Posts Tagged ‘Music’

What snu?

Friday, April 30th, 2010

It is funny how life seems to be so hectic, but when I go to list what has been happening, there really isn’t too much.

Anna is playing softball again this spring. She is on a team w a different coach, but a couple girls are the same from last year. Funny thing about softball–the socks. One is purple and one is gold. The purple one went missing (wherever missing socks go) after 1 game. Instead of just wearing regular socks, she wore the gold one and a regular sock. Didn’t want you to think it was a gang sign or anything.

PS–the purple sock turned up this past weekend (after about 3 weeks on vacation). It was under our bed.  Imagine that–a dirty sock 2 feet from where the clothes got pulled off and dropped. Who would have thunk it??

Anna rounds 3rd on her way home.

Tyler is playing baseball (T ball really). He is the only kid who gets overhand pitched to and he SMACKS it every time. He has a great swing and really crushes it. He gets that from me I am sure. The main thing he has been doing though is GROWING! This past weekend I think he ate and laid around the entire weekend. He even put himself down for a nap (normal for me, NOT for this 6 year old boy).

What do growing 6 year old boys and lazy 77 year old dogs have in common?

A few weekends ago Paul and I went to see Simplified play at the Blind Tiger again. Their songs are great and it is always a good time (made better by the recent legislation banning smoking in bars and restaurants). Turns out the band’s drummer broke his wrist so they had a new kid who did ok. Just a little different vibe since he was new.

Simplified in concert April 16, 2010 @ The Blind Tiger

We like that band so much that their song, “Home,” was the one that we walked down the aisle to at our wedding. Lyrics:
Never thought I would be the one who,
Found someone to make me feel like you do,
It’s true I dreamed of you,
And you came in right on cue,

At the Simplified concert April 16.

Tyler and I were playing basketball one afternoon (which means I was rebounding for him–I am allowed 1 shot per 1 million Tyler shoots). All of a sudden he stops and runs over to the yard by the fence. He wanted to pick me flowers and insisted that I put them in water right away so they would last. Here is a photo of my gift:

What more could a girl ask for?

I have been reading quite a bit lately (Paul would say “as usual”). I recently finished House Rules by Jodi Picoult. She could make the phone book a best seller. LOVE her writing style. I also finished Walking on Broken Glass. It was ok. I am part way through The Irresistible Henry House. It is quirky so far. Henry House is an orphan who is adopted by a Home Ec Dept of a college in the 40′s so his 6 “mothers” rotate weekly for a semester, then he gets a new batch of mother every 4-5 months. It follows him through life to watch how messed up this makes him. It is supposedly fiction, but I think these programs really did exist. I introduced Paul to Bill Bryson and Dave Berry. That’s right, Paul is STILL reading! He even said his next book will be FICTION. Imagine that!!!

We have been riding a lot more now that the weather has warmed up. We are doing our first mountain ride this weekend. Can’t remember exactly how much climbing, but its a lot. Hopefully the bike Garmin will work to measure climbing feet like it is supposed to. Last weekend there was such a drastic change in pressure w that big storm that it said at one point that the incline we were on was 850% grade! WHOA!

Simplified Concert

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Last night Susan and I went with our friends Wes and Julie to see Simplified play at the Blind Tiger. For those that don’ t know Simplified they are a great band from Charlotte NC. I have been to see them live several times now and the shows have always been great. They were so good last night that we stayed for the whole thing and Susan wasn’t telling me we had to go. That means we didn’t even leave the club until 1:30 and she stayed awake the whole time!  It is 11:30 right now and she is still asleep so she is making up for it today.

Us with Clee Laster (vocals, guitar) and Chris Sheridan (guitar) from Simplified

Us with Clee Laster (vocals, guitar) and Chris Sheridan (guitar) from Simplified

Simplified

Simplified

Simplified

Simplified

We Did It Again

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Back in May Susan and I got sick and gave up our spots in the White Lake half iron distance race. Well this weekend we did it again. We were suppose to run in the Victory Junction half marathon on Sunday, but we had both been sick on and off for the previous 3 weeks.  Because of that we hadn’t run in almost a month. When we woke up in the morning it was 35 degrees and poring rain so we decided not to go (we had really decided the night before).  All and all this hasn’t been our year for races. I had my blister issue in the marathon and we had rain, we were both sick and had to skip White Lake, I was running a fever during the Blues Lake triathlon but did it anyway, blisters again for me at the Mission Man triathlon, and then we got sick and couldn’t do Victory Junction (not to mention the weather). Hopefully next year will turn out better for us as far as races go.

On a brighter note Susan got us tickets to a Carolina game for my birthday so we will be going to that next week. This will be Susan’s first time in the Dean Dome which makes it even more exciting. I went to a exhibition game earlier this year while Susan was at her fall “camp crop a lot” so it will be my second game of the year!

Eric Clapton is coming to Raleigh in March and we got tickets for that this weekend. I had heard a few weeks ago that he is going to be in New York with Jeff Beck in February so I think Susan was relieved when she heard on the radio that he is going to be in Raleigh. She of course made sure to call and let me know right away. Before I heard that I was buying plane tickets and headed to New York. It would be fun to see him with Beck but the cost savings of going to Raleigh instead is too much. So between going to B.B. King, a Carolina game(s), and Clapton we are doing good on the entertainment front…now if our racing would only catch up.

This N That…

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Not much to report lately, which is kind of nice really. :) We have been getting a few requests to update the blog so here are the highlights:

SICK

I stayed home from work Monday and Tuesday of last week (9/28 and 29). At first I thought it was flu, which means automatic 7 days out of work. Luckily (?) it was only a sinus infection. I am finally feeling back to normal today (10/6) 1 week later. It has indeed thrown a wrench in my training and weight loss progress (more later). But as of tonight (great run!) I am back on track. Paul and the kids had gotten the respiratory funk a couple times in earlier weeks. I think we all are on the mend. I got my flu shot and the H1N1 flu vaccine will be at our site in a few weeks at the latest. Because I am a high risk person (asthma) in a high risk job (healthcare), I am near the top of the list. Which I feel mixed about since they are still looking at long term side affects. I did also get a pneumonia vaccine free at work b/c of the high risk thing and the fact that the H1N1 tends to affect respiratory system and turn to pneumonia.

HEALTHY

So Paul and I have been in a weight loss contest of sorts w each other for a couple months now. My goal is 11 pounds, Paul’s is 7 (I think). So we weigh in every Wed morning and if we have dropped weight we get a certain amount of money we chose put towards the kayaks that we want (but cannot afford). If we did not lose, but we did our workouts for the week (training for the 1/2 marathon in Dec), we put 1/2 the money back. So far I have lost about 6 1/2 pounds. This means that I am under the cut off for what our life insurance company thinks is high risk. So once I can stay there, I will get re-tested and save us some money!

KIDS

Tyler had a hard time w getting used to school and its routine/restriction/discipline, but he has been doing much better recently. He lost his 2nd tooth yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night (ok, 10:30) and heard him rolling around, then nothing, then…”yessss!!!!” He had found his quarter from the tooth fairy.

Tyler's first lost tooth

Tyler's first lost tooth

Anna is kicking butt in school. She has her dad’s spelling prowess so we have been working on that, but she has aced her test each of the last 2 weeks. She is very much into mermaids right now.

Both kids love riding their bikes, Tyler prefers trails and Anna the road. Tyler wants to play hoops this winter. Anna changes her mind daily, but did decide she wanted to do a craft from a book she got from Miss Sallie, one of the triathletes I coached through Team in Training this season. Sallie works at Edward McKay, a local used bookstore we LOVE LOVE LOVE. Anna got to go a couple weeks ago and pick some books ($3 worth) b/c she got to 10 on her reward chart (for following the rules at school and home).

FUN

Paul read one of my books about Michael Jordan–its about his retirement and (first) comeback. I recently read 2 books my mom brought me: Never Change (Elizabeth Berg) and Garden Spells (Sarah Addison Allen). Now I am reading Seven Summits–it is about the first 2 guys who climbed the highest mountain on each of the 7 continents. Next comes 2 books I got in Wilmington at one of my favorite little shops, Two Sisters Bookery. My choices are Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work (Jason Brown) or Breakfast with Buddha (Roland Merullo). The weekend of Sept 20th (our anniversary!!) Paul and I went to Wilmington for the race that my TNT peeps did.

L to R: Tom, Sallie, Kathy, me

L to R: Tom, Sallie, Kathy, me

The weekend after that my parents came down and we had lots of fun, especially at the zoo w Paul’s mom, sis and her kids.

Mom, Dad, Susan, Paul at lunch at Fishbones

Mom, Dad, Susan, Paul at lunch at Fishbones

Tyler stylin' in my cap while he fixes my hair (at the zoo).

Tyler stylin' in my cap while he fixes my hair (at the zoo).

Girl time at the zoo!

Girl time at the zoo!

Then last weekend Paul and I went to see B.B. King in Myrtle Beach’s House of Blues. It was SO KICK ASS! I will let him tell the rest. :) No new real house projects in progress. Saturday will be an easy weekend at home so we will have chore day (shhh–Paul and the kids don’t know yet).

The Drums Are Here

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

The moment that Susan has been looking forward to has arrived. Tyler’s new drums came this weekend and I got them together before he got here today. This morning before Tyler got here I caught her in his room playing them (I had guessed that would happen). When he got here he was so excited. Susan’s parents are coming this weekend and he said that they would love to hear him play so he has been practicing for them.

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Stay of execution

Monday, September 7th, 2009

Sorry for not updating sooner, thanks for the prompt, Biz.

Paul began assembling the set shortly after the kids boarded the bus Friday at 6:50am. About an hour later the news was grim–the base drum frame thingy had a crack. Long story short, we had to ship it back. What we SHOULD have taken pictures of for entertaining our blog readers is us REPACKAGING the drums in the original packing materials. Yikes. We only forgot 2 pieces: a package of nuts and bolts and the return invoice thing. Minor details, eh?

I imagine that it will be a couple weeks now between the exchange happening (length of time could vary depending on how important those missing pieces are to the drum company), the shipping back to us, then waiting for the kids to return to Robin’s to it can be assembled. We will keep you posted.

T minus 6 days and counting…

Sunday, August 30th, 2009
Percussion station at Life and Science Museum

Percussion station at Life and Science Museum

Yep, I gave in….

Look at that face--pure joy!!

Look at that face--pure joy!!

Paul found a really good deal and we were going to do it for Christmas anyway.

Anna also got in on the act

Anna also got in on the act

So they have been shipped and should arrive this week. Plan is to put them together in Tyler’s room this weekend while they are w Robin.

He could not get between the drums and cymbals stations fast enough!

He could not get between the drums and cymbals stations fast enough!

Then when they come back to us on Labor Day, we are going to fake him being in trouble and send him to his room right away. So shhhhhh, its a secret!! Only 1 question remains–Paul, when do my sound cancellation head phones arrive? :) Plan B is for me to hide under the cornhole board w Bluesy:

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My New Drummer

Friday, July 10th, 2009

Tyler has been into playing drums the past few days and I think he is ready to go pro!