Emocionado

Emocionado is Spanish for excited!

Which is what I am right now!

Which is why I am blogging!

And why I can't stop using exclamation marks!!!!!!

Today I passed my final for my college Spanish 2 class and I can't begin to tell you the weight that has been lifted off of my shoulders. 

This is first of all because I had to pass it in order to graduate in two and a half weeks.  Talk about cutting it close.  Living on the edge.  Give me three steps.  Okay fine, that last one is just a popular bar song title.

The second reason for my excitement is that I still don't know Spanish.  So passing this class took some very strategic memorization skills that I didn't even know I could pull off.  I've got to find a more interesting use for these new found powers outside of college and phone numbers!

Another reason I'm excited... next week is my last week of student teaching!  It's bittersweet.  I have had such a great time, been with great teachers that I have loved being around, learned a lot, and had a lot of fun with the students.  I'm just a little attached.  But the closer I get to graduation, the happier I am... and that means student teaching coming to an end.  It's time for me to get out of someone else's classroom and into my own... hopefully sooner rather than later!

To you, this might be a boring ordinary Wednesday.

But to me, it's the most exciting wonderful Wednesday in a while!


Happy Wednesday,
Amanda

Travel Tuesday - Backpacking through Europe

Backpacking through Europe has been a dream of mine for such a long time that I can't even remember when it all began.

I have a dream!

My husband, not so much.

After some convincing me obsessively and incessantly talking about it, he started to see the same dream  give in to his obnoxious wife.

A year after the give in, we have finally finished planning our backpacking trip through Europe.  Yes, it took us a whole year to plan it... and yes, I'm actually surprised we got it done in that amount of time!  (A word to the wise:  If planning to go out of the country... plan WAY ahead.)

For anyone who doesn't know, backpacking entails packing very lightly basically nothing, and staying in the cheapest place you can find.  Most of the time this means hostels.  If you don't know what a hostel is like you should google it (don't watch the movie Hostel though... rookie mistake) and then chuckle that something like staying in one of these places could be a part of my dream.  But it really is!

Our trip is ambitious to say the least.  We are planning as though we may never get to go to Europe again.  This translates to fitting in as many things and places into 15 days as possible.

We will be going to:
London, UK
Paris, France
Rome, Italy
Dublin, Ireland

Did I mention this is all in 15 days?  Two of which will be spent flying between the U.S. and Europe??
Did I mention the year of planning? 
Twice now?

Planes, trains, and automobiles are all booked.
We leave in less than a month.

On our trip I might see things like this:













and possibly this:









I might marvel at these:













and definitely this:





If Michelangelo painted it, I will marvel at it.


I might do as the Romans do and toss a coin into this:




and I might just feel a little Irish, lean back and kiss this:






Whew... I'm exhausted just looking at all those pictures.  But it will be well worth it.

For someone with the Travel Bug, there is just no other option.  Pretty soon I will have my own pictures to post to this blog of all of these unbelievable sights.  I kind of can't believe it.

And.... I'm spontaneously combusting with excitement.


Clean up in Aisle 4,
Amanda

My Monday Music Pick

Artist:  The Black Keys
Song:  She's Long Gone
Album:  Brothers
Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqorGrX4hww
Website:  www.theblackkeys.com

Strange Things I Want

There are some things in this life that I want

that are very strange.

Some of the life goals I have set for myself

are straight out of left field.

 

A left field that looks like this one.



Weird goal #1: 

I need my back yard to eventually look just like the above picture.

Alpacas, check.

Adorable barn, check.

My heart smiling, check.

This animal speaks to me (I'm not sure what this says about me).

He says, love me and my furry fluffy head.

And so I will.

One day, I will have alpacas just like these.

And I will be happy :)

P.S. Yes, I know that is a llama and not an alpaca in the first picture, but it's the closest I've got!

Love,

Amanda

Travel Tuesday

I'm sick.

I have been for about 4 years now.

There is no medicine for it.

No one is really sure how contagious it is.

Some people think that you are born with it... but there's no way to be sure.

I have a sickness.... and the only cure... is to travel!

I an official host of the Travel Bug!

I grew up going on many trips with family on vacations to different states east of the Mississippi River.  Maybe this is when it started.  It really kicked in after a mission trip I took to El Salvador when I was 21.  Once I stepped foot out of this country I knew I needed to do it as much as possible.  I was hooked.  I love seeing things, and meeting people, and experiencing other cultures.  I am beyond addicted.  So this will be my Tuesday blog post... Travel Tuesday.  It will be random... probably places I want to go, things I want to see, things I have seen, places I have been, trips I am planning.  You get the idea.

My newest travel adventure... planning a backpacking trip for 2 through Europe.  Next Tuesday I will tell you all about it!

Promise!

Love,
Amanda

My Monday Music Pick

If you know me, you know that I love music.

If you don't know me, well.... now you know! (said in my best Bill Nye the Science Guy voice)

I love music based on nothing except for what my ears like to hear.

I'm not really into fads, being hipster, or music snobbery. 

I just know what I like when I like it, but I'm open-minded.

It makes for an interesting music collection for me.

Everyone listens to music for different reasons, and likes music for different reasons.

Some people can't stand this and think we should all I like the same thing.

I, on the other foot, love these facts because I can see what it would be like if the shoe were on the other hand.

This is why I've decided Mondays are Music Day.

Somewhere in my collection there is probably something you could like.

Thus, today marks the beginning of My Monday Music Pick.


My Monday Music Pick
Artist:  Missy Higgins
Song:  Where I Stood
Album:  On A Clear Night
Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCLERYzJsYA
Website:  http://www.missyhiggins.com/


Happy Monday!
Enjoy!

Half Organic

Dear Friends,

Confession time.
I am one of those people that thinks that eating organic is a great idea! 

I've gotten to a point where I want the things that go into my body and are around my body to have the least amount of chemicals and such on them and in them as they were grown or made.  Did you catch all that?

Another great thing to know is that regular foods, because of all of their processing and preservatives, can slow down your metabolism.  That's right!  Organic food makes you skinnier :)

Side note:  Did you know that organic items usually last longer too?  Like today is April 9th.... my organic milk doesn't go bad until MAY 23rd!!!

It's all great in theory, but I am moving pretty slowly in this process.  Let me tell you why.

This is partly due to the fact that organic food can be hard to find sometimes.... and partly because I love to go out to eat, have a stash of Snickers minis in the house at all times, and do not like to go grocery shopping!

Here are the things I have been able to find as organic or natural:

Milk (seems to be the most popular first move in going organic)
Spaghetti noodles & sauce
Meat & Poultry
Lots of fruits (my husband has declared he only likes organic grapes now)
Lots of veggies
Salad
Deodorant (best I've ever used)
Dishwashing detergent
Laundry detergent
House cleaning supplies

Some of these things can be found at my local Walmart or Kroger(they have the widest selection I can find at a grocery store for organic foods), but for some I have to go to our local nutrition store.  You better believe there is no Whole Foods in this town!  When it gets warmer there will be farmer's markets open that will have awesome organic items.  This is my favorite way to shop organic!

While this makes it sound like I am moving right along in all things organic, there are still a lot of things I don't get about it.  I don't know if they even make organic bread... I haven't seen it.  I absolutely love cereal and I don't think I should have to give up Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, and Fruity Pebbles for tasteless organic cereal. (I use organic milk with it... Isn't that enough?)  Why can't  they make organic Spaghetti-O's?

It's questions like this that keep me at my half-organic status.

I'll probably be here for a while.


Love,
Amanda

Anti-social

As of late, I gave up social-networking websites.

(Does blogging count?  I hope not.)

I really don't miss it.

This came as a great shock to me.

Hello, my name is Amanda, and I was an addict.

This is one of many reasons I gave it up cold turkey.

There are other reason that I will tell you if you ask me in person.

These reasons are nothing too exciting, I promise, it's just that typing them out can come across differently than having a face-to-face conversation about them with a friend.

I have been much more productive.

I have had more time for things like:

making a detailed itinerary for our backpacking trip through Europe

hanging out with friends

talking to my husband

working on my online Spanish class

working on Student Teaching assignments

planning my raised garden

just living in real life

Yep, I'm officially anti-social.... networking, that is.

Living more simply is my goal.

Doing things that are focused on God is my goal.

Not spending all of my time on a computer is my goal.

I'm feeling closer already :)

Sunday Afternoon Nap

Reaching

across

all

species.

Newest Addition

Ahem.... I have an announcement to make....

I HAVE A NEW BABY NEPHEW!!!

Baby boy number two is here.

That's a big baby!

Proud parents.

Big Brother Declan giving kisses.

Proud Aunt Amanda :)

Berkeley Isaac King

10 lbs. 5 oz.