Big George & The Ryman...Only 19 More Days

YES!! I get to see this Rock Star in concert in 19 days!!! I can't wait!! What a great birthday gift!

"Roots Of My Raising" Guest Series - Take 2

Hey Friends! Time for a post! This one is from Erin Whitney Burnett! She's the greatest! I hope you enjoy her story! Random fact about Erin Whitney...She has a grandpa named Wayne Leroy. He L-O-V-E-S to take pictures with his camera and when he gets his film developed he always gets triple prints! How cute is that?? I heart him! Now, on with the show...

Nicole Judd and I have been friends for about 6 years now. My first distinct memory of her was in the lobby of a dorm at Georgetown College. We were training for Centri-kid, and I had my gray hooded sweatshirt on. I said something like, "I love this little guy." (because I did love that sweatshirt. It kept me warm and it was cold that week!) Well, Nicole laughed and laughed at that statement, and from that moment on, I knew we would be friends.

Years later, Nicole moved to Nashville and we became roommates in the 401 with Amber Hill. One thing that I knew about Nicole but now got to experience daily was her love for practical jokes. She LOVES to pull pranks on people. I mean, she LOVES it. One of her favorite pranks would be to call people's cell phones while she was in the room with them. Often, I would keep my phone in my bedroom, which was right next to our living room. We would be watching TV and I would hear my phone ring. Well, I would sprint to get it (because I love phone calls), only to find out it was Nicole. She would be dying laughing. After several, several times of this, I finally gave her number its own ring so I would know she was pulling pranks. Little did I know that jokester starting using Amber's phone or sometimes Emily's phone (those months she lived with us) to call me. So I gave all the roommates the same phone ring so I would not be pulled into these pranks any longer. I even changed Nicole's name in my phone to Stege, aka pest. The Stege part is in honor of our maintenance man, Steve. The pest part is because she was a pest with that phone calling! I think I eventually fool proofed that prank. It took awhile, though. And I am reminded of it every time Nicole calls me now because it still comes up, Stege aka pest. :-)

Everyone should become friends with Nicole because she is so much fun, and I miss her. Be aware, though, that she WILL pull pranks on you. I just wanted the blogging world to know. :-)

"Roots Of My Raising" Guest Series - Take 1

Hi friends! I’m so excited! It’s guest blogger time here on “Roots Of My Raising”! I know that you all have probably been anxiously awaiting the blog entry from my very first guest…Alicia Christie! From time to time I thought that it might be fun to have random people post on my blog. I think that you will really enjoy hearing from Alicia. She is a sweet friend who knows me well and is thus allowed to poke fun at my family. Bless my mother’s heart…She just tried to equip us with the proper skills to react properly in an emergency situation and I love her for it! So, without further ado, I present to you the first installment of the “Roots Of My Raising” Guest Series! Enjoy the read!!

“My name is Alicia Christie. I have known Nicole since Centri-kid 2001, and throughout the years, I have heard many stories about her life growing up. Some of these make me laugh so hard I cry. We used to get a kick out of talking about things we or our families did when we were little. On the night I heard this particular story, I’m sure we had just finished eating steamed broccoli, some chicken, and maybe some corn. We had probably just finished watching an episode of Friends, Roseanne, or The Cosby Show, and Nicole was probably drinking a Mountain Dew… (Our lives were pretty predictable.)

This one night, Nicole started telling me about something her mom made them do growing up…Earthquake Drills. No, they weren’t home-schooled, and no it wasn’t government mandated. This isn’t like one of those planned drills at school where you know and don’t take it seriously. No way. This drill seems to be the most realistic portrayal of what life would be like the moment an earthquake happens. Nicole’s mom would (after everyone was asleep) come running through the halls, pounding on the doors, shouting, “EARTHQUAKE!” Can you imagine being woken up this way?? To see Nicole reenact it is something else. I am laughing right now even thinking about it. Thankfully, this family will know exactly what to do when “the big one” comes.”