And so it begins....

The voting rounds of American Idol kicked off tonight....in case you missed that. :) I had really high hopes for several of tonight's contestants, and wound up being really disappointed. Song choices were all over the place tonight, which made some contestants just sound like bad karaoke. When Stevie Wright announced that she was doing Taylor Swift's song, "You Belong to Me", I immediately was frightened. I just got Taylor's new album, and that is one of my favorite songs on it. And my fears were certainly founded...bless her heart.

But anyway, here are my Top 4 for the night (Four b/c 3 move on; 1 could be wild card)
1. Ricky Braddy
2. Danny G.
3. Alexis Grace
4. Anoop Desai (wild card)

Danny G. is clearly the favorite (right now) to win the competition, but we'll see what happens. I really haven't made a prediction yet. I'll wait until we get the Top 12. You never know who could come out and surprise you.

Until next time...

A Happy Hooker

Shocked by the title? You should be. You should ALL be shocked that I, Tara Jackson, one of the least patient people when it comes to crafts of all time, has taken up crochet....and I LOVE it.

I stumbled upon this once Leah Hemphill, the women's minister at our church, decided to start having us do crafty things (per my suggestion & God's leading actually) at our monthly women's meetings. I am a very fidgety person, always needing something to do with my hands if I have to be in one place for a while. And I can only listen to people for so long before I zone out. So, the idea of doing something else came up.

Over Christmas in NC, I told my G'ma what we were going to do, and she took it upon herself to teach me right then and there. There was no waiting for the women's meeting in January. LOL And she has now created a monster. I absolutely LOVE it, and I am like a sponge soaking up all sorts of new and interesting ideas. Granted, I am taking baby steps, as I have only been crocheting in straight lines. But soon, I will branch into making hats, blankets, mittens, etc. The possibilities are really endless! It's all very exciting! Right now, I have a top secret project in the works (still studying the pattern and deciding on colors) that once finished, will be one of the things I am most proud of, for sure!

I think this has all shocked my mom. The Christmas before I met Kyle, I balked at the idea of her buying me measuring cups & spoons as gifts! I wanted COOL things! Not KITCHEN UTENSILS! But...ironically enough, the very next Christmas, I wanted a new set of pots and pans, and kitchen stuff. :) And now, I've taken up crochet. Watch out world!!

Click on the picture below to see my finished crochet projects:

Things I've Learned About Myself

I'm going to be 28 this year. That's 2 years from being 30. THIRTY. And as the clock that continues to tick-tock, I'm learning a lot more about myself. And I am realizing that I am becoming more comfortable in my own skin. I think the whole becoming yourself thing is a process that doesn't end until you pass on. I think where this whole thing stems from for me is the weight struggle that I've had my all my life, and with that, especially growing up, comes a (again, for me) lack of confidence that bubbles over into life. As we all know, you give me a mic and a stage, and I light up. But when I was younger (and even today this still happens), I desperately wanted to be like all the cool people. Only now, looking back, I see how we ALL struggled with lack of confidence no matter what crowd we were a part of.

Then there are times that you go through trials and times of great pain, which also help you to learn more about yourself on a much deeper, emotional level.

So, to "celebrate" things I've learned about myself, I'm compiling this list full of some random, some serious, some just downright crazy things about myself:

1. I still don't like eating tomatoes BUT I have learned I can eat them in a stew. And of course, in a different form, like ketchup.

2. I still don't drink coffee. But I can hang with the "hip" people at the coffee shops and enjoy my hot chocolate. :)

3. I need structure and a routine to keep me on the straight and narrow. If my routine gets out of whack (which it currently is), I have trouble sleeping and being motivated to do anything.

4. I love to crochet. I have always wanted to be creative, but had never found an outlet or craft that I wanted to stick with. Since my G'ma taught me the basic crochet stitches over Christmas, I've been hooked (ha ha) ever since. I love the process of starting out with just a skein (ball) of yarn, which becomes a scarf, a hat, gloves, or something else that can be given to someone. I have always ALWAYS been a big gift giver, and it has broken my heart over the past couple of years to not have the money that I wanted in order to buy everyone I know a Christmas gift. Now, I can make them something, which for me I think, means a lot more than just something I found in a store. Making them a scarf or whatever shows that I put time, effort, and a lot of love into the creation of the item.

5. I have learned that I'm very loyal and mainly to a fault. I usually put way too much trust in people. I do get dissapointed with people that have "titles" attached to their names, but those that have the title of "My Friend" and betray me....those hurt the worst. I do try to act like it doesn't bother me and put on a brave face, but deep inside my heart of hearts, I'm still reeling and hurting.

6. I am discovering who I am from a musical stand point, but I don't have the money right now to further develop that. LOL I'm praying that changes in the near future. I'm really proud of my first album, but I want to go even further musically with the next one. I want to take more risks.

7. I like strawberry cake better than chocolate cake. Didn't think that was possible, but once you've had the strawberry cake at the Hen Peck Market in Franklin, anything is possible.

8. Even though I need structure and a routine, I suck at a corporate environment. I was just not built for that at all.

To be continued....I have to meet a dear friend at Starbucks...so I can be hip and cool.

Gatlinburg Gathering 2009 - MAINSTAGE BABY!!

I'm one of the tiny circles at the bottom for MAINSTAGE Sunday matinee!! Yippie!! Come one, come all! For tickets and other info, visit the Ray Flynn website! (click on the flyer to view a larger size so you can really see my tiny bubble)

Look on the sunnyside...

Well, in less than 48 hours, we depart on the 2009 Gloryland Gospel Cruise out of Jacksonville, FL. (!!!!!!!!!!!) I have NEVER been on a cruise before, so this will be a first for yours truly. And of course, I picked the first cruise I take to be one I sing on. Great planning...I know. Especially since I have bad vertigo. :) I've already picked up my box of Dramamine, so we should be good to go at this point.

It is all a bit surreal right now since I really don't know what to expect. Kyle is very excited since he's been on cruises before. He's been getting all the paperwork filled out, packing clothes & product, making sure all of that stuff is done. Me? I made sure to get my eyebrows waxed, my hair color touched up, get my toes painted with a "cruise" color (whatever that is), pick out my outfits...ya know...the important stuff. ;-) I've yet to pack the first thing. LOL

I will be sure to post pictures of our adventures! The boat is stopping in Key West, FL, and Nassau, Bahama, so it should be fun! I've never been down that way before, but I'm excited to see what all the fuss is about. :)

Off we go!

Christmas in 3 parts

One of the joys of being married is now having multiple families in multiple locations, thus creating multiple celebrations of all the various holidays....especially Christmas. We've been celebrating Christmas since last Wednesday!! LOL We had a great time with the Jacksons in Lebanon spending Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with them. Spent most of the time just relaxing and talking to each other, which was really awesome. I enjoy hanging out with them, and getting to spend a couple days with them in a relaxed environment is always a treat!

Christmas Day was awesome! The Jacksons only take 30 minutes to open their gifts, where it takes my side of the family at least 3 hours to open hours. LOL (Yes, it can be exhausting.) We went to church at Daryn's church in Smyrna, and it was just a great service. The church is very much an arts driven church, so full a solid hour, the service was packed with dancing, singing, poetry reading, skits, and other forms of art. It was so great! I hope we get to experience it again! The service also inspired me a bit on the direction I would like to take the Christmas album I hope to record this year.

The day after Christmas, we went to Sevierville to get G'ma and to spend time with our friend Whitney. We went to dinner at Tony Gore's restaurant, and the food was spectacular, as usual. Saturday morning, we had a farewell breakfast with Whit. So sad to see her go, but so happy for all that is happening for her!

We headed the rest of the way to NC with G'ma Scott in tow. After a lovely Christmas (or post-Christmas) meal lovingly prepared by my mom, we got into the present opening. We started at 6 PM, and we weren't done until after 9 PM. I get tired just thinking about it. Lots of great gifts though, but most importantly, just great time with family!

Over the past week, we've just spent time with the family watching movies (Anne of Green Gables trilogy!!), playing LOTS of Wii, eating out with friends, shopping, and more. Really, we've just been biding time until Bethany got in from England. She flew into Charlotte last night, and was welcomed with open arms! We had a "Welcome Home!" banner that we held up, which actually made a lot of people that came down the stairs before her really happy. :) It was just so awesome to have her back in the states, though I know it is very bittersweet for her. But never fear, Brett will be here for her soon! We had Christmas with her tonight, so Christmas is now officially DONE!

One other highlight is that I have learned how to crochet in preparation for an upcoming church women's event. I'm pretty close to having a scarf done!! I'm pretty proud of what I've made b/c I've never been the domestic or crafty type. Thanks to G'ma for teaching me! Crochet is easier to me than knitting b/c I could just NOT get the coordination down for knitting. One needle is easier than two.

Well, that's it. Next weekend, Kyle and I are headed to Warwick, RI, to visit the TAPS office and attend a meet-n-greet with Jay & Grant of Ghost Hunters!! Thanks Southwest Airlines for the travel vouchers!! :) :) I'll definitely be posting about that and lots of pictures!! So excited!

Back in time

I was out and about today after having lunch with my friend Andria (or Andira... hi!), and while wasting time before visiting my mom at her office, I decided to visit the local Family Christian Store. Why? Well, FCS was my first job, and one that I was at for several years.

As I walked in today, it was very, very different. When I worked there, there was life in the store. There was an air of excitement when you walked in, and also a sense of ownership with each employee. We took care of the store and made sure that everyone that came in had the best experience possible. Granted, we didn't always succeed, but we sure did try. But today, it was pretty dead. I think part of it is the way the store is laid out now and the marketing tools they are using. When I worked in the music department of the store, I took pride in knowing about the artists and the various styles of music. If someone came in with a question like, "My son likes Emenim, but I want him listening to Christian music. What would you recommend?", I was happy to assist them. Usually, I knew who to recommend. (My picks? T-Bone & KJ-52.) I loved being able to help people out and put music in their hands that they enjoyed. I especially enjoyed helping the parents as they looked for alternative music for their kids. Today, while I was visiting the store, a mom came in with a question like that for one of the workers. After listening to the clerk's recommendations, I slighly scooted over to the hard rock section, held up an Underoath CD and said, "I think your son might like this." And was I right? yup. :)

I secretly miss that. I don't know if I'd ever work retail again, but working at FCS was a joy of mine. I learned a lot there about people, and also how much crap there is in the Christian marketplace today. :) I guess it is just sad to see something you loved so much fall by the wayside. But at least they are still there...pressing on.