I can't believe I haven't written since the 16th!!

Wow, it's been a LONG time!!! I have been really, really busy. I haven't even put up my Thanksgiving pictures yet. I flew home to Blowing Rock and spent Thanksgiving with my family. Another whirlwind trip trying to fit everyone in, in just a few days. Got to see Alyse and my godbaby Jack, saw Laura, saw my friend Noel and her 3 girls who took me by surprise. Last time I saw her daughter Parker she was a child but now she looks like a Brittany Spears type in makeup and tight jeans. I was in shock!! Made me feel REALLY old! It was good to see everyone though. All of my brothers were home. Eli brought his girlfriend Jill with him. They just bought a house in Pittsburgh so they were excited. We even got a dusting of snow on Thanksgiving night. It's always nice to visit the mountains but I'm usually glad to get home. Too small of a town. I need a little more excitement... So, my 5k is tomorrow morning. Yes, I am still running, believe it or not. It should be a lot of fun. It's been a lot cooler here lately so it should be pretty comfortable running tomorrow morning. We haven't recruited anyone to stand on the sidelines and take pics yet so I might have a few "before the race and after" shots to put up but none of us crossing the finsh line. I have to go and get my Santa hat after work. You're supposed to dress up. That will be my attempt at dressing up. My friend Rob did tell me I could borrow his "full" santa suit. I declined!! I'll catch you up later and let you know how the race turned out. Until then, here's some Thanksgiving shots of my crazy family. The one where we are all at the table pretty much sums us up :)

New music!

Can you be addicted to a cd?? Well I am!! I mentioned in my last blog that I was going to help out The Gabe Dixon Band the other night. They were opening up for two guys, Matt Wertz and Dave Barnes. I had never heard of them before but now I am a big fan. I bought the Dave Barnes cd called Brother, Bring the Sun. I love it!! I cannot stop listening to it. Anyway, the show was great. They obviously have a big following. It was pretty crowded for a Tuesday night. Mostly college kids. Now I have been to see HUNDREDS of bands in my lifetime. Usually it's your typical rowdy crowd. I noticed that this crowd was different. They seemed so sweet and wholesome. I heard mentions of youth groups and mission trips. Not your typical "out to see a band at a bar" talk. I figured these guys must be Christians. Turned out they are. I think they started out as Christian singers but have gone the secular way with their music. It was just really refreshing to see such a nice crowd. Matt and Dave are very passionate about helping out kids in Africa and took about 15 minutes to tell of a club they were involved with called the Mocha Club. You donate what would be the cost of 3 mochas (7$) a month to this cause and the money goes to feeding these kids and supplying fresh water and medicine. We were standing beside a couple who were working the booth filling out applications for this cause. I was suprised at all the people signing up during the evening but was really amazed after the show. There was a line practically out the door of all these young college kids signing up to donate money every month. I thought that was so sweet and it gave me a new outlook on college kids these days.. The whole night was really nice and Gabe Dixon was awesome too. I got my picture with him. Always thinking about the blog...ya know :)

Elton John

So I went to see Elton John Saturday night. He played at the UCF Arena which is really a great place to see a concert. Not too big of a place. The concert completely sold out in minutes. I bought my ticket last minute on ebay. I THOUGHT I was bidding on two tickets until after I won the auction and read the fine print and saw that it was only one. Luckily my friends Brigitte and Josh were going as well, so we all went together. I just had to go my separate way when I got there. My ticket was a behind the stage seat which can go either way. Good or bad!! I had gotten very lucky in the past with behind the stage tickets. I saw Billy Joel and The Police behind the stage and they ended up being the best seats I have ever had. This time was no different! I was about 5 rows from Elton and could see every key he was playing on his piano. Next time you decide to pass on the behind stage tickets...think twice!! Elton was great. Nothing crazy, no costume changes, pretty much an intimate evening with Elton. He played for 3 hours and did hit after hit! I was too scared to bring my camera in so I left it in the car but everyone else brought theirs. I'll know better next time. I did take one pic with my horrible, worst cell phone camera on the planet, phone. It should give you an idea of how close I was. Well I'm off to see The Gabe Dixon Band tonight. My friend Denise and I are on the guest list :) We are actually working the show selling merchandise. Hopefully I'll have some good pictures for you tomorrow..

Good Movie

Saw a really good movie last night! Delirious with Steve Bushemi. It's kind of an indie film so it probably won't be in any mainstream theaters (for those of you in the metropolis otherwise known as Watauga County) The acting was great. Steve Bushemi couldn't have played his character any better. It was a comedy but also had deeper meaning, touching on the absence of parental love and feelings of loneliness. A great story of how important love and friendships are in life! Go see it!

Oh yeah! I ran 3 miles on Wednesday night. An entire 5k. I could not believe it! The key is to set a slow and steady pace. Before, I had been running too hard and too fast and tired out too quickly. Now that I know the secret, I can't wait for my first 5k. The Reindeer Run on Dec 8th!

Surprise!

Here are some pics from Shalene's surprise birthday party on Saturday. She actually had no clue. I was surprised that no one blew it. It was an Italian themed gala and everyone brought either an Italian dish or a bottle of wine. We had all kinds of pasta, chicken parmesan, garlic bread, tiramisu. Everyone chipped in and got her some patio furniture that she had been wanting.. It was a fun night! The weather could not have been better. The kind that people flock to Florida to enjoy. It was actually kind of chilly. We were outside most of the night and had a fire going and blankets.. People up North would probably laugh at us and our definition of cold but once you are here long enough your perception of cold CHANGES!! That's for sure... Sunday I went to a golf tournament with my brother. Another fantastic weather day! It was a lot of fun. I had never been to one before and had no idea what to expect. No cameras allowed. I found that out nor any cell phones. That's why I don't have any pics. You can't distract the golfers!! Everyone is quiet as a mouse. It was very cool to be so close to the golfers and watch them tee off and putt. A guy named Stephen Ames won. Never heard of him!! We had VIP tickets which is how I will have to see all of my golf tournaments for now on. (I'm getting spoiled with all of my event perks) Not only did we get in for free but we got to go into the hospitality tent for free drinks and food. I was exhausted after the days end. Lot's of walking!! I'm sure I'll be feeling great for my running class tonight. I'm going to suck it up and go. My ankles have had sufficient time to heal. Hopefully I won't screw them up all over again. I'll take it slow!!

Another busy weekend...

Friday was a sad day at work. It was my (planet unicorn) buddy Katherine's last day. Slowly all my pals are leaving.. We used to have to pull chairs up to our lunch table, now we're going to have to recruit new members. Boo Hoo :( Anyway, we had a farewell lunch for her. There was no one at work on Friday so we didn't feel bad at all when our lunch/gossip session lasted for 2 hours!! It's always sad seeing someone go but she's a core member of our "eating club" so we'll be seeing her again!! Good luck at Tar-jay Kat!! Later that night was my friend Brigitte's birthday party at The Melting Pot. Really good but REALLY expensive. Who knew fondue was as expensive as lobster, caviar AND filet mignon? We had 7 people total but only 4 had dinner. 300 bucks!! Good Lawd..as Kim would say :) Saturday night was my third concert of the week, Mat Kearney. Imagine my shock when I found out that cameras were banned. The nerve!! I could have had some great shots if I could have snuck one in. Oh well! I managed to snag a set list sheet so that's the only thing I've got! It was a great show and The Social is an awesome venue. You can get so close, you almost feel like you are on stage with the band. I'll be back again on the 13th. Denise and I are selling merchandise for The Gabe Dixon Band. I'm so excited. Free admission, free stuff, hang with the band. How fun!! I could easily be a groupie :)

The Samples

This has been a truly crazy week. I'm borderline sick...probably because I'm so run down and to make things worse, my ankles hurt so bad I can barely walk. My running days may be over :( I have pretty much determined that it has been all my years of wearing high heels. My foot has been on an angle for all those years and now when I run I am pulling down and stretching out my muscles or my Achilles tendon or whatever. It just hurts!! Not sure what the solution is? I know that I am not going to be able to go to my class on Monday. The only way I can even walk is to wear heels. There's a walk-in orthopedic clinic down the street from me that I'm going to have to pay a visit. I'm so disappointed though. I was really enjoying my class! We were timed on Wednesday for the mile and with my sore ankles and all I did a 12 minute mile...I was happy with that!! Oh well, we'll see what happens. Any suggestions?? So, this has been my week of concerts. Started with Cat Power last Saturday, The Samples on Thursday and tonight is Mat Kearney. I'll blog a bit on The Samples for now. I was so excited to see them. I listened to them ALL the time in college. I can't believe they are still touring. My friend Denise and I went. We decided to go have dinner before the show and on our way to the restaurant we crossed the street and saw their tour bus. I wasn't really paying attention but Denise noticed two guys standing by the bus and said, are you guys in the band? They said yeah and I turned around and it was Sean, the lead singer. I got a little star struck although I'm probably one of the few on the planet that even know who The Samples are. (FYI-Dave Matthews used to open up for them) Anyway, we chatted with him for a bit, told him our names and he asked me what I wanted them to play. I got a picture with him too. I'm a blogger ya know...I don't go anywhere without a camera! Later on at the club we ran into him again and he remembered my name. He even yelled out from the stage and said Bethany, how's the sound over there? There were only about 4o people in the whole place so it wasn't hard to get attention but I still felt special :) Anyway, they were awesome and sounded pretty much the same as they did when I was in college. I'm spoiled now! I want special recognition at every concert!!