Category: wanderlust

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 76)

January 20th, 2012 · · 7 Quick Takes (Fridays), videos, wanderlust, We Blog We Vlog 24 comments - Tags: , ,


1.

This week on Totes Awesome Channel, we discuss our Myers-Briggs personality types.


Youtube Link

I’m an ENFJ. What are you?


2.


January 20th is Penguin Awareness Day! Did you know that? Last year with We Blog, We Vlog, we honored the day by vlogging about a long journey we plan on embarking on in 2011. This year we’re doing it again! Anyone can participate. Find out how here.


Youtube Link

I mentioned the trips I hope to take this year (Pittsburgh, Marfa, Vegas, Seattle, and somewhere in Kansas) and my more abstract journey is to find that dang calling.


3.

I’ve been spackling up my life. Made that dreaded dentist appointment. Scheduled more walking time in hopes to flirt with a more active life. Morning pages are written more often than not. Finally logged into my LinkedIn account and uploaded a profile picture and accepted all my invites. I love baby steps and breaking down big goals into tiny actions. I want this year to be a great year and that’s going to require a lot of due diligence.


4.


I cut my finger yesterday. I did not respect the knife or the lemongrass stalk and the knife rolled. Thank goodness my nail was in the way because I think I would have cut off my fingertip had the nail not slow it down. My oldest half brother actually cut off his fingertip. If I do it too, it might mean something. Anyway, I never made that lemongrass chicken but plan to try again tomorrow? I’m a little skittish now. Hope it heals quickly! Putting pressure on it is unbearable. I couldn’t buckle my jeans this morning!


5.

Speaking of jean buckles, my jean button fell off during work this week. I borrowed a graduate student’s belt to keep my pants up. Oh and I got a parking ticket. My life is in shambles!


6.

This quotation is why I have a standing Take 7.

“For most of life, nothing wonderful happens. If you don’t enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are that you’re not going to be very happy. If someone bases his happiness or unhappiness on major events like a great new job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn’t going to be happy much of the time. If, on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness.”
– Andy Rooney


7.

This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ puppy snores ♥ Madam Mams with Cindy ♥ Madam Mams again to help me eat my feelings after I cut my finger ♥ date night ♥ registering for Bloggers in Sin City ♥ one particularly well-timed hug ♥ having a belt available to borrow after the button to my jeans fell off ♥ our president signing Al Green ♥ Rick Perry withdrawing from the race ♥ reading time ♥ cookie butter ♥ 4 day work week ♥ green tea ice cream parfait and tonpei yaki at Kome


Question: What small tasks have you completed that is setting the tone for grander things?

Bloggers in Sin City

January 17th, 2012 · · new thing(s) of the week, scary thing(s) of the week, wanderlust 24 comments - Tags: , ,

Saturday afternoon, I was walking my dog along side the lake when I decided to check my timer on my phone. I usually ignore emails while I’m on the trail but I didn’t resist the temptation this time. It was Ashley emailing the rest of the Totes Awesome Channel with, “So, um, BISC? I kind of want to go.” Nicole and Other Ashley were already going and then Ashley quickly jumped on board, so I took all but two minutes and committed as well. It’s a big commitment as I have four more trips in 2012 I’ve already started planning and Vegas was not going to be one of them. Oh and registration is $499. That’s a big commitment too.

Yesterday as soon as registration was open, I made it official. I’m going to Bloggers in Sin City this May! I emailed Kim to share my news and lament a little about the dough I just spent on registration when she reframed it for me. “It’s not for registration. It’s for a ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE. It will be worth it. Think of all the new friends and memories you’ll make! Excited for you.” And with that, I let go most of my financial apprehension and basked in some excitement. I’M GOING TO BLOGGERS IN SIN CITY! Last year, I told myself I’d go next year. It’s next year, baby!

I’ve been to Vegas before and I didn’t get lucky because I gambled all but a quarter. This year, I’m still not much of a gambler but maybe I’ll still get lucky and win the Bloggers in Sin City and Paper’d giveaway. BISC and Paper’d partnered up and are giving away one free spot to this ultimate unConference to one lucky registrant. Maybe it’ll be me! How phenomenal would that be?

Almost as phenomenal as going!

Wordless Wednesday: Morning Drive From Gulf Coast Back to Austin

September 21st, 2011 · · still-frames, wanderlust 17 comments - Tags: , ,





For more Wordless Wednesdays from others, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: Vancouver Aquarium

September 14th, 2011 · · memory, still-frames, wanderlust 19 comments - Tags: ,









For more Wordless Wednesdays from others, click here.

Travel Notes on Vancouver

September 6th, 2011 · · Austin, new thing(s) of the week, wanderlust 28 comments - Tags: ,

  1. Vancouver is now my favorite city. It used to be New York for all its glorious nooks and crannies. Then I temporarily gave the number one spot to San Francisco. Only temporarily because I figured, I will grow tired of SF and that’s something I couldn’t foresee doing with New York. It is now Vancouver and I cannot wait to go back.

  2. Hailing from Texas and freezing at anything lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I didn’t think I was an outdoorsy person. In Vancouver, I loved being outside. The weather was cool and the scenery is perfect.

  3. I was gawking at the gorgeous views of blue and green in Colorado from photos of a friend’s recent vacation but knew in my heart, I love urban living too much to ever be passionate about the pretty lakes and greenery. Vancouver is the compromise between my need for skyscrapers and city lights and fanciful desires to admire natural landscapes. A city nestled amongst ocean and mountains.

  4. The sushi here is phenomenal. And much cheaper than in Austin, Houston, and Dallas Texas.

  5. I walked around downtown at night and sometimes by myself and never felt like I should be running to my destination with my phone pre-dialed to 911 or a key ready to gouge out eyes.

  6. Regarding chains: Surprised to see a Dairy Queen in Vancouver! Also had my first Fatburger experience. There’s tons of Starbucks. I usually look for an H&M when I travel in the states but didn’t do that for Vancouver. Was giddy with joy when I found our hotel was 2 blocks away from an H&M.

  7. Alan could not get up for the early morning departures for neighboring cities, like Victoria. So this only means, I have to go back to Vancouver and see it on my own while he does his thing for a day or go with a few girlfriends. Maybe, I’ll do it when I go to Seattle!

  8. I love Canadian hospitality and accent, eh!

  9. The Asian population in Vancouver is astounding.

  10. I’ve never seen so many parks just walking about in a city. It seems every 2-3 blocks there’s a darling park with inviting art, benches, fountains, interesting seating, just beckoning passersby to lounge.


Question: What’s your favorite city and why?

Post Update: I scheduled this post to publish early on the weekend but must update you on my hometown. Vancouver may be my favorite city to visit, but Austin is where my heart is. Central Texas is burning, the biggest fire being in Bastrop, TX, just 30 minutes away from Austin. If you can spare a few dollars to donate to the Red Cross, it can help go a long way. Last I checked, the biggest fire is 6 miles by 16 miles big. 250,000 acres have been charred. Here’s a facebook image of Austin’s capitol building for some perspective.

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 57)

September 2nd, 2011 · · 7 Quick Takes (Fridays), new thing(s) of the week, pursuit of happiness, wanderlust 11 comments - Tags: ,


  • 1.

    It’s the last week of the month for Totes Awesome Channel, which means no topic week!


    Youtube Link

    I talk about really wanting to establish routines and how they ground me.


    2.

    I got back from Vancouver on Monday night. Will be sharing more about it next week. For now, I’ve blogged about three eateries on the food blog.


    Cafe Medina


    Mink


    Goldies Pizza and Beer Lounge


    3.


    This is my favorite picture of Vancouver I took. I didn’t edit the photo at all and took it with my Android. How amazing is this view?


    4.


    My money situation is stressing me out. I can’t wait to get a better view of what my new routine will cost me monthly. Alan and I just untangled some of last month’s expenses and I owed him more than a paycheck! Ouch! Also in 2 weeks my credit card statement will be due and that’s already more than a paycheck! Hold me.


    5.


    One way I’m tackling the money stress is I started meal planning and it’s been pretty challenging but also pretty rewarding. My goal is to practice enough that it doesn’t take me forever to peruse recipes. I’ve started a Google Doc shared with my BFF with links to a bunch of recipes we want to try. The recipes are divided into categories and when I try a recipe from the doc, I write a little note about how well it turned out. Another goal is to develop some kind of skeletal format. Also, that slow cooker is an awesome invention. I’ve fallen in love with mine. Since we got home from Canada, we haven’t eaten out once and I made two meals that will be “keeper” recipes. Alan and I loved them both.

    First recipe: best spaghetti sauce I’ve ever made
    Second recipe: Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork Tacos


    Brought a serving of the pulled pork for lunch (one of the tacos pictured above). May possibly be the prettiest lunch from home I’ve taken to work.


    6.


    This year so far I’ve participated in three 30 day projects. First one being eating at least a serving of vegetables on the daily for thirty days and the other two was Vlogging Everyday in April and then Vlogging Everyday in August. I was successful in all three 30 day projects. I’m making September the month to tackle sleep. I’ve never been good about getting enough sleep for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I read ancient journal entries I’ve written (high school and middle school) and the lack of sleep was recorded back then too!

    My September of Sleep goals are: 30 hours of sleep during the work week. 14 hours of sleep on weekends.

    Wish me luck and sweet dreams! Last night was the first night of my goal and I only slept 4.5 hours. Doh!


    7.

    This week’s moments of bliss: ♥ 3 day work week last week ♥ 4 day work week this week ♥ 4 day work week next week ♥ couch sharing time ♥ Vancouver ♥ nesting ♥ using my passport for the first time since I got it 2 years ago ♥ delicious Dr. Pepper pulled pork ♥ delicious spaghetti sauce ♥ watching The Help with Brandi for free ♥ free event reservations ♥ hosting our first dinner guests ♥ falling in love with my slow cooker ♥ navigating library stacks ♥ sharing books on the Kindle with BFF ♥ updating the food blog three times and not having to fine myself 10 dollars


    Questions: Do you meal plan? How do you go about making eating decisions?

    • VEDA Vlogs from Vancouver

    August 29th, 2011 · · pursuit of happiness, VEDA, wanderlust 13 comments - Tags: ,

    Be very proud of me. I vlogged straight through moving, through Dallas, and now through a vacation in Vancouver. I haven’t missed a day! I’ve been patting myself on the back all morning. Here are my VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) Vlogs from Vancouver.


    Day 25 – Pet Peeves


    Youtube link

    You don’t need sound to see this video! I write it out. In case you still can’t view the video, I listed tardiness (>10 minutes), flaky people, and people who talk during movies in movie theaters as my pet peeves. You get to see my bad handwriting!

    What are your pet peeves?


    Day 26 – Most Valuable Possessions


    Youtube Link

    I happen to travel with the things I love the most. My journals!

    What are your most valuable possessions?


    Day 27 – Day in the Life / First Day in Vancouver


    Youtube Link

    For the Day in the Life topic, I talked you through my first day in Vancouver. We landed at 10. I was running on 4 hours of sleep, Alan on 0. We got to the hotel at 11 ish and Alan napped while I explored and lunched. We met up our friends Mike and Amy who live in Seattle and drove up to see us. We all visited the Vancouver Aquarium and had a grand time. We both adored the sea otters. No penguins at this aquarium. (Sad!) Then dined at a Japanese tapas place (look for it soon on my food blog!) and drank 3 bottles of Sake. Then Mike and Amy left and Alan and I met Paul, a new Canadian friend. We enjoyed some live music with Paul and then was in bed pretty late.

    What does a typical day in your life look like?


    Day 28 – What I Used to Believe In


    Youtube Link

    I wrote this vlog out so if it’s sound that keeps you from watching the vlogs, you can watch this one! If not, I listed out things I used to believe in but no longer do.

    1. True love is first love.
    2. Friends who do wrong are not friends at all. (No one is perfect.)
    3. Wait til you’re married to sleep with someone. (Ha!)
    4. Wait til you’re married to move in with a dude. (Ha!)

    What are things you used to believe in but no longer do?


    Day 29 – Passions


    Youtube Link

    There’s not much about which I’m not passionate. Good food, books, family, love, travel. There’s so many things that taste good, look good, smell good. I know I can be annoying when I’m raving about things so enthusiastically so often, but I just cannot help myself.

    What are you passionate about?

    See you back in Austin!

    Kismet?

    August 28th, 2011 · · pursuit of happiness, wanderlust 3 comments

    Hello from Vancouver! I fly back home tomorrow and am terribly sad. I had my favorite cities being a toss up between San Francisco and New York City, but Vancouver has blown both of those cities out of the water. I love everything about it. More about my love for the city later!

    Yesterday, I was walking about the city with Alan when I came upon this sight.

    A room full of balloons in Vancouver tickled me so much that I had to take a picture of it.

    The reason why it tickled me so much is because two weeks ago, I came across a room in Dallas full of balloons.

    I adore coincidences. I think the stories can be whimsical. Especially when involving balloons. My other favorite travel coincidence involved a mouse, cat, and dog.


    Question: What is your favorite coincidence?

    I will be in Canada this time tomorrow!

    August 24th, 2011 · · wanderlust 18 comments - Tags:

    I will be in Canada this time tomorrow! With plans to check off 2-3 things off this book.

    I don’t know what the internet situation will be but Expedia told me we paid for internet. I strive to be in touch!

    The last time I left the country was for Spring Break 2002 in Mexico. Before that it was 1999 in Vietnam. Then 1998, Scotland and England. My worldly travel endeavors are sparse. I haven’t given my trip to Vancouver with Alan much thought recently. We’ve both been so busy with moving, socializing in neighboring towns, and surviving without internet and cable and hot water. Last night, we watched Anthony Bourdain’s show in Vancouver and afterwards, I caught a huge smile on his face and pointed it out. “I guess it just dawned on me that we’re going on a trip in just two days.”

    I’m excited to see a new land and eat some new things. I can’t wait to see the sky and the ocean.

    There’s so much to see and be amazed by in this world, that I have no idea how I’m going to chip away at this task. It’s this delicious giant chocolate cake and there’s no way of eating it all, but I must try.

    Mmmm. Did someone say chocolate cake?


    Question: What are five things you want to see before you die?

    VEDA Has Begun: Introductions & Big Hairy Audacious Goals

    August 2nd, 2011 · · VEDA, videos, wanderlust 16 comments - Tags:

    VEDA (Vlog Everyday in August) started yesterday and the growth of this project in comparison to its first year last year is stunning. Last year we had 20 something to less than 20 by the end of August. This year, word on twitter is that we’re now at over 80 people who signed up. That’s a lot of videos to keep up with. Last night, my close friend from college (she signed up this year) and I stayed up way past my bedtime watching videos and commenting.

    I’m cross-feeding the content on my blog for those who do not use Youtube the way we use it (like Google Reader + Facebook all in one but for videos).


    VEDA Day 1 – Introductions and Why VEDA?


    Youtube Link

    For those without video capabilities, I introduce myself as Linda, hailing from Austin, 28 years old. I drink coffee through straws even if it’s a hot coffee and I love donuts. I’m doing VEDA because I did it last year and met some great people. Also, VEDA changed my life. Last year we did a vlog on body image. I vlogged my back scar. Since then, I’ve been more brave about exposing the scar in public.


    VEDA Day 2 – Big Hairy Audacious Goals


    Youtube Link

    In today’s vlog, I talk about two of my big hairy audacious goals. 1. I would love to discover a new career path. I’ve explored a couple of careers before and found myself not feeling the same way about them once I was knee deep. Also, on a much more lighter note, I’d love to see all 50 states.


    Question: What is your big hairy audacious goal?