Obama Inauguration

Today President Barack Obama was inaugurated into office. I didn't vote for him, but the more I see of him, the more I feel like he's a good man. In the state America is in today, all we really have is hope and faith.

It's a historical event so I wanted to witness it live. I stayed home until 10:00 to watch it. I thought his speech was good and I think he seems like a good father. I really hope that he can get America back on track. Although, today, the stock market took it's biggest loss in months. Hopefully, the economy will spring back.

His girls are lovely. The oldest one looks like Barack, while the younger one, Sasha, looks like her mom, Michelle.

I almost didn't recognize Dick Cheney. He lost a lot of weight, and he was in a wheelchair. The senior George Bush was using a cane, but I heard on the radio that he recently had back surgery. He plans to jump from a plane on his 85th birthday. Poor Mohammed Ali was there, and his Parkinsons seems to really be taking a toll. Jimmy Carter looks good for his age. Being active and working with Habitat for Humanity really seems to be keeping him young. We took pictures, holding the newspapers, just to remember the date. We kept newspapers for the kids, in case they have to do a report on the day when they get into Jr. High and high school.

My mom adores Obama. She likens him to Kennedy. She is thrilled to have him in office. She really believes that he's going to be one of our greatest Presidents. This is a hideous picture of me. I hadn't taken a shower or anything. This was taken as both Obama and Bush made their entrance. I was surprised by the really tame headline from the Los Angeles Times. The type was small and it was hardly a eye catching headline. George Bush, commuting those 2 border patrol agents had a larger font. The local paper, Antelope Valley Press, actually had a more impressive headline, which is sad for the Los Angeles Times. I expected more.
The funnest part of the festivities was sitting with my mom and Joe. Joe can't hear half of what you say so he kept coming into our conversations with what he thought he heard us say, and it just about never made sense. He was so confused half the time. My mom would say something to me, and Joe would say, "what?" and then he'd say something that made no sense at all. I eventually had to take the remote from him because he hasn't really figured out his TiVo.

The expression on my mom's and Joe's faces says it all. Joe was totally confused throughout, and my mom was incredulous at how many off the wall questions or comments Joe had.
In honor of the festivities, and also, in honor of American Idol, I made a cake with red, white and blue sprinkles. The Oreos were added, just for fun and because I thought little David might like them. By the way....I bought this heavy duty pan from Smart N' Final and it cooks so evenly. I just love it. All my cakes come out perfectly in this pan because of the heaviness of the metal. It's just really consistent and not too expensive. I think it was $15 or $19.

The cake was frosted with Pastry Pride from Smart & Final. It tastes like whipped cream but it holds up much better. It lasts longer and doesn't have to be refrigerated as much. It's normally used for wedding cakes. It comes in a pint or gallon and you whip it with a mixer for about 10-15 minutes until it gets nice and thick. After I applied the white layer of frosting, I added a bit of blue food coloring, just because I was bored. I sat the cookies on top of the blue dallops.

One final note. Aretha! If you ever want RESPECT again, please, donate your hat to a museum, use it to propel a 747, take it to Holland and use it to repair a windmill, attach it to a giant teddy bear, donate it to the Army for a helicopter propeller, OR darn it, just give it back to Nellie Olsen, but please, please, don't ever wear that gloried hair scarf again. Just because it has sequins, doesn't mean it has style. You can still sing. Your voice is great--but that hat...that hat was OVER THE TOP!
Oh my!

Details on Elliott Yamin's new album

In a story for today's paper, Elliott Yamin estimates he has recorded 35 songs for the follow-up to his 2007 debut. "Obviously, not all of them are going to make the record," says the Season 5 American Idol finalist, "but I've had time to branch out and work with as many people as possible."

The 29-year-old singer says he'd hoped to have the album out by March 20 -- the two-year anniversary date of the release of his self-titled debut album -- "but we're running a little behind schedule with our recording." Elliott said his extensive recording schedule and the death of his mother last March contributed to the album's delay.

"We're putting on the finishing touches, and we should have everything ready to turn in by the beginning of February," he says. "I've got a few more vocals and that's about it. Then we're ready to hit the ground running again."

Yamin's 2007 CD contained a cover of Leon Russell's A Song for You, but Yamin says the new album, which he hasn't titled yet, likely will contain all new songs, many of which he co-wrote.
"I’ve been trying to write as much as possible, building my own catalog of songs that I’ve co-written," he says. "At the same time, I'm trying to find the right fits for this record. Every song on the record’s got to be strong. I’ve had the time."

Elliott also recently bought a house in the Los Angeles area, and he moved in last Friday.
"It's a very Vegas-y looking house," he says. "The backyard looks like an oasis: It's got a pool, a hot tub, a barbecue area, a fire pit. It's kind of an entertaining home."

Elliott says the 4,200-square-foot house has five bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, an office and a two-car garage. But the house's kitchen and living room, he says, convinced him to buy. "The kitchen is just amazing, and it's kind of connected to the living room. It's a cool chill area I think we'll spend most of our time in."

Elliott enjoys the feeling of being a first-time home buyer. "It's a pretty big dream come true for me," he says. "I've always wanted to be a homeowner and have a place I can call my own. I'm really excited."

Getting Rid of Christmas

That's what I'm doing today.

I got the village packed away, am working on cleaning out the garage and arranging all the Christmas boxes. It's a mess.

Bride Wars

I saw Bride Wars last night. It was a really cute movie. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway starred in it.

I also had to babysit Katie last night. Katie would not sleep and at 1:30 a.m. I was watching Wow Wow Wubbzy and trying to rock her.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

Playtime

I love both these pictures. The kids had so much fun the other night, playing together. Going down the rollercoaster
Swinging at GG's house.

Hannah was there too. Hannah and Katie can say one another's names now. It's so cute. They're getting to be so big. When Katie left, Hannah started crying. They had a fun night together.