happy birthday to me!!!!

Ryan bought tickets for me for my birthday for another Ekoostik Hookah show in Columbus, Ohio. So, this past Saturday, we started yet another road trip following the SCHWA. (That's what they call their logo which is an upside down lower case "e") So, yes, that's what we do....we follow the SCHWA.




The weather Saturday was a little scary as we were heading into Ohio. There were blue skies on one side of us, and BLACK skies on the other. At one point, the clouds were all swirling around so much that we were sure we were about to see a tornado....it was beautiful in a really scary way!!!


Just before we got into Columbus, the sun peeked out behind us. It was blinding from my rear view mirror, but it was really cool up against the dark clouds.

After getting into town, we ate dinner with a couple friends at a nice little brewery. Ryan loved that, being the beer connoisseur that he is. After dinner, we headed over to The Newport ( the venue where they had the show.) There was an opening band, but we on ly caught the last couple songs of theirs. They were a local Columbus band called "Guest." I didn't mind their music, but I was so excited to see my boys that I felt like they couldn't quit playing soon enough!!!

I had the chance to talk to Dave (the keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist) for a little while before the show. It's so awesome that these guys are so involed with their fans. Most of us who stand up front at all the shows know eachother's names now, and the band knows all of us too. That makes it so much fun.

I was really excited to hear Eric sing the song "Carabou." That was my birthday wish...just to hear Eric sing...he melts my heart...and he knows it :-) I also got what he called my "birthday picture" with him holding me...I'm so glad Ryan is so understanding about my guilty pleasure!!!!




The show was outstanding. They played several of our favorite songs, and they also covered an old Neil Young tune called "Cripple Creek Ferry," which I absolutely love. My butt and legs are still killing me 4 days later from dancing my tail off. But, hey, it's good exercise!!!



After the show, we went to an after party and hung out with a couple members of the band. Eric was there, so I was in seventh heaven, because I got to hang out with MY MAN!!!! We hung out by a bon fire and had a few drinks. I got to meet several people that I have talked to through the Ekoostik Hookah mailing list, so that was pretty cool. Made a lot of new friends.










We finally made it to bed at about 5:00 A.M. We stayed at our friend Michelle's house, so we didn't have to fork out any money for a hotel room....I'm tellin' ya, it's good gettin' in close with these people. We're in Ohio so much that it's nice to have a few free places to stay when we go there.

Anyway, that was Saturday night, and that was just the beginning of my birthday celebration...it continued through Monday night. I'll try to blog a little about that for ya later...I've got some fun pictures.

All I know for sure is the fact that I do NOT feel 31 years old...and I'm gonna keep playing as long as my little body will let me!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

LOVE MY MAMA !!!!

I just wanted to say how much I love my mom and how proud I am of her.

I never thought she would be capable of living the life she now leads. It's simple compared to most of our hectic days, but she is handling it on her own now.....I never thought she could.

It has been nearly eight years that she has been out on her own. Of course, there have been a few short term visits to the hospital since then, but nothing over a couple weeks. In fact, it's been almost two years now since she was in the hospital the last time. That's a record for her!!


She still has her "bad" days once in awhile. Those are the days when she sits in bed screaming what sound like obsenities in German. I never know what she's saying, but I know it's not good...I have learned to know that those times are temporary, and to just let them pass as calmly as possible. I do my best not to try to reason with her, because there's no talking a paranoid shizophrenic out of being paranoid.


The really sad thing about it is that she is aware of the fact that she wasn't making sense after the fact. Usually two or three days later, she'll appologize for things she said or did. She has always had such a kind heart. Everyone in the family has told me that she has been this way as long as they've known her........she must have been, for my dad to fall for her like he did. Even after they had been divorced for several years, and even after long term hospitalization, Dad always told me she was his one true love. There was a part of him that was very sad that it probably wouldn't ever happen. I believe that IS true. Even if dad was still around, I don't think Mom would be in the position she's in now. I truely believe that losing my father helped make my mom strong. It was the first time she didn't have Dad to take care of her. Within one year of the time Dad passed away, Mom was living on her own for the first time EVER. I am so proud of her.

I am so blessed to have had such a good relationship with my parents. Even though sometimes the roles are reversed with Mom and me, I couldn't be happier with her. And my dad....well that's for another blog......He would be proud too!!!!

Happy days from Hookahville

Here are a few more pictures from Hookahville!!! I've been to two shows since then, so forgive me if I don't remember much as far as detail....


Cliff Starbuck (Cliffy as we know him) rocked my socks off with the horn section backing him up.....and then he did a little yodeling for us. To Ekoostik Hookah fans, it's always a big highlight to hear Cliffy yodel. Never really thought I'd get excited over a yodeler (is that really a word?) But Cliffy never ceases to amaze!!!!!



Of course, I got several pictures of Eric, the drummer. He's my buddy!!!! I can't wait for November when we go to their recording party in Atlanta...it includes dinner and an after party with the band. Ryan and I always try to talk to Eric when we see them...he's very down to earth considering how many of us little hippies worship him. There's never a dull moment with him and Ryan in the same room.....they're both hysterical!!!



This is a picture of the front of Eric's bass drum....also now my profile picture on myspace.












Then there's the astounding Steve Sweney....guitar guru. Ryan and I are convinced he's from another planet!!!!












Also, we have Dave Kats, who always sports a hat with his son's name on it. (Dash) Wow, wouldn't you love to have a name like "Dash Kats?" He's destined to be famous just for his name if nothing else!!! Oh yeah, Dave is an awesome gutair player, and usually mans the keyboards and sings his little heart out!!!! He brings a lot of energy to the stage!!!!








Ryan and I bought this huge soccer ball on clearance from CVS before the trip....you all know how I fell about the clearance aisle....could never pass it by!!! But anyway, it was the best $3.00 investment ever!!!! We mainly used it as a huge volleyball...but you could kick it or throw it or hit it with your head....whatever...we didn't really have any rules....we don't like rules!!!!




















There's my sweet baby angel with his beautiful "chocolate locks" as he calls them. If you can't tell, I think he had a few drinks in him by the time this photo was taken :-)
















The weather was kind of chilly and rainy, but both nights, just before Ekoostik Hookah took the stage, the blue sky started to peek through all the gloom.....I had to get a picture of the only blue sky we saw while we were there....it was beautiful!!!













Sunday morning is always kind of a bummer...here are our friends Liz, Kelly, Dave and Matt from Indy packin' up for the weekend......so sad to say goodbye. You know, it seems strange, but we see some of our friends more often when we're out of state than we do when we're home.... even though they only live an hour away......



The countdown has now begun for the recording party in Atlanta Georgia in November. That will be our next big Hookah gathering. I can't wait!!

just for Jenny

OK OK, I know it's been a long time since I've blogged about anything, but dang, I've been busy!!!!!

Jenny requested some blog info about Hookahville. It was a blast....other than some rain and cold weather. i got to see the Family Stone Experience...you know, Sly and the Family Stone who was at Woodstock....that was awesome!!!! There was a really good Grateful Dead cover band called Shakedown. I'm always skeptical about cover bands, but they were great!!!

I know this is short, but I have to get back to work....here's a few pictures...I'll get back on the blog soon and give ya some more details!!!!

Love you all!!!!

More Chicago....

This is a big glass bubbble that you can see your reflection perfectly in...It was so sunny that I could hardly keep my eyes open.




This picture is looking upward from the inside of the big bubble....WHOA!!!!!!


This photo is actually our reflections in the big bubble....I wish I knew the correct name for this thing...it's not really called "the big bubble."



There were several of these mimes around doing all types of crazy stuff. This guy was actually just posing...perfectly still for a few minutes. We got tired of watching him doing nothing, so we moved on to the rest of the mimes.

Ryan and I also spent a lot of time walking around the city while we were in Chicago this weekend. Our hotel was on Michigan Avenue, across the street from Grant Park, so there was something going on all weekend long. Lots of live music, lots of weirdos doing their thing on the streets for money, but you know, at least the weirdos were DOING SOMETHING for their moeny instead of sitting on the ground with a bottle of whiskey crying their woes to everyone.

Never a dull moment in Chicago....... This is the Lurie Garden in Grant Park...across the street from our hotel...beautiful day!!!



The hotel was old and very interesting to walk around in. It's called the Congress Plaza Hotel. Just down the road from the Drake, if you're familiar with that. The rooms had a little to be desired, but the rest of the building was gorgeous...

These pictures were taken at different points throughout the day from our hotel window. We were on the 13th floor, so we had a pretty nice view. There was a storm rolling in when we got back from the game. It was awesome to watch the clouds rolling over the lake.........

And our view at night was beautiful!!!

This is a fountain in Grant Park that I just HAD to play in........

This is my spinach ravioli at Giordano's Italian restaurant....I was a little shocked at the green pasta, but it was delicious AND pretty.......

Go Cubs!!!

OK, I know I said I would blog soon about the Jonbenet crap, but I honestly forgot all about it this weekend while I was in Chicago. I need to read up on it, and then I'll post some opinions, because I know just how important my opinion is to me :-)

Anyway, Saturday was Ryan's birthday. Neither one of us had ever been to Wrigley Field, so he bought us Cubs tickets for his birthday. Yes, I said HE bought them. I offered to at least pay for my own seat since it was HIS day, but he insisted that since it was his birthday, he could do and pay for whatever he wanted...no questions asked.

We got to see the better of the two games this weekend against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs won in the 10th inning, so it was a great game. I'm officially a Cubs fan now!! I got some pretty good pictures of the game..........
These guys were really cool. They stood outside the gates playing their horns for a long time before the game started. I liked it because it kind of reminded me of how the baseball games and atmosphere were portrayed years ago. Made me feel "All American" or something like that!!



These last two pictures are zoomed A LOT from our seats. These are the bleachers on top of the buildings across the street from Wrigley field. I'm sure that's no big deal to people who have been to games before, but I got kick out of watching the drunks on the tops of the buildings....who needs binoculars when you have a camera with 10x zoom!!! These folks were a great addition to all the other entertainment!!!

Breaking News

Has everyone heard they actually arrested someone in the Jon Benet Ramsey case. Apparently a teacher who has been held in Thailand for some reason....

I only caught a couple minutes of this while I was in a patient's room at work. I need to go watch some TV, but don't have time...I have more work to do.

I'll be back blogging about this soon!!!!!

This Day in Music History...

1985
Michael Jackson outbids Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono, at $47.5 million, to obtain catalog rights to 250 songs written by John Lennon and McCartney.

hhmmmm.........Michael was a creep 21 years ago too...how about that....


1941
David Crosby is born David Van Courtland in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Byrds, then teams up with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash to form Crosby, Stills & Nash in 1968. The group wins the best new artist Grammy in 1969.

Who doesn't love David Crosby???? HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID (as if he'd ever see this)

:-)