Bruce!

Mr. B surprised me on Tuesday with tickets for Wednesday's Bruce Springsteen show. I didn't think we'd be able to go, because we couldn't get tickets. I'm so glad that we went, though, because it was probably the best concert I've ever been to.

We were in section 217, Row 6 which is parallel to the stage. I thought we'd be 6 rows from the stage, but we were actually the first row because they took out all of the floor seats. We could see everything! Before the show started, we were watching the roadies set up and we saw Jay Weinberg, the drummer's son, going backstage. I waved 'hi' and I swear he looked right at me and said 'hi' back. A bunch of us on our section asked if he was going to play and he said he didn't know yet.

The show started with "Badlands", which is an awesome song--love it! VanZant came over to our side of the stage to switch guitars and he looked into the crowd and over at me. I pointed at him and he gave me a super-old-dirty man smile and pointed back and nodded at me. I nearly crapped my pants! LOL

They played soo many good songs! I think my favorites were "Spirit in the Night", "The Promise Land" , "Lonesome Day" and "Thunder Road". I'll have to think of some songs to stump the band next time. They played "London Calling" last night and it sounded so good!

This was the first night Patti came back and it seemed like she was feeling much better. The band was amazing and the crowd got into every song. Mr. B and I stood up just about the entire time--my feet are killing me today and my hands are sore from clapping. We didn't know all of the songs, but the crowd was so great that we pretty much learned as the song went on. I really hope that he comes back at the end of his tour as a final farewell to the Spectrum. It's such a cool place to see a concert because you're basically right on top of the band. It's a shame they're tearing it down...

If you ever get a chance to see a Bruce concert, go. You don't have to know all of the songs...you really learn them as they play them. Mr. B is the one who got me really into Bruce and I'm so happy that he did. Thanks for an amazing night, Mr. B!!!

Setlist:

Badlands

The Ties That Bind

Outlaw Pete

Spirit in the Night

Working on a Dream

Seeds

Johnny 99

Youngstown

Raise Your Hand

London Calling

Red Headed Woman

Thundercrack

Hungry Heart

The Promised Land

Streets of Philadelphia

Kingdom of Days (w/ Jay Weinberg)

Radio Nowhere (w/ Jay Weinberg)

Lonesome Day (w/ Jay Weinberg)

The Rising (w/ Jay Weinberg)

Born to Run (w/ Jay Weinberg)

* * *

Hard Times (w/ Jay Weinberg)

Thunder Road (w/ Jay Weinberg)

Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (w/ Jay Weinberg)

Land of Hope and Dreams (w/ Jay Weinberg)

American Land (w/ Jay Weinberg)

Kitty's Back (w/ Jay Weinberg)

I officially rock

Somehow I managed to get an A and an A- in my classes this semester. I honestly have no clue how I pulled that off, but I'm obviously a good multi-tasker! I'm going to reward myself with something nice. I was thinking maybe new sandals, but I may just wait until after Vegas to see what kind of $$ I come back with. I desperately want a new computer. I'm super jealous of Mr. B's new Dell, but I also want a nice camera. Like a real camera...not a 7MP piece of crap.

This was probably the hardest semester so far, plus it was my first time taking 2 classes at once. Both were really demanding and I don't know that I'd do it again unless I knew that one would be kind of easy.

For the summer semester, I'm only taking one course. Not too sure how it will go because we have a group project, which I loathe, and I don't know anyone in my group. The prof is nice and pretty fair, so hopefully everything will turn out ok. I already know that I'm missing one class because of Vegas and I'll probably have to leave early for an association meeting.

Warm Weather

I am so happy for all of this warm weather. Unfortunately my allergies, and Mr. B's allergies, are out of control.

This weather so makes me want to play hookie and do fun things. I'm hoping that this weekend is kind of crappy so I'll be forced to stay inside and finish all of the little odds and ends things around the house I've been putting off.

This past weekend I was pretty productive though. I cleaned out my closet, put away my winter clothes (wishful thinking) and put all my summer clothes in. I ended up with 3 full trash bags of clothes that either don't fit right or that I haven't worn in a year. I also rearranged the other closets in the house and got rid of some things that we'll try to sell at a yard sale down the shore this summer.

Our Vegas trip is coming up fast and I can't wait!

Spain Tidbits

One of my friends is going on a Mediterranean cruise (so jealous!) and they're making a stop in Sevilla, Spain. I wrote up some quick facts about places to see and eat so I thought I'd add it to my blog.

Sevilla
Places to See:
1. Catedral y Giralda--located in the center of the city and right across the street from Real Alcazar de Sevilla. I loved the orange trees! This took about 2 hours to see everything.

2. Real Alcazar de Sevilla--Gorgeous old palaces with Moorish influences. We spent a few hours here. The gardens are amazing.

3. Museo Taurino y Plaza Maestranza--This is the bullfighting museum and it?s located right along the river; right down the street from El Torre de Oro. It was really interesting and you might even be able to see a bull fight if you want. The tour was about 30 minutes.

4. La Plaza de Espana--This was really cool, but watch out for the ladies with the herbs! It?s an open air plaza that used to be used for carnivals and as a market.
5. Museo de Bellas Artes?We breezed through here, but got to see some nice paintings.

6. I wanted to go on a cruise of the river, but Mr. B gets sea-sick so we had to pass that up.

Places to Leave:
7. Roman Aqueducts--We found these by accident and they really weren?t in the best area of the city. Not a must see.
8. Alameda de Hercules--This is in a shady part of town. There are a lot of gypsies in this area.
9. Torre de Oro--Nothing special. I think it?s a museum now.

__________________________

o We were able to walk everywhere in the city with no problem, so you don?t have to take a bus tour if you don't want to.
o We didn't have any problems with pick-pocketing, but I would still watch your purse/wallet/cameras.
o Nothing really opens until about 9am and then places close down around 1pm or 2pm for lunch and a siesta. Stores open up around4pm or 5pm and stay open until 7 or 8pm.
o Dinner is really late here and people usually eat around 9pm or 10pm. Most restaurants don't even open until 8pm or 8:30pm.

Where to Eat:
1. Coloniales--This was our favorite place by far! We went here for dinner our first night in Sevilla. The guy at the front desk in our hotel recommended it. It's on the corner of Jimios Castillejo and G de Vinuesa. I forget the name of the main street that the trolley runs down, but it's right off of that street. There's a camera store on the corner and it's right down a little alley way from there. We got there around 8pm, when it was just opening, and by 9pm it was packed!

2. Estrella--This was another recommendation from the guy at our hotel. It's right around the corner from el Catedral on a street called Estrella and it intersects with Argote de Molina. The food was really good here and I had the red sangria (Sangria tinto) which was delicious!

3. Vineria San Telmo--We ate here with some friends the last night we stayed in Sevilla. It's a small place with a huge wine selection. The tapas were really really good. I had the black spaghetti with scallops...mmm! This place was a little harder to find, but it's worth it! It's on the corner of Menedez Pelayo and Catalina de Rivera and Santa Maria la Blanca. There's a big park out in front and it's in a strip of restaurants and shops.

What to Eat/Drink:
o Breakfast--Breakfast is kind of small in Spain. They usually do coffee and some kind of pastry. Our hotel offered breakfast every morning for about 7Euro and it included: juice, coffee, soda, fresh fruit, cold cereal, rolls, bread, lunchmeat(usually 2 kinds of sliced chorizo and maybe ham) and a couple types of cheese.
o After breakfast--They usually have another smaller meal in here. We usually just grabbed a snack somewhere
o Lunch--We went to tapas bars for lunch. Cruz Campo is the big beer over there and they usually bring it in a huge mug :) Most places have a menu in English if you ask (Una carta de Ingles). We loved the Patatas Bravas (potatoes with a spicy sauce) so good! We like seafood so we usually got the Gambas Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp) and the Chiparones (baby squid). The croquets were good and so was the chorizo.
o Dinner--It's usually really late and the good places get crowded quickly. If the restaurant is crowded, people usually just get a drink inside and then stand outside and wait for a table to open up. Paella here is really good, but it does take awhile for it to come out. They usually serve some pan y picos with dinner (bread and pieces) which I loved and I wish I had brought some home! The weird thing is that they charge you for bread, but it's usually less than a Euro
o Drinks--The rioja is a red wine that's pretty much only made in Spain and it's amazing. You guys should also try some Sherry. It's only made in certain areas and Spain is one of them. I wasn't a real fan of it, but it's worth the try! Tio Pepe is a big sherry over there.

Updates

1. We doggie-sat for a friend last weekend and it made me realize that I miss having a dog around. I can't wait to get a bigger place! Holly was really good and we used our Caesar Milan tricks on her. Some of them worked, some didn't...they didn't keep her from sneaking on the couch when our backs were turned!

2. We lost our voice on Monday :( I already miss hearing HK's voice during the games. It's not the same...

3. We finally got our windows and I'm so glad we did! It's so much more quiet in the house and we can finally open all of the windows!

4. We've made no progress on trying to sell our place. We've both been swamped with work and school and haven't had time to do the little odds and ends things that need to get done. No rush here because we don't even have time to go to open houses right now.

5. We did the Easter rounds on Sunday and my grandparents made me participate in the annual Easter egg hunt. I got some $$ out of it, so I guess I can't complain ;0)

I think that's about it. Less than I thought it would be. Hopefully after this week I'll have some more time to keep the blog up. Only one class this semester...thank GOD!!!!!!!

The Weather Better Cooperate...

...on Thursday, or else! We were supposed to have our new windows installed Friday, but the rain had other plans. New windows would have been amazing to have on Sunday because it was so nice.

The windows in our master bedroom are actually broken to the point that we can't open them. I can't wait to get a cross-breeze! Hopefully we can get them installed before the end of April...stupid April showers...

Our First Phils Game of the Season

We just got tickets to the Wednesday game and it's the Ring Ceremony. I'm so excited to leave work early and spend the rest of the day over at the ballpark. Crab fries and soft pretzels, here I come! I'll post some pictures from our awesome seats this weekend.