I'm Going to a Land Down Under

Are you ready to know about my super amazing awesome surprise? Good! I'm finally ready to reveal what it is: I am going to

Australia

very, very soon. Like, less than a month from now soon. I haven't been ready to talk about it until this moment because I was so worried that plans would fall through and I was desperately trying not to get my hopes up. But it is happening, though I can hardly believe it.

So why am I going? How did this come about? Well, this past spring Scott traveled to Sydney on business, spent a week there, and returned home with nothing but wonderful things to say about that part of the world. When the company he was working with asked him to return this fall, he gladly agreed and vowed to take me with him. I've spent the past couple of months trying to get all the details to fall into place. I've got my passport, airline miles have been cashed in and flights have been booked, and I've made arrangements for my kids. It is real and I am going.

Now I realize that for some of my jet-setting, world-traveler friends, this trip probably seems like no big deal. And maybe, in the grand scheme of things, it really isn't. But for me, it's huge. The last time I traveled across the ocean to another country I was 18. The last time I crossed a border was on my honeymoon, when we went to British Columbia. It's been awhile since I've been off American soil and this will be my first time in the Southern hemisphere.

Scott will head out a few days before I do, so that he can take care of the business that requires him to go in the first place. I'll join him later and keep myself entertained for about a day and a half before he is freed up and we are able to be tourists together.

While in Sydney, I plan to sleep here:

I think I'll take a gander at these:

and maybe some of these:

I want to tour this:

Sydney Opera House

Also, I will climb to the top of this:

I do not plan to eat any of this:

But I might just eat this:

(I hear Kangaroo is tasty)

I will probably spend a day here:



Blue Mountains



And perhaps some time will be spent here:

Bondi Beach

But before I can do any of that, I must endure 20 hours on a plane, by myself, sitting in coach. To that end, I've been on a quest this week to find the perfect cross-body purse for travel. Here are the three choices I've narrowed it down to:



I know they all look similar, but there are subtle differences. I need a bag that can hold all of my stuff on the plane, like travel documents, electronic devices, my book, wallet, etc. It also needs to look cute and be easy to carry since I'll be toting it around Australia for a week. I ordered them all online and plan to stuff each to capacity, wear it around the house, and pick the best one to keep. Such big decisions, I know. Which do you like the best, based solely on the little pictures above?

Here's where I really need your help friends: what advice can you give for international travel and super-long flights? Got any tips or suggestions for what I should do/eat/explore while I'm away? What should I pack for Australian spring weather? Finally, how long do you think it will take for them to kick me out of their country if I greet each person I meet with "G'day Mate!" and ask every waiter to "Throw another shrimp on the barbie!" for me? (I love shrimp, so this is a real concern.)

Truth be told, I'm still in a state of denial about the whole excursion. I don't think it'll feel real until I'm on the flight to Sydney. And don't even get me started on everything that needs to happen between now and then. It's not like I'm in the middle of a major house remodel or anything...

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p.s. Where has all the comment love gone? How have I failed you, loyal readers? Help me feel validated by leaving a little note. Please and thank you. :)

Anticipation

There are few feelings I enjoy more than anticipation. In fact, I like looking forward to some things so much that I often have to temper my expectations or risk feeling let down when the long-awaited event actually occurs. I've been thinking through the next few months and I've realized that I have A LOT to look forward to before 2011 comes to a close. Shall I write a chronological list of the excitement to come? Yes? Well okay then, here goes:

School Starts

It's been a loooong summer, friends. We've had many wonderful adventures including a trip to Six Flags Great America, a jaunt up to Michigan to pick fresh, ripe peaches and blueberries, a day spent exploring the great city of Chicago, and visits from dear old friends, family, and both sets of grandparents. Add to that days spent at the movies, at the children's museum, at the ice cream parlor, at summer camp, at the zoo, and countless nights at swim meets and you can see why I am just so. dang. tired.

I want my life back. I crave structure and need routines. My family functions best when have a schedule and when that schedule includes school. We all like each other more when we've seen each other less. School starts on Monday for my girls and Wednesday for my boy. Freedom is so near and I can hardly wait to reduce the number of hours each day that are available for my kids to bicker with each other. Being able to run to the grocery store by myself and listen to the music of my choice in the car are extra added benefits.

Finishing the Basement

We've been in our house for five years and the only purpose the basement has ever served up until this point is as a dumping ground for all of our unused stuff. Old furniture, boxes of college textbooks, spare computer parts, holiday decorations, outgrown clothes... they all live down there in that abyss. It's a massive waste of space and an easy way to ignore accumulated clutter. The following picture, just one portion of our basement, proves all that I have just described:

But now we've scrimped and we've saved and we're finally ready to pull the trigger and turn our basement into usable space. The work begins in September and will hopefully be done early October. Once complete, we'll have a large rec room, area for guests to sleep, a place to put the treadmill (which now resides inconveniently in the master bedroom), a full bathroom, storage space, and a wall devoted solely to a large screen for TV/movie viewing. All the toys and crafts will have a new home, and I will be able to reclaim my family and living rooms. Just don't ask me how, in the next three weeks, I am going to manage to clear out my entire basement. I'm seriously considering renting a dumpster and pitching everything!

Another concert? Why not?

There are so few musicians that Scott and I both enjoy that when one of our favorites passes through town, we make every effort to go see them live. Next month we get to go see Alison Krauss perform and I am very excited! Do you know her music? Chances are, you've heard this song before:

Her voice is truly the most beautiful one I have ever heard. I cannot wait to spend an evening in the city, sitting next to the guy I love, listening to such angelic tones. (<------Holy crud, that was cheesy. Geez). Anyway, you know I love a good concert and this one will be fantastic, I am sure.

The Death Cure


Have you read The Maze Runner? It is such a fantastic book series! The third and final book in the trilogy is coming out in October, I've got it pre-ordered, and I can hardly wait! If you liked the Hunger Games, I think you'll like this series. In fact, I might like The Maze Runner series a bit more. There's less violence (though there certainly still is some) and no blatant underlying political agenda, which makes it a more compelling read in my opinion. There are lots of unanswered questions and I cannot wait to see how everything is resolved. Anticipating a book release is always tricky, though. I'm having to manage my expectations and remind myself that the author will write what he wants and I'll just be along for the ride when I read it.

Super Amazing Awesome Surprise

I apologize for having to be annoyingly vague, but I have the most spectacular, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime event to look forward to in October. I've spent the past few weeks trying as hard as I can not to get my hopes up, because if what I think is going to happen really happens, then I'm going to be so very excited! Until it's 100%certain, with all the details in place -- and right now I'd say it's about 90% of the way there -- I won't mention it because I don't want to jinx it. But just know that it is awesome and you'll hear all about it once I'm ready to believe it's actually real.

Sisters Weekend

Every year or so, my mom, all of my sisters, my charming sister-in-law, and I get together for a spouse-free, kid-free long weekend getaway. In years past, we've gone to Chicago, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Francisco... This year, in early November, we are headed to my parents' house in southern California to spend time with each other and my sweet 93 year old grandmother. I love these weekends! I'm ashamed to admit that I appreciate my sisters (and my mom) way more now than I ever did growing up. Now that my nearest sister lives over 1500 miles away, these rare times of togetherness mean so much to me. We haven't planned out every minute of the time we'll have yet, but I'm certain there will be lots of laughter and at least one meal at The Cheesecake Factory -- it's a tradition!

ZEMAS Reunited

Ladies, it's almost that time again. Last night I was at the movies (Crazy, Stupid, Love -- go see it if only for Ryan Gosling) and this trailer came on before the show.

At the end of the trailer Scott turned to me and said, "Uh, yeah, you can go see that with your ZEMAS friends." Such a good husband! It looks predictable and contrived, but it has Zac as part of the ensemble so you will find me in the theater at the beginning of December when it opens. Mark my words.




So much to look forward to! I'm still hoping to find another race, preferably a 10k, to add to my list of things to do by the end of 2011. Overall, though, I think I've got a solid 4 months ahead of me.

Now I want to know what you're looking forward to. Tell me, what's coming up in your life? Got anything, major or simple, that has you quivering with anticipation?

Third Time's the Charm...

I honestly had no intention of going again anytime soon. Having been twice already, I felt like a third time would push me into awkward territory. I'm a fan, but not a "Super Fan." I mean, it's not like I've ever written him a letter. I don't even know when his birthday is (on a totally unrelated note, did you know that my husband shares a birthday with this guy?).

Yet somehow, a week ago, I found myself once again in his presence. Him who? you ask. Why, Michael Buble of course! I first saw him in concert, thus breaking a decade-long concert-going drought, in March of 2010. Given that he is one of the very few artists that Scott and I both like, I knew it wouldn't be the last time we saw him perform, especially since the show was so enjoyable. Our seats for that first show were decent, to the left of the stage, on the lower level, far back enough that we had to turn to one side to see the performance.

When I found out Buble was coming back through town in last December, I managed to get floor seats, 18th row, dead center. This was our view, though I'm fairly sure I was using my zoom for this picture:

It was a lot of fun, and I loved having a new perspective from which to watch the performance.

Then a couple of months ago I saw that Michael Buble was bringing his act back to Illinois once again. This time, instead of a venue in Chicago, he would be appearing in Moline, a town that's right near the border of Iowa, and is a little over two hours west from where I live. Though I was tempted, I decided not to buy tickets when they went on sale for a couple of reasons:

1. Moline is not close or convenient.
2. I had already been to see him twice in a year's time, and going a third time seemed a bit ridiculous.
3. I knew that if I went again, I would want to have even better seats than the last time. Finding awesome seats without paying a broker big bucks is not easy.

The day the tickets went on sale, just for kicks, I went online and checked to see what seats were available. While it hadn't sold out (like his Chicago shows always do, very quickly I might add), the seats available weren't any better than where I'd sat the time before. I was content with the knowledge that I wouldn't be missing out too much. And then...

...I noticed that Ticketmaster was doing an online auction for seats in the first 4 rows. Now, I'd seen and tracked these auctions before. When Buble came through Chicago, the final bids in these auctions, on these seats, were usually typically $300-500 per ticket. Which, for me, is just not going to happen.

On a whim, I thought: why not place a super low bid? Worst case, I don't get tickets, which would be fine since I wasn't planning on going to begin with. Best case, I get seats in the first few rows and have an amazing, unforgettable night! I submitted my bid, which was essentially the lowest possible bid, plus $10. I had no intention of bidding any higher, and had no doubt that I would soon lose my "place" in the auction. Imagine my surprise, then, when a week later I got an email informing me that I had won two tickets on the second row! Somehow, my low bid -- which was just a little more than the price that the normal tickets sell for -- had held. Even more incredible is that the person who won 1st row seats had only bid $160 per ticket, which is more than I would ever pay, but still really low all things considered.

My original plan was to attend the concert with Scott, but as the date drew near, he worried that he would be too busy (a large deadline at work was looming) to be able to take the time to go. When I found out my friend Carol would be coming in from out of town to visit the same weekend of the concert, the problem of who to take was easily solved.

A two-hour drive goes by quickly when you've got a friend to chat with the whole way. When we got inside the arena and saw our seats, 2nd row, on the aisle, just left of center, we were amazed. Holy crud we were so close!

There is always a really interesting mix of people at his concerts. Folks of all ages attend, and the people-watching in the front is the best to be had, because that's where you can find a lot of the crazies. Women who have spent hours decorating posters that say things like "Michael, I've been to 15 of your concerts and I just haven't met you yet!" or "I'm your cougar!" or "Bub-lay me!" Some of these women clearly dressed with the hope of getting noticed by the man himself. There was an abundance of sparkles, cleavage, and sequins.

The highlight of my night, aside from the onstage entertainment, was spotting the two middle-aged women who I had been seated next to at the last Buble show I attended. They were unintentionally hilarious. This time, like me, instead of being in the 18th row, they were right up front. First row, to be exact. When I met them back in December, they told me all about how much they had grown to like Naturally 7, the opening act. They knew all the words to every song, and even some of the choreography. This time around, when Naturally 7 came out, these ladies were in hysterics. They were standing, waving, shouting out the names of the band members, singing along to every song, and even doing the choreography. It was awesome to behold.

Now, onto the pictures...

Michael signing the poster of an older woman who had been to something like 23 of his shows.




Michael holding the towel that he used to wipe the sweat off his face throughout the evening. He handed it to a little girl seated right in front of us. Kinda cool, kinda gross.


My ginormous head! About two-thirds of the way through the concert, they allowed people to come stand right up against the barrier, so of course we did! Being that close is really fun. You know the big screens that are up so people in the back can see the performer? You know how sometimes they pan to the crowd and you see people cheering? Yeah, we were those people. Our faces were on the jumbo screens, repeatedly.








The final moments of the show, when he ditches the microphone and belts out the last few lines of "Song for You." Pretty darn amazing.


In advance, we had booked a room at the hotel adjacent to the venue, since driving back home through farm country in the middle of the night didn't sound appealing. So, after the show, rather than walk right back to the hotel, we wandered over to the back of the outside of the arena and spotted Michael Buble's tour bus, with him walking around inside it. Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones milling around, and it soon became evident that they were preparing for departure. Before the buses pulled away, Michael's personal assistant spotted the crowd forming and came out to gather any personal items that we would like to have signed by the man himself. I handed over my ticket, and a few minutes later she brought it back, newly adorned with a scribble that I'll choose to believe is his autograph. Most amusing was the person who offered up a manuscript he had written, and asked that Michael read and keep it. Gotta admire that guy's tenacity.


It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm so glad I acted impulsively (something I rarely do) and bid on those tickets!

I Like Things That Sparkle

Before you read any further I should warn you that, despite its title, this post has nothing to do with Twilight or Edward or vampires. (Though if you want to read something humorous and Twilight-related, might I suggest you follow this link?). Alright, now that I've made that clear, one of the sparklers shown in the blurry cell phone picture below is my new ring. These were the options I narrowed it down to before inviting my husband along to help me make my final choice. (I figured I would let him offer up an opinion considering he was the one paying for it). Can you guess which one I picked?

I'll give you a hint: it's sparkly, it suits my hand well, and I love it! Not a good enough hint? Oh well... I guess you'll just have to wait and see for yourself.

Lest you think I'll be sporting a ring that's quite ostentatious, keep in mind that the center diamonds in the settings above are slightly bigger than the one I'll be replacing it with. Now I just have to wear my fake one a week more while the ring I selected is sized up, naturally, and the stone is reset. Would you believe that some of the rings I tried on didn't even fit my pinkie? My fingers are so lame.

Ring Shopping

When last I wrote, you learned all about my wonky hands and a bit about my struggles with ring- wearing while pregnant. What I didn't confess to you at the time, but am now willing to divulge, is that the wedding ring I currently wear is a fake. FAKE!!! False, bogus, phony, fakety-fake fake fake!

While I was pregnant with my youngest, my hands swelled and made it impossible for me to put on my wedding ring. Unfortunately, after my baby was born, the sausage-like expansion of my ring finger made it difficult for me to wear my wedding band on any finger but my pinkie. Since that would look ridiculous, as I am not a member of the mafia, I decided the next best alternative was to head on over to amazon.com and find the classiest fake diamond ring my money could buy. With a whopping $30 budget and the only qualification that it had to come in a size 10 — I know! — I began my hunt. After an extensive search wherein I realized that almost every woman in the world wears a ring at least four sizes smaller than what I needed, I finally found a few decent options to choose from.

$29 and two days later (thanks, Amazon Prime!), my tarnish free rhodium plated sterling silver band with a clear, brilliant cut cubic zirconia ring arrived.

When I pulled it out of the box, I was relatively satisfied that it did not look any cheaper in person than it did in the pictures. I chose to overlook the fact that one of the small accent "diamonds" was missing, since clearly I got what I paid for. Nevertheless, I slid it on my chubby little hand and rejoiced in the fact that I no longer had a naked left ring finger.

Now here's the part that's a bit embarrassing... I frequently get compliments on my ring. I've never known how to handle these comments because on the one hand, if I simply say "thank you" I feel like I'm being deceitful, but if I point out that it is indeed fake, I feel like I'm insulting the taste of the complimenter (like, "you're so dumb that you can't tell a real diamond from a cheap knock-off"). I usually just try to change the subject as quickly as possible so as to avoid any more awkwardness.

It's been four years and my fake ring is showing signs of wear. Once I tried to clean it using jewelry cleaner, but it started to literally disintegrate the moment I dipped it in the chemicals. Luckily with a little buffing, I saved it from an untimely demise, but from that point on I knew that the only way my ring could get cleaned was when I washed my hands. ("Rhoduim plated sterling silver" can withstand water, so it seems). I bought for my husband a watch as a gift last Christmas, and while I was there the jeweler offered to clean my ring "for free" — I was mortified and declined as politely as I could. Handing my $29 ring over to a jeweler for closer inspection was obviously not an option.

As it turns out, my original wedding ring fits me once more, and the size 10 phony ring falls off my finger. So why, you ask, am I still wearing the fake? It's simple: my old ring is busted (from being sized up and down too many times, remarkably), a prong is loose, and frankly I don't really like it. [Gasp! The Horror! How can your husband still love you after a statement like that?!] It's true, I said it, I don't love my wedding ring.

What I am about to write will come as no shock to my husband, so there's no need for you to worry about the state of our marriage after this post gets published. When Scott and I were at that point in our relationship where marriage was discussed and we were "unofficially engaged," he asked me what kind of ring I would like. At the time I thought it was tacky for a girl to pick out her own ring (silly, naive, judgmental little old me), so I gave Scott a few guidelines and wished him luck. [Looking back, this was probably the first of many times in our relationship that I later learned my husband could not, in fact, read my mind]. When the time came for him to present me with my ring, Scott, bless his heart, gave me exactly what I asked for, which means I clearly wasn't specific enough.

The ring was simple (what I said I wanted), a diamond solitaire (perfect), set on a thick gold band (uh oh). Here's what Scott couldn't have know but what I would have realized if I'd tried it on before he bought it: the ring, though lovely, made my finger look like an overdressed bratwurst. Thick band + fat finger = bad news. It's not that I hated it, I just felt really self-conscious about the girth of my finger. But I wore it for years, had it sized up and down each time I had a baby, and was generally content with the effort that Scott made to pick out something like I said I wanted. But after my last pregnancy, due to the reasons listed two paragraphs ago, I put my ring in a safe place and the rest you already know.

A few months ago, Scott said the most beautiful words I always longed to hear: "Darling, why don't you get your diamond re-set?" Turns out, he's not a fan of my amazon.com special. He loves me and wants me to be happy, so it doesn't really bother him that my original setting isn't working for me anymore. He wants me to stop wearing a CZ and start wearing the lovely diamond he scrimped and saved to buy me 12 years ago with his hard earned money. (Oh, have I ever told you about how I had established a "ring fund" for myself when I started college? I tucked away part of my wages from each of my random jobs, put it in a savings account, and planned to present it to my future hubby when ring shopping time arrived. I figured that whatever my soon-to-be hubby could afford, I'd probably want something that cost a little more, so my slush fund could make up the difference. See, I was such a catch!).

So here's where I need your help. You see, I'm in the market for a new ring setting, and I want your opinion. What is it you love about your ring? What, if anything, don't you like about your ring? (Don't worry, I won't tell your husband). I'm excited to pick out something new, but feel overwhelmed at all of the choices out there. Tell me what to buy, would ya?

2 weeks, 2 concerts

After a decade of deprivation, my concert-going drought ended a few weeks ago when I attended not one, but TWO amazing concerts. The artists (and the shows) could not have been more different, but I loved them both—and, in an effort not to forget the good times that were had, I will now devote the rest of this post to describing the highlights of each night.

First up... Michael Bublé!

The thing about buying tickets to a show in an arena that you've never been to before is that you really can't tell from a seating chart what your seats will be like. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that our seats weren't awful. Seated next to me were four 40-something Canadian ladies who had come to Chicago for the weekend just to see the show. They were actually really nice and considerate, talked hockey with us (I fudged my way through that conversation), and weren't even obnoxious after their fourth or fifth beer. That's one thing I'd forgotten about at concerts—holy crud there's a lot of booze. And when people drink they soon after have to pee, which explains why there was a constant stream (pun intended) of folks headed up and down the aisle all evening. But we didn't care!


Some highlights:

• The opening act, Naturally 7, was a really incredible a cappella group. The way they could manipulate their voices to mimic instruments like harmonicas and drums was impressive. Even Scott, who sang with an a cappella group in college, approved.




• Bublé mentioned Team Canada's gold medal , and when members of the crowd began to "boo" he yelled "Suck it, Chicago!" He then went on to joke about how Americans must get so bored following the medal count during the Olympics, since we always lead it. :)


• Half way through the show some random woman in the audience interrupted Michael while he was talking by shouting at him. He ripped into her and it was hilarious. "I don't come down to the 7-11 where you work and interrupt you!" So funny!


• He opened with "Cry Me a River" and at the end of the song there were some pyrotechnics. Later he said something like, "Did you like the fireworks? Good. That stuff (only he didn't say stuff) was expensive!"


• He mentioned how he got engaged recently and indicated that the ring he's wearing on his left ring finger is something men do in his fiance's Argentinian culture, "At least, that's what she tells me."


• He sang a few of my favorites, like "Everything," "Home," and "Feeling Good." When he sang "Me and Mrs. Jones" the cute woman next to me who was celebrating her birthday, was so excited. Her last name is Jones, and that song, she felt, was meant for her. :)

At one point he came off the stage and walked through the audience, mounted a "b-stage" directly in front of us, and sang a song or two there. He started to sing Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" and then deadpanned "I wish I wrote that song."

He closed the show with "Song for You," which is a beautiful song that he makes amazing by lowering the microphone for the last part and just belting it out. So incredible!


(Our seats were not nearly this good. I just poached this video from youtube.)

We had a wonderful time. The crowd was really diverse, a mixture of young and old. People watching was a joy. We hit the jackpot when we spotted a Kim Kardashian wannabe, wearing what I can only describe as a slutty prom dress, accompanied by a man twice her age who was definitely not her father. Wish I'd snuck a picture. We have vowed to go back the next time he swings through town, so it seems I won't have to wait another decade to attend my next concert.

And now... John Mayer:

To say that the John Mayer concert and the Michael Bublé concert were like night and day would be an understatement. The crowd was younger, the music was louder, the venue was bigger, and the vibe was hip-er. I loved every minute of it! Scott was really not interested in seeing John Mayer live. Though he likes his music, Scott really isn't much of a concert-goer in general. Thankfully, I got four tickets and we brought friends along!

Karin and Joe made the night super fun! We wandered through the United Center before the show began, then took our seats and listened to the earsplitting opening act, Michael Franti and Spearhead. At one point, Michael Franti came singing through the audience, stopped directly in front of us, noticed that we weren't screaming like idiots, then turned around and went the other direction. I would've taken a picture but I didn't want to bother turning on my camera. Besides, he was really sweaty and I was more concerned with not getting wet.

At some point during the evening, we invented a game called “slut bug”—our own version of “slug bug” where every time a really scantily clad girl walked by we punched each other. There was a lot of punching going on—girls seem to really like getting dressed up for John Mayer. It's fun to imagine what they are thinking when they're getting ready for the concert: "Maybe if I wear this sequined halter top and flail around like a lunatic, John Mayer will notice me!"

Other highlights:

• Some fool proposed to his girlfriend onstage during the opening act. If Scott had done that, I would have said no.


• During Michael Franti's final song, he invited pretty much whoever felt like it to come up onstage. In addition to hordes of skanky girls, there were these guys running around the stage in masks and capes looking ridiculous. A few days later I found out that it was actually John Mayer and some of his bandmates dressed in disguise. It wouldn't have induced me to go up onstage, but still...


• John Mayer and his band were amazing. So fantastic! He played many of my favorite songs, like Assassin, Free Fallin', Good Love is on the Way, and Stop this Train. There was no "Your Body is a Wonderland," which was FINE with me. It was the last night of the tour, and everyone on stage seemed to want to end strong. The concert was delightfully long, with John Mayer coming on at 9:30 and ending close to midnight.


• During "Half of My Heart," after Mayer sang the lyrics "Made a plan to stay the man who could only love himself" he added "And how's that working out for you, man? Crappy! (only he didn't say crappy)" which, from what little I know about his personal life, seems to be true.


• Mayer talked about how much he was looking forward to returning home to LA, which prompted the audience to "boo!" He went on to have this little exchange with the crowd: "You're booing me because I'm going home? I can't wait to be home! It's gonna be awesome. [More booing] What just happened here? This is great. Actually, this is essential to a passionate relationship... A little bit of grit... How am I going to bring you back? How can I possibly get back what we had about 35 seconds ago?"


• In addition to Free Fallin', he covered parts of Homeward Bound and Don't Stop Believin', which I'm fairly certain were the songs Scott recognized the most all night.


• We tried not to mock the teenage girls sitting next to us who spent the entire time inadvertently blocking our view and/or texting.

I remember going to a Dave Matthews Band concert once where he essentially ignored the audience and jammed incessantly after each song. I must admit I had feared that John Mayer might do the same. I was grateful he didn't ignore the 17,000 of us who came to hear him play. His interactions with his band and the crowd were perfect.

So, a big thanks to Michael Bublé and John Mayer for bringing me out of retirement—I’m a born-again concert-goer because of them. And thanks to my sweetie for allowing me to drag him along. I think our next big night out will be one of his choosing. Maybe a night at the Lyric Opera? I'll keep you posted!

2010: My (self-declared) year of fun!!!

So, the past few years have been... challenging. Challenging because I somehow managed to fade into the background of my own life, consumed with duties, responsibilities, obligations – all those things which, if you know me at all, you know are the core of my existence. Rules, boundaries, control, responsibility – who would I be without them?

[An aside: my mom asked me the other day why these traits weren't evident while I was in high school. I wish I knew the answer. Sorry I was a rebellious teenager, Mom. I think I've made up for it, though.]

Anyhoo, while I am not prepared to entirely abandon my sense of duty, I have decided that this year will be decidedly more fun. I'm going to do some things I haven't done in a long time, and I'm going to give up some things that aren't enjoyable or necessary.

Here's what I've got planned...

Laugh more
Sing and dance
Avoid chaos
Live vicariously
Get fit


This very weekend I begin my quest to laugh more. Ever heard of Jim Gaffigan? He makes me laugh. A lot. Which is why Santa conveniently put two tickets to a Jim Gaffigan show in Scott's stocking. Friday night we'll be laughing our bums off as we listen to Gaffigan's musings about ordinary things. Here's some of what he does best:



To top it off, we've hired capable people to stay with our kids so we can spend the night in the city. You know what that means right? I GET TO SLEEP IN!!! Bliss. I'm practically giddy already.

Pretty much the only way you'll see me sing and dance in public is if I am accompanied by thousands of other people doing the same thing. If you've read this post then you know that I was at one time a frequent concert-goer. But sadly, it has been over 10 years since the last concert I attended. But this year, that's gonna change! Because, you see, I am going to not one, but TWO concerts!!! First I'll sing and swing with this guy:



And two weeks later, I get to jam with this guy:



Michael Buble and John Mayer, you will be contributing to my fun this year. I am sooooo excited!!! There is nothing quite like seeing an artist you love perform live.

In an effort to avoid chaos and simplify my life, I have decided to abandon the kids' friend birthday parties this year. They cost too much, are a pain to plan, gifts received are just more junk to clutter up my house, and I just don't want to deal with it during my year o' fun. That sounded a little whiny, didn't it? Sorry about that. Anyway, my girls have been prepared and I'll make their birthdays super special regardless, but a year without invitations and party favors sounds heavenly.

One of my favorite aspects of parenting is the chance I get to live vicariously through my children when they experience something for the first time. Which is why it will be fun when my Mom comes to visit at the end of February and we take the girls to the American Girl store. Or when, at the end of March, my sister and niece come to visit and we take them all to see Beauty and the Beast. The look on my girls faces when we took them to see Wicked was priceless. So much wonder, so much fun!



You know what else is fun? Buying a new pair of jeans in a smaller size. That mild obsession with exercise I was telling you about the last time I felt inclined to blog... well, it's still going. Reality set in about 6 months ago when it occurred to me that my toddler was 2 years old and "baby weight" was sounding more and more like a lame excuse. So now in an effort to get fit I exercise, track what I eat, and watch as my clothes slowly get baggier. I feel great, though I'd love to know why my bra is now the loosest article of clothing I own. Losing boob weight is a side effect I could do without. ;-)

So, that's what my "year of fun" looks like so far. I think I'll be a better wife and mother if I can regain some of what I feel like I lost along the way these past few years. Honestly, I just like having some things to look forward to.

What are you looking forward to in 2010?

my current obsessions

Wow.

I'm a lousy blogger. I guess I've taken that "I'll blog when I feel like it" approach a bit too literally. Oh well.

So, care to hear about my latest obsessions? I should preface this by saying that I am genetically predisposed to obsess. My mom, whom I adore, is the master at taking an innocent interest in something and then allowing it to take over her life. Just ask her about Harry Potter. Or Twilight. Then prepare to be amazed.

Anyway, I've got a bit of the obsessive gene myself, though not nearly as pronounced. So here's all the frivolous stuff that has interested me recently:

Hush, Hush

by Becca Fitzpatrick

I picked up this book at Costco (love Costco!) before a recent trip to San Francisco. I read the entire book on my flight there and loved it! Instead of starting a different book that I'd brought for the flight home, I just re-read this one. Because I liked it that much. I should warn you - it's YA and very Twilight-esque. But if, while you read it, you spend the whole time comparing it to Twilight, you'll be doing yourself a huge disservice. Given the image on the cover of the book, I don't think I'm giving anything away by telling you that it's about a fallen angel and a "mortal" girl. There's a sequel coming out next year and I can't wait to read it.

The Vampire Diaries

Have you been watching this new show? I was hesitant to watch it at first, thinking it would just be a lame Twilight knockoff, but it's not. Sure there are the inevitable similarities that you would expect from a story about teenagers and the vampires living among them, but The Vampire Diaries has definitely set itself apart with different mythology and some awesome characters. Like Damon, the sexy bad-boy vampire who is seriously evil and also extremely attractive. This is sooo my type of show. A real guilty pleasure.

Finding Cool Music

Every afternoon when the toddler goes down for a nap, I turn on some tunes as white noise for him and a little indulgence for me. Listening to the same thing over and over again gets dull, so I've been on a quest recently to find new pleasant music to listen to. I should tell you that my taste in music is very broad. I like stuff from almost every genre (okay, maybe not polka). The artists that get the most play on my ipod include John Mayer, Alison Krauss, Michael Buble, Taylor Swift, and Kelly Clarkson. But I also love OneRepublic, Kings of Leon, Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, Coldplay... like I said, my taste in music, while fairly mainstream, is pretty broad. I'm always searching for new music - here's what I've been listening to recently:

I highly recommend Meese, Matt Hires, Owl City, Greg Laswell, and Crosby Loggins. Check them out and tell me what you think.

Brace yourself, because this last obsession is just plain crazy...

Exercise

While I'm not nearly as perky about it as the lady in the above image, I have recently found joy - yes, you read that right - joy in exercise. After a 2 year stand-off, I finally made peace with my treadmill. I've made a rule for myself that I can only watch my DVR'd shows while I'm walking on the treadmill. Since Scott can't stand most of the shows I like to watch, this is a mutually benficial arrangement. The only time I can exercise is at night after the kids are in bed. Since I'm a night owl, this is the time of day when I have the most energy anyway. I find that I'm exercising about 5 times a week. On days that I don't do the treadmill, I either do yoga or Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred dvd, which is 25 minutes of high-intensity aerobic hell - but I'm always glad I did it once I'm done. I'm hoping that this new habit will stick and I can make it through the next couple of months without gaining any of those dreaded holiday pounds.

So, that's it for now. Clearly blogging has not become an obsession of mine.

Now I want to know - What are your current obsessions? I'm always looking for a new time waster.

:)