Austin City Limits Music Festival

This year was our first time at ACL.  We only went for one day but I'm glad because we are so sore and worn out today!  We got there early, just after they opened the gates.  There was still room to move around then...the majority of the people didn't show up until after 3pm.  Then it was hard to move at all without touching someone!

The festival had 7 different stages set up for live music throughout the day.  We didn't know all of the bands that were there, so we wandering around checking them out when there wasn't a band we wanted to see.  We started out by checking out a band the Cults.  They had a different sound I really enjoyed it.  Here's a picture and a sample of their music.

Next we headed to the big stage...The Bud Light Stage (all the stages were sponsored by different corporations).  This stage was one of the two that was showing the main (more known) acts throughout the day, which would culminate at the end of the night with Kanye West.  He was awesome, btw.  I don't have any pictures of his show because there were SO MANY people that we really couldn't get any decent pictures, even of the video screen.  It was great fun though with so many people dancing and singing along.  In the morning though we saw Theophilus London.  I had heard of him before but I had never heard his music.  I didn't even really know what type of music it was...turns out he is a rapper.  He was really good.  We enjoyed the show.

The best part of his show...IT RAINED!  Woohoo!  The audience was more excited about that than his performance ;)

We checked out a few other bands that we didn't really like much, then we stumbled on Brandi Carlisle.  She was good...even Shawn like her band.  It was a different sound, but country based.  They were playing on the other main stage, the AMD stage.  This was located on the other side of the park from the Bud Light stage and was showing the other main acts throughout the day.  After her shown we ate and then waited for Ray LaMontagne.  He was really good as well, but his music is so mellow it is really kind of weird at a festival such as this.  Plus, during his show is when the rest of Austin decided to show up and the sun decided to come out...boo! Thus began my sunburn!

We took a break for awhile to sit in the shade and have a snack before SARA BAREILLES.  She is the show I was really waiting for, and she did not disappoint!  She was so freaking good!  We have a really shitty camera, so we didn't get very many good pictures but I did manage to get a video on my phone of one song.  I can't even describe how awesome she was.  If you like her even a little I would highly recommend seeing her live.

Everyone was hoping she would sing "Gravity" but that song was way too mellow for her level of excitment!  You could just tell how thrilled she was to be there.  Her whole band...their excitement was tangible!  She has a really good stage presence too, she's funny!  I'm still working on uploaded the video from my phone...once I get it to work I'll post it on my blog.

The two closing acts were Kanye West and Coldplay.  We were closer to Coldplay after Sara Bareilles was finished with her set, but we both thought Kanye would be more fun.  We danced and had a great time!  Our feet were absolutely killing us already, so we didn't stay for his whole show (we still had to walk the journey back to our car) but we stayed for most of his show.  We left after he played "Stronger" since we both love that song.  He played some new music and a lot of old stuff too, which was awesome! Overall, we had a great day and can't wait to do it again next year!

Anniversary Trip: Part II

We started off the second day of our trip by watching the sunrise over the ocean from the balcony of our room.  Beautiful.



After breakfast it was time for a full day of beach/pool fun with nothing particular planned.  Shawn enjoyed splashing in the ocean like a kid again!



I took my turn standing in the ocean...but that's far enough for me!



I'd rather stay on the sand and socialize with the gulls.

Of course we had to get a couple of pictures together...not the greatest but they'll do.

I enjoyed just looking out over the ocean though...such a awe inspiring sight!

Shadows are fun too!



Aside from our time as beach bums, we did very little.  Just relaxed and enjoyed being together.  We tried a little local hamburger place for dinner and it was really delicious.  I can't remember the name though :(  Anyway, the next morning we got up, ate breakfast and walked on the beach again before heading home.  What a perfect anniversary!

Anniversary Trip: Part I

I haven't really had the chance yet to post about our anniversary trip...which was wonderful!  We had such a great time.  It was so nice to be away from home, together...

We weren't gone long, but it was a great trip anyway.  Shawn got to see the ocean, even if it was just the Gulf of Mexico.  He certainly enjoyed himself!  So here's the story of our trip.

We left on our anniversary for the approximately 3-1/2 hour drive to Corpus Christi, Texas.  We'd heard some bad things from friends/coworkers of ours about the beaches in Corpus, but we were willing to give it a try anyway.  I found a good hotel deal and it was a shorter drive than going to South Padre Island.  We made pretty good time too, so that was even better than we thought.  We arrived before we could check in at the hotel, so Shawn wanted to go visit the USS Lexington in the Bay.  It is a museum on an old retired naval ship (a battle carrier kind of ship...I'm not up on the lingo!).

Captain McGaughey

Once we go to our hotel, we unpacked and headed to dinner at a seafood place on the water.  It was really good.  Then back to the hotel for a walk on the beach then watched the ocean as the sun set (behind us...so we didn't really get to see it, but the oceans still looked pretty).



All in all, it was a good start to our anniversary!

Sick...again

I am pretty sure that my body is revolting against me.  I had just started feeling better after the whole meningitis thing...now I have a sinus infection.  I just can't win.

Happy Anniversary

Shawn and I have been married for 2 years today!

I can't believe it has been 2 years already...what a whirlwind!  We've decided that even though we can't really afford it right now (I have just discovered how much my stupid viral meningitis hospital stay is going to cost us) we are going to go out of town for a couple of days. 

Just us.

Two days.

I'm so excited!

Shawn wanted to see the ocean, so we're going to Corpus Christi to check it out.  I don't think we're going to do much sightseeing...museums and things all cost more money.  We'll just relax and enjoy the view.

I woke up to this lovely sight this morning from the hubs...

Two roses for two years of marriage.

Have I mentioned how much I love my husband?  If not then I will say it now...I LOVE SHAWN MCGAUGHEY!  He's wonderful and I don't know what I would do without him.

He helps me relax when I am stressed - that's not often, right?  haha

He makes me do something fun when I am worried about things.

He keeps me grounded when I forget what is really important.

Here's one last picture from our wedding day.  This pictures always makes me laugh.  It completely sums up the kind of wedding day we had.  Everyone had fun.  If you were there I would love it hear a memory you had from our wedding. 

Now we're off to enjoy our anniversary (well...after we get Shawn's stupid car fixed.  That's another story!)

Still tired

Again...I thought I was feeling completely like myself again.  Wrong.  I worked the last two days.  They were busy days.  Hectic even.  Stressful to some extend.  Especially Thursday.  I took care of a very sick little peanut.  She stressed me out.  Friday I was basically catch-all helper RN for the day.  That always keeps me busy.  When I got home from work last night Logan was over.  Yay!  We played for about a half hour...then I layed down for a minute to read.  Next thing I knew it was 2am!  I went back to sleep then and I didn't get up until 7am!  I guess I'm still recovering a bit.  More sleep please :)

Two more days of work and then Shawn and I are going away for a couple of days to celebrate our Anniversary.  It's been 2 years already...seems like a lot longer.  I mean that in the best way possible!  We've just been through a lot together in such a short time.  A lot of good and some bad too.  We're looking forward to a couple of days away together :)