O.T.W-- Take Her Down to the Little White Church

Whirlwind weekend, I am here to tell you.

We went hard and made every second count. It was tough on this old broad, but I am a go-teamer and we had a bachelorette to celebrate.

We arrived in Nashville on Friday afternoon around 4:30, and hit the ground running.

Friday night we had dinner at The Tavern, which I would describe as an upscale sports bar. I dined on the Lobster Rolls and had no regrets.

After dinner we headed to the Broadway for bar hopping. First stop was The Stage on Broadway.

Next stop was Tequila Cowboy for some serious bull riding.

(don't worry we had a pair of shorts we shared so that no one was indecently exposed-- keep it classy yall)

As we got ready to leave Tequila Cowboy around 1:30 am, we realized a terrible storm had blown in to Nashville. So we grabbed a cab and took it on back to the hotel for safety.

In order for you to fully understand the severeness of the storm I reenacted it for you the next day.

These are what the tress/bushes look like in front of the hotel on a normal basis: 

Disregard the lighting. You can still take note of the upright tree/bush

This is what they looked like as we were running in to the hotel during the wee hours:

Scary stuff!

We were drenched in a matter of seconds from running from the taxi to the hotel. After harassing the front desk about getting in the basement, we were assured that there was no tornado and that the hotel had proper safety protocol in place in the event of a tornado.

We eventually went upstairs to our rooms and were just wild and crazy. The next morning we decided that we must have been the only people on that particular hall because we were SO LOUD and wild.

After what I call a brief nap (because a few hours of sleep does not qualify as sleeping soundly) we eased out of bed. At that point some of us enjoyed the buffet down stairs and then we regrouped to hit the town.

Appetizers and cocktails were enjoyed at Rippy's Ribs so that we could watch part of the Auburn Football game.

From Rippy's we ventured on over to the ever touristy Tootsie's (because what's a trip to Nashville without it).

I somehow got called out to join the singer on stage for a rendition of Kenny Chesney's Come Over. I can check that off the life list.

I did a little improvising and sang this version: Come over, come over, come over, Ryan Sanford, cooommmmee ovverrrr. 

I will probably be getting some offers to go "big" within the next week or so.

We only intended to stay at Tootsie for an hour or so but several hours later we emerged ready to take on the world.

After some lingerie partying (which was naughty indeed) we headed to Whiskey Kitchen for dinner.

After dinner we went back to Broadway to The Big Bang Piano Bar for some serious fun!

It was a rowdy weekend. A good ole honky tonkin' good time! Now, we just have to get Alana married off to her main man, Clint.

O.T.W.- Showers (all kinds- weather, baby, wedding)

Over the weekend...

The weekend started out pretty rocky. We had some really bad weather come through the area on Friday night. I don't do well with severe weather. I go into all out panic mode and may have lost my shiz a little bit Friday night. Ryan is a saint for putting up with some of my nonsense, but in the future we will seek shelter way sooner. And when I say "seek shelter" I mean if the weather man is predicting severe/tornado type weather we will just head on over to my parents' as they have a basement!

A rainbow appeared as the storms were moving in.  I immediately thought of Chris L's Mom. 

Saturday morning, the weather had cleared out (although the county I live in was hit pretty bad).

Saturday afternoon I had several showers to attend. I've really be making my rounds lately.

Wedding gift and baby gift.

A baby shower that afternoon and then off to Birmingham for a couples wedding shower.

After visiting with everyone at the couples shower for a bit Deidra scooped me up and I sadly parted ways with my main man for a night with the BFFS.

Deidra, Lacey, Bess, and I hit the town. We had drinks at Tin Roof and then Pale Eddie's before calling it a night.

Dee, Bess, Lacey, moi (little blurry)

Sunday morning we were all dragging a bit, however, after a cup of coffee (or two) with Mona I hit the road back to the small town and spent the day being lazy with Ryan.

Mona was not loving this photo op. She gazing at a treat.

Other than the terrible storms Friday night, it was a great weekend.

O.T.W>- First 5K.

Over the Weekend...

I completed my very first 5K. To most people this doesn't seem like a huge deal, but I felt like it was an accomplishment. As I mentioned Friday, I work out at my local gym, run on the tread mill a few times a week, and do the occasional class, but I've never been brave enough to actually enter any type of race until this weekend!

Saturday morning came quite earlier as I hopped out of bed for a my morning cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. Ryan got up with me to give me a pep talk and sent me on my way!

Deidra joined me as it was her first 'race' as well. We got to Russell Crossroads around 8 am, stretched it out, pinned on our numbers and eagerly awaited the cannon to sound signaling the start of the race.

It was so much fun! The energy of the crowd kept me pumped up and I just moved at my own pace. The hills proved to be a bit tough, but Deidra and I had talked about the impending hills and decided it was best to take long strides and take them at a steady pace. (like we really have any idea)

I had to stop twice to tie my shoe. I know, I know... ROOKIE MISTAKE. (double knots next time) and between mile one and the turn around I had to walk it out for a minute(the hills got me), but after the turn around I found my second wind and brought it on home.

My mom and Deidra's mom were waiting for us at the finish line!! It was so much fun I would definitely do it again.

After the race we went to the after party/award ceremonny which was hosted at The Stables at Russell Crossroads, where they had a grits bar, sweet potato soup, a band, and even a couple of kegs. That was reason enough to run in my opinion!

#1 FANS!!

Several of my good friends completed either the 10K or 5K as well. Hayden (in the hat below) even placed first in her age group.

For lunch, Deidra, her mom, my mom and I eased over to Catherine's Market.

It was an awesome day with awesome weather and good company.

I'm officially a racer!

O.T.W.-- Long Labor Day Weekend

Over the past weekend we covered a lot of ground.

Friday night we ran in to Rhett and had a nice conversation...

(testing)

On Saturday....

AUBURN Football kicked off!! Whoo hooooooo!!!! Ryan was like a giddy little school girl.

You can really see how long maggie is in this pic...it's the wienie in her.

We didn't head to Auburn because we had a wedding to attend Saturday evening, but we invited folks over to watch the team make their 2011 debut.

Now, the Auburn Tigers were last year's 2010 National Champions, but we lost a big portion of our team, so we have some work to do...

Maggie loves Auburn too.

...but a win is a win and I'll take them how we can get them! War Eagle!

At one point when we were down, Deidra and I decided that it was the lack of tailgate food. So I called in some wings, picked up an Auburn cake, and grabbed the stuff for Rotel Cheese Dip.

Food can really alter the mood of a group of stressed out guys. (that and another brewski)

Saturday evening my cousin got married and I was actually the wedding director. How wild is that? I was running the show with my assistant, Deidra.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when the sound lady at the church hooked me up with a head set, ala Brittney Spears style.

I had to tell myself over and over that this was not my show to keep from busting up on stage with a little Hit Me Baby One More Time.

Ryan stated that I looked like Billy Blanks getting ready to teach Tae Bo. Either way, I was looking really important.

The wedding went well and only had a minor mishap, but other than that... I'll toss "wedding director" on the ole resume.

Sunday we had big plans for an island party, however, crazy tropical storm Lee was all "no you won't celebrate the last weekend of the summer in the sun because I'm going to rain on yall's parade."

And Lee did. It rained off and on all day Sunday. Not to be defeated I invited everyone over to our house and we had cocktails and fun under the cover of a roof. Suck it, LEE!

For the first time in the history of ever we decided to be a step ahead of the game and instead of paying the higher cost at the gate for concert tickets at the Lake Marting Amp for The Blues Travelers we all ordered them in advance.  (Without checking the weather) So, rain or shine we were hitting the concert, as we had tickets.

Decked out in rain boots, rain jackets, and a positive attitude we headed to the outdoor concert. The weather held off and the concert was lots of fun.



Oh look, we ran into Liz (brunette) who happens to be a blog reader! Shout out to Liz!



Got to hug on this kid which a bit overdue.



Chase and Birttany spent the Sunday night with us. Always love a good slumber party.

John Popper really feeling it.

Monday was Labor Day, which meant no one could do any type labor at all, therefore, I laid around and watched movies pretty much all day long. It was awesome.

Today is Wednesday, but feels like Tuesday, which is great. Enjoy this short week!

O.T.W. - Swamp People

It's Wednesday and I'm just now getting around to telling y'all about this past weekend. It was a big one.

In short, I celebrated Deidra's Birthday, harassed the Swamp People and lost a cookie cake.

Let me recap...

So you may recall me posting about being a big fan of the Swamp People (click the link to watch a clip.) It's a show that comes on The History Channel. Well, my mom also happens to love the show as well.

Mom caught wind that Troy and Jacob Landry, alligator extraordinaire, would be in Montgomery at the 2011 Annual Buck Masters Expo.  She sort of mentioned it one day while we were by the pool and the next thing I knew we were planning to head to Montgomery, AL to meet them sometime in August.

For those of you not from the South let me explain the Buck Masters.... It is probably the most stereotypical picture one could paint of Alabama. Lots of camo, deer, rednecks (but not all rednecks), lots of men who love all things hunting related, and a bow expo tossed in for good measure.

It's what movies portray Alabama to be. And I would say, yes Alabama is a lot of that, but Alabama is also pretty girls, good manners, kind gentlemen, football, family and God. Is that sterotypical too?

I digress. Saturday morning I tossed on my holiest jeans in an attempt to blend in with the crowd that was sure to be taking Montgomery by storm and we hit the road.

We were going to meet The Swamp People and we were stoked! Upon arriving in Montgomery I got a bit turned around which was cool because I was able to snap these pics:

I had the doors locked in this neighborhood.

Montgomery is our state capital and it is filled with history, but it can also be a bit sketchy in places as the pictures about might show.

The Buck Masters was everything I thought it would be:

Deidra and Aston and Mounted Deer

I think I'm testing a tree stand.

Ryan's cousin is having a baby girl... Baby gift perhaps?

More deer.

Camo bathing suits = taking it too far.

But I was there for one reason and one reason only. I wanted to know where they Swamp People were!!

I grabbed a man working one of the booths and demanded he point me in the right direction. And being the kind stranger that he was he walked us to the lobby and said, "See all those people, that's where the Swamp Folks are."

Now, I was fully prepared for a small wait. We were thinking roughly thirty minutes. We would grab a beer (because there was also a bar at the Buck Masters) and wait it out.

I see the crowd of people and decide I need to locate the line. I turned to a police office and inquired. He simply pointed down a hallway.... I followed the line which went down a hall, down a flight of steps, into a lobby, out a door, and wrapped back around.

It was CRAZYTOWN!! I did NOT realize The Swamp People were so popular.

I'm no fool. I was NOT about to wait in that line. NO Way!! So we did what any normal people would do. We posed in front of the booth and snapped pictures. In between one person's turn to meet them and the next, we said hey to Troy and Jacob.

This is what we learned:

• Jacob is much cuter in real life. Deidra should have been on that.
• Troy is also much more attractive in real life. He has very muscular arms.
• Their thick Cajun accents are really that thick. Troy would say, "Choot dat camera, man!" and would get big laughs.
• They are obviously making bank due to a little show on the History Channel. (yet another reason Deidra should have tried a little harder to sweep Jacob off his feet)
• People are batshit crazy for waiting in line for 4-6 hours to meet to ordinary alligator hunters.

Fmaily Affair.  Please note Dad and Justin rocked camo head gear.

After returning from our trip to camo country we met up with Ryan and friends for a birthday dinner for Deidra, as Saturday was her birthday. According to her dad she's entering in her late 20's. Deidra says she still in the mid-20's. 

Which was lots of fun!!

The night ran really late and turned into a sleep over at our house. We ended up with more people than we had beds so I busted out an air mattress in the kitchen.

It blew Maggie's mind!

On Sunday after lunch Ryan mentioned wanting something sweet... and it hit me. I ordered Deidra a cookie cake and hid it so that she wouldn't see it until Saturday on her birthday. For some reason I hid it in our office and never thought about it again. I texted Deidra a picture of it... and Ryan and I ate it up!! Yummmm!

Sunday I watched Steel Magnolias and cried. Gosh I hate that Shelby has to die. 

It was a good weekend with friends, famous folks, and fun.