& so we meet again..

hello!

I know I have been absent but all of my time consuming life events are slowly being checked off my list!

I promise once I get my new room organized I will be back and give y'all a full update!

I have LOTS of fun things to tell you about :)

please hang with me while I finish up getting ready for my list fall semester to start!

love you all :)

peace & love

-A

S.O.S

I'm moving so I have no internet till Sunday!! Promise an update then!

Summer Cleaning

I apologize.. I'll be off the blog for a while! Lots to do and not much time to do it in! Hoping to blog from the beach!

peace & love

-A

So in love with you..

Seriously

I got a little two day vacation away with my love

&&

I truly believe it's good for the soul.

Not just your relationship but working on you..

being on vacation with your significant other allows a lot of wonderful work to happen.

I am always amazed that (even if we bicker) I CRY like a baby every time D leaves to head back to GA.

Long distance is hard but it makes me love my time with him that much more

(and count down the days until we no longer have to be long distance)

(roughly 316 days away!)

I hope y'all have had a wonderful week!

Promise I will be blogging more but not till after my favorite holiday (July 4th)!

peace & love

-A

So make the best of this task and don't ask why..

Oh, hello!

I'm still just coming off of my emotional high from all of my recent activities!

FIRST!

I got to see ALOE BLACC and BRUNO MARS with my mom, second mom, and sister!!

(my second mom before dinner)

(my main squeeze Bruno!)

(all the ladies)

(OBSESSED WITH BRUNO MARS!!)

(even got a sweet t-shirt and ran in it the next morning!)

Fast Forward to Friday with Layken 

Girls Night

Dinner: The Southern Kitchen 

Activity: Art on the Rocks at The Birmingham Museum of Art

(my sad attempt at the paper cranes)

TROUBLE

(1800s pocket watch holder)

Saturday: Baby Shower for my BFF

Sunday: Father's Day

and hanging out with my favorite niece!

If you can't tell by the pictures, I had a very successful and busy week! I love love LOVED Art On The Rocks! I would totally recommend it to those who are interested in that type of scene! Also, Bruno Mars is as wonderful live as he was at the Super Bowl! I will be seeing him in concert again! 

Sorry for such a short post but I am exhausted from this busy life I am living! I promise you will be seeing a post from me soon about the lack of manners and lessons from kindergarten that we all need a refresh on!

peace & love

-A

Here's to the good times..

Dudes..

I have a BIG week ahead of me!

1.  Aloe Blacc/Bruno Mars concert TOMORROW

2. Wine tasting at the restaurant Thursday

3.  Art On The Rocks with the always lovely Southern Scripted

4. Ash's baby shower Saturday

5. Father's Day Sunday 

HOLY SMOKES

I can't control my excitement!

&& I just got a new camera that I will use to capture all the events and probably do a post on later.

peace & love

-A

In a world of my own...

I apologize for my absence..

I have been sucked into this show trance

I was introduced to the HBO series Girls last week..

and I'm already caught up and waiting for Season 4 to be here.

I promise to update you on my life soon..

I have a pretty epic week ahead of me so STAY TUNED

What are some of the shows you're binge watching?? I'm looking for new ones!

Comment and let me know!

peace & love
-A

I call into question..

Here lately all of the things I have convinced myself I am fully made of 

have been questioned. 

I MEAN EVERYTHING.

I've heard stories of this happening.

this "quarter life crisis"

(I'm not 25 but I'm close enough)

and I have lost SLEEP over this.

I know that it's silly.. at 23 you should be pretty secure in your being.. but the events that have taken place proved differently.

So, I'm working on it..

I'm working on me.

I am keeping the good and getting rid of the bad.

Don't get me wrong.. I am all about some peace, love and happiness.

But during this quarter life crisis it's all about inner peace, self love, and personal happiness. 

I know it's not the way that I plan on being..but I think it is going to help me in the long run!

Let's work on ourselves together!

Stop judging others and start worrying about you! 

You never know what you may find along this journey with me!

I love you guys!

peace & love

-A

Weekender

OH MY!

WHAT a weekend!!!

I started my first Saturday off in FOREVER with the perfect Pepper Place trip with my favorite blogger and bff Layken from Southern Scripted (go check her out)

I got some AMAZING Salsa from After Midnight Salsa company, some zucchini and even a piece of Apple bread that was TO DIE FOR!! I love Pepper Place!! 

Then Layken included me in on her Saturday morning traditions with a stop by Urban Standard. 

I needed a coffee chat with my personality twin.. We literally think so much a like that it can be scary and hilarious at the same time. 

Then after we left the coffee shop I had MANY events to attend.

D came into town and we had TWO get together that we were required to attend.

My B'ham job had a customer/employee appreciation get together and it was such a blast! I found it a little odd to see all the people that are my "regulars" outside of the restaurant! However, they loved giving D the 5th degree on "How he has a good one!" and "He better take care of me or else" 

gotta love my second family! 

then we got to hang out with my momma and all of her friends! Such a fun fun night!! I loved every second of it and I loved it EVEN more because I had D by my side!!

(check out those shorts though...)

Saturday  I also tried different beers based ONLY on their labels!! I love these two and Truck Stops Honey beer as well!! 

Have you ever judged a beer by its label?

 I usually try to avoid judging something on its looks but it did not steer me in the wrong direction this weekend!!

peace & love

-A

Honor thy (grand)mother..

Do you believe in signs from Heaven? I do. A little while ago I ran a 5k for brain disorders in PCB and there was a sign but this hasn't been the first time ...

My mom and second mom MR decided to go for a little jog on a beautiful weekend..

#runningforruth

AND WE ALL PLACED IN OUR AGE GROUPS!!!!!

AND I BEAT MY PERSONAL BEST RECORD!!!

but the best part was that we all had a message from Ruth..

My personal message from Ruth was at the very beginning of the race. Sometimes when I'm having a rough day a bird will fly past the window that I'm looking out of and then I know.. Ruth is with me..

When the 5k first started we got to run down past this lake and as we were running and I was thinking "there is no way I am going to be able to do this thing.." this BEAUTIFUL bird took off right in front of me. It was as if Ruth was saying "you got this! I'm here cheering you on!" 

Then about half way through the run MR noticed that the sun came out and was shinning on us (the sun has always been her sign) and she even told me that during that moment she was like "alright, I see you Ruth!" 

And at the end my Mom had her music on shuffle.. She was on the last little part of the 5k and How Great Thou Art came on (which is what we played at Ruth's funeral) so naturally my mom was crying at the end. 

What an AMAZING journey! We all had our own little message from heaven and it was eye opening. 

I love when that happens.

What about you? Do you have a message that let's you know a loved one or even the big man himself is with you in that moment?? 

I want to hear about it!! 

peace & love

-A

My apologizes..

HELLO!!!

I apologize for my absence and I realize that I have lots to update y'all on 

SO

I'm going to list what is going to happen this week and hopefully I will be back on track for summer!

I hope everything has been AWESOME for you guys!

Blogs to come:

1. My run in honor of my Grandmother (Ruth)

2. My school/work life

3.  My (almost) quarter life crisis and how to handle questioning yourself

I promise that I am no longer going to be absent since all of my work is strictly 9-5 or on the weekends.

I love y'all!

peace & love

-A

A year together - a wonderful adventure

Hello!

I apologize for my absence but I have had a few things happening!

FIRST!

D and I celebrated our anniversary on March 12th!

I went to GA to visit him the weekend before and he had a SURPRISE trip planned for me!!

We went to Helen, GA!!!!!!!!

Helen is famous for it's "Alpine" architecture, being in the mountains, and Oktoberfest. 

naturally I ended up finding the Art & History Museum.. 

(that's D looking at old pictures in one of the TWO original jail cells in their town hall!

We also visited Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen and I had some delicious candies!!

We ate dinner at the Troll Tavern.. I know it sounds weird but it was under a bridge right next to the Chattahooche River and it was perfect. 

matter of fact.. Helen is perfect.

We went to a wine tasting at Fox Winery and bought two bottles of yummy wine.

I was treated like such a princess and I am bragging because D deserves the praise and attention for such a wonderful trip

BONUS: my first lesson that I taught was on The Alpine Countries so Helen hit close to home for me!! D is very thoughtful!!!!!!!!

Anyway, on our ACTUAL anniversary we could not be together so D sent me flowers at work!!!

Lilies and tulips! He knew I was about to go run for my grandmother (who loves lilies) and they are my second favorite flower!!!!

I apologize for my absence!! I promise I am catching up!!

How have y'all been!? Any fun stories? I hope you have been treated like a prince/princess and that you have had someone do something thoughtful for you!

peace & love

-A

Run baby run..

So if y'all follow me on twitter or follow along with my blog post here you would know that I am running a 5k in 4 VERY SHORT days!

I'm running with my mom and her friend in Panama City Beach. 

This one has a special purpose, this one is for Brain-related Disorders.. & I have two people very close to my heart that didn't/don't have a DISORDER but their lives were/are altered due to Brain Tumors.

So I believe any research on the brain is GREAT research.. it is a fantastic and frightening tool..

So here lately I've been posting #runningforruth

Ruth is my mom's mom, the one that went home to the big man upstairs a little over a year ago..

She was diagnosed with benign brain tumors right around the time I came on to this earth.. 

I was the only one, out of her three grandchildren, who had the opportunity to really get to know her.

She was stubborn. She was strong. She was religious. She was witty. 

Ruth didn't enjoy taking medicine.. so due to a second surgery to remove one of the tumors and the seizures that were caused by her tumors.. she slowly but surely started to get things confused..and then 20 years later she lost the ability to communicate and take care of herself..

She was my first reason to run. She is my reason to this day that the brain amazes me and scares me all in one thought. She is with me every time I get up at 5 am to go train for this 5k or when I see sunflowers or a bird flying by..

& for her.. we are running.. we even have cool shirts..

even put a lily with lyrics from her favorite hymn In The Garden.

Now on to my next reason for running..

Everyone meet Charles Trippy.

Our paths crossed in early 2012 when my fabulous friends and I totally tried to act like we didn't know him (even though he was a famous video blogger and plays bass in We The Kings) but by the end of the night.. we were all best friends.

Well, not too long after we all met Charles, we found out (via his vlog which you can watch daily here) that he had brain tumors as well..and we thought they were benign.. but as life continued.. Charles and his absolutely amazing wife Alli found out that his tumors were brain cancer and 

CANCER SUCKS

so I am wearing this bracelet for Charles during my run for Brain-related disorders!

I wear it every day but it was originally purchased for this race!

I'm so excited to be running this race with two very WONDERFUL people in mind! I hope that the money raised from this event helps someone with some sort of brain problem.. 

It doesn't have to be a tumor..it just has to help them and their family.. that's all I want.

Lastly my playlist for this run! 

I wanted to share this with y'all and see if y'all had anymore suggestions!

Anna's Playlist for #runningforruth/ctfxc

1. Check Yes Juliet - We The Kings

2. Sydney (I'll Come Running) - Brett Dennen

3. Won't Back Down - Tom Petty

4. Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine

5. Ocean and Atlantic - Mayday Parade 

6. Annabelle - A Rocket To The Moon

7. She Takes Me High - We The Kings

8. So What - P!nk

9. Fins - Jimmy Buffett 

10. Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammer 

11.Girls Do What They Want - The Maine

12. Truth About Love - P!nk

13. White Walls - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

14. Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners

14. Trouble - P!nk

15. Promise The Stars - We The Kings

What's some songs that get y'all moving? I would love to hear suggestions!

Hope y'all are having a wonderful week!

peace & love

-A 

Talk to me..

Honestly..

I LOVE WORKING WTH PEOPLE..

but there are times that I wonder if the people I talk to forgot their heads at home..

because that would be better than knowing they actually attempted to use their brains to carry on a conversation with me..

but in other news

MY LITTLE BROTHER GOT INTO THE UNIVERSITY WITH ME!!!!

AHH!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited!!

What a wonderful day for him! He deserves it! 

Hope y'all haven't had to deal with any people forgetting their heads at home! & I hope that y'all have received some good news today! (even if it is not something that directly involves you)!

peace & love

-A

Those who can't do

Yesterday,my professor said the infamous quote, the one that turns me from rainbows and butterflies to furious and spitting fire... 

Now, before I tell you what it was, let me say that it was in regard to himself.. 

but the saying still makes my heart hurt.

Let me tell you..

I have had my fair share of teachers that teaching was OBVIOUSLY not their calling OR first choice 

BUT

they are the reason I went into Secondary Education, because I want future generations to have a positive learning experience.

with that being said

THERE IS NEVER A TIME OR PLACE FOR THIS QUOTE

EVER.

I wanted to stop him and ask the class, "If those who CAN'T do taught ALL OF YOU and now you are in a GRADUATE program..then we must ALL be some crazy geniuses that didn't need teachers to begin with.

Honestly, next time you think you want to say that quote, ask yourself how much you learned from some of those people that "can't do".. it will probably shock you.

Next time you think that you are better off than educators ask yourself how you got to the place you're at.. I bet one teacher motivated you, or found that special "something" and encouraged you to live out your dream...

Now don't get it twisted.. I'm not saying teacher's are perfect..there's a lot of things I can't do.. 

-I can't stand to disappoint people

-I can't handle people not living to their full potential 

-I can't understand math or science

-I can't draw or play a musical instrument 

-I can't stand to think that there are so many awful things happening in this world

-I can't listen to that music where the "singer" screams the whole time and I can't understand a word they are saying.

-I can't predict the future

-I can't go back in time

-I can't help but want to kick someone when I hear the saying that has started this whole rant..

BUT 

there are a lot of things that I CAN DO.. just as an educator

-I can be a helping hand

-I can be a listener (and maybe even a therapist from time to time)

-I can be a role model

-I can save lives

-I can show the future of this country the potential they have, and what great things they can do with it.

-I can reference the past, in order to encourage my students to make History.

-I can have the future President of the United States sit in my classroom (and when someone ask him how he became such a wonderful person, I may just be in that list of influences)

-I can be the parent someone needs (I mean, they will spend more time in school then at home)

- I can make learning fun

and dare I say it

-I CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

Now I know what you're thinking.. a lot of professions can change the world..but do all those professions work with the FUTURE generations? Do all those professions have one on one time with them (roughly) 10 months out of the year?

No?

That's what I thought.

My whole childhood my mom would tell me to find a career where I could do what I loved.

well, 

I love History

I love interacting with people

I love making people smile

I love encouraging people to be the best that they can be

I love knowing that I may just help make this world a better place from my classroom

So, when a future educator, who loves what she is about to get herself into, hears such a mean comment about her profession..

She's going to get mad..

and probably write a blog about it

If you've learned anything from this post, I hope that it's how much teachers and education influence your life.

I apologize for the rant but I had to get that all cleared up..

peace & love

-A

You gotta run the race to win the prize

Well, we have been training for 5 weeks and this past Saturday we completed our first (my second) 5k! 

The glow run was a pretty awesome experience! They had music playing and glow laps all over the course! Towards the end they had this cool tunnel thing and it was awesome!

We got really cool medals and we even finished under our target time!

Afterwards we treated ourselves to a wonderful meal at Outback 

and then I came home took a nice long shower and watched Hairspray (that's where I got the title for this post "Welcome to the 60's")

Next 5k is just a short 19 days away.. I want to be able to run this one (in honor of my Memaw) in 30 minutes so for the next 3 weeks I will be focusing on time not distance. 

Here's too it!

Running for Ruth is my motivation this Monday!

What's yours? 

I hope you do something wonderful today! Smile at a stranger! Tell someone you are thinking about them! It could be just what they need!

peace & love

-A

Hope for the hopeless

Oh. My. Goodness.

I got to check another artist off my bucket list of people to see 

and

I would go see him again tomorrow.

BRETT DENNEN

I'm obsessed with you and everything you sing about.

This man, ladies & gentlemen, is going to change the world one song at a time.

I loved him before and somehow I love him even more AFTER I saw him in concert.

He is so focused on happiness and love and not letting the negative people get you down..

WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO BE!

if you ever get the chance... go support this dude.. you won't regret the money you spent!

my lovely mother went with me and kept me laughing the whole night

(let's just say she is not so "hip with the times" when it comes to Brett and his music) 

if you want to see my live tweets from the concert follow me on Twitter.

I have lots more to update you on but I'll save that for tomorrow

I'm going to leave you with one of my (new) favorite Brett Dennen songs that is now on mine & D's playlist 

(yes, playlist.. we figured why have "one song" when you can have a whole list of them that remind you of each other!)

Brett Dennen - "You Make It Easy"

peace & love

-A

ALWB Blog Hop - Interview!

1. What part of the state do you call home?

Central Alabama (all over that area)

2. How long have you been blogging?

well, this blog just started but I have been on again off again for about seven years.

3. Why did you start blogging?

I want to share my story with the world. I'll never have the money or time to write a book, so this is a great place to make that happen. I enjoy the little moments in life. I also want to spread happiness and motivate people to do good things even when the world isn't so nice. 

4. What do you love most about blogging?

I love the connections you make. You get to hear people's stories and they get to hear yours and sometime along the way you realize that we're all just trying to figure life out.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself teaching in Georgia. I see myself still wondering how the world really works. I see myself traveling, a lot. (and hopefully married to D).

6. What is your favorite movie?

Because I Said So. My mom is Diane Keaton and I am Mandy Moore.

7. If you could use any actress to play you in your life, who would you choose and why?

That's a hard choice either Julia Roberts, because she's America's sweetheart and I admire her work.
or
Zooey Deschanel because she's my favorite.
and
Betty White as me in my older years

8. Name the top 5 things on your bucket list.

1. Travel to Europe (including but not limited to: London, Rome, and Paris)

2. Provide my students with motivation to be the change we need in this world.

3. Open a store (probably antiques, & name it in honor of my mom's mom).

4. Work a music festival or concert (filling food bowls for artist would be just fine by me).

5.  See Jimmy Buffett on the beach somewhere.

9. Who or what inspired you to blog?

Life. There's a lot of small elements.. but I realized I wanted to a "creative outlet" so this is where I let it all go.

10. If you could be known for one thing in your life, what would it be?
Helping others/Making the world a better place (even if it's just for one person).

11. Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?
The beach

12. Describe the best moment in your life.
My first kiss. D (my boyfriend now) was actually my first kiss in the summer of 2004 at the beach. The night before, he revealed to me that he had told his Grandfather that he was going to marry me one day (again this was the night BEFORE my first kiss EVER). Then the next day we were swimming in the pool, parents all around, and he tells me to go underwater & then he kissed me. (little did he know I was the world's BIGGEST Mariah Carey fan and LOVED her "Always Be My Baby" video b/c they kiss underwater).  
It is one day that always makes me smile, even when D and I lost touch throughout our undergraduate years.

13. We’re headed to your neck of the woods for one day. What is one thing we have to do, and what restaurant we must eat at?
Well my original neck of the woods is Birmingham so.. There's a lot to do. Me? I would go downtown to Avondale Brewery. Then I would go eat at Crazy Cajuns.

14. What is a tradition you and your family have?
Christmas is really big at our house. So on Christmas Eve, even though the youngest is now 17, we make Christmas cookies, read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and then we all sleep in the same room for one night. It brings back some wonderful memories from my childhood, and it will be the one thing that will probably bring me home every year for Christmas Eve.

15. We all love social media, share your links so we can follow you.

right now I'm trying to figure out the divide between personal life and blog life so I'm limited to 
Twitter

Heaven can wait..

Hello again!

Well this weekend was wonderful. So wonderful that I cried like a baby watching D leave to head back to GA (stupid Chiropractor midterms!) 

I started off my weekend thinking it was going to perfect, and although my day at work was anything but..  D made it his goal to make me have a Valentine's Weekend to remember. 

Friday morning I woke up and went to the gym, got in the Bodpod, found out I have more lean muscle than fat (score!), ran 3 miles in 35 minutes (yay!) and then headed to work.

I bought Valentine's Day themed Krispy Kreme doughnuts (duh) for work and D, made cute little goodie Valentine's Day bags for my co-workers & trainer, even baked COOKIES, and decorated my dining room so when D arrived everything would be PERFECT!

My work day however, was not perfect. It was very stressful and I was very tired driving back home at 5 pm. 

BUT

When I got home this handsome face was anxiously waiting for me to arrive. 

We had the most perfect night! Yummy infused drinks at our favorite bar while we waited for a table at Five (our favorite splurge dinner). Then we came home, drank some wine, snuggled on the couch, and watched sappy movies until we both gave up and went to bed.

D also SPOILED me with love and thoughtfulness in all his gifts..

He got me these PERFECT pillowcases (the stethoscope since he is going to be a doctor) and since we are long distance. He even got his Nana to hand-stitch our names on mine because I am OBSESSED with her hand-stitching and it makes it that much more personal/sentimental. 

Then I got three BEAUTIFUL Brighton charms, the hearts (for Valentine's day) the D, and the cross bead which I LOVE.

and of course my FAVORITE flowers because he knew I wouldn't be happy with anything else but Sunflowers :)

I mean.. is he the sweetest or what? I cried like a baby just reading this card..

(& honestly this card would have been enough)

OK 

enough with the sappy lovey dovey stuff.. I'm moving on..

YESTERDAY:

We got to check another Brewery off of our list! 

Black Warrior Brewing Company 

The atmosphere and the apricot wheat is awesome!

We were joined by the lovely Southern Scripted and her boyfriend!

D and I both really love their company because 1) She's my best friend and 2) Both couples have a strange amount of things in common so there is NEVER a dull moment with all of us.

(also she gave me that ROCKING American Flag scarf)

This weekend gave me a lot to be thankful for and I have realized how blessed I truly am. 

I'm going to leave y'all with a song from one of my all time favorite bands

We The Kings - Heaven Can Wait

"Tell me you want me to stay forever, cause Heaven can wait.."

I also want to shout out to my best friend since 4th grade AM!! She finally let the world know she is having a baby in August! I admire her strength and I am so happy for her!! She is going to be an awesome momma! && now I can tell the world!! Love you girl!!

peace & love

-A