Adventure, that is my thing these days. I want new experiences, great music, flavorful food, and I desire to meet interesting people and enjoy their company. Today is my 44th birthday and I feel like I am starting over again. I have new goals, new visions and new hopes. I am finding that the dreams once buried deep inside are sprouting towards the light and are beginning to come true. Life is good.

One of my dreams is to travel to far away lands and experience the cultures in every possible way. I have even promised my boyfriend Mark I would taste the delicacies in every locale we visit, even if I don’t find them appealing. Mark bought me a beautiful book by National Geographic called “Food Journeys of a Lifetime” and we have created a list of the must-see places we plan to journey to.

We are going to eat tapas in Cordoba, calamari in Athens, and pistachios in Tehran. We will drink Foster’s Lager in Sydney, wine in Santiago and fresh coffee in Medellin. We want to walk the beaches and absorb the sunsets all over the world. Yes, we have high aspirations, and I have no doubt we will fulfill our dreams.

My first blog post was titled, “A New Lease on Life” and that pretty sums up where I am today. In it I said, “We must travel through life with open minds, soaking up all that is around us and allow ourselves to live the life that is before us with excitement and expectation.” That is exactly what I plan to do. I will live each day to the fullest and share my joy with all those who cross my path.

Singing Out!

There aren’t many places to go for fun in this tiny little town of Blairsville.  But, if someone is desperate for some fun, there is a little restaurant/bar in Hiawassee called the Yacht Club. Tuesday night is karaoke night. So, last night, My Mother, brother, my daughter Haley, Dad, Charles and Erika Rich and I went to check things out.

The place was packed and loud with singing and laughter. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. We found the only table left and quickly sat down. We ordered a couple drinks and a huge plate of onion rings. As we sat back and listened, we heard everything from Charlie Daniels to Neil Diamond. Ability did not stop anyone from jumping up to the mic to sing their song. I give them credit for having the guts to get up there and sing. And you know what? It’s all about having fun…who cares how good you sing? But, was I, Tracy Matlack, going to have what it takes to sing out in front of a crowd?

Mom, Ray, Haley and I got caught up in the excitement and quickly wrote down a song we wanted to sing and gave it to the DJ. We went off in the corner and practiced a few times until we felt comfortable with it. The longer we sat, waiting to be called up, the more nervous we got and Mom just about chickened out!  He finally called our names and we got up in front of about 35 people and sang our rendition of I’ll Fly Away. We even had three part harmony going in some places.

It was a lot of fun and we went back to our seats with smiles on our faces. We faced our fears and lived through a new experience.  Like I said earlier, I am excited about trying new things and living new adventures. This is one I think I will be doing again soon!