another annie...

so... although i usually dont do this, (but now that im about to, im thinking that maybe i should do it more often...) i want to introduce you to a special friend of mine, annie. she is relatively new to nashville and, in less than one year, has successfully taken over this city. really.

she is an amazing writer and i think you should read what she writes..cause she's amazing. she is leaving for south africa in the morning- with the MOCHA CLUB...holla- and she is going to blog about her trip while she's gone.

also, she has her own personal blog and she wrote a really special blog about me today here. you should read that too. she has quite a way of putting things... im just crazy about how her mind works. she's one of those people that puts life into perspective and makes you realize the bigger picture. im really thankful for her. and i think there are a lot of people who are really thankful for her as well...

heres the link to her blog while she's with the mocha club in south africa...

a little piece of heaven...

we spent last week at the beach with the wards (barrett and rachel) and the lehmans (matt and amber)...we rented a house in seagrove...drank coffee in the mornings, corona light in the afternoons (dave- crystal light), wine in the evenings (dave- diet coke), rode our bikes to seaside, ate kahlua yogurt from dawsons (i had at LEAST 5 servings,) played shuffleboard, watched the sunset from bud and alleys, ate amazing food, slept a lot, played spades, and soaked up the sun...i mean, does it get better than that?

all of you friends who have kids are probably trying to imagine what beach trips used to be like pre-children...trust me, its great. hate you're missing out.

watching the sun go down...

pineapple cosmos at cafe thirty-a

barrett's shirt matched his legs...it was a phenomenon worth documenting...

and i got to catch up with whit and leighton :)

saturday, june 13th

ive been helping out my friend amber with some organizing/ fund raising for this year's Ellie's Run for Africa. it raises money for the people of kibera, kenya (a huge slum outside of nairobi.) most of the money goes towards education. in order for the kids to go to school, they have to pay for their books, a uniform, and a pair of shoes- it costs a little over $25 per kid per year to attend school, and sadly, most of them cant afford it. SO, we're helping them!

ellie ambrose, when she was 10 years old, heard a missionary speak at her church about the poverty in africa. she came home and told her mom that she wanted to help them...so they organized the 1st annual Ellie's Run for Africa in 2004. every year, they continue to grow and raise more money- this year's goal is to raise $100,000. wow.

anyways, the race is june 13th. if you are in town and want to get in a run, or even if you just want to hang out with me on the sidelines and practice your clapping, then come on. if you cant make it but want to donate, go to this website and become a hero- you can donate $25 (or more) to help put a kid in school for a year...its a cool thing to do. (in addition to the mocha club, of course...)

frisbee anyone?

i got an email a little while ago that reminds me of a funny story (well, funny in a selfdeprecating kind of way...)

the email was from the organizer of the nashville ultimate frisbee league reminding us of spring/summer sign-up deadlines...

some of you might be thinking...o yeah, she played ultimate on tuesdays in college...others of you might be remembering me as a member of the ole miss co-ed ultimate frisbee intramurals champion team of 2002 and 2003. maybe others have seen me on the vanderbilt intramural fields on sunday afternoons sweating it out with the young lifers...

and most of you are probably thinking at this point, wow, she has played a lot of ultimate frisbee...and maybe shes pretty good...

well, friends, i must admit, i thought the same thing. but its funny how the Lord is always working on humbling me...

last fall, i decided that i should join the nashville ultimate frisbee league. i mean, why not? i was good. so, the first game came, i went...and i never went back again...

first of all, i was the only one to show up sans cleats. (that fact alone should have tipped me off from the get-go.) i was also the only one who didnt bring a gallon-sized water cooler...and all the women (and by all, i mean 8 out of 60 or so) were freaking jacked. and they had cleats on, remember? and huge muscles. they were wearing dri-fit tanks with below-the-knee length basketball shorts...and cleats.

did i mention that everyone was wearing cleats?

so, i met my teammates...we warmed up for a bit...and then one of them casually asked me which offense i was more comfortable with- the stack or the horizontal...hmm...organized offense? ultimate frisbee? my answer was neither.

needless to say, i was the weakest link by a landslide. i quickly became better on defense than offense. i HATE defense, but it was the only thing i could figure out how to do.

by the end of the 3 games (yes, 3 in a row...it was 4 hours long...and they wouldnt let me leave early- believe me i tried- because i was the only girl and they would have had to forfeit if i left,) it was all i could do to get in my car and speed to the nearest gas station to buy the largest water bottle i could find and chug it IN THE GAS STATION. i was dehydrated, miserable, and had lost control of my body parts. i can only remember a handful of times i have been that wiped out...its the worst feeling. i was really worried that i was going to puke on the field and then humiliate myself even more...

...lesson learned. ill stick to the sunday afternoon pick-up games at the vanderbilt fields. fortunately for doug tice and the nashville ultimate frisbee league, they wont be hearing back from me for the spring sign-ups. that is one deadline im happy to pass up.

lovely flowers

so...im excited to announce that my peony bush has started blooming...one of the perks of living in tennessee rather than mississippi is that you can actually grow peonies here- im obsessed. i have been waiting for them to open for weeks, and let me tell you, they do not disappoint. i cut a few for my mom for mother's day (jane, you would have gotten some too if you lived here...)- they are HUGE and they smell amazing and they are mostly white with light pink around the edges...im just amazed every time i look at them.
i told you i was obsessed...

california dreamin'

i spent most of last week in california with dave- he had some shows out there. the highlight was definitely in la when leonardo dicaprio and tobey macguire busted up in the venue at the end of dave's show...they were there for the next show...i know, i know. the story would have been much better if they had actually come to dave's show. o well, maybe next time :)

we got the privilege of spending the afternoon with our beloved friend alex beh and his 1980 volvo- for those of you who have experienced beh, you know that our afternoon was really dull and boring and there wasnt much said...and what was said all made complete sense...

...right...

here i am with bex (who you may remember from this post) and our friend candice wolfswinkle, the marketing director for TOMS- in other words shes a rock star, not to mention probably one of the most generous people ive ever met...

pretty california... they are so dang energy efficient. gotta love that.

we ate at Chow in san fran- it was really, really good...put that on your list of places to eat when you visit. thats dave and me with paul and david- our waiter thought they were a couple...how cute :)

antigua, guatemala

last weekend, i went down to guatemala for joel's wedding. joel is one of my childhood friends- he has probably, other than my family, been in my life the longest of anyone. i just had to see him get married- we've been through most every milestone in life, so i couldnt miss it. dave, on the other hand, had a show, so he couldnt go- laura went with me instead...
it was a weekend i will never forget. antigua is absolutely beautiful- so quaint and simple. there is a lot of history in antigua- tons of old buildings and ruins- cobblestone streets, good food, lots of color and i LOVED all the flowers everywhere...
i took tons of pictures, but for the sake of condensing, i just decided to include a few...more might pop up later.

a typical street- you see the big volcanos in the background everywhere you look.

here i am with joel at the rehearsal dinner...

this is one of the tents at the wedding...it was an amazing ceremony- the only bilingual wedding ill ever see (leave it to joel)- the food was great, the dancing was really fun (especially with all the props they provided...dont ask) and the tequila fountain was definitely the hit of the night (o yes, there was.)

the happy couple :)

here we are with mary linley at the sunday brunch. we spent lots of time on this terrace at one of the hotels- the view was incredible.

sunday afternoon, the few of us remaining (yeah, zoom in on that picture; check out that group) decided to climb the big volcano...let me just say, it was NOT an easy task. we definitely did not know what we were getting into, but it turned out to be worth it-how many people can say they've climbed an active volcano?

we are about 20 feet from the lava standing on really hard, brittle, sharp rocks... not what i expected. the lava was bubbling down the side...in case you are wondering, yes, its really hot near the lava...we were sweating in this picture.

and, finally, sunday night dinner- who would have imagined?

all in all, the weekend really couldnt have been better. im grateful for the fyke's for hosting such a beautiful event.
im always amazed at the Lord's plan. He really does take care of us. He really does heal our wounds...i would have never dreamed that going to guatemala would have turned out the way it did, but im really thankful for it. my heart feels full.
if anyone is looking for a long weekend, or week for that matter, in a beautiful place, i highly suggest antigua- its the perfect find off the beaten path...