Welcome Y'All!

I'd like to welcome y'all into our new home in Nashville, Tennessee! I am so happy with the place we chose. It's in a community called Woodbury Falls...

Woodbury Falls is located in the Bellevue area of Nashville, and is pretty close to everything. Within a mile we have a few shopping plazas which host a Kroger (no Giant Eagle's here in the south), Starbucks (I don't drink coffee, but that would be a perk for others), TJ Maxx (Trouble for me...I'm what they call a "Maxxinista" lol), Red (An awesome wine store! They have everything there!), along with lots of different restaurants (both fast food and sit down). Another mile or two down the road we have a movie theater, Bed Bath and Beyond, Staples, Michaels, Sams Club, Walmart and a 24 hour post office! There are also two gyms within a 5 mile radius (still trying to decide on which one to join). So we are pretty covered! I'm loving how close we are to so much, yet still feel away from all the hustle and bustle in our little community. 

So now all there is left to do is come on in! First we'll go downstairs...

This is kind of an odd room. All it is equipped with is a TV and a Love Sak...lol! I put all my workout equipment down here, so I'll usually get my cardio outside then come in here and use my free weights, kettle bell and mat for ab work. After all that, I'd be lying if I said I didn't collapse into the Love Sak...lol! It's pretty comfy!

Also down in this area is a half bath and the door to our garage...

There is some great organization going on in the garage, which I love. I put all our moving boxes here, so now I don't have to try to find new ones! Also check out my "Welcome To Nashville" gift...

PB surprised me with the bike my first night in Nashville! We bike a few times a week. I'm supposed to go without him, but I'm still a little nervous. I guess I have to take off my training wheels at some point...still, we enjoy this and it's great exercise!

Upstairs we go...We're now in the Dining Room.

I love this room! I love the furniture! I've always wanted a china cabinet...now if only I had my china with me here in Nashville...

Next stop, the usual "favorite" room of the house, the Kitchen...

I love all the space! Again, I wish I had everything back home here with me! I've got pretty much every kitchen gadget known to man, and I had to leave a lot of it back in Pittsburgh. I did however bring a few essentials and thank goodness I did! Our kitchen here looks like it would be fully equipped, but in reality it's far from it. That's probably one of my only complaints of the place. 

Next to the Kitchen is our Living Room...

Love the big TV! We can actually swivel it around so it can be seen while cooking! 

Also on this level is another half bath, and out back we have a little patio area.

Let's head on upstairs...First up, our bedroom. 

It's kind of plain but that's okay. This totally makes up for it...

How about that closet?! Love it! The glass organization bins makes me so incredibly happy! Granted we don't have all of our clothing down here with us, but we have a lot of it, and we both managed to fit in the same closet! 

Our Master Bathroom is pretty sweet as well...

I love that the toilet is in its own separate room! And we have our own sinks! Score! LOL it really is the little things in life :-) The Jacuzzi Bathtub is pretty awesome too! It's HUGE and so very relaxing!! :-) The shower is off to the side...life is good! Moving on...

Our washer and dryer are on the same level as the bedrooms and I may be spoiled now ;-) It makes life so much simpler I tell you!!! Back in Pittsburgh our laundry area is in the basement...which we have to go outside to get to...pain in the rear! Whoever thought of putting the laundry upstairs in genius and I want to hug them! 

Last is our guest bedroom/office...

Again, decor is pretty minimal, but that is okay because it too has a giant closet...!

Seriously, we could put a mattress in there and boom there's another room. Granted, that won't happen. I have big plans for that area. Next trip home I'm bringing some scrapbooking supplies back with me and voila, my scrapbooking area :-) 

This room also has it's own bathroom...

Again, toilet is its own room...genius! Love it! 

That wraps up the tour of our new home. We hope you'll come and visit it for real next time :-)

Bakey

As many of you know, this past week I lost one of my close friends. It's been a difficult time, and I found it fitting to blog about her. I hope you enjoy learning about my wonderful friend who we lovingly called "Bakey".

 

Bakey and I met 8 years ago while working together at Dairy Queen. It's amazing, after all these years (10 to be exact!) that I am still friends with the "DQ Crew" despite the fact that four of us have since moved away. Below is a picture of us post-DQ when all of us were in town for the 4th of July in 2007.



Me, Jess, Bakey, Ang, Beth, Hope and Allison is in the front

I grew up with these girls! We always said we would remain friends, and people (our mothers, our boss...) said it would never happen...we proved them all wrong!

Bakey was a special individual. She was ALWAYS in a good mood...I know this is cliche' to say once someone has passed away, but it's the honest to goodness truth! This girl always had a smile on her face, and was always up for a good time. When there was a party, she was the life of it. She was constantly making us laugh with the crazy stuff she did. She'd never bat an eyelash to "taking one for the team" all for the sake of a laugh and a story in the morning. To sum it up, Bakey was good times! Every "Bakey Story" I have makes me laugh or smile :-)

Bakey and I were a part of a group called the "SLF", which stood for "Sad Life Friends"...lol! It's not what you think, we were anything but sad when together, in fact, quite the contrary. In high school we were the girls who didn't have cars and needed our parents to cart us around, didn't have cell phones while all the other kids did, and most definitely didn't have boyfriends - lol. Instead of feeling bad for ourselves, we poked fun of our situations and instead made it a competition to see who had the saddest life. Writing this I can already hear people thinking, "Okay, these girls are weird!" but we had the understanding of it and it was fun for us. I may have gotten the boot when I got married...lol...but we got a great picture of the 5 of us, which I will forever cherish :-)

I was actually with Bakey the night before her untimely death in a car crash, which made things a bit more difficult to handle. It was hard to see this girl, so full of life one night, and then realize that she's gone the next. When I step back and think of it though, I thank God that I had the last night with her, because I will treasure it in my heart and mind forever.

Our last night together kicked off with my car battery dying, and me almost canceling our plans...that is until our friend Jamie (who was also involved in the accident) insisted she would come and pick me up. Bakey and Jamie were already at the restaurant and went out of their way to come and get me so I could join. Over dinner I remember reminiscing about old times, planning their upcoming trip to visit me in Nashville, and making plans together for Labor Day. I knew they both felt bad they would be missing my going-away party the following night, since they had gotten backstage passes to the Toby Keith concert. I knew I'd miss them being there, but was ultimately happy to be having dinner with them, and also excited for our Labor Day cookout plans! I'm so happy we had that night together, but I do have one regret...I didn't hug Bakey goodbye. I instead just said "I'll see you on Monday, have fun at the concert tomorrow night!" If I could go back I'd hug that girl so tight!

I found out the news of the accident as my going-away party was winding down. Thank God I had some of my other friends there to help pull me through. It was shocking and heart-wrenching. Jamie and Bakey were in the car together when they hit a pickup truck head-on. Jamie survived it, but Bakey didn't. A woman who saw the crash wrote on the Obituary Website that Bakey didn't die alone, and she didn't suffer.

My heart breaks for Bakey's family, but it also aches for Jamie. I went to see her at the hospital before I left for Nashville and she is doing well. She had to have back surgery (which went well) and also has to have surgery on her foot. Her other foot is broken, as are a bunch of her ribs. She's got a long road to recovery in front of her, but thankfully she's going to okay. Please keep her in your prayers! She has such a sweet heart and doesn't deserve to be hurting.

Typically funerals aren't very beautiful, but Bakey's funeral was an exception. The songs, the readings, everything was so well said. The priest couldn't have had a better message for us mourning Bakey's untimely death. I think it's safe to say he made all of us smile through his tears as he said "Many wrote on Becky's Facebook wall "Rest In Peace", which is a great thing to say when someone passes away, but Becky, rest??? She's not resting! She's dancing! She's "Dancing In Peace" - I absolutely loved his message, and I know it's so true. Bakey never rested, and she's not resting now. She's living it up in heaven reunited with her dad!

I will forever miss Bakey. A part of my heart went up to heaven with her. Dance In Peace Bakey 0:-) I'll forever cherish all of our fun times and memories...

Cheers!



Before a Pirate game

Reunion while Hope was in town



My Bridal Shower



Povertyneck Hillbillies Concert!



After we got to meet the lead singer, Abby!



Cake fight during a visit to RMU



SLF Presidency night - lol!



"Our Horse" and Us :-)



Fourth of July

SLF :-)

 

Part-Time Tennesseean

Hello Friends! Life has been hectic these past weeks, mainly because I've been living between 2 states that are 9 hours away from each other. In the past month I've made 3 visits to Tennessee (2 by car and 1 by plane) to see my hubs, who is in training camp with the Tennessee Titans. Aside from those trips, I spent a week at my parents lake house in Conneaut Lake, PA...so I've really been a traveling machine!

The Titans are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and I am absolutely loving learning the city! I've explored the different neighborhoods trying to find a home for us this season. We initially wanted to be in the Green Hills/West End area, which is super trendy and close to everything, but everything that we found there was coming up a bit more then our budget. I can only justify spending so much on our place of living!!! We instead opted for the more quiet and country area of Bellevue. Patrick lived in this neighborhood last year so we know there isn't too much traffic to get there and back during rush hour - which is a huge plus in our books! We won't be totally disconnected, there is shopping nearby, just not a mall (It's only 20 minutes tops away...this is probably a good thing because it houses ALL of my favorite stores! I'd be in big trouble if we were any closer!!!) The townhouse we found is charming! God-willing we will get the opportunity to call it our home in the coming days :-)

Many don't understand how cut-throat the the NFL is. It's a business. Talented guys are let go from teams every day. These are guys who uprooted their family, purchased a home or signed a lease on an apartment, with no real guarantee of their spot on the roster. Guys are given contracts, but those contracts can be broken any day of the year. This week in particular is a big week in which lots of contracts are broken all across the league. It's quite scary actually. This is why Patrick and I have been playing it safe and waiting until he officially makes the team to make a move on our living situation.

The distance isn't easy. I miss waking up beside him, and I miss kissing him goodnight. I miss cleaning up after him (Shocker right?!) and cooking for him too. Plain and simple, I miss every little thing that I got accustomed to while living with him for the first four months of our marriage.

Anyhow, back to the trips! While in town, I got to enjoy both of the Titans home games verses the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears...

 

 

 Patrick has been playing well! It's so exciting to see him play on Special Teams again, and I'm loving his opportunities to play at Linebacker! I'm so proud of him!! :-)

On the latest visit, my Mom and Godmother traveled with me and we took a road trip to Memphis to visit "The King" at Graceland! What a cool experience! Below are some pictures of the mansion.

Us out front of the mansion

Loved the peacock stained glass windows!

The Jungle Room!

TCB Room...Takin' Care of Business

Pool room...the walls, ceiling, and couches all had the same fabric...not my favorite but neat none the less!

Elvis played at that piano the morning of his death.

Amazing to see how much one man can accomplish!

We also visited the exhibit housing all of Elvis' cars...very cool!



My second fav...gold snakeskin top and suiscide doors...pretty sweet!



Elvis' car for his mom

The last vehicle Elvis rode onto Graceland

My personal fav!

A gift for Priscilla

And we even got to tour his airplane called "Lisa Marie". Patrick would have loved seeing this! All of the seatbelt buckles and sinks in the plane were made of gold...fancy schmancy! We don't fly this fly....maybe someday!

Elvis' bed on the plane

My Mom, Godmother and I all enjoy a casino every now and then and decided to ask where the closest one was. We almost crossed it off our list when we learned it was in Mississippi. When I put the address in the GPS I found it was only 20 minutes away so it was off to Mississippi for us! I had never been there, so it was a fun experience!

My mom was the big winner. She won $120 by playing a machine that she thought was nine cents...turned out she was betting $4.50! She also won $40 on scratch off tickets in Tennessee, and another $290 on scratch offs on our way home in Kentucky! Oh, and she won $70 at my nephew, Blayze's football game 50/50 raffle prior to the trip...talk about lucky!!!

Thursday night is Patrick's final pre-season game of the 2011 season. It will be played in New Orleans. On Friday we should know if he made the Titans roster. All prayers are welcome in the meantime!!! I'll keep you posted on the results :-) Until then...Hugs!