Music Mondays...Living the Good Life!

College Colors Day

So, today is know to many college sports fans as "College Colors Day". It is an annual event held the first Friday before college football season kicks off. It is the day when sports fans, both crazy and sane, adorn the colors of THEIR team.

However, today, I was unable to wear my KY blue to work and had to wear my UL (University of Louisiana NOT the University of Louisville) red, which was perfectly fine because I got both my undergrad and graduate degrees from the Home of the Ragin' Cajuns! UL also holds some extremely fond memories for me. Late nights followed by early mornings, sorority meetings and parties, and forming friendships that will span a lifetime!



But days like today, always make me long for the Bluegrass State. The place where basketball is everything, and the rest is just the details. I say this a lot, but others just don't get it. In KY, the Wildcats are more than a just a team, they are a dynasty. Fans are not just fans, it's practically a subculture. I have seen grown me cry and little old ladies cuss out referees at games and no one bats an eye.

I think that most everyone has a team that they are die hard for. They don't miss a game, take a loss personally, know the history, and dream of the future. On days like today, I miss "my people". Sure, I have met a few random UK fans along the journey, but it's not the same. Sometimes, I long to be in a pub, drinking blue beer, and screaming C-A-T-S at the top of my lungs. But until then, I will just have to remember that on days like today, I'm wearing my Blue on my heart!

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1. One thing that is completely superfluous, but that I could never give up is Donnie Wahlberg. True, if he had never risen to fame, I would still have lived and breathed. But through the ups and downs, changes, and seasons of my life, my crush and fantasy world of him has been a constant. I think that no matter how old we get, we need something that allows us to retreat from reality in order to maintain sanity. I look forward to the watching "Blue Bloods", finding sexy YouTube clips, and the next New Kids concert tour!

2. Hugs from people I don't know make me feel awkward.

3. I can't imagine my life without my family to be there to support me. No matter where our differences my lie, I always look forward to our laughter and good times together!

4. Ice cream is my favorite snack.

5. Lately I've been thinking about going back to school (again). When I first embarked on my journey in to education, I never thought I would want to be an administrator. But now, the wheels are turning in my head!

6. If at first you don't succeed stop, calm down, and remind yourself that Rome wasn't built in a day!

7. Fall is my favorite time of year. But not the fall in the south. Every year when fall arrives, I get nostalgic for my home state of KY. I look back on fond memories of jumping in leaves, getting excited for "The Road to the Final Four", and reminisce about the Fall Festival at my elementary school.

Music Mondays! Rise and Grind!

On many blogs that I read and follow, I often see Music Mondays! So, I have decided to follow suite! My first Music Mondays is something by one of my favorites: Mr. Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB fame. I love listening to his sexy voice! I also love the hidden sarcasm in this song! Time to Rise and Grind and get ready for the week!

Dream a Little Dream

"Keep your face in the sun and you will never see the shadows" -Helen Keller

After a recent conversation with my mom, I was reminded that it's OK to dream and that dreams are free. Following this little heart to heart that we had, I began thinking. And what I got to thinking about is that as a child I could dream the biggest dreams and live out the biggest fantasies that could come to mind. However, as the years came and went, something happened. I stopped dreaming. Perhaps it was because I got busy and forgot to keep dreaming. Or maybe it was because as I got older, I thought that maybe dreaming was silly and a waste of time. Maybe I was even afraid to dream out of fear of what others may think.

However, after that conversation the wheels started turning in my head. My mom was absolutely correct, dreams cost nothing. They are absolutely free. And they are perhaps the one thing that no one can ever take away from you.

I also began thinking of the dreams that I have had, the ones that have come true, the ones that are on their way, and the ones you just never know about. My dream of becoming a teacher and working with children with special needs is one that I had for a long time and something that I always knew would come true. I have seen my KY Wildcats play in the Final Four, but I'm hoping that the dream will be complete and they take the title in NOLA in 2012 (which in a way would make my life full circle seeing that I started out in KY and ended up in NOLA). I have yet to travel the country of Australia, but I know that one day I will be Down Under having my breath taken away. I still haven't woken up with Donnie Wahlberg (or as my Dad calls him, the guy from Blue Bloods and Band of Brothers) in my bed, but you just never know.

So I have decided that I'm going to keep on dreaming. I think that the day we stop dreaming, is the day we throw in the towel. I believe that humans always need to have something to look forward to...something to keep them going. Sometimes the biggest obstacle that we encounter is mind over matter...and if you focus on the mind part...you just never know what can come to matter.

Victoria, B.C., Canada

March 2011

Communication brings an entire world to a child

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NKOTB...& BSB

Just like many young girls who came of age in the 80s and 90s I LOVED the New Kids on the Block. There was nothing more exciting that opening up the latest edition of Tiger Beat and taking a look at the latest pics, gossip, and if you were really lucky....a pull out poster of your favorite guy. Mine was and always will be Donnie Wahlberg.

A few years ago, a girlhood dream of mine came true...NKOTB got back together. Myself, my sister, and millions of twenty and thirty something girls all over the world became overwhelmed with joy as we found out the 5 boys from Boston were going on tour again. And of course, we bought our tickets and saw them in the Big Easy!I can honestly say I never thought I would see the day that I would hear the stylings of Step By Step and Hangin' Tough on Bourbon St, but I can also assure you I couldn't have asked for better that night. Then the next year we saw them again in Houston.

There is nothing like that feeling when the curtain goes up. You begin by sitting there thinking that you're grown now and your going to handle it like a lady. Than all of the sudden, the music swells and you see the silhouettes of the 5 boys from Boston who's songs you love to hear. And before you know it, your jumping in screaming as if 1989 had suddenly come back to life!

And this year, as luck would have it, they got together with Backstreet Boys and came to my own city, Lafayette, LA! The concert was wonderful! I couldn't have asked for anything better! We were on the 6th row and were eye witnesses to sexy overload! And as luck would have it, Mr. Donnie Wahlberg himself acknowledged my sign with a wink!



Overall, the night was a blast! It took me back to my childhood. For that night, I was able to let go of the worries of work, school, bills, and relationships and got to let go and have a good time. I got to enjoy as a woman, something that began when I was a girl! Thank you Donnie, Joe, Jordan, Danny, Jon, Nick, Howie, Brian, and AJ. You made me a very happy girl!