Summer Time & the Livin’s Easy . . .

It’s official. Summer has hit my household. And. I. Am. Loving. It.

Summer always begins with some great stuff, but this year has been better than most.

Why?

Let me tell you . . . (I’ll use a list – I’m a huge fan of lists):

1. My husband is a teacher and during the summer he’s home every single day. Nothing could be better. His first week home, he gave me three uninterrupted mornings to write, which put me in a state of ultimate bliss.

2. The first official day of summer, June 21st, is my wedding anniversary. My husband and I just celebrated seven years together. Summer solstice was the best day for our wedding – back in 2003, we were both teachers. (For those of you who don’t know this dirty little secret, teachers appreciate summer more than students.)

3. The anniversary celebration this year was double the fun, stretching out over a full week. What did we do? (Eek!) TWO Dave Matthews Band concerts! I can’t tell you how important DMB is in my life. It’s like summer isn’t summer without a show. And this year, we made it to two! The first night was incredible because this crazy storm came in as DMB started playing. Huge gusts of wind, streaking lightning, pounding rain, and deep blue-black clouds added so much to the energy of the show. And it was all okay because I had seats under the cover of the pavilion. Night two, exactly one week later, we had clear skies. Thankfully, because this time we had General Admission tickets that landed us on a field in front of the stage. Let me tell you, I’ve never been so close to these guys. To see their facial expressions as they played was the ultimate experience. I love that my husband inched closer with me even though the heat nearly killed us both. The coolest thing happened after the show as we were dragging ourselves to the car – we passed the tour buses and saw the band up close as they hopped on board and drove away. A super cool end to an exhilarating night!

4. The most fun is that the celebration isn’t yet over! We have a dinner planned for next week – a low-key night to honor our time together. We’ll also be celebrating some fun book stuff . . .

5. Remember the three uninterrupted mornings of writing? Well, they were VERY productive. I sent the first 6 chapters and a synopsis of a new book to my agent a few weeks ago, and just got the word that they’re ready so submit to my editor. So I did. Huge. I mean, HUGE step toward the completion of book 2. Now, I wait to see if my editor and the others at Egmont USA approve this idea for my next book. I’m crossing my fingers!

Now, I’m not sure how many of you are DMB fans, but the songs they played at the two shows were incredible. If you’re not familiar with the music, you may want to check out the following songs . . . especially the second night’s setlist. AMAZING!

Tuesday  Jun 15 2010
Riverbend Music Center

JTR *

Proudest Monkey *
Satellite *
Lying In the Hands of God *
Shake Me Like a Monkey *
Funny The Way It Is *
Break For It *
Tripping Billies *
Seven *
Gravedigger *
Corn Bread *+
Road *+
Cant Stop  *
Crash (Into Me) *
Spaceman *
Ants Marching *
Stay (Wasting Time) *
__________________
 
Time Bomb *
All Along The Watchtower *

Tuesday  Jun 22 2010
Huntington Park

Big Eyed Fish *
Bartender *
Seven *
Lying In the Hands of God *
Funny The Way It Is *
Gravedigger *
Why I Am *
Dancing Nancies *
Spaceman *+
Warehouse *+
You and Me *
Grey Street *
Digging a Ditch *
Shake Me Like a Monkey *
Jimi Thing *
Two Step *
__________________
 
#40 [tease] 
Time Bomb *
Holloween *

Note: I did NOT break the "No Cameras" rule – these pics are from the DMB website.