Gaga

S, L, and I headed to Omaha Thursday to see Lady Gaga in concert. The concert was pretty fantastic. She put on a great show - great voice, provocative dancing, scandalous costumes - pretty much what you would expect from her. My favorite performance from the show was her encore performance of "Born This Way" and my favorite moment was when she talked about how it's okay to be who you are and not let others bully you or make you feel bad about who you are. It's a great message to be sending out.

I thought we girls would be on the tame side, outfit-wise, but I was surprised at how many jeans/tanks combos I saw. Don't get me wrong, there were some crazy/fun costumes - glitter dresses, leotards, one guy had blown up surgical rubber gloves and attached them all over his shirt and pants...Probably the best I saw was a girl who replicated Gaga's red lace outfit she wore at one of the award shows.

We kept it pretty simple with fun dresses and glammed up with our eye makeup, thanks to L who served as the makeup artist for the evening. We each got a pair of fun lashes to wear for the night - S wore some sassy purple ones, L donned a seductive pair that were long and curly on the outsides, and I wore black feather ones.

A couple pics, pre-show:





It was a fun evening and I was so happy to be sharing it with two of my favorite people.

A Podcast Worth Listening To

On my way to my sister's, I caught an episode of This American Life. One of the stories revolved around David Finkel's book, The Good Soldiers. Several excerpts were read, sharing the perspectives of different soldiers who were involved with "the Surge". I teared up several times. One soldier and his wife talked about their struggles - the wife, frustrated that she was having to make all the family decisions while her husband was away, dealing with the car breaking down on the highway alone, handling her 4 year hold child with down syndrome as she vomited at a restaurant, etc. Her husband fearing he's not the same person he once was and how he is going to handle being back home. Another soldier described how he felt when he got home on leave and saw his 17 year old son's beat up old truck, leaking oil everywhere. He struggled, knowing there was a possibility that after he went back to Iraq that he wouldn't come back home, with the decision on whether to repair the old truck or buy his son a new one, even though they didn't have much money. And there was the soldier describing waiting for the helicopter to take him home...for good...after finally admitting that he was having suicidal thoughts. Ugh, it's heart-wrenching.

I'm terrible at storytelling and summations, so I highly recommend checking out this particular podcast, as it was definitely eye-opening for me. It's not that I do not have an appreciation for our troops, because I do, but it's hearing stories like these that open my eyes to just how much they do for us and how much they've given up for us and our country.

Girls Weekend

I headed to my sister's Saturday for an impromptu girls weekend. Movies, ice cream, and lots of QT with Rachel - it was the perfect way to spend my weekend. Rachel did this most of the time I was there:



but that was okay. I was able to hold and cuddle with her lots :)

A Special Day

Today is March 9th, a day that means many different things. It means Rachel is 2 days old. It marks the beginning of the Lenten season. It is the day some friends have made a significant step into their future.

Although all the things I've mentioned are both true and significant, I've been reflecting a lot today for another reason. Today is my grandpa's birthday. It's hard to believe he's been gone for almost a year. It's not that I ever doubted that I would miss him, but what continues to surprise me is how often I think about him and just how often I miss him. It's not just when our family gets together, or holidays, or a day like today. But it's a random Monday afternoon or Sunday evening.

He was one of the greatest men I've ever met in my life. He was smart, he was kind, he was funny, he was generous, he was a hard worker, and he was loving. He was a true family man and because of that, I never had to doubt for a second his love for me and all my family.

There are all kinds of thoughts and memories that pop into my head. Today, I am reminded of how excited he was to meet his first great-granddaughter and while holding her, looked at her and told her, "you're my new best friend" and asked my grandma if she could go home with them. I think about how happy he would've been to have met Rachel. But, I take comfort in knowing he's looking down at her right now, with a big smile on his face. Today, I'm thinking about how I lost to my sister while racing down the alpine slide at Chestnut because my grandpa and cousin were going so slow and I almost ran into them. Today, I hear his distinct "hardy har har" laugh, and think about how he got such a kick out of the Peanuts cartoon each day. It seems silly, but it was one of the things that bonded us I think, because from the very young age of 2, I was enamored with Snoopy. Today, I'm thinking about the picture of my grandpa, my sister, and I on his birthday 20 years ago, when we were helping him blow out his candles. Today, I'm thinking about how just one year ago, we were all gathered together, celebrating his 85th birthday. It was the last time I got to hug him and the last time I told him that I loved him. And it was the last time I would hear him tell me "I love you."

I am thankful to have been blessed with such an amazing grandpa like him. And although I have these pangs of sadness, I take comfort in these and all my memories with him.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!! I love you!!

Newest Addition

She's finally here!! After about 2 1/2 weeks of anticipation and false alarms, Rachel finally arrived yesterday, weighing in at an impressive 8 lbs 8 oz. I can say with 100% certainty (although biased) that she is absolutely beautiful! It took everything in me to let go of that little baby girl this afternoon and come back to dsm. I already cannot wait to get back up there and see her again. A few photos to share:

Oscars 2011

I attended the 2nd annual Oscars party on Sunday evening. We were all dressed in our best and watched the show, complete with great food and even better company. And the party wouldn't have been complete without the swag bags, the photo shoot, and the competition of guessing the most winners correctly. Last year I took home the Oscar for guessing the most correctly, however, this year there was a 3 way tie between myself, JW, and LW. I graciously handed over the trophy to the boys and happily accepted the door prize - 3 dvds! Here are a few pics from the evening: (thanks JW)







A few thoughts on the show:

*I've read a lot of harsh reviews on hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Although a little brutal, I cannot say I disagree entirely. James Franco, whether that's his personality or not, did, in fact, appear to be less than thrilled to be there. Anne Hathaway, though I do like her as an actress, is just very awkward to watch at times, and her performance Sunday night was no exception.

*I think the producers need to give up the idea of appealing to a younger crowd. The Oscars is supposed to be a sophisticated awards ceremony, honoring the most talented in film for that year, not a less than classy show, like, say, the MTV awards. Plus, even a mature viewer like me (haha) gets bored with the show after a while with the speeches and the less-known categories like sound editing and sound mixing.

*Best Dressed: Halle Berry: She looked stunning in this nude-colored dress by Marchesa. Only someone with a flawless complexion, like hers, can pull off a dress like this.




*Worst Dressed: Melissa Leo: I was not digging her nod to grandma's doily collection.



*I was happy with the big winners of the evening: Christian Bale/Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Colin Firth (The King's Speech).

*I saw half of the best picture nominees (Black Swan, The Fighter, Toy Story 3, Inception, and the Social Network). And I'm hoping to see the remaining 5 once they are released on dvd, especially the King's Speech and the Kids Are All Right.

Fuzzy Unicorn

When I was reading through KC's blog topic ideas (thanks KC!), and saw "fuzzy unicorn posters" I couldn't help but laugh and take a trip down memory lane....

Back in college, KC and I played a fun game called, "let's see what kind of cool shit we can buy for under $3." ("cool" being very subjective, of course) So, whenever we'd make a Target or Wal-mart trip, we'd cruise up and down the aisles to find such treasures, and we walked away with some pretty neat stuff:

The Chef Wizard: (I still have mine)


Mini-Hamper: (Like this only much smaller - we held our remotes in it)


And the Fuzzy Unicorn Poster:




One night, we snuck into my friend's apartment and hung it up in his room. A few days later, it appeared in our apartment. Then, we'd send it back down to his...and so the game continued, until graduation, when it landed in the dumpster.

...and then I found $20...