The show was fabulous! I never saw the movie, so it was all new to me. It was so, so good! And the Beyonce part was played by Syesha Mercado, of American Idol fame. And she was fantastic. And the chick who played the Jennifer Hudson role was so good she repeatedly gave me chills. And before this tour, she really was only an extra in a few musicals. She’s going to be the next big thing!

The one thing about the show that sucked was my view. I bought these tickets a long time ago (my mom’s birthday is early December) so they were good seats, smack dab in the center in one of the first few rows of the balcony. But instead of seeing singers in sparkly outfits, I looked at this.

Yep, the back of this man’s head. I know it is hard to understand just what it is like, so I did a mock up of what it looked like when performers were on stage.

Thankfully I could just lean into my mom’s personal space so I could actually see AND hear what was going on.

After the show, my mom and I went to a nice steak dinner. We took our time, had great food, good conversation and plenty of alcohol.

After dinner we continued her belated birthday celebration at an Irish bar, with more drinks! My mom lives with my Grandma and doesn’t get out a lot, so she got to decide how long we stayed out. And we had an awesome night. It was great to just be able to sit and chat, especially since I hadn’t seen my mom since Christmas.

Today, of course because I am old, I was a wee bit hungover, so I spent the day on the couch watching TV. I left for all of 20 minutes to drive to Taco Bell to pick up some food. But other than that, my couch and I were inseparable today. Which is how most Sundays should be, in my book.

So tell me, how was your weekend? Do anything exciting? Did you watch The Pregnancy Pact? Spill it, internet!

For instance, I just noticed that I was given an extra $700 in my most recent paycheck. And while I wanted to keep my mouth shut and say nothing (HELLO, FREE LAPTOP) I just couldn’t. There was no way I could not tell someone. Maybe I wouldn’t have said something right away, but after the worry ate a hole in my stomach, I’d let them know. It wasn’t as if I would ever spend that money. I can talk a big game, but it wasn’t mine, and I knew it.

Anyway, so last night I went to see Mamma Mia with my friend Schwerer. The show was excellent. Surprisingly, with all the Broadway shows I’ve seen, I’ve never seen Mamma Mia before. I didn’t even see the movie. The musical was EXCELLENT. The second act is a snooze fest until the end, but the end more than makes up for it. Especially when the cast comes out to perform an encore and encourages the audience to sing and dance along! Good times!

We saw the show out in the suburbs near my work. We met for dinner and headed over to the theater in enough time to get our seats before the show started. We both drove separately, so we followed the signs for the parking lot with the rest of the theater-goers. The problem is that it wasn’t until you were in the parking line, the ONE WAY, line, that they said it was CASH ONLY. So I panicked. Because I had only $5 with me. And the parking? WAS TWENTY DOLLARS!

So I pulled off to the side and called Schwerer, praying she had $20 on her I could borrow. Turns out, she ONLY had $20, which was enough to park her car. And since I was in a line of cars and there was no exit, I freaked out and pulled up to the booth hoping the lady would cut me some slack. Or at least tell me how to exit.

They wouldn’t take just $5, sadly. But they did take checks and she was surprised I didn’t have my checkbook on me. I honestly don’t even know the last time I WROTE a check. So no, I don’t have my checkbook with me, parking lot lady. IT IS TWENTY TEN! (Nope, still doesn’t sound right.)

Thankfully she did show me how to exit and told me I could park next door in the hotel’s parking garage, as they took cards. And, bonus! The hotel parking garage was cheaper! But I had to walk up a snowy hill to get to the theater, so it was a wash.

Like I said, the show was great, until the end when some chubby man in spandex and platform boots lectured me about donating money for Haiti. I understand the tragedy and have donated money, but this was not the place. Talk about buzzkill after seeing such an uplifting, energetic, happy show!

Anyway, the show ended and I walked back down the snowy hill to the parking garage. The garage said to take my ticket with me, so I did. I assumed there would be pay machines somewhere. I didn’t see them anywhere, so I figured at the very least, there would be a pay machine near the exit for those of us idiots who forgot to pay. Because this is how it is in EVERY parking garage in the city of Chicago.

Apparently the suburbs are different. There was no pay box. And the machine that took your ticket didn’t look like it took credit cards either. So I panicked.

There was a car in front of me, and after hemming and hawing, I decided at the last possible minute to GUN IT and follow the car out of the garage. I thought the gate arm-thingy was going to snap off and I was going to get arrested. It did hit my car, but bounced right back up.

I drove the rest of the way home just waiting to get pulled over by the cops for skipping out on my parking fee. I was a nervous wreck driving home. And I literally couldn’t fall asleep because I felt so GUILTY that I skipped out on paying at a HOTEL parking garage. Like they aren’t making money hand over fucking fist anyway. Like my $5 was really going to break their bank.

But it didn’t matter. It was the principle! I broke the law! I STOLE PARKING! I almost busted through the gate! I SHOULD BE THROWN IN JAIL!

I’m still half expecting that I’ll get some sort of bill in the mail because they have cameras or something and they will trace my license plate. And I’m sure there will be a photo of my scared face, ducking in my car to get out of the way of the gate arm thingy that was coming down…on the roof of my car, NOT my head.

And somehow, in my mind, this is way worse than having a fake ID. A fake ID I got from the actual DMV.

So tell me, what is the worst thing you’ve done? The biggest law you’ve broken?

But don’t tell me anything too bad, I don’t want to have to feel guilty that one of you once stole money off an old lady or something. I have enough stomach problems as it is.

So I didn’t post on Sunday night. I usually always post on Sunday nights, only because I have no excuse to not post and because it is a good way to start the week off. But I think the way I’m handling this whole losing my job thing is by sleeping. I took a two-hour nap on Sunday afternoon, woke up at 6:45 and decided I was tired enough to go right back to bed. So I brushed my teeth and took out my contacts and hunkered down for a good 10 hours of sleep. Going to bed before 8 PM I was convinced I’d wake up at 3 AM and be wide awake. I figured I’d blog then. And make my lunch. And do all the things I didn’t do Sunday night.

I slept until the alarm went off at 6 AM.

Not that I had a shitload to write about anyway. I got laid off at work. That was pretty much the highlight of my weekend. It’s funny how I had all these posts to write, all these ideas in my head and when a bombshell like that is dropped, you kind of forget aboout all that other stuff. And sleep, apparently.

I spent the weekend at my brother’s house, hanging out with him and my sister-in-law and my niece and nephew. It was the perfect way to spend a weekend and just what I needed. I drank beer and ate pizza and played with Noah and Skyler. After dinner the neighbors had a bonfire and we sat outside and drank more beer, until the mosquitoes ate OUR FACES. So we went inside and drank more beer. Just what I needed.

I did get to see my nephew in his second to last T-ball game. Which means I got to try out my new camera. Not too shabby, huh?

I’m so glad he got a good team to play for, and not the Cardinals or something.

And this was the shirt I wore all day!

And we can’t forget my favorite niece.

Who CLEARLY takes after her Auntie.

You can see the rest of the photos here.

And the tonight, my mom and I headed down to The Taste of Chicago because cast members from the Broadway in Chicago shows were performing tonight. Which means that our favorite boys from Jersey were performing at the show! And! Jarrod Spector, who is the main Frankie Valli, performed tonight. Which made me squee with glee like a school girl!

We were way far away, but I zoomed to try and get him. And just looking at this photo makes my heart got a-flutter. And made my mom and I decide we HAVE to go see it again. I love it THAT. MUCH.

That’s my fake Frankie Valli in the red shirt on the left. And Fake Frankie Valli, if you’re reading, I may or may not start stalking you and your lovely falsetto. You’ve been warned.

And then I sat behind a hot guy on the train home and almost licked his neck. One, because I thought “hmmm, this will be good blog material” and two, he was yummy. But then the train was kind of full and well, I had a few beers at the Taste, but not that many.

And now it is time for bed. Because almost-jobless Kristabella = sleepy Kristabella. I’m sure my therapist is going to love this.

The show was FANTASTIC. Now, growing up as a band geek and with a mother who LOVES MUSICALS, I have an insane love of musical theatre. And now that Broadway is making a huge comeback in Chicago with some great shows that are sticking around, it is nice to have these cultured activities at my fingertips. Because otherwise I might end up on a street corner in a wife beater with a can of PBR in my hand reminiscing about my missing teeth from days gone by.

I was excited for the show, but wasn’t looking forward to it as much as Wicked, mostly because I read that book and knew what to expect. With Jersey Boys, I just kind of knew the songs, but didn’t know the story. But I have to tell you, it was so awesome! I mean, you know like all the songs already because they are the songs of The Four Seasons. And I was just in awe of my new boyfriend and his range and sounding just like Frankie Valli. If you think about it (if you even know what Frankie Valli sounds like – think Big Girls Don’t Cry and Walk Like A Man) then you know that is not a voice that is easily replicated. And this guy, Jarrod Spector, my new boyfriend, is awesome. And he’s so little, I just wanted to fold him up into a pocket handkerchief and carry him around with me everywhere.

See?

If he was only about six inches taller, I would go stalk him in Chicago. Here is a link to him singing on the Emmys back in 2007 to a Sopranos montage. Swoon.

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In other news, I was just wondering why the chick who moved in across the courtyard from me still hasn’t unpacked. Almost a week later. Like there were no sheets on her bed still. And that skeeves me out. Big time!

And also, her dining room table is in the living room.

What? She’s the one who chooses to keep her blinds open. Chicky should know she moved across from a Snoopy Susan.

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If you were a cat, why would eat your own hair that you’ve shed and rubbed all over the area rug? Because you know what, stupid cat? I’m tired of cleaning up your barf from when you puke said hair up. God didn’t make you shed for you to EAT IT.

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For those of you who didn’t win the Jen Lancaster book, I have another book contest coming up very, very soon. I am so cool to have author friends! Yay!

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For those of you that did win, I still haven’t mailed the books yet. Um, yeah, sorry. It’s the EXHAUSTION.

Which, speaking of, I need to get my ass to bed to sweet dreams of Frankie Valli’s voice and my new boyfriend.