Best. Weekend. Ever!

I've had to take a full week to recuperate from the awesomeness that is Wilco.

On Feb. 19, 2010, Kristen and I attended the Wilco concert at the DECC in Duluth. It was our third time seeing them, and front-row seats assured us maximum exposure. Not that we flashed the band (although I'm sure we thought of it), but we could see every member of the band, and they saw us, too.

Look at us. A pair of Wilco-lovin' fools.

Here's my future husband, the already-married, Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy. He kept looking at me while singing and smiled at me many times. It was swoon-tastic. At first I thought I was imagining things until Kristen leaned over and said "Jeff Tweedy keeps looking at you!" And a little later, the woman on the other side of me leaned over and said the same thing.

The show was amazing. They always put on a spectactular performance, but with our seats, it really felt like a private concert just for us. I blocked out everyone else.

Until some drunk d-bag moved from the back/side of the seats and stood in front of me. And by in front of me, I mean practically on me. He refused to move even after I, Kristen and a girl in the row behind me told him to leave. So I looked at Jeff Tweedy and shrugged hopelessly. Without breaking from singing, he pointed at the d-bag, then pointed to leave. Mother. Effing. Awesome!

Wilco played an excellent show. They opened with "Wilco (The Song)" off last year's Wilco (The Album). I ♥ funny musicians. Other songs I'd been craving and were played include: "Via Chicago" (which Kristen & I requested on their official Web site), "Heavy Metal Drummer," "A Shot in the Arm," "Impossible Germany" and "Jesus, Etc."

At one point the crowd was supposed to clap along to the beat of the drums, but we were all way off. The pianist tried getting us back on track, but it was difficult. Kristen and I made asses of ourselves trying to get the real beat, and these two guys (directly in front of us!) laughed at us.

This is pretty much my favorite picture I took at the concert. It's already framed and sitting on my bedroom end table next to a framed art print of a blue mix tape labeled "Baby, please don't go."

Speaking of pictures... AAAAHHHH! Jeff Tweedy jumped down in front of my camera and held this pose for me until I gave him the thumbs up that I got it. Unfortunately, bad zoom + floor buckling due to jumping fans = blurry photo. But I still have the experience. The delicious, sexy Tweedy experience.

After the concert, Kristen and I saw the drummer from Bon Iver. K-Lo spotted him and shook his hand. I couldn't hear what was happening, so I just thought he was some hot guy she knew. After we walked away and she told me who he was, I toppled over into the seats in amazement and shock and slight exasperation that she hadn't told me in time so that *I* could intro myself.

By the way, the opening band was Califone, and we approve'd! Kristen bought their CD at Electric Fetus from a hot, sweater-wearing boy, and I'm listening to an older CD of theirs from the library. Good stuff!

We also purchased gig posters made specifically for the Duluth concert, and I'll post a pic once I get the mat and frame altogether.

Memorable K-Lo quotes from the concert: "What if I pee my pants? Ah, I'll just keep rockin'!"

"I dance like Elaine Benes."

"I think Wilco was equally entertained by us tonight."

"I want to have sex with this concert."

Me, too, K-Lo. Me, too.

Children are the future? We're screwed.

At the library:

Me: Okay, your movies are due back in one week. So next Wednesday.

Girl: What's a week?

Me: Do you know the days of the week?

Girl: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Me: And what day is today?

Girl: Thursday?

Me: No. It's Wednesday. So you'll bring the movies back next Wednesday. One week.

Girl: Okay!

Her Older Brother: So, when are these due?

Me: *head slams down on counter*

Honestly. If you're old enough to check out books and movies, old enough to use the computer, and old enough to walk all the way to the library by yourself, I'm pretty sure you can figure out what a week means.

Fifth annual book list

Five-year anniversary already! I read more books in 2009 than I did in 2008, but some of them are repeats as I got ready to continue a series or watch the movie. Titles in bold are ones that I'd definitely recommend.

1) The Heretic's Daughter, by Kathleen Kent
2) City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
3) City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare
4) A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray
5) The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling
6) Once Were Cops, by Ken Bruen
7) Rebel Angels, by Libba Bray
8) Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville
9) The Sweet Far Thing, by Libba Bray
10) Sucks to be Me, by Kimberly Pauley
11) Time of my Life, by Allison Winn Scotch
12) Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs
13) The Gospel According to the Son, by Norman Mailer
14) Different Seasons, by Stephen King
15) The Night Villa, by Carol Goodman
16) City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
17) The Reader, by Bernard Schlink
18) The Curious Incidentof the Dog in the Night-time, byMark Haddon
19)The Girl With No Shadow, by Joanne Harris
20) Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar (HORRIBLE!)
21) The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker
22) The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan (Fantastic YA zombie book)
23) Mouthing the Words, by Camilla Gibb
24) The House of Gentle Men, by Kathy Hepinstall
25) Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris
26) In the Dark, by Brian Freeman
27) Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor, by Brad Gooch
28) The Story Sisters, by Alice Hoffman
29) When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris (Dear David, where have you been all my life?)
30) Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman
31) Darling Jim, by Christian Moerk (Deliciously creepy!)
32) Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen (Just before Gram went to nursing home; was the right book at the right time.)
33) Jane Austen Ruined My Life, by Beth Pattillo
34) Undead and Unwelcome, by MaryJanice Davidson
35) The Lost Hours, by Karen White (Not really great, but it fit my needs at the time.)
36) One Hot Mess, by Lois Greiman
37) Parasyte 1, by Hitosi Iwaaki
38) Parasyte 2, by Hitosi Iwaaki
39) Parasyte 3, by Hitosi Iwaaki
40) How to Buy a Love of Reading, by Tanya Egan Gibson (I described this as Gossip Girl making out with F. Scott Fitzgerald.)
41) The Fate of Katherine Carr, by Thomas H. Cook
42) Gone, by Michael Grant (Decent YA book)
43) Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
44) Wicked Game, by Jeri Ready-Smith
45) Glucose Revolution, by Jennie Brand-Miller
46) Glitter Train (journal)
47) Twenties Girl, by Sophie KInsella
48) Writer's Digest Short Story Competition Collection (Boo! Terrible stories, numerous errors.)
49) The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie (LOVED!)
50) Death Perception, by Victoria Laurie
51) Manuscript by member of writers group--can't divulge info, but it's good
52) The Birthing House, by Christopher Ransom (Mega scary!!!)
53) Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater (Miss the angst of Twilight but not the bad writing? Try Shiver!)
54) Half-Minute Horrors, edited by Susan Rich
55) New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer (to get ready for the movie)
56) Gone Tomorrow, by P.F. Kluge (So many typos & errors that I could hardly get through it.)
57) Heartsick, by Chelsea Cain
58) Grave Secret, by Charlaine Harris
59) Sweetheart, by Chelsea Cain
60) Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain
61) Posed for Murder, by Meredith Cole (Good concept, but the writing isn't engaging at all.)
62) Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See (Most depressing book ever!)

Best baby dream in human history

Facebook convo worth sharing (at least, I find it funny; therefore, worth sharing):

Amanda, from Critical Edition blog: I had a dream last night that I was watching a vampire movie starring Bea Arthur and Prince. I remember liking it. A lot. Too bad I had to get up so early to go to work - I missed the final battle between good (Prince) and evil (Bea).

Me: I, on the other hand, dreamed about watching dinosaurs hatch from their wee dino eggs. And they looked at me and said "Mama!" And I replied, "Oh, hell no!"

Amanda: If our dreams were to have a baby in a lab somewhere, that baby dream would be the best dream in human history.

Before they annoyed the crap out of me by asking nonstop questions, these kids in the library today cracked me up. They were doing research on the Titanic for school.

Kid 1: *excited* Hey! It says that the Titanic was owned by the British shipping company White Star Line!
Kid 2: I know. I know.
*silence*
Kid 1: *mocking* I know.

Later, they disagreed about how long it took the ship to sink.
Kid 1: It sank in two hours and forty minutes.
Kid 2: No, it didn't. The movie said (blah blah blah...I forget what he said exactly).
Kid 1: Kid 2, the movie is Rated R.
Kid 2: Nuh-uh.
Kid 1: It is, too! Cuz of the murders!
Kid 2: What murders?
Kid 3: Dude. All the murders. A bunch of people died in that movie.
Kid 2: Well, I know that, but it wasn't from murder.
Kid 1: Yes, it was!
Kid 2: Who got murdered?
Kid 3: That guy was shooting. And someone committed suicide.
Kid 2: *looks skeptical*

Later:
Kid 1: I took a lot of notes already!
Kid 2: Not as much as me.

I told Kristen that this is exactly what our conversations would be like if we were 10-year-old boys. Or 30/31-year-old us.

And the wanting comes in waves...

Friday night, I got to see a pretty awesome concert in the Cities with Kristen and Kate. Tell me, have you ever heard of The Decemberists? Yes, I *am* looking smug right about now.

Opening act was Laura Veirs. Kristen's been a big fan for years now, but I only knew a couple of songs. Yay for me, Ms. Veirs sang one of them: "Galaxies."

Unlucky for all of us, some douche in the row behind us kept talking through her first few songs. Not a whisper to the person next to him, but full-out, normal voice or louder. Despite several of us turning around and glaring, and Kristen shushing him once, he continued on. What can a girl do? Well, if you're me, you turn around and stare him down, then once you know you have his attention, loudly and slowly say, "SHUT. UP." Oh, sure, his face will turn red and he'll mumble back, "YOU shut up," but it won't affect you. Because he'll then get up with his buddy and leave for the next 30 minutes and you'll have your fellow concert-goers cheer you on. So, really, it's worth it.

Also? We met Laura Veirs after the concert and got her CD autographed. Check out July Flame; it's gorgeous AND you can get two free tracks! Plus, one song is adapted from an Arthur Rimbaud poem. Be still, my heart!

Then the Decemberists took stage. Oh, wait. I guess technically they took the stage while Laura Veirs sang, inundating her band with remote control vehicles. So the second time they took the stage, they played the entire tracklist of "Hazards of Love." Pretty sweet, ya'll.

That chick on the far left of the picture, Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, is phenomenal. She is a freaking powerhouse! I have a bit of a girl crush on her now. (Don't worry, Neko Case; you're still my No. 1 gal!) During encores, she sang Heart's "Crazy on You." Gave me goosebumps!

And we can't forget about Colin Meloy.

Delish! And he came down from the stage and walked through the audience, stopping at our aisle! He was about seven people away from me!

Chick on the right here? I don't know her name; I called her Ghost of Christmas Past. She creeped me out with her hippy dancing. *sigh* Fine. Her voice *was* incredible. I'll give her that.

Great show, though. Really a lot of fun! Except when douche came back to his seat and started playing the air mandolin. What a maroon.

Quote of the night
Kate, Kristen and I were walking to the concert venue, passing by The Orpheum, which was putting on a production of 101 Dalmations (it said so in bright lights). A tent was set up outside to house the dogs when not in use. They suddenly all started barking. Kristen got a deeply sad look on her face as she looked around to spot where the noise was coming from.
Kristen: Ooohhhh! Is someone having a dog fight?

No, Kate and I have not let her live it down. And neither should you.

"A house needs a grandma in it." ~Louisa May Alcott

I know I haven't written in a long time, haven't even felt like it. I've shared almost everything on this blog, though mostly I've kept it light and funny. Today I'll explain a little of why I've been so silent of late.

I guess things started to take a toll on me over the summer, and I didn't feel it was appropriate to be sharing with the world. As you know, I've lived with my grandparents since college. About the time I moved in, my grandmother, Lorraine, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Medicine can only slow down the disease so much, and the last year and a half got pretty tough. We never left Grams alone; she couldn't cook anymore; we had to lock the closet doors because she spent most of her days rummaging and "discovering" things.

And then the days started coming faster and faster when she didn't remember my grandpa. Now, my grandma has always been a feisty lady. If a stranger budged in front of her in line at Burger King, she wouldn't hesitate to put them back in their place. If someone marked their wicker basket at $5 at their garage sale, Grandma's look of contempt would not be hidden. I'm pretty sure I take after her more than anyone else. So when she started to not recognize her own husband, thinking he was a bossy stranger, you'd better believe things turned ugly.

Then she thought her dead brothers would come take her back home. Or she worried her father, dead more than 30 years, would wonder where she was. Every day--every hour--was different from the next. "Well, let's go home," she'd say. So we'd take her for long drives two or three times a night, then pull into the same driveway at the same house we'd left from, and she'd be satisfied that she'd left someplace and was now home.

When she didn't recognize us, she tried escaping the house, and it didn't usually go well. Through this past July, I'd wake up about 25-30 times a night, hyperalert for movement or noises, fearing Grandma might fall down the stairs or make her way outside. It was mentally and physically exhausting.

On Aug. 3, my grandfather, uncle and aunt took my grandma to a nursing home. The hardest part was that she had so many lucid moments. Though, yes, it was more frequent that she was constantly trying to leave, to "go home," there were just as many times when she was lovingly kissing her husband, patting his cheeks, calling him sweetheart, telling him she loved him. I can't even tell you how many times in her first three weeks at the nursing home we almost went back to bring her home again.

It's been hard on our family, especially my grandpa. He celebrated 60 years of marriage with her in June; now he drives 11 miles to visit for a couple of hours with her. Sometimes she begs to come home. More recently, she's blank. The downhill march of Alzheimer's is so much quicker than you'd expect.

Nothing is the same without her. She used to bake all the time; Gramps has quite the sweet tooth. Grandma used to work at the church, donating time and talents with cooking, cleaning, etc. She was a wonderful crafter, sewing draft dodgers, pillows, wall hangings, crazy little snowmen. She used to make these gorgeous baskets with lights and pine cones that she'd highlight with glittered paint. I remember several winters where I accompanied her to craft fairs, where she sold all her goodies. She loved coffee, and she always ate weird food combinations, like a hunk of cheese, a gingersnap cookie, and a handful of peanuts. She hated Judge Judy, or "that old bitch," as Gram called her. She loved "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" and playing Yahtzee. She has knickknacks galore in the house.

Everywhere you look, you see her. Except she's not there. That's the hardest of all.

Worst hair salon ever!

Don't have your 4- (almost 5!) year-old pretend to be your hair stylist. My sister learned this the hard way last night.

It took me an hour and a half to detangle her hair from the comb, which had been twisted through several times. Amanda called me in a panic, certain we'd have to cut it out. But I worked at slowly releasing just a few strands at a time, utilizing a giant tw0-pronged meat fork to loosen the hair at the base of the comb. Eventually, I was successful. But not before taking some pics of the deed. I'm evil, aren't I? But not as evil as the pretend hair stylist. Look at this jerk:

Arrive'd!

I flew into Salt Lake City, Utah, last Wednesday to visit friends. Here are my very first glimpses of the gorgeous city.

From the plane:

Driving to Rachel's house from the airport:

So beautiful!

The crew!

My fave blog friends! Here are RC and Towr, two ladies both named Rachel who are hilarious, smart, and fabulous tour guides!

And what Utah vacay would be complete without meeting Carina, aka Jet_Set, who is ever in the know about fashion, politics, food, and generally everything else.

I also met Carrie, aka Kiki, who was funny and who takes Rock Band very seriously! Why didn't I get a pic of her as well? Grr!

Exploring the city!

Here we are at the LDS convention center. Rich history, blah blah blah, OOH! A mirror! Let's take a picture!

Some pretty glass thing hanging above a water fountain.

On the roof of the convention center, in front of yet another water fountain.

Across the way, the LDS temple. I think.

At the Daughters of the Pioneers museum, I literally gasped "LIZ LEMON?" when I saw this portrait of a pioneer.

The view from the top of the Salt Lake City Public Library.

Why didn't I take a picture of the library itself? No idea.

RC and I pose with the mountains behind us. Such beautiful weather there.

Towr and I. This is also on top of the library roof.

We then drove through the canyon and pulled over at this reservoir.

I suggested we start climbing up this mountain/giant hill.

You can see what I shortly thought of my hiking suggestion.

But the view was worth it!

Worth the heart palpitations, ragged breathing, and cough that lingered for next two days.

The eats!

A very small selection of all the goodies I tried whilst on vacay. The first night we ate at a restaurant called Cafe Rio, which I truly enjoyed! Delish Mexican food. And the second day RC and Towr talked me into trying my very first sushi restaurant. At Shogun, I had some tempura (?) veggies: carrots, potatoes, zucchini, and, I think, shrimp. Or was it crab?

Then, on to the sushi rolls. We tried four rolls: spicy tuna (which I confess I never did try), the Vegas, the Shogun, and the California roll. Official verdict? Meh. I'm really glad I tried it, though, and especially with the Rachels.

After attending a farmers market where we got rained out, Towr and I headed to Bruges, a place specializing in Belgian waffles and fries. I ordered the vanilla waffle with dark Belgian chocolate and fresh sliced strawberries. Delish! But I also pigged out on Rachel's order of fries, which, I kid you not, were the. best. fries. I've EVER eaten. Nothing will ever compare. *sigh*


And at a fast food place called Iceberg, you could get a regular soda or a mini shake with your meal. I ordered the house special triple berry mini shake, and Rachel got the butterscotch. I expected a drink smaller than the small size. Yeah. These were bigger than a large size. Maybe they don't know what "mini" means? Also? Not really a shake since you had to eat it with a spoon. Yummy, nonetheless.

Scenery, etc.

Some excellent views as Towr and I drove to Park City.


The awesome outlet mall where I spent $200 *alone* at the Fossil store.
Since I work at a newspaper, I had to take a picture of the building where two of Salt Lake City's newspapers are printed. This building tries to emulate the skyline and "fails, in my opinion," says Towr.

The copper mine, which you can see from space.

At Rachel's parents' house for Father's Day, they all suggested places for her to take me. Her brother, John, suggested the copper mine.

Towr: You can see it from my house!

John: YOU CAN SEE IT FROM SPACE!

Towr: You can see your FACE from space!

John: You can see your BUTT from space!

Towr: You can see your MOM'S BUTT from space!

I'm pretty sure it kept going after that.

Dino Day!

My last full day in Utah was dubbed Dino Day. TOWR and I started out the morning at a dinosaur museum in Thanksgiving Point. Here's the outside of the building.

Standing beside a ginormous leg bone, just to give an idea of how large some of those dinos were.

I don't remember the names of any of the skeletons we saw. But these creepy things remind me of crocs, and me no likey.

Another creepy predator.

I just thought this was a cool picture. I couldn't even fit the whole dinosaur in the camera frame.

I think this is a velociraptor. I'm doing sort of a part "I'm scared!" pose partnered with Will Ferrell's "He's right behind me, isn't he? I knew it."

Yeah. He looks much more frightening without me mucking it up.

Two T-Rexes. Way too enormous to get in the frame.

The museum showed other eras besides the Jurassic age. I don't know quite what this was from, but this was one monster shark! My head was like the size of one of its eyes!

After the museum, we continued Dino Day with a trip back to the Fossil store and then a viewing of "Land of the Lost." I enjoyed the movie, but Rach found it stupid. Not that it wasn't stupid; I just happened to find that particular brand of stupid amusing.

More scenery. Ooohhh!!