I love this stuff

I got to decorate my cousin's rehearsal dinner. He wanted it in his grandparents' backyard, which was a lovely place to be. The pictures aren't the best, because I didn't try that hard to take great ones (darn me!). Also, the effect is a little "off" because it's daylight in the photos and the twinkly lights and candles aren't lit.

Since I was decorating on a budget (per my aunt's request), I was able to explore ways of decorating that I hadn't really considered before. By that, I mean I stole these flowers from over my neighbor's fence. The twigs were on clearance, and something I've decided to use in my own flower arrangements around the house once my neighbor's tree blooms some more!

The main table

Another Table

The back corner of the yard. The fence and trees were strung with lights. The "B"s stand for "Best Friends!" Just lying, the stand for their new, shared last name. I hung them all over.

Another table, also strung with lights.

The view from the table with the pink umbrella. The patio area with the tulle going up the posts was also covered in lights.

Anyway, ya know, it doesn't look as pretty in the middle of the day as it did at dusk. I'm happy with my work, though. Such a fun thing to do. If you know anyone who wants a party decorated, let me know! I'm amassing quite the supply of decorations and I love to share.

Dorothy has nothing on me

 The scene: Lawrence, Kansas, then St Louis, Missouri.

 

The players: Stacey, Kim, Jodi, Kris, Rae, Vanessa

 

The plot: 6 friends who love the same band get together and traipse around the midwest looking for a good time. 

 

Your task: Loving this story.

About 6 months ago, when tour dates for The Dave Matthews Band were announced, my sweet friends and I decided that THIS year, we would get together for a show. We decided on St Louis, and started the wheels in motion. I flew in from SJ, Kim and Jodi came out from North Carolina. Stacey, Kris and Rae all live in Kansas. Our plan was to meet at Stacey's in Lawrence, Kansas, spend a night there, then drive the 5 hours to St Louis together. Here we go!

 

Stacey's husband made that sweet sign for us. How adorable is that? Half of it is Lawrence, Kansas and the other half is St. Louis. Of course it also has the Dave Matthews Band logo on it. 

 

Getting picked up at the airport...They tease me about my "cheerleader" poses in pictures. 

 

 That's Kim, Jodi, Me and Kris. Got it? You'll be quizzed later.

At Stacey's, we sat out on the deck, ate delicious bbq and watched a concert on the big screen. 

 

 

Handstands with Isabell. Love that little girl. Stacey's daughter.

The big photo is our friend, Dawn, who is currently living in Spain. Her husband is in the military, and she can't get to many shows, so she asked us to bring her with us.....and we did.

Did I mention that I saw my first lightning bugs?

 

 Those are my beautiful friends Stacey and Gena. Don't you love how they're in concert gear and all we were doing was sitting on the deck? LOVE these girls.

 

The next day, we embarked on our 5 hour drive to St Louis. 

That's Kim. I love her. She's crazy, but I love her.

Rae, Kim, Me and Jodi. It was Jodi's second show, and her first time traveling to see the band.

Jodi told me how I keep getting the little holes in my shirts....WASHING DISHES. You lean up against your zipper. Who knew?? Should have guessed it was bad for me. I'll never scrub another pan. It's just throwing shirt money down the drain. ya know?

We passed a note up to Kris while she was driving. I'm positive it wasn't annoying.

Almost show time....!!!!

On the shuttle and at the show.

After a really sweaty evening of love, music, lounge passes, free drinks, laughing, friendship and lots of awesome stuff all rolled into one, we headed back to our hotel for some z's. The next day was St Louis Arch Day! Not a real holiday or anything, but exciting for me all the same.

As luck would have it, we ran into the bass player for DMB. Such a nice guy. I had met him before, but most of girlfriends hadn't. Exciting times. He was on his way to Target. Thanks for putting up with a bunch of goofy fans, Fonz. We love ya.

The gateway to the west held my body in it for approximately 5 minutes, plus the time in the pod you ride up in. It was amazing, but the altitude made me a teensy bit sick, I guess. 

And that's the end! For now =) Miss my girls too too much. Such a fun time. I am so lucky. I really am.

Changes

Some mornings, I wake up and completely start my day off on the wrong foot. I don't give myself enough time to treat myself correctly- no breakfast, running late, no clean clothes to wear. I'm not doing that anymore. I believe that if you accept troubles in your life, you'll only get more. Likewise with happiness, relief, calm. From now on, I'm choosing the calm route. I will walk more places, I will eat slowly, I will have more delicious fruit. I will spend money on things that make me happy- more experiences. And now, I will end this blog and give myself enough time to get to my appointment 10 minutes before I'm supposed to be there. Have a good day....

A new little human to love

Ethan Rodgers Portillo made his way into this wonderful world yesterday at 1:24pm. Mommy and baby worked hard hard hard for a couple of days to get him here, so that makes him extra special. I've had the opportunity of visiting him twice now, and am officially in love with the little man. His mommy will do a better job of telling his story, so I won't get into anything more than saying over and over again how adorable he is. For your viewing pleasure:

Yep, that's me. Holding Ethan. Lucky girl, I know.

I've got a brand new pair of roller skates....

...just perfectly sized for my little cousin, Isabella. She had mentioned that she and her cousin share a pair. Each girl wears one, and they hold each other around the waist and skate. This tickled me pink, because her mom and I used to do the exact same thing when we were seven. I didn't have a Cousin Nessa at age seven, though. Cousin Nessa buys roller skates for 7 year olds. It's pretty much necessary equipment, amiright?

Love her so much.

Whoops.

Not even skating. Just holding on. Learning new things is tiring.

Shucks. She's reaching out for me to help her up. I'm not sure I did. What would she do if she was roller skating alone in a post-apocolyptic world? She'd HAVE to know how to get up, right? I'm preparing her for life. This is a big lesson.

Success! She's gotten really good with only a couple hours of practice. There are even some dance moves being incorporated into the initial push off. Reminds of another 7 year old I used to know (hint: it's me). Can't wait 'til she starts choreographing to MC Hammer.

Congratulations!

Ryan's youngest brother graduated from Pioneer this week. He is now UCLA bound. Congratulations, Jonny!

Valedictorian and everything. This kid is no joke.

3 Things That Jess Doesn't Know

One Mrs. Jessica Epson telephoned me during her jaunt to Jamba Juice this fine day. She usually gives me a call during her lunch break, and we giggle about various things for about 20 minutes, until I say, "I have to go lie out in the sun in my bathing suit while you work now." Since she is all gung ho about her blogging lately, she was asking when I'm going to post something new (nevermind the months and months I was posting, only to hear silence from Blurbs from the Bay). I said, "Hey. I'm into blogging! I'll write one today!" Jess thought this sounded great, but gave me a stipulation: "I want to know 3 things about you that I don't already know, and it can't be what you had for lunch, because you just told me."

(Tuna sandwich, cheezits and a cupcake)

So my poor little brain started pumping up some blood into itself, and working really hard on figuring out 3 things that Jessica doesn't know about me. Here we go:

1) Music played backwards really makes me scared.
2) I don't like to sleep with my feet outside of the blankets because maybe a ghost might grab my toes or tickle my feet?
3) I drank a Diet Coke today. Wait...maybe she knew that.