Category: MUSIC

Nashville “Secrets”

Nashville is one of my favorite cities to visit.  In the past year, I visited 3 times just for fun: my first ever visit to Nashville was a spontaneous road trip with girl friends following the Thanksgiving holiday in 2016, the second was with girl friends during the CMA Fest in June 2017 and the third was with my daughter sharing a glimpse of  the Nashville experience during a college road trip in June 2017. Each visit I experienced something different and will definitely be back again!  If you haven’t been to Nashville, I’ll share the highlights of our experiences and places you may want to visit the next time you’re in Nashville.

MUSIC

Music is the soul of Nashville: the foundation and almost 24/7 celebration, and definitely was the reason I was interested in visiting!  So if you love country music; Nashville is a must!  It seems live music is playing all day and all night long.  (Some tips: during the day, at least when I visited, under 21 year olds can visit to eat and see the music at various establishments, but in the evening, people need to be over 21 years old.  Also, there is no cover charge at the door to see the bands, but bring cash to donate to the bands performing, they usually have a collection area by the stage.)

BROADWAY

Some of the fun places we visited on Broadway were:  Tootsies, Tin Roof, Crazy Town, Honky Tonk Central, The Stage:  all of these featured live bands, are multi-level (with multiple live bands) have food and beverages and were places I visited each time because they were so much fun.    I haven’t checked all of them, but Tootsies, Crazy Town and the Stage all have outdoor rooftop entertainment too; it’s so nice on a beautiful day or night!

DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE

If you are interested in music history, stop by the Country Music Hall of Fame, we were told most people spend about 3 hours visiting.  We had a short window of opportunity and made it through in about 45 minutes!

2017/2018 NEW PLACES

During the CMA Fest, we decided to check out (Florida Georgia Line’s) FGL’s new restaurant, but that was virtually impossible  to get in because the line was well over a block long, but we had much better success getting in later in the month traveling through Nashville.  Very cool place, also multi-level with a rooftop bar!

In 2018, when it opens, we plan to visit Blake Shelton’s new restaurant, Ole Red, which is just slightly down the street from FGL’s.  (Blake Shelton has another location which already opened in 2017 in his hometown of Tishomingo, OK)

THE DISTRICT

On my second trip, we ventured a little further east on Broadway and found this place; I love the tree lined streets and historic brick buildings!  My favorite place here was the Wildhorse Saloon.  We stopped in for lunch and happened to see Sandra Lynn performing, she was great and just recently launched “Hey California.”  There is also a great boot shop on this street, you can smell the leather as you walk by in the summer.  One evening we were able to catch Doug McCormick at the Wildhorse Saloon.

THE “SECRET”

The evening before we left for Nashville, I found an online article written about Sofar Sounds, this company was started by two men who loved music but preferred an intimate setting/venue experience, and since there aren’t that many out there, they created this concept.  I was intrigued by this and saw that there was a “secret concert” happening in Nashville during our visit, so of course I had to check it out! I signed up and paid for the event without knowing who we were going to see or where it was going to be (it ended up being at Warner Brothers Studio) , it was an excellent surprise experience!  We saw Morgan Evans, a “new” artist from Australia, and absolutely LOVED his music.  We all believe he is going to be a headlining artist very soon.  Ironically later this summer, while I was attending Kelsea Ballerini’s concert I found out she is the one he is engaged to and was speaking of when he talked about “this amazing girl” he met after moving to the US on that concert day in Nashville.  She happens to be another favorite Country Music artist of mine, so happy for them!

MUSIC ROW/ 19TH AND BROADWAY

This is another area that you should check out!

THE LISTENING ROOM

This venue has moved since June 2017, I know from following them on Instagram, but this was an excellent experience too. I found this place after checking out my BandsinTown app for bands playing that day, Brennin was recommended from other artists music I have downloaded on iTunes, so we went to see him at the Listening Room Cafe and, once again, I didn’t even know that Smithfield was going to be there, and was surprised again. I love their music and we heard a new one, co-written with Brennin:  Gone!  Emily West has the most amazing voice and such a humorous person, this was our first introduction to her.  The music and their discussion really made for a humorous and enjoyable night of entertainment with food and drinks in a small venue.  I’ll definitely visit the new location in the future!

I hope you find these tips helpful but if you are a Nashville regular, or live there, please let me know other places we should visit in the future!

by Categories: Entertainment, MUSIC, TRAVELTags: , , , Leave a comment

CHANGE, RELATIONSHIPS, MUSIC

It’s 4:30 am and this is what comes to mind?  Well, why not write about it?  Most people are probably still sleeping, so when this happens to me, seemingly out of nowhere, it’s time to write about it, because it doesn’t happen all the time.

Tomorrow will be one month before February 14, 2017…. Valentine’s Day, so maybe it’s a good time to do this?  If you’ve seen the acronym CRM in business: Customer Relationship Management, this is somewhat related, but in this, it’s personal and it relates to Change, Relationships and Music.

ABOUT MUSIC…

“Passion for Music” probably means a lot of different things to different people, but for me, it means music is a constant in my life, and will always be, I’m rarely in silence from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep, music surrounds me and I couldn’t imagine it any other way!  That is why I refer to it as a passion of mine.  Music has an incredible power and can literally change an emotional state for us, that fact still completely amazes me!  If I think about that fact, music truly is more powerful than drugs or medication; it really is!

Here are a few links and examples of this:  Music is a source and a gift for health and wellness and used for the following, to name a few:

Military, Autism, Alzheimer’s, Correctional Facilities, Trauma, Medicine, Pain Management, Young Children, Depression, Substance Abuse

http://www.alzheimers.net/2014-07-21/why-music-boosts-brain-activity-in-dementia-patients/

http://www.musictherapy.org/research/factsheets/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/expert-answers/music-and-alzheimers/faq-20058173

Getting back to music and relationships, for me, and others I know, a certain song will bring back memories of a person, an experience or a specific time in life, just like a photograph does! Music captures the emotional state of being in that moment of our memory.  What we remember in life is our experiences and how the experience made us feel and if music is a part of someone’s life, it gets tied to music, good or bad! The same holds true for people in our memories, what we remember in life may not be the exact words spoken, but how the person made us feel.

It’s interesting how we may relate a certain genre of music, a musician, or a song to a person in our life, just because of an experience.  I am one who connects first with the melody, the rhythm, the sound, including the voice.  The music can be amazing alone, but when the right voice is paired, it becomes incredible and irreplaceable. Eventually I learn the words, but I have friends who immediately seem to pick up all the lyrics.  I connect with the message in the lyrics, but I’m usually one of the last to memorize the exact words for some reason.

ABOUT CHANGE….

Change can be uncomfortable, even when change is chosen, it happens when a person finally faces the fear of the unknown and decides facing the fear is better than remaining the same.  Change makes us grow, improve and learn, but it’s not easy.   In my experience, music helps us get through change.  Sometimes change happens without our choice, but it always seems to result in growth, self- improvement and learning if we stay positive with our outlook and thoughts during the change.

Change can be good, sometimes it forces us to do things we never thought we would be able to do. We may not know our strength, until the only choice we have is to be strong.  Change is about improvement and improvement is good!

Change is also about becoming a better person, it doesn’t matter how long we’ve been a certain way, if we don’t like that way, we can change it at any time, but it’s a decision that only we can make, no one can make that decision for us.  Because change is uncomfortable, we need to want that change more than anything because the effort to change will require commitment and isn’t easy, it’s work.  But I believe we can be anything we desire, it just takes effort; nothing lasting comes without continual effort and commitment. If we want it, work for it!

ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS…

We learn the most about relationships from experiences and observations.  And those who’ve had a lot of life experiences know more, but the key to success is applying what we know, experienced and learned to improve our relationships.

This relates to the “Never Settle” topic: if we learn something once from a bad experience, then don’t settle into that familiar place again, because if we are not making a change, we are likely going to get the same results and that is how people get stuck and stay stuck, don’t do it.

Experience also relates to recognizing good experiences and applying them.  We often become so immersed and self-absorbed in what’s happening in our lives, that we forget to be grateful for what we have and forget to show appreciation for those important to us.  That forgetfulness lowers our quality of life in relationships.  Relationships need attention and when it’s not given, the relationship suffers.  It’s important to recognize what we value in life, what means the most to us. We don’t have unlimited time, so the time we do have should be spent on what is most important: our priorities.

Relationships will always experience change and they only last if there is a reciprocal involvement, they don’t if it’s one-sided.  Let that person, who is important in your life know they are important.  Relationships are constant work, but rewarding.  If we get lazy with relationships, we can lose them.  If those who are important to us are not treated as a priority, we lose them.

CRM- Change, Relationships, Music

Pulling all these topics together, there are some good examples of people doing things right, and I personally respect them for this.  My blog since inception has been tied into Instagram, which is an interesting media, and powerful, so be careful how it’s used because it can make a difference: both good and bad as I’ve experienced.  As you know, I love music and follow some of my favorite musicians on Instagram.  I look forward to posts about upcoming events or concert details because sometimes that is the way I find out about new festivals, events, etc.  I also like seeing the journey musicians go through:  the creation, behind the scenes joking, and rising in success; Instagram is a great tool for connecting with fans.  There is also something that some do well and that is appearing authentic and inspiring.  While we all know that no one is perfect (everyone is human and imperfect), and everything is not as it appears on social media, there are a few who do something a little different and step out of the norm.  I can’t even imagine what it is like for musicians and their partners to have a long-term relationship, talk about a massive amount of work to keep it real and keep it a priority especially with all the outside influences!  But there are a few who seem to do this well, they appear genuine, know their priorities, live by them and are very inspiring people because of this.  They have a special gift – musically talented and staying true to, and publicly acknowledging, their values, especially in a culture that often glamorizes the opposite.  These are a few that stand out to me:

@lukebryan, @sammyhagar, @thomasrhettakins, @michaelraymusic, @flagaline

There is also one more on this list, who isn’t really in the music arena…yet (haha)…but if you follow him and know his very early on comedy scripts, you will know the tremendous amount of change that he has been through, a master of change and very inspiring:  @kevinhart4real

There is no time like the present to Make It Count –  create an incredible relationship this year and get out, enjoy the music!

 

 

 

 

by Categories: Entertainment, Face Fear, FAITH, FAMILY, Following Passions, FRIENDSHIP, HAPPINESS, Improvement, Make It Count, MUSIC, RELATIONSHIPS, WellnessTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

2017?

So what will 2017 be like?

Reflecting on what happened in 2016 helps me focus on how to make 2017 better, below is an outline of my end of year thoughts and action plans (the first chart is  blank, if anyone wants to use it for themselves, and the second one is filled out- hopefully the filled-out version will motivate me to follow through, after publicly stating this):

2016 Reflection My Thoughts 2017 Plans 2017 Specific Actions
For what am I grateful? Make plans to do something that enhances, improves, what I am grateful for:  Make It Count, Make a Difference.

 
What did I enjoy most? Spend more time and energy on what I am passionate about and identify ways my actions will benefit others:  create purpose!

 
What did I do to benefit, give back to others who are important to me? This is success.  Continue with more and if something is lacking make specific plans to elevate this action.

 
What improvements did I make from the prior year? This is success.  Continue with more, what else can be done? Change is constant, keep it up, find ways to improve more, or lose it; complacency will lose it.

 
What didn’t work out? This is failure, but temporary, because I will learn from it and make changes.

 
What were the challenges? List them along with what I learned from it.

 
What did I want to do, but didn’t get around to doing it? Schedule it in 2017.

complacency

2016 Reflection My Thoughts 2017 Plans 2017 Specific Actions
For what am I grateful?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ·        Faith

·        Family

·        Friends

·        Health/Fitness

·        Music

·        Nature/Outdoors

·        Travel Opportunities

·        Business Opportunities

·        People who have supported/mentored me throughout my life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Make plans to do something that enhances, improves, what I am grateful for:  Make It Count, Make a Difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ·        Get involved in a helpful way with church to contribute/give back with my time

·        Plan and Spend quality time with Family and Friends

·        Research and Improve Nutrition through better meal planning

·        Schedule 3-4 days of workouts per week and stick to it

·        Support Musical Artists by attending concerts, buying music, blogging

·        Nature/Outdoors/Travel:  plan trips and share experiences and resources with others

·        Make weekly goals and follow through to grow business

·        Find an organization that helps people act and improve themselves; I’m not much a believer that “just dumping gifts in someone’s lap is the best way to make a long-term difference (if they are not trying to improve themselves on their own), but I want to help people who are trying

 
What did I enjoy most? ·        Time spent with those I care about

·        Music

·        Traveling

·        Improving via Design or Personal Fitness

 Spend more time and energy on what I am passionate about and identify ways my actions will benefit others:  create purpose! My Lifetime Goal/Dream:   I have a grandiose dream of creating or being involved with a luxury get away place that provides a place for people to get healthy, relax, work on fitness and enjoy music – all without leaving the getaway place.  A place for others to recharge, reflect, improve.

 
What did I do to benefit, give back to others who are important to me? ·        Time spent with those I care about, I tried to be present whenever someone needed it.

·        2016 I probably spent more time than ever before reflecting, so next year I want to increase the time spent in action.

 

 This is success.  Continue with more and if something is lacking make specific plans to elevate this action. ·        Increase time spent on actively giving back to others – this area needs improvement for me.
What improvements did I make from the prior year? ·        Stayed physically active throughout the year

·        Attended more often at Church

·        Acted to improve my situation, rather than complaining about it

·        Acted on Real Estate renovations

 

 This is success.  Continue with more, what else can be done? Change is constant, keep it up, find ways to improve more, or lose it; complacency will lose it. ·        Continue plans and focus on health and fitness

·        Get more involved with church

·        Find other opportunities to renovate real estate

·        Continue focus on self-improvement/purpose

 
What didn’t work out?

 

 ·        Failed relationship

·        Relationship damage with others

 This is failure, but temporary, because I will learn from it and make changes.  

·        Try to keep interactions peaceful

·        Make efforts to repair relationship damage with others

 

 
What were the challenges?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ·        Stress

·        Turmoil

·        Negativity

·        Disrespect

·        De-valued self-worth

·        Flight

·        Escape

·        Sadness

·        Emptiness

·        Simply existing, not living

·        Fallout

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 List them along with what I learned from it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ·        I learned to Let Go.

·        I learned not to let significant time pass without positive action and improvement in any given situation.

·        Improved Independence

·        Let go of stress related to unimportant/insignificant events

·        Remove myself from turmoil and surround myself with positive people

·        Exercise relieves stress

·        All people deserve respectful interactions, even if there is something bad happening

·        Self-worth: continually work on self-improvement and don’t be affected by others who de-value that self-worth- ignore it

·        Fleeing from a problem doesn’t solve it; it must be tackled head on

·        Get away from environments that can’t be improved and cause sadness

·        Improving my relationship with God and following what I am passionate about removes emptiness

·        Pursing a passion with a purpose leads to happiness and is living, not simply existing

·        Change will create fallout; that is a tradeoff unfortunately and will require more effort to improve but if not; let it go; nothing forced works in the long term.

·        Finding forgiveness for “wrongs” because they fueled improvement, so the “wrongs” turned into a positive outcome.

 
What did I want to do, but didn’t get around to doing it? ·        I wasn’t as affective as I wanted to be in 2016, because I didn’t spend enough time on it. Schedule it in 2017.

It is important to me to live life the way it matters most: TODAY.  When I look back on 2016, I can’t really say that it was a good year, or a bad year, because there were both experiences, almost to the extreme at each end, and somewhat surreal in retrospect.  So many disruptive changes occurred all at once (my dad’s death, a new business venture, loss of employee benefits at my current job but at the same time, my best year ever there, a divorce, giving up a condo on a lake, moving into a new home, renovations, challenges with my kids brought on by the divorce; it’s just been busy); so, I’m hoping that 2017 will be a little bit calmer.  I welcome change, just not as much disruption all at one time, it was an emotional roller coaster year for me and a bit of a blur with so much happening.

I plan to make 2017 a better, calmer year.

I also will pray for guidance, every day, in 2017, it can’t hurt, that’s for sure!

I hope to have the opportunity in 2017 to work with other motivated individuals, to pursue further success in life, because that aligns best with my passion: continued improvement.  This is what I do in my current real estate career (help successful people become more financially successful) and my new business venture (which provides motivated people an avenue to become financially successful).

If you read the original reason, “ABOUT”, from the menu in my blog, which I just started three months ago, this is it:  I am looking to connect with like-minded people and collaborate. 

I realize the internet is filled with a lot of fake people and get rich quick schemes…and this is NOT me, nor what I’m pursing.  I believe I put enough information out there about me, my thoughts, in my blogs, so you can get to know me and hopefully realize I’m a “normal” person, if there is such a thing.  If you search social media (Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram):  annm2705, you will find all my information.  I’m simply at a point in life, ready for the next step in a new venture and excited about the possibilities and opportunities in life.

by Categories: Careers, Entertainment, FAITH, FAMILY, FITNESS, Following Passions, FRIENDSHIP, HAPPINESS, Improvement, Letting Go, Make It Count, MUSIC, Nutrition, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVEL, WellnessTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

A Night in Nashville- Say “Yes” to Adventure

ROAD TRIP PLANS

Every road trip I’ve taken seems to end up with unexpected happenings and this was no exception!  But this time, it started with an unexpected beginning, which was a text from my friend a week before asking if I was up for a road trip to Nashville the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Well, there was no hesitation to that question!   I had no plans, so YES!!

FRIDAY NIGHT – DR ZHIVEGAS

The trip would have started Friday night, but I already had tickets to attend the second annual Black Friday Ball concert with Dr. Zhivegas, and wasn’t going to miss that.  My intent was not to stay out that late (last time it was 3 or 4 am because we had breakfast after) but not this time, I thought, because we had an early departure Saturday morning at 7:30 am. But when it’s a fun concert, it’s hard to leave and I didn’t pack until Friday night either due to a busy week, so I finally got to bed at 2 am Friday night.  Oops!

This was the Black Friday Ball (current pop music, followed by 70’s music and then Prince):

img_6732

img_6768img_6769img_6775img_6776

 

SATURDAY- DEPARTURE

The alarm went off at 6 am and I got up, showered and packed some snacks and drinks for the road and thankfully my friend, Krista, picked me up and I didn’t have to drive having only 4 hours of sleep.  We had another friend going with us and picked her up, then we were on our way!

The Road Trip has begun!
Bye STL

SATURDAY- THE DRIVE

One would expect to sleep, but not when you have a couple of friends in the car; we spent the 4.5 hours talking!  When we arrived in Nashville this song started playing ironically.

Woke up in Nashville

Woke up in Nashville! Yes we did!
Hello Nashville!

SATURDAY – THE HOTEL

IMG_6790[1].JPG

We had an early check in and were able to drop off everything in the room.  Along the way, we also found out that another friend of Krista’s and her husband were in Nashville, visiting from Virginia.  So we arranged to meet them at Tootsies.

SATURDAY – TOOTSIES

This was a multi-story honky tonk bar with a roof top outdoor seating.  It was a packed deck at 1:30 pm when we arrived, so we sat inside near the band.  We heard a couple bands play and the local TV station was recording for a promotion of next week’s event, so the crowd got all wound up with that.  It was a fun little bar, we had lunch there and visited with Kim and her husband.  After awhile, Kim and her husband were ready to head back home, so we decided to try another venue.

 

SATURDAY – HONKY TONK

We decided to explore Honky Tonk, Krista has been to Nashville before but Doneen and I have not so we followed along.  This is a 3 story building with 3 different stages on each level, so we started at the top and worked our way down.  The bands were a lot of fun and the crowds kept growing, the place was packed, the sun was going down and it was getting colder, so we decided to head back to the hotel, have dinner and change.

documenting each place
look at the crowds
fun friends

Before we made it, we decided to stop at the Tin Roof and really enjoyed the band there, so we stayed for a little longer before going back to the hotel.

 

SATURDAY- HOTEL

We stopped back at the hotel, changed and then had a substantial meal before heading out again, because this was going to be a long night ahead of us.  We had hilarious conversations and enjoyed the friend conversations and stories of other adventures in the past!

img_68251

SATURDAY- TIN ROOF (AGAIN)

We enjoyed the band at the Tin Roof, so we went back again after dinner and heard two more bands. People were having a good time at this point!

The bands were so entertaining and fun; there was a third band that was supposed to start next and evidently all the tables and chairs had to be cleared out because it was going to be a lot of dancing for this band.  We wanted to stay, but we also heard from Krista’s sister in law that David Ray was playing at the Honky Tonk Bar across the street and he was really good.  So we decided to head back there and see if we could find him.  We found him!

img_68631

SATURDAY- HONKY TONK (AGAIN)

David Ray had to be my favorite band of the night, he played country and 90’s alternative music, so of course we danced most of the time.

I was starting to get super tired at this point with 4 hours of sleep the night before and even drinking straight Red Bull, the tiredness was catching up.  But our tour guide, Krista, said we just HAD to make one last stop:  The Stage.

SATURDAY – THE STAGE

So we made it to The Stage and the place was packed.  Krista knew just where to head and we went to an elevated inside deck where we could see the band a little better.  It didn’t take long before we were dancing again and awakened!  So about 2:30 am, it was time to leave so we headed out.

SATURDAY – THE HOTEL

We arrived at the hotel and this was going on in the lobby.  This craziness was so unexpected and added another element to the unexpected evening.

Besides this, there was a very interesting couple in the lobby who shared stories about snakes and asked about how to pick out the right boots.  You just can’t make up stuff like this. So we were entertained longer.    We shared the elevator with a couple of the Vanderbilt Football players who had just played earlier that day and finally made it to our rooms!  “Nash-Vegas!” the place where no one sleeps!  We made it to the room with exhaustion, it didn’t take long to be deep in sleep after that day!

SUNDAY – DEPARTURE

It was a much quieter drive home…everyone was exhausted, but had such a great time.  It will be a trip we will never forget!  It may even end up being an annual excursion? The short trip felt much longer because we just didn’t sleep!  But it was certainly fun and worth doing again.

Bye Nashville
The Car Ride Home
Back Home

 

by Categories: Entertainment, Following Passions, FRIENDSHIP, HAPPINESS, Improvement, MUSIC, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVELTags: , , , , , 1 Comment

THE LANTERN FEST

“Letting Go,” my prior blog, was written before attending the Lantern Fest,  I waited to publish it because the releasing of lanterns symbolically fit the topic of letting go and I was hoping I would get some great shots to add to that post.  But there was so much more to the Lantern Fest we attended, beyond the symbolism, so I wanted to write about it.

LEADING UP TO THE EVENT

I found out about the Lantern Fest on Facebook, which, in my opinion, is Facebook’s strength right now:  finding events of interest.  I’ve seen so many photos of Lantern releases in other countries and the events always appeared so magical, so I knew when I saw the event on Facebook, I wanted to experience it.  I also found out that it is an event that runs nationally and was founded in November 2013.  There are several other USA locations forthcoming.

img_60091

EVENTS WITH TEENS

I’m going to bet that many people with teens know that, at this point in life, spending time with mom or dad isn’t high on their priority list.  In fact, I think, as parents, we rank near the bottom of the list of whom they want to hang with on the weekend!  I am faced with this reality; despite all the travel and events we did when they were young and they couldn’t wait to go somewhere with me. But that is a part of them becoming independent, which is important.  So, most of the time, they spend their time based on their plans. This time, I wanted to experience this with them because we don’t often have that opportunity very often: with just us, so I signed us up.  Heading to the event I didn’t have two very excited people with me.  One kept asking how soon we could leave once we got there and the other was just silent and both were exhausted from the soccer games they played all day.

ARRIVAL

I love Google Maps especially because it reroutes us based on traffic jams, so we ended up taking some back-roads and missed most of the traffic arriving quickly.  We arrived just after sunset due to the soccer game schedules and getting ready after them, but if I ever go again, I would be there before sunset.   Immediately upon arriving we could see lights all over a field ; it was a huge festival.  We headed through the Brookdale Farms gates, opposite the activity for parking and took a long windy gravel road back to the corn fields where we parked.  It was dark out now so we found our way back to the event from headlights shining on the gravel, highlighting a few mud puddles, but of course one of us found a puddle on the way.

img_62791

 

THE EVENT

I wasn’t sure when the release was going to happen, so I wanted to find the lantern packages as soon as possible.  I knew the event started at 2pm and there were little ones running around, so people with them would be getting anxious to release the lanterns soon.

img_62831

We initially saw all sorts of food trucks and tents lit up, then asked someone in one of the tents where we would find the lanterns.  They directed us to the back of the event and told us to look for a white tent.  We walked for quite a while, and kept going, following the crowd.  As we passed in smoke filled air, we saw fire pits with groups surrounding them, tiki torches, and groups enjoying s’mores- awesome!  We made it to the tent where we were given our lanterns and boxes with the instructions and s’mores sticks.  We stepped to the side and noticed we were at the edge of a lake which was so beautiful reflecting the lights.  We could hear music in the distance, then heard the announcement that the launching would soon occur.  We didn’t have much time to figure it out, so we waited to launch ours, preferring to watch and video this massive launch.  It was beautiful, incredible sight!

 

I attempted to get some good photos, but it was so dark I couldn’t see my camera settings and fumbled around with the camera, taking whatever I could get and hoping to capture some of it.  Most ended up blurred.

LAUNCH TIME

Learning how to light the lantern, waiting until the gas filled the balloon then releasing into the dark sky…

BON FIRE

Our arrival timing worked out because many people left after the launch, so some of the fire pits were now freed up.  We found one near the lake and decided to try out our newly purchased GABOSS inflatable loungers.  These were perfect for the night.  We had an energetic one with us who loved filling these bags with air.

As soon as we had them set up people kept stopping by asking us about them and where we got them.  Click the GABOSS link if you want to order one!  They are sold with a shoulder bag and are much easier than carrying a folding camp chair.  They can be used individually or as a lounger with two or three people and will support over 400 pounds.

GABOSS inflated!
S’mores
Patience? S’mores

We made s’mores, then relaxed in the loungers, waiting for the second launch.  By this time, my phone died, but I still had my camera and could get a few more shots of the night.  The music added to the atmosphere, the night was a little chilly but when the fire was going it was an exceptional outdoor night.  Being near the lake was perfect too, as the first wave of people were leaving, the white and red car lights looked like Christmas lighting.  We decided to lounge outside until the traffic died down.

 

LEAVING THE EVENT

By this time, everyone was starving.  Because of the soccer schedules, there was very little time between games, so none of us ate much since breakfast, besides a few snacks. The craving was Italian pasta, needing those carbs!  My daughter searched on Google maps and found Joe Baccardi’s which was still open, thankfully!  It was about 9:30 pm, so we headed there and everyone ordered.  We barely made it through the meal, with my son was falling asleep at the table, so we headed out just before closing time. I think all but me fell asleep in the car on the way home.  I know for me; this was just what I wanted:  spending time with them and both of my teens seemed to enjoy it too!  We talked about attending one again.

img_6317

OPPORTUNITY FOR SCIENTIFIC CREATIVE PEOPLE

As with anything, there are multiple viewpoints.  After I posted pictures and videos on Facebook the next day, I had a friend send me some pictures of the after math.  This was bad, it looked like trash everywhere, on trees, homes etc.  The event was so much fun, but this was not good. Hopefully with technology and creative people, there can be a solution for some biodegradable, quick dissipating material that could possibly be used in the future for lanterns to avoid the landfall?  I’m hoping that someone reading this knows someone or is creative and comes up with a solution, maybe a future Patent?  If you read this and know of someone who might be able to do this, please share this post!

Lanterns in the trees
Lanterns in a backyard
Lanterns on roofs
by Categories: Entertainment, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, HAPPINESS, Lantern Fest, Make It Count, MUSIC, RELATIONSHIPSTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

ACTIONS NOT WORDS

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS

I don’t attend church every Sunday, but when I do, it’s truly because I want to be there and connect with God in a different way, than personally through prayer; it is meaningful to me.  It really seems the discussions are relevant to things happening in my life when I am there too.  So in my thoughts, this is God’s message getting through to me.

THE DRIVE TO CHURCH – DECISIONS

This past Sunday, on the way to church, I was talking to my son about “why I go to church and what happens” and about how sometimes when I’m making decisions I will just “have a feeling inside” about which direction I should go, and truly, it’s not always the easy decision “I want”, but I just have a feeling inside that “I should”do it. Is this God letting me know what I should do, because it’s not always what I want to do? During the service, my son and I looked at each other, because it was really ironic, the things we talked about in the car on the way there were the things that Pastor Greg was talking about, almost as if he heard our conversation.  My son noticed it too.

kenny-desheilds
From The Crossing- Facebook Page

THE MUSIC – CONNECTING PERSONALLY

Another interesting thing happened, this church has phenomenal music by the way, so that probably explains more of why I connect so well.  Anyway, one musician told us a story of how he and a friend had a falling out after a very long friendship, and that he felt like God was telling him to apologize to his friend, which he did apologize, but didn’t get the response from his friend he was expecting.  Anyway that night at 2 am this melody came into his head and he wrote this song until about 4 am; it was a beautiful song. Here is the link:  Kenny DeShields “That’s When You Love”   Relating to this event, in my own experience, I also seem to get middle of the night ideas or early morning ideas.  Is this God providing guidance or influence?

THE MESSAGE

The bible topic this day was the two most important things we can do: “Love God and Love Your Neighbor” The Pastor went into detail on what it means to “Love your Neighbor” and the relevant scripture passage was the Good Samaritan Parable  I’ve heard this story many times before, but he made it more relevant, by asking questions:  he asked everyone to come up with reasons why the first two people didn’t help the beaten man and the answers were: “no one was looking, they didn’t want to be inconvenienced, it was someone else’s job or duty, didn’t want to get involved, etc.”   It is here where it relates to all of us, those could all be OUR reasons for not helping someone in the present day.  How many times have we thought those things in our heads when we didn’t help someone? 

1-john-3-18-1920x1080

The Pastor also made another point, if we were truly starving and we were offered a) bread or b) the recipe for bread?   Which would we want at that point in our life?  Of course, the actual bread more immediately addresses the need.  He related this concept of the bread and recipe to people offering empathy or sympathy in WORDS to others, but not taking ACTIONS.  Wow!  I bet we can all relate to that in our lives!  Have you ever had someone tell you what you “wanted” or
“needed” to hear, but not make the personal effort to truly connect with you or take action?  It really feels like empty words, doesn’t it?  Have we done that to others?

SUMMARY: Loving your neighbor may be inconvenient.

MY LIFE EXAMPLES

This also related to me, personally, with the access we have to technology today, we are always connected.  I made the mistake this weekend of multi-tasking, I was distracted by a message that I hadn’t seen.  The message came in about 4 hours earlier so I was curious what it said and clicked on it when I should have been paying attention to the conversation I was having with the person.  This person is 100% more important to me than the message, but I didn’t show it when I quit paying attention to look at the message.  I wasn’t being present in the moment and I offended the other person and felt terrible about it, but I couldn’t take it back!  I did apologize, but the damage was already done at that point.  Sometimes being there for a person may simply mean being fully present and truly listening –  without distractions.  This situation has happened to me, with roles reversed before and it made me feel like I was unimportant.  An action not words example can simply be actively, truly listening to someone, and hearing what they are saying.  And I blew that this weekend!

When someone gives you their full attention, isn’t that awesome? When this happens, it is not only noticed, but remembered, even years later, because not many people truly listen.  So many people have other things going through their minds and may only capture a fraction of what is said.  I seriously remember specific people who listened attentively, because they stand out from all others.

FRIENDS TAKING ACTION

I also had another example of Actions Not Words, that I will always remember:  Our family was away on vacation and had a death in the family while we were away.  A fairly new neighbor heard about this and took immediate action:  Michelle C. contacted people that she met through me and spread the word. She went grocery shopping and Maria R. provided a meal so when we got home we could focus on family and not have to worry about the food basics.  This completely amazed me, the action she took and the other friends who did as well. Logically people do not have much food in their refrigerators when they leave for vacation, so she and others took care of that for us and we didn’t even have to think what we needed!  By the time we arrived home, it was already in our refrigerator!

So in summary, the next time someone is in need the message was to try for Actions not Words in addressing their situation.

THE CHURCH

If you are looking for a Christian Church, they offer online Live service every week, so you can log in where ever you are located as long as you have internet service. Here is their website:  https://www.wcrossing.org/, they are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too.

This is an amazing church in my opinion!  My friend, Michelle C. had encouraged me to check out the church years ago, but I was  a member of another church, so I didn’t. Then another friend of mine Krista K. also encouraged me, and I finally did in December 2015.  It was definitely something I should have done a long time ago and since then, I’ve found many of my friends from all different denominations also attend this church.

Have a Make it Count week!  

by Categories: FAITH, Improvement, MUSICTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment