Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I Dont Feel Like Dancin'

Sigh...

I really dont feel like dancing... although I do have other things to do. (FYI: If you dont know the Scissor Sisters, it's ok if you dont get that intro).

It was announced today that Urban Outfitters is coming to Nashville.

I really like the store, but, here's the rub for me... I liked the fact I could go to Urban Outfitters when I was traveling in other cities & most people in Nashville werent going to be wearing what I was wearing.

The real rub that makes me more crazy... they are going in a live music venue-hall where I saw the Scissor Sisters for the first time and was the place to perform in Nashville for emerging artists/bands that could attract a decent--yet not quite big performance hall-- audience.

The funny thing about the Scissor Sisters (although Americans werent as receptive) is they were selling out huge arenas/stadiums in Europe.

Also, the Artrageous afterparty has been there the past two years. Artrageous is another HIV/AIDS charity event.

The owners say they will likely relocate, but I'm sad about this space being lost to a retailer like this.

I loved the space as an event/concert hall. I'm glad to see retail coming closer to downtown Nashville, but sad they couldnt have selected a different location.

Sigh...

Dining Out for Life!

Tonight was one of my favorite "going out to a good restaurant" nights.

Each year, numerous Nashville restaurants agree to donate a portion of their food sales to a local HIV/AIDS charity, Nashville Cares, for one night. The minimum donation of their food sales is 30% but some go up to 100-105%. We couldnt get a reservation for our group of 6 at the 105% place, so we went to a 50% restaurant, Sole Mio.

It's a great local italian place. We had a great time & had some fantastic food.

Some of you may recognize that this is an event that happens all over the country at different times of the year. It so happens to be May 1st in Philly (wink wink). Check out this website for more information about your city.

It's a great time to have good food & get a chance to participate in a charitable action that is for a great cause.

The House Hunt is pretty much over!!!

We've had it. We've looked at more houses than I can count... we've looked at some several times...

BUT... a decision has been made, an offer has been accepted & unless something waaaayyy unexpected happens between now & next Friday, we'll have the keys to our new house on Colorado Avenue in Sylvan Park next Friday (May 09).

Yeah, it has happened that fast. If you call it "that fast." This is the house I've been after for a while & have made an offer on, got rejected, someone else made an offer & was accepted, until it came back to us b/c they couldnt swing the deal.

I dont have any pics to share right now, but will definitely include some once the deal is closed.

It's been a crazy search & it was so hard to find somewhere we really wanted in the heart of the neighborhood.

We hope to have it next Friday!!! You know I will keep you posted as soon as the keys are in my hand.

Friday, April 25, 2008

House hunt is heating up!!!

Y'all... this stuff is getting so stressful.

We made an offer several weeks ago on an adorable 1 bedroom / 1 bath house that is in a fantastic Sylvan Park location and has great curb appeal and is steps away from the small "shopping/restaurant" district. The cons were the asking price (it came on the market in December and the only bathroom is only accessed through what would be our bedroom... plus the kitchen is really small. The pros were location, curb appeal & the large living room.

Well, we made a much lower than asking price offer, went through some countering before deciding to hold off. She then dropped the list price & someone else made an offer. :(

So we moved on and made an offer on a house in Sylvan Heights this week. 3 bedrooms/3 baths... cute place. It just was listed on the market. Our offer was made in less than 24 hours from listing. Someone else beat us to the punch... so we're now the first backup offer. We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, the offer on the first house fell through & they called to see if we are still interested... so we have a lot of stuff to consider right now...

This stuff is working my nerves, y'all. I cant wait to blog about a final closing!!!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

It's about time!

Not that I'm their target market, but Nashville is finally getting a Nordstroms in Green Hills. There's been a lot of speculation about it, but it's finally been announced.

Here's the link to the Tennessean article

I've been in Nordstroms in Dallas & honestly didnt find anything I'd spend that much money on, but you never know. At any rate, we get another shopping option!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Another weekend is now history

Well, it's Monday again, so that means the weekend is over :(

The wine party was fun on Friday night and I even got to watch most of the Preds game (loss in OT).

On Saturday, we looked at a few more houses and found one serious contender. It's a little larger than we were expecting, so we'll have to think about it a bit more.

Sunday was a big Preds game day. It was a home game and one that we HAD to win to force a 7th game in this series. Unfortunately, a win was not in order and just like the past 4 playoff seasons, the Predators season has ended in the first round of the playoffs. It's getting a little old to say that I'm still excited we made it to the playoffs at all, but I really do mean it this year.

After the roller coaster offseason and a bad record the first part of the season, I'm amazed they did make it to the post season.

The good news for most of you readers though... you dont have to read my blog posts about hockey until October!

Friday, April 18, 2008

TGIF, y'all!!!

It's been an interesting week, and I'm so happy the work part of it is now over. It's time for fun!!!

I had a 5 day classroom training this week. It felt like the week went by really fast. Perhaps all my Predator excitement helped with that? I had a good group of students though, so that helps. Unfortunately I cant blog publicly about some of the finer details (you never know who's googling your name!), but it was interesting.

So the weekend plan is one of the monthly wine parties tonight. The downside is that I am the DD, but you have to return the favor at some point.

I'm also excited to see how the Predators perform in Detroit tonight. I'm hopeful that they will win & can come back to Nashville on Sunday and get another win to wrap up a series victory.

Go Preds!!!

Celebration of Life

Today is that day. I still think about her on a daily basis, but as of today, it's been 18 years since my mother passed.

It really is true that time is a healer though. My mom was such a fun person & I was usually right under her heels as much as possible. Fortunately, I only have good memories of her. It still sucks sometimes though that I cant get her opinions about some things, but that's just part of life. Luckily, I have an awesome grandmother who is like a mother to me.

Tulips were one of her favorite flowers & it's so refreshing to walk out my front door this time of year & see my own tulips.

Her favorite drink was Coca-Cola... so I raise my glass of Coke to her today :)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Do we have a series now?

The Predators are working it out, y'all! The win on Monday left me with ears that were still ringing the next morning.

It was insanely fun.

Tonight was pretty much the same story. The crowd excitement was crazy & so much fun.

We won 3-2.

We've got ourselves a series now!!!

We're back in Detroit on Friday night, but also have a game in Nashville at 2pm on Sunday. Check out your local NBC channel. I think it will be on there.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Thank you, Loretta!!!

In honor of LL's birthday, your Nashville Predators turned on the heat tonight. It was a crazy game.

We were down for the first period, tied it up in the second and then lost the lead 40seconds into the third.

But wait!!! We proceeded to score 3 unanswered goals (one an empty net freebie). After 5 goals, yep, we got tacos!!! If you dont know, a Taco Bell franchisee is a team sponsor & if the Preds score 5, you get a free taco.

For the record, I havent been to Taco Bell in probably 6 years. I hate it. It's not even real meat.

Back to the game, the crowd was amazing. It was incredibly loud (my ears are still ringing and might still be tomorrow). In the last period, the fans gave a loud ,standing ovation that lasted longer than the tv timeout. It was fan-tastic.

Vince Gill sang the national anthem. I'd give it a 6 out of 10. It seemed really rushed. Perhaps he was in a hurry to get to the CMT Video Awards which were also in town?

I also walked right by Kid Rock & some bimbo. He's a Detroit fan and I'd prefer to punch him in the face and never let him sing again. He's horrid.

And last but not least, I was most excited to be at the grocery last night and happen to see one of my favorite Preds, Jarred Smithson.

Freaking Exciting Times for me, y'all... Hopefully, we'll win on Wednesday & really get this series turned around.

Someone's a birthday girl!!!

It's a special day in history, y'all. On this date in 1935, the world was blessed to receive the First Lady of Country Music, Ms. Loretta Lynn.

Since I know she reads this blog regularly, I just wanted to say, Happy Birthday, Loretty!!!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Drats... part deux

Well... the good news is that the Predators played well today. The bad news is that we lost again. It was a very exciting game and there was yet another fishy call that prevented the Preds from getting an official goal. Sigh...

Anyway, it's on to Nashville now. I'm so excited for Monday to get here. We get Thundersticks as a giveaway. It's the little things that get to me! lol

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Drats... Drats, Drats, Drats!!!

If you've watched Roseanne episodes as many times as I have, you'll know where that title came from.

Anyway, Frig! The Predators first playoff game of the season was tonight in Detroit. I've been so anxious about this game and have been on edge all day. Nevermind that we are playing the #1 team in the league... when the playoffs start, everyone has a clean slate.

Unfortunately, we didnt come out on the winning end. We didnt play well, but the score wasnt crazy. It was tied up until the 3rd period when the Red Wings scored a goal (that was VERY questionable) to take the lead. Alas, our attempt with pulling the goalie for an extra attacker wasnt in the cards & the Wings got an empty net shot to put the final nail in the coffin.

Disappointed? Absolutely, but there is another game on Saturday & THEN... we come home to Nashville for Game 3 & 4 next week.

IT'S ON!

P.S. If you read this post to the end (non hockey fans--ie, Josh), I applaud you.

Friday, April 4, 2008

We're In!!!

The Predators won tonight and Vancouver lost.

We're definitely in the playoffs. I'm thrilled!!!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Big Game Day!!!


It's down to the wire, y'all. In less than two hours, the Preds will begin their final regular season home game. They control their fate regarding the playoffs. If we win our next two games, we are automatically in the playoffs. We can also clinch the final spot in our conference with a win tonight and if Vancouver loses their game in regulation.

I'm pretty darn nervous. I never thought we would be in this position at the beginning of the season due to the ownership change & the loss of several key players.

Go Preds!!!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Trading Spaces (ps. not me personally)

I've never been in a Trader Joe's grocery store before, but everything I have read about them is fantastic.

It was very exciting to read this story today.

It does suck that we cant have "Two Buck Chuck" in the near future, but we'll take it nonetheless.

I'll go on record though as saying I'm not going close to that store until after the Green Hills Mall Christmas traffic is over.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

It's always Broadway time

I'm the most excited I've ever been about the Broadway tour coming to Nashville for 08-09. Ideally, I would see all these shows when they debut in NYC, but alas, I cannot.

If you live in Nashville & enjoy Broadway shows, it includes, "Avenue Q," "The Pajama Game," "Jersey Boys," "Legally Blonde," and "Rain" among others. I'm anxious to see all of these shows!!

I think the season tix go on sale 04/02.

Pins & Needles

Hey, y'all. I dont really have too much to blog about. I'm really really anxious to see if the Predators are going to snag a playoff spot... they are in a really tight chase for the last spot in our conference right now with Vancouver & only 3 games remaining. Go Preds!!!

Also, we're still in the house hunt. It's funny how some of the ones you fall in love with based on the internet pics turn out to be something you dont like at all. Other times, it's quite the opposite... I'll see something that looks just ok on the net, but when I actually view it, I really like it.

I'll keep you all posted. I'd love to have something to announce soon, but nothing for now.

Stay Tuned!!!