Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'

I did it. I survived the first part of tour! Okay, so it was only four days, but it still counts. 

The bus was quite nice, so sleep wasn't actually impossible. I brought my new pillow and blanket which made a world of difference. Although I don't really know what it would have been like without those. Peaches, my monkey from Matt, also came along. The bunks each have individual lights, outlets, pocket on the wall, and even a little curtain to pull across which keeps light out. Since we traveled overnight, we typically were at our venue by the time we woke up. This was especially nice with entering different time zones. 

We keep most of our stuff under the bus so that there's more space up top. Well... I got ready the first day in OK, and found that my hairspray had exploded, so there were a few less outfits to wear. And a lot less hairspray to use.

[Mental note to self: make sure hairspray cans have a lid.]

The churches had great food - we even had Chic-fil-a, and it was wonderful. And the venues had great play areas for the kids, which was awesome when helping to watch four children, all under the age of 4. We played lots of hide-and-seek, "catch," and even had a bakery at one point - I'm pretty sure cars became cookies. 

Long as the days were, it's been incredibly rewarding. The kids are starting to warm up to me, which is encouraging, as I don't spend as much time with them when we're home. Tomorrow, though, I get to spend the day with the kids (not on a bus) to give the other nanny a day off. So today, as we just got home from OK (yes, we most definitely sang Oklahoma! songs while there, and John Denver songs while in CO), I am spending most of my day in bed relaxing and catching up on sleep. Although, I should probably (most definitely) shower at some point, obviously get coffee since I run on coffee AND it's National Coffee Day, and then also get dinner when that time comes. I've been snacking on iced animal crackers, mini-chocolate chip cookies and wheat thins. I'm thinking some veggies and fruit might be a good idea. Perhaps. Or, pizza. Yes, I think pizza.

I would like to proudly announce that driving myself home this morning, I did so without the help of any GPS. You could say I'm basically a native. Okay, false, but still. After being on a bus, and driving through a torrential rainstorm, I was pretty proud of myself. 

I miss everyone back home, but I truly am loving it down here in Nashville. I get to work with amazing people and even through the craziness, my job is really awesome. The next run is much longer than four days, so I have some time to prepare myself for that, rethink how to pack/what to bring. Hanging out with kids all day means bringing extra shirts. Lesson learned.

Pretty excited for the Fall weather to make its way down here to Nashville - I'm ready for sweaters and boots. Mostly because I love Fall, but also because that's mostly what I brought with me... I left my other clothes in Hershey. Oops. Oh well, soon I suppose. I hope.

Time to do something. Maybe. Stay warm up there - if you're cold. 

Happy trails to you all, 
Ellie

TennessEllie

It's been a while since I've written, but I've been a tad busy, what with moving to Nashville and everything. This one might be a bit of a doozy, so I apologize in advance. I would like to report that I have gotten down here to Nashville, and I am loving it. So much. 

My adventure began on Wednesday (9/16) and I officially arrived on Thursday (9/17). While the drive was fairly easy, with the occasional lack of love for truck drivers, it was all pretty smooth. I split the trip into two days, mostly because I had never been to Nashville prior to this move. Wednesday was a longer day, and I was insanely happy when I saw the sign for my hotel exit. After 7 or so hours on the road, by myself, all I wanted was my hotel room. Long, painful and emotional story short, I almost didn't have a room. But everything worked out thankfully, God provided, and I had a room, TWO beds (I'm just that cool), pizza delivered to my room with just enough cash, a hot shower and complimentary chocolate cookies which were probably some of the best cookies I've ever had. 

While I wasn't looking forward to driving again on Thursday, my excitement to get to Nashville took over. I made one stop, to get gas, for $1.95. WHAT?! Yet another awesome-sauce reason to live in the South. 

Side note before the story continues: I had originally planned on living in an Extended Stay Hotel when not on the road, but less than a week before I moved, one of my coworkers contacted me about a friend who had an open room in a HOUSE! So I am now living with this beautiful woman of God, Sarah, and loving life. 

So anyway, I had told Sarah that I would be arriving at whatever time in the afternoon, but I forgot about the time zone change. Yes, we are CT and an hour behind all my friends on the East Coast. This made me even more excited when I realized I wouldn't be in the car for a million hours. When I pulled into the development, I had to make sure I wasn't speeding because I was that excited to meet Sarah, and also I just really wanted to get out of the car. At first I didn't get out, because I was over an hour early. Oops. But I went to the door, and this big smile came across her face, hugged me and I instantly knew this was going to be an awesome place to live, and that Sarah was even more awesome. 

After a quick tour of the house, and an introduction to my own little part of the house, we started unloading the car. And then I started moving in - of course, I looked like I packed the kitchen sink along, but I've already realized that I've forgotten stuff back in Hershey. C'est la vie. Sarah had to teach piano lessons - she's a boss musician and is in a group called High Road Music which y'all should check out because they're great - so I had an evening to just chill. I wasn't fully dead, just mostly dead. I finished moving everything in and then found the couch. I know, I should've gone and explored. Sorry, but no; I was so tired. I realized after a while, that I was incredibly hungry. I happened to have a gift card to Chili's and there's a Chili's five minutes from my house. So I ordered it online, picked it up and came back to the house to eat. Sarah got home, we chatted for a little, and then I got everything ready for Friday, my first day at Getty Music. AHH! Outfit chosen and approved by my awesome-sauce boyfriend, I went to bed "early" so I was ready for the next day. 

Sarah woke up to wish me good luck on my first day and I was off. She and I are kindred spirits, especially due to our love for Starbucks coffee. And there happens to be one also five minutes from home. Did I stop and get a PSL?! Yes, I most certainly did. The drive to work was great and then I was there, at the Getty office. If anyone saw me walking in, I probably looked like I had taken 10 espresso shots. I was that excited. I made my way to the floor, found one of my bosses, and instantly knew this is where I'm supposed to be. I met people in the office, got a tour of everything and settled in. A bunch of us went to Ted's Montana Grill which is in Nashville, and I ate the best burger of life. Seriously, it was so good. I had to use the Guy Fieri hunch to eat it. Check out Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives if you have absolutely NO idea what I'm talking about. After lunch, we worked the rest of the afternoon and then I left around 5:00pm. 

Sarah and I decided to have a dinner date, so we traveled to Franklin, and ate at Puckett's, which is a fanTAStic BBQ place. We walked around this cute little town (seriously, it reminded me of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls). There's a chocolate and candy shop there, which has all on-site, homemade candy - every dentist's nightmare. Sarah and I each got a truffle and it was perhaps one of the most heavenly things I have ever eaten. And that's saying a lot, because all of the food I've had since moving here has been AMAZING! Unfortunately, Sarah had to be up at 4am on Saturday to leave for a gig, so it was basically straight to bed when we got home. Except for backing a van with a trailer attached into her driveway. No idea if the neighbors were watching, but if they were, I'm sure it was quite entertaining. 

Saturday, I ran some errands, hit up Starbucks again (I have a feeling they're going to know me preeeeetty well, preeeeetty soon). Some coworkers were having a cookout, so I went there for a while, met some new people (yay, I'm making friends) and ate SO MUCH FOOD! PA, prepare yourself for me to come home very large and somewhat in charge. I stopped over at my friends Andrew & Megan's house and saw some people from back in the day. I'm falling in love with this place more and more. 

Since it's just me this weekend, I decided to attend Bedside Baptist (I just stayed home). I'm still figuring out the lay of the land and learning where everything is down here. Today should be fairly relaxed; I might venture out for lunch. We'll see. Then again, food here is rockin' so it will probably actually happen. 

Missing y'all back home, but absolutely loving life down here. I may just become a Southern girl after all. ;) Also, shoutout to Matt for my title. It's a thing. 

My time is up and I thank you for yours, 

Ellie