Kick Ass Life!

I have such a kick ass life! Seriously! I feel like I have been complaining A LOT lately and that I am constantly feeling down and throwing myself a bit of a pity party. I have had a rough month, with a lot on my plate. I feel like I have every bit of room to complain…but I don’t! I really have such a cool life and I need to be more grateful for the awesome things I get to do and amazing people that are in my life.

I am sitting in first class on a flight home from Ukraine right now. I am watching the Lion King, gearing up for my fourth trip to Africa (third in the last 6 months), following a long-anticipated vacation to New Orleans for the wedding of one of my closest friends and her lovely fiancé. Seriously I have NO room for complaining about anything in my life!

So, while I actually have time to really sit down and write, I am going to give the life update from 2012, as a reminder to myself about how amazing my life is! 

I will post it all at once, soon...with photos. I almost finished writing what I wanted to, but will complete and post after I am back from the May travel madness!

January Summer Lovin'

I started writing this post back in January....thought though that I would finish writing it and add some pictures and still post! So here goes...
Seriously...what is wrong with me?! I have a BAD case of the WINTER BLUES...or something like that! :( I have been so down in the dumps for no good reason lately. I really needed something to snap me out of my winter blues and MAUI was just the thing!
I left bright and early on the morning of Thursday, Jan 13. I thought my flight to LAX was going to be the hard one to get on...guess I should have thought twice about that. I invited a friend of mine about 5 days before leaving and so the plan was to meet in LA. Her flight came from San Francisco, through LA and to Maui. Perfect! I could easily get on the flight to Maui from LA...or so I thought. Little did I know that they could weight-restrict the flight, even though there were 60 open seats! So I waved Aurora off and told her to have fun with my cousin until I got there to join them. After she departed, I crossed my fingers as I checked flights to see what I could do about getting there sometime that day. After 12 hours of sitting in the LA airport and holding my breath, hoping to be the last person to secure a seat on a later flight to Maui, I was on my way...in first class. I made it there late that night and as I was waiting for my cousin, EmmaLee, to pick me up at the airport, I sat outside, wind brushing across my face and allowed for my winter blues to begin melting away.
We spent the next 4.5 days in pure bliss! Maui was just what I needed. We went to different beaches to soak up the sun and play in the water, went whale-watching, met up with a doctor-friend of mine and his wife at the blow hole, drove to Hana (which by the way, was the most beautiful drive ever!), we swam in the Seven Sacred Pools, ate lots of fish and had a lot of drinks that had the little umbrella in them...and I have had Ziggy Marley stuck in my head since the trip with all the reggae we listened to while driving around places! It was all perfect. Em had recently gone through some trauma with one of her dogs passing away, so it was perfect timing for us to visit; we were all sad that Aurora and I had to go back home. Hoping to go back again soon! Thanks again Em :)

Please enjoy my new favorite song, while you view the fun I had in MAUI (and a whale video)!

Does it get much better?!

Golden hour...my favorite time of the day!

First day at the beach...literally there ALL day

Hiking around Hana

Hana - gorgeous drive, beautiful falls!

Blow hole!

Whale watching - AMAZING!

Saltiness

To those that always ask me, "Can't you go to the Great Salt Lake to go swimming and hang out at the beaches there?" I always answer, "GROSS!!! Why would you ever?!" For those of you who have spent time anywhere near the Great Salt Lake understand my point - the stank, the brine shrimp flies, the seagulls...it's not relaxing day at the beach!

Antelope Island

You can see the flies around, in a cloud of black, around the seagull.

Unfortunately, Lonely Planet did not get the same memo. I was just reading an article about the world's saltiest sites for seasoned travelers. This is what I found:

6. Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Size does matter. The Great Salt Lake, located in northern Utah, lays claim to being the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, no mean feat. The lake used to be part of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, and is also known as America’s Dead Sea. It’s home to millions of creatures able to survive the high saline levels, such as waterfowl and other birds, including the largest staging population of Wilson’s phalarope in the world – a boon for birdwatchers.

If you’re looking to get lost for a while, why not take a salty cruise to one of the lake’s 11 recognised tidal islands. Antelope Island has superb beaches that off er great swimming opportunities. Take Interstate 15, heading north from Salt Lake City.

I like to listen to Lonely Planet, when Lonely Planet speaks. However, you will NOT find me hanging out at the "superb" beaches of Antelope Island any day too soon! You may find me riding a bike there, but that is a different story!

Now if I were going to go to one of the saltiest sites in the world, I would definitely be hitting up Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni - the world's largest salt flats and is known as the world's largest mirror, when covered in water.

N'Orleans and the District

I went on a quick little trip to New Orleans a couple weeks ago with one of my best friends, Scarlett, her boyfriend and their baby. It was such a fun, relaxing weekend and the perfect person to be with when mom called (an hour after landing) to tell me that Grandpa Larsen had passed away. I greatly needed the escape and was okay leaving, knowing he'd go while I was gone. It was really hard to say that last goodbye and I cried the entire way to the airport, full of guilt that I was walking away as he passed and not sitting there right next to him. However, that being said, I had been there straight for almost 2 weeks at that point and I literally could NOT do it, emotionally, any longer! Not to mention there was a lot of family there...not to mention, I think mom and Uncle Harold may have pushed me in the car had I said one more time that I shouldn't go. It was nice to have that support and it was the decision that needed to happen. There were people there when he went and I had done everything I could...that is what really mattered to me. After the first evening, of crying a good portion of the flight to New Orleans, getting the phone call and crying some more, I was able to put the emotions on hold, for the most part, and enjoy my time and the 76 degree weather!

Not the greatest video quality (as it was very dark in there)...but a song everyone must hear in New Orleans!

We spent majority our time eating yummy food, listening to live jazz in little dive bars, wandering the cute streets and shops, and admiring the beautiful homes in the Garden District.

Being attacked!

Jazz Brunch

You can't say this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen! My baby boyfriend and the little Demon that I have come to love. This is Scarlett's little guy...he LOVES me, as you can see in the video!


Scarlett and I also spent some time together a few weekends ago, in Washington, D.C. I was out there visiting friends, doing some job networking/hunting, and taking a break from things at home, the same time she and Billy were in the area. So we met up at the National Botanical Gardens, the Zoo, and a variety of dinners (figures...FOODIES!).

Spanish Tapas Restaurant...with live music

Our bread sticks that looked like joints. We are so mature.

The National Zoo - baby gorilla!

Despite looking awkward, he's still smiling, that's always a plus! :)

Not sure what's going on here? haha

Oh how I miss see Scarlett everyday of my life - stuck in our dungeon room during grad school. It's been nice to spend more time together lately! I love it! One of my two friends that gets me! She understands me and gives me the best advice and I love her to death!