From The First Day: December 2013

**Top 13 of 2013**

First was the Top 11 of 2011, then came the top 12 of 2012. So, it only makes sense to have the Top 13 of 2013, right??? Oh boy, what the heck am I going to do when it gets to a year like 2025? I guess it means I just have to keep doing more and more events each year so that I have a bigger pool of events to choose from. Yeah, that's it!

For some reason, this year's list was a little harder for me to compile. I had a lot of great moments but nothing that was as truly special as my number one of 2012 - my heart to heart conversation with Brian on my birthday. It wasn't the fact that I didn't do anything this year, it was more that I did a lot and a lot of great moments happened.

I know that many of these moments don't have their own blog post yet and I apologize in advance for that. I have been traveling a lot this year, I went from having a part-time job to a full-time career (my first ever might I add), and my husband and I bought our first home. Needless to say, there have been so many good things that have happened to me this year. But, as most of you know, this is a Backstreet (with some other boys bands thrown in occasionally)/University of Kentucky blog so that is where I will focus my attention.

13. Bringing in the New Year with BSB - Okay so this event was sort of on my list for 2012, as well. However, is there a better way to start a year than spending it with BSB??? I think not! I was there in the audience with my best friends when the clock struck midnight and the streamers and balloons fell down upon us. At that moment I knew it was going to just be a good year.

12. Afterparty with Aaron anyone? - Sometimes an event can be more memorable because of bad things that happen rather than good things. Seeing Aaron Carter during his After Party Tour might be one of those cases. Now, don't get me wrong, the show itself was excellent! However, standing in the cold to get into the venue and then standing for almost four hours through five opening acts can take its toll on you. Meeting Aaron afterwards made up for it though.

11. Fun in the Sun (blog coming soon!) - So what does a normal person do after a cruise? Simple, a person normally returns home to the daily grind of his or her life. Now, what does a person do after a Backstreet Boys Cruise? If that person is smart, she takes a vacation! It only took us three years of cruising with BSB to discover that taking a vacation after a Backstreet Cruise is probably one of the best things a group of girls can do. Our trip to Ft. Lauderdale after this year's cruise allowed us to rest our sore achy feet, helped us avoid getting on airplanes with compromised immune systems due to a complete lack of sleep, and gave us time to talk about the cruise with one another in person as we laid around the pool or went around in the lazy river over and over again, rather than sending a million e-mails with one another. I also found that this trip helped tremendously with the Backstreet withdrawals once I got home.

10. Big Blue Weekend - For me, the next best thing to a weekend attending a Backstreet Boys event, is a weekend attending University of Kentucky athletics' events. After years of trying, I was finally able to make it to a UK Baseball series in Lexington. To make matters even better, the Spring Football Game happened to be the same weekend. I got to meet all of the baseball team during their post game autograph session; got to see former Bat Cat, Michael Williams, whom I had traveled to New York to see the previous year; and got another photo with my favorite Bat Cat, Corey Littrell. It was a great weekend filled with a lot of Wildcat love!

9. You gotta live it Big Time - Yes, there is a new boy band in my life. Sure, they are no Backstreet Boys, but Big Time Rush is still pretty awesome. Because I had no one in my area to attend a show with, I decided that it would be perfect to travel to see a show with the people that got me started on them (of course, we blame Ash). The Mohegan Sun in Connecticut was the lucky establishment that we would grace with our attendance. I got to meet the group during VIP and it was at this show that my inner conflict on my favorite Big Time Rush member was resolved. Congratulations Carlos for beating out Logan for that one. As always, this trip was just as much about getting to see all of the people that I don't get to see often as it was about going to the concert.

8. "It's Christmas Time Again" (coming soon!) - After BSB Cruise 2013, I thought it was going to be months before I got to see BSB again. They had announced some holiday shows but I couldn't really swing going to any of them....until they announced that they would be coming to Chicago! Yippee!!!! I couldn't pass up the price of the VIP, which may not have included a soundcheck but it did include a solo photo with the group. I got a lot of extra love from Kevin on this day between my extra long hug with the words a fan girl always wants to hear from her favorites, "it's nice to see you again," his acknowledgement of my UK gear while standing in line for the photo, and his compliment of my UK hat during the concert. Plus one can not beat the fact that I got the rare hug from all five guys during the photo session and was the center of a "Kentucky Cousin Sandwich" for my photo.

7. Beating Cancer "Step by Step" (coming soon!) - Okay so this event isn't particularly related to attending a boy band concert or a UK athletic event...but it was still extremely important to me and is somewhat related to boy bands. After some disappointment in only walking 20 of the 60 miles of the 2012 Susan G. Komen Chicago 3-Day, I decided I had to try again in 2013 as the team captain of Team Betty, named so for it's involvement with Remember Betty (the organization founded by New Kid's member, Danny Wood). After focusing more on my training, I am proud to say that I walked every single mile of that 60 mile walk this year! It was painful and I wanted to give up so much on that third day. But, I kept going. The fact that I completed such an accomplishment after some failure the year before is why this is put so high on this year's list.

6. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas (coming soon!) - Okay, maybe there really are no secrets when it comes to sharing the details of my Backstreet trips. In 2012, my birthday was spent talking about life with Brian Littrell. I'm not sure anything can really beat that birthday. This year's birthday was special in a different way because all of my girls and I hopped on some planes and met in Vegas for some Backstreet fun! The soundcheck was probably one of the best I have been to because we got a nice surprise visit from Kathy Griffin. I was able to make my VIP photo a memorable one for many birthday's to come. And the show itself....well, when you are right up against the stage there are so many memorable moments to be had (especially since it was the only full show I saw for this particular tour - more on that later). Finally, being sung "Happy Birthday" by my best friends that I only get to see a few times a year pretty much gets the icing on the cake...or in our case, the icing on the cupcakes.

5. 'Cause a Backstreet party don't stop (coming soon!) - Before spending my birthday in Vegas, a few of us decided to head to California for more Backstreet fun. Arriving with the intention of buying VIPs at the show can always be a gamble. Luckily, Justin took care of us (he got rewarded with some cupcakes in Vegas for that...which I found out during the Holiday Show, he had forgotten on the table and never ate). It was SO HOT as we were waiting for soundcheck. However, Justin chose me to ask a question during soundcheck (my first ever) and Kevin once again acknowledged my UK gear. We had the fan pit for the show, which was being recorded for the documentary (crosses fingers we make it into that), so being that close is always an amazing experience...even if you get their backs (okay their backs also mean their rear ends) in your face. However, the most memorable moment of this trip was the after party! We left the show a song early (now my second time of not seeing the full show...the first comes later) to get a good spot for the after party....we got front row, which also means being VERY close to Nick, Howie, and Kev. The bruises on my legs from being pushed into the stage the whole night were totally worth it after being pulled up on stage by Kev and having all of Nick Carter dancing right in front of your face. I still blush sometimes thinking about this event and how a friend and I were caught by Nick taking some interesting photos.

4. Cruisin' with BSB (coming soon!) - Like many of you, I really thought BSB Cruise 2013 was going to be higher than this on my list because, well, it was freaking AMAZING! I mean we had BSB in Captain's uniforms (more than once), Brian and I had a small photo shoot on the first day, I was in the Wylee fashion show, I got a photo with Howie on the beach, we had some very personal moments with Kev in the atrium during his solo event, Brian looked way hot in his way tight pants for his cop costume on Halloween night, and some of the Boys were just out of control on Bachelorette night. Now, just reading what I wrote makes me wonder if this should, in fact, be higher on my list...

3. My Boyband Bonanza Weekend - This event is exactly what it sounds like...a weekend of boy bands! Really I think that posting this video I made right afterwards explains this weekend well...

2. The Windy City Blows It (coming soon!) - I'm not going to lie, I'm giggling at what I think was a very clever title to this event. Just nod your head and smile, I easily amuse myself. As seen in my number three event of the year, my Boyband Bonanza weekend started with a BSB concert in Chicago. This is a day that I will always remember, for the good and the bad. It started off with a morning standing in the pouring rain to see the guys perform at a free event for the local television station, where I actually made it on TV with AJ and got some acknowledgement from Brian and Kevin. Then, I got some more Brian love during soundcheck with an acknowledgement of my UK shirt (have you noticed a trend yet of my concert going attire?). During the show, I missed Baylee perform while I went to go check in for the after party. I had stayed away from spoilers from the show and I was glad I did because the show was amazing...until the city of Chicago shut it down with five songs still left to go due to a noise ordinance. The Boys and the fans were not very happy. Brian and I mouthed a little conversation with one another about what bullshit (his words, not mine) it was. It was nice to get more interaction with him even though I was all the way back in the fourth row. Then, I had a very nice UK football conversation with Kev at the after party before getting my photo with him. So, even though the concert ended on a bad note, it was a day full of Backstreet (6am to about 2am the next morning) with many interactions. I think this is why it ranks so high on this list. Oh, and I got interviewed by the newspaper the next day about the early shut down.

1. My other favorite Littrell - Okay, you may all want to sit down with what I am about to announce.....my number one event of 2013 is not a BSB event. WHAT?!?!?!?! I'm sure that is what you are all thinking right now. Yep, my top event of 2013 is what I like to term my 2013 Baseball Bonanza. I went to six minor league baseball games in six days, where I saw four former Kentucky Wildcats (Brian Adams, Trevor Gott, Corey Littrell, and Tim Peterson) at four different ball parks (South Bend, Troy, Brooklyn, Ft. Wayne) in two different states (Indiana, New York and also drove through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey). I travelled a total of 1,800 miles for this trip and was on the road for a total of 30 hours. Most importantly, and the reason I believe this made number one on my list, was the fact that I got to see my favorite Bat Cat, Corey Littrell, make his pro pitching debut. He will only have one debut like this in his entire career and I was able to be there to witness it. It was a pretty successful debut, too. What might have made it even better was the fact that I was able to share the experience with his family, friends, and fellow fans through my photos and videos of this very memorable moment for him. The whole weekend, I felt as if all of the guys were showing me how truly thankful they were for my dedication as a fan. From the tickets that were left for me by the players, to the time they spent talking with me after the games, I truly felt their love for their fans. I don't think there is much else a fan needs than to just feel appreciated.

So there it is! I have to smile knowing that I took a few other trips this year that didn't quite make the list (Wisconsin and Ohio with my husband for some racing, Lexington for a UK football game, and nine different trips to South Bend to see former Wildcats play in the minor leagues) because I realize just how lucky I was this year. I told you when I started that I knew it was going to be a good year because I brought it in with the Backstreet Boys!

If i were to post my year with celebrities as photo collage, here is what it would look like:

My approximate mileage travelled in 2013 was 15, 229 miles to 16 cities in 10 states (CA, NV, IL, IN, MI, KY, NY, CT, NJ, FL) and two countries (U.S. and The Bahamas)! Of course, this doesn't include those miles on the cruise from Miami to Half Moon Cay.