Moving

Moving can be exciting and scary at the same time. It teaches you to appreciate all the good times and memories you made. But it also makes you feel really bad about leaving a place you love so much. Its kind of like you are cheating on your childhood house for another young, good looking, bigger house far far away.

Florida to Texas means...

flip flops to cowboy boots

grouper to bison

rain to snow

ocean to lake

flat to hills

dolphin rides to bull rides

I am going to miss Florida but I am very excited to see and taste what Texas has to offer. They say everything is bigger in Texas.

Florida will always be my home. Its time to try and experience new and exciting things. We have lived in our house for 18 years. We are nervous and anxious but ready to head out to the Honkey Tonk West :)

Last night we had an amazing Going Away Party. All of our family friends came out to celebrate 18 amazing years. We eat like Kings and danced to the oldies. Told stories and appreciated everything Tampa has given us.

We will miss you Tampa! Off to Big Ole Texas!

Happy Founders Day Phi Mu!

Happy Founders Day Phi Mu!! Thank you Mary Ann Dupont Lines, Mary Myrick Daniel, and Martha Hardaway Redding for creating such an amazing tradition 159 years ago. Phi Mu was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia in 1851. These women created something that would change women's lives around the country. Mary, Mary, and Martha created a sisterhood with the values Love, Honor, and Truth. These values are lived by Phi Mu women everyday. I am so thankful for Phi Mu and those three amazing women. They truly have changed my life and I will always be thankful for the amazing sisterhood they have created! LIOB!

This is my lovely Phi Mu family! Dirty South :) We just had Big Sister Reveal on Wednesday! I have an amazing Little Lura, GLittle Anne, and now another new GLittle Rachel!

This picture is from when I was a phi. It was my formal pledging ceremony. My big is my rock. She is my biggest role model and is such a strong woman. I think about her everyday and wish her the best luck in California! Love you biggle :)

This is my pledge class! PC' 08! These girls are amazing and have really made a huge difference in our chapter. I am so lucky to have 178 amazing sisters!

This picture is my favorite. Last year during our Big Sister Reveal we made a trip to Macon, Georgia. We visited Wesleyan College, the Cannon Ball House, and Martha Hardaway Redding's grave. We all circled around the grave stone and sang "Sisters". It was so touching and meaningful. The best thing though, was when we were all linked together singing, a ladybug landed on my shoulder (Our national symbol is the Lion "Sir Fidel" but on our campus our symbol is the Lady Bug). It was like Martha was there with us while we were singing! It was the coolest thing I have ever experienced.

Phi Mu has been an amazing part of my life and I will always carry on the traditions and history with me forever!

LIOB

Home Sweet Home

Being home makes me so happy.

Its the instant feeling of being safe, not worrying about the real world, work, school, or any other commitment.

Its the only time you can feel like you are 6 years old again. Where the only worry you have is missing the school bus.

I love being home. I love my family. And I love SPRING BREAK.

photo credit: Amanda Bell

a GRAVES good time in North Carolina :)

It never fails when I go home to Tampa for Breaks my family gets together with close family friends and eat! Sometimes its for special occasions like Birthday parties or Graduation parties.

But most of the time

its just a time to get together, eat,and entertain. The Graves live in a hand-built log home in Tampa. It is beautiful and a great place to entertain. They have a living tree that runs through their living room! The Graves and my family are tied at the hip - We truly are the same family!

We recently went to North Carolina for the second year in a row. We stay in a small town called Franklin and it is the perfect getaway from our stressful lives. The house we rent is tucked 30 minutes up in the Pisgah National Forest. Its a place where you can sit and relax on the front porch with a nice cold glass of lemonade, rocking away in a rocking chair.

Franklin every Saturday during the summer has a musical event called "Pickin in the Square."

Local bands play a variety of music - blues, jazz, country, classic rock, etc - local vendors sell

homemade ice cream and candy, and little kids can run around having fun. Our families act like little kids so of course we danced the night away and took part learning the art of Hula Hooping :) It was a great time and it turns out the boys were pretty good at it!

Another reason I love going to North Carolina for a vacation is the local grown produce. For some reason if you pick the blueberries and blackberries off a bush and then come

back to the house and make a homemade pie - it turns out to be the best thing you ever ate. North Carolina has the most abundant

fresh produce that is just asking to be brought back to your kitchen. Their local Wild Mountain Honey adds sweetness to any dish while their juicy tomatoes are so fresh that you can eat them like an apple. Food is much more appreciated when simple flavors and local ingredients are incorporated.

We went on some new adventures this Vacation - pontoon ride on a localLake, Trout fishing, and of course visiting waterfalls! The pontoon ride was amazing!

We rented a boat and packed an awesome lunch to enjoy while tubing and relaxing in the valley of the Pisgah Forest. The houses were so beautiful with large front porches and windows everywhere! Waterfalls a

nd dams were scattered around the HUGE lake.

When we went trout fishing it was a new experience in itself.

I am not a very big fisherwoman. I love eating fish and seafood but waiting for one to bite my line?....not my thing. But I wanted to give it a try! We ride into town and go into the local visitor center trying to find the BEST trout farm. We got back in the car and drove a couple miles to a house. The lake was the size of a swimming pool and it looked abandoned.We all looked at each other and laughed. On to the next trout farm...hoping that it isn't in someones back yard. We pull up to a really cool farm that has a little restaurant attached and sledding slides that huge inter tubes raced down.

The trout farm was a little bigger than the front yard pond we were at before, so we got fishing poles and baited up our hooks. All 10 of us threw in our poles fully baited but....nothing. 10 minutes passed....nothing. 20 minutes passed....sti

ll nothing. We were starting to give up hope because we couldn't catch 1 fish in a completely full lake.

FINALLY after 30 minutes, my boyfriend

Ryan caught one.

Then one by one everyone starting catching trout! We caught 12 total and had them cleaned and were very excited to get home and put them on the grill!

Steve put onions, salt, pepper, and olive oil in the cavity of the trout and covered it with foil. Placed the fish right on the grill and grilled the fish to perfection. We ate the perfectly tender trout out right out off the foil. We served it with cheesy grits and garden grown zucchini that was in the back of Grammy's garden. The zucchini was about a foot long in length! Steven cut it lengthwise -

seasoned it with salt and pepper and placed a thick piece of bacon on the flesh side. Just like the fish, he grilled it to perfection and it was so yummy!

I am pretty sure my passion for cooking comes from all the amazing cooks in both my family

and family friends. We see cooking and eating as a way to all come together and enjoy good food and company. Its something I will carry on with my own family!