Oldies but Goodies

Our good ol' friends the Craven's paid my family and I a visit to TN last weekend.
The Craven's and my family have been friends for years. In fact, their daughter, Cara is considered my first friend as we were buddies when we were still wearing diapers. We met the Craven's years ago when my Mom needed a babysitter while she was at work. My Mom discovered Jeanette and Shawn Craven through a church bulletin board of recommended child care. The rest is pretty much history. As mentioned Cara and I bonded pretty quickly, but it turned out that our families were very much alike. Our parents became very good friends and over the years we've kept in touch with our sacred friends, The Cravens. We've taken trips together, visited each other's homes and have created many, many memories along the way.

My Dad and Shawn are very big Nascar fans, so every year Shawn comes to TN for the Bristol races. This year Jeanette, Cara and Cara's boyfriend, LJ came along for the ride too. Now, the women don't come for the racing of course, so the men went off to the races while the girls had a little bit of fun on our own. After the boys went on their merry way Cara, Jeanette, my Mom and myself went to Sonny's marina. Sonny's is a really cool marina that serves food and beer. It's a lot of fun to sit out over the lake and watch the boats come in. They also had a great band and plenty of dancing too!



The men got home from the races after midnight and typically we would have said our good nights and gone to bed, but nothing is typical when the Barnett's and Craven's get together. We were in store for a busy night of partying, which included beer pong, flip cup and flip pong. Flip pong was a new drinking game introduced by LJ and is pretty much a combination of beer pong and flip pong. What a better combination? The "old" people came to party and they certainly had their game faces on as they whipped butt when it came time to play a few games of flip cup, "old" people versus "young" people. Yes, I'm not ashamed to say that they did some major butt kicking on us youngsters. After a long night of drinking we finally went to bed around 5:00...did I mentioned we like to have a good time?

The next day was a day for recovering. I don't think I heard any movement in the house until after 10:00 am, which is pretty much unheard of if you've ever met my Dad, the king of getting up early. Starting around 10:00 am a few people wander out of bed, but by the time those still sleeping ventured out of bed the few that were up were already back in bed napping. This was a viscous cycle on Saturday that continued till around 6:00 pm. Once everyone ate dinner it was pretty much time to party again. I remember thinking to myself, are we really going to do this all over again, and the answer was yes! Yes we did it all over again. We managed to steer away from some of the drinking games to fit in other games such as corn hole and spoons. If you've never played spoons before please look it up! It's loads of fun!

The Craven's left Sunday to their homes in Louisville. Thanks guys for the great weekend. I will never forget the bourbon slush, flip pong or spoons! You guys are great! Can we please do it all over again???

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend."

- by John Leonard

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Fayetteville Bound

Last weekend I traveled to Fayetteville, NC to see a wonderful group of women. While Steve and I were living in Fayetteville for the duration of his Special Forces training I met some pretty awesome ladies! I haven't seen them since we left in February to move to Clarksville, so I was very excited to say the least. We have such a great group of friends. It's like one of those friendships where you may not talk for months and months, but when you do it's like you picked up right where you left off. Pretty amazing! Our friend Kendra is expecting her first baby in a few weeks, which made the visit that more special! Great, great trip! Love you girls!

Country Livin, Movin Out & Cat Up a Tree

A couple weeks ago I went with my Mom to Pennsylvania to visit my Grandmother for her 80th Birthday. My Uncle Bill flew in from Tampa, Florida too. We got a chance to spend the weekend at a family relative's house that was built in 1871. The McGravey Ridge Homestead has been in my family since the time it was built and has had it's share of houseguests. We were lucky enough to spend the weekend in this gorgeous farm house. My Mom and I are were definetly doing some country livin as we didn't have air conditon, cell phone or Internet service. It was great! My favorite part of the trip was enjoying eachother's company on the covered porch. The moment the sun started to go down and the temperatures began to drop we knew this was our invitation to sit back and relax. We saw plenty of lighting bugs buzzing around and were even lucky enough to watch the deer venture out from the secret hiding places. It was fun watching those little guys enjoy the freedom of the evening.




This past weekend was a pretty eventfull one. Colleen and Shannon moved out of the old Barnett Homestead and into their new apartment! The movers got here on Saturday morning at 8:00am and were done moving C & S by 11:00 am. We got the girls all set up in their new place and it looks great! They have such a beautiful new home and I know they're going to really enjoy it! Congrats girls on your new place. Steve and I are already looking forward to having a big party there when he gets home! Do you think we could crash at your place???




Along with their new apartment C & S also adopted a kitten they named Oliver. Little Oliver is as cute as he can be, all three pounds of him. Well, yesterday Shannon decided to bring the little guy over to meet the rest of his animal family, aka Charlie, Cosmo, Rocky and lil Miss Bella. Before we could even get inside we were greeted by Rocky. Oliver took one look at Rocky and dove out of Shannon's arms and ran up the closest tree he could find. I never saw a cat hike up a tree so fast. Oliver just forgot one thing in his quest for safety, how to get down? Mom took this picture of us figuring a way to get him down. I guess she just couldn't resist. This story has a good ending though. After spending about three hours stuck up in that tree little Oliver managed to shimmy his way down.

Gettin Crazy Bout Runnin

Last weekend I decided to run my first 8k. I've been training pretty hard and knew five miles would be pretty easy, but I still get the jitters right before the race starts. It reminds me when I use to run hurdles. No matter how confident I was I always felt like puking right before the race. I guess some things never change!

Every year in my hometown we have a big festival called Fun Fest. It normally lasts about ten days and during those ten days there is plenty of activities to participate in. Every year I've wanted to run in the 8k, but just never managed to get around to it. I guess that's life, something is always popping up. This year though nothing popped up and I actually got to run in the race! It was so much fun too. The race is a night race and the course is loaded with spectators, live music and plenty of encouragement. Little kids were lined up along the track just waiting for a high five from a runner.

I think I'm starting to get a little addicted to this whole running thing. I decided my next goal will be a half marathon this October. Steve is already working on a running timeline that should have me ready for the big race! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will be home in time to run the race with me. Having him along for the run will be loads of fun and he's always an expert on positive encouragement. Hopefully in a few months I will be typing of my half marathon accomplishment. I guess there isn't any turning back now!

The Crowe's Come to Clarksville!

This past weekend Steve's parents and brother came to visit me at our home in Clarksville, TN! A couple months ago I was treated to a very nice visit from them both when I went to their home in Frederick, Maryland. It was only proper for me to return the favor. While Steve has been away I jump at the chance to travel and I love when family and friends travel to see me. I love entertaining and it's always nice to have house guests.

I picked them up from the airport in Nashville late Thursday night. Their flight got delayed, so we didn't even make it back to Clarksville till after midnight. Rocky and Bella were very excited to see their grandparents. They love having house guests too. Mike joined us on Friday after work. He lives in Louisville, KY which is only a few hours away. It's been great living that close to each other.

We had a great time! Of course we had to do some tourist stuff. I was actually looking forward to it. I've been to Nashville several times, but never had the time to go to any of the popular landmarks. We went to The Hermitage, former home of President Andrew Jackson and the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. While we were at the museum we even got to see Faith Hill. She was there doing a video that will be used for the museum. We could only see her behind the Plexiglas window, but we could tell it was her. People were waiting anxiously for her to come out in hopes of getting a autograph. We didn't wait around for that, but we were able to steal a picture.

Back in May the heart of Nashville was hit pretty hard by some major flooding. Landmarks such as The Grand Old Opry were forced to close temporarily from all the water damaged it received. We drove past The Grand Old Opry, but weren't able to go inside. Unfortunately the attraction is still closed and won't reopen for several more months.

I've mentioned before that our townhouse is located just up the street from a winery called Beachaven Winery. During the summer and into the fall they have what's called Jazz on the Lawn every other weekend. That is where the pictures were taken above. It's pretty cool because people can bring their lawn chairs and picnics and stretch out over the winery and listen to live music. Of course there is plenty of wine tasting and if you like what you taste you can buy a bottle or two. I think our favorites of the night were peach and blackberry wines. The perfect blend for a hot summer night! We were even advised to mix the two together which created a very sweet, almost fruit like punch taste. Very good!

All in all we had a great weekend filled with plenty of good food (thanks guys for grilling), laughter and good company! Thanks for the visit guys! Looking forward to seeing you all in September!

Sisters Getaway

Last Monday Colleen, Shannon and I traveled to Hilton Head, South Carolina for some rest and relaxation. We've been talking for months how much we wanted to go to the beach, so we finally decided to do it. After all, it's the summer and nothing says summer better than some sand between your toes and a ocean to dive into.

We had three full days on the beach and all three days we had gorgeous weather. I couldn't have asked for anything nicer. It was hot, but there was just enough of a breeze to remind you that you were by the ocean. The water was great too! It felt like bath water because it was so warm.

Highlights of the trip were definitely eating crab legs every night while we were there. While my husband craves nothing more than a big juicy steak, I crave nothing more than some good ol' crab legs. I didn't plan on ordering them that many times, but then I sorta thought if I ordered anything else I would be disappointed.

Another high light was sitting at the tiki bar right on the beach and drinking pina coladas. I know it's kinda cliche, but whenever I'm near a beach I get a huge craving for a pina colada. I don't even like them that much, but it's like once I step foot onto some sand there isn't anything better.

One day while we were in the ocean Shannon found a sand dollar. We thought it was the coolest thing ever until we realized that there were hundreds of them. So, we immediately started loading up. I've bought them before in stores, but how cool would it have been to say that I actually found it! So, as we were walking back to our beach spot, so excited about our new found treasure the life guard came over and informed us that we were not allowed to take sand dollars from the ocean because they were still alive. Apparently it's like a five hundred dollar fine...for a sand dollar? I guess I'll be buying the ones in the store...

We had a great time though. It's been a lot of fun hanging out with Colleen and Shannon this summer. I think we should start making this a yearly tradition, sisters getaway.

Theater-I forgot how much I missed it...

I've never really been much of an athlete or particularly gifted at school, but one thing I've always thought I was pretty good at was acting. Even when I was a little girl I loved being in front of the camera. I loved it when my Dad or Mom broke out the video camera for a family video recording session. I felt like a Star! So, it wasn't much of a shock when I fell in love with acting on stage.

I started my love for acting when I was just a girl, but I didn't start performing in plays until I was in high school. From that point on I couldn't get enough. I did several plays throughout college and took many acting classes. At one point I even contemplated moving to NYC to try and make it. I even had a t-shirt that said, "I'm an actress, can I take your order?" I dreamed of seeing my name in lights. And while none of that ever happened I still sometimes wonder...what if...

After Steve and I got married theater kinda took the back burner. It wasn't that Steve didn't support me, but with the excitement of being newlyweds and starting our life together I just kinda forgot about it. So, when a friend of mine encouraged me to audition for a one-act festival I decided to jump at the chance! To my surprise and excitement I got casted in two one-act plays. Oh I was thrilled, but incredibly nervous at the same time. However, once I got back on that stage it was like riding an old bike. It just felt right, and oh did it feel good. For me when I'm on stage I feel right at home. It's always fit like an old glove or good pair of shoes.

Opening night was last weekend and the plays were a success. I had a blast and I met a lot of cool people too. Although Steve didn't get to see the performances live I did record both shows and they are on there way to Iraq. It would have been nice to see his face in the audience, but he managed to be there in spirit. When I arrived at the theater on opening night there was a huge bouquet of flowers and the most meaningful love letter from Steve waiting in the dressing room. It brought tears to my eyes. Even from thousands and thousands of miles away he is still very much apart of my life. It's a pretty damn good feeling to be that loved!

So, the plays are over and done with, but they have reawaken me to my hobby. While I most likely will never be the next Julia Roberts, I know that I can still make people laugh and maybe even cry with my talent. I don't plan on waiting another couple of years to do another play. I hope to find a local community theater in Clarksville, TN and hopefully during my next performance my biggest fan will be seated in the front row of the audience!