Breaking McPhee-ver?

Hi everyone. Just passing by real quick-like before "Idol." Not much new news to share with you. I bought a gorgeous, feminine, flowing spring skirt, only to (a) get it out of the store with the security ink tag on it and (b) return it to the store to get the tag off and then (c) rip it wide open at the seam the very next day when I wore it FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. Yep - that's typical Jen for you. Thanks to the ingenius soul who invented safety pins, the Kansas City area proper was protected from seeing my lower half. Heh. (Yes, the visual...it's horrifying, I know.) What else? No new news on the job for which I interviewed two weeks ago. I'm dying to try the new Orchid Sake candles from Colonial Candle. I signed up for the next go-'round of the Secret Pals. We're havng Easter dinner at our house this weekend, and Curt's family's all a'comin. Oh, and I've developed quite the addiction to HBO's new series "Big Love." Not much else to share with you.

OK - here's my "Idol" recap. I never thought the day would come when I'd actually say this, but Bucky wasn't the worst performer on the show. That unsavory honor goes to Katharine. She's got a beautiful, beautiful voice (and she's one of Curt's two favorites to win), but her performance was, and this is putting it nicely, a train wreck. She was all over the place. Flat, sharp, off key...you name it. It was horrible. She did the right thing in choosing something more ballad-esque in nature, but good grief. What a mess that was. Bucky's performance wasn't much better, but he was on-pitch more than Katharine was and he looked more comfortable and confident than she did. Ace is so gorgeous and adorable, but yuck. Bad, bad performance. It had a few strong points, but not many. Kellie's performance wasn't much better. Chris WAY oversang his song, but he is so fantastic and so powerful and I am sure his place remains cemented in this competition, at least for now. Elliott was fantastic, and I am coming to like him more and more every week. He's got an amazing voice, and it makes my heart smile whenever the cameras pan out to his frail, beautiful mother (check out how proud she is of him...and rightfully so). Taylor was, oh wow, just my amazing Taylor. I am SO SO glad that he chose "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." In typical Taylor style, he danced and had fun and made everyone happy and truly entertained. Good vocal, too. Not his best, but close thereto. But the best performance of the night goes to the amazing Paris. Wow, wow, and triple-mega wow. For someone with such a strong soul and gospel background, to take a song like that and perform it as brilliantly as she did was just amazing. I hear her sing, and I am just amazed that someone so young has the strength and full sound that she does. Just wow. Love her. Loved her from the start. She and Taylor remain my top favorites, with Elliott and Chris as my third and fourth, respectively. Taylor and Elliott are my mom's favorites, and Chris and Katharine are Curt's. Who'll be in tonight's bottom three? Bucky, Ace, and Katharine? Who'll leave? Ace, although it really should be Katharine.

(And by the way, I really wish one of the contestants had performed "One Year Of Love." That's one of my all-time favorite Queen songs. However, I couldn't tell you which one of the eight would have done it the best. Maybe Bucky? No, Katharine. It would be nice to see a strong female version of that song. Oh well. And now I've got that song stuck in my mind. "....one sen-ti-men-tal moment in your arrrrrms...")

Something's happening to me that those of you who know me (or who have read my blog as of late) will think is kinda funny. Guess who's s-l-o-w-l-y developing a Starbucks addiction? Yes, me, the girl who swore off expensive coffees and swore that her $1.50 drive-thru restaurant Coke would beat a frothy cuppa Seattle's best on any day is now actually stopping BY Seattle's favorite coffee shop almost every day on the drive home. The people in my life are astonished. Now, all of this said, let me be clear. I don't have a lot of coffee in my drink of choice (Caramel Macchiato...fat-free milk with whipped cream, please.) I only get a QUARTER OF A SHOT of espresso. (Christ, how do people drink espresso straight? GOD that stuff is strong.) I just like a little kick of coffee to accompany the sweet taste of the caramel. Yum. Dammit Curtis. This is all your fault! :) (Curtis thinks this is all quite amusing.)

Erin said something absolutely hilarious and I just HAVE to share it with you. We are very open with Erin about a lot of things, and so it's absolutely nothing for her to be in the room with me when I am getting dressed. I was getting ready for work and she and I were talking, and I said something to the effect of, "OK, now Mommy needs to put her bra on so she can finish getting dressed." Her VERBATIM response? "Yeah, Mom...because no one wants to see those." I damned near died laughing. So did Curtis. And so have our parents and my colleagues. I mean, I know I don't look like CINDY CRAWFORD or anything, but gee whiz! Out of the mouths of babes...

Off to watch the show. Later!