New Goals!! Poor Man's Travels

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German Coastguard... : ) & Brief tour of Hamburg


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Oh heeeeeey!!!! ; ) So it's been a while... I know I have wild masses of fans who have mourned my absence.... : ) but don't you fret... I am going to try to repent for my personal record of my life (note sarcasm in wild masses of fans... ; ).  If anyone still/ever did read this... get ready, because... I'M BACK!!!   Okay, actually, I struggle with commitment, so no promises... BUT  I'm going to try to write more because....!! I have a new goal.  If you know me well, or if you hardly know me at all... you probably know I have a slight obsession with experiencing and tasting as much of life as I can.  (and when I say taste... I DO mean literally.... ; )

Here's the scoop... I have a passion for travel, but limited resources in regards to $$$ and time... and (yes, it's true) I have a personal mission statement, and part of it includes experiencing as much of life as I can -- whether it be through actual travel, talking with people about their life stories, foods, music, dance, art, work, lifestyle, religion, etc. etc. etc. and do my best to do more with less.

As I was pondering recently how I could travel with limited resources, I have decided to experience it the best I can on my own.  Last year I started this on a smaller scale with Tapas Sundays when I would put on my flamenco apron, listen to flamenco music and invite a friend over to have tapas (in honor of my love for Spain : ).  I have decided to re-start and re-vamp this goal; meaning, my new goal is, to choose a new country each month and learn about/experience it each month.  The ways I do this may vary each month.  I am banking on DC being really cultural and having lots to offer... let's hope it does : ).

Here is where you come in -- as I scan for movies, documentaries, music, recipes, youtube videos, phrases, jokes, culture tid-bits, events, games, traditions, news, cool person of that country to learn about, awful American assumptions/stereotypes about the country, outfits to try on, etc. to try/do -- or just even share with me your own memory or experience for a little inspiration : ).

I already have a full plate, so I am not going to get too obnoxious with this goal, but am going to try to get a little country action in each week.  Upcoming country for OCTOBER.......... (drum roll.......)  GERMANY!!!!

Plans thus far for my "poor man's travels":

• I'm attending a dinner at the German Embassy -- so I'll even get to touch some German soil! : )
• Hitting up some kind of PG Oktoberfest event 
• Finding somewhere where I can do a photoshoot with some traditional german clothes..... any recommendations of where I can get my hands on some?? : )
• Rest of the ideas I'll be deciding from here and FB... so shoot me some ideas!  In the future, if this takes off.... maybe I'll even let people vote on my adventures or the country for the next month -- or even give out some invites to come eat/cook/attend with me if you're up for it....!! : )

Let the games begin! Taking ideas/love experiences/feedback starting............... NOW! : )  As I love traveling with others and sharing adventures with people... I hope you'll join me in the journey and tag along ; ).

..................danke.....!

(OR maybe I should just re-enact this like these folks... even if it doesn't REALLY have anything to do with Germany... still could be fun...!! : ) Ferris Bueller... Danke!

40 line, 3 word update each... just trrrry to interpret : )

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Life is a highway baby... I think I drove 40 hours in two weeks... (later update, later 80 hours in 6 weeks... who loves road trips?! : )


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I am taking off to DC soon... here is 40 line, 3 word update each of my recent adventures I made... have fun trying to interpret!! : )

1. Heidi C-section TODAY!!
2. School lunch grandkids
3. Swam with grandkids
4. Ate yummy salsa
5. Saw Mom NM
6. Played catch grandkids
7. Cleaned prego's house
8. Ate at Chilis
9. Got temp-job call
10. Bob wants me (temp-job guy)
11. Crazy decisions DC
12. Need be there
13. Temp no go (see above)
14. Motivation to go
15. Interview when arrive
16. Microsoft skills tests
17. Other networking plans
18. Pack up go
19. Drive drive drive
20. Love phone GPS
21. Loved MCDs StrawberryLemonadeFreeze
22. Saw "don't pick up hitchhikers near correctional facility" sign
23. Saw suspicous hitchikers : )
24. Called PoPo justincase : )
25. LOVED driving scenery
26. Listened to books
27. LOVED St. Louis & Elk City, OK : )
28. Enjoyed state stereotypes
29. Ohio -- tired, Erin (friend/neighbor)
30. Scared Dad TV : )
31. Harry Potter Erin
32. LOVED home ward
33. Sister/Fam visit M-day
34. 4 yr. old Niece say, "I can't keep up with you and David" ha! : ) (or something like that, also asked why I wasn't married : )
35. Watched "Waiting for Superman" again (and y'all should too!)
36. Cheap Massage, Erin
37. PF Changs, Erin
38. FHE with Dad
39. Email catch-up
40. Musana Conf. call

Bonus: This, now SLEEP!!!! : )

Koh Samed... aka... Paradise...

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Need a break?? Go visit Thailand! http://www.tourismthailand.org/


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The following are videos from our adventure to the Koh Samed... aka... the beach!! : )

1. Ride to the hotel after we arrived to the Island on a ferry...!



2. My new friend teaching me how to do these fire/twirly ball things : )



3. One of our favorite "Thai" teachers giving us a lesson on to identify a "handsome" Thai boy ; )



4. Natalie and I saw flames from the other end of the beach... this is what we found : ) (and yes, his abs are as defined as they look...: )



5. So our family had a mo-ped growing up, but I've always wanted to drive somewhere crazy, and with Becky being the next most experienced with having ridden a dirt bike once, the other gals never... they were great to humor me and we all had a blast!!



6. More fun on the scooters, Natalie's turn to drive...! After a near death experience, things went pretty smoothly : )



7. Exploring the beach...



8. Last night at the beach, good-bye fire dancing boys!


More to come...! : )

Much love, K*

YOUR TURN/READER THOUGHTS: Do you have a favorite beach or beach memory?

Special price for you…? To match your eyes! : ) (+pics!)

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First Video - Mini-pre-show outside to Siam Theater Show
Second Video - Sample of the Floating Market boat ride

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MONDAY – WEDNESDAY*

Itinerary Summary:

MONDAY

Main event: Grand Palace (Home of the Emerald Buddha, former residence of Thai Kings, lot's of beautiful buildings and funny pants – since it is holy ground, you are asked to wear a skirt, or put on a sarong which they will provide, and men are asked to put on scrub-like pants or crazy patterned pajama pant looking things : )

TUESDAY

1^st stop: Ayutthaya (sp?) (Major ancient city in the central plains, trading, government buildings, religious places, etc. but was "sacked" in war in the 1700s – Today…? Cool ruins & elephant rides: )

2^nd stop: Jim Thompson Home (American architect (1940sish) who made Thai silk famous – After mysteriously disappearing at age 61, his house (made up of 6 teak houses he had moved there) is now shared with tourists, a great place to have lunch and has beautiful gardens!

3^rd stop: Thai Cooking with Khun-Uk (sp?) Our roomie's family arranged for their helper to teach us how to cook two Thai dishes – and an unforgettable lesson, "Don't eat too much, make fat!" (Not sure what she was trying to tell us, but… it was pretty funny : )

4^th stop: Siam Niramit (Theater Highest Theater in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World records (and the huge sign outside: ) Has a truly spectacular show with traditional dancing on a stage that has a mini river running through it (they had water literally down-pouring from the roof in a mock rainstorm, elephants walking through the rows, costumes and flying performers and all kinds of other elaborate details and backgrounds – truly probably one of the most impressive shows I've ever been to! – Also, a cute "old village" outside with food samples, little boat rides, and a fun look at the past.

WEDNESDAY

1^st stop: Floating Markets (And they were just that! People floated around in boats and tried to get you to buy their wares and you had to bargain to get the best deal and everyone wanted to give you (and of course only you… a "Special price" – LOVED IT!) I think this has been a favorite for me so far – and not gonna lie, I got some great deals : ) I'll definitely have to write more later, but this was a blast and so fun to chat with the people more – I really loved the interaction : ) Another favorite quote and lesson learned… my roomies were buying dresses and they wanted a longer skirt, the market lady said, "No, no long skirt old, not sexy" (or close) – so great, we'll all work on that ; )– thanks lady!

2^nd stop: Home/Nichada Community Area (Roomie's home area) Went to a local market and had some fabulous adventures with boys asking to get pictures with us, live fish ready to be eaten, half chickens cut open, and plenty more! I also got a fabulous Asian-American shirt… see above (must read) – do you love it or what?! : )

 

Anywho, more to come later!! Today we are off to the beach!!

Much love, K*

YOUR TURN/READ THOUGHTS: Have you ever had to bargain? What's the best deal you've gotten?

 

*More detailed updates to come, but with limited internet time, this is the best I can offer! : )

26.2 Miles...

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I think this video is supposed to be inspiring... it kind of made me want to cry... and in a sick and twisted way maybe secretly excited...??

Other goodies...
www.mapmyrun.com - Great resource for mapping routes/distances in your area!
http://www.halhigdon.com - Your personal coach to making long distance running almost seem feasible : )
http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com - Where all of the fun begins : )



**Full Scoop**

So my sister has decided to pick up a bad habit... and she's trying to get me started... it's called "marathoning" (I may have just made that word up... : ).

First, let me just tell you a few things. I love being active and did various sports in high school including track, those were good times on days we weren't running stadiums... on particularly hot days, on a rare but blessed occasion, our coach would give us a couple bucks and let us run to the ice cream stand for practice -- Now, I definitely like to push myself, but let's just say... I really enjoyed the ice cream runs on occasion...: )

So once upon a time I was like, yeah, I'm going to run a marathon someday! Then it hit me, why on earth would I ever do that to myself?? But since I do like to run and set crazy goals, I decided I would settle for just running two half marathons and call it good... someday... (until this last semester 3 miles was the farthest I'd ever gone... and that was like once...)

(see second helpings (SH) below for more background...)

Mental this is a summary of what happened when my sister asked me to run the St. George marathon with her:

1. Mental internal laugh
2. Laugh out loud
3. Secretly consider it remember initial desire years ago
4. Remember my brilliant idea to just run 2 halves (= one!:)...
5. Sister... "so?!"
6. Consider the actual chances of getting in since it's a lottery...
7. Remember it's 26.2 miles...
8. Do want to help my sister out
9. Still think it's crazy
10. Decide, heck, if we get in, I can always walk! : )

The results?! "Congratulations!" (see SH)

The best part? That same weekend there was a 5k and you could either run it or just run a mile... still scared of long distances, I opted out and just ran the mile : )

FAST FORWARD:
...My pride says I have to do it and I start training, run, meet http://www.halhigdon.com, buy better running clothes, run longer, find comfortable routes (http://www.mapmyrun.com), start listening to audio books, run more, find crazy people to run with me, keep putting one leg in front of the other, start out running boys... : ) run farther, almost start to look forward to runs...

PLAY:
As of last week, I woke up and was supposed to do a midweek run of 6 miles... but the night before I realized, I need to do this for myself and stop telling people my sister roped me into it -- I am the only one who is going to get my tail to the end! (Though I am still just doing it to finish, maybe someday I'll do another for time... *gasp* did I just say that?!:)

So, I knew I could do 12... so I did!! The craziest part? I knew I could have gone farther if I had to... even crazier? I almost enjoyed it : )

...we'll see if it lasts... I'll keep you posted! ; )



**Second helpings**

Well... where my sister's habit began and how she is trying to get me hooked...

She qualified for the Boston on her first marathon and after getting about 3:32 (excellent time PS for any runner, especially for only her second!!) she decided she wanted to do another one to get a better time. Long story short, there is a lottery to get in the St. George marathon, so when she asked if I would put my name down on the ticket so she would have another chance of getting in, which led to the summarized list of events listed above : )

DECISION TIME:
(Sister phone call) So... I say sure, put me down (as I'm praying inside I get the nice sister points but we conveniently won't get in by chance...) of course, after we had already signed up and a day before we find out if we are in, my sister calls and says, "I think I would be okay if we don't get in" after remembering how your life basically starts to revolve around planning your runs... GREAT! She is just a few days too late!

"Congratulations!"
You know those moments they people will never forget when and where they were? This was one of those. During an evening class the day of the lottery I saw my sister tried to call... fear struck... the queasiness began... I could already feel myself aching after a long run... ah!! I knew it was all over. So I of course had to check my email and lo and behold, there it was, "Congratulations! You will be running the St. George Marathon!" (or close enough:)

Game Plan...
Since I'm just doing it to finish and not for time, I'm doing it run 10 minutes, reward yourself and walk a minute... and I LOVE it -- it gives me the energy to run faster and the mental strength I need because I can just tell myself, "10 more minutes" (7 times:) instead of... oh, just 70 more minutes! All I can say it, Hal Higdon, my personal website coach:) says that's what lot's of runners do, and I'm totally sold! :) Moral of the story... if I can do it... so can you! (well... I haven't done it yet... but... I WILL! : )

Much love, K*

YOUR TURN/READER THOUGHTS: Have you ever set some kind of "physically competitive" goal for yourself, or wanted to? (feel free to add advice : )