I finally had a chance to go down to South Carolina to meet my fav. twinnies in person, hang with them for approx. four days, and attend a Celtic Woman concert together!!!! EEEEEK!
I had gone to bed around 11:30pm. I was pooped! Frantically packed all night after I got home from class. Oh that was joyous. I had to wake up at 3:30am to gather my things and get out the door. When my mum and I arrived at the air port, we were slightly confused. It's been years since both of us had stepped foot into that place. We asked these people where the baggage drop was and they did not have a slightest idea like we did. We eventually found it, dropped off my luggage. 32 pounds when I left. It was time to stand in line for security. The line was so long it wrapped around two poles beyond the end of the gated off area, Mum was standing in line with me until I got further in. The family that my mum asked about the baggage, was in front of me! I could so tell by their accents that they were from Georgia, low and behold, i saw the grandmother's license and it read, "Georgia" at the top! Win!
I get up to the security guy checking my boarding pass. He asked how my morning was and hoped that weather was going to be nice on my trip. I said that it was alright and thanked him, then headed over to the security check area. Unloaded my pockets, shoes on the belt, purse and camera too. walked through security point and *Beeeeeeeep!* oops. I forgot to take my belt off. Put my belt in a doggie bowl, and had to also take my laptop out of my purse, forgot about that one. Saw someone else do that and failed to do so myself.
I got through the check point after. No problem! grabbed my stuff, waved bye to mum, and put everything back on. Time to find my gate. I forgot how cool inside the main airport area. Nice shops and lots of them! Never had a chance to actually go into any though.
I found my gate, waiting at the terminal. Boarded the plane. My seat was the only one that did not have a freakin window! he one in front of me did, and as did the one behind me! the one on the other side eveen had one, I think!
Plane ride to Atlanta was decent. Took many many many many many pictures of clouds. Got a water and a bag of mini pretzels. Wasn't hungry, so I took a picture of them and put them in my purse. haha! I'm cool :) The women next to me. They were not nice to me. I was feeling retarded. Before the actual flight took off, I asked the woman next to me how to use the seat belt!! I hadn't a clue, it's been 9 years since I last was on a plane! She sarcastically replies to me, "Use the other end." Wow, okay, I wont talk to you again...
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| ATL Airport Train Stop Setup... |
Pilot announces it will be only a half hour flight. Oh my gosh, I am almost to my destination! Half hour until I finally get to meet face to face with two amazing people!
I wasn't paying too much attention to the flight attendant. Waited for some luggage that was not there. :D. Was walking down with the group of people. Followed the signs down to the first floor. As I was standing on the last escalator going down, I saw two young people on some bench near the wall. I was contemplating if it was them or not. I could not tell. I was honestly worried about having my luggage, I needed clothes for this trip ;). I headed over to the first baggage claim, and did not see my bag. Supposedly Katharine was callin for me, but I honestly did not hear. I was in my own little world.
After I hear my name, I whip around and low and behold, there they were walking right up to me! Big hugs to both of them at the same time! Hahah I love group hugs :)
We head on to the car with all my luggage. It was gorgeous out! Nearly 76º outside! There was Lisa (their car - I told them they should name their car, could potentially last longer in life :)), pretty, pretty Lisa! She looked so beautiful even with the duct tape and trash bags attached to the sunroof ;) (Hope that gets fixed next time! :( ).
I could not believe it! I was in South Carolina, with my fav twinnies!!! I handed my camera to Katharine and she looked at all of my cloud piccies. I took a LOT! I texted my aunt that I had made it safely, and then quickly called my mum to tell her as well. Oh I was so pumped! We listened to The Greatest Journey - Celtic Woman during the car ride to their apartment in Clemson. As we got to the apartment, I got a nice glimpse around a portion of Clemson. It was beautiful! Orange everywhere :D We reached their apt. and I set my stuff in Katharine's room. Both their rooms were so cute :) We eventually went to McDonald's for a late lunch. Got me a McDouble and a small fry. Boy, that samich was greasy!! But, tasted good nonetheless. Took me nearly ten minutes to eat the whole thing hahah! Before heading back, we did a quick driving tour around campus. Boy, it was huge! So neat :D We went back to the apt and sat with our lappies in front of us. We sat there reading tweets for a few, and then moved onto MLIA. We told each other funny posts off that site for nearly 4.5 hours!!!! Around 7:50PM, we watched Chloë Agnew of Celtic Woman chat on the Weather Channel. It was hilarious! It probably helped that the twins were cracking up the whole time! If you haven't seen it, you need to watch it. It's so funny.
In the morning, I woke up around 9AM and just laid there until Katharine got up. I felt mighty lazy. I remember waking up at one point during the night, and thought to myself, "I am not at home. This is so cool! :D" Katharine came back into her room with her daily morning cup of tea and we were watchin' some random shows on the tele. She was tryin to tell me about Teen Mom. Never watched it before. But supposedly there was a girl who had twins that were had a few tiny problems. Poor things. April came into Katharine's room and asked if I would like some breakfast that she had got from Hardee's. I guess she put in a wrong order and they just kept that in their bag still. So, I graciously accepted. It has been years since I had Hardee's anything! Tasted perdy good. I remember tellin myself to eat it slow so I could get full faster. It sure worked.
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| This was the first picture of us taken together! |
We all forgot about the main shoppes. We stopped on over to Tiger Graphics and I was overwhelmed by all of the pride and orange and purple!!! It was so neat :) I got two shirts, one size too big on each (I am going to try to shrink them :D. I got one orange shirt, cuz I HAD to get one to show some Clemson Tiger spirit and I exchanged a long sleeve they got me for Christmas that was a wee bit too small for me. I unfortunately did not realize that I had gotten a shirt in exchange for the long sleeve. Oh well, I wear both anyways. I love them both :). We stopped down the street at this other place. Found a nice dark blue sweatshirt that has Clemson and a tiger paw on the front. I wanted to buy the whole store. The twins and I went to the fun items, and were having a great time! I found two cups that I really wanted. They are on display on my TV stand until I find a good use for each :D. As I was checking out, they were tryin to show me some little sock booties for babies that were in1 a glass cabinet. I paid for my items and I went over for a closer look. Oh, they were so adorable! My response to seeing them up close? "I want them!" "Maybe one day, Sarah. Hopefully not anytime soon!" hahahah!!!
We went back to the apt. and put our piccies on the lappies. We looked at each others piccies, and then we were seriously pooped. NAPTIME!! I went onto the couch in the living room. I drew a few little drawings and wrote some notes down. Then I just laid there with my eyes closed. Blanket over my face. It felt nice. I did not actually sleep though, but it felt nice to just relax. I talked to Katharine for a while, as Kristine was in the shower. Sat on Katharine's bed holding Bun Bun; I was holding 'em all nicely and I was moving my hand, which flipped him across the room! I gasped and shot up out of the bed quick as I could and picked him up. Katharine gasped and told me to give him a hug. I looked at him, held him close t me, and gave him a big hug and said I was sorry. Kristine came into the room and saw that I was holding Bun Bun. I then told her what had happened. Katharine's turn, so I went to hang out with Kristine. After we were all in our pjs, We were sorting out meet and greet photos for out concert the next night! I could not believe it! It was almost here! Yet, saddened because my weekend was going by so fast! I was most prepared for Lisa and Máiréad. The other two, I just felt iffy about! I did not like one of the piccies I had printed out, and the other, I only had two things for her to sign... But we determined which we all were going to use, and so we packed them up for the next day. At the same time as we were prepping ourselves for the meet and greet, we were also listening/somewhat watching the Songs from the Heart DVD. Oh that DVD is so amazing! We were going to say goodnight to April, but ended up talking to her for probably a half hour. That was so much fun, hearin' impersonations from older shows. :D That night they pulled out the couch. I told them I did not need them to do so, I gladly could have slept on the couch as it originally was. They did not listen to me :P. There was a dip right in the middle that I sank in. It was comfy hahaha!! I did not get to bed until 3:30AM. Unfortunately, they had very annoying disrespectful and inconsiderate neighbors above them. They like to blare their music up loud, yelling, wooing, stomp across the floor, and first time hearing jumping. That night they came back from some where around 2 and were blasting the music, singing along, someone fell on their knees above me, and then a half hour after that, around 3:20, it sounded as if someone had fallen full bodied on the floor. That crash scared the crap out of me. Oh, I do believe that same night April was going to kick their butts!!! She did call some noise disturbance thing from campus. But they never shown up. Oh that was an event I will never forget. Lovely little hole in the ceiling, poundin and screamin on their door to shut up! Oh April was my hero hahah!
We found the buses and trailers, got a bit excited :D Took many pictures then and on the way back to the apt. Before heading back we had stopped in front of the stadium. Beautiful football field!!! We hung around there for some time, just chillin and zoning out a little. Found out that the ladies were not exactly at Clemson yet, but I guess there are a few ways of interpreting Chloë's tweet. We decided to head back to the apartment. I was getting pooped! It was fairly warm that day too, upper 70's to about 80º out. Uffdah! (How Minnesotan of me, hahah!) I'd love that to be the weather in MN! We hunkered down on the couches in their living room and was talking. I curled up with my blanket in hand and had their couch pillow on my lap. Oh I could have fallen asleep! One highlight we had during this talk was that we've noticed that we say, "Like" a lot. When mentioning a comment said to another, we'd say, "...and she was like..." It went on and on and we could not stop laughing! It was abut 4:30. We needed to get ready!!! We also had to go meet up with Joe for dinner. We were going to go to an pasta type place but ended up going to a little Mexican place called Moe's. What did I want to eat? I had to eat something, but I was not hungry at all. I got a soft shell taco and it came with chips. Yupp, forced myself to eat it. None of us could eat our food, except Joe! I ate the taco and tried to eat a few of the chips. Not happening. I was getting way too nervous! We busted our trays and headed for the venue. I was so nervous at this point. I wanted to know who'd be at the meet and greet, yet, did not want to wish the night away!We were to meet Joe outside the North-West part of the venue, closest to the football stadium. I called up Mike (MrPeabody) from the forum, to ask where he was, so I could give his ticket to go inside. Elizabeth called Joe up, and low and behold, Joe found MrPeabody on the way! We headed inside the venue. Got in line to buy our merch! Oh, I was excited. I happened to be first. I asked the person behind the table if I could see a size Large. Perfect fit. Got myself the gray shirt, the black shirt, and the program. I headed over to a small clearance where Kris followed. We waited for our gang to finish buying their merch as well! Time to find our seats!!! Headed down some ways through the stadium foyer. Stairs. My worst enemy! The twins walk down no problem. I was walking down slowly, Dayna close behind laughing at me. :P Finally to the bottom I thank the Lord. Walked to the right and tot the second row. We ended up on the far right side of the stage. Last four seats. I did not wanna complain, I was in the second row, SECOND row for crying out loud!!! The twins and I were talked amongst ourselves for a while until Joe walked over to us. Joe asked me if I would like to go up into the front row next to Dayna for the first half. I thought about it long and hard. So many things running through my mind. First of all, I did not want to leave the twins back there! I came with them. We planned this for a long time! I did not wanna be like, "Hey! okay! Bye guys!!!" Rude. Just, rude!!! I looked at the twins and then Joe, Dayna and Elizabeth and then.... I started bawling my eyes out. Everything was hitting me. I was at a CW concert with my twinnies, second row, just got asked to move up to the first row... CW... CELTIC WOMAN! I looked back at the twins bawling my eyes out still, and they told me to go. So, I did. Left my bag under that seat and excused myself from the row. Still bawling my eyes out, I talk to Dayna. Oh the guilt started to build. Thought about it more and more, oh I felt so bad! Dayna told me she would be right back and I see her go back by the twins. Elizabeth came in front of me and gave me the hugest pep talk int the world. :) She told me, "Sarah. You deserve this. Have you ever had front row before?" I said no, the closest I have been was 4th row. She replied, "Well, This is your time to be selfish. You need to be selfish sometime!" Oh, I hate, hate, hate being selfish! She continues the pep talk for a while longer and then she finishes it off by saying, "Come on, Sarah! I want to see your squinty-eyed smile!" That made me laugh. :) Dayna came back and she had told me she had talked to the twins about how I felt. She said that they were fine with it, but I did not want to believe her. I wanted to get my phone from my bag, but I said to Dayna I wanted to get my bag, but did not want to get up. Dayna offered to grab my bag but I did not want her to. She did it anyways... Dayna also started talking about Jersey Shore. I will NOT watch that one. No Sir-ree! I play slapped her on her back. I would never slap hard. She kept sayin' so I slightly slapped. A few minutes later, I hear the twins callin' my name. I turn and they are mouthing something to me. I am not good at all with reading lips. Kath is staring off and pointing slightly in the direction to my left. They were like, "IT'S BUBBA!" in whispering voices. I was like, "Bubba?... *turned head to the left* Bubba!!!" Oh my gosh, it was THE Bubba Dixon, from the Songs from the Heart behind the scenes!!! I could NOT believe my eyes! I looked back at them and squealed! Oh that lightened my mood up a whole lot! The announcement came over the sound system, the one all of us CW fans are knowledgeable of. That announcement means that it will be about fifteen minutes until the show actually starts! I felt so giddy. The show was about to begin! I am like five feet from the stage! Oh boy! Soon, the lights began to go dark.
So I won’t go into detail of every song, but I will mention about the ones that stood out to me – may be a lot of them, so bear with me! Oh I should mention that I practically bawled during every song during Act I… but anyways:
The lights grow dim after a few moments, and the Aontas choir slowly walks onto the stage with their candles. I hear the voice of Chloë. Shivers run up and down my spine. I once again started bawling, tears of joy! It’s been nearly a year since I have heard them live, so it was so great to finally hear them again! My first glances at the girls. All I know it was so hard to see. My eyes were covered in tears, glasses smudged; I quickly tried to wipe them off. Then the choir blew the candles out. More chills and more tears.
I hear a familiar “Ooo-ing” start to ascend through the speakers. Lisa. I absolutely LOVE her singing this song. I of course being my emotional self that night start bawling like a baby! Front row, with Lisa singing Fields of Gold right in front of me! I do remember when my vision cleared up, I had seen her glace over in my direction. She looked towards me! :) I sang along through the entire song, even though I was choking on my tears a little. It’s Celtic Woman. I had to sing along!
The Coast of Galiçia - Oh how free Máiréad flows through the air! Máiréad was everywhere! Jumping, twirling, swaying! She’s quite amazing! She stopped right in front of me and the other girls and she flipped her hair, head tilted back at us, oh she looked so fierce!!!! I love it! It reminded me of the image that was posted in the gallery on the Celtic Woman website from Powerscourt taping.
*Crash!* *Boom!* “Sail away, sail away, sail away!” Gets me every time! Watching the ladies walking down the stage so elegantly, but so fiercely, I start to shake. Singing along, I ever so subtly do the hand movements to the song. I recall closing my eyes for a moment, taking everything in.
After hearing the performance of Chloë and Lisa on QVC, I heard the first piano keys being played and I instantly knew. The new arrangement of Goodnight My Angel is absolutely gorgeous! It’s a faster tempo than the original arrangement, but it really works still. It made me smile. I’ve always viewed Lisa as a mother (because she is!) and Chloë as the baby of Celtic Woman. Mother singing with her child, so precious! Both of the ladies looked so beautiful on that stage!
Last year, when they performed at the Xcel Energy Center, in St. Paul, MN, and there was an elder couple sit to my left. When the ladies sung Danny Boy, all I could remember hearing was the husband singing loud and proud to his wife. When I heard it live this night, I just started bawling! I had remembered that couple and it made me smile knowing that this that gentleman had sung so proudly that day.
I always anticipate the big boom from the drums when Mo Ghile Mear begins. I love watching and listening to the reactions of the other audience around me, who do not know that it was coming. There is one woman that was sitting behind me that flat out said, “Oh, wow! That scared me!” Then the second drumbeat goes off, and she squealed a little and laughed to her friend. The choir comes down during the song and stands in front of the front row. I believe it was Niall McGrath who stood right in front of me. I could hear him loud and clear. Oh he has a gorgeous voice :)
During the intermission, Joe had gotten up. There were two seats to my right that were not being used! So he invited the twins and MrPeabody up to the first row with us! Elizabeth was on the left, the twins, Dayna, myself, and then Joe and Mike on the right. I cried one final time then told myself this is no way to watch a concert! Well, if I could even see at all! Stood up, and I felt so much better. The show was about to start back up. Oh, the excitement was rising once more!
During The Call, I sung along and did the waving of my hands. I may possibly hit Joe? I'm not sure hahah! :(
During The Call, I sung along and did the waving of my hands. I may possibly hit Joe? I'm not sure hahah! :(
When Lisa Lambe came on the stage to talk about Dúlaman, she was the cutest thing ever! She really got the audience interested with the back-story about what the song is about. It made me giggle when others were surprised about what Dúlaman really means in Gaelic. Lisa Lambe was absolutely stunning in this song. She interacted so much with Ray and Andy! At one point she sat down and pondered to herself trying to choose which one she wanted. At anther point, she surprises the whole audience with her own little instrumental interlude, playing the spoons!!! I was in awe - never saw that one coming!
I notice myself getting into Lisa’s next song, The Moon’s A Harsh Mistress. Singing loud ad proud right with Lisa, hoping Dayna didn’t mind me singing along to everything like that. I found myself mimicking her moves she had done in Powerscourt, and it made me grin so big.
“There can be miracles, when you believe.” Oh so many smiles from Chloë during that song. Once she hit that magical high note, I had so many chills running through my body. The woman behind me was gasped in amazement. Everyone was dead silent; oh that moment is always breathtaking for me. Absolutely beautiful! After she was finished singing, she let out a big sigh, and held her stomach, turned around walked a little ways, and turned to face us and sat down with another big sigh. Chloë is such a card. I love her!
The first few notes of At the Céili Started playing and my heart started racing! This song always makes me want to dance along. It is so upbeat! I love it (as to every other song they sing… ha ha!) I was so curious to which dress Lisa Lambe would be wearing. Not surprising to me that she looked absolutely gorgeous in the one they had her in. They ALL looked fantastic in them! Watching each lady interact with the fellows was such a cute sighting! Definitely makes the song more fun!
I knew it was nearing the end. I could not believe it! They were already singing You Raise Me Up! I heard a few people singing along with the ladies. This time, I really wanted to let out a cry, but of course I had held it back and kept my composure. Lisa happened to be on the far right side, which she tends to be a lot during the show. As they were bowing, Lisa glances our way a few times. Chloë, Máiréad, and Lisa Lambe all follow.
After the Finale/Mo Ghile Mear, the ladies came back to do their famous encore performance, Spanish Lady. Oh how I love this song! I promised myself that if I ever get great seats, and the ladies could see me, I would do the “Shoulder Shrug” with them! I managed to do it every single time! Lisa glanced over at us five girls, and she had laughed when she saw us doing it with them!
After the song was over, they were waving their goodbyes and bowing, and Lisa turned to us five girls and blew a kiss to each one of us! It really made my day! Then the concert was over. Felt like the concert went by way too fast to be over so soon! I loved the show. Many smiles from all the girls, I think I have seen a wink from Máiréad and Lisa Lambe.
I had an assignment for class, which was to create a book on someone who inspires you. My first thought, I would write about Lisa! Things just fell into place and I had many forum members from the main Celtic Woman forum and the Lisa Kelly Fan Forum submit entries for this book. It turned out stunningly, and I made a few extra copies. Mainly one for myself, and one to give to the twins, Dayna, and in the hopes to give to Lisa Kelly herself, as a gift from me! I proudly gave a copy to Lisa, and she had signed my copy and handed it back to me. Oh I was so ecstatic about it! She looked at me, greeted each other, shook hands, and I mentioned about the book. She said to me that she thought it looked like I really enjoyed the show. She also mentioned that she had seen me crying during Danny Boy! How embarrassing! I was feeling a little faint at the time and I said to her, “Wow, I may be the first one to faint in front of you” (Also referring to one of the questions I had asked her in a newsletter Rich Ropes had created)! She replied to me jokingly while laughing, “Oh, stop it!” It made me laugh. I asked for a picture with her, and she agreed. I got a picture with Lisa!!! I felt so giddy after that moment! Trying to stand on my own two feet, I move on to Máiréad! Since I was paying so much attention to Lisa, I did not even see Máiréad sign any of my items! I shook hands with her and introduced myself. I told her that it was very nice to meet her, and that she did a phenomenal job that night. She always does! Felt a little rushed with Máiréad, so I kindly asked for a picture with her too, and she kindly agreed. Two Pictures with two of the Celtic Woman! I was absolutely giddy about the whole thing :).
We were going through piccies at this point. I periodically turned my computer to the gang and shown them amazing shots I had gotten of Lisa, or the twins taking to Lisa, Elizabeth talking to Máiréad, Dayna and Lisa, and was editing a few on the spot. They looked so amazing I could not wait to sit down and fully edit them!! I knew that would take me a long time!!!
April cane into the room and started talking for a while. That was fun. We were all tellin' her about what happened at the concert, who we met, etc. We then decided, before it got too late that we would all take a picture with each other (We had talked about it a little earlier that we were all going to wear out gray shirts and pose for a picture). April gladly took piccies on our cameras. We took so many. A few in Katharine's room and a few in the living room where we had a little more space. Only bad thing is we had to be quiet. Their other roommate, Whitney was sleeping. 
The twins and I went inside. Packed up a few of my things, checked myself into the flights, printed my boarding passes, and was talking to them a little more. We were all standing between their two rooms when suddenly it came to me! We FORGOT to go to STARBUCKS to get a LKS (Lisa Kelly Special - Non fat no whip White Chocolate Mocha - but I usually get mine the org. way)!!! How DARE us!?!?! I kinda wanted to slap myself for not remembering sooner!!! Oh well... The twins set out the couch again... even though they did not have to... grabbed two pillows, a few blankets, and I grabbed my blankie. Said our goodnight's and tried to go to bed. Tried was the keyword... 
I had Galway Bay stuck in my head all night!!! I laid there for nearly thirty minutes with that song in my head, when I finally forced myself to sleep. I mean, I had to... We were getting up around 8AM or so to pack my things! :( I did not want to think about going home. It was way too soon!!!
Anyways... I get myself ready for the day, and pull my hair up. It looked like crap fro crying into it all the last night! Started to pack my things. I told Katharine, I don't think this is going to fit in my bag (referring to the merch I had bought on the main shopping street). As I pushed and shoved my stuff neatly in my bag, Katharine went to Kristine's room to shoot their teacher and classmates an email. I quickly took that time to jot down in a card I bought from Target at home, a thank you note for all they had done for me that weekend. I had so much fun with them! And wish I did not have to go. Put it in the side of my purse and shoved a few last things into the luggage bag. Zipped that baby up and wow, it felt so heavy! Katharine offered to carry my small bag (my purse - not that small, had my lappie and everything else in there!). I quickly grabbed the card out from the pocket and put it behind my back as I was handing my purse to her, saying, "Sure!" She left the room, which I was a bit surprised. Back home, usually when someone leaves the room, they are the last one out of the room and shuts the door. Both of them were in the living room. As I put my shoes on, I was contemplating on where to put the card. On Katharine's TV? No, they prolly wont see it right away. On her desk? Maybe... On her blanket, next to Bunny? Bingo! That is one place they'd see right away when walking into her room. I set it down quickly and scooted out of there. We headed to the car, Ms. Lisa. Put my bags in the trunk, and off we were to the airport. Katharine was driving this time. :( I could not believe it. My time with them was over!!!
My thoughts before this whole trip was will I talk much or will I be my awkward self and be quiet? I definitely surprised myself. I talked so much, as did they when we were with each other. So many great times together over that weekend. Lots of piccies and videos that I will never forget!
The lights turned on, and I started to get nervous, really nervous. The twins handed over the Meet and Greet passes to me and I had given the other over to MrPeabody and he thanked me. Dustin finally checked us on the list, and took us up the stadium stairs. The levels kept going! When we hit level ground, I was at row P. I don’t know how we managed it, but we somehow ended in the middle front of the line. We lined up outside of the auditorium, like in the foyer of the place. I thought that was odd only because of hearing other stories about them bringing the people to a room, where the ladies would enter. Oh well, I wasn’t going to complain! I was too nervous thinking of all the possibilities, like: Who will be at this M&G? What will I say to them? Will I faint? Oh I hope not! What are they going to say to me? What if I forget to ask to take a picture with them?! And the questions kept rolling. I took a few pictures of the group just waiting around. Dustin walked in front of the group and explained the ropes of the M&G. I just wanted him to tell me who was going to be the ones signing that night! All of a sudden, I hear him say, “And tonight, your Meet & Greet will be with…. Máiréad and Lisa… K.” I thought I did not hear him right. I quickly asked again to the group and they said it was Lisa Kelly! Oh my gosh! I could not believe it! I started to shake horribly, and I was holding on to the concessions stand ledge, where the line was. I quickly get out my Lisa and Máiréad Merch that I would love to be signed. I was having trouble breathing, breathing heavily. Told myself to relax, and breath in and out slowly. That helped a bit. I was finally going to meet my idol, Lisa Kelly, THE Lisa Kelly!
As Lisa and Máiréad came out, I got my Nikon DSLR camera ready. First, I just wanted a shot of them at the table but I was quite short, took the camera strap off my head and raised it up in the air. Perfect! As the line grows closer, I took more and more snapshots of Lisa and Máiréad (Need I remind you, I was shaking really bad, and trying to keep myself breathing throughout the Meet and Greet..). I also promised Elizabeth that If I got her a shot of herself with Máiréad, that she would use my camera to get a shot of me with both the ladies. It was the twins’ turn. Kristine was up first. I got a few of Lisa talking with Kristine, while she was signing a few items. One item happened to be for Hayley and Miranda, the twins from Cali :) (Oh to look at all of those pictures are priceless!). Lisa mentioned to Bubba that Kristine and Katharine are “the Smiley ones.” Oh to hear that live about them, made my heart melt! Katharine’s turn! I, being very shutter-camera happy, had to quit taking pictures. Bubba was starting to talk to me, so I tried to get Elizabeth’s attention to grab my camera. That took a little bit. He asked me what my name was and how to spell it, and said that can only get a limited number of items signed.
I had an assignment for class, which was to create a book on someone who inspires you. My first thought, I would write about Lisa! Things just fell into place and I had many forum members from the main Celtic Woman forum and the Lisa Kelly Fan Forum submit entries for this book. It turned out stunningly, and I made a few extra copies. Mainly one for myself, and one to give to the twins, Dayna, and in the hopes to give to Lisa Kelly herself, as a gift from me! I proudly gave a copy to Lisa, and she had signed my copy and handed it back to me. Oh I was so ecstatic about it! She looked at me, greeted each other, shook hands, and I mentioned about the book. She said to me that she thought it looked like I really enjoyed the show. She also mentioned that she had seen me crying during Danny Boy! How embarrassing! I was feeling a little faint at the time and I said to her, “Wow, I may be the first one to faint in front of you” (Also referring to one of the questions I had asked her in a newsletter Rich Ropes had created)! She replied to me jokingly while laughing, “Oh, stop it!” It made me laugh. I asked for a picture with her, and she agreed. I got a picture with Lisa!!! I felt so giddy after that moment! Trying to stand on my own two feet, I move on to Máiréad! Since I was paying so much attention to Lisa, I did not even see Máiréad sign any of my items! I shook hands with her and introduced myself. I told her that it was very nice to meet her, and that she did a phenomenal job that night. She always does! Felt a little rushed with Máiréad, so I kindly asked for a picture with her too, and she kindly agreed. Two Pictures with two of the Celtic Woman! I was absolutely giddy about the whole thing :). |
| Lisa Kelly and I |
I moved off to the side of the foyer with the other girls, and I took a few more shot of the ladies, as we waited for Joe. After we left the M&G area, Kristine asked a person who worked there if we could grab a poster someone was going to give her. After talking to a few people we all head over and view the poster. It was huge! Gorgeous. Took a few pictures of it, and then we headed out to the vehicles. I had to call my mum out of pure happiness, and of course in the middle of telling her who was at the M&G, I started bawling all over again. Plus, my pants were falling down... Stupid pants with no belt loops!!! Katharine graciously offered to hold my items while I tried to walk, talk on the phone and prevent my pants from falling to the ground. That would have been a sight to see... How embarrassing! Mahahahaha!
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| Máiréad Nesbitt and I |
Oh that was such an epic day. 1200+ miles away from home, was with two amazing friends, met up with a few other forum friends (who are pretty amazing in person as well!), enjoyed a Celtic Woman concert together, and met Lisa Kelly and Máiréad Nesbitt together! I would not have wanted this day to end up in any other way! We decided to walk out by the trailers and trucks just to look at them one final time. As we walked by, we saw the Tiger's promotional !truck that had Celtic woman on it - "Get Amped," mahaha!!! On the way over to that truck, we see Chloe on the bus! We try to act normal :D On the way back, we are still tryin' to act normal and then we see someone else, it appeared to be Dermot! Oh I was so zoning out at this time. We head back to the car. I am walking really extremely slow at this point. I was tired - bawling takes it out of ya!!! I was also trying to keep myself breathing haha. it was bad. We got back tot he apartment. I just wanted to get out of my clothes and into something comfy as soon as possible! I ran into Katharine's room and got my Snoopy pink capri's, changed, grabbed my lappie, memory card, and meet and greet items and went and sat on Kristine's bed. Everyone else was sitting on her floor. Everyone was posting on Facebook and Twitter. It took me nearly ten minutes to think of what I wanted to post! I just sat there, staring at my computer. Zoning out and exhausted. I finally post my FB status and then my Twitter updates. I decided to upload all my pictures from the day. While I was waiting for them to upload, I looked at my merch I had signed. Oh the joyous signatures of each!!! Bubba signed my name on each, except Máiréad's insert to her CD. She signed my name on it so elegantly!!! I got four items signed by each lady! :D :D :D I had received a poster that displayed the promotion of the show at LittleJohn, so I wanted to get it signed. Glad I did. I now wish i could put it up on the wall :) They are all so precious to me!! I have included everything I had gotten signed :)
We were going through piccies at this point. I periodically turned my computer to the gang and shown them amazing shots I had gotten of Lisa, or the twins taking to Lisa, Elizabeth talking to Máiréad, Dayna and Lisa, and was editing a few on the spot. They looked so amazing I could not wait to sit down and fully edit them!! I knew that would take me a long time!!!
April cane into the room and started talking for a while. That was fun. We were all tellin' her about what happened at the concert, who we met, etc. We then decided, before it got too late that we would all take a picture with each other (We had talked about it a little earlier that we were all going to wear out gray shirts and pose for a picture). April gladly took piccies on our cameras. We took so many. A few in Katharine's room and a few in the living room where we had a little more space. Only bad thing is we had to be quiet. Their other roommate, Whitney was sleeping. It was nearing one thirty or so, and we were getting a bit tired. Oh I know I was pooped at least. Elizabeth and Dayna had a hour and a half drive left to make to get back to Elizabeth's place... I felt bad for them! We all stood out on the deck for like five-ten minutes just chatting away. Did many hugs goodbye, and chatted a little longer. It's so hard to say goodbye lol!! The twins and I stood out on the deck watching them walk away. I giggle and Dayna looks back at us. I wave peace :). They get into the car and start driving towards us, and we got a little confused but realized they wanted to say one final goodbye!
The twins and I went inside. Packed up a few of my things, checked myself into the flights, printed my boarding passes, and was talking to them a little more. We were all standing between their two rooms when suddenly it came to me! We FORGOT to go to STARBUCKS to get a LKS (Lisa Kelly Special - Non fat no whip White Chocolate Mocha - but I usually get mine the org. way)!!! How DARE us!?!?! I kinda wanted to slap myself for not remembering sooner!!! Oh well... The twins set out the couch again... even though they did not have to... grabbed two pillows, a few blankets, and I grabbed my blankie. Said our goodnight's and tried to go to bed. Tried was the keyword... 
I had Galway Bay stuck in my head all night!!! I laid there for nearly thirty minutes with that song in my head, when I finally forced myself to sleep. I mean, I had to... We were getting up around 8AM or so to pack my things! :( I did not want to think about going home. It was way too soon!!! 8AM came around too soon. I woke up around 6 or so when Whitney was getting ready to go. I fell back asleep until 7:45 and just laid there. I heard Kris's alarm go off. I still did not want to move. Someone came into the kitchen to get their daily dose of tea. I put my glasses on, and it was Kris! "Good morning!" It was a fantastic morning, I wanted to tell myself. Sigh, I was heading home that day! I folded up the blankets (cept' the huge one I could not manage by myself) and put them away in the crate beside the couch, as I waited for Katharine to open her door (I am polite and wait :), although I did go into her room one night a half hour after we said good nigh, because I failed to remember to take my pill... ha! Prolly was that night!!!).
Anyways... I get myself ready for the day, and pull my hair up. It looked like crap fro crying into it all the last night! Started to pack my things. I told Katharine, I don't think this is going to fit in my bag (referring to the merch I had bought on the main shopping street). As I pushed and shoved my stuff neatly in my bag, Katharine went to Kristine's room to shoot their teacher and classmates an email. I quickly took that time to jot down in a card I bought from Target at home, a thank you note for all they had done for me that weekend. I had so much fun with them! And wish I did not have to go. Put it in the side of my purse and shoved a few last things into the luggage bag. Zipped that baby up and wow, it felt so heavy! Katharine offered to carry my small bag (my purse - not that small, had my lappie and everything else in there!). I quickly grabbed the card out from the pocket and put it behind my back as I was handing my purse to her, saying, "Sure!" She left the room, which I was a bit surprised. Back home, usually when someone leaves the room, they are the last one out of the room and shuts the door. Both of them were in the living room. As I put my shoes on, I was contemplating on where to put the card. On Katharine's TV? No, they prolly wont see it right away. On her desk? Maybe... On her blanket, next to Bunny? Bingo! That is one place they'd see right away when walking into her room. I set it down quickly and scooted out of there. We headed to the car, Ms. Lisa. Put my bags in the trunk, and off we were to the airport. Katharine was driving this time. :( I could not believe it. My time with them was over!!!
My thoughts before this whole trip was will I talk much or will I be my awkward self and be quiet? I definitely surprised myself. I talked so much, as did they when we were with each other. So many great times together over that weekend. Lots of piccies and videos that I will never forget! As we drove through Anderson we saw the huge promotional billboard for the concert. We both took piccies of it. I wish it was legal to take that down and put it on the side of my house... but, no. Hahaha!!!
We had Songs from the Heart playing the whole time while on the way there. Half singing along and half reminiscing about the weekend's outcome. Oh it was so much fun!
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| This was in Anderson, SC! |
About 10AM we reached the airport, parked and slowly got out of the car. It was a little windy there. Prolly was, I'd say, around 65º out, but felt cooler with the wind. We gave each other some goodbye hugs, took piccies of the goodbyes, and I wanted to get a few piccies for my phone. With my phone, I have a quick favorites list that pulls up pictures of the 9 selected contacts I would like to text, call or, change info on. I needed better piccies to put on there, ones of my own. Took one of Kristine, then one of Katharine. Then, I realized, I wished to have some of all three of us together on my phone! Kris was the pro at taking group shots, so I handed my phone to her. She took two shots, both semi failures, but kept them on my phone anyways. Then, a nice gentleman came walking by, and offered to take our picture for us. Took a few moments to figure out my phone (haha) and then he got it. It was a nice piccie. I love it!
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| The very last piccie of us together :(. |
We head to the departure gate of the building. Hug a few times, look around for where I had to go to drop my luggage off. I was looking for a "Bag Drop" like we had at home, but did not see anything. I saw a fun weighing machine next to the wall. I scooted my luggage bag over. The machine said, "Please do not stand on scale" hahah!!! I am sure little kids have done it... I set my luggage bag on there. 33lbs?! Really? I only added one pound to my bag from when I got to South Carolina?! The twins walked over to me, and I told them what my bag weighed. I asked Katharine if it felt much heavier than I had arrived (cuz she happened to be the one who brought my luggage into the apt. the first time). She said it felt so much heavier than before! It was so beyond me. I could not explain it! I walked up to the counter and the woman there scanned my boarding pass and took care of my luggage for me. I had to get my license out of my pocket to verify myself, and I dropped my sunglasses. After checking my luggage in, I walked back to the girls. I dropped my sunglasses again... Wow, I am a klutz. We ended up talking about 5 minutes more (but felt like ten) and hugged one last time, said our goodbyes, and all three of us walked our separate ways. I got to say, those goodbyes were the hardest thing I have ever done in forever! I really wanted to cry! I did end up crying a little while on the way over to the security checkpoint. I decided to keep myself hydrated and bought myself a bottle of water. Drank it all and then headed off to the security checkpoint. I decided to text the twins and say that I already miss them. Kristine was driving so I knew it'd be a while until she'd respond to hers, but Katharine, Katharine had the same idea as me! She was literally texting me at the same time trying to say the same thing! Oh, it put a smile on my face, and a tear to my eye.
I got up to the officer who was checking boarding passes. Gave him both my boarding pass and License, ad he said to me, "Goin' back home to the cold, huh?" I replied, "Yupp, unfortunately...:" and he laughed at me as he gave me my items back. I took my belt off ad this little girl, I'd say about six years old, looked at me like, "why are you taking your clothes off!!?!?!' It made me laugh inside :). Got to the conveyor belt, put my shoes on it, lappie separately, camera, purse, and then jacket and other things into a bucket. I learned from the last time ;) No beeps!!! Took about five minutes to put my belt on and got my bags situated, and headed up towards the terminals. I found a seat near the gate, and texted Katharine for that time I was waiting. It was supposed to rain that day. I did not see a drop until I walked out and onto the plane. It was only sprinkling. Prolly for only ten minutes at most. Then, I had to turn my phone off.
I just stared out the window the whole time, as we went to ATL airport. This time I felt less rushed. I knew what I was doing, where I was going. So, I took my time. I turned my phone on when we got to the airport, and I got two texts from the twins. They were yellin' at me for putting moneys in the card. Ha! Gas is getting expensive. I wanted to pay my part! Well, anyways, I walked passed a convenience store and bought me two decks of cards that said Atlanta, and one of just a picture ;). Two more decks of cards added to my collection! I headed off to my terminal. Had plenty of time still. The plane still has not arrived yet. I was getting a little hungry at this time. There was a restaurant across the way. I did not want to spend the money there. Nope. I sucked it up and waited. When getting on the plane, the line was so backed up... The cabinets were so packed up. I found room, tiny room for my camera case, like five rows ahead of me. I was supposed to be on a window seat but I got an aisle instead. Oh well. During the flight, the lady on the far side, near the window closed it, so I had nothing to stare at. So did the man on the far far end. I felt little claustrophobic. At one point, we had hit turbulence. Bad turbulence, hit some bad weather. It felt like a roller coaster. I am BAD with those!! I get high anxiety and have troubles getting myself to breathe. I held so tightly to the armrest in the aisle. So tightly, closed my eyes and tried to breath. I am feelin dizzy just thinking about it! Lasted maybe about five minutes and then things got better. Only an hour longer to get home. I wanted to just be home and off the plane!!!
When we got to the Minneapolis airport, I turned my phone on and texted my mum that I have arrived. It was about 3:30PM. I texted the twins saying I was back safe and sound, and had a bit of an anxiety attack on the plane. As I was leaving the plane, I got a cool breeze from outside. I needed my gloves! It was freezing out! I walked down to baggage claim 6 to find my mum. There she was walkin' towards me in her bright red coat. Hugged, said hi and explained more about the meet and greet. I waited about fifteen minutes and finally my luggage bag came. Phewfta!!! I was getting worried! On the drive home, I was talking about my trip to my mum, and then stopped through McDonald's. Should have stuck to something small, but nope. I ate the fries in the car, and then had a large burger when I got home (around 5:05PM) and got myself a stomachache. I was home! Went into my room and unpacked some of my things. Did not take a nap like I wanted to because it took over an hour to show my mum all the piccies!!! That night I was trying to show my mum some merch I purchased, and the stuff I had gotten signed. She was not paying attention to me (she was helpin' my brother write internship letters), so I decided to go to bed. Twas a long day, and a long but short trip. Very overwhelming, if I do say so myself!!! First trip taken by myself, check! I feel more adult like :). I'd say it took about a week to feel back to normal-ish. i still feel sad it is over but nothin' I can do abut it. Unfortunately, I don't own a time machine. I wish I did though, I'd so start over from day one! :D
Well, I hope you enjoyed my long rant of a story, and hope you did not get too bored readin'.... If you did get through all of it, congratulations and thanks for readin'!
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