Fun in the Sun

Day 6 - A picture of something that makes you happy!

Okay so I couldn't pick just one picture but at least they are all of the same thing except in different locations! As you have probably guessed it is the beach. I love the summer and the beach and vacations and fun in the sun with family and friends! I grew up near the beach and it has always been something I have enjoyed. However, there is a lot more to it than that. I love enjoying God's creation and soaking up the beauty that he has created and that is new each morning. I love the family vacations and memories with friends that go along with such fun times on the beach. I love the art that it depicts when captured in a picture and I love the dreams that it stirs up in me to travel!

 

As you can see my life's journey has taken me to many different beaches and I have loved them all. I am sure that I missed some but I hope to add to this list as I continue my travels! Enjoy!

Yorktown Beach, VA - grew up going to this beach (picture from google images)

Buckroe Beach, VA - grew up going to this beach (picture from google images)

Clearwater Beach, FL - college spring break with friends (picture from google images)

Cocoa Beach, FL - went here on a work trip

Costa Rica Beach - went on vacation with Katie and Aly

Delaware Beach - reunion with college girlfriends

Grand Cayman Islands Beach - cruise vacation with my family

Guantanamo Bay Beach - went here on a work trip

Jamaica Beach - cruise vacation with my family

NC Beach - family vacation near Kitty Hawk (another regular family vacation spot)

Malibu Beach, CA - summer vacation and cousin's wedding

Miami Beach, FL - went here on a work trip (picture from google images)

Ocean City, MD - (picture from google images)

Santa Monica Beach, CA - summer vacation and cousin's wedding

Savannah Beach, GA - college spring break with friends

Virginia Beach, VA - grew up going to this beach

York Beach, ME - went here on a work trip

 

Quote of the day:

 

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.” ~Anonymous

Baby Sis...

Day 5 - Your Siblings

The girls definitely out numbered in the Shaffer household growing up...even the dog was a girl. But that just means we got away with a lot of girly things like fashion shows for my dad after a shopping trip (which we still make my dad watch). My wonderful sister Lindsey is about 2 years younger than me but most people thought she was the older one. We both had a little tomboy in us, playing outside a lot and climbing trees. However, Lindsey definitely was the more girly one of the two. I remember always looking to her for fashion advice and new trends. She has always been great with fashion, make-up, and hair! Sometimes I would come home from college and ask her to do my make-up before we went out.

I admire her strength in all that has come her way on life's crazy journey. She was able to work and go to school and in the middle of all of that get married to the love of her life Wes. She now has an excellent job and she and Wes are living in the beautiful home that they bought last year. Their happy little family wouldn't be complete without their baby dog...Sarge! Lindsey and Wes are the best sister and brother in law around. I have lots of fun visiting them!

Love you bunches Lindsey and Wes!

Quote of the day:

"Bless you, my darling, and remember you are always in the heart - oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape - of your sister."  ~Katherine Mansfield

The Best Parents in the World!

I have decided that I am not going to plan on blogging on the weekends. If I find a little time to squeeze it in then great but I'm not going to push it. I treat my weekends like mini vacations each week. I try to soak up as much fun and rest as I can so that is exactly what I did this past weekend!

 

Remember how I said I needed more sleep. Well Saturday morning rolled around and apparently my body decided it wanted as much rest as possible. I had plans to meet my friend Christi for lunch and ended up sleeping until 11:45! Needless to say I rushed out the door pretty quickly. As soon as I got outside and realized how beautiful it was I was a little bummed that I slept through most of it! That's okay, I made up for it the rest of the day and had a good time. It was nice to catch up with Christi and then I headed over to hang out with Katie and Jordan for a bit.

 

That night J and I went to a little park up the street and walked around for a bit. It was so good to just get away and enjoy nature and each other's company. We talked about a lot of different things and ended up running into a family that J grew up with. It was definitely fun to talk to them and enjoy the park. After the park we went out to Red Hot & Blue for some dinner. I was so hungry by that point so anything sounded good. Our plan was to grab dinner and then go see The King's Speech. We ended up being an hour early for the movie so we just sat and talked some more. The movie was so good and I would definitely recommend watching it if you haven't already...or watching it again! :)

 

Day 4 - Your Parents

How appropriate that I am on Day 4 of this blog experience right around Mother's Day weekend! I really do think that I have the best parents in the world! They have been with me and supported me through it all. Sometimes that meant letting me learn life's tough lessons and sometimes it meant having a fun filled day. I can't begin to describe all of the different ways they have been there for me but I do know that I am so grateful for such loving and godly parents. They have definitely left a lasting impact on my life and on so many others. I am so honored to call them my parents and my friends! I have learned so much from them and will continue to learn from their wisdom!

 

Quote of the Day:

"The best part of life is when your family becomes your friends, and your friends become your family." -Danica Whitfield

It's all about Love!

Last night was a fun night. I went out to the softball fields to watch our church league play their first couple of games for the season. My friend Casey is on the team and she is a blast! I just had to get out there and cheer her and the others on! It was fun hanging out with some friends and getting to know some new people. I think I will make this a regular part of my week...and I am not bad luck Casey!

 

So before I went out to the softball game I started watching some of NBC's new show The Voice that I had recorded on my DVR. I am so addicted to this show. I don't watch much tv at all and when I do it must be recorded because I don't ever see it when it actually comes on. I was so excited to finish the show that when I got home I just had to watch the rest before I went to bed. It was fun to catch up on and I'm starting to pick my favorites already. More to come on that in the near future...

 

Day 3 - Your first Love

 

I guess I got ahead of myself with yesterday's post on love. As you can see my first true love was my savior Jesus Christ! Without experiencing his true, unending, and unconditional love I never would have been able to experience the other types of love in my life.

 

I have experienced my first and only truly romantic love with my boyfriend Jordan. I think what makes his love so special is that I know without a doubt that he reflects my first true love, Jesus, in his love for me! 

The words in Janette's poem "I will Wait for You" remind me of Jordan. When I put his name in, it sounds like this...Jordan, when you speak I am reminded of Solomon's wisdom; your ability to lead reminds me of Moses; your faith reminds me of Abraham; your confidence in God's word reminds me of Daniel; your inspiration reminds me of Paul; your heart for God reminds me of David; your attention to detail reminds me of Noah; your integrity reminds me of Joseph; and your ability to abandon your own will reminds me of the disciples; but your ability to love selflessly and unconditionally reminds me of Christ! I can not imagine experiencing a love greater than this! It has truly been worth the wait!

 

Here are a couple links that I have enjoyed that focus on love...one is to a blog and the other is a spoken poem called "I will Wait for You" by P4CM Poet Janette (trust me it's worth watching).

 

Health & Fitness

I need rest! I have been working out hard lately along with my regular everyday work and life. Then on top of all of that I haven't been getting enough sleep. Well it finally caught up with me! Yesterday I came home and crashed for an hour. I know I could have slept longer but it was enough to get me through. I know that to be healthy I need to get more sleep and be on a more regular schedule so that is my new health goal.

 

Quote of the Day:

"Love is the accurate assessment and adequate supply of another person's need." Dick Foth

~ I heard Dick Foth say this in a sermon he preached at my church and I can't help but keep sharing it. One of my best friends Christy even used it in her wedding vows!

 

Anyone out there as excited about The Voice as I am? Who are your favorites so far?

How much sleep do you get a night? Is it enough?

All Smiles

Day 2 - Meaning behind your blog name

 

I came up with "Smile for the World to See" because for most of my life I have had people comment about how much I smile. When I was younger I was very self-conscious about this and thought it might not be a good thing. So the crazy girl that I was at the time decided that I should try not to smile. I know I was young and still had some learning to do.

 

Well, I am not sure when this changed but at some point I realized that my smile was a gift and it was okay to share it. I love to smile and I feel like when I do I get the chance to maybe brighten someones day. It seems like Americans in particular tend to take life way to seriously. We all have something we can smile about so I think we should focus on those things. 

 

One reason I smile is because I have experienced love. The love of my savior Jesus Christ, the love of my amazing family and friends, and the new love I have experienced with the man of my dreams. Each form of love is vital to my life and I know that my life would not be the same without it! I have been learning a lot about love over the past few months and today I read another blog post at Surrendered and Untamed that continued to challenge me! So check it out!

 

Health and Fitness

 

You know those days when you just feel healthy and feel like your clothes are fitting just the way they should, making you feel great? Well, today is a feel great day for me. This week I haven't counted calories (since I have done it for a while I know about what is in most things I eat) but I have been conscious of what I am eating and have had a good workout every day. Last week I consumed way too much candy/sugar so I felt like I had blown it. However, after being focused this week I stepped on the scale this morning and to my surprise I was the same as the last time I checked. I am okay with that because I haven't really been trying to lose weight lately, just maintain. I still have 10-12 lbs to go for my goal weight but I know with consistency they will come off the healthy way!

 

Like I said before I am running an 8k in a couple weeks so my workouts have been focused more on running. Last night I tried a new interval workout on the treadmill. It was really hard and I will admit I didn't fully get it down but I did push it as hard as I could. Here is what last night at the gym looked like:

 

5-4-3-2-1 Treadmill workout

5 mins @ 6.0 mph

4 mins @ 6.5 mph

3 mins @ 7.0 mph

2 mins @ 7.5 mph

1 min   @ 8.0 mph

 

3-2-1 Treadmill workout

3 mins @ 6.0

2 mins @ 7.0

1 min   @ 8.0

 

Warm up and cool down walk on the treadmill. 7 mins on the elliptical and an abs workout.

 

 

Quote of the day

 

"Make wise choices!" ~ Dave Shaffer

 

My dad used to say this to me before I left the house. It didn't matter where I was going or for how long, he always reminded me and I love him for that to this day! It is something that will stay with me forever! Thanks for your wisdom dad!

 

 

What makes you smile?

What good advice has been passed down to you over the years by a parent or mentor that you will never forget?

Day 1 - Who is Amanda and what is so interesting about her?

Day 1 - Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

Hello all and welcome to my blog! My name is Amanda and I am currently living this crazy life of mine in the ever so busy Northern VA/DC area. I tend to stay very busy but try to have lots of fun along the way. I spend most of my time outside of work with my amazing boyfriend and friends. I am also pretty involved with my church NCC...check it out, it's a good one! I try to stay as active as possible and running has been a great way for me to let out some frustrations, clear my head and spend time with friends.

 

15 Interesting Facts...here goes nothing!

1. Not only do I LOVE the Steelers but so does my family...and I have converted my boyfriend :)

2. Skype has changed my world!

3. I have never ever had a pedicure (but that will be changing before Summer officially gets here!)

4. I love love love to travel...my list keeps getting longer (I may have to share it one day)

5. I like baseball but mostly watching my amazing boyfriend play!

6. The U.S. military has a special place in my heart. (many of my family and friends are serving to keep us safe and I am so grateful!)

7. Hines Ward is my celebrity crush!

8. DC is fun and I wouldn't trade anything for the experiences I have had but my heart is longing to move home, closer to my family!

9. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is a weakness of mine.

10. I ran my first marathon last March with Team in Training and met some amazing people. (but I do have a love hate relationship with running)

11. I love walking through the DC monuments at night...They are so beautiful and it never gets old to me!

12. I have two of the cutest little cousins in the world, Ethan and Mason! I love them to pieces!

13. I could not imagine going very long without spending an evening at Lebanese Taverna, sipping on a glass of wine with the one and only Katie! It's our favorite!

14. I love a good quote!

15. My family and close friends mean the world to me! I wouldn't trade them for anything!

I feel like I could have come up with more facts but I'm sure they will be shared on the blog at some point!

 

Getting my workout on!

A little recap on my recent workouts. As you may know I ran my first marathon last March, the Shamrock in Virginia Beach, VA. It was one of the best and hardest experiences in my life. I would definitely do one again but I am going to work my way back up to that level. Since the marathon, I have run a 5k race and done some regular running on my own and with friends. I joined a gym in hopes of adding some variety to my workouts but I tend to go back to my regular cardio on the elliptical or treadmill and my new favorite circuit training with the crazy but challenging Jillian Michaels (I can do push-ups now...go me!) I am currently training for an 8k coming up on May 21st (Run for the Dream) and possibly a 5k on the 28th (Chick-fil-A 5k). I will be honest I haven't been as committed as I could be but I am determined to do my best with what I have done.

 

Quote of the day:

"Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest, but about who came and never left your side." ~ Unknown

I'm back...and I hope for good!

Hello family and friends! After not blogging for over 8 months now I don't really know where to start. One thing I do know is that reading so many amazing blogs lately makes me want to get back in the game.

 

I think I will start out with a fun 30 day blog experiment that a few of my friends have tried. It looks like it would be fun and might help me get focused on blogging again. I also plan to incorporate some of my running/workout updates, a quote of the day, and everyday life events as well.

 

I guess we will have to see where this goes! I hope you enjoy the journey with me!

 

Here is the 30 day blog experiment that I am going to try to commit to! I will be back in a bit to start things off again in the blogging world!

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

Day 3-Your first love

Day 4-Your parents

Day 5-Your siblings

Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy

Day 7-Favorite movies

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

Day 9-A picture of your friends

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

Day 11-Favorite TV shows

Day 12-What you believe

Day 13-Goals

Day 14-A picture you love

Day 15-Bible verse

Day 16-Dream house

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

Day 18-Something you regret

Day 19-Something you miss

Day 20-Nicknames

Day 21-Picture of yourself

Day 22-Favorite city

Day 23-Favorite vacation

Day 24-Something you've learned

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Day 26-Picture of your family

Day 27-Pets

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

Day 29-3 Wishes

Day 30-a picture