getting closer

I'm definitely ready for my spring break traveling! After tomorrow, I just have 2 more weeks. It can't get here any faster. The sad part is that it will be over before I know it.

I'm somewhat in denial that I probably won't take a summer vacation this year. I mean it's really tough considering I spent more than 2 weeks in Alaska the last 2 summers. I love that place and would do anything in my power and budget to get back there this summer but I just don't think it is going to happen. Sad! Maybe I'll figure out something equally fun. Alaska is hard to top unless it's Europe and that's certainly not happening this summer.

I guess I'll keep my eyes focused on Colorado right now because like I've said before I absolutely love the beauty of that place. I'll get to see large amounts of snow without me having to make up any days of school and that makes me happy. Even though there will be no moose sightings, I get to see the mountains and good friends. What more could I ask for?

Happy New Year!

2011 was a wonderful year! I got to experience a lot of new places and go back to some old places. I checked off some things from my bucket list and added a few more places to my bucket list....ok well a lot more places. I thought I would do a short recap of the fun places I went and my favorite people that I got to experience these places with.

1. Vegas : I wanted to do something fun for my 30th birthday. I thought about going to Vegas the weekend I turned 30 but I thought it would be more fun to go nor NYE so me and 2 of my besties (and one of their husbands) made our way to Vegas. It wasn't my first Vegas experience but it was my first with friends. One of my dear friends lives in Vegas now so she got to join in the fun. We had a blast ringing in the new year in Vegas.

2. Italy : The planning started back in November 2010. One of my dear friends who also happens to live in Vegas wanted to do something fun for her 30th so Italy it was. We did a lot and made the most of our time.  We had a private tour guide to show us Vatican City, experienced true Italian cuisine, went to Wine School in Siena, saw some beautiful things in Florence, relaxed and hiked in Cinque Terre, saw the incredible Swiss Alps on the way to Zurich, and experienced the high prices in Switzerland.  The trip was definitely a trip of a lifetime!

3. Alaska : What an adventure! As you remember I got to share the experience with my mom. Those are some of the best memories I have with my mom.  I will remember that trip forever.  We saw parts of Alaska that a lot of people never experience.  It was beautiful!  The weather was wonderful compared to what we were hearing about back home.  We saw some neat wildlife including moose, bears, caribou, and a few reindeer :)  I could never list all that we did because they pretty much cram packed in everything into the 10 days we were on the tour.  I will say though that going to Denali was one of my absolute favorite parts of the trip.  It was gorgeous!  I would love to go back and it's definitely on my bucket list!

4. NYC : How could I leave out Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade adventure. One of my besties that was mentioned earlier endured the early morning cold weather to score a front row seat to see the parade. Another experience I will never forget for sure.  We also were among all the black friday shopping in NYC.  I would most certainly go back for this annual event even though we were up early for the parade. 

It was a wonderful year! I'm hoping 2012 is just as good and even better. Here are some goals for my year(I don't make resolutions)

1. Go somewhere that I have never been before.
2. Go somewhere that I have been before.
3. Leave the country for a vacation.
4. Take a trip with a friend or friends.
5.  Take full advantage of airmiles and travel rewards. 
6. Make the most of every opportunity I get to travel.

Hopefully I'll check off a few places from my bucket list.  I guess I need to post said bucket list so you can all hold me accountable. 

Thanks to all of you that encourage me to travel and go with me on all of my adventures.  Thank you for following along with me.....I feel loved! :)  I just want to make the most of life and experience as much as I can. 

Stay tuned for more fun this next year!  I'll see ya when I see ya! Hopefully sonner rather than later :)

day 22: traveling with friends

I'm so thankful to have friends that want to and like (at least I think)travel with me. I've been fortunate enough to take a few trips with some very good friends, those that I would consider my best friends. I love the way that we can always pick a fun place and plan some things that we want to make sure to do but then other things we just decide to do when we get there. I love that they bring out the foodie in me and don't judge me for the food I consume while I'm on vacation. There are no calories on vacation right? It's always something I look forward to! Traveling with my mom is coming at a later date :)

day 15: my brother

I know I already posted about being thankful for the rest of my family but I thought I'd dedicate this entire post to my thankfulness for my brother. We've grown up together getting along, fighting, making secret plans to catch Santa, business plans, plans to visit cool places and even spent a year together in college. Growing up people(teachers) were always surprised that we were related. We were very different. He's always been the outgoing one. Of course he gets his good looks from and and his smartness too :) One of my favorite memories of my brother is when we traveled through parts of Europe together with a friend of mine. We had a lot of fun and I will always remember that trip. I'll also always remember our Tiger Tunes experience at OBU. It was neat spending a year at college together. I always ask him for financial advise because he's part of the business world and knows way more about the business type stuff than I do. Anyways, I'm thankful that we can still be friends even though we are both adults and lead our own lives and don't see each other as much as we used to. He's an important part of my life and I hope he has a pretty great birthday!!!