{Faith} #SheReadsTruth

I have decided to join an online bible study called She Reads Truth. It is a bunch of people coming together, trying to find themselves through God.

I have been on this spiritual kick for a while lately. I grew up Catholic. I believe in God but I never had a real relationship with him or my faith before. My friend Keely was the one who really got me thinking about my relationship with God. She introduced me to the idea that every person has a different outlook and relationship with their faith and God.

Congregation or no congregation - God is there. I have been searching for relationship for a while now. Going to and from different churches, praying, and reading the bible. It never really clicked with me. This year has been one of the hardest years of my life. My family moved from our family home of 18 years in Florida to Texas, I broke up with my boyfriend of 2.5 years, I applied to Pharmacy school, I was graduating from Florida State, I was leaving my friends, and I was trying to plan my future while living in my present. I was leaving something that I felt like I created. I was leaving an identity that I created all on my own. I felt very scared to leave it all behind. I know people have had harder years than me but this year was all about transition and change. It is very hard to find yourself when you are going through so much change. I want to find the real Amanda. I want to discover what makes me unique. I want to find out what I believe, what I enjoy to do, and who I am as a person, sister, friend, and daughter.

I believe that this online bible study came to me on purpose. Like a sign from God telling me to take time from my day to try and discover myself through his words.

Now, I have never been someone who reads the bible. I didn't grow up reading the bible. My church didn't really focus on reading scripture every day. This is new for me. This is vulnerable territory. But, I am up for the task. This summer is all about working on myself inside and out. I feel like this is the perfect way for me to find myself spiritually and mentally.

If you would like to join, go to this link and download the app with the readings! Go at your own pace and have fun with it.

The Liebster Award

I was nominated by my sorority sister Jacki from Wine Down for the Liebster Blog Award!

The Liebster Blog Award is for bloggers with 200 or less followers. Here is how it works:

1. Choose five up and coming blogs to give the award to, must have 200 or less followers.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog.
4. List the blogs you gave the award to with links to their sites. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.
5. Share five random facts about yourself.

I am going to pass this award along to some of my friends starting out in the blog world:
Rima at Collecting Adventures

Francesca at The Buttery Mushroom

Christina at Cravings of the Heart

Megan at Crazy Beautiful Life

Meghan at MC Squared

Now, here are five random facts about me...

1. I am pursuing a career in Pharmacy. I am attending Wingate University School of Pharmacy in August! I cannot wait to start this new chapter in my life. Pharmacy has always been something that I have been passionate about since I was little. I knew that I wanted to be in the health field but I wasn't sure exactly where.  I knew that I wanted to help people, I loved to cook, and was interested in the chemistry side of medicine. Then my mom started talking to me about a career in pharmacy. It was like all of my passions were blended together into the perfect career. I want to change the world of pharmacy. I want to be more than a face behind the counter. I want to individualize medicine and combine life style, diet, and health history into pharmacy. I know I have a lot of hard work and time to put in but I cannot wait for the next 4 years of my life :) 

WSOP in Wingate, NC

Relay for Life 2012

P.I.L.L.S Pre-Pharmacy Relay 2012 Team

Kelsey(Pre-Optometry), Amanda (Pre-PA) , and Me (Pre-Pharmacy) at Relay for Life

2. I am a Margarita Junkie. I love margaritas. It is something about that cool refreshing tart taste that just relaxes me. It reminds me of long days at the beach with friends, college nights out, and family dinners. I order a margarita at every restaurant that serves them. It is my drink of choice. It is a way of life.

Pre-Graduation drink at my favorite Mexican restaurant

Margaritas before Phi Mu senior bar crawl 

Frozen strawberry margaritas for my birthday!

3. I am a huge football fan. It doesn't help that my dad is an offensive line coach! I have been around football all my life. It just doesn't seem like a saturday without a football game. My dad says that I have the best offensive blocking form he has ever seen ;) 

2010 International Bowl Champions 

My family in Toronto, Canada for International Bowl Game

Me, Amanda, and Jen at an FSU football game

Me and Nicole at an FSU Game

Me and the Garnet and Gold Guys!

4. I am a mountain girl. I would rather live in the mountains than on the beach. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE THE BEACH, but I belong in that fresh crisp mountain air. My family has always been an outdoorsy family. Not the hunting and fishing type but hiking and exploring. We have been vacationing in the mountains my entire life. I think that was one of the big reasons why I chose to move to North Carolina for pharmacy school. There is just something about waking up on a mountain with no phone signal, cool breeze on the porch, and all the beautiful green trees surrounding you that just instantly relaxes me. 

5. I am addicted to trash reality tv. I think it is because I am so focused and busy during the day that when I come home to relax I just want to watch nonsense. My friends joke that Bravo is always on my TV. What can I say, I love the Real Housewives! 

I hope you have a great weekend! 

{Body} American Flag Cake

Here is a classic patriotic dish that is easy to make, festive, and yummy! Bring it to a pool party or backyard BBQ! 

American Flag Cake

Ingredients

1 box of your favorite cake mix (I used classic yellow cake mix)

2 containers of cream cheese frosting

strawberries, sliced

blueberries

Directions

1. Prepare cake mix as directed.

2. Cool and frost cake with 1 of the frosting containers.

3. Fill a ziplock bag with the other frosting container. 

4. Wash blueberries and strawberries. Slice the strawberries. 

5. Begin decorating the cake in a flag style. Use the frosting for the white lines between the strawberries.

Enjoy! 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

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I hope it is filled with watermelon margaritas, sunny days and cool nights, country music, red white and blue outfits, and good food. 

My neighborhood has 3 pools and they all just opened this weekend! Perfect timing for Memorial Day Weekend. I can't wait to have the pool opened for the hot summer days approaching!

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Texas is all about lovin' your country, family, and beer. So it is only fitting that I celebrate Memorial Day Weekend Texas style with a country concert at Billy Bobs in Fort Worth, TX. Tonight, my family and I  are going to see Joe Nichols. His songs are perfect for a day filled drinking margaritas and at night two stepping. 

Here is one of my favorite songs: Tequila Makes Her Clothes Come Off 

(you should really listen to this by the pool drinking your favorite tequila drink!)

I will miss my friends even more this weekend because we are always about the themed parties. We look forward to holidays just so we can all come together and have a party! We had our fair share of American themed parties and socials. 

Have a great Memorial Day!!! 

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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This is by far one of my favorite holidays. I love anything and everything mexican. Its true, most of the dishes I make at home and the drinks I drink are mexican inspired. I am what you call a mexican-junkie.

Over the past couple years, cinco de mayo has become a huge holiday among my friends. Boating, bubba kegs, island hoping, and sun. Its the holiday we look forward to most after a long year of school - Cinco de drinko. Yes, this holiday has a lot of historical meaning but we use it as a celebration of good friends, food, and drinks. Its a holiday were the only stress is running out of limes or getting sunburned. Its a holiday were you just stop and relax. Like I said - it's my favorite.

I hope you all enjoy a fantastic holiday! Eat great food, drink a margarita, and lay in the sun with friends! Here is a recipe to my favorite margarita - the Mandarita. Its perfect by the pool or beach any day of the week!

The Mandarita

Ingredients

1 can of frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate

1 can of tequila

1 can of sprite

Ice (depending on if concentrate is thawed)

Salt

Lime wedges

Directions

1. Empty frozen concentrate into blender. Use empty can to measure tequila and sprite. Add ice if needed.

2. Blend until frothy.

3. Use lime wedge to coat rim of a margarita glass. Coat the rim by dipping the glass into plate with salt.

4. Pour margarita into the glass and enjoy!

This year I am celebrating this wonderful holiday in Texas with my family. My dad and I went to this local mexican meat market called La Azteca. Its a local market that sells mexican products, produce, baked goods and marinated meats. IT IS DELICIOUS. The moment you walk into the market you can smell the freshly baked goods, cilantro, and delicious cooked meats. 

My dad picked up marinated fajita steak and chicken. Tonight, we are making fresh steak tacos on homemade tortillas! We made our own salsa and guacamole too! My little sister Lauren works at Chipotle, and she whipped up some delicious secret recipes, she didn't tell me the recipe so I just had to watch her make it! Sneakyyyy! Below are a loose versions of the classics!

Lauren's (chipotle mock style) Guacamole

Ingredients:

4 Avocados

Cilantro to taste

1 TBS Salt

1 cup Red Onion

1/3 cup Lime Juice

Directions:

1. Put lime juice and salt in the bottom of the bowl before you put in the avocados.

2. Cut the avocados in half and scoop out the inside. Make sure you use ripe avocados!

3. Mince the red onion. Add to the avocado mixture. Mix well.

4. Add cilantro to the mixture and loosely mix in. 

5. Enjoy with some chips and salsa!

Mom's Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

Roma Tomatoes

Red Onion

Kosher Salt 

Cilantro

Lime Juice

Directions:

1. Seed and dice the tomatoes.

2. Dice the red onion.

3. Chop the cilantro.

4. Add equal parts cilantro, onion, and tomato into a bowl and mix well.

5. Add lime juice and salt to the mixture.

6. Enjoy!

Have a great holiday! Ole!

Amanda

We Are Young

Why Being In Your 20s Is Awesome

MAR. 22, 2012 By RYAN O'CONNELL

I know I talk crap on being a twentysomething but I’m only half-kidding. In actuality, there’s no age I’d rather be. (Besides maybe seven years old because they don’t do anything besides eat ice cream and poop themselves. That sounds like an ideal life to be completely honest.)

Being in your twenties is all about discovering which things hurt you and what makes you feel good. You go in blindly, practically pricking yourself with a dull blade, and then you walk out with tougher skin. One day you’ll stop pricking yourself altogether. Maybe. I don’t know. How would I? I’m just a twentysomething, remember?

This is what your twenties are for — to feel and see as much as you can, to take advantage of not being tied down to anything and anyone and to go balls to the wall with everything that you do. You’re a raw nerve. You hate getting upset over little things, about being constantly unraveled by ignored text messages, parents, grades, and friends, but you have to remember something: you don’t know yourself entirely yet. Before the age of 20, you were mostly under your parents care, a reflection of what was going on around you. You didn’t have the option to make your own choices. You were merely living the life someone set out for you.  Being in your twenties allows you to start carving out the life you want for yourself. Everything is on your terms now which seems daunting but is actually liberating. For the first time in your life you’re the boss.

It’s important to talk about why your twenties are great because it seems like we spend so much of our time wanting to be somewhere else other than where we are. Think about it. Why the hell are we in such a hurry to live some boring grown up adult life that we saw at a Crate & Barrel? Because once we do get there, we’re stuck for a long time. The novelty’s going to wear off, we’re going to get married and have babies, and everything will be amazing but don’t think for a second that you won’t be nostalgic for this time. Don’t think for a second that you’re not going to miss those nights you spent putting on your make up, changing five million times, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes out your apartment window, and going to some silly party, a party that feels like all the others you’ve been to but still has the right to feel special. You will miss all of this. This is a luxury. It’s going to leave us eventually so you better freaking enjoy it. You better enjoy every lame ass party, every awkward kiss, every 5 AM hangover, every drug experience, every crappy apartment, because one day it will all be gone and you’ll just be left with the pictures and the bruises and nothing else. Youth is fu**ing magic. Don’t you get it? Look at your skin! Touch it. Look at your smooth legs and stomach. Grab it. When you’re older, you’ll want all of this again so bad. You’ll possibly spend so much money to get some semblance of it back. Now it’s yours for free.

We’re not stuck. Even if it feels like we are, it’s not true. We’re the opposite of stuck. As twentysomethings, we’re constantly moving — apartments, relationship, cities, jobs. Anything is possible. People are ready for you. They want to hear what you have to say. They look at you and are curious about what words are going to come out of your mouth. You’re the new generation. What do you have to say? Don’t bite your tongue. One day you’ll be pushed aside for a younger “fresher” perspective so you better get it out now. Make a mark. Make a stain. Make something.

I want to remember the fear, I want to remember the promise, I want to remember the nights I wanted to curl up in a ball, I want to remember the people I’m not supposed to remember, I want to remember not knowing myself, I want to remember the moment I started to feel safe and like this life I’m leading is really mine. I’m going to be scared, I’m going to bruise my knees and not know how they got there, I’m going to try to fruitlessly forge a connection with someone who won’t ever get it, I’m going to lose the person that means the most to me and find my way back to them. I’m going to be a twentysomething because that’s what I am and all I know how to be.  And you should too. You should love every single moment of this hot mess of a decade. Chances are you’ll miss it before you even get to say “I’m 30.”

Celebrating my Sisters!

Happy Sibling Appreciation Day!

today is the day you honor the many memories you have with your siblings

I would love to introduce you to my lovely little sisters:

Meet Lauren (left) and Emily (right)

"Sisters are probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship."

"What's the good of news if you haven't a sister to share it?"

Lauren the middle sister and is 18 years old. She is a troubled teenager who thinks the world is out to get her. Lauren and I have probably the toughest relationship because we are so different but yet so alike. We fought constantly as children but are starting to develop an adult relationship that starts with a friendship. She is incredibly creative and smart even though she doubts herself when doing a task. She has a commanding presence and always tries to be a leader in the kitchen or on the softball field. She is absolutely beautiful and has grown up to be such a strong young woman. I know she will do great things in her life and I am so proud to call her my sister.

Emily is the youngest and is 14 years old. Emily is the artistic and sensitive sister. She loves photography - its a tie for her favorite thing to take pictures of - nature and herself. She is so compassionate and sweet. Emily is always trying to fix problems and wants the world to be a happy place. I love watching her grow up to be a stunningly beautiful young woman. I cannot wait to see how much she grows.

"Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize. Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks. Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot. But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there. Defending you against all comers."

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

"For there is no friend like a sister, in calm or stormy weather, to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands."

"She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child."

I cannot wait to see my sisters in 2 weeks!

Graduation is an exciting time because as one door closes another one opens.

I can't wait to spend the ENTIRE summer in Texas with my family.

TWO. WEEKS.