+ 2 - 0 | § ¶U2!!!
So, last weekend I met up with a bunch of friends in Chicago with the sole purpose of seeing U2 at Soldier Field! It has been about 8 years since my last U2 concert...the wait had my anticipation levels on overdrive!!! The experience did not disappoint! There were so many amazing moments and neither words nor pictures will do justice, but I will post a few pics in the next week or so and share some of my favorite memories. If you're not a U2 fan, sorry- this is probably more for me and my less than stellar memory!
I'll begin with how these tickets were acquired, way back when snow was still on the ground! (yes, I realize I live in MI and I could be referring to May, but I think we got the tickets in March!) Karen and her friend Karen are the actual heroes who took care of ordering the tickets online...just moments after the "boots" pre-sale opened at 6:00pm (our time)! See, each U2.com member can only purchase 4 tickets and we had more than 4 attending. I was all set to purchase at least two, one for me and one for my co-worker, Gina...but couldn't decide if I should really get 2 more and hope someone would want them...they were rather expensive! I was on my way home from visiting my parents in Florida and the flight that should have brought me to GR at noon didn't arrive until 5:30pm!!! At about 5:45, as I waited for my luggage to arrive, I frantically called Diana and confirmed that she and her sister, Hildred, would want the other two tickets if I got them. I called Karen, with mere moments to spare, to give her the go-ahead to get me 4 tickets! She and Karen (who lives in Pennsylvania, by the way) talked on the phone while online getting tickets and had to take a few gambles to get the 2 sets of 4 tickets as close to each other as possible. It didn't look like it was going to happen, but Karen decided to try one more time. It worked! We were in 2 sections next to each other, only one row apart! We were excited, but had no idea how close we would be in that giant stadium. At the concert, we went up separate stairs to our separate sections and found our seats. Once settled, we glanced around to see if we could see them and this is what we saw: YAY!!! Seriously, AMAZING!!! That's enough rambling for now :) More later!
+ 2 - 2 | § ¶from last week....
Diana is married! There is the only pic I have of her as a bride!!! I didn't take any pictures at her wedding, if you can believe it!!! Part of it was that I was busy doing other things, part of it was that other people had the bases covered and part of it is that my good camera is on it's very last legs and brings me more disappointment than good pics these days. So, I am preparing to buy a new camera! Yay! I will spend more than I probably need to, and it will have more features than necessary, but since taking pictures is one of those things that is good for my soul, I'm willing to splurge a little. So, hopefully by early fall I will be posting beautiful pictures again.
+ 1 - 3 | § ¶time to slow down
So far, this summer has been pretty busy. It's been fun, but is just flying by too quickly. It's now time to slow down, take a breath and just enjoy the summer a bit. I hope to catch many more beautiful sunsets over a lake in the weeks to come!
+ 2 - 5 | § ¶change
There is a lot of change in my life these days. Typically, I don't hate change nearly as much as some people. I even tend to thrive on it on occasion. But right now? There seems to be too much at once and It's tearing me apart a little bit. My job is changing. A lot. While it will offer new challenges and experiences, it is completely scary and a part of me wishes it could just stay the same. A dear friend/mentor (Brad, pictured above) finished up his last day at WW last week. Perhaps we will keep in touch, but I know that the daily doses of laughter, wisdom and good conversation are a thing of the past. Another dear friend, Diana, is getting married this coming weekend. I'm truly excited for her and plan to continue to be a part of her life, even as she moves in a new direction. And realistically, our relationship has been undergoing change since she began dating Barkley. But the finality of her actual wedding just adds a dimension to the truth of change that I can't ignore. These are things hitting all at once...each on their own isn't earthshattering. Even together they aren't. But there's another aspect playing out here too.
I guess underlying it all is the knowledge that every day is a new day without my brother. There are so many "firsts" without him. I've missed him at so many family events recently. That change is the hardest to take. People say that the first year is the most difficult. I hope so. I can't imagine that it will get easier, though I should know from experience that it will. Anyway, change is a big theme in my life right now. Change and loss. But I know I'm not alone in this...and for that, I'm thankful.
+ 2 - 5 | § ¶my little niece...all grown up!!!
My little niece, Erin, graduated from High School on Friday night! Awww! Congratulations, sweetie!
+ 6 - 1 | § ¶family trip!
This past weekend, I went on a whirlwind road trip to the Smoky Mountains with my family! It was so great to spend time together. We reminisced about trips in years past, as well as made a lot of new memories. I really love my family so much. There was a touch of melancholy to the trip, since our Ron wasn't with us, but we all agreed that he's never far from our hearts and minds, so in a way he's always with us. Thanks, mom and dad, for making this happen. It will go down in the history of family trips as one of the best!
+ 3 - 4 | § ¶happy birthday, rachel!!!
Today is my cousin, Rachel's, birthday!!! Yay! Unfortunately, I don't have any scanned old pics of her as a child, but she's always been a cutie- take my word for it!
+ 2 - 5 | § ¶Happy Birthday Rob!!!
It is my brother Rob's birthday today! Yay! Here are a few pics of him from his early days...some of them with me! I love you, Rob and hope your day is awesome!!! Here's one more of us being adorable! Hee, hee!