JT fan 4lyfe

we all know of my love for justin timberlake, yes?

so when he announced that he'd written his very first book, i knew i was totally gonna get it.  i don't even care what he wrote in there...hell, for all i care he could have typed out the phone book and inserted a bunch of pictures and i would have still wanted that thing.  anyway, he posted a video on instagram where he snuck into barnes & noble in new york city and signed a bunch of copies, and so i hopped right onto the website to order a copy to pick up at my local store.

while the old lady and her special friend took stevie dog into petsmart to pick up some supplies, i scooped up my book and then promptly took this:

i posted it on instagram, because you know stuff doesn't count unless you share it on social media.  heh.  i got a few likes here and there, i know the hub totally side-eyed it, whatevs.

the next morning, i went to look at my instagram feed and just about shit myself when i saw this:

i thought maybe it was just one of those fan-created instagram accounts...but when i clicked on it i found that sure enough, it was his verified account with the blue checkmark.  woohoo!  i went to my post and totally swooned when i saw this:

i know, i know...it's really silly.  but damn...i was really excited!  it's probably the closest i'll ever get to meeting him.  i've been a JT fan since his *nsync days, so me love him long time.

later that evening, while we were at the bean's school fundraiser my phone buzzed with a text from a friend who excitedly told me to go and check out justin's instagram story.  and when i clicked on it, i saw what she was so happy to share with me:

he'd compiled a fun little video of posts from people who'd bought his book...and of course, most of us took pretty much the same exact picture.  ha!  i don't care though.  i was excited to have a tiny part of his book release promo, and now i'm going to hunker down and actually read the thing.

he's got one of his "man of the woods" tour stops coming up in anaheim in a couple of weeks, and while i already got to see him with my friend dailygluttony when he was in l.a. earlier this year...i kind of really want to go.  and a friend of mine from my running days has a couple of tickets she's trying to unload.

hmmmmmmm.

a tagalong for JT

i know that justin timberlake has been…well, problematic: cheating rumors, all the things britney revealed in her book, shitty comments he’s made, the DWI arrest just last month.  and i was mad at him too, i really was.  and when he announced his tour to support his most recent album, i didn’t lift a single finger to secure tickets (not to mention that i’d asked all the usual suspects and no one was willing to go anyway).  

but you know me.  FOMO took hold after i saw footage of the first few shows, and then before i knew it his stop in l.a. was a few days away.  i knew that one of my barre buddies was going, and so i hit her up and through a crazy set of circumstances i managed to secure a ticket for the seat right next to her and her husband.  i’ve known christina for a few years now - she was a fellow client at the old barre studio that i used to take classes at, and she loved it so much that she took the course to become a certified instructor and opened her own studio a year and a half ago.  she’s awesome and i was happy to have the chance to spend some time with her outside of class.

here’s my ensemble for the concert - that’s my tank top from justin’s 20/20 experience tour.

christina and her husband had mixed up some doctored-up gatorades for pregaming on the way down to the forum and now i think this might be my new favorite drink.  i’d forgotten how tasty the cucumber lime flavor is!

before staples center, this was the home of the lakers.

the forum always dresses up for their performers.

we’d arrived early, so the doors weren’t open yet.  no worries - that gave us time to do some shopping at the merch tent.

when we got inside, i snagged another cocktail.  after all, i didn’t have to drive for hours and besides, i’m a better dancer when i have a little alcohol in me.  heh.

view from our seats - we were off to one side, but that’s okay.  i was just happy to be there.

in lieu of an opening act, there was a DJ spinning a fun mix of music, and then when this appeared on the screen we knew it was almost showtime.

b stage was at the other end, and the entire venue was packed despite reports of “slow sales.”

and then the lights went down, a montage played on the screen and all of a sudden he popped up through the floor and the party started.

he gave it his all for two hours, singing and dancing to most of his newest album along with a great mix of older songs. and then for his encore, he appeared on that floating box and gave us a fun callback to when he and the rest of *nsync would sing to us from an elevated piece of the stage.  he’d saved my very favorite song to close it out - “mirrors.”

and how did i feel at the end of the night?

2024 recap shake-up

i couldn’t let the new year go by without my annual recap - but much like my blog in general over the last couple of years, i’m running behind.  eek.  like, i think i still have the entire 4th quarter of 2024 to write about.  oh well.  

and this time, i think i’m going to change it up and just recap month by month.  seems like a good idea.  anyway, here we go:

january:

lots of fun with friends, a 5K at disneyland with the old lady (plus a bonus meetup with my friend dailygluttony), the beginning of the 7ish at 7ish sunday boot camp, morning walks with the hub, dance classes at millennium dance complex and a barbie-themed birthday party

february:

a teddy photo shoot, fun crochet projects, chinese new year in chinatown with the bean, super bowl fun, sweethearts night at disneyland, more coffee dates with the hub and a VIP experience at universal studios with the kids

march:

solo days at disneyland (which also led to another quick meetup with dailygluttony, ha), crocheted dog sweaters for juney and stevie and reluctantly modeled by teddy and cocoa, joining the viral mini trader joe’s tote bag craze, celebrating our first boot camp birthday, family time, cheering the bean on with friends and the hub in their first season of discus and shotput events and trading the tesla in for…another tesla

april:

the hub’s birthday, meeting lana parrilla (aka once upon a time’s evil queen), a visit to luna luna (the forgotten art-themed amusement park), the bean becoming a licensed driver and getting their ears re-pierced, a weekend at the beach, ditching the stanley cup for an owala bottle, sitting in on a paleyfest panel with the cast of “loki,” hello kitty night at dodger stadium, a wedding with the hub, more solo disneyland and the most delicious hostess cupcake copycat recipe ever

may:

quickie getaway to la jolla, l.a. county fair with the kids to find how my wares placed in the textile competition, cocoa’s turn for a photo shoot, “the traitors” event with my friend trish, the old lady’s birthday, mother’s day snacklebox and breakfast from the bean, castle selfie with my favorite cast member, justin timberlake at the forum, a new truck for the hub, the good mythical tour and the bean’s last day of sophomore year

june:

saying goodbye to the dogs and the hub and then heading to a bucket list trip to japan with the bean with a pitstop in seoul for two days of all things BTS, tokyo disneysea and disneyland (of course), lots of shopping and eating, then one day home before taking off again to new york city to drop the bean off at columbia university for a theater tech summer program, squeezing in a broadway show and a visit to the slime museum and then going home for some quality time with the hub, followed by an insane 24 hours where i flew back to nyc, picked up the bean and headed back home (with a quick stop in dallas where MIL took us for some texas bbq)

july:

lots of disneyland, trying out the hailey bieber smoothie at erewhon, lots of working out, hours in the pool, fun brunch at the tam o’shanter, the bean’s first job (at in-n-out!), a movie date with the bean’s oldest pal

august:

the annual general hospital fan club weekend, a visit to an old school burger joint out in the inland empire, a few fun crochet projects, a long-awaited brunch with old friends, a late night out in the desert to watch a meteor shower, a nick jonas movie premiere with the old lady, more disneyland, bruno mars date night with the hub, olivia rodrigo merch shopping, the bean’s first day of junior year, a girls’ trip to vegas and filipino heritage night at dodger stadium.  whew.

september:

it was, of course, birthday princess month.  there were lots of celebrations for me and then we capped off the month with a full day-long blowout to commemorate the bean’s 17th birthday.  i made the greatest homemade sandwich ever and sweated through my 100th barre class.  the hub and i also got to visit the bean at work before they quit to concentrate on school.  and then there was karaokefest with the gang, a fun date night with the hub to l.a. for a lainey wilson mini concert and q&a session and a stop at a chappell roan pop-up for the bean.

october:

the bean turned seventeen and we decorated their car, went out for sushi dinner and opened presents. we also attended chainfest where we sampled elevated dishes from a number of chain restaurants (and spotted bj novak, one of the founders of the event). poor teddy was forced into a photo shoot with me.  i tested the waters with an elf sweater advent calendar (spoiler: it failed), i attended the annual shadow day at the bean’s school, took them for their first hong kong cafe experience and snuck onto campus to take pictures for homecoming.  sunday boot camp classes continued.  brunch with my friends.  and a bucket list item: a visit to graceland in memphis for another general hospital convention.  closed out the month with a visit to disneyland with the old lady and then the bean dressed up as an astronaut for halloween.

november:

celebrated the dodgers world series win at their parade in downtown l.a.  put up the christmas tree (on november 2nd, ha).  election day.  annual family photo shoot.  cookies to celebrate the old lady’s oldest friend’s engagement (and her fiancé’s milestone birthday).  crocheted an emotional support pickle and a granny square that will be added to a canopy at this year’s l.a. county fair.  attended a fiber fair with the bean and their bestie.  tried a recipe for the viral dubai chocolate bar (which is DELISH).  silly photos with cocoa.  thanksgiving and friendsgiving, and this year’s advent calendars (which featured items hand selected by me and the old lady).

december:

super stoked to fit in the ol’ wedding dress for wan-niversary 19.0. embarked upon a new journey of homemade dog food (so much cheaper and super healthy for the doggies). attempted the viral wrapping paper dog photo shoot (fail).  gingerbread hello kitty cookies for the annual holiday hoorah (at the tam o’shanter again, a new tradition).  day drinking with the hub.  solo disneyland trip to see all the holiday decor.  fun event at school with one of my besties.  celebrated christmas with my mom and stepdad at a rooftop restaurant in DTLA.  RUM CAKE.  christmas eve with family and christmas day with my own little family, complete with a one-night-only visit from pixie the elf.  another hong kong cafe with the bean.  engageaversary date with the hub and, and rang in the new year together.

so much good stuff, all smooshed in one amazing year.  and now we’re almost a month into 2025 and while january seems to be going on forever, i know it’s going to be another fantastic year.  i can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.  happy new year, everybody!