Natalie in CCM Magazine!!!

Natalie heads to the entrance of Noshville, a popular Nashville eatery. She's the epitome of "casual glam" in jeans, an aqua t-shirt and blue Pumas, all complimented by a funky blue scarf. She is also sporting new dark streaks in her normally all-blonde hair.

Inside, we're greeted by a giant penguin and handed raffle tickets. The staff is decked out in green, and paper shamrocks hang from the ceiling. A local radio station is there, and the fliers advertise the daily special: green eggs and ham. "Is it St. Patrick's Day, really? I had no idea, and I'm Irish!" she exclaims.

Natalie, Rachel (assistant to Natalie's manager) and Hope (backup singer and road manager) go over the "rider"-a document that contains touring specifications and catering preferences- for upcoming tour dates. Turns out, Natalie is nuts for Diet Vanilla Pepsi, Splenda, and almost anything low-carb.

Our food arrives, Natalie's scrambled eggs do not contain cheddar cheese as requested, and-surprise!- they are green. She sends them back for cheese, silently hoping they will return normal-colored. No such luck. She closes her eyes and digs in. Meanwhile, I love the griddle cakes she recommended.

Natalie gives up on her eggs, and the meeting is adjourned. On the way to the car, she admires a baby blue classic Corvette. Natalie confesses she and her husband are "reversed" since she is really into cars, and he isn't.

Next stop: Curb Records with her manager, Mitchell Solarek. Mitchell and Natalie have a planing meeting with Jeff Tuerff from Curb's marketing team to discuss her upcoming photo shoot for the new album.

Mitchell discusses how the past album artwork has been very natural, and he would like to move toward "bold." After mulling over wardrobe, hair, and makeup options, Mitchell reminds Natalie that this shoot will be in a studio, and she will be completely responsible for the "life" of the shots. "I've got moves you've never even seen," she responds. She admits, "That's from My Best Friend's Wedding."

Time for another meeting-this one with Bryan Stewart from Curb's A&R department to go over the new songs. As we listen to various tracks, Natalie closes her eyes and nods to the beat. Artists like Elton John, Coldplay, Jason Mraz, Nelly Furtado, Norah Jones, and Liz Phair come up in conversation to describe what the songs should or could sound like.

Back on the home front (Mitchell's office), lunch options are discussed and settled on a place known for its grilled salmon- a good high-protein dish to make up for the green mess at breakfast.

As the rest of the lunch group arrives, Mitchell and Natalie are already entrenched in serious business discussion. At the table they pour over itineraries and spreadsheets. The server arrives to take our drink order, and Natalie requests a Diet Coke with a splash of Coke on top. She says it's really good that way.

Conversation bounces from movies to possible missions trip destinations, Natalie's fear of flying (it's the turbulence she hates.) to ann affinity for gossip magazines. Natalie states with assurance that "Brad and Hen" are headed for "Pittsville" and that South Africa would be an interesting place to visit.

After a satisfying experience with the salmon, we return to the office. While checking her e-mail on Rachel's computer, Natalie notices a picture on the desk of someone who looks very similar to her husband Bernie. It turns out to be Nate Sallie (another Curb artist.)

Natalie has a conference call with Linda, the founder of Shared Hope, a charity Natalie wants to help promote. Shared Hope's mission is to rescue victims of human trafficking, an issue Natalie became aware of through an episode of "Law & Order." She found Shared Hope online and called them. It so happens that the woman who answered the phone had just been to one of Natalie's concerts. "Sometimes it's so God it's eerie," Natalie comments as she explains how all the pieces are fitting together.

At his home studio, Natalie and producer Shaun Shankel review the seven tracks already selected for the album. She describes what else she is looking for: something "up-tempo," "aggressive," but not "trite." For the sake of comparison, Shankel plays her a few of his songs, one of which was featuured on "8 Simple Rules." He also produced the new single "Eighth World Wonder" from "American Idol" contestant Kimberly Locke and worked on R.J. Helton's album, which prompts Natalie to recall her surprise at the length of R.J.'s autograph line at a concert they both played. "He didn't even win; he came in, like, fifth!" she laughs, in awe of the shows influence.

Talk turns to orchestration options for the record; Natalie and Shaun agree the Prague, Czech Republic is the place to record quality strings on a tight budget. Natalie cheers, "We're going to Prague!"

It's time to go. Natalie insists on a quick photo of us for her Web site and then hugs me goodbye. While it's possible that any job other than your own seems more intriguing, I'm convinced that being a singer is almost as glamorous as it appears.