Tl;dr: The show was great, Janet was great...

Tl;dr:  The show was great, Janet was great, the city was interesting but smelled like pee and I needed all the help navigating it.

I have to write about going to Houston.

Ok, so first of all, since I'm unemployed, one of the only reasons I was able to see Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso was because my friends, Janet and Jajuan, said I could stay with them.  I consider them both to be my friends, even though Jajuan insists that Janet stole me from him.  😅

They live in a suburb of Houston, so that's nice.  I like suburbs.  I grew up in the woods, so suburbs are a comfortable medium for me in that things are close, but you still have space.  I am NOT a city person.  I don't think I could live in an actual big city, but I can go to them if I need to.

I invited Janet to the concert with me because I didn't want to go alone and Shaun wasn't coming.  She's like me in that she's often up for whatever.  I think we both like experiences.

One thing to know about Janet, though, is that she is a planner.  I do not mean that in a casual sense.  😆  She even out-plans Shaun, which is saying a lot since he was an Eagle Scout and taught to always be prepared.  Me, on the other hand... I didn't often have a lot of choices in life, so I'm good at rolling with whatever happens.  So a Blu + Shaun combo or a Blu + Janet combo is a really great thing.

Days before I even headed to her house, Janet had scoured the parking situation at the venue, made travel plans, and also back-up travel plans.  She had the train all figured out and everything.  I am so grateful to her, because otherwise I would have just tried driving to the venue in my car (which turns out it would have been ok, but you never know).  We ended up taking the train and that was pretty cool.

But let me tell you, I was LOST AS FUCK tryna get to that train.  I was out there in the streets accidentally jaywalking and shit.  I was a whole mess.  She probably should've held my hand like a little kid.  😂  She was thoughtfully looking at the crossings and figuring things out and I was just melting in the heat AND INESCAPABLE HUMIDITY, trying not to die.  She was a lifesaver for that city stuff.

So we got to the venue and found the line and the wait began.  Then we got put into corrals and we could see the side of the stage.  I could hear them doing soundcheck.  I almost cried when I heard Paco's voice in real life, OMG.  Ca7riel came out the back of the stage and took pictures or videos of us.  We all started cheering and waving.  I love how playful he is.  I was so emotional, and the show hadn't even started!

When we were finally let in, I somehow made it to the front, which is fortunate because I'm short.  We were there pretty early, so that helped.  I've seen some pictures and I look like a puppy with my paws over a fence and only my head poking up.  😂  Janet was feeling uncomfortable in the crowd, so she went to the back and that was ok.  I was paying attention to nothing but the guys once they got on stage.  It's stupid because I feel like I only remember bits and pieces.  From the heat and excitement, I was basically on another planet.

The show was great.  I'd definitely see them again.  I think Phoenix was rescheduled, and I'd totally take Shaun to that one if I could find tickets (it's sold out).  I haven't been that lucky, though.

Anyway, before we headed to the show, we met up with Carla and Samuel for lunch.  Me and Carla had nail stuff and animal stuff in common on Facebook, so when she found out I was coming near, we decided to meet up for realz.  It was really fun!  We all got along well and it made me super happy to be able to know more people in real life.  We'll definitely have to get together again the next time I'm in town.  I also got to stay a night with my friend Meia.  I hadn't been able to spend much time with her since we both left Alabama and I missed her greatly, so that was nice.

There were a couple of other people that it would have been great to see, but the timing didn't work out.  That's ok.  I'll definitely be back.  Me and Janet used to hang out frequently when we both lived in Alabama back in the day.  She's been my friend for like, 20 years now!  Then life happened and she moved a few times and then I moved, but we always kept in touch.  Now that she's just a little 13-hour drive away, I can do that in one day.  We're not going to go years without spending time together in real life anymore.

Actual footage of us walking back to the train after the show:

😂😂😂

Full video here.  It's great.  Watch it:

I'll get around to posting a little bit of my video from the concert eventually, but first:

I'll get around to posting a little bit of my video from the concert eventually, but first:  

Look at me in these stills from a video the venue posted. I look like a goblin that wanted to steal Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso's souls. 😂😂😂

I never know wtf my face is doing. Ever. I had no idea that I looked so crazy.

They probably saw me because I was right up front. If so:  Sorry, guys. 😂💙

Just now going through my concert video...

Just now going through my concert video. Apparently, I recorded more songs than I thought... From my back pocket. It's music, and a bunch of knees and crotches. 😂

It's a party in our neighborhood tonight. 😂

It's a party in our neighborhood tonight. 😂

We have one neighbor that's having a graduation party, complete with a DJ. It's been going since around 5.

Someone else is shooting fireworks. Or several someones; I don't know.

I'm not upset. I'm just glad I don't live in fear of my neighbors anymore. These people can have all the fun they want and I'm gonna sit here minding my business and/or comforting my creatures if they're bothered. So far, Cub is the only one having feelings and he went to bed with Shaun, so he's ok.

I mean, I like some of the songs they've played and I could just go sit on the balcony and see if I can see any of the fireworks. I might check it out when I get ready for bed. I'll take this over drugs and fighting and stealing ANY DAY.

OMG, they're playing the Macarena. Gotta go do the dance. It's the law. 😂

This reminds me of the time...

This reminds me of the time I was in Wal-Mart with Shaun and I was trying on shoes and I heard my ex who worked there come out from the back telling another coworker that I was crazy. He mentioned a length of time and that's how I knew it was me he was talking about. It was super hard not to pop out of the aisle I was on like "Who, me?" 😂😂😂

Haha. Yes, I literally put a reminder in my calendar...

Haha. Yes, I literally put a reminder in my calendar the day I got the email that this place was making Red Velvet Tres Leches. 😂 I'm not about to miss that!

Me and Shaun tried a new place for dinner...

Me and Shaun tried a new place for dinner called KūKri Chicken Tikka Tenders. We like spicy food, so we went for the hottest thing they offered.

Y'all see this on the receipt? It wasn't kidding.

We just involuntarily wept through dinner - snotty noses and everything. 😂😂😂 What an exciting Tuesday night. 😂

I just made my first multi-lingual joke...

I just made my first multi-lingual joke and I didn't feel that Shaun appreciated it enough, so:

I'm going to bed early. It's cold and I'm tired and I'm even done with Duolingo for the night.

... I'm done with my habla-gations.

(Because I'm learning Spanish on Duolingo. GET IT!?)

Well, even if no one else thinks it's funny, I do and I'm proud of it. 😂😂😂

De nada y buenas noches. ❤️

Wal-Mart just sent me two shirts in the wrong color...

Wal-Mart just sent me two shirts in the wrong color rather than the one shirt I ordered in the correct color. 🤦🏻

To be fair, neither color selection would look nice on me. I just wanted a shirt with a collar that I could pull up over my nose in case of cold nose or dog farts. 😂

Maybe I should just take the W?

Aging with Shaun like:

Aging with Shaun like:

Shaun:  When do you want lunch?

Me (with my non-hearing ass):  Yeah.

Shaun:  *falls asleep in the recliner*

😂😂😂

I don't think last night was what any of us were expecting. 😂

I don't think last night was what any of us were expecting. 😂

When we were eating dinner, the wind kicked up pretty hard (not unusual for here), but it also started raining hard.

I ran outside and started moving my plants into the greenhouse because I really hate for them to be watered from the top. If water remains on them, it can cause rot and the leaves can also get burn spots if the water is still there when the sun comes back out.

The roof and walls of the greenhouse are up, but the floor isn't done, my shelves aren't in, and in general, moving plants quickly in the dark and the rain is not ideal. Not to mention that I really, really wanted to clean the dust, bird poop, and any possible pests off of them before putting them in there, but at this point I'm just glad I had somewhere dry to put them.

Shaun came out to help me and about the same time we were done moving them, the rain had passed. Of course. 😒 What I didn't know was that there was more on the way. By the time I went to bed, it was raining again. It rained for a long time. I fell asleep listening to it.

I woke up this morning to two funny messages from Shadow. One:  We have a little roof leak in the stairwell. He put a cup underneath to catch it. (This one's only funny because it won't rot my house like it would've in Alabama. It'll dry fast here. We'll get it checked out/repaired and it'll be fine.)

The second message, well, see the image. 😂

This is funny because we ordered a microwave from Best Buy several weeks ago, but it never came, so Shaun called customer service and they sent out another one. We got the second one according to the tracking numbers. But just the other day, the one we ordered first showed up after being lost in the mail for weeks. We assumed it had been stolen. But anyway, it's been sitting in the living room, new in the box, because we didn't know what to do with it. I guess that sorted itself out. 😂

I haven't been awake for long. It's cool and cloudy, so very tempting to stay in bed with my weighted blanket and the cats. But I guess I need to get up, see if we can finish the greenhouse, and check on my plants.

Happy Saturday, y'all. ❤️

Story Time:

Story Time:

Around 15 years ago, when Shaun and I were dating, we were hanging out at his apartment and sharing a large Dr. Pepper from Sonic.

When the Dr. Pepper ran out, he (without my knowledge) refilled the cup with Root Beer, which I extremely dislike.  I took a big sip and found out in the worst way possible what he'd done.

To be fair, he didn't know how I felt about Root Beer and it wasn't malicious.

Today, we are running errands and we ordered Fiiz to pick up. They are out of bubbles, so my soda is flat (they informed me before they made it, and I was fine with that), but Shaun ended up just getting a drink card for his drink.

He asked for a sip of mine to try, and asked if it was Vanilla. As I handed it to him I said "Yes, vanilla and co...", but he'd already drank some. It's Vanilla and Coconut. He does NOT care for coconut. The frown he frowned. 😂😂😂

I didn't do that maliciously. He admits he rushed and got a sip before I was done speaking.

But we're even now. 😂😂😂

Apparently, it's not a deal-breaker...

Apparently, it's not a deal-breaker for Shaun if I drink rotten milk in his car.

I'm not saying that's what I'm doing... But he seems to think it is.

One of us has a messed up sniffer and I don't know who. 😂😂😂

Edited to Add:

Shadow was the tie-breaker. My milk isn't bad. I knew it. 😂

I just looked over at my phone and this was the screen. 😂

I just looked over at my phone and this was the screen. 😂

Google, are you UPSET?! 😂😂😂 Nobody was talking to you!

Making baked tofu and rice for lunch...

Making baked tofu and rice for lunch. I lost my impulse control and ate some tofu after I flavored it, but before I baked it. 😂 It was pretty good.

Googled afterwards and that's fine. I'll live to act like Bear another day. 😂😂😂

Wild child. 😂😂😂

Wild child. 😂😂😂

Look, I am not a loser, ok?

Look, I am not a loser, ok? I'm not just out here losing stuff. Even as a kid I don't recall it happening much. I was brought up to appreciate what I had. If I lost something, it was not getting replaced.

So anyway, we were out last year and Kira wanted this bracelet. It was sometime before Christmas, so I told her we'd get it and it could be part of her holiday gifts. It came from a local Hispanic grocer. The person at the checkout handed it back to me after we paid, so when I got back to the car I dropped it in a Walgreens bag that was going in the house.

We got home and I was aware that we needed to put the bracelet up somewhere safe. I told Shaun that it was still in the bag and to hide it (because he is the gift-hider). Then, I assumed that he did.

Y'all, he DIDN'T. 😂

So anyway, Christmas came and went and we couldn't find this bracelet. Kira was like "Find it for my birthday, then." Fair enough, but if we couldn't find it for Christmas then we really had no idea where to look, though we tried. So her birthday (in March) came and went and STILL no bracelet. We eventually just took her back to the market and replaced it since that was definitely on us.

So today - this morning - I found it. Completely by accident.

Guess where it was.

You can't. 😂

It was still in the Walgreens bag, which was now under my bathroom sink.

The bag was under my sink upstairs because it was going to be used as a trash bag. I grabbed a handful of them recently from our bag drawer in the kitchen and I guess it was in that bunch. So last year someone crammed that "empty" bag in the bag drawer without checking and lost Kira's bracelet. I don't have any idea who did that. But we finally found it.

Happy June 24th, Kira. 😂

We were checking the menu of a new coffee place...

We were checking the menu of a new coffee place today when we saw this. I wonder how that happened. 😂😂😂

Shadow didn't see a difference...

Shadow didn't see a difference in Shaun's teeth before we pointed it out.

Kira saw Shaun's teeth and was like "No offense, but you're teeth were ugly before, like in a unique way. Like a rat." 😂😂😂 Then she said she could tell that they were shorter.

(We value honesty and Shaun's feelings were not hurt and she didn't say that hatefully or anything. Shaun and I both cracked up.)

Before Kira went back upstairs she asked me if I was going to be ok. I didn't answer (not to be a jerk... I think my head was elsewhere at that moment) and she paused and then repeated herself, but as a statement with a stern face looking directly at me. 😂 Yes ma'am. 😂😂😂

I love my little family. 😂❤️

We're watching The Crow.

We're watching The Crow.

It's just started.

Those are literally Ravens.

What the hell?

Edited:

We discussed watching this, like, last weekend. It's my first time.

Shaun was like, "Remember Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son died while making the movie."

I was like "I hope Bruce Lee is ok."

That's when I learned that Bruce Lee was also no longer with us.

Edited again:  He literally quoted "The Raven." What even. I think they misnamed this movie.

Edited again again:  Bruh. His name even has "raven" in it.

Last edit:  I'm done. It was fine. Still think it should've been called "The Raven" though.