Week 52: Dream Vacation

OK, so this may have taken me two years, but the impetus for the blog has finally been completed!  This original blog challenge, started on October 29, 2011, has finally landed at the last post of the challenge!

And what better final topic than dreaming of a dream vacation?!

So.... in celebration of a full (two) year(s) of recovery blogging, if money was no issue.... my dream vacation would take me on a month-long tour of Europe and Asia, with a special stop in Israel. 

With camera in hand, I'd visit the historical landmarks that have shaped this planet and the people who inhabit it.  Feasting on foods (since this is a dream, I'd have no food allergies!) from many cultures, not worrying about calories (cause on this dream vacation, they don't exist!)

This dream vacation would continue with a visit to Disney World in Florida, followed by a week in paradise at my California Family's home, and culminating with an incredible, unplugged visit to the retreat center in Mexico where wi-fi doesn't exist, nor does electricity (at least in the bungalows) instead, the days are filled with blue sky, beautiful greenery, and the soothing surf of the waves upon the beach.

Maybe one day this, like recovery, will no longer be a dream.  For now, though, maybe many separate trips will actually become reality!

Week 50: A Special Place

When I am overwhelmed or need a break, my first go-to place would be my therapist's office.  Unfortunately, that isn't always feasible...... and no amount of wishing changes that!

The next best place is my bed.  Sounds depressing, I know, but hear me out.

See, when I'm in that space of needing a break, a vacation, or to disappear for a while, curling up with the Pup in my bed is the fastest way for me to get back to the land of the living.  Sometimes it takes just ten minutes of lying on the cool sheets, wrapping my fingers around the super soft blanket, feeling the weight of the Pup curled up by my side, to bring my breathing and heart rate back to normal.  There is something very safe about my bed, even more so now that I've finished decorating (after like 10 years) my bedroom so that I truly love being in there.

(Yes, I'll be honest and admit that sometimes it is only ten minutes, while other times it's four hours or more.)

Now, if you're asking about my special place to go when I need a break in general, and can actually take one?  That's a while different story!  In that case, I'd hop on the first plane and go to one of two places:

- my friend's house in Los Angeles, whose backyard is a sanctuary and whose kitchen I actually enjoy being in, or
- this sweet little retreat center near Puerto Vallarta with individual open air casitas, that have running water and flushing toilets, but no electricity..... where the surfing is the best, and the food is unreal, and there is nothing to do but enjoy the nature surrounding you!

I think I'll go crawl into bed right now...... not because I need a break, but because it's time for bed!

Pick a topic, any topic

For NaBloPoMo, there have been daily topics posted to help people blog along the way, reaching for that 30 in 30 goal.  While thus far I've been able to meet the goal, I'm starting to fall into the negativity rut.  Because of that, I decided to give one of the daily topics a try.  I chose the prompt from Tuesday, November 13th.

What is the bravest thing you've ever done?

I didn't go away to university.  I stayed living at my parents house and commuted for classes.  I actually lived at my parents until I finally moved out in my mid-twenties.  This meant I never shared a room with anyone, never lived in a dorm, never had to share a bathroom, never had to eat cafeteria food......

An opportunity presented itself for me to go spend a week in the beautiful Catskills for a training.  It sounded on paper like an amazing experience.  It looked in pictures like peace on earth.  Except.... I'd have to fly there alone (never traveled alone before, either.)  I would be off to a place where I knew no one.  I would be living in a dorm room, and would be rooming with a complete stranger.  I would be using a common bathroom.  Eating in a cafeteria.  Spending several hours a day in a workshop with people I didn't know.  Socializing with these people during meals and evenings.  And doing all of this for a full week.

Hello?!  This was so not me.  So not something I'd do.  I was so not brave enough!

Yet.... I made it.  And it was an AMAZING week.  I grew so much in those seven days, I can not even begin to tell you.  And that week long experience, the first solo traveling I'd ever done (mind you, I was in my late 20's at that point) led to some wonderful experiences traveling to visit new friends (made during that week!) in states I'd never been to before.

That trip was me taking a chance, a big one, and hoping that my fear wouldn't outweigh the opportunity and ruin things.  It didn't.  It broadened my horizons in ways that I can't even begin to explain......  No, I still don't like traveling alone.  Yes, I still have major social anxiety.  But I also seem to have a reserve of bravery that stays buried until it is absolutely needed.  And I can live with that.

Challenge 18: Lauren Lemon

This is the last image challenge of the year in the Blogging for Wellbeing project, and it ends with another fab photographer!

Image by Lauren Lemon

Lauren Lemon's photos capture moments, snapshots of moments, peeks into moments.... I wouldn't say the are mundane, cause her photos are anything but, yet..... at the same time they're not out-of-the-ordinary either.  Her unique eye is thought provoking yet grounded, whimsical yet simple.

There were a few that I liked, but this image, loosely titled Meanwhile in California, reminds me exactly that, of my days in California.  I have a great friend who lives there, and I love any chance I get to head to the coast.  Lounging on the beach or by the pool, soaking up the salt filled air and burning the image of a California sunset into my brain....  It's one of the most relaxing places I know to visit!

As I'm typing this post, I'm sitting in the exact position as in the image.  Except I'm on my couch.  And there isn't a beautiful sunset on the beach in front of me.  And I'm not filled with sunny feelings that the beach usually brings.  But I can dream....

Arielle's Word-of-the-Day: TRAVEL

June Blog Challenge Day 28: Travel

View from above...

When I was younger, travel was rare.  The state in which I live has some great places to take "staycations" but even those were few and far between.  We usually just did day trips.  Once I hit junior high, we were "old enough" to visit my grandparents who spent the winter months in Mexico.  Those trips sound like they would be fantastic, right?  Well, I would say that four-fifths of my immediate family enjoyed the trips (yes, we went for a few visits over the years) and one-fifth didn't.  You may be able to guess which fifth didn't.

My favorite Mexican Retreat!

As I got older and entered the employment world (which at that age, was babysitting!) I sat for a few families that took me with them to babysit on trips, which led me to Florida and Chicago.  It also opened my eyes to the world outside of my home town.  I loved getting to pretend I was part of their families (even though I was the nanny) and live in a world that was so different from mine, even for just a few weeks.

Once I "grew up" (using that term loosely) I visited a few more states traveling for yoga workshops and retreats.  Again, I was lucky to travel as an employee of the yoga studio, which is the only way I was able to afford such travels.

The Santa Monica Pier

The biggest moment for me came when I ventured, for the first time EVER, out on my own, and flew to the east coast for a yoga workshop.  It was my first time traveling alone, my first time staying in a dorm, my first time staying with a roommate... a lot of first times in that trip, including the first time I took the risk to assert myself, which resulted in an amazing friendship with someone who I consider one of my closest friends.  That one week workshop led to several summers visiting this friend, spending 3-5 weeks living with her family and helping her with various tasks.  The experience of traveling solo, on such a scary and unknown adventure, led to such a sweet experience...

Millie's Secret Place... FAVORITE book ever!

Honestly though?  I'm really a home-body.  For me, as much as I enjoyed my yoga trips, and love visiting my friend, my favorite method of travel is in my mind.  I love revisiting old friends, heading to Millie's secret hiding place, the banks of Plum Creek, the Moonshadow Campground, Forks, Diagon Alley, the city of Ember, Narnia, Prince Edward Island, and even Assateague Island... books were my favorite method of transportation, and hold many of my most cherished memories.

A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.

--Tim Cahill 

Prompt: This can refer to an actual trip (or many trips) to other countries. Maybe to other cities. Maybe it’s a figurative journey you’ve taken in your life at some point. Maybe it’s the journey of motherhood or a career traveling. Maybe you have dreams to travel that are driving you to your goals.