A good weekend and a list of concerts

This weekend was just the kind of weekend I needed. There was Disney in the rain (what? We wore raincoats!) Christmas decorations out the yin yang and snow machines, an evening cut short by pee (seriously, dude, enough), and carbs galore at Cracker Barrel. There was a morning of cleaning my house from head to toe and then retreating to my room to paint my fingernails and my toenails and watch This Means War and basically ignore everyone for a bit. There was really good red wine and the last of the Fizzing Wizzbees and a very abrupt bedtime when I all of a sudden couldn’t keep my eyes open.

So I was thinking about what to blog about, and Stephanie wrote about her concert love of Matchbox 20 which made me think of all the bands I have seen in concert. And so for your Monday morning enjoyment, here’s a list:

New Kids on the Block (once as a young one and once a few years ago)

Debbie Gibson

They Might Be Giants (17 times. Yes, I know. Once was the kids show and I brought the kids. Once was two weeks after Spencer was born, and I got a babysitter. Once was driving to Asheville NC after a hurricane)

OK GO (twice)

Frank Black (he really needed the Pixies, sucked on his own)

Billy Joel

Black Crowes

Grateful Dead (April 1995, last concert held in Tampa Stadium before it was torn down, and 4 months before Jerry Garcia died)

James Taylor (three times)

Alanis Morissette

Tori Amos

Collective Soul

Cranberries

Sum 41

MxPx (twice, once when they were still Magnified Plaid)

No Need for a Name

Taking Back Sunday

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Barenaked Ladies

Flogging Molly

Garbage

Plain White Tees (three times)

Rockapella (four times? Possibly five)

Lacuna Coil (twice)

Muse

Tom Petty

(edited)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

I think this is a full list, but there were probably a few more. I left out bands that were at music festivals that I went to but I didn’t pay any attention to, but I included a few that were at festivals that I went specifically to see or watched their entire set.

Who have you seen?

I am a sheep, but it's a funny sheep

So this auto bot thing is going around - I first saw it on Miriel's blog, and then several others and now mine. I don't have anything so say about them though, because they are mostly nonsensical, and while I think they're funny, I can't imagine anyone else would.

The Ninth just has eaten my parents were readers.

I've always been a good sport!

It's amazing and sending some to my favorites.

It holds the book together.

He doesn't know how much I pay attention??.? do better
with myself.

Indeed, it's an elementary school REUNION! Let us both
sleep!

Ours usually ask her to do emergency polo shopping so
he's clothed for Wii.

Except when Spencer knows the whole squash tomorrow.

Happy vacation Having three kids tablets, but I used skim
ricotta and getting back in the German gift shop and I'm exhausted.

I'm a bottle of NOT in bed w us at 530 and I joined her
behind the toy car!

Counting the Fault in our drinks from each time

Wait, Dad, I didn't feel bad about velocity, destiny,
hydrate v dehydrate, and a lot of fun though!

Stars Matthew Mcconaughey and Channing Tatum, gyrating
with an eggplant?

Must be on the Night for Avengers

Oh, there was when I told Henry no rest for the rest of
times that I won, with my baby Jesus, people.

you can still get through today and we have no idea what
do I really need a handle on these tapping dudes outside the one in the late
90s, so I would have left my phone in our midst.

I need to be over.

Privilege

The other day I was driving, and as I was driving my nice newish car (which I bought new) I was thinking about the holiday we had decided to take. After Christmas, we want to take the kids up to see snow, and decided on a small town in North Carolina.

Somehow, my mind clicked over to my own childhood. There were a lot of bad parts but there were a fair amount of good parts too. However, we lived very small and were pretty low on means most of the time. I don't really remember wanting for anything toy-wise, and I had a bike and one year I remember having one of those little trampolines. I grew up fine, and mostly knew the value of a dollar (except when I, like all other college students, got in a mild amount of credit card debt and also didn't know how balance my checkbook).

I remember thinking, when I decided to go to the local university (which was the only college I applied to because I had scholarships but couldn't afford room and board if I went away to school) - I remember thinking how far the drive was. It was 50 minutes each way, and took me from my little suburb into the big scary city. My mom warned me about the big scary city, but now I live there and have for ten years.

Anyhow, all of this is to say that as I was thinking about how my children are growing up, and all the privilege they have that I didn't even think possible, didn't even know I was missing. They've been to six states, on an airplane, on car trips. We are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but we are comfortable. They have it good. I hadn't left the state until junior year of high school with my marching band. I hadn't been on an airplane until my senior year of high school (also with the band). I still haven't been out of the country, I don't even have a passport (one of these days). My kids go to Disney nearly every single weekend - every weekend! When I think of this, sometimes it blows my mind. Every cotton pickin' weekend! I went to Disney once when I was four or so, and for my ninth birthday I went to Epcot.

I hope I am able to instill in my children how good they have it. I hope I can show them that they are privileged and to be generous to others. I want to raise generous souls.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Late night bits

I think it's been years since I tried to post actual words from my phone, but the iPad is dead and laptop isn't worth the trouble, so excuse any terrible  autocorrect gaffs.

** I feel like I did all the blogging I could possibly do today, as I was having a small meltdown/anxiety crisis and I emailed all day about it. Thank you so much, friends, for helping me through today. I am going that the main panic is over; my rational mind knows it's not an issue now I just need my subconscious to agree.

** remember when I said that Henry potty trained quickly and had no problems? Well strike that. This week has not been good.

** I really need this weekend.

** The kids watched Goonies tonight. I did not realize/remember how much language was in it, or the dead bodies. Spencer seemed to stay interested though.

** Christmas music has started on the radio - I'm psyched.

** yes, 8:45pm is "late night".

Made up.

I have never felt pretty. It’s not a fishing for compliments thing or a “no one ever told me I was pretty” thing. I’ve just never really had that kind of confidence. I don’t feel comfortable without make up. I wish I had known how to do make up before about this year, because I’ve been wearing it since high school but it has always been slap dash: at least I’m wearing lipstick and blush.

The conundrum is that I also worry that make up makes me look like I’m trying too hard. I work in a semi-casual setting most of the time, but occasionally (like today) I have an out-of-office meeting which means dress clothes, and definitely the full face of makeup. But then on my drive in, I feel like I’m wearing too much make up. Foundation, eye makeup, blush, mascara, eyebrows filled, lipstick … I do my makeup in a natural look nearly always, but …

Eh, there’s always a but. But I don’t feel good without it. But I feel stupid for needing it. My husband likes me with or without, I know that. But I just don’t feel pretty.

This post felt so much more eloquent this morning in my head.

At least I make cute kids. 

Escape from Planet Home.

I’m sitting here wondering what to write that doesn’t feel so whiny, and I just don’t have it. So I apologize.

Henry got up again in the middle of the night last night, after nearly a week of no wake-ups. We thought we had it, we started giving him his allergy meds regularly and thought maybe it was just his sinuses that were waking him up and now that we had that down, we’d have a three year old that sleeps through the night (which he pretty much hasn’t done for four to six months). Thankfully, I guess, these days with the allergy meds it’s not a long wake up – he taps me on the shoulder, Daddy gets up and takes him back to bed and that is that. But nearly a week of no wake ups, and now again the wake ups.

Then this morning he crawled into bed with me at 5:29am, and I was awake anyhow because I fell asleep last night at 8:30 (!!!) and I told him to go potty, and he said he did have to. This happened three times, and then at 6:25am I hear yelling from the bedroom because he peed all over the floor, including several toys. Frustration. Just. Frustration.

I escaped to work. Oh! And Spencer has a dentist appointment today. So. Awesome.

But anyhow, here’s something I just found which really is kind of awesome: 

No boil-over disks

These are the ones I bought, through my son’s fundraiser, but there are several kinds on the internet. No boil-over disks. They are little ceramic disks that go in the bottom of the pot and prevent your pasta water from boiling over! I’ve used them a number of times over the last two weeks, and only once did my water boil over – when I put way too much in.

The Sound of Silence (and West Wing)

Mondays. Everyone hates, Mondays and for the mornings, sure, I agree. But at 4pm-ish, I leave work, head home and enter:

An Empty House.

It used to be Tuesdays, and for awhile it was Fridays. Now since school gets out early on Mondays, that is when my children spend the day (or part of the day) with my in-laws. They get to play, and ride bikes, swim and spend time with their grandparents and I get two hours (sometimes more) of quiet in my house.

I can do what I want and watch what I want. Most of the time that means making dinner at my own pace while drinking a glass of wine, watching a few hours of West Wing, folding a couple loads of laundry. Sometimes that means I sit and mess around on the internet and do nothing for a couple hours. Nobody looks at me wrong if the laundry is still there when they get home. No one minds if dinner is leftovers. I get to cook because I like to cook, for once, and I get to do the laundry simply because I hate to see the pile on the couch. I can blog, or read blogs, or just talk to my friends on twitter without feeling like I'm neglecting my family.

What I'm saying is, Mondays rock.

(BTW, last night I made leftovers manicotti: chicken, spinach, garlic, mushrooms, tomato, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese all stuffed into manicotti pasta with vodka sauce and the last couple slices of mozz and cheddar cheese baked on top. Sometimes I really love to cook)

(and some day I'll get through West Wing)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad