Travel blog: Lakeside camping, hiking, and enjoying the view from the top of Big Pocono
Category: Self Development
PA State Parks: Summer Edition
My recommitment to the Pennsylvania State Park Challenge I’d set for myself at the beginning of the year led me to book a camping trip for the FOURTH time at Hickory Run State Park.
2021 Travel Tales – The “Beach Year”
Today is the second to last day of 2021 and I’m sitting in my hotel room in St. Petersburg, Florida overlooking a beautiful pool within a garden of palm trees (my favorite), and in the distance, I can see Tampa Bay. After pivoting to building an online business in 2020 and now becoming a full-time…
Travel Art Journal – 52 State Park Collaborative Artwork Project
As I continue to share the 52 Pennsylvania State Park 2021 Challenge, in which I plan to hike in up to 52 state parks this year, I’m happy to update the tally after visiting two more state parks last weekend, Gifford Pinchot and Swatara state parks and also announce a new collaborative art project.
Epic West Coast Road Trip, Part 4
On my recent travels to Joshua Tree National Park I discovered not only about a wide variety of plants, animals, and strong winds, but also I learned more about myself. It was an adventure to spend two nights and three days under the stars, in excessive heat, and at times experiencing frustration while on a vacation.
Gratitude for the Journey
Today is my 40th Birthday. I had plans of going on a hike with friends, celebrating at a The Millworks (my favorite local restaurant/gallery/brewery) and then checking out some improv at my favorite spot for comedy, the Harrisburg Improv Theatre. But finding myself indoors these days due to the COVID-19 Pandemic means I need to…
Leaping is worth the risk
“We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.” ― Henry David Thoreau It’s leap day today and I found myself wondering how I’d spend this extra day. Time seems so short, and I’ve found myself busier than ever trying to be productive, yet enjoy life….
How I See Love.
Love is a warm bed with satin sheets on a chilly winter morning. Love is the light flicker of candles dancing in a dark room. Love is the warm cup of tea nestled in palms, warming the skin before the throat. Love is coloring pencils being sharpened to fill in the empty spaces. Love is…
2020 Goals: Doing less, letting go, and opening time to possibilities
“If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” ― Thomas A. Edison Each year for the past four years I’ve chosen a word for setting intentions in the new year. Last year was the year of action. And was it ever. I set out to do so…
10 Best Experiences of 2019
“Life is about accepting the challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart It’s Christmas Eve and I’m sitting in front of my candle-lit fireplace, drinking some sparkling water and sipping on a cabernet from 2017. I page through the “workbook” I’d used…
How Meditation and Essential Oils helped me cope with dental work
Watching the flurries decorate the sky, I sit by my window, drinking my sparkling water out of a straw, and contemplate if I want to share my struggles with dental work this past year. It was just about a year and a half ago that I started on this journey. Dental work wasn’t my highest…
Reflecting on the Lancaster Balloon Festival offers perspectives for Gratitude
“I’d be smiling and chatting away, and my mind would be floating around somewhere else, like a balloon with a broken string.” ― Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Lancaster is known for its Pennsylvania Dutch foods and the Amish population to most of the country but it also is home to the annual Lancaster Hot-Air…
New partners and projects: Learning to grow a photo business for success in 2020
By offering a portfolio not just on my website, but also on Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock, I hope to grow my visibility as a stock photographer. I’m also working to align with Creative Market soon to allow stock photography on their platform. So I am making a decision to try to grow a stock portfolio and see what happens over the next year with revenue. Now that I have some more clarity with the direction, and I’ve done some extensive traveling, I have a new body of work to share with the world and that’s exciting!
Celebrating 11 Years of a Healthy Lifestyle with 3 Challenges for ending 2019 as a ROCKSTAR
As I write this, today marks 11 years that I’ve made my health a priority. On October 20, 2008, I decided to start taking better care of myself after being disgusted with myself at a staggering 100+ pounds overweight and morbidly obese. If I hadn’t made that decision, I wouldn’t have been able to get…
Climbing Mount Sniktau
“He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.” ― Friedrich Neitszche There’s a moment when I was climbing Mt. Sniktau while visiting Colorado in July, that I realized that I’m capable of more than I think. As my best friend and I hiked up, there were so many times we…
Truths & Travel: Making Memories
“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.” ― Gabriel Garcia Marquez Memories are made, and I can choose how to create them When I was in Mexico, I made memories with friends, using a coloring book and pencils I brought, which now remind me…
Truths & Travel: The Butterfly Effect in Mexico
“Change one thing, Change everything.” – The Butterfly Effect Rising early Thursday morning in my flat in Mexico, I was excited about the day ahead. One of my fellow travelers in our mastermind group titled “Lionesses” (A group founded following the DenEx trip with Location Indie) booked a handful of us a driver to transport…
Why I’m excited to turn 40
To be honest, I had these thoughts and strived for most of these things in the past. I pursued relationships that were unhealthy just to see if I could get the right “box” checked, I tried to be someone who wanted kids or someone who should be running marathons. But that’s tiring, trying to be someone else when I’m just me. It’s better to just be me.
Spring brings Calming Clarity and Energetic Inspiration
“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” — John Muir The beating of the drums began and the sun shined bright. Even though it was only 50 degrees, it was feeling like spring. The aroma of blossoming plants, the crisp air, and the need for sunscreen all means that it’s finally a new season. I…
Truths & Travel: Mexico, Part 3
Standing on a rock that is 65 Million years old, and at an elevation of 8,235 feet above sea level, I felt that I had defied not only gravity, but all the limiting believes I’ve ever had about myself. It was real. I was here, with people who inspired me to be a better person, and challenged my limiting beliefs.
Laughter is the key to spark energy and creativity
“The immediate expression of our truth releases light and warmth, that influences the life we are part of, this is the way our spirit shines!” – Mark Nepo I like being productive, having energy, and being focused on purpose, doing the work I love that inspires me. The kind of work that doesn’t feel like…
Truths & Travel: Mexico, Part 2
“You are just as worthy, deserving, and capable of creating and sustaining extraordinary health, wealth, happiness, love, and success in your life, as any other person on earth. It is absolutely crucial … that you start living in alignment with that truth.” – Hal Elrod, The Miracle Morning My first Mexico Motivational Morning I first…
International Travel, Morning Commutes, and keeping Non-Negotiable habits
Driving down the highway, towards the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, I watched the sunrise while feeling a mix of emotions as I headed to catch my flight on my first trip ever out of the United States (Officially- I’m not counting the time I went to Canada for an hour). The day would be long, but…
Improv = Laughs & Learning to Listen
“THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, only opportunities.” – Tina Fey Recently I attended the Steel Stacks Improv Festival for a laugh-all-day, no breaks, improv-all-day event that was jam-packed with talented people doing amazing improv comedy on stage. It was awesome and so much fun. Yes, And… that’s what Improv is all about. Accepting what is presented,…
New Year, New Beliefs, New Challenges
It’s already half-way through January of 2019 and I’m struggling to keep my new self in balance. I set so many resolutions, I created a 20×30 graph and hung it up next to my standing desk, to remind myself of all the goals and actions I’m taking every week. Two weeks in, I’m struggling to…
Travel. Hike. Click. Write. 