I've been away for too long....

My last official post was in January of 2015... since then a lot of things have happened...  Here's a quick rundown - and I plan to do a bit more detail on all of these soon!

Greatest Hits REWIND!

Honorable Mentions I never blogged about: Weezer Show in ATL Dec. 2014 and Pearl Jam in Memphis 2014. Sad I didn't write more about these - I may need to do a concert recap!

APRIL 2015
Took a trip to Denver, Colorado
I witnessed my first show at Red Rocks! [Disco Buscuits]
And one more show at the Filmore!  [The Replacements]
Hit up Record Store Day 2015 in Denver, Colorado and also scored some amazing tacos too!

Mike bought a new ride! His name is "Boom" and he's an awesome Jeep Renegade!

HAD A VERY BUSY JULY 2015
We did US Tour so to speak in July - ever single weekend we were going somewhere and doing something. We put a lot of miles on "BOOM" this month!

Celebrated July 4th, 2015 in Washington, DC with The Foo Fighters and a ton of great bands
AND celebrated FF's 20th Anniversary!

Spent the following weekend in Atlanta with Mike and went to see Anthony Bourdain speak!

Went to the first ever Sloss Fest in Birmingham, AL

Enjoyed a family beach trip to Orange Beach, AL.

AUGUST 2015
I survived my first Whole30 and did 4 more after that!

SEPTEMBER 2015
Started to work out again, take up running and purchased a bike all in the matter of months and stuck with the life style through 2016 and well into 2017.

NOVEMBER 2015
As a family effort we took over Thanksgiving in 2015. Helping out Michael's mom.
We ruled at making Turkey, and a ton of the other sides and were asked to bake the turkey again in 2016. It's amazing what some sibling team work and vodka can accomplish!

New Tattoos - for myself and Mike, and his brothers and father.

Discovered Pre-workout and a love for Rosé.
Not at the same time mind you, or mixed together... just a general statement.

DECEMBER 2015
Celebrated Christmas at our home, having Mike's family over for a change of pace after a long fall (see below).

FEBRUARY 2016
Headed home to Maryland for a weekend to have a late Christmas with my father and friends. Experience a great afternoon in Downtown Frederick for their Fire and Ice Festival! Ice Sculptures and shots for all!

Enjoyed a Chili Contest at our favorite Local Brewery [Singin' River Brewery] - Mike was able to judge. Our favorite didn't win, but they should have!

MARCH 2016
Enjoyed a few weekends of day drankin' on patios downtown and just l-i-v-i-n'!
The weather was so warm we actually took our first kayak trip at the end of March!

APRIL 2016
Enjoyed the final day of our favorite local vinyl store Pegasus Records and Records Store Day all in one. We went all out - spent way too much money, got misty eyed, listened to live bands and got some great items from our friends and favorite music store the Shoals ever had.

Fully ENJOYED JAZZFEST 2016 - Full recap to come. This was an extremely special Pearl Jam concert!

JUNE 2015
Our Town held it's first ever Pride Fest - we were there!

Traveled to Denver, CO again in 2016. We travel to visit my Sister-in-Law and her family.
Hiked a mountain, ate great tacos, went to Red Rocks again! [Jason Isbell + the 400 Unit]

OCTOBER 2016
Hit up the Alabama Vs. Texas A&M 2016 game! ROLL TIDE!
We also celebrated our wedding anniversary that day as well!

Had a fun trip to our favorite part of ATL to meet up with my Bestie from back home!

NOVEMBER 2016
Watched and Election unfold in the way I never thought imaginable.
Let's NOT discuss here, m'kay?

Witnessed quite a few great live shows here at home!
John Paul White • Secret Sisters • The Pollies • Red Mouth • Willodeans • St. Paul and the Broken Bones • Space Tyger • Belle Adair (just to name a few).

DECEMBER 2016
I TURNED 40!!! Holy shit! Michael threw me an epic surprise Birthday party!!!

My office acquired a "work cat" - she showed up at our door cold, and starving and he's been with us every since. He was amply named "Buddy" after Buddy the Elf.

Celebrated Christmas 2016 in Maryland with my dad and Friends!

MARCH 2017
Finally watched Big Little Lies and was instantly hooked!
I'm also obsessed with the soundtrack on Spotify (Thanks Hutch!)

And watched a ton of other shows: Newest notes: Riverdale, iZombie and 13 Reasons Why.
I loved them all - I'm a bit more addicted to television than I'd like to admit.

Didn't celebrate St. Patrick's Day like we had hoped...

APRIL 2017
Discovered a love for puzzles.

MAY 2017
Witnessed Soundgarden for the first, and sadly last time in my life.
Losing Chris Cornell in the music world is a bit unreal to me.

Celebrated a 2nd, successful year of the John Oubre for Antiqua Charity Golf Tournament.
It's hard work, but worth it to raise money for a cause he was passionate about.

My father moved from Maryland here to Alabama to be closer to me and Michael. I think he's enjoying it so far!

JUNE 2016
Discovered Wine in a Can = Life is Good!

And the Hardest Struggles: REWIND!

AUGUST 2015:
Dealt with the biggest loss I've felt since losing my mother, in losing Mike's younger brother John Oubre. The family will never be 100%, he was too important to all of us. We are all still taking this day by day, even though the event happened in 2015. Sometimes you just can't fix a hole in your heart, especially when someone left such a large tear when they left. I've been struggling with a post to honor him for almost two years now. I'm almost there, and hope to share, soon.

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2017:
Also dealt with the joy of discovering I was pregnant this past February. After a little over a year of trying. That excitement was shortly followed by the loss of this joy, due to an ectopic pregnancy and emergency surgery. I have a lot to say about this journey as well, but I will have to complete my post.

------

These past few years have been filled with ups and downs. Most of which I do want to write a detailed post about, so please be patient.

If you're still here after my long hiatus, thanks for sticking around, it's nice to have you back, and to be back!

Music Festival Checklist.

"Better to have that, and not need it, than need it and not have it." - Woodrow F. Call

"Be Prepared" - Scouts Motto

"Better safe, than sorry." - Mom

The best advice in life comes from many places, well I'm about to give you some real world, sage advice about the most important things to bring with you and remember at an outdoor music festival.

via turnedup2eleven

BACK-PACK / BAG + STUFF THAT GOES INSIDE!

Always check the rules and regulations on the festival's website. Some will allow you to carry regular back-packs or bags of a certain size. Some of the newest security regulations have required us to carry clear plastic bags, where all contents can be easily viewed by concert goers AND staff at the security checks. The bags come in all sizes. This is a bit annoying, but at the same time safety is a huge concern in places with this many people so please save yourself some time, read the rules and respect the requests of the venue and concert promoters. Other venues will only allow you to carry a purse, approximately the size of your palm, if it's not a see through material. All items are subject to search - just comply with security, and you'll get through the line much, much faster!

In this bag you'll want to keep some very important items:

SPF / CHAPSTICK / LIP BALM / GLOSS
Sunburns suck, and skin cancer is even worse. Protect yourself. I apply my sunblock before leaving my hotel, and then take a smaller bottle for reapplication as needed. Most venues will not allow aerosol cans, so again, read the rules. Same goes for your lips! I always carry a spare SPF Lip Balm and a gloss.

Tickets
Store these somewhere safe in your bag they are often needed for re-entry, if you are able to leave the festival and come back. If we plan enough ahead Mike and I always laminate our tickets, especially if we need them for two days. Thankfully some music festivals give you a wrist band, if you don't luck out and get a band, please keep your tickets safe, or keep a back up at the hotel.

Band-aids / Blister Block
I can tell you from experience that even in the best worn in shoes, sometimes blisters happen. They are never comfortable but Blister block and band-aids truly help!

Bandana
Great for fashion AND function. These come in very handy when a festival is held during the dry season or in a parking lot (thinking back to Warped Tour circa... 2002ish? my teeth were caked in dust and eventually became mud, thanks to my silva - yeah it's gross, so do us all a favor and save your lungs and your grill and wear a bandana around your face as needed.

Protection from the Sun - I don't know about you but my forehead is always the first part of my face to show sunburn - I have been saved from a wicked burn a time or two by wrapping the bandana around the effected part of my scalp. You can also wet the bandana and use it as a cool cloth as well at a super hot festival.

They also come in handy when it rains - but a word of advice, if you want to wear one in the rain, make sure you wash it before the festival. In a moment of desperation Mike (my husband for any new readers) and I grabbed some at the Music Midtown fest a few years ago, during a down pour, they were great to keep our hair back from the falling rain, until the red dye bled all over Mike's favorite shirt. Not to mention bandanas are way more comfortable, and soft after a good wash!

Poncho
Weather permitting it may be needed in an instant and who wants to pay the over priced fee that concert places charge for these items. Hit up the camping section at Target and snag one for $4.00 or less, vs. the $7-10 at most venues).

They are also a great way to not only keep YOURSELF dry, but all your gear - covering your backpack will ensure that your bag and items stay dry, AND your merch doesn't get ruined after purchasing it.  We survived the downpour on July 4th, 2015 watching The Foo Fighters 20th Anniversary concert thanks to our ponchos, we might have had a ton of rain fall on us, but our posters and tshirts stayed super dry! My mascara on the other hand was a mess.

Foo Fighters July 4th • 20th Anniversary 2015 • via jamofpearls

Foo Fighters July 4th • DC • 2015 • Worth the rain to catch this show! • via turnedup2eleven

Hat
You can be stylish or functional with these - either way - protect your eyes, and face from harsh rays with a hat! Bonus if it rains and you have a ball cap it will keep the rain out of your eyes so you can focus on your favorite lead guitarist, or drummer. Which ever.

Sunglasses
BRIGHT RAYS equal tired and even often sunburned eyes. Protect your peepers people!

Sloss Fest 2015 via jamofpearls

Small Wallet
Dudes have it easy - they can usually hide a wallet in one of their many pockets. Especially in cargo shorts. Women we have to get a bit more creative. I usually tend to take a smaller wallet, and only carry vital items, ID - Credit Card - Cash - Insurance Cards (Guys, I'm 40, not an animal, I care about my health and well being). That being said - finding a small, secure wallet can be hard. I was lucky enough to find one that had a small strap. I like to put my wallet in my front pocket at shows. The wallet I have is tiny, it fits in the front of most of my shorts pockets - and I tend to loop the strap on my first belt loop then slip the wallet in my shorts pocket. This will keep the wallet secure, and when I head to the port-a-johns also keeps the wallet from falling on the ground in that nasty environment. I can't tell you the number of times I have had that wallet fall out as I hovered, thankfully the strap keeps it attached to me. Most festivals will say NO CHAINS for wallets, this is a small strap, much like some of the cute clutches women carry these days. Another great option I found here. I am ordering this immediately! Sure your boobs will sweat but you will always know where your money, and important items are!

Small Wallet II - Electric Boogaloo
Not saying your pocket WILL get picked, but I'm saying it might. Having your wallet in a safe place - front pocket, hidden part of your backpack (way deep), or even your bra is best. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Be safe... Better safe than sorry my momma always said!

Hand Wipes
Remember those port-a-johns I mentioned a moment ago, yeah, the germ pools! Some festivals you go to have hand washing stations or at least some anti-bac hanging up inside. I by pass those lines and just carry some wipes in my bag. I also frankly like the idea of wiping OFF the germs and dirt vs. just rubbing it in with alcohol.

Water Jug
Most festivals will allow you to bring in 1, factory sealed 12 oz. water bottle with water in it, others will request that you bring an empty bottle of your own. This a MUST in my book. I don't care how much you would rather have vodka or beer, STAYING HYDRATED is a must in hot weather months. I mean, I can't tell you the number of times it's been around 8 pm at a fest and I've seen men and women face down in their own muck, and their friends are pissed. Don't be the person your friends have to babysit and the one other concert goers laugh at and often post on instagram with a funny hashtag. Trade off. One drink, one water the entire day. You'll be way happier you dropped a ton of money to see your favorite band if you actually REMEMBER it.  If you aren't having to go to the bathroom a lot - it's great if you're up front waiting to see a band but honestly, it also means you're dehydrated... you might want to drink some water, rather than pass out during your favorite band's set.

Gum
Outside food and beverages are usually prohibited. Unless you're at Red Rocks which is strange but nice. I always carry some gum to help freshen my breath and often times handle the dust issue (refer to the bandana section). I mean, after a few IPA's, then sweating and being thirsty no one has fresh breath kids.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit • Red Rocks, CO 2016 • via turnedup2eleven

Camera
Please again, see guidelines for cameras and recording equipment it would suck to get yours confiscated or be told you have to take the item all. the. way. back. to. your. car!  It's great to catch your favorite band live, and you want to document it. Cameras on phones have come a long way, I suggest using that. And I also suggest taking maybe 2-4 photos, but don't spend the entire time looking through your phone and missing everything happening around you! ENJOY the moment, not just the memories.

Pearl Jam • Music Midtown • ATL, GA • 2014 • via jamofpearls

Long Sleeve Shirt / Jacket
Depending on how hot it is, you may not need either of these but I have always found it helpful to have a light weight long sleeve shirt or button up shirt in my bag for an all day music fest. Once the sun goes down, if you've had too much sun it can help keep you warm. And in turn also protect you if you do get burt before the sun sets.  It is also helpful when and if you are caught in a down pour to have a warm, dry shirt in your bag to make you feel better.

Sloss Fest 2015 • via jamofpearls

Portable Phone Charger
Most festivals have charging stations, but why chance it? If you know having a full battery on your phone is important to you - do this. Mike and I usually travel together and stick together, so we have one or the other to use, but if you plan to distance yourself from your crew at any time, please try to have a full phone charge to get back with them. *** Keep in mind often times in a busy festival setting, text messages might not send as well, and there is rarely wifi available. (See below for my note about Meeting Places).

Your Phone
This is an obvious thing to bring, but I always suggest to bring it and download the festival APP if available. Not only will you be able to check the schedule, but also have access to a map. Some apps allow you to create your own schedule alerting you to when your next chosen band is ready to hit the stage and where.

Festival Map
If you're a bit more old school and would rather conserve your phone battery for important stuff like photos and videos - I would suggest checking at the information tent at the festival and getting yourself a printed out map, or brochure. Most festivals, like Sloss Fest will have people handing out maps as you walk in the gates. This might seem like trash to some of you but it's helpful to get a lay of the land before you commit to where you want to stand for the day. Important things to note are restrooms, hydration stations, merch tents as well as vendors for food and drinks! Most of these will be available to view on your phone, but I like having a larger version, that's easier to read, and let's me keep my phone in a safe place most of the time so I don't drop, or lose it. Or chance digging in my bag and leaving pockets open accidentally (see also be safe and wise about your belongings).

Plastic Bag
It's helpful to have a plastic bag in your bag - sometimes you'll get one at the merch tent, others you won't. It's great to have them to protect your new shirts or items you buy, or simply cover items you want to KEEP dry, like your phone, or a shirt for later.  Music festivals that get hot are notorious for spraying fans with water, you don't want that bit of water to ruin your phone or other items.

Ear Plugs
Heading up to the front of the line? Want to be close to the action? Great, you'll also be close to the speakers blasting loud enough to get to the folks in the back. Prolonged exposure to this type of noise can cause serious hearing damage. Trust me, if my husband and I can go almost deaf for almost 24 hours after being front row a friend's show in a local bar, AND an AC/DC concert in an indoor venue FAR from the stage, you can totally do damage up front at a show outdoors! Just get some cheap ear plugs, no one will judge, everyone is beginning to wear them, including all our rock and hip hop idols!

Mini First Aid Kit
Along with the band aids mentioned above, you may want to carry a small First Aid kit with items like ibuprofen, or your choice of headache cures. If you have allergies or any other medication you need to remember to take, I would suggest to take it before you leave for the show, but sometimes you have to take these things at certain times. It's nice to have a small bag in your pack to tend to these needs a head of time.  Another option might be eye drops. I wear contacts and my eyes tend to get really dry and irritated during a dusty, or allergy ridden time of year. I carry drops to help with this. Maybe toss the Gum in this pack as well. Ladies it's nice to also have some type of a bag to carry your "firecrackers" if ole Aunt Flow rears her ugly head on the weekend of your festival as well - and the hand wipe will help with this issue as well!

MEETING PLACE

As I stated, cell phones are often rendered useless at music festivals. Not only is LOUD and hard to hear, text messages tend to send really slow, and batteries die.  It's always great to have a "meeting place" in case you get lost, or can't find your crew after running to get a drink. Mike and I always have one, in case we get separated. Find a good landmark upon entering and tell your crew to meet there after the show ends - especially if you are the driver it's your responsibility to get there and make sure ALL your friends are ready to roll before leaving, yes even Sally, she's been drunk all day but you have to be sure she gets home safely - even if that hoe was talking to the guy you were interested in all day!

TOTEMS

via turnedup2eleven

I hate that most music festivals are starting to crack down on these items. Huge signs, or long tall poles with flags, although a bit annoying if they are up front waving in front of your view, they are VERY helpful in keeping crews together during a busy show.  I can't tell you the number of times we were able to find friends of ours just by following their floating Husky head of their beloved dog Russo [pictured above].  Check with the concert rules, if they are allowed, I say go big or go home! It's so much easier to find your friends when you know what flag they are hanging under!

My only note of consideration is this - during the show if are up front and center and NOT waiting for a friend to get back up to meet you - maybe keep the waving down to a minimum for the folks in the back. Everyone is there to enjoy the show!

FASHION

Basically be smart, but let your freak flag fly!
BOHO, ROBO, DON'T KNOW? Follow your instincts, be comfortable but enjoy getting dressed. If you like comfort go for the old school t-shirt and shorts. Want more flare, go ahead and wear the flower head crown, when else is that going to be socially acceptable, am I right? Some shows are during Halloween, others are in the dead of the summer, the bottom line is, you do you. Be comfortable and enjoy yourself!

Proper Shoes
I've seen this time and time again... a young woman walking like a baby deer for the first time. She's wobbling and having a really hard time getting around on the grass in her platform shoes. I envy her shoes but not her situation because girl, they cute, but you are having issues. And in turn I've seen dudes walking around with a broken flip flop, searching for his friends.

I can't stress enough to wear COMFORTABLE and PROTECTIVE shoes. If you are a guy or girl that likes to sit on the sidelines, or a nice blanket in the back then YES by all means wear those flip flops. If you want to be up front, or in a pit, you should probably opt for sneakers or boots or something with a closed toe. I've had my foot stepped on before and it's painful, especially if the person doing it was dancing or jumping to the beat of the music.  I usually opt for something like a slip on sneaker, or high top (Vans) or hiking type sandal like a (Teva) - or Keen - the closed toe in the Keen is great for times like this. They are a bit more expensive but hold up great over time. I've had mine for about 8 years now and other than fading in color, they integrity of the shoe is still intact. [Note: I had my last pair of slim strap Tevas for about only 2 years and they broke after Jazzfest last year - too much walking and dancing]. Basic sneakers, lace up boots, nothing too heavy. Remember you'll be walking... a lot. Sometimes more than you realized (again, Jazzfest 2016).

Jazz Fest 2016 • Pearl Jam • via turnedup2eleven

Make-up
To each his or her own on this part, but at a festival if it's going to be 100+ degrees, I tend to go light on the make-up and wear as much water proof, and sweat proof items as I can. Unless you are going to an Alice Cooper Show or heading to 'The Gathering' to see ICP, it's really not a great look to have make-up running down your face, unless that's the exact look you're going for. Or it's VoodooFest in New Orleans, but again, to each their own.

Recreational Drugs + Booze
Basically carry and use at your own risk. That goes for you trying to sneak in that flask too. I'm not here to harsh your buzz, man I'm just saying... I'd rather not get kicked out of a festival and miss my favorite band for something as silly as that. Did you know they make tampon flasks now? Insanity!

I tend to like to be as clear minded as possible at a show. Mike and I have a few drinks before hand, but it's minimal, compared to any given Friday night. I paid good money to see a band that I love, and I don't want my mind clouded and I certainly don't want a black out to ruin my chances of seeing something epic.  My point is, I would have been really, really sad if I was too drunk when I saw Soundgarden this year. I will never get to see them live again and I'm glad I can remember EVERY moment I had with Chris Cornell and the guys on stage.

Soundgarden 2017 • Tuscaloosa, AL • via turnedup2eleven

Did I miss anything? What would you add to the list?  Let me know!
It's FESTIVAL SEASON - LET'S ROCK!

Summer's here and the time is right for dancin' at the festivals.

That's right everyone... Summer is back in full force here in the south. My soul is happy but my sweat glands want to die. Seriously... how is it this hot.

That being said, in these hot Southern months there are only three things that can be done for me to personally tolerate this time of year.

1. Kayak

2. Drink cool beverages.

and

3. MUSIC FEST MY ASS OFF!

Mike and I are excited to be attending the SLOSSFEST this year. We went to the first ever SLOSSFEST in 2015 and LOVED IT!  It was hotter than hades that weekend, but the music, food, drinks and location were amazing. Located at the historic Sloss Furnace in Birmingham, AL, the industrial area and buildings are a great back-drop for a Music and Arts Festival such as this one. I think the only true complaint we had that year was the lack of water stations. This has since been resolved to my knowledge so we are looking forward to another amazing (and hydrated) year at the Sloss Furnace with just a few 1000 of our closest, not yet met, friends.

This year promises to be a great one! Check out the line-up! 

(PS Tickets are still available).

slossfest.com

We're really, really excited to finally be able to witness the wonder that is The Alabama Shakes! They have always been on our radar, but they are a crowd favorite here in the Iron State, and sometimes it's hard to snag tickets.

Our first year at Sloss we were able to catch St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Both bands are local Alabama favorites, and since that festival we've been able to witness St. Paul in a much more intimate setting, here locally in our home town! And it was amazing!  It's nice to see a band play ANY venue like they are at Madison Square Garden, and playing for royalty, even when it's just every day people like us.

This year seems to have a great mix of artists. One we have seen before, Sturgill Simpson (Sloss 2015), and even more we haven't and that we've been DYING to see live for a few years, such as the Alabama Shakes, as mentioned and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats!

I'm personally excited to witness Odesza and Run the Jewels and both Mike and I are curious about Widespread Panic - we have loads of friends that tell us great things!

This year promises to be a wet one, which I'm not sure if I'm ready to deal with, but, with a prepared back-pack and some clever dressing, I am pretty sure it should still be an exciting weekend in Birmingham, AL!!!

What is your favorite music festival to attend?

life after the mic drop.

Hello?  Is this thing on? Is there any body out there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home?... wait, no, put down your lighter, let's get back to business.
It's been a while. A long while. 1 year and 4 months to be exact, since I posted anything here. Somewhere along the way I lost my love for blogging. My desire to care about it, but it's slowly coming back to me. I've spent this time reading other women and men write these great stories, and in the process, forgot to tell my own.

A lot has happened in the past two years. So many things I haven't even written about. Lots of heartache, and just as much joy. Milestones as well as disappointments, and frankly, near death experiences. I'll get to all that in the next coming months, I promise.

I'm not sure how many of you are still following, but I'm going to try to get your attention again, very soon!

If you're still around, thanks for hanging in there! I'm looking forward to hanging out again!

ox Kelly

resolutions for 2015

Resolutions, everyone has them, even if they don't admit it. Be honest, you know in your mind you've at least thought of one resolution for 2015, you just haven't spoken it out loud, or it would become a commitment. Am I right?

I have a few I haven't really talked about (other than to my husband) the normal: eat better, try to be more healthy, drop some LB's but I feel like I say that EVERY year, and it happens for a while, then I go back to my old ways, and end the year feeling defeated, heavier, and less healthy than I started. I aim to stop that but it isn't my ultimate goal for 2015.

A year or so ago I was resolving to "Do Less With More" and I still love that thought. Appreciate what you have, stop mindless spending, etc. And I feel like I did alright with that for the most part. Last year I did a bit of over spending, but we purchased a house, and with a new house comes new items you have to purchase. So you see, EVERY resolution has it's fine print.

This year I want to keep it simple. Yes I will eat better, yes I will try to will lose weight, but I won't let that drive me, or be my only resolution for 2015.

Instead I want to slow down. I want to relax more, take my time to do projects at work and at home. I want to slow down in life in general. I constantly feel like I have to be in 10 different places at once, mentally and physically - it's draining. Not to mention my parents were totally right when they said, the older you get the quicker time flies. Seriously, wasn't it JUST 2014???

Slowing down means more time for my husband, family, friends, and just as important, myself. Slowing down also means trying to put down my phone while watching TV, during a meal or any other time I pick that damn thing up and miss out on something else that is right in front of me. Stop trying to do 10 things at once and maybe just narrow it down to 5. My line of work (graphic design) I often multi task and while it's really efficient, it also trickles down into my life outside of work. Basically in all aspects of my life I want to slow my roll. Slow and steady wins the race.

via google

So tell me, what is your New Years Resolution?  

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas: love and dislike.

It's the hap-happiest season of all... or is it?

90% of the time I will go with YES, it is. Then there is that wee little grinch in my blood that wants to yell... 'Hated it!', in true Blaine Edwards fashion. [If you don't know who that is, google Men on Film In Living Color - I'll wait].

I thought for fun I'd compile my most loved things about Christmas and my most disliked items - because let's be real, I could  never HATE Christmas...

Yes, that's me, many moons ago. I look like my dad.
Remember when my blog was called Dare to be Domestic!?

See below, but yeah, fake beards on Mall Santas are whack!

LOVE IT!

• The smell of pine needles. [Mike enjoys the smell of pine needles in the vacuum, it's his thing].
• The smell of scotch tape - I think I've discussed this before but one thing that blew my mind in talking about the holidays with Mike is that he shares the same affinity for the scent of scotch tape, and it immediately makes us both thing of Christmas.
• Christmas Cookies - although I never seem to leave enough time to bake them and enjoy it without being stressed.
• Coca Cola cans with Santa on them. LOVE! I think that Coca Cola's rendition of Santa is my absolute favorite.
• Coca Cola +  and Orange = best snack ever. It reminds me of being a young kid. Every year, as we got off the bus for winter break Mrs. Hobbs would give us an orange and a coke and tell us to have a Merry Christmas. Nostalgia is king in my book!
• EGG NOG! Mike hates this stuff, just the word NOG alone grosses him out - unless it's heavily spiked with booze, then he'll reconsider. Myself, I prefer it without libations. Straight up.
• Purchasing coordinating wrapping paper. Mike and I make it a point to get seriously artistic with our wrapping paper choices. We usually purchase about 4 different rolls, all match in color scheme, but not in pattern. This year, it's all about the kraft like paper, with funny sayings and images, and deer and plaid and foxes and nature and - trust me, it's awesome.
• Going through ornaments to hang them on the tree. While I don't put all my old ornaments up, I do like to take time to think about when I got them all (most are from my childhood), others are ones Mike and I have collected over the years.
• Christmas cards - Making and receiving. I LOVE getting them in the mail.
• CHRISTMAS MOVIES!  Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, Home Alone, Bad Santa, Scrooged, Rudolph and many more are among my favorites!
• Classic Christmas Songs - I'm not talking like Ms. Carey - ugh I can't stand her Christmas songs, please don't play me any Michael BUBBLE (I know that's not his real name) I can't stand him either. GIVE ME THE OLD STUFF, the CLASSIC GOOD STUFF and if I have to go "modern" I won't go any further than Bruce Springsteen or RUN D.M.C.. No one does Hip-Hop Christmas anymore. PS I might even listen to some NKOTB for nostalgic purposes from time to time. I just don't love newer Christmas music.
• Shopping for presents. While I do enjoy receiving - I truly enjoy buying gifts for others more. Getting to see friends and family get excited about a gift I picked just for them, makes me feel amazing.
• Giving back. Giving to charity this time of year - it should be something we think about and do every day of the year, but right now, in this season of all seasons, it feels especially good.
• Saying HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  I believe that all holidays this time of year are special to everyone for different reasons. Just because I don't say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, 24/7, this time of year doesn't mean I love Christ any less, it just means that I am completely ok with all the other holidays that are happening all around us as well. PS One of my dear friends in elementary school was Jewish, and I enjoyed every year that we got to not only talk about Christmas but learn about her family's customs as well. I think all children should be fortunate enough to experience things like this, this time of year.  Bottom line if I KNOW you celebrate Christmas, I will say "Merry Christmas!" if I am unsure, you'll get a smile and "Happy Holidays!" 
• Christmas Lights. I love driving around seeing everyone's lights, helping put them all over the house, and the great feeling it gives me. Warm fuzzies!
• Christmas Dinner. Not to be upstaged by Thanksgiving, because it's just as delicious. This year Mike and I will be making dinner for my father and we're both pretty excited.
• Remembering what it was like to sneak downstairs before my parents on Christmas day to see my bounty before waking them.
• Christmas Window displays at stores.
• AMAZON.COM best damn thing ever! (next to buying local of course).
• Pinterest - Mike and I use the website exclusively to make our wish lists to each other.
• Santa hats for dogs and cats!
• CANDY CANES!
• I'll Be Home For The Holidays! This song always slays me, I well up, and cry whenever I hear it. This year I can sing it, and be 100% right, because I will be home for the holidays. And it makes me SO excited!

DISLIKE IT!

• Baking cookies when I'm stressed.
• Christmas before Thanksgiving. I get it, you're excited, but I, personally, literally "can't even..." until I've had Thanksgiving dinner, turkey coma and relaxed. I don't decorate, I don't sing songs, I don't listen to music and I most certainly don't watch movies. It's simply not my thing. To each his/her own, but you won't catch me doing it.
• Black Friday - I might change my tune when I have a kid. And I want to get the best deal on whatever their little hearts desire. I just don't have the want, or need to get out on Black Friday and shop. Thanksgiving eve - FORGETABOUTIT! Cyber Monday - you're my BFF and I love you.
• Fruit Cake. Seriously wtf!?
• Newer Christmas Music - NO M. Carey, BUBBLE, or Lady Gaga please and thank you!
• The fact that all too often Christmas becomes about THE GIFTS instead of the true meaning of the season.
• Mall Santas - that don't even have a real beard. Come ON - you gotta really sell this to kids these days with all the HD and WIFI... when did I become Drunk Uncle?

Middle road: that damn Elf on the Shelf. I think it's great, but also very annoying. I give full kudos to all parents who keep track of that little booger and keep him accountable for the kids. I am sure one day I will be that parent but for now I am content to just look at the photos, and laugh and wonder where you find all your amazing energy!!!

All in all this isn't too bad and just what came to mind quickly. More positive than negative. That's always a bonus in my book.

So tell me, what list did you make it on this year??? Santa's good list, or bad list?

If you don't celebrate Christmas - what do you love MOST about your celebrations?? I'd love to hear!

an evening with weezer. 12.6.2014

As you can guess from the title of the blog, I went to yet another concert this year. Mike and I are on a roll. The kicker to this concert was that it was a total surprise for me. I had NO CLUE they were coming to Atlanta (way to keep up with your 2nd favorite band Kelly), and Mike secretly purchased tickets for us, and reserved a room at a quaint little in located in the Highlands area of Atlanta (read: the really HIPster part of town!)  When I opened his gifts on my birthday (12/1/2014) I was so shocked, and excited and floored!!!

We headed out of town on Saturday morning - arriving in ATL just in time to check into the awesome little Highland Inn and get our room. The best I can describe the place is that it's much like a boutique hotel, or almost like a bed and breakfast with your own private bathroom. And without all that awkward bed and breakfast feel (If you watch Gilmore Girls you get what I mean).

We didn't waste anytime, we checked into our room, dropped off our bags and headed out into the street. We had about 20 minutes until the SEC Championship game started! We walked quickly down to the local pub, Manuel's. It was literally less than 2 blocks from our hotel. We settled into a booth close to the bar TV and prepared ourselves for the big game. We shared sandwiches and beers and cheered and chatted during the entire game. Those of you that realize, we were in "DAWG" territory, so I'm sure most of the patrons were cheering for Missouri to whoop our asses, sadly for them, happily for us, that didn't happen. It was a hell of a game, and thankfully we had one more Bama fan in the room with us. Air fives were exchanged, a lot that afternoon!  We celebrated Bama's victory (RAMMER JAMMER YELLOW HAMMER GIVE 'EM HELL ALABAMA!), gave a hearty ROLL TIDE, finished off our beers and headed back to the hotel, in time to freshen up, and hop in the Jeep and head downtown.

Can I just tell you how much I love Google Maps and directions given through your phone!!! I always scoffed at the idea, but now I'm like WE NEED THAT! It's great for last minute choices to go to dinner, or just to find out where the hell you are.

The ride to the Tabernacle in downtown ATL was a short and pleasant drive. And we scored a parking spot RIGHT outside the venue. Perfect!

This venue, is awesome. If you ever get a chance to see an act there go. It's standing room only, and mostly general admission, minus the balcony upstairs, but it's amazing!!!

I thought I'd give you a recap of the show, but instead of my normal run down, I will share with you the email I sent to my bestie J, all about the show. He and I went to many a weezer show together ages ago. Mike and I made sure to text during the show to share some of it with him.

EMAIL TO BESTIE J: 
[This hasn't been edited, so I might ramble, but pretend it was an email I sent to you!]
Items in RED I added for you!

DUDE!
So the show was legit awesome.

We went to ATL's Tabernacle - small venue, much like 9:30 club, maybe a bit wider. It used to be a church years ago, I believe, so it has the really nice balcony up top, and the back drop for the stage is a HUGE set of pipes for an organ. (Covered mostly by Weezer's back drop).

When you walk in there is a whole down stairs for the merch, and bathrooms and bars, then in the main hall there are three bars (only one was open) - I had 1 beer... at the price of $10.00 HOLY EFF... so yeah, I was like pass - I figured I'd only want water after it started anyway. I was not impressed by the t-shirts. None were special to the show, and all are available on the website so I passed on getting anything - I did the same thing when they played Music Midtown. I didn't LOVE any of the shirts, and none were specific to the tour or the date.

We got to the place, not really late, but most people had already filtered into the front of the stage so we hung back - I feared I'd have to pee and didn't want to fight to get to the front again - like I said in my text I had two total douches behind me that talked the entire effing time!

While in line outside there were a few people behind us talking and one was like... "I hope they play their old stuff, like Island in the Sun!" and I thought... here it is my 38th birthday.. KILL ME NOW if you think that's the "OLD STUFF". [FYI Weezer has been together since the early 90's, nothing released with a 00, 01, 02 etc is old stuff kids!!!]  Needless to say, I turned to Mike before it started and I said my only expectation or hope is that they will play at least 3 Pinkerton songs.... AND maybe do Only In Dreams to close out the show with confetti.

When the show started I got really giddy when I saw some bit of confetti falling by accident from the ceiling... EEEE! Sadly it wasn't for Only In Dreams - I think that was a once in a lifetime thing [Wish I could remember the year we went to that show, but the Final song being Only In Dreams, with the ceiling raining down confetti after the biggest part of the song, was pretty awesome].

The only other disappointment - this is the 2nd show that they haven't used the Light up W at all. *sad*

NOT SURE WHY THIS IS GONE FROM THE SHOW, IT'S NEEDED!

via • Charm City Baltimore Music Festival

The whole show was really really awesome. Like I said [in my text] the first whole set was just acoustic instruments - single drum, keyboard a bit (not really acoustic) and guitars.

The set began, the first song was ONLY Rivers. 2nd Song it was Rivers and Brian, 3rd Song Rivers, Brian and Scott, 4th Song Rivers, Brian, Scott and Pat - then the rest of the first set was all of them together. You could tell that quite a few of the fans were like WTF? While I was like THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME!!!! Then again this was my what? Maybe 5th time seeing them live? How many times did we see them together? Plus Music Midtown for me + this show? Music Midtown was great, they slayed it in the pouring ass rain, I feared Rivers would get electrocuted because he just didn't care about the weather... they did a great set of greatest hits to make everyone happy from day 1 until the current album.

So yeah... total acoustic set - and I got my 3 Pinkerton songs, + the B Side to El Scorcho (first song in the set). PLUS December which he said they haven't played live since 2002 - which honestly Maladroit is honestly one of my favorite albums. I know it was one that most fans really were meh about but the more I listen to it then more I loved it.

Acoustic Set Via My Instagram

The Acoustic was a great,  a little bit from each album but I was happy the Pinkerton was so heavy, maybe that was due to it being an acoustic set but even the fast pace "tired of sex" and "good life" were awesome.

The lights went down - they dropped the plain black back drop curtain - and all came out in different gear - Rivers was in a "boat captain / sea navy looking suit" All the people setting the stage were in lab coats... the lights came up and you saw the back drop being the new album cover and BAM they went right into the new album song 1 thru the end - it was awesome!

Everything Will Be Alright In The End Set Via My Instagram

I can understand some fans being miffed about it - but honestly ... if I had been touring and playing for over 20+ years I'd want to play new shit too! Pearl Jam does the same thing... very heavy on new material, but I sort of like that. If it was years ago I might be upset but honestly I love the new album so getting to hear it start to finish was awesome. The confetti came during the ending of Either Foolish Father or Wasteland I can't remember. Not ONLY IN DREAMS awesome but still so fun.

They also dropped balloons out in the audience during the 1st or 2nd song of the set. They closed the night out with Surfwax America and it was great!!! I was smiling from ear to ear, and Mike was super excited that I was so excited. I think he literally told me "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" about 10 times, and I laughed and smiled bigger EVERY time.

It was as TON of fun. I wouldn't doubt if they do more touring this winter / spring for the album. This was clearly a small venue, and it was a small show... only went from like 9 pm - 11 pm (when we saw Pearl Jam it was 8 - 11:30 ONLY pearl jam. There was no opener for Weezer and I see that most of their other dates were music festivals - short sets. And this one was for a Radio show in ATL. I noticed that Foo Fighters are doing a TON of small pop up shows like the one in DC and the one in Nashville that sell out in no time flat. I think they are all trying to not only get back to their roots but also trying to drum up excitement about the new albums which I think is great.

-Kelly

********

OFFICIAL SET LIST: WEEZER • ATL • 12/06/2014

Acoustic SET
You Gave Your Love to Me Softly
Why Bother?
King
El Scorcho
December (First performance since 2002)
The Good Life
Island in the Sun
No One Else
Buddy Holly

NEW ALBUM SET:
Everything Will Be Alright in the End
Ain't Got Nobody
Back to the Shack
Eulogy for a Rock Band
Lonely Girl
I've Had It Up to Here
The British Are Coming
Da Vinci
Go Away (with Anna Kramer)
Cleopatra
Foolish Father
The Waste Land
Anonymous
Return to Ithaka

Encore: Surf Wax America

I had an amazing time in ATL with Mike, for my birthday and with Weezer. Mike you've really outdid yourself this time... I guess I better start planning our birthday weekend 2015!!!! Thank you again, love you babe!

*** For a quick video visit my instagram: instagram.com/turnedup2eleven/

planning...

I already have plans for July 4th, 2015. Did you read that right... I'm actually making plans almost 8 months in advance... who am I? To be honest, I had to... I couldn't miss a chance to be a part of the festivities that day, in 2015.

In honor of my plans for July 4th and because I'm tired as hell today... I present to you... (and oldie but goodie) Coffee video.


/
What are my plans for July 4th? Well, I'll be seeing the guy featured above, his band and a slew of his besties in what I consider to be my "hometown" (close enough if I still lived in Maryland I'd be going to concerts in DC on the regular, and used to all the time).  I'm pretty freaking stoked and ready to break my Foo Fighters Live virginity AND celebrate their 20th Anniversary with a TON of fans!!! CHEERS TO PLANNING! [I'm over the moon excited about Heart!!!!]

Tonight I shall purchase the vinyl for FF's new release... oh yes... I shall!

via the internet, duh.

halloween recap... 2014

Halloween 2014... we came, we saw, we kicked it's ass!!!!

For the evening, Mike and I joined our friend A for a fundraising event her company was putting on. Basically you ride a trolley all over our downtown area and hop off at certain participating bars, grab yourself a free drink, and another drink if you want and then hop back on the trolley and head on to the next stop. The final stop was our local brewery (the first of it's kind here in town) for the after party.

It was a blast. We rock our costumes to the fullest and at the end of the night took home the prize for "BEST COSTUME!!!" I didn't think we'd even have a chance but apparently I was wrong.

Who you gonna call?

In honor of the 30th Anniversary of Ghostbusters, and well just because who wouldn't want to dress up as a ghostbuster, am I right? We got ourselves all geared up, and I must say rocked the looks completely. Yes those are personalized name badges on our uniforms and military issue flight suits AND belts. Mike was more legit with his elbow pads and cool old googles, but I still had a blast dressing up my costume with make-up, a cute Rosie the Riveter style bandana AND my Ouija necklace (I had to connect with the spirits somehow, right?).

I hope you all had a fabulous halloween, this one was tops in my book... I just wish I could remember most of the evening. (Free drinks, I swear had very little alcohol in them, and yet Mike and I can't seem to remember all the details of the night.. thank God for cabs!).

Happy Halloween Hangover to all and to all a good night!

three years and counting.

Dear Mike,
Husband of mine. That sounds so formal. Babe, that's better. I'm shocked that we've been married three years, already. Where has the time gone? Some days I look at us and think it's been a lifetime, then I stop, and remind myself that we have so much more to experience together, and it makes me thankful, and extremely happy.

I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life, and love.

I am always thankful, and happy when I am with you.

I'm always excited to start each day knowing I'm your wife.

I am also very proud of all that you do for us as a couple and as a family. I know our two small fur babies will agree.

Thank you for being the best husband a girl could ask for.
Happy Anniversary babe! I love you.

an evening with pearl jam... memphis, tn

The date was October 14, 2015, yes, just last Tuesday, one week ago, and I'm still slightly floating from the experience. My husband, Mike has ALWAYS been a huge Pearl Jam fan. I will admit, I too have always been a fan, although somewhere in the mid 2000's I sort of lost my way not listening to them as much as I did in the beginning, shame on me, not for lack of liking, just not following as closely as I should have. I lost a lot of valuable time with the band and I admit it was a complete mistake.

For many years, Mike was an on again and off again Ten Club member (fan club for those of you wondering what that is). After the release of Pearl Jam's latest album, Lightening Bolt, they announced they would be going on tour. Their first show was revealed that they would headline Austin City Limits. Mike and I have always wanted to go to Austin together (he's been once many years ago for his sister's wedding), and add to that PJ in concert, YES PLEASE! We held off purchasing tickets, we were still waiting to hear the line up for the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta this past summer, the concert promoters were very late this year with their announcements, so we nixed plans to hit up Austin, hoping, praying that PJ would come somewhere close to us for a show. The wait was painful, I was anxious, and in the end the line up for Music Midtown, totally sucked this year. I kicked myself for not securing ACL tickets, and for not trying to purchase tickets to the 10.22 show in Colorado, more on that in a bit.

Mike and I waited and then the tour dates were released and the angels of rock sang, and said "Memphis, TN had a date, a special date just for the two of you!" Ok they didn't really sing that but that's what I heard. As a Ten Club member Mike was also able to enter a lottery for tickets. He entered us into both categories, seats (2 tickets) or General Admission Pit (2 tickets). And we waited as patiently as possible for the results to come in. Either way we would win out - a chance to have decent seats, or standing room only to see Pearl Jam live, I'd happily take either option. I was so ready for another show, it's been 2 years since my FIRST and only PJ concert, this would mark I believe Mike's 5th or 6th. I have no desire to stop seeing them live, I hope he doesn't either. I could go a million more times and still be floored.  After what seemed liked forever, the lottery results were in, and HOLY EFFING HELL - we got General Admission PIT tickets. Even after the show I'm still in shock... this was our first lottery, we got PIT, and I was blown away!!!

And then we waited for the show date... the waiting drove me mad.

Mike and I will be celebrating our 3rd Wedding Anniversary this month, and this concert was our way to celebrate, and our gift to each other. Much like our first anniversary, tickets were purchased with our anniversary in mind. So finally October 14th arrived, and we were headed to Memphis.

That morning we both worked a partial day and hit the road. We arrived in Memphis, to the Fed Ex Forum at about 2 PM I believe? Time is sort of a blur at that point. Immediately we saw the merch trailer, and a MASSIVE line that wrapped half way around the building. We quickly rushed to claim our spot in the line. It was a cold and semi wet day out, but I didn't care. I had a jacket, and determination to get the merch I wanted. Can I just say I think it's genius and awesome that we could purchase our shirts, posters, stickers etc BEFORE the show started. Allowing us to put them safely in the car, and not have them get ruined during the show. Downside to this, I stood in line for over an hour waiting to get a shirt. This did give us time to do a few things... Mike checked into our hotel, and was able to wait to get our wristbands for the pit at will call, and then have time to come meet me, to get his shirt, and poster, and stickers, and my tank and my scarf. Yep, I got a Pearl Jam scarf and it's awesomeee!

via • turnedup2eleven

After securing our loot - the poster was the BIGGEST score, and what we wanted the most, we met up with a friend from back home "What up Phil!" and Mike's Aunt and Uncle who flew in for a visit from Cali, and honestly, go to go the show, their first, for the record.  We dropped our items off at the car and hit Beale Street for some beers and FINALLY food. My biggest worry with being in the pit was that I was going to have to wait in line ALL. DAMN. DAY, and possibly NOT get to eat. I had original plans to meet up with Misty of Handbags and Handguns and Natalie of My Crazy Busy Life, I still hate we couldn't work that out but unfortunately, I had to head home the next AM right after waking up for work - I promise girls, next time!!! [Yes, I went to bed at 2 am in Memphis, and was back to work in Northern Alabama by lunch time the next day - and yes, I am aware that I'm crazy].

FIRST BREW STOP:

We hit up a little bar on the corner for some local craft beer, and then wandered over to Dyer's for what I thought would be a simple cheeseburger, and it ended up being the best damned greasy burger ever. If you are in the mood for a good old fashion, slider style burger, a bit like Five Guys but WAY less commercial, way more delicious and with a sweet set of servers, hit up Dyer's next time you're there. We loved it, and almost had it again for dinner (more on that later). FYI - I was so hungry taking a photo wasn't happening, sorry!

After filling our guts, and having a beer or two, we decided it was time to get in the General Admission line. It had been forming all day long, but honestly, the weather was crap, we got in line and probably waited another 45 mins before getting to go inside. Longest day of waiting ever.

Once inside, we were instructed to take our time, not to run, and be orderly. So we did... as we walked through our gate doors to the pit, I got really anxious, then I saw how small the pit was. Not tiny mind you, but in relation to the rest of the room, fairly quaint, small, cozy, and thankfully not a ton of people had made it down to the pit, so Mike and scurried down and got ourselves a nice little spot, on the right hand side of the stage where soon Stone would stand to play. While waiting for the show to start (another hour), we made friends with our surrounding Ten Club pals and settled in for a great night.

There was no opening act, literally just an evening with Pearl Jam which was better than I could have asked for. Standing by the stage we realized, we were indeed, only three rows back from the security barrier in front of the stage. Literally, third row. HOLY FREAKING AWESOME! Now, our trade off for this awesomeness is that I had to deal with a drunk, older woman, doing her "sexy" dance for Eddie any time he came to our side of the stage. I get that there is ONE person in every crowd that pisses the masses off, but why the hell do they alway have to end up next to me?!?! She had wormed her way up front, through all of us that were waiting there a FULL hour for the show to start, right before it was time for the show to begin. My first instinct was to tell her off, but I noticed that others were annoyed but trying to be cool about the situation. I watched a few dirty looks in which she was oblivious too, and finally a couple in front of me, the man looked her dead in the eye as she tried to push to be 2nd row from the stage and pretty much told her "fat chance, move back!" Whew, I really thought no one would say anything. We had just been told by two girls from Pittsburg about 20 minutes prior that everyone in the pit is respectful, and cool and then THIS happens and my inner ghetto fab wanna be gangsta alter ego just about lost it... I might also note I had PMS really bad so it could have been REALLY ugly. Thank you PJ for making me realize I'd rather not be kicked out before the show even started, and thank you to my husband who helped me navigate dealing with her ALL. NIGHT. LONG! Tolerating her was a chore but eventually I was able to worm my way away from her, put my back to her and enjoy the show with Mike, and the rest of our new found crew. Minus the super tall Tennessee Fan [who was a rather cool guy, just too tall] in front of me who I had to duck and weave a bit to avoid having my view of the guys blocked it was perfect.

SET LIST • MEMPHIS, TN

OCTOBER 14, 2014 • PJ FALL 2014 TOUR

via pearl jam's instagram

Pendulum 

Wash 

Low Light 

Why Go 

All Night 

Mind Your Manners 

Even Flow 

Lightning Bolt 

Sirens 

1/2 Full 

Garden 

Alone 

Wishlist 

Given to Fly 

Let the Records Play 

Spin the Black Circle 

Black 

Rearviewmirror 

Encore: 

Nothing as It Seems 

Come Back 

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town 

Do the Evolution 

Breath 

Porch 

Encore 2: 

Once Crazy Mary (Victoria Williams cover) 

Better Man 

Alive 

Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover) 

Yellow Ledbetter

29 Songs... 29 SONGS! From all different walks of their 20+ Year career. Some rarely performed and all of which blew me away!!! [Photos in NO particular order, and these were all taken by Mike (his instagram)

 This was most likely at the end of the night - one of the encores!

 Eddie preparing to share wine with the masses, or at least the front row!

 Jeff & Stone rocking out.

Like I said, no particular order, this was early in the evening, lights were still low, 

and little to none of the "set" was revealed at this time.

Huge highlights: 

Eddie took time to walk all over the stage, and jumped into the crowd (sadly not on our side, I think he sensed all the women in the pit surrounding us might not be able to hold him up and might in fact, rip him to shreds... lovingly of course).

Lots of guitar picks were tossed by Mike, and 10 tambourines by Eddie.

Fans brought gifts for the guys, which they accepted, some put on t-shirts, others handed up items for Eddie to sign which he did gladly and handed back to the crowd, it was awesome, the love for the fans is HUGELY evident in all they do.

Eddie donned Elvis like shades (circa his Vegas like days), and then tossed them back into the crowd, as well as a hat and oddly enough someone handed up (tossed up) their cell phone, Eddie then proceeded to take a video of him singing, and all of us in the pit singing and then handed it back to security to give to the kid. How cool is that???

Eddie pass around a bottle of wine to the front row and sadly I didn't have a cup and it was almost gone by the time it made it to our side of the stage, but it's one of his trademark things he does at each show. And very cool.

I was excited to hear lots of their new songs live which they performed seamlessly, even though Eddie was under the weather and feeling sick, he had more energy than anyone in his same shoes. I never thought I'd see EV blow his nose, but stars, they're just like us right?

BIGGEST KICK!
I believe it was after they did the cover of Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World and the lights were up to see the entire stadium of people, that Mike shared a moment with Eddie.  Ed was scanning the crowd, waving to folks, giving thumbs up to others, smiling and taking in everyone in the room, and I mean EVERYONE he could see high or low, and he paused, he made a face like he had a question in his mind in my direction, but I could tell he wasn't looking straight at me, as he kept singing he pointed, gave a nod like, yeah!, and then gave a thumbs up... I was like who is he looking at? I turned around and Mike yelled "Did you see that?" and I said "Yeah, what was he doing?" Mike beamed... "He was looking at me, and gave me a thumbs up for my Mudhoney shirt. UM, HOW FREAKING AMAZING IS THAT??? In the 20+ years that Mike has loved this band, he goes to this show and gets a nod of encouragement AND a thumbs up from none other than Eddie Vedder! They shared, a moment. Ugh, so cool!

Seeing Jeff Ament smile, up close. I die.
The man in front of us that mentioned had stood up to the drunk chick (I wish I could describe all she was doing that drove me bonkers but it would take up TOO much space), he had a t-shirt that he was holding up at the end of the night, politely, below his field of vision and all of ours (drunk chick, not so much, she hit us all in the face at least once with her damn shirt... no clue what it said). This dude's shirt was a Luv Co. shirt - which Mike discovered later, was a cover band that Jeff and Mike were in back in the day. Jeff saw the shirt, and pointed to the guy smiling that he liked it, and the guy gave it to him. Jeff quickly put said shirt on and played the rest of the set wearing the Luv Co. shirt. After the final song, Jeff carried over the handwritten set list (by Eddie) and gave it to this guy. SUCH an amazing thing to receive. I might not have anything physical but I have these memories that will last me a lifetime.

After the show, we went into a few places on Beale to get some liquid refreshment, as well as something to eat again... it was now almost midnight, most places weren't serving... so we hit up the Blues City Cafe. I wanted diner food, sadly they didn't have burgers etc, but they did have MASSIVE cheese fries. I settled for regular steak fries smothered in cheese and jalapeños, Mike, Phil, and Tony opted for the Cajun fries... yes you guess it, same as mine but smothered in Gumbo! HOLY HELL, it was spicy but awesome! Warning, this place is a "dive bar" of sorts, but it's a delicious one!

The perfect end to a great day... cheese and fries... YES PLEASE!

After I ate, my eyes were heavy, my throat was sore, and my legs were tired from jumping, and standing and line, I was ready for bed. My brain was still buzzing from the show, but I knew work was calling the next day.

I enjoyed EVERYTHING about the Memphis show, and while I'm a bit jealous of all the Ten Club fans that have been literally following the band from town to town, seeing every show on this tour (how cool is that?), and I'm a bit envious they got to hear them play Yield in it's entirety last night, and a few nights prior all of their album No Code, I am so thankful we secured the place we did on the floor, had the opportunity to be that close, and celebrate our 3rd year of marriage like this. I wouldn't want it any other way!!!  We had even considered flying to Colorado when they FIRST mentioned the tour, because 10.22.14 is the Denver show. That is our anniversary, and I know I've mentioned it before, but it's also Pearl Jam's official anniversary of their first show, as a band. How amazing would that have been. Expensive, but amazing. To all fans that make that show, I am envious, but I will take Memphis with me forever.

Pearl Jam, thank you for all the memories! Thank you for returning to the south for shows and happy anniversary!!! Let's make it another 20+ years!

Swamp Romp 2.0 [aka huff n' puffin' with my stuffin']

So it's been a very long time since I last wrote on this blog. As I stated yesterday, look at me 2 days in a row, RECORD! My last post was a re-post so I won't even count that as a dignified entry. That being said I guess the last time I actually took time to add something to this little corner of the internet was June. To be honest, not a ton has happened since June. Ok that's probably a lie. I've been to concerts, I've been kayaking a few times (not enough though), and I went to the beach for a glorious week with Mike's immediate family. It was great, but nothing I was overly wanting to blog about... until this weekend.

A few weeks ago, Mike and I innocently said yes to an invite to team up with some friends and compete in the 2.0 Swamp Romp 5k/3k Mud Run. A few of our dear friends from our 2 favorite watering holes were starting teams and running in the race. Mike and I figured, what the hell right? I will be the first to say it wasn't exactly Warrior Dash status, although to me it might as well have been. Did I mention I have never, in my life, ran a single mile?  Not even since elementary school. I always walked the mile in gym class. I did win a blue ribbon for a dash, (I forget how long) in Elementary school during our annual field day. I was like lightening that day, I also broke a school record but to be fair I think I was among one of the first of three classes to "graduate" from that school. It was fairly new so it wasn't like I broke a friend's grandmother's record or anything.

That being said, I'm not really athletic. I took dance classes growing up and was on the dance team in high school (brag: captain my senior year), and the only sport I was even close to successful at in school was volleyball, but it was a total popularity club, and well, it wore me out (again, not athletic).
I loved to dance so weezing during a kick line or dance routine never bothered me. I was probably in the BEST shape of my life my senior year. I ate like a horse, increased my ability to dance, run, kick and smile without dying, success! Running? OH HELL NO. Like I said, I walked the track 4 times around in high school with the cool girls, they smoked on the furthest area of the track and then snuffed out their cigs as they came around the bend near the teachers. I just followed along and laughed and chatted, and didn't push myself in the least during that time in my life.

Anytime I tried to be athletic, I got hurt.  Gym class was my least favorite. 3rd Grade, basketball, straight to my face. I sneezed for 45 minutes straight.  On the plus side, my nose didn't break. Middle school, field hockey, no pads, destroyed my shins left and right.  Even dance team, practice on the hard ass concrete floor in the cafeteria, resulted in shin splints from the wrong type of shoes. To say the least, I was a hot mess.

Why on earth did I think I could tackle a 3k mud run? Well, for starters there was beer at the finish line, and secondly I have friends back home that do it all the time [read: very in shape friends that can at least run a mile and for some reason I thought I was like them - yeah no]. I also thought I'd be among a few other people such as myself that weren't exactly stellar athletes but, just wanted to have fun. I was half right. I forgot how many of the servers at The Pie Factory and On the Rocks actually work out when they have off time, and others that don't smoke, and others that well, frankly just kick ass.

Mike and myself - aren't as buff. Yeah, I've done P90x-P90x3, I've done TurboFire and Chalean Extreme, I've dabbled in Insanity and even a few other workouts... but never stuck 100%. After the wedding I just got lazy... I'm still lazy... and it shows. I can lift weights all day long, I love it, but cardio, NO! Just... no. Mike likes video games, and relaxing and once said, and I quote "I am only going to run if a bear is casing me". We were the two most unlikely people to do this race, but again, figured you only live once, right?

SOOO we entered. And this past Saturday was the day it all changed.

SWAMP ROMP 2.0 / SEPTEMBER 27, 2014
We arrived early, really early, too early. Miscommunication. The day started at 8 AM we didn't know our team's race time, again, miscommunication. We didn't run until 11 am. Last heat of the races. Plenty of time for my nerves to build and to become VERY anxious before we started. I won't lie, I enjoyed a beer before. Not the WISEST of choices but I was thirsty. Note: Event people please have lots of water for sale next year... if it was out there I didn't see it, and I quickly slurped through my 32 oz I brought with me (because I thought I was running at 8 am, not 11). My bad.

Early Check In, Early Numbers. His and Hers.

Our team was awesome. The peeps at OTR and PF came up with the idea that since one of the businesses is a Pizza joint that we would wear Ninja Turtle colors, and they made tshirts that were awesome. It was so fun to get to put on all the gear and suit up to our hearts content. We even had a "mascot" for the day, our friend's puppy Ruzzo who is "festival famous" around these parts.

We took a group shot before... we are quite a crew are we not? (Mike and I are on the far left).

HEROES IN A HALF SHELL • TURTLE POWER!!!! • OTR / PF 2014 Swamp Romp 2.0 Crew

10:45 Time to prep!
We all stretched together - and made jokes about how we thought we'd do. I was happy to have such a HUGE group to run with, and a group of folks I knew. It made me feel better to know Mike and I since we were so inexperienced would have friends around us to lend a hand if needed.

11:00 AM - TIME TO RUN!
We lined up and the DJ gave us a big introduction, well gave THEM, all the hard workers at the Pie Factory and On the Rocks [they were also big sponsors of the day]. Sent us off with a good luck and we were wide open.

I will try to remember all of the events we had to complete along the way of the 3k. I tried to take mental notes but to be honest I think my brain said only one thing over and over "Holy shit, holy shit, what did I get myself into? Why do people do this for fun? What was I thinking? How is Mike running so well? He plays video games... maybe I should play video games... how did he just clear that hurdle? Holy shit, I can't breathe, focus... you can do this... stop being a slacker... I wanna go home... No, gotta push, I can do this... OH shit, I did it! I'm a beast!" etc. etc.

#1 ICE BATH
Right off the bat we dove into an ice bath - thankfully it was later in the day (racing started at 8 am), so most of the ice was melted and they ran out of ice to dump on us, but it was still cold, and deep. I was worried I'd slip and fall getting out but I did ok.

RUN/WALK - still feeling OK.

#2 HAY BAILS
There were about 8 bails of hay, huge round bails we had to climb up and then jump down. I tried to take a running leap and my foot sunk... lovely. Note to self: Nike Tempo Shorts suck ass for Mud Runs, next time wear some biker shorts under them.  I made it.

RUN/WALK for longer... huffing, and puffing the whole, damn way... I finally walked. Mike kept trucking but he kept me in his sights, thankfully.

#3 TIRE PILE
Looks pretty innocent, but then you start stepping on the old ass tires and some of them are dry rotted and brittle... joy to the world. I have scratches from that event, or maybe it was the rocks later... not sure.

RUN/WALK/WALK/WALK - at this point I was a little frustrated with myself. I should have prepared more.

#4 HURDLE / MUD HILL
As I'm walk running, panting and seriously thinking about giving up, yes this early, I see Mike just leap over the hurdle wall like it was NOTHING. Seriously, two hands on the top, and jump, cleared it... I thought to myself MAYBE I could do that, but then got closer and figured I better not try. I climbed over it, tried to joke with the college girls there to help out with the event and then went on.

RUN/WALK/BACK EFFING TRACK
The lovely college girls that had plenty of time to encourage Mike, and talk to him and tell him where to go didn't tell me jack shit. I saw the CAUTION TAPE but thought it was to avoid a huge hole (there was spray paint lining the track where we had to run to avoid holes). He made a hard left, and I missed it, I finally turned around and the 3 girls behind me, looked just as confused. Finally the three of us found the opening, and then I was dead last... And pissed.

#5 HANGING TIRES
This seemed really tame, I guess if you are running full force with other people it would be intimidating. I just shoved through last of the group... and then I finally said OK I need to get up again, and get ahead of these girls and over to Mike.

WALK/RUN

#6 BEAMS BETWEEN TREES
I jogged to Mike who had already cleared the tall beams we had to climb between two trees. I quickly learned as I climbed and then went to swing my leg over the top that my legs aren't as long as I thought, I had a bit of trouble getting footing to swing the other leg over but recovered ok.

WALK/RUN
Here is where we made a mistake, again I think that we weren't looking for our directional signs as well as we should have, I was following Mike's lead. At this point I saw the water station and thought... OK I'll run to the water station, it's close. So I took off jogging, then I saw that the jogging track was REALLY LONG, twice the distance I thought it was and for a minute I wanted to cry, and then I wanted to cheat and just run half the course to get to the water, but then I remembered that cheaters never truly win and started walking faster to catch up with Mike.

Note: I clearly don't know how to A) Pace myself and B) Breathe properly while running. I am going to work on that from here on out.

At this point my calve muscles were really starting to kill me. I stretched before hand but I think that because I wore "cross training" shoes for this run (they were older and I didn't care if they got destroyed) + my lack of experience was really starting to wear me down.

WATER
Oh the sweet refreshing nectar of the gods.
We realized after taking the long way around that we went the wrong way and missed out on probably 1 event in the woods for this run. Mike was like do you want to go through the woods and I probably said in a greatly bitchy, winded voice... "Hell no! Keep going!" Sorry babe if I was bitchy to you at all.

RUN/WALK for what felt like the longest distance yet.

#7 UP THE HILL
The course was made on an old golf course so we were running on a lot of greens up and down hills at this point. Once you crest the top of the hill, Mike had already gone further than me, so I was hanging with a woman who's husband left her in the dust. When we got to the top of the hill we were greeted by about 10 different directional arrows... I stopped and said, do they expect us to go in circles? Are we supposed to weave around the trees? Her words were as colorful as my own and we decided to bump that and just run straight through.

RUN/WALK - Kill me now!

#8 MINI MUD PIT HURDLES
Well, I guess we were supposed to jump over the flags? Maybe it was a crawl event but honestly no one was there, and the low laying flags had almost all fallen in the mud, and most of the prints in the mud pit resembled feet, not knee marks. So I pretended to jump hurdles just did a high knee movement until the end of the mud. At this point the three ladies behind me seemed to be cheating and just not competing anymore. Lame!

WALK/RUN around the small pond, on an incline. I picked a bad time to feel like I had a 2nd wind, my calves didn't like me running on a slant at all.

#9 MUD PIT #1
I saw Mike climbing out of the pit as I rounded the corner. He was covered at a slant in mud. He yelled back to me to be careful, it's really deep. I grabbed the guide rope and tried to walk gingerly down the small muddy hill... Since I'm so graceful I landed in the mud like a total lady... soaking myself from almost shoulder to toe in mud. After that all that was left to do was tromp to the other side, and try to climb out. Done. Finished it, did OK.

WALK/RUN down a bit and to the next MUD PIT.

#10 MUD PIT 1.5
Same pit, further down the way, and more water, I thought this might be easier, Mike warned me not to JUMP in, so I held on to some thick weeds (averted my mind away from all the ticks hiding in there) and slid into the mud and then it happened... OH EFF, my shoe was stuck... I tried not to panic but tried to remember what I learned about being stuck in quicksand... seriously, this is where my mind went. Instead of trying to pull my foot straight out, I wiggled it a little, and then pointed my toe and the shoe slid out... You know the saying "Sounds like a boot in mud." yup, just like that. Sick I know sorry...

Huffing and puffing I made it across the mud, and followed Mike on. He was still way ahead of me and I'm thankful he waited for me. I didn't want to go it alone.

WALK/RUN
At this point I was pretty exhausted, and my feet weighed a TON. We had a HUGE and long run ahead of us, and finally I believe made it to the next event. (Please note this is all a bit hazy at this point I might have left some out).

#11 UP HILL TIRE RUN
You know the tires that football players use for conditioning? The run through them back and forth with great speed, that is what this event was, but UP HILL. I tried to show that hill my moves and almost fell, I was tired yo! So I walked up them as I should but it's OK... I admit it, I'm out of shape.

WALK/RUN

#12 SLACKLINE
If you don't know what slacklining is, you're not alone - I just googled that shit because I didn't know how to explain it to you. We have a group of kids here - I think it's college funded that do "Outdoor Adventure" stuff and slacklining is one of the events they do.  I wish I wasn't so shaky at this point in my run. Mike seemed to do well, I watched him as I came down the hill toward the trees. Basically it's like a high wire act, but close to the ground. I climbed up and was shaking and fearful I might fall but finally I righted myself, and did well. I almost wanted to try again - I wish this was at the finish line so I could play all day... but I had to move on.

WALK / RUN
End of the line, I see a beautiful water stop again. SO happy... and even more fun once I got close I realized my little-brother-in-law was there with his puppy Suzy. I was so happy, I yelled "HEY PADEN!" and then in a higher voice said "SUZY Q!!!!" And commented had I known she was here I would have ran the whole race (not!)... I chugged water and we were instructed if we went right it would be the last events of the 3k, or if we went Left it would be the 5k. We opted for 3. I was done.. toast... but I had Suzy to run with me so it made it fun, most adorable puppy ever (next to our June).

#13 CLIMB THE WALL
Let's just say that my shoes were wide so trying to cling to these 2x4 type chopped bits of wood was difficult for me, my upper body strength is great for lifting weights other than my OWN body weight. Grunting and all I cleared the wall, splinter free I might add.

WALK/RUN

#14 SLIP N' SLIDE TO FREEDOM!
I missed Mike going down the slide, I got to the top and it seemed rather dry, not nearly enough water and I laid down and tried to go... I looked like a beached whale I'm sure... but... I rolled a bit got up and ran to the beer tent. I gave Mike crap for not waiting for me, he said THIS is the finish line Kelly, THE BEER TENT! Touche, he was right.

WE WEREN'T FIRST, BUT WE WEREN'T LAST and WE SURVIVED!

That's all we wanted!!!

SWEET DELICIOUS BEER... YOU ARE MY FAVORITE!

I am almost positive there was another obstacle in this event that I forgot but you get the idea. We are planning to walk/jog as much as we can in the near future, to build up endurance and maybe even have more of a fighting chance next year. I would do this again for sure, but if you asked me that when the above photo was taken, I'd say no way in hell.  When the endorphins kicked in, I was loving it though.

That afternoon... we drank beers, hung out with our team, watched some beer pong, listened to some great old school rap music and then decided to stuff our faces at On The Rocks, our FAVORITE bar in town (Pie Factory is our favorite bar/pizza joint).  Yes, we went into the bar, with mud still on us, but we did hose of a bit and we brought beach towels, we aren't total cave people.  We headed home and took showers and then I crashed in bed, and Mike crashed on the couch. I woke up that afternoon around 4 PM with a massive headache - I took some meds and drank some water and laid back down. By the next morning I think I was mildly dehydrated, my eyes were dry, my throat was sore, I just felt awful. I'm finally feeling better and will remember next year to bring myself more water, some possible gatorade and to drink less beer (I drank that Mich Ultra like it was water when we finished). LUSH.

All in all even with my disappointment in myself I had a great time and can't wait to try again next year! Maybe I should have started with a level 3k, or basic 5k - but I guess I wanted to GO BIG or GO HOME!

PS I'm also glad I didn't do the 5K apparently at the end when you crawl under the chicken wire obstacle there were rocks where your knees were, I would have HATED that.