Meeting Kelly Clarkson

I don't typically talk about work on this blog because, well, it's work.  And while it's where I spend a good chunk of my time, when I come home, I just like to be home.  That being said, however, there are some things that are really big...like a walk that 40,000 people attend, and one Kelly Clarkson in particular.

While it may sound a bit cheesy, Kelly Clarkson actually had a rather big impact on my singing start.  While on a church choir tour/mission trip in high school, I pretended to be her in a skit our family group did, and knew that I'd really have to own "A Moment Like This" if I was going to be the "good singer" on our version of American Idol.  The rest of the week, I sang my solo "Here I Am to Worship" with a lot more confidence, and people started asking me to sing more often.  I sang at Baylor, at church, and now at weddings and any chance I can get!

{Me, Molly, Kelly & SMoo}

I shared this info about our special guest with my Dad the night before the walk.  He was so pumped and was determined to meet her and get a photo.  {Most of the time I try to stray away from being "Gary's Daughter" at work because I don't want to be treated any differently than anyone else.  However, he's been really involved in the organization and very instrumental in making a difference, so it's kind of hard to ignore, which isn't always a bad thing!}  He made sure that the girls got a pic with the very first American Idol.  Thanks, Dad!

Molly snapped this photo of me and Dad at the top of the bridge.  40,000 people cross under it as they move past the start/finish line, and it was my first time to be up there and see this part of the walk.  

I was born too soon and spent three weeks in the NICU with spinal meningitis after I was born, so our family has been involved with the March of Dimes for a very long time because it's near and dear to our hearts.  I started going to the walks with my dad every year growing up, and it was always fun for us to share that together.  While I don't remember each one of them, the last three stand out quite vividly.  As it turns out, the walk has become a way for me to mark seasons in my life, and each year I go back, I wonder where I'll be next.

In 2009, I was fresh off a plane from studying abroad.  I was about to graduate from Baylor and didn't have a job yet.  I was anxious and wasn't looking forward to graduating.  To say that summer was challenging would be an understatement.  But in August, the March of Dimes offered me a full-time job, and I was thrilled to work where I'd interned one summer in college.  

In 2010, I worked my first walk.  I learned all the behind-the-scenes tasks that have to be done by our small staff to pull of this event.  It was a cool day.  I had also been dating Adam for about a month, and couldn't stop smiling.  I wasn't sure where it was headed quite yet, but I was having a blast with him.

This year, I had more of a handle on what my role would look like, and I even got to drive a golf cart this time.  {People think you're quite helpful when you can haul them from point A to point B!}  And a year later, Adam and I are engaged, and we'll be married by the time the next walk rolls around!  

The Lord has continued to be so faithful in my life, and I am grateful for a way to look back and see how He works in our lives.  

  Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; 

   it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 

 Praise the LORD with the harp; 

   make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 

 Sing to him a new song; 

   play skillfully, and shout for joy.

 For the word of the LORD is right and true; 

   he is faithful in all he does. 

Psalm 33:1-4

American Idol Auditions

Well, here it is:  the post you've all been waiting for.  Ok, not really.  But I'd like to think that.  

I Twittered just for this occasion, so I've mixed in a few Tweets in blue throughout the post! (Not necessarily in order... :-) 

Fox posted the dates and locations for tryouts last summer, and I decided to go for it.  I remember watching Kelly Clarkson win that first year, and thinking that was just about the coolest thing ever.  It's been a dream of mine ever since.  (As cheesy as it sounds!)

A few nights before I went to the auditions, some girls came over for a Bible Study.  It was one that Beth Moore did on her blog just for the summer, and we had to take a pic and upload it.  This is a self-timer photo...hence why our heads are cut off!  But these girls were a major part of my summer, and they were so sweet to listen to me sing my audition song and give input for what to wear.  Here's Lyndsy, Katie and Claire with me earlier that week:

My sidekick for the day (two days, really!) was Katie.  I asked her especially because I knew she would make it a memorable experience, having no issues making friends with perfect strangers!  She is definitely one who thrives on adventure and few hours of sleep.  I've seen it in Europe.

So off we went, Wednesdaymorning to get our wristbands and tickets.  There was no cost, except for your time and less sleep.  We left her house in Colleyville for the brand new Cowboys stadium in Arlington at 4 a.m.  (It's still very dark.)

Why hello world. 4 am sure came quickly! 4:36 AM 

We stood in a line that wrapped at least halfway around the building.  Despite it being mid-June, it wasn't hot until right before we got in the building at 8 a.m.  Between the hours of 4 a.m and 8 a.m., we hung out on the sidewalk and people watched.  I realized there was a form you had to bring with you that I'd forgotten.  I Googled the nearest FedEx/Kinko's and took Katie's car to find it.  I got the paper and stepped back in line.  Turns out you didn't really need it until Friday, but that's ok.  It made me feel more adventurous. 

Around 8:30 a.m., we got inside, and we each got a wristband.  Mine was blue; Katie's was gray.  And yes, we have matching Baylor rings.  (And I miss my solar nails, but that's beside the point here!)  I was allowed to gawk at the ginormous stadium for approximately two seconds before they asked me to move along.  Pretty incredible place. 

We spent the rest of the day back in Colleyville, and we were supposed to learn Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" for the day of auditions.  They wanted everyone in the crowd singing it.  I strongly dislike that song now because of the sheer number of times we had to sing it on camera, plus the fact that it says "sucks" a lot.  

Katie [KK] is the best A Idol buddy. She was up late researching the auditions and is more excited than I am! What more could I ask for??

6:00 AM Jun 26th, 2009 from txt

Set my alarm for 3:55 am. Signing off for the night. Maybe I'll wake up the next American Idol 10:18 PM Jun 25th, 2009 from txt

Anywho, I spent Thursday night with Katie again, and we got up to actually audition this time.  She was such a trooper.  We got in line outside again for another four hours.  Just waiting.  Cars like this were painted with all sorts of American Idol excitement.

And we're off! Kelly clarkson on the radio. Its a sign. Dry honey nut cheerios = the breakfast of champs 4:46 AM Jun 26th, 2009

@cowboys stadium-major traffic jam waiting to get in here. Kris Allen on radio singing
Aint No Sunshine. So good. More inspiration. :-) 5:11 AM Jun 26th, 2009 

We saw one of last season's finalists, Alexa Grace interviewing people, along with a myriad of other sites to see. 

Saw the sun rise for the second time this week! Moved closer to getting into the stadium. 

Fox is having people sing on camera.

6:27 AM Jun 26th, 2009 

Around 8 a.m. we were permitted into the stadium to find our seats.  It was bedlam, even though we all had assigned ticket numbers. 

Once we all got in there, we sang Kelly Clarkson's song over and over and over again for the cameras.  Everyone was really excited and wanted to be on camera.  And of course, the day wouldn't have been complete with out the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

Dallas cowboy cheerleaders just showed up. They're saying "welcome to dallas" I wonder how many times we'll do this? I'm loving TV.

8:09 AM Jun 26th, 2009 

Idol has a moment of silence for the king of pop

9:10 AM Jun 26th, 2009

Then they called us down to the floor by section.  So we sat another two hours waiting and watching crazies.  A few people got golden tickets to the next round, but not very many.  And just to note, tryouts were the day after Michael Jackson died, so there was a whole lot of hoopla about that.

The first 4 just went to the a table. Makes me nervous to watch them!

3 got cut from the first group but one girl got the golden ticket for the next round. 

Makes me excited/nervous all the way down to my toes!

8:57 AM Jun 26th, 2009

Finally it was my turn.  I headed to the floor and got butterflies in my stomach.  Then there was more waiting as we fell in line four at a time.  We finally headed to one of 13 tables where a producer sat.  We got closer and closer.  I made friends with those on either side of me:  one was a (good looking) plumber, the other was a (good looking) musician that had already tried out in a few other cities. 

My seat section is ON DECK. We will line up soon to sing!O my gosh. 

I'm IN LINE. Probably another 30 mins of waiting at least. Stay tuned. 

11:28 AM Jun 26th, 2009 
Made friends in line with a musician and a plumber. 
12:04 PM Jun 26th, 2009 

How much more random could it get? 

Ah, the american dream. I'm up next!

The four of us eventually made it to a producer.  I think I went second.  I stepped up in front of him and sang "Anyway" by Martina Mc Bride (see, I remembered this time).  Well, I take that back.  I sang part of it.  A verse and the chorus.  That was it.  Then everyone else did their thing.  It was loud.  The tables were divided by black curtains, but that certainly didn't block the noise!

After we all four sang, the producer said, "Ok folks.  Thanks for coming out today.  You can exit to your left."  And that was it.  

I walked out of Cowboys Stadium around noon, and it took a while to weave through the underground railroad tunnels.  Eventually I found Katie again, and we set out for lunch. Surprisingly, I don't remember much more of that day, except that we ate, and I took a nap.  But the whole experience was really fun, and I'm so glad I did it.  

The producers look for what will make "good" TV, so when crazies came by, even if they couldn't sing, a lot of times they would get through to the next round.  I saw a lot of funny things.  Here are a few that i Tweeted about:

I spy dorothy with ruby slippers. No joke.Dorothy just got a golden ticket

10:12 AM Jun 26th, 2009

I Spy Miss Texas 08, crystal stewart-she wore her sash todayKK made a new friend with the girl in front of us. We are on the 4th time of the group song "my life would suck without you" omg

I spy a hardcore looking guy w/ a curious george stuffed animal. Go figure.

7:25 AM Jun 26th, 2009 

I spy 3 blond wigged cheerleaders with matching black tank tops that say "Amanda". 

The news cameras just spotted them

6:13 AM Jun 26th, 2009

I spy someone in a chicken costume. Let's play the game all day-ready, set, go.

5:46 AM Jun 26th, 2009 

It was a really fun experience, even though I didn't make it through to the next round.  I'm so glad I did it.  It was one of the things on my bucket list.  I don't really have a desire to do it again, but it was a positive experience, for sure.

The NEXT Pioneer Woman...

It's me!   Just kidding.  I blogged about cheese muffins this weekend from The Pioneer Woman, and they turned out to be a big hit with some friends we had over Saturday night.  I love it when people love what you cook! 

Yesterday, I got this in the mail:

I excitedly unwrapped the Amazon.com box, and poured over it for a good solid hour.  I can't wait to see how the recipes turn out.  I'll keep you posted. 

Tonight is the Dallas American Idol.  I need to record it so I can see if my face was caught on camera.  Probably not--I think I'm too normal looking!  But it will be fun to watch.  Yesterday we had a January birthday celebration at the office, and when we sang "Happy Birthday" a few who knew about my A.I. experience asked why I didn't sing a solo right then (kidding, of course).  Well, that turned the whole room of 20 people to look at me, and I fielded questions for the next ten minutes about my experience.  I turned bright red at one point when I realized all eyes were on me!  They thought it was funny.  I didn't exactly agree.

Sometimes I get really self-conscious about talking about the experience.  People ALWAYS ask me what I sang.  And I can NEVER remember the name of the Martinia McBride song.  In fact, I  had to look it up just now to figure out the title of the song.   I sang "Anyways." Maybe typing it out will help me remember it next time.  So embarrassing!

That's all for now.  Happy Wednesday.

Watercooler Conversation & American Idol

Well, I had my first Watercooler conversation today.  At least I think that's what it was.  Aren't those the impromptu conversations you have at a random location in the office about work-related things?  I guess it had to happen at some point.  That would make sense, since I am, afterall, working.  It was kind of surreal, since I don't usually feel like I'm old enough to be working.  Typically I keep my work in my office, and work with people in other cities, so most of it's done by email and phone.  (Hence why this was an out-of-the-ordinary experience.)

My boss (in another city) has been out sick this week, so that leaves me to pretty much hold down the fort.  I want to ask them if they think it's ok for a recent college grad to hold it down.  Apparently they think it's normal.  Weird.

I just had one of those flashback moments where I was in college, I came home in between classes, and then headed out to Sing Practice, Choir Practice, Sonic Happy Hour, or Visit with Friends, or some combination of all of those.  To think that not to long ago, that was my life...it's very strange.

Now, I sit at a desk and listen to three-hour conference calls, make plans with big companies, and take care of myself.  It's very surreal, and somtimes I question how I got here, and if this is really my life.  Apparently it is. 

I think this is what they call a "stream of consciousness" post.  Welcome to my head.

Tonight, Roomdog and I are heading to another friend's house to watch American Idol.  I'm excited because I think they are showing Dallas auditions.  Maybe I'll catch a glimpse of myself on TV.  I should probably post about my A.I. experience soon.  Coming soon to this blog near you.

Pants on the Ground

This weekend at church, I spent it with 11th Grade Girls for Winter Weekend (aka Disciple Now). They were the sweetest group of girls, and I had so much fun with them and digging into deeper things.

Our big sessions with the whole youth group had a variety of entertainment options: a magician, a rapper, the New Zealand band Detour 180, the speaker and a comedy duo that was actually pretty funny. One of the things they referenced right away was the clip from American Idol where this old guy rapped a song called "Pants on the Ground." I went and looked it up, and could not stop rolling.

I tried to embed the video in this post from YouTube, and I can't really figure out how to do it. So just click here to follow the link. Enjoy. And if you know how to embed a YouTube video, let me know!

On a more serious note, please continue to pray for Ben and Katie in Haiti. They have to decide soon if it's best to stay there or evacuate. We also have another friend, Diane, at church that went as a nurse with a group of doctors to Haiti yesterday morning--please lift them up as well.