Oh DMB. How I Love You So!

This past weekend, we went up north to see them at one of our favorite venues: Shoreline Amphitheater. This trip up to the San Jose/San Francisco area has been a yearly tradition for about...11 years already! But I'm sad to say, this may have been our last show for a while. Next year, the band announced that they will be taking a much deserved break after 20 straight years of touring. Good for them, sad for me!

I'll tell you what, though. They went out with a bang. The show was incredible. So energetic with a great mix of old stuff and new stuff. I was sitting there, singing along, wishing it wouldn't end. To commemorate one of the best shows ever, I wanted to post the set list along with some of my favorite lyrics from the songs. I know this is boring to most people, but honestly, these songs are really close to my heart. So it's for my own entertainment.

The Last Stop

War, the only way to peace, well I don't fall for that

Watch as we nail God to a tree and then we say "Forgive me, forgive me"

Seek Up

Look at me in my fancy car and my bank account, how I wish I could take it all down to my grave, God knows I'd save and save. In the end it all piles up so tall to one being nothing at all.

Forget about being guilty, we are all innocent instead, and soon we will all find out lives swept away

One Sweet World

Nine planets round the sun, only one does the sun embrace, upon this watered one, so much we take for granted

Stay or Leave

Wake up naked drinking coffee, making plans to change the world, while the world is changing us, it was good good love. We used to laugh under the covers, maybe not so often now. The way I used to laugh with you was loud and hard

Crush

Crazy how it feels tonight, crazy how you make it all alright love, You crush me with those things you do, I do for you anything too

Seven

Baby when I think about you, all I wanna do be by your side, take a little ride

Pantala Naga Pampa

Come and relax now, put your troubles down, no need to bear the weight of your worries here, let them all fall away

Rapunzel

I think the world of you, all of my heart I do, Blood through my veins for you, you alone have all of me, I give my world to you and to you I will be true

Digging a Ditch

Where all these troubles that weigh down on me will rise

Where all these questions spinnin' around my head will die

#41

I came in praying for you, why won't you run in the rain and play, let the tears splash all over over you

Write a Song

I want to write a song that'll get you high, I want to find the words that'll make everything feel alright now, So in another world and another time, I'll be the kind of man that'll do you right

Spaceman

I'm not all bad but I'm a faithful sinner, I might get lost but I'll be home for dinner, If God don't like me he can send me to hell, but I love the way you love me

Cornbread

It soars inside my soul because of you, all this innocence that you inspire, You know you are as heaven intended you

Jimi Thing

Lately I've been feeling low, a remedy is what I'm seeking

What I want is what I've not got, but what I need is all around me

Shake Me Like a Monkey
God or the devil alone could not have made you up, the two must have worked as one together, So good just wanna eat you up, nothing like that real thing

You and Me

Wanna pack your bags, something small, take what you need and we disappear, Without a trace we'll be gone gone, the moon and the stars follow the car, And then when we get to the ocean we gonna take a boat to the end of the world

Time Bomb

Baby when I get home I wanna pick up the pieces, Hammer in the final nail, lean me up against Jesus

When everything starts to fall, so fast that it terrifies you, When will you hit the wall? Are you gonna learn to fly?

All Along the Watchtower

There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke, But you and I we've been through that and this is not our fate, So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late

ENCORE:

Sister

I hope you always know it's true I would never make it through, You could make the sun go dark just by walking away, Playing like we used to play, like it would never go away, I feel you beating in my chest, I'd be dead without Sister

Two Step
Celebrate we will, because life is short but sweet for certain

And there we have it. The show was over 3 hours, so we got lots of goods. An incredible band that never disappoints.

HAIR. Ugh.

My hair is driving me crazy!! For those of you who know me, I'm not one to keep the same hair style for very long. And this one is wearing out it's welcome, big time.

I am so over the brunette. No offense to the beautiful brunettes I know. It's just not for me. Totally jonesing to get back to my fake blonde locks.

On Monday I want bangs, on Tuesday I hate them. Two weeks later, I'm growing them out saying "Why am I growing these out? I liked my bangs!" So I cut them. Repeat cycle.

My hair has been in a permanent ponytail since... January.

It's been growing out for about 10 months, and its gained maybe 5 inches? Probably the longest its been since I got married. (Which is usually the point where I chop it off and don't look back!)

I was going to be reasonable and wait until next summer after we've had the baby and kind of settled into our new lives to transform my hair. BUT I saw this haircut the other day and I honestly don't know if I can wait that long!

I am utterly smitten with this 'do. I look at the picture every day wondering if I should just go for it. So don't be surprised if in a few weeks, I have a whole new look. I'm just saying.

Utah Trip

Took another little trip this past week - my annual romp to Utah. Instead of flying straight to Salt Lake this year, I made a little detour in St. George to visit my family, see my nephew and pick up my sister so she could romp with me! It felt like such a whirlwind because there was a LOT of driving. But we had a great time. Got to see some old friends, enjoy delicious food (I know, that is always at the top of my list), spend time with my cousin's family, ride segways at Thanksgiving Point, and the kicker was actually getting to see a DMB show! FINALLY! It all worked out. And it was great.

Oh, by the way, my nephew thinks the baby is a "gril". Hmmm?

Finland: In a Nutshell

I can't believe we've already been home for 3 weeks. I mean we were in Finland a month ago. Crazy. Traveling to Finland was a bit like time travel to me. We left our house at 4am on Tuesday and arrived in Helsinki at 10am on Wednesday. I swear I saw the sunset and the sunrise within an hour of each other. It really weirded me out! The total flight time was about 14 hours, but we lost almost a whole day since they are 10 hours ahead of Cali.

My relatives live in Lappeenranta, which is a couple hours outside the capitol. It is nothing less than beautiful there. Trees as far as the eye can see. The freeways wind through forests. Lakes are all over the place. If you look it up on Google Maps you can see how much water surrounds them. The air is so clean, I wasn't really bothered with allergies. You can even drink straight from the tap and it tastes amazing. Like the best water I've ever had. So it was really, really nice.

Unfortunately, we happened to be there in the midst of the hottest summer ever, so the heat and humidity made us feel really worn out. And my feet and ankles were swelling like crazy. It might not have been so bad, but nobody has air conditioning. Even a lot of the restaurants and stores don't have A/C. They don't ever need it! And the stores were completely sold out of fans and portable units. My aunt and uncle had a little 12" fan cooling the whole house, but it didn't help much. Our only escape was to take a ride in the car. Otherwise, we just had to accept the fact that we were a bunch of sweaty fools. But at least everyone else was sweaty too.

We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house and they took such good care of us. Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

- They fed us extremely well. Lots of breads, cheeses, fresh veggies, salads and potatoes.

- We spent a lot of time down by the Harbor. We had ice cream and meat pies, took a cruise down the Saimaa Canal, and saw the annual Sand Castle display and some nearby shops.

- Visited the house where my Mom grew up. It was a short walk from my aunt's house and the people currently living there let us have a look around. There was even a playhouse still standing in the backyard that she used to play in! It was really cool to imagine my mom growing up there.

- Spent time at my Grandma's house and of course she fed us all kinds of homemade yummies. We also looked at a bunch of old pictures and heard some stories of her youth. Seeing pictures of her at around age 14 was totally surreal because she looked exactly like my mom.

- Strawberries from the Farmer's Market. Hubs ate so many I thought he'd poop a strawberry patch.

- While we were out walking the town, there was a pleasantly surprising rainstorm that lasted for about 3 minutes. It was one of the happiest moments of my life because it cooled things down for the first time! The raindrops were about the size of your head and the thunder and lightning were loud. It was great.

- Of course, one of the best things about going, was meeting and getting to know a lot of my extended family. I even met my Grandpa for the first time. I'm so glad I got the chance, because I would hate to look back knowing that we never talked or hugged once.

- My cousin's wedding was beautiful. Everyone had so much fun.

- My pregnant belly made it's first appearance. It was the first time I felt pregnant and not just bloated.

- Saw the sunrise... at 1am...

- Had a big family dinner at the local Greek restaurant. For dessert we ordered french toast, and it was definitely my husband's favorite treat from the whole trip.

- Homemade Coke.

- We spent one morning touring Linnoitus (which translates to The Fort). It's a really old part of town where most of the war was fought. It was really cool to walk through the trenches that the soldiers actually used!

- Tried the Finnish version of fast food. Of course they have McDonald's (which sells mozzarella sticks) but to get something a little different, we went to Hesburgers. I think they put tarter sauce on their cheeseburgers. It was good though!

- Our suitcase got so destroyed on the way there, we had to jimmy-rig it on the inside with one of our camera tripods, just to get it to roll properly.

- On our last day, my husband and I took a train back to Helsinki. The train ride was a bit of an adventure in itself, but visiting the capitol was awesome. It was the perfect way to end our trip. It's one of the coolest European cities we've been to.

So that was a bit more than a nutshell, but 10 days worth of Finland is hard to condense into one little ol' blog entry.

Pregnancy Sucks!

There I said it. I know it's a miracle and it's wonderful and I shouldn't be complaining. But I'm not going to lie. It's been hard too. A lot harder than I thought. Not because I'm tired (which I am) or sick (which I was) or fat (which I'm getting there) but because it is stressful! We tried getting pregnant for a long time, and when it finally happened, we were apprehensive but excited. I remember telling my husband "I think I'm really going to love being pregnant." I felt like I was just ready for this. But some challenges have come our way and when doctors start using words like genetic counseling and placenta previa, you can't help but sometimes fear the worst. I know things will be OK, but those little doubts creep in once in awhile and make you wonder if you should have ever felt like you'd be good at this in the first place.

We don't have it as hard as some couples, and I do remind myself daily to just be grateful. And not all days are hard. The days that are good are really, really good. And the excitement outweighs the worry. I had my first dream about holding the baby and it was pure bliss! Plus, I gotta say, I really love wearing maternity pants. I never knew such a comfortable thing existed. So there's always that.

Of all the people to be bad at documenting such a momentous time in our lives - that has been me. This is seriously the first belly picture I've taken. 19 weeks! (21 more to go?) I'm gonna be huuuuge!! :)

The Other Guys

I was hoping this would be funny. But it wasn't. I mean, it was OK and it had its moments, but the story was so long and overly complicated and it was hard to get into. Will Ferrell always gives me a giggle, even with some of his dumbest movies (like Semi-Pro), but it wasn't enough to make me like this very much. And what can we say about Mark Wahlberg? He is not bad when he sticks to a particular type of role. This one? It was his funniest performance since The Happening. Way over the top.

I think one of my favorite people in the movie was Michael Keaton! He actually had me laughing quite a bit.