This. Is. Fantastic.

I know that this video is all the rage right now, so most of you have probably seen this, but I still have to post it. Because it is awesome. And seriously, it puts a smile on my face when I watch it. And I have, like 6 times today.



Kudos to this couple for having a good time on their wedding day!

Speaking of weddings, we're in Iowa to see Colin and Jackie tie the knot this weekend. I wonder if tonight's rehearsal will include some dance lessons...

Movie night!

Will had a rare day off today, and took advantage of it by trying to find more permanent locations for all our stuff. This included taking a random ziplock bag of change to Coinstar to cash it in. The grand total came out to $18...which was exactly enough to treat ourselves to a movie tonight! So Will and I had ourselves an impromptu date- dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then we saw The Hangover. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much during a movie. It was hilarious. I'm already looking forward to its DVD release, just so I can watch the outtakes. It's not a deep movie by any means, but it was hysterical. A great way to spend a random, rainy Wednesday night.

My Life...

Taken from Leslie's blog...thought I'd give it a try tonight!

Time... 8:57 PM

I am working on... this blog! I've spent the evening paying bills online, writing emails to old friends, and searching for upcoming concerts and trivia nights in Nashville.

I am thankful... for Will and his amazing ability to put up with me and my sometimes crazy behavior, for free tickets to Houston for Andy and Sandy's wedding (thanks to Southwest travel vouchers!), for central air, and for our enormous movie collection that's making it easy to forget that we don't have cable at the moment.

From the kitchen... at the moment nothing. Maybe a brownie before bed though.

I am wearing... brown yoga pants and my favorite green Guinness t-shirt from our trip to Ireland.

I am creating... or recently created... a list of recommendations of places to visit in Ireland for several of my friends who all happen to be planning Fall trips there.

I am going... to Pella, IA for a wedding next weekend. One of Will's good friends from highschool is getting married, and Will is a groomsman. Ironically, Colin and Jackie (the bride and groom) met in Decatur while they were both teaching at Mt. Zion HS. Small world. :)

I am reading... a few books from the library. The main library is only a 1/2 block from our new place. That place is HUGE...almost intimidating how big it is. I didn't even know where to begin to look when I went there on my lunchbreak last week, so I grabbed about 5 books that had interesting titles/covers and have been working my way through them this week.

I am hoping... to hear some good news in the next couple days regarding my future. And no, it has nothing AT ALL to do with being, or becoming, pregnant. Or engaged. Relax everyone. :)

I am hearing... Will watching "8 Mile" in the living room. I'm also hearing him laugh a lot. I don't remember "8 Mile" being that funny...I must be missing something.

Around the house... boxes, boxes, boxes. We are still not unpacked. Slowly but surely it's coming along, but we need to make some purchases before we're more or less settled. On our "want/need" list: a dining room table, a big area rug for the living room, a computer desk, a poker table for the game room, a king-size platform bed, a 50+ inch TV, and fun artwork for our big, empty walls. Can you guess which are the "wants" and which are the "needs"?

Making me happy right now... I got to see Carbon Leaf last night for the first time in almost 2 years! I'm even happier that they'll be playing in Nashville again in just a couple months Other things that are making me happy: new shoes from DSW (for only $13 on clearance!), and the idea that bedtime is quickly approaching.

A few plans for the rest of the week... trivia night either tomorrow or Thursday, early morning workout sessions at the Y, and another trip to the library at some point. Will is going to Orlando for the weekend for a work conference, so I'm sure I'll get through several books while he's gone.

Andy and Sandy's Wedding Shower/4th of July weekend

It was a very fun but busy 4th of July weekend! The festivities kicked off on Thursday night with a wedding shower for Andy and Sandy at Lock, Stock, and Barrel. Thank goodness the weather cooperated! It was really beautiful outside so we were able to host the event on the patio. Most of our Decatur-based relatives made it to the shower, and it seemed to be a great success. Everyone looked like they had a good time. Some more than others. And I think that someone knows who she is. I won't name any names, but this particular cousin of mine seemed to be in great spirits all night. I hope she recovered OK the next day. :)

The happy couple at their shower:

The drinks on the patio at LSB continued for awhile after the shower ended. One particular cousin, Erin joined in the picture! :)We spent Friday afternoon with Grandma Wingard, looking at old family photos. Grandma shared her homemade macaroni and cheese reciped with me, too. I'm looking forward to making it soon!

Mom and Dad have been working hard in the backyard this summer! We spent the majority of our time at home hanging out on the back patio. Friday night we grilled out and enjoyed some homemade sangria, sparklers, and the traditional 4th of July flag cake. Ella helped mom make it this year, and they did a good job!

Ella sampling her cake creation:

Ella's first time playing with Sparklers:
Ella and I singing Taylor Swift's "Love Story". She loves that song, and actually knows all the words!

Andy, Sandy, and I spent Saturday, the 4th, in St. Louis. We arrived around 3:30 PM and amazingly managed to eat 3 times before going to bed that night. Drinks and wings at Culpeppers in the Central West End, a delicious Italian dinner at Charlie Ghittos in the Hill, and dessert at Ted Drewes. A tasty run through St. Louis! We were able to see the fireworks at The Arch, too. Their flight left at 7 AM the following morning, so I was on the road by 6 and back in Nashville by 11 Sunday morning. I spent the rest of my holiday weekend napping. I am always so exhausted after a weekend at home. I stay up way too late visiting with family and friends! A very fun weekend, though!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday...and he spent this morning putting up shelves in our laundry closet. That is a perfect example of my dad- always putting others in front of himself.

I love my dad for so many reasons. He's a very quiet, observant man, but when he does speak, it's usually about something interesting. He has such a calm demeanor- I rarely see him upset or worked up. He's happy-go-lucky and relaxed.

My dad cracks up at some of the most random stuff, which is hilarious to me. His laugh is infectious...if he's laughing I find myself joining in. Luckily, we share a similar sense of humor! He thinks Jackass is hysterical, and I remember when I was younger that he loved to watch Married with Children.

He loves manly things like crossword puzzles, war movies, and Civil War books. But he also has a love of margaritas, sangria, and Abba. He may seem gruff on the outside, but underneath he's a big sweetheart. Just look at him when he's around Ella. She loves her Papa, and he loves her right back. My parents even made a stop in Assumption on the way home from Nashville yesterday so Dad could see Ella. It had been 2 days since he'd seen her, afterall!

This isn't a very eloquently written post. I just wanted to take a second and wish my dad a very Happy Birthday. I'm a lucky girl to have a dad like him!

H-O-T

It's a scorcher out there!

Mom and Dad drove down from Decatur last night to help us settle in (ie-Dad is going to hang shelves for us and Mom is going to buy us things for the kitchen!) We woke up early this morning with grand intentions of finding some good garage sales treasures, and were enjoying breakfast at The Pancake Pantry (a Nashville Institution) by 7 this morning...

...we were done garage sale-ing before 10 today. It is just TOO HOT to do anything outside that doesn't involve a boat and a lake, or a pool. Needless to say we didn't find much. A few books and a tea set for Ella.

Mom is taking a nap and Dad and I are relaxing on the couch watching a movie. Poor Will had to work today, but will hopefully be off and chilling with us in the glorious AC soon.

On a random note, I can't believe that Michael Jackson died a couple days ago. I admit I never thought much about him before, but it is strange that he's no longer around. What fascinates me is all the media attention his death has brought. I understand that he's a pop icon and everything, but WOW! There are new developments and articles everytime I open the internet. I enjoyed his music, but certainly don't consider myself a superfan. Regardless, it's a sad loss. I wonder if years from now we'll remember where we were when we found out MJ passed...

Happy Saturday! Hope everyone stays cool!

CMA Fest

In addition to moving, we have been taking advantage of summertime happenings around Nashville. Last weekend, the CMA Music Fest was in town. 4 days of non-stop country music action, all within steps of our condo! Since we were moving, we weren't able to spend as much time participating in the downtown activities and free concerts (which is too bad, because it looked like a lot of fun! Definitely plan on checking that out next year). We were able to score some tickets to the McDonalds suite at LP Field, though, for the headlining concerts on 2 of the nights. I was grateful to have those tickets for several reasons:

1. Tickets to these events were about $40-$50/night. Free is better!


2. We could walk, which took care of 2 things. We didn't have to pay for parking (there's that free word, again!) and we were able to time how long it took to get from our place to the Field- Titans season is quickly approaching!


3. The suite is air conditioned, which is heavenly on a muggy, hot, Southern June night

I love concerts of any kind- if it's live music, I'm typically happy to be there- but I've never been to a country music concert before. I made a few observations that I feel compelled to share, even if it's just for my own documentation...

• First of all, country music draws such a DIVERSE crowd! There were people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicities piled under one roof for the same reason. That impressed me. And everyone got along! People were dancing and singing and relaxed. I love when people are able to let loose and have fun and not be judged for it.
• Country musicians put on a good show. I was entertained the entire time, and got to see some big name country artists. I think it is very cool that these famous musicians aren't above only playing 4 or 5 of their songs, and sharing a bill with lots of other people.
• It may be cliche, but country musicians are probably the most patriotic people in the states. They love to sing about "Mare-ka" (America to the lay person's ear.) Each concert started with someone singing the Star Spangled Banner, complete with 4 fighter jets flying overhead at a LOW altitude. Seeing those planes like that is really cool, and always gives me goose bumps. And a couple of the musicians brought up veterans during their show when they sang patriotic songs.
• I was struck, also, by how appreciate the fans were. I was downtown on Thursday and saw a Marine dressed in his full military outfit, and observed several complete strangers walk up to him and shake his hand and tell him "Thank you" for what he does for our country. The same type of thing happened at the concerts. Several military men were walking to their seats on the field, and they got a HUGE spontaneous round of applause from the fans. I think these days we do take for granted that these men and women risk their lives in combat to protect us here in the states. It's nice to know that patriotism isn't dead, and I'm sure that the military people appreciated being appreciated.
• My favorite moment of the fest, I think, though was when the Zac Brown Band played their popular song, "Chicken Fried." Zac sang the first part, "You know I like my chicken fried" and then the crowd sang "Cold beer on a Friday night". And it wasn't like a handful of people sang it, the ENTIRE crowd of 50,000- some people sang. You wanna talk about goosebumps- I love, love, love when stuff like that happens. How cool would you feel if that many people knew the words to your song?

I'm starting to ramble, but wanted to share some of my thoughts on my first CMA Fest. All-in-all, a great time! Can't wait for next year!

Kenny Chesney

Taylor Swift