Busy, Busy, Busy!

School's been super hectic, even though this year I'm teaching less grades than I was last year. My 3rd graders have really been really tiring me out! Hopefully I'll get into the groove of things soon...The Boyfriend's been super busy as well. He's been recording nonstop with his band so I've barely been able to spend quality time with him. I'm pretty much out all day, get home, then give him a hello/goodbye kiss as he walks out the front door. Yesterday he told me we needed a vacation. Can you believe that?! It's only been a month since summer ended and we're already craving a weekend getaway! That's life for you I guess...well, adult life at least. Anyways, Here's the Boyfriend's Band's video. The song is called "Who You're Not" and the band is called StoneD. Hope you enjoy it!

*For some reason Blogger won't let me post the actual vid, so here's the link instead*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LztNdegM6gM

Summer's Come & Gone!

I know it's been a while since I last posted but I was busy enjoying what was left of my summer as well as getting ready for a new school year! 

I'll leave you guys with a little picture recap of what we've been up to!

We had a nice little summer getaway this year thanks to some of my mother's friends. They lent us their awesome beach apartment and we got to spend an entire week there! We went to the beach and pool, got to do a little internal tourism, and even had a great BBQ night with old friends.

At the penthouse apartment!

I call this our paparazzi pic! 

Out & about!

We got matching dream catcher bracelets...I know,corny, but who cares :)

The Boyfriend also had a lot of gigs this summer so most of it I spent as a Groupie/Roadie.

@ the local pub

Doing his thing ;)

Isn't he handsome?

Shameless bathroom selfie taken while the band set up =P

 We also spent time with the fam!

Isn't my mother gorgeous!?!?

And my brother is quite handsome if I say so myself!

We're huggers :)

 And last but not least I got to spend some quality time with my bestest friend in the whole wide world!

Summer was good. Too bad it's over now. 

It's a chicken quesadilla afternoon...

One of the things I love about summer vacation, besides the no students, no work, get to wake up late and be super lazy if I want, is the fact that I don't have to eat Tupperware leftovers for lunch. I can actually take my time and concoct something extra tasty for the Boyfriend and I to enjoy. Today I made chicken quesadillas. Not to toot my own horn, but they were awesome! 

Two Ice Creams & a Stapled Finger

A few weeks ago, the Boyfriend came home with this guy.

I don't know if you can tell from the pic, but the poor thing was covered with a horrible material that resembled crocodile skin, but worse cause it was shiny. When I first saw it I told the Boyfriend that it looked like the amp of an 80's hair band member. I then proceeded to mock him by telling him he now had to wear skin tight pants, put a scarf around his microphone and wear tons of eyeliner. Suffice it to say, he was not happy. Fast forward two weeks. He came home with a brand new cover and decided to enlist my help   reupholstering the amp. I'm still not sure if he asked for my help because he really wanted it or as punishment for my mocking him. Regardless of his reasons, I decided to help out. He worked the staple gun and I measured and cut.

It took us quite a while to get it all done. We stopped briefly for an ice cream break, and once more to stop my bleeding finger (me and staple guns don't really get along), but we managed to finish it all. This is how it came out...

Please ignore the mess...neither of us are neat workers

Not bad right? In spite of the stapled finger I had a blast. It's nice to be included every once in a while in his music things.

It's all a learning process

Being a musician's girlfriend means that we don't always get to have regular date nights. I usually work during the week and am too exhausted to do anything on week nights, but by the time the weekend rolls around and I have regained my strength, he is off playing at his gigs and we can't really do much. 

In the beginning of our relationship I deluded myself into thinking that going to his  shows counted as actual dates. I mean, I would dress up, we would have a couple of drinks, and I would listen to him play, but truth of the matter is that we rarely spent any quality time together that way. He'd be busy setting up and getting things ready with the band and I would be left alone. This would eventually make me mad, and although I tried to brush it off and pretend I was okay,  I know for a fact that I never hid it very well. He would notice, ask me what was wrong, I would tell him, he would stress out, and the act of juggling the band as well as the girlfriend would begin. Eventually he'd get mad at my lack of understanding, we'd fight, and our so called "date night" would end up a bit of a disaster. 

This lasted for quite some time. Eventually I realized that I needed to step back and give him his space. His gigs are not just gigs, they're his job. I wouldn't want him hanging around at my job all the time and I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble for it if he did, so why should I do the same to him? Once I came to this realization I started staying home more. I'd help him put his equipment in the car, give him a big kiss, wish him luck, and that was it. He'd go stress free, rock out, and then come back home and excitedly tell me all about it. In the end, those 4 am recaps of what had happened during the night were a million time better than all the "forced dates" combined. 

I still go to his shows every now and then. I like to show my support and I especially love watching him play, but I always try to go with friends. That way, when he's off doing his thing he doesn't have to worry about me being alone. He gets to play worry free and I get to have some much needed fun.

Being a musician's girlfriend isn't always easy and after two years I'm still learning, but at the end of the day I love him and that means I love everything about him, especially his love for music. 

Brighter Than Sunshine

If there were ever a song to describe the Boyfriend and me it is definitely Aqualung's Brighter Than Sunshine. Everything about the song just screams us. Our relationship started rather unexpected during a time where neither of us were looking to be involved with someone. Then, one day, everything changed. It's like we saw each other differently. Things bloomed and everything seemed perfect for a long time until the inevitable problems set in. Things got so bad to the point where I thought we would go nowhere. I had given up all hope, but lo and behold, here we are now, stronger and happier than ever. It's just like the song says, "Let the rain fall, I don't care. I'm yours and suddenly you're mine, and it's brighter than sunshine." So this is for my sunshine, the man who always makes me smile be there rain or shine.

Date Nights

I love date nights with the Boyfriend. They are one of my favorite things in the world. But because of our chaotic schedules (I work all day, he works all night), they tend to be quite sparse. That's why when we are able to have them we make sure to make the most of them regardless of our finances. Sometimes we're able to splurge and can go out to a nice restaurant but most of the time we have to keep a tight budget in mind. That's when we have to get creative and figure out how to do a lot with just a little. Our usual date night budget is 20 dollars. It doesn't seem like much but we've found that sometimes a little can actually go a long way. Of course, we sometimes have the usual pizza and Netflix night at home, but we like to try different things so we don't fall into a rut. Besides, half the fun is in the challenge!

Here are some of the things we've been able to do with our limited budget while still having a blast:

• Movie and Frozen Yogurt Night. We try to go to the first showing since the tickets are cheaper and then go to a frozen yogurt shop and share one. Since you get to make your own it's kinda fun trying to figure out what to pick.Then we just sit back and chat.

• Arcade Night. We love going to this little arcade and playing all the games we played when we were kids. We then pig out on arcade food like pizza, nachos, popcorn, or cotton candy. Being able to act like little kids once in a while is a nice change from the usual adult life.

• Museum and Coffee Shop Afternoon. I love art, and our local museum is always bringing new and interesting exhibits. The entrance fee is only 6 dollars per person and we have 8 dollars left over to spend at their little coffee shop. We walk around, see some interesting artwork, talk and then it's off to the coffee shop. The Boyfriend usually gets the coffee and I just pig out on pastries. :)

• Music Night. On the rare occasions that the Boyfriend is not playing on the weekends,  we like to go out and see other musicians play. There's just something about live music that soothes both our souls. So, on those nights, we bar hop until we find something we like and then just kick back, share a couple of drinks and enjoy the music.

• Sandwich Night. This one started out one night when the Boyfriend was craving a sandwich. It was past midnight so our options were somewhat limited, still, we knew of a few after hour places that could be open . We rushed to the first place, but got there too late. The same thing happened at the second place, and then the third. We kept going from place to place but every time we got there, they had just closed. I mean, literally. One place even closed it's door right in our face. Needless to say, we didn't get our sandwiches that night, but racing against time was more than enough fun. Now, whenever we get a craving for a sandwich, we like to go to the places we weren't able to try that night.

 How about you? What do you usually do on date nights? Do you ever feel limited by your budget? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The Beatles Had It Right All Along

via

We live in a fast paced world where money, materialism, and appearances are the order of the day. We've gotten to the point where we care more about the image we project to others than being genuinely happy and content with ourselves.The saddest part is that the things we deem important truly aren't. I'm not saying having a job, a roof over your head and clothes on your back isn't important, but do we really need to have the most prestigious job, a fancy house or the latest designer duds? No. We don't. We just think we do,

and our desire to acquire all those things tends to get in the way of something much more important: LOVE. I don't just mean romantic love, I mean every kind of love. A mother's love, the love of a sibling, a friend, and even a stranger! 

Think back to the memories you hold dear and near your heart. Do you really remember the place you were at or the outfit you and anyone else wore? Or do the jokes, laughter and overall feeling of happiness stand out? Would those feelings of happiness fade if you were at a shabby little diner instead of a fancy restaurant? Would the jokes be any less funny if you were wearing a 5 dollar t-shirt instead of a 50 dollar one? Is it really necessary to spend a butt-load of money just to have a good time? Would the entire memory fade into oblivion if there wasn't anything worth bragging about? Again, no.

So instead of obsessing and stressing over all these insignificant things, let's shift our focus back to what truly matters. Let's dedicate our lives to to loving one another. For there is no greater feeling than to to love and be loved in return.