Up & Up...

Too much has happened since the last post--good and bad.  I don't really feel like blogging because I am too busy learning right now about what I am supposed to be learning. HA.
Confusion has set in.  Things haven't been working out "according to plan"..--another Ha...like we really make plans.  I'm learning that God's got it all in control even though I don't understand why things happen the way that they do.  I accept that He has a plan and purpose in all of it, but I am just not quite there yet to be ok with it.  I'm working on it.  Too vague? Maybe.  I need to be less personal on this blog because it is public---and I haven't figured out how to make it private. Any help?

Good news: my sister is back in the States and I got to go to Texas to see my family and a handful of my closest friends.  It was a much needed get-away because......

Bad news: (among other things) I'm still looking for a full time job---that one I wanted didn't work out---one of the things God is using to break me and mold me and learn to trust Him with EVERYTHING, as well as my personal life and relationships---even when some are taken away. :( Catch my drift as to how things have changed since the last blog?  Yeah...I'm learning sometimes God will rid us of things that may not be bad in and of themselves, but if they are taking our focus from Him, he'll strip us of them----and it hurts like the dickens

Thanks for reading,
you stay classy
faith

We've finished MARCHing and it's already time for APE-ROLL? Crazy

Well gosh, yet again tons has happened in my life that would be way too long to type in detail.
Last week I interviewed at Big Idea, Inc. (Veggie Tales people) and I think it went pretty well.  I will find out no later than Friday if I advanced to the next level which would be checking references.  I have an interview today at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and I REALLY would love this job.  It would be assistant to one of the main booking agents there who books a lot of shows of Christian artists all over the country!  It would be totally rad.  So if you read this before 4:30 today, please pray for me because that's when my interview is.

I've been busy hanging out with a band called HillCity Lights because well, (here comes the bomb drop) my new beau is the drummer!  He is wonderful and their music is great!  So far so good...it's only been about 2-3 weeks.  We met at Interlinc because we both work there, so it's nice that we get to see each other every day at work (at least for now, but hopefully I will get an offer from one or both of these companies I'm interviewing with). 

Last weekend my friend Stephanie took me with her to Ohio to work merch for Switchfoot.  She has connections with their merch guy.  We worked 2 shows, got to meet and talk with the band (well for me it was my first time--she's met them several times).  It was so much fun! So cool!

Church is going well.  I LOVE my church---especially my community group.  We are getting closer and closer.  This coming weekend we are going "camping" at Fall Creek Falls State Park.  We got like a lodge thing there and we're just going to hang out and get away together for a weekend.  It's going to be about 10 or 11 of us.  I'm so stoked to just retreat.

So here you go....here are pics:

This is Jon Foreman and me.  He is the lead singer of Switchfoot.  Legit!  These guys are so nice and genuine. I was so pleased when I met them. They really are true to what they sing about.

This is the best picture I got at the shows.  Here is Jon singing and playing.

Collin and I actually went on our first "real date" on Friday to J. Alexander's and it was mighty tasty!

Hanging out at my house.

And there's this park we go to in Franklin and it has this ridiculous swing.  I don't know who it's for!!  A REALLY HUGE KID??  Very odd..but comfy.

Thanks for reading. You stay classy,
Faith

Daylight Savings Time.....blech

So DST just happened and somehow I always manage to let it get the best of me.  I stayed up all night hanging out for some reason, then lost the hour and slept the day away---including sleeping through my alarm and missing night church and community group. I was quite upset. 

I am horrible at keeping up with this blog. It has been several weeks since I updated and for that I say I am sorry.  It will be way hard to try and update on all that has happened but I guess the February highlights were:

1. I got settled into my new part-time job at Interlinc and I am enjoying it for the most part.  I don't really want to stay there forever but it is great for this in between time.  I am learning how to be a sales person over the phone.  I am not excellent at it but for the most part I am enjoying it and it is decent pay.
2. Momma and Daddy came to visit me for a few days and I got to show them around Nashy for a bit.  We also drove down to Hotlanta for my cousin Sarah's wedding.
3. I turned 23, had a little party, went to a great show featuring: matt wertz, dave barnes, brandon heath, needtobreathe, jon foreman, alison krauss with union station, and big kenny of big and rich.  It was phenomenal.

Here's Tammy and me at my birthday party. (that's the sweater that was Me-Maw's)

As always I have been frequenting shows in town and hanging out with new friends.  Life is good.  Nannying has gotten a little bit better but I am hoping to be able to quit nannying and Interlinc by around May and have a full time job.

Here's one of my favorite local artists: Tyler James backed up by Andy Davis

(not so) Fun fact: this is the first time in my life I am not on Spring Break during this week--but that is ok.  I get 3 day weekends every week for now, so I am good.

This is my community group leader Ben and me in tacky clothes when we went roller skating last week!

Thanks for reading. You stay classy.
-Faithy

I HAZ SNOW?!

Well, Nashville has had beautiful snow since 10:30 Friday morning.  Abby and I have been somewhat stranded in our cozy home which means we've watched a LOT of movies, and eaten a LOT of junk food.  Neither of us like the cold but we love how fresh, clean and bright (Edelweiss?! haha) it looks outside.

 

My job has started out pretty great.  I really like the people and for the first time I'm very much working in a "team atmosphere" and I like that.  The goal is to make 100 calls a day and we keep track of them on a "tic sheet" and we put a tic mark for each call we make and then there are more boxes to say if they were a "connect" which means you actually talked to the church's youth leader, or you write if you left a message, etc as well as leaving notes in the database on the church's record so that the next person who calls them will know what they are facing.  We also leave notes like, "Secretary is kinda mean" just as a heads up. hahaha.  I actually made my first sale on Thursday right before it was time for me to leave, so that was a good way to end.  When someone makes a sale, you get to ring the bell on the ceiling.  It has strings spanning from it to each of the desks, so anyone can ring it, and that way it reinforces the team spirit---everyone rejoices when the bell is rung.

Yesterday Abby and I did get out of the house and we walked about 2 miles in the snow to Starbucks to meet our friends Valerie and Renee.  It was so cold, but so good to get out of the house.  Then Abby's bf Justin picked us up and took us to this Mexican place for dinner that I hadn't been to but I was thankful to discover (cuz it was really good!) and then we all went back to our house and watched movies/tv.  His car is safest on the road cuz it's a Subaru with 4-wheel drive and he's lived here for like 6 or 7 years and knows how to deal with the snow now even though he too is from Texas. 

I guess that about sums it up, I'm still probably going to play it safe today and not drive unless it melts a lot today.  It's bright and sunny and beautiful right now out there, so maybe later in the day it may be ok.  Till next time...

Thanks for reading. You stay classy.

Faith

Job Huntin' and Dog Hatin'

This will be succinct seeing as I am starting a job tomorrow!  Long story short, I was offered and took a part-time job (Tuesdays-Thursdays) at a small company called Interlinc.  They make Bible lessons for youth groups, but the cool thing is, the themes of the lessons are drawn from Christian music videos.  So they compile a dvd with current Christian videos and write a packet of lessons to correlate.  So.darn.cool. and right up my alley.  So, I will be playing the part of the salesperson and calling youth pastors to see if they want to buy these lessons/product.  However, this is "grad season", so I'll be selling more specifically the 2010 conGRADulations cd as a senior gift to the kids in x,y,z youth groups all across the country.  I wish I had gotten one of these cds back in 2005 when I graduated high school.  It's filled with encouraging music and other tools to help as you transition in a new phase of life.  I start training at 9 am tomorrow!

As for the other part of my title, the dog that belongs to the family I nanny for, decided to hike his leg on me the other day when I was taking him for a walk.  I stopped to talk to the neighbor, and ironically we were talking about how he is not a good dog and needs to be properly trained.....womp womp womp....Tyler the dog hikes up his leg and thankfully I have cat-like/ninja reflexes and I moved my jeaned leg just in time.  Then I yanked up on his leash so he dangled in the air for a few seconds as I YELLED, "I'm gonna KILL HIM!!".  Is that dog abuse?  Ooops.

In other news, I got a new camera and I can't wait to try it out at a show.  It's a Canon Powershot SX120.  It has a 10x zoom (the selling point for me). Whoop!

Last week I went to see Love and Theft in concert and they are AMAZING live...like oh so good.  I talked to my band member friend Brian afterwards and he proceeded to introduce me to fellow band-mate Stephen (who I had meet back in August) and Stephen totally remembered me!  It made my day. It was so cool.  Here's a picture or two from the show.

Brian, Stephen, and Eric = Love and Theft or (LNT)

FYI: Stephen Barker Liles of LNT is the Stephen that Taylor Swift's song "Hey, Stephen" is written about.  They opened for her on tour about 2 years ago.

I guess that is about all for now.  I hope everyone is well. Nashy is great. It snowed a bit today but it was too warm to stick.  I think more flurries are in the forecast this week.

Thanks for reading. You stay classy,

Faith

Nashville Visitors----it could be you too.

Why am I still awake at 3:47 a.m. you ask?  Well I ask myself that same question.  Why do I torture myself by drinking caffeine?  I always tell myself, "this time it will be different. I will defy caffeine and I will prevail.  It will not keep me up".  Well, fail. I always lose. Caffeine always wins.  This sounds familiar. Isn't that the definition of insanity?

d : inability to understand the nature and consequences of one's acts (as making a will) or of events, matters, or proceedings in which one is involved (via dictionary.com)

Welp, oh well. Maybe one day I will understand that caffiene > Faith's will power.

This will be a short post, but look at these fun pictures that COULD BE YOU!

My friend Cameron from A&M and his best friend Tabor were my first visitors to Nashville a couple of weeks ago.  They left Rosebud, TX at 4 am on a Friday morning and arrived at my door at 6:45 p.m. after a brief stop in Memphis.  We had a super fun time and then we drove back together (with my car too) just in time for Christmas.

This is outside Pancake Pantry (A Nashville staple)

Tabes and I chasing geese at Centennial (that's for you, Hillary)

Who's the king of the world?  Tabes...of course (I love this picture)

This is a total rip-off of when I had this idea last Fall in D.C. at the Jefferson memorial.

(haha, see?  That is from Nov. 2008)

We make cute pictures...just sayin'

Grand Ole Opry!! We didn't see a show sadly. We are broke.

We practiced our modeling skillz on the Ped bridge.

And we toured Studio B (famous studio where Elvis, Dolly, Roy Orbison, Charley Pride, and tons of other famous people recorded over 1000 hits).  We got to play that piano that the songs were recorded on.  I thought I was in a dream.

So that is a quick summary. It was way fun and now I know the "tour guide ropes" if you come visit me!

Thanks for reading. You stay classy, (it's 4:03, I am gonna try and get some zzzz's.)

-Faith G.

Time for Ketchup

That is my pun-opener.  It has been almost 2 months since I last updated and for that I sincerely apologize.  My parents have drawn this to my attention two times lately, so I owe it at least to them and hopefully other readers.  If you're out there, say, "aye".

I am currently importing several cds that have recently come into my possession.  For now living in Nashville, I think I average gaining at least 3 cds a week.  Whether or not I get them from Gotee, or I go to a show, fall in love and buy the music, those are all stories in and of themselves.  The cds I am "cooking" now are the 10 cds that Abby and I acquired last night at the "Ten out of Tenn" Christmas show.  We Christmas'd each other with the $60 bundle and split it.  It was 10 cds for $60.  What a steal.  Ten out of Tenn is a touring act--the brain child of Trent Dabbs (one of the Ten out of Tenn artists) and who I also had the pleasure of working with when I was an extra for his music video.  (It can be viewed HERE).  Anyways, the show was 10 Nashville artists all playing together and individually and gosh, it rocked.  I am a big fan.  Check out their music.  Just google them: Erin McCarley, Katie Herzig, Butterfly Boucher, Trent Dabbs, K.S. Rhoads, Andy Davis, Andrew Belle, Jeremy Lister, Matthew Perryman Jones, and Tyler James.

Music sums up my life.  I.love.it.

I need to be better at keeping up because I can't really sum up 2 months of my life on one blog or it would be interminable and no one would read it.

I guess I will keep to the more recent news.  Last Saturday I had the privilege (thanks to Gotee) to go see Gotee band House of Heroes, along with Remedy Drive and Family Force 5. It was a great show! Here are a few pictures:

 

Tim from House of Heroes :>)

Colin and Jared (house of heroes)

Remedy Drive

Family Force 5

Tim and me after the show!

A little over a month ago I went to Indianapolis with my friend Rachel for a NEEDTOBREATHE concert.  They are also Christian rock like the fore mentioned show.

So we had to drive through Kentucky.  This was my first time to the state (that I know of) and it is a family tradition to take a picture with the sign if possible

It was too dangerous to get out for Indiana but THANKFULLY my camera was miraculously quick enough to take it from out the window.

This is Bo and Bear from NEEDTOBREATHE ..they are brothers.

We were right up front.  This is Bear and I almost strummed his guitar (I could have) but I chickened out.  Also, like a dummy I had my phone resting on the stage and he almost crushed it.  Thankfully he didn't. :>)

Also, in case you missed it, I moved into Nashville finally from Franklin.  And here is my house!  We love it.  It's great and it is in a GREAT part of town.  We are so close to everything. :>) :>) :>)

Well, my internships are just about over (Dryve is done and I am going into Gotee for like 2 days this week).  We celebrated at Gotee last week though because some guys will be gone this week, like Joey, the boss.  They took me out to lunch, gave me a gift card to Target and thanked me for all my hard work.  It was great!  Dryve gave me a ticket for this Thursday's stand-up comedy act by the one and only Dave Barnes...What? He does stand up?  Yes, yes he does.  I'm excited.  Check out his new Christmas Extravaganza Video....so....stinkin..funny.

Then on Friday, my dear friend Cameron Habel is coming to visit until we go back for Christmas.  More fun straight ahead!

Tonight I went over to the girls' house that I babysit for to play with their new kitten, Callie.  She is the sweeeeeetest kitten! She'll just let you hold her forever.  Tyler, the dog loves her and I actually predict that they become friends:

Face-off...I love it

Tyler making me feel uncomfortable---I'm still not a dog person....

Allie with Ty and Callie

Katie with Callie

Me and Callie!! She is sooooooo precious.  7 weeks old.

In other news, my grandfather, Ga-Ga, passed away 3 weeks ago and it has been very hard.  Things remind me of him and I start crying.  I had my first dream about him the other day since he's been gone and I was at my wedding about to marry God knows who (really...God knows who) and there was a guy there who looked like Ga-Ga but it wasn't.  In my dream (or maybe in real life), I exclaimed, "THAT'S NOT GA-GA!"  because I was so upset that it was someone that looked like him but it wasn't the real man that I love.  I woke myself up in mid-wail, groan, sorrowful noise and I had tears streaming down my face.  It was way intense and I didn't like it.  I feel that it is worth documenting though because he is worth the tribute.  That is a hard thing that I've been facing though is that I am so sad that he will not be able to attend my wedding (if and when that ever happens).  Anyways,  Ga-Ga, I love you and I miss you terribly.

I am so thankful he was able to make it to my graduation!  This is probably the last picture we have of just the two of us.

Thanks for reading.
You stay classy,
Faith