Keith Urban & Vince Gill ALL FOR THE HALL 2012

On Monday the hubs text me and asked if I'd wanna go Tuesday night to the Keith Urban "All for the Hall" concert in Nashvegas. I was iffy for a minute, then I googled it. 

So many talented artists. A good cause. I was in like a wedgie. 

We encountered no traffic probs. You think I'm lying don't you? Traffic in Nashville is always horrible. But tonight, I guess the traffic angels guided us.

We had time to dine. Er, I mean eat. Cuz I reckon when ya eat at a joint with a pig on its sign, it's not what most folk would call fine dining.

It really was good. I stuck with my standard of course - - the brisket. Hush Brandi. I <3 it. Anthony did his usual shredded. So predictable that boy. Notice my clean plate. Always. 
  
The concert was grrrreat! Keith Urban kicked it off with You're Gonna Fly and Sweet Thing, Anth's two faves. Then Vince did an old tune Amy. Keith & Vince were part of the house band for the entire night. Coo coo COOL ! 
             
I guess I've been under a rock mosta my life cuz I didn't know Vince could tear a guitar up. Good job VG. Real good job. 

One observation: Keith wasn't as "pretty" that night. Told the hubs that. He said yeah, he's not all glammed up like he usually is for those award shows. 

This here group was my fave of the night. Oh how I <3 them.

They did Postcard from Paris and You Lie. Two great ones.  
Shoot, they could have sung the ABC's and Ida been sangin' along with em & la-la-lovin it.

I'm not a die hard country fan ya see... I recognize Little Big Town by the girl who has Chia Pet hair. I think I'd be tempted to shave my head and wear wigs if my hair was that big & curly.  
But their harmony is so tight. They did Boondocks. I was glad for that one. It's the only tune of theirs I know. :-P 

Lady A rocked the house. They did We Own the Night. And nailed it of course. Then American Honey, one of my personal faves. 

Every group did 2 songs except for Merle Haggard. He got to do like four. What the what? Not cool. Come on. Really.

The Oak Ridge Boys and Alabama were pretty cool to see. You know those fellas gotta be tired of singin Elvira, but they did her one more time. Alabama did a couple sappy ones. 

I like Thompson Square pretty good and Kiss Me or Not was good live just like on the raid-gee-oh!

Was underwhelmed by Miranda Lambert and her Pistol Annies. Not a fan of her generally though. So. . . 

Don't even get me started about Rascal Flatts. (groan) I hate Gary's nasal sounding voice. BUT I will say that their second song, Life is a Highway, was pretty cool. And they got them some fans, do you hear me? The place went crazy when they announced em. I just don't get it. Eh. Anyway.

Diamond Rio isn't my cup, but they have some nice tight harmony. Gotta give em props for that.

This guy ... 
Um, he had a little too much fun.
 
See, I'm a people watcher. And I spied him early on. He was havin himself a good ole time all right. So good in fact it got him some special attention from a couple of security guards. And away he went. Buh-bye drunk guy. I'm sure the folks sittin near ya are guh-lad you were taken away buddy. We're all here to see a show. And that show does not include you dancin around like a fool. K? Next time have a little self control. It'll probably keep ya outta the clink. 

Ok, so I stink at doing the self portrait thing. I think only tweens, teens and 20somethings are good at that. Seriously. And Anthony hates when I ask strangers to take our pic. 

So what happens? 

This...

ten kinds of terrible

and this...

When I saw this one, I laughed. For about 5 minutes. It just hit me funny. I'm glad my sweetie is silly sometimes. Life's too short to be a stick in the mud all the time. And trust me, I know some folk that are like that. 

So that's about it. I didn't wag the big camera, so these shots aren't the bestest. But we had ourselves a good ole time and I think we're gonna plan to go to this thang every year!

He's in the ARMY now

My nephew CALEB is in the ARMY now... shipped out Wednesday. Unfortunately he had to have his wisdom teeth out last week so he was a little swollen. 

Last Saturday there was a gatherin' of friends & family to send him off with lotsa love ~ 

The first set of family pics with Kerby & Kerlandy (adopted into the fam-uh-lee arriving from Haiti December 25, 2011)

the real crazy comes out once in a while. . . 

All the kids hunted eggs. Some had candy in em, some had $ in em.

takin' turns on the tractor

 :-)

A trip to the creek provided some entertainment... splashy splash, giggle ha ha 

 skippin like a stone, a stone, a stone ... 

 tuff girls rule

ever heard of the song Red Solo Cup? he he he

No we aren't drunk. 

We had sweet tea & lemonade folks.

How long has it been since you hung out around a campfire? It's a-w-e-s-o-m-e dude! And roasted marshmellows?! Yes please. Smores? Yes please. I ran 12 miles that morning so um, had the right to it. Indeed.

Good times. 

I pray Caleb ends up stationed at a computer instead of in a war zone with a gun strapped on him. Amen.

Easter...

Today is Easter Sunday. 

We went to church. 
     Lookin like this -

The preacher talked about THE REAL REASON for this here holiday and we took communion. Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection is the most powerful, moving thing - it's really the foundation for Christianity. 

It's a shame there's more focus on new dresses, bunnies, baskets and hunting eggs than the true reason we should be celebrating. 

(plop) I'll get off my soapbox now.

After church we went to Anthony's parents' for a lovely home-cooked meal. Ahhh, nice and relaxing. And it was an absolutely gorgeous day. God is goooood! 

good ole Good Friday fun

As I said in my last post, being a grown up has its perks. 

Like today. A.day.off.

We slept in.

We went to the Barrel for breakfast.

We went shoppin.

I got some goodies. Hubby got him some goodies, too. 

We stayed out so long we had to get another little snack. Chick-fil-a oh how I love your lemoooooooonaaaaaaade!

Then .... to Publix we did go, to Publix we did go, hi ho the derry-oh to Publix we did go. A clean, well-stocked store free of annoying people. I'll take that.

I'm currently considering a nap. I've tossed a load of laundry in. So I have a teensy bit of productivity in me. 

Guess we'll stay in tonight. I have to run 11 or 12 miles in the morn. And tomorrow afternoon we're heading to my nephew Caleb's going away party. He's off to basic training in a few days. : /

McKenzie's all grown up...kinda

McKenzie - 8th grade formal
She's 14 going on 24...

Or maybe not... 
  I love her playful side

Gonna need to know where comfy shoes were back when we were in school. Things are so different now. My niece wore flip flops beneath her long beautiful gown for her prom. 
 
Anyhoo, Kenzie's "date" isn't her boyfriend. Just so ya know. 
What makes me feel a wee bit old is that the lil fella's dad went to school with us. So like me and Anth, we're technically old enough to have an 8th grader. Now that's cuhrazy!

McKenzie's bestie is Alyx. I love how these two shots came out. And I like the mix of black & white with the beautiful blue hue of her gown. Thank you Photoshop.

The kiddos had a great time I hear. Oh to be a kid again. 

Eh, on second thought... maybe not. Being a grown up has its perks. :-P

Friday night under the stars

Admit it. You read this blog title and thought oh, Anthony and Lyndy had a romantic evening out...they probably sat on a blanket and listened to an orchestra, sipping wine and cuddling. Ahhhh

WRONG-O

We went to the Vandy/South Carolina baseball game.

Gotcha!

A few observations from these brown eyes & this warped mind...

#1  The net thingy, although I certainly realize is there for our s-a-f-e-t-y is a visual impairment. Depending on where ya sit.

#2  I <3 people watching. You can't do that very well from the 1st row.

#3  Baseball, as I've been saying pretty much all of my adult life is b-o-r-i-n-g.

#4  I need to send an email to Vandy. Hey Dores - quit sellin the knock off cheapo imitation dippin' dots. I'm gonna need the real deal. #disappointing

The one cool thing about the night is we ran into Blaine Bishop, former Tennessee Titan, currently a local legend & radio host. Ok, so maybe Blaine isn't a local legend, but he's a real cool dude. And he smiled at us like we were old friends and commenced to fist bumping Anthony. Cool points for Blaine. *Note: No, I did not ask for a pic. I do have some self restraint. I figure we already have 2 or 3 so I'll leave the guy alone for once. 

Another highlight of the night was a return visit 
here

Tips for a good LONG RUN

Last Saturday I was supposed to run 8 miles. Yeah, you heard me right - EIGHT. But I didn't. I only did 7 and had to walk a bit of that last mile. 

As I reflected on it, I realize I didn't really set myself up for a good run last week. 

Mistakes I made:
~I didn't eat a good meal the night before. 
~I ran 3 miles the day before. The day before is supposed to be a "no exercise day."
~I didn't get out there early enough and it was 77 degrees last Saturday. It was a hot one. Running in the middle of the day during an unseasonably warm feels like July or August kinda day... dee-you-em-bee dumb
~I didn't have enough to eat before going out to run AND I only had a small amount of water. 
~I ran at my faster, short run pace. The.whole.time.

I pretty much did everything wrong last Saturday. :-( Shame on me!

So this week I was determined to do everything right. 

And I did.

THE DAY BEFORE - First off, I did not exercise - not at all. Second, I had the right kind of dinner Friday night thanks to my sweet hubby... Anthony grilled us some chicken and I also had spaghetti. And a bit of rice too actually. Carbs the night before with some protein is a good prep for the following day's long run.

FUEL UP & GET OUT EARLY - I got my lazy tail up around 6:30 and was out the door by 7ish. I had a nice bowl of oatmeal and about 8 oz of water. (Not too much or you may hafta find a bush & some privacy. Lol)

WATER OR SPORTS DRINK - I stowed a ziploc bag of ice with my Gatorade in it along my route so I could grab it around mile 6 or 7. It totally helped!

PACING - While I was running, I slowed my pace down from my usual 10-10.5 minute mile pace to around 12-12.5. So the first 6 miles I was following the LSD rule (long slow distance). They say on long runs you're not supposed to be concerned with speed AT ALL. You just wanna f-i-n-i-s-h. Doing that allowed me to speed up my last three miles. So I did my 9 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes. 

GOOOOO ME ! 

As the joyful runner blog girl says...
go here for her blog ~

But I'll soon be in the club... I'll be able to say Why yes, I have run a half marathon... 
A 13.1 sticker or magnet will be attached to my car, oh yes.
 
Be jealous, very jealous. Or you can think I'm crazy, whatev... 
 

Riley's 4th birthday

Yes, I'm behind in blogland. I figure the 3 people who probably read my blog will forgive me. :-P 

Last Sunday was Riley's 4th birthday. 

Side bar: Our good friends Lisa & Alan are the proud parents of this sweet boy I'd love to steal. We hang out with them and sometimes watch Riley for them. 

Riley's all into superheroes now. 

He got lotsa cool Superheroey toys and stuff to play with. We got him some kinda of Light Speeders Hot Wheels play set thing he wanted.

 the happy birthday boy

 with his chums

Since Riley likes several different Superheroes, it was only fitting that his cake reflected that.

Cue Lyndy.

A guy at my work dabbles with cakes on the side. So we gave him some inspiration from the world wide web and here's what he came up with - 

Pretty cool, huh?

And IT TASTED GREAT, too. 
Sometimes the fondant icing, while pretty and neato, will be chewy and um not so yummy. But this was the best fondant I've ever had. And the cake was super moist! 

His biz is called Big Daddy's Cakes n More. He's on Facebook so look him up. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

Pretty sure Riley had a HAP HAPPY birthday and I'm glad we were able to share his special day with him. Hard to believe the little booger is 4 already! 

Heather's gettin H I T C H E D

Last Saturday a package was on my front porch. Just.in.time.
Heather's bridal shower gift.
Tinsley had to inspect it, sniff it, lay on it, play with it...

This is a second marriage for both Heather and her man, so for the shower they suggested gifts like $$$ or stuff for the honeymoon. They're going to Mexico. Lucky dogs. But I got em a cool personalized welcome mat for the hizzouse. Isn't it presh?!

Angela, Heather & me
Friends since we were kids. Still are! 

 Heather and her fella John Paul - cute couple!

Teddy Grahams swimmin and sunnin - could it be any cuter?! 

Congrats to you Heather - lookin forward to the wedding. Oh how I <3 outdoor weddings!!!

Friday night fun

Friday night Anthony went with his uncle (the one who lives next door to us) to the NCAA tourney. 

That meant I needed a buddy. And some plans.

Enter Bridgett.

I asked told her to do something with me.

We did the important shtuff first - SHOPPING! 

The mall - less appealing the older I get, lemme tell ya. I did find some curte that's cuter than just cute peep toe pumps in a nice fleshy cream shade of pretty for a new dress I just got at Ross. We also hit the TJ Maxx. It wasn't my night there. 

Next stop - food! 

She was hawngry for a salad and baked potato. To the Barrel we did roll. 

I had talked to my bro earlier in the week to see if they'd be home Friday night because I had a couple things for the kiddos. 
 
I have to play the role of the aunt who spoils. It's a curse really. No, I really just love buying miniature clothes & shoes. Anything is cute when it's little.

Anyway, the kids were apparently kinda excited for us to visit cuz Jonathan text me while we were eating to ask when we'd be there. Said every time they mentioned that we were coming by, the kids commenced to jumpin. And I like to think there was some squealin or laughin mixed in. I have that effect on people sometimes.

 Kerby, Kerlandy and dear ole dad (my brother who's 10 years my senior) 

The kids loved their shtuff and I got tight, choking hugs of thanks. :-P 

Kerlandy showed me her latest spelling test - she got 104 on it cuz she got the bonus words. Kinda cool considering she didn't know a lot of English a handful of weeks ago. She also sang a couple songs for us, danced a little and snapped (something she just learned). Told us her favorite food is corn. 

I'm a still picture kinda girl and too tech-challenged to figure out how to flip this so just turn your head to the side and deal widdit...  I shot a little video of Kerlandy doing the Pledge of Allegiance - pay attention to the "one nation under God" part. Do you hear it?

One cute little Haitian under God, indivisible... 

If I muster up enough patience, I'll post a video of Kerby sayin some stuff. He doesn't perform on command quite like little sis. lol But he's one cool dude, too. He's still claiming bacon as his favorite food. And he learned how to blow a bubble the other day. Cool stuff!   

11 or 12 weeks ago these little dark skinned kids were new to the fam, new to the U S of A. Now I can't imagine em not being part of us. I sure do love em.