Nashville

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30 before 30 Update 3

It does not seem like it was 3 months ago that I made this list!

Let’s see how much I didn’t do this last month…

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves-so something that isn’t straight lines.
  • Done.

2. Do a 30 day photography challenge

  • I did pick a challenge to do. I want to do it later in the spring or in the summer so the weather is better for me to include outside opportunities.

3. Visit 3 cities I have never been to before (1/3)

  • Nothing.

4. Tour at least one of the distilleries in the area

  • Nothing.

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

  • Done. I really enjoy mail, although I wish the stamps didn’t keep going up in price.

6. Become a “professional” photographer

  • I have some things coming up in March that will hopefully propel this business further. I was able to take pictures of our friend’s homecoming a couple weeks ago. (It was just as much for me as it was for them though.) We had planned on doing a Facebook ad in February, but decided to wait until the events in March happen so potential clients can see those in my portfolio as well. I have also been brushing up my flash photography for one event. I would rather do natural lighting and not press the flash, but the exposure of this event is just too good not to take the time to hone my flash skills.

7. Run at least 5 races (any distance)

  • I have signed up for one in April. I am hoping to do a couple 5ks during the summer. Anyone want to run with me?

8. Go camping with Tom

  • We are going to celebrate our anniversary this summer at Land Between the Lakes.

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

  • I did not do this, however we did give a tip that was 100% plus more a couple weeks ago!

10. See Tyrone Wells live again

  • He will be in Nashville on May 7th, which is two days before my birthday! You better believe that I will be there, even if I am by myself!

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

  • Waiting for warmer weather.

12. Water ski with my dad

  • Also waiting for warmer weather.

13. Do a 5K with my mom

  • We need to get a plan for this.

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

  • So with the upcoming deployment, I need to find a class this summer.

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

  • I am working my way through Monuments Men for fun and another book on the digital age for my professional read. Keeping on track!

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

  • This needs to happen this summer as well.

17. Learn how to make sushi

  • I think I will wait to do this while Tom is on deployment since he doesn’t like sushi.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

  • I was hoping I would be able to do this with Tom, but with the deployment schedule not confirmed yet who knows. Although, I am sure I can convince my dad for a football road trip to distract me from my empty house. Plus I would really like to go to my undergrad for Homecoming so I can march with the band at halftime…some day.

19. Volunteer with MCFOTS and Special Olympics on a regular basis

  • I am fairly positive that Special Olympics isn’t going to happen so I am going to just change it to only MCFOTS, which is the animal shelter in town. I love it there. It definitely gives me my little dog fix. I do have to share about one dog horror story-now funny story. There is one dog who loves to play off leash, and we usually let dogs who have been there for awhile hang out without a leash in the yard to play. She however does not like to come back inside after play time. It was the first week of super cold temps here, so it was around 5 degrees. I chased that dog for about 45 minutes in my snow gear. I looked like a sobbing marshmallow (obviously I was crying) because I couldn’t get her to come inside for anything. I eventually had to lay on the ground with hotdogs as a trail to me to get her back on the leash. Needless to say, this dog has not been off leash since. She is otherwise the most darling dog. She cuddles so well once she is inside, and she never barks. She just really loves to run outside as much as she would like to dictate. I still want to bring her home with me. Who am I kidding; I want to bring them ALL home with me.

20. Explore Land Between the Lakes

  • Anniversary trip

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

  • My best friend and other half are going to do this with me.

22. Go to at least 10 “new to me” restaurants in Clarksville. (3/10)

  • We went to China Town. Yep we unintentionally started a tour of the Chinese restaurants with this one.

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

  • Not yet.

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

  • I will do this one day in the summer when the weather is nice.

25. Go to the Kentucky Derby

  • I need to change this to Kentucky Derby themed 30th birthday party.

26. Go to non-touristy parts of Nashville

  • We are actually going to try to do this one this upcoming weekend.

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 10 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (0/10); Documentaries (3/10)

  • I made my movie list, but I didn’t watch any. I also watched two documentaries:  Shelter Me and William and Katherine:  A Royal Love Story. The first is about different shelters across the nation and the good work they do. It wasn’t the best documentary; I am going to admit that I fell asleep in the last 30 minutes. HOWEVER William and Kate, I could watch for hours! This one was really fascinating. I learned a lot about the Royal family. If you are obsessed with the Royal family as I am, or just mildly interested, you should check this out!

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

  • I pinned a whole bunch of items on Pinterest to be inspired…

29. Find a church home here in Clarksville

  • We have, but I have been too sick to go the past couple weeks.Womp womp.

30. Become a mom

  • If you read my post on Sunday, you saw that we are definitely not pregnant. Dang hormones. We are going to a specialist this week to talk about some other tests and our options since all my blood work came back normal. Thank you to everyone for the sweet words of encouragement and all the thoughts and prayers in our direction. We know that it will happen when a baby is supposed to come into our lives. We just need to be patient and just continue to enjoy our time as a twosome (well foursome with the pups).
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I guess I did better than I thought! Who knows what the next month will look like!?!

If anyone would like to partake in one of the tasks with me, just hit me up! I would love to have friends along this endeavor!

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Friday Filter-My TV Guide

So the seasons are starting their Winter hiatus. How did this become a thing?

Anyway, I figured I would give a brief update on where I am at with all of my TV shows.

Sundays

  • Once Upon a Time-Still one of my favorites out there. I am having a hard time watching “Henry” in his “Pan” moments. I also kind of want Emma to be with Hook more than Neil.
  • Walking Dead-So glad the Governor is gone…or is he? Also, I may have teared up a bit when Hershel died.

Mondays

  • Dancing with the Stars-My man Derek and his partner Amber Riley won! I have an obsession with Derek Hough and also Tristan MacManus. I want them both to be my dance partners, and I honestly watch the show more to see them than the “stars.” Maybe they will help me fulfill my 30 before 30 task of dance lessons.
  • Castle-My favorite show currently. I called it that Beckett would return to New York, which happened in either the third or forth episode of the season. If you do not watch this show and you are looking for something new, ADD THIS ONE!
  • Hart of Dixie-I watch this show at lunch every Tuesday. It is such a pick me up. I just love the quirkiness of the small town. I am glad Dr. Hart’s family has come around!

Tuesdays

  • New Girl-I am really enjoying Nick and Jess together. Winston is my favorite. He generally makes or breaks every episode for me.
  • The Biggest Loser-I am in love with this season. I mistakenly tried watching this at lunch a few times, and ended up crying in the Union dining court. Whoops. I am rooting for all of them, but really mostly Rachel.
  • Awkward-I stopped watching consistently after the third episode. I have them all on the DVR ready to binge watch the Awkwardness. I just need to be in the right mood right now for teenage affairs.

Wednesdays

  • Super Fun Night-I honestly forgot that I started watching this. My DVR stopped recording it for some reason, so I haven’t seen it for a few weeks. It isn’t a bad show, but I am obviously not missing it.
  • Nashville-I watch this every week live, and I am slowly getting Tom hooked. I really wish Rayna and Deacon would just be together though. Also, I am hoping that I see them on my excursions to Nashville. Real life right?

Thursdays

  • Grey’s Anatomy-I will go week’s without watching and then binge watch 3 episodes while Tom plays video games. I am apathetic about the show, but I am still hooked enough to come back to see what’s up. I am invested until the end.
  • Once Upon a Time in Wonderland-I just wasn’t into this show. I stopped after the third episode I think. It was too Willy Wonka for me. There was not as much overlap into the original as I was hoping so I didn’t feel I was missing anything by not watching.
  • Crazy Ones-I really enjoy this show. It is ridiculous, but it is short enough and light so I will watch it when I need a quick pick me up. Robin Williams is totally worth it.
  • Parenthood-Max working with photography? Perfect. I see myself in Julia with her struggles of being a stay at home mom (except without the mom part obviously). I just love this show.
  • Glee-I stopped watching this show two episodes ago. I think it was the muppets episode that I just couldn’t do it anymore. I am not sure what is going on but it has just gone way downhill for me. The music also doesn’t really call to me anymore, so there was no reason to keep watching the absurdity. I was really sad about it, which is why I held out as long as I did. The last couple just did me in.
  • Scandal-I am in a constant state of shock with this show. I have drug Tom into the goodness! I caught him up on the first couple seasons so he knew what was going on. If we weren’t married, Tom would want to work in CIA/Huck like jobs. Scary I know, but that’s what it is. So he loves it for that, and I just love it for all the OMG moments. I did not see last night coming!

Every Day

  • Ellen-this is the best part of my day. I watch it in small segment–a little before I go to work and right when I get home. And when I don’t get through it, I will binge watch that week’s episodes on Saturday mornings while Tom is sleeping in. I just love Ellen so much. She is great and fantastic, and a great role model for human beings. I want to dance with her/meet her/embarrass myself ridiculously for her. Also, when I am home alone, sometimes I think Tom is secretly in the house to video tape scare me like Ellen would do. He has gotten me more times than I would like to admit-no video yet, just lots of scaring and screaming. So I am in a constant state of panic because of Tom being inspired by her pranks. Thanks Ellen.

Not on right now

  • Pretty Little Liars- CAN.NOT.WAIT.
  • Switched at Birth-This comes back soon too. I love this show for so many silly reasons. One being that it is based in KC. They mentioned World of Fun (not the real Worlds of Fun) once. Although they are in KC, Kansas, and not Missouri. But I will forgive them for their ignorance when showing the KC, MO skyline. Here is your education on Kansas City. Yes it has Kansas in the name, but most of the city is actually in Missouri. All the sports teams are in Missouri, all the famous BBQ-Missouri, all the jazz history-Missouri, all the goodness-Missouri…haha JK (only kind of)

So there you have it. I only weeded out a couple shows. What can I say, I am TV junkie!

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Friday Filter-TV Premiere Week 2

Here is round two of my initial reactions to season openers!

Castle

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This is my favorite show that is currently on TV. It has drama, romance, and humor. I love cop dramas, and this show puts a different twist on it with an author who shadows NYPD as the main character. I wrote about my obsession here, and I am beyond ecstatic that there is new content in my life. AND SHE SAID YES! (Sorry I spoiled it for you.) However, with the long distance relationship, obviously they are heading towards some hard times. There is some new hilarity going on with the added layer of the FBI. I just love the quirky flirtation. I think that Becket will end up back in New York by the end of the season. I think they are showing a different side of Beckett now though with the engagement/relationship with Castle. She doesn’t seem so rough at the edges, which is nice to see her a little softer and showing some smiles. And you can tell that this distance is making Castle cukoo. He doesn’t like being left out of the loop or “waiting in the car.” This provides some opportunities for great one liners/moments. It was a fantastic first episode, and it mentioned the new book, which I need to get…Seriously is this real life?

Nashville

This is a phenomenal show. Who doesn’t love Connie Britton? This is the second season for the show, and there is no way they are dying anytime soon. The season premiere was great. It was just enough drama to keep you entertained, but not too much that you feel that it went overboard. They did a few flashbacks to show the early days of Deacon and Rayna. Loved it! It was great insight on their love but how Deacon’s issues with alcohol poisoned their future. I am interested to see if Juliette will use the information she found out from Rayna’s daughter against Rayna down the road. Juliette has some genuine moments, but most of the time she is so blinded by her need for attention that she doesn’t always make the best decisions. I also don’t want Scarlett and Avery together, so I hope they don’t go back to that. It seemed to me that they may have foreshadowed her going back to Gunner since they sung together at the Blue Bird. Have I confused you enough? This show is full of sex, drugs, and country music. It’s a country prime time version of a soap opera. I will say it is really fun being this close to Nashville too. It’s like I am really living in the world…yea? Ok maybe not, but it’s still fun none the less. I will say that I want to see more of Rayna’s daughters singing. They are the best!

Grey’s Anatomy

I am so over this show. I have been watching since it aired 10 seasons ago, so I feel like I need to watch it until then end. I think the actors are great, but the story lines seem to be one uppers each week. “How high can we go this week? What outlandish crash/disease/scandal can we come up with?” Don’t get me wrong, I am invested (which is why I come back week after week), but they don’t seem to be going anywhere. The season opener was no different. Heather (who I remember from the movie Andre) and Richard were electrocuted, so in the midst of the mudslide everyone is on edge with personal emotions all over the place. Ridiculous. All I know is, I would never want to work at the hospital. You either get cheated on or you die. That is some bad luck. Kepner is my favorite doctor. I just love her crazy spasticness and how she loves big. I really wanted her with Avery but I can do with this other guy too…I just want her to be happy. She is even more fun when she is throwing her positivity on everyone. That hospital needs a little happiness.

There are several shows that came out this week that are in the DVR waiting to be watched. Apparently, everything is on Thursday nights this year, and I could only commit to watching one last night. Problems of a T.V. junkie…

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

Come back on Sunday for “Autumn on My Mind.” Sunday’s episode is about fall date activities that you can do in your community. You can see the full schedule here.