10 Years!

My fiance had gotten me tickets to see 10 Years at a small venue in Nashville. A surprise of course, because we both love surprises. Especially surprises for no reason at all except that we love each other. This was one of those times.

I put on a cute "going out" outfit that I don't usually wear, because I don't ever have any place to wear it. Sequin-y top with jeans and flats. I sprayed my hair and put on make-up. (The shoes were a bad idea. I had blisters by the end of the night!)

We met our friends there: My sister, brother-in-law, Davy, Erica, my brother, El, and his new, very sweet and cute girlfriend.

Two bands performed that I had never heard of: Maylene & the Sons of Disaster and Adalene.
Maylene & the Sons of Disaster is a metalcore band from Alabama. Here is their website. Favorite song is Step Up. (Video on youtube.)
http://www.myspace.com/mayleneandthesonsofdisaster
Adalene rocks from Nashville, TN. Here is the site. Be sure to listen to Little Sister. I like it best.
http://www.reverbnation.com/adaleneband
 I am a new fan of both bands.

Then, 10 years came on stage. Oh, boy!! There was only, I'd say, a hundred or a hundred and fifty people there, so we were pretty close to the stage! They were louder than the other bands, of course, so you could feel the music. That is the best part. When you can literally feel the music in your chest, in your feet, and in your bones. The crowd was amazing. Everybody was jumping, headbanging, fists in the air, and they were all singing every word to every song. The band thanked us for being the best crowd they had. They could feel the love and support, they said.

The last song they played was Shoot It Out. My favorite. I screamed all the words along with everybody else and jumped and flailed until it was over and I was out of breath. SUCH an amazing show.

The drummer broke quite a few sticks during the awesome amazing rock-fest. So he threw them into the crowd for souvenirs. My brother-in-law caught one, of course, cause he's lucky like that.

I, along with some other people, were scouring for lost picks or broken drumsticks left on the floor. I found a pocket knife. Not what I wanted, but hey at least I got something to bring home! Lol!

I will give you a link to the band's page and also their video of Shoot It Out so you can fall in love!
 
http://www.10yearsmusic.com/home.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VCvSJo-yC0&ob=av2e

If you ever get a chance to see them live, do it! They put on one of the best shows I've ever seen. I have seen them twice and will still see them every chance I get!

Anniversary in Chattanooga

My fiance surprised me with an anniversary vacation. To Chattanooga! I'd never been there! It was our three year anniversary. Three years! We were both very excited. It was also our one year engagement anniversary.

I didn't know where we were going until we got there. He's so sneaky.

The first day Christopher took me to an art garden. There was beautiful sculptures and amazing buildings. Then we walked around downtown Chattanooga, just enjoying the town and each other. The second day he took me to Rock City and Ruby Falls. They were both incredible. I think I lost half my body weight through sweat, but I enjoyed every second of them both. That night we went on a ghost tour through the town. It was creepy and so much fun. My feet hurt so bad, but I tried not to complain because I was having the time of my life.

I can't believe that in the next few years me and Christopher will be married! I will have a wedding band on my finger and I will have his last name. I cannot wait for that day! I cannot wait to start a family!

Me and Christopher drinking old school coke in the art district.

Cori crawls with my heart in her hands.

Cori is crawling.

Can you believe it? She is no longer the tiny baby she used to be. She is growing into a big girl. She sits there by herself and plays, and when she wants something else to play with, she crawls over to it and gets it! So independent. So grown up. Already.

Of course other things come along with the little ones growing up. Like throwing fits! Cori has learned to scream. And she has learned that we pay attention to her when she screams. This is where the discipline comes in. Mama and Dada, get ready!

Just the other day, I was leaving the house. I gave Mom and Cori a kiss goodbye and started to leave. Cori started to cry. She didn't want me to leave =( It was so sad. It's strange how we already have such a strong bond between us. I went back upstairs, of course, to give her another hug and kiss goodbye. She cried again. This could go on all day. LOL. I had to just bite my tongue, hold my breath, and walk out the door. It was hard to do.

She is my little angel. My sunshine and my cuppycake. She has my heart in her little tiny hands.

Baby's First 4th of July

Independence Day. The day of celebrating our freedom in America. Our freedom to do what we want. Freedom to say what we want. Freedom of religion. Freedom to raise our children how we see fit. Definitely an occasion to celebrate.

This past Fourth of July was my niece's very first. Her Momma and Mimi (grandma) went to get her some fireworks.They asked the salesman for some that did not go very high and that were not loud. LOL. I'm not sure he had ever had that request before then.

He obviously found what they had asked for because the fireworks were... quiet. ...and boring.
But that's okay because Cori was already kind of scared. She didn't quite know what to think.

We did have my favorite kind of fireworks, though. Sparklers! We wrote our names in the air like little kids and had lots of fun. Sparklers never get old.

PEACE

This is supposed to say "Coraline" but my battery ran out before the "E" was finished.

Learn From What's Different

I am wondering why people think they are superior to others.

Yes, some people got lucky and have nicer genes, more money, a more supportive family. But that, by no means, makes them a better individual. Richer is not better. More attractive is not superior.

God created us all equal, so why can't we treat people the way they deserve to be treated? As equals?

I'll tell you what happens when people and their beliefs are not respected.
The Holocaust happens. Mass genocide happens. That is exactly why these horrible things happen, because somebody thinks they are better than others. Or one group feels superior to another group.

The Holocaust is a worst case scenario, I realize. But my questions are, Why did we all let it get that far? Will it happen again? Why did it happen in the first place? Why do people not realize what an important thing it is to respect others? How many people have to be killed? How many people have to take their own life before we realize that something has to change?

How would it feel to know someone thinks you are a low-down-no-good-piece-of-trash when you know you are not? When you have never done anything wrong to them nor anyone else? When you have never done anything but be the best that you can be?

Please think of this next time you judge somebody. Instead, think about how interesting they are because they are different from you. Think about what you could learn from them. You would be surprised.

-ginlin

Christopher's Internship Interview

Today my fiance, Christopher, has an interview for an internship. His first one.

I am so proud of him.

He is so professional, friendly, thoughtful, creative. He is guaranteed to get it. I don't see how someone can NOT just fall in love with his personality right on the spot. 

I sure did. 

And so did my family. 

We just love him to pieces.

He doesn't even seem nervous. So confident in himself. I admire him.

He looks so cute in his tie.

Nice and neat, his face freshly shaven.

Oh yeah, and he smells delicious. =o)

As close to perfect as I could ever imagine.

I would be very excited to tie his tie, cook him breakfast, give him a smooch and a "Have a great day!" every morning of my life.

Good luck Christopher, you will do great!

-ginlin

A Typical Day As Me

So I had quite an eventful day.

My sister asked me if I wanted to go with her to town to take her 6 month old to the doctor for her routine check-up. Of course, wanting to spend as much time as possible with them, I said yes.

The day started out pretty good. I didn't want to get up out of my cozy cocoon, as usual, but seeing Cori's sweet face made me want to get up and play as quickly as possible.

In order to keep from walking like a zombie, I made a stout pot of coffee. Starbucks French Roast. Mmm. In fact, that is what I am doing now, snuggling up with my coffee cup. And yes, it is almost nine thirty at night. But I simply cannot resist.

So after my coffee, we got the baby and ourselves ready to go. In that order of course. Because baby always comes first whether you realize it or not. Baby fed? Check. Diaper changed? Check. Her face washed? Check. Toys, sippy, snacks? Check, check, check! Ok, we're ready! Oh wait, I forgot to put my pants on...

So after we were completely ready, pants and all, we were off to the doctor! Well, it wasn't as simple as we thought it would be. We had to put the car seat in my car, which isn't really baby-friendly. Of course we had the bright idea to put it behind the driver's seat. My seat. Just to give you a visual, my car is very low to the ground and the seats are leaned back like in a cool dude's ride. Not that I am a cool dude, it's just that they are not comfortable any other way. So when the little chubster was all buckled in, I went to put my seat back to it's original position, and, well, it didn't go back to it's original position because of the car seat. Instead, it had to be pushed all the way up and the back was straight up and down. Actually, it was past straight up and down. It turned into a taco. So I squeezed in there, sucking my belly in. I didn't exactly fit. My knees were in the dash, and my chin was over the steering wheel. Well, I couldn't do much about it, because we were in a hurry, like normal, so I had to just drive. I would have let my sister drive, but her legs are longer. Her knees would have been at her ears.

Well, the doctor visit went well. Baby Bean got three routine shots. The poor thing. She was not happy about it, but she got back to babbling in no time, saying da-da-da-da-da. That is her new sound she learned. :)

Getting in the car, an ugly, noisy, red-eyed cicada landed on my bare arm. I flicked him, and he decided to get me back by going up my skirt. Son of a...

Then, we went to see Mimi at work! We could not get a hold of her because she was busy and working hard. So we waited. Then we decided to go to her department and wait for her there, since it had AC. We waited some more. Our tummies were gurgling. We discussed cannibalism. But ate a few baby puffs instead. Mimi finally showed up! YES! Fooood! She went straight for the baby, wanting to show her off to all her friends. There was a crowd around wanting to see. We are used to this by now. So we waited for Mimi to get done boasting. Waiting. Waiting. Okay mom, we're really hungry.

We went on down to the cafeteria to wait for Mimi to get her work done, and to feed the little one. Waited some more. Waiting... She's here! So we got food, finally, and scarfed it down like we had never eaten before. Nothing interesting there. The interesting part came when this cleaner guy flew by on the other side of the windows, riding something. I'm thinking, okay, he's cleaning the floors with one of those buffer things. He was going faster than I thought those things could even go. And he went back and forth about five times. Okay, that hallway is not that wide. Lol. Every time he would fly by, my sister and I would just crack up. Without saying anything. Cause we have a special connection and a language of our own that does not require words. Mom was like, what are you laughing at?! So after thirty minutes of laughing, sister says, ooooooh he must be cleaning the floors. Uhh, DUH! What the heck did you think he was doing?! Hahahaha!! So there we went again, laughing so hard that it echoed. We decided it was time to leave.

THEN, I remembered that I needed to get gas.

Now here is where the story gets really interesting.

I go past Kroger, which is where I need to get gas. No biggie, there was another entrance on the other side. I do that kind of thing all the time.

So I pull up to the pump next to this really nice black SUV. My sister goes to prepay. I keep the car on and wait for her to get back. She comes back so I get out and go to start pumping. She's like, um you gotta turn off your engine. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot to turn off my car. What an idiot I am.

So I turned off the engine. Shut the door. Made sure the pump said it was ready to begin fueling. I went to open the tank and I couldn't find it? I know it is here somewhere?? OMG. I parked on the wrong side!!! Hahahaha!!!! I told my sister and of course, we laughed so hard I almost peed myself. WOW, now that's embarrassing.

Now I will remind you, I have had this car for three years and have gotten gas many times. I have no idea why I did that. Since we had already paid for that certain pump, I had to get in and back up so I could turn around and pull in from the other side. BEFORE someone else stole my prepaid pump. And without waking the baby.

Well, I pulled in, the right way, and the guy fueling the SUV beside me was laughing. He said, You wanna know a hint? Of course I do, anything would help at this moment. He said on most cars, beside the gas gauge, there is a picture of a gas pump. If it is on the right side, that is where your gas tank is. And if on the left, that is where your tank is. Ohmygosh, I so did not know that! Thank you so much! (He probably thought I was 16 and just got my first car. Hahaha!)

Okay, so I walked around to the passenger's side, where the tank actually is, and went to open it. OMG again. I forgot to pull the stupid lever that releases the door on the tank. It's on the driver's side. Instead of having to walk all the way back around, and having that guy see me, I made my sister pull it. She couldn't find it so I was trying to direct her to the stupid thing, so I'm sure he saw me anyways, and knew I really was an idiot.

Okay, geez. I can start fueling. That went fine, thankfully. I didn't spill it or anything, like I expected.

I went to get my receipt. And I always feel stupid waiting for it, staring at the gas pump, when it never spits out anything.

Okay, well, no receipt. I walked back around to get in, and realized that not only did I leave the little door open, I forgot to put the lid back on the tank! They were both hanging there, wide open. OMG once again. Can I really have this much bad luck at ONE gas station? Or am I just THAT stupid?! And yes, the guy in the fancy SUV saw me be stupid. Of course. He drove off laughing.

FINALLY after thirty minutes of getting just $20 in gas, I could finally squeeze back in my car and leave.

We made it home alright, in case you were wondering. We expected to hit a flying turtle or something, the way our luck and weird day was going!

Let's see what tomorrow brings...

At least my life is never boring.  :)

-ginlin