On a steel horse I drive (to Oklahoma in my Volvo...)

Yep, it's that time again...the boys are touring and me and Bonnie are along for the ride (well, at least one ride and one trip downtown).  Last night, we made our way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for the first concert of the tour that we will be attending.  We wore our new shirts that we got each other for Christmas thinking that we'd be a part of many people that would be all "blinged" out, however, it seemed like we were in the minority a little, but we didn't care...we were ready to rock and enjoy ourselves.  We had great seats and sat next to some people that were into the concert too, so we had a great time!  The concert was awesome!  Probably one of my favorite that I've been to thus far.  They played for almost three hours, sang 26 songs and sang all the hits new and old!  It was a great concert!  Nice, loud crowd and the band was on fire! It's been almost 24 hours since the concert and I am still hoarse from scream/singing for 3 hours and very tired, but would do it all over again in a minute if I could cause it is such a fun experience! Seriously, if you've never been to one of these concerts...go!  You won't be disappointed!

Some pics for your viewing pleasure...

Richie was back and on his "A" game this time
(unlike how we saw him much of the last tour before rehab)

Making some fan very happy singing directly to her!
Bed of roses was fantastic!

Captain America! 

He's looking right at me...all the way up in row "P"
I'm just sure of it!

Now, mind you, this wasn't the only concert we've been to in the last week...last Sunday, we drove to Tulsa, Oklahoma to see Muse in concert.  I wasn't as familiar with their music, but am a good friend and want to support my friend's obsession, and agreed to an adventure/road trip.  It was a great concert and I really loved the music.  They are 100% different than Bon Jovi, but the concert was awesome, great set, great crowd, great time!  

Smile:  What have I smiled about lately?
I have smiled at how my sweet friend seriously has an obsession with Zombies.  Last night as we drove back to the hotel from the concert, we saw a guy stumbling out of a bar..we think he got sick and clearly was having a hard time walking.  Now, I just thought it was a drunk guy that needed to go home and get some rest...Bonnie on the other hand had a different perspective on the situation and said "If I didn't know better, I'd think he was a Zombie."  I can honestly say that would probably never come out of my mouth, but laughed really hard when Bonnie said it.  I do seriously hope the Zombie Apocalypse doesn't happen..that guy was scary enough without being one! (or was he??)

Celebrate:  What do I celebrate?
I celebrate that I've successfully completed two weeks of Graduate School and am really liking what I'm learning.  I am trying to apply what I'm learning and while it's hard, I do think I can do it!  I can't wait to see what I learn this week!

Love:  What do I love?

I love this new organization that I've learned about from Church called, Compassion International.  It's an organization that supports children in third world countries that are in severe poverty.  I've signed up to help a little boy, named Kalissa in Rwanda.  I'm so excited to be playing a role in a little boy's life and look forward to getting to know him through the years! 

Thought for the day:
I don't believe in complicated formulas for success. Here's mine: Act like it depends on you Pray like it depends on God -- Jon Gordon


And...I couldn't end the blog without giving you a taste of the awesomeness...One of the new songs on the "What about Now" album.  Here's the title track...makes you want to go out and do something to make a difference...I hope you will.

Calm, Strong, Grateful...

Three phrases that I'm trying to live by every day.  I've been practicing breathing exercises and meditation to help me keep calm.  I've been working out regularly and trying to strengthen body.  I've been keeping a gratitude journal since the end of January.  All three of these things have brought me greater peace and joy into my life.  While I can't say that every day has been stress and anxiety free, I do have better tools to cope during those moments.  I'm down 6 pounds since starting Weight Watchers and feel great about my progress so far.  Focusing on the things I'm grateful for have helped me to see all the blessings in my life and by having these as some of my last thoughts before falling asleep, I've had very restful night's rests in the past month.  All in all, being calm, strong and grateful have proven to be the medicine I need to remain happy and healthy!

NBC Wednesday Nights at 7:30 CST

Smile:  What have I smiled about lately?
I have enjoyed a new show on TV called Guys with Kids that is produced by Jimmy Fallon.  I think it is one of the funniest shows on TV and look forward to each Wednesday night.  It's a good show that doesn't have all the adult references and lewd comments and is just a good show to watch to forget about the day.  Try it out...you may like it as much as I do and I promise, you'll at least laugh at the cute kids on the show!

Celebrate:  What do I celebrate?
I celebrate that my mid year review (we do mid year performance reviews at this time due to our fiscal year ending at the end of July) was much better than I thought it would be.  I'm very hard on myself and have felt that I haven't really given it my all this year at this job, so I wasn't anticipating to hear all the kind words that I did.  I celebrate that it was fair and balanced and overall was good, so I'm celebrating this victory this week!

I also celebrate that it's my BFF's birthday (or it was on Tuesday).  I'm so grateful she was born and so grateful she's my friend!  The world really is a better place because she's in it and I'm a better person because of her!  Happy Birthday sweet Bonnie!  We'll have lots of fun at our concerts and looking forward to seeing Wicked in April.  I sure am going to miss you when you move across town! 






Love:  What do I love?

I love the opportunity to work from home from time to time to get things done.  I try not to take advantage of this too much and I wish that I could do it at least once a week, but that's not really acceptable in my office, so I'm grateful for being able to do it on occasion.  It helps me feel quite productive, allows me to focus on something that I'd otherwise be distracted easily and allows me to rejuvenate myself so I can face the office again.  Recently Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer said no telecommuting for anyone at Yahoo!  I sure hope this doesn't become the norm for more software companies in Silicon Valley!  Let's hope that my company still allows it, cause it's a perk I don't want to give up, even if I can't do it all the time!

Thought for the day:

Cheers!