Sunday, August 28, 2011

Our Newest Hobby


In case you guys didn’t know, I’ve been on a heavy vinyl binge these past few months. Whit and I bought an old 1970 Magnavox record player from a junk store on craigslist in late May for $20 and its been getting its new needle worn out over the summer!

Said record player in action












I know this may seem like a strange thing to some of you, but I love the idea of having a physical piece of music in my hands. Maybe its just because everything’s gone digital over the past decade, but I love the pops and crackles that are unique to each and every one of our albums.

When we go into an antique store, if there’s a slew of records, I have to look through every one of them and see what I can find. Whitney just rolls her eyes and smiles because she knows how excited I get. Embarassing? Maybe. Awesome? Hell yes!

I like having records for many, many reasons, but the biggest reason I have come to love the whole resurgence of vinyl’s is something that I didn’t even foresee when I bought our record player: it makes me and Whit dance.

Sounds crazy right!? But its too true! One of the first records I bought was a 1973 copy of The Very Best of Hank Williams and the second Whit and I gave it its first spin, we two-stepped all around the apartment, laughing, bumping into cats, etc. It created a fun, nostalgic atmosphere that was impossible to ignore.

This is something that I have never seen happen with the tens-of-thousands of songs that we have on our computers. Hearing ol’ Lovesick sing through that 1970 stereo did something to our apartment: it made it home. We danced until we were out of breath and ready for bed.

And its not just Hank that has had this effect. We’ve danced to the soundtrack of Easy Rider, The Doors, you name it.

Just a few of our records.
Its little things like this that make life worth living, isn’t it? It’s my definition of happiness. It makes me know that what we’re doing in life is exactly what we are meant to be doing. What’s more comforting than that?

We can’t really explain why we feel compelled to dance when those records start playing, we just do. And if dancing around an apartment with my beautiful wife to classic tunes is wrong, then I just don’t wanna be right!

Now I need to pick up a Marvin Gaye album and see what happens … ;-)

Monday, August 22, 2011

Vegas Vacation...Minus Chevy Chase

Happy Monday y'all!

Three weeks and one day ago ( No, I don't have it narrowed down to the minute : )) was Garrett's and my one year anniversary! For our anniversary I wanted romance, thoughtfulness, cute gifts, yummy food, tons of fun and many memories to be made. When it comes to big days in our lives like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and the like, I go way overboard in my head. I want everything to be picture perfect. Actually, picture perfect times a million if you want the truth. I want the special day to be planned down to the most minor details, like what color my nail polish might be. Sounds psycho, and maybe it is I won't argue with you, but I want to remember those days as being the best. I want the pictures to turn out awesome, if only for my newest Facebook album. I want everything to go smoothly. I want Garrett and I to look back when we are 60 years old and remember our anniversary as being one of the best days of our lives. Maybe it's a girl thing?

For our anniversary date we had planned on going to a fancy dinner around 8pm and past that had no idea what we were going to do. We had thought about watching the fountains at the Bellagio but I hadn't written it down in my planner yet so it really meant nothing. Oh, I guess I should mention that we were in Vegas for our anniversary, that might clear things up a little. The night of our anniversary we got ready, dressed our best, and headed out for the night. Secretly, I was a little nervous wanting the night to go perfectly but Garrett seemed cool and collected so I just went along with it. I thought we were to board the city bus and head down the Strip for our dinner. I was NOT looking forward to riding the city bus in 103 degree weather, high heels, and a dress. We walked through our casino and passed the door where we usually exit to hop on the bus. Now, I am about as  unintelligent as it gets when it comes to directions, unless there's food involved then I can usually muster up the memory of which road to turn down, so I casually told him that we had passed the door to the bus. I wasn't even sure if I was right or not so I didn't put up too big of a fight when he told me we hadn't. We exited through the main entry and Garrett started walking the opposite direction of the bus stop. Now I knew he had gone bananas. I nicely told him that the bus stop was the opposite direction we were headed and he pretty much ignored me. He walked up to a man, shook his hand, and introduced me to our limo driver. I was speechless! In all of the 6 years we have been together, not counting him proposing to me, Garrett has never been able to surprise me. Not because he hasn't tried but because I am nosy, I'll admit it. 

We got into the limo and headed to our first stop- to grab a bottle of Champagne! From there we visited the Las Vegas sign, the volcano at the Mirage, fountains at the Bellagio, the old Strip, and finally to dinner. It was so much fun riding in a limo with the windows down gazing at all of the bright lights. I felt like the Griswold's in Vegas Vacation when they first got into Vegas! 

Garrett had never looked more handsome, except maybe on our wedding day, and our dinner was delicious. I am happy to say that I got everything I wanted on our anniversary night. There were many pictures taken, the night was definitely romantic, we laughed and had fun pretending to be celebrities on our limo ride, and the food was yummy! Best of all, our anniversary is something that we will always remember as being one of the best nights of our lives!

I had to add my favorite Vegas Vacation quote:
Hoover Dam Guide: "I am your dam guide, Arnie, please don't wander off the dam tour and please take all the dam pictures you want. Now are there any dam questions?"
Cousin Eddie: "Yea, where can I get some damn bait?" 
If you haven't seen this movie I strongly suggest watching it! 

A few memories we captured:












Thursday, August 18, 2011

Dwarf, Hobbit, and Elf Reunion!

First off, I would like to explain the title of the post and why it was chosen. 

As most of you are aware I am married to a Lord of the Rings fan. Actually, the word fan doesn't do him justice. He has a Lord of the Rings tattoo for crying out loud! Our friend Michael, or Miguel as I like to call him, is too a fan of the trilogy. For years now these two have called one another Dwarf and Hobbit (characters in the series). Garrett being the Hobbit because of his love of being barefoot, his shortness, and his supposedly hairy feet (thank goodness this part isn't true!) and Miguel, excuse me, Michael, because of his ability to grow a beard and his inability to grow tall.

Feeling left out, I asked the two what part I had in the series and was told I was an Elf so I went with it knowing nothing about elves. Hey, Orlando Bloom plays one so how bad can it be? : ) So there ya go! My title of Dwarf, Hobbit, and Elf Reunion was born!

Now that we are done with dorky Lord of the Rings chit chat I would like to say that we are so glad Michael had a chance to come stay with us! It was like we were roomies again (minus Cody, Rock Band and late night Animal Planet) and we had a blast while he was here! We hiked, cooked, ate tons of peanut butter rice crispies (thank you Brittany) and smores, played Settlers of Catan, and went record shopping. Such a nice break from reality! It was also nice to have another person to cook for, do laundry, etc. Sounds weird but I enjoyed it! I wonder if that means I will make a good mom? I sure hope so! So, to sum it all up, we are so glad Michael was able to come see us and we can't wait for the next time! Come on February-ish!

A couple of my favorite pictures from the last week: