Weekends at Home

As always, I'm late on the weekend recap. I can't be the only one who doesn't have it in them to blog on Sunday night or Monday morning, right?

This weekend was one of those good-for-your-soul, totally restorative weekends. Wheat and I headed back to my hometown to spend some quality time with my mom and it filled my heart and soothed my mind more than I could have ever imagined.

You see, I live in a dreamy Midwestern town, where you run into someone you know everywhere you go and time slows down to match the rhythmic chirping of the crickets. The quaint type of town that practically shuts down on Friday nights when the high school football team takes the field. The charming type of town that hosts seasonal festivals and parades to excite the locals and entice visitors from hours away.

This weekend, I indulged in all things home  and it felt wonderful and overdue. On top of everything else, this is truly the best time of year in the Midwest. As summer slowly fades into fall, the leaves start to change, despite the warm afternoon temperatures. Apple cider and pumpkin pie make their way into the fridge, but you're still cheering for baseball teams amidst the excitement of football.

This weekend was the perfect mix of summer and fall, old and new in the Johnson household. We visited with dear friends, watched Hocus Pocus, and savored apple fritters and cinnamon-cider donuts for breakfast. We watched college football, perused the booths at Apple Fest, and picked fresh vegetables from Dad's garden. We fed the goats at Iron's Fruit Farm, decorated for fall with Indian corn and pumpkins, and ate two of the Cincinnati staples I miss the most, Gold Star and LaRosa's.

On Sunday afternoon, Mommles, Wheat, and I headed downtown to say farewell to the Reds in their final game of the season. We nabbed some pretty great seats in the outfield, aside from the obnoxious Pittsburgh family in front of us. Despite the oppressive heat and the one-sided sunburns we brought home from the game, we had an awesome time. The Reds won, 4-1, and Johnny Cueto secured his 20th win of the season (the first Reds pitcher to do so since 1988). Cueto also had the go-ahead hit in the eighth inning, Kristopher Negron hit a late home run to seal the deal, and we even spotted our buddy Pete Rose in the stands.

Of course, comfortable weekends like these make it even harder to function at work on Monday. I promise I'm not wishing time away, but the weekend starts again in T-minus three days. We can do this.

Nick + Knight Tour

In 1999, there were really only two questions on the forefront of young, American girls' minds:

1. Is Y2K really about to happen? and the corollary to that question: How will it affect my Giga Pet?

2. Backstreet Boys or N' Sync?

Not unlike the way the Twilight franchise sparked the heated Team Edward vs. Team Jacob debate for girls of the next generation, the great boy band battle of the late '90s thrust prepubescent preteens into an absolute frenzy. Like every other sane fifth grader, my best friend and I were staunch, intensely loyal Backstreet supporters. Evidence of our obsession could easily be found in our CD players, hanging in our closets, and plastered on every square inch of our walls.

While I knew every last detail about Brian Littrell (including the time of his birth), Jenn's affections landed squarely on the shoulders of the BSB's youngest member, Nick Carter. And there they stayed until, well, they're still there. As I moved on to Tom DeLonge from Blink 182, Josh Hartnett, and eventually Vince Vaughn, Jenn continued to refer to Nick Carter as "her husband" and even saw the Backstreet Boys by herself a few years ago. Loyalty, folks. That's why I love her.

When I learned that Nick Carter was joining forces with Jordan Knight (of New Kids on the Block) for a North American tour this fall, I knew we must attend. It seemed like fate when I saw they would be performing at the Murat in Indianapolis for the fourth stop on the tour.

So, like the eternal teenyboppers we are, we ventured downtown on Saturday to watch "her husband" perform without his bandmates. When we first arrived, we noticed a small group of girls waiting outside by the stage entrance. Despite the mugginess and slight embarrassment, we were intrigued enough to hang out by the gate in hopes that Nick was still hanging out in his nearby tour bus.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later (and five minutes before the show was supposed to start), Nick came strolling out of the bus in his street clothes. He signed autographs for a couple girls, got a picture with one, and patiently listened to one lady spill her life story to him. Ultimately, we decided not to bother him (as he seemed pretty annoyed and rushed), but I did snap some paparazzi shots with my phone. Maybe this is another viable career option.

After Jenn composed herself, we found our seats in the center of the balcony, made friends with some nearby NKOTB fans, and waited for the show, which started about 30 minutes late.

The show itself was incredibly entertaining. As I'm sure you know (or could guess), neither of these guys has the voice of an angel, but over the course of almost two hours, they transported me back to a time when the biggest issue in my life was whether or not my parents would take me to buy the new BSB CD at midnight.

Most of the show consisted of new '80s-inspired songs and choreographed dance moves. It was clear that this was the early part of the tour - both of them messed up the dances at some point. There were several wardrobe changes, a brief bit where they played instruments, and the best mashup of '90s music I've ever heard (which is what I call every mashup that includes Ginuwine's "Pony"). They also performed "I Want it That Way," "Larger Than Life," and "The Right Stuff."

Bonus perk: Jordan Knight is still smokin' hot. I saw NKOTB last year with Wheat and I was shocked at how well that man has aged. He also performed his solo song "Give It to You," so I was thrilled.

The best part of the night, however, was sitting there with my best friend, laughing and watching a concert we would have loved even more 15 years ago. We've obviously grown up a lot since then, but it's nice to know that some things, some friendships never change.

Fall Bucket List

I'm sad to report that I only completed 16 of the 25 items on my Summer Bucket List. Poor form. We didn't canoe or tube down the river, eat at Montgomery Inn, visit the Newport Aquarium, tour Crown Hill Cemetery, or stargaze at Holcomb Observatory (in my defense, it was closed for an entire month). We didn't ride the Handlebar Indy pedal pub, get our picture taken at the LOVE sculpture, or eat dinner at the rooftop restaurant in Fountain Square. Somehow, I only attended one baseball game all summer and that is the summer fail that I'm most ashamed of.

However, rather than dwell on my summer shortcomings, I've decided to look ahead to my favorite season of the year. I bring you...my second annual Fall Bucket List. Sorry, Wheat.

- Visit a pumpkin patch and carve a pumpkin. - Complete!
- Watch a scary movie. - Complete!
- Drink apple cider. - Complete!
- Go to a football game. - Complete!
- Spend a day in Brown County.
- Bake something pumpkin. - Complete!
- Dress up for Halloween. - Complete!
- Tour Crown Hill Cemetery. - Complete!
- Make something in the crockpot. - Complete!
- Attend Lebanon's Apple Fest and eat an apple fritter. - Complete!

Some of these are repeats from last year, but I've also included a few new ones.

What are YOU doing in the next couple months to get fall festive?

Vegas baby, Vegas! - Part 2

After a failed attempt to find a nearby sports book for NFL Sunday, everyone but Jamie and Denny drove to Silverton Lodge and Casino for the games. It ended up being the perfect decision. We hunkered down, ordered pizza and sliders, and watched the Bengals whoop the Falcons. Silverton Lodge also happened to be a really cool place - it had a tiny duckpin bowling alley housed within an Airstream trailer and a massive aquarium. While we were there, a woman dressed as a mermaid was in the tank, doing flips in the water and petting the stingrays.

After the games, Daddles surprised everyone with lunch at an amazing Brazilian steakhouse in Planet Hollywood called Pampas. I nearly filled up on the delicious salad bar, but couldn't turn down the bacon-wrapped chicken or sirloin steak. Though I could barely breathe, we each ordered dessert and I somehow found room for white chocolate cheesecake. Drool.

While we recovered from lunch, we watched more football and said goodbye to LP and Elizabeth. Eventually, Mommles, Wheat, and I mustered up the energy to venture to the Bellagio. After another quick walk through the gorgeous lobby, we finally watched my beloved fountains. I could easily spend hours right there.

Somehow, I convinced Wheat (against his better judgment) to ride the roller coaster at New York New York with me. Jamie and Denny joined us and it was just as fun as the first time I rode it. The view at night really can't be beat and the ride itself is pretty intense.

After the ride, we found ourselves in the middle of the Coney Island arcade, so Wheat and Denny challenged each other to some basketball. I wasn't remotely surprised when Wheat won.

The next morning, Mommles, Wheat, and I decided to enjoy the beautiful bamboo pool at the Cosmopolitan. Amazingly, we found three chairs together in the water and I sat there in utter disbelief that such a paradise exists on earth.

After a quick nap and lunch, Daddles dropped Jamie, Denny, Wheat, and I off at the Palazzo and we slowly made our way up the strip. We admired the canals in the Venetian, saw wax figure Bruce Willis, and stopped in the Sugar Factory for some candy.

While Jamie and Denny went to see the Jabbawockeez at the Luxor, Wheat and I kicked off our own little date night with dinner at the Spice Market Buffet in Planet Hollywood. Dinner came with a bottle of wine and more food options than I've ever seen. The best part, however, was dessert. They offered a dozen flavors of cupcakes, macarons, and grape cotton candy!

My contest luck streak must have followed me to Vegas because I won tickets to see Pin Up at the Stratosphere. The burlesque show, which featured my personal girl crush Claire Sinclair, was inspired by the pin up calendars of decades past. The house band was incredible, the themed dancing was fantastic, and I even got to meet Claire after the show.

As if I didn't already feel pampered enough, we came home to a clean room, packed suitcases, and my mom's adorable swan towel creation. She's the absolute best.

Other highlights from the vacation:

• I finally tried In-N-Out Burger and it totally lived up to the hype. So cheap, so delicious, and something crossed off my bucket list. Why can't we have them around here?

• On our way to dinner on the last night, Wheat and I spotted a guy dressed as Alan from The Hangover. His resemblance to Zach Galifianakis was uncanny, he was wearing Carlos on his chest, and he was even on his blackberry. I'm still kicking myself for not taking a picture.
• This guy on Fremont Street:

•  We walked past a guy holding a "$20 to kick me in the nuts" sign. When he saw me laughing, he said, "Come on. Put your best foot forward."

Of course, the biggest highlight was having my entire family together for three short days. Our time together is never long enough, but with everything that has happened in the last few months, I'm more grateful than ever to call them mine.

Vegas baby, Vegas! - Part 1

I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that: A) I'm back in Indianapolis, B) I'm sitting at my work desk, not at a slot machine, and C) The low today is 49º, not 90º. In other words, our family vacation to Las Vegas was fabulous and exactly the brief retreat I needed to restore some of my sanity.

In an effort to savor the post-vacation warm fuzzies for as long as possible (and prevent picture overload), I will be splitting my recap into two parts. Part one goes like this...

Friday morning, Wheat and I braved the 3:00 AM alarm and premature autumn temperatures as we headed to the Indianapolis airport. Our flight to Phoenix was uneventful and after a brief layover and several threats from flight attendants that I was carrying one too many bags, we finally arrived in Vegas.

My family's timeshare, the Jockey Club, is nestled in between the Cosmopolitan and the Bellagio. So, as soon as we dropped off our luggage, we set out to explore. We made our way through the Cosmopolitan and Aria, stopping in a sports book to watch part of the Orioles game. Between innings, we walked to New York New York, where we ate hot dogs from Nathan's and watched the Orioles win.

We checked out the Excalibur before riding the tram to Mandalay Bay. From there, we decided to walk back through the shops to the Luxor. As we entered the strip of shops, we spotted a sign advertising that Pete Rose was signing autographs. After a little deliberation, we decided to buy the 8x10 and have him sign it.

I was ridiculously nervous to approach the Hit King, but he was so nice and talkative. When I told him I was from Cincinnati, we discussed my little hometown in detail and he mentioned several specific places he used to frequent. He asked how we met each other as he personalized our picture, then shook Wheat's hand as they discussed the Indy 500. I was just a little excited.

Slowly, we made our way back to the timeshare, stopping in various shops along the way.

When we got back, we waited for Denny (the birthday boy!) to arrive before heading to dinner at Bistro Buffet in the Palms. It was wonderful to finally have the whole family together for a meal and I was even more excited when I found the pumpkin pie.

Saturday, Wheat and I woke up early to walk through the gorgeous, seasonally decorated lobby of the Bellagio. As always, I was blown away by the beautiful decor, which included bears made of moss, animatronic squirrels, massive pumpkins, and an archway made of fountains, lights, and flowers.

Somehow, Wheat managed to pry me away from the scenery to meet my parents at the Linq. We admired the huge new observation wheel (High Roller), ordered red velvet cupcakes from Sprinkle's, checked out the shops, and watched some college football and ate lunch at Tilted Kilt.

After lunch, Wheat and I ventured to Caesars Palace so he could place a few bets in the sports book. I lost $10 in slots, then won $9 in roulette and called it a day. Next, we walked through the Forum Shops and randomly ran into Magic Johnson, who was also doing an autograph session in a memorabilia store.

We reunited with my family at the Silver Sevens Casino (formerly known as Terrible's) and placed even more bets on the NFL games for the following day. Note to self: Never bet on the Detroit Lions. After a little relaxing, we piled in the rental van and made our way to Old Las Vegas to admire the weird street performers.

We saw the world's biggest golden nugget on display, ate delicious fried food (I had a fried peanut butter and jelly coated in powdered sugar - my god), and watched the light display on the ceiling of Fremont Street.

On a whim, Wheat, Elizabeth, and I decided to do the 77-foot-high zip line. Although I was wearing a short dress, the line was ridiculously long, and they made me take off my glasses, it was pretty exhilarating to dangle over the people-laden street before zooming to an abrupt painful halt at the opposite platform. I was only a little concerned after the workers dropped a harness two stories onto an unsuspecting patron moments before our ride...

I'll post part two on Monday. Serious kudos to humankind for creating a city where overindulgence is required.

Happy Thoughts Thursday

Sorry for my continued blogging silence. I'm still trying to break out of my health-anxiety-induced funk. Hopefully, I'll get some good, reassuring news soon and be back to my old blogging ways. Until then, I'll make it up to you with some happy thoughts.

+ Weekend visits with friends. Wheat and I ventured to Maumee last weekend for Eric and CJ's long-awaited housewarming party. It was a quick trip, but time with them is always worth the drive.

+ Las Vegas. We're headed there tomorrow...and despite the ridiculously early departure time of our flight, I'm beyond excited for the vacation. We're meeting my whole family for a few days/nights in our timeshare. Don't worry - I don't abide by the popular catchphrase. What happens in Vegas gets posted directly to my blog.

+ NFL Football. It's finally back! Even better news, the Bengals won their season opener against the Ravens on Sunday. As a transplanted Cincinnati fan living in Colts territory, my Sunday afternoons this fall will consist of grainy, lagging live streams on my laptop and potential noise complaints from the neighbors. Oops.

+ James Dean. On our way home from Maumee, Wheat and I stopped in Fairmount, Indiana, the home of James Dean, for some investigating. First, we stopped at Park Cemetery to see his gravesite. It took a bit of searching, but we finally found his simple headstone, which was adorned with trinkets from other visitors, including cigarettes, combs, and stuffed animals. Next, we stopped in the James Dean Museum (free admission!) to peruse the enormous collection of memorabilia that chronicles his short life. The town is hosting a huge James Dean festival at the end of the month, but I think we had our fill of Jimmy Dean during our quick stop.

+ "Waves" by Mr. Probz. Wheat and I are probably the only people in America who follow The X Factor UK and I'm a little embarrassed by that fact. Fortunately, it also introduced us to this gem that was performed by a young contestant in a recent episode. I really like the original version of the song and the grittiness of his voice. Wheat pointed out that he sounds like a singing version of DMX and I couldn't agree more. Enjoy.



Do you have any suggestions of things to do while I'm in Vegas?
Are you baffled by the enduring popularity of James Dean, despite his short life?
What's making YOU happy this week?

Good news, no news, and the Windy City.

Last week, I took a bit of a blogging hiatus because, in a way, I took a life hiatus. After weeks of unrelenting stress, my fatigued body and mind finally teamed up against me and called a Zack Morris-style time out. Resistance was futile, so I headed home for a few days to bother my parents before returning to Indy for yet another doctor's appointment.

Long story short: Still no answers to my health ailments, but more appointments on the way. More importantly, I'm slowly taking the steps necessary to improve how I deal with everything. More to come on that front...

So, what did you miss in the last week (since I'm sure you're on the collective edge of your seat)? Something huge.

My mom's halfway-through-chemo CT scan came back completely clear. She was also finally cleared to continue treatment after a four-week postponement due to infection and blood clots. I happened to be home for the good news and I assure you there was no shortage of tears, hugs, smiles, or celebratory Mexican food.

Wheat and I also took a super quick trip to Chicago, thanks to the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals. After meeting him at the hotel and dropping off my bags, we took the Metra downtown for some touristy sightseeing. We had dinner at Roti Mediterranean Grill before waiting in line for heaven on earth Garrett's Popcorn. While in line, we spotted a trio dressed as Ferris, Cameron, and Sloane from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Wheat talked me out of approaching them outright (for fear that the outfits were not intentional - you never know with hipsters), but that didn't stop me from taking a sneaky, poor-quality picture from behind.

Next, we headed to Millennium Park to take the obligatory pictures of the Bean (which is actually called Cloud Gate, by the way).

By chance, we also stumbled upon the Chicago Jazz Festival and some art fairs, which were happening in the park. So, we slowly ambled through the crowd, listening to some guy kill it on the upright bass, while I took countless pictures of the gorgeous architecture.

Our wandering continued until we hit the Riverwalk, which made for even more beautiful photos of this dreamy city.

Finally, we found ourselves at Navy Pier, which was a welcome respite from the heat. We admired the gorgeous fountains inside before heading outside to watch the famous ferris wheel. Wheat ordered a hot fudge sundae funnel cake and we parked ourselves on a bench to talk and fawn over the Chicago skyline at dusk.

On a whim, Wheat decided to get us tickets for a nighttime lake cruise. So, we cuddled together against the chilly wind and listened to the history of Navy Pier and notable buildings on the skyline. I was only half-listening as I nuzzled closer to him, felt myself finally relax, and enjoyed the gorgeous view from the lake.

The next day, Wheat had his game, so I ventured downtown alone to see Morgan and her new place. We headed to Old Town for lunch at Benchmark and frozen yogurt before going back to her apartment to watch movies and talk. There's nothing quite like a little quality time with an amazing friend...and I'm already looking for excuses to visit again.

Our whirlwind trip seemed to be the change of scenery I needed to boost my energy. I'm back at work this week and maybe, just maybe, might even clean our apartment tonight...but don't hold me to that. Until next time, Windy City...