I'm Published!!

The paperback version of Rick Springfield's Late, Late at Night was released today.  

Yours truly has a photo appearing in the book!  I received my autographed copy today.

And here I am being a dork!  That's my photo on the bottom of course!

My 13 year old self would so not believe this!!


Go out and get yourself a copy.  I may just autograph it for you! 

Reading Rick's book

For the past couple of days I've been trying to read this....

Rick Springfield's autobiography, which was released on Tuesday.  I'm only about half way through it but my mind has been racing and I have some mixed feelings about it and just wanted to get some of them out.

I can tell you right now this post will probably be quite lengthy so if you don't have much interest in Rick, his life, his book or my thoughts on it you may want to skip this post.

Consider yourself warned ;)

For those who do want to read on I've tried to keep it pretty general and spoiler free in case you have not read the book.  The few things I mention specifically are already out there and have been discussed in the press etc.

So, even before I started reading I was having some mixed feelings about it.  I was excited to get it and read all about my idol.  But I was also a bit apprehensive because of the comments he'd made about even "die hard" fans being shocked by some of the content.  Did I really want to read it?  Would there be things in it that I didn't want to know?  Would it change my view of the man I've "loved" since I was twelve?  I'm trying hard not to let it!

On the one had I feel sad for him because of some of the things he's gone through.  All the rejection, loss, death, sadness and depression.  All the feelings of self doubt, self hatred, and lack of self worth.  All the moving around, always being the new kid and not feeling as if you belong anywhere.  Because I get that.  I've had many if not all of the same feelings myself.  Maybe not to the extent that he has but they've been there and many times still are.  I only moved once when I was a kid but it SUCKED.  Big time.  So I can only imagine what it was like doing it as often as he did.

But on the other hand, he's done some not so good things.  Things I normally don't condone and look down upon.  Things I would never have done myself.  But what am I supposed to think of all that?  I mean should that change the way I feel about his work?  The songs that mean so much to me and kept me going as a teen?  Many of which were inspired by these very things?  Things that happened in the past, many before I was born or even knew who the hell Rick Springfield was?  Can I keep the artist and the man behind it separate?

I dont' know.

I mean, there are so many other bands and singers out there with songs I like.  I don't know much if anything about their past, their personal lives.  They could have done some of the same things yet I still love the songs.  How about people I know in real life?  I'm sure many if not all of them have done some not so spectacular things in their past that I would frown upon but we are still friends.  Still family. 

So just because I chose to read about Rick am I supposed to give that all up because I disagree with some of his choices?  How can I?  His music is part of me and who I am today.  It got me through some rough times and I'm thankful for that.  It means the world to me.

Along those same lines, my husband did some pretty bad things before I met him.  Some maybe worse than what Rick has done.  Some he may never even tell me.  I know he's told me a lot but I still get the feeling there are things he's too ashamed to tell me.  But I was able to get past those things and fall in love with him.  He became my best friend and we've been married for almost 20 years and our marriage is stronger than ever.  So if I can get past what my husband has done, the closest person in my life, shouldn't I be able to do the same when it comes to Rick? 

I don't know.

Then on the issue of infidelity.....I haven't gotten to that part in the book yet but I obviously know it's coming.  I'm trying to decide just how I feel about that.  At first I thought well, that's between him and his wife.  If they are able to work it out and she is able to forgive him for it and stick with him then more power to them.

But then I started thinking about my own feelings on it.  If it happened to me I don't think I could get past it.  To me that intimacy is a very private, personal, meaningful thing and if my husband did that with another woman I would be crushed. 

I have pretty much disowned my father for the same thing.  I haven't seen or spoken to him in over 12 years because he wanted me to accept his new wife.  The woman that had a part in breaking up my parent's marriage.  So how do I disown my own father for it but overlook Rick doing it?  Because it's not personal?  Because there were other circumstances (alcohol) in my parents breakup besides just infidelity that are also part of the reason I haven't had contact with him?  Because it really has nothing to do with me and being a fan of his work? 

Again, I don't know.

The weird thing is, despite the fact I'm having all these conflicting feelings and wondering "am I still a fan, do I still like him, should I be thinking differently of him?", I'm still feeling "protective" of him.  He's had a lot of press lately and when I see an article or a comment on an article that is not so flattering or rude, that's shooting him down for some of these things or as many are, not quite accurate in the details.........seriously if you're going to criticize someone get the facts straight!.....I feel the urge to defend him. 
I'm also upset that I didn't get to go to the book signing at the Mall of America this past weekend like I'd hoped or that I am unable to make the two in Illinois this coming week. 

Does anything in the book change the fact that he and his music has meant so much to me over the years?  Does it make me a bad person if I still want to be a fan? 


Like I said I'm only half done with the book.  Maybe things change.  Maybe my thoughts will change.  We'll see. 

I guess now though after typing this all out I'm starting to realize we all have our own demons, faults and shortcomings.  Who am I to judge what he has done?  Or my dad for that matter? 

Now what do I do?   

Guilty and confused,

Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield

So looking forward to this autobiography from Rick coming in October! Check out the podcast at the link below to hear what he has to say about the book.


Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield by BurstMarketing




Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield

Mother's Day #15

Wow, I can't believe yesterday was my 15th Mother's Day as a mom!  And I love my kids more than I ever imagined.  Well...........most of the time ;) heehee

It was a nice Mother's Day weekend.  I was surprised to have the entire weekend off from work considering I had just been off for 2 and a half weeks for my trip. 

I started the weekend with a girls night out on Friday.  I met a couple friends to go see our man Rick Springfield!  As usual we had a blast.  And you know I can't mention a Rick show without sharing a least one photo!

When I got home from the show I found these on the kitchen table..

My kids snuck out with my mom while I was at the concert to get them for me for Mother's Day! 

Saturday we went to Dave and Busters for lunch to celebrate Tiger's 11th bday and we also treated hubby's mom.  Later on that evening after dinner my kids kept whispering to hubby when they thought I wasn't paying attention.  Turns out they had also gotten an Oreo Cake for me the night before and were trying to decide when it was time for cake!

Then yesterday they all made breakfast and we just spent the day at home.  They all did yard work while I slaved away on the computer finishing up the wedding photos.  Seriously, my hand is sore today and I swear it's from all the photo editing!

Here are a few of those...

You can click on any of the wedding photos to get to the gallery to see more.

Hope all you moms out there also had a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Table Topics Tuesday: Look who's coming to dinner!

This week the topic is: What three celebrities would you invite to dinner?

1.   Rick Springfield

Those that know me know that this is a no brainer!  He's been the "it" guy for me since I was 12. 

2. Ellen Degeneres

I heart Ellen.  She's smart and funny....she talks for a living so she can keep the conversation going since I know I won't be able to say much in the presence of these celebrities!

And since Shannon gave us the libery of choosing living or dead I'm gonna go with

3.  Patrick Swayze

I would have really liked to have met him. 

Still "Live and Kickin'" at 60

Today is Rick Springfield's birthday. His 60th. Wow! I can't believe he's going to be 60 and personally I think he still looks HOT! I can't believe I've been a fan for 28 years! Since 1981 with Jessie's Girl and then General Hospital.

Here are a few photos I took about a week ago when we saw him at the Wisconsin State Fair.

This fall he is guest starring on David Duchovny's show "Californication" on Showtime playing a "twisted version" of himself. I am really looking forward to seeing that. It should be fun. I've started watching the first season of the show to see what it's like. Probably not something I would have normally watched on my own. It's quite dirty......but what can you expect with the word fornication right in the title! lol

Here's a clip of one of the promos. Be careful who you watch this in front of........though this is probably the "clean" version!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICK!!!

Oh, my poor blog

I know I'm not spending much quality time with you. It's not that I don't want to. It's that there just aren't enough hours in the day! I miss you and all your bloggy friends! I think about you all the time, but there are just so many other things going on and things I want to do that I can't always get here everyday! Not to mention the fact that I suck at time management and sometimes just get plain lazy too.



Things like celebrating birthdays, kids activities and band concerts. I had my daughter off of school because of a possible swine flu threat so spent some time with her. We spent a day shopping and doing lunch. I've of course been working a bunch, trying to spend as much time with hubby whenever we happen to have time off together. Trying to clean and get caught up with some stuff around the house....which isn't going quite like I'd like. I've been trying to read more and get caught up on a couple tv shows I have on tivo. Which reminds me.......my Netflix cue is getting longer by the second. There are just more movies I want to see than time to see them.



Oh, and I went to see Rick Springfield again this past Friday. Check out my new favorite photo.....




Don't we look like the happy couple? lol It was a fun night and I love this photo! I can't stop looking at it! My friend from work came with me. Remember the one who dragged me to see the New Kids On The Block? Well, she paid up on her end of the bargain and came to see Rick with me. She even got to meet him and get a photo too. I so think she made out better on the whole deal.......Rick thought so too! :)

So blog, I just want you to know that I still love you and will visit as often as I can! Oh, and can you wish all the moms that stop by a

Very Happy Mother's Day!!!

Flashback Friday: Rick Springfield

Those who read my blog regularly know I'm a big fan of Rick Springfield! So since I am online today trying to get tickets to an upcoming show, I thought it was fitting to put up a RS video for my Flashback Friday post. You knew it was only a matter of time!

'What Kind of Fool am I' is I think my all time favorite RS song! Enjoy!

Oh, and Happy first day of Spring!(field)

Cruising: Days 3 and 4

Saturday our first event didn't start until 11:30 so we slept in a bit. This was the day for the Q & A session with the stars. Rick, Doug, Jackie and Jay sat on stage and answered questions from the crowd. The questions actually went more smoothly than the day before at the acoustic show. They started lines for people to come up to the mic which worked much better than someone walking around with a mic as they did the day before. I think this was one of my favorite parts of the cruise. Rick and Doug were having fun and are hilarious together.

The beach party in Cozumel was scheduled for the afternoon. Unfortunately I have to say this was one of my least favorite parts of the cruise. I had such big expectations for it and it did not live up them at all. They seemed to be unorganized. They didn't start setting up his stage area until our group was there and trying to eat. Then they tell us we need to move the tables we're at so they can set up for him. We then had to clear the area for the second group to have room to eat. So of course they ended up with the prime spots for the concert. We couldn't see a darn thing the entire performance and I have no pictures from this one. The stage was not elevated at all so unless you were right up front you missed out. Then our group had to leave pretty much right after the show to catch the bus back so we also missed out on seeing Rick and the guys during down time on the beach after the show. We did enjoy our time sitting and walking along the beach before the show started, but the entire thing was not worth the extra cost. :(

Sunday we woke up to choppy seas and that did not agree with me at all. I ended up spending a big portion of the late morning and afternoon in bed. I ended up missing our photo session time with the stars. You have no idea how bummed I was (and still am) about that!! Hubby was awesome during the whole thing. He went to get John Waite's autograph for me and tried everything he could to get me a second with Rick for a picture. It finally paid off after dinner this night when I was able to get a quick photo.

I finally started feeling better toward the end of the afternoon so I was able to go to the farewell fan appreciation show. The Squirts performed for about 30 minutes and then Rick took the stage. Another great show and he did some songs he's never played live before or hasn't since the 80s. Like my favorite "What Kind Of Fool Am I"!

For the most part it was a wonderful trip and I'm so glad I went. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. They plan to make it an annual event but the possibility of us doing it again (or being able to afford it again) is pretty slim!

Cruising: Days 1 and 2

Time to blogging about my trip or you'll never hear about it. Most of it took place over a week ago! The first day was a welcome concert with John Waite doing an acoustic set. He played for about a half an hour. I did recognize a few songs from Bad English days, including "When I See You Smile" which Hubby and I used on our wedding video. Hubby was able to get John to sign our 45 album of the song later in the week!



Rick did about an hour concert to welcome us all and start the weekend off. Half way through he announced that drinks were on him and they started handing out free ones. Hubby and I don't drink so it made no difference to us!

Late that night was Movie Night with all the stars. Rick, Doug Davidson, Jackie Zeman, Jay Kenneth Johnson and Mark Goodman. I was surprised at how empty the place was. I think many thought it was a full showing of Hard to Hold but it was actually clips from all the actors and they sat on stage making comments about them. It was quite fun. Got a little long after awhile and I think they did cut it short but not sure. Rick kept making comments about how long it was going! And I must say Doug Davidson is and absolute riot. He had everyone cracking up! What a great guy.

Friday we docked in Key West. Hubby and I booked a glass bottom boat tour. That was nice. I took some pics out the bottom of the boat but you can't see much. We also got to see some Bottle nosed Dolphins on our way out to the viewing area. I liked it but now wish we had just spent more time checking out Key West. We didn't have much time to see much of any of it. :( This is a shot of it from the boat.

Friday afternoon was the acoustic show with both John and Rick. They did a spectacular job. They opened it up for requests and questions. Then John did a full concert with Rick's band. Hubby wasn't to interested in that so we didn't stay for that portion. I was OK with it either way. We just walked around and checked out the ship. Then got ready for formal night dinner. We aren't real big on dressing up so we did the absolute minimum but we still fit it. There was quite a range of dress which made me feel much better. I was fretting about it before we left. The ships photography crew was taking pics that night and we did get a good one from that. I will post it soon.

After dinner was a "bonus" concert on the Lido deck out under the open sky. That was pretty cool. It was open to all the ships passengers not just the Rick cruisers. I did see a few others but I think the majority were us Rick fans. Got my picture taken with Derek from the band after this show. I need to edit that one and the dinner pic and will put them up in another post in a few.

I also have pics of all of these events but don't want to overload my posts. If anyone wants to see these go to my profile and email me. I'm in the process of putting them on snapfish by event and can email you as I get them up!

Spending today playing at the water park etc. I will try to get days 2 and 3 up tonight when we get back to the room and settle in.

Pictures, friends and concerts

I love taking pictures, but sometimes I miss what's right in front of me. I'm so intent on getting the perfect concert shot, landscape or closeup that I forget about everything else.

Like this past week during the Rick Springfield shows........I had my camera with me at all times, met up with friends and met some new people and not once did I think to get pictures with them! Having fun with friends is a big part of the RS concert experience for me and one of the many reasons I keep going back for more. Those are some times you want to capture and remember for a lifetime and I missed them.

I will share a few of what I did get........some of the not so "normal" concert shots.

His hands........I love watching them at work on the guitar.



His boots............I had a dream about these boots so naturally I had to photograph them.

His Aaa.......wait a minute..........How did that one get in there? LOL

PhotoHunt: Thirteen (13)

Running a little behind on my photohunt post today. I had a hard time finding something to photograph that fit the theme. But I remembered an old photo I had so I decided to go retro today and embarrass myself in the process with a pic of me on my 13th birthday.

This is me with one of my favorite birthday gifts of all time...Rick Springfield's "Working Class Dog" album and an "I *heart* General Hospital" mug. I had some rough times around that age and Rick's music is what kept me going. I wore this album out!

And no, my kids did not get a hold of the pic and scribble on it. Twenty years later on my 33rd birthday, I was lucky enough to get the photo signed by Rick himself!

Hubby & I and another couple went to an out of town show he did on the night before my bday. We made a weekend out of it and booked a hotel for the night. It ended up being the same hotel Rick and the band were at. So the next morning as they were heading out to catch their flight hubby *made* me ask if Rick would sign it. It took all the courage I had and if hubby wasn't there to encourage me I probably wouldn't have done it and would have been kicking myself in the a** for the rest of my life!

I was actually able to tell Rick the story of the photo and he wished me a Happy Birthday. I think I floated home that day.

Visit more photohunters here

Something fun

I was just looking around for something fun to post tonight and came across this survey Describe yourself using one band and song titles from that band
Choose a band/artist and answer only in song TITLES by that band::	Rick Springfield
Are you male or female::	Woman
Describe yourself::	American Girl
How do some people feel about you::	Your Psychopathic Mother
How do you feel about yourself::	What Kind of Fool Am I?
Describe your ex girlfriend/boyfriend::	idontwantanythingfromyou
Describe your current girlfriend/boyfriend::	Affair of the Heart
Describe where you want to be::	Living In Oz
Describe what you want to be::	Perfect
Describe how you live::	Every Night I Wake Up Screaming
Describe how you love::	Love Screws Me Up
Share a few words of wisdom:	Celebrate Youth
Take this survey Find more surveys Bzoink - The Original Survey Site

Won't ya let me take ya on a Sea Cruise?

Hubby and I have been wanting to take a cruise since before we were married. We wanted to do it for our honeymoon, but couldn't afford it. It's since been pushed back year after year for one reason or another.


Well, we may just get our chance in November on the Rick Springfield and Friends Cruise. Details on the who and what were posted on www.rickspringfield.com yesterday. Details on the cost will be posted sometime this morning. We are waiting for that info to make our final decision.

Who's gonna join us?

Make it Stop!

Yes, I'm talking about the snow again. I'm so glad I didn't have to work today. The kids are off of school yet again. This is their 3rd snow day. I don't remember having that many in a really long time. At this rate they'll be going to school until July.

Today's the day Rick Springfield was taping the Oprah show in Chicago. I tried to get tickets, but it's virtually impossible to get tickets to see an Oprah taping. It's probably a good thing I didn't get them because I really would have been bummed about not going because of this wicked weather. I am bummed I couldn't go as it is but it would have been worse knowing I had reservations! I hope everyone who was able to go made it there safely. From what I've seen it should be airing next Tuesday Feb 12th.

All about Rick

Rick Springfield that is. Well, as I mentioned before, my hubby and I went to see RS this past Saturday. What a nice bday present that was!
We left around 1pm to head down to Illinois. Can someone explain to me why I still use mapquest? It sucks. For some reason, unknown to either of us, it took us in a random 10 mile circle. We didn't realize until we were actually driving it that it took us off the highway we knew around in a circle and right back on the the same highway we had just been on. Argh! Other than that it was a nice drive, saw lots of farms along the way and went through some interesting little towns.

We got into town just after 3pm and checked out the venue area, then found our hotel, checked in and called the friends we were meeting for dinner. We went to a local family owned restaurant, it was nice but a little "fancier" and of course pricier that we're used to or feel comfortable in. The hostess was kind of snobby too, so that didn't sit well with me the whole time.

The show was wonderful of course. It was held in the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, IL. Very nice older theater. Only problem was that it was lacking in the restroom dept. lol We had great seats, 3rd row on the aisle on the right side of the stage. The show was scheduled for 8pm, but Rick didn't come out until about 9:10. The Squirts opened for him, then the owner of the entertainment company spoke for a while and they had one of employees sing at Rick's request. A little more stalling and then some technical difficulties and we were finally underway with the video montage just after 9pm. This was the first time I had seen the video and loved it, would like to see that show up on a DVD sometime. Though maybe with a little more detail.

As soon as Rick come out there was a bit of a stage rush from some fans behind us. I ended up with the this huge dude in front of me. I was not happy about that, but with the looks and the size of this guy I wasn't about to say anything!! lol Luckily a couple songs in the owner and some security came down the aisle and made people return to their seats. There wasn't a problem after that. Just a few people here and there coming down for a closer pic or two. That I can handle, but I just hate the stage rushing!!

The show lasted for close to two hours. Rick seemed in a very good mood and was having fun. So were the rest of the guys. Matt and George were wireless and were wandering all over the place! It was hilarious at times. I'd been fighting a cold for a few days prior and by the end of the night I could barely speak. Well worth it though.

Here's a pic from when Rick was out in the crowd just across the aisle from us. Love the pics where he's looking right at you!



We also got treated to hearing "Christmas with You" live! I have the CD and had caught the video a time or two before the show but loved hearing it live. Here's that video..

You can find out more about the CD on http://www.rickspringfield.com/, the proceeds are going to help the families of fallen soldiers. You can also hear any or all of the songs at many clear channel radio stations (Christmas with you list). A few songs from his "Live in Rockford" DVD are also available for viewing (Live in Rockford list).

And that brings us to the end of my Rick rant........for now!

August 23, 1949

Join me in wishing my favorite singer, songwriter, actor Rick Springfield a very Happy Birthday!!

Here are a couple pics I've taken in concert this past year.

Not bad for a man of 58, hey?? And here we are when I met him at a sound check in May of 2006.

Concert 2 of 3 RICK SPRINGFIELD

Arlington Heights, IL 7-7-07

This is the one out of the three this weekend that I was most anticipating. Not that I didn't want to attend the other two, but because Rick Springfield has been my favorite since I was a pre-teen!!

I originally planned to attend with my family but at the last minute my husband got scheduled to work overtime on Saturday and had to get back home. I was able to hook up with a friend that let me stay at her place Saturday after the show and came home Sunday.

It was a free show that was held at a local festival. People came early, set up their blankets and/or chairs to claim their spot. We got there early afternoon, found a spot and hung around the grounds until the show. It was freakin HOT that day! Went through a ton of water and luckily found some shady areas to hang out in.

As show time got closer people started to trickle in. It was getting crowded. Once the opening music started everyone started inching closer and toward the center. But it wasn't bad, no pushing or shoving just lots of people crammed together. I did get beer spilled on my foot though!

He started with 'Who Killed Rock n Roll', the new one that should be on his next album (showing my age!). I love that song! It really rocks. Then he did most of the usual stuff from the 80s, got some fans and one of the grounds volunteers to sing 'Don't Talk to Strangers' and had some fun with a couple songs in the crowd. Couldn't even see him for most of that because it was just too crowded and there was really no place for him to get up and stand on anything. He played some slide guitar with someone's cell phone and then made a call to one of her contacts saying we'd all be over for beer and pizza later! He was back on stage for a couple songs, left to change and came back for a one song encore.......shirtless I must add! Very nice :-)

The show seemed to go very quickly (don't they all?). It was over around 9:30. All that waiting around in the hot sun and it's over before you know it. Well worth it though!! I had a blast!

Who wants to go with me next time?

Here's Rodger and George (with Matt and Derek in the background).

3 concerts in 3 days

I hope so anyway!!

I'm headed out in about 4 hours or so to see the Police in Chicago with hubby.
I'm hoping to see Rick Springfield tomorrow night. I'm scrambling here at the last minute to find a ride home! Ahh!
Then on Sunday I'm going with my mom to see an ABBA tribute band.

I'll post all about them when the weekend is over. That is if I survive!

Later :)