Road Trippin'

"Road trippin' with my two favorite allies
Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies
It's time to leave this town
It's time to steal away
Let's go get lost
Anywhere in the U.S.A."
-Red Hot Chili Peppers

By now, many of you have read about the infamous unplanned road trip detour from Sunday.

I thought I'd save the photos and write-up from the Nashville trip for Julia's Hooked On party today because I am so "Hooked On" Road Trips!

Between the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Hotel/Convention Center and the amazing MOPS convention, there's just too much to fit into one post. I thought I'd share some hotel eye candy with you all today.

Once I got over my packing dilemma, I started to get really excited to get out of the house for a few days and have a break from my kids restful trip. After several Starbucks stops and some much needed potty breaks (some things don't change, even if your kids aren't road trippin' with you!), Kelly, E, and I made it to Nashville safe and sound.

MOPS International held its conference in Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention center this year. The Gaylord is not to be confused with the famous Opryland Hotel, which is about 13 miles away. While the Gaylord boasts stunning facilities, I still don't think it can hold a candle to the fabulous Opryland Hotel.

But it is lovely, no?

image: gaylordhotels.com

This was our first glimpse as we exited the lobby and found ourselves in the splendor of the atrium.

I had no idea what any of the plant life was called, but these gorgeous purple flowers called my name!

Check out the design of this ceiling!

Almost like a little Southern town in a jungle. The shop and restaurant designs were so well-thought out. Simply lovely.

Kelly, E, and me. E is not vertically challenged (much)...she was scrunching down for the shot and the rest of us followed suite.

Looks like the old plantation home, right?

I would have loved to stay in one of the suites overlooking the atrium! Check out the pattern in the wrought iron.

Brooks, ponds, and waterfalls everywhere we looked.

I got this shot of Kelly in front of those amazing arched windows.

This wreath made me think of all my blogging friends who have been posting their how-to's online.

We stopped our tour long enough for E to remove a fallen tree from the path. Okay, not really.

To quote Rachel Zoe, "I die!" Those purple flowery viney thingies caught my eye.

The sound of water was everywhere!

I had my Scarlett O'Hara moment on the grand staircase. Frankly, my dear...well...never mind.

All lit up at night...I would have loved to order a French Martini, sit under the lights, and watch the little mini-river boat glide by.

Isn't it a lovely glow?

We weren't able to stay at the Gaylord (rooms booked early!), but our own hotel was not too shabby. I'll admit it was kind of nice to have a whole bed all to myself. In his defense, T is not a bed hog...but I like to sleep in the middle.

The perfect surroundings for a wonderful girls' retreat. Tomorrow, I'll share some of what we learned and saw at the conference. Our own first MOPS meeting of the year was this morning, so I'll share some about that too.

{What are you hooked on this week?}

Last, but not least...start looking through your houses!

If you didn't have a chance to stop by the first two times, this is a party for bloggers to link up with any challenges they have in or around their homes (decorating, crafts, organizing, gardening, construction). Your dilemma can be anything from "Help! My son drew on my walls in permanent marker and I don't know how to cover it up" to "What color should I paint my coffee table?" I also love it when people have great solutions to share. This party is all about being real and helping out our bloggy friends. We're going to have a blast. There will be another giveaway!

You can click here and here to see the entries from the last two parties. Hope to see you there!

Cabin Fever

If you've been reading my blog any longer than about 30 seconds, all the pink and the talk about shoes and glittery things might possibly be a tip-off that I am pretty much a girlie girl. T is about a manly a man as they come: power tools, sports, guns, grills, and the like. So it may come as no surprise to you that we often argue over where we ought to take the imaginary vacations that we have no intention of ever taking.

I reserve New York City solely for girls' trips (I vowed never to return to the fair city with T in tow), so the only other option in T's mind would be....

...camping.


Ick.

I'm not so much against camping per say; I've just had bad experiences and I just really really hate it. When I was a kid, my mom forced me to join the Girl Scouts and those camping trips are some of the worst memories of my childhood. I think there was a raccoon in our tent once.

The woods are dirty, full of bugs and snakes, and there is no bathroom.

Also, my mom worked in Glacier National Park's resort in Montana one summer and her roommate got eaten by a Grizzly bear the night after Mom left to go home. True story. (I googled it) Stuff like that really turns you off to camping. Bears are super cute on TV, but I don't imagine it's so cute when they are chasing you through the woods.

Anyways, the last time we chatted about getting away, T suggested that we go camping on Bryce Mountain, where my Mom owns some property.

Me: (painting toenails) No. I do not sleep in tents.
T: (hopefully) We could build a cabin.
Me: (pointedly) Would it have TV?
T: (incredulous) No...but it would have beds.
Me: No TV and no internet?
T: Well, it would probably have running water. Maybe.

I am so sold.

"Well it's set way back in the middle of a field,
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back
Glitter on the mattress
Glitter on the highway
Glitter on the front porch
Glitter on the hallway
The Love Shack is a little old place where we can get together
Love Shack baby! Love Shack, that's where it's at!"
I think the Love Shack is the only one I'd consider visiting, and that's only because it is glittery.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

Image from ebay.com

I'm working childcare at our church's Bible study for the next few weeks with my friend, Kim.

Last week, Natalie and a little boy named Mikie were the only children in our room. It was an excellent lesson for me in the difference between boys and girls, and gave me a look at what the future would look like if the T family ever adds a little boy.

Upon his arrival in our classroom, Mikie set to work building a monster truck obstacle course.

I had no idea such a thing even existed, but Mikie was most intent on creating a course with the most extreme ramps and angles that he could dream up. Natalie busied herself with the Fisher Price dollhouse, glancing over every so often to check on Mikie's progress.

Mikie seemed to be having so much fun with his trucks that Natalie decided to join him. She copied his truck noises as best as she could. The pair bounced their trucks through the course until Mikie's truck took a nose dive off a ramp.

"Whoa! He's done! He's outta here!" Mikie crowed. He tossed the truck into the pile in the corner.

Natalie slowly pulled her truck to the side. "He's going to go home now to his family." she said, lovingly brushing her truck off.

Like most preschoolers, they moved on to a new activity quickly.

Mikie decided that he wanted to build the "tallest block tower ever," creating levels starting with a large base of ten blocks and moving to smaller tiers as he went up.

I watched him start his tower. Like a very small engineer, he began lining up each block precisely, his brow furrowed in concentration.

He was moving right along when Natalie approached.

Natalie: Can I help you, Mikie?

Mikie (eyeing her with as much skepticism as a 4 year old can muster): How old are you?

Natalie: Three

Mikie: Well, you can help when we get to the threes. I think the fours will be kind of tricky.

Natalie: Okay.

I was waiting for her to ask him when she could decorate the place, but she didn't get to because he got tired of building after awhile and they just knocked it over.

I sometimes feel that way about my house, but that's another story.

Veni, Vidi, Vici...Or...They Came, They Saw, They Took the Scenic Route

image from RachaelRay.com

I arrived home very late last night from the girls' trip to Nashville. I have so much to share with you, but I almost didn't get to share it.

A fateful merge into the wrong exit lane took the three of us moms on a very long detour. I could be in Florida right now if not for a kindly road sign that showed us our navigational error.

Erin was busy looking over some information for MOPS, Kelly was driving in an area she'd never been before, and I thought that if I spoke up they'd think I was stupid.

I wondered why we veered off towards Asheville, North Carolina when I knew we were specifically travelling towards Knoxville, Tennessee, which is sort of the gateway to Bristol, which is sort of the gateway to good old Virginnie.

But no one said anything (except the woman on the GPS system, and we were ignoring her because at one point she took us to a Nashville Taco Bell that was really a liquor store) and before long I noticed that the road was suspiciously more mountainous than I remembered on the trip to Nashville.

That could be because we were in the Cherokee National Forrest. Which runs into North Carolina.

The sign that read "Welcome to North Carolina" was our final clue that we had veered horribly off-course. Erin did some quick work on the map and plotted a course that would get us to Bristol without having to backtrack the way we'd just come.

We definitely took the scenic route.

Kelly steered the car around corners so tight that they were covered in black tire marks from previous road trippers who were perhaps a bit too ambitious in their cornering speeds.

We traveled through tiny towns perched on mountainsides, we passed more goats than I think I've ever seen, and saw so many postcard scenic views...I wanted to just stop the car and take some photos.

But we couldn't do that because three husbands and eight children were sitting at home in the 'Burg, waiting for us to return.

A man would have completely flipped out at our turn of events. We decided to see the situation as a "glass half full" sort of situation. We added an extra state to our itinerary and got to stop at a very nice Starbucks.

It's not a road trip without Starbucks, y'all.

I'll be spending some time this week trying (!!) to catch up with all the comments you've left while I was away. I want to catch up with your blogs too...please be patient with me. I think Mimi *helped* me by moving some things around while I was gone, so I have some hunting to do.

I can't wait to share more with you about our Nashville trip and the MOPS convention. Please drop back in!

Have a wonderful day!

Friday Fun

I thought I'd end the week with a little video fun from one of my favorite shows, So You Think You Can Dance. The current season is still showing auditions, so here are some more of my favorites from the season that just ended. Enjoy!


This was one of my faves, choreographed by Mia Michaels. So quirky! Randi and Evan dance to what is now referred to as the "Butt Dance."




Here's another Mia Michaels routine. Kayla plays an addict and Kupono is her addiction. He is so malevolent looking...plays his part to a "T."




Just a fun pop jazz with Jeanine (season winner) and Brandon. I love the energy!



This one is perfect for the Halloween season. A hip hop zombie (Jason) who goes after Kayla. Spooky!






And my favorite from the season again, just 'cause.



{I'll be home from Nashville on Sunday night. I look forward to returning your visits then. Thanks for stopping by!}

Leeeeaving On a Jet Plane...

Okay, maybe not so much a jet plane as Kelly's husband's Honda Element, but it is pretty nice.

Most of you know by now that I'm headed off (sans bebes!) to Nashville with my friends Kelly and Erin to the big MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International conference.

I have a dilemma. My dilemma isn't a decorating dilemma. My dilemma isn't about leaving my kids with T for 5 days.

Yes, I am a bit nervous about that.

I know that there will be at least one day my children will be paraded through a Chick-fil-a or Bass Pro Shop wearing some form of non-seasonal pajamas, mismatched shoes, and sporting unbrushed hair.

There may be a few frantic voicemails on my cell phone asking me where we keep the canned green beans or how much TV is too much TV.

But my real dilemma is what to pack.

I know I can share this with you, because some of you may understand.

I suffer from FOPS.

Flagrant Overpacking Syndrome.

I can't help myself. As many of my life experiences can be summed up in a Seinfeld episode, I found this perfect clip from "The Trip." If you're a real fan, you'll remember it. This will give you an idea of the disease which afflicts me.

Hotrollers, Hair Dryer, SHOES, jeans, yoga pants, pjs, sweater, sweatshirt, going out to dinner outfit, make-up, pillow, jewelry (!), purse(s).

I can't stop!!!

T gets soooo mad when he sees my suitcases when we leave on trips, but he's the guy who used to throw some boxers and a toothbrush in a backpack and call it a day. That was before we were married.

Now I overpack for him too.

I promised Kelly that I *might* not pack any heels, since this thing is supposed to be pretty casual anyways. I said "might" because that of course leaves me a window. I know I'm bringing the PINK tennies, but what about my black slingback heels? If I have an opportunity to wear them, I will.

I'm so glad we're driving to Nashville and not flying. It's been a year or two since I've flown, and I hear that they charge you by the weight of your bag. That's just not fair.

In fact, it's downright discriminatory. What about those of us who suffer from FOPS?!

It's not like I want to pack my faux zebra print flats with the hot pink ribbon. I am compelled to pack them because they would go so nicely with my jeans.

I hope Kelly and Erin don't charge me extra in gas money for the extra 500 pounds by bag(s) will add.

Anyone want to wire me 50 bucks?

{I don't know how much access I'll have to my lap top in Nashville, but I promise to catch up and return visits when I get back to good old Virginia! I have some new posts lined up for while I am away!}

Frugal Fall Decorating

I had big plans to join Tiffany for her Frugal Fall Decorating party today.

I was going to show you my cutesified house, all dolled up for Fall.

Then everything seemed to spin out of control this week: preschool, laundry, packing for Nashville, getting the girls' stuff ready for T so he doesn't have to do it while I'm gone, working childcare for the church Bible study, designing the 4 page detailed MOPS newsletter that needs to be printed on Monday, and let's not forget the issue of my stolen blog content.

Plus, I'd have to go up there...

I hate going up to the attic. It's crammed with plastic bins of Christmas decorations, boxes of books I don't have room for but don't want to give away, suitcases, and yes...the Fall decorations. Plus, going to the attic usually requires me to peer over the ledge every three seconds and yell at the girls to "stay away from that ladder or I will come down and spank you or you could fall and we'll have to go to the hospital and you'll have to get a shot in your eyeballs."

So I thought I'd show you what I do have...which is frugal because it's a lot of nothing.

Sad, lonely Kitchen sideboard with my last dilemma still sitting there forlornly in her Spring/Summer attire.

Bag of candy corn that should be filling my apothecary jars. There were two bags, but T opened one and wouldn't stop eating them, no matter how much I shrieked at him each time I caught him sneaking a handful.

Top of my Family room TV armoire, still sporting the Summer look. It's shameful, I know. It's killing me to admit I've slacked in the decorating department. In my defense, Fall did only start just yesterday!

Dining room apothecary jar, filled with summery goodness. I can almost feel its embarrassment at being caught out of season.

Bag of faux pumpkins I bought for 50% off at Michaels. I was hoping to gussy them up, like Amanda's. No such luck this week.

I did buy some beautiful mums to replace my dying wave petunias. Did I pot them yet?

No.But it's the thought that counts, right?

If so, I've earned a lot of points for all the decorating thoughts I've had.

Just need to get around to following through!

Anyone else getting a late start?

{I am currently on the road to Nashville. I promise to return all party visits when I get home early next week. Thanks for stopping by!}