Proof that Dylan sounded like a Muppet!

Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbeow7z-p_A

B and I didn't actually see this song performed (we had already left)... but you'll get the idea. It's supposed to be "Like a Rolling Stone." God help you if you were relying on the lyrics to clue you in to that!

Last Night ROCKED!

pun intended (tee-hee)...

B and I met up with E and MJK to see Green Day last night. They had floor tickets while B and I were in the nosebleeds. Seats didn't matter: the entire arena was standing the entire time. Very cool... and very reminiscent of a Bruce Springsteen concert (which B was sad to notice because he feels like his hero is being replaced by a younger band!).

Photo I stole from the internet:

The bane of my existence:

Chevy Chase Bank.

Ugh, I am SO trying to cut my ties with them... but I'm finding it impossible!

Months ago I decided I wanted to close my account. I was told I'd have to have all three account holders in person at the same bank at the same time in order for that to happen.

I didn't like that answer, so I emailed that same question to their customer service people. They sent me a blank signature form and said I just needed everyone's John Hancock and that would be enough. True to form, I procrastinated.

So last week I finally found some time to head over to Chevy Chase and get things over with.

FIRST of all, the bank manager who was helping me (her name is Carin... interesting spelling, right?) did not even ask for proof that the other people named on my account are ok with me closing the account. Probably because there's so little money in there, who would even care about it?!

Second, she unfortunately informed me that that lunch at Chipotle which I had bought with my debit card only 30 minutes earlier would need at least two days to post. There was nothing she could do until after that.

So I'm irked... but what can I do?! I charged lunch to the very same account I was trying to close... duh! I hid my check card to make sure I wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Today I went back into the same branch and met up with Carin again. She asked if I had used my card and I said "Of course not!" We're good to go, right? Nope! This stupid educational thing that I have a subscription to apparently "automatically" charged me yesterday. YESTERDAY!!! So now I have to wait, again, until at least Thursday when this new charge will have posted.

Carin said she'd see me Thursday. So funny.

My D.C. Date

Yesterday was blazing hot... but we managed to keep our cool.

First we went to the Botanic Gardens:

Then we had dinner at Fogo de Chao:

Concert Last Night!

B and I had a blast last night at the Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Bob Dylan concert. We got poured on (well, B did but not me because I didn't care about being in front of the stage so I hid under-cover when the t-storm rolled through). But anyway, once the rain cleared I joined B and sang along to some of Mellencamp's classics. Can you believe that he played "Hurts So Good" for us -- it was the first time he had played it in at least 5 years!! Very cool.

What was not cool was Bob Dylan. I've heard all the jokes before about how he's incomprehensible, but this was faaar worse than what I anticipated. He was literally just grunting out syllables. I told B he sounded like a muppet... Animal to be exact. His music was so mundane and his lyrics (which is what made him famous) were lost to his tuneless grunts. Kinda sad, really.

Good thing we actually went to see Mellencamp! We were not disappointed.

Tchau Familia!

Today was our last day together after 3 weeks with the in-laws. We dropped B's mom, dad, and brother off at the airport, and now they're on their way back to Rio. It's bittersweet for both B and I because we really enjoyed their company so much. Here are a few pics from their trip.

Resting during a long day of outlet-mall shopping:
Stopping for a moment to take in the scenery :
Full after lunch at Fuddrucker's:

Lunch with the Ladies (and their little men)

Thanks for lunch today M and S! Lots of fun... except for the part where N splashed salsa all over me! No worries... my pants are already in the washer :-p

If you're interested... photos should be forth-coming on facebook. I'm waiting for M to post them from her camera.

Happy 2nd Anniversay!

Saturday, July 21, 2007... (mwah!)

Back from the dead?

As I mentioned to S on the phone this afternoon, I was planning on pulling up my cucumber plant. I'd given up on the poor thing (I mean look at it for goodness sakes!)
The leaves are all crunchy and dried up, and the awesome little tendrils are like fried pieces of straw.

But at the last moment I noticed a teeny-tiny baby cucumber fighting its way through the summer heat. Notice that this cucumber is currently smaller than the yellow flowers (and you can see from above how small those are!) Thank goodness I noticed it before I ripped it out of the dirt!

What I Saw on Sunday

(E, you'll appreciate this): With all the random things I took pictures of while visiting my parents this weekend, I feel like my blog needs either the dotted line from "Family Circus" or a cameo appearance from Ickle and Lardee!

my mom's adopted bird (the bird adopted my mom by literally falling at her feet in Charlottesville, VA).
I don't know which is cooler, the praying mantis or the size of that marigold!

I love my zoom... and this guy's cool blue color scheme.

Basil (pre-pesto)

Only the freshest ingredients!

These cherry tomatoes are actually growing upside down. Cool, huh?

The king of the garden, my Uncle John.

The goodies from the garden that Uncle John sent home with me.

Mouth-wateringly good!

My blueberry-peach cobbler fue um succeso. Que muito bom! :)

Peach Goodness

My friend S came over today after work to hang out with me at the pool. She brought fresh-cut hydrangeas from her yard, which are a stunning shade of violet. After the pool, we walked over to the Farmer's Market. I splurged on peach jam and fresh peaches (for a cobbler). Yum!

Quick, quick

It's ironic to me that at a time when I'm doing so many different things -- so many things that aren't routine -- I find that I don't feel like blogging about them, even though these are precisely the interesting things you'd probably like to hear about! It's just that... well... I don't want to waste precious time on the computer! Here's a quick run-down of some recent activities:

- outlet shopping w/the in-laws
- fourth of july fireworks
- sick (thanks to some snot-nosed student)
- reading poolside (I just finished "My Lobotomy")
- fieldtrip to a nature center (cool, yet stressful)
- mall w/mom and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory
- quarry swimming w/friends
- margaritas at home with the family

A Summer Romance

So... I indulged in a couple romantic comedies today... and let me just say that I have a new crush. (B -- don't be jealous! This is just a summer fling!) It seems that I just can't help myself with these period-pieces like Pride and Prejudice (Collin Firth) and today's Becoming Jane (James McAvoy... I heart you). Maybe it's their accents... maybe it's their costumes... or maybe it's just the way Jane Austen writes about her leading men... *sigh*

Remember Me?

Well... things have been BUSY lately, and I'm sorry to admit that blogging was one of the things that had to be set aside. First of all, B and I were kicking butt and taking names (in terms of cleaning our house in prep for the in-laws). We even changed the knobs on our kitchen cabinets, which led to completely cleaning the cabinets and scrubbing off all of the layers of grease-grime. Let me just say, the place is lookin' GOOD :)

Then, B got me Sims 3, which has been both fun and headache-inducing. In order for it to work properly (and to keep it from crashing) I have to completely disconnect the internet and turn off my McAfee whenever I want to play. It's not easy to disconnect the McAfee so I found it was easier to just keep my computer ready to play Sims at a moment's notice (aka: no internet). I'm sure you can see how this might cause a lapse in my blogging.

Finally, the in-laws, are of course HERE! They arrived on the 1st and will stay until the 23rd. So far we've been having a good time together. Yesterday we had a marathon day of Outlet shopping in Hagerstown. They go crazy over the deals. With the holiday sales they were able to buy Tommy Hilfiger polos for about $25, whereas those same shirts would have cost them at least $80 in Brazil. You can see why they're crazy about shopping here.

Anyway, I'll do my best not to go missing for so long this next time, and I promise to catch up on everyone else's blogs asap. I hope you're all enjoying this beautiful summer weather!!