"That there is an R.V."

For anyone who's kept up with my blog to this point, you're fairly well versed on some of the ?eccentric? occasions/conventions/people that I've "awe-strickenly" noted throughout my summer spent in the gray/brown NAILE office at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center... With something like 20 graduations in one week, millions of square dancers young and old during another, livestock shows left and right, Walking Dinosaurs and even a ?fun-filled? night of WWE, I do believe that after this summer I'll truly be more.... "cultured." :-) Alas, pulling onto the grounds each morning of this week, my now INCREDIBLY HIGH expectations have NOT been disappointed. Rather, I've been cheerfully greeted by ridiculous amounts of security and a colorful explosion of the ultimate family vacation mobile. Until this week, I was unaware that a National Annual Recreational Vehicle (RV) Convention (I think that's what they're calling this mass of moving hotels) even existed... much less was I aware that Louisville, KY is home to it! Guess it literally goes to show, today's world truly offers SOMETHING for EVERYONE!

Personally, I'm quite enthused by this particular venture. Not so much because I'm itching to jump in one and take off across the country (doesn't sound too bad, actually,) but more so because each morning I've nearly doubled over in laughter as I'm reminded of the quote in this edition's title, and more specifically of the movie that brought the quote's fame (well, it's famous in my family, anyway.) Know the movie???

If you said "Christmas Vacation," award yourself 5,000,000 points and a pat on the back. And smile because you, too, are well acquainted with Clark, Ellen, Buzz, Audrey, Snotz, Cousin Eddie and the rest of the gang! The phrases, "Squirrel!"; "He's just yackin' on a bone."; and "Oh, Dear, did I break wind?" are likely to spark a twinge of Christmas cheer at any given moment. And if you're like my family, you've sat around the dinner table after many-a-Thanksgiving meal and quoted the entire movie in preparation for the marathon of viewings that will ensue between then and Dec. 25th! Sigh.... Gotta love a little taste of Christmas in July.

Before I can move onto Christmas, however, I have to finish what to this point has been the most fantastic summer I have ever had! Between a gazillion late night convos/adventures with the bestie, numerous first encounters (i.e. The Movie Tavern, Pickled Eggs, Mom's Music, and Goodwill!), a fabulous "re"-connection, a rocking photo shoot with a very talented young lady, hanging out with numerous long-lost friends, celebrating my grandparents 50th anniversary, re-taking up slow pitch softball and a thousand other memories that currently escape me, 2010 will surely go down in the record books! And it's no where near done!

This adventurer can't wait for an upcoming weekend of camping and rock climbing with some of my favorite people! Then there's a fantastic Church ladies trip to the Galilean Home in Casey County, KY! Somewhere in there, I have to manage to spend time with my college roomie before she rides off to Oklahoma for a semester! And PLEASE don't tell me I've run out of opportunities to lay by the pool! With no vacay this summer, that 3.5 ft deep vhat of chlorine has been my haven!

But, THIS summer, all roads ultimately lead to one off-the-charts culminating event - the 2010 Kentucky State Fair! I couldn't possibly be more ooberly excited about mounds upon mounds of fattening, fried goodness, piled atop 11 days of non-stop FUN (and almost ZERO sleep), topped off with YAPtastical awesomeness in the all new YAP Tent! I'm blown away with the talent of Kentucky's (and Southern Indiana's) YOUth - Battle of the Bands, Songwriters Contest and Discovery Farm Video Contest applications have flooded my office for weeks! The YAP Advisory Council is non-stop with fresh ideas to make KSF as YOUth oriented as possible! And I'm having the time of my life watching (and helping) it all come together! It literally doesn't get any better!

It may not be time to bust out my Christmas Vacation DVD (had to buy the DVD last year when the 15+ year old VHS finally bit the dust) and enjoy my absolute favorite time of year, full of holiday food, snuggly clothes and all-around good tidings... but if Summer 2010 is any indication, I may convert to a fan of the heat before long! In any season, it's clear that I am unbelievably blessed with a wonderful family, inspiring friends, growing faith and a passion for fun that promises a lifetime of smiles, no matter where my RV may take me...

What ever happened to those blue robes, anyway?

Valiant in my ongoing battle for creative stimulation amid walls of plastic gray and panel brown (a man OBVIOUSLY designed this office!), much of today's computer/paper work has been done alongside one of the greatest distractions to ever challenge the college student: YouTube! Before you accuse me of shirking my YAP duties and wasting valuable State dollars on downtime leisure, let me assure you that thanks to two things: 1) Observing and learning from the incessant work ethic of my mom and grandpa; and 2) the fact that my job pretty well rocks-my-socks; this is not the case! Lucky for me, those blessed creators of the YouTube site instituted "Auto Play" - look into it if you don't know what I'm talking about. (Maybe YouTube will give me a fat check for directing ALL MY MANY READERS to their site...) Alas, I digress... A LOT! In short, YouTube lets you continually play videos without having to constantly revisit the site and click on a new one. Handy little tool!!! Especially when you spend the day like I have - revisiting my childhood, and specifically reliving my introductory years into the world of Gospel music! Let me tell you about..... Melody Makers!


Melody Makers = the 1990's Children's Choir of Bellview Baptist Church. We're talking somewhere between 30-50 kiddos from ages 3-14ish, fully decked out in blue robes with white monogrammed ?stoles? (I really don't know what else to call the overgrown handkerchief that Velcroed around my neck - one girl really did blow her nose on it during a performance once...) all fully armed with an impressive track list and prepared to belt out tunes choir style or solo at a moments notice! This was no small fete for the two ladies who so bravely conducted our motley crew (and even hosted one MASSIVE camp-out that probably left several of us in trouble for any number of things...)


For a bunch of Baptist boys and girls (with a few Methodists added to our harmony), I must admit that we weren't half bad. Sunday and Wednesday nights while our parents attended preaching/prayer groups/Bible Study, we practiced hard! No pizza or playground until every note had reached perfection (try doing that with a bunch of puberty-stricken preteens). Somehow though, we managed to learn more songs than I could possibly remember and most of us picked up a love for Southern Gospel music that you don't find among too many - now 17-25 - year-olds.


I'm willing to bet any fellow Melody Maker could hear any of the following phrases, and pick up right where we left off some... ?TEN? years ago. (For those of you who can't, utilize YouTube and you, too, can (re)learn some awesome tunes!)


"Out of His great love, he picked me up..."

"I need you like flowers need the sunshine..."

"Everybody outta know..."

"Who can do, who can do, who can do anything..."

"Soon and very soon..."

Bottom line: at the mere age of 7, I was perhaps the best performer I've ever been. Backed by a multitude of friends (some participants more willing than others), confident in my instructors' preparations, and assured by the words in the songs I sung, I never thought twice about standing in front of the masses -err... 250 people in a BBC Homecoming service- and being proud of my passion.

So what happened? Somewhere on our road to rivaling the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Melody Makers lost it's luster. Other extra-curriculars somehow replaced nights spent practicing vocal solos and on-beat hand claps, and by the time I hit middle school, our robes were hitting most of us at the knees. For whatever reasons, the group disbanded. There really isn't a sob story attached. We don't all hate each other and most of us are still active in Church (probably largely thanks to those early influences). Some of us take the occasional opportunity to sing on our own or with a few buds. Alls well that ends well. Just a bunch of kids who grew up in an era of a pretty good thing.

I, not realizing it so much until... well, now, owe a great bit to Melody Makers. Among the most lasting of those impressions:

1.) An avid love for Pizza!

2.) Respect for any woman (and particularly THE WOMAN) who can hem (and re-hem) THAT MANY blue robes and never complain once!

3.)The realization that coming in on the wrong cue happens... rather frequently... and at the end of the "show," you still get lots of hugs and candy.

4.) Knowledge that when you absolutely go blank on your words, MAKING THEM UP is not always the best option.

5.) Gaining the ability to Stand/Speak/Sing before a crowd and not be the kid with wet pants...

6.) And, all jokes aside, maintaining an avid love for and becoming a PROUD-to-be fan of Southern Gospel Music, and an EVEN MORE PROUD-to-be Christian.

We're all grown up. Some are married, a few have kids, one or two are now serving our country, the youngest are just graduating high school, we're all fighting to get and keep jobs, and whatever path each of us have chosen, there is little doubt in my mind that we aren't all thankful for this part of our history. If you were a Melody Maker, you knew how to have fun, you knew how to sing (slightly) on cue, you know that your faith is the most important decision you could ever make, and you sure as heck know that you'd better not EVER blow your nose on that darned white thing!

Ode to my Allergies...

Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time with me -and by significant, I mean 30 minutes or more- knows that I sneeze often and I sneeze in multiples. My record exceeds 20 in-a-row of this blasted bodily function that almost always manages to steal my breath. It's been described as "painful" (sometimes), "cat-like" (thanks?), "darling" (hardly!) and "wimpy" (you try it), but never-the-less, it's part of the unique nasal (mal)function that God chose to bestow upon me. Guinness-worthy sneeze attacks probably rate somewhere near the faucet-like nasal action that provokes a rather frequent retelling of how the 5-year-old me once announced to an entire wedding party that, "I got snot!" Let's just say... sinuses ain't my thing!

Quite frankly, there are days when I absolutely HATE my allergies. In fact, a few days ago when I walked around my office looking like I'd just gone through a bad breakup -puffy red eyes, tear stained cheeks, tissues coming out of every nook and cranny- that was one of those days. But then there are times, like now, when I realize, accept and am somewhat thankful that they are just another way God managed to set me apart. (How many people can say they reacted to 60 of 66 tested allergens? Granted that was back in '95 before all this new-fangled technology managed to find a gazillion more possible reasons for my skin to turn red and itchy and for breathing to become and Olympic event... but who's counting?)

In some crazy, roundabout way, I suppose I'm saying what we all know... Everyone is different. I may question why I can almost sneeze on cue, or why my eyes are two different shapes, or why my hair frizzes no matter what they weather or any other aspect of what makes me who I am. But quite frankly, I choose to believe that there is reason in everything. There's a purpose for every talent, for every flaw, for everything friendship, for every breakup, for every scar... you get it.

I'm the type of person that needs reason. I crave closure. But as a good friend recently pointed out, if you have closure for everything in life, what's the point in continuing to live? I comfort myself with reassurances that I'm just not meant to know everything - yet! Does it really matter why my left foot is bigger than my right; that my 2nd toe extends farther than my 1st? Do I really have to understand why my relationship with friend A is totally different than with friend B? Why I am geared to try so hard in certain areas (MOST sports, writing, relationship building) and couldn't care less about others (science, golf)? Does it really matter?

Nah... But there again, I guess agonizing over wanting to know everything is just another one of those traits that make me... Me. :-)

Please excuse me while I go find a tissue...