Sharing the love

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . May 11, 2010 . 8:30PM

Sometimes, someone says something in a way that I wish I could or hoped I could or want to, but just can’t. And those are the times that I ask you to read something someone else wrote in the hopes that it can make you feel the way I felt when I read it.

So, please read this post. You’ll be glad you did. It speaks to the heart of how Nashvillians feel right now.

Hello America Letter

Nashville Flooding

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . May 4, 2010 . 1:01AM

I’m tired. There was flooding in Nashville all weekend, but with the national coverage, you would really only think it happened today and was over in a short time. Franklin, TN has areas that are wiped out. Nashville has areas that are wiped out. So do the other surrounding areas.

Because I’m tired, I’m also incoherent. I should have written this post about 5 hours ago, but I was just really happy to be in my house. I spent the weekend at my friend Bryan’s parent’s house (did you get that?) where I was essentially trapped for the weekend due to the weather. Thankfully, his parents are gracious and were incredibly accommodating.

Please keep the people of Nashville in your thoughts. Nashville has a small downtown area and is made up of the surrounding areas, all which were hit very hard. We have many dead and our schools in the downtown area are still out. There is possible contamination of our water and we are under orders to conserve.

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Credit to my anonymous picture donor, who knows who he is.

We are not anonymous. We are a community of people who stick together and work hard to make Nashville an amazing place to live. This is devastating.

Edit: Please go read this link for another personal flood story: http://twt.tl/6lUMyOp

Let it snow!

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . January 7, 2010 . 5:53PM

In Tennessee, we rarely experience snow. Our weather doesn’t fluctuate often and this week we experienced our most extreme temperatures as they dropped down to single digits. Luckily, this happens, at most, once or twice a year. We may get snow 2-3 times a year. As I grew up in Illinois, snow doesn’t bother me and I am fine with driving on ice, black ice, freezing rain and snow.

People from Tennessee do not share this sentiment with me.

In fact, I would say that the term that applies to the fine folks here is “scared to death of snow and ice.” Last night, before a single flake of snow had fallen or flurried, the mere thought of snow had schools cancelled. This is how it has been here for the duration of the time I’ve lived here.

Schools have been cancelled tomorrow due to the threat of refreezing. Logically, I understand this. There are plenty of winding roads and hills and valleys here. Buses cannot safely travel them and if you can’t get kids to school safely, school should be cancelled.

What I don’t understand is the mad rush to the grocery stores to buy necessities? At most, the snow will last one day. I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t have a days worth of food in their home. Those that don’t have food don’t have the funds to mad rush Kroger.

When I lived in rural Arkansas, storms knocked the power out for days and it couldn’t be restored. They had a genuine reason for fear. In the Metro Nashville and surrounding areas, we generally don’t experience this phenomenon.

I’m not knocking my TN folks. I love living here and the people are second to none. I’ve just lived in different conditions. We’d go to school in 6 inches of snow. Teenagers, myself included, drove in it. Nothing was canceled and even when there was little heat in the schools, we went. No, I didn’t walk in 3 feet of it, smart alecks. But we did have the old school radiators and it was cold!

I just think it’s kind of…wimpy.

There. I said it. I think it’s wimpy.

I want enough snow to make forts like we used to when I was a kid and lived across from a church. They would plow the church and the entire small neighborhood would choose a side of the plowed area, dig into it and we’d have serious snowball fights. We’d sled down the 8-10 foot forts for hours. When we were done, we’d go into the house, have some hot chocolate, warm up, and be back out within the hour.

As I got older, and had older friends, we took it to the next level. There were bigger sleds and bigger hills at the park. One friend had a house in a rural setting and four, yes four, of us went down a hill at a time. I remember being between Rich and Chad and the sled tilting as we crashed into trees. I had a huge scrape on my cheek, but I couldn’t stop laughing.

Or Dave and I power sledding down what we thought was snow, but was really ice on the largest hill in the park. That was a huge mistake.

Or James and I attempting to snowboard down the hill behind his house and me biting it and vowing that I would never faceplant again because I was “never doing this crap snowboarding” again.

Or Jenny and Rachael throwing snowballs at me while I tried to get in the fort more quickly.

Or Olivia sprinkling Reindeer food on the snow so Santa would come.

Yes, please let it snow. I want my son to have memories like mine, too. Even if it’s just 2 inches of snow to make angels in or some flurries.

New hair color and cut = great day

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . October 21, 2009 . 11:05AM

Some days are just fantastic. It’d been a long time since I’d had one that put me at one with the all good and I was in need of something stellar to change the funky mood I’d been in for the last several days. Over the weekend, I went to a training that had me look inward and clean out some of the mental gunk I’d accumulated. As this felt like 9 hours of therapy for 3 days straight, I wasn’t exactly feeling up to being happy or sociable. My esteem was in the crapper and I felt down.

However, Tuesday rolled around and it was time for some change. I’d scheduled a cut, color and highlights with my friend Chris, who is an awesome stylist. He’s been taking care of me for almost 2 1/2 years and, beyond being good at what he does, we have a good time when we are together. He’s one of those people that I feel like I can be myself with in that he’s going to get my jokes and he might even laugh at them. We’ll sit and talk for 3 hours with no awkwardness and I’ll leave feeling like I’m caught up on his life and, hopefully, he’s caught up on mine. It’s a good relationship and there are precious few of those around lately.

I got to hear about old women and dirty Subway jokes, political jokes that we have to whisper, just in case the other patrons might hear and I can tell him that my theme for this haircut is “Hot. Just make me look hot. I don’t care what you do to it” and know that it’s going to happen. And it did. And he’s awesome. At one point, his co-worker, who’d kept himself in the majority of our conversation, had commented that he liked to laugh, too, because we were both laughing so hard that Chris had to stop working.

Rare friendships. I love those.

Well, what do you think? It’s got some red in it, as well as some blonde. Oh, and there is a Chris in the picture, too. I’m not getting rid of anyone that says “You already are” when I tell him to make me pretty. Nope. He’s a keeper. I’m not telling you anything else that was said. We share an odd sense of humor.

Besides spending time with one of my favorite people, as well as the best stylist in the area, I got to see one of my besties, Kristin. I rarely go to her neck of the woods, as it’s almost an hour away and there is more to do in my area. However, it’s where Chris is and my hair isn’t going to take care of itself, though wouldn’t that be awesome? “Hair, color yourself!”

Anyway, I happened to choose the day that Kristin only works until 3, which was awesome because I was done around 3:30. I hugged Chris goodbye and set off to the mall. Leon and AJ, who’d both taken a couple of days off for fall break, decided to meet us there after Leon hurt himself playing golf. I’m not going to say a word about golf. Nope. Not a word. It was a somewhat last minute decision that Leon and AJ would come to do some mall-wandering and ended with all of us going to Olive Garden.

I love Olive Garden.

I want to marry Olive Garden and have little olive-ettes.

Then, on the drive home, which was blissfully quiet except for some *whispering* country */whispering* music, I was treated to a sunset that literally brought me to tears. One of the reasons I love Nashville so much is the scenery. There is something so beautiful about the rolling hills and the trees and the natural rocks. When I turn a corner, I’m treated to something new and amazing with every breath. Sorry for the junky windshield pictures. I’m too lazy to clean it and too mystified by the beauty of it to not share it with you.

As I pulled into Franklin, I swore I heard bells. The closer I got to Five Points (an area of historic downtown), the louder they pealed. As I checked for signs of neurological disorder, I realized that I was driving closer to one of the beautiful historic churches in the area. Someone was ringing the bells and it was glorious. The bells and the sunset and the sky and day I’d had…it was all too much.

What a wonderful day. Can I please have more of these?

Gorgeous Nashville weather and a birthday!

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . October 1, 2009 . 11:42AM

It has been just beautiful here the last several days. My understanding is that the rain will return shortly, but I’ve enjoyed having my sunroof open and watching the Nashvillians actually drive like they know how. I took some pictures of the clear skies and beautiful clouds.

Days like these motivate you to do something. Rain makes me want to curl on the couch with my book or my nap blanket, and hermit away the hours in someone else’s life for a while. The sunshine either makes me want to hide my head under said blanket or roast my porcelain skin so I can feel the sun on my hair. It’s almost as if mother nature finally sent the memo to Nashville: fall has come. The air is crisp and has the clean scent of the season.

Fall is my favorite. I am excited to take pictures of the changing leaves and hills here. I love to wear my blue jeans and long sleeves and a jacket and turn the heat on for just a minute to defrost my car in the morning. I love hot chocolate and clear night skies to look at the moon and stars. I like the lack of bugs and the increase in orange and all the Halloween decorations that show the fun side of people that normally come across as, well, a bit rigid.

Fall break comes in two weeks. Maybe I will finally take the time to explore the Civil War areas around here. Granted, the area I live in is all historical area, but we never go to see the “sight-seeing” places. I think that people that live in towns rarely do. There is beauty surrounding me here. Fall brings it out in full force. I’m exhilarated by it.

Oh! Yesterday was a big day in our house. We had 6 very merry UNbirthdays and 1 very merry birthday to celebrate! We did so with ice cream with a side of ice cream. It’s how it should be for his day. AJ looked at the cake and said, “Mama, you are making my mouth slobber!” Happy UNbirthday today to Leon.