MY SISTER IS FAMOUS.

KARA - MY SISTER - is a famous baker.

a food critic came in and bought some of the tiramisu that Kara makes (which i've had - and it's DELISH), and TURNS OUT, she was on a "tiramisu tour of maine" and THEN WENT ONTO name Kara's tiramisu the BEST IN WELLS. and from the sounds of the article, she ate her fair share of tiramisu.

HERE'S THE ARTICLE. (you'll see i left a comment on the article.)

AND, if you go to the website for the bakery that Kara pretty much runs, she has an awesome bio in the staff section!!!!

oh here, i'll make it easy for you. HERE'S THE LINK. not only is Kara is FIRST bio on the site, but she's the "sweet" one. because she makes all the baked goods from scratch. and she gets there at 4 in the morning.

SOOO EVERYBODY, needs to go there immediately and buy some of the delicious things she makes.

JULIE RECOMMENDS: the white chocolate raspberry scones.

omg, they are soooooo good.

and COMING SOON TO PINE TREE MARKET PLACE BAKERY:::: NANAIMO BARS.

yes, that's right. Kara is taking the famed Canadian dessert and bringing it to the USA!!!! we made a test batch while i was home last weekend and they came out great!!!!!

oh man. i'm so excited for kara. she is so awesome and cool. and she's SO FAMOUS.

I LOVE YOU KARA!!!! you're the best.


♥ ,
Julie

(note to self)

Julie, 'After the Storm' is the song you really like by Mumford and Sons. don't keep forgetting it! learn the song names already!

business lady week

i've been kind of a business lady recently and i wanted to tell you about it.

(also, i'm upset because i posted the previous three entries over the weekend. it's now thursday. and FACEBOOK JUST UPLOADED THEM. this makes me want to cancel the blog upload to facebook and just manually do it.)

anyways. i'm redesigning the Hannah House website. that's my job. do i know how to design a website? nope! but i'm making it up as i go along, and let me tell you - the website looks AWESOME. oh man, it's going to be fantastic once it's done. my favorite part is the new color scheme. nobody gave me ANY guidance on what they wanted or how to do it. so i said, "well, i'll do it the way i want!!!" and that's what i'm doing. and the first order of business was a new color scheme.

the old color scheme was teal and brown. now, normally, i would love this. and normally, these colors are great together. but it was the exact wrong shade of teal and the exact wrong shade of brown together. it did not look good, in my opinion.

oh, it's really awesome. it's hip and trendy, as well as being warm and friendly. fun and fresh. my favorite of those words are:

- warm
- friendly
- fresh

and i think it's perfect for Hannah House because that's what we also strive to be.

- a warm and friendly environment
- a fresh start

yes. i love it. and i am very proud of the website so far. it's a long job though, designing a website. it's like this blog times 100. with all the different pages and sub pages and whatever that means.

anyways. i will post the link once i'm finished. maybe this weekend? i don't know. it's kind of fun when you really sit down and do it.

and then i'll be able to put on my resume that i've designed a website!!!! and from the way it's going, one that i am proud of. GREAT DEAL!!!

also a great deal:

today we went out for lunch because Courtney's last day is tomorrow (friday) :( and we went to this Mexican restaurant in town and i got a lunch special for $5.99. and the total was $6.53! what a great deal!!! for a delicious Mexican lunch. yumm.


also, i downloaded the whole Mumford and Sons record and I LOVE IT. oh man, it's so good. it's very tragic. that's a word i would use to describe it. TRAGIC. and also, train. because sometimes the songs remind me of watching a train go by. i don't know if you know what i mean. or if that makes sense. but, TRAIN. i guess they have a certain 'rolling' feel to them. i think that's better.


YESTERDAY (wednesday) was a great day.

i went to the post office and got THREE MOVIES!!!!! it was Kathy who waited on me at the desk, but as soon as i started talking the Ruggedly Handsome Postal Worker came out from the back and leaned up against the wall:

RUGGEDLY HANDSOME POST MAN: Hey!
JULIE: Hi!
RUGGEDLY HANDSOME POST MAN: What'd ya get for movies?!
JULIE: Umm.......The O.C.....the tv show....
RUGGEDLY HANDSOME POST MAN: Ohhh....The O.C.
JULIE: Yeah, I started watching it. It's super dramatic.
RUGGEDLY HANDSOME POST MAN: I don't watch much TV. I've been thinking about signing up for Netflix, though...

AND THEN - something horrible happened.

OTHER POSTAL CUSTOMER: Hey!! I've got the truck here....
RUGGEDLY HANDSOME POST MAN: Ok, great, you can just pull it up around back.

and then he was distracted by business. BUT OH - it was a lovely little conversation. BUT SO EMBARRASSING that i had to tell him i was watching The O.C. yeah, i felt like i was about to die. and i couldn't even think of ANYTHING else to make up because i was so taken with his ruggedly handsomeness.

would he have come out from the back room if i hadn't started talking?? did he hear my voice and come out?? i don't know. i think so. because, he didn't have any business to do out front. he didn't know that other guy would come in with the truck business. he came out and immediately started talking to me!!

AND he was leaning. which, a boy in high school once explained to me is the number one sign of having a crush. SO. i was pretty excited.


hmmm. yeah. wonderful.


anyways.

THEN, something else very exciting happened last night. DINNER PARTY!!!!! yep. i was at a dinner party. via conference call!!! oh, it was so fun.

it was a Mod 16 Dinner Party. me, Kerianne, Aliya, Elizabeth and Joe all called into this free conference line and had dinner together over the phone!!!!! just like the good ol' times in Mod 16.

i had to buy wine for the occasion. i texted Kerianne in the wine aisle because it was like being lost in a foreign country. she told me which kind to buy. and then i had to buy a wine opener. a corkscrew? AND i was also very proud of myself because i ROCKED IT getting the cork out. one piece! awesome.

and the dinner party got over around 8. and then i did the dishes. and then i worked on the website for 2.5 hours. and then i went downstairs because i knew that my boss had left me a list of some things to do.

BUT - i didn't know she meant for them to be done LAST NIGHT.

so THEN, i spent from 10:30pm until 2:30am doing ALL KINDS of tiring work.

turns out, we had a fire inspection today which we didn't know about until yesterday. i think that was the point. but anyways, people were going crazy trying to get the house in order.

so i had to:

- carry 2 cribs down from the second floor. (note: each crib takes like, 3 trips. and the stairs are very steep.)
- carry 1 crib to the dumpter (another 3 trips), and the other crib to the garage (another 3 trips.) (note: and it's not like the dumpster and the garage are right outside the door. it's like, all the way to the back of the driveway. at like, midnight.)

after that, i wanted to be done. cribs are heavy, man. and awkward to carry because of all the crazy length sides.

then i had to:

- sort through boxes of clothes and bedding upstairs.
- make sure each bedroom had a storage container with bedding in it

then i had to:

- carry vacuums out to the dumpster

then i had to:

- clean all the pipes and sprinklers on the sprinkler system

let me tell you about that one. how does one do this? i don't know. i started out standing on a chair with paper towels. but i couldn't reach because the ceilings are very high. then i got a broom and stood on a chair. and swept the pipes.

THIS is the most lame thing ever. cleaning sprinkler pipes. UGH it was such a pain. of course it didn't help that i didn't start until 1am. i was standing on chairs and tables and entertainment centers trying to reach these pipes. dust and other crap is falling from the pipes onto me. it's so gross. i have no idea what kind of stuff i inhaled last night.

the whole downstairs sucked. because i had to stand on a chair the whole time. which also meant lugging this chair around the house. UGH i hated it. and my back and arms and shoulders were killing me after. and my legs too, from up and down the stairs with the cribs and then up and down on the chairs and tables.

i seriously got into bed last night and CRASHED. like, immediately. i was tired to begin with from the wine and then from all the hard labor.

and then i woke up at 10:45. got in the shower. got out of the shower and immediately my phone rang. i answered it and it was my boss saying that there was about to be a fire drill. i asked if she could wait 10 minutes because i had JUST gotten out of the shower. and she said yes.

so then we had a stupid fire drill.

aaahhhhhh the PERKS of living in a business!

BUT THEN! we got to to out for a lovely lunch for Courtney. and that was fun. and sad. i am going to miss Courtney. we started working here one week apart. we were birthing coaches together for the first time.

ok, so Ruby Tuesday was playing with one of her round pink toys that she loves and she was running all around with it really fast. and then she ran across the kitchen and SLID RIGHT INTO her water bowl. and it tipped over and spilled EVERYWHERE. omg, i saw the whole thing. and i laughed REALLY HARD. it was pretty hilarious. she is so funny.

i've started called her "Roobs." i like it. aw, she's the best. EXCEPT when she wakes me up too early. which she does every single day. and the other day she would NOT leave me alone. i was getting mad because i just wanted to go back to sleep.

anyways. OK! i have to do some more business lady things and then i have a meeting with Aliya online. fun! or, maybe over the telephone. i don't know. all i know is that it's at 9. great!

ok. i hope everyone has a great evening! it's thursday. 8:18pm. just starting to get dark. i can see one star in the sky. i'm sitting at my kitchen table right now, which is right next to the window. i don't know, i think i needed a bit of a change of scenery from my living room.

also, Ruby was sleeping in my desk chair, so i had to find a new place to sit.

OK! have a great night. i'll update you more about exciting things later!!!!

OMG TWO WEEKS AGO TONIGHT was the Crash Kings show in PA! i can't believe it!! 8:19pm...hmm....we were probably in the parking garage about to set off to the venue!!!! only to have JASON RECOGNIZE US ON THE STREET!!!!!!!

poor Jason, he cut up his hand pretty bad the other day. he posted a picture on Twitter. at first it was super gross. but then i couldn't stop looking at it. it was a pretty deep cut.

anyways. alright, i will talk to you later!!!

goodnight!


<3

i am your ship, i am your throne

hello friends. i hope everyone had a beautiful, lovely day.

i've had a strange day. well, no. not that the day has been strange, but i've been in a strange space all day. not like, an actual space. like, i don't know how i ended up here in this weird place. but like, mood. frame of mind. THAT kind of space.

i've been really tired.

the past week or so Ruby Tuesday has woken me up at 8:20am because she is hungry. but, it's way too early for her breakfast. i think she just wants attention. so, i usually get up, get a drink of water and walk with her out to the kitchen.

then, she wakes me up again for real around noontime. she walks all over me. she licks my hands. this morning she was reaching out her paws and tapping my face. i'm like, 'please! 15 more minutes! 10 more minutes!' but no. she is relentless. and hungry. and so i get up and feed her.

ANYWAYS. i think that is why i have been tired.


the other night i watched this movie on instant Netflix called 'Uncertainty.' it starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Leavitt? i don't know. anyways, it was about couple in NYC and they were trying to decide what to do for the 4th of July. and so they flipped a coin. depending on which side the coin landed on, they would either spend the day together, or go visit the girl's parents.

and then they flipped the coin and the movie split into two movies, GREEN and YELLOW.

GREEN: contained lots of green things, so you knew it was the 'green part.' they go to her parents house. lots of family drama. they find a stray dog and take it in.

YELLOW: contained lots of yellow things so you knew it was the 'yellow part.' they spend the day in the city. are in a taxi and find a cell phone. they call some numbers on the phone to try and figure out who it belongs to, and then it turns into this super thriller. people are getting shot on the streets and they have to run from all these mafia people. they can't turn the cell phone on because the people are tracking them. they are on the run. it gets crazy.

i did not like this movie. i hated this couple. they were so stupid. in both situations. ok, i shouldn't say 'stupid' because that's mean. but, they did things in both situations that i don't think normal people would do. at least - I wouldn't do anything these people did.

FIRST OF ALL: when they were calling numbers on the cell phone, they left their real cell phone numbers for the people to call back. now, this is not smart to begin with, but it turned even worse when all these bad guys suddenly had their phone numbers.

SECOND OF ALL: they saw the stray dog and were immediately like, "we have to take it in!" this dog looked like a wolf. i think it was a wolf. i couldn't believe they took in this dog. brought it to their family's house, let it play with the little children. did they know if it was rabid? or had fleas? or where it had been!?? no! i kept waiting for the dog to turn on somebody. but it never did. it ended up being a good dog, i guess.

i don't know. the acting was bad too, i guess. they were trying to be all "indie." like, taking long pauses between their words and being all dramatic. PLEASE. just stop.

and this girl. the actress in the movie. she was so bony and gross looking. you could see her bones everywhere. like, her ribcage through her back. ugh. she was pretty hott, but also disgusting.

OH! i decided her face was a mix of Evangeline Lily and Michelle Monaghan. yeah i was proud of that.

ALSO, i decided that Ryan's brother Trey (on The O.C.) looks like a mix of Ashton Kutcher and Alex Greenwald. YEP! rocked that one.

and did anyone listen to all those songs i posted the other day? about how Little Lion Man is a mix of Two Step and Thunder and Lightening?!?!?

i am just killing at these mash-ups.

speaking of The O.C. - i finished SEASON 2!!!!! which was the big season finale featuring the Imogen Heap song. that they made fun of on SNL with the Digital Short "Dear Sister."

oh, i was super looking forward to it. i even made popcorn for the occasion. WORTH IT. SOOOO WORTH IT. oh man. drama!

but actually - i thought it was the best acting i've seen so far from Mischa Barton. normally, she's pretty terrible. but i thought she was actually really good in this scene. very honest looking.

so, you should click on the SECOND LINK FIRST and watch the original. it's like, one minute long. and then CLICK ON THE FIRST LINK and watch the SNL parody.

anyways! now i'm waiting for season 3 to arrive. hopefully by monday! aahhh i can't wait!

SO. no plans for sunday. probably drink more of that coconut coffee i bought. had some again this morning. loves it.

my Crash Queen friend Christina said that i should drive out to see her in San Francisco for the Crash King's show on May 16th. i had to really talk myself out of it. immediately after reading the twitter she sent me i was like, "omg i could drive to SF and then she could drive back with me for the shows on the 22 and 23!" and then i was like, "JULIE. NO. YOU CANNOT DRIVE TO SAN FRANCISCO FOR ONE DAY."

ooo it would be soo fun though. at some point there needs to be a Crash Queen Mega Meet-Up. at a concert, of course.

i had the totes brillz idea that there needs to be a Crash Queens van that circles the country, picking up Crash Queens and bringing them to shows. a country-wide carpool. like, following the Crash Kings and picking up any Crash Queens along the way. i love it.

and then i thought - well, when Crash Kings get a tour bus when they become super famous, they could donate 'Ol Blue to the Crash Queens and that's the van we could use. AWESOME, RIGHT?! i know. AND - we could bedazzle it. yep. i love it.

i think it would be so awesome and so fun! i want to be the leader of this expedition. and they're going to get a tour bus like, any minute now. because they're performing on Jimmy Kimmel and then everyone will have seen them from the comforts of their homes. and non-Crash Kings fans will become Crash Kings fans. and the whole country will be turned into a Crash Kingdom. (loves it.)

ok. OH. i have been wanting to post this video ever since i saw it last week. or maybe it was just a few days ago. i can't remember. BUT. it's awesome. it may be the first video of Mountain Man i have ever posted. maybe not. i also can't remember.

MOUNTAIN MAN, by Crash Kings. live in Las Vegas. now, what is unique about this video comes at the end. before the guys finish the song, they stop.... AND DO A SHOT OF TEQUILA.... and then finish the song.

YES. this video features Tony, doing a tequila shot. something that i have dreamed about (literally - i've had two different dreams about this) for a long time.

why i dream about doing tequila shots with Tony - i cannot explain. but when i had the first dream about him, it was pretty recently after having first seen them. and i was like, "why did i just dream about the guy from Crash Kings?"

although, in both dreams when me and Tony are doing tequila shots, he is wearing the red plaid shirt. and he is not wearing the red plaid shirt in this video. but, Chris, who is the drummer from JET is the one who comes out onstage during the song and brings them their shots. it's all a very strange thing. but, i suppose for me it's like a dream come true. :)

or, a half dream come true. because i'm not there doing a shot with Tony. ah well. maybe someday. you never know.

ANYWAYS. almost midnight. saturday night. not much going on. at all.

last night after i finished The OC i decided i had to mail it back right away so that i would get new movies on tuesday. and it was like, 2am. and i drove to the post office and mailed it! because i knew i wouldn't be able to get up and out before the post office closed before noon. smart, right?!

the whole 2am adventure took approx. 4 minutes and 2 seconds. i know this because as i was turning off of my street, Come Away started to play. and then it ended just as i was pulling back into my spot in the driveway. and i left the car running while i got out and ran to the mailbox.

HAD THERE BEEN A DRIVE-THRU OPTION - i wouldn't have had to leave my car at all.

anyways. ok. what else. i guess maybe that's it.

i think tonight i am going to watch a movie called Mammoth. with Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal. two hotties. i don't really get what it' about. but i've wanted to see it for a long time.

last night i was up way too late staying on Twitter. and then i finally pulled myself away from the computer version of twitter and got into my bed. and then i went on Twitter with my phone! and i couldn't stop checking twitter updates. online. in my bed. horrible, right? i know.

when i am president i will require everyone to have a twitter. i'm kidding. i just think that everyone should have one because it's awesome. if twitter was required, it could be like, a chill version of the government watching our every move. i mean, they're already doing it, right? i would say,

JULIE: Cancel all current government operations to spy on the American people. We will now enforce that everyone maintain a Twitter account.

and my new twitter name would be: CaptainJulie and i would follow the whole country. and anyone could follow me! omg. actually, that sounds like a lot of fun. it would be a super fun, laid back way of knowing what is going on in everyone's lives!

love it. ok. i'm not adding that to the official list of things to do when i am president. don't worry.

maybe i'll change my twitter name to CaptainJulie anyways.

ok. that's it for real now. Ruby just woke up and sleepily ran into the living room. stretched. rolled over on the floor. hopped on the couch. sat there for a minute. and then jumped on the green chair and curled up. now she's going back to sleep.

and that's the Ruby update.

ok goodnight! i'll talk to you on sunday sometime. i have NO PLANS so let me know if there is anything i should do. send me a task and i'll photodocument.

have a great day!


<3

daycare lawn blog

i'm outside right now. like, RIGHT now. i'm blogging from the outdoors. have i ever done this before? probably. i don't know.

i figured it was a nice day and i should be outside. even though i don't really enjoy being outside. what is it about nice days? it's like people are automatically programed to want to be outside.

a squirrel just ran next to me and i didn't like it.

i took some allergy medicine this morning. and i have a box of tissues with me. i didn't bring my eye drops, which might have been a mistake. but, we'll see.

anyways. i have to get to business lady things which i will tell you about soon.

hope you are having a good day so far!

i had toast for breakfast and Ruby Tuesday ate the crusts. it was cute.

okay! talk to you later.


<3

coconut afternoon

it's only 5:09pm today and already so many great things have happened to me. and i have to tell you about them.

ok, get excited. (these will not be in the order they happened, but in random order.)


::1:: i bought a special limited edition coconut flavored coffee at the grocery store today. it's Green Mountain brand and called, 'Island Coconut.' i made a pot and highly recommend it with vanilla flavored non-dairy creamer. DELISH.

::2:: drinking the coconut coffee made me want to listen to Coconut Records. which i am doing right now. and so it is a 'coconut afternoon,' as the title of this entry suggests.

::3:: i also watched this interview with Jason Schwartzman (this is related because Jason IS Coconut Records. which you all should listen to and love because it is an amazing band) and he was talking about filming the show Bored to Death in Brooklyn and at the end he said,

JASON: If you're out walking around Brooklyn and you see us filming, come over to say hi! And give me a hug!

WHAT!!?!? You're telling me that last week when I was in NYC, i could have gone over, found you, Jason, and given you a HUG?!?!? UNREAL. i wish i had made more of an effort to get to Brooklyn. oh, i would love a Schwartzman Hug. kara touched Schwartzman Chest at the Rooney concert. lucky girl.

::4:: i'm rocking a messy 'side braid' today. i saw a picture of a super model wearing a messy side braid online this morning and said, "yep. that's my goal for today." ACHIEVED! i think i rocked it pretty well. and it looks super great with the teal streaks weaved through.

::5:: i walked into the post office and up to the counter to get my Netflix and Walter was there! not the ruggedly handsome one. but, what Walter lacks in being ruggedly handsome, he makes up for in lovely...

WALTER: Hi Julie!
JULIE: Hi! (hands him my yellow package slip. walter goes into the back and gets my Netflix.)
WALTER: MOVIE TIME!!
JULIE: Alright! Thank you so much!
WALTER: You're welcome, thank you! Have a great day.
JULIE: Thanks, you too!

i don't know why he said, 'thank you' back to me after i thanked him for the movies. afterwards, i assumed it was because he was so taken aback from my 'super model-esque messy braid.'

::6:: ALSO, i received a WONDERFUL letter in the mail today written by one, Elizabeth. the letter traveled all the way from Elizabeth's hands in Austin, TX to my hands in Lebanon, NH, and that makes me so happy. i was so excited to see Elizabeth's handwriting. AND, to read the note she had written on the outside of the envelope. i must share this with you:

"This letter is for my lovely friend Julie, who is actually really amazing and interesting, and also totally open to being hit on by postal workers! Try talking about astronomy or the Cuban Revolution! She's worth it!"

YEP. OUTSIDE OF THE ENVELOPE. was i giggling to myself in the post office? yes, yes i was. it brightened my day so much. and the letter itself was beautiful. :)

::7:: i went to the grocery store. walked in. and there was a cute boy shopping around the produce section. i was headed there too, so that was nice. i got lettuce. and tomatoes. and he got bananas. then we parted. then we met up again at the deli counter. then we parted. and then we met up again in the dairy section. then parted. and then he checked out in the register lane next to mine. it was fun. grocery stores are strange like that, in that you meet up with the same people over and over.

::8:: now i'm in the check-out lane. the lady in front of me has forgotten her Shaw's card. so i say,

JULIE: Oh, here, I have one!

and i let her use my card so she could get all the discounts. she thanked me about a million times and then told me to have a great weekend. and then after she left, the cashier said,

CASHIER: That was very nice of you!

it was all very nice to hear and it made me feel good. but why wouldn't i let her use the card? she had forgotten hers... and i had mine all ready. it made sense to me. and i wasn't expecting all that praise. but it was nice. and it did make me feel good.

(the next one actually happened last night. but the excitement has carried over to today.)

::9:: CRASH KINGS ARE GOING TO BE ON JIMMY KIMMEL. JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!!!!! ON TV!!!!! ON 10 MAY!!!!!!! PERFORMING ON TV!!!!!! CRASH KINGS!!!!

ohhhhh man. was i excited about this. then i realized, I DON'T HAVE TELEVISION. not one channel. NOT EVEN THE JIMMY KIMMEL CHANNEL. oh, this made me sad. might i travel to my mom's house to watch this tv program live? i might. i might just do that. because knowing that Crash Kings are performing on tv and i cannot watch it will probably kill me.

THEIR FIRST TELEVISION PERFORMANCE!!!! and i have to be there. i have to. i'm so excited for them. it's a monday night. and you all better watch. could we make it into a blog party?? all you readers watch Jimmy Kimmel that night??

OHHHHH THAT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN! remember the night a few years ago when we all watched Legally Blonde on tv together?!

and i like Jimmy Kimmel. he's a funny guy. so you all should want to watch it. yep. there. good. we have plans.

ME. YOU. CRASH KINGS. JIMMY KIMMEL. 10 MAY. deal. :)


i think that might be it for my great day so far. still listening to Coconut Records right now.

OH! that reminds me of the last night i wanted to talk about!!


::10:: i have been enjoying a new song lately. it's called 'Little Lion Man' and it's by a band called Mumford and Sons. this is the only song i know by them. here's the story:

- i was home last weekend and kara and i were listening to WFNX, which is "an alternative" radio station. the guy said, "call, email, twitter, or text me with your requests!" so, i twittered to him that i wanted to hear Mountain Man by Crash Kings.

maybe about 10 minutes later, we're all talking in the kitchen and i hear the guy announcing the next song. and i hear him say, "....on Man."

JULIE: OMG THEY'RE PLAYING MY SONG!!!!!!

thinking he said, 'Mountain Man.' when really he had said, 'Little Lion Man.' ah well. they never played Crash Kings that night. but, i ended up liked Little Lion Man. and the more i listened to it, the more i think it sounds like something i've heard before.

AND I FIGURED IT OUT. it's so perfect. and it's not like with The Smiths where i was like, "hey, that guys sounds like Morrissey!" only to find out - IT IS Morrissey. (geeze. i still can't believe that.)

LITTLE LION MAN sounds like:
- 'Two Step' by Dave Matthews Band
and
- 'Thunder and Lightening' by We Were Promised Jetpacks

and i made sure that NONE of the guys from any of those bands are in any of the other bands. ROCK. i know! please go listen to those songs because i think i totally hit the nail on the head with this one. and all three of those are great songs.

and! the guys in Mumford and Sons are pretty cute. and there's no drummer! what's up with that?! crazy! but, i was reading who their members are and it says:
- Marcus Mumford
- Country Winston or Marshall Winston
- Ben Lovett
- Ted Dwane

Country Winston or Marshall Winston? does that mean that either guy plays in the band? or, it's the same guy that goes by either name? it's very confusing! are they a group that could qualify to be on the BRO TOUR or not?! i don't know! Country or Marshall? what's up with that?!


that's the second time i've said, 'what's up with that?!' in like, two paragraphs. crazy. it's like Josh Delano doing his 6th grade Civic Oration speech over here. oh, he was so good at that.

anyways. i think those are all the exciting things i have to tell you.

i'm going to go work on being awesome now.

have a great friday night! any hott plans? hott parties i should know about?! hott things in general?! have fun! i'll be home with Ruby Tuesday. we have three more episodes of season 2 of The O.C.! she sleeps through them mostly, but i still include her in the post-episode discussion i have with myself. these episodes are very high-brow and i need to debrief afterwards. understandable, i'm sure.

ok! have a great night! i'll talk to you later!!!!!


<3

ps: awesome links in this entry. go back and click on them allll!!!!!!!

::STORY HOUR WITH JULIE::

During my strenuous task of sorting through about 30 boxes of children's books, I came across one titled, 'Sheep in a Jeep.' 'This one sounds good!' I thought to myself. So, I took a break to read the book.

HORRIFYING. This book is horrifying. And I started thinking about how I would retell the horrible story of Sheep in a Jeep to you. And then! I decided that maybe I should just read you the whole book. It's more effective this way.

PLEASE, sit tight, maybe go get a light snack or beverage and prepare yourself for the tragic story.....



SHEEP IN A JEEP





Sheep in a Jeep. By Nancy Shaw.



Beep! Beep! Sheep in a jeep on a hill that's steep.



Uh-oh! The jeep won't go.



Sheep lead to push the jeep.



Sheep shove. Sheep grunt. Sheep don't think to look up front.



Jeep goes splash! Jeep goes thud! Jeep goes deep in gooey mud.



Sheep tug.



Sheep shrug.



Sheep yelp. Sheep get help.



Jeep comes out. Sheep shout.



Sheep cheer. Oh dear! The driver sheep forgets to steer.




Jeep in a heap. Sheep weep.



Sheep sweep up the heap.



Jeep for sale - cheap.

THE END.



Hhmmmmm.........



BOOOOO!!!!!!!


Those poor sheep! They got into TWO CAR ACCIDENTS in one day!!!! What little child wants to read about sheep getting into multiple car accidents?!?!

I was shocked. That second car accident was a twist in the story that I did NOT see coming. Yeah, that went in a totally different direction. And they totaled their car!

That doesn't seem like very good advertising for Jeep.

And now what are those sheep going to do?? They have to walk home? Geeze. This is very upsetting to me. What was Nancy Shaw thinking when she wrote this book?

NANCY SHAW: I want to write a children's book! Ooo! How about one where some sheep get into two car accidents and finally total their car!!

Doesn't make sense to me.

ANYWAYS. Thanks for coming to Story Hour with Julie. I hope you learned some valuable lessons about never letting your sheep drive your Jeep. Or, any car for that matter.

Have a great night! Drive safe!!!


<3

EARTH FEST 2010

i'm posting about Earth Fest because i'm in shock.

the last time we spoke, i said that they were announcing the band line-up TODAY (earth day). Earth Fest itself isn't for another month.

here is the band lineup in the order they appear on the website:

Collective Soul
Gin Blossoms
Crash Kings
Marcy Playground


now, i don't know what i was thinking. but, i guess i was assuming that the bands playing would be small, up and coming bands, like Crash Kings. BUT NO. um, these bands are super famous. and Crash Kings are in the middle of it all.

their name even has the same size font as the others. and it's not even last! SAME SIZE FONT! that's a huge improvement.

Collective Soul has that great music video with the guy about to jump off the building. and there are pigeons? 'World I Know.' i like that song.

and Gin Blossoms have that great song, 'Til I Hear it From You.' great song.

and Marcy Playground have that one song, 'Sex and Candy.' i'm sure they have other songs too.

but i'm really impressed. and shocked. at first i was like, "wait....what are Crash Kings doing there amongst all the super famous bands?" and then i thought, "oooohhhhh yeeaaahhhh....i guess they're kind of a super famous band too....."

ANYWAYS. i'm super excited for Earth Fest. i'm trying to peer pressure my mom and Kara into coming. AND! my dad will be back from Canada visiting that week. so he can come too!

anybody else want to meet up at Earth Fest?!!? it's gonna be super fun! and super crowded!!! it says it usually attracts around 125,000 people. that's a big crowd.

ok, IF I am having a hard time believing that Crash Kings are in the lineup of those super famous bands - i can't even imagine what Jason, Mike and Tony are thinking.

alright. it's 2:20pm. either wednesday or thursday. no, it's thursday. not much planned for today. gonna go downstairs later and sort through more books.

in 6 boxes yesterday we had 37 copies of Goodnight Moon. i have four more boxes to do today. only 7 copies of The Runaway Bunny yesterday. i'm hoping for more today. although, there are like, 20 more boxes of books down in the basement that i'm sure have more copies.

watched the Michael Moore documentary last night. after like, 2 minutes i was almost in tears. and then like, 20 minutes later i almost had to shut it off because it was so scary. the part when he's talking about how the United States went downhill very quickly with the election of Ronald Reagan. and then it's all the line graphs set against Carmina Burana. MAN. that was a scary part.

i'll talk more about it later.

UNTIL THEN, have a great afternoon. a great Earth Day. Happy Earth Day.



<3

"dave likes to eat applesauce. he eats it on the subway, wearing mismatched socks."

(entry subject taken from the classic Compost Shark song, 'Applesauce.')


LOVE IT.

oh geeze, i almost forgot about the most important part about today.

IT'S DAVE'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! my great friend Dafe. who is the bro of my BFF Maria!




and i just happen to have this wonderful picture here, of these three awesome people.

from L to R: Renee (who had a birthday last week!!!!), Dave (birthday TODAY!), and Maria (birthday on 30 March).

what a great photo! oh, i love friends. this was when we all went to The Big E together. that was lots of fun times.

alright Dave, have a great birthday down there in Colorado Springs.


lovelovelove!!!!!!

"do something to make the world more beautiful."

"but i do not yet know what that could be."


AHHH, great book. we have been getting these HUGE donation of children's books from Border's lately. and will continue so until early May. and today, i sorted through 6 heavy boxes of books. had to read a few including:

- Miss Rumphius
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Time For Bed (oh, i loved this one.)
- Goodnight Moon
- Barnyard Dance

that one, Time for Bed, OH it had the sweetest illustrations of mother and baby animals. just click on that link for the cover picture and it will melt your heart. that's a promise.

i sorted through those books for like, 5 hours. no kidding. and have more to do tomorrow.


ANYWAYS - in much better and more exiting news, i woke up this morning to TWO WONDERFUL BLOG COMMENTS!!!!

well, one was actually a Facebook comment but RELATED to the blog, and one was in the actual blog.


1. BLOOD FEATHERS. remember how they were the opening band for Crash Kings last week in West Chester? WELL, they commented in my blog. IN THIS BLOG. on the Crash Kings entry. oh man - i was freaking out. SO COOL, right?! and i wrote in the entry that i would like to be BFF with them, and i think that dream just came true. i immediately started following them on Twitter. i am very excited about this. :)

2. LAURA! My friend Laura who i've known since....geeze, like, forever? first grade, maybe? she sent me a super exciting facebook comment saying she was driving this morning at 5am and she heard Crash Kings on the radio!!!!! and that made her excited because she knew that i would be excited. AND SHE'S RIGHT!!!!! i was super excited to hear this. it's good when exciting things happen at 5am! especially when it's a Crash Kings related excitement. :)


what a great morning, right?! right.

the afternoon was spent digging through those books.

and tonight i will watch the newest Michael Moore documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. very much looking forward to it.


YESTERDAY (meaning Tuesday), was also a great day.

:: i woke up and washed my hair.

:: went down for staff meeting at 12:30, only to find out that we weren't having staff meeting.

:: so i hung around anyways, caught up with Courtney, which was lovely.

:: then made plans with Diane to do some errand running in the afternoon. work-related errand running that consisted of going to local businesses and picking up their donations for an upcoming fundraiser. this including going to: a jewelry store, a toy store, a stained glass store, and a fancy restaurant. fun! everyone we met was so nice.

:: during this adventure we also stopped and got ice cream at the place in the parking lot of Home Depot. sounds like a total sketch place - oh, but it's delicious.

:: and then after we were done, we decided to stay in Hanover and get dinner! so we went to the newly opened Salt Hill Pub! we split some "Dublin fries" and baked feta on bread with olives and tomatoes. DELISH! totes delish. and i enjoyed some Bulmer's (Magner's in the states). OOHHHHH so good.

:: we had a lovely time. it was very fun to be social. and the menu at the new Salt Hill is quite extensive compared to the one in Lebanon! it took us a really long time to decide. worth it. it was so good.

fun!


ALSO EXCITING ABOUT TODAY:: i am done with my antibiotics!!!!! took my last dose this afternoon. i am glad about this. it was more stressful than i thought to try and remember to take them. 4 times a day was a lot. there's still a tiny bump on the back of my ear. but, the hole has completely closed up. that didn't take long at all! i was surprised at that. it was closed up after like, 2 or 3 days. that makes me think that it was still not healed. after all this time.

will i do it again? NOPE!

although today i got that tattoo craving that has been semi-constant for a while.


HEY!!!! EARTH DAY!!! tomorrow! 22 april! that's when they are announcing the official band lineup for Earth Fest. in Boston. sponsored by 92.9. two words:

CRASH KINGS.

they are performing at Earth Fest. you heard it here first! unless you've talked to Crash Kings, and they've told you that they are performing at Earth Fest.

hey, speaking of Earth things, i was cataloging a Curious George book called, Curious George Plants A Tree, and it came with a little bookmark that you planted in the ground and then it would sprout flowers! this made me really excited. i wanted to plant it! how fun would that be?! cool.

i was cataloging another Curious George book called, Curious George Goes to the Hospital. first of all - why would you want to read about a monkey who needs to go to the hospital? is he sick? did he break a bone? this sounds sad to me. but when i first read the title, i read, Curious George Goes to the Hamptons. and i thought, "oooo he's going to the Hamptons!" and for one second i imagined a "Gossip Girl-esque" Curious George book. but then realized it said 'hospital.' and that's when i thought the other things.

i started reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius the other day. so far, so good. i was a little confused at the beginning by all the stuff. like, all the notes and such. but then i got to the book part and i liked it.

i just learned via Twitter that my new friend/Crash Queen sister Christina was accepted into UCLA! this is very exciting. :)

hm, okay. it's like, twenty minutes to 10pm. i might get ready to have supper.

oh! the other night at the grocery store i bought peach mango frozen yogurt and it's delish! it's Hood brand. definitely recommend it. this morning i thought, "it's yogurt so technically i could eat it for breakfast..." but i didn't. i had toast instead.

OK. i think that's all. i'll probably think of more things to say. but right now, i'd say this is pretty good.

although, i'm totally bummed that Facebook is taking so long to upload these posts. why facebook!? it's been taking like, two days per post. that's too long for people to go without reading a Julie Blog Post. hopefully they'll sharpen up their act and get back to the way things were before.

OK, have a great evening! a great morning! and a great afternoon!!! i'll talk to you again soon!!


muchlove.


<3

i wish i was one of those people who went out for breakfast by themselves. i think those people are cool. like, just go into a breakfast place. sit down. get a cup of coffee. some eggs, toast.



i guess i'm not having a very good day so far. i can't figure out what to do. not just with the day, but with everything.

i made a pot of cinnamon almond coffee. it's very good.

i'm super frustrated with Geico.com right now. like, super. and i should call them, i guess. but i don't feel like saying all the information over the phone. it's just easier to do it online. BUT IT'S NOT WORKING. and i've been trying for a long time.

i was really creeped out last night because i thought someone else was in the house with me. i kept hearing noises that sounded like someone was downstairs. i even walked through the whole house because i was so sure that someone had broken in.

and then Ruby made me nervous too, because she was staring out in the kitchen for a long time, following something with her eyes. and i thought, "holy crap, is there a ghost out there?" and then i thought there might be a mouse.

but, there was nothing.

ok, i guess that's it for now.


next time i go to a Crash Kings concert with kara, i am going to have her get another one of mike's guitar picks. and then i will have two. and then i will turn them into earrings. and kara is the master at finding guitar picks.

i should have him initial the back of the pick.

anyways. i was holding the pick yesterday and that's what was making me think of this.

i guess life after an awesome Crash Kings adventure is kind of depressing. because there are not too many things that are as exciting.

ok.

i might put on a movie and finally turn my Rooney shirt into a picture for my living room.

i was thinking of creating a 'Rock Star Wall' in my apartment that would feature the signed Rooney shirt i have, as well as the signed Crash Kings set-list.

i just can't bring myself to put the guitar pick in a frame, though. i just love holding it too much. and feeling the frayed edge.

ok. we'll see what the day brings.

i'll talk to you later.


<3

CRASH KINGS ROCK WEST CHESTER (15 april 2010)

hi friends. and loved ones.

may i just say first, that i think Facebook is taking a 'longer than normal' time to upload these blog posts. so, for all you Facebook readers, i don't know when you are reading this.

but currently, i'm writing and it's 12:47pm on sunday, 18 april 2010. hopefully the whole world will be able to read this entry soon, because it's going to be awesome. and amazing.

it will be much like the first time i met Tony, Mike and Jason at Great Scott. and i could barely form words or sentences. that's how excited i am. STILL. and the show was on thursday.


SO, the last time i left you, i was very excited. and kind of spewing all these excited words. it was a hard time getting to sleep on thursday night. let me start further back.


THURSDAY MORNING:

i woke up in Boston. Ryan was at class. her roomie, Brent was working on a paper in the kitchen.

i went online to check the normal things, email, facebook, twitter, etc. THEN! i sent a Tweet to Crash Kings saying this:


dear @crashkings, [ryan's twitter name] and i are driving down from boston for the show tonight. please don't start without us. love, ryan and julie.


yep. that's what i said to them. i was very excited that i wrote to them. and then when Ryan and I were finally on our way, she said something like, "oh i hope we make it in time." and i said, "well, i tweeted to them saying 'don't start without us,' so hopefully we'll be okay."

we made it out of Boston fine. hit rreeaallyy slow traffic on the Mass Pike for a while. got minorly lost while getting off the exit for I-84. semi-quickly found our way back.

then Ryan had the brillz idea of DRIVING IN THE CARPOOL LANE!!!! so, yeah, we did. we were two people who were carpooling to a concert. made total sense. we did that until Hartford.

then we got on I-87, i think. and did that for a while. we were taking a route around NYC. then we got into New Jersey. on either 202 or 206. the exit was for both roads. i don't remember which one we ended up being on.

but it was supposed to take us 19 minutes. and it took us like, an hour. SOOOOO SLOOOWWWW. omg, we were freaking out. we figured out that Crash Kings were probably going to go on at 9pm. it was like, 7pm, and we still had an hour after we got off this road, which never seemed to end. and was jam packed full of cars.

we drove through Princeton, which was a beautiful, fancy looking part of NJ, but seemed to be semi in ruin due to all the trees and large branches down EVERYWHERE.

FINALLY, we got onto 95 and ENTERED PENNSYLVANIA!! my first time there.

and then it got dark. and later. and it was time to SPEED. we were going like, 80mph for the last leg of the trip. we finally made it to West Chester and found the parking garage i had marked on the map. a short couple blocks away from 'The Note,' where they were playing.

as we are getting closer to The Note, we see their van "Ol' Blue" parked out front. this is very exciting because now it's real. NOW we're here and we're going to see Crash Kings.

so, we see some guys hanging around the van and notice that one of them is their drummer, Jason. who plays drums barefoot and is awesome. and we get closer and closer.

and then, HE recognizes US and says,

JASON: Hey! You guys made it!!

let me make clear that neither Ryan nor I said anything to Jason before he said this to us.

SO, NOT ONLY, did they totally read my Tweet to them, BUT, Jason knew who we were enough to recognize us on the street. not even in a music setting! ON THE STREET. it wasn't like, he waved at us during their set cause he recognized us in our normal spot in the crowd. nope. ON THE STREET.

Jason also said that they were all very excited that we had driven down from Boston. we said that we were very worried that we would miss part of their set, but he told us that the opening band, Bloodfeathers, was just going on now, and that we should totally get in to see them, because they had a saxophone in their band, and he thought they would be pretty good.

so we go inside. the night is off to a SUPER GREAT start. we get our hand stamped and head to the stage area. on our way back, i am apparently in a 'Jason infused daze,' and totally smash right into Tony, who is 'in the zone' walking in the opposite direction as us.

yep. smashed into Tony. i didn't even realize it was him until after the smashing. we were both in the 'Crash Kings are about to perform' zone.

anyways. then we watched Blood Feathers. i guess their name is actually two words. i don't really know why they are called Blood Feathers. they sound like a band who would like to go to Owl concerts. they sound like a scary band.

but no! they are a band i would like to be BFF with. especially the main guy. who i said to afterwards at the bar,

JULIE: Hey, you guys were great!
BLOOD FEATHERS GUY: Wow, thank you! Thanks for coming!

they were like, rock-country-blues-retro ish. Ryan does a good comparison in her LJ and says they are, "a six-man combination of Bob Dylan and the Doobie Brothers." i think that works.

and the main guy, who was really a co-main guy, the one who i talked to for one second afterwards, was a super good dancer. he was constantly moving his feet around. but not like, picking them up off the stage. like, sliding around. kind of like something one might see on Charlie Brown, or something. perhaps. he was awesome.

anyways, yeah, check out Blood Feathers, if you get a chance. i think they should swap band names with Owl. Owl should be called Blood Feathers because they are a creepy band. and Blood Feathers should change their name to Owl, but only not a scary red-eyed owl. a friendly one.

or, they could combine their bands and be called, Bloody Owl Feathers. but, i don't like that. and i don't think anyone else would either.

ANYWAYS. the whole time we're listening to Blood Feathers, Jason and Mike are standing right in front of us. Mike's hair has gotten longer. he's drinking a beer. and oh, he's pretty.

then Blood Feathers ends and Jason and Mike head backstage. i assume to start getting ready to set up their equipment on stage. like they've done at every other Crash Kings show. even at their other headlining shows in Providence and at Great Scott. they set up their own stuff.

so, the guys that work at the place are doing most of the setting up. and they're up there for a while. i figure they're doing the basics. like, getting out the plugs and stuff so Tony can come out and set up his clavinet.

and then one of the guys sets up the keyboard. and then the clav. and now i'm getting confused. has Crash Kings really become a super famous band since the last time i saw them?!? so much so, that they can just walk out onstage and all their stuff will be set up for them?!!?!

NO, it can't be possible. this is our tiny, secret, awesome band that nobody else knows about.

but then, most of their stuff is set up. the stagehands even put out towels and bottles of water for the guys. and tape their set lists to the floor for them. even their set lists have gotten more fancy. they had the Crash Kings "logo" at the top. the set list that i have is just a list of songs.

and Ryan and i keep looking at each other in amazement.

CRASH KINGS DO NOT HAVE TO SET UP THEIR OWN EQUIPMENT. they had other guys do it for them.

um, holy crap. are they a famous band now? ah, yes. yes they are.

because they start playing, and MOST EVERYONE knows all the words to all the songs. like, non-Mountain Man songs. like, '1985.' and 'Non Believer.'

this was the first Crash Kings show where like, 3/4 of the crowd came to see THEM. it wasn't like a bunch of people who just happened to be there, plus me and Ryan who are the super fans. NO. not at all. our super tiny secret band had become not-so super tiny and secret.

(which made it even more awesome that Jason recognized us on the street.)


and now.... the super famous, super rockstars - CRASH KINGS::







so, Tony walks out onstage and immediately i think, OMG he's wearing the red plaid shirt! but then he comes to the front of the stage, and i see he's not wearing the red plaid shirt. it's like, a red plaid shirt, with strangely placed white spots. and it's lighter red.

and then i immediately think, OMG THERE WAS A LAUNDRY MISHAP AND THE RED PLAID SHIRT IS RUINED!!!!! it was a very stressful time. his signature red plaid shirt - RUINED!?!?

and i was studying the shirt he was wearing and trying trying trying to remember exactly what the other one looked like.

after the concert was over, i immediately asked Ryan what she thought. she ended up getting out her laptop in the car and doing a comparison. it was very hard at first to tell if it was the same shirt or not.

BUT IN THE END - she thought they were different shirts. and in doing further investigation, i think the same thing.

i have posted a photo of THE red plaid shirt below the next pic so you can do your own comparison. you're welcome :)



(Tony's hair had gotten really long since i had last seen him. did you forget what a hottie he was?! and look at that great tattoo shot! he's got the number '13' on his inner wrist. either that or, '1,3.')


(super sexilicious red plaid shirt.)



this set up was not ideal for photos of Jason, which is usually the case.



HOT SWEATY MIKE!!!!!




for the previous three shows we had seen, Tony had been playing on this amazing folding piano. he said that the reason he was playing on the keyboard tonight was because they couldn't lift the piano up onto the stage. :) that's okay.

i really love those two above photos. because you can see his face, which was mostly covered by his hair in all the other pics.



UM, WHOA, right?! Mike, oh Mike. he was having a bit of an off night. he was mostly flat on all his harmonies, except for 'Carry On,' and during 'Non Believer' when he sings the days of the week at the end, he got the order wrong pretty much every time. SUNDAY TUESDAY MONDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY?

also, remember at Great Scott when he told me and Kara and he wrote 'Carry On?' and it made me super excited because it's probably my favorite song? well, when Ryan was talking to Tony in Austin when she saw them, she mentioned that Mike had told me he wrote Carry On. to which Tony replied something like,

TONY: Mike didn't write Carry On. I wrote Carry On. Mike helped a little in the beginning...

i told my mom this story and she said,

MOM: Well, clearly he was trying to impress you by telling you he wrote it!!!!

perhaps. i do remember thinking that Mike and i had a bit of a connection at Great Scott. and i decided that maybe the reason Mike is always in tune on Carry On is because he thinks that he wrote it, so he puts in a little extra effort.

OKAY, so me and Ryan were kind of hating on Mike during this trip, but we made sure we ended by saying that Mike is an excellent bass player and does super sexy bass lines on 'You Got Me' and '1985.' and listening to 'You Got Me' and watching Mike sweat is like the hottest, sexiest thing in the world. true story.




BRO SHOT!!!!!!



During 'Come Away' Tony forgot the lyrics during the chorus, and it was super adorable. he kind of all flustered looked at Mike, and kept shaking his head. hey, even super famous rock stars forget the lyrics sometimes. this made me happy, because it reminds you that they are normal people.




loved his rolled up jeans and boots. and he thinks he's not a hipster?



"HOTTIE ON THE KEYBOARD."

OH, it was such a great show. they totally rocked. the whole place was rocking.

and now for the videos? yes. that sounds good.

so, i took four videos which i have uploaded to YouTube. i will post the links for you to enjoy. i might also post you links to the videos that Ryan took. she got some different songs than i did.


IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY. this is a great video because you can hear the crowd singing along really well. and then A HOTTTTTT BASS SOLO by Mike, for which the crowd goes wild. you should watch.

NON BELIEVER. great song. "don't forget about the things that make you feel free." oh, i love it. and this is the song where Mike gets the days of the week wrong. about 2:50 in.

CARRY ON. the song that Mike didn't write. possibly my favorite song. this is the song they opened with the VERY FIRST time i saw them. i heard Tony sing the opening words, "carry on," and my mind had already been blown. just watch the first 20 seconds. you'll see what i mean. also featuring: hott bro rocking sesh around 2:55 and a really hott scream around 3:48.

SAVING GRACE. the very beginning of this video features something i like to call, 'A Beliveau Brothers Hott-Off.' where Mike and Tony are both totally working the crowd at the same time!!!! "a hott-off." yep. and during the slow, gorgeous, romantic, sexy part of the song which happens around 2:13, someone screams, "YYEEAAAHHHH TOONNNYYYY!!!!!"

"stay with me late into this night...and lay with me and i promise to make you feel...oooooooOOOOoooooooo..."

"yeah tony!" is right. Ryan and i had fun with that part on the drive home. he PROMISES. he promises to make you feel that way. YEP. soooosexxxyyyyy.


this is a video that Ryan took:

MY LOVE. "all the little pieces of the world come together so well... you're taking me home." yep. and at the end when they do the "ooo oo oo oo ooo oo oo oo" part with clapping, Mike starts clapping on the off-beat until he realizes he's doing it. it's funny and adorable. perhaps he had a little too much to drink before the show? i don't know.

Ryan also took a SUPER HOTT video of "You Got Me," but i can't find it on YouTube. when i find it, i'll post it for you. because if you don't watch ANY of these videos - you're gonna want to watch that one.

ALRIGHT, so that was the music portion of the evening. AWESOME MUSIC. oh, they were so good.

so, after the show, Ryan and i stuck around to have a chat with the boys. the really drunk girls who were obnoxiously obsessed with the band stuck around for a while too.

Jason came out first and came right over to us. we talked again for a minute. told him that in our listening to the record all the way from Boston to West Chester, we noticed that there is a ton of tambourine in almost every song! he seemed really pleased that we noticed and told us that it was something their producer suggested they do. Jason totally kills on the tambourine. and, he's totally the nicest person ever.

then a little while later, Mike came out. he started to walk past us, but then noticed us, and came over. I JUST WANT TO TOUCH HIS FACE ALL THE TIME. ohhhh he looks so soft. like a teddy bear. Mike Bear. love it. Mike seems like a very shy person. a man of few words. we told him how great the show was. i mentioned that it was awesome that they didn't have to set up any of their equipment. Mike said that was really nice to not have to do. we told him we'd see him at Earth Fest in Boston, and then he was on his way. to the bar, i think.

OH, he did say that the sound was weird onstage. which led Ryan and i to come to the conclusion that that's why maybe he was a little off tonight. BUT, he rocked the bass and looked good doing it. all that matters? yep. i still want to touch him all the time.

and then we stood, waiting for Tony. he took a little while to come out from backstage, and when he did, he came out onto the stage. (this next part is probably the second best part of the night. after Jason recognizing us on the street.)

so, Tony came out onto the stage. he had changed into a red t-shirt which made me think that he was shirtless backstage. which made me happy. so, he's doing something on the stage, and then he sees us standing on the floor.

he SMILES AND WAVES at us, and then JUMPS OFF THE STAGE to come over to talk to us. did he stop and talk to any of the other people waiting for him first? nope. he walked right over to us and was very happy that we safely made it from Boston.

and then we proceeded to talk to him FOR TEN MINUTES.

Ryan has been giving them transcriptions of their songs ever since we saw them in New Jersey. she gave Tony a transcription of 'It's Only Wednesday' and Tony said it was the coolest thing anyone has ever given him. or something awesome like that. so, on this night, she was giving him a corrected transcription of 'Come Away' and also 'Saving Grace.'

she hands Tony 'Saving Grace' and he immediately starts studying it. intensely. now, Ryan had the time signatures go: 7, 7, 5, 4, 4. Tony saw this and said, "no, i think we count the whole song in 7."

this was very confusing, because every time Saving Grace came on in the car, it made sense that it was counted 7, 7, 5, 4, 4. but now he was saying it was ALL in 7? really?

so Ryan says that she doesn't think so.

AND THEN, Tony stands there, counting out the song in his head. it was the most awesome thing ever. he's like, staring up at the ceiling, hearing the music in his head. AAAAHHHHHHH SOOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!

in the end, they disagree on the time signature. Tony says it's all in 7. Ryan says 77544.

we also talk about how awesome the show was. Tony said something like, "Yeah, but I forgot the lyrics!" (referring to Come Away.) we assured him it was still awesome. he said that they are so focused on going home in a few days, that that's all they can think about. he said they haven't been home since February and that everyone is really looking forward to it.

(he means Los Angeles, not Boston.)

and he talked about eating healthy on the road and how it's very hard not to eat junk food all the time. he said they just go to Whole Foods and stock up on light food things to eat. he made it seem like he has to watch his weight. but, he doesn't. we like him just the way he is.

then we again bring up the awesome tambourine track on almost every song.

TONY: It's even in 'It's Only Wednesday!'

he was very excited to explain to us that they recorded the tambourine throughout the whole song, but muted it every half measure. then he demonstrated for us the sound of the tambourine. AWESOME.

AND THEN, we were talking to him, and this other random fan came over and said,

OTHER FAN: You guys can keep talking, but can I just get a picture real quick?

and so Ryan and I stepped back so this guy could get a picture with Tony. um, HE'S SUCH A CELEB. i couldn't believe it was happening when it was happening. and then Tony picked right back up in our conversation.

something else we noticed in listening to the record the whole way from Boston, is the sound at the end of 'My Love.' it's the "clapping part" that they do live. but, on the album, it doesn't sound like just "ooo oo oo oo," it sounds like something else. Ryan and i discussed whether or not it might even be the clavinet. so, we asked Tony.

AGAIN, he seemed very happy that we noticed this little thing. and he said that it's actually him singing, but vibrating his bottom lip kind of like a trumpet. AND THEN HE DEMONSTRATED. and i was standing like, a foot away from him, staring at his vibrating bottom lip. OOOHHHHH it was amazing.

you could really tell how much he just loves talking about music. and thinking about music.

AND OH, he's so pretty. and he smiled a lot when he was talking to us. and i could feel my heart melting. it's like he smiles and you are paralyzed and everything else in the room goes dark.

and he thanked us again for coming all the way from Boston. and told us to have "safe travels" back. and we told him we'd see him at Earth Fest.

and as soon as we walked away, he was mobbed by other fans. other fans who he did not smile and wave at from the stage.

and that was when we talked to Tony for ten minutes. standing a foot away from him.

my euphoria from that night is still continuing. we're in day 3. Euphoric Day 3.

and then we stopped by the bar for glasses of water. that's when i had the one second conversation with the Blood Feathers guy. and then we were on our way!


i would like to post one more video for you. it's a video of a radio station gig they did a few weeks ago. on Mike's birthday, actually. and Tony is playing 'It's Only Wednesday.' and i think he sounds SO GOOD, i can't get over it. his voice sounds perfect. like they haven't been on non-stop touring since the fall.

you want to watch that video for these reasons:

1. um, me and Ryan are BFF with this band. and we talked to Tony for 10 minutes. we can kind of say, "yeah, we know those guys."
2. our BFF Jason who could recognize us on the street, is sitting behind Tony and you get some good shots of him.
3. Tony is playing in front of some windows. you can see the trees blowing in the background and also cars driving back on the road. this is a good video because it reminds me that other things in the world are still happening when Tony is singing. it's not like, he sings and the whole rest of the world stops, like sometimes i think happens. the wind still blows and people can still drive cars.
4. super hott close-ups in the end.

there's some other CK footage from the radio station that lasts like, 30 seconds in the beginning. but after that, it's all Tony. and Mike and Tony are both wearing plaid shirts. and they totally look like brothers.

ok, so go watch that video.

it's a strange thing to listen to Tony singing on the record after talking with him for a while. because, sometimes i think that his singing voice sounds much different than his speaking voice. but, if you hear the two close together, they don't sound so different.

ANYWAYS. that was the amazing night we had in West Chester. so awesome. because they have turned into totally famous rock stars and also our BFF. and it's so great that both of those things happened on the same night.

now, i know this is getting long, but i have to continue. just a little further. can you make it? do you need something non-Crash Kings for a minute?

ok, hold on.

let's NON-CRASH KINGS for a quick break:

these pictures were taken on the day last week when Ruby Tuesday slept on her back everywhere she went:




first she slept on her back in the sun on the window sill. this makes me very nervous. but, she was super comfortable, very warm, and very cute.




then later on in the day, i caught her sleeping on her back on the couch. look at her belly!




her evening nap was spent on my craigslist chair, on her back. i don't think she looks comfortable at all, but she stayed there for quite a while. she loves being on her back so much.

all in the same day, mind you.




and this precious gem of a photo was taken just a few hours ago. today! that's right. we're both sitting on the couch. i was blogging and she took a nap. she is so happy i'm home. she's been nonstop cuddly ever since i walked in the door. oh, i missed her so much.

she's so cute i can't even stand it. right now, she's sleeping completely under that blue blanket with her head resting on my foot. yep. that's happening right now.


OK. great break!!!!


now, to continue on with the night.

we get in the car to drive back north, and after the plaid shirt comparison saga, we put on Saving Grace many times to try and figure out if the whole thing was actually counted in 7, like Tony said it was.

we tried. Ryan tried way harder than i did. but, it didn't seem to make sense that it was all in 7. IT COULD, HOWEVER, be counted, 7, 7, 7, 6.

so, Ryan tweeted to them that the closest we could get was three bars of 7 and one of 6.


and then we arrive in NYC to stay with one of Ryan's friends who lives in the West Village. great apartment! we slept on the sofa bed.

and we immediately go onto the internet to catch up on other thing that have been happening in the world, that are non-Crash Kings related. (less cool things, obvi.)

and i go onto Twitter....

JULIE: Um, have you been on Twitter yet?
RYAN: No..
JULIE: Ok, go there immediately.

THEY RESPONDED TO RYAN'S TWEET AND SAID,

"you're right! We like 3 bars of 7 and 1 in 6. That's how we count it at least. Great job!!!"

please note the 3 exclamation marks at the end.

THE AWESOME EXCITING TIME CONTINUED!!!!!!! not only are we real life BFF with Crash Kings, but we are Twitter BFF.

amazing. oh-so-amazing. and it was very hard not to freak out in loud exciting screams at that moment. we couldn't because it was like, 2:30am and there were people sleeping in the apartment.

i would say that the Twitter convo was number 3 of the highlights of the evening. shall we recap?

(in order of awesome, in my opinon)

1. Jason recognizes us on the street.
2. Tony smiles, waves, and jumps off the stage to talk to us.
3. Tony (presumably) responds to Ryan's tweet about the time signature. Aanndd, she's right.

and then there was all the amazing things that happened in between each of those moments.

and remember how super famous this band is now? YEAH. and how their song was the number one alternative song in the country? YEAH.

so, also while in NYC the band posted another tour date at The Mercury Lounge, which, happens to be in NYC the day after Earth Fest. SO, we were proactive about this and decided that we would probably end up going to this show. and rather than pay the lame internet fees when you buy a ticket online, we should just go over to The Mercury Lounge and buy the ticket there.

SO WE DID.

and now we have another Crash Kings Adventure Weekend planned for May 22nd and 23rd. Boston and NYC.

and things are wonderful. and i think this is going to be a good summer. Rooney is also coming back to Boston which i'm very excited about.

THANK YOU ROONEY, for wanting to tour with Crash Kings.

i knew that Robert Schwartzman would somehow better my life, not just through Rooney music, but through something else. and perhaps (unless we have some sort of romantic encounter), that something is Crash Kings.

ALRIGHT! i'm going to end this now before i start talking about too many other things. i will update you on all our NYC happenings later. i'll give this entry some time to sink in. it's a big entry. an epic night in my life.

hope you all are enjoying this weekend. it's sunday afternoon. with all the video watching, snack getting, coffee making, and more video watching - this entry has taken me like, 4 hours to complete. i don't mind. my plan today was to write this entry, and i am pleased with it.

ENJOY your night! be well. take care.


♥ ♥ ♥



They don't even know what it is to be a fan. Y'know? To truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts.

and another thing worth mentioning::

we left Boston at like, 1:45pm this afternoon.
we arrived in West Chester at around 8:30pm.

we listened to the Crash Kings' record THE WHOLE FREAKING WAY. yep.

and then,

we left West Chester around 11:45pm
we arrived in NYC around 2am

and we listened to Crash Kings the whole way here. that's like, 9 hours of Crash Kings in the car. plus like, an hour of them playing live.

the only non-Crash Kings music we listened to was the opening band, Bloodfeathers. and they were really good. and really cute to watch.

ok. i just thought i should mention that. since i still can't bring myself to go to sleep.

OK NOW. now, i will try and force myself to sleep. oh, i dislike those night.

although, i think perhaps once i actually get into the sofabed and try and calm down, i think i will find i am tired. from allllll the driving and alllll the rocking. and from being so super excited. it takes a lot out of ya.

ok, i can't WAIT to tell you all about our night.

but it will have to wait because i don't have my pictures uploaded yet!!!

FROM THE MOMENT WE WALKED UP TO THE CLUB (not even inside yet!!!) IT WAS ALREADY AMAZING.

and it didn't stop until we walked out the door.

OOMMMGGGG. i can't calm down. and we have to be quiet because there are people sleeping in this apartment. so i am being excited through written form.

WHAT A GREAT NIGHT.

OKAYFORREALZNOW. i am going and i am turning off my computer and i am going to sleep. because i have to wake up in the morning. and then drive to Boston. and then possibly either Maine or New Hampshire. i am not decided yet.

AND - the city of Boston did not tow my car!!!! so, city of New York, please be as kind and don't tow my car. because i got a really awesome parking spot right outside this building. i know, right?!

oh yeah. i said i was going to sleep now.

oh alright.

have a great day.

take care. be well. "safe travels."


:) <3

O.M.G.

updating from the west village right now. exciting, right?

AND i went to pennsylvania today for the first time. what a great day.

let me say it again:

WHAT A GREAT DAY.

um, also we went to a Crash Kings concert. and it was so totally awesome. and there is so much awesome to report that i can't even sort it all out right now. only to tell you that we are still (as ryan puts it) 'basking in the euphoria.'

yes. oh yes. it was wonderful.

i got some great photos and great videos that i can't wait to share with you.

OMG IT WAS THE BEST TIME EVER.

wow. yeah. it was the best. i can't even talk about it right now.

THEY ARE SUCH ROCKSTARS. it was so crazy. this time was way different from the previous 6 times i had seen them.

THEY ARE FAMOUS ROCKSTARS NOW. drunk girls were screaming, "OMG I LOVE YOU!!!!" at the front of the stage.

it was crazy. it was SO CRAZY AND SO AWESOME AND SO AMAZING. omg.

i want to tell you all about it, but i can't even form words.

so i will tell you about other things. like, what's happening today. which is friday, i suppose.

we are waking up and meeting one of Ryan's friends for brunch. then we have some time to kill. then we are meeting another one of her friends for coffee in the afternoon.

then i believe we are heading out.

oh, it's so fun.

IT'S SO FUN having an exciting adventure and going to new places and meeting new people and talking to rockstars.

i love it. and i rreeaallyy don't want to go back home to the nothingness and the aloneness.

i also really don't want to wait more than a whole month to see our BFFs again. and by 'BFFs' i mean Crash Kings.

because when they play at Earth Fest in Boston they will be even more super famous! and it will be a whole new kind of crazy.

IN OTHER NEWS, yes, i have been remembering to take my antibiotics. although, i'm not getting in 4 doses a day. only 3. who's up for a 6:30am dose? not me. i think i'll have to space them closer together from now on.

AND IN MORE EXCITING NEWS, Ryan tweeted to Crash Kings on our way from PA to NYC AND AND AND they tweeted her back. and we are both insanely excited right now.

AAAAAHAHHHHHHHHH soooo much fun.

ok. perhaps i need to go to sleep? it's 2:55am. friday morning. sleeping seems so boring. so boring for such an exciting time.

okay. now i'm just rambling.

i hope everyone else's thursday night was so super exciting like mine was. i will post pictures and the links to the videos i will upload to youtube.

alright, have a lovely friday. i will talk to you later sometime.

i might go to Maine after dropping Ryan off in Boston. i don't want the excitement to stop. and i want to see Kara's bakery.

ok. i'm really going now.


LOVELOVECRASHKINGSLOVE!

<3