Nothing is forever.

Borrowed from LinkedIn:

As you navigate your way to the top, remember, nothing is forever. Sometimes, life humbles us in ways we least expect. Be humble, be kind to others, don't run people over, don't run people down, don't run people under.

I bet you could see it from an airplane

I can't stop listening to this song. 

--

Way out here where the blacktop meets the dirt
We can fan the flame without saying a word
With just the moon, the stars, and your eyes like fireworks

Every time we move it in real close
Sparks start to fly, raging out of control
We got this dot on the map ablaze
Girl I bet you could see it from an airplane
We got two hearts on fire
Breathing higher and higher
From ashes to embers to full on flames
Girl I bet you could see it from an airplane

Keep pouring them kisses on me
They're just like sweet gasoline
And with your body up against mine
I can barely take the heat

Every time we move it in real close
Sparks start to fly, raging out of control
We got this dot on the map ablaze
Girl I bet you could see it from an airplane
We got two hearts on fire
Breathing higher and higher
From ashes to embers to full on flames
Girl I bet you could see it from an airplane

The smoke clears and we're all out of wine
We're knocking on dawn's early light
Baby who says we can't strike a match twice

Every time we move it in real close
Sparks start to fly, raging out of control
We got this dot on the map ablaze
Girl I bet you could see it from an airplane
We got two hearts on fire
Breathing higher and higher
From ashes to embers to full on flames
Girl I bet you could see it from an airplane

Oh, yeah
You could see it from an airplane

-Airplanes
CJ Solar

I am beautiful.

My favorite little redhead drew a picture for me and was pretty excited to give it to me.

I drove over to Grandma's house, and little redhead rushed to give me the picture. I sat down on the couch and she explained it to me, in a quiet, hush-hush voice.

"Aunt Monica, this is you in your wedding dress."

Look at that train! I am beautiful.

Life changing quote

A life-changing quote from my brother:

"I like celery, but not in food."

quotable

I found this comment on Reddit and liked it enough to save it.

"It definitely takes courage for a woman to admit that her husband cheated on her. I have watched friends walk through this privately, and it was very difficult for them to keep it to themselves and just hide the pain. There is a freedom that comes from being able to talk about it. Then the healing starts to happen."

Life goes on, if you let it.

I've learned several important life lessons over the past few years.

The newest one: Don't finance something you don't want to think about every month.

I bought a car in 2009. I paid it off in a few years, and I was pretty proud to drive a car that was paid off. My intention was to drive that car into the ground.

But then I had a huge tooth problem. I fixed the same three teeth not once, not twice, but three times, at a cost of $17,000.

A $7,000 bridge failed, an infection ate my jaw bone, I cried, I met a cool oral surgeon in Wichita and I spent $10,000 on implants.

When this $17,000 disaster happened, I realized I had to give up a few things. I couldn't get a new car like I planned three years ago and all of my house projects stopped.

My world basically stopped until I paid off that dental work. I took out a loan and used my car, which had more than 157,000 miles on it, as collateral.

It was not an ideal situation. An oral surgeon had to take the teeth out, not a regular dentist, so the surgeon might as well do the bone grafts too while he's up there.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I invested that money in my mouth. Getting implants is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

But I hated making that loan payment. Every month, I went through a cycle where I got really, really mad. Every month I'd think about what I went through, how many doctors I went through and how many pointless surgeries I endured for teeth that I ended up losing anyway.

I lost teeth that had five root canals, two gum surgeries, two crowns, an extraction and a bridge.

All of that work, all of that money, all of that time and all of that pain was for absolutely no reason.

But life goes on, if you let it. That was a few years ago and that loan amount has been dwindling.

At my last dental appointment, my doctor told me that I have no cracked teeth, no infections, and no major problems. We could talk about tooth whitening if I wanted to, he told me.

I've come a long way.

All is well on the tooth front right now, they told me. They said I could relax and not worry about infection eating bone in my face again.

--

Penny and I have been driving past cars recently. I found one I liked in town, and it was the first time that I actually got out of my car and snooped around in Toyota's parking lot.

And then that car disappeared off the lot overnight.

They sold my car!

I decided that it was time for new wheels. It's time to get rid of the tooth loan and start making payments on a shiny new thing sitting in front of my house (because it doesn't fit in my garage, haha).

I hated getting pissed off every month when I made that payment that went towards my mouth.

(And before anyone lectures me: Yes, I realize I should have paid cash for all of this. But does anyone really expect a $7,000 worth of dental work to fail after a year? Does anyone really plan on spending $17,000 on three teeth? I don't feel bad about getting a loan for this because no one has that much money sitting around for teeth.)

It's just time to move on and quit thinking about teeth.

It's time for new wheels.

My little niece was the first person to ride in my new car. She's 5, and she's the best kid ever (along with her sisters.)

She decided that my new car is a rainbow car.

I'll take it.

I don't like doing this stuff on my own. I don't like buying cars or sales people and cell phone companies and window companies that knock on my door.

But I didn't really have a choice, so I (figuratively) gritted my teeth for a few hours at the dealership until the car was MINE!

As they handed me the keys and I was walking out the door, Ashley McBryde started playing on the radio. And no, I'm not lying about this.

It was a perfect end to the perfect saga in my life.

Not bad for a girl goin' nowhere.

Penny

On Sunday afternoon, I laid down to take a nap.

You could say that I'm a big fan of naps.

I had a dream that I was sleeping next to someone who was snoring.

I woke up to discover Penny snoring right by my head. She usually sleeps by my hip or my feet, so her snores were a little closer than usual.

That was the best dream and best nap ever.

:)

Part 3 - "It just don't get no better'n that."

Part three of thishereblog is dedicated to life outside of the comfort zone.

Traffic picked up about three hours outside of Nashville. I pulled over in Kentucky to get gas and a taco truck blocked my exit.

The lady in the car beside me looked at me, and we instantly started laughing.

I tweeted: I just got blocked by a taco truck at a gas station as I was trying to leave. I’m pretty sure there’s a metaphor for life in there somewhere. #allthetacos

The amount of traffic was insane. There were carloads of women dressed like hipsters, hippies and hobos, which means one thing.

Eric Church is near, folks.

The night of the show, I parked at the stadium with no problems. I made note of the stall I parked in (#35) and I went about my night.

The first sign that something was amiss? The security guard at the gate told me that my ticket required another entrance.

I thought I had bought a seat a few rows up on one side of the stage. I don't usually like floor seats because I'm so short I can't see anything in front of me.

The security guard said I needed to switch lines and get a wristband to gain access to the field.

All right, I guess? I didn't put much thought into it.

Maybe I have to cross the field to get to my seat?

Once I found the right gate and the wristband, I took my seat on the football field. Another security guard (with beautiful blue eyes, I might add) asked me if I planned to jump on the stage during the show.

I looked at the main stage, and made a joke that I couldn't jump that far.

That's when Beautiful Blue Eyes pounded the black thing right beside him. That black thing turned out to be the stage.

My response was something like: "Holy shit. That's the stage?"

Black thing = stage.

Red dot = me.

--

During the song Some of It, EFC came to our side of the stage.

I grabbed my phone and started recording.

And just like that, my favorite singer was right in front of me, with no one in between us, singing one of my favorite songs. If you're wondering, his voice is even better in person.


What really makes you a man
Is being true to her 'til your glass runs out of sand

Some of it you learn the hard way
Some of it you read on a page
Some of it comes from heartache
Most of it comes with age

And none of it ever comes easy
A bunch of it you maybe can't use
I know I don't probably know what I think I do
But there's something to
Some of it

The very southern guy sitting next to me tapped me on the shoulder. 

"Ma'am," he told me. "It just don't get no better'n that."

I know, southern man. I know.

---

Tangent time!

The cool thing about going to concerts alone is that venues tend to have pretty good single seats available.

Meaning, when couples buy their seats, a seat is usually left between them. 

At one point that night, I looked up at the stars and around at the 56,000 people dancing and rocking out. 

I cried out of happiness. 

I kept thinking about how I felt like a very small fish in a very large sea.

I also lost my car in the parking lot after the show. (It turns out that there are different lot numbers, and there are a whole lot of spots marked #35. Oops.)

I heard my favorite Eric Church song in Nashville on a perfect night on a perfect trip.

I had no idea I bought such a good ticket.

Beautiful Blue Eyes: "Well, consider this the best mistake you've ever made."

It wasn't until I saw a photo from up top that I realized how lucky I was in buying my seat.
When the lights finally went down, I looked around. Holy shit, I thought.

EFC opened the concert on our side of the stage. No one around me even saw him walk up to the mic. All of a sudden, he was right in front of us.

After a few songs, he started to talk, while slowly looking around at the more than 56,000 people in the NFL stadium.

His first thought when he saw all of the people (in his words): "Holy shit. Son of a bitch."

:)



--

There were six seats in the row I was sitting in. A very nice woman, around my age, dragged her parents to the show from Florida. Beside them was a couple from Chicago.

A concert is only as fun as the people around you. My row was a blast and my new found friends talked to me the entire night.

Yeah there was the occasional drunk alcoholic idiot who couldn't keep it together, but it was mostly fun. There was also a drunk guy dressed like a priest. The security guards danced in the aisles with him.

Like I told my Mom: It's Nashville. Anything goes.

(The irony is not lost on me. The priest went to Church.)

And, might I add, Beautiful Blue Eyes security guard knew the words to every single song that night.

That was not lost on me, either. Everyone loves EFC.

---

I'll also point out that there was a couple in front of me making out the whole show and I did not toss my cookies like I did in January.

Yea progress!

I'm getting better at this whole life thing.

--

Life is not always pretty, but dammit, it can be downright beautiful sometimes.

The song that got me hooked on EFC was Record Year.

After looking at my video for this song I took in Nashville, EFC changed some of the lyrics up. He changed to word 'if' to the word 'when.'

I fell in love with his music because of this perfect break up song.

His change to the song was brilliant.

When you find your way back 
I owe you a beer
For my record year

It just don't get no better'n that.

--

Since you turned the tables on me

I've been steady and learnin' lonely
Keepin' this turntable spinnin'
Everything from Jones to Jennings
Slowly plannin' my survival
In a three foot stack of vinyl
Since you had to walk on outta here
I've been havin' a record year

I bet you thought before you left
I'd just sit in silence by myself
Turn this house into a jail
Dyin' slow in a livin' hell
But love's got a funny way of keepin' score
And your leavin' lit up my scoreboard
I usually make it through side a sober
All bets are off when I flip her over
One bourbon, one scotch, one beer
I'm havin' a record year

Quarter notes and Hank's half time
Are poundin' on this heart of mine
Song to song, I pass my time
With these speakers on ten
Your good and gone keeps me up all night
Along with Songs In The Key Of Life
I'm either gonna get over you
Or I'm gonna blow out my ears
Yeah, you're out there now
Doin' God knows how, and I'm stuck here
Havin' a record year

Your leavin' left me goin' crazy
I'm countin' on a needle to save me
I drop it in the groove
And we go 'round and 'round
And down in a spiral
I guess I really oughta call and thank you
I rediscovered Red Headed Stranger
Got down with old James Brown
And found New Grass Revival
If you find your way back, I owe you a beer
For my record year

Quarter notes and Hank's half time
Are poundin' on this heart of mine
Song to song, I pass my time
With these speakers on ten
Your good and gone keeps me up all night
Along with Songs In The Key Of Life
I'm either gonna get over you
Or I'm gonna blow out my ears
Yeah, you're out there now
Doin' God knows how, and I'm stuck here
Havin' a record year
Yeah, I'm havin' a record year

Part 2 - "If you learn anything from Jack, it's that you shouldn't go to work early. It can kill you."

My favorite part of the trip was the morning that I spent driving to Lynchburg to see the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Yes, please.

I've been made fun of in the past for planning everything to death. I am that person who will make a to-do list, and then make a to-do list to make sure everything on my first list gets accomplished.

On this trip, I made it a point to not plan anything. I had my Airbnb reservations set in advance, but that's the only planning I did.

I talked to my Mom when I stayed in Saint Louis on the first night of my trip. She asked me how I was getting to Nashville, and what highways I planned to take.

My answer: "I have no idea. That's tomorrow's problem."

She asked me what I had planned the next day, presumably so she would know where to guide law enforcement if I mysteriously vanished.

My answer: "I have no idea. I'll figure that out tomorrow."

On my first afternoon in Nashville, I went downtown. I was nervous about the parking situation. Actually, that's a lie. I was terrified about parking.

It turns out that parking is not a big deal.

Getting there, on the other hand, is a very big deal.

I've never seen traffic that bad.

When I finally got through traffic and parked, I sat in my car for a really long time (with the AC on). I thought about whether I wanted to get out of the car.

I don't know how to describe it if you haven't been there. There are cars and people and pedal taverns and scooters and did I mention people everywhere?

It's overwhelming.

I wasn't willing to do Broadway two days in a row, so I decided to get up early on my second day there and drive to Lynchburg.

I set my GPS on my phone, but it turns out that I didn't need it. Everyone else who came to Nashville that day who hated the crowds had the same idea I did, and all I had to do was follow the stream of traffic two hours south.

Did I mention how beautiful it was?

Everything is perfect there, from the perfect little roadside fruit stands to the perfect white picket fences to the perfect cows grazing on perfect green grass.

The hay fields looked perfect. The farms had perfect dogs on them.

Literally every little thing is beautiful there.

Fun facts about the distillery:

• Jack's real name was Jasper. (My parents have a dog named Jasper. Go Jasper!)

• Jack died of an infection. He went to work early one day and the person who usually opened the safe wasn't there yet. Jack kicked the safe out of anger, and eventually died because of that incident. Our tour guide: "If you learn anything from Jack, it's that you shouldn't go to work early. It can kill you."

The safe that Jack kicked.

• One barn on the property holds 20,000 barrels of Jack, which is $14 million worth of product. There are 89 barns on the property. If you do the math, you'll learn that I can't even multiply that high.

• The spring they get their water from is 56 degrees. In the Tennessee summer when it's about 100 degrees outside, standing by that spring feels pretty good. I went back and stood by it again after everyone in our tour had left.

• Although Lynchburg is in a dry county, you can buy a "commemorative bottle" at the distillery. That bottle just happens to have whiskey in it. Funny how that works.

• During the tasting portion of our tour, our tour guide had us mix Tennessee Honey and Tennessee Fire together. It was my favorite combination.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop there. I don't know how or when this was placed on my bucket list, but it was and it's something I've proudly crossed off.

I drank Jack Daniel's in the place that it's made.

Life is good.