Photography

It’s Been A While

October 15, 2025 — Leave a comment

I haven’t shared a life update with pictures in ages, it seems, so here we go!

I turned 38 back in August. I was spoiled by my BFF and her husband that weekend. They took me to dinner, then I crashed at their place and did nothing but eat junk, watch movies, and swim. (Oh, and indulge in her fantastic cooking!) It was a much needed break from reality and did wonders for my depression. When we went out, I got dolled up and, honestly, I looked cute as hell. So cute, in fact, that we were barely inside the restaurant before a waitress ran over to tell me how cute I was. Lol.

My two work besties showed up, as well, which completed the perfection that weekend was. I spent Sunday with my parents, who bought me a red velvet cake. Then, on Tuesday, one of my older coworkers left a homemade lemon cake for me. I felt very loved.

In early September, I attended the Carbonstone show in Birmingham. They opened for Julien-K, Spineshank, and The Union Underground. Hanging out with Corey and Chrystal again was a balm to my soul. I also got to meet Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh from Julien-K. I almost chickened out, but Chrystal made me say hi to Ryan when he walked past their merch table, then Ryan was like “Come over here” and led me to their merch table. I bought a vinyl of my favorite album, Death to Analog, and we took a couple of selfies. It was an extremely good night, capped by my college football team winning their game.

Chrystal
Corey
Ryan and Amir

And now, it’s October. My favorite time of year – spooky season – is here. Which means, of course, that I’ve been living on fall drinks from Starbucks and Dunkin, and my mom and I have been exploring local cemeteries. Our most recent day out was spent at Athens City Cemetery. We actually have family buried there, but we kept our ventures to the older graves.

This is the Confederate Circle, taken from a bit of a distance.

October, November, and December are my favorite three months of the year, even if Christmas doesn’t excite me the way it did as a child. This year, though, my brother and his wife are back in Alabama, so maybe Christmas will regain some of its magic!

Hope all of you are doing well ❤️

Shinedown in Knoxville (Photos)

September 4, 2022 — Leave a comment

Last weekend was exhausting, but totally worth it. Saturday, my friend Chris and I drove up to Knoxville. We had dinner at a Mexican place on Market Square and walked around for a while – all the way to the river, actually – before heading to our hotel. After a couple of movies, we went to bed, only to get back up at 7 a.m. on Sunday.

We drove around the campus of the university, explored Ijams Nature Center, visited both the Knoxville National Cemetery and the Old Gray Cemetery, then we had lunch at a BBQ place. Finally, we headed over to Thompson-Boling Arena to begin the wait for Shinedown.

It was miserably hot, we got rained on, and we were on the turf of one of my favorite college football team’s rivals, but I can’t complain. We were front row, on guitarist Zach Myers’ side of the stage, which was perfectly fine with me 😉

I’m not going to wax poetic about how amazing the show was. Just believe me when I say that Shinedown puts on one of the best performances in live music right now. They are so energetic, the band is tight, and front man Brent Smith’s vocals are… Well, you’ve heard him sing, right? Plus, openers Diamante and Dorothy both killed it as well.

It was a hometown show for Brent, and it was magical. The energy was electric. And to top it all off, the mayor of Knox County – who happens to be WWE Hall of Famer Kane, aka Glenn Jacobs – made an appearance. He presented Brent with the key to the city, stating that Knoxville is proud of all that Shinedown has accomplished and really appreciates the band’s inspirational and positive message.

Despite the fact that I was deliriously tired and we had to drive home following the concert, I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. So here are some pictures (and a link to a video I took), just to give y’all a glimpse into the experience. If you have the chance to see Shinedown, DO IT!

First and foremost: “Second Chance” (full song, live) At the beginning, Zach is messing with his lip, then he abruptly starts singing and it is so cute.

I uploaded these separately as they’re my favorites.

The Lonely Ones/Magnolia Bayou in Huntsville, 4-29-22 (Photos)

April 30, 2022 — Leave a comment

I will write more about the show and both bands in a later post, but for now, enjoy these random pictures from a really kickass concert!

Actually, first and foremost, check out this version of “Nutshell” by Alice in Chains, performed by Magnolia Bayou. This is my favorite AIC song. (Their sets consist of mostly originals, but they throw in a couple of interesting covers.)

The Lonely Ones
Magnolia Bayou

Unsettling Images (#1)

April 29, 2022 — Leave a comment

I started out browsing for pictures of abandoned amusement parks and ended up diving down a rabbit hole of the strange on Pinterest. Some of the uploads were actually creepy, but most of them just gave me an uneasy feeling – especially the ones that are real places/things. There was a whole lotta nope, and locations that, were you in a horror movie, it would all start going wrong there. Haha 😛 Below are a few of my favorites. I’m sure there will be multiple installments of these types of images: I love this stuff.

Colorado (In Pictures)

April 7, 2022 — Leave a comment

We almost missed our first flight, our second one was delayed (because some genius put us on a plane that wasn’t equipped to fly/land in snowy conditions, despite the fact that we were headed to Colorado Springs), and my mom had a mild case of elevation sickness on our third day there. Other than that, the trip to visit my brother and his wife was an absolute success!!!! I had visited last year, but we didn’t get to do a lot of sightseeing, and this was Mom’s first trip – and first time flying. The whole area is so beautiful. (Raton, New Mexico, wasn’t that impressive, though. Lol.)

We’re both dying to go back already. I’m aiming for some time during the summer so we can get out and explore a little more. Below are pictures I took during our excursions, and one from the plane because I’m that person 🙂

This was captured about 10 minutes from DFW
Driving towards Trinidad
The Raton sign
Scenic overlook coming into Colorado from New Mexico
Their cat, Hanzo, who was sad because we wouldn’t allow him in the guest room

Too Busy For Blogging

December 11, 2019 — Leave a comment

I keep trying to get back into a regular posting schedule, but life has been determined to intervene. After my grandmother passed in October, my best friend’s mother-in-law died. I was there for her and her husband, and to be honest I was emotionally drained. My dad noticed and planned a spur-of-the-moment trip to the beach.

I can’t tell y’all how much I needed the three days of sun, sand, and sea. Despite the fact that it was November, the weather was gorgeous. I was able to wade in the water and bask in the sun (with a lightweight jacket on). I even got a touch of sunburn.

Since then, it’s just been…change. I’m searching for a new job and trying to get things ready for Christmas. Last week, I took a day trip to Cathedral Caverns with my parents, which was nice.

2019 has had its ups and downs. I won’t say the year has been bad, necessarily, but I am hoping 2020 is better. And it will certainly start that way — I’m going to see Alter Bridge again in February.

Anyway, for those who care, I wanted to give an update. I also wanted to let y’all know there will be some end-of-year posts, I’m just not sure I can keep up with the Playlist Challenge or a weekly featured band right now.

Here are more pictures from the beach and the expedition in Cathedral Caverns! I hope this blog finds you all well.

Gulf Shores

Cathedral Caverns

This is Goliath, one of the largest stalagmites in the world, 45 feet tall and 243 feet in circumference.

“The Improbable”: a 27-feet high stalagmite, growing on a 3-inch base and at a 45 degree angle to the stone below it.

Concert Photos: The Resurrection Tour (4/29/18)

May 1, 2018 — 1 Comment

blessthefall

Asking Alexandria

Black Veil Brides

Recent Photos

October 5, 2017 — Leave a comment

My best friend is a hair and makeup wizard, in my opinion, so I keep asking her to doll me up and take pictures. Lol. Since it is October, our most recent “shoot” was done in Papa Emeritus (Ghost) face paint.

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2015

November 3, 2015 — Leave a comment

I had the most wonderful weekend, guys! Friday night I went to see Lynam (and got my copy of the new EP; keep an eye out for that review). They put on an amazing show, as always, and I shared this moment with David…

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He cracks me up. 🙂

Saturday night, I crashed at my best friend’s house. We took her daughter trick-or-treating, then Ivy went to stay with her grandparents and we returned to the house to watch movies, eat junk food, and drink a little. I tried an old fashioned for the first time. It was quite delightful.

Also, I managed to sort out a situation that has been driving me crazy. I’ve reclaimed my happiness. All in all, I’d call this a successful weekend. And now for the pictures.

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April and me at the Lynam show

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Harley Quinn!

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Baby bat

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Relaxing on Sunday

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