With our busy, busy season just around the corner, new and interesting events are starting to pop up. Our calendar is already filling up with our annual festivals and return events but we still have plenty of days that will fill in pretty quickly over the next couple of months. We just never know what each day will bring this time of year. We are at the tail end of the bidding process for a "Big Name" concert that will be held in a small Oregon town in July. (For Google reasons, I won't be typing any names/places in this post, but I'll bet you can guess. . . ) Rob, Gloria and I drove about an hour away on Monday to meet with the concert planning committee and to check out the venue. . .
The meeting went really well and the event has the potential to be a lot of fun. . .
Gloria is already looking forward to hanging out at this little park right next to where the concert will be held. . .
I like to consider something called a "fun factor" in a show. Anytime there are carnival rides or extra things figured into an event, it has a fun factor that makes it seem less like work and more like a mini vacation. Of course, it's still a whole lot of work, but the fun factor can make all the difference for the kids. . .
We played for awhile before taking the short trip back home. . .
I don't like to get my hopes up but this is one event that I'll be looking forward to. . .
P.S. Here's a little clue about the incoming artist. . .
I've lived in and around Boise for a very long time. 27 years to be exact. So I'm pretty familiar with the Boise Greenbelt. We've gone for long bike rides there and nice, scenic walks. I've even walked from the shop to the library by way of the greenbelt several times. I've been looking forward to running on the greenbelt for several weeks because I'm getting tired of my same old neighborhood route and because it's such a pretty place, right along the river. Well, it finally happened on Saturday. And it wasn't all I had hoped it would be. Lucy and I walked from the shop to the first mile marker which was probably about a half mile. One of the reasons I've been wanting to run on the greenbelt is that it is clearly marked in 1/10th mile increments. I don't think my 5k (3.1 miles) route at home is very accurate, so I wanted to time myself on a "real" course. We started out OK except that I was tired from lack of sleep the night before so I think I was dragging just a little bit. There were also a lot more distractions for Lucy than when we run at home so I spent a lot of time and energy reigning her in. Saturday probably isn't the best day to run on the greenbelt if you're trying to be serious about it because once I hit the park it was all over for Lucy. Too many kids and bikes and frisbees flying by. I kept running and pulling her along almost to Broadway and then I had to stop and walk. Of course, I couldn't stop until I had hit my 2 mile point so I could check my time. (I ran the two miles in about 22 minutes so I'm thinking my route at home is not quite 5k.) Then, we had to turn around and go through the park again so I decided to just walk for a mile until most of the distractions were behind us. At the zero mile marker under the bridge by the library, we started to run again. I had my music in my ears and was trying to concentrate on the music but all I could think about was how crazy this was and what, exactly, was I thinking????? I wanted to give up and lay on the grass and never run again!! Just as I was about to stop, this Switchfoot song came on my MP3 player:
I matched my pace to the beat, concentrated on the words and ran the rest of the way to the shop. I still wanted to die, but this song was just the reminder I needed. . . I'm not giving up any time soon. . .
GONE Switchfoot
She told him she'd rather fix her makeup Than try to fix what's going on But the problem keeps on calling Even with the cellphone gone She told him that she believes in living Bigger than she's living now But her world keeps spinning backwards And upside down Don't say so long, and throw yourself wrong Don't spend today away Cuz today will soon be
Gone, like yesterday is gone, Like history is Gone, just try to prove me wrong And pretend like you're immortal
She said he said live like no tomorrow Every day we borrow Brings us one step closer to the edge (infinity) Where's your treasure, where's your hope If you get the world and lose your soul She pretends like she pretends like she's immortal
Don't say so long You're not that far gone This could be your big chance to makeup Today will soon be
Gone, like yesterday is gone, Like history is gone, The world keeps spinning on, Your going going gone, Like summer break is gone, Like Saturday is gone Just try to prove me wrong You pretend like your immortal your immortal
We are not infinite We are not permanent Nothing is immediate We're so confident In our accomplishments Look at our decadence
Gone, like Frank Sinatra Like Elvis and his mom Like AL Pacino's cash nothing lasts in this life My high school dreams are gone My childhood sweets are gone Life is a day that doesn't last for long Life is more than money Time was never money Time was never cash, Life is still more than girls Life is more than hundred dollar bills And roto-tom fills Life's more than fame and rock and roll and thrills All the riches of the kings End up in wills we got information in the information age But do we know what life is Outside of our convenient Lexus cages She said he said live like no tomorrow Every moment that we borrow Brings us closer to the God who's not short of cash Hey Bonoi'm glad you asked Life is still worth living, life is still worth living
I've spent quite a bit of time this week working with my new computer. It's really the first computer I've ever owned that is #1 NEW and #2 ALL MINE!!! Not that I'm trying to justify my purchase (even though it is hard for me to spend this kind of money on myself) but I thought I'd summarize a bit of my computer history for posterity:
I've spent the last several years juggling several different computers that could each do one or two things that I need a computer to do but not one of them could do it all. . . My office computer is old but works great for invoices. It has a nice HP printer and has worked great for most of my office needs. Problem: it's OLD. I've been waiting for it to die for a couple of years now. It also can't store/burn my many pictures and it has no Internet connection.
Our home computer is a Dell desk top but the CD-ROM broke a couple of years ago leaving me without a way to burn my pictures onto Cd's . It also came with a huge price tag since it was "free" when I signed my kids up for IDEA. It was so NOT free but that's a story for another day.
I also have a laptop that we bought used at a pawn shop last spring and once we got the icky pictures off the hard drive, it worked pretty good for downloading and storing the event pictures that I took all summer. It also had a wireless card and was easy to transport. Problem: No Microsoft Office. Besides, it died a few months ago taking many of my pictures with it. . .
Meanwhile, I found a nice looking lap top in a box at the cabin and asked my mother-in-law about it. They had picked it up very cheap at a yard sale and she hadn't been able to do much with it. She told me to take it and try it out to see if I could use it. I was pretty excited since it had Office!! Problem: No wireless card. Oh, and it only stays on for about 20 minutes before it hibernates for the rest of the day and it will only power up if the power cord is hung carefully over the top of the screen. . . BUT, I could use my printer with it as long as I could do everything I needed to do in 20 minutes or less.
Last year, my sister gave me an OLD HP laptop that has worked great for the business since it has Office BUT of course, no wireless card, no picture storage, no CD burner and no printer.
Obviously, I need one good computer that can do everything I need without all of the headaches that have come with these other computers!!
This is where my lovely, new, shiny, black Dell Inspiron laptop enters the picture. We had some money set aside for one good computer that could do all of the things I needed it to do but I had no idea what to get. I looked on Craig's List and found plenty of used computers that were in my price range and looked good but I really didn't want another used computer. When Dell had a sale, I jumped at the chance and bought this little beauty:
I'm sure there are better computers out there but this one suits all of my needs at this moment in time. I have spent the week adding things from my other computers and getting it to do all of the things that make my life better and easier!
This is pretty much what I did all week as I loaded up my new toy:
I know, I should have done this a long, long time ago. . .
The dogs are really enjoying this exercise phase I'm going through. I can't take them at the same time because they just mess around so I've been making them take turns. As soon as they see me getting my tennis shoes on in the morning, they both run for their leashes and pace excitedly until I'm ready to go. On the days that I walk, I take Emma. I've tried to run with her but she has a tendency to stop short and I have a tendency to trip so it's just safer to take a nice, long walk when I'm with her. She's one of those dogs that needs to stop and smell the roses (and the hydrant and the grass and the garbage can) so I try to just enjoy the scenery with her.
Lucy, on the other hand, is very focused and aware. Emma looks down, Lucy looks around. I feel much safer when I'm out with Lucy. It's almost like she understands what I'm trying to do and she helps me set and keep a good running pace. She's rarely distracted and I think she would do her best to protect me if she needed to. She's the perfect running mate!
We've settled into a pretty nice routine and both dogs have added something to my workouts that is unique and interesting. Besides, they get me going in the morning so it's kind of like having two personal trainers at my beck and call!!
Two very wonderful things happened on Saturday afternoon!! First, the Fed Ex man brought my new laptop and second, Elsie arrived to spend Spring Break in Boise!!!!!
I’ve discovered lots of cool things on my new computer including Window’s Live Writer. As I write this post I’m having fun experimenting with all of the available tools that should make blogging much easier and less time-consuming.
Anyway, it was great to see Elsie!!!!
Megan came out to stay the night with Gloria and Elsie and they had fun catching up on everything. After they had a chance to visit for awhile, I fixed them a delicious, nutritious dinner of mac and cheese, Totino’s Pizza, apples and corn. . . Elsie has always said I make the best mac and cheese EVER. :)
For old times sake they decided to take a swim in the tub. They all used to fit in here when they were 2 and 3. . .
I’m not sure how late they stayed up doing their nails and laughing because I was still trying to recover from Friday so I went to bed before they did. . . On Sunday we managed to make it to church in time for Sunday School and, of course, everyone was thrilled to see Elsie!!! After church we went to lunch and then out to Idaho Ice World to ice skate. . .
After 2 1/2 hours of skating and falling, the girls were tired and sore but were still willing and able to take a trip to the mall . . .
Isn’t this the cutest Pug pup you’ve ever seen?????
We hit all of our usual stops. . .
Mmmm. . . cinnamon rolls. . .
I tried to re-enact another photo from the past while we were at Limited Too but I was told in no uncertain terms that photography in the mall was illegal!! They better come and cuff me because I’ve taken hundreds of pictures in the mall over the years. . . But, I’m a law-abiding citizen so this was the last of the pictures:
It was a long, exhausting day but very, very fun!! Gloria and I won’t see Elsie again until Friday but we’ll look forward to having her one more time before she goes home!!!!
We had a very interesting event on Friday. . . This is actually the third year we have been hired to run sound for a local church's anniversary party. This particular church really knows how to throw a party, too. The last two years we have set up our system inside their church building and have run sound for several different services and concerts over a three to four day period. This year, for their 10th anniversary, they decided to have a gospel concert at The Egyptian with several Big Names and even box office ticket sales. We've worked with Big Names before so we weren't concerned about not being able to provide all that they would need. We've worked at The Egyptian many, many times so we weren't concerned about not being familiar with the venue. And because we've worked with this church on big and small events, we weren't concerned about "proving" ourselves and making a good first impression. In fact, this should have been a piece of cake. . .
The talent that was flown in was great. Most of the groups were gracious and professional. The first group up was The Timmons Brothers. . .
They were very talented musicians with great harmonies. . .
The second act of the evening was my favorite. All of the pictures I took were blurry but I found lots of information with a google search. Her name is Shirley Murdock and she's very well known. She has an amazing set of vocal chords! She was gracious as well as talented and was very easy to work with.
The next performance was by a group that we have worked with in the past. The group, Witherspoon, is made up of 4 sisters who have been singing together most of their lives. They have a great message as well as smooth harmonies. . .
After a brief intermission, local talent, Cherie Buckner-Webb sang one song with one of the church members and then the "headliner" took the stage. I'm really trying not to dwell on just how poorly we were treated by this "good, Christian" woman but it's been difficult. . .
What should have been a smooth set-up and sound check in the hours before the concert turned into an experience that we won't soon forget. We can take some comfort in the fact that we weren't singled out for her abuse but taking into account all of the concerts we have run sound for over the last 6 years and all of the people, famous and not so famous, Christian and not so Christian, we have worked with, no one has treated us with more disrespect than this woman.
In my opinion, no amount of Grammys, accolades, awards or gold records gives someone the right to be-little another person in front of one person or an audience of 500. Even if you do punctuate the abuse with "Praise Jesus, Hallelujah. . . "
