Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Copyright 2005, Fox Broadcasting

Jaws did not hit the floor when Lindsey Cardinale was voted off American Idol last night. She has consistently been one of the weaker performers on the show, so it was no surprise to see her go..

Joining her in the bottom three were Mikalah Gordon — again, not a surprise — and Jessica Sierra, which was a bit of a surprise. I thought she had more of a fan base than that, but I guess she doesn't.

Or perhaps her constant country crooning is turning them off.

The bottom three were all women, and this trend might continue. The men are really strong contestants this time around. So it's time for people like Jessica Sierra and Vonzell Solomon to raise the stakes and show their potential, or they'll be gone soon.

I don't think Mikalah has a chance of staying in longer than a few more weeks, mainly because of the problems she has with enunciation which makes her songs hard to listen to. Maybe if she takes some voice lessons, she'll be able to correct that problem. Until then, I don't see her making it much further.

I have some exciting news in the weight loss front. As of Monday when I last weighed myself, I am just barely into the "normal" range, according to the Body Mass Index. I'm no longer overweight, according to those charts, at just over 145 pounds.

Now, I still have about 20 to go to make my goal, which will put me firmly in the middle of the "normal" range. But this is an achievement that cannot be overlooked.

I told my sister on the phone, about how I was now in the normal range. I joked, "I can't remember when I was last normal." She said neither could she.

It was especially funny to be watching one of those commercials last night which starts off, "Are you overweight?" For the first time in more than a decade, I could answer honestly, "No."

I celebrated this news by checking out a local second hand store which I hadn't known existed until we passed it on our cab ride back from seeing Margaret Cho Saturday night. It is going to be one of my favorite places, because they have a huge selection for both women and men.

But I only had about half an hour to look for things, so I went first for pants. Now the clothing, for some reason, is arranged according to clothing type and then by color, not size. So I had to go down the row, pulling things out and pulling out pants I thought would fit.

Even with these strange conditions, I found a pair of olive drab Liz Claiborne pants, size 10, that fit me perfectly. I also got a pair of low-rider faded stretch jeans with pink star appliques. They were a junior size 11/12, which is roughly equivalent to a regular size 10.

I also found a few tops. One is a flowered camisole that will be perfect for spring. Another is a sleeveless brown knit top that only comes partway down in the back, which will be great for warmer weather. I grabbed a three-quarter length-sleeved shirt with a Buddha pattern. Finally, I found a miniskirt in light green with violet flowers, a junior size 11/12.

I'll definitely be going back there.

The weather for the past week has been getting milder. Of course, I always hate to say such things, for fear of jinxing it. Temperatures have been in the low 40's, and we've had plenty of bright sunshine, which picks up both my mood and my dog, Una's.

My cold is pretty much gone except for a persistent earache which I'm hoping will fade. In the meantime, I've been using some medication I got at the drugstore.

The last interesting thing I'll mention is that Una and I were followed home yesterday by a persistent young male dog. He clearly had escaped, and he had no collar, so I couldn't find his owners. I kept trying to scare him off, but he wouldn't go. Just kept following us with his nose plastered to Una. I don't think he knew she was fixed.

I felt bad once I got home and shut the door. I hoped he wouldn't get hurt wondering around the neighborhood. But there wasn't much I could have done, except hope that silly dog found his way home.

More Musings on American Idol:

American Idol, Season Four

American Idol, Season Three

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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