Weekend

What a nice, relaxing weekend...we really needed it! We all had crazy weeks and just needed some time to relax. I ran some errands (and cleaned) on Saturday and then hung out with Michelle B. who was in town visiting from Colorado. It was great to see her and get to catch up! On Sunday I had to teach the rugrats (I mean 6-year-olds), which was good, but I'm always exhausted afterwards. We all relaxed in the afternoon, had dinner with our friend Jamie and then watched "Extreme Makeover Home Edition", which we all love. And now it's Monday again...oh joy.

And of course, Friday was the big steak dinner at Ray's the Steaks. We had to wait in line for an hour and a half (they don't take reservations), but it was SO worth it! Hands down the best steak I've ever had. The restaurant is great. It's super tiny, nothing on the walls, plain tables & chairs, but great service and amazing food! They were quick to get our food out to us, which was nice because we were STARVING by the time we got seated. We started with soup (I had incredible crab bisque), then had our steaks (I had a filet with blue cheese sauce), enjoyed the sides (mashed potatoes and creamed spinach) and finished with dessert (I had strawberries and cream, which was to die for!). All that, plus a soda and a generous tip and I walked out of there only spending $40! I'll definitely go back and anyone who comes to visit MUST try this place out!

The NFL draft was very interesting. Brady Quinn had to wait until pick #22 and then ended up being drafted by the Cleveland Browns?!? Poor guy. I think the Steelers had a successful draft. We picked up some good defensive talent and I'm anxious to see what Mike Tomlin does with the team this year. I love the summer, but I'm excited for football season!

Idol Gives Back - Stars perform

If you haven't seen yet...it's pretty funny! Needless to say, I just figured out how to post youtube videos to my blog. :)

NFL Draft

Okay, I know I'm a dork, but I'm really excited about the upcoming NFL draft this weekend. I love the prospect of new players and waiting to see who the Steelers will draft. Right now they need to beef up their offensive line as well as their defensive line (and linebackers, with Joey Porter leaving for lame Miami), so I'm curious to see where they'll start. There's also a great cornerback who I think would fit in well and anyone who's a Steeler fan knows we can always use help in the secondary. Not since Rod Woodson (10 years ago) have we had a pro bowl CB! I mean, poor Troy Polamalu can't be EVERYWHERE!

I'm going to a potentially great restaurant tonight called "Ray's the Steaks. Yep, a steak place...and it's supposed to be amazing. We'll see. Though after 2 weeks of salads everyday for lunch (I'm not going to the gym 3 times a week for nothing!), I'm ready for a good steak! I'll post my review this weekend.

P.S. The Office was hysterical last night! Anyone who doesn't watch it should start. Now. It's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. I have a big crush on Jim, but I love it when Dwight is on a lot...he makes me laugh out loud. My current favorite Dwight quote (in an episode about someone getting decapitated), "When I die, I want to be frozen. And if they have to freeze me in pieces, SO BE IT. I will wake up stronger than ever because I will have used that time to figure out exactly WHY I died. And what moves I could have used to defend myself now that I know what hold he had me in." :)

Another great scene from The Office

Amherst

Miles traveled - 826
Hours spent in the car - 16.5

States we drove through - 7
Police we spotted - 29
Hours Dave & Tim spent playing - OVER 3!!!

Eileen and I went to Amherst, MA (UMass) this weekend to see our first ever Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds show. We packed the car and left early Saturday morning with plenty of snacks and enough Dave & Tim music to last the entire trip. We were happy we left with plenty of time to spare because we were stuck in a long line in Jersey to get gas. Since you can't pump your own gas in Jersey you have to wait in long lines because they only have 2 attendants available. 16 pumps and only 2 were available. If that makes sense to anyone, please explain it to me.

An hour later, we were on our way again, only to hit more traffic near NYC. Here we are getting ready to cross the GW bridge. Are you starting to sense a theme here? :)

We FINALLY arrived at UMass 9 hours later. Tired, hungry and sick of the car, we checked into our hotel (which was right on campus...SO nice). We drove around Amherst to find food...it's a very cute little college town...and then got ready for the show.

This is the Mullins Center. We walked about a block from our hotel and got there in time to buy t-shirts and find our seats, which turned out to be amazing. Dave & Tim came out and started the show. Dave was in rare form and told a lot of funny stories. He wasn't feeling great and said he had a "fever", which I'm sure was partly because he was high as a kite. Tim never speaks, except through this incredible guitar playing. He had a solo called "Stream" and rocked out with a bit of Led Zepplin's "Kashmir" at the end, which earned him a much deserved standing ovation from the crowd. Dave's voice was great and it was nice to see him in a mellow, laid back setting where he could tell stories and make fun of obnoxious drunk guys in the audience. Why do people feel the need to yell our during pauses or quiet moments in the songs? SO annoying! Note to guys...DON'T yell out, "I love you Dave"! Dave doesn't want to hear it and neither so we! But this show was definitely worth the long trip and we're glad we went!

The ride home was uneventful and much faster than the ride there. We were smart and got gas before Jersey and enjoyed my car's sunroof and the beautiful weather. Here we are back home with our new shirts...only three shows on this mini "tour" and we were at one of them! I hear that there's a DVD coming out about the weekend's shows...can't wait! Now we're going to bed because we're EXHAUSTED!

Here's the setlist in case anyone is interested.

Saturday Apr 21 2007
University of Massachusetts - Mullins Center

Bartender
Dodo
Stay Or Leave
Crush
Old Dirt Hill
Grace Is Gone
So Damn Lucky
Gravedigger
The Stone
Sister
Lie In Our Graves
Oh
Save Me
Stream *
Kashmir * (Led Zepplin cover)
Corn Bread
Down By The River (Neil Young cover)
The Maker (Emmylou Harris cover)
Intro
Jimi Thing
Pantala Naga Pampa
Still Water
Don’t Drink the Water
#41
Dancing Nancies
__________________

Improv +
Some Devil +
Little Thing
Where Are You Going
Two Step

Show Notes:
Dave And Tim appear on all songs except where noted
* Tim Solo
+ Dave Solo

Crazy Bird Lady

This is my mom. She's turned into the crazy bird lady and I mean that in a very loving way. She's babysitting two birds for a friend in her ward and she loves it (just as much as dad pretends to hate it). She has always loved watching birds, she gets it from her father. I remember Grandpa sitting in his chair by the window with binoculars, watching the different bird feeders they had in the backyard. Whenever mom's home she's playing with these birds. I called her the other night and could hear them chirping away. The bigger green bird is Scooby. He's trained to say a few things and do some tricks. He's pretty moody, but when he feels like it he'll sit on your finger and let you pet his head. The little blue bird is Birdie. He's new and Scooby isn't crazy about him. Birdie flies around and lands where he pleases (Scooby can't fly and I think he's a bit jealous). Birdie is very hyper and doesn't stay in one place very long. He doesn't talk, but makes little noises that sound like R2 D2...pretty funny. My mom has really been enjoying having the birds around, and I have to admit, it's cool to play with them. I mean, I'm actually holding birds!

Dad feeding the birds...they loved the bread! I knew he didn't really hate them!

When I was home last weekend I finally got to meet Abby, the daughter of my good friends Darron & Robyn Billeter. She's so adorable!!! We had a great time and it was so amazing to see Darron with his daughter. I knew he'd be a great dad and it's always fun to be right!

Eileen and I are headed up to UMass this weekend to see Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds play. It's our first Dave & Tim show and we're VERY excited. It'll be a whirlwind weekend (7 hour drive up on Sat. and 7 hour drive home on Sun.), but we don't care...it'll be worth it. I'll be sure to take a lot of photos to post!

Easter Kitchen Aid

Susan and I colored Easter eggs last night and had a blast!

My favorite egg.










Susan's favorite egg.

Here's the whole gang!

This year, the Easter Bunny was very, very good to me...I finally got my Kitchen Aid mixer! Okay, the EB didn't bring it to me, but I got such a fantastic deal at the Williams Sonoma outlet that I just couldn't pass it up. So, here it is! I love it SO MUCH...isn't it gorgeous!?! I can't wait to use it, so everyone should come visit soon!

The DMB Dilemma

Okay, I need some help! Eileen and I are in the process of deciding where go this summer to see our favorite band. We're only getting one night in Pittsburgh, so we need to travel to see them more than once. (Yes, we already know we're insane, but you all love us anyway!) We've narrowed it down to three options.

Option #1 - Raleigh, NC & Charlotte, NC
This is the closest option to home and the least expensive, but also the least glamorous. We'd head to Virginia Beach for a couple of days on our way to Raleigh, then Charlotte, then home. The plus side to this option is that it's the week before my birthday.

Option #2 - Gorge Ampitheater, George, WA
This is Eileen's 1st choice because the Gorge weekend is legendary among DMB fans. This is probably the most beautiful venue out there and there are 3 nights of concerts. The downside to this is that it's 3 hours from Seattle and the only place to stay (other than a hard-to-get-into motel) is the campground. If you know me at all, you know how I feel about camping...especially for 4 days. Plus, we'd have to fly there, rent a car and then find some camping gear. It's kind of a logistical nightmare. However, it is a once-in-a-lifetime DMB experience and we're not getting any younger! :) Anyone out there have a nice RV they'd like to loan us (and operate for us and drive there for us)?

Option #3 - Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA
This is the most glamorous, but also expensive. We'd fly to LA, go to Laguna for a few days (provided the Griffith's will let us crash at their condo) and then drive up to LA for one or two of the shows there. Then we'd fly home. I've never been to LA and it's tempting. This is also the last stop on the tour so the shows are guaranteed to be AMAZING. But even with my Marriott discount, LA is expensive and we'd have to rent a car as well. But October in California is tempting...

So there are our options. We have until Monday to put in any ticket requests on the Warehouse website (DMB fan website where we can request tickets before they go on sale to the public). We can only request 2 tickets for each show, so if you'd like to join us on any of these adventures, you're on your own for tickets. But we'd love the company (as long as you abide by "Sara & Eileen's DMB rules"). Yes, we're snobs about it, but we take our concert experiences VERY seriously! :)

Anyway, the voting is now open...let us know what you think we should do this summer!

NCAA Champions

And Florida Repeats! Florida - 84/Ohio State - 75

Now I have to begin by saying that I'm not a Florida fan...except for tonight. Of course, this is because I picked Florida to go all the way and win the NCAA Championship for a second year in a row. And with this win, I am finishing the tournament in 1st PLACE in my pool!!! Not only did I pick Florida to win, but I guessed the final score would be 84-76. Off by only one...boy am I GOOD. I ended up picking my bracket with 96.5% accuracy. This just goes to show what can happen when you make your picks with your head instead of your heart (sorry Pitt!). It was a fun tournament and now I have bragging rights for an entire year!