Pirates, Fireworks & Wimbledon

Begrudgingly, I'll admit that my vacation is over and I'm back in the real world. The week lent itself to my favorite holiday of the year and gorgeous sunny, low-humidity weather to bake at the pool. Here are the highlights:

I saw two movies during my week of bliss--The Devil Wears Prada and Pirates of the Caribbean. TDWP was a typical chick flick, entertaining yet lacking in the thought stimulation department. I only really cared about seeing the movie for Meryl Streep's performance, and she definitely stole the show right out from under Anne Hathaway. POTC, all three hours of it, was exceptional. There's just something about Johnny Depp in black eyeliner and his glorified greasiness that really makes me go arrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhh!

The Fourth of July was oh-so-fun, spent at Chateau Bradley, with enough chlorine and hot dogs for all. I contributed a patriotic fruit pizza for the event, although minus several stripes... Another comment was recorded for "The Tao of Lana" on the Fourth: "Sometimes, I just get tired of saying please!"

Sufficiently pruny and with full bellies, Lana, Amanda, Natalie, Emily, Rhonda, Ashley and I, headed out to the Riverfront in downtown Nashville for the city's annual fireworks show. I've lived in Nashville all my life but I had never been down to see the fireworks on the river, toted as one of the top ten fireworks shows in the nation. The Nashville Symphony performs live and coordinates their melodies with the boom of the fireworks.

The event was filmed live on News Channel 4, and lo-and-behold, the gals and I were shot waving and having a good ol' time more than once. Friends and family called and texted to us that they saw us on TV. It doesn't surprise me. The last time I saw that many white-trash, rednecks gather in one place was the Wilson County Fair---it was no wonder the news people were so enthralled with seven girls beauty, considering the selection from which they had to choose.

L to R: Natalie, Amanda, MA, Rhonda, Ashley, Emily, Lana

Rhonda & Em. NERD ALERT!!!

Ashley & MA. Ashley's last night out in Nashvegas before the move to Tyler, Texas.

Saturday morning, a "friend" of mine introduced me to the game of tennis and served me strawberries and cream during the Wimbledon finals. Evidently, it's a tradition for all of those Londoners to eat the delectable dish during the tournament. Anyway, I can add tennis to the list of sports I like, now knowing the definition of a deuce and a love...

Sarah and I spent one evening shootin' the shinkta at Johnathan's in Cool Springs and were highly amused by the comment made by a somewhat intoxicated gal, asking her friends, in her slurred southern drawl, to join her out on the dance floor: "We need to go out there and cut up like a pair of scissors!"

The fam and I traveled to Jackson to celebrate my Mamaw's 88th birthday. It's hard to imagine that at this time last year, Mom was holed up in a hotel room in downtown Birmingham and spending her days at the hospital with Mamaw. I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged this weekend to see how much she has progressed.

Thath it, thath all!