Or HOW I KEEP FROM GOING CRAZY DURING LOCK DOWN
It’s 2021 and everyone is looking for self-care routines or really anything that will keep us sane. Sometime I to feel like I’m going stir crazy during the continuing lockdown, but daily writing has really helped me. Even if you don’t count yourself as a writer one easy and affordable habit that anyone can try is journaling. When you journal you write only for yourself, no one else is intended to read your thoughts and this allows you the freedom to express what is truly on your mind
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I have always been a writer. Even as a child I used to journal daily events, write stories, note good (and bad) events that happened. Now I do all that plus track my health, fitness routine, and track my money via journals. I also used to create travel journals to document my travel adventures, which now seem to be almost a dream. *Sigh*
It seems like we are never going to be able to take those big trips, but now is the perfect time to plan a dream vacation. Journal what your ultimate dream trip would be and spend some time each day researching it. You might be surprised to see how affordable traveling can be. (Especially if you plan ahead and book for 2022!) Journal the route you want to take, the places you want to visit, food you want to sample and anything else you want to include on this trip
You can also use a journal to make art, draw your day or doodle.
If journaling about future trips doesn’t seem helpful, try writing down a daily goal or journal your problems. You may see a pattern, or that you are actually making more progress than you realize. You may also learn that you are battling a larger problem, causing daily stress. (Such as a bad roommate situation, money issues or relationship problems that are making everything else more stressful than it should be.) This could be the root of your stress or overwhelm. Having more information will help you come up with a better plan or strategy for addressing the problem. 
I recently bought these extra journals to give as gifts.
I love the fact there is a journal for every taste on Amazon. Most as sold by small, independent publishers like these.
No matter what you journal, just taking the time to put your thoughts on paper can help you clear your mind and release some stress.
Why not try journaling today? Speak soon~
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 Hello and Welcome to 2021~ I hope you are having a rocking time. Okay, before we get too deep into this staycation post let me be honest on two points:
 Work = more money for travel, after all Plus we have to wait until the pandemic is over to do much of anything, because it is still raging in the US. So we tried to make the most of life by cooking, (and eating) new dishes, saving for that BIG trip, and getting clear on where we want to live next.  Greece?  Back to Rome?  Australia? So many possibilities! I'm also working on a December food diary post - And before you ask, yes I will include the recipes. I made everything from Vegan Ch'kin and Dumplings to Apple Pie last month.  Vegan Ch'kin Dumplings in progress..... I also managed to meet my 2020 reading challenge over at Goodreads.  Setting a challenge really helped me monitor how much I was reading... OR NOT reading as the case was... Which will end up being its own post too. If you are on GoodReads as well please friend me and lets compare notes on books, k?  So overall my December Staycation ended up being a busy time! I can't wait to see how this year goes.
Catch you later~  October was another strange month of limited travel (thank you Covid-19) and random, half hearted events. I think most people are really feeling the strain of the pandemic. Now just about everyone I speak with has either lost someone or knows of person who was very ill. Halloween was all but canceled this year. Trick or treating was frowned on and parties were illegal, well depending on where you lived. This was the first year we didn't hand out candy, dress up or do anything.  A little bit of Halloween fun spotted around town.  Book Reviews: I've actually been reading every night and have about 30 books I need to write up. In October I did manage to review a trilogy of quick, reads by Erin Kellison. (Read about it here)  I had plans to write up all my September adventures, but just didn't have the time. So I put all the pictures in a quick video. It's less than 4:00 minutes, but it covers the kooky and upbeat vibe of Roswell. Watch it here: I spent most of the month working to make up for taking September off. I did find time to bake and write a bit. And to makes things more bizarre right before Halloween we had a freak blizzard!  Right before the storm blew in....  It was like this for 3 days.  Which called for Vegan Pumpkin bread!  A cold weather veggie suppers. See you with more book reviews and updates soon!
 (Texas, USA) Hi Travel family! I hope you are well and safe as we end September. I have just returned, (still have to unpack) but wanted to write this while its still fresh in my mind. For my family travel has been almost nonexistent this year, for oblivious reasons, of course, but my work obligations + the need to clean up my mothers estate have pushed me to venture out in to the world again. I was both excited (A TRIP! YESSS!) and also rather hesitant to commit to a 29 day adventure.  (New Mexico, USA) So September was a huge change from the pervious months of staying at home and working via Zoom. These last few weeks I have either been in work meetings, dealing with family issues, driving, or working with clients. But we were able to go for a picnic, a couple of hikes and visit a few of our favorite places while traveling in Texas and New Mexico. Life is defo different with almost empty hotels, less traffic and social distancing in cafes. But even so, I feel very blessed that we were able to do these things and still stay safe. Besides the pandemic there was also an unexpected hurricane, complete with Texas floods, as well as smoke from the Cali fires to content with. Read a bit about the Hurricane here.  But in-between all this we did sneak away for some fun. Let me just quickly share some trip highlights and I will blog about the adventures in greater detail after I tackle the laundry, lol.  We were in Roswell about 4 days... and it's always good fun.   Empty hotels..I must say this is a BIG change.  It was also difficult to find places serving, except fast food. We did a small bit of shopping too.  We were looking for Halloween decoration but instead we seem to be skipping right into Christmas.  Picnic on the creek in Boerne, Texas  Complete with ducks, swans and geese!  An afternoon spent in Palmetto State Park.   And from the lushness of the coastal plains of Texas to the High desert of New Mexico.  And everything in between, lol!  I have sooo many picts to sort through! But in the meantime I hope you have a great evening and enjoy the end of September.
I will be back soon with more of our adventures :D  Greetings from Texas!  Windblown, but okay...  Driving into Texas before the storm... Go to Texas they said.. It will be fun, they said.. Then there was a Hurricane!  So this week we planned a few days on the Texas Gulf Coast....I've been craving the waves and since we are still banned from leaving the US (Damn Covid!) It looked like Texas was the best bet. Between work, family obligations, social distancing and preparing for the upcoming holidays, this looked to be the best time to sneak away for a few sunny days....but then Beta appeared. It came up quickly and everything changed! Current Advisory on Tuesday Morning:  Current conditions where we are aren't too bad, we are outside of the flash flood zone.  From https://abc13.com/weather/beta-makes-landfall-flash-flood-warnings-until-530-am/6134994/ Last night I decided to find a new hotel, (further away from the Gulf and out of the predicted flood area) and we will wait out the storm today. Rain in Texas can be very unpredictable and I have been caught in flash floods before, so we will just play it safe and stay in.  We decided to stay about 75 miles away from the coast. So far there has been wind and rain, but all-in-all it's not too bad. We will just sit inside and wait to see what the next few days bring.
Speak soon~  I’ve started dreaming about travel. If you follow me on twitter then you know what I mean. I’m continuously posting iconic, as well as off the beaten path locations. I’m dreaming about sunny, tropical beaches, old growth forests and everything in between.  Every morning, I wake from a dream that I’ve been hiking in Italy or running through old castles in eastern Europe or swimming in crystal clear waters in some Pacific paradise. It’s getting really weird.  I miss being able to jump on a plane, train or boat and sail off. And I bet you miss it too. How are you holding up? We haven't really left the house in weeks. But I have appointments and a few things I can't put off anymore. I’m currently on a road trip now…doing a bit of exploring and well, mostly work. We are being overly careful and staying away from crowds. We have seen very few people out and about and most things are still closed in or at least limited in New Mexico.  It's overcast and the smoke from Colorado and Cali fires are blowing this way..  Everything is hazy and smokey and feels surreal. We are headed in the opposite direction and hopefully they will be put out soon, Are you dreaming about traveling too?
Or just hoping life would return to normal?  I normally travel for my birthday. Barcelona, France, the Yucatan, the Med, Switzerland, you get the idea. This year I stayed home and celebrated with my family and friends. We ate, laughed and had a nice week of fun. I couldn't ask for more, especially after the year we've had.  So it was a great week of fun and relaxing, but staying home was also a necessity since we are barred from traveling. :( BUT it didn’t stop me from planning 2021’s birthday adventure. The problems was where to even begin?  I love Rome, (well most of Italy for that matter), the people, the food, the sites! It's always amazing, but I wanted to knock something else off the old travel bucket list…So in doing some digging I found August is a GREAT time to go to Greece!  Honestly, as an American I know almost nothing about Greek island culture. So after doing some research I think it will be ideal for my next birthday escape. Did you know, according to Visit Greece: "Greek sovereign land includes 6,000 islands and islets scattered in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, of which only 227 islands are inhabited?!" OMG! So many islands to see!  I know we want to explore temples and spend lazy afternoons in museums…but what else is a “must see” and where should we begin?  Reading online and then bugging my European friends I learned that in most cities, bigger villages and tourist spots, English is spoken, lodging is inexpensive and it would be safe for me to travel alone or with family members. (Well, after the pandemic is over anyway.)
Greece depends on tourism and we should all do our part, lol! Most people were surprised I never visited and actually I am too. It has been on the list for a long time, but there are soooo many placed I wish to visit, somehow I skipped over it. I will keep you in the loop with the Greece trip. I'm watching airfare currently and looking at villas to rent, sourcing the best vegan food options and trying to decide on a central island to make as "home base" for exploring. I think I forgot how much I loved travel planning... (shakes fist at damn pandemic!) What's on your travel bucket list? And when do you think it will be "safe" to travel again? Speak soon~  "□□□□ □□□□□□□□ □̀ □□□□□" □□□□□ □□□□□ It all starts in Paris...Meet me there?
 Let's welcome in a new, fresh month. Hello! Can you believe it's August already? On the one hand this has been the longest year EVER! And on the other, summer just slipped by us. IDK... So much has happened this week, and I've only just now had a bit of a breather to catch up and blog. If you are not part of my community here, then welcome! I'm glad you are here! Leave me a comment and let's get to know each other - On this site I blog about life, review books and products, post a few easy, vegan recipes and share my passion for art and traveling. This is actually a travel blog, but with all that has happened this year my travel has been VERY limited. But we can still plan for future adventures and dream boldly! What's on your current travel bucket list? I'm ready to see some new places and revisit some old favorites...  Like London and  Cliffs of Moher, Ireland  Vienna, Austria  Seljalandsfoss, Iceland And while we are dreaming and planning these new adventures we can make art every day. I invite you this month to try different types of art projects. Think outside the box and expand your techniques, open yourself up to creating.   Try something new like paper crafts or calligraphy. This is a month to step outside the box and open our hearts to love and new experiences. This is a month to dream boldly.  Have a wonderful August! |
Author Welcome to my (I'm excited to travel again) blog, my healthy Vegan lifestyle blog and my life! It's a lot, but it's my passions and I just love to write about it. Here I share tips, stories and photos from my adventures and life. This is the place where people can find daily inspiration to travel and motivation to live healthier lives and laugh a bit too! 
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