Recent Highlights

Recent highlights (and lowlights):

Smashville

Even though I was the athlete in the family when I was younger, I know very little about sports now. I can’t name many teams, forget the rules, and usually don’t even know its baseball season until the World Series rolls around.  However, when it comes to the Preds, I can name at least three players on the team at any given time. I go to about 5 games a year. And I can recognize a few of the players outside of the arena. (That’s right, Jordan Tootoo. It was nice sitting in the Jiffy Lube waiting room with you last week. P.S. You’re cute.) So as you can tell, I’m an avid fan. My company has tickets, so I went to a preseason game with a few colleagues last week.

Before the game we ate at Merchant’s downtown. The man at the table right behind us had a seizure during dinner. Ambulances were called. Paramedics were swarming. Gurneys were wheeled. Lots of action. I felt sooo bad for that man. They took him to the hospital, but everyone acted like he would fortunately be okay. Scary.

Once we shook off the adrenaline and made it to the game, we had a lot of fun. We won. Duh.

My fake boyfriend. I love Suter.

My Jiffy Lube Pal. Tootoo.

The Penalty Box. A guy in front of us yelled "Cheater" into the box the entire game...

Lunch Hour

If I’m not running errands and have time to leave the office for lunch, I usually eat at Centennial Park. I forget that it is strange to have a replica of the Parthenon in the middle of our city since I see it every day. Sometimes I roll down the windows and listen to the radio. Sometimes I sit on a swing and read. Sometimes I leave the windows rolled up and take a nap. Okay, okay. That has only happened a few times. Don’t tell.

Athens of the South

One day last week, however, my friend Yvonne sent me a text that we should meet for lunch at the Ryman. I had been dying to eat at Mas Tacos (a local gourmet taco truck) and it just so happens that this particular day there were food trucks and live bluegrass music at the Ryman Plaza.

I really wanted a fried avacado taco but we got there kind of late (after driving around forever looking for a parking spot) so they only had chicken tacos left. And it was delicious. 

Mas Tacos, Ya'll

A couple of tacos, a little bluegrass, a quick stop for Yvonne to pick up a treat at the Cupcake Collection bus, and getting stuck in a parking garage for a little while makes for a great lunch hour! (And a half).

Call Me

Last weekend after the sky dive I got to spend some time with my cousin and her family in Knoxville. I was sitting on the couch playing tractors when my little cousin said "Big Emma, want to trade tractors?" Umm... excuse me? Big Emma? That just isn't going to fly. It was explained to me that he knows a little kid named Emma, therefore I would naturally be Big Emma. No way. No one is calling me that. So I told him ever so nicely that "My name is not Big Emma. My name is Pretty Emma." He repeated "Pretty Emma" back to me. Success. I won him over. Until he handed me his tractor and said "Here you go, Stinky Emma." I'm not sure which is worse.

Bonfire

I had another bonfire on Saturday night with some of my favorite people. Chili. Hot Dogs. Smores. Coyotes. Wait…. What??? That’s right. As we were sitting on our hay bales warming up by the fire, chatting about life, and French braiding hair, a coyote walked right behind us from the barn to the field. Creepy!

 They are sisters.

 They are married.

We are pals.

Running Errands

On Sunday morning I went to church with my parents. I was hosting some friends that night for Thurch, so I knew I had to get home quickly to clean and cook. (Thurch is a Small Group started by some of my Harding friends which used to be on Thursday nights. Church on Thursday nights. Thurch. Get it? Well, the night changed but the name didn’t.) Since my jeans smelled like a campfire, I just went home in my church dress. I did however swap out my heels for some tennis shoes since I was loading things in my car and just driving straight home. No big deal. But then I remembered that I needed a couple of things from the store. I stopped at one right down the street from my condo and ran in to get a few things. I thought people were staring because I was moving quick. Until I saw a woman scan my outfit with her eyes. I was just so sure that she thought my dress was cute. Until I dropped my marshmallows. I bent over to pick them up and realized that I still wearing my tennis shoes with my dress.  Really cute, Stinky Emma. Really cute.

Faux Pas

On a positive note, my store had chapstick on major sale. Perfect for fueling my obsession.  This should at least get me through Thanksgiving.

Obsession

Old or Vintage?

The other day when I went home I saw that my mom had a new phone on her nightstand.

Me:  “Mom! Where did you get that totally awesome vintage phone? It’s so cool!” 

Mom:  “Em, do you not remember that phone? We had it downstairs in the living room when you were a little girl.”

Me: “Oh my gosh! I’m vintage?!?”

Top things off with brunch with a college friend, yard sale shopping for remodel items, and making a few new friends. I’m happy.