Country-isms

During my time here in Tennesee I have heard many sayings that I didn't quite understand (and some I still don't fully understand) but that are quite humorous.... so I thought I would share some of the most common ones. Thanks to my coworkers (John, Tracey, and Pat) I have compiled quite a list:

• Smells so bad it could knock a maggot off a gut wagon.
• As useless as tits on a boar hog.
• That boy’s two bricks shy of a full load.
• Even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then.
• They’re as bright as a burned out light bulb.
• I think he’s one fry short of a Happy Meal
• Slower than molasses in January
• Grandma’s slow so what’s your excuse?
• He ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, so we call him spoon
• He just made himself look like the north-end of a south-bound donkey
• Don’t mind the mule being blind, just load the wagon
• Blind man runnin’ for his life will never see it
• Ain’t seen hide nor hair of 'em
• As many as Carter’s got liver pills
• If you run with turkeys you’ll never fly with the eagles.
• If you lay with dogs you’re gonna get fleas
• As busy as a one arm paper hanger
• You’re the cats pajamas
• As fine as frog hair
• Goin’ to hell in a handbasket
• Happy as a coon in a rock house
• As easy as catchin’ fish in a barrel
• Happy as a cat in the scratchin’s
• Don’t want to hear the labor pains, just show me the baby
• I’m ready, if I don’t get to go
• Full as a tick

A Summary...

I originally was going to go back and blog about each adventure I had this summer, and even started doing so. However, after a couple entries, I realized just how many things I did this year and I decided maybe a summary would be best.

As you know, this year started with a bang - our New Years party at Micah and Miss Grey's house was an awesome start to 2009. It inspired me to make goals that seemed somewhat impossible, but also to realize that if you don't shoot for the moon you probably won't achieve much. Here are some of the things I accomplished this year so far:

• Read the Twilight series.
• Finished the Harry Potter series, and subsequentially watched all of the movies that are out.
• Visited the Country Music Hall of Fame, Cheekwood Botanical Garden, The Hermitage, Riverfront Park (downtown Nashville), Warner Park, the Loveless Cafe, The Parthenon, and the Natchez Trace.
• Visited West Virginia twice (once for a Redding Brothers concert, and the other for Mawmaw and Pawpaw Redding's anniversary party)
• Visited 2 out of my goal of 5 National Parks - the Great Smoky Mountains and Mammoth Cave.
• Walked 4 miles at the Nashville 'Walk 4 Water' to help raise money for water wells in third world countries.
• Saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
• Visited North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama for the first time.
• Saw Lake Michigan for the first time.
• Witnessed my little brother graduate from Navy Bootcamp.
• Met cousins I didn't know I had, and also spent a day with my Great-Uncle from Arkansas who I hadn't seen in 10 years.
• Went to a drive-in movie theater for the first time.
• Went to a 'real' country fair.
• Went to a Greek Festival.
• Walked in a waterfall for the first time.
• Fell deeper in love with Bluegrass music.
• and finally - developed close friendships with Sunny B, Tberry, and Lady Dee, and deepened pre-existing friendships with BarlowGirl, Miss Grey, Micah, Gabriel, and Josiah.

I am so thankful for having been able to do all of these things this year. Especially since the year isn't over yet! I feel like I have used this spring and summer to its fullest, and don't regret any of the things I did or places I visited. Thanks to my friends who have helped come up with things to do and have helped made it possible for me to do all these things! I love you all!!

Random Road Trip - Huntsville, AL

The weekend after I went to Washington, me and some friends decided to take a 'random road trip' somewhere. The two options that came to mind were Chattanooga and Huntsville. We decided to go to Huntsville because it was supposed to rain, and there were more indoor things to do there. Sunny B offered to drive her mom's car (which is a very nice full size vehicle) and we all accepted. :) We took the scenice route to Huntsville instead of the fastest way, because we were looking for adventure. This is when I discovered the beautiful rolling hills that exist just south of where we live. It was so green and the road was winding through the hills, it was perfect!

Somewhere near Fayetteville we saw a 15 passenger van for sale on the side of the road, and we had to stop. We like to tease Micah about having van lust. For some reason him and his brothers really have a thing for large vans (probably something to do with growing up in a family with 11 kids). During that time Micah was seriously thinking about buying a 15 passenger van, so we stopped and all took a good look at this van.

When we got to Huntsville we stopped at a really nice and clean Super Target which Miss Grey had been to before. For lunch we found this fun little place called Nothing But Noodles, and they had all sorts of noodle platters including Italian, and Asian. It was really yummy! We tried to find the historic district on our own and weren't very successful, but instead found a neighborhood playground that looked fun. At the playground Gabriel proceeded to freak out Sunny B and Miss Grey by climbing on top the monkey bars and walking across the top. After that I found a map on my phone for the visitor center and we got to it right before they were closing. The ladies at the visitor center were really nice and we got a lot of helpful information. Then we drove a few blocks away to the historic district which has many houses from the Civil War era and the Victorian era. It was really neat to see all the old architecture and know that it was actually standing during that explosive time of America's history. One of the ladies at the visitor center had also told us that there was a new outdoor mall nearby that had a little lake with gondola rides. Since Miss Grey loves to shop we went to check it out. The mall was somewhat smaller than I expected, but they did have gondola and pedal-boat rides. While Micah and Miss Grey took a boat ride, Gabriel visited the Apple store and Sunny B and I sat watching the kids play in the large fountain/water park. Before we left the shopping center we visited Barnes and Noble, and they witnessed my weakness for nicely bound journals. On the way back to the car us girls witnessed a staged slow-motion martial arts fight between Micah and Gabriel on the lawn. We finished the trip off by splitting pizzas for dinner. On the way home Gabriel got into a discussion about politics with Sunny B, and ended up calling her a socialist. Now everytime they see each other they tend to get into long conversations about politics. We had a full and fun day, and decided that we definitely needed to do another 'random' road trip together.

First trip home...

In May my really good friend Tasha was graduating from college, and I really wanted to be there for her, so when I saw airplane tickets go on sale in March I knew I had to buy one. Since I got a great deal on my ticket, I didn't feel as bad taking a short trip and just went for the weekend. It was then that I learned taking a short trip for my first trip home was not a brilliant idea. There was so much to do, and so many people to see! It was very difficult to balance everyone and not hurt my family's and friend's feelings. However, I did have a good time and was able to spend a day with Tasha at her graduation.

I was (and am!) so proud of her! She was one of the first people in her family to graduate college, and it wasn't an easy thing for her. Tasha is a very social person and likes to do everything with everyone, which makes it difficult to get homework done. ;) Her first year was a learning experience, but thanks to some very supportive staff and church family, she was able to pull up her grades after that. Due to the community environment that her college provided, she has become even more beautiful on the inside than when she started attending there! I am so proud of her!