Led Zeppelin, alive and touring?

Led Zeppelin - that's the band I went to see the other night. At least according to the Subway employee.

It has become a tradition to stop at a particular Subway for dinner when we head out to see a favorite band at our favorite concert venue. While waiting in line, a customer not from my party asked an employee if there was a concert that night. He was probably suspicious due to the higher than normal amount of traffic driving through Middle of Nowhere Town. The employee ever so nicely answered this man's question. There was a concert on this night in question and the band playing was Led Zeppelin.

Luckily me and my crew weren't quite as clueless and were able to avoid the disappointment at the ticket window once we arrived at the concert venue. Although we all like Led Zeppelin, the four of us were really looking forward to...




The husband and I went to watch Def Leppard last year and it's quite possible that it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Not only do I love their music, but their stage show was fucking awesome!

A few months ago, when I heard the announcement that they were coming back, I begged and pleaded for the husband to buy tickets. When I mentioned the concert to my brother and sister-from-another-mister, drool spilled from their mouths as they asked to join us.

It would have been an awesome show without them, but those three people made the whole night that much better. I haven't laughed like that in a long time and my throat still hurts from all the talking, singing, and screaming.

I also need to thank my brother, again, for being so prompt in paying us back for his ticket. Because of him, I was able to purchase the t-shirt in the picture above. I also made another purchase, but it's only for the eyes of my husband. *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*


So if you ever want to go see one of the best concerts ever, I highly suggest Led Zeppelin, er Def Leppard!

Could this be it?

I stand on the sidewalk. I watch my kids weave around the picnic tables. The heavenly scent of burning wood and bar-b-que sauce from the smoker fills my nose. Then I hear it.

My phone.

My mom is calling. I know it's her without even looking. Those close to me are privileged enough to have their own unique ring tone. It never occurs to me that it is well before 5 o'clock and she is still at work. She may text, but she rarely makes cell phone calls from her office.

As I answer the phone and hear, "I'm calling to let you know...".

This is not good.

My mom was leaving work because an ambulance was on it's way to take my Grandma to the hospital. The Sister from my Grandma's building had called my mom, who was now relaying the situation to me. She was having chest pains. Again.

My Grandma has already had a heart attack, a stint, and open heart surgery. She is still an active woman and other than her heart, she is in general good health. But she is 87 years old.

She has always been a big part of my life. Although I am grown with my own family and we don't see each other as often, our relationship is still very close.

Outside of her heart attack, this was not the first time my Grandma experienced chest pains and trouble breathing. It scares the hell out of me whenever I get that phone call. The one where an ambulance is on it's way.

Could this be it?

Could this be the big one?

Will I once again lose someone who I hold so close to my heart?

How will I help my children understand the finality of death?

My daughter is a sensitive soul. News like that will absolutely devastate her. My son is 6 and while he has talked about death, I'm not sure he would fully understand. The pieces of my already broken heart will only shatter more when I see that same pain in my children's eyes.



This time my Grandma has been spared. Tests came back with positive news and she will be cleared to go home later today. But how many more of those phone calls will there be?

I am not ready, nor will I ever be.


update: My Grandma had another episode and is staying at the hospital another night so the doctors can figure out what is going on. I hate this!!

The Beast

Exactly two months ago I posted about a project that I thought would be the end of me. I am quite proud to say that I have finally finished it.


But not without many, many bumps along the way.

Looking back I can say that a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into making this sweater, aka The Beast, for myself. Blood because I stabbed myself with a needle quite a few times sewing on the buttons. Sweat because The Beast is one heavy son of a bitch. Combine that with summer weather in a house with no AC and I sweated having it on my lap. Tears because I royally screwed up the trim last week. I cried as I took out 4 hours of hard work. Luckily it's didn't take nearly as long to redo what I tore out.

I have never made anything as complicated as this sweater. The husband, amazed at the amount of detail, asked how I did it. I couldn't really explain how. It would have been like him explaining some programming language to me. It wouldn't be understood. But I could share that the Beast contained 8 different kinds of stitches, most of which I never heard of before I took the project on.




All I need now is for the weather to cool off just a bit so I can wear it.