Falling just short.

So I didn't make it. But I was close.

At last Thursday's Shamrock Idol contest I finished 10th out of 35 singers and I think that's pretty dang good. It was upsetting to come so close to advancing (they take the top 8 to the second round) but I still am pretty proud of myself. I had a great turnout with friends and family all showing up to lend their support and I never could've gotten through it without them!!

The contest was very much like you see on TV's American Idol. There were three judges, seated at a table directly in front of the stage. Each of them commented on my performance immediately after. I got all positive feedback, which was great, but I got the impression they wanted a little more range from me. I sang Brass in Pocket, which they all said was a perfect song choice for my voice. One judge credited me for really understanding my vocal range and wished he could say the same for everyone else. He was like the Simon Cowell of the three, so it was good feedback. This was the same judge who approached me after the results and suggested I come back and try again this week. I politely declined, saying I thought I did it right this time.

All in all, it was a great experience and I'm so glad I did it. I definitely had the biggest entourage and was a crowd favorite. All I really wanted to do was perform well and have fun doing it. And that I did.

Back to karaoke for Lady J!!

Lady J sings.

WhatToSing
Originally uploaded by LadyJ117

So tonight begins my venture into the Shamrock Idol contest. This is a local singing competition that I entered last week and Round 1 starts tonight in Quincy at Bad Abbotts.

I'm pretty excited about it, but also a little nervous. I mean, I've been singing karaoke fairly regularly for more than a year and a half. But, this particular competition will be a little different. Here's why:
1) Band backup, no karaoke machine.
2) No monitor with words, so I gotta know them all.
3) Much bigger crowd than I'm used to.
4) Panel of three judges.

I've never sung with a band before so I'm a little worried about that. Plus, I don't know how well they'll know my songs. I want to sing "Brass in Pocket" because it's safe and I can rock it out. Hopefully, they'll know it.

I know all the words to the songs I sing, but having that monitor is like a little safety net. It will be strange not to be able to just peek over if I need a little reminder.

What will really help me is the crew that's coming out to support Lady J. I plan on just focusing on them and belt out my tune!!

Hopefully I'll have some video of my performance for y'all next week. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for Lady J and let's hope I make the second round!!

A great success.

So, how was everyone's 4th of July? Mine was truly great. Brian and I drove down to my Mom's in Rockland after work July 3rd to stay the night. We were slammed at the bar and the money was great. Got up around 9ish and reintroduced Brian to my Mom and he met my stepdad Charles. We took off for the Cape just after 10 a.m., checked into the hotel in Falmouth and then made our way over to my aunt and uncle's place in New Seabury.

Brian was a big hit here. After about an hour I was getting pulled aside everywhere by my aunts/uncles/cousins telling me how great he was and how lucky I was to have him. I could do nothing else but agree. I knew he was truly accepted when I talked to my Gramps, though. He put his arm around me and said, "You done good, kid." Again, I agreed!!

We grabbed a late bite to eat back in Falmouth and watched the fireworks from the dock at the Flying Bridge restaurant. Good times despite the rain. The next day we slept in a bit, and grabbed a nice brunch at Country Fair. We did some shopping in downtown Falmouth and then ventured up North to play mini-golf. Got rained on there, but not too bad.

From there it was back to the hotel to freshen up and have a nice dinner at Roo Bar, my fave place downtown. Then it was back up North for karaoke at Parrot Bar. I sang four songs that night and was a big hit. Funny because it was a mostly country-crowd. Heck, even the karaoke guy (Scott) was dressed like Tim McGraw!! His partner was certainly no Faith Hill, though.

Good times!! Had to drive back up on Friday afternoon because I had to work at the bar. Boooooooo!! All in all it was a great couple of days!! Can't wait for our next mini-break!!

Happy 4th of July!

Hello all. So, I'm about an hour and a half away from leaving the office for the remainder of the week. That would be completely fabulous if I didn't have to work at the bar tonight. But alas, such is my life.

Anyway, after tonight, it's a little mini-vaca time with Brian and my family. My aunt and uncle have a great house down on the Cape and we're visiting with them tomorrow. Brian and I got a hotel in Falmouth and will spend an extra day down there together. It's going to be a great couple of days. Tomorrow's going to be rough because we'll be so tired but oh well.

He's meeting the extended family for the first time so I'm pretty excited about that. Haven't really felt like bringing anyone home over the last few years so it's nice to have someone I feel is worth introducing to my family. Good times.

Well, have fun whatever you are all doing this 4th of July!! Enjoy!!

Finally!!

Me&Brian
Originally uploaded by LadyJ117

Meet Brian. My fella.

How I was so blessed to have found him is beyond me, but I couldn't be happier that he's mine. Thankfully, he feels the same way about me.

Brief background: We'd been pining after each other for about a year, but only recently became an item. We've been going strong for two and a half months and there's no end in sight.

Reasons he's so great (in no particular order):
-He's the nicest, most thoughtful person I know.
-He knows how I like my coffee, drink of choice, and fave beverage.
-He buys me flowers and cards just because.
-He's intelligent AND funny (not a lot of guys are both).
-He's open and honest about everything.
-He makes me feel like the best girl in the room wherever we are.
-He says sweet things to me.
-He visits his grandfather on a regular basis.
-He's not afraid to call me out on things.
-He's a teacher and he's great at his job.
-Let's be honest, he's a hunk.
-Somehow, he has me believing in happily ever after.

So those are the ABC's of us. We are so happy and it's so great to be in a real relationship with someone I actually care about. I was in a rut for a while, looking for guys in all the wrong places.

Finally, I got it right.

Back on track.

After months of not paying attention to how to correctly update my blogger account, I've finally done it!! Back on track.

I can't believe I've been away for two months. Not like I've had any compaints, so I guess it's cool. Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and try to keep posting.

Just got back from a visit with one of my favorite Bloggers, the lovely miss Melati. We had a blast of a weekend and she gave me the royal treatment. Took care of me all weekend long. It was a great time and I can't thank her and Matt enough.

Started the week off in San Francisco for a four-day visit with my sister. Good times!! We did the mani-pedi thing and also drove in a Go Car, the funnest thing I've ever done. Check out the video on my MySpace page at www.myspace.com/ladyj1223

Well, that's all for now. Glad to be back!!