Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland...

So this morning already started out pretty rough, but telling the story becomes a lot more humorous than it felt in the moment!

I woke up and took Lindsey to the airport for their company retreat in Mexico. Yeah, yeah...Mexico. Poor thing, having to go to the beach for a week, all expenses paid... But she's amazing and already blogging about why she likes traveling with me the best. :)

Rewind a little bit to last night. I went to see sweet Hudson and because of the weather, it took an hour and 40 minutes to get home from the hospital. I have to admit, I was so confused as to why, because there was nothing downtown, but as I got closer to Brentwood I could see how white the bare trees were even in the dark night. I took several pictures of the 2-3" of snow because I was sure it would be melted by morning, like most "blizzards" in Tennessee.

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Back to today, Linds and I made it just fine to the airport, so I was sure I'd be fine on the way home. Wrong-o! Again, it took me almost two hours to get from the airport to almost home. After sitting completely still in traffic and seeing two accidents, I thought I was home free. I had already driven on my road, right? I tried my best to make it up the hill, but I got stuck. Twice. Bless this sweet guy's heart, he had gotten his car stuck, and he was helping everyone who was having any problems. Namely me, because I was pretty much crying hysterically. After talking to Daddy, I locked up my car and was about to start walking the rest of the way home. Unfortunately, little Layla didn't really like that idea and she started running away without me in it. Yes, my car started sliding away from me after I had gotten out. I had already put my keys in my purse and had to dig them out really quickly, unlock my car, and jump in without slipping myself. Panic. Attack. Finally, after getting stuck just one more time, I made my way back down the hill and into a parking lot. Yes, it was farther away, but at least it's out of the road and away from other brilliant people trying to make it up and down the ice-covered hill. I walked on home, not thrilled to be walking, but so thankful I was safe. Did I mention all of this is in my pajamas?! No jacket, just fingerless gloves. I thought it would be a quick trip to the airport and then back to bed before work, but no... So since I was already frozen, I decided to let the puppies out to enjoy the snow (ironically enough, they hate the rain but love to play in the snow) and take a few more pictures since it truly was beautiful. Now...who's up for picking me up to take me to my car? :)

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was filled, plan and simple. Thursday night I kept my sweet William, who is saying "Whittie" with ease now! Actually, he likes to keep me guessing, because he'll call me "Whittie" one second perfectly enunciated, and then "Whitwie" and the "Ittie" another time. He's so precious. Here he is saying "cheese" for the camera during dinner Thursday night. He also says his prayers before he eats! He mostly babbles his way through, but he squints his eyes and holds his hands together. Adorable.

On Saturday, my family was in Nashville for the state band competition. Reed plays the 3rd bass drum for the high school and this year's show was called "School Days." I had only seen their very first performance at the first football game of the season, so it wasn't completely finished and it wasn't in their uniforms, so it wasn't quite the same then. I kept William that afternoon, so Lindsey and I loaded him up to take him to the band competition. They did a great job in the semi-finals, and after it was over, Reed showed William his hat (pictures to come of that...Kay has it on her camera!) and drum, and even let him hit it with the "bat" (the mallet). William had a great time watching 2 or 3 different bands' performances, but he loved getting Sam to carry him around even more! He even cried when I told him we had to leave!

This was on the way and wearing his cowboy hat from his costume the night before!

Cheese!

Linds and I went back home to see about all the dogs - Dash was back to play with us! He's the one on the far left that looks like he's flying!

After we found out Reed and the rest of the band made the top 10 for the finals, we headed back to Thompson's Station to watch them perform again. They were amazing! We didn't get to see all 10 bands perform, but we saw about 6 or 7 of them, and MCHS's show was definitely the most entertaining, and I can say that without a biased bone in me. ;) They ended up getting 6th overall, and I thought they deserved higher than that, but they had improved from last year so that's good. And Reed has 3 more years of it, so that gives him plenty of time to get 1st! :) In between all the bands (and some not-so-interesting performances) and freezing, we got a little delirious and bored...

She probably gets this "bless your heart" look a lot...

I think I may have been biting Mom?

I think Linds said to be "thugs"...I just don't have it in me.

After an extra hour of sleep, we were off to keep the sweet babies in the nursery and had a full room! Mom & Dad made it in time to go to Kids Stuff and they loved it, and then we went to hear an amazing message about purpose from Pete. We had an entire row because Kay & George were here too! I felt like Selmer was in Nashville! After some interrupted shopping that afternoon, Mom & Dad headed home in my car and thankfully made it there without a problem, considering the front end of my car was gone...oh my, my... Little Layla seems to have it out for me. First the transmission, then battery, then brakes (that's a new development), and then she decided to jump out in front of someone in the Cool Springs mall parking lot... But even that couldn't put a damper on the weekend. It was great to get to hang out with my family for a long time and finally hear the words I've wanted to hear for a year..."Whittie!" :)

It's Been A Long Time Coming...

I have been a terrible blogger. Almost as bad as this one, but not quite that much. :)

Just thought I'd post a quick update on things since I last wrote, and then hopefully I'll get my pictures loaded onto my computer correctly so I can do a little backtracking.

• First of all, I'm so sad Labor Day has come and gone. Where did the summer go? I had so much planned for the summer and had intended on quite a bit more happening than actually did...but that's life, right? Time flies!!
• I've done a ton of babysitting this summer, which has been wonderful because I love my kiddos so much. But also because it's helped SO much in keeping me afloat after dealing with all the lovely car issues from the past few months.
• I might also add to the car issues that this weekend my battery completely died on me. Shouldn't there be a warning or something telling me that it's going dead? But no. Fortunately it was while I was in Selmer, after filling up at the gas station which is about 2 minutes from my parents' house. So my wonderful dad came and helped me out and took me to get a replacement. Thanks, Daddy!
• Things have been changing a ton at work lately too. That is a story within itself that will just need to hold off for a bit. Let's just say I'm trying my best to be patient, but patience wasn't exactly one of my God-given natural qualities...
• Also want to say how EXCITED I am for 3 different couples: Chip and Mallory are finally engaged and I'm a bridesmaid! Can't wait. The two of them are so great together and I love them bunches and bunches! Second, Will & Beth are going to have a baby in March! I'll be a pseudo-aunt...how fun! ;) They are so amazing and will be incredible parents! Finally, Julie & Tom are expecting too!! I've actually known about this for quite a while, but didn't want to say anything. William's new baby brother or sister will be born in December, and my money is on a little girl! I'm super excited about this baby, too, because I started keeping William when he was about 5 or 6 months old, so it'll be so much fun to keep one from the time it's born!
• Finally, we had a great weekend in Selmer this past weekend. I got to see Reed's very first ever high school field show. It was fun getting to yell for him and he did such a good job! I don't get to make it home for a lot of things that he does, so I'm really glad I got to be there for something that was so important to him. It was also a great lake weekend and had such a good time spending time with Mom & Dad...now if they'd just come to Nashville more often! ;)

Bathroom Decorating

When Linds and I moved to Nashville over a year ago, we were so excited to finally get to paint walls in every room! Needless to say, we bit off a little more than we could chew, and by the time we got to the 1/2 bathroom, we were just ready to get it over with! I had wanted to pick out a color that I wouldn't necessarily paint an entire room that I'd be in every day...something a little different for me, but still somewhat coordinated with the surrounding rooms. So I picked a mossy-green, and the color was pretty...but in a tiny, 1/2 bath it pretty much looked disgusting. Almost every time I ever saw it for the past year, I would get aggravated by it! So part of the summer project list was to re-paint!

Linds and I went to Home Depot and picked out a brighter green...Bamboo Leaf (just FYI). We got it on the walls in a little over an hour and with the lights out, it was just the right color. However, I don't think any guests we have come over would appreciate having to go in the room with all the lights out. It was LIME green and basically glowed in the dark! Above is a picture of Lindsey with what I'm pretty certain is the only evidence of the original green (though it looks brown here) and definitely the only color of the lime green. It didn't look so bad as one little blob! We went back to Home Depot the next day and picked out another color green...Pepper Grass and it was perfect! However, it required a primer and 2 coats (after yet another...the 3rd if you're keeping count...trip to Home Depot). So 3 shades of green, and ultimately 5 coats total later, I have a very cute 1/2 bath! Finally...the finished product!

Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend has absolutely flown by, and I'm oh-so-glad that it's a 3 1/2 day week this week. Long weekend in S-Town!!

One day earlier last week, I had a last-minute babysitting job with my little man! As I've said many times before, he's my little sweetheart, my baby. But this day, he saw Lindsey first and her Fruitista Freeze drink (the new slushy-things from Taco Bell) and flew to her first and absolutely wouldn't come to me. He's so in love with her, it's precious. But he'll always be my baby! :)

Friday night, I made my way after work to the Wilson household! I haven't kept Pete and Brandi's 3 sweet boys before and I was really looking forward to it! We had a great time playing Mario Kart (of course!) and baseball (Jett had 3 homeruns!) and building forts in the living room! Here are Brewer and Gage in the fort, and the that adorable Brewer just getting waked up from his nap!

After Brewer went to bed, I had a special experiment ready for the older boys. They were so excited! Who am I kidding? I was so excited! We were going to make the Glowing Mountain Dew experiment that I'm sure most of you have gotten in emails. Well, after waiting all night and building up the anticipation, it was a total let down...or rip off, according to Jett. We were all really bummed, and I was convinced that I had done something wrong. I went to youtube to show the boys what was supposed to happen, and in the "related videos" field, there were about 5 videos showing how the original was a fake and used a broken glow stick. Boo! I promised Jett that if he'd let me come play with him again, I'd bring a really cool experiment that I tested first!

Saturday, Lindsey and I spent some much needed BFF time together and got in some retail therapy! Oh, how I love my best friend... someone's got to! ;)

That night, we went with some friends to see Wall-E. It was really cute! But I'm a sucker for all Disney movies (shocker there, right?) and enjoyed it even though I fell asleep in it!

We Will Still Be...Friends Forever...

Going on through more pictures, there was a Mix cookout last weekend (yes, the one my car decided it didn't want to leave). I love the summertime when you can grill out! Linds and I just used her grill for the first time since we moved here...over a year ago. HA! Just to semi-justify, neither one of us knows what we're doing, and we had an older grill at our house in Murfreesboro, but we'd always get our other roommate's boyfriend to grill for us...and we were going to try one time, but there was a big, black spider with it's ugly red hourglass on it's back. I'm absolutely petrified of spiders, especially ones that can be lethal, and Lindsey doesn't particularly care for them, so we steered clear of the grill for a while after that (and after it was definitely "dead, dead, dead" in the words of 2-year-old Reed).

Anyway, back to the cookout. It was great because we all got to hang out outside and chat. Turns out (**ok, news flash for my parents...this will be info you aren't exactly privy to just yet**) Jessica, Rachel, Dinger, Lindsey and I all want another tattoo. We all know what we want (with the exception of Lindsey...) and were talking about it, and then we decided that we'd all get them together. Then it became a joke of what exactly we're getting....SO...

Rachel and I are are getting each half of a heart, with "BFF" on it

Lindsey is the end of an arrow, and Jessica is the tip! :)

So now you can imagine what it'll look like, all together. :)

We're supposed to all go get them in the next week or two, and no, I'm not saying (just yet) what and where I'm getting the real deal (as long as I don't chicken out). You'll just have to wait and see!

Something's Gotta Change

This song has been playing in my head every day since Sunday, and I'm so glad to finally be able to share the video. This girl is a-maz-ing. She literally is blowing my mind at how incredibly talented she is. I just played it for the guys in my office and they're raving about her, too. So if anyone can tell me what her name is, I'd so appreciate it!!

**Update** - Her name is Amanda, and you should definitely check out her myspace!

Somethings Got To Change from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.


PS - update on car... poor little Layla is about to head to ole S-Town to get a new transmition in her. All in favor for starting the "Whitney needs to pay for her car" fund?

Got Me On My Knees, Layla

Because it's the middle of the night and I can't sleep again (Shai, I'll totally take you up on your offer if you're reading this!), and because I can't seem to think of anything else since I woke up an hour ago, I'm hoping this will take a load off my mind!

Tiny bit of background: For those of you who really know me, you know I haven't exactly had the best luck with cars. However, my little car now has been the best thing ever and I've had zero problems with it since I got it over 3 years ago. It's an older model RX300 with quite a few miles on it, but it isn't strange for a Lexus to get 200,000+ miles safely. That said, it's getting to the point to where I knew it may start having issues.

2 weeks ago, I was in the process of shipping the next Carolina Rain single, and taking 600+ packages to the post office to be shipped to radio. I got into my car, shifted into reverse....nothing. After all the guys in the office came down, listened (because it was running perfectly fine. It just wouldn't go.) & tried and whatnot, Jack finally got it going. I had him drive it for me, because frankly I was scared to death something would happen while I was driving by myself. Here's the weird thing...no more issues. I took it to have the codes checked and my CP friend Chris was going to help me out, but they said if it was running alright and no check engine light was on, then running the codes wasn't going to do anything, so I kept driving it.

Fast forward to our CP Mix cook out this past Saturday. Linds and I got in the car, cranked it... nothing. This time it wouldn't go in drive or reverse. Awesome. After thinking I was just going to have to leave it and have it towed in Monday morning, another CP guy came out and got it working. I still don't know what he did, but it was going, so I drove straight to the dealership (and it drove and shifted perfectly, FYI) in Cool Springs and left it that night, and another CP friend, Dinger, took us home.

I called this morning to explain what had happened, and they said it was the mass air flow meter, whatever the heck that is, and a battery was needed. Ok...I can handle getting a battery elsewhere. No problem. Granted, $400 is more money than I wanted to be spending on the meter-thingy, but if it was going to make me feel safe driving, then fine. So Lindsey and I both left our jobs an hour early so we could make it to the dealership to pick it up in time, I pay for it, they assure me it wasn't a transmission issue and things were fine, I even saw my car driving around the lot, and we leave.

I'm so glad I told Lindsey to wait and follow on me. (Reason #582 she's an awesome best friend).

As I was crossing Old Hickory and Edmonson (for those of you who know Nashville, that's not exactly a slow intersection at 5:45pm), my car just stopped going. It was almost like I had shifted into neutral. Thankfully, I had enough momentum to coast into a church entrance (with the quick fear of stalling as I was crossing the 2 lanes of oncoming traffic) and called the dealership back immediately. They said send it back. Um, duh. But how?! I've never had a car towed when I was conscious, so I don't exactly know how to do that. Call it a life lesson, I guess. But finally I did get someone out there, but not without dear, sweet Layla (that's her name. Get it? Layla the Lexus. Hence the title) pretending she was going to go again. I went about 20 yards before it stopped again and I coasted into the Publix parking lot. An hour later, I was watching her be towed back to the dealership, where hopefully they'll realize that the problems only got worse when they originally "fixed" it and cover all costs. Yeah, right...but Mom told me to be positive.