Two Week Texan!

That's right, 2 short weeks ago I started a new adventure "Deep in the Heart of Texas" -- Austin to be exact.   Splashes of blue and orange, and glorious sunshine danced along the highway as I bounced into town, an appropriate, cheerful welcoming party if you ask me. With spirits high and hopes higher, I have jumped into Austin, like it's my job...well, it kinda is, right now.

Being someone who's never met a stranger and who enjoys newness and embraces change, this city has been my personal playground. I'm constantly amazed by how "perfect" this city is for me. I could go on and on and on gushing about my new love affair with Austin...but wouldn't want to bore you. So here's the top few (couldn't' commit to a #) reasons I am IN LOVE with AUSTIN, TX!

1. The Greenbelt & Town Lake - An outdoor lovers haven! Everything from hiking, biking, climbing, rowing and kayaking to swimming holes, waterfalls and many other like-minded folks. My first week in ATX i found myself buying a 7 month membership to the rowing club and take my first lesson next week! :)

2. Mexican Food!!! - So, um, I've been here two weeks and I've already eaten Mexican 75% of my meals out. Guess I'm making up for the lack thereof in Chi. My current fave is Trudy's....they rock a delectable fried avocado stuffed with spiced chicken and cheese! Pretty ridic!

3. Live Music - They don't call Austin the Live Music Capital of the World for nothing! There's a plethora of unique venues and artists in this city and on any given night, you can find something going on gratis. I've already had my fair share of Texas Country, a la Pat Green & Roger Creager, and even some solid 80s rock! 

4. The People - "Keep Austin Weird" is NOT just a silly slogan, it's for real yo! An eclectic and diverse hodgepodge of folks is what you'll find here. Which is precisely what makes it so interesting. "Cookie Cutter" is not even in the vocabulary of this city, which is music to my ears. I've grown increasingly apt to appreciate and encourage individuality and expression and I can already tell this will only be stretched by living here. I also dig the laid-back vibe and demeanor  of the folks...genuine, kind and free are some other descriptors that come to mind. And ladies... if you're looking for a Southern Gentleman, it's got them too! :)

5. Climate! - The coldest month is January...and the average low is a balmy 40 (above freezing)! And the high is 60. Looks like I'll be having a cookout for my bday this year kids ;)

6.  3rd Party Validation - No. 3 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine in 2009. According to Travel & Leisure magazine, Austin ranks No. 1 on the list of cities with the best people, referring to the personalities and attributes of the citizens. Austin was ranked the fifth-safest city (mom will be happy 'bout that). Austin is also the Greenest City in America. Furthermore, in 2009, Austin was determined to be the least stressful large metro area by Forbes magazine.

So there you have it... Two Full Weeks and counting!  Hope I've convinced you to come visit or move!
 

East Coast Post

The Uniform :)

After leaving Chicago, the last place I thought I'd end up was somewhere with 4" of snow. Never had I even seen that much snow, much less lived with it for a few weeks! So, following my heart I found myself in Rockville, Maryland for 4 weeks attacking a major snow storm head on as part of a "Special Disaster Team" working with Dan for State Farm. As his assistant, I pretty much scheduled appointments, chauffered him around (much to his, sometimes, dismay, hehe), helped with the virtual paper work, billing, etc. Glorious, I know. :)

It was quite the experience I must say. I've never quite had a 14hr/7days/week job and I won't mind too much if I never have one again, haha. There were sweet parts of this grueling job like meeting tons of people and hearing their stories and being able to give them money to restore their homes. One lady in particular started tearing up when we told her the amount she was getting. She had been laid off and out of work for years and was so appreciative of the help.
Another fave part of the job was touring the million dollar homes and checking out the various styles, designs and decor. Pretty much felt like I was on a daily tour of homes, which I didn't mind too much.



Biz trips consisted of trips to home depot to buy 28" ladders. And meals were quick and easy....a hearty diet of Chipotle, Subway, Panera (and Starbucks for me) sustained us daily. Sometimes, I would get brave and cook mac and cheese or Hamburger Helper at the ole Homestead Suites, our home away from home. When we were feeling fancy we'd mosey over to the Washingtonian Center for Macaroni Grill or Uncle Julios, which actually felt like a big treat! There were also the Olympics on for a few of the weeks to distract us from our nightly calls.

Just another day on the job! Brooke: aka "the office"

As the time went on, it got easier and more tolerable for sure. But as all things, this too came to an end, and with it the end of my relationship with Dan as well. As Ecclesiastes 3 says, "To everything there's a season, A time for every purpose under the sun." And this was a good time and season.

What I learned?
I'm not as good of a driver as I thought.
The GPS is a road hazard.
I'm spatially challenged.
I like having a mobile office more than a cube!
A 28" ladder is a lot heavier than it looks and, ironically, can be blown over by the wind!!!
I like having my room cleaned once a week.
I can be addicted to caffeine.
I never want to live in a hotel...ok maybe the Four Seasons, but not an extended stay ;)
You can make anything fun.
That I am who I am and that's just who I'm going to be...
Things are not always what they seem.
There is only 1 who will never let you down.
I need church community, solid friendships and a social life more than I realize.
God truly is my rock, my love, my hope and my all in all!

So there you have it....another journey, another adventure. Lessons learned and love let go. Another beautiful part of the story God's writing for me.

Where in the World???

Have I Been???

Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Oklahoma and now off to Maryland!!! Crazy past few months for me.

As you know by my last post I quit my job and moved out of Chicago in January and then headed to Costa Rica with my girlfriends, Lindsey and Ashley, for 6 days. We stayed at the fabulous Four Seasons in Peninsula Papagayo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica! If you've never stayed at a FS it's incredible. You seriously feel like royalty the whole time! I'm not usually one for luxurious travels, but my bff Linds happens to work at the Four Seasons in Chicago and we were able to use her comp nights for this FABULOUS getaway! Thanks Linds!!!



And we def lived it up the whole time. Whether we were doing yoga, a sunset sea kayak, ziplining, salsa dancing, dining or lounging by the pool, it was all in style! The food was incredible and we dined to our hearts content. And if you happened to be a bit parched or scorched while lounging have no fear, the FS employees were there to spritz your face with Evian water or bring you a mini smoothie or ice water with fruit! No, i'm not kidding! It was ridiculous....in the BEST way, haha! Ziplining was one of my favorite activities...just the thrill of flying through the rain forest was amazing. Our last night there we went to Coco Beach with our new FS beach boy buddies and had a great night of local food, souvenir shopping and dancing the night away with our Tico buds! Before we knew it the week was over and the girls were headed back to the cold Windy City.

And I was off to test my travel skills crossing the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Apparently, I lucked out and went at the deadest time possible b/c it was a breeze and I got to Rivas, Nicaragua (by bus and cab) a few hours early!!! Why Nica? Well, my world traveling bf was trekking through Nicaragua with a buddy and we were merging our journeys. Plus, it's hard to pass up a chance to get another stamp on my passport! After meeting up we stayed in Popoyo Playa, Nicaragua for about 3 days. Nica is much poorer and less developed than Costa and it was evident from the get go. These 3 days were the most chill and relaxing of my whole trip! Popoyo is pretty much a surfer's haven. Mornings at the beach, lunch and then a siesta in a hammock until evening and then to a local bar/restaurant for the cheapest meal you can imagine (not reflected in quality or quantity). And evenings were spent just shooting the breeze with nicas and nicos.

After an enjoyable stay in Nicaragua, Dan, Ian (Dan's friend) and I headed back to the border, with less luck this time, waiting 2 hours in the hot sun to get through immigration and customs! After arriving in Costa, our first priority was picking up the rental car, a Toyota Yaris. Traveling by car through central america is not necessary, but it sure is convenient and we were thankful to be off the "chicken buses" for a while! As soon as we got her we headed to La Fortuna to spend a few days at the base of the active Arenal Volcano. This part of the country was so green and beautiful and lush. The volcano itself was an impressive sight! We stayed at a quaint little hostel affectionately called Gringo Pete's. Pete is an expat from Washington state who moved to Costa and set up shop. The place was very unique and friendly and we had a good stay, esp for the high price of $6 per night! The only complaint was the darn rooster that started crowing at 4am and never stopped! Ugh...we all pretty much wanted to go outside and kill it at that point! Now it's just comical! During our time in Arenal we went to the local swimming hole that had a sweet rope swing, soaked in the natural hot springs, saw hot lava spew from the volcano, mastered class V white water rapids with the best rafting company, Costa Rica Descents! They were awesome and made me feel comfortable even though this was my very 1st time white water rafting!!! All in all a pretty adventurous stop on our journey.

Next we were off to Manuel Antonio for some beach time. We stayed at Vista Serena Hostel which was nestled atop the hills overlooking the ocean and came with breathtaking complimentary sunsets and hammocks to relax and enjoy it from! We spent 2 days here and that was enough time. The national park was really cool, and contrary to word on the street, saw lots of animals without paying a guide! The beaches were beautiful, but a bit too commercialized and crowded for my liking. My favorite part of this destination was the sunsets. Dan and I had a romantic sunset dinner at El Avion (the airplane). I was going to try surfing here, but it just wasn't in the cards. We actually had an incident and the keys to our car were lost or stolen and we had to wait all day for Budget rental to get us a new set, haha...not that it was fun, but I can't think of a better place to be stranded!



Our last day in Manuel Antonio was also my birthday and Dan had planned a surprise getaway to the impressive Villa Caletas, near Jaco, to celebrate. This exquisite boutique hotel is in the top 1% of boutique hotels and boasts incredible views, awesome dining and sunsets and picturesque infinity pools. I was in heaven, or so I thought! We lived it up and I thoroughly enjoyed spending my birthday with my man in paradise!



Unfortunately, by this point my trip was wrapping up and we had one last night in the capitol city of San Jose. We stayed at a pretty cool hostel called Pangea, which boasted of a bar, free computers, pool, mechanical bull, pool tables,free parking, airport shuttle,city skyline views and tons of rooms and gathering spaces. It's by far the largest hostel I've ever stayed at! We went out with some of Dan and Ian's buddies that night and let's just say that it was quite a night and I only ended up getting 30 mins of sleep before I had to get up and head to the airport! Needless to say, I slept the entire trip back and was thankful!

After all the travels, I must admit it was nice to wake up in my own bed at my parents house and be treated to 2 weeks of family and home cooking. I was there long enough to catch my little sis's last basketball game, do a few family birthday dinners and attend a gala!

Then before I knew it, fate was calling me to Silver Springs, MD, to work these crazy northeast storms with Dan (he's an insurance adjuster). So here I am...the ardent adventurer is doing what she does best, enjoying the journey! Glad I could finally catch you all up! Seeing as I'm back stateside, I'll be sure to be ardent about my blog again! Thanks for sharing my experiences with me!!!

Adios! Miche