Chasing Dreams

Over the past 16 months I've had the pleasure of getting to be called Daniel's girlfriend. Not only have I gotten to know him better each and every day, but I've gotten to see him thrive in his academic pursuits and grow into a fantastic youth minister. But the best part is that I've gotten to see Daniel chase his dreams.

Daniel has always been a dreamer and a visionary. I can truly say he's never had a bad dream although sometimes they involve a bit more time and money than he can afford right now. One of the best things I've gotten to see is Daniel work towards the Public House. It started out as a dream of owning a coffee shop named The Mouton where all the mugs were eccentric and eclectic. Then it turned into a coffee shop that also sold beer at night and now it's worked into a for-profit benefiting the non-profits of Nashville. It has a lot of hope and still has the potential to change many more times before coming to fruition but I love nothing more than seeing Daniel devote himself to his passions and dreams.

I hope one day that we can grow in our passions and chase our dreams together (with a little piggy smackin' along with us!)

Never stop chasing after your dreams, boo bear, and know that I'll always support you 100%.

Last One Boo Bear!

Today is special. Today marks the end of one of the last off-weekends... ever. Sure, there will be times in the future when either Daniel or myself are in another city and we don't get to see each other, but it won't be sandwiched in between two weeks were we don't get to see each other. This weekend quite possibly is the last time that I will ever have to go two weeks without seeing Daniel (unless of course he takes some extravagant mission trip and I don't get to go). Woo hoo!!

Despite this being the most stressful summer of my life because I'm still unemployed, it's also the most exciting because I get to move to Nashville. I get to live 3.3 miles away from Daniel (according to Google Maps). I get to spend all of my future years being close to the man I love and all of our future exotic pets. I get to be "geographically desirable," as Mr. Bradley would say (Happy Father's Day!). I get to be the luckiest girl in the world because I'm in love with the most perfect man out there.

w

Good bye I40, Hello Old Hickory!

You know what's great? The fact that next year, Daniel and I will not only get to live in the same time zone and the same city, but we're going to be on the same street. And yes, Old Hickory is long but we're going to be less than a mile apart. Words literally cannot describe how excited I am at the future prospect of this. We've put in our time and really "gone the distance," one might say (ba da chhhh) and it's time that we finally get to have a close distance relationship. I couldn't be happier.

The crazy thing is, this week hasn't been easy and mainly because I got turned down from my dream job. And as much as that sucks and it really makes me sad, it still remains that I get to move to Nashville and be with Daniel. So even in the midst of the crummiest week, I'm still really excited about the future, our future. :(=))

The Changing of Times but Never of Piggies

This past weekend was quite a big one. Not because of the duties or obligations that I had, but because of it's timing. It was the last weekend that I wouldn't be able to see Daniel because of school. :(=) !

Yes, I absolutely loved going to see all my kiddies graduate and walk across that stage but it meant that I didn't get to see Daniel (well, that coupled with a few obligations on his behalf). Regardless, this is the last time that will happen.

It's pretty exciting over here. I'm going to start moving stuff to Nashville in a few days, look for a new apartment in a new time zone, and start building my life to be with Daniel. It's terrifying, yes, being in a new city where all of the roads lead to some unknown place, but it's also really exciting, because I get to visit all of those unknown places with Daniel (and our soon-to-be new puppy... and then our piglet!).

I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us boo bear. It's going to be fantastic!

A Pinterest Perfect Piggy

In a recent bout on Pinterest (because I have time for that now!) I came across a homemade book called "My Little Book of Whether or Not He's Worth It." I found this to be intriguing so I opened it up. It was one girl's rendition and overview of the famous book (and movie) "He's Just Not That Into You." I've never read the book but I've heard great things about it, so I decided to see what this little book said. It was an empowering message telling girls to never settle for a man who is anything but the best. Too often bad relationships exist because girls don't go out and fight for what they deserve but rather settle for something they think is on par with their worth. It's a sad situation because so many girls have low self-worth and thus, crappy relationships (although that's another topic for a different blog). All this to say, here's the advice the little book offered:


“It’s very tempting when you really want to be with 
someone to settle for much, much less—even a vague, 
pathetic facsimile of less—than you would have ever 
imagined. Ladies, please, keep your eye on the prize. 
Remember always what you set out to get, and please 
don’t settle for less. If you can’t do it for you, do it for 
everyone else: [Good-for-nothing] guys are able to 
exist because there are a lot of women out there who 
allow them to.”
- Greg Behrendt

He's Just Not That Into You, pg 49


I will only date and eventually marry:

• A man who makes me feel so excited, I can't stop myself from wanting more.
• A man who doesn't keep me guessing about his feelings and what he wants.
• A man who pursues me.
• A man who sees me as the bright spot in his day.
• A man who means it when he calls me baby.
• A man who will forget about all the other things in his life before he forgets about me.
• A man who does what he says he's going to do.
• A man who doesn't make me feel anxious, uneasy, or worse by being in a relationship with him than I did being alone.
• A man who makes an effort to be a peacemaker and bring harmony to fights and disagreements.
• A man who is not afraid of commitment and proud to call me his.
• A man who makes being around him feel natural and easy.
• A man who doesn't suppress his feelings to look cool or appear uninvolved.
• A man who never keeps me in the dark.
• A man who never would do anything to compromise the integrity of our relationship, or get anywhere close.
• A man who can respectfully discuss issues without manipulation or losing his temper.
• A man who is strong and tough, but not a “bad boy.”
• A man who doesn't make me feel ashamed, needy or “unliberated” for wanting marriage and a family.
• A man with whom a relationship would bring me closer to my aspirations for the future.
• A man who makes me feel comfortable enough to bring up sensitive topics.
• A man who loves me enough to marry me in every time zone if that's what I wanted.
• A man who doesn't need forever to realize I'm the best thing that's ever happened to him.
• A man who would move mountains to keep me.
• A man who doesn't like to be without me, instead of just not wanting to be alone.
• A man who allows me to love freely, without restrictions.
• A man who doesn't have to heal in the relationship, but has already taken care of his past.
• A man who makes it clear in his everyday actions that my happiness is important to him.
• A man who makes a constant attempt to love the people I hold dear, and especially my family.
• A man who does not engage in any activity to an extent in which I feel uncomfortable.
• A man who understands that there is no reason to yell at anyone ever, unless for safety reasons.
• A man who treats me just as perfectly in public and around his friends as he does when we're alone.
• A man who treats me better than I feel I deserve.
• A man who never belittles me to feel superior.
• A man who goes out of his way to make sure I know my worth is infinite, that I'm smart, valuable and deserving of everything I've ever wanted.
• A man who hungers for information about me and doesn't spend our time solely talking about himself.
• A man who has the ability and desire to provide.
• A man who doesn't make me feel like I have to give up anything which I find to be essential for making life enjoyable.
• A man who honors the woman I am and have the potential to become. man who will always want to protect me from things that frighten me.
• A man who is nice to me all the time and who is clearly a good, kind, loving person.
• A man who makes me hope that my sisters and best friends can find someone like him.
• A man who believes in love the verb, not the noun.

I will only date and marry a man who's love is profound, life-changing, healthy, uplifting, joyous, inspiring and intoxicating, because I deserve a wonderfully fulfilling life.


Pretty great, eh? I think it's wonderful advice that girls need to hear and really take to heart. So why am I posting this on my Daniel blog? Because reading this only reaffirms that Daniel the absolute best man out there. There wasn't a single one of these that I read and went "Oh, if only Daniel did that," but rather I spent the whole time reading it, saying "Daniel does that, and that, and he's great at that one, and that, and that..." There was never any doubt in my mind that Daniel was one of a kind and the best boyfriend out there but this really solidified it. To be honest, it makes me feel bad for everyone else knowing that I've got Daniel and there's no way that anyone else will ever have a man as great as the one I have. But the flip side of that is that I couldn't be more blessed or happier to be so lucky as to call Daniel mine. It's the best thing ever because he's the best thing ever.

And after attending my graduation, spending beaucoups of time with my family, sitting through 2 dance recitals and eating a lot of really great but really bad food, Daniel has proven (as he always does) just how wonderful and special he is. He's my rockstar and without him, I wouldn't be able to do half the things that I did this weekend.

Thanks for being great. Thanks for being supportive. Thanks for being so loving. Thanks for being you.

:(=)*

I'm living in a pretty surreal time right now. I'm about to graduate college with my Master's degree, I'm moving to Nashville (a city that I've previously had no ties to whatsoever and really hadn't ever been to before Daniel), and I'm looking for a real job, with a real salary, and real problems. It just doesn't seem like this is real life. Not to mention, the time where I own a puppy is rapidly approaching... !!!! It's crazy scary but also crazy exciting all at the same time.

For the first time ever, there's no "norm", there's not a set schedule that I should be sticking to, and there's no one whose sole job is to guide me through this process. It's terrifying really. 

But Daniel has played such a great part in all of this. He's helped to keep me motivated to do everything in a timely fashion, he's been there to keep me from being discouraged, and he's helped me figure out exactly how to leave a voicemail for a potential future employer. It's been stressful throughout this process but he's been there the whole time. I hesitate to think about where I would be if he wasn't there for me and it scares me. I don't ever want to imagine what my life would be like without Daniel. But the greatest part of it all, is that I don't ever have to. And that's the greatest, most exciting part of it all.

I love you, boo bear :(=)

A Marathon of Greatness

This weekend really embodied everything that I admire about Daniel. First, I got to come in a whole day early and spend Thursday night with him. We got to hang out with friends and play silly games and stand on tiny couch cushions together (no complaining here!). It was a night full of friendships and America and really played to one of the favorite parts of our relationship: the social side.

Friday, Daniel played Best Boo Bear and drove me to my interview and gave me a pep talk that made me feel like I ruled the world. After a somewhat hopeful interview, we went to the expo and signed up for every single raffle that we could find (even if we didn't need a whole house makeover). We had a blast just running around grabbing all the free stuff and all the samples and getting hyped up for the long smacks the next day. It was awesome.

Saturday. What a day. We had the half and the double-half and it couldn't have been wetter. Although it rained the whole time, nothing could rain on our parade (figuratively, of course). After training for 4 months, I was amazed by all that we had accomplished. There were many ups and a few downs during the training process and yet we persevered and were able to have a very successful run nonetheless. One of the best things about this marathon is that there wasn't a single time when Daniel lost faith in my ability to do it. Personally, I had very little faith that I'd be able to actually do it and yet Daniel was so encouraging the entire time, even if I didn't want him to be. Not only that, but Daniel was my smacking buddy so many times no matter how slow I went. It was nice to have him next to me to push me through my hardest times (and even when he would run off, it still gave me a REALLY NICE view ;(=)) ). Overall, this marathon was more than just a race but a huge accomplishment that we did, together.

This entire weekend was the perfect microcosm of all of the favorite aspects of our relationship (minus the piggies. There was an absence of a few of the piggies because I'm a bad boo bear). I can't wait to have many many more weekends (and soon to be weeks) just like this one. :(=))

A Much Needed Update

Daniel Bradley is mine.

There are few better sentences in the world than that one right there (well, as long as it's coming from ME and not anyone else).

But what makes it so great isn't the nouns or the verbs or the adjectives (although I'm not even sure there's an adjective in there although I don't know what else "mine" would be?) but rather the meaning of it. Daniel is the most amazing boyfriend ever. He's there for the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, and the poorly written (#actionresearchproblems). Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today. This month has been trying and the hardest, most stressful thing I've ever done and yet no matter what, Daniel is there to ground me and keep me sane.

Thank you, Daniel, for being positive and encouraging and never giving up on me, even when I may have.

PS-One of my favorite aspects of you is that you're such a beautiful artist. I love seeing your visions come to life whether they be on a canvas or the sidewalk. You never cease to amaze me with the beauty of your creations.

True Love

I love Daniel despite the fact that he's a snooty Preds fan.

That's true love right there.

Da Bomb Piggity

There's certain times when being in a long-distance relationship really sucks. One of those times is now. Due to a retreat and nationals and a miscommunication, Daniel and I aren't able to see one another for 3 whole weeks. This is the first time in 11 months that we haven't been able to uphold our limit of not going more than 2 weeks without seeing one another. At only one week in, it already sucks.

But, trying to be a positive piggy, here's the silver lining to it all: I miss Daniel terribly. It's hard to emphasize just how much I miss him because every time I think about it, it makes me cry. So as I sit here on a Premiere bus (which doesn't help because the last time I was on a bus like this it was in the middle of the night, the night before Daniel's triathalon, and I was going to see him and cheer him to his victory in the "clydesdale" division), typing this blog post, I'm getting all worked up because the thought of going 2 more weeks without being able to see him, hold him, kiss him, or oink him just sounds miserable. As this incredibly busy weekend has proven, not being able to talk to one another just puts us both in a feisty mood, so with not being able to see one another for 3 weeks who knows how restless we'll both be by the end.

So back to that silver lining. It's encouraging knowing that there's something so important that I can't imagine going without it even for a day. There is absolutely nothing else in my life that I can say that about (except for my other man, Jesus) and that's because Daniel is that special to me. So even though we've got to fight the distance for a few more months, it's worth it because, unlike the distance that will soon be ending, our need and our love for one another never will.

Happy 11 months sweetness. I can't wait to spend the rest of forever with you and never again have to go 3 weeks without the love of my life. :(=))

Together is Better

This weekend has to be one of my favorite weekends thus far. Not because we did something grand, not because we ran 4 miles and not because we stuffed ourselves on Moe's. But rather, because we were reminded of one of the most important aspects of our relationship.

In such a fast-paced world, it's easy to get caught up on always "doing things." The more stuff you do, the more you're, supposedly, living life and having fun. And even though Daniel and I are known for our epic adventures, they're not great because of what we're doing but rather that we're doing it together. To me, I have just as much fun stealing chairs at Downtown Grill and Brewery or waiting outside the Tyne House window just to have Nellie see us creepin' as I do just sitting down and watching Doctor Who, and it's all because of who I'm doing it with.

In such a fast-paced world, it's easy to get caught up on always "doing things." The more stuff you do, the more you're living life and having fun... as long as you're doing it with someone you love.

:(=))

Adventures

This past week I got to spend a whole 7 days with Daniel and it was amazing. Back in July, Daniel and I were able to take a whole week and spend it together down in Florida, at the beach and Harry Potter World. I remember thinking that I better enjoy it while I can because it's going to be a while before we get another whole week to ourselves. And it was a long time but boy was the wait worth it. There were so many adventures this past week, more than I can recount on here, and each was amazing in its own special way. Even Daniel getting stabbed 3 TIMES couldn't bring the day down because 1) we got Zaxby's out of it 2) we got to spend that much more time together 3) I learned Daniel and I handle shots the exact same way and 4) we still got to do our awesome brewery tour afterwards! Overall, it was an amazing week.

And now, after I've gone, Daniel has come down with some sort of flu/cold/sickness thing. He thinks it's from his TDAP shot but I think its his body's way of missing me ;) Anyways, it made me think of an adventure we had many months ago. I had come over to Daniel's apt in Andy Holt and we were going to hang out. I wasn't feeling well and it seemed as if I was getting sick. Daniel ended up making me green tea and despite my dislike of teas and green things, I drank it anyways. It was the sweetest thing Daniel could have done and it worked like a charm. I didn't get sick from it! It was Daniel's caring for me and loving me even when I was sick that pulled me out of it (so now I'm making Daniel make himself green tea and drink it, because I can't be there to make it for him).

And that was the first time I ever fell asleep while trying to watch Star Wars.

Anyways, all this to say that there's so many special times in our relationship that even a blog updated weekly can't contain them all. So many times that show just how much we care for one another and how much we love one another and all the sacrifices we make in the name of piggies. And even though the longer we have together only makes saying goodbye that much harder (#directvariationsucks), it's all completely worth it. Because to me, it's a constant reminder of just how much love there is in our relationship and how nothing, not distance, not different work schedules, not even a time zone, can ever break that. So yes, I miss you dearly and I'm crying as I'm thinking about you, but it's a happy crying because I know that in just a few days I get to see you, the love of my life, once again.

Oink oink :(=))