It is 11:00 PM and I just spent the last twenty minutes crying my eyes out. For days (weeks even) I’ve been working on memory books for every single child in Alex’s Kindergarten class. I have spent quite a bit of time volunteering in his classroom, so I know each of the kids personally. It has been so much fun looking over their artwork and deciphering their stories. It’s hard to believe my sweet boy is just five days away from being a first-grader.

Are you ready?

THIS! Is American Idol, and THIS should be a great night of singing. We’ll hear songs chosen by the judges, songs chosen by the contestants and then songs chosen by Jimmy Iovine.

Round 1: Songs chosen by the Judges.

Joshua Ledet (I’d Rather Be Blind – Etta James) Well, it’s no surprise that Joshua is singing the heck out of this song. It sounds strangely familiar to me, but then, why wouldn’t it? Joshua seems to have found his niche singing The Blues. It fits him like a glove and I think Randy made a great choice in choosing this song for him.

Oh, there’s Colton. Dang, I just remembered that he got robbed.

Jessica Sanchez (My All – Mariah Carey) – For starters, this song seems way too low for Jessica. I am not the least bit impressed and I’m wondering why Jennifer wouldn’t have picked Vision of Love to showcase Jessica’s pipes. This song is just blah for me, which is unfortunate because I know that Jessica is capable of so much more.

The judges are falling all over themselves with praise. I don’t agree with any of it.

Really? Am I the only ONE who doesn’t get this performance?

Oh well. Let’s move along little doggies.

Phillip Phillips (Beggin’ - Madcon) – This song is PERFECT for P Squared because he leaves me beggin’ for more each time he sings. I don’t know this song or the group who sings it, but I am enjoying it. To me, that translates to awesome entertainer. Way to go P, round one goes to you!

Round 1: Phillip

—-

Round 2: Contestant’s Choice

Joshua Ledet (Imagine - John Lennon) – Oh my heck, I absolutely love this performance. I hope with everything in me that I hear Joshua rockin it out on KLOVE someday. His big ol gospel voice thrills my heart. Absolutely beautiful.

Jessica Sanchez (I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing - Aerosmith) – Well, this performance is much better than the first. By miles. Still, I feel like something is missing. It’s missing the wow factor for me.

These hometown visits always make me squall like a big baby.

Phillip Phillips (Disease – Matchbox 20) – If I’m being honest, this song was just alright for me. I liked it. I thought he did a good job on it. It was no different from any of the other songs he’s ever done on the Idol Stage, except that this is THE FINAL THREE YO! Phillip, dude, you need to BRING IT in the next round.

Round 2: Joshua

—–

Joshua Ledet (No More Drama – Mary J. Blige) – Y’ALL. THIS IS THE TUNE from The Young And The Restless. OH MY SWEET MOSES, I love it already. Yo, I’ll still be talking about this performance tomorrow, probably when I’m in the workroom at the school binding memory books. It’s funny to me that I’m hearing the Y&R theme, and the words NO MORE DRAMA together. I’m gonna have to do some researching, but I love, love, love this song. He is ON IT tonight.

I just realized I used all kinds of capital letters up there.

Jessica Sanchez (I’ll Be There – Jackson 5) – This song brings tears to my eyes because it reminds me of McDaddy going to Basic Training. The night before he left, I declared this “our song”. Now granted, it was Mariah Carey’s version of the song that I really remember from 1992 – but still, every time I hear it, I am reminded of the six-weeks he spent in San Antonio, Texas. This is a good song choice for Jessica, and it is easily her best performance of the night which is good because this is the one she’ll want “the voters” to remember. I think Mariah’s version might have been a better fit for her voice, but whatever.

Phillip Phillips (We’ve Got Tonight – Bob Seger) – As I sit here with my eyes close, I can hear a touch of Rod Stewart and I LOVE IT! In fact, this is my favorite performance of P Squared EVER in the history of the season. He held back. He did this thang. And I was lovin’ it. HEY PHILLIP, awesome, awesome, and more awesome. Or just awesome cubed.

Round 3: Phillip (with Joshua right on his heels)

—–

Best Performance of the Night: Phillip

Going Home: Jessica

Totally going out on a limb here. And crossing my fingers that P Squared and J-Dawg are battling it out in the final.

Before I ever had my own blog, I would read blogs written by other women and wonder if their lives were all shiny and happy and wrapped tightly in a nice, neat package, as they would have their readers believe.

I guess I’ll never know.

All I do know is that what you read here on this blog, is exactly as it seems.

A hot mess.

Take this evening, for instance.

After unloading drinks from the Jeep into the camper, I came *thisclose* to running the Jeep over our steep driveway. Or rolling the thing. Thankfully, my daddy was here. As I sat in the Jeep, and prayed that I wouldn’t roll it over the hill, I called my dad who was inside my house, and asked him to come outside. (Y’all do know that I’m the queen of run-on sentences, right?) After dad assured me I wouldn’t roll backward over the hill, I shot the juice to it, and got it up out of there.

It’s worth mentioning that I strung mud and grass for miles, but the main point is that I did. not. flip. my stupid self (or my beloved Jeep!)

Not more than one hour later, I discovered my TiVo had lost its mind. It was “stuck” on a screen and no matter which button I pushed on the remote it would not go away. I was just about to gnaw my arm off, when McDaddy called, instructed me to pull the plug on the TiVo for two minutes and then plug it back in. The only problem is that I pulled the wrong plug and nothing happened. So I pulled another plug, and waited another minute. This time, it worked.

And just as I got that squared away,…

I came dangersously close to stepping right square in this nastiness.

So yeah, if you show up here at From Inmates To Playdates wondering if my daily life is shiny and happy and wrapped tightly in a nice, neat package, um, I think this picture answers your question.

It’s Tuesday.

Around here that means I’m watching Dancing With The Stars while writing this week’s “What I Learned This Week” post. I’m still finding it difficult to believe that my boyfriend Maks got the boot. Not that I’m bitter or anything.

Derek Hough is next on my list, so I’ll be voting for him and his abs partner. And speaking of Little Derek Hough, this week I learned that as of May 17, 2012 he’ll be 27 years old? Now you know I called him Little Derek Hough. He’s a baby compared to this almost-40 year old mama. Still, he is, (and I’ve said this before) in my humble opinion, the best choreographer on the show.

Some other things I learned this week:

• Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s middle name is Aleksandrovich.
• Watching hamsters scurry all over their cage just before bed is never a good idea, unless you enjoy dreaming of the little critters multiplying, getting loose, and running all over the house. (Shiver!)
•  A cricket, on the loose, chirping like mad in the dugout can drive a girl batty.
• A cricket, on the loose, chirping like mad in the dugout driving a girl batty will be quite entertaining to young boys.
• Once a glue stick appears to be empty, there is still quite a bit of glue in the base of the stick. You’ll need a plastic knife to get it out, but worth it once you see just how much is in there.
• Facebook has changed the outlook on high-school reunions.
• The young kid at the grocery store couldn’t care less about smashing my bread.
• Little League Baseball brings out the, well, never mind.
• I function better when my house is tidy.
• My six-year-old is a flirt.
• The word mulct means to extract money from (someone) by fine or taxation.

Now, what did YOU learn this week?

We had a great weekend here at the McResidence.

For the first Saturday in who knows how long, the sun decided to shine. The boys and I enjoyed a full day, half of which was spent at the ball field. Alex had a successful day at first base and made quite a few outs. Now granted, he plays T-Ball, but still… impressive none-the-less.

Stevie’s team played beautifully and ended up winning their game 12-7. The bad news is there was another game after ours, which meant our team only got to play three frazzlin’ innings. After we got home, we enjoyed an evening with friends and a surprise early return from McDaddy who had been working out of town all week. I didn’t mention that little tidbit last week because, well, McDaddy fears that someone reading my blog might decide that would be a good time to rob the joint.

I don’t really get scared when McDaddy is gone. To be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. McDaddy travels a lot and I am a bit of a drama queen (ahem!), so thinking about being robbed would probably be enough to put me over the edge. Now that’s not to say I don’t have a backup plan, because not having a back-up plan would be irresponsible and downright stupid because this world we live in is full of straight-up crazy people. My back-up plan came in handy early Saturday morning.

I was awakened by a rustling noise at 4 AM. The noise was continuous and it was close to my bedroom. I was sleepy and disoriented and pumped up on adrenaline. I rolled over onto McDaddy’s side of the bed and retrieved the ball-bat from beside of his nightstand. I cocked that sucker back and crept through the hallway like I was about to go all Freddy Kruger on some unsuspecting soul.

Now this is the point in the story where I could give you the horrific details of a home invasion and subsequent attack. Instead, I can only blame the noise on a five-ounce hamster and a squeaky wheel. Just to make sure I wasn’t all the way crazy, I crept downstairs to check the basement doors to make sure they were locked. As I rounded the corner into what will soon be my mud-room I just about jumped out of my skin when I saw a reflection in the sliding glass doors.

My own.

Folks, I am a hot mess. A hot mess with a baseball bat.

I probably wouldn’t have been so dramatic, had it not been for the call I received last weekend. Thankfully, there weren’t any irate callers on my telephone line this weekend.

And speaking of lines…

This week’s You Capture challenge is lines.

I just love the lines on my sweet fancy rocking chair.

Even though my iPhone camera appears to have taken this picture in a smoke-filled room.

My next stop in my quest for lines was our dining room table.

I have no idea why the pears are the color of lemons in this picture. I am assuming the wires in the iPhone/Editing software got crossed and somewhere we lost the true identity of the pears.

I say it all the time people, “GET OUT THE CANON FOR PICTURE POSTS.”

Or at least I think it.

And speaking of lines, wouldn’t this be the sexiest little thing in the school pick-up line?

Yes, I think so too.

Never mind that I’d only be able to pick up one kid.

Details, details.

Ladies and Gentleman, THIS! is American Idol.

I’m pretty excited that we’re down to these four contestants. And if you stop by here each week thinking you’re just reading another post from a nosey girl with an opinion on this show, I’d like to remind you that I called it last week when I made my prediction about who’d be going home. In case you’ve forgotten, this is what I said:

Best Of The Night: Tie between Joshua and Hollie

Yes, I said Hollie.

Going Home: SKYLAR. SKYLAR. SKYLAR. SKYLAR

In fact, I said it FOUR! times.

See there? I am so much more than just a pretty face. 

And speaking of a pretty face, did you hear that my boyfriend Maks got the boot from Dancing With The Stars last night? Oh yes he did. And no, I am not one bit happy about that.

For their first performance, the contestants will do a little California Dreaming, singing songs by artists or bands from the state of California or songs about California. And for the second round, the contestants will be singing songs they wish they had written.

Phillip Phillip (Have You Ever Seen The Rain? / Creedence Clearwater Revival) – What better way to kick this night off than to hear P Squared rock it out to Creedence Clearwater Revival. I’m not sure who’s having more fun, P-Squared, the bell-bottomed gal on the Tenor Sax, or the fedora-topped fella jammin on the organ. This performance is off the hook. I LOVE his voice. In my opinion, this is his best performance. He tells Jennifer he has cotton mouth, which is hard to believe because, HEY DID YOU HEAR THAT PERFORMANCE?  I enjoyed it so much in fact, that I ran it back and watched it again. I am rootin’ hard for Philly.

Oh snapadoodle. Randy is wearing a pink, plaid jacket. What the heck, dawg?

Hollie Cavanaugh (Faithfully / Journey) – I wonder if Hollie has any idea that The Dawg played with Journey back in the day? I’m sure he’ll mention it. I love that Hollie is taking her time with this song. She seems more confident and more seasoned than she did just five or six weeks ago. On an unrelated note, I’ve always wondered if that wind machine distracts the contestants? Sure it adds a bit of flavor and drama to the performance, but I’d love to know what Hollie thinks about it at this very second. While I typed those last two sentences Hollie hit some really BIG notes. Love, love, love this performance, too! Poor thing has been in the bottom three for weeks, but with a performance like this one, I don’t understand how. And just so you know, I ran this one back, too. Very nice.

I knew THE DAWG would mention his time with Journey.

Joshua Ledet (You Raise Me Up / Josh Grobin) – I have a feeling this is going to be BIG. This song is perfect for Josh’s voice. I’m sure somewhere Josh Grobin is smiling. There’s not a lot more to say about these four contestants. They all know their way around that stage and they’re performing like pros. This is a great performance and Joshua is a great singer.

Jessica Sanchez (Steal Away / Etta James) – If I shut my eyes, it’s hard for me to picture Jessica being just 16 years old. She is a seasoned performer and she is tearing this song up. This gal has a great future ahead of her.

Joshua and Phillip (This Love / Maroon 5) – Holy crap, this is awesome! I have no idea who is in charge of picking the musical selections, or the pairings, but this here duet is perfect, and wonderful. Two grand pianos, two great voices. I FREAKIN’ LOVE IT!

Jessica and Hollie (Eternal Flame / Bangles) – I watched this performance and then had to pause the television to change the laundry. When I got back to my computer, I couldn’t even remember what they sang. I think that says it all.

Oh shoot. I thought Ryan was asking Julianne to marry him. If that whole scene wasn’t planned ahead of time, I bet Julie’s gonna kick his tail-end.

Phillip Phillips (Volcano / Damien Rice) – Never heard this song, we’ll see how it goes. Y’all. I am so happy for Phillip. He is in a zone tonight. I think I say this often. This might be his best performance of the season.

Hollie Cavanagh (I Can’t Make You Love Me / Bonnie Raitt) – Hollie looks stunning tonight. I love those square hoop earrings, and I love the black jumpsuit thing she’s wearing. And on top of that, she is giving another great performance. The Judges do not agree with my opinion, but what do they know? 

Joshua Ledet (It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World / James Brown) – I love the live jazz band and I love the dramatic entrance of Joshua descending the stairs. He is in a zone, and I have a feeling he is just getting warmed up. Y’all. Joshua just knocked it OUT THE PARK. He. Did. His. Thang. PERIOD. Best performance of the night so far. (Wonder what all you Joshua haters are saying now?)

Jennifer Sanchez (And I Am Telling You / Jennifer Holliday) – I’d love to know how this little girl can step up on that stage and pull off a performance like this one. Not a lot to say about this performance. Just wow.

Best Performance of the Night: This one is tough, but I’m going with Joshua’s second performance.

Going Home: Probably Hollie

What say you?

I have been asked by BlogHer’s Life Well Lived panel to answer the following questions:

What are your favorite ways to dress well for your size and shape? How do you make your wardrobe work through transitions?

First of all, the only transitions that come to mind, was the transition from employee to stay-at-home-mom, and the transition from regular clothes – to maternity clothes – and back to regular clothes.

The transition from employee to stay-at-home-mom, meant that I no longer needed to “dress up,” on a daily basis, so of course I was able to go for a more casual look. The very first thing I look for when shopping for clothing is comfort. If it feels uncomfortable, tight, or looks like a lampshade on me, I move on. I typically look for comfortable, stretchy jeans. I have a FAVORITE pair and kick myself for not buying five pair when I had the chance. I lovingly refer to them as my “buffet britches”. And I am a firm believer that “if you can’t lose it, decorate it!” so I often buy jeans with bling on the pockets.

Just keepin’ it classy, folks.

I CANNOT stand wearing anything at all that is tight or restrictive. I think tight clothing looks trashy and straight-up-redneck.

I prefer bright colors, “flowy” shirts, boot-leg jeans, and capri pants. And as an added bonus, I try to purchase clothing that is appropriate for PTA meetings, church, and events that require me to dress in something a little more stylish than my yoga pants and a Women of Faith t-shirt.

As for the transition from regular to maternity and back to regular clothes, I must admit that the only maternity items I have left in my “wardrobe” are panties. And yes, when times get tough, I bust them out. And by “when times get tough” I mean when the laundry is backed up and its either maternity panties or no panties.

Like I said, classy.

You can check out what everyone else is saying and join in on the topic on the main post at BlogHer and while you’re there be sure to enter to win a iPod Touch and a $50. iTunes gift card.

I rarely answer my home phone anymore. And with good reason.

For starters, I am sick to death of the political recordings. In fact, when my curiosity gets the best of me and I answer one of these calls, I press buttons and yell into the phone like a crazy person. Not that any of that does any good, but it sure makes me feel better. And after hanging up, I always make a mental note NOT to vote for that guy.

I am equally aggravated about the PTA Fundraiser people who call my house week after week even though I have made it abundantly clear that our school makes approximately $13,000. profit on cookie dough and unless they can beat that figure they should QUIT CALLING me.

Seriously, it is maddening.

This past Saturday, I received a different type of call.

Only I didn’t answer it.

But Stevie did.

His part of the conversation went something like this…

“Hello… Uh, do you want to speak to my mom?… Her name is Julie…. May I ask who’s calling please?”

And then he said, “Here mom, it’s your co-worker”.

The only problem with that is, um, I don’t have a job. Not that I don’t work all kinds of hours, mindyou. It’s just that I’m not on a payroll anywhere.

I said hello and waited for the caller to respond.

The caller immediately said, “You better show up at work today at three o’clock, you and your daughter or there’s gonna be trouble.” 

And I think to myself, Um, I don’t have a job or a daughter.

I excused myself to the basement so that the kids wouldn’t hear me and I got all loud with this crazy cat letting him know that I had no idea who he was trying to contact, but I didn’t have a job. Or a daughter. Or a lot of patience for his call.

He did not let up and the longer I stayed on the line, the madder I became.

The caller insisted that I knew who he was and why he was calling. He was angry. He was insistent. And he was rude. I became louder and more irate. I tried to listen very carefully to his voice to see if I could remember it from jail. (Which seems like a longshot unless you know my flair for the dramatic and a good story). 

I’d be lying if I said the caller didn’t rattle my cage.

Just seconds after I hung up the house phone, my cell phone rang. I jumped out of my skin and quickly answered my cell phone thinking the caller was now calling me on my private line. Instead, it was Stevie’s coach telling me our game was cancelled. When I answered the phone, I began telling Stevie’s coach about the call. Less than two minutes later, the caller called the house again.

I told the coach to hold on and I answered the phone.

The Caller started in again. Only this time, he threatened that “He was coming here and he was bringing a gun” continuing on with “He knows exactly where I live so I better be ready.” I was flip, hoppin’ mad, and I wanted to reach through the phone and grab that friggin’ thug.

I could hear Stevie’s coach on my cell phone telling me to hang up. Yet, the caller continued to threaten and belittle me. Plus, I am way to nosy to hang up the phone anyway.

Before hanging up the second time, the caller told me he was ”armed with heavy artillery and that he would be here in 45 minutes”.

After hanging up with him, I filled the coach in on the conversation. He told me I shouldn’t answer the phone if he calls again.

Less than a minute later, McDaddy called. I quickly told him what happened and he told me he was turning around and coming home and that he’d be here soon. I didn’t think it was necessary for him to come all the way back home, and he reminded me that if this cat had our phone number, it wouldn’t be hard to find our address.

Y’all.

When McDaddy arrived home, he grabbed the house phone, went to our bedroom, dialed the caller’s number on his cell-phone and spoke in a voice I did not recognize. Of course the person answering the phone would not own up to being the caller, stating that the caller was actually his cousin, DeAndre, who “was at Krogers or something”. I stood there shaking my head as my husband, my sweet McDaddy, told the cousin to tell the caller “He isn’t the only one with a gun.” I took a quick inventory in my head trying to figure out if McDaddy was referring to my vintage majorette rifle, because as far as I know that’s the only gun in this joint.

I was in awe of my man.

I might have even done a fist pump. And a dance.

When he hung up that phone I stood there, eyes wide, trying to figure out what I had just witnessed.

I witnessed my sweet McDaddy defending his family. Defending his home.

And I learned that there is a side to McDaddy I had never seen before that day.

Now, what did YOU learn?

Some decisions in life are tough.

Deciding which book to check out from the library is not.

If only every decision in life was as simple as this one.

This post is linked to You Capture, where this week’s challenge is Simplicity.

My mind is at a loss today as I sit and type these words. At this moment, I am sitting in a spacious hospice room watching McDaddy’s precious grandmother sleep. There is a bird feeder outside the window and a chubby, bright yellow bird is perched on the pole. It is a beautiful day and the sun is shining through the window.

As I sit in this room, there is peace and quiet. In fact, this whole place is peaceful, which is hard to imagine when you stop to consider the amount of grief and despair the families here are facing. I know this grief and despair well. Six years ago, my own precious papa was in the hospice room next door. He passed away mere feet from where I am sitting this very second and I am so overwhelmed by emotion, it is difficult to see the computer screen through the tears.

We were blessed with four beautiful days of coherent conversation, recognition, love and wonderful memories. We laughed. We had a birthday party. We took pictures. We reminisced. We prayed. And ultimately, we said our goodbyes. Though it was six years ago, in some ways it seems like just yesterday.

Three years earlier, my grandmother on my dad’s side passed away here, too. Although her stay here was short, I clearly remember the peace I felt when I entered these doors. It’s a blessing to know that she was in such a caring, compassionate place for her last hours here on earth.

Like I said, I know this grief well.

As I sit in this room, a clock is ticking on the wall. I look at mama (which is how I refer to her because she’s been in my life for twenty years) and I am thankful that she is resting comfortably. I open my mouth and the words to “I Surrender All” come pouring out.

All to Jesus, I surrender; all to Him I freely give.
I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.
And I surrender all. I surrender all.
All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
All to Jesus, I surrender, humbly at His feet I bow.
Worldly pleasures all forsaken, take me Jesus, take me now.
I surrender all. I surrender all.
All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all. I surrender all.

Slowly, the tears flow from my eyes.

I think about how short life really is. I think about the fact that at 38 years old, McDaddy and I each are blessed to still have one living grandparent. I think about the fact that his precious mama has met each of her 21 great grandchildren. I think about the two great grandchildren she has on the way. And I think about her sweet hand reaching out for mine just minutes earlier.

The tears flow faster. It is harder to type. And I suddenly miss my papa and my grandmother with an ache in my heart.

Death will do that.

When I lost a dear friend in 2009, it changed my life. While my grandparents lived full, long lives, my friend Jon was only 33 years old when he passed away. He had so much more life to live. There are days – like today, in fact - that my eyes still fill with tears when I remember that he is gone. When I passed his crash site on the way to the Hospice House this morning, the ache in my heart was as fresh as it was the day I found out that he passed away. I can’t help but think about the last time we spoke. So many words spoken, but still so many left to say. He was taken without warning.

Death is unfair. It cheats. It robs. It steals. It changes things.

As I sit in this room and type these words, I know from experience that this time is a precious gift. Time to share and time to prepare. Though can one really ever be prepared?

When I first arrived here this morning, I knelt down beside of mama’s bed and I took her hand in mine. I began to hum the words to my favorite hymn. And I smiled in my heart because I am ever so thankful that even so, it is well with her soul.

And then there were five.

Two themes this evening. First, the contestants will sing songs from the 60′s, and after that, they’ll sing some Brit Pop.

The contestants will be mentored by “Little Steven” Somebody who sings with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band.

Hollie Cavanagh (River Deep, Mountain High) – Hollie looks so cute tonight. It’s too bad this isn’t a modeling competition. And the funny thing is, I don’t even think she knows how cute she is. If Hollie doesn’t pull out the “big guns” tonight, I fear this “River Deep, Mountain High” shin-dig might be her swan song. I like Hollie and I think she’s a pretty good singer. It’s just that she happens to be a little fish in a great big fish tank full of piranhas. And oh my heavenly day she is killing this song. Good for her. I think she just might have saved her cute self. Watch out boys and girls, there’s a new kid in town!

Phillip Phillips (The Letter) – I always get excited when its Phillip’s turn to perform. You never ever know what he’s going to do, but he never fails to entertain and impress me. I’m rooting for P Squared to ride this thing out till the end. I love his confidence and I love that he just goes out on stage and does his thing. That boy can SANG. Another great performance. (And in unrelated news, I love that they have hand-written letters on the big screen!)

Skylar Laine (Fortunate Sun) – I’m gonna run a test. I’m gonna count the seconds until I see the first stomp or fist-pump. (23 seconds in, for those of you who are counting). I think my biggest beef with Skylar is that every last one of her songs sound the same. (Same twang, different dance.)  She is actually doing a good job on this song. And she should be. It’s the same job she’s done on the last 41 songs she has performed.

DUET: Joshua Ledet & Phillip Phillips (You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling) – I’m interested to see how this will go. I don’t think this is a match made in heaven. The song seems low for both of them, and I would have loved to see P Squared rock out to something with a little more flavor. This performance was just okay for me, which I hate because I like both of these fellas. A LOT.

Jessica Sanchez (Proud Mary) – If I were a bettin’ woman, I’d bet Jess will knock this one out-the-park. One of two things is going to happen. Jessica is either gonna bust right out of that tight little dress, or she’s gonna break her ankle in those stillettos. Sheesh. Who dressed this pretty young thing in such a tight dress with those high heels? Tommy Hilfiger, did you have anything to do with that mess? If you did, then SHAME ON YOU.

Edited to note: I didn’t even comment on her performance because I was too wrapped up in that dress/heels combo. The performance was good. The dress was not.

Is it just me or did they make Randy’s jacket out of the gold lame’ outfit Jennifer Lopez wore last week? And what’s up with the red beads?

Joshua Ledet (Ain’t Too Proud To Beg) – Oh sweet darlin’ the only thing we’re beggin’ for is more of your singin’. I think this might be my favorite performance of the night so far. (Sorry PSquared!) Joshua dug way down deep and sang the heck out of this tune. I think a certain someone might be making her way to iTunes here directly. Joshua should be proud of himself. This was one of his best performances.

Hollie Cavanagh (Bleeding Love) – I love this song. I hope she kills it. Come on girl, hit the big note. Oh yes ma’am. She did it. And then some. Hollie came to this stage with her game face on. I think she might stick around another week. And yes, it was just as good the second time around. Go Hollie!

Phillip Phillips (Time Of The Season) – First of all, I love the tie dye spinning background. I feel like I’m on a trip. Secondly, I love this performance. Thirdly, (yes, that IS a word!), P Squared has some beautiful eyelashes. At least I’m guessing those are his. I enjoyed this performance, too! As always Phillip Phillips delivered.

TRIO: Jessica Sanchez, Hollie Cavanagh and Skylar Laine: Not sure about this different arrangement but I think the girls are doing their THANG on it. Their voices mesh well and they were all pretty equal as far as ability.

Skylar Laine (You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me) – Not a lot of creativity here. Just Skylar puttin’ her country twang on another song. How far can that really take her?

Jessica Sanchez (You Are So Beautiful) – Jessica is sitting on the floor, amongst candles singing her sweet little heart out. It is good, and at times it was great!

So, I don’t really know this Stevie Van Zandt guy, but he and Jimmy Iovine are crackin me up. They remind me of McDaddy and his buddies back in high school.

Joshua Ledet (To Love Somebody) – I love this song. And I love Joshua singing this song. He has outsung (or is it outsang?) and outperformed every person on that stage tonight (and y’all know I’m a Phillip fan!). And because of that, he deserves to be on that stage on finale night. I’ll be crossing my fingers that he and Phillip are duking it out on finale night. Now, how the two of them are going to get past Jessica, AND NOW HOLLIE, I have no idea. But I’m hopeful.

 Best Of The Night: Tie between Joshua and Hollie

Yes, I said Hollie.

Going Home: SKYLAR. SKYLAR. SKYLAR. SKYLAR