the best gift

a little sampling of our christmas fun. it was very nice to be together and see everyone.

our homemade gift exchange is the best. everyone's gifts were very creative this year: pillow, memory book, fabric dry erase board, etched glass, christmas stocking, scarf, moccasins, cake balls and granola. but i think the gift i received was the greatest.

my brother, aaron, is an amazing pianist. not only can he just sit down and play anything you put in front of him... he can sit down and create amazing pieces from scratch. he composes beautiful music. it's an incredible gift... and he gave it to me. he made a CD of him playing some beautiful piano music. also included on the CD are a couple original pieces that he composed, they are amazing. like i said, the greatest gift.

Jack

was amazing. seriously so great to see him in concert. he played like a mad man, song after song. they were all amazing. he played at the outdoor cricket wireless pavilion in west phoenix. the weather was perfect and we laid out a blanket on the grass and hung out under the stars while listening to the great music {and eating cinnamon bears}.

zee avi played for the first hour, then G-Love played for the next hour and then Jack J played for the last 2 hours. he was seriously on fire. his guitar playing was amazing and his voice was even better. and the pianist he had on stage was pretty darn incredible too. made me fall in love with his music all over again. and it didn't hurt that he played one of {our} fav songs, breakdown {go listen to it}. what i liked the most was how casual it all was... so relaxed and happy. he puts on a good concert. it was a good night and E enjoyed it too... win-win in my book.

this is a great review of the concert {also includes the set list}.

thursday thoughts

i'm working 7:30am - 7:30pm today. but it's ok, because i really like my job.

if everything goes as planned, escrow will close on the jasper house next week.

we've started looking at houses in gilbert and it's fun {that's where we want to move and it's closer to my new job}.

we've moved 5 times in our 6 years of marriage.

i'm still obsessed with yellow and blue {if you were wondering}.

E sold his harley.

we're trying something new with the infertility stuff. E gets to give himself shots 3 times a week... it's very exciting.

this weekend i am going to sew and pray for cooler weather.

some lyrics to one of my favorite songs: on my bones by kendall payne
What this love has brought me
What this love has taught me
Patience in battle, who's in the saddle
Joy and despair, that I really do care
Uncertain desire the risk in going higher
Oh this love has been hard on my bones

What this God has brought me
What this God has taught me
Passion and grace, how to stand in one's space
Laughing at lilies, what truly fulfills me
Death on a cross, it was I that was lost
Oh this God has been life to these bones
Oh this God has been life to my bones

the weekend

the weekend in huntington was great {E came with me but kind of did his own thing the whole weekend}.

friday my mom, sis and i went shopping. which was lots of fun and i bought this dress at Anthro. it is so comfortable and super cute {plus it has pockets}. we made a great dinner that night and an awesome peach cobbler.

saturday morning, mom left and ali and i hung out and got pedicures and then in the late afternoon took off for the lilith fair at irvine meadows. it was awesome! we had GA tickets so we sat on the lawn for the first couple hours. but right before Sarah McLachlan came on they were offering free upgrades for seats in the terrace. so we jumped on that and moved to our new seats which were much better. which was awesome cause sarah was awesome. we saw brandi carlile, miranda lambert and sarah machlachlan {there were about 5 other artists but we didn't really know who they were or like their music}. but it was so great! i've wanted to see Sarah McLachlan for years and she didn't disappoint. she only played for about an hour but i would've listened for a lot longer. it was all worth it just to see sarah, she sounded amazing. loved it and thanks for coming with me ali.

our first seats on the grass

the view

our upgraded seats

Miranda Lambert and Brandi Carlile

SARAH

these are some official lilith pics that i did not take. but love.

sunday E and i stopped at the beach, watched the world cup and then drove home. it was a great weekend {thanks ali and ryan}.

inner city pressure

This week has been crazy. I will be so happy when it is over. Just have to get through one more day. In the meantime, this is a sample of what gets me through each day.

U2

I have been so unmotivated to blog... not to mention extremely busy. But I have to post about the U2 concert because it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! There is so much I could say. And I don't think that my words will do it justice.

Four years ago, in December of 2005 we saw U2 in Salt Lake City during their Vertigo Tour. Our seats weren't the best; we were behind the band and up really high. But I remember the concert as being pretty good, I mean it was U2. But I also remember saying to Eric at the end of it, "If only I could have been on the floor in the pit."

Ten days ago, in October of 2009 we saw U2 again in Phoenix during their 360 Tour. This time I was determined to be in the pit.
We had purchased General Admission tickets months ago and slowly the day of the concert approached. I took the day off and was prepared to get to the stadium as early as possible. With GA tickets you have to wait in line to enter the concert. There is no preassigned seat for you, you are standing on the floor, potentially in the pit. We had some friends come down for the concert and had decided on our plan on action beforehand. Tuesday, October 20th came and Paul Richards and I got to the University of Phoenix Stadium at 8am with our chairs, food and things to keep us occupied. We staked our place in line and began the waiting. I would say there were about 250 people in front of us. We settled in and started counting down the hours. I read a lot, took a couple walks, and played some games with Paul to pass the time. Finally around 3pm, Eric and JD showed up and brought us some lunch. Shortly after that, Security told everyone that we had to take all our stuff back to our cars. Meaning chairs, books, food, etc. anything that we couldn't bring into the concert. Then we were stuck standing up in line till about 4:30. They finally started to take our tickets, usher us in like cattle and gave us wristbands. At that point we stood there for another half hour or so crowded in with a bunch of people. All waiting to get onto the floor. When they eventually let us go, it was a mad dash to get to the spot you wanted. People sprinting as fast as they could to find a valued spot in the pit. As I was running, the girl next to me tripped and fell. I hesitated wondering if I should stop and help her, but I didn't, I kept running (sad, I know).
We ended up in the pit, right in front (against the rail and as close to the stage as you can get) and a little to the right (Adam's side). Then we waited another 2.5 hours till Black Eyed Peas came on. And surprisingly, they were pretty awesome. I liked them a lot more than I thought I would. They put on a great show. After BEP there was a half hour break and then U2 came on.
Oh man, I get so excited just thinking about it again! It was seriously incredible. The sound was perfect. You could see their facial expressions. They would laugh and joke with each other and I felt a part of it. Their music was inspiring and beautiful. Sometimes it brought tears to my eyes. We rocked out and sang along. It was pure happiness. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. I was in heaven and kept looking at Eric like, "We are really here and this is unbelievable." One of the greatest things about U2's concert was how much they were enjoying it. Maybe that's all just part of the show but everytime I looked at their faces, I saw pure joy in what they were doing. The music and experience was amazing. I didn't want it to be over. I wanted them to play all their songs all night long.
But it came to an end and the lights switched back on. My legs were so stiff that I could barely walk back to the car. But I made it and as I sat there on the drive home, my heart was happy because I made it into the pit. It was all so worth it!

Phoenix, AZ

October 20, 2009

U2


we got 4 GA (general admission) tickets. i am so pumped for this concert... i seriously get crazy excited butterflies in my stomach when i think about it. can.not.wait.

some lyrics and a project

some lyrics - Yahweh by U2Take these shoes, click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes, and make them fit

Take this shirt, polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt, and make it clean... clean

Take this soul, stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul and make it sing

Yahweh, Yahweh... always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh... still I’m waiting for the dawn

Take these hands, teach them what to carry
Take these hands, don’t make a fist

Take this mouth, so quick to criticise
Take this mouth, give it a kiss

Yahweh, Yahweh... always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh... still I’m waiting for the dawn

Still waiting for the dawn
The sun is coming up... the sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean

Yahweh, Yahweh... always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, tell me now... why the dark before the dawn?

Take this city, a city should be shining on a hill
Take this city, if it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart, Take this heart
Take this heart and make it break


a project (i listed it 5 days ago and it has already sold!)

U23D

Eric and I saw U23D (a 3D concert in the theatre, you wear 3D glasses and all). It was awesome, at least I thought it was.

Some of my thoughts...
Before I met Eric, I knew of U2 but hadn't listened to them much and only knew their most popular songs. Since meeting Eric I have become a devoted (borderline obsessed) fan.

I love their music and the message it gives.

Eric and I possess "The Complete U2" which is practically every song ever created and sung by U2.

I love the song, Staring at the Sun.







Eric and I play our U2 game on road trips all the time. This is one of my favorite games to play with Eric(partly because it is one of the only games he will even play with me). While Eric drives, I control the ipod and randomly select U2 songs. Eric then has to guess what song it is and what album it is on. He is really good at it. I love it!

I was so moved while watching U23D that I actually got teary eyed during some of the songs.

Right before Eric proposed to me, we were listening to "Where the Streets Have No Name". It will forever be one of my favorite songs.

I would give almost anything to meet U2.

Eric and I saw a U2 Concert in Salt Lake about 2 years ago. I desperately want to see them play again.

U2 can always put me in a good mood.

Not afraid to be ME by Kendall Payne

I’ve got a new way of living now: a little less of a lot, a little more of nothing
Thought you might have seen the change in me; little quicker to listen, little slower to speak
I was wrong when I said I was strong, I am weak and I need all that you have to give
I cannot keep the voices quiet inside, hear them sing, hear the scream, at least I know I’m alive

I am meeting myself and I am liking what I see
I am not afraid anymore, Not afraid to be bored, Not afraid to be me

Every battle leads to another war, every day I’m reminded of what I’m fighting for
It’s never easy and it’s never the same, but it’s worth all I’ve got and so I’ll give it again

I am meeting myself and I am liking what I see
I am not afraid anymore, Not afraid to be bored, Not afraid to be me

Now I don’t know why, I don’t know why; But it makes me want to cry, cry

I am meeting myself and I am ready to see
Truth can break our heart, that is when it will start to set us free

I've got a new way of living now: a little less of a lot, a little more of nothing
Thought you might have seen the change in me, little quicker to listen, little slower to speak

Redondo Beach - Birthday Weekend

After I got off work last Friday, Eric and I headed to Redondo Beach for a little weekend getaway. We got to Redondo and checked into our hotel, (it was a little ghetto, but the price was perfect) The Redondo Pier Inn. Then we took off to find some food. I was craving In and Out like mad, so I made Eric drive around and find me one. We finally succeed in locating one about 40 minutes later and boy was it worth it. It tasted so good. We were then off to see Pato Banton on the Redondo Beach Pier. Our hotel was like 2 blocks from the pier so we walked to the concert at about 9:30. Pato finally came on stage about 10:30 and it was amazing. He is such an awesome person. He is the most sincere, humble, spiritual, unselfish man. Plus his music is great! He played until about 1:00 am and then we got his autograph and walked back to the hotel. Theres a picture of what pato wrote to us when he signed our CD case, check it out.

We brought our bikes with us and on Saturday morning we went on a bike ride together. We rode on the bike path that runs along the beach. It was such a beautiful day, I really enjoyed it. After our short bike ride, Eric took off on a longer ride and I went shopping. We met back up checked out of our hotel (which we found out was owned by an LDS family, funny huh). We went to this awesome triathlon store called Tri Lab. We spent a couple hours there looking at stuff and talking to people. Eric was in heaven. It was actually really fun. Anything is fun when you are near the beach though. After that we headed to the pier to eat lunch. We ate some great pizza and explored the pier a little.

We were planing on heading home after that but decided to stop by Ali and Ryan's house on our way home. We ended up playing mini golf with them and we weaseled our way around paying. The girl at the cash registered said we could play for free, sweet. And of course, like usual in mini golf, I won. We went back to their house and checked out their sweet new TV by watching a movie. We got home late Saturday night.

We had such a fun time. I love the time I get to spend with Eric. He's always up for anything and he is just so great! We decided it would be my birthday weekend (we'll be gone over my birthday weekend) and I couldn't have had a better birthday.