Warning: cheesy idol worship ahead (and crocs!)
Check out the feet on these kids! They're Sahara's cousins, and they know the power of good Crocs! It's Sunday which means I get to wear my pink ones ALL DAY!
Now, being the child of a cheeselord (my daddy's in the dairy industry) I will just say one thing about the post below: sometimes you've got to fight for the cheese (although in this case, it was probably cheez).
What food would you fight for? Me? It would probably involve potatoes. I'm thinking vichysoisse. Or a nice pan of potatoes dauphinois. With a little extra cheese, of course.
And one more thing? Ace? He may be pretty, but Mandisa rocks my world. She and Chris were robbed!
Hope there are some good weekends being had out there- we are having one ourselves!
Yesterday afternoon after Sahara had finished her radiation treatment, one of the wonderful ladies from the Child Life Department at MD Anderson came running up to us, and she was VERY excited. With good reason - turns out that someone, we'll call her "the angel in Mississippi who couldn't use her American Idol Tour tickets," donated said tickets to MD Anderson.
Guess who the lucky recipient was? Sahara, of course! AMERICAN FREAKIN' IDOL! One of our favorite shows that we never miss! Sahara had a pretty good day today. Still tired, but improving, still icky at times, but again, improving.
She was going to the show no matter what. It was just a few blocks away at Reliant Center, so it wasn't a hassle getting there. (Thank God!!) She got dolled up and looked absolutely great tonight. Did a fine job of representing the Cardinals with her brand new pink ball cap, and wore her beautiful new Sahara "twin necklace" (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!). I wore one of the Sahara buttons, too!!! SO COOL - you guys ROCK!!!
We took a cab over to Reliant (and didn't get lost or dropped off a mile away, I'm pleased to tell you), and saw so many people, it was just crazy. This show, like the rest of the dates for this tour, was sold out. Went inside and saw a logistical miscalculation ofHUGE proportions...they had set up the merchandise booth directly across from the front entrance. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of people smashed like sardines waiting in line to buy souvenirs. Those lines caused the lines of people trying to get in to back up, and for a while it was sheer chaos. We chose to go to our seats and wait a while to shop.
I ended up going back out myself, because it was so hot and so crowded. Got her a t-shirt and a tour program and she was sooooo happy. :)
I must tell you about the cheese incident. I thought the whole planet served cheese with soft pretzels. Apparently, I was mistaken. I stepped up to the counter to get one for S, because they are one of her most favorite things. Asked for cheese. Was told, "We can't give you cheese. Don't have containers for cheese. Supervisor won't let me give you cheese." Um, there is a giant vat of cheese right in front of me. I asked politely if she might place a pretzel on one of the plastic plates that were being used for nachos, with a dollop of cheese on the side. "Nope. Can't give you a plate. They count the plates." Okay, at this point I am STEAMING at the sheer stupidity of the situation. The supervisor was glaring at me as if I was asking them to prepare me a four-course meal, or worse yet, mess up her little system, and she refused to speak. I proceeded to describe their utter lack of customer service and that it was one of the most ridiculous things I'd ever seen. Finally, the lady at the register made the sneakiest move ever...she grabbed a sheet of waxed paper (gee, I hope they don't COUNT those) and poured some cheese in it, stuffed it under the pretzel paper and was GONE before the supervisor could see the traitorous act against humanity that she had just performed. Wow, she was fast.
Good grief!!!! Why do these things happen to ME???
Got back inside just in time to see Mandisa open up the show with, "I'm Every Woman." That place was going nuts!!! She got the audience on its feet and rocked the house. She was phenomenal. Next out was Ace, who I really wasn't crazy about during the tv show, but really impressed me tonight. He did a great job with"Father Figure" and a Justin Timberlake cover. Then came Lisa Tucker, Paris Bennett (WOW, was she on fire tonight, singing "Midnight Train to Georgia" and Crazy in Love"), Bucky Covington and Kellie Pickler. They were all outstanding, and are truly stars in their own right.
The cutest thing, though was when Bucky finished singing "Superstition," and you could see Kellie up on one of the risers. The music changed...and the next thing I knew the band was playing, "You're the One that I Want," from GREASE!!!Sahara and I laughed and laughed, and sang along to the whole song. It was SO much fun. They were absolutely adorable together.
After that, there was an intermission. Sahara had pretty much worn herself out singing, and it was obvious that it was time to go. She hated to miss Elliott, Chris, Katharine and most of all Taylor...but she was so glad she got the chance to go at all! The wonderful security guards at Reliant got us a cab and waited with us until it got there. Totally made up for the cheese incident!
She was asleep within 15 minutes of getting back to the house. But she has some great memories of a fantastic show to talk about tomorrow! Another little victory today, too. She tied her shoes. Sounds so trivial...but when your right hand hasn't worked in two months, it's a very big deal! God is at work here - she is regaining strength and ability each day. Keep praying, folks - we truly believe that it's working!!!
Love to you all...and have a great Sunday.