August 2005 Archives

[The following is Steph's fictional write up that was imagined when she saw this picture:]

One of my friends is a science teacher. She went to a yard sale and saw all of these empty clown planters with accompanying unidentified seeds. She thought, "What a great idea! I get these for really cheap and I can teach my students about growing plants and plant identification."

She brought them back to the class and the kids happily planted their mystery seeds, eager to see what would grow.

And then they grew. And grew. And grew.

One day she looked up at her windowsill and saw the colorful, but sad porcelain clowns, and realized that, well, they were now a little more explicit than they were before. Some of the 6th grade boys pointed and snickered, while the others just enjoyed their cacti, too naive to understand what was happening.

Distraught, my fellow teacher came to the teacher's lounge and slumped onto the lumpy couch. "I have to end my plant identification unit," she said. We remembered how excited she was to get the cheap clown planters earlier and could not figure out why she was suddenly so down on the assignment. She turned red, "The seeds...they... they grew into cactuses."

We all ran down to her room to get the visual on why she had to end her unit. Oh...laughter until the tears poured down my face and I felt like I had done nine-kajillion situps! Talk about a science experiment gone bad!

I've really been praying for a pure heart lately. I've been struggling with wanting to talk about others. I've had a difficult time discerning the fine line between sharing events and gossiping. It's not something I've really struggled with before, but I've caught myself several times in the last couple of weeks saying more than I should have. It makes me kind of sick. Anyway, I hope I can get a grip.

I found out recently that an elderly person I know, who is very stingy with money, reuses diapers. Yup. After they're used, she just sets them on her kitchen counter in the sunlight until they're dried up and then wears them again.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...

Well, the new school year starts this week. I'm a little stressed this year because my week is a bit nuts. Well, let's start with the very bad, no good, horrible day.

Wednesday: First, the logicboard on my laptop failed. When I brought it to the genius peeps at Apple they said it would cost me some mula to fix it and it would take 7-10 working days to get it back. Yeah. All of my stuff for the beginning of the year is on that! Grrr. Next, while I was walking through the mall, I looked down at my wedding ring and the diamond had shifted. I touched it and it fell out in my hand! So, I brought it to the jewelry store and they said that it would cost some mula to fix. Grrr... When I got home, I got a call from my dad that said my brother was in the hospital and wasn't doing well. Grr... (He's doing much better now and may even get to go home tomorrow). So, basically, Wednesday tanked.

I have been in workshops all week for Step Up to Writing. It's a pretty sweet writing curriculum and I'm excited to integrate it into my class this year. It gave me lots of ideas that will be easier on me in terms of prep time, but will be better for my students by practicing strong writing and utilizing higher order thinking skills. So...we all win!

Tomorrow is going to be totally nuts. I have Church in the morning. At Jr. High we're losing a staffer Steve because he's going over to the high school ministry. Then, my friend Mark is visiting from MN and I think I'm going to bum around San Francisco with him. Then, it's back to Church for praise night. Whew! Feelin' a little burnt out already.

Teacher meetings are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. School starts Thursday. It's gonna be a busy week!

-Image shared from the 8/12/05 concert via Flickr.

Josh and I went to the Dave Matthews Band concert last night at the beautiful SBC Park. First of all, if you haven't been to this ballpark yet, you totally have to add it to your list of things to do before you die. This ballpark is one of my favorite places to be, and I don't really like baseball all that much. It's right on the SF Bay, so you can see across the ocean (depending on where you're sitting) and see all the sailboats and kayaks and all that. And, the park is just really well made and is beautiful. Plus, all that fresh sea air and the fog and the giant Coke bottle slide... I love it there. Seriously, you gotta go there.

Anyhoo, the concert was sweet. DMB totally rocks out and had some great guests come in to play with them. I must say, that I developed a new disgust for DMB fans. *shudders* What annoying people. But, besides my general hatred towards the fans, the music was great, the view was great, and I had a great time!

For those of you unfamiliar with DMB *Steph smacks you*, you get Dave Matthews as your lead singer and playing rhythm guitar. His voice is incredible...and he changes it depending on the song and the mood. My favorites are the sweet, sexy Dave voice (of course), and the fast-talking-I'm-ticked-off-slightly-freaky-sounding Dave voice. His lyrics are beautiful and rich and poignant.

Boyd Tinsley plays the violin, and I mean, this dude totally wails. That, and he's cool looking. When he plays he gets all dancy and wicked and his hair flails all over the place. He likes to get up in Dave's face while playing and it's pretty crazy. I wonder if his hair has ever gotten stuck in his violin bow...

Carter Beauford is a freaking awesome percussionist. He has like thirty different things set up to bang his drum sticks on, and plays them all with subtlety and genius proficiency. He also has all these weird instruments that he plays, including one that sounds like a straw moving up and down in a McDonald's cup.

LeRoi Moore plays the saxophone (baritone, tenor, alto, soprano...depending on the song) and is also quite good. He doesn't get to jump around the stage and wail like Boyd does though because he has to stand in front of his fuzzy blue microphone. Or, maybe he doesn't like to dance around... He is pretty chilled out, but his playing is phenomenal.

And, Stefan Lessard plays the bass. He basically plays the bass like one might play a woman, if women were playable (you'll get this connection only if you're a David Sedaris reader). He stands in one place and makes lots of funny faces (including what Josh and I call "the goldfish") while his fingers zip up and down the bass and play riffs that I didn't think were possible. Seriously, this dude practiced scales for like a ka-jillion years before playing with the band. He's good.

So, I guess I'm saying that the whole band is good and the concert was great and I had a wonderful time!

Here's the setlist:
#41
American Baby
Crash
Dream Girl
What Would You Say
#34
Granny
Tripping Billies
The Stone
Lover Lay Down
Dancing Nancies
Warehouse *
Old Dirt Hill +
Stand Up *+
Two Step *+
__________________

Steady As We Go
What You Are

Show Notes:
* Rashawn Ross
+ Eric Krasno
__________________

BTW - These are my comments to the DMB fans. First, if you want to talk about your favorite U.S. towns, do it at home or at a restaurant, not really loud standing behind me at the concert I've waited all year to see. Seriously! *Steph smacks the people who were standing behind her.* Second, San Francisco is cold, I have no pity for you you shivering cleavage-showing girls! PUT ON A SWEATER!!! *Steph hands sweater to cleavage girls.* Third, some of you drink beer responsibly...fine. Some of you act like a bunch of loud idiots. *Steph gives coffee and aspirin to loud beer drinking idiots.* Fourth, I realize that some of you just like to hear yourselves speak...please develop a better vocabulary. *Steph feeds soap to potty mouths.*

Oh, and I'd like to point out that I witnessed NONE OF THE ABOVE at the Beck Concert. Beck fans are way cooler and are way more into the music. A lot of the DMB "fans" go to the concert to party and act like idiots. Beck fans to go listen to the music.

Case in point:
LOUD GUY BEHIND STEPH: Oh! I LOVE this song! This is one of my favorite songs! The first time I heard it I was like WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! And I was with some buddies and...*continues jabbering loudly*

STEPH THINKS TO SELF: You IDIOT! You don't love this song! If you loved this song you would shut up and actually, I don't know, listen to it! Grrrrrrrrrrr...

Today is mine and Josh's fifth wedding anniversary. Because it's a multiple of five, it's more significant than other anniversaries because it seems more paramount or whatever. Anyways, the cool part is that we've been married for five years and we still like each other. I know! That totally rocks.

I was trying to decide what to write on my blog about it. I was considering making a list about what I like about Josh or what I like about marriage...but I don't like to make others hurl. So, I'm posting this pic to show ya'll what we look like today. And, I'm just going to say that these past five years have been filled with several trials...but they have been bearable because of my companion. Whenever I'm with him it feels like home. I like him. I love him. He's my favorite. God blessed me out of the ballpark with this one.

Thanks for five wonderful years, Babe. I can't imagine what our future will look like, but it's gonna be awesome because I get to be with you.

Well, you gotta love Cupertino. On the corner of Stevens Creek & De Anza there is a Chinese bank, a Le Boulanger, a Starbucks, and a gas station. The gas station had one of those inflatable somethings right on the corner that said "CAR WASH" to encourage others to, well, get their cars washed there. I didn't really notice it until one day I realized that the "C" had fallen off of it. So, it was now the "AR WASH!" So, everytime I'd drive by and yell out "ARGH! Come an' git yer ARRRRRRRRRRRR WASH!!!" Because, well, it made me feel piratey. Yar.

Not long thereafter, the Starbucks on the opposite corner lost it's "S" and "T." So, then it became "ARBUCKS". Again, I found this hilarious because, not only did it give me another thing to act piratey over, but it was right across from the AR WASH. So, again, it gave me reason again to shout out "ARGH! I's meetin' me maties for coffee at ARRRRRRRRRRRBUCKS!!!" Heh heh.

There's a restaurant next to the Le Boulanger called "Park Place Restaurant" and I was oh so tempted to commit my first act of vandalism and remove the "P" so I could call it "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRK PLACE!!!" But, I did not. Didn't matter anyway, they took down the inflatable whatever and fixed the Starbucks sign. Not before I snapped this picture though! Heh Heh. ARGH!

Well, Josh and I have been looking at getting into the California real estate market. Basically, we're getting tired of sending money down the toilet every month for rent. We're looking to keep our monthly costs the same, only be investing in property. Real estate is pretty crazy out here though. We're looking mostly at condominiums because it's all we can afford and maintain our current finanical state. A two-bedroom condo out here can run $425,000.00 and up. When I think about what I could get for that kind of cash in Minnesota... man.

Anyway, the places we've been looking at have mostly been studio lofts. Wait...I mean the places that we've actually liked. I guess that Josh and I aren't really your typical people and we like to live in hip, modern-looking places with wood floors and stainless steel and open lofts and stuff like that. We looked at a couple of "normal" places and both felt like "meh" afterwards. Luckily, the modern places are priced the same as the normal places so I think we'll be able to find something that's in our price range and that fits us. So...that's our search.

I'm getting frustrated by several people telling us to buy a 2-3 bedroom instead of a loft. I see the hope in their eyes, hoping that we'll find ourselves pregnant soon, hoping that that room can be filled with a little bundle of Lewis. I'm finding myself frustrated by other peoples' projected hopes. I don't like having such a difficult thing wished upon me. There's just too much pain there.

I realized that it's been pretty crappy having an "extra room" the past few years. It's like, I look in the room and think, "That's where the baby will go." But then, I know that there is no baby, and even if there was one it's survival rate is really questionable. Then I go back to longing for adoption...which wouldn't happen until well into our 30's anyway. So...why do I always have an extra room? What's the freakin' point? And why should I spend the cash on the extra space for a false hope?

Sorry for the rant. Our current extra room is used for Josh's den and that's totally cool with me. I wouldn't mind that in a new place (although a large room is better because it can be Josh's den & my studio space... ya know, cuz we like to be together). I just hate when people tell me to get an extra room for our house in case we have kids soon. Ick.

We went to Tahoe this past weekend with some friends. We stayed at Steve's cabin. Man, it is incredible there! My favorite parts were swimming in the cool, clear blue lake, kayaking, and beach volleyball. Some parts of it were a bit emotional and whatnot because of too many people in one cabin. But, besides that, I totally had a blast just chillin and enjoying the peeps.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera (duh)...but wanted to remember the beauty. I shared these pics from other people's online photo albums just to keep the images fresh in my mind:

I'd love to go back for a longer stay sometime. Maybe throw in some grilling, campfires, and hikes for good measure! It's so awesome to be able to get away for a weekend here and there though. I think it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.