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Friday, December 28, 2018

Euro Trip Itineraries

If you know me even a little bit you know I'm an extensive planner so much so it is almost a detriment to me. LOL. But MOST of the time it comes in handy like when I'm planning a trip.  My Europe trip over the Summer was an extensive trip that had a lot of boxes to check and so going in unorganized and without a plan just wasn't an option. I wanted to utilize every minute and literally map it out to ensure we maximized our time in each destination.  Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome are huge cities that you could easily visit time and time again and still have things to see and do.  I have been to Paris twice now and still have things that I haven't got to experience and both times I've had a plan.  I spent, I would guess, upwards of 40 + hours building this custom itinerary, buying city passes, and researching transpiration to ensure my Mom and I were fully prepared.  

How I made the itineraries? Well I first made lists regarding each destination of must eat restaurants, sights, and experiences I wanted to do.  I then bought the necessary tickets like our Crazy Horse dinner and show tickets as well as the opera tickets in Venice and booked our AirBnb experience in Florence.  Once I had all the MUST have items booked I pulled up my map application on my Mac and grouped each day's sights and activities in a general area of one main item on my must do list.  Of course some items just weren't important or didn't work out but I tried to maximize our days in each destination by grouping activities in the similar vicinity and then mapping out detailed transportation when we needed to travel further around the city.  After building the itineraries and then putting them to use I can say now I am SO glad I went in so prepared.  We accomplished so much but also felt relaxed doing it.  We also were able to stumble upon things as we went along with our plan.  

So here is the nitty gritty of my Europe trip over the Summer in detailed itineraries

**Legend** 
Completed according to planned
Didn't Complete
Completed but on different day
______________________________________________________________________________

Paris, France
Arrived by: air at CDG (Charles de Gaulle airport)
Dates: Arrived June 8 left June 11
Must getParis Pass for museum entry and public transport easy access- purchase HERE before your trip
Tips:  
  • Book Eiffel Tower tickets in advance
  • Utilize the subway system- it's the best
  • get to Notre Dame before opening time and be prepared to stand in line if you plan to enter
  • Study and book in advance the correct ticket to skip the line and enter Versailles
  • Ask your hotel for dinner recommendations they always have great suggestions nearby
_________________________________________________________________________________

Venice, Italy

Arrived by: air from CDG (Charles de Gaulle airport) to VCE (Venice)
Dates: Arrived June 11 left June 14
Must get: Purchase shuttle bus ticket from airport to Piazzale Roma in Venice HERE, purchase water taxi pass at one of the water taxi terminals.  I bought us each the 3 day tourist pass and we utilized it A LOT.  If you plan on going to Murano and Burano make sure your ticket fare includes those stops as some do not. 
Tips:
  • pack light as you will more than likely have to walk from bus station to hotel
  • the private water taxis are VERY expensive. We used one to dinner just for the one time experience but other than that utilize the public transit water taxi system
  • make sure your phone battery is charge fully and if possible have a portable charging station as you will use maps a lot and it kills your battery life
  • If you have any restaurant musts be sure and make reservations for entire stay because of the dense tourist population during high season restaurants usually only go off of reservations and they book up FAST

_________________________________________________________________________________

Florence, Italy
Arrived by: train from Venice
Dates: Arrived June 14 left June 17
Must get: If you want to climb the Duomo book WAY in advance if possible it was booked over a week out when we were there. Book THIS AirBnb experience!!!!!
Tips:
  • get a seat early and stay until dark to view the sunset over Florence at Piazza Michelangelo
  • Get a Firenze card, Florence city pass.  HERE this pass was worth it ALONE for getting into the Uffizi
_________________________________________________________________________________


Rome, Italy
Arrived by: train from Florence
Dates: Arrived June 17 left June 20
Must get: Roma Pass HERE , Vatican tour booked BEFORE travel HERE
Tips:
  • I didn't figure out a good transportation plan before hand in Rome and also didn't realize it is super spread out.  Utilize public buses as taxi's are very expensive and can add up quickly
  • DON'T go in the Summer months of May- August 
  • Go into any church/ cathedral you come across. There's more than you can image and all worth a look.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Welp...you should be set if you want to visit any of these cities for at least 3 days or more.  These itineraries are very jam packed and if we were slow movies or gallery gawkers it could have easily made us not be able to accomplish as much.  

Thursday, December 27, 2018

I Took My Mom On Vacation...Here's What I Learned


Some people wouldn't dare to spend two solid weeks with their parent on a trip overseas but I didn't think twice about it.  My Mom is one if my best friends and I never fear us getting along or having conflict.  I mean if we do we get over it but it wasn't about to stop me from making one of her dreams come true of seeing Paris and then extending our trip into a tour of Italy.  I was excited for it to be my turn to teach her after a lifetime of lessons she has taught me!

Even though we spend a lot of time together we haven't slept in same room and shared space in close to 15 years and I really noticed things like wow we are really alike...



  • We pack the same, are both really organized, and have similar routines
  • We don't do well when tired and know when its time to rest...pretty much LOL
  • We aren't quitters.  I know we aren't quitters individually but the entire trip was packed full of activities and walking, and traveling from town to town and she never complained or quit.  Even though I know she really wanted to after walking literally miles and miles daily with jet lag and overwhelming culture she never cracked!!  Was so proud of her


I loved seeing her experience the difference in culture and helping her become more open minded.  Overall she is pretty set in her ways but she did good to try things that I threw at her.  

We LOVE onion soup!

Although we are very very similar we have some noticeable differences IE: her amount of makeup products and her conservative vs my pretty free spirit.  We don't judge each other and are accepting of our differences but we are sure to give each other a hard time about them LOL


I was sure to take her on activities she wouldn't have done herself like the burlesque show at Crazy Horse which is way more art than burlesque.  It took the 2 hour show and a cab ride back to the hotel for her to soak it all in and see that it wasn't a STRIP tease like she had been thinking and that it was a neat experience even though she would have never picked it herself. 

If you want to make amazing memories with your mother and a lifetime of laughs and stories then take her on a trip that is just you and see what you learn that you might not know!  Our trip over the summer is something that I will cherish forever.  I hope this isn't our only time to be able to make this happen.

If you missed our trip check it out HERE!

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

O' Christmas Tree

O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How loyal are your leaves/needles!
You're green not only
in the summertime,
No, also in winter when it snows.
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
How loyal are your leaves/needles!


Growing up we always had a real tree.  We would go usually around my birthday, the 16th, and hunt down the "perfect" tree or so I thought until a few weeks ago. LOL Once we found it my Dad would cut it and we'd haul it back home, stick it in a 5 gallon bucket with rocks and get to decorating.  We've had trees with ants, trees fallen over when we wake up, and debris everywhere but all those things never stuck with me.  All I remember is it being so fun going out as a family finding that "perfect" tree and just loving the holidays that much more.  Now 15+ years later after saying it for a good 5 years..."THIS YEAR WE ARE GETTING A REAL TREE".  We finally got a real tree!  

None of the junk from Lowe's or Home Depot...a REAL tree from the wild! The weekend after Thanksgiving we scouted around for trees on our land but they were all really mangy.  Holes in the branches, full sides missing and entire sections too, too tall, or too little.  I told Hendrik we always had "PERFECT" trees growing up. LOL I don't know what the problem is??? He said to ask my Mom how "perfect" they really were, maybe my childhood memories were betraying me LOL.  Yeah, well my Mom confirmed his thinking...they weren't perfect LOL.

On the way to Mt. Pleasant I saw the perfect tree on a tree line of some property that I just happened to know the owner.  I called them up and told them the whole story of me finding the perfect tree and if I could cut it down.  They told me to go for it!  That next Sunday Hendrik and I grabbed Case for the adventure since my brother and Lara were working.  



After we cut it and loaded it up I had Case take our picture and he did so good for a 3 year old but hey it is 2018. Then he had to have his picture and we were off towards the house. 



Once home we trimmed it up and got it in the stand then in the house.  Hendrik helped me string up my vintage bubble lights I purchased for my "perfect" real tree then he took Case back to my Moms for a nap.  I was left to decorate it and once I had drug out all the Christmas decor I was feeling pretty defeated.  The tree just wasn't what I had in my head.  It struck me as ugly especially after looking so perfect in the field.  I put a few decorations on it but I wanted a special look and most of my decorations didn't fit my plan so I made do and cleaned everything up feeling let down. 

Here is the finished product of the "perfect" tree.  


It took a few days for all of it's perfect imperfections to grow on me and I did feel really down and defeated.  Which now looking back is insane I mean it is a tree but I just had such a grand picture and memories in my head and I wanted my tree now to be all that I remembered PLUS more!!!

Now that I can reflect and fully appreciate this beauty I can see that like this tree life isn't perfect and with my Type A personality maybe I need to learn to love all of the imperfect things in life a bit more.  Maybe I should laugh at those things and wave them off a bit more.  Lesson learned tree, lesson learned.

Not all things in life are perfect and they certainly aren't all that my mind conjures up just like my PERFECT tree!  Merry Christmas

Book Review: The President is Missing


My 12th book that I finished for 2018 was a collaboration with President Bill Clinton and James Patterson.  I bought this book while in Europe for some travel and night reading and it took me a full 5 months to finish it!!!  If that doesn't tell you a bit about the book them let me say...they drug this sucker on, and on, and on, and on and on and...well you get it.  The entire book happened over a time period of like 5 days to a week and literally I felt like everything could have been said in a few pages.  It was very anticlimactic and the only reason I even finished it was that I'm not type A that I had to finish what I started but I don't recommend it.  It's really slow moving and drawn out and I just felt like the story wasn't a great story.  


The President Is Missing confronts a threat so huge that it jeopardizes not just Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, but all of America. Uncertainty and fear grip the nation. There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the Cabinet. Even the President himself becomes a suspect, and then he disappears from public view . . . 

Set over the course of three days, The President Is Missing sheds a stunning light upon the inner workings and vulnerabilities of our nation. Filled with information that only a former Commander-in-Chief could know, this is the most authentic, terrifying novel to come along in many years.

Currently reading and trying to finish by the end of the month Girl Wash Your Face & A Steep Price

2018 in Review

Boy did 2018 fly by...Looking back on the year I see how busy I was, how much I have tried to grow internally, and also how I can do better.  So ready or not 2019 is coming at us FAST so let me do a great review of 2018 so we can start out 2019 on the right foot.  First, let's take a look at my goals for 2018 that I compiled at the end of 2017....

2018 Goals: updates in blue
  • Read 15 books-BEST BOOK REVIEW OF 2018 read fully 12 and have 3 in the works hopefully I'll finish a few before the end of the year in a couple weeks
  • Practice self love- make exercise a must not an option, get back on my healthy eating, drinking plenty of water, and take care of my skin and hair- still working on this
  • Get dressed for work in REAL clothes 3 to 4 times a week and only wear Tri County apparel once a week on Friday's- HAHAHAHAHA yeah maybe next year
  • Cut down on watching TV during the week and utilize those hours blogging, reading, or working in my home office- some weeks this happened and some it didn't 
  • Work on my yard and have the best garden of all my gardens- added and did more/ different things and had a good garden but wasn't the best YET
  • Cook new recipes each month- yes I feel like I did accomplish this goal with the help of me enrolling in a subscription service called eMeals.  LOVE IT
  • Take weekend trips either with Hendrik or my girlfriends or both- NOLA, Charleston, Palm Springs, Miami- travelled so much this year and Hendrik and I did knock out a NOLA long weekend trip
  • Go on a mother daughter tour of Italy- YES done 
  • Visit 2 new countries with Hendrik- visited El Salvador so only hit 1 new one this year
  • Use my time at work and be the best boss babe to maximize efficiency and be less stressed- feel like I have worked on this constantly all year and although I have gotten way better I can still continue to work on this
  • Relax and enjoy all those little moments rather than worry and looking past them- really been working on this and the last 5 months or so have done way better at this

As you can see I accomplished some goals, a few I didn't, and others I maybe didn't complete them fully but I did work on them which is better than nothing.  Lets take a fuller look at 2018


January
- I took a trip to Austin for BMT training with my team HERE
- Hendrik and I went with Paul and Lauren to a Kid Rock concert to celebrate Paul's birthday HERE

February
- Had a staycation in Dallas and tried some new restaurants HERE


March- Hendrik and I traveled to El Salvador HERE


April- went on a girl's trip to Waco HERE


May- Hosted an epic Mother's Day Brunch that I hope will become tradition HERE





June
- Harvested my first ever crop of carrots and potatoes from my garden
- Went on a once in a lifetime trip with my Mom to Europe HERE


July- Went to Oklahoma with Paul and Lauren for some kayaking

August
- girls trip to Oklahoma to see Backstreet Boys (concert was cancelled) but had awesome time
- spent time refreshing different nooks and crannies in my house and catching up on a ton of work


September
- annual Mexico trip for Hendrik's birthday HERE
- got a new Jeep



October
- took Case to the state fair HERE 
- spent the weekend in Denver for a BMT seminar with my team HERE 


November- spend Veteran's day weekend in New Orleans with Hendrik HERE



December
- hunted down our first real Christmas Tree Griswold style (my first since I was a teenager but OUR first together)
- turned 32
- December is and has been always busy with family plans, wrapping up year end work, and trying to survive through end of year

Over the year we have been so busy with so many activities and travel and work and life but also a trying year in that I'm really trying to learn to balance all the things life throws at us.  I'm still not all the way back on my fitness and personal health routine like I want to be but I'm taking one day at a time and that is my focus.  Ready to move forward with growth, positive vibes, and fun plans in 2019!

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