My fabulous friend Whitney told me that there is a theme for bloggers this month: lists. Not that I’m a serious blogger or anything, but I do enjoy making lists. So I’ll try to keep with that theme this month. Also, I apologize for this post being so long. My class is currently taking the ISAT, and I don’t have much else to do.
My best birthdays:
1. My 21st birthday
My choir was on tour, as usual. The night before my birthday we had a concert in Jackson, Mississippi. I think that was my favorite concert we ever did. It was this tiny church, and we were wondering why we were even there. But when it came time for dinner, we realized how amazing this little church was. Most of the congregation came for dinner, and they cooked us authentic Cajun food from scratch. I still dream about those hush puppies and that Mississippi Mud Cake. Then, when it came time for the concert, both the church and narthex were packed. These people were so happy to have us. Our host mom that night was an older woman whose husband had recently passed away. My tour partner and I fell in love with her right away. And her home was beautiful! 20 acres of land with a lake, a barn, and a horse! So she gave us a tour of her house and Becky (my tour partner) and I were exclaiming over all of her cool stuff. She had me sit down in a chair in her bedroom and showed me how it vibrated. Then, while it was Becky’s turn in the chair, she told me to lay on the bed with her. The bed vibrated, too! So I was laying on a vibrating bed with an older woman, and Becky was in the vibrating chair, and all three of us just started laughing so hard our stomachs hurt.
The next day (my birthday), we left for Pensacola. Becky and I won Brag and Drag that day (a contest where you compare stories about your host families), and I got to choose the movie on the bus (Can’t Hardly Wait). Everyone sang Happy Birthday, and it was the most off-key version I have ever heard since it’s hard to hear the rest of the choir on a bus. The congregation in Pensacola was pretty awesome (although not quite as awesome as the people in Jackson), and we had a good concert. Then came the best part- our host family for that night had a beach house! And, instead of just taking 2 people, they were taking 5 of us girls! The husband was out of town, so it was just a mom who was about our moms’ age. It was like a big slumber party.
Ok, as I write this I’m confused, because I know we had a free day in here somewhere. Maybe it was the day after our concert. Because I do remember going to Hooter’s and having my first beer as a 21 year-old. But that day wasn’t really important. The best part of the trip was the next day, when we went to New Orleans. I only had about 16 hours in that city, and I was determined not to waste any of them. We went to the Café du Monde, and then to this market along the river. At this point, I got impatient. I wanted to do some serious boutique shopping. The boys in the group tried to argue with me that it wasn’t safe for me to go off in a strange city by myself in the dark, and my friend Lauren said, “Hey, I would trust myself more with Erin than I would with all of you boys combined.” To this day, that is still one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. So I left to go shopping, promising to meet everyone for dinner.
There was GREAT shopping in New Orleans. By the time I waltzed into the restaurant with my shopping bags, I had put myself into quite a bit of debt by purchasing just a few items. It was these purchases that earned me the “Bargain Shopper” award on this tour. After dinner, my underage friend and I hit the bars. Everyone else was all disapproving because we had a concert the next day, and I had a solo, but I was NOT going to waste my time in New Orleans. Somehow my friend managed to get in the bars with me, and although I don’t remember a lot of it, I know we had a fabulous time. And after sleeping all day on the bus the next day, I was fine for the concert.
Okay, that was way too long. Maybe I should devote a whole post to tour memories…
2. My 22nd birthday
People kept canceling at the last minute, and I was not happy. It ended up just being me, Nina, Faye, and the guy Nina was dating. We went to Lalo’s and had too many margaritas and lots of fun. My ex couldn’t be there (he wasn’t 21 yet), but he came to visit me at my dorm when I got home. We watched one of my favorite episodes of Sex and the City, the one about soulmates where it’s Carrie’s birthday (season 4, episode 1). It was just such a nice night, and a lot like the one in that episode.
3. My 18th birthday
There’s not much I can say about this one since this is on the internet. Nina and I went shopping at Woodfield during the day. Then we went to TJ’s, where I was having my party. He had said I could have a few friends over for my birthday. Well, I had a lot of friends…and I got tired of writing out the directions over and over, so I just Xeroxed fliers… and things got a little crazy. All I can say is that four years later, I was testifying in court on someone’s behalf about the events of that night.
4. My 26th birthday
Even though I had to work, the kids were taking the ISAT, so it was a quiet, easy day. My friends bought me dinner at the Grand Lux Café, which was sooooo good. I had a glass of the most delicious pomegranate champagne and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Nina and Sarah got me a huge gift basket filled with summer items. It was just a really enjoyable evening spent with friends.
5. My 6th birthday
When I turned 6, I had a bunch of girls over for a birthday party. We all wore pretty party dresses and played lots of games. It was everything a good birthday party should be, not all crazy expensive and competitive like kids’ birthdays are now.
Worst birthdays
1. My 16th birthday
I don’t remember why, but somehow I ended up not doing anything special at all and it was really depressing.
2. My 19th birthday
I was in Seattle on choir tour with a bunch of people I barely knew, struggling with postpartum depression. Good times.
3. My 20th birthday
I was on choir tour again, this time with people I knew and liked. But we all got horribly sick and were miserable for most of the tour.
4. My 25th birthday
I was stuck in Houston with a bunch of women who wouldn’t let me sleep. The only thing that saved the weekend was hanging out with my brother’s friend, Nick. On my actual birthday, he took me shooting.
My best birthdays:
1. My 21st birthday
My choir was on tour, as usual. The night before my birthday we had a concert in Jackson, Mississippi. I think that was my favorite concert we ever did. It was this tiny church, and we were wondering why we were even there. But when it came time for dinner, we realized how amazing this little church was. Most of the congregation came for dinner, and they cooked us authentic Cajun food from scratch. I still dream about those hush puppies and that Mississippi Mud Cake. Then, when it came time for the concert, both the church and narthex were packed. These people were so happy to have us. Our host mom that night was an older woman whose husband had recently passed away. My tour partner and I fell in love with her right away. And her home was beautiful! 20 acres of land with a lake, a barn, and a horse! So she gave us a tour of her house and Becky (my tour partner) and I were exclaiming over all of her cool stuff. She had me sit down in a chair in her bedroom and showed me how it vibrated. Then, while it was Becky’s turn in the chair, she told me to lay on the bed with her. The bed vibrated, too! So I was laying on a vibrating bed with an older woman, and Becky was in the vibrating chair, and all three of us just started laughing so hard our stomachs hurt.
The next day (my birthday), we left for Pensacola. Becky and I won Brag and Drag that day (a contest where you compare stories about your host families), and I got to choose the movie on the bus (Can’t Hardly Wait). Everyone sang Happy Birthday, and it was the most off-key version I have ever heard since it’s hard to hear the rest of the choir on a bus. The congregation in Pensacola was pretty awesome (although not quite as awesome as the people in Jackson), and we had a good concert. Then came the best part- our host family for that night had a beach house! And, instead of just taking 2 people, they were taking 5 of us girls! The husband was out of town, so it was just a mom who was about our moms’ age. It was like a big slumber party.
Ok, as I write this I’m confused, because I know we had a free day in here somewhere. Maybe it was the day after our concert. Because I do remember going to Hooter’s and having my first beer as a 21 year-old. But that day wasn’t really important. The best part of the trip was the next day, when we went to New Orleans. I only had about 16 hours in that city, and I was determined not to waste any of them. We went to the Café du Monde, and then to this market along the river. At this point, I got impatient. I wanted to do some serious boutique shopping. The boys in the group tried to argue with me that it wasn’t safe for me to go off in a strange city by myself in the dark, and my friend Lauren said, “Hey, I would trust myself more with Erin than I would with all of you boys combined.” To this day, that is still one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. So I left to go shopping, promising to meet everyone for dinner.
There was GREAT shopping in New Orleans. By the time I waltzed into the restaurant with my shopping bags, I had put myself into quite a bit of debt by purchasing just a few items. It was these purchases that earned me the “Bargain Shopper” award on this tour. After dinner, my underage friend and I hit the bars. Everyone else was all disapproving because we had a concert the next day, and I had a solo, but I was NOT going to waste my time in New Orleans. Somehow my friend managed to get in the bars with me, and although I don’t remember a lot of it, I know we had a fabulous time. And after sleeping all day on the bus the next day, I was fine for the concert.
Okay, that was way too long. Maybe I should devote a whole post to tour memories…
2. My 22nd birthday
People kept canceling at the last minute, and I was not happy. It ended up just being me, Nina, Faye, and the guy Nina was dating. We went to Lalo’s and had too many margaritas and lots of fun. My ex couldn’t be there (he wasn’t 21 yet), but he came to visit me at my dorm when I got home. We watched one of my favorite episodes of Sex and the City, the one about soulmates where it’s Carrie’s birthday (season 4, episode 1). It was just such a nice night, and a lot like the one in that episode.
3. My 18th birthday
There’s not much I can say about this one since this is on the internet. Nina and I went shopping at Woodfield during the day. Then we went to TJ’s, where I was having my party. He had said I could have a few friends over for my birthday. Well, I had a lot of friends…and I got tired of writing out the directions over and over, so I just Xeroxed fliers… and things got a little crazy. All I can say is that four years later, I was testifying in court on someone’s behalf about the events of that night.
4. My 26th birthday
Even though I had to work, the kids were taking the ISAT, so it was a quiet, easy day. My friends bought me dinner at the Grand Lux Café, which was sooooo good. I had a glass of the most delicious pomegranate champagne and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Nina and Sarah got me a huge gift basket filled with summer items. It was just a really enjoyable evening spent with friends.
5. My 6th birthday
When I turned 6, I had a bunch of girls over for a birthday party. We all wore pretty party dresses and played lots of games. It was everything a good birthday party should be, not all crazy expensive and competitive like kids’ birthdays are now.
Worst birthdays
1. My 16th birthday
I don’t remember why, but somehow I ended up not doing anything special at all and it was really depressing.
2. My 19th birthday
I was in Seattle on choir tour with a bunch of people I barely knew, struggling with postpartum depression. Good times.
3. My 20th birthday
I was on choir tour again, this time with people I knew and liked. But we all got horribly sick and were miserable for most of the tour.
4. My 25th birthday
I was stuck in Houston with a bunch of women who wouldn’t let me sleep. The only thing that saved the weekend was hanging out with my brother’s friend, Nick. On my actual birthday, he took me shooting.
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