What's the haps?

It has been a busy couple of weeks and things won't be slowing down anytime soon. I usually try not to schedule stuff two weekends in a row because I like to reserve every other weekend to catch up on podcasts, reading, television shows & knitting. However I managed to book my weekends solid from June 2nd to July 8th.

The weekend of June 2nd was the wedding in Nashville and the next weekend was Relay for Life. It was the first time that I participated in Relay for Life and despite some flaws, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I was on the Connie's Crusaders team that was formed in support of a friend who is currently undergoing treatment. Our team raised just under $1,800.00 for the American Cancer Society which I think was pretty respectable since it was our first time participating. There were a lot of people on the team but thanks to my finely honed night shift skills, I was the only member of the team who stayed all night. Thankfully some of my friends stayed late, until about 1:30am and 3:00am, which really helped me stick it out. A special shout-out to K & T who found the indoor restrooms so I didn't have to use a port-a-potty! You know what the other secret to staying out all night & walking laps is?

Junk food! Don't judge. Junk food makes 4:00am feel a lot better. And yes, the junk food is hanging out on my yoga mat. I did do a little bit of yoga in the wee hours of the morning and when I wasn't yoga-ing, the mat was nice and comfy to sit on. I did take photos of people but again, I didn't think to ask if they minded being on the blog so no awesome, sweaty, hopeful Relay for Life people pictures. I think that my favorite non-people photo of the night was the picture I snapped of sunrise.

The crowds had dispersed quite a bit by sunrise but the people that were left really seemed to get a second wind once the sun started to rise. My only complaints about the event dealt with some organizational glitches that will hopefully be fixed next year. The relay had twice as many teams this year than they had last year so I am just chalking it up to growing pains. So, if you are on the fence about attending an event life this, then I would say give it a shot and if you can, stay all night!

This weekend, I hung out at my mom's & dad's house to celebrate Father's Day. My dad seemed to enjoy showing off his new lawn mower and he even offered to let me drive but I totally chickened out. It steers with levers instead of a steering wheel and goes pretty fast and I was afraid that I would run over some of the landscaping that he has been spending his weekends doing! The yards looks really fabulous with lots of flowers and a new water fountain. It was really great to spend time with them.

There hasn't been a lot of time for knitting and right now I am spending my free crafting time poking around Ravelry trying to find a pattern that sparks my knitting mojo. I just need to stop waffling and pick a pattern and start knitting! I did so a little stash enhancement but I will save that for my next blog entry. Until then, keep it nerdy!

A Nice Day for a White Wedding

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to attend the wedding on a lovely young woman that I have known for many years. She happens to be the daughter of my friend CK who is battling stage 4 breast cancer. The wedding was at Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville which is a gorgeous setting for a wedding. The ceremony was outdoors with the reception immediately following in the carriage house. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and it was sunny with a light breeze and the temperature hovered around 80 degrees. Weddings always make me weepy but this one got me from the moment that I approached the ceremony and was handed a pink ribbon to wear in honor of CK. The ceremony was short but really pulled at the heart strings. The pastor said a prayer for CK and asked all of us to keep the pink ribbon someplace prominent when we return to our homes so that we continue to pray and think good thoughts for CK as she fights cancer. The pastor also read some thoughts on the bride and groom that their friends and family had written for the occasion and it really showed how loved they are. It was a special way to include people in the ceremony and it really emphasized that the marriage isn't just the joining of two people but that, for better or worse, there are a lot of friends and family members that are going to be joined together as well. I took a picture of the table setting at the reception that I will share since I didn't think to get permission to share photos of the bride & groom.



It was a wonderful, but exhausting way to spend the weekend. I worked on Friday night until about 10:30pm, crashed, woke up and drove about 7 hours (including construction traffic) to Nashville, checked into the hotel, got ready for the wedding, drove the the venue, cried like a baby, drove back to the hotel, crashed, got up and drove about 7 hours home. The exhaustion was totally worth it!!!!