Before I start, this may get confusing, so I made a quick flow chart with everyone mentioned in this post and their respective bands by year.
Now that you can kind of see how everyone knows each other, I'll begin my recap of this weekend.
As I’ve mentioned many a time before, one of the joys of my life is going to see concerts. And some of my favorite bands to see live are any of Jimmy Murn’s many projects. I first became of fan of Introversion in 2000, and my friend Theresa became a fan of The Saturdays a year later. When Jimmy created a new band a couple years ago (Jimmy Murn + The Heymakers), added Jason to the lineup this year, and scheduled a Milwaukee gig (they’re based in Madison), Theresa and I knew we wanted to go.
For some reason, we were a little nervous, which was silly because these are seriously the nicest guys. When we got to the bar where they were playing, I went up and said hi to Jimmy right away. It took him a couple seconds to figure out who I was (bangs make you incognito, Theresa and I realized), but then we had a nice little chat.
Then I went to the bar with Theresa to hang out until the show. At one point, Jason walked by, and I was like, “Do you remember me?” Since it had been so long, I wasn’t terribly surprised that he didn’t remember who I was. I looked a little different now with the bangs, makeup, and well-groomed eyebrows. He said he remembered I existed, but that’s about it. Haha. But we also had a short chat, and I introduced him to Theresa.
Jason and me
Although I look completely sloshed there, that was only after one drink. Maybe a drink and a half. Having a small dinner and low tolerance will do that to a person, heh.
Jimmy also stopped over to catch up with Theresa a little bit later.
Shortly before the show started, a guy sat next to Theresa and started talking to us. He said he was an Introversion fan back in the day, and later said he played with The Saturdays. I guess I was also guilty of not recognizing people because it took me until he said that to realize that he was Chris from I Voted for Kodos and The Saturdays. So it was fun reminiscing with him, too.
me, Chris, Theresa
When they Heymakers went on, I led the three of us to the front row. I mean, most of the crowd was sitting at tables off to the sides, so it was really the only row, but whatevs. They played music from their new CD – only one of the songs we recognized, which they dedicated to the front row (woohoo!).
Then afterwards, we went outside to hang out and take some pictures before we all headed off.
Theresa and Jimmy
Mike, Jimmy, and Jason
We convinced them to do a pyramid.
On our drive home, Theresa and I were debating whether to check out their CD release show the next night in Madison, an hour or so drive away. When I got the OK from the hubs (I love you for putting up with my craziness most of the time, dear!), we decided to go for it.
Saturday night, I met Theresa at her place and watched a video of my 18th birthday party, when Introversion played in my basement, while she finished getting ready. Then we headed to Madison.
The venue was easy to find, but the locating the door to go inside proved to be a bit more challenging. When we finally realized it was in the back of the building, we went in and found Jimmy behind the merch table. His eyes lit up, and he was shocked that we had come. He even said we made his night, aww.
Since this was a much bigger show with lots of friends and family around, Theresa and I didn’t talk to the guys much beforehand other than my getting a quick hug from Jason on his way to the stage and maybe saying hi to Mike. But that was fine; we amused ourselves at the bar again.
We hid in the crowd and enjoyed another great show and a dedication to “Rebekah and Theresa, who came all the way from Milwaukee,” or something like that. I was geeking out because it was an Introversion song, but unfortunately, Theresa didn’t recognize it. I must remember to lend her the CD next time I see her.
After the show, Jimmy invited us to a diner to grab a bite with a bunch of people. Theresa and Jimmy got to talk more there, and we all got to experience the hilarity that is Jimmy’s sister, Molly. It was a little after 3 AM when we headed home, and Jimmy felt bad that I had a long journey even after I dropped Theresa off, so he gave me a T-shirt. Woohoo! Works for me.
What I found really interesting is how Jimmy described how different each of the shows felt for him. He said at one of the two shows, he could feel all the lyrics as he was singing them; but at the other one, he was more aware of everything going on and wasn’t as connected to what he was singing. He worded it better, but it was still interesting to hear things from a musician’s point of view.
I know some of you are in the Chicago area – I highly HIGHLY recommend you check out their show tomorrow (Wednesday) night at The Live Wire Lounge. Tell ‘em I sent ya. Oh I also may have a couple Ohioans reading this. Monday, June 11 at Now That’s Class in Cleveland. They also have a few more east coast dates in June.
I'm such a wuss when it comes to hot weather. You know what, though? Humidity doesn't help matters. It was maybe only mid-80s here yesterday, if that, but all I wanted to do was wear one layer of breathable cotton and sit in the AC all day. And that's basically what I did besides going out to lunch with the fam and eventually taking Bridget to the park.
I guess it's a good thing I live where I do. At least we usually have a nice breeze going with the lake nearby; and being in Wisconsin, you know you're only going to be enduring the heat for a few months tops. Now I know this dress is a keeper for when it's actually hot out, not just hot-ish.
Sunday, also a fairly hot day, I took Bridget to a street festival in town.
It was fine, not much there, and the only thing I really wanted was ice cream. Turns out there was a super long line at the ice cream stand. I waited for a few minutes but then felt like a sucker because I remembered there was an ice cream place right across from where the car was parked. Going there was a much better idea.
Top: Target; Vest and Jeans: NY&Co; Shoes and Silver Bracelet: Kohl's; Colorful Bracelet: self-made; Watch and Bag: Michael Kors
That bottom picture is basically how my face looked all of Friday night. I've had an eventful weekend already, so I'm very grateful for the extra day to recover and just chill. I may write about it all, or I may just post pictures, depending on how motivated I feel later tonight or tomorrow.
OK, we're going in the right direction. I did pretty well this week. By Friday, I had only used about 11 of my 49 weekly points (the extra points they give you for the week when you go over your daily points). With that in mind, I didn't bother tracking points at all this weekend. I didn't think I ate that much either, but I did have a few drinks Friday and Saturday. That always adds up.
I guess that's about all I have to stay about that this week.
A shopping problem. Here are my purchases this month (I think this is all of them...I know how bad this all looks. Judge away, I certainly deserve it.):
Aldo. Not gonna lie, it kills me that the pink and teal ones are on sale now. They weren't when I ordered these. But I think orange works.
Busted Tees. Because it's a butterbeer shirt, and it was on sale, of course. Yup, impulse buy. For my visit to Universal Islands of Adventure, more specifically, the Harry Potter part.
Fred (the top is what I bought). Um, I had a coupon...and it was yellow.
Old Navy. A white dress to replace The Webster for Target one that didn't work on me at all. Hubs likes this one better anyway.
Gap. Because it was cheap, and I thought it looked Maine-esque for the chilly nights and mornings when I'm there in July.
eBay. Enough fabric to make Bridget and me matching dresses for the 4th of July. Because isn't that one of the joys of having children?
Art Fire. Pattern I'm hoping to modify to make more of an open back but be racerback bra strap friendly.
NY&Co. Because a vest has been on my to-buy list for awhile.
NY&Co. Because I wanted more than one pair of work pants that I didn't have to wear a belt with.
Crocs via Rue La La. Hopefully these will be comfortable enough to use on my Florida vacay.
Besides things for myself, I also bought a couple polo shirts and a pair of jeans for hubs, and a dress and PJs for Bridget.
Oh my gosh, I hate myself after listing all that stuff out. Time for either an intervention or a shopping ban. Or both. This was a good exercise, though. I have to write down my food for Weight Watchers so that I don't overindulge. It only makes sense that making a ridiculous list like this would show me the error of my ways. That's the first step to recovery, after all.
Hmm, shopping ban for June? Pretty sure I said that in April about May. Hold me to it, everyone!
This is one of those unexplained weight loss weeks. I didn't track points for two weeks, citing Mother's Day and having my mom-in-law as a house guest as my excuses this time. But I must not have been quite as bad as I thought I was. Awesome!
It's back on track this week. I will NOT go over my points. Let's see how I do.
Dress: Old Navy; Top: Anthropologie; Sandals: Target; Necklace: ?
This is another one of those outfits that I never would've put together on my own. Even though I tend to shy away from mixed prints in general, I actually liked how this turned out in a weird way. Also, this top is not flattering in the least, but I still think it's really cute.
I wore this to a friend's cookout, and the only problem was that this was not conducive to jumping on a trampoline. But that's fine. I had fun watching everyone else, including Bridget, jump around.
Phew, this was a stressful day, and I brought it all upon myself. I made myself late for everything I needed to get to today. First was an eye doctor appointment for Bridget. She's fine - she just has narrow tear ducts. We just have to keep her eyes clean and bacteria free until she grows out of it.
Then after a quick stop at the post office and Starbucks, I headed to work (half hour late) and had a very busy day there. After that, I rushed home (late), packed up, and we headed to my parents' to have a (late) Mother's Day dinner and see my dad's band play. I'll post a few pictures of that in a weekend post.
Now I'm just catching up on Grey's Anatomy while hubs plays Diablo. I hear Grey's gets pretty intense, so don't spoil it! Hopefully I'll finish tonight.
This outfit was inspired by this Frida painting for Style Imitating Art, which is hosted at Thrifted Shift this week. I used to have eyebrows somewhat similar to this, haha.
