Christmas 2011: Traveling THE World in one day.......

This one has been buried in the attic for a while......

The Eve of Christmas Eve, we were on a mission. Megan and Bryan were visiting and Bryan had only been to Magic Kingdom once. We had extra one-day park hopper passes that would be expiring at the end of the year, so we decided to go for it.

All four Disney World Parks in one day. We wanted him to see the highlights........

First stop........ Animal Kingdom.......

Bryan and Megan in front of the Tree of Life

Safari Ride......

Rafiki's Planet Watch.... or "the animal scrubbing place" according to Lydia....

All in all, we managed to to the Safari, the Rafiki exhibit, and Expedition Everest before heading to our next destination......... EPCOT......

A stop for lunch

Siblings.........

Lydia LOVES her Bryan....

She also LOVES Trev. She doesn't, however, like to share her stroller with him, lol.

Family Picture Time.... Bryan, Megan, Mom, Mickey, Lydia, Me, Trevor, Megan, and Jeff.

The Coca-Cola Beverage Center. It's a great spot for free soda, but beware of the nasty flavors!!

One of the nastiest flavors? The one that shares the same name as my mom, Beverly. I love my mom, but that soda is disgusting. We do, however, like to trick first-timers into drinking it.

At EPCOT, we managed to get the following accomplished...... eat lunch, Test Track, Nemo, The Land, and Soarin' before saying good-bye to the big golf ball.......

.... and head to Hollywood Studios.

Jeff took Lydia off to do a few fun things, while the rest of us did Rockin Rollercoaster.

They may be brothers by marriage only, but they certainly pester each other like the real thing....

Mom and her girls......

The fact that I don't have a picture from Tower of Terror makes me so sad. Obviously, Bryan had never been on it, but neither had the younger Megan. Our picture was HYSTERICAL and I am still kicking myself for not getting it. She has this look of pure fear on her face, while Trev and I are clearly cracking up on either side of her. Priceless.

Christmas Lights!!!!.... My favorite thing about that park during Christmas....

My brother and I....

Hollywood Studios was a successful trip....... Rockin Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, the Christmas Lights, Toy Story, and the Great Movie Ride.

At this point, I'm on a mission to get everyone in the cars and over to Magic Kingdom. Bryan never saw the fireworks when he went and they are a must-see, imo. Everyone was exhausted by this point, so they needed a bit of encouragement ;)

Proof that we were there a mere 2 days before Christmas......

Main Street at Christmas....

Megan H and I....

We watched the fireworks and then crowd cleared. Suddenly, the park was almost empty and was open for another hour and a half.

Pure trouble........

Jess, you've starved us. Let us eat in peace.....

I honestly can't remember what all we did at Magic Kingdom. I was so tired, lol. However, we definitely got the Disney experience. The next day.... we all could barely move, lol. Four parks in one day is NOT something I would recommend on a regular basis.

As exhausting as it was, it was a day none of us will soon forget.

Wednesday Wonderings

Yesterday, I had two meetings at weird times that basically caused me not to be able to eat lunch until 2pm. Which, would have been fine if I'd eaten more than a banana and a cup of coffee for breakfast.

Needless to say, I was a bit on the hungry side when I finally had time to eat. So, I ended up ordering Jimmy John's. They are freaky fast and got me my sandwich faster than I would have been able to drive and get something.

That being said, the only thing I really like about Jimmy John's is their freaky fastness.

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I'm still reeling over the ending of Bachelor Pad. Whoa, that was intense.

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I just had my semi-annual review.

Overall, it was great. I got excellent comments, etc. Raving review.

However, something was said that just really, really discouraging. I spent the next 20 minutes on the phone crying to my cousin.

I really need to spend some time with God and figure out my life.

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Another thing I need to try to work out with God.......

I'm beginning to think there is something intrinsically wrong with me that causes me to push away any guy interested in me.

It's either that or I just attract obnoxious weirdos.

Best Work Conference Ever....

Work conferences tend to be a mixed bag for most. While there is a little fun, it is mostly lectures, discussions, and shop talk, right?

Unless you work in Country Radio ;)

Our biggest industry conference is pretty damn cool. This year was my first year to attend. It was held the last part of February/first part of March in Nashville.... consequently, Blissdom was being held in Nashville at the very same time. We were downtown and they were at Gaylord Opryland...... then, oddly enough, when I was visiting NYC last month, BlogHer was also there.

Anyway, I traveled with my friend and coworker, J. As soon as we arrived in Nashville, we were picked up by one of our record reps, checked into our hotel, and were ready just in time for one of the coolest lunches ever. Universal Music Group hosts a lunch at The Ryman, where their artists each perform a couple songs. There were about 20 artists altogether and it was amazing.

George Strait

LeeAnn Womack

Laura Bell Bundy

Canaan Smith

David Nail

Vince Gill

Um... Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan

Throughout the week, there are a ton of different events. You really can't go to all of them. Some are general and open to everyone...... some require an invite. Wednesday night was by far the most exclusive event I got the privilege to attend....

Jerrod Neimann, Miranda Lambert, and Chris Young

Since Miranda (along with Chris and Jerrod) was on tour, they wouldn't be able to attend their label event. They had shows Thurs, Fri, and Sat. So, they held their own acoustic show. It was a guitar pool style and so amazing. 

Chris Young and I

On the bus back to the hotel. We may have indulged in one too many RandaRitas.

There was a lot going on that evening and we made the rounds. By the time I got back to my room, I think I pretty much fell right asleep.

The next day, we had a couple of sessions, followed by a "Haunted Pub Crawl" with a group. The only problem is that I did not plan my meals properly and about passed out before I ate. Honestly, I couldn't quite enjoy the tour because I felt so ill.

The evening was one of the hottest events each year, apparently.... The Sony Boat. We go on The General Jackson and are treated to dinner and a show. One really neat part of the evening is that we met up with a bunch of other people from our company and ate with them. We have several country stations within our company, but it's rare to come into contact with any of them, lol.

Sara Evans and I

Carrie Underwood and I

Gary Overton.... the head of Sony Nashville... we inadvertently ended up eating lunch with him the next day. I was in awe and even missed a planned session, so that I could keep listening to him. He was so personable and really shared a wealth of experience/knowledge with us.

Jake Owen

Tyler Farr

Kellie Pickler

Josh Thompson

Kristin Kelly.... She's brand new... I *adore* her...

Love And Theft

Casey James

Kix Brooks

Carrie Underwood

The whole gang.....

J and I....

There really was SO much going on the entire weekend and I'm just not realizing that I didn't get pictures of most of it. We were going nonstop the whole week. Between sessions, panels, and events, it was amazing.

The last thing I did manage to get some picture of was the last dinner. Out of the newer artists on the scene, they choose 4-5 that they feel are quickly making their way up. One of my favorites was featured......

Hunter Hayes....

I cannot tell you how incredible the whole week was.... not just from a fun perspective, but from a learning perspective. I came back feeling so energized and educated.

I am already praying that I get to go, again, next year.