Reasons I'm thankful I'm single

Yes, I know that title doesn't sound like anything I'd ever write, but I am endeavoring to be thankful in each place in life that God has me. Throughout my life I've always looked one step ahead and wished I was there; never stopping to be thankful for where I was. I so wish I would have enjoyed childhood, my teen years, and college more. So here goes:

1. I can eat the same thing three nights in a row and no one comments.
2. I adjust the thermostat to exactly how I like it.
3. I pick my travel destinations. I've been to some amazing places that some people only dream of seeing.
4. I get to spend every holiday with my family. :)
5. No one comments on my deep love of reality TV shows and romantic comedies.
6. Laundry and dishes for one.
7. No one says anything as I polish off a bag of twizzlers (my addiction, all flavors).
8. I don't have to feel guilty for ignoring someone since I study a lot.
9. I can wear pajamas all weekend long and not feel like a slob.
10. No one comments on my mountain of dishes.
11. I can wear tall shoes whenever I want; which generally turns into never, but I could if I wanted to ;)
12. I control the TV remote and can switch between two shows all night long.
13. The walk-in closet is all mine.
14. No one rolls their eyes when I walk in with shopping bags. It's a rarity, I promise.


I'll be adding to this. Any added reasons I'm forgetting?

And my next European travel destination is...

It's settled; I'm going to Ireland for at least 10 days in August!!! I've always thought Ireland would be amazing to see! My friend agreed to drive while there, which was one of my key concerns, so now we're golden! I'm relieved to have the location settled! I'm getting great suggestions from friends too. I'm so excited and now I'm going to research and plan the heck out of this trip! Any suggestions of places I must see?

I didn't know it was a date

According to my friends, I've gone on more dates than I actually count as dates. If I think it's a friend outing and then find out you thought it was a date, I don't count that as a date. Yes, I'm that girl that thinks everyone wants to be only friends. I'd rather assume everyone just wants to be friends than assume everyone wants to date me. Nobody wants to be THAT girl. Guys, be clear; is it a date or not? Be brave, go out on a limb use the "d" word if that's what you want it to be. Otherwise, when I realize mid-outing that you think it's a date; I'm going to silently freak. Later when I tell them, my friends are going to laugh at me and I may just blog about it. Yes, this happens to me more than I'd like to admit. ;)

2014 Travel

I love to travel. I'd rather do without than miss the opportunity to see the world. Before I die, I want to see the world. I don't want to wait until I'm old to travel, because you never know if you'll still have your health.

Going to Italy last year was a wonderful opportunity and also made we want to travel more. So, I'm now planning another international trip. The hard part is deciding where to go. I've always wanted to go to Italy, so that made sense. The other country that's on the top of my list is Greece, but that's too dangerous of a location to travel to currently. I've always wanted to go to Ireland, but that seems more complicated as flights there are pricey and travel within the country is not as easy as hopping a train in Italy was. I really don't want to drive. I don't drive stick and can you really see me in a tiny car driving on the opposite side of the road?! So, I've had several recommendations for Germany. I've never wanted to go there, but we'll see. Looking at going in May or probably August. I'm not sure what other countries I'd add with it. I'm looking at being away for 10 days to 2 weeks and unfortunately, I'm on a pretty tight budget.

This spring break, I'm hoping for an actual vacation! Looking into possibly Savannah, GA or maybe San Antonio. We'll see.

I'm still hoping to make it to the Lake of the Ozarks this summer, not sure I can swing, but I did pick up a small side gig.

I love planning for a trip! Saving for it and picking locations is the hard part. ;)

Any suggestions on where I should travel and what sights I should see or not see? I need help to get the most out of each trip. Need a little help from my friends. :)

Best Date Ever

I've been thinking a lot about my best date ever. It was six months ago, a first date, and actually a blind date at that. I actually had to take an anxiety pill before going and I had friends approve my outfit. Our meal was a disaster, but our conversation flowed; we talked for four hours. He was smart and well-traveled. On paper, he pretty much check all the boxes. We had a unreal initial connection. We spent two months trying to make it work, but distance and time among other things were our demise. Though we didn't work out, I'm still hopeful that a better first date is still to come and I've learned more about what's important to me in a relationship.

Reflection and Wish List

So, I had a little summer heartbreak that I never really dealt with; I used my insanely intense summer class to distract myself. Since then, I've kinda worked through it all. I don't think the pain afterward was that I missed the guy, but rather that I now had to start all over again. Now, I'm really glad it didn't work out. Through things that fail you figure out what you need and I did.

This is not a complete list, but you get the picture.

I need a Christian guy, someone striving to live for Christ, who actually goes to church.

I need someone who can express their feelings.

I need someone who can take and give a compliment.

I need someone with a good sense of humor, who can make me laugh.

I want someone who can/will dance.

I need someone with cool family and friends.

I need someone who loves their job.

Loves to travel.

Preferably a wildcat fan ;)

Preferably tall; the taller the better

My Last Two Dates...

Hmmm, to talk about my last two dates or not, that is the question I've been pondering...Here goes nothing.

Met someone through school, he seemed really cool and had breath-taking blue eyes. We went out once and had a blast, though he seemed nervous out of his mind. Kinda fell off the face of the earth after that. Now we're just kinda acquaintances and I'm okay with that.

This last weekend I was a wedding date for the first time ever. Woot-woot! A high school classmate that I hadn't seen in 11 years, messaged me over summer and asked me to go to his little brother's wedding. It was actually a classmate that I used to have a small crush on (he doesn't know) and I like to say that I'm up for pretty much anything, so I agreed to go. The little brother and I used to box at the same gym. The date and I ended up being in charge of getting the couple's dogs to the wedding. My heels sunk in the ground at the outside wedding. Every female family member came and introduced themselves. Everyone was really sweet and asked where In was from and what I do. They found my MBA endeavor impressive and I got to semi-embarrass my date by talking about how he ended up at my school. He took it well, gave my a hand as I walked down stairs (I was wearing tall, but very cute shoes), and made sure I always had a beverage. He said he thought he was bad date, but he wasn't. There wasn't enough dance music, but I did get to put to use my ballroom dancing skills, a little. So, he's back out-of-state and I'm left remembering how nice it is to have a guy around to help me down stairs when I'm in crazy, tall shoes or to make sure my glasss never gets empty. It's the small stuff. In other news, I did get to wear a dress I bought and hadn't found a place to wear it in two years.

New Music I'm Listening to

So, I saw a video on Facebook and got addicted to the song. I'm a hopeless romantic, what can I say. Check out the video of "Oh Sweet Lorraine" and the story behind it. I hope to find love like this one day.

Also, the terrific band Cloverton just dropped their first album. I've followed the band from the start; they are from Manhattan and I know two of the band members from high schooland college. Their new album, "Patterns" is an oasis for someone needing rest for their soul. I heard them play all the songs at their CD release party last weekend. God definitely used their album to encourage my heart and remind me of His love for me. Check out "Patterns!" I normally don't buy albums, because I normally don't like all the songs on it. That was definitely not the case with "Patterns." . Okay, just two more videos from them. Buy the album, you won't regret it.

Lastly, I went to the Paxico Blues Festival last weekend and discovered the crazy/talented Samantha Fish Band. I'm in love with their song, "Last September." Here's a link to the song: http://www.virginmedia.com/music/browse/samantha-fish/songs/3844224#.

What new music are you all listening to?

Italy Part Four

We left the tranquility of Cinque Terre for the busyness of the grand city, Florence. Now, I did end up liking Florence, but I was a bit overwhelmed to enter the rush of the city.

I love the cobblestone streets of Italy, but wheeling luggage through the city can be a challenge. It was surprisingly cold while we were in Italy and I started to get sick while in Cinque Terre. Once I got to Florence, I was really sick. Thankfully, I finally gave in and found a pharmacy, which helped lots.

Florence is known for the picturesque Arno River.

. We visited lots of museums. Florence had the best shopping. The markets were out of this world! Florence is known for leather, so the smell in the markets was intoxicating. I broke down and bought among other things. :)

I'm that traveler that carries a guidebook all over the place. It suggested we take a 30 minute hike outside the city for great pictures. It was now hot and I've never walked up more stairs than that day, but it was worth it.

On to our last stop; Rome. Here, I got overwhelmed with the subway/metro.

The ever-enchanting Trevi fountain.

The Vatican was a long, hot wait.

I had the best gelato at a place near the Vatican, called Old Bridge. The amaretto and crema gelato was one for the books!

Seeing the Arch of Constantine was poignant. The arch is significant to Christian faith as it commemorates the battle that led the Emperor Constantine to convert to Christianity. This changed the course of the religious landscape (info from www.sacred-destinations.com) We also saw the nearby Colosseum.

It was the 160th Birthday of the Italian Polizia (Police), so they displayed lots of their police vehicles AND officers. :)

So while texting with my mom while in Rome, my mom said she had seen an article about great gelato places in Rome. She was so excited that I agreed to pull out the map and try to make it to one place as it seemed close. It was actually near the Trevi Fountain which we visited at least once a day. It was called Giolitti and had great fruit flavored gelato topped with even more noteworthy homemade whip cream!

While in Italy, we had some pretty rough meals. So, our last day in Italy we broke down and went to Hard Rock Cafe. Everyone there was despreate for MEAT, so every order coming out of the kitchen was a hamburger and fries!

I cherished my time and kept reminding myself to soak in every bit I could. I ended up taking roughly 1,800 pictures. When it was time to go, I was ready. If given the opportunity I'd go back in a heartbeat!

Italy Part Three

Our first full day in Cinque Terre, we travelled a few minutes to the furthest of the towns. Riomaggiorre. They had beautiful rose bushes, lemon trees, and olive trees. We walked through the town and then took the trail to walk to Manarola.

It was a short, but very scenic walk to Manarola.

Along the walk there was a spot that lovers from Riomaggiore and Manarola met.

I had breakfast, a berry crostata, midway through the hike on the edge of a cliff.
Next was breath-taking Manarolo.

I loved the little shops in the towns. What was neat about Cinque Terre is that we saw a lot of the same tourists exploring in the little towns.
After Manarolo, I took a train to Corniglia. The best views where in Corniglia. Unfortunately, there was a 1,000 stair climb to get to the actual town. The views and gelato were worth the climb. I read in my Rick Steve's guidebook, that a little shop there had miel (honey) gelato. It was wonderful and refreshing. Here, I took my favorite picture of my entire trip!
I hope to go back someday!