Grateful 278

I'm grateful for: Postcards from friends! It's always great to get something (other than bills) in the mail! It's especially fun when it's a postcard from a friend!

Special thanks to my friend and former travel buddy, Julia, for sending me this awesome postcard from Tucson!!

Memphis. TN. USA.

Grateful 277

I'm grateful for: Crossing the M bridge! I always know I'm almost home when I cross this bridge! Feels good to be back in Memphis - home sweet home!


Side note: This is an old picture I took last year when I was home, as it's nearly impossible to get a good picture of the bridge when it's nighttime and you're crossing the bridge ;)

Chicago. IL. USA. > Memphis. TN. USA.

Grateful 276

I'm grateful for: Being goofy with my nephew! We like to do things like wear swim caps and goggles while playing maracas!

Most of the day he had on a pair of goggles & he kept insisting that I wear this swim cap. He thought it was SO hilarious, as evidenced by his face in this picture!

Good times, great (goofy) fun! ^_^

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 275

I'm grateful for: Reading with Davis! It doesn't get better than this! Reading one of your favorite books to one of your favorite people is the best <3

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 274

I'm grateful for: BBQ for lunch! It may not be Memphis BBQ (which is without a doubt the best in the world), but it's still great to have BBQ for lunch! And this place isn't that far off the mark from the delicious eats of my hometown - the guy that runs this place traveled around the US finding what he thought was the best BBQ, and Memphis was of course one of the places that he visited.

He serves up lots of tasty BBQ and has pictures of Memphis on the wall to boot. And if that weren't a big enough reason to like to eat here, the sides are to die for: sweet potato casserole, baked beans, cream spinach, baked apples, etc etc & last but not least, mason jars of sweet tea!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 273

I'm grateful for: Driving! As mind-boggling as it may seem, this is only the second time I've driven in the last 4 years! I really don't miss driving at all, but it is fun to get behind the wheel every now and then :)

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 272

I'm grateful for: Home cooked meals! There's nothing quite like a home cooked meal! Lucky for me, my mom cooks dinner when she's with my nephew, which is every Monday - Friday!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 271

I'm grateful for: Watching Couey perform! It was lots of fun to get to see Couey's improv group perform tonight at their theater! They were all hilarious, but especially Couey! I'm rather certain she's the funniest person in the whole wide world :)

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 270

I'm grateful for: Seeing friends from home! Couey is the first friend from home that I've gotten to hang out with since I've been back. It's been almost 5 years since the last time we got to hang out! It was SO great to see her and get to catch up!!

We had lots of laughs about old stories, hung out at her comedy theater, and generally had an awesome crazy fun time (see above picture). And tomorrow, I get to see her in a show! Hip hip hooray, for fun times with Couey, A!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 269

I'm grateful for: Having a happy, healthy, absolutely adorable 2 year old nephew! Today is my nephew's actual birthday. I can't believe he's already 2 years old!! How the time flies!

Happiest of happy birthdays to the best nephew an aunt could ask for! Love this kid <3

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 268

I'm grateful for: New jeans! I haven't had a pair of jeans in 10 months! It's really too hot in SE Asia to need a pair and I didn't want to waste space in my pack, so I got rid of my last pair of jeans in January when I flew to the Philippines.

It's really odd to not put on a pair of jeans for almost a year! I haven't missed them that much, but it is nice to have a pair again. ^_^

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 267

I'm grateful for: Cheap Converse! I was just thinking about how I missed my Converse, as I didn't have a pair with me this last year, and then I happened to run across these today. They normally cost $60, but this pair was only $25! Winning!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 266

I'm grateful for: Birthday party fun! Today was my nephew's 2nd birthday party! It was lots of fun playing with him and his friends, watching him open presents, and eating Elmo cupcakes! I'm happy that I could be in the country again this year to help him celebrate :)

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 265

I'm grateful for: Emergen-C! I've been feeling a bit sick since I got back; nothing helps me feel better faster than Emergen-C! Mmmm... Vitamin C :)

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 264

I'm grateful for: Playing at the park! The only thing better than playtime with my nephew is playtime at the PARK with my nephew! Slides, swings, jungle gyms, sticks! What's not to love?

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 263

I'm grateful for: Bookstores! It seems that bookstores are slowly disappearing thanks to e-readers and people's propensity to buy things online. I, for one, really like bookstores (second to libraries) and am glad that there are still bookstores around!

Happy to find a bookstore near my mom's neighborhood, I stopped by the store today and bought my nephew some books for his birthday! "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" is my favorite Dr. Seuss book. I hope he'll love it as much as I do!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 262

I'm grateful for: One-stop shops! There are things that I don't like about American consumerism and more specifically superstores, but when I've been away a long time and want to grab some much missed American snacks, some new clothes that haven't been in a pack for a year, and other miscellaneous only-found-in-America items, one-stop shops like Target are pretty convenient.

Sure beats wandering around the labyrinth of stalls at the marketplace in the heat and dust of whatever country I'm in, trying to haggle for fruit or a shirt or a bar of soap ;) However, I must admit I do miss wandering around marketplaces and haggling... on occasion. Those two things are better done for fun than out of necessity though!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 261

I'm grateful for: Nephew playtime! When I'm away, I talk to my nephew on Skype. We have lots of fun, but it's not near as fun as having actual playtime!

Not only is it more fun to get to build block towers, play with toy excavators, watch Bob the Builder, and play instruments together in person, but I can also get awesome nephew hugs! Skype is great for staying connected, but it doesn't give hugs! ^_^

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 260

I'm grateful for: My backpacking bag! Today marks 1 year of travel, and I thought what better to be grateful for than the pack that I've lived out of all year - and many years prior!

My cousin, Melissa, gifted me this backpacking bag back in 2004, before I left for France. It has accompanied me on every adventure that I've taken in the last (almost) 9 years! And before it traveled the world with me, it traveled the world with my cousin!

I've carried this pack through 26 countries - and counting - and I couldn't ask for a better bag! At well over a decade old it's still holds its own on the road :)

A very big thank you to Melissa for letting me use her bag all these years!! For the exact age of the bag and the total combined countries it's visited, she will have to weigh in with her backpacking bag memories!

And as for the year mark of being on the road, I have to say it's been a marvelous adventure! What a year to remember!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 259

I'm grateful for: Being back in the USA! It's always a good feeling to be back in the land of the free, home of the brave!

Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 258

I'm grateful for: Awesome in-flight entertainment! Flying across the Pacific is always a long and rather arduous endeavor; it seems even longer when the entertainment options are lacking. I've made this trip more times than I'd like to count, and this flight had the best in-flight entertainment by far!!

Not only did each person have their own screen, but it was also one of the systems where you could start and stop the movies whenever you like. And if this weren't enough, they had over 50 movies to choose from! And that was just movies - they also had tons of tv shows, games, and music, way more than I've ever seen a flight have. Way to make 20 hours in the sky fly by, Air Canada! You're the best!

Seoul. South Korea. > Chicago. IL. USA.

Grateful 257

I'm grateful for: Fun socks! One of the things I love about Korea is the multitude of fun socks available. Fun for your feet, one of life's little pleasures!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 256

I'm grateful for: Being a kid at heart! One of the classes that I have with the kindy kids is a Knex class. Today, after we all built a fish, we had free time to build whatever we wanted. I built this guy :) It's quite possible that I had even more fun than the kids did (& I got paid for it)!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 255

I'm grateful for: Gifts from students! Teaching kindy kids is fun - you get to play games, do art projects, go on field trips, and after just 1 day, they love you so much they bring you presents! How sweet :)

Busan. South Korea.