Helpful Travel Tips

I'm travelling to Europe in April and I have experienced many unsolicited travel tips from my clients. I do appreciate that they're trying to help, but now I'm freaked out a little bit.

#1: "Make sure you wear your money belt. Almost everyone gets mugged." Really? Wow, I know several of my friends have been to Europe and have yet to encounter a mugger. I understand that tourists are pick-pocket targets, but I think "almost everyone" is a bit of an exaggeration.

#2: "Don't stay in hostels. Have you seen the movie Hostel?" There are many reasons I have not seen the movie Hostel. I choose not to see "R" movies and I tend to stay away from movies that show people getting tortured beyond our imaginations. I do, however, love that my clients go into graphic detail about what Hostel has to offer.

#3: "I hope you have enough money. Did you know that the dollar isn't worth as much as the Euro?" I can't believe I haven't thought of that. You mean I can't live in Europe for three weeks on $300.

Since this is my first trip overseas, let's try to make it positive advice. I'd like to know favorite places to visit, best way to travel between countries, activities I shouldn't miss, etc. I don't want to waste my trip peering over my shoulder assuming everyone's just waiting for the right moment to mug me, sleeping with one-eye-open, and begging for bread scraps to eat because I can't afford anything else.

Do dreams really come true? I hope not.

I wish I could be one of those lucky souls who get a peaceful night's sleep. I hate to report that I am not. From a very young age, I have had countless nights of restless tossing and turning only to drift asleep long enough to awake frightened or just completely confused from a dream. I had no idea that our subconcious minds could create such vivid and down-right crazy situations. Between the ages of 4-5, I awoke almost every night from a recurring nightmare and had to sleep with mommy and daddy. In this nightmare, the ghosts from Pac-Man were on a murderous rampage killing everyone. Once they had gotten to a family, the house turned gray. Once the entire town lost color I knew I had to get to my G-ma's house which was in the next town over. Sometimes I made it to her house to find safety and other times it'd already be gray. Morbid I know. Don't ask me how I was even aware of Pac-Man ghosts at that age or that murder was a concern for me.

Fortunately, I didn't have many nightmares besides this one, but I've had my fair share of dreams that are just completely insane. My recent dreams are no exception and I've decided that I need a dream interpreter or something. Many of you have delighted in my detailed illusions, but I'll skim over the highlights for the rest of y'all. 1) I was a new member of NKOTB. We were about to go on stage and I realized I hadn't learned the routine for our concert. I also had to learn how to shave my face since I never had before. Apparently, they wanted us to be that clean-cut boy-next-door. **I'm pretty sure I was still female though???** 2) My 3-year old daughter was addicted to crack/cocaine. She acted and spoke like a rebellious teenager so I slapped her for talking back to me and for being high. **I knew it was wrong because she was only 3 yet she behaved like an adolescent.** 3) I had a baby who I delivered myself only she came out in plastic doll parts and I had to assemble her myself. Then she turned into a real baby. **No I haven't watched Pinocchio lately.**

So I'm not really sure where to go from here. These are only a few examples of the multitude of dreams I've had, but if anyone knows where I can go to make sense of this craziness, let me know. I seriously need help.

Hangin' Tough After All These Years...

T squared has been on my case to post these photos and I'm finally getting around to it. I loved New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) since I was 9 and I really wanted to go to the concert. Yes, I had the pillowcase, T-shirts, and don't forget my very own lunchbox. Their darling faces also graced many, many posters I had in my room. Fast-forward 15 years later and I still love them only not so obsessively. I did not initially buy tickets because 1) no one would spend the money to go with me and 2) a friend was getting married the very same day. About 4 days before the concert, my friend D won tickets on the radio. I just about fainted. I was too young to see them in concert the first time around, so my excitement was through the roof. Don't worry I still made it to the wedding reception since the concert started late.

The E center was pretty packed with rabid NKOTB fans who were all decked out in their ripped, acid-wash jeans and neon accessories. I'm going to guess that 90% of these women were mothers mid-20s to early 30s who left their young children at home with their hubbies. I've got to say that the boys still had it though. They performed all the classic dance moves. Their voices were pristene and I actually prefer the lower tones than that of their teen voices. It was kinda creepy and awkward when Jordan changed into his falsetto. Not pleasing to the ears. The concert was very nostalgic for me and a lot of fun. My only complaint was that my fav, Jonathan, didn't get enough face time. Although I haven't listened to my NKOTB 'tapes' in years, my memory didn't fail me and I sang every word by heart. I think D even had a great time even if she wasn't a fan then. I'm sure she is now:)