Not a typical Monday

What did you do today?

I got a new client for my business, started a class to learn a new language, and met an actress/musician! Not your typical Monday!

So excited that my business is growing!  I met with a realtor who needed help with SendOutCards and marketing, and we are going forward!  YEAH!  It's amazing how things fall into place when you put it out there to the universe.  I had written down that I wanted to phase out a client, but with that, comes needing to replace the income.  As soon as I wrote it down, I started to get inquiries about work.  Now it's up to me to keep the ball rolling.

This evening I started my Italian class.  It was such a better experience than the last time I tried to take an Italian class.  Almost everyone is a beginner - like not knowing any Italian.  There is one guy that is way advanced, but the teacher handles him very well when he starts talking in Italian.  There is one person who is from South America, so she might have an easier time, but she was quiet.  Almost everyone in the class has been to Italy and plans to go back.  Some have a trip planned.  The biggest thing was - we had FUN!

The class was 6:30 to 9 and I planned on going to see Alexz Johnson afterwards at Jammin' Java in Vienna. I figured that she would go on like at 9 or 10 - I might miss some, but doubted it.  Well, that didn't happen - I missed the ENTIRE show!  SERIOUSLY!

I pulled in and thought, "Wow, no one came."  I walked in and I asked "Did I miss the show?" and she said, "Yup, we are closing up."  Then I saw a group of people standing around (by the merchandise table), so went over.  She was finishing up with someone, and said 'Who's next?" No one moved forward, so I did. I told her that I just got there and missed the show, thinking that she wouldn't have gone on until like 10, have been a fan since "Instant Star" and love all of her music.  Yes, I said "I'm probably old enough to be your mom." Then it sunk in to her that I missed the show - she said that they went on real early and I should get a refund - and let her know that I was just going to get a ticket at the door.  Alexz and Brendon (part of the opening band/producer) said check youtube that it should be on there.  I said some words of encouragement - to stick with it, you are talented and she said that she's going to keep doing it as long as she can. And I said to come back here (Jammin' Java), and that I know she has in the past.  I mentioned that last time she came I was on vacation.

The best part is that she said "Wow, you are a true fan - to come in even after missing the show to say hi."  Alexz asked if I have the new CD and I said, Oh yeah, already downloaded. I got to chat with Brendon with Dress Black. Told him I would check out the music and another guy was trying to get me to come to the Philly show since I missed last night's show. I asked what they sounded like and he said he produced both their CD and Alexz's - come to find out - it's Alexz's brother.  I was thinking it was, when he said his first name, but didn't say anything.

Anyway, at least I got a picture with Alexz and got to chat with her!

Adventures: First Country Concert

Last night we headed down to Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill in Woodbridge to meet up with our friend, Mike.  Mike has been working with bands for about 15 years, and is out with Chris Cagle right now.

We haven't seen Mike in forever and about 2 weeks ago, he messaged me to see if we wanted to come.  We both are NOT into country music, and really didn't think we would stick around that long.  We figured we'd go have dinner and maybe head out even before the bands started.  Like I said, we were there to catch up with Mike, not for the music.

It was an adventure just to get there and then into the restaurant.  We kind of took the long way to get to the place, then when we got to the shopping center, we drove all around looking for the restaurant.  We finally found it and parked.  By that time, the line to get in was out the door and around the corner.  We stood in the cold for about an hour.  Luckily, it was just cold and not windy. 

Finally, we got to the door and said, "We are on the guest list."  First person, checked her printed list and nope, not there.  Second person, had us written on the top of his list.  We got in and asked about getting a table.  The list was about 10 names, and they said they would try to get us a table, but it probably wouldn't happen. 

So we walked around.  I went into the restroom and when I came out, Dan was by the merchandise table where Mike was.  We hung around the merchandise table for a good hour or so, chatting.  Mike asked if we were going to hang out and stay for a couple of songs.  I mentioned that we hadn't had dinner yet, because we couldn't get a table.

Next thing, he's taking us to the "VIP" room and set us up with a table and food.  The only other people in there was the opening band.  Then when the opening band was on stage, they cleared out the room, so that they could do a meet and greet..  Everyone lined up and we were just sitting at our table.  Right before the meet and greet line ended, Mike asked one of the bar employees to get us and we got to meet Chris Cagle.

When Chris was on stage, we were the only ones in the "VIP" area.  It was a good experience.  Chris is a really good singer, just not our type of music.  The place was sold out.

It was nice to get the VIP treatment!  Thanks Mike!

Vacation! Day 1 (Sunday)

At last, a long needed vacation!  We are at Broadkill Beach in Delaware.  The reason we picked this beach - dogs are allowed all year round.  I found this house though dogfriendly.com, which lead me to homeaway.com.

Today has been a long day.  Mostly because we went out last night to Brody Bash - but it was all worth it.  We had a great time (except for the smoke-filled bar).  I still feel like I'm trying to catch my breath from that.

We headed out around 10 am this morning & got to the beach around 1 pm.  We stopped in Stevensville, MD at the K-Mart.  We were just looking for somewhere to walk the pups a little, and they had a great open area next to them.  Anyway, Dan went in and I started walking the pups around & what did I find? A $20 bill!  WOOHOO!

This house is great.  It's the perfect size for us.  We unpacked and walked down to the beach store & got drinks and subs for a late lunch.  Then we figured out what we needed for the week and Dan went to the store.  We weren't sure about leaving the pups by themselves to get food, so I stayed home.  I think it was a good move.  Both of the pups were anxious while Dan was gone.

Once he got back we went for a walk on the beach.  We saw a bunch of dead horseshoe crabs, but we also saw two mating (at least we think)!  We saw finger sponges and a dead puffer fish.  Most of the beach is covered in pebbles.  It must be just from being inland/a bay area.

Mating (???) Horseshoe Crabs

Tonight has just been hanging out and trying to catch up on e-mails and such.  The pups finally laid down and we hope they will sleep in tomorrow.

Zed's first time on the beach (that we know of)

"Hell, No! I'm not getting in that water!"

Ode to Jani Lane AKA Where the Down Boys Go

"I never thought it would end this way...."

- I Saw Red

I woke up this morning to hear that Jani Lane, the former front man of Warrant, was found dead in a hotel.  I hate to say it, but it didn't surprise me.

In 2008, Dan and I were on vacation in Virginia Beach at the same time as a music festival where Warrant played.  I knew something was terribly wrong then.  I just felt so sad for Jani back then, but as the song goes "I didn't think it would end this way".  I expected to see him on Celebrity Rehab, but for the good.

I've been a fan of Warrant since the beginning.  I had their first CD when I lived in Hornell (in 1989).  I can remember listening over and over to "Sometimes She Cries" after my parents passed while I sat there crying.  I think that's why it's such a tragedy to me and why this has really touched me.

I've seen them several times - in their heyday and after.  When they taped

Warrant: Live - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich at Hammerjacks, I was there.  The last time I saw the band was last year at M3 with the new singer (who was really good).

Such a talented artist - RIP Jani!

Celebration of a miracle with a concert

Ok - sort of a celebrating with a concert! 

Vincent's surgery was on Monday (August 1) and on Tuesday (August 2) Dan and I went to a concert.

We went to see Cinderella at Rams Head Live.  What a show!  I forgot all of the songs that I knew from them.  I have all of their cds, but didn't think I listened to them so much that I knew every single song that they played!

So, anyway it was kind of a celebration that I could tell my brother I was going to see them since about 2 weeks before, he texted me that Cinderella was going to be in New York.  He knew it was a band that I liked.

Back to Monday - Vincent's surgery was scheduled at 7:30 am.  All day I was thinking of him and we had been texted during the weekend.  I texted the family several times to get updates.  About 2:30 pm my SIL texted me that they had removed his bladder and were reconstructing it.  At about 4:30, I got a call and this is where I found out about the miracle.

At about 10:30 am, the surgeons came out and confirmed with Joanne that she wanted them to continue because the cancer was surrounding a major artery that runs down the leg.  The risk was great that if they cut the artery, Vincent could bleed to death.  If they didn't do anything, he would probably have a year to live.

When they finished the surgery, the surgeon came out and said that he had 2 other surgeons go in behind him and THEY HAD REMOVED ALL OF THE CANCER! They did end up giving him a bag instead of reconstructing his bladder.  That is just in case he needs to have more chemo sooner rather than later.  That will be the next step if they didn't get all of the cancer or if the cancer is still in his blood.  The other amazing thing - they did all of the surgery with 4 small incisions and a robotic arm.

Vincent is doing really well.  He was in ICU for less than 24 hours and was sitting up within that time.  By Wednesday, he was taking small walks.  He started with more liquids yesterday.

It's just a miracle.

Glee Live! and a couple of days with family

Wednesday, the girls got down here about 9 pm. 

Thursday, we went to lunch at Chipotle and then hung out at home until it was time to leave.  The girls played the Cardinal Games Glee Board Game.  I ended up reading a little and taking a nap.  I actually got quite a bit of reading done this weekend - waiting for the girls to get ready.  When there's 5-6 people to get ready, there's a lot of waiting around!

We had a great time at Glee Live on Thursday!

We left the house about 4 pm and got down to Verizon about 5:30pm.  I was so proud of myself - I got down there without a GPS!  We parked at the garage next to the center - freaking $30 to park!  That's crazy!

We stood around the loading dock (along with about 50 other people), and after awhile, we just decided to go in the lobby and wait - it was way too hot.

When we got to the main entrance, what was there, but the Sun Drop mobile!  They were handing out free Sun Drop.  Woohoo!  Now I have my can for the halloween costume!

We hung out in the lobby and when it was close to the gate time, security started to wand people - that was a first - they never do that at hockey games.  They only look in bags (they were doing that too).

We headed to the merchandising table first (which was a madhouse).  MC and her friend got a t-shirt and hoodie (freaking $100 together!).  Oh - while I was waiting for MC & her friend, I was standing by a trash can.  I just happened to look in the can and what did I see - Capitals Breakaway magazines!  So, I grabbed a few.  Usually they cost like $10.

I stopped at the Chevy Cruze promo location.  You got pictures with Chevy "cheerleaders" and then you signed up to win a Cruze and you got a keychain.

Up to the seats (section 414) - we were way up there, but not bad considering it was sold out.  They had the opening act of The LXD.  GREAT dancers!  The show was wonderful.  I didn't expect them to be "in character" though.  I loved the fact that they had a small stage in the back of the arena and did a couple of songs from there.

After the show, MC's friend was picked up by her cousin so that she could go to school on Friday.    If she missed any more school, she would be graduating.  That was sprung on me Thursday morning (and I think the rest of the group).  Her cousin drove 6 hours, waited for the show to end and then drove back.  CRAZY!  Come to find out, they were at a concert the night before too then had to be up to get their kids to school Friday morning (more like not go to bed before getting their kids to school).

Friday, we went to lunch at Red Robin then headed to the mall.  We met up with our neighbor, Stephanie since Jax didn' feel like taking his nap.  First stop in the mall - Hot Topic - MC's favorite store.  I did a little shopping at Old Navy, Bath & Body Works, and Borders Express.  Both Bath & Body and Borders had clearance sales.  Bath & Body had 50 & 75% off almost the whole store and Borders had some bargain books that were 50% off.

We went to Five Below next, then Dairy Queen for "dinner".  We finally got home about 6:30pm.  We ended up watching  "Buried"  WOW - not what any of us expected in a movie, but we couldn't stop watching!  I was sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time!

This morning, Dan and I got up (like 7 am) and took the pups for a walk then we eneded up taking a morning nap.  My sinuses have really been bothering me today.  About 10:30 am I finally got up and the girls were up and getting around to leave.  About 12:30, they left : (

I ended up taking another nap this afternoon (because of my sinus headache).  This evening we are going up to the neighbors for a cookout then Dan is hanging out there for a fight on tv.

A weekend full of fun

What a weekend - full of activity!

Saturday morning, hubby and I dropped off the jeep for a new airbag sensor and then went to the movies and saw "Pirates of the Caribbean:  On Stranger Tides".  Great movie!  I enjoyed it.  We had our large popcorn gone before the trailers even started!  Then about 1/2 way through the movie, it got REALLY cold in the theater.  I had a sweater, but had on shorts - I was freezing!

We then did some GPS shopping for Dan.  Dick's Sporting Goods had nothing so we ended up at Eastern Mountain.  Dan got to check out a couple of different GPSs that he had been looking at online.  Who knows, he might just buy one there.

Then it was waiting for nephew to arrive.  VJ was driving back from visiting his girlfriend in NC.

Right before we headed out the door, I decided to change into jeans and pull out my Winger t-shirt from 1990.  I've never done that before - worn a t-shirt of the person I was going to go see on concert.  I figured, what the hell - I doubted anyone else would have that t-shirt on!

At 6:30pm, me, hubby, nephew VJ & neighbor DS all headed to Recher Theatre to see Kip Winger, ZO2 and Bang Tango - well, not really Bang Tango, they were headlining, but none of us were really interested in seeing them.  So we get up to Towson and drive right by the place and then go around the block and actually scored an AWESOME parking spot - half a block from the theatre and the very first spot from the corner.

There was hardly anyone there - maybe 50 people.  The 1st band was on and Dan made the comment "I guess we could have left at 7:30" (ie to skip the opening bands).  We were just standing there (towards the back), and who walks by - KIP WINGER!  Of course, I'm not brave enough to go right up to him!

So before Kip went on stage, we all went towards the stage.  Then this young guy, made the comment to me "I like your shirt" and we started talking - He was asking if I had seen Winger before (of course) and where I was from.  Where was he from?  ROCHESTER, NY!  WHAT????!!!!!  I'm like, "no way, I'm originally from Hornell"  He's like "you're not going to believe this - I go to Alfred University"  How freaking crazy is that!!

So my new friend, Joe, and I continued our conversation and stood by each other during the show.  Come to find out, Joe has been to several of Kip Winger's shows and was up on stage with Kip!  Joe was actually in town for a Friday the 13th convention (didn't know they had that).

It's weird how fate is - if I didn't change my outfit at the last minute, I wouldn't have meet Joe.

ZO2 was after Kip and when they were setting up, they had a microphone in the middle of the stage and I thought that was weird - they've never done that before.  Well, after the 1st song, they had Kip come out and play a Led Zepplin song with them.  The funny thing, Kip didn't know the words, so he had them pulled up on his phone!  They also did the classic "spin and down to your knees" rock move.  I was laughing so hard.  They were just having so much fun.

We left after ZO2.  Dan made a u-turn right at the parking spot since we were in the first from the corner - come to find out, it was a one-way street.  Luckily, no cops and he quickly made a right.

The drive home was long and Dan said that the last couple of miles were rough, but we made it.

Sunday morning, I woke up about 8:30 and couldn't believe I was the first one up.  Esa was passed out.  That's one good thing - when we are up late, she usually sleeps in the next day.  About 9 am, Dan up because we had mentioned about going to the pancake breakfast at the firehouse.  We didn't quite make it up there the time we wanted to (10 am), but got there between 10:30 and 11.  The Segalls picked us up and were lucky we actually got a table together.  Another family said to us that the chairs at their table were empty and they were getting ready to leave anyway. 

After brunch, VJ headed out and we picked up the jeep.  The rest of the afternoon was lazy - we took naps and then my tummy wasn't feeling well (I need to remember - no greasy breakfast foods!).  Dan did mow the lawn about 7 pm and we did get some laundry done, so I guess we weren't too lazy.

Catching up

Caps Game - March 11
Friday, March 11 was our last Caps game in our 5 pack.  Dan picked me up and we got to Verizon Center a little early.  Looked around in the store and got in line.  Within a few minutes, they started to let people in.  I went into my purse and only pulled out 1 (one) ticket - OH NO!!!!!  I always feared this would happen!

I figured it MUST be in the car where I switched purses.  So Hubby headed back to the car (3 blocks away).  I got a text from him - "Did you get in your purse when you were waiting for me?"  I couldn't remember.  Next thing you know, he's walking in with the ticket and said that he found it on the ground - where he dropped me off.  Whoopsies!

The Jeep is back in action
Saturday morning (like 9:30 am), I called the dealership to see if the Jeep was ready.  Nope - what the????!!!!  Supposedly the part didn't get in until late Friday.  Whatever - probably just because they didn't make any money on it.  By 1 pm, they call and say that it's ready.  We picked it up when Dan was heading out to work then I went to AC Moore.  Dan followed me and of course I had to test the Jeep - he said when I stepped on the gas, all he saw was a puff a smoke behind me.  LOL!  Anyway, we are back in action.  No issues.

Out of the Office
Tuesday, I got to go up to our offices in Wheaton to visit my co-workers there - and to do some work. : )  I picked the right day, because I was able to see 2 former co-workers who were meeting others for lunch.

Birthday Weekend Celebration
Friday, the oldest nephew came down from NY.  Can't believe he'll be 25 this year, but it's also cool because he can drive down anytime and go out with us whenever.  This is the 2nd year in a row he's come for my birthday weekend.  There always seems to be a concert that I want to go to around my birthday!  He got to the house around 6 pm so we went out to dinner and then came back to the house to watch hockey.  Our neighbor DS came down and hung out with us - finished watching the 3rd period of the game and then we all went outside to sit around the firepit and eat smores.  I finally went to bed about 12:30 while the guys waited for Dan to get home.

Saturday, we went to Red Robin for a late lunch/early dinner and I got my free birthday burger.  We also got a free appetizer since I just signed up for the frequent customer card.  About 7:30 pm we headed up to Baltimore to Rams Head Live to see Charm City Devils and Halestorm.  We got to see a little bit of Madame Adam (they sounded pretty good).  It was nice to see CCD since it's been awhile.  John threw a CD single out into the crowd.  Next thing I know, it's at my feet!  So I grabbed it!  WOOHOO!  What is it with seeing them play live and getting a free CD?  John gave me the demo when I saw them as Forty Acres way back when.

Halestorm was AWESOME!  Lzzy has as strong a voice in concert as she does on the CD.  They played the whole CD along with 2 covers and 1 new song.

Sunday was Chipotle for lunch and by the time we got back VJ needed to head out. : (  Then DH and I went to Home Depot to get yard stuff and spend the rest of the day in the yard.  The neighbors/Esa's best friend came over for about 30 minutes.  The pups hadn't played together all winter.  The rest of the evening was TV time.

Today I walked into the kitchen to presents!!!!!  WOOHOO!  Dan got me Season 4 of The 4400 and a replacement neck wrap.  He said that another present is on it's way.....

Coming up this week is Janet Jackson on Thursday with my friend, NW.  Then Junkfood posted that they will be in Herndon at Ned Devine's on Saturday.  The celebration keeps going!

Music, Music, Music

June 6 was the 2nd annual Brody Bash.  We had a great time seeing everyone and listening to the music.  We left a little early (and didn't get to see Junkfood because we needed to get home to the pups).  I was so excited that I won the door raffle - I got to pick out of about 20 prizes and picked CDs from the bands that were playing that day.  We ended up with 3 Junkfood CDs, 2 Todd Wright CDs, 1 Brad Puckett CD, and 2 Junkfood T-shirts.  The other raffle items were tickets to Lynard Skynard, a Wii, a hotel stay, a signed Brent Johnson t-shirt.  Of course, I wanted the Brent Johnson shirt BUT it was bitter sweet because it is a Penguins shirt.  Ed, one of the hosts of the bash, knew I would want the shirt, and said - every prize is going to be "and the winner is not Ronalyn".  When it came to the shirt, he said 'and the winner is not Ronalyn - but it is Dan!"  LOL!

June 11 was Junkfood at Broadlands Live.  I met up with The Thomas Family (Mary, Tom, Kat, Anabelle & Sebastian) and hung out for awhile.  There were several vendors there and one was for Rain Salon.  I talked to one of the stylist and ended up going to her for a cut and had a wonderful experience.

June 19 was M3 Rock Festival.  We (Me, Dan and our neighbor, Dan) headed up around 11 am so that we would get there in time for ZO2.  After ZO2, we headed down to the merchandise area to get pictures with them.  Then we figured out a spot on the lawn before it got too crazy and that's where we stayed the rest of the day.  I did go see Nelson and it was a bonus that Mark Slaughter was playing guitar with them!  Before they started, I waved at Mark and I think he recongized me (at least he seemed to), but then when I saw him later, he was making a beeline for the backstage and didn't act like he recognized me.  Whatever.....

So "my" music schedule was the following:
12:35 - 1:05 - Z02
1:05 - 1:45 - Trixter
2:15 - 3:00 - LA Guns
3:30 - 4:15 - Winger
4:40 - 5:40 - Kix
6:15 - 7:15 - Vince Neil
7:00 - 7:40 - Nelson
7:40 - 8:40 - Cinderella
8:40 - 9:25 - Warrant
9:30 - 10:55 - Scorpions

I didn't see all of Trixter (talking to ZO2), Kix (seen them many times so decided to walk around), Vince Neil (headed over to Nelson), Cinderella (waiting in line to meet Nelson, who never showed), Warrant (wasn't sure if I wanted to see them, so just went and saw a couple of songs - from way back in the crowd), Scorpions (headed home).  But could hear the bands all of the time and enjoyed the whole day even though it was blistering hot! 

We headed home early (about half way through Scorpions) because I started to itch.  I just thought it was a small breakout and once I took a benedryl and slept I would be fine.  Nope.  I woke up Sunday with hives ALL OVER my body.  I thought maybe it was the sunscreen, but then Dan remembered some I had that I don't usually have - an icee - a cherry icee to be exact which might equal red dye allergy.  We ended up going to urgent care and I got a steroid shot and took a steriod pill for the next 5 days.  I could tell the allergy was still in my system after the 5 days too.  The following Monday (after being on the steriod for 5 days), I still broke out a little.

The pups stayed at a kennel for the first time so that we didn't have to worry about them during the concert.  Howl of a Good Time was wonderful place and the pups enjoyed it.  Zed was the littlest pup there, but he totally enjoyed it too.

Changing the blog.....

So, I’m missing my blogging about everyday life. I thought I was going to blog in Facebook & Myspace, but that hasn’t happened. I enjoy sharing my “frugal” stories and this blog was going to be just about that, but then I figured, there are a lot of friends who aren’t on Facebook or MySpace and still want to know what’s going on.

Our life is pretty boring, but every once in awhile we have some fun and interesting things going on, sometimes just funny stories.

I think what started me thinking about this is last weekend – we had a lot of fun (along with celebrating my bday!). My nephew, VJ, stopped to visit on his way back from Florida on Thursday night. Friday, Dan took off from work and the three of us went to dinner at Red Robin and then to Jaxx to see ZO2 & Kix. Why Red Robin for dinner – coupon for a FREE burger for my birthday, of course! Bonus – free sundae, balloons & the waiters singing to me. Double bonus – the manager handed out scratch-offs for a future promo and we got ANOTHER free burger (and 2 free drinks)!

ZO2 & Kix were great!  I would have loved to seen ZO2 play longer.  Kix was the same as ALWAYS!  Same show as 15 years ago.

Saturday, we FINALLY got up and around about 12 noon, went to the grocery store and got items for our neighbors (Dan & Stephanie's) for a cookout.  Then it was time smores at our house!  It was the me & the boys, with the newest boy, Jackson (Dan & Stephanie's baby).  I'm sure that will be the first of MANY visits to our house.  VJ headed home around 10 pm.  Although the visit was short, it was great to see him.

Sunday, we just hung out and then mid afternoon, headed to Maggiano's for a late lunch/early dinner.  Oh, and the reason for Maggiano's, a $10 off coupon!  I was amazed that we walked right in and were seated.  I so expected to have to wait.  Right after we sat down, a family with 2 tweens sat in the booth behind us - the reason I mention this - the one girl was moody and like any sister, the other girl was giving her a hard time about it.  Then finally the girl got in a better mood and the next thing you know, they are singing Tic Toc.  Oh, but they couldn't say "bottle of Jack" so they were saying toothpaste.  LOL!

Then we stopped for a couple of groceries and then at Dairy Queen for buy one get one free Blizzards (birthday coupon).  We came home and chilled.

Oh, besides all of the free food for the birthday - PRESENTS!  It was a MUSIC birthday!  Dan gave me one present before the concert - because it was ZO2!  He knew I would want to buy the CD at the concert.  What he didn't expect, was that they had the DVD of Z Rock.  I said to Dan "you want to get the DVD?" and he said "no"  I'm like "WHAT?"  He said "Look at me - no"  Then I realized - BECAUSE he got it for me for my birthday!  So when we got home from the concert, he gave it to me.  On Sunday, Dan gave me Charm City Devils.  Tuesday, I got a $50 Itunes card from my former boss, Stephanie.

It was a really good birthday.

Catching up from the weekend

Nov 19, 2008


catching up from the weekend

Current mood:blank

What a great weekend.

Friday was Furry Friday at the Sterling Community Center with the Loudoun County Animal Shelter. There brought 5 cats and 2 dogs. The dogs were really cute – Mitzi and Zoey. Mitzi is a year old terrier mix and has been returned to the shelter 3 times. She just went home to the wrong people. Zoey was at the shelter when she was a pup (now 10 months) and was returned for chasing the cat. Zoey is a german shepherd/Shar Pei mix. What a different looking dog! She has the larger body of a german shepherd, but has the Shar Pei fur (really short) and face – just not as many wrinkles. She thinks she's a lap dog. I was on the floor and she would come right up and sit on my lap.

Saturday was hanging out at home until time to go to Baltimore. Our neighbor, Dan, went with us. When we got up to Baltimore, Evick was already on. I was really surprised – there was about 50 people and that was it – it is a small club (Sonar). ZO2 put on a great show. Got to meet the guys afterwards. Dan took pictures with his phone – they came out really weird. It looks like I'm disappearing in the picture – like in Final Destination 3. It's actually the reflection on my shirt. It's weird though. I never saw something like that.

Anyway, I asked about more episodes and the answer is YES!

We had a little bit of excitement when we were driving home – we almost ran out of gas (or at least the gas light came on). We stopped and got gas and Dan (S) kept saying I'm hungry, so we were also trying to find a place to eat. Anyway we head back to Ashburn and when we were on Waxpool – sobriety checkpoint! Man, were we ever going to get home (or at least to a place to eat?). No biggie going through the checkpoint since I didn't drink. I wasn't expecting to be asked to see my driver's license – which I had just thrown in the bottom of my purse when we were at the club. Luckily, I found it fast. The policeman just asked have you been drinking, where we were and to see my license.

So back in Ashburn, 2 in the morning, the only thing that is opened is McDonald's (drive-thru). I have not had Mickey D's in FOREVER – probably 5 years if not longer. Anyway – it tasted so good! Maybe because at that time in the morning, everything is made to order.

Sunday, it was up with Esa at 6:30, while Dan slept in to about 10 a.m. Then it was my turn to go back to sleep. I finally got up about 1 or so. Then Dan said Dan S. had texted him to see if we wanted to have dinner with them. We did a little running around – Petsmart and then DQ (for "lunch"). I didn't want to eat too much since we were going to Stephanie & Dan's for dinner, PLUS we had "lunch" at 2:30 in the morning – a blizzard to hold us over would be ok. He bought it. LOL.

Petsmart was with Esa. When we got there, Lost Dog (where we got Esa) was there. Dan walked Esa around while I browsed. Then next thing I see him talking to someone. He mentioned to me later that he noticed that the girl kept staring at him and Esa and following him around, then finally came up to him to ask him about Esa (what type and where we got her). Come to find out, she fostered Esa's mom! We got to find out that Esa's mom "talks" just like Esa and brings toys to you to tell you she wants to play (like Esa). I gave her my e-mail address and Monday, I had pictures of "Bambi" (pictures in Esa's family photo album). Man, I was surprised that Esa doesn't look a thing like her mom! I remember someone mentioning that her mom was a black shepherd, but I didn't expect no tan coloring at all!

Dinner was great – Lasagna, pasta, breadsticks, apple pie, brownies, cookies! YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY! Then the football game came on – Neither Stephanie or I were interested in watching it – so I hung out with Stephanie while she made holiday gifts for co-workers and then headed home around 9 p.m.

This (work) week has been on the so-so side – I haven't felt that great the last two days. Today it's my neck – which will be fixed when I go to the chiropractor's after work! Dan's off today, so it'll be good to spend some time with him tonight.

The long weekend......

Nov 3, 2008


the long weekend......

Oh, I was so ready for a long weekend.

Thursday night, we went to Tesla. We figured that they would come on stage about 10:30 or 11 - if even that early. Well, we were wrong! As we were at the ticket counter at 9:45 p.m. - Tesla was already on the stage! I think it was their first song (from the sound of the crowd).

They put on an awesome show. Obviously, no over produced CDs for them. They sound just like they do on the CD. They played a couple of new songs and they were good. Suzanne had said that she liked the CD.

Friday, was just hanging out carving pumpkins. We had fun handing out candy. Esa stayed out with us almost the whole time. Towards the end, she was getting tired.

Yesterday, we headed out for lunch and then hit Party City for Halloween sales. We finally tried Blue Ridge Grill in Leesburg. It was really good. We hit it big at Party City and should be set for a haunted house next year. We spent like $100!

Then last night we headed out to WiseAcres to see Jon Miller - we hadn't seen him since before we got married. I didn't even know he was a comedian until I found him on Myspace. He was really funny. Dan and Stephanie went with us. Dan called Dan to see what we were doing last night, so we went out to dinner at Silver Dinner and then headed over to WiseAcres.

Today, the four of us went out for brunch at Cheesecake Factory and then went to the corn maize at Temple Hall in Leesburg. I hate the time change. Here it is, only 5:30 and it's getting dark out! I hate this.