My destination wishlist

From my last trip to PEI. The bay at Sunset.

A couple of weeks ago I had a dream that I was travelling with a big group of friends (which I luuuv) to do. Anyway, we were all in an airport waiting for plane and discussing our trip. Our imaginary voyage was going to take us somewhere (can't remember the end destination), but we were to have a 24 hours stopover in Dubai. And in my dream I was ecstatic about the opportunity to visit this place. But why?

Why Dubai? No idea. When I woke up I started thinking about it. Do I want to go to Dubai? I know virtually nothing about it. Michael Jackson posted up there, tallest building in the world, recent real estate boom, beaches, near some body of water (no idea which one).

This all has a point, I promise. So the sudden, subconscious urge to visit Dubai symptomatic of something else? A need to visit something so foreign, so different from my own life? The thrill of the entering a land full of the complete unknown is one of life's greatest pleasures to me, but Dubai? So I chalked the dream up to being, well, a dream, and started making a travel list for this year.

2010's travel list is much different than my lifetime travel list which could go on and on. I basically want to go everywhere. This list is an effort to set attainable travel goals for the year and being realistic about it. I have a life goal that I will try to visit a foreign country every year, preferably a new one. But if it's been over 10 years since I visited, I think it still counts.

So here goes:
1. Visit California. I have never been to the West Coast of the country at all.
2. Go back to France. I intend to start grad school in the near future (I'm shooting for August) and need to get my French-brain working in high gear.
3. Colorado. I can't believe I've never been! Not a single person I have ever spoken to about visiting Colorado has anything negative to say. It's high time me and hubs make it there.
4. Further explore NYC. We are three hours away, and I can't move out of PA without a couple more trips to NYC. That city has so, so much to offer and I want to see as much of as I can. But in a cool, look like a local-way. Not in a "follow your tour guide who happens to be dressed up like Lady Liberty" sort of way.
5. Stay in an inn in Connecticut/Vermont. I think it's from watching "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney a few too many times, but I want to spend a weekend in a cozy inn by a fireplace with my man. Sounds fantastic. And while I'm in CT, we will hit New Haven. Gotta have a steamed burger.
6. Visit our dear friends in Canada again. They've made their home on Prince Edward Island and it is so lovely! So quaint, with friendly people and amazing lobster, and of course great company. I truly hope that we can visit again and this time I can take my husband along.
7. And of course.. home. Go to Nashville, see my family, hug my nieces and nephews, laugh with my sisters, brothers-in-law and my parents. Lounge in my house and sleep like a baby, where it is so quiet and dark and peaceful. Ahhh... home.

And, I think that about wraps 2010. The list is quite an undertaking! But, I am a travel junkie and just writing it made me want to pull out my camping equipment, throw Mick (dog) in the car, steal Tyler from work and hit the road!

Do you make travel goals? I am a list-maker, so I make them for just about anything. Are you a bit anal retentive like me? Or do travel by the seat of your pants? Do tell :)

Ummm... Boo

This is how I feel right now = meh, blah, yuck

I hate when plans change and things fall through. Unfortunately, this seems to happen to me frequently. So strike the trip to Vegas, we're probably not going. Circumstances have changed and other people's plans have changed and in short, I'm bummed.

Really bummed. Really, really sad. I know I'm gonna get over it, but this whole "not going to Vegas" has put me in a really sour mood. I think it's just symptomatic of my life right now. No plans, always in flux, always a cluttered mess.

I'm over it! Going for a walk need to be outside today.

This is how I need to feel = happy.

I gotta snap out of it. In a rut! In a rut!

Sorry this post is like stream of consciousness. But, it is what it is. Arg.

Weekend in Vegas

Photo Source

The third weekend in February, my husband and I along with four of our good friends are planning to jet off to Vegas for the weekend. We've been kicking this around for months and now seems to be the opportune moment. It's been cold in PA for what seems like a decade and I am craving a big shift in scenery, even if for a few days. I'm ready to leave the Northeast behind!

I have been to Vegas twice before. Once for business and once for an overnight stay before driving to Zion National Park for one of my best friend's wedding. So, I don't have any experience with spending an entire weekend in Vegas. I have, at most, had about 24 hours of pleasure time there. So, I'm looking for tips.

What's the best place to stay for the buck? We're not exactly "high-rollers" but we don't want to end up at the Golden Nugget or anything.

Besides the Strip, what's a Vegas must-see? Is there anything in the actually city of Vegas we should visit? Or a place we just have to go for lunch?

I am planning to drag everyone (kicking and screaming if I have to)to the Grand Canyon one morning. 1. Because I LOVE to drive through the dessert and 2. I have never been to the Grand Canyon although I've been within three hours of it at least five times in my life. It's time to remedy this situation!

So please tell me your fabulous Las Vegas experiences and stories! I'm very open to suggestions for our weekend. Locals especially, hit me up! I want to see more of the place you actually live, because I'm pretty sure not all of you occupy a penthouse at the Palms.

We are so excited!! My husband literally cannot contain himself!

Weddings

I am at the age where I attend many, many weddings and as many baby showers. Life changes are very normal in this time of life and there a lots of things to celebrate. So, this weekend we went back to my hub's hometown for the wedding of one his high school friends.

It was a lovely wedding full of very sweet moments and a reception full of interesting characters, to say the least. We had a great time and I got to be "someone's wife" who no one knew, while hubby worked hard to remember names of people he hasn't seen in years (always a treat!).

Attending a wedding always makes me remember those exciting, stressful and nerve wracking times that came before my own wedding! It's such an overwhelming task! For most brides the to-do list is long, even for a simple wedding. Not the mention the enormity of the commitment you're preparing to make can cause some deeply pensive moments. But, when the day comes, there is nothing quite like the feelings of joy, peace, love and solidarity that arrives shortly after you say "I do." The stress just melts away!

I don't often post pictures of myself, but I decided to post a few from our wedding. It was a truly special day!


We tried for a very "country elegance" wedding. Very relaxed in the mountains of East Tennessee. So I wanted my flowers to be wild-looking, and we used raffia in all the bouquets and centerpieces to make it look a bit more homemade.
The cake started it all! I got the idea for the cake by melding two cake designs I found on theknot.com and the rest fell into place!
My dapper Groom


Our amazing wedding venue. It rained a bit the morning of our cermony, so everything was SO green!

All of these photos are courtesy of my amazing photographer and friend, Natalie McGee! Leave a comment if you are interested in contacting her and I will gladly pass along her information!Just Married!

Yogatastic Announcements!

I don't blog about it very often, but I am avid fan of yoga. I've been practicing for about three years and it has truly changed the way I think about fitness, health, balance and well-being.


This Saturday, January 23rd, is Yoga Day USA! It's a great opportunity for those who have never tried yoga to get a taste of the practice and maybe find a new passion! There are many, many studios/rec centers, etc across the country that are offering classes on this day (for free!) and you can find one near you by visit the Yoga Day USA website. I hope anyone and everyone who is interested in learning more about yoga will give it a shot. It's a great way to stay fit inside and out.
And now for local news. My yoga studio, Just Plain Yoga in Camp Hill, PA, is also offering a Beginners Yoga Class this weekend to benefit the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra! It's this Sunday, January 24th, from 4:00 - 5:00 pm and all proceeds from the class go straight to the HSO. Here's more information at Just Plain Yoga's site. It will be taught be my wonderful teacher, Tina Stroh, so I hope that you can come and Yogacise with me!

In other yoga news, here's what I am currently working on in my own practice. The Prasarita series is very difficult for me. While it's one of the more simplistic series of movement in the Standing Series of Ashtanga Yoga, I struggle with it because of my feet. I realized that I walk with my feet rolled toward the outer edge. This causes the tendons on the outside of my shin to be extra tight, so getting my head to the floor is impossible and my feet ache, ache, ache. My teach Tina tells me this will lessen in time and I can see that things are getting easier the longer I stick with it, but it's a challenge! Any other yoga enthusiasts who wish to chime in with tips, comments, what you're currently working - please share!

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Everyone has a few Seinfeldian atrributes to their personality. A dislike or unrest about some small, insignifigant thing that just drives you crazy. It could even drive you to the point to end friendships or relationships over it. It's that serious.

I have already gone into a few of my workplace related gripes, but oh boy do I have more from workplace and beyond! And, I think they are so humorous, that I should share them. It wouldn't be right to keep it all myself (sarcasm.. do ya get it? do ya?).

1. People who always smell of bacon/musty and/or smoky food. This was very prevelent in my elementary school. Growing up in rural Tennessee, kids quite often came to school smelling as if they lived in a smokehouse, but in a bad way. Not like they're making awesome bbq, like they're bathing in bacon fat. Even as a small child, this = gross.

2. Whislers/singers/talk-to-yourselfers in the workplace. I work in an office that is best described as a time-warp to 1965. I'm surprised the men don't smoke in here. The women work like drones while the men shoot the breeze, discussing sports, taking the occasional phone call and worst of all singing/whistling/talking to themselves incessantly while they're here. When they are all here and walking aorund, the sound is a tornadic mixture of noise and annoyance the likes of which are not matched in a daycare full of sugared four-year-olds.

3. Collectors. Why? Isn't there some sort of diagnosable condition for this now? Hoarding or something? Why are you collecting basecall cards? Why are you collecting Boyd's Bear figurines? What is the point? I suppose if you are collecting rare works of art or early-edition pieces of literature (you know the things where a collection = 10-15 items), I can get it. But who needs thousands upon thousands of pez dispensers? It's just weird and makes me think you're crazy.

4. Celine Dion. Period. I can't stand her French Canadian accent when she sings. And the people who like her are strange to me. Does anyone else think she has major issues? She married an old man when she was just a child? How was this not prosecuted? And she is guilty of wearing a backward tuxedo in public. If you like Celine Dion, we are going to have a difficult time communicating, I think. The same thing goes for Toni Braxton, on all counts.

5. I did once cease to date someone over their drymouth and excessive clicky, mouth noises. It was constantly offering him something to drink. It was over in less than two weeks. I couldn't take it!

What about you? What are your Seinfeld-like tendencies? Do you introduce yourself to people under a false, more impressive identity like George's Art Vandelay the Architect, or despise manhands?

Not that there's anything wrong with that....

Wow, what a day

I haven't really posted anything in a couple of days due to complete lack of original thought. My mind has been wound into a taught, little knot thinking about plans for the future. News has just arrived that we will be moving to an undisclosed location in the next five months. I may be moving from my current residence within the next month and a half. We have no idea where we'll be going.

It's a lot to process. It's a lot of packing and work, not to mention, a major career shift for both my husband and me. Oh boy, just typing about it is giving me a headache. All of the accounts to cancel, addresses to change... again with the headache. I need some tea, or maybe a stiff drink.

Change is exciting and the possibilities for our life are wide-open. But I literally feel like I'm stepping of the roof of my house and expecting not to fall. One tactic I take to keep myself feeling in control is focusing on the present. Worrying about today's decisions and making them with careful consideration.

And while I am doing this, I am still feeling the panic bouncing around in the periphery of my mind.

How do you keep your cool in the face of big change? Or are you someone who takes big changes in stride without a problem? If you are one of these people, please tell me how!!