Summer Catchup

Well, goodness gracious, I have a LOT of catching up today! 

Summer has been really, really wonderful so far and I am happy to say that it looks like it can only get better from here. In July, we took a trip to Minnesota where we helped Grandma and Grandpa clean out the cabin and get it ready to sell. That was probably the most emotionally taxing part of the vacation for everyone involved - that cabin has been a part of my life since before I can remember, and without the calm waters and gentle birds to return to, I have felt a little lost the past few weeks. But I know it is for the best, and I know that Minnesota will always be there to welcome me home, whether the physical structure belongs to my family or not. 

After cleaning out the cabin, we spent some time in Minneapolis at the Mall of America and the Minnesota Zoo before Mom and I said our goodbyes and headed to CHICAGO! We had to apply for my visa in person, and luckily for us, it went wonderfully. The woman at the counter was sweet and patient and impressed that I had all of my paperwork in order, but the best part was sitting in the waiting room listening to two old men converse in rapid-fire Italian and finally feel a stirring of excitement about the adventure I was about to take. If I could've shook those men's hands and thanked them, I would have because it meant the world to me to feel confident that I could take this trip and be just fine. 

Upon returning to Nebraska, we started the frenzy of packing up my room and moving into my new apartment! Last night was my first night there, and while I'm not going to say that I was never overwhelmed, I had a great first night and it only keeps getting more exciting. Today I rolled out of bed and got ready for work, but this afternoon I think I'll mosey on down to the Haymarket and buy some coffee, and then make some lunch and maybe walk over to the library. I've forgotten how utterly easy it is to find everything I need within walking distance on campus. 

So summer has been crazy! But it has all been worth it, and I think the extensive travel and constant change has helped me really prepare to go abroad in a month. In the meantime, here are some of the little things that have stayed with me this month: 

Brothers and Sisters, a show that Mom and Dad and I have been watching on Netflix recently. The sassy characters and dramatic story lines have stuck with me like no TV show has stuck with me in a long time! My favorite character is Kevin, the sassy gay lawyer who always gets the best lines and always has the cutest facial expressions.

"All You Need Is Love" - Dad spent this summer planning and teaching a Beatles class at the university, so the British band has been echoing around our house pretty frequently lately. This is, and always will be, one of my favorite Beatles songs. 

Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece:

"Are you anybody else's missing piece?"

"Not that I know of."

"Well maybe you want to be your own piece?"

"I can be someone's and still my own."

Hope everyone is having a great week!

In the Summertime

Summer playlist:

1. Abraham's Daughter - Arcade Fire

2. There Goes the Fear - Doves

3. You Are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne

4. American Music - Violent Femmes

5. Cough Syrup - Young the Giant

6. Laundry Room - The Avett Brothers

7. I've Got this Friend - The Civil Wars

8. The Kids Don't Stand a Chance - Vampire Weekend

9. I Shall Be Released - Bob Dylan

10. It'll All Work Out - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

11. Corona and Lime - Shwayze

12. Someday - The Strokes

13. Hannah - Ray LaMontagne

14. Lust for Life - Girls

15. Come Away to the Water - Maroon 5

16. Careful - Guster

17. Ne Me Quitte Pas - Regina Spektor

18. More Than Anyone - Gavin DeGraw

19. Hey Ya - Outkast

20. Wild Ones - Timeflies Tuesday 

Summer has been full of so many fun things: 

-Working! I'm working a pretty fair amount at the music library, and I was planning to work at Red Mango but since they have been so slow, I don't have many hours there. So I've applied for another job in hopes of adding to or replacing the hours I'm missing!

-Seeing all of my friends. Sarah, who has her own house, has been having the posse over pretty often, and holding large gatherings for a lot of our high school friends who have been out of town. We play games and eat a lot of food and have a grand 'ole time. Sometimes that same group of us goes to Trivia Night at Applebee's or we watch movies at Beau's house, but overall we've just missed each other a lot and are having a lot of fun catching up. This week I also got to go to Omaha with Rachel, who was housesitting for her aunt and uncle. We got to sleep in at their big, fancy house, make a great breakfast, do some shopping, go to dinner, and watch movies. I had missed her so much, and I had a wonderful time hanging with her! :) 

-Planning Italy. Working on visa paperwork, learning to speak Italian via Rosetta Stone and busuu.com, and reading up on the culture and cuisine of the region where I'll be. I'm so excited!!

-Working out. I had been doing a REALLY good job of exercising regularly throughout the week while I was at school, but I haven't had much time since Dead Week. Yesterday I decided it was time to get back out there and start running again, and while it was painful and sweaty and disgusting, I'm sure it'll get better, and I'll have a strong, healthy body to show for it!

-Cooking! Here's the recipes I'm looking to try this week:

Penne Rosa with Shrimp - adapted from the Noodles and Co. dish

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Black Bean and Guacamole Burritos

Hope everyone's been having a good week and a great summer!

<3

Movin' Out, Movin' In

Well, year one of college is done!

Last week I moved all my stuff out of the dorm room, said goodbye to my best friend and roommate, and moved back in to my parents' house. It's been a VERY strange adjustment, particularly because my closest friends have, for the most part, retreated to different states and sometimes it feels pretty lonely when you can't walk down the hall and knock on your friend's door to say hello. 

So here's what I've been doing to take my mind off missing my friends and college and living on campus: 

Finding new music

"The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" - Vampire Weekend

"Hannah" - Ray Lamontagne

"Atlantic City" - The Band

Learning Italian

(It's super exciting!! I'm learning all sorts of fun phrases that will hopefully come in handy while I'm abroad.)

Painting My Nails

(Essie is my new favorite brand. So cute.)

Painting

Using these as inspiration!

Cooking

Brie Croque Monsieur sandwiches and roasted tomato soup. The sandwiches were delish, but the soup did not turn out quite like I intended!

Hope everyone's having a great week - I'm off to bed before getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Minnesota and Montana 2011

Wow! So it's been a while, and I am STILL on vacation. Lucky girl, right? Yes. Yes indeed. I have had so much fun these past few days, so I thought I'd share a couple pictures (not as many as the last post, I swear!) 

We spent our first night after Chicago in Woodbury, MN with my aunt Annette and her family. No pictures, unfortunately, but we had a great time at a baseball game, eating food from the grill, and playing on the Wii. 

The next day we got up and made the trek up to the Twin Cities for a little trip to Mall of America! 

Here's the three of us on the Log Ride in the Nickelodeon Theme Park. Eliot absolutely loves this ride and makes us go on it every year. Then, every year Elise and I swear we won't go the next year. Aaaaand, repeat. 

We met Grandma at the mall, too - here's the four of us waiting for the park to open. We were right on time!

So after the mall, we drove about an hour and a half to the lake where we stay every year. The first two nights were great! We did some swimming and played cards and went shopping (again). Unfortunately, the third day we were there, it rained heavily and backed up the water systems at the cabin, causing some leakage. So we moved into Grandma and Grandpa's house for the rest of the trip!

Every year we celebrate my brother and uncle's birthdays because they're ten years and one day apart. So here's a picture of our little birthday extravaganza. Aunt Betty and Uncle Loren also came out for the day and it was great to see them!

After a few days at the cabin, we moved on to Montana, somewhere I'd never been before and was anxious to see. And boy, did we do everything. The first day, we got there in the late afternoon, so we mostly got settled and ate a lot.

The second day, we had all sorts of things to do! In the morning, Aunt Lynn took us out on the four-wheeler so I could see a view of the mountains! 

We also took a look at the car Uncle Tommy built - the last day we were there, he took us for a ride. So much fun!

He also taught me how to shoot a rifle! It's hard to see from this picture, but I hit the bullseye. I was so excited to try something new!

On Wednesday, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Tommy took us up to the Rocky Mountains. It was absolutely beautiful! I'd never seen the mountains before (something that Aunt Lynn couldn't believe!) and was so excited to cross this awesome experience off my bucket list. 

Here's Elise and me at the tip-top of the mountain! We're standing on a snow bank and freezing as the wind blows furiously around us - but it was so worth it. What a great trip! Thanks Aunt Lynn and Uncle Tommy for hosting us.

This morning we left Montana and drove through eastern Montana, the corner of Wyoming, through South Dakota, and are now staying the night in Chadron, Nebraska (yeah, super exciting, I know). By tomorrow night, we should be home! I am so excited to get there and see all my friends. I didn't realize how much I missed them until I couldn't see them so often. 

I've had such a great two weeks with my family, and I know I'm going to remember this vacation forever. I am so grateful for parents who love me enough to take me on these great trips and let me see and explore the world for myself. Thank you, Mom and Dad! You have taught me so much and I am grateful for everything you've given me. 

Hope everyone's July has been great so far!

Dave Matthews Band Caravan + Chicago 2011

Just wanted to share some pics/video from Dave Matthews Band Caravan, as well as our adventures in Chicago! The caravan was great - the atmosphere was very edgy and dirty and a lot of fun...I made quite a few "friends" that I probably wouldn't have made anywhere else! 

The first day was definitely the best, music-wise: Amos Lee was fantastic! It was so mellow and I stood close enough to the stage to see him really well, and there weren't a lot of drunken college kids stumbling around. 

Here's Amos Lee on the screen on the right hand side. 

Toward the end of his set, he brought out this guy whose name I didn't catch. He just sang this really funny song about how hot it was outside and how he wanted to shower with his lover and then threw mini bottles of shampoo and conditioner into the audience. Again, not really sure who he was or where he came from, but he was hilarious.  

Next I caught Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Performance? Pretty good! The audience that he draws in? Super sketchy. Definitely not my favorite. 

I did record a smidge of the live version of "Home." If you haven't heard the original, check it out here. 

Then came Ray LaMontagne, who was both extremely loud, but really great. I always think it's so funny to see what kind of people come to hear which artists. Ray's audience was definitely extra chilled-out, so chill that it almost seemed like they didn't care - until, that is, he started singing "Trouble" and then they all freaked out. 

Super blurry, yes, but there's Ray on the screen. Every time I tried to take a picture or video of him, my phone completely shut down, so apparently it has some sort of aversion to his music. 

After a nice break, I came back for the main event: DAVE MATTHEWS! I was so in awe of the whole performance that I really didn't take any pictures or videos, I just stood and danced and loved my life. It was a great experience overall, and for once, I felt like everyone was there just to be in the moment and have a great time dancing and singing - no one was judging, no one cared if you could dance or  you couldn't, no one even cared if you were dirty and grimy and smelly from the day. Everyone just loved the experience. 

Some of my favorites of that first night: 

Squirm

Rapunzel 

(this is actually a video someone else took of the Chicago concert that night)

Big Eyed Fish

So that was day one. Day two was a little different. Because it is so hard to get into the concert site (it's in Southside Chicago, which, if you didn't know, is an extremely dangerous part of Chicago and not one that you should spend a lot of time wandering around in), I skipped day two. I know, I know, I could've seen Ben Folds live (!!!) and another fabulous show by Dave, but I knew I had Sunday to look forward to, and frankly, I was exhausted from Friday. 

So instead...we went to Navy Pier! 

Mom took these pictures of the ferris wheel that we rode on - this is looking up!

A view of Navy Pier

And a view of the lake!

We had such a fun time, and it was nice to take a break and see some Chicago sites before heading back to the DMB Caravan site on Sunday! 

I went back on the 10th so excited to see Michael Franti & Spearhead perform. I had been anticipating it since I'd seen the lineup, and I couldn't wait to get there. And they were great, musically. Michael Franti has a really strong voice and a great presence. But the thing that made it less than perfect was the location, I think. I walked away a little disappointed and it took me a while to figure out why: he is such a Caribbean, beachy crooner, that to put him on stage on a big gray stage in front of an audience sitting on woodchips kind of ruins the magic of his music. Nevertheless though, I loved him. I want to see him perform in California or something, though. I feel like he's incredible when the location matches the genre. 

Here's him performing - he's the one in the white hat with his arms outstretched. All he really wanted us to do was jump and sing with him.

I also got a video of one of my favorite songs of his: "Sound of Sunshine." But then I really wanted to dance and groove, so I shut the camera off about a minute in. 

After Michael, I went and found a place to sit for DMB, and I ended up meeting some really nice people in their early 30s from Ohio/Florida - they were brothers and sisters. One of them was a real purist, had been listening to Dave for over 15 years and had been to 60+ shows. He was excited to hear that this was my first! They made it a really great experience and it was a nice end to the event. 

Here's a view of the Caravan site. The sun was just starting to go down, and it cast a really great shadow of everything. 

There's Dave on the screen! Just ignore the weird people I was standing behind. 

Once it got really dark, the lights cast a gorgeous hue over everyone. The second photo gives you an idea of just how many people were there. Not only were there this many in front of me, but they extended behind me a good 30-40 yards, and there were just as many on either side of the stage. 

Here's a final view of the Caravan site. Obviously it was much bigger than this, but this gives a little context. Beyond the ferris wheel was one of the minor stages (Lakeside) and to the right was the Slip stage, where Michael Franti played. Way far over to the right was the major stage (Southworks), where I saw Amos, Ray, Edward Sharpe, and Dave every night. 

It was such a great experience, and I'm so grateful that my parents made it possible for me to go by providing housing and transportation (not just to Chicago, but all over Southside Chicago too) for free. I love you guys! 

Summer Travels

July promises to be a month of adventures!

There are so many things I am looking forward to, the first of which being...

THE DAVE MATTHEWS BAND CARAVAN!

I am so excited for this event. All my men are going to be there. Not just Dave Matthews himself, but also Michael Franti, Amos Lee, Ray LaMontagne...I cannot wait. This is also a momentous occasion because it's my first official, real-live concert. Ever. And I can't think of a better way to do it than going to a three day festival in Chicago by myself. 

Now, some people have questioned why I'm going by myself. But music is sort of like going to the movie theatre for me - I don't like going to the movies with people because I need time to take in everything for myself, form my own opinion, and then go out into the world with the information fully processed. It's the same way with music. I don't want other peoples' opinions until my own is fully formed. 

Besides DMB Caravan, we're also taking our annual trip to Minnesota.

This is the view from our cabin. We've gone here every year since I was a baby, and it is my second home. I can't imagine not coming here every year. I recently did an oil painting (see this picture - it's on the desk!) of the view from the balcony of the cabin with a quote that reads "Somebody once told me that this is the place where everything is better, and everything is safe." I can't sum up how I feel about it any better than that. 

We're also taking a trip to Montana - who knew I could rough it in the mountains? I can't wait for the long road trip and the beautiful scenery - plus, I've never been further west than Lincoln, so it should be an adventure. 

In honor of all the travel, here's one of my favorite roadtrip songs. Hope your summer is going wonderfully!