Two years

I was talking to Meredith last night and I mentioned this blog entry that I’ve been formulating. She moved to Australia in January 2005. At that time I had:

- only attended one major concert (George Strait & Dierks Bentley)
- never attended an SS Retreat or Crop (including Washington)
- never met Deb or Darrcie (or a bunch of other people), IRL
- never been to Pennsylvania (now I’ve been twice)
- I had only just discovered card making (I attended my first card class with Mere just before she left)
- I was still a Creative Memories Consultant
- I had only house sat once, and only for about a week
- I lived in my old, old house. So, two address changes ago.
- I had just started working in Chilliwack
- I hadn’t started square dancing
- Since then there have been probably 20 babies born that I know IRL

In January 2005 I:
- didn’t blog
- wasn’t digital
- had never used sizzix
- had never flown in the US or gone through customs at the airport

and many, many other things I’m sure. It is amazing what two years can hold!

~Heidi

Ewwww!

I just killed a fly with my water glass. I tried to shoo him away but when he wouldn't leave I squished him. Ewwww!!!
~Heidi

And sometimes procrastination works!

Yesterday I was directed to set up a conference call. I was waiting for date confirmation before I sent out the notification. I just got a call saying that the reason for the call is over and I don't need to bother! Sometimes procrastionation DOES work :D
~Heidi

Lists are good

Yesterday I had just under two hours between getting home from work and leaving for dance and a whole list of things to do. With the exception of two which require going to stores, I got them all done! Lists are good.

Speaking of dance, we have our Christmas banquet on Friday and then I am off until January 8th...except I won't be there on 8th because of the concert. So I'm off until January 11th. Basically a whole month! I love dance and I enjoy it but I'm looking forward to a break.

~Heidi

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

But inside it's so...actually it's not really delightful inside but it's a heck of a lot better then outside. The wind is blowing like crazy which makes our power surge and the lights and computers flicker really bad. It is nasty out there!!!

SS Blog Challenge: Fill in the Blank

1. My current favorite song is: Long Trip Alone by Dierks Bentley

2. The last book I read was: I’m reading “Two From Galilee” on a recommendation from Jill in FL. I’m almost done it.

3. The last book I bought was: BOUGHT? Does the one that I lost and had to pay the library for count? LOL I guess it would be “Love Smart” by Dr. Phil. I *rarely* buy books though.

4. The last cd I bought was: This is more like it :) The last one was “Christmas” by Brad Paisley and the Garth Brooks boxed sets.

5. Another CD I wanted but didn't buy is: “She was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” a tribute to Barbara Mandrell

6. Right now, I'm wearing: My shortest black skirt and a teal dress shirt

7. The last gift I bought was: Something for my SS Secret Santa person

8. The last time I laughed heartily and loudly: last night at the potluck

9. My favorite holiday ornament is: I don’t know. My parents didn’t put up a tree last year and I’m not sure if they’re going to this year so I haven’t actually looked at the ornaments lately. I have a few of my own but none that I’d deem “favourite”

10. My house smells like: depends on if I have a candle lit or not. The candle is a nice holiday spice scent. Otherwise my house just smells like whatever I cooked last. (Yesterday it was ham).

11. The first thing on my to-do list tomorrow is: tomorrow? I need to focus on today! I need to bake sometime this week. I’m aiming to do that tomorrow…

12. If I could sit on Santa's lap and believe that he'd bring me whatever toy I wished for, I'd ask for: A DVD player. I really need one. The laptop just isn’t cutting it.

13. If I could holiday shop in ONE store, all expenses paid, I'd shop at: Wal-mart. They’ve got everything.

14. If an angel alighted on my doorstep today and said, "I'm here to grant a Christmas wish," I'd wish for: Tim’s family to come visit free of charge.

15. When I see a bell ringer while out shopping, I: try to avoid eye contact (isn’t that horrible of me?)

Weekend Update

I had a pretty laid back weekend. Friday I ran a few errands and then had an at home night. I did dishes, read and watched the hockey game before turning in.

Saturday I was up relatively early and spent a bit of time puttering around the house. Mom called around 11 needing a ride. Seth had just gotten up so we asked her to wait for about a half an hour. When I left the house I didn't return until 10 pm! (Minus about five minutes). It seems like this is my life. As soon as I leave the house in the morning, I am *GONE* for the day! First we picked Mom off and dropped her off at home (she had been at work). Then we went Christmas shopping. Actually Seth went and got a hair cut first and I went to the post office. Then we hit the mall and then Walmart. Our last stop was grocery shopping. It was a lot of fun to shop with him. He was pretty tired because he's been on day shift for the past week which has really messed up his internal clock. It made it lots of fun though :)

I am swearing off grocery shopping until the new year though. I have *so* much food! Mik and fruits and veggies are one thing but my freezer is full and my cupboards are stuffed. It's not a bad thing but I do need to focus on eating what I have on hand.

Sunday I got up and did a bunch of cleaning and tidying. It felt good. I would have done more but Seth convinced me to go to Mom and Dad's. There we played Scrabble and had lunch before heading to a late church service.

After church was a 25th wedding anniversary celebration for Bruce & Karen. I've known this couple and their six kids since we moved half a block away from them. When I was younger I'd spend just as much time at their house as at mine or Merediths. Their two boys were like extra brothers to me. It was great to see Tim and Grace and spend some time with friends.

Today I'm back at work and trying to get motivated. Exactly two weeks till Christmas and four until I see Dierks again. Amazing!

~Heidi

Looking forward to December 22nd

Why December 22nd? Because it's the winter solstice. From that day on the days start getting longer. One of the draw backs of living so far North is that it gets dark so early in the evening and takes so long to get light in the morning. I took these two pictures on the way to work yesterday morning.
By the time I was headed home it was much darker then this. And people wonder why I insist on leaving the office at lunch. If I didn't, I'd NEVER see the sun. (Not that I can see it now thanks to the cloud cover but at least I get some natural daylight).

The Heidi Show...kinda

Monday I called the radio station and talked to the DJ. I reported on the show in Everett and told him to tell listeners that if they don't have tickets, the NEED to get them. They can't miss this show. It was right before I went into work and since I don't listen to the radio there I didn't hear if he commented on our conversation. This morning he played a song by Doc Walker and mentioned me by name, saying that I had called and stressed that everyone needs to buy tickets :)

Yesterday he was talking about Rascal Flatts and saying that they had announced their 2007 tour. He said that if listeners wanted to see them, it would only be a short drive down to Seattle/Tacoma. I immediately called to inform him that the Flatts will be in Vancouver on March 3. He didn't know that. We chatted for a bit while he checked it out on their website. He was teasing me saying "you know, this is the only job where you say something and people call up and say. No. You're wrong. You don't know how to do your job." It was funny. Again, I wasn't live but later in the day the afternoon guy was talking about the Flatts and saying "we told you that they're coming to Vancouver" and I told Seth, "No, *I* told you they're coming to Vancover."

So there, I continue with my crusade of keeping the radio announcers informed :D

~Heidi

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

There's just something about that red cup that makes me smile :)

The fact that there's an egg nog latte inside doesn't hurt either.

Gotta love staff Starbucks runs.

~Heidi

See the Concert

Hah, you thought I was done talking about the concert LOL I just found a link on YouTube for the opening number from Friday. Click to see "Every Mile A Memory"

Also, that song has been nomiated for two GRAMMY'S!!! Way to go Dierks! EMAM is up for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song. Wow!

~Heidi

Open!

We had two very exciting openings yesterday. One was the second lane of the highway that I take two and from work. This road has been under construction for almost three years. In March 2004 I crashed my car on it while they were doing pre-loading for the new lanes. Yesterday they finally opened said lanes. There is still other construction going around in the area but at least we won't back up as bad along there any more.

The second exciting opening is the new scrapbook store downtown. It is maybe three blcoks from my house. Definitely within walking distance :D I stopped by yesterday. They have a great selection of Basic Grey, Cosmic Cricket, SEI, and much, much, MUCH more. I'm really going to have to watch myself in there!

~Heidi

Open Letters

SS Blog Challenge

The challenge: Write 5 open letters. People, places, objects, animals. It doesn't matter. Write 5 succinct letters and express what you can't express in person. Strangers? People you'll never see again? People you're afraid to be completely honest with? Corporations? Celebrities? Your sister's cats? Write to 'em.Angry? Disgusted?Enthralled?Amused?In awe?Annoyed?Admiring?Write about it. 5 of 'em.

Chiquita Bananas
What’s with the advertising on my banana. I *know* Pirates of the Carribean is out on DVD on December 5. I do NOT need to be reminded when I peel my fruit!

Dierks Bentley
I am so excited I got to meet you on Friday. Thank you for being such a wonderful person and a fantastic entertainer. I can’t wait to see you in Vancouver! (wait, I told him that last part. Oh well)

Blogger
Your “remember me” function is broken. It doesn’t remember me. Also, puhleeeeze make up your mind as to whether you want me to sign in through blogger or through google. I switched the beta and know you’re being schizophrenic. It’s driving me nuts.

My Coworker
I'm sorry that the Canadian Immigration system is such a pain to navigate. I don't need or want a play-by-play of the process though. Maybe you should have thought about it before marrying an American.

People who keep calling and expecting me to have the answers
I DON'T KNOW! I'll find out, but you need to be patient with me. I don't cover the phones very much anymore so I'm not very quick. Thank you for understanding.

The rest of my weekend

So, contrary to what might be popular belief, the concert isn’t all I did last weekend. First I guess I should finish reporting on Friday night. We got out of Everett without a problem. It was really foggy but once we were on the Interstate is was basically clear sailing. It was nice to have a driving buddy too. I’ve driven that silly road all by myself so many times in the past two years but having someone to talk with was great.

The roads were fine until we exited at Bellingham. Apparently the stores up there don’t have a snow removal budget. Seth was hungry so we drove through at Wendy’s. The parking lot and drive-thru were unplowed! Then we stopped at Wal-Mart (did you know that the Bellingham Wal-Mart is open 24 hours?) The parking lot there was unplowed as well. I scored big time at Wally World. If you remember, last Christmas, I received cash so I could go buy the Garth Brooks Limited Edition Boxed Set but I chose to add to that money and buy the George Strait boxed set instead. Friday I got the GB Boxed Set for $19USD (regular $29 CDN) AND the new DVD set for $15USD (regular $29CDN) so even with the exchange I still saved a bundle. Very exciting.

Getting back across the border was painless. The guard didn’t even raise an eyebrow when I told him my purchase total. I was home, in bed by 2. I tried scrolling through the pictures on my camera but I fell asleep.

Saturday I slept till about 12:30. After making breakfast and doing a bit of cleaning I went down to Wal-mart and got the picture of Dierks and I printed then I met up with my parents and went to the neigbouring town to watch a Christmas parade. It was pretty low budget and the most interesting part of the night was near the beginning of the parade when a horse made a “deposit” right in the middle of the road. For the rest of the time everyone was watching to see if anyone would drive over it or step in it. Each time they did, everyone cheered. No wonder there is so much “poop” humour in kids movies these days! It is highly entertaining :rolleyes:

Sunday morning was church and then I went to Mom & Dad’s for lunch. At 3 we went and saw “The Nativity Story”. I thought it was very well done. I had a bit of trouble getting over the fact that Keisha Castle-Hughes (who plays Mary) is actually pregnant herself now (she's only 16) but it didn't affect the movie. Her character was good. A bit quiet and introspective but she did well. I feel like I learned a bit and got a new angle on the Nativity Story.

The Wise Men were hilarious. They really seemed to fit.

There were some rather intense scenes. The portrayal of King Herod and his son was fascinating. I can't imagine living a life, as a ruler, and being haunted by this prophecy. I felt the movie gave a bit of insight into his...paranoia. Can I use that word? It's probably too strong but it works.

Bottom line, I enjoyed the movie and I'd recommend it to people.

Afterwards Mom, Dad and Aaron came over and with Seth we played a few rounds of Scrabble. It was a nice end to the weekend.

This week, in anticipation of Christmas, has been nuts. Monday was my second last night of regular dance. After missing all last week due to the snow it was nice to be back.

Tuesday I met an ex-co-worker for dinner. That was wonderful. She is much older then I am but we’re both single and living on our own so we have a lot in common. It was great to catch up with her and get and update on her job search, traveling and life in general. Afterwards I went to a fiftieth birthday party for another friend of mine.

Tonight is church, tomorrow is my work Christmas party, Friday I (amazingly) don’t have anything planned. I’m not positive about the weekend yet but I know it will fill up fast.

Okay, I am *finally* caught up on my blogging! I hate it when I’m behind so this feels good :)

~Heidi

The Concert: Dierks Bentley

I could go on and on and on about Dierks' set. Since the night of the concert I've gone over it a million times, read about it on his fan club message board, read reviews and discussed it at length. I won't bore you with the details or review each individual song but I will post some pictures here since blogger seems to be cooperating (YEAH!) (These are the same ones I uploaded to SS. I think they're the best of the 239 that I took) .

One picture I *didn't* take was outside the meet & greet room. Hanging on the door handle for the next room was a black button down dress shirt. Seth and I both looked at it and said "think that's his shirt?" But since we weren't sure, and because it was our turn to go in, I didn't think about it any more. When Dierks came on stage it only took me a few seconds to realize it HAD been his shirt!!! He took it off after about three songs and did the rest of the concert in a t-shirt but it was still cool.
Have I mentioned here on the blog that Dierks is only the third country artist (after Tim McGraw and George Strait) to be sponsored by Bud Light? That's a huge deal. Dierks is big into "Domestic, Light and Cold" beer (that's also a track from his "Modern Day Drifter" cd). While he was on tour with Kenny he had a keg built into a road case and he would pour him self "a cold one" while on stage. Now that he's sponsored by Bud Light, he has a special fridge on stage from which he draws a "DL&C" when needed.

The picture on the right is a bit fuzzy but I love Dierks' facial expression :D

Look! It's me and Dierks again! LOL

These pictures are some of my favourites. He was singing "Long Trip Alone" (the title track from his new cd and the next single) as an encore. On the cd and radio version, there is a part of the song where he sings some "yeah's" the lyrics read that they are "hallelujah's" I never really got that until I heard him sing this song live. He dedicated it to the crowd but he sang it more like a hymn (hence the looking up). It gave me goosebumps and I can't *wait* to hear this song on the radio.
The last song of the night was Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" Miranda and Randy Rogers came out to sing it with Dierks. It was fun because he passed his guitar off to Miranda for a verse and then she passed it off to Randy. It reminded me of the end of the Kenny concert when Dierks and John Rich (of Big & Rich) came out to help Kenny sing "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy". Just a bunch of friends having fun and trying to make the night last a bit longer.

Okay, I think I'm done talking about Dierks for a while. Hope I haven't bored you too much :D

~Heidi

The Concert: Miranda Lambert

Seth and I got back to the concert floor while Miranda was still onstage. In fact she had just launched into her current single "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" She debuted the song at the CMA's where she was a Horizon Award Nominee (it should be noted that Dierks won the Horizon Award in 2005 and now he's headlining his own show!)


"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" is a fun song live. It gave Miranda a chance to show off her "rock star" tendancies. She's very much into head banging and swinging her product laden long blonde hair all over. One of her band members has a five inch mohawk and somehow he fits right in even though it is a country band.

Note Miranda's belt buckle (right) it says "Blake Shelton" Blake is a fellow country singer and Miranda's boyfriend. I got a kick out of that.

I'm not sure which of Miranda's songs we missed because she sang all the ones I wanted to hear. "Kerosene", "New Strings", Bring Me Down" and a great cover of Steve Earle's "Hillbilly Highway".

You can tell she's a newer artist but with some solid touring under her belt, I think she's got great potential.

~Heidi

Meeting Dierks!

The concert was scheduled to start at 7:30 with the Randy Rogers Band. All the KMPS on air-staff (Ichabod Caine, Randy Scott, Stephanie Rose, Stubbs and Tony Thomas) came out to introduce them. Right before they did they drew names for backstage passes to meet Dierks. They had this big tub full of names from everyone who had entered outside. The first name they drew was Seth!!! He and I both freaked out when his name was called. He was allowed to bring a guest so, shaking, we made our way up to the KMPS booth where we were directed to meet with KMPS staff at eight o’clock. We snuck into the stands to watch the first few songs by RRB while we waited.

The Randy Rogers Band is from Texas and they have done quite well down there. They have three cd’s out and, I think, their latest single “Kiss Me in the Dark” is receiving national airplay…although I haven’t heard it. In concert they are really fun. It was hard to concentrate on the music knowing we were about to meet Dierks. There were SO many people in line to meet him. Fan club members, Bud Light employees (his corporate sponsor) and other radio contestants.

Miranda Lambert came onstage at eight and just after that we were ushered behind a big black curtain, down a set of stairs, and down a hallway to “Conference Room 2” where Dierks was finishing up with the previous group. When it was our turn we went in separately. I handed my camera to the lady taking pictures and walked up and shook his hand and gave him a big hug. He said “Hi, I’m Dierks”. I gave him my name and said something about being excited to meet him. We posed for the picture and then he gave me his autograph. Then I told him “I’ll see you in Vancouver!” (on January 8th) and gave him another quick hug.

Seth went next, had his picture taken, and got Dierks’ signature on the note that the radio station gave us detailing how to get into the Meet & Greet.

I knew Seth wanted to get back to see Miranda but he hung around in the room with me for a few minutes until the security guard asked us to move on.

As of this concert I've seen Dierks stage perform four times. Twice I was really high up in the stands and he was just a small figure on the stage. Twice I was close enough to touch him (at times). Being the the same room when he wasn't performing was a whole different experience. He was quite laid back, probably because he's obviously done this (meet & greets) many, many times. He was very friendly, but reserved. On stage is when he really comes to life. When posing for pictures he is very good about not blinking but he also doesn't give a full fledged smile. I even looked at a few issues of Country Weekly when I got home and he looked the same there. On the red carpet etc. I guess the no smile thing is because it would get tiresome night after night. On stage though, he can't hold it back :)

Physically Dierks is an even six feet tall. Just a few inches taller then me but it seemed like quite a bit shorter then Seth (who is 6'4"). He's not a big guy either. When I had my arm around him for the picture I was struck by how thin he is. It's hard to explain but it was really interesting to me. His slight build combined with his curly hair and half smile makes for an endearing combination though. When I got back to the concert floor I told my new friends "He is so cute!" and he is. Cute and cuddly. Not "hot" like I had anticipated :D

I’ll type out my review of the actual concert tomorrow.

~Heidi

Before the show...

Okay, I don’t know how much of this you guys truly care about but I have it written out so I’ll share it.

This was all originally written by hand and I tiled it “A day of waiting and lots of driving”

As you know, Tonya and I had planned on attending the Dierks Bentley concert together in Everett, WA on December 1, 2006. The week of the concert the Pacific Northwest and Southwest BC got slammed with one of the worst storms in years. Record snowfall combined with freezing temperatures shut schools and places of business (I was essentially off work for the whole week) and cut off power in many areas. Tonya’s home was one of the places affected. She, her husband and son were without power in their home for ___ days. On Wednesday night she called me to say that they weren’t expecting to have their power restored until the following Tuesday. Because of this, she wasn’t comfortable leaving her family to attend the concert and asked if I’d be able to find someone else to go with.

I immediately called my brother Seth. He’s a country fan like me but he’s never been to a concert. I figured this one would be a good one to start with. Plus, because the weather was still questionable, it gave me a driving buddy just in case anything went wrong.

Friday, December 1st dawned cold and clear. It had warmed up enough overnight that the salt was able to do it’s job and melt the snow and ice on the road. I had a couple of stops to make on the way into Everett. At the bank, Tim Horton’s for coffee, at Mom & Dad’s to check my email, at Leanne’s to pick up a cd I had left on the island and then onto the Passport office in Surrey (something I’d been planning on doing since MARCH!)

The line at the passport was incredible. Out the door and down the hallway just to get a NUMBER! Once you got inside, the estimated wait time was another hour or so. Luckily I had filled out my application using the online system so once I got my number I only had to wait a few minutes.

From Surrey we headed South to the Peace Arch border crossing. The way wasn’t that long but it still was a wait. Of course by this time our coffee and water had processed so the first thing we looked for when we got across the border was somewhere to pee. I don’t like using the restrooms at gas stations, preferring instead to stop at fast food restaurants. I knew there was a Burger King in Blain but I wasn’t sure where. After driving around for a few minutes on rough, unplowed roads (which aggravated our bladders and sent us into a fit of giggles) we finally located BK. We did our thing, grabbed some Whopper Jr’s as a snack and hit the interstate.

In Bellingham I stopped at Stampadoodle and Paper Zone. Both are stores I have wanted to check out for a few years. They’ve always been closed when I went by though. Seth was a hilarious shopping buddy. He read all the word stickers aloud, commented on the embellishments and fingered some pretty glittery paper. (The glitter ended up ALL over his black jeans. He was NOT impressed but it sure was funny).

We arrived in Everett around 4p and located the Everett Events Center (EEC) before looking for somewhere to eat. We had a horrible time and after driving around aimlessly for too long, ended up parking right beside the EEC and hiking up the street a few blocks to “Café Vino”. The meet was good. Nothing too memorable but it filled us up.

We got back to the EEC around 5:30. KMPS (the radio station) was broadcasting live and there were staff in red shirts all over. We both signed cards for the US troops in Iraq and entered to wing back stage passes to meet either Miranda Lambert or Dierks. Then we lined up with the other “General Admission” ticket holders. It was cold out but we passed the time chatting with people in the line and I made a new friend, fellow fan club member, Janalyn. She was there with a friend of hers but I missed her friends name.

At 6:30 the doors opened. We hit the merchandise table first where I picked up a t-shirt that I have been eyeing for months. From there we headed down to the floor of the EEC. Our tickets were checked at least three times on the way down before we were finally given wrist bands showing that we were authorized to be there. We got in and secured excellent spots right by the stage. Janalyn and her friend were right there too.

~Heidi

Heidi & Dierks

You asked for pictures and I have pictures. I also have a hand written journal of most of the day. We'll see how much makes it onto here. It depends on how much time I have. Right now I'm swimming in paper work.
This is the treasured photo which I am currently carrying with me everywhere. I have a frame and it will permanantley be in my office here at work soon too.

And my second most treasured item...

For my CM friends you'll recognize the paper as the cards we got for NSD a few years ago. I have a bunch of them left over and they are the perfect size for autographs. I brought some along *just* in case :D

I'm uploading all my photos to a photo sharing site and I'll post the link when I'm done.

~Heidi

I MET Dierks!!!

Seth won a meet & greet at the concert.

Stay tuned. Details and pictures to come!

~Heidi