Tag Archives: Sharing

01.21.17
by

Getting Personal #55: “To A More Perfect Union”

I’ve tried really, really hard to not be political here on the blog, despite the tumultuous event that was the 2016 Presidential election. Politics have never been something I’ve been incredibly comfortable discussing, much less writing about, so I decided a while ago to keep quiet, unless something significant struck my heart or soul, and stirred something in me to write.

And then, yesterday, my stomach was in knots for most of the morning. The thing that most of us thought would never come true, actually happened. Donald Trump was inaugurated as the next President of the United States.

—

During lunch, as I was contemplating the future of healthcare, women’s rights, and other things, I turned to one of my favorite blogs, Freckled Italian.

Her post for Friday, January 20th couldn’t have been more aptly titled:

After reading it, and re-reading it, and reading it for a third time, I started to feel my stomach un-knoting itself, ever so slightly.

toamoreperfectunion-freckleditalian

Image Credit: Freckled Italian

I downloaded the poster, printed it, and I plan to buy a frame for it this weekend. On Monday, I’ll place it in said frame and find a good spot for it on my desk, where I can look it every single day.

Thanks, Megan, for sharing. I needed it, and I think a lot of people needed it, too.

—

I’m raising my coffee mug this morning, one day after a historic inauguration, silently toasting, “Here’s to a more perfect union.”

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.20.17
by

Getting Personal #54: “Zurich University Library, Switzerland” (Reblogged)

Honestly, when I first saw this photo, I thought it was a library in a fancy subway station!

I love seeing photos of other libraries, around the world! Seeing these every so often just furthers my desire to travel and take the time to visit them!

What about you? Is there a library that holds a special place in your heart? Where do you dream of traveling someday?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth

01.18.17
by

Writing Prompt #41: “52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge” (Week 3)

Week #3: Family

Y’all, my immediate family may be tiny, but I love all of them! I’m incredibly grateful for their support, literally from birth.

Some of you may not know that I was born at 25 weeks, or 3 1/2 months premature. My parents were at the hospital basically every day, visiting me in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and others who couldn’t visit, they prayed for us. After spending 15 weeks in the hospital, I was able to come home on my original due date!

Mom and DAd

This was taken by Al at my graduation from Longwood in May 2011. I love my Mom and Dad!

View More: http://stellarexposures.pass.us/vwedding

Fast-forward to our wedding day in November 2015!

Aside from my parents, my grandparents are / were amazing. This is why I’ve been to Florida over 100 times. As a kid, we visited them at least four times a year. We usually split a week between Seminole (on the Gulf Coast) and Miami. My dad’s dad is still alive, doing great at 91! My mom’s brother still lives in Miami. I was very fortunate to have all four of my grandparents until I was 20 years old – A massive blessing.

My dad has two sisters, and they live in the Midwest – Wisconsin and Illinois. One is married, and one is single. Each of the three siblings had only children, so it was just Ryan, Missy, and me. Ryan and I share the love of the Green Bay Packers! He’s currently in the Coast Guard, stationed in Missouri. Missy and I aren’t that close, but we’re still cousins.

View More: http://stellarexposures.pass.us/vwedding

Our wedding day – The whole family! Three-quarters of this group make up Al’s family, but I love it!

And then, there’s my amazing, significantly bigger family on Al’s side. I married into a HUGE family! When both Mom and Dad V. have three siblings apiece, it’s crazy big!

We had a get-together in early December, and there were 25 people there – And that was just part of Dad V.’s side!

—

I also have multiple people in my life that I consider to be like family – Sorority sisters, church family, PEO sisters, and a handful more.

All in all, I can easily list / think of 100+ people that I consider to be part of my family. It’s an incredible feeling.

—

I’m also very happy that I have such a good relationship with my family, in general. We have our disagreements and challenges, but we’re not estranged or anything like that. My family has been incredibly stable for many, many years, and I thank God for that.

Both sets of parents are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversaries in 2017! It’s so exciting!

Also, Nick and Savy are getting married in October! Woohoo!

Down the road, Al and I are excited to grow our own family, as well. For now, though, I’m watching several friends experience pregnancy and giving life to their children, many for the first time.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.11.17
by

Writing Prompt #40: “52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge” (Week 2)

Week #2: Spouse / Significant Other

I could go on for days about how grateful I am for my husband, Al. He is an amazing husband to me, loyal son to his parents, loving son-in-law to my parents, awesome brother to Nick, and a great friend to many people. Many have described him as a big teddy bear.

I’m grateful that he has helped introduce / expanded upon other worlds to me – Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Star Trek, comedy, and science fiction. I’m nowhere nearly as knowledgeable as he is in some of these worlds (especially Star Wars), but I love that we accept and recognize each other’s loves / passions / desires. I enthusiastically support his hobbies (photography, movies, video games, watching documentaries about aliens), and he graciously supports mine (writing, reading, American Girl collecting, watching game shows, and traveling).

He has always been supportive in whatever I set my mind to. When he doesn’t think something is a good idea (very rare), he offers his opinion in a gracious, careful way. He offers constructive criticism.

He’s a hard worker, and I’m grateful that he has a good job in his chosen field. He’s ambitious, researching ways to improve his craft and his skills. I’m incredibly thankful that he makes enough money for us to have the beautiful house that we have been working on together.

I sincerely appreciate the relationship that we have built over the last six years. We’ve greatly enjoyed our first year of marriage. We have our disagreements and occasional communication issues, but we are strong and happy. Here’s to many more years!

One of the many photos of our amazing wedding day! This was taken by Amanda MacDiarmid, owner/operator of Stellar Exposures, November 2015.
This was just one of our fabulous engagement photos at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront! This was taken by Amanda MacDiarmid, owner/operator of Stellar Exposures, July 2015.
This was taken at Al’s company Christmas party at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, December 2014.
We decided to visit the Norfolk Zoo for the first time in years, and had a great time! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, August 2014.
I entered a contest on Busch Gardens’ Facebook page, and ended up winning VIP passes to their KC and the Sunshine Band concert! This was a fantastic day in August 2013.
This was a candid shot taken at the Alpha Sigma Tau Anchor Banquet, November 2010, just a couple months after we started dating. Photo Credit: Tina Bird Stewart.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.04.17
by

Writing Prompt #39: “52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge” (Week 1)

Week #1: Why Start This Challenge?

That is an excellent question.

As I was thinking about this challenge over the last few days, preparing to write this first post, I prayed. I’m a Christian, raised Methodist. I find that I’m filled with peace and calm whenever I pray, and I feel better when I finish.

In praying about this post and this challenge, I felt that this challenge will stretch me during this year. Up until a few minutes ago, I wasn’t sure what to write, or how to approach this.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m excited to be stretched, and literally challenged this year. I’m looking forward to doing something different.

I’ve done a few challenges recently, but I’ve noticed that all of them have been about media or other types of consumption. With this one, I’ll be looking into my heart and write about things that mean the world to me.

I’m thrilled to share this journey with all of you! I’m grateful that I have the ability to write these posts on my laptop, have the Internet to share them on WordPress and Facebook, and have so many amazing readers and supporters in my life.

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. It’s the first week of the New Year – I’m trying to make the most of it. Here’s to 2017!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.02.17
by

Commentary #47: “Young Man On A Mission To Honor World War II Veterans Before It’s Too Late”

quotehd

Image Credit: QuoteHD.com

I want to introduce you to one of my favorite news segments. It’s called “On The Road with Steve Hartman,” and it airs every Friday night on the CBS Evening News.

cbs-news

Image Credit: CBS News

When I was younger, my parents would record it and we would gather to watch it together. It was a great family bonding activity. Steve’s stories are something we continue to share with each other, our families, and our friends.

Now, since I’ve gotten married and have a house of my own, I don’t often get to watch it every week. Luckily, CBS News has a whole page dedicated to Steve’s stories – On The Road. You can read the written articles / transcripts, or you can watch the videos.

I almost always watch the videos.

Yesterday, I realized that I hadn’t seen several of the most recent segments. I spent nearly 45 minutes going through the page. Each story is roughly three minutes in length, and I guarantee you just watching or reading one will make your day a little bit brighter.

Yesterday, with each story, I smiled, I thought reflectively, and tears came to my eyes several times.

And then, I came upon this story:

Seconds after finishing the video, only two minutes and fifty-five seconds long, I knew I wanted to – No, I needed to – write a blog post about it.

heroes-of-the-second-world-war

Image Credit: Heroes of the Second World War

Rishi, at right in the photo above, is only 19-years-old, but he’s already made a huge impact. He started this project in 2014, and just the short time since then, he’s worked so hard and changed so many lives.

The full website is coming soon, but here’s what Rishi has so far:

This story reminded me of NPR’s StoryCorps, but Rishi is just one young man. And what he’s doing, having skipped days of high school to interview these incredible men, plus delaying college to continue this work, is so significant and important.

According to various sources, there were 16,112,566 members of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. Of those 16.1 million service members, there were 291,557 battle deaths, 113,842 other deaths in service (non-theater), and 670,846 non-mortal wounded.

As of this writing, it’s estimated that about 620,000 World War II veterans are still alive. Sadly, we lose roughly 375 veterans every day.

If that number remains accurate, we have about 1,653 days left until no survivors remain. Divide that by 365 days in a year – It means, that most, if not all of these brave people, will be gone in 4.5 years. By 2021, this generation will very likely, literally, be history.

That gives me chills. Rishi couldn’t have started this mission at a better time. I’m inspired by him.

For him to also take the time every single day to call these veterans – Calling them to say “thank you” – makes me want to pick up the phone, too. I mean, can’t we all make the effort to pick up the phone and call someone? Make that connection? It doesn’t have to be a veteran – It can be your grandparents. Someone else in your family. A friend who lives far away.

I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

01.01.17
by

Getting Personal #52: January Goals

goals-new-year

Image Credit: emilysquotes.com

Happy New Year! Cheers to 2017!

Here are my goals for January:

  1. Kick off the 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge.
  2. Catalog all receipts and log them in our budget spreadsheet before February 1st.
  3. Celebrate Al’s birthday!
  4. Begin my journal adventure.
  5. Start editing my 2012 NaNoWriMo endeavor.
  6. Update my TBR list.

Here’s the breakdown:

Kick off the 52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge.

  • Thanks to Kristian at Life Lessons Around The Dinner Table, I’m so excited to start a a full YEAR challenge!
  • My plan is to publish these posts on Wednesdays, so look for a new post every single week in 2017!

Catalog all receipts and log them in our budget spreadsheet before February 1st.

  • All I could think about for the last few days was the best ways to keep our mountain of receipts organized and cataloging them in a timely manner. I want to have a good picture of our budget for 2017 early!

Celebrate Al’s birthday!

  • Al’s birthday is later this month!
  • It falls on a Wednesday this year, so we’ll be working that day, but I’ll make sure it’s a special day.
  • Surf and turf, and cookie cake! Yum!!

Begin my journal adventure.

Start editing my 2012 NaNoWriMo endeavor.

  • I started a series called Writing Wednesdays in 2015, where I bravely shared my 2012, 2013, and 2014 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) attempts / endeavors.
  • Here’s the first post: New Series: Writing Wednesdays
  • I’m excited to finally be at the point where I feel comfortable enough to start editing my first endeavor. The ultimate goal will be to get this piece to at least 50,000 words.

Update my To Be Read (TBR) list.

Happy 2017, everyone! I’m so excited for the New Year. It symbolizes a fresh start.

Do you have any goals for January?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.31.16
by

Getting Personal #51: December Goals Recap

goals-pinterest

Image Credit: pinterest.com

December was a complete blur. Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone!

Here’s the link to my December Goals post:

—

Ready?

Here we go!

  1. Decorate for Christmas. – Accomplished!
  2. Fully clean up / clean out the attached garage. – Semi-achieved.
  3. Enjoy several holiday parties! – Accomplished!
  4. Donate blood. – Accomplished!
  5. Create our budget for 2017. – Semi-achieved.
  6. Help either a child or a family have a good Christmas. – Accomplished!
  7. See Rogue One: A Star Wars Story! – Accomplished!
  8. Make peppermint bark. – Accomplished!

Here’s the breakdown:

Decorate for Christmas – Accomplished!

  • We bought our first Christmas tree! We enjoyed decorating it together. It’s been such a pretty addition to our living room.
christmas-tree-december-2016

Photo Credit: Al Vardaro

Fully clean up / clean out the attached garage. – Semi-achieved.

  • This is something that’s still a work in progress. We were able to clean out several boxes and find places for some more kitchen items, DVDs, etc. However, we still have a ways to go before it’s completely clean.

Enjoy several holiday parties! – Accomplished!

  • We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at Amanda and Dan’s party on Saturday, December 3rd. I got so wrapped up in playing Exploding Kittens and Cards Against Humanity, that we didn’t leave until 11:45 p.m.!
  • Al’s company holiday party was Friday, December 9th. It was a good time, with a Hollywood theme. Al even won a brand-new FitBit Alta!
  • Later tonight, we’ll gather to celebrate New Year’s and Al’s co-worker Kathryn’s birthday! We’ve really enjoyed getting together with her, her husband Tim, and other friends to ring in the New Year! I don’t know about you, but I’m beyond ready for 2017 to begin!
bauer-holiday-party-december-2016

The selfie we took toward the end of the night at Bauer’s Christmas Party.

Donate blood. – Accomplished!

  • I crushed the hemoglobin test with a reading of 13.1 – Women need at least 12.5 to qualify to give. I was so excited! Plus, my favorite phlebotomist, Spencer, was there. He always makes my giving experience pleasant!

Create our budget for 2017. – Semi-achieved.

  • We started the spreadsheet. I’ve been playing catch-up with our 2016 sheet, cataloging receipts for days.
  • Note to self for 2017: Get envelopes and file receipts immediately, and then catalog at month’s end!

Help either a child or a family have a good Christmas. – Accomplished!

  • Just days after making my December Goals post, a friend from college put out a call to for help. She wanted to help a former student of hers and her family have a good Christmas.
  • I went shopping for the two girls, ages 12 and 15. I thoroughly enjoyed buying some horses with hair they could style and brush, along with a pair of jeans and two sweaters apiece.
  • I wrapped everything up and met Amy for lunch in Hampton on Monday, December 19th. She was so appreciative! My heart was full.
  • On Monday, December 26th, Amy sent a Facebook message that had a photo of the girls and their mom, all smiles. It was a fantastic Christmas for them, and they were overflowing with gratitude and appreciation. It felt awesome to contribute.

See Rogue One: A Star Wars Story! – Accomplished!

  • Al and I first saw it in XD at our local Cinemark theater on Thursday, December 15th. It was very good. The theater was buzzing with excitement and the atmosphere was awesome.
  • Then, our friend Drew came down to stay with us that Friday. We saw it at Paragon Theaters in Newport News on Saturday, December 17th. It was good to see it again – There were things that I had definitely missed the first time around.
  • I will admit, although it was very good, The Force Awakens still has my heart.
  • Cannot wait for Episode VIII!

Make peppermint bark – Accomplished!

  • Here’s the recipe I used: Almost-Famous Peppermint Bark
  • The hardest part was standing up for nearly an hour to melt both kinds of chocolate. However, judging by the look and smell from last night, it’s gonna be delicious.

Final Thoughts

  • I was able to put Accomplished next to 6 out of 8 goals. Hooray!!
  • The two goals that were Semi-Achieved: The weekends this month were exceptionally busy this month, and I wasn’t as diligent on weeknights as I would have liked to be.

Did you have any goals for December?

Come back tomorrow to see my goals for January!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.26.16
by

Tag #15: “I Dare You Book Tag”

I found this tag on Thrice Read!

Here’s the link to their post:

They found it on Marie’s Library. The original creator is Lena.

The Rules:

  • You must be honest.
  • You can’t not answer a question.
  • You have to tag at least four people.

—

Ready?

Here we go!

Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

Since my book collection is still divided between our house and my parents’ house, I was racking my brain for a while to answer this question. The one that came to mind the quickest was Airport by Arthur Haley.

—

What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next?

Currently reading: Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy.

Last read: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just Us Girls: 101 Stories about Friendship for Women of All Ages by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Amy Newmark (Book review coming soon!)

Next read: The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.

—

What book did everyone like, but you hated?

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.

—

What book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t.

Argh, I hate this question too. At the moment, I want to motivate myself to read Gone With The Wind, but it’s so daggone big!

—

Which book are you saving for retirement?

Ha! Gone With The Wind is creeping on to that list, as well as all of Hemingway’s works.

—

Last page: read it first or wait till the end?

Wait until the end!

—

Acknowledgements : waste of paper and ink or interesting aside?

Definitely not a waste of ink. I think they’re fascinating.

—

Which book character would you switch places with?

Another hard question. I don’t think anyone’s asked me this one. I consider myself adventurous, so I’d like to switch places with Nancy Drew! That’s the only character that I could think of that I truly admire and who doesn’t get killed!

—

Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?

The American Girl books defined my childhood. I have read and re-read them, and I hope to have them all in my personal library someday. I remember reading Felicity’s stories aloud to my dad, imagining her life in Colonial Williamsburg. Molly’s stories from 1944 have always been my favorite.

—

Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way.

I love finding books at thrift stores! There’s a local one called the Book Owl that I absolutely love. Before my wedding last year, I randomly walked in one night after work and I found a near-mint copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

—

Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?

Not that I can remember. I love recommending books, but I don’t think I’ve ever given away a book to someone.

—

Which book has been with you the most places?

The Great Gatsby. I re-read it every single year!

—

Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad two years later?

  • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare

—

What is the strangest item you’ve found in a book?

It may not be strange, but I’ve found lots of address labels of the previous owners, usually in the upper left corner of the inside cover. It’s fascinating! I own books that have been owned by people in Virginia, North Carolina, Connecticut, and New York.

—

Used or brand new?

Either or. I don’t normally buy brand new unless I have a gift card. I was able to buy four brand new books from Barnes & Noble on Friday with a gift card from my parents, and then I went to the Best Thrift store after lunch and found three used books for $5.00.

—

Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?

Not yet. Funny story – I happened to pick up The Da Vinci Code in paperback on Friday!

—

Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?

Nope.

—

A book that should have NEVER been published

Fifty Shades of Grey.

—

Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks excluded?

Absolutely.

—

Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

Melissa Beebe, Lane, Amber.

I Tag:

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

12.24.16
by

Writing Prompt #38: My Favorite Christmas Music

the-diamondback

Image Credit: The Diamondback

Merry Christmas Eve!

Happy Hanukkah!

I woke up this morning feeling inspired to write a post about my favorite Christmas music! I love listening to music this time of year – It always gets me into a festive mood.

This list has a mix of secular songs, carols, and hymns. I hope you enjoy!

“All I Want For Christmas Is You”

Mariah Carey‘s version is my all-time favorite. I certainly can’t sing like her, but I try! It’s one that always makes me excited for the season.

If you haven’t seen the recent mash-up of the song courtesy of James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke, it’s awesome!

—

“Carol of the Bells”

I love this song. It gives me chills every single time! My parents play handbells at church. That’s my favorite way to hear it, but I love a good string quartet, too.

Here’s a few others that I’ve found:

—

“Christmas Canon”

Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is one of my favorite musical groups of all-time. I was lucky enough to see them perform in 2012 at our local Hampton Coliseum. Since then, I’ve desperately wanted to see them again!

Their spin on Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” is impressive, titled Christmas Canon.

—

“Christmas Eve / Sarajevo 12/24”

Another classic from TSO. This is one of my top three Christmas songs of all-time, one that I listen to multiple times every single year. It’s stunning!

—

“Go Tell It on the Mountain”

This is one of those songs that I look forward to singing every year.

—

“It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”

I remember learning to play this on my viola. I love singing it, but also listening to it.

—

“Mary, Did You Know?”

Let me tell you, I went crazy for Clay Aiken after he became runner-up on season two of American Idol.

That’s part of the reason I love this song now. His version was just beautiful. I remember receiving his Christmas CD and playing it on repeat.

—

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

This music always gives me chills. It’s almost haunting.

I fell in love with this version the minute it started. I think it’s partly because I played piano, and then viola, so anything with piano and strings captures my heart: O come, O come, Emmanuel – (Piano/Cello) – The Piano Guys.

—

“Silent Night”

Hearing this song always makes me think of the end of Aldersgate’s Christmas Eve services. We all light candles, and the entire sanctuary is darkened as we sing. It’s just a gorgeous scene.

Lindsey Stirling is my girl. She’s amazing! Seeing her in concert at the NorVA a few years ago blew me away. Take a few minutes and listen to her version of Silent Night.

—

“You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”

Sung by Thurl Ravenscroft for the 1966 Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas special, I love this song!

Fun Fact: We watched this on TV last night!

However you celebrate the season, I wish all of you many blessings, safe travels, and cherished time with family and friends!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂