U-S-H-E-R-R-A-Y-M-O-N-D

Went to the Usher concert on Wednesday night. AMAZING! It was quite the eventful night outside of the concert itself.

I left work at lunch in order to get some last minute accessories and to ensure I had enough time to get ready. Concert was at 7:30 and dinner with the girls around 5:30 meant I had to leave my house at 4:00.

I got a text from John around 2:30 letting me know that his first bus didn't arrive so he was going to be late. Damn. I continued getting ready and got another text at 3:30 telling me that traffic is at a standstill and he isn't going to be home until 5:30 or 6:00. CRAP! Unfortunately, this means that I won't be able to ride down to Seattle with my girlfriends and could possibly miss dinner altogether. My adorable friend Lauren was genuinely disappointed that I wouldn't make it for the ride down to Seattle.

My only other option was to take my daughter over to my brother's house, which is five minutes away, hoping my mom, who lives with my brother, will be home from work soon (my brother was going to the concert too, so he was not an option). At this point, I had resigned myself to going to the concert all by my lonesome, which sucked because half the fun is the drinks and dinner with the girls, right?

So imagine my elation when I spot Grandma's car already parked in the driveway! Whoo hoo! I was just at a rolling stop before I shoved my precious daughter out of the car.

Ok, the concert. Again, it was AMAZING! I went with three girlfriends: Lauren, Anna and Suzie. Sadly, we had pretty awful seats and we tried to prepare by bringing binoculars, which we ended up forgetting in the car (the binoculars was a whole other debacle). Our seats were so far from the stage that Anna said, "We need binoculars just to see the big screen!" We were also overdressed for that part of the arena. In Suzie's words, "We should have just come in sweatpants and sneakers." To top it off, we were so high up and so steep that when I would get up to dance later on in the night, my legs would be so tense with the fear of falling! I was slightly sore the following day!

The opening act was Miguel:

Image found on www.hoodrellic.com

I have never heard of him, but Lauren knew of his song All I Want is You. I missed most of his performance trying to figure out a way to get the binoculars from the car. On the way back to our seats, Lauren heard him yell to the crowd, "Los Angeles, let me hear you scream!" Uh, don't you mean Seattle?! Whatever.


Image found on The Den of Snakeyes blog

 After Miguel was done there was a break. During the break, the DJ was playing some awesome old school that I must download. The next opening act was Trey Songz and I was looking forward to seeing him, but come on, he is no Usher. Imagine my surprise when a countdown clock came on the screen starting at five minutes and the crowd went nuts! Everyone around me (my girls had left to get some drinks) had stood up screaming for him. Am I missing something? Ok, Mr. Steal-Your-Girl had a great body that he showed off and some singing chops, but again, no Usher. Trey Songz's performance was pretty good and there were some really good video montages that played, but I was ready for the main event!

The lights went down and the stage was lit up. Usher's voice came over the loudspeakers but he was nowhere on the stage. The crowd was pretty loud, but they really lit up once Usher was spotted on a platform to the back of the arena (yes, by my section!). The platform was then raised by harnesses and Usher hovered over the crowd on the floor seats. I was terrified of plummeting to my death in the seats we were in, I can't imagine having to be suspended on a platform by what looked to be four teeny tiny strings!

Lauren was a bit disappointed with Usher's appearance: slim fitting pants and a longer tuft of hair up top. Suzie, on the other hand, couldn't stop saying how hot he looked. Me? I didn't mind the pants, but the hair was not so good.

The choreography was one of my favorite parts of the show. It was sexy without being raunchy (ok, some raunch, but that is ok by me) and it always amazes me how the female dancers can do what they do in heels. I can't do choreographed dance for anything (my body doesn't like to be told what to do), but everytime I see dancers on the stage, I feel like I missed my calling from another life.

There was a point in the concert where an audience member was picked to go on stage with Usher. The girl was smokin' hot. All I remember about her were her pants. They were black and shredded to the thigh. Something like this, but with more skin showing (like, a lot more skin showing):

Found at Discount Women's Dress Shoes

Usher was really playing to the crowd with this bit. Totally toying with the Shredded Pants Girl. He ended up on top of her, between her legs, which he had to guide. Now, I don't know about you, but my legs would've instinctively clamped onto that man! At the end of the routine, Shredded Pants Girl was straddling Usher and I just about fainted. That man is so sexy.

Usher sang a lot of his old hits, which was what Lauren was looking forward to. He did a chair routine that mimicked his My Way video and he put on some roller shoes like he used in the U Don't Have To Call video (well, at least that's what I thought it was. He made a big deal about the shoes but I don't recall him actually rolling anywhere). But we were very disappointed when he did a quick five minute mash-up of the songs from Confessions. That is probably my favorite album of his and it lasted no longer than the blink of an eye. But that is the only complaint I have. Well, there was also the random canon sounds that scared me.

Usher ended with OMG, complete with pyrotechnics and lights. Perfect ending to a nearly flawless concert.

I found out that Wednesday's concert kicked off his OMG Tour and I was excited to know we were among the first to see this concert. If he is coming to a town near you, it really is a concert worth seeing. My recommendation would be to splurge on the floor seating and don't forget to wear your shredded black leggings.

The Godmother, by Carrie Adams



Image courtesy of Trashionista

I was in Target (or for you bourgeoisie, Targé) about a year ago and decide to browse their discounted books. Being the superficial girl that I am, I picked up The Godmother, by Carrie Adams because of its pretty cover. Sadly, this is how I meet a lot of my favorite books, their covers.

I admit it: I judge a book by its cover.

Anyway, I hadn’t heard of The Godmother before, but I liked the plot and so I bought the book. And it has since sat under my nightstand, collecting dust along with other unread titles like Wicked, Audition, and The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank. I enjoy reading and find inspiration for my own writing when I am reading. But I read in phases; sometimes I am so into reading that I will read more than one book at a time and then other times a good six months can pass without one single published word read as life just gets in the way.

Since I wasn’t going to the gym anymore, I found that I had more time on my hands. I decided to fill that extra time with The Godmother.

According to Publishers Weekly:

While 30-something Londoner Tessa King questions her no-strings-attached lifestyle, she also witnesses her friends' difficulties in marriage and parenthood while playing godmother to their broods. Nick and Francesca battle to keep their sullen teenager out of serious trouble; Billy, a single mom, can't break ties to her now remarried ex-; Helen and Neil, fairy tale parents to twin boys, are hiding something; successful Claudia and Al struggle to conceive; and Ben and Sasha have no plans to have children. But Ben also happens to be Tessa's best friend, and perhaps the love of her life. When tragedy eventually strikes the group, bonds are tested, and Tessa is forced to re-examine what she thinks will really make her happy. A painful look into the fears, doubts and desires that make and break marriages, this debut novel from Londoner Adams is notches up from the usual chick and mom lit fare.

I have to agree with PW. I really enjoyed reading this book. So much so that I read the last few pages when I was only 2/3 through the book because I was so impatient to find out what happens!

Tessa King is the godmother to four children, with the possibility of another godchild on the way. She is the single friend, the Bridget Jones, of the group. Her married friends envy her carefree lifestyle while Tessa craves their familial homes. The grass is always greener, right?

Slowly, Tessa learns that perfect couple/parents, Francesca and Nick, didn’t come to their current state of blissful chaos with ease. There were bumps and major hurdles to get through.

Childhood friends turned sweethearts, Claudia and Al, may not get the family of their dreams after numerous attempts at fertility treatments.

Beautiful, exotic Helen’s marriage to D-List celebrity Neil is just as tumultuous and scandalous as the typical tabloid couple.

What happened with Ben in the past, well nearly happened, should probably stay in the past.

Normally, I like a book to end with a perfect bow wrapping up the story. That was not necessarily the case here. The subplots that needed to be wrapped up were, but Tessa’s didn’t quite end with a “happily ever after”. But you know what? The ending was perfect for the story.

Phew! You still reading? Hopefully not all of my book reviews will be this long.

In the Heights

Lauren and I have again bought season tickets to The 5th Avenue Theatre. This is our second year as season ticket holders and one of Lauren's college roommates, Fernanda, decided to join us this year. The more the merrier!

We went to our first play of the season last night, "In the Heights". Per The 5th Ave's website:

"...In the Heights tells a universal story set in Manhattan's Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind."

I honestly don't know much about Broadway plays and have never heard of this Tony Award winning one. The synopsis made me interested in it and then positive reviews started pouring in, which got me excited!

The set was intricate and amazing. It really held my attention and kept my eyes moving while we were waiting for the play to start. Then Graffitti Pete break-danced onto the scene and I turned to Lauren and said, "I can already tell I am going to love this play."

The play was about Washington Heights, a low income, largely Latino-based community in New York. The main character, Usnavi (pronounced oo-snah-vee), was the name his parents picked when they were immigrating to America and saw a ship pass with the name of "U.S. Navy." Oh how witty! The entire play had fun little moments like that.

The other thing that really pulled me in was the music. I was surprised how urban it all was; Usnavi did very little singing and rapped the majority of the time. The singing itself isn't what Broadway goers are used to either. Instead of the usual sing-acting (as I like to call the traditional Broadway belting), the actors sang songs that are easily radio friendly. Their naturally strong, melodic voices rang through the entire theatre. It was the type of singing that gives me goosebumps!

"In the Heights" was full of characters with large personalities (think Gloria from "Modern Family"), even bigger voices, and a beautiful set to match the terrific music. I don't normally buy soundtracks to musicals, but this is definitely one to own.

This really was a wonderful play to open up the 2010/2011 season and I can't wait for more!

P.S.
I never wear dresses, but I wore one to the play last night. I now remember why I don't wear dresses. I felt like I forgot my pants.

Trampoline Fiend!

Dull workout routine? Try something outside the box.

We have found the funnest workout EVER! Trampoline AIRobics! Sky High Sports in Bellevue is a trampoline arena. You need to seriously check out the gallery on their website and you might understand how much fun I had last night. It was an hour long class of sweat, laughter, some pain, and pure childhood fun.

I haven't been on a trampoline for at least the last fifteen years. I am a scaredy cat, which is why I have never done any sports or ever been athletic. I am afraid of basketballs, baseballs, footballs, soccer balls ... you get the picture: No team sports for me.

But OMG, this was such a fun time and anyone can do it! Well, at least anyone 10-years-old or older. But you don't have to be an athlete in any way, shape, or form. The moment that I stepped onto the trampoline, I was stiff and scared. I couldn't do the simple jump, land on your bottom, push up with your hands, then land on your feet. I watched my two friends, Lauren and Germaine, have no issues with this routine. I paused and watched them to see how I could emulate their movements. The major difference I noticed was that they were relaxed and not stiff. The second difference I noticed was that they were full on landing on their bottoms. I was too scared to land on my bum that I would angle forward instead of back, causing me to land first with my heels, then legs, then finally bottom. By the time I had landed, there wasn't any momentum left to land back up on my feet. So I wiggled out the stiffness and I went for it, and I did it! It was a small feat at the time, but it really helped me for the duration of the class. The key was really to relax and just jump with abandon!

There were two breaks during the class. By the time the first break came around, I had sweat dripping down my face! That hasn't happened in forever either. On the days that I go to the gym, I always end up doing an hour of the elliptical, the cross-trainer, or a bike/treadmill combination. Since no one is pushing me to go! go! go!, I tend to do just enough to keep my heart rate up. Plus, let's face it, an hour of the same machine is monotonous and B-O-R-I-N-G. But AIRobics was awesome because I was working out harder than I do at the gym without even noticing it. My mentality was that I was playing, not doing cardio.

Hopefully you can find something like this in your area, because it is really worth it!

My Cheaper Side and South Pacific

Happy Friday!!!

Ah, I made it through my first five day week since the week of January 4! It was tough, but I came out the other side just fine. Of course it is early yet!

First, I wanted to share with you what a cheapskate I am. Yes, I am a self-declared shopaholic, but in order to feed that addiction, I must be frugal in other areas. For example, my hand sanitizer:

There was just a small amount left in one bottle - not enough to reach the bottom of the pump, but too much to just throw away. And yes, I do this with my body lotion as well!

Hey, I gotta save money somewhere, right?

Ok, onto other goings-on. Last night I went to The 5th Avenue Theatre to watch South Pacific. I had high expectations because South Pacific was the first play I ever saw in the theatre when I was 10-years-old and I really liked it. Plus, I keep hearing on the radio how lively and wonderful this revival is.

Yeah, not so much.

We had the understudy for the main character, Nellie. She should've stayed in the chorus where she belongs. She wasn't lively and seemed to be holding back on her movements. Aren't you supposed to exaggerate your movements on stage? However, she did have a beautiful voice.

The actor that played Lieutenant Cable had an amazing voice as well. Very manly and powerful, and he just had a really pleasing tone. But I had a problem with him too. His character was obviously supposed to be the ultimate hunk of a man; and while the actor was tall and slightly muscled, I had this vision of him as a skinny little twerp in grade school. Superficial, I know. But isn't that a big part of show business? Fitting the part both physically and mentally?

Oh well, I should've just closed my eyes and listened to the singing.