5 - A Year In Review

Well another year has passed by at the speed of light. Today my baby is 6 years old. If each of his years continue to go as this last one has, he's going to have a hell of a life!

5 years old was definitely his best photographed year. He had 8 formal pictures taken of him (5 for school, one family portrait w/individual shots & 2 on the cruise). We can definitely see how much he's changed in just this one year.

What has he done this year? Well, let's see; he graduated preschool, spent almost 4 weeks total at the beach this past summer, lost six baby teeth and got six "grown-up" teeth in place of them, learned how to tie his shoes, grew about 4 inches, started Kindergarten, went on his first cruise and went to his first rock concert. Not too bad, eh?

Watching him mature more over this last year has been fascinating. He has developed such a love for reading books and a passion for music (thank you!). He is such his own person, but so much parts of both of us. I just look at him sometimes and am amazed that one night of passion created this little being. It's definitely mind blowing and extremely humbling.

I look at babies and see how fast it all has gone already, and realize how much faster it's going to continue to go. I only hope I can continue to appreciate him each day and to help make his life as successful and happy as I can.

Happy Birthday, My Love! I hope year six is as exciting for you as 5 was.

Rock On, Little Dude!

Happy Anniversary!!!!

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary. It is so hard to believe that 14 years have gone by. In February, we will have been together 16 years! Unreal. It seems like just yesterday I was wishing I would find someone to spend my life with. I am very fortunate that I found my soul mate. As much as I might bitch and moan sometimes, we really are meant for each other. I truly love him with all my heart.

When we were dating, after doing the "hippity-dippity" this song would, without fail, come on the radio. It meant so much to us then and still does today.

NOTHING ELSE MATTERS

So close no matter how far
couldn't be much more from the heart
forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
life is ours, we live it our way
all these words I don't just say
and nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
every day for us something new
open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

So close no matter how far
couldn't be much more from the heart
forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

Never opened myself this way
life is ours, we live it our way
all these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you
every day for us something new
open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say
never cared for games they play
never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
and I know

So close no matter how far
couldn't be much more from the heart
forever trusting who we are
no nothing else matters
--Metallica

So, to my Bubby, Happy Anniversay. No matter what may happen as life goes by, "Nothing Else Matters" as long as we are together. Me Luv You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your Kukla

And The Cradle Will Rock

This is my review of the Van Halen concert last Thursday at the Verizon Center. My husband and my soon-to-be 6 year old son – who attended the concert as his first concert went.

First of all, the sound sucked. Considering that these are professionals, it wasn’t the first show of the tour, etc., the sound tech’s should either be smacked hard or fired. The balancing with the drums & Eddie’s guitar was absolutely horrible and considerably irritating. The mike levels were off to the point you at times had no idea what David was singing. When David & Eddie were doing their little bit where Eddie would play the sounds David made & vice versa (ala Page/Plant) it was forced. There was no natural progression from part A of the song to the break in the middle to part B of the song. It was like, “well, we want to do this in the show where I sing and you play it on the guitar, and hey, let’s stick it here”. They didn’t play as a unit. They were four guys up there playing Van Halen songs. They did seem like they were “playing nicely” with one another, but that magic you have in a band where they are as one was gone. Alex just looked tired. And this was before his drum solo! I’ve read & heard over the years what an egomaniac Eddie is. I saw first hand what everyone is talking about. He’s been told so much what a fantastic innovative guitar player he is. It was if he was trying to prove it instead of just playing the damn songs! Some songs I didn’t know what they were until they were part way through it. David seemed to be forgetting some of the words to the songs or acted like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing. On the other hand, I thought Wolfie kicked ass. He sang well, he played fantastic. What an experience for a 16 (?) year old to have! You could see the pride on Eddie’s face when he’d watch him play. I read somewhere that Valerie is going to see them at the Madison Square Garden show and intends to bring a box of tissues because she’ll be crying with pride throughout the show. I can believe it!

I never was able to see Van Halen when they toured years back (would never have even CONSIDERED with Sammy – that was fake Van Halen) so I have no comparison as to how they were in concert then and how they were this show. It was a good show, but I would not say excellent. I got the tickets free through work, so I’m glad I didn’t have to pay full price for them. Am I glad I went? Definitely. My favorite parts of the show were: David playing acoustic & singing Ice Cream Man (sound was PERFECT for that song) and Eddie’s guitar solo (until he lost the moment and went back to “performing”).

I’ve been to four concerts where the sound mixing was that bad: Stevie Nicks in the 80’s at Baltimore Arena (partly because the arena’s acoustics sucked and partly because Stevie was a bit “snowed under” - only concert I’ve ever wanted to leave before it was over), Rush at the Cap Center in the late 80’s, Heart last summer at Pier Six (Ann had a bad mike – big difference was her voice is strong enough that it made up for it and was still an enjoyable show) and this show.

But the guys played strong and rolled from one song to the next. They never let up the entire time. And my son enjoyed the hell out of it. It was great to see everything going on through his eyes. He had the standard rock & roll hand movements going and was playing a mean air guitar several times throughout the night. Every time they did the laser bits, he grabbed my cell phone so he could take a picture! I swore when he was born that if I taught him nothing else but to love books & music, my job was done. And it is! (let me have my dream… I know there’s more to it!). He was talking to some people on the Metro on the way home. He was telling them about the iPod he just got. They were asking what songs he had on it (thinking, Kid Bop, High School Musical, Naked Brothers Band, etc) and he goes, “Foreigner, Rush, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin”, and damn I was proud!

So, that’s my two-cents from a long-time concert goer and music lover.