When dreams turn into dust, give up if you must

I realize that I may never get far with my music, but I love to do this. Playing guitar and singing is something I love to do. I may not be great at it but I appreciate the support you guys have given me throughout the years. I do have one confession to make...I'm scared to death to play in front of a crowd so I never have.....besides my high school graduation party! lol.....The youtube videos and ustream shows are a way for me to get my music out to ya'll without being scared. I started this post as a FB status to my FB friends. It got a little long and looked more like a blog to me! Writing songs recently has become difficult because I'm not sure what to write about. Writing mushy, cheesy love songs have never been my strength! haha! I would love to write some more happy, upbeat songs if I could.

School so far has been going good. I have a quiz in biology that I'm not exactly prepared for but we'll see how it goes lol. I just turned in my first english paper that I've written in a while. I feel pretty good about it but we'll see how my teacher likes it. The last english paper I wrote at Rock Valley in Rockford, IL was a failure......I should've listened to my friend when she told me several times not to take that professor! I have a presentation in my Nutrition class Monday on the nutrition and culture of the Amish. For my part I am doing cooking utensils and prestige foods of the Amish. I am trying to make Amish friendship bread....the started takes 10 days to make and I'm currently on day 7 of it. I have to stir it 10 times a day! We'll see how this turns out lol! I can't believe spring break is almost here too and that we are almost halfway through the semester! And I haven't skipped a class yet :) I also got an email the other day from Al's Beef that they are FINALLY getting close to opening. Three months after my interview and I finally might have a job! Sounds crazy but I'm not sure that I want it now. It would be nice to have a little extra money in our bank account but I'm afraid that it might take away from my focus on school. Hopefully when I start, I only work like 20-25 hours.......we'll see about that!

Can't wait for June.....Dave and I are going to Nashville for CMA fest!!! I am so excited and get to see my parents too :) Also got 3 concerts coming up in April and possibly 2 in May! So be on the lookout for some more concert blogs!! That extra money from that job might come in handy for my concert addiction.....lol.

Climbing up a mountain and 5 years together!!!

This last weekend was pretty fun! For Valentine's day Dave and I went to see Silver Linings Playbook....mostly because I made him take me out because I bought a new dress lol. It was an alright movie, I kept feeling really bad for the guy (bradley cooper) in the movie though! On Saturday we went on a hike at McKnee Ranch a little outside Pacifica. The guys kept telling me this was a grueling hike but the view was worth it at the end. They weren't kidding! 4 miles uphill and 4 miles down. I kept stopping going uphill because it was just so strenuous! The higher we got up, the hotter it got too because the sun was beating down on us. We finally made it to the top and the view was gorgeous!

                                             Me at the top!!

                                                   At the start of our hike, view of CA 1

                                                    One of the many hills......

                                                        View from the top!

                                                         During one of the rest breaks.....thought I was gonna die lol

                                                Dave and I at the top :)

Then it was time to come down......I fell a few times, I really need to invest in hiking boots! One of the hills towards the end that we came down I just slid down on my butt! Thankful for that extra padding lol! I am still sore today but it was a beautiful day!!

The next day was our 5th anniversary together :) I made him a really cheesy picture montage of the last 5 years and he loved it. I put it on youtube and because I put some songs on it, I started getting copyright crap.....so it's blocked on mobile and in some countries lol. Oh well!! Here it is if you want to watch all 12 minutes......We didn't do much yesterday but went to lunch at Chili's and did some shopping at World Market. I got a couple bottles of wine, trying to try different kinds. One of them was made with grapes from Spain! Excited to try it!

Hey Thomas Rhett, teach me how to Diffie!

Last night I went to see Thomas Rhett and Sarah Darling down at the Rodeo Club here in San Jose. Probably one of the best shows I've ever been to! Pretty sure it made that list! I actually went to the concert by myself....which was also a first. I did have some people there that I knew and that made me a little more comfortable. I just couldn't talk Dave into going...oh well his loss!! He missed a fantastic show! Sarah Darling was up first. I'm not too familiar with her music but I have a lot of friends that really like her so I've heard good things! She sang 5 songs and her last song was her current single called Home To Me. I wouldn't mind seeing her again, she has a great voice!

Next up was Thomas Rhett!! Ok so the main reason I wanted to go see the show was to see him! I've never seen either of these artists before live but have heard so many great things. Curiosity led me to wanting to go. I had friends telling me to be prepared because he puts on one hell of a show. I watched some youtube videos of him live....so I had some pretty high expectations and he totally met them! A few songs in and I already thought I got my money's worth, heck I would pay more than that to see him!! He maybe played one or two slow songs but that was it. His set was filled with songs that made you dance and rock! He was no stranger to interacting with the crowd. He brought up a few lucky people on stage to dance, sing and be sung to! He got everyone in the house singing along when he broke into Friends In Low Places. I could barely hear myself singing it was so loud! He kept kind of tweaking the setlist too, throwing in songs and making them work. He sang Redneck Women by Merle Haggard for a lady that looked grim in the front row. He asked her what she wanted to hear and she screamed Haggard so he delivered! His band kept up with him even with his choices on a whim. Thomas also has been stealing some moves from Luke Bryan, holy moly! There was a moment when he threw his guitar behind his back and brought it back in front of him upside down. So when he tried to flip it over the right way, the strap came off and it fell to the ground. He went with it, grabbed his mic and just started walking around the stage singing! I thought that was funny and cute! haha!! I think Thomas Rhett will be really big someday if he keeps this up!! One of my favorite moments was when he sang 1994, a song that Jason Aldean recently recorded for his album Night Train. I really love that song!!

Thomas Rhett singing Beverly Hills/Parking Lot Party

Friends in Low Places

Watcha Got In That Cup

From coast to coast like space ghost!!

Just got back from our trip to Orlando last Friday and it was really fun and totally exhausting! I never did finish reading that book on the plane ride back because I felt like sleeping instead. We got there Sunday night, picked up our rental car which was a Toyota Rav 4 and went off to the hotel to check in. After waiting 15 min to verify our reservation because the website we booked it through didn't send the hotel our reservation......we finally get to our hotel room and it's amazing! We stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott and it was like a small studio apartment. Loved the layout of the room and Dave and I joked that we could actually live in something like that because it was so nice! His family didn't get in until the next afternoon so the next day we drove around looking at souvenir shops and ended up at Downtown Disney. We walked around there for quite a bit and I got my mickey hat!! Have always wanted one of those!! with my name embroidered on the back too!

We finally met up with Dave's family and headed to our rental home we had for the week. It was really nice!! It had a pool and hot tub in the community and free wifi!

On Tuesday his Grandma, great aunt and her daughter came to visit. We went to Old Town and walked around and went to a flea market! The next day we all went to Daytona Beach! We went down to the beach for a couple hours and walked around. It wasn't very warm out but it was neat to see the beach :)

We had Hooter's for lunch and then went on to tour......Daytona International Speedway!!! It was so AWESOME!!!

 The room where all the drivers have to meet for a mandatory meeting before the race.

 Victory Lane!!!

 View from the skybox, this was sooooo awesome!!!

Last year's race winner, Matt Kenseth's car! They kept it exactly the way it was after all the confetti and stuff was thrown at it after winner. totally cool!

Then next was.....DISNEY WORLD!!! It was a very long day but soooo much fun!! Got to ride Space mountain, teacups, dumbo, and it's small world....all rides you have to ride when you go :) and I got to meet Stitch!!! We stayed for the nightly lighted parade and got to see some of the fireworks before heading back. My feet felt like they were gonna fall off but I would totally do it again! Felt like a kid at heart!

                                                  On the teacups :)

                                                           Me and Stitch!!!!!

                                                            Dave and Stitch!!

                                                           Dave and I in front of Cinderella's castle in day and night :)

                                                    The lighted parade!!!

I thought the picture with snow white in front of the castle like this was one of the best pictures I took on this trip!! looks so cool!!

This last weekend all we did was relax after the trip. We went out and bought and Xbox 360 and the guys have been playing it alot. Dave finally found a use for the gift card my mom got him for Christmas so that made him happy! I went back to school today and it wasn't too bad. I only had one class today which was Nutrition. My teacher is an older lady who is a Registered Dietitian and she seems like a pretty good teacher! After class I went to see where my biology classes were for tomorrow. Campus seems different than the schools I went to in Illinois. Some entrances to classrooms are on the outside of the buildings. That's pretty common for other schools around here too from what I see. Also...it's true...I am a minority around here!! A lot of the people attending my school from what I've seen are all different races....not a lot of blonde haired, blue eyed people either. So it will take some getting used to but I'm pretty sure I can handle it!

Thoughts from 35,000 ft

Currently on a plane from Austin, TX to Orlando, FL. Dave and I left at about 9:30am in Cali and now it's getting dark here on the plane. The flight from San Jose to Austin was pretty smooth. Got to Austin and had some BBQ at a place in the airport for lunch. I would really like to go back to Austin sometime and visit. I think it would be neat to see. Heard lots of good things about the music scene and such too! I've been reading this book that Dave got me a while back.....basically a real world guide for musicians written by some lady who's been in the industry for 20 plus years. So far it's a really good book with some really great suggestions for artists just getting started in the music industry. I will have to post the title and author later because it's under the seat right now.....but will give it further review after I'm done reading it lol. I stopped because I'm halfway through and have to have something to do on the way back from Orlando. I'm currently typing this on my tablet....it's pretty awesome how it's like a computer but it's not lol. Dave is sitting here reading as I type, he says hello! Can't wait to get into Orlando. Found out there was a Chick Fil A in the airport but of course it's Sunday so it's not open.....always happen to want it when they are closed! haha! So we might hit up a waffle house or something after we get off the plane......Can't believe we are literally flying across the country in like 5 hours!

I'll go anywhere with you!

Got a call tonight from a guy I used to work with at Nestle in IL. He was always seemed like a father figure to me at work. Anyways, he asked me why I stopped doing youtube videos! I didn't even know he watched those! So maybe I'll do a few more....probably after we get back from Orlando. I am super excited!!! I can't wait to go! I will have to blog about it when we get back but for right now...not much going on. They announced the concerts at Shoreline in Mountain View today and I'm very excited for the lineup!!! Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert in May, Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia line in August, Keith Urban and Little Big Town in September and Jason Aldean and Jake Owen in October!! Those are the 4 I want to go to. Dave said he wouldn't mine seeing Lady A and Brad Paisley but we'll see.......AND I got an email back from Al's Beef saying they will let me know when they are ready to open so....I might have a job after I get back from Orlando too!! Hopefully things fall into place and this turns out to be a good year with school and all! :)

Progress is the road to success!

Today I weighed in and now 3lbs lighter since the beginning of the year!! I logged everything I ate last week into an app called My Fitness Pal. If you have an account on there add me as a friend! My username is withthebandgrl! It's always great to have more friends on there that can motivate you! It's been 2 weeks since I've had soda/aspertame too :) I'm really starting to notice that my pants are fitting really well again which is a good sign. At the beginning of the year I really wanted to do this because I felt like I was busting out of my pants! It wasn't a good feeling at all :( I have to stick with this though and don't get off track like I did last year!