Road trip!

My husband and I are officially in planning mode for a summer vacation we're planning this July.  Yay!

We love to travel, it's kind of our thing. 

 

I wouldn't say we're crazy about it; we don't go to extravagant places very often, we just so happened to have gotten married last year and we've always known we wanted to go big on our honeymoon. 

I love an all inclusive resort just as much as the next person, but we wanted to do something that we may never get to do again.

 

Enter: Ireland 

 

Gougane Barra, Ireland



view from the top of Blarney Castle
Beautiful right?!

 and London:


Big Ben and Parliament
from the London Eye

At the wax museum in London.
 I had to :)

I have a lot of family in Florida because my dad was born and raised there.  The first vacation Ryan and I ever went on together was in the summer of 2009 to Florida.  Ryan and I went by ourselves and stayed with my aunt and uncle who have a condo on the beach. 

 

If you look at this post, Ryan refers to it as his favorite vacation we've ever been on.  He says that because he said it's the first vacation we ever went on together, and it's the first time he truly realized that we were going to go the distance and he wanted to marry me. aawh :)

 

parasailing together

won't ever do that again...just sayin.

 

I love going back to Florida; I mean who doesn't love sun and the beach?  But Ryan really loves it.  His family didn't travel to the beach every summer like mine did when he was a kid so he truly enjoys every ounce of it. 

Florida 2012

 

We decided that this year, we're going to go back to Florida, but we're going to take a road trip instead of fly.  Ryan is under miles (by a lot!) on his truck since he leases, so he has some miles to burn. 

 

Our plan is to stay a night in Nashville going down, and then stay in New Orleans a couple nights coming back, as well as Memphis.  We've never been to New Orleans so we're going to make a little mini vacation out of that and stay two or three nights there as well. 

 

I can't tell you how excited I am! I love road trips and I love the quality time with Ryan that we get when we go on mini road trips to Kansas City, so I think we're going to have a blast.

 

We've decided we're going to rent a condo together as opposed to staying with my aunt and uncle since we're going to be down there at least a week.  I love the idea of making dinner in a kitchen and then taking a walk after dinner on the beach as opposed to going out for dinner every single night.  Daytona Beach has some amazing seafood joints, but that gets a little old to me. 

 

I'm so excited for what's to come this summer for him and I.  Half the fun is planning, especially if it's a road trip!

 

Here's to making memories with my husband in these first years of marriage!

 

Florida 2012 -  view from my aunt and uncles condo: heavenly

Grammys 2014 Recap

Since the 2014 Grammy Awards were on this past Sunday, and since I love looking at the gowns and seeing who won what award, and watching amazing performances (hello Beyonce and Jay Z and Macklemore..) I thought it would be fun to do another recap of my favorites.   



Alicia Keys

I thought Alicia Keys looked amazing!  I love the color, cut and style of this dress but I think what I love most is her hair with the dress.  It's so fun and care free and only Alicia Keys could pull this look off.


Amber Rose

I've always thought Amber Rose is gorgeous.  Just like Alicia, there are only certain woman who can pull of a shaved head, and she falls into that category.  Her make-up is always flawless and I love that she chose to cover up here tattoss!  I actually do love tattoos and don't have any problems with them, but I do think that it was a good move covering them.  And no jewlry or accessories?  Nicely done.

Miranda Lambert

 Um, can we talk about how amazing Miranda Lambert looks?  She's lost a lot of weight and looks so great!  I've always thought she was beautiful, and I loved that she was proud of her body at any size, but I have to say she looks stunning.  Kudos to Miranda.


Taylor Swift

I really liked Taylor Swift's dress choice.  It was fun, but still classy.  I read that it was quite heavy because it was metallic, but I thought she pulled it off well.  And I really loved her performance!  I'm not the biggest Taylor fan anymore; when I was 17 I loved her, but now that I'm 25 and she still sings the same type of songs, I'm kind of over it.  I do love the song she sang, however.

And in other news... The Bachelor Wedding! 



Sean and Catherine

Since the wedding of Sean and Catherine was on the same night as the Grammy's I actually didn't watch either on live TV.  I DVR'd both and watched them later (mostly because I hate am not a fan of commericals). 

I watched most of Sean's season but quit about half way through.  I believe his season was on when I was student teaching and I just didn't have time to watch it week to week, and I never took the time to catch up.  I have to say, I was shocked when I saw that he picked Catherine.  I watched a good portion of the show and in the episodes I watched, Catherine was never in them.  So, needless to say, I was surprised to hear he picked her.  

I love them together though, they're fun and goofy and I think they compliment eachother so well.  

I love a good love story!

I will say the night of the wedding, I fast forwarded through the show to the ceremony so I could see her dress and see her walk down the aisle, I just couldn't wait any longer.

Sean cried when he saw his bride walk down the aisle for the first time...holy adorable!

Happy Tuesday!  

Motivational Monday

Couldn't have said it better myself. 

This is something I admit I need to work much harder at: not worrying so much.  I'm naturally a worrier, but not as bad as my husband.  Sometimes my husband has a tendency to see the worst in a situation, and I'm constantly trying to have him look at the glass half full instead of half empty. 

This is all great, we balance each other out I feel, until I start to worry and stress too.  Sometimes I feel that because I have to be the rock or the one who stays positive about everything, that I don't get the privilege (if you can call it that) of letting my guard down. 

2013 was a rough year for Ryan and I, financially.  I student taught from January until May (meaning I had zero income coming in), and we got married in June.  Because of this, I didn't start working full time again until July, after we got back from our honeymoon.  Ryan was working at an auto dealership making very little income (thank you car business).  He also had a part time job at the airport working for an airline, which also brought in very little income.

We made it through fine; I feel it brought us together and made us stronger because of how little we were surviving on, but as I look back now on that year, It's absolutely crazy to know what we did survive on. 

Since Ryan got a new job in November of last year, we're in a much better place...but I still worry.

I'm constantly trying to chill out and realize that our life isn't the same as it was last year, but my whole life my family lived paycheck to paycheck so why wouldn't we be any different?  I think I've spent so much time crunching numbers and making sure each bill gets paid, that I'm just used to feeling like we're always drowning, even though we're really not anymore.  Thank you, Jesus.

I'm so thankful for the company Ryan works for now, and that a job change happened when it did; who knows where we would be today living like we were.  Miracles happen everyday, when you don't realize you need a miracle, but I'm so glad God was watching over us and put an opportunity in our life when he knew we needed it. 

I'll be forever grateful.

Happy Monday, and I hope your week runs smoothly!

What I'm listening to

As I sit here with the daunting task of switching my previous iTunes library from an old (practically non-working) computer to a new computer (seriously, does anyone hate this as much as me?), I'm listening to some old tunes that I haven't listened to in quite some time.

This song by NEEDTOBREATHE came up and I was instantly brought back to about 2 years ago when I came across this band and first listened to this song (to see if I should download the whole album) and I instantly fell in love. 

They're a Christian rock band (which I love!) and I honestly had no idea until well after I had bought the album and became obsessed with it.  I love a good band who can incorporate different types of music without sounding overwhelmingly like one type. 

Have you listened to any of their songs?  I highly recommend!

High Five for Friday!

It's that time of the week again, and I am so excited for that!

Another busy weekend planned, mostly fun, but some unexpected house projects to do as well.  We've had three unexpected 'issues' with our house over the past three weeks, and this last one is an emergent one that needs to be fixed. 

The joy's of owning an older home, right?

Linking up with Lauren today for this week's High Five for Friday.

one

I subbed this week again and that makes me happy!  I love teaching and I love gaining experience before I have my own classroom, but I'm ready for my own classroom.  

Lord, please let me get a teaching job this August. 

two

My little Hudson. 

Nothing exciting happened, but what's a high five for Friday post without an adorable dog picture?

Without a doubt, Hudson is the most affectionate of my three babies; always by my side and follows me everywhere.  My little shadow I call him! 

three

I bought this devotional for daily inspirations and I'm so excited.

I've needed a little pick-me-up lately and I've heard wonderful reviews on this book from  fellow bloggers so I'm excited to get started.  



four/five

I'm going to dinner with some girlfriends tonight and I'm excited for good food and better company!  A best friend of mine since we were little girls is in town (she lives in Tennessee) so I got a group of girls together to enjoy each other's company while she's in town.  She is also pregnant, so her family is throwing her an impromptu baby shower on Sunday, so that will be fun as well.  She got married a month after I did and I was on my honeymoon when she had her bridal shower, so I'm excited to be able to celebrate her new baby girl!

Cheers to a great weekend!

Liebster Award...say what?

Exciting news over here! 

The lovely Katherine from The Katherine Nicole was so kind to nominate View From the Cornfields for the Liebster Award!  It's so nice to know that there are other bloggers out there who are just as new at this as I am and I love that it's a way for us newbie's to connect and expose other blogs who are just starting out.  I'm told that in order to be nominated for this award, your blog must have less than 200 followers.

Here are the rules when awarded the Liebster Award:

 

+give 11 random facts about yourself
+answer 11 questions from the person that nominated you
+nominate 11 blogs (with under 200 followers) and make 11 questions for them to answer

 

My 11 facts:

 

+ I have a degree in elementary education and can't wait to have my own classroom one day.  Hoping that day will come this August...

+If I didn't have a care in the world, I would move to London.

+I love teaching, but my absolute dream job would be to become a veterinarian.  

+I have a tattoo on my wrist of the year Ryan and I got married in roman numerals.  I absolutely love it.

+After buying a puppy from a puppy mil (unbeknownst to us), and putting him to rest 2 months later because he was so sick, I went to the ends of the Earth to shut down the puppy mil he came from.  I succeeded.

+Ryan and I can't wait to start a family one day, God willing.

+I love musicals! 

+I love reading and I try to read as much as possible. 

+I have a curved spine (thanks Dad) and if I were to have back surgery to correct the curvature (one day I will), I was told I would gain 4 inches in height.  I'm told no one notices my back like I do, but I disagree.  It's my biggest insecurity, by far.

+I had the same dog (a beagle, Murray) growing  up from when I was 3 years old until almost 18.  I don't remember the week he died because I've blocked it out, it was that traumatic. 

+My favorite kinds of movies are comedy's and thrillers.

 

Questions given to me by Katherine:

 

+ If you could spend a year anywhere in the world--where would you go and what would you do there?

I kind of answered this above, but I would go back to London.  I absolutely loved the lifestyle in London.  Waking up and walking to the tube (train station), walking to restaurants, etc.  It was a big city but didn't seem big once you got off your stop.

+ Where is your favorite place to shop?

Target and Ulta are a couple of my favorites.  Target has literally anything, and Ulta is my weakness.  I get in trouble at Ulta.

+ How long have you been blogging?

I started a different blog about a year ago, but deleted it because it became something I wasn't enjoying.  I started this blog is October of 2013 with the intent of enjoying it for myself again.  So far, I love it!

+ How did you pick your blog name?

Picking a blog name can be intimidating so I didn't want to think too much into it.  Since Nebraska has a lot...a lot of cornfields, I just thought it would be fun to say this is my view from the cornfields.  It stuck!

+ What are 3 things you can't live without?

My husband, my dogs and my niece >>we'll say family on that one and consider that one item.  So, my family, coke, and my USB drive. Ha!  I am trying to get a teaching job after all!

+ Would you rather fly or take a road trip to your vacation destination?

Fly, please!  Road trips are fun, and I enjoy them as much as the next person, but in order to not waste time I would rather fly.

 

+ What's your favorite comfort food?

Oh, Lord, this is easy.  Macaroni and Cheese.  I literally could survive on Mac and Cheese.  Any variation.

 

+Current television show obsession?

Breaking Bad, Pretty Little Liars and Revenge.

 

+What are 3 things on your bucket list?

Open up an animal rescue shelter for pets born into puppy mills, travel to Washington DC to visit museums and monuments from our nation's history, visit Bora Bora with my husband.

 

+Dog or cat person? Post a picture if you have one :)

Given that I've already talked about dogs a lot already, definitely a dog person!

+ Best way to spend a Saturday?

My husband doesn't have to work, go to lunch together, go do some shopping together and see a movie at Cinedine later that night. Swoon.

 

My questions for the new nominees:

 

+How did you come up with the name of your blog?

+What is your favorite movie?

+Name your biggest pet peeve.

+Describe the perfect date.

+What is your biggest fear?

+What is your biggest obsession?

+Who inspires you most?

+Describe yourself in three words.

+What is the best gift you've received?

+What beauty products do you swear by and can't live without?

+What is your favorite thing about blogging?

 

The lovely bloggers I nominate:

+ Health, Love and Fire

+ Peach State of Mind

+ A Thousand Words

+ Happily Ever Parker

+ Dysart Diaries

+ Patterned Love

+ My Wholesome Home 

+ Beautiful Moments

+ Boone+Owl

+ All Things Natalie Christa

+ Hey Kelsea Rae

Him vs. Her

I thought it would be fun to do a little him. vs. her action to see how Ryan and I compare.  I sent him an email at work with the following items and just said "type your favorites in next to the item!"

My response is below our answers in italics.

Shoes
Ryan: boots
Robin: Toms or boots (in the winter).  Every girl needs a good pair of boots...or 9.
*Am I right?

Drink/beverage
Ryan: Guinness
Robin: coke
*Shocker, Ryan and Guinness.  I do enjoy a good glass of Guinness every so often, however.  

Ice cream flavor
Ryan: vanilla
Robin: chocolate
*Good ol' opposites on that one.

Color
Ryan: green
Robin: turquoise

Candy
Ryan: toffee
Robin: Reece's Peanut Butter Cups
*Never, in my life, have I seen Ryan eat toffee, or even ask for toffee.  Learn something new every day?

Music
Ryan: country
Robin: country
*This is something we share in common and something that brought us together, originally.  We have many memories at country concerts, it's something we do regularly together.

 

Carrie Underwood, 2010 or 2011 maybe?

 

 

 Jason Aldean, 2013

 

On our way to Keith Urban, 2012 maybe?

Go to outfit
Ryan: jeans/ tee
Robin: Depends on the occassion like any woman!

Restaurant
Ryan: Famous Daves
Robin: Texas Roadhouse or
*Mmm, I was never a fan of Famous Dave's because I'm not a huge BBQ person, but when they started offering their mac and cheese that is heavenly, I'm hooked.

Movie
Ryan: Backdraft
Robin: Pretty Woman or Horrible Bosses
*Oh Lord, where do I start.  Ryan is a volunteer firefighter and has grown up with a father who was state fire marshal for many years, so fire fighting has always been a part of his life.  Enter: Backdraft.  He watches this movie over and over and over and over and over...and over again.  But I'm not different with my movies.  Pretty Woman has to be the most romantic movie off all time in my opinion.  And Horrible Bosses is a movie Ryan and I share a love for...it's hilarious.

Food
Ryan: BBQ/Steak
Robin: Mac and Cheese.
*Mmmmm!

Something you can’t live without
Ryan: you
Robin: Ryan...and my dogs.
*In no particular order... :) just kidding.

                      
TV show
Ryan: Home Improvement
Robin: If we're talking of all time: Friends, Home Improvement; currently: Revenge, Pretty Little Liars and Breaking Bad.
*Home Improvement is a show Ryan and I are constantly watching together.  It's one of those, 'Nothing's on TV? Ok, just put an episode of Home Improvement on.' Friends is another all time fave, I can't believe it's been 10 years since it went off air! Holy old balls.  And my guilty pleasure is Pretty Little Liars...Ryan makes fun of me but it's so good!

Wake up time (m-f)
Ryan:7:20
Robin: If I'm subbing, 630a; if I'm at the doctor's office 730a. 
*Um, hello we need to wake up earlier.

Way to relax
Ryan: watch movies
Robin: take a bath and read

Vacation spot
Ryan: Ireland
Robin: London
*This makes me laugh.  We went to Ireland and London on our honeymoon and I find it funny that his favorite spot was Ireland, and mine was London.  I am so happy that we decided to "go big" for our honeymoon and spend the money to travel to Europe.  I will forever cherish those memories spending our first few days as husband and wife traveling Europe together.  We're already saving for our next European trip!

Gouganne Barra, Ireland.  Beautiful right?

 



 Big Ben, London

 

Holiday
Ryan: Christmas
Robin: Christmas

Sports
Ryan: football
Robin: Husker football!

Memory you and I have together
Ryan: our first Florida vacation.
Robin: our honeymoon 
*My dad is originally from Florida, so I have family that lives there.  Ryan and I had been dating about 2 years and he came with my family and I for a summer vacation.  This was our first time really traveling together so it was fun.  Ryan still talks about that trip!