Hallelujah

Just gorgeous, and I'm talking about the voice.

Listen to Your Heart

May is Better Hearing & Speech Month, so I took this opportunity to write a column about our family's journey from deafness to hearing. It was published today in The Huntsville Times, and here are a couple of links:

From world of silence to high-tech hearing

My co-worker also wrote a fantastic story on a local family that has three children with cochlear implants: Their deafness doesn't define them

Your Mama Don't Dance (But Mine Does!)

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there! Hope it was fantastic. Mine was. I woke up to the sound of Riley: "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy! Open it!"
She made me two beautiful cards and a little flowerpot with pink artificial roses. The smaller card was the most perfect and sweet card ever. Some highlights:

My mother is prettiest when she PLAYS.
My favorite thing about my mother is LIPSTICK.
I know my mother loves me because she GOES TO THE GROCERY STORE.
I thank my mother for HEARTS.

All the words in caps were written in pictures, which she then explained to me. I absolutely loved it.

Since I bought myself two pairs of sunglasses and an iTunes card Friday, I told Ryan not to get me anything. He did anyway: a Hershey's bar and a card that Riley picked out. :-)

His mom is here from Kansas. We ate lunch at Taco Bell then went to Target to pick up stuff for a cookout.

My folks came up this evening, and we had grilled steaks and potatoes, French rolls, salad, brownies and chocolate cake. Momma got me a pair of YellowBox flip-flops (comfy!) and brought the cake. We danced and sang and acted silly and had a ball. It was a wonderful day.


Thanks Momma and Jann for all you've done for us! Love y'all!

And because it's my day, too, this is for me:

"I was thinkin' Bob Marley! Yeah!"

Freedom

Ahh, I'm gonna miss hearing his beautiful voice every week, but he's free of the hideous judges, and he seemed happy tonight while singing "I Shot the Sheriff" again. The band started up on "Mr. Tambourine Man," but Jason said, "We're doin' the Marley one. What's going on?" and proceeded to rock it again. It's too bad we didn't get to see the whole sing-out. Gee, thanks Fox.Every ending is a new beginning and what a beginning this is gonna be for you, Jason Castro. You've got a ton of fans who were loyal to the very end of this show and who will be there when your first album comes out. We'll be there when you play your solo shows. We'll be at the tour shows to see you. If we were certain that you wouldn't be on the stage again, we'd leave after your set. And maybe find the damn bus and hang out to see you in the flesh. You're an amazing musician, but most important, you seem to be an amazing man.

Get ready, 'cause this is going to be one crazy ride. Thanks for letting us come along.


Thanks to DM at Castrocopia for the screencaps.

I Think I Love You

I heart Jason Castro! And so happy to hear this from him:

Irresistible Object vs. Immovable Force
by castrocopia

Thanks to Castrocopia for the video!

I Shot the Sheriff

He rocked it, and I liked it. I am in no way disappointed by Jason's performances last night, and I don't understand anyone who is. He picked songs that meant something to him and that shaped him as an artist, and he played them his way. He could've sung the national anthem to perfection and the "judges" still would've hated it. Jason enjoyed himself and stayed true to himself, and he remained respectful. That's why I love the guy: He's talented, he's smart, he knows who he is and knows God has a plan for him.



Yeah, he flubbed a line or two, but he's not the first.


He deserves to be in the top 3 as much as any of the others. And I want to hear more!

Weekend

This photo was from the Easter egg hunt. Don't know why I haven't posted it before, totally nothing to do with this post, though.














Weekends just fly by now. Here's what ours looked like.

Saturday
Riley & I chilled through the morning. She watched cartoons; I did a little work on the computer.

We went to a birthday pool party for a 6-year-old on her softball team. It was a luau party complete with a hula lesson and a volcano cake. And swimming in a heated pool. Riley had a ball.

The two of us ate at O'Charley's after the party, where I proceeded to get sick as soon as we left the parking lot. It must have been the combination of the sun and the food – I haven't been eating as much lately and I guess the ol' tummy couldn't handle it.

Ryan was home when we got here, so I took a nap while they played outside. He then gave Riley a bath. My migraine continued. I must find a cool hat to wear whenever I'm out in the sun for an extended (read: more than 30 minutes) amount of time. Sunglasses alone do not cut it.

Riley went to bed; Ryan and I watched a bit of "Locked Up" on Discovery channel, and I flipped through the latest issue of Rolling Stone. Dude on "LU" had a great quote: "It's difficult to be a saint when you're surrounded by devils."

Sunday
We all got up and went to Shoney's for breakfast. I kept myself to only two biscuits and gravy, eggs and potatoes, and one Coke, plus a bottle of water. Also took two Aleves. Felt better.

We went to Lowe's after eating and bough four faucets – three for the bathrooms, one for the kitchen. Ryan got one put in after he cut the grass and weed-eated. While he was doing that I finished my last PTA newsletter (Hallelujah!), and Riley was in and out playing.

The rest of the day was pretty much whatever. We watched TV, read, played. Now it's time for bed.

Night!

Party Train

Another week with the dreadlocks ... Yes! Next week's theme is the Roots of Rock 'n' Roll, hence the photo to the left. It should be a fun one. Screen cap by DM at Castrocopia.

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In other news, I have a deadline tomorrow, one on May 7 and one May 15, so I'm staying busy with the freelancing.

And Riley's softball team got its first non-loss tonight! The Pink Panthers came from behind to tie the game 22-22 in their final at-bat. Riley was up with the tying run on and two outs, and she got a hit to keep the rally going. The next batter brought in the tying run. Riley also played good defense at 2nd base and right center.

I've never been so excited about a tie game. Go, No. 17!

Unbelievable

Screencaps courtesy DM at Castrocopia.com

What the crap was that last night on "AI"? Paula blasting Jason's second song before he sang it? Yeah, I'm over the top about it, but so what? You try singing AFTER you've just been told it's going to suck. I don't have time to list all the machinations that went into that incident. Just visit Castrocopia.com for a taste. (Warning: Adult language.)

I am so sick about the way they have treated Jason, especially these last two weeks. I have never seen anyone disrespected so much, and he stood there and smiled graciously right through it. He's the only one up there with any originality, and he has stuck to his roots the whole time. And, dammit, his performances were good. Listen to the MP3s below and hear for yourself.



I said after Season 5 that I'd never watch again, and last year, I stuck to that promise. This season, I'm glad I broke it because I would've missed a helluva singer and good guy. Whenever Jason's run comes to an end, (hopefully not until the finale) that will be it for me. Srsly. There can't be anyone else out there who has the voice, the integrity, the personality to pull me in like he has.

I'm so glad I found Jason Castro. No matter what happens, his music will be on my iPod. And I will go watch him play whenever I get the chance.

Paaaaaaaaaaantz!

Someday

1-866-436-5701/1-866-436-5706
TEXT "VOTE" TO 5701.

For Jason Castro fans only. Don't bother clicking that link if you don't like The Pantz. Srsly. But do listen to the music below.

Vote for his music
Singing at his church:

A Castro original:


Vote for the looks


















Vote for The Pantz















Vote for Jason Castro. :-) (Will add numbers later.)

One Wild Night

Daughtry and Bon Jovi in one night. I'm surprised we all survived it. :-)

Safety Dance

Whoop! Another week on my TV! Go, Jason Castro. Two Neil Diamond tunes for The Pantz to sing. Rock on, baby!

Ain't Too Proud to Beg

If you're reading this before midnight Pacific time, please dial 1-866-436-5702 or 5708 or text VOTE to 5702.

Vote for Jason Castro and I'll love you forever!

Relax

Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by Tiff1723

Reading Mother Goose.

I Melt

Lovin' this dreadlocked dream... Love the raspy, sweet quality of his voice. Sigh.