Learning

Posted on September 22, 2015 by hannahsthirties under photography, travel, writing

We are already creeping into crisp air and early sunsets. It’s hard to believe that summer 2015 is coming to a close.

It was a summer of learning, for me.

After spending May with lots of work and only passing each other in the mornings and late evenings, Ryan and I decided we needed to make a decision. We were newly married for only three months, and we knew we couldn’t spend another month the way we spent May. So I did something that I haven’t done in years. I took a step back at work and spent the summer working two, sometimes three shifts a week.

I was terrified. I have spent most of my adult life working five to six nights a week at busy restaurants. Allowing myself time off seemed a bit negligent, but I knew that taking this step was imperative to my marriage and to my own mental sanity.

It ended up being the best summer. Ryan and I were able to take trips, go camping, spend time with each other and our families, and I remembered that mornings and evenings still exist…and they are glorious.

I was able to take a trip out west with my friend Betsy to photograph a gorgeous mountain wedding. Returning to the place I once lived healed deep parts of my soul that I didn’t recognize to still be broken (that’s an entirely new blog in itself). It was quick and busy and a twelve hour day of photographing with one of my best friends made me feel alive and fresh and challenged.

oh and hey, we met Willie Robertson. We spotted him at the Cowboy Bar in Jackson, Wyoming. To my father’s dismay, I introduced myself in a whisper saying, “Hi, I know you don’t want people to bug you, but, my dad LOVES you…”

checking out the wedding site. Tetons in the background.

On a beautiful hike with beautiful people

The wedding day just after the ceremony. Hi mountains!

This summer Ryan and I were able to GO ON DATES. We are generally frugal people….

Let me re-phrase: Ryan is so great at being fiscally conscious, while I try determinedly to spend our money on important things like food and wine and dates and home decor. He has been an enormous blessing in the money world by reminding me of what’s important and necessary. Thank the Good Lord that he agrees an occasional splurge on date night is necessary.

I mean, just so.freaking.adorable.

If you are not familiar with Michigan, I’ll let you know that there are lakes EVERYWHERE, and we are blessed to be able to spend time on this particular lake often in the summer. Boat rides and these people happened, often.

I was able to go with Ryan up north to Traverse City, MI for a business trip, where we rented a cottage on Old Mission Peninsula, ate fabulous food all weekend, and even got to visit our cousin, Jamie, who works for the local news station.

We ended this great weekend with a perfect night camping.

Our last trip of the summer was to North Carolina for a wedding with a quick stop in Washington D.C. on the way to visit with some dear friends.

Aside from the travel, we were able to spend time with each other and with friends, have dinner on our deck, go golfing (oh we golfed; we golfed endlessly.) It was an incredible summer.

But I also learned.

I learned that I don’t need to work my life away to feel accomplished or justified. And although I do love what I do, it doesn’t define the person I am or the life I want to live. My priorities are far beyond what I do to earn money.

I also learned that I have passions to re-ignite. I say RE-ignite because they were coals that were cooling from neglect, and this summer I was reminded that doing the things you love will feed your soul. For me these include photography, my writing, and travel. I always keep a notebook and pen on me, but have rarely taken them out these past few months. I was once going to school for photography and was crazy in love with capturing these still moments representing so much more than that one second in time. I adore exploring and finding what makes places special. Somewhere along the way I forgot I had a camera…and a notebook…and a pen…and a passion.

We constantly look for those things that make us feel fulfilled, and sharing stories and lessons and moments is one of those things for me. It’s putting a pen to paper and scribbling, and spending time with people who want me to help share their story. It’s discovering a new place and sharing what I love about it with others.

But it’s also time that I spend learning from someone else’s craft. It’s reading and learning from other writers, shooting with photographers whose work far surpasses my own, and it’s GETTING OUT and going places.

This summer, I’ve learned ENORMOUSLY that I never want to stop learning.

To you and to me, may we always be pushing to be a better version of ourselves than the day before,

Cheers!

Bad Dogs and Amazing Grace

Posted on June 24, 2015 by hannahsthirties under Uncategorized

Have you ever seen that movie Marley and Me?

It’s about this couple who adopts this yellow lab puppy. The puppy is so adorable in all its soft, puppy fur and sweet brown eyes…and it grows up being what the author of the original book (based on a true story) called “the world’s worst dog.”

Turns out I can relate.

We took Charlie into our home when Ryan moved in last October. Before that Charlie lived with Ryan’s parents, who took him in after he had bounced around a couple other homes. We decided we would give Charlie his forever home, and were excited to give Cooper (our angel dog) a sibling. What we knew of him was that he was a little dense, but incredibly sweet, and got along with Cooper great.

What we have learned about Charlie since is that he insists on barking incessantly at squirrels, innocent passersby, our mailman, any delivery person, falling leaves, any sudden movements made by Ryan or myself, and I swear, should I think too loudly, he will resound his booming bark. We have learned that we need to precariously monitor his water intake or else he will create small lakes on our floors. He has intense bowel issues and needs to eat very specific (and expensive) dog food. This will take away a touch of the smell, but the farts remain. He is never allowed a bone or a treat or anything other than that food. Try to give him scraps in my line of sight, I dare you.

<—I swear this is his farting face

Charlie is a nightmare on walks. If he sees another dog he will growl so vehemently that he also begins breathing fire like a murderous dragon as he pulls me like a rag doll across the sidewalk.

He also has terrible allergies and licks his paw through the fur to his skin, causing massive sores.

So last night, Ryan and I thought it would be a brilliant idea if we took the dogs to a beautiful off-leash dog beach on Lake Michigan for a relaxing picnic and family time.

From car to beach there’s a short hike on which they require dogs to be leashed, and before we even approached the beach we passed four dogs, and Charlie maintained his erratic supremacy for each.

As Cooper ran the beach freely with new sweet doggie friends, Charlie remained on the leash, but not without attempting to remove my shoulder from its socket and causing leash burns all over my hands.

The relaxing evening I had planned was replaced with one of anxiety. I constantly prayed that he would not latch his jaws around another dog’s neck. I prayed for no blood. I growled through my own clenched teeth, “I cannot stand him!”

At one point he freaked so intensely that in my retaliation I allowed my emotions to become physical and I smacked him…hard…several times. “Feel better?” Ryan asked.

I felt terrible, and guilty, and still so angry.

We went home and went to bed, me wallowing in the sadness of my bad dog ownership. Until around 3am when I awoke to Charlie peeing in my closet.

The Devil knows how to ruin me.

Ry and I cleaning up a huge puddle of urine at 3am is not a pretty sight. It was a lot of swearing and partial nudity, followed by apologies and jail time (for Charlie).

Did I mention that Charlie’s original name was, indeed, Marley? After the “world’s worst dog”? Fitting.

In all of Charlie’s ridiculousness, in his frustrating antics and infuriating behaviors and habits, I can still say that I love this dog.

I am consistently reminded of God’s grace with our goofy dog, because even when I want to throw in the towel with him, I often think about what would have become of me if God acted in the same way. What if the One Who Saves would see my behavior time and time again and shake His head and give up on me? What if He thought I’ll never get through to her, I’m done! I’m taking her to the pound!

If there was no such thing as grace, I would be totally screwed, because let’s be real, I’ve peed in the good Lord’s closet many times.

With Charlie, I’m reminded of the importance of forgiveness, not only with him, but with others in life and with myself. If I’m incapable of moving on past his barking and his farts and his doggie dominance, how will I forgive those who hurt me, dominate me, or use words to bring me down? How will I be able to see past my own giant flaws and be able to feel the warmth of God’s forgiveness?

I believe we would all be lost without grace…without forgiveness, and I hope Charlie is around for a long time to keep giving me those reminders.

To the cute blonde sunbathing quietly on my back deck, our little Charles Vader,

Cheers.

Vegas Adventure.

Posted on June 2, 2015 by hannahsthirties under las vegas, travel, wedding

So it’s been a while.

I could totally dive into all the things that have happened since my NYC adventure. We found a house, got hitched, welcomed another fur-baby into our lives…it’s a lot of big stuff. Lots of BIG, MONUTMENTAL, LIFE-CHANGING stuff.

You know, the stuff I was craving last summer when blogging was difficult because life was just so CALM.

I’m actually not going to write about any of that today. Because today is dedicated to Vegas. Even more so to Francis and Lisa.

I’ll be honest, of all my travel destination desires, Las Vegas was never one of them. I’ve never been a gambler, I hate crowded pools, loud all-day bashes, and I was also too scared for my liver to make a lengthy visit to Sin City.

However, two friends of ours (yes! you’re right! Fran and Lisa!), decided to get married there, and little Las Vegas soared to the top of our Travel List.

Ryan and Francis became friends while serving in the Marine Corps together. They have this man-love for one another that just doesn’t happen after “hanging out a lot.” It’s an incredibly bond that formed after hours together of hard work and sacrifice. They spent days of exhaustive, relentless, and punishing training. It’s a bond that builds after countless hours practicing dangerous scenarios, knowing full-well that they could come to fruition, and in those cases, your brothers beside you would die for you.

….Like I said, it’s a serious man-love.

And it’s the best. They are constantly embracing in these muscle-y bear hugs, and making each other roar with laughter.

Lisa has a heart of solid gold. She is witty and funny and will tell you what you need to hear. She doesn’t sugar-coat anything, and that kind of honesty is FRESH AIR. She is down-to-earth and easy-going. Not only that, but she is over-the-top, stop-dead-in-your-tracks beautiful. Wrap it all into one human and you have Lisa. I’ve known Lisa for a little bit, and finally met her last summer when she and Francis visited Michigan. I knew the minute I met her I wanted her as a friend for life.

That’s what it’s like with these two. It’s fresh and easy. We can talk about the serious and the mundane, the important, gut-wrenching stuff that shapes us, and we can talk about how good Francis looks in a man thong. It’s a friendship we hold dear to us, and booking those tickets to Vegas was the easiest click of the button.

So why did they choose Vegas?

Fran and Lisa decided to get married there for a very specific reason. New Jersey.

These two have been together for years, and had plenty of time to decide exactly what they wanted for a wedding. In Jersey the weddings are over-the-top, and after they started the planning process in their hometown, they decided they didn’t want that. They didn’t want the pressure to spend thousands and invite hundreds and undergo the pressure of “how big can we make this event.” For them, it was never about that.

So they sent out an e-mail saying they would be going to Vegas, and if you wanted to join, they would love your company.

I love them.

SOLD. We were going to Vegas.

So first of all, Vegas is quite beautiful, which I never really imagined. Everything is glamour and glitz, and then it’s surrounded with jaw-dropping mountains.

That’s a random plane picture…but still, gorgeous, right?

the night before the big day…clearly unable to focus.

Day of the wedding!

I mean…unreal. (Photographer was www.tylerfreear.com and he was FUN and amazing. If you are looking for a photographer in the Denver area…or clearly Vegas area, check him out. )

The wedding was to take place at 5:00pm at the Elvis Wedding Chapel. The lovely couple rented a party bus to bring us from the chapel, to the Vegas sign, to Old Vegas, and then back to the Strip where we would dine and party.

Things got interesting.

The party bus was 15 minutes late and traffic was crazy. Francis and Lisa missed their 5:00 wedding. I have to tell you, Lisa stayed so calm. (Francis was clearly stressed, which I don’t blame him, he just wanted to marry his girl!) They were able to reschedule for 8:00, and we moved on to Old Vegas for some photos.

It was here that one of Lisa’s friends was called out to dance for a crowd of strangers, the couple got a photo with an Elvis impersonator, a tiny old lady with Cheetos all over her face and holding a Sephora bag stalked me asking for $5, I lost Ryan on several different occasions and found him conversing with random new “friends,” and I began to worry that not all of us were going to make it til 8:00…the Vegas fun was flowing.

We made it. All of us. Most of us coherent and some of us on the way out of that realm. We watched and laughed and even got teary eyed as Elvis married our dear friends.

It was unlike any wedding I’ve ever experienced. And despite the costumes and the singing and the humor in it all, it was still beautiful and heartfelt. I don’t think Grand Rapids could pull off weddings like that, and I don’t think New Jersey could either. It was something that only Vegas could get so weirdly right.

Poolside

Oxygen bar we tried before leaving…don’t waste your $40!

Sad to say goodbyeSeth, Francis, and Ryan. All served together.

Vegas was everything I thought it would be, but it was also beautiful and surprising. I didn’t know any of their friends, and I think the raw spirit of Vegas broke us out of our comfort zones and our shells. We were quick friends. In the busy, crowded pools we were forced to sit close together for conversation. We bonded on the Strip in the chaotic evenings, trying to decide if we wanted a grand dining experience or pizza in the hotel.

We have these expectations for things, places, people, moments in life, and I love when the actuality destroys those expectations.

Vegas, you were a lovely reminder that things may not be what we imagine, that friendships break barriers, that our preconceived notions may be inaccurate, degrading, or even complete bullshit. Thank you for reminding me that beauty is immeasurably more than what we may expect…

Francis and Lisa, we are so blessed to have shared in your amazing weekend, and even more so by your friendship.

To Vegas, surprises, and mostly to the new Mr. and Mrs. G,

CHEERS!

Being Kind is SO Overrated

Posted on June 5, 2014 by hannahsthirties under Uncategorized

I’m serious.

We’ve given it up. We used to effort ourselves to “kill people with kindness,” and now we’ve reverted to killing people with bitterness, snarkiness, anger, and behind-closed-doors-cursing. We’re a bunch of smart-asses, waiting for the opportunity to roll our eyes and make the other person feel the angry shadow we cast as we loom above them, glowering in our headiness.

We can feel this like a thickness in the air, weighing everyone down, our shoulders drooping forward and our eyes downcast.

I see this often. I see it in the way we handle conflict, in our demeanor towards co-workers, strangers on the street, on our oh-so-beloved social medias where we turn into sharks, safe behind our plastic keyboards.

I’ve been a victim, but I’ve also been the antagonist, though it breaks my heart to admit. I’ve responded to harmless questions with sharp words, sarcastic and dry – sandpaper to a baby’s soft skin.

What happened to our effort for kindness?

Putting ourselves above others seems to come naturally. Quickly defensive and slow to take blame, we are becoming a society where we are never wrong and the other person is always the idiot. Throw them under that roaring, angry, hateful bus.

It’s slowly, but visibly, wearing us down.

It has to change. If we ever want to see better, to do better, to be better, we have to change. Change our mindset, our vocabulary, tone of voice. Change our pedestal…lower it a few levels. There isn’t one of us who has it all together, with all the answers and the perfect plan. You will make mistakes today, and so will others. So what if we decided to take a deep breath and be kind?

I’ve worked in the service industry for nearly ten years and I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to scream at a guest an unpleasant reminder that although I am waiting on them, I am still, in fact, a human. Their rudeness is a baseball to the head, shouldn’t I return the favor? But I smile (no, it may not be a genuine smile) and continue on. I want to keep my job. I want to be professional. I want to KILL THAT PERSON with kindness. More often than not, they notice how big of a jerk they’re being, and take it down a notch (though, not always).

What if we took the extra effort in our every day lives? A deep breath and clenched smile and a genuine effort to not become a jerk could go a long way. There’s one world and we all have to live in it, we may as well try.

I like you all, in my most sincerest way of liking,

Cheers!

JAMIE

Posted on April 26, 2014 by hannahsthirties under Uncategorized

I am currently listening to the Frozen soundtrack for the 9,472nd time this week. That’s right. For the past week my sister has been staying with us along with my 5 week old nephew and my 1 1/2 year-old niece who is infatuated with Frozen, just like every other young human in the world. My eyes pop open in the morning and I’m immediately singing “Do you want to build a snowman?” and twirling around as if I have magical powers to freeze things. Disney, man, you win.

But this week was more than an unending musical. This week I finished my first year back to school after a four year hiatus. I gave myself a pat on the back because I’m proud. I’m proud that I finally took the initiative to go back despite every apprehension. Part of me feels really cool and accomplished. But there are actually tons of people doing things that are so much cooler. Like the people who are graduating this weekend with their undergrad or masters. Or, hi, how about Meb Keflezighi who just won the Boston freaking Marathon at the age of 38.

Or my friend Jamie, an insanely gorgeous and adventurous beauty I met when I lived in Jackson, Wyoming. She’s originally from New York, and her quick wit and raw honesty are evidence of this. She will call you out if you’re being an idiot and stand behind everything she believes with sincere grit. Jamie also goes on travel adventures that can make the Homebody of the Year want to get out and see the world.

Like back in 2012 when she decided to spend some time in Thailand. And then extended her stay and traveled through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. We were all back in Jackson just waiting for her to return and then she would decide to stay longer…and longer….and longer. She met people along the way with whom she traveled, and went on solo adventures as well. She’s truly a badass.

Gaaah, I love to hate her (with love).

There’s also the time, in 2011, when she traveled to South America and did things like this:

Yes, sand boarding down the Huacachina dunes

biking a dangerous 13,123 feet downhill road (with oncoming traffic) in Peru

ziplining….with that setting. GAH.

Hiking Machu Picchu

Doing this

I mean, really. Just stop.

During her South America trip she visited Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, and Argentina. Whoa. During the past couple years she’s gone on some shorter trips to Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala.

Jamie isn’t a born world traveler. It wasn’t until 2007 at the age of 27 that she went on her first solo trip to Costa Rica, just after spending her first summer out west in Jackson Hole. It gives me hope that maybe my traveling days haven’t even started. If I can head anywhere in the direction Jamie has gone, I’ll be a wildly happy girl. As I was going back and forth with Jamie today on the phone, she also mentioned that after this summer she wants to buy a one way ticket to…somewhere. She listed off a couple places, but for the sake of keeping you in the dark, not giving away all her secrets, and for the hope that she may get back to sharing her adventures through her own blog, I’m not going to tell you. (JAMIE’S BLOG HERE)

There are things that change us, and I think travel is one of them. The kind of travel where you get deep into the culture and be a little vulnerable. The kind of travel where not everything is planned out. Where maybe you get lost and come out with a really great story. You can start it with “Ah, that reminds me of that time I got so lost in the middle of the jungle on Easter Island and the natives spit on me because I have red hair.” …..or something like that.

My grandparents didn’t start traveling until they were in their 60’s, and my grandma was skeptical. After their first trip overseas, however, she was hooked. It’s apparently the best drug out there.

I hope with all my heart that I don’t wait until I’m 60. I hope with all my heart that you don’t either.

Do you have any truly awesome travel tales? I’d love to hear/read them.

Also, if you are one of my readers outside of the U.S., I want to say THANK YOU for reading. Let’s get in touch, let’s connect, let’s talk about each other’s cultures and hometowns. Seriously. And then maybe we can visit each other.

Lastly, thank you, Jamie, for being as awesome as you are (and for letting me use your photos). I have a very special place in my heart that is just for you.

To our passports,

Cheers!

Finding Home

Posted on April 2, 2014 by hannahsthirties under Uncategorized

Yesterday, April 1, marked two years since I’ve moved back to Michigan. It was also my mother’s birthday.

Two years ago I walked into the house I grew up in after driving 26 hours across the country to surprise my mom on her birthday. What a fun birthday surprise, right?

What she didn’t realize was that I also had my car packed full of all my junk to move back into her house (for what would turn into a two year visit).

This video is of that moment, caught in all its awkward splendor by my sister, Rachel (she and my Dad were “in the know”). I remember being terrified, shaking, wondering how she would react. I also remember that I was terrified and shaking for more than just that reason. (um, i’ll work on the video…not tech saavy)

I made the decision to move home pretty quickly, and I had no idea if my soul was ready to be plunked so suddenly back into the town I grew up in.

I made the decision to move out to Wyoming late in November, 2009, after many conversations with one of my best friends in the world, Betsy. She was already living out there, and had grown in so many ways – personally, spiritually, etc. I craved the same experience, and finally, I told her, “I’m coming out there.”

She was the only reason it came to fruition. She found the apartment, put down the deposit. She made every single plan, and in a very short time, because just over a month after I made the decision to pack up and go, I was on the road. January 3, 2010, and told myself I would never live in Michigan again.

I can’t imagine that now. I’m going to be very real with you for a minute: I was a part-time waitress at Applebees. I had saved up just over $500. I had no job waiting for me out there.

I think about it now and wonder, how the heck did I dare to do that?!

There is no way it would happen today. I can’t commit to purchasing a brand new computer, for goodness sake.

But it’s because Michigan no longer felt like home to me. I felt suffocated, branded, and judged by it. I felt like it accused me of not fitting in (and feeling like an outsider in your hometown isn’t fun). I also had this free-spirit-wanna-be-hippie-but-totally-not thing going on inside of me that was the most tumultuous roller coaster, and the only way I can describe it is that I was at a loss for an identity. Which makes perfect sense. Because if you don’t feel at home in yourself, how are you supposed to feel at home in your hometown?

But that brought on another issue: If you have no sense of who you are in one place, you are not guaranteed to find it in another.

I thought Wyoming would solve my problems. Small town, mountains in your backyard, how could that not fill your soul every day with answers to life?

Well, it doesn’t. There were times out west when I felt more detached, more lost, confused, anxious, and angry than I ever felt in Michigan. I know without a doubt that the emptiness I felt was as present as my physical self. If I thought leaving Michigan would only make things better, I quickly found out how wrong I was.

Okay, the point I’m trying to make/the blessing. (I know, I know, thank you God there is a good part, because seriously, super depressing here)

Things slowly began to heal inside of me. I thought I was so tough and so (eek, this is hard to write) right, (No seriously, I thought I was always right) when I actually had NO idea what was going on in my life or where I was going. If anyone asked me what I believed, what I thought was important, or even what my goals in life were, I had no answer. They would receive from me some confused babbling (trying to sound philosophical, probably). And seriously, when you don’t know this about yourself and then you realize it, you suddenly know deep in your core where you are really supposed to be; where “home” is for you then. It’s whether or not you take the step to get there.

I packed everything, including anxieties and fears, into my little spaceship-looking car and headed back to Michigan. You can see in the video how unsure I am. I mean, come on, I’m looking the mother who loves me beyond my wildest imagination in her eyes saying “I’m home” and then I just stand there. (No wonder she didn’t get it.)

Michigan may not be my home for the rest of my life, and I hope that you can see by now that that isn’t the point. Home is knowing/finding/being comfortable in the search of what you believe in and physically and emotionally stand for every day. It’s the very core of who you are. It’s surrounding yourself, no matter where, with those who bring out the absolute best in you. It’s being caught in the scariest, saddest, most heart-breaking time of your life and having someone to turn to. Those people that will see you for you and, even after you’ve broken their heart time and time again, and love you beyond your shittiness.

Right now, y’all, I’m home.

Can I give any advice? Okay, I will

If you’re looking, start by looking at whom you are surrounding yourself with. It’s everything.

If you think I sound like a crazy person, well, congratulations, because you have probably never had an overdrawn account, broken bone, lost a loved one, or had any other sad moment in your life. Or maybe go take a shot of whiskey and re-read once your emotions are a tad more revved up.

To kicking off your shoes,

Cheers

On Not Being a Machine

Posted on March 22, 2014 by hannahsthirties under Uncategorized

Vacations are the most necessary thing. They are also a rude tease, because they wipe out your to-do list for that period of time. While this allows a space for needed relaxation, reading, personal reflection, and several rum and cokes, what it does not allow is mental preparation for the evil bombardment of “busy” the moment you step off the plane and back into reality.

Costa Rica was everything I dreamed it would be. It had the flair and culture of a small local town and it had the little luxuries of condo vacationing – complete with air conditioning and internet connection.

We ate endless seafood, visited local dives, went zip-lining through the jungle while angry monkeys cursed squeakily for us to leave their territory. We scoured rocky beaches, visited local festivals, drank cuba libres on the street, and I found a passion for cooking that must have been waiting to be unearthed, because it arrived with vehemence.

A Restaurant/hotel called Villa Coletas. It overlooks the jungle…no big deal

Jaime and Chelsea, two beauties I was lucky to get to know

the aforementioned Cuba Libre (note: you do not need more than 1)

Back at Villa Coletas on our last night for drinks and a sunset

And we got a freaking sunset. This is #unfiltered, people.

….still there!

And finally, a photo I took on our final morning from the living room of our condo.

Our flights were cancelled, re-routed, cancelled again, and delayed, but eventually we slid somewhat safely (yes, our plane slid on ice as it landed) in Chicago and made our way over crazy icy highways home. What an un-warm welcome.

And now it seems like Costa Rica is far in the past, although my skin flaking away my tan is a hint that it wasn’t all that long ago. Since I’ve been back, Ryan and I have been frantically trying to get back on track and caught up with school – assignments, papers, tests, extra-curricular assignments (such over-achievers, right?) – and the anxiety has been UNREAL. It has made me wonder on more than one occasion if vacation is even worth it.

We go to escape our CRAZY BUSY lives for a few short days, only to bask so heavily in our time off that we nearly squeeze the seconds away more quickly, and then we are forcefully returned to our lives of GO, GO, GO.

There are the people who do it without a hiccup, but I’m not one of them. And it makes me wonder if we all tend to over-do things in life. Do we take on too many projects, too many hours of work, too many activities? We should all be able to make time for ourselves with or without a plane ride. Don’t get me wrong, I will fly anywhere any day of my life if I can, but I guess this is a quick reminder to you and to me to always find time to turn off your inner To-Do list and do something for you. Something that will help quiet and calm your busy soul, and remind you that you don’t always have to be doing. Sometimes when we think we need a vacation maybe that should be our hint that what we really need is to turn down our GO! meter, just a notch.

So relax. Take a deep breath. Read, write, paint, garden (inside), cook, listen to music, stretch your muscles, have a cocktail. (and for the love, don’t let Facebook be part of your “you” time)

To taking my own advice,

Cheers!

Hannah's Thirties

Tag Archives: advice

Learning

Bad Dogs and Amazing Grace

Vegas Adventure.

Being Kind is SO Overrated

JAMIE

Finding Home

On Not Being a Machine