My NKOTB Adventures

"I Remember When...": Lima, Peru, 1989, I was 9 years old and like every afternoon, you'd find me listening to music or watching music videos. And there it came, "The Right Stuff" popped on the tube and I was immediately drawn to the 5 hot guys from Boston. I was only 9, but I was definitely into the boys then :). I still wanted to see more and lucky for me "Please Don't Go Girl" was next. Now, I knew who to keep my eyes on...it was Joey Joe. Yes, I was into the blue eyed boy. I practiced and beefed up my English skills by writing down the lyrics to the songs since these were not included with the cassette tapes. This would help me considering 1 1/2 years later, I'd be moving to the states. But by the time I moved in 1991, their flame was dwindling and I was the only fan on the block. Literally.
Fast forward to 2008. Miami, FL, I heard the rumors, I logged on to the net. I could not believe my eyes! NKOTB will be reunited again! This time, I had control over my experience, or at least I thought. Although I could not find a soul to go with me to NYC, I made sure to be present for the Ft. Lauderdale show that my hubby happily accompanied me to. It was amazing. I cried, I laughed, and I waved my hands in the air like just don't care! Little did I know then that facetime was a possibility.
March 2009. This is when MY year of the Block really started. My first meet and greet and first road trip began in Ft. Myers. Oh, little did I know, more was to come and my facetime opportunities would only get better! And so it is...Ft. Myers, FL; Orlando, FL; Memphis, TN; Wichita, KS; Dallas, TX; and Houston, TX. My last meet and greet of the year was also the last concert of the tour and therefore it was amazing.
My facetime experiences? Well, it started in Ft. Myers, where a certain someone claims to remembered me from then. That rolled over to a quaint little party in Miami Beach that happened before the cruise. I got to wish Danny boy Happy Birthday in person and all thanks to some liquid courage. That night I got my pics taken with all, except for Jon (I'll get you soon!). Joey took our pic twice, Donnie taking several pics with us and even stole some kisses from me! Jordan, well, I promise not to call you out on your pic skills anymore. And Danny, such an awesome host. He took care of my friend and I the entire night! Encouraging us to stick around his table. This was also the night were my Mac dreams began to swerve towards Wood issues, all thanks to the power of youtube.com! These first encounters led to us bumping and meeting them in other states. So much so, that Danny even gave shout outs from stage to his 305 girls.

And well, Houston, TX ended my chapter for the touring with NKOTB, but 2009 is not over yet. We still have a Komen Race for the Cure run we have to finish in October. Who knows who we may bump into that day?

We can find a cure together: LET'S CURE THIS!!!

Help us keep Betty's Memory Alive!

Help my team and I get a step closer to finding a cure by making a pledge today: http://race.komenmiaftl.org/goto/andieremembersbetty

The Miami Remembers Betty Team is very excited to be getting together for the Miami Affiliate of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Cancer is a disease that has touched every one of us in some shape or form. The chances that you know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer or who has passed battling this disease are high.

Our team has come together in memory of Betty Wood who lost her battle with breast cancer almost 10 years ago. We are together not just because of a group, but to remember the lives lost and those survivors that give us hope. They remind us as always to HANG TOUGH!

Help support the promise to save lives and end breast cancer forever by making a donation to my page, or, if you prefer, you may make a donation to our team as whole.

For more information on The "Betty Wood" Breast Cancer Foundation, please visit: http://www.rememberbetty.org Let her passing and that of those others not be in vain.

THANK YOU for your support of us and Susan G. Komen Race for the the Cure!

WE WILL find the cure together! That's our promise.

Andie

Danny Gokey?

At a friend's birthday 60s themed party...

I think he came out looking like the American Idol contestant...

"I am a grown woman..."

Yesterday at the grocery store, I overhear a mom and her teenage daughter arguing. The daughter wants to get her hair colored/highlighted and cut the way she wants to. I then hear her mom say "Not everyone does it. You are not old enough to change your hair color." Just then, I turn around and I see the teenage daughter sitting with legs crossed inside the shopping cart with all of the groceries around her. As they pass next to me, the daughter pouts and says: "I'm a grown ass woman and I can make my own decisions about my hair and my body. You can't tell me what to do!" >THUD!!!!<
Apparently I was not the only one observing this, as other shoppers snickered as they passed. Oh, to those teenage years, old enough to think for yourself, not old enough to fit into a shopping cart!

Ever wonder what makes you tick?

For me, it has to be the way things work around me. I enjoy positivity and intelligent conversation. Don't get me wrong, I get frustrated easily and enjoy venting to someone I trust.
My husband tells me that I am easily amused, but hey, that's just me loving and appreciating life! Those little things...
What makes you move? I have found that most of my drive comes from intrinsic motivation, but I must admit that extrinsic motivation does not hurt my self-esteem either! I mean, we all enjoy some type of reinforcement right?
I have been been told that I aim to please, but really, that gets tiring sometimes! I have learned to speak my mind and I truly think its an art that I would like to master someday.
Until then, I'll try not to step on eggshells, but I will not put my ass on the line to avoid these. If I end up stepping on one, well, I guess I will come out stronger at the end.
Every mistake is considered a success as long as you have learned something from it, right?!

Meet & Greet with NKOTB - Ft. Myers 5* and more ;)

So, it all started on a sunny day in South East Florida. Three girls determined to get their face time begin their drive from Ft Lauderdale, FL in a not-so-obvious yellow mustang convertible. JKGirl (Venus), Kelly_Ft. Lauderdale, and I, drive on and on for miles with the assistance of NKOTB music which helped us get pumped!
Finally we arrive to our destination in Ft. Myers/Estero and hear that Donnie and crew are packing their bags from the Ritz in Naples . The Ritz? damn, we should've thought of that first!
So we sneak into a hotel to freshen up a bit and get our DIVA on prior to heading out to Germain Arena to patiently wait for the guys' arrival. The FL sun and heat was melting us and killing our looks, but determined we were.
All of a sudden, Danny peeks out from the tour bus and comes out to say hello to us. I yelled like a little girl. Little did I notice that nobody else was yelping like I was, so I decided to stop my mouth from running, and start moving my legs towards him. I was frozen! My friend Lisa help me snap out of it all. I was completely shaken up by the whole ordeal, and it was only Danny! not Joey, goodness! Once he came out to the fans, he was soooooo kind! He patiently waited till each one of us took out our cameras and asked others to take them for us. He really was patient in that regard! Everyone who was there got a chance to take a pic with Danny ;)
After what seemed like hours, we get a sight of Donnie. He comes over dressed in all black. Damn it, I was sweating bullets and this guy shows up with a long sleeve black shirt under a short sleeve black, with the scarf, hat and all black! Anyways, by this time, the crowds had definitely gotten bigger and as you may expect, the Donnie girls were going buck wild (there was nobody screaming like I had earlier though). So we all take our pics with Donnie and he seemed very mellow (i guess not to rile up the fans). Just like Danny, he took pictures with EVERYONE. Trust me, it seemed like the line kept getting longer and longer and longer...he was also patient with everyone and let us all have time to set up the camera.
So now, I am drenched in sweat and the cuteness that I attempted to put on earlier, had completely melted, hair a mess, smelling like yuck, but hey, I tried my best to fix it up. My friend Venus even lets me put on her "100% Irish" pin so that I may just get some attention
We move on to the M&G party and well, was super hot, super nervous and fixing to gulp two glasses of wine. So I didn't realize how tipsy I'd be, but I was a bit "happy." It was finally our group "K" to come up to hang with the boys! And so I remember gum (THANKS KIM) and a last check from everyone that we were set.
The curtains open and we all appear to run towards our fave new kid! I had Vivian (Donnie girl) in front of me walking/running towards Joey's direction. Joey sees her, opens his arms as she has hers. She then takes a few looks towards Donnie, back to Joey, and back to Donnie. Just then, I tap her in the shoulder and tell her, "I got Joey!" so she runs to Donnie and I ran towards Joey. He sees Venus' pin on me and asks, "Are you Irish?" to which I say, "Today I am!" and I just hug him! Telling him you are my favorite!
So, now I'm in the zone, I don't even introduce myself to Joey or anything, but I begin to hug everyone. I go to Danny and hang on to him, literally hang on! (remember I was a bit HAPPY). I think Danny noticed that I just held/hung on to him for awhile that he was like "Whoa, girl, wait a minute" that's when I was telling him, "I heard you are from Miami, I live in Kendall."
So, since I had already made an ass out of me, I went to get the rest of my hugs. Donnie was busy talking to the 2 husbands that joined our group so I skipped over to Jon and asked him for a hug (and from what I remember, it was great!) and that's when I heard "Photo!" So I ran like nobody's business! David, Vivian's hubby, was standing next to Joey, saw me running for "my spot" and moved before I ran him over! I may have knocked Joey, but I was just in awe that I got to stand next to him!! I was in heaven!
During the pic, one of the hubbys yells something like "New York in the house" and Danny, who was standing next to me says "Kendall in the house!!!" I just laughed at Danny and gave him my last hug. With Joey, I either asked or stole both a hug and a kiss. Donnie, well, he was busy chatting with the husbands so I just asked for a hug; he halfheartedly gave me one (not hating). Jon, I got one last hug from him. And then came Jordan, I told him: "My husband loves you!" He was like, "Ok, that's a little weird." then I find myself explaining, "you are his favorite, I don't know" Weird interaction, but what else to say to this man?!
The experience was amazing! I couldn't believe it! But the next best part about my day was not over yet! What you ask? I got to sit front row! FRONT FREAKING ROW CENTER! AMAZING! Just ask Venus and Lisa who got to squeeze in front row with me?!!!
I got even more time to "flirt" with Joey, Jordan, and Donnie. I got Jordan to shimmy with me towards the end of Hangin' Tough and well, the other stuff? blowing kisses, winks, ya know...things that happen between my boyfriends and I...normal things...haha!
I absolutely loved this show specially from the perfect close up view I had. These guys are amazing! To know that at 36-40 yrs old they are still able to kick ass! Ahhh...back to my tweens again!