If there were a soundtrack of my life

and it could only consist of ONE artist, Colbie Caillat would be that one.

Seriously, I LOVE her music. There are very few of her songs that don't apply to me and my life.

Last Tuesday (10/20), I had the opportunity to see her in concert. Actually, rewind to this time last year..... I found out she was going to be in Tampa. However, I was scheduled to be in a parade and then work the overnight. There was no way I could go. I literally almost cried, lol.

About a month ago, I found out she would be at the House of Blues and immediately BEGGED my contact there for tickets. I would have paid for them, but she was able to get them for me for free... even better!

Trevor Hall.... he was a Reggae-type. Really good music.

Howie Day also opened for her. Honestly, I only knew "Collide." I liked Howie and his voice, but I was ready for him to get on with it.

This guy was so cool. He's supposedly the world's fastest painter. He started with this....

... and 10 minutes later ended up with this.....

YAY!!! Time for Colbie!!!!

She started with "I Won't" off her lastest album. Really great song.

See the guy on the right? Billie Jo and I decided we want he and Colbie to be together, lol. His name is Justin Young and we fell in love with him, lol.

Even her stage manager got in on the action and sang "No Woman, No Cry" with her.

Singing my FAVORITE song on her new album, "I Never Told You"

Singing her latest hit, "Fallin For You"

Howie Day came out to sing "Droplets" with her....

Jeni was supposed to come, but couldn't at the last minute. As I'm pretty sure that no one loves CC as much as the two of us, I actually kept a LIST of the songs she sang. I wanted to be able to give a full report of the concert and be able to discuss what we would have traded. (This paragraph and this paragraph only is why I've tagged this post with "I'm Sometimes A Dork")

Would you like to know what she sang?

Oh good!!!....

• I Won't
• One Fine Wire
• Begin Again
• Realize... who hasn't related to this song at some point in their lives?
• Don't Cha.... yes, a cover of the Pussycat Dolls, lol
• Fearless.... one of my favorites
• Tied Down
• No Woman, No Cry
• I Never Told You..... my absolute favorite off of her "Breakthrough" album
• Lucky
• Fallin For You.... another favorite off her "Breakthrough" album
• Droplets
• Bubbly

Now, here's what I personally would have loved to hear her sing that she didn't....

• Tailor Made... my absolute favorite off of her "CoCo" album
• Out of My Mind.... another favorite... LOVE this song
• Oxygen
• The Little Things
• Battle

It really was an AMAZING concert. She sounds even better in person than she does on her albums (um, super rare).

We missed Jeni, but Billie Jo and I still have a great time! Don't you love our strategic shot with the HOB sign in the background, lol?

Weekly Workout Blog....

Week 20....

We aren't going to even break it down by days. That's how poorly I did this week.

I walked 3 times, but sadly, that was it.

Thankfully, this week should be better. Way less insane.

Goals for next week:

• Go to Curves at least twice
• 30 minutes on the Elliptical machine at least 2 times
• Pilates at least twice
• Walk - either by lake or on treadmill at least 3 times
• One Zumba class

Brad Paisley Concert (10/16/09)

Last Friday was a bit of a blur, lol. It started out with a studio visit, early in the morning, with Jimmy Wayne. He was opening for Brad that night, so he came by to say Hi. Pictures coming soon.

Then, we had a listening party at work, during lunch, which ate up most of the day.

Pretty much right after I got done with that, Billie Jo and I headed to the Ford Amp. I had to meet up with some listeners to give them their last-minute ticket wins. I personally was astounded by the amount of people tailgating in the parking lot at 5pm on a Friday, lol. Had I not been there for work, there's no way I'd be there that early.

Before the show, we had a meet and greet with Dierks Bentley.

Dierks and I

Jimmy Wayne

Dierks.....

I've seen Dierks about 3 or 4 times in concert. Each time, I was grossly underwhelmed... his sound just was always off. Not this time, however. He was awesome! My only complaint was that he didn't sing his current single, I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes.

Mr. Brad Paisley.....

Brad's concerts are always crazy fun, lol. He has all these different videos, including this sequence.....

American Saturday Night Tour....

I thought this was so pretty....

You obviously can't tell that he's singing She's Everything, but that's what he's singing. It's my favorite song of his.

Jimmy and Dierks came out to sing Alcohol with Brad for the last song....




Brad pushed Jimmy into/onto the crowd, lol.....

The Brad Meet & Greet was actually after the show. I was so exhausted, lol.

Feeling blah.......

I'm going on record to say that I'm utterly exhausted.

So exhausted, in fact, that I came home during lunch to rest and then came straight home after work (skipping gym, etc). I'm choosing to believe that it's just me needing extra sleep and not me getting sick.

Life has been so busy that I didn't even realize that I was like 4 days behind in all my blog reading, lol.

This past week was fun.... insane, but fun. This week will be more of the same. I'm determined to catch up, as I have lots to record/share/post, but not tonight, lol.

These two weeks have been the weeks of concerts.. Joe Nichols (as I already mentioned), Brad Paisley (which I need to share), Colbie Caillat (SO FREAKING EXCITED... this is tomorrow), and Josh Thompson (Thursday).

Plus, other events and "stuff." I'll get to it eventually, but tonight I'm just going to curl up on the couch with a blanket, catch up on my shows, and call it an early night.

OH.... and, sadly, "The Guy" didn't come home this weekend. I was sad, but thankfully, I was too busy to be too sad.

Joe Nichols at The Music Ranch

Wednesday (October 14th) was just one of those busy days I've been talking about.

During the day, I attended the Annual Breast Cancer Luncheon and Fashion Show with some of my coworkers. It was a nice time, but honestly, it was a speaker's talk of the advances in patient care over the years that caught me the most.

Just thinking of what Abby Adams (daughter of President John Adams) went through makes me cringe. The doctor explained that she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a time when neither anesthesia nor sterilization was used. She was tied to a chair in her bedroom, while the cancer was cut out of her. It was a 20 min procedure and she had to be held down by three people. Dressing the wound took over an hour. She lived with constant infection and pain for the remaining two years that she was alive. Listening to that, I feel so blessed by the advancements made in medicine!

After the luncheon, I switched gears, changed clothes, and went out to The Music Ranch. Joe Nichols was performing and we knew it was going to be a packed house, lol.

I'm surprised the place didn't burst at the seams, to be quite honest, lol. It was a great concert and the crowd pretty much behaved. One woman did get a little too drunk.... first she tried to pole dance with a square, stone pillar. Not something I think would be too comfortable, lol. Then, she started taking off her top. I ran interference, at that point, lol. It was a case of getting her outside and some water into her. Once she'd settled and I was convinced that she wasn't driving, it was back to business, as usual.

Joe listens as the crowd sings "I'll Wait for You" to him.

Joe had the crowd laughing and entertained the whole time.

This group of lovely people?..... They are from Scotland. Yes, Scotland. They listen online and heard that Joe would be here while they were in Orlando, on holiday. They emailed me to see if it was possible for them to get tickets. Amazingly nice group! I truly hope we get to meet with them, again!

Joe and I

Weekly Workout Blog....

Week 19....

Sunday - Nothing

Monday - Curves

Tuesday - Walked the lake twice (6 miles)

Wednesday - Nothing.... worked until 10pm, lol

Thursday - Nothing.... worked until 7:30pm and then crashed, lol

Friday - Brad Paisley Concert

Saturday - Walked the lake

Grade for this week - C - ..... Eh, I honestly tried.

Goals for next week:

• Curves at least once
• Elliptical at least twice
• Walk at least twice
• Pilates at least twice

It's another insane week, so we'll see how well I do, lol.

Failing miserably....

I want to get over "The Guy." I really, really do. It would make my life a whole lot easier.

It is my full intention to completely move on. I promise. Hello, he now lives in Minne-friggin-sota.

However, I'm failing miserably.

We've been talking, emailing, Facebooking, and texting quite a bit. To be perfectly honest, it feels much more natural than the week to week-and-a-half breaks in between our communication.... and, it should given the fact that we were in each other's every day lives before he left.

I miss you.... - Yep, that's what I want to hear and I don't even have to say it first.

Stay in touch. - He says it every single time we talk on the phone or email.

Your birthday present is going to be a while, but I'll make it good, I promise. - What's your definition of "a while" and "good"?????

I'm half calling to ask a favor and half calling just because I wanted to talk to you. - This was today and was completely unexpected.... I was literally writing in his birthday card when my phone started singing his ringtone, lol. We had a nice 15 min chat and then I did a happy dance in my office (door closed, of course). BTW.... the "favor" was absolutely nothing. Honestly, hardly a favor, at all. I enjoyed the half just wanting to talk to me -thankyouverymuch.

It may not be helping me get OVER him, but I think it is helping me get used to him not being here. Oh, well.... what's a girl to do, lol?

~ P.S. ~ Based off our conversation today, it doesn't look like he's coming home this weekend. Still cross your fingers and pray.

Sunday Matinee...

About 6 weeks ago, my friend and coworker M asked me if I'd like to join her to go see a play. I've talked about M before.... she's like an aunt to me. We both refer to her as my "Aunt M." I, of course, said absolutely and we planned to go see Forever Plaid.

The play was about an hour away, so we headed out late this morning. Once we found the theatre, we looked for something to eat. I had my handy-dandy navigation system to lead us to a Tijuana Flats. We followed the directions, all the way until the lady said, "You've reached your destination.".......... Only, we were in the middle of a neighborhood. There may have been a woman named Tijuana who lived there, but I'm pretty sure she wasn't planning on serving us lunch, today.

So, we turned back around and found a little cafe near the theatre. It was delicious!

The play was really cute, too. We enjoyed ourselves. I'd actually never heard of the show before, lol, but it was good. It was about a 50's Doo-Wop group that were killed in a car accident right before their first big show. Stuck in limbo for decades, they come back to Earth in current day and have to finish their show before they can cross over. It was entertaining.

Such a nice Sunday, to start off a crazy week!

Speaking of which.........

INSANITY!

I have several meetings throughout the week. On Wednesday, we have a concert we're putting on. Friday is a little nuts, plus I'm going to the Brad Paisley concert. Saturday, I have two events to attend for the station.

Plus, Saturday is "The Guy"s birthday. He might be coming home for the weekend. Cross your fingers and pray. Thanks!

Weekly Workout Blog....

Week 18...

Sunday - Nada

Monday - Curves

Tuesday - 30 mins Elliptical and 30 mins Treadmill

Wednesday - 30 mins Elliptical and Zumba (and, it didn't almost kill me this time!!)

Thursday - Walk around the lake

Friday - Nothing

Saturday - 30 mins on the Elliptical, 50 mins on the Treadmill, and 15 mins Pilates (Go ME!!)

Grade for this week - I'm going with an A-. The only thing I missed was one Curves, which is great for this time of year, lol.

Goals for next week:

• Curves at least once
• Elliptical at least twice
• Walk at least twice
• Pilates at least twice

I'm going to go ahead and lower my goals for this upcoming week. It's going to be another INSANE one and there is no way I'll be able to get everything in.

Um, a little less sunshine please

I live in The Sunshine State.... I'm used to heat and humidity. I get it and mainly don't mind it. That's what A/C is for, really.

From about May until September, life is (or is supposed to be) like this.......

Then, when October comes around, the humidity lifts and there's a slight drop in temperature. Ahhhhhh..... Fall. It's unlike Fall in the rest of the country, but it's still Fall.

Except that it isn't, right now. Today is October 9 and it was 95 degrees. Yesterday was 94 degrees. That. Is. Un. Acceptable.

I so desperately want to stop feeling like this.....

A letter to Junior League Members

Let me start off by saying that I do not mean to offend (though I probably will). I absolutely recognize the good that Junior League does throughout the country. Some of my favorite bloggers are Junior League Members. You are appreciated.

Having said that.....................

As someone who receives emails and phone calls from various members of her city's Junior League, may I give you a tip?

Pushiness doesn't score you points with me.

Calling me to demand that I put your event on the air won't actually get it on the air any faster.

Adding a smiley face to a condescending email...... um, no.

There are a lot of organizations that also do a lot of good. I have to give them equal time, too. Being rude and pushy isn't going to make me say, "Oh, yes! I'll definitely make sure that your event hits the airways every hour!" Guess what? I can't do that. Even if I wanted to. Which I don't when you're being rude.

Here's the thing.... I WANT to like the Junior League. They are helpful in the community. They put on very fun events. They work very hard. Again, some of my favorite bloggers are in the Junior League.

So, some of my favorite bloggers, can you please let your fellow Leaguers know that I'm starting to get a bad taste in my mouth for the JL?

Politeness. Friendliness. Timeliness..... all good things.

Thanks!

Something I never thought I'd do.....

That's right..... Halloween Horror Nights. I've talked before about how I am easily scared/startled..... even in broad daylight. I've lived my entire life in Central Florida... Universal has held HHN for 19 years.... I've done everything possible to avoid it.

This year, our station has been promoting it. It's cool, but a lot of work... there's a lot that goes into it. However, there are certainly perks.... more than even I expected. A couple months ago I received an invite to a Media Party. Kind of cool, right? I've been to enough to know the whole food/drink/mingling deal. The invite also said there would be a tour after the reception. I thought, "Ok, that would be cool. Maybe we'll get to go through one of the houses and see some of the behind-the-scenes stuff." Literally, I was thinking that "the tour" would be an hour or so, tops.

Originally, when I got the invite, I was going to see if "The Guy" wanted to go. Then, he moved, lol. So, I asked Billie Jo if she was up for it. Again, we both thought we'd get a slight sneak peek and that would be it.

Friday, we both headed to Universal. The party was at The Groove.... if you've never been, it's a great club, very 'Old Hollywood.' Food was great, too, lol. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a great "mingler." I actually hate it, so I was really happy when we were all told to go outside and find our tour guides.

Billie Jo and I outside "The Groove" waiting for the tour to start.

We found a group and got our marching orders. So, it turns out that our "little tour" was actually a VIP trip through the entire experience. Our credentials (a media party nametag and super cool glow stick necklace, lol) and our tour guide (Josh) would get us to the front of every line in the park!! SCORE!

First, we were to go through all the houses. I'll be honest, I was scared to death, lol. I - Don't - Like - Being - Scared. Call it peer pressure or insanity, but I went through them. All of them! There were 8 and I only cried (silently) once, lol. We had some big guys in our group --- Billie Jo and I got really good at positioning ourselves in between them. There were some obnoxiously drunk super classy girls in our group, as well. They screamed at EVERYTHING.... fake blood, fake dismembered bodies, fake dead animals. That stuff didn't bother me, it was always the people jumping out at me that got me.

After we got through all of the houses, we hit up 'The Simpsons Ride' and then went to see 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure' (front row!). SOOOOO FUNNY. Basically, they take pop culture from this year and spoof it. Twilight, Bruno, popular music, Wolverine, and more were all hit upon. Hysterical.

After the show, the rest of the group decided to call it a night. They left, so Billie Jo and I had good ole Josh all to ourselves. He took us to the rest of the rides. Since there were only two of us, he took us into the control room of the 'Men In Black' ride!!! They had like 32 cameras on 8 screens.... I loved seeing that.

We went through all of the "Scare Zones" which are just areas of the park that had some sort of theme and scary people to go with it. Those weren't so bad, except for a few people that look like regular park goers until they get right up on you and half their face is missing or something, lol.

At 1:30, we'd done everything there was to do. We still had 30 minutes before the park closed, so Josh convinced us to go through three of the houses, again.

Sadly, our time was up. I NEVER thought I'd go.... much less enjoy it. I still consider myself a scaredy cat and don't like being scared, but I was way proud of myself for doing it. As "The Guy" said on my Facebook after I said "what am I doing here?" - You get scared when the microwave dings. You're toast.

But, I wasn't. I survived, lol. Plus, the whole super VIP treatment? Totally worth going. I'm crossing my fingers that I get an invite next year!

The last three standing - me, Josh, and Billie Jo

In case you're able to go, here's my review of the houses, lol........

Wolfman - We decided that got us the best. The first time we went through it, the Wolfman flew over us and we both ducked for cover while running. The second time, we got all the way through and were almost to the exit. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we dropped our guard. Josh was even checking his IPhone, lol. Then, the Wolfman came running out of the woods and chased us. Poor Josh almost ended up against a wall as we pushed past him and ran out of the house, screaming, lol. He about peed his pants, laughing.

Dracula - This is the one that made me cry the first time I went through it. We actually got to see some of "the brides" walking through a backstage area as they were changing shifts, so I thought I wouldn't be bothered by them. Um, no. About 12 tears came down my face and my hands were shaking when I came out of the house, lol. There were WAY too many places for them to hide and jump out at you, lol.

Frankenstein - I was ok with this one. For whatever reason, I was more able to anticipate the jumping out. In fact, the second time I went through, I passed a guy about to jump out at me and said, "I see you!!! You can't scare me!"

Saw - Overall, I wasn't too startled by anyone in this one. However, it was the one that freaked me out the most. Just because it was stuff that could actually happen... there weren't any monsters or goblins, but people being tortured. So, that aspect was nerve-wracking.

Chucky - This one was cool, funny, and startling. It's like Toy Story gone bad, lol. I screamed several times. When what looks like a pile of stuffed animals starts running at you, it's scary, lol.

The Spawning - I don't remember a ton about this one, except that the aliens jumped out at me several times and I yelled, lol. One of them accidentally touched me (which they don't do intentionally) and I was like, "PLEASE DON'T TOUCH ME!!!!" He was like "my bad" and went back into hiding, lol.

Leave it to Cleaver - This one was more funny, lol. Nothing really got me, except the smell of raw meat.

Silver Screams - This was the premiere house.... the one that was based off the entire theme of the year. It was cool and creepy, at the same time. Personally, it was my favorite! I got scared several times, but I also enjoyed the old theater feel and walking through the old movie scenes.

Sugarland Concert (9/25/09)

In May, they announced that Sugarland was coming to the St. Pete Times Forum. Last year, we had a fabulous Girl's Night Out at their concert, so it was a no-brainer that we'd do it again! This time, we had Paula, Billie Jo, Jamie, Jenny, Jenn, and Nicole.

Here's the thing that I absolutely love about Sugarland.... not only is their music great, but they sound JUST the same in concert. I've seen them about five times, between being opening acts and their own shows, and they always are amazing. They sound the same, they always have tons of energy, and whatever the emotion of the song is, Jennifer Nettles brings.

Paula and I

Billie Jo and I

Billie Jo and I got to meet Jake Owen!......

Matt Nathanson was the first opening act. The only song I know of his is "Come On Get Higher," but I was SOOOO impressed with him! He has some great music and he's hysterical. He had the entire auditorium cracking up.

Kristian Bush came out to play!!

Jake Owen also opened up for them! He put on a great show!

Then, the main event! I swear, they are such great entertainers. I just saw them the month before and I was still enthralled with their performance!

They played the video to "Want To" while they were singing it.... that's my favorite song they sing......

They are so dramatic, lol.

I'll be perfectly honest... I didn't like this song (Genevieve), but this is a cool picture, lol

They have all these sets and scenes that they create.

Last, but not least..... the awesome crowd surfing balls!!!!!!