Random Update...

It's summertime and I suck at keeping up with blogging and computer time and all of that in the summer...ok, well maybe I keep up well with Facebook and Frontierville, but as far as blogging and such, I stink.

I've actually had some time to READ this summer, which has been wonderful. I've finished "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy - has anyone seen that movie? I want a recommendation yay or nay...Excellent writing but the book itself made me so sad.

I also read "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood. Wow, bizarre. It makes you really stop and think with all of the conspiracy theories out there if something like that could really happen...although I don't personally buy into any of that stuff, it's crazy to ponder in a hypothetical sense. Great book though, I'd give it a thumbs up.

I am currently reading "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'm about halfway through it and I'm totally jealous of her ability to just pick up and leave for a year. It would be nice to take that kind of sabbatical. Of course she didn't have five kids, two dogs and a husband to worry about...by the way, I wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

I've also been reading some books on photography and Photoshop Elements 8, trying to do a little self-education so that I get the most out of my new camera, etc.

I won a book over at http://hauntjaunts.net called "The Tale of Halcyon Crane" and I'm looking to jump into it next. Thanks to Courtney over there for sending it!!

I also won an Amy Butler book "In Stitches" from @sheyb on Twitter and there are so many cute projects in there I'd like to try, but finding time to sew this summer has really been slim to none.

I've been watching baseball and the FIFA World Cup...I'm sad that USA isn't in it anymore but I really enjoy watching worldwide sporting events like the World Cup, Olympics, etc. It's interesting to me. I'm also convinced that I need to order a vuvuzela to blow at the children when they aren't listening.

I've also got a ton more of that court stuff I can't blog about yet, sighhhh. When I can finally blog this crazy story, you guys are going to crap at all of the nonsense we've had to go through over the past few years...as a side note though, I'm happy to report that all is going well and continues to be positive and encouraging news.

Tonight we're off to the zoo for the Friends of the Zoo membership night. I'll take the camera along and get some good pictures to post this week. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I think in a couple more weeks I'm going to start asking "When is school going to start again??" :) I love being home with the kids but I also enjoy the "routine" of the school year. Summer kind of feels "all over the place" for me.

Wordless Wednesday

One EskimO, Great Guys, Great Show

Recently I was offered the opportunity to review a band called "One EskimO" at a local venue in Kansas City called Crossroads.

I'm going to be totally honest for a minute here. I had no idea who this band was. I sent my littlest sister-in-law a message on Facebook to see if she knew of them and I got the response back, "Oooh I LOVE them" so I immediately agreed to do the review.

Here's the band on the stage at the Crossroads. They are an indie rock group from London (except for Pete Rinaldi, the guitarist, he's originally from Australia) and according to Pete, he's known Kristian Leontiou (the lead singer) for about nine years and the band has been together for about four years. They have a bluesy, acoustic blend and sound fantastic.

Let me give you some advice, if you get the opportunity to see these guys live, definitely go! They are extremely talented and they write really great music.

Here is my littlest sister-in-law (she's 14) anxiously waiting for the concert to start. I was pretty excited about this too because they were nice enough to give me a photography press pass for a "no cameras" show, which I thought was really nice of them. I called ahead to confirm with the tour manager that it was okay to bring my DSLR and received a text from him minutes later saying, "I'm getting you a photo press pass, bring the camera, no problem." What a nice guy!

I love this picture I got of Kristian Leontiou. He has a really unique voice and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him.

This is Jamie Sefton, bass player and horn player. This guy is extremely talented.

I also can't say enough nice things about Adam Falkner, drummer. He rocked it on the drums throughout the show and it was great to meet him. He even offered to make us a cup of tea on the tour bus, how sweet is that?

This particular tour they are opening for Michael Franti and Spearhead, who apparently have a running joke to run onto the stage during One eskimO's performance and do something crazy.

Here's Pete Rinaldi, the guitarist. He is so talented and such a nice guy. We got to interview him on the tour bus after the set and he answered all of our questions and even got me a copy of the setlist for the evening. I also purchased a CD for my sister-in-law at the show and he was nice enough to walk it around to the guys and get it autographed for her.

Michael Franti on the stage with One eskimO in a chicken mask...hilarious!

Pete told us that they originally came to tour in the United States a year ago opening for Tori Amos. He said the most memorable place for him that they have played was Radio City Music Hall in New York City, for two reasons; he said that seeing the band name on the marquee at Radio City Music Hall was surreal and also his sister from Australia happened to be in New York City at the time so she got to see him perform as well.

We asked if the band has anything new in the works and he said that having the tour bus is a nice opportunity for them to be able to work on new music, and one of the songs they played during the show, "Hurricanes", was something new that's not on the current album but will probably be included on the next album.

Setlist for One eskimO at the Crossroads, Kansas City, MO 06/13/2010:

"Giving Up"

"Astronauts"

"Simple Day"

"Amazing"

"Hometime"

"Chocolate"

"Kandi"

"Hurricanes"

"All Balloons"

"UFO"

I can't stress enough if you get a chance to give these guys a listen, you won't be sorry, and if you ever get the opportunity to meet them, DEFINITELY do it - they are some of the nicest guys in the music scene and they were so gracious to me and my sister-in-law, answering all of our questions and letting us hang out with them in the bus after the show. Thanks again, guys!

P.S. You can also find them at www.oneeskimo.com

I was given the opportunity to review this show by the One2One Network. I got 2 free passes to the show but I was not compensated in any other way to do this review. My opinions are 100% my own...and my sister-in-law's. :)

Wordless Wednesday - Full Fledged Pout

How I Know it's Summer...

I can tell it's summertime at our house because my house looks like a tornado hit it with the little cyclones I have running in and out around here. :)

I also know that it's summertime because of the amount of towels that we're going through...
Another clue that it's summertime in our house is that it seems like the grocery bill DOUBLES!!
But I'm really loving every second of it...
Summer is my favorite season of the year!