Floridian by the Grace of God

Sunday, July 31, 2016

adoption: a calling

A topic that has weighed on my heart since summer 2010. A new family recently moved into our neighborhood and I was offered an after school nannying job (duh, I accepted). Little did I know that summer would impact my future in more ways than one.

Michaela. Michaela was born in China, however she spent most of her life in the states. Although she was not biologically her parents child, you could see no separation in their bond.

"Who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

John 1:13

Flashforward 6/7 years to my college year's..I find myself having the desire to adopt. Adoption to me is not just creating a family, but it is bringing families together. I do not necessarily know WHY I want to adopt, but just because it feels right to me.

adoption is Plan "A"

The joys of adoption sometimes come with the sorrow of not being able to have biological children. To me, a kid is a kid is a kid. All kids cry, poop, sleep...as well as laugh, love, and dance. If I am blessed to become a mom I will treat each child like they were the one's hand selected for me.

Let's be honest, this all won't happen for a long time...

alb

Monday, May 2, 2016

Travel with Me: Spring Break 2016

Why did the tan lines fade? SPRING BREAK 2016...you will be missed. This year I participated in my first all-American Spring Break. Yes there was alcohol, yes there was dancing, and yes it was all good-clean fun. Please note to drink responsibly and only if you are 21+ (except for all my foreign readers, cheers). I was so excited, yet so anxious for Spring Break; let's just say--no ragrets.

To recap on the journey, my friends and I traveled down to Gulf Shores, Alabama on March 14th:

March 14th: Immediately upon arrival we noticed the undeniable attraction to a team of baseball players (take note--this is important information later on in the week). After we all had a chance to settle down, we headed down to the pool. After a few cocktails, we checked out a fantastic restaurant called The Gulf. Stumbling through the mile walkway through sand, I enjoyed an over-priced burger with even better camaraderie.
March 15th: BEACH TIME! I made my signature special of pink lemonade, pineapple juice, lot's of ice, and Malibu; and headed down to the surgary white sand. For some darn reason, alcohol seems to have the effect to make people wake up early. We headed down to the beach bright-eyed at 10am. The only issue with this....barely anyone was out at the beach at this hour (including the sun). We eventually found our saving grace from the wind, by hanging out at the volleyball courts and meeting our out-of-state friends. Let's just say this was our longest day, because later that day we moseyed our way over to Flora-Bama. The alcohol seemed to be wearing on me, because I barely ate anything all day. The chicken wrapped tasted DELICIOUS, however it took a good while to finally arrive.
March 16th: Brunch was on the agenda for today. Other than brunch, we headed over to the Gulf for "l-inner" and chilled at the beach for the rest of the day. March 16th also marks the first time I ever had a Tequila shot. I was never one to drink until I turned 21, so I guess you could say I have not accomplished a lot at this point. At this point I was amazed how much alcohol men can put back day-after-day, with it barely wearing on them. Kudos to them.
March 17th: On the agenda: Hurricane Party. Today was the second-to-last day of our trip, and on the agenda was to get rowdy all day long. I learned my new favorite game, Ring of Fire. After walking to the water at night, and talking to our Oklahoma and Alabama friends, this night probably was my favorite. I might also note that today was the day that one of my friends i-phones dropped from our 7th story balcony and SOMEHOW still works without a scratch on it.

Spring Break 2016...you will be missed. You did not really help me get many tan lines, because it was pretty gloomy throughout the week, however you've gave me memories that will last a lifetime. I hope all of y'all's Spring Break's were SAFE & FUN!

alb

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Choose Happiness

Happiness is a choice. I honestly believe that attitude and happiness is a lot more mental than physical. Sometimes we get overwhelmed by the little things in life.

The day-to-day burden of rotating between school and work can become a drag. Do you want to know a secret? NO ONE CARES. No one cares, but the one who matters: God. One of my New Year's resolutions is to turn to God when life's stresses get in the way. As I've aged I have realized that essentially everything happens for a reason. I couldn't see myself at a different university, apart of a different sorority, or even in a different major. "She laughs with no fear of the future for her hope is in me" Proverbs 31:25. Bee Happy.

alb

Friday, January 1, 2016

2016 New Year Resolution's

Don't get a boyfriend (I gotta get that college degree first)
Go on a cruise (ps. I've never been on one before)
TURN 21 ON FEBURARY 5th (I decided to leave that misspelling in there, because if I am turning 21 and still do not know how to spell the month I was born in--that is a personal problem)
Get a summer internship
Grow closer to God & attend church as frequently as possible
Bee happy
Pray every night
Write a letter to my future self (My roommate and I thought it would be funny to write a letter to ourselves when we will be pregnant and going into labor, I still think that would be a fabulous year)
Write a blog post every.single.day in January. (lol I am saying everyday in January, because let's be real, resolutions typically don't last any longer than January)

alb

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Travel With Me: SeaWorld in Orlando, FL

Is it really Christmas vacation without a space-enclosed 7-hr trip to Orlando, FL with my family? I did not know that I would want see my 21st birthday after having to live through the endless Christmas singing my mother performs, while my father's endless snoring at night (which in my opinion is closer to the sound of a child screaming bloody murder rather than snoring)...but at the end of the day I would not change these memories for anything in the world.

If you have not heard of this ride SeaWorld is known for, Sky Tower, is a 400-foot icon that takes visitors up super duper uber high, to see all sights of the park, as well as, downtown Orlando and even the Space Needle on a clear day. On December 21st 2015 my family and I thought it was a *fabulous* idea to ride this ride, because it was something we could all do together. After a 42-minute wait (although it was advertised as a mere 15-minutes), we all board this ride together. After a slowly climb to the acclaimed 400 feet, somehow there is a halt in our ride. We eventually make it up and around seeing the wondrous sights, and even a new roller coster that is under construction until Summer 2016. We gracefully exit our ride and then move onto the "One Ocean" Shamu show at 11:30 a.m.

NOT EVEN 25 MINUTES after we got off the SkyTower, we were exiting the Shamu show and noticed that the SkyTower was stalled somewhat although we casually ignore it, because even when it is moving a turtle probably can crawl faster than the ride moving. My cousin an I made our escape to Chickfila for a much need waffle fry & sweet tea meal. While enjoying our calories and maximum sodium intake we casually are making small-talk while checking twitter...WE STOP DEAD IN OUR NEWSFEED...there are rumors that a SeaWorld ride called "SkyTower" was broken down and riders have been trapped encased in the ride for about an hour. Shortly after we get a phone call from our parents saying they are witnessing multiple helicopters circle around the ride and they were live streaming the event on local news websites.

Needless to say I am thankful that my family and I ventured to the ride a mere 30-minutes prior to breaking down. After a mechanic was lifted up to the top of the ride to manually transport the riders, from start-to-finish riders were trapped for over 3hrs. Stay fabulous.

xx

alb

Sunday, November 22, 2015

IS THE SEMESTER OVER YET?

89 days ago I started what I consider torture, although most commonly refer it as "school" in today's lingo. I am in my junior year of college, and therefore am taking a 15 credit hour load (5 classes for ya youngin's) pursing a Health Administration degree. Do not get me wrong, college is GREAT. Some refer back to it as "the best year's of my life," and I can completely understand where they get that statement from. Between the football games, fraternity parties, sorority events, free food, friends, no bills, living off daddy's credit card--oh but wait, there is college classes as well. College is STRESSFUL. Basically it is the everyday choice of choosing to put friends before homework or vice-versa. With the semester winding down and finals approaching, I always need that extra push to finish the semester off strong. If you have read this far down, do not be procrastinating and go study for finals!

xx

alb

Sunday, November 15, 2015

My Christmas Wishlist

Deck the Hall with Glitter and Lace Fa Lala Lalalala

Tis the season for gift giving and laughter to be shared among family and friends. Thanksgiving is not even a week and I already have a detailed list of which gifts I want to get for each and every one of my family and friends. Like the age old saying, "it's better to give than receive." I created a list of all that I am asking for Christmas from my family and friends. With that saying in mind, let's get started with my 2015 Christmas List!