It's raining in Charleston ...Purple Rain

Prince is in town tonight and I did not have a ticket. So, I did the next best thing as I drove through the Coliseum traffic on my way home from work tonight and popped in The Best of Prince CD. Still really great.

Movie and Music

I worked all day packing and moving boxes as we prepared for 2 Men and a Truck to move the furniture to our new offices on Monday.

A little relaxation this evening as we went to see Limitless. This was not a great movie, but an interesting concept with a satisfying ending! Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, how could it have been a bad way to spend an evening?

I listened to my current favorite cd during the many car trips between offices today.
My favorite cut is Care, but no real video yet so I have added another favorite cut, Collide.

Charlotte - a working girl!!

A big thank you to my friend, Dee Gathers Miller, for putting Charlotte to work today. Dee, a former colleague, has developed a job for Charlotte based on Dee's pre-school business needs. Charlotte began with a 2 hour shift today, helping serve lunches, clean the kitchen/dining area, and preparing afternoon snacks. Charlotte should be helping in the children's rooms during nap time as soon as her official background checks are in this week.

Alegria

It was a very busy St. Patrick's Day as I spent the morning in our Beaufort office,working lunch @ Magnolia's, afternoon training @ USCBeaufort, then back to Charleston.
SCYAP was the recipient of 30 tickets to the Cirque du Soleiel production of Alegria through TicketsforKids.org. We hosted a pizza dinner then over to the Coliseum for Alegria.
I had never been to a live performance and was amazed by the acrobatic performances. I can also say that even though I really dislike clowns that the laughs of the youth of all ages around me was enough to pull me through the multiple clown segments. This was a great opportunity for our foster youth.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Msgr. Roth always sang this as the benediction.

Keith Urban - Without You

Keith Urban - Without You: "Get Closer"

What more can I say? I will have to see him in Columbia or Jacksonville this June. He skipped the Charleston Coliseum in 2010 and 2011. Was it the clawmarks I left on his bus in 2009? I just wanted to go with him!

Saturday @ Isle of Palms

Maddie had a tough week as she fell Tuesday and needed four staples in the back of her head. She had another accident(Maddie says she fell while jumping on her bed) that led her mom to take Maddie to the ER last night and to the doctor early this am. Kristy called to say Maddie was asking for me so we met and both Maddie and Jack ran and jumped in my car and said "Bye Mommy." The swelling in Maddie's face had gone down some(thanks to a prescription anti-inflammatory) by the time we took them to meet Kristy this evening, but Maddie still had a faint resemblance to one of the stars of Planet of the Apes.

We spent some time at home in the sunny 75 degree weather, before heading over to the IOP County Park. It was sunny, but windy and the temp must have been ten degrees cooler. The children still enjoyed playing and I couldn't keep Maddie out of the edge of the water so it was good that I had spare clothing for them.

Friday night @ the Coliseum

I missed the Kid Rock concert earlier this year much to my dismay. Jimmy, one of my brothers, is a huge Sugarland fan and was gifted with second row seats by his son. Gene has teased Jimmy for some time about Jimmy's Sugarland addiction so I was surprised when Gene volunteered to accompany me to Friday's concert.

I have some difficulty listening to Sugarland as I think Jennifer Nettle's twang has become overwhelming in most songs plus the fact that much of their songbook is so commercial. I did hear on the radio that Casey James and Little Big Town would be opening for Sugarland so I became interested in attending, but hesitant to buy @ StubHub prices. Kristy, of all people, came through for me when she won a pair of tickets in a radio contest. Kristy would have used the tickets, but won the radio station's grand prize the next week: a trip to see the tour's Nashville stop. So off to the rafters we went (free tickets = nose bleed territory.)

Casey James is a handsome young man from last year's American Idol. Whoa, he can really sing and play guitar.

Little Big Town became one of my favorites when I first saw them perform as an opening act for Martina McBride, then as the headliners @ the Beaufort Water Festival. Their harmonies remind me of Fleetwood Mac. Alas, so many of my favorite pop acts from the '70s would only be found on country stations in today's market.

Sugarland - they are incredibly entertaining in person.Years of touring has led to very polished performances. Gene was even a fan by the concert's end.

I have been to many concerts over the years and have often thought about how an artist, especially when the artist is also the song writer, must feel when audiences know and sing along to every word. James Taylor seems to have addressed it when he wrote "That's Why I'm Here." There was one of those moments on Friday night when about 10,000 people stopped getting up and down for more beer, talking to their neighbors, etc. to sing every word of "Stay" with the artist. The chill bumps were right up there with being in the same hall and singing "Carolina in My Mind) with JT and about 11,000 fans.

Back to the Children's Museum

We had the children last Saturday and another Children's Museum adventure. Jack is still mesmerized by the ball and water rooms and loves to paint. Madison is still all over the place, but spent a good bit of time making sandwiches in the faux Publix deli. Jack was so sleepy that he could not finish his snack on the way home before falling asleep.