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

 

 

You Make Everything Glorious

I love the fall and I even like the taste of fall that we are getting in the middle of August. This morning was brisk and now the sun is starting to rise right at the time I start my commute through the city. I can't help but look in awe of God's beauty. Sometimes I look across the horizon and I just wish I could capture the beauty I see. This morning the sun low in the sky beamed a bright vibrant red and as we rounded the turn along the Potomac River it shown glistening orange over the water. What a beautiful breathtaking view I have the privilege of seeing every morning. My God is so amazing. As I was taking in the sunrise I was listening to the song "You Make Everything Glorious" and it made me think about God making his creation. God is a creator in his very essence and each day he creates a new sunrise with a new day to follow. How amazing that our creator is so brilliant that each morning he makes a whole new sunrise for his glory. I love soaking up God's beauty each day. Lord may I never take for granted your beauty!

Black Cat at Work

So this was random. I walked up to the water cooler at work today and there was this black cat staring at me. Even though I knew that it was fake I didn't take my eyes off of it in case it was a cruel joke and someone decided to scare me! It's not even Halloween people! Who knows!