Since I had a four day weekend this week (I’m always free on Fridays, and I don’t have my field placement on Monday since it’s Columbus Day and the schools are out), James and I decided to book a last minute trip to celebrate our wedding anniversary (it will be 2 years on Tuesday!). It was a toss up between Gatlinburg, TN and Nashville, TN, and we decided to choose Nashville because it requires less driving time and we’ve been to Gatlinburg many more times. We left Friday morning, and arrived here around noon (and gained an hour since they are in a different time zone). I forgot my camera, which made me totally angry with myself!

We first visited the Belmont Mansion, a plantation mansion owned by a wealthy woman in the 1800’s. It is now in the middle of Belmont College, and the house holds a lot of history. It was a beautiful home. It began raining as we finished our tour, so we had to run to the car. By the time we reached downtown, it had luckily stopped. We had lunch at B.B. King’s Blues Cafe. James had wanted to eat there last year but we never found the time. It was delicious, and very reasonably priced. After lunch, we headed to check into our hotel, the Holiday Inn. It’s really nice, and we have a whirlpool tub in our room. The rest of the evening included a run to Target, dinner at KFC, and lounging in the room.

Saturday, we got up bright and early to get on the bus for the “Homes of the Stars” tour. We also did this tour last year, but we had a different driver this time, and saw a few different homes. I didn’t know Reese Witherspoon had a townhouse here in Nashville until yesterday! While on the tour, we passed by Riverfront Park where workers were putting together a stage on the water. Someone on the tour mentioned the stage was for Dierks Bentley’s performance taking place the following day. When we made it back to our hotel, I googled the concert and found out that for $20 a ticket, I could see Dierks, Eric Church, Darius Rucker, Heidi Newfield, Michelle Branch, and Wynonna Judd live!! We jumped on that deal! Plus, the performance is part of Dierks’ Miles & Music for Kids charity tour, so I’m glad that the proceeds go to the Children’s Miracle Network. We also made another Target run (I’m getting my fill since there’s no Target close to home ) for a blanket (grass seating) and a rain jacket (just in case). We also had a late lunch at Corky’s, an excellent BBQ place.

The rest of the evening was a repeated of Friday, with a lot lounging and watching TV.This is my weekend to take it easy, and I didn’t want to spend the entire time running around. Plus, I have discovered a lot of new shoes that I would like to continue watching, namely “The Biggest Loser” (yeah, this was my first time every watching this show…) and “The Last 10 Pounds”. This morning, we are relaxing a bit more before checking out and heading downtown for the concert, then it’s back to Georgia for us.

Thanks to all of those who gave me some inspiration/advice regarding my last post. I really have to sit down, think about how bad I want to lose weight and get in shape, and then just do it.

I am becoming more and more excited about teaching. I know this has become the main topic on my blog lately, but it’s a huge part of my life now so I always have something to say regarding college and teaching. This week, I learned that the state has standards set that each teacher must meet. These standards are exactly what should be taught, depending on subject and grade level. What’s even better is that the website for the standards even breaks down each element (sub-unit of a standard) so that you know what and how to teach. I was always unsure on how to set up a curriculum, but it’s basically already been done. I just have to learn how to write effective lessons plans!

When I’m not in school or doing homework, I’ve gotten back into reading for pleasure. I haven’t read anything other than a textbook since the beginning of July, though I have a whole stack of books waiting to be read. I just finished Vampire Academy, the first in a series of 4 books. It was really good, and I plan to pick up Book 2 (Frostbite) tomorrow at Wal-Mart. I’ve also began watching “True Blood.” I watched 6 episodes yesterday, and 2 today…It’s quickly sucking me in! I never thought I’d get into all the vampire stuff, but I guess my love for horror flicks, then Twilight, and now these are really getting me into the fictional characters.