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Ever Meet Yourself Coming and Going?

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I think we all do at some point because life feels like one big crazy hamster wheel sometimes...who is with me? Image credit After 9 weeks of being unemployed after my job layoff I finally started my new job (hooray!) and immediately went to an industry business conference to meet up with my new team.  We had a great time connecting and learning about each other, but the time together was short-lived and it was back to my home office to begin work. Besides adjusting to a new job and daily schedule we have also been pretty busy each weekend; it seems that Monday comes and I wonder what happened to the weekend as it seemed to just fly by. Yesterday, I realized I was in 4 different states during the month of July, yep...4! It all started with our trip to Fort Chiswell, VA; it was an awesome day trip you can read about here :) My work trip took me to Las Vegas, NV by way of Dallas, TX. We rounded out the month visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Chattanooga, TN. So
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Impromptu Virginia Road Trip...and I was Kissed by a Llama

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Stress...we all have it, but sometimes even after the stress has been relieved you still need some sort of action to reset...does anyone ever feel like this?  For us, our major stress last week was our a/c going out; we had just had an inside part replaced a month ago and now there were leaks in the outside unit as well.  We ended up having no a/c for 3 days, all of which were in the mid-90's, to say we were a bit stressed is an understatement.  My mom was gracious enough to let us stay with her for a couple of nights, but our cats had to stay in the hot house so we were very concerned about them and needed to check on them often to ensure they did not overheat.  We were so thankful to have a fixed a/c and a cooler home by Thursday evening :) After dealing with that, our daughter was leaving for camp for the week early Sunday morning; after dropping her off I told my husband I just did not want to go home and he agreed.  We came home to quickly pack a couple of items, snacks,
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My Magic Bag of Tricks

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Konnichiwa! Welcome back!  This post was inspired by how many times I have used this little magic bag of tricks over the past week...no less than 5 I tell you!  I thought that everyone (well, every woman who carries a purse) had one of these little bags, but I am beginning to realize that I was a bit mistaken.   So, what is my magic bag of tricks???  It is just a mini zippered pouch that I fill with all kinds of useful things to help when a need arises; this is not necessarily an emergency kit, but I do have a couple of first aid type items in there. The mini zipper pouch is from Thirty-One Gifts; I have probably had it for almost 10 years, but it still works perfectly. Pretty unassuming little bag, right?  Just check out the list of what is packed in there! Compact mirror Tissues Cotton swabs Hand sanitizer Small container of hand lotion Ibuprofen Other misc medication (just in case; including Somnapure to ensure I sleep well every night) Ear plugs
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2017 Travel Stats from TripIt

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Have you ever used TripIt ?  I received a free subscription while working for my last company and it has been pretty cool to have all of my travel plans combined into just one place.  At the end of 2017 they sent my travel stats for the year and I thought it was pretty nifty!          While I am not a world traveler (YET!) I was able to travel quite a bit domestically last year and all travel experiences can help you become a better traveler :)  Here is where I went: (These first couple were not included in my stats as they happened before my account was activated) February, Raleigh and Concord, NC April - Denver, CO April - San Antonio, TX June - Jacksonville, FL July - Las Vegas, NV August - Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK September - Greenville, SC December - Chicago, IL Where did you go last year?  Where have you gone this year?  Where do you hope to go next year?  Just remember that wherever you go, whether local or far away, is an opportunity to see and expe
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My Travel Kitchen Essentials for Keeping Healthy on the Road

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Hola and welcome back! I don't know about you, but eating out while traveling gets old super fast especially when I'm on a work trip.  When I travel for work I am typically teaching or collaborating with my team so having healthy food keeps my brain more focused and helps me sleep much better...and we should all get better sleep, right?! Our family eats a mostly plant based diet at home, meaning we do not buy any meat or dairy and are really trying to also cut out wheat and sugar as well.  Occasionally we have these items if we eat out, but it is not super often and is definitely not a part of our regular diet.  All that to say, eating while traveling can be quite difficult when you want to stay with this type of diet; however, I have a group of items I take with me to ensure I can eat the way I want no matter where I am.  All I need is a grocery store and I am good to go! My Travel Essential Collection 1. MiAroma Rice Cooker 2. Collapsible Water Kettle 3. Collap
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Atlanta, Atlanta...How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways...

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Any guesses where our latest adventure was to???  You guessed it...The ATL! Now, Atlanta and I are no strangers to each other; I lived there for 5.5 years before moving back to NC and eventually meeting my husband and starting a whole new life.  So, going back for a visit was quite enjoyable! Why did we choose to visit Atlanta?  It's a wonderful reason actually...my husband and daughter decided to get baptized and wanted to experience this at my church in Atlanta (which we all love watching online each Sunday).  They had such an awesome time and greatly enjoyed the experience! Since we had such limited time, I tried to squeeze in as many of my favorite things as possible and I feel like we hit most of the high spots.  Any other things will be left for another trip for another time. So, what did we do???  Well, one of the biggest things we wanted to do was eat at some of my favorite places that simply do not exist here in NC where we live.  And we definitely ate well wh
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Ultimate Packing List

Hello friends!!! In one of my last blogs I mentioned a couple of really key items I neglected to take with me on our trip to Wilmington , and how I really wanted to make a packing list template I could print out to help remind me of anything I could possibly ever need.  Remember that??? :) Well, I have been working on it for a few days now and have come up with an extensive list of items; I am adding an item here or there as I think of it, but I believe the list is pretty complete. My travel style and travel needs vary greatly from one trip to another, so I have attempted to think of anything I have ever needed to take on a trip to ensure I would remember that item if needed. When I am traveling for work I always take kitchen items with me including a mini rice cooker, mini blender and travel water kettle.  This helps me save on eating out, but more importantly, helps me to eat a bit more normally so my stomach remains happy.  I am often teaching during work trips so maintainin
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