TN, Hits, Misses and Other Things.

Tennessee

Last week I took a few days off and headed to The Cumberland Mountains. I have family tucked away in the tiny town of Crossville, Tennessee. It was really nice to get away with my Mom, Pat (my mom's best friend), and Emma. 

Emma & Crossville's Otter.

At The Depot in Crossville.

 Mimi & Emma playing at Cracker Barrel.

Tiny Dancer

Mimi, Mel & Emma

Hits

• Exercise. I've been walking up a storm. The weather is still nice enough to get out and adventure at lunch.
• Organizing. I made a to-do list. Each night I have been able to cross a few things off. It is such a good feeling!

Misses

• Soda. I've had soda the past two weeks. A LOT of soda. I was just bragging on myself and now I've relapsed. Keeping away from soda, the struggle is real
• Diet. Vacation + Easter=food, food and more food. 
• Blogging. I realize my past few posts have been short and far between. I am working on fixing this, I promise.

Other Things

• Snail Mail. What ever happened to it? I miss getting snail mail. Legit snail mail. Bills and the abundance of credit card solicits don't count. I need a pen pal.
• Movies. Melly's Netflix recommendations this week: Hick & Electrick Children.

xo-M

"Listen to advice, but follow your heart."

-Conway Twitty

Sunday Sounds.

Going to make it short and sweet today. 

God is love.

Happy Easter.

Bethel - Loft Sessions.

xo- E&M

“A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.” -- Mahatma Gandhi

lunch adventures.

     There are two kinds of people: the ones who can't get away fast enough and the ones who can't get enough of this town. I love this town. I am constantly in awe of how beautiful it is. I am excited about the direction that this city is going in and I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else. I was once again reminded of why I love this town on my walk at lunch today. The Phenix City river-walk is the perfect mix of nature and recreation. 

 

Chattahoochee River

xo-M

"Not all those who wander are lost"

All that is gold does not glitter,  J. R. R. Tolkien"

Sunday Sounds.

Ed Sheeran

I honestly feel he is one of the most genuinely talented artists out there. His ability to deliver lyrics when he sings is amazing. I love his music and I am a sucker for a cover song. He was recently on Elvis Duran and covered Beyonce. I knew in that moment that he would be my next Sunday Sounds blog subject. 

Here are some of my favorite covers by Ed:

Chasing Car- (Snow Patrol cover) 

This song will forever remind me of Grey's Anatomy. His version is beautiful. 

Hit Me One More Time- (Britney Spears cover)

Pony- (Ginuwine cover)

Masters of War- (Bob Dylan cover)

Hometown Glory- (Adele Cover)

xo-M

“I can't tell you the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” 

-Ed Sheeran

Visitor.

Friday I had a surprise visitor. My sweet niece Emma!

My brother stopped by our apartment before heading to play at the park.

I sure do love this little lady.

 Emma & I

 watching Dumbo

she loves making silly faces

xo-M

"Family is not an important thing. It's everything."
-Michael J. Fox

Week One

[brick exposed under pavement leading into Columbus, Ga]

.taken 4/4/14.

Made some goals for April.

So far, here is an update:

Wins:

• Exercise. I've been very active and my legs feel it! 
• Plants. I spent Sunday putting a few plants in pots. 
• Read. I've officially started Dracula!

Fails:

• Eating out. I have had a latte from Starbucks, BBQ & McDonald's since my last post. Part of me wants to say that I really didn't break this goal because I did not pay for any of them (My Aunt took me to lunch for BBQ and my mother bought me both the Latte and McD's) But....that wasn't the deal..the deal was to not do it at all. Like a champ, I'll dust myself off and try harder next time. [Hope to last longer than a week next time!] 
• Organize. While I do clean, I haven't organized yet. Our closet is begging for help. The month is still young. This one isn't so much of a fail as it is a part of the list I haven't gotten to yet. right?

xo-M

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might has well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default"

-J.K. Rowling

Sunday Sounds.

Country Music Edition

[ACMs are on tonight!]

Give Me Back My Hometown-Eric Church
I love Eric Church. [I don't think I can say that enough]

19 You + Me- Dan + Shay

This is just a happy, upbeat song. It is good for riding on a back road with the windows down. 

I Don't Dance- Lee Brice

Kiss Me When I'm Down- Ryan Kinder

This video is not the best quality but I like song a lot so I'm including it anyway.

We Are Tonight- Billy Currington

xo-M

"If you talk bad about country music, it's like saying bad things about my momma. Them's fightin' words."

-Dolly Parton

Funny Faces

Our Boston Terrier, Joey, is our tag-along adventurer.

He makes THE BEST faces.

(of course, we are a tad biased) 

Here's some Joey faces from a recent adventure downtown

covered in sand.

ready to go 

 He would roll in sand for hours if we let him

 We giggled for a LONG time at this picture.

 and this one

stopped for a quick pic on the way home

xo-E&M

"I love Joey"

-Emma Shannon

Lunch Adventures

Today we went to the Riverwalk and walked for 45 minutes. 

Day one of my goal to workout three times a day= complete. 

xo-M

"Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far."

-Thomas Jefferson

April.

[taken several years ago in Nashville]

Goals for April

• Eat at home. No restaurants, No Starbucks, No fast food. I have tried [and failed] this before. If saving for our wedding/honeymoon isn't motivation to make this happen then I don't know what is. 
• Grow some plants and enjoy them. I live in apartment with a small patio but plan to make that small, quiet space magical. I'll post some pictures once I feel like I've made progress on the paito.
• Exercise. My goal is to make it a point to work out three days a week. While I have given up soda, I still have a long way to go to get back to being healthy. 
• Read. Okay, confession time... I haven't even started my reading list. I did find out that you can download  Dracula, Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray for free on kindle. I want to finish Dracula by the end of the month. 
• Organize. I am messy by nature and I am fighting it. Some people have that natural need to have everything in order and it is natural to keep things in order. I am not one of those people. Keeping things in order, the struggle is real. 

xo-M

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible."

-Tony Robbins