Fun Stuff!--Part 1

Since this election cycle was hard on all of us, I figure a diversion from politics is a good thing. My liberal buddies James and Dave are so happy about their Obama win that they are taking some time off from politics. Kudos to them, while being happy about their win there was no gloating to those of us who were mourning a loss.

1) True but funny story--I was working out on the elliptical machine at the gym last night and this guy starts working out next to me. He starts talking to me even though I have headphones on but he gets my attention. We start talking for awhile, when I realize that he is hitting on me. By this time he knows I'm married, have 4 kids, that my husband does kickboxing, etc... I even talk about how I'm a Republican and he is an Obama supporter and still he is not dissuaded. Finally, I happen to mention that I'm one of those people who still loves Bush and he finally disappears. LOL :-)!

2) Nickelback's New Cd--I'm a big fan of Nickelback and they are coming out with a new Cd. Ironically, it comes out the same day as David Cook's, November 18th. I'm looking forward to both of them. I'm really bummed that a friend and I didn't go to the Nickelback concert here in KC a year ago with Chris Daughtry. I'm a huge fan of both and it would've been worth the money. Hopefully, sometime in the near future. My friend is also a homeschooling Mom of 4 so we joked about how we would have to get some leather pants to go.

3) The Jane Austen Book Club--I knew I wanted to buy this movie the first time I saw it. It is an excellent movie but I was waiting for it to be a decent price. Then, this past weekend I needed a good movie to distract me from the rough political news. I went to Target and they had it for a great price and it was the last copy. How could I not buy it?

4) North and South--I started reading this during the summer but things got crazy busy with the campaigns. It was hard to get much reading done, but if I did, it was easier books. So, now that the campaigns are over I went back to reading it and I am enjoying it. I also only have 3 books after this to finish my 50 book list.

Tomorrow, will be my Fun Stuff--Part 2 post, stay tuned!

American Idol Concert in KC!

I've been so excited about Sarah Palin that I haven't had a chance to talk about the American Idol concert. Last Friday night, my oldest daughter and I and 2 of our friends went to the American Idol concert here in KC at the Sprint Center. The only reason I was even interested in going was of course, David Cook.


I ended up enjoying it and having an even better time than I expected. Each of the top ten idols had a chance to sing some solo numbers and then there were 2 group songs. My friend and I agreed that there was a reason Chikezie and Ramiele were at the bottom of the pack. There was a big difference between their performances and the rest of the group. I enjoyed Carly, Brooke and Kristy Lee and felt that they had all improved since the show. Syesha and Jason just aren't my cup of tea and then there is David Archuleta. I just can't get over his immaturity issues. He can sing, and if I don't picture his face I do okay, but otherwise its hard to enjoy him.

My friend and I's favorites were definitely Michael Johns and David Cook. The crowd response dramatically changed when Johns came onto the stage after Ramiele and Chikezie. Johns has a great stage performance, he has an awesome voice and how can you not love the Aussie accent? I think he will do well and has similarities to Cook and Daughtry.

Then there is David Cook. He is the reason that both Friday and Saturday nights' concerts were sold out. Everywhere you looked people were wearing David Cook t-shirts. When he came onto the stage the crowd reaction was incredible and it didn't stop. Cook was moved by the fan support which just makes you love him all the more.

He said he had 2 apologies. One was for Michael Johns who mistakenly thought he was in Kansas ;-). The second was for him having to keep hiking his pants up because someone stole his belt the night before in Oklahoma City. He praised his Mom (she has to be incredibly proud) and he sang a hero song and dedicated it to his brother Adam, who has brain cancer.

Timothy Finn's conclusion to his review of the Saturday concert says it all:

"And as for David Cook: Part of him must be chomping at the bit to get this gig over with and move on to his own material, his own band, his own career. His hometown gave him a spectacular reception, but he also showed he has the talent and personality to make it big elsewhere. I'll be surprised if he isn't at least as big as Daughtry. And if he gets bigger, Saturday won't be the last time he rocks the Sprint Center."

David Cook Wins it by 12 Million Votes!!

DAVID COOK SINGING WITH ZZ TOP!


Last night was an incredible night!! Our boy, KC's own, walked away the winner of Season 7 of American Idol!! Despite the whining by many critics, this year was a spectacular season for American Idol and over 97 million votes were cast Tuesday night. Cook won by 12 million receiving 56% of the votes compared to Archuleta's 44%.

All the signs were pointing to David Cook winning but I was still incredibly nervous. When Seacrest announced Cook the winner I screamed so loud I'm sure the neighbors heard. Right before the announcement Simon gave Cook a well deserved apology for being too harsh the night before. I commented to many of my friends that it would've been too little too late had David Cook lost but alls well since David Cook's fans obviously could've cared less about what Simon had to say.

It was a great night and helps make up for an election year that sucks. And look, David Cook even brings Kansas City Democrats and Republicans together. I found a fellow David Cook fan in Kansas City who happens to be a Dem but we put politics aside to celebrate David Cook!!

Congratulations David Cook!! You have a bright future ahead of you with a lot of fans who love you!!

Related Links:
Missouri's Lt. Governor Congratulates Cook
Voters Select the Next 'American Idol'
TOLDJA! Cook takes "American Idol"
David Cook Wins American Idol

Previously:
David Cook Round-Up!!
Vote for David Cook Tonight!!
Kansas City Loves David Cook!!
David Cook Tickets!!
My Favorite American Idols--Top 10--Season 7

David Cook Round-up!!

Cook's 2nd song last night was a new one that he picked, "Dream Big". I ABSOLUTELY loved it and was stunned when the judges didn't. Not only did he do an awesome job of singing it but I LOVED the message!!

Of course, Cook is going to be a huge singer whether he wins tonight or not. He has already established that. The question is does it help or hurt his career to win? Many have speculated that Chris Daughtry was actually helped as a "rocker" by coming in 4th on American Idol and not winning because he had more creative control with his album and American Idol didn't own him. He obviously has been way more successful than that season's winner, who was Taylor Hicks.

That said, I think David Cook will be just as successful as Daughtry (and I'm a huge Daughtry fan) whether he wins or not. I would just like him to win, there is just something about having your favorite win.

Last night, I thought it was all over when the judges, specifically Simon all out declared Archuleta as the winner. Nevertheless, my kids and I spent the night voting. We monitored Dial Idol all night and we were shocked to see David Cook way in the lead the entire night. As of this writing, he still holds a 12 percentage point lead over Archuleta. Obviously, the Dial Idol is not always right but it seems hard to believe that they could be that far off. I also participated in this poll and was surprised again to see that the majority of the fans there thought that not only SHOULD David Cook win but that they thought he WILL win.

Either way, David Cook is a winner and I look forward to his first Cd. Below are some interesting articles I came across in reading up about him. What I found amusing in one article is that I fit into his largest group of fans, women in their 30's ;-))). Imagine that!!

Related Articles:
Who Should Win Idol?
Cook’s future looks as bright as it does uncertain
David Cook Wins...if he loses
The Year in Idol

Kansas City Loves David Cook!!

My friends, kids and I had an awesome time at the David Cook concert last Friday, May 9th. The top video is an amateur that was right below him and the sound isn't good but you get an idea of what it was like and then he pans at the end to the huge crowd (more than 10,000 of us). The 2nd video is the local Fox station's coverage of the beginning of when he finally showed up and sang.


The gates were supposed to open up at 3:00 pm so we showed up at around 1:15. There was already a line but we ended up getting fairly good seats on the left side of the field. For quite awhile it was cold and cloudy. Yet, by the time the gates opened up and we got our seats the sun came out and the sky was gorgeous. There was a parade in his honor from 3-4 and of course it ended up running late so he didn't show up until around 4:20. It was a long wait, but worth it.

Kelly Urich from the radio station, Mix 93.3, MC'd the event and he did a great job. My oldest daughter and I are fans of 93.3 so we enjoyed seeing Urich. Here is the interview Cook did earlier in the day at the radio station. The Chief's Cheerleaders were also there.

The only irritation was when the Mayor of Blue Springs decided to start introducing City Council members. We all groaned. We had just waited 3 hours to hear and see David Cook. I didn't know or care who was on the Blue Springs City Council, and I'm a political junkie. Other than that, it was all good.

As we waited in line many of us talked and we all agreed that Syesha will probably go home this week and the finale will come down to the 2 David's. It will then come down to who has the bigger fan base. If this past Friday is any indication, David Cook's is big, strong and loyal.

It also has a lot more to do with him just being from Blue Springs. If David Archuleta was from Blue Springs you sure wouldn't have seen me giving up a day of my time and waiting for 3 hours. I am a HUGE David Cook fan and it just turns out to be AWESOME that he is from the Kansas City area. I think he is going to be a huge hit whether he wins or not, just like Daughtry has been and I'm a huge Daughtry fan.

So, Good luck to David Cook over these next 2 weeks and if you haven't been, VOTE FOR DAVID COOK!!!

David Cook Tickets!!

I really should be posting on more serious issues like Myanmar, or Obama's nauseating victory speech or perhaps the conservative backlash against McCain but I'm not going to. Instead, I'm going to talk about something a lot more fun and pleasant.

Last Week I found out that David Cook was planning his hometown concert and since he is from the KC area that meant he would be coming here. Unless you've been living in a cave you know I am a huge David Cook fan. I then tried to figure out how to get a hold of the tickets. There was no word and I literally didn't find out until Monday night that they were only going to be available on Tuesday from 9:00 to 4:00 at 5 different locations in Blue Springs.

There were only 10,000 tickets and each person was only allowed to get 5 tickets. I was going with 2 friends and some of our kids so my one friend and I headed out to get there at 9:00 am. I had no idea what to expect. Would it be a short wait, hours?? We just didn't know. Two of the locations were on the same street so we figured that was our best bet because that way we could pick between the two. That ended up working out well because the one place had a much shorter line than the other. It ended up only taking 15 minutes and we had the tickets and we were out of there. Yet, apparently the tickets were gone in 6 hours so I'm glad I got there when I did.

Woo-hoo!! I was so excited, I felt like I had one of the Willy Wonka golden tickets ;-)). The tickets were free but they recommended that you give a $5 donation for each ticket to the American Cancer Society which we all freely did. It was very exciting.

Last night everyone was calling like crazy for him because obviously, if he got voted off there would be no concert. There were even "watch parties" where people got together just to call in for him. It doesn't look like he is in any danger though. According to Dial Idol he is #1 and unless something bizarro happens, it looks like Jason Castro is going home tonight.

All that to say my friends and kids and I are off to see David Cook this Friday. My oldest daughter said maybe we would be on Tv. I told her it was pretty unlikely seeing that we are going to be in a crowd of 10,000 but you never know ;-). Either way we will have bragging rights that we were there!!