Highlights from Dancing with the Stars

Victoria Arlen's life story is so inspiring. Her dance below made me tear up to say the least. I love that dance can bring out so many emotions and can touch your heart in ways nothing else can.


In the competition, I was so impressed by Lindsey Stirling. She's so musically talented, as well as a beautiful dancer. I've really enjoyed seeing her journey on the show. Her freestyle was so original. Her pro partner, Mark Ballas is a spectacular choreographer. What a strong partnership.


I can't wait for next season!

New TV Shows: The Good Doctor and Designated Survivor

I admit it; I binge watch TV shows on Hulu. I'm always looking for my next favorite show.

One of my best friends recommended that I check out the show, The Good Doctor. Generally, I'm not keen on medical shows as I get easily grossed out with all the blood and surgery screen shots.

Thankfully, The Good Doctor doesn't embrace the gore and blood as much as other shows. I generally watch it over lunch and at times just tell myself that it's red kool aid. It follows Shaun Murphy, a surgical resident who is autistic. His understanding of the human body, what patients are suffering from, and treatments is mind-blowing. His faults would be his blunt communication, getting stuck on an idea and being unable to move on, and interpersonal relationships. Despite everything, I always find myself rooting for Shaun. The rest of the cast are also really strong and likable. See what you think:



A student recommended that I check out Designated Survivor. I'd seen promo clips for it and thought it looked interesting, but I don't like political shows at all. I checked it out and am completely hooked. In ways, it reminds me of the now-cancelled, Quantico. Similarly, it has really strong characters. Unlike Quantico, Designated Survivor has several recognizable cast members: Kiefer Sutherland, Maggie Q, Italia Ricci, and Kal Penn.

In the show, Kiefer's character, Tom Kirkland is the designated survivor and becomes president when the capitol is bombed. He was a housing secretary before, so this is a major change. He struggles with the changes and learning curve. His family struggles with the big change, more scrutiny, and threats. His wife is played by Natascha McElhone and she's an absolute natural. This show keeps me on the edge of my seat and keeps me wanting more. I hope you like it too!



Any new shows you can't get enough of? I'd love to know!

Overview of Eharmony

Since I've tried a variety of dating websites, I thought I'd share the pros and cons of using Eharmony.

PROS
1. By far, the best quality guys that actually matched what I'm looking for
2. Easy to use website and app
3. If I ever return to dating sites, I'll only use Eharmony.

CONS
1. Most expensive site to use
2. Location of matches. Since it does such a great job providing quality matches based on many facets of your personality, most are out of state, especially since I live in a city of only 55,000 people. :(
3. Guys on that site never respond. Like someone's profile and you'll never hear from them
4. I still haven't met anyone exciting on there

For now, I'm taking a break from dating sites, but I'm always open to finding the right match for me. :)

I'd love to hear what sites you've used and found successful.

Recipe # 37: Pumpkin Stuffed with Rice and Sausage

Fall is all about comfort foods and right in the middle of people's favorite fall comfort foods is all things PUMPKIN. Years ago, my mom found a recipe that she gave to my grandma that has become a fall family favorite. I finally got the recipe and made it for myself.

Ingredients:
Pie pumpkin
Rice
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Pepper

Recipe:
Take a pie pumpkin and clean it out.
Cook rice according to the directions.
Cook ground sausage.
Combine cooked rice and sausage, then mix with cream of mushroom soup.
Add a dash of pepper.
*Add about a 1/4 or 1/2 cup of milk to keep the fixture moist.
Fill the pumpkin with the mixture. Don't fill the pumpkin to the top as the rice will continue to cook and expand.
Put in oven at 350 degrees for one hour.

Once it's done, scoop out the mixture and the perfectly softened pumpkin along with it. Mmm! Enjoy!

Making My Sweater White Again

In the midst of dying my sheets, I made a rookie mistake and didn't bleach out my washing machine. As a result, my spotless, much-loved white sweater was dyed light pink...ugh! Since I didn't have a full load to do color remover on, I just needed to do it over stove top. Boil water and add the RIT color remover. Wet the sweater before stirring it into the color remover. I stirred until the color was removed; about 15 minutes. Afterward, I washed the sweater like normal in my cleaned out washing machine. I'm glad I found a cheap way to save my sweater.

My Re-match with Match.com

After a long hiatus from Match.com, this summer, I thought I would try it out again. Despite adding that I was looking for a Christian who was seeking to live for Christ, 99% of my daily matches were atheists. What a waste of time and money! Also, the only guys who ever wrote me weren't interested in faith. I'm forever done with Match! I think, it would work best for people seeking a relationship without any preferences related to faith. Adios, Match!

Hysterical Fire Drill Clip From the Office

I laughed hysterically when I saw this clip during a presentation. Enjoy a good laugh!

Nashville, Day 4

This was our last full day in Nashville, but what a grand day it was. :(

We'd heard that East Nashville was a good place for shopping. So, we headed there. Taking us there, we had the worst Uber driver I've ever encountered. He did not say one word to us. When I asked if he was David, to verify that he was our driver, he just grunted at me. He also pulled out in front of oncoming traffic. He tailgated motorcycles and was literally inches away from them going fast. At stops, he would be inches from the motorcycles. Let's just say that he earned a poor rating and we were so happy to get out of the car. We found out that most stores were closed on Monday, so we didn't get much shopping in. We did see this cute sign though.

We headed back to downtown for lunch and souvenir shopping. We ate at Fresco Southwestern Grille which was in a office building downtown. The owner was friendly and engaging. The food, however, was boring and bland.

Next, we walked to The Nashville Connection on 2nd Avenue where I got a super cute coffee mug for my mom. We then happened upon Leon's Candy. My dad loves candy, so edible souvenirs are the way to his heart and he loves pralines, which are popular in Nashville. Their homemade caramels are mind-blowing.

Cotton Eyed Joe was our next stop, so I could find post cards and a magnetic frame. I was impressed with the selection of souvenirs and the low costs, despite it being on Broadway and 2nd Avenue.

We stopped by Savannah's Candy Kitchen and tried their pralines. They have so many different kids of sweets.

We walked through the gift shop at the Ryman Auditorium, debating taking a tour and what to do that night.

There a lady overhead us and said that the Bluebird Cafe was a must see.

Off we headed to the Bluebird Cafe with less than two hours until the show. We waited in line and made friends with a couple from North Carolina. Towards the end, it was getting pretty hot outside. Good thing we brought snacks and drank lots of fluids. Thankfully, we got a table in the ever-cramped cafe. It was singer-songwriter night. There were 26 performing. We shared a table with two songwriters and one of their guests, and another music fan. The talent was off the charts. I literally laughed and cried for 1.5 hours. We heard artists that made us look and each other any say, "I know they'll be famous one day!" I didn't expect their food to be good since they're mainly known for their music, but I was pleasantly surprised. We shared a chicken tender basket and a smoked pork sandwich. The sandwich was really terrific. I tried an Ace pineapple hard cider and I really enjoyed it.

When the show ended, it was still early, so we hit Broadway for one last time. As our beloved George Jones was closed on Mondays, we ended up at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.

What a great end to a perfect packed 4 days of soaking in such terrific music! I miss Nashville all the time now!

Nashville, Day 3

We'd decided to ride bikes to 12South. We'd heard of Nashville B-cycle and one location was just a block up from where we stayed. The 2.3 mile ride to 12South seemed doable at the time.

Nashville had been hotter than we expected. While I take at least two cycle classes a week at the gym, I haven't ridden a "real" bike in roughly 15 years. Let's just say, it didn't come right back to me. These bikes were heavy and clunky. I'd forgotten how to use gears and that you can't change them while climbing a hill. I hadn't realized how hilly Nashville is. Let's just say that I wasn't good at staying in the bike lane. It's a wonder I'm still alive. I also couldn't figure out the gears or handle the hills, so there was lots of stopping. Then we got a little lost and accidentally rode in a circle. By the time we made it to the upscale 12South part of town, we were soaked with sweat. At the first opportunity we had, we ditched those wretched bikes.

From there we soaked up the air conditioning in several upscale clothing shops, where we couldn't afford a thing. I was excited to be able to check out Reese Witherspoon's store, Draper James. It was as cute as can be. When I walked in they offered me some sweet tea. It was a nice touch. The store had a cheerful, light feeling to it. Wish I'd have been able to afford their super cute clothes.

I'd heard rave reviews of Las Paletas, so we walked through town to their little store on the edge of 12 South. The employees recommended we try the mango flavor. After the hot bike ride, the popsicle hit the spot. We sat on the front porch and enjoyed our treat.

We then checked out more shops we couldn't afford to buy anything at. Next, we went for lunch at 12 South Taproom and Grill. I ordered tilapia tacos and they were boring and bland.

There, we learned about flugtag.

There was a cute little shop, named Serendipity, we checked out that sold locally made bath products. I got Drift Away Bath Tea by Ma' Bella. I also got a Black Bar by NASH and JONES. It's an "activated charcoal deep cleanse bar." It's supposed to be "for all skill types, face/body to draw out impurities."

My friend had heard good things about Five Daughter's Bakery. That was my first experience trying a cronut. I loved the croissant layers with the sweetness of a donut.

Then because we loved our first visit at Jeni's Ice Cream, we visited it again.

Sweet Cream and Poached Pear Riesling Sorbet. Those flavors were light and sweet. Wish there was a Jeni's in Kansas.

We discovered a very charming little flower truck, Amelia's Flower Truck.

They had some super cute murals too!

We walked around a neighborhood in 12South and saw super cute houses. Since we learned our lesson with bike riding, we Ubered back to downtown.

That night, we checked out Printer's Alley. It's off the beaten path though much of the area is under construction. We enjoyed Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar. What great blues bands!
It was nice to get away from the crowds on Broadway.

We ventured back to Broadway since it was Sunday night and the crowds had subsided. While we would've gone back to our beloved, The George Jones, they weren't featuring bands. While walking down Broadway, I heard the voice of the same lead singer that we head the night before at the George Jones. Literally the odds of that are so small! We popped in and listened to the rest of his set at Tin Roof.

We walked to AJ's Good Time Bar and were drawn in by the great music. Where else can you see a bass made out of a Chevy Astro van gas tank?! There was room to dance which was fun!

Another fun day in Nashville!

Nashville, Day 2

Our second day in Nashville wasn't as packed since we were in town for K-State's football game against Vanderbilt. We started off eating the donuts we purchased at the Nashville Farmers' Market; so good.

Next, we headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Since roughly 25,000 K-State fans were in town and the fact that Nashville is always busy, the Hall of Fame was PACKED to say the least. One could literally spend hours there. I LOVED looking at the colorful costumes. The museum appealed to my senses via the video clips, music, interactive aspects, and colors.

Of course, I like to add a few "artistic" photos in the mix. I definitely wish the museum had been less crowded, but it was still cool.

I was hungry afterward. We went to a nearby Jack Daniels, but left due to sitting at the table waiting for a server in a tiny, uncrowded restaurant for too long. We went back to "our" neighborhood and ate at Oscar's Tacos, which was across the street from where we stayed.

My friend got tacos and I got the surf & turf nachos. They were HUGE and delicious! We ate at a table outside and my beautiful nachos stopped many a passerby who stopped and went into Oscar's.

We made the poor decision to walk 1+ miles in the Tennessee heat to the game. We'd planned to just pop into bars and shops along the way, but unfortunately, there were none along the way, other than a strip joint that we weren't interested it. The area we walked in didn't look too safe, reminded me of Detroit. Finally, we can along an upscale looking wine shop. We were so hot and sweaty. We went in and stood in front of the open cooler to cool off. We also put our soon-to-be-purchased beverages on the back of our necks too. The good news is that we survived the walk. The bad news is that the Vanderbilt refs and fans were awful. The game was up and down and in the end we lost, while fighting both Vanderbilt and ourselves. :( Photos from our walk:

We got an Uber back where I heated up and finished my nachos.

Since Broadway the main drag was still so crowded, we went back to our beloved, The George Jones. Another terrific band was playing. We so enjoyed that venue and the top-notch bands they brought in.

While our team didn't come away with the win, we still had another great day in Nashville.