Life Is Full Of Tough Choices.

The last few times that Rural Alberta Advantage have come to Minnesota I have missed seeing them, due to tickets being sold out before I had a chance to buy them.  So back in December when it was announced that they would be playing a show on March 25th, I bought tickets immediately.  Here is where the tough choice comes in.. Later down the road it was also announced that Sims and Volcano Choir were also playing shows the same night.  I could be fine with not seeing Sims, since I just saw him a month ago and he is from MN, so he plays a lot of shows here.  But, I would not be ok with missing Volcano Choir, after all it was their very first US tour date EVER and they only had one other show scheduled.  So we had to decide if we wanted to skip out early of RAA to be able to catch Volcano Choir.  Then I had the thought that we could skip RAA and be able to catch Sims' full set and Volcano Choir, and the Sims and Volcano Choir shows were right down the road from one another, so it would be easier to get from point A to point B (see picture)

I went on craigslist and found an ad that someone was looking to purchase 2 tix to RAA for $70.  Face value of the tix was $12, but I paid quite a bit more than this since I purchased them through TicketMaster.  I sold my RAA tix and bought tix for Sims and Volcano Choir.  So Friday night we were off to the Triple Rock to see Sims... I was pretty disappointed when I discovered that he was playing 3rd that night, not 2nd like we had thought.  We did catch sets by Mally and Astronautalis though, which were both pretty cool.  Sims did do one song with Astronautalis though, which was pretty awesome!  I also got to see almost the entire Doomtree crew hanging out at the Triple Rock!  At about 11:00 we decided to ditch out of the Triple Rock to head over to The Cedar for Volcano Choir.

We had a good view of the stage at The Cedar.  Joe and I both really enjoyed the Volcano Choir set.  I am pretty sure I could watch Justin Vernon sing for hours and hours on end.  The people behind us were pretty hilarious - I think they thought they were there for a Bon Iver concert, which it was not.  They made quite a few comments that I was laughing at.... ah silly kids! A video from the show, not my video, or my view of the stage... just a video I found on youtube!



Anyway, it was awesome to be able to see Volcano Choir's first ever US show - that, we will never be able to do again, but we will be able to catch Sims and Rural Alberta Advantage again.

Next tough choice...... making a decision on whether I want to run a 10k on April 30th... well, the decision has just been made, I just registered for a 10k!!  Someone save me!!!  I hope I can survive.  I think it would be a wise decision to start my training immediately!  Anyone want to go for a run??

When you are two the tough choices you have to face are things such as:

• Deciding if mommy should be the big bad wolf, a monster, a dinosaur, a baby puppy or a ghost. 
• To eat your waffles with blueberries and whipped cream, or just eat the blueberries and whipped cream
• Should I watch Monster, Inc, Yo Gabba Gabba or Meet the Robinsons?

Oh the joys of being two, huh?  I wish life could stay that simple! 

One last note - my new favorite band is The Head and The Heart.  Check out this video of them and fall in love with them!



That's all for now!  Peace out.

Happy March!!

It's pretty amazing to think that I haven't posted a blog for 2 months, it must be the crazy, busy, amazing lifestyle I have... there is just no time between the parties, spa treatments, shopping trips, vacations and all the other glorious details of my life to find time for blogging...   :) 

Back to reality:  Let's start with me.  I pretty much lost track of everything in February, there was no exercising, no healthy eating, no blogging, lots of stress and blah, blah, blah... so now that it is March I am really trying to focus on regular exercise and healthier eating habits (now that it's in writing I have to stick to it).  I went and signed up for a free 30-day pass to Snap Fitness last night, it is $10 less a month than my current gym membership, smaller facility, and much less people.  I tried out the treadmill last night and their equipment is definitely not the same quality as at Gold's, but I guess I can't really expect it to be, right?  The treadmill worked just fine, it turned on, tracked my distance, told me how many calories I burned, which is what matters.  I am going to try it out a few more times before I decide what to do.  I was also thinking about checking out Anytime Fitness to see what they are all about.  If I am going to go through the hassle of finding a new gym I might as well check out all my options. 

I am also trying to do more regular workouts at home using my lovely collection of workout dvds.  I had to buy a new copy of The Biggest Loser Cardiomax cause mine quit working, and that is really the only dvd I enjoy doing lately. 

I am signed up to run the Team Ortho Get Lucky 7k on March 19th... 9 days from now!  I'm doing it with my regular running buddies.. Emily, Carly and Kathy.  I am sure it will be a grand old time, although I am still scared of the distance, it's 4.35 miles and I usually only ever go 3.1... so that extra 1.25 could really kill me.  I had plenty of time to prepare myself for this race, but of course I didn't... so wish me luck! 

One last note about me.. I have officially lost 14 pounds this year, whoop whoop!

Let's move onto Kara.  She is absolutely, by far the most dramatic child in the history of dramatic children.  She will cry and cry and cry over the littlest things and there is no settling her down!  Our daycare provider has also commented on her dramatic nature.  She said that most kids will cry for a minute, then move on with their lives.. not my little Kara, she just doesn't quit.  On top of being dramatic, she is also incredibly smart, silly, loving and absolutely hilarious!  It's so fun to watch her personality grow, and see how similar she is to Joe and I, she really is the perfect mix of the two of us. 

Kara is and has been potty trained for quite awhile now, she wears big girl undies and rarely ever has accidents.  The only funny thing is that she absolutely refuses to poop on the potty chair, so when it's time to go #2 she asks for a diaper, then goes and hides in a corner and tells us not to look at her... it's pretty hilarious! 

We are also working on breaking Kara and her sucky (pacifier) apart.  She is absolutely 100% addicted to that thing, and I just want it gone!  I, of course and the softy parent and give in and give it to her even when I know I shouldn't.  It's just so much easier to give it to her than listen to her cry and whine about it!  She was doing really good without it for awhile, but now that she is sick(poor baby girl has strep), I just feel bad and give it to her... I am an enabler... 

Things that I think Kara might be when she grows up:
Musician - she loves playing her guitar, drums, recorder, xylophone, she just loves music!
Songwriter - when she plays her guitar she is constantly making up her own adorable songs about random things
Baseball player - she is obsessed with her Twins baseball shirt
Brew master - she recently told me that I need to buy her a beer t-shirt so that she can make beer with daddy!

She can also identify the following bands within seconds of their songs starting:  Trampled by Turtles, Mumford and Sons, and Jeremy Messersmith.  I can't wait until we can bring her along to some concerts.  I have a feeling that she is going to love music just as much as her mommy and daddy do!  If Joe and I are headed out to a concert and we are dropping Kara off with Grandma/Grandpa to babysit we try not to tell her where we are going, cause she wants to come with us!

Here is a pic of Kara with her guitar and new guitar strap that I made for her, notice that she is wearing her Twins shirt and her baseball hat, she thinks she's a boy:

Finishing touches of the guitar strap:

Shall we talk about Joe for awhile?  Where do I start?  Joe is currently laid off, and has been since the end of November.  He has been picking up hours at his part time job, but I just want him to get back to his full time job!!  We have had to cut back on how often Kara is in daycare, so she currently is going 2-3 days a week, depending on which days Joe works.  When they are home together they are typically busy cleaning the house, doing laundry, cooking dinner for mom watching cartoons?  Yeah, I guess I'm not really sure what they are busy doing... haha!  Hopefully Joe doesn't read this, he will probably kill me :)  Joe and his friends have continued brewing beer, there are currently 4 or 5 batches sitting in our bathroom waiting to be bottled, which I believe is happening this weekend.

Joe and I have been to quite a few concerts this year, and they have all been pretty awesome...  I'm not going to go into much detail, but here is what we have been to:

January:  Cash Only - A Tribute to the Man in Black, The Current's 6th Birthday Party with Trampled by Turtles, Roma di Luna, Jeremy Messersmith, Brother Ali and Free Energy

February:  Justin Townes Earle (This was on Valentine's day, and it was a really great show!) and the cd release party for Sims of Doomtree, where we also got to see Mike Mictlan, POS, Cecil Otter and Dessa... again, another really great show!

March - Gayngs Affilyated Showcase - ok, I have to talk about this one a little bit.  Gayngs basically took over First Ave and brought along all of their friends, and it was amazing!  Gayngs has somewhere around 23 people in the group, most of those people belong to other bands, and just about all of the other bands were on the bill to play that night.  They took over the mainroom, the Record Room and 7th Street Entry, it was pretty much like being at a music festival inside of First Ave, we will not be forgetting that night anytime soon! 

This is a bad picture, but this is how close we were to POS when we saw him in the Record Room, it was the coolest thing EVER!

Upcoming Shows:  The Rural Alberta Advantage on March 25th, and also possibly Volcano Choir the same day, and then Bright Eyes on April 4th (an early bday present to me!)

I can tell that this is going to be a great year for concerts!! 

So I think that is all for now!  Happy March everyone!!

Move On Over Damien.. There Is A New Boy(s) In Town.

As you all know, or should know, Damien Rice has been a long time love of mine.  Unfortunately, he has left a hole in my heart.  He has not been on tour in the US in almost 3 years, hasn't released a new album in almost 6 years, and he has left me feeling empty.  I still love him, but if this relationship is going to continue, he really needs to put out.

Thank God for Mumford & Sons.  Ever since I first heard "Little Lion Man" on the radio I knew I needed to know who sung it, and have the album.  I got the album and fell in love.  They are folky, british(you know how I love me a good accent), bluegrassy, amazingness.  Their album came out in the US in February of 2010, tickets went on sale for their Minneapolis show on March 5th and it sold out in minutes... pretty amazing stuff right there!  I was one of the lucky few that actually got tickets to the concert!!  AND I also won tickets to their in-studio performance at The Current... I got to see them twice in one day, and there were people dying to just see them once... I am pretty sure I am the luckiest girl alive!!  They have the passion that Damien has, awesome lyrics, and you can't help but stomp your feet or clap your hands along to the beat of every song.

So, Tuesday, March 25th was probably one of the most amazing days of my life. I left work at 12:15 to go to the in-studio performance @ The Current.  I brought a girlfriend from work, Annie, who loves music almost as much as I do :)  We were so freakin excited about this that people were looking at us funny... not that that is anything unusual to have people looking at us funny... but whatever.  Annie was not lucky enough to get tickets to the show, so she was super pumped that I invited her along to the in-studio.  I was ready to cry/puke/scream/explode I was so excited!  The in-studio performance was amazing.  Everything was stripped down and acoustic, the band was awesome.  They played 3 songs and did a little interview(they will be airing it on The Current on Friday at 7:30 am if you want to check it out).  I was kinda bummed that the band members didn't stick around to meet Annie and I... but whatever.

Later that night Joe and I headed down to the Varsity Theater to see Mumford & Sons.  We stood in the rain for an hour waiting for the door to open.. lame, but SO worth it!  The opening band was kinda sucky.. they had a couple songs that I enjoyed, but for the most part I just wanted them to be done so I could see my loves.  Between sets it seems like we waited FOREVER.  There was probably 9 million people in the Varsity, which probably should really only hold 1,200... we were hot, sweaty messes.  From the second Mumford & Sons took the stage the entire audience was mesmerized.  It was THE.MOST.AMAZING.SHOW.EVER.  I think a big part of the amazingness was the crowd.  You could tell that ever single person in the crowd truly loved Mumford & Sons.  The applause/cheering/clapping during and in between songs was just incredible.  I think even the band was taken by surprise at the love that was coming from the crowd.  I love Minneapolis for how much everyone in the city appreciates good music.  There is such a great music scene here, and I am proud to be a part of it.

There is a great review of the show that you can find here 

Truly one of the most amazing, unforgettable days of my life.  There are just no words to describe how absolutely unreal the show was.  Freakin amazing!  I love the fact that Joe and I were able to see Mumford & Sons at the Varsity... it will probably be the only time they play a venue that small in the Twin Cities ever again.  In between songs, Marcus Mumford - the lead singer, said "This is the most loved we've been, so far away from home"... I hope that means they loved Minneapolis as much as we loved them and they will be coming back soon!! :)

And The Winner Is.....

... ME!   Thats right, I am at it again.  I won 2 sets of tickets this week.  The first set is for Dessa and No Bird Sing on Saturday night - they are two local hip-hop artists, and I think it will be a pretty cool show!

The second set of tickets I won(well, Kimmy really won them for me, but I made her do it!) is for an in studio performance that Mumford & Sons will be doing at The Current on Tuesday afternoon... which I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this!!  We have 2 tickets to their concert in Minneapolis on Tuesday night(which sold out in less than 2 hours), but I will get to see them twice in one day!!  I am so super excited it is not even funny!  If you haven't heard them you should really give them a listen.. I just love them!  Joe won't be able to go to the in studio performance with me, so I am bringing a friend from work who appreciates good music just as much as I do!  We are going to be like two teenage girls going to see Twilight for the first time..... p.s.  we both love Edward.

People always say I am so lucky, and I win everything... but really, you aren't ever going to win anything if you don't try.  And for the amount of stuff that I try to win, I really don't win that often.  But - I am so freaking pumped that I won these 2 sets of tickets!!

Expect lots of pictures next week :)

Random updates.

I would like to apologize in advance for my post of random thoughts.

• So the little diva of the family, Jayla turned one on March 2nd. Yep, seriously, Jayla is one!! Where did the year go? Seems like just yesterday that I was in Michelle's hospital room eating McDonalds at 5 in the morning, being yelled at by the nurse for making Michelle have high blood pressure, and patiently waiting for Jayla's arrival. Jayla has definitely earned her nicknames 'diva' and 'princess'. She is such a little sweetheart, but also very high maintenance!! But we love her for it! Happy first birthday Jayla!!

• On March 5th Joe and I had another date night. We went out to Great Waters Brewing Co in St. Paul for dinner and then went to see The Avett Brothers @ First Ave. It was an AWESOME night!! Dinner was good, and the concert was AMAZING!!!! You can check out a live performance of them here. Have I ever mentioned that I love live music? Actually, I just love music in general.

• While are on the topic of music... lets talk about the Mumford & Sons, who are my new favorite band. If you search for them on wikipedia this is the first sentence... Mumford & Sons are an English Indie folk band from London Let me put that into Kristin terms for you Mumford & Sons are a love love love band from love... yeah, pretty much love everything about them... They will be coming to the Twin Cities on May 25th, and guess who got tickets to their show that sold out in less than 2 hours... me! It may have caused some serious frustration trying to get the tickets, but once I had them in my hands I couldn't have been happier!

• Kara spent a whole weekend at grandma and grandpa's house, which gave Joe and I some time to get some things done around the house, such as this awesome re-designed wall of family pictures. Isn't it great??

• Couch to 5k - ugh. I am so not a runner. Last night I jogged/walked 3.25 miles on the treadmill in 45 minutes. So I will keep working on that...

• Only 10 more days until New Moon comes out on dvd!! Yeah, I know, I am a loser :)

Date Night

So, Joe and I finally had our first date night since we became parents! Of course the day of our big date we had the biggest snow storm of the year.. but we were determined to get out, and it was so worth it!! We went to Annie's Parlour in Dinkytown for burgers and shakes, it was very good.. they have homemade fries, I suggest a half order for two people! It was a ton of food! Then we were off to the Varsity Theater to see Lisa Hannigan. We got a table right up front, and it was amazing! We met some really cool people, and had way too much to drink... or I did at least :) Then we got to meet Lisa after the show, it was great!! We got her autograph and a picture taken with her! I forgot how much I love live music. We definitely need to spend more time at the Varsity!

Oh yeah.. Kara did great with Auntie Michelle and Uncle Dre. She played with Jayden and was on her best behavior all night! Apparently she didn't miss us one bit!