IMMERSE

So as you probably gathered from my last post, work as been a bit busy as of late. Not only did we just finish the Hall of Fame, we are also gearing up for one of our biggest events in April, GMA Music Week which is followed by the Dove Awards. And while that's all well and good (and quite time-consuming I might add), what I'm really excited about is our brand new event coming this summer - IMMERSE.

Some of you may remember me talking about our event called Music in the Rockies, which was held every summer in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado. Well, after 39 years, our Board decided the event needed some fresh life, so the decision was made to move the event here to Nashville (where every musician & songwriter wants to come, anyway) where we will have much easier access to our industry, including artists, industry pros, businesses, etc.

The past months have been quite busy as we work to not only keep our current events running smoothly, but also to create this new event from the ground up - and it has been so fun to be a part of this process! I work with some incredibly creative people, and as a team, I think we've come up with a pretty awesome event. We'll have classes on everything from the craft of songwriting, to music publishing, to booking, to wardrobe & styling for artists, and we'll also have incredible opportunities for fieldtrips and venues that you can only find in Music City.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm boring some of you so I'll stop there. If you're interested, you can check out our awesome website designed by one of my coworkers: http://www.experienceimmerse.com/. (And if you know anyone that might be interested in the event, please send them our way!) You can even find a picture of yours truly on the staff page of the FAQ section :-) Just thought a few of you might like to hear a bit more about what I do at work that doesn't involve dressing up or waiting for the day to end!

(my staff photo for the website)

Technical Difficulties

Okay, so I'm not really having "technical" difficulties per say... except that "technically" I haven't been doing a very good job of blogging lately. Whatever. Close enough.

It's 5:04 on Monday and I already feel like I've put in a full week at work. Ugh. Meetings all day. But alas, it is still Monday afternoon.

I just realized that an entire event went by that I never even mentioned on this blog, which proves that I really have been a slacker. On Feb. 2, we had the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame here in Nashville, which I am proud to say I worked quite hard on. This year we have a slightly smaller staff than we have had in the past, and it really came down to 2 of us who put the whole thing together. Needless to say, being 1 of 2, I invested a lot, and I was quite proud of the results.

We inducted 5 new members into our Hall of Fame: Michael W. Smith, Lari Goss, Dr. Bobby Jones, The Dixie Hummingbirds, and the one and only Dolly Parton. It's always such a fun event to be a part of as we honor some of our industry's pioneers & legends. Here are a few pics from the evening, in case you're curious. I know I'm not in these - I'm more of a behind-the-scenes type :-)

All of our inductees for 2009, plus a few of my "colleagues" (ok - bosses)

A few folks you may recognize - TobyMac, John Styll (GMA Pres.), Michael W. Smtih,
& Steven Curtis Chapman

Pals SCC & Smitty

Star power: Smitty & Dolly

The Classic Imperials closing out the evening with some wonderful entertainment.

A shot of the room - and a glimpse at some of the flower arrangements I put together.

Cool - it's 5:20 now. Only 10 more minutes until I get to head home! I should really do this more often...

Things You Never Knew About Me

I'm fresh out of blog ideas tonight, but still wanted to get something posted. So I'm stealing this idea that has been used in various ways - a list of random information about myself. I'm sure you're just dying to know, so without further ado (or however you spell that word):

1. I have never in my life been to any of the Disney theme-parks. All of my childhood vacations were spent exploring historical destinations (that's a whole post in itself), and my sister and I were never able to convince Dad that there was anything of historical significance at Disney World. Dan's been more times than he can count.

2. My first pet was actually an earthworm. I was convinced that I needed a pet to care for, and my Mom thought she could appease me with an earthworm she found one day while planting some flowers. I promptly put it in a jar and kept it for sometime.

3. Because of my Dad's job as a Conservation Agent, we had many strange animals come and go throughout my childhood. We had a squirrel we nursed back to health and named Puffy (who also loved pecans). My Mom raised a few baby raccoons. We had a baby badger at one point and the only thing I remember is that it stunk. My favorite was a baby fawn we had in our backyard for a day or two that I got to feed with a baby bottle.

4. I have never had a dog. Which is strange considering the last 2 random facts.

5. I have blue eyes. Dan is convinced that they're green.

6. I love to cook and experiment with new recipes. My latest trial dish was a shrimp scampi fettuccine - my first attempt at shrimp. It turned out alright, but I think I'm much better at chicken.

7. I was a baton twirler in high school - captain of the twirling squad, in fact. (I very well may live to regret sharing that info)

8. I have to make my bed everyday, even if it's midnight and I'm getting ready to crawl in. There's nothing worse than crawling in an unmade bed and trying to get comfortable.

9. My first date with Dan was on Valentine's Day 2004 - 5 years ago this V-Day. It was the exact same day my sister and her husband started dating. Dan showed up dressed as a cowboy to try and break the ice, while Brent showed up guitar-in-hand and sang Kelsey a song he had written (and kept right on going even when Mom & Dad showed up). It was a great precursor of things to come!

10. When we were little, my Dad used to tell my sister and I the best bed-time stories that he would completely make up. They were about 2 little girls named Shelby & Rebecca (who were, of course, actually Kelsey & I) who would go on wonderful adventures with their magic rock. Ironically, 2 of my best friends in college had the same names - Shelby & Rebecca.

11. I do many things around the home exactly like my mother. The way I fold clothes, clean a bathroom, cut vegetables and make a bed are pretty much verbatim the way Mom taught me. I don't believe in creative liberties apparently :-)

12. I just finished reading the Zion Covenant book series - and it's a good thing, because I was a bit obsessed. Dan said he was happy to see me again when I finished the last book this weekend.

13. I LOVE to swim. There aren't many sports that I feel this way about, but I could stay in a pool all day long.

14. On a cold, boring night during college, my friends and I developed a game we named "trunking." One of us would climb in the trunk and would have to try and figure out where the car was when the driver stopped. We did this in the dead of winter in northwest Iowa. That probably wasn't the brightest idea I ever had.

And one last one...

15. I have driven a 1990 Honda Accord since I left for college in 2002. That is, until yesterday...we bought a new car! It's a 2006 Hyundai Sonata, and I LOVE it! The Honda served us very well over these past several years...and we're SO grateful that it saw us all the way through grad school...but it was time. I think I'll write a whole post about the dear Honda soon. But for now, I'll leave you with a picture of what our new wheels look like (only ours is midnight blue):

And that is quite enough useless info about myself. I'm feeling a bit narcissistic now...I think I'll go to bed. Thanks for reading!

I'm a Liar

So I said I would post again in just a couple of days last time, didn't I? I then I didn't. I didn't post again for a couple of weeks. Geesh. I'm a big fat liar.

I actually had good reason as our computer has been on it's last leg and it was just too painfully slow to mess with blogging. But I have good news - we got a new computer! So at this moment, I'm curled up on the couch with our brand new laptap, and I love it. See how happy I am?

This is the first laptop I've ever owned, and certainly the first computer I've had with a built in camera - features which are sure to make this blogging easier than ever. See, watch this...Dan is presently building me a nice big fire with the firewood he chopped yesterday:

Viola! There he is! Isn't this fun?

Okay, I'm sure you're bored by now, but I assure you that I am back in action and plan to pick up some slack in the area of my blogging. And I do promise that someday I'll get my Christmas pictures transferred from our other computer and put onto this one so I can actually give you a glimpse of our Johnston family Christmas in Cali. If you're still interested, that is. I realize it's almost February and most of you have probably moved on from Christmas.

I'll write more when my mind is clearer. Right now I'm just ready for my Sunday afternoon nap, and this post is probably the least coherent I've ever written. Thanks for bearing with me.

So...

So you probably thought I gave up blogging as a New Year's Resolution or something. Well, don't believe a thing they tell you! It's just not true!

Sorry. If someone can let me know why there hasn't been a post on here since Christmas, I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to figure it out myself.

Until then, carry on as usual and rest assured that Diary of an Oreo Lover is still kickin. I know you were worried.

Oh, and I'll try really hard to have a real post up this weekend. Our computer is on the fritz, I haven't gotten my pictures downloaded, and I'm in the middle of a really good book...the real reasons no posts have appeared since Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given,

and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

And his name shall be called

Wonderful,

Counselor,

the Mighty God,

the Everlasting Father,

the Prince of Peace."

~Isaiah 9:6

Leaving On a Jet Plane...

I'm about to close up shop here at work & hop on a plane for Cali! I can't quite believe it's already the 23rd of December. This month has been absolutely nuts for us - I've kind of felt like I was in college again with the non-stop craziness. But somehow it's the 23rd, and somehow I got everything (I hope) packed last night, and somehow even made it in to work (relatively) on time this morning. Now if we can just make it through our lay-over in Denver without getting stuck...

Anyway, I may not be blogging much (or at all) until we get back after the New Year. So if you don't hear from me before then, I wish you all a wonderful & RESTFUL Christmas & a very happy New Year!