To My 18-Year-Old Self

I'm seeing graduation posts pop up left and right on Facebook of my friend's younger siblings and my little cousins--who aren't so little anymore. Last month was their high school graduation and it's left me feeling a little sentimental and reminiscent. Trust me, I don't want to go back to high school, I'm perfectly fine being in this mid-twenties post-college married chapter of my life, and have zero desire to move backwards. But with all these high school graduations happening around me, my mind can't help but take me back to that beautiful time in my life when every choice I made was going to majorly impact the direction of my life. Oh nostalgia.

I'm 26 years old now and have lived exactly 8 years since my high school graduation. (Um, wow; this is a hard pill to swallow, considering I still feel like a teenybopper sometimes.) If my 26-year-old self magically showed up at my graduation and pulled my young-platinum-blonde-haired-bright-eyed-18-year-old self away for a few minutes to tell me what the next 8 years of my life were going to look like...I would not believe a word of it. There's no way! Would I be totally happy and pleasantly pleased with everything I'd hear? Honestly no, and that's only because I had such different expectations for my life at that time. I didn't know how much I was going to change the following years after high school and I especially didn't know the hardships I was going to face.  And I can't imagine being told in advanced the exact struggle I'm going to experience in a few years. I think it'd be the same concept if God laid out our entire future on this earth in front of us, our future according to HIS plans. I imagine there'd be some disappointment and/or confusion as it definitely wouldn't match up to our plans, but God knows best you guys. "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

Besides a little shock and disappointment, some of the things I'd hear would absolutely blow me away! I mean, if I could I'd give myself a huge high-five! Way to Go, self! How'd you ever manage to pull that off?! WHO ARE YOU?!

---------------

With that said, things I would say to my freshly graduated 18-year-old-self regarding my future:

One day, you're gonna wish you hadn't tanned so much. Look at those crows-feet next to your eyes! You should have listened to your mother, Jennifer. Tisk tisk.

That guy that you're pining over right now, the one who never showed up today, he's actually gonna break a little piece of your heart this summer. Hard to believe, I know. Of course you'll go through some healing over time, but then...he's gonna come back into your life and break off another piece and you'll feel the hurt all over again. I wish you weren't going to give him so much of your time and thoughts. Even though I wish you would have just kept your standards high from the beginning, this season of heartbreak you're about to endure will teach you so much not only about yourself, but about the qualities of a guy you're looking for in a future husband, the man that you're going to choose to spend the rest of your life with. I know you're not going to listen to anyone and you'll ignore all the red flags because you're so hung up on him, but just know that God's got you throughout this whole thing.

Your huge princess high-school-graduation dress cost more than your wedding dress. Isn't that funny?!

My 2016.

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE! What a crazy, exciting time of year and I can't even believe the beginning of January is about to hit us!

For someone in my shoes, the months of October to December are nuts. I say "in my shoes" because I'm a Canadian who married an American and is living in America. Therefore, in October Jarryd and I celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, in November we celebrate American Thanksgiving, in December we celebrate Christmas, and now we celebrate New Years Eve/Day! There are four major holidays all within the span of three months for us! (Thank goodness Christmas is the only holiday where gift-giving is expected, or else we'd be sooo broke!)

Last night in the car, Jarryd and I were just talking about how great of a year 2016 was for us. Thankfully, and I say this with a truly grateful heart, nothing drastic or tragic occurred in our lives. (Thank you, God!) We both conquered some things we wanted to conquer, and accomplished things we never even dreamed we'd accomplish. But, there's also things we wish we would have done more of, or wish we would have done less of. Obviously our lives aren't perfect and therefore our year wasn't perfect. But overall, despite how exhausting and busy the year may have been for us, 2016 really was a good year.

We're Baaaaack!

Hey everyone! Jarryd and I are officially back from our 2016 Canadian Thanksgiving trip! Well, we've actually been back since this past Monday but who's keeping track?

The first indication that we were back in America was the weather. Holy smokes--it was wonderful stepping off the plane to feel the warm, humid air soak into my face like a sponge! (This is a no-sarcasm zone, by the way. I'm being completely serious when I say I love humidity!)

And then, driving on the interstate felt SO good. My Canadian hometown has nothing even close to an Interstate so driving in the US is such a treat for me! I often feel the need for speed and after a long flight it was just what I needed. I love going 130 km/hr in my little white honda. It was great, UNTIL we came to a complete stop as there was an accident ahead of us. Instead of a 45 minute drive back to our apartment, it was a 2 hour drive back. And what's worse is we got home at 8 pm and had to ready ourselves for work the next day. Ugh. And I'll have you know, we were SO smart when planning this trip. Our return flight was for Saturday, which would have given us a whole day of rest before we had to go back to work. But, when our return flight got cancelled due to "lavatory maintenance" (whatever that means), our careful planning all went out the window! But it was a TOTAL blessing because we got to spend more time in Canada with friends and family. (Also, missing work on Monday meant a short work week too! Yay!)

I finally unpacked my suitcase. Can somebody please give me a reward for this? In Starbucks PSL form? Unpacking is hard, especially when you leave it for almost a week and you forget what's clean and what's dirty. Although, unpacking this time around was kinda fun because one of my best friends (who has a killer sense of style!) gave me a truckload of her old clothes, so it was like unwrapping a giant suitcase-shaped present full of gorgeous "new" clothes!  * heart eyes *

Oh, and did I mention that I'm sick with a cold? I have visited Canada a total of 3 times since moving to the US and I have gotten sick a total of 3 times on these trips. Can you believe it?! Every. Single. Time. It never fails!
Honestly, I fully expected to be sick this time, so halfway through the trip when I woke up with a scratchy throat, I rolled my eyes and said "here we go, again!". "See ya in a few days, voice. I'll miss you!" And when I say sick, I mean getting an awful hacking-type-of-cold and losing my voice.
I'm either getting sick from the humid US-to-dry Canada climate change, or I'm getting sick from sitting in a winged-germ-tube airplane where you breathe everyone elses air for several hours. :P

You guys, I definitely experienced my introvert hangover in the middle of our trip. IN THE MIDDLE. How awful is that? Introvert hangover = "a withdrawal into oneself brought on by overstimulation" (as said by Introvert Dear). Making plans to see so many different people and never having a moment alone during the day can be pretty exhausting (especially when you're sick with a real hoarse voice!). I mean, we were dividing our days into 3+ sections just to make time to see everyone! I definitely started feeling stressed about my lack of time/energy/health. But what I've learned over the years is that you can't use your introversion as a crutch or an excuse. For example, I could have cancelled plans with people, but that would have been SO dumb. (I'm sorry but "dumb" is the only word I could think of right now). I would have come back to the US with so much guilt and regret for choosing to recharge over seeing people I haven't seen in MONTHS. It's honestly just a conscious choice you have to make, a choice to just get over your exhaustion, because by the time you lay eyes on your long-distance friends all of the tiredness instantly disappears! :) Can anyone else relate with me on this one? I'm so proud of myself for not letting it get to me either, all I did was say to my Mom "I'm stressed", and that was that! High five to myself!

On a lighter, less phlegmy note, it's so nice coming back to colourful leaves on the trees! Where we were, (near Winnipeg), a majority of the fall leaves were already off the trees and on the ground. :'( Fall literally lasts a second there, haha! And I feel like it's just beginning here in Maryland! YAY!

What's also cool is that I used PAID VACATION. Haha I know I know, I'm 25 and only experiencing the joys of paid vacation now, blah blah. But it's a big deal to me! A whole week off of work and I'm still getting paid for it?! Amazing! (I'm such an adult now, it's nuts!) The unfortunate part is that I used up all of my vacation until next October. LOL. It's going to be a loooong year guys...

Also, a whole week without having to go to work = a whole week of being able to do my hair and makeup and wear nice clothes during the day and feel pretty again! And LIPSTICK--I got to wear lipstick like everyday! But Jenny, why don't you wear makeup to work? Trust me, in my profession there's absolutely no point. Why would I wake up any earlier than I have to just so I can wear makeup that's going to get sweated off? This paragraph would be what I'd give the #itsthelittlethings hashtag to. It's the little things in life that can give one joy.

I hung out with 4 babies and 1 toddler on this trip (all girls, by the way), and I think I'm officially ready to be a mom. Hahah. Now, don't you dare take me the wrong way! :P I'm not saying that we're "trying" or whatever; what I'm saying is that it doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. Here in Maryland, we have only 1 friend who has a kid. Back in Canada, we have only 1 friend who DOESN'T have a kid. When you're surrounded by a huge community of young parents with babies you definitely start to feel the "itch", you know? LOL. I'll let y'all know what happens...

Anyway, after a pretty good four days of work, today is Saturday and I've been doing absolutely nothing! Nothing, except for sleeping in, unpacking, two loads of laundry, two cups of coffee, grocery shopping, replacing my MacBook Pro battery (all by myself, thank you very much!), dishes, cleaning, and now---blogging! OH and how could I forget: Hallmark channel has been playing in the background all afternoon. Hee Hee.

It's good to be back, friends! :) OH and I plan to post a blog entry about our trip with all kinds of photos. Stay tuned.

What I'm Thinkin' Is...

Blog posts where I write down all of my current most random thoughts are my favourite kind of blog posts! I find them to the be the most down-to-earth and at the same time so real and organic that it's on the verge of being almost too boring to read. Right? :P

I mean, do people actually care about my random thoughts? Speaking of, I just posted a photo to dear ole' Instagram holding my disposable Starbucks cup in front of my new world map from Ikea, casually stating how I like to take my Caramel Macchiatos. See below:

WHO cares?! Not gonna lie, the Instagram culture makes me laugh. People claim to be real and authentic, yet it takes them ridiculously long to shoot the perfect photo of a #flatlay scheme, ridiculously long to edit the photo, and ridiculously long to decide on the "perfect" caption. And the hashtags are a whole 'nother story; they are cheesy beyond belief. Take #myunicornlife for example. Does anyone actually have a so-called "unicorn life"? What is this "unicorn life" they speak of? And then there's #theeverydaygirl, what is an "everyday girl"?!

I think the funniest thing about it though, is that I AM ONE OF THEM. I am guilty of doing all of the above, especially the part about the "unicorn life" hashtag. Yep. But hey, at least I can admit that I'm crazy when social media's involved, and most importantly I can do all of this, all the while admit that I don't take myself too seriously.

Honestly, it's kinda fun having a little space on the internet where I can portray the best of my best; my best days, my best moments, my best home decor, and my best baked goods {all in the best natural lighting of course}. ;) Plus, Instagram is a creative's dream social media outlet; where artistic personalities are admired and celebrated!

Anyway, I intended for that to be the introduction to my list of random thoughts, but it seems that I went off on a bit of a tangent and thus it appears I already provided a random thought. So let's continue, shall we?

One of the best feelings in the world is when you get a brand new album and you listen to each song once, already picking and choosing what your favourites are just from the first listening session. And slowly but surely the song you didn't like at first eventually becomes your new favourite! I also love the feeling when I'm at work and think to myself, "I can't wait for my 25 minute drive home because that means I get to listen to ______ on repeat!!"

But that brings me to my next point...one of the worst feelings in the world is when you've listened to your new favourite album one too many times and you're left with absolutely nothing worth listening to and all you have to turn to is FM radio. *tear*

One of the most---I'll go with---interesting things about the American culture, at least in this part of America, is that acquaintances/practically strangers will tell you all about their day without even being asked to. I rarely have to ask anyone anymore about their day because they don't even give me a chance to. I guess it's just frustrating because where I'm from in Canada, the normal social etiquette is quite different, take this for example:

Person: "Hello!"

Me: "Hi! How are you? What is new?!"

Person: "I am good! We just did ____ and ____! How about you??"

Me: "Well, I am ____ but____ happened and now_____."
Person: " Oh wow that's interesting! _____"

And the conversation just flows nicely because both parties have had a chance to express how they're doing. Doesn't that just sound oh-so lovely?!

However, the American culture {in the area I live, and especially in the area I work--and I understand it's different from State to State} goes somewhat like this {PLEASE NOTE: Of course, not every single person is like this, it's just the majority}:

Person: "Hi how are ya?!"

Me: "Hello, I'm goo--"

Person: "OH MAN, last night I went to _____"

Or....

Person: "Hi Jenny. So I have ____ and ____ going on and ____ and _____ ....blah blah blah".

The end.

Let's just say I've learned the annoyingly hard way that "how are you" is not actually a question it's just a part of how they say hello. Sigh.

Anyway, I need to move on before I start embracing that cranky feeling...

Food-wise, this last weekend was tough because Jarryd and I skipped our weekly grocery shopping trip. Therefore, we had NO chips in our pantry. Having a chip-less apartment takes tv-watching 5 notches down on the fun-scale. But fear not, yesterday I finally went grocery shopping and bought 3 bags. :D

In lieu of "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" coming out this year, {eeeeee!!!} we have started up Gilmore Girls all over again. This may be my 4th or 5th time watching the seasons back-to-back. Don't judge me. For some reason, Jarryd and I are watching 3 tv shows at once, "Gilmore Girls", "The Office", "Chrisley Knows Best", and "Pretty Little Liars". Again, don't judge me. Some may see tv-watching as a waste of time, but I see it as a bonding/social activity. Jarryd and I are always hitting the pause button so we can express our opinions to each other about what just happened on the screen.

See the shirt I'm wearing in the above photo? Yeah, I bought that at Plato's Closet back in June. It's now practically September and I FINALLY had the guts to wear it in public last weekend. Isn't that hilarious? It has holes in the shoulder which make it just so....so...adventurous and bold. And now that I've worn it in, I think I'll keep wearing it. Although it was slightly uncomfortable as I kept thinking that my straps were falling down because my shoulders felt "airy".

If you're ever in our apartment's kitchen and you see chunks of buttercream frosting on the walls, and icing sugar on the bottom cupboards, that's normal. This week's buttercream-wall-decor is a nice light purple. I'm contemplating just leaving it there...

Whenever new people I meet ask me what kind of music I like to listen to, other than immediately blurting out "Taylor Swift", I never know what to say. I like For King & Country, but I also like The 1975. I like Lauren Daigle, but I also like Selena Gomez, Hilary Duff, and Ariana Grande. I like Bethel, but I also like Alessia Cara, Sara Bareilles, and Ellie Goulding. Should I just say that with the exception of the first two bands, that I like to listen to female singers? Sounds good. Glad we got that figured out.

So remember how in a previous blog post I said I'd be reading Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants all summer? Well, I haven't picked the book up since I wrote that blog post and summer is almost over! I am the WORST reader ever!! Perhaps if it were a TV show instead then I'd get through it quicker...

This morning I was an hour late to work because...I totally did not set an alarm last night. Isn't that crazy?! How does one forget to set their alarm? All I remember waking up in the morning thinking to myself, "wow, for some reason this has felt like a nice long sleep tonight..." {Little did I know...} :P

I miss Canada...alot...and I think it misses me too.

This last weekend I went to a friend's baby shower, and it was insanely creatively planned. FOR EXAMPLE: When you went to the drink table, you were supposed to put an ice-cube-baby in your drink cup and when your ice cube completely melted you were supposed to shout "my water broke!"

Like, there is a tiny plastic baby in my cup...isn't this the FUNNIEST thing ever?! Granted, having moved to the US I have missed thousands of my friends' and family's baby showers back home, this whole ice-cube-baby thing could be totally routine by now. But hey, it got a huge laugh outta me!

Jarryd just starting coaching high school boys' soccer and I couldn't be prouder!! He's totally in his element with this; isn't it so cool seeing your spouse doing what they love?! {Now, I haven't seen him coach yet, but I absolutely plan on it! I can't wait!} But for now, I'm loving the glorious alone-time that I get while he's at practice. :) Hee hee!

Back to Gilmore Girls, I have this thing, whenever Lorelai cries, I cry. The other night Jarryd looks over at me, "are you really crying right now? Really?", and I reply with "wha? huh? um...no...OK FINE I'm crying. Ugh, it's not my fault that Lauren Graham just has the most contagious cry in the history of female actors".

Last weekend I made buttercream frosting and I poured 3 whole 2 lb-bags of Confectioners Sugar into my mixer. That's 6 lbs, people! Which is also over 18 cups of sugar. {And I'm not even going to tell you how much butter I cut into that thing!} I have never loved my 6-QT Bowl-Lift Professional 600 Series Pink KitchenAid Stand Mixer as much as I did then. I wanted to plant a kiss on its' beautiful motor but I concluded that that would've been unsanitary. Here's a photo of my 28 lb beauty so we'll never forget... <3

I think I write this in every single one of my "random thoughts" blog posts, but hey it still rings true: I hate showering. Ughhh. Like, I need a shower right now quite badly and it's going to take every ounce of my strength to get into that damp, white prison. I'd rather write a long list of things I could be doing INSTEAD of washing my hair. Ah well, I'm still thankful for running water, don't worry.... :'(

Well, I think that's enough random thoughts for one blog post, eh? Until next time, my sweet friends! :)

Childhood.

I have a 25 minute commute to and from work, and I always listen to music. Always (...except for the times when I'm too exhausted to even want to listen to anything but the wind hitting my windows, but that's rare). Oddly enough, I thought that today was a good day for some Taylor Swift. I consider this odd because as mentioned in some previous blog posts, Taylor Swift is my fall-early winter music, certainly not spring!

So, I hit the shuffle button. (By the way, Taylor Swift takes up 700MB--Almost 1 whole GB--of space on my phone, which is quite alot. Next in the running of 400+ MB's are Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, and Keith Urban. Interesting.)

Anyway. I pressed shuffle, and on came the song "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift.

Ugh. Bring on the tears!

The lyrics in that song that hit me the most are these:

"Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room

Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favorite songs
I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder than I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I'd never grown up
I wish I'd never grown up."

I totally remember that sounds of my Dad coming home. He'd always come in through the side entrance, take off his farm boots and hat and walk into the main area through the laundry room. Sometimes I wouldn't mind going back in time to hear that sound again. <3 (Ugh, don't cry, don't cry...)

And I totally remember my "childhood room".
I had a whole shelf of Beanie Babies. I was cool like that...and then I took it down, because it went from cool to uncool in like a day.

I went through poster phases. One year it was all kittens and puppies. The next year it was all Marykate and Ashley and Hilary Duff. The next year it was Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, and then it turned into random fashion model posters torn out of magazines.

My bedroom had a window that looked out to our front yard, flowerbed, driveway, and porch. I always had to be careful at night to close my blinds or our visitors could see right inside my room as they'd walk up to our front door. (Awkward! :S )

Also, I painted my bedroom walls dark red. DARK RED. This is just soooo not me anymore, haha!

The older I get, the more I realize how good of a childhood I had. Despite losing my older brother in a tragic accident, my childhood was so wonderful.

I grew up on a beautiful farm and lived there for 18 years, and I wouldn't trade that for the world! I have never known so much freedom, privacy, tranquility, and safety as I knew on that farm. I learned so much about nature, animals, landscaping, and plain old hard work because I was raised on a farm.

I grew up with 3 older siblings and we had 2 loving parents who cared for all of us so much--and they still do. (AND they're going on 44 years of marriage this year!)

My best friend in the whole world lived literally a 2 minute drive from me. Sometimes I'd walk or run to her, drive, bike, ride the fourwheeler, or we'd meet in the middle. AND I'd go all by myself, with no fears of being kidnapped. ;)

I grew up in a small-town Christian farming community, with over 25 aunties and uncles and over 80 cousins living nearby. (If this isn't accurate I'm sure my sister will read this and let me know). Talk about a HUGE community of love and support.

I had amazing and wonderful teachers from elementary all the way to high school. Seriously, I loved every single one of them; there wasn't a teacher that I didn't like. Well...maybe there was one that slightly irked me, but that's about it!

Sure, my siblings enjoyed teasing me mercilessly.
Sure, I had a point in middle school where I didn't know who I was going to hang out with, because I felt I had no friends.
And sure, I cried alot, and went through all of those awkward teenybopper emotions full-force.
But in reality, I had it SO good. God blessed me with an amazing childhood and for that I am so thankful.

I miss it. Often I wish I could go back in time and take it all in;
I wish I could go back and treat my parents better and live more with a thankful heart towards them.
I wish I could go back and hug all of my farm kittens, puppies, chickens, hogs, turkeys, and cows just a little tighter. (And take turns with the cows licking the salt lick--yes, I did this. Nothin' wrong with a little sodium!)
I wish I could go back and ride the fourwheeler with my siblings again, just once more.
)I wish I could go back and NOT have listened to loud music with my headphones whilst mowing the lawn for 6+ hours, because I think it destroyed my hearing!)
I wish I could go back and lie in the grass of our front yard just a little longer.

But those days are gone. They are long gone. Our farm is no longer ours anymore. My parents moved into town and now I live in another country; away from my hometown, my family, friends, and home community. And that's OK. God has me where He wants me to be right now.

Now that I have grown and matured, I think of my childhood not out of sadness and regret (most of the time haha!), but mostly out of thankfulness. Thankfulness and also the hope that maybe Jarryd and I could give our future children, or nieces and nephews a wonderful childhood too one day. Being an adult is hard and children deserve to be surrounded by love, care, and innocence for as long as possible, because one day they'll turn 25 and wish they didn't have to stress about money, work, relationships, or anything and everything for that matter. :)

We're Home!

After two flights from Winnipeg -> Toronto -> Philadelphia, we are home!

In the morning before our flight took off, my parents took us to breakfast at The Pancake House. It was delicious, and despite how insanely busy the place was, the service was exquisite! I'd never been there before, and I think it's safe to say that the next time I'm in Winnipeg I'll definitely go again! Breakfast date, anyone? ;)

Flying domestically from Winnipeg to Toronto was of course a synch. The worst part about international dating/marriage is international flying. We had a 3 hour layover in Toronto, but because the customs line-up and process was so long, we had only 45 minutes to spare before our next flight took off.

Starved out of our minds, we sat down at a restaurant which had an iPad at every seat. Surprisingly, ordering food and paying off of an iPad was easier than expected. Not to mention, our food (I got a Poutine, obviously!!!) and drinks came right away! No need to wait for the cheque anymore! And to think, the only reason we ate here was because we couldn't find a McDonalds... (haha!)

You wouldn't think that two short flights would amount to total physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. But they did.
Carrying heavy bags on and off planes, through customs lines and terminals is physically exhausting.
Trying to figure out the correct way to slide my Passport into the "Automated Passport Kiosk" is mentally exhausting. ...Please confirm your name and birth date, it says. Hmm...I don't remember any of these things anymore...
And saying goodbye will always be emotionally exhausting. It will always suck. But hey, how lucky are we to have so many "goodbyes" that actually hurt the heart? What is more of a reality check than having an easy goodbye with someone, you know?!

Despite the exhaustion, it feels good to be back in Maryland! I'm super excited to reflect on the amazing--almost 3 weeks I spent in Canada with family and friends! I have so many reasons to praise God.

I'm also ready for some routine and to UNWIND. Just like after my previous trip to Canada, I am experiencing an introvert-hangover, and am in dire need of an empty apartment, unlimited amounts of junk food, and a chick flick marathon. I'm sure none of this is surprising to anyone...

I thought I was tired. But after using Jarryd's toothbrush this morning and only realizing it after brushing my teeth for 3+ minutes and spitting it out, I KNOW I'm tired. (...Do you think I should tell him?) :P

Packing Schmacking.

The only thing worse than packing...is unpacking.

I've been procrastinating with packing like nuts! <---This is horrible English, don't try this at home kids.

It really is a struggle packing for 18 days spent in a Canadian Winter Wonderland. Who has room for boots, jackets, sweaters, slippers, and scarves? Not to mention the Christmas presents I'll be bringing BACK with me. I have a feeling my suitcase is going to be a hot mess. (God bless this hot mess).

Thankfully I have a hubby who has like no clothes. (Hooray for extra room in his suitcase for MY stuff)!! What else are husbands for, anyway? Heh... :D

Well, gotta get back to it.

xoxo Toodles!

Oh The Places We've Been.

It's just a given that when you meet your future husband at Bible school, in a country that is foreign to both of you--in our case, Germany--you're gonna list "traveling" as one of your favourite activities together. The whole love-for-travel thing was a deal-breaker for me, I truly could not have married a guy whose picture-perfect idea of "getting away" was pitching a tent at a nearby campground. (Although I could see Jarryd being keen to that idea...). I need road trips, planes, and trains like I need air!

Our very first trip together as "boyfriend and girlfriend" was a two and a half hour train ride from Friedrichshafen, Germany to Munich, Germany. In 2011!

Not bad for a first trek right?!

Jarryd and I have been married almost exactly a year and a half now! (Dear time, please slow down)! Within such short amount of time, the two of us have been to so many places, together and apart, but mostly together! Being travel buddies is so much fun! We never have a bad moment or fight, we travel just perfectly together. Always smiles and smooth sailing!

...Hahaha! I'm totally kidding.

Traveling really brings out the best AND the worst in us. One of us gets road rage (Jarryd) while the other one (Me) gets annoyed at the one getting road rage, all the while one of us (Me) gets cranky when the other one (Jarryd) misses the exit for Starbucks or McDonalds...on purpose?! Yes it's true, my "hangry" (Angry from being hungry) side effects are super ugly. BUT, road rage and hanger aside, we really do have FUN traveling together, which is all that matters. ;)

For memories sake I decided to create a list along with a picture or two of all the places we have been (Major Cities, States, and Provinces) since our June 2014 wedding! These are in order of date, not significance. Enjoy!

1. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

After our wedding, we had to go pick up my Visa in Ontario, so we decided to make the most of it and start our Honeymoon early in Ontario!

2. DisneyWorld, Florida

This was Part two of our Honeymoon and it was A BLAST! I can't wait to go again one day! Especially with our future kiddos!

3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

When my family came down to visit, we were all tourists for a day and went to the Philadelphia Zoo (America's oldest zoo!) and saw the Phillies play some ball!

4. Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

Jarryd and one of his best friends signed up for an entire day (of torture, in my opinion!), a Spartan Race Super. While they tortured themselves, I enjoyed riding the ski lifts and eating hot dogs all day. 

5. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Jarryd knows how much I love the beach so he surprised me with a day trip to one of the closest beaches to us. It was so beautiful and just what I needed at the time. I think my favourite part of that trip was after the sun had long set, getting our Starbucks and blanket, and sitting on the beach; seeing nothing but the city lights behind us reflecting on the water before us. And there is nothing like the sound of waves crashing on the shore!

6. Washington D.C.

I took the bus down to D.C. to visit my friends Ian and Sarah! It was awesome seeing a whole different side of the city (Georgetown) and not just the monuments.

7. Birmingham, Alabama

Jarryd and I drove here Easter weekend to visit Ian and Sarah and see the city they call home. It was awesome (especially the food!) and wonderfully warm! I can't wait to go again!!

8. Some States (Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia) we road-tripped through to get to and from Alabama. (Those count, right?)

I specifically remember stopping to eat at a Subway in Virginia and being completely frustrated because I couldn't understand the woman behind the counter. Yes, her southern drawl/accent was THAT thick! 

9. New York City, New York!

Four of our cousins flew all the way from Canada for a vacation in NYC and we had the privilege of living close enough to NYC that taking the train up to see them was no problem! And we're so glad we did! It was so much fun!!!

10. Washington D.C

Our first anniversary weekend was spent here! I even wrote a blog post about it, click here! :)

11. New York City, New York

My friend Jolene flew to me from Canada and of course I had to take her to New York!! What an amazing girls' trip! Read more about it here! :)

13. Baltimore, Maryland

We've been here many times, for dinner dates, concerts, and Orioles games! I absolutely love it! It's an incredibly unique area.

14. Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (Canada!)

For Canadian Thanksgiving I flew on my own to go home for the first time since our wedding. Read the blog post about it here! :)

15. (Central, or so they say) New Jersey

We drove up to NJ this past weekend to visit our newly-engaged friends and it was awesome seeing their home town/city! I can't even tell you how many times we played CLUE, and we even went to one of those big light shows where a house's Christmas lights are set to music. Super cool!! Oh, and I'm also in love with their Samoyed dog...

16. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

There aren't any photos of this adventure, as it hasn't happened yet! My flight for Canada leaves in two days!

And there you have it! We've been alot of places but there are still many more we have yet to conquer! After our Christmas in Canada we don't have much planned travel-wise, other than a potential weekend in South Carolina with friends. (Hopefully!!)
Boston Massachusetts, and Nashville Tennessee are places that are definitely high on our list! Hopefully one day soon! :)
Do you have any places you'd like to recommend to us?? We'd love to hear about your favourite vacation spots!