"...these are the Days of our Lives...Part Two..."

At 8:00 p.m. the five cast members arrived and our nightly adventure began...

We were all lined up outside the ballroom for introductions. Stacy and I had no clue how the dinner was set up - if we were all sitting together or if one cast member was out in the crowd sitting at different tables. All of a sudden everything became a whirlwind...

Galen and I were the first to be introduced. He took my hand and we walked arm in arm into the ballroom...lots of applause, lots of cameras going off. He was the perfect "date", pulling my chair out for me and placing my napkin in my lap. Next Stacy escorted James in, then Nadia, Eric and Shawn all came in and sat down at the table. The event coordinator also joined us at the table and that was it...Stacy and I with the cast for a 4 course dinner - 2 hours of (fairly) uninterrupted dining...

Many FUN conversations happened that evening at that 8 person table, none I am able to publish for respect to privacy. I was able to have a very comfortable chat with Galen (the nerves did calm down, but ladies DAMN are his eyes AMAZING!) and James entertained us all with some great stories. What I will share with you is that James is quite the "cheeky" fellow, Nadia is a total sweetheart, Galen the perfect gentleman, and Shawn and Eric are little devils! LOL

After dinner, the cast got up to mingle with the other tables...Stacy and I did our best to keep an eye out for them and were asked to help assist moving them from table to table. We took pictures for people and refreshed drinks when needed (It's a DAMN good thing I'm an event planner LOL). It was great getting to talk with everyone at different tables and met some really fun people!

Stacy and I drove home that evening and just kept saying "did that REALLY just happen?"...and YES it REALLY did. I think the best part was just getting to know the cast as they REALLY are...hilarious, goofy, sweet (and yes gorgeous) people!

It was definitely a night I will never forget...and one of the best Days of my Life.

...these are the "Days of our Lives"...Part One

Growing up at my Grandma Shank's house from the time of my birth, I heard these words every day..."these are the Days of our Lives". It was my Grandma's favorite "story" as she called it back in the day. Grandma would not take phone calls and would sit crocheting while watching "Days of our Lives". I watched the saga through the 70's of Doug & Julie and Alice & Tom. In high school, my friend Sheri Gramlich and I would race home, grab ice cream, watch Bo & Hope and Jack & Jennifer and of course discuss how hot all the guys were on the show....needless to say, I have been a pretty faithful follower of the show - Exception: when Marlena was possessed, I did have to take a hiatus on that storyline.

Over the summer, a dear friend (Stacy Kenyon) and I traveled to Boston for a fun weekend trip (to celebrate my upcoming "milestone" birthday)...after booking the trip, I (being the OCD event planner) started mapping out the itinerary. I found a charity event going on in Wakefield (a suburb north of Boston) benefitting Juvenile Diabetes AND featuring some cast members from "Days of our Lives". I immediately called Stacy to tell her about this development as she has also an avid follower of the show. What luck! Stace and I would be in one of my favorite cities (where I used to live), with an event we could go to featuring our fave "story".

We had no clue what we were in for...

We arrived that morning excited, but not really knowing what to expect for the day's festivities...we found out the cast appearing at the event were: Galen Gering (Rafe), James Scott (EJ), Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe), Shawn Christian (Dr. Jonas) and Eric Martsolf (Brady). First up, the Q & A session with the panel...was fun and some great questions...Stace asked James who he preferred being on screen with-Alison Sweeney (Sami) or Arianne Zucker (Nicole)...Stace really just wanted to hear James talk in that smooth British accent, but she ended up leaving him speechless with that question LOL. Second, there were raffles/auctions...Stace and I originally wanted to win the "Lunch with the Stars", but saw on our sheets that you could win "Dinner with the Stars" which included getting to escort in one of the stars! We decided to set our sights on that option, and guess what...WE GOT IT!!!

Next decision...which of the stars would we escort in??? Let me tell you, this was a dilemna because ALL of them were about the most beautiful/handsome people I have ever seen. Stace already had her sights on James (he's in her "Top 5") so her decision was made. After some careful deliberation at lunch (with wine) and with discussion in line with our new friends Patti and Paula (our Pimpin' Mommas LOL), I chose Galen. Actually it was a pretty simple decision...he's (a) gorgeous (big brown eyes) (b) he's also in my "Top 5" and (c) My Grandpa Shank's first name was Gaylen! (Kinda felt like Grandma was guiding me with that one!).

We were told to come back to the hotel and be outside the ballroom at 7:45 p.m. We raced back to Boston to change and arrived back at the hotel at 7:30 p.m....just enough time to down a vodka/cranberry to shake off the nerves! At 8:00 p.m. the five cast members arrived and our nightly adventure began...