?

Is it just me or is Starburst packaging made of steel?

Embarrassment

I've had a couple of embarrassing moments recently. Yesterday I got stuck in a stall in the bathroom at work. No joke. I used a stall I don't normally use because I was trying to follow the one stall in between rule. But when I tried to open the door the handle was spinning but the pin keeping the door locked didn't budge. I started to panic slightly while envisioning myself having to crawl under the door. I kept working on the handle, but it wasn't moving. In a last fit of panic I grabbed the top of the door and shook it. Lo and behold, it worked! And I was free. I'm sure the person in the other stall was a little worried about what was going on.

This morning I had to run to catch the bus for the first time ever. Running for the bus is not my style, but this morning I had gotten up early and I wasn't going to let that effort go to waste. So, when I saw the bus slowing down at my stop I started running. In heels. Up a hill. Somehow the bus driver knew to wait for me (someone at the back of the bus must have seen me running) and I made it on huffing and puffing. My hair suffered the brunt of the experience. When I told Chats McGee about it he said, "So you were that girl, huh?"

Yes, yes I was. The girl that gets locked in the bathroom stall and runs a block to catch the bus.

Hello

The weather could not have been more perfect this weekend. Sunny, 70's and no humidity. Sounds like the perfect weather for an outdoor concert, right?

Tristan Prettyman sounded great and when she pulled out this guitar (she had three) I wanted to jump on stage, grab it and start running for the car. Isn't it pretty?
A few things:
1. I wanted her to talk more. I like it when people show a little personality.
2. She's brave for wearing a dress on stage.
3. When her guitar strap broke right before the chorus of War Out of Peace and she had to stop playing, I had her back on the chorus. I think she should consider taking me on tour with her just in case that ever happens again.

Next up was John Butler Trio. Turns out his fans like to smoke weed. A lot. I didn't know who they were or even realize that they were part of the line-up but they pulled gems like those tie-dyed beauties in the middle. Needless to say, Lindsay and I did not get bored during their 1+ hour set with all of the people watching going on.
PS - Don't be fooled. They didn't just stand there. There was much dancing.

Finally came G. Love & Special Sauce. Let me just say that I can't even play the guitar and sing - it's like patting my head and rubbing my stomach. But this man rocked the guitar, harmonica, sang, busted some moves and worked the mic. And was likely high, drunk or both while doing it. Impressive.
I ventured from our safe seats in the grass into the mass of people at the stage to get some pictures. It was an experience. And this was the only clear picture I got so I'm not sure it was worth it. When I saw the puffs of smoke mysteriously making their way into the air from the crowd, heard the guy behind me freak out about security roving the crowd and noticed the way my head was starting to ache, I knew it was time to make my way out of the crowd and back to my seat.

Of course he sang Rodeo Clowns (which I loved) and then when he sang Who's Got the Weed? I realized that I was even more out of my element than I am with crowd at Brandi Carlile shows.

Football.

I'm watching the BYU vs. UW game and a few questions are coming to mind.

1. Who names their kid Bronco?
2. Why can't FSN get camera men that can hold it steady?
3. How is protecting a ball worth getting jacked so hard by 300 lb. men?

Ok, so those are my only questions, but I feel like they're pretty important.

An Old Flame

Did you see Michael Buble on The Today Show this morning? Boy is lookin' good! In his chat with Perez he said he's having meals delivered. Whatever he's doing, it's working!

Remember last July when I went to his show and wrote roughly 3.2 million posts about him? That was fun.

Two Things

Number One: I went sailing today. Sailing. On water. In a sailboat. We sailed across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island in a 70 foot boat, sat there for a while and then sailed back. It was very peaceful minus the moments of terror when the boat felt like it was completely on its side. A co-worker told me that we weren't in trouble until the sail touched the water. I'm not sure that was very helpful.

Number Two: I talked to the most fantastic British man while waiting for the elevator. Fantastic is the only word to describe him. 100% eccentric. I was waiting for the elevator on my floor, with my wallet in hand, so I could head down to quickly grab lunch at the dirty "deli" in my building (it was baked potato Thursday). My wallet is similar in style to this:

As I'm waiting, a man I've never seen before walks out into the hallway and stands right next to me. Facing me. I'm facing the elevator. I look over and he's rocking some serious pointy toed boots, crazy tight black jeans, a giant belt buckle, white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black vest and sunglasses (Note: We were indoors). He's still facing me as I quickly take it all in, so I say hello and turn back to the elevator. He says he likes my "purse. Or what do you call them here? Wallet." So, not only does he mean business with his outfit, he also has a hard-core British accent.

I say thanks and he continues to go on about how everyone is carrying them these days. He even reaches out and takes it from me, turning it over in his hands. He said, "I see them everywhere. I went out the other night and this woman opened her black patent leather wallet and it was bright red inside. It was f'ing gorgeous!"

Something about the way he was dressed and the fact that he had such strong feelings about a wallet made me refrain from telling him that I got it at Target for $12. But I did want to be his friend.

There are tears on my cheeks right now...

Linds: How do you spell pulley? P-O-L-Y?
Steph: I don't even know what that word means...
L: Like 'ropes and pulleys'.

{After a few minutes of me laughing at (and with) Lindsay.}

S: Umm...P-U-L-L-E-Y.

{After a few more minutes of laughing and wiping away tears.}

S: Are you really blogging about ropes and pulleys?
L: I thought that was going to be your first question.

Maybe I'll Invite Him to My Party

Almost every night when I leave work the same security man is sitting at the desk in the lobby when I step off the elevator. And almost every night, unless I'm lost in my own world, I say, "Have a great night" as I walk past his desk.

Tonight I got off the elevator, walked past his desk, and said the same thing I always say. But this time, instead of smiling and saying, "You too" he pointed at me and said, "September 14th".

I stopped, turned, and gave him a confused look. He said, what to me sounded like, "That's my birthday." And then I was really confused because 1) Why is he giving me unsolicited personal information? and 2) What are the chances that our birthday would be on the same day? So I clarified and said, "You're birthday is September 14th?" and he said, "No, YOU'RE birthday is September 14th".

And just as I started looking for the nearest exit/soiling myself he said, "I saw it on the board upstairs - I didn't mean to creep you out". I tried to play it cool, remembering the bulletin board on my floor where every month they post pictures of everyone in the department who has an upcoming birthday, and hoped he didn't notice the wet stain on my pants and awkwardly said, "I was going to say...'How crazy that we have the same birthday'!" {Insert nervous laughter.}

I smiled and as I turned to walk away I said, "Have a good night" and he said, "You too".

Parental Advice

This was my favorite conversation from my weekend in Utah. It may not be word for word, but it captures the spirit of the conversation. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

Dad: Have you been tanning?
Steph: Yup.
D: You should stay out of the sun. Look at your Mom, she stays out of the sun and has great skin.
S: I look less ugly when I'm tan.
D: Well, there's no doubt that being tan looks nice, but when you're sixty it won't look as good.
S: I'm really more concerned with finding a husband now, and he can deal with what I look like when I'm sixty.
D: {laughing} All you have to do is go to choir. And touch people.

Under My Bed

Despite not having much extra time this week (I'm going on vacation in 2 days!), I went to another show tonight. Meiko was playing a little bar in Fremont and the tickets were only 10 bucks. Remember how that's practically free?

It was a good show. She's really funny - and also slightly awkward. Oh, and I really wish I could play the guitar well. I couldn't stop watching her hands.

I met her afterwards and said something really awkward about being nerdy for wanting a picture and asked about her re-releasing her album with a new song. I crack under pressure!
Note: Please excuse the nastiness of my noggin in this picture. I had gone to the gym before the show and had gym hair.

She played with three other guys, one of whom was Joe Purdy. I happen to have three of his CDs in my iTunes that my sister gave me, but I haven't really gotten too familiar with them. I like his style so I'll definitely be listening to them more.

PS - Yes, that's harmonica around his neck. Love it.

And have I mentioned that I heart music?

A Short List.

-The rain is pouring down outside and I'm in my pj's in bed. It's perfect.

-My bedroom is a complete disaster and I'm blogging to avoid cleaning it up.
-I did some shopping this weekend. I'm only good for about one store every 7 days, so it nearly killed me, but I was on a mission to find something in particular and it just had to be done. I ended up out-spending Lindsay, which never happens.

-I don't think I've written a non-list/non-concert recap post in a long time. I think I forgot how to blog.

-There may be another concert recap post tomorrow because I'm going to a Meiko show.

-I spent the afternoon organizing my old photos into events in iPhoto. It felt good.

-Am I the only person in the world that still keeps receipts to balance a checkbook?

-I want to bring my guitar to Utah, but don't think I will.

-I really don't have anything to say, I just don't want to clean my room.

Concert #3: Oregon Zoo (Portland)

I know you're all tired of me talking about Brandi Carlile, but I'm not. I'm not tired of seeing her shows or talking about her...so either get excited or stop reading because here we go again. 

Tonight was the Portland show and it was fan-freaking-tastic! Seriously. So. Good. Totally worth taking off work, driving down to Portland, riding the school bus shuttle, waiting in line for an hour and then another two hours in our seats before the show started, enduring the annoying girls next to us and waiting in line forever afterward to catch the school bus shuttle back to the car. Worth all the time and every penny spent.

Lindsay and I worked out a game plan - when they started letting us in she would be the runner/seat scoper-outer and I would carry all of our crap and find her when I made it in. Linds wins the gold star for claiming some AWESOME seats. We were on the second row of grass. The only thing between us and the stage was a section where people could stand. Brilliant!
The standard self-portrait.

We set up camp and were surprisingly entertained for the two hours we waited. Let's just say there is a lot of good people-watching at Brandi's shows. (Do you like my new giant purse? We may have stopped at Target on the way down.)
We were way closer to the stage than last weekend at Marymoor Park. It makes a huge difference! That whole section where the people are standing got packed.
The audience was so much more into the show than in Seattle and you could tell Brandi was feeding off of the energy in the crowd. During the encore she sang That Year, which is a fairly serious song, and the entire crowd was absolutely silent - all 3,700 people. It gave me chills.
Brandi always starts the show with quite a few guitar picks stuck in her microphone stand and periodically she'll throw the one she was using out into the crowd. I almost got one last October at the show in Boise, but tonight I really got one! And not just any guitar pick, but the last one she threw out after the last song of the show (pre-encore). The pick she used for Turpentine (my favorite song!) and The Story.
I saw her throw it but it was too dark to keep track of where they were ending up. Plus, I never thought it would make it over the huge crowd of people standing between the stage and the grass. And then I felt something hit my foot. I reached down and felt a guitar pick on my blanket.
Can you see the "jam marks" (as I like to call them) on the bottom left side?! Brandi played the final songs of the show with that exact pick! Now I just have to make sure Max doesn't eat it.

Thanks, Brandi (and boys), for another great night!

Wanna hear something gross?

I had a band-aid on each heel when I left the house this morning to keep my shoes from rubbing. When I attempted to remove them at 4pm this afternoon, there was only one left. 

That's gross.

There's nothing more disgusting than a used band-aid lying around.

One More Thing..

I'm supposed to be working right now but I like to put things off...

+I'm an aunt and I'm excited! That's all I can say.

+I played the guitar for nearly 2 hours yesterday. Typing has not been fun today.

+Time on the bus goes by so much faster while reading a book.

+I think I might be over The Hills. I'm not quite sure.

+I'm considering taking up yoga to help manage my anxiety/stress.

+There was a man living in his car outside our house for nearly a month. The neighbor called the cops on him enough that he finally moved around the corner. I pass his car every day on the way to the bus, but he's usually gone. One day last week we was leaving his car as I was passing by. He stopped, started twirling his keys, looked at me with a little crazy in his eyes, showed his half toothless mouth and started singing.

"Strawberry chapped strains and blueberries!"

I gave him an Are you for real? look and kept walking. He kept singing.

+Today on the bus there was a middle-aged woman wearing a headband of sorts with green Shrek ears attached.

+I got hit on at the gym by a boy that seems 19, but is actually 23. Two of our many conversations went as follows.

Gym Boy: So, you graduated in 2003? [After reading the year on a t-shirt I was wearing.]

Me:  Actually, 2004.

Me: [Realizing he was talking about high school graduation I added...] From college.

GB: Oh, so you're kind of older than me.

GB: So, Stephanie, why don't you have your boyfriend in here training you?

Me: Uhh...he's pretty busy.

Trainer: That's the funniest sh*t I've heard all day.

Concert #2: Marymoor Park

As anticipated, I nearly melted again today. Although, this time it wasn't from too many bodies packed together in a small non-air conditioned space, it was from the actual sun. We got there around 4:00 when the first band came on and the sun didn't go down until 8:30-ish. Despite the sweatiest back I've ever had (not to mentioned the worse case of swass...yeah, I said it) we endured with smiles and I only said, "I think I'm going to die" a couple of times. Oh, and check out Lindsay's kick-a straw hat.
We were more prepared in many ways this time than we were for our last two outdoor concert experiences. See Exhibit A below. 

Exhibit A

1. We had little beach chairs. SO much better than just sitting on a blanket.
2. We had snacks. LJL did a good job picking and packing them up.
3. We had beverages - water and of course the DC.
4. We had Breaking Dawn. (I finished while waiting. I give it three stars.)
5. I had enough cash for a t-shirt. It's not pictured above, but it's pretty sweet. There may or may not be some sort of eagle-looking wings on it. Don't be jealous.

Patrick Monahan, the lead singer from Train, performed. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. On one song he wasn't playing an instrument so he got off of his stool for the first time. After the song was over he said, "And that was the point in the show where I stood up and you got to check out these bad ass jeans." I laughed pretty hard because I had, in fact, noticed his jeans and had commented aloud on them. His last song was a duet with Brandi, Pirate on the Run, from his solo album and it was delightful.
By the time Brandi came on stage the sun was setting and the temperature was perfect. At one point she brought out her 1 year old niece, who was the inspiration for her new song Caroline. It's not the best quality, but check out the video below from the show at the Tractor.

Unfortunately, we were kind of far away and didn't think to take any pictures until it was too dark. This is the best we got.
Another great show, but it didn't top Friday's concert. There's something to be said for being able to see the performer's face. Next up is Friday in Portland.

Concert #1: Tractor Tavern

Tonight was the first installment of a three-part Brandi Carlile concert series.

It. Was. Fantastic. 

I hadn't eaten dinner, we were sweating from the minute we walked in the door, got stuck behind a man that was easily 6'6'' and my feet were killing me by the end of the night, but I absolutely LOVED every minute of it. I clapped, I sang, I danced. I just don't think there's anything better than live music.

This is us before the concert started. We had only been there for 15 minutes, but had already downed a glass of water and were quickly starting to get a little shiny. The heat only got worse...
Brandi and The Twins. Their old band The Fighting Machinists opened. They had a few songs I liked, but I prefer them with Brandi.
She sang all of my favorites and threw in a couple of her new songs. During the encore she sang Calling All Angels with her sister and her mom even came on stage and sang for a minute. So good!
And the best part...we met her!! After waiting around forever and getting stared at by the hands down creepiest man I've ever seen, she finally came out. Our stalking paid off. Not the best picture of either of us, but I talked to Brandi Carlile!
I was also pretty excited about the limited edition t-shirt made only for that "secret" show.

Installment two is tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to sitting outside in the 90 degree weather all day, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. It always is.

PS - You can go to this site to watch tonight's entire show.

Words Cannot Express

L: Hey, Steph, do you know what tomorrow is?

S: Um...Brandi Eve?

L: YES! Gold star for knowing the right answer.

Three Brandi concerts. Eight days. Two states. One giant obsession.

Stephanie's Favorite Dancer

I've made it an entire day without finding out who was crowned "America's Favorite Dancer" last night on SYTYCD. I've avoided the internet today and it's worked out well so far.

I went to my iGoogle page and saw this:
My mom sent me an email with the subject line "SYTYCD!!" and I realized that my email is no longer safe. I'm all over the Olympics tonight, but tomorrow my number one priority is seeing if my boy Joshua is now AFD. 

Even if he's not, he's still Stephanie's Favorite Dancer. Which is almost the same thing.

Update: The Olympics got boring so I ended up watching last night and Joshua won! I was so excited. He's totally adorable.

The Way of the Skip

Making a Comeback

+I've survived another week. I was completely exhausted (both physically and mentally) by Friday as usual, but tried to makeup for it by sleeping until Noon today. 

+I'm afraid I have been neglecting my blog. I'm hoping that I'll be able to stop working late and write more nonsense here.

+I haven't watched this week's SYTYCD. What's wrong with me?

+I had to catch up on 19 pages of Perez this morning. Shia LaBeouf came up in conversation last night and I didn't know the latest! Shameful.

+PS - Shia LaBeouf's long, lost twin is in my ward. I can't help but stare at him sometimes because he looks EXACTLY like him.

+I re-read Twilight this week on the bus to and from work. I think I'll go buy the new book today, but won't read it until I've re-read the other two. Natalie has labeled those books as "emotional porn" - she's kind of right.

+I got a t-shirt from a publisher at work this week and I love it. It's bright green with a giant cartoon bird of some sort. I would wear it every day if I could.

+Lindsay and I are learning a new song on the guitar. Maybe if we (and by "we" I mean "me" because Lindsay is already good enough) get good enough we'll post it for your viewing pleasure. But only if it's better than the last one.

+Last night I was social. {gasp!} We played games with some people from our ward. Not the kind of games that we made the kids at Sports & Dance Camps play that made me want to slit my wrists - but the less cheesy kind of games. I was kind of dreading it, but it ended up being a lot of fun.

+We were playing Catch Phrase and Lindsay was on my team. This is how she described her word: "big blank TV". What would be your first response to "big ___ TV"? Well, mine was inappropriate for the group we were with and I barely caught myself before blurting it out.

+The answer was "screen". Big screen TV.

+During another game we had to come up with an inappropriate name for children's book and Lindsay came up with "My Trip to the Gyno". It was a hit.

+I'm going to train for a 5k. You might think a person shouldn't need to train for 3.1 miles - but this girl does. I do at least 2 miles on the elliptical three times a week, but actually running outside is different.

+The first of a few H&Ms opened in Seattle last week and I went to check it out. I really liked it! It's like a trendier version of Old Navy. And we all know how much I love Old Navy.

+I've yet to see the new Batman movie. I haven't found "my" theater here. They're all small and ghetto and kind of hard to get to.

+I'm planning to see it tonight. 

+I read in US Weekly last week that Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johannson were spotted at Purple in Seattle that week. I've eaten there! And I love Ryan Reynolds.

+I need to spend more time downtown. It's a cool place.

+I got my passport pictures taken while Carlee was in town. Now I just need to find time to turn in my form. I want to go to Vancouver and Lindsay has almost convinced me to go on a cruise in February.

+I have three Brandi Carlile concerts coming up. One of them is a "secret" show at a small venue 5 minutes from our house. It's "secret" because the she's playing under a different name. I'm so excited.

+One of the other Brandi shows is in Portland in August. I'm excited to see a new city.

+Have I mentioned that Brandi Carlile's sister cuts hair at a salon in the next neighborhood over? I'm so tempted to make and appointment with her.

+Last night Lindsay presented me with an official Entertainment Proposal. It was a spreadsheet of plays and concerts with the date, the venue and the ticket price. I went through and said yes or no to each. (Sorry, Fergie, you didn't make the cut.) We're going to see G-Love and Tristan Prettyman! And Jason Mraz!

+My trainer asked to tell him how I felt about the workouts I was getting and I couldn't be as blunt as I wanted to be. I just told him he could work me harder.

+I'm excited to go to Utah in 3.5 weeks!

+I'm excited for my sister to get married in 3.5 weeks!

+I'm excited to see my baby nephew in 3.5 weeks!

+It's sunny and 63 degrees today. It's August 3rd. Utah can't even imagine what 63 degrees in August feels like. I love it.

+I'm excited for some of my shows to come back in the fall. It's time to re-watch the entire series of Grey's Anatomy in preparation. It's a tradition now.

+While Carlee was in town (which I will still post pictures of) we took an official tour of Seattle and they showed us the building they use to film the outside of the Seattle Grace.

+I think Carlee should move to Seattle.

+I would like to find my own McDreamy. Minus the whole having a wife and not telling me part.

+My neighbors smoke on their balcony and it flows right into my kitchen and bathroom windows. I hate it, but I can't really ask them to stop smoking...

+There's a guy at the gym that lived in Provo for a while but isn't LDS. Once he asked me "Are you a member?". The way he phrased he question made me laugh because it was obvious he'd learned a thing or two. Thursday I was wearing a BYU t-shirt and he walked past me and chanted "BYU! BYU!". 
+This list is a lot longer than I thought it would be and Lindsay is waiting on me to finish to go to the gym.

+The End.