This past week has been so great. First of all, we don't have college group till June 16th, so until then I am working, but not having to plan for Wednesday nights. Ahhhh...a little bit of freedom. It's been so nice!
Last week I spent a lot of time doing "catch up". Ya know, all the stuff you put off till you have a break? I love feeling like I'm getting caught up at work (instead of always feeling behind).
On Thursday, my dad and I headed into the city to see the musical "In The Heights". I saw it for the first time in New York last summer and now they are on tour. Because my dad is losing his eyesight, they gave us amazing seats! Orchestra, about ten rows back, smack dab in the middle. I LOVED seeing this show again! Go see it if you haven't yet!
And now a lovely 3 day weekend! I went out to dinner and the movies for a friend's birthday yesterday and I got to spend all day today with my dear friend Jody who is visiting for the weekend from Colorado. Yeah! It was such a gorgeous day and we had so much fun.
I just posted all my pictures from the GLEE road trip on facebook, but I thought it'd be fun to share some details/stories from the weekend in my blog.
We drove to southern california last Thursday and spent all of Friday in Hollywood. The highlight was doing the Walk Of Fame, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the Kodak Theater (home of the Oscars). There are a ton of people dressed up in costumes - Darth Vader, SpongeBob, Superman, Bumblebee from Transformers, etc - that will take pictures with tourists (and they're real happy if you slip 'em a dollar afterwards). One of the college girls, Kayla, and I started dancing and all of a sudden - Indiana Jones ran in and started dancing with us! So fun!
We drove to Universal Studios and walked around City Walk. We found the Gibson Amphitheater and bought GLEE t-shirts. Ahhh!! It's almost time! We went in and found our seats. There were all ages, an equal number of guys and girls (that was a surprise), families, friends - what a fun crowd. Everyone was wearing GLEE shirts, either bought or made. Ones that said "Finn-tastic!" or "I heart Puck" or "Property of New Directions". Two girls were even dressed up like Sue Sylvester in red track suits, sneakers, whistles, and clipboards (all they needed was a megaphone).
GLEE songs were playing in the background, quotes from the show ("I'm like Tinkerbell...I need applause to LIVE!") were up on the screens, and about 10 minutes before the show started, a bunch of Cheerios (cheerleaders) came out into the audience and started passing something out to people. "Wait, are those barf bags?" someone in our group asked.
The opening act was LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers), a dance troupe and they were really good! The guy who plays Mike Chang is in the LXD so that was probably the connection. After that, the lights went out and Sue Sylvester showed up on the screen and told us we were all idiots to pay money to see these GLEE kids live in concert. She did us a favor and sent her Cheerios out with barf bags (yes, they were barf bags!) because we were definitely going to need them.
Then the camera panned out and Mr. Schuester was sitting next to her. That's when I lost it and started screaming like a 12 year old girl. He said, "Oh come on, Sue. I think the kids have already proven themselves..." After some banter between the two of them, Mr. Schue wished New Directions a great show and the screen went black. The lights went out. The first chords of "Don't Stop Believing" began, the curtains opened, and the 6 original members of the GLEE club (Finn, Rachel, Mercedes, Artie, Tina, Kurt) were there!! As they sang, the other 6 GLEE clubbers (Quinn, Santana, Matt, Puck, Brittany, and Mike Chang) came out and joined them.
Let me see if I can remember all the songs they sang:
1) Don't Stop Believing (whole cast) 2) My Life Would Suck Without You (whole cast) 3) Push It (whole cast) 4) Don't Rain On My Parade (Rachel and cast) 5) Beautiful (Mercedes) 6) Sweet Caroline (Puck) 7) That Boy Is Mine (Mercedes and Santana) 8) The Lady Is A Tramp (Puck) 9) Defying Gravity (Kurt and Rachel) 10) Bust Your Windows (Mercedes) 11) Bad Romance (Kurt and the ladies) 12) Dancing With Myself (Artie) 13) It's My Life/Confessions mash-up (guys) 14) Halo/Walking On Sunshine (ladies) 15) Rehab (Vocal Adrenaline) 16) Mercy (Vocal Adrenaline) 17) Jump (whole cast) 18) Faithfully (Rachel and Finn) 19) Any Way You Want It (whole cast) 20) Just Like A Prayer (Rachel and cast) 21) Hello (Rachel and Jesse St. James) 22) True Colors (Tina and cast) 23) Somebody To Love (whole cast)
Their costume changes were crazy! For almost every song, they were wearing the outfits they wore in that episode. For example, for "Jump" they all wore their pjs. For "Don't Rain On My Parade", Rachel wore that black dress with the red sash. For "Bad Romance", the ladies and Kurt came out in their Lady Gaga outfits.
I loved hearing the preview of their regionals song. It's a Journey medley with "Faithfully", "Any Way You Want It", and "Don't Stop Believing". Another highlight was when Rachel came out on stage and introduced Jesse St. James. WE WENT CRAZY! No one knew he was going to be there. I heard he only is going to sing at the LA shows, so we felt very special. He and Rachel sang "Hello" by Lionel Richie. So dang beautiful.
Ok, let's talk about talent. I was wondering how they would sound. I mean, haven't we all heard albums and been impressed with vocals and then we see the band (or person) in concert and realize, "Wait, they're not as good live." Dang you, Auto-Tune and computer fix-ups! But seriously, these kids are just as talented as they are on TV! I was especially impressed with Kurt, Puck, and Mercedes' voices. Mercedes usually belts it out on her songs, but when she sang "Beautiful", her voice was very sweet and clear. I had never heard it like that before and I really enjoyed it.
And of course Rachel's voice is off the hook! She is a Broadway vet, you can tell. When she hit that super high note at the end of the ladies' Halo/Walking on Sunshine song, she opened her eyes real wide afterwards like, "Oh my gosh - did I really just hit that note?" And we all cheered. She also brought it during "Don't Rain On My Parade". And her and Kurt's rendition of "Defying Gravity" was especially touching.
Just overall impressed impressed impressed. Such a fun concert experience! It was so fun/strange seeing them live. I see them on TV and then, wait! They're right there! They're real! And they're so funny and sweet and friendly. I hope they do another concert tour next year, because this was just too fun not to do again. Here's their finale - "Somebody To Love". Thanks for reading, friends!
I am home from a road trip. A road trip to southern California. A road trip to southern California where I took 7 college students and we saw the kids from GLEE live in concert.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
All I can say was the concert was amazing. I will be blogging a full recap with pictures and videos as soon as I catch up on my sleep. I'm so tired, but man...so worth it. I can't believe I saw the GLEE kids in person. So much fun!
You know what can make my day? Time with my nephew, Judah.
Sister, bro-in-law, and nephew were in town today so I left work early and got to spend the whole afternoon with my favorite little person.
Words I heard today:
* "ba-ba" (bottle)
* "money" (bunny he sleeps with at night)
* "cup" (self-explanatory)
* "arbash" (garbage - he'd go around picking things up to throw away)
* "hot" (fireplace, stove, etc)
* "wa-wa" (he becomes an animal anytime he sees water: a puddle, creek, water fountain, sink, his own drool. WA-WA!!! He loves water!)
* "moon" (my sister Amy said she read "Goodnight Moon" to him 8 times in a row one night)
* up" and "down" (as in, lift me up Auntie Sarah, so I can flip the light switches up and down)
* "Nii!" (as in, we are the knights who say Nii! from Monty Python. I think this one means no, or he doesn't like something, or when he can't think of what to say, he just says this)
* "Ahhh..." (this is a musical note he sings every time he sees a stereo, television, or microphone, because he knows music will come out of it)
* "Sare" (this is my favorite. It's what he calls me.)
He is so smart!!! I love watching him grow. He's almost 18 months. Here's a video from Mother's Day. We had just come from the park where he played with water and sand so we took his pants off. He was shuffling around in his sweater, diaper, and socks. Love it.
I was going to title this post "All The Single Ladies" (*cue Beyonce's swagger*), but I have no idea if guys read this blog and I don't want them to feel left out.
I've been having conversations with people about being single and the things they say are starting to irk me a bit. So I thought...what if I made a Top 10 list of what NOT to say to single people? I know dating or married people mean well, I really do. But they might forget what it's like to be single. And if I can be any service to help both parties from feeling weirded-out, I'm here to help. So without further ado...
WHAT NOT TO SAY TO SINGLE ADULTS
10) “I just don’t understand how someone as great as you isn’t married yet.” There is absolutely no way to receive this comment without feeling uncomfortable. As a single person, you KNOW it's meant to be a compliment...but how the heck do you respond? "Um, thank you" would sound awkward. "I don't understand either" would sound cocky. And saying "Well, I guess that's up to God" just sounds lame all around. How about just avoid this comment and instead tell your single friend how amazingly wonderful she is. No mention of a man needs to enter that comment. She is fabulous regardless of whether or not she's married.
9) "Are you putting yourself out there? Are you meeting people?" Don't worry...if your single friend wants to be married, rest assured he/she is doing that. We know the importance of meeting people. This question might make single adults feel like they are incompetent of finding someone and they need to be reminded.
8) "Oh, you should meet my friend ________________." We all love playing match-maker. I'll admit, I get a thrill if I set up two friends. When we know awesome people, we want to set them up with other awesome people, right? And then we secretly feel giddy if things work out. ("I brought them together!") But please don't set up your single friends with other single friends just because they're single. Does that make sense? Just because a guy friend and a girl friend of yours are both single, it doesn't mean they're compatible. They might have nothing in common, except that they're both single. If you really do want to play matchmaker, make sure you think about each individual and think if they would really be a good match.
7) "Gosh, this (holiday) season must be hard for you. I mean there's
Christmas with mistletoe everywhere. And then there's New Years Eve with
couples kissing all over the place. And then Valentine's Day after
that! Why are these holidays so close together? *chuckle*" Yes, this
has been said to me at a party. But I know you all are too nice to say
anything like this to your single friends. I think this married person
was a bit socially awkward. And a bit drunk.
6) Talking about how crazy life is and how sometimes you wish you could be single again. This is an interesting one. I've heard both sides - from single adults and married adults. Single people wish they were married and married people get so caught up in the business of life, husband, and kids that they long for their days as a single. It's a "grass is greener" contentment issue. I think both singles and marrieds should be sensitive with each other when saying things like this.
5) "Have you tried internet dating?" Yes we have.
4) "Maybe you're ready. But maybe it's HIM (your future husband) who's not ready." Again, I know people mean well - they don't want their single friends to feel it's them. Maybe God just needs more time to work in the heart and life of their future spouse before He brings the two together? But sometimes people date whether or not they've worked through all their personal issues. And also, we're not God. Only He knows what's going on.
3) "This weekend my husband and I went to...oh wait. Is it ok if I talk about this?"
Absolutely. Single people want to hear about your lives just your
married friends do. Please don't feel you can't talk about the fun you
have with your spouse or your kids. If your single friend is mature,
they can handle it. And since your spouse and kids are part
of your life, we want to hear about them. I had a friend who felt she
couldn't tell me anything about her and her husband's fun times because
she thought it'd make me feel bad. Don't worry! Single people have fun,
too. And we'll share our stories with you.
2) “If you stop looking for love you’ll find it.” Some people find love when they're looking for it. Some people find love when they're not looking for it. There's nothing wrong with looking.
1) "Lots of people didn't get married. Like Mother Teresa or Paul from the bible."
Ack, this is a bad one. Not only are you making your friend sad because
they think you're implying they will never get married, but you are
comparing them with SUPER uber-spiritual peeps that they will never be
like.
So, there's my Top 10 list. Married peeps, please know I am not trying to rag on you. I have many married friends and love them dearly.
If you've ever said any of the above, I know it's because you love your friend and want to make them feel better. If you want some ideas on how to encourage your single friends, here are some good things to say instead of the Top 10 above:
* You are amazing.
* I love how you find fun wherever you go.
* I always look forward to hanging out with you.
* I love who God has made you to be.
* If this is a desire of your heart, let's pray about this right now. (and then pray with them!)
Ok, now it's time for comments! Single peeps, are there any I should add to the Top 10 list? Either ones you've heard from others or ones people have said to you? Married peeps, were any of these said to you when you were single? Or have you said any of the Top 10 to your single friends? Was this helpful for what not to say to single friends?
P.S. And hey, feel free to forward this to your single or married friends. I'm here to help.
Facebook status updates are the best. Here are some of my favs recently:
(from a male college student) "When I grow up I want to be a cat. It would be awesome, I would just lay around and nap all day and eat and gets loves. Except I don't like cats that much, so maybe a dog then."
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(another male student) "If a cheetah and a 10 foot chicken got in a brawl, which one would you bet on?"
Another student's response: "A 10 foot chicken is basically a dinosaur, and i can't think of any cheetah that can beat a dinosaur. My money's on the chicken."
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(co-worker) "Summer is coming... I need some denim cutoffs."
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(my female cousin talking about her daughter) "So i let lola watch 'yo gabba gabba' today. So is this to prevent kids from doing drugs cause the whole show is like one acid trip. Kinda like, 'why do drugs... It's kinda like this...' (insert dvd)"
(another gem from my cousin) "Walked into a fart. For clarification... Someone elses."
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(guy friend) "When I become a parent, I plan on wearing Cosby sweaters for difficult decisions."
Ok, time to catch up on life. I woke up feeling yucky this morning so I took the day off work. I'm reeeeally glad I did. I need to catch up on life, in all aspects.
* 4 loads of laundry. I seriously did not have anything to wear. Unless I wanted to run errands in my flannel pjs, a sports bra, and a jacket. Um, no.
* Clean my room. Still working on this. But I finally unpacked from my past weekend in southern Cal and I can see my floor. I even vacuumed. Slowly making progress. I'll finish tomorrow.
* Work. Only two more weeks! Ahhh! The end of the semester is in sight. Hallelujah! When I'm tired and not feeling well, it's hard to get motivated at work. So hopefully today's charging of my batteries will pay off for the final-two-week-stretch.
* God time. I am bummed this always gets pushed to the back burner when I get busy. I was convicted last night during the talk at college group. A few weeks ago I talked about finances and the importance of giving our tithes to God first and not giving him whatever's left over (which sometimes is nothing). And our speaker last night shared the same principle with when it comes to time (the topic was time management). We plan out our weeks and get so busy and then IF we have time, we have time with God. That's me. When really I want to plan time with God everyday and not just give him whatever time I have leftover, as if he's just some passing thought.
Random things that have nothing to do with any of the above:
- Billy Jack's wedding was SO FUN! Seeing friends, hugging the bride and groom, dancing the night away, it was lovely.
- Who watched Tuesday night's LOST? Who cried? I am a mix between being pissed and heart broken. You know why.
- Who is going to see Iron Man 2 this weekend?
- How the crap is it May already?
- Our Nerf Assassins game is still going on! Out of 20 people, we are down to 5, I believe. Here's a video of Michael (student) practicing what he will do when he finds his target.
On my plane ride home this evening, I happened to overhear a conversation happening in front of me. Myself and three other people were on the runway, about to enter the plane. (We were the last people to get on) It was an elderly gentleman and his wife (probably in their 80's) and a middle aged woman they had JUST MET. Keep that in mind.
Here is what I heard.
Elderly gentleman (speaking to middle aged woman): "When my wife and I had to go through security, I got chosen to be 'checked' off to the side. It was a trainee who did it and I think it was his first time getting to do a pat-down. His trainer was watching him like a hawk so I think he was trying to be VERY thorough. Best strip search I've ever had."
Middle aged woman: "Dang, he probably even checked how many testicles you had."
(UM, WHO SAYS THAT TO AN ELDERLY COUPLE YOU'VE JUST MET?!?)
But without skipping a beat, the elderly woman said: "Hopefully he didn't find more than two."
Me: *silent laughter (shoulders shaking) for about two minutes until I sat in my seat*
Hello and welcome to my blog. A little about me: I'm a thirtysomething who lives near the ocean and redwood forest and works at a church. I enjoy writing, telling stories, and sharing life. Hence, this blog. And yes, I really love to laugh.
