download heaven

In just a couple of short hours, I'll be able to download my pre-ordered Coldplay CD from iTunes. I loooooove Coldplay. I love Chris Martin and his perfectly honed "lead singerishness"... and Gwyneth - so calm and cool...the name Apple has even sort of grown on me :)

Can I tell you a little story? Might help explain my Coldplay fanaticism. I've always liked them, from the first CD...from the days of Yellow. But, when I met Carlos, he wasn't really into them (yet.) I introduced him and he became a fan as well.

Maybe you weren't aware of our story. We met and fell in love in a pretty quick fashion. We worked together for a short time during Gallo's crush. Working 12 hour days, 7 days a week, we were together a lot. And when we weren't working or sleeping, we were together. We met the first week of August, 2001. By mid October, *I* had proposed to him. We quickly made arrangements to be married during an already planned trip to Vegas in February...just 10 weeks into the relationship. Years ago, I would have thought someone like me was crazy to jump into a relationship so quickly (especially considering that BOTH of us had been recently divorced.) Funny how things work out though. I guess we both learned a lot from our previous relationships and recognized a good thing when we saw it!

So, in mid-February, we packed up the car and headed to the Luxor (a super cool hotel if you've not been.) On February 15th, we were married here, witnessed by some friends of ours that also worked at Gallo and my parents. It was wonderful. Not as big or extravagant as the first one but so. much. better. After the ceremony, we took a limo to a tiny airstrip and a helicopter ride to the only winery in Nevada. The Pahrump Winery. We went through Red Rock Canyon and had a delectable dinner. There was also a wine tasting...one I couldn't participate in thanks to a tiny 10 week old fetus we like to call Jake these days. We do however have a few bottles from the winery that we're holding onto for posterity. Amazing day, one I'll never forget.

Anyway, back to Coldplay. We finished our weekend in Vegas visiting with our friends and family and gambling just enough to justify being in Las Vegas. We only had a couple of days there but we made the most of them. When it was time to pack up and head home, we were still in our honeymoon euphoria. We spent most of the 5 hour drive back to Fresno listening to Coldplay. Not for any particular reason other than we liked it and had it in the car with us. The day was beautiful, we had the moonroof open and we just listened. And talked about our future. And held hands and enjoyed each other's company. It was bliss. And so, Coldplay, no matter what incarnation, will always remind us of that time, will always take us back to that short but unforgettable weekend.

Coldplay is an integral part of most every road trip we embark on these days...early morning drives to catch the sun rise...weekend trips to Ikea to stock up on inexpensive Swedish furnishings...I can't help but smile whenever I listen to one of their catchy tunes.

Understand now why I'm such a fan?

Oh yeah, bought tickets to their show at DTE in late August the other day. I seriously can't wait!

Thanks for reading my ramblings...just wanted to share my excitement :)

OH, and in other news, the Pistons WON! Yeehaw! (And my condolences if you are a Miami or San Antonio fan, lol)