Full Speed Ahead

This time last year I was floating on Cloud Nine.  I had just finished a life-changing scavenger hunt that ended with Wes down on one knee asking me to marry him.  I honestly can’t believe how much our lives have changed since that moment.  

            Since then, we have moved to Kentucky, started new jobs, moved into our first home together, become an aunt and uncle, started grad school, not to mention planned (the majority of) our wedding…it’s all enough to make our heads spin.  And just when we thought things might be winding down, we decided to throw something else entirely new and exciting into the mix.  We decided to buy a house!  A beautiful house, perfect for our little family of two to grow into and fill with lots of love and laughter for the next 50 or so years.  We skipped right over “starter home” and decided to jump right in and buy our “forever home” instead.  Because when you know you have a forever kind of love, you pretty much need a forever kind of house to go with it, right?  I mean, Wes and I are nothing if not full speed ahead.  We fell quickly into an all consuming, “this-is-the-one” kind of love, so why should anything else be any different?  Life is just too short to over-think the best things, the things that make you the happiest. 

            I can’t wait to see what the next year of life has in store for us.  Maybe we will move into our new home and settle into life as husband and wife and just relax for a change.  But then again, knowing us, probably not... 

2013: A Year in Review

     One of my biggest regrets of 2013 is not blogging through it.  One of the things I love about Swamp Gravy is being able to go back and read about how I was feeling at different moments of my life.  As I reflected back on the last year, I realized this blog wouldn’t be much help; I missed a lot of important moments.  I can’t really explain why.  I don’t really think there is any one reason.  But I know that I want 2014 to be different.  I want Swamp Gravy to be a reflection of the excitement that I know is headed my way in the coming year.  But in the mean time, I want to take a moment to remember all the wonderful things, documented and undocumented, that 2013 brought.

     January started off pretty slow, in the usual January way, so Wes and I decided to pick things up and spend a long weekend at Disney.  I took about 100 pictures as we traveled around the world in Epcot, finding iconic places to pose in each country. 

     February brought a visit from Jim and Stacy, a surprise weekend in Amelia Island, and a special Valentine’s Day getaway to Fort Lauderdale for some much needed R&R and my first “Wicked” experience. 

     In March I ran my second 5K and broke all my records.  We had lots of visitors to sunny Florida and even ventured up to Kentucky over spring break. 

     There aren’t enough words to describe how awesome April was.  It was a pretty amazing month from the beginning what with celebrating my grandfather’s retirement and getting to see Taylor Swift in concert with my mom.  But it officially blew my mind when Wes got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  I think April definitely takes the cake for the best month of 2013. 

     With May came more Florida visitors and another Orlando trip.  Not to mention locking down all my beautiful bridesmaids and my first ever trip to Crab Island.

     In June I wrapped up my school year at KIPP and said goodbye to Florida…a bittersweet end to an amazing era that brought me more memories and life-changing people than I could have ever imagined.  But that ending was only the beginning of our new life in Lexington, which would prove to have a pretty amazing start. 

     July found Wes and me traveling from coast to coast.  We got to spend a week in California traveling up the coast and then another week at Hilton Head with his family. 

     August was full of adjustments as I got used to my new job and our new place.  Wes and I celebrated our one-year anniversary and even made it to Lake Cumberland for a weekend.

     In September I made it to Rupp Arena for the first time and we had our engagement pictures taken.  My parents even made the trip up to visit for the Florida/Kentucky football game.  Fall started to settle in on Lexington and I fell even more in love with our new city. 

     It was a busy fall break in October checking many things off of our “wedding to-do list”.  We celebrated both Wes’s and my birthday and even made it back to Florida for a dear friend’s wedding. 

     November was the calm before the busy of the holidays.  It ended with another trip back home to Florida, Thanksgiving with my Georgia family, and celebrating my parents’ 27^th anniversary.

     As it should be, December was filled with family.  Wes and I cut down our first Christmas tree and filled our home with the holiday spirit.  My parents made the trip up to Kentucky for the holidays and we had a Bunning/Downing Christmas in Maysville. 

     January will be here again in a few short days, but I am already anticipating all the excitement 2014 will bring: my first niece and nephew, a wedding to the man of my dreams, an amazing honeymoon, and maybe even a new house…the possibilities are endless.  But one thing is for sure…Swamp Gravy will be around for all of it.  Because I know if 2014 is going to be anything, it’s going to be inspiring.

2012: A Year in Review

As the year 2012 comes to a close, I felt it only appropriate to reflect back on all the things it brought me.  Some of these things I planned for, but most of them took me completely by surprise.  And, well, for the first time in my life, I am really really loving surprises.

In January, I kicked off the year with family in Wisconsin.  We rang in the new year in a state of utter relaxation as snow gently fell outside.  Then it was off to Atlanta to meet up with some friends for the Passion Conference where we were reminded of what was important and got refocused before getting back into the daily grind.  

In February, my mom and I met up with some family and friends in New York for a girls weekend stacked full with food, fun and fantastic Broadway shows.  

March brought spring break and my first venture to McGuires for St. Patrick's Day.  

With a twist of events in April, I decided to up and move across town into my perfect little apartment.  That's when things really started to change for me...

May was the calm before the storm of change.  With visits from my parents and explorations into my new corner of the city, it was as though life was preparing me for its take off.  

I finished my commitment to Teach for America in June.  When summer vacation kicked off I headed to Fort Worth for my cousin's wedding.  

July found me back in Jacksonville catching up with friends and starting my new job at KIPP VOICE.  I also made a Big Girl move and bought my first car!

In August, it was off to Orlando for a week of KIPP Summit and I began my year as a Kindergarten teacher.  

In September I checked something off my bucket list and ran my first 5K.  

October found me falling in love with this guy on a beach in Cocoa.  We celebrated our birthdays and flew to Kentucky, and I realized I had found a happiness with him I never even knew was possible.  

In true Florida fashion, November found us on the water soaking in the sun and relishing our new found happiness. 

December led us to many adventures: Eric Church in concert, dancing under Christmas lights, and playing in the snow.  

And this New Year's looked quite a bit different for me than the last one, or really any other before it.  Because this New Year's looked a lot like the rest of my life.

Just Keep Spinning.

“I always spin three times.”

Friday night we had an impromptu dance party at one of my friend’s apartments. It started out with some truly absurd music (Afro Man may have been involved), but we quickly transitioned into some of our middle school favorites like the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys. And, of course, we closed down the night with some Brian McKnight. I have to thank one of my friends for helping me ensure that I am faithful to my New Years Resolution. In our trio of slow songs at the end of the night, he spun me around and around.

Being spun while dancing: check. It’s the little things that make me smile.

What the World Needs

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

I set out today to answer this question for myself in the hope that it would help me with yesterday’s assignment. Here are some of the things I came up with:
• Sitting on a porch when it’s raining and just listening and watching
• Listening to a song that moves me
• Singing at the top of my lungs
• Being spun while dancing
• Seeing new places and finding out new things about myself
• Old pictures, new pictures, taking pictures, being in pictures, pictures in general
• Rediscovering God in my life after missing Him for awhile
• Deep conversations with great friends
• A book that brings a character to life in a way that entangles me in the inner workings of their mind so that I don’t know where my thoughts end and theirs begin
• Discovering a new recipe that makes me close my eyes for the first five bites to celebrate its deliciousness
• Being able to tell a piece of paper anything

So, today, in an attempt to do something that makes me come alive, I tried a new French recipe for Croque Monsieur Ham and Cheese Sandwiches. The Bechamel cheese sauce was absolutely decadent and definitely gave me one of those “close-your-eyes” moments. Now I just need to fill my days with more moments just like these...

What makes you come alive? Did you do it today? If not, what are you waiting for?