Couchsurfing (Part One)

I just had the most spontaneous, action-packed, fun-filled weekend getaway ever!  And I did it as a couchsurfer.

Last week, I decided it was time to get healthy dose of my favorite city, Nashville.  It's such a great city and it always feels like home.  I was thinking about heading down on Friday after work and considering where I might stay.  Then I remembered something I had learned about in college called couchsurfing.  Couchsurfing is a way of finding a place to stay, meeting new people and sharing experiences.

I got on couchsurfing.org and searched for hosts in Nashville and found an abundance of potential hosts.  I started reading profile after profile, deciding who seemed safe, fun and like I would have something in common with them.  For those of you who are immediately jumping to the potential negatives of this form of tourism, let me throw out a couple of mind-easing tidbits.  The site is an incredible resource that offers piece of mind in many ways.  Some users have gone through a process to be verified for their identity and location.  All users have reviews if they have used the service as a surfer or a host, much like reviews on eBay.  You should check out the site.  It's really cool.  Everyone has a profile and you really get a good sense of who it is you are going to meet.

Garth Brooks sang, "I'll admit I tend to sing a different song.  Sometimes you just can't be afraid to wear a different hat.  If Columbus had complied this old world might still be flat.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, sometimes you've got to go against the grain."

I kind of look at life that way, and I certainly look at couchsurfing that way.  Life is one big lesson in assessing risks vs. potential benefits.  When I found someone's profile who I assessed as being low-risk, with very high potential benefits  I sent a request to stay with him for the weekend.

A short bit after I sent the request I got an email telling me my request had been accepted and I got a note from my host with his address and phone number.

Lots more details on the the experiences of my super-fun, action-packed weekend to come in another blog post this evening.

My host and me being silly with Prince Charming.

Disney on Ice

I had the pleasure of going to Disney on Ice a couple of days ago and wanted to share some pictures with you.  The show was an absolute blast.  It was a last second decision to go to the show and I went by myself, but I'm so glad I went.  It's as much fun for me as an adult as it was as a kid!

Homemade Thrill Ride

One day, in my early teen years my friends got a couple of snow mobiles.  The first time we got enough snow to try out the new toys my immediate thought was, "we could do some high-speed sledding if we tie some ski rope to these things."  So I went home and grabbed a ski rope and a tube sled and then directed one of the girls to get on the tube while I took the driver's seat.  

We went to an open lot on the other side of the neighborhood and I wish I had a picture of this lot for you.  It was probably less than an acre and there were a couple of obstacles.  On one side there was a little creek with banks that dropped probably 5'-6' down to the water.  On the other side there were one or two small trees.  Other than that, just a nice little space for us to ride around in circles. 

It didn't take long for me to figure out how to really get on the gas and maintain a higher speed as I made the loop.  Of course, as I gained speed I had to make wider loops.  Before long my friend was no longer on the tube and found her as I came back around on the next loop.  Poor girl, I had smacked her straight into the tree.  

After determining she probably didn't have any broken bones, it was decided that what was most important was to keep her awake in case she had a concussion.  So we got the snowmobiles back home and bribed her not to tell the parents by buying her lunch at Taco Bell.  Then we pumped her full of Mountain Dew  to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep and we were free and clear of trouble!  

Good times.

So let's advance to 2013... Yesterday at half past noon, my phone rang and it was a friend of mine asking me if I thought we could tow a sled behind his four wheeler.  

Heeheeheehee

Boy I'm telling you I hopped out of that bed so quick and found some winter gear to go play in the snow.  

I got over there and he didn't have ski rope, but he had a really long rope and some carabiners.  We made it work.  

Unbeknownst to me, he has a racing quad, not a four wheel drive quad (I didn't know there was such a thing as a quad that wasn't four wheel drive).  Whenever he tried to get the thing to go, the back tires would send snow and then mud flying high in the air trying desperately to get enough grip to move forward.  

Once we got it moving I grabbed hold of the rope, hopped on the tube and we started flying across the field.  There was so much snow in my face I couldn't see a thing, but I was having a blast.  Next thing I knew, I felt a bump followed by the feeling of flying through the air and finally hitting the ground.  I immediately felt water soaking through my Carhartts and looked down to find myself sitting in a giant mud hole.  I couldn't think of anything else to do except laugh hysterically and hop back on.

The tube started loosing air after that so we tried another type of sled that really didn't work out.  I was flipping off of it as soon as we started to move each time.  I finally figured out that if I hung on to the rope after I flipped off, I could just let the quad drag me on my belly across the ground.  Of course that also ended up a muddy mess when the downward force of me hanging on so low behind it caused the back end of the quad to sink again.

It was a good day.

Santa Claus Came to Town

I've missed writing SO much the last couple of weeks!  Just when I thought life was going to slow down and give me nothing but time to write, read, cook and relax, everything got flipped upside down.  Such is life, huh?  At any rate, I’m back and very excited to begin sharing with you once more.

The entire week leading up to Christmas and the week that followed are a blur for me.  My grampa suddenly went back to the hospital and was released to the nursing home.  Just as he was getting settled back in at home, his health took another dive.  That certainly shook up Christmas plans a bit, but it certainly didn't ruin anything.  My wonderful family adjusted their plans and made sure we were all together and that grampa got to see everyone. 

A few days before Christmas, my mom and dad came to town and stayed at my house for a night.  We had a blast.  It’s the first time they've stayed at my house since I moved away eight years ago, so it was super special.  They also spent a night at each grandparent’s house while they were in town.  We had a great time together, telling stories, eating great food, visiting with relatives… all the things that make it feel like Christmas time.

One of my favorite activities that I got to share with them was shooting.  A few firearms, LOTS of ammunition, and my Halloween pumpkins made for great fun at the lake.  I bought myself a new gun for Christmas so I was dying to play with it and share it with anyone who wanted to fire it.  Mom didn't think she would enjoy shooting at all, but she was the one who couldn't wait for me to reload the magazine and hand it back to her. 

On Christmas Eve, I went to see grampa at the nursing home and brought him his gift.  He’s carried a knife everywhere he’s gone for most of his life.  Many of his knives were sold in the auction earlier this year and his normal pocket knife has become very dull.  Knowing this, I ordered him a great new SOG knife.  He liked it right away and got in some good therapy for his hands learning to unfold and re-fold it.  It’s quite a challenge for his weak, numb fingers, but after a few times, he was opening and closing it almost with ease. 

It was great to see him with a knife and I knew he would have ten uses for it within the next day.  In fact, he found a use for it immediately.  Someone had brought him a jar of pickled eggs (gag!) for Christmas, but he didn’t have any silverware in his nursing home room to fish them out with.  Before I knew it, he had that new knife submerged in the pickled egg jar and was stabbing at eggs.  He ate one and then carefully cleaned and dried the new knife.  It brought new meaning to the saying, “Where there’s a will there’s a way.”

Later that evening I got to go over to my aunt and uncle’s house and visit with the cousins for a while.  One of my cousins is in the Navy and currently in Africa, but her husband and two little girls were in town.  It was the next best thing to having her there with us.  I don’t typically know what to do with kids (I think I’m missing that maternal gene to some degree), but with those two, I always have the time of my life.  They are so happy and friendly.  They melt my heart with their innocence and beauty.  I can’t get enough of hugging them and playing with them.  Having them around was a great Christmas gift in itself.

Here are a few fun pictures from Christmas weekend in my world.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a fantastic new year in 2013!

Mom and Dad inspecting their gifts

I've put bows on my head for longer than anyone can remember

Mama playing sharp shooter with my new gun

Nothing like firearms and deer sausage

Me, grama and mom (grama got in the spirit with bows on her head too!)

Day after Christmas "Blizzard"

I made a fire once the snow stopped