quickly approaching, so I offered to take them home and come back with my husband to move the dog. When I arrived at the temple for the third time that evening I was sure that a quick trip to the shelter was all I had to invest and I could get home to bed. However, when we got to the shelter we found that there were only six drop off kennels and all of them were full. Our approach to the building started a cascade of whining from the dogs that had previously been dropped off and we were baffled as to what to do next.
My kind, sweet husband, who would have adopted the dog right then and there if he had been able, suggested that we take it home. I am not a pet person and the idea of taking this dying stray home was not appealing to me but at 9:30 at night we had no other option, short of leaving it on the street, which didn’t seem right. So we brought the dog home and gave it some food and a warm bed for the night. It wasn’t much but it was the least we could do before we shipped her off with animal control the next morning.
The dog is now gone and with the condition she was in I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds her way to doggie heaven soon. However, through our strange encounter I learned a valuable missionary lesson: The Lord wants all of his creations to return home to Him but sometimes He needs us to find them and help them get where they need to be.

Forever and Ever, Amen!

“They say time takes its toll on a body - makes a young girl’s brown hair turn gray. But honey I don’t care I ain’t in love with your hair and if it all fell out I’d love you anyway.” – Randy Travis

Thanks to my handsome father and the help of genetics, I have been going grey since I was 18. It didn’t take long for me to realize that for the rest of my life home hair coloring products would be essential. I couldn’t afford to pay $50-$80 every month to color professionally so I experimented with different color shades and brands until I found the ones that worked best for me. Overall my favorite products are those distributed by Clairol. Their products not only cover my gray evenly but it lasts a long time and I usually only re-color because of new growth at the roots and not because the color has faded.
I had come to this conclusion well before I was chosen by www.houseparty.com to host a house party for Clairol Hair Color. After that my love for their products deepened. Not only did they provide me with free Hair Color for all of my guests, but they also sent several different trial size products like hair spray, razors, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner and more for gift bags that I provided to my guests. Essentially, Clairol provided me with everything that I needed to host an amazing girl’s night out. I spent Saturday, May 2nd, with my girls as we colored, highlighted and styled our hair. Some of us took risks and others were more conservative but in the end we all had a great time using fabulous products that helped us look and feel young. Thank you House Party and thank you Clairol.