January & February

I can't believe it is almost March. A lot of life has happened in a short span of less than sixty days. I was given a promotion at work (which was a nice surprise), Bryan lost his grandmother and my parents at age 61 and 57 bought their first home (ever). Needless to say it has been an emotional roller coaster.

I couldn't be happier for my parents; they found a house that suits their needs perfectly. It will however, be very strange never to go home to dear old Grapevine again. They are only moving to Richardson, a short drive from Grapevine. Even so, it's odd to think the little town we called home for 22 years, is no longer "home." The house they're moving into is conveniently located in the same neighborhood as my little brother (totally jealous of the future free babysitting to come!). I can't wait to take a trip back to Texas this summer and see their new digs. 

I have been feeling extremely restless lately. I don't know if my biological time clock is ticking or if I am just not stimulating my brain enough outside of work. I started this blog so I could keep track of all the cool things we experience while living in California (and give me something to do). My plan was/is to print it out and keep it as a scrapbook when/if we ever move away. But, we don't always do enough cool stuff to be blog worthy; so it doesn't really keep me that busy. That being said I have been trying my hand at a  couple of different hobbies. I tried crocheting--tried being the key word. My "scarf" turned out to look like a series of mangled shoe laces bound together. I bought a decoupage kit; two hours of cutting, pasting and  a few modged podged coasters later, I was over it. So I started thinking about what I really like to do in my spare time...travel! 

Bryan and I have been lucky enough to travel to a lot of places in the four years we have been together. Every time we go on a trip I designate a photo box for that location and we fill it with memorabilia from that trip (ticket stubs, coasters, brochures leftover Euros etc.). The only problem is that it kind of just ends up to be a box of disorderly mish mash. It is fun to dig through, but doesn't really tell a story about where we have been. I stumbled upon a travel blog site called Trazzler last year. It is a user based site where individuals give short descriptions about destinations all over the world. The focus is more about experiences in places and less about reviews. Anyone can contribute/write about a trip and upload a photo they have taken. The editors of the site read every single trip submitted and if they like your description, then you become one of the featured trips. Otherwise, your trip still stays on the site, it's just not as searchable as those that have been hand picked. 

Either way, I figured this would be a good way to remember (and relive) all the great places we have been...and most importantly something to do! So far it's pretty fun. My plan is to write about all my favorite places we have visited, print them out and add them to the memorabilia boxes (kind of like little recipe cards). Seeing as I don't have patience for the cutting and pasting REAL scrapbooking requires, this will have to do. 

These are the trips I have "trazzled" about so far. 

http://www.trazzler.com/trips/wallace-monument-in-hillsfoot-rd-causeway-head-gb

http://www.trazzler.com/trips/brouwerij-t-ij-bv-in-amsterdam-nl

http://www.trazzler.com/trips/urquhart-castle-in-inverness-gb

We shall see how long this little hobby lasts!