*Cabanas Sand & Sun*

Waking up to the Ocean is always a relaxing way to start your day! Trae and I were up early because of the time change difference so we walked down to the pool to make sure our cabana reservation we had was ready for us after breakfast. The pool was already filling up fast, it was a good thing we reserved our cabana prior to our trip.
We enjoyed breakfast at our hotel restaurant. While we were almost finished dining Troy and Julie managed to find us, so we paid our check and headed up to the room to change while they ate...We all met back up at the pool ready for a little Miami R&R. I had some girlfriends in town from San Diego staying at the same hotel as us that weekend also.
So I invited them to come over and chill with us, our cabana was big enough for 10+ people and it was only the 4 of us so the more the merrier it was. The day was pretty chill most of the time. We enjoyed the sun and cocktails and music. Shaq even decided to take a stroll through our pool area that day.

Once that happened it was a fan frenzy although the girls and I tried to go over for a picture of course it didn't happen he wasn't the friendliest guy. Especially in an pool party atmosphere but whatever that didn't burst our bubble we still snapped photos from a distance LOL. After all that nonsense we had our server bring us more drinks...and then the girls split up from the boys to walk around and scope out the other pools and the beach...
It was so beautiful and the sun was shinning so perfectly leaving a nice little tan on my skin behind...I love the beach deck that our resort had and the cabanas out there. The sand was so inviting as it glistened in the sunlight...it was my favorite place to be on this Earth...to feel the sand between my toes is like to feel my soul opening up and connecting to something much greater than my life....I love that feeling of letting go of the world around me with the recognition that we are tiny creatures subjective to nature's greatness. I guess that's the beach baby in me, but its something I have never been able to let go of.

We headed back over to the pool to refill our drinks and bring the boys over to the beach area. I was really enjoying the day and relaxing, it was definitely a well needed day. When we got back over there they had ordered some food so we stayed out a little longer by the pool and laid out in the sun....It was such an enjoyable day until we wanted them to come back to the beach with us...
These boys are so competitive but if one gives in than the other has to follow and well Troy was the one to give so I ended up getting my way because Trae had to follow even though I could tell he didn't want to go. Once we got them out there it wasn't so bad. We waded out into the ocean and snapped some classic beach photos and stood around and laughed at people on the beach. I was a happy girl, that day was almost perfect. As the sun was starting to go down we packed up our stuff and headed to the room for a nap before dinner and the Lakers game that night.

Yes even on vacation we watched the Lakers game :) We couldn't miss the playoff games it was too intense. The boys had already scoped out our dinner spot at the steak house in our resort...waking up that evening after a brief nap I started to get dressed the plan that evening was dinner, the game, and the club...We were going to try to hit up LIV that night because it wasn't as crazy from the night before on prices for tables and bottles.
Well arriving to the restaurant we found out the boys kinda thought dinner out! When we got there the only TVs were in the bar area so we made ourselves cozy for the game and started our evening. The food was absolutely mouth watering they had the best Mac&Cheese...and if anyone knows me they know this is my favorite dish! So of course I wasn't leaving with out trying it! The game was awesome we won that night. We were all in a great mood, having laughs trying to decide on plans for the next day...all the while becoming tired and realizing that going to the club probably wasn't going to happen. Instead we walked around outside the pool and over to the yachts trying to figure out if we could rent one for the following day. It was such a beautiful night outside, I really wanted to go lay on the daybeds at the beach and listen to the waves crash against the shore. I convinced Trae to go with me, falling asleep to the ocean is also an amazing way to end your day...

it was so peaceful and I couldn't have been anymore content with how we ended our day :)

.:XOXO TMARIE:.

.:Welcome to Miami:.

After the Flood devastation we needed to get away....I had been traveling so much that it was time to take a vacay with my man! It was his birthday and Memorial weekend. So his twin brother's girlfriend, Julie and I decided to take the boys to South Beach for the weekend! I was ready for some sand and sun :) It was an early flight. But we were sooooo ready! It was the first trip Trae had been on since opening his business so he was ready to get away also.
We landed in the morning at MIA international airport and made our way to check in...We were staying at the Fontainebleau on Miami Beach. When Julie and I booked our trip we had no idea that Memorial weekend was hip-hop week in Miami so as we were expecting the Latin and Cuban culture getaway it wasn't quite what we got. Our resort was a little north of South Beach so that secluded us and worked as a buffer from some of the chaos surrounding us....

After Checking in we were starving for lunch, so we grabbed a cabby and headed over to Lincoln Rd..its one of my favorite spots in Miami for sidewalk dining and boutique shopping. It was a lovely morning the temperature was just warm enough to be perfect but not too hot. We had brunch and enjoyed the outside scenery as we people watched around us while waiting for Julie and Troy to arrive. It was starting off perfect, once the other dynamic duo showed up it was shopping time and I was ready for the festivities.

We met up and walked around enough to work up another appetite, but as we were walking our mission was to make our way to Wet Willies for a couple Call-A-Cab drinks. This became such a task because I didn't realize how far north we were exactly to the location of Wet Willies...as we walked down the beach side of Ocean Dr...we gazed across the street to a sea of people trying to get in to get drinks at the restaurants we ended up just sitting down to eat a a restaurant beside Wet Willies because the line was extremely too long.

The place was too cute it was called the Sea Cafe...located on the sidewalk in front of the Boulevard Hotel on Ocean. After finishing dinner we made our way back to the hotel to fresh-in up for our evening. We couldn't decide what we were going to do..LIV one of Miami's premiere nightclubs, which is located in our hotel lobby was an option but a ridiculous one...and the guys were itching to play some poker together so we ended up heading to the casino for the night.
When the guys left for the poker room it became bonding time for Julie and I we walked around trying to find some blackjack tables that had seating but there just weren't any to be found "probably a good thing ;)" instead we sat down at the bar and shared a flaming fish bowl... it really came to us on fire! The casino had the best outdoor ambiance for nightlife. We could hear music playing and the breeze was nice...It was a lot of fun...

Julie and I had a great girl-time especially being chatty about the boys. I learned a lot that night about Trae and Troy, because she had known them from years before. They played for awhile so we kept drinking, we took one of those couples bicycle carriage rides around outside just for laughter and managed to find a WET WILLIES!! We were soooo excited! We couldn't wait to tell the boys when they finished playing...The carriage ride showed us a couple other places to hang out once the met back up with us...
while we waited on them we DEFINITELY had a Call-A-Cab, and it wasn't what I expected LOL, it kinda tasted like a frozen cherry cough syrup, I wasn't impressed :( I shoulda got a different one, but oh well I didn't let it go to waste. Our first night in Miami came to a close...I was ready for some shut eye after our 45 min cab ride back to the hotel. The next morning was pool time and I needed to rest up!
 .:XOXO TMARIE:.

2010 Nashville Flood

When finally arriving home, I was headed to work for the day...it was going to be a long day but I was looking forward to my comfy bed that evening. The next few days weren't too bad at the office...Trae was going to be gone the weekend coming up, and I was just going to chill at home and relax...my sister came over to spend time with me, and then the weather started to take a turn for the worse...the rain began...it rained non stop for 2 days straight, roads were starting to flood because the ground so saturated.
I was staying in that weekend so I didn't mind the rain except when I needed to run errands...so the day before the events of the weekend unfolded,  I took  my happy self over to the mall across the street and bought some rain boots...little did I know they were a smart investment! We drove around to see how high the water was because it was still raining. The river was definitely rising to significant level over the bank.  Watching the water rise was the craziest thing ever. It was a long 24hrs as the water kept rising...
I lived in one of the Pennington Bend subdivisions, which is a development thats 75% surrounded by the Cumberland River, over by Opryland Hotel. The explorer in me had me curious to see how high the water was on the river bank that morning, I wanted to drive around and see for myself so I put on my cute rain boots and my sister and I set out for a rainy adventure.
Just down the road we have a community playground with a boat access ramp to the Cumberland river called Lock Two Park...I remember sunny days and picnics at this place, laying on blankets enjoying the summer breeze only to see it in a tragic different light as I pulled up... The water had risen to a substantial height that it almost as if we had no park anymore. This was definitely a moment of reality, I was no longer playing in my rain boots that day...

we continued down the back road towards the mall as we turned the last corner I saw some people standing next to where a dock use to be and the water was so high that it was almost to the road I stopped for some pictures to send Trae and kepting going, just past the trees I could see the back parking lot entrance to Opryland and Opry Mills...a place and traffic route all to familiar to me completely under water. I didn't quite understand the state of emergency our city was in until that moment...
We grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the house.  When My sister and I got home, we were watching the news and saw that part of the interstate was completely underwater, when I saw that I was shocked and worried because that was the way Trae was supposed to come home... The water around my house continued to slowly rise as we uninterruptedly stared at the news for hours watching the Flood unfold and the waters take over our city.
As I let my pups out for potty breaks I kept a close eye on the field next to house since it backed up to the river...I knew once I saw water starting to rise there that we were in for trouble. I came back inside to check the news and fell asleep for about an hour...when I woke up and looked out side the field next to me was no longer a field but a lake and the water was creeping up fast in the cul-da-sac in front of my house. I knew at that point it was time to evacuate.

My sister was in panic mode...but in times like these I truely try to stay as calm as possible. I went up stairs to pack a bag for my parents house and shower... when I came back outside preparing to leave the water was gushing...People were everywhere around my house because the water was coming from our direction into the neighborhood. I previously had moved my car into the garage and one of the work trucks to the driveway with the engine up as high as I could incline it...unfortunately our friend who was staying with us didn't leave his keys for me to move his 4Runner. We made it safely to my parents house that evening. But I was slowly becoming a mess because Trae was trying to get home and he got stuck in Chattanooga due to the storm and wasn't going to be able to get home until the morning.

I couldn't eat or sleep all night I was so worried about my home and if it was going to be there the next morning...As far as the news I hadn't heard much about my neighborhood so I took that as a sign that we were fine....it wasn't until the next morning.
I woke up at 7 am to turn on the news and helicopters were flying over my neighborhood and Opryland and all you could see were rooftops surrounded by water. I knew at that moment our house was gone but I had to see for myself. I told my mom I was driving home to meet Trae he had already hit the road and was trying to get home as early as possible. As I pulled into the entrance to our subdivision I was blocked by cars and people just staring down the street of water.
I couldn't even see my house from the point of entrance so I drove down a side street that was at a higher level to get closer hoping that I could walk back or wade through the water....I managed to hop from porch to porch of my neighbors houses all the way to the house across the cul-da-sac from us. The further back I got the deeper the water got. As I walked waded through the water over to her porch I saw my house and I was thanking GOD that the water was barely brushing our garage. Although my friends 4Runner was almost completely submerged under water.
It was a relief to call Trae and tell him that the house could be ok, but the thing was that the water still had more feet to rise before the river crested. When Trae finally arrived I walked him back. He decided against my better judgement to stay the night at the house...The current was so strong and the water was high that it scared me for him to cross the street to get to our house but he did and got there safely. I Stayed at my parents for another day or two while we waited for the water to recede...The city was a total disaster zone...this unforeseen historic flood was something no one expected, but it brought our community together...

The WE ARE NASHVILLE campaign really put the "Volunteer" state to the test and we passed with flying colors. We pulled together and prevailed. Its still a very vivid memory to me and its been a year since the events..everyday I look out of my office and still see the man made sandbag levee that was protecting Metro Center, and it reminds me of a community I am proud to be a part of.

Photo by Alice Sullivan

In Memory and Dedicated to the Victims of the 2010 Nashville Flood
.:XOXO TMARIE:.