Until August

Almost caught up! My city is just so much fun, especially in the summer. Our local parks department puts on shows so you can go and listen to music in several city parks. I went quite frequently with friends this summer.

Here is photographic evidence of my car hitting 100,000 miles.  I actually hate my car.  It was a terrible choice.  It only has two door so is inconvenient, is super low to the ground, the check engine light is always on; I could go on and on.  It does have a great stereo!  In any case, I've thought about replacing my car (it's a 2002; purchased in 2001) but I hardly ever drive, so it makes financial sense to drive it as long as possible.  I hit 100,000 miles while going down the freeway.  I'm hoping to keep it for another few years while I make improvements to my house and save money.

I was making a dish of Thai peanut sauce with roasted broccoli.  Max kept saying, "want some!" I thought she wanted broccoli, but she had her eye on the peanut butter.  Once I figured that out and complied, all was right in our house again:

 I kept giving her broccoli, and she kept throwing it on the counter!

My best friend does Scottish Highland dancing, so I went to a festival to watch her.  Because I was with the talent, I got to sit backstage.  It was so much fun!

And a baseball game.  I am sponsored by a local running store; mostly because I am really good friends with the lady who is in charge of the sponsorship program.  Every year, they do an employee outing to our local MLB team.  And, even though I do not work there, I have been adopted as one of their own.

One of my friends is an amazing cook.  He had me over to their house a few weeks ago, and he served individual pizzas for everyone.  He used naan as the crust, and then you top as desired.  What a fantastic idea!  I have stated making these for myself:

And that pretty much brings me up to speed on what happened this summer.  I am still in denial that fall is coming, but I need to face reality.

I hope that everyone reading had a great summer and continues to do well!

And June comes to a close...

Less than three months behind now!

June ended with a whirlwind of concerts -- Lady Gaga, Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, and Outkast: four days straight!  I actually don't listen to contemporary country music (though I can talk about late-90s country for days...) but my motto is that you don't turn down free tickets!

My recommendations, for what it's worth:

Brad Paisley -- a big MEH.  If you are offered free tickets and don't have anything better to do OR if you are a big Brad Paisley fan, then you should go.  But I wouldn't pay money to see him or go much out of my way.

Luke Bryan, on the other hand, put on a great show, even for someone like me who knew none of his music.  Still not sure I would pay, since I don't know the songs, but I'd rearrange my schedule to go if offered free tickets.

Outkast (disclaimer: I have been a HUGE fan for years) was AMAZING.  The crowd was so into it, and since they don't have a new album out, they just played the hits.  If they are coming to your area and you love them, please go!

It was definitely the most diverse audience I've ever been in (which I love) and it's put me into nostalgia (I can't tell you how many times I've listened to "B.O.B." and "Ms. Jackson" over this summer!)

It's my birthday in July, and I received this fabulous package in the mail!  I had to post on facebook to see who sent it to me; my wonderful cousin.  I've been so busy and haven't made it yet, but what a fun surprise to find at my door!

My best friend and her husband (also a friend) went out with me for my birthday.  We went to a Vietnamese place and I had pho.  Perhaps it's a lot better if you eat meat, but I really didn't see what the fuss was about.  Glad we went and the company and conversation (as always) were great.

Since Max is obsessed with flying to my stained glass window and chewing the wood, we have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately.  That's where I am right now, in fact!  Here is a picture of the two of them.

Max, as always, is begging for head pets.  Calypso, who had been wandering around my counter, wound up settling on my stick (which I keep handy in case I need to remove Max from the stained glass: so high up!) and doing the parrot-equivalent of the barrel-roll.

Fun times!

Concerts & Closings

I had an amazing summer. One of my goals was to attend 14 concerts in 2014. I achieved that before the end of June! (Interestingly enough, I have not gone to any since then and it's mid-September!)

One of my favorite concerts was Lady Gaga.  We were in the pit, so had a good view of the stage, but because she's so short and we were in the back of the pit, we mostly saw her backup dancers and saw her on the video screens.

We put lightning bolts on our faces, and I went with three of my favorite friends.

What an experience!

**********
Shortly thereafter, I learned that my favorite restaurant, which happens to be just a few blocks from my house, was closing!  My parents and I go here frequently, my best friend and I went at least once a month, I had many first dates here (maybe those are worth forgetting!)

In any case, my best friend and I went on the last weekend it was open, for old time's sake.  I took a day off of work and we had a great time.

It's going to reopen soon, as another one of my favorite local restaurants (a small chain -- this will be its 3rd location.)  However, my parents love Italian food and aren't exactly fond of Mexican, so we'll see if they even try it.

Stadium concerts! And then a little culture...

One of my 2014 goals is to see 14 concerts. I am well on my way to beating this number! Earlier in the year, several of my best friends and I went to see P!nk. I didn't really know her music -- I tend to listen to indie stuff rather than anything popular -- but she put on an amazing show and I recognized several of her songs!

For my second stadium concert of the year, I got a text from one of my best friends, asking if I were interested in a free ticket to see Miley Cyrus.  This is definitely not a concert I would have paid to go to, but free?  Definitely!

First: we were meeting at a bar ahead of time.  I got there a bit early, and my friend was running late, so I sat at the bar and watched basketball, nursing a beer.  The guy next to me tried to pick me up.  So funny!  I told him I was way too old for him, but he kept trying.  I think he was in his early 20s.  I am 35.  Finally my friend got there, we joined her other friends who were already there, and had dinner.

The concert was pretty amazing in terms of the lighting, props, etc.  However, it was approximately 80% simulated masturbation.  I thought that was pretty sad, as Miley Cyrus's voice sounded pretty good.  If only she'd focus on the music instead of pretending she's in a porn movie...  I couldn't believe how many young children were there.  This is not Hannah Montana!

And now I sound like a prude...which I don't think that I am, but this was out of control.  Guess how much a hoodie (with a semi-pornographic photo of Miley on the front) cost?

$105!!!!!

And people were buying them!!!

Anyway, here are some pictures:

A few days later, I went to a concert put on by Brett Dennen, who is one of my favorite singers ever.  Check him out!  Pictures aren't good, but the music was.  I can't wait to get to see him again!

My office is not far from the art museum, so sometimes I sneak out of work and go for an hour or so.  My former neighbor called me this week to see if I wanted to see her daughter's work -- her daughter had been selected as one of the high school kids to display their art on the walls of the museum!  Here is her self-portrait:

 We had a great time catching up over lunch at the museum:

I used to run with her every Monday morning before work, so it was great to reconnect!

I'm missing a lot here on the blog, but so much has been going on.  There is life after leaving an abusive spouse!  More than I ever could have imagined.  Again, I am going to try to keep up more with what's going on in my life, with or without the parrots.

Speaking of the parrots, all of them are learning new tricks!  I'm going to have a friend over to videotape some of them because it's really quite fun.

I hope that everyone who reads this is doing well, too.  I am so looking forward to spring!  I've been able to ride my bike to work the past two days, and that has definitely improved my mood.  Heading to the trails for a long run tomorrow.  Life is good.  More soon, promise!

XOXOXOXO

More concerts!

I have months to catch up on -- and this will be but a poor substitute. I will be mad at myself years from now that so many of my experiences were not logged here!

I was heading to visit a friend, and the sunset was so beautiful, I took a picture while stopped at a light.  Unfortunately, I didn't capture exactly how beautiful it was, but I'm pretty sure most people understand that.

Here is Yuna, an amazing Malaysian pop singer.  If life were fair, she would be an international star.  She has amazing talent, and I was able to meet her after the show.  What a gracious, beautiful woman.

Close-up!

After the show, one of my friends (a local radio DJ) told me to introduce myself to the owner of the venue (she pointed him out) because he had a parrot.

I did (after a bit of hijinks -- introduced myself to the wrong guy at first!) AND he offered his venue for free to use for a benefit for the parrot rescue where I volunteer.  Isn't that great?  He's had his macaw for over 25 years and he believes is parrot rescue.  We're working on something -- I hope we'll be able to raise a lot of money!

Last month, I went to see Mason Jennings, who is one of my favorite artists.  He is so multi-talented:

I won't dwell on this too much here, but when I found out Thomas was cheating on me, and I knew divorce was the only answer, I thought that my life was over.  How I had no idea that my life was really just beginning!  I missed out on so much in my 20s, but I am making up for it now!  Life is amazing!

I am alive! Things are good!

I am the worst blogger ever!  I guess it's partly because I am out having a fabulous life and not taking as many pictures as before.  Also, not as good of a parrot-owner as before, as I'm frequently out doing things and not spending all of my non-work time at home.

I feel so lucky to "know" those of you who care enough to make sure that things are OK!

This will probably come out in several posts, and, once again, I promise to try to update more regularly!!!

Some things that have been going on in my life...

As I may have mentioned before, one of the best things about finding myself single again is the vast number of acquaintances who have stepped up and become true friends.  When I was married before, I had very few friends, as my ex-husband was very anti-social and tried to isolate me.  It's only with distance that I can see how abused I was.  It's rather embarrassing, but since I'm free now, I'm able to talk about it a bit more.

Anyway, I have a dear friend -- someone I've known for almost a decade -- who became a friend after this mess.  When she and her husband go on vacation, I cat sit for them.  That's Harley on the left and Sprecher on the right.  It looks like Sprecher is an alien!

 I was driving to work one day, and this sunrise was so pretty that I had to stop to try to take a picture.

One of the best parts of what I'm calling my new beginning is going to concerts!  I have become good friends with a woman who works at several of my city's best concert venues, which means I go to a lot of shows now.  Here is Hugh Bob and the Hustle:

This winter has been brutal!  Here is what I saw out of my office window most days this winter:

 I went to see P!nk perform in concert; she is an amazing athlete:

My friend gave me tickets to see Walk Off The Earth, who did a cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know"   This song helped keep me sane during the darkest period of my life -- when I found out that my husband was cheating on me.  They put on an amazing show, and, in their encore, did "Somebody That I Used To Know."

I volunteer at a nature center, so when I go in to work, I get to see all kinds of birds.  In this picture, there is someone on the suet feeder (I believe it's either a Hairy or Downy Woodpecker) and someone on the other feeder.

More in subsequent posts!

Catching Up!

Despite what it may seem, I have not forgotten about this blog! I am still a bit angry with myself for not posting more often, as I'd love to be able to look back and see what's been going on in my life! Yet again, I will try to post more regularly...starting NOW!!!

But, first...I must catch up with the past few months. I'll miss a lot, but hit the highlights relating to pictures I took.

In September, I ran a 50K race with one of my best friends.  She's someone I knew before I found out about Thomas's cheating, barely.  We both volunteered for our local marathon, but I never became friends with her due to Thomas's weirdness and the fact that since he didn't have any friends, he begrudged me mine.

She really stepped up, and we've become so close over the past two years.  In fact, tomorrow we are going trail running, touring a winery, and watching our NFL team at her house as her boyfriend makes us vegetarian chili. Score!

Usually, I run my own race, but we agreed that we would run this 50K (31 miles) together.  It was so much fun!  Here is what we saw near the beginning:

It turned out to be a gorgeous day, and we became even better friends due to this experience.  We crossed the finish line holding hands and collapsed in a giant hug.

Two more pictures of what we got to see during our run:

In early September, Steve Earle came to town!  I've been a big fan ever since I saw him on The Wire (best show ever to appear on TV, in case you're wondering.  I am watching Season 1, episode 4 as I write this post.)  As an aside, on a terrible first date, I met George Pelecanos, one of the writers on The Wire.  He was absolutely amazing, and made me love the show even more!

Steve's live show was every bit as wonderful as expected.  I went with my parents; I've become much closer to them throughout this ordeal, which is one of the many silver linings of finding out I was married to a sociopath and getting divorced:

This is the dessert at one of my new favorite restaurants.  I first shared it with one of my best friends (and fellow parrot-enthusiast) a few months back -- brownie with salted caramel gelato, nuts, cherry, etc.  I went back with another friend, and once I showed them the picture I had taken of my dessert earlier in the summer, they agreed to make it for me, even though it was no longer officially on the menu.  Yay!

Here's my good friend near finishing her first triathlon!  Surrounded by geese, which I loved.  Another one of our friends and I chased her around on our bikes with signs, cheering her on.  It was such a great day!

I had been on yet another bummer first date, followed by a lake cruise with friends.  I feel so lucky to live in such a fabulous city!  The views more than made up for the bad first date!

I cat-sat for my good friend and her husband.  Sprecher was watching me!

And the two of them, eating their food:

This blog was originally started to chronicle the antics of my parrots, so we will now enter that portion of this entry!

Here's Max, eating something (shocker!)  Andreas's tank is in the background.  Speaking of Andreas, he has become so much more personable recently.  He asks for me to pet his head!  I'm starting to think certain animals really can recognize evil people, which is why the parrots and Andreas are so much happier now!

And, Beeps: eating some food as well.

Calypso had climbed into Max's cage and was eating her food!  Since I always supervise, this situation was resolved without bloodshed.

Max, perched on some blankets on the couch.  She likes to be near me as I read after work.

Beeps, again.  He's actually not done as well in our new life.  I had begged Thomas to take him, since he never got along with the other birds and would prefer to be solo, but Thomas refused to take any of the parrots, or (not so shockingly), any responsibility for anything.  I had to figure everything out alone, and made what I thought were the best decisions for the parrots were at the time.  I think he feels abandoned, and hasn't rebounded as much as Calypso and Max have.

I'm still trying to eat healthy; here's a pan full of zucchini!

At my new job, I frequently have to go to fancy fundraising events.  This is a shot from a recent one.  The local professional hockey team were our servers; it was pretty exciting to be out there, sitting on the ice!

The meal (vegetarian option) was pretty, but not as tasting or filling as I'd hoped...

Also during the fall, I dog-sat one night for my closest friend and her husband.  They live only a few blocks from me, which is so convenient!  They currently have two boxers (sadly, one is nearing the end of his life.)  They have adopted me as one of their favorite humans, which is so fun!

I was trying to take a picture of Hans, but he jumped up on me and made a good picture impossible!

He always grabs a toy and tries to get me to play tug-of-war:

He wanted to go inside, but since I wanted to make sure they didn't have any accidents, I kept them outside a little longer!

So he decided to rest on their patio furniture, waiting until he could go inside again:

I tried, rather unsuccessfully, to get both of them in the photo.  The older one was coming in for some attention when the younger one pushed him out of the way:

HELLO!

A few weeks ago, some friends and I ran a 5K race that took place entirely inside a corn maze!  It was a lot of fun (though a bit hard on my knees, with the twists and turns), I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen for a year, and I won first place in my age group!  To celebrate, we went to a fabulous Mexican restaurant:

On yet another bad first date, I had some more macaroni and cheese:

I am not even kidding that I could write a blog about all of my bad first dates.  I've had some good ones sprinkled in, too, so no worries!

My dad and I have season tickets to a local NCAA team; the games started recently.  We went to almost all of the games together last year, and it was so much fun!  We're hoping to make all of the games this year:

Last week Saturday, I ran another 50K -- my third of the year.  I wound up third woman!  The race was established in honor of one of my friends who is dying of cancer.  I took what I hope is one of many annual pictures with my friend and his wife (another one of my friends.)  The wife (also my friend) and I will probably run Boston together in 2015.  I have run it before, but was with Thomas (aka "The Dark Cloud of Doom and Gloom") so it wasn't much fun.  Next time, it will be for sure!

Gorgeous picture of me and my race partner running up a hill, at about mile 30.7:

After this recent 50K, there was a campfire to warm us and make us smell delicious:

After the race, my plan was to hang out at home, drink beer, and sleep in.  But one of my friends had another idea in mind.  She's in the process of leaving her abusive partner.  Since I have recent experience with this, I have tried my best to be as supportive as possible.  We went to a haunted house (even though I am terrified of them) and then did a zip line, pictured below:

Today, my parents came up and helped me to winterize my house.  We cleaned the gutters, put some plastic on windows, took out my window air conditioning unit, and played some cards. It was a great evening! 

More to come, on a more regular basis!