Train

We had a great weekend in E WA with my Aunt and Uncle! We have been wanting to see Train for years, and we finally had the opportunity this last weekend. They were playing the Maryhill Winery Amphitheater Saturday night. I love the winery for concerts. Max capacity is 4,000 (compared to the the 7,000 to 10,000 I'm used to for Aerosmith concerts), so the bathroom lines and concession lines were not that bad. Plus we had really great reserved seats...there is a photo below showing how close we were. It is not a great photo because we wrongly thought cameras were not allowed, so that is a shot from my cell phone.

Train is pretty mellow, therefor the crowd was pretty mellow as well which is a really nice change. Pat Monahan is one of the best front men ever! He is funny, totally gets into the music and dances like none of us are watching him, sounds just as good live as he does on CD, and he is cute! It was refreshing to go to a concert without the big screen and all the lights. They were just a band on a stage playing their hearts out and every song was amazing!

We will totally go see them again and I would go to concerts at the winery in a heart beat! The best outdoor venue I have ever been to!

Pat Monahan, lead singer, is int he red shirt under the train sign in the background, he is between the t and the r. Not sure this pic does a great job of showing how close we really were because we could see his facial expressions no problem.

Been a Long Week

This has been the longest week ever! On top of my head hurting and being dizzy on and off every day it has been really busy, and we are packing the office for our move to a new building next week.

I am so tired at the end of the day because it takes so much more effort than normal for me to focus on a task and it takes twice as long to get things done.

Not to worry though...it seems all my side effects are pretty normal for the injury I have, so I'm not too worried about it. Just frustrated that I don't feel totally back to normal yet.

Also frustrated that Mark found that alcohol is one of the biggest road blocks to concussion recovery. It slows the recover down and makes the side effects worse. Great...spending a weekend with my aunt and uncle who have great wine on hand at all times, and going to a concert at a winery...wine, wine everywhere but not a drop to drink for Jen. :(

New Shoes and other random thoughts...

Yes...another new pair of shoes! Can't wait to get them and figure out what outfit will be perfect to pair them with. Or, maybe I will have to go shopping for a new outfit! Even better! Good thing I am a total bargain shopper and never pay full price for anything!



Mark installed the window air conditioner in our bedroom and the living room last night...boy did we need it! The house was hot, hot, hot and I sleep so much better in a cool room!

I took Bishop for a nice long walk last night...at least I thought it was nice, I'm not sure he loved it so much. It was so hot and by the end he was dragging for sure. I was literally pulling him behind me and that never happens. I think I will have to move out walks to later in the evening...it is just too hot at 5pm for Bishop.

The good news is that was my first physical exertion since the concussion and I felt great. I know I still need to take it easy, as Mark found in some of his research yesterday, but it feels good to get in some activity! I hope to be back to a full exercise routine next week. I may not be back to Zumba, but at least hour walks every night!

Tonight Mark and I are seeing Eclipse with Bob and Michelle and we are going to the VIP Galaxy Theater in Gig Harbor. The best thing is the VIP theater is 21 and over, so no teenagers and we get beer!

Mark and I leave tomorrow night to spend the weekend with Candy and Paul and going to the Train concert...I can't wait to see Train! Mark and I have talked about seeing them for years and finally we get to go!

I am loving the sunny hot weather we are having. Finally it feels like summer is here!

4th of July

I do appreciate the 4th and what is stands for, but it may be me least favorite holiday of the year!

I am so sick of hearing fireworks go off around our house. It started 3 days before the 4th and was still going strong last night. I don't like the mess that fireworks leave, and some people don't feel the need to clean up after themselves, I don't like how upset Bishop is, I don't like it that my car window was busted last 4th of July, and I don't like laying in bed for hours waiting for the noise to stop so I can fall asleep.

The only good thing about the 4th, is the Beckham's 4th of July BBQ, and having an extra day off of work.

My Head

It has been an interesting few days.

I was feeling a lot better on Friday, and Mark and I decided to run a few errands. I realized that having sudden waves of dizziness wash over me while at the mall was really not good. I was totally overwhelmed by all the noise, colors and people. I couldn't move out of the way quick enough because I felt like I was going to fall over. I was so thankful to get back in the truck and head for home.

I'm tired of feeling good only to have a massive headache or wave of dizziness hit me and almost do me in. I know the Dr. said it could be a month of this, but it sure does start to get old. The hardest part is the fear...is this flash of pain going to be my "Brett Michaels" moment? Will I pass out because I'm so dizzy. I feel like I can go back to work on Tuesday, I am still moving slow, but for the most part feeling pretty good. But then I will get dizzy and it makes wonder if I should get back to normal.

I am a healthy person and have had very few surgeries or health issues to deal with. I'm not used to not being 100% and being confident in my body and my health. I don't like this one little bit!

New Spaghetti Recipe

Believe it or not I actually managed to cook dinner last night. Prior to getting kicked in the head I had done our grocery shopping for two weeks and really don't want the food to go to waist, plus there are some fun new recipes for me to try! So I had Mark get everything out of the lower cupboards for me so I don't have to bend down as that still makes me really dizzy. I had to go slow, and stop now and then to hold on to the counter so that the room would stop moving, but I got er done!

We eat a lot of pasta...it is one of the things that taste pretty good gluten free. So I'm always trying new pasta dishes. This one is really simple, but has great flavor.

Spaghetti with Zucchini, Walnuts, and Raisins

12 oz spaghetti
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup walnut halves, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lbs small zucchini (4 to 5) cut into thin half-moons
3/4 cups raisins
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 oz)

Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, about 1 minute.

Add the zucchini and raisins to the skillet, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook, tossing occasionally, until the zucchini is just tender, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini mixture to the pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the Parmesan before serving.

Yummy! I was worried that there was no meat in it and thought Mark may not like it, but he did!