Tim McGraw

Move To Chicago

Published April 13, 2013

The time has come for me to spend my annual month or longer stay in Chicago! I am back living with my roommate who is the same friend I lived with in Chicago and Miami last year. So far we are on day 3 and enjoying it very much! Ashley and I always end up cooking a ton when we live together, so do expect some new great recipes to be added soon!!! We started our stay off right with tonight cooking Vegan maccaroni and cheese with a kale salad. Instead of cheese, we used sweet potato puree and a few other ingredients and I promise it was just as tasty as the original, full dairy version!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you may have seen my post about my flight to Chicago this past Thursday. My flight was struck by lightning! Although this is apparently an event which happens to at least one plane in each airline each year, it was definitely new for me and absolutely terrifying! I somehow did stay very calm nonetheless. We just heard a huge bang as the sky lit up shortly after taking off from the Louisville airport. We had to do an emergency landing right back at the airport as quickly as possible for precautionary measures in case the strike went all the way through the airplane’s build and could cause further loss of pressure or worse. And let me tell you, those were the longest 20 minutes or so as we waited to land since I was afraid that any minute a tiny crack could become much more and cause the alarms to go off and the flight to possibly become even more frightening.

I felt much better once I could see the ground and the familiar Louisville airport, but as soon as it was in sight the plane went right back up! For some reason the pilot had to circle around a couple of times to avoid bad weather or to aim for the correct runway or something. I had never wanted to be on the ground so bad! Upon landing I was explaining to a fellow flyer in the airport why we were exiting the plane and rescheduling all of our flights. He joked that I should buy a Lotery ticket since the chances of being struck by lightning are so low. Another man on the flight said it was actually the second time it had happened to him! He said the time before the lightning hit the engine and therefore disabled the plane causing a quick drop. Thank God the pilot was able to initiate the backup engine on his flight and therefore the plane didn’t crash. Considering my flight was struck by lightning, it was incredibly uneventful. We were so blessed. It is crazy that on my flight the lightning hit the door to not cause a crazy amount of turbulence. I don’t doubt it was God’s protection. To add more irony to it, before we ever took off from Louisville, the lady sitting behind me actually asked to be let off the plane. The flight attendant had to bring back the jet bridge and re-open the door. I’m not sure if this was the flyer’s first flight or why she was scared… but that’s just creepy that she left the flight that actually got struck! After this flight I was hesitant to reboard another flight to get to work in Chicago for the day, but I did. I was definitely shook up upon the realization that yes, it can “happen to you.”

In addition to this drama, and on a much lighter note, my photos have arrived from my shoot with Beth Studenberg in Miami. These shots were taken in Beth’s studio and also downtown Miami in the art district. Visiting the Miami area sparked many memories of when I lived there from last year. It was also a great time to escape the cold of winter and experience some sunlight! If you notice, I typically visit Miami when it is cold in Chicago and Kentucky…which is not by chance! I absolutely love these photos because they are a combination of simple and fun. My agency, FORD Models, sent me on this shoot to update my portfolio. It is important for models to do this at least once a year so that their portfolios stay updated to what they look like and so their portfolios don’t get boring. Hope you enjoy!

Tim McGraw Music Video!!!!

Published September 26, 2012

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With a request from my mother agency – Advantage Model and Talent in Nashville, I was able to be submitted for an acting role in an upcoming music video. I was overjoyed with the fact that I was actually going to be available to be submitted for a music video! It seems like any request I’ve gotten for them from my agency, I’ve been previous booked or occupied in some other way and unable to audition.Even more… it was a video for the one and only, 3 time Grammy winner – TIM MCGRAW!!! He has always been one of the most classy and talented of all country artists in my opinion for years. I’ve been a huge fan – especially of songs “She’s my kind of rain,” “Where the green grass grows,” “Something Like That” and much more. I first had to submit numerous videos of myself from photo shoots, videos of me speaking, unprofessional videos of me such as one taken on a cell phone, and photos of me in everyday attire. So, with help of Gary Moyers, I quickly pulled out some old videos of me interviewing some of the UK athletes that we create for vaughtsviews.com. Nobody was at home to record me in the the home-made videos, and they needed it quick. I opted to go to my mom during her break from work since she kindly offered to record me, despite how awkward that was to do during her break at her work!

I didn’t know exactly what they were looking for – whether it be a girl for a sad role, a girlfriend role, or an energetic role. So I decided to personalize the video as much as possible, play Tim McGraw music in the background, and just walk, smile, and of course add a few moments of my goofy personality. It seems like the auditions that I think about the least, or the auditions I mess up in, are the ones I get selected for (for the Josh Groban music video-I completely messed it up and left the audition thinking I totally wasted a trip to Nashville!)

Almost immediately my agent called and said as soon as I submitted the home-made videos, that they chose me for the job! I was ecstatic! Music videos are my most favorite type of jobs to do. I absolutely love acting, and what better ways to get to do it than for one of my all-time favorite musicians. The video was for Tim McGraw – who’s “Where the Green Grass Grows” song has been my ringtone for some time now. Needless to say, I was almost speechless that I was going to get to be a small part of a product of his work.

The video was shot across 2 days in Tennessee. I left around 5 am in the morning to make it there in time to have hair and makeup and be ready to shoot. I was cast as the “lead-girl” and honestly had no idea what exactly I would be doing until I was ready and placed on set. I tried my hardest to follow the producer’s instructions. I was having the time of my life because throughout my previous jobs, I haven’t ever been assigned a country-rock character. The first scene was what appeared to be like a field party with a lot of people standing around their trucks. Tim was placed on a tailgate along with Garrett Hedlund (who co-starred with Mr. McGraw in movies such as The Blind Side and country strong). I was instructed to drive up Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s personal truck to the party. When I stepped out, it was the cue for the approximately 100 extras to part down the middle. As they did, all eyes turned my way as I walked toward Tim on the truck. It took me a few takes to really get into this role because it was the very first one of the entire shoot. I hadn’t met any extras yet, Tim, or Garrett. After a few takes, I was warmed up and feeling better about my role. At one point between takes, I simply walked over to Tim and Garret to introduce myself and have small talk. I figured that was the best way to break the ice!

We did this scene several times and eventually moved on to other scenes. I was shot sitting on the front of the truck, walking beside the truck, leaning on the truck, and of course driving the truck! And yes!! That is really me driving the truck in the video. Most of the smiles were also very genuine because I loved it! After the director asked me to be more aggressive, I dropped all of my guards and drove it like I stole it ! I laughed as we hit bit bumps as I bounced the videographer who sat in the seat beside me around. I was trying to control this major truck (thank goodness it was automatic transition), while avoiding the other truck which literally had another videographer strapped to the front to record the external views of me driving. Wow… definitely the most dangerous, but most fun shoot I’ve ever had! I felt like I really got in the role after Time told me that “I handle that thing well!”

We wrapped the shoot with some amazingly artistic and mysterious film of me walking through smoke in the barn. Although we shot backup, GORGEOUS girls sitting on their trucks, choreographed backup dancers, and scene of me walking through the party, it wasn’t included in the final cut. However, the way the video ended up being edited made it appropriately match the song since it is all about trucks and just simply loving the country life. Those girls nonetheless were the sweetest people and really became good friends of mine over the 2 days of shooting. They couldn’t have done a better job and I’m sure the company leaving them out wasn’t personal, just a change of storyline for the video. Thank you all for you endless support and excitement through this blessing. I can’t help but to smile when I hear each of your comments!

Please watch for Truck Yeah on CMT and vote for it to keep climbing up the ladders! I believe the video and song can also be purchased on Itunes. For more on what Tim McGraw is up to, check out timmcgraw.com, follow him on Twitter as TheTimMcGraw, or catch more videos on his YouTube channel under “Official Tim McGraw YouTube Channel.”

Below are links from Tim McGraw’s website that show the video and behind the scenes:

Truck Yeah Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf7GfUORHtw&feature=bf_prev&list=FL2mK990tp7umnN6Y-DEGpDg

Behind the scenes of the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tyYSziKtPg&feature=bf_prev&list=FL2mK990tp7umnN6Y-DEGpDg

TruckYeah Preview via Tim’s Twitter: “Ready for a new McGraw video? http://bit.ly/O9KsBp #TRUCKYEAH”