The Counting Crows!!!

Last night Melinda and I met Pat at DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston to see Augustana, the Counting Crows, and Maroon 5. My mom was nice enough to pick my sister up from work and bring her to meet me at my work so that we could leave directly from there rather than going home. There wasn't too much traffic heading south towards Detroit, but the construction on I-75 was annoying. The north bound traffic looked horrible with all the people trying to get "up north" once more before the end of summer. So we made good time. We stopped by Meijer in Auburn Hills to get a few groceries then went and got some lunch/dinner from the Steak and Shake by Great Lakes Crossing. It was good. By then it was time to head for the concert since we wanted to get there early enough to get decent parking. I hate trying to get out of DTE. It has taken over an hour before. There weren't that many people there yet when we got there, so we were able to get a pretty good spot at the end of a row. We had to wait a half hour before they opened the gates. After that we stopped by the merchandise stand and each got a CC keychain and window sticker. We then went in search of our seats, but security wasn't allowing anyone to get to the lawn or pavillon since Augustana was still doing their soundcheck. It was pretty cool to listen to. After they finished we finally got to go to our seats, which weren't too bad. We had a decent view of the stage. We had to wait another half hour for our brother to show up.

Augustana took the stage pretty much right at 7:00 pm. Adam from the CC came out to introduce them. I can't remember their setlist, but "Boston" was the second song they played. They also played " still ain't over you," "Dust," and I think "Twenty Years." They were good, but too short. I was surprised they didn't play "Sweet and Low" which is one of the first singles off their new album and they hardly plugged their new album.

Photos of Augustana:





After Augustana the roadies came out and cleaned up the stage a bit to get ready for the Crows. This was my 8th Counting Crows concert. They came on about 7:50. The set list for the Crows (information from CC board):

Goodnight L.A
Mr. Jones (acoustic)
Richard Manuel is Dead
Washington Square
Omaha
Mercury
Friend of the Devil
Miami (acoustic)
Long December
Hangin' Around w Augustana
Rain King w/ Augustana

I was sort of disapointed that they only played one song from their new album. I really wanted to hear the new album in concert, but they were still awesome. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the acoustic version of "Mr. Jones"!!! It was great to hear "Omaha" as well. It was also awesome when Adam brought Augustana back out for the last two songs though their microphone wasn't all that great. It was a fun show, but I really would have loved to hear more of the new songs. Oh well, a reason to go to another show! LOL :)

Photos of the Counting Crows















We left after the Counting Crows. My brother didn't want to stay for Maroon 5. We then went to the hotel where my brother had gotten a room at. His neighbors have been bothering him lately with loud music and partying so he wanted a quiet holiday weekend and rented a hotel room. He's so funny! It was a nice hotel and close to DTE, which was nice.

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which wasn't bad as far as complimentary breakfast go, then went to Barnes and Nobles in Auburn Hills. There was lots of good stuff today. :) We got 9 books for $27. :) My brother took his car to have it looked at since the service engine soon light had come on, but it was because the gas cap wasn't on right. After that we went to Archivers in Sterling Heights. Then we went and found the Little Scrapbox in Utica. We found lots of stuff there. After that we went back to Auburn Hills and had a nice lunch with our brother at the Olive Garden. After lunch we took him back to his car and we headed back home.

It was a fun mini-trip. The concert was good and it was fun to spend some time with Pat. He also gave me copies of his pictures from the Grand Canyon. He got some really good photos. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get some scrapping done. My sister and I both have Monday off so I'm hoping to get some more paper scrapping done.

That is all for now! Have a great weekend! :)

Later,
Melissa

Wide Open Spaces

Britt is releasing an AWESOME template pack called "Wide Open Spaces" today. Each of the templates is really cool. I've already used 2 of them and will definitely use the other 2. They are quickly becoming my favorite templates. Here are the layouts I did:

A Vision of Beauty - My sister and I with the Mackinac Bridge.



A Guiding Light - A photo of Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York, ME from our New England trip from last year.



So check out this awesome template pack at ScrapMatters! :)

On Tuesday night there was another Speed Scrap at ScrapMatters. I was going to use a different picture, but changed it part way through when the no journaling instruction came through because the photo I had initially picked out required some journaling. I wasn't really liking this in the beginning, but love how it turned out.

Awesome - Another picture of me with the Mackinac Bridge.



Here is my layout for this week's Tuesday Template at ScrapMatters

It's a Small World - The photos are from Walt Disney World.





That's all for today. My sister, my brother Pat, and I are going to see Augustana, the Counting Crows, and Maroon 5 at DTE Energy Music Theater. I'm SOOOOOO excited!!!! The Crows are my favorite band!!! I can't wait to hear the new album live!!! We'll be staying down in Detroit with our brother and coming back sometime on Saturday. So have a great weekend!

Later!
Melissa

Back home!

Well Melinda and I made it home. :) We had a blast up in Mackinaw City.

After I posted yesterday we went down to the pool and spa for about an hour. We had the whole place to ourselves for about 20 minutes, which was awesome. Loved the spa!!! It as so relaxing. After that we went back to the room and ate a bit of fudge. YUMMY! Then we watched some Star Trek Enterprise on the laptop before going to bed.

This morning we got up early to get breakfast. The hotel we stayed at offers a free "hot" breakfast that is awesome! They have eggs, sausage, make your own waffles, bagels, different kinds of bread, cereal, etc. The waffles are quite good and fun to make. Its one of the reasons we like staying at this hotel. After an excellent breakfast we went back to the room to pack up to check out.

We then checked out and headed for Colonial Michilimackinac. Colonial Michilimackinac was "founded in 1715 as a French fur-trading village and military outpost, Michilimackinac was later occupied by the British who abandoned it in 1780 to establish a new fort on Mackinac Island." It is set up to show life in 1770's before the fort was taken apart and moved to Mackinac Island.

We used to go there quite a bit when we were little, but it has been a long time, at least 10 years since we've gone to the fort. We got there as they were opening and took a bunch of pictures of the Mighty Mac from the Lake Michigan side. We waited a bit for the Morning Salute Cannon demonstration. That was fun, though I jumped when it went off. After that we went into the fort and began wondering thorugh the buildings. At this point we realized that it seemed so much smaller now than it did when we were little. At 10:00 am then we went to watch the Musket firing demonstration. The same guys who did the cannon demonstration did the Musket firing. They also gave of the history background on the fort, which was nice. There were some funny moments. The muskets weren't as loud as the cannon. After that we wandered around the rest of the buildings. After we were done with all the buildings we actually went up to the walkway around the fort, which used to scare me when I was little. I actually also went up to the tower above the gate. We of course took photos of that to document this because I used to be so scared to go up there. It was sort of strange to walk around the fort. We only made it halfway around before Melinda wanted to go back down, which was fine with me. We then made our way back to the giftshop.

After the fort we went to the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. We didn't do the tour because it looked scary, but we got photos from all angles. We bought our brother a few items since he likes lighthouses.

After that we decided to start heading home. It was a nice drive home. Not too much traffic. We had a nice lunch in Gaylord.

Overall it was a fun trip. It was strange because we had no definite plans. Normally when we travel we have it planned down to the minute practically. It was strange to just make it up on the fly, but fun. It was a relaxing, pleasant trip. And as much as I love Chicago, I think this trip was better than Chicago would have been. I liked the slow pace of it rather than the fast pace that normally is apart of our Chicago trips. We'll definitely plan another trip to Chicago. We tend to go at least once a year. Everything happens for a reason, so it was a good thing my brother's wife canceled because we had an amazing time in Mackinaw City.

Here are some of today's photos:

Mackinac Bridge from Lake Michigan side



Morning Cannon salute



Musket firing demonstration



Sunflower and Church



Buildings in the fort



The fort from the walkway



Me in the tower at the Fort



The land gate



Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse





Well thats all. It was a fun trip. Melinda and I both really enjoyed it and loved the relaxed, laid back feeling. Must go eat fudge now! Yum!

Later!
Melissa

Change of Plans - Mackinaw!!!

Last night about 10:00 PM before Melinda and I were going to go to bed, my brother Chris called and said that they wouldn't be able to get to our house until 9:00 AM. We were supposed to leave for Chicago at 7:00 AM!!! Well let's just say Melinda and I weren't happy. He calls back later and says his wife doesn't want to come anymore. Oy. We were pretty upset since a lot of this trip was for her. After some debate we decided we were going to go to Detroit to pick up our other brother Pat from the airport, but couldn't get a hold of Chris to give him the new plan. Then Melinda jokingly suggested we go up to Mackinaw City since we already had the supplies for a road trip, were packed, and hadn't been there in 2 years. The more we thought about it, the more awesome of an idea it became. So we booked a room at the hotel we like here in Mackinaw City and began to plan out a few things we wanted to do.

We left this morning at 8:00ish and got up here about 11:30ish. Its quite a bit cooler up here than we had expected. When we checked into the hotel our room wasn't going to be available for about an hour, so we decided to drive around a bit, go take some pictures of the bridge. We had fun playing in the water. It was COLD!!! It was so much fun though!!!

After we were done playing in Lake Huron we went back to the hotel and unpacked. After that we decided to head to Mackinac Island to get fudge from Ryba's, which is our favorite fudge!!! We quickly acquired our fudge then wanted to get some lunch. After some debate we decided on the Yankee Rebel Tavern. We had eaten there previously in 2002, so we wanted to try it again. It was good. I had a Turkey Bacon wrap, which was very good. Melinda had a Chicken Salad wrap that had Michigan Cherries instead of grapes. She really liked it. After that we walked around the island a bit, did some shopping. Then we decided to come back to the mainland, where we did some more shopping. We stopped by Alice's Kandy Korn and got some for our mom and milk chocolate banana split Oreo's, which were sooooo good!!! We then went back to rest a bit. After a short nap we went to dinner at the Dixie Saloon. It was good, but very busy. Now we're back in the room. We plan to go swimming in a bit. So far its been a lot of fun. We're having fun going without a plan. Tomorrow we're planning to go to the fort. We haven't been there in probably 10 years. We used to go all the time when we were little.

Its not Chicago, but we're having fun. Its been nice and relaxing, which is something we both needed. Here are some pictures from today:

Mackinac Bridge



Melissa with the Mackinac Bridge





Melinda playing in the waves



Melissa on the ferry to Mackinac Island



Our favorite fudge shop: Ryba's!



Round Island Lighthouse and Ferry boat



Melissa with the Mackinac Bridge from Mackinac Island



We're having fun! Looking forward to tomorrow! :)

Later!
Melissa

The Windy Cindy!!!

Tomorrow morning we're leaving for Chicago for a few days. Looking forward! Can't wait to get some deep dish Chicago style pizza! YUM! We should have Internet access at the hotel tomorrow, so I might post a few pictures. So, see you when I get back! :)

Melissa

Fairchild kit and layouts

Britt released her brand new kit today called "Fairchild." It is AWESOME!!! Lots of fun elements and rich colors. Perfect for back to school layouts, fall layouts, or even Disney layouts!



Here are the layouts I created with this amazing kit:

The fairest one of all


Campers of the Day





Off to go scrap a few pages. I forgot my power cord today so I couldn't use my laptop at work. It was such a long, boring day without my Photoshop! LOL

Later!

Quizzes are fun!

Britt had this quiz posted on her blog, so I decided to take it to see what accent I have. It's pretty much true, though I've never had anyone tell me I have an accent.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

While at that site, I found another fun quiz.

Congratulations, you are 92% Michigan!

 

Congratulations, when it comes to you and Michigan, you know your stuff! You must drink pop, vacation "up north", and enjoy the many special seasons Michigan has to offer. Maybe you should write your own Michigan quiz!

How Michigan are you?
See All Our Quizzes

That one is dead on. Though I really don't like vacationing "up north." And there are days when I don't enjoy the "seasons" here, especially not when they happen in all one day! :)

And my brother made it to Arizona in one piece. His plane landed at 10:06 PM, which was 1:06 AM here. I talked to him yesterday. He drove up to Williams yesterday. Then today he took a train to the Grand Canyon. I didn't get a chance to talk to him today, but hopefully will talk to him tomorrow to see what he thought of the Grand Canyon.

That's all for now since its getting late. Night!

Busy Sunday

Today my sister and I got up early to drive down to metro Detroit, which is about 1.5 hours from where we live. Yesterday my brother asked if we wanted to go see "The Dark Knight" at the IMAX before we were take him to the airport. My sister of course agreed to this plan since she had been wanting to see it at the IMAX. This is the brother she is in competition with. So we had to be to his house by 11:00 so we could make the 12:00 showing. We hit a bunch of construction along the way and ended up being about 20 minutes behind scheduled. After that we packed up his luggage we headed for the movie. We got there with about 10 minutes to spare. For some reason I thought the IMAX screens were like way bigger. They are bigger than the normal screen, but I was expecting something way, way bigger. The movie was awesome. It was my 3rd time viewing it, my sister's 7th, and my brother's 5th. After that we went and got some lunch. And since we still had time to kill we went to our favorite Barnes and Nobles store in Rochester Hills. I love their used book section. After that it was about 4:00 pm so we decided to head for the airport so that my brother would have plenty of time to get through security, etc. We got him there a bit past 5:00 pm. We went in with him since he wasn't sure where to check his bag, since its been 2 years since he last flew. After that we said goodbye and headed home. While driving home it started pouring. It was pretty scary because visibility was quite low and there was quite a bit of water on the road. I hate driving in rain like that, but we made it home without any problems. When we got home, we had a message from our mom that our brother's plane was delayed by 1.5 hours and he wanted us to check the weather on the Internet since he had seen something on the TV at the airport about flooding in Arizona. As of right now, he is onboard the plane over Iowa. We probably won't hear from him until tomorrow since I'm sure he will be quite tired and exhaused when he lands. Luckily he has a hotel reserved by the airport for tonight so he won't have to go very far once he gets to Phoenix. I keep checking the Internet to see where his plane is. I think my sister is getting annoyed with my updates every 5 minutes. LOL

Next weekend we are going to Chicago with our sister-in-law for two days. Should be fun. Today while watching "The Dark Knight" we found some other clues to figure out where they filmed the truck scene. Its not too far from where our hotel is, so I think I'll let my sister go find it so she can say she was where Christian Bale was. LOL She's insane, but I still like her. :)

That's all for now. Must go check on my brother's flight! :) Until tomorrow.

-Melissa

Layouts, layouts, and more layouts!

As promised, here are all of the layouts I’ve created this past week. Click on each photo for complete credits.

Michigan Cavalry Guidons - This was my entry for the Scrap Olympics Opening Ceremonies at ScrapMatters. I had probably 4-5 different ideas, but finally went with this one. The photos are from the Cavalry demonstration at Greenfield Village during Civil War Weekend held every Memorial Day weekend.



Monsters, Inc. - My sister and I with Mike and Sulley at MGM Studios in January 2007. This was for a Speed Scrap at ScrapMatters.



Wave Kissed Toes - My brothers and I playing in the Gulf of Mexico. This was for the “Swimming Event” in the Scrap Olympics at ScrapMatters



Love - A photo of my maternal Grandmother. I will probably go back and add a date and information once I get that from my mom.



First Flight - This layout is all about my first time flying on an airplane. We flew from Detroit to Chicago in January 2006.



Remember Moments - This was my “Go for the Gold” layout in the Scrap Olympics. I love this photo of my friend. She had just got back from a semester in Scotland. She couldn’t stop smiling. It was such an awesome moment.



Yzerbear - My entry into the Tuesday Template Challenge at ScrapMatters last week. It was chosen as the favorite layout! YAY!



Soarin‘ - My entry for the challenge at DISboards.



Once Upon a Dream - Another Speed Scrap layout. My sister and I with Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip at WDW in January 2007



A Royal Lunch - I used this two page layout for two different challenges at ScrapMatters. Its me with the princesses at Ariel’s Grotto at California Aventure in April 2008.





So Dizzy - My Tuesday Template Challenge layout for this week that I also used for a Choose Your Own Adventure challenge at ScrapMatters.



We love Photopass - My layout for the DISboards challenge this week. We were asked to scrap something we love about Disney other than a ride, show, or character. Melinda and I LOVE Photopass!!! It is definitely one of our favorite parts of a Disney trip.



Picture Perfect Friends - Melinda and her best friend Lib on New Year’s Eve 2004. I wanted to get a picture of them together, but instead got these photos. I love this set of pictures.



Magic - From the Speed Scrap at ScrapMatters on Thursday.



A Dream Come True - This layout uses parts of Britt’s new kit, “Bubble Yum” which is deliciously cute mini-kit! This was the first time my sister got to meet Sleeping Beauty, which had long been a dream of hers.



A Century of Life and Love - This is a photo of my Great-Grandma’s 100th Birthday Celebration.



Whew! That is the last of them! I said I had been busy! LOL Probably won’t get a chance to post anything tomorrow since we’re going down to Detroit early to meet our brother. We’re going to go see “The Dark Knight” at the IMAX then take him to the airport. Good thing he has a late flight. :) So have a great rest of the weekend!

Later!