Catch Up

I have absolutely zero exciting/important things to be blogging about right now. Plus, I kind of fell off the blogging wagon for the past week or so. My bad y'all. So let's play a little catch up...

Two weeks ago my bestest best friend, Casey, came in town. While the reason for her visit was a sad one (sorority sister's dad's funeral), I was still super excited to get to spend some time with her. Since she was visiting, I convinced Jared that we should go have some cocktails in downtown St. Augustine.

I finally broke down and got some nice running shoes. I got them fitted for my feet and everything. They are super fancy. It's amazing the difference a good pair of shoes can make in your running. Plus, they are neon colors...like glow in the dark neon. So between these shoes and my collection of brightly colored Nike running shorts, I look like something out of an 80's workout video. My neighbors appreciate it :) 

Our friends, Josh and Heather, are getting married in 3 weeks! Jared and I are both in the bridal party and we can't wait for the wedding day. Last weekend, Heather's matron of honor threw them a couples bridal shower/stock the bar party. Here are some pictures from the party...

Heather with her bridesmaids

Heather and Josh with their groomsmen (missing one)

Kappa Sigma Wives Club!

Throwback Thursday

Only 364 more days until my birthday y'all! Actually, I think I'm getting to that age where it is no longer fun to countdown until your next birthday. I think I'll just stick with 26 for the next couple years. I know I only have one day under my belt, but my 26th year is pretty good so far. In case you haven't caught on yet, yesterday was my birthday. Therefore, today's Throwback Thursday photos are dedicated to birthdays. More importantly, my birthday.

Throwback Thursday: Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, that's an odd place to have a birthday party? No idea how/why I ended up in the bathtub. 

Birthday party at ShoBiz...aka: Chuck-e-Cheese before Chuck-e-Cheese existed

Pony rides in my front yard for my 4th birthday party

My 6th birthday party

Please notice how much taller I am than every other child my age in this photo 

(my brother doesn't count because he was like 10 at the time) 

Also...April birthday + pool in our backyard = pool party every year for a solid decade

Sweet Sixteen at my aunt and uncle's restaurant 

21st birthday at FSU...my waltz was 80's themed 

24th birthday at the FSU Spring Game in Tallahassee

It's My Birthday!

Today is my 26th birthday! I'm spending the day with my students at work, then going out to dinner later tonight with my family. Being a teacher usually makes for good birthdays because the kids always make a big deal out of birthdays, giving me adorable hand made cards and singing to me in the cafeteria. Even though I am now officially closer to 30 than 20, I've decided that 26 is still part of the "mid-twenties" category rather than "late-twenties". This past year was a pretty difficult one for me. Life threw a lot of unexpected challenges my way, but I feel like these experiences have only made me stronger. I am hopeful that 26 will be a much better year, full of wonderful blessings.

I feel like birthdays are always a good time to reflect on the past year and make some goals for the future. I have always been a "list-maker". I make lists about everything. I have a life-long bucket list, a list of things I want to do before I turn 30, a list of things I want to do this summer, etc. Why do I spend so much time making lists? Why do I always have to put things on a timeline? Why am I assigning events in my life an expiration date? What is going to happen if I don't accomplish everything on my bucket list? In my past 26 years, the most valuable thing I have learned is that I can make all the lists and timelines for my life that I want, but ultimately it's not up to me. There is some things in life that we have absolutely no control over. Things that we don't expect happen. Things that we want to happen don't always happen when we want them to. So you can spend all the time you want making a life-time plan, but when it comes down to it the ultimate agenda planner for your life is God. Things happen for a reason and they will happen when they are good and ready.

I was always one of those kids who liked to plan things out way into the future. Was I the only weirdo that had my entire life planned out by 11th grade? I had quite the plan. Graduate college by age ___, get married by age ___, have kid #1 by ___, have kid #2 by age ___, etc. However, I have discovered that things don't always go according to my plan and there's no reason for me to be upset by that. Holding my life up to these expectations is only going to lead to disappointment. God has a much better plan for me than I ever could have imagined for myself. Everything will happen when His time is right, so until then I just get to sit back and enjoy the ride. Rather than rush, rush, rush to get to the next item on my checklist, I should stop and enjoy the little moments that are happening right now.

So where did 11th grade me see myself at 26? I saw myself with a college degree, married, living in a house in Jacksonville, teaching elementary school, at least one kid of my own, and all my family living close together. Some of my plans worked out, others have not (or not yet at least), and I have experienced some things that majority of people can't imagine experiencing in their first 26 years of life.

I've got the college degree, marriage and living in a house in the Jacksonville area checked off the list. Right according to plan. However, I definitely thought that I would have at least one kid by now. I never would have imagined that my dad wouldn't be here with us any more. I always thought that I might end up being a teacher, but I never would have dreamed that I would be teaching middle school at an urban, low-income school. I mean, who seriously dreams of teaching middle school? Middle school is like the worst age ever, but gosh I love those bratty little pre-teens. I never in a million years would have dreamed that I would ever be Teacher of the Year at my school especially at such a young age.

Sometimes we tend to focus on the negative or inconvenient things in our life, and forget about all the blessings we have been given. I am so guilty of this. However, when I think back on all the amazing places I have traveled, the experiences I have had and the wonderful people in my life, I can feel nothing else but extremely blessed. So rather than worry about the things that aren't going my way, that I can't control, I'm going to let God do His job and just enjoy each day I'm given. Here's to the next 26 years!

I hope you all have a wonderful spring day and feel free to have a cocktail in my honor today :) The birthday festivities will be continuing on the blog tomorrow with some throwback photos. Get excited.

Prayers for Boston

When I went to work yesterday morning, I was not looking forward to my boring day of proctoring FCAT testing. In fact, for the past couple days I have been doing a lot of feeling sorry for myself. A lot of things have not been going the way that I want them to and I have really been letting it get me down. However, when I left work yesterday afternoon, I was feeling grateful to be alive and unharmed. I realized that the things I was allowing to get me down are not the end of the world. Rather than focusing on the things that aren't going my way everyday, I should be focusing on all the blessings that I have in my live. We never know which day might be our last, or a day that drastically changes our life forever.

As I was sitting in my classroom yesterday getting mad at kids for tapping their pencils, people in Boston were literally running for their lives. I didn't find out about the explosions until after school was out and I was getting ready to drive home. All of a sudden, everything in my life was in perspective.

I am not a runner. I wish I could be. One of my goals has always been to run a 5K, but that is probably where my running skills would end. Running a marathon is something I could never imagine doing. Training for a marathon requires so much strength and dedication physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am absolutely in awe of people who can run marathons. The amount of time and hard work that goes into achieving this personal goal truly astounds me.

I can't stop thinking about everything that these runners put into preparing for the Boston Marathon this year. Some of them have been training for months or even years for this. Some of them had to save up money to travel across the country or half-way around the world. This event is a once in a lifetime opportunity for so many. For those who were able to finish the race, their memory of this glorious accomplishment is tarnished. For those who were unable to finish the race, their dream of completing the Boston Marathon may never happen. It is absolutely heartbreaking.

I hate that an event which should be a celebration of great achievement has now been destroyed by tragic violence. In the wake of such horror, let us not forget that there are still good people in this world. While it only took a small group of people (or maybe even just one) to inflict such pain on so many, don't forget about all those who ran toward the explosion and put their own lives in danger to try and help others. My heart goes out to all those who have been affected by this tragedy. Say a little prayer for the city of Boston, all those involved and their families.  

Pineapple Salsa Mahi-Mahi

When Jared and I first started dating, he asked me what kind of fish was my favorite to eat. My response, Long John Silvers. I'm surprised that he didn't dump me right then and there. Being from the Florida Keys, Jared is used to really good seafood. Not frozen, deep fried fish from the drive thru. I, however, am really really really picky about my seafood. I like shrimp, crab cakes and any kind of white fish that doesn't actually taste like fish. I also prefer my seafood deep fried. The less seafood-y it tastes, the better. Ultimately, I am pretty much an embarrassment to the state of Florida. Over the years, I have been brave enough to try quite the variety of seafood which mostly reaffirmed the fact that I don't like anything with a real "fishy" taste. My go to fish is always Mahi-Mahi.

Jared and I hardly ever cook fish at home. We mostly stick to chicken and steak (if it was up to me, it would be red meat every day, yum). This week, we got a wild  hair to cook up some Mahi and I was slightly terrified. I didn't want to put all this effort into cooking the fish and then me not like it. Don't worry, I had my box of Cheez-its ready in case I needed a Plan B for dinner. Surprisingly, this recipe came out very delicious and I really enjoyed it. Plus, it was pretty healthy. So if you like Mahi, be sure to try out this recipe in your own kitchen!

Ingredients:

2 Mahi-Mahi fillets (about 6 oz. each)

2 servings of organic brown rice 

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks 

1/2 cup fresh tomato salsa

1 tsp. prepared horseradish

1 tsp. honey mustard

1/4 tsp. lemon pepper

Chop pineapple into small chunks. Combine pineapple with salsa, horseradish, and honey mustard in a bowl and set aside. This will be used as the topping for the fish fillets. 

Cook the organic brown rice according to the directions on the package and set aside. Dice the green, red and yellow bell peppers and sauté them in a pan. Add the sautéed peppers to the rice.  

Coat both sides of the fish with cooking spray, then sprinkle with lemon pepper. Preheat a large sauté pan on medium-high. Cook fish for 3 minutes. Turn the fish onto the other side and add the salsa on top. Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-6 minutes. 

Serve the fish with the pineapple salsa on top, over a bed of the rice and peppers. 

It makes for a very colorful, healthy and delicious meal. Enjoy!

Fashion Icon

I am not someone who you would consider a fashionista by any means. In fact, I don't even really consider myself fashionable. Most of the time when I go in the mall, I see things that are currently trendy and I think, "what the hell is wrong with these people?". If I had to classify my style, I guess it would probably be classic. I like to invest in wardrobe pieces that are never going to go out of style, and can be suitable for any occasion. Which brings me to my favorite fashion icon. Lilly Pulitzer.

I love Lilly Pulitzer dresses because they are bright, fun and timeless. You can take the same Lilly shift dress and put it on a 20-year-old college girl or her 50-year-old mother and both of them will look fabulous in it. In fact, that is exactly what I do. My mom and I wear each other's Lilly dresses all the time. Lilly's fashions embody a classic style that works for any age.

My love for Lilly started in high school. I lived 30 minutes from Palm Beach, which is like the Lilly Pulitzer mecca. I fell in love with the bright, colorful patterns and fully believed that the "louder" the Lilly dress, the better. Of course, once I got to FSU and joined a sorority it was like a breeding ground for Lilly addicts. Even now, my go to dress for any special occasion is a Lilly Pulitzer design.

As you can imagine, I was deeply saddened (as I'm sure sorority girls across America were) when I heard the news yesterday. My beloved fashion icon, passed away at 81 years old. As soon as the news broke, social media was blowing up with her life story which I know very well. Still, it was very interesting to read her story over again. Fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer dies at 81 

I feel like her designs were a direct reflection of who she was. She loved for people to be happy and having a good time, all the time. Her dresses truly reflect that. How could you possibly be mad when you are covered in so many bright patterns? Whenever I put on one of my Lilly dresses, I instantly feel happier. I don't think it is possible to not have a good time when you are wearing Lilly Pulitzer. I believe that is exactly what Lilly would have wanted her legacy to be.

So put on your brightest sundress, go out and live life the way Lilly would have wanted you to. 

Throwback Thursday

Hunting and fishing have always been staple hobbies in my family. The Adams kids do not like to get up early on weekends, that is of course, unless there are animals to be killed. That was a little blunt maybe, but true. Everything I know about hunting and fishing (which I must say is quite a lot for a 25 year old girl), I learned from my brother and my dad at an early age. Looking back, I am so glad that my brother got me interested in hunting and fishing because I feel like I really got to enjoy some of my best moments with my dad out there either in the field or on the water.

My brother is currently up in Tennessee fishing in a BassMasters tournament, so the real purpose of this post is to wish him luck and pray that he catches lots of good fishies!! While we are on the topic though, I managed to come across some delightful throwback photos that involved me and fishing so I figured that I might as well post them on the blog. P.S. - there is a embarrassing fun little fishing story at the end of this post, so don't miss out.

Throwback Thursday: Gone Fishin'

My brother had this nifty little Jon Boat that we kept at my grandma's house growing up because she lived on a lake. We used to take it out fishing when we would stay over at her house. Now, that I think about it...her gated community probably wasn't too fond of us trolling around the lake all the time.

 My brother apparently got his captain's license at a young age. No one seems to be too concerned that a nine-year-old is driving this boat and may or may not appear to be enjoying a cocktail as well :)

Hanging out with the boys...story of my life. Oh yeah, and my brother caught that baby hammerhead shark while standing on the beach which leads me to believe that mama shark probably wasn't too far away. That seems safe. 

I caught this barracuda instead of a legit sport fish. Boo. However, the best part of this picture is not the lame fish I am standing next to, but instead the rocking pair of Oakley sunglasses that I am wearing. Apparently, at 12 years old I was moonlighting as a Major League baseball player.

When you get trapped off-shore in a thunderstorm, what do you do? You keep fishing of course. I'm pretty sure that this is the type of weather my brother was actually fishing in today. Good times.

Spring Break 2011 - I fought this thing for 45 minutes and I thought my arms were going to fall off.

Now, onto my fun fishing story...

Ever since I can remember, I never live baited my own hook. This was especially true when I would go fishing with my dad and brother and we would use live shrimp for our bait. The reasoning behind this? I couldn't bring myself to bite the heads off the shrimp. My dad always told me that when baiting a hook with live shrimp, first you have the bite the head off the shrimp, spit the head into the water and then put the shrimp on your hook. I watched him do this every single time he baited his hook, and I just could not bring myself to do this so I always made him do it for me. I was under the impression that this was the proper way to bait a hook for years. Seriously, years as in like two decades. So Jared and I start dating and I go fishing with him using live shrimp for the first time (I am about 20 years old at this point). While we are fishing, I ask him to bait my hook for me. He says sure and goes to bait my hook. This is where I should have stopped talking. But I don't. I go on to explain the reasoning behind my fear for baiting a live shrimp. I explain to him about biting the head off the shrimp and he literally bursts out laughing. I am confused. He then explains to me that biting the head off the shrimp is not a necessary step in the baiting process and that my dad has been messing with me all these years. No way. So of course as soon as we get off the boat, I call my dad. I explain to him this preposterous idea that Jared has suggested to me. At first, I hear silence and then laughing on the other end of the line. You have got to be kidding me. 

Ranch Steaks

Every time I go to Publix, I end up coming home with a bunch of extra stuff that I did not go there intending to buy. So of course, we fell victim to the Publix Aprons free sample man yesterday while we were shopping. We were literally on our way to the checkout line, when the guy working the Aprons stand called out to us and asked if we wanted a free sample of what he was making. Who turns down free samples of food? Not this girl. So we tried the "featured meal for the week" and it was delicious. Next thing I know, here were are with a recipe card for this meal adding all the ingredients to our cart. Touché for your marketing strategy Publix, it totally worked on us.

I will admit that Jared and I had a lot of fun preparing this meal together. I know...me? cooking? fun? Usually, I just sit back with a glass of wine and watch Jared cook. Not the case with this recipe, I actually helped. Go me.

So now I am stealing this Publix Aprons recipe, writing it off as my own and sharing it with you all as my own glorious creation. Just kidding, here is a link to the real recipe if you want it direct from the source.      

*Warning - Despite the name of this recipe, it contains zero amounts of ranch dressing. I know, the name is deceiving. Not cool, Publix. I was a little disappointed at first too. However, I promise that even though this recipe lacks ranch dressing, it is delicious and probably a heck of a lot healthier than if it did include ranch dressing. I am guessing that the name refers to a "ranch", like the place you keep cattle, rather than the dressing variety. Maybe eating this steak will make you feel like a real cowboy? Enjoy :)

What You Will Need

1 1/2 lb. 1-inch-thick steaks (ribeye, strip, or sirloin)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon seasoned pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup fresh pre-diced red onions

Directions:

1. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high. Season both sides of steaks with garlic salt and pepper.

2. Place butter in pan, then add steaks; cook 5 minutes. (Do not turn steaks.)

3. Turn steaks. Add onions around steaks; cook 4–5 more minutes or until steaks are 145°F

[for medium-rare].
4. Serve steaks with the sautéed onions on top.

We used all fresh ingredients for this meal. Nothing out of a box. Plus, we used organic Publix Greenwise meat for our Ranch Steaks and I will admit that I could tell a difference. This is definitely a manly meal so if you are in need of a way to butter up your husband before you ask him to do something for you, I highly recommend cooking this meal for him :) 

Publix has these handy dandy recipe cards available in the store for free that tell you exactly what you need for each recipe, how to make it and all the nutritional facts of the meal. You can also search the Aprons website to find a meal that you like and then print the recipe card off at home. I fully intend on experimenting with more of their recipes in the near future. Where has this awesome resource been hiding from me? Publix just made my life a heck of a lot easier, thank you Aprons. 

Best Eva Birthday

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. For those of you who are new to the blog, you need to know that my mother-in-law and I do not have one of those typical "in-law" relationships. In fact, last week I spent a few day of my Spring Break just hanging out with her going on fun little adventures. For some of my friends, I know they would rather have a root-canal, then have to spend the day alone with their mother-in-law. Thankfully, I am was lucky enough to be blessed with an awesome mother-in-law who I love spending time with.

So my mother-in-law, Gina, likes to be pretty adventurous. She also refers to every holiday she spends with us as the "best eva"! For example, after returning from our trip to NYC for Christmas this year, she told me that this was the best Christmas ever! However, I'm pretty sure that last year she told us the same thing. I guess we just tend to out-do ourselves every year. So last week, when we spent time together it was the "best Spring Break eva!" and now, here is how she spent her "best birthday eva!".

This past Saturday, we took Gina to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm for her birthday. (Note: her actual birthday is today, but we like to celebrate early in this family) She moved to St. Augustine back in September and had been mentioning how she really wanted to "Zip the Zoo" ever since she moved up here. At the Alligator Farm, you can do this zip lining obstacle course that takes your out above the alligator habitat. This is what she told us she wanted to do for her birthday. Typical for your average 50-something year old, right? Or not...told you she was adventurous.

So off we went to the Alligator Farm on Saturday afternoon. First, we walked around the park checking out the various exhibits.

Then, we went to visit our little gator friends that they would soon be zip lining over. 

Finally, it was time to "Zip the Zoo". Jared, his sister, Erika, and Gina got all geared up and ready to zip. I did not partake in the zip lining, but instead served as the official photographer on the ground. You know me, I have to document everything.

The zip line obstacle course takes you all throughout the park and up above the animal habitats. So as they completed the course, I followed them around from the ground and took pictures.

Please notice how my mother-in-law is always posing for me in the pictures instead of focusing on the fact that she is zip lining over a pit of alligators. I love it :)

The park technically closed before they were finished with the obstacle course, but they let me stay inside since I was taking pictures. I was literally the last person in the park, so while I was waiting for them to finish, I wandered around the park all alone. Just me and the gators. It was super cool.

They all managed to survive zipping the zoo!

And for Gina it was the "best birthday eva!"...that is of course, until next year :)

Happy Birthday Gina!