Wait, What Month Is It?

I've been slacking.  I know, I know.

I have NO CLUE where the month of August went.  Or September for that matter.  I promise I will play catchup soon.  These past couple months have been a really fast and really big blur...SLOW DOWN!

Bridal fair this weekend.  To reiterate just how fast these months have flown by us, we had no idea the bridal fair was coming up so quickly.  It just appeared all of a sudden and we feel incredibly unprepared.  Basically, our new walls are drying RIGHT NOW in the garage...and we set up tomorrow.  I am hoping we have enough postcards and business cards to pass out since we had no time to order any.  Eeep

On the plus side, fall is almost here!  October is a couple weeks off and I am so excited.  Mmmm fall leaves and apple cider.  Oh yeah, and we will have been married ONE WHOLE YEAR!  Still cant believe that one. :)

Off to bed, photo shoot at 6am (yikes, remind me what possessed me to sign up for that on the day we have bridal fair setup?).  Then fair setup until 6.  Then Sunday our lives are parked at the convention center from 6am to 7pm...or whenever we finally get to load up the uhaul...only to turn around and unload it.  Sleep Monday!  Yay for a day off!  Well, kinda.

HANSON!

So Saturday was the Hanson concert and I am certain that Adam is crazy happy that it is finally over, since it was all I talked about all week. Not to mention I made him stand in the heat for 3 hours in line (hey, I wanted good seats!).

I had planned on doing the Walk that they host in every city, which is where they meet fans (and anyone else) in front of the venue the afternoon of the concert and host a 1 mile walk (yes, they walk with you!) to raise awareness for people in the world who don't have shoes (you are technically supposed to do the walk barefoot to get the full effect). They have walked the equivalent number of miles (and moreso even) that it takes to circle around the earth- pretty impressive! The other cool thing, for every person that takes the walk and fills out a form, the band will donate $1. Pretty neat cause, and they have been doing it every concert date, in every city, for the past 3 years. And combine that with the fact that they walk with you (meaning, you can talk to them) makes it all the more better.

In any case, back on Friday I had looked up the meeting time for the walk on Saturday and saw it was at 3pm, so I was determined on dragging Adam out in the heat for this 1 mile trek (and yes, it was well over 100 degrees with the heat index on Saturday).

That morning we drove out to Independence, where the animal shelter there was hosting an event offering $10 microchip and $5 rabies shots. Annabelle got chipped and Minnie got chipped and a shot (she was the only cat there...I think the people thought we were insane. But hey, it didnt say it was dog only and she needed her shot! And it was cheap!) and we took them back home and I changed and got ready for the show. At around 1:45, Cassy (who had flown home to Omaha from DC just for this weekend of shows) texted me and asked if I was doing the walk. I said I was and I would be there at 3...well, she sends me a text at 2:12 saying that Zac was looking pretty good, and I thought "Well, that's cool they are mingling with fans 45 min before the walk..."

We rush down to the venue (I'm running late...hey, what's new?) and get there right at 3 only to sadly find out the walk had started at 2...what?! I get on my phone and look at their site- determined I had seen the start time for 3- only to find out that it DID in fact say 3pm start... EASTERN time. Yeah.

So we hung around for a few minutes until the group (which was probably a couple hundred people at least) came back from the walk and got a prime spot where they would stand to talk about it.

Taylor has his trusty megaphone, though it has gotten progressively more fancy over the years (it was decked out in red paint with logos and whatnot on it). I swear, he is a bit too much of a fan of that thing, seeing as I have never seen any of the others use it. But anyway, he said some things about the walk and what its purpose was, and then they were off for down time and their sound check while us fans waited in the heat. Isaac was also there with Taylor, though he didn't say much. Zac, on the other hand, must have a problem with the heat (similar to Adam, who just about dies every time we step out the front door) since he was at the back of the line of walkers, and instead of standing by Taylor and looking supportive, he went straight to the tour bus, allowing me to catch only a slight glimpse.

Let me re-iterate the fact that I find Zac incredibly good looking- much to the irritation of Adam. Adam knows this (and has since we met) and therefore pretty much hates Zac's guts...even though they have never met. So he was smirking and quite amused that the reason I had made us get to the walk in the first place was so I might have a chance to say hi to him...and not sound stupid like I did 3 years ago at my first walk.

ANYWHO, I told Adam we could sit in the car until the line got to be insanely long so he could have the AC, so we sat there watching the people suffer in the sun before we headed to a coffee house next door. Then it was back to the car where we watched Hanson's sisters walk around the tour bus looking like they would probably rather be anywhere but in Kansas City in August. Ha. We also got a glimpse of Taylor's many kids...SIDE NOTE: I have NO idea how they can ALL travel the country in the same bus like they do. Yes, their entire families travel TOGETHER in one bus. We're talking the 3 of them, their wives, their kids (of which they have like, 6 soon to be 7 of between them. They might have more.), their mom and dad and their siblings (3 sisters and a brother). Heck, there's probably a few dogs on the bus too for all we know. But they ALL travel on the SAME bus...every day. The bus is big, but it isn't THAT big! How they do it without wanting to kill each other...no idea. And props to their wives for not going insane either. Especially Zac's wife, who is very pregnant.

ANYWAY. At around 5 they opened the gates hustling us around to the back of the building where we had to stand for an hour before they let us inside. Adam was not a happy camper here, since we were all crammed together in a narrow alleyway behind the venue and it was hotter here due to lack of air. He was also one of only a handful (and by that I mean I think I counted 3) guys who were in line this early (also with their girlfriends/wives). Ha. But we made it in at 6 and while I could have gotten quite close to the stage, I opted to take one of the 6 seats on the side of the stage next to a rail. Partly so Adam could sit down, partly so I could sit up on the rail once the show starts and therefore have a better view than if I was in the middle of the giant crowd (hey, I am SHORT!).

They had 2 opening acts, one of which was the local contest winner. Another thing they do in every city is hold a contest for local bands and the winner gets to open- pretty cool. Sadly the winning band from KC kind of sucked...but they only performed a handful of songs so its ok. Rooney was next, and I actually really enjoyed them. They were fun and got the crowd going. The place was pretty full (and yes, many more guys had shown up by now).

Hanson finally came on a little before 9 and played until close to 11:30. They always play for a long time- one of the reason I love their concerts. You definitely get what you pay for and more. They were amazing like always- even though I think they must have had a fight or something earlier that day because they didn't talk to each other or interact with each other ONCE during the show. In fact, they stayed pretty much as far apart from one another as you can get and didn't even shake hands at the end of the show. And let me tell you- I've been to see them many times, and they ALWAYS interact with each other- a LOT. Not this night. Even Adam noticed the difference. I chalked it up to spending all that "together" time on the bus... Ha! But they were still great none the less and played a lot of my favorites.

I swear though, they need to put Zac a little bit closer to the front. EVERY concert I go to I am always stuck on the side, and unless you are smack in the center, you dont see him at all during the show. This time we had a very nice view of Isaac, and when he moved I could catch a glimpse of Zac back there on the drums, but I just wish for once I could have a clear view. Adam, on the other hand, was quite happy that I couldn't see him. He is such a great husband to let me goggle over another guy for an evening- and come with me to let me do it! :D I love him for that!

He looks SO happy doesn't he?! Haha.

Best picture I could get of him playing the drums :(

This was during their acoustic part of the show. Too bad it isn't in focus!

My camera fails at taking night pictures, so these were the best I could get. I couldnt bring in my fancy pro camera (believe me, I would have) but these are better than nothing. I was sad I didnt get to go to the Omaha show the next night on Sunday- it was the first time EVER that they performed an actual concert in Omaha (aside from the radio promo they did back in 1999 which wasn't a concert just a stop to interview at the radio station where they played 3 songs) and I was really hoping to get to go. I would have went if they weren't in KC, but for once I didn't have to drive a few hours to see them so I just settled for the one here (ironic that I have ALWAYS driven to KC to see them, and the one time I dont have to, they actually play a show in Omaha. Ha.). I did hear that the Omaha show was SOLD OUT- so YAY to the Omaha fans! Maybe that will make them come back there now!

Craigslist and Coffee

Yes, I found more!

While searching through the gems, I came across someone giving away a bunch of empty CD/DVD cases. Well, they were the exact same ones we use in our business (and are kind of $$ when you have to buy multiples!) so I was super thrilled when the lady said she had them. So I headed down to pick them up, expecting there to be a handful. I came across a GIANT bag full of them- over 30! All in perfect condition. Totally worth it!

And to make matters even better- I have been absolutely craving a coffee drink from Gloria Jean's coffee, ever since I found out we had one locally. I haven't had a chance to pick one up since finding out, but since I was in the area to pick up the cases, I figured "Why not?" and got myself a big one. Absolute heaven. It tasted the same as it did 8 years ago when I had my last one before the shut down the location at Westroads in Omaha. I had my first ever coffee drink there...ahh memories.

Road Trip!

So for the past couple of months Adam and I have been debating on what to do for our anniversary this year. Since Adam actually has PAID time off now, we can actually go somewhere without worrying about how to make up his lost paycheck. So we have been debating on what we wanted to do.

About a month ago we were contacted by the people we ate dinner with on our honeymoon. They were a nice couple from Baltimore and we gave them our card on our last day and told them to keep in touch.

Well, they sent us an email saying they were going to go on a Mexican cruise sometime and wanted to know if we would be interested in going. We definitely were, but after looking through the prices of the flights and accounting for some money to actually DO things on the cruise instead of just sitting on the boat like we had to do for the honeymoon, it came out to be quite a bit of money, especially since we were also going to go to New York at the end of September.

Well, it has always been a dream of mine to get to see New England (and I mean REALLY SEE) in the fall- I just love the fall and the colors and have heard such great things about the peak time up there that I have just always wanted to do something like that. Adam has always wanted to see New England as well, so we came up with the idea of sort of "combining" our trip to New York with our anniversary trip- thus saving on having to buy 2 different sets of flights within a few weeks of one another.

At first I was a bit bummed, because I had really wanted to be on our trip ON our actual anniversary. But then I realized that we had a wedding on the 16th, in Omaha, anyway, meaning we would be working and driving back home on our anniversary anyway, so even if we left we couldnt leave until our actual anniversary DAY, and I really didnt want to be traveling on that day!

So we decided to extend our couple day New York trip into a weeklong roadtrip of New England. It involves a lot of driving- something Adam and I have NEVER done is take a full on road trip, I think 3 hours is the most we have ever driven!- but from the way we have it planned, we are going to see so much beautiful scenery and spend a lot of fun time together.

Because Adam turns 25 at the beginning of September, it now becomes incredibly cheap to rent a car, making this entire situation all the more appealing. So we will fly into New York, see the Boston/Yankee game and spend a couple nights there, rent a car, and start our journey.

While most of our trip involves seeing beautiful scenery, we do have a few specific destinations in mind. We'll leave New York and drive up through Vermont, crossing the Canadian boarder, and ending in Montreal. We'll spend a couple of nights in Montreal, before heading back down through beautiful New Hampshire to Portland, Maine. After seeing Maine, we'll drive down the coast to Boston, staying outside of the city in Salem. We will spend a day sightseeing Boston (though not getting to see as much as we'd like) and making a stop at Fenway before driving to through Rhode Island hitting Providence and Newport and making our way along the coast to New Haven, CT. We'll spend the night in CT before making the hour and a half drive back to New York and flying out the next day.

We're avoiding interstates (except in the big cities, of course) and taking the scenic routes up through Vermont and New Hampshire and taking the coastal roads as we trek down from Maine. It adds length to our drive time, but we actually get to SEE things and stop and take pictures along the way. I am incredibly excited, and Adam and I are already planning different cameras and film to take with us (remember that 216 rolls of film we got off Craigslist a couple weeks back? Oh yeah, it will be put to good use here!). Since we will have a car for all but the New York portion of the trip, we can carry everything along with us.

It involves a different hotel every night and will involve a lot of time together in the car (something we still aren't 100% sure is a good idea...ha!) but I think it will be an incredible experience. We have it broken down so the max we are driving in one day is under 5 hours, which still allows us to have time to do things. We will have to get up quite early each day, but I think the things we will get to see will make it worth it.

We also found out that the last week of September/first week of October are the the "peak" fall foliage time up there, which makes me REALLY excited!

We booked our flights and have been working on getting hotels booked. So far we have a hotel booked in Burlington, VT, but we are still planning. I spent a good chunk of time planning our route yesterday, and it looks like so much, but we are really excited!

Nintendo 64

So I have made it very clear in the past that I married a toddler. Adam is the biggest kid I have ever seen and I find it absolutley adorable.

Now that that is out of the way, Adam has been on this kick lately to bring back his childhood in the form of the old school video game systems. So he has been searching high and low for the various gaming systems that we grew up with and he is determined to have a collection of them all. I am happy to oblige, as I loved the older video game systems and think it would be something fun to play together once in a while.

We already have the original Nintendo as well as the original Sega Genesis, so Adam's next conquest was obtaining the original Nintendo 64. We searched high and low, and I was finally able to snag an incredible deal on Craigslist (again, Craigslist is amazing. And I am now a pro at bartering.) complete with system, two controllers, and a variety of games for the low low price of $20. Yes, I'm just that good.

We came home from getting the system and while I went to make myself dinner, Adam went straight to the TV. I walked in a few minutes later to see him playing Mario, with complete and giddy joy on his face. It was adorable, and totally worth the $20.

He says he is going to play Mario Kart with me soon!

Tickets Are Here!

I finally made the trip to the local Ticketmaster and bought my tickets to see Hanson next weekend! Since I procrastinated on buying them, if I bought them online I had no choice except to print them off at home, do will call, or pay an insane amount for them to UPS them to me. Well, since I wanted a tangible ticket and am afraid of will-call losing my tickets, I decided to opt for the personal route and went to the grocery store and bought them. I was incredibly excited as now I have the actual, physical tickets in my hand! The only bummer was that before they would give them to me, I had to initial the actual ticket so that they would know I looked over the tickets and made sure it was the correct show. While I didnt want to mar up my beautiful ticket, I also needed them to give it to me, so I reluctantly signed. So although they aren't shiny and perfect, it is much better than a printout that the venue will take or paying double what the ticket costs to have it shipped.

Now I just have to wait a week! Eee!

Photo Love

Again I will mention how much I love Craigslist. Today while searching for random goodies, I came across a posting of someone giving away various darkroom equipment. Well, I know Adam likes darkroom photography, and I would like to learn how to develop film, so I emailed the people, and when I found out it was available, I was super excited.

Adam, not so much. He wasn't too thrilled to have to jump back in the car right after getting home from work, but I promised I would get him dinner, so he reluctantly joined me.

We ended up meeting one of the nicest ladies ever. She was an avid hobby photographer and had her own darkroom set up in her house. Well, she was moving, and in turn, was giving away 90% of her photo equipment. She gave us basically everything we could ever need to start our own darkroom, and also showed us a bunch of helpful tips and tricks for various photos.

Her house was gorgeous in that everything on her walls was done by her and personalized in some way. It was exactly how I want our home to be one day, and I was really inspired. She showed me how to do hand coloring, and I am really excited to get the opportunity to try that out one day. She is into digital now, but is still an avid supporter of always printing your pictures. She pointed out that in this day people take so many photos, but yet none of them actually get printed and they sit on a computer where no one can view them. She makes simple scrapbook photo albums and showcases her work. She prints and hangs prints. Anything to get the image off the computer screen and into a tangible format. I loved it. It made me want to sit down and just bring out all of my old pictures.

It also made me realize that I really, really need to start taking some time and just enjoy photography again. Don't get me wrong, I love taking pictures. But I find that I spend so much time capturing other people's moments and joys that I forget to take pictures of things that bring ME joy. I tend to put those aspirations and feelings to the side and have made photography solely a JOB instead of also something I just love to do. It reminded me that I need to take some time and not WORK. Just have fun taking pictures, and printing them and hanging them around the house.

So again, I am thankful for Craigslist. And we ended up with an entire car-ful of things. Adam was thrilled. Now, I just have to find a place to KEEP all of this stuff!

This is ALL paper. Yes, photo paper. All sizes. I am so excited. And the best part? It was ALL free!