Like sun on a cloudy day

In my introduction you learned that I work an 8-5 desk job and that my adventurous spirit often doesn’t like sitting in front of a computer screen all day.  Towards that end, I’ve been trying to pull out the really cool aspects of my job to appease the urgings of my adventurous side.  It is helping me see the countless ways that I have been blessed rather than what I would change if I could.  It’s like focusing on that ray of sunshine that peaks through on cloudy days.  I have learned that I absolutely love the location of where I work.  If you have spent any amount of time with me, you know that I have a passion for dance, music and the outdoors.  I work at a university that is beautiful and in a department where I am surrounded by music and ballet all day long.  I love hearing music drifting down the halls to my office while I work and having the opportunity to take ballet classes in the evenings.  I also love venturing out during my lunch break to just walk around campus.  The old limestone buildings make me feel like I’m back in Scotland walking through the streets of Edinburgh.  I’ve started taking my camera with me to help draw out the details that I might miss otherwise.  I have a feeling that whoever designed this campus just loved nature because there is a whole forest right in the middle of campus where you will frequently see rabbits and sometimes deer.  There are gardens absolutely everywhere.  The limestone buildings have beautiful and intricate carvings.  Below are some pictures I took during my lunch breaks last week.  We did have a little snow today, but spring is totally coming!

This is the entrance to my building:)

Reunions

I love reunions.  It’s a time to look back on fun memories and make more of them.  Once a year my best friends from college get together for a reunion.  It is a weekend filled with laughter, stories, and lately meeting new babies.  I look forward to it every year, especially now that we all live so far away from each other.  I love hearing what they’ve learned over the last year, see how they’ve changed with new haircuts and such, and meet the newest members of their families.  We’ll sip wine, eat chocolate, and reminisce about old times.  And it always floors me to see a best friend, one that I have so many memories with, someone I went to college with, become a mom.  It’s surreal.  I love having the opportunity to get to know their kids.  So here are some pictures from the fun weekend!

(For some reason I don't have a way to control how the pictures are displayed, so here's to collages!haha)

 

Ladies, I miss y'all so much and can't wait for next year!

And for our two friends who were not able to make it this year, below is a picture of all of us:)  Love y'all!

Reality TV fun

It’s that show whose theme music brings a smile to your face and a spring in your step as you run to take your place on the couch in front of the TV.  You look forward to it each week, and it’s a fun topic of conversation in the office.  Last season, our favorite show was The Amazing Race.  We had our favorite groups that we would cheer for, and we always talked about how we would totally RULE that race!  This season we have moved on to American Idol.  It’s just a little something during the week that keeps me smiling and talking with friends.  So here’s to American Idol, and….Casey Abrams!!! Go get ‘em!!!      

Vagabond

There is just something about an Interstate.  Even if I’m just driving up the road, there’s this excitement that clicks on as I build up speed to join in with other travelers.  The vagabond within me wonders where I would end up if I just kept driving north.  I picture myself at a crossroads with the freedom to choose a direction and see where it takes me. 

Because we don’t have the freedom right now to throw caution to the wind and just go where the wind takes us, I’m learning the adventure of exploring small towns around home to satisfy my inner vagabond.   My favorite is Nashville, Indiana.  I love driving the winding highway through beautiful Brown County to the cutest town I’ve ever seen.  It has dozens of the most unique shops and a feel of the early 1900’s.  And we never go to Nashville without stopping by my favorite restaurant, The Hobnob, for some amazing biscuits and gravyJ  

So on your next day off, go find those hole in the wall places near your home that are off the beaten path.  You never know what you might find.

(the very first house in Brown County)

Relishing in someone else's glory...

One thing I love is when a friend or family member is honored for their hard work, and I get to be there to see it!  Like when my dad retired from the military, when my sister received her hard earned diploma, and when my friend Jess performed with a professional symphony for the first time.  I love living close enough to be a part of it.  So last night after I got off work, Hank met me at the door with a big smile on his face.  He told me he had something to show me, so we jumped in the car and headed to the fine arts building on campus.  He walked me through the winding halls, past the grand opening of an Andy Warhol exhibit, and into an open area with several display cases.  As I slowly weaved my way through the art enthusiasts milling about the cases, my eyes fell on a small brooch in one of the boxes.  I looked down at the name, and my heart leapt into my throat.  It was Hank’s!  This was the brooch he had spent hours laboring over, beginning with intricate sketches and making his way to molding the copper into this beautiful piece of art.  Hank, a non-art major, was chosen to be honored in this way for his amazing eye and unspeakable talent.  And I got to see itJ

 

 

Introduction

When I think of grits, it takes me back to a simpler time where my sense of security was as thick as the humidity outside my bedroom window.  I would wake up to the sound of whippoorwills and woodpeckers drifting through our forest of Georgia pines from the swamp.  Summertime was filled with sprinklers and iced tea.  The fall was back to school, raking leaves and riding bikes.  Winter rain led to a beautiful spring of pink and purple azaleas, which is when I would break out my white shoes, gloves, and matching hat for church.  There is nothing like the slow pace of the South, and it’s something that I look back on and miss.  However, despite all of the sunshine and warm breezes, I was itching for something more.  Something deep within me longed to brush my hand along the sands of the Sahara, sip cappuccino on a canal in Venice, and yell from the top of the Eiffel Tower.  I wanted to jump inside the pictures in my textbooks and have unspeakable adventures.  So after I graced the stage in my cap and gown and received my long awaited college diploma, I jumped on the next plane to Africa.  It was the most amazing two years of my life, filled with unspeakable adventures.  I brushed my hand along the sands of the Sahara, climbed to the top of Victoria Falls, and worked with some of the most beautiful people on earth.  However, despite the exotic animals and dream-like villages, I was itching for something more.  I was longing for warm breezes, sweet tea, and adventures with best friends.  So I jumped on the next plane to the far away land of…Mississippi.  There I was surrounded by spontaneous road trips, midnight ice cream parties, and a life overflowing with sweet tea and fried chicken.  However despite all of the love and “amazazing” fun, I was…you guessed it...itching for something more.  I was restless, dreaming of an adventure I’d never had, and longing for a love I’d never met.  I decided to slap on my cowboy boots and ride off into the sunset to fulfill my cowgirl adventure in Colorado.  I worked at Lost Valley Ranch where I road horses, cleaned toilets, and made beds.  Next thing you know, I’m staring dreamy eyed at a cowboy that walked into the staff room.  At once I knew I’d been lassoed for good.  Walking down the aisle with him by my side was the greatest adventure of all.  He swept me off my feet and carried me to Indiana.  Once again I found myself in a small town very similar to where I’d grown up.  Bloomington is peace, Indiana University, and the brightest fall colors in the world.  Instead of southern hospitality, I was surrounded my Hoosier hospitality.  Instead of fried chicken, pork loin sandwiches.  However, the similarities triggered that old familiar itch.  The itch to climb the highest peak, swim in crashing waves, and travel to the unknown.  The difference is that this time I couldn’t just dust off my old suitcase and buy the next ticket to Paris.  We would love to pick up and sail around the world, but we need to make responsible decisions for the future.  Hank had to finish school, and I had to faithfully work my 8-5 job.  That’s right.  This adventurous spirit was working an 8-5 desk job, which lead me to begin this blog.  I want to be able to capture the adventure in everyday life when I’m not able to frequent the beach or backpack Europe.  My husband and I are dreamers, and we often speak about our future dreams of owning our own ranch.  My goal for this blog is to focus on the here and now by capturing the glory of everyday life.  Either with pictures, fun things I might hear, or something significant I might read, my goal is to start living in the present and being thankful for the countless things that I have been blessed with.  And eventhough I am no longer behind a desk from 8-5, I still try to learn to be content whatever the circumstances(see Philippians).  This blog is dedicated to all of you adventurous spirits out there who might be limited in what you can do right now.  Whether it’s an 8-5 desk job, school, lack of funds, a stay at home parent, or you’re just feeling stuck…I hope this will inspire you to find Glory wherever you are.