Day 12 – Let’s Tour Universal Studios

Christmas can be chaotic and crazy, but it is also a beautiful and meaningful time of year. I find that the most meaningful are all of the little things experienced with loved ones like baking, laughing, and taking in all of the sights and sounds of Christmastime. For the past couple of years my sisters...

Day 10 – Cleaning the Car for a Trip

Thursday, the night before I set out on my road trip has arrived. My original Thursday evening plans were to attend a holiday singalong, but the show was sold out by the time I decided to purchase tickets online. So instead of venturing out after work, I stayed home to clear out the car for...

Day 3- Thursday, Topgolf and Nighttime Hiking

I just made it through a busy weekend filled with attending a company Christmas party, a hosted game night which included making fondue, and a Sunday spent looking at Christmas decorations at a local hotel. Considering how busy my weekend was, you'd think that I'd fall fast asleep, but surprisingly it took some tossing, turning...

The Journey Begins

It's just over 48 hours since Curt left en route to Nepal. It was dinner time on Sunday for me, Tuesday morning for him. He messaged today noting that he lost a day somewhere. The messages from him started coming in with plenty of updates filled with lots of excitement, compassion and enthusiasm. I'm going...

An American’s First Time In Ireland

It's been almost a year since I visited Ireland. Now I'm just over 30 days out before I venture out to explore 2 new countries. So before the memories my travels get all muddled up together I want to look back and remember what my experience on visiting Ireland for the first time was like....

The Pale Blue Dot

https://youtu.be/jYtXoUZbUCQ Who are we? What do we believe in? What do we stand for? When questions are turned inward towards ourselves these can be the most difficult to answer. Many of us are used to trying to find our places amongst others. When Voyager 1 had gone past Neptune and was leaving the solar system ...

The Women Of Black Panther

I rarely do this but I'm going to nerd out a bit over Black Panther. Typically I'm not a Marvel or DC fan because (with exception of Deadpool, Thor and Guardians) I feel there are so many movies, characters and plots going on that I tend to get overwhelmed with the useless (so sorry) information....

Forge Meaning And Build Identity

I received a compliment recently and it made me feel really good. It was a compliment that resonated deep inside me and touched the core of who I am. I don't share my personal stuff, the deep things that have shaped me into the person I am today. I keep them private maybe because they...

Say CHEESE!

The chaos ensued on my drive into work via a group text message frenzy then the chaos carried over into my office. Marissa, I didn't have a black sport coat so I wore navy. Do you think he'll mind? Me: Nah, it's fine. It'll look black in the picture. (I'm always the optimist) A TIE!...