Look Mom, no hands!

We did it! We actually did it! Today marks one year since Emily joined me in Nashville! Our time here has been nothing but positive and we continue to fall in love with our new home every day.

Our journey started with us living in someone's shop (a super nice shop that is) and within a couple weeks we were completely on our own in our new apartment. We went from zero furniture, sleeping on the floor, watching crappy library movies on a computer, and eating off of paper plates to working our butts off to create a cozy apartment we are proud to call home.

We have met so many people along the way. I think one of the coolest things about Nashville is that most of the people who live here are transplants like us. Everyone has a unique story about how they ended up here. Obviously most are here to pursue their dreams of music, but you also have people like Emily and I that packed up and moved here on a whim.

As for me, the best part about my new life is that I have a partner-in-crime every step of the way.  Emily is the level headed one who (attempts) to keep me in check while I'm the wild card always looking for the next adventure. Together we even each other out and because of that we have had some amazing experiences! We both have some big things coming up within the next year and I can't wait to see how it all falls together : )

And how could I forget... we have had a third roommate since last September. His name is Moby Dick and he is our pet fish. I don't know about Emily but I'll go on the record and say that this is the longest I have kept a fish alive! This poor thing puts up with daily earth quakes, endures freezing cold waters, and has had to be nursed back to good health on numerous occasions. People think we're nuts but he really does complete our little family!

We are so very thankful for our friends and family back home who have supported us along the way. Because of you guys we weren't afraid to step away from what was comfortable to try something new. It made the move a lot less scarier than it could have been. We appreciate you all, and remember you always have a place to stay when you come visit!

Until next time,

AK

Rocky Top Tennessee!

It’s finally time to come out of hibernation!

SO SO sorry for the extremely long delay in posts, life has been nothing short of busy and entertaining for us! Since November so much has happened! First and foremost, Emily and I resigned our lease! That’s right folks, Tennessee is stuck with us for at least another 10 months!

Winter was interesting, especially weather wise. Tennessee has the most bipolar weather in the country. It would be 70 degrees one weekend and then out of nowhere drop down to single digits.  If you're from back home and think school doesn't get cancelled enough for the weather, you should just pack up and move to Tennessee right now. I kid you not; they cancel school (let’s be real, the whole city shuts down) for a “chance of snow.” And the best part is we found out that you are not required to take drivers ed in the state of Tennessee. Here’s a little mathematical equation for you…

No drivers ed + .25’’ of snow = 5 car pile ups

Yea, it’s THAT bad.

Now onto monumental events. For all of you who don’t know me, I am a HUGE Seahawks fan, and as many of you can guess…. that means I had the most glorious start to my year with them bringing home the Lombardi : ) I cannot tell you how great it was being one of 3 people in the state of Tennessee cheering for the Hawks in the Super Bowl.

During Presidents weekend I had the opportunity to embark on a crazy adventure to Florida with some hoodlums from Idaho (who all currently live in the South) and one Wisconsinite (uh, I think that’s what you call people from Wisconsin?).  We stayed on St. George Island in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was honestly one of my favorite adventures I have been on. We did a chartered fishing trip where we caught twenty-something fish including, sea trout, sheephead, and drums.

The day I left Florida, I drove straight to the Nashville airport to pick up my Mom. We had a blast just relaxing and enjoying our time together. Thankfully she had been to Nashville before so we didn’t have to do all the touristy things.  The day my Mom left, I picked up Megan, one of my best friends from home! My time with her was awesome. We bummed around for a few days drinking, playing sand volleyball, kicking a ball around like old times, and introducing Tennessee to Idaho drinking games.

February was a short month and we only had a couple weeks to prepare for our next visitors! Emily’s mom and her mom’s best friend came to town for St. Patty’s day. While they were here we went to the vineyards, caused mayhem downtown, and went to the 40^th anniversary of the Grand ole Opry! We got to see so many amazing people perform! Clint Black, Connie Smith, one of the Osborne Brothers, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and Josh Turner were just a handful of the people who showed up.

I also took on the job of coaching a rec. soccer team. It’s coed and the kids are 7 and 8 years old. You know me and my love for kids! Haha, jokes. It has been nothing short of entertaining.  I have asked Emily to take on the task of being the team “mom” since none of the wonderful parents would volunteer. She has yet to meet the little minions but I’m sure she will love them! Our first game was rained out… yes I said it… our soccer game was RAINED out… Oh Tennessee, you have so much to learn!

The next couple months are shaping up to be just as crazy. Emily and I get to finally take a couple of trips together in May! The last time we went on an adventure together was back in November when we went to Atlanta for the Seahawks game. In May we are planning trips to both Alabama and Louisiana. Stay tuned! I promise not to take another 4 months to update you!

Until Next Time,

AK 

Moby Dick cheering for his favorite team

Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

Momma Tracy

40th Anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry

It's quite possible that spring is actually here!

No Shame November

Well shoot we made it to November! We have officially been in Nashville for four months now! Man, time has flown by!

October came and went, full of all kinds of shenanigans. Both Emily and I celebrated our 24th birthdays which goes hand in hand with mayhem. My cousin Jared and his best friend visited us for a week, followed by my best friend Grace for a weekend. The whole month was nuts consisting of Jack Daniels tours, Predators games, cars getting booted, haunted houses, getting lost in the ghetto, Titans games, and all kinds of crazy adventures.

November came at us in full swing. Yesterday Emily and I made a day trip to Atlanta to watch my beloved Seahawks play the Falcons. We met up with one of my best friends from Junior High who I haven't seen in over 8 years! Meeting up with Helen was amazing, it was like we were never apart, and anyone who knows Helen knows that she is a nut, and the two of us together can only mean one thing... trouble : ) The game was AWESOME. It felt so good to be around fellow Seahawks fans again! As a Seahawk fan, who is actually from Washington, who is well aware of our rocky past, it was awesome to see how much support the team has now (even with the bandwagon fans). People were shocked to find out we were actually from Seattle, and the Falcons fans actually welcomed us with open arms after finding that out... Suckers. After the victory we went out to dinner to celebrate both the win and Helen's birthday! We ended up at a Mexican restaurant, and our experience there was far from normal.

We walk in and within seconds are asked if we are the Dixi Chicks... mind you we are wearing Seahawks gear and NOT 5000 years old. We kindly tell them no, thinking it was a joke, but then things got real. They told us they were going to put us on the patio so we got the best service. We end up having the patio all to ourselves. They ask us 3 more times if we are the girls in the band Dixi Chicks... to which we say no. Helen and I decide we have to go to the bathroom and the lady legitimately escorts us to the bathroom. When we come back out to the patio we find Emily surrounded by FIVE servers. At this point we decided to give up and to go along with it. It probably didn't help that they overheard Emily and I talking about how we still had to make the trip back to Nashville after dinner. Helen started making comments like 'yes I'll take a box, this food will be great later on the bus'. Every five minutes people would walk past the windows and look out at us. It was beyond awkward but quite amusing. Eventually we finished with dinner, said our goodbyes and made the four hour trip home.

The rest of November is looking like it will be just as interesting. This week my stepdad gets in for a few days, I'm making a trip down to Louisiana to see family that I haven't seen in forever, and Emily's family is coming in for the week of Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for this chapter in our life and for all the amazing people who have been with us along the way! 

Until next time!

-AK

Our first Predators game vs Minnesota Wild

Nashville in the fall time

Seahawks vs. Falcons

bow chicka wow wow

We are not the Dixi Chicks

This One's For You Mom

Last week I had my first break down since I moved to Tennessee. As many of you know, I have not had a good relationship with my dad. In fact it has been over five years since I’ve seen him and three since I’ve had contact with him, all of it being his choice. Last week my Aunt (his sister) posted a picture of my nephew making his move to Idaho to become a Boise State Bronco. I was reading the comments on the picture and came across one from Joel (my ‘dad’) and his current wife. It was talking about how Joel was ‘beaming with pride’ and reminding my cousin to keep in touch with them (let me remind you that not once has he reached out to his own daughters to be friends on facebook.) It took every ounce of self-restraint I had to not remind him of his oldest daughter Courtney who had gotten married and had two BEAUTIFUL little boys, or me, his youngest (and only biological kid... that I know of) who moved to Hawaii, had her 21st birthday, graduated from the University of Idaho and saved up money and moved cross country all on her own, or my Mom and AMAZING step dad Gary who visit and help take care of HIS biological dad whom he has also abandoned.

At first I was angry with him. Angry that he legitimately sat down and decided to keep in touch with some family members but not others. Sometimes it hurts knowing I didn’t make the cut but then I am reminded of the silver lining to this whole ordeal. I often forget just how lucky I am to have the Mom that I do. My sister and I were forced to grow up sooner than most since my mom had to work three jobs to support us. If it weren’t for her I would not be the strong and independent woman that I am today. My mom made it possible for me to travel the country playing competitive soccer since I was ten years old. Through that I formed a support group, made life long friends, and learned all kinds of lessons on responsibility, accountability, and self-discipline. I am so very thankful for all that my Mom has done for my sister and I. I can honestly say that if it weren’t for her I would not have the confidence or strength to jump on opportunities like going to school in Hawaii, or moving cross country to build a life from the bottom up.

Not once has my mom doubted me in any aspect of life. When I told her I wanted to go to a four year University for Sociology she never judged me. She never told me my plan wasn’t solid enough. She never told me to rethink things. When I told her I wanted a job doing social work she never told me to set my goals higher, to find a job that would pay better. When we had the fateful conversation about me moving across the country she never played the guilt card, she never laughed in my face. When I arrived to Nashville and got a job working at a sports bar she never told me to pack up and move home. She never questioned my plan because she knew she raised a girl who no matter what adversity she’d face, she would be able to overcome it.

I truly believe our world needs parents like my mom. Parents who have faith in their children, parents who teach strength, courage, and independence. Parents who lead by example when it comes to taking risks and for not settling for the mundane. It’s because of her that not once have I second guessed my decision to move to this beautiful city!

As for life in Nashville two months later...I'm lovin' it : ) We've made lots of new friends, bought a couch, and starting tomorrow we have friends and family from home visiting us all the way up through Thanksgiving! Things are going real smoothly! 

Until next time!

-AK

Blowin' Smoke

Today marks one month and one day since I got to Tennessee! So much has happened since the last post! First and foremost we moved! Emily and I found a super nice apartment in Hermitage, about 10 minutes from where we were living before. We are 1 minute from a hospital, 5 from the airport, super close to an interstate, and even closer to downtown! Our apartment has two bedrooms, two baths, free coffee in the clubhouse, a 24 hour gym, a sauna, tanning, a car wash port, and valet garbage pickup! Melanie, the lady we were staying with before gave us a bunch of furniture for our bedrooms so we actually sleep in our own beds now! It’s been so lonely without our nightly slumber parties! We are lacking in the living room and dining room though. It’s been quite entertaining! If we ever decide to have people over we are going to strictly enforce the BYOC rule… Bring Your Own Chair!

I’ve been working at Buffalo Wild Wings for almost a week now. Man did I forget what working at a restaurant was like! I secretly love it though, I’m constantly moving, always on the go. Tuesday night I made $120 in tips…too bad I was training and didn’t get to keep it though : (  My favorite part about working at BWW is being able to represent the Seahawks... We get to wear any team affiliated hat, earrings, whatever during football season! I may be a season ticket holder for the Titans now but that doesn't change anything involving my love for the Seahawks <3 Emily also started working there! In fact she is on day two of training right now! She’s never worked at a restaurant before so it has been kind of an eye opener for her. Hopefully I can talk her into making a post this weekend to get her perspective! I think she can finally grasp the Kasey Musgrave's song "Blowin' Smoke"

Last Tuesday we found a Mexican restaurant that was advertising their $1.99 margaritas, so of course we decided to go in. Turns out Tuesday nights are trivia night so we decided to stick around and give it a shot. Two pitchers of margaritas later, we formed a two person team and called ourselves “West Coast Best Coast” and let’s just say we were terrible. In fact I think the exact words from the MC was “And ‘West Coast Best Coast’ with some of the best drawings but worst answers! Let’s just say they’re not winning…” We legitimately did not gain or lose a single point the entire game. The MC came up to us after the game to wish us words of encouragement for next time. We ended up talking to him and he volunteered to show us some more of Nashville! We went out that following weekend with him and his friend. It was pretty awesome; we got to explore “The Gulch”… which I guess is in-between Midtown (where Vanderbilt is) and downtown.

That same night I met a guy at the Hookah bar (which apparently we are regulars at now) who was trying to get people together for pickup soccer the next day. Of course I told him I’d join. We ended up playing at 4:00… holy moley the humidity was insane. I loved every second of it though : ) We’re working on putting together a team to play summer league!

Tomorrow will be our first Titans experience! Since we are season ticket holders we get free tickets to the scrimmage tomorrow. We're going to go for a few hours before work... I can't wait! Football season is here my friends!

Well I’m sitting at the pool now, and as much as I’d like to write more… I think it’s time to relax and enjoy my day off!

Until next time!

-AK

Picutres to follow... the internet is too slow right meow.

What 4th of July?

First and foremost, so sorry for the late post! It seems like we've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off for the last two weeks! I'm going to fill you in on the rest of the time Carly was here and let Em tell you about her first week in her new home!

*Apparently I should read my previous blogs before I start writing a new one. This one's going to be a more in-depth look at Carly's last days... which the blog before briefly touched on. I'm not going to rewrite this sucker so deal with it! Also sorry for the lack of pictures! 

Carly and I finally got to Nashville on the 1st of July. I mentioned in the previous post that we were way too anxious to arrive at our final destination that we completely rerouted our trip. The next day we hopped aboard the Red Neck Tour Bus (last time we visited Nashville we did the tour and met the tour guide and he was really helpful showing us all the local places rather than all the tourist hotspots). You're allowed to drink on the bus so naturally we did. After the tour Brian (the tour guide who you may also hear me call 'Tater' or 'Dougie Fresh') showed us the BEST burger joint in Nashville. It's called the Pharmacy and is located in East Nashville. If any of you lovely people come visit us, that's the first place we're going. East Nashville is full of hipsters and reminds me a lot of Seattle. Any time I feel like I might miss home I can just hop in my car, head to that part of town and quickly find a coffee shop, and find people in extra tight skinny jeans wearing black framed glasses and beanies. After that Brian took us to a bar called 'Douglas Corner Cafe.' Apparently it's Eric Church's favorite place in Nashville! Tuesdays are open mic night where singer/ songwriters come to play their songs. Carly and I instantly fell in love with the place. 
One of my most favorite things so far has been getting to know our neighbors. The two guys who live behind us, Jeff and Jeremy, are straight up rednecks. Carly and I somehow got involved in some intense golf cart races, golf cart doughnuts in the rain, sparkler bomb explosions and got our first lesson in fishing in the South. Their accents were just too much for me to handle at first. The best part about Jeff is the very first thing he said to me was "Washington? Yall like the Cougars or Dogs?" I told him I was a Husky fan, he agreed, and we became best friends!
Thursday brought us the 4th of July. The Band Perry was playing for free downtown. You can google "Music City 4th of July" just to get a feel for how crazy it was. The plan all along was to go down early, get a parking spot, bar hop until the concert started, and then watch the fireworks. Well as you know we don't do well with plans. It POURED all day. We got downtown with no umbrella around 1pm. Ran into BB Kings bar to escape the rain, grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered us a drink. Turns out our bartender used to be a cheerleader for the good ol' 49ers (gag me). She was trying to make a top to wear out after her shift with a couple of bandanas. Carly, being the art teacher, took her bandanas, some mardi gras beads, and a pair of scissors and whipped up a top for her right at the bar. Needless to say we got free drinks. The rest of the night was a blur. We met a group of guys from Chicago, some girls from Boston, and a couple more girls also from Chicago. We crashed a Bachelor party, drank straight from the pitchers at Paradise Park (a trailer park themed bar), got kicked out of Hooters, danced our butts off at the Honky Tonk and Tequila Cowboys (my two favorite bars) and ended up on the other side of town watching one of our friends (a guy we met at Douglas Corner) perform rather than The Band Perry and the fireworks.

Friday was a recovery day. We didn't leave the pool once.

Saturday we met up with the guys from Chicago. I'm going to paraphrase in order to keep this from being an even longer novel than it already is. Carly stole a bike, Carly stole a cell phone, Carly got drunk, Carly got lost, Carly was found in the bathroom, Carly had a shitty car ride back to the house, Carly got 2 hours of sleep, Carly had to be at the airport at 4am, Carly hated her life.

She's going to kill me for that.

I had four days by my lonesome until the lovely Emily arrived! Those days consisted of me sitting by the pool, buying Titans season tickets, finding a job working at Wild Buffalo Wings, lots of early morning runs, potato gun adventures with the neighbors, and most importantly, letting my liver recover from my adventures with Carly!

Until next time!
-AK

Carly's last day

LP Field

Honey I'm Home!

So our plans took a bit of a turn Sunday morning. Originally we were going to leave Chicago, head to Indianapolis, cut across to Branson, drop down to Little Rock, and then go through Memphis on our way to Nashville. When we eventually woke up Sunday morning we decided there was still more we wanted to see. We packed up and headed to the Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago. It was amazing to say the least! There were dolphins, sharks (my favorite), penguins, belugas, giant creepy snakes, and all sorts of other things. About five-thousand times bigger than our lovely aquarium back home. We were able to play with stingrays, and Carly got to see her first 4-D show, Ice Age the Melt Down. Since there was so much to see and do there, we got off to a little bit later of a start then expected. We finally made it back to the car around 1:00 or so and headed off the Indianapolis. 

The only reason we went to Indianapolis was to go and see the Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Man was it worth the stop! The stadium was HUGE. I thought the Seahawks and a nice field but this one kind of blew it out of the water. I decided when I get rich and retire I need to drive across the country again just to tour all the awesome stadiums. From Indianapolis we headed to Louisville Kentucky. Using our awesome brain power, we realized we could still use the hotel discount we had from Chicago and decided to stay downtown Louisville. It was a Sunday night so we didn't really have high expectations for the night life there, but decided to go out anyways. Well as you may have figured out from the previous posts, there is no such thing as a boring night with Carly and I. We headed to 4th ave., which is like a city all on it's own. We went to a place called the Sports and Social Club and took a seat at the bar. Seeing that they had bowling lanes for five dollars we decided to play. While waiting for lane assignment we ran into this guy who was frantically looking for his friends. Apparently his Army buddies were suppose to be at this bar and weren't. We decided to help the soldier-in-need by inviting him to bowl with us, at which point we became the three best friends that anyone could ever have. We bowled, we drank, and mingled to other bars, and once again, did not go to bed until at least 4am. 

Morning came and we decided to bail on the rest of our plans and just head to Nashville. We left around 10am and made our way to Mammoth Caves, which is the longest system of caves in the world, about 400 explored miles. 
Fact #1: caves are not made for almost 6ft tall people. I took on the alter ego of Gollum and gave a whole new twist to the tour. The caves were absolutely stunning. Way better then the Jewel Caves in South Dakota. We did the two-hour tour and then began our 2 hour drive to Nashville. 
Fact #2: Us Seattle people have not experienced rain like they have over here. We were forced to pull off the freeway and wait out the rain so we didn't die. Thankfully it only took a half hour or so for it to let up enough for us to keep driving.

And just like that we made it to Nashville : ) I have never been so happy. Right off the bat we found a Mexican restaurant that does 2 for 1 margaritas, which if you know me at all you know that that is my all time favorite thing. The last few days have consisted of us exploring the different areas of Nashville with a guy we met last time we visited. Conveniently enough he was a tour guide last time so he knew where all the good spots were. We had the best cheeseburger of our lives at a place in East Nashville called "The Pharmacy" found a local bar where singers and songwriters come to perform, and partied our little butts off on the 4th with all the random people we met. Life at my new house has been awesome as well. I have a ridiculous Mexican style pool that looks like a resort pool, crazy redneck neighbors who took us fishing in the dark, attempted to catch fireflies, had golf cart races and even went on a beautiful 2.5 mile run at the lake. 

I'm sad to say that Carly is leaving me Sunday, but she's promised to come back for  New Years Eve...which I recommend all of you do as well! I can't wait for Emily to finally be here and experience all that I've discovered and more : )
Until next time!
-AK

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

Colts Stadium

My pool!

Old Hickory Lake, right down the road from me

Our redneck tour 

White trash Redneck 4th of July