I feel like something good is about to happen. :-)

It's been a majorly productive week so far in Ameliaworld, so I've been feeling pretty good! I started out the week in Nashville, catching up with my best buddy, Ellen, and I was able to go to church with her on Monday night at this place called Emanate...great service and for the first time in a long time, I'm starting to feel God's love again. The light is starting to shine in on me again! :-D I feel like I've been wallowing around in the depths of darkness for months, and I'm finally starting to pull myself out of it. It's about time, lol...6 months is way too long to be depressed.

So, yeah, good things are happening...I've been writing even more articles for Strum, I'm starting to consider Nashville as a possible jumping off point for the next chapter of my life and my family and friends are being extremely supportive. I'm a blessed gal. :-)

This weekend is going to be jam packed with several funtivities. (Fun activities...an Office reference for all my fellow Office fans out there. I'm amazingly not working tomorrow, I never get Saturdays off unless I ask for it, so I'm going to be attending my dear friends', Brad and Macey, wedding! I'm excited to be there for their special day! (Is it just me or are there a lot of weddings going on right now, lol?) After a fun-filled evening under the stars for Brad and Macey, I'll be headed to Nashville on Sunday to help my boss at Strum at CMA Fest. Yes, I know I'm not exactly gung-ho about country music, but I'm excited to shadow her and learn some on hands stuff about magazine journalism. (I might get to meet some big name artists, too, so that would be pretty sweet!) It's going to be a busy, but fun, weekend!

I'll also be headed to Nashville again next weekend to attend Summer NAMM 2010 with my uncle! I'm always so appreciative that he gives me a pass every year. I get to see all of the newest most innovative products in the music biz, and this year...I get to write an article about it! How cool is that?!

So...yeah...exciting things are happening, and I feel like I'm on the precipice of something really great. God is good, life is good and it's summer, so the weather is good. Also, I get to see my bro in 13 days!! :-)

Hope everyone is doing well! Check out my articles and let me know what you think! (Every time I get another one published, I add it to the righthand column underneath my picture.)

Love and peace,

Amelia

P.S. The new Rooney album, Eureka, is now available on iTunes. If you're looking for some good summer tunes, check it out! :-)

Anticipating vacation...

So, I've changed my blog's background to express my extreme excitement that I will be on the shores of Costa Rica in three weeks enjoying the gorgeous waves, sun and sand! Okay, maybe not so much the sand part, lol. I think it's ironic that I absolutely LOVE the beach, but I'm not a big fan of sand...it just gets everywhere! I will definitely pay that price, though, because beaches are so beautiful!

Things have been going well since the last time I posted. I've been writing several articles for Strum this week, and I'm working on a few more. I added the links over on the righthand side along with links to articles I've written in the past for The Oracle, the Tennessee Tech newspaper. Everything seems to be going swimmingly in the writing department for me. My boss at Strum has been really pleased, and I might try to do some of my own interviewing pretty soon. The articles I've written thus far have just been me listening to the interview and then writing the story. Interviewing is a little intimidating, so I haven't asked to do any yet, but some of my favorite bands are playing this summer, and I would LOVE to interview them. Just to name a few...

The Dirty Guv'nahs are playing this Friday night! I can't wait to hear some good ole Southern Rock...I think they're a mix between The Allman Brothers and The Rolling Stones. I posted a link to their website on the right, so everyone should check them out! I've already gotten the go ahead to write an article about the concert, so I'm pretty pumped about that!

Also playing this summer: Rooney, and I might try to venture to Alabama or Kentucky to see She & Him. Two great musical acts! Rooney is the quintessential summer band, and She & Him plays a distinct brand of folk/country music that is truly their own. I would love to interview these two bands as well, but we'll see.

So, everything is going well then! My friend and roommate Bailey is back after being stuck in Guatemala for the past couple days due to the craziness that has been attacking Central America, so I'm glad she's back safe and alive! Frank is doing well in Costa Rica, soaking up the Pura Vida life, and learning Spanish like crazy, and I can't wait to see him in three weeks!

Other than that, not much excitement...just working and writing. Oh, and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my life. :-)

Hope all is well for everyone!

Love and peace,

Amelia

P.S. If you're looking for a summer read and haven't read it yet...try Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Incredible writer and amazing book!

Savannah, GA

The past couple of days I was lucky enough to be able to get away from Cookeville and head down to Savannah, GA with my parents. Savannah is a gorgeous city, and it was nice to spend some quality time with the 'rents.

If you ever have a chance to get down there, I highly recommend it! For a semi-history buff like me, it was extremely interesting. We got to see several pre-Civil War houses, and I absolutely loved the architecture and stories behind them! The weather for the most part was agreeable, and as always, I loved being able to walk everywhere. I think the main thing we did, though, was eat, lol. There are so many amazing restaurants in Savannah, and of course we wanted to try as many of them as possible! I'm thinking of entering a major diet mode actually to cleanse myself of all the great albeit rich food we had. Of course we ate at the Lady and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant, and had some of the best pecan pie I've ever had. We also had some great seafood along the riverfront, and we sampled incredible fried chicken at Mrs. Wilkes! All in all, it was a pretty successful trip I would say, and I'm in love with the deep southern mystique that Savannah has to offer. What a great little vacation, and a great place to brush up on my Civil War history! :-)

So, now I'm back in Cookeville and getting into the swing of work again. I'm writing a few more articles for Strum Magazine this week...y'all should check it out, I added it as a link on the righthand side of the page, along with all of the articles I've written for the magazine thus far. I'll also be continuing to work at the Market on the Square while I make a decision on where I'm going at the end of the summer. I think I've given myself an August deadline to make a decision. One last relaxing summer in Tennessee, and then who knows where the wind will blow me! I do know that I'm headed for Costa Rica in 4 weeks!!! 4 weeks until I see the beautiful shores of Montezuma while spending some quality time with my family!!

Hope all is well for everyone! I'll leave you with a beautiful picture of a ship docking in Savannah at sunset.

Love and peace,

Amelia