Posting daily at 1pm central about all kinds of things. One day it's dating, the next it's TV commercials. I hope you're entertained. Professional photos on SmugMug – https://benwilder.smugmug.com
Do you still get bills in the mail? Like, they’re printed on actual paper? If so, I can relate! And if you’re like me, you don’t want to just throw them in the trash for someone to find later and steal your account numbers. It’s not like anyone would ever want to see my water bill but hey, it’s about personal privacy.
And there’s something gratifying about shredding paper into tiny, unidentifiable pieces.
This might be surprising to you: I’ve seen quite a few shredders at estate sales over the years. Haven’t bought one yet. I guess I’m waiting for “the one.” She’ll be beautiful, helpful, and color doesn’t matter. Which actually describes quite a few things I’ve got my eye out for 🙂
But about those bills. Well, let’s just say they end up in a fiery blaze on cold fall nights.
It was one of those days where almost everything that happened was unplanned. You see, even though my typical schedule is all over the place, most of my days are relatively structured: wake up, be productive, eat lunch, walk the dogs, be productive again, eat dinner.
But this particular day veered off that routine right after I completed the very first task of waking up.
Somebody else’s stuff.
I love estate sales and there was one close to my house. It was advertised as having lots of clocks and, well, I love clocks. I didn’t buy anything but I spent a lot of tiiiime there. 😉
Bark BnB.
Soon after I left the estate sale I was contacted through Rover.com for a last second boarding from a repeat customer, starting that same day for one night. My schedule was flexible enough to say yes and I wanted to do it, even though you might’ve already read that I have a hard time saying no.
Under a shade tree.
The next unplanned event was my friend coming over for a late afternoon outdoor movie. We set up in the back of her pick-up truck, ready for the featured movie, Mulan! It was awesome! My dogs and our guest dog lounged around in the back yard while Mulan saved China.
Playin’ the blues.
After my friend left, I got ready to meet another friend for a show at the legendary Ryman Auditorium. Taj Mahal and Keb Mo delighted the crowd for almost 2 hours with fantastic blues music, and yes, there was a harmonica. Such talent on that stage! This pic was taken after the opener, just before the lights went down for the headliners.
The Chicago au pairs.
Afterwards, I walked down Broadway and over the pedestrian bridge. Lots of people on the bridge taking pictures, chatting, and a group playing a board game (okkkk?). At the bottom of the bridge was a suspicious gang huddled on the sidewalk. While they could’ve had guns and knives and pounced on me, they’re weapons were actually cute accents, luggage, and happiness. It turns out they had been waiting a long time for their Uber ride, who never showed up! #UberFail
They kindly asked if I could give them a ride to their hotel so I thought, why not? If they really were going to steal my money they still wouldn’t have enough for an Uber ride. 🙂 So we piled in my car and set off to their hotel.
We chatted about all sorts of things and it was so fun! I was hoping they wouldn’t realize how much of a dork I am. Hey, I did play Macklemore from one of my Spotify playlists so that bought me a few more minutes, right? I learned they are all au pairs living in Chicago but their accents are from all over the world… take a listen:
We made it to their hotel without incident, said our goodbyes, and then I drove home, ears still ringing from all the music that night.
A day full of unpredicted fun but sometimes that is the best kind, right? Hope you’ve had a weekend full of fun whether it was planned or not!
I met up with a few friends last night for game night. The evening started out with 20 questions (which wasn’t one of the games) about being vegan, something these particular friends are giddy about quizzing me on… while they ate meatballs for dinner. They seem to be really stuck on the mayonnaise thing but I told them over and over that vegan mayo like the Hellmann’s in my fridge is super delicious.
Once their knickers were sufficiently in a bunch about all that, it was on to game night. We played Catan (aka The Settlers of Catan) first and it was only my second and a half time ever playing it. This game of strategy and deal-making is so fun. I was pretty horrible the first game, but then we played again and I almost won.
The next game we played was The Game. A pretty simple card game but really fun. If you’re interested in how it’s played, here’s a good explanation. It takes maybe 20 or 30 minutes to finish.
Lastly, we played Jenga. I don’t think any explanation of this one is needed, it’s a really fun game that can get tense!
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This morning I’ve been researching Chris Young’s music video “Losing Sleep,” more specifically, the cast of the video. In this case, it’s Chris Young as Chris Young and a mystery woman as the lead actress (to find out who it is, scroll to the bottom).
Through various channels, I wasn’t able to find out who she is so then I tried looking up modeling agencies here in Nashville (where the video was shot).
Funny thing happened, I saw a few people I know, guys and girls. Some I’ve been to church with, some I’ve been to lunch with.
But then I stumbled upon Danielle M., who you might recognize from The Bachelor!
photo from ABC.com
Her occupation on the show’s website lists “Neonatal Nurse” but that must just be her day job. She’s also a model! You can find more about her on this modeling website. I don’t know if she’s dating Wells (another Bach contestant who lives in Nashville) so no juicy details there. I do know one thing for sure: She’s not the woman in Chris Young’s video.
That woman is…drum roll, please… Kiersten Dolbec!
Per the comments below from Kiersten’s mom, here’s a bit of info y’all will appreciate: She was born in Folsom, Ca in 1991, grew up in Saratoga Ca, and now lives in Dallas TX. She is a model with Kim Dawson and Wilhemina Models. She has been studying improv at 2nd City in Chicago (home of the Saturday night live alumni) and has started her career in acting this past year. She was training for the Olympics in High Jump and had a full ride scholarship to UC Santa Barbara for Vollyball.
Kiersten is a model and actress and you can check out her website by clicking here. You can find her on social media by clicking the links below…
This morning I woke up and declared: Today, on this day, I will buy myself some shirts! America!
I had other tasks I wanted to get done so I made a list and tucked it in my wallet. This was going to be the morning of adventure, success, and awesomeness!
adventure with a few other tasks I needed to get done, because combining trips, that’s what I do. I also needed a shirt for my dog (to possibly help her non-stop itching, as noted here), natural peanut butter because it’s amazing, more trash bags, swing through CarMax and try to avoid actually dealing with anyone, like what happened here), and if there was time do the same at Carvana, which was only a few minutes from where I’d be anyway.
I parked in front of Ross, where they always encourage me to dress for less, then strolled in letting dollar bills flow out of my pockets like a chocolate fountain at a wedding reception, because I was there to spend! OK, that’s not completely true. I did park at Ross, but then walked (not strolled) in maturely and carefully, with my dollar bills securely in my wallet (no fondue fountains).
I found a t-shirt, a windbreaker, and a hoodie. I tried all of them on and of the three, the hoodie and sweatshirt were a nice fit. So there I was naked in the dressing room faced with a gigantic decision. To buy or not to buy? I began mentally sorting through my wardrobe at home, wondering if I really do need to splurge on these things. I mean, do I really need a windbreaker? Am I all out of long-sleeved sweaters? Why am I naked?
Kidding. I wasn’t naked. Ever. Promise.
Butt you see ;), this is what happens. I find a few things I like, then ultimately decide they feel like luxuries, even when it wouldn’t hurt to get a few new clothing items now and then.
So I came back home with one new item of clothing… for Asia… my dog. She gets a nice new trendy Ellen DeGeneres shirt and I don’t even have a new jar of peanut butter because Wal-Mart only had crunchy!!
Out of the Wilderness 