What's on your...

It's a rainy day here in Nashville.  That's nothing new; I really need some rain boots.  I couldn't sleep and ended up getting up at 7:45, after tossing and turing for an hour.  So, I thought I'd blog.

This week, Tabitha over at Team Studer, did a fun blog post and I am doing the same. 

What's on your...


Vanity – Clutter.  I really need to clean.  I have our tub soaking with bleach and so all the stuff that's usually in the shower, is on the counter.   Homemade toothpaste, hair ties galore, and some of our hair.  We're shedders...

Perennial to-do list – dishes, laundry, figuring out what our next move is in business, trying to navigate said business, booking shows, dusting

Refrigerator Shelves – eggs, leftovers (tilapia, marinara, gluten-free noodles, veggie medley) half and half, milk, OJ, Greek yogurt.  That's all I can think of without getting up off the couch...

Itinerary – have lunch today with a dear friend from Mississippi who's here for the rainy half marathon, then (in)RL later today, and *maybe* picking up a cheap dresser from CL that I'm most certainly going to paint turquoise.

Fantasy Itinerary - Oh mercy.  The West Coast will be done this summer!!!  Hawaii, Europe, NY City, Alaska, Spain, Italy, Greece, Asia (not Korea, yikes), RV-ing all around

Playlist - been listening to more Patty Griffin lately, Mumford Pandora, still loving JOHNNYSWIM, and (in all honesty) Trent's newest single on repeat.  It's not mastered yet and we're not sure when it'll go to radio, but it's so good.  Love it.  

Nightstand – lamp, picture from our wedding day sitting on two very old Nancy Drew books, vase with sand and fake orchids, ponytail holder (or 3), journal, pen, lotion

Workout Plan - mix of yoga, jogging, walking, weights, etc...

iPhone Droid - email, instagram, fb, twitter, draw something, text

Top 5 List – my man (I am so lucky), my family, puns, painting my nails, food (bacon)

Bucket List – travel (see also "Fantasy Itinerary"), mission trip/trips, cruise, maybe write a book one day...

Mind – how we leave May 1 and will be gone a long time and how I have to pack only one bag and pack for TX May and Oregon June.  I'm thinking layers might be my best bet. Some friends of ours had a baby that didn't make it, just how precious life is, stepping out of my comfort zone going to (in)RL today, lots and lots of thoughts about what we do, new friends, being a mommy one day, and craving pancakes. 

Blogroll -  BooMama, BigMama, The Stanley Clan, Rage Against the Minivan, The Mom Creative, Lisa Jo Baker, Short Fat Dictator, THRIFTARY (she designed the blog) and many many more.  

Favorite Walls in Your House – the old window with the hymnal wreath, the black frames holding a picture of our wedding day and the cabin (family lake house that my Nana owned but had to sell years ago), our framed wedding vows in our room, painted old shutters in our bathroom

Liquor Shelf – Ha!  We don't have a liquor shelf.  That sounds very fancy.

Last Credit Card Statement - Amazon book purchase, Florida State Parks (our camping trip)

Screensaver - no screen saver.  But the wallpaper is a beach scene, because duh.

TV Every Night - whatever is on that night or catching up on Hulu.  Our favorites:  Duck Dynasty, Nashville, Project Runway, The Mindy Project, Modern Family, The Voice, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Hannibal, Parenthood (when it's on), Fallon

Play along!  What's on your...

The Big 33

My birthday is less than 2 weeks away (May 6th) and I'll be 33.  Where has the time gone?  Have I really been out of high school for 15 years?!?!  

My impending birthday got me thinking about what I would even want. (Trent and I don't really buy gifts for each other.  He did get me P!NK tickets, which was great!  But, in general, we don't do the gift thing.)

Anyway, I wanted to share my list =)

*THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO RECEIVE GIFTS, PEOPLE.*

1.  Bacon Press.  I can't believe I don't have one.  I recently saw one at Bed Bath and Beyond for only $7.99, so I'm quite certain I'll go buy it myself with one of those lovely 20% off coupons. 

2.  Any karaoke machine.  Because who doesn't love karaoke?  And look!  This one is portable and has a hilarious advertisement to go with it.  Is she wearing headphones?  

3.  Just Dance.  I love to dance.  And this just makes sense to me.  The one time I played it, I won.  Sure, I'd need an XBox first, but that's a minor, slightly more expensive detail.

4.  A Gold Flat Sandal.  Finding the perfect gold sandal is quite the undertaking and so I've basically given up.  And there are SO MANY choices.  But something along this line.

5.  The Perfect Denim Shirt.  Again.  Another overwhelming goal.  I haven't even tried to tackle finding just the right one.  

I wish I never got rid of the one I wore on the first day of school in 6th grade!  It would be perfect.  Also, I wore it with khaki shorts, a rope belt, a tie, and loafers with socks.  In summery, I WORE A TIE IN 6TH GRADE.  I remember some boys made fun of me and I was all like, "Step off!  I'm taller than you.  And it's cute."  Not really, but I definitely didn't get my feelings hurt.  I was secure with my style choices.

6.  Mint Skinnies (or shorts) To Wear With Denim Shirt And Gold Sandals.  I don't even need to explain why, because duh.

7.  Pink Beats.  Fabulous.  

8.  Sparkly TOMS.  I love the TOMS I got last year for my b-day.  But, I still want some blue sparkly ones.  Beautiful.

I think that's all for my wish list!  Documented just for fun.  And while I'm at it, here's some stuff on Trent's list of wants.  (His b-day is May 7th.)

1.  A Banjo.  I don't even know if this is a good one.  I literally googled "nice banjo" and this came up.  And we all know google has nothing but true things.

2.  A Dutch Oven.  Definitely in blue.

3.  An Imerssion Blender.  He'd probably want a white one, but these are way more fun.

4.  A Food Processor.  Again, why do stainless steel or white when you can do red?

5.  Flip Flops.  Not leather.  And those are hard to find.  Maybe something like this?   

Anyway, just a fun rambling post.  We'll be spending our b-days in Waco this year.  And that will definitely include some Poppa Rollos and a massage.

We have WORN OUT I-65

Since we have lived in Nashville, we have mostly been on I-40 toward Arkansas and Texas, and whatever the highway is that leads to Florida.  I could look it up, but I don't feel like it.  I think it's I-24.  

Anyway, since January, we have ONLY driven I-65 and we have worn it out.  Every show has been in either Mississippi, Louisiana, or Alabama.  It's great to live so close to so many states (which is exactly why we moved).  Our last two shows were in Enterprise, AL and Cleveland, MS.

The first show, in Enterprise, was with a church that meets in a school.  Part of the adventure of what we do is getting to play in many types of venues.  This was in a cafeteria.  Great acoustics, but we needed something behind us other than milk posters.  Hence the GIANT banner.  (Its home is usually behind the merch table.)

We had fun and everyone loved it.  It warms our hearts when small churches act surprised that "someone like Trent" (their words, not mine) would be willing to come play at a small church.  The truth is, we'll go wherever will have us.  

We left town and I needed a heating pad like something awful.  Major back pains.  Yay for Walmart right around the corner.  BUT, the thing didn't work and so, well, that was a bummer and we took it back.  

We had a day off and stopped in Birmingham, AL so our drive to Mississippi the next day wasn't as far.  And y'all?  This Candlewood Suites is something fancy.  It's all modern and renovated but you still have free wireless and a coffee pot in the room!  (I am easily pleased.)  

A bonus was a huge desk in the room.  It was perfect timing because we hunkered down and made it a work day.  Unfortunately, our background noise was news of the Boston bombing.  Such a sad day.  Thankful the authorities finally caught the criminal.   

Next stop was Cleveland, MS for ICC Wesley Foundation.

Thanks to John for having us in!  The students were wonderful and really enjoyed the music!

Cleveland is a small town and so after the show we had limited options for dinner.  We settled on Huddle House.  

And good news, we didn't get food poisoning! 

Southern Miss and Delta State

Just in case you didn't know, those are both colleges in the great state of Mississippi. 

Also, Happy Tax Day.  How 'bout that Self Employment Tax, huh?  Yowza.

Anyway...

We were with USM and DSU last week for their Wesley Foundations.  They had both been to Wesley Statewide, so it was great to reconnect with the leaders and students!

First stop was Hattiesburg, MS for Southern Miss. 

This was on their wall and, well, it's safe to say that I want to make one.  Someday...

I did not make my own name tag.  That was Michael.  He's full of energy and personality.  He made lots of fun name tags.  

The students loved the show and we loved how they sang!!!  

 

At the end of the night, they had ice cream sundaes and when asked if we wanted one, I said "duh."  Not really.  I said "yes, please." 

We left Hattiesburg and found this little guy at a gas station.  Made us sad.  He seemed well fed and friendly, so I'm hoping he has a home.  I kind of worry when we have room, both in our vehicle and in our home.  I have a feeling I could end up an animal hoarder.  But, just so you know, I wouldn't take it so far where I didn't know how many I had.

(PS. We have doggy fever.)

(And kitty fever.)

(And pretty much every kind of fever.)

We got checked into the next hotel in Cleveland, MS, where Delta State is.  We didn't have time for a long workout, but we got the blood flowing in the room.  Trent HATES yoga.  I like it.

All the kids (can I call college students kids?) at DSU were awesome.  I'm telling you.  Everyone sings and in harmony!  Mississippi has some singers.  

Lud (the leader), Trent, Paul (guest speaker who has a powerful testimony.  He used to weigh 360 pounds!), and I didn't get the last guy's name.  I am a terrible, terrible person.

And, you all know how I love me some gift baskets.  (Thanks Lud and Kayla!)

I adore being around college students who are involved in campus ministries.  Some grew up in youth groups and naturally joined one in college.  Others have gotten involved because of a friend and have ended up sticking around.  Who knows how many other stories there are... 

I do know that someone came that night for the first time ever and didn't know there was going to be a concert.  I know that he was moved.  I know this because he sent Trent a message on Facebook, sharing his heart.  

That is why we do what we do.  Our prayer before every show is that someone will get something from the music.  Sometimes we know about it and sometimes we don't.  Either way, we trust it happens. God is good.  All the time.

As I type this we're in Alabama and are heading back to Mississsippi on Tuesday for another Wesley.

(Because I'm sure you were very curious.)

Have a great day!

Camping is IN-TENTS: Part II

The last time we camped was over a year ago.  We were pumped to find out we were going to be able to do it again.  And we did a couple weeks ago.  At our favorite Florida State Park, Suwannee River SP.  

This post has lots of pics of food and selfies.  Consider yourself warned.

(Let me start by saying that when I checked the weather for our 5 nights of camping, the forecast was high in the low 80s and lows in the 50s.  The perfect weather.  That would change.) 

When we got to our site, it was a very nice day.  This is the before:

This is the after.   Beautiful, isn't it? 

The first night, we Trent had to prep under our awning.  (Side note: we are currently obsessed with brussel sprouts.)

We went to bed and were woken up by thunderstorms.  I freaked out.  Lightening, heavy rain and we're under trees in a tent.  Es no bueno in my opinion. Trent was calm and tried to assure me we were fine.  Considering the amount of rain that fell, our tent stayed pretty dry.  My suitcase however, and Trent's TOMS (which were left outside), had to spend the next day drying out via box fan.

The coffee bar/kitchen/storage:

And here's the dish washing station:

It's kind of our tradition to take a pic of our site.  (Or lots of pics, but whatever.)

It was a beautiful day and so we went on a hike/walk/run.  Suwannee has awesome trails.

It's hard to see, but this pole has bands marking where past flood waters have been.  The very top one was from 1948.  Whoa.

And we played on the playground =)

It's a Monk rule (maybe it's my rule) that every camping meal needs to start with fried potatoes. If Yankee Candle Company made a Camping scented candle, I'm quite certain it would smell like fried potatoes.

Or bacon...

And just so you know, a plastic-wrapped merch bin works well as a prep station.  Clever fella.

So after really nice weather, the next day we woke up to cold!  I'm thankful I randomly decided to pack warm clothes.  (Remember the forecast?  Yeah.  Didn't pan out.)

Thank the Lord we were only 15 minutes from a Walmart and we were able to get a space heater.  LIFE. SAVER.  

Overshare:  I didn't shave while camping.  No point.  Trent did, though.

We hiked some more and found some cool things.  Some we had been to before and some we hadn't.  The cemetery trail is pretty neat.  It's a short hike through well labeled brush and leaves and trees.  And it leads to this.  Kind of eery but mostly awesome.

A bridge that is still standing and has been there since before the Civil War.

Every evening we walked to this location and sat on a swing.

Because of the view.

The last night we branded a tree.  I, being a Nervous Nelly, was scared some park ranger or camp site director was going to catch us.  

Here it is!  We'll keep adding years to it and can't wait to show kiddos our "artwork." 

And lastly, this is how you have a late night snack while camping.  

We were able to get packed up and on the road in about an hour!  We are a well oiled machine when it comes to packing up.  We both know our roles well.  Thank God we did because after we left?  A giant downpour and cold front came through.  

I cannot imagine packing up in that mess.  No, thank you.

It looks like we'll be camping in California in June which we are SO EXCITED about!