Bon Jovi!!!

Rachel and Steve waiting on line to see Bon Jovi

Me and Rachel waiting on line to see Bon Jovi:

Me and Steve waiting on line to see Bon Jovi:

Well, for those of you who don't know, I won tickets to a "private" mini-concert to see see Bon Jovi outside the New Giant Stadium. The stadium has not been built yet, so the concert was to be held outside, in the parking lot. I had found out from the Bon Jovi fan club that tickets to this mini- concert were being given away for free, one just had to enter the contest via e-mail and wait to see if your name was picked. So i entered, of course, and waited. I went to school on Tuesday night, not able to pay attention much because all i could think about was, Lord, please let me win these tickets. For those of you who don't know, Bon Jovi is a passion of mine, has been since i was 15. I would do just about anything to be able to see them, so you can imagine my excitement when i had a chance to see the boys for free. So i waited and waited and waited with baited breath, and then had to go to school, even though i knew the winners would be announced while i was at school. So, I had Rachel watching my e-mail for me with strict instructions to call me if she found out i had one of the "winning" e-mails. I kept checking my phone all throughout class! As i was leaving class for the night, Steven called and told me i had won!!! Yay!!! So, he printed out our tickets. Steven was supposed to work the day of the concert, but he wanted to go, so he switched shifts with someone  just so he could go with me. The concert was Thursday afternoon, so Steven worked the overnight Wednesday shift. Rachel also wanted to go and was so excited when i told her she would be going with us. So, Steve worked over night on Wednesday night to early Thursday morning, and Rachel and I woke up at 4 am on Thursday morning so that we could meet Steve at his store at 6, have some breakfast, and drive to New Jersey. Rachel and i had slept maybe 3 hours and Steve did not sleep at all, cause he was working, but we were all just happy to be able to go. We drove for about 2 hours and got to the stadium about 9 am. And then we waited on line. For 3 hours. Some people had been on line since midnight the night before, and it sounds bad, but i don't blame them. I would definitely stand on line all night if it meant i could get front row seats. But, by the time we got on the line, there were probably like 3 or 4 hundred people in front of us. Which wasn't really that bad, since the concert was for like 5000 people. Once they opened the gate, we found that the closest we could get was about 8 rows of people behind the front. Which is not that bad. Rachel was introduced to the "wonderful" facts of General Admission---standing on line for 3 hours and getting squooshed when everybody tries to get as close as possible to the stage. Thank God Steve was there, he is such a big guy, I had no fear whatsoever that we would get squooshed. But, my back was killing me. When the guys finally took the stage, it was an overwhelming feeling for me. I have been to Bon Jovi concerts before, but this was the first time i was so close with my hubby with me and i also never was able to share the Jovi experience with any of my kids. I was so filled with emotion, i cried for two straight songs. Not like sobbing, but i definitely had to keep wiping my eyes!! I just love this band so much, I can't really explain it. Their music is inspiring and their voices bring me to new levels of appreciation for the band. They only sang 6 songs, but that was enough for me!!

This is a picture of the workers who are building the new stadium and how they stopped working to listen to the band:

 This is Richie Sambora. He is the guitar player and shares vocals with Jon. When he harmonizes with jon, it sounds like magic.He has two solo albums out, and we are all waiting for another one, his voice is full of soul and beauty. He looked so great, so happy to be there. His life had started to spiral out of control during the last album and tour ( for the Lost Highway album), but he is now doing better than ever and i could not take my eyes of of him. He just looked happier than i had ever seen him:

 This is the key board player, David Bryan. He always has a smile for the crowd. He is so talented, he has written a musical that is now on Broadway called Memphis, which has gotten very good reviews. He has a great voice and is brilliant on the keys. Just incredible:

 

Another one of Richie giving us his all. He sounded great:

Of course, this is Jon. He sounded great, he looked great. Need i say more:

The drummer behind Richie is Tico, and he is the best. His arms never stop moving. He is the calm voice of reason and the oldest of the band members. He is an Artist who has some paintings in the art museums of New York and is an avid golfer. The last picture is just to give an idea of how many people were in front of us. To bad i didn't turn around to take a picture. There were thousands behind us. If you want to see some of the concert, you can go to www.bonjovi.com and click on media. It was great!!
I would have loved for them to sing for the usual two and a half hours, but we knew that it would only last for about 45 minutes, and that's ok, i love this band so much i probably would have gone if they only sang two songs. Their next album is coming out Nov. 10th and i can't wait. Tonight on showtime, they are releasing the brand new documentary about the band and i'm looking forward to watching it. The band starts touring next Feb. and will be in my area in March and in May they are opening the new Giants stadium. Tickets are on sale starting Monday, and my birthday is coming up ;). Feel free to add to my Jovi fund, he-he. They say that Disney World is the happiest place on earth. Not for me, for me, the happiest place is a Jovi concert!! This year, the fan club is offering great seats and VIP packages and trips. Unfortunately they are extremely pricey, but one day i WILL get front row seats,  I just know it. Looking forward to what the band has in store for us fans!!!
Today i am thankful for:
1. My husband, who lost a whole night of sleep, just so he can see me enjoy myself
2. Getting Free tickets to see my favorite band
3. Being able to share my passion with my family

My Mind Says Go, My Body Says No

Well, my busy week is over, and has been for a couple of days, except now i have been in bed for 2 days with a headache, body aches, sore chest, cough and fatigue!! How rotten! Plus, Matt has been sick since Thursday. Erin and I went to the Gala on Saturday night to volunteer and it was going good for a while. We got there around 4:30 and got acclimated to what we would need to be doing. It was all very fancy!! The room was set up like a reception for 500 rich people, except all around the borders of the room were like 20 different restaurant "booths" in which the guests could go around to from 6-9 and get food from each one. Our job was to seat the guests from 5:30 to 7 and then roam around the 50 tables to make sure that all the empty plates and cups were cleared off the tables in order to make room for more. Most of the guests were very nice and chipper (open bar), but some were cranky and felt that we were bugging them by removing their plates. Anyway, after about 2 hours, my body started getting really tired and my back and ankle started to burn and feel just really bad. My mind was ready to go, but my body was screaming at me to stop. We took a little break and then went back to work. By 9:30, I just did not think that i could stand up another hour and a half, so Erin and I left. Even though there were plenty of volunteers, i still felt really bad leaving before the event was over, especially because the head of the Gala was beginning to see me as the "leader" of the other volunteers in my section and was counting on me. But, i just could NOT go on. So, we went home and went to bed. The next morning, Sunday, i woke up achy and coughing and just all around exhausted, so i laid on the couch all day. Thank God the TAU yard sale was called off due to rain, because i would have had to go, even feeling awful as i did. But, i laid around and slept most of the day and thought i would feel better today, but my joints are hurting and my chest is hurting and i'm tired. Thankfully, neither Matt nor I have a fever, maybe a low grade one, but not a high one. I called the doctor to get Matt in for an Appointment, but they said that unless he has a fever, it is probably just a cold/flu and just to rest, fluids, etc. Hopefully he will go to school tomorrow and so will I.

I just found out that me and Erin got our picture in the paper for that night, so here it is:






In other news, my friend Debbie called me to tell me that their van had been totaled this morning by a high-speed chase that ended with the stolen car flying into her yard, knocking out her fence, and smashing the stolen car into her van, which then smashed into the side of her house!! So, now they have no car for who knows how long and will have to pay the deductible because the other car was stolen so that car's insurance won't cover it. It feels bad when one's very close friend is hurting and there is nothing i can do to help. Please pray for Deb and her family. If Court can't get to work, everything will get all messed up!
Oh, my friend Jon is now home from the hospital, still lost his memory, but physically he is doing better.

Today i am thankful for:
1. The ability to sit in bed when i feel crappy
2. The fact that Erin has her license and can do the grocery shopping when i feel crappy
3. The fact that my hubby never expects the house to be perfect so that i can lay here and feel crappy, but not feel guilty ;)

Jon's Status and an Overview of my Week

Just a quick update. We found out that the bleeding in jon's brain is not a new thing or anything to worry about. The nurse who told us about it was wrong. Thank God. But, Jon still does not remember anything past 2007 and will be getting an EEG and another MRI on his back because the Dr. thinks he may have suffered nerve damage due to his last surgery.
So today I am doing a little school with Rachel, going to the hospital for a bit, then going to school early to sell Flower bulbs, than class tonight. Tomorrow, I have a TUA meeting, will take Rachel to visit Jon, then will go to school at night. Thursday i have a PTK meeting and a lot of catch up to do, then Friday and Saturday, Rachel and i will be baking for the TUA yard/bake sale. Saturday night, me and Erin are volunteering at the school from 5-10 for the Gourmet Gala, then Sunday morning is the yard/bake sale. Busy week!! Wish me luck.

An Update On My Friend Jon

I just got back from the hospital, where i spent about 8 hours, and thought i would update Jon's status. He got an MRI today, the doctor said it would be ok because the metal in his back is titanium. After waiting all day, we found out that Jon is bleeding in his brain. I'm not really sure what they plan on doing about it, because the results did not even come back until I was on my way home, about 8 o'clock pm. Jon was in good fairly good spirits today, but would tear up occasionally when he was reminded of something he didn't want to forget, such as the death of a friend and not being able to remember new friends when they came in to visit (he still does not remember anything before August of 2007, so any friends he made since then, he doesn't recognize them). So, continue to keep the Monroe family in your thoughts and prayers. I am trying to go down there again tomorrow and be there for Courtney as much as possible, especially if Jon needs some type of surgery. Thankfully, Rachel has the day off tomorrow (her school calendar follows Appoquinimic School District calendar and they are off) and I am able to work out having the car for the day again.

Today, I am thankful for:
1. My supportive husband, who has been cooking dinner for the past week :-)
2. The health of my family
3. The ability to be there for my friend

A Sick Friend

I just found out that a good friend of mine is in the hospital. His name is Jon and he is Courtney's husband. Jon had back surgery about 2 months ago and has been recuperating fairly well, except for some weakness in his left leg. When Courtney came home today, she found Jon on the floor, as he had just fallen and could not get up. She put him into bed and he seemed fine for a bit, but then he started to get anxious and not able to recognize his surroundings. She called an ambulance, and he went to the hospital. Now, he can not remember the last 2 years of his life and we don't know why. The CAT scan read that he was fine, but he can't get an MRI because he has metal in his back. My friend Courtney is a bit overwhelmed and i plan on spending the day with her tomorrow at the hospital, so that she has a friend to lean on. So, please pray for Jon's health, Courtney's anxiety, and my witness.

Sorting, Selling and Stretching

Another week has flown by. It seems like I only post once a week, usually on Wednesday nights after i come home from school. Once Wednesday is over, i feel a little less crazy because my school is over for the week and I have a long weekend to do any homework and/or housework. This past week i've had a lot on my mind, and i'm sure my husband and kids would tell you that i've been cranky. It's just that between the ptk honor society, the tau honor society, my classes and Rachel's homeschooling, there is so much to get done and it feels like i'm going in 3 or 4 different directions all the time. I really want to "network" by volunteering for ptk and by running the tau effectively while keeping my 3.8 average, but being the president of a whole honor society is really stressing me out. I want to do well. I want to prove to my future employers that I am able to do well under pressure. Given my history with the mental health industry in Delaware, i feel like any background checks that my future employers might do may keep me from getting a job. I feel like I'm gonna need something on record that shows that I'm ok, and not just ok but very employable and able to handle whatever is thrown my way. Which is true, but in doing all these things i'm doing to prove that i'm ok, i kind of feel stretched.
Tomorrow I am going down to the college to have lunch with the President of the college and then i'm gonna go around to as much faculty as possible to try and sell some flower bulbs. I've been told that this flower bulb fundraiser is usually our club's biggest fundraiser, but i fear that this year (the year i'm in charge) we will have like no sales. So i'll take tomorrow to sell my little heart out. Then i'll come home and try to figure out what needs to be done for the big yard sale/bake sale that i'm in charge of for tau. We only have a week and a half left and so much to do. Thankfully, i have a couple of members from tau who really are doing a lot of the work, but there is still much to do and not a lot of time, and i don't delegate well. Then, hopefully, i will be able to go to the new Bible study on prayer that's at my church. I missed it the last two times they got together, so i really need to reconnect (and maybe someone there will be someone to buy flower bulbs too ;)).
Thankfully Steve is off for a couple of days, so he can help Rachel do schoolwork while I do my stuff.
I have volunteered a couple of times for PTK so far, and next Saturday the college is sponsoring a big Gourmet Gala that Erin and I may volunteer for from 5-11. Then, the next day i will need to be at my adivisors house at 7am to set up for the yard/bake sale. Oh, i guess i will need to spend that Saturday afternoon before the gala baking a bunch of stuff for the bake part of the sale. I'm sure Rachel will want to help with that.
Whatever I do, I just want to do really, really well. I'm kind of like an all or nothing kind of person. The only problem is, in order to be really great at some things, i need to put other things on the back burner for a while. Except lately, i've just been doing a little bit of everything instead of being really great at one or two things. I feel guilty that i'm not wanting to spend all my time at home anymore. I want to get out into the world and live a little. Except my kids need me at home still. So, that's why i've been feeling stretched. Stretched between what i want to do and what i'm supposed to do. For some reason, it feels like my desire to go out and do well at things other than housework, cooking, and mommy stuff is not a good desire. I'm not sure if it's just because i haven't done anything outside the house in 17 years or because it is actually wrong for me to want to go out and work, but my desire to be working outside of the home seems wrong somehow. Well, that's what i've been struggling with. It always helps me to put stuff like this in writing so that i may start to sort it out, which i'm sure i will do sooner or later. Either way, I am thankful that i even have the opportunity to learn new things and start taking steps towards the next stage of my life. Just a few more years and I won't have any kids at home, so i am very thankful that i am preparing for my future now. That way, when they are all grown, I will be ready too.
So, tonight I am thankful for:
1. The opportunity to go to college
2. Overcoming challenges
3. My husband, who is my cheerleader when i'm facing a challenge.