Blew the doctor away

Before the transplant, in the beginning of January we had a frustrating run in with Marty's primary care doctor. We needed a referral and his staff kept putting us on hold for 15 mins to a half hour before we could even ask. Then when we did ask, they wanted him to come in even though he needed a Ophthalmology referral.

Then the call came before we could change doctors and he has been under Stanford's care. In the meantime I found a great new primary doctor. So today Marty went to establish.

The doctor is reading over his medical history and sees he is a diabetic. He says, " What do you take to control your diabetes?" and Marty says, "Nothing." 

Silence...........................

The doctor gets this look like " Oh this is going to be a mess!"

Marty says, " I got a new pancreas!"

It was a priceless moment. Nothing can describe the joy that comes from those words. The sacrifice another family made to give us that moment wasn't priceless, it came at a heavy cost. I hope someday they know the joy their loved one brings to us daily.

Oscar takes funny pictures

Our Doxie Oscar is a source of many laughs in this house. He isn't the brightest dog. He is extremely lazy. He is a permanent baby.

He is very cute however.

Courageous

Today our family said goodbye to a courageous man. He was a co-worker of Marty's, his superior officer actually. He started working with him five years ago when he joined their department. Marty would come home telling us stories of Keith battling office machines and saying "stinkin" while fighting them. We would always get a good laugh.

His wife Tammy started bowling with us, so the kids and I finally met Keith. Have you ever known someone before you met them? We knew Keith before we met him. He and Conner became fast friends and Conner really looked up to him.

Two years ago, Keith was diagnosed with Leukemia. He immediately was taken to Stanford and he fought hard. While Marty was at Stanford, Keith and Tammy came to see us. Keith had to make a choice whether to undergo a bone marrow transplant or not. He had chosen not to. I have never seen someone make a choice that impacted their future. He was wrestling with that on that day.

Two weeks ago, we got the call to come see him at the hospital. He wasn't going to be leaving and knew the end was near. If you can believe it, he looked better than he had at Stanford. He was at peace with his choice. He knew where he was going and he was ready. He sat in the bed and calmly told us how things would go. It was one of the strangest moments of my life. I have never been with someone who knew they were dying.

I talked to Tammy for a long time this morning. During that talk, the topic of my post yesterday hit home even more. They had been married 28 years, Keith had been in law enforcement 25 of those years. Being a law enforcement family is different. Husbands are gone long hours, often work overtime on their days off and holidays. Often times, you are left running the show and doing much on your own. Then you are parenting and your kids grow up before you know it. Time flies by quickly and then in the blink of a eye, it can all be over.

She was lucky to have a good husband who loved her and worked hard for their family. He was a honorable man who loved God and brought honor to their family. Today seeing a room filled to standing room only and person after person getting up, saying what a good man he was and how he made no bones about his beliefs was amazing. How we live, impacts others and even how we die can impact others. Making use of our time here on earth for the better is important.

I heard this song while driving to Keith's memorial today. I had already decided to write this blog after talking Tammy this morning and after hearing this song, I quickly knew the title.  It's the title of a new movie coming out about Police Officers this fall. Keith was a courageous man. He will be missed

Tammy, you are courageous and I know God will do great things for you and through you. You encouraged me so much this morning. We are praying for you.

Guarding Your Time

I was looking at some announcements of upcoming events this morning and realizing how many things go on throughout the week. For the last few years while Marty was on dialysis, it was easier to manage our schedule. We could say "no" to just about everything because of home dialysis. Now that he is well, that is no longer a issue.

There are so many places to be and things to do. Especially with two kids who are different ages with different activities. I was thinking about how we have more time at home together since we homeschool and what it would be like if we didn't? It seems like there are so many things vying for our time and what is fruitful to invest in and what is is a time stealer?

Marty works in law enforcement and is often gone long hours. When he is home, we treasure our time together as a family. It's so important to us to have time as a family without the stresses of having to be somewhere or do something constantly during his time off.

Family time  seems to be almost non-existent in today's society. Most parents work, kids go to school, the play sports with practices during the week and games on the weekend. When do people stay home and just be together? Then the whole "me" time thing, its so important to take time for yourself and have a break. When does it become too much?

We often get sideways glances when we say "no', it is something that will continue to happen though. Family time is precious and kids grow up fast. We learned to slow down and enjoy life when Marty was sick. It changed our perspective on outside activities. They are important and vital, I love being around people and doing things. I learned to guard my time and what I am investing it in. Sometimes, we just do things because everyone is else is doing them or because we feel obligated to do them.

It's a valuable lesson and I wanted to share it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and you certainly don't have to agree with me. I am coming to a place where I feel more bold and I really wanted to get this off my chest.

StumbledUpon dessert

Last week on the phone with my cousin Andy, he told me about StumbledUpon and what a great resource it is to share blog posts. I had seen a recent blip about it online but not gone much further. Then I saw a tutorial on a blogging site I frequent.

I followed the steps in the tutorial, set up a account and Stumbled. Basically, you put in your interests and hit "stumble" and new sites pop up. I LOVE IT! So addicting and informative. I have seen many beautiful pictures, informative videos, educational sites and some great blogs.

Today, I made dessert from two recipes that I "StumbledUpon" and they were great. One was a Smores Cookie Bar and the other was a Oreo Cookie Cake. Both were delicious and very simple to make.

This is a great new way to surf the web. It's a great way to find new information on multiple subjects at once. If you download the toolbar, you can like pages and they will save to a favorites list. I have a button on the bottom of this post to share my posts on StumbledUpon.

A must read post on Organ donation

I recently started a twitter account to follow pro cycling and I have it open to interact with other people. I have met many people from different walks of life, interacted with my favorite singer. More importantly, I have met many people involved in organ donation and transplant recipients.

The other day someone was asking to talk to transplant recipients. Her name is Liz and she was writing a blog to a organ donor family as a thank you they never received. I told her what changed in Marty's life and she used his blurb in the Thank you.

She is celebrating her one year anniversary of her transplant. I hope you go read this and see the difference Organ Donation makes in the lives of others, not just our family.

Here is the link:
For Scot, a Thank you.

Tears For Fears, A Dream Come True

I've been a Tears For Fears fan since I was 9 years old. By the time I was old enough to go to a show, they had broke up.

Fast forward to the reunion, due to life, I just haven't been able to make it to a show. The last several years was spent dealing with my husband's kidney disease. He recieved a life changing transplant in January. So when I saw that Tears For Fears was coming to Fresno, three days after my 35th birthday I jumped at the chance.

I've been a Curt Smith fan since I was 9 years old. I've followed along with his blog, twitter, Facebook etc. so the chance to see him in person was great. He even threw me a Skittle or threw a Skittle at me, I choose to believe the first scenario. This came on top of him giving me a Happy birthday tweet. Thanks for putting up with me this week Curt, it was very kind of you. 

Roland was great, a true showman and artist. So much fun watching him have fun on stage. I had been upset to be in the 5th row but luck was on my side. Nobody in the front stood up! It was bizarre to go to a show and have virtually nobody in the front standing. I guess they all got their tickets free for gambling. I turned to the man behind me and said, " I have waited 26 years for this day and I am going to stand up."

It was like my own private concert at many points.Fun to be able to look Curt,Wainright and Roland in the eye.

 I am so sorry for you setlist aficionados, I didn't keep track. Here is what I do remember:

Opened with EWTRW and the encore was Shout. They played Pale Shelter, The orginal version of Mad World, Change, Badman's Song,Sowing The Seeds, Break It Down, Roland sang Falling Down, Curt sang Who You Are, Call Me Mellow,Head Over Heels.

It was a wonderful dream come true. They sounded great, their band is great, I loved Wainright on back up. Overall a great show despite poor audience interaction which wasn't TFF's fault. My husband is a bass player and enjoyed the musical aspect of the show. They are all great musicians and the sound was the best I've ever heard.

Here is a link to my Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/timmsfamilyof4/sets/72157627545893701/detail/

Come visit me at Finding Purpose in the Pain today

Click on this picture of Stacy and I to head over to her blog and see what I wrote today. I wrote a brief synopsis of our family's journey with renal failure.

Guest blog: Stacy from Finding Purpose In The Pain

I asked my friend Stacy to write a guest blog for me. We became friends in 2003 on a prayer forum. We ended up having the privilege to pioneer online bible studies together. We led many studies together for many years. Stacy lives in Ohio and is the author of Finding Purpose In The Pain a chronicle of her life with Fibromyalgia. I encourage you to read her blog, she has a lot of great wisdom for her age!

 Life Interrupted

I went to Bible study last week & was incredibly challenged by what I heard. Our group is doing Priscilla Shirer’s study Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted. Our first video lesson discussed how we respond when our lives are interrupted. It took me instantly back to 2006 when I finally received the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. After having chronic pain and intense fatigue since age 12, I finally had a name for my condition. Everyone has plans and dreams for their lives and I’m pretty sure no one’s plans include daily, debilitating chronic pain. My life was for sure interrupted. I spent years cycling through emotions of fear, sadness, depression and anger. I had well-meaning people remind me to find joy apart from my circumstances, and while that is what the Bible says, their words felt more like judgment than encouragement. I was in a place of utter hopelessness.

Here I sit 5 years later, listening to my Bible study video and Priscilla Shirer said something so profound and true for my life. “God often sends us into the hopeless place because it’s in the hopeless place that we can see the hope of God. When we find ourselves in the hopeless place get excited because this is a chance to see God”

This truth I have seen played out in my life. With prayer, Bible study, adjusting my attitude toward gratitude and honestly switching to more effective medication to help my condition, I began to see the purposes of God in my pain. Through this pain God has taught me dependency on Him. And I have seen Him answer prayer in tangible ways that I never would have seen otherwise. Truly the whole course of my life was changed for the better because of this pain-from friendships, to trips to different career opportunities. This pain has given me empathy for the suffering of others and a true urgency to pray for and encourage those hurting. It’s the whole reason I started blogging. I want my life to live out 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

I want to use the comfort I have received from God to bless and encourage others. I still have many days when the pain is overwhelming and hopelessness sets in but thankfully those days are less frequent than they once were. I truly believe God is changing me and transforming me for the better through this pain. And now in those moments of despair I can remember what I learned this week in Bible study, that it is in the hopeless state that we can be most excited to see God!

Where are you in your life? Has your life been interrupted by illness, job loss, or maybe relationship conflicts? I encourage you in these moments to cry out to God, surround yourself with people who can pray for and encourage you, and get excited because this is your chance to see God like you’ve never seen Him before!

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

10 years later, brings faith, hope and love

It's no secret, I have struggled with a huge complex about my birthday for the last 10 years. It actually started before 9/11/01 and that was pretty much the deal breaker for me. It started off a 10 year journey of great complexity.

My friend's daughter Maddie called me the other day and asked how 9/11 changed my life. She was writing a paper for school and was polling different people. She had no clue that was Pandora's box when she called me. Poor girl.

9/11/01 I learned the world didn't revolve around my birthday. That night Our friends Wayne,Staci, their two girls Maddie&Syd, Marty, Conner, Elizabeth, and I went out for pizza together. Staci really tried to make it nice but I was inconsolable. How could I ever celebrate again? I did have something to celebrate that day, my mom had been in the UK and postponed her flight by a day. She would have been on one of the flights that went into one of the towers if not.

After 9/11/01, my birthday became 9/11. Whenever calling insurance and other companies, there were be a pregnant pause after I was asked to recite my birthday. For a long time, it was almost as if they thought I was making it up.

For the next ten years, I would struggle to wrap my head around it and make sense of how I felt. It didn't help that a series of bad birthdays followed.

9/11/02 Staci planned a camping trip for me. It was good to get away from the TV but I was still not in a good place. I think that I made her feel badly with my bad attitude.

9/11/03 It was my first birthday without my Gramie and spent preparing for a procedure the next day. I couldn't even eat all day.

Fast forward to 9/11/06 and our four year old car broke down and was pretty much unable to be repaired. We still owed more than the repair would cost.

Then last year, the horrible call from Stanford overshadowed the whole day. Pretty much nothing anyone did those 9 years before, made a difference.

Then Marty was healed in January and started off this year the right way.  I stood at the brink of seeing my whole life crumble and God brought us through that valley. I will rejoice and be glad in all things. I finally realized to enjoy every moment of life. During our dark valley, things were so hard and everything else pales in comparison.

Then I read the book by John Ritter's widow and was touched so deeply by his words. My birthday is a celebration of life and love.

Then my dear friend Andrea told me about a series on Discovery about Ground Zero. The show was beautiful and brought me so much hope. Seeing Ground Zero be transformed back into the World Trade Center and Memorial. Life is going on, yet we pause to remember and never forget.

This last month, I purposely put a task together for myself to not let myself fall into my old pattern. The Music That Takes Me Back series was for me to keep my mind off of my birthday and my usual funk.

I was faced with putting it to practice Friday afternoon when I panicked remembering the year before. Then I remembered, life is good and all is well in the world.

Today I choose to celebrate love, joy,hope and peace. I remember those who lost their lives but remember that I still have a chance to live. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband who has been given a second chance at life. I have two healthy and happy children who are extraordinary kids. I have a large group of family and friends who love and support me and my family.

Tonight, I get a chance to re-do my birthday. 10 years later, we will go to dinner the same place with our friends Staci, Wayne, and their girls now numbering 5! What a second chance all around.

I hope you are filled with love and joy today. Seize the day, spend time with family and enjoy life. We all know it can all change in a instant.

What a difference a year makes

A year ago today, I got a phone call from Stanford that shattered our world. They had decided to suspend Marty from the donor list for non-compliance. You can read that post here.

Of course we all know now, he was re-listed less than a week later and 4 months almost to the day later we got The Call!

Yesterday, I was cleaning house and dancing around listening to music. The same thing I was doing a year before when the horrible phone call came. It suddenly hit me about the same time in the afternoon the call had come. It panicked at first and then realized....It is finished. There is no bad call to come and life is good now!

Marty is doing well, we are 8 months out from transplant and life is returning to our new normal. God has taken all of those prayers on the blog and answered every single one.

Today this post isn't for me, it is for you dear reader. Maybe there is something going on in your life that seems hopeless? Something that seems insurmountable? Life might look dark and bleak? Have hope that God hears you and someday, somehow things will change.

Not going to lie, after that blog life got dramatically bleaker and darker. When the day came and our prayers were answered all of the darkness and bleakness was washed away. We got insight as to why things changed and why we had to wait.

I feel so encouraged, joyful and full of life today. So many carried us through those times and lifted us up in prayer. Can I pray for you? is there something dark in your life? Feel free to leave a comment and share, I will pray for you.

MTTMB Series: Jesus Freak

 In 1999, I moved away from my family and friends, the only life I have ever known and began a new adventure in life. Marty and I took Conner and packed up everything we had moving 300 miles away from home.

Our first friends were from our new church. They quickly became our friends and family away from home. Not only did my faith in Christ grow, I grew as a person. I had the freedom to find a new way in life and leave the past behind.

I quickly made a friend Tami who LOVED to go to concerts just like me. My first Christian concert was a huge concert at our local stadium to benefit the local rescue mission. My friends Staci and Tami talked me into volunteering so we could stay all day and see all the bands. It was my first time seeing Point of Grace, Eli, and Third Day amongst others.

My first favorite Christian band was DC Talk. We got to see them live with our friends Wayne and Staci at the Billy Graham Crusade in Fresno. It was such a great concert and one of the last times DC Talk Played together.






 One day my friend Tami called me and told me to call the local station to win tickets to a big festival coming to our town. She had already won tickets because she like me had a knack for winning tickets. I won the tickets of course and we set out for the Festival Con Dios. I will never forget that day this side of heaven. Wayne,Staci ( four months pregnant) Bob,Tami, Marty, Sam, and Greg. Everyone was there that day.

We got free tickets, lunch, snacks,cd and water. We were right up front all of us seated in a row ( Until Switchfoot came on and Marty had to rescue pregnant Staci from almost getting into a mosh pit) It was a great day, Switchfoot, SuperChick, Barlow Girl, Jeremy Camp ( before he was a big name) The OC Supertones, and the closing act the Newsboys.

I remember the husbands were done, we had been there all day but Tami really wanted to see the Newsboys. So the guys went to the car and we stayed with Tami to see her favorite Newsboy Peter, she thought he was cute.

Tami went to heaven on Valentines day 2008. On days that I miss her, I always remember that day at the Festival Con Dios. I think of us all sitting there in front of the stage on that beautiful sunny day, I remember the joy in Tami's face watching the Newsboys that night. It was a wonderful day with memories to last a lifetime.

Whenever I think of Tami, I always think of this song by Superchick and the memories of that day.



 This is the last blog in the series, its the music I still listen to and enjoy on a daily basis. Thanks for going on this journey with me and taking a stroll down memory lane. For the first time in 10 years, I haven't been sad or depressed the month before my birthday. I have actually had fun and looked forward to the day.

MTTMB Series: "Here's Where The Story Ends"

Everytime I hear this song, I think of my senior year in high school. It was one of the best years of my life. I had the best friends and we had a great time. We made memories and even made a film about our senior year. Life was good, simple and carefree. I always thought high school was great for everyone because it was so great for me.


Thankfully, the story didn't really end there. I am so blessed to be friends with almost all of my high school friends to this day. It's nice to see where life took everyone and follow along with families growing and the life after high school. One more blog left in the series.

MTTMB Series: "Just A Girl" who loved to go to shows

1993, I was a junior in high school. By this time, my sister Carrie and I spent most of our free time going from show to show. I had a real knack for winning tickets from KROQ, we could go to virtually any show we wanted for free. I saved my hard earned babysitting money to pay for the rest of the shows. We sometimes went to shows Friday,Saturday, and Sunday nights.

Depeche Mode was by far our favorite band to see. My Dad and Grandpa once drove us 50 miles to see a Depeche Mode show. This is a video from the tour we saw them on





 This one is for my fellow DM lover Staci


   That same year, we went to see another band in concert at UCI in Irvine. We went to see the Violent Femmes but after the show for years we would only remember the opening act. That night, we saw the local Anahiem band No Doubt for the very first time. Their lead singer was the coolest girl on earth, they wore the funkiest costumes and she sang and jumped all over the place. They were a ska band and we loved Ska. That concert would end up being a really cool moment in our lives. Here is a video from the same tour



We would follow them all over Orange County. We wanted to be Gwen, the most beautiful, super cool, rocker chick. In fact, one year when I was working at Disneyland, they were the Grad Night band.

In 1995, We went to see them at the Troubador in Hollywood, super small club the ticket was ten dollars. As we walked in the door, they handed us a cassette and told us this was their upcoming release. That night, they played us the entire Tragic Kingdom album. My sister Carrie was 16 years old and when Gwen sang "Sixteen" for the first time, she was wearing a pink carnation wreath her mom made her and she sung the song to my sister Carrie. We saw them once more at the Vans Warped Tour and then they hit it big.



I think this blog leaves the biggest lump in my throat and was the hardest to write. These are probably some of my most cherished memories in life. If I had known then what the future would hold, I would have enjoyed it even more. Those were the best days of my youth and the happiest memories with my sister.

MTTMB Series: The Cure was Morrissey

I've been dedicating these blogs to people who walked along side of me during those times and beyond. This blog is for my cousin Andy who shares my love of Morrissey. He was my first blog reader and still reads to this day. We have been the best of friends since  he was born and I always look forward to his phone calls.

As I said, in 1991 I started listening to L.A.'s legendary KROQ radio. I soon forgot all about Pauly Shore and delved into all things New Wave, Goth, Punk,Ska, and the new genre Grunge. The mainstream label is Alternative these days.

1992, I was a sophmore in high school and really finding out who I was as a person. If you haven't figured this out by now, I march to the beat of my own drum. I am a non-conformist-conformist. I like to not conform while still following the rules. Meaning, I am a good girl who likes to have fun and be weird. Being like everyone else is so unappealing to me. This was something I was learning in 1992.  I was still blonde and dressed like a surfer girl. I listened to non mainstream music though.

This also began the period of my life, where I lived at shows and concerts. Sometimes seeing shows three days a week. More about that in the next blog



I will never forget spending a sunny Saturday with Christena at the Rose Bowl seeing The Cure. Robert Smith maybe be the scariest looking guy but their tunes were catchy.  My friend Aurora got me hooked on them and would let me borrow all of her cassettes. I think this is one of my favorite Cure songs from that time and no it's not Friday I'm in Love, I am not a wannabe people.

I am probably most famous for my Morrissey love during this time period. It started with a love of The Smiths and then became a love of Morrissey. I guess he appealed to my teenage angst side( In fact, I once got busted by my Aunt Patty for some of the Smiths lyrics). I remember seeing him as a 16th birthday present. I cried like a maniac of course. One of the best concerts that I have ever been to. He has a beautiful voice and is a great showman. I really am not sure what my love for Morrissey was all about but I was crazy for him. Sadly, I only ever got to see him live once, the next time I had tickets he canceled the show.




These bands were my teen years and my teen years helped shape who I am today. I really can't explain why I loved them so much but I did. It was a fun time in my life, that I fondly look back on.

Here is a great picture of me wearing a Morrissey shirt in high school:

These are the Hilltop guys, my very best guy friends in High school and the closest thing I have to a brother besides my cousin Andy. I've been planning to write about for a long time, another story for another blog. This series is winding down, trying to cram it all in before my birthday on Sunday.

MTMB Series: The Weasal

J J J is for Julie, U U U are Unique, L love you oh so truly, I watch you every week.... Those are the lyrics to the Julie Brown show on MTV ( if you click on that name you can hear the song). I grew up in the MTV generation, back when MTV played videos.

Then of course there was this Julie Brown (wubba, wubba, wubba, Goodbye and God bless) who earned me years of people calling me Downtown Julie Brown. Thank goodness my friend Lloyd decided I was too uptown to be downtown. So I am actually Uptown Julie Brown.

I started watching MTV from its inception. I guess having a sister 8 years old is the reason for that. It was always on in our house. I watched MTV faithfully until I was about 21 years old.

I am putting the inevitable off, so we are up to 9th grade in the series now. I can't really tell you about anything that takes me back more than this guy. It's mortifying to type this words out, be kind dear reader, be kind.

Before there was the Jersey Shore, there was Pauly Shore!

Pauly Shore, the comedian, skinny guy, the stony,crusty, dude with the mop on top. I have to tell you, I spent my 9th grade year obsessed with him. It pains me to say this but my faithful long time reader Lenice, would call me on the carpet for lying if I didn't admit it. She spent her 9th grade year in English class listening to me cry, yell and laugh about this guy. If my grammar and puncuation pains you, blame Pauly Shore and Mr.Roswell for indulging me.

( I used to have this poster on my wall)

I would run home from school everyday to watch his show "Totally Pauly" on MTV. Of course, I taped everyone to watch over and over again.

 That's how his show went. Pretty silly and rather dumb but I loved it.( and I never did drugs, so yes I watched these completely sober)

I once called into a radio show on KROQ ( The Poorman Show with Poorman) and cried the entire time I talked to Pauly. He and Poorman sent me a hat with his autograph on it.

My sister took me to see Pauly live at Cal State Fullerton, I hobbled on crutches to get front row. Pauly had to stop his show because I was flipping out. He came and gave me a hug and told me, I was too young for him. It was a highlight.

I used to tell all my friends I would marry Pauly Shore and name our kids Shellsonthesea Shore..etc.., If you don't know this yet, I had the best friends in high school. They adored me and coddled me, they let me get away with some zany stuff. They were the best. They even came to my " Pauly Shore Wedding Party" where we dressed up and watched episodes of Totally Pauly. If you dig hard enough on Facebook, you may find a picture of said event.

I won tickets to see a premier of Encino Man at my local theater and won all kinds of cool prizes. I went to see Son In Law with my friend Rube at the drive in. Oh, they were good times. The Pauly days were some of the funniest times in my life. I can't tell you what I was thinking but I can tell you, it was fun.

I found a video on Youtube of Pauly Shore himself explaining his show. It's a great video but he says a bad word and since this is a family blog, I can't put it on here. Definitely worth a view to hear him explain the history of the show.

Pauly Shore faded into oblivion for me and I moved on. I had to share, even if it meant admitting something I really didn't want to admit.  It was MAJ ooor and definitely something that takes me back.

MTTMB Series: "Please Don't Go Girl"

The summer between 7th and 8th grade was a defining moment in my life. One sunny summer day, I was watching MTV and the cutest boy came on the screen. Joey Mc Intyre singing "Please Don't Go Girl", I was in love.

I was finally out of the record stage, no longer owning a record player, I moved up in the world to buying cassettes from Music Plus or Sam Goody. I bought every issue of BOP and Tiger Beat, lining my walls with every picture of the New Kids that I could get my hands on. I wore a New Kids shirt to school everyday and even dressed up as them with a group of friends.

My Dad bravely took my friends Christena, Stacy, and I to see them at the Universal Amptheater. My very first concert, I was in heaven. I kept begging him to buy me a New Kids Tour Jacket to no avail.

I owned the giant button, pillowcase and a million other tchotchkes. I think this is my favorite phase of my musical history, the boy band phase. There were other greats from this time such as Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and the good looking Tommy Page.

Still, Joe held the highest place in my heart for many a year. My next phase would bring a grand departure from pop music. New Kids faded into oblivion and I faded into all things KROQ, New Wave, Punk and Grunge.

I have re-visited NKOTB fever in the last few years with their grand return. I am still trying to talk Andrea into going on the cruise with me next year. We will take Di as our chaperone. I wonder if Marty and Jeremy will go for that?

To be continued........

A/N be sure to check out my New Kids Hysteria posts