Things just ain't the same...

**Kevin's "Return" To The Backstreet Boys**

I am writing this post for a number of reasons.  First of all, I was dared by a friend of mine to do a post on a Backstreet Boy other than Brian.  So here it is.  Second of all, there was a special announcement made on Tuesday about Kevin being at the Beach Party in Nassau for BSB Cruise 2011 and I wanted to share my opinion on it because there are a lot of posts popping up on the internet about him rejoining the group.  Third of all, I'm taking a quick time out from my past BSB adventures to write about some current BSB news...gotta do that every now and then.

So, it was announced on the Ryan Seacrest show on Tuesday, October 25th that former Backstreet Boy, Kevin Richardson, would be making a "special one time performance" during a "special Beach Party Concert" in Nassau during Backstreet Boys Cruise 2011.  This is at least what the audio clip says.  This put a lot of speculation in the heads of cruise goers.  Many wondered if this was going to be our concert for this cruise instead of having it on the ship.  If this was the case, how were they going to do the seating?  The seating for the Cruise events are by the type of cabin certain people bought, followed by your booking number.  This wouldn't be possible on the beach and those who booked the expensive rooms to get guaranteed close seating may not get this seating.  It was later announced on Twitter by the Backstreet Boys that there was not going to be a Beach Party Concert and that the concert will once again be on the ship this year.  Kevin would just be at the Beach Party hanging out and playing the games.  So that problem is solved.

Kevin's name is the 6th from the top in the
right column.

Shortly after this announcement, talk exploded about Kevin returning to the Backstreet Boys, due to some things that were said in the Ryan Seacrest announcement.  Kevin made the announcement on June 23, 2006 that he was going to be leaving the group to "move onto the next chapter" of his life.  After leaving the group, Kevin starred as Billy Flynn in the musical "Chicago" and became a father.  Kevin has made special guest appearances with the Backstreet Boys during several concerts and on Oprah since leaving.  The Backstreet Boys have recorded two albums (Unbreakable and This Is Us) without Kevin and have toured three times (Unbreakable, This Is Us, and NKOTBSB).

So do I think that he is returning to the group?  Not really.  I believe that Kevin was probably asked by the group, management, or Rose Tours to join them at the Beach Party to try to sell more cabins on the cruise.  They are obviously having problems selling out the full charter cruise because of all of the contests that have been happening recently.  For those of you who do not know, cruises do not really make their money with their cabin bookings.  They make their money through the extras like alcohol, merchandise, excursions, etc.  All of these contests ensure that more rooms are filled so that they can make that extra money, even if these people are not having to pay for their cabins.  I believe that this probably did sway the decisions of some people who were not going to be on the cruise to actually go....as long as they had the money.

There are several other reasons why I believe Kevin will not be returning permanently to the Backstreet Boys.  I believe that if he was returning, he would actually be on the cruise, rather than just the beach party...even if it wasn't to do all of the activities with the group.  You have to remember that he has not been with the group for 5 years so rejoining for all of the fun events would just be awkward.  However, I think he would at least be a guest if there were any plans of him rejoining.

If the Boys were telling the truth, they should have been in the studio recording for their next album in between the end of the NKOTBSB tour and the Cruise.  I believe that if Kevin were rejoining the group, we would have heard news about Kevin joining them in the studio.

You also have to remember that the Backstreet Boys and the New Kids on the Block will be touring in Europe for the European leg of the NKOTBSB tour this spring.  I doubt that Kevin would join them at this point during a tour in which the two groups are experts.

Kevin has moved on with his life and the Backstreet Boys as a quartet seemed to have developed a new dynamic without him.  However, Kevin was a member of the band for 13 long years so it will always be a part of him.  I believe that is why the special guest appearances with the Boys every now and then is enough for him.

Would I be happy if Kevin rejoined the group?  Yes.  I believe the group has a fuller sound with him.  Kevin has always been last on my list when putting them in order of favorites.  However, as an adult, I can respect him so much more now than I did as a teenager.  I think many believe that he held the Boys back because they seem to be having "more fun" now.  I believe they are having more fun but I don't believe it is totally for that reason.  I believe they have finally discovered themselves and are no longer under the limitations of Jive Records.  The Backstreet Boys have had a rollercoaster type career.  They had to build up their popularity in the United States after having established themselves ovcrseas.  They then became HUGE with Millennium but didn't have quite the same success with Black and Blue.  They then took a three year hiatus while AJ battled his drug and alcohol addictions, Kevin married, Brian had his son, and Nick made his first attempt at a solo album.  All 5 came back together to record Never Gone and go on tour.  Kevin then announced that he was going to leave the group and the 4 remaining group members had to decide how to go on without him.  They released Unbreakable, which has been their least successful album and one of the Boys least favorite albums.  This Is Us proved to be an improvement.  Now, they are enjoying tremendous success after having toured with the New Kids on the Block this past summer and starting a European leg in the spring.  During their career, they also had problems with their group founder, Lou Pearlman, their management company, The Firm, and their record label, Jive Records.  After cutting all ties with all of these, some earlier than others, of course they are happier now.  All of the remaining Backstreet Boys have been able to pursue solo careers now, while still being members of the Backstreet Boys.  Many have families or are about to get married and have been able to learn that balance.  Just because Brian has been able to balance being a husband and father, does not necessarily mean that Kevin wanted to try to do it.  Yes, the Backstreet Boys seem to be having more fun now, but I think it is because they are finally able to just have fun at this point in their careers.

I believe it would be awkward at first if Kevin were to come back because he has been gone for so long.  Many don't think of him as a Backstreet Boy any longer.  The group has recorded two albums without him, songs that he would not know and on which his voice did not appear.  However, when Kevin left the group, the rest of the group said that the door would always be open for him to return....so it could happen one day....I just don't think this is it.

So, there are my thoughts and opinions about a Backstreet Boy other than Brian (cough, Laura, cough)!  Coming soon:  University of Kentucky basketball starts this week,  possible trip to the University of Kentucky football game next week, and more cruise updates!

So why be alive if you don't follow your every dream...

**Brian Littrell - Welcome Home Tour - 11/4/2006 - Elmer S. McVety Centre - Toronto, ON, Canada**

*Part II - The Concert, Meet and Greet, and Road Trip Home*

After an interesting Road Trip to Toronto, we were ready for Brian's concert to start.  His set list was very similar to that of his Grand Rapids Concert, except there were some differences.  It was seeing these two shows that made me a firm believer that every show is different, even during the same tour.

Brian's opening act for this show was a young Canadian Insipirational artist by the name of Roshana.  I enjoyed her music and ended up purchasing her CD at the show.   

The playlist of this concert was similar to his Grand Rapids show but there was also one more song that was added.  It is a song that is not one of his own, but instead was made popular by country music artist Tim McGraw.  Brian sang "Don't Take The Girl," during this concert, which was shortly after his appearance on CMT's Studio 333 where he sang this song.  Just a little tid bit for you - the son of the man who wrote this song actually did the gardening for Brian at the first house he bought.  This is probably one of my favorite Tim McGraw songs so I was in heaven when Brian's amazing voice was the one singing it.  I was able to get part of it on video....but after watching it, I realized that I should NEVER sing along during concerts when I am taping.  So as you watch this, I apologize for the awful singing in the background, ruining Brian's heavenly voice.

"Don't Take The Girl"

The "Birthday Party"

At one point, Brian brought up a bunch of young girls.  It was one of the girl's birthdays and she was there with a bunch of friends.  There were a lot of them and I thought it was so sweet of him to do this.  I am not sure if the birthday girl was a fan of Brian's or not since she was so young.  My guess is that she would not have been there if she wasn't.  I can't even imagine what I would do if Brian were to ever bring me on stage, espcially during my birthday.

If you remember reading my Remembering 9/11 post, you will remember me talking about how it was during this concert that Brian shared the story of how Leighanne was supposed to be on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001.  This was the first time I had ever heard this and my heart just sank.  I had been exploring my faith (or at least the start of it) a little more at this time and knew that it was God that kept her off of that plane on that Tuesday morning.  There is no other explanation for the feeling she had gotten to stay with her husband on that morning, instead of flying to the west coast.  It was an emotional story because that day was an emotional day and he was telling it before an emotional song.  Make sure to check out my Remembering 9/11 Post to check out the video of Brian talking about this and him singing "Gone Without Goodbye" afterwards.

Brian and Leighanne share an intimate moment

I also loved this concert because we got to experience an intimate moment between Leighanne and Brian when she came on stage and they shared in a nice simple kiss.  Every time I have ever seen them together, you can tell how completely in love they are with one another.  As a matter of fact, sometimes I wish my husband and I were more like them....as much as I love my relationship with my husband.  Brian and Leighanne are so much in love and you can see it just by looking at them and listening to the way that talk about one another.  Looking at them, you can see what love truly is and what it is supposed to be all about.  I cannot even imagine how life would have changed for Brian if Leighanne would have been on that plane on 9/11/2001.

The show itself was amazing, but what happened afterwards was even better in my eyes.  Tammy and I always wait until venues clear out a bit before we even attempt to leave the show.  We just never see the point of waiting in the crowds.  As we were waiting for the venue to clear out, we heard through the grape vine that Brian would be coming out for a Meet and Greet after he was done doing an interview.  I was so excited!  At this point, I had never met Brian...a dream if mine was going to come true.

Tara and I went to the table that Brian was going to be signing his autographs and were the first in line. Tammy was trying to figure out if she wanted to stay in front with us or if she wanted to go to the end of the line.  If she stayed first with us, she was guaranteed to meet Brian but probably wouldn't have the chance to actually talk to him about anything.  If she went to the end, she was not guaranteed that he would stay around that long but there might be a chance to actually talk to him.  She had met him before and he actually had influenced her to become a Christian.  She decided to go to the back of the line and take her chance there.

Brian and Leighanne visiting with the fans

Brian eventually came out and we were ready!  Leighanne was sitting with him as he was signing autographs and I thought it was awesome that she wanted to be a part of that.  She talked with the fans as well and was just so friendly to everyone.  I will be the first to admit that when Brian and Leighanne started dating, I was not very happy about it.  I was teenager and was jealous.  My friends and I would call her names and talk about how bad she was for Brian.  It was at this point that I realized that I did not know Leighanne at that time and had no right to talk about her like that, for she was being incredibly nice and friendly to everyone that approached that table.

We were informed that Brian would not be taking photos. I was upset by this because I wanted a photo with him.  I handed my camera to the person behind me so that they could take a photo of me meeting him.  As Brian was signing my item, I thanked him for his "inspirational voice and music."  When he thanked me for the compliment there was such a look of thanks and gratefulness in his eyes and smile.  You could tell that he was truly thankful for his fans and what he was doing to inspire others.  I then asked him for a hug and he gave one to me over the table.  I couldn't believe that I was actually in the arms of Brian Littrell, something that I had dreamed about for so long.  I could not wait to see the photos that the person had taken behind me.  Unfortunately, the person was too close and the photo did not turn out as I had hoped.

Getting ready for my hug

Anyone want to take a guess as to what I did next?  I walked away and cried.  I could not believe I had just met the man that was such an inspiration in my life...a man that I was absolutely in love with....a man that was teaching me about God and faith....a man that is just plain amazing.  I was overwhelmed. When I became a fan in 1998, a never in a million years thought I would get to meet Brian, let alone get to hug him.  I had made sure I had walked away so he would not see the emotions I was showing.  After settling down a bit, I returned to the table area, as we still had to wait for Tammy to get up to the table.  At that point, Roshana was out signing her CD's so I bought one and had it signed by her.  Leighanne had also left Brian's side at that point and was talking to fans off to the side.  Tara and I went over by her and also had her sign our items and then got a photo with her.

Tara, Leighanne, and I

My First Personal Brian and Leighanne autographs

Tammy eventually made it up to the table and had the ability to talk to Brian for several minutes.  She talked to him about the first time she met him and how he influenced her to become a Christian.  I was happy for her time with Brian, but I was also very jealous.  Brian had always been my favorite and I though I deserved that kind of time with him as well.  I know Brian had greatly influenced her but Kevin was her favorite.  I see now how it was stupid to feel this way but I did.  Maybe it is because I now have had conversations with him, although I still have not been able to tell him about how he influenced me to become a Christian, a conversation that I do want to have with him at some point.

Tammy's Brian hug

It was all such an amazing time and we went back to the hotel in high spirits.  I had problems sleeping because of what had just happened.  However, I knew we had a long drive back the next morning.

The trip back started out uneventful...at least compared to the Road Trip to Toronto.  We did want to stop for lunch and were specifically looking for a McDonald's because we knew that is one restaurant that we could actually find.  I mean there are McDonald's all over the place....except when you want one.  We could not find one to save our lives!  We did eventually find one, however.....after several hours of driving along the highway.

Remember how I said the trip back started out uneventful?  Well, that changed as we were coming back into the states.  As we passed through the passing point, we were informed that we were randomly selected to have our car searched.  Now, you have to remember that we had borrowed my brother's car.  He is a pretty good guy but I didn't know what he could have in that thing or if one of his frat brother's had something in there.  As the car was being searched we had to go inside a building and show our credentials.  Everything checked out and the car ended up coming up clear.  Whew.  I can now say that I have been checked out at the United States border.

As we were driving through Michigan, a Brian Littrell song came on the radio....so in the many, many hours of driving we were able to hear at least one Brian song since there was no CD player in the car.  We returned the car to the pizza place that my brother worked at and offered to pay for the light plug that had been damaged on our way to Toronto.  Larry's boss refused to charge and said he should have taken it out in the first place.  Larry gave us another free pizza and we exchanged vehicles.  We were on our way back to Muncie, crammed in my little Ford Ranger.  The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.  We got back to Muncie pretty late and Tammy still have the long drive back to Nashville.

Overall, it was an amazing weekend and road trip with some great people!  Tara decided not to join my sorority after all.  I would see her around campus every now and then but never really talked to her much after the trip.  We are still Facebook friends and so I stay updated as to some of the things going on in her life.   Sometimes I wished we would have stayed in better contact but I have to remember that she decided to join this trip at the very last moment when I needed someone to replace Megan.  I think if I would have actually known her better beforehand and she would have joined our sorority's chapter, the friendship could have grown into much more.

Tammy and I have pretty much done all of my Backstreet trips after this one together.  It is pretty much the only time we get to see each other so we always have a great time anytime we do.  Who wouldn't have a great time when you are doing anything Backstreet Boys related.

Just to be close, it's the only thing I wanna do...

**BSB Cruise 2011 - To Do List Update**

There are only 41 short days until I fly down to Miami for BSB Cruise 2011. A lot has been accomplished in the past few weeks since I last wrote my To Do list.

1) All of my theme shopping is done! My 80's outfit is complete. I have done a test packing of my Prom Night dress and it looks like it should pack well without getting too wrinkly. It does mean, however, that I will have to check my luggage with the airline because it will not fit in a carry on. I have purchased several options for Pajama Night but I just have to pick which combination to go with. As of right now, I have combos to choose from with what I purchased. However, I have two other combos I want to try with a shirt I already have.

2) My part of the door decoration has been started. I am hoping to get it complete by the end of the week and get the rest of what I need by next week. I am really excited about our concept this year and hope that it might at least get an honorable mention.

3). I lost 4.2 pounds last week! My goal at the beginning of last week was to lose at least 5 pounds before the cruise. As long as I don't completely blow my diet this week, I should be able to reach that goal by my next weigh in on Friday. The last time I lost 4 pounds in one week, I gained 2.5 the next and 1.5 the week after that. I am being much more careful with what I eat and making sure I work out so that I do not go over my allotted calories. I did go way over on Saturday because of a convention I went to that had unlimited food and drinks. I am the kind of person that tends to eat if there is food in front of me so I ate a lot. I did a major workout yesterday but still have to come in 500+ calories under my budget every day. I also had a very long volleyball practice on Monday.

4). I may have found a travel partner since Susan has discovered that she can no longer go on the cruise. A girl that I have met on the fan club will be sharing our hotel with us now the night before the cruise. She is from Indiana but closer to Indianapolis. While it would be easier for her travel wise to fly out of Indy, I am trying to talk her into driving up here and flying out if Chicago Midway with me. Traveling is always better with a friend and I don't really want to travel alone again this year.

5). My arrangements have been made to get to and from Midway airport in Chicago. My husband will bear the Chicago driving to take me to and from the airport. The shuttle I was looking at taking just didn't leave early enough for me to get there the two hours before my flight that they recommend. My flight is at 7 am so I have to be there at 5am.

6). I have made an appointment for Saturday to go through a test spray tan run. I have never done one before and want to get one done for the cruise. However, I want to make sure it is a good one so that I don't get something awful done right before the cruise.

There is still a bunch that I have to do to prepare for this cruise but things are coming along nicely. I will probably give weekly updates on how things are going as it gets closer because the excitement level will keep going up.

Skeptics won't understand, it's strange from the world's point of view

**Brian Littrell - Welcome Home Tour - 11/4/2006 - Elmer S. McVety Centre - Toronto, ON, Canada**

*Part I - The Road Trip*

After seeing Brian live during his Welcome Home Tour in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I knew I had to see him again live and soon.  However, I was in college so it really needed to be during a weekend.  So it totally made sense for me to travel the 9 hours from Muncie when I saw that he would be in Toronto on a Saturday night in November....right?  It made sense to me.  You see when you have an addiction, sometimes you will just do anything to get a fix.  I wanted another Brian fix.  

By that point, Tammy and I had become pretty good e-mail friends after meeting her at the Grand Rapids show.  We talked about going to Toronto together after I had found out about the show.  I had done the last Brian concert and the Never Gone concert before that with Megan so it only made sense that she come too.  It was settled....we were going to travel across the Canada border to see an amazing man.

As the concert drew nearer, I was informed by Megan that her mother could not find her birth certificate.  At this point, one only needed a birth certificate to cross the Canadian border.  Passports were not required yet.  Megan was born in Utah so there was going to be no way for her to get a copy for the concert.  Now I had a dilemma....how was I going to find someone on such short notice to take her place?  I was lucky enough to find Megan in the first place to start going to concerts with.  I mean, I did find her in my sorority so I thought I would take a stab at possibly finding another Backstreet fan amongst my many sisters.  I sent an e-mail out to the Epsilon Sigma Alpha - Phi Apha body, including the girls who had just finished rushing the organization and were currently in their pledgeship.  I was hoping that I would get lucky there and find someone to take Megan's place.  Bingo....I got a hit!  One of the new pledges, named Tara, wrote back expressing some interest.  When she wrote back I wasn't sure offhand who she was since the fall pledge classes are usually pretty large and everyone was so new.  However, I didn't care...it was a chance to meet someone new - a fellow fan and a future sister (which did later change).  Plans were back in progress.

Interior of a Ford Ranger...not mine but not much different

In between the Grand Rapids concert and this concert, Tammy had moved from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Nashville, Tennessee.  The plans were for her to leave right after work on Friday night and drive to Muncie to meet Tara and I.  Because Tammy had been doing a great deal of traveling back and forth between Michigan and Tennessee recently, she did not want to put more miles on her car than necessary.  Tara did not have a vehicle.  I had a Ford Ranger.  Now, I am not sure how many of you are familiar with how small a Ford Ranger is, but there was NO WAY we were going to be able to drive for 9 hours with three of us in that itty bitty truck.  I had politely asked my brother if we could trade vehicles for the weekend, as his college town was on the way to Toronto.  Thankfully, he agreed but it would mean driving 2 hours north in the Ranger with the three of us.  I would gladly take that over 9 hours.  So, we had a car lined up with a CD player so we could jam to the Backstreet Boys for the remaining 7 hours.

Anyway, Tammy left Nashville right after getting off of work at 5 and made the 6 hour drive to Muncie. If you do the math, you will find out that she got into Muncie at about midnight.  We had been debating when we were making our plans as to whether or not we would leave right away and just get into Toronto early or sleep for a couple hours and then leave.  We had decided to leave right away to give ourselves plenty of time to get there.  We loaded up the Ranger with our luggage and were off.  Squeezing three girls into a Ford Ranger for two hours will pretty much lead to a lot of personal bonding so we got to know each other a little better.  Because Tara had joined in on the plans at such a late point in time, this was actually the first time I had met her face to face.

Me and My Brother

We got to Angola, IN at about 2am where my brother attended Tri State University (now Trine State) and was the president of the frat house in which he lived.  He had actually just gotten off of his shift at the pizza place he delivered for and had brought us a pizza.  When one thinks of a frat house, one would probably come up with the images of this particular one.  It was just flat out dirty and disgusting.  We walked in and several of the boys were playing poker around the kitchen table.  They commented on how much my brother and I looked alike and how we could be twins (even though we are 18 months apart).  We snacked on the pizza in his room and was visited by another of his brothers, who decided that Tara's new name would be Barbie.  He stayed and visited for awhile as we ate our pizza but we ate pretty quickly to get out of the filth and because we still had a 7 hour drive ahead of us.  We got settled into my brothers car, which was actually my step-mom's original car and was a two door purple Cavalier.  It still wasn't the ideal road trip car but it was better than the Ranger!  As we set off, we realized that there was one VERY important thing missing....a CD player.  I thought for sure that my brother had changed out the stock radio with cassette player to a CD player....WRONG!  Have you ever taken a long road trip with no CD player?  The constant changing of radio stations is not really much fun and who had cassette tapes anymore?  And while we spent most of the trip talking, it still would have been nice to have that option.  Tammy actually did the driving from Angola to Toronto since she seems to enjoy driving and she doesn't require much sleep.  Both Tara and I would doze off occasionally.  After all, it was super late.  

Sun Rise in Canada

As we were driving through Michigan, we started to here this banging underneath the car.  At first, we thought it was rocks or some kind of debris coming up and hitting the underside of the car.  But it kept getting louder and happening more frequently.  As soon as we could, we made a stop.  Remember how I said that my brother worked at a pizza place?  Well what do most delivery boys have on top of their cars?  A sign.  How does that sign light up?  A cord that plugs into the car's lighter and then into the sign (although he had taken his off to put on the Ranger while he had it).  What was the loud banging on the car?  The cord to that sign had gotten stuck hanging outside of the door and had been dragging and banging along the side of the car.  It completely destroyed the cord and we told one another that we were going to have to give him money to replace it.  I later found out that my truck was not ideal for him delivering pizzas because it has no dome light.  I guess we were even.  Now that the great sound mystery was done, we continued on our way.  We crossed the border into Canada with no problems.  We even got to watch the sun rise.  We arrived to Toronto at about 11am.  So in case you need a recap of that trip:

Our Road Trip Overview

~ Nashville, TN @ 5pm -> Muncie, IN @12am (344 miles, 6 hours)

~ Muncie, IN @ 12am -> Angola, IN @ 2 am (112 miles, 2 hours)

~ Angola, IN @ 2am -> Toronto, ON @ 10 am (396 miles, 7 hours)

~ Grand Total = 852 miles, 15 hours

Oh, the things we do for the Backstreet Boys and their members!

I had only booked a single room at the hotel because it was cheaper for "2 people" and it was supposed to have a fold out couch that I figured one of us could sleep on.  When we got into the room, it was super tiny and did have a couch but I don't think it folded out.  However, there was no way all three of us were going to fit in this room.  We went back out to the lobby and exchanged out 2 person single to a 3 person double.  I took a shower and went to bed.  Tammy and Tara decided to go do a little exploring.  I still to this day do not know how they didn't want to pass out right there along side me.  It was later that I found out that Tammy just doesn't really sleep.  I know Tara had slept a little more on the trip because I had been trying to stay awake for Tammy.  However, when I don't sleep I get very cranky.  The concert was not until later in the evening so I knew I could get a few hours of sleep in.

Passed out after a nice hot shower

Tara just chilling in the hotel

Me, Tara, and Tammy waiting in the lobby with our
"Hello for Muncie, IN and Nashville, TN" sign

The girls eventually came back and we got ready.  We still wanted to grab some dinner.  We quickly found a McDonald's and had some familiar food.  We also found a bank and got some money exchanged over.  We headed to the venue, as this event was General Admission.  It was cold outside but none of us had really wanted to cary jackets with us.  Luckily, we were able to get into the main lobby where the lane snaked around the entire lobby.  This is where we remained for quite some time.  They let  people into the venue in small groups so there would be no trampling.  There were way  more people at this show than the Grand Rapids show.  We sat about 20 rows back but got a good center stage location and found some friendly Canadians to sit with.  Tammy went back to Toronto a few short weeks after this trip to see Kevin in "Chicago" with this same group.  If you could not tell between this and how we were introduced at the Grand Rapids concert, Tammy is by no means shy.  I, however, never interacted with them after this because I had no contact information for them.

Nice Canadians we sat next to

So, I think this post is long enough as there is still SO much to write about between the concert and our wonderful trip back into the states.  Stay tuned for part II coming soon...

I wanna be with you, it's crazy but it's true....

**BSB Cruise 2011 To-Do List**

There are now less than two months until the Backstreet Boys Cruise 2011....time has just flown by since we booked our cabin!  While there has been a lot that I have accomplished, there are some things that I still need to do.  Some of them I cannot do until more details are given to us by Rose Tours.

My Best Friend or My Worst Enemy

1.  Lose Weight - I have been trying since May to lose weight and get healthy.  I have been competing with three other cruise goers in our Lose It All Challenge to lose weight.  I have lost a whopping 0.3 pounds.  I have good weeks and then I have bad weeks.  At least I have not gained overall.  I was hoping to lose about 20 pounds before the cruise came around but  there is no way I can do that in any kind of healthy fashion before the cruise.  5 pounds might be attainable, maybe even 10 if I really buckle down and start eating and working out like I am supposed to.  I have actually started a new blog (Lose It All) where I hope to keep myself more accountable by posting my progress and tips for losing weight.

Ft. Lauderdale -> Miami - 23.7 miles - 33 minutes

2.  Finalize Travel Arrangements - While I have booked my flights for the cruise, I need to finalize my transportation from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami and back.  I think I can book my Miami to Ft. Lauderdale transportation because I will be going straight from the port to the airport.  However, I have to wait on word from Rose Tours and the Backstreet Boys regarding the Pre-Cruise event.  If the event is General Admission again this year, my plans will differ than if it is not General Admission.  I have a couple of options for my transportation which includes taxi, shuttle, or having some friends pick me up(technically us as Cory will be flying into Ft. Lauderdale as well and we will more than likely travel together) on their way from Orlando to Miami.  I guess I also need to figure out how I am going to get from my house to Midway and back.  Last year my grandpa took me and I hate to ask him again.  My husband hates driving in Chicago.  There is an airport shuttle but I really hate to pay the almost $40 it would cost for the round trip....plus I am not sure if it runs as early as I would need it for my flight to Ft. Lauderdale.  I would have to be at the airport at 5am.

My BSB Cruise 2010 Luggage

3.  Packing List - I need to find my packing list from last year and edit it.  I am an overpacker so I am going to try to trim down what I took last year.  I see one big problem this year for my packing and that is my Prom Night Theme dress.  The dress I want to wear is big and I am not sure how I want to pack it or if it will pack without getting too horribly wrinkled.  I am currently doing a test packing to see if the dress I want to wear is really going to be an option.  If it is not, then I don't have much time to find something else I might like.  I don't really care for short dresses when it comes to more formal wear (like prom) so it seems like I might have the same packing problem if I do go with a long dress.  I may have to settle on a short dress.  I think the dress situation means that I will have to carry my large suitcase and check it when I fly.  However, I am flying Southwest so there will be no baggage fees for this lady!  I was hoping to be able to just carry on this year before I found out about the Prom Night Theme.  Last year, I had my large suitcase that I checked, my carry on, and my backpack....I told you I am an overpacker.  I want to see if I can just get it down to the large suitcase and the backpack this year.

Hint for PDA Pajama Jam
Theme Night - Don't want to
give anything away

4.  Pick my PDA Pajama Jam Theme night outfit - When I was shopping for my pajama theme night outfit, I could not decide on my pajama pants or a shirt, so I ordered the two of each that I was debating on.  I figure I can see which fits better and which combination looks the best.  I hate being so indecisive.

Just One Small Part of My
Sphynkter 80s Night Theme Outfit

5.  Wait for my Theme Night outfits - I got all of my theme night shopping done online on Friday.  Now I just have to wait for them all to come in the mail.  My 80s Theme night stuff shipped out yesterday and my Pajama night theme stuff was shipped out today.  I, of course, already had my prom night theme outfit but I need to find one accessory for it that is around somewhere!  I am also waiting on the delivery of my BSB Cruise Shirt that I ordered.

6.  Pack - I set aside some of the clothes I may want to wear while on the cruise.  Once we get an itinerary, I should be able to actually pick and choose what will be the most appropriate.

Atlantis Resort in Nassau

7.  Book Nassau Excursion - I don't know what I will be doing or if I will be doing anything until we get our itinerary.  There is supposed to be a Beach Party while we are in Nassau but I have no idea what time, how long, etc.  So until I find this out, I cannot book anything in Nassau.  I haven't really done my research on anything to do there yet but I heard that walking around the Atlantis resort is pretty cool.

8.  Work on Door Decoration - My roommates and I do have our idea finalized.  I just need to work on one of the final products and get some other stuff ready for it.  I really like our idea this year.

9.  Buy Pre-Cruise Event Ticket - The Backstreet Boys have confirmed that there will be a Pre-Cruise Event the night before the cruise.  However, that is all we know.  We do not know what the event is, how much it will cost, where it will be, when it will be, whether or not it is General Admission or not, etc.  I have money set aside for the event but I can't do anything with that money until we get more information.

10.  Book Appointments - I need to set up appointments for my pre-cruise beauty prep:  hair cut, wax eyebrows, manicure.  This year I may try doing a pedicure and a spray tan as well.  Last year I really wanted to get a massage on the cruise but there just wasn't a good opportunity or time.  I may try to get one this year before I go so I can be nice an relaxed from moment one.

I think that might be it....but I am sure I am missing something!  I know some of this will just fall into place but others I need to get done on my time.  I'm getting super excited though!

When I look at you holding my heart, I will give to you all that I have...

**Brian Littrell - Welcome Home Tour - 6/18/2006 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI**

There is no doubt that Brian has ALWAYS been my favorite Backstreet Boy.  However, when I heard that he was coming out with a solo Christian album, I had to think hard about whether I was going to buy it.  Immediately, I thought "of course I am going to buy it because I love Brian's voice and it is an album of just Brian."  The other part of me thought, "I was not raised with any kind of religion in my life so am I going to like or understand the content of this album and will that affect my feelings about Brian?"  I was in a dilemma.  I eventually decided that I was going to support him no matter what.

So on May 2, 2006, I drove to the local Family Christian Store in Muncie, IN because I thought that would be the best place to find it.  I looked at every single CD in that store and could not find Welcome Home anywhere.  I knew that if I couldn't even find it at a Christian store, there was no way it was going to be anywhere else.  I thought I would take a chance and ask the employee working there about the album.  I explained to him that Brian Littrell's album was supposed to be coming out on that day and asked if they had it in stock.  He went into the back and came out with a handful of the CDs.  They had forgotten to put them out!

As I always do when I buy a new CD, I opened it up immediately and stuck it in the CD player of my truck.  Unfortunately, it took less than one song to drive back to my apartment because I lived so close.   I transferred the CD straight from my truck CD player to my computer and continued to listen to the album the entire day.  I was in love with it.  At the time, I couldn't relate to what Brian was singing about but I loved just hearing his voice.  It was the thing that made me fall in love with him in the first place, after all.  Actually, there was one song that I related to and that was "Angels and Heroes."  I was (and still am) a member of a philanthropic sorority called Epsilon Sigma Alpha (ESA).  This group was made up of so many types of people who came together for one common goal:  to help others.  To me, "Angels and Heroes," represented our group perfectly.  I thought that every single one of my sisters was an angel or hero to someone that they helped while we were doing our service work.  In fact, some of them were heroes to me in great times of need.  We didn't have wings but we were all angels and heroes at heart.  To this day, this is still my favorite song of all time.

As I continued to listen to the CD, I started to ask questions about God and Christianity.  I was baptized Catholic as an infant but that was the extent of religion in my life other than a few Christmas Eve midnight masses here and there.  Because I was not taught any of this, I never had an interest in learning about it.  In fact, it scared me.  However, I could sense something in Brian's singing that I never had in my life.  It was a sense of peace, belonging, and happiness.  I knew it was because of his faith, but I was still not quite ready to take that step.

Megan and I at her house before leaving for Grand Rapids

Later in the month of May, news was released that Brian would be doing a small tour and I was lucky enough that there was a date (June 18, 2006 - The Intersection - Grand Rapids, MI) that worked into my schedule.  It helped that I was just taking summer classes at Ball State University.  I called the first person I thought of to go with me...Megan.  We had enjoyed ourselves so much for the Never Gone concert and she was really my only BSB friend at the time.  Even though she was an AJ fan, she agreed to go with me.

Muncie, IN -> Anderson, IN -> Grand Rapids, MI
274 miles - 4 hours, 49 minutes

I once again drove to Anderson to pick her up, but this time I was going to drive.  After our near death experience going to Cincinnati for our Never Gone concert, I thought it might be best if I drove this time.  This concert was going to be general admission so we wanted to be sure to get there early enough to get a good seat.  Little did we know that there would be no seats.  Anyway, we were following the directions to get to the venue, The Intersection.  The directions, which I had either gotten from Map Quest or Google Maps said we should have arrived at our destination, but we were still on the high way.  We did see the venue from the interstate, but there was no way that we were at our destination!  We were going to have to do this the old fashioned way, as we did not have a GPS.  We were either going to have to figure it out for ourselves or stop and ask for directions.  Luckily, I like to think I have an okay sense of direction and we got off of the next exit....into what looked like to be a very bad neighborhood.  This was not the time to be lost.  I continued to drive and we ended up finding the venue without having to stop for directions.  As we drove by the venue, we noticed that the line was not super long and we were pretty hungry.  We needed to go get something to eat but did not want to get off of the current road we were on, for fear of not being able to find our way back.  We found a Taco Bell down the road, ate, and returned to the venue.

The line had grown since we had gone to eat but it wasn't too bad.  We waited in line for awhile and then were let into the lounge of the venue to wait in line.  At some point in the transition from outside to inside, I lost one of my brand new earrings.  We were finally let into the show and that is when we realized that there weren't any seats.  This was a dance club/seat less concert venue.  The main floor was completely open but there was some seating around the perimeter.  Megan has some health issues and informed me that she would rather sit in one of the seats around the perimeter than stand for the show.  I told her I would sit with her, rather than stand in the group for the concert.

We, of course, had to wait for the show to start.  As we were sitting, a woman came up to me and said, "I know this seems really strange but do you have any batteries?"  Her's had died in her camera.  Those who know me, know that I like to be prepared for anything.  I reached into my purse, pulled out some batteries, and handed them to her.  She introduced herself as Tammy and we chatted for a bit.  We then exchanged e-mail addresses and agreed to write to one another.  And yes, this is the same Tammy that I do almost all of my BSB/UK stuff with now.  We still love to reminisce about how it was Brian that made us meet and become such good friends.

Opening Acts

Brian had two opening acts, Brandon Heath and Ana Laura, who were label mates of his.  Both were good.  Then Brian finally came on.  Even though I was towards the back of the club, this was the closest I had ever been to him.  I was so excited.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to just sit there during the show, so I left Megan sitting where she was (with her permission of course) and got closer to the action.  The man of my dreams was less than 20 feet from me!  I never thought that I would ever be this close to him when I became a fan those many years ago.  Little did I know that I would be much closer to him in the future.

Because it was so long ago, I don't remember the exact setlist unfortunately.  A search on Google pulled this up:

My Answer Is You
Wish
In Christ Alone
You Keep Givin' Me
IWITW/ALAYLM
Angels & Heroes
We Lift You Up
I'm Alive
Gone Without Goodbye
Grace of My Life
Welcome Home
That's What She Said
Over My Head

Brian being.....well Brian.

This looks correct to me and I remember certain things about certain songs.  It may not be the exact same order but I am pretty sure these are the songs he sang.  Overall, Brian continued the same crazy antics that he does during BSB shows.  He would take people's cell phone and talk on the phone with them.  He would make his same silly faces and voices.  It was great being able to just see him and not have any of the other Backstreet Boys gets in the way (no offense).  I also liked how personal it was.  It wasn't a big production.  He would play his guitar and sing.  There were no wardrobe changes or fancy pyro or light shows.  It was just Brian doing what he does best...singing.

For "You Keep Giving Me," Brian brought a church choir out to help him sing.  Brian joked all night about "bringing church to the club," but it was especially true during this song.  I couldn't find the whole song but I was able to find a clip.

Courtesy of Mei922 - YouTube

And even though this was a Brian Littrell concert, he still sang some BSB classics, "I Want It That Way" and "As Long As You Love Me."  After he was done singing "ALAYLM" he decided to show us that some old habits die hard when he decided to do the chair dance.  He also talked about how it was on the video shoot of this song that he met Leighanne.  

Courtesy of ACsShorty - YouTube

I was able to get my own video of Brian singing my favorite part of "Angels and Heroes."  My camera at the time was not the best and I could not get long portions of video so I wanted to save my camera memory for this part. 

"Angels and Heroes"

"Welcome Home (You)"

Finally, during "Welcome Home (You)," Brian premiered the music video for it in the background.  I instantly loved it and hoped that it would be available on iTunes so that I could download it and be able to watch it all the time.  Luckily for me, it was.  I also liked this because I got twice as much Brian Littrell.  I was able to watch him on the stage and on the video screen.  I could not complain about that.

I ended up buying some merchandise at this show.  First, I purchased a t-shirt.  The logo of the t-shirt was very faded to begin with but the shirt was SO soft.  It was perfect to sleep in.  It has lost some of its softness over the years but I still love it.  The second thing I bought, I debated on.  He had signed CDs there.  The only reason I debated on this was because I already had the CD.  What was I going to do with another copy?  However, I did not have his autograph.  I decided that since I already had multiple of several of their other CD's, why not Brian's as well?  I bought it and I now had Brian's autograph to display proudly.

Grand Rapids Merchandise

We travelled back to Muncie that night.  I loved every second of that show and I believe it allowed me to open my heart up just a little bit to God.  I still wasn't ready to make that leap of faith but I could tell that if I continued to use Brian as an influence, I might eventually get there.