Anything But Gray

Lucky 7

July 28, 2010

Everyone knows how much I adore Bon Jovi, but I'm going to do some explaining.

I got incredibly lucky and got to go see them at Gillette stadium…it's a long story. Basically, Ceci let me borrow some of Zak's bday money until he gets back. He was going to buy some work clothes with it, that he really needs but he won't bother until he gets back, so he said I could borrow a few bucks so I could go. I had some money in my shop and then with his bday money, I got to go! 7th time I've seen them. Yesaaaahhh!!!!!

I was going to go alone, because I COULDN'T stand to miss them….I just couldn't. I waited almost a year for this show. So it was all very last minute…and only because I got the possibility of free tickets dangled in front of me the day before (long story…) that made me decide, fuck it, I'm going even if I have to go alone.

So I throw it on Facebook..just to see if anyone could come and Lisa, my childhood family friend..basically a cousin….met me there and went with me! It was AWESOME to be able to share that with her! When I count how many different people I've seen Bon Jovi with, it's pretty cool. I love it. 🙂

Now…about the show…..I have to do some explaining first, so bear with me if you've heard this all before…..

Most of you know I have adored Bon Jovi almost my whole life. And it's not just he's hot or everyone else loves him or whatever….it's his words. I think he is a hugely underrated lyricist. He does not get enough credit for the words he writes. And I'm not talking the "hits"..the songs everyone knows. Some of those are awesome, yes….but it's more the
rare tracks, the bsides, the demos. He is truly an amazing lyricist. So he's always been my inspiration, lyrically. If I write even one song even half as good as his worst song, I'll die a happy girl. I admire him…I am in love with his words. He is, in the truest sense of the word, my idol.

So THAT is why I love him so much.

Now, of course, I would love to meet him, touch him…anything him. LOL But the idea of it is overwhelming to me, too. Scary. I mean this is my IDOL.

One time, we had front row seats in Atlanta, Georgia and he sang looking right into my eyes and I had to turn away, the feeling was too intense. Crazy, huh? And another time, we saw him at a super small radio show (only about 200 people) and we slipped out back before the show ended to try to get his autograph. I was too chicken, I made Zak
go up to the limo for me. LOL Turns out it wasn't him…but the point is…I've been close to him. But I've NEVER gotten to touch him. I'm ALWAYS on the wrong side! He'll run through the audience on the OPPOSITE side of me….or he'll sing in the audience on the OPPOSITE side of where I'm sitting. This happens to me ALL. THE. TIME.!!!!
Drives me fucking NUTS. LOL

So at the show….we were row 10 in the circle, which meant we were FIRST row if he performed on the part of the stage that went out into the audience. And of course he was going to. So I was PSYCHED. I was like this is it..I'm going to get to touch him, I KNOW IT!!!!! Me and Lisa noticed stairs leading down from the circle stage into the area
where we were sitting and I said…okay…if there are stairs there, that means he's going to either be going up them or down them and we will be RIGHT THERE!!! LOL But we were to the right of the stage and those stairs were in the middle…so I wasn't thinking I was going to get to touch him then.

So then the show starts and it goes for awhile….then all of a sudden, security starts telling people "don't touch him. move back" blah, blah, blah…..and then next thing I know JON BON JOVI IS WALKING RIGHT BEHIND OUR SEATS LESS THAN AN ARM'S LENGTH AWAY!!!!!! It happened so fast, I had no time to reach my hand out or anything but I
couldn't believe I was THAT close!!!! So THAT gave me a rush and a half. LOL A little annoyed I didn't realize it until it was too late, but whatever. I'll take being that close for an instant. LOL

So then he gets up on the stage and he starts Bed of Roses….and he's flirting with the audience and touching everyone ON THE OTHER FUCKING SIDE!!!!!!! I AM ALWAYS ON THE WRONG FUCKING SIDE!!!!! LOL But I'm
okay with it….no biggie.. this happens to me ALL THE TIME. LOL And Lisa says "he'll come back this way..you watch, he will" and I was like nope…not gonna happen I'm always on the wrong side! LOL And then the whole band goes out and they do another song and I'm dying this whole time….wondering, hoping, praying…am I gonna get to
touch him??? So they end the song and the rest of the band goes back to the stage. David Bryan came by us and Jon finished the last line of the song and the lights went out. He touched a few hands as he started coming OUR WAY and then he stopped touching people's hands BUT kept walking our way….I held out my hand but he wasn't bending down to touch anyone and I was like you are fucking KIDDING ME, right?? This has GOT to be some cruel joke…but then…right as he got to me…..he leaned down and TOUCHED MY HAND!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAARRGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! AND EVEN BETTER IT WAS ON THE PATRIOT'S FOOTBALL FIELD!!!!!!! ARRRGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

So. fucking. awesome.

Now every time I watch a game, I can say "JON BON JOVI TOUCHED ME THERE!!!!" LOL

And Lisa…because she is so amazing, didn't put up her hand. How awesome is that??? Now THAT is a true friend!!!!!! Because she was standing in front of me, if her hand had been out…she's taller with a longer reach, so he probably would've touched her and skipped me by!!!!!!

So I finally got to touch him. His hand was so soft…I gotta say, I expected hot, sweaty and hard…it wasn't….<sigh> it was so, so soft and gentle and ay yi yi…..AMAZING!!!

and I found some video of it…..you can't see him actually touch my hand……but you'll see him touch a bunch of hands and then stop and start walking, not touching any hands….then all of a sudden he leans down and touches hands again…..THAT FIRST ONE IS ME!!!!!!!! (I'm hoping to find better video, but this will do for now….LOL)

Jon Bon Jovi on Catwalk-July24,'10

I
can't believe I got to touch my idol!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!!

🙂
Mother’s Day…

May 12, 2010

I got the BEST gift a mom could ask for, for Mother's Day this year…

A week or two before Mother's Day Niki was going out shopping and she took all the kids with her. I asked Jaime if she wanted some of her birthday money to take with her in case she wanted something. She said she did and so I gave her $10 of her birthday money and off she went. After the 10 minute, be careful with your money, lecture. And be careful as in don't friggin' lose it! It wasn't a spend it wisely lecture…because we need to work on her not being careless with her money and losing it FIRST, then we'll get to how you spend it. LOL

She came home with a gold gift bag and told me I couldn't look in it until Mother's Day. I asked her.."That's a Mother's Day gift for me?" And she said "yes!" grinning ear to ear. I got a little teary eyed and hugged her and said thank you. she pranced off and I asked my sister if that was her idea, to have Jaime buy me a Mother's Day gift. I had been telling NIki and my mom that money is always tight on Mother's Day so I haven't gotten a gift in about four years, so I was wondering if Niki put Jaime up to it. Niki said it wasn't…Jaime wanted to get me a Mother's Day gift all on her own. With her birthday money. So freakin' cool!!! That girl makes me so proud. She's such a good girl and we are so lucky with her.

On Mother's Day, I opened it and it was the softest cutest teddy bear I've ever felt or seen. It's white and it's holding a heart that says "I love Mom"….and I love this teddy bear!!!! Seriously. Because it's not just about the teddy bear..it's about the fact that somehow I managed to get it right with her and that was an awesome display of unselfishness and I was so incredibly proud of this girl!!!!!!

The rest of the day was really good. Zak cooked breakfast for all of us…me, Mom and my sister. N.L. (my stepfather's mother) came and visited for a bit. We hung out with her for awhile and then me, Zak and Ben went shopping for my gift from him (Zak). We actually had a few extra bucks to spend and I got to get scrapbook adhesive and printer ink. I have been needing ink for so long and not having it has been SUPER annoying. Do you know how hard it is to sell something to someone not knowing what it looks like printed? Yeah..REALLY hard! So it'll be nice to print out stuff to see what it looks like before I sell it!!! I'm SOOOO excited! that may seem like a lame Mother's Day gift, but truly it's not….that little ink cartridge is going to make my world SO. MUCH. BETTER. LOL

And with the Jaime stuff….I just truly couldn't ask for more.
:-)
Crossing Guard Ben

May 3, 2010

We live like three blocks from the school. One block to the corner, then take a right and two blocks down to the school. We can see the intersection that your turn right at, to get to the school, from my stoop. They have a crossing guard there and she is pretty cool She loves the kids….she gave Jaime a dollar for her birthday, even!

One morning as all of us were walking to school, the crossing guard asked Ben if he wanted to stay with her after he got out of school and help her doing the crossing guard duties until Jaime and Gabby got out and he could walk home with them. (they get home about 30 minutes after Ben does…they get out a little later than him.) And Ben was hesitant at first and didn't want to do it.

BUT…the crossing guard gave Ben her little stop sign to take home and practice with. And right there he was HOOKED. LOL He totally wanted to do it the next day and was all excited about it. So the next day, he stayed with her and helped her. She paid him a dollar even. So sweet of her!!! I loved it and so did Ben! He felt like such a hot shot..it was cool to watch.

Crossing guard ben 2010

Crossing guard ben 2010 (2)

isn't that awesome??? I love it!! That boy is such a hit…anyone who doesn't have to live with him….absolutely adores him! LOL !! 🙂
Jaime’s cupcake party

April 29, 2010

For Jaime's birthday party, we did a cupcake party. 🙂
Mom suggested the idea and I LOVED it! So we went with it and it was a hit!!!!

She loved it! Actually EVERYONE loved it! Even my mom and my auntie got into decorating the cupcakes….(the pics of them didn't come out..boo! I have to try to photoshop them…)

It was a wonderful day!!! Here's the pics….

Jaime bday 2010 (7)

decorating the cupcakes….

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I so love that my mommy and my auntie got into it! LOL

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how stinkin' cute is this kid? My cousin's son, Juan.

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Everyone did a cupcake with a letter of Jaime's name…I think we had like five " i's" at one point! LOL

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my fancy dancy oh, so proud of it banner! ha!

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We got her rollarblades! She looooves them.

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Her trying them out….

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and away they go….Gabby and Jaime rollarblading down the street with Daddy following with the video camera…:-)

Some fun pictures!

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Me and my cousin, Billiejo….so adore her. We talk pretty much every day and I honestly feel like a part of my day is missing when I don't talk to her…:-)

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Jaime bday 2010 (125)

I love that we're laughing in this….:-)

Sorry these are coming so late!
Enjoy!
Jaime’s Birthday…

April 9, 2010

Jaime’s birthday was yesterday and it was a really awesome day.

It was sunny and nice for most of the day…it got way
cold later…and I always LOOOOVE when the sun shines on my baby girl’s birthday!

We are having a party for her on Saturday, last night
was just cake and ice cream with us, Nana, Auntie Niki and Gabby. We let her open some of her presents. She was most anxious to open Auntie Ceci and
Uncle JR’s because it had been sitting here for TWO weeks. Poor thing. It drove her so crazy that at one point
she informed me that I really shouldn’t leave gifts sitting around to bug her
with, so far away from her birthday!! LOL !!

But..judging by her reaction when she opened the gift….I
think it was worth it!!!

Jaime's birthday 2010 (27)

Jaime's birthday 2010 (31)

Ceci and JR got her a D-Rex!!!! So spoiled, those
kids are from their Auntie and Uncle!
Not that I’m complaining cause, frankly, I’m just as spoiled by them as my kids
are…..:-)

All in all it was a really fun day and I am so
excited for Saturday! Billiejo and Auntie and family are coming up for the day,
yay!!!

Here’s some more pictures….

Jaime's birthday 2010 (22)

Jaime's birthday 2010 (25)

Mom got her a couple of books and she is really
excited about them, which makes me so happy. One is The Lion, The Witch and The
Wardrobe and the other is an animal book and she got it because in the book is
the story of Riki Tiki Tavi, which me, my brother and my sister LOVED when we
were little. Nana told Jaime that,after she opened the gift and Jaime really
dug that. But The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is the book she couldn’t get
to fast enough!! I love it!!!

Jaime's birthday 2010 (12)

Jaime's birthday 2010 (10)

Auntie Phyillis and Billiejo both got her gift cards
for the store Justice and she is excited about that. I can’t wait to take her
to the mall to spend them.

Jaime's birthday 2010 (15)

We got her a little joke book and she’ll get her big
present from us on Saturday…(shhh! It’s a surprise…I can’t tell you what it
is!!! LOL

A few more pics….

Ben being dorky with a stamp from one of her cards..

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Jaime's birthday 2010 (33)

See her banner in the background?? I made that!!! GO ME!!!!!! J had got a really cool banner from Etsy for Drew for his 1st birthday and I loved the look of it! So, after getting frustrated at the totally crappy selection of banners, I decided I would make one! It came out KICK ASS…even better than I thought it would. Jaime LOVED it!!! 🙂

Jaime's birthday 2010 (37)

See from here the cake doesn't look so bad, does it?? HA!!!

One party down, one to go! LOL

🙂
it’s starting already….

April 5, 2010

Jaime is so very tom boy. And of course there is the part of me that loves it and then there is the part of me that wishes she would enjoy being a girly girl a little bit more. She is so impatient she will not let me do anything with her hair anymore. Nothing. All she wants is a ponytail because everything else takes too much time. And she won't wear skirts because she can't play on the playground at school in them. Just little things like that and I bow down to what she wants even though I could force her to let me do her hair and wear skirts. But no….I respect her choices because I believe it is good for a kid to get to have a say, when they can, because they are told what to do, so much. I think it helps them, in the long run, to allow them some freedom with their choices when it's appropriate. As annoying as hell as it is.

Well, it's supposed to be really warm this week, so I want her to wear a skirt because she doesn't have any shorts that are nice enough to wear to school. This is a time where Mama knows best and I explain this to her. I also had got her a pair of flats because all she had for shoes was her sneakers. She doesn't want to wear the flats because they aren't good "running around the playground" shoes. I tell her maybe they won't be so bad and she should try them. She so does not want to. But I convince her. I tell her that she can bring her sneakers in her backpack and if the flats aren't working out, she can change. So she's reluctantly agreeable to that and she puts the flats on. They wind up being a little too big but instead of kicking them off and telling me that, she kind of lets them fall off the back of her feet and steps on the sides of them, totally being destructive because she's angry. OH, HELL NO. I think. And I tell her "Jaime, just take the shoes off! You can wear your sneakers….take the shoes off now!" And I'm upset….destroying things because you are upset is so NOT gonna happen in my house. Forget it! So she starts crying and I explain to her why I'm upset and that wearing the sneakers is fine. She calms down, understands what I'm saying and goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth while I do her hair.

As I'm finishing up her hair, she still seems a bit upset. I ask her what's going on and she looks at me, tears in her eyes and says earnestly…'I don't KNOW Mom…I don't know what's going on with me!" And I take her hand and tell her that's okay. That it's probably she's just tired and it might be from all the junk she ate yesterday, for Easter. She's just a little "off".

So we walk to school. Me, her, Gabby, Ben and Zak. Jaime is not 100% happy on the way. You can tell something is wrong with her but she doesn't know, so I don't pursue it. We give them all kisses and hugs and have a good days and we watch Jaime and Gabby walk to the playground…

I say to Zak 'And so it begins…."
He asks "What?"
I say "The emotional girl stuff…."
And he says…"Well it's not like she's upset and doesn't know why…"
And I say "oh yes it is…it's exactly that! When I asked her what was wrong, she said she didn't know."
Zak says "oh shit…"

Yeah, my thoughts exactly!
LOL
Well, hello stranger!

April 4, 2010

Yes, it's been forever….almost two months.
Crazy…

And I could sit here and offer reasons, excuses or explanations about why I haven't been blogging but truth be told…I don't really know what the hell the deal is. My best guess….crazy busy…every moment has been spent building my Etsy shop. And two…(of course there is two…HAD to be two..lol) I think I get conflicted sometimes on here….guarded. I am a wear my heart on my sleeve kind of person and when I feel stifled, I tend to shut down, on here anyway. But yet I can't just post as if nothing is wrong, either. So if something big is going on with someone in my life and it's all I'm thinking about and I feel like I can't write about it on here, well then I feel like if I talk about anything else, I'm "faking" it. As silly as that is…I think that has been part of my problem too. Something I'm going to work on. Realizing that just because I can't discuss something big doesn't mean I cant talk about just every day things. Right? Right!

🙂

So. Now that that's out of the way.

Our Easter was FANTASTIC. Beautiful sunshine, HOT weather and just a wonderfully perfect day! I loved that the kids got to Easter egg hunt without snow boots on! 🙂 We had breakfast for dinner, for our dinner and Niki, Rick and Gabby came over. They did the sausage and bacon and Zak did the rest. We hid eggs up at the school for them, and the kids had a blast finding them. All in all a perfect day! Mom had to go back to work and we are about to run down there and visit her and help her night go by fast. We had planned on doing that and then she called and she needs someone to bring her a few things….which kind of stole our thunder of going to visit her, but on the plus side….we get free coffee cause we're bringing her her stuff! LOL LOOOOVE it!

Here's some pics! Enjoy!!!

Easter 2010 (7)

Jaime with her loot! (We didn't go crazy this year! Go us!!)

Easter 2010 (4)

Ben with his basket and some fun dip. 🙂

Easter 2010 (8)

Jaime after eating some of her candy for breakfast! LOL Hey JR…see that money on the fridge? That is the $5.00 you gave Jaime when we were leaving Juneau…she refuses to spend it! 🙂

Easter 2010 (13)

Daddy and Ben outside.

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Jaime drew a portrait of her frog. LOL Isn't that cute/?

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This is my daughter's latest favorite pose. She does this and then says "Lookin' good!" . Cracks me up.

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Gabby girl!

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They love posing together!

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So cute!

Egg painting the night before Easter. 🙂

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I seriously love when my hands are like this….makes me feel creative. 🙂

Hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Easter!!!!!
🙂
Couldn’t agree more…

February 12, 2010

It goes without saying, I'm a HUGE Bon Jovi fan.
Total die hard…

I have seen them quite a few times ( 6, if we're counting…lol ) and I LOVE seeing them live.
The big appeal of Jon Bon Jovi to me, is his lyrics…..always has been.
And at a show, it's like you can feel the words. I love it.
And the shows are fun….they are a fun band to see live.
And his whole going into the crowd schtick makes you feel like every show is your chance to be thisclose to him because maybe, just maybe, he'll sing in your section or run by your row on his way to the stage….(yes, I am a 16 year old star-struck girl trapped in a 38 year old's body..LOL) And that is super exciting, too…

But the set list. <sigh> The set list.
The songs they sing live.
Now let me preface this by telling you I could listen to him recite an encyclopedia and be enthralled….but even given that….I do wish he'd throw in some lesser known songs. Something for the diehards….the songs that made me fall in love with this band…and songs that the casual fan won't know….something for us.

And it seems that I'm not alone in this thought……

Bon Jovi live

GREAT article regarding this…..and let's hope the band listens!!!

And please, God in Heaven, if none of my prayers get answered, just answer this one…please, please, make him STOP playing SHOUT! (and Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars…HATE that effin' song…)
Check THIS out!

February 9, 2010

Jon is tweeting!!!

I am, as we speak, trying to get him to follow me on Twitter.

I told him my blog was named after one of their songs…

think it'll work?

I'll fucking DIE if he follows me. Seriously.

Oh and if he does?
He'll be my 69th follower….IT'S FATE!!!!!
He HAS to follow me!!!!

LMAO!!!

Whooo-hooooo !!!

This is FUN!!!!!!
Learn something new….

January 30, 2010

As I already mentioned, my Etsy shop has been really busy. Well, it's been so busy that I haven't bothered to go and check out my Google analytic account. (Bad me, I know…but I've been BUSY!)

I finally went and checked it out and saw that I have gotten mentioned on two different blogs this month!!!

This one & this one.

How freakin' cool is that??? I'm so psyched!! I love it!
What I'm loving about the second one is that I use a Russell and Hazel binder too! I'm so digging that, dork that I am. LOL

AND both of these blogs look pretty cool for organization and neat projects. I'm excited!!!
I can't wait to really sit and peruse them.

Made me realize that I really need to stay on top of where my traffic is coming from….if for nothing else, seeing this sure as hell made me feel good!
LOL

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