A Very Lucky Girl

I embarked upon my first train adventure last week. A family friend whom I had never met before conversed with me via email and invited me to spend time with her and her family in their Scottish town of North Berwick. Nat and I purchased tickets and successfully navigated the giant Waverly station in Edinburgh to find the little train shuttling passengers to the wee town.  Jana and her family call New York home, but are currently spending a year in North Berwick while her husband works on a new business. They have lived there before and are old hands at understanding Scottish brogue and knowing where to find fried chicken.  Nat and I arrived in North Berwick around 3:15 PM on Wednesday afternoon and followed our ears to the ocean immediately. Jana had told me to email her when and where we were ready to be picked up that evening, but I never found WiFi again after disembarking the train in Edinburgh. Nat and I wandered the beach for an hour, marveling at the foamy waves an...

judge away. Circa 11th grade Consider this an intervention. Trust me, I've had my fair share of selfies. But then I graduated high school. high school shopping swag These are some hard and fast rules of those pesky self-absorbed images: 1. Try to have another person in it. I have zero judgement for the visible arm holding out the photography device if there are two faces in the frame. Sometimes you just don't have a third person to take that perfect picture. We forgive you. 2. If a partner is unavailable then at least use a webcam and NOT a mirror. Myspace-esque photography ended at the same time as That's So Raven. And no one cares to see your current brand of toothpaste reclining on your bathroom counter.  3. Keep ALL clothes ON.  I cringe when I see those horrifyingly low slung shorts as people boast in their gym time. I'm proud of the mornings I spend running as well, but I'm not trying to plaster it across Facebook. Save it...

Have you ever noticed that some people are just BORN to do something? That they have a unique talent that they have discovered and are utilizing said ability in ways to impact the world around them? You don't listen to Norah Jones sing and think, "wow, that girl woulda made a great zookeeper. It's a real shame." You don't hear Justin Buchanan speak to you as your youth pastor and ponder, "man, he really could have made a great astronaut." You don't read Miranda's  blog  and say, "She missed her calling. Dental hygienist was right up her alley." You don't view Megan's photos  and lament, "it's too bad the Jamba Juice career is over, she could swirl a Strawberry Surfrider like no other." They have all discovered what they do with unabashed excellence, and they do it to their full potential. Doing your best at something doesn't make you THE best. But excelling at your unique skill? There isn't anot...

I go through phases of addictiveness to Pinterest. I'm currently in an "on" phase, partially because it's one more thing I can do on my phone while I nanny, and partially because I have a little bit more free time for arts and crafts projects. Or, at least, I tell myself I do.  I have 18 boards. And within those boards are far too many pins to count. T.S.M. This is my catch-all board. A miscellaneous category, if you will. It contains workout pins, Alpha Delta Pi paraphernalia, and random projects that I mean to get around to completing. Eventually.  For the Love of All Words. The board of quotes. Any phrase that I relate to gets re-pinned. My current favorite is a Proverb, "She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." I am in the process of crafting a wall ornament with those words to inspire me to be that woman.  CLICK. I'm not a photographer. But if I ever suddenly get really talented, or more likely, ...