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Dream To-Do List

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to do list

I once heard that the first step to making a “Bucket List” is to personalize what you call it. So here are some of the things on my dream “Dream To-Do List” .

Local

Things to do on a weekend when you’re bored and need something fun!

  • Blow glass
  • Knit a scarf
  • Take a pottery class
  • Learn to say “Hello” in 10 languages
  • Get a blow out
  • Have a spa day/Get a facial 
  • Get a tattoo
  • Relax in a “Sensory Deprivation Tank”
  • Make fresh pasta
  • Fly a kite
  • Learn to throw a boomerang
  • Learn to ski 
  • Drink only Water for a Week

Local “Us” Things

Life is more fun when you have someone to share it with, fun your person and love them hard.

  • Go to the Kentucky Derby
  • Go wine tasting
  • Go Skydiving (indoor acceptable)
  • Have a progressive dinner 
  • Get bottle service at a fancy bar
  • Set a Guinness Book of World Record
  • Get outfits from a thrift shop and go out
  • Take a Hot Air Balloon Ride
  • Destroy Stuff in a Break Room
  • Make/Eat breakfast in bed
  • Cook a 3 course meal from a cookbook
  • Go horseback riding 
  • Make ratatouille 

Someday “Us” Things

Hey, a girl can dream right?

  • Attend the Olympics
  • Sponsor a Child’s Wish through the Make-a-Wish Foundation
  • Finish a half marathon together
  • Scuba Dive (ideally in Australia) 
  • Drive a Snowmobile
  • Fly in a Helicopter
  • Go on a Spontaneous Road Trip
  • Sleep in an Overnight Train
  • Throw a Dart at a Map and Just Go
  • Ride the Orient Express
  • Time Travel to Experience New Year’s Eve Twice

USA

Things that don’t require a $500 flight…

  • Gamble in Vegas
  • Drink at an Ice Bar (Vegas)
  • Helicopter into the Grand Canyon (Arizona)
  • Visit Anthony Chapel in Garvan Woodland Gardens (Arkansas)
  • Wine Taste in the Napa Valley (California)
  • Tour the Biltmore Estates (North Carolina)
  • Eat a Philly CheeseSteak in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)
  • Visit Mount Rushmore (South Dakota)
  • Visit the White House (Washington DC)
  • Attend the Biggest Outdoor Rodeo (Wyoming)
  • Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (New Mexico)

New York

They say there is no where quite like it.

  • Christmas
  • Walk Through Grand Central Station
  • See a Broadway Musical
  • Stand in Times Square
  • See Niagara Falls
  • Statue of Liberty
  • Go to the Westminster Dog Show

Canada

What do ya say, ey?

  • Go Tidal Bore Rafting in Nova Scotia (Canada)
  • Banff, Canada
  • Skiing in Vancouver, Canada

International

Gotta find those deals on deals on deals!

  • Pull an all nighter in Ibiza (Spain)
  • Walk part of the Spanish El Camino de Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
  • Drink a beer at Oktoberfest (Germany)
  • Sleep in an Ice Hotel (Sweden)
  • See the Great Pyramids at Giza (Egypt)
  • Go on an African Safari (Tanzina, Africa)
  • Rent a vintage car in Havana (Cuba)
  • See the Sunrise at Borobudur Temple (Indonesia)
  • Go Gorilla Trekking (Uganda)
  • See the Taj Mahal (India)
  • Get a Henna Tattoo (India)
  • Go Dog Sledding in Tromsø in (Northern Norway)
  • Sit on the Edge of Preikestolen (Norway)
  • See the Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil border)
  • Drink fresh juice from a coconut (Hawaii) 
  • Attend a luau (Hawaii) 
  • Stay in a Glass Igloo (Finland)
  • Tour a windmill (Holland)
  • Eat fondue in Switzerland
  • Sit in the Outdoor Jacuzzi at Iglu-Dorf Hotel (Switzerland)
  • Ski the Swiss Alps (Switzerland)

New Zealand

Time change is killer, but someday!

  • South Island
  • Explore the Waitomo Glowworm Cave
  • Get Warm Near the Champagne Pool
  • Go Black Water Rafting
  • Hike the Franz Josef Glacier

Places I must go before I die…

  • Sydney, Australia
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Maui, Hawaii 
  • Amsterdam
  • St.Lucia
  • Prague
  • The Maldives
  • Dubai, U.A.E

Go. Do. Live.

Travel Guide: Weekend in Austin, TX!

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Planning a weekend away can quickly go from exciting to stressful in the blink of an eye. Here is what we did during our 3 days in Austin!

DAY 1

 

Breakfast

Torchy’s Tacos (South Congress location)

1822 S. Congress Ave

(Other Options: Tacodeli, or Veracruz All Natural on Cesar Chavez)

Wander down South Congress Ave. 

  • Candy samples at Big Top Candy Shop
  • Cowboy boots and a hat at Allen’s Boots
  • Strange and/or scary present Uncommon Objects

 

Things you can’t miss!

 

“Greetings From Austin” Mural: 1720 S. 1st St. 

“Before I Die” Wall: 206 E. Elizabeth St.

Wall is two minutes away from South Congress and its main attractions

Jo’s Coffee and “I love you so much” Mural: 1300 S. Congress Ave

  • Make sure to pick up an Iced Turbo!

Lunch

Austin’s food scene is can’t beat! Hit up any of these places for a meal you’re sure to remember!

    • Hopdoddy (Burger Bar)
    • Perla’s (Seafood)
    • Freedman’s (BBQ)
    • Pappacito’s (Mexican)
    • Whataburger

Have a quiet afternoon…

Zilker Metropolitan Park: 360-acre oasis in the heart of downtown 

-Site of festivals and free music at Zilker Hillside Theater

-Home to Zilker Botanical Garden

-Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum 

-Barton Springs Pool, a spring-fed swimming spot with grassy hills for sunbathing.

Dinner

  • Güero’s Taco Bar- South Congress for homemade Mexican dishes (with made-from-scratch tortillas and mole) and icy hand-shaken margaritas at Its Oak Garden features live music Wed.-Sun. Nights.
  • Trace is close to the SC bat bridge- local ingredients. Do be sure to make reservations ahead of time.
  • The Continental Club: 1315 S. Congress Ave

 

Best areas of town to pop by! 

 

Nightlife: 6th street is split into 3 parts

West 6th: Where young professionals go, duke it out playing some old school arcade games (Kung Fu), sip on a Capri-suns filled with vodka in a funky atmosphere (Greenlight Social). 

Dirty 6th: aka Austin’s Bourbon Street… enough said. 

CAN’T MISS: Cheers Shot Bar: Flaming Dr Pepper shot with Dragon’s breath- make sure to open your camera, you won’t want to miss this! Tastes good too 😉 

East 6th: Chill house party. Garages, food trucks, and more!  

Rainey Street: Brunch is just an excuse to day drink right?

 

DAY 2

 

Breakfast

  • Round Rock Donuts (20 mins from Austin) 
  • Franklin’s BBQ (Downton): 900 E 11th St, Austin, TX 78702

Morning Activities

Capitol Building

Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve- Historic Cottages and Gardens and Nature Preserve: 3505 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703

Lunch

  • Tamale House East: 1707 E 6th St (963.41 mi) Austin, Texas 78702
  • MICKLETHWAIT CRAFT MEATS 1309 Rosewood Ave, Austin, TX

Boozy afternoon!

Austin Beerworks- Warehouse with plenty of drafts to choose from, great board game selection if you plan to pay awhile. 

Infinite Monkey Theorem: Wine o’clock! Stop by for a flight of local wines. 

Dinner

Location: Rainey Street 

  • Emmer & Ry:  Small plates 
  • Clive Bar: Martini 
  • Anthem: Tex-Asian pub (with must try tiki drinks!)
  • Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden:  outdoor tap wall, and BBQ!

The Oasis on Lake Travis- best sunset: 6550 Comanche Trail (30 mins from Austin)

OR

Bat Bridge!

 

And there you have it, an action packed weekend in Austin, happy travels!

Here’s What Kind Of Girlfriend You Are Based On Your Enneagram Type — Thought Catalog

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Type 1: The Reformer You’re practical and efficient, and you strive to make your partner’s life better. You have a knack for seeing solutions to problems clearly, and you want nothing more than to help your significant other become the best version of themselves. You’re the type of girlfriend who may not wax poetic in…

via Here’s What Kind Of Girlfriend You Are Based On Your Enneagram Type — Thought Catalog

Love is a choice.

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Image result for love

Love used to be simple.

 

Love was what you see in the movies when the guy and the girl look deeply into each others eyes as if they only see each other. Love was that feeling you’re supposed to get when you are driving around late at night laughing so hard tears begin to well up in your eyes. Love was being wrapped up in each others arms wishing that time would stop.

 

Love wasn’t supposed to be hard.

 

Love wasn’t supposed to be staying awake until all hours of the morning bickering until you can reach a compromise and then having a sleepless night wracked with worry anyway. Love wasn’t supposed to be biting your tongue when you’re offended but trying your hardest to not to pick a fight. Love wasn’t supposed to be walking on eggshells to keep the peace.

 

Or was it?

 

Where did the idea that love was supposed to be easy come from? Did it come from Hollywood? The ~media~? My own to parents happily married for nearly 20 years?

 

No one prepared me for the fact that sometimes love is hard. That sometimes you have to consciously choose putting the other persons wants, needs, and feelings above your own. Sometimes you are going to want so desperately to make the other person see things from your perspective and will have to accept the hard truth that it’s just not going to happen.

 

No one taught me that love is a choice.

 

It might take a couple weeks or maybe a couple months, but soon you will realize that feelings are only going to get you so far. The feelings of overwhelming love won’t fade completely, but it will more often than not come as the result of a choice. It will be a choice the other person makes that surrounds you in the feeling of love. The choice to stay up a little later, the choice to bring you over dinner, the choice to do your dishes, the choice to watch your show. It’s these choices that will soon become the things that put you on Cloud 9.

 

I have come to realize that the choice is even sweeter than the feeling.

 

Feelings come and go on a whim, choices are conscious decisions being made for you. How can you not feel loved knowing you are being put before someone elses own needs, wants, and desires because they need, want, and desire you more?

 

Choices have more weight than feelings.

 

Feelings are a roller coaster and you have no choice put to buckle up and hold on. No matter how many inspirational quotes you read, podcasts you listen to, or how many posts you put on your social media, it is a hard truth to accept that feelings are not facts.

 

Love is a hard, complicated, weighty, choice. But it feels even better to be chosen.

Balance in an Unbalanced World

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balance

Happy: feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.

I often question my happiness in life.

When people ask me how I like my job I always reply with, “I love it!”, but is that the truth? There are often days I am swamped with emails, get a headache from the stress, and don’t even have time for lunch… do I love my job then?

When people ask me how school is going I always reply with, “Great!”, but is it really great? I dread going to class, I forget to do my homework, and studying for tests seems nearly impossible… is school great then?

When people ask me how I am I always reply with, “Tired, busy, but good!”, but do two negatives really make a positive?

All the things I do and that I am involved with are inherently good things like, education, work, small group, family and friends! No one would argue against that, but on a daily basis they have turned into things I dread.

Becoming obsessed with the idea of happiness is a dangerous game to play, but you also should not live your life in misery. But where is the balance? Where do you draw the line?

Unfortunately my answer often to just throw my hands up, ignore it all, and shut down. Internally that is. I am a very outgoing person, I love talking, meeting new people, and having a lively social life. I don’t stop any of this when I become overwhelmed, I just internalize it all. I become anxious, stressed, and extremely irritable. I have found recently that all these feelings get unloaded on those I care about. My family, friends, and my boyfriend, even when they are doing nothing other than trying to help me.

We live in an unbalanced world, a world that tells us that we deserve to be happy. A world that tells us our happiness is the most important thing and should be held up above all else.

I make no claim that we deserve happiness, but can’t it at least be something we strive for? What is so wrong with that?

While I understand as Christian women we should always be pursuing Jesus, and when we each make the commitment to follow Jesus we are made no promise of happiness. But at what point do we make changes in our life to attempt to achieve more happiness? At what point is it okay to start to try to bring balance to our lives ourselves? While ultimately everything is God’s Plan we still have freewill. How much are we to exercise our free will, and how much are we to trust God?

I suppose the answer is to fully and wholeheartedly do both to the best of our abilities.

I have started to make an effort to try to start taking hold of my stress, acknowledging it, and examining it. I ask myself why am I stressed? Sometimes they are practical things, like I am living in filth so need to clean my apartment or I have no clean clothes so I need to do laundry. If that is the case I make those things my next priority above all else. If my stress is coming from things I cannot change like long term plans, waiting for a response to an email, or something of that nature I put it on a to-do list a put it in a box in the back of my mind. There is no use to wasting your precious time and energy on something you have no control over.

My daily prayer has become… God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to know the difference.

To the boy who had my heart…

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You’ll say this is dramatic.

You’ll say I’m emotional.

You pride yourself on your ability to be logical but it seems as though the tables have turned.

I’m not sure yet if I want you to find this post..maybe if you do I’ll just call it a happy accident.

 

You held my heart in your hands and I trusted you with it. I trusted you not to break it or drop it, or to let it stop beating. In one swift motion you did all three.

 

The three words never left either of our lips but that’s not because I didn’t want them to. We were waiting. We thought if we ever broke up it would make things easier… it’s almost comical how wrong we were.

When you walk into the room my heart gets tight, my breath catches in my throat, and I have to drag my eyes away from you.

You may have hurt me more than I thought any one person ever could, but for some reason that doesn’t make me love you less.

When I look at you I see the last two years of memories flash through your eyes. I picture you driving me in your car with the windows down, your hat on backwards, screaming our song at the top of your lungs.

When I drive by the exit your house it off of I imagine the twists and turns I used to drive to get to your house and the summer days I spent by your pool.

 

Above all I worry about you. I worry what you do in your free time. I wonder if you think about me as much as I think about you. I question why you did it and if you still stand by your decision.

I wonder if you are as lost and confused as I am.

You were my other half. My partner in crime. My best friend. And you broke my heart.

 

I lay awake at night wondering if you know what you’ve done to me. That you’re all I think about, all I worry about, all I cry about.

It’s crazy to me that I’ve given you this much power over me. That even once you’ve removed yourself from my life I still care about you this much even when you clearly told me you didn’t care about me enough to stay.

All you had to do was stay.

All I did was care about you.

What’s so wrong about that?

Apparently more than I thought.

Why a Break Up is SO MUCH Harder Then You Think…

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  1. You’re not just broken up with them, you’re broken up with their family and their pets. And you can’t explain to pets that you’ll never see them again.
  2. Everything reminds you of them. A song that comes on at the gym, a phrase someone absentmindedly says, the smell of a certain food, a TV show or movie, certain outfits, the list goes on and on…
  3. Your phone is suddenly silent. The person you used to be able to text 24/7 is no longer available to you. The first time something awesome, or funny happens you can’t tell them.
  4. You no longer have weekend plans.
  5. Social Media. They’re always there, and the urge to cyberstalk is almost too much to handle. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. They’re everywhere.
  6. You have to put away their things you’ve had on display for who knows how long. That picture frame on your desk, the cards from various holidays, the cheesy stuffed animals, all have to go in a box.
  7. You have to find new jewelry to wear because most of your everyday jewelry was from them.
  8. It’s impossible not to think about them. You wonder how their day is going, what they’re doing right now, if they’re thinking about you… You just can’t help it.
  9. You just have to accept that sometimes there’s nothing you can do but try to move on, and even though that feels nearly impossible, it will eventually happen, and it will be okay.