A Recap of 2009

Hard to believe 2009 is coming to a close...

2010 - How weird -

I've decided to either say 2010 or just 10,

0-10 just isn't flying with me... What's your preference?

Anyways here is a Recap of my busy year:

January 1, was rang in in Buffalo, NY with Rich, followed by my first trip to Niagara Falls.

January 23-25 spent the weekend in a cabin in the woods with my mom & friends (so relaxing!)

February 1, Steelers win the Super Bowl.

February 10, I started my 2nd year of Law School.

February 14, was celebrated in Fall Creek Falls - which was not spectacular - the falls usually have MUCH more water than they did this February!

February 18 Brady turned One!

February 27 saw Selah in concert

March 21 My friend Alex's little boy Kale turned One!

March 29 Addison turned 7 years old!








April 12 My 26th birthday fell on Easter this year - had dinner with Jamie and Ken at Ellendale's and went to Cirque de Soleil, and my parents and little brother came up and went to church with me :)

April 21st Rich's 27th birthday - we went to dinner at Hermitage Steakhouse and shopping at Opry Mills

April 24 I moved again, and saw Dave Matthews Band in concert again

May 1, Finished moving, cracked my tailbone moving stuff downstairs in the rain :(

Began teaching 1st grade small group at Cross Point Community Church and I LOVE it - I think I have learned more than the kids have!!

May 15 Dan's annual Cinco de Mayo party

May 16 saw Elton John and Billy Joel in concert (AMAZING again - picture is Billy Joel bowing to Elton John) at this concert Rich and I randomly ended up having seats right beside our friends Casey & Kimmer - We scalped our tickets and had NO idea that they were going to the concert... talk about coincidence!!

May 23-29 Family vacation in Florida w/ Rich

June - took an extra class during the month of June, contemplated suicide... Worked 8-5 Mon - Fri and had class Mon, Tues and Wed 6-10

what was I thinking! But I got an A so all is good in the end :)

July 4 Flew to New York to celebrate the 4th and Rich's little sister's high school graduation - her party was on Lake Erie and it was BEAUTIFUL!

July 18- 23 All Girls Cruise = what a BLAST!

August 1 My best friend Jamie moves to Johnson City when her husband is transferred with his job :(

August 12 Philip Everett Robertson (my boss' kid) makes his grand entrance to the world

August 14 my beautiful niece Ava Grace turns two years old

August 21 my little (ok 6'3 isn't little) brother turned 18 and is a SENIOR this year

August 22 took all the babies to see Elmo and had joint bday party

August 30 Isabelle my other beautiful niece turned two

Football season begins - GO VOLS and TITANS!!

September 12 our friends Amanda & Chris got married - such a fun reception!

Titans go 0-6, football season is suddenly not nearly as fun for me!

October 15-19 ANOTHER ALL girl Cruise 4 days had a blast - til I came home sick :(

Titans Bye week - Fisher and Bud Adams have a heart to heart and Vince Young is made starting QB, and ....

Nov 1 Titans beat Jacksonville and yours truly sat about 8 rows off the field - we're talking close enought that I could SEE Jevon Kearse's earrings

Nov 11 Successfully finished and PASSED my 2nd year of LAW SCHOOL!!!

Nov 14 our friends Casey and Kimmer got married - another really really fun reception

Nov 15 Titans Bills game :) ha ha sorry Bills fans (my boyfriend) GO TITANS

Nov 26 Thanksgiving in Jackson

Nov 29 Titans beat the Cardinals with 4 seconds left in the game, watched it at Dave and Busters the whole place went NUTS

Dec 3 I got all 4 wisdom teeth removed - with basically no problems afterward other than 7 day liquid diet - nice little pre Christmas weight loss plan

Dec 11 Office Christmas Dinner/ Party SO MUCH FUN - I truly love my job and ALL of my co-workers :)

Dec 12 went to Gatlinburg to see my best friend and my best little man for shopping and relaxing - I forget how much I love the Smoky Mountains - they are SO beautiful!!

Dec 19 Casey & Kimmer host an Ugly Christmas Sweater party and Rich won!! Thanks Mom for our sweaters :)

Dec 25 Christmas in Memphis - such a blessing to have all the family together!

and...

Dec 31 we head out to Orlando to ring in the New Year in Florida on the menu is: LIstening to the UT game, attending the Penn St/ LSU game (boy he's lucky I look good in blue ;) right? It's hurts to abandon my SEC loyalties), Disney World, Sea World, drive home... Whew

Happy New Years Everyone - Looking forward to sharing 2010 with you!!

It's almost Turkey Day

I'm so excited my best friend and her little boy just got into town. We're having dinner at my cousin's tonight - so I'll get to see 3 out of my 4 babies (none are really mine). And truthfully I guess Addison isn't my "baby" any more - she's in 2nd grade.

Ouch that was hard to write - really 2nd grade... Wow! And Brady - my littlest baby will be 2 in February ... How are these kids growing up so fast?

It doesn't make any sense!
Anyways - looking forward to Turkey Day & Black Friday! Hope I find some deals!!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE

(I'm finally done for the year - no more school til February!)

Fire at Longhorn

Tuesday November 10, 2009 a fire burned Longhorn Steakhouse in Jackson to the ground. And to some people this might "just" be a restaurant, but to me it was my 2nd home in Jackson.

After working for a gym and Buckle in high school, my best friend convinced me to get a job where she worked LONGHORN. Having never worked in a restaurant before, they started me as a hostess, and eventually became a server and a bartender and the staff, well we became a family....

When I moved to Murfreesboro to go to MTSU I transferred to the Nashville downtown Longhorn, and eventually helped open the Brentwood Longhorn. I worked for the company for 4 1/2 yrs. While in college, I could come home and work shifts at the Jackson Longhorn.

The Jackson Longhorn management team and staff were like a family to me. The people there were some of the most awesome, loving, loyal - "give you the shirt off their back" kind of people! Many I'm still friends with 8 years later...

Tuesday morning I got a phone call that it had burned down - gas fire they thought. I was devastated... Thankfully no one had been in the building. The fire started less than an hour after the closing manager and staff had left.

David, (his interview link) the general manager was my first thought - He had been there since day one (in 2001). My heart just ached for him - that store was his baby! Then I immediately thought of all my friends, and the rest of the management team that were now out of a job. Then I got on facebook, and the pictures, and comments, and statuses broke my heart. I immediately began texting and messaging and calling - trying to reach out to as many as I could - to tell them I loved them, that I was there for them, that I was praying for them, and to see if there was anything I could do...

Please keep these people in your prayers - they are having a staff meeting tomorrow morning to discuss options for the staff - my understanding is that they will try to place them with other restaurants around town, or they can draw unemployment... I have faith that God will take care of them...

The Girls

Ava and Isabelle

Age 2 also = 2 cute!!

so tired

I know I've slacked on here. But I have been so tired! Finals season is here - I have 2 finals next week and 2 finals the following week and I am starting to freak out.

Our semesters run Feb - Nov and my brain has completely eliminated all things learned Feb - Aug... After all

I had to make room for important things like - Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice (which I have a love/hate relationship with) I mean really - did you have to kill George and fire Izzy - give me a break!

and make time for Ava and Isabelle (I promise pumpkin patch pictures are coming!)

and make time for Rich - my poor sweet boyfriend, who is so kindly putting up with me during finals season :)

But seriously back to school: it's just too much to remember so I feel like I am relearning and studying all at the same time.

Property, and Remedies, and Evidence Oh My!

But I did have a study buddy on Friday night:

I babysat my bosses 9 week old little boy Rett

Isn't he a doll!?

I taught him all kinds of fun law school stuff.

He loved it - can't you tell!?

Happy Friday

Nothing exciting or new to post!
I'm on an Oct diet with the Holiday food monster in the near future I am trying to prepare with an October starvation plan! 2 days down 29 to go!
Good thing I'm to old to trick or treat!

For the past 2 weeks on Thursday I have been taking a spin/ interval training class at the Y.
Last week it was 30 min on the bike (10 miles) and then 30 minutes on the roof doing painful things like squats and lunges and laps (oh my)

And this week it was 30 min spin followed by 30 minutes of arm torture. This included multiple reps and varieties of push-ups - Umm Hello? I'm a girl - the only push ups I am familiar with are the Flintstone push pops!!

Wednesday we said farewell at my office to 2 employees :( with that farewell came 2 cookie cakes, cupcakes, and red velvet cake. That was in Sept - this is Oct no looking back.... plus I'd rather not see what it did to my backside ;)

Next week I will have photos of Ava and Isabelle at the pumpkin patch we are visiting tomorrow.
Have a good weekend!!

Football weekend leads to Monday Mourning

My football weekend began Sat morning at Cross Corner Bar in Brentwood to watch the first half of the Penn State game. If you know me, you know I could care less about Penn State but Rich loves them so I must fake some interest. And Cross Corner is a Penn State Bar and probably the only place in Nashville that cares about PENN STATE (sorry Rich). You are in Big Orange country!

Then we went to Nicki's to watch Isabelle and the UT/ Florida game. To which I must say I joined the pessimistic pattys and expected this to be an UGLY game. I was scared. After the UCLA game I was extremely nervous!

But NO - my good ol' boys in Orange held them to only a ten point win (people were predicting 40+ point win for FL) Not too shabby, they put up a good fight and put some fear in ol Tebow who I can now say - I am SO GLAD we don't have to play against him anymore. Good luck in the NFL *cough* Cough*

When Eric Berry caught the interception - Isabelle yelled GO VOLS unprompted! I am so proud - and I have to say I really love her pigtails!! I've gotta get her some orange bows!

On Sunday we had my football day! Yes, sorry I have to admit I love the NFL more. While I was raised a UT fan from birth (and I still AM)- my heart truly belongs to the TITANS. Maybe it's because they are here in Nashville and I can go to as many home games as I want. Either way - I love football! I also love 2 tickets for $20 on the fifty yard line!

and Rich loves for me to take his picture. He actually thinks I am a big dork :)

No One Puts Baby In the Corner

This has been a rough year for celebrity deaths!

Yesterday, Patrick Swayze lost his 20 month long battle with pancreatic cancer.

I have very vivid memories from childhood of watching and LOVING Patrick Swayze.

I remember watching dirty dancing for the first time in 4th grade at a slumber party and then practicing our dance moves.

Crying when my mom sold our VHS copy of Ghost at a yard sale. (ok maybe I didn't cry but I was not happy!)

And watching RoadHouse with my dad - how cool was he!

Buying the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing at least twice... and come to think of it... I'm not sure where it is... might have to buy it a 3rd time.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Rest in peace Patrick Swayze.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

DAY AT THE ZOO

BUSY

Hello Fall Weather - didn't expect to see you so soon! But if you must come - please bring your friend FOOTBALL Season!!!

This has been the weirdest August. It was 58 degrees this morning when I got up!

2 years ago - It rarely got below 100 degrees the whole month of August...

Maybe that's because my sister and cousin were 9 months pregnant & God has a sense of humor :)

But, seriously where did summer go? Wasn't May yesterday... was it really almost 4 months ago... Geez! In August my girls (Ava & Isabelle) turned 2. TWO - that is officially toddler - not baby... :( That means running, hopping, dancing, singing, and sentences... Wow time flies... The kids got to see Elmo live for their birthday. They LOVED it.

Aren't their matching dresses sweet?!!

Isabelle was a little nervous at first, but warmed up quickly. She said "Mommy... Les' Go, Mommy bye bye..." and then realized how cool Sesame Street really is!

Ava was in heaven - waiving and interacting with the characters. Yelling "Hi Sunny" (Elmo's friend the sunflower)

And Brady would have gotten on stage with them if he could have!

And my little brother turned 18 on the 21st... ok talk about time flying... He is NOT supposed to be a senior in high school! Glad this getting older thing is affecting everyone else and not me!! Hope it's not contagious!

Stealing funny thoughts

Random Thoughts for Smart People Like Me....
I stole this from another blogger... these thoughts are not my own but they are funny!!

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk..

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger..

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in. Thank goodness for the new "green" reusable bags - I'm not green but those don't cut circulation off.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text or put on mascara.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot.Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?) but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it..

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.


Hope these made you smile!
B

8 Things for you

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Ava/Isabelle and my bro's birthday weekend in Aug
2. Football season
3. Oct Cruise
4. Finishing this school year in Nov
5. the birth of my boss's baby next Wed (I love babies)
6. Fall
7. Amanda & Chris Wedding in Sept
8. Finishing law school


8 things I did yesterday:
1. Worked
2. Went to McD's with Jamie & Amie and their babies
3. Went to Target/ Kroger/ Publix (got gallon of milk at K for $1.69!!)
4. Watched the Movie Code (terrible btw) with Rich
5. Talked to Tiana at Kroger (nice surprise)
6. Read the paper
7. Did Laundry
8. went to bed

8 things I wish I could do:
1. work out more
2. work less
3. hire a maid
4. be done with school already
5. spend more time with Addison (she is growing up so fast)
6. Win the lottery.
7. relocate Johnson City to next to Nashville ( my best friend is moving there)
8. go home and go to bed

8 shows I watch:
1. Law & Order SVU
2. Friends
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. The Office
5. Private Practice
6. Dancing with the Stars
7. The Cosby Show (don't judge me - it's funny!)
8. Days of Our Lives (I haven't watched in yrs though - but I used to)

8 favorite fruits:
1. Pineapple
2. Apples
3. Kiwi
4. Pears
5. Strawberries
6. Watermelon
7. Grapes
8. Peaches

8 places I'd like to travel to:
1. Italy
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Europe
5. Australia
6. Newfoundland
7. St. Lucia
8. an all inclusive spa... ahhhh

8 places I've lived:
1. Asheville, NC (where I was born)
2. McKenzie, TN (tiny town I lived there age 2-9)
3. Jackson, TN (age 9-20)
4. Murfreesboro, TN (age 20-23)
5. Brentwood, TN (apt 1)
6. Brentwood, TN (apt 2)
7. Nashville, (above the tea room)
8. Nashville (off West End... my current abode)

I am supposed to tag people - so if you come and read this consider yourself tagged... and go do it! :)

Not Me Monday

Brought to you in part by MckMama

To begin with I did not put off finishing my civil litigation assignment to go shopping Sat with my best friend and sweet little Brady
(and certainly did not do this also on Sunday either)

I did not participate in feeding sweet little Brady ice cream for dinner on Sat. It is not my fault he didn't want vegetables or noodles. Nor did I let him have a bite of my ice cream which may or may not have had oreos crushed in it.


Further I did not laugh really hard (too hard) when my church service was polled and we voted 100% believed that drinking (socially) alcohol was ok.

Also I did not turn off the alarm clock this morning to skip going to the gym, no way not me!

So what did you NOT do this weekend?