Rumor came true!

The rumor finally came true, and it's better than I thought it would be.

Stick that in your country song

"A full throttle, fist pounding, indictment on the vanilla state of mainstream country music, Eric takes his colleagues to task for largely ignoring the real-world issues that plague our country. Country music is supposed to be real stories about real people from real places… and given everything that’s been going on in our country right now, it can be a tool to empower those on the margins."

Oh, man. We're going to get a new album this year.

This is big, people. This is huge.

rumor

The rumor that I previously blogged about turned out to be false.

One day, though, it will be true.

One day, but not today. (Or that day...)

Ahem

There's a rumor going on, 'bout me and you...

Oh wait, that's not the song that I want to blog about.

Ahem.

There's a rumor going around that a certain singer I like is going to release a new single at midnight.

On the last album, the first song we heard was him singing 'I'M A GROWNNN ASS MAN.' as loud as he possibly could. (That song was Desperate Man.)

And it was lovely.

What does EFC have in store for us this time around? I can't wait to hear it when I wake up tomorrow morning.

You big disgrace

Cover Me Up

I've been thinking a lot about traveling recently, mostly about how I can't travel right now.

Life, man. Life.

I found a Nashville playlist of Spotify that I'm obsessed with. This song by Morgan Wallen/Jason Isbell is perfect.

Cover Me Up

A heart on the run keeps a hand on the gun you can't trust anyone
I was so sure what I needed was more tried to shoot out the sun
Days when we raged, we flew off the page such damage was done
But I made it through, cause somebody knew I was meant for someone

So girl, leave your boots by the bed we ain't leaving this room
Till someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good

I put your faith to the test when I tore off your dress in Richmond on high
But I sobered up and I swore off that stuff forever, this time
And the old lovers sing "I thought it'd be me who helped him get home"
But home was a dream, one that I'd never seen till you came along

So girl, hang your dress out to dry we ain't leaving this room
Till Percy Priest breaks open wide and the river runs through
And carries this house on the stones like a piece of driftwood
So cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good

So girl, leave your boots by the bed we ain't leaving this room
Till someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom
It's cold in this house and I ain't going out to chop wood
So cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good
So cover me up and know you're enough to use me for good

Never break heart

End of an era

While taking a walk with my little niece, C, she had some important information to share with me.

"Monica, did you know that I'm four now?"

Then she held up four of her little fingers.

I know that C is four, and I know that in my heart, she'll always be the baby of the bunch. Something occurred to me on that walk that made me a little teary eyed.

I am no longer Monta or Monca, both things toddlers say when they can't pronounce my name.

I've been promoted to Monica. Sometimes Aunt Monica, but mostly just Monica.

I'll take it.

Another thought that occurred to me on that walk: Kids, you come from a long line of sinners like me.*

---

*Because I have to sneak an Eric Church reference in there. Haha.

Throwback post about nail salons

From June 2014:

Weird and awkward.

I would not describe myself as a girly person.

I like glitter, I like shopping, I love purses, make up, and other girly things, but I’m just not that girly.

Wedding planning and everything involved in the process is very girly.

It started a few months ago when we were trying on dresses. There aren’t mirrors in those little dressing rooms. One of the dresses we tried on had several layers, and I could tell that one of the layers in my dress was messed up.

Without a mirror and without being able to move, there wasn’t much I could do to fix the problem. I called the bride into the room and asked for help. She dove down in the layers in my dress and started tugging and pulling them into place.

Um, my friend is up my dress. Not that I care, I mean, I don’t. It’s just weird to have your friend all up in your dress.

That was the first time I learned that this wedding stuff is not for the faint of heart. Things like this happened multiple times along the way.

I don’t want it to seem like I’m complaining about it, because that’s not my intention. Looking back, all the awkwardness is kind of funny now.

Another really awkward, really girly thing was the nail appointment a couple days before the wedding.

I’ve gotten my nails done professionally once. It was a fast thing, a basic manicure, nothing to write home about.

Everyone in the wedding party this time around got a gel manicure (I think, anyway). I’m not going to lie, they could have given me the crappiest manicure ever, as long as there was glitter on my body I would have been happy.

I didn’t realize how intense the appointment would be.

First, they cut off your cuticles, which basically made me feel like a person who has never, ever had a haircut.

I didn’t even know cutting that much off of my fingernails was possible.

There were more steps involved after that. Dip your fingers in hot water, dude said, then stick them under a hot light, and then do more uncomfortable stuff. (Am I the only one who thinks this is a little weird and kind of hurts? I never asked anyone, but I wondered that the entire time.)

I just remember the appointment was really long, and I couldn’t really face the rest of the wedding party or talk to them.

That leaves me facing a total stranger who is basically holding my hands the entire time.

Weird.

This dude I’ve never seen in my life is right up in my face, in my bubble, I don’t know how long I’ll be here and I don’t know whether I should be nice and talk to him, ignore him, or look away.

The weirdness just got weirder.

After the manicure was over and my nails were awesome and glittery, I noticed that my hands felt dry.

He mentioned he’d put lotion on my hands. Okay, that works. What I wasn’t expecting was a massage on each arm, up to the elbows.

Dude? I just wanted lotion on my hands. Stop it and get out of my bubble.

I’ve never gotten a gel manicure and I definitely don’t regret it. They look pretty awesome and they’ve lasted much longer than regular polish.

I wasn’t expecting a total stranger all up in my face, massaging my arms and just being so…there the entire time.

The fact that I’m an introvert explains a lot, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Even more disturbing, there was a woman getting a pedicure while we were getting manicures. I swear someone massaged her legs the entire time I was getting my nails done.

Am I the only one who thinks that’s creepy? Is this actually relaxing to some women?

I’m all for getting massages. I had one earlier this year and it was wonderful. In my mind, if you want a massage, you need to go get one and not go to a nail salon.

But hey, what do I know about life.

I had fun throughout all of this, and I’m grateful I got to be a part of my best friend’s wedding day.

However, I can’t imagine doing this on a regular basis for fun. This wedding stuff is a lot of work.