A Mammoth Weekend

I've never been to Mammoth before. One of our friends is allowed to use her company's condo there for free, so she invited everyone along. I'm so glad we went. The drive up was a lot easier than we expected and the condo was right in this little Village shopping area. So cute. Obviously there was no snow yet, but I could totally picture it as a winter wonderland. It would be beautiful (so hopefully we can go again when there's snow!)

This picture cracks me up. Awkward!

Even with warmer weather, Mammoth was great. We spent a lot of time in the condo just hanging out, but we also went out to eat a couple times and got out to hike. We took a trail to Rainbow Falls and that was just awesome. The falls were beautiful, especially when we got up close. Along the trail, we also saw a lot of dead wilderness from the fire of '92. It looked cool though! Very desolate. And if you were quiet, I swear you'd hear a pin drop out there. We also stopped to see the Earthquake Fault, which is one of those things that looks really neat in person, but is difficult to translate into good pictures. Always feels good to get back to nature though.

I totally enjoyed the fresh air, but I was also surprised how much the elevation got to me. I guess we were at about 8,000 feet and I felt like my heart was beating so hard the whole weekend. I didn't really have any asthma problems or anything, so that was good. But I got a little light-headed at times. It seemed so silly! I've been in mountains before, so I don't know what happened. Even so, it was nice to be up there and get out of the city for a couple days. Loved it. Oh, and on the way home we drove down the "Musical Road" in Lancaster. That was hilarious and we did it a couple times. It's the simple things in life, ya know?

The Gift

So I did something kind of crazy. For our anniversary, I surprised my hubby with a tattoo! I told him I was going to get my hair done, but my secret plan worked out and I came home with some ink. He was totally surprised and loved it (thank goodness!) I love it too. It's not in a place that will be shown off all the time, but when I make the effort to turn around in the mirror and catch a glimpse, it makes me smile. I even designed it myself to make it extra special. Isn't it cute?

I must say, all those people who tell you getting tattooed doesn't hurt - all those people are liars! It hurts. It kind of hurts a lot. But after about 20 minutes you go numb and then you're just excited to have it, so I think you forget how much it hurt in the moment. My hands were dripping with sweat and I just tried to carry on a conversation with the artist to avoid thinking about the needle being dragged through my skin. It wasn't my first tattoo, and its probably not my last, but I'll definitely remember the pain when I'm picking a location for the next one.

The only gift I wanted in return was to have my wedding rings cleaned. Huz got them polished and re-plated and they look amazing! Like brand new! I couldn't believe how great they looked. I swear, even the diamond looked bigger because it was sparkling like crazy. So he did good there. He also took me out to a nice dinner and a comedy show. Semi-celebrity, Tom Green, showed up to do a set, so that was a fun surprise. It was a small crowd though, so at times it seemed a little awkward. Especially since some of the comics weren't THAT funny. But overall, we had a great night. As always, a celebration to remember...

That Husband of Mine

Today is our leather anniversary - three years! Obviously, we've been together a lot longer than that, but this is the big day. This is the day that is most important to us. When I look back on our wedding day, there are some little things I would've done differently. Maybe I would have gone all out on the shoes and dress instead of bargain hunting. I might have invited more people and not worried so much about overdoing it. Or I could have had my hair professionally styled. Maybe let the party run longer and just danced all night. Heck, I might have gone on a diet before-hand to look better in that bargain dress!

But when I look back on our lives together, there's nothing I could change. We met when we were 18 years old. At that time, we weren't ready for a lifelong commitment. At least, we didn't think so. And a few years into it, we broke up. We spent years apart. And after struggling without each other, we both realized how much better off we were together. I wouldn't change "The Break-up Era" because we both grew so much during that time. We both needed to see who we were without each other to realize how great we were with each other.

And I don't mean to brag, but man! We are a good match. We honestly don't have a lot of problems. We don't have many downs. We don't argue very often. If we do, we are quick to forgive each other. We have a very open and honest relationship. It's not always easy to be honest with each other. But that has helped us through the few bad days we've had. He's seen me at my best and my worst and loves me either way. Our biggest issue is the fact that we have all this love to share, and are not able to have children yet! But we are trying really hard to be patient. (He's a little better at that than I am.) One of the most important factors in our relationship is the laughter. He makes me laugh pretty much every day. We just really like making each other happy. No joke. We are like each others own personal stand-up comedians. Things might be very different if we didn't laugh.

Anyway, I don't want everyone to be thinking "Oh, gag!" if I go on and on. So I will just say happy 3rd anniversary to my honey. He's my Man BFF. Haha..

Extract

Jason Bateman is great. I honestly can't get enough of him since Arrested Development. The roles he chooses and the things that happen to him in those roles are always really funny. I love him - pretty much always. I'd even go back and give Teen Wolf Too a second chance, that's how much I love him. This movie was clever. I have the say I wasn't super impressed with the storyline, but there was a lesson. The grass is not always greener on the other side. Sometimes where you are is where you're supposed to be. All those sort of lessons. I loved Ben Affleck in this as well. And the smaller characters in the flick made what is bound to be one of those movies I'll watch a few times and then start quoting to people.

The kid from 90210 (I guess his name is Dustin Milligan - who knew?) was such a douche in this, that now I have more than one reason to dislike him.

DMB on Ellen

This will probably be my last Dave Matthews Band post of the year. (Unless, of course, they reschedule Salt Lake City and I'm magically able to afford another trip!) We are on "Dave Overload" for like 2 weeks a year and then use the rest of the year to prep for next time. What can I say? I don't do drugs, I do Dave. Or DMB is my drug of choice. Either way, I will miss them for the next 11-12 months.

Yesterday I went with my SIL to see them on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. We didn't really know what to expect as the instructions were very vague, but we had tickets so we figured we might as well check it out. I've been to Ellen once before to see Gwen Stefani, but it was totally different. We just showed up to a local park, she played, we watched, we went home. Easy cheesy.

To see DMB, it was quite different. We had to check in at the LA Zoo (at least it was close-by) where shuttles were waiting to take us to the Warner Brothers lot. It was first come, first serve so we tried to get there a little early, which meant waiting in the hot sun for a long time until they shuttled us over. Once we got to Warner Bros, we sat and waited inside the shuttle bus for 45 minutes. It was air conditioned, so I can't complain. Then they herded us onto the lot where we waited another 45 minutes - in the sun - to start the taping. But since we were outside and the studio audience was inside, we could only hear audio. We couldn't see the rest of the show! We just had to stand out there like a bunch of hot, wet rags and wait for DMB to come out at the very end. They sent a warm-up guy out to get the crowd pumped, but we were not having any of it. It was kind of funny because he'd ask us to clap our hands and dance and hug the person next to us - mostly everyone ignored him and stood there with our arms folded, shaking our heads. We were so hot and tired and just wanted to see our guys.

Once they came out, I remembered why I go through these things! It was a spectacular little set. Usually the musical guest on a show will play one song, but they played us four. Only 2 of the songs will air, but they gave us that extra little bonus at the end. Made it seem a little more worthwhile and totally got us excited. Plus it was such a small area that we were super close to the stage! I'm pretty sure I made direct eye contact with Dave at least once. :)

As soon as the band finished, I was sooooo ready to get out of the sun. My typical migraine set in and I got sick on the way home, but once I cooled down and got some food in my belly I was fine. When I sat back and reflected on the day, I thought "Was that worth it?" Maybe not. "But would I do it again?" Come on, you know I would.

Anyway, watch Ellen today and look for me in the crowd!!

DMB

Ok, so I finally got to see my 30th Dave Matthews Band show. It was at the Greek Theater in LA and of course, it was awesome. I laughed, I cried, I sang and danced. It made my heart so happy.

But it was nothing compared to my 31st show!

This one was in San Diego. My awesome sister-in-law traded tickets with us. She sat near the lawn so that we could sit in the THIRD FREAKIN' ROW. How insane is that? The closest I've ever been before was 4th row (also because she traded seats with us) and that was 8 years ago. So this was quite a treat. We got into the amphitheater and everything looks so different that close. In fact, it almost feels like you're just watching a movie on a giant screen or something. It just doesn't seem real! They opened with Funny The Way It Is and like a huge nerd, I cried as soon as the music started and they dropped the curtain. The rest of the show was kind of a blur because I was just overwhelmed and nervous and excited. I remember that it was great, but I barely remember the songs they played or anything like that. I just didn't want it to end.

I made a giant sign for the occasion (see all my tickets stubs pasted around the edge?):

Unfortunately, my fellow DMB fans can be real dicks (seriously, I have stories) and people were yelling at me for holding it up. So I kept it down for most of the show since I really didn't want some drunk a-hole throwing a beer at me or something. But as soon as they played the last song in the encore, I rushed up to the stage, giant sign in hand, and the drummer gave me one of his drumsticks! I could not believe it. It was such a funny moment, because I was up there cheering and waving the sign and he looked right at me and pointed the stick in my direction. I looked at him and pointed to myself "ME???" and he nodded, like Take it! So I grabbed it and shouted "Thank you so much!!!!!" Then I grinned from ear to ear for like an hour. Sadly, it was one of the most thrilling moments of my life. Haha.

And interestingly enough, all the dick-ish people that yelled at me earlier for the sign were now very sweet and congratulatory, even going as far as patting me on the back. I couldn't help but think "SUCK IT, jerks!"

But thanks again to my SIL for the awesome tickets and to my hubby for tolerating my nerdiness (even though he's the one that started all this.)

9

This was a decent movie. The animation was very cool and the storyline was interesting but I feel like it could've easily been made as a short film instead of a full-length feature. One thing I really liked about it was that it reminded me of cartoons that I watched as a kid that were sort of dark and scary, but I couldn't get enough of - like The Hobbit or Watership Down or even The Dark Crystal. It had that same sort of appeal. Maybe a cult classic in the near future? Hard to say.

OK, I just did my research and I guess the movie was based on a short film. So in that case, they really should've made it longer and explained some things...

SLC and Fam-i-lee

The last week feels like it was 3 weeks wrapped into one. It was very busy and fun and I've quite enjoyed myself. In Utah, the Dave Matthews Band concert was CANCELED for the second year in a row. It is just not meant to be!!! We couldn't believe that this could happen again. But it did. And just like last year, we tried to make the most of it. Probably the highlight of the trip was going out with my cuz and riding Segways through Thanksgiving Point gardens. Neither of us had been on one before and neither of us can wait to do it again. It is seriously so fun. I also got to visit with some family and it was really nice to see everyone. We ate lots of delicious food and hung out with the kids and just enjoyed the few days we were together. I'm so grateful that they let me stay and took the time to keep me entertained!

When I returned home, my brother, sister and nephew came to visit for the long weekend. My sister also brought a friend who was celebrating a birthday. She had never been to Disneyland before and since you can get in free on your birthday, we decided we just HAD to go. We were taking a huge risk going, not only on a Saturday, but the Saturday of a holiday weekend. And it totally paid off. The crowds were relatively mild and the weather wasn't too extreme. So we had a great time and even got on most of the rides. Not to mention, my nephew was just a dream - well-behaved, liked seeing Mickey, enjoyed the rides, had fun dancing and running around the park. Everything was "Coooool." It couldn't have been much better. (Phew!)

While they were here, we all went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach too. None of us had been there before so it was cool to see the place. The price was right - only $12 to get in on a Sunday evening and it was much bigger than I imagined. But unfortunately, the nephew had enough sight-seeing and after about an hour, it was time for a meltdown. Poor guy. We really wear him out when he's here!! After looking at all the fishies, we decided on sushi for dinner (sounds so wrong) and he sat patiently through that. So he ended up getting himself together and being a good boy the rest of the night. Couldn't ask for more. The sushi was great as usual and after dinner we watched a movie on PPV and got a little rest.

Everyone left on Monday and as usual the visit felt too short. I miss them, but I'm so glad my sister took the drive all the way here for just a couple days. We finished up the weekend playing a little poker with our friends. It was a lot of activities crammed into one week, and I'm still wondering where the time went. Labor Day has passed and summer is officially over. The holidays are right around the corner. In the blink of an eye it will be 2010.

Oy!