More Music....Day 2 - MHMF

We got there early again, but had a little bit of a different plan in store for today. Since we knew that we wanted to have good seats for two of the later shows at the main stage, we went in and setup camp as close as we could to the stage as soon as we got there.


We caught a little bit of Brett Dennen as the first show of the day, and then hung around for One Republic at the same stage. We all took turns getting food, taking bathroom breaks, and of course a little shopping, but kept our ground well reserved at the main stage.


We made some great festival friends, Vince and Sandra, around us too. During one of the shows, a jam band consisting of Rodrigo y Gabriela, we struck up a fun game of cards. We really were trying to pass the time without dying of heat exhaustion. I don't remember a time in my life where I spent more money on water and trying to keep hydrated.



We caught some other shows while killing time, again all great artists...but the main reason that I was excited to be there was one of the later shows....John Mayer. I'd heard his popular songs on the radio over the years, but recently got a hold of all of his albums, and really been listening to them. He's an amazing song writer....and honestly, not too bad to look at either. Especially after he decided to take his shirt off near the end of his set. He does make some really funny faces when he sings....but we got over that pretty quickly.


Camille and Jennifer took off to catch a few other shows, and the rest of us decided to go ahead and do our best to keep our spots for the closing act - Dave Matthews Band.






They put on a fantastic show, and I'm glad that we stayed where we did to watch. Not only was the band amazing, but we had great views to the people dancing right in front of us....they were almost as entertaining as the concert.

The festival was phenomenal, and I had a great time. I am looking forward to ACL even more now....well, looking forward to all of it except for the extreme heat.

Mile High Music Festival - Saturday

Today we were off to Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City for the music festival....a full day of music, fun, and sun. Geez....the sun. It's SO nice that it's not humid here....it's that "dry heat", but doesn't make it any easier to bear.



The park was HUGE.....I mean, enormous. There were only 5 stages (small in comparison to ACL) but they were SO spread out that it was about a 10 minute walk between the stages. There was, however, some really great art setup all over the park, which made it great for us....lots of fun photo opportunities! :)





Today we saw Eric Hutchinson , Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, Spoon, Bob Schneider, Lupe Fiasco, O.A.R., and Tom Petty. All the shows were great....it's just such a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. Everywhere you turned there was music to hear, and people to watch. The food was good....I think that we had more trouble trying to decide on one thing to eat rather than which show to attend.





One of my favorite parts of the day was when we decided to try to take our infamous JUMP pictures. Of course, Lora and I are confident that no one outside of our group really knows how to take these pictures, so we decided to split the two of us up, and take 2 photos that we could merge together later. I love it that we are so used to doing these pics and that they are so much fun that none of us really cared that everyone was looking at us like we were crazy. And we DO end up looking crazy because we have to take them over, and over, and over again until we get it right. :) They turned out great after all of our efforts, so it was 100% worth it.




The SanDisk sponsors passed out Survivor like buffs on the way in, so we all decided to wear them in different ways for a few other fun photos. Again, we got some funny looks, but I swear we were having more fun than anyone else there.





After the sun went down, it was so beautiful outside, and enjoying the last show of the night was awesome. We decided to call it a night and went back to the hotel "living room" (downstairs in the lobby) to wrap up the evening with a little wine and girl talk.

Happy Happy...Birthdays, Drinks and Brownie!!!

Dana and I made it to Denver in one piece, and we met up with Lora, Camille, Nita and Jennifer when we arrived. All set to go in our Ford Fusion (not a bad little car actually.....bet it gets better gas mileage than my Honda Pilot) and Suzuki SUV, we finally made it to our hotel around midnight. Lora scored us one great deal and we were staying at the Hyatt Regency, right in downtown Denver.

After getting a little bit settled (and by settled, I mean, unpacked enough to change into something cute, fix our hair, and primp a little bit), we walked around the corner to the 16th Street shops and restaurants. We had to take first some pictures that showed where we were (of course), and then we found the one place that still had the kitchen open, and grabbed a nice table on the patio.




We celebrated, the only way that is fit, with a huge warm brownie, ice cream and cool whip, and 6 spoons....for Camille and Jennifer's birthdays.


Oh, we had some yummy drinks too. We closed down the place, and headed back to do our best to get some sleep before the days ahead of us. It kind of felt like that Disney commercial - "I'm too excited to sleep!!!". Looking forward to day 1 of the music tomorrow! :)

When you don't eat the chips....

...it's possible to actually finish a full meal at Chuy's for lunch. Since it seems that I'm never in town anymore (seriously....it's like I don't even live in Austin anymore....Molly hates me), it's awesome when I get to go to lunch with friends and catch up. Even if it's only for an hour....I cherish it....and hey, it was over some really yummy mexican food too!!

I met Renae, Tricia, Marie, Jessica and Laura for lunch. Tricia brought Hudson, which was great, because I've only seen him a few times since he was born...and OMG, he's almost 6 months old already!!! When she walked up with him, I asked "So, if you take him out for a bit and then put him back, will he be fussy?". She wasn't really catching my drift, so then I just said "Give me that baby! I want to hold him". He's such an adorable and good baby....he sat in my lap for a while, then enjoyed being passed around to the other girls for some loving too.....such a boy! :)


Besides stuffing my face with my regular Steak Burrito with added purple onions, I spent most of the time getting caught up with Renae, which was perfect. You'd think now that we live less than a mile from each other we'd see each other more, but it's turned out to be the opposite...mostly because I'm never here...but like I said, I'll take the short lunches when I can....just to see her and catch up. :)

Plus - she's an absolute lifesaver. She's going to pick up my dry cleaning for me on Monday so I have something to wear for my meetings next week in NY. How did I get so lucky to have the best friends in the world?

Of course...I snapped a few photos. :)




Off to CO this evening for the music festival.....I'm sure that I'll have some stories to share from that later.

"You need anything dampened, or made soggy?"

So, I am headed to CO tomorrow for a music festival with my favorite girls, and I can't wait....BUT I am procrastinating like hell in getting my packing done....cleaning up my place....eating.....did I mention that I have to pack??

What am I doing instead? Sitting here behind my computer like an idiot, of course. To be fair though, I'm printing confirmations, directions, plane ticket (oh, I need to do that now....brb). Ok...done. Thanks for waiting. One thing checked off my imaginary list of things to do tonight.

BUT....this is what I just finished watching. And....it.was.awesome. I recommend that everyone go watch it right now. Set aside 30 minutes, because you're not going to want to get up after it starts. Act I and II are out now...and damn if we have to wait 2 more days for Act III. (special note to my editor, aka Mom - it might not be your speed, but if you're really bored...go ahead and give it a watch).



Ok....off to get some stuff done.....hopefully. I still have last night's SYTYCD to watch, so I might just be up all night! :)

We lost our asses....just like the Round Rock Express

Kara was MUCH funnier about writing up our time at the baseball game....I just don't have that bone in me. My "funny bone" only comes into play when I bang the crap out of my elbow....doesn't help me with the jokes.

Anyways....I went to a Round Rock Express baseball game tonight with Kara, Toni, Scott and Jacob....and well, we sweated our asses off. Seriously, they are gone. We no longer have asses....mine is still stuck to my chair in the stadium......what a shame. It was THAT hot and honestly quite miserable. I am sure Jacob was rethinking this whole baseball game idea as he'd just stepped off a plane from Utah......where....it is NOT this hot. Luckily though, we had the beer, the hot dogs, chicken wraps, did I mention cold beer, nachos, and funnel cakes to help us manage through (almost the entire) game.





Turns out that Express aren't really doing that hot this year....the other team scored 2 runs in the top of the first inning....and went on to lead 6-0 when we were leaving. I overheard Jacob and Scott say something about it being because of the pitcher, but I really don't know too much about baseball, and I'm not really interested in proving that I do. So there. If you really want to know....read here. (Edited to add as I'm listening to the recap: What? Turns out that it was the Express' pitcher's last game before he goes somewhere else fantastical for baseball....guess he had his mind elsewhere and that is why he gave up so many runs for the game. Oh, and get THIS?!! The pitcher for the other team.....he used to play for the Express and is a native of Round Rock.....so he was on his home turf and totally spanked his former team. Now if I had only known that going into the game......).

I, on the other hand, did learn, that Kara has a strange fascination with catchers. I did not know this before tonight, and that, my friends, was worth going to the game. She had a few other choice words to bring to the conversation, but I'll keep those in my head. Did I mention that Kara is funny?


I did partake a little in the chicken dance that the Round Rock Express dog (?) led, but it wasn't as exhilarating as I remembered it being (was it ever that exciting really?). I also think we successfully annoyed the people around us with the flash of our cameras and all the picture taking. Hey....they need to lighten up anyways....it's not like the game is that fast that if you miss a few seconds, you can't figure out what happened. Yeah, I admit it, I was really there for the company and the experience.



Before we left, we had to get a group shot, and we chose to do so with the Round Rock Express painted cow. Yes, it's a cow....even though you can't see it's head because someone (JACOB!) is in the way. Ha! It's really not his fault though....Kara was very explicit in where we were all to be placed for the photo opp. :) Um....Scott....a little to the left please...yes, don't move!!!


Oh, for my out of state friends that might be wondering the significance of a painted cow at the game...I'm really not sure, but, they are all over Texas representing different stuff. Austin has a series of painted guitars that are pretty neat too. I'm sure that we'll get some pics with them in a few months if they show up at ACL again. :)

Ok....that's all I have.

Saturday on Lake Travis

It was another lake day today....what a beautiful day too!! I headed out to Dang's boat and met up with him, Jake, Sarah, Chad and Balbo. We always manage to have the best crew of people to add up to a really great time on the lake. I had a fantastic time hanging out with Sarah, most of the day actually IN the water, for a change....which means that I didn't take too many pics, but Balbo had his with him, so he got a few cute ones to share. :)


We tied up to some really big boats....I guess it was the super elite snobby group (just kidding), but I'm sure that is what it appeared to be from the other people's POV. :) One of the boats near us was remodeled....yes, remodeled......and it was immaculate inside. Wood paneling everywhere, leather furniture, and a hottub! It was fit for an episode of The Bachelor! Anyways, we had some fun taking the tour, and of course getting some photos.



We stumbled across this funny book on the boat, 1001 Things to Do If You Dare. When Balbo wanted to take a picture, I loved that Sarah and I both made these funny faces without telling each other what we were doing. She's awesome like that. :)


It was a great....and very LONG day on the boat. When we were ready to leave, turns out that both the motors and all the batteries were shot. There were several attempts to jump the boat, but none worked. We ended up getting a slow (a VERY slow) tow back to the slip by another boat that was headed the same direction. It was quite an ordeal for the 6 of us to get the boat back into the slip, backwards, without any motors...but hey, we were all about the teamwork.....the laughs helped too. :)

Friday Movie Night

I decided to take it easy tonight and catch up on some movies. I popped the popcorn, and curled up on the big chair with Molly and settled in for my evening.


First on the play list was American Gangster with Denzel Washington. Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but it seemed kind of slow and it drug on a bit. Wow, it's a good thing that I'm not a movie critic, because that is really all I have to say about the flick. I'm such a simple person.



Next I watched Untraceable with Diane Lane. This one was a bit more my speed, I got a strange satisfaction when she started talking all the nerdy talk about the servers, mirror sites, etc....even though I didn't thoroughly understand it all myself, it was so cool to know that such awesome jobs like hers are out there. Her character reminded me of the nerdy girl on NCIS - she's my fav on that show. Anyways.....this movie scared the absolute crap out of me. First off, it started out with a sick and twisted scene with an adorable kitty, and Molly was quite curious as to what was going on too...but it was just awful. I knew that I was in for a ride after that. Scares me to think that there really are some sickos out there like that in the real world. So, the movie went on and on and continued to get worse, it was so f'd up. I mean, seriously. And to make things even better.....A. I'm alone, B. it's dark in my place, and C. it's scary because this kind of stuff could actually happen. So, when I had to get up to use one of the two bathrooms in my house....I went to the half bath, but then quickly changed after thinking that the door had been closed for a really long time, and there might be someone in there waiting for me. So, instead, I pushed open my bedroom door, quickly turned on the lights, scanned the room, and ran into the bathroom in there. What a chicken. Anyways, after the movie was over, I had to find something else on TV to erase the thoughts from the show.

Luckily, America's Best Dance Crew was on......so I got to watch some thoughtless television before heading to bed. It was a nice night, would have been better if I had more food in my place to eat other than popcorn, but oh well. I'd already eaten all the frozen pizzas last week. :)