General
You ever get to the point where you’ve been away from fitness for long enough that you’re just getting antsy to move? And your body starts to crave fruits and veggies? That’s been me these last few weeks. (Side note: our parents warned us about the veggie cravings. Never believed them until I was an adult.) After coming back from the states, it was a mad rush to catch up with everything from being gone. It was manic! So I took a break from fitness and eating well to focus on literally everything else…
Friday afternoon, I got the incredible news that my work has been recognized by our city’s Chamber of Commerce by being shortlisted in the Future Faces Awards for the Future Face of Sales, Marketing and Communications for the whole of the Greater Birmingham area. Holy smokes! I’m still in a bit of disbelief! The Future Faces Chamber of Commerce is a branch of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce for 35-and-unders and focuses on professional development and networking for the area’s young professionals. Future Faces has been a huge part of my personal growth here…
Life can be chaotic for all of us. I think we’ve all been in that position where we feel like we’ve overcommitted, are completely unorganized, and feel like we’re hanging on by a thread. No, just me? I didn’t think so. When we moved to England, I made a commitment to myself to focus on the really important things to me. I had a huge advantage in that I was starting completely anew – new house, new job, new hobbies, new friendships. For me, it was definitely a process of rebuilding, rather than stripping back on what…
Last week was a great one, but so SO busy. I ended up getting pulled into a last-minute meeting in London on Thursday, which completely disrupted my work plan for both Thursday and Friday. But it was totally worth it – 1, because LONDON. And 2, because the meeting was really productive and completely worth the trip. We got to stop by Elan Cafe (where this photo is from), and it was everything an Instagrammer could dream of. I loved their “definition” of Elan – (n.) distinctive and stylish elegance; impulsive, confident ardour. I’ll be…
Today marks the second anniversary of the day we landed in the UK to start our new adventure living abroad. It’s like my own personal New Year’s. You may recall I summarized Year One with “Seven Lessons Learned in a Year Abroad,” so I thought I’d do something similar to mark Year Two. While this one isn’t titled by lessons – instead, I’m using events and occasions – there are hundreds of lessons that presented themselves this year. Let me tell you, I’m in agreement every other expat blog, living abroad changes your world – and your…
Continuing from Pageant Series, Part 1: Intro to the Miss America Organization Exactly eight years ago, I was standing onstage during the Miss America Pageant, live on national television, when they called my name into the top 15. (We’ll ignore the fact that at time of writing, I’m eating Nutella on my couch while my two dogs are begging for a bite). By the end of the night, Caressa Cameron, Miss Virginia, was crowned Miss America amidst thunderous applause and drifting confetti. What is most unfortunate for the television audience is that they don’t…
What I love most about September is this feeling of new beginnings. It’s like a second round of New Year’s Resolutions. I’m sure it’s stemmed from all those “beginning of the school year” feelings, where you get to reinvent yourself each year for your new classmates. Moving to a different country has given me many of these same feelings – a new beginning, a fresh start, a slate wiped clean. And yes, I know I’ve been here for 7 months technically, but I suppose I feel like I’m at the point now where it’s…
Competing in Miss America is an experience like no other. Quite literally thousands of women a year compete to be one of the 52 who grace the stage of the Miss America competition, held once a year in Atlantic City, NJ in September. For those who are new followers, you may not know, but I got my chance to compete as Miss Indiana 2009. I competed in what are known as “The Vegas Years,” when Miss America moved from it’s September in Atlantic City routine to host the pageant in January in Las Vegas. As a…
The weather in England has turned from summer to fall. It’s that beautiful and perfect weather where it’s sunny and beautiful during the day, and crisp and cool in the evenings and mornings. I’ve always appreciated the cooler weather, and about suffocated this summer when we had about a week of 85 degree weather. Most places in England don’t have air conditioning because you only need it about two weeks a year, which makes those two weeks absolutely miserable. So these cooler days are more than welcome! Fall has always been my favourite season, with the…
I’ve been meaning to get my feet back into the music scene for a long time. I joined the church choir back in Carmel, which whet my appetite for being part of a group of like-minded music makers. I was on the verge of auditioning for the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and Indy Civic’s “The Music Man” when we made the decision to move to England, so that dream never came to fruition. After some research into the local music scene, I decided to audition for the prestigious City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra…
