Nashville Preds Semi-Finals recap! (And Reba)

Okay, before I get started, I need to do something real quick...  

WAHHHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

That's Reba. She's cheering for me.

WOW. Reba is so excited about me winning the Preds game Smash Hit semi-finals! She can't believe I made it to the finals that happen Friday April 12th, 2013!

Thanks, Reba, for all your support!* (please note SMALL disclaimer at end of this post)

I am so thankful for this opportunity. That's so cliché to say/write, but I really mean it. To be able to play for 19,000-something people for two whole games, and now a THIRD!

I'm VERY tempted to wear a billboard somewhere on my body with my website and contact information on it for the next game. I ain't above it.

For this last performance, I sang Dolly Parton's "Jolene," and it was a blast! It's dark, it's twisted, it's soulful-ish, it's the south, it's everything.

There was one other guy I was competing with - Mitchell Tenpenny. He was awesome. And SO cool. Oh, Competition, you try and divide us, but it ain't gonna work. People are awesome, and we singer-type need all the support we can get.

I somehow managed to get the highest amount of votes, and I will be singing one more time for this competition.

BAH, I really hope I get this.

April 12th. Friday. 2013. Tickets are cheaper right now. StubHub has 'em, Craig's List has 'em, the world is your hockey puck(oyster)! Why don't ya grab some and come vote for me? *bats eyelashes*

I leave you with a couple more pictures from the game. Yeehaw!

*Technically, Reba does not know me from Adam, nor does she know I am using this picture. TECHNICALLY, I might have just googled "woohoo!" and this picture popped up, and I just ganked it off the Internet, blah blah....

If you're having a bad day...

Or a good day... I. can't. stop. watching. this. [youtube=http://youtu.be/OWoQpzdB5gs]

Holimusidays!

I hope your holidays were glaaahrious. I hope you were able to rest and laugh and get lots of hugs. I had the privilege of playing for a good many Christmas parties this year. And then I spent actual Christmas with my in-laws at a lake. It was fun. I ate some turkey. I slept a lot. I even read a book. I forgot to take pictures. Got some pretty sweet gifts. Yep. That's about it.

Wow, this blog post is really starting with a bang....

Well anyways, right after Christmas, my husband and I took a trip to Ft. Walton Beach, FL to get away and write some songs, thanks to my aunt and uncle's gorgeous beachside condo. Good lord, it was heaven.

I really wanted to post pictures of the inside of the condo, but every picture I took looked like our suitcase exploded on it.

Aw, heck. We're all friends here.

Woowee! What a treat we didn't deserve in a million years. And we wrote new songs that you can hear at my shows!

So we drove back from Florida on New Years' Eve, just in time to hang out with these n00bs:

We hung out, ate soup, drank some sherry (and by sherry, I mean I tried the sherry and then proceeded to cut it with a large amount of Mountain Dew), and then drove to downtown Nashville to "watch the music note drop."

In the freezing rain.

And the chick on the left in the last picture wore her pajamas.

I love my friends.

So anyways, we stuffed ourselves onto Broadway like sardines, running into each others' umbrellas, and feeling the water seep through our clothes. This picture really sums it up nicely.

I kid, I kid. Well, not about the rain part. I kid about the insinuation that it wasn't fun - okay, so it wasn't the BEST time I've ever had, but if it wasn't for good company, I believe I would've been the cranky so-this-is-what-it-feels-like-to-live-in-an-ice-cube lady. Instead, I was the joyful mute, glaring at the intoxicated many who ran into me with my laser beam eyes. Wow, Jessie, you're lame.  But I digress... how cute are my little friends?!

Yay, adventures. :)

Show Shtuffs. :)

Another swampy show under my belt. It was a blast! Plus we had PEOPLE, glorious PEOPLE who came to the show!! And they weren't just my in-laws! And it was in Nashville, the hardest place in the WORLD to get an audience!

Praise.

We played a lot of new songs for the first time. Always good to get the first time jitters out.

[gallery]

And here's a couple of videos from the show. :)

[youtube=http://youtu.be/s9W6h05m0Pw]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/l7EZvV93vtU]

Now my husband and I are in Georgia for Thanksgiving, scouting out some new places to play here. I cannot WAIT to play more shows in this beautiful state!

email list

It would mean the world to me if you would Subscribe to my Lil' Buddy Newsletter!

Click the link and it'll send you straight there.

I promise I don't send lots of emails. Just a few. Think Oprah's Favorite Things, but a little swampier. :P

Oh, and I gots me a show in a few days. If you're in Nashville, I'd love to see you. <3

Last Two Songs

Oops, forgot to post the song yesterday on the blog! I posted it everywhere else but here. So I'm doubling up. Here are the next songs! Sticks and Stones, and I'm Not Made That Way. I even rap in one. Well, I attempt to rap. I would love your feedback! [youtube=http://youtu.be/ubJjdosfLZ0]

[youtube=http://youtu.be/mU4yFs0dxPY]

Writing Trip

A couple weeks ago, I escaped to an aunt's beautiful mountain "cabin" (more like mansion!) deep in the North Georgia Blue Ridge mountains. I needed to buckle down and finish some songs with little distraction, and my mom, aunt, and grandmother joined me, with the promise of letting me write and only "bothering" me sometimes. They are QUITE the energetic trio, so I had my doubts. However, I am happy to report that they were well-behaved. :) And a whole lot of fun! I enjoyed the quiet, not having to clean, escaping Nashville, not wearing a bra, and breathing mountain air. I got a lot of writing and work-related things accomplished, and my phone wouldn't get service so I was forced to check out completely. It was glorious and kind of annoying.

Here are some pictures of the house's beautiful views:

At one point in my stay, though, I got a bit frustrated by the lack of Internet and phone service (addict), so I ventured off into "town," via typing in "Downtown" into my GPS device. It landed me in this booming metropolis:

It's not always that busy, but I caught it during rush hour.

So, with backpack on and disheveled hair and no bra, I made my way to what seemed like a quaint little outdoorsy cheap-but-not-mcdonalds-cheap local restaurant. I sat down at an adorable little spot where people were a little more dressed up than I had initially realized and were looking at me strangely. Just kidding about that bra thing.

The waiter then gave me a menu and I FLIPPED. The prices were WAAAAYYY higher than I had expected. In fact, this place was a RESERVATION ONLY restaurant that happened to have a loser one-person table in the back free that they let me sit at! I then felt that I couldn't leave, so I began to sit up straighter, act like "I was on business" (which I kind of am, but um, I'm not exactly The Beatles over here), and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu. A bruschetta appetizer.

The bruschetta is somewhere down in there... took me awhile to get to it.

After I paid for my $30 toast and cheese appetizer with a water, I drove back to the house to start writing. I plugged in my piano in this super cool outside area where I could see the creek and sit on the porch swing.

But alas... the outlet did not work, thus forcing me to place my piano against the wall in the basement.

Could I have written songs against a wall in my small apartment in Nashville? Well, yes. But this wall is way cooler.

I leave you with a quote to ponder. As I was wandering through a quilt store in the thriving downtown metropolis (that I actually do really love, but don't tell anyone), I came across a very meaningful quote that I think MANY can relate to. Try not to tear up when you read this.

WOW!! SO RELATABLE!! I think this ALL the time!!

:P

Pinterest FAIL

I, like the rest of the American female population, am OBSESSED with Pinterest. I feel so motivated, inspired, moved... Who am I kidding... I just zone out and pin things I know I'll never cook, wear, decorate with, or make.

But ONCE in a blue moon, I do try something, and it's usually some sort of recipe.

This time, I attempted something called "Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chickpeas." They're supposed to taste crunchy, sweet, and somewhat like roasted nuts. I thought that sounded super cool, especially when coupled with this beautiful picture:

So, I grabbed the recipe and the ingredients, and did "exactly" as they said (I'm not very good with details).

But what I made was not a food. I had created little dots of what tasted like dirt turds, rolled in some honey. Here, see for yourself:

These little beauties are even worse tasting than they look... Oh well, in another 8 months, I'll try another. Slow and steady, slow and steady.

*I'd like to note... it's probably more USER ERROR than bad recipe...