Nashville Rising

Wow! That’s about sums it up.

I knew it would be good but dang, Sandra Bullock showed up. She came out towards the end swinging a guitar joking about how she’d "bring down the house". When she started picking at the guitar, she said, “Who am I kidding?” She then introduced Faith Hill, who was awesome. Of course, Tim McGraw closed out the show with “Live like you are dying”. Loved it!
Below: Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, ZZ Top, Tim McGraw, & Ms. Bullock. :)  I didn't have enough sense to pull out my camera sooner for Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, etc...and really I have tons of photos I took last year of Taylor Swift so I just sat back & enjoyed it. Too cool!!!

Like I’ve said many times, I’m not a huge country music fan but this was fabulous! My favorite…probably ZZ Top, Taylor Swift, & Martina McBride…they were really great. Jessica said she had a sore throat & couldn’t hear anything towards the end. Ha! That girl knows her country music. Me, I wouldn’t know Jason Aldean or Luke Bryan if they knocked on the front door.

http://www.nashvillerising.org/

What an incredible event!

tryin' to wrap up june....

Book:
I love to read, plain & simple. I wish I had more time to read!
As I’ve said before, I am a biography/autobiography junkie.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Laura Bush book, “Spoken from the Heart”.
She gives a lighthearted look behind who she is, where she came from, what made her the way she is today, & how it helped her cope with life as First Lady. I love the interesting accounts of what she went through with George on their road to the White House and in the White House. When I read the parts where she describes what was going on in Washington during 9-11 & Katrina, it made me tear up. Her book gives you a whole new respect for what goes on behind the scenes. It explained a lot that the press always blows out of proportion no matter who’s in office.

Running:
Well, hell froze over & I managed to get up 2 mornings one week & run shortly after 5am. My right calf sure got tight but it felt good to sweat that early just so I didn’t have to do it after work. I’m still stretching as much as I can on the IT Band. Some days it’s fine, some days not so much. (How long does it take for a dang IT Band to heal?) I’m still doing the walk/run thing, which is working well considering how slow I’m going BUT my pace is pretty much the same even when I walk less. I tell myself it’s the heat/humidity but maybe I can train myself to stay with this method. Who knows…

Of course Moon Pie was not in my plans & I’m A-OK with that. I refuse to pay for any races until all my little injuries are gone, I’m properly trained, & gunning for a PR. The ONLY thing I’m concerned with is being ok for the relay first weekend in Nov & of course training well for 2011 NYC. If that’s all I do the next 2 yrs then that’s just fine with me… As far as the bike, I just can’t bring myself to get that thing out in this heat. Every time I think about it, I have a change in plans as usual.

Weekends:
We saw “Get Him to the Greek” with Russell Brand a couple of weekends ago.
Who knew Brand could sing? Seriously, he’s good!
We saw “Toy Story 3” this past weekend. LOVED IT more so than the first two “Toy Story” movies.

The weekend of the CMA Festival, Joe was given tickets to the Friday night concert at LP Field. I was excited even though I’m not a huge country music fan. I’ve always wanted to go just to say I’ve been…pretty much like “Bonnaroo”. I’d love to go but don’t want to spend the $$$ or roast in the heat. We will hit up Bonnaroo one day even if I volunteer for a free armband. Personally, I think that’s the way to do it since I’d never want to stay the entire time anyway.

We took the kids to Wave Country & used Joe’s buy 1, get 1 free coupon. It’s not too bad a place. The kids had fun, we stayed cool, & got plenty of sun. We also went to the Titans charity softball game that was supposed to be May 22nd. Again it was hot but the kids seemed to enjoy it. They got lots of autographs & I finally got Finnegan’s on my jersey. (my other boyfriend, ya know) ;-P I think it’s awesome that the team is still making sure that McNair’s boys get to participate in these events. Fisher had them load the bases & he ran into home plate with the youngest boy. It’s a great event but it’s too bad that the usual drama had to overshadow it. I have to agree...if Roethlisberger gets a suspension then VY deserves one too even though his incident wasn’t as bad. The commish needs to make these athletes with questionable judgment pay. I could get on a soapbox but I won’t…waste of energy but I’m starting to feel the itch for some football & can’t wait for the season to start.

This past weekend we ended up at two Sounds games (courtesy of Joe’s neighbor), lunch w/ Jeff, Hannah, & Skylar, & the “Toy Story” movie…Hope everyone had a happy Father’s Day. I can’t believe the 4th of July is staring us in the face.

Tomorrow is the "Nashville Rising" concert...if I heard correctly on the news...4-5 hrs of music?!  oh my...I declare Wednesday sleep deprivation day for me at work.

A white water rafting trip is definitely in our future for 4th of July weekend!  Yippee!!!  Love, Love, Love it!!!!
We are also tossing around the idea of going to “Holiday World” with Hannah, Jeff, & Skylar on July 6th. I’m taking some days off but it looks like every day could be busy, except for one. I may just have to hibernate on that day & decompress.

Happy Summer Yall!  Stay cool, stay hydrated, & be safe!

June: bring it on...

As usual when I take a few days off from work, I tend to lose weight.
Call it staying busy, call it forgetting to eat, call it more time for activities, less time to sit behind a desk… My weight supposedly went down about 3-4 lbs. Anyway, I'm back at work & I feel less hungry. Guess my stomach shrunk. It’s a good thing since its bathing suit weather, ya know… Got a new patriotic bathing suit for less than $20! I spent about 4 hrs at the Kensington beach area with the cousins & got plenty of sun. I sit here typing this & I notice how dark my hands/arms are…I generally tan well even if I’m fair skinned in the winter. So, summer has officially arrived for me. Drive Ins, beach, new bathing suit, & plans for July 4th in the making. (White water rafting & a canoe trip!)

My new read is by Laura Bush, “Spoken from the Heart”. I’m only about 100 pgs into it & I already love the book. She’s always struck me as a classy woman with a lot of spunk. I find myself craving the spicy foods of West Texas as I read about what her family grew & ate when she was a little girl. Fascinating woman... I got a great deal on the book at the ½ price bookstore in Clarkston, MI during my play time with Patti. VERY cool store! Got the kids some books too.

The cousins & I saw "SATC 2". I can honestly say it wasn’t as good as the first movie & obviously not as entertaining as the tv show but I’m a fan. There was no way that I was not going to see it opening weekend. We had a lovely time at the Great Lakes Crossing mall. I got a new pr of jeans & tons of new tops at “American Eagle” for little of nothing. Seriously, I spent less than $45 on jeans & about 5-6 tops. Unfortunately, the jeans are too big for me. I need to learn that when it says skinny/stretch to go down a size. Arg! I also need to realize that the khaki shorts I wore in MI do nothing for my lower half. They were literally hanging off me at the baseball game. Note to self, try on summer clothes before you pack them for a trip. Now I need to find my belts in order to wear this stuff!

We all went to the Tigers game Memorial Day. Even with a 2+ hr rain delay, we had fun. Comerica park is pretty dang cool with it’s ferris wheel & merry go round inside the park. When the Tigers scored the tigers on top of the score board had glowing eyes & they roared. It’s too bad that Galarraga didn’t get his “perfect game”. In everyone’s hearts he has it. That was the game AFTER the one we saw this past week. I think he'll be remembered even more so just because of the controversy.  I'm not a huge baseball fan but Joe is so I got him an early Father's day present (Tiger's jersey). (just another jersey to add to our closet of Titans & Preds)

I actually found time to work out in the gym twice & ran with Joe once on a trail near his parent’s house. (just 3.15 miles but it was very nice, shaded, & cool.)  We had some great bbq the last night there & headed home in time for me to get ready for my short 3 day week. Ahh, glad we went but glad to be home!  About 24 days till my next vacation…looking forward to some time in the water, in a lawn chair, & with great friends & family. (and yes, Susan is about 7 months along with Estella Grace. Time is flying & I'll have another 2nd cousin soon!)

Quillen car at soapbox derby on june 5th. Still don't know the outcome but it's always fun to watch it. We ran/walked there, (I did pilates), then ran/walked back in the heat for roughly 5.5 miles. ITB wasn't too happy but oh well...

And last but not least, congrats to Paul S. on his age group placement two weekends in a row. His Mach Tenn age group award was a surprise I'm sure. What a difference a year makes for him!