With Christmas approaching, the race to buy gifts for your loved ones begin to heat up. It can be a real puzzle, that to get, where to find and arrive on time via the postal service sometimes very ineffective. Well, let's look at some gift options for children and adults. Everyone has a favorite mouse huge merchandising firm behind him. There is something for everyone.

Toys tied Mickey is still very popular, and the rangeenormous. Take a look on Amazon and you'll be really surprised by everything that is available. If children would like a Mickey Mouse Hot Frog dancer or a set of Mickey Mouse Ears, a sweatshirt, pajamas, read everything again, or the fantastic "Fantasia DVD 'is all. In" Games and Department of the game' itself, I 1365 items found in Mickey Mouse uses a keyword search.

If you are a bit 'bigger, and always in search of presents Mickey, we are jewelry, bags, nightgowns, photo frames, mirrorcream spoon, wallpaper, bowls, etc. Something for everyone, from 0 to 100 years.

The range of DVDs on the subject of Mickey is very good, 77 in total, enough to keep children glued to the television for weeks, probably not the best idea, but sometimes it's ok. Some of these films are truly magical. Fantasia is a best-selling children's love and I also love that is never the magic stories of childhood leave us so?

When I took a look and Stationary Office 'section of the Amazon, I was surprised to see Mickey Desk Phones, mortgages and strangely an umbrella with the handle in 3D, in the section of the seat?

I've used Amazon many gift ideas are very good to come with the goods on time, rarely been a problem. This is a one-stop shop for all your gifts of Mickey Mouse is ideal for ideas. It is almost Christmas, but the choice is a gift voucher for the full year, there really is something for everyone. Ialso identified a 'Mickey Mouse "Plane Crazy" Desk Lamp ", one thinks of this idea. There are many other outlets offer customized Mickey Mouse Toys, that advertise on the Internet and provide a service equal to that of' Amazon to verify .

Friends Link : Cheapest Toys

A black metallic Mickey watch
with a classic gold ‘watch face’ that adds a hint of glitz!

Dimension: 4.5cm x 5.5cm
Price to own it: $30

The Disney on Ice performance troupe is set to thrill Shanghai with their new show “Disneyland Adventure” in the new year. Running from January 20-25 at Shanghai International Gymnastics Center, the show will feature an array of Disney’s most famous characters.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy will all be present, alongside new characters The Incredibles – seen for the first time on ice. There will also be Pirates of the Caribbean, Stitch the Bulldog and Toy Story-themed performances.

The 10 lavish performances by professional skaters will recreate scenes performed at the original Disneyland Park in California.

Tweede Pinksterdag, voor vele gelovigen onder ons een zinloze dag, wat ik met ze eens ben, maar de Ikea en andere meubel reuzen zeker niet.

Maar om deze dag nuttig in te vullen, althans ik hing al voor de televisie en was vast besloten eens heel flink niks te gaan doen, toen mijn altijd ijverige vrouw de stofzuiger op mijn gespierde schoot gooide en mij verkondigde, dat we maar eens gezamenlijk mijn atelier op moesten gaan ruimen.

Dus het is eigenlijk Xandra’s schuld dat we deze tweede Pinksterdag nuttig gingen invullen.

De keiharde Pinkster seks hadden we al gehad, dus liep ik weldra fluitend de trap af naar mijn atelier, zouden ze die ook ooit na gaan bouwen in een museum, net als die van Frida Kalho en Herman Brood, mocht dat zo zijn, zou ik daar in tegenstelling tot Frida en Herman graag bij zijn.

Laat ik niet teveel af dwalen naar mijn natte dromen, en verder gaan met dit verhaal.

Toen ik de houten deur opendeed naar mijn atelier slaakte ik een net even veel te hoog schrikkreetje, die Dolly Parton ook moet hebben geslaakt, toen ze één van haar toen nog niet beroemde borsten op het hoofd van haar eerste vriendje Billy the Clit liet vallen toen hij haar oraal verkende, dit koste de arme Billy zijn tong en een deel van zijn toch al niet erg hoge intelligentie.

Ik slaakte het gilletje omdat er een prachtig piep klein grijs zilverrug muisje op een karntonnendoos in mijn atelier lag dood te wezen.

Terwijl mijn vrouw aan de schoonmaak begon, zakte ik weg in mijn verdriet, wat ik wel vaker doe als ik moet schoonmaken, maar dit keer had ik een gegronde reden, Mickey muis was gestorven in mijn atelier nog wel.

Zou het een natuurlijke dood zijn geweest spookte het door mijn kop.

Zo te zien was er niemand op hem gaan staan, en zag ik geen wondjes of rare opzwellingen bij Mickey.

Boos keek ik omhoog mijn etalage ruit door naar de grijze lucht, God hoe kon je dit beestje tot je nemen.

Waarom nou, hij was nog zo jong die kleine rakker.

Of was dit weer zo’n doordenker van Jezus, die in de huid van Mickey Schiedam op stelten had willen zetten, vast niet.

Jammer dat het geen oorlog was, dan hadden de mensen blij geweest met Mickey’s dood.

Ik bedoel dan hadden ze hem lekker verorberd, ik moest er niet aan denken, daar moest dus eerst een oorlog voor uitbreken van heb ik jou daar.

Zou het kleine knagertje mij ooit gezien hebben, terwijl ik schilderde, tekende of gewoon met mijn plasser zat te spelen?

En wie weet is hij er wel één van een hele grote asociale kut familie, je weet maar nooit.

Worden er langzaam gaten in mijn werken gevreten, waar ze dan weer aan dood gaan, en ik ook op den duur van trieste ellende door het muizen geknaag.

Maar daar lag hij dan maar precies op het logootje van het breekbaar glaasje op de kartonnen verhuisdoos.

Hij was te breekbaar en zijn ziel is verhuisd, dacht ik poëtisch, en afgezaagd.

Net toen ik dacht over zijn begrafenis of crematie, zei mijn vrouw of k hem in de put wilde gooien.

Wat ordinair, zei ik maar niet.

Ik zou hem moeten opzetten, en ieder jaar met tweede Pinksterdag zijn dood moeten vieren, als concurrent van de meubelboulevards, dat had een stunt geweest, dan wel een stunt waar niemand verder ooit enige aandacht aan zou schenken, zeker de meubelboulevards niet.

Ik raapte mijn moed bij elkaar en niet veel later gooide ik Mickey in de put.

Zachtjes zei ik dag vriendje.

Hij dreef daar weer net zo mooi de kleine prins, als hij dood lag op de kartonnen doos.

Op zijn ruggetje met zijn witte buikje omhoog.

Snel liep ik weer terug naar mijn atelier, het was best koud buiten in dit grijze begrafenis weer…..

Christmas Movies

Lets face it. Christmas time is a time for movies. The tradition of watching Christmas movies is one exciting time. Night after night we curl up on the couch and catch yet another Christmas movie. We might make a fire and some hot drink. It’s a big part of this time of the year.

Here is my personal list of Christmas Movies that are my favorites and then a list of those that didn’t quite make my list.

Top Ten Christmas Movies

1. Elf

2. Polar Express

3. A Christmas Carol

4. Home Alone

5. It’s a Wonderful life

6. The Santa Clause

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas

8. White Christmas

9. Mickey’s Christmas Carol

10. The Grinch that Stole Christmas (cartoon)

Top Ten Others Considered:

1. The Night They Saved Christmas

2. Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer

3. Scrooged

4. Christmas at the Kranks

5. Four Christmases

6. Santa Claus is Coming to Town

7. Christmas Shoes

8. Frosty the Snowman

9. The Year without a Santa Claus

10. Michey’s Once Upon a Christmas

Favorite New Christmas Special:

Prep and Landing

Tired of:

1.     A Christmas Story

2.     Miracle on 34^th street

Am I missing any that should have been on the top 10?

Pluto, Mickey, Chip, Dale…multă voie bună

Donaaaald!

si aici…mai degrabă Winter Specials:

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy embark on a great adventure when they find a magical book in the loft. As they turn the pages, they will discover Snow White, Cinderella… With real Disney’s songs and characters. From December 18th to January 3rd in the Palacio Municipal de Congresos.

“Too live, too ill/ too hot, to chill/ oxymoronic, but to be honest, you will feel/ two dudes, like a broad that’s having a threesome.”

Going in over Kanye West’s “Two Words,” both A-Smash and Mickey deliver line after line of lyrical onslaught. Link below, people.

Mickey Factz took to his Twitter account to release some music from A-Smash, featuring himself.

DOWNLOAD: aSmash – New Words (ft. Mickey Factz)

Joan Of Arc

Hey all you cool garage kids and aging garage daddies…(?), FRIDAY brings FRESH MEAT in the form of a band called Strange Reactor, playing the Mutiny with The Curtains, or you could play it safe and head over to the all encomapassing Empty Bottle to see the Mannequin Men, White Mystery, Blasted Diplomats, and Village do their thing(s). If I were you I would get my brain blown to psychedelic pieces by Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor, The Great Society Mind Destroyers, Dark Fog, Moonrises, and Rabble Rabble at the Automatic loft, then again, Criminal IQ Records is having their Holiday Party at the Metal Shaker with music from Holy Shit!, The Krunchies, Truthdealer, and Culo, but those wishing to get their XXX on may opt for the “Party Orgy” hosted by Dr. Manhattan, Truman & His Trophy, Or So It Goes, and Animal City at the Subterranean. Local favorites Hollows and Paper Mice play the Mopery, and for something a little different as far as female fronted, keyboard pop is concerned, My Gold Mask and Reds and Blue play Quencher’s. SATURDAY makes for easier life decisions– spread some tacky Christmas cheer with a rockabilly-pop-punk holiday show from the Snow Angels (members of Mannequin Men, Vee Dee, Johnny & the Limelites, and the Frigates) at the Hideout, or head over to the Ottoman Empire for another dose of garage punk from Mickey, Brain Idea, Empty Heads, and Possible Fathers. Avant-acid-opera-pop Chia Pet reunites for their first show since 1994 at the Beat Kitchen with The House That Gloria Vanderbuilt and Prizzy Prizzy Please, Al Scorch (the friendliest guy in Chicago) plays his mighty fast banjo at the Cole’s Holiday Extravaganza and the ladies of the Detroit Cobras get down at the Double Door. Finally, end your weekend on SUNDAY at the Empty Bottle with a nice and mellow $3 Joan of Arc show.

Disney Epic Mickey . A heroic tale of redemption and discovery, Disney Epic Mickey is a single player, action-platforming game for the Nintendo Wii, featuring an iconic and retro Mickey Mouse inspired by cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s. Pulled into a warped Disney universe called the Cartoon Wasteland by an evil villain, Mickey finds himself in a world inhabited by the retired and forgotten cartoon characters and attractions from Disney’s past.

Mickey must use the very elements of himself and the world, paint and paint thinner, to explore the Cartoon Wasteland, find the source of evil that is destroying the land, and redeem his fellow cartoon characters including Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first cartoon star and Mickey’s resentful half-brother. With visionary game designer Warren Spector behind the title, players choose their own path to defeat supreme evil, face the consequences of those decisions and ultimately free the Cartoon Wasteland.

Get Iron Man at Amazon.com: DVD / Blu-Ray

Paramount released the trailer for what could be next year’s biggest movie. Iron Man 2, starring a star-studded ensemble cast including Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlet Johansson, Samuel Jackson, and Sam Rockwell, and directed by Jon Favreau, will either be another sophomore flop for Marvel or evidence that the studio is taking its IPs more seriously.

The trailer presents Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in front of Congress denying the government the rights to the weapon and declaring, “I have successfully privatized world peace.” Mickey Rourke gets extensive coverage in scenes hinting at what looks like a revenge story for his character, Whiplash, who looks like he has a score to settle with the Stark name. Stark will have to deal with the side effects of the arc reactor embedded in his chest — one shot shows him looking concerned at the glowing blue veins in his abdomen.

You’ll also see Johansson in action as the Black Widow, a cameo of Rockwell as Stark’s rival, Justin Hammer, and a cool shot of Iron Man and his new partner War Machine firing on what could either be robots or men in Iron Man-inspired suits. The trailer is brilliant. Without giving away too much and simultaneously alluding to much more, it looks like next year’s Dark Knight.

     Well, when my wife said that she wanted to move to North Carolina cuz she wanted to get away from the cold winters, I thought it will be a great time for me to focus on writing and performing comedy.  However, as I’m trying to get my foot in the door here in NC, it’s not paying the bills.  So I’ve applied for several jobs.  Jobs that I’m very qualified for, and jobs I’ve never had any experience in.  I’ve applied for jobs ranging from Manager jobs, to cashier at a retail store.  And the job I finally got a call back on is taking inventory at various stores in the area.  Not exactly my first choice, but I think I can count stuff.  Something I learned by watching the Count on Sesame Street when I was a kid!  “One!  Ah, Ah, Ah, One small paycheck!  Ah,Ah, Ah!”  I’m actually looking forward to my new job though, cuz applying for jobs every day is exhausting!  Plus, with this job, it gives me an opportunity to work up the ladder rather quickly.  It’s not a full time job, so I can still focus a lot of time on comedy, which I’m sure is going to take off for me within this next year.  So, tomorrow I start.  And if I don’t see you before, Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I’ll be counting underwear and stuff! 

This blog was brought to you today by the number 8 and the letter P.

Mic-Key Handphone Accessories

Mic-Key Handphone Accessories

Price : Rp. 6,000

Available Colour :
Puple (SOLD) – soft purple – Yellow – pink (SOLD) – soft pink – blue (sold) – green – orange – turquoise – white

The differences between me and Chuck Norris are very subtle.  For instance, Chuck Norris blows his birthday candles out with a roundhouse kick from the other side of the room.  I can’t even spell rowndhowse kick.  Chuck Norris can circle the globe several times in the opposite rotation with super speed in order to back up time.  I can’t even run backwards without falling down.  Chuck Norris can light a match from his stubble.  I can barely grow stubble.  Chuck Norris turned down the role of “Wolverine” cuz the character wasn’t tough enough.  I wouldn’t have turned it down.  And, Chuck Norris works out with Christie Brinkley on the Total Gym commercials.  I just think about Christie Brinkley when I masturbate.

. . . Esta chida, no?

[0100101110101101]

Simple technique changes sex of a mouse – and reveals the gender war that rages in all of us

By Steve Connor, Science Editor, The UK Independent

“The battle of the sexes is a never-ending war waged within ourselves as male and female elements of our own bodies continually fight each other for supremacy. This is the astonishing implication of a pioneering study showing that it is possible to flick a genetic switch that turns female ovary cells into male testicular tissue.”

Click to read the rest of the article…

A few days ago my father emailed me the above video. It’s from a project called the The Fun Theory. The Fun Theory is basically a group that is using various crowd sourcing techniques to help brainstorm ideas that make common everyday tasks fun–in an effort to change people’s behavior for the better. It can be for the betterment of the environment, your neighborhood, or yourself. I like the concept because they ask one of the most important questions, that is often times left out of the equation, “is it fun?”

Before I started my own business, I was the IT guy at a real estate company. One of my tasks while there, was to develop an internal lead management system that we could use to evaluate incoming leads. The primary person responsible for using this system was a woman that had just returned to work after suffering the tragic loss of her teenage daughter in a car accident. From experience I knew that data entry is a very dismal task even for someone that hadn’t suffered a devastating life change. Therefore, I decided to code this system a little bit differently. After she had input a new lead into the system, the application would literally tell her a joke. All of the jokes were very corny and most were scraped from stupid websites, but despite that it worked! She loved the system, and it ended up being one of the tasks she would complete first during her day. The system was not only functional, but also fun.

OK so don’t worry, despite the fact that I have already admitted to being a hippie. I am not going to force you to sing kum bi ya and hold hands. No, I have not forgotten, this is a marketing blog and we need to talk about money.

Is fun profitable?

I don’t have any numbers to support this theory (give me a break I am a snarky blogger, not a scientist), but I am willing to bet that fun can be extremely profitable! Let’s take a look at a few examples:

Google Image Labeler – This is a cool little game, developed by Google, where the user is paired up with another and both must try to guess the same tags of an image shown. It’s incredibility addicting, and if you are as geeky as I am, fun too! However, “fun” isn’t the function. Every time you add a tag to the image you are inadvertently helping Google tag and organize all of the images in its index, thus improving Google’s Image Search feature.

Funny USB Drives – You know those little key chain sized USB drives? Well, some companies have started to develop them in the shape of all sorts of things. Take a look at this one and tell me that isn’t fun!

Disney – In this example “fun” is the function! Pretty much everything that Disney does is entertainment centered. When “fun” is the function, the rules change a bit because we aren’t marketing the product through a fun experience, rather we are creating a fun experience only.

Volkswagen – So the most obvious example of fun from Volkswagen would be its classic Beetle. If you talk to anyone that owns one of those they will tell you that they absolutely love it. But if you want a more recent example of how Volkswagen is using fun, go back to The Fun Theory that we discussed above and you will notice that Volkswagen is the project’s chief sponsor. Um, why would Volkswagen sponsor a silly project like that? Because, it helps them continue their brand as the feel good, fun loving company that hippies love! And, because it gets them exposure! Remember when I said that my dad sent me that video? Well, when I say video, I mean it! He didn’t send me the YouTube link. He sent me a 7MB video file, attached!! He took the time to figure out how to do that (I have no idea who taught him) because he wanted to make damn sure I got it! That type of brand exposure is extremely powerful!

All of the above are examples of Experience Marketing (via). Experience Marketing is a tactic that puts the consumers’ experience at the forefront of the design and development process. For folks that dabble in Experience Marketing, function isn’t the only end use. Details such as aesthetics, design, and concept also play a crucial role. These products are meant to be “experienced” just as much (if not more) as they are meant to be “used”.

So, if you want to try out Experience Marketing for yourself, take a look at your products and ask yourself, “are they fun?”

Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!

I recieved yesterday a pin my grandparents picked up for me. I think it is pretty awesome.

I created 3 differnt options that you can take a look at….

Option #1: I used the starfish and sand dollar layout.  The last layer of cardstock is a striking aqua blue and the middle layer is a light purple shimmer textured cardstock.  The Swarovski crystal Mickey Mouse head is place above all the wording on this invitation….

Option #2: 

For this one I used almost the same cardstock color scheme…the only difference is that the bottom layer of cardstock is slightly darker in color and more blue than the previous and also this one has shimmer sheen to it where the first one was a matte cardstock.  I used the starfish layout  and placed the Swarovski crystal Mickey head accent above your names.  I also used the font that you had mentioned that you liked and accented the names in a sea foam green color….

Option #3:

Here is the same starfish layout as the previous one.  For this one I decided to try a sand colored pattern paper for the middle layer and I used the shimmer lavender for the bottom layer.  The same font was used for this one but instead I accented your names in lavender. 

This is absolutely our favorite educational software package. Great graphics, different levels of play, and so much to do!! It’s easy for kids to remember which games are on each disc, and it’s very easy for them to start up the disc they want and navigate through the software.

Within each game there are different levels to play according to ability. The Phonics Quest is challenging (in a good way) and not overly difficult so it’s perfect for early readers – and even our preschooler has fun playing that game – though for him it’s hit or miss (as he doesn’t read yet). He loves the mom dragons and their cute babies, which players need to match up according to phonic sounds.

It runs very well on our older XP PC; although if it’s left unattended for awhile the screen size reduces and you might need to hit “esc” to exit. But that’s no big deal and doesn’t take away from the quality of the software.

This is definitely a winner – super cute brightly colored graphics, numerous great games, and very easy for even a young user to navigate. This is overall high quality software. Enjoy!!

Disney Learning Kindergarten Bundle (Pooh Kindergarten, Mickey Kindergarten, and Phonics Quest) Reviews

Disney Learning Kindergarten featuring Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh can teach children fundamental learning skills while fueling their creativity and imagination. A life-long love of learning is reinforced through stimulating activities that inspire a child’s creative thinking skills. Also included, Disney’s Phonics Quest, join Mickey on a quest as the sorcerer’s apprentice to uncover the magic of phonics fun! Mickey’s quest begins as he opens the sorcerer’s magic book and loses six of the Sorcerer’s belongings. He then takes a challenging journey to retrieve the lost magical items. As each challenge is mastered, Mickey regains one of the Sorcerer’s belongings so he can triumphantly return to the castle. Children 5-7 will have fun searching for the missing items while mastering phonics skills along the way! This software would make the perfect gift for a child on their way to kindergarten! Get a jump start on learning your letters and numbers! Knowledge is power, get started early! Product Requirements For Use: Windows Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me Pentium processor, 166 MHz or faster, 32 MB RAM or greater, 60 MB free hard disk space, 8X speed CD-ROM drive, 16 bit DirectX-compatible sound card, 16 bit color, DirectX-compatible 4MB video card, DirectX 8.0(included) Optional: Java-compatible web-browser (i.e. Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.08 or later. Macintosh OS 8.6 through 9.1 Imac, G3 or better, 32 MB free hard disk space, 4X speed CD-ROM drive Thousands of colors video display. Dimensions: 1.3″H x 7.6″L x 5.3″W Weight: .3lbs

Disney Learning Kindergarten Bundle (Pooh Kindergarten, Mickey Kindergarten, and Phonics Quest) Features

• Winnie the Pooh Kindergarten w/French & Spanish brings parents and young children a fun set of educational games they can enjoy together
• Play eight games and 25 learning skills like Eeyore’s Musical Mix & Match, Owl’s Memory Challenge, and Rabbit’s Shape Sorting
• Mickey Mouse Kindergarten introduces fundamental learning skills as they play with Mickey
• As children play, they’ll develop critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities
• Explore fun word games with Goofy and Tigger

Check Price and Read More Details of Disney Learning Kindergarten Bundle (Pooh Kindergarten, Mickey Kindergarten, and Phonics Quest)…>>

Disney Learning Kindergarten Bundle (Pooh Kindergarten, Mickey Kindergarten, and Phonics Quest) Customer’s Reviews

Pooh part was a big hit – Kevin M. Fishel –
The kids really only played with the Pooh game. They still do in fact. The game is a resource hog, and frequently bogged down our computer, but it’s an older system so….

OS X 10.4 PPC does *not* work – Kayne A. McGladrey –
I’m running OS X 10.4 on a PPC G5. This machine was upgraded from OS X 10.3.

I’ve been working with computers for fifteen years, so you think that I’d know better. Not so much.

This software took over two hours to attempt to install. Yes, two *hours* of my life that I’m not getting back. And in the end, it did not work.

You see, it says that it’s OS X “Classic” compatible, except that assumes you’ve got a “Classic” folder on your Mac. Because I started with OS X 10.3, I never *had* a “Classic” folder; those were the antiquated Macs that were toys. There’s no way to download a “Classic” folder from Apple, either, and if you download the 9.2.x “upgrade” from Apple, you can’t INSTALL it in OS X because you don’t _have_ a “Classic” folder. Classic catch-22.

Reading the system requirements I also saw that this nightmare from Disney supports Windows. Fine. Microsoft – back in 2004 – made a product for OS X called “Virtual PC”. I tried to find a copy of this to download and install, except it looks like it’s been discontinued, it’s unsupported, and only updates are available through Mactopia (the Microsoft Mac website).

I could have also given up. A sensible person would have given up and filed a return with Amazon.

Enter Q. Yes, what a wonderful name for a product *that* is, “Q”. Q stands for let’s-try-this-last-ditch-freeware-virtualization-emulator-for-PPC. I dusted off a copy of Windows XP, loaded the emulator, and lost another half hour of my life.

I gave up because the “Q” emulation – my attempt to make Windows work on an older Mac to support this garbage software – stalled out at 50%.

So I filed a return with Amazon.

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Three hours sleep and before I know it, I’ve got a window seat with Southwest Airlines and I’m en route to Dallas, Texas. Extremely excited for what’s to come within the next 48 hours, but at the same time, extremely tired due to previous nights activities. My excitement and nerves prevail over my lack of sleep. I’m bright eyed and on edge when we touch down at Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas.

Bull Crossing at the Stock Yards

With a quick stop over at our hotel (The Sheraton Arlington over by Six Flags Over Texas, which, by the way, was absolutely superb and a gem of a find (3.5 star Arlington – Grand Prairie Hotel choice on Hotwire for $53 plus tax, normally $150 per night)) we headed over to one of my favourite places in all of Texas, the Fort Worth Stock Yards, to get a feel of real Texas. It was a chilly 39 degrees Fahrenheit out; an extreme difference from the Orlando humidity that we left behind hours earlier. The best cure to keep warm was the cure for many of life’s problems… shopping! Oh, and how could I forget, a trip to my most  favourite candy store in the whole entire world!

I started to eat my way through the candy store…

Om nom nom nom...

But apparently this is a punishable offense in Fort Worth…

Life imprisonment for the consumption of too much candy??

I scored myself an early release thanks to some good friends who paid bail. Thank goodness for that. Could you imagine telling the other inmates what I was serving time for?!? Ridiculous! I quickly got over my jail stint and not before too long, it was time to catch up with some mates over dinner at Chilis.

Back to the hotel, some quick Facebook, Twitter, Skype and MSN time, five hours of sleep and beep, beep, beep, beep, off goes the alarm at 5:30am! So sleepy. Eyelids so heavy. Eyelids slowly closing. NO! Stay awake. Eyelids heavy; drooping. AWAKE! Today is the day!!! Nervessss <insert gagging action here>.

We began our seven hour drive down to Corpus Christi just after 7am. It felt like the longest seven hours of my life, mainly because of what was still to come. We talked; we napped; we ate; we joked; we laughed… Actually, we laughed rather hard at this sign on the back of a truck that was in front of us in traffic…

Yeah, that's what he said! Haha.

We eventually made it to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Corpus Christi, which we also scored on Hotwire for an insanely good price. We dumped our stuff in our hotel room then got dropped off at the American Bank Center Arena at around 4pm. Here is where we met with Kelly Clarkson’s security, Brian. He escorted us into the arena and we found ourselves a seat while we watched Kelly Clarkson’s band rehearse during sound check.

Empty arena while the band rehearses for the big show tonight.

Next it was my turn to jump up onstage and sing with Kelly Clarkson’s band. I wanted to vomit on myself. I was so bloody nervous. I felt like I was about to give an oral presentation in class, and God knows how much I hated those parts of my assessment. I was introduced to Kelly’s band members and we started to chat while we got organised. They were all so sweet and make me feel a little more at ease. I can’t sing for the sake of my life which makes me want to puke all over the place even more, but I try my best and sing Kelly’s current single, ‘Already Gone‘.

Those 3.5 minutes felt like an eternity but I am so glad I got to do what I had just done. I jump off stage and run to Nicole who informs me that  she didn’t want to startle me, but Kelly Clarkson had come out and was sitting in the front row watching me while I was up on stage. I was so nervous that I didn’t even look around the arena while I was singing. Once Nicole told me that, I was angry at myself for not noticing Kelly there, but at the same time, I was kind of relieved I didn’t see her. If I had noticed her sitting there, I think I would have froze in fear and then perhaps either a) wet my pants, b) vomit or c) a and b combine. Haha. What a great impression that would have been! I will spare your ears the agony and continue to allow you to live your life with the gift of sound by not posting and video of me singing.

Nicole and I right after I got down from the stage

We got to sit there and watch a bit more of the sound check before heading out to dinner at Whataburger.

After dinner, we met up with Brian again and he took us out back of the arena to meet the one and only, Miss. Kelly Clarkson!!! Although having met her several times back home in Australia, I still freak out and get nervous. What do I say? I don’t want to come across as a stuttering fool!?!

The doors swing open and out comes Kelly, all cool and down to earth. She’s so cute and tiny up close. She’s also very short, but I already knew this. She sees me standing there and walks over while she begins to tell me that she saw me singing on stage earlier. I apologize for any damage I may have caused to her ears and she starts to laugh at me while giving me a big hug. She asks about my accent and I tell her I’m actually from Australia but I’ve been interning at Disney World. Kelly seems to get really excited by this and thinks it’s the coolest thing ever that I work at Cirque du Soleil. She notices I have a Disney World bag in my hand and asks if it’s for her. I nod my head and remove the Minnie Mouse Christmas stocking from the bag. “Adorable” she says with a smile from ear to ear. I explain that the stocking is stuffed with Disney treats for her and the band and that she should share. I go to put the stocking back into the bag but she grabs at it and digs her hand inside to check out what it’s filled with. The first thing she sees when she looks inside the stocking is a Disney Christmas rice crispy treat.

Kelly: Is that a rice crispy treat?!!?!?!??! (She asks in a way too excited voice. She reminds me of a little kid!)
Me: Yes, Disney style.
Kelly: OH MY GOD! I LOVE rice crispy treats! I’m so eating this all by myself!
Me: Share!
Kelly: Not the rice crispy treats!

It’s photo time. I apologize to Kelly in advance if this will muck up her already styled stage hair, but I’d like to have our photo wearing Disney Santa hats. I usually get silly photos with Kelly but figured I wanted something Christmassy (cause tis’ the season) that would remind me of my time at Disney so I bought along my Minnie Santa hat and I bought Kelly a Mickey Santa hat.

Kelly thinks the hats are too cute and does not seem too bothered about it possibly messing up her hair. She yells out that she has a ‘fat head’ while she struggles to fit the hat over her ears. When she finally gets it on I tell her that her Mickey ears are crooked so she straightens them up and asks me how she looks; “Adorable” I answer back.

Kelly: Are you going to smile real big???
Me: Well, yeah, of course!
Kelly: AWESOME! Me too!

*snap*

We are so damn cute!

We chatted a bit more before her Tour Manager, Tim, gave me the ‘wind it up‘ signal. We said our goodbyes and then had one last hug before I left the meet and greet room to make my way into the arena to find my seat in preparation for the concert.

KC doing what she does best <3

I could go on and on and on about how amazing the concert was. Kelly was sharp as always, her vocals were spot on and she looked great. She’s has such an amazing energy on stage and it generates through out the audience. She really is a rare talent to find these days and I will continue to be a fan for many more years to come.

For me, this show was like a bitter sweetness. I had just had the most amazing day possible singing on stage with Kelly’s band, watching her band sound check, meeting Kelly Clarkson and scoring free tickets to the concert. If you could not tell, that was the sweeter part of the bitter sweetness. At the same time, it drew an end to the three shows I had the opportunity to see on the ‘All I Ever Wanted’ U.S.A. tour. Bitter. Actually, bitter, with a side of bitter; I will be missing the Australian tour in April of 2010 because I will still be in Florida. Sad. But sweet. I mean, it’s not every day you get to say you work at Disney World!

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