Flogging Molly / The Drowning Men

I PROMISE I will post about my California trip soon, but this post is about the Flogging Molly show last night.

Flogging Molly is in my Top 5 Favorite Bands 'list' {along with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rise Against, Streetlight Manifesto, and Mad Caddies} and I freaked out when I found out they were in town! I bought my brother a ticket about 3 weeks ago, but didn't have enough money for my own since we were going to CA. If I had enough money when we got back, I would buy a ticket, but guess what? 

THEY SOLD OUT. It was to be expected, though. 

So I was bummed that I couldn't go, but after hearing their new single, I was worried the show would suck anyways. I first heard their new song on the radio at work and unfortunately, it totally blew! I went home and made Vince listen to it and we both were like, 'Um, did they change bandmates or something?!'  We even googled them to see if they had changed things up and if there was a new singer...I mean, Dave King has NO accent! What the hell. And it's not really Celtic or Irish sounding like a lot of there other stuff, which I really love. I respect that it's their band and they will obviously do what they want, but that song seems like it's from another band!

So needless to say, Vince and I weren't extremely sad about not going, like we would have been if we didn't hear that song. Then, Vince called me at work one day and said we got a hook up and could get in for free! So I was stoked.

Last night we went to the show and it was fucking awesome. Seriously. They played some of the stuff on their album that isn't released yet and it was just like their old stuff, super kick ass! It sounded NOTHING like their new single, so I was happy about it. Maybe it was just a fluke?

I have never seen so many people at The Orpheum and it was so cool to see SO many people in there. You could tell the band was stoked about having such a full house because we were all super crammed in there. 

It was also rad to have so many people singing along with them. I was smiling and dancing the whole time!

It was fun to hangout with my brother for most of the show, too. 

{I swear, it's like my brother (on the left) tries to look wasted in every picture I take of him...}

Near the end of the show this HUGE huge guy was making his way through the crowd with 5 or 6 girls and stopped right in front of me and I was so pissed. He was like 6'5'' and was solid muscle. I am not exaggerating when I say his bicep was the size of my head. He was truly HUGE. So why did he think he should stand right in front of me and block my entire view? I don't know. So at that point I moved over and got separated from Connor. 

When I moved over, though, I happened to be standing right behind one of the girls who was with the huge guy, and she was so annoying. She kept having the flash on her phone go off and had a high pitched voice. Needless to say, I allowed my clunky purse to smack her in the back every time I moved while dancing. She got out from in front of me pretty quickly!

All in all, it was a rad show. The lead singer Dave King was hilarious and made fun of people in the crowd, and the whole band in general was really great at interacting with the crowd. When I got home I was so strung out on adrenaline that I felt drunk!

I was also really happy with the band that opened for them, The Drowning Men. I bought their CD Beheading of the Songbird and am in love with it! Go buy it on iTunes and listen to the song Courageous Man. It's my favorite and I'm pretty sure I'm going to listen to it 5,000 times in the next few weeks. {You can also listen to it on their website for free!}

Oh, there was also a guy who managed to sleep for the entire time The Drowning Men was playing: 

Who pays $40 to see a show and sleeps? And who can even sleep with such loud music! 

And now, the obligatory super-crappy-no-flash-concert-picture:

Things that completely kind of suck. {And some things that rock.}

In case you didn't get an idea what this post is about from the title, it will be about things the completely kind of suck. {And things that rock.}

Things that suck:

{1} The fact that I REALLY really want a chocolate shake right now, but that would consist of me washing the dirty blender.

{2} Barstow, California. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyways: OH MY GOD. So we stopped there on our way to LA to fill up on gas. The first gas station I saw was, as to be expected, right off the highway and WAY expensive. Considering that I filled up in Flagstaff for $3.50 a gallon {give or take a few cents} I was hesitant to pay $4.69 a gallon. I decided to drive a little further into town to find a cheaper gas station. As we were driving, we realized that there weren't any gas stations, anywhere! We drove for like 5 minutes and couldn't find one. What we did see was a ton of scary people, scary cars, and a dirty dirty town. When we finally got to a gas station I went to the bathroom and I was terrified. If I could have, I would have preferred to pee on the side of the building. I didn't even wash my hands because the sink was bound to be dirtier than me. So I bought some dreaded hand sanitizer, which I really hate.  Needless to say, we sped by the Barstow exit on our way home.

{3} I had Indian food for dinner and I just want to keep eating it, but I'm too full. {How much of a first world problem is it that I'm complaining because I get full and can't keep eating? Sometimes I really disgust myself. }

{4} I want to surf the internet, watch TV, play video games, and read a book AT THE SAME TIME. Obviously, that is impossible and I'm pretty sure I'm just trying to overstimulate my mind. Again: first world problem.

{5} My vacation was  not long enough and I would like to go back to California. Can someone please make that happen? {Ok, maybe all my problems are first world problems...}

Things that rock:

{1} Izobel is in a really good home. She will be happy, Vince and I will be happy, and thing will turn out great.

{2} I have an awesome car. I definitely don't let myself forget that I was just driving a shit shit shit car a few months ago and that not everyone is fortunate enough as me to have a nice job and a new car. 

{3} I was able to take a vacation in such a beautiful place.

{4} The fact that I don't live in Barstow. Or downtown LA, which I will tell you about later.

{5} I am with the man of my dreams. Well, I actually never really dreamed about a specific guy as a kid, BUT, he's someone that I absolutely love and am so happy to be with. We've gone through so much stuff, some absolutely horrible, and some absolutely wonderful, and I would live through every second of it again if I had to and not change a thing. Even the gnarly bruise I gave him in my sleep when we were in CA. Oops!

So there you have it folks. Things that suck and rock. Do you have a list? Tell me about it!

Bye bye Iz.

After putting up the Craigslist ad for Izzy, a lady responded saying that her family would love to meet her! The ladies husband came by today to meet her and he fell in love. He has four daughters and thought this dog would fit in perfectly. After talking to him for about 15 minutes he seemed like a really nice guy so I agreed to let him take Izzy home. I already had all her papers ready and some dog food and treats ready for her in a bag. I was totally prepared and figured that once she was gone, she was gone and everything would be ok! 

But it's not. At all.

After putting Izzy in the guys car I went to my mailbox. By the time I closed my mailbox I was bawling. I went straight inside and took a shower and just sat in there crying for a half hour. And I'm not talking about simple tears-down-the-face crying, I'm talking sobbing, shoulders shaking crying. I haven't cried like this since I found out my grandma was probably going to die 2 years ago. 

{Luckily she didn't and is healthy agian!} {And yes, I just compared giving away my dog to my grandma dying. For those of you that know me, you know I LOVE my grandma, which shows how much I love Izobel. Obviously my grandma's death would hurt more though...}

After getting out of the shower it looked like I had been punched because my eyes are already swelling. I finally stopped crying though, but then Vince called and asked how everything went, and I said he took her and I just started crying again. Now I can't stop, which is why I'm writing this, so I can 'organize' my thoughts.

I am so sad to have to give her away. I was just starting to feel that she was completely part of our family and her personality was finally showing. Her and Roxi got along great and they had so much fun playing, and now I feel tremendously guilty. I mean, they were sisters! They did practically everything together and now they won't really see each other again.

When I was talking to the guy, I told him he could take her today and he asked if I was sure. I said that we were all good and that Vince had already cried about it. We were ready to send her to a new home. I truly didn't think I was going to cry, but I guess I was just a little delusional about it. 

I did tell him that if they ever needed a dog sitter that we would be more than happy too, and he was happy about that, so hopefully we'll see her again.

I'm supposed to go to a friends for dinner tonight, but now I really really don't want to. Vince seems to think that it will be good to get my mind off it, but I know if I go I'll just sit there and not want to talk or anything, so we'll see. 

This post seems really scattered so I'm going to stop writing now, but thank you all for listening and for some of you being sad with me. I know this is a good situation to be in by finding a really good home for her, but I'm still sad. 

I'll  post again soon about happier thoughts, like my California trip!

Sad Times.

Last week Vince and I had a 'real' conversation about what we want to do in life, at this moment. We came to the conclusion that the current place we are living is a huge waste of money and we don't want to live here anymore. 

About a week after moving here in December, I knew we shouldn't have. I immediately got stressed about the price of this place and couldn't get comfortable. I don't really feel comfortable with our landlord situation and I know that's because our last landlord was fantastic, but still. It's just not comfortable.

A couple weeks ago Vince and I were on a walk and I was telling him about my feelings and how I didn't feel that this house was 'home' and was trying to explain why. He completely didn't understand me and was actually getting annoyed with me! Our last conversation was good though, and I was able to explain myself better, and he agrees: paying the extra $450 a month is SO not worth it. I mean, that's an entire community college class including a book, saved in ONE month! Since I'm not going to be able to get financial aid this year since I 'make too much', that amount of money will go a loooong way.

We both LOVE the location and the backyard but that's about it. It's also a great size, but once I start school again, I have a feeling I won't be doing much sewing, meaning I can get rid of a LOT of stuff that is in our second room. I understand that I will have to get rid of a bunch of stuff in order to fit in any smaller place, but I'm OK with that! 

When we were living in our smaller house, I was always saying that we need more space and how much I hated our house. Now that I am on the other side of the fence, I realize that I truly don't. I am at a point in my life that I am happy getting rid of stuff and living more simply. I'm absolutely happy that we moved to our current house if only so that I could be confident in my decisions. I now know what I want and what I don't want, because I've had both opportunities. 

I also have realized that I like living in a small overly cluttered house. It's a kind of craziness that is good for me. Most people won't agree with me, but that's what I thrive in: chaos.

What this also means is that we have to get rid of Izobel. I know we just got her in December, but it will be near impossible to find a place that will allow 2 dogs. When Vince and I were casually looking for a new place over a few months last year, we found a single place that would allow a dog, and we had to pay a HUGE deposit, as well as added money to rent. She is also bug and has a huge tail, so if we're in anything smaller that our current place she would knock everything over. 

There's no way in hell we will get rid of Roxanne, but we're hoping to find a good home for Izzy. I posted an add on Craiglist, and we'll do an 'interview' if someone is interested, because we don't want to just give her to anyone. We have a couple of months before our lease ends, so we're not in a huge rush to find her a home. To all you Flagstaff people, if you know anyone who wants a sweet free potty trained dog, let me know!

This is definitely a sad thing, but it's something we need to do and I know that no matter what, she will be in a good home. We'll be picky about where she goes, and in the end everyone will be happy!

Go.

I am still on vacation in California and having a GREAT time, but I thought I'd tell you to go check out a post I did on SheWearsCrazyWell. 

I LOVE Janna Lynn and am so excited to be on her blog! Go check it out and read my post HERE! 

Also, wish Janna Lynn well because she is sick right now. Lame.

I will leave you with an awesome picture from when Vince was like TEN. Wasn't he a cutie?!