Best Be So Awesome!

Typically, if I'm not complaining about something ridiculous that happened to me, I'm writing about myself, or bragging about my family. Today I have something positive to say......wait for it.......

ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE...

But don't worry, it still really boils down to being all about me! 

For the history of my life, I've had tiny ears, which was never a problem until it was way cool to ditch actual HEADphones and start wearing EARphones instead. Since then, I've purchase countless brands but have never been able to find a single pair that actually stay in my ears....until a couple of months ago. Once I discovered these IronMan earphones, my life changed forever. They're a bit pricey, but totally worth every penny, as long as you don't lose the rubber piece that screws into your ear. Lose that, and your up shit creek. 

I bet you can guess what I did, after owning them for a mere couple of weeks. 

For the last month, I've been running outside with only one earphone in my ear (which is actually safer), and the other, now useless piece, dangling in my sports bra musically hypnotizing my boobs. When I run at the gym I can't take hearing all the extra noise around me, so I tried to go back to my HEADphones last week, but got super agitated at my ears feeling pinned down to my head for an hour, so I finally braved Best Buy to give them my pitiful story about how I lost my earpiece weeks ago and was too lazy to bring them back until now. 

After the costumer service girl typed on the computer for what felt like 15 minutes, she went to get me a new pair. She came back smiling and said, "Just so you know, you really had no options.....But I felt horribly bad for you that you spent $60 on a pair of headphones that are now useless, so I'm labeling these at 'Manufacture-ally Damaged ' and exchanging them. Would you like to actually purchase the protection plan this time, so if ANYTHING happens in the future, you can get a new pair, no questions asked?" 

This is why I love Best Buy. They replaced my brand new camera after I got drunk and spilled kool-aid on it last year, making the shutter too sticky to open consistently. They replaced the mother board on our Mac after Lucifer spilled a glass of water on it only a week after we bought it. They sat with me last week and helped me download Photoshop on the computer, even though I didn't purchase it from them, and walked me through backing up my files, even though it's suppose to be against their policy to do it for free, and now they replaced my earphones, even though I was stupid enough not to purchase the protection plan in the first place, despite my track record....
And the second best part, is she "turned her head" while I stole the remaining rubber piece off the headphones I was returning, as a backup, just in case I accidentally lose another one.
I thanked a customer service guy for letting me monopolize his time last week and he said, "I don't mind, as long as your not hostile or mean.".....WHAT? People, stop being mean to these people, they are awesome!!

Thanks Best Buy {the people that work there}, for being so awesome!! Good thing not all of your costumers are like me, and actually take care of their shizzles, or you might go out of business!

Family Makeover

As the story goes, all things in life seem to come in feast or famine.

All I have to say is, it's a good thing I worked so many extra shifts the last couple of weeks, becuase I just spent half of it in a single day.

Little did I know dragging my butt out of bed at 7 am to run with the girls would be the easiest thing I did on Friday. It was way harder to try and sneak out of the house without the dogs seeing me in my running gear. Once they noticed, it was all over. I had to take them with me.

They both ran 4 miles with us girls with the uptmost enthusiam; Callie protecting us from any male human with a beating heart, and Sumo keeping us safe from treacherous squirrels and venom fanged wild rabbits. It wasn't until the workout was over that we noticed in all his scavenges he had become completely matted with summer burs. From head to toe, he had transformed into a tangled knot. 

I spent the generous 45 minute window I gave myself, originally to get ready for breakfast with my brother, holding Sumo down in the bathtub, lathering him with conditioner to try and brush out the stickers.

After failing miserably and cutting enough hair off of him to cover the bathtub floor, I considered myself defeated and lacking of the proper tools. I couldn't take him to the groomer until after I took both dogs to the vet that afternoon for their latest shots, so I spent the time in between having breakfast with Dusty, helping him finish packing up his apartment (I'm too easy to bribe with Eggs Benedict and Starbucks), and running a million errands around town. Of course I had to do everything twice, since I realized, while washing my hair, I bought 2 things of conditioner instead of one being shampoo....I brought the wrong cable connecter to Best Buy for the diagnostic test on our computer...and I needed more AAA batteries since last time I purchased any, I bought yet another package of AA instead...Anyone want to buy some batteries or conditioner????

I hope the vet believed my pitiful sob story of why my dog looked like I had just picked him up from the homeless shelter.....And the groomers!! Remember the last time, AKA the first time, I took Sumo to them looking so terrible? Well that was nothing compared to this! They probably love it when I bring in our dogs, pure entertainment in the making.

Long story short, a lot of time and a butt load of money later, everyone in the family got new hair cuts this week.....except for Lucie. And we're all looking sharp....except for Sumo, who now really does look like we picked him up from a shelter.

Where I was going with this story??
Oh yeah......don't ever think you're going to have extra money in your pocket just because you worked to ass off to make some.
And later that night Patrick says to me, "I saw the surpise you left me in my shower. And don't worry, I already cleaned it for you." Oops.

No Life Too Small

In the NICU, we believe there's no life too small not worth saving.

You see, we have these two very large fish tanks in the community area of our unit. Sometimes they can be quite entertaining.......I find myself mesmerized by the silly games the active ones occupy themselves with to keep from going completely insane, or repulsed by their cannibalism when they turn to a deceased member for, as Taco Bell puts it, a fourth meal....."Sometimes you gotta live mas". Sometimes the bubble machine will stop working and the vibrant colored fish morph into sluggish whitish grey blobs, like ET in the scene where he freaks-out all the innocent children by revealing what an alien looks like when he's dying, and migrate to the surface of the water in search for air. 

In the past, we came to the rescue by getting creative and delivering emergency oxygen via our portable O2 tanks and nasal cannula tubing that we normal use for the babies.....but then we got in trouble for "wasting supplies"......um, is energy spent on saving a life ever really considered a waste?

I mean....I guess my point is......Jessica and I run with our eyes on the sidewalk when we are in the park, and would consider risking a sprained an ankle, for the sake of not squishing any bugs in their natural habitat.........

When the tank malfunctioned again last week, Liz and I couldn't stand to watch the fish "drown", what a humiliating way for a fish to die.....we're not prejudice against amphibian lives, just because the hospital is run by a bunch of fish hatin' cheapskates....so we saved them. One by one. 

It was a hysterical event.......Liz, being the prissy girly-girl she is, and I being the tom-boy at heart.....She hesitantly held the tank lids up for me, while I went fishing, and then she would scream and run from the water while I giggled, flinging the netted fish around, carelessly splashing the water in every direction. 

In the end, all small souls were rescued, except for 2 extremely tiny fish (one, because they were too fast for me to catch, two, because we can't help those that wont help themselves.....AND three, because Liz said she actually didn't feel as bad for the tiny ones), and one very large sucker fish (because, let's face it, those things are creepy, and he didn't seem to be bothered much, anyway)
You can just refer to us as angels without wings........


Have you ever gone out of your way to save a tiny creature?

I Could Have Died, Ya'll!!!

It's a good thing we strive for living every day to the fullest, because you never know when it's going to be your last........

Saturday started out like any regular weekend.....AFTER posing provocatively with the ginormous produce my mom sent us from her garden. (I swear she must water her plants with steroids.......after these next 2 weeks, I will have cooked every zucchini and squash reciepe ever invented.)

But the most important part of this story is when my life flashed before my eyes. Yes....we are lucky to be alive.  

It was a beautiful afternoon in North Central Texas, a good day for traveling on four wheels, not a brake light in sight. As usual, I was driving. While performing my routine mirror checks, midway over a one lane bridge suspended very far in the sky and moving at about 60 miles per hour, I looked into the rear-view mirror and saw a little sports car startlingly appear out of no where. It swerved from one side of the lane to the other, extremely careless and recklessly fast. My fingers instinctively gripped the wheel and a shrill noise escaped my throat. 

In that moment, I pictured the car not slowing down, either rear ending us, sending us into an controllable tailspin, or trying to pass me in it's hasty zigzag pattern, projecting our car off the bridge. SPLAT. Either way, there'd would be no chance for survival. I had to think fast. 

I tried to hug the wall a bit, as safely as possible, and without hesitation, the car sped around us. I didn't even realize I was holding me breath until I could breathe again. 

 I was pissed! Had he been traveling at a speed that I could make out the digits on his liscense plate, I would have turned the bastard in to the police.  How dare he threaten to short stick me on the afternoon that I have beef fajitas and tequilla waiting for me?!?!?!?!?!

Aside from staying alive, we were all in charge of contributing yummy homemade goods for a small fiesta at the new White House. I made fresh tortilla chips, Texas caviar, and fruit pizza (which disappeared into everyone's bellies almost instantaneously)...............

I answered a record amount of "why" questions from this adorable little fellow, Blake....but I didn't mind; he can ask as many questions as he wants with that blue eyed charm......

With our happy tummies and after a few beeritas (obviously our new thing), we finished up watching the Texas Rangers choke......

And then on the way home, merely a couple of miles from both our house and the nature preserve I routinely run at, we watched a damn mountain lion sprint across the road! It was only last week we got the warning from a fellow runner aproaching from the opposite direction on our path that a spotting had been made.....but it's a new kind of reality to actually witness the oversized, out of place, cat with your own eyes. 

Forget the dangers of driving! Looks like one morning run could be my last......
Guess I can never have enough excitement in my life!


Have you ever felt like you had a near death experience? What happened?

Men Say the Darndest Things

Kids men say the darndest things.........

I know that I have one of the most thoughtful and sweetest husbands in the entire world......

I'm aware that everyone slips up every now and then......

I know a few drinks can make foot-in-mouth words fall a little more loosely or fluently off someone's tongue than under normal circumstances........

But what would you do if..........

Would you let him get past second base?.?.?.?.?......

Him and Her: **kissing...okay, okay....making out like it was the final scene of a Twilight movie, which BTW has won "Best Kiss" on the MTV Music awards 4 years in a row**

Him: Mmmmm....those are the gooooood.

Her: Oh yeah?

Him: Yeah, best I ever had...mmmmm...... 

Her: The best???? **taking mental notes, multitasking**

Him: Best from you, anyway.

Her: **Stops. Stares.**

Him: OH NO!! That's not what I meant to say!!!

Her: **???.....Still staring....**

Him: I don't know why I said that! I swear! I didn't mean to say that!

And so it continues; my life as a sitcom.....



Source



He had some making up to do, but I'm pretty sure he's redeemed himself by now.

What's the dumbest thing a guy has ever said to you?

Kickin' It

I may have worked 8 twelve hour shifts in a matter of a 10 day stretch, to come back for more only 2 days later.....but that kind of nonsense doesn't keep my fun-o-meter under par!!!

You bet your sweet cellulite free booty that I somehow managed to squeeze in a few decent runs with my girls in Arbhor Hills, which we recently  nicknamed, "The Nature Preserve where everybody knows your wave"....I know, I know, it's a ltitle long, but still oddly catchy in a friendly familiar way, right?

You can also gamble your hairy nipples that I finished reading the Twilight Saga Collection. What a happy ending it was. I'll have to find some way to fill the now gaping void I have in my heart since Vampires and Warewolves wont be around to occupy all my spare moments. I almost downloaded 50 Shades of Grey...until I realized Amazon wanted to charge a ridiculous amount of money for a trilogy that I heard doesn't even have a real plot.......So I'm going to try Pandora's Key...Anyone read it?

 

I'm not very good at smiling and holding my breath under water at the same time...hence the terribly uncomfortable look on my face and the millions of bubbles escaping my orafaces!!

And you can wager your lint holding belly button that I got outside long enough on Memorial Day for the first pool day of the year with  my Hunny-Bunny, Jessica, and Bobby-B. We relaxed while dodging heathen launched toys and careless splashes. The Texas Ranger's scored over 7 points the night before, so we each ordered our own pizza from Papa John's for 50% off, washing it down with homemade beeritas!!

Ahhhh, what a life. 




Have you made homemade Beeritas at home yet?
1 can limeaide concentrate
1 can tequilla (use the empty limeaide can)
Fill with ice and blend
Add 2-3 mexican beers

Annoyed

This may seem petty compared to some forms of bullying that exist in our world, but I'm not the type of person this kind of thing usually happens to. I'll share because it was real. Real ridiculous:

It's not a secret I have a hard time getting my self together for work in a timely manner when Patrick isn't home to help me. And so I was running rampit around the house, scrambling to get the dogs inside, and make it to work on time without forgetting my brain, when my phone rang.
Why I answered, I don't know.

Douche Bully: Hello this is D.B. (for the sake of my testimony) from Carter Blood Bank. I'd like to speak to you about....blah blah, something generic, our area has had a blood shortage for the last 100 years, please save the world with your awesomeness, blah.........And was wondering if I could set up an appointment for you to come donate blood.
Me: I'm not eligible to donate. I just got a tattoo a few weeks ago. But thanks anyway.
Douche Bully: They actually changed that regulation, so now it's completely fine....We don't even care if you have hepatitis, just come on in, in fact, there's always a possibility that we could be the ones to give you hepatitis....When would you like to schedule an appointment?

Me: Actually, I work night shift, so it's really hard for me to get to the clinics during their hours. So I don't think I can.
Douche Bully: Well that's not a problem either. We have several different clinics with flexible hours to accommodate your schedule.....where we will torture you with needles the size of your pinky finger.......Just tell me your hours, and I'll tell you which clinic to visit.
Me: Well, I don't have my schedule memorized, so I really can't give a day. So I guess it will just have to be another time.
Douche Bully: That's not a problem either. I can schedule you for a random day in advance and we will just call you the day before to remind you of your appointment, and you can reschedule at that time, if you need to.
Me: Look mister, I'm in a huge hurry right now tying to leave for work, and I really don't have time for this conversation.
D.B.: Okay, sorry about taking up so much of your time. I'll just make you an appointment really fast, and then you can be on your way.
Me: Fine.........whatever get's you the F off my case..........
D.B: How about this day......blah blah
Me: Ya. Alrighty then, great......when Hell freezes over....Bye.
D.B.: Thanks! Have a blessed day, and thanks for making an appointment with Carter Blood Bank.......where we will force you to forfeit your blood for the greater good of society against your own will.


Really?
Annoyed. Completely and utterly.
No other adjectives could touch the way I felt after that moment.
D.B. better consider himself lucky it's not possible to strangle someone through the phone.
Just say no to bullying, people. All forms.

Source

P.S. I do give blood from time to time, but prefer to do it out of my own free will.




When's the last time you were bullied?

Let's Get Real: Panty Talk

I like to keep it real. It keeps things on an even keel for relativeness. So with that being said, I'm going to get serious. Right now.

You know how guys like to keep their underwear until the once medium size elastic band looks like it was originally created to be a draw string for an extra large man, and the inseam down the crack is frayed or ripped apart (probably deteriorated threads from too many farts)......and you start to worry if you throw them in the dryer one more time they may disintegrate? Well I've always thought that was dumb and unnecessary....until recently.

Not that I wear them too often, but when I do, I have a few fabulous pairs of underwear that just can't be replaced. My FAVORITES, that don't sneak up into forbidden territory at inappropriate times. Some of them, even with sentimental ties, such as the ones I wore on my wedding day.

I cleaned out my closet last week, purging all inessential, worn out, or outdated items, with one minor exception. It was brought to my attention that I had a drawer full of long ago faded granny-panties developing minor holes and frays (all my favorites).....and another drawer full of outcasts, known as the trespassers (or crackpassers, if you will).

I guess it's pretty bad when my husband tries to help me get my clothes together for work and says,"Are these okay? They have holes in them."

I just CAN'T get rid of them.......Must. Preserve. Favorite. Tattered. Panties.

I had to at least say I tried to be decent......
So now here I sit in a state of defeat, wearing my pretty panties, at work, with a permanent half-wedgie, after unsuccessfully, and probably non-discretely, trying to pick them out all night. 
Fail.
It seems that finding the perfect pair of underwear is like finding the perfect man.

So, I guess my question is, am I alone on this? Is it just as difficult for everyone else to find winners?

In What Kind of Universe???

I said these exact words to my coworker during our last rounds of the morning, "I'm really craving pizza and chocolate milk."

"That sounds gross."

"It sounds amazing, and that's what I want!"

And it's exactly what I got.

Where does a girl get exactly what she wants.....the very essence of what she craves, at the precise moment she wants it, without ever even having to ask??

Oh yes. That would be in my universe.

The one where I'm married to my dream man, who is not only ridiculously good looking, but also so intuitive he can practically can read my mind. The one who woke up at 6:30 am on a Saturday morning to surprise me with breakfast. A breakfast pizza to be exact....with bacon, and sausage, and eggs, and cheese, and salsa, on whole wheat Boboli dough, with a side of chocolate milk.

It's almost creepy how inside my head he is. I'm so lucky, it doesn't make sense.

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire

Ever lie about something, or stretch the truth, to make yourself look a little better?
It's okay; Mother Theressa probably couldn't even get through life without doing it a few times. 

I told a little lie the other day about something so stupid. I don't know why I just couldn't tell the truth initially, but I fessed up shortly after. No harm done.

Kayla Evans-Carruth 

If a bag of tortillas technically expired in Feb, but they have no mold on them because they were kept in the frig....are they still eatable?

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  Jessica Forehand and 2 others like this.

Jim Kitchens Wrap 'em in a wet paper towel two or three at a time, microwave ten seconds, enjoy... as long as there's no mold.

• Kayla Evans-Carruth Alright, Alright, I lied to make myself look better, they actually expired in January....but I decided since I'm deep frying them, that it will kill all unwanted bacteria!
• Christina Locklin I would eat em if they weren't stale :)
• Carrie White Go for it! Deep fried with some salsa!
• Staci Narramore As long as you are willing to except the fact you maybe tied to the bathroom later go for it! LOL
• Mallory Brooke Cox No mold you're good that's my rule!
• Kayla Evans-Carruth haha, Staci, that's what I was worried about!! But they tasted good! No harm done, so far!
• Nikki Andrews No! Gross!
• Sandy Evans their ok, just fry them and make chips. 
• Kelly Jo Baublits i would eat em in a heartbeat. dip in some salsa, queso, quac and you're golden:) 

My landlord lied to me last month. You remember him right? That conniving jerk in disguise as a good guy, who puts the priority of his own extracurricular income before the safety of his tenants. I realized I've been paying him $50 extra rent for 4 months straight. When I called him out on not mentioning it to me, he admitted to noticing, but then tried to tell me it just put me one month ahead on utilities. What?? Sorry buster, a big part of my job is math, and I've already done the calculations (in my head, because I'm awesome like that, and it was really basic math....on on that thought, I'm officially insulted...). You owe me $200. 

My work friend Vickie and I were exchanging childhood stories about lying to our parents, laughing hysterically about the crimes we committed. I wont tell her secrets, but I told her she's plenty old enough to confess to her parents now, since they're 90.
 We decided it's probably a good thing we grew up in different decades, because otherwise we would have been too much trouble together. 

So on that note, I have a couple of confessions I feel like I need to get off my own record:


Dear Mom,
Remember when I said I didn't know how my lamp shade melted, and you took me to the store to buy a new one, but wouldn't let me buy the same cool square one like I had, because you thought it was a flawed fire hazard?
I lied. It was my fault.
I didn't want to you catch me up past my bedtime, so I covered the lamp with clothes so you wouldn't see the light under my door. I not only melted my favorite cool lampshade, but also burned a hole through my most beloved purple wind-. I hid them in the outside trash can so you wouldn't notice.
I know, I know. I could have burned the house down.
Oh, yes...And remember when Dusty and you were in my room, one time, and he tried to nonchalantly ask why I kept a small checkered rug in a weird spot on my floor, and I said 'becuase I liked it as decoration'?
I lied. It was ugly as decoration.
Me and Jenny Malar were playing teacher while you and Daddy were away and we got blue chalk on your brand new Berber carpet. I thought I knew what cleaner you used to remove stains, but accidentally used something with bleach in it instead, and spent the rest of the night trying to color in the new stark white circle with map pencils.....which distracted me from my baking until smoke was escaping the oven, and my 'K' shaped chocolate chip cookie was black as night.
Dusty was trying to rat on me.......at least I didn't burn the house down!
Which reminds me of one more thing.....Remember all those times when Dusty would start screaming in the bathtub, and you would come running and ask what happened and I said 'I don't know'?
I lied.
His crying was a direct result of me hitting him, because he was being a brat, or getting on my nerves. He spent the rest of his adolescence trying to pay me back by being a little tattle tale.

source

There. I feel all better now that that's in the open. Thank you for your understanding.
Love,
Your favorite angel.

Buried Deep......And I Don't Care!

Like "Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care," except for....who would care if Jimmy cracked corn anyway? That song should be about something we would actually care about. Like....."Jimmy cut cheese and I don't care," because  it would be more significant a statement if I didn't care someone just farted next to me. It'd have to mean I loved them a lot.
I've got a strange feeling I'm about to ramble a bit. Try to follow as I spiral, a randomized thought process that women do that links continuous thoughts together.......
I gave up trying to resist the urge to bury myself in a book. Sometimes I cut myself off because it's easy to forget about the planet I live on when I read, but lately I've allowed myself to be a complete addict for 4 and a half books in a row..........
First, I'll admit to reading another Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich....yeah, it's my 15th book of that series to read, but I just need to know who she chooses in the end!....Morrelli or Ranger.....? She finally said "I love you" in this last book. Baby steps, people, baby steps. (I've yet to watch One for the Money, the movie based on the first book of the series.)

Then I read The Host.......**sound effects please: dun dun dunnnnnnnn** by Stephenie Meyer. During the first couple of chapters I had to concentrate really hard, but then it really takes off into a strange survival story with an interesting twist on the age ol' love triangle......I never thought I'd feel so compassionate about an alien. (And I just heard they are making it into a movie!! Exciting!)
I enjoyed The Host so thoroughly, I decided I wanted to read something else by the same author, so I caved to reading the Twilight Saga Series. I've seen 3 of the 4 movies, out of order like the dummy I am, and thought it would be more interesting to know what Bella was thinking in her head in relation to her love triangle predicament. I'm currently on the third book, Eclipse.....
Which reminds me.....Who saw the eclipse Sunday evening?!?! I'm so mad I didn't know about it until it was over! If only I would have checked my Facebook page, I would have known in time!! I was probably reading instead.....

Speaking of books, has anyone heard the rumble about 50 Shades of Grey? What do you think about it? Have you read it yet? I think it may be next on my list.
Back to Stephenie (Meyer, not Plum), I love how closely she relates music that inspires her to her writing. At the very end of her books, she lists songs that she pairs to the progressing scenes......a sound track for her book. It's the first time I've ever seen such a thing. And we have similar taste in music. I like her.
I have to be very careful, though. It's easy to get lost in a world that doesn't exist, and miss out on things that do, such as this............

Patrick made me the most delicious beer can chicken, and Callie and Sumo found the dripping juices behind the grill. Now we have two very greasy, but sweet (with liquidized brown sugar) puppies.


So, have you heard of 50 Shades of Grey? Have you read any good books lately that I should read? Do you watch have a preference to which version you of the story you are exposed to first: Movie before Book or Book before Movie??

Maybe I Jumped the Gun......A Little....

Remember those barefoot shoes I was totally Gung Ho about? Well I returned them. I decided I didn't have enough patience for them as of yet.......not to mention my knee had started hurting again, and I didn't want to risk it just being a coincidence.

But I'm so glad I went with my gut, because I found the most amazing shoes on the planet. 

Brooks Pure Connect.

It's the most minimalist transition shoe of the line, offering the benefits of minimalist running, but providing more cushion than the barefoot shoe. 

And they're pretty!

I've had them for a few weeks now, and they feel amazing. I'm easily hitting midfoot. They feel so ridiculous light and airy, and it's so liberating for them to feel so flat, but supportive and springy at the same time.  I been squeezing them into my work shoe rotation, running in them about 3 times a week, and have also gone to a body pump class with them. At first the sensation was a little strange, my feet being so level, with no stability provided by extra shoe rubber, but the stronger my muscles get, the more I dislike the feel of my heavy clunkier tennis shoes. 

I've been running without my knee brace for over a month now. 

My I.T. bands are no longer hurting me. 

I no longer go to bed every night covered in ice. 

I'm getting faster and stronger.

So fast, I completely confused the running App on my phone.

Lol, I thought I was going fast in my new shoes;Distance: 196.45mi, time: 00:49:34, pace: 0:15min/mi, speed: 237.80mi/h.

View routesoc.liI did a workout with MapMyRUN! 
Distance: 196.45mi, time: 00:49:34, pace: 0:15min/mi, speed: 237.80mi/h.

Get the app · via MapMyRUN

But really, yesterday my legs were shaking like I was having a Gand Mal seizure attack when I left Body Pump, and I walked over to the treadmill and ran 1.55 miles in 15 minutes on a 3% incline, with NO music! The first mile was 10:00 minutes, the next half mile was 4:36 minutes.....and I felt like I was jogging......it was only 4 months ago that I was running a 12 minute mile, giving it all I had, with 3 knee braces, and barely being able to walk afterwards. 




What running App do you use? Does it ever malfunction like mine?

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The Best Surprise

"Are you ready for tonight? Stay calm, be friendly. Remember?" That's what Patrick said to me before we walked into the Gexa Pavillion. To know why, you'd have to know a few things about our history, one being this story.

I'd been counting down until this Saturday for a month. Patrick told me he had a surprise, and wasn't handing out any hints. We'd already started counting down the days to this concert a couple of months before, when we purchased the tickets. We'd been waiting two years to go again. Two years too long.

We poached the perfect parking spot, on a beautiful breezy day, started up or tiny charcoal grill, and set up our area for the early tailgating to begin.

I had to work the night before, so I double fisted to be safe; one hand grasping my Redline, the other with a secure hold on my Vodka Lemonade. And then I waited with escalating anticipation...........

"What's my surprise? What's my surprise?"

Patrick had packed everything, so I wouldn't wonder why we weren't bringing the lawn ticket's blanket, and saved our tickets at WillCall so I couldn't see them until before the show. The answer was not disappointing, because I was going to pee my pants from excitement induced incontinence when I saw that our tickets had been upgraded to Pit, standing in front of the people that bought front row seats! Thank you DMB Warehouse! 

"So that's why you kept telling me to wear comfortable shoes!"

We ate our delicious charcoal kissed upscale picnic food while other people around us drooled over the smell of turkey bacon, bell pepper, hot sausage links, and fresh corn floating their direction, timing our fire outing almost perfect, to avoid trouble from the bitter mooded venue worker that tried to tell us open flames weren't allowed in the parking lot.

After avoiding a hostile confrontation, in a crowd where everyone was going to the exact same reserved area, with a man that got mad at us when he thought we were cutting in line, we claimed our crowd stance for the night, with merely one row of standing people separating us from the stage. We couldn't have been surrounded by better people. We exchanged past concert experiences with our neighbors and got to know each other a little better, since we'd be sweating on top of each other for the next several hours.

The opening band, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, was casually announced by Dave himself. We grooved to their tunes and gawked at their old school presence with ratty clothes, ungroomed hair, and hairy legged woman.

Dave came back on stage to play the tambourin with their most popular song, "Home is Wherever I'm with You". The very song I heard on Pandora last week while running and thought of how closely it related to Patrick and I's life. How ironic that I'd no idea the band even existed before.  

The girl in the blue dress played the accordion, the tambourin, and the keyboard. A million people in the band, and they still have to have multitaskers!

I can only imagine what it would feel like to look out onto a crowd like that, gathered just to hear you play, and listen while they sang every word to your song, without any prompting, because they knew it so well and love it so much, they just couldn't help themselves. 

When the sun set, the vibrant lights appeared, and the big band of the night made their debut.

Patrick was so excited his hair stood on end.

I kept gawking at how close we were to the stage.

The lights were beautiful, the sound was perfect, and the people that surrounded us were so cool. Everyone kept us a roomy pocket, so I could dance. And dance I did. I only accidentally hit someone in the face once, but she said it was her fault for getting too close. I patted her on the cheek and apologized. She probably hates me.

"Look how close we are!"

As always, every time Dave grabs a new guitar, everyone around tries to guess which song he's going to play on it. It's a fun game.

The tiniest 12-string I've ever seen.

This action jam shot is gives a similar feel to the way we all felt.

Dave played the piano for us. I laughed so hard when I guessed "Out of my Hands" and was right! 

"In yo FACE Pat!"

I can't fathom anyone going to one of these concerts and not falling in love with the music. It's physically impossible not to sway, moving with the rhythm and enjoying yourself with a big goofy grin on your face.

Every musician in the band is so ridiculously talented that they play their instrument with smooth elegance and have so much knowledge about art of music, that the notes practically play themselves. It's like watching each of them release their inner beast, freeing their body of any worldly thing that ties them down.

Tim Reynolds has said he used to hate playing songs. All he wanted to do was jam, but playing with Dave is a whole different experience. The songs have a pulse that sends out a message and creates a space to inspire jams within. That's one of the reasons every song lasts 10-20 minutes; they're just out there having fun!

Despite it all, they remain completely modest in their capabilities and seem utterly thankful for having fans. Dave says sometimes during a concert he gets an overwhelming feeling of joy that makes him want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Carter gave away several drum sticks and one of his cymbals after the concert! He handed one of his sticks to the lady in front of me. Do you have any idea how jealous I was?

I love to watch him play. I wonder if his face is sore after every concert, because he only laughs and smiles for 2 hours straight. I had to smile for an hour straight once in a beauty pageant and my cheeks hurt so bad after.

We came home giggling and talking non stop about how much fun we had, discussing our favorite parts, while eating Whataburger, our favorite late Saturday night snack.

Our last two bracelet experiences have been extraordinary ones. Good enough to go down in the memory books. And for the record, I don't like to wait for surprises, but this one was worth the wait. The best surprise Patrick's given me, aside from when he asked me to marry him.

What's the best surprise you've ever received?