Sweet William

Almost every 2 weeks or so, I get to keep, quite possibly, the cutest little boy in the world. I've kept him since he was 6 or 7 months old, and he is about to be 14 months. I love this kid to death and I look forward to every chance I get to go see him. I usually keep him during the late afternoon until after he goes to bed, but today I got to spend almost the entire day with him!

William loves to read books, and I'll buy him cute books for any occasion. But when I heard about baby leg warmers, I had to get them for him! So while William was down for a nap, Lindsey brought them (because of course I left them at home!)! How cute is he??

After nap, we had a yummy snack. Just about every time I keep him I end up going in a hat and he always takes them off and wears them the majority of the time. Today, Linds and I both had hats on (William, I'm pretty sure, has a major crush on Lindsey...it's so cute.), so he wore a combination of the two...or both at the same time! What a ham he is...

The rest of the day we read, played hide-and-seek (sort of...), and sat on the front porch listening to it rain. We ate dinner and had a good bath and got ready for bed when Tom (his dad) got home. I love that entire family and absolutely love just hanging out with them all! We had a great day and I laughed the entire time I'm there (that, and still tried to work on "Whittie"). :)

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my precious Paisley's 3rd birthday! It's so hard to believe that I've had her for almost 3 years, but I can't even remember what I did before she came along. Here's a picture of her the day she came home from Dickson, and then a picture of her at Christmas with her guitar she got. :)

Paisley has been through 2 different levels of obedience school and 1 level of tricks class. Needless to say, I'm a big advocate for PetSmart classes...especially with Miss Laura and Miss Heather! She did really well in most of the obedience (although she hates listening to me when other dogs come around, heeling correctly on the leash, and she still barks like crazy when someone comes in the house...I guess that's the "guard dog" in her!), and she loves to show off her favorite tricks (especially jumping through the hula hoop, dancing, giving high fives, and "Stick 'em up...BANG!"). I have an incredibly smart dog, if I do say so myself. :) My favorite part about having such an adorable puppy is that she is so sweet and is full of attitude! Those big 'ole ears and big brown eyes tell her mood so quickly... And you can definitely tell she's MINE...she loves me for me, no matter what I may say or do. I don't know what I'd do without her now!

Then, one year ago yesterday (on her 2nd birthday) she had her very first litter of puppies. I don't really know that you'd call 2 puppies a 'litter,' however... She had a little boy (who was originally dubbed "McDreamy," but later shortened to Mickey by his new owners...Lindsey's parents!) and a little girl (Grey, and she went to one of my then co-workers). They were so cute and so fun, and how incredible to watch them grow from just a few moments old and barely moving, to bouncing 13-week-old puppies! We still get several pictures of little Grey Dog from time to time, and we see Mickey pretty regularly. I'm not sure how some people that breed dogs don't get so attached...I certainly couldn't. Here the babies were at 2 days old.

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." - Roger Caras

I am the one...

Last night's Idol had song choices from the year each contestant was born. And again, I was overall underwhelmed by everyone. The sad thing, I think, is...there are so many talented people this season. Truly great talent...but they just aren't consistently good, and I don't get that.

David Cook was incredible with someone's (not sure what band...) cover of "Billie Jean." Phenomenal. He totally deserves to win. I can't decide if he'll be the Daughtry of the season or not though. David Archuleta is always great, but the song was kind of weird... Michael Johns finally showed what made me like him from the very beginning. With the following these 3 have, I think it might could be down to them. Syesha was great too, but again...kinda bored with the song. I was impressed by Brooke's ability to start a song in the wrong key, and immediately recognize AND fix it. Very impressive. But what about Kristy Lee Cook's "God Bless the USA?!?" She did well, because she does have a nice voice, but truth be told, she should have gone 2 weeks ago (although I'm quite thankful that the 2 that left in her place are gone now). It was incredibly smart to sing a patriotic song, but really? It's a little transparent that she did it just to pull heartstrings for votes. I'm not sure what I think about that...

It's difficult at this point to really predict who may go home, because it's really not all about the talent now...people have their favorites and are going to vote for them whether they really deserve it or not. And there's always votefortheworst.com (and they're still on Kristy, by the way). I think it may be Ramiele that goes home tonight, with Chikezie and the big shocker Carly in the bottom with her. Not that I think Carly did terribly, but I think people have it out for her, and will vote for Kristy instead. So there ya go. Watch...now that I haven't picked Kristy, she'll finally go home tonight...we'll see!

OFFICIAL

This may give you a little insight about me...once I have my mind set on something, I do everything possible to make it happen. :)

It's happening. It really is. Even as I type this, it's booked and paid for and everything, and yet I don't think it's really sunken in yet.

I. Am going. On. A. CRUISE!!!!! Really, really I am!!! FINALLY! This is our ship.

So let me give you a little background. My dear, sweet CaleyBaby replied to my blog about wanting to go on a cruise last week. I had done a little research and I said, "well if we go, you should come on, too!" My friends Mallory, Chip and Laurie were looking into it as well. Long story short with them, they can't go due to various things going on that week. However, they've all been on a cruise, and Lindsey, Caley and I have not. So, Caley looked at the dates and was really afraid she couldn't go because of work, but then found out she could. This is all in a span of about 2 days, so we decided, "Yes, we're really going to do this" and started budgeting and getting ready to book. Meanwhile, Lindsey found out that she had a job interview. Yayyyy, Linds! However, she felt that it was necessary to hold out on booking until she saw how the interview went. It went wonderfully. That, of course, is an incredible thing, but it kinda bummed Caley and me out because we knew that meant she might not get to go and we'd have to wait until the fall to go on one. So I purposely blocked it from my mind from Monday night last week through Friday, and didn't ask David, my boss, IF it worked out if I could get off that week. Lindsey found out after her 2nd interview was over on Friday that it was fine for her to go since she had already had the vacation planned so that meant we were on again!! (Skipped over the part where Lindsey got the job, but you can read about that on her blog...Congrats, BFF!!) Then I called David to explain the crazy story to him and he said the very scary words "I think it'll work, but we'll have to wait until Monday to see." Thank goodness it was a holiday weekend filled with things to do or I may have gone crazy! David said Monday that we were good to go and I booked it yesterday!! If you can't tell by all the exclamation points, I may be a little excited. :)

So the three of us, Lindsey, Caley and I are going on a cruise to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios, Jamaica! 6 days and 5 nights fun-filled, stress free, tropical bliss. Caley sent me a text today saying we're 45 days away, but who's counting, right??

Music Monday

Today my choice is the most recent single by a legend. Once this single hits #1 (it's Top 5 right now), it will be his 56th Number 1 record, and he already holds the record for most #1s in this format....George Strait. His most recent single, "I Saw God Today," has only been on the charts for 7 weeks.

This song is amazing. It absolutely has deserved to climb as high and fast up the charts as it has. In each verse, it talks about seeing God in different situations. The first, he sees God in a flower growing in the crack of a sidewalk, then in a couple holding hands and he can tell she's expecting, and then finally, in the birth of his baby girl. Now, I'm a sucker for story-telling ballads...especially when babies are involved (like Jason Aldean's "Laughed Until We Cried"), and this one is no exception. It really shows that we should always see God in everything, the good and the bad, the large and the small....everything. The chorus says "His fingertips are everywhere, I just slowed down to stop and stare." That says it all. I'm a hurrier. Hurry to this, hurry and finish that. If I just slowed down to look around, I can see God in so much more! I love songs that really make you think, and this one does just that.

The Long and Winding Road...

Ok so I really know it wasn't just me this time because that's all I heard on my way in to work this morning...how BORING was last night's American Idol?? And so...awkward!

I had a lot going on last night after small group, so I didn't get to start watching it until wayyyy past my bedtime, and of course, fell asleep right before the last performance (though I admit, I was fast-forwarding through the majority of it). Lindsey hasn't even gotten to watch yet...she hasn't missed much. Overall, I was way less than impressed. As usual, the 2 Davids were far above the rest of the group with "The Long and Winding Road" and "Daytripper" (even though Simon wasn't a fan of David Cook last night). I think there's a good shot that it may come down to the 2 of them. Syesha did the best she's done in a while, but everyone else, more or less, stunk. I wish that more were being eliminated tonight just so we could get down to the core great ones. So my pick for tonight is, once again, Kristy Lee Cook. Poor girl. We shall see!

Wonderful Weekend

What a great weekend it was (despite yucky weather on Saturday)! Friday, Lindsey and I went to see my sweet little William and gave him his Easter present. We also took Paisley with us, so he could play with her. Paisley didn't quite know what to think about a little person that makes such sudden movements! I love that kid to pieces and every time I see him we work really hard on saying "Whitney" or "Whittie" or some form of the word. He usually just gives me that adorable grin of his and babbles something else, but one of these days he'll have it down pat! Friday he was saying the beginning of "Bah bah black sheep," and he has the "bah bah" part perfectly!

We also kept Mickey this weekend! Mickey is the only male from Paisley and Rocket's first litter, and he went to Lindsey's parents. He's such a sweet little boy and it's so funny to see just how much he looks like a combination of Rocket and Paisley. There's no denying he's their baby! :)

Sunday we had the nursery at church, so we went to the 11:00 service instead of the 6:00. Afterwards, we went to eat with Lori, Barry and Sam at Red Robin. It's so great to be able to be with my family here in Nashville. It makes it feel much more like home when there is family here. And I always have loved being with Lori. She's always been the one I'm closest to...the big sister I never had, so I'm so thankful to have her so close by! After lunch, Sam came over to hang out with Linds and me, and we took all 3 dogs on a great walk...Sam even dug up some onions to feed Rocket. Yuck! Later, we played one of our many Cranium games. Whoonu Sam likes the scenic route more than roller coasters or watermelon, Lindsey likes daydreaming better than grapefruit, and I like coconut more than perfume. :)

Music Monday

I promise I'm showing no bias in today's pick. This song just gives me chills when I hear it...and when I see it.

Last year, Sugarland headlined the CMT tour, and Little Big Town and Jake Owen opened. They performed this song together and now there is a video on CMT as well of their cover of "Life In A Northern Town." Dream Academy originally cut the song in 1985 and was their biggest hit, reaching #7 on R&R's Hot 100 charts. Though this song isn't technically being released as a single, radio stations are already picking up on it and love it. Here's the video...I hope you love it as much as I do (and sorry for the text at the bottom of the video about the ringtone...Lord knows that I'm a little challenged in the area of youtube videos, so I had to take what I could get! The hyperlink on video above doesn't have the text, if you'd rather watch that)! :)

...Up On the Opry

Saturday night, some awesome Cross Point friends met Linds and I at Opry Mills and we went to the Grand Ole Opry. I had been a few times before (including the Tuesday night before with JoJamie!), but a few of the others had not. What a great time we had! We had great seats and we got to see the live portion with Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, and another act on the label I work at - Little Big Town!

Lindsey and I saw Carrie right after she won American Idol, which was her debut Opry performance. Saturday was incredible, because after singing a Randy Travis original ("I Told You So"), he came out to surprise her and invite her to be the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry! He then sang "Forever and Ever Amen" and "Diggin' Up Bones." What a legend.

For those of you who haven't gotten the chance to get the FULL Opry experience, there are current artists that perform, and then there are some more...classic country artists that play as well. That's when we got a little camera-happy. :) Here are Lindsey and Chris. I think this picture is hysterical because Linds looks either tired or shocked, and Chris looks like Mr. Magoo.

Linds and I love the "awkward" pictures.

Here's the rest of the group, Jessica, Kenny and Robin. We had a really good time, and how much fun to hang out and "do life" with some CP friends!

Won't Ya Let Me Take You on a Sea Cruise?

Or rather, don't you want to take me on a sea cruise??? :)

I have wanted to go on a cruise since, honestly I can't remember. I'm bound and determined to. I love the beach, I love water, I love boats...what could I not love about a cruise, right? Last summer, a bunch of friends and I had decided it was finally time: we were going to go on MTSU's spring break. Well dumb me had to go and mess it up because last week was MTSU's spring break...which was CRS for me. Basically the one and only week of the entire year that I absolutely could not be gone. So now that the slightest bit of warm weather has hit, I've got the fever again. I've been looking into a few different options, but now I don't really know where to begin. Where do I really want to go? How long do I want to be gone for my first one? Which cruise line? When is the best time to go? And to top it all off, how do I fit all this into a budget that works for me? So here I am, once again not asleep when I should be, looking for good deals on awesome cruises! :) But doesn't this just make you want to get away right now??

Ah, look at all the lonely people...

Whoa....2 in 1 day? What?? I'm making up for lost time from last week. :) I'll make this'un short 'n sweet though.

I have no clue how many contestants are eliminated tonight, but Carly with "Come Together," and David Cook with "Eleanor Rigby" were definitely the stars of the show. Brooke was amazing with "Let It Be," and Chikezie was so creative with "She's A Woman," so they weren't too far behind. I feel so bad for little David Archuleta, but I think he's shown enough talent in the past several weeks to slide through. If I had to pick one to go home tonight, it would definitely be Kristy Lee Cook (poor girl). If there are 2 leaving, I'd have to say David Hernandez. The guys are definitely taking this show away soon though!

I...Am...Number 1

I heard a quote yesterday that totally hit me. I don't know the exact wording of it, but the general message was "God made one of you. You are unique as you are, so don't give up just because you're outnumbered."

I'm surrounded by a number of different people and personalities on a daily basis. And to be totally honest, it's a constant struggle to not...conform, I guess is the word. This business is a Catch-22, especially as a female, in that you need to show that you're your own person (which I definitely am), but also that you can "hang with the big dogs." Some times are more difficult than others, but there's a very fine line between the two. Don't get me wrong, I clearly love my job and the business I'm in. I think within every profession or industry there are always these types of struggles. Regardless, that quote completely struck a chord with me at just the right time, and gave me just the right motivation to know that just because I don't do or say or act the same way as everyone else all the time, it's ok. I know that I'm great at what I do and that God put me in these positions for a reason, and I have to make the choice to learn from them. So there's my soap box for the day. :)

Music Monday

While at CRS last week, an old boss of mine and someone I look up to in the industry asked me who my favorite new artist was. The answer was so simple. So another easy pick for this week's Music Monday - Lady Antebellum's Top 15 record "Love Don't Live Here." Seriously. These guys are so amazing. They're a trio made up of Hillary Scott (daughter of Linda Davis), Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley (brother of pop/acoustic artist Josh Kelley...which means brother-in-law of Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl). I love that the group mixes up lead vocals from song to song because all 3 are truly wonderful singers. Though this single isn't my favorite from the album to be released April 15, the song is incredibly catchy and is really moving on up the charts now, and they just received an ACM nomination for "Best New Group" (although up against our group - Carolina Rain). I got the chance to talk to Hillary at CRS and congratulate them on the nomination and tell her how much I loved their music. She was incredibly sweet and humble and that made me like them that much more! I also got my hands on an advance copy of the album and I don't think there's a track that I don't like, and if seeing them play twice last week wasn't enough, I'm going to see them Saturday at the Opry as well! :) It's not very often that I become a major fan of an act, especially in country since I work with them, but these guys are the real deal and are going to be stars! So be sure to check out Lady A on their website or their myspace.

I'm Back in the Saddle Again

I thought I would do a quick recap of the past week since I spent so very little time getting to talk to much of anyone (with the exception of Linds a time or two and Mom and Daddy a few minutes a night) to let everyone know how it went! Who am I kidding though? We all know I ramble so this is going to be anything but quick. :)

Sunday and Monday were filled with watching charts and checking into the rooms and our label suite. But then Tuesday, the real fun began. I had promo meetings in the suite for the majority of the day with just the team, and then one of my artists' managers. That afternoon I had a Music Row party to go to, to meet some of my radio guys. It was at 2nd Fiddle and was PACKED. Katie Armiger and The Roys played while we were there. I have to say that I was really impressed by Katie. She's 16 years old and beautiful and has a pretty powerful set of pipes. Watch out for this girl! That night, on the way back into the hotel for dinner, I was also mistaken for Miranda Lambert. Love the girl, think she's really pretty...but really? Does the brown hair not give it away? Ha. I hung out with JoJamie and my Crossin Dixon boys and Dean Brody at the Bridge Bar for a while. I love all those guys so much and miss them tons, so it was great getting to see them for a while. Then we went to see new act Adam Gregory perform.

Wednesday was the Artist Radio Taping Sessions (ARTS), and I had our band, Carolina Rain (that's them up there). Basically all these radio stations go up to the different labels' booths and let the artists record liners for the station (like "HI! This is Carolina Rain, and you're listening to _____!"). I also went to the opening session with the man himself, Garth. SO freaking fantastic. I grew up on Garth, so what an amazing experience to be about 20 yards from him, listening to him talk about how different song inspirations came about, and life being "retired," and then playing a short set with full band. A-Maz-Ing.

That evening, I went to Music City Jams with Brad Paisley, and he announced his new tour with Julianne Hough, Chuck Wicks, and the one and only Jewel. Later that night I was at the Bridge Bar again and got to hang out with Jason and his band.

Thursday was filled with panels and taking my artist, Laura Bryna to several radio interviews. One of the panels was about chart research and another was about the life of a song with Luke Bryan and Billy Currington, and several industry guys. It was incredible because it followed the song "Good Directions" from creation, through publishing and A&R, and to the artist and label to becoming a #1 record. That night I went with the rest of the office to see Laura play at the Wildhorse and then to eat after the show with her. Then Linds met me and we went to JoJamie's label party, where we saw Jack Ingram, Jimmy Wayne, Jewel and newcomer Justin Moore. This is me with Laura Bryna and part of the promo team.

Friday was the last day of panels, a few Laura interviews, and a Carolina Rain interview. Each day a different label sponsored lunch and had 2 acts perform. I didn't get a chance to go to any of the other days' lunches, but I made a point to stop today...it was Emily West and Lady Antebellum! I love Lady A. I won't miss an opportunity to see them perform if at all possible. To close the CRS week, there's always a dinner and New Faces show that is industry-voted. Luke Bryan, Bucky Covington, Jake Owen, Jason Michael Carroll, and a personal fave, Taylor Swift all performed 4-5 songs. Afterwards, there's a disco party and a bunch of artists come out dressed in their best 70s garb and perform disco hits. The main bands were Whiskey Falls and once again, Lady A, but several others came out to play one song each...Taylor, Bucky, Chuck Wicks, Joe Nichols, Danielle Peck and lots of others. Here Taylor is with a brunette wig, singing "I Love Rock & Roll."

Then...to top the night off, GLORIA GAYNOR came to sing "I Will Survive." Holy. Cow. I was so freaking amazed. Quite possibly the highlight of my week...maybe even my year. What a great week. Busy, hectic and sometimes stressful, but overall wonderful! Thanks, Pete to the pick-me-up comment that came at just the right time!!

Busy...I'm so busy, My head is spinnin'...

This week, as most of you know if you've talked to me in the past 3 months, is CRS. Country Radio Seminar. In a nutshell, it's a 3 day seminar for all radio people across the nation (and a few across the pond, too), labels and artists to come into Nashville and have sessions about all different subjects in the industry today. It's even been declared "Country Radio Week" by Nashville's mayor, Karl Dean. Now when I say 3 days, I don't really mean 3 days. There is one day of artist radio taping sessions and 2 days of sessions, but the festivities typically begin on Tuesday, and for us as a label, they begin Monday. And when I say 3 days, I really mean a full, week-long, all day and all night type of deal. The sessions go on throughout the days, but the fun just gets started around 9, 10, 11:30 each night. That's way past my bedtime, so my body has clearly been preparing me for the lack of sleep that will result this week. But it's going to be so much FUN and I can't wait! I'll meet so many people this week, and see some sweet boys that I worked with at my last job that I miss tons, and basically just be going nonstop! So while I'll be in my hotel the rest of the week and quite possibly running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I will not be writing any posts this week. I know, I know. Bring out the tissues for no picks or gripes about American Idol. Ha. But I did have to just give an update on how great this weekend has been!!

• 70 degree weather today! It was incredible!! I kept William today, so we spent the majority of the time playing outside with Belle and Aspen, going on a long stroll, blowing bubbles and swinging on the swing. It was by far the highlight.
• I got to see my wonderful family (Mom, Daddy and Reed) on Friday at Opry Mills while they were in for YEC. I also got to see some good friends from back home, Mike & Cathy and Shannon. I also got to give Reed some big, surprising news. They would be taking home Dasher the next day for good! So Reed (well, Mom really...) has a new puppy. So any of you that know my dad, please start saying prayers right now that this dog turns out to be easy to train and perfectly calm and never makes any mistakes. Because if not, I'll never hear the end of it. :)
• I got to eat at yummy Cheesecake Factory with Bree & Lindsey, and Tin Roof with JoJamie! AND I got to have a lunch with a great friend I've met at Cross Point - Nate (technically that was Wednesday, but still...this is my blog and I can say it was the weekend if I want)! AND I got to go to dinner with more Cross Point friends - Amber, Chris & his kids, Linds, and 2 new friends, Justin and James. Ok...so that just goes to show that I haven't gotten groceries in FAR too long.
• Another awesome Sunday night service at Cross Point. This drift series is killer.
• Last but certainly not least, Lindsey got some very exciting news. Hopefully more info will be posted later! ;)

Insomniac

I can't sleep. I think I'm turning into my mother (probably in more ways than one). I've inherited my mom's inability to fall asleep and stay asleep, and my dad's bad back. That's a nasty combination at times. Then throw in the jaw issues I still have that make it difficult to get comfortable.

Paisley and Dasher appreciate these times when I result to getting up because that means someone gets my abandoned memory foam pillow. They'll bite at each other until someone gives in, and this time Paisley won so now Dasher has joined me.

But I've tried everything, seemingly. I've tried reading, getting up and doing something else, TV... you name it. If anyone has any bright ideas, I'd love to hear them! Maybe my body is just gearing me up for the busy week next week that will result to little or no sleep (more on that later). Regardless, here I am at 3:30am with infomercials about swival Swiffers and "washboard ab" chairs going nonstop. Speaking of informercials, here's one that Ellen talks about...it's hysterical!




Well now that it's taken another 30 minutes just to figure out how to put a video from YouTube on here, I think it's about time to try this thing they call "sleep" again. Dasher seems to think so!