The Block

Rosie had such a blast getting ready for the concert! I let her wear her sparkly shirt, makeup, and jewelry. She made the poster, but unfortunately the ticket-takers said no posters were allowed, so we had to put it back in the car.
I was actually pretty impressed with the Palace at Auburn Hills. It looks like it probably received some recent upgrades, because there are restaurants and more-modern-looking features than some other arenas I've visited. This pic was taken between Natasha Bedingfield and NKOTB.
Look at my grown-up little girl! She says that Joe is her favorite. Probably because I showed her the original video to "Please Don't Go Girl," where Joey is only about 3 years older than she is now.
Even with all the concerts I've been to, I have to rate this as one of the most entertaining. It brought back so many nostalgic memories, and I created some new ones with Rosie. The lady sitting next to us couldn't believe that Rosie knew the words to so many of the songs!
There's quite a few videos on YouTube from this concert tour, including I'll be Loving You Forever, Step by Step, and bare-chested Jordan singing Baby I Believe in You.

Listen up, Cali folks…my first giveaway!

This weekend I’ll be in California. It’s time to see my family and friends, and soak up some sun. As I was looking at rental cars, I found a super deal on my rental car, and gas prices are down dramatically. I’m not totally broke after paying bills this time. I’m feeling generous…so my first giveaway is now! And what is the fabulous prize?

FREE BREAKFAST WITH NICOLE
(up to $10 value)

If you are free for breakfast Saturday morning (November 1) please comment! Tell me why you deserve a meal and 1-2 hours of my precious time in Cali. Whether you’re a long-time friend or non-scary blog lurker, this is your chance to eat with the infamous phenomenon that is Cuteculturechick. You will even be free to choose the restaurant!
If you want to bring a friend (or two that knows and loves me) to enjoy the meal, bring ‘em along!
Who’s feelin’ lucky?

IT'S ON

Just like Donnie punches into his Blackberry at the beginning of the "Summertime" music video....it's on. I just won my ebay auction for tickets to the NKOTB concert tonight. I got the pair for $75, which is actually one dollar less than face value before convenience fees would be. I'm glad I didn't buy them on Ticketmaster yesterday...my patience saved me $24. Rosie and I are so excited. She wants to make posters and wear makeup.

Tagged by Celeste

3 Joys
-My family and Friends
-Culture (Music, theater, movies, pop culture)
-Good Food

3 Fears
-Offending others
-Uncontrollable Fires
-Being in debt the rest of my life

3 Obsessions
-Things that taste good
-Trying new things and being unique
-Being "connected" - internet, texting, blogging, etc...

3 Surprising Facts
-I've gone to a dermatologist regularly since I was 7 years old (and need to make another appointment)
-I've been a bride twice, but I've always wanted to be a bridesmaid. I want the dress that looks good in group pictures, but is kinda embarrassing on its own
-I like cars more than the average girl. I can look at almost any car and know what make, model, and approximate year it is. I blame my Grandpa Jack for it...he's owned over 1200 cars in his life!

8 Things I'm Passionate About
-My husband
-Rosie
-My Faith
-Music and singing
-Having good relationships with family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors
-Traveling
-Making a marked difference in the world during my life
-Getting a good deal

8 Words or Phrases I Often Say
-Sweet
-Crazy
-"On this blog, I read...."
-Lovely
-So....
-Seriously!?!
-Please
-So, what'cha want to do tonight?

8 Things I Want to do Before I die
-Visit Every Continent
-Sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
-Have the option to work or stay-at-home, because my income isn't a necessity
-Finish my education
-Get down to a healthy weight
-Get cast in a play with a part other than CHORUS
-Go on a mission with Taylor
-Get caught up with scrapbooking and family history

8 Things I Pray For
-My family
-Happiness
-Security
-Peace
-My friends
-Help overcoming my faults
-Strength to be better
-Patience

8 Things I've Learned
-The Golden Rule
-Love unconditionally
-What is right is not always popular
-Nobody's perfect
-Nothing tastes as good as thin feels
-It's better to spend money on experiences than things
-What doesn't kill us makes us stronger
-When life is too hard to stand, kneel

8 People I tag:
Emily, Lia, Brittany, Erin, Jennette, Lori, Brett, Suzy

Tempted...

Ever since I heard about the New Kids on the Block reunion tour, I've really wanted to go to their reunion concert. My first concert, February 14, 1991 was NKOTB at the Memorial Colosseum in Portland, OR. I've never denied how much I love NKOTB....even as embarrassing as that may be. I've debated and debated over if it's worth the cost that a pair of tickets would be...as Rosie has already been tainted my my teenybopper obsession and can sing along to about 10 of their songs. Then I heard the date, and connected that it was the same day as Rosie's Halloween carnival at school. I downloaded "The Block" this week, and very surprised at how much I liked it. But this morning, there was a commercial on the morning news...saying that the NKOTB concert was on Saturday, not Friday. Suddenly the option to go is available again, since the carnival is tonight. Should I do it?

A pilot widow week

This morning Taylor left for Memphis for CAT-II training. He'll overnight there, and then fly up to Montreal for 4 days of simulator bliss. He will be at the Bombardier Headquarters, and apparently its a pretty nice place to train. Unfortunately, that means we're going to go 4 days without talking on the phone. I've briefly blogged about it before, but Taylor is very anti-surcharge when it comes to our phones. It took two years before he agreed that it was worth the $5/month to add texting to his phone. He knows it would only be $5/month to be able to call from Canada, but since he flies there infrequently, he doesn't want to sign up for a month, just to cancel. It's 35 cents per text, so we'll text if it's an "emergency." We're going to rely on webcams and instant messaging to communicate for the next few days. It means we'll only get to chat at night, but better than nothing!

Once he's done in Montreal, he flies back to Atlanta Monday afternoon. He hopes to take care of his SIDA badge and get his parking pass Monday. He'll fly home to Detroit sometime Tuesday, pack up his car, and "move" to Atlanta Wednesday. His first flight in his new bird is Thursday - Friday. His November schedule should be posted tomorrow, but it will likely be a month of reserve.

It was so nice to have him home for 5 days. It's going to be a long time till he has that much time off in the same location as me for a long time.

As for the job hunt...about 20 applications in, two "thanks, but no thanks" emails, and no calls.

October Mega-Picture Post

Friday night we went to our ward Halloween party. There was a trunk-or-treat in the parking lot, then carnival games, donuts, and cider inside. Rosie wore her witch costume, and I threw together an disco fashion victim ensemble in about 10 minutes before going out the door.

In honor of Taylor's last Saturday in Michigan, we decided to do some touristy Michigan things. We went to pick out a pumpkin with Rosie, then drove to Hell. No seriously. Hell, Michigan. It's an itty-bitty town with about 4 buildings. The building in the pictures is the Screams Ice Cream parlor. You can top your ice cream with many creepy toppings served directly out of a coffin. There's all sorts of prank novelties, souvenir tees, and Halloween stuff...many priced conveniently at $6.66!

We then drove to Frankenmuth, Michigan's little Bavaria (and big tourist trap). There's a replica chapel like the one in Austria where "Silent Night" was performed the first time. The main attraction is Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, the world's biggest Christmas store. It's like five Costco-sized buildings all in one, erupting with holiday cheer. Outside are many creches and nativities and Santa statues. We should have bought one of the "Pilot's are just "PLANE" fun" ornaments.

Next we decided that we wanted to see one of the Great Lakes, so we thought we'd drive up to Saginaw Bay. With a very inadequate map (on the back of the Christmas Store brochure) we drove up through one of the most depressed areas I've ever seen. Boarded-home after boarded-up home. Abandoned manufacturing plants. Post-urban decay. After getting lost for an hour between Saginaw and Bay City, we decided to just head back. We went to the Pearces', our surrogate Michigan family, and watched Iron Man in their home theater.

Overall, a great family day!

Oh, Atlanta

A few people have asked how our Atlanta trip went. It was really fun to travel and enjoy a child-less trip. It was the first time we'd been on a passenger flight together, without Rosie, since our honeymoon. We touched down in Atlanta around 9 am, deplaned at 9:45, and got to our rental car at 10:30. My $13/day compact car rental turned out to be really nice Mustang. We drove into Stone Mountain at Clint's house around 11:15, and stayed up wayyy past our bedtimes.

In the morning, I insisted on finally having breakfast at the Waffle House. The cheesy eggs were very tasty. Then we went to Stone Mountain to look around. We then spent the next 5 hours driving and driving. We went through Decatur, Druid Hills, downtown, Smyrna, Marietta, Vinings, and more. We checked out a few apartments, and have one in mind that's our top choice in Smyrna. We then met up with Taylor's BYU roommate Hank, and his wife Marissa for a BBQ. Their apartment was right on the Chattahoochee river, and it was a perfect afternoon for a BBQ. Afterwards, we went to the Ansley Park Playhouse to see Clint's sister, Tina McKissick, star in the play "Veranda." Post-performance, we went to a fabulous Mexican restaurant and hung out at Tina's. We stumbled back into bed around 2 am.

The next morning, Taylor and I headed off after breakfast. We checked out the Camp Creek area, and started driving to Peachtree City (but ran out of time and turned around). We got some lunch in a pretty sketchy part of town near the airport, turned the Mustang back into the rental agency, and found our gates in the terminal. I got the last seat available back to DTW. Taylor got bumped from a flight (full of 15 pilots vying for the jumpseats on a full flight) before scoring a seat to Memphis for training.

Everybody's Got a Pretty Friend

Last week, Taylor and I were listening to his new Zune (I’m such an awesome wife for getting him what he really wanted for once). “Pretty Friend” by Frente came on, and Taylor said “Wow, this song really reminds me of 2001.” I burst out laughing. My cousin Susan and I used to listen to Marvin the Album by Frente over and over in junior high in 1994. Granted, it’s only a 7 year difference, but there’s a big maturity difference between 8th grade and early adult life.

A lot of my teen-year music choices were influenced by Susan. One of my favorite memories with Susan is having her sleep over and my house, listening to one song at a time, over and over. The ones I recall most vividly are “One” by U2, “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden, “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin and "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. She made me listen to Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, and other stuff from X96. I made her listen to The Beatles, They Might be Giants and 80’s New Wave stuff that I discovered from Randy (who deserves a full blog post of his own). Sometimes our cousin Mark from down the street would sneak in my bedroom basement window and listen to music with us till the early morning hours.

Susan and I were born 10 days apart. For our young years, I lived in Portland and she lived in Salt Lake. I was always excited when we’d visit Utah because I’d get to spend time with Susan. She is one of the coolest people I’ve ever known. She is stylish, outgoing, intelligent, and beautiful. I think the only way I handled my family’s move to Utah by knowing that I’d finally be living close to Susan. We went to choir concerts and stake dances, on drives up the canyon, and shopping at Fashion Place Mall. We worked together at her dad’s optometry office. We always kept each other informed on boys we liked, boys we kissed, and boys that wouldn’t leave us alone. We got married the same year. We were pregnant with our daughters at the same time. She just found out she's pregnant with her 4th baby, and I'm so excited for her. She keeps me company on MSN messenger when I'm lonely at night. And she's a great friend. I love you Susie-Q!

Ordinary Angels by Frente!

You get the world for your birthday baby
Open your eyes and say yes, no, maybe
The box ticks on, the core is a bomb
The world is silent, you listen like a lover to it

Sometimes a mirror's a miracle
Sometimes it's nothing at all
In this reflection even angels fall
You could fly anytime
Even though you own your own comet

Ordinary people it's okay
You don't have to wear those wings
They're stupid things

I know some dizzy, easy heights
Don't stop your life at the lights
Don't be smart, be a beginner
Don't be wrong, even when it's right

Ordinary people it's okay
Where not watching anyway
It's okay

Telecom-Smile

This picture was taken of Taylor in Georgia this weekend, and it's one of my favorites taken in a while. What a hunk! How'd I get so lucky?

My Work Window

I don't think I've ever enjoyed the changing of seasons into fall as much as I have this year. One of the best things is the view from my work window. Taking a cell phone picture just doesn't do it justice! Click the pic to enlarge. I love the brilliant, golds, crimsons, oranges, bronzes, and tan leaves, especially in Ann Arbor...the tree city. Tonight is a full, gorgeous harvest moon. October is awesome.

Checking in from ATL

This weekend, Taylor and I have been in Atlanta. He starts training for his new plane on Monday. When we boarded the half-empty plane on Friday, we looked at each other with a cock-eyed face. We realized this was the first flight we'd taken, just the two of us, since our honeymoon. For a couple that flies thousands and thousands of miles, it's pretty funny that it's been so long. Oh wait, there was one trip in the Cessna 172 right after he passed his private pilot checkride, but that still was 3 years ago...

We've been checking out neighborhoods and apartments, spending some time downtown, spending time with friends, had a BBQ on the Chattahoochee, enjoyed Stone Mountain, saw a hillarious play, finally tried the Waffle House, and today we'll part our separate ways again. As I laid in bed this morning, I just had such a good feeling. I'm certain that this will be a good move for us. We don't know exactly where we'll live, or exactly where we'll work, or exactly when we'll move...but it's right.

Taylor's two favorite things about 2004

Me and his bimmer. Unfortunately, the bimmer started blowing out blue smoke shortly after our wedding, and we had to buy another car (the era of the Blackura). Apparently he couldn't handle both of us.

Four Years

Today Taylor and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. I decided to post a few pics from the beginning of our relationship.

Taylor and I met on ldsmingle.com. Above is the profile picture that Taylor fell in love with. He specifically searched for girls with dark hair and blue eyes. He sent me a "wink," I replied with an email, and a few days later we met for lunch. Below is Taylor's profile picture from Mingle.
We met in April 2004, but sparks didn't really fly until July. We went on two dates in April, and I thought he was wonderful, but the timing wasn't right. The next time I saw him was on my family's 4th of July BBQ at Grant and Hollie's. Things went really well, he loved my family, and we set up a date for the next Saturday. That night we had our first kiss, and we started seeing each other frequently.

This picture is the first one we took of us together. I surprised him with tickets to the Sarah McLachlan concert, and we snapped this one before we left for the concert. We stayed up talking until 3 am that night, and that's the night we started talking about getting married.

Here's the picture that we enclosed with our wedding announcement.

Here's a picture I love from our first trip to California together in September 2004.

One of our pics from the Mt. Timpanogas Temple on our Wedding Day

At our wedding reception on October 8, 2004.

Trip to the orchard

Yesterday, Rosie's brownie troop had a field trip to the Plymouth Orchard. They learned about how the orchard works, about different types of apples, bee pollination, and took a hayride. We also noshed on fresh donuts and glasses of amazing apple cider. Yum!

Silly pumpkin!

The girls learning about the birds and the bees (I mean, how the bees pollinate the trees)

One of the hay wagons (this is not the one they took a ride on)

They got to pick out pumpkins at the end to decorate at the next troop meeting. Rosie specifically chose the one with "warts" because she wants to make an ugly goblin.

Eating delicious apples makes me happy!

When we got home, Rosie tried on her dollar-store chic witch costume (we spent $3).

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

SNL + Disney Musical + contagious disease = My kind of humor

Pizza Wisdom

I was reading a blog this morning that seemed to be reading my mind. I'll admit it. I LOVE good pizza. I'll eat mediocre pizza, but I am a cheese pizza purist. I've never liked pepperoni. My husband loves pepperoni, and so does my daughter. I will eat and enjoy veggies on my pizza, I will get an occasional hankering for a BBQ chicken pizza, but cheese pizza is my thing. I'm not boring, I just love the marriage of soft, chewy crust, flavorful sauce, and delicious, melty cheese. My all-time favorite cheese pizza is from The Pie. MMMMM.

Amen

Clint

In a moment of boredom, I decided to make a photo collage for my buddy Clint. He met Taylor last year at Jet U, and we've basically adopted him into the family. He and I briefly met in Florida, but the first time we partied was for my birthday in February. He's come out a few more times to stay with us in Detroit, vacationed with both Taylor and I in California, came to Salt Lake City for Rosie's birthday and baptism, and kept us company when we got stuck at MSP on a 12 hour layover. He flies for the same company as my husband, and is flying out of Atlanta now. He's one of the deciding factors for moving down there, actually. Nobody can start a party out of nothing like Clint can!

Resuming Resume Revision

Now that we've come to the decision of moving (which took nearly 3 months to do), it's time to iron out the details. Moving trucks, apartments, new job, new school, new gym, good neighborhoods, commutes, distance from airports, etc.... It's a pretty daunting task to come up with a new life when you've never really visited the area. Next weekend, Taylor and I are planning to fly down to ATL and drive around and get to know the city, check out some apartments, do some touristy things that we won't have time for once I'm working. It's the weekend of our anniversary, and it would be nice to do it without Rosie (so much harder to non-rev with a kid), but finding someone to watch her for the weekend would probably be harder than bringing her along. Taylor and I get so little alone time these days, and it's only going to get worse till we move.

I dusted off my resume, and added in the details of my current job. Even though I've only been in my position 7 months, I've acquired some good new skills (OR scheduling, cost accounting, charge entry, physician recruitment and relocation, and the lingo/procedures specific to thoracic surgery) and fine-tuned some others (transcription, purchase requisitions, procurement, more complex call schedules, etc.) I've been my department's Joint Commission Accreditation and safety specialist, and know all the ins and outs of NPSG's and SCIP and all the other acronyms.

It's a tedious process, especially to focus on finding a new job in a new city, all while being exhausted from a hard day at work.