Well, It’s Monday Morning and once again I am so happy to be sitting here in my own house listening to Riley chatter about dinosaurs and elephants and know that I don’t have to pack a suitcase again until we head back to MN for Christmas.  But I am also feeling a little sad because the Reba and Kelly tour is officially over and it truly was a really special time for everyone involved.  It was one of those experiences that you have in life that you will talk about forever. I am sure my family And friends will get sick of me telling stories about the time I toured with Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson….I can already hear it “Yes, Melissa!! We KNOW YOU WERE ON THE TWO WORLDS TWO VOICES TOUR IN 2009!!!!”….OR “MOTHER!!!PLEASE STOP DOING YOUR ACT FOR MY FRIENDS!!! THAT WAS 15 YEARS AGO!! LET IT GO”…oh well. A person can’t help talking about something they loved doing.  One reason I am a little sad is I don’t know if I will ever get to see Reba and Kelly sing together on stage again and if you saw the show you know what I am talking about. It was ridiculous how good they sounded.  When they did “Up To the Mountain” and “The Greatest Man” or “Beautiful Disaster” I mean COME ON people can it get any better?  I don’t think so..unless they came to your house, made you dinner, did the dishes, vacuumed the house, sang for you, made you dessert, rubbed your feet, tucked you into bed and then sang you to sleep, tiptoed out of the house and left you a cake and some cash.  That MIGHT be a little better….I am sure Kelly and Reba will work together again in some capacity but there will never be another concert like this one.  And I know I might sound like a parent talking about their own kid, but this was a really fantastic show.  I have seen a ton of concerts and I love music and this truly was one of the best shows ever…and I am not talking about my part in it I am talking about the music, the band, how much chemistry Kelly and Reba had, I really think that no matter if you were a Reba or a Kelly fan you walked out of the show happy.  I am also sad because you really become a family when you travel together so much and I am going to miss my little tour family.  Brett and Terry made me laugh everyday and we just figured out that I should be the navigator when Terry drives.  And I can’t believe it’s over and I am finally beating Reba at Backgammon!!!! I don’t want to brag but I beat her 6 times this last weekend.  The student surpasses the teacher! Anywho, it is a bittersweet morning for me.  But if it had to end I am glad it ended with such a great weekend of shows. It started out with a bang on Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio. “Go Buckeyes”!!  It was a super fun crowd. I am telling you football fans are great audience members because they are not afraid to get loud and that’s the way I like it!  A big shout out to a very good sport and front row sitter Big Brown and his daughter too.  Thanks for playing.  We spent the night and had a great time the next day in Columbus, we had a wonderful lunch at “Lindeys” or is it “Lindseys” Please forgive me if I am saying it wrong.  But it was a beautiful restaurant and the food was awesome and the service excellent…and as a former waitress of many years I so appreciate great service…sure it might be because I am sitting at a table with Reba McEntire but in this case I don’t think so, this staff seemed on top of everything. I would love to go back.  We shopped a little and I have to say I thought Columbus was really pretty; I would like to spend some more time there.  Maybe I can get a job at Lindeys or is it Lindsey’s?

Next stop was Charlotte, NC.  And I got to see my friend Sarah and her family and friends before the show.  It was really good to see them and she is looking so cute, she is pregnant and adorable.  She also gave me an incredible gift.  She made a collage of photos from the tour that she gathered from fans and put them together and framed it. I LOVE it! Thank you Sarah it is the perfect keepsake.  I will be hanging it today. I hope you and your mom and sister and Stephanie enjoyed the show. And Stephanie I hope your second concert ever was as good as the first!  We flew out that night to Baltimore and we were all really tired I think everyone went right to bed.  I lived in Baltimore for bout 7 months in 1999/2000 so I was excited to be back.  I woke up pretty early the next day and started exploring.  The inner harbor was as cool as ever and so many more shops and things to do.  It was also the Thanksgiving Parade that day.  I walked to one of my favorite places in Baltimore and where John and I spent a lot of time. Little Italy.  I went to Vacarros of course.  Got a mochachino, bought cookies.  Then Terry, Brett and I had lunch at De Mimmos.  DELICIOUS! As good as I remember.  We then drove over to Hampden.  I wish I was still hungry because I remembered how much I love Holy Frijoles.  But we shopped instead of eating.  And we made quite a haul at The Red Tree.  Cutest store EVER!!! I wish I had a bigger suitcase because I could have done all my Christmas shopping there. That whole street had even more cute little stores that I remember.  Well, the show that night was pretty emotional for everyone.  People were excited to be going home to their families but sad too because it was going to be over.  There were pranks played that night and everyone was a little giddy and silly. Lot’s of pictures taken for sure.  It was a great show and Kelly and Reba and the bands enjoyed every last second of their time together on stage and rocked it out.  So thank you Baltimore for giving the tour a phenomenal send-off.  And thank you big John for being such a great sport. And Jamie it was so great to finally meet you, I hope you and Brook had fun.

We had an after show party and we danced and ate and drank and hugged and ate and danced and ate and took picture and ate.  It was really fun. 

So Monday morning, and the tour is all over and I am thinking about getting ready to host 20 people for thanksgiving and all of the cleaning and shopping I need to do and thinking what’s next for me? Will the pilot get picked up? Will I ever work again?  Is that a dried raisin stuck in the rug? Do people like yams? Who did I tell to bring rolls?  I look at my little boy and realize none of that matters. I have much to be Thankful for and what is next for me is in God’s hands and I just remembered I told Pete to bring rolls.  So instead of writing my To DO list I am going to do this list first.

Thanks:

For Riley, who just brought me flowers from the front yard.

For my family,

For giving me so many friends who love me even when I don’t call back right away.

For the opportunity to make people laugh.

For Riley.

Well, I gotta go.  I will have more later I am sure. Lot’s going on in this big blonde head. So goodbye for now and THANKS.

Melissa P

Well, it’s Monday morning; I am back in LA after another great weekend on the road with Miss Reba and KC. I just made Riley some French toast and he is watching Charlie Brown right now. So I am feeling good about making him a homemade breakfast but a little guilty about letting watch a DVD while he eats it.  What can you do? 1 out of 2 ain’t bad! Anywho, this was a really special weekend on the road for me.  First of all, I had missed the last weekend because of shooting the pilot, which went awesome by the way and was so excited to be back with my girls and second of all I had a lot of great people coming to see the shows..I will get to them in a minute.  The shows were so much fun and I had so many wonderful fans out there with signs and that always makes me happy who doesn’t like to see there name on a sign?!! Unless it says something like “Melissa Sucks” that would not be so much fun but thankfully I didn’t see any of those. Albany was a great crowd..I don’t know what they’re drinking but I want some if it! They were ready to have fun and party. A shout out to “Big Bill” in the front row. He was a great sport.  I also have my own guitar picks that Terry Fox, one of the backstage crew heroes, had made for me and I love them.  I threw them out this weekend and felt like a rockstar.  Friday night was Cleveland and Cleveland ROCKS! I so loved it there and wish we stayed the night because I wanted to go to the rock and roll hall of fame..I have never been.  I have a lot of friends who have lived there (not in the rock and roll hall of fame but in Cleveland) and just loved it so I really want to come back and explore.  I also got to meet my sister’s future in-laws.  They live there and came to the show so Thanks for coming Judy and Dave Kowalski! I look forward to seeing you again and I can’t wait for Matthew to join the family and I hope after seeing the show you aren’t scared to have me at the wedding! I promise to behave! Matthew is a great guy and he makes my sissy happy so that makes me happy. We flew out right after the show and headed to Grand Rapids, MI.  And I loved having the day there to explore a little. I thought the city was beautiful and reminded me a lot of Minneapolis.  We went to the gaslight villiage and we found a really cool antique store and I shopped.  I also ordered a drum set for Riley for Christmas (Reba thinks I’m crazy) but he is going to love it and it’s super cool.  He is already a loud child (imagine) so I figured a drum set can’t be that much worse.  The show that night was fantastic.  First of all I had 2 very special guests there.  Riley and Janet.  Riley is a great guy who runs Melissapeterman.net and is a super-fan and a super-friend.  He does such a great job with the website I thought it was run by a 35 year-old web-designer not someone still in high-school! He is probably a genius and he brought me candy so he is pretty much perfect in my book.  So Riley and his mom Janet (who drove him to the show from Canada, BIG MOTHERS DAY PRESENT FOR HER) came backstage before the show and hung out for a while.  Riley also gave me a beautiful book that he compiled from my fans that made me cry.  So thank you Riley, and thank you all the fans from melissapeterman.net that was really sweet and I will treasure it.  And a thank you to Kathy for the shirt! So awesome.  AND I know I am saying thanks a lot but a very big thanks to “Big Bob” in the front row! I love my necklace and the sweet note.  I hope your group had a great time at the show! You all made my night.  I have only 2 more weekends with Reba and Kelly and I am already getting sad. This has been one of the coolest things I have ever gotten to be a part of and I don’t want it to end.  But I will enjoy every minute of the next two weekends on the road and if we’re coming near you get your tickets now! Have a fantastic day!

Xxooo

Melissa P