Blue October in Charlotte

Last weekend we attended a Blue October concert in Charlotte at Amos' Southend. We also made a couple of stops on the side.

I spent Saturday morning painting the kitchen while Mike took care of some work out in the yard. It was 3pm by the time hit the road but since it's only a two hour drive, not a big deal.

We drove straight to the Friendly's in Hendersonville (on 77 north of Charlotte). We grew up with Friendly's but there isn't one in Raleigh. We have a few within a couple of hours so we try to hit them occasionally. The food was greasy and delicious just like I remember it. Then we split a bowl full of heaven. Err, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sundae.

From there we drove to the hotel and hung out for a bit before heading over to the concert at Amos' Southend. Then venue was pretty cool. It's definitely a concert hall. Stage at one end, lots of floor space, two bars downstairs. Upstairs there is a balcony for more viewing, as well as another bar. Thankfully, it's non-smoking.

We arrived around 8:30 and the opening act went on not long after that. To be honest, they weren't amazing and I didn't catch their name. And, not to diss them, but their performance didn't inspire me to go look it up. They weren't bad, just not... great.

Then came the longest stage turnover I have ever experienced. I've never seen such thorough testing of equipment between acts. After about 40 minutes of this, Blue October finally took the stage around 10:15. They put on a fabulous non-stop show for almost two hours, playing straight through every song on their new album, Approaching Normal. They then played about 5 or so older songs, including Hate Me which is the song most people are most likely to recognize.

The band was amazing but watching lead singer Justin perform is like watching some kind of insane trainwreck. And "perform" is definitely the right word. Totally intense. The way he throws himself in to music, it's like watching an actor on-stage. Given how dark some of the material is, I literally had nightmares that night from one of the songs.

It was after 12:30am before we made it back to our room so we took advantage of a comfy quiet hotel room and slept in Sunday morning. We left the hotel around 11am and drove to the new IKEA.

We started in the little cafe/restaurant and split Swedish meatballs, a buffalo chicken wrap, and soup. Yum! Then we spent about three hours wandering around the store. We found a few random pieces but didn't buy anything big. I was a little disappointed not to find any organizational things for the kitchen (they just didn't fit in our cabinets) but we still came back with some cool stuff.

I think it was around 5pm or so when we arrived home. Gone just over 24 hours but it was a jam-packed time and we had a blast.

Of course, then I came home to watch hockey (we won) and developed a massive migraine. All good by morning!

9 in '09 - Week #17

Last week:

• 64 oz water a day - yep
• start book - nope
• kitchen wallpaper removed and all prep work done, ready for paint - one coat of paint is UP!

We had a great weekend away in Charlotte and managed to pick up some things for the kitchen.

This week:

• 64 oz water a day
• book maybe?
• finish paint in kitchen, start reorganization of cabinets

No plans for the week except to work around the house.

9 in '09 - Week #16

Time to report a whole lot of nothing.

Last week:

• 2 workouts - nope
• 64 oz water a day - mostly
• catch up on blog posts here - working on it
• start book - nope
• finish cleaning bedroom - yep
• start on bonus room desks - change in plans

I've been doing well at keeping up with the housecleaning. Except then I get excited and start new projects... Like ripping apart the kitchen for some sprucing up! I had a fun week with migraine/allergy issues but still managed to accomplish a lot.

This week:

• 64 oz water a day
• start book
• kitchen wallpaper removed and all prep work done, ready for paint

Mike's on a short work trip and then we're going to a concert Saturday night. Most of my focus will be on the kitchen because I need to have it painted and complete before hosting a party on May 6.

David Cook Concert - April 2nd

I'm a little late with this post but back on April 2nd, we went to Wilmington to see David Cook in concert. Ryan Star was the opening act and even though it involved a night in a hotel, a day off work, and an American Idol, I somehow convinced Mike we should go.

The concert was at Trask Coliseum which is the UNC-Wilmington basketball court. Our seats were way up high and to the far left of stage. My one complaint about the evening is that the acoustics were HORRIBLE. We couldn't make out a single spoken word though the music was largely recognizable.

Ryan Star, who was my favorite guy on "Rockstar: Supernova" (a show of largely suck) was the opening act. I'm really glad to see him touring and gaining some exposure. He's a really intense performer and sang five songs in all - 3 from his upcoming album and 2 (Psycho Suicidal Girls and Back of Your Car) from his last solo album which I've had and loved for a long time.

David's set was as I expected - awesome. I did think he'd hit the stage hard and loud but he actually came out and very quietly sang "The World I Know", a Collective Soul cover and the only song of the night from his Idol run. Here's the set list:

• The World I Know (Collective Soul cover)
• Heroes
• We're Only Honest When We’re Sleeping (2007 unreleased)
• Declaration
• Mr. Sensitive
• Souvenir (2008, unreleased)
• Kiss on the Neck
• Lie Little Lies (Fleetwood Mac cover)
• Hot for Teacher (Van Halen cover)
• Come Back To Me
• Bar-ba-sol
• Light On

Noticeably absent? A Daily AntheM and Permanent which are both for his brother (who is fighting cancer). And the "magic rainbow" winner anthem song.

However, I believe the best part of David is the banter and because of the acoustics, we caught almost none of that. Very disappointing from that perspective. His band is amazing though. Neil (guitar) was on our side of the stage and he was even playing behind his back at one point. Then his drummer, Kyle, totally reminds me of Animal from the Muppets but in a really good crazy way.

Overall I really enjoyed the show. Minus the screaming tweens behind us "WE LOVE YOU DAVID" literally every 10 seconds. Ugh.

Mike even said he enjoyed it - which made me brave enough to ask if he would mind going to see Ryan and David again once I found out they had added a show 20 miles from the house. He agreed to go so I bought tickets yesterday morning. I'm excited because this is a completely different venue - instead of the family-friendly Azalea Festival with about 5000 people, Cats Cradle is a small 21+ venue. Way more awesome.

Here are a few pics - the coliseum crowd, Ryan during his set, two from David's set, and one of Ryan signing autographs in the lobby after the show.

Migraine Hell

Mostly for my own records, time to record another round of migraine fun. This one started on Monday and wouldn't let up. By Wednesday, I decided I had toughed it out long enough so Mike took me to the doctor's office.

Unfortunately Dr V was out for the week but the nurse practitioner was able to see me. In the end it took a shot of Toradol and a shot of Imitrex to bring me relief. This migraine wasn't accompanied with the nausea I usually experience so no need for the anti-puke shot.

She also hooked me up with some allergy meds. My allergies have been so out of control that the sinus issues were aggravating the migraine.

Thursday I still had a headache but decongestant and Excedrin finally knocked it out so I could breathe and feel normal again. Last night was tough but I feel pretty good today. Let's hope that's the last of the migraines for awhile.

Finished Porch

This post is long overdue. The porch project has been finished for about a month now and we've been enjoying it a lot.

Until the last week or so when the pollen went crazy. Now our white porch is covered in so much yellow dust it almost looks like it was painted to match the siding on the house.

Here are a few pictures, including one of our (in progress) garden.

9 in '09 - Week #15

Easter week.

Last week:

• 3 workouts - no
• better food choices - yes
• 64 oz water a day - usually
• regular blogging - I did pretty well
• start next book - nope
• finish cleaning bedroom - nope
• thoroughly clean master bath - yes
• finish bins in hall closet - yes

The house is pretty clean overall. I've been feeling lousy for far too long and it's killing my workouts. That and laziness.

This week:

• 2 workouts (yeah, right)
• 64 oz water a day
• catch up on blog posts here
• start book
• finish cleaning bedroom
• start on bonus room desks

Saturday will be busy this week. I think that's the only day with plans.

Happy Easter!

Mike and I had a lovely Easter. Nothing too exciting, just the two of us. It was a beautiful day so he worked in the yard while I did some Spring cleaning. It's nice to open all the windows and air the house out.

The Easter Bunny left Ripley an egg:



And then Tasha probably ate the Easter Bunny because that's just how she rolls.

Then, last night, it was the Great Easter Miracle of 2009:



We were in the kitchen and looked down to see both cats sharing the same carpet. Side by side as if we had lined them up. Even crazier - they waited long enough for me to grab the camera and snap their picture.

Told you Tasha was mellowing out in her old age!

I hope everyone out there enjoyed their Easter weekend and ate lots of chocolate!

Happy 9th Birthday Tasha!

Today is Tasha's 9th birthday. She started the party early by celebrating with Ripley last night. There was a lot of rawring and fur flying but I'm pretty sure they were just hugging.

This morning, they were chasing each other around again first thing. We had to wake up early anyways but if it had been a weekend, she would've started her birthday in her cage.

As of now, Tasha's enjoying a nice birthday nap in the middle of our bed. I'm crazy jealous because there's nothing I'd like more right now than a nap.

Happy birthday Tasha!

9 in '09 - Week #14

Last week passed so quickly.

Last week:

• 2 workouts - I'm going to count 1 from outside work
• South Beach Diet for realz - whatever
• 64 oz water a day - yes
• regular blogging - I hit quantity but not quality
• start next book - no
• yard/outside work -- yes
• finish cleaning bedroom - no
• pick another area/room to clean - yes

Another week completed. Not sure it was successful but I survived!

This week:

• 3 workouts
• better food choices
• 64 oz water a day
• regular blogging (pre-blog, work on 2nd blog)
• start next book
• finish cleaning bedroom
• thoroughly clean master bath
• finish bins in hall closet

Hockey game Thursday night, off from work on Friday. No other plans.