Hanging with the Girls at Arrington Vineyards

A few weeks ago, my girlfriends and I had a picnic at Arrington Vineyards on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in July. We had a fantastic time and the weather could not have been more perfect!

Here's a view of the vineyard from where we sat.

This gorgeous barn was off in the distance - so pretty!

A lot of people had the same idea we did! This is a view of the tasting room and store. We camped out on the hill along with a few hundred other folks!

There were lots of laughs...(this is Emily and Jan)

...along with lots of good food and wine! (this is Cara and Katie)

After a while, we actually got chilly. We started wrapping up in our blankets...in JULY! It was crazy.

As the sun went down, we decided it was time to go (and they told us to leave!)

But we couldn't leave with a good group shot! We had a fantastic time - we're so glad Jan had the idea. We can't wait until next time!

Second Annual Bailey's Barkin' BBQ

Earlier this month, we hosted the second annual Bailey's Barkin' BBQ. (And yes, our dog, Bailey, is the hostess of all of our parties.) As usual, we had a great time hanging out with all of our friends. We're so glad everyone could come!

Jessica, Cara, Jan, Dan, Holly and Champ hanging out at the party.

Fratastic! Here are Garth's fraternity brothers - Shane, Ben, Blair and James.
Carlos, Garth, Kyle and Jason hang out on the deck (I think the three on the right planned to match their outfits, don't you?!?)

Courtney and Shane

Our hostess, Bailey, was very worn out from all of the preparations. It's hard work being a social butterfly!

Last, but not least, here's Garth and me. Garth is pictured in his favorite chair. I swear, everytime we have people over, all the guys have to marvel at the chair's greatness. I, however, would like to sell it to the highest bidder! ;)

Thanks again to all who came - we had fun hanging out with all of you!

My television debut

On Friday, I did my first on-camera interview since starting my new job as spokesperson for the Tennessee Court system. The Supreme Court released an opinion on Friday regarding Tennessee's so-called "crack tax", an anoymous tax on the possession of illegal substances that became effective on January 1, 2005. The Supreme Court struck down the law saying that the tax was unconstitutional.

Instead of explaining it all here, I'll let the video speak for itself. The interview was with Chris Cannon from Channel 5 in Nashville. Ironically, Chris and I have a mutual friend, Beth Howard Snyder, who used to live in Nashville (we miss you, Beth!).

Click here to watch the video. Enjoy!

Hearing in Huntingdon

June was a busy month for me as I spent several days traveling. After spending nearly a week in Memphis, my job took me to the tiny town of Huntingdon, Tenn., to be on-site for the latest Mary Winkler hearing. For those that might not remember, Mary Winkler was the woman who shot her preacher husband a few years ago. I won't bore you with the details, but this particular hearing involved a dispute over a trust fund that was set up to benefit Mary's children. You can read more about it here.

It was fascinating to be sitting in the courtroom to watch the hearing unfold. I was sitting just a few feet from Mary herself, along with a handful of television reporters. No matter what you think about her or her case, I can see why it attracted so much interest. It was an intriguing story that has few answers. It's complicated to say the least.

Huntingdon was a charming town and, in many ways, reminded me of home. The town was a good 20 minutes from the interstate and at least 45 minutes from the city of Jackson, Tenn. Everyone was so kind to me during my visit - it was southern hospitality at its finest. No one is a stranger in a small town - which is what I like best and worst at the same time. For the purposes of my visit, I thoroughly enjoyed that. For instance, one of the local judges invited my over to dinner one evening. They truly were the best restaurant in Huntingdon! And, on top of that, it certainly beat sitting in my hotel room all night.

One of the things I've enjoyed most about my job is getting to meet some amazing people. I'm excited to see where my job takes me next!

Walkin' in Memphis

Last month, I was in Memphis for the Tennessee Judicial Conference, which is the annual conference for the state's trial court judges. It was great to finally meet many of the folks I talk to on the phone every day!

One of the evenings, we went to the National Ornamental Metal Museum. It was hotter than blazes that night, but we had a fantastic view of the Mississippi River. I snapped a couple of photos from my phone and thought the were worth sharing.

I didn't get to tour the museum, but the grounds itself were quite beautiful. The top photo on the right shows one of the metal sculptures on the grounds. The bottom photo shows one of the buildings at night right before we left. It was gorgeous!

Gloria

Last night, Garth and I went to "The Fire", a cool program that my church puts on once a month. The music is loud and the atmosphere is casual. The speakers are not pastors, but rather just regular folks sharing their ideas about God and faith.


Last night, the theme was "rock star evangelism" and was based on the band, U2. I'm a big U2 fan, but somehow I never knew that many of their songs are heaving influenced by their faith in God. Bono, the lead singer, is a devout Catholic and if you actually pay attention to their songs, you can see that in their lyrics. Well, I've jammed out to plenty of U2, but I never paid attention to the words. Last night, we sang the song "40", which is based on Psalm 40. I'd never heard it before. Here's the first line - "I waited patiently for the Lord, He inclined and heard my cry."

We also sang "I will follow", which I have previously sung a million times but somehow didn't realize that the lyrics were referring to his faith.


The message was all about finding a platform to share your faith. U2 uses their songs. They are world-famous rock stars, but they blatantly inject their faith into their music. If they can do that, can't we find a way to share our faith? It's a very good question, but one that has a simple answer - FEAR. We're all afraid of rejection or ridicule. What if people laugh or shun us for mentioning the "big man upstairs"? It's sad really. Jesus could sacrifice his life for us, but we can't bother to tell people what we're doing on Sunday morning, let alone invite people to come along.


It was a good message - one that really resonated with me. So, here I am...telling you. This is my small, feeble attempt to share my feelings and my faith.

Ironically, U2 came up on my my Pandora radio station today. It was a song that I've never heard before. It was called "Gloria", and I was definitely listening this time. It's a pure rock song, but the words are beautiful and I wanted to share them with you. Read below - is this a proclamation of faith or what? Enjoy!

Gloria

I try to sing this song
I, I try to stand up
But I can't find my feet
I try, I try to speak up
But only in you I'm complete

Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate
Gloria...Gloria

Oh Lord, loosen my lips
I try to sing this song
I, I try to get in
But I can't find the door

The door is open
You're standing there
You let me in

Gloria...in te domine
Gloria...exultate

Oh Lord, if I had anything
Anything at all
I'd give it to you
I'd give it to you

P.S. If you want the Latin translation for the chorus, it means "Glory in you, Lord / Glory, exalt [him]". Amen!

My new perch

I'm sure most readers of this blog know this (as this is really old news), but I started a new job at the beginning of May. I am now the public information officer for the Tennessee Supreme Court/Administrative Office of the Courts. In this role, I work with the media on behalf of the court system and am working on the re-design of our Web site. I've also set up a Twitter feed for the court system. You read about my announcement here (you have to scroll down the page a bit). It's been an interesting job so far. Already, I've been quoted in a number of newspapers and have been on-site for a trial (the recent Mary Winkler hearing - you can read about it here).

I'm also fortunate enough to have an office with a gorgeous view. I work in the Nashville City Center downtown. Here's what it looks like...

I work on the sixth floor and have a pretty spectacular view.

This is one of the views from my office. This is the legislative plaza (the short building with trees on top) and War Memorial Auditorium behind it.

Looking directly across the street, I can see the historic Hermitage Hotel. Lots of famous folks have stayed there.

This is the other view down 6th Ave, which is just down the street from the legislative plaza.

All that being said, I'm thrilled with the new gig and feel really blessed for this opportunity. Stay tuned for further details!