Grilled Meats

BBQ Season has begun! Our friends MWG and Bee invited us over for some grilled meats and cold drinks. We arrived at 2:00 and stayed until almost 10:00.

This was probably taken some time around 5:00


We brought the guitars and ended up enjoying one of our favorite past times- making up ridiculous songs on the spot.
The list of our new creations include:

OCD MWG

BLL (Bud Light Lime)

and

Oh Shit!

Larry and Rachel did a cover of Forever and Ever, Amen.

Dale shattered a wine glass.

Naturally, I behaved like a perfect angel. Where is my halo?

That is all.

Photo Booth

My new Mac has an application called Photo Booth. This application was fun for me when I was recovering from the extraction of my wisdom teeth. I recently found several pictures I had taken while under the influence of vicodin.

There are some with ice packs strapped to my face, some with me holding my dogs, some with me just laying in bed doing nothing, and this one:


If you ever see me walking around with those glazed over zombie eyes and my hair all a mess in a cascading side sweep, go ahead and buy me a get-well-soon card because I am on the pain pills.

In other news: I am still battling the dreaded dry socket. I had to go to the dentist last week and have him repack the extraction site. That hurts, friend. there is no numbing before he shoves medicated gauze in the socket to cover the nerve and bone. Yesterday, Miss Bee fed me guacamole, pickles and sun chips. After I ate, I told her I had a food buzz and I was serious. I have been surviving on dry socket friendly foods like yogurt and baked beans for almost a month. The new food Rachel gave me sent endorphins flowing through my body. Sure, I needed to take a bunch of ibuprofen to deal with the inevitable discomfort but that was a trade off I was willing to make.

Ya'll have a nice Sunday.

GPOW

Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday



This pic was taken on mine and Dale's 6th wedding anniversary weekend. We were on our way to get a meal and stopped for a quick pic in the front yard.

We ended up sitting on the patio at the restaurant and boy, it is already to hot for that business. Direct sun, concrete patio.....no thanks.

In other news:
I have 7 more work days until summer break!

Leatherbag is playing Hole in the Wall on June 10th. I would love you to join me for an evening of entertaining music.

I had to spell the word "gratuitous" no less than 3 times before I got it right.

You smell like pencil shavings.

Pachanga! Part Dos.

After sampling the $4.00 Bud Light Lime, Dale and I made our way over to the stage on which Hacienda was about to perform. I took off my camera's lens cap, tried to make the correct ISO and aperture adjustments and waited for the band to start with the giddy-up.

I swear, Hacienda continues to surprise me each and every time I see them. The started playing and left nothing out. Jaime Villanueva, the drummer, is so fun to watch. He is a very stylish player. I know, that does not paint a very clear picture but I am having a hard time finding the words to describe it. How about this, it's almost like he is dancing when he is playing. His whole body is incorporated.


They went on just as the sun was setting. There was a little light for just a little while. The sky was a pretty blue for the length of a song and then it was gone. Poof.


Hacienda played a mix of songs off both of their albums....taking turns on lead vocals and harmonies.



The fretless bass makes a welcomed appearance:

If you are a fan of Paul McCartney's bass playing, I think you would love Renee Villanueva.

Dante was doing all sorts of things to that Gibson of his to make it do what it needed to do:

He beat that sum-a-bitch up. He has great stage presence without adding a bunch of filler just to simply fill a void. Tasteful, yet ass-kicking. Ha!

And, he showed off the soles of his boots:


The crowd was happy to dance and sing along:



Especially to a track called Mama's Cookin'

"Mama's cookin' on the big pi-an-ah'"


A few songs in and the boys were covered in sweat. That is how hard Hacienda works. Look at the sweat just dripping onto (and off of) this guitar:


When they were done, Dale and I went to jabber jaw with Dante for a little bit. Such a nice guy. I told him (and Jaime right before I spoke with Dante) that we are craving more Hacienda headlining shows.
I think they are about to go on tour, again, but hopefully we will see them around this summer. Maybe at the Mohawk or Beerland? Perhaps at Lustre Pearl? Who knows?

It took three attempts to get this picture because Dale had no Idea what I had done to the settings. God bless Dante for being patient.

Look! It's the Bud Light Lime I was telling you about!


And then, we saw Roberto Pulido:

You better recognize, killa'!

PACHANGA!

Saturday began with the promise of unexplored music and the experience of seeing familiar and unfamiliar bands. Pachanga Fest 2010 was on and I had a list of bands I wanted to see. The list included Girl in a Coma, Amplified Heat, Brownout, Mariachi Las Alteñas, and Hacienda. Dale and I started the day by going to get an early lunch and some early drinks. I have not had a drink since I had my wisdom teeth removed and my tolerance has lowered a bit. The margarita and beer I had made me sleepy. Dale and I went back to the house and fell asleep on the couch. I woke up at 7:00p.m. and knew I had missed all but one of the bands I wanted to check out.

No problemo. Dale and I shook the sleep out of our eyes, loaded up the camera and headed to the east side to see what we could see.

If you live in Austin and have never explored the city park known as Fiesta Gardens, where Pachanga took place, I suggest you plan a picnic and get out there. It is really nice! This lakeside location is filled with green grass, plenty of trees, beautiful walking trails, water fountains, and cool architecture. There were three stages set up far enough away from each other that sound cancelation was not a factor.

The first band we saw was Pacha Massive from NY.



The gal had a beautiful voice and this one dude had every horn and woodwind instrument known to man. He had a flute strapped to his back like how a ninja would have his sword. Crazy.



Next, we took a walk along the path and came upon a photo opportunity.



And another one....or was Dale just thirsty?


Shortly after Dale finished that beer, we discovered the tangy flavor of Bud Light Lime. See, the only beer they were serving at Pachanga was Budweiser, Bud Light, and Bud Light Lime. I am not a Bud type of gal, but when it's all there is to drink it's going down my gully. Dale and I were both surprised that Bud Light Lime was not that bad. Who knew?

More Pachanga to come in the next post.

New Blogs. New Shades.

Dale does not appreciate the new shades. He puts them in the "they make you look like a giant bug" category. I put them in the "shut your face! I think they are unique and they make me look like I am from a foreign country" category.
I win because it's my face.

I have some new blogs for you to add to your roll. First up, we have a new one from my good buddy J3, creator of The Root Down .

Here be J3. (I lifted this photo from his FaceBook page...shhhhhh)

His lovely wife is with child so J3 decided to shift gears and write a blog about where he is at in his life at the moment. J3 and his wife found out that their baby is a girl and have chosen the name "Ellison" for her. Thus, you have RAISING ELLE.


Next up on the list is a blog created by Dante Schwebel.

Dante-SXSW 2010 I wonder who took that picture? Oh, that's right. I did.

Dante is the guitar player for Hacienda (as well as a vocalist and songwriter). His blog is about "playing guitar and drinking beer and talking to strangers." He also writes about his gear, life on the road, etc. Check out his musings over at Streets of Laredo

Before you do that, check out Hacienda's new video for the song Younger Days off their new album Big Red and Barbacoa. Hacienda is playing this Saturday, the 22nd at Pachanga Fest. Wanna go?

¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Our good buddy PJ recently turned the magical age of 31. Husband and I decided to make the trip out to San Antonio to celebrate with our friend. Say hello to PJ:

It's magical because this is the age in which you learn to become a master of the grill. It's true.

Just before we arrived at PJ and Kristi's beautiful home (located a stones throw away from Leon Valley) we came upon a vehicle on fire:


I snatched the camera and snapped a few shots as we drove by. The fire truck arrived 3 seconds after I took the last shot.


THAT SUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!

PJ's party was wonderful, though I discovered that my husband has turned into a zombie-

"braaaaaains!!!"

The next day, Husband and I met up with my ma and pa for brunch at Scenic Loop Cafe.

They ain't lying by calling this place "scenic." It's absolutely beautiful. I have a feeling that it will be a regular place where I meet my family (in San Antonio) for meals. Shout out to Kristi and PJ for the recommendation.

This last picture makes me giggle. Hmm...."giggle" is a funny word, no?


In Other News:
I'm baking cookies to bring to the teachers at my work. I got suckered into buying some cookie dough from somebody's kid. I had no idea that I was buying a giant tub of that shizz. I plan on baking all of them by tomorrow and bringing them up to school so that they won't be in my house. I have no willpower when it comes to the cookies. These are snickerdoodle......mmmmmm.

Summer break is almost here! Talks of paining the kitchen cabinets white and installing hardwood floors have begun. That is one hefty summer project. I also bought a photography book specific to my camera. Over the break, I hope to learn how to use the camera to it's fullest potential. Between reading about it, experimenting with it, and asking my friend Tirzah (a pro) about it, I should learn a few new things.

We swung by the outlet mall on the way home. I bought a brown pair of Chaco flippity flops. I bought a black pair a few weeks ago and kicked myself for not getting the same pair in brown. Good flip flops are an essential wardrobe item during the warm months in Austin (which is practically 9 out of the 12 months).

That is all.

One of Many

Once upon a time, approximately two weeks ago, I had a craving for some chocolate. My husband was in the kitchen so I asked him to bring me some of the sweet-yummy-goodness. All I had in the chocolate category was mini semi-sweet chocolate chips that I had bought for a cookie recipe. I can't keep much chocolate in the house (or ice cream, or baked goods, or candy) as I would eat it every day and end up on The Biggest Loser.

I asked husband to bring me just a few.

This is how he presented it to me:

This is an example of one of the many reasons why I love him.

In Other News:
My jaw is still hurting. I have lost weight since I can't eat much. Just in time for swim suit season! Ha! I would quickly trade the pounds I dropped for the pain to stop.

Husband has lost 40 pounds and he is looking gooooooooooood! He is much healthier and has probably added years to his life.

I discovered Nordstrom Rack. Discovered it for myself, that is. I LOVE IT! Especially the jewelry selection (I always spell "jewelry" wrong. Thank the lord for spell check). They carry larger sized shoes so Dale loves it as well. He can finally go to a store and buy shoes for his friggen' huge tootsies.

I got a new computer. I'm loving my MacBook!

All in all, life is good....except for the horrible pain in my jaw.

Hola! I Have Dry Socket.

I had my lower wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday. By Saturday, I knew something was seriously wrong with the right side extraction site. I am not sure if I have ever experienced pain quite like this. When the pain is at it's peak, the vicodin does not even work. Last night, I was up until about 3:30 saying the Our Father and applying ice to my face. I went to the dentist this morning and he confirmed that I have the dreaded dry socket.

Here is what the Mayo Clinic says about dry socket
Dry socket (alveolar osteitis) is a temporary dental condition that sometimes occurs after extraction of a permanent adult tooth. Dry socket occurs when the blood clot at the site of the tooth extraction is dislodged, exposing underlying bone and nerves and causing increasing pain.

Dry socket is the most common complication following tooth extractions, such as the removal of impacted wisdom teeth. When it occurs, dry socket usually strikes one to three days after a tooth extraction. The most common hallmark of dry socket is significant pain.

The dentist rinsed the extraction site and packed it with medicated gauze. That was no picnic, let me tell you. I dug my nails into the arm of the chair and kicked one leg out as he was packing in the gauze. The medication stinks, by the way. Oh, and the best part is that he will probably have to repeat that procedure. I have no idea how long this will take to heal.

In other news, I sent my mom two mother's day cards this year. Here is the first one:

I used the Yahoo translation site ,Babel Fish, to translate the text. It says something like- "Wanted virgen
your but that nobody you know the heart a mother. please ask him to the gentleman who blesses mamma by everything what does and everything what gives and that always ls protect it maintains and it near his heart amen" (I wish I knew Spanish. I am sure the message is much more beautiful than the broken English phrases babel fish spit out at me...it would not be as funny, though).

Here is the inside message-

Babel Fish Translation-"Your presence in my life is a true blessing. Today especially you deserve thousand thanks and much happiness. I want much to you."

And the final message-

I wrote some of the Spanish phrases I remembered. I think I impressed Dale. Here is the translation of what I wrote- "Hello mami
You like much. Very well! Where this library? I feel it."

Dale added, "Merry Christmas!"

The second card was from the Grand dogs. I'll just show you the cover:

Cute.

Any-hoo, I hope you all feel sorry for me. You should. My dang nerves and bone are exposed people! It hurts like hell!

Hope you have a good day.

Not for the Squeemish: a tale of tooth extraction

The Aftermath of tooth extraction. Two ice packs strapped to my head.


Note: I am writing this while under the influence of Vicodin and Valium. Please excuse any errors... grammatical, spelling, or violations of political correctness.

My two lower wisdom teeth had to come out. I had the top two pulled years ago but the dentist suggested that I wait for the bottom two to grow out a bit before they extracted them.

I waited a long time. Like, 8 years or so.

This morning, at 9:00, I was in the dentist's chair waiting for the pain to begin. He had given me a valium to take an hour before the procedure but I gotta say, I don't think it helped that much. I was still nervous as a a sorority girl all alone on the east side. My heart was beating fast and I had to fight back tears. Thankfully, my husband was with me. He had his hand on my leg the entire time.

The dentist shot me up with so much novocaine that I could no longer feel my tongue, lower teeth, or mandible (that's fancy talk for "jaw"). It was go time. He started on the left tooth and I immediately felt the pain. He shot me up again and started on the right tooth. There were no problems on that one as he loosened it by wiggling it back and forth. I felt a lot of pressure. He went back to the left tooth and the pain was still there. More novocaine. Back to the right side....wiggle wiggle pull. Back to the left side- wiggle, pain, wiggle, pressure, wiggle, pain, wiggle, pull.

It was over within about 30 minutes (20 for the novocaine to set in and 10 for the extraction). I told him that I could already tell that my left side was going to hurt like a sumofabitch once the novocaine wore off. He laughed and told me he was giving me pain pills.

After he packed my mouth with gauze, we went over the DOs and Don'ts, paid the bill and went to HEB. I required ice cream and I needed to get the Rx filled. While waiting for the pharmacist to fill my bottle with the magical vicodin, my mouth filled with blood. I found this out because I smiled at Dale and he got a strange look on his face. I said, "what? is it bloody?" he told me yes but to not look at it. I had to. I also had to take a picture, or three. I also have to post these on the blog. If you are squeemish, don't look.

I took these while standing in the greeting card isle at HEB. That's killer. Scroll down for the pics.
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I love this one. My cheeks are HUGE due to the gauze and probably some swelling.

This next one reminds me of a scene from fight club. The way I remember it, Ed Norton's character is making copies and his boss asks him something. He opens his mouth to answer and blood just spills out.

Fight club RULES!

And finally, a close up.



In other news:
I'm in bed now. I have had some chocolate silk and am sipping on almond milk now. Protein promotes healing and those drinks are full of protein. I am getting sleepy. My dogs are up on the bed keeping me company. Dale is here with me, typing away on his computer. He is DOING WORK, SON!
I found some popsicles that are only 16 mother fucking calories! Can you believe that! They are good, too!
Sugar free, fat free, gluten free. I could care less about the gluten. Made with splenda. I am not so big on artificial sweeteners but I think it should be ok in moderation.

Dr. Dog @ Emo's 5/1/10

I absolutely love this band.
I have seen Dr. Dog three times, now. First at the Parish during the Fate tour, next at Lustre Pearl during SXSW, and most recently at Emo's where they played songs from their new album - Shame, Shame as well as songs from Fate.

I can't quite remember how I heard about them. Either they were touring with The Black Keys, or Dan Auerbach or Hacienda was opening some shows for them. It's one of the three. Maybe it was all of the above. I do remember pulling their Myspace page up on my computer and listening to Fate for the first time. I was folding laundry and I ended up listening to the album at least three times in a row. I remember I finished with laundry and so I cleaned my closet, made the bed, and dusted the furniture so that I would have something to do while I was listening to the music. I was taken in and blown away. Their music is beautiful, melodic, and full of the groove. You have to dance at a Dr. Dog show. Even if it is the white guy shuffle. You also have to sing along. You can't help yourself....and it adds to the fun.

For this tour, Dr. Dog has designed a light show to accompany the music. They sold some cheap sunglasses for those of us who might be sensitive to the bright, flashing lights. Dale, Juan, and I all bought a pair because who doesn't need some Dr. Dog shades?

That bright orange color was threaded throughout the merchandise, the show, and the album's artwork.

Dale took all of the beautiful pictures you are about to see. He did a great job. He took about a million of them because the lights continually changed providing different colors and levels of light. He was addicted. I chose a few of my favorites to share with you.
Here we go!













I gotta tell you, that was a packed crowd! Juan scared me by saying, "I don't know what people would do if there was an emergency. It would be difficult to get out of here." Thanks, Juan. Did you know that I am claustrophobic? Yeah.


I think his guitar says "MoM."


The dots on his guitar seem to go with the dots on those giant LED lights.....



All in all, this was one of the best shows I have ever been to (and I have been to a lot of shows.) My back hurt just about the entire time but it was worth it.

Deer Tick

We saw Deer Tick at Emo's this past Saturday. They were opening for Dr. Dog (I'll get to that in another post). I had listened to Deer Tick via their Myspace page back in March when I was trying to determine which bands I wanted to see during SXSW. Deer Tick made the cut and I planned on seeing their showcase. Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for them) their SXSW show was packed and they were only letting badges in by the time I had arrived. I did not get to see them at all during SXSW (insert frowny face here).When I found out they were opening for Dr. Dog, I was thrilled!

Here they are:

They come from Rhode Island. They sound a little bit like The Band with extra rock-n-roll. Extra zippity-doo. Extra peppa'.


"How are ya'll doing tonight? I just threw up my dinner so I'm doing great"-John J. McCauley III (pictured)


a photo of a camera taking a photo........

I was bummed that I missed the Those Darlins show at the Continental due to back pain.
So, imagine my happiness when Nikki Darlin showed up to the Deer Tick show to sing a duet with John McCauley.

They are engaged.



I would love to see them again and I plan on getting their album. The crowd absolutely loved them and sang along to most of the songs they played. They ended their set in a tangle of limbs and instruments as they all sprawled themselves across the stage (except for the drummer who stood up and continually hit the high hat with his drum stick).