My Birthday Week Was Perfect

I turned 39 on the 10th. Eeek! Forty is creeping around the corner…

But I digress.

I took vacation the week of my birthday because we had big plans – a.k.a. a concert (of course). Before the headlining event, though, my best friend and her husband spoiled me for a couple of days.

Night one involved dolling up and going to Barnes & Noble and Spirit Halloween. We were going to take some pictures; however, a storm rolled in, so we headed back to the house and had a dinner that consisted of chicken fajita nachos and Mexican street corn pasta salad.

The second night we went to 2nd & Charles, then we had a mini photo shoot. We binged horror movies while having dinner.

Tiff and I spent the next afternoon in the pool. We both burned pretty badly, but it was a really good day with 90s music and ham sandwiches.

I headed home and slept for about 12 hours. I did nothing except laze around reading until I decided to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law for the evening.

And then, it was concert day! My brother and I drove up to Nashville to see Pierce the Veil and My Chemical Romance.

Back story: I saw My Chemical Romance in 2007 with Muse, touring for The Black Parade. My brother didn’t get to go. So as soon as I heard they were hitting the road for the 20th anniversary of The Black Parade, I knew we had to buy tickets.

Y’all…it was phenomenal! I mean, obviously they performed The Black Parade in its entirety, but their B set also kicked ass. Definitely worth the money, the drive, the heat, and standing in line for 45 minutes for a tour shirt.

I had another do nothing day before we loaded up for another show. This time, it was me, my brother, my sister-in-law, and their friend JD. We hung out with The Velcro Pygmies, and it was soooo much fun!

The last bit of celebrating happened on the 19th, when my brother and I went in for our heartagram tattoos.

Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures!

Mine is the watercolor; Rick’s is the embroidered patch

2025 Covers You May Have Missed

I am working on the Top 50 of 2025, and I realized that there were quite a few covers released last year. I don’t include cover songs on that list, so I thought I’d share them here.

Also – Crispin Earl of The Veer Union released Covers Collection, Vol. 2 on December 5th, which includes his renditions of “The Kill” by Thirty Seconds to Mars, “Even in Arcadia” by Sleep Token, and more!

Weekly Focus: My Chemical Romance, Day Seven

My Chemical Romance — “Bulletproof Heart,” from the album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (2010).

Weekly Focus: My Chemical Romance, Day Six

My Chemical Romance — “House of Wolves,” from the album The Black Parade (2006).

Weekly Focus: My Chemical Romance, Day Five

My Chemical Romance — “Dead!” from the album The Black Parade (2006).

Weekly Focus: My Chemical Romance, Day Four

My Chemical Romance — “The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You,” from the album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004).

Weekly Focus: My Chemical Romance, Pt. II, Day Three

My Chemical Romance — “To the End,” from the album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004).

Weekly Focus: My Chemical Romance, Pt. II, Day Two

My Chemical Romance — “Headfirst for Halos,” from the album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (2002).

Playlist Challenge, Day 798

My Chemical Romance — “The Sharpest Lives”