Sunday, July 29, 2007

Fall

Since Pam wrote about fall TV, I decided to list the shows I'm looking forward to. Like Pam, I'm sooooo ready for new shows to be on! What will I be watching this fall?

Without a Trace
Desperate Housewives (though I wouldn't cry if it went away)
Brothers and Sisters
CSI: Miami
Law and Order SVU
Lost
Notes from the Underbelly (is that coming back?)
Grey's Anatomy
CSI
Scrubs
THE OFFICE!!!!!!!
My Name is Earl
Law and Order
Nip/Tuck

This past year I lost my second all-time favorite show "Gilmore Girls". My number one all-time favorite is still "Friends".

There are a few shows that just started that I'm totally into:
Mad Men on AMC
Damages on FX (WOW....totally intense)

I've been watching "Traveler" and "Studio 60" this summer. But "Studio 60" was cancelled, and "Traveler" is on hiatus (we'll see if it comes back). And, of course, I miss "World Series of Pop Culture".

There are a couple of new shows this fell I'm looking forward to. One is called "Pushing Daisies". It's about a guy who has the ability to bring people back to life. So he goes to murder victims, brings them back to life and asks them "whodunnit", makes them dead again, then collects the reward for information! Sounds pretty interesting. And, I guess I'll give "Private Practice" a shot, since it is a Grey's spinoff...

I gotta tell you....the ABC new series lineup looks pretty awesome. There are several others I want to check out.

Finally, in other TV news "The Nine" FINALLY comes back this Wednesday! It's cancelled, but they are going to play the final episodes so maybe some of us can finally know what happened.

Am I pathetic yet?

Editor's Note: How could I forget "House"??? It's one of the ONLY shows John and I watch together. Also, my favorite show of the summer is "Big Love". Thanks for reminding me, Brooke!

Photogenic

So, I told you I would post pictures of my new shoes...so here they are! I am pretty proud of myself. The brown ones are Nine West, the black ones are Dexter, and the read heels (yeah!) are Bandolino and each one was only $19.99. I am not a show person, so bringing home three pairs in a year is crazy.

The next picture is for my weather-crazed friends....this is me and Rick Mitchell. We're TIGHT after "On the Road". I'm going to have the inside scoop on weather after this!

Final picture is of Faith's new hiding place....she has crawled up inside our box springs. I can't get a great picture, since I can only stick my hand in the hole she's found. But, she can get in just about anywhere.

Enjoy!















Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Hey, it's better than 110 degree heat

Well, "On the Road" has gone so well this week. Fingers crossed the rest of the week will be just as enjoyable! The weather has been phenomenal....in fact today, I didn't even sweat and I was outside from 2:30 until 6:30. Nice trees in Chandler. Tomorrow is Choctaw and we'll be on a golf course so I'm hoping that means a pleasant experience.

On another subject, I'll update you with the latest on the baby front. Anyone not interested....you can tune out now. Lots of people ask, and since I haven't seen many of you lately I'll go ahead and update. If you want more info, feel free to call or e-mail me. I'm open!

We went back to the doctor on Tuesday. I'll try to make a long story short. We did find out something that could be the cause of all our troubles. To quote an episode of Friends, my "environment" is not very "hospitable" to John. It's a hostile environment. Which means our next step will likely be insemination (there is no PC or unawkward way to say it, so welcome to TMI!). Which is not that big of a deal. We had prepared for that and it is a step we want to take. BUT....this is it. It's the final step. It's as far as we want to go.

He also had me on another round of a medication called Clomid, which when working properly makes you extremely fertile. It had not worked for us the previous 3 times we tried, but the "environment" probably explains a lot of that. ANYWAY...it was very effective this time around. Too effective, actually. There were three follicles that were ready to go. The doctor said when there are four follicles, he will not participate in any efforts to prompt pregnancy. But he allows the couple to decide when there are three.

He was ready to do insemination today if we wanted to try it. But he walked us through the very real possibility that ALL THREE follicles could take....which would make three babies. Which could split into twins and could mean up to six babies. And, despite what it may seem like, it's not just a few extra babies to love. It's a host of health problems for me and the babies. It could mean mental retardation, physical problems associated with early delivery like cerebal palsy, or babies that would not even make it. With someone my size....three babies would be difficult to carry. But we had about three minutes to decide what we wanted to do. If we wanted to move forward, we had to begin preparing THAT DAY.

My initial thought was "take the risk, I'm tired of waiting". But John brought me back down to reality. Made me realize that the responsible thing to do is to wait until there are only one to two follicles. Because we have not been through all this and waited all this time to put our child in danger. This baby who is not even conceived, but who is already loved more than we could imagine....we have to start protecting it now. We have to make decisions now in the best interest of our baby, of our children. It was not the right time, there was too much risk. So....we declined and will be spending ANOTHER month waiting.

I'd love to tell you that this experience has taught me patience. That it has made me a bigger person. That it has made me value God's time and his plan. But, it hasn't. I'm not any more patient than I was 19 months ago. I'm not a bigger person....I might be even smaller because the stress of all this has transcended into every aspect of my life. I feel like even my work is suffering from distractions and frustrations. As for God....I am more confused than ever. I don't understand. I don't understand his plan or his time or the things that happen. It doesn't mean I don't trust him....I just don't understand.

I know that everyone suffers with something, and no one really understands God. I know John and I are incredibly blessed in so many ways and I know that God is there with us and for us. That he brought us to our wonderful doctor and is providing us incredible technology to overcome this particular problem. And I know he will not give me more than I can handle. And I know that my plight could be so much worse. I could be starving in Ethiopia, or have incurable cancer, or lose my house, or lose my husband, or have multiple internal problems that cause infertility and require surgery to fix.

But....being responsible sucks. Being patient sucks. Being an adult sucks. A lot.

Please, please pray that we can move forward next month. That my body will work with us and not against us. And know that I'm truly at peace with our decision.

I think my next blog will be about the three pairs of shoes I purchased over the weekend.

Friday, July 20, 2007

A Day in the Life

Darn it! I didn't post yesterday, breaking my streak....

It's ok. It was not a good couple of days recently. Lots of work drama and I freaked out just a little. Not too much though....you know me!

Today I'm working from home. I think allergies may be hitting me....my throat is very sore and swollen. But I don't feel super sick. Still we're going to visit my grandparents this weekend and the last thing I want to do is bring illness into their house! So I'm resting up this afternoon hoping to feel less sick by this evening.

DVR is currently playing. I think some people thought it was strange to see a listing of "World Series of Pop Culture", "Family Guy", and "The Gestapo" on our DVR. Yes, "The Gestapo". I love the History channel, and I always learn new things....so I recorded a mini-series on the Gestapo and I'm going to get through it.

We also have lots of episodes of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" on the DVR....what is it about this family and trivia?!

Wow! I'm adding all kinds of links to the side lately....everyone is starting a blog! Tune into the latest and greatest Adcox adventures by reading Derek's blog. Or, for the real story....tune into his wife Brooke's blog. Keep it up, everyone....let's add to my link list!

Below I've posted "A Day in the Life". I've seen this on several other blogs, and I love it. Reading about people's typical day....makes the world seem a little less about me. Anyway....it's incredibly boring, but enjoy anyway. Then, post about your typical day!
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A Day in the Life (since I don't ever have a typical day with my job, I decided to post what yesterday was like for me.)

6:20 am: Alarm goes off. Hit snooze
6:29 am: Snooze goes off. Hit snooze again
6:38 am: Snooze goes off. Hit snooze again
6:47 am: Snooze goes off. Finally stumble out of bed.
6:50 am: Shower
7:10 am: lay back down while my hair air dries
7:30 am: Get up, hair, makeup, get dressed
8:05 am: Leave for work
8:30 am: Arrive at work, log into my computer, check voicemail
8:45 am: Return e-mails (in this case there weren't any to return because of ALL the drama at 9 pm the night before....that's why I shouldn't check my e-mail in the after hours!)
9:00 am: Check Yahoo e-mail, MySpace, and the blog
9:05 am: Think about starting a blog...usually it takes me throughout the day to get a blog together on my breaks
9:10 am: Start really working
10:15 am: Start thinking about lunch
10:45 am: Really wish it was lunchtime; start hating myself for not packing a snack
12:00 pm: Leave to meet good friend for lunch
12:10 pm: Both arrive on-time and enjoy a nice venting session about the local media
1:20 pm: Back at work, checking e-mail
2:00 pm: Mental break...time to check the 65 blogs or so that I read every day
3:00 pm: Conference call
4:00 pm: Wish the conference call was over already
4:30 pm: Start packing up for the day--putting away pens, straightening papers, you know all the things that take you an hour to do!
5:00 pm: Decide it's almost time to shut down the computer, even though I don't leave until 5:30
5:10 pm: Remember that John mentioned an early dinner....officially shut down the computer in a hurry. Good thing I started packing up at 4:30!
5:15pm: Leave the office
6:15 pm: Head toward dinner at Steak and Ale--I deserve it after all the drama the last two days!
7:20 pm: Enjoying my French Silk Pie....a whole piece, all to myself and the world seems right again!
8:15 pm: Back home, in my PJ's and on a cleaning mission
8:30 pm: Meticulously clean the house....mirrors, floors, laundry, toilets, vacuum, sheets, dusting, dishes, coutertops, litter box, trash.....the house get a good cleaning
9:45 pm: Relax in bed
10:00 pm: Turn on Jon Stewart and drift off to sleep.

Guys....that was my day yesterday. I actually, believe it or not, got a lot of work done. Just because you're THINKING about food and leaving work doesn't mean you're incapable of getting work done.

This is why I love my job because this is actually not a normal day. This whole week I've been in the office and I'm about to go crazy. I love my job because it takes me different places and different schedules every week.

Now....tell me about your day.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

My head is about to explode

I'm trying to blog every day this week, as I will likely not blog at all next week. Next week I will be "On the Road" with channel 5. Remember when I went on this tour last year?

Nathan, I could really use some rain, overcast skies, light breezes next week....can you give me that?

John's playing Wii in the other room and I'm watching SCOTT BAIO. Scott Baio is 45 and Single....and a LOSER! Seriously, his last hit was "Charles in Charge" and he still thinks he's a ladies man? He looks like he's 100 years old, and I can't respect anyone that hurt "Joanie"...even Chachi.

Sigh...I don't have much more than that. All I'm thinking about is work, it's been one of those kinds of weeks. Oh! The other thing I'm thinking about....

Remember a few months ago when I wrote about baby Harper? Well, her parents finally have a little joy back in their life--just one week ago they adopted a baby boy named Bennett. Can you believe how amazing God is? You can read about their journey at Harper and Bennett's website.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Texting

I saw this news report on MSNBC today. And, ok....I'm very guilty of this. I read an article about this tragedy in People magazine and remember thinking "how horrible". But now new details are coming out indicating texting could have been to blame.

I'd believe it. Texting while driving, swerving side to side trying to type in "on my way home" or something of that nature....

While I can't promise I'll stop using the phone while I drive, this story makes me scared enough to stop texting while I drive. Who would think a simple text message would cost 5 teenage girls their lives in once second?

Monday, July 16, 2007

The List

John and I often have discussions about "The List". You know what list I'm talking about....the list of five people that are freebies. You know what kind of freebies I'm talking about, and I bet you've ALL had discussions with your spouse about them.

John and I have actual arguments about "The List" like it's a real possibility of something.

My List:
1. Brad Pitt (looks only...nothing about the personality)
2. Matthew McConaughey
3. Will Smith
4. Justin Timberlake
5. Keith Urban

Dr. McDreamy was on there until John VETOED it. Like it's his list or something! That was the first argument...can you even veto somebody? It is, after all, the list of freebies....it's based on personal taste.

He ALSO tried to veto Matthew McConaughey, saying that no self-respecting OU fan could have a die-hard Texas fan on The List. My argument, backed up by a phone call to uber-OU fan Brooke, is that his abs make him the exception to the rule. Who would NOT include those abs on The List?

John's list constantly changes....mine is pretty much standard. I'm not going to laminate it or anything, like Ross on "Friends" (not taking THAT chance). But some of these guys are long-time Listers.

I've tried to veto some of John's and he refuses. So....I am officially adding Dr. McDreamy BACK on The List. In fact, because John has such double standards I'm going to add him as a 6th. I'm not taking anyone off!

John's list? He informed me just this weekend that Jenny Finch of USA Softball is on the list, as is Victoria Beckham (whatever, he's just a closet Spice Girls fan). Also Catherine Bell from JAG, and Britney and Cynthia Daniel (identical twins, and yes I let him count them as one). I'm not even telling you who the last one is because it's too horrible and I've officially vetoed it.

So you can see the deep, meaningful, loving, marital conversations we have. You all have lists, I just know it...

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Random Thoughts (it's been a while)

Rochester was great...beautiful, cold, green, very friendly. Had dinner one night on the Erie Canal, the next night on Lake Ontario. They love their lakes. Plus...it was successful and we will now have a New York office! So great trip.

Did you know the average home price in Rochester is about $84,000? WHAT?! That's less than Oklahoma! Crazy...
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I know you're all wondering how my flights went. Well, I'm happy to say I only had ONE delayed flight (Dallas to OKC on the way home) and it was only delayed 20 minutes. Fantastic, right? Looks like the curse is broken.

Well, I was about halfway through my book when I boarded the plane. I was lost in the story when I realized--I was almost done with the book. And it surely had been longer than the 40 minutes the flight usually takes. I look at my watch and realize we should have landed about 45 minutes earlier.

Yep....while we departed pretty much on time, we were rerouted due to weather--through MISSISSIPPI!!! We flew from Dallas to MS to Kansas and back down to OKC. So, the 40-minute flight took 2 hours and 15 minutes. Can you believe it?!

Oh well....my luggage made it and it was still daylight so I was fine.
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Saw "Harry Potter" last night at the theatre. Guess I need to start reading the book series! The movie was pretty great, but I'd hesitate to bring little kids. They keep getting darker and darker...a little scary, even.
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Bob Mills finally brought our THIRD table top yesterday. The last two have been horribly scratched and we've asked for a replacement. Because if we're going to put the money down for a new table and 8 new chairs, then I want to be the one to make the scratches on the table!

Well, the third one came in....scratched. So, the delivery guy spent a little while with a staining pen and polish and made the scratches on the second table much better....so we're just going to ask for a portion of our money back in a refund and call it a day. Three tables....sounds like it's not meant to be!
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Anyone know where Christmas trees would be on sale right now? The fake kind, obviously not the real kind. We tried to go to North Pole City yesterday and it's not open yet....we threw out our old one, and we're looking for one to fit in the new house! It's a little early....but we get into the season...
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Another new blogger on-board! Check out my friend, Pam's blog. Maybe she'll be better about updating (ahem, Brooke and Liz...and, well, most of you on my links list!). Anyway....check her out sometime!
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Well, I guess I better get back to work. I've got a lot of projects to finish before a meeting tomorrow, and I'm only putting things off! Have a great week!

The New Dress


Yesterday John and I were walking around the mall, and we wandered past one store window where this adorable dress sat on display. I mentioned I thought it was cute, John turned me around and made me try it on. Then, he told me to buy it...apparently it was the perfect dress for me.


So, I may have a personal shopper on my hands, because I did get a lot of compliments on it today! It's brown with pink and white polka dots....a lot of fun to wear!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Another Thought....you know, while I wait 5 1/2 hours at the airport

This story is a little disturbing. About bin Laden's son marrying a British divorcee.

I'm not really worried about the woman. I'm worried for bin Laden's son. Hello! She's been married FIVE times, not to mention she's 24 years older than him.

Then again, he has another wife in Saudi Arabia. And his dad is the most wanted terrorist in the world.

I am quickly gathering enough ideas to write my own soap opera.

Friendly at 4 AM?

First of all, let me say thank you to everyone who commented, e-mailed, called about my last post. I know many of you already knew our situation, but I've kept a lot of it to myself. Hearing that everyone is praying for us, researching us, interested in what's going on....you guys are amazing. I love my little internet world! We can use all the prayers we can get.

Second....I arrived at the airport at 4:30 a.m. this morning. I do not think I'll do the 6 a.m. flight anymore! Especially since I'm here in Chicago as of 8:45 a.m. and my next flight to Rochester isn't until 1:30 p.m. Ridiculous....but I'm actually in a pretty good mood, pretty relaxed. Nervous about tomorrow....but relaxed.

Sunday night John and I went to Remington Park for dinner with Arni, Nina, and Robin. Arni bought us all buffets for free since he is a valued customer out there! Then he was so nice to offer each of us $20 to go have fun on the slots. It's so easy to gamble when it's someone else's money.

Anyway....John blew his pretty quickly, as usual. I think Robin went through hers pretty quickly, too. Not having a lot of experience on the machines, Arni was guiding me in what I should be doing. Lo and behold....I did pretty well! I ended up walking away with $217!!! Can't argue an extra two hundred bucks.

I wanted to spend it on an iPod shuffle for my exercise efforts.....but then I decided I needed a new power suit. A suit designed ONLY for when I'm presenting something big, like tomorrow. So I took the afternoon off work and went on a hunt.

I found nothing. A shirt at Ann Taylor....but no suits! Guess summer isn't exactly the season for business suits (that weren't capri length and short sleeved or linen).

Anyway....I guess I'll just present in my regular clothes this time. I spent about $60, so I'm not sure what I'll do with the rest. Maybe the responsible thing and pay down credit cards?

Monday night we had a real treat--a home cooked meal. We went to our friends, Josh and Aubrey's house for the evening. Aubrey had made this incredible meal complete with vegetables and bread and dessert. It was awesome! John and I don't have home-cooked meals past Hamburger Helper very often. Well, ever. We never have that kind of meal. So, thanks Aubrey!

Not much else. Wish me luck on my big presentation tomorrow. Off to practice, and start reading my new book "The Kite Runner". Love my airport reading time....

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Today is Different

I started this blog because everyone else was doing it. I didn't have anything interesting to say. In fact, I stole the idea of posting about building our house from JC and Courtney and now we don't even live there! But I have continued this blog because it is a small glimpse into my life at this very moment. One of these days my archives are going to take over, and I'm going to be able to look back and think "what a life I led". I'll be the only person interested, but alas....it will fill my future life with laughter.

I desperately desire to write everything I'm thinking; write about my experiences at work; write about human anatomy; write bad words and embarrassing moments and highly inappropriate things that EVERYONE goes through but only the brave blog about. There is so much I WANT to write and I never do because I'm aware of my audience (all 20 of you, most of whom are related to me). But I read lots of other blogs that I can only aspire to because of their sophisticated profanity, and general ability to turn every day moments into entertainment. In trying to avoid saying anything out of the box, I end up writing silly thoughtless things that aren't all together interesting and not at all what my life is really about.

Today is different.

My life has been consumed with one major thing for the last 19 months. We waited to tell anyone about our struggle. We actually waited 18 months before saying anything to anyone. Too often we stayed quiet, not able to answer a thousand questions, laughing off the mere suggestion. And then crying (well, I was doing the crying) later about how everyone is so rude for asking and it's not what our life is about and why can't it just freaking happen already?!

Our little family is made up of two people who have two very different philosophies on opening up. Two different ways of dealing with struggle. Two different ideas of how much to put out there. I'm so incredibly open most of the time, John tends to keep things to himself. So for 18 looooong months we waited. And at the 18-month point we realized: this isn't getting any better. And it sucks. It sucks so bad and someone else needs to understand how sucky it really is.

That's a poignant revelation, huh?

We've been trying to have a baby for 19 months now. There are so many things I could write about, describe, inform. But this isn't an infertility blog--it's a blog about my life. I'm going to refrain from turning it into an infertility blog because there are a lot of them out there. One of my favorites is here. Look to the right on this blog for an entire LIST of infertility blogs if that's your interest. But I promise, this is not what my blog will be about--I admire those women that can put so much out there. Their openness has helped me figure out so much of this complex thing. However, I don't want to put details out there, just my feelings and frustrations.

Especially for all my WONDERFUL friends who are extremely fertile out there, I know you could care less about the causes and diagnoses and treatments and frustrations that comes with this burden. But, I also don't want to keep from posting about the issue because, as I said above, it CONSUMES me. The struggle for a baby IS my life at this moment. I don't imagine I will ever forget that, but I want to ensure that I don't.

I didn't post anything here, because I didn't know when to say something at work. It's not the most appropriate, professional conversation you can have. But, it is a serious health issue. It's a very delicate process, very timely and it may mean missing meetings or staying away from travel at certain times. I managed to spit it all out at my performance review a few weeks ago and they still gave me a promotion. And were incredibly supportive, which makes me believe God truly designed this job just for me.

So, my QUICK, shortened version of our story.

It became VERY real in May when my regular OB/GYN called and said "I just don't know what's going on. I've done everything I can do to this point, it's time to talk to the expert". So very nervously John and I went to see an expert. It was a two-hour flurry of unexpected ultrasounds, blood tests, personal questions, and NUMBERS everywhere. The only thing John remembers about that day is the dry-erase board where the doctor wrote down every procedure he would like to do with the price tag next to it. Because, despite having wonderful insurance that takes very good care of my long list of ailments, they offer ZERO coverage on infertility. Every thing we do is going to come out of our pocket.

Those numbers become very real and very important very fast.

For those interested, some of the things we have determined at this point:
-My rheumatoid arthritis is not a contributing factor.
-The medications I'm on to treat the RA are all safe, category B when it comes to pregnancy.
-The problem does not lie with John.
-Clomid hasn't worked for me. It did however work for this girl in a big way! And I may have to try it again anyway next month. We'll see....
-At this point the only answer I have is a "mild case of PCOS". (hey--explains all the breakouts!)
-I have had a test called an HSG. Hhmm...that was expensive. My doctor called me perfect, and it ruled out about 60% of possible problems.
-We have had many talks about how far we're willing to go. And we believe that having a biological child is a wonderful idea, but we refuse to break our bank, break our sanity, and put my body in danger for achieving that goal. Especially when there are wonderful alternatives that would provide us with the chance to be parents and give a child who is not biologically ours a wonderful life. We have truly left that in God's hand, but believe he will point us in the right direction at the right time.

Everything is so technical, so clinical, so delicate. Which I guess is ok...the magic of pregnancy has worn off by now. The dream of surprising our family and friends with the announcement of an impending birth is gone. Yes, I'm jealous of all my friends, and yes it's painful to not be able to join them. No, I'm not skipping baby showers or crying every time someone else announces they are pregnant. I guess because I KNOW we'll be parents one day, in some form or fashion. We will have a baby, we will raise a child, we will be a mom and dad. I just hope it's sooner rather than later.

This sweet, romantic, loving process of bringing life into the world is now a MISSION. We are on a mission, and that's about the most fuzzy way I can describe it.

Anyway, I've gone on and on but MAN it feels good to write about it and spit it all out. Thanks for listening. I'll do my best not to bore you everyday with it.....but I may pipe in every now and then. I just wanted you all to know what we're going through right now. Understand why we may be sad, or irritable, or emotional....just bear with me while we get this figured out.

Now, stop asking me when I'm going to have a baby--I'm working on it!

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Marriage Lessons and Background Checks

Marriage Lesson #367:

If you are arguing, put the Chi down. Walk away from the Chi.

I have a huge blister on my thumb to prove it.
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By the way, John and I have been trying to comprehend a recent revelation about one of our closest friends. We found out Saturday that he was arrested, you can read about it here.

It's so hard to realize you've been friends with someone for 8 years, and two of those years they were living a lie...they were a criminal and you didn't even know it.

I mean, if you can't trust your friends to wear their seatbelts, or at the very least to pay the fine if they choose not to....then who can you trust anymore?

We are now conducting OSCN background checks on all of our friends, so that we're not fooled again.

Bad boys, bad boys....whatcha gonna do?

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Concert Memories

Going to the Keith Urban concert last night made me think of another great concert moment in my life.

Probably the greatest night of my preteen years was March 8, 1990. Yes, that's right--I can't remember the date I got engaged but I can remember every detail on the ticket stub for the New Kids on the Block concert. It was an early 9th birthday present for me. I was a HUGE NKOTB fan....had the Barbie dolls, bed sheets, posters, t-shirts. I knew every song, and often jammed to "The Right Stuff" in my bedroom and in the car. I heart Donnie Wahlberg (until he, GASP, got an EARRING. Then I couldn't be his number one fan anymore because he was too dangerous. I moved on to Joey and Jordan).

Anyway....I wanted to go for so long, but my parents told me no. Too expensive. Plus, they could already see it was turning into a crazy obsession with boy bands and bubblegum pop that would one day have me standing in line at midnight for the latest Britney Spears CD.

But on the afternoon of March 8, I got home from school and my parents gave me a little box that flipped open, like a jewelry box. Opening it, I could almost hear angels sing and golden rays of light blinding me. Inside were 4 tickets to see NKOTB!!! I screamed, I jumped up and down, I swore I'd clean my room every day for the rest of my life.

Quickly, I ran to my room and picked out the outfit I would wear for the most important night of my life. It was perfect--black leggings, my white and hot-pink NKOTB t-shirt with all 5 members pictures on it, a hot pink t-shirt tie. Then two pairs of alternating slouch socks (probably white and neon green) and Keds. Got my thin, little excuse for a pony-tail on the side of my head and off we went.

The seats were not great, I now realize. But at the time, my dad made it seem like they were the best seats in the house. He said:
"Don't look at it as we're so far to the left of the stage we can't see....look at it as 'wow, we can see the water station, where they come to take drinks in between songs'."

My reaction:
"Oh my gosh!!! Jordan's drinking water! Hi Donnie, I love you! Joey's wiping his face with a real towel....right there in front of me."

I felt like I was much more important than the girls at the front of the stage. I could see them being real. And even though I didn't get picked to be up on stage with Donnie while he sang "Cover Girl" to one very lucky 9-year-old, I still had the best night of my young life. My sister, who would have been around 4, cried and covered her ears most of the time. But I still think my parents were the coolest to have sat through "Hangin' Tough" just because it was my dream.

I think it's funny how music can do that to you. As a little girl, or a 26-year-old woman I can still get excited about seeing my favorite artists in real life. Music that makes me smile, makes me happy, brightens my day. Plus, it helps that most of the time....the artists are incredibly attractive. Add Australian into the mix, and they are delicious. As for my NKOTB days....it may be many years and several t-shirt ties behind me, but I could probably sing you every word of "Please Don't Go Girl". And I think my mom may still have a pillowcase or two around her house....

The concert in fuzzy pictures


The concert was great...fabulous....amazing. All those exciting words. It was loud and upbeat and fun. His voice stayed perfect the entire time, he plays amazing guitar, and even took a few spins on the piano.
I loved having the gigantic screen, so we could see him and the band even from our section. THEN, I loved it when they set up in the middle of the sold out crowd on the floor, and played for about half the concert. It was awesome because he was right in front of us, and we could see so much better.
He looked gorgeous, even when it was 100 degrees inside the arena and his hair and t-shirt were soaked. And he kept hugging people in the audience (why, oh why, did I not get floor seats?!). Anyway, thanks Julia for going with me. It was one of the best concerts I've been to. I wish he had been serious when he said he wanted to stay and play all night....I totally could have stayed all night and listened to him sing!



























Monday, July 02, 2007

Tonight's the Night!


That's right--tonight is the Keith Urban concert. Julia and I will be there....in the nosebleed section....hopefully not behind a concrete column.....hopefully with binoculars. I love that guy!