Simple Gifts 01/30/14

Simple Gifts
Thursday, January 30, 2014

Side streets to circumvent traffic

Simple Gifts 01/29/14

Simple Gifts
Wednesday, January 29, 2014

I was treated to yumminess from both my bosses:  a chocolate chip-toffee-walnut muffin from one, and a birthday lunch at Islands from the other.  

Simple Gifts 01/28/14

Simple Gifts
Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Macklemore & Lewis' Grammy performance of "Same Love" 

Simple Gifts 01/27/14

Simple Gifts
Monday, January 27, 2014

A freshly baked pumpkin croissant

Simple Gifts 01/26/14

Simple Gifts
Sunday, January 26, 2014

Watching Paul McCartney rock out to Daft Punk / Pharell and his Canadian Mountie Hat / Stevie Wonder

Simple Gifts 01/25/14

Simple Gifts
Saturday, January 25, 2014

The voice working after 2 weeks of not singing

Hello, Samantha

After doing some volunteer work for the marching band the other day, I decided to see "Her".

• How is it fair that ScarJo is that pretty AND has a great voice?  Not fair.  
• I didn't know that handwritten letter companies existed.
• I also didn't know that they had such nice apartments in L.A.
• So, people don't stare at the people talking to themselves, fully clothed, walking on a beach?  Not even when they're just sitting on the beach and talking to themselves?
• I thought it was great, though, that the double date was so nonchalant and not at all weird to the other couple.
• I've also never seen a phone like the one he had.
• Interesting that everyone started to have relationships with their OS. 
• I want to play that mommy game.  That looks like fun.
• There was a lot of the color orange in this picture.  Maybe to make it seem like a positive atmosphere?  
• I really liked how the relationship evolved between Theodore and Samantha.  It was quite touching the way they grew to know each other, and even the way they drifted apart, just like a human-human relationship.  A lovely story.

Simple Gifts 01/24/14

Simple Gifts
Friday, January 24, 2014

A restful two-week vacation, despite all of the busy stuff

Sell Me This Pen

We had some free time to relax on my birthday, so Bro, V and I decided to watch "The Wolf of Wall Street".

• There is a lot of sex and cursing in this movie.  If you can't deal with that, this movie is not for you.  We had fun, though.
• I've liked Leonardo DiCaprio in other roles, but this one is different.  I mean, he's really an a**hole in this movie.  He didn't start out like that, but I guess that's what the craziness of greed and the stock market can do to you.
• Jonah Hill:  also an a**hole.  OMG, I wanted to smack him for most of the movie.   I don't know if it was the teeth or the hair or the glasses, or just the personality, but I couldn't stand him.  He was funny, but I still wanted to smack him.
• For a 3-hour film, it went by pretty quickly.  I mean, I had lots of tea that morning, and didn't have to leave the theater at all during the movie.  That's unusual for me.
• OK, Margot Robbie is impossibly gorgeous.  I kept thinking that she was Jaime Pressly.  
• Jean DuJardin, so handsome.  I loved the looks/voiceovers between his character and Jordan Belfort during their meeting.
• V and I both had McConaughey's song "The Money Chant" going through our heads as we left the theater.
• When Jordan was trying to bribe FBI Agent Denham on the boat, it reminded me of DiCaprio's con artist in "Catch Me If You Can".
• I mean, that is way too many damn drugs.  
• Almost naked marching band.  Well, that was fun!  Thank you, Temple University.
• There's no way I'm buying the real Jordan Belfort's book.  No telling what he's going to do with that money.

Simple Gifts 01/23/14

Simple Gifts
Thursday, January 23, 2014

A wonderfully scented hand/arm massage, with champagne and chocolate

Merry Christmas To Me!

Rockapella in Capistrano

Sunday, December 7, 2013

The Coach House

San Juan Capistrano, CA

I was much more relaxed on this day than the previous Pella days, mostly because there was no extra stuff to do.  I was a bit melancholy, though, because I knew that it was the last day of the year for us to see the guys.  Yes, I was melancholy, even though I was giggling about stuff that had happened that weekend, and even about stuff from November.  

I drove to Karla's house to pick up my passengers.  Alicia wasn't there yet, because somebody told her that the nearest Starbucks was nowhere near Karla's house.  So I chatted with KP and watched her be artistic until Alicia arrived with our Starbucks orders.  Thanks, Alicia!  We arrived at The Coach House earlier than the doors opened, because I wanted to make sure to get there in time for Rudy to arrive so that I could give him my free tickets.  (I had received tickets from The Coach House from their e-mail subscription list after I had already bought mine).  

Alicia and KP

Jeff and Wendy were already there, as they were escorting a couple that had won a prize to watch Rockapella during sound check.  Fred saw us and made sure to come down from his perch to tell KP that the Hanukkah card she gave him was funny.  Rudy arrived with his friend Carmen for her Rockapella show.  April, Jeremy and Aura arrived afterward.  After we ordered our dinner, I walked over to Rudy to chat a little bit.  He said, "Sher, did I turn you on to Rockapella, or did you turn me on to them?"  I gave him a classic Sher look of you-are-not-the-center-of-the-universe, and told him that we were both at the same concert for our first times to see them, but we did not arrive together.  For the record, I had liked Rockapella because I had been watching Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego?.  Rudy went to the show because our friend Amy was going, and she told him he would like it.  So, anyway, I finished the conversation by saying, "We didn't turn each other on.  That's why we're exes."  Much laughter occurred, and not just from the two of us. His whole table heard.  Yeah, I can come up with some zingers sometimes.

Jeff and Wendy

Who's Clayton

I enjoyed this opening act, which is a trio of guys playing guitar/mandolin, percussion and violin/fiddle.  The percussion and guitar are traded off between two of the guys, and they play the cajon (a drum box like the ones that the Madison Scouts played in a DCI show), as well as an 8-ball shaker.  My favorite song that they performed was "The Smash-Up", which is like a "sexy mash-up".  They posted a video of the song from that night.  Hey, that's me, at center, toward the front, leaning over to talk to KP, at 0:57!  I'm pretty sure I'm telling her at that point that Rockapella needs to do a Barry White medley for George.  They also had free wristbands with their website address for everyone.  

There was a short break, so I went to the restroom, where I almost bumped into Fred as he came downstairs from his sound board perch to set up the stage.

Sun Brothers

Sombrero / Feliz Navidad
I love that it's sung with the Sun Bros sound.  Where are CSL4's sunglasses?  


Rockapella

I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day
Sssshhhhh!  My man is singing!  (This is the problem with this venue, with the food and the servers and the late people ordering....too much other noise).  Geo very noticeably checked his fly as he walked onto the stage.  Much giggling ensued from the Posse.

The Hope We Hold
CSL4 smiled at KP.  Hi!

CSL4:  "What a great planet you have out here in California, too."

Dreidel
So then the crowd was quieter than usual during this song.  That was weird.  Especially when they were so darn noisy when I was trying to hear somebody SING ON STAGE earlier.  

Winter Wonderland
OK, so, people.  I like when there's a reaction from the crowd, but you need to stop singing along with the song unless specifically asked to do so, particularly when you are sitting at a table next to me.  I was so glad when Scott's different lyrics made them stop their singing.  Got a smile from Steven.  Hi!

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
JT's sleigh bells got a nice, big "wow!"  CSL4: "Aaah, they're turning around."

Glow Worm
I love CSL4's little gift bow lapel pin.  

CSL4 talked about SD's good looks and voice.  "Yow!" from the audience.  CSL4:  "Yes, I think so, too."  Me three!

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime
Geo smiled at me.  I love that bass part.  JT now plays his sleigh bells at the beginning of the song, too.

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
CSL4: "I would sit out there at 3pm, right after my nap...I don't think it's good for (Yukon Cornelius) to be putting a moist, fleshy item onto that metal."  When he said his line about the axe, he looked behind his butt to find JT, whom did his sound effect.  During the song, SD almost ran into Geo.  Hey!  Why did SD look at *me* when he sang "Stinky"?!

Merry Christmas, Darling
The tenors' intro was MUCH better.  Thanks for the smile, Geo.  :)

CSL4 said that JT started with the group when he was 3 years old.

This Christmas Day
SD smiled at Wendy and me.  CSL4 backed up into SD during his line "snuggle up and make new friends", as he does.  SD's face:  priceless.

Don't Be Late
JT's drum solo ROCKED.

Jingle Bell Rock
I did a lot of lip synching along with Geo's real singing.  Oh, those mini megaphones are called "voice changers".

Steve Jingle Bell Rockin'

Calvin has mastered the voice changer

Please Come Home for Christmas
He's gonna fall down one of these days after he spins like that.  CSL4, I mean.

Matunda Ya Kwanzaa
I miss watching Geo and JKB dance during this song.  

CSL4 nodded when SD said that we should go to Rudolph.com.   JT is 1/4 Fnnish.  SD asked if anyone thought they were on the Naughty or Nice list.  "Who thinks they're on the 'nice' list?"  JT & Geo:  "Ehhhh...."

Danny was chosen to sit on stage.  He wanted a LEGO fire station and $100.00 from Santa.  Yes, folks, we are in South Orange County.  

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
I love it when the kid participates!  Thanks, Danny!

Awww....Geo said it was Rockapella's last day in California.  "That's OK.  We'll be back someday...I"m going to do something that I don't normally do in front of people.....No, I'm gonna keep my clothes on....Sometimes I feel like climbing one of those hills and sing like a woman....You guys love to laugh...."  Then he suggested that we all sing Handel's "Messiah", and talked about people starting to take out their iPhone to get the lyrics. He then continued, "I'm about sick of y'all laughing at me."

Silent Night (audience and Geo)

Geo:  "Betcha y'all thought I was going for that high note, didn't you?  My butt cheeks can't get that tight."

Grinch
Stink, Stank, Stunk.  That's us again.  Hey, wait a minute!  I know I smell nice!
Toward the end of the song, Geo stood in front of me, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "No cookies for you!!!"  I heart him.

CSL4 talked about driving through Hollywood and Pasadena, which reminded him of the movie "Waterloo Ridge", and his inspiration for the next song.  Every verse would get quieter, and they would douse the candles on music stands.

Auld Lang Syne
Geo smiled at Wendy.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Angels We Have Heard on High
Major jamming, Geo!

I got a wink from SD before they left the stage, so I waved at him and swooned.  Then Wendy winked at me.  So I winked back at her.  

Encore

Silver Bells
JT stood in front of Geo so that he couldn't do his choreography.
"Soon it will be Christmas Day" JT:  "Oh, CRAP!"

Carmen/Billie Jean

Hold Out For Christmas
Gosh, I love CSL4's voice.  So strong.

"Merry Christmas, Everybody."  -- Sigh.

Meet and Greet

I told Scott to have a Merry Christmas and a safe flight.  He thanked me for the delicious cookies.  I knew he was in a hurry and had a lot of people to greet, so I kept it short, but made sure to get a picture with him.

With The Blond One

I saw Calvin and caught his eye across a table, so I called his name.  He saw that I was trapped and came all the way around to talk to me and the posse.  He thanked me for all of the cookies and I said, "You haven't eaten all of them yet, have you?  Because that's a lot!"  He said no, but he will.  KP gave him her Welcome sign.  I told him to enjoy the rest of the tour.  

With Calvin

I saw that Steve wasn't busy, but JT was right there and KP thought we should get to him while we could.  I was trying to be strategic because JT would be able to stay later, but he was soon ready to talk to us, so it worked out fine.

JT said that we were leading the laughter for the whole show and that they should have us sitting at the front of every show.  OKAY!!!  I asked if we needed to audition for that, and he said no.  Oh, JT, if we could even BE at every show, you know we would.  LOVE YOU!

I'll sit in the front row for you FOREVER.

I ran over to Steve and we gave each other HUGE HUGS.  Like, VERY TIGHT and DON'T LET GO hugs.  No, it wasn't just me.  Shut up.  OK, maybe only I wanted to not let go, but I didn't hear any complaining.  He thanked me for the cookies, and I told him that I hoped I didn't ruin his diet, but he could freeze them.  He said that he would be taking them home to share with his brothers and sisters.  He told me his favorite again and he asked, "so I got the most of them because they're my favorite?"  I said yes.  He hugged me again.  I think we hugged, like, 5 times.  Because we also took a couple of pictures (JT photobombed the first one with rabbit ears).  I told him to have a Merry Christmas, he said the same to me, hugged me tightly AGAIN and then....O. M. G.  FFE kissed me on the cheek!  I tried not to die.  I tried to be calm.  I beamed a major smile, and goofily walked toward Geo after watching Wendy give Steve a Tide On The Go spot remover pen.  

I hear that Crystals song every time I look at this

Geo said that he was being himself on stage and that people seemed to like it.  I told him that we like that part of him and he should share himself because people are very receptive when you're being genuine.  He said that he's going to do more of that, and we all encouraged it.  I told him that CSL4 needs to arrange a Barry White medley for him.  He talked about being busy with his group and that they were bugging him about schedules while he's on tour, and he'll straighten them out when he returns.  I told him Merry Christmas, and to say hi to Sandra for me.  He said he would.  He said it would probably be another long while before they're back in California again, and we all got sad.  We asked what we could do.  He said that they expected to come to California more because their management is here, but no.  My New Year's resolution is to start a letter writing campaign to venues (after I'm done with the Spaghetti Dinner that I'd been ignoring for a few days).  

Come back soon, George!

We watched the guys hurriedly leave, and talked to Fred a little bit.

Stealing Fred's Soul

We said bye to JT again before saying goodbye to the Jeff and Wendy.  I drove KP and Alicia back to KP's house, and giggled and swooned all the way home.  He kissed me!!! AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!  OK, I need to go breathe now.

Merry Christmas, Rockapella!

My favorite reindeer

Simple Gifts 01/22/14

Simple Gifts
Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Pop songs played by a flamenco guitarist during an al fresco Spanish dinner

Simple Gifts 01/21/14

Simple Gifts
Tuesday, January 21, 2014

A fully intact marching band uniform

Simple Gifts 01/20/14

Simple Gifts
Monday, January 20, 2014

Watching Ichabod Crane talk about cell phones on "Sleepy Hollow"

Simple Gifts 01/19/14

Simple Gifts
Sunday, January 19, 2014

Friends that grant your birthday wish.

Simple Gifts 01/18/14

Simple Gifts
Saturday, January 18, 2014

Bro and V volunteering 10 hours each of their time to the 47th Annual Spaghetti Dinner. 

Simple Gifts 01/17/14

Simple Gifts
Friday, January 17, 2014

Volunteers willing to give their time to the Apache Marching Band Spaghetti Dinner

Simple Gifts 01/16/14

Simple Gifts
Thursday, January 16, 2014

Balancing the ticket $ on the first try

Simple Gifts 01/15/14

Simple Gifts
Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Dad washing my car and wishing me a Happy Birthday

Simple Gifts 01/14/14

Simple Gifts
Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Mom making corned beef for me, just because she sees a can in my pantry.

Simple Gifts 01/13/14

Simple Gifts
Monday, January 13, 2014

Being able to watch TV episodes on the internet that I accidentally deleted from the DVR.  

Oversized Sombreros

Rockapella in Pasadena

Saturday, December 7, 2013

CalTech Beckman Auditorium

Pasadena, CA

I woke up early in the morning to finish baking goodies for the guys.  I needed a couple of ingredients for Calvin's share of the goodies, plus I forgot an ingredient for Geo's share, so back to Ralphs I went.  Then I got home and had to deal with much ticket shuffling craziness.  Jenn asked if I had an extra ticket, so that she could invite Mariah.  I did not, because I had already given my extra ticket to Lori, whom was using Cindy's ticket, because she was ill.  Then I received a message from Wendy that Jeff was sick, and wouldn't be able to make it.  So I tried to get a hold of Jenn before she could buy a ticket for Mariah.  Then she had to call Mariah to find out if she still wanted to go.  Oy.  I was going NUTS.  But all was well, Mariah could take JeffEvs' ticket, and I had one less thing to think about.

I finished baking, and prepared the goody bags for the Pella before going to Mass.  If any of you see me smiling while I cantor at Mass, I challenge you to figure out why I'm smiling.  Usually, it's because I like the lyrics that I'm singing and I'm truly praising God in that moment.  Other times, I've been insecure about singing that day, and I picture somebody from Rockapella sitting in the pews, and I don't want to let them down, so I smile and sing my heart out, just as they would.  (It's OK.  God's aware of my craziness).   Either way, after the Mass, I thank Him for letting me have the gift I get to share with the congregation.

So there's my confession / sermon for the day.    

I went home to change into more festive attire.  Lori was dropped off by her family, and we made our way to CalTech.  I really wanted to give the guys their goodies before the show, so that I wouldn't have to deal with having bags at my feet, so we arrived early.  Linda and Wendy arrived early, too, so we walked to the auditorium together.  We found the stage door, and got someone to open it, and we asked the stage manager dude to give the goodies to Pella.  It's so funny how I get shy all of a sudden and can't possibly knock on a door.  So Lori did that for me, but I was able to talk.  Yeah, I'm weird like that.  We met up with the rest of the Posse, and then the stage manager guy came out to the same area.  Wendy told me to look for crumbs on his jacket, to make sure he hadn't gobbled up all of the goodies himself.  I asked him, "Did you give the goodies to the guys, or did you eat them all?"  He said, "I gave them to Jeff and he was excited to see them."  Yay!  Thanks, dude!  Liz didn't even notice that I was standing behind her until I squealed and frightened Joe.  We bought Cracker Jacks.  I wished for a tattoo as my prize.  What did I get?  A MERMAID tattoo-ish thing.  Happiness!  More squealing.  More Joe being frightened of me.  Sorry about that, Joe.

We went inside the auditorium, and I went to the restroom before going to my seat.  It's a good thing, too, because the line got really long.  APPARENTLY, the place was built before there were a lot of female engineers, because there were only 4 stalls in there for the entire auditorium.  After situating stuff at my seat, I looked for my friend Mona, who was there with her family, and they were all seeing Rockapella for the first time.  I walked over to chat them up for a bit before the show started.  Then when I got to my seat, I realized that I was missing 2 members of my posse.  Where were June and her husband?  Well, I couldn't worry much about that, because the show was about to start.  I was sitting between Liz and Joe (Joe's idea), behind Jenn, Lori and Linda.  

THE SUN BROTHERS

Whoa.  What?  They weren't at the Napa show.  The Sun Brothers took the stage, wearing their sunglasses and...hmmmm....sombreros.

The Hat I Got For Christmas Is Too Big/Feliz Navidad

This song is hilarious.  Geo sings "Cha cha cha".  I love Calvin's voice in the Feliz solo.  I think it was Karla that asked about the song later, and she was told that it was done by Mel Blanc.  I couldn't find any original animation of the song, so here's something that someone made with Blanc's vocals.

ROCKAPELLA

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
CSL4 spied the posse.  They are already gelling better than they were on Thursday.

"I'm...I'm...I'm Scott!"

The Hope We Hold
Hi, Steve!

CSL4:  "I love this theatre, man.  What a gem.  We were in Napa Valley the other day and drove down through another planetary place.  We don't have the brown valleys in Tampa....People here don't want to go outside because it's cold.  It's not that cold.  It's 40 degrees!  You know where it's cold?  Oklahoma!  We flew out from there the other day....Hanukkah and Thanksgiving were at the same time, which won't happen for another thousand years."  <Somebody corrects him in the audience>  "Seven thousand.  Seven THOUSAND?!  Well, I definitely won't be around by then.  I was thinking that maybe I'd be here for the thousand, but not seven thousand."

Dreidel
This crowd is dead.  I mean, they seem to like it, but they're so quiet!  Maybe it's the acoustics.

Winter Wonderland
JT''s walk at the end is funny.  

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Scott spun around like a ballerina in a music box.  Not really a pirouette, but kinda.

Glow Worm
Jeff's intro -- pfffttt--- had some hip action.  I like the feature of Steve and Scott with JT in the middle.

Little Mary Snowflake
YAY!  I love that line: "conquering kingdoms and hacking at dragon heads".

CSL4:  "You know what you're getting when you've got Steven, a great guy with the voice and the moves."  I refrained from yelling out, "AND FLIRTY FLIRTY EYES!!!"    

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime
Thank you, Scott, for making this song so much better by arranging it yourself and including Tchaikovsky.

CSL4: We didn't have VCRs or DVDs back in the day...we had to earn that thing.  We'd sit there at 3pm, waiting.  But now we have Rudolph.com.  It's a nice little page, and I spend most of my time there, throughout the day.

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
Calvin almost ran into SD while the reindeer were backing up.

CSL4:  "This is Calvin's first week with us.  He comes from East St. Louis, Illinois, where he was in a group called "Men of Note".  They were discovered in Illinois and brought to Busch Gardens.  Then we took him."

Merry Christmas, Darling
Uh-oh, the tenor trio intro was not working.  They needed Geo's intro before they could get on track.  

CSL4:  "Jeff has been with Rockapella for over 20 years.  He started when he was 5.  He's a child prodigy.  "

SD called CSL4 "the man with the lovely locks of gold, and the monkey legs".

CSL4: "Rockapella started in New York, made it to PBS, and that led us to Pasadena in 2013."

This Christmas Day

Don't Be Late
Geo made sure to wave at Wendy (Liz?) on the way out.

<Intermission>
I still didn't see June.  But I got a message from Geo, thanking me for the goodies.  :)  Intermission took awhile longer than we expected.  Liz blamed it on me, saying that the guys were busy eating.  So she was going to look for crumbs on their clothing.

Jingle Bell Rock
I like JT's vest.  So does Liz.  "In the frosty air" -- SD looked at me and pointed. What'd I do?  Oh, probably just smiling and swooning as usual.  It looks like Calvin got the hang of the megaphone.  

CSL4:  "Sorry, that was stupid."  (But it was fun, Scott!)

Please Come Home for Christmas
Scott tried a real pirouette this time and almost fell.  Liz said he was having a sugar cookie rush.  

Matunda Ya Kwanzaa
The audience, though quiet, did respond to "Hambadi Ghani".  CSL4: "Ooh, you're ready."
So Geo started the intro.  I whispered to Liz, "Mufasa" a la The Lion King hyenas.  Then Liz and I could not contain our giggles.  

SD checked with the posse to ask if they were here last year for the holidays.  We said no.  We're not bitter about it or anything.  He talked about Lapland.  "For those who don't go to Rudolph.com...."  When they were in the area, he said, "Jeff, we need to go to Lapland!"  JT saluted him from the wings.  Then SD talked about who he saw there, and said, "Not Elvis, the ELVES."  He then called out the name of Emma to join them on stage.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town
"I called on dear old Santa Claus" and CSL4 said, "YO!"  SD played with her hair, and tried to get her to move.  Nope.  She sang a little, but she was quiet and clearly mortified.  

Silent Night
Geo: "That one got more reaction, probably because you know the lyrics, not just the chorus...A lot of laughs out here tonight."  He tried to pitch in the key of D.  "No, that's not gonna work out."  Then we all sang.  He said, "I couldn't reach the highest 'peace' note, but that's OK."  Then he turned on us, and said, "Christmas trees, joy, happiness: that really makes my stomach turn."  

Grinch

CSL4 is a self-proclaimed "TCM Junkie" (which makes Liz love him even more now).  "I see all of the architecture here in Pasadena, and it reminds me of those movies.  You live in a lovely place."  (You're welcome to move here, Scott!)  "This next song is inspired from 'Waterloo Bridge', starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor."

Auld Lang Syne
I need to watch that movie.  I so, so love this arrangement, and would like to see the source of CSL4's inspiration.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Angels We Have Heard On High
I love this song.  The theme of my Christmas tree this year was this song, and my ornaments were angels, singing, and hearts (ooh yeah, thunder in my...).  The only thing that I don't like about this song is that it signals the end of the show.  

Encore

Silver Bells
I like how Geo caught up with the choreography.  "Soon it will be Christmas Day": JT did a hip check.  

Carmen / Billie Jean
I love seeing Geo do the MJ moves.  

CSL4: "Our first Christmas records were made for Japan, strangely enough, and Christmas in Korea makes for some strange lyics."

Hold Out for Christmas

I had texted June at intermission, and she texted back, saying that they were watching the end of the MSU game (her son went to college there).  At least they won, or I would have been more irritated.  

Meet and Greet

There were no tables set up, and they put the guys by the door, but they moved away from that.  We were concerned that they wouldn't, but they're smart and protect themselves.

JT thanked me for the goodies, said "it was very sweet of you, literally."  

SD thanked me for the goodies, and said, "What are you doing to me?  I'm trying to lose weight."  He told me his favorite one, which I made because I know that's his favorite.  I told him that he gets more than the others because of that.  Lori told him that "Feliz Navidad" is her favorite song.  He said it was the first time they performed it.  He wanted to make sure that it wasn't offensive.  No, it's funny!  He's so damn cute.

CJ thanked me for the goodies.  He already ate some, and will be up all night because of the sugar.

CSL4 gave me a hug and said that I'd been baking up a storm.  I told him that I was tired.  But they're very much worth the love I put into their goodies.

Geo hinted that I gave him goodies with special ingredients and didn't want to eat them before the show.  (Perhaps he knew that I was upset at him after Santa Clarita).  He's so silly.  He knows that I would never do that to any of them.  

The guys had a meeting to attend, so we got kicked out of there.  KP stayed and talked to Fred for a while, though, since he didn't need to attend the meeting.  

Lori, Linda and I went to Chili's, where they told us that they already had the last call at the bar, and the grill would close in 10 minutes.  At 11:00?  On a Saturday?  That's weird.  Of course, because we had to hurry up and order, I got all flustered and had trouble deciding what to order.  Or was my fluster from seeing Rockapella?  I don't know.  

More fluster awaits!

Coming up:  Pella in San Juan Capistrano

Simple Gifts 01/12/14

Simple Gifts
Sunday, January 12, 2014

This:

Simple Gifts 01/11/14

Simple Gifts
Saturday, January 11, 2014

Ice dancers skating to "Scheherazade" and "Les Miz"  taking 1st and 2nd place at US Figure Skating Championships

Simple Gifts 01/10/14

Simple Gifts
Friday, January 10, 2014

Scored over a million on Candy Crush, twice as high as the next highest person on my FB friends list.  Boo-yah!

Simple Gifts 01/09/14

Simple Gifts
Thursday, January 9, 2014

-- An awesome write-up of an awesome group's final awesome shows (includes video!).

Simple Gifts 01/08/14

Simple Gifts
Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Ditzy friends who make me laugh early in the morning:
Mylene:  "Good morning!  Happy Tuesday!"
Sherry:  "You know it's Wednesday, right?"
Mylene: "Oh, crap!"

Simple Gifts 01/07/14

Simple Gifts
Tuesday, January 7, 2014

-- Saw a beautiful fire-in-the-sky sunrise seen on the way to work today. Wish I had time to pull over and take a picture.

DLR LotD 01/06/14

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Monday, January 6, 2014
"Should we do 'Ghost Riders'?" -- Billy, to the Hillbillies, eliciting a huge cheer from the amazing crowd

Simple Gifts 01/06/14

Simple Gifts
Monday, January 6, 2014

--Billy Hill and the Hillbillies--

Thanks for the music, the laughter, and the memories!

DLR LotD 01/05/14

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Sunday, January 5, 2014

"Maybe I'll just get fired today." -- Billy, at Jingle Jangle Jamboree

Simple Gifts 01/05/14

Simple Gifts
Sunday, January 5, 2014

-- A hug from Wendell

Welcome, Calvin!

Rockapella in Napa

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Napa Valley Opera House

Napa, CA

Jenn and I arrived separately in Sacramento, less than an hour apart.  She came from her business trip in Detroit, and I came from home.  I signed in for our rental car at National, and waited for her and Arielle to meet me.  Arielle and her husband Brad had some trouble getting to the lobby of the car rental place, because their GPS led them to the rental car return area instead of to the parking lot for the lobby.  They finally found me, though, then Jenn arrived, and we went out to get our car.  I had rented a convertible because the price was cheap.  I neglected to think about what the weather would be like in Napa during the month of December, which would explain the rental price.  Anyway, the convertible that was available for us was a beautiful silver Mustang.  Whoo Hoooo!  So we happily situated ourselves in our awesome car and made our way to Napa.

We had a little bit of time before Arielle's nail appointment at the hotel spa, so we stopped for lunch at Gott's.  They were very accommodating to her particular dietary restrictions, and she said that it was the best burger she's ever had.  She had her version of the same burger that I ordered: the Wisconsin burger.  They had pumpkin shakes, so I had to have one of those.  We tried to get in touch with Jeff and Wendy, but I kept getting their voice mail, so I figured that their phone was off, or they had no more battery.  They knew when we were leaving Sacto and where we'd be eating for lunch, so they eventually made it when we were almost done eating.  We would have stayed longer to chat, but needed to get Arielle to her appointment, so we said our "see you later"s and drove to the hotel.  

Mmmm....pumpkin.

We dropped off Arielle, then Jenn and I checked into the hotel and left Arielle's belongings with the front desk.  It was about this time that Jenn realized just how tired she actually was from her very long trip: she could not get out of the elevator fast enough and the doors kept closing on her suitcase.  Like, 3 times.  It was hilarious.  She was really tired and she kept on laughing, so she just could not get herself together to get out of the stupid door.  I was no help whatsoever because I also could not stop laughing.  Ah, the adventures of Jenn and Sher.  That would so totally have gotten us eliminated from "The Amazing Race". We unpacked, then the 2 of us went to Yountville to visit Bouchon Bakery.  I lucked out and found the Yountville post office while we were trying to find the bakery, so that I could mail something.  Jenn was overwhelmed by the display case, and we both got macarons.  I can't go to Bouchon Bakery without getting at least one of those, so I bought 2 of them, one for me and one for Arielle. We asked the staff there if their macarons would fit her dietary requirements, and they did, so YAY!  Jenn and I ate our macarons and drank coffee outside, and Jenn kept staring at the dogs nearby.  She didn't want to cheat on Rommel, though.  

Mmmm...Bouchon.

We then shopped a little bit at the little indoor mall-type place, and I broke an ornament while I was trying to take it off of the tree display.  The cashier guy was able to repair it with me acting as surgical nurse, so we were good to go.  Jenn bought a scarf.  We made our way back to the Marriott and then dressed up for the show.  We met up with Arielle to partake in the wine reception in the lobby, and I also got some snacks from the hospitality room for Jenn's fancy membership level.    I wasn't that hungry, but I just knew that I wouldn't last until the end of the show, so I ate stuff.

We got to the parking structure by the opera house, and I missed the driveway, so I backed up, hit the curb, and parked next to Jeff and Wendy, whom had just parked a few minutes earlier.  They probably didn't do the extra maneuvering that I did to get to that point, though. No damage to the car, thank goodness  We walked to the NVOH together, and saw that the Napa Valley Children's Chorus was performing in the lobby.  

The opening act was from American Canyon High School, called P.D.A., which stands for  "Public Display of A Cappella".  they did quite well, singing Pentatonix's version of "Carol of the Bells", Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby", "We Three Kings", and a Michael Jackson medley.  I liked the end of the MJ medley when all of the solos were mashed together.

Then it was time for the main event.  I was excited because it was Arielle's first show.  I was also excited because I got to sit next to Jeff.  I don't think he's ever sat between Wendy and me before.  We were going to see a new Rockapella member.  Scotcherbreadman was present.  All was well.

Lapland in Napa.  Ish.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Jeff said to me, "There's your boy." Mmmhmmm, FFE Goodness.  Nice vest, JT!  Welcome, Mr. Calvin Jones.

CSL4 introduced himself as Arnold Schwarzenegger.  NO!  Don't do it, Scott!  Blech.

The Hope We Hold
Seriously, after all these years, I still write down the name of another song before I remember the correct title to this one.

CSL4 said, "high school a cappella has come a long way...nice to see, as the grandparents of what they're doing."  He asked the audience, "How many have seen Rockapella before?"  Lots of applause.  "Very good.  Then we don't have to show you how we make our sound."

Dreidel

Who is Steve hitting?  Nice feature, Calvin!  

Winter Wonderland

"...and pretend that he is Rabbi Brown..."

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Choreography, Scott's whistling, JT's sleigh bells:  It's Christmas time!  Yay!

CSL4 said, "we thought you'd like to hear what we sounded like when we started in the 1930s."

Glow Worm

Got a smile from Steve.  No more JKB dancing.  Aw, sadness.  

CSL4:  "I told you about Steven.  Actually, I haven't told you about Steven.  He used to be our newest member, but Calvin Jones has been with us for three days."  Well, he's off to a great start!

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime

Those sleigh bells before the Tchaikovsky break:  is that new?  I can hear it on the recording as I listen right now, but I don't remember him doing that live.

CSL4 is happy because Rudolph was on TV before Thanksgiving, and he got to see it.  Usually he's on tour when it's on and he misses it.  "When you prospect for gold, you lick your axe.  If a kid did that, wouldn't your lip stick to your axe?"  

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
"We're in agreement" -- Steve and CSL4 touched two fingers each.  I love CSL4's face during the first time he sings "then how the reindeer loved him".

CSL4 talked about Calvin being part of Men of Note, a group which got discovered and went to Busch Gardens, "then we stole him".  

Merry Christmas, Darling
Weird set-up, but it was better after Calvin's intro.  Very nice, Calvin!

CSL4 talked about Geo, and an audience member said, "And he looks gooood!"  

Ooh, Steve gets to talk about Scott now that JKB isn't there.  He called him the "man from Indiana with the Hair of Gold".  CSL4 talked about being on a morning TV show in New York City, and the reported got coffee dumped on him.  New Yorkers don't always like being woken up in the morning.

This Christmas Day
Got some stage love from Steve.  Swooon!

Ready, Steven?  STEVEN!!!

Christmas Don't Be Late
People if you can't keep up with the drummer's solo, please don't clap along.  I think that the lyrics need to be changed to "Me, I want a Kardashian" to make it more current.  Not that I like them, but it's funny.

Jingle Bell Rock
The megaphones are smaller now.  Calvin had issues with the power switch on his megaphone.  

Please Come Home for Christmas
Geo gave some nice stage love to Wendy!  So I had to reach over and touch her knee.

Matunda Ya Kwanzaa
CSL4: "Just like Cinco de Mayo is not just for the drunken masses..."
I so love Geo's entrance.

Steve told us that Lapland is where Santa Claus lives.  SD got to see where his Millennium Falcon was built in 1988, and they're still making them.  He looked for Tess. She is 12 years old, and wants a pair of shoes, a very specific kind of Puma, in red.  

Geo:  "I'm watching you watch me, I'm watching, you're watching, we're watching each other"...

Silent Night
Geo sang the really high Whitney Houston part.  "I fooled you all with that frog in my throat."

Grinch
Geo walked down the stairs of the center aisle, sat down, and pointed at Wendy, Jeff, then me and Jenn while singing "Stink, Stank, Stunk."  Seriously, this is our venue to have Geo sing to us directly.  He's so awesome.  CSL4 did the Karate Kid crane move.  

Auld Lang Syne
Wrong pitch given.  ("Psych!")

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Calving pointed at JT while a picture was displayed of Calvin.  Because, you know, they looked so much like each other as kids.  

Angels We Have Heard on High
SD winked at me as they left the stage.  :)

Encore
Carmen / Billie Jean

Hold Out for Christmas
SD smiled at me during the Bali verse.  Then he waved to me as he left the stage.  LOVE.

Meet and Greet
I introduced Arielle to the guys, and she told them that they were 10 times better than she expected.  She also told them that I have good taste in music.  But of course!  People really should listen to me more often when I talk about music.  

Arielle told CSL4 that "On a Street in Fukuoka" is her favorite song.  Jenn told him that they were worth being awake for 20 hours. 

Geo said that he noticed that he has a lot of solos in the Christmas shows.  I told him that was good, he said no, because there are a lot of words to remember.  He talked about how he has a sub waiting in the wings in case he misses a show.  He hasn't missed a Rockapella show since he started, and he knows that you can't sing a cappella without a bass.  I told him not to leave the group just yet because we're still traumatized about JKB.  He said he wouldn't and that it hurt so much when John left that he couldn't even say goodbye to him on that day, he had to leave.  He said that he knows that he has a gift that is his burden to share, and he's going to do it.  (Yes, I feel much better now than I did in November).  Jenn talked to him about his P90X program versus her new T25 program.

Sigh of Relief.  Love you, Geo!

I talked to a couple of the guys from PDA, telling them that they did a great job.  I told the guy with the crutches that I felt bad for him having to stand on stage like that, and he said, "Still gotta sing, though!"  Yes!  

I was trying to get candids of the guys while people were in line for the M&G, then Steve got impatient because I had the camera on timer for some reason.  I told him to go to Gott's, and he said that he'd been there, and that it was good.  I told him that he got me sick, but it was worth it.  He laughed and hugged me even though I'm crazy.

Mmmm....FFE

I introduced myself to Calvin.  JT turned to him and said, "Sherry is a Superfan."  I smiled and curtsied.  Calvin told JeffEvs that this like a dream to him, and he doesn't want to wake up.  I welcomed him to the group, and told him that I loved his melismas.

First Picture with Calvin!

Wendy thanked JT for helping her with a prize for Sunday's show.  He said that he didn't see them at sound check, thinking it was for that day.  No. Then he said that he couldn't hear her.  She got closer.  He said, "Honey, that's not louder, that's just closer."  <giggle>  I'd get closer to him, too, Wendy!  Especially if he's going to call me "honey".

The guys were tired from their travels, but Fred still talked to us for a bit until we got kicked out of the Opera House.  Jake's kitchen had closed, so we found an Applebee's that was open, and had dinner there after deciding not to go to Denny's or anywhere, actually.  I'm glad that Wendy & JeffEvs decided to join us.  Too bad we didn't have Robin's number to tell her that we had changed our minds about eating.  Jenn kept playing her Dragon Vale game because that is her new obsession.

The next day, I insisted that we take pictures with our pretty vehicle, top down.  I asked if they wanted to drive back to the airport that way, but the girls refused.  Wusses.  ;)

Sher The Driver

Passengers Arielle and Jenn

When I got home, I baked for a lot of hours.  I also baked some more the next morning because I had forgotten one of the ingredients, and I needed to go to the grocery store to get the additional ingredients for Calvin's portion of the Christmas goodies.  But that goes into the next Rockapella Trip Report.

The New Rockapella and their Superfan

Next Up:  Pella at CalTech