Howdeeeee!!!

I feel it is only fair to greet everyone in our new city in the words of the infamous Minnie Pearl.  Music City is wonderful and Christopher and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to move here and call Nashville home!  Christopher loves his job at The VA Hospital and I love my job at a chiropractic and wellness center.

Since our move just a mere two months ago, we have said to each other EVERY DAY, "I just love Nashville."  And, that is so true!  From the quaint suburbs of the city to the honky tonk bars downtown on Broadway, to the locally owned eateries and southern hospitality, we truly believe God wanted us to call this place home.  

Being in a new city means visitors!  

In August, we hosted a special group...our nieces and nephew!  Ridge, Halie and Kennedy flew to Nashville by themselves and spent 5 days with us.  We spent time exploring the city, eating Gigi's cupcakes, buying cowboy boots and preparing for a big surprise.  Christopher and I took the teenagers to the Grand Ole Opry to see Carrie Underwood.  It was definitely the highlight of the week.  No words can describe how awesome our time was with Ridge, Halie and Kennedy!

My Mom and Dad spent Labor Day weekend with us.  Again, we spent our time together exploring Nashville and Franklin.  We had successful shopping days and found delicious restaurants!  

...Wine Tasting at Kix Brooks' Winery, Arrington Vineyards...

...Lunch at Nolensville Amish Market...

It has also been nice being so close to Kentucky.  We have been fortunate enough to spend time with Christopher's family as well.

...At the Kentucky State Fair...

And, weekend getaway trips are so easy when you're just a few hours from doing fun things!

...White Water Rafting on the Ocoee River with Amy & Nick...

...At the FedEx Golf Championship Tournament in Atlanta...

Now, that we can say Nashville is our new home, we can also say we are very close to planting some roots here too.  If all goes well with the inspection and appraisal, we will be first-time homeowners at the end of November; just in time to move in before Christmas!

...Home Sweet Home...

Needless to say, all is well in Nashville! :)

My Sweet Nanny June

As mentioned in my previous post, we lost our sweet Nanny June on July 6.  She lived a beautiful life of 87 years filled with nothing but pure love and admiration for her children, grandchildren and great-children.  She was a wonderful woman who I miss so dearly everyday.

Nanny lived and breathed for her family.  She loved to attend church plays, piano recitals, end of school year functions and so much more.  But, what was most special to me is that Nanny attended every single dance recital of mine, with the exception of one, and she was always one of the first people to kiss, hug and congratulate me afterwards.  She was a proud Nanny of all of her family!

Nanny loved Christmas.  Every year, Nanny handpicked a Hallmark ornament for each great-grandchild and each unmarried grandchild.  She spent hours looking through the Hallmark magazine and in the store until she found just the right one!  She loved nothing more than the family Christmas party and passing out each ornament to each child.  I, too, love my Hallmark ornaments and will cherish them for my entire life!

Nanny loved to spoil you.  She knew what your favorite candy was, what your favorite ice-cream flavor was and even what your favorite TV show was.  She was always ready for company and always had your favorite thing in the kitchen!

                              

Nanny loved the beach.  She could lay in the sun for hours soaking up all the sunshine rays.  She loved to feed the seagulls, pick sea shells and build drip sandcastles. 

I will miss my sweet Nanny June forever.  But, I will cherish our sweet memories forever and ever.  From sleepovers and late nights of playing UNO, to having her visit my home in Florida, to her falling in love with my dog Derby, to the best back scratches in the entire world, to her contagious smile and beautiful blue eyes, I will cherish these memories forever and ever. 

                                           

Goodbye Spring! Hello Summer!

This is a very outdated post, but worthy of reading.  It was to be posted toward the end of May, but do to busy schedules, planning for a move, my grandmother's passing and more, pictures were never uploaded and the post sat in my "drafts" folder.  Nonetheless, here it is (without pictures). 

*****

It's hard to believe that summer is here and June is almost over!  Wow!  2012 is flying by!

Here is a recap of what the Carter's have been up to lately.

April was filled with fun weekend roadtrips with friends. 

First, we ventured to Atlanta.  We packed up the car with Brian & Amanda and our 3 dogs and made way to stay with our friends, Kim & Mike.  The weekend was filled with lots of laughs, great food from Highland Bakery, The Flying Biscuit, Fox Brothers and more eateries, plus a day at Piedmont Park and a night rooting on a victory for the Atlanta Braves.

Then, we traveled to Jacksonville Beach to celebrate the wedding of Matt & Marie!  It was a LECOM reunion for sure.  It is crazy to think in just 5 years of knowing each other, there are now 3 married couples, an engaged couple, a baby and lots of successful pharmacists!  It was a great weekend of reminiscing, celebrating and having lots of fun together.

The first weekend in May would not be complete without a Derby Party!  We actually had a Derby-Cinco-Birthday Party...celebrating all things Christopher Carter!  The Derby Party was filled with Southern eats, horse betting, and the infamous Mint Julep.  After the running of the roses, we ventured downtown with friends for a Cinco de Mayo dinner.  No party would be complete without celebrating a birthday; and that's just what we did.  It was a great evening with friends celebrating Christopher's birthday, his Kentucky heritage and the fact that he looks Mexican.

Also in May, we ventured to Palm Beach with Christopher's family to enjoy our Christmas present from Christopher's mom, Gayle.  We spent the weekend under the sun, on the beach, playing games, drinking wine and just enjoying each other's company.  We always have a great time together!  Thank you Gayle for a fabulous weekend!

Not long after that, Christopher and I spent the weekend in North Carolina celebrating Nanny's 87th Birthday!  We were so blessed to spend the weekend with my entire family.  It was Nanny's request to have the entire family at her party.  Nanny suffered a stroke the end of January; recovery for her was good and she was released to live at home just a few short weeks after rehabilitation and therapy.  Then, 3 months to the date, she had 2 more strokes, this time affecting her speech, gross and fine motor skills.  Her birthday celebration was beautiful as she was surrounded by her family.  Nanny suffered another stroke just this past weekend, further hindering her ability to swallow and care for herself.  She remains in a nursing home facility and is very weak, tired and emotional. 

With the past 3 months of devotion to Nanny's health and well-being, my parents took a much needed break and spent Memorial Day weekend with Christopher and myself.  It was a great weekend filled with much needed R&R for them.  We did so much...as always!  First, no trip to Florida would be complete without a sushi fest at our favorite restaurant, Thai Wasabi.  Mom and I enjoyed a day at the Saturday Market, massages and pottery painting.  Then, we surprised my parents by taking them out on a boat around Treasure Island.  They enjoyed it just as much as we did!  I'm so glad they were able to come and enjoy time in the Sunshine State.

*****
As you can see, it definitely is a dated post.  Since the original draft, we have decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee as Christopher received an incredible job opportunity as a staff pharmacist at the VA Hospital.  We are moving Saturday, July 21 to Music City!  We just returned from North Carolina celebrating the beautiful and incredible life of my sweet Nanny June; as you read her health diminished very quickly over the past 6 months due to several strokes.  I plan to write a special post just for her very soon.  We hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the hot summer days!   

 

 

Off to a Good Year!

2012 has thus far been a year of busy weekends, time with family and friends and even a relaxing vacation!

In January, we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom with some friends. We enjoyed a day at the park and a delicious birthday dinner for one of Christopher's co-residents, Amy, at the Grand Floridian. We also hosted a fun Super Bowl Party complete with tons of food, burgers and hot dogs on the grill and even a TV outside to watch the game.
February was complete with a wine tasting event and dinner with friends, a week long visit from Christopher's mom, Gayle, a chili cook-off tasting in Downtown St. Pete and lots of basketball watching preparing for March Madness!

In preparation for March Madness, Christopher and I ventured to Gainesville to see Kentucky take on the Gators and add another 'W' to the record. We spent the weekend with our dear friend, John Thomas, and his new puppy, Duke. Duke and Derby had a great time playing, just as much fun as we had with John Thomas.

Christopher and I just returned from a fabulous 4-day cruise to the Western Caribbean. The trip was so relaxing and so fun; we are already looking into planning our next one. He and I both had not been on cruises since our high school graduation trips, almost 10 years ago. Wow! Nonetheless, it was a great time filled with lots of sunshine, great food and drinks and sightseeing in Cozumel.

Now that Spring has sprung in Florida, we are looking forward to some beach time, planting a garden, continuing to be on the job hunt for Christopher, enjoying a beach wedding for Matt and Marie in April, traveling to West Palm Beach for a family vacation with Gayle, Gary and Brandon, cheering on the Tar Heels and Wildcats in the NCAA tournament and so much more.

PS - If UNC and UK make it to the Final Four, we plan to go to NOLA for the championship weekend. Monetary donations would be greatly appreciated for this venture! :)