More photos...

More photos from Mary Alice Duncan!!!   http://www.maryaliceduncanphotography.com/a-little-more-amanda-never-hurt-anyone-a-sneak-peek/

Photo Shoot

Are you ready for this? I did a fun photo shoot for my band's website (which will be created eventually)... my friend from church Mary Alice Duncan did the shoot and posted a sneak peek of my photos on her website. Check it out!!! http://www.maryaliceduncanphotography.com/i-cant-even-come-up-with-a-title-good-enough-for-these-a-sneak-peek/

Hardwood Floors!

Well, our hardwood floors have been installed! Yay!! Here are a few progress pictures...sorry most of them were taken a couple days ago on my cell phone... not super clear...
Now if we can just get everything back in place tonight and all cleaned up. My sister comes to visit Friday! Yippeeee!!! More pics to come...

New Paint

We had our painter Pam bring her crew in yesterday and paint a few more rooms in the house. Our rec room is now a beautiful rust red color. It looks more orange in these pictures, but it is not orange in person. A very dark rust color. One of our guest bedrooms - bright yellow! I love this one! The bedding in this room is black and white. We'll do white bead board around the bottom of the walls. Rise and shine! :)Our guest bathroom in the upstairs hallway is now a dark orange. Looks nice with the cabinets and shower curtain.
And our master bathroom looks GREAT now! It is the same coloring as our bedroom. Dark slate walls with light gray ceiling. Love it!! Once we get things all put back where they were, we'll take pictures of the finished look in each room. Next Saturday...hardwoods go in. Bring on the mess! Sheesh!

Autumn has arrived...

Okay, so Autumn, the Fall season hasn't exactly arrived yet, no. (although I'm so excited about FOOTBALL and the Fall weather!!!) "Autumn" has arrived in other ways though....Geof and I went to Dalton, GA on Saturday to look at hardwood floors. Dalton is the flooring capitol of the world, and let me tell you the money you can save! WOW! We ended up finding something we loved and compared to what we priced out here in Nashville, we saved $1000 by going to Georgia! I'm telling you, they are beautiful. They aren't the dark brown rustic look that I thought I wanted. Long story short, we bought everything we needed, rented a uhaul trailer and drove back to Nashville 3000 lbs heavier than before. 57 boxes of Maple wood! Here are a few pictures... because of the lighting, all these pictures look like a different color depending on where you stand, but that's what I love about it. It isn't dark, but it isn't light wood - it's a great medium, rich color. It's called "Autumn" which describes it perfectly.
And below you see the 57 boxes stored in our dining room. :) We will have everything installed in September. YAY!! We are so thrilled! That is 3000 lbs of wood right there, people! Whew! I cannot wait to get rid of the ugly entry way hardwoods and the yucky carpet. Autumn has arrived!! Perfect timing for the season!

Catfish and history

Last weekend we went to Oxford, MS to visit Geof's old roommate from law school at Ole Miss. He and his wife are great! We had a wonderful time! That town is so rich with history. If you are a fan of John Grisham, this is where most of his books are based off of. Real people from the law school there. So much history with Ole Miss and just the area itself. Very neat. While we were there, we visited Taylor, MS just outside of Oxford.

This is Taylor Grocery. An old grocery made into a catfish restaurant. Built in the 1800s. Very famous actually. In fact, during regular school season, it is very normal to wait on the porch for a table for 3 hours. We only waited 1 hour, but it was well worth it!! Quite possibly the best catfish I've ever had. Another place we went in Oxford is called "City Grocery" on the town square - no idea what the deal is with the grocery names down there being so famous. But City Grocery is a bit more upscale and known for their shrimp and grits. Who would have thought shrimp and grits would be in the same sentence as the word "upscale"?!! ha! Now, I have never liked grits, never really wanted to. But let me tell ya- I'm a HUGE fan of cheese grits and shrimp now!!! WOW!!! What a fantastic southern dish! Which by the way... I obtained the original recipe from an Oxford cookbook. Can't wait to try it! You should google these places and check them out. So neat.

I am finally coming out of the fog of a CRAZY past couple weeks of work. Nothing too earth shattering, just stressful. Looking forward to spending the rest of the week at the beach. GIRLS TRIP!!! WOOHOO!!

Wounded... again.

Well, I went to pick up Max from daycare on Friday evening and low and behold he got hurt once again. This dog is so accident prone - we seriously thank God every day for pet insurance!!! We have saved thousands! Basically they aren't sure what happened at daycare. Max came over to one of the day care girls and she looked down and noticed Max was bleeding. It was fresh, so it had just happened. They didn't hear a bark or a yelp or anything - so no dog fight this time. They think he may have rubbed up against a sharp edge of the fence or maybe another dog scratched him. He didn't even realize it. Never cried, nothing. They glued it up for me and I went ahead and took him to the vet just to be safe - he had to get stitches. So, here are some fun graphic pictures for you (taken with my phone so they are not great).

BEFORE STITCHES (below):

AFTER STITCHES: (below)

Still a bit drugged on the tranquilizer (above). He was stumbling all over the place completely drunk. Very hard not to crack up at a drunk dog that big. Had to keep him from falling over several times b/c he would stand there and stare into space, then fall asleep standing up. So I'd have to run over to him and catch him. ha!! He's 83 lbs now!!!! Anyway, he's fine...he finally laid down and slept the drug off. He doesn't even realize he's been hurt. We're keeping him home for a few days.

Promotions and such!

Just a few exciting things to catch you up on...

• I was promoted to Director, Programming Strategy. Basically means taking a nice pay increase and being recognized for the job that I've been doing for 2 years now. (this promotion has been in the works for a while). Either way - it happened and I'm VERY excited!
• I move into my office with a window tomorrow. This has been in the works since I was made a Manager back a few years ago - so this I'm SUPER excited about too!! For t hose of you counting, this is my 7th year with CMT.
• A few of you have asked about my cd. I made a demo cut of 6 songs with my jazz trio. We're in the process of getting a website put together and I'm going to be doing a fun photo shoot soon for the website. Basically we're looking for local gigs for wedding receptions, fund raiser events, parties, etc.. We did an anniversary party a couple months ago for a 60th wedding anniversary. Was so sweet.

Nothing else new going on here. The weather has been pretty cool here in Nashvegas! Mid 50s at night and high 70s during the day. Feels like Fall!!

Family Vacation 2009!

We had the annual 4th of July McKinney family vacation last week! Was so much fun!! We stayed at the most amazing lakehouse on Lake Possum Kingdom in TX. Some friends of Sarah and John's built it last Fall and allowed us to use it for the July 4th weekend this year. It was like staying in a celebrity house! Absolutely beautiful! It'd take me days to tell you about all the rooms and technology they have. The subdivison "The Ranch" had horseback riding, skeet shooting, an amazing pool, boats, jet skis, fishing, you name it! Here are a few pictures.
Katie (above) jumping off the boat.

JD and Lindsey (above) - David LOVES being a cowboy!

I don't have room to post pictures of the house, but it was unbelievable! Hope you had a happy 4th of July!

Zoe

It was fun being in the studio with Zoe and singing with them again... I've missed you guys... Peter and Lindsey should be welcoming their first baby here in the next week or two! Very excited for them!!

Get The Shovel!

The other day we were doing yard work when Geof yelled out, "I just saw a field mouse run up the gutter!" So, I of course insisted we somehow get it to come out of the gutter and kill it. But.. how...

Now most of you know that I will not tolerate rats or mice. In fact (side story)... a couple months ago I had my terminix dude come out to the house and check out this weird looking nest under our deck. I insisted it was a rat. I had never seen a nest like that! And some of you know that our backyard backs up to Sanford & Son's backyard. (a whole other story). The nest ended up being a family of sparrows. We now enjoy watching them torment the dog.

Anyway... back to the original story... so I had to think FAST b/c if it was a field mouse, it was going to move fast! I told Geof, "well, here's what we'll do! We'll spray up in the gutter with hornets nest spray to get it to run out, then when it comes out, you'll take the shovel and beat the **** out of him!" Geof's face dropped and said "awww... nooo..." I feel NO sympathy for these varmints b/c I know they will multiply and get in my pantry! So, we had the plan... I'm getting the shovel and all of a sudden I hear Geof spraying and spraying and spraying... then I hear this sad voice, "Oh no... Amanda! I don't think this is a mouse!" Of course I go running around the corner to the gutter and look... sure enough that thing is bigger than a mouse. Geof thought it was a chipmunk. But the thing would NOT come out! I told him to gently spray the water hose up there and maybe he'll come out... still he wouldn't come out. Finally, Geof got his gloves and pulled it out. A sweet little TERRIFIED bunny... it took all I had not to burst into tears. Geof let it go a couple houses down where there was an open common area. Hopefully he found his mom!

Awards Show 2009

Our CMT awards show is coming up on Tuesday night, June 16th! Be sure to tune in to CMT to watch. Should be a fun evening!! I decided to give my tickets and passes away to friends this year and watch from my cozy home. :)

What a difference 2 years can make...

This is hilarious. At our old house, you see Max wanted to check out whatever Geof was looking at. He was a little over 5 months here. I quickly snapped the picture before Max saw me. And below... you see the difference 2 years can make. Whew!!! He's gotten so big!! He still loves to put his paws on the deck if we walk up and look out like that. So funny.On days when we work in the yard, Max enjoys staying cool in his pool and catching some rays. ha!

30 and more

Lots going on the past couple weeks!

• I turned 30! So fun!!!
• I finished my cd... yay!!! If I knew how to post songs on here I'd do it.
• I visited the family in Texas over Memorial Weekend. (pictures soon)...
• Helped organize Cardboard Testimonies at our church - go here to see: http://www.ottercreek.org/

We have a busy weekend.... I have a gig on Saturday and the rest of the weekend we'll be re-doing our flower beds in the front yard. Whew! What a chore!!! They look so awful though. Bring on the digging! My back already hurts. ha!

Next Thursday we're off to Pittsburgh for Geof's brother's wedding. Happy Summer!!!

Steeplechase 2009

MUDDY, but a great day! The weather turned out perfect!!! Usually everyone dresses up with big hats, expensive dresses, suits, etc. A very rich/historical event in Nashville. But with the mud this year (it's been raining in Nashville for 3 weeks straight) most people went casual. Well... most smart people. :)

Below: Jason (Geof's boss man) and hot mama Suzie!! We LOVE them!

And they're off! Notice the tents in the infield below... all of those people are standing in mud ankle deep. Really. See the last picture and you'll get the idea of the type of mud. I wore my rain boots! Thank God! I've never seen so many people take off their shoes and trudge thru mud like that. It was quite a site. And of course when all the alcohol sets in, you get to watch all sorts of mud slides and mud fights. Mostly college and high school groups. Quite a day, let me tell ya! Luckily, Jason rented a huge tour bus RV, so our group had prime location and a bathroom on board!

Below: Jason made the mistake of driving the BMW.... d'oh! This is what the infield looked like. (mud)

Easters Past, Part 2

More Easter pictures from years ago...  nice huh?  I had the most mischievous grin on my face, didn't I?  :)

I love the following picture of Sarah.  That was a RARE thing for her to be the one cutting up in the picture.  That was 99.9% always me.  So I laugh so hard every time I see this picture!! And I love how my tights are bunched around my ankles.  Hilarious - I'd bet a billion dollars those things didn't stay on long.  I HATED tights!!!  ugh.

Easter with the cousins.  Every year we had to take our Easter pictures in front of that giant azalea bush.  Note John David's black eye here. He almost always had a black eye just in time for Easter pictures.  I love the perms too.  Hilarious.  I remember after one perm, my friend Judith at church told me "you look like Richard Simmons."  Thanks.  Mom's famous saying "perm it or cut it."  ha!!    

Easters Past...

A few fun Easter pics from years past... more to come.... 

Gotta Love Texas Girls!!

I got the following email from my cousin - fellow Texan of course...it made my day...

Gotta love Texas Girls!

A couple from Texas and a couple from the east coast were seated side by side on an airplane.

The girl from Texas , being friendly and all, said, "So, where ya'll from?"

The east coast girl said, "From a place where they know better than to use a preposition at the end of a sentence."

The girl from Texas sat quietly for a few moments and then replied: "So, where ya'll
from, bitch?"

San Antonio - pictures

We just returned from a much needed weekend get-away to San Antonio! Had so much fun! Did a few tourist type things and for the most part caught up on sleep and GREAT mexican food and mexican pastries. The weather was perfect. 70-80 degrees and sunny! We flew back into Nashville this morning to 35 degrees, rain and snow. Welcome home. :(

On the river in front of our hotel.. Omni La Mansion del Rio. Alamo.

At the Mission San Jose.

At the mexican market - the best mexican food and mexican bakery on earth: Mi Tiera.

Random photo on the riverwalk.

The Chart House - revolving restaurant at the top of the "Tower of the Americas".