Go C-H-I-E-F-S!!

Some friends and I took advantage of the discount Chiefs tickets from our school district, and by advantage, I mean CHEAP! Our tickets were originally roughly $100 seats, and we paid $27!! Can’t beat that! We sat in the corner right off where the Chiefs run out of the tunnel. Even though our seats were great, Lindsay and Michelle and I spent most of our time patrolling for boys. :)



We all met up at Tim and Paul’s place to start our tailgate early. I can honestly say that I’ve never drank that early in the morning, but there’s a first time for everything I guess. Sonic made the tailgate that much easier by offering 99 cent slushies. Just add a little vodka, and we were good to go.

As we were having our own tailgate, Lindsay made some new friends (as always…) and asked them to take our picture. I’m sure they were thrilled.


Michelle, Paul, and Cathy couldn’t wait to get into the new and improved stadium.

Lindsay just had to jump in and be a part of the show—our school Principal and Assistant Superintendent grilled out for the district. They knew we had been having a “good time” before we ever arrived to this particular tailgate.


I have no idea how this picture turned out, but I like it.

I figured since I was at the Chief’s game, I should take some pictures of the actual game. Here they are:

We are all going again this month, and I’m just hoping our seats are this good or even better. It won’t matter as long as we are having a blast together!

A Girls' Day Out with Michael Buble

My good friend, Michelle, and I had been looking forward to our Girls's Day Out for many months. I think we bought our Michael Buble tickets back in February, and the day had finally come at the end of June. Our day began at Olive Garden for lunch--soup and salad and a VERY tart lemonade drink that made my eyes bulge out of my head and my tastebuds somersault on my tongue.

The day continued with pedicures at the mall in Overland Park. Since they couldn't get us in right away, we took ourselves down to NY&Co for some shopping--30 minutes, a new credit card and two cute dresses later, we were on our way back to get our pedicures.

Since orange is my new favorite color, that made my nail color choice easy! (Notice no mole on my toe? I had it removed back a few months ago--PAINFUL as anything I've had done, but now my feet are so cute!)

We raced out of the mall to make it to our massage appointments. I thought we were going for a stress-free one-hour massage that was going to make me love life and feel invigorated for the concert. Ummm...NO NO NO! Instead, I was pulled, pushed, squeezed, and even bruised by my lovely massage therapist Hilda. (Her name was something nicer, but she should have been named this after the torture she put me through.)

 I had never had a swedish massage before and didn't know that the Sweds were into this kind of pain! The best part, other than the end, was the stretching. She did stretch my arms and legs into positions I thought I could only do in yoga. When we left, we were both sore and bruised but ready for dinner at Cheddar's with our friends--Kelly from Boston and the other April :)

Naturally 7 was the group that opened up for Michael Buble, and although I had never heard of them before, they brought the house down! This talented group of seven calls what they do Vocalplay rather than Acapella. They "play" instruments with their voices and sing as well. If you watch the video below (be sure to mute the music at the bottom), you'll see what I mean. Notice no instruments--just air drums, air guitar, air bass, etc. You'll also have to turn your head to the side because I filmed the video with the camera turned and have no idea how to flip it around so it plays rightside up. :)

Michael Buble, my other boyfriend, performed a much better show than even I was prepared for! He was funny, sang all his hits plus one that I fell in love with called "Best of Me", and even embodied Michael Jackson before the night was over. That was one of the highlights, as well as becoming Ferris Bueller for the famous parade float scene. Michael was so charming, and he made the giant arena feel like a more intimate show somehow. Some of the songs he and his band performed were Cry Me a River, Mack the Knife, Crazy Love, For Once in my Life, Home, Feeling Good (one of my faves!), and of course, I Just Haven't Met You Yet.

As you can tell from the pictures, our seats were WAY up in the air. Next time he comes to town, I don't care how much the tickets are, I will be on the floor up close and personal. Michelle and I both will be!

This is the video of Michael B becoming Michael M. (Sorry for the loud scream--a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do--and sideways video.)

I was saddened to see the show and night end, but I will always have this memory.

Thinking of summer

Since it is really, really cold outside (try 17 degrees or so...), I thought I would look through some summer pictures and reminice about the good ol' warm days. Joon and I had a summer pool party to bring both sides of our friends together. This was my first chance to meet his good friends, and I love them all! They are so genuine and seemed thrilled to meet Joon's "better half".

Sarah, Jill, me, and Kelly take some time to relax and enjoy our time off from school. Of course, I'm sure all we talked about was school during our time together (as always!).

I finally broke down and had to buy a new lawnmower this summer as well. The old one was really old, and I was done restarting it every five minutes. Joon helped me pick out my new shiny red one (see how technical I can get?). I love it!

Joon also helped me start my own little garden of tomatoes. I've never grown anything in my life, except maybe a Chia pet when I was in the 6th grade. Much to my surprise, the tomatoes grew! I had plenty of cherry tomatoes for my salads all summer, plus a few regular tomatoes for my world famous BLTs!

Zac Brown Band's Southern Ground Tour

My good friend, Lindsay, from school, invited me to go see Zac Brown Band perform at the new Independence Events Center (this was the first event I believe at this new arena). Knowing that I’ve past up too many concerts before, I immediately said yes! So, two weeks ago, we met up after school with her daughter and five of her middle school buddies.
Needless to say, the concert was fantastic! I was very surprised that I even enjoyed as much as I did, even after standing all night on the floor! I knew I liked what little ZBB songs I’d heard on the radio, but I loved every song they performed, even the ones I’d never heard in my life (and there were plenty!)
(Levi Lowry above)
Because this was the Southern Ground Tour, ZBB had three other performers with them. Levi Lowry came out first and sang a few songs. I immediately became drawn to his sound because it felt so raw and full of emotion. The crowd seemed to really like him more than the other two openers because of his music. Now the third guy that came out, the crowd liked for a different reason—he was HOT! Nic Cowan looked nothing like a country singer, but he hails from Texas and has that southern drawl. He was making the women drool. No wonder the floor was wet and sticky by the end of the show. :) The only woman on tour, Sonja Leigh, sang in between the two guys. She had a rocker-grittiness to her voice, but she could sing. I liked her, but she was my least favorite among the opening acts. One part that I thought was cool was that Zac Brown (I did learn there is an actual Zac Brown in the Zac Brown Band!) himself came out and sang at times with each opener. Most “big name” singers don’t do that, but he seemed very down to earth and normal. He was just a country rocker with a guitar and a song, and he wanted to share his music with others.

One sour note of the evening was that there was a group of girls (I hate to use the term ladies or women because they certainly weren’t acting like any.) directly in front of us who were SOOOO drunk they could not stand up on their own. Two women danced with each other during most of the opening acts. One of them kept swaying and bumping into me. I’m not a confrontational person, but I’d had it at that point. I politely asked them to move up just a bit into some empty space in front of them. She ignored me, and the girl next to me jumped in and asked again. She still ignored me. Finally, I elbowed her in the back and pushed her forward. Both girls stumbled but didn’t say anything. Fast forward 15-20 minutes and ZBB is getting ready to come out. One girl looks like she is going to puke, one is holding her up, etc. Lindsay said something to the “leader” of the group, and 5 minutes later, they all left! The “leader” was pissed off at us, but we just said it was because of her group no one wanted to be around. Once they all left, we all enjoyed the show just a little bit more…
Zac Brown came out and rocked the crowd. The band performed for almost 3 hours! That is unheard of in the concert world I think. Most groups usually sing for MAYBE 1 ½ hours at the most?? ZBB did it from about 8:20 or so until almost 11:30! We definitely got our money’s worth of entertainment! They played everything from Bob Marley to America the Beautiful and country in between. Of course, “Chicken Fried” and “Toes” were two of the biggest hits with the crowd, and we all sang along to “Whatever it is”, but we also went nuts for their rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, the same tune they performed at the CMA’s just last week! Other songs I enjoyed were “Sic ‘em on a Chicken”, “Jolene”, and “Highway 20 Ride, but my new favorite song of ZBB is “Free”. It’s a beautiful country ballad about being free and going in whatever direction your life takes you. This song just really hit home for me after the turmoil of the past year.

After this show, I will definitely follow ZBB music. I’ve already downloaded their album, and I can’t wait to hear the next one! I just added 5 or 6 of ZBB songs to my playlist, so if you want to listen to a specific song, just scroll to the bottom and look at the end of the playlist. :)

Holiday recap

I know since I don't blog on a daily basis, some of mine can become LONG drawn out sagas, but I'll try to break this one up. I do actually have several things I want to discuss and most of it is NOT relationship crap!

1) Christmas at my Mom's house was really, really good. I was able to spend some time with my good friend Kodi and her little girl, Emmarie. We met for lunch at Chucky Cheese because that's where Emmarie wanted to go. I gave Kodi and Emmarie their gifts--Em's response to each one was so cute, "Ooohhh...thank you for the ____________. It's so cute!!!!!" (I had given her the set of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse plate, bowl, cup and placemat. She had no idea what the placemat was for.) She spent her tokens and racked up a bunch of tickets, which were then promptly exchanged for candy. What else is there when you are 3?

2) My brother and his wife, Terri, came up to spend Christmas with Mom as well. I never get to see them hardly, except for Christmas and maybe the 4th of July. I want them to come up to KC this summer (HINT...HINT...) and spend some time with me on vacation! I've got a pool...! Seeing my grandma also made me realize just how bad her condition has worsened over the years. I don't think she's ever been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but she definitely has a case of dementia. Last Christmas I didn't think she'd live to see this Christmas, but she's still alive and kickin'! I don't think she knew who any of us really were, but it was really good to see her again. And of course, Mom fixed enough food to feed the Infantry division even though it was just the 6 of us!

3) Santa brought me a ring for Christmas. It's a pearl setting with diamonds on either side. I wanted one to wear on my ring finger in place of my wedding set. I have to admit that it does look good--the pearl matches the ring my Dad and step-mom gave me two years ago. For Christmas, I also received some new clothes, 90210 DVD sets (I know...I know...but they make for good scrapbooking!), a couple of movies, and a cute zebra-striped bag that I'm actually using as a purse.

4) After Christmas, I came home on Saturday to meet Todd and his friend Jeff to see the Jeff Dunham show. Since Todd and I bought those tickets back in October and he is both of our favorite comedien/ventriloquist, neither one of us wanted to give up our ticket. The night worked out just fine. I genuinely felt like I was out with two friends, not a husband or boyfriend, etc. The show was FANTASTIC!!! The seats were further away than any of us wanted, but thank to the jumbo-tron, we were able to see everything. I was even pleasantly surprised by how the pictures turned out on the point-and-shoot camera. The best part of the show was at the very end during his encore. Jeff brought out Bubba J, his Nascar-watchin', beer-drinkin', good ol' Southern boy. He started out doing his standard jokes and about 3 minutes into it, the entire audience started saying the punchlines with him. I think we freaked him out. Jeff said this was definitely one of the weirdest shows he's done in a long time.

5) Following the show on Saturday, I had to wake up before dawn to catch my flight to Memphis to see Pat, my step-mom and that side of the family. I hadn't seen them since May or so when I went over for the drag races. Seeing her and especially my stepsister, Trisha, was very therapeutic for me. Trisha and I spent most of the days from about 1 in the afternoon until 11 or midnight shopping!! Kodi, I even got to visit Eclectica, the WOWSA scrapbook store there!!! It was heaven on earth. I spent WAY too much money there, especially considering I haven't really done much in the way of scrapping in a long time, but I figure I'll get back into the groove shortly when my life begins to calm back down. Now I know how a druggie feels when he gets his high. I was definitely feeling it when I walked into that store. Pat let me sleep in and once I woke up, I felt just like a little kid again. I'd climb into her bed and we'd watch "The Price is Right" or some cop show on TNT. We chatted about anything and everything. I do hope I get to see them again soon. Before Trisha took me back to the airport, she swung by Dad's grave so I could spend a little time with it before leaving. This was the first time since he passed away November 6th of 2007 that I had seen his grave with the headstone. It was one of those things that kind of caught me off-guard even though I knew he was there. This, though, made it truly sink in that that's where he was. I guess just seeing the stone for the first time made an impression. It was beautiful!

6) After New Year's some friends and I made our way back to Ernie Bigg's, a very happening place in Westport. This was my third time to go and it is just so much fun that I know I will go back again and again. We could look at Marcus play all day long...

This is my friend Jill who is also going through a really tough time in her relationship. She definitely needed this night to get away! We both did!

7) Now my life is back in the school and I am going back to the gym days a week. I would LOVE to be down 10 pounds by the end of January. We'll see!!

Four days left of my summer

That's right...only four days to go before I head back to school for meeting, more meetings, and just possibly more meetings. I have two weeks of meetings before school even begins on August 18th. Where has my time gone? Why are there so many meetings???

In honor of going back to school, I went shopping for my usual "back to school" outfit (or two), plus I did a little something to my hair. I've wanted to color it for a while now but didn't really know what I wanted. So yesterday I took the plunge. I still didn't know what I wanted until the hairdresser and I just started talking. She showed me different colors and talked me through the process. Once she started, I was ready to roll! After two hours, I walked out looking like a rock star!! I don't think these pictures do my hair any justice--it was late, we'd been painting all night, and I was tired!

On a sadder note, I received word this morning that my good friend Kodi and her husband Trai had to put down their dog, Max, last night. I cried when I heard the news, and I cried again when I read her blog dedicated to her buddy Max. I know how much that dog meant to her family (they gave him a home when no one else would), and I cannot imagine the pain they are in today. Apparently, his stomach turned inside out and upside down and sideways due to "bloat." They put him down and buried him in the backyard underneath his favorite tree. To Max! I love you Kodi!

New header...new world

Notice my nice new blog header?? I created that all by myself!! I would be so impressed with myself right now, except that little header took me about two hours to do. Kodi introduced me to a whole new world of digital scrapbooking, how to find free templates and kits online, and how to even make my own blog header. Thanks Kodi!!

I do want to try to make my own digital scrapbook page sometime--I might try it later today or tomorrow--but part of me doesn't want to give up on the paper scrapbooks. I love the thought of having my own scrapbook room downstairs, and I don't want to give that up. I could see how scrapping digitally might be faster once I really know what I'm doing, but I just have too much scrapbook stuff to go all digital. What would be nice is to become a "hybrid" scrapbooker--one that uses the combination of digital and paper. We'll see if I can even get through my first digital page before I entertain that thought!

Kodi and her family came up yesterday to spend the night at our house before they flew out to Orlando this morning. We all had such a good time just talking, watching Emmarie and Soze (our dog) play all afternoon. Bonnie, Kodi's friend, and hopefully a new friend of mine, came over too to see everyone while they were up here in KC. Now I just have to wait until next Sunday to hear all about their trip to Disney World and imagine myself in their shoes!

Sometimes ya just gotta get away...

I had a blast last weekend! It was just me and the girls--my good friend Kodi, her sister Jennifer, and two others from my scrapbook world Gail and Fran. We stayed down at our usual spot in Branson, and I loved every minute of it! Lately I have been going up to KC to see Todd on the weekends, but I had waited for this weekend since the beginning of the year. I needed and wanted to get together with them for my sanity! Sometimes ya just gotta get away (sorry Mom!). While I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped in our Disney album (I never do!), I enjoyed myself just the same. We watched movies, ate (more healthy I might add than in times past!), and just talked to each other. By the way, one of my new favorite movies is "Juno"--sorry Kodi to steal from your blog b/c I know you wrote about this too. I had seen the movie before, but I had been busy doing other things then. This time, I let myself really watch it and man, was it good! I even teared up at the end, and I didnt' think I would on that movie. The soundtrack is cool too. I want to get that for sure! It's kind of folksy, but it's music you can actually understand all the words and sing along. That's all I ask for!

As far as my scrapping went, I did about 8 or 9 pages, and I am still working on one that I started. It's the Epcot page, but I need to finish stitching the title. Kodi showed me how to stitch properly, but it takes way too long! It's definitely a skill you have to have patience for--let's just hope I remember how to do it when I get the time to finish. I was hoping to have our last summer's Disney tripped scrapped and in the album by this summer, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon. Once I get my Disney scrapbook room maybe that will inspire me to want to finish it!

I have no pictures with which to close, but I will soon have my computer back once we get moved into the house. Girls, I had a FABULOUS time with you last weekend, and I can't wait to see you again! Next time it will probably be a tear-fest!

Tootles! (I have no idea where that came from!)

Girls Night Out

I probably have more "Girls Nights Out" than I should, but with Todd working at night and the fact that we don't have kids yet makes me not care! I had a great time tonight with my friend Kodi and her friend, Holly, from school. We met up at Maria's for dinner (Kodi turned me on to a great cheap meal--Fried Tacos! Yum!), then we walked over to the Moxie to see "Chalk", an independent film about teachers during one school year. I have to say that I loved it! I don't really know if Kodi or Holly enjoyed it as much as I did, but I thought it was pretty much right on! Since I teach high schoolers, I identified with the teachers while they battled some of their situations (cell phone abuse, sarcasm, administration...you get the point). The theatre was nothing like I imagined it to be, but it was cozy and I could tell the employees took pride in their theatre. I will definitely go back again! If you are a teacher, you need to go see "Chalk". You can see the trailer at http://www.chalkthefilm.com/. I highly recommend it!