The "X" Factor

For years I have watched American Idol and loved every minute of it. Sometimes my friends would even come over and watch it with me. I have a few favorites from that show, Daughtry especially, that I still love to listen to this day. After they started making changes to the show, I haven't really been tuning in as much to watch American Idol. After Paula Abdul was replaced I was a little disappointed, but then they replaced all the judges except for Randy Jackson. I love Simon Cowell! I know he is arrogant and very straight forward, but I like his honesty. He is a judge and I think that a judge should be honest. After they took Simon Cowell away from American Idol, I have pretty much stopped watching the show all together. Here lately I have grown rather fond of The Voice. The Voice has been gaining popularity here lately and some speculators think that it may eventually become a bigger craze than American Idol. I think the biggest upcoming event though, is the new show that Simon Cowell himself is bringing to the table for fans. Simon's new show called The X Factor is sure to raise the stakes for all these talent seeking shows that are on television these days, because The X Factor is sort of like American Idol, but better. If you were trying out for American Idol then you have to be a solo singer, and a really good one in order to go through to the next round. The X Factor has made it to where a solo singer or a group of singers can try out in order to try and stake their claim to fame. This is just a little piece of information that makes The X Factor so great. The other great part about this show is that it involves two of the original American Idol judges. Simon Cowell has always been a favorite on American Idol, but I'm sure all of his fans will be tuning into The X Factor when it hits the air waves. Paula Abdul has just signed on to be a judge on the new X Factor show, reuniting her with her former judging partner Simon Cowell. Cowell said he was ready to pull the plug on the first day of live auditions for the US version of "X Factor" if a deal was not in place to bring back Abdul. Personally, I think that the "X Factor" will be a wonderful success for Simon Cowell. I think he will rake in more money this way and bring fame to people who are not just solo singers. I absolutely love the fact that he just had to have Paula Abdul on his team. I know that she has had her moments, but I think she is just wonderful and a music legend. I used to listen to her tapes, when I was a little girl, and sing along with the music. I think Simon and Paula make a great team and I'm so glad to be able to see them on a show like this, back in action! Ever since they left American Idol, I always thought that there was something not right about them resigning from the show, but I think that this new show, that Simon has come out with, is going to be so great that it may just know American Idol right off the board. I don't think anybody will forget the American Idol show though, because it made all these stars who they are today. I look forward to watching the X Factor, but until then I will be tuned into American Idol and The Voice, since I do still like those shows. Steven Tyler is a blast!

Grandpa You Will Be Missed

My great grandpa passed away this past Friday at about 2:40pm. He was 91 years old and he and my grandmother have been together for 67 years. My grandma and grandpa always went everywhere together and were VERY close. At about 1:00pm on that Friday afternoon I went on my daily walk in the park with my friend Candice, of course I had my daughter with me. After our walk, I decided that I needed a few things from the store so I headed to Wal-Mart. I spent about 45 minutes in Wal-Mart and then checked out and headed back to my car. I buckled Macy into her seat and then buckled myself into my driver seat. I reached over and pulled a vitamin water out of one of the grocery bags and took a big swig of it. I started the car and I pulled out to go over to the gas pumps to pump some gas into my car. As I pulled out of my parking space and headed toward the pumps, my cell phone started ringing. I looked down to see who it was and realized that it was my granny. I picked it up and said, "Hello". All I could hear on the other end of the line was my granny sobbing into the phone. I couldn't really understand her so I had to ask her what was wrong and all I could understand was that she kept saying, "Holly, please get over here quick!", so I skipped the gas pump and hurried towards her house. I had never heard my grandmother so upset like this, so I knew that something bad had happened and in the back of my mind I already knew what it was, and that was that my grandpa just died. As I drove over to her house, I began to wonder where my grandma Barbara was, because she had been over there with granny since last night, since grandpa's health condition was so bad and we thought he may pass in the middle of the night. Grandpa's health started to decline a few months ago and about a month ago they sent him home from the hospital saying that there was nothing more that they could do, because he was just to old and his heart was starting to fail. Thursday night we all went to visit him, because his oxygen tank was all the way up and he was having little heart attacks all day, so he was at a point to where he wasn't able to be out of bed anymore and we all thought that that would be the last time we saw him, because we thought he wasn't gonna make it through the night. He did make it through the night, however, he didn't make it through the next day. Anyway, I made it over to my granny's house and pulled the baby out of the car and hurried inside. I sat the baby on the living room floor and gave her some toys to play with and then went to go find granny, according to the sobs I figured she was in the back of the house in her bedroom. I went down the hall and went into her room and there she was clutching onto grandpa's dead body, screaming and sobbing. I went over and wrapped my arms around her and just let her cry and say what she needed to say. All she kept saying was that grandpa said he couldn't breathe and that she was trying to help him and that they oxygen tank was up as high as it would go and there wasn't anything she could do to save him. She then started sobbing and leaned over grandpa again and started screaming, "Charlie, why did you have to leave me?!" and "I love you Charlie, come back to me!" It hurt me so much to see my granny like this, so I started crying to. I hugged onto granny for a second and then she started asking me if I could try to call grandma Barbara. I said I would and I tried to call her. She didn't answer so I called my dad and told him what was going on. My dad lives 6 hours away, so I told him that I couldn't get a hold of grandma Barbara and asked dad if he would continue to try and get a hold of her for me while I call Aunt Terry and figure out what to do about the situation that I was delt with just then. Dad said he would keep trying to call Barbara and that he was on his way to come down here. After I hung up the phone with my dad, I didn't even have to call Aunt Terry, because she was calling me. I picked up the phone and told her what was going on. She said she was on her way and that I needed to stay there with granny, because she was calling the police to come over there. I told her okay and got off the phone. No sooner had I hung up with Aunt Terry, the police were rounding the corner. I went back to granny's room to explain to her what was going on. She started freaking out and kept asking, "Holly, what are they gonna do to him?" I told her to calm down and that they just wanted to take a look at him and determine that he was indeed deceased. She said okay and I took her hand and led her down the hallway so that the emergency teams could do their job. They finally determined that he was indeed deceased and then asked me for his identification and a medical card. I went and found what they needed and then they asked which funeral home to call. I turned and asked granny who I was supposed to call and she started sobbing and screaming that she didn't want them to take grandpa anywhere. She then got up and ran back to her bedroom to prevent anyone from taking him anywhere. I turned to the cheif of police and at that moment the phone rang. I picked it up and it was my dad telling my that he got a hold of grandma Barbara and that she would be there in 15 minutes. I then turned to the cheif of police and told him not to take grandpa anywhere and that my grandma would be there shortly to make the funeral decisions. He said that was fine and that they wouldn't touch grandpa until the decision was made by my grandma Barbara where he was supposed to go. I then ran back to find granny and let her know that nobody was gonna take him anywhere, so that way she would calm down a little bit. After a while, grandma Barbara got there and gave the police the information they needed in order to know what was going to be done with grandpa. Grandma Barbara called the funeral place that her and my two aunt's had choosen and they came with their herse. My Aunt Terry and Aunt Wendy were about an hour away from getting there so my grandma Barbara told the funeral people not to take grandpa with them until my Aunt's got there to say there good-bye's. The funeral people were very nice and went back to the bedroom to straighten grandpa up so that way he was more presentable for people to come back and pay their respects. In between waiting for my Aunt's to get there, several other members of my family came to hug on granny and say their good-bye's to grandpa before they took him to the funeral home. After my Aunt's got there, they paid their respects to grandpa and then went to console my granny. The funeral men loaded grandpa onto a stretcher and let my granny have one more good-bye before they loaded him into the herse and took him to the funeral parlor. My Aunt's then told me to order a bunch of pizza's from Pizza Hut and have them delivered so that we could spend this time with granny. I did what she told me and ordered 4 large pizza's and 3 different 2 liter soda's. The pizza arrived and granny didn't want to eat anything, since she was so upset and still sobbing. Later that night I called to check on my granny and told her to get some rest and that it was going to be alright and that grandpa is in a better place with God now. I knew she wasn't going to get much sleep, but I wanted to tell her that anyway. This past weekend has been very sad, since everybody has been preparing for the funeral. My granny hasn't stopped sobbing and she looks so empty and sad. I wish there was some way to make her feel better, but I know there isn't. This is just something that is going to take time in order to heal. We will all miss grandpa Charlie, as he was an outstanding man. I hope that my granny will be able to pick her head up and move on, because I don't think that grandpa would have wanted her to be unhappy. Saturday, the day after grandpa died, granny had a dozen roses delivered to her. The florist said that grandpa had come up there and picked them out and paid for them and had told the florist not to deliver them until the day after he died. I thought that this was very sweet, and it sounded just like something grandpa would do in order for grandma not to be so sad about him being gone. He loved her very much and wouldn't want her to be upset for him passing away. I know granny misses him, we all do, but we have to move on with our lives and trust that God is taking care of him now. One day granny will see him again in Heaven and I know that she will be at peace then. Grandpa, you were a wonderful man and will be missed dearly. May you rest in peace and may God always take care of you. I hope that he has provided you with lots of Pheasants to hunt up there in those clouds, because we know how much you loved pheasant hunting! Anyway, thank you for reading this blog, because he ment a great deal to our family. I will be attending his funeral tomorrow, Tuesday, so please keep us in your thoughts! Thank you!

The Dunder Float

Oh how I love summer and it is getting closer everyday! I just couldn't think of what to blog about here lately and then I realized that all I have been thinking about lately is "The Dunder Float". Every summer on Memorial Day Weekend me and about 30 of my friends head on down to Pineville, MO and go camping and canoeing. I had never before went canoeing until I met my husband and all of his friends and now his friends are my friends and we all go canoeing on this particular weekend. We have a BLAST! Anyway, the first year that I got to go canoeing with all of these fine people we all had a great time, but everyone ran out of beer and food before we hit the halfway mark, so when we ran out of supplies we paddled back to the campsite quick. We all had such a good time together that we all decided to come back and do it all again every Memorial Day weekend at the same place. My husband's friend, R.D., was the one to rally us all together for the first eventful canoeing trip, so we named it after him, well, sort of. For some odd reason the song Thunderstruck by AC/DC kept repeating itself throughout our trip and so now the annual canoeing trip has a name and a theme song. Only, we say Dunder instead of Thunder in the theme song! Now every year all of us know that on Memorial Day weekend, we are all going on the Dunder float. The second time we went on the Dunder float trip there were 40 of us! We had to rent twenty 2-man canoes because there were so many of us, and the campsite owner gave us a discount since we had such a huge group. All of us use this chance to get together and have a good time and catch up on things. Last year, I was 7 and a half months pregnant with my daughter, and R.D.'s wife was 6 and a half months pregnant so we could not go on the Dunder float. We had to miss out last year for the safety of our babies, but this year we have gotten a babysitter set up for that weekend and we are headed out for the Dunder float to let the crazies out of us in order to kick off the summer. Maybe that is why I can't stop thinking about going! I am so excited about this trip! I bought a brand new bathing suit, from Victoria's Secret of course, and I have been tanning since March. I've got my tan on and a new suit, now all I gotta do is get my hair re-colored and make my camping list, so I don't forget to pack anything, and I will be ready to rumble. Don't worry about me people, because I will be going on the Dunder float every year for a while, because I got birth control. No babies for me until they have to take the little birth control rod out of my arm in January of 2014! I guess I must be getting a little carried away with this, but I really love the memories and good times that I take home with me after this trip is over. Well, maybe some of you like to go canoeing and if so, we camp at Sugar Island and if you would like to come party with us then we will be the huge group of people singing the "Dunder" song! Other than that, happy summer times to everyone! My plan is to get up on Friday, May 28th and head down to the camp grounds to pitch my tent, then we hang out around the camp fire to eat and have fun with my friends. The next morning we get up at 7 am and eat breakfast and then we head towards the shuttle buses for our 10 mile float! We usually don't get back to the camp ground until about 12 hours later. Then we hang out around the camp fire again and eat and hang out some more. Sunday morning we all get up and say our farewells and then, one by one, we all go home. *sigh* I hate going home! Since, I've had my daughter this day sounds more like a vacation for me and my husband. Anyway, I hope everyone has something exciting planned for summer. Stay safe everyone and have a great summer!

Judge Judith Sheindlin

Today I am going to talk about a show that I love to watch everyday at 4pm. I like to watch Judge Judy. I'm not sure why I'm so addicted to her show, but her show keeps me tuned into it everyday at the same time. Even my husband knows what channel we turn it to at that time. Anyway, I think everybody knows who Judge Judy is because they have watched the show. Many of you are probably fans of her and her show! I saw her on Ellen Degeneres once and then I eventually started to see her on all kinds of shows after that. She seems to be pretty popular. I think it's pretty cool that she is gaining lots and lots of celebrity attention. She really doesn't act like all the other celebrities and she sticks to her job as a judge on her show. I love how she doesn't try to make it all fake like other shows. She gives real advice and she calls it like she sees it. I suppose I like her so much because I am a realist and I like having the truth right in front of me instead of a bunch of fake lies. Judge Judy lets a person know when she thinks they are full of crap or if she thinks they are a trouble maker. This blog isn't neccessarily about her show and how I love to watch it everyday. I wanted everyone to know just how much Judge Judy has accomplished in her life, because she truely is a wonderful person. She was on CNN the other day and they were saying that she makes more than Oprah! EVERYBODY on earth knows who Oprah is and we all know that Oprah gets pretty nice paychecks! So, Judge Judy must be at the top of the list when it comes to show ratings. Oprah's talk show is what brought her to the top of all television shows and that's right where Judge Judy has placed herself with HER top rated show. It is the most watched "court" show on the air waves right now and she pulls in about 10 million viewers. She even beat Oprah Winfrey's ratings in the 2009-2010 season. Guess I should have been a judge! Judge Judy is 68 years old and she just signed on to stay with the Judge Judy show until 2015. She started the show in 1996 and has been doing it for 15 years now. That is one tough old New Yorker! When I read that she was 68 and still going strong I just laughed, because my grandmother always used to say that she has got a lot of spit fire in her and that's what you got to have in order to keep going as long as she has. Boy was my grandmother right! If you look at this Judge Judy Biography, she has been through a few divorces, raising five children through law school and exams to be where she is today. I personally think she really is a tough Brooklyn chick. The things she has seen and been through in her life are what drives her to give out her fair and reasonable judgements. I hope that she keeps that "spit fire" going because I love her and I think some of her blows are kind of funny. Like when she says, "I'm not up here because I'm gorgeous. I'm up here because I'm smart.". Like I said, she calls them like she see's them!