Beach and friends

One of my bestests friends since childhood came to visit this weekend. She drove down from Nashville with her husband and it was just what I needed. It has been so good to spend time with like-minded people (fried food is bad! Organic food is good! Try telling that to a southerner! Lol) and spend some time at the beach. I definitely got spoiled last year when we lived within walking distance of the gorgeous Rio beaches!! 

Even though we only spent one afternoon at the beach, I feel refreshed and happy. Now if only I could convince her and her husband to move to Alabama! 

Xoxo,

Julie 

Photos taken with my iPhone 

Updates and Changes

Hello!  It's been awhile since I've posted.  Even longer since I've posted regularly.  When I was in Rio, I blogged just about every day.  It helped fill the lonely days and gave me something to look forward to.  I was only working part time and didn't have many friends, so blogging gave me a community to connect with.  It definitely saved my sanity.

Now that I'm teaching full time, I still WANT to blog, but just haven't had the energy yet.  As many of you know, we moved from Rio to California and then from California to Alabama... and then I started teaching right away.  The transition has been exhausting and, almost a month later, I'm still not feeling 100%.  I come home from school feeling like a zombie.  I go to bed before 9pm every night.  I feel so pathetic... and old.

I also feel pressure.  Pressure to blog, pressure to finish our road trip vlog, pressure to say something so that I won't lose any followers.  It's all self-inflicted, I know, but I can't help it.  I don't want to give up my blog yet.  We have so many adventures planned, lots of places we want to explore, that I just don't think it's right to stop blogging.  However, the posts might be few and far between, and that makes me feel guilty.

Can I accept that I might lose followers (or not gain followers)?  Can I accept that the content might not be as interesting as Christ the Redeemer, the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, or cute little monkeys?

Whether I like it or not, that's how it's going to be for awhile.  Maybe things will settle down, I'll get into more of a routine, feel more rested, have more energy, and I'll start preparing more blog posts to share.  In the meantime, I'll just have to get to it when I get to it.  I do hope that all my lovely readers will continue to check back from time to time (or better yet, subscribe!), so that when I DO share something interesting, you'll be the first to know!

In the meantime, here are some Instagrams of our road trip:

CRACKER BARREL!

Roadtrip entertainment

The most interesting gas station in America?

Mario?  Are you there?

You know you're in the South when...

XOXO,

Julie

P.S.
I'm still reading all the blogs I follow but I'm not commenting as much anymore...  :(

Loving Right Now

Thinking about beautiful Brazil.
Grateful for a better job and apartment.
Missing the unique city that is Rio de Janeiro.

Um cantinho, um violão Este amor, uma canção Pra fazer feliz a quem se ama Muita calma pra pensar E ter tempo pra sonhar Da janela vê-se o Corcovado O Redentor, que lindo ! Quero a vida sempre assim Com você perto de mim Até o apagar da velha chama E eu que era triste Descrente desse mundo Ao encontrar você eu conheci O que é felicidade, meu amor.

A little nook/corner, a guitar that loves a song to make the one you love happy. Much calm to think and time to dream Through the window one can see the Corcovado the Redeemer, how lovely ! I want life to always be like this with you near me until the old flame dies out. And I who was sad, disbelieving in this world Upon finding you I found out what happiness is, my love.

First Impressions - Alabama

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to post!  We arrived exactly one week ago and haven't had internet until today!

I already started my meetings and I start teaching on Thursday, my first full day.  Wish me luck!

In the meantime, here are my first impressions of Alabama:

- Everyone is super friendly, but I sometimes wonder how "real" it is.  They're a little too friendly for it to be real... only time will tell!

- They weren't wrong when they said it's the peanut capital of the world.  The entire town smells like peanuts.

- Our allergies are beyond control.  Even Peter, who doesn't usually get allergies, is getting them really bad.  Everyone here says that they will get even worse when they start harvesting...

- Gas is so cheap!

- Hooray for Publix!  This grocery store carries a whole line of natural, organic, and gluten-free items - from organic, cage-free eggs to grass fed, antibiotic-free beef.  They have organic fruits and vegetables!  AND they have guaraná, a Brazilian soda that Peter is obsessed with!

- Everyone knows everyone.  This town isn't super small (60,000 people, I believe), yet everyone knows everyone and is related to everyone.

- The weather is very similar to Rio de Janeiro, only there isn't an ocean nearby.

- Do I miss Brazil?  Yes and no.  But I think that deserves a separate post of its own.  I definitely miss the city of Rio de Janeiro, I miss living so close to the beach, and I miss a few people.  I don't miss how stressed Peter was, not having a car, being broke all the time, and not having a dishwasher.

- I am homesick and miss my family, but hopefully when school starts I'll be too busy to notice.  I also hope I can start making some good friends.

- The school is very supportive and helpful.  I don't really feel overwhelmed or stressed yet.  Everything is taken care of and my fellow music teachers have been helping me out a lot!

- It's soooo nice working for a school that says "We have money for that" and "You're the expert, this is your program, you can do whatever you want" and "Don't buy anything with your own money, we have more than enough in our budget" and "We trust you completely."

And last, but not least:

- PETER GOT A JOB!!!  He had a preliminary interview a couple days before we moved out here and then a second interview the day after we arrived.  They offered him the job right away and he starts tomorrow as well.  He will be the Senior Graphic Designer for the marketing division of a local company.  The company actually manufactures and sells video surveillance systems, but he will be in the marketing department.  He is super excited.

Oh yeah, if you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my post from the day we arrived.  Some girls from the choir stopped by with gift baskets, notes, flowers, and gift cards for me.  It was so sweet!

VLOG to come soon.  I haven't had time or energy to make it yet.  The first couple of days I was feeling very anxious, stressed, and homesick.  More on that later.  

XO,

Julie

Road trip so far

If you want to stay updated on our road trip, go ahead and check out my Instagram!  I post whenever we have cell reception/working internet (which isn't as often as I'd like).

Fun stuff coming up... I've been vlogging a teeny bit and can't wait to make a video to share with you all! 

Only 1 and 1/2 days of driving left (hopefully).  

A video game?  Nope, just the view somewhere in Texas...

XO,

Julie

Road trip to Alabama

Our trip from California to Alabama has officially started. I'm writing this from the moving truck, actually. Not gonna lie, I'm having some anxiety about this trip.  General nerves and such. Everything we own is in this truck, and we have no idea what we are getting in to. In four days we will be in Alabama, in a week I start my new job, Peter has a job interview for a great job in Dothan, and our new life will begin. Wish us luck!!!