CMT Awards and CMA fest

As I mentioned before, Chase has an awesome internship at CMT for the summer. Some of their biggest projects were the CMT awards and CMA fest. We were lucky to be able to attend the events because of all his hard work!

The CMT awards were so much fun to attend live. I had no idea how much production went on while we are watching it on the tv.

I'm not the biggest country fan, but I ended up knowing a lot of the songs that were played that night. It was so cool to see so many stars in one place, and the be in the same arena as they were.

We also got to attend a couple nights of CMA fest. I was in complete awe of how many people were there. Chase had to work the event during the day, so he got to see the swarm of people around Broadway all day, but I didnt make it out till the concerts at night.
One of the concet venues was at the Titan's football stadium, LP Field. The stadium was completely packed. I'm not even sure that many people go to the football games.

We got to see Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, Blake Shelton, and Little Big Town.

My favorite was Lady Antebellum. They can really sing, and I knew all of their songs. Chase really enjoyed Hunter Hayes (sounds crazy, huh?) He turned out to be a really talented musician. He has a John Mayer feel and can play the guitar really well. Chase enjoyed seeing that.

We had a great time!

Summer lovin'

I have been having the best summer with my better half around! I am finally getting a chance to explore this awesome city with my man and show him around! We've had a blast and I cannot wait for him to officially move here.

So far our favorite thing to explore...is the FOOD! Is that terrible? I absolutely love to eat, and Nashville has a ton of variety.

Chase's first day of work, we celebrated with dinner at Taco Mamcitas. They have an awesome variety of tacos. My favorite is the spicy shrimp and gyro taco. We also love their chicken tortilla soup.

That weekend we pigged out with some mexican in East Nashville. We really love that area of Nashville, especially the food.

We ate at Rosepepper and spent too much money on margaritas. They were awesome though!

One of my favorite things we have done so far has been the Avett Bros concert. I got to see their CMT Crossroads live with my friend Amy Latimer and her finance Shawn Byrne. Ever since I have been dying to go to a full concert. Luckily, they had one at Bridgestone the weekend after Chase arrived...perfect timing!

We LOVE living here, and I cant wait for Chase to get here permenantly! 

Country Music Television... Nashville internship

Have I mentioned on here how talented my future hubby is? No... well let me brag a little bit!

Chase is coming upon graduation (thank God) and it was time for him to do an internship as one of his class credits. Seeing as we will be living in Nasvhille after we are married, he wanted to try to get one here to get his foot in the door and possibly open up some job opportunities after the move. Well, not only did he get an internship in Nashville but he ended up with an awesome one!

Out of a couple hundred applicants, Chase was selected for an off air deisgn internship with CMT. They loved his portfolio, and even bragged about it during orientation. He has been working on design elements for advertising and such that doesnt appear on the TV. I sound so knowledgeable about this, dont I?

Some of the big projects he has worked on is stuff for the CMT awards, CMA fest, CMT shows social media, and billboards.

I am constantly impressed on how talented he is. I am so encouraged by this opportunity and know he is going to have a great career as a wonderful deisgner! I just wish I could be as creative as he is!

Here are some of the things he has had his hands on this summer...

Strike a pose

We are so lucky to have one amazingly talented photographer for our wedding (5 month countdown by the way!) During a busy summer, we finally found the time to make it home and take our engagement photos. Its normal to wait almost 8 months after getting engaged to take engagement photos, right?!?

We took the pictures at a farm outside of Troy. One of Chase's best friends family owns a farm where they spent many childhood years camping and hunting. It was really beautiful land with old cabins, barbed wire fences, and tall grass. Our kind of place.

Candace and David definatlely showed the true beauty of the area! We had so much fun, after me being nervous about it all weekend. I am definately no model... but I dare to say Chase must have been one in another life! He was so natural and soo handsome. I'm one lucky girl.

Check out the slide show Candace prepared for us... and check her out too! She's AWESOME!

www.candacenelsonphotography.com

http://candacenelsonphotography.myshowit.com/ryanandchaseengaged/index.html

"You wear white and I'll wear out the words I Love You..."

The story:

October 6, 2012 begins the journey to...

Our Wedding!!

Holy Moly, I wasn't expecting to be announcing this! It all came as a surprise. Chase and I are so blessed to have been put into each others lives and knew that one day we would spend the rest of them together. But I didn't see this one coming when it did.

October 8th was the 1st anniversary of some of my best friends Anna and Nathan Kelly. After moving to Tennessee and away from my friends and family, we planned a camping trip so that the Kelly's, Beth and Kreg Montgomery, Chase and myself could get together. The only weekend available happened to fall on the weekend before their anniversary, so we decided to use it to celebrate their first year of marriage together...

(Or so I thought!)

We all planned the weekend and what food and supplies we each were goint to bring. I suggested to Chase that we get a bottle of champagne to celebrate and surprise the couple. I couldn't wait to see my friends and have a wonderful weekend together.

Turns out it was the best weekend ever!

After a long trip and many pit stops and delays, Chase and I made it to the campsite and set up before everyone got there. We made a yummy dinner of salmon and veggies and awaited our friends.

 The rest of the group got in about midnight and we talked and spent some time together before we went to bed...and then came the rain!

I was lucky and didn't get wet at all, but it did get some of the others as well as out stuff. The guys made an area to dry everything off the next morning.

(Here's where the fun starts)

We had planned on going rock climbing and hiking Saturday, but since the rain didn't stop until around 11:00 and the area was wet, we weren't able to go as planned. I was kind of sad, but Chase and Nathan said they found a pretty place for us to hike to for lunch.

After Beth and Kreg ran an errand (more on that later), we packed up and made our way to the waterfall for lunch. It was quite a hike downhill, but the area was beautiful. We took some pictures and Chase pulled me aside to show me another area to the other side of the rope bridge we came across.

I honestly wasn't sure why he was taking me over here, or why he was acting so nervous.

He gave me a kiss and told me how much he loved me. I of course told him I loved him too.

He reached in his jacket and told me he had something for me. After fumbling to get the zipper opened and saying sweet things I regretfully can't remember (I was in shock that this was all happening), he pulled out a ring box with the most beautiful cushion cut diamond, got on one knee, and asked me to marry him.

He tells me I didn't say anything but just nodded my head. I honestly can't remember; I was just so excited! Luckily Kreg had the camera the whole time (and got a memory card at Walmart because Chase forgot it at home) and got the pictures. This was the plan the whole time.

Seriouly, everyone knew but me. This wasn't for Anna and Nathan at all. Really guys? I basically planned my own engagement without knowing it. I bought my own congratulatory bottle of champagne (which everyone thought was funny)! Everyone lied to me!!  But I couldn't be happier...
God couldn't have made a more perfect man for me. He is the kindest, most genuine, passionate, caring, creative, and loving person I know.
God's timing is perfect, and every struggle I have ever been through was all worth it in this moment. I know with all of my heart the he will love me and support me for the rest of our lives. I cannot thank God enough for him! (and Beth and Kreg for hookin us up!)

Bean Counter

Accounting...

The typical thought of the work of an accountant is that of number crunching, "bean counting", problems, difficult clients, and scaryyy auditors/audits -

I actually am one of those scary auditors; and believe it or not, it is not at all what it seems!

I love my job!



I don't sit behind a desk 100% of the time, I get to travel, and I get to interact with awesome, intelligent people. I am so grateful for God leading me to this career choice and I can't wait to see what the future brings through it. I'm a lucky girl : )



Crossfit - I hate to love it!

One of the more "trendy" workouts right now is Crossfit, and I was excited to try it when I moved to Montgomery. I previously had a trainer in Troy, Kris Ansley (anyone there, check him out. He was great!), and lifted weights with him. That in itself was a completely new experience. I had to train my body to move in ways that I didnt feel was natural, and that took some time to get used to. After a couple months of it, I really started to love it and the effect it had on my body. I knew moving to Montgomery was going to be a struggle. I discovered that I performed much better in a gym environment where someone was pushing me and relying on me to show up. And quite honestly, if I was going to spend the money then I was going to show up and work hard. It was a kind of motivation, a slightly costly one, but motivation none-the-less.

In Montgomery, I tried to continue my workouts similar to how Kris and I did them, but on my own. That didn't turn our very well! I had no motivation and no one to hold me accountable. By the end of the day, my intentions of going to the gym went down the drain! I eventually joined a Crossfit gym in Millbrook, River Region Crossfit, www.riverregioncrossfit.com. (Check them out if you are in the Millbrook or Montgomery area!) I loved it! It took me back to the gym in Troy, but with an intense twist to it, adding in quick circuit training as well. (Kris always tried to get me to do circuits, but I hated them so I talked my way out of it... Sorry, you were right!) I wasn't able to get as involved as I wanted to, though; because I traveled a lot for work. But I thought "Hey, I've been lifting weights for a while now...I'll be totally fine!"

That's where my dilemma begins. So... I move to Nashville, decide to continue my Crossfit training, and I joined a gym in Murfreesboro near my work.

www.crossfitrampage.com 

I told them I had already done the On Ramp class and had participated for about 2 months back home, so they let me skip the intro and get right into the mix of things...

And I SUCK!

I am the slowest, weakest person in the class! I get so discouraged and hard on myself trying to keep up. These people don't mess around! In their defense, they had 2 ridiculously hard work outs in honor of a birthday and 9/11, so it's hard to base my performace on that. BUT I still sucked!

All together I really do love it! I am excited to continue and see myself get better, but I really hate the wait. Isn't that the hardest part of working out in general. We tend to expect to do 50 sit-ups and see results immediately. But I will press on with my training, work hard, and hope for the best! Check out a local Crossfit gym near you; you will love it!