Happy early birthday to me with Coldplay!

For my birthday, which isn't until next Monday, I purchased tickets for Chris and me to see Coldplay in concert. Yes, I did buy my own birthday present. This seems to be a trend the past two years. Hey, it takes the guess work out of it for Chris. The concert was last Wednesday at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, and it was so good.

Duffy opened for Coldplay and let me just say that this girl has one amazing voice. She seems a little odd, but her voice, so good. She did a pretty good job opening up the evening, but I can’t say that she was the best opening act because her songs are very mellow. Not the exciting songs that will get you up and out of your seat. I guess Coldplay wanted to take care of that.

Coldplay came onstage around 9 and played nonstop for an hour and a half. Chris Martin is such an amazing singer. It is very rare that you can go to a concert and the songs sound exactly like they do on the radio with the artist singing live and not pre-recorded. They were so good and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that the drummer is also a very good singer. Overall, it was a great concert and I am so happy that I made the decision to go for my birthday. We had a great time singing along with the songs that we knew and just enjoying the ones that we didn’t.

On a side note, if I thought Duffy was odd, she was no match for Chris Martin. This guy is just odd. The movements that he makes on stage are just completely random.

Mobile Monkeys, Lucky Strike, and Leaf Peeping

Okay, I have been totally slacking on the blogging lately and I apologize.

First things first, Chris and I had a pretty busy weekend this past weekend. Friday night, we hosted a group of people at our place for Game Night. The group formed after a spring break cruise last year (which Chris and I weren’t a part of). Mobile Monkeys was chosen as the name of this group who travels around to various homes in the area to drink a specially concocted drink and play board games. I believe the name of the group spawned from the name of the drink of choice at these game nights, Smiley Monkeys. I guess we move around, therefore we are monkeys? The cruise group had some of these drinks while on their cruise in the Bahamas. If you are curious about this drink, think booze cruise. The night was a lot of fun with a group of 12 playing Cranium and Charades. We look forward to the next meeting of the Mobile Monkeys.

All of the Mobile Monkeys in our living room.

Hales, Erin, Me and Chris

Laura made cupcakes for Erin's birthday! Happy Birthday Erin!

We spent our afternoons on Saturday and Sunday doing a little shopping for an outfit for me for Chris’ high school reunion. I think I am satisfied. It is probably too late to change my mind now, since the event is on Saturday.

Saturday night, we met up with a few friends for bowling at Lucky Strike across from Fenway. We had a great time hanging out and bowling with 10 friends on one lane. Chris surprised everyone with his bowling skills, which included some kind of hop when letting the ball go. He said it seemed to be increasing his chances of getting strikes, so he continued to do it even though he looked a little goofy. He will do whatever he can to win, lol! Chris won the first game but was beaten by birthday girl Erin in the second game. I actually came out of nowhere during the second game to break 100, woohoo! That was my goal for the night and I accomplished it!

Abbey striking a pose!

Me and Chris

The Girls (Abbey, Erin, Alisha, Me and Laren)

Chris showing his bowling skills!

We took a little drive on Sunday to do some leaf peeping, which is a pretty big deal in New England. We saw some beautiful colors on our drive. I got a few pictures of the trees, but unfortunately, I didn’t get any of the beautiful pink and red leaves that we came across. The colors of the trees are absolutely fabulous here. Maybe they will still be the bright colors next weekend, so that Chris and I can go for another drive. Up for it, honey?

I love the reds!

Pic of us taken from the top of our car, lol!

The yellow are pretty too!

100 Things

I hope you enjoy the below 100 things about me.

1. I wish I could figure out something to write on the blog.
2. I actually check the counter everyday to see how many people are reading.
3. I get extremely bored at work, even if there is work to be done.
4. I seriously hate going to the gym but know that I should go more often.
5. I think I need to lose 10-15 pounds.
6. That is my goal by Christmas.
7. I started dating my husband in high school, when I was in 9th grade and he was in 11th.
8. We dated for almost 9 years before getting married.
9. I love him so very much!
10. I was the captain of the cheerleading squad in high school.
11. I miss it sometimes.
12. I also played softball, which I can’t say I miss so much.
13. I absolutely love the smell of the Anthropologie store.
14. I go into the store most of the time without any intentions of purchasing anything.
15. I seriously need to purchase so many things for myself….boots, coat, etc.
16. I can’t wait for us to have our first child.
17. I secretly, or not so secretly, hope that we have a little girl first.
18. I can’t wait until we move to Georgia so that we can settle down.
19. I am going to miss Boston and the friends that we have made here.
20. I have no idea what my favorite color is.
21. I saw New Kids on the Block in concert, a childhood dream fulfilled.
22. I convinced my husband to go with me.
23. I have four wonderful nephews and one fabulous niece.
24. I love any kind of music.
25. I love to sing.
26. I can’t say I am as good at it as I used to be.
27. I know the lyrics to most songs that I hear on the radio. It only takes a few times hearing it and then I’ve got it.
28. I have social anxiety.
29. Seriously….don‘t ask me to stand up in front of a group of people.
30. I started college with Aerospace Engineering as my major.
31. That lasted two weeks.
32. I genuinely enjoy my current job.
33. I can’t say I will be sad to start over next year someplace else though.
34. I think I might want to have a career in photography.
35. Or maybe real estate.
36. I really don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
37. Neither does Chris, so I have company.
38. I dream of owning my own bridal shop with my best friend Elizabeth.
39. I honestly hope this dream becomes a reality.
40. I absolutely love everything about weddings!
41. I graduated 2nd in my high school class.
42. I am the first to admit that I am terrible at keeping in touch with people.
43. I absolutely adore peanut butter, especially peanut butter ice cream.
44. My favorite cereal just might be Lucky Charms.
45. And yes, I still eat sugary cereal, how could one pass it up?
46. I literally check my personal email about a million times a day while at work.
47. Did I mention that I get really bored at work?
48. I genuinely have to be in the mood for seafood to actually eat it.
49. I am usually only in the mood for it when I am on a beach vacation.
50. I love to cook!
51. I dislike figuring out what to cook.
52. I hate to fly. It is unfortunate that we have to do it so often.
53. I love the smell of a new car. Too bad we haven’t smelled that it in a while.
54. One of our favorite things to do is just get in the car and drive….we never know where we will end up or what we will see.
55. I think it should be impossible for the whole globe to be in a recession.
56. I have a younger brother, Marc.
57. And two wonderful parents, Gary and Arlene.
58. I miss Moo’s Soft Serve in Melbourne, FL. Good thing Cambridge just got a J.P. Licks that serves soft serve peanut butter ice cream.
59. I watch entirely too much TV. I am aware of the problem but refuse to do anything about it.
60. Due to this addiction, I am thankful for our DVR.
61. I love to dance. If there is a dance floor, you can find me there.
62. Regardless of my fear of flying, Chris and I have made it our goal to travel more.
63. I have never crossed the Atlantic.
64. I read any blog I can find, if interesting. You can call me a stalker if you like.
65. I am still amazed that McDonald’s sells sweet tea in New England. I love sweet tea!
66. My first name is actually Miranda, not Brooke.
67. I was named after a Stevie Nicks song, Midnight Wind (the lyrics contain Miranda),
68. And after the character Brooke on All My Children.
69. As a child, I was somewhat obsessed with the movie Annie. I actually wouldn’t mindseeing it now, now that I think about it.
70. I love to curl up with a good movie that makes me cry. Everyone needs a good cry every now and then. Steel Magnolias anyone?
71. My favorite movie has to be Shag The Movie. It is so much fun!
72. I also love the movie The Goonies. Hey, you guys!
73. I love my long(er) hair, but I wish it didn’t take so long to dry and straighten.
74. My hair naturally is nothing close to how most people see it.
75. I am extremely proud of my husband for setting his sights on Harvard Business School, getting in and being a rock star while here!
76. I am proud to say that he just might be smarter than me, lol!
77. We have only a little over 7 months before Chris graduates and we move, once again!
78. I’ve only had surgery once and that was to have my tonsils removed.
79. I only had one wisdom tooth. Weird, right?
80. I can’t wait until Christmas….even though purchasing gifts stresses me out.
81. I love celebrating birthdays. Chris doesn’t understand the point.
82. I like to dance around the house and sing at the top of my lungs when I am all alone.
83. I seriously dislike doing laundry when the washer and dryer are 4 floors away.
84. Otherwise, I don’t really mind it at all.
85. I am obsessed with celebrity gossip.
86. Chris and I met Big Boi from OutKast in the Miami Airport when we were coming back from our honeymoon.
87. I have attended or will attend more concerts in the past year than I have in a very long time: Kelly Clarkson, Little Big Town/Rodney Atkins, Maroon 5/Counting Crows/Sara Bareilles, New Kids on the Block, and Coldplay.
88. I am somewhat of a chicken; I prefer to not take risks.
89. Speaking of chicken, I love Chick-fil-A! We usually spend our Friday nights in Burlington getting some much needed Chick-fil-A time in.
90. I heard four alarms go off this morning before I actually got out of bed.
91. I would love to sleep until I woke up every day.
92. I have to have the TV on to go to sleep. I am so excited that Steve Urkell puts me to sleep these days, haha!
93. My height was 5’ 6.25” when I went to the doctor last week. I am not sure if I believe this, but I have been discounting my height 1.25” if this is true.
94. I love snow! I can’t wait to see it soon!
95. I am not a big fan of the cold that accompanies the snow.
96. I am a little nervous about what Chris is going to do after graduation.
97. I know that everything will work out for the best though, so I am trying not to worry about it.
98. I am looking forward to spending the next 7 months with the amazing friends that we have made in Boston.
99. And I can’t wait to get back to the old and equally as amazing family and friends in Georgia.
100. Wow, I can’t believe I did it! To be honest, this took me several days.

So Sad, So Sad, So Sad!

It was a very sad night in Boston last night. You could almost hear the sighs as our Red Sox lost to the Rays in Game 7 of the ALCS. Tampa Bay moves on to the World Series and the Red Sox will return to Boston until the start of next season. At least they gave us hope by winning the last two games. Hopefully they will make it to the World Series next year!

So Good, So Good, So Good!

As I mentioned in the last post, Chris and I attended Game 5 of the ALCS on Thursday night. The Red Sox were down 3 games to 1 to the Tampa Bay Rays, so we were hoping that the Red Sox could redeem themselves. The game started out with a pretty grim outlook with the Rays scoring 2 runs in the first inning. The Rays continued scoring on our Red Sox through the 7th inning.

Needless to say, after all the scoring by the Rays and no scoring by the Red Sox, the excitement in the crowd started to fade. Who wouldn’t get down about getting beat 7-0 in the top of the 7th? A lot of the crowd headed home after the 6th inning because it was so painful to watch. While we were so sad….we found entertainment in watching a few fights break out and a very large man who decided that taking his shirt off would get the crowd on their feet. You may be surprised but this actually did put life back into the bumps on a log known as the Red Sox fans on Thursday night.

So sad..... : (

If you look very close in the middle of the pic...you can see the rather large guy without his shirt on, lol!

Going into the bottom of the 7th, everyone was on their feet thanks to the 7th inning stretch and the topless guy. Although the man in the crowd did provide entertainment, it wasn’t enough for us to stay out later than necessary, so we planned to head home after the 7th inning was over. To our surprise, the Red Sox managed to score a run early on during their at bat in the 7th. After this, we decided we would only stay if they scored again. We would much rather be sleeping than watching our Red Sox get beat. This is when things got a little crazy. With two runners on, Big Papi stepped up to the plate and hit a 3 run homerun to get the Red Sox within 3 of the Rays. The crowd went nuts! It was so exciting just to see a turnaround in the team and crowd. We absolutely were not going home now.

The 8th inning came with the Red Sox scoring another 3 runs to tie the Rays, 7-7. Fellow Georgia boy, J.D. Drew, hit a homerun this inning to bring us that much closer to a win. Fenway Park has to be the most exciting place to be in this type of situation. The atmosphere is indescribable. I am not even that big of a baseball fan, but I love that place!

Into the 9th inning we went….Youkilis hit a grounder to the 3rd baseman, who made a terrible throw to 1st so Youk advanced to 2nd. The Rays intentionally walked Jason Bay, which brought J.D. Drew back up to the plate. J.D. Drew battled and finally hit a poke over the right fielder’s head to score Youkilis. Red Sox Win, Red Sox Win! Again, the crowd went berserk! We were high-fiving everyone around us! You could tell that no one wanted to leave! We were so glad that we stayed until the end. It was such a great experience that I am sure we won’t soon forget! We learned after the game that this was the greatest postseason comeback since 1929 and we were there! Woohoo, so exciting!

12:01 pm, but totally worth it!

Celebrating after the win...much happier now!

You may have seen this sign on ESPN. It was right behind us. Let's hope the Sox can pull through from another deficit to make it to the World Series!

The Red Sox are playing the Rays in Tampa Bay tonight in Game 6. Let’s hope they pull out another exciting win! Go Red Sox!

Let's Go Red Sox!

Chris and I are attending game 5 of the American League Championship Series tonight featuring the Boston Red Sox versus the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay is currently leading the series 3-1. Oh, how I hope the Red Sox pull out a win tonight! They can still win this series....they came back from a 3-1 deficit last year. Everyone pull for the Red Sox tonight. We are in the right field bleachers, if you happen to watch the game and want to look for us! Go Red Sox!

Weekend in Georgia - Family Time and a Wedding

Chris and I spent this past long weekend in Georgia visting with family and attending the wedding of two friends. Chris had an extremely long weekend of 5 days, while mine was only 3 1/2, but I won't complain. A short week at work is always a blessing.

Our weekend started early as I took half a day off on Friday, so that Chris and I could attend our oldest nephew's high school football game. Jared's Chattooga Indians were not able to pull out a win, but he played a great game. We wish him and his team the best of luck for the remainder of the season! Go Indians!

Jared getting direction for the next play from the sideline.

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Curtiss!

Saturday we got up early to get ready to depart from Summerville for the wedding of Kevin Curtiss and Rachel McNeill that was held in Lilburn, GA. It was about a 2 hour drive from Chris' parents' house to the ceremony. Needless to say, we did a lot of traveling this weekend. The wedding was beautiful and so were the bride and groom. With a 3 hour break between the ceremony and the reception, Chris and I got the opportunity to hang out with Elizabeth, Alice, Lauren, and Jess at Elizabeth and Adam's house. I had a great time catching up with the girls while Chris caught up on some college football watching. Elizabeth made some yummy salsa, spinach wrapped in fillo (not sure of the technical name), and margaritas. Everything was so good that I resorted to calling her Bree from Desperate Housewives.

We all headed to the reception around 6, including the addition of Chris, Jess's husband, and Adam. The reception was held at The Lodge of The River Club. It was a beautiful location for a wedding reception. We mainly stayed outside under the covered portion with its large wooden beams, cool fans, fire, and a DJ. I danced the night away with the very happy bride and groom and the rest of my girlfriends while Chris talked to the boys on the sidelines. It was a great time!

Kevin Curtiss and Rachel McNeill (The lovely bride and groom, like you didn't know already.)

Chris, making sure his tie is long enough, lol!

All the girls minus the bride.

Elizabeth and I being silly.

Chris and I

Not exactly sure what Adam is doing here but I think it is a great picture of Elizabeth!

The bride and groom breaking it down and singing...probably "Like a Prayer".

Jess, referring to me during a song. I wish I could remember which song it was.

The boys on the sidelines.

A normal pic of Adam and Elizabeth

Elizabeth, Jess, and I being silly.

After the wedding, we headed back to Adam and Elizabeth's house to watch the Red Sox lose to the Tampa Bay Rays (I am currently watching them lose to Rays again....let's hope they can turn it around. We just got on the board with a solo homerun, woohoo! Let's hope they are winning by the time I finish writing this blog!). It was so much fun hanging out with our friends for the day. We never get to see any of them when we are in Georgia so it was much needed time together. I can't wait until Chris and I are back in Georgia and we can hangout with all of them more often. Thanks Adam and Elizabeth for having us over and letting us stay with you all for the evening! Adam, you and Bree are great hosts!

On Sunday, we headed back to Summerville to spend the day with our families. The day was spent making peanut butter cookies with my niece, taking pictures of the kids, and playing a game of horseshoes and Old Maid. It was so much fun to get to spend the day with them! We spent the evening eating dinner with my parents and watching Desperate Housewives. Our trip ended on Monday with us making a somewhat early trip to the airport. It was a great trip home and a great long weekend! We will be back down that way in a few weeks for Chris' high school reunion! Should be another fun weekend! Check out my pictures below of our niece and two of our nephews.

Gavin doesn't mind if I take his picture.....

Nor does Griffin....

But, Karlie does not like it at all!

Cute pic taken by Gavin of Kathy, Griffin, me, and Karlie.

Oh, got one! Haha! Karlie, I bet you thought you were going to get through this post without seeing a picture of yourself! Love ya!

I know you are probably tired of hearing about this....

.....but she is back with a vengeance y'all! Can I just say that I am SO excited?!?!?!

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Just a few things

It has been way too long since I last updated the blog. I feel pretty bad because I know how frustrating it can be to continue to check back only to find that nothing has been posted. I apologize. I promise I will try to do better. Chris and I had a pretty relaxing weekend last weekend, so nothing too exciting to report. We are headed to Georgia today to watch our nephew play football and then we will attend the wedding of Rachel McNeill and Kevin Curtiss on Saturday. We did manage to snag two tickets to Game 5 of the ALCS between our Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays for next Thursday. If the Red Sox don’t end up sweeping the Rays in 4 games, I am sure I will have pictures to share from this next week.

A few things I want to mention…..

I am often criticized by husband for reading random blogs written by people that I do not know at all. I am sometimes called a “stalker”. I have to admit that I get very bored at work and will read absolutely anything that will keep me entertained. I do not apologize for my craziness but I do understand how some people could find it out of the norm. Thankfully, I do link from blog to blog and sometimes it pays off tremendously.

Last week I read a blog post from someone who I do not know but who is a friend of a couple that I do know and they also have a blog. This particular blog led me to the website/blog of Darren LeBlanc. From the little that I read, I can tell you that Darren is an amazing man. Darren’s wife Misty, who was just 5 months older than me, had been battling brain cancer for some time and lost her battle just a few short weeks ago. They have a very young daughter, Olivia, who, it is very possible, will not remember her Mommy.

In spite of all that Darren and Misty went through together, I was amazed by Darren’s strength. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose Chris and hope that I never have to find out. If anything like this did happen to us, I hope that we can put our faith in God, as Darren has, and trust in Him to give us strength to weather the storm. I don’t think I have gone a day without thinking and praying for Darren, Olivia, and their family since reading the blog. I am sure you will be truly moved by Darren and his experience. Check out Darren’s blog by clicking on the picture below; it will be worth being called a “stalker”.

On a more different note….

Below is a video of Mike Kinnebrew performing at Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta a few weeks ago. Mike is married to one of my sorority sisters from Georgia Tech, Lindsay. They both have incredibly beautiful voices. Chris and I were honored to have them sing at our wedding. I highly recommend that you check out his music. I keep my fingers crossed daily that Mike and Lindsay are going to make it as big as they want to be. Hopefully I can stir up a few new followers with this blog!

Mike's Sites
Website
Myspace

They've still got THE RIGHT STUFF!

It’s been a long 18 years since I first fell in love with New Kids on the Block (NKOTB). I never imagined after the group ceased to exist in the 90s that I would ever have the opportunity to see them in concert. Early this year, NKOTB announced that they would be reuniting and going on tour. I knew I had to go. This would be a once in a lifetime experience that I could not pass up. I couldn’t let them tour again, for the first time in 15 years, and not be a part of it.

New Kids on the Block (Then)

NKOTB (Now!)

I emailed a group of girls here in a Boston about going to the concert and I got two takers. Right before purchasing the tickets, I remembered that Chris and I had tickets to the Red Sox vs. Yankees game on the same night as the concert. Therefore, I was not going to be able to go. I was completely and totally bummed but I knew I would survive.

To at least get a taste of what I was missing, I watched VH1’s Behind the Music - NKOTB on Sunday night which also included a live version of the first three songs performed at the concert at the Boston Garden. After seeing this and hearing from the two girls who attended the concert on Friday night who said that the show was wonderful, I seriously became very upset and distraught that I was not going to get to see them. I searched online and found out that they had a concert at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort in Connecticut on Tuesday night. I had no excuses now! Now, I just needed to find someone to go with me.

Let’s just call this amazing person who agreed to drive 2 hours with me to fulfill a childhood dream…..Sam Jones.

We made our way to Mohegan Sun last night and the boys did not disappoint. They were so amazing and exciting. I don’t really even have the words to describe the excitement I felt as they came on stage. I couldn’t believe that I was finally getting to see them in person after all this time. They sang all of their old songs and some new ones and also performed some of their old dance moves. They’ve still got it, that’s for sure. I was surprised at how amazing they sounded as well. You never know with pop stars, if they can really, really sing. Well, all of these guys have great chops. In addition to their amazing voices, they are probably more attractive now! Maybe it is because they no longer have that crazy permed hair, lol!

I got some okay pics and videos last night that I have posted below. We ended up having great seats that were within 15 yards of the New Kids when they made their way to the other end of the arena to perform around a piano. AAAHHH! So exciting and so close! Just check out them out below. Enjoy!

Dirty Dancing

2 in the Morning

Step by Step

Hangin' Tough

I highly recommend for anyone who is considering going to their concert to go. I screamed like a 14 year old girl the entire concert. Oh, did I mention that I have the best husband ever?!?!?!?!? Oops, I don’t think I was supposed to say that. Thanks Sam Jones for a great night with NKOTB!