Nashville Pictures

I promised pictures and stories...  But I leave at 5 AM for Atlanta tomorrow (Dragoncon convention).  So here's the backwards (I didn't realize my pictures would load down to up instead of up to down)

 

Bruce Springsteen concert on Thursday night... Yeup, we were THAT close. This was the first end of the concert...  2 hours of straight playing.. then they came back for a 45 minute encore!

Start of the concert (or closer to the beginning anyway)

Downtown Nashville, outside the Legends bar, earlier on Thursday. This is where the folks that hope to make it into the business play for their supper. I'm on the left and Susan is on the right.

These gals were from San Diego, part of our ghost group on Wednesday night. They had all the luck that night, catching a lot of interesting things on film and actually experiencing a ghostly encounter at our last stop of the night.

My sister, Susan listening to the stories

Our ghost hostess for Wednesday night.

Sorry this is brief.  I'll be back on Monday and I'll share with you the stories from the tour and tell you about the really cool pictures the SD gals captured.

Tags: Nashville, Bruce Springsteen, ghost hunting

ABC break

Saw this at Linda's place and it did look like fun... so here is the ABC's of me.

 

A is for age:  48

B is for beer of choice: Miller Lite

C is for career right now:  Homemaker

D is for your dog's name:  No dog at this house : (

E is for essential item you use every day: Computer

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Army Wives

G is for favorite game: Clue

H is for hometown: Phoenix, AZ

I is for instruments you play: Saxophone

J is for favorite juice:  Peach Nectar

K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: Management @ Kendra's Apt.

L is for last restaurant you ate at:  Cracker Barrel

M is for marriage: 26 years and going strong

N is for Number of Piercing's:  None anymore

 

O is for overnight hospital stay: Three, one for each birth

P is for people you were with today: Kim, Mac and Kendra

 

<FONTCOLOR=#000099>Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Hatch plots to take over the world... I think starting in Maryland is the way to go.

R is for biggest regret: Not getting college done before marriage

S is for status:  Content :)

T is for time you woke up today: 5:30 A.M.

U is for what makes you unique: That people approach me even when I feel closed off.

V is for vegetable you love:  tomatoes

W is for worst habit: leaving my socks all over the house.

X is for x-rays you've had: one of my leg and one of my lungs (years ago)

Y is for yummy food you ate today: Fresh peach

Z is for zodiac sign: Gemini

I'm home and already knee-deep in nonsense

I arrived home about 8:50 pm.  Kids were all jammied up and ready for bed.  Paul had already left for his newest TDY adventure.  The house looked great, kudos to Paul (and the kids) for letting me come home to a clean home.

Today I've been tackling some issues I have with Kendra's housing situation. She's in an off campus apartment complex.  We've had some confusion understanding the contract.  Also, Paul had huge issues with the fact that these folks allowed the students moving in to have to clean up after the workmen that had been in the apartments (these are newly built apartments).  No cleaning crew came through before the students moved in.  There was plaster and dust and mud and all kinds of muck through out the place.  The stairs and hallways were cluttered with building material litter  while all these students were trying to move into their respective apartments.

So I just spent about an hour of my time being shuttled (telephonically) from one person to another while trying to get some clarity in this situation.  It doesn't help that the managers have been fired and new ones hired since we first started this process back in March. UGH... frustrating all the way around. 

I think I finally have a handle on the rent agreement and while I hate to admit they were correct... well, they were correct...

But Paul is still waging war over the safety of the hallways and stairwells.  I passed along the names and phone numbers to him because that mother bear instinct is not going to win points with these people. I think they will appreciate the more calm discussion they will have with Paul.  he he he.  But I guess we will see.

Stories to come about the trip. It was a lot of fun and some truly spooky things happened on our ghost pub crawl.  I'll share soon.

Getting excited about the Sister Trip

I mentioned a while back that my sister and I were doing a road trip this year for our sister trip.  This year it was also my turn to plan and coordinate the events.  I'm getting pretty excited because I think I lined up some fun things to do while we explore Nashville, Atlanta, and Savannah. 

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We start off in Nashville. I'm picking up my sister from the airport mid afternoon. Our first night there we are taking a Haunted Tavern Tour.  According to the information, we will visit between 3 and 5 taverns, each stop will feature ghost stories of the tavern and/or surrounding area (and of course there will be time and opportunity to grab a drink).

On our second day, we are taking the "Discover Nashville" tour which includes entrance into the Ryman Auditorium and museum and entrance into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Plus aguided tour around Nashville by bus.

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To celebrate my sister's birthday (8/17), I snagged us some really great seats for the Bruce Springsteen concert 8/21.  This is a surprise for her.

Our Atlanta leg of the trip includes the trolley tour (on and off opportunities through out the day) and World of Coca Cola, plus lots of shopping chances.

Down in Savannah, we're staying at a haunted bed and breakfast.  We also start our first night there with a haunted walking tour of "historic" Savannah. 

We are doing a "foodie" tour of the Savannah area, stops at several restaurants known for their southern cuisine and unique takes on traditional dishes (The Lady and her Sons is one of the stops)

Finally, we close out our time in Savannah with a Dinner Cruise on a River Showboat. I've arranged for a "Happy Birthday" treat for my sister during our dinner. 

Our last two days we will leisurely drive back to Nashville, taking in whatever extra sights we feel will complete our vacation (or just shop!).

 

Kimberly's Art

Kimberly took an Anime art class last summer while we were living in Maryland. She has been working with this art form since then and has come up with some very interesting pieces.  This one here is for an online project she has participated in with some of her online friends.  I was so impressed with it's beauty, that I wanted to share this with all of you.

 

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Happy Birthday Paul!

 

 

 

 

 

All the family is gathered in our house this weekend to celebrate Paul's birthday.  Paul got back from his trip this afternoon and Kendra came home after classes.  I am amazingly content at the moment.

 

 

 

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It took me years to get these pictures from Paul's mom, so I like to use them when I can.

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I have pictures! and stories!.. well.. okay, one story

Mood: Lighthearted

Here are some of the pics that we took over the weekend, moving Kendra.. I realize now that I didn't really take enough, but we were kind of busy unpacking.

My van packed up with the "essentials."

Kendra, sitting in the back because mom made her pose.. doesn't she look happy? LOL

Kendra and Kim unpacking boxes and sorting through stuff.

Her bed, all set up with the new linens.

At her doorway,

Kendra, wondering why I needed to take a picture at the phone store...behind that display in the back is Kim against the wall reading a book. We were there for more than two hours!

Okay.. now the story.. :)   My doorbell rings this afternoon about 1 pm. I go to the side door, but no one is there. Rather than run through the house to the other door, I step outside and walk to the edge of the house to check the front door.  Out of habit, I pull the side door close behind me.  INSTANT REALIZATION that the door is not unlocked. 

At my front door is a delivery guy with flowers.  Very pretty flowers, but all I can focus on is the fact that I am now locked out.  Nice delivery man offers me his phone to call someone... but.. I have no one to call.. Paul is in Florida, Kendra is in Troy.. Kim and Mac can't drive!!!  LMAO... instead I ask if he can drive me to the neighborhood office.  I figure if they can't let me into my house, at the very least I can hang out there until the kids get home from school around 4 PM.

Folks at the Office were very nice... Drove me right home and opened up my door for me.  Then I took some time to admire my flowers and the card.

Just another day in Paradise!

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It has been brought to my attention that I didn't mention my flower giver.  :)  LOL.. sorry about that.   They were from Paul along with a nice note that said: Thank you for your support and understanding. You are a wonderful wife and mother. I love you, Paul.

Foolishness and Mayhem

This weekend we spent getting Kendra settled into her new place. What really should have only taken half a day on Saturday lasted through Sunday noon.

One of the things we needed to accomplish was new cell phone service for the whole family.  Great guy helped us out and I am really pleased with the deal we got.... but even so.. that ordeal took almost three hours on Saturday afternoon!

And then on Sunday I called Kendra in the evening (we'd left her around noon) to just check in and I find out she's in the ER up at Troy.  She had pain and nausea shortly after we left her.  Her roommate took her to the ER (very nice of her).  Kendra had been there for over three hours with an IV running to try and combat the pain while they figured out what was wrong with her.  I drove back up at her request and by the time I arrived, they had released her.  She was sitting on the curb waiting for me.  Poor thing. They diagnosed a UTI. Antibiotics and anti-nausea meds to go, please.

I brought her home and she stayed with me here until noon today.  Classes begin for her tomorrow, so she wanted to get back up there today to get things ready for classes. She is doing fine.  We think her defenses ended up a little low this weekend with all the change and chaos.  She hadn't been taking care of herself the way she is supposed to do. Hopefully, we won't have a repeat of the ER incident for a while.

So now the house is back down to just Kim, Mac and I.  How is it that with just two people gone, this house echoes with silence?

 

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Facing Changes

This has been a week where I have been constantly reminded that my little ones aren't so little anymore.

Kim and Mac received their driving permits this week and yesterday they went off to school.  Both of them are in high school now.  I am just three short years away from having "adult" children.

Tomorrow (Saturday) Kendra moves away from home. She is ready to take up residence at the college. Paul, Kim and I will help her with the move. Kendra and I have been buying and gathering up her supplies all summer for this new living arrangement.

I am so excited for her. This is that next big step towards adulthood. Things are going exactly as I hoped they would for her.

But all of a sudden, it's hitting me that my baby is going to be leaving home. This house is going to seem so empty to me without her presence. 

I am not going to rain on her excitement, though.  I'm keeping all this inside and showing the strong mom face to her and her siblings. I know she's going to be aching to be here too.  For all that she is ready for this new independence, it can be a scary thing. We will get through this too.  After all, she's just 60  miles down the road and one text message away.

(How mom sees Kendra leaving)

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Driving Permits ..part deux

So, today we had to go to the Dothan office for Mac to retake his permit test. Ozark, the closest office, is closed the rest of the week.

We arrived and placed his name on the list. We waited.  I read 4 chapters in my book. He studied his booklet. We waited. The lunch hour came and went... finally they called him back.  But not before he confided in me that he was worried he wasn't going to pass the test again. I'm trying to be supportive... but there is this part of me thinking "should I be wasting another $5.00 today?"   He tells me he thinks it's just test anxiety.

20 minutes later, he comes out with his new temporary permit. He's very excited.. "Can I drive?"... ummmmm.. NO. LOL.. traffic is pretty heavy at this time of day. I'd rather he get his first chances on the post where there is less traffic.

We celebrated with pizza.

 

One down, one to go (Driving Permits)

Mood note: I thought of two different moods for this entry..."resigned" and then "disgruntled"... neither mood exists on this list. sheesh!

 

 

Back at the ADL office this morning. Had the birth certs and SS cards in hand. Discovered I needed an "enrollment" form from the school because of their ages. Drove out to Enterprise then back out to Ozark. Waited.... scary part is... they hadn't gotten to our names from when we arrived earlier in the day, plus side... we didn't lose our place in line.

Kim passed her test. Mac did not. I have to take him back out again tomorrow to test again. He has driver's ed at school first quarter so it's kind of important that he have his learner's permit.

Oh yeah.. on a subnote.. the examiner assumed that Mac and Kim were twins (probably because they are testing at the same time). When I said "No".. she said.. but they look alike... so I had to say "Well, they are siblings. "... LOL....  when Kendra and Kim were small people thought they were twins.  Guess we have that cloning system down pat.  

 

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Nausea, Learner's Permits and Old Navy

Three tales of today.

This morning Kim, Mac and I got on the road early to go to the testing station for driver's permits (for those two). I spent the wee hours this morning hunting up their S.S. cards and their birth certs.  Three forms of ID are required here to get your permit... what do non-military kids use as a third form of ID I wonder?  I made everyone get up at 7:00 am this morning because school starts later this week and I want them in the habit by then.  I rush them through the showers and we head out the door.  I have not been kind, I've been frantic. I still need to take Kim shopping for pants for school. I need to get them tested and bring Mac home so we can head out to Old Navy.

I drive the kids out to the Dale county building that my hubby told me we needed.  Wrong building... get new driving directions.  Arrive at right place, get inside, get our names on the list... then realize I've forgotten all the forms they need to show.  Two choices.. make another round trip plus the time it takes to take the test, or postpone til tomorrow morning.   I chose to postpone because I still need to shop.

So, go home trade out Mac for Kendra and off we go to our closest "big" town to do some of that last minute school shopping. Hit Old Navy for pants.  Kim does not like hip huggers. She likes the sweetheart (mid-rise) that she can get at Old Navy. Success! Then off to buy shoes... two pair for Kendra.. but none for Kim.  She couldn't find anything she liked in her size. UGH.. .well.. I have a little time... I think half the problem is that she really likes her shoes that she has now.. (they have a split)... so nothing short of a clone is going to make her happy.

Finally...  Mac and I watched Cloverfield this afternoon.  I was nauseated for about the second half of the movie.  By the end I had a headache.  Good idea.. lousy execution of project.  Hated that there was no defnitive answer at the end. Reminded me of the Blair Witch Project.

Updating Resume

My time as a stay at home mom is coming to an end.  Once I have all the kids back in school this year (in just two short weeks!), I will be starting a new job hunt.

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Ft. Rucker is sponsoring a job fair on the 12th of August.  There are a few employers that I am interested in making contact with, so I spent this night working on my resume.  I hate writing resumes.  And I really hate seeing the glaring years of no work while I chose to be home with the kids.  It was my choice, and I'm glad I did it... but I worry that it may keep me from being the most successful candidate out there.

Guess we'll see.