So it's been awhile. I'm not even sure I can think all the way back to the beginning of April from where I left off, but I'll try. Maybe just a simple run down of things might be necessary. *grin*

April 11th: Had a CCMaD meeting at Austins and decided to finally book there (and just soon after found out they are closing and we have to find another acoustic venue, so sad)
April 13th: Shannon and I had an impulse idea to travel to Jumby and see The Curve for one of their final acoustic performances for awhile, at least. It was way too much fun! Saw Mikey, Philly (for his birthday), Courtney, Lori, Amanda, Randy, Darlene, etc. Shots after shots after shots later, Shannon and I were hugging palm trees ("and I'll wait by a palm tree, a palm tree, a pallllllm tree!"), preforming "Walking Disaster" on the mic infront of a crowd with Dan on my phone laughing and listening to us, running around and just laughing the entire time. Good times!
April 14th: Happy Birthday to JHey! Had a good return tour.
April 15th: Easter at Cali's with Tony, Valerie, Amy J, Brian, etc with a hunt, good food and good company. I found the golden egg! Happiness! *grin* Spent the rest of the day passed out on my bed from exhaustion...definitely needed that.
April 16th: Had a great tour, but utlitized my new shoes that day so feet were in pain, but totally worth it with a wonderful family.
April 17th: CCMaD Presents our second MaD Monday with The Upward Trend and Spacebar. What a great night it turned out to be! Couldn't have asked for a greater turnout! The place seemed pretty packed and we had some fun. One of my happiest CCMaD moments. "How did we get here?" So great!
April 18th: Began taking classes for nutrition knowledge...Very productive day!
April 19th: Happy Birthday Julie! Went to 80s night with 867, Cali, Elizabeth, Gino, Jennifer and Chris Martin. Good times had by all. We love to work the stage at Backbooth! :) Crazy and good times!
April 20th: Had a random day off because of a tour cancellation and so I used it to my advantage and slept in until about noon. So nice! Went to Mitsubishi to get my second stereo replaced. Ugh. Not happy with them at all! DO NOT BUY MITSUBISHI! I'll slander all I want cause I have proof! Then, met up with Cali to get our nails done....it was relaxing for some :) Headed to the grocery store for my first very long trip there, but it wasn't too bad. It was very successful, in fact.
April 21st: Got off a cool Stamp tour just in time to head over to Backbooth to catch Chris Martin with Words Now Heard rock out on stage and then visit with my Further Seems Forever boys (who remembered me right off the bat-I heart them!) and saw one of their last shows ever. So sad. They are so amazing and very nice guys! Ah well...all the bands I know are breaking up...except one of the best...Big 10-4 baby!
April 22nd: Finished up on the amazingly fun Stamp tour and met up with Shannon and 867 to head to Daytona Beach to see Matt Mackelcan and Big 10-4! What a fun and crazy show. I heart those boys. Everyone was wasted...except me, but I still rocked out with the best of them. Dan sang to me *sigh* and Matthew was in my face the entire time-much enjoyed. Saw Rick and he informed me that I had "made the Walking Disaster video" and that I was doing "this" and he did my little dance to Walking Disaster. Ha! That's gonna be funny for sure! Can't wait to view that! *grin*
April 23rd: Had the day off, but couldn't sleep in as much as I had intended to because I had an appointment at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, along with Cali and Tony, to get a full-body massage. It was great during the massage, but a day after, my entire head and neck felt achy and not so great, I think the pressure points on my neck were hit a bit too hard for their liking, but still an overall good experience. Makes you feel really light-headed and very drunk-like. Interesting. Had a very productive Chachos meeting via computer and the wonderful technology of IM. I heart my Mac. Funny to have Cali right across from me participating as well and doing most of the talking by IM. Random.
April 24th: Awesome, but exhausting tour day with a great couple of families. I wore a pedometer just to see about how much I walk a day while on tour. For a seven-hour Magic Kingdom tour, I walked 10 miles. That is pretty typical of a day that I do on tour at the MK so that's just crazy. No wonder my legs feel like they are gonna fall off by the end of my tours, but honestly it also makes me question why I am not loosing more weight than I am. Hmmm. Maybe it's those not-so-sparatic Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bars. *grin*
April 25th: "Don't panic, it's gonna be a hard day" Jacks Mannequin. Had a great day at work and left to immediately meet up with Elizabeth at her apartment to head to Jacksonville for the AAR/FOB show! Elizabeth drove Valentino, who is so nice and smooth and very relaxing...it was hard not to fall asleep from pure exhaustion on the way there, but we kept ourselves busy with great talks, amazing music and the thought of seeing AAR and FOB very soon. We had a great time and had awesome seats. We had the ones on the side where you can see some of backstage, which greatly interested me. I heart Nick. Have I mentioned that lately? *grin* My dinner was three 20 oz Bud Lights (which made me very happy) and it had been awhile since I had drank much and so I was good to go.

The show was great, but I have determined that I can't go to arena shows anymore. The sound quality is not up to what I think it should be. It certainly is loud enough, but not very clear. I don't like being more than 30 feet away from a band that I am seeing and honestly it's just too impersonal. I think the biggest I can stand to go is House Of Blues and Hard Rock Live. That's my decision. Unless *NSYNC goes back on tour in arenas, then I probably won't be going to anymore arena shows, but Elizabeth and I still had a great time singing along to our favorite songs and rocking out!

So basically, that is a run down of the past few days. It's been crazy, for sure, but all is good! Things have been really productive in all aspects. Our venue support for CCMaD's MaD Monday! event is very positive and supportive and enjoying us there so that is great. We are actively searching for new acoustic venues to tap into. The business is good, the social life is amazing as always-I heart my friends, and the shows are contiunous so I am as happy as I can be at this point in my life. Sometimes I wish life would slow down, but then I realize that I like it fast, I enjoy the craziness and as much as I pray for a day to sleep in, I am thankful for my ever-coming paycheck and the fact that I don't dread going to work everyday. I am very thankful these days for two jobs that I love and am passionate about. Good times! Chachos.

So I have a crazy weekend coming up with Grad night. I have FOB on tour so it's going to be amazing. It was so strange to see them up on stage (for the third time in my life) with the knowledge that I am gonna meet them on Friday. How cool is that? Whew, I'm so happy!

CCMaD's next MaD Monday! event is May 15th so mark it in your calendars and come to Liquid Cellar to hang out with your favorite CCMaD Girls! It's gonna be a good time, oh and did I mention it's Happy Hour all night with $1 drafts? CHACHOS!

posted by Carolyn Ohme

Well, life has not stopped as usual, but all in good ways. Been on tour and CCMaDing like crazy. Last Monday, April 3rd was our first "MaD Monday" event, which was really a success in my opinion. We had a lot of great friends and fans show up to support. Our security, Morgan rocked our socks off. Pete was amazing, especially for feeling a bit under the weather and Ariya rocked the place. It was a great show and our efforts were noticed. Just meant more great "MaD Mondays" to come!

Had my first day Guest return tour and it went amazingly! They were great and I quickly remembered having them on tour two years ago like it had happened yesterday. They were wonderful as usual and even extending me for another day. Good times with good people! I've been very fortunate with my tours as of late.

Starting April 6th, the Expedition Everest Press Event began and it was pretty crazy from there on through the weekend. I had the pleasure of hosting the amazingly kind and talented Jonas Brothers and they were great! We meshed really well and rocked out to the same love of music and had a lot in common. The whole entire family was amazing! It was definitely a long press event, but every minute was fun and worth the time! I was allowed to take them to the radio studio and watch them host the hot 9 at 9 with Stix. It was a cool experience. One of my favorite tours, definitely.

Showed up a tad glazed over for the *big* Big 10-4 show at The Social. I was exhausted and it was right in the middle of Press Event so I could hardly stand up as it was, but they were filming for the "Waiting Disaster" video and it was a big show for the boys so I needed to show some support. Shannon, 867, Ellen and I were front row on one side of the stage while Katrina, G, Cali and Tony held down the other side of the stage. Everyone wanted their own view of their Matt's and I wanted to be close to the center so we spread out. It was great though cause together we basically covered the entire front row with support! They were amazing. It was great to see just how polished they have become. I think hitting the road was a huge thing for them. I was really impressed and you could see the differences from all the sacrafices they have made. Amazing job boys! The guy filming was definitely all up in our faces and everytime he was pointing the camera towards me, I would totally lose my words and mess up. I just wanted to freely rock out, but ah well. I'm sure there will be tons of footage of me messing up. Great. Good times to say the least! I heart my boys!

I feel like this is a very important time for everything professional in my life. It's all been going so well and everything's at a peak, yet it keeps going forward and higher, which is great. I am very happy with how things have been going and it's all been keeping me super busy and crazy.

posted by Carolyn Ohme

Went with the crew to see Tom Sartori and FISH last Monday *grin*. "GO FISH!" We are definitely his biggest fans ever. It was the official Orlando CD release party and we were stoked. Got a CD *and* a shot glass. Very hot! It was one of the best shows that I have seen of them. Everyone seemed in a great mood, very friendly and slightly more outgoing. Rebekah and Elizabeth came too along with Gino, Gianina and Cali. We danced all night with Fish and Tom. I even got Smiling Eddie to dance a little as well. Good times! I heart the Blue sometimes. Crazy that I'm a regular now.

Tuesday, I headed down to the UCF area to meet up with Mark and put up flyers all around campus for our show this coming Monday at Liquid Cellar. Mark was a life saver and rocked my world by showing me the high traffic areas on campus and assisted me while I hung them as much as I could.

Tuesday was also my neice's birthday! Happy Birthday Seany! I love you!!

Wednesday was Switchfoot.....and 867's birthday! Happy Birthday and Happy Switchfoot Day! I was listening to them all day long and super excited for the show. Met up with Cali, Tony and Elizabeth at HOB to eat some dinner to successfully pass the line, although we were cutting it really close. Saw Ron Irizzary and surprised him that I actually knew who he was. Such a nice guy. He was playing on the patio and did an amazing job. Felt bad that he had to do more covers than originals, but that's part of the deal I guess.

Cali and Tony grabbed their reserved seats up top and Gianina met up with Elizabeth and I in the front row on the side. While waiting for the show to start, we formed a CCMaD gang sign to help with us "spreading" the word from far away without having to scream it. Great idea!

Athlete opened and were adorable UK boys. Great sound. Mix of Keane, Coldplay with The Killers. It was like a softer and relaxed Oasis. They were good. Loved their innovative ways of making music. Then, it was time. I was floored yet again. Switchfoot never ceases to just amaze me.

Jon Foreman's voice is just so soothing and strong. I heart him big time. They put on an amazing show, of course playing the favorites and the new ones, but I just wished he would keep playing....although they did play for a good two hours so I was impressed and thrilled. After the show, we went and hung out to wait for them and Jon was the loner and came out by himself and poor guy was rushed by a large group of fans. He was pressed up against the wall and people were surrounding him hardcore. I didn't feel comfortable getting too close cause it just seemed inappropriate, but I did get close enough to catch a glimpse into his beautiful clear blue eyes. He's so pretty. *grin* And so nice. Got to see Gianina and Cali melt into his arms while getting a photo with him. So cute. Elizabeth and I watched with smiles on our faces and then we all headed home and crashed hard from a very meaningful show.

Thursday, I had a good tour with a very sweet family at the MK. Headed home at a decent time and got prepared for the evenings activities. Swung by Cali's and got to meet her cousin Rebecca and then we headed out to Mills.

I had a merch gig for Kissing Karma over at The Peacock Room. Got to finally meet the guys and see a new venue. It was a productive evening. The guys were super nice and very talented musicians. Ben Bledsole was opening up and cracked me up. I had only seen and heard of him from myspace, but definitely recognized him when we arrived. He made me happy cause he shouted out Snellville, GA and sang "Don't take the girl" in honor of it. Good times.

I heart the Kissing Karma boys. Very professional, dedicated, thankful and appreciative, thoughtful and very personable. Had a 15 minute conversation with Jay about reality TV. So fun. He cracked me up.

Friday, I had the same family from the day before and we rocked both Epcot and the Studios for a fun-filled day at the parks. It was quite the busy day at Epcot, but Studios wasn't too bad. Got done and headed home to rest a bit before the Dirty Shannon show.

Went and picked up Shannon to head downtown. Met up with Chris Floyd, Matty Matt Mackelcan, Pete Woj, Gino, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Carin, Melanie, Brandye, Mayra, etc. It was a great time! Got there super early to catch some of Matt's show at The Globe and then the Dirty Shannon boys started arriving. I heart Vic! He's such a great guy. Met some of his friends and had a great time pre-partying before the show.

We got lucky cause Dirty Shannon was the only band booked and were gonna play two sets, so we had double the Dirty Shannon show. Rock on! We even had front row for soundcheck *giggle*. Our waitress rocked and gave me some amazing new drinks and was a sweetheart on top of that. Totally cool. Shannon and I took over merch about half way through the first set so that we could be more accessible and we sold ten and Vic was stoked. We had a mailing list and created a nice little merch set up especially for last minute. Even got a $4 tip. Paid for our parking...that rocked!

Yesterday, I had off and it was amazing. I could not have asked for a more relaxed and enjoyable day off. It was my first time sleeping past 9am in forever. Typically, I wake up inbetween 6am and 8am everyday and as people know, I am *not* a morning person, but it's part of my job and I do it happily to do what I love to do. I got up about 10:30, which was so nice and then got ready to take Cali, Rebecca and K to the parks. Headed to DAK so they could ride Expedition Everest and they LOVED it. I had to head out to go to my car appointment to get CD player replaced, because it stopped working all of a sudden. Less than a year and I'm having stereo issues, not a good sign. BUT it's all good now and it works.

May I vent for a second? While they were working on my car, I do what I usually do and walk down the sidewalk to the mall, Best Buy, a restaurant for lunch or something to help kill time rather than sitting in a cold & uncomfortable waiting room. I have done this about three or four times so far since I've been visiting this service center and *every single time* that I have done this, I have guys whistling, honking, yelling or just saying something in general AND following me places in their vehicles or by foot. NOT COOL! JUST because I am walking down the sidewalk on OBT does NOT mean that I am a prostitute. And if I ignore your calls or honks, do NOT follow me either. I was heading over to Doc Cheys (which is new here in Orlando, it's from Atlanta and everytime I go back to visit home, I have to stop by) and I was super excited, but this jerk was following me all the way there. He would pull over and wait and then come back again. He would go to like three different parking lots following me down the street until I got to Doc Cheys and I practically ran in there to seek comfort in a building. What a jerk. Not a fan of the OBT drivers at all. That's my vent...and I'm done.

Didn't take too long for my car to be done and after a spicy and somewhat different than expected lunch, I headed back to Mitsubushi and grabbed my car to head home for some much needed R&R. When I got back, K was just coming back home so I caught up with him and realized I was much too tired to venture back into the parks or anything so I grabbed a towel and changed and walked over the the pool to rest in sunlight. I ended up falling asleep, but it wasn't bad cause I was a) able to flip about half way into my slumber and b) it was after 3pm so the sun wasn't too bad, but out just enough to keep me warm. After I got a chill in the air and woke up, I headed back to rest on my comfy bed. Watched a bit of tv, took a small nap and then got up to finish my errands.

The rest of the evening was filled with CCMaD stuff on the computer and watching movies. I watched The Wedding Planner, Erin Brochovich and Unfaithful. K got home from Tampa and scared me half to death and we both got ready and headed out for a night at PI. Got to see Lon (heart him) and Harry Dash, which was cool. We took it easy, drank the healthier choice of water all night and enjoyed observing the craziness of PI. It was a good and relaxing night.

This weekend is gonna get nuts. We have DAK Press Event coming up AND our first ever CCMaD Event on Monday! Come on out if you can. 10pm $3 Liquid Cellar with Pete Woj and The Accused with Ariya!

posted by Carolyn Ohme