My Bucket List Summer

My suitcases are officially packed away in the hall closet, where they will sit for awhile since there are no travel plans anywhere in the near future. But its all ok, because I have had the summer of my lifetime!  I didn't get to mark just one thing off my bucket list..but two! (and one more that I didn't know should have been on there!)

My summer kicked off with a weekend trip to New York City with my son's girlfriend, Loren. Some friends from church had signed up for a charter bus trip and asked us to come along. It was a great way to experience our first time in the Big Apple. We had a blast! We packed so much sightseeing into two days.

 We were dropped off in the middle of  Time Square.

From there we headed towards Central Park via Fifth Ave.

Our first day we packed in Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Ave, Central Park, National Museum of Natural History, and Empire State Building.

Day Two began with me marking off an item from my bucket list. Visiting the Statue of Liberty.

We loved it!!!!! After visiting Lady Liberty, day two consisted of 911 Memorial, Little Italy, China town, Macy's, New York Public Library, Grand Central Station and MORE!  We crammed in so much touristy sightseeing stuff it was crazy. I really wished one of us had wore a step counter to see how many miles we actually walked. This trip packed in so much stuff it will need its own blog....which will be soon after I write this blog because I really want to share all the details.

In the meantime here is some video I shot during the trip.

As soon as I got home from NYC, I had to start packing for a weeks stay in Honduras. This was my second trip to Honduras with a missions team. We  spent the week at an orphanage while also visiting surrounding villages.

I wrote a complete recollection of this trip here on my blog as soon as I returned home from this trip . Please go check it out and read about my life changing experiences in this country.

As soon as I got home from Honduras my son Tabor proposed to Loren. So she officially

became my future daughter in law and the wedding planning has begun!!!

Once I got home from Honduras I spent a couple weeks at home before my next adventure. In those weeks we celebrated Loren's birthday:

And my birthday. Here is a pic of my delicious cupcakes that my friend Mashonna made for me! Mashonna is a very busy surgeon and the fact she took some time out of her hectic schedule to make me cupcakes for my birthday meant the world to me!

The day after celebrating my birthday with Mashonna and her husband Sam, Tony and I packed up and headed to Nashville for four days. The purpose of this trip was business in that we were there for the NAMM conference. Tony is a part owner in a music store named Mountain Music Exchange and we would spend the next four days visiting and meeting vendors to learn about their products. Tony and Kevin (business partner) played amps, tried out new guitars and learned about all the new stuff for this year.

While Helen (Kevin's wife) and I followed them around. We were able to just hang out and of course take selfies!

But it is Nashville and  I love Nashville. So even tho we were there on business, we had a ton of fun! We attended a VIP party for a guitar company at the famous Printers Alley.

We shopped, listened to good music and ate a lot of great food. The Old Spaghetti factory was one of our favorite meals this trip.

Doesn't my crab ravioli look divine? Well..It was!

The four days went by fast and we really hated to see our time in Nashville with Kevin and Helen end..but our traveling fun was not over! In the couple weeks before we left for Nashville, Tony informed me that he needed to go to Chicago to drop some vintage keyboards off to a guy who was going to restore them.  And of course me being me answered with, " Yeah , lets go!"

The problem was we just couldn't find the time.  After looking at our calenders we realized it would be better if we drove to Chicago from Nashville. It would eliminate the time of driving back to Pikeville, then driving to Chicago. So we packed our bags in Nashville and headed to the Windy City.

Driving thru Indiana was HORRIBLE. Our trip was delayed by 2 and half hours thanks to road construction. After a long day we finally pulled into the beautiful courtyard of the Waldorf Astoria.

Let me jump back a little and tell you about this hotel. As soon as Tony and I decided when we were taking this trip I started looking at rooms. I am Hilton Honors member and book all my rooms through  Hilton. I came across this hotel and an offer for a really, really good price using some of my points.  I booked it....and I was very excited about booking it. It's the Waldorf Astoria dang it!  I was already pumped about this hotel not knowing it was only going to get better.

Upon arriving at check in, I was informed we had been upgraded....THREE LEVELS!! I am pretty sure I was in shock when I walked into this room. Hands down the best room I have ever stayed in.

It had a large bedroom,

A huge bathroom.

A spacious living room with a balcony.

It even had a half bath!

I really enjoyed sitting out on our balcony with the John Hancock building as my view.

The Waldorf completely spoiled us! The service was beyond excellent. Honestly, I marked something off my bucket list that I wasn't even aware of needing to be on my bucket list until I stayed here.

Once we were home we jumped straight into getting ready for a big milestone in our lives. bt Media Group, our very first company turned 15 this year. We celebrated at the East Ky Expo with the people that helped make bt Media what it is today!

I also got to enjoy being a groupie for Tony. I spent some time on the road while he did the rock star thing.

My final summer trip was our family vacation with Tabor and Loren. I love being able to travel with these two and love our family vacations. This year we chose to spend two days in Cleveland and visit the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Tony and I were here a few years back and always said we needed to bring Tabor some day.  Here they are checking out Jimi Hendrix's original hand written lyrics to Voodoo child.

After leaving Cleveland we headed for Niagara Falls. Another bucket list item for me. I chose to stay on the Canada side at the Hilton Falls View. This hotel was great. Our room had a awesome view of the American Falls.

Which gave us an excellent view of the fireworks.

While there we did the Journey Behind the Falls tour, where they have made tunnels behind the Horseshoe Falls.

We had a fantastic Family Vacation. Just getting spending quality time with them is the best part. Getting to experience new things is just icing on the cake!.

I am home now. Concert season is getting ready to start back up and my traveling will be limited. But I do love traveling and I am currently planning our spring cruise where Tabor and Loren will be joining us this year.

There has been one MAJOR bad point of my summer. With all of my travel I missed a lot of time with my niece and nephews. I always enjoy spending time with them in the summer swimming, eating popsicles and just hanging out. So I have vowed to make it up to them now!

Thanks again for joining me on my adventures. This has truly been one of the best summers of my life and I was excited to share it with everyone!


                                                                                                      The Boss Lady

Concluding my Honduras Mission Trip

I got side tracked with the whole AT&T thing and went off on a bunny trail. I apologize from getting distracted from my mission trip.

Our last day at Faith Home is always an emotional one. Last year we visited a city ran orphanage, this is the place my heart was ripped out and left with a little girl. We had planned on visiting it again this year but it was close to being shut down due to some changes and restructuring. I had mixed feelings about this. I was disappointed because I had hoped to see my little angel again, but I was a little relieved because it's so hard emotionally.

We ended up spending the free time at a market buying souvenirs and having lunch in the city. It's always neat to see the lines of workers making tortillas.

Taylor and Candace at the Market.

Once back at Faith Home we headed out to play with the kids some before starting our clean up of the house we had stayed at all week. That night we were having a pizza party and a movie night for the kids. Our flight also left at 7am the next morning so everything needed to be done that day.

The last night is always the hardest. Saying goodbye. I started crying before we even started the movie.

Playing with kids before eating.

Here we are riding in the back of the van after the pizza party.

Once the movie was over, it was time for all of the official goodbyes. It's hard. You know it's going to be another year before you will see these kids again. So many people say to me, "You are such a blessing to those kids." When in truth, they are a much bigger blessing to me. 

After a long day of traveling the next day, I found myself home and looking back over my trip. What did I learn? Did I make a difference in anyway? Did I teach or show Jesus Christ in the things I did? One thing is for certain, my life is always changed from these trips and I can not wait to get back!

My Thoughts on the New AT&T Plans.

Yesterday I spent one of the most frustrating days dealing with a company. It started out with what I thought was going to be a simple visit to my local AT&T store. Instead it ended up being four hours spent on the phone with AT&T and listening to four different people just spouting lines they were told to tell us.

Here is the full story, and my opinions on AT&T's new cellular program.

Six months ago when I logged on to pay my cell bill a notice popped up telling me that new plans were now available. I have been with AT&T for 10 years now and I have seen their plans change a lot as technology changed. I was happy to see that these new plans were going to save me over $100 a month. My thoughts at the time? Good. AT&T is staying competitive with other providers, because it seemed we always paid more because we didn't have the options other cities have. I should have realized that a company this big just doesn't drop their prices.

I found out the catch yesterday.

My contract was up in May. Which usually means you are eligible for a upgrade to a new phone for a discounted price if you sign on for two more years. Being that I have been a happy AT&T customer for over 10 years, resigning has never been a problem. Until yesterday. I decided that it was time for a new phone since my battery life is horrible and my current phone had decided to stop ringing. The associate was very nice and immediately tried to sell me on their new Next Plan. I cut him off and told him that I wasn't interested in financing a new phone. I told him that I wanted to renew my plan and just pay the discounted price for the phone. He then gave me the whole, "Well the Next Plan is cheaper." So I asked him how paying $648 for a phone is cheaper. He then told me that I would have to pay $25 more a month (per phone) to renew my contract. Basically I would be paying them to commit for the next two years to be their customer. I was furious! I was so mad I stayed on the phone with AT&T for hours yesterday because I wanted to hear it from every level of management that I spoke to that this was true and what their explanation for it was.

Here is how some of the conversations went.

Them: "The Next Plan is good because you have the option to trade in your phone after a year for a new one."

Me:" So you want me to rent this phone from you for $324 this year and then hand it back with nothing to show for it? Wouldn't I be basically just paying you a large amount of money for the ability to trade in my phone every year?"

Them: "No you are paying for the guarantee that you can get a new phone in a year."

Me: "That is what I said...just phrased differently."


Another person:

Them: "The next plan is cheaper."

Me: "Explain Please?"

Them: " Because it's only $27 a month, whereas renewing your contract will cost you $25 a month to renew then the price of the phone."

Me: "That wouldn't be true if you weren't charging me more because I want to stay your customer for the next two years."


Basically the new deal with AT&T is this. For people who did not change their plans when they first came out they are selling them on the fact that it "Equals Out" in the end. That basically you will be paying the same as you did before if you decide to renew. They are then convincing people to choose the Next Plan because that will be cheaper because you don't have to buy your phone then. Which is true. The Next Plan is cheaper now....because they made the other options more expensive.

It's all malarkey. They basically lowered their plans six months ago, so that when it came time to renew they knew they could convince people to pay the $27 a month for the Next Plan.

My solution? First leave AT&T if possible. But since Tony's contract renewed at the beginning of the year I might not be able to do that anytime soon. That leaves my options as;

1) Pay the $25 a month extra for my service per phone that upgrades plus the cost of the phone. That would make my cost for the two year period $600 per line plus $200 for the phone.  ( BTW I have six devices on my plan.)

2) Do the Next Plan and pay $27 a month for the next 24 months if I want to own my phone. The amount I would end up paying for the phone at the end of the two years will be $648.

3) Choose the Next Plan and trade my phone in after a year. My cost will be $324 with nothing to show for it at the end of the year.

4) Buy my phone from Ebay for $400. Own the phone and not be contracted to AT&T for anything. This price can be cheaper according to the phone you want or what deals you find.

I will be choosing #4 of course.

I know the Next Plan is going to be very tempting to people because there isn't a upfront cost you have to come up with. But before choosing this, please do the math and see if it works out to your advantage. Because I can not come up with any scenario where it works out for me at all.

Either way, the savings that I thought I was getting six months ago was all just a facade. Silly me..I should have known it was too good to be true.

Honduras Mission Trip Continued.

Our first day at Faith Home was a lot of settling in and figuring out the week ahead. Sunday was more about rest and fun. We went to church that morning at an international church for missionaries in which they spoke English. This was very good for me since my Spanish is horrible.

After Church we ate at a little restaurant that I totally missed getting the name of. But it was basically an open air style place. By that I mean the whole front of the place was open to the outside. The food was phenomenal!! We ordered a family platter that we split between four of us.

My orange soda. BTW, all orange soda in Honduras was called Fanta.

After lunch we went on a little adventure grocery shopping. It was fun trying to shop when everything was written in Spanish. I am writing it down as a life experience!

Once back at Faith home, we went and found the kids and played until it was time for dinner.

That night after dinner we had movie night for the kids. Let me tell ya.....You haven't truly experienced Despicable Me 2 until you watch it in Spanish with 60 kids.

The Week Begins

We had the same schedule for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Our days went like this:

Morning--class with the younger kids
lunch
Travel to Village
dinner
Class with the older kids (except for one night of Church service)

Our classes included teaching the kids the Salvation Story with a soccer ball, the Lords Prayer and carnival games. The soccer ball was a huge success!!

 A couple of the kids made us sooooooo proud by stepping up and telling the story when we visited the villages.

The kids were also great with helping us with carnival games in the villages.

The village we visited on the third day after the carnival we also  handed out beans and rice.

The line for the food giveaway.

We handed out 100 bags of rice, and 100 bags of beans.

This is one of my favorite pics from this village.

This fella was by my side the whole time we were out visiting homes. I told him that I could not understand any Spanish but that didn't stop him from talking the entire time..lol. Also before we made it back to the village church I had several kids following behind.

Again, I really really wish I could share pics of the kids from Faith Home because they stole my heart! But I also understand the need to not post pictures of them also. Their safety must come first!

These three days may have been hot and sweaty. I might have acquired a million insect bites. But I had the time of my life! God moved so powerfully and I was there to witness it!

Mission Honduras; Day One

I have had a heart and a love for missions for several years now. Last year I experienced my first international mission trip and my life was changed. Making the decision to go back this year was not a hard one. I am also very thankful that my church, Solid Rock Church, was behind me spiritually and financially.

My team and I left out on a Friday afternoon from Louisville, Ky headed to Honduras. Our final destination was Faith Home, a orphanage under the care of the General Baptist organization. This was my second time going to this home so I was way beyond excited to get back and see the kids that had stolen my heart last summer.

Since we arrived late at the home Friday night, after several delays with planes and airports, we just unpacked and prepared the mission house for our weekly stay.

Saturday morning I awoke to the beautiful site of the home nestled in the lush Honduran mountains. This is the view from the front door of the mission home.

After breakfast we went for a tour of the home.

The school where they teach the elementary kids.

The kids get to worship in this beautiful church.

Some of the homes the kids live in with their house parents.

After our tour we headed back to the house and prepared for the week ahead and the carnival we had planned for the kids at Faith Home that afternoon.

Rebecca, Candace and I dug into the candy and separated it for the week.

Due to some new Honduran laws regarding the orphanage I am unable to post identifiable pictures of the kids. I understand the reason behind it but it does make me sad that I can't share the sweet faces that I fell in love with. But none the less we had a blast at our afternoon festivities. We played games, painted faces, made balloon animals, gave out a lot of candy, and ended it with a epic water balloon fight.

We were supposed to spend the evening at a church service, but about 10 minutes before the service we lost power. So we ended up spending more time getting ready for the week and most of us went to bed early since we were still tired from the long day of travel the day before.

At this point I was excited to be there and see the kids again. It's hard to put into the words the emotions I felt this first day. There is so much love you want to share. Your heart breaks because your mind wants to focus on the fact that these kids are orphans, but at the same time you are happy that they have such a wonderful place to grow up.

I went to bed that night excited to be back and looking forward to what God had in store for us!!