Instalife

I haven't done one of these posts since January! Instagram is my favorite social media thingy and it kind of kills my desire to take my regular camera out all the time. But I love how I'm able to capture life quickly and share it. My user name is Raesock if we aren't friends yet! Here is a little of what we've been up to lately. Life has been busy and fun!

The biggest thing going on right now is our purchase of a Stella Fireball for Travis. He has been riding the bus since January and has gotten tired of the hour and a half commute each day (we live only 4 miles from his work). So we are buying a scooter from a friend for him to ride. I'm sure you'll be seeing more about it soon.

 Summer is upon us here and I'm trying to get out on the lake as much as I can! My team at work went on a team build last week to clean up an island and rented a pontoon boat! It was the best!! And wasn't as expensive as I expected. I'm hoping to get a group of friends to pitch in and rent one later this summer We also went out with another friend on his little boat recently. Here's hoping it happens more this summer!

 Speaking of summah I got to meet one of my favorites, Howard Kremer! He co-hosts my favorite podcast, Who Charted, so I was stoked that his comedy tour was coming through town! He opened for Brody Stevens. I'm so happy I got to meet him, he was so nice! He knows all about my new summah suit. Remember, don't start this summah in last years suit!

 I'm kind of addicted to Simpson's Tapped Out on my iPad. And I love that little three legged dog!

Here were are at the Schermerhorn! Travis' parents are part of the Nashville Choir and were able to get us free tickets to Les Miserables at the Symphony center downtown. They sang in the chorus. The show was AMAZING. Lots of the cast had played the roles on Broadway or national tours. I loved it so much, and cried at least 5 times! The photo on the right is from when I cleaned out my backseat. I might have a problem when it comes to Life Factory bottles. I think I have 12.Geeze!

I went with some friends to Tribe to see the season finale of Rupaul's Drag Race. As you can see, I was team Adore! I was ok with Bianca winning too. I'm sad I have to wait until next February for the next season.
Travis got a pass to go to a restaurant supply store. We bought a new frying pan, and a giant bottle of his one true love, Frank's Red Hot. I got a case of San Pellegrino Blood Orange. The BEST!

 We're still doing taco night once a week. It is my favorite night! 

My favorite cake, and a beautiful wedding cake at a friend's wedding! She got it from Whole Foods! Can you believe that?

 I was going through some files recently and found Scampi's adoption papers. Travis picked her out at Happy Tales Humane 8 years ago this week! She was three then so that makes her 11 years old! I love that sassy kitty.

He refused to pull his shirt up for a photo. Haha! 

And then a couple shot on our 6 year wedding anniversary. 

We got to hang out with our nephew this past weekend. Look how big he is! And look at that cool dude look on his face. Also check out my new karaoke machine! We went to a barbecue recently and the lady of the house said I could have this karaoke machine that someone had given to them. Mine is on it's last legs so I'm pretty stoked! It also came with a BUNCH of new cds! I've got over 1000 songs now! Maybe I should start my own karaoke business.

 If you follow me on instagram you saw this recent drama. I took Priscilla to a new vet for her yearly check up and she had a bad reaction to the vaccine. This is at a stop light on our way back, her face blew up so much more! It was red and scared me so bad. The whole visit was weird, I had to ask the vet to check her teeth and ears. Shouldn't that be standard for a check up? I know that the vaccine reaction could happen anywhere, but I probably won't be back to that office.

 Speaking of my pug angels, they are just as cute as always.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what else this summer brings!

We met Tuna!

I've already had some great celebrity meetings this year, what with rubbing shoulders with Rivers Cuomo and Chip Esten in April. This month we had the chance to meet Tuna! Not familiar? You can check out his website here. Tuna is one of my favorite internet dogs to follow and I was so happy to see he was making a stop on his tour in Nashville!

I thought I was going to have to rush after work but as luck would have it, I got off early so I had plenty of time to run home, scoop up Phyllis and Travis and head to the dog park in East Nashville where it was happening. Priscilla didn't get to come because she isn't as easy as Phyllis. She was happy just hanging out in line, getting her photo taken by all the dog crazy people in line! It looks like no one else was there in this picture, but believe me, Tuna had a line.

 Tuna! Can you see the love in my eyes?

As you can see, Phyllis and Tuna were very impressed with each other. Oh man, he was such a sweet little guy! I could have held him all day!

As we were leaving I had to pose Phyllis in this patch of clover under the light.

It happened to be Cinco de Mayo so we went over to our best friends' house for tacos and badminton! We didn't get to play long before the sun set, but it was fun!

 We had delicious Pina Coladas! Marc is trying to become a champion cocktail maker this year.

 Phyllis had fun watching us play. 

 These shots of Marc and Travis are killing me! 

We had a great taco dinner out on their patio. I love that it is so warm right now but the gross summer humidity hadn't set in yet. I'm trying to get in as much outdoor time as I can!

Weezer Weekend: Rivers and Me!

 Here I am! Back with Weezer Weekend part two! On Saturday, Rivers Cuomo had tweeted about going to the Johnny Cash museum at 3 pm and I figured for sure it wasn't really going to happen, or they wouldn't talk to fans. But I was wrong and when I saw a group photo of him with a big crowd of fans I was sick about it! Like I said in my earlier post, Rivers Cuomo has been one of my biggest loves for a LONG time. So when he tweeted about being at Third Man Records on Sunday, I knew I had to go! I was prepared to get there early in the morning and stake it out, but my good friend Ryan was able to get some details so we headed down about 15 minutes before Rivers was supposed to arrive.

 Here we are! At this point I don't believe it is actually going to happen. I'm sure he isn't going to show up or there will be too many people around or something. We hung out for a while, went inside and tried to use their mold o rama machine (it was broken!) and the photo booth (out of paper!) then I saw the bassist Scott in the reflection of the door and my stomach dropped to my feet.

 And then we stepped outside and there he was, little Rivers, man of my nerdy dreams. Ah! 

I talked to Scott first, he was really nice! And had a half gold tooth (the bottom half) which looked awesome! There were maybe 30 to 40 people hanging out? People were being respectful and not crowding or pushing, just politely asking for signatures and photos. Other Weezer fans might notice Karl in the background!

 Ryan took this one of me waiting for my chance to talk to Rivers. I was trying to make a funny face, but it was mostly a real face. I was shaking! Just a little, but I was very nervous that I wouldn't get my chance. Travis encouraged me to step up and talk to him.

It was awkward, as you expect, but I am so thrilled that this happened! I still can't get over it! Here I am with one of my favorite people ever! The thrill of the year!

I didn't get a shot with Brian but I love this one I took of him with my friend Marissa. Doesn't it look like they are buddies?

 She wasn't able to get one with Rivers, but this one is pretty excellent! Haha!

The reason they were there was to record a record in Third Man's booth. They have this awesome booth where for 15 bucks you can record a record and it makes it right there! Here is a great video of the proceedings. If you have eagle eyes you can spot me at 2:03. I'm one row back, the only person in frame without my phone up. I could really only see Brian's back so I figured I would be able to find a better video online once I got home. It was amazing though! I was less than 10 feet away while they recorded that one of a kind 7 inch! 

 Here was my view. Still cool. 

 They signed it when they were done and played it on the stereo. It sounds like it was recorded in the 40's. I need to think of something we can record in that booth. It's so neat!

 So there you have it! Best experience of the year so far! I'm so happy we were able to go, and I was able to meet someone who has been important to me for so long. I got them to sign my well loved Weezer wallet, and now I'm going to retire it and frame it.

My Night With Richard Simmons

I finally plugged in my scanner so I could tell you about my Richard experience! I know everyone has been waiting with bated breath! Hopefully this won't get too long winded!

One of the reasons I wanted to go to the west coast for our vacation this year was because I have been wanting to take an exercise class with Richard Simmons. He teaches 3 nights a week at his Slimmons studio and it is just 12 bucks!But I didn't want to go just to have a fun story to tell, I'm actually a huge, non ironic, Richard Simmons fan. If you were to ask me my three biggest influences, this is who I would name. My own little holy trinity:

One thing they all have in common is they all preach some version of loving yourself and not being afraid to be a big weirdo. Like most other humans, self acceptance and love is something I've struggled with for most of my life. These three have been instrumental in the progress I've made in the last few years. (We have tickets to see John Waters in December and you have NO IDEA how bummed I am that the meet and greet tickets were 100 dollars. Maybe if I lurk outside for long enough....) But back to Richard. I've collected most of his work out tapes (and there are a LOT) in my years of thrift shopping. My favorites are Sweatin' to the Oldies 2 and Dance Your Pants Off. It is really the only kind of exercise I will do willingly. I have the Sweatin' To the Oldies DVD box set, which is great if you are interested!

I also REALLY love his autobiography, Still Hungry - After All These Years. I reread it at least once a year.
All the reviews I read online said to show up to Slimmons about an hour early to guarantee you get in the class, since it is first come first serve. I had the time wrong and as we were rushing to get there only 40 minutes before the class started I was FREAKING out. I couldn't miss my one chance to see Richard! It was all for nothing though, we were there in plenty of time. We changed into our workout clothes and waited around awkwardly. Richard made his entrance dressed as a mermaid! Red wig, sequin tail,  sea shell top and everything! He made the rounds, kissed everyone on the cheek, asked if we were from out of town, then he started the class.
It was a little over an hour and wonderful! He doesn't play oldies in his classes, mostly modern dance stuff, which was fine with me! Richard spends the whole class mugging and dancing and screaming and telling people to "Move up move up move up!" You aren't allowed to have your phone or camera in the building during class, probably because they don't want his antics all over the internet. It was great, we laughed through the entire hour.
After class Richard stays to take pictures and talk to whoever wants too. As you can see by the end he is out of the mermaid costume, and into a sparkly tank top and shiny scale leggings. I got in the end of the line so I would be able to talk to him a little. This isn't the cutest picture, since we worked out HARD for an hour (we were both sore for days!) but it's still pretty great! (I think I ended up with 110 "likes" on Instagram, including Richard himself!)

And with Travis, of course!

I started crying within moments of talking to Richard. He read my aura, I totally believe he can do it, he said things about me that no one but Travis knows. It was wild. He wasn't all unicorns and sparkles like I had expected, but he told me things that I needed to hear. It was pretty emotional. He talked to me for almost 10 minutes and it ended with a long hug that I will remember forever. Here is the photo he signed for me. I'm going to frame it and hang it in my kitchen.

It was such a great experience. If you are in the area I totally recommend it, even if you aren't a Richard Simmons fan, you will be when you leave! And you can pick up a great "I Sweat With Richard" t-shirt, and towel! Our California vacation was one of our best trips ever, and our night with Richard was a highlight for sure!

A Night with Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors, so when we found out he was stopping in Nashville on his last ever signing tour we had to go. The event was last Wednesday night at War Memorial and it couldn't have been better. 

Neil was just lovely on stage, and read from his new book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. He said that at all the other tour stops he has read from the first or second chapter, but since there was a thunder storm going on during the reading he read a portion from the middle of the book that took place during a storm. It was so perfect, the thunder rumbled almost like it was being queued! The passage was just as creepy as I wanted it to be and I couldn't wait to get home and read the rest of the book. And it didn't dissapoint! I only wish it was longer because I wanted to stay in that world longer!

He also answered some questions that the audience had turned in (it was kind of disappointing that so many dumb ones were at the top of the pile. But his answers were always good) He read another selection from an upcoming book and Bela Fleck came out on stage to accompany him on the banjo!

After that Neil stepped off stage and the signing portion began. I think they said there were 1700 people were there and a LOT of them stayed to get their books signed. They pulled section and row number out of box to determine the order you got your book signed. We waited close to four hours and I can't believe how great the crowd was! I kept waiting for mutiny or people trying to cut in line but everyone seemed so good natured and just happy to be there! Even at the Maddie on Things signing week before people were complaining the whole time and we waited barely an hour!There was some exaggerated yelling whenever a section was called that WASN'T yours that was close, but people also cheered for other sections. When we got called we all leapt to our feet and it felt like we'd won something!

 As it always is when I meet someone that I really admire and love I couldn't think of anything to say but I was so happy to stand in front of Neil Gaiman and thank him while he signed my books. He was so good natured even after signing for HOURS and I can see why this will be his last signing tour. It has to be exhausting.

It was a very special night. You could get one other item signed after he signed your copy of the new book, so we chose Anansi Boys. We HAD ordered a cool new edition of American Gods that we planned to bring but we didn't get it in time. But I absolutely LOVE Anansi Boys so I was happy.

I highly recommend his books. Coraline was the first one I read when I saw the preview for the movie and it FREAKED me out, even though I mostly read it at work on my lunch breaks. Neil Gaiman has such a great and original voice and those are my three favorites I've read so far. His audiobooks are wonderful too, he reads most of them himself which I always love. Next I'm going to read American Gods. I didn't for a long time because I thought the cover was dumb (yes I know that isn't a good reason). BUT we've got a different edition now so I'm finally going to listen to Travis and read it. That is, if I ever make it through the Game of Thrones series! I'm 1700 pages in, with 1800 left. Geeze!

Are you reading anything good lately? Some friends and I are trying to start a little book club but are having a hard time finding something good to read that none of us have read before. It's just five of us so it shouldn't be that hard!

Garfunkel and Oates!

Garfunkel and Oates came to town last weekend! Travis and I went with our friends Ryan and Nicole and it was so awesome! I think I heard of them the first time when they were profiled in Bust, the best magazine in existence today. Here is one of my favorite songs they do: 

There are a lot more funny songs on youtube, not all safe for work, just a warning. Haha. I haven't laughed so hard in a LONG time. They were so hilarious! I'm glad Ryan reminded me. Here we are in the alley behind the club. They were giving out free kazoos and I bought one of their cds. 

The only part of the night I didn't like (other than that the club makes you buy two crappy things even after you pay the 20 dollar door charge) was the warm up comic. He kept telling really stupid sexist fat jokes. Thankfully the crowd was NOT into it. It was painful. We avoided eye contact when he was out by Garfunkel and Oates selling thongs. Seriously. Ugh. 

Halloween movie favorites

I haven't even decorated for Halloween yet, but we've been watching Halloween movies to get in the mood. One of my favorites since I was little has been Ernest Scared Stupid. I actually LOVED all the Ernest movies (well, maybe not Slam Dunk Ernest.) I had a little cardboard cut out of Ernest in my room. Jim Varney actually lived in the town where I grew up. Anyone else my age see the Ernest movies? Were they popular everywhere? The Halloween is my favorite, with Ernest Saves Christmas as a close second.

ANYWAY, last weekend Travis went to the Nashville Comic and Horror Festival to see our friend's booth. I was a work. When he got there it turned out Billy Byrge, who played Bobby in a lot of the movies, was there signing autographs! Travis was really sweet and got one for me, and got his picture take. Look at how freaking happy he looks? I can't stop cracking up at this picture!

He also got to meet the girl from Night of Living Dead, which is his favorite scary movie. He LOVES that picture too. He made a stencil of it and he used to put it in parking lots all the time. What a weirdo.
What are your favorite Halloween movies? I also love Hocus Pocus and The Worst Witch. I'm kind of a baby when it comes to scary movies though! We tried to watch The Woman in Black recently and I made Travis turn it off because I was freaking out! I think I'm a little too good at using my suspension of disbelief.