Hi...it's me again....

Well I guess by now that all of my blogging friends realize when my work life explodes because I literally disappear from my blog. Although it might sometimes seem like it, my life does not stop and I still try to balance plenty of fun things amongst my busy work world.

What have you missed in the last 25 days? I successfully planned a conference for the Foundation (and am working to update their blog with pictures and details), I enjoyed a quick weekend in Panama City Beach co-hosting a Bachelorette Bash for my sister Amy. AND because I was in PCB, I was fortunate enough to miss the major flooding in Nashvegas that happened on May 1st and 2nd. I spent the entire first week of May traveling with work from one end of the state to the other. Successfully finished two more graduation events for the Foundation. Made an unexpected but necessary trip to Evansville to return my sister's unharmed vehicle and celebrate Mother's Day. Spent majority of this week trying to regroup with work stuff and finally got to get in a run two nights this week while catching up with friends.

That's a super short recap of the past month of life. I'm trying to get caught up on so many things but hope to post more things later.

Until then......

Wedding Weekend

The only word that I can think of that sums up my roomie's wedding was PERFECTION. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to celebrate with them on their special day and wish them all the happiness in the world. I know she reads my blog so "Love you guys".

Here are some fun shots from the day!

They had a candy bar set up for guests as favors...such a sweet treat

The beautiful garden area

The happy couple

One of the sweetest brides I know :)

Arrington Vineyard

Saturday afternoon some friends gathered at Arrington Vineyards to enjoy the wonderful weather, great wine and picnic foods, and live jazz music. These pictures are courtesy of my friend Patrick who also graciously organized this get together.

Me, Sims and Katie hanging out around the picnic table and yummy food.

Wade took this fun picture of Me, CrazyAmy and Sims


Chatting up with Wade while hanging out on the hillside

I absolutely loved hanging out and watching the stars come out at night

Blunt Toe Trama

It's rather laughable now but at the time of injury laughter was the last thing running through my mind. Let me take you back to the scene of the accident. I was having a productive Saturday morning. I got up early, took care of my bosses dog, ran a 5k, picked up bosses from airport and made my way to the grocery store all before 10 am on Saturday. The grocery store was very quiet and I didn't have much to pick up really. What I did stock up on was liter bottles of water since I knew they would be perfect to take to a picnic that afternoon and I was rather thirsty. I also picked a half gallon of my favorite tea. Since I only had about 7 items, I ventured to the self-checkout lanes and began the process. I try my best to bring my recyclable shopping bags to save on the plastic. My thought was that I will scan the heavy bottled products to keep my shopping bag from collapsing. I had all 3 bottled products in and bag secure (so I thought). When I scanned the next product, I clearly did not see the bottles falling out of the bag. I never saw anything but quite painfully felt them all 3, one by one, fall onto my bare foot. The victim, my big left toe. The pain was that instant pain that delivers a blow to the pit of your stomach. I looked down below and saw that I had skin hanging off said big toe. Holy smokes....I literally had to take a moment at the self check out line to regain my composure. I can only imagine what this looked like to those watching the security cameras. Thankfully my toe nails are painted a springy shade of purple because now my big toe matches perfectly.

Easter Brunch

My church offered the option of a Saturday night worship service so I was excited to partake of this opportunity to go to church on Saturday night which in turn allowed me to sleep in on Sunday morning. (well not really because I had to take care of my bosses dog but it was a nice thought). Anywho, my friend Crazy Amy found this great brunch spot online and we decided to check it out. We went to Boxwood Bistro which is just outside of downtown Franklin. It was like having brunch in a tiny space of heaven. We got a table outside and basked in the glorious sunshine surrounded by shrubbary and beautiful trees full of spring blossoms. The brunch was buffet style and their menu selections were abundant. Everything was simply perfect.

Whirlwind Weekend and Week

Whew....I think I have caught my breathe from this weekend. What a whirlwind life right now. I went back to Indiana on Friday evening to co-host, along with my mother and sister Holly, a bridal shower for my baby sister. Thankfully one of my bestest friends (crazy Amy) went along with me and she was a huge help with all the going-ons this weekend. We got in around 7pm on Friday night and went straight to dinner with my mom and Elaysha bug. I was starving so dinner at Hacienda was extra delicious. After dinner, we made a quick stop at Target and then headed home. I was in bed before 10 pm.

My Saturday started early....7 am early but it wasn't bad because I was already awake. I left with my mom at 8 am and the errands commenced. We started the day with Donut Bank coffee and donuts...an Evansville must! We then dropped her car off for an oil change and then gathered all the shower stuff and loaded the car and headed to church. We got everything situated for the festivities and I designed the floral arrangements....another fun thing that I am discovering that I am good at and enjoy very much! From there we ran a couple last minute errands to get some more shower supplies. We grabbed lunch and then picked up her car and dropped my car off for an oil change. We swung by the house to pick up Crazy Amy, who enjoyed the morning sleeping in and recouping from her night of food poisoning :( poor Amy, to run and do mani and pedis. We then dropped my mom off at home and then grabbed my daddy-o to get in a quick trip to the gun range to get in some shooting practice. Then we brought my dad back home b/c my parents had a wedding to attend and then grabbed Holly, Amy and Elaysha and headed to the mall. We did some quick shopping and then grabbed some dinner. By the time I got home around 9:30...I was absolutely exhausted!

Sunday was the big day....shower day! And by shower, I also mean rain showers. I was glad to sleep in some and then attended church at Bethel Temple Church. It's a great church in Evansville and I look forward to attending any time I'm back in Indiana. We snuck out a little early to pick up balloons for the shower and grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to my parents church where we were hosting the shower. We did all the last minute decor and finishing touches and then I assumed the role of "greeter/traffic director" for all the guests that arrived. We had about 30 people attend and my sister got some great gifts. I feel like over all it was a good and successful event. Crazy Amy was kind enough to be our photographer for the day using my camera. But I haven't had a chance to actually download the pics to my computer. I will post them when I can. The shower ended around 4pm and we had everything cleaned up by 5pm. We ran back to my parents house and packed our car and then headed out to dinner at Longhorns to have an early birthday dinner for my Dad. After dinner, we made a quick stop by my grandmother's house and then got on the road back to Tennessee.

I finally got home around 11 pm and got everything unpacked. And hence the weekend was gone and now a busy week has started. I got up early only to repack as I am now in East Tennessee for today and tomorrow. Then I am heading back to Nashville for some friends that are coming to visit. My travels are not over just yet as I also have to head back to West Tn to do some office stuff and pick up the dog and bring her back to Nashville.

Whirlwind....

Hostess with the Mostest

It has become clear to me lately that I absolutely LOVE hosting parties. I love creating an environment that allows a group of people to come together and enjoy each other's company...stories told...laughter shared. I love the opportunity to eat delicious amounts of food and sweets. (like I need to create an "opportunity"...HA) This also explains why the favorite part of my job is event planning. While the amount of details can sometimes be overwhelming and stressful, at the end of the day it's very rewarding to me.

It's that time....a season of parties. I hosted a dinner party this weekend for my roomie, Jen and her fiance Mike. This weekend, I am heading to Indiana to co-host a bridal shower for my baby sister, Amy. She will become a Mrs. in just 3 short months. I will celebrate with Jen and Mike as they get married on April 17th. I have a new and fun event that I am planning for work on April 27th. Then I will head to the sunshine state on April 30th to co-host a bachelorette weekend beach bash for Amy. Once I return I will have another two events in a weeks time for work. If I can survive those events and I do plan to survive, then I will take a much needed vacation and head to the majestic mountains of Colorado to celebrate ME and my big birthday of 35. But that's not the end of parties...once I return from Colorado I will have about a week to regroup before heading back to the sunshine state...this time to stand besides my sister as she becomes a wife.

Here's hoping I'm still feeling like the "hostess with the mostest" when it's all said and done!

Where's the sunshine?

I feel like I haven't seen sunshine since I was in Arizona . Actually we had some sunshine and blue skies last Friday but nothing since then...that was 5 days ago. Being under this constant cover of clouds and rain showers is SO depressing. The combinatino of weather and daylight savings time has made it tough to get out of bed in the morning. The weather peeps keep promising sunshine but that's yet to happen. Maybe I'll just head back to Arizona where the sunshine seems to be abundant.

I think I'm getting back into a routine after vacay. I've worked out every day this week thus far which feels good and I am enjoying a work routine getting to spend lots of time working from my downtown office. April and May are busy months with Foundation stuff and we've even added a new event in April so I guess I should be enjoying this "down" time while I have it. I'm thinking it's like the calm before the storm.

Low Key Weekend

I've enjoyed a rather low-key weekend. Friday night was spent with Jen and Mike eating a casual dinner at the Broadway Brewhouse in Bellevue. I can't believe they are getting married in 34 days....so excited for them! Saturday morning was dog duty (since the family is overseas) and since I was there, I got in a 3 mile run on their treadmill. Did a couple errands and then met up with my friends Amy, Katie and Patrick for lunch at Blue Coast Burrito and then caught the afternoon show of "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D. It was very enchanting! Made a quick trip to Costco with Amy and then worked my way back for the evening dog duty and then to relax at home and catch up on some tv shows.

The time change, that is losing the hour, really sucked. It also doesn't help to lose an hour of sleep and wake up to another gloomy and wet and cold day :( This weather blows! Anywho, I got up and ready for church stopping to do morning dog duty of course. I grabbed a quick Waffle House lunch with my friend Amy afterwards and then did a couple more errnads and even some work stuff that I wanted to get a jump start on for this week. I got home around 5:30 and began the organizational project known as my closet. I'm rebelling against this colder weather and put a good majority of my sweaters back in storage for next winter! I also got to use some of my finds from Ikea which helped tremendously with all the clutter. I have a whole bag of old running shoes (6 pairs to be exact) ready to be dropped off at Soles4Souls tomorrow and I also did 2 loads of laundry. I even managed to hit the couch in time to watch the new HBO mini-series called The Pacific.

All in all it's been a good weekend and I am ready for another productive work week (fingers crossed).

Rainy Days

I don't mind a rainy day but rainy days...like day after day...kinda brings me down. It rained my last 3 days in Arizona and it's rained every day (at some point) since I've been back to TN and guess what the weekend forecast is? Yep, more rain. I realize that rain is good for the ground and spring flowers but a little sunshine would be good too and most welcomed.

Coming back from a great vacay hasn't been too hard. I typically get the post-vacay blues and while I do miss hanging out with Ruthann and Wesley, I'm ready to dig into work and some fun events that we have coming up. I haven't been overwhelmed with emails or phone calls from my boss overseas which has been wonderful. I have plenty to work on and am enjoying my own scheduled days and being productive without a million interruptions.

Arizona Vacation Highlights

Thought I would post some pictures that highlighted my recent vacay to Arizona. This vacation was actually the best vacay that I've taken in a while. I got to spend so much quality time with my dearest friend, Ruthann that I am coming back to Nashville more refreshed and my batteries fully recharged!

A sure sign of spring...Baseball. Cubs spring training game that we attended on Friday

Ruthann and I spent our Saturday at The Spa at Camelback Inn...what a treat!

In between treatments, we lounged by the pool. It had a spectacular view of mountains all around and we got a perfect day full of sunshine and blue skies

I had so much fun getting to meet and play with Wesley. He is such a delight :)

Ruthann and I

Much Needed Vacay

I cannot even begin to emphasis how great my vacation has been thus far. I flew out on Thursday afternoon to visit one of my dearest friends, Ruthann who now resides in Arizona. I was excited for this trip for multiple reasons. 1. It's a real vacation...no bringing work, laptops, etc. 2. Its great time with friends, getting to meet their little one, Wesley for the first time. 3. I've never been to Arizona before and was so welcoming the sunshine. The weather has been fantastic up until Sunday when we got rain showers and some cooler temperatures. We've had all sorts of fun things planned and for the pictures and play-by-plays, you can check out Ruthann's blog (her link is on my blog list, last link).

It's been a much needed vacation and so great thus far!

A loooong week

It's been a long week and it's not even Friday yet.

I was prepared as I could be for a busy work week. We are t-minus 7 days until they board the ship and set sail for another 5 week excursion which means a bit of a break for me (although not really). It also means t-minus 7 days for my own vacation as I am so excited to be heading back west, this time to Arizona to see my dearest friend Ruthann, her husband Matt and her son Wesley.

What I wasn't prepared for was to have a close friend of our family pass away :( He was only a year older than I and our families practically grew up together. I have so many fond memories of all the times that we shared throughout our lives. I know that he is in a much better place but I do feel heartbroken for his family...and he has a great family! It's just another one of those things in life we have that we have to face but I am so thankful for HIS Peace that passes all understanding.

I also wasn't prepared for my boss to give me tomorrow off! I won't complain although I know that I have lots to do. I'm just going to force myself to enjoy this 3 day weekend and let the work wait till Monday.

Hello Sunshine

It was been absolutely WONDERFUL to see the blue skies, sunshine and temperatures rise about 60 degrees. All I can say is ITS ABOUT TIME!! I must say this weather falling on the weekend has been such the welcomed change from our past weekends of snow, ice and frigid temperatures.

I went to the doctor on Friday to find out that I have a good ole' sinus infection. Thankfully, my doctor called me in a Zpak and also instructed me to take Sudafed 2x a day. I'm still battling the congestion, stuffy-nose and sinus headaches but I hope to be fully better soon. Since breathing has been somewhat difficult, I've had to take a 4 day break from working out but plan to start fresh tomorrow. I'm already 3 weeks in to training for another Half Marathon and am fully motivated given my sister's wedding in June which will require me to adorn a strapless bridesmaid dress. Now if only I could curtail my constant desire to eat :)

My weekend has been rather low key and I have been able to get out and enjoy some of the sunshine which has been nice. The next week and a half will be busy with work preparing for the families next overseas travels but that also means a break for me and I plan to spend some much needed R&R in Arizona visiting my dearest friend Ruthann. I cannot wait!

Sickly Cold

Yes...I am sick of the cold but this week I have a "cold" that is making me rather sickly :( I guess I have the crud that's going around so I'm going to concede and go see my doctor first thing tomorrow morning. I promise you that I cannot remember the last time I had these cold-like symptoms so intensely. I have the constant, and I mean constant runny nose, sneezing, heavy chest and cough, ear popping although it's actually like crackling and sinus pressure. Thankfully I don't seem to be feverish or have a sore throat cause that would probably send me over the edge. Funny thing is I don't really know where I have picked this up as it's not like I'm in an office of sick people or have a kid in daycare...I don't even have a close friend that's had the crud to catch it from. The only place I can think of exposure could be from the gym. Not that it really matters.

Anywho, it only took me one restless night to wave the white flag and call my doctor. My schedule was too full to go today but I can't really afford to put it off because I have a busy work week next week. Who am I kidding...I always have a busy work week! Here's hoping for some good drugs :)

Cabin Fever

Those two words were the perfect description for me on Sunday morning. Our wintery mix became a winter storm and we ended up with a nice layer of ice, snow and more ice....about 4-5 inches of layers. I thankfully was able to work from home home on Friday and literally got snowed in. It really did feel like the city shut down on Saturday. Sure, it was nice to relax but by midday on Saturday I was growing restless. I did a little cleaning around the house, talked to some friends on the phone, read a little and watched more tv than I care to admit.

I was so happy to wake up to sunshine on Sunday and could barely wait for it to start melting stuff away. It only took me about 30 minutes to dig my car out and I was outta there. I went to Target, the Y to workout and to the grocery store.

It wasn't the weekend I had planned but I guess I should be thankful for the days of rest.

Wintery Mix

These are two words that used together have enough power to foil my weekend plans :( Personally, I think it's what our local weather peeps like to use to cover their you know what. "We know it's cold and that precipitation is expected so we'll call it a 'wintery mix' " This mix covers just about any type of precipitation one might expect when temperatures creep towards 32 degrees...rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice, snow, etc. etc. And because I live in the "south" and let's face it, no one can really drive on ice, everything gets shut down. Schools will close, people will raid the grocery stores, businesses will close and all the idiots will decide it's a great day for a drive. Just thinking about it makes me crabby. Ruthann, I want some Arizona sunshine right about now!

I have some fun things planned for this weekend and I'm crossing my fingers that this wintery mix will just be cold rain and everything will go on as normal. Here's hoping....

January in PIctures

For New Years, my friends Jen and Erin came up from Pensacola to visit. It was so fun to have them up for the long New Years weekend. Here we are all dressed up for our Girl's Nite Out!
Crazy Amy and I all dressed up for our New's Year Dinner out. We did a girl's night out to celebrate New Years and went to Mama Mia's. It's my new fave authentic Italian restaurant!

With Jen and Erin in tow, we visited the Belle Meade Plantation. There is so much history here in Nashville and this is one of my "resolutions" for this new year...to visit more local sites.

Our dear friends Tam and Margaret got marriend on January 1st. Michael and Caron were in the wedding and I just happened to balance out the silver with my gold dress. Great Night!

Mondays & Headaches

Some might think that mondays and headaches go together. This monday has not given me a headache..not yet anyways. Today, I actually woke up with a headache. I call it a "weather headache" because this crazy ever-changing weather comes to town and various pressures wreak havoc on my head :( No fun.



I'm not doing the best at blogging in the new year but I did spend a little time over the weekend gathering some pictures so look for picture posts to come soon. I actually had the best weekend that I've probably had in quite some time. It was...dare I say...relaxing. Friday night, I had a great dinner with my roomie, Jen. The food was yummy but the company and conversation was just what I needed. I'm so continually blessed by all the great friends that God has brought into my life. After not sleeping great last week, I finally got a good nights sleep on Friday and woke up recharged and headed to spin class. I'm really trying to get back in gear and my official training for the Country Music Half Marathon starts next week. Here we go again! After spin, I headed to Franklin to hang with Crazy Amy. We had the most relaxing day just watching tv shows from the previous week. I'd be lost without her DVR :) What was most fun was cooking dinner that night. Our menu consisted of Teryaki Ginger glazed pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans and for dessert we made chocolate cupcakes with homemade vanilla frosting. It was fun to be in the kitchen cooking and baking....maybe I'll do more of that this year. We only had one "blonde" moment in the kitchen that was priceless. Amy made some bacon and sauteed onions to add to the pork chops so she had grease that needed to be disposed of. Her solution was a gladware container. However, hot grease and plastic clearly don't gel and before our eyes we watched the bottom of the gladware disintegrate. Thankfully it was in the sink so no further damage took place. Whew! Here's a picture for proof:

Sunday was church and then I had to do a couple work errands but got home around 2pm just in time to veg out on the couch and watch the Colts fight for a place in the Superbowl. I didn't realize how late it had gotten, but still managed to get in a 3 mile run at the Y before they closed at 6pm. I made a quick stop to the grocery store on the way home, did some laundry and then watched the Saints/Vikings game. I also worked on my personal calendar through June. Nothing like looking at the next 5 months of everything going on to get overwhelmed. I have a lot of things that I want to do and not for sure that I have the money to travel and get everything accomplished. Guess I'll just take it day by day and if I can prioritize my time and money correctly, then I will do it all! That's my plan!

Better late than never...

Because clearly it's already the 13th of January and a new year at that and I am just now finding some time to blog after catching up on all of my friends blogs. I just can't seem to keep up with anything these days...I feel like I'm out of touch with some friends and it makes me sad because I miss them... I can barely keep up a decent running pace these days and have somehow lost my motivation to workout even though I'm still dragging my rear to the gym.....I can't keep up with a blog...what blog? Thankfully, I have gotten somewhat caught up with work but then again I have a job that always has something going on so I'm never really "caught up".

And despite my somewhat blah start to this blog, I am really looking forward to this new year of 2010. It's going to be a year of changes...a year of transitions. And while I know that change is not always easy or fun, I am ready for change! So I leave you with three little words:

BRING IT ON