10.28.2012

Sunday Blessings {Link-Up}


It's Sunday and I'm in Ohio spending my weekend with my family and friends whom I haven't seen since our wedding two months ago. A blessing indeed!


(Bee)autiful Blessings

Today, I'm feeling blessed by...

comfort food
Some days, you just need a a bowl of mac and cheese or plate of wings to soothe your soul. I'm all about healthy eating, but yesterday when I mentioned a plate of chicken strips sounded oh so good, my Hubby surprised me by coming home from some errands with his bro, with a plate teeming with crispy, chicken-y 
goodness and a side of fries. Love him :)

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"He's my Boo"
I'm not much of a girly girl, but sometimes you just need some freshly painted nails to make you feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. My MIL bought me this adorable Sephora nail polish set last year on a whim, so today I'm totally rocking, "He's my Boo."

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love&sex
This one's a little heavy, but stay with me, because I promise there's a blessing in all of this. 

Someone very close to me confided in me the most awful story I've heard. This girl, who I love dearly, had been sexually abused by someone she thought was a good person, a good friend. The details were graphic and I felt violated simply hearing it. My heart broke for her and my emotions were all over the place. 

I needed her to know that his behavior was not okay. That real men do not act that way. That it is not normal for a man to treat a woman as he treated her.

Through such ugliness however, I was able to make out a silver lining: I have been blessed with a husband who is a real man. Who embodies the love of Christ. Who is loving, gentle, tender, attentive, respectful and brave. I am married to a man of God. And it occurred to me, that men like my husband are few and far between. I have done nothing to deserve this kind of love in my life, and yet God has blessed me  beyond measure.

Thank you, Jesus, for this love.
Thank you, Chuck, for being this love.

How have you been blessed this week? Grab a button and link up!

10.26.2012

Travel Log: African Safari (2009)


It's both a pain and a pleasure to look back on my blog posts from my time abroad in Uganda. Pleasure, because I love reading exactly how I was feeling in the midst of my African adventure- a pain because the spotty internet access left me with an inability to include pictures in my posts. Plus- I was so busy while I was over there I didn't even get around to posting about the really exciting things I was doing. So, as of today, I am making a conscious effort to re-live those moments and post about my amazing adventure...even if it is over three years late!

Towards the end of my semester at Uganda Christian University, the group of students I was with all decided to partake in a safari at the Queen Elizabeth Wildlife Reserve. We slept in tents while the sounds of trumpeting elephants and roaring lions lulled us to sleep (which sounds cool, but at the time was pretty terrifying).


This was about halfway into our trip- crossing into the Southern hemisphere!

The crazy thing about being in the Southern hemisphere was stargazing at night- all the constellations that I was used to seeing (Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, etc) were nowhere to be found- but I got to see the Southern Cross!


Sadly, this was the closest we got to seeing a lion.



The Circle of Life
Speaking of The Circle of Life, it's safe to assume that the entire trip was like living in The Lion King. Hakuna Matata was playing on repeat in my head all weekend long.


Although it would have been ten times cooler to drive around in one of those safari Jeeps you see in movies- it was much cheaper on our poor college student budgets to go the route of taking a 15-passenger van.


This warthog was right outside our campsite. That building in the back was where we showered and did our business.



Still outside our campsite. A family of antelopes!


Another view from our campsite. I hated being so close to the water because there were hippos that were way too close for comfort. They're notoriously mean and kill more people annually than sharks!



Baby elephant! *Squeal*

Yeah, we had to stop in the middle of the road to allow a family of elephants to cross! It was incredible to be so close to them- I've never seen something so majestic and beautiful.



That gives you a glimpse into my African safari adventure. It was the most surreal and breathtaking experience and left me completely marveling at the almighty power of God that he could've created such incredible creatures. Unfortunately, I had an awful case of strep throat at the time of the safari which, I think, kept me from enjoying the weekend to its full extent.

In hindsight, however, I cherish these memories. How many people can say they've gone on an African safari in their life!? This was such a beautiful experience and I'm so blessed to have seen this little corner of the world :)

Stay tuned for more travel logs from my globetrotting adventures!

10.25.2012

Busy {Bee}


I have so many good ideas...and so many things to write about! And yet, life continually seems to be in my way. Not to say I'm stressed, or overwhelmed. But changes are happening (yes, I realize how cryptic that sounded) and I'm busy!

In the spirit of disclosing my life, however, here's what I've been up to this past week:

Husband asked for a Reeses...so obviously, I threw the entire bag at him.

Assembling mini-photo albums for our family that couldn't make it to the wedding.
Also, because of my lady-like pose...let's just make the argument that leggings are pants.

While the husband is away,
the wife will eat her weight in popcorn chicken and antipasto salad whilst watching awful reality TV on MTV.com

Two months in, and our apartment still looks like we just moved in.
This was my attempt to make our bedroom look habitable.

Decided to take a walk on my lunch break and found this amazing hidden trail!

Look at me DIY!!! Did you see, did you see?!
Can you guess what my Halloween costume will be? ;)

Here's hoping next week will bring a breath of fresh air and an opportunity to get back into the swing of things. 

Until then, this busy {bee} will keep on buzzing!

10.21.2012

Sunday Blessings {Link-Up}



Ahhh...the weekend. Ours has been full of episodes of The Office in bed, scrumdiddlyumptious leftovers (who doesn't love Taco Night?!) and lots and lots of blessings...




dirty dishes
I've seen this poem shared before and today it's ringing quite true.
Thank God for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We're eating very well
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn't want to fuss;
By the stack of evidence,
God's been very good to us.
The stack of dishes piling up in our sink is nearly unbearable to look at. But it serves as a reminder of how precious it is that we have bellies full of food and hearts full of love. 

home
Admittedly, Pittsburgh is not my favorite place in the world. I've lived here for over a year and it has yet to feel like home. But for all its pitfalls (pun intended), Southwestern Pennsylvania may be the most beautiful place I've ever seen in the fall. The changing leaves and rolling hills take my breath away on a daily basis.

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baby sister

Today is my sister's 21st birthday!!! She is my slightly cooler, slightly funnier mini-me and my best friend in the world. So thankful for her presence in my life. Happy 21st, Kelly- drink responsibly ;)



How have you been blessed? Grab a button and link up!


10.19.2012

Wedding Recap: Honeymoon

At 5:00 AM, the morning of Labor Day and consequently one hour after we had thrown our party-hardy newlywed selves into bed, Chuck, my bridesmaid, Whitney and I hauled our hungover and sleep-deprived butts to the Dayton Airport. Whitney was headed back to home sweet San Diego while Chuck and I would be boarding a plane that would eventually lead us to the Sandals Ochi Resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.


After flying all day, we finally got settled into our room around 4 PM. I spontanteously grabbed a bag of bagels leftover from our bridesmaids' brunch the morning before as we were leaving for the airport and I'm so glad I did! We had zero layover time between flights so all we ate all day was my crummy bagels. Needless to say, by the time we got to Jamaica, we were hungry and exhausted. Step one was venturing to the nearest grill to eat an unsatisfying dinner of french fries and Caesar salad, followed by step two: passing out at 7 PM.

We weren't really sure what our room would look like since I booked the cheapest one available- but we were pleasantly surprised to find we had a room in this adorable villa complete with a balcony overlooking our semi-private pool.

Our digs clearly got hubby's stamp of approval.

The next morning, we met in the lobby to get a tour of our side of the resort. (There were three sides within the resort: the Sea side, the Club side and the Mountain side. We were on the mountain side). After we got acquainted with the Mountain side, we decided to have breakfast with the other couple on the tour- who we wound up spending a lot of time with! They were such nice, laid-back people and it was fun to do a lot of the activities as a group.

After breakfast, Chuck, our new friends and I made the decision to hit up the beach. The water was perfect, the rum drinks were in constant supply and we even rode one of those big water trikes (they're harder to drive than they look!)

We also used our first day in Jamaica to eat some phenomenal food (well, we actually did this every day) and stop by the Adventure Tours desk to plan all our activities for the week. Our mindset going into our honeymoon was, we can sleep when we're dead so let's do as much as we can while we're here!

Day Two's activity was...Mystic Mountain. Mystic Mountain was incredible- we got to ride the Sky Explorer (a ski lift through the mountains and trees) up to a museum which exhibited everything you'd ever want to know about the famous Jamaican bobsled team (as depicted in Cool Runnings).

Once we had perused the museum, we got harnessed up to zipline through the jungle! I'd been ziplining before at summer camp, so I thought I was all that and a bag of potato chips. I even went down one of the lines upside down. Our guides saw right through my badass act though, and when we got to the 30 foot vertical drop they totally messed with me and had me screaming like a little girl.

Once we had made it through the ziplining course, we hopped in line for a bobsled ride through the forest. They asked if we wanted to go by ourselves or together. 

Together, obviously. 

Then they asked who of the who of us was braver, because whoever was sitting in front would control the speed and brake at the end of the track. 

Me, obviously.


The next day of activities consisted of snorkeling, climbing a waterfall and sailing back to our resort on what can only be described as a booze cruise. Unfortunately, I could not find my waterproof camera on this day for the life of me and we have close to zero proof of the amazing day we had with our honeymoon friends.

These were taken right after we got back on the boat from snorkeling. Next stop was Dunn's River Falls!

As usual, we got dressed up that evening for dinner and ate some drool-inducing food. One night, sushi. The next Caribbean fare. Seriously, I would recommend a Sandals resort solely based on the plethora of food and pina coladas! Holy moly, it was delicious.

On Day Four, the two of us embarked on the Zion Bus Line for a long and careening ride to Nine Mile: home of the king of reggae, Bob Marley. We were so psyched to see his birthplace and learn more about his legacy, but we were not as prepared for the availability of certain items. Although we had a good time on the tour, it would be an understatement to say that the Bob Marley foundation was hella sketchy

Our tour guide, Captain Crazy, certainly lived up to his name. But it was so awesome hearing him jam to some Marley tunes with some local musicians. I think Chuck would have jumped at the chance to play the djembe on the right.

On our way home we stopped to nom on some authentic Jamaican jerk chicken. Hubby's face says it all.

At this point my camera had completely died (and I was kicking myself for taking so many less-than-savory pictures at my Bachelorette Party and forgetting to pack my cord). But we ended our honeymoon escapades with a river tubing trip with our honeymoon friends and a very special date night.

The highlight of the trip was on the last night, I wore my wedding dress to our dinner date (heck yes, for being able to wear my dress again!) and hubby looked at me with tears in his eyes. That moment completely epitomized how freaking crazy in love we felt the entire trip and how blessed we felt to be spending our week in Jamaica...and the rest of our lives, with only each other.

10.18.2012

Thursday Thoughts: Why I Won't Be Voting for Romney...or Obama


By now I'm pretty sure everyone is exhausted of hearing political rants every time they turn around. And I'm no exception. But here's the thing(s), 1. I was a Political Science major in college, so the fact that I rarely talk about politics is a miracle in and of itself, 2. I choose to only talk about politics when I feel I have something of importance to say.

So this is me saying "on Election Day, neither Romney or Obama have my vote."


There, I said it.

You want to know why? 

I'm glad you asked.

Our democratic system stinks. We have all these systems in place to provide us with the notion that we have the freedom of speech and the freedom to elect whomever we want to lead our country. Well, I'm here to tell you that we don't. 

Ever hear of the electoral college? It's the group of people who elects our President. This means that by exercising our freedom and standing in line at the voting booths, we are in essence, doing absolutely nothing. 

Second, our two party system is completely ineffective. For one thing, all it does is take our country and completely divide us. There is no spirit of political dialogue, there's no exchanging of ideas on how we can improve our country. There is only competition and bitter rivalry. By only having two establishment parties, we have two candidates who become virtually indistinguishable in office as they both try to cater to the middle majority of voters.

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So why am I choosing not to buy into this "bipartisanship" hootenanny? Because I want to live in a country where multiple parties are able to express their views and are held accountable for the positions they take. I want to live in a country where parties are not forced to be bitter rivals, but are instead encouraged to come together for the betterment of our citizens. I want to live in a country where our politicians engage with one another, compromise and enact change

I don't want to tell you to vote for a particular candidate. That is not my intention. What I want is for each of you to be educated and informed citizens who walk into the polling place on November 6th supporting the candidate who most closely aligns with your beliefs...even if they're not symbolized by a donkey or elephant.

If you'd like to read more about each of the Presidential candidates, go HERE. If you'd like to take a quiz that helps you determine which candidate sides with you on important issues, go HERE.

Let's face it, Ellen knows what's up.
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10.16.2012

Wedding Recap: Family


The end is in sight for these wedding recaps of mine. I've covered our rehearsalceremony, reception and bunches more and I'll be content when I can finally wrap up these glimpses into our day (as I'm sure everyone else will be too!). I'm so blessed that our friend Dani was able to capture our wedding so perfectly, and I'm thankful for this space where I've been able to share it all with you. Thank you for all your kinds words- as if I didn't feel special enough on my wedding day, I get to re-live it twice a week with all of you :)

But enough of my sappiness, take a look at my beautiful family...


We asked our nieces to be our flowergirls. Alora got there while Dani was shooting all the girl pictures so she got a little more camera time than Zyra did. They were both so sweet though, and Alora had me laughing up a storm...as you can see!


My Mom and sister are my best friends- they were both so good at keeping me calm and make sure I felt like a princess all weekend long. And of course, I can't neglect my step-dad. Did I mention he balled his eyes out during our Father-Daughter dance? He's such a big teddy bear :)


I was really upset that my Grandmas couldn't make it- the trip to Ohio was just too long and taxing for them. My maternal grandmother is the person I look up to the most in the world- so while we were waiting to be announced into our reception I called her and gushed about our ceremony. It meant the world to get to hear her voice even if she wasn't there in person. 

But even if a lot of my family wasn't able to make it- my uncle, aunt & cousins did! I know our wedding was not easy for them to make- there was a lot of driving and conflicting plans, but they showed up with smiles on their faces and made me a very happy girl.

Last, but certainly not least, the in-laws. 


As the youngest of five, Chuck's got a pretty big family which has taken some getting used to. But, they've truly adopted me as one of their own and I feel so blessed to know each of them. I always wanted a big family- and I definitely got what I wished for!

Photo credit: Byrd Photography
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