Live in Arizona?

Check out this sweet alternative to the standard camping trip. The Shady Dell

Happy Birthday My Dear

Lola wants to go all out for her brithday.

She has requested cupcakes and icecream, with a pair of dirty socks and some used tissues on the side.

Pretty standard requests for a first brithday.

Owyn the Great.

Getting pictures from my Mom while she is visiting my nephew and sister.

Look how cute he is.

He looks so much like Chelsea.

I wish I could be there to pinch those cheeks and rub his belly.

I am so depressed I won't be able to go out there for Thanksgiving.

Who knew flying across the country could be so expensive?

I guess ogling over adorable pictures and awaiting videos will have to do for now.

But seriously, look how cute he is.

Genius, or Crazy?

Since we are moving into a new place...again... I have been purging the things I don't love and taking inventory of the things I do.

In this process I discovered that my favorite color combination is white/neutrals, with blue and pops of orange.

I had the HARDEST time finding this color combination, and on one website I even saw comments expressing the disgust for this combo, claiming it is like Howard Johnson's.

Really?

I have the same design taste as a motel called HoJos?

I think it is beachy, modern, fresh and fun.

Am I genius...or just plain crazy?

By the way, apparently this color combo runs through my veins because that last picture is my sister's bedroom.

Thank You Giada.

After eating swordfish, garlic green beans, and corn on the cob for dinner on Friday...we canceled out the healthy goodness and had these for dessert.

Brownies smothered in Nutella.

{Oh My Yum}

Trust me, you don't even need the extra chips and hazelnuts atop.

The recipe hails from the queen of chocolate herself, Everyday Italian.

Sweet Scooter...

The solution to a one car household that needs a second set of wheels without a car payment or high insurance = a sweet new scooter. Josh is getting a Honda Ruckus next week so he can get back and forth to work when I have the car for my job. I think it is funky...in a good way! The fact that the top speed is 50mph makes it so much better. Josh said he would look like Dumb and Dumber if he attempted to take it on the freeway... I have never seen that movie.

A little more like home.

We are moving into a new flat (below)! Josh hates when I call it a flat, he says it is a condo, or apartment, but according to the property it is a flat! We will be just across the river from downtown, within walking distance to the stadium and moments away from the trendy Five Points area of East Nashville. We are so excited! This place is reminiscent of my dad's AZ house (above) with walls of windows and concrete floors. I can't wait to put my colorful Fiestaware in the glazed cabinets...love it! Halloween is the move-in date! Stay tuned for more pics.

It's just so different.

Since moving to Tennessee I get asked a lot how I like it here. I love the history in Nashville. When driving through neighborhoods or even to the grocery store there are signs recognizing Civil War Battle grounds. It is crazy to think that a century and a half ago, the Union and Confederate armies were engaged in combat on land that is now potentially occupied by starbucks. I buy iced grande non-fat chai lattes where men lost their lives in bloody warfare.

Another thing I like is how green it is here. Driving on the highway you don't see rows and rows of stucco, you see never ending rolling hills of trees.

While the rolling green hills are great, they don't quite compare to the mountains in the desert.

So my answer is, I do like Nashville, it's just so different.

Vanderbilt.

Peabody Library On campus Somewhere on campus I have never been

Wyatt Center at Peabody - Where all of the big events for my program take place

Sorry I have been slacking on the updates lately. I have been busy, spending a lot time at the lovely place in the first picture.

I will be back soon with some developing awesomeness.

Just because.

My baby was such a cute puppy!

I need a vacation.

Dad's door step, Pt. Loma, CA Summer 2009

Ocean Beach, Summer 2009

Rocky Point, Feb 2009

Austin, TX Nov 2008

Denver, CO Summer 2008

Breckenridge, CO Summer 2008

I know it sounds lame to say I need a vacation when I had an entire month with no school or work, but that cold whiped me out. Lately I am dreaming of cool, crisp breezes. Clear mountain air, or the salty mist of the beach. Josh and I have done a lot of traveling in our year of marriage. We stayed in Colorado for the first two months we were married, which I consider an extended vacation. In November we drove to Austin with his parents and brother. We went to San Diego a couple of times to visit my dad. Spent Valentine's day in Rocky Point, Mexico with my dad and step mom. Even took Josh's first trip to the Grand Canyon. Wow, I didn't realize how much traveling we actually did until I just typed it all out. Aren't we lucky though! We have family in Arizona, Colorado, California, and Texas. All great places to visit! Here's to hoping we can sneak away for a couple of days sometime soon.

Treating the Symptoms.

I started my position this week as a Research Assistant, and it has been challenging to say the least. For the most part, I am a very organized person who has time management down to a science; but for some reason that has been the most difficult part of my position. In and out of elementary schools all day, I rush back to campus to head to class and then head home to catch up on readings, eat a late dinner, map quest the school I have to be in at 8 the next morning and try to get some rest before the chaos starts again. In the bag of supplies I was given for my job there is a little bottle of antibacterial. I despise antibacterial. You see, I have a theory that if you expose yourself to germs you build immunity and end up being healthier. Well, I should have taken the hint and used the stuff because by Thursday night my head started to feel like it was full of 20 lbs of snot {I know you liked that visual}. I should have known being in close quarters with boogery little first graders was dangerous. Well now I am on day 2 of worst cold EVER and I am just praying, praying, it goes away soon. When I asked the pharmacist for recommendations on getting rid of it, he pretty much said, "you are shit out of luck." He didn't actually say that, but he did say to try zinc products and vit C, and that you can really only treat the symptoms.

It has been little more than a week since school started and I could not be more appreciative for where I am. I am going to be challenged more than I have ever been before, and I will doubt myself along the way but I continue to receive signs every day that I am exactly where I should be.

So I will continue to complain about my cold, all the while thanking God for all he has given me. I can't control everything that happens in life, but at least I can treat the symptoms.