Travel Writing Prompts

Hey there dear reader! How are you? If you're located here in the Northeast or anywhere north really, you're probably still "enjoying" the wonderful winter weather...(pure sarcasm there folks.) And if you're like me, then you're also probably already dreaming of all sorts of fantastical future vacations that you hope to someday take. Some day soon, and somewhere warm preferably.

So today I thought I would share with you all some of the travel topic ideas that I've been kicking around for the past couple of days.

First, a little bit about me. I grew up a military brat and we moved at least once every three years from the time I was, well 3. And I continued that trend as an adult, I've lived in... a lot of different places; from Texas to Florida, to as far as Japan and Washington State, California, Georgia and most recently Maryland. I've traveled to Europe, pretty much all over Japan, Korea, Canada, yeah...I love to travel. And there is still so much of the world left to see!

It's a big wide world out there!

And now, thanks to the Internet and so many amazing travel companies and bloggers, there are a bajillion different ways to travel on the cheap (or completely free in some cases) and quite a few different and out of the way places to see and explore as well. So I thought these prompts might help if you're an experienced or even aspiring travel writer to get those creative juices flowing and share with the world how you have seen the world:

13 Travel Writing Prompts:

1. List your top 5 Bucket List Destinations

2. Tell us about your most recent vacation, or even your most recent travel exploit!

3. Where do you want to go next?

4. If you won the lottery, where in the world would you run away to and why?

5. What is your favorite method of transportation?

6. Share a little bit about your favorite travel provider. What are the little touches that set them apart from others?

7. What's the best way to navigate local transport in (insert city here)?

8. What are your best/favorite travel ready snacks?

9. What to pack for a weekend away? (And what might be different if it's work or leisure travel?)

10. What are your favorite travel accessories? (Both high and low tech)

11. Share some little known local customs from your Hometown, or places that you've lived/visited.

12. Expatriated? Share the ins and outs of the process. What would you have done differently? Or what do you wish someone had told you about the process?

13. What are your top tips for travel on the cheap?

What I learned...February Edition

February was quite a busy month for me. This was most evident by my lack of blogging for pretty much the entire month! I was still trying to be engaged in other forms of social media, Twitter, Instagram and all of that. But I just didn't get around to blogging much. I think that might have something to do with my still not having mastered the "scheduled post" yet. 

Well thank goodness for Snow Days!! I've tried to write out at least a few posts for the coming week, just in case things get too hectic again and I find myself drained of all energy in the evenings to even read a blog, let alone write in one!

Today's post is part of a series that I've been wanting to try out, called "What I'm Learning." Every Tuesday I want to post a list of things that I've been learning, studying or just figuring out about anything and everything. And I would really love it if you guys joined in too! I always love hearing about what other people are reading and studying and learning about, so I think this might be a fun prompt/exercise. Especially if it might also lead to teaching someone something new!

So here's what I learned in February:

1. I signed up for a Skillshare membership, and started taking two classes in Hand Lettering and Calligraphy. Have you heard of Skillshare? It's pretty boss awesome and if you haven't checked it out yet, you totally should! I hope that I can eventually get my projects to a place where I feel comfortable sharing them, but for now my sketchbook is covered in the Alphabet and random words and phrases trying to figure out the best way to finish my projects.

2. I'm currently finishing up two college classes. One on Advanced Writing for Business which has been incredibly interesting and eye opening, particularly with regard to persuasive writing and with sending out memos, professional bad news messages and the like. It has definitely been a change of pace from my normal "free-flow" creative writing style. The other class is one that I had to retake (yeesh, yeah not proud of that one), on an introduction to Programming Basics, particularly the Python programming language. The class also covers information on databasing, scripting versus programming languages, user design, etc.

I never thought I'd be interested in programming, and I'm definitely not the next Bill Gates or Guido van Rossum (Python's creator), but I have to say that writing out seemingly silly lines of code and then seeing a WORKING calculator or program pop up in another window is mind-blowingly awesome! Though in all honesty, I actually learned more of the tips and tricks to coding from Youtube... :/

3. I roasted a chicken, for the first time. From scratch. And you guys...it's CRAZY EASY!! Seriously, do you have an oven? Do you have spices, oil (and/or butter), something to stuff the chicken with (apples, onions, garlic, orange...get creative!) and oh yeah, a chicken and a roasting pan? Then bam, you can roast a chicken too! Set the oven to 450, remember to remove the gizzards (if you have a good recipe for these, I'd love to hear it!), stuff the chicken. I used an apple and a red onion, quartered both and shoved 'em in. And then I didn't have any fresh herbs so I just combined some thyme, basil, paprika, ancho chile powder, garlic powder and whatever else I had in the cabinet that sounded yummy in a bowl with some olive oil. Stir. Toss some salt and pepper on the bird and then just kind of coat the bird in the oil mixture, and then roast at 450 for about 1.5 hours. I think I had to go a little longer than this, but the skin was this amazingly crispy and delicious golden brown and the bird was tender and juicy.

Check out the skin on this beauty!

Roasting a chicken on Sunday is also a good way to have a ton of yummy meat leftover throughout the week for sandwiches, soup, tacos and even chili.

4. I also learned that snow days are only fun if you don't have to make up the time later. Seriously, working 10-15 hour days (yeah that happened) for one extra day off is NO BUENO!! I love snow, but yeesh.

5. Lastly, I learned that I still really love learning, it all just depends on the topic and how much I'm willing to devote to the process. The knowledge and the skills are all there for the taking, it's just a matter of putting in the effort and a little bit of time. Life-long learning is a process and it takes, well a lifetime. So I'm also learning to try and slow it down, that I don't need to be an expert in a minute, and to just enjoy the process of practice and discovery.

So what have you been learning lately? I'd love for you to share in the comments below!

Weekly Wrap up: Ending February

Ok seeing as I've decided to jump back into blogging full force this week, after taking an unplanned break from my whole month of blogging ever...I'd like to join up with the wonderful "Weekly Wrap Up" Link up put on by the lovely ladies Rachel and Lisa from @ therachelway and @ Ameliorer La Vie respectively.

Although this past week had been somewhat uneventful for me, my main highlight was making it an entire week only working my regular schedule rather than trying to cram 10+ hours into the workday! I even had a chance to take a much needed half day on Thursday while still maintaining all of my work. Super Awesome!

I had my second to last Advanced Business Writing class on Tuesday and I also went to the local Casino Friday night with one of my friends to try my hand at poker and blackjack. (Come ooon Mama's got a wedding to plan!) I went in with a set amount of money that I didn't want to go over and while I didn't come out a big winner, I at least left with SOME money still in my pocket! My friend tells me though, that MarylandLive Casino has some of the highest table prices she's ever seen, even higher than Vegas in some instances. So, if you're ever in the Baltimore, Maryland area and want to check out the casino at Arundel Mills, just keep that in mind.

This weekend I also got a chance to see some more progress on the new place I'm moving into (check back for a future post on that awesomeness!) The owners have been repainting everything and re-doing the entire basement, including adding a new door and walkway. Every time I think about this place and look at pictures I am beyond giddy about the prospect of a deck, a garden and the fact that I don't have to share a wall with my neighbors! (Seriously, that's a huge deal.) The downside is the kitchen is kind of so-so and I'm a little nervous about the dog getting up and down the spiral staircase into the basement but...oh yeah, it has a spiral staircase! I can't wait to start showing you guys how I plan to decorate the place!

Here are some of the pictures that I took while I was out there this past Saturday:

ZOMG you guys! A wood burning stove!!

So yeah, these are definitely some of the "before" pictures for the place. I'm still not exactly sure how I'm planning to utilize all of the space, and that yard people! It's wonderful! The landlord said I am totally free to put in a garden as well, as long as I maintain it. And those exposed beams! I'm squealing inside. Not a huge fan of the...fan...but that's ok. Maybe they will be ok with me changing out the light fixtures?

As soon as the snow clears I'll have to show an updated picture of the deck and the rest of the outside. I can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring!

Fun fact, that door and walkway did not even EXIST a month ago! 

I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's week! :)

Monday Meditation #4

Thoughts on procrastination....

Image Source

 I have been trying to write this post for two days now, funnily enough, it's not getting written not because of procrastination, but because I'm just not quite sure how to start. Which for me, isn't the same thing as just putting it off. Does that make sense? I know for many of you out there who might also struggle with procrastination, it's because there's no clear starting line. You know WHAT you need to do, but that first step getting you to the HOW of doing it, just eludes you. Right?

Sometimes that's why I procrastinate on little things, like doing my laundry (do I separate the clothes? do I want to do sheets or towels or clothing first? Who needs this many pairs of pants?!) or even paying my bills (I should send a check, I'll do it tomorrow, do I have checks? where are my stamps? what the bill's due today?!). But when it comes to the big things, I don't really procrastinate because I don't know where to start, I procrastinate because I'm not sure how it's going to end.

This blog post has fallen somewhere into that latter category, I thought it would be a simple post to write, you know one of those posts that just sort of writes itself? I mean: "Procrastination, it's bad, are you afraid of success or failure? Just get to it!" That sort of thing. Turns out, it's way more complicated than all of that. There are so many revolving factors that might drive someone to procrastinate, some of them I've already mentioned, and others are a bit more insidious, like the fear of not being good enough, or that no one is going to notice, care about or like what you've taken the time to create, so you might as well put it off until the last minute and rush the job.

But don't you always feel better when you get something done and out of the way as soon as possible, or when you actually put time, thought and effort into a project? So why do we choose the instant gratification of delay over the long term satisfaction of just getting the job done?

I really wish I knew. I mean I know that I love being lazy. I will almost choose being lazy over doing things. But I also know that I fear living my whole life without ever having accomplished any of my major goals just as much as I love doing nothing. Quite the conundrum, no?

I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. So I'll leave you with these 3 questions to ponder:

1. If you do procrastinate, what is the driving force behind putting things off? Is it fear, boredom or just plain laziness?

2. What are some of the tools you use to motivate yourself into action? Do you get pumped up by music, exercise, inspirational quotes or just a long stint of doing nothing that leaves you feeling "recharged" and maybe just a little bit restless?

3. What is one major project that you're currently putting off, and what is one thing you could do to get started and maybe create a snowball effect to actually get that project done?

Bonus question: If you were invited to a dinner party attended by the President, the Queen of England and any of your role models (Business, music, fashion, etc.) What is one project that you would be most proud to tell them about that you're either working on or have recently completed?

Meditate on these questions, comment if you want and I'll do the same! :)

A desire for routine

Hello dear reader! (If you're still out there...who knew February would be a month filled with "radio silence?")

Lately, especially after the start of the new year and thinks to me renewed love of all things Pinterest, I have been craving routine. I know that might seem like a weird connection for some, but really have you typed "routine" or even "morning routine" into Pinterest? Good grief, so many great options!!

And I especially crave it in the mornings when I'm rushing to get out of the door in the mornings but I still want my morning coffee, some breakfast and maybe a little time to breathe and read before jumping into the hectic-ness that is my day-job. And oh yes, there's that. Work can be so stressful sometimes when I'm not sure what to do from one moment to the next and somehow it's lunchtime and then it's time to go and did I ever even start that big project that was my only real goal for today?!

I think that for all that I like to consider myself a creative free spirit, I need a good routine. And especially now that I'm getting older (closer to 30 than I am to 20 these days...) I should probably start taking better care of my skin, a good beauty routine is a must!

And seriously, with my planner obsession I should be way better at routine than I am!

The other reason I need routine is for this blog, I have so much going on in this little life of mine that I have been horribly inconsistent in posting this past month. As in, I haven't posted at all. And for a brand new blogger like me, that's a pretty big no-no. I mean readers want consistency, and heck if they actually enjoy what they're reading (which I hope happens here), then they want CONTENT! And often!

So how does one establish a good routine? Like I said, I've been thinking about this for some time and while I'm still no master at it, here are some tips that I think might help:

1. Figure out what you want in your routine. Make sure it's the important stuff, the things you want and are willing to stick with on a regular basis. Because remember, a good routine needs to be done pretty much every day.

2. Start in the evening. I know most people want "waking up earlier" to be part of their everyday routines, you definitely get more done when you have more hours available to you in the day...that you're awake for. However, sleep is still important too, so don't underestimate the importance of a good bedtime routine if you want a good morning routine as well! I'd suggest going to bed at or around the same time everyday, and make sure you're getting the right amount of sleep for you. I need at least 7.5 hours to function properly and look my best.

3. Be consistent, even on the weekends. This means if you're trying to wake up for work by 6am, you should be waking up at 6am on the weekends too. (I know for those of us that "get weekends" this seems like torture, but really it's necessary.) Waking up early on the weekends also gives you time to recharge and maybe add a few other things to your morning routine that you might feel too rushed to include when you're getting ready for work. I like to try and add a new workout or a new breakfast recipe on the weekends instead of trying it out and not knowing the timing during the week.

4. Have a calming, happy activity as part of your routine. Especially right before you jump into work and/or the busiest part of your day. For me, this is my coffee ritual. And I actually don't do this until I get to work during the week. I have a small French Press that I keep at my desk and then on Mondays I usually bring in enough freshly ground coffee for the week. I keep some coffee creamer in the communal fridge and take advantage of the office water heater. This gives me time to either meditate or do some yoga at home, since I try not to drink coffee too early. And since I use the French press method, it can be a bit more labor intensive. As an added bonus, this also gives me a few minutes when first getting into work to take some more of a breather before jumping into the email storm and all of the projects lined up for me for the day, also I love being able to enjoy an actual CUP of coffee out of a real mug even when I'm at work. And it's my coffee that I don't have to share with anyone else...(that's not rude is it?)

5. Finally, write it all down. If you're like me then you love lists. A lot. And will probably make multiple lists about the same thing until you find the exact perfect combo of things in list form. So I do this, in my planner and in my notebooks, I write out my ideal morning, day and evening. I even write out my ideal weekends and try and incorporate those routines into my life as much and as often as possible until they stick.

Well, those are the tips I've been using lately. I'd love to hear your thoughts about routine and what you do to keep everything scheduled and orderly in your life. Feel free to comment below. :)

Monday Meditation #3

Happy Monday! Today started off the first full week of a new month and I rang it in just slightly hung over thanks to a pretty rocking Super Bowl party where my team won! Go Seahawks! WooH!!

Of course I didn't have a jersey to sport my team pride but I did try to make a creative go at the colors:

yeah...I dunno...that happened.

It was a really fun night.

So today it was quite nice to wake up to the quick buzz of an incoming text message letting me know that work would be delayed for a few hours due to...rain. I'm not complaining, I had already planned ahead for the possibility of "weather" last week so I was caught up enough with my hours that going in later this morning didn't cause me the normal anxiety that it usually does toward the end of a pay period.

It also gave me some time to think about today's meditation. Really, this is just more of a series where I share my own deep thoughts on life and whatever else. I thought about providing some actual meditations as well, maybe as I get better with calming my own mind I will start passing along the tricks that I'm still learning as well. Just like with exercise, it's incredibly important to take time out of the day to still your thoughts as well and to just be in the moment.

I've been reading so many incredibly inspiring monthly and weekly goals and aspirations from other bloggers over the past couple of days and it seriously just excites me to no end to hear about what others are trying to accomplish with their lives. Sometimes I get envious, especially of travel writers or those delightful Instagram and Pinterest posts of various yummy treats. But mostly I'm inspired. I feel a sense of wonder at what so many of my peers are dreaming and actually DOING with each day, week and month in this new year. It makes me want to dream bigger and do more in my own life.

I talked a little bit about my main goal for February the other day in my Mini Monthlies post. I really struggle with loving and accepting myself and of course, of the things in life that I cannot change. And then I am also quite harsh with critiques about those things that I CAN change....but don't. Particularly with my seeming inability to properly plan and accomplish school assignments in addition to working a full time job and keeping the fur-beast alive and well. Some days, I really just cannot keep it all together.

Though I have to wonder if those harsh words inside my head aren't holding me back in their own way. I've never really been one for encouragement. In fact when I was serving on Active Duty, routinely I would give up the minute someone complimented me while I was running. "Good pace" and "keep it up" were usually enough for my brain to just kind of shut off and for my body to rebel against any more movement. As though the simple fact that someone recognized and acknowledged my hard work meant that I was probably headed for failure anyway so I might as well just quit now. So I'm harder on myself than I know I should be, and it's still not achieving the results that I would have hoped for.

I think I'm scared of success. I'm afraid to do well for myself and by myself, I'm afraid of what might happen if I really start taking care of my body and watching what I eat. I'm terrified of the end result from a well-planned and productive day, content to stalk the blogs of others and ogle their posts of planner perfection and well cooked meals, reading tales of their runs and traveling adventures.

But really, why should I be afraid of that? Why shouldn't I have those things for myself? There's a beautiful and very moving quote that I have seen come up quite often in my life of late, in fact my fiance is incredibly fond of it and often uses it to motivate his subordinates in order to get them through really tough challenges.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

                                                             - Marianne Williamson

We are all of us, powerful beyond measure. And there is not a person in this world who has the right to tell you that you are less, or undeserving of your dreams. Least of all if that person is yourself. You're awesome dear reader! So go do awesome things!

February: A time for love and a new soundtrack

Happy First day of February!

Okay, So originally I had a plan all lined up about how I would review the month of January and go over how I achieved goals X, Y, and Z and then I would launch into the way that made me feel and how I really like this new plan of mine for mini monthly goals and turning some things into habits while accomplishing certain projects throughout the month.

Then I was going to tell you all about my plans for February. And let me just say, I have SOOOOOOO many goals for the shortest month of the year. Seriously, I don't know how I expect to accomplish it all in just 28 days. Granted, some of it could be lumped together like writing everyday along with creating an editorial calendar (which I actually already did so wooh!) and maybe cranking out a couple of short stories. Then there others that are just good habits I'd like to adopt forever not just for 28 days (I'm looking at you "wake up at 5am every morning, yes even on weekends, in order to get more out of the day" goal).

However after a number of things that happened over the last couple of months, conversations and epiphanies had and pondered over. I realized that I really only have one goal for this month.
It's kind of appropriate actually, given that this is the month of "love" and all that.

My Mini Monthly Milestone for February:
Change that track of negative self-talk in my head and love myself more.

You see, I'm pretty hard on myself. As I'm sure most everyone is at some point or another. In fact that seems to be a running theme around the internet these days, "don't be so hard on yourself" and "learn to love yourself." There was an article I was reading awhile back, which I unfortunately can't find to link for you now. (But I'll link it later if I do find it.) And it talked about how you should talk to yourself the same way you would to a friend or a sister, that a lot of women say things to themselves in the privacy of their own minds that they would NEVER say out loud to others, and that this is so damaging for living a healthy and fulfilled life.

I am a pretty terrible offender in this regard. In fact, I think there should be a hotline we can call to help with the emotional abuse we heap on ourselves sometimes.

So today I'm making a stand. I'm going to change that negative loop. I know it will be difficult, so ingrained in my mind is that track that it's almost a force of nature. Like screaming into the wind or trying to turn back the tide. I've had myself so convinced that I'm not even worthy of trying to build up better self esteem. That I deserve to feel this way all the time due to past mistakes and that if I try to start getting better, everyone else will see it for the farce that it truly is.

But that's a lie. I DO deserve to feel happy and complete. I DO have a pretty great life. Sure there are sucky parts, but isn't that true for everyone? It's all a matter of perspective and looking for those pockets of happiness, those spots of sunshine to brighten your day and get you through the rough patches.

I will no longer be ruled by negativity. Who's with me?