Well.
All I can say is that y’all probably need to say a prayer of thanks that I didn’t blog over the last few days because it might have been full of a vast array of complaints starting with I CAN’T SLEEP and WHY ARE MY HORMONES SO CRAZY? and ending with I HAVE A COLD AND CAN’T BREATHE.
Just a ray of sunshine.
The week started off so well. I arrived in Nashville without any glitches and, though it was an hour I consider way too early for respectable society, I managed to put on my best game face and by the time I was drinking coffee with my friend Paige in a cute little Nashville coffee shop at 9:00 a.m. I was actually feeling pretty good about life.
I mean, after all, I’d packed, gotten dressed, driven to the airport, found a parking place, read all about the latest in the TomKat divorce and arrived in a whole different state before 8:45 a.m. I’d accomplished more by noon than I usually do in four days. And if you doubt the validity of that statement then clearly you haven’t been following the TomKat situation. It’s a lot of information to process.
The time in Nashville was great. Sophie and I spent most of Wednesday filming the intro video to the DotMom Conference and I think it’s going to be good. Not because of our acting skills or anything like that, but because the LifeWay Crew is brilliant and sets us up to look so much better than we are. Our director, Seth, even talks us through places in the script where he’s just written “Sophie and Melanie make funny jokes”.
Because do you know how much pressure that brings? Just retyping the phrase “Make funny jokes” is enough to make me curl up in the fetal position. Mainly because it brings me back to a time about four years ago when LifeWay asked Sophie and I to entertain the crowd with “witty banter” on the floor of the Alamodome while women were waiting to see Beth Moore and the best I could come up with for an opening line was “So. How did y’all sleep last night?”
You would have to drive a million miles out to the middle of nowhere to hear more quiet than we did in that arena. That’s why we always remind each other to “REMEMBER THE ALAMODOME”.
Anyway, after a day of filming we met some friends for dinner at a new trendy restaurant in Nashville called Urban Grub. The macaroni and cheese was delicious and I tried not to remember that I’d spent much of the filming talking about the benefits of the Paleo diet with one of the crew members. In case you’re wondering, macaroni and cheese is the polar opposite of the Paleo diet. Macaroni and cheese would have killed a caveman.
And then we went to Jeni’s ice cream shop where I ate the most perfect ice cream cone I’ve ever had. EVER. Sadly, they only have Jeni’s shops in Ohio and Tennessee which is kind of far from Texas. However, I did just search the google and discovered you can get it at a shop in Gruene which is only 45 minutes away and so I may drive there tomorrow.
Remember back in January when I was basically just eating kale?
I have fallen off the wagon.
On Thursday morning I flew back to San Antonio and that’s when I just fell apart. I hadn’t slept that great while I was away and we’d been on a non-stop schedule and I’d had allergies and I guess it all caught up to me because I collapsed in a heap on the couch and basically didn’t move again for days.
Caroline spent all last week going to day camp which kind of worked out since I was gone. I had been a little worried about missing it because she is a big fan of getting her face painted every morning to match the various themes, but fortunately P picked up the face-painting gauntlet and ran with it. In fact, he exceeded my skills.
That’s a wave. With a surfer. With a mohawk.
I would have just painted a flower and called it good.
And then he was naturally skilled at doing the camo face paint. I think her counselors actually might have lost her in the woods this day.
But I was home in time for the last day and so I pulled out my strongest face-painting game and went with the blue mask effect.
Friday night we drove up to camp for closing ceremonies and this picture totally sums up how Caroline felt.
She was wiped out. And had come down with a cold.
So Saturday we cancelled plans we’d made for dinner and spent all day on the couch watching movies in our pajamas. It might have been the best day I’ve had in forever.
Actually, scratch that. It was unequivocally the best day I’ve had in forever.
And now you’re all caught up.
Except I cut all my ailments and complaints in half.
Which I know makes you want to heave a big sigh of relief because, yes, there could have been more.
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Glad you mentioned – it was the best day ever……my oldest grandchildren are older than she is and I really REALLY miss the days of cuddling on the sofa!!!
Im sorry you do not have the priviledge of having a Jeni’s near you. They are a OH treasure and I love getting to try some unique flavors. You can order it online and have it shipped to you. There are some grocery stores that do carry it across the country.
OK, tell me she had the best face painting in the camp? How awesome was she?
Yes, staying home and cuddling are the best days ever.
That face paint ROCKS!
Hope you’re feeling better! Summer colds are the worst. I don’t know what it’s like in Texas, but in Virginia, people are still coming down with bugs and viruses and all manner of ickieness that should only be reserved for cold weather. I know this because I spent a whole day of our beach vacay locked in the condo with a 4 year old who kept throwing up. It was the highlight of the trip.
If you’re having trouble with the witty banter, next time just read some of your posts out loud to the audience. Sure to make everyone smile!!
I am struggling with the same crud. I blame it on my yard. I hate my yard. I hate any yard that I have to mow and trim and edge. Why can’t I win the lottery? First thing on my list to buy – YARD MAN.
I love her face paint! So fun that she’s so spirited about camp! And I love that baby picture behind her.
I’m so sorry you’re zonked out. Life sure knows how to suck all the energy out of a person!
Thank you for not totally trashing me on the dotmom twitter party the other night. I hate to just blurt this fact out for the whole world to see…but I might be twittarded.
I couldn’t tell if anything I posted was going out or not. I couldn’t see my tweets (I guess that’s normal, duh). So, my asking 67 questions….like–> Am I on? Hey, can y’all see me? Is this thing working? Were probably a little annoying.
Thankfully, you were nice enough to say something. The only person to say something. So, thanks and I’m really sorry if I blew it hangin with the savvy girls.
Going back to my simple corner.
Jeni’s ice cream!! Oh yum. i had it in Columbus one time and have been planning my trip back to OH to get it ever since! Sean has been traveling – and guess to where – TN. Two day trip, returning on Sunday and he got a cold as well. BUMMER! We are leaving for Vegas on Thursday, so he has exactly 3 days to get over it!
Glad you are home safe. And please let P now that I will be contacting him for our next birthday party – I need a good face painter!
I just wanted to say that I absolutely love reading your blog! You are hilarious! I am a student at A&M and love me so Aggie baseball. I enjoy reading yours stories about when you were there and about Breakaway. It is HUGE now and such a blessing to me. It is so cool to have it on campus. I also worked at TBarM at sports camp last summer! Glad Caroline got to go to day camp! Hope she enjoyed it.
Thanks again for writing your blog!
Jeni’s is AMAZING. So many incredible flavors to try. I’ve decided my absolute favorite is the pistachio honey, but my daughter loves the wildberry lavender, and others swear they’d give their right arms for the salted caramel. Glad you got to enjoy it in Music City! Come to Columbus next time and taste it for real.
Always love your stories…And your daughter is the cutest!
Glad you had a day to recoup–
Aloha!
Feel better Momma!
On Sunday we had a mini college reunion with old friends at a house with a tire swing. My youngest daughter, who is 6, rode that tire swing over and over and over. At one point, as I’m pushing her, she yells “This is the best day ever!” Who knew that a tire swing would be so good?? I hope she is always so easy to please, although I sincerely doubt it. We’ll just go with it for now.
Hope you are feeling better and got caught up on your rest. You are not the only one to come crashing down after a short trip, even without a time change. There is something about traveling that does it to me too. Have a good week!
Get as many of those best-days-in-forever in while you can. My baby girl just got married. She’s 25. *sigh*
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE . . . . T BAR M!!! The best summers of my life were spent there! (Although she might have had more fun as an Alpha
)