Timoleague, Co Cork, Ireland, 2008Overcast, grey skies.
Rainy weather.
Mmmmm. Heaven.
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D taught Connor to make the sound thunder makes so this morning when Connor woke (at 6:45!!!), he showed D the rain and made thunder sounds.
Gosh - the kids are SOOOOOOOOO cute these days.
Kendra is scaring me with how verbal she is. She talks a lot and learns words so quickly and best of all, remembers them. Which means I'll have to start thinking more about what I say.
It kind of makes my heart sore - I want to bottle up the cuteness and just hang onto it.
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The office is mostly empty with people in meetings and I am enjoying catching up and being productive again.
Yesterday's strat was lovely - I took pics but didn't bring the cord so they are still on my camera.
My goal for the strat process was to make myself more visible to senior management. I know, I know, a bit mercenary but apparently no one's looking out for me except me.
So I forced myself to start conversations with "strangers" and found lots of common ground and really nice people, for the most part.
I was also nominated to present our group's discussions twice and instead of protesting, I made the most of it and did my thing.
I think I did what I set out to achieve, as much as you can in a group setting with a totally different purpose :)
I also actually learned a lot about taking photos! That's another post because the actual message was about possibility thinking and look what I got out of it :)
Speaking of which, they mentioned a book called the top 100 business books of all time. Basically they summarise the key points from each book in one page so you don't have to read the whole thing.
Hmmm.
Fantastic except for the fact that I often get very different insights from a book than what everybody else gets.
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Like Eat Pray Love.
Yes, I get the fact that she was on a journey (spiritual) and whatnot. And that it's indulgent to take a year off.
However, why not?
If you have the means, go for it.
Even if you don't have the means but it's a burning desire, do what you can.
I would LOVE love LOVE to live in another country and submerge myself in that country's culture for TWO years. It's on my life list.
I've been to 8 other countries and in my view, it's not enough. I have lots of travel inside me that I can't wait to still do.
I read on Small Notebook.org how her husband resigned from his job and they're taking a year off to travel while he's still young enough to enjoy it.
I LOVE that idea so much. I sent it to my friend, Nat, and we had a chat about it.
Back to the book...
I just loved the beautiful writing. I don't agree with her values or everything but so what? I don't agree with lots of other people's values but I can appreciate the positives in everyone.
What's your take on this?
There are also mixed reviews about the movie. Have you seen it? What did you think?
Do you enjoy travel?
What exactly do you love about travel? If money (or carting a truckload of stuff with you) weren't an issue, what are the top 5 places you'd visit next?
Mine are New York City, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Brazil and Singapore (again - what can I say, I loved Singapore)
P.S. If you wonder why I always show you pics from the UK, Scotland, Ireland, it's because they're usually the only ones I have on my flash drive. Also, why not?! :)
I used to travel a lot but now that we have kids, we want to be grounded a little. We'll travel more when the kids are older.
ReplyDeleteFor our 10 year anniversary, we already have a plan to take a week in Hawaii. And Jon and I plan to go to Italy as we've been but not together.
One place I never care to go back to is Greece!
Haven't read the book or seen the movie, but my top five are:
ReplyDeleteThe UK (lumping them all together...been to London, but that's about it)
Africa (I know, continent, not a country, but I want to see the many different parts)
Brazil (maybe we should go together?)
Germany
The Netherlands
I'm very specific, right? : )
Oh New York, bleck. I promise you that you will be underwhelmed. I love to travel and did so before I married. DH has never been out of the country but for me every trip is an adventure. I would love for us to travel properly, I would love to take him abroad.
ReplyDeleteFor me travel is about relaxation, an escape from the normal. I don't have to worry about making dinner, paying bills and cleaning the bathroom. I noticed we usually visit places with a slower pace of life and that are heavily involved/centered/surrounded by nature. I think it helps us ground ourselves and reset.
I would love to backpack through rural asian countries and visit Russia for a month. I've always dreamed of an African safari, sleeping in a tree(or a Range.Rover LOL) and viewing wild elephants. I love elephants! I'd love to go back to the U.K. and Ireland some day with the girls and hop through the islands. I think my most attainable trip would be island hoping on a private boat. Just being on the sea in a tropical environment sounds like bliss! Although I enjoyed Europe and loved the Spanish culture, I have enough of Western life at home.
I hate, hate, hate travelling. Ive been to Singapore, NZ, Zanzibar and India and that was way enough for me.
ReplyDeleteBut if I had to choose it would be USA, would like to go there one day but thats about it - no other desires. All that visa/passport/packing mission its just too much for my brain!
I read EPL and loved it, still need to watch the movie.
Oh I loved the book, but have not seen the movie yet.
ReplyDeleteTop 5 places:
Machu Pichu and Peru
New York and Chicago for architecture.
Italy again, with the hubby.
Spain
The Scandinavian countries.
I am lucky in that I've travelled more in Africa than anywhere else - but I roughed it and can't say I want to revisit that type of travel. On the other hand I lived for 3 weeks in a luxury hotel in The Hague while Keith was working there and I HATED it.What's happened to my adventure spirit! I just want to get what I expect now, so home is best for a while.
ReplyDelete