Coldplay Concert Videos 8.3.09

I finally got around to editing some of the videos from the concert Monday night. Sorry if some of it is shaky but we were pretty excited and trying to contain ourselves from dancing while holding the camera. But, we still got some pretty cool stuff. The first is the intro Life In Technicolor:

The next video is Yellow. Just a short snippet, but I am posting just to give you an idea of how cool it was. These big yellow balls appeared out of nowhere (seemingly) and bounced around for the whole song.

And finally, this fan's favorite Lovers in Japan. Such an amazing and FUN song on the iPod and especially live. The butterflies were pretty cool as well....

Coldplay 8.3.09

Ryan and I started dating back in '02/'03 and he turned me on to the band, Coldplay. I remember going out to buy Parachutes and a A Rush of Blood to the Head (the first 2 albums) because this was my new boyfriend's favorite band. I have always loved music, particularly U2, which is why Ryan asked me to marry him at a U2 concert. So, I remember buying these albums and really hoping I liked them because I thought it might tell me something about Ryan. Well, I LOVED them - and since that time they have been compared to the likes of U2 which makes sense but they are certainly their own band, their own genre. No one REALLY sounds like them if you take the time to listen and hear the lyrics.
The countdown is on! Ryan and I before the show, we were pretty excited.
VIP seats for the first time. Worth every penny. Below is a photo as the show starts. It's a go! Chris Martin, an amazing lead singer. I have never seen someone with that much energy. Amazing.


"Look at the stars...Look how they shine for you....." And, it's Yellow.

If you really like a band or singer, I truly believe it is so worth it to see them live. Music is the ultimate food for the soul. Needless to say, we had an amazing time and will find a way to see them each and every time they come to the area. Videos to follow...

Oldies

Recently, Ryan and I bought a scanner/printer. Immediately, we started digging around for old photos to scan. I called my mom and asked her to send along a bunch the next time she came down to NH as well. I love that we have this technology now - I have old photos all over the place and my goal I will get them all organized online soon enough. Here is a sample of what we have scanned:

My cousin Elaine and I camped out in her backyard in the mid-1980's. I love this, it's a classic shot that my mom has always had framed in our house and I always remember being so excited to hang out with Elaine every summer since she lived so far away in Massachusetts (at the time, it was a million miles away!). Another classic about this photo is the classy mullet I am sporting. Nice.
Jodi, Dad and I likely in the late 70's. This cracks me up - look at that awful wooden carrier my dad had me in! How uncomfortable must that have been?
Fast forward to 1993. Here I am with two of my best buds summer after senior year. Bear (Erin) is on the left and we recently got back in touch via Facebook (gotta love technology) and it turns out she only lives 20 minutes away from me with her husband and 2 kiddos! A lunch date is pending. Sara is in the middle and was 2 year exchange student from Spain who I also got in touch with again via Facebook. Pretty cool to get back in touch with these ladies who I saw daily and hung out with every weekend. It's amazing how easy it is to lose touch.
Jodi and I at her bridal shower in 1996. Clearly the empire waist was in fashion - I think it's back 2009-style judging by the Macy's dress department.

Nephew Ethan and I in 2000. It's hard to believe how big he has gotten!

Ryan, Uncle Craig, me and Uncle Tom. This was at cousin Annie's wedding at Castleton in Windham, NH. Ryan and I had just started dating. We ended up having our wedding and reception at the same place a few years later. It was the meatballs that sold us...



Stay tuned for Ryan's oldies. Gosh, I just love new toys!

The New Trail

Ryan and I have been spending a lot of time going for hikes lately. We have started a nice little routine on the weekends where we get up and head out first thing. Sunday morning, we got up and grabbed the local newspaper on the front porch and read an article about a brand new running/biking/walking trail in our little city of Manchester. We were so excited - FINALLY, Manchester is starting to get with the times. So, Ryan and I decided to head out and test out the new trail....3.5 miles round trip and it loops around the Fisher Cats stadium and goes across a bridge over 293 and the river.

So, there are the views. Kind of a neat new way to see the city!

On a side note for those of you who blog: What is with Blogger and why can't I edit and move my photos anymore? It turns out to be a rather boring post and takes forever just to upload photos and put them below the wording!

So, how's the weather?

As many of you may have heard, or know from firsthand experience, we have had overcast conditions and rain for 3 weeks (or more? I have lost count). The weather hasn't bothered me all that much because we have been able to get outside at least once a day for a walk or a hike. I think what is bothering me more is the incessant chatter about it.

So, I am moving on. It is July 4th weekend, so naturally, Ryan and I stay away from any place too packed with people. We started our Friday with a hike in the woods then took a trip to Portsmouth hitting the Redhook Brewery while in town...it was sunny so why not?
Here we are on the way home...




Oh...and there it is....a storm cloud. So, anyway...

Cood and the Chipmunk

Warm weather means the doors and windows open in our house. First thing in the morning we open the back slider and the front door to get the fresh air circulating. For Cood, this is an exciting time of year as he doesn't move from the screens unless he has to eat or go to his litter box....it's that exciting. There are a whole lot of birds and chipmunks that tease him. We have decided they know he is an indoor cat and therefore he won't be able to come after them. They tweet, flit and run by the screen doors tempting their fate. Meanwhile, Coodie just sits there with his tail flicking back and forth looking as though he may pounce at any minute.

Sometimes, we do let him into the front yard as our condo is nestled in a "v" that allows some protection from danger for Cood. Ryan saw the chipmunk running around and decided to let Coodie out to see what would happen. Well.... not much! The chipmunk froze and did not move a muscle as soon as our front door swung open. At this point, we decided that Coodie might be somewhat blind (or maybe only detects motion) as Ryan held him up to the tree branch the chipmunk was perched on and Coodie had no idea what was going on....He was INCHES away from his nemesis and ... nothing.

.

Meanwhile, he pretends to be a badass at the screen meowing and tail wagging at any animal that dare cross his path!

Coodie's Rough Week

Coodie has super long hair and he has to be combed daily. Once a year, it is also good to give him a bath because the shedding starts to get crazy as summer starts. Bathing is obviously a stressful event for Coodie so our vet recommended we give him a prescription medication to calm him down ahead of time, Acepromazine, also known as the "twilight" pill.

Last Sunday, we gave him the pill in the morning with the intention of bathing him and giving him a good comb out. Well, he was an absolute mess about 30 minutes after swallowing the pill. His back legs wouldn't function, his inner eyelid was omnipresent and he was so lethargic but seemingly unable to sleep. Then, we tried to comb him and he got nasty...he even hissed (which he has never done). He pretty much acted like he was drunk! We felt so bad for putting him through that almost immediately. We didn't think it would affect him like this because he is 13 pounds (bigger than a lot of cats) and it also lasted about 11 hours. I had to carry him up and down the stairs, into his litter box and give him little bowls of water as he was unable to jump up to his little water fountain. Below, is a photo toward the end of the day. Poor Cood was a complete mess.

He seemed to be pretty back to normal if not a bit tired the next morning as I headed off to Rhode Island for work for the week. Ryan then called me Monday night to tell me that his face looked a little swollen. At this point, we simply thought it was a side effect of those terrible meds. Ryan sent me this photo to show me his little face all puffy:
The next morning, Ryan called me around 6am and sent me the next photo:

Coodie looked like he was carrying nuts in his cheek! Being the good dad that he is, Ryan packed Coodie up and took him to the vet. He had to stay for the day and get some shots. The vet advised that it appeared to be a spider bite (he probably had no energy to swipe the spider off after that pill!) and Cood had to have some antihistamine shots and be watched for the day as it could be dangerous if this went back to his throat.

$150 later, the little orange guy is back to normal and as "sparky" as ever. I am now researching more natural methods to chill him out and if worse comes to worse, we will let him stress out a little when he is groomed!