CD Release Show 6.24.11 July 9, 2011

Video is to come, but Jeanne (Jennifer’s mom, Andy’s mother-in-law) did an awesome job taking photos for Andrew’s release show. She also spent a good chunk of time crouched down with a very distracted Baby Girl, who was happy to pose for as long as someone would point a camera at her. You’ll know her–she’s the loud one with the umbrella. Indoors. Twirling…

CD Release Show 6.24.11

Jeanne also just took some drool-worthy photos of the Nashville U2 show, just in case you didn’t make it there. Just wait–I have some GOOD people-watching stories from THAT show!

Anniversary Escape! January 2, 2011

To celebrate our 9th anniversary (which every year makes us wonder what we were thinking getting married so close to Christmas and my birthday), Andrew planned a surprise in-town trip for us (and kept it a secret for one whole day!). It was so much more relaxing than a long trip would have been, and we were able to have Baby Girl stay with the grands (both sets!) over those three nights. Probably not a coincidence that she came home Friday, laid down at 4 pm, and almost slept through our New Year’s Eve party despite us parading her friends through her bedroom in order to entice her out of bed.

We stayed at Hotel Indigo on Union Street, which had a very cool vibe and allowed for walking just about anywhere we went. Remember, I’m easily impressed when it comes to hotel rooms, but it had lots of cool little touches mixing the old with the new (polished concrete floors, nice modern lamps, trendy decor, large-scale black and white photography wallpaper, etc.). I took pictures of all of it (yes, including the weird shower with no door), but I’ll spare you. It’s a shame we’re not college football fans, because the Music City Bowl was also going on (hello, sea of UT orange) and we didn’t care. We even missed the battle of the bands on 2nd. Oops.

Well, looking back, mostly we just were lazy and ate delicious food. Sometimes, it’s really refreshing to be boring and normal. That must be my old age creeping up on me (though I seem to get carded more now than ever–I’ll take it!). We shopped and drank coffee. We hit all our regular hot spots downtown, had a special treat at The Melting Pot, drooled over guitars at Gruhn’s (one of us slightly more than the other), and SLEPT. Did I mention all the SLEEP? Oh, heaven.

And Mulligan’s Irish Pub–CLOSED. I’m very sad about this.

 

I am a big fan of the stay-cation (as long as I’m staying in a nice hotel and not at home!). I’m not sure that counts…

Thank you to all the grandparents who made this trip possible! Would you be surprised to know I considered including my copy of “The Explosive Child” in her suitcase? As a joke?

Mostly as a joke? 

‘Tis the season December 25, 2010

‘Tis the season…

to positively drown in obligation.

Sorry, did I type that out loud?

No, I actually ADORE all of the time to spend with friends and family. I just wish it wasn’t all crammed into just a few days, forcing me to constantly choose events and people. Let’s spread out the love, people! Every get-together arrangement requires planners out on the tables to find a matching empty date–exhausting.

Let’s see what we’ve been up to these days…

The holiday party season was kicked off with the G2 Christmas Party at one of the most beautiful houses I’ve ever seen in person (I MAY have taken a lot of pictures of just the house as I wandered around on my self-tour). There were around 40 people there, so of course I have photos of about four of them. Good enough.

I also had my work Christmas party at Buca Di Beppo. We play Dirty Santa, get loud, and generally try to top each other with overwhelmed-at-school stories (we ALL win!). I stole Bananagrams from my mentor, and I’d do it again if I had to.

Then, later that evening (see? with the double-booking?), row 3 of the Ryman to see Andrew Peterson & Friends. I won’t even TRY to describe how beautiful it was. If you haven’t seen this, GO. Right after you finish laughing yourself silly (and wishing you could play a mandolin, or a guitar, or a cello), it will take you breath away and give you…well, I was about to say a breath of rest, a light shining down on you to pin you in your (hard wooden) pew and MAKE you hear the beauty of the Christmas story, but that’s not it. Never mind; I don’t have the right words. Just take a listen to Behold, The Lamb of God to hear the second half of this show. In addition to all that, it’s the most casual, unassuming group of unbelieveably talented musicians you’ll ever encounter.

And, THEN, two days later, we hosted family Christmas with Andrew’s extended family. General impression: MANY SMALL CHILDREN and many guitars! It was a great time with lots of people I love. I found out which of Baby Girl’s cousins were most likely to clean her room for fun (true story), I had the privilege of having a real conversation with Andrew’s grandmother about losing her husband of 64 years this year (HARD story), I pulled small children out of cardboard ovens and 6-foot-tall children out of playhouses, and I got everyone fed (my only goal–needed something attainable). I think I counted 43 people. Yep.

(you can click on these collages to see them larger–I’m too tired to fix that I just made them too small)

 

And I’m beat! I know all of this is riveting, but that’s what’s been going on. Real Christmas last night, today, and again tomorrow. Up next, mini-MTSU grad school reunion and more impromptu visits.

Did Christmas wear you out? ME, TOO. At the last minute, my parents came over to spend the night (so Christmas Day ended up being not just the three of us but us plus my parents, sister, grandmother, and an uncle!). I’ll never be able to unspoil Baby Girl.

Also, I can’t wait to get reacquainted with my bed. Good night!

To sum up… December 9, 2010

I present a photo collage of pictures having nothing to do with each other other than that they were taken in roughly consecutive order:

November flew by, and I think I missed it.

We got to see Ben Folds with the Nashville Symphony/Orchestra, and I have no idea why we look so uncomfortable in that picture because it was AWESOME. Money well spent, even though I said it was too expensive.

My friend Staci come into town for a very quick visit, and we managed to find some time to sit on my couch and pontificate. It was great to marvel at the stupidity of some people with her. We’re so good at it that it would be a shame for that talent to go to waste just because she lives 5 hours away.

 

 And some other things happend. The end.

Just some things November 7, 2010

Sorry, blog buddies. I was in a mood.

MOODS. I was in moods.

I still am, but I thought I should probably update anyway. How else would any of you manage to get through the black hole of despair that is Monday morning?

I kid. My dramatic flair is acting up again.

If you’re waiting for posts from me with bated breath, you’re probably disappointed with the random schedule I keep. I’ll try to be better, and I will fail. I do feel an abstract sort of bad when I see how many visitors are coming here to see A Big Fat Nothing New. Oh, well. Life is short, friends.

So…October. Was that really just last month? Here’s what I can gather happened, based on my photo archive:

1. Jimmy Eat World in Columbus, OH. This is one my very favorite bands, even though they did not perform my very favorite song. We drove the five hours from Nashville, crashed with old friends Brannon and Gloria, and (of course) ran into more Nashville friends at the show. They were so, so good. I should really be writing a music column.  Can you imagine the stunning imagery I would create with my reviews? Anyway.

You know what was stunning? The fact that I was totally distracted throughout the entire concert by the bartender across the way who was building what I can only describe as a towering maze of clear plastic cups. He was using the entire bar (not sure why he was just hanging out there, as his bar clearly was closed). By the end, he had used at least 100 cups and had them all balanced precisely in this intricate pattern…I’d upload the fuzzy photo I took of this phenomenon when I should have been paying attention to, you know, THE BAND I paid money to see, but you’d die from all the boredom and I’d have no blog readers.

  2. Halloween at the Nashville Zoo

I’ve forgotten all the words associated with this one, but it was lots of fun (in a loud, Chuck E Cheese sort of way). I was mocked for not having a costume, and no one seemed to appreciate that “But I’m a grownup!” WAS a totally reasonable explanation.

 3. Early Thanksgiving dinner with Tim’s family

Tim was home on leave (can’t talk about it or I’ll cry), and we (SURPRISE!) made a meal of it. Please enjoy the blurriest photos I have ever posted on my blog.

You should know that Tim’s sweet mama loves to give people things they can use. She’s a scavenger and a bargainer. In a secondary list that no one but me would probably find amusing, here are the things in my bag when I left her house:

• the CORRECT pumpkin-shaped flower girl basket that Baby Girl has been complaining about since Tim and Heather’s wedding last October 18th. She accidentally switched baskets with the other girl after the wedding, and we have never heard the end of it. I am so glad to end THAT saga!

(You see that baby almost-chub on her arms and cheeks? In the last year, that is GONE. She’s definitely all GIRL now, not baby. Sniff.) 

• camo-print earmuffs
• a glowstick
• two large bags of jalapeno and green peppers from the garden
• a pair of white men’s tennis shoes (to be used for mowing the lawn next summer)
• and a Fur Real cat that could not possibly remind me more of the cat from Pet Sementary. Y’all–it hates me and I swear it watches me when Baby Girl is not around. Creepy.

The next batch of titillating information will have to wait. I need to go mentally prepare for Migraine Monday.

Good night! I hope you sleep better than I did last night. I remembered to reset the clocks but neglected to reset my KID. As my friend Lori said: Hello sunrise!

Bonding over [name of some fancy expensive microphone] September 2, 2010

Andrew and Andy were tracking vocals (or guitars, or something–I’m not really sure as I was trying to keep Baby Girl from giving their cat a nervous breakdown) a few weeks ago, and the little one needed to get in on the action.

How very unlike her.

The land of pizza and I’m pretty sure I want to move there June 27, 2010

Chicago, the home of deep dish pizza and everything I want to buy.

Did I really go to Chicago? It seems like years ago already.

Andrew surprised me with this trip. BIG DEAL would be putting it mildly.  You could have knocked me over with a feather, frankly. He also kept it secret for minutes days longer than I would have expected. We got Baby Girl all shipped off to the grands and hopped on a plane. Well, several planes, actually, as the original direct flight was cancelled due to weather. Not to worry–some helpful airline employee booked us on the next available flight. To Charlotte. No, no, not on a connecting flight through Charlotte. Just to Charlotte. Luckily, we got it straightened out just in time, ran through a few airports, and all was well in the end. I think that by the time we left Nashville and landed in Chicago, my blood pressure was approaching normal levels. That week, that’s about all I was asking for: the ABSENCE of all the things that were making me a crazy person.

Just to prove that I should always, always blog about trips right after they happen, this lovely weekend is about to get summed up using lame bullet points. I just can’t do any better this long after the fact. I’m sorry, trip. You were good to me. Let’s do it again another time.

• Most expensive meal of my life, I think. I love to get all dressed up and wear impractical heels, but I might be a tad too frugal to really enjoy something of this caliber very often. The view was totally worth it, though.
• We shopped in pretty much every unique store on State Street and Michigan Avenue, so of course I ended up going home with new Old Navy flip flops and a tank top. How does that happen to me in every city I visit? They have ANTHROPOLOGIE, people. What is wrong with me?
• Pizza, sushi, incredibly sinful lattes around every corner–basically negating every run I’ve gone on for the past three months. Again, worth it.
• As Andrew put it, we saw “the most drunk non-homeless person” either of us had ever seen (leaving a Cubs game). I’m pretty sure those poor boys were taking that really cute but very, very sick girl to the ER.
• And oh, Colin Hay. The show was at this small venue in Evanston, and it was nothing short of rock-your-world. I’ll admit that I only knew about this guy because he was played heavily on Scrubs, but now that I know about him, his songs are a constant fixture in my head. The songwriting alone is enough to rip your heart out (as he put it, “I’m about to sing you 20 songs about ‘she’s gone’ because that’s about all I’ve got), but the guy was also hilarious. That part reminded me of Robin Williams a little, actually (the funny, unmedicated, non-rehabbed version).

I kept leaving my camera at the hotel, but I did get a few photos so that I could later remember what the heck happened. I noticed that I took a lot of photos of many things that don’t matter, including but not limited to pretty much everything I ate, myself in several dresses that I later decided were unflattering, us with the Lego people, signs at the concert…you get the idea. I’ll spare you most of those in the interest of that I like you.

And that, my friends, is the lamest Chicago summary ever. My apologies, but I am celebrating the slight break in the heat by getting a sinus infection and making friends with a box of Kleenex. Cheers.

Winds of Change May 10, 2009

Great. Now I have that 80′s song stuck in my head..

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
in the wind of  change…

Okay. That was totally not my point. Moving on.

We have big, big news. Are you ready?

At the end of this month, Andrew will begin an exciting new job as the Director of Worship (that’d be the guy with the guitar if you don’t speak contemporary church music, like my grandfather) at Grace Community Church in North Liberty, Iowa. This is an amazing opportunity for our little family, and we are very excited to set off on this new adventure. We traveled to Iowa this weekend for the official job offer and shared the news with the congregation of Harvest View this morning. We will be so sad to leave our church family here at Harvest View–however, I absolutely will NOT be crying until the last day, so just hang on until then if you want to grieve all over me. You know who you are. North Liberty is a suburb of Iowa City, and Andrew will have you know that it is 4 hours and 6 minutes from Wrigley Field in Chicago. There’s also some nonsense about something called the Iowa Cubs, but I had already tuned out at  that point.

Andrew will start at Grace Community Church on May 31st, and Baby Girl and I will head up for good at some point mid-June. She has a flower girl gig (can’t wait!), and I have to (apparently) pack up an entire house. Eeek. Stay tuned for packing woes, our hilarious travel stories from this past weekend, and all the things I will miss about Tennessee. Please pray for our house to sell quickly and for us to be prepared to say good-bye to all our family and friends. Both of our families are here in Tennessee, and we are taking the only grandchild on both sides with us. Can you imagine our poor parents?

Be sure to check out Andrew’s blog, too!

Apparently, my love language is bacon March 1, 2009

Let me tell you about my sweet husband. I especially need to do this because I totally blasted him to our entire small group (legendary birthday disaster), and the guys have been on him ever since. Good job, guys! Even though he thoroughly deserves whatever shaming he gets from that, he’s redeeming himself in a way I never expected.

(Before I share anything remotely negative about my husband, I always feel obligated to write a preface paragraph about how wonderful he is–because he is, really. So, we can all agree that he’s wonderful and all that, right? No need to write out all the ways he’s a shining example for husbands everywhere, right? I mean, we have it pretty darn good. Our biggest problems are typically socks on the floor and his unreasonable tendency to leave the shower curtain open (Seriously, how hard is it to pull it closed?). I feel blessed to have him, especially when I see marriages all around us pretty much imploding. Anyway, that’s not my point…ramble, ramble ramble…)

I have to get up early for work three days/week, and I may have been known to mumble something about how my husband gets to live on a college student’s sleep schedule and I despise it. I would love to stay up late and sleep in (like past, oh, 7:30), but that just doesn’t happen most of the time. It is also one of my major pet peeves for him not to come to bed with me–even though he’s not tired when I am. I hate it when he comes creeping to bed at 3-4am (after falling asleep upstairs, usually). I don’t know if my bristling in his general direction for several nights in a row was the trigger (I’m such a gentle, loving wife…), but he suddenly decided that he’s going to go to bed early with me, wake up when I do, and (wait for it) COOK ME BREAKFAST on my work mornings. He did it once, and I was pleasantly surprised. Oh, and don’t forget SKEPTICAL. It’s a gift. Then, he said he was going to keep doing it. Like, more than once. Now, that’s just weird, right?

My thought process went something like this:

Wow, that’s really nice of him. I never eat breakfast!

This is totally a fluke, but nice.

Okay, this is a little weird. I’m a little suspicious.

Hmmm…he must have a major confession brewing, right? That explains it.

He’s having an affair! No, he wouldn’t do that. (Really, he wouldn’t)

Nooo! He bought a guitar!!! And pedals!!! (He totally WOULD do that) Nah, Judd would tell on him.

Okay, I’m going to put aside the paranoia and enjoy it. I give it two days.

I think I even did bark at him sweetly ask him if he had anything he needed to tell me. Don’t you wish you were married to me?

Well, guess what? He’s been doing it for two whole weeks, folks. That’s right! He even says that he’s discovered that he’s more productive in that time between the time I leave (around 7) and the time Baby Girl wakes up. Who knew you could be productive in the hours before 11am??? You heard it here first, kids.

Blast from the past November 2, 2008

Oh, my. I am not sure who exactly dug this up and sent it via the wonder that is Facebook, but we just received a link for video footage from Plaid at the Air Canada Centre, circa 1999. Plaid is one of my husband’s former bands from way back in the day (I like to use that phrase–shut up). This will probably only be priceless to those of you who know my husband, but it is so great! Here’s all you need to know: Andrew has blond hair, and so does Allen. Of all the songs these talented guys had, I’m not sure why this one is the one that is preserved for all time, but…I’ll let you know if the others can be found. This looks like the actual video feed from the conference, so it all must be out there somewhere. This is the year before we were engaged, two years before we married. Be still my heart.

Andrew is the bass player, far right. The one with blond hair and black eyebrows. No, the OTHER one.