{Celebration of Life}



Manuel and I

 "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years" - Abe Lincoln

Another year older and another year wiser. I was truly excited about what the weekend had in store. It was the celebration of many lives. Michelle arrived Friday afternoon for the weekend of festivities. It was her first time ever visiting me here. I had a great weekend planned. We had two tickets to the Sweethearts for Scholarships Gala that evening. This was the 8th annual "black tie" banquet and charity auction to raise money to support scholarships initiatives at Nashville State Community College. The event was located downtown and hosted at the new prestigious Hutton Hotel for the evening.

There were local celebrities, such as Manuel, one of Nashville's favorite, silent auctions and of course the Sweetheart couple nominated for this years event who preformed after dinner. After the event we met up with Andrew to show Michelle around Nashville. Our first stop was Citizen, that was where "the Dr." and other friends were going after the Gala, and he wanted us to meet him there. The evening was quite interesting, opinions were formed on certain situations and from the actions of people that were around me. I wasn't really aware until I got home, although this was only opinions, I still had to make my own decisions on how I wanted things to happen. If the pursuit was still worth it, what would I do?

The next day was recovery and relaxation before the big party. My little brother came to visit and stay with us that day. We sat around pretty much all day watching movies. The weather that day was quite nice out surprisingly for February. Planning for this night took months. Our guest list was around 150+ of friends from all the birthday babies. Doug reserves us the VIP upstairs room at MAI that night. They were also hosting the i106 Bitterball that night for Valentines Day.  So I remember running around getting ready and trying to decide how the drive was gonna go. Michelle had an idea about getting a limo to take everyone.

So I called and Andrew and he gave me Matt's number to book one. This was a great birthday present from Michelle that night, it worked out for us nicely, because my little brother was able to go to dinner with us. We met everyone at Todd's before dinner where the limo picked us up. There was about 20 of my closest friends that had dinner with us at Urban Flats. I was really happy my little brother could come hangout. The vibes of the table were quite amazing, it was filled with excitement, giggles, love and true appreciation of friendship as we toasted to the birthdays, and enjoyed our drinks over delicious flat breads of our choice. After dinner we finished it off with a cake and candles. When I think back and remember watching the smoke of the candles fade, just looking around at everyone engaged in conversation with glowing smiles of joy, I felt truly blessed to be seated around all of my friends that night. After a wonderful dinner it was time to get the party started, we loaded up the limo and headed to MAI.

.:Party Photos by Carl Gillespie:.

It was quite the disaster when we
 got there. Everything was so disorganized and on top of it all Doug was at home sick. They had booked a frat party before the club opened that night, and were having trouble making them leave to reopen. My argument to them for not letting us in, was that we had a time booked and it was a separate private party, but they made us wait outside. I was NOT happy at all with this. Another issue once we were able to get inside around 11ish was that, we had agreed upon our guest list as no cover that night (which is why went through the trouble of putting it in alpha order with full names) but we were told when we got there that they had to be in by 12 or they had to pay cover. This was unacceptable!! Jake had guests from Urban Flats that were attending when they got off, etc...there were quite a few people coming in after 12 because of prior obligations.

I was so pissed, that we ended up getting it back to the way it was supposed to be but paying the price of running up and down to verify names, because the doors girls apparently didn't know how to read. I was tired of battling with them and wasn't enjoying the night anymore, so around 12 I gave up and headed upstairs. From that point it was all shots, I needed to catch up to everyone. At the end of it all it was great night. I had so much fun and spent time with close friends that I only see every once in a while. The next year of my life was definitely going to be something to celebrate!!

.:XOXO TMARIE:.

Deleting 2010

I couldn't believe how fast the year had come and gone, as well as all the traveling and life changing moments I had experienced along the way. My buck list had a few things checked complete, but still left many more things to conquer in my future. Although this was the end of the year it was symbolizing a new beginning, as it does for everyone, but for me in particular.

"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." - T.S. Elliot

This was something so true. I was wasn't sure what was in store for my new beginning, but I was starting from an end, whether it be the end of the year or the end of my relationship. All things must come to an end and I was ready to close the door on some of the most unforgettable moments in my life and also some I wouldn't prefer to remember. The weekend started with me running around finishing up helping a friend decorate the Berger building for the NYE party that was being thrown there. When Alys arrived I was still preparing for the party. This was such a crazy day. I went home to start getting ready, waiting on the girls to get home.

 The before party was at Todd's condo at Werthan. I had been hanging out here for around month now but hadn't met Todd yet until this night. Once we arrived, the drinks and joyful laughter were surrounded by us. We only stayed a short while because we had to make an appearance at the Berger party before meeting back up with everyone a from Todd's at the Hardrock for their show. Troy loaded us up in his truck to drop us off so we didn't have to drive. He was always so wonderful with taking care of us. It meant alot to me.  The casino party at the Berger/ Standard was so fun. We met up with Erin for a little bit, danced, greeted my friends that purchased tickets from me and decided to head down to the Hardrock to meet up with Troy and everyone. We couldn't catch a cab quick enough from where we were, so was started walking down Commerce towards 2nd ave. The wind was so strong that night. It was predicted that a storm was going to blow through. I remember feeling as if I was going to be knocked over!! We walked a block and grabbed a cab to take us maybe 3 blocks because of traffic. So we hopped out on 3rd Ave and walked the rest of the way. Troy was waiting on us with our VIP passes. And it was drinking time, we felt like we needed to catch up to everyone before the big moment of the night. Todd was playing in his other band 7DayBinge that night which is why we all partied there and watched the Nashville Guitar Drop above the massive crowd down below on Broadway.

I remember the last few moments of that year so perfectly. I remember being so lost in the mix of memories and emotions flashing before my eyes and looking around in daze, in my own little world realizing that this was my reality and all the while dreaming and wanting to be somewhere else. I remember the New Years before and the joking around that Trae and I said that this time the following year I wasnt spending this New Years as his girlfriend....although I didn't literally think that was going to happen, I was hoping actually for quite the opposite. Its crazy how things in your subconscious sometimes come true at some point it, as if you draw these things to you out of the universe. I remember toasting to the goodbyes of 2010 and welcoming the New Year and all the possibilities I was willing to see with open eyes and open arms. The toast was inspirational and bittersweet. I was so lucky to have friends and family with me those last few moments. I had come so far that cold month of December and I wasnt looking back once the clock struck midnight.10...9...8....7....6...5...4...3...2....1.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!                      All around me the excitement level was at its highest....loads of cheers and laughter and sweet kisses. It was kinda depressing, but I didnt let it get me down. With in seconds of ringing in the new year it became a down pour on Broadway. It was as if the weather held out long enough for passionate new years kisses under the falling rain for those below. Once all the NYE hype had slowed down it was time for shots and a little Rock-n-Roll. Our party was just getting started, and it continued through night and early into the morning as the bottom of the sky continued to fall, as if it was washing away all things of 2010. 7DayBinge killed it on stage that night. The rest of the night became a blur as  most of them did. I just remember Troy picking us up at the Hardrock and heading to Cafe Coco which I am sure we spent hours trying to eat. The night was long but I was happy that it was over. Thank you to the ones I spent that evening with....Troy, Alys, Britt, Todd, Darrell, Erin, Lindsey, etc you know who you are....It was a great NYE!

.:XOXO TMARIE:.

Vegas Playboy Style

I think was home for maybe 2 weeks before leaving town on another Playboy Adventure. This time it was to conquer VEGAS!! Shayna, one of my best-est came with me...first off  it was a hassle trying to get a flight last minute because we didn't find out if we were booked to work until 2 weeks before the event. We were going to extremes to find people with flight vouchers or miles to help get there at a reasonable price... and we did I owe to a dear friend who booked us on miles to get there! SO we packed up and headed to the airport destination Vegas! She was definitely the Yin to my Yang all weekend...and how appropriate it was with our attire the first day to represent that. We hopped on the plane and connected in Atlanta where we met one of my friends who was connecting with us for a quick bite to eat. The we boarded our long flight to Vegas....It was a pretty sweet flight tho, we got to watch the NFL draft and played trivia with other members on the plane...haha and ummm we didn't do so well, but it was still fun.

Once we landed in Vegas the car picked us up and took us to the Monte Carlo where we would be staying for the Playboy Golf tournament, and my friend went to Caesar's. We checked in and headed up to the room to get ready for the evenings events that were to be held at Diablo's. This place was so cool, we had the upstairs booked for the private party. It has an amazing patio that over looks the Las Vegas Strip.
Not only was it fun to be having drinks on the patio, but it was beautiful night and it was rather eventful because we had this girl who followed us out there that Shayna knew from home, but she just wasn't getting the picture that we didn't want her around us anymore, but being the nice girls that we are, after the welcome party we headed down to the lobby to meet our friend who was in town, when she rolled up in this badass 2010 Bentley Continental GT....we were like ummm WOW...HELL YEH this night just got wayyyy better...it was definitely a great ride down the strip to the Encore Las Vegas....needless to say...I fell in love with that car!!

When we rolled up to Encore we all got out of the car and made our way through the casino to XS...skipped line (of Course) VIP ...and they walked us down to our table that over looked the dance floor. The party definitely got started when we walked in...bottle were flowing and the DJ was spinning some MAD BEATS...I mean that music that makes you think of ONLY Vegas!
The people we were with were dropping some SERIOUS cash that night...and I mean they "MADE IT RAIN" a couple grand at a time. Something interesting, was Tony Romo had the table behind us with some of his buddies and when we tried to talk to him, he just acted to stuck up to care (come on dude your in Vegas!) ...so the girls grabbed some cash and made it rain on Tony...
LMAO it was so hilarious....after being there for awhile we moved on to the next one..We met up with John Quinn the Executive Directer of Casino Marketing and Player development at the Monte Carlo... and the guys from the Arizona Cardinals along with a few key players from the Playboy tournament to go to the new club EVE at the City Center. It was definitely a longggg night, only to be followed by an EARLY morning...but that's VEGAS for you.

RockStar Road Trip

So there I was at work when I got a phone call, it was Shayna... she wanted to head up to Fort Wayne, Indiana for a concert....to see her man at the time open up for Papa Roach...so I was down for that..it would be so fun, and its not that far away..so we thought...we left and headed north...about 2 hours in to the trip I received a text...could it be? Yes it was! Trae had texted me to see what I was up to and to give me his number. LOL, I told him i was headed to a concert just for the night and would be back tomorrow morning...he thought I was crazy driving all that way and not even staying the night, but hey you only live once! Throughout our conversation we managed to make plans for the following night to meet up in Nashville, since I was headed for a night out on the town with some close friends of mine, it made since to meet up for the first time since dinner the weekend before where we met. The next thing that happened was so funny..Shayna and I thought we were lost, we thought we passed our exit in the mix of trying to get ready on the road...turns out the exit we were looking for was still aways to go when we looked at the map. We then realized that our short little trip we thought was only like 5 hours turned in to 9!!! Yes 9 hours! It was time for some energy drinks...5 hour energy shots to be exact...and for the record they work...LOL I think I downed 2 of them in like 1 hour...by the time we got through Indianapolis my heart rate was so high...I felt like it was going to pop out of my chest. We stopped just outside of the city to fill up on gas and change...it was snowing outside and I mean piles of snow lined the streets and sidewalks. Just as our luck was...the gas station only had a single bathroom...LOL I remember people coming up and knocking to use the restroom that we were occupying as we continued to put on make up and get dressed..wow what an experience that was! LOL Just shortly after we finally arrived to the concert...We went back stage to watch his performance and upstairs behind the stage from the VIP view room to watch Papa Roach, it was an awesome experience! Next stop the tattoo shop, in true VIP rockstar form the locked us in...we were there pretty much til the sun came up! I was so tired from the drive and the night that I passed out on the couch in the parlor as everyone continued to get tats...When we finally left it was breakfast time and then back on the road. Needless to say it was definitely an awesome experience, but getting back to Nashville was a warm welcoming feeling and I was ready to rock out once more for my weekend!

.:XOXO TMarie:.