Hey y’all! (I can say that now because I have officially lived in Tennessee for a month and a half.) My name is Anna and I am so pleased to get an opportunity to share a little bit of my story and my life here in the South with you today!
This month marks 6 months of marriage for that handsome guy and I!
I am a newlywed and an Air Force wife recently transplanted from Bellevue, Nebraska to Clarksville, Tennessee where my husband is stationed at Fort Campbell (yeah, we know, an Army post, it’s complicated). Writing for Her View From Home has tremendously helped me feel like I have more of a purpose in our new and unfamiliar placement at the moment. Right before we were getting ready to move from our teeny 600 sq ft apartment to our new home, one of my best friends, and fellow Her View writer, encouraged me to send a piece to Leslie and start writing again. I have always loved writing, ever since I was little. I’d walk home from school and play out stories for future novels in my mind. In high school when everyone was cringing at essay assignments, I was secretly excited. In college I couldn’t wait to get to the library to crack open some history books and set to work on my term papers.
Now, before you start laughing at me for being a nerd, it’s in my blood! My mom is currently writing her very first children’s book, and I’m a history teacher, which makes all this nerdy essay-writing-loving perfectly acceptable people.
I lived in the Highlands of Scotland a few years ago while student teaching and started my first blog about my experiences with European travel, Haggis, the Scot’s themselves, and, of course, teaching. I fell in love with sharing my perspective, my pictures, my thoughts, and funny tidbits about the language barrier in Scotland – yes, there really is one! – with my friends and family state-side.
I found a house with the name of my hometown so obviously I posed with it.
So, with the encouragement of my friends, I sent in my first piece, Self Worth and Other Confessions, and a few more articles before Leslie asked me to be a monthly contributor. And the rest is history! My favorite post so far has got to be a tie between What is The Meaning of (My) Life? (of which I am the most proud of) and my most recent post, Early Onset Christmas Mania (because I was giggling the whole time). Both of them were so fun for me to write; feel free to go take a look if you haven’t read them already! And if you are having any doubts about if blogging is really for you, or if people will actually be interested in what you have to say, my advice to you is just do it! Just send that piece in. More than likely you’ll end up with an overwhelmingly positive response, and your friends and family will be super impressed too.
A typical day for me here in Tennessee is pretty relaxed. I mentioned earlier that I am a history teacher, however, I am a stay-at-home wife at the moment taking care of our new home and our new border collie pup, Maggie. I wake up to the sound of Mags chomping away at her squeaky pheasant toy (that my hubs so aptly named Phil), and we usually have breakfast together – she inhales hers and watches mine carefully. The husband is long gone by this point, leaving quite early every morning for PT, but he always leaves a love note for me to read while I munch away at my toast. I have a chore list for each day, which rooms to clean or which tasks to get done so the house stays neat and tidy, and I set to work on those while I watch the Today show. Side note: I love watching Willard Scott’s Smuckers Jam Jar 100th Birthday announcements. It is my goal to at least live to 100 so I can have my face on that jar. After the chores are done, Mags and I go on long walks around our neighborhood, exploring all the new smells at all the mailboxes. In the afternoons we get some writing done, play fetch, watch Friends, and snuggle on the couch. Recently, my afternoons have been filled with setting up my student account at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where I will be starting my Master’s degree next year! It sounds quite productive, but some days Maggie and I are super lazy and all we do is Pinterest and window shop online for home decor (Mags’ fav site is One King’s Lane).
Maggie, trying to blend in with nature.
And now if this spotlight into my life wasn’t enough for you and you just MUST HAVE MORE! I’d be thrilled to have you follow Andrew, Maggie, and I on our exciting journey on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@mrsannabutler), or on Snapchat (anna_carnes)! I always post new blog updates, celebrations of my hardworking hubby, and way too many pictures of Mags.