Saturday Tourism

It was definitely a long weekend...thanks to the Labor Day on Monday and I spent most of it with my family. Originally my parents were going to head to FL to spend the long weekend with Amy, but the threat of Hurricane Gustav brought everyone to Nashville instead. Amy drove up from FL and arrived late on Friday night and then my parents and Elaysha arrived on Saturday morning. My parents wanted to do some sightseeing this time so we all headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I had not been in like 6 years and with a love & appreciation for music in general, it's always a fascinating place to visit. Lucky for us, we arrived just in time to catch the singer/songwriter showcase featuring Gary Harrison. The name might not sound familiar but as I began to read through his list of recorded hits I knew this guy had talent. He's written songs recorded by the likes of George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Martina McBride and probably my favorite song "Strawberry Wine" recorded by Deana Carter. The session was about 45 minutes and he played some of his hits and answered questions from the audience. We then spent about 2 hours walking through the hall of fame. You really could spend a good amount of time as there is lots to see and read about. It was about 2 o'clock and we were all starving so we headed over to Green Hills and ate at Cheeseburger Charleys and then ventured to the Green Hills Mall.

The family at the Country Music Hall of Fame

Amy posing with pics of Country Music Legends

Singer/Songwriter Gary Harrison

Me and Elaysha at the CMHF

Before you knew it the shopping was over and Amy and I had to rush to get ready to meet up with my friends Heather & Jill in Franklin for Jazzfest. We met up with them for dinner at "Pie in the Sky" for dinner (yummy pizza place) and then headed down to Jazzfest in downtown Franklin. I don't know that I necessarily had high expectations for this fest but it was so sticking hot and muggy that it was not so enjoyable not to mention that the main act that was supposed to start at 8:30 didn't start till after 9:00 and they could only play till 10 pm because of city ordinances. That was fine by me because it was not really the type of jazz I liked and it was so miserable outside that I was ready to go anyways.

Busy Friday

So after a late night walking through the house with Janet on all that needs to be done with the house, the morning came very early and we spent 5 hours of going over to-do lists, meeting with the florists, planning for the event and walking the grounds with the landscaper. We then hopped in the car and headed back to Nashville.

I was originally going to meet up with some friends for Frist Friday but then Jen mentioned that our friend Sabrina was having a birthday dinner at a restaurant in downtown Nashville called Past Perfect at 8pm. So i decided to skip Frist Friday and just meet up with them for dinner. Little did I stop to think about that fact that I had just agreed to go to dinner with 4 couples. It's not that I'm not secure in my singleness but it had already been such a long day and with the unexpected arrival of my family for the Labor Day weekend I had plenty that I needed to get done. SO since I had already committed to going, I went and it was a really good time.

Rob, Emily, Sabrina and Paul
Jen and I
Mike and Jen
Melissa and Brian

A Trip to East Tennessee

So today I headed with my boss to her hometown of Unicoi, Tennessee. Unicoi is about two hours east of Knoxville so it's about a 6 hour drive (with the time change). I had heard so much about where she was from that it was fun to actually see it. Of course, work was involved as they are hosting a fundraiser in September for The Conservation Fund so we went to her home to do a walk through and organize everything that we need to do to get the house ready for the upcoming event.

13 Green Acres Road in Unicoi

View from her driveway
I love the open areas of the house
The screen porch
Open area outside of screen porch where we are hosting event.

Refreshed & Quiet

So I thought that it was time for a little change to my blog layout so I hope you enjoy! I wish I was one of those super-techy, graphic designers that could create my own blog layout but that is not what I have been gifted with.
This week has been somewhat "quiet" which has been nice. I have not been up to a whole lot and it's been nice to have a somewhat slower pace for a change. I still have plenty to do with my job in fact we just had another successful dinner two days ago and we are already on to our next big event. They will be hosting a fundraiser for The Conservation Fund at their home in East TN in mid-September. I am actually traveling their tomorrow and Friday with my boss. We are going to do house inventory to prepare for the event which means I'll get to play house and do what I do best...SHOP! Just another perk of my job! I have not been to this home nor have I ever really been to East Tennessee so I plan to take pictures and maybe I'll post some.

Live Like You Were Dying

No, I am not referencing the song that Tim McGraw brought to the airwaves a few years ago, although there is some correlation. This is the name of a new 30-day spiritual journey that we are doing at The Peoples Church. The concept is that if you found out today, that you only had 30 days left to live, what would you do? How would you spend those last 30 days? The goal from the author's perspective, Gary Smalley, is that we would love deeper, speak sweeter, give forgiveness and embrace eternity. I am only a week into this daily study guide and the questions asked and pondered really can be insightful and inspiring! I am also going to participating in a 4 week small group starting tomorrow night and am excited to begin this new journey

Bluebird on the Mountain

A friend of mine gave me their ticket to use for this evening's Bluebird on the Mountain event. This event is held at the Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory and featured the singer/songwriter talents of Larry Cordle, Carl Jackson and Jerry Salley. You might not recognize these guys on the streets but they have written and recorded with the likes of music greats like Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Allison Krauss and the list goes on and on.
The ticket that my friend gave me covered admission for a car load up to 8 people. Since I didn't know of this event until two days prior it was hard to round up those that didn't have plans on a Saturday night but myself and my friends Matt and Tim came with me and we brought our picnic dinner and camping chairs to sit on the lawn and enjoy some great music under the stars.

Me, Matt & Tim enjoying the evening

After the 2 hour show, we were then able to go into the Dyer Observatory and look through the telescope to see the planet Jupiter. We kept each other entertained while we had to wait in a small line to get to the observatory, but it was well worth the wait. I had never looked through a telescope before, not even a small one that some have in their homes. It was a breathtaking sight to see. From the view on earth, it just looked like a star...but the view from the telescope allowed you to see the planet and 3 of it's moons. I asked the tour guide how far away was it and he said approximately 600 millions kilometers. I was simply in awe and the thing that was impressed upon me the most was that God created the heavens and the earth and still knows the numbers of hair on my head. My God is a BIG God and he cares about little ole' me!

Highballs & Hydrangea's

Tonight was a night out with the girls and we ventured out to Highballs & Hydrangeas at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. They hold this event twice a year at Cheekwood and I had already missed the one in the spring so I was glad to be able attend the second one. It was a great mix of Nashville people of all age ranges (this also meant prime people-watching too). They had a wonderful variety of food from various restaurants, a cash bar & fun live music.

The Girls

Terah, Melissa, Jen, Cathryn, Amy, Emily & Sabrina

Sabrina, Jen & Melissa tearin' it up on the dance floor

Amy struck her J.Crew pose by the water sculpture/fountain

Terah & Amy taking a break inside

Another Busy Week

Well it has been another busy week and I am really glad that tomorrow is Friday. My week started off extremely busy as we had another big event in West TN. This time we hosted a political fundraiser for Senator Lamar Alexander and the pressure was on because I planned the majority of this event while the family was out of the country so I felt like it was pretty much an event that was on me. It was an early day on Monday and I spent the majority of the day helping set up for the event (we hosted the event outdoors at their home so we had rented tents, air conditioners, tables, chairs, etc.) Thankfully it was not 100 degrees outside that day and everyone was comfortable being outside. I received plenty of kudos for pulling off another successful event. It also helps that I've now done several events in West TN and I have found some great vendors to work with :) and that only makes my job that much easier. I think I have spent the rest of this week recovering from Monday but the job simply doesn't stop. I am helping plan for a business dinner on the 25th that will be here at their home in Nashville and then another big fundraising event in September at their home in East TN. I have been working on some of those vendor contacts this week. Sometimes as of late I feel more like an event planner than a personal assistant. Lucky for me I totally enjoy both!

I am looking forward to going out with the girls tomorrow night and I'm planning on taking my camera so hopefully I'll have some pics to post after the fact. I also need to get back on my running track. Just when I think i have my training schedule scheduled everything gets jumbled up. I got in a 4 mile run last night which was good but I'm not running as consistently as I should. I gotta step it up which means getting in some runs this weekend too! And if the weather cooperates, I plan to get in some more pool time.

Something to Smile about

I took these pictures when I was back in Indiana and had a slumber party with my niece, Elaysha. They make me smile!

TV

Two letters that can consume so much of our "free" time and I admit that I am one of those people who probably spends too much time in front of one. Whether it be on the couch, running on the treadmill or watching from my laptop, I enjoy watching tv. I think the enjoyment depends on what you are watching. I will admit that I watch a couple reality-type shows on a regular basis and I have my regular tv shows that I watch but the summer is slow because most shows are on hiatus.

Well I think I found a show to preoccupy my time until September rolls around and I believe it to be a great show. It's been on for a while now and how I never took time to watch it before (could it be because I already carry a full tv schedule during the school year) I don't know but it's probably the best thing I have seen since "LOST". I'm talking about a little show called HEROES. From the very first episode, it totally captured my attention as it began the journey of identifying those with "special" abilities and began the plot of good vs. evil. I am only 6 episodes in and I am hooked. My goal is to get through both the 1st and 2nd season and be caught up before the new season kicks off at the end of September. We'll see if it's possible!

Hot Humid Race

Well just as expected, it was a terribly hot and humid 5k on Saturday morning. The race didn't start until 8am and it was already 86 degrees outside with what felt 90% humidity! YUCK! The main thing is that I finished but my race results were not-so-good....I finished 540 out of 794 runners with a time of 34:17 and a pace of 11:12. So slow which I am blaming some of that on the weather. I clearly have lots of work to do before the 10k on Sept. 6th and I hope to see improvements and I am also going to start praying for cooler weather on that day. I waited to cheer on my friend Tammy across the finish line before I realized that it was already almost 9 am and I had a hair appointment at 9:15. Since the race was held at the YMCA in Evansville, I took a quick shower and headed to get my hair done. Here's my headshot:
Due to busy summer schedules, I had not been able to get in to see my hairdresser in 3 months so I was so happy to get my hair done...I got almost 2 inches cut off and had my color touched up. It feels so much better already!

Friday...Yippee!

I don't think I have ever looked so forward to a friday as I have today. It has been a super busy work week and emotionally draining. So, it's should be no surprise that I am excited for a weekend. And I am driving back to Indiana to spend the weekend with my family.
My dad and I are participating in the first training run (5k race) for the Evansville Half Marathon. The race is tomorrow at 8am and I am already dreading the fact that it's going to be hot and humid, no doubt. This week has been a little bit harder to get in my training runs but at least with it only being 3 miles I know that I should do fine. I have definitely been running more and it's amazing at how quick the body begins to get comfortable with adding mileage. Doesn't mean that my runs are always easy or enjoyable but at least the muscle memory seems to be coming back. I am also excited because my friens Tammy is doing the Half Marathon with her sister and she will be at the training runs as well. Since she lives up by Chicago and I haven't seen her in a while, I am looking forward to seeing her over the next 3months of doing these runs.
I am also getting in a hair appointment while I am home :) Normally I go ever 8 weeks for cut and color but with the 4th of July weekend and scheduling conflicts I was not able to go in July so it's been more like 12 weeks and it ain't pretty. My hair grows so fast so when you get color done it's hard to maintain. Anyways, I will get back to my blonde roots and I am also contemplating a new cut. We shall see...
My family is going to be entertaining another family from church that is in town visiting so I am going to stay at Holly and Elaysha's home so that will be fun time for sure. Now that I have figured out how to take and post video perhaps I'll capture some more fun times this weekend.