Birthday Month Continues: Leon Bridges and a Self-Care day

 Hello my Lovelies and Gents,

Oh, my friends, what a long week it has been. Right now I'm just going to focus on Monday and Tuesday. Monday I went to a concert and Tuesday I took off and had a Self-Care day. I needed that. 

Last Fall I found out that Leon Bridges was coming to Charlotte. I immediately asked several friends if they wanted to go see him. Sadly they all said that they didn't know his music so it didn't go anywhere.  His music is the soundtrack of last summer for me. I love his music. It relaxes me and puts a huge smile on my face. A few weeks ago my mom asked me if I wanted tickets to see him for my Birthday.  It was late on a Saturday night and I had to wait until the next morning to find someone to go with me. Luckily Ms. Amy accepted. Hooray! I picked seats and the excitement began. 

Originally I had an early morning client scheduled before preschool. I had canceled everything after preschool that day and the next.  I'm not young anymore. I can't just get up at 5:30am the day after a concert. The night before the concert my morning client needed to cancel. I secretly jumped for joy. I might not actually need a nap before the concert now. LOL. 

When preschool was over I made a run to Target for a couple of things, including a Venti Iced Coffee.  I hadn't decided what outfit to wear yet. The forecast was in the high 80's. Oh boy. So I took a stroll through the clothing department. I found a couple tops that I liked and against my better judgment I opted to try them on. Ugh. I did not look good in them. The good news is that they were all too big for me though. Although if I was a taller person they might not have looked so bad. And then I beat myself up. Why do I automatically pick the bigger clothes? In my head, I knew they were going to be too big. Perhaps I was thinking that would make me feel better, but it didn't. I left without an outfit, which was probably for the best considering the Great Closet Cleanout happened a few weeks ago. 

I went home, took a shower, and got in bed for an hour. No nap, but I did power down for a little while. Since we had lawn seats I wanted to get there early to get a good spot. I needed to leave for Ms. Amy's around dinner time. I had a protein bar and got on the road. 

I know you are asking yourself "What did you decide to wear?" Spoiler alert: I wore the same thing I wore to Billy Joel. But, since I haven't told you about that yet you don't know what that was. I wore jeans and a black top with a pashmina. However, it was warm when we got there so I left the pashmina in the car. Oh and I wore my hair up and under a hat. The hat was a new purchase in Maine over spring break when airlines lost my luggage for 3 days and all of my hair care products were in it. I should also add that I am an avid true-crime person. I'm a single lady and I'm often going places by myself so I am always on high alert and checking my surroundings.  I picked the hat for the bright color since my clothing was dark. I wanted to make sure that Ms. Amy could find me in the crowd. Since I have you as my audience I will be adding tips on safety throughout my posts. In fact, as I was writing this I got called into the living room. The light on the outside of the shed was on. The only way to turn it on is from the inside and there is a padlock on the door. I'm no fool. The light can burn out. I'm not going out there to check it out! I'm sure it's a rodent or something. Oh, I'm a big baby when it comes to stuff like that anyway. 

I arrived at Ms. Amy's and she was eager to show me her roses. Ms. Amy has the green thumb that I wish I had (my mom sent me fake succulents because I have been the great succulent killer of the quarantine). Ms. Amy's garden is gorgeous. Sadly I was too late to see her tie-dye roses, but I did see some incredibly beautiful ones. Of course, I stopped to smell them. 

While we were looking at her roses she mentioned that she thought I should have titled the last Blog Post: Every Rose Has A Thorn. LOL. She is correct. I will confess that it may take me several days to write a post, but I seem to just hurriedly pick a title. 

It was just a short ride from Ms. Amy's to the venue and we made it through security pretty quickly. We arrived an hour before the opening act was to start and found a pretty good spot on the lawn. The front row of the lawn was pretty much taken, but we found a sweet spot close to the walkway. The concert was at the Charlotte Metro Credit Amphitheater. I had seen Elvis Costello there a few years ago and I loved it. It is a little smaller than most outdoor venues. After we put our chairs down we went to go to the ladies room and concession stand. At the concession stand, I ordered a soda and a soft pretzel. The guy didn't hear me correctly and gave me an extra cup with my order. Okay, I figured that was my sign to get some water in the extra cup later. 

We stopped at the merchandise stand and I got a tour shirt. Then we went back to our seats. We got to talking to the woman next to us who was just as excited as I was to see Leon. We talked about our favorite songs and about what brought us to Charlotte. I wish I had gotten her name. She was a lot of fun to talk with. She also offered me some of her wine. Her boyfriend bought the Carafe of Sauvignon Blanc. Luckily I had an extra cup!  Hooray! I'm not going to lie. I got many refills and my cup was never empty. Thank you so much woman next to us :-)

It was a good night to catch up with Ms. Amy and to people watch. Although as time went on it just got very crowded. I was getting a little nervous about the size of the crowd. I have been doing my best to stay safe from Covid. I did take a test 5 days later and it was negative. Hooray!  

One gentleman walked by several times and I LOVED his shirt: Ever Since Prince died, shit's been Weird. Truth!

The minute that Leon stepped on that stage I was transported. All of my stress left my body and the smile just would not leave my face. I had checked setlists from the tour and I knew that he was going to be playing his new stuff mostly. I haven't listened to that as much as his first two albums. Happily, he opened with "Shy", which is one of my favorites. Then he played several new songs. I found my love for them. If you don't know his music I will say that it's Smooth. It's the type of music that you can just sit and chill to. About 45 minutes in he played "Beyond" which is one of his Best songs and also my Wine friend's favorite. We got very excited. I wanted to record it, but there were some people standing in front of us and I would just be recording butts. 

Sadly my wine friend had to leave early, after topping me off. She didn't get to hear the encore of all of his older songs. I am sad for her.  He ended the night with my favorite song, "River". It was fantastic. I couldn't stop smiling and singing. I know the wine was involved, but I just kept leaning over and telling Ms. Amy that it was bringing me so much joy. It was also getting a little chilly and I was really sad that I left the pashmina in the car. Luckily I got the tour shirt a little big and put that on top of my shirt. 

It took a little while to get to the car and back to Ms. Amy's. We had some snacks before I headed home. If it wasn't a Monday night then we would have planned on dinner first.

I went to bed with a smile on my face. 

The next morning I slept in a little and then got up to start my Self-Care day. I had a few things planned for the day. I was going to meet Ms. Debbie at Sea-Life Aquarium. We hadn't gone there together since January. I like to go there to relax. We recently got an aquarium at preschool and it soothes so many of my anxious kids. Sadly I need a giant walk-through aquarium to soothe me. 

We like to walk through the Aquarium twice. I feel like it was feeding day in the giant tank because the fish were coming super close to the glass. That didn't relax me. Lol. I tend to change my mind on the regular about which is my favorite fish, but lately, it has really been the Lionfish. I just can't take my eyes off it them. I also love the little pufferfish. It was a nice visit. We like to go there when they first open or at odd times when it's not so crowded. 

Afterward, we walked over to Vera Bradley so that I could use my Birthday coupon. I'll spare you all of the details, but I eventually found a beautiful bag that was not what I went in there for at all. I found this beauty for 70% off plus my 25%. And I got a birthday gift at the register. It was a good trip. 

Next, we went to get some lunch. I was very excited to be able to show Ms. Debbie my favorite place. It's only open until 2:30 so it isn't always easy with my schedule. It's called First Watch. I have been going to one with my family in Virginia for years. It's so yummy. In fact, I took my friend to one the morning after the Billy Joel concert. I had mostly eaten breakfasts there. However, I had the veggie burger that last time and it was Delicious. So that's what I got. And it was fantastic.

Self-Care day continued and I stopped for an Iced Latte on my way home. I got the Purple Nose. It's a white chocolate & Lavander latte. It was a delightful indulgence. 

I had one more stop before I went home. I need to vote. There was only one office to vote for on my ballet and the outcome was pretty clear, but it's still important to use your voice. 

As soon as I knew that I was going to the concert I requested off for the next day. I didn't realize just how much I needed it. We have one week of preschool left in the year. I'll have a week off to get the room ready for the summer program and then we will start all over again. 

I'm sure it's going to be a long week so I am going to sign off now. I'll try to write to you again soon. 

 Have a Blessed Evening,

Jennie
xoxo

****Please note****

If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.

jhendersonfit@gmail.com 

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yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)

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