decisions

Life is a series of decisions. You decide what to eat for breakfast. You decide how you're going to behave toward the people closest to you in your life. You decide to stay in a current job or to get a new one. You decide, and you live with the consequences. That is the beauty of our God. He gives us free will to make our life what we want it to be.

When it comes to travel, decision making plays a huge role. Do I have the money to take this trip? If so, is there a better way I could be using this money? Where should I stay? What kinds of activities should I do? How long will the trip last? Should I deliberately miss my flight and stay here forever?

Naturally, one of the largest factors in the decision making process is money, or lack thereof. Those of us who are blessed enough to have the opportunity to travel know that it is not cheap. So making the decision to go on a trip of any kind is a big commitment. So why do it? I could be putting that money toward student loans. Savings. A new wardrobe for work.

If you have read past posts, you know I am an advocate of Dave Ramsey. My husband and I are working to become debt free, and plan to create an emergency fund after that. Dave Ramsey, however, advises his readers not to spend any extra money until they are debt free. Great advice. And we follow it. Usually.

For example, when the opportunity arose to go to Las Vegas with my best friend before her wedding, I didn't even hesitate. Granted, I knew I could get my plane ticket for free (thanks, credit card rewards points!), the hotel was cheap, and I did a lot of extra substitute teaching at the end of the year. Do I want to have a comfy retirement fund when I'm old and gray (if, God willing, I make it to be that old)? Of course. But I don't think I'm willing to sacrifice unforgettable experiences with those I love to get there. I want to have wonderful memories and pictures to look back on when I'm older, not just a stack of money.

I'm normally one to make rational, beneficial decisions. I believe in "everything in moderation," living a healthy lifestyle, and being cheap frugal. But I guess if my parents taught me to be smart with my money, they also taught me to experience and enjoy life, to follow my dreams, and to see the world. As long as it doesn't put me further into debt. 

Plus if I had turned down Vegas, I would have missed out on all this:

Happy hour!

Happy Hour at the Stratosphere - dos por uno!

Delicious martinis and the best view of Vegas!

 Incredible food.

This roasted tomato fondue changed my life.

These nachos had vegetables on them, so they were healthy. It's science.

Walking the entire Vegas strip in one day(and I mean the whole 4 miles), because our bus passes expired, and who wants to pay for a taxi when you can walk?

Right around the time we realized walking 4 miles in 100 degree heat was a bad idea.

M&M store. A candy lover's dream.

I'm taking him home with me :)

This is real. My mecca.

Hoping to catch a showing of "Bite." A risque show about vampires. We never did get around to it...

Get bitten.

And don't forget...Vegas night life! I accomplished one goal from my life list: #54 - take a shot in Vegas. 

Done and done.

And don't forget! I gambled $2! I'm a high roller!

We only played this one because the lever we got to pull on the side was huge!

Vegas 2011. You rocked my socks off.

Do you ever make exceptions to your budget? What do you find to be the pleasures in life worth splurging on?

Keep dreaming, dreamers!

mind on my money

I seriously wish we never had to deal with money. If we could switch to some sort of bartering system, I would surely be ok with that. Perhaps you know of my love/hate relationship with budgets. They are so darn useful, and easy to manage once you get the hang of them. Budgets help you track your spending, and stay organized with your monies. At the same time, they are hateful. I am a words person, not a numbers person, so all that math sometimes gives me a headache. 

I have come to the realization, though, that love it or hate it, I have to deal with the money that comes and goes from my bank account. I can be super organized about it, and put my money to work for me, or I can be lazy and irresponsible with the blessings God has given me. 

Money has been on my mind a lot lately. We just had both of our cars repaired (booooooo), recently paid our taxes, just finished paying for my Costa Rica trip this summer, are planning how much we'll need to spend for Vegas and all the weddings we are attending, and we are in the process of getting a little baby puppy!!! On the other hand, I am patiently awaiting July when I will start getting paid my full time salary for my new job. I feel like I'm on a fiscal roller coaster! 

Justin and I have a couple goodies in mind that we would like to purchase once that new salary starts rolling in (new laptop, anyone? puppy!!! real grown-up teacher clothes). However, I know that after we get over the initial glee of having a little financial breathing room, it will be back to the same ol' budget. The same ol' tracking of our spending, and the same ol' frugal ways. It's a little monster called student loans my friends. We are hoping to live off one salary, and use the other one to pay off those pesky loans in 2-3 years instead of taking the full 10 years.

I hate the feeling of owing anything to someone else. I love the idea of being independent and free. So we are going to work our butts off to be free of debt, so we can start saving for travel, retirement, and future children's college funds.

Even though I can't live in a magical world of barter, I remind myself every day of my goals and what is important to me. When I know that the hard work is for something I really care about, it's not such a chore anymore.

Keep dreaming, dreamers.

Is your mind on your money?

the memory making business

I snapped the white gloves on my wrist and stared my food in the eye. The cuy, or guinea pig stretched across my plate, taunting me with his taut skin and almost life-like facial features. I lost the staring contest with the guinea pig, and instead caught the eye of my best friend. We shared a knowing smirk. Another country, another cultural experience, another new food. In Russia it was the kvas, complete with floaty things, and in Mexico it was the cactus. In Ecuador, it was the traditional Andean entree - cuy.

I reached for my digital point and shoot camera, knowing that this was a moment to remember. The time I ate guinea pig in Quito, Ecuador.

Picture I stole from someone on Facebook because I don't have any pics from the day we ate cuy

So I turned on my camera, aimed that bad boy at my friends across the table posing with their gloves, and snapped the shot. I hit the playback button to make sure no one had a double chin, only to find <<bum bum bum>> the error message. All of my pictures from the entire trip had been deleted. On week 4 out of 6. I didn't accidentally hit delete. I didn't drop the camera. The pictures simply took a permanent vacation to the Lost Picture Island.

People. This was devastating. I had pictures of cultural land marks. Pictures from going to the equator. Pictures from the jungle. When am I ever going back to the jungle?!?!

I know some people don't even take their cameras on huge, unforgettable trips. They don't want to be "stuck behind a lens." I admire those people for being content with their mental snapshots. Their given-to-error and rose-colored glasses memory. These people just want to live in the moment without having to worry about taking care of of expensive technology.

I am definitely NOT one of those people. I want the tangible memories. I am that person that sits in front of my laptop for hours scrolling through my iPhoto laughing, crying, sighing, and longing to be back in some other country. (I think I got this from my mom. She has shoebox upon shoebox, album upon album of memories. The decor in my parents' home is pictures).

How could this happen? How could technology fail me so?

In my photography class tonight, the instructor walked me and 4 old/middle aged men through the basics of digital photography. One thing I learned is that when it comes to memory cards, quality matters. It's NOT WORTH IT to pinch pennies and save money on the cheap one. In addition, apparently you're supposed to "format" your card on your camera every time after you upload your pictures onto your computer. You can find this function on your camera under menu. Who knew? If you don't do this, and if you always upload your pictures by connecting your camera to the computer using the cable it comes with, you end up with corrupt files (or something...details aren't my thing). Another way to ensure your memories are safe: use several memory cards, and rotate them throughout the trip. That way if one is ruined/lost/stolen, at least you have some pictures!

Lesson learned. When you pay that much money for a piece of technology, learn how to use it and take care of it. Otherwise, you risk losing all those tangible memories. And when you're in the memory making business, as I am, such a loss is hard to recover from.

I ended up enjoying the last 2 weeks I had in Ecuador. I'll admit, it was nice to have free hands, and not worry about constantly taking out my camera. But even to this day, I have nothing to show for my trip when I want to make a presentation for my students, or scrapbook, or something. The good news is, I ended up returning to Ecuador, and was able to recreate some of the shots I lost next to landmarks, and the equator. Unfortunately, I lost all those captured moments, the laughs shared with friends, and the people I shared the trip with.

The equator - round 2

Well, now I know. I am now looking forward to creating new memories on my next trip.

Keep dreaming, dreamers!

Have you ever had technology malfunction at the worst possible moment?

Do you take pictures, or are you more the "live in the moment" type?

gringo bingo

One of the most educational aspects of being a traveler, for me at least, has been learning what it feels like to be a minority. As a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian in the midwest, I have always been physically homogeneous with those around me.

Not so in Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, or apparently Russia. In South and Central America, as many of you have experienced, blonde (or red) hair sticks out like a sore thumb. Sometimes this works in your favor. Sometimes it brings unwanted attention. Most of the time, it provides a good story.

1. While studying in Ecuador, my friend Emily and I would walk the 2 miles to school every day to save money and get exercise. The excessive amount of comments, cat calls, and come-ons we received in the span of these walks was incredible, but more importantly, the content was hilarious. (Ex. "Soy Latino!" Oh. Well in that case, here's my number and the address of my host family.). When we compared notes with our new friend Courtney, who also walked to school, we ended up with the game gringo bingo. We literally created game boards. You X out a box every time you receive that comment. Examples: angel, mi reina (my queen), and bonita (everyone gets that...it might as well be a free space). 

2. While strolling through the town of Baños, Ecuador, a group of teenagers began shouting out countries, trying to guess our nationality. "Suiza! (Swiss) Alemana! (German) Inglesa! (English)," and when we refused to acknowledge them, it finally came to, "China! (Chinese)!"Well played, teens. Well played.

In Baños

3. This story, unfortunately, demonstrates how closed minded people can be. When a group of us was walking in the city of Tomsk, Siberia, Russia, we spotted an elderly man feeding the birds (tuppence a bag). He seemed so sweet. That is, until he noticed that we were American, and proceeded to throw the seed at our feet, so the ballsy pigeons would attack us. Let me tell you, I was more afraid of the birds than they were of me. *Shudder*

The scene of the crime - Tomsk

Mother Russia?

April + I in our "prime" in Siberia

4. Let's end on a good note. This one is by far the cutest example. After jumping off a bridge in Baños, I ended up chatting with a 4-year-old on vacation with her family. Apparently, she had never seen a white person, because these were some of the questions she asked me: "So, have you always been white?" "Are your parents white?" and when I told her I had sisters "So...are they white, too?" Adorable. It just goes to show that everyone's worldview is different. We are a product of our experiences, and it's hard for us to imagine life outside of what we know.

That is why I travel. To know more about this incredible world we live in. To meet more people and learn their stories. To open my mind to what others are experiencing. We all look different, but that doesn't mean we can't share some great encounters! 

Have you ever stood out for your appearance?

whirlwind weekend

What a weekend! At the cost of abandoning the ol' blog, the past few days have been a whirlwind of activity!

Primero, I took a mental health day on Thursday. Substitute teaching is great money, but it really drains me mentally, emotionally, and even physically. Babysitting a group of 30 ten-year-olds who refuse to listen, do work, or stand in a straight line without talking, and whose names I don't know, is NOT the same as teaching. Every time I walk into a foreign school to sub, I repeat my mantra to get me through the day: money for travel, money for travel, money for travel.

So on Thursday (I only sub Tuesdays and Thursdays), I decided that it was going to be a personal day. I was still feeling icky from Tuesday's job (and other happenings in life), and couldn't figure out how to shake the blues. After an hour of journaling, Bible reading, and prayer, I was ready to do something positive, and accomplish something on my life list!

That's right. I bled my own blood for the American Red Cross. It was so easy, and I'll admit, I felt like it was a selfish way to make myself feel better, but if someone got some good, clean blood out of it, I guess it turned out ok.

Movin' on to Saturday. I finally got a chance to see my baby sister play some volleyball! She was playing in a tournament about 1.5 hrs away, so Justin and I made the drive to see her dig the ball like crazy. She's a great little libero, and getting better by the day!

She's a beast!

I'm always talking about being a tourist in my own city, and trying to be more a part of the community. Well, Justin and I had a wonderful opportunity to do just that. Some friends invited us to run alongside them in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K. It was my first 5K, and I was kicking myself for not adding "run a 5K" to my life list, just so I could cross it off :)

We had the perfect weather (oh so rare in Minnesota) and enjoyed exercise, sun, and good vibrations with about 50,000 other people! Way to go Metro Twin Cities! It was so uplifting to see so many people come together to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.

The guys - still have energy after running 3 miles

Finally, happy belated Mother's Day to my beautiful, hard-working mother! A more selfless example was never set. She's our mom, teacher, driver, secretary, party planner, chef, cheerleader, maid (sorry), and life coach. Thanks, Mom, for never accepting less than our best. You still teach me so much about what it means to be a faithful wife and mother.

Mommy and her girls

Happy Mom's Day, also, to my mother-in-law (probably the best one out there), and to Nana and Grandma. I've got a lot of great moms in my life :)

So much to be thankful for. 

How do you get involved in your community?

What's the greatest thing your mom has taught you?

light writing

Confession: I was voted teacher's pet in high school. Yeah, I was  that kid. I have always liked school, or I guess I should say I've always liked learning. (School does not always = learning). Maybe that was why I became a teacher. Something about being a lifelong learner, and guiding students to share my love for learning called to me. 

Fast forward to my adult life. I still crave learning opportunities, but they are not as readily available as when I was in high school or college. Luckily, when I purchased my DSLR camera, the camera store offered 18 free classes to help new DSLR users get acquainted with their cameras and the basic principles of photography. The courses are offered on Tuesday nights, and due to the fact that I coached on Tuesday nights until this week, this was my first class.

My first day with my baby

 I kind of jumped into the middle of a series, skipping over the basic classes, and right into "Light, Inside and Out." This worked well for me, since I borrowed a book from the library before our trip to Oregon to learn about digital photography. 

I'm a photographer

Our instructor walked us through the ins and outs of the direction, quality, and temperature of light. We discussed what time is best to take photographs, depending on what your subject is and what outcome you are looking for (detail vs. depth and texture). We also discussed the merits of using flash, slow flash, and rear flash. 

One of our photos from Salem, Oregon

One of the biggest things I took away from this session was that there is a lot the photographer can do to improve the quality of her pictures with a knowledge of light, and how it can be manipulated to work for you. Hauntingly beautiful side note: the word photography comes from the Greek words for "light writing."

I am really looking forward to future classes, and playing around with the settings on my camera! I used to think photography was just people with expensive equipment snapping artsy pics. Turns out, it is so much more complicated than that! Aperture, ISO, shutter speed, exposure, then putting it all together to form art...still with expensive equipment though.

What type of class would you like to take just for fun?

 Keep dreaming, dreamers! 

friends in far places

Tonight I received an unexpected and lovely phone call from my recently-married college friends Rachel and Luke who are currently residing in Bogotá, Colombia. They are teaching at the same school my bff April taught at when I went to visit her in fall of 2009. Catching up with Rachel made me 

a.) miss her so much! (and Luke)

b.) excited for my own future travels, ~and~

c.) nostalgic for South America

One of my already-accomplished items on my life list is #23: Get caffeinated in Bogotá, Colombia. This occurred at café para dos where the second, but not final, draft of my life list was compiled with 2 dear friends, April and Emily H. There is nothing like spending a day wandering around a city, stopping to bask in the sun, dreaming about the future and sipping coffee. Here are some of my memories from that unforgettable day:

The lists, and the caffeine. A great combo.

Emily H, or Ah-chay as we call her.

Abril, our tour guide for the week

Mmmmmmmmm

Basking in a sunny plaza

Mondays are perfect for memories. Monday memories. 

Keep dreaming, dreamers!

here's looking at you, kid

If you've visited my life list page, you may have stumbled upon #32: Repeat a line from the movie Casablanca in Casablanca, Morocco. 

Something about Morocco has always appealed to me. The breezy Bedouin style, the sunshine streaming through gauzy curtains, the juxtaposition of palm trees and geometric designs...I want to go to there.

Ever since I saw the movie Casablanca in high school, I knew I had to make a pilgrimage to that desert paradise. Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart made it look so glamorous! I'll land in Spain, work my way down from Madrid to the Straight of Gibraltar, and take a ferry from Tarifa to Tangier, where I'll wander my way down to Casablanca. Here are some images that are keeping me dreaming about Morocco.

via

Moroccan Style! I want this head scarf so badly. I heart turbans.

asian porch design by showroom Anticmistic - Old Europe Lifestyle

asian patio design by showroom Anticmistic - Old Europe Lifestyle

If there's one thing in the world I love, it's a good market. {via}

I really want to ride a came!!! {via}

How can I make this trip happen, pronto?


What is your dream destination?

Keep dreaming, dreamers! Salud!

going after inspiration

Some days you wake up and just want to create something. So instead of dusting, vacuuming, and doing laundry in preparation of my sisters arriving this weekend, I decided to focus my creative energy on my inspiration board. I've had the materials sitting on my kitchen table for about 2 weeks now, so it's about time!

I have 4 square cork boards, and each one will have a theme to reflect my life goals. The point of this board is to motivate me when I'm feeling lazy or lose sight of the end result. Today I completed the travel one:

Some of my creative supplies

The war zone that was my living room when I was done.

Some of my visual inspiration!

Part of the final result.

It's surprisingly tough to get that "carelessly thrown together" look that makes a collage look good.

Still to come: Financial Inspiration Board, Creativity Inspiration Board (work/home/learning), and Fitness Inspiration Board.

Having satiated my desire to create, I went to work, and had a laid back, work-on-your-project day for my students. With Juanes playing in the background, they each planned their trip to a Spanish-speaking country of their choice. What a fun project, huh?

Normally I accomplish my workouts before school on Mondays and Wednesdays, so today I went straight from school to the gym. Reading a few fitness blogs before working out did wonders for the intensity of my time at the gym. I even got a fist bump from a random guy who noticed my domination on the elliptical!

Sister #4 of 6 (Maggie) arrived at our teacherage right as I pulled into the driveway. Let the Easter festivities begin! In honor of having a "guest," I decided to make a real dinner instead of just cereal or smoothies. I chose one of our favorites: Mexican chicken...yum!

Start with 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and chopped green peppers. Heat until the chicken is fully cooked.  Add salsa and chicken broth - bring to a boil, throw in some brown rice - cover and let sit for 5 minutes, top with cheddar cheese, and you've got yourself a nutritious and delicious meal!

Final result. We all had seconds!

Ingredients: Mexican Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Chopped green pepper
1 can chicken broth
1 cup mild salsa
1.5 cups brown rice
sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese.

Having the next two days off of school will be the perfect opportunity to catch up on some house work, continue my awesome workout routine, and run with this creative streak by finishing my inspiration boards! I am also looking forward to some of my favorite worship services of the year: Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

What do you do when you're feeling creative?