The Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry has been entertaining Country Music fans since 1925. 

Country greats such as: Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Patsy Cline, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Alison Krauss, and Willie Nelson have graced the stage of the Opry and have recently been joined by artists like: Dierks Bentley, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Josh Turner, and Carrie Underwood.  No matter what night you go, there is sure to be a great show!

The Grand Ole Opry concerts are broadcast live on WSM-AM (and Willie's Roadhouse XM Satelite Radio channel 56, and Sirius channel 64) on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, but there is nothing like GOING to a show at the Opry!







Last week's blog was about my birthday, and I forgot to mention one of my presents were two tickets to the Opry! It was a such a great show, so I thought I would share a little bit of it with y'all!

First you had Little Jimmy Dickens (a well known member of the Opry) ...

Followed by Steel Magnolia (who won "Can You Duet" a few years ago ...)

Then a killer line up of ...

David Nail

Rascal Flatts

and Blake Shelton

I have videos, however they are not uploading, 

so the pictures are going to have to do for now! 

Outside of the Opry there are two guitars, which after the show are flooded by fans wanting to take a picture.  

We had to join the crowds and get our pictures too. A night at the Opry just isn't complete after all until you have them in your camera!

My night at the Opry was SO fun! I hope y'all get to go sometime. It's totally worth the trip! I have heard the Opry described as a big family and they seem to love to share the stage with the other members of the group! So you never know who you'll see and what guest appearances might happen on the night you go.

When the candles blow out ...

Birthdays have always carried mixed feelings for me! (We'll get to that later) First - let me tell you why this was one of the best birthdays I've ever had!! 

(Then we'll get into the epiphany I had ...) 

But first things first!

The celebration of my birthday started with my roommate taking me out for dessert! It was way too big, and way too delicious, but hey - it's my birthday so it doesn't matter, right?! 

Later on that night, 

a very special guy 

decided to make me dinner! 

Mmm, my favorite!

Ever since my first birthday I have always had the same cake, and in fear of not having that this year, I made my own. Little did I know after dinner there would be a cake ... so we had two!! Better more cake than no cake! I was once told that everyone should blow out a candle on their birthday ... it's totally true!! EVERYONE should blow out a candle on their birthday! That's one of the things that separates your birthday from the other 364 days of the year!

 I was once told that everyone should blow out a candle on their birthday ... it's totally true!! EVERYONE should blow out a candle on their birthday! That's one of the things that separates your birthday from the other 364 days of the year! (P.S. This year I learned that even though I sing all the time, I apparently still need to work on my lung and sustaining power)! 

 The next birthday celebration happened the next day. My friends and I have a tradition to go out to dinner for birthdays after our bible study class - so we did! Here are some of my friends who came out that night! What a fun group!

After dinner, 7 of us girls decided to go back to my friends condo and watch a movie, "She's the Man", eat these delicious cupcakes, and do what girls do ... chat, for hours! A great ending to a great night!

I have been blessed with two of the BEST girlfriends ever! 

We decided to go out and have some GREAT Japanese food to celebrate! 

 Then my girlfriend surprised me with ... 

AMAZING CUPCAKES!

Over all it was an Incredible day ... week actually. One I was not expecting to have. Birthdays have always carried mixed feelings for me. I was torn because it was my birthday and I should be enjoying it, but yet I was another year older ... and what really constitutes a GREAT birthday? People always say "Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day!" But what does that mean? As I have gotten older the more I have begun to realize that the day your birthday falls on is just another day. Work goes on, school continues, and things happen. And since people can't really drop everything when a birthday comes around ... what SHOULD be done on a birthday to make it feel special. Yes it's  day you were born, but why should it be special/important to anyone else?

These questions continued until the day of my birthday. I was getting countless messages on Facebook wishing me a "Happy Birthday", friends were texting me, however it didn't seem the day was very special and I couldn't figure out why. I realized it was because of the attitude I had (which I described above). Soon I realized the reason birthdays are a big deal to people, and should be a big deal to people, is because that is the day YOU were born. Without that day, you would not be here. Granted you would have been born on a different day, but then the dilemma starts all over again. So, the reason why people say "Happy Birthday" and the reason YOUR birthday is special to THEM is because they are glad you are here. They are glad to have your friendship and to know you. Without you there would be a lot of things that would be different in the world, a lot of people that would be different in the world, more than you would/could probably image. 

So ... I would challenge everyone to take this year to see the reasons why people are grateful YOU are here. We often see the best in others and only the worst in ourselves! Everyone has the power inside of them to do great things if they only let themselves, so let yourself! That way next year on your birthday you'll be grateful for the day you were born, because you are grateful for you!   

Thank you for the people who made this year's (and every year's) birthday great! Until next year ...