Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I cannot believe it is Sunday evening once again. I had a really great vacation with John and I'm so sad it has come to an end and he's already back in Indy :-(
However I am excited to share a summary of our trip!

John got down here on Wednesday evening and we just hung around Ft. Myers. Then on Thursday morning we played a game of golf, went home showered, packed and got on the road for Miami! We stayed at a great hotel called The Betsy right in the heart of South Beach. It was a gorgeous hotel with great service and a great location!

On Thursday we went into downtown Miami for some authentic Cuban cuisine at a place my friend Ashley suggested. We really liked everything we had there especially the mojitos! After that we decided to check out a part of Miami Beach that has a lot of shopping and restaurants for a drink.

The next morning we got up and walked down the block for some breakfast. We then went to the beach! With our hotel stay we got two comfy beach chairs and an umbrella all set up for us. It was so relaxing and beautiful out there.

There was one problem...

It's jellyfish season!! Which means I didn't get in the water...however John braved it out and swam a bit.

After the beach we went back into downtown Miami to walk around the city a bit. We found a cool little market place on the water with all kinds of shops and bars right on the water. We stopped for some yummy gelato! Also while we were downtown we checked out my friend Ashley's family's department store which was really cool!

Later that evening we went back to South Beach and went to check out a nearby art museum called the Wolfsonian. We then headed to a restaurant called AltaMare for an amazing seafood dinner.

Lastly we headed to a bar on South Beach for some drinks and dancing!  In the morning we grabbed some yummy breakfast at the hotel and checked out. On our way back to Fort Myers we decided to stop in the Everglades for an airboat tour!

We saw a lot of these!

Once we got back to Fort Myers we went to get some pizza on the beach with my sister and her boyfriend and watched the sunset on the water.

That pretty much sums it up! It was a such a great vacation but boy did it go by fast!
Now I have to get back to the real world and work tomorrow :-(

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

SO much to write about!

Hey everyone!
 I have so much to write about in this post!
First of all I have to start on a sad note...I've been meaning to write about this for awhile but I get too sad thinking about it to write about it. About a month ago our family dog Sally passed away at the age of 15 years old. I'm tearing up just writing this. She was the only dog we've ever had and we loved her so much. I know she's in doggie heaven but we miss her a lot.

We couldn't live without having a dog around for long, so this past weekend we got a puppy!
Her name is Abby and she's a 4 month old Schnoodle.

The first few days she was very calm. Now she's a pretty hyper little puppy. She loves playing fetch and running around. She's pretty much the cutest thing ever. The only problem is that our cat Toby is very scared of her, we're hoping they get used to each other soon.

Now let's turn to the subject of shopping. John will be here later today and we are going to Miami tomorrow for a few days. This means I needed to go do a little shopping for the trip! ;-)
My two favorite purchases of the day were

These Michael Kors espadrilles, which are perfect for dressing up or down.

And I finally got a cross the body bag!

Marc by Marc Jacobs in pewter!

Now I just have a haircut and manicure appointment later today and I'm ready for vacation!

As for an update on my personal training, I'm still sore. Haha. It's going well and I'm proud that I've stuck with it for a month already!

Also as for an update on work, it's okay. I really liked the store I worked at yesterday, probably because its brand new and not busy at all. I felt like I could actually talk to patients and help them. I also did my first two flu shots! I was nervous, but it went fine. I was lucky to be at that store my first time. I also got my flu shot once the other pharmacist was there. You should all get yours at Walgreens! :-)

I told you I had a lot to write about!
 Expect a recap of my vacation after this weekend!
 I hope you all have a great rest of your week!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

First and Foremost

Hello everyone,
 I have a lot to write about but today I think it's most important to write about 9/11. I can't believe it's been ten years. I  vividly remember sitting in freshman algebra when the principal announced that the attack had happened. To be honest I didn't know what the World Trade Center was that day until I saw the video. In every class for the rest of the day there was discussion of what this meant for us and for America as a whole. Our country and world has changed a lot since that day. There have been all kinds of stories on TV and in the news about 9/11 today but I wanted to share this one, because I feel like it really puts things into perspective. It's kind of long to put the whole thing in this post so here is the link:

Remembering 9/11: A warrior's unexpected gift to America

It's inspiring isn't it?

I hope you all had a good Sunday and are as thankful as I am for my family, friends, and those service men and women who risk their lives for us everyday. May all those affected by 9/11 find peace.

Yours Truly, Amanda

Constant State of Soreness

Hi everyone!
 Well ever since I started personal training at the gym I have been in a constant state of soreness. You see that's actually the point, but it hurts!  There were a few nights when laying down even hurt! haha. I'm into my third week of training. I think it's been going really well. I'm definitely still at the bottom though as far as weights go, I feel so little and weak sometimes but I looking forward to seeing results, I just wish it happened quicker!
 I've had a great 3 days off of work that have consisted of working out, a little shopping, some reading, golf and hanging out with my family. I go back tomorrow to a 12 hour shift which I haven't done as a pharmacist yet. I hope the day goes by quickly for me! After that I just work 6.5 hours on Friday and have the weekend off! Next week I have vacation Wednesday through Sunday so John is coming to visit! I'm so excited!! We are going to go to Miami for a few days for a little mini-vacation.

 I can't wait, that will definitely get me through work for the next few days!

It sounds like everyone up north is starting to feel fall weather. I've always liked fall, wearing sweaters, football, etc. But when I was walking out of the gym today and it was 85 degrees and sunny with the palm trees swaying, I thought I can get used to this fall weather :-)
I will however miss changing leaves, they're so beautiful!

Lastly, I'm trying to start to get my finances in order. I jumped on Mint.com yesterday for the first time and it was actually pretty cool. (The picture isn't of my finances, lol just an example from the website)

They bring all of your accounts together and you can actually see what you're spending money on each month  and can make savings goals among other things. I really want to save as much as I can now when I don't have many expenses since I'm living with my parents and all. I have some lofty goals, its kind of intimidating to think about all this grown up stuff!!




Here's a Tiffany Tip to leave you with, it's appropriate for this post about finances!

^No. 12

Talk About Money.

About saving. Debt. Past behavior.

Expectations, confrontations and tribulations.

Put it all on the table now

so it won’t be a nuisance later.

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

My weekend starts!

Hi Everyone!
 I'm finally done working for the week! This weekend was pretty slow at the pharmacy so it felt like I was there forever! There hasn't been a whole lot going on here. I've been working and working out with a few other things thrown in there. Some things I want to focus more on is getting involved in church maybe with a bible study, also getting involved in the Tri Delta alumni chapter down here. I also want to practice more golf especially since the weather will be getting really nice here in the fall.  Those are on my to-do list.

On another note I went with my mom to this great store the other night called Total Wine. It is huge! They have any type of wine/beer/alcohol that you could possibly want in any price range. It was fun to walk around and check everything out! I ended up picking out this cabernet. It was a really good price so I hope it tastes just as good! I may just have to try it tonight!

We're having fish tonight and I'm in charge of making it while my mom is going to make the sides. I'm getting hungry so I better go get started on that. I hope you all have a nice Sunday night and a great Labor day!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

Busy Sunday!

Good evening everyone!
 I can't believe it is once again Sunday night and another work week is upon us! I had a nice weekend off. We celebrated my brother's birthday yesterday with a big dinner and lots of family members over. I made this great salad that I found the recipe for on Pinterest! It was a tomato, mozzarella, and avocado salad and it was delish!

Today was a busy day! It started out with church which was really good. The reading was from the book of Matthew and was about humans' inclination to believe we know better than God and how that is just not the case. One of the Psalms that was sung was this one that really stuck with me today.

Psalm 63
⁷ Because you are my help,
   I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
   your right hand upholds me.

After church I had an appointment at the gym with the personal trainer. It was a really good workout and I'm going to be super super sore tomorrow! I'm really glad I decided to get a trainer because I feel like I'm learning all kinds of different ways to work out and they definitely push me harder than I would myself. They make me do those last few reps I would give up on by myself! After working out I decided to head to the mall and treat myself to some new workout clothes! I also picked up a couple gifts for my mom's birthday tomorrow! After the mall I stopped and got a spray tan and headed home. We had leftovers from last night's feast and now I'm watching the VMAs. I'm about to go make my lunch for tomorrow and hop into bed! I might read a few pages of The Pillars of the Earth which I'm reading right now. I haven't left any Tiffany Tips lately so here's one!

^No. 11

Open New Doors Together.

Don’t sit back. Step out.

The adventures you share build bonds that last forever.

New adventures entail some risk,

and risk can be quite intoxicating.

Have a great Sunday night everyone!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

East Coast Trip Recap!

Hi Everyone!
 This has been a crazy week of work and today I finally have a day off! I have a to-do list about a mile long! On my to do list is to write this blog entry! Here's the summary and some pics of my recent trip to the east coast!

I flew into Boston where John picked me up and we went off to have lunch at a place called the Barking Crab! I had a clam roll, which was very good.

Then we went into downtown to walk around and we stopped at a little restaurant for a drink. Boston has Newbury Street which has all the great shopping on it. It kind of reminded me of Michigan Avenue in Chicago but more quaint.

We also walked through the Boston Commons which is a great park in the city.

 Palm Trees!!

After our afternoon in Boston we headed to Cape Cod.

The next morning we took a drive around Cape Cod. We stopped in a cute little town called Sandwich and had a little snack at this cute cafe. We also went and checked out the beach which was very pretty but the water was freezing!!!

In the afternoon we went golfing with John's dad and brother. This was a nice course but it was also very long. I didn't do that great, lol I need more practice!!

After golf John's dad made a great paella which I'd never had before. It was a great end to the day.

The next morning John and I went on a bike ride along the Cape Cod canal and walked out to the water.

After this we headed to Rhode Island where we went into downtown Providence for dinner. We went to a great Greek restaurant in the heart of Brown University's campus. Providence does something called waterfire during the summer where they basially burn fires and play music on the canal that runs through the city. There were tons of people and various vendors. It was a really nice night.

As you can see it was a fun packed weekend! Now I need to go work on my to-do list. I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda