Reunited and it feels so good....

PEACE. LOVE. MRAZ.

SIMPLE PLEASURES

Yesterday, I was at the grocery store picking up a few things - mainly fruit since I've been lacking with having zero groceries in the house. It was great to get a watermelon (which I cut up the whole thing and filled up every little container we have in the house with its juicy goodness), cherries (mainly for Rian) and some bananas.

Anyways - as I was in the produce section, all of a sudden I heard some added music on top of the already overhead playing music. I looked around and finally heard what song was playing.
I finally found the source and realized that it was coming from the area of veggies. As I looked closer - I realized the mist (that sprays maybe every 20 minutes - ok i have no idea how often but maybe something like that) begins to spray the veggies to the tune of Singin' In The Rain.
I couldn't believe how awesome that was and how happy that made me. I'm weird - I know. But how cool was that? Adding theme music during a grocery store trip?

Spendid.

Tweety Funny

I don't know why I'm laughing so hard at this - maybe because I'm in such a good mood that it is Friday.....

To quote #johncmayer on twitter...

"This guy on the treadmill at the gym gave me a dirty look today. All I did was ask if he minded scooting up so I could run behind him."

double lol

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Neighborhood Watch

Two nights ago - after some house work and some fun time (Rian and I actually both had our laptops out and were playing Gin against each other on Yahoo! Games) - we decided it was time to get Clifford out of the house and time to get us some ice cream. lol
We walked just a couple feet before we saw a couple of our neighbors outside chatting and playing with their dogs. Being that we live where we live - they came over to us to meet Clifford and meet Rian and I as well. We had already met a few neighbors (them coming over to us to introduce themselves) but were happy to meet a few more.
We all chatted about the block and the people. They pointed out who lived where and also pointed out all of the houses that have dogs as well. They ended up pointed to probably 3/4 of the houses on our block. Needless to say, Rian and I were pleased that our street was such a dog friendly street.
The more we chatted, the more Rian and I were realizing that we moved into a "Pleasantville-esk" neighborhood. Very ironic since I always make fun of Elizabeth for living in a Pleasantville/Stepford type area.
The houses on our block certainly aren't perfect or the newest models out there - but we are learning that we do live on a block where the values from back in the day still exsist. As one of our neighbors so candidly put it - "Tomorrow is National Night Out - we aren't really doing anything for it because every night here is National Night Out." lol
They obviously don't need a specified night of the year to mix with their neighbors - it is a daily occurance.
As Rian and I broke away from the pack and went on our way to Creamy Cone for a Monday night treat - we talked about how lucky we to have bought a house where we did. To have the qualities in a neighborhood and neighbors that you always want. We are living next to friendly, helpful and caring people. One of the nice things is that we know (have heard) that the neighborhood/neighbors aren't the kind that are watching your every move or judging you for missing your weekly lawn mow - but they are the kind that will bring out a dog treat to coerse your dog to safety when they get out - or the kind that you can borrow some tools from and they offer to help you fix whatever needs fixing and hopefully the kind that we can invite over for some backyard beers and enjoy a wonderful summer night.
Without us even trying or making the first move - we have met probably 10 or so neighbors in less than two weeks - simply them coming to us to welcome us and let us know if we need anything they are here to help.
Either way - we will get to know our neighbors more - and feel really blessed to have already started off on a great foot with our new block.
This house just keeps getting better and better.

JINX

For a while there, I was a bit apprehensive about doing anymore blogging about the house situation. Everytime I got excited about something and started to blog about it - another phone call came, another e-mail was sent and we were back in the pits of worrying and frustration. So I gave it a rest for a while and decided not to jinx things anymore by blogging and then back tracking my blog words. No more.

Until Now.

The curse has been broken. WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE! Miracles do happen, people.

Last Friday, July 24th - at 1:00pm - Rian and I signed our lives away for the next 30 years. Like I proudly stated on facebook, I have never been so happy to be in so much debt! Of course, anyone who remotely knows me or Rian and has talked to us in the last 4 months knows about everything we went through for this house. We just hope it's worth it!

The most hysterical (not really) part of this whole deal is that the closing went off without a hitch. It was completely unsymptimatic of everything we went through prior to signing. We sat down - signed some papers for maybe 20 minutes and then sat around and BS'ed with my Uncle Denny (who is a VP of the title company we went through) and our realtors. We could believe that that was it. That was all we had to do and the keys were just handed over to us. Of course, that wasn't all we had to do - we had done A LOT to get to that point, but it was frighteningly easy.
Holding the (our) keys in our hands - one of the most surreal experiences. We got to the house and I remember looking around and realizing that it was just Rian and I there. No realtor - no inspector - no other people that needed to be there while we were there. This time - it was just us.

With a couple more errands to run - we decided it was time to celebrate. And what do Rian and I eat when we celebrate? Of course that is what we eat - whenever we can! Since it had been a long day and we didn't want to stray too far from Rian's (former) residence, we decided to check out the sushi restaurant at the Mall of America called Tiger Sushi. Neither of us had been there before and were a little unsure since it was in the mall, but we gave it a fair shot. And it is a good thing we did because DE-LISH!
Started our meal with edemame, of course - then we got a couple big rolls - a crunchy roll and a rainbow roll. After our long hard day and a day full of celebration - we were still hungry and decided for one more - the scorpion roll. The scorpion roll was dressed to the nine of course and looked delicious. But, I always think of my sister when I get a roll like that - I think of how if Elizabeth was within 20 feet of something that looked and smelled like that, something that people actually ate, that she would barf. All over.

Just like she did at the library when we were little.

Our dinner was topped off with a beautiful dessert of fruit - very complimentary - since i decided to tell our server that we were celebrating because we bought a new house. Always good to tell anyone about those things because you never know what you may get out of the deal. I figure I can use the, "we are celebrating because we bought our first home" for a while - see how much more we get out of it. I mean, you only buy your first home once! And I'm definitely not afraid to let people know!

What an experience this all has been. One that could not have been predicted and one that could not have happened where we made it through alive if it weren't for the countless supporters behind Rian and I. I can't tell you how many calls, e-mails and texts I sent people crying or complaining about this house. If it wasn't for you people - mainly my sister who knows it is ALWAYS her job just to tell me that everything will work out - I couldn't have gotten through this. Also my parents for their support in every sense of the word.
And of course there is Rian - who has ALSO learned that it is his sole job to always calm my fears and worries - without him I wouldn't have stayed (semi) sane through the process and be able to focus on our future together and that all of the crap we went through would all be worth it.
I'm contiuing to believe in the mantra - Everything Happens For A Reason.
It helps me through things and gives me hope when I need it the most.

I look forward to having more and more of you over to see the house. The more people I see in my house, laughing, talking and such - the more I see the home that I know it will be - filled with love and happiness and the people in the world who mean the most to us. We are very blessed.

It is finally time to make this house a home.

The show must go on....

For those of you who even slightly know me - you know I am a Broadway nerd and concert geek. Not hard to fight it - and I don't want to fight it. We all have our "things" and we should be proud of it. I definitely am.
I've been lucky to seen many shows and get a different experience than most. From my time interning and then working at the Hennepin Theatre District - my passion has only grown. Since I left the theatres, it has been hard to feel like that part of my life is gone (in so many ways) but I'm happy to report that part of that is coming back to my life in a very unique form. I was invited and asked to be a part of a new group that the non-profit part of the theatres, the Hennepin Theatre Trust, is creating for young professionals, ages 21-39. There is a HUGE need for involvement and education in that age group - one that has been ignored for a while. There definitely are YP groups that have recently been formed, some successful and some not. But this really is the group that needs to be engaged and focused on. Yes, it is fantastic for people to have the appreciations for theater and the arts - but from a monetary aspect, it is important to keep those people interested and excited because they are the future donors; they are the people that will keep organizations alive with their financial support. If you only focus on the current donors and money that is coming in today - pretty soon those donors will have all died off and you are left with people who put their money elsewhere and then what? It is crucial to involve and educate people our age in order for the survival of the arts and arts organizations. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who were never introduced to the arts when they were younger and therefore don't know about or care about its well being as they grow older.
Okay - enough of my preaching. Last night was the first meeting of the board members of this new group called, "The Scene". And for those of you counting (at least I know I am counting! lol) I was the person that came up with the name of the group. Back in March when I attended the show Rent with some former co-workers - they told me about this new group they were in the beginning stages of forming. I was so excited about it that the next day I started brain-storming names and ideas. I quickly e-mailed them to my co-worker and the next thing I know, I find out they picked MY idea for the name of the group. I was pretty excited and honored to have been a part of that. And then when I was asked to be on the board - I was even more ecstatic. Bascially the board is consisting of young professionals who have some connection to the theaters/theater arts/downtown mpls. People who are passionate about getting others involved and excited about what we already know is an amazing asset to our community. Minneapolis is actually the #3 city in the country when it comes to theater. How about that?!?
In any case - I guess I'm sending this out into the blogsphere - Have any of you ever been involved in a "young professions" group? What did you think of it? What did you like? Dislike? What worked and what didn't?
We are really trying to learn from other groups and hope to not make the same mistakes they have made. We are also trying to distinguish ourselves in a different way from other YP groups. Many people believe that what YP groups are becoming just a meat market and way to get hooked up - just parties and cocktails. While we definitely know that the social/cocktail aspect of the group is an important one to get people involved, we are also looking to reach out as a philanthropic group - not only helping ourselves by being involved but looking out into the community and support Hennepin Theatre Trust as a non-profit and helping it succeed. There are so many ideas out there and we are at the very beginning of putting these ideas down and finding out what works. But we are looking to others for ideas as well in what they would find attractive about a group like this. We are still in between if there will be a small fee to be a part of the group or if the first year is free and then we will start charging. We are already thinking about the benefits of being a member including discounted tickets, pre/post show parties, discounted merch, partnerships with restaurants and hotels and the list goes on. Another part of this group is helping to maintain the Hennepin Ave Arts District. The president of the trust has worked long and hard to get Hennepin Ave to what it is today - and if you think it is still pretty sketch - you should have been there 10 years ago and seen how far it has come. We are hoping to maintain the viality of downtown mpls and the theater district as an important part of the city.
While I could ramble on and on about things - I will stop and hope you would take a minute to write me back and let me know any thoughts or ideas you have about this group. Any interest or none - what would draw you in or push you away. What would you pay annually to be a part of this group? What excites you about the theatres and the shows?
Anything you would like to share is important and will really help the growth of this group. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be a part of this and how pumped I am to get this group off the ground. Looking forward to hearing what you (and everyone else) think!

Moonwalking to heaven....

June 25, 2009 - One of the saddest days in music history. An incredible loss for music in all forms and for the world. Now I know at this point there are a lot of conflicting views of Michael Jackson, which there always has been and always will be, but at this point in time I choose to ignore any of the negative feedback or ideas people have and focus on Michael Jackson the performer, musician and artist.
No one can deny the incredible influence that he had on music and performance in all forms. He practically invented music videos and what it meant to be able to perform a song in a new medium. As a dancer, he was out of this world. In his own respect, he (re)invented dancing and what it meant to move your body to the beat.
His live performances were like no other. He used his everything - his body, heart, mind and soul in his performance and NO ONE can deny him of that.
He has and always will leave his mark on the music community. I don't think there is one artist in the last 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years that hasn't been influenced by his career and innovation in music - and if not that, at least there are no artists out there that do not have the utmost respect for Michael Jackson as an artist and performer and what he did in his career and for music in general.
One of the saddest parts about this loss is that Michael was gearing up for 50 sold out shows in London. He was ready for his comeback/second coming/whatever way you would want to look at it. He was ready to come alive again as a performer and to do what really makes him happy - more than anything in this world. He was ready to put the past behind him, be a part of the world and human race and connect with people.
Yes, there are so many tragic stories and "stories" in and about his life. I don't think there is one person in the world that can relate to what he went through because it was like nothing that any one in this world has ever been through. He was one of the, if not the MOST known person in the world. MJ was known in every country across the globe; is music transcended language, religion, sexual orientation, race and more.
What he has seen in his life and what he has gone through is something that I don't think anyone could ever begin to imagine. He had a unique journey in life and it is a tragedy that he was taken at such a time in his life where he was about to start new and fresh. It seems as though the last 5 or 6 years his mind and world was very clouded - and now before he was tragically taken away the sun was just beginning to peak its head out and MJ was ready to live again.
To me, that is the saddest part of this situation.
Life was just about to begin again for him and he was taken away.
At this point, I choose to remember the amazing mark he made on history and music as we know it. Michael Jackson is a universal artist who has made an impact on more people than can be imagined. How many people know not just one or two but 7 or 8 MJ songs? People never seem to think they are "too cool" for Michael. His songs will ALWAYS live on because they are CLASSIC and TIMELESS.
I know I have been influenced by his music and he has made his mark on me. Just listening to his music on my ipod this morning as I walked to work - I just started to cry because of how much I love his music and how much it means to me in my life. Very few artists can make you dance the way you want to dance every time you hear one of their upbeat songs. Maybe this is more for me because of my attachment to the "popular music" which is fine because music just does something for me. It effects me in a way that I can't even describe. And the music that MJ has created will always be important to me. And the dancing.....OH the dancing. Like no other - there never will be another.
Many can (and will) have their opinions - but while those of us who are mourning his loss, hoping that others will keep their negative thoughts to themselves.
Now, we must celebrate his life. Celebrate his music and his influcence on our lives, our childhood through adulthood - his music that has been the soundtrack to our lives.
Listen to his music - sing, dance and remember why music is so great, so powerful and so influential in our lives.
You are a legend, an innovator and a pioneer of pop music.
You will be missed, Michael - but your music will never EVER be forgotten.