How to tell if he's a keeper...

Yes, I have screening questions before I even consider dating a guy....his interest in and allegiance to a specific college football team is very important in the decision making process.

I'm kidding...kind of...

But love does make us do extraordinary things. One of my friends is married to an Alabama fan. Another is married to a Gator. I'm not sure if those guys realize how lucky they are to have Tennessee Volunteer girls.

Brothers of the Sun, Nashville

Another summer, another Kenny Chesney show. This time, I didn't have to leave the state, I just had to hop on 40 and head west to Nashville. The last 2 times Kenny played Nashville, it was over the 4th of July holiday. I can't imagine how hot it would have been this year. It was hot enough last weekend.

I missed Jake Owen and Grace Potter, but I didn't really plan on listening to them anyway. I was waiting for Tim McGraw and Kenny. I'd seen Tim once before, here in Knoxville, but his set on Saturday was nothing like what I had seen before. For starters, he was dressing in white, with his trademark black hat, but no facial hair. He looked good, real good. Not only that, he sounded amazing. Kenny was going to have a tough act to follow.

But just like always, Kenny delivered. I'd have to say, this was probably the best show I've seen, excluding the one in Vegas. It looked like he was just having fun on stage. I think the 50,000 others at LP Field would agree.

If you haven't been to a show this year and they're near you...go see them!

Dale Jr wins at Michigan (6/17/12)

Holy Victory Lane, Batman!

After 4 years of hoping, waiting and praying...the #88 finally found its way back to Victory Lane. Yes, it's Father's Day and he was in a black car. Funny how things work out in the NASCAR world.

Wouldn't mind carrying The Dark Night Rises paint scheme all season if it gives me the same results!

The Nation was restless, no doubt, but tonight...Jr Nation gets to celebrate. Have no fear, I will not be calling in to work tomorrow.

Backstreet Boys - Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)

But I was singing this at my desk all day. I don't remember the video being this cheesy. Oh wait, it was the last 1990's...of course it was.

Kenny Chesney - Don't Blink

This song has been in my head all week. Could have done without the Montgomery Bell Academy clip, though.

Don't forget...

...to tell something you love them. Be it a family member, friend, significant other, pet (who I consider a family member), etc...since tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

We all make excuses, I'm the worst at this. I push a lot of things off till "tomorrow". But I'd hate to think I'd never get a chance to say what I felt. A friend of mine lost his father this morning. It had been a long illness, so it was kind of expected (as much as it could be) and it just got me thinking about the people in my own life.

Life really is too short to take the little things for granted. Remember, it doesn't hurt to say "I love you". It'll hurt more if you don't have the opportunity to say it again.

There is no bond greater than family...

...and the older I get, the more I believe this to be true. Being and only child and moving away from the rest of my family when I was only 8 made it a little more difficult to stay in contact with my cousins and such. But now, I realize how important that bond is and I'm thankful we still have the chance to reconnect. I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world!

Keeping it local

Tourism is the biggest money maker on the Islands, no doubt. It's a good thing I enjoy supporting the local economy when I travel! You're welcome Honolulu...

About that last post...

I used an iPad to type that travel post. I can't figure out how to not make it a giant Simoneaux type paragraph. Will fix it once I get to my PC.

After six long years...I finally made it back...

...to the Islands and it took me long enough to get here! It's kind of funny now, but at the time, I wanted to rip my hair out. I was suppose to fly out of Knoxville at 12:30PM on May 31st and land in Hawaii by 7:45PM. Around 10:30AM, all heck broke loose, flight wise. I got an alert saying my MEM to LAX was going to be delayed due to mechanical issues. While this would cause me to miss my connection over water, this turned out to be my saving grace.

En route to Jessica's, I called Delta to see if they could re-route me. They could and did. My new flight was scheduled to leave 30 minutes earlier and would send me to ATL and SFO, getting me to Hawaii about 30 minutes later. No big deadly, right? Jessica was kind enough to print my updated boarding pass before she took me to the airport, but I would still have to check in at the gate for a seat assignment. Shocker, an ATL bound flight was delayed, so this made check-in a little more annoying than usual, but once I got my new boarding passes, I noticed they put me in First Class.

Of course that was too good to be true. My journey West was about to turn into my biggest nightmare! We were held on the ground due to traffic/weather in ATL. This was going to make my connection tight. Just as we were about to take off, I noticed vehicles coming toward our plane. Yup, the pilot shut off the engine because someone on our flight needed medical attention. I as well as the entire plane started to get frustrated. Not because of the passenger that needed help, but at the lack of communication between the pilot and other passengers. Not to mention the lack of urgency with the EMTs. Since we're still sitting on the ground, I call Delta to see if they can get me on another flight since there's no way I'm making the SFO connection now.

The agent I spoke to was very helpful and tried to get me on an American Air flight out of ATL. There were no openings, but she could get me on a flight from ATL to LAX to OGG (Maui) to HNL. This would get me in and hour later than my original time, but I didn't care, I just wanted out of the airport. So they finally get the person off the plane and instead of taking off, we turn around and head back to the gate. I'm about to lose my sh*t at this point. We are not given a reason as to the turn around. They allow us to deplane as we've been sitting there for what seemed like hours. I was not a fan of this at first, as another flight to ATL left as we were standing around. By the time I got to the desk, I was at my breaking point. I was losing vacation time. I asked the TYS gate agent to please get me the heck out of town. I knew I'd have to spend the night on the West Coast. I wasn't happy at all, but there was nothing else I could do. My final itinerary had me going from ATL to LAX. Spending the night there and flying out first thing in the morning. I still had a First Class upgrade, Delta would put me up in a hotel and give me meal vouchers.

But the best thing about being stuck in LA, my cousin Patti was going to rescue me and take me to In-N-Out Burger once I landed. We finally took off for ATL and I made it to my connecting gate with seven minutes to spare. I didn't even have time to go to the bathroom at the airport. This is when my First Class upgrade came in handy, I got right on the plane, didn't have to fight for overhead space and could go to the bathroom while everyone else boarded. You better believe I took advantage of my status. I became friends with my old friend, Jack Daniels! He helped to ease my travel headaches.

I was fortunate to have nice travel companions as well. There was an older guy next to me for the first half of the flight. After dinner, he moved back to sit with the rest of his family and his son took his spot. This guy was probably the nicest guy I've ever met. He was just a baby though, only 27. He and his family were heading to a wedding in Santa Monica. After traveling for about a million hours, we finally landed in LA. I headed to the Delta counter to pick up my hotel and travel vouchers and called my cousin. She met me at the Westin LAX and off we went, in search of food! I've never been so happy to have family all over the country!