Who Knew?

Grinning on the outside
Dad, I will pay you to try this one.
Put on a happy face, Doug!
Kelley was definitely the professional camper out of all of us
The Brothers

Who knew the Dayton, Ohio area has quite a bit of activity to offer? Last weekend I headed off to Dayton to meet Doug, Brian, and Kelley for a little adventure. The trip started out at a place called Urban Krag which I found on the internet. It is an old church that has been converted into a climbing gym. Talk about a blast! It was a little scary at first because they give you your beginner's session and then leave you to go for it. Luckily, Doug was a great partner and quite confident so I wasn't too afraid of falling. I cannot say the same. He was pretty brave to entrust his life to me because I wasn't sure I knew exactly what I was doing. Fortunately, our teacher stayed with me a little longer while Doug climbed so I felt confident after a bit of time had passed. I'm sure that teacher hated me. After 4 hours of climbing and with sore muscles, we headed to John Bryan State Park for some camping. The park was full, but we lucked out and some people left so we got their site! Woohoo. Kelley was the expert fire starter. That was pretty impressive, I must say. We had s'mores and hotdogs. Doug pulled out the guitar and played for us (and the rest of the park) which was fun. Here is the downfall of John Bryan, for you tent campers, there is NO running water. Let me repeat that, NO RUNNING WATER! Even in the worst of Greece's campgrounds, I had not encountered that primitive of camping. I'm glad I carry water jugs with me as a habit. :) The next day we headed to Yellow Springs for breakfast. Yellow Springs is a really cool, hippy town so the breakfast menu was totally organic and right up my alley. Meg, you would have hated it -- no Kellogs or Post cereals offered. I wanted to hike that day, but we didn't get to which was a little disappointing. I was also too full to try the homemade ice cream at a dairy farm there. That will just have to be another trip.

Now I am back to work and wishing I were taking another trip. Tomorrow is my day off so I am up late tonight. I have been practicing my guitar since around 9 p.m. tonight. It is 2 a.m., and I just finished! Dad, Mike, and Wes, I can play pretty much all the major chords continuously without pausing. F kills me, and B needs some work. I can at least play some songs and sing along though. Strumming patterns are what I need help with. If you have suggestions, please call or email! I included a picture of my guitar because it brings me much joy. I know a fifth grader and ninth grader around here that take lessons and are pretty good. I am considering calling them and asking if they want to hang out and teach me some guitar stuff. That is pretty sad, huh? Wow, life is quite exciting here in Ohio :) I think it is time for another trip!

Count your blessings

First of all, pics will be posted again soon. I just bought a battery charger tonight and am charging the batteries as I type. Ok. So I must first post some great information and admit to mom and Becky that maybe, just maybe, I may not be 100% unlucky.

The worship leader at our church is young and so is his wife. Yes, he is even more average than a certain worship leader in Georgia that I know. She and I chatted for quite awhile yesterday about life, interests, etc. Well, today she comes in and brings me a guitar! I had told her I was looking for one on Ebay so she brought me this guitar -- as a gift! She said they didn't need three guitars and wanted me to have it. Wow. Talk about pretty amazing. I was so excited and pretty dumbfounded. That was today's blessing. Lucky time #1 :)

Yesterday, I was talking to a lady that goes to our church about gardening and telling her how I love to cook with fresh herbs. Hours later she stops by to see me bringing a full potted garden of herbs. She brought them for me and said to take care of them, and I would save myself a considerable amount of money at the store each week. That was yesterday's blessing. Lucky time #2.

Those are little pick-me-ups from the past two days. As far as the soccer coaching goes, all I have to say is I am definitely the most fun coach on the field. I went to practice with stiletto boots on last night. I told them I was bringing fashion to the field. All the other coaches got a kick out of it, but I must say our team still had more fun. I plan to take some pics this weekend so you all can be amused. I am headed to bed now for I must get up and "toil" early. Now that the guitar is in hand and being practiced, I am thinking I may be a good "Smoke in the Mountain" candidate :) (hint, hint)

Going back

Mom and dad got to come to my final week of shows which was really cool. Wes, Lisa & Terry, and mom and dad all came to my Friday night show which was a blast. Thank you so much for coming. It made the last weekend awesome. Sunday night, mom, dad, and I headed back north. We stopped in Knoxville to spend the night and traveled on to Lexington the next day where we got to meet up with Meg and the kids. Unfortunately, my camera died so the pic of Josie and dad is the only one I was able to get. It's time for batteries again. It was so much fun seeing all of them and did my heart good. Maggie and Owen always make me happy and now Josie is making little noises and smiling. They are all just perfect, and I'm so glad I have them as nieces and nephew. I am now back in Ohio, and it is still cold here! It is coat and sweater weather. This is the worst possible state to live in! It is almost June. Global warming does not apply here. I will have updates of the soccer practices soon. The first one went rather well; although, the coach looked at me and said, "you really don't know anything about soccer, do you?" You pay for what you get, and in this case, it is a free volunteer. Expectations can't be too high on free. I will blog more when I get my camera going again.

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye...

The "Spitfire Grill" cast.

Becky and I posing on "the Grille."

Julie, Becky, and a coffee pot. Can it get much better?
I loved this pic. Ethan is definitely "cheesing" it up. Wonder where he gets that?
Here is Wendy sans the grey hair. I'll miss you, girl.
Dustin, Becky, and I after the show.

Last Sunday marked my last day in Georgia. We had our final show and then a little party at Amy's afterward. I am already missing all my friends there. That was definitely one of the best times I have ever had doing a show. I have posted some pics from the last day. We had a great time together. I look forward the next time I come back. Mom and dad got to spend some time with everyone. After they met them, they said they understood why I didn't want to leave. They are an impressive bunch.

Ethan is considering marrying me. I haven't told him about my cute 4-year-old niece yet. Amy opened up her home to all of us for the final party. She is great and so is her family! Mom and dad got to see why I like everyone so much. Strike a pose, Bethany!

Huey or Louis?

First of all "Happy birthday" to Mark! He turned 32 yesterday so we had a little cast celebration in between shows. His Spiderman cake was great!

Today was a cast day. I went to church with half of the cast, did the show with all, and then most of us went to the Huey Lewis concert. I must say that my only knowledge of Huey is from my dad and the "New York, New York" song we sang on the cruise ship. Despite my ignorance, it was a blast, and I recognized some of the songs from being in the car with JR and Lori :) They love the 80's music. Huey sounded just like the cd's and was a good entertainer. Dad, you would have loved it. I must say it was a bit funny to see all these old rock fans now dancing with their kids at the concert. Actually, it was pretty cool. We danced, laughed, and were bored with the new songs.
I have to tell a short story that drives this post's subject heading. When I called my sister to tell her where I was going, she said "I think I know who that is. Is he the guy that sang 'It's a wonderful world'?" She was thinking about Louis Armstrong. Isn't that funny? Sorry, Meg, but you all have too many on me!

Truth be told, I am not a concert person. I haven't been to that many in my life, but none have been memorable. I find the music too loud and annoying to try and talk over so I just stay silent and pretend to talk, until people give up trying to read my lips. Despite my silence, I had a blast. Although I wasn't familar with the music, the company was a delight. That is all that matters to truly make anything great though. Thank, cast, for a great night with the children of the 80's.

The two Southern belles. We prefer a night of theatre to a concert. Dustin nicely added the finishing touch to this picture!
I must say that Mark and Bethany are quite the rockers. Matt bust out some moves after Huey sang some favorites.
Dustin and I sat together. He did all the talking and yelling for me. It was very amusing.
Here I am with two of the Parkers, they are missing their best half! :) Mike and Julie are great. I have thoroughly enjoyed finding friends in them.