Ready To Start

Last week Ingrid went shopping with her mom and came home with a present for me.


Later that night she asked if I'd written in my notebook yet. I said no, but promised that I would. I've been thinking lately about how I need to make a better effort to write in a physical journal, and by better effort I mean any effort at all. I have gone on so many fun adventures and had awesome things happen to me and I want to have a record of them. Ingrid must have psychic abilities or something because that little gesture was the perfect thing to get me going. The very next day Ingrid asked again about me writing in my notebook and I was happy to tell her I had. She then told me that she "picked out this very beautiful notebook because your other one was getting so filled up." How cute is that?

Last night as I was writing in my "very beautiful notebook" the entry included in the words Twitter, Garmen, and Craigslist. I started to laugh as I imagined some future person picking up my journal and trying to figure out what on earth I was talking about. Perhaps we should consider making glossaries as a companion to our journals. :)

Give A Little Bit

Remember this guy?


His name is Greg Holden. I first saw him was a year ago when he opened for Ingrid Michaelson and it blew me away. The last time I saw Greg was a week ago and again, I was blown away. The thing that makes this note worthy is that it was the 8th time I've seen him live and every time I am more impressed than the last. I guarantee I wasn't the only person in the room having that experience. To me this speaks volumes of Greg's incredible talent as an artist.

Greg is an independent musician, meaning he doesn't have a record label backing him. He does this so he can put out the music he makes how he feels it should be heard. This also means that he has to come up with his own funding. Kickstarter is a really cool way for musicians and others to raise money to fund their creativity. From what I understand, an artist sets a goal for how much money they need to raise and takes it to Kickstarter. They launch a campaign and ask their fans to donate to the cause, offering various rewards for their generosity. If an artist reaches their goal, the campaign will be funded. If they don't, everyone who donated keeps their money and the artist goes back to the drawing board. You can read more about the ins and outs here, it's actually pretty interesting.

Greg raised the $20,000 he was looking for in the first 2 weeks of the project so he will get the money when the deadline comes around. It costs a whole lot more than $20,000 to make an album so the more money he can raise, the better. There are only 4 days left to donate and any amount will help. If you're already a fan, check out the awesome rewards and donate here (*hint, if you're going to buy the album you should donate and get it for "free"). If you've never listened to Greg's music then you've been missing out and that needs to change. Now. Let me help. :)

This is a song of his last EP. If I were to make a soundtrack for my life this would, without a doubt, make the cut.


This is one of his unreleased songs called Are We Wasted. Easily one of my favorites.


If I went to a Greg Holden concert and he came out, played Bar on A once, then walked off the stage it would be a show worth seeing. This song is the fan favorite. I'm pretty sure it's shouted out as a request at every show and has always ends his set. In my opinion it's a perfect song. I say this as a person who doesn't drink, so you know it must be good!! :)


Hopefully I've convinced you help Greg out!

Drive Me Crazy

You know what I hate? Mosquitos. I've always hated them, but never as much as I do at this very moment!! I have a grand total of 44 bites from these little buggers on my body (that I've counted). That would be 8 on my chest, 9 on my face, 17 on one of my upper legs, and 10 others on fingers or legs. I swear it's like a chain reaction, as soon as one of them starts itching all the rest follow suit. AHHHHH!

Can't Complain

Nantucket this year has been a little different than the past two trips, but great none the less! Seeing as the trip is just about over I thought I'd start coving some of the highlights . . . Our first night we were here we went and saw the Boston Pops play at Jetties Beach. It was a whole lot of awesome.

Just thinking about this gives me chills! Hearing such amazing talent in such a beautiful setting is truly magical.

There were SO many people there! And quite the variety We joined a bunch of the Knutson's friends and picnicked close to the shore so the kids could play. Ingy waded in the water at first, but eventually gave in to the temptation. Luckily we brought a dry set of clothing!

My delicious sandwich from Something Natural. If you ever visit Nantucket, you're going to want to check them out.

Boats were lined up in the water watching the concert.

The night ended with some of the most incredible fireworks I have ever seen. What a great way to kick off ACK 2010!

Baltimore

Next up in our site-seeing adventure: Charm City! I've been to Baltimore a few times but haven't been able to wander around the city, and as I'm sure I've mentioned before, that's how I prefer to see a city.

The National Aquarium and Torsk aka a submarine.

The U.S.S. Constellation, the last Civil War vessel still afloat.

Rafal and me in front of The Constellation.

City buildings.

It really was a lucky weekend for us. First we see the President, then we arrive in Baltimore only to discover that there is a Japan-amation convention in town. Hours of laughs and entertainment! Pictures cannot do things like this justice. Hundreds and hundreds of hard core fans were dressed from head to toe in costume. In 90 degree weather no less!

Edgar Allen Poe's grave. This was kind of a cool place to visit, lots of old graves and such. We also went and saw his home, though we risked our lives to do so. Let's just say it isn't in the nicest part of town. Never go there alone or at night.

Now on to the main event of the weekend: The Swell Season concert!
Market Irglova and Glen Hansard. You may recognize them from the movie Once . . . their song, Falling Slowly won an Oscar for best original song back in '07. It was a magical moment for sure.

The Swell Season performing Gold. This is the second time I've seen these guys perform and I would see them a million more times. Too bad they're going on hiatus after this tour . . .

Passion for music runs through this man's veins. I don't think it's possible for him to give a sub-par performance. He's awe-inspiring to say the least.

Rafal and me post concert in front of the venue, Rams Head Live. Confession: I did not take this picture, Rafal did. And actually several pics from the last post I got from him. I need to work on my self-picture taking skills where backgrounds are concerned. ;)

Some guy put together clips from the show. Watch the whole thing if you'd like, but at least check out 10:16 on. So incredible. These people are amazing.

The Tourist

I've lived in DC now for 2 years and I still have so much I need to see. Luckily friends come to visit and I get to play tourist. My friend Rafal came out about a month ago and we hit up Old Town Alexandria, DC, and Baltimore. It really was so much fun!

We ate lunch at one of my very favorite restaurants, Vermillion. Then we wandered down to the waterfront and through some of the neighborhoods.

I saw The White House on my first visit to DC, but hadn't discovered my talent for self-portraits yet. I went inside at Christmastime in '08 but it was so stinking cold we didn't take any pictures. Finally I have documentation.

Protesting in DC is pretty common. I now have a cause I can really get behind! :)

We had to go move the van to another parking spot and while we were on our way we noticed road blocks being set up. Whenever there are road blocks, it's a guarantee that a crowd will form in hopes of finding out what all the fuss is about. This is exactly what happened.
The suburbans kept on coming. Several men in black suits jumped out of the vehicles and ran into the Spy Museum. This alone would have been noteworthy in my book.

Then we looked up and saw snipers on the roof. You don't have snipers on the roof for just anyone . . .

I'm sure one of these folks got a picture of the President. We however did not. Apparently he, Michelle, and Sasha were visiting the Spy Museum after it had closed. I tell you what, it's not everyday you just happen to see the President as you're walking around DC. It was kind pretty exciting.

After dinner we headed over to The Mall and wandered around.
We saw the Capitol.

The Washington Monument.

See, we really were there. :)

And our last stop was the Lincoln Memorial.

A piece of advice for all those planning a visit to the nation's capital, see the monuments at night. There's just something about seeing them after hours that you don't get during the day. And in the summer that includes the heat.

Friday I'm In Love

Do you know what this is a picture of?


The happiest place on earth.

There's no place quite like the temple. Life just makes more sense after going inside. Things are put into perspective and you can't help but feel love for all the people and every good thing in your life.

If you have no idea I'm talking about, you can go here and get more info. :)