What a racket

I took Grace to see the Junie B. Jones play at Casa Manana last weekend with some friends of ours. Fun to see, especially since the story was based on one of the books we have here and have read. And fun to go to Casa Manana, which I probably haven't been to in over 20 years.

But frustrating, because like just about every other person in America I purchased the tickets through Ticketmaster. Oh, I suppose I could have tried to call the box office directly, or had the parents trek over to the theater, but I simply clicked the "buy tickets online" button on the website. I didn't realize until after I'd received the tickets in the mail (and my friend was writing a check for hers) that listed on the receipt was the face value for the 5 tickets being $55. However, the total bill with fees and all ended up coming to ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS. It is absolutely insane that I paid double for tickets simply because I purchased through Ticketmaster. And that was with just general mail delivery.

Jim said he's run into the same thing lately when buying tickets for some live music shows he's attended with some of his friends. I've always been bugged by Ticketmaster fees, but now I'm going to go out of my way to try to purchase directly from venues. It will be a pain in my ass, but it needs to be done.

Rock on

I love my iPod. I don't know how anyone can get along without one.

Jim and I were playing around with his iPhone a couple months ago, sampling Led Zepplin songs because they finally released them for download on iTunes. As we heard more and more songs we loved, we realized we should just buy the missing albums we didn't have in our library (because, "Hey, we're grownups and we can do that if we want to"). So Led Zepplin I, II, IV and Physical Graffiti were added to our household. We already had Led Zep III and Houses of the Holy, and really no other LZ album matters other than those.

So I'm in the car today on the way to pick up kids from school, listening to a couple songs from Physical Graffiti, and it suddenly struck me how great it actually was to be grown up. I was listening to a wonderful album that I have always wanted. But back in high school (when I listened to so much Led Zep with my good friend Jana) and in college, I could never bring myself to buy the album because it was a DOUBLE album. That cost could never be justified, and I envied friends of mine who had it. But now it's mine, and I'm a 40-year old woman rocking out on the way to pick my kids up from school. Kind of pathetic, but I don't really care.

I am thankful every day...

...for my dear, sweet husband. Lately it has been every time I run my disposal or open the dishwasher after running a cycle. The fact that he thought to look online to solve the non-draining dishwasher problem (and find the simple solution) rather than me having to get a service guy out here makes me smile.

Little girls

Had three extra kindergarten girls here this afternoon. At least the first 15 minutes here was taken up by the girls upstairs all chanting at the top of their voices "(Someone) and (Someone) sitting in a tree; k-i-s-s-i-n-g..."

For the record, tree-sitters are Grace and Aaron, Kate and Wesley, Audrey and Jared and Elizabeth and Matthew.

Sneaky

Grace is growing up. I finished reading to her tonight, kissed her good night and turned out the light. After brushing my teeth and going to bed, Alex started calling me. When I got up to take him to the bathroom, I could see through the crack in Grace's door that she had pulled out the Itty Bitty Book Light she got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandad and was getting in one more chapter of Junie B. Jones. Sneaky girl.