Royal Wedding

   I'm SO very excited for tomorrow! Why? It's the Royal Wedding of course!!! Now, you may be wondering why I'm so excited, well, I'll tell you. Number one, I've always had a strange fascination with the British Royal family (my family will confirm this), two, it's a wedding, three, it's a royal wedding...need I say more? I can't wait to see what's she's wearing, all the people, all the pomp and circumstance... Man, it will just be amazing! Wish I could be there. Lucky for me, I'm only an hour ahead of the U.K., so I can watch it at noon :)

Are you guys as excited as I am?! It's going to be a happy day and a great wedding :)
For more info check out: Official Royal Wedding 2011

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Me, Myself and Finding My Niche...

   So, I may not have the greatest blog in the world, the most followers, the most thought provoking posts. So, not many people comment or ask me questions on here. So, I may not be the prettiest, the thinnest or the smartest. Someone is always better at me in any of the fields and many more. Someone is always better than me. I just need to find my niche, that thing or things I love and want to do and am good at. I know I'm good at talking to people and making "friends" or at least engaging people in conversation. Sometimes I wonder if all of the friends I have are friends. Do they care that I moved away? I know some do, and I miss them terribly. 
   Speaking of not being the thinnest person in the world, I love food, and maybe that causes some weight issues. I've never have been or never will be a skinny mini, it's just not my body type. This summer I was probably in the best shape I've been in a long time. Part of that is due to the fact we saved up some money, and I got a personal trainer. I wanted to learn how to workout more and better for myself, but just didn't know how and frankly, was embarrassed that I didn't know how to use half the equipment in the gym. And man oh man did this help! I finally am comfortable going to the gym and can get a good workout in. I also took some yoga and pilates classes, which I love, and those helped as well. I still use some of those workouts I did with my trainer, but now, I also use some of Jillian Michael's workouts. Man can she kick your butt!
   When I was finally was reunited with Tyler in November (hadn't seen him in 8 months), man did I look and feel good! But, let me take you back to this past December/January when I started to get really anxious and depressed about Tyler being deployed. I didn't want to burden people with all my troubles, because even though family/friends would care, they wouldn't get it. Anyway, I started to gain lots of weight and not exercising as much, and finally, on the request of some friends, started to go to therapy. Therapy is also one of the best things ever, just so you're aware! But, these things are for another post. Well, after Tyler got back from being deployed, and had block leave, we went home for the holidays, and boy did I overindulge! I started to gain some weight back. Now, after struggling with my self again, I'm finally getting back in to shape. The point is, I've always had some body image issues, but am finally coming to terms with the fact if I just work out and eat smaller portions, I can look good :). Why sacrifice foods you love? Just try not to eat them as much and as big of a portion. Find a happy medium, because listen, there's NO WAY I'm giving up chocolate, bread, fries, etc. I just try not to have them as much, or if I do, I try to eat less than I used too. And as I said before, someone is always going to be prettier, thinner and more in shape than you, but who cares? You just need to be and love yourself.

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   I'm still looking for that thing I want to do/be. It's hard to deal with, because I see so many people struggling with the same thing or figuring it out. I wish someone could just come up to me, smack me and be like, "HEY YOU! You should do/be this!" and be done with it. Wouldn't that be nice? I enjoy traveling, wine, dogs, weddings, event planning (but mostly weddings haha), food, talking, writing/coming up with stories, entertainment, politics (secretly...gross I know), shopping, music, tv, movies, sometimes advertising/marketing...and well, just having fun. I think that about covers it. Now, what to do? Any ideas...I would love and am open to suggestions. I guess I just need to try more things for myself. Sigh. But again, suggestions/thoughts are welcome.
   For recent college grads (and for some beyond), there's the question of "so what are you going to do with you life?" I mean, you get that question your whole life, but after high school/college, well, that's when the pressure is on. What do you want to be when you "grow up?" What are you plans? Do any of us really know? Sure, I have some friends and my husband who have known what they've wanted to be for awhile, and some who have just recently figured it out, but for the rest of us this question is a difficult, especially in this economy with lack of jobs.
   But, I digress.Yes, people may have better blogs, more money, more friends, maybe they are prettier, are thinner/more fit than you, have a great career, etc. etc. The list can go on and on and on.  Maybe my weight struggles and how I am overcoming them can help someone. Maybe, hopefully someday soon, I will find my niche. But, until then, I leave you all with this...Love yourself, be yourself, trust yourself, have faith in yourself...

Five Question Friday...(Saturday)...Easter edition

Meant to post this yesterday, but life happens...hehe. Happy Saturday everyone. Hope you have a fantastic Easter tomorrow :)
1. What is your favorite Easter tradition?   Well, Tyler and I don't have kids yet, so we really don't have any Easter traditions of our own. In fact, I think this is one of the first we're getting to spend together.    When I was growing up, we would always go to the Sunrise service (at like 7am) at church, then stay for Easter breakfast there. Once we got home, we had baskets from the Easter bunny and would do an Easter egg hunt. My sister and I would always go looking for the Easter bunny too, just in case he decided to stay at our house. Why he would, I have no idea haha. Oh! And who can forget about a delicious Easter lunch or dinner....mmmmm.  2. Are you a "shower" or a "long, hot bath" kind of person?Shower  (random...)

3. Can you parallel park and if so when is the last time you did it?I try, but I get too scared and have no parallel parking skills. Last time I tried was in November I think?  haha.
4. What is your favorite Easter candy?I really just like candy. I love the chocolate Easter bunnies and the malted milk ball eggs, but I really just love candy in general hehe.
5. Easter: do you go all out with the Easter bunny or do you focus on the religious part of the holiday? A happy mix.

Our Travels in Prague

   Well friends, the moment has come where I tell you about my adventure to Prague. Sorry it has taken me so long, but life happens and it takes more concentration then say the 30 day challenge did. haha.
   Day one, Tyler's Birthday. We left our home at about 11/11:30 with brownies and some bread as snacks...nutritious huh?  It only really took us 3 to 3 and a half hours to get there, which was great! At the border, you have to stop at a gas station to purchase the proper sticker your car needs to drive in the Czech Republic. You can also exchange money. After we did that, we drove another hour I think (part of the 3 and a half) to Prague.

Once we were in Prague, we got lost and tried to find parking for probably around 30 minutes to an hour. Tyler REALLY wanted to be done driving at this point haha. After we found a structure to park in for the long weekend, we made our way to the hotel. We checked in, got ready and went exploring and to find some dinner. We walked around for awhile, got lost a couple times...(note: I have a really good sense of direction, but Tyler doesn't always listen :p haha), but what a better way to see a city?  For Tyler's birthday dinner we had TGI Friday's. I know I know, what?! American Food?! Listen, we don't live in America anymore, so sometimes that stuff is a treat...and he hasn't had it for a very long time. They even sang happy birthday to Tyler and gave us free dessert and a ballon! hehe. Our waiter was the best! He told us all these crazy stories, places to visit and his trips to both Germany and the U.S.

   The next day, after a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, we went out to see Prague! We walked for a little bit and came across this magnificent building, which happens to be a museum. Then we walked along the square, looked at the Easter markets, Went to see the famous clock go off, but of course as luck would have it, it was broken. Then, we went across the Charles Bridge to see the castle/palace and cathedral (side note: There are many beautiful cathedrals in Prague, some hard to get to, but all worth it), etc. etc. We did A LOT of walking that day. We even had lunch at this Medieval themed restaurant...pretty epic.

Palace and Cathedral

Tyler on the Charles Bridge

Me in the palace gardens.

   Sunday, we went to the Jewish part of the city, went to several parks and just caught things we missed the day before. Again, there was a lot of walking, but what a great way to see a city! We did check out a local restaurant where some of my friends who studied abroad in Prague would frequent. Of course, there we had to get some traditional Czech food and beer. The food was delicious! The beer, ehhh, but I don't really care for beer that much anyway. We even went to the Communist Museum that day, which honestly isn't really worth it. We took a break around 4 and headed out again from our hotel around 6 and had the best Indian food, since well, India I'd say. It was SOOOOO GOOOD!

  On Monday, we checked out of our hotel, put our bags in the car and made our way to Bohemian Bagel. This place will seriously change your life. Go there. 

 Yup, that was our breakfast (brunch). AMAZING! Then we went to buy ourselves some Easter eggs (real egg shells that are painted that you can hang for decoration). We also had on of those traditional Czech pastry things that are in the picture to your left. Obviously we didn't have it after that massive breakfast, we had it another day. :)




Honestly, Prague was so much fun. It's a very beautiful city with LOTS of history and things to do. If when we go back, we want to go with some friends to check out more of the night life and pub crawls they put on.
Yes people there speak English, but try and speak a little Czech, it's a crazy language, but they'll love you for trying!

Days 28-20: Time to Finish Up

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

- The dark. Yes it's silly, but I'm terribly afraid of the dark. 
- Heights or the fear of falling. I also hate the sensation of being dropped. Roller coasters are ok, because they go back up after a drop, but like the tower of terror, can't do that anymore. High ropes courses, attempted once and I fell off (fear realized). Repelling was fun, but I've done it like once. Heck, even driving on canyons/mountains scares me.

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

My dog Hushpuppy and I a few years ago. Love this dog! Miss her lots.

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss
My friends and family (and dogs) back home. Love and miss you guys.  

                                                                                                               

My dog Hushpuppy

Tyler's dog Buddy

Day 27 and life

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member...

 That's my sis! This is from her 20th birthday at Medieval Times (she is now 21 woot woot!). She's currently a junior in college and studying geology...crazy girl. :)

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Anyway, how is everyone doing? 
I finally starting "working" for the girl scouts. I'm doing their PR. Sadly, it's not paid, but hey, experience and volunteering are both good things :)  Plus, I like the girl scouts; in fact, I used to be a Brownie. 
I'm also waiting to see if I am going to be a substitute teacher. I've never really had a desire to teach, but I figure it's a job, and why not try it, right? I also am big on education and education reform, so why not start here? Not that I'll be a teacher later in life, but I'll do what I can now. 


Thus, I digress...happy Wednesday!

Days 21-26: wishes, a favorite or two and love

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
There are many things in my life I'm sure I wish I could forget, but would that make me the person I am without them? Who knows. Not really sure of one specific thing that I wish I could forget, so I'm going to move on...

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
I wish I was better at a lot of things...I mean, I'm decent at many things, good or even great at some, but if I had to pick just one thing to be better at, I think it would be dancing. :) 

 

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book 
As you can probably tell, I’m not very good at the “favorite” questions. I dunno, for some reason I just don’t like to pick favorites all the time. It’s hard for me to pick my favorite books, but I’ll try and pick some I enjoy :)
"The Bible"…why? Well, being a Christian woman I like it and believe in it, but from a book perspective, I just think it’s a great collection of stories.
"Twelfth Night" - why? It’s hilarious and I do love me some Shakespeare
"Pride and Prejudice" - I do love me some Jane Austen. Strong female character, great love story…need I say more?
That's just a taste... :) 

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
See day 21...but I guess if I could change one thing it would be to not be as much of a pushover. Good news, I have been getting better...slowly. 

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Image from Google Images
 My day was full of cleaning and being lazy haha. I mean, I did just get back from a weekend trip...

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
I mean lots of things mean a lot to me...my life, my husband, my family and friends...Then I could go into the material stuff that means a lot to me...but eh. 
But, if I have to pick one thing, it would be love...love of my husband, friends, family...love. What is life without love? 
“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”
- Oscar Wilde

Image from MeHeartWeddings

Back!

   Sorry for being so neglecting! But, Thursday we celebrated Tyler's birthday with friends and Friday we went to PRAGUE! It was an amazing city. We just got back last night. It was a great place to spend a four-day weekend. If we go again, I think we want to go with people and participate more of the nightlife. Don't worry friends, I will have a whole post dedicated to Prague and our travels. Have a great day!

Day 20: Travel

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

  In my 23 years, the only two countries I have been to are India, Germany and Italy (just Rome though). 


   India was actually my FIRST experience out of the country (go big or go home). I absolutely loved it there! We went all over that country. Sure on my way to India I had emergency layover in Osaka, Japan and both on the way there and way back we had layovers in Taipei, Taiwan and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia (on the way back it was a 10 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur so I actually saw some of the city), but do those really count? ehhh.  

Now, I live in Germany and have been to several cities in the southern part. Still got to get to Northern Germany though.  The first time I came to Germany was in April 2009  (see picture left) to visit Tyler...who knew then that someday I would be living here? 
























In January of this year, Tyler and I went to Rome.  It's honestly one of the most beautiful and interesting cities I have ever been to in my life.

Anyway, there are many places that I want to visit...Prague (we're going THIS weekend...stoked!), Paris and other places in France, London, more places in Italy like Venice and Florence, more places in Germany like Berlin, Austria, Greece, China, Japan...the list could go on for days. I pretty much want to go everywhere. Right now, Tyler and I are working on tackling Europe...next stop, PRAGUE! 

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Day 19: Not really sure...

Day 19 - A picture and a letter

I honestly have no idea what to put for this... But here goes nothing...
When I was little, I wrote to the figure skater, Michelle Kwan. 

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I really admired her when I was younger. Still do admire her in fact. Well, after I wrote the letter, I got an autographed picture of her in the mail. It was one of the happiest days of my young life. I still have that framed picture (though now I think it's in a box at my parents house).  Ah, the small things in life :) 

Proposal

   As I was reading a post from Cait over at Fit, Fierce and Fabulous about the Big Blow Out Proposal , I was thinking to myself, maybe I should share my proposal story with everyone.
   It was the night of September 25, 2008. Tyler had come home from training (medic training in the Army), and was taking me out on a romantic dinner. He came early with beautiful yellow roses in hand. I was finishing up getting ready in my dorm room. Just as I was doing the finishing touches of my makeup, the fire alarm went off. Of course it did. So, we went outside until we got the all clear, I finished getting ready and we were on our way. We pulled up to Mastro's Steakhouse, a restaurant I had driven by hundreds of times, but had never been to. It's a very nice and expensive place, we couldn't even find the door at first haha. Tyler told the hostess the name on the reservation and we were seated immediately. After giving our drink order, I went to the bathroom and came back to the table only to notice the best breadbasket of my life sitting there, so naturally, I had to start eating it. This meant of course, that I did not notice Tyler had put a small box on the table, a small ring box to be exact. To my defense, the ring box and table cloth were both white...that and I really wanted to eat the bread, haha. I started to eat bread and talk to Tyler. He was acting very nervous and wasn't really eating much. Eventually he started gesturing with his head towards the ring box, because I still hadn't noticed.
   Finally, I noticed it and said, "Oh, you must be kidding! You're going to fake me out again...you're gonna wait til Disneyland or when I visit you in Germany or something."
   Tyler replied, "Oh really? Well, you might wanna finish chewing and swallow that." Tyler then proceeded to get up and get down on one knee.
   People around us in the restaurant started saying,"Oh my gosh! He just got down on one knee!"
Tyler said some beautiful things and asked for Beth's hand in marriage. Trying not to cry, I let out a yes.
We then hugged, kissed, and people clapped.
   Our waiter came up to us and said, "Did I just see something? haha, congrats you guys!"
Then we got our food, which was delicious if you were wondering. Then after we were done, we were given free dessert with chocolate sauce on the plate saying: Congratulations 9/25/08!

Now, this may be just another restaurant proposal, but I loved it. It was simple, heart-felt and so sweet. Would be proposed to at Disneyland have been cool? Yes. Would being proposed to in Germany been cool? Yes. Did I like the way he chose to do it? Absolutely. It was the way he wanted to do it, romantic, a surprise and it fit us. :) 

Days 17 and 18: The I's have it! (Impact and Insecurity)

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

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Yup, that's the German flag all right. Living in Germany has truly had the biggest impact on my life right now.

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

   I don't really have a picture for my insecurities...that would be kind of odd. I am a people pleaser (which I am working on) and I really just genuinely love people, but that means one of my biggest insecurities is having people not like me/ignore me. I am working on that, and there are some times I can handle not being liked and ignored, but sometimes it really just bugs the crap out of me and I get sad and insecure. Sometimes my weight/ stomach fat is also an insecurity. I know I'll never be a skinny girl, and I love my smile, hair, legs, eyes and boobs a lot, but sometimes, well, most of the time I wish I was thinner. Sigh. I do workout and try to eat right, but it's something I will always struggle with...carrying weight in my stomach.

Days 15 and 16: One thing off the Bucket List / Inspring people

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

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Go to the Oscars. Not just the red carpet (like I've done twice now), I want to attend. 





Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

 There are many people who inspire me, but I'm just use this time to talk about my mom. She inspires me because she was a great student, good wife and mother, has an amazing faith and pretty much supports me in whatever I do. Oh yeah, did I mention she's also had two stroke type things and breast cancer and is still with us today? (Don't worry, she's in the clear :)). Love you mom.