Nick & Knight Chicago Review 9/26/14

A Brief Intro

A week before the shows, I had to go to the emergency room for severe stomach pain and they wanted to admit me into the hospital, but because of not having health insurance through my employer and the thought of missing the shows I refused. I ended up getting some antibiotics for my inflamed colon and put myself on a bland diet. They diagnosed me with Crohn's Disease (not contagious), but I'm not sure if that is the correct diagnosis. I blame my stomach issues on having a lot of stress in my life, but I want to address it so I’ll be seeing a specialist tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll be getting health insurance through my employer in January like promised and that tomorrow I'll get some answers. I want to not worry about having stomach pain on the cruise.

So the emergency room visit happened a week before the Chicago Nick & Knight shows and then right after the shows, my mom had to be back in the hospital for breathing troubles. I was able to pick her up yesterday, but she is still having trouble breathing due to respiratory failure. I pray that this will stop happening over and over again because it's just too much and I wish the doctors could help her more even though I'm grateful for all they've done so far.

Well, I’ve been so busy with work, my mom’s health, my health, getting ready for the cruise, and just life in general that I haven’t been able to write my reviews on the Chicago Nick & Knight shows…until now!

Day 1: Getting to the Show

So for the first Chicago Nick & Knight show, I was lucky enough to win vip through Nick’s fanclub and I invited my best friend I met in college, Katie. So glad she was able to come and we had a blast! It was nice to be able to have someone to talk to and live the moment with and now she fully understands why I’m a fan. Before this concert, she attended the teen heartthrob Oprah taping with BSB and the first In A World Like This concert in Chicago with me so this was her first ever VIP.

Anyway, I picked her up, drove us to the train station, and we took the train into Chicago. Once we got to Union Station, we bought our train tickets for the train ride back and then started looking for the water taxi that my friend wanted to really take. Despite being nervous that we’d miss vip, we enjoyed a three minute water taxi for $3 each and arrived at the House of Blues around 4 p.m. Below is a picture of the Chicago skyline from our water taxi and a dorky picture of me in my glasses on the water taxi trying not too seem worried that we would miss vip lol. (Not sure if my friend wants pictures of her up yet, so I won't post them).

They had two separate lines for Jordan's vip and Nick’s vip and my friend and I were in the front of the line. I was surprised because I remember for the I’m Taking Off vip, I got to the House of Blues around 2:30 p.m. and there was already maybe 20 to 30 people in line. Jordan’s vip line was longer and that was fine by me. I was told Nick had 20 people for vip total and that made me happy because more time with Nick. Although, I'm totally confused on why you would like Jordan over Nick lol. To each their own.

We didn’t eat anything yet and I didn’t want to leave the venue, so I reluctantly suggested eating at the House of Blues restaurant. I knew they take a really long time (during the Now or Never tour, I ordered room service during my hotel stay and literally got my hamburger five hours after I ordered it) and we only had a half an hour to kill but I didn’t want to starve my friend either lol. We ended up sitting at the bar because the hostess said that is faster. Well, that was a joke. We ended up leaving because I was getting so nervous that I couldn’t take it anymore. I wasn’t going to miss this vip for anything, certainly not because of the restaurant. We got some water out of it and got back in line. The bartender didn’t even take our food order during that time. My friend ended up getting some food after the question and answer session during vip so that worked out. I didn’t eat anything and was okay with that because I was worried my stomach might still be having problems since the ER visit.

VIP

When it was time for vip, we were given our vip laminates and taken up the stairs and to a back area where Justin explained what was going to happen. This was nice because it gave us an idea of what to expect and nice for Nick too so we won’t waste any time not knowing what’s going on. We would be getting one item signed, a selfie, and the picture Justin would take. We also got some Nick tattoos, and an I Heart Nick Carter tank top during this time. At this point I was getting really excited!

Nick came out fairly quick, looking great (as always) in black and talked a little bit about what was going to happen during vip and the Nick & Knight show. He gave everyone a hug! It was so nice to be able to be in the same room just kind of hanging out with him that I didn’t bother to take any video/pictures of this. I wanted to be in the moment. My friend was nice enough to take a few pictures and video.

We also had the plan for her to take video while I was going up to Nick for my picture, but I was worried she would have no time for that. She did a great job despite the time crunch and I’m glad she didn’t listen to me when I told her to abort lol, but I wanted to make sure she enjoyed her time as well.

I don’t remember too many of the questions asked because I wanted to make sure I got my questions out correctly, but I was able to ask two questions! I had made out a list and picked two to ask the day before. My first question was what songs he likes to use for djing. He answered by saying that he likes Meghan Trainor (which I like her music too, but "Dear Future Husband" is a better song than her hit "All About that Bass") and he mentioned Iggy I think too.

Nick asked again if we had any more questions and since no one else was saying anything, I asked another one. I could tell this question most of the group enjoyed hearing whereas the first question I asked was kind of like for me because I like his dj skills lol.

For my second question, I asked what he plans on wearing for the ABC (Anything But Clothes) Party on the cruise. Nick laughed (kind of my goal to get him to smile and laugh) and the group laughed at the idea of what his answer would be. My friend was kind enough to film most of this moment, as well as Nick singing "I Need You Tonight." But back to the answer. First he asked me what I would be wearing lol and I said I have some ideas. Then he answered.

DISCLAIMER: Don’t read if you don’t want to know what Nick possibly will be wearing for the ABC party…to read, just highlight the next paragraph.

Nick said that they want him to wear a pizza box! LOL I laughed and said "that’s awesome" (which btw, seemed to be my word of choice for the evening…ask my friend who is awesome lol). Kind of wondering who is "they?" Management or the other BSB and also if he’ll have another pizza box for his back side lol. I’m picturing him being able to open up the pizza box and there will be something funny written inside like "wanna slice?" Okay, my mind is running wild...lol

So after the questions, we started taking pictures. There was a mom who was with her daughter with special needs in front of me and Nick was very sweet with both of them. I remember her telling him he’s handsome and thinking, I know right! lol Then it was my turn!

I said hi and got hugs and had Nick sign my Nick & Knight album jacket since I wasn’t able to get one online because I waited too long. While he was signing, I told him that my favorite song is "Drive My Car" (hence why I made a sign specifically to hold up for this song) and then I gave him a letter I wrote him that had a heart made out of stone attached to it. I bought the heart before "I Heart Nick Carter" so I thought that was quite coincidental, but I’ve always "hearted" him so it made sense to me at the time. Some pictures...

Then we took our selfie. Nick’s face is somewhat cut off, and Justin was nice enough to take another selfie for us, but I really do like the selfie Nick took of us because it looks more like two people just hanging out. (That's really what I liked about this vip. It seemed like hanging out with a good friend...a good friend I would like to kiss lol!) So glad Justin took the extra selfie though.

I had been working up the courage to ask for a kiss and did! I was so scared Nick would say no, but Nick said "of course" and it was such a special moment to me. I think being in the ER thinking I was dying gave me the courage to ask and I'm glad I did. The first picture is of me with my eyes closed because I was feeling the love and the second picture that turned out perfect!

Nick was so nice and I truly love that about him! He said my necklace is pretty and I said thank you. I thought it was so sweet that he noticed my necklace because when I saw it in the store I had to buy it and based my whole outfit around the necklace lol. In my head I wanted to say it matched his beautiful eyes but didn’t have enough courage to say anything but the thank you.

Then it was my friend’s turn and I briefly introduced them before my friend got her picture and we both got by the stage to wait for the soundcheck. We ended up being towards the left side of the stage with one person in front of us. The Jordan vip fans got to the stage first, otherwise we probably could have been front row center. We still had great spots though.

Soundcheck

The soundcheck was fun and there were some funny moments. Nick and Jordan had to move some of their own equipment and Nick mentioned that he was wearing all black like a stagehand would and Jordan said that’s what keeps them grounded lol.

Speaking of Jordan, he kept complaining that his mic was too loud or not loud enough and about other things. After the soundcheck, I referred to him as a diva to my friend lol. I can tell Nick is definitely the more laid back one out of them and I bet the band favors Nick over Jordan for this reason lol. I had to be careful the following night to not let the Jordan fans hear me call him a diva lol. It was kind of humorous to watch though.

There was also a funny moment during soundcheck where Nick was singing "Nobody Better" and turned it into a country version. I like country music as well so that was a special treat to me to hear Nick sing with a country twang even though it was meant to be funny lol.

Yet another funny moment during soundcheck was when Nick was practicing some dance moves and we started wooing and I think we made him forget the steps lol. Overall, a fun soundcheck. Nick ended up leaving the soundcheck earlier than Jordan because he was ready to go and wasn't criticizing every little thing, but I still wanted him to stay.

The Show!

We had to wait all the way until 9 p.m. for Nick & Knight to come out and had to endure a stupid opening act that I still don’t know what the guy’s name was. He had a band and the music sounded too babyish to me, but I guess it could have been worse. He did sing a song from the Pretty Woman soundtrack but not the right song lol. I would have loved to have heard "It Must Have Been Love" or "Pretty Woman" instead of the song he picked. He mentioned that Richard Gere was in the audience and I guess that was supposed to be funny but it was just weird and my friend and I were looking for Richard Gere (yeah, I guess I'm that gullible lol). The following night, he mentioned Julia Roberts was in the audience lol. More standing...ugh! help!

After standing for so, so long and having a case of resting bitch face Nick & Knight finally came out!

This is such a fun show and definitely my kind of concert. I have fun at other concerts, but I love Nick’s shows! Glad they had a band, incorporated some dance moves in there, and kept it fun and sexy.

I think Nick did an excellent job of using all his talents into one show. His vocal abilities, rapping, dancing, guitar playing and charisma with the audience was all shown. He sang "Burning Up" and "Falling Down" from I’m Taking Off and "I Want It That Way" and "Larger Than Life" with Jordan. Of course I would have liked to have heard more solo songs from Nick’s albums and more BSB, but it still was a wonderful show! I enjoyed hearing all the Nick & Knight songs live too!

I really do think Nick makes the show because he just seems more passionate on stage to me than Jordan does, but I’m a Nick girl so of course I would say that lol. Jordan is definitely a diva though haha! I'm just giving him a hard time, but he still seems nice...just not as nice as Nick lol.

Other highlights from the show was when they did the nineties mix. For me, I think this was the most fun out of the whole concert! Nick is so sexy when he raps and I remember him saying at one of the two Chicago question and answer vips that he taught Aaron how to rap and he rapped first lol. My friend and I enjoyed "Getting Jiggy With It."

I also remember someone throwing up a thong during "Thong Song" which I thought was hilarious. Good for you, Nick lol. Then Nick gave it to Jordan.

And who can forget Nick getting sexy with the floor for "Pony"??? I think I screamed my head off during this one haha! Me and my big mouth. So much fun! I say see the show just for this moment haha!

When "Drive My Car" was sung, I held up my sign "vroom, vroom!" and was able to get Nick to notice my sign at the end of the song! He said, "yeah! Vroom, vroom!" lol. That was so much fun and the first time I was able to show Nick one of my signs.

Getting Back Home

We had such a great time with everything, but it was time to leave to get to the train station and take the last train back home. We had to walk about a block or two and we ended up finding a cab (who actually drove nice) and took that back to Union Station. We had about an hour to kill, so we were reminiscing and goofing around while waiting for our last train. The last picture shows how Nick makes me feel :D I look like a muppet...a very happy muppet! lol

I really wanted to go to the afterparty because I love when Nick djs, but we would have been stranded downtown all night and I didn’t want to do that to my friend after the bike taxi fiasco at the last BSB concert we both went to together. It would have been perfect though because it was only $25 to get into the Hard Rock Café for it. Oh well. I guess I can’t attend everything lol.

We made it back to our town and I dropped her off. We had so much fun and I think we even had more fun talking about the day lol. Me and my risqué comments and her "Oh, Denise" haha! We probably looked crazy in the train station but that was the fun part lol.

Thanks for reading! I wanted to write this review as quickly as I could, but life got in the way. Hopefully, I didn’t forget too much. I have the best times when I see Nick and this was such a memorable day! So many wonderful moments thanks to Nick's kindness and it was great to have my friend there. She says she gets it now lol! Finally!

I'll post my review of the second show soon. I definitely "heart" Nick :)

Nick & Knight Album Comes Out Tomorrow!

Hi everyone. Hope you are enjoying your Labor Day weekend! I'm enjoying the extra time off from work and trying to catch up on some things. I've booked my flights for BSB Cruise 2014 and I'm trying to find time to get outfits together for that and the two Nick & Knight shows in Chicago.

Speaking of Nick & Knight, the album will be in stores tomorrow!!! I already pre-ordered the album through iTunes, but I'll be getting the physical copy at Best Buy. Sadly, it won't be the Best Buy in New York where Nick will be signing cds, but I wish everyone attending a fun and safe time!

I'll be watching Good Morning America tomorrow and Kelly and Michael on Wednesday. Wednesday is my 31st birthday so seeing Nick on tv will be a nice way to celebrate before going to work. It's always exciting when Nick is putting out new music and all the press that comes along with it.

GMA is asking fans for questions to ask Nick & Knight via Twitter and I submitted a few. I've been wondering if they will be using instruments during their shows, if they will invite fans up on stage, and what their favorite Nick & Knight song is to perform. Hopefully, some of those questions will be answered tomorrow. I heard that BSB and New Kids songs will be performed as well, but I'm wondering if any of their previous solo stuff will be too. Here's a couple of pictures of Nick and Jordan rehearsing for GMA that was posted on their Facebook page.

So awhile back, Pandora had put the whole Nick & Knight album to listen to on their site. It's still available by clicking here and clicking the Nick & Knight ad on the right. After Pandora not working for me, I was finally able to listen to it and it's a very fun, impressive album. I never have any doubt in Nick's determination and talent and knew this would be a great album but I still wish it was all just Nick lol.

I would say my favorite song off the album as of this moment would be "Drive My Car." I say that because I replayed that one a few more times than the others on Pandora. I think it has a fresh, cool vibe.

Out of the three songs you get right away from the iTunes pre-order, I really enjoyed "Paper" the most and played that one on repeat even more than "Drive My Car." It's definitely a sexy song. My only complaint is that Nick's f-bomb had to be scrambled out lol.

"One More Time" was the perfect song to pick for the first music video off the album because it is a fun, catchy song and I think you could say that much of the album is both fun and catchy. I was happy to hear that most of the songs are up-tempo.

"Nobody Better" is such a perfect dance song, but Nick should have been the one to have rapped. Jordan does a good job though.

"Switch" is a sexy, playful song and "Take Me Home" seems to be the fan favorite showcasing Nick's strong vocals and bringing across the emotion in this ballad.

"Deja Vu" is totally groovable, as well as danceable and "If You Want It" is playful and has a disco sound to it...should be played on 70's Night on the cruise.

"Halfway There" is such a pretty song and I can really picture the guys singing this one at their shows and making it a sweet moment to share with the fans.

That leaves "Just the Two of Us," the first song we heard from Nick & Knight. Smooth and catchy.

Overall, I love the album and I'm glad to hear new music from Nick. Our Nick is definitely going to be busy for awhile between the album, tour, I Heart Nick Carter, and the cruise. Plus, he's keeping up with his exercise routines. For crying out loud, eat that cupcake, Nick! You deserve it! lol

Since I brought up I Heart Nick Carter, is everyone ready for the premiere September 10th? I've been keeping up with the clips that have been coming out and it'll be nice to see Nick on tv every Wednesday night. I think I'll have to watch it the next day though because Wednesdays are one of the days I work nights and I don't have cable. I plan on blogging about each episode and I hope you guys will read and comment. Nick mentioned on Twitter that he is nervous about the show, but it'll all be okay...it's happening so there's no turning back now lol. The show has its own Twitter page at @HeartNickCarter and VH1 put up their own page complete with some clips of the show.

Nick has also been asking for some I Heart Nick Carter challenges to be completed and the first one so far was posting a picture with #IHeartNickCarter in it. I've had this pin forever so I thought I would use it for the challenge.

This week I'll be anticipating all the excitement surrounding Nick & Knight and celebrating my birthday.

In non-related Nick news, I seen Bret Michaels two Saturdays ago and he put on a great show, very personable on stage and I would say was my favorite show I seen out of my brother's picks. I've always liked Poison so it was nice to hear most of the hits live. It was "nothin' but a good time" pun intended.

Last night, my brother and I seen Queensryche, Warrant, and Sebastian Bach. I'm hoping since I go on his musical adventures he'll see the second Nick & Knight show in Chicago with me. Still haven't talked him into it yet lol.

Well, it's Monday so I'll be watching Bachelor in Paradise. Hope everyone has a great week!

New Nick & Knight Music Video!

The Nick & Knight video for "One More Time" was finally released yesterday! Check it out here. It's a fun video to go with a fun and flirty song. Nick looks handsome as usual, especially in the white button-down shirt as he takes control as photographer. Those are two lucky girls and kudos to the blonde for pushing Nick on the bed haha! Here's also some behind-the-scenes footage of the music video.

 

 

So not only was the video released, but we have another Nick & Knight song we can listen to called "Paper." I like it and am wondering if Nick's f bomb will be bleeped out on the album because I don't like it when they bleep it out since we already know what he's saying anyway. I've been playing it nonstop and getting excited for my Chicago shows...speaking of which, my bestie will be coming along! This will be the first vip I'll have someone I know with me so I'm looking forward to that and I'm sure we'll have a great time! I gave her one rule...not to steal my man lol. I just hope we don't have to take a bike taxi again.

I've pre-ordered the album on iTunes and I was going to get the autographed copy through newburycomics.com but they sold out on autographs :( I shouldn't have waited, but the last cruise payment is coming up and I still have to book my flights and get a new camera. Oh well, maybe they'll be another way to get an autographed copy.

As for unrelated news, I seen KISS and Def Leppard with the bro last Saturday and it was fun. I think we might be seeing Bret Michaels this coming weekend and if we do, I'm going to try to get him to sign my Poison cd. I definitely got into rock music because of my brother and I'm trying to get him to go to one of the Nick and Knight shows, but we'll see.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! Btw, what does everyone else think of the Nick and Knight video and songs?

 

Another Cruise Theme, IAWLT Memories, Nick and Knight News

Hi everyone. I've been wanting to blog for awhile now, but I've been sick with a really bad cold and sinus infection. I still have it, so thank goodness you can't catch it from reading my blog lol, but it is slowly getting better.

Let's get right down to Backstreet business. Another cruise theme was announced recently. We'll be having another Halloween theme on the cruise! Even though we did this theme last year, I think it'll still be fun because BSB will be dressed up as something different and probably most of the fans. I have some ideas for my costume, but I'm not sure what I'm going to choose yet and I think I want to keep it a secret until the party. Here's the video BSB released to unveil the cruise theme. Poor Nick! lol I'm still wondering if our costumes should be related to the Everybody Backstreet's Back video, but I'm sure everyone will dress up however they want anyway.

After the In A World Like This tour ended, BSB were asking to hashtag our #IAWLTmemories. I attended both shows in Chicago and seen the concert on last years' cruise, so my memories are all from those dates. BSB were sweet enough to comment on one of my tweets and that certainly made my day!

For the first IAWLT show in Chicago, I talked my best friend into going and boy did we have a memorable time just because it was her first BSB concert, the concert got cut off short, and we had one hell of a time getting back home. We still managed to have a nice time, but it was crazy as well lol. I also didn't go to the soundcheck or afterparty for this one :( but had closer seats. Too bad we had to have super tall guys in front of us. For the full review, click here.

My second IAWLT show was on BSB Cruise 2013. It was an awesome experience and felt like having a BSB show in my living room. I wish my seat was closer because the balcony obstructed my view at points, but it was still fun and unique. For a brief review, click here and scroll down towards the end of the blog post. Nick swearing was the highlight for me lol.

Technically, I could count seeing the BSB at the Miracle on State Street Christmas show as another IAWLT concert I seen because they did sing some songs off the record. That was also a great show and I love the acoustic set. If interested, here is my review of that show.

My last IAWLT show was the one this June in Chicago. This time the show wasn't cut short and I was able to be a part of the soundcheck and afterparty. I would say I had the best time on this date, although I could have done without the bird attacking my head lol. My review of this show is here. Right now, I'm looking forward to the concert on the cruise and thankful for all of these memories.

Another exciting BSB event happened last week. Screenings for BSB The Movie Show Em What You're Made Of took place both in New York and L.A. I wish that I could have been to one, but there was just no way on such short notice and lack of money, but I'm glad other fans were able to enjoy it. I heard AJ was at the L.A. one and overall, I've heard wonderful responses to the film. I can't wait to see it myself! I've heard a few spoilers already, but I just can't wait to see the whole documentary. It would be wonderful if they did a screening in Chicago!

In Nick news, the "One More Time" lyric video has been released from Nick and Knight. Check it out here. I think we'll be hearing more music from them soon!

Also, this morning Nick asked us to tweet pics of us exercising and in our workout clothes. (I always seem to miss when he's online lol). He has been such an inspiring person to a lot of people in the area of health and fitness, including me, and I think this is a great idea. I'll post a picture as soon as I'm feeling better.

Here is also a link to a petition Nick is supporting that is health related and is for a good cause.

Well, thanks for reading and I'll be librarianing it up as always and trying to get well for my brother's KISS concert this Saturday.

Nick and Knight "One More Time"

I hope everyone was able to hear the latest Nick and Knight song, "One More Time." If not, here's the link. You can buy it on Amazon and ITunes. New music from Nick is always something fun to look forward to and I'm enjoying the song. It's catchy and I hear mostly Nick so that's a plus for me. Now, Jordan's okay I guess, but Nick's my guy lol. Hope everyone likes the song.

I also wanted to mention that two I Heart Nick Carter clips have been released. The first one is entitled, "Will Nick Carter Still Have Fans Once He's Married" and the other is "Lauren Reveals Her First Impression of Nick Carter."

Let's discuss the first clip shall we? First off, I'm jealous of these fans that got to go to one of Nick's book signings. I wanted him to do one so bad in Chicago that I even tweeted Birdstreet Books, the publisher, about it. They said they were trying to get him to come to Chicago too, but Nick was too busy.

Second thought. You could tell some of the fans comments were scripted, especially the One Direction comment. I'm strictly a Backstreet Girl and always will be. Everyone else is a cheap imitation in my book. It was kind of funny how the fans were behaving. And here I thought I was the only big ol' dork who falls to pieces around Nick lol.

I did feel Nick's sincerity when he was worried about losing fans because he's getting married. For me, he'll always have my support no matter what and I've been a fan for most of those 21 years (took me a few years to find out about the BSB). I thought it was kind of funny that he said he is 34 years old and that it's time to get married. I don't feel that there is a specific time in someone's life that they should get married. I mean obviously the sooner you meet that person the better because you get more time with them in life, but to me there isn't a specific time to settle down.

As for the second video, it will probably upset some people. I find it odd that Lauren's first impressions of Nick were that he was "arrogant, stand-offish, and self-involved" because everytime I had the opportunity to talk to Nick at a show or vip, he's been so sweet and refreshing. Then they mention a connection. If I perceived someone as arrogant I would run the other way and not give them my time of day because my first impressions of people are usually spot on so I would have to go with my gut.

Speaking of first impressions of Nick, I'll elaborate a bit more on mine. Well, very first impression was on tv seeing the "As Long As You Love Me" video. This was after I first heard BSB on the radio and then watched the VH1 countdown to see how they looked. I know this isn't a real first impression because I wasn't meeting him, but I definitely noticed Nick the most out of the group ;)

First time I met Nick. This was on a very, very cold winter night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at The Rave when he did his Now or Never solo tour. I was waiting six hours with my dad (poor guy lol) outside freezing when Nick finally came outside of his tour bus. There were maybe six other girls waiting and his bodyguards said no pictures and of course I was the only naïve one who listened. Anyway, I was the last one to approach him and my dad literally had to push me towards him because I was so shocked Nick was right in front of me lol. (I think my dad was a little pissed that I didn't go right up after waiting six hours in the cold haha). I remember both Nick and I just staring at each other and then I finally said "I'm glad to finally meet you" and Nick signed a piece of paper I gave him (the pen was almost frozen) and our fingers touched when he handed me back the paper and he went inside. He didn't say anything, but he was still nice to sign an autograph and I didn't feel no arrogance there. Here's Nick walking into the venue after he signed my autograph and me all cheesed up after meeting Nick for the first time!

Technically, that should be considered my first impression of Nick but I really think of the time when I was able to do vip for the first time at his I'm Taking Off show in Chicago. I was beyond excited that day. He was SO nice to me. I was able to give him a letter I wrote and a necklace. He said he loved the necklace and put it on right away and that just made my heart melt. He hugged me so sweetly and was rubbing my back when we took the picture. I was so excited that I couldn't open my eyes lol. I didn't want to leave his side, but I forced myself to leave before I got in trouble. I also remember tearing up after the moment happened. A few days later he friended me on his website and that really touched my heart. This is the moment that defines Nick for me and becomes my first impression of him. With Now or Never, he was going through a lot of crap and wasn't his true self yet, but I definitely think he came into his own by the time I met him during the last solo tour.

As for BSB news, our boys have been inducted into the walk of fame in Locarno Switzerland! So happy for BSB! They deserve it! Congrats! I like AJ's rock n' roll print. Nice touch.

BSB gave us the opportunity to have some more urturn fun with coming up with a #BSBCruise2014 picture with the guys. Here's mine. I enjoy doing these. Made me more excited for the cruise!

 

As for the BSB unrelated part of my life, last week was scary. I once again had to go back and forth to the hospital, but this time for my brother. He had a heart attack in the early morning last Tuesday. By the grace of God, he is okay, but this was scary. He has to stop smoking and change his eating habits and I'm proud of him because he's already working on that. He's too young for this. They had to put a stent in and they said if he didn't call an ambulance, he wouldn't have made it. They also said that if the blockage was 2 cm below or above where it was, they would have had to do open heart surgery. I'm so thankful that my brother is okay, but that was so scary. I'm so tired and stressed with my parents illnesses and now this. Thank God he is okay. Enough is enough. I can't wait for the day I can post some more positive news on here, but because of all of these illnesses I'm working very hard on losing weight and getting healthy. I guess that's the positive of this all.

 

Hope everyone has a great week!

New Nick and Knight Song Tuesday!

I can't wait to hear the new Nick and Knight song that will be released Tuesday! Keep an eye on @NickandKnight on Twitter to get the link. It's always nice to get some new music from Nick. I wonder if it'll be a slow or fast tempo song...

Nick also announced on his Twitter that he has been looking at the contest entries for the artwork contest for his website and that he'll pick some winners soon and has it narrowed down to two. That's nice that he took the time out of his busy schedule to take a look and choose the winners. I'm excited to find out who the winners will be. There were some great entries. He posted this picture with his tweet. Looking very handsome as always!

 

BSB mentioned on their Twitter that we're about 100 days away from BSB Cruise 2014! To know the exact days away, take a look at my countdown on the side (not that I'm counting the days or anything lol). I still have a whole lot of stuff to prepare for the cruise, like book my flights, hotel, pack, and get started on some sort of door decoration. Good news is it looks like my flight prices went down (thank you! thank you!).

I'm thinking of trying to find a way to swim with dolphins because it's always been on my bucket list, but I have to make sure it doesn't interfere with anything on the cruise and therefore, would have to be planned the day before the cruise and I think that might not even be enough time by the time I arrive in Miami. If I can't do it, I'll still be just as happy because I get to see the guys and be a part of BSB Cruise 2014 and hear them sing.

As for the Studio 54 theme, still have some ideas floating around in my head but nothing completely planned yet.

I also have been dying to work on my scrapbook for last year's cruise and of course life just gets in the way. I did organize everything really well so that's something I guess lol. I'll scan some pages and post them if I ever get around to making them.

What else is new in BSB world...well, Nick has been posting some music recommendations on his Twitter. I always find that interesting because I like a lot of what he picks. To check out what he has been recommending, just visit his Twitter account @nickcarter.
One of the songs he recommended that I liked was this one by Built By Titan. It's called "Collide." I thought the music video was an interesting concept as well.

Some of the music I've been listening to is "Rude" by Magic (like the reggae feel), "Summer" by Calvin Harris (where's my summer love?), "Try" by Colbie Calliat (great message), and "We Are Tonight" by Billy Currington (gotta get my country in there). I was also listening to the whole "In A World Like This" album while taking a walk to the beach today.

Last night, I went to a festival with my brother to see Tom Keifer of Cinderella and Night Ranger. We got rained on and the show ended way early because the weather sucked, but it was still fun. I ate a funnel cake! Can't remember the last time I had one. I never like all the standing at these things, but it was something fun to do.

I brought my "Long Cold Winter" cd for Tom Keifer to sign, but I was nowhere close to getting that to happen lol. My favorite song from the 80's hairband has got to be "Don't Know What You Got Until It's Gone." Yeah, I kind of have a soft spot for 80's rock ballads lol. He ended up singing that song with his wife and he sounds exactly the same.

As for everything else in life, thankfully, my mom is doing pretty well. She still has COPD breathing attacks, but we're trying to stay positive.

Still reading Doctor Sleep. I haven't made much progress because I've been busy with work trying to get storytimes ready (this week we are having an ocean theme and I have to really get my butt going on what activities I want to end up doing for my creative writing club).

However, I must admit that I picked up another book because there are just too many good ones out there. This one's a romance and I usually don't read romance but I thought I would give it a try. It's called "Love Unscripted" by Tina Reber. I discovered it by seeing it on a Goodreads list. It's been pretty good so far. It's about a young, popular actor who ends up in a relationship with a girl who owns a bar. Some of it is a little cliché, but not as much as I thought it would be. I enjoy the main female character's internal thoughts and her views on his fandom. Her name is Taryn and she is the only girl alive that isn't familiar with the actor and doesn't have a crush on him. Of course, that gets him to notice her. Is that all it takes, huh? lol I promise though, it's a good read.

I hope everyone has a great start to their week and thanks for reading!

Get Down...with Studio 54 Night!

Yesterday BSB announced the first deck party theme for the BSB cruise this year. We'll be boogying with the BSB during Studio 54 Night!

This will be a fun theme and I think I'm more excited for this theme just because they did a video for it and were dressed up in the video.

It'll be fun to see the guys wearing 70's clothes and party with them while hearing some great music from the 70s like the Bee Gees, Cher, and Blondie. For an idea of the music that might be played, check out this Youtube Studio 54 mix. I'm listening to it right now as a type.

It's nice that this was announced early to give us time to come up with our outfits and I'm already trying to come up with some ideas. I'm thinking of a few things I already have, but I have to go through my clothes to see if I can make an outfit. I'm definitely going to take advantage of my curly hair and let it go wild that night haha. Too bad I couldn't pull of the Farrah Fawcett hair style, but my hair will kill me before it goes straight.

Some keywords to incorporate into a Studio 54 wardrobe would be bell bottoms, bandanas, circle glasses, peace symbols, fringe, fur, florals, shiny/sequins, and gold or silver colors. High heels would be a definite must if I wasn't on a swaying ship. I think I have some good earrings for this too. It'll be cool to be able to use some bold makeup colors.

Hopefully the guys will each wear something really fun and sexy. Someone has to be Tony from Saturday Night Fever. Can't wait to see Nick in some bell bottoms lol. Maybe one of them can even be Austin Powers...that would be hilarious. I'd be their fembot haha.

I'm wondering if we'll be able to vote for the rest of the deck themes since last year we were able to vote for all three. Also still wondering what can possibly top the Bachelorette Party, but I'm sure they'll come up with something.