It was a big weekend for us with Goalielocks turning 18 yesterday. I can’t believe how fast time has flown by. Honestly, it feels like I was just 18. Now my second child is an adult and I’m at a loss for where time has gone. Does one blink and their kids suddenly become adults? I’m barely an adult myself.
Before we celebrated his birthday, the Hubby and I spent night down at the Hard Rock having fun and watching Metallica. We had an amazing evening with our besties John and Hanh. We love them so much. They’re not just our friends, but our family. Anyway, Metallica has long been a bucket list concert for me, so this was a special evening. Unsurprisingly, they lived up the the hype. They are absolutely incredible live. The setlist was great. I loved that they played Sad But True, Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman. I will be seeing them live again.
We also got to spend the night in the Guitar Hotel, which was also awesome. The bed was incredibly comfortable. Obviously, we didn’t spend too much time there, but it was a nice space. Before heading down to the concert, we definitely took a picture of the room number. This way we wouldn’t forget it in event we over did the free drinks in the casino. For a concert, Hard Rock Live is a great venue. There are several restaurants and bars in close proximity, which makes celebrating before and after concerts quite easy.
We celebrated Goalielocks birthday today. The Hubby grilled some ribs and potatoes and onions. We got him a cookie cake. Meanwhile, I made a rustic French tart because it’s yummy. We couldn’t celebrate yesterday because the Mayor’s hockey games and Homecoming. Last night was the first and last Homecoming for Goalielocks. Hard to believe he’s 18 and a senior in high school. I’m still waiting on pictures from the event, but hopefully I’ll have some to share with you all soon. It’s been a great big weekend. Hopefully, our week is just a great. Oh wait a second, Goalielocks just sent me some pictures!
I had a wonderful weekend and am ready for the work week. After a productive day at work Saturday, Goalielocks and I headed to the Luke Combs concert with my bro, sister-in-law, Richard and Suelen. To be honest, I’ve never been a country music fan. However, Goalielocks and I would listen to Combs every time we drove to Miami for hockey his U16AA season. Luke Combs’ music brings up so many great memories of that season and of spending time with him.
I’ve never seen the BB&T Center (or whatever it’s now called) so full. It was filled to the brim. Consequently, it took us over thirty minutes to actually get into the stadium for the show. We’ve been there a lot for hockey games and have never waited more than five minutes to get into the arena. Fortunately, our seats were club level so the lines for the bar and the bathroom were not bad. The lines on the 100 level, however, were absolutely ridiculous. I did get to see some of my favorite people from Kaplan, which was epic.
Many artists sound way better on their records, but not Luke Combs. To be clear, he sounds amazing on his records. It’s just he sounds even better in person. His voice is absolutely incredible and so was the crowd. The arena had an amazing energy that I wish we could bottle and preserve for the Panthers games. At any rate, if you have an opportunity to see Luke Combs, even if you’re not into country music, you should see him. After all, according to Goalielocks Comb is baseball cap or bass fishing cap country not cowboy boots and cowboy hat country.
I spent Sunday baking and organizing. I baked a French apple tart and made some chocolate avocado mousse. Both turned out really well. Additonally, I cooked pasta with lamb sauce, but I wasn’t thrilled with how it turned out. Don’t get me wrong, it was good just not as good as the last time I made it. Nevertheless, we had an awesome dinner before heading outside for Halloween.
It was a beautiful evening, so we rolled the cooler over to Carrie and Mark’s for drinks and trick or treating. Unfortunately, the trick or treaters were sparse and we have entirely too much candy leftover. Clearly, I don’t need lots of candy in the house on top of the tart and mousse. Even though there were few trick or treaters, we had a great time hanging out with our neighbors.
It was a wonderful weekend. In fact, I even took Anakin on a run for the first time since last spring. Goalielocks and his girlfriend carved pumpkins and then took some great picture at the farmers market near us. They turned out great. Meanwhile, the Mayor had a wonderful weekend with his boys.
Last night we headed to the Hella Mega Tour concert at the Hardrock Stadium in Miami. For those that live under a rock, this tour features Weezer, Fallout Boy and Green Day. Otherwise known as half my hockey playlist. I’ve been waiting for this concert for well over a year. It was originally scheduled for August 2020, but obviously Covid put an end to that event.
The Hubby and I saw Weezer in 2018 with Jake, but this was the first time we both saw Fall Out Boy and Green Day. To be honest, I’ve been waiting to see Green Day Live since 1994. Their album Dookie was definitely the soundtrack to my freshman year of high school. It was also around that time that I discovered Weezer. Their Blue Album is another one of my all time favorite albums. The fact that the Hella Mega tour brought these two bands and Fall Out Boy into one epic evening was amazing.
We left early to hopefully tailgate before the concert. This was a great plan until we got there and we’re notified the lots wouldn’t open until 4:30 pm. Unfortunately, they failed to mention this in the event day email. It would have been helpful to know this ahead of time. Naturally, with Covid it doesn’t make sense to tailgate outside. It only makes sense to sit shoulder to shoulder in a stadium and walkout of the stadium shoulder to shoulder for over a block. But hey, I’m sure that’s science at work. Obviously common sense wasn’t employed.
To be fair, it was so hot that covid19, the entire corona virus family and influenza weren’t going to make an appearance. In fact, it was so hot I think we all lost 10 lbs of water weight before Weezer even took the stage. I’m not sure if it was Covid related or not, but there were no ushers checking tickets inside the venue. Nor was there anyone really policing anything. I don’t think I saw an usher or a hard rock stadium in our section once during the evening.
The concert started with the Interrupters, who are a punk rock band from LA. I was a bit skeptical after listening to a few songs of theirs on the way to the concert. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised at how good they sounded live. My only criticism of their set was that the sound was off. Unfortunately, this was the same situation we encountered at Jimmy Buffett concert.
Weezer was the first of the headliners to take the stage. Rivers Cuomo is unequivocally the king of nerd culture and this continued with his epic 80s themed workout outfit with matching mullet. Their song list was an amazing 17 song set, which happened to include all of my favorite songs. Africa was absolutely epic last night. I enjoyed their whole set, but Buddy Holly, Beverly Hills and Say It Ain’t So we’re especially amazing.
As the prepared the stage for Fall Out Boy, we hung out with Jon and Brandi and enjoyed our drinks. I enjoyed a juicy, lime green margarita after finishing up my vodka pineapple juice. Incredibly, as the night went on, it just got hotter and hotter. There was about 30-45 minutes between sets, which was enough time to refill our drinks, hang out and hit the bathroom. I even got to see my friend’s Kristen and Troy, which was awesome!
Fall Out Boy’s set was awesome. Truly, all three bands’ set lists were exactly what I wanted to hear. It was as if I wrote the set lists myself. FOB kicked off their set with a rousing rendition for The Phoenix. They’re set was high energy, full of pyrotechnics and had the crowd of its feet. My favorite songs that they performed were The Phoenix, Thanks for the Memories, My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, and This Ain’t a Scene, It’s a Arms Race.
Lastly, after a super sweaty night full of drinks, friends and incredible music, the moment I’ve been waiting for since 1994 finally happened. Green Day took the stage after playing Bohemian Rhapsody and Blitzkreig Bop on tape and went right into a rousing rendition of American Idiot. Billy Joe Armstrong was an amazing performer and had the crowd fired up. After waiting so long to see them live, it would have been easy to be disappointed, but they were amazing.
It’s really hard to pick a favorite song from their set because it was all so incredible. Obviously, I loved hearing Basket Case, Holiday and Welcome to Paradise Live. I was equally thrilled that they played the song She off of Dookie. As I watched the show, it was so cool to share the moment with our kids. They love Green Day and really enjoyed their set. I’m happy that they didn’t have to wait nearly as I did to see Green Day live. I will definitely be seeing Green Day live again. If you can make it to the Hella Mega Tour, you need to make it happen. It is well worth your money.
Naturally, there are some drawbacks going to a concert on a Sunday. We didn’t make it home until after 1:00 am due to traffic leaving the concert. We also spent the entire ride home soaked from sweat and the rain that had started at the end of Green Day’s set. Also, it appears that at 40, I must be more careful when going “crazy” and jumping all over the place during a concert. Needless to say, the seats in front of me we’re not my friends. In fact, I bruised my left knee pretty good and it’s quite swollen. Whoops!!
Here’s a list of our day’s activities:
*I’m finished Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier over the weekend. It was a really good book. This weekend I’m going to watch the new Netflix movie version. Last night, I started the Falcon Queen. This is the second book thing the Norse Queen series. I love the world of Queen Asa.
*I skipped my run, because my knee is too swollen to do it safely. Consequently, I took a rest day today.
*Both Luke and I slept in this morning. In fact, Uber Eats delivered my coffee this morning.
*Tonight we’re enjoying ice cream and watchingThe Office. To be honest, the dalliance in ice cream making is starting to become a hobby. In fact, I bought more heavy cream for my next ice cream.
*I booked our AirBnB and rental car for our next trip to visit Jake. I can’t wait!
*For dinner, I made beef tips in the Instant Pot. I served the beef tips with white rice and steamed broccoli.
*My favorite surprise on the underwater cams, I watch during work, is seeing an octopus. Today I watched the safari cam, which never disappoints.
*Today’s word of the day is filter. After drinking and sweating so much last night, I had no filter. Oh wait, I never have a filter.
*I took my puppies including sweetAnakin for a walk. Today he didn’t pull my arm off or anything like that. I put on his harness
