Valentines

I decided it would be okay to post a normal entry today. There has been a lot of AI talk around here! But we can't forget that Valentine's Day was just a week ago or so and is always a fun day of celebration. Brett and I stuck with our tradition of sweetly telling each other "Happy Valentine's Day!" all day as our gift to each other. I made a candy gram for the whole family which involved more candy--like we needed any more around the house.

Wilson and I had a lot of fun making his Valentine's for his class. Brett and Maisy pitched in too. The best part was having Wilson write the names of his classmates on the back and then telling me something special he wanted to say on the front to each of his friends. This ended up being really fun and Wilson came up with some doosies. Here are a couple of his best ones.
Top: This one was for his principal. Bottom: Pretty observant, I guess.
Top: This one was for a little girl in his class that doesn't speak English. Bottom: I think he was trying really hard to think of something positive to write for this classmate.
Okay, this one is pretty straight forward. It was for his *girlfriend*. Yes, I know. It's unbelievable to think of a 5 year old that wishes to profess his love in such a fashion--being so young and innocent.

Overall we had a lovely day full of chocolate and fun dip!

Week One Rankings

We have our first AIFL Rankings. After the surprise exit of Colton Berry (which none of our 14 contestants predicted), and the less surprising goodbyes to Amy Davis (I'm really hoping she was sick, because she was NOT in tune), Joann Borgella, and Garrett Haley, we can add up the points from week one.

We have a 4-way tie for first place. Four people got all their top 8 points and correctly predicted 3 out of 4 eliminations, thus tallying 66 of a possible 76 points. Those four people are:

Holly C.
Chad S.
Brett G.
Kasia G.

I swear that Kasia and I didn't cheat! We both just got lucky the first week.

If you haven't submitted your top 8 picks yet, it's not too late to join! We'll accept entries up until next Tuesday evening. It's quite fun! Come join us.

Remember, current contestants can make any changes they want to their Top 8 without penalty until next Tuesday.

I will always have the top 10 AIFL contestants posted on our blog. If you'd like to see the complete scores and standings, I'll post the internet version of the scoring spreadsheet next week after everyone's picks are finalized.

By the way, if Paula Abdul was one of the top 24, she would definitely be in my top 8. Work it, girl!

Next Step for the AIFL

I hope you've enjoyed the first two top 24 shows of Idol. Okay, now that you've seen everyone, here are some things you can do:

If you already put in your top 8 before Tuesday's show, you will get all your week one points (see scoring details in the previous post). You can now make whatever changes you want to your top 8. You have until next Tuesday evening to make any changes necessary. Choose wisely, this will be the last time you can change your top 8 without a point penalty!

If you have not entered our contest yet, it's not too late! Submit your top 8 contestants that you think will go the farthest, with 8 being the person you think will be the next idol, and working down from there. You have until next Tuesday! Contestants that start this week will get week one points, while those who got started last week will get week two points. (once again, see scoring details from previous post.

Everyone, please send us the names of the 2 guys and 2 girls you think will be eliminated tomorrow night. For every name you guess correctly, you get 10 points. Don't miss out on 40 possible points! Submit your picks by Thursday (today), 7pm Central time!! As always, you can send your picks as a comment to this post, or you can email them to brettgustaveson@yahoo.com if you don't want anyone to see your picks and use them to their advantage!


Good luck, I love your picks, dawg. You worked it out! Simon however, thinks your picks are a little cabaret.

Let's Get It Started!

Okay, are you ready to go for the gold? Who is going to be the new American Idol? You have from now until next Tuesday to join the American Idol Fantasy League. If you missed last night's show, or just want to do more research into the top 24 contestants, click here to go to the American Idol website. So far they have posted interviews with each of the top 24, and here's a website that has video clips of most of the Top 24 singing!

Here is what you need to do to get started:

1. Pick the eight of the top 24 contestants that you think have the best chance of going all the way.

2. Rank the contestants 8 through 1, with 8 being the one you think will be the American Idol. Rank in order of confidence, 8 highest, 7 next, all the way down to one.

3. Post your top 8 as a comment to this blog (if you want everyone to see your picks), or email your top 8 to brettgustaveson@yahoo.com (if you want no one to see your picks).

That's it until the top 24 begins next Tuesday. Simple Enough, right?

You want to get the most points possible. Here's how the points are awarded:

• Every time one of your top 8 advance to the next week, you get the points of your ranking times the number of week they made it through. For example: The person I ranked a "6" made it through week one, I get 6 points. If he makes it through week 2 I get 12 points (6 x 2). If he makes it through week 3, I get 18 points (6 x 3). Get it?
• As we get to the eliminations on Wednesdays, you will get 10 points for correctly guessing who will get eliminated that week.
• If your 8-point person is crowned the new American Idol, you get a bonus 50 points!

We hope that system is simple, yet intriguing. So start sending in your rankings. You have until Tuesday afternoon to get it done. Good luck!

By the way, we will post information on the top 24 as soon as it becomes available.

AIFL

Look out, because your world is about to change.


That's right, the American Idol Fantasy League (AIFL) is coming. We're putting together our own fantasy contest! If you're an American Idol fan, this will be the perfect contest for you. If you are not yet an American Idol fan, WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? (By the way, this is Brett typing. Kasia would never type something like that.)

Anyway, the main idea is to pick the contestants you think will go the farthest in this new season of American Idol. Once the 24 semifinalists are named on Wednesday night, you will pick the ten you think will go the farthest, and you will get points for every week they stick around. You will also get points for guessing who will be eliminated each week, and for picking the American Idol.

We'll post the complete details and rules in a few days (when we finish thinking of them). In the mean time, plan on watching AI on Tuesday and Wednesday so that you can narrow down who you think will go far.

It's going to be lots of fun. Plan on participating with us! We'll be posting weekly standings and updates.

To get you in the AI mood, here are a few clips:

#1, Renaldo Lapus singing the biggest hit of the young season, We're Brothers Forever.

#2, Maisy giving the same song the diva treatment.

#3, Wilson's version

#4, Everyone gets into the act

Pancake night!

What do you get when you calculate this equation:
A FUN and ENTERTAINING Daddy +
Your RUN-OF-THE-MILL Bisquick +
A little LOVE and a little APPETITE =
TWO ecstatic children!!
(By the way, those pancakes are the faces of Mario and Peach from Mario Kart. They were special requests. With our talented Daddy--he can make any famous face out of pancake batter!)