"Have no fear for givin' in,
Have no fear for givin' over.
You better know that in the end,
It's better to say too much,
Than never to say what you need to say again."
-John Mayer "Say"
So I'm super, super excited about just a few things happening!
I'm converting...to a Mac! I've taken the plunge and am picking up my new baby iBook on Friday. It's my birthday present and I absolutely cannot wait!
Linds and I got Wii Fit yesterday! After she called practically every GameStop in a 30 mile radius for quite a while, she found one yesterday and I ran to go pick it up. Last night we tried it out for a little while and it's actually very fun...and hard! It's so cool because it measures your Body Mass Index and does all kinds of little tests and then you set a goal for yourself to lose/gain BMI/weight within a certain period of time. Now if I can make myself do it at least once a day! Fortunately, it is fun enough so it doesn't feel like "working out."
I'm working on the biggest project on my summer list...redecorating my room. It's a very slow work-in-progress, but thanks to my incredible BFF, I got a super-cool "new" bedside table! Seriously, how creative is she? Now I just need to finish arranging the furniture, buy a few more accessories, and paint (and building a cool headboard may be in the mix, but that may be wishful thinking).
Next week, Linds, Laurie, Justin & Tango Tanner are going to buy season tickets to TPAC. I've never gotten season tickets before, but there are far too many shows that I really want to see to not do it this year...and Wicked is coming next year and that guarantees us tickets! Also Wicked will be in Louisville, so hopefully we'll make a trip to see Will & Beth and see it with them!
I'm a big Harry Potter fan (liked the movies first, loved the books, now I love the movies too!) and the trailer for the newest movie was released...out in November! I'm not sure how to post the video of it, but go here to watch it yourself. :)
Just bought tickets to see Jason Mraz in November! He's amazing and I haven't seen him since he was at Memphis in May 2 years ago. I just hope this time the experience with the Ryman is a little better than last time.
Finally, it's almost August! Seriously, I never ever thought I would look forward to August as a kid...and even since I became a "big girl," too. But this summer it's an exception. Hopefully I'll get to share with you why in a few weeks, but I can't just yet and I can't let myself get my hopes up too much this time, either. So for now, we'll just say I'm excited for August because it's my birthday month. :)
There's a new Mix blogger and she posted a picture of her cubicle at work, and it inspired me! That, and there are of course, plenty of people in my family who haven't (and probably won't) seen my office.
I really do love my office. It's in the very center of our entire office space, so I'm kinda in the midst of everything, and I can see everyone as they come and go. And I love that I have a window. At my last job, there were like, 3 windows period, so we had no clue what it was doing outside at any given moment. One day there was literally a tornado coming...sirens going off and everything, and I walked outside clueless to the monsoon that was pouring down. Anyway, the one bad part to my window is that it's the only one in the entire building that doesn't open. So when I'm freezing (which is 99% of the time), I can't open my window to let the warm air come in.
Another thing I like about my office is that I have more than enough room, so I got to bring in some "fun" things to make it mine (and I still have empty shelves and tons of stuff from the girl who used to have this space). It was already bright yellow, so that was nice and cheery for me. Then I added my pink "shrine" as some of the guys in the office call it. It's not noticible unless you come all the way into my office, so when I'm working I can look at it and it has all kinds of stuff that makes me happy. :) (**please excuse the poor cell camera quality**) Yes, there are pink boxing gloves, a princess crown, and pink Disney Pez dispensers.
Then I have another shelf of other fun things, like pictures of artists I work with now or have worked with, and my pretty, colorful notebooks. I've found it's much easier to do the boring parts of work when you have things that are fun to look at!
Finally, here's a glimpse of my desk, and yes...a pink desk calendar and a pink, sparkly blanket!
Things you've probably already figured out but confirmed in this post: I kinda love pink. :)
My best friend used to win everything. I'm serious...if it was on the radio, we won it (mostly her, though I won my fair share of tickets throughout college). Everything from a picnic basket to tickets to concerts and M&Gs to a trip to LA for American Idol. Seriously. Neither one of us has done it, or even tried in a really long time though, but the urge to dial the radio station as soon as we hear the cue to call is very tempting most times.
A month or so ago we saw that THEIdina Menzel was coming to TPAC. For those of you who aren't up to your Broadway trivia, she played in the original casts for RENT and Wicked (and in the movie-version of RENT...she's the bottom left in the picture). Basically, she's freaking amazing. More talent in her pinky than anyone I've ever seen. However, I'm pretty much on a tight budget because of all the car issues, and I didn't really know about her album, so I didn't think I'd want to spend the $40 for the "cheap" seats and then not really be into the songs.
So on the way home from work one day a few weeks ago, we heard the magical touch tones and they said "Caller 10 is going to see Idina Menzel at TPAC on July 17!" Needless to say, we jumped on the opportunity and used both my phones and hers...and of course, she was the winner! :)
Let me just say that I've been to a lot of concerts. A lot. I went to this show knowing that I'd be blown away because she's just that talented. I in no way expected it to be definitely in the top 5 greatest shows I've ever seen, and it definitely was. Needless to say, I'd definitely have paid the $40...Linds and I really want to get make a roadtrip to see her again...SOON!
The night started off a little on the rough side. The opener wasn't that wonderful, though he was quite good...just not great. And he just played acoustically, so there was no tear down of the sets or anything, yet it took almost 45 minutes before Idina came on. When she finally did, she blew everyone out of the water, took the mic off the stand and started to walk across the stage...then stopped singing altogether. Her in-ear monitor and the battery pack had fallen out. Then it did it 2 more times. Here's the thing that was stand-out about that. She didn't skip a beat. She bounced right back into the 2nd verse the first time, and then continued to sing the next 2, all while the guys backstage rushed on to help her put it back in, and all the while belting out notes that send chills all up and down my spine. Un.Freaking.Real. So good.
Let me tell you, I listened to the most recent album, I Stand, a few times before the show, just to be familiar with the music (because I only knew her Broadway stuff before) and there was no mistaking she had a killer set of pipes, but it just didn't knock my socks off. On stage, in person, 15 feet away, it definitely did. I just sat in awe the majority of the time. I'm definitely a fan now.
And she's hysterical! She said some of the funniest, off-the-cuff things that I have never seen in a live performance...except for maybe John Mayer, but she had us in stitches! And one time she said (in reference to a lady that was kinda going back and forth with her in the audience) "I have sass for days...I played the Wicked Witch of the West" very matter-of-factly. The entire audience roared. She would also tell little stories behind some of the songs and I always love that in artists.
Now, here comes the amazing part...she talked about how she got her first real job in theatre for RENT, and then she sang an acoustic performance of "No Day But Today" (from RENT, if you don't know) and it was soooo beautiful! Then someone yelled out "Moo with me!" and she went into Maureen's big, huge monologue. THEN she sang "For Good" (from Wicked...video below from the Today Show performance)! THEN she did her encore and sang "Defying Gravity" (also from Wicked...video below from the 2004 Tony Awards performance). Amazing. I saw, from 15 feet away, Tony Award-winning actress perform her monologue and her songs from her Broadway show. It was so unbelievable, and if that doesn't show you what a geek I am, I'm not sure what will! ;)
Here are the few good pictures I got from the show (we weren't supposed to have cameras, but I'm sorry...I'm a scrapbooker. I'll get my shots in on the last couple of songs!) :) and the videos.
A girl had given her a shirt and she put it on and modeled it! :)
When Julie goes out of town, she always makes sure that my weekend is pretty much blocked off so I can come at the drop of a hat if Tom needs me. Last weekend was no exception and I got to play with my sweet boy almost the entire day Friday, since I got to leave work early. I hadn't seen him in a little while, so I had some surprises for him. He loved his new fish cup! This is him giving the fish a sweet kiss! How precious?? (**FYI: if you look closely you can see my new tattoo! More on that later...**)
Here he is with his new puzzle that he got too. He loved making the airplane fly into its place!
I've posted about how much William loves to read. He'll sit down and look at a book in his rocking chair all on his own or come crawl in a lap to have it read to him. A new favorite activity is "flying" on my feet.
Finally, I'm trying to figure out how to post some cute videos, but you'll have to bare with me if it doesn't work! Both are less than 20 seconds, so you totally have time to watch him! The first video is of William telling me what a lion says. It's by far his favorite animal sound and he has a pretty vicious growl! :) He also knows his horse, monkey, puppy and snake sounds...and more! He's getting very mimic-y now! It's so precious to see what all he's learned since the last time I've kept him.
Lastly, this is a video right after he woke up from an afternoon nap and eating his "Finding Nemo" snacks. Even though Nemo is Nnnnnneeeeeeemo and he says "Mehmo," it definitely means Nemo. Such a sweet little voice, and look at those little pursed lips!
For the first time in 3 years, I got to be home for the 4th. Although I was sad to miss out on the Nashville festivities, it was so nice to be able to spend a long weekend with my family.
Laurie (who just broke down to peer pressure and started her blog!), Lindsey, Sam, the puppies and I headed west earlier than expected and I got to make it home for a yummy tenderloin dinner! Linds and I watched Superbad (which was terrible, I might add) and went to bed.
The next day, Friday, we spent the majority of the day on the water, and although it wasn't the prettiest of days, it was nice to get to relax and catch up with the "lake crew." We went in a little early and grilled out at the Bradleys' cabin, then got back in our boat to head to the on-the-water fireworks...my favorite! It got really cold and rainy for a little bit so we piled on the layers for the boat ride...add sweatshirts on top of dresses to a day of the lake-look, and this is what you get! Not cute, but funny!
The fireworks were very sporadic, due to the gigantic monsoon that came in 30 minutes before, but once they got going, they were so pretty! I love watching the fireworks on the water, because they look like they're on top of you and the light reflected on the water is beautiful!
Saturday was a much prettier lake day and we got some good sun! Reed and Linds tubed, but I was super sore from the choppy and rough ride the day before so I opted for just a fun boat ride with Daddy while Mom drove.
We left Dry Creek just in time...storms were blowing in, and once again, we got a good soaking. Here you can see the rain coming in, right where we had just left!
We grilled out again Saturday night at Uncle Phil's :) camper, then left to see the Grand Harbor fireworks. They were more streamline than the Pickwick fireworks, but they all started looking the same after a while, so we headed back to the puppies!
I was fortunate enough to have been raised in church. It was just a known thing that every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night, I was going to be in church. Everyone was going to be, actually. At a certain point in a young adult's life, you have to start making that choice to go or not to go on your own. For quite a while, I simply made the choice not to. I bounced around and tried several different churches out, and I would continue to go to the church back home when I was in town, but more or less, I didn't go throughout college. I didn't feel like I should be made to any longer. It wasn't that I had any major beef with God or didn't believe in Him or anything...I just felt like I should be able to choose when (and where) I would go when I wanted to. And right then, I didn't want to yet. I wanted to want to go. And I knew that I would...I knew, deep down, that God had a plan for me.
And I was right. I was led to Cross Point and couldn't wait to move to Nashville so I could start going regularly. Sure enough, as soon as we were all moved in and were actually staying in Nashville on the weekends, I started attending Cross Point every week. I immediately knew I was home. I knew that was where God wanted me to be. He brought me to Cross Point to bring me back to Him. And that's exactly what happened. Lindsey and I both dove in, head first into everything Cross Point had to offer...volunteering in the nursery, small groups and the new member class. I had never even had the slightest urge to do any of that at any of the other churches I had attended throughout college.
Now, a full year later, I can't imagine being anywhere else. I have grown more in Christ in the past year than I have in the past 10. No, it's not because Pete is "cool and trendy" as someone may have said. It has nothing to do with that. I couldn't care less if he is or isn't. Does it make him more approachable? Yes. Does it make him a little more human than a Stepford Pastor? Yes. Does that automatically mean that Cross Point is the best church ever? Absolutely not. The point is, I feel at ease talking to him. I feel at ease coming to him and telling him I'd like to talk to him sometime. He admits that he's human and I think that's quite possibly one of the most admirable things a pastor can do.
Why do I go to Cross Point? There are a hundred different reasons why I love my church. I love my church because it is my Nashville family. Yes, there are a ton of people I have yet to meet, but I feel as if each one of them is part of my home away from home. I have people who care about what's going on in my life and how I'm doing. People to hang out with, to share ups and downs and highs and lows with, to grow in Christ with, or to get encouraging emails from when it feels like everything is caving in. People who are invested in me.
Also, I can go and just be me...I don't have to be anyone else. And I can be any version of me...whether it's Quiet Whitney, or Chatty Whitney or Moody, Emotional, Confused or Excited Whitney or a combination of all of those...just me. I'm taken just as I am. And I learn. Each and every time I step foot into the doors, I learn something about my Jesus and even myself, and how to handle everyday matters. Not only do I just learn, but I also feel challenged in my walk. The messages deal with things that a normal person faces...things that I face...and I look at those situations with a new set of eyes and react to things differently because I'm challenged to be a better me. To be the Whitney God intended me to be.
Overall, I genuinely love going. I think that is very important in a church. I love to go and worship my Savior. I can feel Him. And because of that hour of worship and learning, I see Him more in my everday life. The praise and worship is amazing, to say the least, and I find myself singing those songs throughout the week rather than the newest Rhianna or Brad Paisley single (not to down either of the two, of course). The praise and worship, combined with the message that rocks me to my core nearly every week, leave me on a spiritual high every Sunday. It's an amazing feeling. I feel like when I used to come back from a mission trip or youth retreat back in high school...except now I get to feel it every week rather than twice a year. How awesome is that?
Am I saying Cross Point is perfect? Of course not. Am I saying that it's perfect for everyone? Obviously not. But I am saying that it is perfect for me and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is exactly where God planned on me being in my life.
Today (I still consider 'today' July 3rd since the night isn't over!) was a half day of work for me, so we got off at 1:00. However, Thursdays are the days that the Music Row charts close (the chart that I call stations for), and I would have worked until 1, shut down and hurried home to set back up for charts to close at 2:15...so I took the day to work from home.
Let me tell you, I got so much more done in between 9 and 3:45 than I ever would have even if I had been in the office all that time. I allowed myself to not set an alarm, but my internal clock got me up right around 8, and that wasn't too far off from a normal day, so I got up and got things going shortly after.
Not only did I get more work work done, but I also got a lot of at home work done too. In between making my radio calls and regular-day work, I also got to clean the entire house, pack for the weekend, play with the puppies and clean sheets. I felt oh-so-productive! Now if I can just convince my boss that I should do this once a week...
I have bred Paisley and Rocket twice and in the first litter, she had an adorable little boy and girl. They were soooo cute! Part of the reason I quit breeding her was because I would get far to emotionally attached to the babies. So for the first litter, Lindsey got pick of the litter, and picked the first one born, McDreamy (his name has since been changed to Mickey, for obvious reasons) ;) to give to her parents because they're family dog had recently passed away. Here is a picture of Mickey in my hand at 10 days old.
Mickey has basically become their child since then and loves his Mom & Dad. It's very nice for them to have him because that means that Lindsey and I get to keep when her parents are out of town and play with him lots. We always laugh, because of the 3 puppies Paisley has had, he's the one that looks like you took Paisley's head and stuck it on Rocket's body...a perfect little blend of the 2 of them! Can you spot him here from this past February?
Paisley is on the left, Dash (from the 2nd litter) is the baby in the middle, Rocket is in the front, and Mickey is on the far right...with his little teeth shining like Paisley's! :)
When Mickey got a little older, they were having an exceptionally hard time housebreaking him. He would stop to try to potty several times within a matter of minutes, but he wouldn't go. They took him to the vet and everyone figured it was some sort of bladder infection. The problem worsened, and though Mickey was showing no signs of being in pain or even uncomfortable, we all were worried. The vet did a biopsy, and they found that there was a "fleshy mass" on his bladder, but it didn't appear to be cancerous and they removed it and started a treatment in hopes that it wouldn't come back. Mickey still jumps and plays and acts just like a normal 1-year-old puppy, though he's always been very special and timid since he was born, but he still stops to try to potty every 5 or 10 minutes. Last week, Mickey had yet another surgery at UT Knoxville, and the report has come back that he does, indeed, have cancer on his bladder. Lindsey's parents are supposed to get a report today as to whether it's treatable or not. Please keep her family in your prayers. As the owner of the mother, not only does my heart absolutely break for them and what that sweet puppy is going through, but I also feel somewhat responsible, as if I gave them a sick puppy. Please pray that they get a positive report and that Mickey won't be in pain. I'll update when we've heard from them.
