Show us your singles: Beth

I am one of Kelly's success stories. I am engaged after meeting J a year ago through Kelly's Korner. So I continue to post about my single friends. Today, I'm going to tell you about my best friend from high school, Beth.

Beth, 29, Nashville

Beth is one of my favorite people in the world, and I'm so glad she gave me permission to write about her. Beth and I have been friends for going on 15 years. Most of that time we haven't lived anywhere near each other, but with a few visits a year and phone calls in between, she remains my closest friend.

Beth, far right, and I at a Beth Moore conference in 2010.

Beth lived in D.C. for seven years after college working in government and a think tank. She moved to Nashville about a year ago after completing her masters in communication. Returning to her home state of Tennessee (we're both from the Chattanooga area) was a tough decision, but she enjoys her current job in state government and liked Nashville so much she recently bought a house there.

Beth is an artist on the side — painting for friends and family, drawing my save the dates — and my birthday cards are always unique.

Beth, right, kayaking with her mom.

Beth loves to be outside, and on the weekends, you'll find her biking or hiking. She is a world traveler. Most recently, she has traveled to Switzerland and South Africa to see friends.

She is outgoing and has a full social calendar, but she prioritizes spending quality time with people that she can have deeper conversations with. She will cut through the small talk pretty quickly. Lately, she has been showing off her new house with gatherings of friends.

Beth, left, with her sister, Katelyn.

Most importantly, Beth truly lives out her Christian faith in everything she does. When she first moved to D.C., she found a church and volunteered her time to lead a small group of high school girls. Even after those girls graduated, she kept up with them and continued to mentor them. In Nashville she is volunteering with The Next Door, a drug rehab program.

It has been such a blessing to me to have Beth walk alongside me for the last 15 years. She is the friend that knows me so well and isn't afraid to hold me accountable. She is beautiful inside and out and definitely worth getting to know.

If you or someone you know are interested in finding out more, leave a comment or send me an email.

It's been a while

Hello again blog world. I has the best of intentions for blogging over break, but somehow that never happened.

I had a wonderful 10 days off at the beginning of the break, and J and I got to be in Tennessee with my family for Christmas. Then I came back to work for the remainder of the break, so that time off is feeling like forever ago. But I'm ready for the semester to start and to return to my normal schedule and routine. I am teaching the same class I taught in the fall, so I am feeling mostly prepared. 

It's hard to believe this will be my last semester teaching. I will still spend the summer in the newsroom, but I won't be teaching. And then in the fall, I will be a full-time student.

Wedding plans are going well. A few nights ago, J asked me what we need to do next, and I didn't have an answer. We've wrapped up what we can for now, and I'm going back to Tennessee in March to make some final reception decisions and have a dress fitting. J is working on adding a master bedroom/bath to the house.

I'll end with a story. J and I don't go to bars. He doesn't drink, and in a college town, it's really not our scene. The two times we've been to bars together were for work functions for him. But on Friday night we decided to go to the country bar in town. We knew there are dance lessons there on Friday nights and thought that might be a good thing for us to try out. 

If you know me, you know I have no rhythm and I'm definitely not a dancer. And in that sense, J and I are a lot alike. Anyway, an EMT named DJ taught us a couple of line dances. We weren't great, but we tried. In one of the dances, there is a moment where you pause, and the EMT said that's when you shake. J, trying hard to follow all instructions, took that direction very seriously. I fell in love with him all over again watching him. No promises about our dancing at the wedding.