So many moons we have seen...

Yet another tune for you all. I've been playing around with different spots to get the best audio. This one came out clearer than the last. I'm still toying with my new audio interface to get an even better sound...but I actually think I'm going to return it. I can't get it to sound right (meaning, I need to learn how to sing well).

So, here 'tis. Please rate, comment, subscribe, buy me a new house... :)

My turkey filled weekend....

Hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving! I stuffed myself so much that it hurt. But it hurt so good. :)

I started off the day with a refreshing 5K run with Stacy and Tulip. I'm glad we did it, it was fun and made for a less guilty dinner. I'm now a big fan of 5K's... It's the perfect distance. Especially for my poor knees, which were throbbing halfway through. :(

Me and the FNP ladies after the run...



Then Ty and I headed to Maryland as we do every year. We had a great time. Loved that we had all the kiddies there. With that said, the fam only took up 2 large rooms. Kudos to my Aunt who makes it all look easy...and for making the better turkey (according to taste tester, Ty). :-P Here we are playing with the doggies...

Patting myself on the back...

I decided to do something a little different this year. I wouldn't even think of skipping out on my Aunt's delicious Thanksgiving dinner, but I did want have my own little dinner. I dunno, just cause...

So, I did my research. Thank you, Mr. Alton Brown. I'm now a full believer in the brine technique.

My awesome turkey...


And it gets better, Tyler (Mr. I Don't Like Anything) loved it. As for everything else, not so lucky. I just don't get how one could not like mashed potatoes! (??)

Youtube rawks...

As everyone probably knows, I like to mess around with Martin. Probably a little too much. And in my quest to become decent, I peruse youtube for inspiration. Well, I've come across the gamut of 'so awesome, I'm giving up because I could never even compare' to 'seriously?'. So, I decided to give it a whirl. It's been 2 days and I got 2 unsolicited positive comments and even 1 subscriber (hope they like kid video's too!). I was a little skeptical in broadcasting because quality is not all that great, but I think it's a step above 'seriously?'. :)

My climbing bug, so proud!!!!!...

He started off wanting to climb because he liked the monkey holds. Then he wanted to be Spiderman, he even climbed humming with his own little theme song (so cute). But in all those years, he reached halfway and was done. Not anymore... :-D

Gig wrap ups....

3 gigs to catch up on!!

First off, the Halloween party at Mike's house was crazy... So many people. Very very drunk people. :D Good times. I must say, the bands costumes were really pretty awful. I was Little Red Riding Hood (and I didn't really pull it off well considering it was way too hot to wear the hood). The guitarist didn't dress up at all...boo. Next year, it is my mission to have a cool band costume theme.

This past weekend we had a gig at Growlers in Gaithersburg. That place rocks. It was a great time. Sound guy was good, crowd was awesome...can't ask for much more than that in the cover band world.

ke @ Growlers:



And in conclusion, Dave and I played an acoustic gig last night (well, Rafat eventually joined us too and showed us all up w/ his insane guitar skills). This was the first time since "Dandelion Wine" that I've done the acoustic deal. I was a nervous wreck considering that I was playing guitar and singing w/o the band in back of me for the first time. But all went well. I wouldn't say it was my best performance, but I was content with it.

Up next (thus far): Dec 26th, Auld Shebeen.

Top 5 Positives...

Well, I'm bummed. Not only am I generally not happy with this cruddy weather, what I'm really bummed about is the Caps losing in OT. Poor Johnson played his heart out... And to lose in OT, the worst! Yes, I'm disappointed that McCain didn't win...but seriously, who didn't see that coming? So, here goes with my positives:

1. The election is over - the one and, probably, only thing that I think everyone can agree on!
2. The one goal the Caps did score was way prettier than both Sens goals.
3. ke is making their first MD appearance this weekend in Gaithersburg.
4. Election results == job security for the good folks at the NRA.
5. 2012.

Ah, kids...

So, Ty and I were chilling last night watching Charlie Brown's Halloween special when he said something post worthy...

(on TV, Lucy is in the midst of yelling at Linus...)

Ty: "Mom, Aunt Meagan is just like Lucy"

Me: "Why do you say that?" (ha, like I don't know)

Ty: "well, she just looks like her...and acts"

Well, Aunt Meagan might not find it funny but I did. :-D

Getting a bit youtube happy...

Maybe since I have blogger's block, I'll resort to narrating my life updates through video...

The Fat Kid and I took Ty to his first football game. We had awesome seats and gorgeous weather. Guess we set the standard pretty high... :-/



I attempted to let Grant Man and Ty go to town on this year's pumpkin but after 30 minutes avoiding the 'yucky stuff inside' with their spoons, the woman - of course - had to do it! ;)



More to come about ke's gig at Fat Tuesday's (awaiting some pics...) which rocked.... so much fun!

The "sleepover", Caps are back, and the Cox Farms finale...

Well, if Ty didn't have a blast this weekend...I'm throwing in the towel. We started off with a sleepover with Colin and Skye. Colin mostly played with Jumpy, or as he preferred calling it, the "hamper". And for those of you who need further explanation (Dad...), they slept over their sleeping bags. :)

We were off to the Caps game on Saturday night. Ty proudly sported his new Caps jersey with Ovechkin on the back. It was an awesome game, helps that they won too. I missed hockey oh so much over the summer...



Closed it off with a gorgeous day at Cox Farms with Parker and Colin. It was a great time. We managed to briefly lose 2 of the kids in the Corn Maze, Ty nearly got his popsicle eaten by a 2 year old (I'd explain but it was a 'had to be there' moment), and Parker got his "Iron Man" pumpkin. I hope Grant (whom I rightfully reserved on Friday!) looks back at this post and realizes how much more fun his Aunt Mandy is than Grammies. ;-P

People DO read my blog...??

That's the current rumor. So, I suppose I shall indulge you mystery viewers with my usual weekend update ramblings...

Actually, I have two weekends to catch up on. So, last rainy weekend was spent in the mud bath that I shall call the Maryland Renaissance Festival. It was actually really fun (while it stayed dry). The Fat Kid and I took Ty and Colin. And they each got what they came for: swords. So, they were happy campers. I also have some birthday wishes to catch up on: Grant Man and Skye Skye (yes, you all need to vote for that nickname...we can't let Kee-Kai(?!?) win!). Happy birthday to the cutest little niece and nephew an aunt could have. :-D I may be a little biased...

This past weekend was full of Great Falls and band fun. It was a gorgeous weekend, so...it's just about torture to not spend it outdoors. Went to Great Falls to do some hiking and climbing. The band played out at Kirkpatrick's and despite some sound issues and serious lack of practice, it went well. :) Fat Tuesday's coming up next! Oct. 24th, 11pm

No FNP drama for this post, maybe next time. Although, I have a feeling it may morph into a FNP/Rock Band (or FNP/RB) type update...

jenga! - jenga!....

Big shout out to Jason and Ying who were kind enough to throw a party for those of us who couldn't afford a trip to Thailand to be at their actual wedding. I know I should've officially said it months ago (but it wasn't official in my book until I saw the Jenga cake for myself), congratulations Jason and Ying!!

Fat Kid contest...

Contestant #1:



Contestant #2:



Now, Contestant #1 clearly does not even slow down the food shovel for a Kodak moment. And as his Aunt Mandy, whom knows a thing or two about food shoveling, I couldn't be prouder. I also can attest to the fact that he can and will use his belly as a weapon. And that's just BA.

Contestant #2, on the other hand, does have more experience as the Fat Kid although I'm not sure that his comparatively clean face will give him a win here. He does have the advantage in his philanthropic Fat Kid deeds, since he did buy a box of whoopie pies for his roommate. And in true Fat Kid style, buy a whole cake for himself.

Tough call.

Say hello to Jumpy...

Ty acquired a new hamster friend over the weekend. "He's the black thing in the picture." - Ty quote to his Grammies when showing her this pic and right after telling her it's a black hamster. It's one those, funny...but had to be there things.

My first political post...

All reading this probably know I'm not a political person. I vote, and that's about the extent of my involvement. Now, I'm not writing this to start the umpteenth online debate on who everyone should vote for. I'm just merely giving my two cents on how awesome our next vice-president is gonna be... :-D

So seriously, how can I not be excited about the thought of having a 'hockey mom' as vice-president? She hunts, she fishes... To top it off, the woman has 5 kids along with a successful political career. Anyone who can pull that off, IMHO, can do anything. Nice move, McCain.

Go Ms. Johnson...

So, I'm watching the Olympics last night and I gotta say, I wanna adopt Shawn Johnson. She's an adorable, boldsy, little powerhouse...what's not to love about that?! I'd have to say she's made the Olympics for me so far. Everyone has got Phelps phever, and while I think he's awesome as well...he doesn't quite reach the 'I-wanna-adopt' level with me.

Women's beach volleyball tonight, I hope they at least get challenged. And what happened to the men's beach volleyball? Mmmmmmm, Dalhausser... O:-)

FNP, Ty shows me how to golf, and Tuna's big day...

FNP is getting back on track. I won a whole $1.20...so watch out Stacy, I'm slowing taking 1st place back.

Took Ty to the golfing range, which was an interesting experience. Just like his mommy, he was reluctant to try something new but did it anyway. And he had a blast. I was pretty impressed with how quickly he picked it up, he was easily hitting the ball better than me (which I guess isn't saying much...yea, I'm that bad).

Sunday was Jason (aka Tuna) and Yui's wedding. Maybe now that they're married he'll get back into climbing and poker....ha! Congrats to the cute couple. :-D


The poker gang!!! Minus John and Wang (who was recovering from surgery...we missed you!).

Rocked the cas'been, climbed, golfed, partied, and climbed (again)...

Phew...so, I'm a bit tired. :)

Friday night was the Shebeen gig. Everything about it rocked...the stage, the lighting, but most of all...the security fellas guarding the stage. Because how rock star is that?! :)

Saturday morning, I dragged my smoke-reeking self outta bed and headed to Great Falls. I took my co-worker out to show her the ropes...it was fun, but her knee was bugging her. So we packed up after a couple climbs. Since it was such a nice day, we decided to head out to the golfing range where she showed me the ropes. It was a lot of fun, but I'm really bad!! How do these people keep their elbows straight??! It's just not natural...

That night we headed out to DC for Yui's bachlorette party. It was a blast!! I hadn't seen Yui for a while...I almost forgot how sweet she is. And all her friends were so much fun. Next, the wedding! woohoo :)


After 3 hours of sleep and still a bit wobbly from pineapple cocktails...headed out to Crescent Rock for some climbing. At this point, I'm just exhausted, but it's such a gorgeous day and the Starbucks is there...I couldn't not go! As always, a fun day on rocks.

$10 poorer, an ok gig, and KD...

Well, FNP was pretty brutal. Stacy took me out on maybe the 2nd hand when she flopped a straight and I flopped trip queen's. Darn queen's get me every time. The queen of hearts is NEVER your best bet...those lying Eagles. And it didn't get any prettier from there.

Saturday night was our gig in Ashburn, it was just ok. I think everyone was just grouchy from starting late and not having much of a crowd to work with. I will say this though...the 3rd set rocked! Oh, and there was a Redskin there. I did meet him but I can't remember what his name was...shocker, I know. Speaking of which, Auld Shebeen this Friday night everyone. So excited!!!

In conclusion, we took the crew to Kings Dominion on Sunday. The boys (and baby girl) had an awesome time. Ok, I'll admit it...I did too. Scooby Doo roller coaster will never get old and I pulled the victory of my life in the haunted house w/ 1680 pts!! Scott couldn't even compete with his 1200... :P As for the Tyler meltdown of the millenium that ensued at the end, well, we'll just pretend that didn't happen.

Because life has a way of just knowing...

...when you need a random bottle of personalized candy. :)