thursday's ten or so: the smashville edition

reasons to love smashville during the playoffs:

local preschoolers teach their classmates the fan chants...not limited to "hey, you SUCK" and "we're gonna beat the hell out of you!

the fact that nashville is really a small town becomes apparent when the local celebs get into the action and you realize they are just as big of a fan as you are (cue vince gill starting a new chant during his performance last friday "bertuzzi is a sissy" and getting the entire arena to join in the fun.) say what you want about country music (and i may even agree) but you gotta love these guys.

webering becomes popular

on the way home from church while listening to the game on the radio, you and your husband can sing the ENTIRE song/chant when the preds score their first goal of the game.

you can paint your fingernails in fun colors that you normally wouldn't...like this!

at the arena everyone is bundled up and wearing oversized clothing so you don't have to feel self-conscious about those 5 extra pounds
(i mean, i still do. but you don't HAVE to.)

you discover that you can listen to live radio broadcasts of the game on your phone because there really is an app for that

usually the traffic circle peeps at demonbreun are decked out in playoff gear. i forgot to look when i was on music row yesterday, but here's last years!

the city suddenly seems to unite around the games, and you start to wonder if we are becoming more of a hockey town than a football town (which would be fine...)

thursday's ten: the helpful hints edition

ten things i've learned about spending time in other people's houses.  granted most of this time is spent in a nanny/babysitter role, so most of my tips are specific to that.







1.  it's ok to steal ideas
like the way their cabinets are organized?  see a great use for a piece that you have as well?  um, why not?  i've even asked questions of "hey, how did you..."
think of it as a living pinterest ;-)


2.  there are ranch dressing people and (*gasp*) non-ranch dressing people.  
or, always check available condiments before fixing a particular meal


3.  a little clean-up is always appreciated
i go in with the motto of "leave the house a little better than i found it".  whether that means wiping down the counters, or picking up the toys scattered all over the couch...doing something that takes me 10 minutes means that they get 10 minutes of free(er) time when they get home


4.  always bring your own caffeine (or other vice)
because...they won't always have your drink of choice.  and sometimes...you just NEED another coffee.  trust me.
(uh...it goes without saying, hopefully, that if your vice is an actual vice you should leave it at home.  you don't need a glass of wine* or a cigarette or...whatever to get through a few hours with kids.  if you do, you shouldn't be there)


5.  if you want to eat your food of choice, bring it
most of my clients are amazing at literally opening up their fridge, freezer or pantry to me.  but i always have something in my computer bag that i can fix and be happy about if their choices for me don't sound good!


6.  be early, if possible
in nashville traffic with my tight schedule this is nearly impossible for me...but i find that if i PLAN to be early i'm rarely late.  and on time is good :-) 


7.  know the area
if there's construction, crazy traffic, or an accident on your normal path, you don't want to have to rely on a gps to get to a place you've been several times.  know alternate ways in and out, just in case


8.  don't believe everything the children say, no matter how cute and sweet they seem.  also, enforce the rules you ARE sure about.
most likely they AREN'T allowed to watch 3 hours of tv, jump on the couch, or stay up reading for an hour after bedtime.  i always err on the side of strictness...because one night of not getting to do something that seems abnormal to you isn't going to hurt anything, whereas if you let them get away with something it may (a) cause problems for the parents or (b) cause you not to get a call back.


9.  actually PLAY with the kids
they'll love it (and you!).  there are always those kids who'd rather you not play with them (because they're too busy), but they still like attention, so find other ways to interact.  asking them about a particular toy, suggesting play-doh, making a necklace with plastic beads...something to engage them.  you're not there to be their constant companion (unless the parents are delusional) but you ARE there to be the adult presence.  and since you likely don't have a huge list of household chores to get done (unless, again, the parents are delusional OR are paying you extra) you may as well kick back and enjoy the children :-)


10. enjoy the conversations
i LOVE talking with children, particularly those under 5.  you'll be completely entertained if you just listen and interact for awhile!  i have all sorts of gems written down...that's a thursday's ten list all it's own.

*it should be noted that i often babysit for friends or people i know well who say "hey, feel free to have a glass of wine when the kids are in bed!".  i DO sometimes take them up on that, but that's a complete trust issue (they trust me to not be drunk or drink when the kids are up).  i never bring my OWN alcohol, or drink theirs without explicitly being told to help myself.

it's a great day to SEE U2!!

mmmkay, so i'm a little excited...
because u2 is in nashville tonight!
and we.are.there

in pretty awesome seats, i must add
we splurged a bit
i mean, it is my favorite band
anthony never thought he would have a chance to see them live
when it was announced they were coming
we joined the u2 website to buy our tickets before they went on sale to the general public
a good move, since it sold out extremely quickly!

so...i'm doing boring things like laundry and cleaning
but in a couple of hours
i'll be headed to his parents house
to hang out, have ribs cooked by his dad (mmm!)
and then walk over to the stadium
(yep, walking distance from their place.  yay!)

i talked to a friend this morning who said 'you going tonight?'
and it's pretty common to say when talking about weekend plans
that you're going to 'the concert'
and everyone knows what you're referring to
nashville is kind of buzzing

and for very.good.reason

:-)

have a lovely weekend!

thursday's ten: on my daily drives

today's ten is a photo journey...and unfortunately not all of them are mine.  as much as i find taking pictures from my car window fun, it's not always the safest thing ever...

photos obtained elsewhere are marked as such :)




please join me in this!  i'd love to see the strange and unusual things around where you call home!

1. batman building

photo from google images

it's the most recognized part of our city's skyline...and i still smile when i see it

2. traffic circle on music row

photo taken by me

natives have their own nicknames for it, but the official name is "musica"

3. "that awful mailbox"

photo by me

i discovered this mailbox years ago when driving to babysitting jobs. it's on a well-traveled street just off the interstate, and it's U-G-L-Y. i don't even know what it's supposed to be...a dead animal? a portion of one? any ideas?

4. krispy kreme

photo courtesy of google images

the original nashville krispy kreme was just down the street from my university (that's right. the ritzy universities got the starbucks and the eclectic shopping areas but WE had easy access to the "hot now" sign.)
clearly, i don't make it a daily stop, but it is nice to indulge every few months :D

5. front yard phonebooth

photo shakily taken by me

somewhere, on a residential street in our fair city, is a family who owns (and is quite proud of) a phonebooth from the UK. i played creepy stalker and took a night picture of it, but i didn't linger TOO long, so it's not a fantastic shot. sorry.

6. odd tours

photo courtesy of google images

photo taken (badly) by me

photo on company website

who wants to see nashville like a normal person? we have the nash trash tours as well as the redneck tours. i've seen both out and about, but only been able to snag a photo of the redneck bus--and in the rain at that! :)

7. walmart valet parking

photo taken by me

i have NO idea what the reason is, but there is a wal-mart in town that has valet service. hilarious...and i want to try it every time!

8. parthenon

photo courtesy of google images

complete with a huge statue of athena...it's a pretty impressive replica. it's also in one of my favorite parks!

9. casino style movie theater

photo courtesy of google image

i kid you not, it's a theater. it's obnoxious, but i don't think anyone in nashville would be able to handle it if it wasn't lit up like this every night :)

10. super secret target parking lot

photo by me

ok...i hesitate to post this. BUT there IS a target in town with a secret lot. i refuse to say which one, but it exists, and here's photo proof, kinda ;)

so...what's a bit different about where YOU live? :)

Thursday's Ten: about snow in tennessee

as the rest of the country, tennessee is kind of buried under snow at the moment.
and i think it's thrown everyone into a bit of shock!

you see,



{1) we don't get snow here very often.  once a year (well, season), normally, and just a light dusting (at least to my indiana-born eyes)
THIS season we're on our 3rd snow.  2 in december and 1 now.  which started on sunday.  which brings me to my next point...
{2} i've never seen snow last for more than 2-3 days here.  but it keeps.snowing.  which means we have a few MORE days of the white stuff even after it finally stops!
{3} some places have 5-6 inches of snow!  this is unheard of!  i only have a couple of inches, but my travels this week have taken me to some of the deeper snowed in areas.  i'm kinda loving it, i can't lie
{4} nashvillians...do NOT drive well in snow
{5} however, in their defense they usually have more ice than snow.  and tennessee is really hilly...much more so than where i grew up!  and even though it's been way more snow than ice this time around, they're expecting it to be as per usual, i think.  so we're driving down completely clear roads at 30 mph.  sigh.
{6} and school may as well be canceled for the month.  they haven't gone all week, and they've used up all 4 snow days plus 2 now.  because i work for educators, i have only worked one day this week (when she asked me to come over so she could run errands).  i JUMPED at the chance to get out of the house.  however, i am babysitting today, which means that i'm earning some extra cash which is really nice!
{7} all the sleds are sold out everywhere.  of course, not many places had them in stock, lol.  must.find.a.sled by this weekend.  my friend brittany and i have major plans to go sledding if we can find one!
{8} as i've mentioned a couple of times, we have awesome citywide snowball fights on the first day of a good snow.  if this season is any indication, there may be a couple more of these this year!
{9} tires.go.flat.  or low.  it kinda drives me crazy. 
(note to self: stop by gas station on the way to teaching piano today to pump up.  again.)
{10} but for all our mess, we're nowhere near as bad as atlanta.

noon on wednesday, atlanta

how about you?  or are you just so sick of the snow that you'd rather write about 10 things OTHER than the snow? :-)

monday's memory: the one with the (cold) girlfriends

it was a chilly night, january of 2009
meghan and laura and i ventured out on the town to enjoy some live music
(nashville has plenty of that!)
and stopped to pose for a quick picture outside mercy lounge

i love time with my girlfriends.
:0)

nashville snow drivers

i've written tips about winter weather

and have done my fair share plus of complaining about nashville drivers in the snow

today i'll give you a slight glimpse of what i'm talking about.  which is timely because ICE is predicted today.  oh joy!

as i see it there are a few distinct categories of nashville (or southern) snow drivers

in no particular order (except how it comes to my brain) here they are

the recent transplant

characteristics: doesn't understand what everyone is complaining about, forgets temporarily that tennessee gets less snow and more ice, also forgets that nashville is very hilly

driving style: at least 20 mph faster than everyone else on the road, over-confident

(for tractor trailers, add 10 mph and a whole lot of aggressiveness.  yikes)

the nervous nellie/ned

characteristics: have rarely if ever driven in snow, decide that wherever they need to go is clearly more important than the safety of everyone else in the city, bundled up in a heavy coat, thick gloves and a hat that keeps dropping over their eyes but they are too afraid to take their hands off the wheel to push it up

driving style: at least 20 mph slower than everyone else on the road, frequent braking, hands at 11 and 1 on the steering wheel and sitting at the very edge of their driver's seat

the native

characteristics: is only experienced in driving to his or her local grocery store for bread/milk/eggs but feels that experience is just as good as anyone else's

driving style: speed varies, but braking is frequent

the oblivious

characteristics: knows there is snow/ice on the road and that it's slowing everyone else down, but doesn't feel as if it affects him/her, often spotted with "multi-tasking" items such as cell phone or coffee in hand, or makeup brush poised

driving style: at least 20 mph faster than everyone else, reckless when there ISN'T winter weather, so completely hazardous when there is.  avoid this person at all costs.

 

on a scary(ier) note, here's actual footage of tennessee drivers on ice.  yikes!

and some tips, should you need them.  i kid in this post (kind of) but in ALL seriousness, be careful out there!

(all photos from google images)

thursday's ten: my favorite nashville holiday traditions

please share your favorite things to do in YOUR area of the world during this season!  i'd love to read them...and maybe plan a visit! :)

1.  the Christmas village.  every year that A and i have been dating we've gone, so it's become a fun little tradition.  basically it's a huge craft and foods fair where you can buy gifts for everyone on your list...or just wander around and admire.

2. opryland hotel.  after the may flooding, we weren't sure about this year's holiday season...so there was much rejoicing in town when we found out that the hotel was re-opening just in time for the holidays.  we always go to see the lights, but there's also a huge ICE display, the rockettes are in town for awhile, and there's tons of other festivities in the opryland hotel complex.

3.   local theater.  one of the standards is a tuna christmas at tpac, but there are shows going on EVERYWHERE that are both funny and heartwarming.  :)

4.  downtown Christmas trees.  nashville being the state capitol and all, we have both the state tree and the city tree downtown.  there's been a lot of push to plant a tree in the future (at least for the metro tree), and i kind of hope that goes through.  it'd be nice, not only from a eco-friendly aspect, but also to know that you're looking at the same tree year after year :)

5.  Christmas lights.  every year there's a county-wide contest, and every year the winners are announced in early to mid december.  the announcement includes addresses, so it's fun to see the winners year after year.  it DOES sometimes seem like we're going to the same houses over and over year after year, but it's totally worth it :)

6.  parades, naturally!  of course there are your normal street parades, but there's also a more creative approach.  not in nashville proper, but a bit north...when i lived on that lake i spoke about, i could watch the hendersonville lighted boat parade.  boats decked out for christmas.  it was way cool :)  one of these years i'll have to get up there again for it -- definitely a lot of fun!

7.  not to be outdone, south of nashville in little franklin...every year holds a street festival called "a dickens of a christmas".  unfortunately, we're going to be out of town this year...but i hope to get there next year!

8.  tons of amazing church concerts and the like.  my favorite every year is the Christ Church Choir one.  they're amazing!

9.  the live nativity -- actually the live walk through bethlehem -- at a church on hillsboro rd.  now, i've never actually MEANT to go to this, but just about every year i get stuck in traffic because of it.  and i smile...

10.  and some places just pull out all the stops.  cheekwood, for example, has a TON of stuff going on all season long.  cookie decorating, wreath making, and something called martinis and mistletoe that i think i need to investigate.

one that isn't really a tradition but i love is snow pictures...if we're lucky enough to get a snowfall.  i've lived in nashville for 11 winters now, and it's only happened a couple of times that i get GOOD snow to take pictures in.  so, because it's such a rare thing it makes it all the more special.

what about you?  what fun things do you and your family like to do to enjoy and savor the season?

wishing and hoping and planning and dreaming

such a fun song :)

i'm joining in on this one again

a simple wish for me today

that this bookstore

would somehow be saved.

it's nashville's only "local" bookstore

been around for 30 years

and because the company that owns it went bankrupt 

they're closing it

here's wishing and hoping that a wonderful, rich person

(or group of people)

will be able to keep it's doors open!

(i mean, there's a facebook page and everything.  it could happen)

you can't make this stuff up: volume 14 (yet another tennessee edition)

do you have a local character (or 20)?

ours is a chicken.

or rather, a person in a chicken suit who protests...stuff. 

short blurb about the chicken. 

AND possibly best of all...

he has a twitter feed


so seriously -- who are the characters in YOUR town or city?

on the road again!

the month of september has been full of travels

and i've mentioned every trip here (i think)

but haven't really shared much about them.

so here's the very quick run-down.  if you're friends with me on facebook you can see the full photo albums!

first up was labor day weekend.  anthony and i climbed into a car and headed with our friends andy and mandy to the awesome city of st louis.

there we

stayed in an awesome hotel

 

(where we played cards -- and slept a few hours)

found angry birds

went to a cardinals/reds game

ate AMAZING food

visited the zoo

and got in a tiny tram and rode to the top of the arch

later that week, i traveled to downtown nashville

where i got to see a bunch of politicians

including...

bill clinton!!

(i'm such a political nerd.  and it doesn't hurt that i kinda love the clintons.)

the following weekend i went with our youth group to the annual retreat.

middle of nowhere

no connection to the outside world (no cell phone service or wifi)

and absolutely a blast

upon returning from the retreat, natasha and i went to our local barnes and noble

where we met

max lucado!

 

fast forward to the following weekend

where anthony and i jumped in my car and headed to indiana

we visited my parents

and hit holiday world with our friends brian and angie

(who got married this past may)

it was SO fun

and has changed a lot!

we'll definitely be back, hopefully once a year at least :)

 

and this past weekend natasha and i went to arkansas

where she showed me all around her college town

we got hit on at sonic

had some great cookies at her favorite little shop there

and shopped a little

and then

we saw jason mraz in concert!

and then

we got soaked by sprinklers

and THEN

we met jason mraz

and on the way home, we stopped by memphis zoo

where i saw penguins

 

 

(i dubbed these two anthony and lora.  heh )

so yes.  if you've kept track that means that in fact i have not spent one friday or saturday night this month in my own bed

and i gotta say,

it's been a FUN month

but i'm so glad to be settled down for the month of october

with only one possible trip out of state

(i think the cat might stop being mad at me too ;-))