The most amazing time of anything ever in the existence of all of it.

Y'all... I literally just had the most amazing experience and even though it happened like three days ago... I'm still very AAAAHHHHHH!!!! about it.

I got to see... live in concert... my favorite performer in the history of ever... JELLY ROLL.

And when I say it was good... it was SO GOOD. The dude literally has me walking on cloud nine and smiling so hard my face hurts. Jelly was literally the first artist I ever followed starting from the underground. I remember hoping to find mixtapes (how old did that just make me sound?) back in the day... and didn't care if I had to swipe from a party or friend!

Welcome to the Trap House? Nah... Welcome to my favorite musician to ever grace the presence of a stage in general.

I didn't think I was ever going to get to see Jelly perform live. While I love him... TicketMaster is NOT exactly in our regularly scheduled budget. However... I married the most amazing man on the planet and I mean, he had to descend from greatness, right? 

Insert... my MIL. The company she works for gets tickets to basically any kind of performance that happens at the Kia Center in Orlando, FL. Sports... standup... and MUSIC. Her and my FIL make the most of the ticket grabs and she's even taken the other kids and some friends. I mean, honestly, why wouldn't you make the most of it?

She was telling us all this when we were down in FL this past April and I made the joke, "Haha... well if you ever get tickets to Jelly Roll I call dibs! I'd totally drive my ass down here just for Jelly!" Hardy har har... right?

WRONG. Not even three weeks later, Trisha Noelle got on that phone and said, "baby... see you in September!" I was so damn excited I know I had to look like 👀 and sound something like 😱. Tell me I didn't marry into the most amazing family on the planet and I'll call your fucking bluff.

FOR MONTHS I had anticipated this and was practically bouncing on my tiptoes waiting for the day we would head to Florida and by extension... JELLY. And come last Friday evening... my hubby loaded us and our babies up and on the road we were.

The concert wasn't until Tuesday night (that's right... Jelly sold out the Kia Center on a motherfucking Tuesday!), so we got to spend the weekend with the family and had a good ole time... swimming, cooking, drinking, tattooing, meeting Mitch's new gal (who happens to be adorable), and basically, just being together. 

Late nights turned into early mornings and coffee as always, keeps me going. We truly needed this vacation... and my spirit feels a little refreshed and serene.

Cut to Tuesday evening... MIL watched our babies and loaded us into an Uber to send us downtown Orlando. So many firsts... first time using Uber... first time seeing Jelly... first time having all access to a private suite at any venue... first time at the Kia Center... first time going to a concert with my hubby... first time I almost punched a security guard in the face because she was in between me and my mission to see Jelly (plus, she was just plain fucking rude)... first time I watched it rain in a building... first time I ever paid that ridiculous amount of money for two sweatshirts and one t-shirt... first time leaving my babies with a sitter... just all the firsts.

Then... the time came. JELLY took the stage and Katie started having heart palpitations. Nobody makes me feel my feelings quite like Jelly always has... afterall, there's a reason my playlist is called "Jammin' to Jelly."

Dev and I laughed and sang and cried and danced and basically just lived in the wonderment. I didn't take one picture... I was too engrossed in the stage and couldn't pull my eyes away. Luckily, once again... hubby had my back. 

IT. WAS. AMAZING.

Of course, we're back home now and back to our regularly scheduled programming... but I would be lying if I said I wasn't still walking on air. Life isn't always happy and there are plenty of things to make us feel down or try to break us... but this? This memory will last forever and the fact I got to share it with my husband made it all the more special and priceless to me.

So... shout out to my MIL- YOU'RE THE BEST AND I LOVE YOU. And shout out to my husband- I COULDN'T DO LIFE WITHOUT YOU! I LOVE YOU! And shout out to Jelly because- THAT WAS THE MOST INCREDIBLE SHOW.

Now if you'll excuse me... I have to go be a regular ole adult now. No worries... still star-eyed mentality though.

💜If you were here to see sixty... you'd deny you were sixty.💜

Today is Momma's 60th birthday and with that comes alot of emotions. Emotions that I would rather not deal with and so... I've decided to spend the day in happy instead of sadness.

I truly believe Momma looks out for me and still checks in on occasion (or maybe I'm just insane... two things can be true!) and she wants all the happiness for me. While my life looks different... it's because I'm different... I've come to learn and accept and try to process the things I've learned and realized throughout this year. 

It's been alot... and overwhelming. And while I have many things on my mind... the fact that I still love my Momma will forever reign the helm. I can't talk about her without feeling all the things... so I leave it with: 

Happy Birthday, Momma. I know you'd be just as beautiful today as you were the last day we spent together and all the days before that. I love you and I miss you and I hope... even though it's nothing like you raised or thought I would be... I truly hope I make you proud. I love you with all my pieces.

You can just go ahead and call me a gamer now.🎮🎮

That's untrue. Like... not true... AT ALL. The only game I ever played with any consistency was Mario on Nintendo... and even that was scarce. My brother was super into gaming growing up... had all the new consoles and games when they dropped... but... I was not exactly allowed to play on his gaming consoles because they were his and he didn't want me to touch them. None of my friends ever gamed when I was over... granted I was usually at work instead of hanging out... but still. I never even had a console of any kind that I was allowed to touch before my husband.

So... gamer... I am not.

And isn't that kind of hilarious? I am literally from the generation that couldn't wait to jump on board and excel with technology... surrounded by people who made gaming a fuckin Olympic sport broadcast throughout the world with more conventions than you could shake a stick at... and I got... nothing.

Seriously, for the most part I couldn't even tell you what any of those controller buttons fucking do. I mean, common sense would let me figure out a few things... but that was it. The rest? I got nothing, dude.

I always wanted to learn how to game. Not so much I wanted to be a "hardcore gamer" but I have always wanted to be able to load something up and at the very least participate. I didn't have to be great at it... shit I didn't even have to be decent... as sad as it sounds... I just wanted to be apart of it. But I learned fairly quickly... if people even let you participate at all... they get extremely irritated if you're not already on their level.

Like... HELLO?! How am I supposed to be on any level when I've never done this before a day in my fucking life? I HAVE NO LEVEL.

No matter how much desire I had to learn... I also didn't really have the inclination to buy a gaming console, pick the games, learn and play all of it by myself. Nothing about that seemed fun... it seemed like a chore. So... I let it go an resigned myself to being one of those people that just didn't do it. Having been shut down at every opportunity that had been presented... it just didn't seem worth it. Another one of those things.

But then... like he always does... my hubby had my back.

Now... he IS a gamer. The man can play any game you set in front of him... I've seen it happen. While he plays and tries all sorts of games... he reigns supreme at Call of Duty. And yes... I know there are like fourteen million COD games, but he fucking rocks them all.

Mobile. Online. Xbox. Playstation. Probably fucking board game if Monopoly has a version. The man can take two minutes and then *POOF* magic.

I love watching him play. He plays the most on his mobile and sometimes I'll just stare over his shoulder to watch what's going down. It's probably annoying as all shit... but he doesn't complain and even turns his phone a bit to give me a better angle when he notices. People probably think I'm psychotic and always checking his phone over his shoulder but honestly... we both do it. I like to watch him game and he likes to check on my reading. WE DO WHAT WE WANT.

He was always an Xbox kind of guy... but his Xbox took a dump not too long ago and we hadn't ever really replaced it... he just stuck to mobile.

AND THEN... Labor Day weekend rolled around and we were thinking of things to do for the long weekend. We already planned to spend as much time together as possible... we had our babies with us... we hung out with Mavis... tattooed of course... but then we were like ???

So Dev started telling me about his tournaments while we were having some banana bread... just a run through of everything that's been going down. I like to talk gaming with him even though I don't have the first clue what's happening. That led into the conversation of me telling him the story of why I don't know how to game even though I've always wanted to learn. He knew I didn't have the first clue to what I was doing... never had... but he had assumed it was because I just didn't care for it. Tried it and moved on.

NOPE. Just never had the opportunity presented and was flagged at every other turn. To say he didn't take kindly to his wife "never having that option as a kid" didn't sit well with him would be an understatement. Next thing I know, we made an agreement, said fuck it... and he took me to Gamestop. We walked out with a PS4, two controllers, and COD: Modern Warfare III.

And then promptly had to return the PS4 for a new one because the first was glitchy... and trade COD: MWIII for COD: Black Ops III and Smurfs Kart. Because split screen apparently isn't available for everything. Who knew? Apparently every single person but me... that's who.

Now my hubby is teaching me to game. And he's being about the sweetest and most patient person on the planet with me. The more we play the more he realized I truly didn't even have a starting clue so he breaks it down for me bit by bit as much as he can.

It's alot to try and remember and absorb... especially when I have ZERO hand/eye coordination... but I'm trying and having so much fun. It's a whole new experience for both of us. Me for never having done this... him for never having taught it. Especially from the basics. I think he enjoys it as much as I do... at least I hope so. 

We can just curl up, turn on some COD and take out zombies together.

I'm getting better. Trust me when I tell you I'm still NOT good... better than the first day... but better is not good just an improvement. But that isn't going to stop me from sharing this with my hubby. I may not be the best teammate for COD... but he's not complaining and we're having fun. 

And that, my friends, is how I became a gamer... ish person.

Or... at the very least... how I became my hubby's little late night zombie killer.