Are you serious?! Boo at greedy concert ticket brokers.

Since my husband and I love Coldplay and I keep getting emails about them coming to Birmingham, I was about to buy tickets from the web to go to the concert. We were going to get the cheap seats- $35 each. Not too bad to see one of our favorite bands. Ticketmaster is bad enough with their convenience charges and whatever random fees they pick to jack up the price of their tickets. Live Nation seems even worse! Check this out.

Ticket $35.00
Parking Fee $6.00
(It's Birmingham, not New York. I refuse to pay for parking- I can walk a long way for free).
Ticket Fee $14.00
(For 2 tickets, this nearly adds up to the price of another ticket! No way!)
Ticket Tax $2.60
(I understand this one but still had to throw it in.)

Ends up being $115.60 for 2 tickets! No way.

I just wonder why bands allow this?! Why can't they sell their own tickets? Does anyone know of a way to get concert tickets without paying all these random fees?

I'm back!

Whew this week has been busy!!! Sorry about the lack of blog comments from me! Now, I'm back to blogging!

Jury duty only lasted 3 days and I was selected for a case. It was very sad and extremely disturbing. My heart still hurts from the things I heard. I can't get it out of my head a week later. It was a child molestation case. I think there is no type of crime as bad as this one. For the past week, I have been waking up in the middle of the night thinking about the man I saw sitting in the court room who committed the most horrific and unspeakable crimes to a child who trusted him for love and protection. We found him guilty. There was no doubt. Not any at all.

I have so much respect for counselors, social workers, and prosecutors who deal with these types of abuse cases on a daily basis. The people who help the victims heal are angels walking around on earth. The people who put predators behind bars are as tough as steel. Our legal system is more complicated than I ever imagined and I have a new-found respect for it. Serving on a jury is something I am proud to have done.

On a lighter note, work has been completely hectic. Being gone for 3 days caused complete chaos for me when I returned to work. I didn't leave before 7 PM on Thursday or Friday. We have a big audit coming up next week and everyone has been scurrying around getting things in order. I will be very relieved when next week is over.

Today I got to celebrate my niece's 1st birthday. She looked very fashionable in her fancy pink dress, headband with a little crown on it, and white patent leather shoes. The party was super cute and my niece was surrounded by people who adore her.

Now I'm back at home. I should be reading the next book club selection but I'm having a hard time getting into it. I should be reading "Little Earthquakes" right now instead of blogging. I have about 300 pages to read before Thursday! I've also been procrastinating by watching "American Beauty" and thinking that Kevin Spacey may just be my favorite actor. This movie takes me back to college. I went to watch this movie in the theater with a good looking cowboy. ;-) Thankfully that didn't work out so I could find my husband a few years later. :-)

I started the count down to vacation.... 7 days from now I will be at Daytona beach with a margarita in hand.

Happy Saturday to all!

Weekend recap

It's been such a fun weekend!

Friday night I went with a friend to a Sips N Strokes painting class. This was my first time to try this painting class and I really enjoyed it. You bring a beverage of your choice and enjoy it while you paint. All the supplies are provided, so you just have to worry about showing up. They have different paintings on their calender online so you just find a day with something you want and sign up. If you live in Alabama or Georgia, give it a try!

I painted this crazy looking angel and had a great evening. I don't love my painting but I had a good time. The table of women next to us seemed to be pretty busy sipping on the wine they brought instead of painting. They were cracking us up all night. About an hour into the class one of the women started laughing hysterically and snorting and said that her painting "looked like a squirrel." Since we were all painting an angel, this became hilarious to my friend and me. Drunk people are just funny.

Catch phrase of the month that is guaranteed to make me laugh: "It looks like a squirrel!"

Saturday morning, I got my hair cut and highlighted. It keeps getting more and more blonde with every trip to the salon and I like it! Nothings says springtime like some blonde highlights!

For date day, my husband and I went to Ted's Montana Grill for lunch. He had a bison burger. Does anyone eat bison? I tried some of his and it's delicious! I got the salmon which was also fabulous! Then we walked around the mall for awhile. We came home, he watched basketball, and I read.

Today has been spent cleaning the house, playing with the dogs, and making the obligatory trip to Wal-Mart. I must have my Special K Vanilla Almond cereal that Aldi doesn't carry so that meant that the week's supply of groceries came from Wal-Mart.

Tomorrow is the beginning of JURY DUTY! Since it is my civic duty and all that jazz, I am semi-excited and also prepared for lots of waiting around. I have a book to finish (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- awesome book- it will go into my top 5 favorite books), another book to start reading (Little Earthquakes-fun chick lit), and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so I can save money by not going out to eat. I hear that my county will pay me a whopping $25 per day for my civic service. Woot! Extra cash!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Rescue dogs are the best!

It's been a little over two years since we brought home the most shy, skinny dog I had ever seen. We found her on petfinder.org. Her name is Cricket and she is a Doberman mix found as a stray by animal control in another county. She came to us already housebroken and knowing how to sit and stay. She was someone's pet who was either abandoned or got lost from her family. We are so glad we found her!

This is how she looked on the day we brought her home. She was so skinny we thought we would break her by petting her. She weighed 42 lbs.


Here are some more recent pics of Cricket. Now, she weighs a little over 70 lbs. She loves long walks, dog biscuits, and cuddles.




Have you ever seen a happier dog?

Thankful Thursday!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who left comments yesterday. It's really amazing how sweet and supportive the blog world can be! When I reread what I posted yesterday, I don't know if I could have been so kind if I were an objective reader cruising by this blog. I realize how selfish I was being.

Today I am in a much better state of mind about the "tiff" with the hubs over the trip. I realize how lucky I am to have him, to have a job, and to have things to look forward to in life. My obsession with travel can get a bit out of hand and I need to be more realistic and patient about this. There will be time for seeing the world in the future. I pray for a long, healthy life for my husband and I so we get to enjoy the things that the world has to offer.

Actually I flipped open my bible last night when I was looking for something on the bookshelf at home and came across this verse (it's even underlined in my bible):

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. ~Hebrews 13:5 KJV

This was exactly what I needed to read. How freaking selfish and unappreciative was I being?! (Can I say "freaking" after mentioning a bible verse? Hope so.) Whining about a trip to Spain when we're about to go on a cruise? I mean really, be content with what ya' have! It was like God gave me a much needed kick to the rear.

I feel really lucky that things always work out the way they need to for me. Usually when the path to something is really hard or filled with conflict or just doesn't feel right... it's usually Someone's way of telling me that I'm on the wrong path. Sometimes I just need to back away and let things go another direction.

Once again, thanks SO much for all the supportive comments yesterday. I'm blessed with some wonderful longtime friends who read this and new friends I've met by blogging! You ladies are the best!

Some personal stuff

This week is just "off". Ever have one of those weeks?

I screwed up big time in a family situation... Our only niece's first birthday party is coming up in 2 weeks. I feel horrible about this because I thought my husband was off work that weekend and he isn't. It's my fault because I didn't check his schedule. I thought he was off work because we were originally planning to do a 10k in Mobile that same weekend until we realized that weekend would be the birthday party. I asked him about that weekend months ago and he thought he would be off. I didn't double check with him. I just assumed. Yeah, you know what happens when you assume. That's right. I am an ass. I feel horrible about this.

My experiments in lab aren't working and I can't figure out why. It's really frustrating. There is no one around my building who knows how to do what I'm trying to do. I've been reading journal articles at night trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong and I just don't know. I need some molecular biologist buddies around here! So basically, I'm left on my own to flail about and figure it out on my own. I thought I would have this new project finished before my vacation but now I don't know if it will work or not. I hate science sometimes. When things should work, but they won't, it's so annoying.

My husband and I normally don't fight so any disruption in the day-to-day happiness is a big deal to me. We have a great marriage and get along really well 99% of the time. I love him like I never knew I could love anyone. When I see him sleeping, it makes my heart melt. He is a good, patient, and kind man. When he laughs, it's just the best thing in the world to hear. But.... combine one very sleep-deprived, cranky husband with one wife with PMS and no chocolate and you have a recipe for a tiff. We aren't fighters and I'm so thankful that we have a great marriage. I hate confrontation and will avoid it if at all possible. He is the same way. We have a 30 second flare up, then one of us apologizes and we're fine after that. So... the reason for last night's 30 second flare up, you ask? .... the trip to Spain.

When the hubs wanted to move to Birmingham, I wasn't too keen on the idea (to say the least). After we decided that the opportunity in Birmingham would be better for his career in the long run, I agreed to move. I made him promise that in exchange for me agreeing to uproot my life in Oklahoma with my dearest friends, family that I used to see as often as possible, and a job that I loved- that we would take a trip to Europe while we were in Birmingham. We're in year 3 out of 4 (maybe year 3 out of 5) of living here. Time is running out for us to take a trip. He promised.

Let me add that I hate spending money. As much as it's fun to talk about shopping and clothes and things that I want. I don't really shop. I carry a nice purse, but that's where the extravagance ends for me. Luckily my job is one where I don't need to dress in business attire. I play with bacteria, chemicals, and bleach most days, so I can wear super-casual things to work. I wear clothes from Old Navy normally and Gap is high-end for me. Everything I buy is on clearance. Today I have on a t-shirt that was $3 and a pair of jeans that were $15. Classy. We eat at home the majority of the time and don't do things that cost much money. We both take our lunches to work every day. We are savers... like obsessively. Once money has gone into the savings account, it's not coming out. When I write about trips and travel, I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression that we blow money because we don't. I am extremely cheap, but I LOVE to travel. I will not shop for 3 years in exchange for a trip somewhere. Seeing the world is probably the most important thing on my "to do" list.

Back to the "tiff" explanation. Last night, we were about to book the most expensive trip we've ever taken and I clicked to the part about travel insurance.
I asked him, "Do you want to get the travel insurance? I think it's a good idea."
He says, "How much is it?"
I say "$161.00" knowing that this is probably unnecessary and ridiculous but I am a worrier and I always get the insurance for everything.
He throws his hands into the air and walks out of the room yelling about how much the trip is going to cost.
So I don't book the trip at all and I said "Forget it! I knew we wouldn't go! It's fine!"
He went to bed and I put up the dishes.
Sometime in the middle of the night he starts trying to talk to me about the trip and says to go ahead and book it and get the insurance and we should go.
I said that I know he doesn't want to spend the money and that's fine... that we won't go. (We all know what a woman means when she says "fine"... It means I'm still pissed but I don't feel like fighting about it right now).

Now the whole thing is just soured to me... I wonder if anyone else gets so excited about something and builds it up in their mind? Then if it doesn't work out the way you planned, it's just not very much fun anymore. I wanted him to be as excited as I was about the trip. I wanted it to be magical. I had this idea of hanging out on the beaches of Spain with a glass of sangria in hand, wandering around Las Ramblas trying new food, seeing Gaudi's architecture, and sitting at a rooftop lounge overlooking the Mediterranean Sea for a week. The thing is that we have the money saved. We just don't want to spend it. So, I don't know what we'll do about the trip. I guess I'm just sad today.

Lunch time is almost over and it's time to bang my head against the wall try to figure out what's gone wrong with my experiments.

Back on track with running and The Biggest Loser

Last week "The Crud" kept me on the couch with a box of Kleenex nearby and I was about to go stir-crazy from being inside WAY too much. I still have the chain-smoker cough, but I can't STAND not being able to exercise. Yesterday's weather was BEAUTIFUL! I actually left work at a decent hour while there was still some sunlight left and got home in time for a little exercise outside!

I was super slow on my run/walk. I tried to run with the dogs for the first time in a week and a half. We did around 4 miles but I bet half of that was spent walking. Taking a week off is a killer. Plus it's not easy to run with my dogs until they've been on the move for around a mile. They are so excited to be running that they want to break into a full-throttle sprint. I spend most of my energy trying to hold them at a steady pace and stay upright so we don't have another Indiana Jones incident. Thankfully, they get tired and run with me instead of dragging me after about 10 minutes. It was just great to be outside even if I did a smaller distance at a slower pace.

We watched The Biggest Loser after the dinner. It's such a great show! I was so inspired that they all did a half marathon! Kudos to Tara and Sione for such great times on the run! I know I couldn't run a half marathon in 2 hrs~15 min! I'm inspired to try after seeing them do this! Maybe by the end of the summer I can work up to a half-marathon?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

I have a confession to make. I have never had a green beer.

Green Appletini- yes.
Green beer- no.

Do you drink this?

Catching up!

It's been a few days since I caught up on blogs! Here are my whining excuses and then some fun things...

The half empty part of the glass:

• I have been a complete SLUG this weekend. I am STILL sick. It's getting pretty annoying. I am NEVER sick and I've been sick once already this winter (about a month ago). This is round two. I have a stopped up head, cough, and congested chest. Boo at being sick! I'm doing the Z-Pack, Dayquil, Claritin this time around so I can function. I don't know what I have but one of those things should treat it! I'm convinced my "crud" is caused by cleaning products and, therefore, we need a housekeeping service. Hey, it's worth a try!


• I haven't run in a week. I feel like a big fat hippo from not being able to exercise. The only good thing about having a cold is that I can hardly taste anything, so food isn't as appealing as usual I am only eating sweet things that I CAN taste. I was sick all week, but I went to work every day except Thursday. I got to make up for taking a sick day by working on Saturday.


• My husband has been working all weekend and I miss him. He's been on call Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday this week so I've barely seen him. I can't wait for our vacation together so I can spend some time with him! ........Ok, enough whining!

The half full part of the glass:

• We booked a hotel in Miami for the night before our cruise!!! We picked an older Art Deco hotel in the heart of the South Beach area. It's a block from the beach, in the middle of the night life area, and looks nice for a reasonable price. I really want to go dancing with my husband! I hate feeling like I'm too old to go out anymore (nearly 30) and there aren't many places in Birmingham to go out anyway. I used to love going dancing in Oklahoma City (Disclaimer: I am a horrible dancer- think of Elaine of Seinfeld) but I always had so much fun and had a smile on my face. It's all about having a good time to me. Besides, no one will know us in Miami! I can dance the night away! I'm so excited I can hardly wait!


• I found my favorite pasta at Wal-Mart! They hardly ever carry the sausage one and it's the best! I stocked up and bought 3 packages of them! These things are the best invention ever: Boil 8 minutes. Mix in a little pesto. Eat. It can't get any better than that.

• Our dogwood tree is starting to bloom. I love this tree. This is what it will look like around Easter.

Do you know the legend of the Dogwood Tree?

At the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the timber for the cross, but to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Jesus in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it: "Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. From this point, it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross -- two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints -- brown with rust and stained with red -- and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember."

Kreativ Blogger Award!

Jules at ChicNPink gave me with the Kreativ Blogger award. Her blog is awesome and you should go check it out! If I lived near Philly, we would definitely hang out and shop together. She shares my obsession with Coach!

Here are the award rules:

List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

My loves:

1. My husband!

2. Sunshine

3. Beaches

4. Spring

5. Dogwood trees

6. My iPod shuffle

7. Flip flops!

I now present this award to the following bloggers:

1. Just Another Day in Paradise

2. New Girl On Post

3. Happily Ever After

4. The Good Life

5. Lis Loves

6. Preppy Little Dress

7. My Friends Are Sluts

I love all of these blogs and I'm so happy I've "met" these lovely ladies while blogging! You are all fabulous and wonderful!

Book review: The Alchemist

Last night I finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and thought it was wonderful.

Honestly, I only picked this book up because it was on the "buy 2, get 1 free" table at Barnes and Noble and it was my free book. I was so surprised by how much I liked it!

It is the story of a Spanish shepherd boy who has a dream of finding buried treasure at the pyramids of Egypt. There are some religious themes throughout the book but I never knew if the author was religious until I read more about him. The book is all about following your heart to achieve your dreams and never giving up. In the book, the boy's heart speaks to him to keep him moving toward his goal and I always felt like it was God's voice leading him. I loved the way the boy appreciates nature and the world around him.

The boy meets an alchemist who tells him "you don't have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation."

It is all about the obstacles that must be overcome to accomplish one's dream, the way someone can choose to have a positive perspective during a negative situation, and how every encounter can lead a person in one direction or another. It was very thought provoking.

One of my favorite quotes is:

"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"
~Robert H. Schuller

My dad always tells me: "Never Give Up."
Dad has a copy of this cartoon hanging in his office and it's been there for as long as I can remember.


I love the word "PERSEVERANCE" and this is probably another reason why I liked the book. (Plus it's a much nicer word than stubbornness)

definition from dictionary.com: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Ahhh spring!!!

It's BEAUTIFUL outside today!!! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and my nose, lungs, and head are all exploding simultaneously. I don't know if I have a cold, pneumonia, allergies, or a combo of all three. I'm taking every medicine I could find and hoping that something makes me feel better. I have a ridiculous amount of work to do before jury duty in a week and a half and my vacation in a few more weeks. I CAN'T be sick. I simply don't have time.

Here are my random thoughts for the day:
(disclaimer: mixing medications may make me sound more ADHD than usual)
1. My husband is wonderful. He picked up my antibiotic prescription for me last night and did the dishes.
2. I hate having to board the dogs when we go on vacation.
3. The Big Lebowski may be the greatest movie of all time. Quotes from this movie can be applied to any situation that arises in life.
Example from the Dude: "Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not "Mr. Lebowski". You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing. "
4. I desperately need a pedicure.
5. I did not run yesterday because I couldn't breathe and I feel like a beached whale today.
6. Hotels in Miami are WAY too expensive!

Ok, enough randomness... back to work.

Swimsuit season

All the running I've been doing, the attempts to eat healthy, and covering the glow-in-the-dark winter paleness with Dove Energy Glow Body Lotion (I detest tanning beds) all led to a single moment this weekend......

trying on swimsuits.
(do you hear the music from the Psycho shower scene playing in the background as I do?)

This has to be my absolute most dreaded moment every year. The thought of this moment is always lurking in the back of my mind through Christmas dinner, valentine's chocolates, and the irresistible office cupcakes.

This year was a little better... still painful, but not as bad as last year. I'm thrilled that I found a cute swimsuit that makes me feel comfortable and still looks cute.

Ahhhh.... the tankini. This has to be the best swimsuit design ever. It covers just enough.


(from Target's website)

I also got a new bikini just in case I should find my abs in the next month. I'm wondering if they could paint some abs on me when I do mystic tan before the trip? (Hey, I can dream, right?)



(from redtag.ca)

I'm so excited about the cruise! Less than a month to go until we are laying in the sun, sipping something delicious from a coconut, and my boss won't be able to contact me at all.

The attack of the elliptical machine and killer iPods

Last night at the gym I wanted to do a long run and push myself to do my maximum distance at my steady turtle-like pace of an 11:30 minute mile. Yeah, I know, your mama could walk that fast, but hey, it's better than sitting on the couch with a bag of Doritos (mmm... Doritos).

I did a total of 7.2 miles. I'm counting the first mile that was spent on a deranged elliptical machine while waiting for a treadmill. I'm sure it was quite comedic to anyone in the gym who happened to be watching me. I haven't been on an elliptical machine in about 3 years, so at first I thought it was me that just couldn't get into the groove on that thing. Nope, at 1/2 mile into the Kramer-like spazzing (please tell me someone loved Seinfeld as much as me) on the elliptical, I realized that it really wasn't a lack of coordinating all my extremities at the same time... the stupid elliptical really was messed up. One of the things you put your feet on (they look like skis to me) wasn't going as far as the other. It was like little circle, big circle, little circle, big circle 4,000 times. I looked like I either had a really bad limp or might have been having some sort of seizure on the elliptical. I was scoping out the treadmills like a fat kid looks for cake at a birthday party. Finally, I was back in action. I did 6.2 miles on the treadmill without any movements that might resemble a seizure. Good times.

I have to say that I really appreciate common courtesy on the gym. Even though it's a place where everyone is crammed together on treadmills that are way too close to each other, most people are courteous and normal. When I first got on the treadmill there were girls running at a good pace on each side of me which made me want to keep running. I'm a little competitive now. If someone next to me is running at a 6.0, I will run at 6.1 on a 1% incline. Sadly, both girls ran 2 or 3 miles and then left. The next people beside me were two guys. One guy was just running and being normal. The other guy was some meat head ex-military type who decided that he was going to do some weird boxing moves while he was running. Moron. Don't do that crap at the gym. Go home if you feel the need to shadow box. So when he continued to do these moves, then dropped his iPod onto the treadmill, and it shot across the room, I couldn't help but giggle. Yes, I know... I shouldn't have laughed. Do iPods need warning labels? "CAUTION: your iPod could become a projectile if you attempt to do shadow boxing while running on the treadmill."

Randomness

This is going to be a totally random post of everything I'm thinking at this moment because I only have 5 minutes to blog.

• Saturday, I went to the lab for a bit and finished an experiment.
• I love the Birmingham Black and White newspaper for all things concert related.
• I am currently LOVING the music of Ray LaMontagne and he's coming to Birmingham in April!
• Cross Canadian Ragweed is also coming to Birmingham in April!
• We saw the movie "Taken" this weekend and it was awesome.
• We didn't run the Huntsville race because IT SNOWED in Alabama on Sunday!
• Church was cancelled because of the snow.
• Have I mentioned how much I love Aldi?! Weekly grocery bill = $80. Yay!
• We're thinking about going to Spain this summer!

Ok, back to reality.

I really need to do some work now.

MUST. ANALYZE. DATA.

Happy Monday to all!!!