O Traveller! Don't stop now in the path, there still remains much travel.

Now that Derrick and I are pretty much settled in, I can officially post more.

So as you may or may not know, we just moved from Florida to Missouri. It's really more exciting than it sounds! Actually, in the two weeks we've been in Missouri we've done more than we ever did in Florida. 1) Because Florida is super-hot and I hated going outside. 2) It's dirt cheap to do things around here. 3) Things are much more accessible here. 4) The food is a million times better, and my chef-of-a-husband will agree!

It is with deep regret and sadness that I must tell you my Macbook, Alice, doesn't seem to have survived our trip. :( I tried to keep her safe with me the entire time, but the previous issues I've been having with her seem to have reinforced themselves, thus, she is deemed unusable. I believe the time has finally come to invest in a new laptop. We had a wonderful, prosperous life together.

Our trip was an adventure, I was a bit worried about us taking a 16 foot truck with our car attached to the back of it. Rusty (our cat) made the first leg of the trip rather gruesome to endure, but at least his howling and wailing and thrashing around kept us awake! After he realized we weren't going to keep him in that plastic box forever, the next day of travels he simply slept, only pausing to meow when Derrick started singing. :)

We traveled through Florida (obviously), and stopped for rest in Birmingham, AL. The next day we started to see the leaves and grass become greener and fuller as we traveled further north through Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and finally Missouri. Derrick pulled over at the Missouri/Arkansas state-line and decided to fulfill my "Be in two places at once" spot on my Bucket List. Then we continued through the Ozarks until we met our final destination in Springfield, MO!

Our apartment is a significant upgrade from what we came from. I'll post pics once we're finished with it. Derrick is in love with the fully equipped kitchen, Rusty enjoys snuggling into the cove above the fridge all day, and I find myself dancing and twirling on the wood floors.

We've spent the first two weeks unpacking and exploring the town. I've taken Derrick to all my favorite places to eat, and he hasn't been disappointed once. Our favorite is the Indian restaurant, Gem of India, where you can find authentic Indian food that is all made in-house. Derrick kept telling me he was full, then would proceed to fill another plate!

Of course I took him to Lambert's, because any foreigner has to experience getting a hot roll thrown at their face and fresh fried okra!

We toured some attractions in both Springfield and Branson including Bass Pro (HQ), the Titanic Museum, and the Branson Landing. We also strolled through Nathanael Greene Park, which has become quite magical since I last time I was there! They've expanded their strolling gardens, included a butterfly garden, have set up jungle-jims along the trails for kids, and have a whole new recreational building. However, I think the most magical part about it was seeing fireflies for the first time since I moved to Florida!

I've also had the opportunity to meet the team at the new salon I will be working at. I finally take my state boards this week, my theory test is Wednesday and then next Monday is my Practical in KC. Then, finally, I shall be a licensed cosmetologist! In the mean time...Derrick has already become rather good chums with my old friend, Josh...the two of them have been gaming together into the wee hours of the morning!

We are very excited to finally be able to get involved in ministry more. Derrick has found a liking to the churches here, namely the one we've been streaming videos from all the way down in Florida, James River. I'm incredibly excited to get back into the women's ministry, and he's looking to get plugged in as well. We'll be starting to go to a Couples Life Group next month in hopes of meeting other Christian Couples who also share a passion for living a solid, purposeful walk with Christ.

That's all I have to update for now. Once things are officially slowed down I plan to be updating much more. Now that we have an oven I'm going to indulge in my baking skills! I've also joined a new cause in which I get to read and review books before they're published, so I'll most likely be posting some of those reviews here.

I hope you all are well and God is blessing your lives immensely! 

What makes life on this

frightful sod so exquisite

is God's merciful propensity

to perform divine tasks

amid deeply flawed people.

Beth Moore

1st Anniversary

One year ago from this past Friday...yes...Friday the 13th (I said we should've done something scary haha), my husband and I as young hoodlums decided to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. The world may never understand the "jump ship" attitude that resulted in our sudden hitching, I'm sure many were surprised to find out that it wasn't a matter of immorality, but more so a matter of survival of the fittest. It was not how we would have planned it, but in this way we are able to grow together and learn from each other. This has been one of the most eventful and rewarding years of my life. We've laughed, we've cried, but above all, we are learning how to love God and love each other. I'm so happy to be with the guy I set myself apart for. I love him very much, and here's to another year in the next chapter of my adventure with Derrick O'Gara! :)

Well, most of the day he had to work, so I decided to go volunteer at an assisted living home through my school. He had something planned for the evening but wouldn't tell me what it was.

Now, let me preface this a bit. I'm a northerner. I'm northern in blood, heart, and soul and I've been feeling really homesick lately! One of my most favorite things to enjoy in life are the seasons. I love the change and anticipation for new life and beauty. The beautiful colors of the fall and the shimmering snowflakes in the winter. I get so homesick for it. Especially fall, that is my favorite season. One of my favorite things about fall is enjoying a nice campy bon fire while it's chilly out. So when we both got home from the day, guess what I was surprised with? Dinner via bonfire!! We made smoked trout, asparagus, and later enjoyed some delicious s'mores. It made me feel like I was back in the north again.

In the morning, we enjoyed breakfast at this cute little place called "The Breakfast House." It has the look and feel of a B&B, minus the lodging. And their food is amazing! The staff is always wonderful there.

After that, we went to go see the movie Joyful Noise, which neither one of us particularly liked. As a matter of fact, it was pretty terrible. Well, the music was phenomenal, but the message it was sending? This is what I learned from that movie:

1. Christians are uptight and old-school and should conform to the people around them.

2. To keep the guy's attention and keep him from hitting on other girls, you need to wear scandalous clothing and lots of makeup.

3. You can lead worship without meaning what you're singing. Just look like you're praising God. You don't need to live it.

4. The point of a Gospel music competition is not to bring God glory, but ourselves.

5. Life is about me, me, and me. Being self-absorbed and conceited is what's in style!

6. Everyone should listen to the "bad boy" because he apparently knows what's best.

.....what??? No wonder the world has this stereotypical, hostile misconception of what Christians are these days. I'm glad we saw it for the sake of knowing what message is being presented about Christians in today's world, but I wouldn't recommend this movie to a friend. You might as well just buy the soundtrack and enjoy the music.


After the movie we had dinner in the Sea Porch at the Don Cesar. 

It was really beautiful, and the food was good, but I think Derrick makes a waaay better Ceviche. ;) The chefs in the back made us a special anniversary seafood appetizer. 

It was really delicious, and as our non-dairy dessert they made this very elaborate fruit platter for us! 

Afterwards we walked around the Don a little bit, it was a gorgeous night out. And that concluded our evening!


We had a great celebration, I can't believe how quickly time flies! :)