Tuesday Topics: 9 Travel Essentials

I would not call myself a traveler but it feels like I have barely been home this month!  That being said, there are some MUSTS when packing to go away; whether that be for a night or a week! 

1.) My phone: This is pretty obvious and I also make sure to bring my charger!  How else would I stay connected with the world! ;)

2.) A fan:  I am a picky sleeper.  I do not fall asleep easily and when I do, I do not sleep well.  Therefore, there are a few items I NEED to sleep. A major item is a fan.  I need noise when I sleep, well no, not noise, I need a fan.  Sound machines, tvs, people, and music do NOT work.  Fan only!  

3.)  My pooh bear.  Ugh, this makes me feel like such a child and it is slightly embarrassing but whatever!  I have had him since I was a wee little baby and can't seem to sleep without him or give him up.  Sean doesn't mind so I guess he is sticking around!

4.) Face wash:  I have a cleansing system I use every night and my face goes crazy with pimples without it! It is part of my bed time routine and necessary for my face!  For those of you wondering, I use the all-natural Meleluca Clear system.  I LOVE it! It is the only thing that has ever worked for me!

5.) Hair Straightener:  My hair can be kind of coo coo without it! Not so much all my hair, but my bangs.  They tend to do this crazy flip thing when they dry that is better left unseen by the world.

6.) Camera:  I bring it always.  I love documenting memories, even small ones!

7.) Carmex: Notice I said carmex and not chapstick.  Chapstick does not work for me.  Carmex is the only way =)  You might say I am addicted.. I always have one, I always lose it to and then frantically search until I find it because my lips might just fall off if I don't.   =)

8.) My kindle: not only do I read every night before bed, but I love reading when I am away.  Reading on vacation just adds to the relaxed feeling.

9.). A hoodie.  I get cold quite a bit.  I always have a hoodie with me whether I am traveling in a car or on a plane.

Tuesday Topics: Ten Things I Live For

YAY! New round of Tuesday Topics!  Today's topic is 10 things I live for!

1.)  God: I wouldn't be here without him.  He is my reason for living and loving.

2.) My Husband:  Love him! He is my best friend!

3.)  My Family: I don't know what I would do without them.  

4.) Teaching: I love my job, I love my students, I love what I do.

5.) Reading:  I love getting lost in a book.  It may be nerdy, but I love it!!

6.) Friends: Life would be pretty boring without them!

7.) Laughing: I am nerdy, I am a dork, and I am kinda weird, but it does make for good laughs ;)  I love laughing, it means I am happy, or at least getting there.  Laughing means I am creating memories and I love that.

8.) Pictures: I love pictures.  I got away from taking pictures for awhile, mainly because I didn't like my camera, but I am back! I love taking pictures and capturing memories.

9.) Home: I don't live for the physical aspect of home as much as I do the feeling of home.  Home may be in my apartment, it may be wherever I happen to be on vacation, but it almost always is wherever I am with Sean.  I love the feeling of belonging.  I love having somewhere to be comfortable. I love the feeling of home. 

10.) The Future: Sometimes living for the future can make me a big worry wart and I have to make sure I don't live TOO much for the future.  Most days, living for the future is so fun and exciting.  I love making plans and imagining my life in a month, a year, 10 years.  I love creating an image in my head of who I will be, what my family will look like, where we will be.  The past few years my future plans usually centered around marriage and my life with Sean.  My future plans still center around that but I just added babies to the mix.  =)

Tuesday Topics: One Lifelong Dream ( almost a week late!)

So sorry for the delay! I was on vacation with no wifi and no way of posting this even though I already had it written. But, better late then never, right?

THIS one is pretty easy.  While I have "dreams" such as I would love to be a rock star, which is kinda funny since I have awful stage fright.  I would also love to work in the rain forest with orangutans, which is also funny because I am petrified of snakes. As for a life long dream, I feel like I am already living it.  I have never been someone with larger than life goals and dreams.  My dreams have always been pretty simple.  I wanted to fall in love and marry my best friend.  I wanted to be a teacher.  I wanted to serve God.  I want to have a wonderful relationship with my family and friends. So far, I have done pretty well.  Now that I am working and married to the love of my life, my dream is to have children with Sean.  I want to be a mom.  I want a family with my husband and love of my life.  Lucky for me, I have a husband who wants the same thing just as much!  No, not right now, not even a few months from now.  Whenever it does happen, just know that I will be one happy girl!

Tuesday Topics: Two Places I've traveled

Hello all! We are on #2 for Tuesday Topics! Please forgive me in advance, this post will be short.  I returned from a 12 hour car ride about an hour ago and I am very sleepy... speaking of a 12 hour car ride:

Traveling # 1:  Virginia

Sean's family moved to VA the summer before our senior year of high school and after we had been dating 1.5 years.  Needless to say, I have made the trip to VA many times! It is always fun to spend an extended amount of time with Sean's family and always hard to leave!  More details about our most recent trip to VA coming soon! =)

(Last Summer, Va)

Traveling # 2:  Galena

Our trip to Galena was not a long one and it was not very far away but it was special! Sean and I got married in March and since we were both teachers, we did not have the time available to take a long and far away honeymoon.  We settling on a weekend in Galena and while it was not the typical beach honeymoon- we loved it! It was the first vacation we had ever taken alone and our first few days as husband and wife!  

(Galena, March 2013, honeymoon)

Tuesday Topics: 3 favorite quotes

This week for Tuesday Topics I will be discussing my 3 favorite quotes.  I am not too much of a quote person, so this was kinda rough for me, but here we go!

1.)"Pooh," Piglet whispered. 

"Yes, Piglet?" 

"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."

If you know me at all, then you know my love for all things Winnie the Pooh.  Now I have so many favorite Winnie the Pooh quotes, but this one is by far #1!  It makes me feel happy.  

2.)  Psalm 46:10, "He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

This bible verse gets me through so many stressful and worrisome times!  "Be Still and know that I am God."  This is something I repeat to myself over and over.  I am a worrier by nature, emotional, and tend to get stressed easily and this verse grounds me and reminds me who is in control of my life.

3.) "I'm not clumsy. It's just the floor hates me, the tables and chairs are bullies and the walls get in the way"

Silly but true! Again, if you know me, I am clumsy!! This quote pretty much sums up my life =)

Tuesday Topics: 4 Things I Learned Outside of School

Time for another round of Tuesday Topics!   I am supposed to write 4 things I learned outside of school.  Obviously this is difficult, but I am going to give it a try!

 1.) The importance of family and pets.  While in school, generally middle-high school, it seems like your whole world is your friends.  My experience in particular was one that had me consumed with fitting in and never being left out.  As I left school, I quickly learned that while friends are important, family is everything.  I included pets in this because I consider pets a part of the family unit.  Truthfully, a home feels empty without a furry creature to love.

2.)  Just be yourself.  This sounds so cliché but it is true!  I went through way too many years of forcing myself to be someone else to fit in.  I wasn't happy, I didn't truly know myself, and my relationships weren't real.  Someone may not like something, they may talk about you, they may judge you, but you need to be yourself to be happy.  Now, that does not mean YOU should be judgmental  rude, unkind because it is "who you are," but if you are someone who laughs at nerdy jokes, LAUGH! If you are someone who likes alone time, be alone for a bit!  Be yourself!

3.)  It doesn't matter what other people think about you.  This is closely connected with just being yourself but I wanted to keep it separate because while it is something that I learned a long time ago, I still need to remind myself 10 times a day.  Other people's thoughts are my weakness.  It is why I just now am starting a blog; I was so worried what other people would think and their judgement. I second guess my decisions, the things I say, the things I do.  So many times a day I need to stop and remind myself, "It doesn't matter."  If you are happy, if you are doing things that would make God happy, then who cares what others think! I struggle with this, so help remind me every once in awhile! =)

4.)  Things are always better with God in the center.  Relationships, careers, free time, EVERYTHING is better with God in the center.  Sometimes I forget this and think that I can do just fine on my own, but when I remember, when I open up my bible, open my heart to God, and start talking to Him and living for Him again, my world brightens up even if I didn't realize it was dark.  Everything is better with God in the center, EVERYTHING!

(My Baptism, 2010)

Well, that's all for Tuesdays Topics! Next Tuesday I will be blogging about three of my favorite quotes!

Some things to look forward to:

-Wedding Memories Part 2

-Photography is a hobby of mine and I am excited for 2 "sessions" coming up- toddler and engagement! Whoo Hoo! Expect a blog post about those =)

One last thing, there are a few different ways you can follow my blog:

1: Wait until I post an update on facebook

the next 2 are located on the left side bar of my page

2.) follow me by email- type in your email address and get an email update when I post

3.) Follow me on bloglovin- this is a great way to show me you are a fan of my page.  This is really great if you read multiple blogs, it is almost like a facebook newsfeed for blog posts!

Tuesday Topics: Five Songs

As I am starting late in the game, my first round of Tuesday Topics begins with five songs that bring back memories.

1.)  Wannabe-Spice Girls.  Truthfully, I could have picked any song from this era- Nsync, backstreet boys, etc but this song really encompasses my childhood! This song reminds me of a carefree time when all that mattered was which spice girl you were (I was Sporty, which if you know me, makes no sense at all!)

2.) Good Things- The Bodeans.  This song feels like home.  This reminds me of driving in the car with my family, and fast forwarding my dad's Bodean's cassette tape to Good Things because it was the only song I knew.    

3.)  My One True Friend- Bette Midler.  Like #1, I could have picked any Bette Midler song.  This song reminds me of my sister.  My older sister and I were a bit odd in that we spent our time listening to the Lite FM and watching Harrison Ford movies- not typical stuff for 9 and 12 year olds... but this song reminds me of my relationship with my sister before we grew up and had jobs, boyfriends/husbands, and adult responsibilities.  This song reminds me of the carefree, fun, loving relationship between us.  When I hear Bette Midler, I see barbies, dolls, and our shared room!

4.) For You I Will- Teddy Geiger. Ah, this song reminds me of Sean.  This song came out right around the time Sean and I started dating.  It was so full of excitement and joy and completely encompassed everything I was feeling at that time.  When I hear this song it feels like I am 16 all over again! 

  

5.)  Die Young- Ke$ha.  Now, I am not a huge Kesha fan, and this is not even a song that I know all the words too.  But, for some reason this song sticks out for me from my wedding.  When I hear this song, I am right back on the dance floor, surrounded by family and friends, and having the time of my life celebrating my marriage!!

Welp, that's all for this week! Join me next week  for four things I have learned outside of school!

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