You drove to Iowa for WHAT?

I'm going to share a little something about myself with you.

I suck at sports.

And I when I say I suck at sports, I mean that I REALLY, REALLY suck at sports.

And not just one or two of them...ALL of them.  If it requires coordination or any sort of athletic ability of any kind, I can virtually guarantee you that I will find a way to screw it up so badly that it will boggle your mind.

Honestly, it really shouldn't even be humanly possible to suck this much.

When I was a growing up going to gym class was like having my worst nightmares come to life. I absolutely dreaded walking into that gigantic empty room with it's stale sweat smell and slippery floors.  It was my own private hell.  I viewed athletic equipment as torture devices, and my classmates were just sadistic bastards who couldn't wait to get their hands on these instruments of evil and have their way with me.

My parents tried really hard to help me out.  They were very encouraging, and had me try all sorts of different activities. Gymnastics, soccer, cheer-leading, dancing, basketball...all with equally horrendous results.  The only thing I was ever marginally decent at was swimming.  I was on the swim team for several years.  I even got a first place ribbon in my first ever race! (sadly, that was the only one I ever got...and it was a relay)

I tried for a while. I really did. I wanted to be good...it's just that my body would never cooperate with me.  I'd listen to the instructions and watch the other kids and think "Well that looks easy enough!  You just run down the mat, jump on the trampoline and land on the pommel horse on your knees?...I'm SURE that I can do that!"...and then my turn would come. I ran down the mat, jumped on the trampoline...and did a somersault over the pommel horse kicking my poor gym teacher in the head in the process.  True story.  I think that we had to call the janitor to come clean the floors after because all of my classmates had peed their pants from laughing so hard.

Now, I may not have any athletic prowess of any kind at all...but I am a reasonably intelligent person.  If someone says to you "Hey, I want you to try this really cool new thing that I discovered! It's all the rage. Everyone is doing it!" and you go join them, and it turns out that this really cool new thing is sticking bamboo shoots under your fingernails...you're probably not going to do it a second time, right? Yeah...me neither.

So...having lived with this issue my entire life, I have recently been faced with asking myself "Self, what exactly would possess you to drive 3 hours to Iowa and 3 hours home in one day for the sole purpose of going bowling?!"

Imagine my surprise when myself answered "Well, because it's FUN ya dummy!"

See, the thing that I never figured out when I was a kid was that it really isn't about the results.  It's about spending time with people and being carefree and silly.  (Ok, not for everyone...some people take that stuff way too seriously, but in general people are just out to have a good time)

When my friend Manda first mentioned her bowling party to me, my initial reaction was "No friggin' way!I haven't picked up a bowling ball since I was 8 years old and there is very little chance that I've suddenly become coordinated."  But I really love Manda, and I miss her and I wanted to see her.  So when another friend told me that she was considering going I decided to throw caution to the wind and be a rebel for a change.

So I did it. I got in the car and drove all the way to Iowa to spend a couple of hours bowling.  I was excited to see some old friends and to make some new ones and if it meant I had to throw a big heavy ball down a lane and try to knock over some pins...well, so be it.

As expected...I sucked.  I sucked BAD!  I swear, you wouldn't even believe that it's truly possible to suck as bad as I do.  You know how in slapstick comedies some idiot accidentally throws the ball in the wrong direction?  Yeah...that would be me. (twice)

BUT the difference between now and when I was a kid is that now I really don't care.  It was funny and I just laughed and tried again.  The difference between now and then is that I know that it doesn't really matter.  I know that people are still going to like me and think that I'm fun even if I can't knock down a bunch of pins, or make a ball go through a net, or manage to stay upright while rolling around a slippery floor with wheels attached to my feet.

This knowledge is a beautiful thing...and I have you to thank for it.  You all have shown me love and friendship and helped me to see that I'm actually pretty cool just the way that I am.  Thank you!

Sweet dreams ARE made of this!

What happens when 5 men & a large group of women take over a casino for 3 days?

Pure MAGIC!

I was in Maine visiting with my family for the week leading up to the Hammond concerts. Thursday morning my daughter and I hit Logan airport for our flight home.  I suspected that there was a decent chance that I might run into one or both of the Knight brothers at the airport since I was flying an airline I know they frequently use, and since I knew that they would also be traveling to Chicago.  I didn't actually bump into them because they were on the flight after mine, but I did come very close to colliding with Kevin (@krunchtastic) walking through the terminal.  I was too shy to say hello to him & opted to send him a tweet instead.

As soon as I got home I had to rush off again to go pick up my friend from California at her hotel in the city and take her to a BH BBQ at another friend's house. I'd come down with a sinus infection on my last day of vacation, and the flight had really messed with me but the girls took great care of me. We had a blast chatting, trying to spot Donnie & Joe at the Lakers/Celtics game, and singing Karaoke (badly).

(finally giving my gal Brandie hugs in person!)

(The Joe girls! Brandie, Trisha, Steph & Me)

On Friday I was full of nervous energy. I knew that my friends from all over the country were arriving in Hammond & I couldn't wait to get there and start hugging the heck out of people.  Unfortunately, I had to wait for my husband and my friend Jess to get off work.  I finally arrived at the casino around 6:30 pm. Jess & I wandered around the casino for a few minutes figuring out where everything was, and then I went to find 2 of my favorite videomates at the bar. I hadn't seen Elizabeth since we left Burbank in October, and I was dying to catch up with Heather! I had to chuckle when I walked into the bar and saw Kevin sitting there chatting with my friends.  I told him I'd seen him at the airport but had been too shy to say hello. He laughed & said he'd been in a bad mood so it was probably better that way.  Elizabeth, Heather & I really wanted to get a pic of us together, but we had to do it quickly because there were gambling machines in the bar, so cameras are prohibited. Sadly, this was the best we could get without getting ourselves in trouble.

(videomates reunited! Elizabeth, Me & Heather)

We ran into our friend Julie as we were heading upstairs to the Venue. Julie had just come from her 5* and we were dying to hear how it went.  Julie filled us in on her awesome experience and we giggled and squeee'd and hugged like a bunch of crazy teenagers.  We were all just so happy and excited to be together. It was perfect.

Take 1 

(Heather, Renee, Karie, Me, Julie)

Take 2

Take 3

(sorry, we're just really happy)

Joe's Happy Girls

Finally, it was time to head in and find our seats. I knew that mine wouldn't be terrific, but I was a little sad to see that I was in the 2nd to last row of the 1st tier.  They were still great seats, but after leaning my elbows on the stage in January, being so far back was hard to get used to. I knew that I still had 2 more days of shows and my 5* floor seat ahead of me, so I decided that I was going to enjoy the hell out of the show no matter where my seat was.  Once the lights went down I was in heaven.  The guys hit the stage with a vengeance as they always do & the energy was amazing. I tried to take a few pictures, but they were all coming out blurry so I gave up and decided it was better to take it all in anyway.

I was dancing & singing along and having a great time when the guys started singing Tonight.  I knew that they would be coming out into the audience, but I wasn't sure exactly where they would be going.  It felt like chaos and I couldn't see where any of the guys were really, when all of the people around me started freaking out and I realized that Jon & Joe were headed up the aisle right next to me. I was only 4 seats away from the aisle, so I tried to get over to them, but I'm not a pushy person and neither one of them saw me.  Then Joe got up to the aisle that runs behind the 1st tier and he wasn't sure where to go.  He started wandering back & forth trying to figure out what to do, and I saw my golden opportunity.  There was no one sitting in the seats behind me, so I had the perfect situation. I'd been holding onto my "I heart EG" towel since the show started, just hoping for the right moment to hold it up...THIS was my chance!  I quickly whipped that sucker up, and the motion caught Joe's eye.  He looked down to see what it was, read it and started to walk away and then immediately did a double take.  His face lit up, his eyes got huge & he screamed "HIIIII!!!" at me.  I waved like and idiot & screamed "HIIIII!!!!" back at him.  Then, he turned to the security guy with him, and said "I HAVE to hug her!" and my heart skipped about 30 beats. I'm sorry, WHAT?! Did you just say you HAVE to hug me Joe? Well alright then!  And then I was standing there trying to figure out how the heck I was going to get close enough to hug the man.  Silly Shannon! I should have known I needn't worry.  Joe grabbed onto the security guy and quickly climbed over the railing and the row of seats to get to me.  He stood on the seat behind me and leaned over and gave me a hug as all of the people around me shrieked and freaked out.  I think my friend Jess might have had a minor stroke.  After we hugged, Joe stood back up and looked around to see where the rest of the guys were.  They were all in the audience too, so he stayed right where he was while they continued to sing.  I was so shocked by this turn of events that my brain turned to complete mush.  Joe was the last to get back to the stage, and at the time it seemed as though he'd held things up just to get our hug in.  After watching video of the show, I realize that wasn't exactly the case...but he was definitely thrilled to see me, and certainly made a specific point to come and hug me once he knew I was there.  Either way, I will NEVER forget the look on his face when he realized it was me.

(Joe standing on the chair behind me & singing Tonight after our hug)

The rest of the concert after that is pretty much a blur. I missed half of it because all the oxygen had left my brain at that point. I did make a special point of trying to focus my attention when Joe came out for his solo. It was the first time I would see it live...but I was still in such a haze and the thought that I had helped inspire such a masterpiece was just a little too much for me to take.  I watched & thoroughly enjoyed, but I didn't truly take it in.

As always, the show was over far too soon.  I didn't stick around for very long after the show because I had to drive Jess home and I knew that I had 2 more nights of little to no sleep ahead of me.

Saturday afternoon was sort of a bust for me.  I drove back to Hammond early in the afternoon hoping to have some time to hang out with friends before the show, but ended up sitting by myself in someone else's hotel room waiting for people to return from the BH luncheon due to a mix up with the front desk over room assignments.  I didn't want to mess up another person's hotel room, so I really couldn't even use the time to get ready.  Lucky for me, I had my phone and twitter to keep me company.

Eventually everyone returned and my friend Michele arrived at the hotel as well.  I hadn't seen Michele since January, so I was excited to have a chance to catch up with her. There is usually a lot of chaos whenever Michele and I are in the same place and we never get a chance to chat so it was nice to have the opportunity to gossip for a change!

Eventually we made our way to the casino. I bumped into a bunch of my friends while waiting around for show time.  I absolutely love that going to a NKOTB concert has become more like going to a family reunion. It was so nice catching up with old friends and putting faces to names of people I've been chatting with on twitter for months.

(Michele, Mel, Brandon, Tara & Me)

 Finally, show time arrived! I headed into the venue to find my seat.  I had bought a single ticket for this show and was supposed to be sitting next to a girl who I had met once before in the same section that I'd been in on Friday night...but through fortunate circumstances I ended up on the floor about 3 rows away from the stage.  I was all the way at the very end of the stage so some of my view was obstructed, but I couldn't have cared less.  I was with good friends and having an amazing time.

 (Trisha & Me hanging at the show)

The guys hit the stage and the rest of the world disappeared.  I thought that I might be able to get some decent pictures since my seats were so much closer, but I was foiled by the lighting yet again. I decided I was ok with it.  I knew tons of people would take pictures and I was quite content to just relax and enjoy the show.  I pulled my "I heart EG towel" out of my purse so that I would have it handy in case the right opportunity presented itself.  It wasn't long before I found my moment.  Joe headed over to the corner of the stage and I got the towel up just as he looked in my direction.  He pointed at me and made the most adorable smoochy face at me for about 20 seconds.  I pointed right back and grinned like a fool.

I enjoyed every second of the show.  I finally focused on Joe during his solo and was completely blown away.  That man just belongs on a stage...period (& if he wants to be half naked up there, well...that's ok by me!)

After the show I spent some time chatting with friends and we were wandering around when we discovered that a DJ was playing in the hallway outside the Venue.  There was a decent sized crowd and people seemed to be paying a lot of attention to an escalator just behind the DJ booth. Every so often people would look up to the top of the escalator and scream.  We weren't sure exactly what was going on, but we decided we'd stick around and see.  After a few minutes Donnie came down the escalator and joined the DJ for an impromptu "After party".  It was crowded & crazy and I couldn't even see Donnie...but it was still fun.  Even more fun was discovering that my friend Maria had made the last minute decision to drive all the way from NYC for the show!  Hooray for surprise hugs!

Finally Sunday arrived! 5* DAY!!!! I was remarkably calm all day long.  We had to check out of the hotel by 1pm, so I had to get myself ready early.  Not ideal, but no biggie.  After getting ready Annie and I met up with Michele to go and get some lunch. We found out some friends were already at the Cracker Barrel right by our hotel so we went to join them.

As we were finishing lunch, I got text messages that my friends Manda and Rebecca had both arrived in Hammond.  We were getting ready to walk back over to the hotel to meet up with them and give them their tickets to the show when the sky decided to open up with a torrential downpour.  PERFECT! No way in hell I was going to go to my 5* looking like a drowned rat!  Fortunately Manda rocks and she came and picked us up and drove us back to the hotel.  Rebecca was sharing a room with Michele for the night, so we gathered there for a few minutes to catch up before heading over to the casino.

Once again, I was happy to run into friends and spend some time chatting with them while we waited in line to check in.

(Me, Sabrina & Heather waiting in line)

(Two giddy Joe girls ready to hug our guy!)

Finally, the time arrived and we checked in and went upstairs to the party.  There were only 6 of us in our group, so we were all anxious to find out who the final 4 people would be.  Heather and I were definitely nervous that we would end up with a Joe girl or two.  We were thrilled when we lined up and discovered that the girls wanted to stand with Jordan and Jon.  That was PERFECT! Our group had the rest of the guys covered already.  Heather and I were the last 2 to go into the room.  I was surprised to see how tiny the room was when I walked in and I was a little disoriented.  I looked for Heather's pink shirt because I knew that if I found her I would find Joe.  I quickly located them and walked over as Joe was reading Heather's shirt.  Her shirt said "Joe, I've put in my time" on the front and then on the back it said "Now you put out" and had a picture of lips on it.  Joe was loving it and had no clue that I was even in the room at first.  He finished reading it and he was commenting to Heather when it dawned on him that someone else had walked over.  He turned to look at me and I watched the sweetest smile appear on his face as he realized it was me.

Then he said "Oh! I get BOTH my girls tonight?" and reached out to give me a hug.  Heather knew that I'd never had a full on hug with Joe and she stepped back to allow me to have my moment.  As soon as I finished hugging Joe they called for pictures.  I went to step back and almost stepped on the girl standing next to me which totally threw me off.  Luckily I think the pictures turned out pretty well.

As soon as they finished taking the pictures they started telling us to leave the room, but Joe held onto us and I sure as hell wasn't leaving as long as he had his arm around me! Then he said "Now girls, you know I can't kiss you but here's the deal..." and he reached over and grabbed Donnie's shoulder to get his attention.  Heather and I both freaked out and said "NO!" and tried to convince him that neither of us had any desire to kiss Donnie.  I wanted to say "Joe you jackass! We can't kiss anyone for the same reason that you can't"...but I resisted.  We were talking when one of the other girls (not one of the friends we arrived with) came over and interrupted us. I just stood there & rubbed his back and arm as Joe gave her a quick hug and then dismissed her to get back to us.  He said "I'm sorry, but I just can't kiss anyone" and I said "No, of course not, but we just want to give you a kiss on the cheek" and he sort of smirked and said "The cheek?" and then stuck his neck out a little.  Heather and I weren't about to wait for an engraved invitation so we both quickly planted one on his scruffy cheeks.  At that point I knew that security was about to drag us out by our hair, so I gave his hand a squeeze and said thank you and started to leave.  As we were walking away Joe called out "Bye girls! I love you guys!" and my heart just melted.  I said "Love you too!" and blew him a kiss as I walked out the door.

Once we were out of the room I discovered that the "other" girls who had been with us had lied and two of them went directly to Donnie as soon as they walked in, freezing out the 2 girls in our group who had been planning on standing with Donnie for the pictures.  I was sad to hear that the rest of our group had not had a good experience.  I was also a little upset because my assigned seat was 10th row.  It was a terrific seat, but it irritated me to know that people had purchased better tickets for 1/4 of what I had paid for mine.  I knew going in that I was only guaranteed the 1st 10 rows...but it is a seriously flawed system.  If  I pay $425 for my ticket, I should not have people in front of me who only paid $115.

At any rate, it was a wonderful night and I don't regret it at all.  I am thrilled to have had the experience.  I feel confident in saying that I will not be buying another 5* ticket.  I can't see spending that much money when I didn't even have the opportunity to say hello to any of the other guys (yes, if all I wanted to do was hug all 5 it could have happened, but that hardly seems worth it to me), and I can get a better seat by just waiting until the last minute to buy one. (rant over)

The show was AMAZING!  I felt like the guys brought it even harder than they had either of the other 2 nights.  Joe was DEFINITELY more evil than I'd ever seen him for his solo.  It was pure bliss watching him in his element.  I watched with an odd mixture of pride & lust.  I swear the man is going to be the death of me one day.  He knows it too. Brat.

The show ended and we spent some time chatting in the bar before heading home.  Donnie performed in the hallway again, but we were tired and we knew that the crowd was going to be insane so we skipped it.

I was sad that the weekend was coming to an end, but I was also exhausted and couldn't wait to get home to my bed to begin the recovery process.

I just want to say thank you to all of the amazing women who were a part of a my magical weekend.  I love you guys!  Also, in case you happen to play stalker & come read this... THANK YOU JOE! xoxooxo