Friday, July 29, 2011

AMAZED

My sister, brother-in-law, and Fetus G get here tonight! I am excited. They are here until Sunday and just as soon as they head out, Mom gets here for dinner and wait for it…..the Four Tops and Temptations concert at the Ryman. This was my idea. I love Motown. I can’t wait!

So the whole weekend should be pert near amazing!

And SPEAKING of amazing, Kanye and Jay Z’s new album just might be the second most amazing thing ever (second to Fetus G of course). I can't say for certain yet because I have not heard the whole album, BUT if the lead single Otis is any indication, my head will explode out of sheer adoration. I am 99% sure I’m going to see them on tour in Atlanta in October, unless the expanded tour lineup that they are announcing on Monday includes Nashville.

Maybe it will be as much fun as the last time I saw Kanye in Atlanta!

Monday, July 25, 2011

HAPPY

What a fun weekend. I will never forget Kathryn's first visit to Nashville. She left this one
and this one
in Birmingham with their Daddy, turned up some Beyoncé and hit the road.

To say we had fun would be an understatement. We ate a ton, laughed a ton, watched Troop Beverly Hills, did dances band chants in my living room, painted the town red and were still in bed before midnight.
Sorry for the fuzzy picture but it's only one I got! Dangit.

Dear Velda, I feel like our friendship hit a new plateau this weekend! No going back now! You thought you were stuck with me in ninth grade? You ain't seen nothing yet!

Hope each of you readers had a lovely weekend too!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

RANCHED

Brad. Danny. Jake. Melody. Ted. Lucy. Mr. Ernst. Buddy. What do all of these people have in common?

They are all on DVD! Yes, if you know who those people are, then you should be just as excited as I was to learn that Hey Dude is officially on DVD!

My sister and I were addicted to that show when we were little. There is a good chance I could be addicted to it again, as soon as I get my hands on the DVDs.

What was your favorite Hey Dude moment? The pageant? Melody's big date? Brad's INCREDIBLY HUMILIATING chicken suit pictures?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

AZURE

Another piece of news... nothing as earth-shattering or scream-inducing as yesterday's though.

I have taken a position on the advisory board for a local ADPi chapter!

Now, before you fall out of your seat laughing, let me just say that I LOVED my year on the executive board of my sorority. The hardest thing about it was the advisers*. All of them were incredibly sweet women who went out of their way to open their hearts and homes to us youngsters. But they were very "old school" in an increasingly "new school" world. This chapter has very young advisers, like yours truly. I met with the main chapter adviser, who came from a big school like me, and I really liked her way of thinking. She told me some examples of how she stuck her neck out for her girls against pressure from nationals (costing them the Golden Lion) and I was really impressed with her rationale.

I loved my college experience, especially the ADPi part. I hope to impact this group of women's experience for the better, even in the smallest of ways.

And to those of you who think this is completely nerdy, keep it to yourself!

*P.S.: Yes, that is how you spell adviser. Look it up.

Monday, July 18, 2011

SURPRISED

Big news! There is one small thing I did not mention about my birthday trip home. In addition to my grill pan, I also got another gift from Jennie and Jamie. I was so confused. There was a purple envelope taped to the back of the grill pan, but I'd already opened a birthday card from them...



Okay. I promise I'm not stupid. Every time I've seen them (or talked to them) for the past few months, I've been hoping for baby news (or, as I said in the video "I've been hoping you would tell me!"). You have no idea how much I want a niece or nephew. They just knew the way to take my mind of babies for five minutes was to distract me with something shiny and new, I suppose. And it worked. I think the fact that I was so caught off guard and surprised makes it ten times better. Having just visited with my aunt and uncle that day, I thought the card (which had a cute little poem with the word Aunt in it about 20 times) was from them. You can even hear me say "Aww, it's from Eddie and Debbie" in the video. For 27 years, Aunt = Debbie. But now, Aunt = ME!! And And even more, guess who's gonna be a GRANDMA? Lord help us all. Did you hear all that screaming in that video? The kid's not even here yet and I'm already going deaf.

The funny part is that the day they ended up taking the at-home test had actually been circled on my calendar for months. June 8 was a very crazy day at work that I had been anxious about since March. Who would have thought that my nutty day was the same day they would find out they were going to be parents?

Yaaaaaay for our baby! I already love my niece or nephew so much! Is it February yet?

Friday, July 15, 2011

HAPPY



It's the WEEKEND! And I am so happy. This song just tickles me to death. I remember hearing it all the time on Magic 96.5 when I was little. I thought you'd enjoy hearing it today too!

Speaking of being tickled to death, big news coming on Monday! See you then!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

VISITED

What a fun time of year. The next five weekends, I have really fun plans. Get a load of this:

Tomorrow, Mom and friends will be here to spend a fun weekend out and about. We have dinner reservations at a new restaurant I have been eager to try, and beyond that I have no idea what we will get into. There are BOYS in this group so I can't play the pedicure card... stay tuned to see what we come up with.

NEXT weekend, my beautiful friend Kathryn is coming to visit for the first time ever. The last few times we've gotten a picture together, she's said I can't post them online, so how about this one instead? More than TEN years ago at high school graduation. This picture makes me smile. Isn't she pretty?

Then the NEXT weekend, my sister and brother-in-law are driving up (so much more fun to say than FLYING down) for some Nashville fun. There's a convention in town that Jamie wants to attend while he's here, so Jennie and I will do something (pedicures) while he's conventioning and then we'll all go play.

Just added to the schedule: going to the lake the NEXT weekend with these crazy kids and I cannot wait. I haven't been to a lake in YEARS, so that's plenty appealing, but any time the four of us get together, good times are had. It's going to be a blast!
And the next weekend, I think I will be heading to Birmingham! Woohoo!

Lots of fun things to look forward to! I can't remember the last time I had five free weekends in a row.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

PRESENT

Set your DVRs or cancel your plans! Tonight VH1 is airing the Behind the Music of Miranda Lambert. Woop woop!

Click here if you want to see a sneak peak, featuring how she and Blake Shelton met.

Fun fact: I was present that night! I was recruited via e-mail to be in the audience for the taping they talk about in that video. I even convinced my sister and her best friend to drive up for it. My friend that came with me recognized Miranda from Nashville Star. I had no idea who she was (I didn't even get a picture of her singing... just Blake, haha!) but I vividly remember how intensely they were staring at each other while they were singing. They have words for it that I'm not going to repeat here. Then her album came out soon afterward and I was a big, big fan.

Look who else was in attendance that night, exactly two weeks off her American Idol victory. Poor thing, they didn't even let her stay backstage after her performance. Cue the crazy fans wanting photos:
Another fun fact: that purse I am holding was stolen out of my car a few weeks later. Which is why I never leave anything valuable in my car!

Monday, July 11, 2011

SOLED

Every once in a while, we all come across that product, place, person, thing, etc. that makes our heart sing. You try to imagine life before this wonderful creation came along, and you just can't do it. Life has forever been changed.

No, I'm not talking about Jeni's ice cream again. I am talking about my Sam Edelman Gigi shoes in almond patent leather. YOU GUYS. This is the official shoe of my summer if not my 2011. I wear them almost every single day. They go with EVERYTHING. The only reason each one of you should not click the link and find them in your size is because you're a man... and even so, you might still want to consider picking up a pair. They are THAT great! I feel like I owe it to you all as a bloggy friend to tell you: get in on this. Buy these shoes before they are all gone.

You're welcome. Let me know if you buy them!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

FULL

While I work on the handful of questions I received, how about I tell you about my weekend?

Friday night after work, I met Kate for some dinner. We decided to head out to the new TAZIKI'S, which is finally open in Cool Springs. I had not been there yet so I was super excited to try it out:
It was delicious. My only complaint was that the potato chips aren't the same potato chips as they serve in Birmingham, and if you don't think I'm gonna tell someone, you underestimate my love of potato chips.

While in Cool Springs, we ran some more errands, including picking up a new hair dryer for yours truly. My hair was DOA Friday morning. It was pretty old in hairdryer years. I've never missed dorm life quite like I did on Friday. I was up a creek while getting ready for work. Good times.

On Saturday I slept in a bit, had to pop into work, ran errands, then grabbed Kate and went to pick up Evan who was in town for a matter of hours. He picked a yummy place to eat in East Nashville called the Silly Goose, and being the gentlemen that he is, ordered this cheese plate appetizer for us to share:
It was as delicious as it looks, naturally. And dinner that followed was even better. But the REAL highlight of the night came when we wandered next door to Jeni's, the new ice cream shop in town. OH. MY. LORD. Forget everything you ever knew about ice cream. This stuff is UNREAL. Naturally, I had to do some taste testing before deciding what I wanted to chow down on... that would be six spoons in my hands. Glutton much?
Their salty caramel ice cream will make you CRY its so good. Every one of you get in your car, come to Nashville and GET TO JENI'S. If there is one in your town or they sell it by the pint in your town (cough Birmingham cough), go pick some up today. It's THAT good. And you thought I liked potato chips! Ha!

After we were full as ticks, we went back to Evan's and played games with his roommate and a buddy. I finally got to crack open my Game of Things and it did not disappoint. Three of the five of us laughed until we cried and I can safely say I have NEVER seen Evan laugh that hard before! Such a fun night.

Today, I tried a new church I've never been to before, ate a yummy lunch, went to the pool and whipped up a dish I've seen floating around on Pinterest: garlic/honey/balsamic chicken with pesto orzo. I didn't follow the instructions exactly, so my sauce was more like a glaze, but it was pretty good.

So to sum my weekend up, I ate, I ate, I ate then ate some more. Lord help me. Hope y'all had a full weekend too!

Friday, July 08, 2011

ASKED

At the risk of assuming you all care way more about my life than you actually do, I'm gonna do a FAQ post. What have you always wondered me but never asked? What would you like to know more about? If this is a giant flop, I am going to be so embarrassed, and please be nice.

Leave your question in the comment section or e-mail me. Go!

Thursday, July 07, 2011

BOOKED

BIG NEWS: I finished Harry Potter. I got majorly sucked in for the last two books. I read book six in a week and book seven in two days flat. My mind was BLOWN. Lots of surprises. I don't know about you, but I really think someone should turn those books into movies!

Next on the reading list is All In, by theman-themyth-thelegend himself, Gene Chizik. Full disclosure: even though the book came out July 3, Linda found them for sale at our church bookstore and I think she may have bought every copy. Not that I’m complaining; she remembered her baby girl and I got my surprise copy in the mail week before last and was thrilled. So thrilled, in fact, I opened it right up and read everything from Cam forward. Not to spoil the ending, but we win! War Eagle.

What are you reading these days?

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

MAGICAL

Happy Independence Day! I certainly celebrated my freedom by declaring myself free: free from showering... free from household chores... free from doing anything I didn't have to or want to do. And it was a great way to live.

So I guess you could say my fourth was pretty boring. I slept in, read Harry Potter the majority of the day, taking breaks only to start laundry and make dinner and at 9:30, pulled a stool from my kitchen out my front door, into the hallway and next to the window to watch the fireworks: just me and my PJs. Not the way I want to spend every Fourth of July but for this one, I'll take it

But enough about my fourth; wait til you hear about my second! I woke up Saturday to a text message inviting me to attend THE biggest concert taking place in Nashville in YEARS. Everyone loves some U2, including this girl. I was just not quick enough on the draw to get a ticket when they went on sale... that, and I still haven't won the lottery. So imagine my utter shock and gratitude when someone generously offered me a free ticket with their party! I was giddy ALL day long.

This U2 360° tour has been going on since July 2009. The Nashville stop was their 100th show of the tour and bear in mind they have not played in Nashville since 1981. The show was SO MUCH FUN. Not knowing a ton of U2, just the classics you probably know too, I was nervous that I would not know a lot of the material performed since this tour is, after all, in support their last album. Well, I needn't have feared. They hit them all: Mysterious Ways, Elevation, Vertigo, Pride (In the Name of Love), Sunday Bloody Sunday, Beautiful Day, One, With or Without You, Walk On, Where the Streets Have No Name, What I'm Looking For, and my personal favorite, City of Blinding Lights. I love that song so very much, and they played it at the height of the show: the stage was all lit up, including some powerful beams that were shooting straight up into the sky. It. Was. Incredible. I also learned made some new favorites from the songs I did not know as well.

The two highlights of the night were Bono's tribute to Johnny Cash and this touching moment at the end of the night. Bono spotted a man holding a piece of paper that read "Blind Guitar Player." After their final bow, Bono walked to the edge of the stage, asked him if he wanted to play, and shouted at the rest of the band, who was already heading offstage, to hold on a second. Bono takes the guy's hand, leads him to center stage and the techs strap a guitar on him. Then, U2 and this guy play "All I Want is You." And as if that memory isn't priceless enough, Bono GIVES the guy his custom guitar. UNREAL. Watch that video link. None of us knew the guy is blind and didn't realize it until we saw security leading him backstage with his walking stick. Somehow it makes the whole thing so much better. What a beautiful moment!

So, I would tell you to get your tail to this concert ASAP, but unless you are in one of the nine other cities where this tour is stopping before it ends July 30, then I guess it won't be happening. It was the best show I've ever been to! Bless you, St. Bono! You have a new fan in me.

So I hope both your July 2 and 4 was as free and magical as mine!

PS - Click the Walk On link if you want to see why this song is my second favorite U2 song.

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