So much has happened in 2012! Here are my peaks!

1. DJs & Concerts 

DJ Scene
I've been a DJ Jelly fan since 2001. Joy and I first heard DJ Scene's awesomeness when we were in Las Vegas in 2009 when he was playing a set at Studio 54. We weren't expecting much but were blown away by his ability to read and rock the crowd and seamless transitions. He is such a master at his craft!



He played KC several times in 2012, and we made sure at least one member of Team Scene was there at every performance to support! We almost lost our minds when we heard he was playing the Mainstage at Power & Light back in April after the Royals' Home Opener game!





Girl Talk 
This guy's blend's are amazing, but be sure not to mistake him for a DJ. He just pushes play, but it's definitely music the people want to hear!



The crew was in the building when Girl Talk performed at the MainStage at Power&Light. It was such a wonderful show, even if he was douchy beforehand.





Dancefestopia
Dev, Yelawolf & Wiz Kalifah











Tupac Hologram
Coachella this year brought it to the next level when Snoop Dogg performed with a hologram of slain rapper Tupac Shakur. Rumors circulated about how this could transform music performances and have shows headlining Elvis', John Lennon, and other dead performers.

Jay Mohr
I won a Facebook contest to see Jay Mohr perform at The Midland. I've been to several comedy shows in my life and most of the time I laugh out of politeness. I'm sure if they could hear me puerile would absolutely know that I was faking. I kind of expected the same thing with Jay Mohr. I live watching comedies on tv, but rarely do I ever laugh out loud. I've always enjoyed Jay's impersonations of Tracey Morgan, but I really started being a Jay Mohr fan when he first hosted for Andy Cohen in Watch What Happens Live. This dude absolutely killed it! I laughed so hard that I was crying. The laughing where you can't breathe, but can't stop laughing either. Amazing he is! 

Red Bull Home Thrown / Thr3estyle 
The Red Bull Thre3style competition was made for someone like me. I love the artistry of DJ'ing and it was my first time getting to see DJ P perform live. We were there cheering for JT Quick, but we appreciated all of the performances and had a fantastic time. DJ Sku won, but this cat from St Louis had an awesome set as well! Home Thrown was such a unique event that was held at Grinders, where local bands would play while DJs would perform. It was so hot that night and the music was even hotter. DJ Mike Scott and Spinstyles performed and there was even some beatboxing from Spin's roommate.

SpinStyles Birthday
Spin's birthday at the Root Room (or Hurricane for the O.G.s) was pretty amazing. SofaKing Evil, Damaged Goods, and 816 Boys performed.

DJ P
DJ P performed a vinyl set with Mike Scott at Fuel in Overland Park. My friend, DJ iRock tried teaching me a little about mixing with Serato when we were in Chicago the week before I got to see DJ P perform live. My little class was certainly a 50,000 foot overview, but even with the small amount of knowledge, I could totally respect how hard it must be to do what DJ P dies using all vinyl. It was so amazing, and I just couldn't wrap my mind around the work he was doing.

Kendrick Lamar
For my birthday this year, I got to see Kendrick Lamar perform at The Midland! One of the best parts was seeing a crowd member with fuzzy ear hat stand on speakers and get real crunk. At the end of the show, Kendrick pulled that fan on stage and performed his last song before they walked off together.

We Be Clubbin'
Chicago Style One of my husband's best friends is a DJ in Chicago and while visiting him we got to go to many clubs that would otherwise probably not let me in. One of my favorites was Underground in the River North. It was so dark that I couldn't take any pictures, but the theme was an old underground bunker with maps on the walls and coffee tables that looked like shipping containers with radiation symbols spray painted on them. Cocktails were $15+ but the atmosphere was fantastic and the DJ even played a couple songs that we were dying to hear! My other favorite club was a play really far south in a Chicago suburb called Bourbon Street. At first glance it would seem like Bourbon Street would be totally opposite of something that would appeal to me. From the outside it looks like tiny bar and grill in a strip mall similar to Coach's on 103rd and Wornall. On the inside this place was massive! There were so many sections and rooms. There was a concert room with a large bar where a band called 7th Heaven was playing. When the cover band started to perform, I knew I was going to hate them by the way that they looked. However they were remixing the songs in such an intelligent way that I couldn't get enough! The outdoor There is a covered outdoor patio with many huge flat panel TVs and large tables. There is another covered section for people playing corn-hole. There were also uncovered outdoor sections. Then there was a DJ room with 2 large bars that lined the walls. This is where DJ iRock played. My friend went to the bathroom and discovered yet another large room where a live band was playing slower rock music. The best part was the cheap drinks and no wait for the humongous bathrooms!


2. TV 

Vampire Diaries
Last November in New Orleans I heard my friend Jackie discussing with one of her friends how she watches The Vampire Diaries. Even though, I quietly wondered what type of 30-something would watch such a show. Since I'm not a teenager, I don't watch the the CW or WB or whatever crap channel it's on. I don't even think Twilight is all that great. What's the deal with the obsession with vampires as of lately? My husband brought home a new Blu-ray player on a cold winter night. It had Netflix capabilities, so I curled up in bed and decided to investigate what I could watch on Netflix. One thing led to another and I decided to give The Vampire Diaries a try. I am so happy I did. I've watched the first 3 seasons and hopefully it remains good.

2012 London Olympics
I was really hoping the 2012 Olympics would be in Chicago. We even planned a trip to visit during the games. Obama and Oprah went to propose that the Olympics come to Chicago but we lost to London. I don't like sports in the least bit, but when it comes to the Olympics, something comes over me and I can't get enough of it. I liked the 2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony much better, but it was still fun to watch all of the athletes walk out onto the field and read the stats for each country.


3. VACATIONS

Chicago Architecture Tour
One of my must-do is the Chicago River Architecture Tour. I get quite motion sick easily and I was having quite a bit of anxiety about this trip, but fuck it - YOLO! :O) I lucked out and got the "big" boat. It was no problem at all for me. I loved every second of this trip and the tour gave me a new-found appreciation for architecture. 5 Stars and 2 Thumbs Up!








Atlantis
Ever since The Oprah Winfrey Show filmed from Atlantis, I knew that this was a place I had to visit once in my life. It was a bucket-list item for me. My sister had previously went with her in-laws and she warned me of the expensive food. With that in mind, I prepared by bringing lots of snacks. I feel like we had a much better trip than my sister because there was quite a bit of drinking involved on our trip. :O)





Wichita Falls, TX
In October, we got to visit my baby brother, his wife, and their 3 beautiful children in Wichita Falls. It was such a wonderful time getting to finally see his new house and spend time with them. I am always afraid that since they live so far away that they will not know who I am and I always want them to know that just because I do not live near them that I love them just the same as my nieces and nephew who live close-by. It was so wonderful going with my sister-in-law to pick up her daughter, Jessica, from pre-school and picking her up each day. I got to catch a glimpse of their day-to-day lives.
 












4. Google
This year my Nexus 7 arrived the same day that Google released their Fiberhood sign-up for Google Fiber in Kansas City. I absolutely live my Nexus 7 and can't wait to kick TWC to the curb for the poor performance and terrible and shotty service despite my consistent and on-time bill payments that they have received for the last 11 years.


5. Fifty Shades of Grey
I originally heard about this new book fad on Dr. Oz. All of the women were talking about this book that is doing amazing things for their love life and an older woman stood up said that she thought found the book to be sad and tragic. She thought that the main male character was abusive since he isolated her from her friends and family. That's all she had to say and I was hooked! I was drawn to her complete opposite view of the exact same book that the other women were raving about. I immediately went and got the first book and read it. I couldn't put it down and read it over a weekend when my husband was in Los Angeles shooting a wedding. I just kept wanting to know what happened next. My friend, Lann, was reading it at the same time and we had the best time tearing the book apart with each other. The book was full of descriptive sex scenes and really weird dialog between the characters. I was sad after I finished the first book and couldn't bring myself to continue the series, so I took a break and read books by Chelsea Handler, Kathy Griffin, and also tried starting the Steve Jobs Biography. Occasionally, I'd mention it to my friend Joy and finally after a month, she read the first one too! She read all three books before I even finished book 2. She kept encouraging me to finish the trilogy and finally I did. I was finally able to build up enough inner-strength to continue and I was so glad that I did. The The love story was such a roller coaster. As the series went it on, it phased out the overly-detailed sex scenes and introduced lots of drama. Just what I crave!

 

Another book, by Sylvia Day, came out this summer with a very similar story line. Many of the women hooked on Fifty Shades transferred to this series, but I felt like it was just a copycat of Fifty with better dialog and slightly different characters.


6. Ikea 
The closest Ikea we have is 8 hours in each direction (Denver to the west, Chicago to the northeast, Minneapolis to the north, and Dallas to the south). For years, I've written Red Development and other developers around the city to try and see if they would bring a Ikea. No response. On September 26th, Ikea announced that they would open a store in Merriam, KS in 2014. My dreams have come true, unfortunately, it will be about a year too late for the complete furnishing of my new house. So I guess my husband and I will still have to rent a u-Haul and go to Chicago or Dallas Ikea.


7. Internet Videos
There is no doubt about it, I love internet videos. Here are my favorites from the year.

Doug Pitt for Virgin Mobile


Sophia Grace & Rosie on Ellen

Honey Boo Boo


Katelyn's Corner

The New York Giants after they won the super bowl

8. Hammocks 
After a wonderful evening of dinner with the Hamm's, comedy show with Jay Mohr, Mike Scott at Hotel, and meeting DJ Tina T at Luna, my husband surprised me on the way home with a trip to the Hammocks in downtown KC by the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

9. Websites
IFTTT - This has greatly improved my life with automatic tech recipes.
Pinterest - This website gives me hours and hours of ideas and procrastination!
Reddit - When I feel disconnected from the world events, Reddit keeps me up to date on the latest politics, world news, and cat happenings.

10. Meeting my nephew, Hudson!