Josh Turner, Round 2

Last time I saw Josh Turner (in 2010 - my first country concert!), I said that if he was in town again, I would go see him in a heartbeat. Well, last night I got to do just that, although he wasn't quite "in town" and we had a little bit of a drive to get there!

Josh Turner is not the first artist I have seen twice, because technically I've seen MercyMe and Tenth Avenue North twice, thanks to the Rock and Worship Roadshow. But Josh Turner is by far my favorite artist that I've seen twice. And I'd see him yet another time if given the opportunity!

The second time around was even better than the first. With the release of Punching Bag about a year ago, Josh Turner not only has his hits that have been around for several years, but he also has a whole new album to add to his repertoire. So it was fun to hear old favorites, and some new ones, too.

What also made this concert fun, was the 2.5 hour drive to get there. So it was a grand adventure, and without further adieu, here's some pictures (because you know I took some....and you probably would rather see pictures than read a novel, anyway.....).

Singing "I Wouldn't Be a Man"

What a voice!

The venue.

Such a great evening!

My concert buddy. I love this girl, and am so glad she moved to the northwest!

The Josh Turner truck!

We didn't get to meet Josh himself, but we did get to meet some of his band members. This fellow hails from Austin, Texas, via London, England, so he has an awesome accent. We had to get a picture since my friend, K, is also a Texan. :)

Was it worth it? You bet. And if you get the chance to see Josh Turner live in concert - do it. He puts on a show you will greatly enjoy!

The Blessing of Sunshine.

I've been feeling very blessed lately, in many different ways. Today, I was feeling blessed to live where I live because, well, it's beautiful - especially in the summer! I must admit that I am still not a fan of snow after about the first month or so. Give me sunshine and a blue sky anyway. I guess that is the California girl in me.

I have a 1-hour lunch break. Oftentimes I run errands, or go walk around a local grocery story (fun, huh?). Sometimes, in the winter, I just stay at work and eat in the staff lounge. Today, I decided to go to the park.

We have many parks in this town. Some are prettier than others. One of my favorites has a beautiful man-made pond right smack dab in the middle of it. As you can see from the picture, it also has a fountain. You might also notice the swan. Believe it or not, it's fake. I didn't believe it at first, either, but trust me - the thing is a floating, plastic piece of art, designed to scare the geese away (not so sure it works).

The park makes for a pretty great place to plant oneself for awhile to read a book. And that is exactly what I did today. All the benches were occupied by others with the same great idea, so I found a nice flat rock amongst a forest of irises, pulled out my ham sandwich and my book, donned my sunglasses, took off my sweater, and felt very refreshed about 30 minutes later. Eventually I put away my book and took a walk around the pond. It's a decent sized pond, so also makes a nice place to walk to get a little exercise.

Needless to say, I had a delightful hour enjoying God's beautiful creation and feeling blessed to live in such a lovely area.

Where did you eat lunch today?