Patrick and I disagree on something, but I'll get to that in a minute.
No one disagree's that our nature outings our super fun. The puppies can barely contain themselves when they hear the keyword "park".
It's not a wonder why; with the Black-eyed Susan's out in full bloom and all the fresh bright green foliage, it's not exactly unpleasant on the eyes.
Even a fallen tree has a way of looking graceful in the right setting.
The puppies are definitely feeling the rising temperatures outside, though. After exhausting the supply of water I brought, they kept begging to take a dip in the spring every time we passed an opening.
As fun as it is to spend our evenings at the park, every now and then taking a sushi break is a must. For the first time, we bought a Groupon to try a new restaurant with a half price tab and it worked out fabulous.
Fin Sushi was a tiny little place, and the drunk ladies behind us that started off loud and funny, continued to drink themselves into an escalating argument, eventually resulting in the table across from them pulling their "shade" down to give a subtle hint. We left before getting to know how it all ended, but had our own little disagreement as well.......a much more friendly disagreement.
Apparently I always use the "wrong" end of the chopsticks. Wrong or right, my way seems much more practical, and my rolls never fall apart because they're better supported by more surface area.
After agreeing to disagree, there was one subject we we found ourselves on the same side of. Date night is perfected by FroYo, and there's only one "right" end of a spoon.
Red Mango was calling our names so we gave in. Too bad there isn't a constant revolving Groupon for that place! I got super adventurous and put a new flavor in my bowl to keep my regulars company. It was like a gingerbread chocolate original tart pomegranate bowl of cold creamy goodness. Just thinking about makes my mouth start watering.
However we spend our evenings, disagreements or not, as longs as it's together, it's the best time ever.
Which end of the Chopsticks do you use: the skinny/pointy end or the wide/blunt end?
I set my alarm clock for
7:30am for Friday morning, so I could get up and go to yoga, and finally gave
up on the snooze button at 10:00 am. Yes; you read that non-typo
correctly.Pathetic. To continue to my
streak, I got out of bed, crawled onto the couch, and wasn’t even successful at
staying awake to watch a movie.
I’ve been a terrible writing
slacker lately too, and the guilt is starting to set in. It’s been forever
since I wrote my pin pal and actually had a dream a couple of nights ago that
he sent me a message severing our friendship over my lack of
communication.I couldn’t even get
excited about documenting our last Saturday’s front row concert Dave Matthews
Band experience.
Well, actually MY front row experience, Patrick was pushed
back to second row, one of the negative side effects of being a restless person.
The positive side effects, like having a high metabolism and the ability to actually stay awake for things, weren’t exactly helping
him see the bright side of the situation, either.
I really thought he was going
to lose his cool so far off the deep end that he was going to start seeing
spots and walk away as the Incredible Hulk, screaming and shredding the shirt
off his chest, inadvertently missing the entire concert.
Luckily for me and
everyone else crowded around us, after a oddly unrelated-genre-opening Mariachi Band left the stage, all was okay when Dave appeared.
An incredible concert, and we both even got to shake Boyd’s hand.
After the oncor, Carter walked up to the edge of the stage where we were standing, looked directly at me (I’m not talking about the kind of moment when you wave back at someone to immediately be embarrassed because you realized it was someone behind you or beside you that they were originally waving to) and tossed me a drumstick.
Unfortunately there was a ton of greedy people with longer arms than me who snatched it from my grip. But at least I know it was meant for me.
Being upfront and personal in the pit is a priceless experience, but everything comes with it’s own set of sacrifices. After having the best time I ever spent waiting in line while simultaneously tailgating with our long-time-no-see-friends Leisha and Jason, we waited in another line inside the venue to be released towards the stage. From that point on, there’s no more drinking or peeing. Impossible. And after hours of being in the hot sun, all a body wants is agua. Instead, we stood in one place, surrounded by insulated warmth, and sweated until we were so dehydrated we had no spit to swallow.
Watching the band members sip on their beverages was almost painful torture. Towards the end of the concert we even started replacing Dave’s lyrics with songs about how thirsty we were. It was all we could think about. When it was all over, we sprinted through the crowd, dove right into the cooler in the car, and grabbed our priceless possessions: bottles of water. I drank an entire bottle in less than 2 minutes. I’ve never, EVER, drunk an entire bottle of water at one time in the history of my life. Patrick doubled my record without effort.
Back to Friday, I finally
made it out of the house, and head-first into a Barnes and Nobles to touch and smell
some real literature with an Iced Soy Hazelnut Macchiato in my hand and found a corner to hideaway in, only to
find myself extremely annoyed by a loudly speaking lady making her search for "organic" books extremely obvious and talking to her young
daughters about how growing weed is illegal but mushrooms aren’t, and although
most people talk about eating weed in brownies, its much better in 7 layer
cookies or sautéed in butter. What in the
world?
Last Friday kicked off our big Dave Matthews Band concert weekend. Every year we look forward to seeing this ridiculously talented group of musicians live.......and I'm pretty sure in Patrick's mind, him and Dave are best friends who've never met.
This day trip was extra special since not only did Patrick get to see his best friend he's never met, but I got to see one of my best long distance friends for the first time in foh-eva!! Jessica, her hubby, and their little mini drove an hour just to meet us in the Woodlands for a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, which is always delish.
Afterwards, while the boys hung out on a shaded patio, I accompanied Jess to her very first Anthropologie experience! We wandered around touching every piece of clothing, burying our noses in all the candles, dreaming of affording the extravagantly priced items guilt free, and just enjoying the unbridled girl time.
Before heading to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (a beautiful venue), we stopped for my favorite fro-yo, Pink Berry, in attempts to keep from melting.
The Carolina Chocolate Drops kicked off the show with some good ol' back porch sittin' music, and by sunset it was time for Dave's first debut of the year.
I was impressed by his keen eye and good memory. After all, it'd been a year since he'd seen me last. "Did you get a haircut?" Dave asked.
"Actually I've been letting it grow, but the curls really take a few inches off," I replied.
"Well you look great." ......He was actually making small talk with everyone in the audience, but who's taking minor details into account?
Saying we were surrounded by an interesting crowd this year would be an understatement. It was intense. The short man next to us had the audacity to complain about the set list, yet decided later (after a couple more drinks, I'm guessing) every song was his favorite.
He'd tap both of us on the shoulder a few times a song just to let us know. "Oh, THIS one is my favorite. This is the BEST song ever."......"I take it back, the other song is in my top three, but THIS song is even better."......Weirdly, he asked Patrick to hold his beer a few times so he could take pictures, then would forget to take his drink back.
Short man's girlfriend could have been mistaken several times for someone filming a porno. "OMG! OMG! This is amazing!"....."OMG! OMG! I'm so sweaty; it's dripping everywhere!" When Patrick told her, "Just think what it'd be like if it was August," she responded, "We are from Texas and it's so hot in here August." Yes.....yes, that's why he said that....
The enthusiastic lady to our other side relentlessly cheer-leaded her way through the concert, constantly turning 360's to point people out and direct them to get more involved, yelling to the guy a row in front of her to tap his beer to hers for a repetitive toast.
The group of couples in front of us probably has enough drunk group pictures of themselves now to create a 1000 page photo album. I'm actually not sure if they even knew they were at a concert.
(Don't even get me started on the couple who brought a baby with no earplugs or headphones.)
Let's just say it was well-rounded craziness. And Dave....well Dave is always fantastic.
You may not realize the distance of your empathy's limits, but there's no one to blame. It's impossible to relate if you've never gone through a similar struggle.
When two people in love battle infertility, they look around and see healthy pregnancies everywhere. The time passes differently for them. It seems as though everyone else is having children on a whim or by accident. They cringe when people express anything but the uppermost gratitude of their blessings. Even the happiest of moments can seem bittersweet. Every wish they make is the same. They know they're not alone, yet feel isolated. It's personal. Swimming through this particular channel of life can be like slowly paddling through an ocean of molasses.
After years of symptoms (many of which have been more severe for the last 8 months), and trying to conceive for 2 years (somehow managing success once, but with an unrelated and unfavorable outcome), I've been diagnosed with PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome). What does this mean? It's now more prudent than ever for me to live a very healthy lifestyle to decrease the adverse health risks I'm faced with down the road, and we need lots of extra help to get pregnant. At least we have an answer and a stepping stone climb up from, but it doesn't make anything seem the least bit easier.
I've decided to start taking the cards we've been dealt as a compliment, because the strongest and most capable characters are always tested to their limits. Even though it hurts, growing through the pain only makes us stronger. And every week when someone new asks me if I have children, I'll just smile through all the heartache and say, "Not yet." Patience is a virtue.
The joyful Dory may have been a bit dingy, but she was right. Now matter how deep, murky, cold, shallow, or viscous the water, we've got to "Just keep swimming."
(Project pretty is a personal commitment to share my weekly journey of keeping my non-New-Year's-Resolution: staying fit to improve quality of life while inspiring others to do the same. Let's all jump on the endorphin wagon!)
Remember when not too long ago I posted this extremely annoying grammatical error on Instagram? Not only is it an official sign made of thick plastic (not a piece of paper like I'd thought before I inspected it), but it was such an eye sore it caught my eye from across the building. Ever since noticing, I haven't been able to take my eyes off it!!
Apparently it's been plaguing someone else's nerves too, because this week I noticed someone had altered it.
And on the second improper sign located on the opposite side of the free weights station someone got really smart for there britches......just kidding about that "there" thing. Get it?? Get it????
I also noticed after putting these pictures side by side that I must wear green to the gym a lot. Now that I think about it, I actually have 4 green workout shirts......
And since this post is suppose to be about working out, instead of bashing the literal skills of people who work at the gym, here's an example of one of my low impact cross training workouts I made up this week to prevent boredom. It takes somewhere between 10-11 laps around our gym's upstairs track to equal 1 mile, and I can never pay attention long enough to count that far. It's actually a good thing I never run faster than a 8 minute mile or I'd get dizzy up there from all the turning!!
It was a pretty solid moderate effort workout to follow a busy 12 hour shift.
One of our favorite passtimes right now is cuddling on our amazing couch and watching movies together. Lazy, but oh so fun.
Any Netflix users out there? I know there's so many different ways to watch movies now days, but I just stick with what I know. Because Netflix is extremely slow to put brand new mainstream movies into instant download form and we are cheap, we've been watching a lot of independent films, the last one being Take This Waltz.
We actually started it becuase it was listed as a comedy with Seth Rogan, but even though their was some quirky "haha" moments, we both agreed the label was way too light for such a heavy message. Heavy, but true and real. I felt like there are so many people in this world who could benefit from the moral of this story if they were keen enough to really grasp it.
I've talked before about how love evolves. Nothing in this world ever stays the same. Everything requires maintence, everything. This day in age, we've become acustomed to having new things, but new is only temporary and people don't qualify as "things".
After all the anticipation, we arrived at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 30 minutes before the doors opened to wait in line for more.....anticipation.
It's always a little confusing when you're doing something for the first time, and since we'd never had pit tickets for this particular venue we weren't sure how everything worked. After waiting in line for the doors to open, we had to get in another line once inside, for the banding process. As if we hadn't waited in enough lines, once banded, we were corralled to one more line to wait for permission to enter the inside of the theater. As soon as that last line started moving, it was every man for himself to score the best standing position possible.......and wait.
We chose a spot 3 people deep, centered with the drums. I had a feeling everyone else was hesitant for the spot because 4 very tall men had already taken position ahead, but I had the perfect plan to see through their shoulders.We waited in the pit for a solid hour before the opening band, The Virgins, came on stage, which gave me plenty of time to make friends with my neighbors and establish a territory. There was one guy to my right who didn't understand the concept of creating a space bubble, but being the pit pro that I am, stayed strong.
About 5 minutes after the opener starting playing a guy to my left fell to the floor, sending a Jack and Coke crashing down with him. His friend, my immediate tall-guy neighbor, helped pull him back up. I leaned in to assess the situation and only moments later he was collapsing again. We couldn't keep him up, and no one knew what was wrong with him, so we called a guard to help. As soon has he and his friend were gone, I started to get wide in attempt to save their spot, but two little teeny-bopper opportunists, plaid shirt guy and fuzzy headed guy, squeezed through a group of girls and took their spot. Rude. It got real serious when one of them, fuzzy headed guy, started standing in my visual window, but rest assured, I had the guns to have him put back in his place.
The entire opening performance seemed like a blur with craziness happening, and all I really remember about the band is the lead singer's white boxer briefs were hanging out of the huge whole in the back of his jeans, and the 16-year-old looking drummer had the oldest most stretched out wholly thin white tshirt on that I've ever seen being worn in public, but I'm sure they were good. Kinda sounded like Tom Petty. By the time passed-out-guy and his friend came back, it was difficult to make a space for them, but somehow we managed.
When the lightening bolt made it's appearance, everyone started to get super excited.
Then Brandon Flowers came on stage and things got crazy.
I'm not sure if there could have been a bad set list, since I'm such a fan of their music, but I think the one they went with was a great mix of old and new.
Getting to be so close was actually a huge surprise Patrick kept from me until about a week ago when he couldn't hold it in any longer.......then he had immediate regret for breaking out the big guns so early.
Patrick loves to pick out flaws in men I think are sexy........like how Brandon's pants were flooding. I insisted it was okay because it's "the rocker thing to do", but he wants to know why being a musician makes it "okay to wear bad style choices". He actually had a dream, the night before, that I got asked on stage and made-out with Mr. Flowers.....
Yeah right, Hunny......I guess it didn't help that after finding out about our tickets I teased about being close enough to blow kisses and have them caught.
But seriously, asked on stage or not, I had an amazing time.
If certain people I know thought I was a crazy fist pumper that one night at House of Blues when I almost hit Tim in the head, then they'd be scared of me on this night. Actually, I think quiet a few people were scared of me, because all those space issues I was having earlier in the night seemed to disappear and I miraculously had sufficient room to wave my arm in the air and jump around like I just didn't care, while shaking my hips from side to side. Like a toddler, with better rhythm.
There was only one instance I remember having to elbow some white rimmed sunglasses guy a few times in the gut who tried to push his way through while asking people to lift him up so he could crowd surf or get on stage or something. When my blows to his stomach weren't enough discouragement, that's when having tall man friends (including my handsome husband) really came in handy. He didn't last long in our area, but I have to admit, I actually enjoyed getting to elbow him......does that make me bad?
If I had it my way, concerts would be 4 hours long per band headliner. I really just feel like they don't last long enough.
As if we weren't sweaty enough already, a few times these crazy firework type explosions went off behind stage, so powerful we could feel the heat from them on our faces.
And then the confetti started falling from the ceiling, pouring down in abundance.
Sticky and hot from the dancing and the closeness and the excitement, the little plastic cutouts just clung on everywhere.
And when it was all over, Brandon Flowers started leaning over the edge of the stage to give out some high-fives. All of a sudden it was like were were in a human ocean. Our bodies shifted in his direction like a wave being pulled by the moon's gravity, without warning or choice, no negative space left between a single one of us. We were being pushed by so many people it was unpredictable and uncontrollable. Then the drumsticks were tossed into the crowd, one of them so close to where Patrick and I were innocently standing, and a stampede of greedy fans went flying into a pile of flailing arms and legs, inches from us. We quickly stepped out of the rubble and sped walked out of the chaos as fast as possible.
When we got home I was still finding confetti in places, like this lightening bold peeking out of my hair....
...And after I was sure I'd gotten rid of it all, this little guy was found in the shower with me.....
....Then there was another lurking on the stairs the next morning.....little reminders of an amazing night.
Have you ever thought it was worth getting trampled for a chance to high-five a famous person or catch a souvenir?
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