An almost-girly trip ~ February 2009 TR!

[Lady Lallie]

I love all your pictures. Looks like a really good day and I love your reindeer nose and antlers!!

 

[stitcharoo]

breanna:
whhhoa.

i just finished reading your trip report! i have so much i want to comment on, so don't be aggravated if this comment is kind of long. haha

first of all, i love the way you spell your name. i mostly only see megans. i have never met a meghan. it looks so much prettier that way! also, where you stayed looked very cool. the decorations are my favorite part! ya'lls photo ops crack me up! they are so funny! i have never been to disney in february. i have been when i was little, and i don't remember about that time. we went once in july, and it was miserable. we were hot and the crowds really got to me. we're leaving in 14 days, and we went last year in december too! we love it in december. the weather is nice and disney is decorated beautifully. we're going to go in september next time, because we heard good things about that time. unlike you, we usually always have an intinerary because everyone in my family, besides me, likes to have a plan. if it was up to me i would just float from place to place and i'd be happy while doing it

also, my family LOVES extra magic hours. that is our favorite thing about staying in the park. we're going to le celliar and chef mickey's for the first time this year. i'm excited because i've heard nothing but good things about both! i've never been to boma. what kind of food do they serve there?

your family seems hilarious! you all would get along with my family very well! i love the pirate pictures! i dont know what i would do if i got to take pictures with the pirates! oh, and by the way, we got stuck on splash mountain last time too! it was annoying!

baha! i love the dinosaur ride picture! it is too adorable, and the family pictures are too!

also, I WANT THOSE GLASSES! those things are awesome, i would have a blast with those! oh, and that picture of you and goofy is too adorable!

school is stressing me out, too! all i can think of is going to disney, and sitting in a 65 minute no-talking-physical-science class is more than i can stand.

that no climbing picture made me laugh out loud. seriously! haha
the cow thing with the big horns looks so cute, the way its looking back with its big cute eyes
yer dad seems too funny! and so does your brother!

post more!! ahh! haha

 

[Megablocks]

I love all your pictures. Looks like a really good day and I love your reindeer nose and antlers!!

Thank you! It was an awesome day. I'm glad that someone likes my car's costume--my mom, my sister, and my boyfriend's mother and older sister loved it, but my dad, my brother, and my boyfriend didn't really know what to say. Well, my boyfriend, as he was getting in my car, announced that he is NOT being seen driving around in it. But it would have been a long, cold walk home and we needed to get Christmas shopping done, so I guess he decided he could deal with it.

breanna:
whhhoa.

i just finished reading your trip report! i have so much i want to comment on, so don't be aggravated if this comment is kind of long. haha

first of all, i love the way you spell your name. i mostly only see megans. i have never met a meghan. it looks so much prettier that way! also, where you stayed looked very cool. the decorations are my favorite part! ya'lls photo ops crack me up! they are so funny! i have never been to disney in february. i have been when i was little, and i don't remember about that time. we went once in july, and it was miserable. we were hot and the crowds really got to me. we're leaving in 14 days, and we went last year in december too! we love it in december. the weather is nice and disney is decorated beautifully. we're going to go in september next time, because we heard good things about that time. unlike you, we usually always have an intinerary because everyone in my family, besides me, likes to have a plan. if it was up to me i would just float from place to place and i'd be happy while doing it

also, my family LOVES extra magic hours. that is our favorite thing about staying in the park. we're going to le celliar and chef mickey's for the first time this year. i'm excited because i've heard nothing but good things about both! i've never been to boma. what kind of food do they serve there?

your family seems hilarious! you all would get along with my family very well! i love the pirate pictures! i dont know what i would do if i got to take pictures with the pirates! oh, and by the way, we got stuck on splash mountain last time too! it was annoying!

baha! i love the dinosaur ride picture! it is too adorable, and the family pictures are too!

also, I WANT THOSE GLASSES! those things are awesome, i would have a blast with those! oh, and that picture of you and goofy is too adorable!

school is stressing me out, too! all i can think of is going to disney, and sitting in a 65 minute no-talking-physical-science class is more than i can stand.

that no climbing picture made me laugh out loud. seriously! haha
the cow thing with the big horns looks so cute, the way its looking back with its big cute eyes
yer dad seems too funny! and so does your brother!

post more!! ahh! haha

Thank you for reading! I don't mind long comments.

Thanks for the compliment about how I spell my name--I think that it why my parents chose to spell it that way. I always get really excited when I see others who spell it the "right" way.

I have heard so many good things about going to Disney in December. The weather seems really nice, and of course there's all the decorations. I want to go in December sometime, just to see them all, and I want to go in the fall to see all the Halloween stuff, too.

I love Chef Mickey's, it's a tradition for us. The good thing is that they serve a lot of different foods, which is good for my sister--I'm sure you read that she is kind of picky. And, unlike at some places, they don't care if you take food from the "kid" part of the buffet, so if I want a piece of pizza from there, I can take a piece of pizza. Boma serves what is supposed to be traditional African foods. A lot of the stuff sounds weird, but it was really good--I had lots of soup, some salad (because they had some really good dressings, like apple or mango vinaigrette), and flatbread with hummus.

The Goofy picture was actually taken at Chef Mickey's! The characters are my favorite part of going there. The pirates were hilarious. And the Jack Sparrow was dead on. Our one lone Photopass picture is from that night.

Ew, I hated science with a passion. I still need to take a science class for my degree and I can't wait to have it all done with.

I'm going to go catch up on your PTR--thank you again for reading!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

Your Dad's Xmas Eve idea sound like fun, you should do it!!

I'm glad you found your antlers and reindeer nose for your car. I think it's cute.

I havn't been to the Christmas tree farm since I was a kid. We have artificial tree now. Looks like everyone had a great time. Even hidden mom. I laughed at the two signs. How fun are they. I love the fresh tree smell.

Your room is so festive, very nicely done.

Le Cellier is on my list too, apparently I have been there as a kid but I don't remember it. As a Canadian I feel it is my duty to check it out.

 

[MeMom]

November and December have been crazy busy, but I am at a point where I can stop and catch up a bit. Checking in on your report was on my list. See, I have lists, too!

I like the lights in your room and the tree. I'm glad to see you getting into the holiday spirit. Neither of my boys was cooperative about me putting lights in their bedroom windows. I need some more girls!

Is that your neighborhood where you're showing off the car? That's awesome! It looks like the quaint little snow-covered neighborhoods they put in Christmas shows. I love looking at houses, inside as well as out. I have the TV on HGTV very often when I'm at home. I like to see the new, modern homes, but I love seeing the older homes - the ones with such character, charm, and coziness.

Thanks for sharing your trip to the Christmas tree farm with us. I went to Target and got a fake one, but it doesn't look bad. It is covered in lights and decorations. I did buy a few Christmas ornaments at Disney World at Thanksgiving, so they're on the tree as a remembrance of all that Disney Christmas stuff we saw down there. There's so much down there that when you come back to the real world, the store really don't look all that decorated.

December ought to fly by, and it touches January. January could be slow and cold, but it is right next door to February! Something good happens in February.

What's your exact degree? Did you tell me once that it was Early Childhood Development?

I hope you enjoy your winter break. Trent's last day is Thursday, and he's all finished. He is very, very happy about that! He is tired of going to school. Now it's time for him to get a good job and start helping out his old mom!

 

[Megablocks]

Your Dad's Xmas Eve idea sound like fun, you should do it!!

I'm glad you found your antlers and reindeer nose for your car. I think it's cute.

I havn't been to the Christmas tree farm since I was a kid. We have artificial tree now. Looks like everyone had a great time. Even hidden mom. I laughed at the two signs. How fun are they. I love the fresh tree smell.

Your room is so festive, very nicely done.

Le Cellier is on my list too, apparently I have been there as a kid but I don't remember it. As a Canadian I feel it is my duty to check it out.

Oh, I'm definitely going to go with my dad on Christmas eve. I think that my sister is going to go, too.

I love my antlers! It figures, though, that the first snowfall of the season was today, so they're all wet. I forgot to take them off when I got home, and it's freezing out, so I don't really feel like leaving my warm house. It seems that only females appreciate my car's festiveness. All the guys that have seen it are basically like, "what were you thinking?"

I'm so excited about my room--years ago, I had Christmas lights strung up around the top, but that was too much effort for me this time, so I just put them around my windows. I have 4 altogether, pretty close together, so the two strings of lights ended up going around perfectly.

I'm really looking forward to Le Cellier. I cracked up when I read how you feel you have a duty to check it out.

November and December have been crazy busy, but I am at a point where I can stop and catch up a bit. Checking in on your report was on my list. See, I have lists, too!

I like the lights in your room and the tree. I'm glad to see you getting into the holiday spirit. Neither of my boys was cooperative about me putting lights in their bedroom windows. I need some more girls!

Is that your neighborhood where you're showing off the car? That's awesome! It looks like the quaint little snow-covered neighborhoods they put in Christmas shows. I love looking at houses, inside as well as out. I have the TV on HGTV very often when I'm at home. I like to see the new, modern homes, but I love seeing the older homes - the ones with such character, charm, and coziness.

Thanks for sharing your trip to the Christmas tree farm with us. I went to Target and got a fake one, but it doesn't look bad. It is covered in lights and decorations. I did buy a few Christmas ornaments at Disney World at Thanksgiving, so they're on the tree as a remembrance of all that Disney Christmas stuff we saw down there. There's so much down there that when you come back to the real world, the store really don't look all that decorated.

December ought to fly by, and it touches January. January could be slow and cold, but it is right next door to February! Something good happens in February.

What's your exact degree? Did you tell me once that it was Early Childhood Development?

I hope you enjoy your winter break. Trent's last day is Thursday, and he's all finished. He is very, very happy about that! He is tired of going to school. Now it's time for him to get a good job and start helping out his old mom!

MeMom!!! I'm so glad that you came over to check out my report!

Yeah, I can see your boys not willing to put lights in their windows--I highly doubt my brother would be for it. He thinks it looks cool, but it doesn't mean that he wants it in his room.

Yup, that is my neighborhood. We've lived in the same area for almost my whole life. When I was six, we moved into the house that we're in now, but before we moved, we had just lived down the street, so I still drive by our old place. I love it, because it's nice and quiet, but there's several bus stops just a short walk away, so we can hop on a bus and go into Boston if we want to. If I think of it, I will take some pictures of some really cute old houses for you--one of them is an old mansion. I will also have to take a picture of a house right near me. They go all out with decorations for Halloween and Christmas, but they've really outdone themselves this year, because they have ice sculptures!! It's not at all tacky or overdone, though; it's gorgeous in person.

You are right, I'm going for early childhood development. I'm at a community college right now, because the in-state tuition is cheap enough that I can pay out of pocket (my parents help me too, though ), so I'm getting my associate degree there, and then pursuing a bachelor's at some point. That's awesome that Trent is all done! Is he a business major? I feel like I read that at some point, but I can't remember.

Something else I wanted to tell you--I went with my boyfriend and his family to a really nice, kinda ritzy restaurant right by the ocean, and his sister-in-law pointed out the door handles. They looked kind of like jesters, and they were really neat. I was kicking myself for not having my camera because I really wanted to take a picture of them, and I was like, "that is something that MeMom would take a picture of!" I wanted to take pictures of everything in there, actually, because there were lots of cool little details. There were floor-to-ceiling windows so that you could look outside and see the Atlantic. It was really nice, but some of us (the "younger folk" I guess) felt kind of out of place. I had to share that with you!

 

[DisKate]

Your tree and lights are really pretty. And I know how you feel about the science courses...luckily for me I was able to take a philosophy (sp?) course instead...I still had to take a math class though. Are you ready for the winter break? I have finals this week and I will be so happy when I'm done on Wednesday!

 

[Megablocks]

Your tree and lights are really pretty. And I know how you feel about the science courses...luckily for me I was able to take a philosophy (sp?) course instead...I still had to take a math class though. Are you ready for the winter break? I have finals this week and I will be so happy when I'm done on Wednesday!

That's awesome that you could take philosophy instead. I've been looking at the courses that I can take, and I think that I've pretty much decided to take environmental science as an online course, since my mom did that and said it wasn't bad.

I am SO ready for winter break. My finals are next week, so if I can sign up to take my history final next Tuesday, I'll be done then. Good luck on yours!

 

[DisKate]

That's awesome that you could take philosophy instead. I've been looking at the courses that I can take, and I think that I've pretty much decided to take environmental science as an online course, since my mom did that and said it wasn't bad.

I am SO ready for winter break. My finals are next week, so if I can sign up to take my history final next Tuesday, I'll be done then. Good luck on yours!

Thanks! And good luck to you too. I did environmental in hs and it was a pretty fun course, but I'm betting that the college level is a different story

 

[Megablocks]

Thanks! And good luck to you too. I did environmental in hs and it was a pretty fun course, but I'm betting that the college level is a different story

Thank you!

You're probably very right on that one--it must just depend on the teacher, but I think I'd feel safer taking it online.

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Not much of an update, but I'm sick and trying my hardest not to fall asleep--I want to be able to sleep tonight. I'll probably end up taking Nyquil, anyway, but in my experience, I sometimes feel worse when I've slept way too much.

Charles discovered an awesome site called threadless.com a while ago, when he was looking for Christmas presents. He sent me the link after we had this gem of a conversation:

"What does Kailyn like? I want to get her something from me for Christmas." [[usually we, meaning I, would buy her something, Charles would give me some money for it, and we'd put both our names on it]]

"Mu--"

"Besides music."

*pause*

Nope, I couldn't come up with anything. I hemmed and hawed but could not find ANYTHING. She likes music and "cute things." (One of her most frequent sayings is, "AWWWW! That's sooooo CUTE!")

So, Charles went on the aforementioned site, found her a shirt that he thought she'd like, had me look at it, and I said that she'd love it. He said, "good, because I already ordered it." I'm now looking on it and making a list of shirts that I like to send to Charles, since he's been bugging me about giving him ideas of what I want for Christmas. Good, because I think I can go broke on that site.

Speaking of Caesar, here are a couple of pictures for any dog lovers--I myself LOVE seeing pictures of other people's dogs. I can't believe that I didn't add pictures of him sooner.

This is how he sleeps sometimes (after having rearranged his bed...it's not a great picture; it's from my phone)

His underbite kills me.

Moving on to this Thursday...Charles and I were going to go Christmas shopping after I got out of class, and before making the drive to Worcester, which is where the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show is being held. It's about an hour to an hour and a half away from us. I was fine with this, because I like having things to occupy me, especially before we go somewhere that I'm really, really excited to go to.

He called me earlier and asked if I had the TSO tickets...I said yes. He said that he had kind of bad news. Immediately, I thought that he had heard somewhere that it had been canceled (now I realize that I would have been the one to find out, since I'm the one that ordered the tickets through the fan website, and it's my email that they have.) It turns out that there's supposed to be some kind of storm on Thursday afternoon and evening, and it's starting out right around Worcester, in western MA, and heading east, which is where we live. I think that he said it was supposed to be a lot of ice. I can deal with driving in the snow, because I DO live in MA, and my car handles pretty well in the snow, but ice makes me nervous. My dad spun out one time on a patch of black ice, and I lost control of my car on it one time last winter.

So, now I'm not sure what our plans are. We had planned on shopping and being on the road by 5, but we'll be leaving earlier now, depending on the weather. I hate not having exact times planned. The funny thing is, when we're in Disney, I could care less about having an itinerary. I think it's because it would make me mad if we made one and then we didn't follow it to the letter. What we DO do is usually get up each morning and discuss what we'd like to do. This is fine and dandy, but when it seems that no one can decide, or that the plans have changed five times in the course of three minutes, I'm the one that starts going, "so, wait, what are we going to do?"

I'm sure it will all work out, but I'm just irritated by the fact that our plans changed, and that I don't know specific times.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I thought of you today! I saw someone with the reindeer antlers and red nose on their car! One of my coworkers is going to that show on Thursday too!

 

[CanadianWDWfan]

I hope you can still go to the show, I know how much you are looking forward to it.

We have had alot of snow today and they are calling for freezing rain tonight. I hate freezing rain!! It should make for an interesting drive into work in the morning.

Weather can change, so I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Megablocks]

I thought of you today! I saw someone with the reindeer antlers and red nose on their car! One of my coworkers is going to that show on Thursday too!

Too funny! I actually had to take the antlers off for a little while--my drive to and from school requires a couple of minutes of highway driving, but the nose is on there very securely. Seriously, that was the best $8 I ever spent.

That's awesome that your coworker is going to the show, too! I am soooo excited for it, and I'm getting there no matter what the weather is like!

I hope you can still go to the show, I know how much you are looking forward to it.

We have had alot of snow today and they are calling for freezing rain tonight. I hate freezing rain!! It should make for an interesting drive into work in the morning.

Weather can change, so I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed for me; I am hoping that these crazy weather people are wrong, since they have been wrong more often than they have been right. We are going no matter what--I joined the free TSO fan club just because it afforded me the opportunity to get tickets before they went on sale to the general public, so we got some good seats. (row B...I'm hoping that means row 2...the website doesn't tell me how the ROWS work!)

We had snow showers a couple of days ago, but it was too damp to stick to the streets and sidewalks; it really only stuck to cars and grassy areas. The weather's been even more crazy than usual. Yesterday, the temps were in the low 20's (fahrenheit) and got down to the teens at night. Today it was more in the 40's, and tomorrow it's supposed to rain and hit 60! Then, of course, it's supposed to get cold again, and snowy/rainy/whatever. New England is notorious for having bizarre weather, but wow.

 

[MeMom]

I hope you can still go to the show, I know how much you are looking forward to it.

We have had alot of snow today and they are calling for freezing rain tonight. I hate freezing rain!! It should make for an interesting drive into work in the morning.

Weather can change, so I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

I'd hate for you to miss the show, but if it's too crazy on the roads, a nice evening at home in the glow of your Christmas lights is sounding much safer. Maybe it won't be as bad as expected.

We don't get much snow or ice here, but when we do, life pretty much stops. We've got lots of hills and curvy roads, and we're not equipped for getting streets cleared for normal traffic. We're better off at home until it gets better, which is usually the same day, as the sun melts everything.

Our cat sleeps upside down like that sometimes. He looks so weird, but I guess he's comfortable, because he'll be snoozing away. He'll pry his eyes open for a second when I get close to him to tell him he looks weird, but then he goes right back to sleep.

 

[Megablocks]

I'd hate for you to miss the show, but if it's too crazy on the roads, a nice evening at home in the glow of your Christmas lights is sounding much safer. Maybe it won't be as bad as expected.

We don't get much snow or ice here, but when we do, life pretty much stops. We've got lots of hills and curvy roads, and we're not equipped for getting streets cleared for normal traffic. We're better off at home until it gets better, which is usually the same day, as the sun melts everything.

Our cat sleeps upside down like that sometimes. He looks so weird, but I guess he's comfortable, because he'll be snoozing away. He'll pry his eyes open for a second when I get close to him to tell him he looks weird, but then he goes right back to sleep.

I'm hoping it won't be as bad as they're saying. Or that we happen to miss it, or that they are wrong about it all! I'm a cautious driver, anyway, so I'll be the one staying far to the side, letting everyone pass me.

Your area sounds like my aunt's. She lives in a very rural part of New Hampshire--she's basically on the side of a mountain, and the road to get to her house is narrow and curvy. N.H. gets a decent amount of snow, but I think that certain parts of it, like the areas with more houses and stores and stuff, are better equipped for it.

I don't understand how any animal can be comfy like that, but hey, if I were a dog or a cat, I might like it, too. Caesar has lots of strange sleeping positions. He loves being in our laps, so if we push him off us to get up, he'll stay in whatever position he landed in, no matter how awkward.

 

[koolcatshelby]

Great updates! I love the car and your room. Christmas is the best time of year We went to TSO on Saturday. It wasn't what we expected and I guess we were a bit let down by the show. Kind of heavy metal wanna be hair bandish for us. It was just OK. Hope the weather holds off for you though. We live near Buffalo, so we know weather Just be safe.
You are going to LeCelllar on my birthday!! I tried to get ressies for that day, but they only have 4:30 or 8 pm, and that would not fly with my boys. But we are going to be at Epcot that day. Maybe we will see you there Good luck with your exams

 

[DisKate]

Great updates! I love the car and your room. Christmas is the best time of year We went to TSO on Saturday. It wasn't what we expected and I guess we were a bit let down by the show. Kind of heavy metal wanna be hair bandish for us. It was just OK. Hope the weather holds off for you though. We live near Buffalo, so we know weather Just be safe.
You are going to LeCelllar on my birthday!! I tried to get ressies for that day, but they only have 4:30 or 8 pm, and that would not fly with my boys. But we are going to be at Epcot that day. Maybe we will see you there Good luck with your exams

You are both very lucky! We wanted to go see TSO on Saturday...but my DBF's mom's boyfriends' (still with me?) suprise 50th b-day party was that night so we had to go home for it. Have fun at the show on Thursday!

 

[Megablocks]

Great updates! I love the car and your room. Christmas is the best time of year We went to TSO on Saturday. It wasn't what we expected and I guess we were a bit let down by the show. Kind of heavy metal wanna be hair bandish for us. It was just OK. Hope the weather holds off for you though. We live near Buffalo, so we know weather Just be safe.
You are going to LeCelllar on my birthday!! I tried to get ressies for that day, but they only have 4:30 or 8 pm, and that would not fly with my boys. But we are going to be at Epcot that day. Maybe we will see you there Good luck with your exams

Thank you! I'm so excited about my room. I actually have my overhead light off and my lights, and the tree lights, plugged in.

I think that a lot of people feel that way about TSO. I love their music, but I will admit that one of the guys hair (blonde guitarist) cracks me up, because it's kind of what you said, the heavy metal wannabe. It also makes me think stereotypical 80's surfer boy. How has the weather been there? Have you gotten any snow yet?

Yeah, I know that when my mom called for Le Cellier, there were kind of weird times available, and the 12:55 was the best that we could get. We weren't really feeling a late time; we had to do that for my belated birthday in April--we ate at Boma at 9:40 because that was all they had left.

That would be awesome if we saw each other! I'll probably have a LGMH attached to my bag, and my mom might have one, too. And we will be a group of three females and one lone male.

Thanks for the good luck!

You are both very lucky! We wanted to go see TSO on Saturday...but my DBF's mom's boyfriends' (still with me?) suprise 50th b-day party was that night so we had to go home for it. Have fun at the show on Thursday!

Yup, I followed that. Thanks so much!

 

[Megablocks]

Last night was the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show, and it was SO MUCH FUN. I had been really concerned about the driving, because there were supposed to be severe ice storms in the area that we were heading to, but I didn't notice any ice. It was cold and raining very, very heavily, but we made it!

After I got out of class, I went to pick up Charles from his brother's apartment. The ramp that I take to get to the highway was closed off due to construction (silly Meghan, thinking it would be open since it was FREEZING COLD and POURING RAIN), I missed another ramp to the highway...long story short, I was pretty lost until I started seeing signs for familiar places. I was terrified that I'd end up in the middle of Boston, and while I love Boston, it's not a fun place to get lost in, especially driving.

I finally got to the apartment, got Charles, we headed to Best Buy. He got me a new car stereo for Christmas that will play my iPod! No more dealing with the crappy tape deck! He felt bad that it wasn't going to be a surprise, but I kept on telling him that that didn't matter to me. He is the one getting a surprise this year. In almost three years of dating, I think I've managed to surprise him...three times. This will make four. I hope. He knows I got him something, I just hope that he doesn't start guessing in his head. Anyway.

We went to Not Your Average Joe's to eat afterwards, and it was okay. The service left much to be desired. Really, if there are only 4 parties in a restaurant, all parties of 4 or less, and just as many waitresses, you shouldn't have to just sit around and wait 10 minutes for it to be noticed that one table has empty glasses and isn't eating anymore. Then you shouldn't have to wait another 10 minutes for the check and credit card to be picked up. Both times, it wasn't even our waitress who noticed--it was someone else. I'd go back, but only if I knew the service was going to be better.

After eating, we went back to his house for about half an hour, and then headed out around 4:40. There was lots of rush hour traffic, which I expected. There were supposed to be severe ice storms around the area that we were heading to, but it was just cold and very, very heavy rain, which meant pretty poor visibility. I stayed in the far right lane and let everyone pass me.

The GPS got us there easily. It was me that made a mistake. I had checked the address of the venue several times, and was convinced that it was on Forest Street. It took us to Forest Street, but it didn't look right. We were down a residential side street, and it was telling us that we were "arriving at destination, on right!"

Yeah. We arrived at a house.

Three things I am grateful for: 1. Having a GPS. 2. Having a very understanding boyfriend. 3. Having a cell phone that I wisely chose to have unlimited internet usage with.

It turns out that the venue was on Foster, not Forest, Street. My understanding boyfriend found this out via the cell phone with unlimited internet usage and programmed it into the GPS. We were SO LUCKY that they were pretty close to each other.

We found our way, got to the parking garage, I took a picture of the sign stating our parking section (and, believe me, it came in handy after the show), and we made our way through the freezing, pouring rain to the center. With the help of staff, we made our way to our seats IN THE SECOND ROW.

Like last year, the show was great. Being in the second row was so cool. I don't have the pictures and the video from my camera uploaded yet, so I'm stealing some from Charles's camera that he uploaded to Facebook last night, when I was dead asleep due to exhaustion, sickness, and Nyquil. I have pictures on my camera from when they present a donation to a local charity--one dollar of each ticket goes to a charity in that city or state, and this one was almost $10,000 to a cancer organization. Charles also took tons of video on my camera.

I think this is from the opening.

The lead guitarist and a violinist came down from these. Yes, they were strapped in, but this would have absolutely horrified me. I do not like heights unless I'm enclosed or completely and totally strapped in.

This guy had an amazing voice.

This guy (lead guitarist) stood and played at our side a lot. At some point, there was just talking going on, and he stood there, and one woman was looking towards the middle of the stage and didn't notice him until he yelled "BOO!" and she jumped a mile.

He did this last year, too, but I still found it amusing.

I wanted to get a picture of the drum set; it was MASSIVE.

This is really the only picture that I got where the fire came out as fire, instead of just bright balls of light.

We made it home sometime after midnight. They do a meet and greet after every show, but we met them last year and had my program signed, and we just wanted to get home. I was starting to feel the effects of the ibuprofen and nasal decongestant fading and was starting to feel really crappy again. When I got home, I took some Nyquil cough medicine so I wouldn't wake myself up coughing, and passed out.

After reading MeMom's report, I'm craving Ghiradelli brownies, so I'm going to pick some up at work. I'm closing at work tonight (6 pm-midnight, ick!), but I'm off tomorrow, and I am NOT going in for anything or anyone. I really, really want these brownies, but now my cold is at the point where I can't taste anything. This annoys me more than the persistent, hurts-in-your-chest cough, because I really like being able to taste my food and drinks, especially my daily cup of earl grey tea. On the upside, if I still can't taste anything tonight and will need the Nyquil cough medicine again tonight, at least I won't be able to taste the nasty fake cherry flavor.

Have a fabulous Friday!

 

[MeMom]

After reading MeMom's report, I'm craving Ghiradelli brownies, so I'm going to pick some up at work. I'm closing at work tonight (6 pm-midnight, ick!), but I'm off tomorrow, and I am NOT going in for anything or anyone. I really, really want these brownies, but now my cold is at the point where I can't taste anything. This annoys me more than the persistent, hurts-in-your-chest cough, because I really like being able to taste my food and drinks, especially my daily cup of earl grey tea. On the upside, if I still can't taste anything tonight and will need the Nyquil cough medicine again tonight, at least I won't be able to taste the nasty fake cherry flavor.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Don't bother with the brownies until you can taste them. They did me no good at all. Drew, on the other hand, enjoyed them immensely.

So, if you have a hungry brownie eater who will devour 6/8ths of the pan alone (I ate one and Trent ate one - Drew and his friend, Neil, had the rest), then go for it. Otherwise, wait a few days until you can enjoy them. I'm going to make some again next weekend when Jill is here for our Christmas stuff. By then, the taste buds should be back to normal.

As for the brownies, they looked delicious. They just tasted kind of like the box they came in.

We do the Nyquil, too, but instead of choking down the syrup, we do the caplets. It really does help a person sleep.

P.S. I put a strand of lights in each of the boys' windows while they weren't at home. They rolled their eyes, but they've been okay with it. I guess they figure they shouldn't make any of Santa's helpers angry so close to Christmas.