The Black Keys

Ryan and I went to see a show at The Vogue for FREE this past weekend!!!! Clint got some free tickets, probably promo tickets, for The Black Keys last Sunday. I love having Clint as my insider for fun stuff in Indy. He knows so many people, and is such a social butterfly, that he gets all kinds of perks everywhere!!!

Anyway, The Black Keys are a band consisting of only two members. A guitarist and a drummer. Every once in awhile, the guitarist will play the organ, but they didn't have it up at this show.

Their style is somewhat bluesy, but definitely rockin'!! They've been around for about five years, but have just been noticed recently after their latest release received great reviews from several music magazines and musicians. It's hard to believe by just listening to them that there's only two people playing instruments. There's a lot of sound pouring out of both of them.




The show was very energetic. It was a lot shorter than I would have liked, but I have to admit, I was exhausted by the time it was all over. I guess I have been spoiled by the Hookah boys playing for four and five hours at a time for me :-)






We met up with Clint ( he lives in Broad Ripple now) and a couple friends of his and found a spot where we could all see. While we were standing there just chit chatting away, our friend Eric comes strolling by. I'm always so happy to see him. The funny thing is, he lives in Kokomo, and I NEVER see him here in town. It's almost a given that we will see him if we go to any show nearby. We also got to hang out with a couple friends, Will and Amy who just moved to Indy not too long ago. We had no idea they would be there, so that was a great surprise. It's amazing to me how many faces have become familiar at concerts these last few years. There are plenty of people out there doing exactly what Ryan and I do......we see live music as often as possible. It's a life source to us.
This is Will and Amy
This is our buddy Eric Springer
Ryan and Will being goofy as we go into The Alley Cat.............



Clint ended up meeting some "hot Betty," as he would say, and went down to a bar called The Alley Cat where they talked and could actually hear one another. We walked down there after the show and hung out with them for a little while. Clint's brother, Gauvin, was there too. He looks like Brad Pitt.....anyone know someone looking for a hot and NICE boyfriend???? It's always good to see Gauvin. I love Clint's family. So, not only did we get a great show under our belts for FREE, we also got to see some old friends and catch up a little.


This is the creepy alley we walked through to get to the Alley Cat. I would never walk down there alone, that's for sure!!!!!



Of course, Ryan and I had to do as much as we could to try to get back stage to get a picture, or at least talk to the guys. It's hard to get backstage at The Vogue. You have to know someone with more strings to pull than Clint has, but it's pretty easy to catch people from the bands outside in the back parking lot. So, that's what we did. We did end up getting to chat with them for a few minutes, but as you can imagine, everyone else wanted to talk to them too. So, after a few brief words, we snapped one picture a piece, and got out of their way. Unfortunately, my picture with the gutarist, Dan Auerbach, didn't turn out very well....surely you see what I mean :-). The picture of Ryan and Patrick Carney, the drummer, was taken just after Ryan stepped off of the curb they're standing near and almost wiped out. It was a good laugh for everyone. Maybe that's how they'll remember us.......

Ryan and Patrick Carney, the drummer...................

Me and Dan Auerbach........too bad he looks like he's sleeping....................

Yet another fun-filled weekend busting at the seams with great music and great people!!!!

Head high by the 4th of July!!!!!

Ok, I think everyone who knows me has figured out that I'm definitely a true little hoosier at heart. I love the corn, and watching it as it changes throughout the year. Some of you may remeber a couple years ago when I ran my car off the road because I was gawking at the corn. I was really excited because it was really tall, and it wasn't even close to the fourth of July. We've all heard the saying "knee high by the fourth of July," but I'm changing it to "head high by the fourth of July." Just look at these pictures!!! I mean, I know I'm short and all, but this corn is enormous!!!

Yes....I am hugging the corn....I LOVE IT!!!!!

Mom and I were out driving in the country a few days ago, and discussing the progress of the corn this year. Rather than chancing running off the road again, I decided to stop. That's when she decided we needed to take pictures....he he. I have a lot of fun with my Mom.

So, here ya go.......Head high by the fourth of July!!!!!!!

Puppy Love

Jerry's just lovin' life again:-)

Lovin' the summer time!!!!

Jen inspired me to write about how much I love the summer in her last post with her schedule for the season. I love summer, and the beautiful weather, and the opportunities it brings us to enjoy the outdoors. It's always easier to entertain yourself in the summer. If nothing else, I'll go lay outside and sleep in the sun while I get baked.




Of course, Ryan and I have had several bon fires already. It was actually too hot to have them for a few nights, but it's been perfect for about the last week.This is Shawn Kirby's little fire pit.....Mine is much bigger than his....he he he he....Oh, and much more manly......... (Are you reading this Shawn???)





We also went to Shawn Kirby and Monique's house last weekend, and had a little get together with some friends and a few drinks. Since Ryan and I are such hard core advocates of sober driving....we stayed in the Spongebob room at Shawn's so we didn't take any chances. He only live out on 31, but I won't even chance a couple miles. It's not worth it.......





So, anyway, we had a great time with them, and the next day, they brought their little boy Aiden out to Lantz's Pit to swim with us. That was fun, but the guys were disappointed that they took the big log roll away. My guess is too many people got hurt on that thing....it was dangerous!!!



I made Ryan buy me a swing to put in the yard, and I will soon be sitting out enjoying all my bird feeders I have around the yard. I told him that's a sure sign I'm getting old. I'm exstatic over having this swing in my yard. Just another one of those little things I love about summer. Just sitting outside, watching the world go by.........


Ryan and I need to get our fishing licenses so we can get out and do some fishing too. I haven't fished at all this year....what's wrong with me. My Dad's probably throwing a fit right now :-)





We also have a canoe trip planned with a couple friends of ours who live near a pretty decent sized creek out east of Kokomo. it's usually an all day trip, and covers several miles, so that's always fun too. we will stop on a couple small islands along the way to eat and swim or what ever we want to do. maybe some fishing....who knows.





Then, of course, Ryan and I have plenty of trips planned to follow Ekoostik Hookah around. In fact, next weekend is a two day run across the whole lenght of Ohio...I can't wait!! I'm going Friday night to Cincinnnatti with Kellyann and her husband, and we're coming back to get Ryan from Kokomo Saturday and then going up to Sylvania Ohio, which is near Toledo. It's really not a bad drive...only about two and a half hours. But, Saturday will be mostly driving since we're coming from Cinci and then going up north to Toledo.....ROAD TRIP!!!!!! I love it!!!! The Centennial Terrace in Sylvania is an outdoor venue, and has a rock quarry where you can swim before the show.....hopefully we'll get moving early enough Saturday to get some swimming in.





Anyway, just getting excited like a little kid on summer vacation. There's so much more I want to do before the summer is over...I wish I could take about three months off every year.





.............maybe I should've been a teacher. Jen...you tell Chad I'm jealous!!!!!





LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

HAPPY SUMMER!!!!!!!!

Hookahville night two.......

OK....here's day two of Hookahville....only two weeks later....... :-)

This is the lead singer of the Wailers, Bob Marley's old group. They were awesome, and played songs we all knew and sang along with. It's crazy how good reggae can make ya feel!!!!!

This is the hill where a lot of people hang out and watch the bands and the crowd. We had absolutely gorgeous weather too!!!!

The crowd and vendors...........



I think this was while the Wailers were playing.....Ryan looks pretty hot, huh?!?

These are the girls who sing backup for The Wailers.....

This is Nick Reynolds being silly :-)

There's my man, Eric....only got to say hi briefly, but I did get my hug!!!!!

This is John Mullins, the lead singer........
And my man again....singing this time!!!!
cool lights.....................
Ashley, Kellyann, and TeShannah after the big show..............
Ashley....passsed out after the big show......he he he.....I know you look at this blog sometimes Ash :-)
Matt and TeShanna cuddling.....awwwwwww................

Kellyann and I getting ready to head home..................Ryan and I just before we left.........................
We already bought our tickets for Fall Hookahville........Let the countdown begin!!!!!!

so sad

I was driving down Alto road yesterday and saw a Momma duck and her ducklings crossing the road close behind her. Traffic had slowed down to a complete stop while the little guys wandered back and forth. They finally made it to the other side of ther road, but the sad thing was, there were about three of them hit by the time people stopped for them.

It broke my heart. Momma looked so confused. I have been thinking about those ducks and their Momma for two days now.

New Song I'm Diggin'

Green

~Dave Katz

I love the river's sound,easy as it goes

Barefoot on the ground, grass between my toes

A sense of freedom, fills the morning air

A lonely mushroom grows, beneath the wooden stair

I love a stormy night, the rumble and the roar

At first sign of light, the eagles up and soar

The sun will shine, each and every day

Even through cloudy skies, I can feel the warming rays

Long nights of cold can fast grow old

Then spring breaks through and life renews

I feel...

Green, fill me up with joy

Green, all that I enjoy

Green, turn my head around, wrap me up in sound,

rise up from the ground

I watch the treetops blow, swaying in the breeze

I watch the garden grow,once I plant my seed

I hear the songbird sing, a song for all to hear

Coyote howls at night, up to the sky so clear

As days grow long the sun shines strong

The south wind blows and nature knows

It's time for...I look up to the sky, and let my run free

A single butterfly, dances with a bee

I dream of times to come, memories to be made,

I think of days gone by, times I'd never trade

Look what he did now................

Oh yeah....I forgot to give everyone my sob story about how I had to work eight days in a row before I was able to take time off for Hookahville. Anyone who was near me during those eight days heard about it...believe me.



Ryan, being the wonderful man that he is, sent me flowers on the last day of my eight day stretch......wasn't that so sweet of him!!!!!!



He knew I had been about to blow my top all week long, and I had been complaining of how the last day was going drag on and on, so he thought that would be a nice way of making the day a little better for me. He melts my heart :-)

Aren't they gorgeous?!?!?! I had to dump half of the water out to get them home....they were huge. Ryan is so wonderful!!!!!

I'm BACK!!!!!!!

WE'RE BACK!!!!!!!!

Well, it has taken me a minute to collect my thoughts, and get them together enough to translate them into something you could all understand!!! Still.......I think the pictures really speak for themselves. We had the time of our lives!!!! Not to mention, we spent the weekend with a small family of great friends. it couldn't have been much better!!!

I'm gonna do a couple different posts...maybe one for each night....let's see how it works out!!!

First, we'll start out with a couple pics of the sunrise....We left at 4:00 am Friday morning....so we had the beautiful sunrise to guide our way.....

Matt and TeShannah were very excited to be on their way to their first Hookahville!!

We set up camp with five other couple, so there was twelve of us all together. That was awesome to have everyone to look out for eachother. We ended up with a great little camping community with our canopies and a shared bonfire for the weekend.

One of my friends from work, Julie came along for her first Hookahville too!!! Turned out it was a successful mission!!

And there's Kellyanne and her sweet hubby Dave!!!

Had to get some silly photos of the gang!!! Isn't it amazing how well Ryan's head fits through that little doggie door ?!?!?

Yeah....I wore a tail :-)

Here's all the girls......me, TeShannah, Ashley, Julie, April, and Kellyanne. Good times!!!

Dave and his drum....we hit a couple drum circles after the show Friday night. Dave is always playing some kind of instrument!!! He rocks!!! And kellyanne had a little time in the spotlight in the drum circle herself!!! Sounded like she had lots of fun!!!

Gotta throw in a couple of the band!!!! Cliffy jumped in on banjo with one of the opening bands. it was awesome!!

Me, Ashley, and TeShannah......Three sheets to the wind :-)!!!!!

This is my great friend Kelly Jo from Michigan!!! I always love to see her. We have so much fun dancing together. Her friend made the tails :-)

OK, that's gonna do it for night one.......

TO BE CONTINUED........................

I was playing on the computer at work and found a fun little way to waste some time........(that sounds really bad since I'm at work, doesn't it?) Anyway, I made a puzzle out of this picture from Hookahville last year. Check out flash-gear.com to make your own puzzles and other fun stuff.

See if you can piece us together.... http://three.flash-gear.com/npuz/puz.php?c=v&id=2679843&k=12549774

Hookahville Countdown

The countdown has officially begun!!!! Hookahville is Memorial day weekend....only 3 more sleeps 'til I crawl out of bed at 3:30 AM to get ready to head to my paradise!!!!!

I am so excited for Hookahville this year. I have a few friends who are going to tag along that have never been before. I hope they have as much fun as I always do!!!!

So far, the weather is looking pretty good. There is a possibility of scattered thunder storms Saturday, but a little rain never hurt a hookahhead!!!! We don't melt!!!

I'm really excited because we get to see Bob Marley's old band, The Wailers. I've seen them live once before, and they blew my mind....I'm ready for my head to explode all over again!! And, of course, I always look forward to seeing my Hookah boys :-)

I did get a digital camera to replace the one that got stolen from my tent last month. My friend Mandy just gave it to me....wasn't that nice of her?!?! She said she couldn't stand hearing me whine about not having a camera anymore. Do you think that means she just gave it to me to shut me up??? Hmmmmm....I'm not sure, but I'm sure glad that's what she decided to do with it. It's not as fancy as mine was, but it'll be perfect to throw in my purse, and tote around with me......So, I will be posting pictures sometime after next weekend!!!!

Can't wait to tell you all about it!!!!!

If That Were Me

This video is posted on the home page of the Companion Animal Association. Please take a few minutes to watch....this is why we do what we do......

Mom's Dr. Appt.

Thank you so much to everyone for your concern for my mom over the past week or so. She went to the Dr. yesterday, and I was pretty surprised with how well it went. Of course I'm skeptical because I'm not sure I like this Dr. You may all remeber him from getting fired from taking care of Grammy....yeah, it's Dr. Yoo. I had no say so in where she went to start, but I can set her up with a second opinion....which I think I may still do.

Anyway, her Cat Scan report didn't show any obnormality in her chest like they originally thought from her Upper GI report. So, that was great news. It did show a moderate hiatal hernia which we knew was there already. Dr. Yoo didn't even mention the hernia until I asked specifically about it. That made me mad. But, he did change her medications a little, and we're going to see if that helps at all.

It is so frustrating trying to work with my mom to keep her feeling better. She doesn't understand the simple things like not eating greasy foods. That was one of the main things he focused on was her diet, and the first thing she said when we left his office was "Can we go to McDonald's?" I tried to explain to her that McD's is greasy food, but we nearly got into a fight about it. She told me French fries are greasy but burgers aren't. So she ordered a double cheesburger, and got a stomach ache afterwards...go figure. That's the very same thing she did the last time we left there.

Those are the little things that I wish she could comprehend better. So, we'll see how she does on her new meds, and keep our fingers crossed.

Thank you again for all your prayers and concerns. I really appreciate everyone's support.

Jerry on my mind

My baby boy, Jerry has been having a pretty rough couple of weeks. I'm really worried that this is the beginning of the end for him.

He re-injured his back about two weeks ago, and after a visit to the vet and some puppy pain pills, he seemed to be doing much better. Then, a couple nights ago, he jumped off the couch and his right front paw gave out. That means he's only got one good leg right now. He can't even pull himself around in his wheels now.

We have an appointment at the vet again tomorrow, and I'm hoping they will tell me this is temporary. As long as we have him medicated, he doesn't seem to be in any pain. He seems very frustrated though. You can see it in his eyes. He'll try to pull himself closer to something, and struggle until either I pick him up, or he just wears himself out and collapses. He will let out this sigh like he just can't give anymore. It's breaking my heart.

His original injury had him in worse shape than he's in now, but we were pretty sure that he would recover quite well. Luckily, we were right...that time. I have a bad feeling that this time is different. I just can't imagine taking him in to put him down, but I also can't let him lay around and have to be carried everywhere. Sometimes he gets this look in his eyes like "Can't you do something for me?" I actually cried by his side most of the night Sunday trying to decide what to do.

I'm still not sure what the right answer is. I just know I don't want him to suffer anymore..........this is killing me..............................

Happy Belated!!!

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LIZZIE!!!!

Prayer Request

My Mom has been having problems with her stomach for a long time. Part of it has been due to her continuous meds over the years for her schizophrenia, and that can't be stopped, but thankfully, they have continued to run tests to see if there were other problems that they COULD help solve. She has a lot of pain in her chest and abdomen, and she has nausea and vomiting nightly.

I took her to Howard Regional for an Upper GI on Monday, and they found a large hiatal hernia. They may need to do surgery to fix that. What I'm extremely concerned about right now is the fact that they found a mass in her chest around her esophagus. She is going this Friday for a Cat Scan of her chest at DR Wexler's office. I'm glad we're doing it there, because I will be able to see her images, and talk to Dr. Wexler as soon as she's done.

After we get those results back, her doctor will then decide what needs to be done to help her. Until then, please keep my mom in your thoughts and prayers.

She doesn't know the extent of it yet. I decided it was best just to wait until all the testing is complete and her doctor and I can sit down with her together. She worries for months if I have a runny nose, so I thought it was best this way.....

9 year old to blow your mind

So, while I've been sitting here at work this weekend, Ekoostik Hookah was rocking out just like normal......except for one little detail: They had a nine year old helping them out on guitar.

Check this little guy out!!! This video is from youtube, and was recorded last night at the show I missed. I'm pretty sure the person recording was not sober :-)

Myspace for Dogs

Most of you are familiar with Myspace....but have you ever heard of Dogster.com ? Basically, it's like Myspace for dogs. You can create a page for your dog and their family. They can then get "Pup Pals" who are other dogs whose crazy moms like myself have put a page up for them.

It's kind of fun to look through all the dogs on there. Some of them have diaries...I just started one for Jerry today. Some of them have hilarious owners who make their profiles hysterical. You should check it out. here's the link to Jerry's page....you can get to my other babies under Jerry's family: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/526353

Jerry has made a couple friends who are in doggie carts just like him. It's been fun sharing stories with other dog lovers. Maybe Uncle Dale and Chancy need a page........................

ANYBODY OUT THERE????

OH WHERE OH WHERE HAVE MY BLOGGER FRIENDS GONE?????