New Hampshire shenanigans....

Back from ice climbing trip 2009... :-D

Day #1: Woke up at the crack of dawn to catch our flight, got into NH at about noon(?) and did all the grocery shopping and got settled into our cozy little cabin. Managed to hop on the ice for a little while at an area right next to the highway. Here's me sinking/walking to the climbs...



We went to a slide show/dry tool competition that night which was a lot of fun. It was held in a rock gym and they had these special "holds" that mimicked ice. So, you could practice ice climbing in a rock gym...bizarre, but very very cool.

Day #2: We went to a gorgeous area (of which my awesome memory can't remember the name...). We were pretty much the first one's there and the last one's to leave. Yea, we were a bit tired afterwards... Pics from Day #2:





Day #3: We woke up to rain. :( Not a lot but just enough to scare us. But we had some breakfast at Peaches (one must never go to N. Conway and not experience a Peaches breakfast) and things were looking good. So, we got on the ice again for a while. We also tried out dry tooling, which was a first for me. Basically, what it is is ice climbing sans ice. Me attempting the art of dry tooling:



Another climb from Day #3:



Soooo, we got done with the climbing and headed back to return our gear, eat, and make the 2 hour drive to the airport to catch our plane at 7:40pm. Well, a bit of better time management would've been very nice because after our nice dessert...we realized we needed to BOOK it to the airport. Not even out of N. Conway, we got pulled over. Thank god we didn't get a ticket, but the officer was nice enough to take his sweet time giving Adam a summons. We got to the airport at 7:20pm(!!!) and if that wasn't stressful enough...I booked the wrong flight AND there were no seats left AND that was the last flight out. Anyways, I'm not sure how I made it with 2 people on standby ahead of me...but by miracle, I got on the flight.

And that concludes ice trip 2009. Stay tuned for 2010...

Garlicloaf, ke @ v5, and Wiiiild, wiiild horses...

Mmmm.....garlicloaf. It's Flipper's specialty. ;) I finished my plate (and kept the vampires away all weekend...). What was there not to like? Meat...good. Red peppers...good. 1 CUP of garlic...good.

The ke crew played Velocity 5 on Saturday night. Our new drummer did great. Despite feedback issues in the 1st set, all went well. Oh, and if any of you read your ke updates you would know we need suggestions for a new name! C'mon people, you can't complain if you don't suggest anything...



And lastly, I've been in an acoustic rut. Everything I play sounds like crap. Not sure how or why, but I've gotten positive feedback on this. So, here it is...

Random bits of 'huh?'...

#1: The "Miss America" event is now being advertised with the song "Keeps Getting Better" (which is the PG title of the better known, 'Some Days I'm A Supah B*tch..'). Aren't Ms. America's supposed to be sweet and innocent? Perhaps I missed my calling... ;)

#2: How can the Caps beat the best team in the league, then go on to lose to the worst team in the league??

#3: I just got digital cable. I struggled with this because I only really wanted it for NHLNET and Versus. Now that I have it, I'm not quite sure how I lived without it.

#4: And finally, pocket pairs!!! And they weren't even the deceiving pocket Q's that always gets me. Seriously, pocket A's and reigning poker queen flops a straight?? C'mon...

Oh, the holidays...

Let's start off with politically correct holiday wishes! Hope everyone had a great holiday and didn't get stuck in too much traffic. We had a great time and got lots of fun stuff.

Highlights:

1. Caps winning streak!!! What a great gift, guys... Just what a hockey fan wants.
2. Buying Skye her favorite present.
3. Seeing the fam/friends/people I generally like to be around. :)

Lowlights:

1. Taking out the prickly Christmas tree. I'm just about convinced to go fake.
2. Cleaning (which includes needing a new vacuum just for the silly pine needles that now cover my floor!! errrrr)
3. Going back to work...

My lil Ovechkin...

Just last week Ty uttered the words I've been longing to hear for the past 7 years: "Mom, I wanna play hockey". And the little guy stuck to it although he hasn't skated in almost a year, and was a bit wobbly. But most importantly, he had a lot of fun. So proud...

Kickin' it with Santa...

Ty told Santa the only thing he wanted was the Star Wars ATE Walker (??). I don't know what this is but apparently it's $99.99. Grammies... ;)

A very cold but fun weekend...

Starting off with FNP. I did well. :) I couldn't believe that I actually got some good hands. It was about time, poker gods!! I thank you...

Saturday was the kids day. We had Mya and Parker over. We did ornament making, hockey game watching (hehe), movies, and pizza. Oh, and hamster torturing. :-/ Mya had the quote of the night: "Boys are so annoying. The only way you can be around them is if you really love them...A LOT". :-D So true...

And Sunday was our lazy day...sort of. We got our tree and decorated it. Tyler always cracks me up when I take our Christmas decorations out. He has a stuffed Santa that he's loved since pretty much birth. His tough-guy-Linkin-Park-lovin cover melts away when he spots that thing. And, of course, I recorded a little song. Hope you like...feel free to rate if you do (wink wink nudge nudge).



And in the spirit of Christmas, I leave you with yet another tune. Featuring Mya, Parker, and Tyler. Recorded in my bedroom/studio last year.

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.