Prom Posin' at the Grove Park Inn

Followup to Original Post: What I've Been Up to Lately...

My camera started shaking uncontrollably right when me and Chad arrived at the Grove Park Inn. Needless to say, pictures weren't turning out so hot. We ran into the Keims and Mrs. Ellen was so gracious to take our picture all over the Grove Park. Here's a few more to enjoy from my weekend getaway...

A few prom poses in front of the Grove Park Christmas tree.

And if one wasn't enough...

Enjoying our lunch on the terrace overlooking Asheville and the mountains.
Please notice Chad's Cherry Coke he brought in, asked for a glass of ice,
and proceeded to drink it with his meal.
That's how people in Knoxvegas roll.

We had to wait for 10 minutes on someone
with 18 kids to take their Christmas pictures before us.
We finally made it in Santa's sleigh.

"This is the downlooking..."

I really don't know why I bother to talk in videos,
sometimes I wonder if I sound that incoherent in real life,
or if the presence of media just brings out the best in my verbal skills.

I'm not ashamed of my morning bed-head and day-old make-up look, and will sacrifice my self-pride to show you this video I took at the cabin last weekend. The pictures I posted didn't do the view justice and thought you might want to check out the beauty of God's work first hand.

Enjoy.

p.s. My man voice is an added bonus! :)

p.p.s. I really love the still of my face the video decided to use as a default...
I guess I can say I was half asleep when this video was made.

I'm a pretty, pretty Princess.

When I taught 2 year olds back in my younger days (2001-2006 to be exact), I always had a blast playing with them. I would read, roll around on the floor, dance marathon-it, etc. I would also play dress up. This proved to be a difficult task, mainly because all the dress up clothes were sized for 2 year olds. I would end up always dressing as a princess, thanks to the 'one size fits all' princess crown. I loved that crown so much that I wore it home one day and never took it back. It became a mainstay on my bedpost, along with other hats and ski-caps. Sometimes, I would wear it around my house on Marion, just for the fun of it.

Well tonight when I was 'procrastinating cleaning' (that does not mean that I procrastinated with my cleaning, it's when I procrastinate on other jobs because I start cleaning) I came across my Princess crown in a box. I hastily put it on and relished in the way it made me feel like a girl (or 23 year old) again. I wore it around the house without a thought about it.

My roommate came home to find me sitting on the couch eating BBQ and watching football,
and her first reaction was "What are you wearing?"

Simple answer: "My princess crown."

I am wearing it as I write this blog.

Enjoy the proof...
Yeah, I'm cool like that.

What I've Been Up To Lately (in 50,000 words or less)

I haven't been keeping up with my blog on a regular basis this month, so I'll do a quick recap of some of the latest happenings in my life. I've been really busy so this might take a while to read. Grab a cup of coffee, I promise it will be worth it.

Cousin Hannah's purely excited face in Memphis

(and I guarantee you she will beat me up for posting this picture if she ever looks at my blog)

Nov. 13-15...Cousin Hannah finally made her first trip to my hometown of Memphis. We stopped in Jackson to see my beloved J-Phil on the way down. The weekend consisted of some much-needed family time and relaxation. I even convinced Hannah that she would not get shot in a drive-by and we embarked on a driving tour of some of the sights. She loved Memphis, solely for the purpose of visiting, and even said she'd come back. We had a blast, and I loved having some company on my normal I-40 route.

Things Hannah loved about Memphis...

The now-defunct Pyramid

Beale St.

Nov. 18...I began my Christmas decorating early. Since I'll be in Memphis for a couple of weeks at Christmas, I opted to put up my tree now to make it worthwhile. I hadn't been able to use my tree for the past 2 years, so I forgot how much fun it could be. By fun, I mean figuring out lights, parts, stabbing myself with the metal ends of the tree limbs. I lit my Yankee Christmas Cookie candle, watched The Polar Express and Sleepless in Seattle, and got to work. It took me all of Wednesday afternoon to complete the task at hand. I am sitting here looking at it as I type, still devoid of ornaments. I'm waiting until Tuesday to decorate it. It's all pretty and twinkly though.

My favorite part...also the easiest part. Coincidence perhaps?

Not my favorite part...organizing the limbs into the right pile.

Trying to remind myself how much I love this...oh yes, LOVE it.

Halfway there. Pretty!

Another not favorite part...stepping on the sharp metal ends by mistake repeatedly...and becoming crippled and hopping across the living room floor on one foot. Ta-da!

Nov. 19/20...The New Moon premiere! Allison, Tiffany, Mary Beth, and I were so excited to go to the 12:30 a.m. showing of New Moon on late Thursday evening/early Friday morning. We went last year and it was chaotic...but this year was even more crazy. We were told people were already lining up at 6 p.m. and so after our pre-party viewing of Twilight, we left and got to the theater at 10 p.m. (2.5 hours earlier than our showing) and found that the parking lot was packed, the local news was there, people were already seating for our show, and Twihards were out in full force. It was wild! People had written all over their cars, wore homemade shirts, some wore pearls and fancy dresses. We waited in our theater for 2 hours, and amused ourselves with people watching. We even waited in the concession line for 30 minutes (and that's with at least 15 lines at once). BUT, it was well worth it. It was a blast, and the movie was so much better than the first. We didn't get home til around 3:15 a.m. and had a slumber party and then up for school. I may be 27, but I can hang with the best of 'em! :)

(L-R) Tiffany, Allison, Mary Beth, and I before our adventure to the Pinnacle

(Disclaimer: not my car)

People repped their Twilight love!

The back of this van had a "Twilight Mom" sticker.
I hope her kids think she's cool!

Me and Rob.

Mary Beth and I are Team Edward all the way!
It just so happened that was the side of the theater where our movie was.
Yesssss!

We killed time in the 30 minute line for Popcorn and Cherry Coke.

Nov. 20-22...A weekend retreat to the mountains. My friend Chad celebrated his birthday at the most beautiful cabin in Spring Creek, North Carolina and I was just fortunate to be there. We arrived soon after sunset on Friday night and vegged out all evening with Mac-n-Cheese, Harry Potter, homemade hot cocoa and crossword puzzles. It was the most secluded place I have ever been, and I kinda freaked myself out. But then again, it was so quiet and peaceful. It was delightful.

I awoke Saturday morning to a gorgeous view of the mountains. Pictures don't do it justice. God blessed us with a beautiful Saturday to travel to Asheville where we visited with our friend Alex Wilkins. Then we went to the Grove Park Inn and bumped into more friends. We had lunch on the terrace of the Grove Park, walked all over the resort (which is GORGEOUS--check it out here) and then headed to the Biltmore where we drove around the grounds (thanks to a ticket from our friends at the Inn) and walked around the Biltmore estate. It was a perfect fall Saturday in November. We got Starbucks for the trip back and made it back in time to watch football, eat pizza and cookies, and lounge.

We headed back on Sunday in the rain, refreshed. I have not had any time in the mountains since my move up here, so I absolutely loved having a whole weekend! Apart from my camera spazzing out starting on Saturday, it was the perfect weekend.

Driving to the mountains! OOOH! OOOOOOHHHH! (CSC call)

The view I woke up to...gorgeous! Master's Mountain Majesty!

The cabin at the top of the mountain.
No cell service, no internet=splendid relaxing weekend.

Our high-performance off road vehicle, the BMW.
On Sunday, driving down the mile gravel road in the mud we asked
"Why didn't we bring a SUV?"

Taking up the view with my big head. I needed proof I went to the mountains.

A picture of the Grove Park Inn @ night.
We ate above the spa on the terrace of the main building.
We enjoyed a breathtaking view of Asheville and the mountains.
(I found the spot for our next girls' weekend Amelia and Bridget!
We will just have to sell a kidney to afford it.)

My camera phone picture of us at the Biltmore. It was splendid!

Gorgeous. I think I could stare at it for hours!

Chad liked the tree. So I told him to get in the middle of it for a photo momento.

Chad watching 'Celtic Women' and because my camera is being spastic and shakes, it made the women look like they were coming off the screen.
It looks like a siren's call.

Nov. 23...It is 2 a.m. and I've got studying to do. I just wanted to procrastinate a little and write about my life. I love the fact that I moved to East Tennessee and have all these new opportunities. Amazing. Thanks to God for courage and strength and love.

Also, I can't believe this week is Thanksgiving. I'm staying here to enjoy the holiday with my grandmother, cousins, aunt and uncle, and friends. The Garners are going to NYC for the Macy's Day Parade...I'm a little jealous. Be on the lookout for them on TV Thursday morning. Have a fabulous week. If you made it to the end of the post, CONGRATULATIONS! :)

Oh John, I've missed you.

I have a picture with John Mayer.

Somewhere.

Amelia took it.
She developed it.
I assume that means she has it...somewhere.
I hope.

And by "I have a picture with John Mayer," I mean that I turned around with my back to the stage in front and Amelia snapped a picture of me at regular size, and John at tiny size in the background.

Regardless, we're together.

We saw John (we're on a first name basis) at the Mud Island Amphitheatre in August of 2002. Bridget, Amelia, Leslie, and me.
It was amazing.

I was introduced to bands I've come to love, like Guster and John Butler trio.
There were moments of screaming, a man trying to jump from the 'M' bridge into the Mississippi River behind us, and KFC buckets on band members heads during part of one performance.

I still remember watching David LaBruyere play bass for John Mayer, and then recognizing his name on the live John Mayer album "Any Given Thursday."

Irony-
This past January I saw Dave Barnes (the singer) in concert here in Knox and guess who played bass for him...Dave LaBruyere. Well of course I yelled out his name like John does on the album during a quiet moment to which I got a "what?" from Dave Barnes...and then a thumbs up from Dave. Afterwards I met him up front and he said he was excited I pronounced his name right,
I gave credit to hearing it many times on the John Mayer album...
and from remembering his face from that August 'John' show.

At least I still have my picture with Dave.



After our life-changing John Mayer concert, as we walked back to our cars, we randomly broke out into "You've lost that lovin' feeling" and much to our surprise, so did those around us.

We had our own "movie musical moment."
There we were, walking down the stairs with groups around us singing along,
doing the parts, laughing and giggling right along.

It was magical,
thanks to John and the evening.

So I was excited when I remembered that today, my dearest John has put out his fourth album.
I'm listening to it right now for the first time.
It's new, it's exciting, it's John.
Good daydreaming, driving down the road at night, living free music.

Thank you John.

Thank you for providing awesome moments in my life.

Maybe we can find the photo documentation to prove it.

Music Monday: Coldplay

If you know me very well, or have been around me for more than 5 minutes, you probably know I have a strong love for coldplay. I got their band email this morning with the link to their "stripped" performance of some of their newer songs. I love all things acoustic and so this has thoroughly brightened my blue-skied and sunny Monday even more!

Just last week, I celebrated my one year anniversary of seeing them live for the first time in Atlanta on 11/11/08. Probably the best concert of my entire life (and we know I like concerts) and I still get shivers from thinking about it. I wish Bridget and I had been able to have a one year coldplay party but we were too far apart. So today, I've provided the link to the videos of their stripped performance, and know that you will whole-heartedly enjoy them like I did.

Chris Martin just makes the world a better place with his falsetto.
You know it's true :).

CLICK HERE!!!

"Hannah pooped in Hannah's underwears"

I am kinda sad that there will be no more Jon & Kate + 8.

When it began, I heard people talking about how much they loved JK8. I thought, really, how interesting can watching kids be? Well, I got sucked in. I would watch it randomly, but at the start of this past summer (before all the controversy) I got sucked in watching reruns in the morning. I fell in love with the Gosselin kids. My heart broke, along with many others, when they announced their separation a few short months later. But being that I hadn't watched all the past episodes, I still found joy watching the old shows.

I'm not always the most loyal watcher of the show, but I love catching it when I can and seeing what cute things their kids are up to. Is it bad that I actually like Kate? Sure, she has been really mean on the show to Jon in the past, but I also think she's real. She's funny and witty, and she has good and bad moments. The difference between her and us is that her moments are documented for everyone to see, and criticize. I can say that I don't always have the best attitude, but we all have things we need to work on. Who are we to "cast the first stone?" Either way, if you like her or you don't, she makes for a great reality show star.

I just got done watching the "Top Ten Viewer's Favorite Moments" from last night, and it warmed my heart. Sometimes I wish my hair was as blonde as Kate's or that I ate organic food all the time like their family or that I was even that organized when I'm only responsible for myself (not 8 kids!). Needless to say, I'm usually inspired by something each episode. I've even contemplated getting the show on DVD. Sad, but true.

I guess it had to end. Kids aren't always their cutest over the age of 5. Can you imagine watching the sextuplets when they're 11? Not as funny and probably not as adorable. But I'm sad there will be no new adventures, no new funny kid moments, no new blow-ups by Kate.

Only 2 episodes left.

Long Overdue Homage to Matt & J. Crowe

Here's your inspiration J. Crowe!

Over Fall Break, I spent 4 days and 3 nights at the ultra-quaint & uber-cute home of Matt and J. Crowe in the quiet town of Ragland, Alabama. Being that I had come down with a really bad cold that week and had lost my voice just 2 days before, this weekend of rest and relaxation could not have come at a better time. The original plan was to spend a night at the Crowe's house with Amelia Bedelia and then travel to ATL with J. Crowe to see Bridget. Sickness and other conflicting interests hindered this plan and poor Bridget got the raw end of the deal (Sorry Bridget!!!). I spent all of my time at the Crowe's house laid out on their comfy couch under this gorgeous quilt (that I'm pretty sure was disinfected a few times upon my departure) and enjoyed my mental break from all things school related. The Crowe's are amazing hosts, and generously offered unlimited coffee and hot tea, homemade meals, Matt's homemade oven smores, and hospitality beyond what was expected. I even got to paint my toenails during my quiet time on Friday night. It was a perfect fall retreat. Cold, crisp air filled the house, warm Yankee candles released autumn scents, and girly movies and college football reigned on the television set. I was sad to leave on that Sunday, but I can't wait to return again. It renewed my spirit and refreshed my well-being.

Thanks Matt and J. Crowe for your kind spirits!

Thanks Amelia for your smiles and laughter!

Thanks Bridget for your understanding and patience!

I have some of the best friends in the world!