Play it cool? Nah…

So, Nashville was great!  It was a blast to see Jess and Abbs (Jess was an awesome hostess and tour guide!), it was fun to see some more of Nashville and it was fun to be in a place that was a bit warmer and dryer than Minnesota.  PLUS, we had a little star sighting, which was awesome.

So, shortly after Jess picked us up from the airport on Friday afternoon, we went to this hip little coffee shop called Fido.  She said that she had seen Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman there recently and that they are often seen at various places around town.  She said, “they love it here because people just leave them alone.”  Abbs and I commented that it would be awesome if we had the chance to see them while we were in town. 

Now, I should probably add here that I Love Keith Urban.  He’s pretty dreamy in my book (despite that whole being married with child thing).  If you were to ask me who I’d “most like to be serenaded by” (not quite sure why you’d ask me that), but if you did, I’d respond with Keith Urban. 

So, back to the story.  Friday night Jess took us to a restaurant called J. Alexanders (I guess there are a few of them around Nashville).  There was a bit of a wait so we hung out in the bar area and enjoyed an appetizer while we waited.  The bar area has windows on one side which face the parking lot and we were standing next to the windows looking out.  We were just standing there, enjoying AMAZING queso dip, when all of a sudden I looked up and realized Nicole and Keith were walking out of the entrance into the parking lot accompanied by another couple.  They were literally six feet away from us, only separated by the glass.  I think I just shouted to Jess and Abbs, “Oh my gosh! It’s Nicole and Keith!”  Then, I think I cupped my hand over my mouth the way you do when you’re shocked about something…and, I may have even pointed at them.  The best part of the story is that they could totally see through the glass.  Oops. I don’t think Nicole noticed because she was further away from the building but I’m pretty sure Keith saw me and looked at me and started to chuckle when he saw my reaction.  Yeah…I definitely failed at playing it cool.  But, at least I got the guy to laugh, so, that’s a good thing, right?! And, by the way, she is beautiful in person (even though she was dressed super casually) and he is quite the looker.   Jess won “the best tour guide ever” award for giving us the chance to see them our first night there!   

Here a couple more photos from our weekend.  Fun times!   

   

Flying South

I wish I could speed up time sometimes.  I am heading to Nashville tomorrow to spend the weekend with some of my friends from grad school who I haven’t seen in quite some time…and I can’t wait!  Jess lives in Nashville and I last saw her in April of 2007 and Abby lives in Jacksonville and I haven’t seen her since we graduated, so almost 4 years ago!  Crazy!  I can’t wait to see those ladies, see some of the sights of Nashville (I’ve been there once, but didn’t get to see too much) and escape the grey snow/rain mix we are supposed to get this weekend up here.  Boo.  Now, I don’t think it will be balmy down there per se, but, I think it will be a bit warmer than here. Plus, they are supposed to have sunshine on Saturday and Sunday which will be a welcome change.  Now, Jess is from Nashville and so I know she has plenty of ideas up her sleeves, but if you have any ideas of “must see/do” things in Nashville, let me know!

Leaving Mitford for awhile…

I’ve recently finished the first three books in the Mitford series by Jan Karon.  This is a series of charming “gentle fiction” (as one of the reviewers called it) novels about a little Southern village called Mitford and the musings of the middle-aged town priest, Father Tim.  I’m about thirty years too young to be reading them, but, they are just super cozy easy reads and perfect for before bed. Well as fun as it has been, I’m taking a break from the charm and jumping into the book Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  It was recommended by three different people and so I felt I had to read it.  It is about a Somali woman, who eventually lived in the Netherlands and then the US, speaking out about the pain of living under the banner of cultural and religious fundamentalism.  Her life has been full of hardship that those of us who live in the West probably couldn’t even dream of.  It has been fascinating so far.  So, if anyone is looking for something to read right now, and you don’t mind it being a bit intense, I recommend picking it up…that way we can discuss it!

Plug

Fall is in full swing (and some would even argue winter is here since we had snow the other day)!  The cooler weather reminds me that the Holidays will be here before we know it.  For those of you who are on the ball and are starting to think about your Christmas cards, I wanted to put in a plug for my friend who runs a business designing photo cards.  My friends Renee and Jon have a little business called Photo Card Design.  Many of you probably remember my fun Christmas card photo with my roommate Lisa a few years ago…I STILL meet people who say “you’re the girl from that Christmas card…that was awesome!”    And, while our card was unique in that it involved a photo shoot and a lot of Photoshop, all of the cards that Renee puts together are fantastic and are more original than what Kodak or any of the other services can offer you (in my opinion, at least).  And, she can do more than just Holiday cards…if you are looking for a fun birth announcement, party invitation, Save the Date card or anything else, she’s your lady.  Here is a link to her site…pass it on!  http://www.photocarddesign.com.

 Oh, and she can work with you regardless of where you live…it is all done via email.  So, whether you live in Minneapolis or Montana, check her out!

Here we Go!!!

Because I am the quintessential fair-weather fan and so I have to say whooh-hooh for our Minnesota Twins!  I sat in a bar for over 5.5 hours yesterday watching them battle with the Detroit Tigers for the final playoff spot and it was awesome! By the end of the game, I honestly felt like I had developed an ulcer!  I know that the Yankees are tough, but I think our guys can keep their momentum going.  Go Twins!!!

If?

The weather here in MN has been garbage the past few days: rainy, gray, cold.  Gross.  It is starting to affect me: I’m sleepier, crabbier, more sensitive than usual.  Things in my life seem gloomier when the forecast provides nothing but clouds.  With that as the background, you can maybe understand why the following words of Jesus struck me in a fresh way when I read them yesterday.  In Mark 9, Jesus enters a scene in which a father has brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus’s disciples in order for them to heal him. Unfortunately, they were unable to.  My assumption is that the father begins to feel desperate, wondering if even Jesus himself could heal his child of this horrible affliction (I’m sure I would wonder, too).  Here are the verses that struck me…vs. 17-29:

 ¹⁷A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” ¹⁹“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” ²⁰So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming  at the mouth. ²¹Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. ²²“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”  ²³” ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” ²⁴Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” ²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” ²⁶The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.²⁸After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” ²⁹He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

I emphasized the verses in there that stuck out to me.  SO often, I doubt or I neglect to pray and commit things to the Lord.  Though I may not come right out and say it, I wonder “can you Lord?”  And, most of the time, the situations that get me wound up are of little consequence compared to the situation above.  If only I could remember these words more often ”everything is possible for him [her] who believes!”

Just because the sun doesn’t feel anywhere in sight right now, help me to believe that it is still up there and that it will return. In the same way, help me to believe and have faith that those things I fret over can change, improve or even disappear altogether.