I AM the next American Idol

I love the show American Idol. The very first time I heard Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, I was sure they would win. They not only won but are now superstars in the music industry. Season 7 just started and the first episodes are hilarious. They show all the people who tried out by signing a song acapella. They walk in the room and so confidently announce "I AM the next American Idol." So many of these people can NOT sing at all. The problem is they completely believe they can sing and when the judges tell them they were terrible, they stand there in utter amazement. They will argue with the judges and tell them they have taken singing lessons for years or all their friends tell them they sound just like Mariah Carey. The response from the judges are "you should ask your music teacher for your money back" or "your friends must be deaf." The judges are right on because these contestants truly are bad singers but the denial in the judging room makes for some hysterical television viewing.

Now I am the first one to admit I cannot carry a tune to save my life. But I can identify with these poor contestants at times. They showed a picture of the host of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest from the first season six years ago. I was utterly shocked at how much younger he looked back then. I realized that if he looks so much older than I must also. I will be 38 this year but I swear, I still feel like I am 29 at the oldest. In my mind I do not look any older now than I did than. But like those poor diluted contestants, I know I must be diluted also. In my own mind I am not overweight either. I am truly shocked sometimes when I look in the mirror because I am happy and feel thin in my head. It is kind of funny how we do this. The only difference between those very off key singers and myself is you will never catch me on TV. Can you just imagine it? Scary!

As the old saying goes, I guess it is time for me to "wake up and smell the coffee." It is like in AA meetings. You go in and admit you have a drinking problem. Admitting it is the first step. I guess I have to admit I do not look like I am 25 or 29 anymore and I do not look like a super model. I may not be able to sing and nothing is going to change that. I can live with that. But I can do something about my weight and there are things you can do to try and stay looking young. So let's pretend we are in an AA type meeting. I stand up and say "Hi. My name is Jennifer and I am not a smokin' hot super model." Now you all say in unison "Hi Jennifer." I guess my own denial time has come to an end.

I found this cute little web site where you can make images with things that interest you. I love farm animals, making scrapbooks and football. It was fun to try and find icons that fit. If you want to make your own, visit this site: http://www.blessthischick.com/btcmachine/index.php

It snowed in Alabama!!

We woke up Saturday morning to wonderful, beautiful SNOW!!!

It hasn't snowed in our area since 2001 so we were due for some of the white stuff.

It snowed for about 6 hours and it was big fluffy snow so it was so awesome to watch.

Simon didn't seem to even notice it, he just wanted me to throw a stick for him to fetch.

You can see that I am wearing my Peyton Manning jersey. My Colts are not playing for the Championship this year. But I was a fan long before they won the Super Bowl last year and I'll be a fan if they never win again. I can't decide who I want to win today, the Packers or the Giants. I don't care that much for the Giants over all but I'd like Eli to do well. I think the Patriots are going to win as does everyone else. They are great, I give them that. I always hate to see football season come to an end.

Fire Training Pictures

We have training about 4 times per month. Tonight we practiced putting on our air tanks. I am a bit claustrophobic so this kind of freaks me out. It is good to practice so that when we get to a scene, we can put our packs on fast. The key is to stay calm and breathe.

Most of you know I am a volunteer fire fighter. I love helping the community in this capacity. We do things like respond to motor vechile accidents, grass fires, medical emergencies, and structure fires. I have been on all kinds except a medical emergency.

This picture is from a house fire. Sadly we were not able to save this house at all. Most of the house fires I have assisted on, we were able to save the home. This house was not in our territory and by the time we got there to assist, the fire was too far out of control. And even sadder was the fact that we lost a 92 year old woman in that fire. That is something I hope none of you ever has to see first hand.

I had to fight this particular fire by myself for some time because the fire started at 3:00am and there were not enough of us to attack the fire like we have been trained. Usually you have two people per hose but not this time. By the time we left the scene, I thought my arms were going to fall off. I realized then that I was not in good enough condition to do this job full justice. For that reason I have started to work out and try to lose weight. In the past, it has always been a nice idea but now I feel it is a responsibility . I will upload a picture of our new weight room in the next couple of days. Hope you all have a relaxing week. Yeah right huh?

Jen