New “Do”

I’ve been thinking for quite some time to donate. That is…donate my hair. A few years ago, I donated my hair and LOVED it. Let’s take a bit of a flash back for a moment.

I went the traditional bob route that was simple, basic, and classic.

I loved it.

It was a great change from the long hair that had no character. This time around, the end result was a bit different. This is what I started with…

Here I am, waiting in the the salon for my stylist, named Ryan by the way, to come get me and take 10 inches of hair off of my head. I went in with a picture of a cute, but edgy bob that had long bangs that could be curled and be whispy.

Well….that’s not what happened…take a look.

…and…

Does this look like a bob to you?

Nope. Sure doesn’t.

Well, I had a moment…okay, okay…an entire hour where I was on the phone with my mother, father, and sister bawling my eyes out because it was not cut the way I wanted it to be cut.

Then, of course, I finally smacked my face, looked at myself in the mirror and realized that I was crying over something super silly. There was no point in making such a fuss over something so simple and something that will grow back.

So, I hopped into the shower so that I had the opportunity to fix my hair myself. Once I was done with that I strutted myself into work and rocked it. With a little bit of encouragement from “Mama Lynn” and my family, I rocked it. It was my only choice and I have finally decided that I like it.

I like my haircut.

I has taken a couple of days, but I can now confidently say that I like my haircut. It is a little bit on the rocker style and it is most certainly sassy, but cute all the same.

I’m going to say it one more time, 10 inches down and I now like my haircut.

Easton Corbin Concert

On Thursday night, my friends and I decided that we were going to go to a country concert at Coyote Joe’s. It was a reunion of sorts of folks from college and a collision of new friends. A group of girls and a guy. The only guy, a husband of a college friend. All I have to say, is BRAVE man!

This was on our way into the bar. You know, anytime is the prime time for a photo opportunity and our professional photographer is…drum roll please…Ryan, the only guy who came with us.

Once inside, we danced a little, hung out with each other, and sat is saddles.

Ok…I sat on a saddle. The bartender was quite nice and he gave me maraschino cherries and for anyone who knows me, they know that I’m a sucker for cherries. Yum!

Finally, Easton Corbin came on stage and I never realized how DARN cute he is!

I mean, you can’t tell me you don’t agree…

And he put on a good show, we had a great time and we will be heading back for other concerts in the near future!

I LOVE these girls! We always have so much fun together!

Until later!

Words for the Heart

Place your heart in the hands of God, and he will place it in the hands of a man He believes deserves it.

Biltmore Extravaganza!

Yesterday, my family and I went to the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC. Well…I should say my parents and “family friends,” but I claim them as family because they are so awesome! You see, the last time I went to the Biltmore Estate, I was probably around six or seven years old.

That was a long time ago.

I was much too young to have sampled the delicious wine or to have truly enjoyed the food that the Biltmore Estate has to offer.

Since I was there last, many more rooms have been added to the tour and they have a self guided audio tour now as well that provided us with lots of history about each room in the house as well as the people who lived and visited in each room.

When we first got there, it was snowing. Yes, snowing!! I was like a five year old at Christmas! I LOVE the snow, and seeing the Biltmore House in the snow was like icing on the cake!

Unfortunately, we were not able to take photographs inside the house, but I was able to get several exterior photographs.

Attached and to the right of the house, was the barn. Well, it used to be a barn. Now it houses a gift shop and a confectionary where people were able to get souvenirs and sweet treats. Yum!

When we came back out, it was no longer snowing, but the wind was incredibly harsh. It was hovering around 30 degrees.

I named the lions on either side of the front door Leo and Lena. Oh yeah, those names are going to stick!

I forgot how intricate the details of the house are. It is incredible that a house of this magnitude actually housed a family. A baby was born here, there was a family for 5 St. Bernard dogs here, and there were frequent visitors that stayed for weeks at a time. They would swim in the lighted (underwater that is) pool and exercise in the fully equipped gym.

To the right of the front door, you can see on the first level roof that there is a glass roof. This is directly over the indoor “winter garden.”

Here is a closer look…

It is so cool to me that even in the 1800s, the technology that there was in this time.

Then, there is the spiral staircase. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the house. Of course, I was only able to take a picture of it from outside of the house, but it is still as beautiful.

So beautiful!!

The experience of the Biltmore would not have been as fun without my family. Mom, Dad, Larry, Diann, and Leslie were all there with me and I would not have been able to go without each of them.

There is nothing better than family and friends. Life would not be nearly as exciting or  wonderful without friends and family. This was after our tour. We were waiting on the shuttle to take us back to our parking lot so we could go have lunch. At this point, we were famished!

Then, it was on to the Bistro at Antler Hill Village  where we had an INCREDIBLE meal complete with appetizers and dessert, each part being my favorite, and I’m going to make you wait for that one.

Words to live by

“Let me be patient, let me be kind.

Let me be unselfish, without being blind.

 

I may have faith, to make mountains fall,

but if I lack love, then I am nothing at all.”

 

Pottery Class number 3

This was my third week of my pottery class. It has been so much fun, but this week I had trouble focusing. I had a lot on my mind this week and zoned out a bit during my class. However, it was ok, I still made three pieces that I’m pretty proud of…check them out and tell me what you think.

The first piece started as something completely different, this is what I ended up with…

It started as a simple soup bowl, and I messed it up a bit so I decided to go in a different direction. Honestly, I like it. What do you think?

The second piece that I made was meant to be a plate, and that is what it ended up being! Yay!

The only thing I didn’t plan on was the decoration. This was something new that I was introduced to by my instructor, Leon. What it is, is dyed liquid clay. So, it dries like this and when it is fired, it will still be dark. I’m excited to see what it looks like after being fired. It should be beautiful!

The third piece is another plate that is larger and plain.

I made this one myself. All by myself. I’m so excited by it. I am surprising myself by everything that I’m learning. It has been so much fun, and I look forward to all the other pieces I get to make throughout my class.

Something else I have learned is even if there are mistakes made, it doesn’t mean that you have to throw the used clay into the “use later” pile. It just means that there is an opportunity to create something different. Use your imagination!

Relay For Life Kickoff

So…we didn’t have quite the turn out that we had anticipated, but that’s okay. This is the first annual Relay For Life in this community so we are still trying to get the word out.

Even though as many people didn’t show up as we had hoped for, we were prepared for them. We had Newks to cater the event…THANK YOU NEWKS!!

I made the cupcakes and ACS provided the purple (you will see what I mean).

And more…

I wrote the banners saying Celebrate and Fight Back that are posted on the wall. We had purple balloons, purple table clothes, most wore purple shirts, purple plates, etc., etc.

We had a lot of fun and ate lots of delicious food and were able to reach a couple of people who are new to Relay For Life and hopefully they will spread the word about our event in order to increase the number of people who attend and raise money so that a cure for cancer can be found.

Remember what we are fighting for.