Category Archives: Travel

Blogging, GTD, Set Goals, Travel, Triathlon

From a Someday/Maybe to I Can Do This

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I want to accomplish in the next 5 years, 10 years and beyond. I don’t have a set bucket list, however I do have things that I would like to someday do, most of them on my GTD Someday/Maybe List.

  • Learn photography (or simply, learn how to take amazing photos)
  • Learn another language (you would think with my world travel I would already have already been inspired to do this)
  • Organize my digital photos (boring) or just hang photos on my wall
  • Visit Scotland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and all 50 states with Nick.
  • See the Northern Lights
  • Watch the The Ohio State Buckeyes win a national championship. Again. Watch them play in the Rose Bowl. Visit all Big 10 (12?) Stadiums.
  • Play Piano more
  • Eat at a Taco Truck here in town and have a burger at The Thurman Cafe
  • Ski the Rockies, the Appalachians, and the French Alps (Did the Swiss Alps already. Got engaged there and hurt my neck. Those two things were unrelated.)
  • Live in a different city. Zurich? Maybe.
  • Have kids. Or kid.
  • Become a GTD Certified Trainer
  • Attend an English Premier League game. Probably a Tottenham game.
  • Buy a house. Decorate it pretty. Have lots of people over.
  • Go to Reds games in different ballparks. Especially a Spring Training game in Goodyear, Arizona. This and the Tottenham game are for Nick. He would love them and I while I love sports, I would enjoy his enjoyment most.
  • Make a budget. Keep it for a whole year. Stop spending all of our money at Target.
  • Writing something valuable. Don’t know what that is yet. Perhaps this is just keep a journal. Or a blog. Or something to look back and reflect on.

And the list grows. So then the questions becomes, when? When do I start trying to tackle or enjoy or start these things? When I’m 100% healthy? I struggle with that one. I’m not seriously ill but it’s always something. Gallbladder. Tonsillectomy. Right now I’m in Physical Therapy and Massage Therapy for re-injuring my neck. It’s not greatly impairing me, however, it’s well, a pain in the neck. Ha. Or maybe when I have time? I’m starting to believe that if I wait for extra time, I’m never going to have it. It’s up to me to determine what I want to do with my time.

Then I read posts like these: Reclaiming Wife: Do Things That Scare the Sh*t Out Of You and read about my coworker spending the next year exploring the US by RV at his aptly named website: “Someday I’ll Do It, Why Not Today?” And I read about the couple sailing across the Pacific Rim. Now that’s dedication. I admire all of these people – I know they all had fears but that didn’t stop them.

If I think back on when I felt the happiest about my accomplishments the past few years, it was when I was physically strong such as when I was able to pull myself into the white water raft with only my arm strength in the summer of 2007. When I trained and swam in a tri relay in June 2011. When I took 3 overseas trips in a row and didn’t get sick. When I skied the Alps and somehow kept up with the Swiss skier much more advanced than me.

All of the above is pointing me to one Someday/Maybe that I’m starting to believe I can accomplish within the next year and that I didn’t list above: Completing a Full Triathlon By Myself. Most likely a Women’s Only Tri. This was something I didn’t even realize that I wanted to do until I competed in the tri relay. I’m not a runner. I hate running. Oh and I don’t own a bike nor have a place to store a bike. And yet, the more I think about it, the more my workouts are starting to center around swimming, running, and (stationary) biking, I’m starting to realize that I’m getting excited. That I Really Want To Do This. And that’s how things move from Someday/Maybe to Yes, I’m Going to Do This.

Standard
Travel, Wedding

Travels in Switzerland

Note: I wrote this post one evening this past week while in Switzerland for work, but since I didn’t have an internet connection at the hotel room I’m finally getting around to posting this today (from home – it’s always great to come home)…

So I’ve already failed my 1-posting-a-week promise. What can I say, things got busy (insane). I’m writing this 6 time zones away from home base. I’m currently in Zurich, Switzerland for the week getting introduced and inundated on a new project. It’s nice to have a short break from the day-to-day wedding planning, but it feels odd to be so far removed.

On Friday last week I took the day off to accomplish two major items:  Finish moving out of my apartment  and mailing all of the invitations.

I’m happy to report that I was able to complete both with tons of help. Thanks to my Aunt Carol and cousins Lexie and Katie for helping me finish with the last few things to move. Also thanks to my Grandma Rosie and cousin Nicole for putting the final stamps on the invitations (and thanks to Maria, Lindsay, Heather, Christine, Catherine, Aunt Sue, my mom and of course Nick for helping assemble them throughout the week). A note to those who will be mailing ridiculously-large invitations in the future: Make sure you go to the post office and have them weighed for postage rather than guessing!! I can’t stress enough how happy Mr. Postman was that I came in BEFORE I mailed them. He told me that he often has visits from disgruntled brides who mailed invitations without consulting a post office first.

I mailed the invitations at 6:30 pm on Friday evening at a post office and on Saturday Nick and I started receiving text messages and phone calls from those who had already received them! Wow, that’s service!!

Here’s where project wedding currently stands (I love lists, hence, a list):

  • We met with the caterer last week to finalize the food details. I can’t say enough good things about TJ from Berwick. Wow, wow, wow, do I feel great about having him cater our wedding. Oh yeah, and come hungry. There will be insane amounts of food.
  • The invitations were ordered through Paper Occasions. The invitations look wonderful, although there were a few issues with the timing of when they were ready and when I had requested they be ready. I also did not receive enough of the reception inserts. These delays caused me some unnecessary stress in getting them mailed before I left for Switzerland that I could have done without (thank goodness for all those that pitched in to help – again, THANK YOU).
  • I have not had a good workout in 2+ weeks and that doesn’t make me feel so good. At least this week in Switzerland I’m walking at least 3 miles a day between the hotel and train and then the train and work, so at least I’m doing SOMETHING! Granted, the pressure to workout is all me. Nick repeatedly tells me how much he loves me the way that I am!!
  • I’ve started to nix some unneccessary details. Cocktail napkins = cut. Cupcakes for the kids = cut. (We’ll have cake, ice cream, Italian cookies and swiss chocolate, I think that’s enough for a sugarhigh).
  • Theknot.com message boards make me slightly crazy. I need to avoid them.
  • I’ve been buying some good Swiss chocolate for the wedding favors this week. I’m not able to buy truffles as carrying 600 of those home would be painful, but I am buying my second favorite swiss candy, little Lindt candy bars. Now I have to keep Nick and I from eating all of them…

Time to find some dinner. A little over 6-weeks to go…

Standard