A Quick Idol Thought. . .

Talk about stacking the deck in favor of someone. . . Jordin was apparently ordained to win before the foundations of this season. I like her a lot, but Melinda should have been the winner. The song that they chose as winner of the songwriting competition was geared so much toward Jordin's voice that it was ridiculous. It did, however solidify this season as the season of the professionals - Melinda was a backup singer for half of gospel music, Jordin toured with Michael W. Smith, Blake has worked with Sir Mix-a-Lot and the songwriting winners are professional song writers. "This is My Now" was co-written by Scott Krippayne who performed one of my favorite songs - "Sometimes He Calms the Storm" and has written tons songs for the Christian market.

Kansas City, Here I . . .Am

Greetings from KC! I came up yesterday to attend my boss's boss's boss's retirement ceremony. Ralph is retiring from the federal court to take a job with the State Department in Jakarta, Indonesia. The District of Kansas and, in fact, the entire judiciary will miss him, but we all respect and admire his commitment to spreading the rule of law around the world! Here is a pre-ceremony photo of him with most of the judges of the district.

On the way to the hotel from the courthouse yesterday, I saw a billboard for the Kansas City Zoo - it seems that they have some special guests - Koala Bears!!! Since Koala bears are one of my very favorite animals EVER (koalas, panda bears and penguins rock!) I headed out this morning to pay my respects. Here are some pics from my visit! It should be said that I hate zoos and that this is the first time in 20 years that I have voluntarily set foot in a zoo!

The sea lions were my first stop:

My second stop was the discovery barn to see my friends, the koalas - unfortunately, they were asleep. Fortunately, they were still dang adorable!

Down the hill and around the corner from the koalas, I stumbled upon these camels. I think they speak for themselves. Oddly, this is the one exhibit that wasn't packed with school children on a field trip (I heard that there were 400 individual classes there - I believe it!):

Two of the gorillas in the new exhibit in Wichita came from Kansas City - the two most aggressive. I think I know why - in Wichita, the gorilla habitat is like an ape day spa - here, it's like the ghetto - it was kind of sad, but these guys looked ok, if a little depressed.

Last, but not least, this Sumatran Tiger found a good way to avoid the heat within the confines of the very small cage that he shared with another tiger:

After the zoo, I went shopping - I didn't find anything interesting. I went to Macy's at Towne Center, Bass Pro Shop, Super Target, Quik Trip, The Great Mall of the Great Plains, Sears Grand and, finally, Sun Fresh Market where I picked up supper before heading back to the hotel exhausted and ready for a bit of rest. My pedometer said that I'd walked around 23,000 steps to day - unfortunately, I left it on in the car and it was also counting bumps in the highway. I'd guess that I walked at least 18,000, though - it was a looooonnnnnggg day, but very, very fun!

Tomorrow is a small party in honor of Ralph - I am looking forward to spending some time with some of my favorite members of my court family! After that, I'm headed home to get some sleep and then get ready to celebrate the greatest mother that God ever made!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers who read this!

This man is my hero of the day.

Last night after work, I did something very unusual for a Monday evening. I went shopping. For clothes. I even tried them on (not something that I used to do having been the same size for years).

I had decided to tough it out as long as possible because I am still losing weight (yea!), though not a quickly as before (boo!) and I don't want to spend a fortune on intermediate clothes. Yesterday, I realized that the pants I was wearing were starting to look like clown pants, so I gave in. Plus, I am going to a party on Saturday and I needed some nice, informal Capri pants that wouldn't swallow me whole like last year's do.

I've seen my weight loss on the scale (nearly 40 pounds!) but I hadn't really noticed it much on ME. Well, I have now. The pants I have on right now are 3 sizes smaller than I had on yesterday at this time and the shirts that I bought last night were 2 sizes smaller than before! That was extremely exciting. After many, many years in the 20+ area, I am back to the teens! I know - that's still not exactly small, but it's definite progress. I have about 35-40 more pounds to lose to get where I want to be. My goal was never to wear a size 8, but it is to wear "real" clothes instead of the rather horrific options from the plus-size department!

Random Thoughts. . .

Had I known that Her Majesty was coming across the pond for a visit and that we aren't planning a vacation of any type this year, I likely would be in Virginia right now. Seriously. Unfortunately, I didn't find out about the imminent arrival of Her Majesty until two days ago - too late to book a flight and to take time off.

I spent most of yesterday coordinating and directing a video shoot for a film that is being made to "honor" our retiring clerk. Based on the script, it will be more of a roast than an honor.

I had a very nice dinner with my cousin Keli and two of her kids last night. FYI - a koosh ball, if shaken correctly by a 4 year old, can yank the straw out of a glass of Diet Coke and make it disappear. Forever. There was no screaming, so we assume that no one lost an eye.

Jon Bon Jovi told Chris Richardson to "find the blue note" in "Wanted Dead or Alive." While TimberFake searched high and low (sometimes two or three tones too high or low), he remained unable to locate said note.

Shane is headed for Orlando in a few weeks. He sucks.

We have lots of changes going on around work, so I've been updating my resume in hopes of a promotion. Last time I used my resume was when I applied here 11 years ago. I was 20 years old and had a work history that included one job - two months at a sandwich shop. Since my work history has now doubled (2 whole jobs!), I decided that a full re-write was in order.

Cinco de Mayo is coming!!! I feel a roadtrip to Hutchinson coming up - mariachi's at Anchor Inn, anyone?

This story almost makes me sad to be part of the judicial system. And it also makes me laugh - just a little.

Despite his Wichita connections, I was never a big "Phil Phan" (though he did rock the Bon Jovi classic "Blaze of Glory") but if this story is right, then American Idol contestant Phil Stacey might want to invest in some heavy-duty body armour.