I fear that owning Gary will become some kind of gateway drug to becoming "the cat lady".

I still need to do catch-up blogs, but I just wanted to say...

I went to the Counting Crows/Augustana/Michael Franti last night with Chris and a few things struck me.

1. I have never been to a concert where all three of the bands were so intertwined. The show started off at 7:30 with everyone on stage (BTW....thanks for letting me know to get there early, Beth!) and they would all sing each other's songs. I felt a little bad because I had told Chris that we could leave halfway through Counting Crow's set, but they never really had a "set" per se. Odd. Very odd.

2. The name of the show didn't make sense to me. Traveling Circus and Medicine Show. I get the "Traveling Circus" part, but "Medicine Show"? Was the music the medicine??

3. Michael Franti played his hit (see below...it's kind of catchy) and had a ton of kids get on stage with him. Of course these kids were brought by their parents. It was an odd realization that their parents were my age. For a hot minute it felt like we should be at a Jonas Brothers concert. 

4. What happened in Augustana's life to make them so angry at God? Oh...I could go on and on about their bitterness, but seriously. What happened??

Okay. That's all of my thoughts from last night. Good stuff.

Oh, wait...one more thing...

Chris...his son's name is Cappy, not Kathy. For once, I was right. I have to say...it feels unnatural and good.

It's neat that I don't eat baked beans.

Last night I decided to meet Beth, Thomas, Mike, Jen, and Todd for dinner at Tavern on the Tracks before they went to the Sister Hazel show. Since I'm a responsible employee (and had to be up really early this morning), I was sure that I wouldn't be going to the show with them.

Well, after a few glasses of wine and some fun times...my friends convinced me that it would be smarter for me to hang out with them at the concert for a few hours. Special thanks to Thomas for taking care of my cover since the venue was not a fan of my debit card. I owe you one...

All in all, it was a great night and I was able to get home at a reasonable hour.

Highlight of the night: Beth beckoning the lead singer of Sister Hazel (who just happened to be at Tavern on the Tracks) to come over to our table and take a picture. What a showing of testicular fortitude that was! Dang...you get that pic, B...

And just so you know...

The lead singer's name is Ken Block. "Ken" as in "Ken and Barbie" and "Block" as in....ummm.... "building blocks" (*make sure you mime "building blocks" here*).

Thanks for the explanation, Beth.

If I had a nickel for every time I've said the right thing...I'd have zero nickels.

Wichita

July 17th- Julie and I started our trek to Wichita. Our plan was to leave at 6am and make it to St. Louis by 6pm. Julie wanted to stop by Dunkin Donuts and run over to Chris' apartment for a last breakfast of sorts. We managed to be at his house by 7:30 (which, of course, is NOT 6am like we had told him...whoops). After eating a couple donuts (don't judge me...I was over-eating out of sadness), we decided that it would be best if we let Chris get ready for work.
After our goodbyes, I set the GPS and we were on our way. I decided that I knew a better way and told Julie to go against the ol' GPS. Yes. I thought I was smarter than a satellite. I am not. Lesson learned.
After a stop at an Arby's that was built in 1992 (gotta love the colors "dusty rose" and "country blue") and a stop for gas at the gas station/truck stop Little Nashville (in Nashville, IL...where I coincidentally have been before for a wedding rehearsal dinner, no lie), we made it home (well, MY home) to St Louis.
My mom had gone to a concert that night, but that didn't stop us from having visitors the moment we pulled in. With my grandparents living across the street and me giving my sister-in-law a play by play of our trip, we had 6 visitors within moments of getting in. I was thankful that my brother said he would go pick up pizza from Imo's (OHHHHH how I love you, Imo's) while we rested and played with my niece and nephew. My grandma walked across the street to their hizzy and brought back over a little ice cream and peaches action. Golly, I love my grandparents.
After everyone left, we continued to eat leftover pizza (which can only be described as provolone cheese on a cracker) until we passed out from exhaustion.

July 18th- I woke up bright and early out of excitement of getting to see my mom. She's pretty much a rock star these days and didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning. We finished off the rest of the cold pizza for breakfast and decided to drive around for a little bit until lunch time. I decided (thanks to Laura's awesome suggestion) that we would have Chevy's for lunch. Chevy's is pretty much Tex-Mex bliss for those of you that don't know.
Laura, Julie, and I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon shopping until we had to go home to get ready for the Cardinals game.
Right before we had to leave for the Cards game, Ali (my STL BFF) walked in with his dramatic flair on full display. I literally fell over laughing when I noticed that he spilled his Vitamin Water on his crotch and it looked like he peed himself. It was too good.
At the Cardinals game, we parked really close to the stadium and enjoyed the game (including when my brother's best friend, Brad, was on the Jumbo Tron because he was chosen to move up to some plush seating....that was weird).
After the game we headed to Show Me's (the Missouri version of Hooters) to meet up with the most random group of people known to exist (Laura, Ali, Julie, Brad, Brad's brother, Angelo, and myself...). Ali, Laura, Julie, and I left around 11:30 to run over to KCLC to steal some CDs. I love free music day.

July 19th- Julie and I met my grandparents and my older brother's family for breakfast at First Watch and then it was Wichita or Bust with a fresh batch of new music to discover...
We made it into Wichita just in time for her dad's birthday party. I love that she was nervous about how many people were going to be at my mom's house on Friday night. Talk about meeting every single person in her family at one time (not just her parents, brothers, sister-in-law, and nephews...we're talking aunts and uncles, too). The good thing was that I was able to differentiate between her twin brothers by the sole fact that Jeff had Bell's Palsy (a condition where half of your face pretty much doesn't work) at the time. We later laughed at the fact that Julie COULD have told me to look for the one with glasses or the one with the wedding ring. No, no, no...learn the medical condition that will no longer be in effect the next time you are in Wichita.
After some delicious lasagna, taking a special liking to her nephew Adam (the kid jumped up on my lap and let me snuggle bug with him!!), and very interesting conversation with her uncle and uncle's friend, I made my way downstairs to pass out from the day's events.

July 20th- Oh, Monday. Move-in day. I was up by 8:10, out the door by 8:35, and at Julie's new apartment complex by 9. While Julie was signing the lease, the giant moving truck was making its way to the back of the gated community (believe me...it was a big deal). We spent the morning unpacking while the moving guys brought stuff into the apartment. Wait. While the moving guys brought stuff into the apartment and made me feel bad about my life choices.
(Examples: "You need to find a man!" and "Why don't you have children??" Nice, right????)
Around noon, Jennifer, Julie, and I went to meet her brother Jim for lunch at Freddy's. I had been given a list of places that I needed to check out by a variety of Wichitans (...or is it Wichitanians...or is it Wichita-ans...???) from Charlotte. I believe Beth was the gal that suggested that gem.
After lunch we continued unpacking and made a special trip to Home Depot to find wood to make a bed frame. Dang....we are awesome with our carpentry skills. What I forgot to mention was that it was hot as blue blazes (oh, yes...I just said "blue blazes") while unpacking, because we didn't realize that the only thing that kept us from air conditioned-bliss was the stupid breaker box (not the fact that the power company just hadn't been there like we originally thought). After spending the day in the heat, we decided to go cool off at the Warren Theatre and watch Away We Go. After the movie, we went to have dinner at Taco Tico. I had heard the words "Taco Tico" many times from Chris on varying vacations ("I wonder if there will be a Taco Tico on our way?!?!?" is not an uncommon question...), so I must have built the place up to be magnificent. I'm not sure if I can properly say this. It was not magnificent. Not even a little bit magnificent. The manager (yes, the MANAGER) was a lovely Indian man who did not speak English. When I asked for the Tico Tots (verbatim from the menu), he gave me a look of confusion and just stared at the board above his head as I pointed to my selection. I'm just going to believe that Chris wants to go to Taco Tico just for the memories (and to possibly make fun of the manager who may or may not speak English and who may or may not know the items on the menu).
We spent the remainder of the day watching 13 Going on 30 and singing "Memories" from the musical Cats. (One of those things didn't actually happen, can you guess which??)

July 21st- After waking up and running a few errands, we went to Cinnamon's Deli to get a little to go food (I ordered a roast beef sandwich that I drowned in horseradish sauce....little did I realize was the fact that I accidentally chose "Hot" horseradish sauce...what a sad, sad horseradish experience that was). While chowing on our grub at Julie's place, her parents came over to compliment us on our unpacking and situating skills. Okay, okay...maybe they didn't really compliment us on any skills that we may have, but they visited and that was nice. After they left, I spent the rest of the afternoon hooking up various cords and hanging pictures until we had to go meet Julie's friend, Amy, and her husband, DJ, for dinner at Granite City. I'm realizing after typing out all of the places that we went that we really ate a lot while I was in Wichita. Stupid Wichita with your vast array of delicious chain restaurants (because Wichita is a test-market for restaurants, you know...) and best friend stealing skills. That night we settled in and watched about 30 minutes of the cinematic classic Howard the Duck before we both fell asleep.

July 22nd- After waking up, showering, and packing, we went to The Good Egg for breakfast and then made our way over to the Wichita Airport. I met a boy on my flight (who Chris later told me I shouldn't trust because the guy was on the soccer team at Tabor College and those are guys you just don't trust...unlike the baseball team, I guess), so that helped hurry the flight along. I had a layover in Atlanta and then made it home by 7pm. Chris picked me up and we went to PF Changs for dinner. Dang. I ate out a lot that week.

All in all, I think it was a pretty successful trip...minus the fact that I had to leave one of my best friends in Kansas.

Let's go back to that weekend PART DEUX...

Julie's Going Away Party

On July 11th, Julie had her going away party at Thomas Street Tavern. Prior to meeting everyone at the bar that she first went to when she moved to Charlotte, we had dinner at Carpe Diem. There were many, many people that showed up (which speaks volumes as to how popular my gal is...) and everyone had a great time. Picture time!



Julie, Chris, and I ended the night by going to McDonald's and hanging out at Julie's house until about 3am. Classic.

Let's go back to that weekend...

Guys' Night Out

On July 10th, I went out to dinner at Brixx with Julie, Scott, Sheila, and Chris. I can count on 3 fingers how many times we've eaten outside and this is the reason why...Julie got poo'd on by a bird. Here is a picture of the reenactment...I promise...it looked exactly like this.
After dinner, we met up with a bunch of people at Cosmos for Brian's last night out with the guys before he moved to Baton Rouge. I'm feeling lazy, so I'm just going to throw some pictures at you...



Post-Cosmos a few people headed over to The Attic. Look. More pictures.

(That last picture is of everyone singing along to a catchy tune...not of Thomas committing a violent act against a defenseless woman.)

As you can see, the night ended on a high note and Thomas took everyone home. The End.

If it weren't for the pictures, I wouldn't remember a thing...

Continuing on...

Greenville
On July 3rd, Julie, Chris, and I went to Greenville to meet Emily, Dan, and Terry (Emily's mom) for dinner. We had dinner at Pomegranate, which is a Persian restaurant on Main Street. I can honestly say that it was the first time that I've ever been to a Persian restaurant and the thing that struck me is that Persians heart meat. Lots and lots of meat.
After dinner we walked up the street to get some frozen yogurt and walked around Falls Park. It was the third time that I had been to Greenville and that park still amazes me. It is so beautiful....if you have have a chance to go, you definitely should...


July 4th
On July 4th, Chris had a party at his house. He actually had it catered with a DJ by the pool. Okay, maybe it was his apartment complex that that had it catered and had the DJ there, but it definitely felt like it was a private party since there wasn't really anyone else there. I only have one picture from that afternoon (Scott with a box on his head), but we (C, J, the Steeles, Jackie, and Kat...am I forgetting anyone???) had a great time.
Later that night, Chris and I went to Lauren's parent's house. Did a little nightswimming. Got home at 5am. That's all I've got on that subject...

Okay, more tomorrow.

Where have I been???

I realized how long it had actually been since I've blogged when I was sitting at work this week and Jackie (who isn't known for checking this thing very often) said, "Whoa. It's been awhile since you've been on the ol' blog, huh?"

Okay, so maybe I missed the whole month of July....and half of August. So what? I've been busy (-ish). Here is my attempt to catch up...

Amanda and Oliver's Wedding

On June 6th, one of my oldest friends in Charlotte (I can't remember a time that I lived in Charlotte and didn't know Piel...errr...Berger...) got married to a guy that I've known almost as long. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding and it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, so...

I just got an email from Amanda saying that Oliver has been transferred to Mexico for work for the next 6 months, so I'm thinking it's time I got a passport...

Atlanta

The weekend of June 27th, Chris and I went to Atlanta for a Red Sox/Braves game. I'm not really known for my memory, but I do remember a few things about this trip....

Peachtree Road/Street/Boulevard/Lane/Sidewalk- This is quite possibly the most annoying thing about Atlanta. EVERYTHING is named Peachtree. I had heard this about Atlanta before I had ever been, but I really didn't get the full magnitude of the situation until we had to find the intersection of Peachtree and Piedmont. Apparently Piedmont intersects with a number of Peachtrees (we finally found what we were looking for after our third Piedmont/Peachtree intersection). While Chris and I were in Atlanta for a baseball game, Sam and Lulu were in Atlanta for their beloved Container Store. We were searching for this intersection so that we could meet them for dinner at...

Aquaknox- I don't know if I've ever been to a restaurant with so much ambiance. Okay, I'm just saying that because that's what Sam was searching for. It was a pretty great restaurant with a wide variety of fishes to choose from. I have to say that I was quite jealous of Chris' filet and mashed potatoes. Mmmmmm....potatoes...

Hilton- After dinner we went back to Sam and Lulu's hotel to have dessert and drinks. There is something to be said for not adventuring out into the world and just hanging out at a hotel bar. Which brings me to my next subject...

Saturday Outfits and Sunday Clothes- I noticed something a little odd about the hotel bar at our hotel. When I got the hotel room, I just said I wanted at least a 3 star hotel in downtown Atlanta. I later found out that I should have asked for the Buckhead area of Atlanta, but that's beside the point. I'm going to say this the nicest way possible....it looked like a whorehouse in the lobby. During the day it was lovely, but the moment the sun went down...LOOK OUT. There were dirty (or dirrrty) guys and the hos that love them (or at least the hos that would love them for the night). The best part about this was the fact that the next morning (Sunday), those same people were dressed for church. Three piece suits and all. It amazed me that when they were packing their suitcases, they put their church clothes next to their skanky lycra ensembles.

The Game- It was HOT. Wait. Let me reiterate. It was HOTTTTTTTTTTTT. Our ice cream definitely melted. Is it sad that the few things I remember about the game is that it was unbearably hot and our ice cream melted? Oh! And one of the players threw the crowd Terry Francona's Dubble Bubble. Hey...I do have a great memory!

Going Home- What can I say? We found an outlet mall and saw one of Earnhardt's old cars (the latter I was less excited about). Life doesn't get much better.

Alright, that's enough catch-up for today.