Hm, I don't remember sleeping with Simon.....

So. Lately, I have been singing some West Side Story in the car. You know, that "Somewhere" song and "Tonight." If I had "America" on CD, I'd be singing that, too. America is probably my favorite movie dance scene ever. So anyway, I was concentrating on "Tonight" er....tonight. I never realized what a tough song it is to sing until I sang it about 5 times in a row. It's not very long, but the range for this song is kind of massive, if that makes any sense at all, so it can be taxing to sing it many times in a row. Also, I am a believer that you can't really sing a song right unless you can sing it a capella. I have a decent commute. I go from work to pick up Gabi (about 35 minutes) and then back home (about 20 minutes). On my way to pick up Gabi tonight, I get two really good renditions in without rewinding or anything (I like to rewind when I mess up unless I'm strapped for time. I hate messing up). I'm pretty proud of myself and call it a good singing day. I go in, get Gabi, we talk about what she did today and she starts singing. It sort of sounds like "Tonight" so I ask if it's OK if I sing her a song. She says OK. So, I fire up Tony and Maria again. For some reason, I'm not nearly as good. I get to the part about suns and moons and sparks flying into space and my voice just seems to quit. I rewind and say "Oh man, that wasn't so good." Gabi says "No, Mommy! It was good! Keep going!" Aw, what a sweet lil pumpkin! So I rewind and sing it over, this time much better. Whew! Back to the beginning. I've got to get it right. Well, halfway through the song, Gabi starts to say something so I turn the music off so I can hear her. We yap about VW Bugs and airplanes and clouds and ponies and glitter for a few minutes. Then I decide to try the last chorus a capella. I wasn't going full throttle, more of a half falsetto, half regular voice just to get the notes right. "And what was just the world is a SOOOOOOOOONG! TO-NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!" Well. That last note kinda cracked. And was about 3 steps flat. And it also sorta made me choke at the end. And out of the back seat, in the most droll, deadpan voice ever uttered by a 4 year old: "That wasn't so good."

I am in for it, people. Not only has this child picked the winner of both previous seasons of American Idol (OK, she picked Clay last year, but really, he's the winner after all, hm?), but she has also picked out the suck (RHW, anyone?). And as much as I sing in the car, I am in for at least 12 more years of musical criticism.

The End. For Now.

P.S. I love cookies.

P.S. #2 Gabi picked Jasmine to win this year's Idol. Strange, but true.