A Few Firsts

I saw this on Laura's blog, The Everyday Joys and it looked like fun!


Some of my firsts...

1. First thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Stick a thermometer in my mouth (while keeping the cat from playing with it,) and put eye drops in (I'm bad and don't take out my contacts at night.)

2. First thing you do when you get home from work? Make sure the cat hasn't destroyed the house and then usually plop down in front of my computer.

3. First kiss? A short term boyfriend in junior high. We were at an arcade that our group of friends went to every Friday after school and it was in front of everyone. Not very romantic.

4. First home? Technically my first home was my parent's home back in Canada that we lived at for about 9 months. My first home in the U.S. was my parent's home in Missouri. My first home with Keegan was here in Mississippi that we bought before we were married.

5. First car? 2001 white Ford Focus that I got when I was 19. I was the strange kid and didn't get my license until I was 19.

Similar to this but with half of the paint scratched off the hood. Car from Google images. 

6. First thing you wanted to be when you grew up? An artist. Something that I've always wanted to do. In college it changed slightly to running/owning my own gallery.

7. First choice beverage? At home, typically water (we don't really keep anything else but milk in the house,) but when we're out, it's usually Coke (I'd love some Pepsi, but not many places sell Pepsi in the south.)

8. First choice dessert? Chocolate cake.....or cheesecake.....or ice cream.....mmmmm dessert.

9. First choice of a restaurant? Honestly depends on my mood, but I'll almost never pass up Italian food or Mugshots.

10. First song that comes to mind? Honestly can't think of one right now.

11. First major purchase? College. I'm still paying that off and will probably do so for the next 40 years.

12. First job? Well my first real paying job (besides babysitting) was a lifeguard at the pool we had been going to since I was little. I stayed at the job plus added in teaching swim lessons for over 6 years.

13. First time you flew on a plane? 1990 when my parents and I moved from Canada to Missouri.

14. First real "big girl" job? I'd say being paid to save people's lives is a pretty "big girl" job. See number 12.

Knockin' Two Items off the Bucket List

As I talked about in my last Fab Friday post, Keegan, Brendan, and I were in Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday to see one of my favorite bands...and to do something special.

First of all, the show was amazing. There were two opening bands, one from England who I wasn't the biggest fan of, and one from LA: Old Man Markley.

Described as "punk bluegrass," I've never seen a band have so much fun on stage. They were constantly dancing, jumping, and joking with each other while playing awesome music. I mean, how can a band with a washtub upright base, a washboard, fiddle, banjo, and autoharp not be cool?

After the bands switched out, it was Dropkick Murphys time! 

This is the stage as they were setting up. Notice the HUGE organ in the background? The show was at the Tabernacle in Atlanta. Their website explains some of the history, and the reason for the huge organ:

"The Tabernacle building has a rich & storied history. Opened in 1910 as The Broughton Tabernacle; Dr. Leonard Gaston Broughton was the pastor and a physician. Dr. Broughton started the Georgia Baptist Medical Center and nursing school, which began as the Tabernacle infirmary with three beds. The Third Baptist Church was an active congregation with over 4000 members. The congregation relocated during the mid eighties and the building lay vacant until the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, when it was converted into a House of Blues club."

The concert was amazing. They played a great set and had so much energy for guys that have been playing since the late 90s. My only problem the entire concert was the crowd. Now, going into this, I knew that Dropkick shows are typically described as "drunken brawls," so I knew the crowd was going to be a little rough. However, it seemed like 90% of the people there were just there to mosh. As you can tell from the pictures, we were really close to the stage, right up against the metal barrier. It really bothered me that I had to take my time and energy away from watching the show to constantly look over my shoulder to see if someone was going to run into me or try and crowd surf over me. I respect people's "right" to enjoy a concert however they see fit, however it bugs me that it has to almost ruin my concert experience. Also, I think there should be a limit on how many beers you can consume at a concert. 

/soapbox rant

Anyways, after the concert, we went over to the merch table and met Old Man Markley! The band was so nice and excited to meet their fans. I really hope they come near us again, I'd love to see a show where they're headlining. 

After getting a bite to eat, and a few hours sleep, we woke up on Tuesday to get.....tattoos! Keegan, Brendan, and I have been talking about getting tattoos together for over a year now, we have just never been in the same place either geographically or financially to get one. We decided while we're in Atlanta with reputable tattoo shops, we'd knock a second item off of my bucket list. 

We got our tattoos done at Mystic Owl tattoo in Marietta, GA. The shop was clean, the staff was awesome and totally put our nervousness at ease by joking around with us. The boys got their tattoos done by Mike Bugenhagen, a regular artist and I got mine by Taylor Ann, who was either new or a visiting artist (she's not on their website.) The boys got the Celtic symbol for brother on their right shoulder blades while I got the Celtic symbol for sister on my right foot. 

It was a great experience. I expected it to be more painful than it was; it felt more like Taylor was digging something into my foot instead of needles, it's kind of hard to explain. Getting a tattoo has been something I've wanted to do ever since I was little and I'm so glad that I did. I already have plans for my next few ;-) 

I must say, it was so nice to play "hooky" from work and take a few days to do something fun. We've all been working so hard lately that we deserved some time to act like we're 20-somethings again. We've decided that if/when we go back to Atlanta to see another show, we're making this a tradition and getting another tattoo.

Fab Friday

Reasons why this week (and next!) are fab:

• I talked about in my last So What! post that we were having our friend, Brendan from Missouri, move in with us. He was supposed to move down February 22, but he showed up a week early on the 15. I was apprehensive about having another 20-something boy in the house, let alone my husband's best friend, but it's worked out pretty well. Sure, I lose both of them on Saturdays when they work on Keegan's Corvette, but it's been nice having someone else in the house. Since we're not charging him rent, only asking him to pay the electric bill each month, he's been cleaning up around the house for us. I walked in from work one day and he was vacuuming! It's been nice not to have to worry about cleaning the house after work, that's for sure. 
• My husband's coming home tomorrow! I haven't talked about this, but Keegan has been in San Francisco since Sunday. I know that a week apart is nothing compared to what our military families go through, but it's been hard not having him around. Thankfully Brendan has been with me so I haven't been as worried about coming home to an empty house. 
• On Monday, Keegan, Brendan and I are going to Atlanta to see the third part of my Irish band bucket list, Dropkick Murphys. I've already seen Flogging Molly and Gaelic Storm, so seeing Dropkick rounds out my top three favorite bands. We got general admission tickets so I'm going to wedge my way up to the front and stand right next to the stage. To say I'm excited is an understatement.
• While in Atlanta, the three of us are getting something done that has been a year in the making. I won't say too much until I have pictures, but it has to do with needles.....

That's all folks! Link up with Laura and tell us what's Fab in your lives!