Fangirl Dream Night!

Hello my friends!!

 I simply don't think I could be more excited to write tonight's blog....because this is the story one of the best nights of my life!!

So lets start by saying this: whether you realize it or not, everyone is a "fangirl" of something or someone. Maybe it's sports players, movie stars, politicians, models, Soap stars, or in this case..... Big Brother Season 15 Houseguests! :)

Everyone has that one (or more) person in their head that if they were to ever meet them face to face...they wouldn't know what to do. This happened to me on Tuesday night and I will be forever greatful!

So most of you already know this, but my favorite person in the Big Brother house this summer was Amanda Zuckerman. Her entire time in the house when some people were falling in love with her and others were highly confused :) I completely understood this girl. The reasons she said things, the reactions she had with certain situations, I totally "got" it! The icing on the cake for me was when she totally fell in love with McCrae when she least expected it! To see their relationship blossom and to realize (before they did I think) that their love was real and not just a showmance! I will forever be a McCranda fan! I was SO excited when the show was over and they all took to their twitter accounts to get to know their fans, thank everyone for their support and kept the spotlight into their lives for us, (who were now dealing with Live Feeds withdrawals!) One thing that the people that just watched the show will NEVER know is how kind, generous and down to earth this girl actually is! During the past few months of twitter conversations, live twitcam sessions and listening to interviews, the anticipation to meet Amanda in person just kept building!

Then came my love for Gina Marie!! I liked her on the show and on the live feeds first off! I thought she was hilarious and had the loyalty card for sure but what didn't show as much as it should have was her HUGE heart!! This girl spent her thanksgiving weekend showing up at the doorsteps of her biggest fans to thank them for their support and show them love! She's always ready to help someone out or go to an event to support someone, and did I mention that she just dropped her first single! She's a rockstar!  I have been wanting to meet her for some time now and our first meeting will never be beat!!

You can imagine how excited I was to hear that Amanda was traveling here to New York for business. The first thing that went through my head when I found out she was headed this way was totally, oh my gosh! Maybe her and Gina Marie will get together and have some sort of fan event to meet the fans, and oh my gosh maybe it could be me and holy crap, can I hunt them down? I know...crazy right?! But that's the inner voice of a fangirl.. Whenever either of them gets noticed somewhere and fans approach them for pictures they are excited and SO nice to their fans, so I knew that if I found out where they were going it wouldn't be a big deal to go see them!

I was bummed out when the day came that they were together, running errands, hanging out and having fun and I was working late and couldn't go to the places they were tweeting for people to come see them! So after a TON of my amazing friends (thanks guys) tweeted both of them asking what they were doing that night, telling them they needed to meet the SoapNanny, etc... I finally found out via Amanda tweeting us that they'd be in times square the following night for a fashion show that GM was in and Amanda assured me that she'd be there!

That was IT! I was FINALLY going to meet these amazing women.. (yes...there was lots of fangirl squealing...some of my friends received a little video of excitement too!) :)

So I arranged with my Makeup Artist friend Amanda (Whom I will refer to as AP for confusions sake) to come with me for a night out on the town and I prayed that things would work out and Amanda would be there!!

After a full day of work with my silly babies, AP and I got on the train (after a hair and makeup session of course) and headed to NYC! We got to the Bar where it was being held a little early so we headed straight for the bar! I decided I needed a couple of shots to calm myself down (who was I trying to kid..that wasn't going to happen!) So I kept tweeting my McCranda pals that she wasn't here yet and oh my gosh, what if she didn't come! LOL..

The show was about to start and AP had been staking out a seat for us, so it was time to get ready for the action! As the show was starting there were a pack of photographers at the end of the runway that was also blocking the entrance to upstairs. I was worried that when Amanda came up, she wouldn't be able to get to where she could see GM walk down...so I had AP scoot over a little bit just incase we needed the space. NOW.. Not in my wildest dreams did I think she would sit with us..but I guess that was the theme of the night because when it was GM's turn to walk the runway the insanity in my heart started!

She headed down the runway to some fun music and DAMN, that girl has some modeling moves for sure! She took control of that room and everyone was screaming for her.. including a voice that I recognized.. So I looked to my left and SAW miss Amanda Zuckerman with her head above some of the photographers and when she saw me looking she SMILED so big, started waving at me and my heart fluttered! She recognized ME from across the room! DEAD. So GM did her thing by the photographers and all of a sudden instead of walking all the way back down the runway she made a little pitstop and came to me and SAT on my lap, hugged me and kept right on walking in beat with the song and everything! I had no idea what had just happened and I was sooo pumped because AP got it all recorded on her phone but THEN I look up and Amanda had crossed over the photographers and suddenly SHE was in my lap too!! bahahaha! She started dancing to the music (lady gaga...how do you NOT dance to it) and then she was standing up again dancing when GM grabbed her hand and took her to the runway as well! They start dancing and trotting around to the music! I could NOT believe what had just happened!! I was all worried that I'd feel stupid going up to her and introducing myself well, the both of them took care of that part for me! LOL!

So as GM finished up with the show and had more group pictures taken with the models, Amanda came back over to me, we hugged and I squealed a few times...but you know what? She did too!!! I can't speak for her but I'm pretty sure she was pretty pumped that one of her biggest fans came to see her! :)

Now, lets back up a little and explain to you all WHY this seemed so crazy to me.. These two women spent ALL Summer in a house with hundreds of cameras on them, no outside contact and no privacy...the bathroom door didn't even lock! LOL! The crazy thing is..a lot of us saw A LOT of what went on in there.. So much so that meeting them in person feels crazy because you picture them making the same facial expressions to the other houseguests like you saw on camera, and stuff like that...but it was AMAZING at the same time because I already felt like I knew them. Become a live feeder next year, you'll understand! :)

The really cool thing about Amanda and I coming face to face was the reaction people around us gave. This really nice girl sitting next to me (turns out to be a fashion blogger and a Big Brother fan) She was like, Oh you know Amanda? I was like yeah.. Yes I do! LOL. Then when Amanda came over and we hugged and squealed and immediately started chatting, the girl was like Wait?! You're JUST meeting for the first time?! No way!! It seemed like you guys were old friends!! That was the cool part...It felt like we were buddies right away!

So we all know that I'm WELL versed in fan events and meeting celebs of ALL levels. Usually if at an event like this, you go up to them, get a picture maybe an autograph, chat for a few minutes and then go your separate ways. That was kind of what I was expecting, but that sure as heck isn't what happened. From the moment after we squealed until hours later when we left, it was just like we were with a group of girlfriends out at a club! I ran to the bar and got her a drink, she put her stuff with mine at our seat and we basically just set up shop for the night! I was introduced to Gina Marie's mom and a couple of their friends, we all danced together and even jammed out to GM's song that the DJ played after we talked Amanda into going up there and asking for it! LOL!

For a little while GM was busy with the models and fashion show people so I had some time with Amanda to really sit down and talk to her! It was pretty much amazing. I was able to thank her (and McCrae) for the amazing friendships I have now because of them! There are some pretty incredible people that I talk to EVERYDAY on either twitter, texting or phone calls that I met just by being a McCranda fan and supporting their love and their relationship as well as the amazing people that they really are! She asked about my life and what I was doing in NYC. A little about our childhoods and early adulthood. The different jobs we've had and a lot of our similar interests, we actually have a TON in common and we're the same age too! That may have played a factor in the familiarity that I felt. She was even totally willing to do a few short shoutouts to my McCranda girls on video!! She LOVED it too.. I think! :)

We talked a little about other houseguests and the big brother game in general and how long I've been watching. When I told her this was my first season being a Live Feeder, she hid her head in her hands and laughed while apologizing for the things that I must have seen! LOL! Oh how she cracks me up!

When someone wanted a picture with her, she'd take one with just as much excitement as the last. When she needed to go say hi to someone, she'd go....but she always came back because we were her home base for the night!

Amanda had gone to dinner and hung out with Eric and Jon from Reality Recaps before the show so that was pretty exciting when she introduced us because I REALLY enjoy their interviews and their love for our Girls! They LOVE Gina Marie too!!! So we all danced, drank and were silly for quite some time! At one point GM had gone to change her clothes and when she returned the real dancing started! I had gone to the bathroom and came back to find GM in the middle of the walkway and decided I'd go up behind her and dance and they both LOVED that!! Screaming and all excited that the crazy SoapNanny was having a great time!!

This entire night exceeded my expectations and wildest dreams! These two girls are so down to earth, love to have a great time and they both care SO MUCH for the people who support them. Amanda said to me, Without all of you....I would be nothing.. Which we ALL know that isn't true...but it sure was nice of her to say!!

We ended the night with more photos being taken and squeals of joy, laughter and love happening all around!! When I realized it was almost 1am and a Wednesday morning...I decided I should head back home to start work in a few hours!

I want to thank Gina Marie and Amanda for SUCH an incredible experience! I love you girls so much.. sometimes when you meet someone it just makes sense, and you two are some of those people for me! You know I'll support you always...and always in for a good time!!

I'm thinking a trip to FL soon would be a fun idea!! LOL!

I hope you all enjoyed my experience almost as much as I did, whether you are just reading about it now, or you were some of the fun people following my every move, tweet or picture that evening!!

Thanks for reading guys!

Until next time, LIVE YOUR LIFE....IT'S THE ONLY ONE YOU'VE GOT!!!!


LOVE YA'LL!!!!

A New Years to Remember!!

Hello my friends!! HAPPY 2014!! Can you believe it?? It's crazy, right!!! I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve.. because I know I did!!

Just to follow up with last blog real quick... I went home to Washington state for Christmas and had an absolute blast with my friends and family!! I got to relax for the most part and yes...that includes getting a little bored when everyone went to sleep! LOL!

I took my Gram out for our scheduled date and although we didn't get to see the movie she wanted to, we went for a great lunch at a local favorite The Masthead! We had a great conversation about the facts of life and the sad part of saying goodbye to someone, and then I decided that was enough of that and we needed to celebrate being together! So what better way to do that than to eat the most delicious berry cobbler! YUM!!

It was definitely a great trip home and a lot of decisions were made about my immediate and long term future but you all will have to wait for that! haha.. I know, I'm awful! Soooo.. the REAL point of this entry is to let you all know about the AMAZING time I had last night for NYE!!!

So you know when you are thinking of things to do on a day off and there's that really good movie you've been waiting to see, or that special play or music group is in town and you REALLY want to go ...but you don't. Why is that? What is the biggest reason people don't go do things they are wanting to do, provided they have money to do it...the real reason is there's nobody to go do it with! Their best friend saw that movie with her mother last weekend, or their concert buddy is out of town and or doesn't have the money.. whatever reason it is, I'm here to tell you that it's all bull crap! :)

Last night I went into NYC and saw the ball drop in Times Square ...ALONE!!! I know that seems scary, but it really wasn't. It was incredible! Now, before you all go mama bear on me and lecture me about going out at night by myself you should know that New Years Eve in New York City is one of the safest nights of the year! There may be over a million people there however there are about a half million NYPD walking around on foot and horse! LOL! Besides all of their security, metal detectors, pat downs and no backpack rules....I also have my pepper spray and a good right hook! :)

You guys know that I'm always telling you to LIVE your life! Experience as much as you can, SEE the things you want to see and don't wait on anything. Life is not guaranteed and we all know that, so why not go out and do as much as possible so that when your life ends you can go out saying that you've really LIVED the life you were so fortunate to be given.. Well I know it's repetitive but its SO TRUE!!! This is exactly what I decided to do last night and I will be forever grateful for whoever that voice was in my head telling me to go!

I was able to get off work an hour early and went downstairs to bundle up!! I had heard it was supposed to be in the twenties and knowing I would be standing outside all night, I ended up feeling like the little brother on A Christmas Story!! I had long johns under my jeans, cozy socks in my boots, a long sleeved shirt under a hooded sweatshirt that was then under my big winter coat! I had ear warmers under one of my fav hats and two pairs of gloves! But I will tell you something... I didn't get cold AT ALL! LOL!!!

So I wasn't exactly sure how this was all going to go down, all I knew was that I needed to find the big group of people and fit in there somewhere and that's exactly what I did....eventually!!

The feeling I got while stepping out on Grand Central and feeling that buzz in the air that only NYC has. The electric bolt of excitement for the hours to come was intoxicating!! I was that big dummy grinning from ear to ear as she walked down the street towards the mass of people gathered around! It was a bit challenging trying to figure out where to go and where I wasn't allowed to go.. Streets were blocked and closed, police were everywhere and some people were walking with more direction and confidence than I was. Some people were in their fanciest NYE dresses and heels, others were bundled up like me! Turns out those fancy people were on their way to the big hotel parties which they had tickets to and that's why they were allowed on the blocked streets when the rest of us weren't!

When I was passing Bryant Park I looked up and saw the ball!!! I about fangirl'd over it and then laughed at myself while I kept walking into the crowd! Everyone had somewhere to go and people to meet, and I just tried to blend in with them so I could get a good spot to stand! So eventually I came to a HUGE line.. I wasn't sure what the line was for but I knew that was the area people were headed towards to get to the ball drop so I followed everyone. Well, it turned out that there was a smaller line on the other side of the big one and I was pretty sure it was all going to the same spot. I got into line and immediately made some friends.. A couple from Australia in front of me and some teenage kids from Japan behind me, that made for some interesting conversation! LOL!

We came to the front of the line and was patted down, the metal detector wand was waved and bags were searched and then I WAS IN.....or so I thought!

Everyone was saying we were in the pen that we should be in, but I couldn't figure out how I wasn't huddled up with all the people. I was just walking down  the sidewalk and there was another pen that actually had people standing there waiting. My new mission was to find the opening of the pen, but first I had to find a bathroom! It's common knowledge that once you're IN the pen, you can't leave! If you leave, you can't come back and I didn't want that to happen. I walked for blocks and couldn't find any restaurants with working toilets (they can pretend, but I know the truth), Finally I found the entrance to THE pen and a nice little café restaurant right beside it! The sign on their door read that Restrooms were available for customers only, so by golly....I had dinner! LOL!

Once my $30 Sandwich and $15 cup of soup were consumed and facilities were used, I headed to the pen!! This was actually a REALLY cool part!! There were LOTS of the different pens divided up depending on which block you were at! The Ball was on 52nd and the entranced was at the corner of 57th. So the way it worked was every time someone was opt out and leave (MANY people did.. they couldn't handle waiting) then we all got to move up to the next block! So I would talk to people around me, make friends and then have to move up and make new friends! It was like speed dating! LOL! So my actual standing and waiting time was about 3 hours and it surprisingly went pretty quick and I managed to get up to 53rd by the end of it!

I'll tell you what though...after everything it took to get there  and find where I was supposed to be, that final countdown was FANTASTIC!! Such an amazing feeling to know that I was experiencing in THIS moment, something that I had dreamed about since I was old enough to know what New York City was! I sang with bums on the street, held hands with a 14 year old Japanese exchange student while snuggling to break the wind chill, I shared my hand warmers with a cute boy that wasn't at all interested in me and helped an old couple stay warm while they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.. THESE are the things I will think about when someone tells me I shouldn't do things by myself..

Of course you have to be smart about it, don't go shady places in the dark, carry your pepper spray, know where you are going and always have a charged cell phone but good grief, GO DO IT!!!

Do I want to go out and do things alone ALL the time.. NO, I LOVE MY FRIENDS!! But life as a New York live in means that not all your friends are on the same schedule as you, and most of your family members are thousands of miles apart. I do what I have to do, and nothing will stop me from this amazing adventure that I'm on!!

I hope you all had an amazing Holiday season and got to love on your loved ones, because life is short and we all could use an extra hug every now and then!!

Thanks for humoring me and letting me gush about my exciting night and I also want to thank those of you who kept telling me to update my facebook and twitter last night! That made me so happy!!

I better get to bed now...Work in the morning!!

Love you guys!!! Until Next Time!!!