Feeling Romantic (and Relaxed)

I'm feeling very romantic today, here in the beautiful surroundings of the Opryland Hotel. Matt is attending a ministry training event here with leaders from across the country, and since it's in our own backyard (just five miles from our church, maybe fifteen from our house) I am joining him for the weekend, to have my own little personal retreat.

After working much of the day yesterday, and handing over the young'uns to Granna and Opa, I enjoyed the evening just hanging out in our hotel room while Matt participated in the conference's evening sessions. I laid out all the photos and scrapbook supplies I brought, and indulged in four hours of wedding-related reality TV on The Learning Channel. (Or has their content made TLC stand for something else these days?) My goal is to scrapbook all our December/Christmas photos while I'm here, as well as do a little work and enjoy time with Matt when he can pull away from the conference. I'm feeling soooo relaxed, just having some time to myself, and I'm being reminded how important is is to get away as a couple now and again.

I'm feeling romantic because this is the site of Matt and my first date, almost ten years ago now. We'll be eating dinner at the Italian restaurant tonight where we ate on that first date, but there are also so many other places around this gorgeous hotel that bring back memories. Like the bench where we sat while waiting for our table, where we talked and learned how much we had in common. As I sit here working in sight of this gorgeous waterfall, I remember how we walked behind it on our first date, and it was so lovely and romantic, I was afraid he was going to try to kiss me and I wasn't quite ready for that!

 

(I've told Matt that story, so we laugh about it now. And kissed there last night, of course :0)
We spent the night here for our first wedding anniversary, and we come for dinner occasionally, or a business thing, but it's really nice to spend even more leisurely time here, just enjoying the views.

We brought the kids here at Christmas last year, but we realized we need to bring them over just for an ordinary Saturday to explore all the jungly pathways and waterfalls, take the indoor riverboat ride, and eat lunch. Next week is Kate's birthday party, but maybe the week after that. Can't wait to come back and share the fun with the kiddos!

Tennessee Dream

I was born and raised in Louisville, Ky., and my only exposure to Tennessee as a child was a visit or two to Opryland and the song "Rocky Top," which we enjoyed in spite of the fact that we were UK fans and didn't care a lick for the Vols. I learned great things like why Tennessee folk "drink their corn from a jar." Nonetheless, at age eight, I wrote this very serious letter to my father.

If you can't make that out, it says: "Dear Dad, I've made up my mind, when I grow up I'm going to Tennessee to sing country music, maybe in Opryland." 

(Instead, I became an editor and learned when a period or semicolon would be more appropriate than a comma.)

I even addressed this very important folded piece of paper. And drew a stamp. Why my mother did not merit informing about this great plan, I don't know. Even today, I tend to call Dad when I want to talk career stuff, so maybe that started early. Mom's the one who saved this artifact in my baby book, though. 

In any case, I think it's kind of cool that I ended up living in Nashville, even if the whole "country music" dream went by the wayside, in part because I never actually listened to country music until after I moved to Nashville, and then only for a time in a "can't beat 'em, join 'em" kind of way. Christian publishing is Nashville's other big business, so I guess it's a good second. :0)

Family Fun at the Science Center

When Matt and Kate were home with us on Monday for the extended New Year's holiday, we decided to go have some family fun time at Nashville's Adventure Science Center. Kate and I had only been one other time (about a year ago), and Matt had not been since he was a kid going on field trips there!

The featured exhibit right now was "Animal Secrets," so Kate got to examine tiny things with a magnifying glass and try to guess the animal from its skull and a few descriptors.

We got to wear chipmunk costumes and crawl into a tree to learn how little rodents store up acorns for the winter.

Claire was just along for the ride in her stroller, of course. She and I did laps and rode up and down the elevator while Matt and Kate climbed the four-story "Adventure Tower," a complex of science-y activities, steps, and slides that goes all the way to the glass cupola that looks out over downtown and for miles around. They took off into this thing as soon as we had entered the center, and while I kept trying to keep a visual spot on them as they made their way up, I lost them pretty quickly despite taking the elevator to the various floors, and eventually just had to pace around and wait for them to return!

 (I admit the pics above and below are mainly to show Claire's cute hat and Kate's cool dress-tights-boots ensemble. She's so stylin'.)

We also explored the space area and the body exhibit before and after climbing the tower a few more times. I think she spent at least a third of the time we were there in that thing.

So much fun, we'll have to go back again sometime. Don't worry, Claire—we won't let the triceratops eat you!

My Limited and Unofficial Guide to Christmas at Opryland

If you live in Nashville or within three hours of Music City and have never been to the Opryland Hotel, that is a shame. You really must go. It is quite the sight to see—huge indoor gardens and waterfalls, great restaurants, rooms with balconies overlooking those amazing conservatories, and more. Their light displays have been a must-do for Christmas in Nashville for years, so we wanted to take the girls sometime this season, despite the legendary price-gauging.

Matt took me to the Italian restaurant there for our first date, and for our first wedding anniversary, we dined at that restaurant again and spent the night at the hotel. I'm tempted to tell some of our inside jokes and memories from both those visits (maybe another post :0) but for now, here's a run down of our Christmas visit last week...

On the way in from the parking lot, we stopped to admire the giant light-tree, the other trees amazingly lit with each branch wrapped individually, and a life-size nativity.

Me and the girls in front of the hotel's main entrance (Magnolia Lobby) dodging cars and horse-drawn carriages. Kate thought the horses were cool, but with a $5 charge even for kids (I didn't hear how much for adults) I can't imagine it would be worth it, especially since I don't think you see anything you wouldn't see from your car on the way in or out.

We'd had "see lights at Opryland" and "see Santa" on our list of Christmas family-fun to-dos, and we found that there was actually a Santa at Opryland to see, which seemed preferable to battling lines at the mall. There were huge crowds to battle on the little paths making our way through Delta Conservatory to where Santa was, but since there was higher demand to see the Dreamworks characters featured this year (Shrek, Po, etc.) than to see Santa, there was actually no line to see jolly old St. Nick! And, unlike the movie characters, there was no cost to see Santa!

The official photos and baubles they sold were exorbitant, of course, but unbelievably, they actually let you take your own photos at no cost!! So, Matt took at least twenty shots while the official photographer took his (which we didn't even bother to look at) and we had plenty of great pics to choose from! Here were a few of our faves:

The crowds in the conservatory were so crazy we didn't really look up and around at the decor there (which actually wasn't as elaborate as before the flood, especially as they've put more effort into attractions like ICE, with the Dreamworks movie theme, etc.) but we made our way back to Magnolia and ate dinner at the Irish pub. Great beer and some good bangers and mash, plus live music.

 (Matt making Kate laugh, since she wouldn't smile.)

Locals know it's best to park for free at Opry Mills and walk, but we'd heard that they were now validating the crazy $18 parking if you eat in one of the restaurants. It turned out that was only if you ate in one of the "fine dining" establishments, of which the pub is not one, and yet still charges $20+ per entree. The whole thing is a racket, and we would have been better off paying $15 for a mall Santa photo and another $60 to eat at Carrabas, but if done rarely, the Opryland Hotel makes for a fun (if expensive) family outing. 

Adventure!

Nashville's Adventure Science Center, that is! Kate and I met up with Becca and her mommy for some adventurous, scientific, centrist fun on Saturday. Kate was feeling so adventurous, in fact, that she tolderated the giant-flower-hat Mommy wanted her to wear. (yay!)

Kate and Becca had a grand time exploring all the fun, hands-on exhibits. I remember when Louisville's science museum rebranded itself as the Louisville Science Center. Such a fun thing, showing kids how science is fun and an integral part of so many areas of life. They walked across the giant piano keyboard...

 ...and enjoyed the model trains on display. (I loved that too--all those miniature towns take me back to my antebellum-doll-playing days.)

A major highlight of the visit was the Sesame Street planetarium show, in which Big Bird, Elmo, and their Chinese friend Hu Hu Chu (the Beijing Planetarium co-sponsored the show) taught kids about the sun, moon, Big Dipper, and North Star. Becca and Kate are both HUGE Elmo fans, but Kate didn't go as nuts as I expected. She went into awe-struck "new experience" mode (i.e. quiet) and then laid her head down on me, since it was past nap time. Nonetheless, it was a great show--only 30 minutes, since geared for the preschool set--and kids under 2 get in free, so it didn't bother me that she didn't pay attention.

After the show, we visited the Body Quest area, all about health and bodily systems and functions. My favorite thing was this mouth that opened and closed as you tried to toss balls in it. It was like an arcade game, and I could have played that all day!

 The mouth was the beginning of the digestive system corner, which ended with this big slide that Kate went on over and over. I assumed at first that it was supposed to be a big tongue...

 ...but no, it was the colo-rectal chute. Seriously. Don't believe me?

Um, yeah.

The girls had such a fun time exploring the different exhibits, and seemed to interact more than in the past. (Like when we went to the zoo a couple months ago; Becca kept trying to hold Kate's hand and Kate wanted no part of it.) This time, they seemed to play together a little more, and they can call each other by name. (Well, "Decca"... close enough.) It is so fun watching her social skills develop and seeing these young friendships blossom.

On that same note, I just have to share this pic from when Matt and I went to Kate's school last week for their Santa Claus visit. We waited around in the classroom for a while before it was their class' turn, and it was so fun to see Kate with her little friend Amy. They were running around together, and decided to hug. (I promise it was more consensual than it appears! Amy just has a funny look on her face!)

We had so much fun. Thanks for coming out to play, Becca and Nancy!

Art by the Glass

Last night, my friend Paula and I did a session of "Art by the Glass," basically a BYOB step-by-step painting class. It was a really cool concept (drink wine with friends and create an your own piece of art), in a cool space (in Nashville's hip Edgehill Studios) and we had a really fun time! We signed up for half-price with Groupon, the site that e-mails you a really good deal for your hometown every day. This is the only one I've actually used!

In this class, we would be painting the "Textured Tree." An artist leads the class in painting a particular piece, but you can do variations on it as you like.

We began by painting the whole canvas brown. (And, as you see, pouring a glass of wine. Some people even brought their own platters of cheese, crackers, and olives! I'll have to remember that for next time!)

Then we used a palette knife to put a layer of white over that in a criss-cross pattern, letting some of the brown show through, giving it a gritty, weathered look. It was like smearing cream cheese on a bagel. I really liked that step.

Then, we added some mossy yellow-green (and aqua--not shown) using the same technique as the white.

Lastly, we painted in our "happy little tree" (as Bob Ross says), using a brush and working in layers from dark to light to create depth and texture. I was uneasy for a while, not sure how it would turn out, but in the end, I loved my piece!

Here's Paula and I with our completed works. As you see, she went a more warm, autumnal route, whereas I followed the sample (visible in the top right corner of the pic) pretty closely.

They take a class picture at the end, to show all the variations. (That will be posted on Art by the Glass's Facebook page, but it's not up yet.) Some people's trees looked more deciduous, others evergreen. Some added apples or stepping stones on the ground. Some people decided not to do the "textured" technique with the palette knife at all, and had much smoother, flowy lines.

I took my painting to my office today, and enjoyed peering over the top of my monitor to see it on the windowsill. It makes me smile. We had such fun being artists for an evening, and will definitely do it again sometime!

Project Life (May 3-9)

Monday 5/3: I put together a box of newborn items for NICU families (a drive organized by Kristen Welch of We Are That Family), and Kate had the great idea to color on the box, adding her own little pick-me-up for families in need. (The box has subsequently sat in my car for a week--Kristen, I'm mailing it today!)

Tuesday 5/4: At lunchtime, I took a little walk around downtown to check the status of the floodwaters down by the river. This was 2nd St. near the pedestrian bridge. I'm not totally sure if the water has receded/evaporated from this area yet or not.

Wednesday 5/5: Kate wore a really cute new dress I found on consignment, and I happened to wear turquoise as well that day.

Thursday 5/6: I took Kate for a walk around the neighborhood after work. She likes to look up at me every now and then as we stroll--just checking to make sure I'm still there, I guess!

Friday 5/7: This morning they had "Muffins with Mommy" at Kate's school. It was fun to hang out with her and other kids and moms in her class. That afternoon they had their "spring production," in which all the classes sang songs and stuff. I actually couldn't go since I had something after work and I work an hour away from home and day care, but Matt went to the show and blogged about it here (including a post-show interview with one of the stars, Miss Kate Kelley).

Saturday 5/8: I went to help with flood cleanup near the river in Clarksville, and spent my time helping salvage inventory at this family-owned hardware store. Soldiers from the base had come the day before and helped haul all the nasty stuff out into the parking lot in front of the store, where the store owners, their friends, and other volunteers helped separate the trash from the to-be-discounted merchandise. My task was to clean metal tools and hardware, swishing them around in a trash can of bleach-water and then scrubbing the dried mud off. (More pics of this and other events of my Mother's Day weekend here.)

Sunday 5/9: Mother's Day! My favorite part of the day was our now-traditional mommy-daughter Mother's Day Starbucks run before church. Kate was asleep when we got home from church, and though I kept both of us in our church-clothes until she woke up, she never would cooperate for a good photo. This was about the best I could get! Spending time with my little bear was the most important part, though, of course!

Bonus: I realized I didn't share in my Mother's Day post what my gift was--a new diaper bag! Our original one was mainly chosen for its unisex-style, since Matt would be carrying it too, but it was starting to fall apart, and Matt said it would not challenge his manhood to carry a pink diaper bag. So, I picked this stripey one by Gerber out and ordered it myself a couple weeks ago :0)

Thanks for visiting! As always, there's more Project Life where this came from over at The Mom Creative.