This is probably not a surprise to many of you, but I've found it beneficial to make public my intentions as a way to find motivation and it seems to actually help me get things done. Wow! Lists of destinations for 2024, ideas of cool things to do before I turned 40, recipes I want to make, goals to achieve, books to read... The flip side is that if I don't say I'll do something, I usually don't! :p
So the moral of the story is: I need to tell y'all what I'm going to do so I'll do it! I posted a list of travel destinations and I've already been to two of them with plans for two more this month!! Driving down Highway 1 in Florida and exploring Key West was a dream come true and Nordic skiing near Kelowna, BC with friends was pretty fantastic too!
I have also said I will learn to speak Spanish and I'm continuing to work toward that goal! I have a 190 day streak on Duolingo now!! Now for the guitar/mandolin/piano/exercise goals...
The tricky part about setting intentions is that ambition can blow up everything. If your goals aren't reasonable, sometimes not an ounce of progress is made. I think that's why I've been semi-successful with Duolingo...it's a small chunk of my day, everyday. And Duo reminds me. :)
HAWAII
The first thing I did this year [literally, as the clock rolled passed midnight into 2024] was drive through the night to get my dad to the Seattle airport and on a flight to Hawaii! That was exciting! It was beautiful, of course, and I was able to explore my second island [the big one]. We actually spent a couple hours in the Maui airport, but just in order to connect back to the mainland. So I still need to get to Kauai and Maui for some quality time. :) There are more photos and details
in this post [including the link to our unique AirBNB]!
FLORIDA and TEXAS
Biking around the
Old Town of Key West was quite fun, as was enjoying the
San Antonio River Walk, both on foot and wheels. "Bruce" is turning out to be a perfect travel companion. :)
Finding just the right balance of all the important life things has been tricky -- working to earn some $$, planning the next adventures, going out on adventures, sleeping, exercising, cleaning the house, cooking/baking, having some family and friend fun... There are many days when we have a grocery or laundry crisis because I was focusing on other things. But, overall, when you smash it all together into a 60 second reel, my life is pretty cool. I'm definitely finding some joy in the journey. :)
Family updates? The man of the house is planning a significant bike trip to Bulgaria [I hope I can at least meet him there for a few days] and enjoying teaching a mechatronics class at the community college. Pete is feeling the strain of taking Physics and Calculus for almost seven months now. He's a bit burnt out, but holding on. Spring break is coming soon! Buzz is LOVING his new RC plane hobby and reuniting with old friends who have similar passions. We're hoping to get him involved in the local glider club as well! And we purchased Indy Ski Passes for next year, so watch out Austria and Japan [along with a ton of other resorts]...we plan to be ski bums starting Nov/Dec 2024!
To help with the balancing of life, I need to hold myself accountable for some stuff:
- I need to get my road bike out and clock 200 miles in the next month!
- I want to practice guitar and piano for just a few minutes every day.
- I want to report that I made something yummy in the kitchen!
K, that's ambitious enough, right? And because I told you I'd get a family photo...
HAPPY SPRING!!!!!!!!
Please follow along with me in all these places as I try to grow my travel influencing presence!
