Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What’s something people might ask you for help with?
Travel planning or book recommendations.

2. What’s something you might ask someone else for help with?
French braiding my hair… LOL.

3. Did your family take summer vacations when you were a child? If so, where did you go? If you’re a parent, did/do you plan summer vacations with your own family? Did/do they resemble those you took as a child?
Yes, to Edisto Island in SC. I am not a parent but if I ever have kids they will definitely travel.

I’m pretty sure this was taken in Miami but… It’s a picture of me on a beach as a kid! 🙂

4. Pool, lake, ocean… Which one is most appealing to you on a hot summer day?
Pool for sure. But I don’t mind swimming in lakes, oceans, rivers, whatever!

Swimming in a lake on July 4th!

5. Have you ever justified using the expression, “you gotta be cruel to be kind”? Was it really necessary or were you rationalizing?
I haven’t used the expression but I can see when someone would… In a romantic situation.

6. The Journal of Psychology recently mentioned the results of a survey identifying the ten most hated foods as: liver, lima beans, mayonnaise, mushrooms, eggs, okra, beets, brussel sprouts, tuna, and gelatin. Of those foods, how many do you actually hate? Anything you’d add to the list?
The only one I really like on that list is okra. Fried okra is delicious!! I definitely do not like liver, mushrooms, eggs, beets, or tuna. The others are OK.

7. What’s your favorite book or movie set in a beach or lake town?
This is a hard one… Off the top of my head I would pick the movie The Beach! (And I’ve been to Ko Phi Phi, where it was filmed, which is totally crowded and trashy… Literally!)

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Wish the rain would go away! See how flooded my normal swimming hole is…

Sunday Social

1. What is the best trip you’ve ever been on?
I have been on so many amazing trips (34 countries); it is really hard to choose just one. So I’ll just tell you about my most recent trip… I went to Chicago in May and had the best time!! Check out my blog post about it here.

2. What is your best idea for a girls weekend trip?
I have been on girls only trips to New York City and on a cruise to Mexico and Grand Cayman. Oh yeah, and all around Europe, Cambodia, and Thailand, but those weren’t typical girls trips. Although now that I think about it, I would recommend Southeast Asia as a great girls trip destination. Beautiful, lots of good food, and dirt cheap massages! Check out more reasons here and the best places to go here.

Laos, 2012

Oops, just realized the question said weekend trip… In that case, Vegas!

Sin City, 2008

3. What is your best idea for a couples trip?
Italy! I loved it and would love to take a boyfriend/husband there one day. Eat lots of food, drink wine, chill on the beach…

Cinque Terre, 2004

4. What is the best vacation on the cheap?
Southeast Asia!! See above.

5. What is the place you most want to visit?
Peru… Planning a trip there for 2014. 🙂

We Want to Know Wednesday

1. Are you an amusement/theme park kind of person?
Not really… I like carnivals/fairs but I don’t care for roller coasters so I don’t want to waste a bunch of money at an expensive amusement park.

2. If yes, where have you gone? If no, what makes you dislike those kinds of places?
I have been to Disney World twice as a little kid, Carowinds and Dollywood many times, Six Flags once, and Lotte World in Seoul once. I have also been to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor and Dollywood’s Splash Country.

3. Do you like to go on roller coasters?
No.

4. Does your answer to #3 directly correlate to how you are about life experiences?
Not at all… I think I’m pretty damn adventurous.

5. What was the last scary and/or risky thing you did?
Traveling around Asia by myself last summer was probably the last BIG thing… I had to take a lot of selfies! 😉

Friend Makin’ Monday

1. Do you wear glasses and/or contacts?
Yes, I wear glasses. I have never worn contacts because sticking a foreign object in my eye seems scary and unnatural!

2. Do you have summer vacation plans? If so, where are you going?
I’m going to Greece in September! I also going cycling on the Virginia Creeper Trail this weekend (day trip) and to Cherokee for my birthday (overnight trip).

3. What is your favorite food to eat for breakfast?
I don’t eat breakfast all the time… I like muffins, everything bagels, and sugary cereal.

4. Do you enjoy window shopping?
No! If I can’t buy it, what’s the point?

5. What is your favorite candle scent?
I’m not that into candles, but I like anything pink grapefruit scented.

6. If you had to choose between going to a zoo or an aquarium, which one would you pick?
I love zoos! Aquariums are kind of boring.

panda at the Beijing Zoo last summer

7. How many times do you plan to exercise this week?
Does cycling downhill count? If so, one…

8. Do you speak another language fluently?
No but I really want to learn Spanish.

9. What are you currently reading?
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick… It’s so good!

10. What are you looking forward to most in the coming week?
The Virginia Creeper Trail!

Throwback Thursday

A year ago today I was in Mongolia! It was such an amazing country… I loved staying in the ger camp, eating delicious food, hiking, and seeing the giant Genghis Khan statue. Riding a camel was kind of scary though!

Throwback Thursday

On this day last year I was on a Halong Bay cruise in Vietnam. It was awesome except when I get stung by a jellyfish (which hurt way more than any North American jellyfish sting)!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Have you learned more from success or failure? Explain.
I think from success. I have been pretty successful as of late (getting my master’s degree and my dream job). Failure pisses me off but not in a good, motivational way.

2. What did you call your grandparents when you were growing up?
Mimi and Papaw; Grandma and Grandpa.

3. You’re invited to a luau. In keeping with that theme, what dish will you bring to share?
I would do some research first so I don’t know but offhand I’d say… Pineapple and ham kabobs.

4. What one person’s life story do you think everyone should know about?
This is a hard question because I’m not too into history myself… Gandhi? Martin Luther King Jr.?

5. “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Agree or Disagree? Why?
Agree… It’s not worth it. But then again when all the small stuff you don’t sweat adds up, it might turn into big stuff. So I guess I dunno!

6. June is National Rivers Month. When were you last on a river? What’s the prettiest river you’ve ever seen? What’s a river you’d like to see?
I just went to a river last weekend to go swimming. The prettiest river I have seen was the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. And I would love to see the Amazon and the Nile!

If you ever go to Thailand, stay here!!

7. Speaking of rivers… Paddling, fishing, swimming, or bird watching safely from the shore? Which activity would you choose?
Swimming! I love swimming in the summer.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Aren’t my babies the cutest?

Throwback Thursday

On this day last year, I was in Luang Prabang, Laos! It was a lovely solo trip as part of a five week backpacking excursion around Asia. It is a beautiful, peaceful mountain town with great (and cheap) food, shopping, and massages! I also visited Kuang Si Falls and Pak Ou Caves and stayed in a lovely riverside bungalow at Thongbay Guesthouse.

Throwback Thursday

Hard to believe I left Korea a year ago… Here are some pics from my last week there!

Sunday Social

1. 1 year ago I…
Had been living in Korea for two years and was about to leave to travel all over Asia for five weeks and then return home… On May 12, 2012 I was camping on Muui Island with tons of friends!

late night campfire sing-a-long

2. 5 years ago I…
Was living in Texas and working at a private investigation company. I also took my mom to the Grand Canyon for her 50th birthday in May 2008!

3. 10 years ago I…
Was finishing up my junior year of college and living with my roommate Rheannon.

4. 1 year from now I…
Will have been at my awesome job for a year… And will probably be looking for a new one that pays better! And I’ll be taking my little bro on a trip for his high school graduation.

5. 5 years ago I…
Will have an awesome job I love and that pays well, have my own place, and be using my vacation days to travel to amazing places!

6. 10 years from now I…
Will be 40!!