OMG, I know her...

So I'm not a big fan of American Idol.  Up until last year I watched it a couple of times out of curiosity, but Simon was so annoying and even though I liked Paula Abdul's music as a kid, she seemed dopey and aloof.  I tried watching it once with Ellen, but she just couldn't carry her funniness that I was expecting in the negative shadow of Simon, so I gave up.

But last year, since Dustin and I are big Aerosmith fans, we gave it a shot again.  Now I didn't become a die hard fan and watch every episode, but I really enjoyed the freshness and lightheartedness that Steven Tyler brought to the show, and even enjoyed J. Lo.  So we were interested in watching this season too.

Again we are not must-watch-every-episode-or-else fans, but we have seen a couple now.  Last night Dustin was looking for something to watch and saw it was on and then we were excited to see they filmed in Aspen, Colorado.  Now even though I am from Colorado, and know a lot of people there, I had no preconceived notion that I would actually know anyone auditioning, I mean come on there are millions of people in Colorado.

So I think she was about the fourth person to walk in front of the judges, but I immediately recognized Alanna Snare and said "OMG, I know her, she was in Sigma Alpha."  Dustin couldn't believe that I knew someone either!  Alanna was in my sorority chapter, but was a few years younger than me.  I met her in 2008 when I attended a National Convention in San Jose, California that happened to coincide with a work trip for me. 

Here we are in San Jose, Alanna is on the left, me on the right.  I know I look puffy, I was about 7 months pregnant with Austin at the time.

In case you missed it they asked about what she does for a living, which right now she is a waitress/bartender at Bruce's in Severance, Colorado, their specialty being Rocky Mountain Oysters. Yes I am proud to say I've been there numerous times, and yes I have tried the oysters, but would usually order up a cheeseburger when visiting there.  She educated the judges panel about them, which didn't really bode all that well for her image.  Then she sang Dolly Parton's Jolene, which didn't go that well and they voted her down. 

I am still so proud of her and am impressed by her courage.  There is NO WAY I could ever do that, nor would America like to hear my singing voice on national television.  Plus standing in the presence of Steven Tyler would just about make me fall over, let alone sing in front of him!  Way to go Alanna, you ROCK!