well, fancy meeting YOU here!

i SWEAR, it was a total coincidence.

see, MIL, sensing a need for some retail therapy (or simply some air conditioning in a place other than the house), took us to her favorite mall.  there is a ton of retail in her neck o'the woods, so there's quite a lot to choose from.  and hey, we weren't complaining about going shopping.

as she and the bean wandered off together, the girls and i ended up browsing through the shoe department at nordie's.  when the teen headed out the door to toss her empty starbucks cup into the nearest trash can, she came back in a tizzy and summoned me out into the horrific heat.  and why?

well, she'd heard some familiar music...and then saw this:

as we took this picture, the people working in the trailer came out and asked if we wanted to take a picture with a faux nick.  we posed in the blaring sun and accepted a little card with a code to retrieve the photo online, which would have nick's image photoshopped in next to us.  cheesy and lame, i know. 

as we headed back to the mall entrance, another employee came by and offered us some free granola bars (nick jonas is working with quaker chewy granola bars on some promo to find "the next superstar").  but the real gift was when she offered up this golden nugget of information:

"he's going to be here tomorrow, you know."  and at our blank looks, she said "nick jonas.  you guys are fans?  he's making two appearances tomorrow with us, at the sam's club and then kroger's."

i thought the teen was going to faint dead away, and not because she (like me) was sweating her ass off in the sun.

then the lady looked around and leaned in conspiratorially.  "between you and me, like, don't facebook it or anything, but make sure you get there early."  and when i told her we weren't locals and didn't know where we needed to be, she told me to check the website for all the details.

and when we finally had a chance to check it out, we learned that the trailer was making stops all across the country over the summer - but nick's only appearances happened to be right there in texas during our trip.  mere minutes from the ILs' home.  the very next morning.  and the first 150 people to arrive at the venue would get into an exclusive meet-and-greet with the young jonas.

with the first appearance about a half hour away (at a sam's club, so random) and MIL more than happy to be our driver, we created our plan of attack.  heh.  and with our body clocks still on california time, we had to drag asses out of bed super early the next morning.  but it paid off, as we arrived about three hours ahead of time and managed to get the green wristbands that gave us access to the precious meet-and-greet.

the sam's club employees were rather bemused at the mob of excited teenagers (and more than a few moms), but were really friendly and helpful.  the guy who gave us our wristbands even set aside one for the bean, who'd stayed in the car with MIL.  we were amazed - if this were at home, no way would that happen.  plus, they offered us cold bottles of water and told us that since we had our wristbands, we were free to go inside the store and stay cool instead of stand in the line.  didn't have to tell us twice.

we managed to kill a couple of hours and then found that he'd arrived ahead of schedule.  we got back in line outside - and it took about 2.75 seconds before we were all sweaty and gross.  yuck.  luckily, as we got to the front of the line, we were allowed back inside for long enough to cool back down.  i imagined poor nick having to hug a bunch of sticky chicks. 

just like the first time the teen got to meet her man, no personal items were allowed inside.  the event staff took one picture of each fan with him, to be uploaded to their website within a day or two.  the bean and i went together, and he smiled down at her as she approached him with big eyes.  she was speechless, and so i introduced her to him as he shook her hand and greeted her by name.  i totally had stuff i'd thought of saying to him, but i admit it - i was rather like the bean, starstruck like a mofo.  he shook my hand too as he thanked me for coming, we turned and posed for the camera, and that was that.

the teen went next, and i felt her giddiness as she walked on clouds towards him.  they exchanged big grins and a few words, took their picture, and then it was over.  although i watched him as she turned away to accept an autographed photo of him and the little card with the password for the online photo.  his gaze followed her as she walked towards me, and i smirked as that gaze went from her head all the way down her body and back again.

yup, that's right.  nick jonas totally checked the teen out from head to toe.  i told her so in a stage whisper, and she damn near melted into a puddle.  we watched rock-ell (who has zero interest in the brothers jonas, but didn't turn down the chance to meet a celeb) as she got her turn to meet the teen's dreamboat and then we were ushered right outta there.

i love how sam's busted out some jonas merchandise and placed it right as you exited the meet-and-greet area.  so strategic.

we turned and watched through the open curtain for a while to catch another glimpse (haha at the price tag above where i took this shot), and then we left.

we had enough time to hop in the car and scurry to kroger's, another super random spot designated for his second appearance.  yeah, we sure did.

but unlike the highly organized and much more comfortable sam's club, this one was complete chaos.  not to mention, we didn't get there in time to receive a wristband.  we were about 25 people behind the last lucky purple-banded fan, with no guarantee of getting that second chance to say hello.  there were others there with the same green wristband as ours, but they obviously didn't dillydally as that prized purple band was also fastened securely on their wrists.  and we were standing in direct sunlight.  despite the umbrellas we'd had the forethought to grab from the car, it was blazing and we were literally sweating buckets in no time.  it was gross.  and we could see the setup for the photos - right out in the sun just like we were.  i couldn't believe they were going to have him stand there in the miserable heat for over an hour, greeting fans who were bound to be hot and nasty.  ick.

and, unlike the first appearance, he was about 15 minutes late.  by that time, even the teen was ready to throw in the towel.  we stayed long enough to watch him drive up, with screaming meemies running to the car:

watched him emerge from the limo-tinted tahoe:

and we gave it about 15 minutes before we realized that the line wasn't moving, the clock was ticking, and we'd likely not get lucky like others had at sam's.  because he'd gotten there early, he had time to spare and a bunch of fans who didn't have wristbands still got in to see him anyway.  obvs, given the less-than-comfy atmosphere, he'd be there just for the exact amount of time necessary and then bone outta there.  hell, i would.  i scurried up with my phone to get a shot of him for the teen, and that was enough for her.  "i already got to meet him once today, i'm good," she said wearily.  THAT'S how hot it was out there.

inside the kroger, where the bean and MIL were kickin' it, i was amazed to see that there was a jewelry store and a full-on furniture section in there.  in the grocery store.  my pics are extra fuzzy because i was delirious from the heat, you see.

the bean and MIL were quick to fill me in on the awesomeness of this cart - it had a little screen in it that played disney junior tv shows.  fan-shee.

and so where are those prized photos, you ask?  well, you knew i wouldn't leave you hangin'.

see you at the hollywood bowl in a couple of weeks, nick.  make sure you come by our section to say hello.  you know, since we're like that.

nick jonas smells good (apparently)

so last week, i mentioned that we'd lucked out and won a golden ticket - a pass to the pre-concert meet & greet with nick jonas. there's always a drawing for members of the fan club who are attending shows - you just send an e-mail with the date of your show and names of attendees to enter, and then they typically contact you about a week prior. as with every other concert we've attended, as soon as i bought the tickets, i sent the e-mail in and promptly forgot all about it.

finding out in itself was totally awesome, because the notification popped up just as i was picking up a call from the teen. the conversation went kind of like this:

me: hi, babe, what's u - OHMYGODYOU'RENOTGONNABELIEVEWHATIJUST GOT.

teen: huh? what are you talking about?

me: i just now got an e-mail and we're going to the meet & greet before the concert.

teen: OHMYGODAREYOUSERIOUS?? (panting and heaving) i'm totally crying right now.

of course, this inadvertently created another dilemma: what to wear? what to say when faced with the boy of her dreams for the first time? i was actually pretty glad that there wasn't too much time to contemplate the myriad of possible answers to those questions. i might have gone out of my damn mind if that had gone on for weeks.

the guidelines detailed in the e-mail were simple: envelopes would be ready for pick-up 1.5 hours before the show started, bring I.D. and a camera, no autographs, only one photo with nick per person, any gifts for nick would be collected at the door and put in his dressing room "for him to enjoy later." okay, fine.

the teen is just like her mama - a total procrastinator. the night before the show, i found this in the bathroom:

ha! and, because i'm such a sucker for my kid, i stayed up till past midnight searching for and uploading pictures from the past, oh, ten concerts/appearances. i uploaded them to my online album and then ordered prints - 50 of 'em. heh. she was quite appreciative when i presented her with the packet of prints and an album that i'd carefully chosen that afternoon, and spent the entire drive down to the wiltern theater cutting, gluing, and captioning the photos.

we hit just a little traffic once we arrived downtown, but still managed to make it there with lots of time to spare.

the teen put the finishing touches on her art project, added a ribbon around it, and voila! i just hope he actually looks at it and doesn't just toss it to the side. from pictures he's tweeted, though, it seems that he does spend some time checking out every fan gift he receives.

we joined the blessedly short line for meet & greet passes (the line to get into the theater/pick up will call tickets was wrapped around the freaking block out in the rain) and killed time smirking over the chatter that surrounded us.

these guys came out quietly, but once the video camera they carried was spotted by a fan, there was much screaming and cheering and "i love nick!" chanting. as they panned over the line, i, of course, totally mugged for the camera while the teen shrank into a little pile of embarrassment at my side.

but the joke was on me, because when the dude finally showed up to hand out the envelopes containing the passes, the teen opened hers to find only one wristband. wah waaaaah. i couldn't believe that i was going to miss what would likely be the most fantastic 30 seconds of my daughter's life (so far) - i desperately wanted to see her face, feel the excitement radiating from her core, hear her stammer out a greeting to this boy she's loved for so long. okay, that's kind of dramatic, but it's true. and i wanted to cry, but i plastered a smile on my face, helped her put on the wristband, and continued to chatter cheerfully as i waited in the line with her at the rear of the building.

and yes, i asked them to check and re-check the stack of envelopes. i tried to sweet-talk the dude into going back to see if they'd misread my e-mail entry that had listed both of our names. and as a last-ditch effort, i smiled sweetly at the guy who was ushering everyone into the building and chirped "i'm her mom!" as i tried to sashay through. none of it worked, and i found myself blowing her a goodbye kiss as i handed her the camera and watched her walk on clouds into the theater.

i must've looked like such a loser, kicking rocks and pouting as i waited out in front of the theater. i'd made sure to get my ticket out of her bag, since she was going to go to her seat after she'd met her man.

the line was still freakishly long, even though they'd finally started letting people into the theater.

my phone rang about half an hour later, and it was the teen - breathless and ecstatic from her long-awaited encounter with the man of the evening.

me: so, was it wonnnnnnnnnderful? was he just beautiful and fantastic?
the teen: OMG, yes. i was totally shaking the whole time and now i'm crying. i love him.
me: i want to hear everything! do you like your picture?
the teen: okay, so they didn't let us take in our cameras. we had to leave our bags on a table inside the door. they took the pictures and they'll put it on the website on that paper in the envelope.
me: awww, really? boo! did you get to give him your present?
the teen: yeah, i gave it to the guy and he put it in the pile on another table. there weren't that many gifts. and oh! i got to high-five big rob (the jonas brothers' bodyguard)! and then when it was my turn, i was shaking so hard and i had to calm myself down, so i walked kinda slowly to him. mom, he totally opened his arms to give me a hug before i even got there! [swooning audibly]
me: did he smell good (i know, i know, so wrong of me)?
the teen: YES. he smelled really good. he said "hi, how are you?" and i said "good, you?" then he said "great, hey, thanks for coming out to the show tonight!" and i said "oh, sure!" and then we stopped and posed for our picture, and he said "well, have a great time tonight." i said "i will, thanks. i love you!" and he said "i love you, too." [more swooning] huh, i wonder if i can smell him on my shirt.

oy vey.

after i realized that the line wasn't getting any shorter (and i was kind of freezing my ass off), i gave in, walked down the street and around the corner, and got in. i totally rolled my eyes and muttered "are you freaking kidding me?" as i got a gander at the chick in front of me:

i was inside the theater in less than ten minutes and checked out the merchandise for sale.

after deciding against spending the cash on a tee for myself (shut up, i like concert tees too), i trudged up the stairs and made my way to the mezzanine, where the teen was waiting for me.

later on, as i glanced through my pictures, this one caught my eye as i finally saw what everyone always comments on - we really do look a lot alike, don't we? wow. color me lucky!

the stage was set for the opening act (and i already forgot her name, oops). i sat there and caught up on e-mails and twitter while we waited.

well, and i took a few more pictures too.

this show was refreshingly low-key and somewhat mellower than all the other jonas brothers concerts we've been to before. no huge multi-million dollar sets, no crazy grand entrance, no pyrotechnics. when it was time, nick and his band simply strolled out onto the stage, the lights came up, and they started playing.

since his CD doesn't come out until next week, the majority of the audience didn't really know the songs that they were playing. anticipating this (and realizing that his fans love to sing along), he threw in covers of some of his favorite songs by other artists as well as a few jonas brothers songs with different arrangements and changes in tempo. i know you guys are going to give me shit for it, but i gotta say it: this boy is really talented. he plays several instruments (tonight he stuck to guitars and piano), writes most of the songs, and has a great vocal range. he's got a pretty fantastic falsetto that's fun to listen to. the teen and i discussed it at length and decided that his sound is nothing like the pop-y jonas brothers style. it's more mature, kind of like john mayer-ish with a little bit of jazz and a twist of rock thrown in. i wonder if his current fans will support it.

he did a great job carrying the entire show without benefit of his two brothers to share in the adoration and attention from the squealing audience. not to mention, he'd been sick last week and had had to cancel a show under doctor's orders. roughly an hour and a half later, it was all over.

the teen and i squeezed through the crowds and headed across the street to the coffee bean, which i'd been eyeing since the moment we got there. i was happy to see that they were still open - and why not? the place was packed. they probably make a killing on show nights. before we left, i thought i'd pose with my stupid face - rather a tradition by now.

with no word of a new CD in the works and only a halfhearted reference to a possible tour later this year, i don't really know if or when we'll get to another jonas-related concert. the teen is super bummed. and because their shows have been a great bonding experience for us (okay, and their music has totally grown on me, i admit it), i'm kind of sad, too.

i'm sure you are, too.

2 years + 11 concerts

and finally, finally, the teen's biggest wish came true:

yup - that arm around that beaming, ecstatic pile of mush belongs to none other than nick jonas.

i'm just going to end it right here - an occasion as significant as this deserves a moment of silence.

full recap tomorrow!