OMG.
I just had lunch at the House of Kabob on Thompson Lane.
It was THE BEST Greek I've had in Nashville, plus there is actually a seating area where people can sit to eat. Whoohooo.
Really.
So good I felt like I was Meg Ryan playing the part of Sally ("When Harry Met Sally") in the restaurant scene with Harry (Billy Crystal).
Yeah...THAT GOOD.
Check it out:
House Of Kabob
216 Thompson Ln
Nashville , TN 37211
Phone: (615) 333-3711
7.30.2004
World's easiest quiz...
Requires only 4 correct answers to pass!
*************************************************
ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ
********************************
SO...How'd you do???
*************************************************
- How long did the Hundred Years' War last?
- Which country makes Panama hats?
- From which animal do we get catgut?
- In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
- What is a camel's hair brush made of?
- The Canary Islands in the Atlantic are named after what animal?
- What was King George VI's first name?
- What color is a purple finch?
- Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
- What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?
ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ
********************************
- How long did the Hundred Years War last?
116 years - Which country makes Panama hats?
Ecuador - From which animal do we get cat gut?
Sheep and Horses - In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
November - What is a camel's hair brush made of?
Squirrel fur - The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
Dogs - What was King George VI's first name?
Albert - What color is a purple finch?
Crimson - Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
New Zealand - What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?
Orange, of course.
SO...How'd you do???
7.27.2004
The weekend through today...
Saturday, 7/24:
John took off for Paducah, KY early Saturday. From there, I spent the morning running errands, getting my oil changed and the car looked over. I also visited the antique store where I stepped on the hook of a pot rack a two weeks ago to say hello and let them know I was okay. Gail, the woman who helped me and my parents, was there. She is very nice and she even asked me if I wanted to meet sometime for coffee. Very cool. It's nice to know that the entire world isn't mean. HA.
Then, I met my friend Gwen at the Gibson Cafe to see Jeffrey Steel perform. It was incredible...as always. Steve C was on fire once again and the whole band was sounding like a well oiled machine. KK (background singer) wasn't there because she hurt herself rollerblading several weeks ago. Sounds like she really messed up her leg. Hopefully, she'll be back soon. I did tell Jeffrey that he should let me know if he needs any help in the meantime...but I'm not holding my breath for the phone to ring! HA.
Sunday, July 25:
Had a Vision Team meeting at church and then was the worship assistant for the 10:30 service. I really enjoy being the worship assistant.
John got home just before I returned from church. So, I picked him up and we went to Las Palmas for some cheap Mexican food. He really enjoyed playing with and meeting Andy Kim. From the sounds of it, he was very musical and like to have fun. Sonny Geraci actually had his own drummer, so John played percussion with him. JTC said he was okay but a little cheesy. Jim Yester was really nice...although John said his voice isn't what it used to be. I'm looking forward to meeting all of them when we go on the cruise in August.
After lunch, John got groceries and I went First Lutheran Church to sing at our former pastoral intern's ordination and installment. The whole choir sang along with Celebration Lutheran's choir. The church itself is very old and beautiful. It's organ is the exact organ at St. Mark's Lutheran in Bloomfield, NE (the congregation where I grew up). Seeing it gave me flashbacks to agape choir, dozens of weddings, ice cream socials, Luther League and the like. That was kind of nice. The service went great.
Following the service, John met me and several other people for appetizers at Mafioza's over on 12th avenue. We had a good time and then went home to make pizza for supper. (It was much cheaper to make our own! HA.)
OH YEAH. John is my HERO! He found my passport. Whoohoooooo. Apparently I had not realized that it was still in the suitcase I used when attending the CBS / Promax Conference in Toronto. Wow. That was probably 1997. Crazy.
Monday, 7/26:
Not too much to report. Worked and went home. John made yummmmmmy grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and rice for supper. Then we fell asleep watching "Blast from the Past" on TBS.
Today, Tuesday, 7/27:
Had a new employee breakfast meeting with the CEO of NFIB, Jack Faris, this morning. That was a trip. There were about 15 or so there and the food was good. Mr. Faris went around the table and asked each and every one of us about ourselves and our history at NFIB. He's very good at what he does and a strong leader. Just one of the many reasons I am happy to be a part of NFIB.
More meetings continued until about 3 p.m. Since then I've been working on the things we decided to do at the meetings...actually, I'm still working on things we decided to do at meetings I had last week. I need one of me to attend the meetings and another of me to do the work of the meetings! HA.
Tonight, John is making country ribs w/sweet potatoes. MMMMmmmmmm Good. Can't wait.
Tomorrow through Friday will be crazy day and night.
Look for another update on Saturday.>
Hope you're having a GREAT week.
XOXOXO,
BB
John took off for Paducah, KY early Saturday. From there, I spent the morning running errands, getting my oil changed and the car looked over. I also visited the antique store where I stepped on the hook of a pot rack a two weeks ago to say hello and let them know I was okay. Gail, the woman who helped me and my parents, was there. She is very nice and she even asked me if I wanted to meet sometime for coffee. Very cool. It's nice to know that the entire world isn't mean. HA.
Then, I met my friend Gwen at the Gibson Cafe to see Jeffrey Steel perform. It was incredible...as always. Steve C was on fire once again and the whole band was sounding like a well oiled machine. KK (background singer) wasn't there because she hurt herself rollerblading several weeks ago. Sounds like she really messed up her leg. Hopefully, she'll be back soon. I did tell Jeffrey that he should let me know if he needs any help in the meantime...but I'm not holding my breath for the phone to ring! HA.
Sunday, July 25:
Had a Vision Team meeting at church and then was the worship assistant for the 10:30 service. I really enjoy being the worship assistant.
John got home just before I returned from church. So, I picked him up and we went to Las Palmas for some cheap Mexican food. He really enjoyed playing with and meeting Andy Kim. From the sounds of it, he was very musical and like to have fun. Sonny Geraci actually had his own drummer, so John played percussion with him. JTC said he was okay but a little cheesy. Jim Yester was really nice...although John said his voice isn't what it used to be. I'm looking forward to meeting all of them when we go on the cruise in August.
After lunch, John got groceries and I went First Lutheran Church to sing at our former pastoral intern's ordination and installment. The whole choir sang along with Celebration Lutheran's choir. The church itself is very old and beautiful. It's organ is the exact organ at St. Mark's Lutheran in Bloomfield, NE (the congregation where I grew up). Seeing it gave me flashbacks to agape choir, dozens of weddings, ice cream socials, Luther League and the like. That was kind of nice. The service went great.
Following the service, John met me and several other people for appetizers at Mafioza's over on 12th avenue. We had a good time and then went home to make pizza for supper. (It was much cheaper to make our own! HA.)
OH YEAH. John is my HERO! He found my passport. Whoohoooooo. Apparently I had not realized that it was still in the suitcase I used when attending the CBS / Promax Conference in Toronto. Wow. That was probably 1997. Crazy.
Monday, 7/26:
Not too much to report. Worked and went home. John made yummmmmmy grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and rice for supper. Then we fell asleep watching "Blast from the Past" on TBS.
Today, Tuesday, 7/27:
Had a new employee breakfast meeting with the CEO of NFIB, Jack Faris, this morning. That was a trip. There were about 15 or so there and the food was good. Mr. Faris went around the table and asked each and every one of us about ourselves and our history at NFIB. He's very good at what he does and a strong leader. Just one of the many reasons I am happy to be a part of NFIB.
More meetings continued until about 3 p.m. Since then I've been working on the things we decided to do at the meetings...actually, I'm still working on things we decided to do at meetings I had last week. I need one of me to attend the meetings and another of me to do the work of the meetings! HA.
Tonight, John is making country ribs w/sweet potatoes. MMMMmmmmmm Good. Can't wait.
Tomorrow through Friday will be crazy day and night.
Look for another update on Saturday.>
Hope you're having a GREAT week.
XOXOXO,
BB
7.23.2004
This week in NashVegas...
Where do I begin?
Hmmmm...well...how about...
MONDAY, 7/19
Got myself into a good work groove for the week. Megumi and I spent most of the day working on the usability testing plan. In the process, we found several issues that need to be fixed on the site. It is amazing what you can see when you look at something with a new perspective. Because we're trying to come up with scenarios to pose to NFIB.com users, we had to imagine trying to find information on the site as if we'd never been there and had no idea what kind of content to expect. We ended up with a two page list of fixes and Megumi went through the site with a fine tooth comb the rest of this week to see if there were any more...we ended up with seven pages of changes. So, now I'm in the process of prioritizing those changes and submitting individual requests to IT and our content vendor. (Trust me...it sounds a lot more complicated than it really is...)
John spent all his free time practicing (not only Monday, but for the past two weeks). He's got a "Forever Gold" gig on Saturday which consists of three acts, Sonny Geraci, Andy Kimm and Jim Yester. Should be interesting. He's really kickin' booty (as usual).
TUESDAY, 7/20
A day of meetings...five meetings: a content management system upgrade meeting, a NFIB.com editorial conference call, a usability update meeting w/my boss, a member development meeting and an Internet marketing project meeting w/ IT and Hammock. Needless to say, that is pretty much all I accomplished on Tuesday. And, I think we have more things to get done than we have people to do them! Some things never change...it doesn't matter where you work! HA.
On Tuesday night, Micol came over to help me work on a new song. I started it last week but couldn't get a good melody going...it was a boring song with pretty good words but no delivery. I was stuck. (What I had was a good hooky chorus idea, but not good for every verse of the song. As it was, it sounded like a Martina McBride chorus all the way through the song. Not good.) So, I called in Micol to see if we could work on it together. We had a blast and she was the perfect person help co-write. We made some progress, but it's not quite there yet. Hopefully, we'll finish it next week sometime.
John had band rehearsal for the Forever Gold gig in the afternoon and into the evening.
WEDNESDAY, 7/21
More usability planning, an e-mail newsletter vendor demo (e-mail labs), a lunch meeting about the next fifteen months of membership promotion, a touch base meeting with the Politics department and more usability planning. (More...yawn...exciting stuff...huh?!)
It was a long day, so I pretty much went right to choir practice from work. Choir practice went well. We've been practicing with another church choir the last few weeks. On Sunday afternoon (7/25) we're performing together at our former pastoral intern's ordination and installation.
After choir, I went out with a few other choir members (a weekly thing) but was home by 10:30. John had spent the day practicing so by the time I got home, he was already out-like-a-light!
THURSDAY, 7/22
Can you believe it...I only had one meeting on Thursday. AND, it was only 15 minutes long. How can you beat that?! So, I spent the rest of the day working on all the things we'd decided to do in the meetings earlier in the week. Got a lot done. It also helps that the three people I deal with most regularly are all on vacation until Monday. (Aaaaaaahhhhh...peace and quite.)
Well...until I got home! John was getting the 11th hour tweaks down pat. I love that. It may sound crazy, but there is something about listening to him play that just relaxes me. Yeah...it's loud...but it is comforting. Sometimes I find myself drifting off to the beat of John's drum. (kind of poetic, isn't it?!)
FRIDAY and beyond
And now...it's Friday already. I've got tons of work to do today. Taking Emily and Lynn to the airport. (They're going to Tampa to work on finalizing the details of buying a house.) John's got rehearsal with the Forever Gold acts today and tonight.
Tonight, I'm going to head down to Cool Springs to check out a jazz piano gig at 8 ish tonight. A recent acquaintance of ours who is a keyboard player is trying to get a weekend jazz duo thing going at this restaurant...his name is Ken Rarick. He called last weekend to see if I'd be interested in singing. Of course the answer is unequivocally, "YES." Anyway, he's a keyboard player we met through my friend Pat a few weeks ago (She'd been trying to get me and John together for dinner at her house with Ken and Chris for a long time.) Chris is from Australia and is soooo cool. She's a musician's wife, too, so she and I are totally on the same wavelength. They used to live in LA and moved to Nashville in '94 for a better family environment. Now Ken's a Nashville studio guy who's played with Cher and I think he also plays with Amy Grant on occasion. I'm sure there's more I don't know. He's pretty quiet about his playing (which indicates to me there's probably more to discover about his musical career.) When we had dinner with them at Pat's, we started talking about how we grew up and the different idiosyncrasies of our families. We connected while talking about saving "Cool-whip" dishes and washing plastic bags of all things. HA. Blah de blah de blah...I'll keep you posted. Gonna give him a CD tonight and a potential song list. Hopefully I'll get to have some gigs with Ken. Sounds fun. I've ALWAYS wanted to do a jazz thing. LOVE IT. Keep your fingers crossed.
UPDATE: Just "Googled" Ken to find out that he's a former member of one of my favorite bands growing up: Air Supply. (Crazy cool.)
Tomorrow, I've got to find my passport. I need it for the cruise I get to go on with John at the end of August. Haven't seen the passport since we moved almost four years ago. Hopefully it will be easy to locate. Keep your fingers crossed. Tomorrow night, Gwen and I are going to see one of my favorite songwriters, Jeffrey Steele, perform. Hopefully Eric and Bob and few others will be able to go as well.
OK...time to go to work.
Hope your week has gone well.
MISS YOU.
Have a GREAT day.
XOXOXO,
BB
Hmmmm...well...how about...
MONDAY, 7/19
Got myself into a good work groove for the week. Megumi and I spent most of the day working on the usability testing plan. In the process, we found several issues that need to be fixed on the site. It is amazing what you can see when you look at something with a new perspective. Because we're trying to come up with scenarios to pose to NFIB.com users, we had to imagine trying to find information on the site as if we'd never been there and had no idea what kind of content to expect. We ended up with a two page list of fixes and Megumi went through the site with a fine tooth comb the rest of this week to see if there were any more...we ended up with seven pages of changes. So, now I'm in the process of prioritizing those changes and submitting individual requests to IT and our content vendor. (Trust me...it sounds a lot more complicated than it really is...)
John spent all his free time practicing (not only Monday, but for the past two weeks). He's got a "Forever Gold" gig on Saturday which consists of three acts, Sonny Geraci, Andy Kimm and Jim Yester. Should be interesting. He's really kickin' booty (as usual).
TUESDAY, 7/20
A day of meetings...five meetings: a content management system upgrade meeting, a NFIB.com editorial conference call, a usability update meeting w/my boss, a member development meeting and an Internet marketing project meeting w/ IT and Hammock. Needless to say, that is pretty much all I accomplished on Tuesday. And, I think we have more things to get done than we have people to do them! Some things never change...it doesn't matter where you work! HA.
On Tuesday night, Micol came over to help me work on a new song. I started it last week but couldn't get a good melody going...it was a boring song with pretty good words but no delivery. I was stuck. (What I had was a good hooky chorus idea, but not good for every verse of the song. As it was, it sounded like a Martina McBride chorus all the way through the song. Not good.) So, I called in Micol to see if we could work on it together. We had a blast and she was the perfect person help co-write. We made some progress, but it's not quite there yet. Hopefully, we'll finish it next week sometime.
John had band rehearsal for the Forever Gold gig in the afternoon and into the evening.
WEDNESDAY, 7/21
More usability planning, an e-mail newsletter vendor demo (e-mail labs), a lunch meeting about the next fifteen months of membership promotion, a touch base meeting with the Politics department and more usability planning. (More...yawn...exciting stuff...huh?!)
It was a long day, so I pretty much went right to choir practice from work. Choir practice went well. We've been practicing with another church choir the last few weeks. On Sunday afternoon (7/25) we're performing together at our former pastoral intern's ordination and installation.
After choir, I went out with a few other choir members (a weekly thing) but was home by 10:30. John had spent the day practicing so by the time I got home, he was already out-like-a-light!
THURSDAY, 7/22
Can you believe it...I only had one meeting on Thursday. AND, it was only 15 minutes long. How can you beat that?! So, I spent the rest of the day working on all the things we'd decided to do in the meetings earlier in the week. Got a lot done. It also helps that the three people I deal with most regularly are all on vacation until Monday. (Aaaaaaahhhhh...peace and quite.)
Well...until I got home! John was getting the 11th hour tweaks down pat. I love that. It may sound crazy, but there is something about listening to him play that just relaxes me. Yeah...it's loud...but it is comforting. Sometimes I find myself drifting off to the beat of John's drum. (kind of poetic, isn't it?!)
FRIDAY and beyond
And now...it's Friday already. I've got tons of work to do today. Taking Emily and Lynn to the airport. (They're going to Tampa to work on finalizing the details of buying a house.) John's got rehearsal with the Forever Gold acts today and tonight.
Tonight, I'm going to head down to Cool Springs to check out a jazz piano gig at 8 ish tonight. A recent acquaintance of ours who is a keyboard player is trying to get a weekend jazz duo thing going at this restaurant...his name is Ken Rarick. He called last weekend to see if I'd be interested in singing. Of course the answer is unequivocally, "YES." Anyway, he's a keyboard player we met through my friend Pat a few weeks ago (She'd been trying to get me and John together for dinner at her house with Ken and Chris for a long time.) Chris is from Australia and is soooo cool. She's a musician's wife, too, so she and I are totally on the same wavelength. They used to live in LA and moved to Nashville in '94 for a better family environment. Now Ken's a Nashville studio guy who's played with Cher and I think he also plays with Amy Grant on occasion. I'm sure there's more I don't know. He's pretty quiet about his playing (which indicates to me there's probably more to discover about his musical career.) When we had dinner with them at Pat's, we started talking about how we grew up and the different idiosyncrasies of our families. We connected while talking about saving "Cool-whip" dishes and washing plastic bags of all things. HA. Blah de blah de blah...I'll keep you posted. Gonna give him a CD tonight and a potential song list. Hopefully I'll get to have some gigs with Ken. Sounds fun. I've ALWAYS wanted to do a jazz thing. LOVE IT. Keep your fingers crossed.
UPDATE: Just "Googled" Ken to find out that he's a former member of one of my favorite bands growing up: Air Supply. (Crazy cool.)
Tomorrow, I've got to find my passport. I need it for the cruise I get to go on with John at the end of August. Haven't seen the passport since we moved almost four years ago. Hopefully it will be easy to locate. Keep your fingers crossed. Tomorrow night, Gwen and I are going to see one of my favorite songwriters, Jeffrey Steele, perform. Hopefully Eric and Bob and few others will be able to go as well.
OK...time to go to work.
Hope your week has gone well.
MISS YOU.
Have a GREAT day.
XOXOXO,
BB
7.19.2004
Too many things to do...not enough time to blog!
Hey everyone.
Hope you've have a good weekend. My apologies for not writing since last week. I've been busy and moving a little slower than usual. The pot rack incident still has me gimping along a little bit!
Thursday, 7/15:
John and I met some friends at 3rd & Lindsley to attend a benefit for Jonell Mosser and her husband, Andy Bob. You would not believe all the people who came out to support her. I am sooooo bummed that I didn't have my camera with me so I could show you the love! It was truly spectacular to witness.
The music was GREAT. Bobby Keyes (the sax player for the Rolling Stones) was there to sit in with Jumbo Shrimp and T Graham Brown. Gary Nicholsen, Dave Pomeroy, Bekka Bramlett, Kentucky Thunder (Jonell Mosser, Vicki Carico, Sheila Lawrence and Etta Britt) and Jack Pearson (Allman brothers band member)...It was all spectacular.
And, even better than the music was the overwhelming sense of support for Jonell in the Nashville music community (and beyond). Because Jonell has chosen to live her life in a way that is helpful and respectful to everyone around her...and I mean EVERYONE...her kindness has come back to her in this time of need 1,000 fold. She didn't have to ask for help, people just started showing up at her door. People had to convince her to let them give her and Andy Bob a benefit.
Being there was a GREAT experience.
Friday, 7/16:
After work, John and I ate dinner at home...grilled chicken and potatoes. Then, John wanted to take some time to rehearse for next weekend's gig so I went to see Mark Barnett and the Volcanoes of Soul at Hobo Joes. Had a great time mingling with other songwriters and hearing some good music.
Saturday, 7/17:
John and I hung out until he had to leave (11:30 a.m.) to go play with the Drifters in Knoxville. I spent the rest of the day going down a list of friends to catch up with via phone. Only made it about half-way down the list, but had a great time. Next week I'll work on the other half!
At 6:30 I met Emily and Lynn at Anatolies (Turkish restaurant) for dinner. The food was great and the three of us talked and caught up. Emily and Lynn are moving to Tampa in August. :( We sure will miss them...but look forward to getting to visit them in Florida! They are already tempting us with all kinds of good "excuses" to visit!
At around 9:30 or so, I went to a songwriter get-together at David Lee Slate's house. Several cool people were there and David Lee even had a little flatbed fashioned as a stage in is back yard. Tons of people were hanging out and singing/playing their songs. Good stuff.
Sunday, 7/18:
In the morning, I had a church "vision" meeting. Then, it was my turn to be the worship assistant at the 10:30 service. Oh yeah...I sang in choir, too! Full morning!
When I returned from church, John was already home from Knoxville and upstairs practicing up a storm! WHOOHOO.
We went to lunch at Calypso's, got his metronome fixed at Guitar Center, picked up groceries for the week and ran errands.
After we finished our Sunday afternoon routine, John practiced while I picked up a little.
Emily and Lynn came over for "taco" supper.
There you have it...all caught up.
I'll try to be better about keeping this thing updated this week.
Don't forget to post comments (like Denice!) to let me know what's going on in your world, too!
XOXOXO,
Have a GREAT day.
BB
Hope you've have a good weekend. My apologies for not writing since last week. I've been busy and moving a little slower than usual. The pot rack incident still has me gimping along a little bit!
Thursday, 7/15:
John and I met some friends at 3rd & Lindsley to attend a benefit for Jonell Mosser and her husband, Andy Bob. You would not believe all the people who came out to support her. I am sooooo bummed that I didn't have my camera with me so I could show you the love! It was truly spectacular to witness.
The music was GREAT. Bobby Keyes (the sax player for the Rolling Stones) was there to sit in with Jumbo Shrimp and T Graham Brown. Gary Nicholsen, Dave Pomeroy, Bekka Bramlett, Kentucky Thunder (Jonell Mosser, Vicki Carico, Sheila Lawrence and Etta Britt) and Jack Pearson (Allman brothers band member)...It was all spectacular.
And, even better than the music was the overwhelming sense of support for Jonell in the Nashville music community (and beyond). Because Jonell has chosen to live her life in a way that is helpful and respectful to everyone around her...and I mean EVERYONE...her kindness has come back to her in this time of need 1,000 fold. She didn't have to ask for help, people just started showing up at her door. People had to convince her to let them give her and Andy Bob a benefit.
Being there was a GREAT experience.
Friday, 7/16:
After work, John and I ate dinner at home...grilled chicken and potatoes. Then, John wanted to take some time to rehearse for next weekend's gig so I went to see Mark Barnett and the Volcanoes of Soul at Hobo Joes. Had a great time mingling with other songwriters and hearing some good music.
Saturday, 7/17:
John and I hung out until he had to leave (11:30 a.m.) to go play with the Drifters in Knoxville. I spent the rest of the day going down a list of friends to catch up with via phone. Only made it about half-way down the list, but had a great time. Next week I'll work on the other half!
At 6:30 I met Emily and Lynn at Anatolies (Turkish restaurant) for dinner. The food was great and the three of us talked and caught up. Emily and Lynn are moving to Tampa in August. :( We sure will miss them...but look forward to getting to visit them in Florida! They are already tempting us with all kinds of good "excuses" to visit!
At around 9:30 or so, I went to a songwriter get-together at David Lee Slate's house. Several cool people were there and David Lee even had a little flatbed fashioned as a stage in is back yard. Tons of people were hanging out and singing/playing their songs. Good stuff.
Sunday, 7/18:
In the morning, I had a church "vision" meeting. Then, it was my turn to be the worship assistant at the 10:30 service. Oh yeah...I sang in choir, too! Full morning!
When I returned from church, John was already home from Knoxville and upstairs practicing up a storm! WHOOHOO.
We went to lunch at Calypso's, got his metronome fixed at Guitar Center, picked up groceries for the week and ran errands.
After we finished our Sunday afternoon routine, John practiced while I picked up a little.
Emily and Lynn came over for "taco" supper.
There you have it...all caught up.
I'll try to be better about keeping this thing updated this week.
Don't forget to post comments (like Denice!) to let me know what's going on in your world, too!
XOXOXO,
Have a GREAT day.
BB
7.14.2004
The weekend went too fast...
Mom and Dad on Monday morning before going back home. Sure was good to have them here. Can't wait til they come back again.
Posted by Hello
Mmmmmm...microphone.
Here's a close up of my Bluebird debut...or am I trying to eat that microphone?! (JTC is looking pretty intense in the background.)
Posted by Hello
Steve C, BB and JTC kickin' booty.
Steve C, me and John playing the Bluebird Cafe on Sunday night. We had a BLAST. Can't wait to do it again!
Posted by Hello
Grand Ole Opry
Here's a long shot of the Opry. Pretty cool stuff. Throbbing foot and all...we had a blast.
Posted by Hello
Is it Jim?!
We had no idea Jim (my younger brother) could play guitar!?! Isn't this photo wild? As soon as this guy walked on stage, John noticed it. We were all amazed and could barely pay attention to Gene Watson, the artist we were supposed to be watching!
Posted by Hello
Little Jimmy Dickens
Little Jimmy Dickens...he was hilarious. A great entertainer. We could have watched him all night.
Posted by Hello
Mom, BB and Dad at the Opry
Mom, me and Dad on our way into the Grand Ole Opry Friday night. (JTC is the man behind the camera!)
Posted by Hello
7.13.2004
We had a gimpy good time!
Yesterday, Mom and Dad returned to Nebraska. And, as predicted, the time flew by way too fast.
Ribs and Margaritas
When they arrived at the house on Thursday night, John had prepared a feast of country pork ribs, corn on the cob and baked beans. Yuuuummmmmmy. Mom & Dad seemed to really like them (in fact they ate the leftover ribs cold on Saturday afternoon!) I made a few margaritas and we visited until about 11 p.m.
PF changs -
John had to work on Friday, so Mom, Dad and I spent the day running around Nashville. The Genghis Grill idea didn't sound fun to Mom & Dad...they don't want to have to prepare their own food when they go out to eat! HA. So, we decided to go to PF Chang's instead. It was great. We had chicken lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, lemon scallops and chicken with black bean sauce. I can't believe we ate every last morsel!
Jeanne's Pot Rack Puncture -
After a little shoe shopping and cruising around Music Row, the three of us decided to check out some antique stores on 8th Avenue. We had a great time and there were tons of cool things to see. The last store we visited had all of these cool compasses. Apparently they were selling them for a bank whose client had passed on and left a huge collection of them. They were soooooo cool...big ones, little ones, watch compasses, ring compasses, ship compasses...you name it.
After I finished looking at the compasses on the table near the door of the shop, I turned to suggest we take off for home. As I stepped down, I felt something go through my shoe. It was a similar sensation to stepping hard on a big piece of gravel or rock. When I looked down to see what I had stepped on, there sat a pot rack (you know...the things some people hang in their kitchen to store pots / pans). The hook of the rack did not look like something that would go through my shoe. A little dazed, I reached down and took my shoe off to see if it had in fact punctured my shoe. What I found out as I removed my shoe was that it had not only gone straight through my shoe, it had also gone into my foot quite a way and was gushing blood all over the place. I'm not sure exactly what / how things went for the next couple minutes, but I think Mom asked me if I was okay and I remember saying, "No...I'm bleeding a lot..." Then the lady from the store came over, got me a chair and we took a look at it. (Yikers. I sure do know how to do it right.) Gail, the store lady, went to the back and came out with some clean towels and peroxide. She generously poured the peroxide over my wound while Mom moved the pot rack to a table along the wall. When the bleeding subsided, Gail put three band-aides over the gash. We chit-chatted a little and then went home.
I didn't want to go to the ER, but when John got home from work around 3 p.m., he and my parents convinced me it would be a good idea. If nothing else, to at least get a tetanus shot. So, John took me to the Emergency Room at Centennial where I did get a tetanus shot, a Keflex prescription and another good wound cleaning. The ER doc said I could probably use some stitches if I wanted them, but said stitches on the bottom of the foot usually don't fare well because of the calluses and their location. So, I opted for no stitches, they wrapped it up and sent us on our way. At that time, it was pretty sore, but I had no idea what I was in for over the weekend!
Grand Ole Opry
Gimping along, I was determined to continue on with the original plan for the weekend. Mind over matter...mind over matter...that's what I kept thinking. So, we went to the Opry as planned. It was a GREAT show. We saw John Conlee, Little Jimmy Dickens, Mark Wills, the Old Crow Medicine Show and a host of other cool artists. (I took a TON of photos and plan to post them here on the blog sometime tonight.) Dad & Mom really enjoyed it... in fact we all really enjoyed it. The seats were GREAT. Little Jimmy Dickens was soooooo funny and the Old Crow Medicine Show was probably my favorite act.
By the time we were ready to go, I knew the weekend plans were in deep jeopardy. My foot had swelled up pretty good and I could feel every heartbeat in my big toe. Walking out of the Opry was going to be a challenge (not to mention trying to stand on stage at the Bluebird on Sunday!)...so, John went to get the car and my Dad pretended he was my crutch to help me out. With the help of a woman with a golf cart, we made it out to the car where John picked us up.
At home, I took copious amounts of ibuprofen (four) and put my foot up in the air with a full ice bag on it. I slept on the couch with my foot up in the air. I still had hopes that we could road trip to see John play at the Jen Jam in Cairo, IL on Saturday.
Change of Plans on Saturday
On Saturday morning, I kept my foot up with bunches of ice. But, the effort was futile. There was just no way I could travel three hours to Cairo and back...plus try to walk around at a festival. Going would be asking for trouble. So, with the help of John, Mom and Dad, I was persuaded to stay in Nashville. John went on to the Jen Jam without us. : (
Dad, Mom and I stayed home and ordered pizza for lunch. Staying home actually turned out to be a cool thing. Instead of running around, we got to spend some quality hang-out time together.
Mom saved the day by letting me wear her shoes. I was having trouble finding a pair of shoes that would allow me to walk without squishing my swelled foot. Since she has size 8 feet and my feet are 6.5 or 7, I was able to wear a pair of her Birkenstocks most of the day...and weekend for that matter...which enabled me to walk with less of a limp and no "squish-factor."
The three of us ran a couple errands (to the shoe store, the auto store and Sonic). Later, Dad fixed the rear-view mirror on John's van and Mom messed in my garden for a while. We had a couple margaritas late afternoon and when John returned Saturday night (his gig went GREAT BTW...BMT got a standing ovation and an encore!), we ate breakfast for supper...Belgian waffles, homemade maple syrup and crumbled sausage. Good stuff.
Singing in church...
On Sunday, I sang "He is Waiting" in church. Wow. I wish you could hear the words to this song. They are so powerful. Anyway, going to church with John, Dad and Mom felt good. Mom & Dad got to meet a bunch of cool people in the congregation...in fact, several people were amazed that they were my parents. They thought for sure we were brother and sister instead!
In the kitchen at Buca di Beppo's
After church, we changed and then went sight seeing on the way to our big feast in the kitchen table at Buca di Beppo's. John and I showed Mom & Dad where Kenny Chesney lives...just a few miles south from our house. We also showed them some of the giant houses on the Governor's Club and a big castle type house that is worth $3.4 million. Amazing. Very cool to look at but we sure wouldn't want to clean those things! HA.
Buca's was a blast. We chowed down on some calamari, garlic cheese bread, tomato salad, chicken saltimbocca, shrimp parmigana, green beans and the big finale...fresh strawberry saltimbocca with lemon ice and strawberries. Yummy in our tummy. Sitting in the kitchen was a hoot and it was definitely a new experience for my parents.
Jeanne's Bluebird Cafe Debut
After Buca's we went back home so I could put my foot up with ice until we had to leave for the Bluebird.
We arrived to stand in a long line waiting to get a good seats for the early show. Gwen got there early and was able to save seats for us. I was blown away by how many friends, co-workers and family there. All counted, 38 people (not including John and I) were there for the show. I am truly blessed.
The 6:30 Sunday Spotlight, with Sean Patrick McGraw . was really good. I think a couple of his songs are definitely cuttable. Hopefully someone else who can actually make that happen will hear them someday, too!
At 8 p.m., the Sunday Writer's night began. I was fourth on the list of performers and so excited I could hardly contain myself. To keep the limping to a minimum on stage, I popped a few more ibuprofen and went for it. Steve C and John kicked-booty. We had a blast performing my three song slot. And, the crowd really seemed to get into it as well. It felt really good and I was bummed when it was over. It went toooooo fast! We would have played all night if they'd have let us!
Micol and Ricky were there (whoohoooooooo!) and Micol agreed to snap a couple photos while we were performing. (I'll post a couple tonight...and if I can figure it out, I'll also post a video clip she shot.)
After the show, the four of us all met back at the house and had a little post-bluebird noshing. Chips, dip, left-over pizza and sandwiches. We had fun hashing over the night's performances...who we liked, who was interesting and the whole Bluebird experience.
Monday Goodbyes
John said his goodbye to Mom & Dad bright and early before he left for work. Then, the three of us hung out most of the morning...packing, visiting and hashing over the events of the weekend. My foot incident had kept us away from shopping, so we decided to grab some breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then head over to Opry Mills to see if I could find some shoes that would allow me to walk the rest of the week.
Breakfast was a hit! Opry Mills was a bust (I did find a pair of shoes...in the meantime, while we were walking around I also proceeded to make my foot swell more and hurt more!). So, the three of us went to Friday's and had a soda to visit and pass the time before Dad & Mom had to catch their flight.
We finally made our way to the airport, goofed around in the coffee shop a little before they had to get on their flight and then they were off.
I miss them already.
The weekend was too short, but I am so thankful that Dad & Mom were able to be here.
Now...it is time for me to get my butt to work. I'll post photos of the weekend events tonight.
Have a GREAT day.
XOXOXO,
BB
Ribs and Margaritas
When they arrived at the house on Thursday night, John had prepared a feast of country pork ribs, corn on the cob and baked beans. Yuuuummmmmmy. Mom & Dad seemed to really like them (in fact they ate the leftover ribs cold on Saturday afternoon!) I made a few margaritas and we visited until about 11 p.m.
PF changs -
John had to work on Friday, so Mom, Dad and I spent the day running around Nashville. The Genghis Grill idea didn't sound fun to Mom & Dad...they don't want to have to prepare their own food when they go out to eat! HA. So, we decided to go to PF Chang's instead. It was great. We had chicken lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, lemon scallops and chicken with black bean sauce. I can't believe we ate every last morsel!
Jeanne's Pot Rack Puncture -
After a little shoe shopping and cruising around Music Row, the three of us decided to check out some antique stores on 8th Avenue. We had a great time and there were tons of cool things to see. The last store we visited had all of these cool compasses. Apparently they were selling them for a bank whose client had passed on and left a huge collection of them. They were soooooo cool...big ones, little ones, watch compasses, ring compasses, ship compasses...you name it.
After I finished looking at the compasses on the table near the door of the shop, I turned to suggest we take off for home. As I stepped down, I felt something go through my shoe. It was a similar sensation to stepping hard on a big piece of gravel or rock. When I looked down to see what I had stepped on, there sat a pot rack (you know...the things some people hang in their kitchen to store pots / pans). The hook of the rack did not look like something that would go through my shoe. A little dazed, I reached down and took my shoe off to see if it had in fact punctured my shoe. What I found out as I removed my shoe was that it had not only gone straight through my shoe, it had also gone into my foot quite a way and was gushing blood all over the place. I'm not sure exactly what / how things went for the next couple minutes, but I think Mom asked me if I was okay and I remember saying, "No...I'm bleeding a lot..." Then the lady from the store came over, got me a chair and we took a look at it. (Yikers. I sure do know how to do it right.) Gail, the store lady, went to the back and came out with some clean towels and peroxide. She generously poured the peroxide over my wound while Mom moved the pot rack to a table along the wall. When the bleeding subsided, Gail put three band-aides over the gash. We chit-chatted a little and then went home.
I didn't want to go to the ER, but when John got home from work around 3 p.m., he and my parents convinced me it would be a good idea. If nothing else, to at least get a tetanus shot. So, John took me to the Emergency Room at Centennial where I did get a tetanus shot, a Keflex prescription and another good wound cleaning. The ER doc said I could probably use some stitches if I wanted them, but said stitches on the bottom of the foot usually don't fare well because of the calluses and their location. So, I opted for no stitches, they wrapped it up and sent us on our way. At that time, it was pretty sore, but I had no idea what I was in for over the weekend!
Grand Ole Opry
Gimping along, I was determined to continue on with the original plan for the weekend. Mind over matter...mind over matter...that's what I kept thinking. So, we went to the Opry as planned. It was a GREAT show. We saw John Conlee, Little Jimmy Dickens, Mark Wills, the Old Crow Medicine Show and a host of other cool artists. (I took a TON of photos and plan to post them here on the blog sometime tonight.) Dad & Mom really enjoyed it... in fact we all really enjoyed it. The seats were GREAT. Little Jimmy Dickens was soooooo funny and the Old Crow Medicine Show was probably my favorite act.
By the time we were ready to go, I knew the weekend plans were in deep jeopardy. My foot had swelled up pretty good and I could feel every heartbeat in my big toe. Walking out of the Opry was going to be a challenge (not to mention trying to stand on stage at the Bluebird on Sunday!)...so, John went to get the car and my Dad pretended he was my crutch to help me out. With the help of a woman with a golf cart, we made it out to the car where John picked us up.
At home, I took copious amounts of ibuprofen (four) and put my foot up in the air with a full ice bag on it. I slept on the couch with my foot up in the air. I still had hopes that we could road trip to see John play at the Jen Jam in Cairo, IL on Saturday.
Change of Plans on Saturday
On Saturday morning, I kept my foot up with bunches of ice. But, the effort was futile. There was just no way I could travel three hours to Cairo and back...plus try to walk around at a festival. Going would be asking for trouble. So, with the help of John, Mom and Dad, I was persuaded to stay in Nashville. John went on to the Jen Jam without us. : (
Dad, Mom and I stayed home and ordered pizza for lunch. Staying home actually turned out to be a cool thing. Instead of running around, we got to spend some quality hang-out time together.
Mom saved the day by letting me wear her shoes. I was having trouble finding a pair of shoes that would allow me to walk without squishing my swelled foot. Since she has size 8 feet and my feet are 6.5 or 7, I was able to wear a pair of her Birkenstocks most of the day...and weekend for that matter...which enabled me to walk with less of a limp and no "squish-factor."
The three of us ran a couple errands (to the shoe store, the auto store and Sonic). Later, Dad fixed the rear-view mirror on John's van and Mom messed in my garden for a while. We had a couple margaritas late afternoon and when John returned Saturday night (his gig went GREAT BTW...BMT got a standing ovation and an encore!), we ate breakfast for supper...Belgian waffles, homemade maple syrup and crumbled sausage. Good stuff.
Singing in church...
On Sunday, I sang "He is Waiting" in church. Wow. I wish you could hear the words to this song. They are so powerful. Anyway, going to church with John, Dad and Mom felt good. Mom & Dad got to meet a bunch of cool people in the congregation...in fact, several people were amazed that they were my parents. They thought for sure we were brother and sister instead!
In the kitchen at Buca di Beppo's
After church, we changed and then went sight seeing on the way to our big feast in the kitchen table at Buca di Beppo's. John and I showed Mom & Dad where Kenny Chesney lives...just a few miles south from our house. We also showed them some of the giant houses on the Governor's Club and a big castle type house that is worth $3.4 million. Amazing. Very cool to look at but we sure wouldn't want to clean those things! HA.
Buca's was a blast. We chowed down on some calamari, garlic cheese bread, tomato salad, chicken saltimbocca, shrimp parmigana, green beans and the big finale...fresh strawberry saltimbocca with lemon ice and strawberries. Yummy in our tummy. Sitting in the kitchen was a hoot and it was definitely a new experience for my parents.
Jeanne's Bluebird Cafe Debut
After Buca's we went back home so I could put my foot up with ice until we had to leave for the Bluebird.
We arrived to stand in a long line waiting to get a good seats for the early show. Gwen got there early and was able to save seats for us. I was blown away by how many friends, co-workers and family there. All counted, 38 people (not including John and I) were there for the show. I am truly blessed.
The 6:30 Sunday Spotlight, with Sean Patrick McGraw . was really good. I think a couple of his songs are definitely cuttable. Hopefully someone else who can actually make that happen will hear them someday, too!
At 8 p.m., the Sunday Writer's night began. I was fourth on the list of performers and so excited I could hardly contain myself. To keep the limping to a minimum on stage, I popped a few more ibuprofen and went for it. Steve C and John kicked-booty. We had a blast performing my three song slot. And, the crowd really seemed to get into it as well. It felt really good and I was bummed when it was over. It went toooooo fast! We would have played all night if they'd have let us!
Micol and Ricky were there (whoohoooooooo!) and Micol agreed to snap a couple photos while we were performing. (I'll post a couple tonight...and if I can figure it out, I'll also post a video clip she shot.)
After the show, the four of us all met back at the house and had a little post-bluebird noshing. Chips, dip, left-over pizza and sandwiches. We had fun hashing over the night's performances...who we liked, who was interesting and the whole Bluebird experience.
Monday Goodbyes
John said his goodbye to Mom & Dad bright and early before he left for work. Then, the three of us hung out most of the morning...packing, visiting and hashing over the events of the weekend. My foot incident had kept us away from shopping, so we decided to grab some breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then head over to Opry Mills to see if I could find some shoes that would allow me to walk the rest of the week.
Breakfast was a hit! Opry Mills was a bust (I did find a pair of shoes...in the meantime, while we were walking around I also proceeded to make my foot swell more and hurt more!). So, the three of us went to Friday's and had a soda to visit and pass the time before Dad & Mom had to catch their flight.
We finally made our way to the airport, goofed around in the coffee shop a little before they had to get on their flight and then they were off.
I miss them already.
The weekend was too short, but I am so thankful that Dad & Mom were able to be here.
Now...it is time for me to get my butt to work. I'll post photos of the weekend events tonight.
Have a GREAT day.
XOXOXO,
BB
7.08.2004
Visitors from the Cornhusker state!
Hopefully you've all had a chance to see the cool photos from John's Florida tour that have been posted the last couple days. He had such a great time. (And, more to come I'm sure.) If you look to the right column, you can see past posts and the photos are still in there if you want to check them out. Click away!
Visitors from Nebraska
Tonight, my Mom & Dad arrive from Nebraska. This will be the second time they've visited since we moved here almost four years ago...so we're excited to see them. I'm sure the time will go fast.
Mom & Dad (Tom & Connie) arrive tonight at about 8:30. They won't be getting any supper on the flight, so John will be cooking up some ribs, corn on the cob and beans while I pick them up from the airport. We may even have some margaritas waiting for them when they arrive! Whoohoo.
Friday's Plan
Because they don't get here very often, I decided to take tomorrow and Monday off so that I can spend some time with them. We'll probably hang out and maybe take a drive around Nashville to see the sights.
For lunch, I think I'm going to take them to the Genghis Grill in Cool Springs. It's become one of my favorite places to eat because you basically build your own meal. The server gives you a bowl that you fill with meat, veggies and spices. Once your bowl is ready, you pick your sauce and your carb (rice or noodles). The cook takes your bowl and puts everything on this big round grill. It cooks away while you watch...and you get to eat exactly what you want! Fun.
Then, when John gets home from work around 3 p.m., we'll head to Opry Mills for some shopping, supper and The Grand Ole Opry at 7:30 p.m. Somehow, I was able to get some decent seats. We're in section one, row E on the main floor which is to the right of the stage. Hopefully, it won't be so far over that we can't see anything! Should be cool.
Saturday Road Trip
John's playing in Cairo, IL at the Jen Jam which is about three hours from Nashville. So...we're road trippin'! BMT plays at 3:30. Mom & Dad haven't gotten a chance to see John play with them, so it should be fun. PLUS, the Jen Jam is located in a park right where the Missouri, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers all meet. It is a very cool place.
Oh yeah...before we take off for IL...John and I plan to make Belgian waffles, homemade maple syrup and sausage for breakfast. Yummmmmy.
Sunday Songs
What Mom & Dad don't know is that I'm singing lead for choir on Sunday. It will be cool to surprise them with a great song that my choir director, Kerry Chater, wrote with my friend Donna Ulisse. It's gonna be cool!
SIDEBAR: Kerry Chater's songwriting credits include "You Look So Good in Love" (George Strait), "I.O.U." (Lee Greenwood), "I Know a Heartache When I See One" (Jennifer Warnes), "What She Wants" (Michael Martin Murphey) and "Hey Mister (I Need This Job)" (Shenandoah). Isn't that crazy! AND, he's our choir director. WILD.
For lunch, John reserved the kitchen table at a family style Italian restaurant, Buca Di Beppo's. We did this when Brenda, Paige and Denice visited in April and had a BLAST. Basically, there is a table right in the kitchen of the restaurant where you can sit in the middle of all the action. The waiters show you every entree until you drool. Watching how everything gets done is spectacular. Hopefully Mom & Dad will think it is cool, too.
Then, Sunday night is my big debut at the Bluebird. Can't wait! So far, if everyone who says they'll come shows up, there will be about 30 people there to support me. That is soooooooo cool. Blessed. I'm truly blessed.
Monday Goodbyes
See why the weekend is going to go fast. Mom & Dad take off Monday afternoon. :(
So...as you may have already guessed...I may not by writing much on the blog this weekend. Look for a full update on the weekend events Monday, 7/12. I'll include photos and everything!
XOXOXO,
Have a blessed day.
BB
Visitors from Nebraska
Tonight, my Mom & Dad arrive from Nebraska. This will be the second time they've visited since we moved here almost four years ago...so we're excited to see them. I'm sure the time will go fast.
Mom & Dad (Tom & Connie) arrive tonight at about 8:30. They won't be getting any supper on the flight, so John will be cooking up some ribs, corn on the cob and beans while I pick them up from the airport. We may even have some margaritas waiting for them when they arrive! Whoohoo.
Friday's Plan
Because they don't get here very often, I decided to take tomorrow and Monday off so that I can spend some time with them. We'll probably hang out and maybe take a drive around Nashville to see the sights.
For lunch, I think I'm going to take them to the Genghis Grill in Cool Springs. It's become one of my favorite places to eat because you basically build your own meal. The server gives you a bowl that you fill with meat, veggies and spices. Once your bowl is ready, you pick your sauce and your carb (rice or noodles). The cook takes your bowl and puts everything on this big round grill. It cooks away while you watch...and you get to eat exactly what you want! Fun.
Then, when John gets home from work around 3 p.m., we'll head to Opry Mills for some shopping, supper and The Grand Ole Opry at 7:30 p.m. Somehow, I was able to get some decent seats. We're in section one, row E on the main floor which is to the right of the stage. Hopefully, it won't be so far over that we can't see anything! Should be cool.
Saturday Road Trip
John's playing in Cairo, IL at the Jen Jam which is about three hours from Nashville. So...we're road trippin'! BMT plays at 3:30. Mom & Dad haven't gotten a chance to see John play with them, so it should be fun. PLUS, the Jen Jam is located in a park right where the Missouri, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers all meet. It is a very cool place.
Oh yeah...before we take off for IL...John and I plan to make Belgian waffles, homemade maple syrup and sausage for breakfast. Yummmmmy.
Sunday Songs
What Mom & Dad don't know is that I'm singing lead for choir on Sunday. It will be cool to surprise them with a great song that my choir director, Kerry Chater, wrote with my friend Donna Ulisse. It's gonna be cool!
SIDEBAR: Kerry Chater's songwriting credits include "You Look So Good in Love" (George Strait), "I.O.U." (Lee Greenwood), "I Know a Heartache When I See One" (Jennifer Warnes), "What She Wants" (Michael Martin Murphey) and "Hey Mister (I Need This Job)" (Shenandoah). Isn't that crazy! AND, he's our choir director. WILD.
For lunch, John reserved the kitchen table at a family style Italian restaurant, Buca Di Beppo's. We did this when Brenda, Paige and Denice visited in April and had a BLAST. Basically, there is a table right in the kitchen of the restaurant where you can sit in the middle of all the action. The waiters show you every entree until you drool. Watching how everything gets done is spectacular. Hopefully Mom & Dad will think it is cool, too.
Then, Sunday night is my big debut at the Bluebird. Can't wait! So far, if everyone who says they'll come shows up, there will be about 30 people there to support me. That is soooooooo cool. Blessed. I'm truly blessed.
Monday Goodbyes
See why the weekend is going to go fast. Mom & Dad take off Monday afternoon. :(
So...as you may have already guessed...I may not by writing much on the blog this weekend. Look for a full update on the weekend events Monday, 7/12. I'll include photos and everything!
XOXOXO,
Have a blessed day.
BB
7.05.2004
Wrapping up the Florida tour...
Micol, John and Ricky (a.k.a. Blue Mother Tupelo) wrapping up the last gig of the tour at the House of Blues in Orlando. Good people...good stuff.
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Beautiful beaches and ocean breezes...
This one is going to get printed as an actual photo. Watch for it on the walls of Mr. & Mrs. Clock's home next time you visit.
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John "The Baptist" Richardson
John "The Baptist" Richardson. He never quite got the "walking on the water" thing down...so I guess John will have to go back again and again and again until he figures it out! ; )
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Sarasota Beach Hotel...
Don, Marion and Stephanie
Don, Marion and Stephanie mingling with the beautiful people at Skipper's Smoke House in Tampa for the Blue Mother Tupelo (and Subdudes) gig. They got to see Johnny the Clock play...whoohooooooo!
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Oysters...yuuuuummmmy.
Oysters...yummmmmmmmy. Micol and Ricky Davis chowin' down on some baked oysters. Yes...they also ate some raw ones on the half-shell. (AND...JTC tried a baked one, too. He says he liked it!)
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Dig those Subdudes.
7.03.2004
Greek, glasses and good music.
Whoohoooooo!
Home by 4:45
Had a short Friday as the Nashville office of NFIB closed at 3 yesterday to give us a head start on the weekend. Even though we were supposed to leave at 3, I stayed until about 4:15 or so. When no one is there I can get more done! HA. Made some progress on my usability testing plan.
Greek...Yummy in my tummy...tabouleh.
For lunch, I visited my friend Linda who is home getting well after having some surgery this week. We ate some Greek and visited...and I took more than an hour for lunch! Can I get another "whoohooooo!" Anyway, she's on the mend and hopes to be back at work on Tuesday.
Glasses
I've been meaning to take care of getting my eyes checked and seeing if my glasses perscription needs to be updated. Of course, as per usual, I've put that off for almost two years. (And, I could tell that my eyes had changed...my right eye kept getting really tired and throbby.) So, with the extra time last night, I went to Lenscrafters in Cool Springs (my vision insurance covers Lenscrafters doctor visits and 2/3 of the cost to get new glasses.) Got my eyes checked and sure enough...my perscription had decreased by quite a bit, believe it or not.
That means...you guessed it!...I got new glasses. Again, I tried really hard to buy some pretty, conservative, practical frames. I'd even found the perfect normal pair for me and was this close to buying them. Then I was told that because the frames were partially rimless...they would have to be sent away to complete...which would take 7 - 10 days. However, if I could find something I liked just as well or better that had a full frame I could get my glasses done within the hour. So, I decided to see if they had anything...and BLAM...there they were in the Chanel section of the display. I hadn't even looked there because I thought they would be too expensive and they were under lock and key. As I looked more closely I realized that they were NOT expensive and I tried them on. They were so funky and cool...I LOVED THEM. So...now here I am, typing this entry in my blog with my funky new glasses.
Good Music
Once I had my funky glasses...I couldn't stay home! So, I met some friends at 3rd to take in some blues. Mike Henderson and his band were playing. It was GREAT. So good in fact, that when I got home at 12:30 I was in the mood to write some songs. At 3 a.m. I finally went to bed. Thankfully, I was able to sleep in until 10 a.m. so I'm not tired today.
Johnny the Clock Plays Miami
Sounds like the BMT gig went well in Miami last night. John said he thinks they picked up a few more fans and sold a few more CDs. Whoohooooo. They played until 2:30 a.m. tore down and then didn't get back to the hotel until 5 a.m. Needless to say, they are a little tired. He's hoping they'll be able to take a quick nap before they have to be at the venue for soundcheck today. As I type this...they are on their way to Orlando for their debut at the House of Blues. Should be a very cool way to wrap up the Florida tour. BMT isn't listed on the events calendar...I think they may be playing a second stage there. More details tomorrow!
Yard work.
Right now...I've got to get going. There's clothes to wash and garden / flower beds to weed! Then, tonight I'm going over to my friend Donna's for a spell and may end up at 3rd & Lindsley to see Buddy & Julie Miller.
Sunday: Happy 4th!
AM: Church
Post-church: BBQ at Gwen's house
Post-Gwen's: Writing appointment w/Steve C
Post-writing: More yard work / cleaning
Should be a full and fun day.
Hope you have a PERFECT day today.
Catch you tomorrow.
XOXOXO,
BB
Home by 4:45
Had a short Friday as the Nashville office of NFIB closed at 3 yesterday to give us a head start on the weekend. Even though we were supposed to leave at 3, I stayed until about 4:15 or so. When no one is there I can get more done! HA. Made some progress on my usability testing plan.
Greek...Yummy in my tummy...tabouleh.
For lunch, I visited my friend Linda who is home getting well after having some surgery this week. We ate some Greek and visited...and I took more than an hour for lunch! Can I get another "whoohooooo!" Anyway, she's on the mend and hopes to be back at work on Tuesday.
Glasses
I've been meaning to take care of getting my eyes checked and seeing if my glasses perscription needs to be updated. Of course, as per usual, I've put that off for almost two years. (And, I could tell that my eyes had changed...my right eye kept getting really tired and throbby.) So, with the extra time last night, I went to Lenscrafters in Cool Springs (my vision insurance covers Lenscrafters doctor visits and 2/3 of the cost to get new glasses.) Got my eyes checked and sure enough...my perscription had decreased by quite a bit, believe it or not.
That means...you guessed it!...I got new glasses. Again, I tried really hard to buy some pretty, conservative, practical frames. I'd even found the perfect normal pair for me and was this close to buying them. Then I was told that because the frames were partially rimless...they would have to be sent away to complete...which would take 7 - 10 days. However, if I could find something I liked just as well or better that had a full frame I could get my glasses done within the hour. So, I decided to see if they had anything...and BLAM...there they were in the Chanel section of the display. I hadn't even looked there because I thought they would be too expensive and they were under lock and key. As I looked more closely I realized that they were NOT expensive and I tried them on. They were so funky and cool...I LOVED THEM. So...now here I am, typing this entry in my blog with my funky new glasses.
Good Music
Once I had my funky glasses...I couldn't stay home! So, I met some friends at 3rd to take in some blues. Mike Henderson and his band were playing. It was GREAT. So good in fact, that when I got home at 12:30 I was in the mood to write some songs. At 3 a.m. I finally went to bed. Thankfully, I was able to sleep in until 10 a.m. so I'm not tired today.
Johnny the Clock Plays Miami
Sounds like the BMT gig went well in Miami last night. John said he thinks they picked up a few more fans and sold a few more CDs. Whoohooooo. They played until 2:30 a.m. tore down and then didn't get back to the hotel until 5 a.m. Needless to say, they are a little tired. He's hoping they'll be able to take a quick nap before they have to be at the venue for soundcheck today. As I type this...they are on their way to Orlando for their debut at the House of Blues. Should be a very cool way to wrap up the Florida tour. BMT isn't listed on the events calendar...I think they may be playing a second stage there. More details tomorrow!
Yard work.
Right now...I've got to get going. There's clothes to wash and garden / flower beds to weed! Then, tonight I'm going over to my friend Donna's for a spell and may end up at 3rd & Lindsley to see Buddy & Julie Miller.
Sunday: Happy 4th!
AM: Church
Post-church: BBQ at Gwen's house
Post-Gwen's: Writing appointment w/Steve C
Post-writing: More yard work / cleaning
Should be a full and fun day.
Hope you have a PERFECT day today.
Catch you tomorrow.
XOXOXO,
BB
7.02.2004
Rosemary, Chili's and The Notebook
Rosemary and me.
Yesterday, my friend Rosemary and I had lunch at Quiznos. She is THE BEST. We hadn't seen each other in a while so conversation was plentiful. Rosemary and I definitely need to make time to see each other more often!
Socializing at Chili's
After work last night, seven of the women from my department went out to eat at Chili's. We each had a margarita with our supper and tons of laughs. It's good to get to know people you work with outside of work. We had a blast.
Catching a chick flick with the girls from NFIB.
Then we went to the movie and bawled our eyes out. If you're planning to go see The Notebook, take along a box of tissue. You're going to need it. Of course, when we saw the movie last night, the entire theatre was filled with women. By the end of the show we were all a mess. Now...I'm not telling you this to deter the 'chick-flick phobics' out there from going to see this flick. I'll admit, it is probably more of a chick flick...BUT it really is for anyone who truly loves someone else...to the core of their being. In fact, I may be dragging Johnny the Clock out to it when he gets back...and I wish Denice and I could have seen it together. (Denice...if you're reading this...GO SEE THE MOVIE. You'll love it...and then we can pretend we saw it together) Next...I'm going to read the book. Of course, everyone that I've talked to who's read the book says the book is better. Typical.
Johnny the Clock Plays West Palm Beach
Talked to John yesterday morning. They had settled into their hotel near their gig in WPB. He said it looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. I guess it is weekly event during the summer called Clematis By Night . John thinks they'll have photos posted at the "gallery" section of the Clematis website, so we'll have to check back tomorrow to see if we can see some pics of BMT in action.
I should hear from John again this morning, so I'll post again later to let you know how his gig went last night.
TGIF.
Have a good one.
Catch you later today.
XOXOXO,
BB
PS: If you're reading this...don't hesitate to click the comments area and post a reply!
Yesterday, my friend Rosemary and I had lunch at Quiznos. She is THE BEST. We hadn't seen each other in a while so conversation was plentiful. Rosemary and I definitely need to make time to see each other more often!
Socializing at Chili's
After work last night, seven of the women from my department went out to eat at Chili's. We each had a margarita with our supper and tons of laughs. It's good to get to know people you work with outside of work. We had a blast.
Catching a chick flick with the girls from NFIB.
Then we went to the movie and bawled our eyes out. If you're planning to go see The Notebook, take along a box of tissue. You're going to need it. Of course, when we saw the movie last night, the entire theatre was filled with women. By the end of the show we were all a mess. Now...I'm not telling you this to deter the 'chick-flick phobics' out there from going to see this flick. I'll admit, it is probably more of a chick flick...BUT it really is for anyone who truly loves someone else...to the core of their being. In fact, I may be dragging Johnny the Clock out to it when he gets back...and I wish Denice and I could have seen it together. (Denice...if you're reading this...GO SEE THE MOVIE. You'll love it...and then we can pretend we saw it together) Next...I'm going to read the book. Of course, everyone that I've talked to who's read the book says the book is better. Typical.
Johnny the Clock Plays West Palm Beach
Talked to John yesterday morning. They had settled into their hotel near their gig in WPB. He said it looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. I guess it is weekly event during the summer called Clematis By Night . John thinks they'll have photos posted at the "gallery" section of the Clematis website, so we'll have to check back tomorrow to see if we can see some pics of BMT in action.
I should hear from John again this morning, so I'll post again later to let you know how his gig went last night.
TGIF.
Have a good one.
Catch you later today.
XOXOXO,
BB
PS: If you're reading this...don't hesitate to click the comments area and post a reply!
7.01.2004
Made it through hump day.
Wednesday was a GREAT day.
I made some headway on a few projects that have been staring me in the face. And, last week the marketing summer intern started. Her name is Megumi (She's from Japan) and she's a smartie. We met yesterday to get the ball rolling on a big project she's going to be helping me with...establishing some ongoing primary usability research methods (talking to people who use NFIB.com to see how they use the site, if they are able to locate the things they need, and then using that information to make improvements to NFIB.com that will help people be able to find the stuff they are looking for more easily). If all goes well, I'm hoping to get it going relatively quick so that she can also assist with the implementation of the plan once the department is onboard. I think we're going to have fun putting the plan together...and I really think once we get it going it is going to improve the site for our members / visitors immensely which should translate to more traffic and eventually increased revenue from online memberships / renewals. Blah blah blah...see why I never talk about work! BORING.
Love choir.
Choir night...Wednesday night is always choir night.
Choir gets my butt to church every Sunday. Not only do I get to sing, but going to church really helps me re-charge each week. No matter how much time I spend praying and worshiping by myself, there's just something about worshiping with others that takes it up a knotch. It is soooo cool being a member of Christ Lutheran Church. The people there make us feel so at home. And Pastor Richardson (no relation of course!), he's the best. Donna (fellow singer/songwriter) helped me get a little more involved by asking me to be on the worship committee with her. I even started helping out as a worship assistant and a lector on occassion. A few weeks ago, I was asked to be a member of the Vision committee. We're trying to find ways to increase membership and take things up a knotch or two. I really like being involved in that, too. Good people. Good stuff.
The Notebook
Tonight seven or eight of us from work are going out for supper and then to see the early showing of the movie The Notebook. It is supposed to be really good. I'll give you the scoop tomorrow...without giving away the story too much, of course!
Time for me to get something done around here...
Have a GREAT day.
XOXOXO,
BB
I made some headway on a few projects that have been staring me in the face. And, last week the marketing summer intern started. Her name is Megumi (She's from Japan) and she's a smartie. We met yesterday to get the ball rolling on a big project she's going to be helping me with...establishing some ongoing primary usability research methods (talking to people who use NFIB.com to see how they use the site, if they are able to locate the things they need, and then using that information to make improvements to NFIB.com that will help people be able to find the stuff they are looking for more easily). If all goes well, I'm hoping to get it going relatively quick so that she can also assist with the implementation of the plan once the department is onboard. I think we're going to have fun putting the plan together...and I really think once we get it going it is going to improve the site for our members / visitors immensely which should translate to more traffic and eventually increased revenue from online memberships / renewals. Blah blah blah...see why I never talk about work! BORING.
Love choir.
Choir night...Wednesday night is always choir night.
Choir gets my butt to church every Sunday. Not only do I get to sing, but going to church really helps me re-charge each week. No matter how much time I spend praying and worshiping by myself, there's just something about worshiping with others that takes it up a knotch. It is soooo cool being a member of Christ Lutheran Church. The people there make us feel so at home. And Pastor Richardson (no relation of course!), he's the best. Donna (fellow singer/songwriter) helped me get a little more involved by asking me to be on the worship committee with her. I even started helping out as a worship assistant and a lector on occassion. A few weeks ago, I was asked to be a member of the Vision committee. We're trying to find ways to increase membership and take things up a knotch or two. I really like being involved in that, too. Good people. Good stuff.
The Notebook
Tonight seven or eight of us from work are going out for supper and then to see the early showing of the movie The Notebook. It is supposed to be really good. I'll give you the scoop tomorrow...without giving away the story too much, of course!
Time for me to get something done around here...
Have a GREAT day.
XOXOXO,
BB
Johnny The Clock and Scat.
Thought you might want to check out the latest pics of the growing grand-cat, Scat, and his buddy Johnny The Clock. What a couple of cutie petuties!
Cammie says "hello"
Of course...Cammie wants to tell everyone hello, too. She's so sweet. She can't wait to see her Grandma and Grandpa Petersen in a week! ONE WEEK! Whoohoooo! That's what Cammie says anyway....(wink)
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