Me Before You

I was so excited when I heard that Miss Kay was going to start a bookclub! I love reading, and it's always fun to read books along with other people so you can discuss what you loved/hated, etc. 

For the inaugural month, we all read the book Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes. 

Good Reads Description: 

Lou Clark knows a lot of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick. 

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane. 

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels rather small and joyless now and knows exactly how he is going to put a stop to that. 

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them know they're going to change the other for all time. 

To be perfectly honest, I was really not very excited about this pick. I read the summary, and wasn't pulled into or interested in the story very much at all. And it took me a couple of chapters to gain any kind of interest in the characters, too. The whole thing seemed kind of disorganized and messy, actually. 

But then something happened - all of a sudden I found myself really caring for these characters! I really wanted to understand why Will's family seemed so nervous and high-strung all the time - I wanted to help Louisa find a more enjoyable life - I really wanted to see Will and Louisa get together. 

My admiration for Louisa grew throughout the story, too. At first, I kind of just thought that she was a generally lazy person, content to do exactly what she knew, but no more, and who wasn't interested in the work necessary to expand her horizons. That opinion definitely changed, though!

I was torn about the end, too. My "I want everything to work out and everybody to be totally happy" heart was kind of bummed about it, but at the same time, I really liked the way it ended, because it just seemed like that's what needed to happen. 

Overall, I have to say that despite my initial thoughts, I really enjoyed this book! I'd definitely recommend it. 

I suck at life.

Sometimes I really suck at life. Like, legitimately, just fail at almost everything life related. And this morning, I was bemoaning this fact to Juliette, and discussing the fact that one of the ways I suck at life is that I had like no idea what to post about today, and I am not even remotely organized enough to have a draft on hand that I could just throw up for the sake of posting something…..and then I came up with the genius idea to write a post about all the ways I am awful at life. Because I’m sure it’s difficult to believe, so I’m giving you proof.

• I am terrible at toasting things. No matter what I do, I will somehow always end up part of the bread/bagel/English muffin burned, and part of it still almost cold.  And then even if I flip it around and try to do it again, the toaster inevitably switches, and I burn the one part even more, and the other part remains untouched. It's awful. 
• I am an awful blogger. I know I say this a lot, but half the time I can't think of a single thing to write, and then half the time I forget about this little space completely. Good thing this isn't like, a dog, or (god forbid) an actual child, because if my care of my blog is any indication, I'll be a terrible parent. 
• I remember way too many things. Now, normally, one might think this could be a good thing, because I tend to remember things like phone numbers, addresses, directions, etc. I can also typically recall with astonishing accuracy an argument that happened three months ago, and then I have to fight with myself to keep my mouth shut and not bring stuff up all the time, just because I remember it. I only sometimes succeed at that. 
• I cannot stay on one particular task for a given period of time, no matter how hard I try. My stupid brain shoots of in like 829357234056 directions all the time, and it's hard enough to wrangle my thoughts into even some semblence of order, much less organize them into logical areas. So I bounce around in stuff a lot. Somehow though, I always seem to get everything done, and on time, too, so you know...there's that for the win. 
• I am the worst at-home movie watcher on the planet. I can make it through movies in theaters (most of the time), but pretty much any time I sit down to watch a movie at home, I will be asleep before it's halfway done. The only exceptions to this rule happen if I am watching said movie entirely during daylight hours, or if it's over before the clock strikes double digits. And even those two things aren't a guarantee. Boyfriend has stopped asking what movie I want to watch at night, and now asks what movie I'd like to fall asleep to instead. I tried to be offended for like 2 seconds, and then I realized he was completely right. 
• I used to be really good at being on time and early to stuff ALL THE TIME, but now? Not always so much. I blame it on getting older. But this morning, I didn't get out of bed until 15 minutes before I had to leave. NOT GOOD. But, again, I'm clearly a winner, because I still made it to work on time. And looking somewhat presentable, at that. 
• Also, I am bad at keeping in touch. I hate talking on the phone, like hate-it-with-the-passion-of-a-thousand-fiery-suns style, so you'd think that I'd make up for it with like texting, and emailing, and sending letters and stuff. Nope, I don't do that very well, either. It's like I tend to exist in my own little bubble of just myself and people who are directly in front of my face. It's bad. I'm a terrible person, I know. It doesn't help that half the time when I am trying to be a good person and text someone back, I forget to press send. Cuz apparently, it's complicated. Cripes. 

But one thing I can do? Fake it, really convincingly. People seem to be of the notion that most of the time, I have my shit together. HA. Fooled them. 

Cheerio. 

I've got it all in the bag...

So there have been a bunch of “What’s in my Bag” posts floating around lately. Mostly, they seem to be women who have their shit totally and completely together, and are organized to a fault. So since I’m not even remotely like that, I wasn’t interested in hopping on board the train.

But then Sarah did a hilarious post about it, and then Shannon informed me that she had written one like, a year ago and a half ago, way back before it was cool, and then I was like, oh, well if these two hooligans did it, and it was funny, then I suppose I can do one too. (And no, this isn't technically about wallets or anything, even though *spoiler alert* there is a wallet in my purse.) 

And here we are.

So here’s a picture of my purse from above. It doesn’t look too terribly disorganized, does it?

And then here’s a picture of all of the crap from inside my purse, unceremoniously dumped out on my desk at work.

And the best part is that basically, even though that looks like a sort of small-ish pile, there are all kinds of hidden gems in there.

So here’s a list. Since I know you’re beyond curious.

·         1 mini sample tube of Aquaphor that I got at the Prairie du Chien Half Marathonand 5k race two years ago

·         1 tube of lip gloss

·         The spare key to my car

·         A random key that goes to something, I’m sure, I just don’t know what.

·         A planner

·         A notebook. For all my notes that I rarely take.

·         My kindle. I’m like Rory Gilmore – I have to take a book with me everywhere I go.

·         48 cents in random spare change

·         3 pens, 2 Sharpie pens, and 2 actual Sharpies (except one’s a mini Sharpie)

·         A tire pressure gauge.

·         A nail file/emery board. (Are they the same thing, or is a file the metal one?)

·         A pair of headphones with a microphone so I can talk on my phone with headphones in my ears cuz I’m wicked cool like that

·         A random piece of gum

·         2 different perfumes

·         A ¾ finished post-it note pad

·         An actual container of gum, from which the aforementioned random piece must have fallen out

·         A granola bar

·         A mini banana type hair clip thing

·         My wallet

·         A coin purse that is ridiculously heavy with lots of quarters for laundry. And pennies.

·         My entrance pin from when Boyfriend and I went to the Walker Art Museum on V-Day

·         1 bobby pin

·         2 hair ties

·         4 snap hair clips

·         A taco bell receipt from like 3 weeks ago

·         A full water bottle

·         A Netflix movie I keep forgetting to put in the mail

·         My old insurance card that isn’t even valid anymore

·         7 napkins (apparently I’m messy)

·         3 mini post-it notes with random movie times scribbled on them

·         A receipt from Caribou Coffee from so long ago that I can’t read the date anymore

·         Two recipes – one for buffalo chicken pizza, and one for buffalo fries.

·         A half-finished grocery list

·         A coupon for $1.50 off a box of trash bags at target

·         2 pairs of sunglasses

·         1 pair of regular glasses in a case

·         A package of dental flossers/picks

·         Cough drops

·         Iphone charger

·         Hand sanitizer

So now that you all know everything I'm carting around with me on the daily...it's your turn to spill. 

Confession is a weird sounding word.

Happy freaking Friday, blogland. I don't know if anybody else is borderline surprised that they made it to the end of this week, but I sure am. It's been kind of a tough one. But enough about that, let's celebrate cuz it's Friday, and I brought wine to work! Okay, I'm just kidding about that part. But I wish I could be celebrating that. :-/

Moving on. 

I confess // I am right on the fence about the fact that I haven't been able to download iOS 7 yet. Part of me is mad that my stupid phone won't even recognize that there's an update, and part of me is enjoying the fact that I don't have to deal with crappy Apple servers right now, and that all the bugs will probably be worked out by the time I actually get to download it. Either that, or I'll have a new phone, which is actually looking pretty likely at the moment. 

I confess // that I am listening to acoustic versions of Adam Lambert right now, and for some reason, it seems very melancholy, and is making me feel teary-eyed. Clearly, I need to change the station post haste. 

I confess // that sometimes just throwing a hat on over dirty hair gives me a rebellious thrill. Plus I tend to look cute in hats, so I like that part of it, too. 

I confess // that Oktoberfest is tonight in my town, but I probably won't be going. I am also confessing that I'm bummed about that, because it sounds really fun, but I have other things going on tonight...that will probably be less fun, too. Double whammy. 

I confess // that I spend a good percentage of my life terrified that I am thinking too much, feeling too much, expressing too much. I wish I could be one of those people who deals with life by keeping everything in, and not talking about stuff... But nope, I have to be the one who is constantly rocking the boat by telling people how I feel. I know it shouldn't matter what they think, but it does, and it hurts to constantly feel like I am doing something wrong, or like I'm just "too much". 

I confess // that when I talk about having "feelings", I always picture this girl: 

And since she is a character who is supposed to seem like she is really depressed and just can't handle her life, I have some pretty negative connotations in my head about the word. So maybe that contributes to my thoughts on my last confession, who knows...

I confess // that I really wasn't intending for this post to turn into some kind of ridiculous mope-fest. Sorry. 

I confess // that I took Advil on an empty stomach this morning, because I woke up with a headache that sounded like a rock concert was happening in the back of my skull. My stomach is still empty-ish (I had a cup of coffee, too), and I am regretting both decisions, because I feel awful. 

I confess // that my Chuck Taylors from Crocs are like, my favorite shoes ever. I was surprised to see that they could actually make cute shoes, but they do, and they're comfortable, and I love them. 

I confess // that I haven't seen the new Miley Cyrus video, and am pretty much purposely avoiding it like the plague, because a.) I really don't need or want to see her naked, and b.) I am really hoping that if people just start boycotting her music and videos, she will just go away for a while. I am not arguing the fact that the kid has talent, and I used to LOVE her, but I'm getting frustrated and completely turned off by her constant attention-demanding behavior. I miss the days when people were famous because of their talent, and not because they take their clothes off and lick construction equipment. 

I confess // that I love Darius Rucker, but I have a really hard time listening to his music sometimes, because he used to be Hootie, but now he's a country singer, and it seems paradoxical. 

I confess // that even though I would never want to go back to the whole living-at-home/being-in-the-middle-of-weird-body-changing-stuff, some days I really miss being a teenager. Adulthood is so overrated. And also, really freaking HARD. 

I confess // that I am glad Liam and Miley broke up. They were ridiculous together, and didn't even seem to like each other at all anyway. So good for them. Not too happy about Liam cheating on her back in January, though. 

I confess // that I read two issues of US Weekly last night while getting my nails done, and that's the only reason I know the information above. 

And now....stick a fork in me baby, cuz I'm done! 

What do you want to confess this week? 

Welp. I don't know what to title this.

Big fat confession: I'm annoyed. Like, all kinds of annoyed, at all kinds of everything. Like, it's one of those weeks where I spend most of the time contemplating all the reasons that stabbing myself in the ear with a pencil is probably a really bad idea, and that faking a nervous breakdown just to get out of you know, having to pretend like I can handle life for a little bit probably won't turn out the way my brain wants it to. 

And I know that it's really not all that bad, like at all (first world problems all the way over here), and I know that Shark Week is making it seem a lot worse even than the not at all bad that it is. So I am trying to keep it all in perspective. And perspective kind of smacked me in the face tonight, I tell you what.

This week, I have been completely teetering on the brink of tears like the whole time. And then tonight, when I was getting my nails done, which I did because I was feeling blue and wanted to just pamper myself a little bit and do something I love, I was totally annoyed because the woman straight up WOULD NOT listen to what I was telling her. She wouldn't cut my nails short enough, she refused to make the French tips thinner like I asked her like, eleventy three times, and I mean, nobody wants to be the one who is making a big fat scene about nails amiright? So long story short, I got my nails done so I could feel better about today, and now I hate it, and all it did was put me in a bad mood again. So that's annoying.

And anyway, so then I was there, and I was just annoyed, and then I saw a mom come in with her teenage girl to get a mani/pedi with her and I basically just fell apart, because it just looks like such a fun thing to do with your mom when you're a kid, and it just wasn't something I ever got to do, and my relationship with my mom is kind of complicated anyway.......and I'm shutting up as far as that's concerned now, but suffice to say that the whole pampering-to-relax-and-feel-better thing pretty much had the exact opposite of its intended effect. 

And then on the way home, when I was busy trying to feel sorry for myself because my total luxury that I am just beyond blessed to even be able to whine about didn't turn out the way I wanted to, I started thinking about how much of a brat I was being. Because I mean, let's be real here: my life, though not what I had imagined for right now, and not quite what I would consider "ideal", is still pretty damn good. So I need to get my shit together, and make sure I am being grateful for the things I do have, even though they may not be all the things I want to have, instead of behaving like a spoiled child. 

Resolved.

Seems to be a trend...

I was really trying to keep up with the Blogtember challenge this month, but it's just not happening. So since I really wanted to post something today, but I'm sort of lazy, and a bit of a copy cat, and not at all feeling inspired to write anything deep and meaningful, I'm stealing Erin's idea of making lists. Juliette did it too, so I figure it's completely okay for me. :) 

Five things I'll be doing over the next week:

1.) Taking lots of walks. I love this kind of weather, and I love going for walks. When I get to combine the two, I'm a very happy camper. 

2.) Cooking. I've been looking at some recipes on Pinterest, and my little chef-wannabe brain is just tickled about all the awesome and fun cooking opportunities that come with the fall season. 

3.) Agonizing over my Survivor pick...again. I picked the Ravens to win last week, and they did, but I was stressing out for most of the game. WHO SHOULD I PICK, GUYS?!

4.) Reading. I have to finish this book for the Blogger Book Club and I haven't even started it, so I need to get my act together. 

5.) Getting my nails done (hopefully). I am not a very vain person - I don't do my hair often (more because I'm completely hopeless and can't than because I don't want to, but still), and I don't wear a lot of makeup or jewelry. The one thing that I really like to do to feel pretty is to have my nails manicured and my toes pedicured. With the job security issues I've been experiencing lately, it has been much harder to keep the mani/pedis up like I would like. 

Four items I need to purchase:
1.) New boots! I am in desperate need, and since I like to wear them so much during fall/winter, I need to make sure I find good quality ones. 
2.) Fresh chicken. The stuff we have the in the freezer right now is old and totally frost-burned, so I definitely need to upgrade that. 
3.) A gym membership. Running has been completely awful great and all, but it is wreaking havoc on my joints and my back, and I just hurt all the time. Not ideal. I don't get enough cardio just from walks though, so I need some kind of low-impact cardio that I can do, like an elliptical or swimming. I think it would definitely be worth the extra expense though, because I always feel better when I work out. 
4.) A peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks. I've been craving one for days and just haven't had the chance to get one. I need to get on it, ASAP, since peppermint is a seasonal flavor, therefore I need to get as much of it as I possibly can in the few short months that it's available. Right? Right. 

Three shows I can't wait to have come back into my life:

1.) The X Factor! I am so geeked about this show, it's almost embarrassing. I started watching it last year, and was completely obsessed. I do NOT love the new judge Paulina, or whatever her name is, but the other three I do like. Except for Simon, whom I absolutely adore. And the talent this year already looks like it's gonna be amazing. 

2.) Vampire Diaries. Um, hi. Let's talk about Damon for like, one second. Because holy hotness, Batman. He was hands down my favorite undead guy from the very first episode, even though for the first two seasons, everybody was supposed to think that Stefan was like, THE BEST THING EVER. Also, I kind of want to be Nina Dobrev because she is JUST SO PRETTY. Except I hate that they always dress her in skinny jeans and ankle booties. So if they change up her wardrobe this season, I'll be happy about that. 

3.) Bones. Booth and Brennan are just so cute together. And I hate Christopher Pelant. And I love Hodgins and Angela, and Lance, and like, I just love everybody (except Pelant)! 

Two reasons I'm excited for fall:

1.) I have discovered recently that I enjoy wearing scarves, and I've always liked layering.. So I'm psyched about that. It's a lot easier to put together cute outfits that hide trouble areas in the fall than it is in the summer. Probably mostly because it's a lot easier to wear a lot of clothes in the fall than in the summer. 

2.) The colors. Fall in the midwest is just ridiculously pretty. The green that I absolutely love in the springtime morphs into a cacophony of browns and reds and yellows and oranges. It's just so, so gorgeous, and refreshing to the soul. 

One thing that's currently bothering me:

There are three females that work in my office, and two stalls in the ladies' room. We are all grown women who should have a solid grasp of how to properly handle bodily functions. And yet, somehow there is always urine on the floor in both stalls!! I don't know if it is because both of the other parties in the office have the same troubles, or if there's just one who typically uses both stalls (which is kinda weird in and of itself, right? I mean, am I the only one who has a favorite stall that I use whenever I can?), but whatever the reason, it's disgusting and annoying. And the office only gets cleaned twice a week, and I don't think they do a whole lot in there anyway, so it tends to smell kind of gross in there. WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?! I mean, seriously. Learn how to pee, people. 

Saturday Scrambles

That probably sounds like a weird title. It doesn't mean anything in particular, just that it's Saturday and I was going for alliteration. Because I love it. 

It's been a busy week, somehow. When I look back at it, I shake my head at myself, because I can easily identify about 457843254 ways that I COULD have been more efficient, and done some more work on the ol' bloggy blog. But then I think, you know what, it's been a long week, I've been spending a lot of my spare time on some freelance work projects, and gosh dang it, the break felt kind of nice. So there you go. Even though I seem to take a blogging break like, every other week. *sigh* One of these days, I'll learn. 

Anyway, so I have read a lot of awesome posts this week, so I thought I'd share some of them with all of you, my lovely readers. You really should check these ladies out...they're great writers, and really funny, and helpful, and sweet. 

Belinda, who is one of my absolute faves, talked about "training" your writing muscle, which is awesome, because clearly, I need help with that. 

Sarah provided a list of fun fonts to use. Okay, can we just pause for a second and talk about Sarah? Because she does these awesome Saturday Sessions every week where she gives tutorials on all things blog-related, but the coolest thing is that since she is a blog designer herself, a lot of the posts she writes could serve to make her lose business! And she doesn't even care! THAT, my friends, is the mark of someone who just really, genuinely wants to help others. And for that, I love her. 

Bonnie wrote a fantastic rant post about the way some people complain that bloggers who accept sponsors are just out for the money. There's no way I can say or summarize it better than she did, so just go read it. 

Juliette made a mess out of some Pinterest pins, and basically made them better, aka hilarious. 

This post on balance by Kay was perfect. It was exactly what I needed to hear/read this week, as I have been really struggling myself with trying to maintain all of the obligations I feel like I have. 

What were the best posts you read this week? 

It's Friday. Let's confess and stuff.

Hey Friday, everybody. Has this week kicked your butt like it has mine? I mean, dang. I am not complaining, because I know it could be like a billion times worse, but boy, this week was rough. I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend!



One of my favorite things to do on Fridays is to link up with Leslie to confess. So without further ado....






I confess // that I have completely dropped the Blogtember ball this week. Which is sad, actually, because I really liked some of the prompts for this week. Hopefully I will still be able to get to them sometime. 

I confess // that I had ice cream twice this week, and I don't even feel bad about it. #sorrynotsorry

I confess // that the times I went #runningforsupernannykenz this week have been really really tough. I don't know if it's because of where I am in the month, or because of the fact that the weather has been weird, or what, but it's been a LOT tougher than previous runs I've done, even ones when I was in worse shape than I am now. But I've gone a total of 14.85 miles for this, so I'm excited about that. 

I confess // that I really, really, really want to go to a corn maze this year. There is a pretty big one about an hour away from where I live, so I am hoping we will venture that way before too long. 

I confess // that I hate the taste of pumpkin stuff. I just really don't like it at all, so I am like, less than excited about all the pumpkin spice latte happiness that is going around. I do, however, enjoy that Starbucks has their peppermint flavoring back, so I can spend my fall drinking peppermint hot chocolates or salted caramel hot chocolates. 

I confess // that I really don't like eggs, and I am more than a little bit annoyed that there are some showing up on my BLT salad today. I mean, seriously people, who puts eggs on a BLT sandwich?? Oh, nobody? Right, so why, pray tell, are they on my salad? Dumb. 

I confess // that I have some potentially lucrative projects that might be coming my way, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that things work out for that. Especially since I just bought a car (I'll probably write a post about that later), and have to find a way to, you know...actually pay for it. 

I confess // that right now, with all the bills I have to pay, and all the stress of uncertainty in my current life-in-flux state, and the fact that I really need to get some new clothes but am not entirely sure how I will be able finance a shopping expedition, I think being a responsible adult is sometimes wildly overrated. 

But then I remember that I get to drink wine, and that makes it okay. 

What are your confessions today? 

"I can give you advice, I'm GREAT at advice."

Ten points to you if you can name the movie from which my post title is pulled.

Moving on. I'm one of those really ridiculously annoying people (yes, I'll admit it) who likes to give advice for like, everything anyone tells me. It's like, the minute someone tells me a story, my little brain just goes wild over all the different ways that my oh-so-brilliant ideas could cure whatever ails them (literally or metaphorically), and I get super excited to tell them my ideas. Because hello, who doesn't want to hear all of my awesome thoughts?!

.....besides basically everyone who hasn't asked for them. Whoops.



But the point is this: basically, I know some stuff. And most, if not all, of the gems I'm about to share with you are ones I have received from others, and now pass on to you. These little nuggets have come in real handy on more than one occasion. So you're welcome. 

- Stay hydrated. There is not much worse than a dehydration-induced headache, or its accompanying grumpiness. Drink a lot of water. Your body will thank you. Just don't be this guy:

- Lefty-loosy, righty-tighty. Ever gotten confused about which way things are supposed to be screwed into other things, like when you're putting together a bookshelf, or a desk, or something? There's your answer. 

- Changing behavior does not change the person. If you tell me that I do XYZ thing that bothers you, and you'd like me to stop doing it, you're not asking me to change who I fundamentally am as a person; you're simply asking me to change a behavior. People are separate from their behaviors. Sort of like this... 

..only not really. :) 

- Taking responsibility for your behavior is powerful. The minute you accept responsibility for every little thing you do, and purpose to live a life of intentionality, the world opens up to you. You instantly take the driver's seat in your life, which means that you actually have control over almost everything that happens to you. Don't like something about your life or situation? Change it. You've got the power. 

Go on a three month vacation? Heck yes, I will.

Sorry this post is late! I got a whopper of a headache last night and didn't feel like finishing it. I still feel gross, but I'm powering through to keep up with the Blogtember challenge! 

I love vacations. I love the idea of going somewhere different, maybe even someplace new. I love the notion of doing new things, trying new restaurants and foods, getting deliciously sunburned, etc. But I mean, doesn’t it always seem like vacations are just too short? Like there’s never enough time to do all of the fun stuff you want to do, or see everything you want to see?

So when I was given the option to go on a three-month, all-expense paid vacation prompt to talk about what I’d do if I could take three months off to do anything I wanted, my little wanderlust brain went positively bonkers. Oh, the possibilities!!

But I mean, basically, I’d just travel. Everywhere. But mostly Europe. Oh, and Australia, because, well…the boys have fun accents, and I hear it’s pretty. Plus it is starting to get warm down there this time of year, so summer in Australia? Don’t mind if I do, matey.

But Europe. I mean….EUROPE. Yes, let’s start there, and if we end up blowing the whole three months there, well then so be it. I’m very happily attached, so I don’t need any boys with cute accents anyway.

So here are all the places I would ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY HAVE TO SEE in my three month vacay:

Venice {via}

Rome {via}

Greece {via}

Paris {via}

And while I'm in France, I will of course have to make a stop to see Patricia. Because le duh, she's awesome. And funny.And also the reason that I finally mastered the spelling of the word "croissants". 

London {via}

And of course there's no way I'm leaving the UK without finding some way to visit Belinda, because she is awesome too, and I really kind of just want to sit and drink coffee with her. 

Auschwitz Concentration Camp - Poland {via}

Swiss Alps {via}

And then if I had time, I’d also go to these places:

Tokyo {via}

Hong Kong {via}

Vancouver {via}

And I’d really really make it a point to do these things as often as possible:

Parasailing {via}

Sky Diving {via} 

Swimming with sharks {via}

If you haven't noticed yet, my life's biggest dream is basically just to travel. I'd pack a lot of reading material (or a fully-loaded Kindle, for ease of transport), and then head off on a grand adventure. It would be AMAZING!! Who knows, maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to be able to do all of this! 

What would you do if you had three months off to do anything you wanted?