Our Brains Are Trying To Make Our Hearts Healthy

The first thing that happened:

Daddy left out the butter for the stuffing... BUT He realized with PLENTY of time to get it in there before it cooked. And it is pretty fantastic :) (I snuck a bite)

And THEN:
I left out the butter in my chocolate chip walnut pie... And when I realized it, I opened the oven to find that the pie had been spilling out over the sides of the crust for the 15 minutes it had been cooking. I had been bopping around saying "This pie is gonna be AWESOME" and was all pumped... and then I was ROYALLY deflated... for a number of reasons. Mamma and I turned the oven off, waited for it to cool, we scrubbed the pie goo that had baked itself to the bottom of the oven and the grates... Mamma kept saying "this is how you learn!"... and I tried with a last ditch effort to salvage what I had by stirring butter into the already partially cooked pie.

Well, we got the oven cleaned, and I somehow... some WAY... SAVED THE PIE! It's AMAZING. A-MAZ-ING. So, hmmm... There's a good lesson in there somewhere. I really thought I had completely screwed it up... and thought I was gonna have to make ANOTHER run to the grocery to start over. But NOPE! I didn't give up, and it worked out for the best in the end. :)

I didn't forget the butter in my next pie.

We celebrated today at Miguel and Jenn's (before my kitchen debacles began) and now we are preparing for the Ft. Stovall Thanksgiving feast that will be celebrated in the morrow. :)

Hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving. And even if you don't have more Thanksgivings to go to... I hope you enjoy those turkey sandwiches!!! Aren't those the best??

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Santa Needs a Swimsuit

It's been a LOOOONG day of driving. And I think I drove a stretch of interstate I've never driven before! We drove through Chattanooga and up to Knoxville. When you're coming from Nashville to get somewhere - you either go through one or the other... you never go through BOTH. It was weird.

But we got to stop at our favorite exit of the last 6 months - Hattiesburg Mississippi - for lunch! We have eaten in Hattiesburg way more times than we've eaten lunch at home since the summer!!! And we've never even played a show there! It's so funny how sometimes we get routed in ways where we keep stopping at the same place around the same time of day. McCallister's is usually our restaurant of choice. :) Some of the locations still have chocolate spoon cake!!!! MMMMmmmmm.

You something that's funny?? We were sitting in Red Robin (mmm Red Robin) tonight and Christmas songs were playing. I had this realization that I bet Christmas songs in America sound really funny to Miguel. It's summertime in Chile right now! He said that he always feels sorry for Santa Clause - when he has to make appearances outside... that red suit get HOT.

Snow, sitting by the fire, hot chocolate, bundling up - American Christmas songs all have SO much of that in them! And for Miguel, well... it's going swimming and suntan lotion and short sleeves.

It's all about perspective. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Why Georgia, Why?

Sooo....

Someone backed into the Suburban today in the parking lot. :( BUT it's not bad at all. It's just a little dent in the back driver's side door. So it's not a big deal... just annoying. You know, a lot more annoying than when NO ONE backs into your car.

I ran out to the burb to get a scarf and as I was locking up, the security guard for the parking lot said, "Ma'am. Is this your vehicle?" He said the guy didn't even realize he had done it and just kept going... they had to chase him down the parking lot, and get his info.

Today was FREEZING. It was 50. Which, yeah... isn't so bad. But the wind was blowing like crazy and there was no sun. By the last set, it was in the 40's and I could see my breath. And guess who broke ANOTHER fiddle string tonight!?!?! Crazy, right??

I would leave my hoodie on and take it off RIGHT before the show each time. And I'd fill up on hot chocolate... but that didn't help my fingers or fiddles! But hey. At least I wasn't one of the waterskiers. They stopped by our show before they had to go get ready for their 9:00 show. And you could just see the dread in their faces. It was rough. I don't know how they do it! One of the hot tub vendors let them jump in the hot tubs right after their show to warm up a little bit. Ughhh. I can't IMAGINE how cold that water is!

We had 3 fantastic shows today. But for some reason, the computer isn't letting me upload photos. Maybe tomorrow, ya'll. Hope everyone out in cyberland is having a good night! Try not to get backed into in the parking lots!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

How great is it that Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year? I hope that everyone did something fun - whether you are with a honey or just pampering yourself, or just binged out on some good ole fashioned chocolate!!!

Us? We left Pennsylvania this morning at 10am. It is currently 10pm and we are only a few hours from Nashville, YAY!!!! We get to spend the night there in our homes :) It worked out perfectly. We drive to Oklahoma tomorrow, so were just passing through on our way there. Just enough time for a quick kiss and hug for Valentine's Day :)

The best thing that happened so far today?
Miguel and I went to Wendy's during one of our stops. I ordered a Frosty and Miguel said "What's a Frosty?"

I said, "Well, it's kind of like a milkshake." Before I could say another word...

The guy behind the counter said "It's NOT a milkshake." And in complete exasperation he said "Here, I'll show you."

He got mine and showed it to Miguel to set me straight. I really think I hurt his feelings by saying a Frosty is similar to a milkshake. That kid takes his job really seriously.

We watched the second season of 30 Rock in the car today and right now we are watching "The Dark Night" I LOVE that movie.

I'm so excited with how the shows have been going lately. It's like there's a renewed energy with everyone since the start of the year. And this first little part of the trip has gone SO well. I haven't had a lot of time to really sit and write, BUT I have had a lot of great inspiration. That just means that when I am able to sit down and work on some stuff - it will be really productive :) Which is always a good thing. I don't do real well with deciding "I'm going to write a song today". I mean, I can... but my best work comes from when the inspiration seems to strike out of nowhere. :)

peace, love, fiddle y'all!

~natalie

MMMMmmmm Cookies

It is officially 4 am and I am one exhausted but completely satisfied little girl. I will tell you all about today's events during my 13 hour drive tomorrow. But I must say - if this week is ANY indication of the rest of the year, it is going to be the best year of my life. And I've had a lot of really good years so far.

But before I abandon you for the comforts of a warm bed on this cold Texas night.... I must leave you with my favorite wall decoration from the Coffee House we played tonight. It was conveniently placed on the wall in front of the toilet. :)



You should have seen the size of the chocolate chip cookie I ate tonight - it was the size of my head.

Peace, Love, Fiddle, oooo and chocolate.