Meeting Carrie Underwood (& Her Amazing Concert!)

When Nikki & I saw Carrie in Pittsburgh last spring, we did so because her Cleveland tour date had been cancelled.  Months after the really amazing Pittsburgh concert, we found out she had added a 2nd leg to the tour, and Cleveland was added back in.  We knew we had to go.


I am in Carrie's online fan club because fan club members get pre-orders on the tickets, and just as I got floor seats for Pittsburgh, I had the opportunity again for Cleveland.  This time, we were fourth row, center!


I was so worried my transplant wouldn't happen early enough for me to be up to going to this event.  Thankfully, I had it just in time, and this concert marked my 8-week anniversary of the new liver inside of me.  The night was exhausting, but so worth it.


A week ago from Thursday, I got an email at 10 or 11pm saying I won a drawing in the fan club, and I was selected to attend Carrie's Meet & Greet before the concert.  Little did I know that Nikki had been working relentlessly for weeks, calling agents and producers and labels everywhere from Nashville to LA to the venue... all trying to get me to meet Carrie.  She knew how much it would mean to me.  So when I got this email, whether she had anything do with it, we will never know, but I will say that I was so excited I couldn't even sleep.  My heart was breaking though, because it said one per person, non-transferable and I wanted my sister to meet Carrie, too.


Finally when we got there on the chilly Ohio night, we went to the box office and asked for my special Meet & Greet pass.  They gave it to me and directed us to a lady to talk to about getting Nikki let in.  We explained how I had just had a liver transplant and asked if she could accompany me just in case anything happened.  We were directed to a few different people, and finally, Mina, the sweet girl we later found was Carrie's personal assistant, okay'ed is in.  "I'd rather you be with her than without her," she said with a smile.  We waited and waited and finally walked up a staircase into what looked like a balcony room.  There was a set up with a background and couple of decorations, and Carrie, armed with bodyguards, took her place in front of the background.  Somehow the line got turned around, and we were first.


For some reason or another, I was so nervous.  Even though we were only allowed to bring one thing to autograph, Carrie signed both a CD cover and the concert tour book for me.  Then we smiled for a picture, which Mina took.  Then I introduced her to Nikki who had a picture I took at the last concert as well as another tour book for her to sign.  She was so sweet and didn't say much except Hi, How are you, and explaining how she thought she should have a deal with Sharpies because her silver sparkle Sharpies only worked half the time.  She was sweet, but definitely not one to hold up a long conversation.  So we thanked her, and out we went.  Security pretty much drug us out while we were just trying to pick up our bags - it was a little insane.  We went down to the concert, showed the usher our tickets, and pretty much had a few moments of breathlessness when we saw where our seats were.  4th row sounds close, but being there, it sounded even closer.  We sat, anxious for 40-50 minutes until the concert finally began!


Here we are with Carrie, as well as some of the things she signed for us.  The black & white photo she signed was one I personally took last April.  She loved it.  :)

Sons of Sylvia are still opening for Carrie, and we're not fans.  At all.  But they can be cute, so it works.

Next, Billy Currington did a set.  He wasn't on the Pittsburgh tour, so it was good to see him for the first time.  I like a few of his songs, and who can resist his blue eyes??

Then, the arena went black, and the music to "Cowboy Cassanova," started blaring.  Carrie came up on a moving riser and did her thing.  With video and still cameras out, we went to work making memories of our amazing evening.  (And all while joining the thousands there and singing every last word of every song, may I add.  Okay, wait, that was me, not my "too cool" sister!  lol)


Carrie is a beautiful singer and puts on a great show. We've seen her twice now and have no complaints.   Her show is just perfect.  I liked how in this show, she had a couple different outfits/costumes than the first time we saw her.  (Costumes fascinate me - like Dancing with the Stars, who makes all those?  In 1 week?!  Insane!)


Anyways... without further ado...  Enjoy!!

Cowboy Cassanova

Country Roads, Take Me Home

Undo It

Jesus Take the Wheel

How Great Thou Art

Duet with Sons of Sylvia

I Told You So

Mama's Song

Songs Like This

These are just my highlights, for all of my concert videos, go to my YouTube playlist, and for all of my concert photos - from this and last year, go to my Flickr set! :)

Carrie Underwood in Pittsburgh!

So yesterday, I got my sister, buried my floor seat tickets deep in in my bag, packed some snacks and put on capris and a cute summer top (April Fools brought us a nearly 80* day!), and into my car we went.... I told the GPS where to take us - on our 2 hour drive to see Carrie Underwood's PLAY ON tour, of course!  Rumor has it, the tour was coming to Cleveland but was cancelled, so somehow we ended up doing this.  It was such a beautiful day for a nice drive, and a day that both Nikki and I had off from school (a a rarity) and the concert was just really amazing, so fun, and then we had  a nice, sleepy drive home... in bed by 2a maybe?

So, without further ado, here are my videos from the show last night (most from my new Kodak Zi8 HD, a few from my Canon G11) and some of the best pics Nikki and I were able to grab on our own cams.

Well, Sons of Syliva opened for Carrie, and no one wanted them onstage.  It was very terrible, to put it nicely, and I think everyone within our section at least just wanted them offstage.  We'd of course let them back on later when they sang their duet with Carrie.  :)  (Click here for the vid)

Next, Craig Morgan came on, sang his newest single and some older hits like International Harvester (which our friend we met in Disney last year, Shane Minor wrote!)  He sang Little Bit of Life, That's What I Love About Sunday, and a few more.

Then intermission, then CARRIE!

First with Cowboy Cassanova...

Country covers in a pickup truck...

She added How Great Thou Art to the end of Jesus Take the Wheel - it was so pretty!

I thought she had a great show - lots of outfit changes but not so many "costumey" like Taylor Swift had.  (Those got annoying.)  Carrie really knew how to connect with her fans and in between a few surprises, she sang every single hit down to "Last Name," "Before He Cheats," "So Small, and "Jesus Take the Wheel" with a "How Great Thou Art" spin-off.   She looked so pretty, and there she was, literally feet from our faces.  I remember where she was just a few years ago... that's what I think of when I think of American Idol.  These days, none of them can sing, the ones who are sweet and humble get kicked off anyways, the show just isn't what it was.  But Carrie to me is American Idol, what it used to be at least.  She wins everything because she makes her fans happy and has her head on straight.  There were kids there, great-grandmas, college aged guys and girls, families with tiny kiddos... everyone just wanting to hear the girl from Checotah, OK sing.  You know, the one with the pretty face face and good manners.  I think that will get you far in this world.

If you want to see ALL of my Carrie Vids, go to my YouTube Concerts channel - the Carrie Vids are the last, on the bottom.  And a link to all of our pictures in my Flickr gallery is here in my 2010 set, but lots of pics are below! :)

And I wish I could have taped this better, but this is MY Carrie Underwood song, the one that makes me cry every single time.  And we all know why:

Someday when I stop loving you

One foot on the bus 'bout half past nine
I knew that you were leaving this time
I thought about laying down in it's path
Thinking that you might get off for that

I remember that night we laid in bed
Naming all our kids that we hadn't had yet
One for your grandma and one for mine
Said we'd draw straws when it came time

I'll move on baby, just like you
When the desert floods and the grass turns blue
When a sailing ship don't need her moon
It'll break my heart, but I'll get through
Someday when I stop loving you

I bet all I had on a thing called love
I guess in the end, it wasn't enough
And it's hard to watch you leave right now
I'm gonna have to learn to let you go somehow
Somehow

I'll move on baby, just like you
When the desert floods and the grass turns blue
When a sailing ship don't need her moon
It'll break my heart, but I'll get through
Someday when I stop loving you
     Someday when I stop loving you

Blogging from FLORIDA! -part 2-

Blogging from FLORIDA!
Part 2

I'm back!  Today is Pool Day, and it's too hot outside (97* yesterday!), so I will sit inside and blog.  Sounds like a good idea to me! :)

Well I believe I left off right before Saturday, which was a fabulous day.  Definitely one of the best.  We commenced our day at Animal Kingdom where I had to pass on my Minnie ears and buy some leopard print Mickey ears, you know, to get in the wildlife-jungle-safari spirit!  We watched a few shows like the Lion King and Finding Nemo and walked all around and met Lilo & Stitch (much to Nikki's excitement... she is convinved Stitch is Haylie)  By mid-afternoon, I was bored in my least favorite park, the Percocet wasn't doing enough for my back, and I was falling asleep during shows, so I took the bus back to the condo while my parents and sister stayed to ride the you-will-get-soaked rafting ride, etc.  I was much more comfortable doing nothing but catching up on my beauty sleep for my evening with Minnie and Cinderella.

Once everyone else got back, I hurried to get ready, and Dad and I went to the park earlier than our dinner reservations so I could see Minnie Mouse.  The line was so long that Mom and Nikki, trailing behind, actually got to join us for 2/3 of the line and meet Minnie & Mickey as well.  By the time we were at the front of the line, I was jumping up and down like an excited little kid.  (True excitement or the Percocet... it's your call!)  Minnie was so excited to see me for like the billionth time of my life, and I reminded her that she is my favorite!!  We took pictures and got autographs and hung out for a few minutes until I felt bad for the little kids in line so I said goodbye and Mickey gave me a kiss.  (Don't worry Jonathan, he's just a mouse.)

Of course, it was almost time for our dinner reservations at Cinderella Castle, so we checked in there and waited for Cinderella to come down.  While we were waiting, one of  her coachman played a few games with us.

Can you name the 15 Disney movies with one-word names?  ("The" doesn't count)
          Bambi, Cars, Aladdin, Cinderella, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Pocahontas, Ratatouille, Dumbo, Dinosaurs, Bolt, Wall-E

Can you name the 7 Disney movies that contain absolutely no human characters?
          Robin Hood, Cars, Lion King, A Bug's Life, Chicken Little, Dinosaurs, Bambi

What are the only 4 wishes the Genie could not grant?
          Can't make anyone fall in love, can't kill anybody, can't raise the dead

What are the names of Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters?
          Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, Drizella 

What are the names of the 4 fairies in Sleeping Beauty?
          Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Malificent

Name the 7 dwarfs.
          Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful, Doc, Sleepy, Grumpy, Happy 

I have to admit, I let the little kids answer first, but none of them knew so I scored the most points at all that Disney trivia.  When you're raised on it, you don't really forget it.  :)

Before long, Cinderella came down, and we all lined up to meet her.  Nikki and I went first, and of course, I was so excited!  We took lots of pictures with her, and then we went to wait for our Royal Invitation.  A castle attendant gave us magic wands and swords for us to take up to the dining room with us, and once we had the Royal Invitation, we proceeded up the 40-step spiral staircase to Cinderella's Royal's Table.  We were seated right at the window and were called "King, " "Queen," and "Princess" for the entire evening while we were waited on like royalty.  Our waiter was accommodating and efficient, and a palace worker delivered an 8x10 and a packet full of 4x6s of our portrait with Cinderella.  Also, a perk of a 9:25 reservation is having great seats to see the 10pm fireworks show, Wishes.  The lights dimmed and the show's music played just as if we were outside the castle watching in the dark.  We had fabulous seats to see the beautiful fireworks through the castle windows, and it was such a magical experience.  Next, our meals were served, and I enjoyed my pasta and grilled chicken.  We even got dessert - ice cream!  We were surprised when Cinderella's mice  came out, followed by the Fairy Godmother.  They sang and danced around the dining room and put on a show for us.  The Fairy Godmother told us that she's our Fairy Godmother, too, and whatever we wish for and dream of will come true if we believe enough.  

After our wonderful dinner, we had a little bit of time to ride Dad's favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, before going back home.  So we sailed and yo-ho, yo-ho'ed as the last riders of the day.  After that, we left the beautifully illuminated nighttime park and crashed into bed.

Sunday was Disney Hollywood Studios Day.  For all of my life, this place was called MGM Studios, and although the new name better suits the park, it's long and annoying to say.  Just my personal opinion.  Anyways... by the time we got up after our big night, we rolled into DHS just shy of noon.  We rode the Great Movie Ride before our lunch reservations at 50s Prime Time Cafe, a restaurant styled just like home in the 1950s.  (The server is your "cousin," and "Mom" is in the back cooking the food.  You will get in trouble if you're wearing a hat or resting your elbows on the table!)  After our delicious, homestyle lunch, we did all kinds of things around the park, some together, some by myself, some with just Dad, some with just Mom... it was pretty crazy.  I saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and the Beauty and the Beast shows, two of my favorites, and then while Mom and Nikki were seeing the stunts show, Dad and I saw Muppet Vision 3D, one of his favorites.  All 4 of us saw the High School Musical 3: Senior Year show, thanks to my sister, and then we participated as audience members in the American Idol Experience, which was so fun.  Then, we did Star Tours, and Dad got sick, and other unnamed people were crabby, so we ended up going back to the room.  Nikki wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Tomorrowland rocket ride, and Dumbo, so Mom took her back in to do just that.  Dad went to bed, and I chilled and finished my Jodi Picoult book.  :)

The thing about Disney is that you cannot go-go-go-go from morning until night for days and days.  About 2 days of that and you'll be burnt out for the rest of the trip.  One of the books I saw said the average person walks 6-7miles/day at Disney, and that's in this heat and humidity that can often be unbearable.  Sure, Disney is amazingly fun, but it's hot, and exhausting, and there's lines and cranky kids and tired adults, and well, you just can't do it all without a rest here and there.

Today, everyone wanted to have a relaxing day before heading back home.  Dad is out fishing, Mom is by the pool, I'm here blogging, and my sister is still asleep.  We're pretty much "Disney'ed-out" and ready to go home.  We've had a truly wonderful time, and we've all been able to enjoy the break from our day-to-day monotony and have some magical fun.  

Later today, we girls will probably hit up the "other" outlet mall in the area, the one where I bought the Crocs flip flops, the one that is the 2nd largest outlet mall in the world.  (Yay!!)  Then, we have dinner reservations at one of our favorites, Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge.

Tomorrow, we fly home... I think our flight is around 2?  Not sure.  But I believe I heard something about getting home at 4-something.  Can't wait to see my puppies and my fiance!

xoxo

so sad...

brooke white is going home. :( american idol just will not be the same. however, she has a beautiful voice and is so talented at piano and guitar so im sure she'll do something and i will download it and love it very much. of course.

more blogging tomorrow or friday...i haven't had a single second to breathe in almost a week. a lot of craziness, a few wonderful things, lots of early mornings and late nights and i am exhausted. but of course God is holding my breath so all i have to do is get through each moment. when you break it up, it seems more doable. so tomorrow morning bright and early i have an interview for my dream job, or at least what i think is my dream job at this point in my career..... the picu, pediatric intensive care unit. if i get this job, it's gonna take all the strength i have in me to work with sick kids, really reeeeally sick kids. i've been there before and compassion fatigue is an extremely real thing, but i need to work through my feelings and thoughts and give back what i'm destined to give. i really hope God opens doors for this one, but if not, i have another interview on tuesday and trust me, i'm going to be happy just to have patients. i miss mine already soooo badly and it's only been a week! (today was clinical final evals, but more on that later...)

a year ago today, who would have thought..... not just the job thing but school, family, relationships, emotional growth... take some time to reflect.

life. hold on tight... it's kinda crazy in a miraculous sort of way ;o)

lOtSa sTuFf!

NuRsiNg

Wow! What a week! It's been just beyond crazy over here. Most of the weekend, I worked on school projects that are coming due in the next month or so. Monday, our professor from Assessment was our "guest lecturer" and it was great. It was the pain/comfort lecture, and since she has a strong history in critical care, she was perfect. Sure beats that other grad student they've been sticking in there. For once this semester, we actually learned something in lecture. We *heart* Mrs. Yoost!!

And today is Wednesday, so that makes yesterday Tuesday, which is lab day, and no shocker here, we once again had a little too much fun. This week, we played GI Jeopardy. Mrs. Fox loves making us play games, so she totally got all into it. We even had the theme song music playing for Final Jeopardy. Nothing like a little game show action to go with intestines, stomas, and enemas! Next week is oxygen, and the following week is urine elimination. Then, it's our last week of lab already (well, before finals at least), and it's our big Care of the Dying Client lecture. That's always a tough subject. I think people would be amazed at how much there is to death.

gOoD sTuFf

I'm in NSCS (National Society of Collegiate Scholars), and we made the school paper for our book drive. I think it's kind of exciting. :) You can read it here. My mom and I literally filled my entire trunk full of books and donated them. It felt so good to be doing something to help out those less fortunate. Mom cleaned out Dad's office, so we found tons of books in there, and then we finally got rid of the A Beka books for the two years Nikki and I were homeschooled. Finally. Ha!

sCraPbOoKinG

Last night, Mom and I decided we'd go out for like an hour to dine at Bob Evans (mmm, soup!) and make a stop at Home Depot, but one thing led to another, and before I knew it, we were shopping. I read this really cool idea online of binding scrapbooking idea books so they can lay flat, and I have to say I think I'm going to do this a lot more often. My fiance has a big cutting machine at his work that can cut off the binding of a thick softcover idea book, and then I took the pages to Office Max and had them spiral bound for a few bucks. Definitely not bad... Look at these!

And in other scrapbooking news, check out Lisa Bearnon's Kit of the Month. I'm usually not totally into these, but this month's was seriously too cute to pass up. Overpriced... maybe.... but definitely too cute. Can't wait to play with all these goodies!

iDoL nEwS

Who is going home?? Dial Idol is predicting Ramiele, but it's pretty close. I'm still on Team Brooke, but last night, she definitely could have done better than she did. :(

tOdAy

Today has just been nuts. First of all, we're getting all the hardwood floors redone, and the whole downstairs is just a mess. They've sanded for 2 or 3 days now, and I guess they have to do all kinds of finishing. Which means we have to move out. Seriously...... is that not ridiculous?! I'm going to stay at my mom's best friend's house with Hayles, and Mom and Nikki are taking Ri up to my grandparents' condo since they're in Florida right now. Dad's still in Africa, so I guess that's one less family member who gets to move for a few days...

I got this random email from Emily at Boutique Cafe and apparently I won some kind of contest? They posted about these cute little first aid kits for kids, and as a nurse, I couldn't help but post and let them know how cute they were, and I guess my post won me two free kits! I'll definitely be keeping them in my car for when I have the boys and they get themselves into trouble.... which sometimes seems to be often. ;-)

Videochatting on iChat with my dearest fiance!! Gotta love Macs.... Look at this... Awww... Come home from Africa soon!!!!

Clinicals - that post is coming. Bet you'll never guess what I did today!!! ;-)

Tonight - my cousin is here... we're finishing up Evan Almighty (which is actually a lot better than I thought it would be!), then Idol in a few minutes. Duh.... Oh yes, and with pizza. And Cherry Coke. Yep, that's a must.