Happy Thanksgiving for Real This Time!

Hello there friends and family!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! I for one had a wonderful time with Jason, but also missed my family a whole lot. Thankfully, Thanksgiving started out on the perfect note with a phonecall from mom and her annual turkey wake up call. I got up early and baked crescent rolls with homemade frosting and put on a pot of coffee so I could catch the Macys Parade - which is my favorite and I can never miss it. But Kati, I sure did miss cuddling up with you this year - and yelling at Kris from the living room to get her butt up out of bed to join us!!

When we finally decided to get going, we headed out for some good ol' Southern dining at the nearby Cracker Barrel. :-) We had decided earlier on that because we had celebrated Thanksgiving with the Keith family and Grandma Moreland in October, we weren't going to cook another Thanksgiving meal - it's a lot of work and a LOT of leftovers! We STILL have turkey in our freezer! These are two pictures from when we had our Thanksgiving with the Keiths, Grandma Moreland and our friend Roxanne.

After dinner at CB, we headed over to some friends of ours, Chris and Sara to say hi and have a little pumpkin pie. And we finished the evening curled up on the couch and watching You, Me and Dupree - which was a very lame movie might I add.

The rest of the weekend was very restful and relaxing. I was home most of the weekend reading and hanging out, since Jason had to work Friday night and Sunday night, but on Saturday we did head out in search of the perfect Christmas Tree. And we found it with no problem at all! The first place we had stopped at, we were told that if it was Nobles we were in seach of, there was a guy out in Smyrna that had them shipped in from Oregon! It was a strange concept to me that they have to literally ship Christmas trees in from other states, since most of the trees here are leafy ones. And a lot of people here in town use fake trees! Back home you can't go a mile without seeing a tree lot, but here you have to drive quite a ways just to find one.

So anyway, we find this guy's tree lot out in Smyrna and had no problem finding the perfect tree right away. I would say its close to 6 feet and it was surpringly only $40, which you all know back home is a pretty good deal for a noble. We got the tree home, made tacos for dinner and then Jason wanted to take me out someplace as a surprise. (That's Banks under the tree in the left corner of the picture.)

Jason definately surprised me, by taking me to Opryland Hotel. As we pulled up to the hotel, the lights outside alone were enough to take your breath away. Every Christmas Opryland Hotel decorates their lobbies and conservatories with TONS of lights and decorations. It was like walking through a mini disneyland it was so cool. We walked the entire hotel, which is not small by any means, and sipped coffee from a little cafe. I took a ton of pictures for you all to get an idea for what it was like.

This is Jason and I outside the hotel in front of this gigantic blue lit tree. I've included a picture of the whole tree, so you get an idea of just how huge it is - those little flowers at the bottom, is what we're standing in front of in the first picture of us and also in the picture with just Jason.

This is me in front of a beautiful gazebo inside one of the hotel's conservatories. The pose was special for Jason :-)

Here I am standing on top of one of the walkways over one of the three conservatories. If you look around the edge of the room, you will see the balconies and windows from the hotel rooms. And the ceiling is made of glass. Those are all hundreds of thousands of white lights strung from the ceilings with huge, white light ornament balls hanging throughout the room.

I also included a closer shot of the lights and you can see some of the stuffed animals and hot air balloons that also hung around the hotel. Isn't it gorgeous?

The hotel also has a huge waterfall and we walked into a tunnel that goes behind it. This is Jason in front of the rushing water. He looks like a total rockstar in this picture. I married such a hottie :-)

Finally, one last picture of Jason and I sitting in front of a teddy bear whose wearing a red top hat and striped scarf. Can you see him?

It was so much fun and we had a great time spending some good quality time together. Finally when it was close to 11, we headed back home and Jason began setting up the tree, as I couldn't help but fall asleep on the couch.

Around 2am Jason finished putting all the lights on - and its looks so beautiful! As you can see, Banks has made her home underneath the branches, for some reason its her favorite place to be during Christmas. Sunday was spent by decorating the apartment for Christmas and again I was good and remembered to take lots of pictures of how our home looks now for the holidays.

Meet our ducks Mr. Jones and family. Jason has developed a bit of a fetish for ducks, and I bought him his first one as a surprise about a month ago. Then we decided Mr. Jones was lonely and we added on a family. Aren't they cute?

Here we have the dining room table all ready to go for Christmas.

And this is our console table - once again, you'll notice the ducks.

And finally, before I forget - I just had myself another celebrity sighting! I just rode the elevator up with Sara Evans! She must have been on her way to her divorce lawyer, cause she got off on the 22nd floor and we're representing her husband Craig on our 28th floor. She is absolutely gorgeous and has lost a lot of weight even since Dancing with the Stars. I didn't say anything since she was talking with her friend and I didn't want to interrupt, but it was pretty freakin cool.

That's all I got for now. I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Did She Mean It?

So other than the elections being the big talk around town, the other topic that is getting a ton of press around here is Faith Hill's reaction to Carrie Underwood winning Female Vocalist of the Year at the CMA Awards Monday night. Her reps are saying that she was only joking....ok. Watch the video below and tell me if you think her reaction was for real or not.

Other news - we booked our cabin for Christmas - yeah!!!! My husband is so awesome, check out the pictures below and see what a good job he did in finding us our cabin for Christmas~! It's called the Cherokee Lake Cabin and its in the Smoky Mountains, we'll be there for 4 nights!!

CMA Awards

Tonight is the much anticipated CMA awards hosted by Brooks and Dunn. And I hope to be leaving work early enough to not get stuck in too much traffic. The preshow starts around 6:30pm, and the actual show at 7. They're being hosted at the Gaylord Entertainment Center, which is only two blocks from where I work. I normally drive up 5th Street to head to the office, but today it was blocked off by police officers and the red carpet. It was kinda cool to see it being set up after watching it on TV for so many years. Our friend Jeff Batson is going tonight and taking his girlfriend Lindsey. Must be nice to afford tickets at $500 a pop!! Jason has already been seeing some of the celebrities here in town for the show. On Saturday night Jon Bon Jovi came into Mortons for dinner and on Sunday he told me that Kenny Chesney and George Strait had reservations for dinner. Jason was off last night, and we almost went into Mortons for dinner, but decided to have pizza at the Mellow Mushroom instead. Kati, you still breathing? :-) But we do plan on watching the Awards show from the comfort of our home and we've invited a few friends over to hang out with us.

It was a great weekend hanging with the hubby. We looked online for a cabin to rent in the Smoky Mountains over Christmas. We also checked out the local farmers market yesterday - yah, not so much. I had in my mind Pike Place, and it was more like a glorified garage sale. We still had a great time though and after pizza, we stopped at Starbucks and went to Target to buy some fun things for the apartment and then headed home to watch a disney flick - Eight Below. I don't recommend it - I cried and not just a few glistening tears either, like weepy crying. So much for staying safe with Disney. I also finished a puzzle that was started back when my inlaws were in town. I'm noticing a pattern here. They visit - we start a puzzle together - they leave - and Kim obsesses over finishing it. Not to long ago, my husband looks over at me and says, "you really are a grandma aren't you?" No comment. Wickie..wickie..wickie. They don't call me Grandma Scribbles for nothin.

A little update for those of you who don't know. A week ago, Jason and I had the opportunity to meet Billy Currington. He was having dinner at Mortons of course, and when I came to pick up Jason from work, I had brought a CD with me of a few of Jason's best songs. I walked over to Billy's table where Jason was talking with him and his girlfriend and Billy introduced himself. Girls, he's not as cute in person. We gave the CD to Billy and three days later (last Wednesday), Billy was at Big Yellow Dog Music publishing company, when the general partner and manager, Carla Wallace asked Billy if he had heard of any new writers. Billy remembered Jason's CD and retrieved it from his car and he and Carla listened to it. On Wednesday afternoon Jason got a call from Carla asking to meet with her on Thursday. They had their meeting and it seemed to go well. Jason brought a few more songs with him and she really liked some of what he's written. So where do we go from here? Carla has asked Jason to drop by some more of his music by her office and she would like to get to know him a bit better to see what he's about and more of his style. This is encouraging. What I'm learning from this music business, is you have to choose to see God in every circumstance and how He might be working in it. Here's where you come in. You all know Jason and how incredibly hard-working, dedicated and passionate he is about songwriting. Pray that God would show His favor in this situation and if it be God's will, that Jason would be offered a publishing/writing deal. One very exiciting and encouraging thing that we learned from this meeting was that when Carla pulled out the CD of Jason's music during their meeting, it was not the same CD Jason gave to BIlly. Billy had kept his copy and they made a seperate copy for Carla. Carla also told Jason that Billy really liked Right Where We Belong a whole lot. He should be starting on his next album in January, so it wouldn't be surprising if he was already looking for songs. AGAIN, pray for favor. This one divine appointment could possibly have two very significant outcomes. Either way, even if nothing comes of it, just knowing that this top executive at Big Yellow Dog wants to get to know Jason better and that Billy Currington really likes Jason's song is extremely encouraging. After all, we all know Right Where We Belong is a hit, its all just a matter of time.

Shut Up and Sing

Tonight is just my thoughts.

This evening I joined a couple friends from work to see a documentary that was pre-released to Nashville. It's called "Shut Up and Sing", a documentary put out by the Dixie Chicks. Before you read any further, let me forewarn you, you may not agree with what I have to say.

Call me crazy, but for some reason, I guess I was expecting to see mostly loyal fans. Instead, it appeared I was walking into a theatre full of democrats and liberals with a political agenda. Sure, the audience didn't say anything themselves, instead they only sneered, laughed and cheered at anything portrayed negative toward the President. I can't help but feel sorry for the Dixie Chicks. I have always loved their music, and I think they are extremely gifted artists and musicians. But I'm also not surprised by the damage of Natalies comment back in 2001 where she said she was embarressed the President was from Texas. Does that mean that people were right to burn their music or ban them from radio stations? Not necessarily. Am I only friends with people that believe the way I do? Does every band I enjoy have the exact same belief system as me? No. And am I surprised?

But when it really comes down to this matter of the Dixie Chicks, its not about who was right or wrong. It's not about the Dixie Chicks apologizing to President Bush or taking back what they said or even the freedom of speech. Even President Bush himself was quoted in the documentary as saying, "Freedom is a two way street." And it is. But I think this is more about the fans and the bands relationship to them. The band decided to stand firm to a comment that Natalie, their lead singer, made about the President while in London, but what they didn't think about, was how that might affect their fans. It's not President Bush buying their albums, its not the radio stations putting money in their pocket - its the loyal fans that went out and bought their cds, paid for concert tickets, wore their t-shirts and watched their videos. I personally would have liked to see them make a come back. I truly believe that will only come by them making amends with the very ones who made them so successful...their fans. Maybe if this documentary was more geared in that direction, it would have a postive impact on their career and their future in music, instead I believe its drawing a political crowd, that only sees it as an opportunity to further their own agenda. It was sad. I'm afraid this will only seal their fate.

I think the Dixie Chicks intent is to release this film to express their feelings on how they were treated and where they stand with the public's reaction toward Natalies comment back in 2001, and win back the respect of their fans. Unfortunately, I don't believe that the audience this film will draw, is really all that interested. I strongly believe that the majority of those I watched the film with, could have cared less what the Dixie Chicks have been through or have any interest in their music at all. I would have loved to have seen a show of hands of who there owned any of their albums. I went tonight to here their story, not because I was a republican or a democrat, but because I am a fan. I wanted to give them a chance to make it right...with me as the fan. Not the president, not the radio stations, not anyone else. And I was a bit disappointed. I'm not going to burn my cds or boycott their songs, and I still enjoy the albums I have of theirs. But more than that, I believe the most important thing they could want from myself as a fan is my respect and out of that respect, my support. They let us down, not because they spoke their rights, but because they were ashamed and they told another country so. Together we stand, divided we fall. I believe the greatest division and defeat our country will face is from within.

I had hoped after watching this film, my faith in them would have been renewed and I would be inspired to buy their latest album. But instead, I left feeling defensive and jaded. I left with the impression that they were not after their fans respect - they are more after feeling justified. When you place yourself in a position to rely on the public as your means of success and wealth, then you have to realize that along with that, you place yourself in a position to be critized and judged for how you conduct yourself and what you say. Your fans become a means for your financial security and success, I guess you could say that would make them your boss. I could see how this could freak a celebrity out, there is an illusion that you don't have to answer to anyone - but like a boss, if you don't perform to the degree you're paid to, you'll ultimately lose your job. Are they victims of being treated like puppets on a string or do we only expect from them what is expected from us on a daily basis? Everyday, we abide by standards given our environment - dresscodes for work, professional conduct, customer service...a certain kind of conduct and performance is expected from us just as we expect from others in their own given environment. Like I mentioned before, the film made me feel sad. I don't believe they will accomplish what they've set out to do. And I don't believe they will ever be as great of a band as they once were without that relationship with their fans.

Happy Thanksgiving!.....Er, I mean Halloween!

So you all might be in the Halloween mode, but here in Nashville, we've just celebrated Thanksgiving! My inlaws have been in town for a week and while they were here, we wanted to have Thanksgiving together. So last Saturday, we went all out and celebrated with the works. It was my first Thanksgiving dinner and I was so nervous! I had planned out my recipes, bought all the ingredients, timed out my day - I was set! And I'm happy to report it went off without a hitch!! I made my first Turkey, which after a little help from Sherry, was fairly easy. Though I have to admit, pulling the insides out from a raw bird always makes me a little gaggy....(uh-hum). But after that, I was sailing. I also made mashed red potatoes with onions and chives, brown-sugar glazed baby carrots (per Jason's request), green bean casserole, gravy, and homemade rolls. Jason went and bought a honey-baked ham and Grandma made the stuffing. We had so much food it was awesome :-) What am I saying? We STILL have so much food! The night before I also made a double-layer pumpkin cheesecake, a regular pumpkin cheesecake and a pumpkin pie. Josh didn't end up coming over, so it turned out to be myself and Jason, Jerry & Sherry, Grandma and our friend Roxanne. It was such a good time and I was stuffed for 2 days. Now we have plenty of turkey and ham for weeks - which you know what that means dad, turkey sandwichs!!! I also got to decorate the table and apartment for the holidays, which is probably one of the highlights of the holidays. Jason and I had a blast hosting the thanksgiving meal at our home for the family.

Tonight is our last night with the Keiths and Grandma. I'm making Pasta Fagoli and Cornbread for dinner and Sherry is giving me a lesson on how to use the sewing machine they bought me for my birthday. She also gave me a book on how to use it, so that is my next project, is to read the book and get on the machine, then I can get started on learning how to make some super cute quilts. We also have a puzzle we've been working on - a must for family vacations together :-) Another thing we've been doing with them, is driving them through the different areas of town to see the houses. They've seen LaVergne, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, East Nashville, Murfreesboro, Lebanon, Brentwood, Franklin, Ashland City, Belle Meade....and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few others. Jason and I have our fingers crossed, cause we're hoping they fall in love with the city and eventually move here in a couple years.

Other news on the homefront is Jason had a meeting with Sony again this week. It was encouraging, because they suggested some independent labels that he should meet with in regards to getting a publishing/writing deal. I think Abbey (his contact at Sony) gave him close to 6 different labels to check out. Also, Nick and Jason finished their demo of the song they've been preparing to pitch for Little Big Town's manager Rindy Lovelady, I believe the song is called "Thinkin' Out Loud". Nick dropped it off on Friday at Rindy's office and Rindy called Nick over the weekend to tell him that he's been out of the office in St. Louis for the World Series, but that when he got back in town he would listen to the CD. We put "Thinkin' Out Loud", "Right Where We Belong" and "I Can't" on the CD Nick gave to him. Really pray for favor that Rindy would love at least one of the songs and put one on hold for Little Big Town. Jason also finished another song recently that he wrote with Jeff Batson and the bass player for Mark Chestnutt's band, its called "Our Love Ain't Dead, But It's Dying". The bass player, who I can't remember his name for the life of me, played this song for Mark Chestnutt and he loved it. He said he would love to cut it, the only problem is, Mark is not signed with a label at the moment. Even though, he may not cut it right away or even at all, it was a huge compliment to Jason that Mark loved the song. We're hoping when the demo is finished, that we can pitch the song for George Strait, that is unless something works out for Mark Chestnutt before then.

Some other upcoming things to note - next Monday, Nicholas Sparks releases his latest novel, Dear John. I have my copy already reserved at the library :-) And this coming weekend is the flea market, so maybe Jason and I will run down to the fairgrounds and see if we find any good deals.


Halloween is next Tuesday - our plan so far is that Jason has requested the night off, since it will be super slow at Mortons and then we're going to rent "What Lies Beneath" and eat popcorn. It'll be our own little scary movie night where we dodge the trick-or-treaters. Why might you ask? Because those darn trick-or-treaters have really gotten on my nerves the last few years. Am I the only one, or have you noticed that the kids are getting greedier and its probably from the example of seeing the ADULTS trick or treating! Teenagers is one thing, but adults - for real? Good Lord people, get a job!!! I have literally opened the door at my parents house and given out candy to the little kids and they stand there shaking their bag and still holding it out - like I was skimping out on them. Argh! This is definately a pet peeve of mine - can you tell? The little, little ones though in their costumes couldn't be cuter. As a matter of fact, in honor of the holiday, if you have a picture of a little one or cute kid in a costume, or even yourself, send it to me by email at steppincloser@hotmail.com and I will post it on the blog at Halloween! Even if the picture is from years ago! I know we've got a cute picture of Jason in a costume from when he was little that I'll be posting. I've posted a couple of pics from kids on the internet in costumes that I thought were pretty darn cute. Jess, I thought you and Ben might like the little fighter pilot!


Also don't forget Friday night the 1966 classic of "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!" will air on ABC at 8/7 central. That's a classic for all of us growing up and I haven't seen it in forever, so I'm planning on catching it.

Stuff On My Cat

I don't know if any of you have ever heard of the website www.stuffonmycat.com but there are some pretty clever ideas that people come up with. The idea is you put different things "on" your cat, take a picture and submit it to this website and they post the best ones - I thought you all might enjoy a couple of these pics:

A good laugh for Monday morning

Keep your eyes on the lizard on the left of the table, it will appear as the camera zooms out.

Some Things Better Left Unheard

As I sit at my desk trying very hard to concentrate on my work, there is the most obnoxious noise coming from out of one of the offices. I figure if I don't say a name, then maybe this won't sound so mean...but I have never heard such an offensive laugh in my entire life. Maybe offensive is not the word to use, because I know its not intentional - but its causes myself and others around me to cringe so badly, you would think we were all involved in the taping of a Seinfeld show. Is this for real? I'm trying hard to think of other things to share with you - but the "nails on the chalkboard" in the background is all that fills my mind.

OK - on to more interesting things. Church on Sunday was GREAT! Praise God we may have found us a home! We're still walking into this cautiously to see if its where we truly want to lay our roots down, but the first impression was definitely a positive one. The worship was a perfect balance for Jason and I. It was a great mix of upbeat and contemporary worship with plenty of hymns and not overly charismatic. The band was awesome and the leadership humble. The church is called Harpeth Community Church and was recommended to us by my friend Kelley Skiles, who also lives here in Nashville (some of you may remember her from the MC trip to Dallas 10 years ago.) They're temporarily meeting in Centennial High School in Franklin until they get a building of their own - I would say between 400-500 people attend, though it could be more when not over a holiday weekend. It was also very important to both Jason and I that we find a church that used A LOT of scripture in the teaching. And not like one verse to base an entire two hours on - but really diving into a lot of the Word of God to get out the meat and truly challenge us. The head pastor is Dr. Bobby Harrington. That's right Dr. It appears, that he has a doctorate in theology....yea!! His teaching style reminded me of a combination of my own father and Pastor Stone rolled into one. He was real, honest, passionate and NORMAL. :-) He looked like the rest of us - someone you could understand and relate to. On Sunday he spoke on the end times - and where we're heading. Not necessarily all the tribulation details, but what scripture says about where we are today - where our kids are, how to train them, how to lead, how to follow God. It was very refreshing and we walked away with a peace and feeling challenged. I think for the first time in months, I felt the Spirit of God in a church and was even brought to tears a couple times. There is a 101 class coming up that we're going to check into, just to see what exactly they believe, their vision statement et...then we should have a lot better idea on whether this is home for us or not. Keep praying for us - for wisdom and discernment!!! If you want to check out more on Harpeth Community Church, you can go to: www.harpethcc.com

We had a great time together this last weekend - though of course it went by too fast. I waited up for Jason on Friday for him to come home from work and we watched a few episodes of Lost (we're trying desperately to catch up!). Then Saturday we got up and watched MORE Lost and headed to the gym. Yes, I'm still working out :-) After the gym we chilled at Starbucks in our sweats sipping coffee, but only for a little while - cause we had to get home....TO WATCH MORE LOST! We were Lost nuts all weekend. And we couldn't stop either. One more episode...ok, just one more. Then Jason was off to work and I caught up on some much needed conversation with my dear friend Jess over in Korea. After not having the best night at work, Jason came home early and we headed to bed so we would be well rested for church the next day. You might be wondering why it wasn't the best night at work for Jason - well let me just tell you. Because freakin foreigners don't know how to tip! This is a serious problem for wait staff who make their living off their customers. There should be a worldwide bulletin informing foreigners that if you want to come to the States, there are some rules you MUST follow and tipping is one of them!! Jason had a table come in from Europe and they're bill came to $197 and THEY TIPPED $3.00!!! Yes, as in three one dollar bills!! I asked him what he did when they left him three bucks and he said he asked them - "Is this meant for the valet?" Atta baby! Morons. What an insult. Did you all know that minimum wage for a tipped employee in the state of Tennessee is $2.13? It's true! Arghhh!!! ............... (inhale....exhale...).......Ok - I've vented, I feel better now.

Sunday we were more productive :-) Actually we were crazy busy - we went to church, then shopped at Macy's, Bath & Body Works and Kirklands. We also saw The Guardian - which was very good. And in the evening we went over to Sarah & Chris' for dinner. It was a great weekend and I wished it would have lasted longer - if only we had Columbus Day off!!

The laughing has ended now, I guess I can get back to work. :-) oh and hey! Don't forget to leave us a comment!!

Maybe this is it?

We have another opportunity where Jason's music will be pitched to some influential people. Nick Giaconia and Jason have been working on a song to pitch to the manager of Little Big Town. Chuck Wicks just laid the vocals down for the demo, which I was able to hear a rough copy of when I met them at the studio. We're hoping they also like Right Where We Belong and put that song on hold - so continue to pray!!

Other recent news, we finally got our gym memberships. The gym's not far from our house and its a pretty nice one, where only serious athletic people work out, not a meat market where everyone is checking each other out. The police department is next door as well, which makes me feel a lot better about working out there alone in the evenings - there's usually an officer or two around. And I love the Cardio Theater, which is where they continually play movies and its dimly lit with all kinds of exercise equipment. I usually get on the treadmill and the distraction makes the time just fly by.

We also got a washer & dryer for the apartment. The freakish laundromats were really getting old. I am telling you, there are some strange people in those places. I was in there once and the owner was yelling at this woman for leaving her clothes in the washer and then leaving and coming back. And she was screaming back at him and he was calling her a crack-whore and threatening to call the police - come on folks, it's just wet clothes. Yeah it was very entertaining. I just wanted to wash my clothes and get the heck out of there. Now that we have a w/d, I actually look forward to coming home and doing the laundry. Isn't it amazing how we take things for granted, until we don't have them anymore?

Work is going great. My bosses are still treating me very well and I love working for them. Larry drives me a little nutty sometimes with his OCD'ness , but he's never rude or condescending. At times I want to call him Uncle Larry. Paul is has also been great to work for. He's such a family man and loves to tell me stories of his kids latest football games in great detail. He has 3 boys and a fourth boy on the way. I wouldn't know what to do if I had 4 sons - good Lord. Why stop there? If you have five, you could have a basketball team. (Dad, don't get too excited)

This afternoon I'm spending my lunch with Melissa from work and we're heading to a Fall Designer Jeans & Apparel Sale. Supposedly they have all the top brands of jeans for 75 % off - like Sevens for $35 and Blue Cult, Citizens and True Religions to name a few. It's a sale for some big charity...sounds like a good excuse to me. I told her to beware, because for me this is like taking an addict into a bar. Thank God I get paid tomorrow :-)

The weather is changing fast and pretty soon all the fall colors will be out. Everyone keeps telling me how gorgeous Tennessee is in the fall and I can't wait, especially since it is my favorite season. I hope to get some great pictures to post as well. That's all for now!

I love my friends

This last weekend was so great. Deb flew in to town with her adorable little girl Emily for a family reunion here in Nashville with her hubby and I can't tell you how blessed I am that I was able to spend so much time with her. Her husband Erik was driving up from Alabama with his family, so I had Deb all to myself for lunch on Thursday and then when Erik arrived into town, he watched Emily, so Deb and I could go and be girly for the evening together :-) I have so missed shopping with my friends. Just to be able to take a deep breath and be myself was so refreshing. After I got off work, I drove her down Granny White to see some of Nashville's beautiful countryside and then we headed to Green Hills Mall - which is much like Bellevue Square back home. Except, sadly enough, we don't have a MAC store back home and I absolutely love the MAC store out here. After Deb got a makeover at MAC, we shopped for shoes (how those working out for ya deb? ;-) ) and browsed through one of my all time favorite stores...ZGallerie! To end a perfect evening we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Then on Sunday, Deb and Emily joined Jason and I for the afternoon. We did a mini celebrity tour for her and drove by Alan Jackson's house, "Sweetbriar" in Franklin. We drove her and Emily just about everywhere - through parks, down Music Row, by Vanderbilt & Belmont Universities, Starbucks in West End and of course we had to take them to an early dinner at the Loveless Cafe. I had the best time hanging out with her and her adorable daughter Emily.

As a matter of fact, I enjoyed myself so much, that after I said goodbye to Deb, I got really sad and quite homesick. It took me off guard when I realized just how much I need the friends in my life. I was down all Monday and most of Tuesday until I called Tina last night. After a few tears and comforting words, I got my fix and feel much more rejuvenated to keep pressing on in establishing relationships here in Nashville.

Jason is doing great with his writing. So well in fact that we couldn't keep up with paying for all the demos he needs to make. As a result, Jason got a part time job at a small cafe two days a week, 4 hours a day. It's just enough extra cash to pay for one or two more demos a month.

The hunt continues for a church. I appreciate all those who've been praying for us to find a home church. We have 3 in mind that we'll be checking out in the near future, and they sound hopeful, so keep praying! Having a home church would really help in the relationships department.

In three weeks mom & dad Keith will be coming into town to spend a week with us. I'm so excited to see them and hopefully I'll have Sherry show me how to use the antique sewing machine they bought me for my birthday. I've been dying to learn, but have been too afraid I'll break it. Then once I learn, I want to make a Pottery Barn style quilt.

Finally, I included a picture of that nasty bruise I had on my leg. Isn't it gross? Thankfully its gone, even though still a bit tender - but so much better!

That's all for now. One Tree Hill debuts tonight for Season 4 - yippee!!

This is why dogs bite people...

My friend Christy from work sent these to me - I couldn't resist.

Home Sweet Home

OK! So I'm back in the game! I'm so sorry for the delay in updating my blog, but once we got back from Seattle, I hit the ground running and have been working like crazy without a spare moment for anything!

Seattle was great - the weather was gorgeous. It wasn't exactly the most restful of family vacations, but it was good to see family and friends. I took a few pictures too that turned out really great - well I guess I should say Kati took a few pictures...she's good at that.

On our way back, we had a little drama. I got stopped not once, but TWICE going through security for my makeup. Yeah - lame. Apparantly makeup now consitutes as creams and lotion type material. But does this go for all the other airports in the United States? Oh no! Just Seattle. So thankfully, I had my backpack, cause I had to either check my backpack back at checkin with all my makeup or they were going to confiscate it all. Yeah right. Eventually we made it to the gate and our flight. The flights were great. I was so nervous to fly, just cause our two prior trips were really rough and a lot of turbulance. So this time I was ready, when we left for Seattle, I popped a fun little pill and off we went. I think I slept most of the flight. But jumping back to our return from Seattle, we flew through Atlanta and missed our connection...which was not fun. We got dumped at this cheesy little not-comfort-inn around 11pm and found we were both starving! So we found this little local spot that had their kitchen open till 3am! We had ourselves a huge and awesome dinner - filet mignon, crab legs, mushroom burger..it was so grub. But then again, not the wisest thing to do. With only five hours to sleep, we layed there tormented by horrible indigestion. Not cool.

Ok, so enough about our flight home. While we were in Seattle, we crammed in as much as we could to see everyone we loved. Since I have no idea when I'll be back in Seattle again, I wanted to get in as much time as I could with as many loved ones as possible. We flew in late Wednesday night and hung out with the family till pretty late just catching up. Then on Thursday we had a picnic over at mom and dad's - which was a great idea of mom's by the way. Quite a few people showed the love and came ready to BBQ. Everything turned out just as I had wanted to, a lot of one on one catching up with people that I really missed. Afterwards, Tina stayed the night and we talked till 4am!!! (which don't forget is actually 6am Nashville time). Friday was family time - we slept in, walked around Greenlake, went to a movie, hung out around the house...it was very nice to just chill. Then on Saturday Jason, Kris, Kati and I hit the road and headed off to the Ellensburg Rodeo. I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. The entertainer that has been there for years, who MC's the whole show has retired and some lame-o guy came up real short by trying to be funny. It was so hot out, and we ended up sneaking into the covered grandstands just to keep from passing out. Poor Kris got fried by the sun. My favoriate was the monkeys that rode dogs like horses and rounded up little RAM goats. It was so fun to watch! After the rodeo, we met up with Suzanne and Skyler for dinner in Ellensburg. I have missed Suzanne so much over the last months and again wasn't quite sure when I would be able to meet up with her. It was great to hang out with them and afterward we went out for coffee. To be honest though, I know I was sacrificing some quality sister time. See the rodeo has become a tradition for us Kelly girls, after all its the main reason I came home when I did over Labor Day Weekend. And not only did I have a husband this year, but I also met up with friends....and it was a tough decision for me to make. I wanted to be with the ones that I love as much as I could without making anyone feel left out. I don't know if I succeeded this last trip. That's one thing I struggle with, that I know I need to work on - is feeling like I need to please everyone else and make sure everyone is happy.

Ok - so deep breath...I started to get a bit deep there. All that to say, next year, I'll be going to the rodeo with just my sisters and keeping the day sacred. :-) On Sunday, Jason and I joined the family for church at Kirkland and afterward went out to Claimjumpers for lunch. We don't have Claimjumpers in the South, and we love their food. It was a lot of fun. The whole family was there, plus a few friends and it was so great to hang out with Karen King and Kevin King and the Sandstroms. Once lunch was over, the Sandstroms took us around Lake Washington on their boat! Jason had never been out on the lake before, and it was so fun to sit back and watch the sunset reflecting off the lake. We got some great pictures of the city too.

Monday was Labor Day and I had reserved the day to hang out with Tina & Jay Frees and their kids, Addie, Jeshua and Jaida over at Jay's moms house. She has a gorgeous place across on Kingston in the middle of some woods. It was so quiet and peaceful. Roy & Loree Rowland were also there and we had such a blast hanging out together.

Over the course of my trip, I did get a bit injured. A bike fell on me and caused a somewhat small bruise on the side of my leg by my knee. It hurt but I didn't think a whole lot of it. Well thing is, I flew the next two days....which is really not the best thing for bruises. This sucker swelled up so big that I still have big ol knot on the side of my leg the size of a raquetball. It got all purple and blue and some people at work said I should really get it checked out in case it could be a blood clot. So off I went in search of a doctor. Dr. Steve Hai took one look at it and said, "That's quite a hickey you got there." My instructions have been to take a lot of Ibuprofen, ice continually and knock myself out with narcotics at night. I go back in to Dr. Steve tomorrow and if the swelling still doesn't go down a whole lot more, he said they may need to drain it! SO PRAY!!! I know it seems weird and dumb that I'm talking about a bruise, but this thing got so freakin big from the flying and with all the swelling, its pinching my nerve and causing numbness, which is really annoying. I took a picture of it and might post it when I get around to it sometime.

And then to finish off our trip, we came home from Kingston Sunday night and chilled with mom and dad for a few hours before hitting the sack and flying out Tuesday afternoon. And you know where it went from there with the whole Atlanta thing.

So there's the jist of our trip to Seattle. Enjoy the pictures and I'll be back in a couple days to fill you in on life since we've been back home!!