Nashville. Oh Nashville!

I feel like when I say that I should have my hand over my heart.

My man and I went home (my home) for the New Year weekend and celebrated both New Year and Christmas with my side of the family. It was a ton of fun. I got to spend some time with my sisters, bro-in-laws, my parents and my adorable, hilarious nieces and nephews. All four of them! One of my nephews said more funny things than I can possibly list. He is a character in every sense of the word. You COULD NOT write the stuff that kid says.

We spent our time walking my parents precious hounddog Oakley in the woods, talking, cooking and breathing the fresh air. It was a refreshing visit. Going home always makes me feel comforted. Home for me is always safe and warm with my Mom cooking up a storm and my dad close by telling a story. I love it! And my hometown is nothing that would knock one's socks off. It looks a lot like this...

It's a blip on Highway 100 near Nashville. But it hides some special spots too. Like this...

Our beautiful Bowie Park: and there are even the more places that are special to me for varying childhood reasons. But,my family's corner of this little town is my favorite. When I get home, I don't want to leave. It's so quiet, relaxing, peaceful, simple. It's a location that I truly believe people would like to have as a country home, but I got to grow up there! How lucky am I?

Now I'm not saying I want to necessarily take up a permanent residence there. You go to eat at any of the 4-5 restaurants in town and you will see SO many people that you know and they all want to know your business... Where do ya live? Are ya married? Any kids yet? No, then when ya gonna start? It's small town overload. There's lots of "Me and you sister went to school together (and by school, they mean high school) and I just knew you had to be related. You two really favor!"

But there is something to said for the small town experience. While there you can feel as though the air is being sucked out of a balloon and you are trapped inside it. However, when a plane has put several hundred miles between you and town, you can reflect on how warm everyone is. I still cannot believe how many wedding presents I was given by residents in our community, even though I had lived away for nearly 6 years.

My small town's proximity to Nashville is also a great asset. In less than half an hour, I went from my quiet country home to a Turkish restaurant for dinner on New Year's Eve! Even more fun, was my bff since age 6 joined me and we had a lovely dinner, complete with really strong Turkish coffee to keep us hopping till the wee morning hours. Which it did quite successfully!

And without question, Nashville is a great town. It's got a ton of personality and makes my current location fall flat in its Pennsylvania Dutch austerity. So much music, so much to do - from high-end shopping in Green Hills to nude karaoke in Printers' Alley. Nashville truly holds something for everyone, and many days I miss it terribly.

Now it's time to pull myself up by my brand new 2010 bootstraps and look forward! I think we're already off to a great start considering I finally got around to sealing off my bedroom windows.

Hey.. the resolution list has to start somewhere! Tonight, I clean out the bookcase.

Then and Now

It's the end of a year and I was sitting in ze cube thinking about how much things have changed for me since last year at this time.

Last year I was working at a restaurant job that I didn't like (however with several co-workers that I love and still see) while I searched frantically for work back home in Tennessee and locally in PA.

I was pretty unhappy with living here in PA and craved the South so much I couldn't listen to country music without getting teary. How pathetic is that?

My husband and I were both waiting on pins and needles to hear about a possible major job change for him. And we were basically trying to hate everything about where we live because it's not a place we would choose to be. We were desperately clawing to be back where we were comfortable; especially me. I wanted to be back in TN, where I'd had a job that was really challenging, but had a lot of potential. Where I know people and had a lot of friends, where I felt successful. Where my family was closer to me. In short, I was making my and hub's life miserable.

I guess time made things easier for me. We moved to a place that felt more like home than an overpriced, extended stay hotel. The weather warmed, I got a new job with a better schedule, I got out and joined a new yoga studio, we found a church we both like. In short we started actively trying to enjoy ourselves!

Taking a daily walk through the historic downtown area (when weather permitted) was one of my favorite things to do this Summer and it led us to explore our area a bit more. That helped us find some places that would become our favorites. We reached out and made some friends and tried some new things. We did our fair share of travelling (which anyone who knows me knows my destination list is pretty long) and I'm excited for 2010's adventures! I came to see that the job I left behind was not the end-all-be-all of my career and left myself open to big changes in my career. However, I'm being patient about them.

I guess the biggest change of 2009 is that I made the choice not to settle. At the beginning of this year I was applying for every awful job that was open in TN, trying to move back there. And I was mad at my husband for not applying for every job. He said he didn't want to go from a current job he doesn't enjoy to another job he doesn't like. At the time, it felt like he was being selfish, but really he was being mature. And, I'm there now. As much as I want to be back in TN close to my family with all my friends who are still there, I'm not going to settle.

Now is the time to have an adventure. We're young, healthy and have no good reason to turn down a new challenge. I've proven to myself that I can be happy far from home. I can adapt and find the good in any situation and I can do it again if I need to. 2009 has made me stronger, made my marriage stronger and cemented my little family together. We can handle anything; and I am more confident of that now than ever!

So I guess my message to 2010 is "bring it on." I'm ready. I can move anywhere and make it. I've got my goals for myself personally and professionally for this year and I categorically refuse to settle.

Happy New Year people! I'm going home! Nashville here I come! :)