t-minus 60 days....

So it just really hit me that in 8 weeks time I will embarking on my 3-month adventure back to Southeast Asia again. It is my 6th year returning there and I feel the excitement already kicking in (and yes, I am already thinking of how little I am going to be bringing on this trip and am excited to live out of one bag again for awhile ! call me strange, or just call me a "gypsy" at heart but I absolutely love this part of my travels !... :-) )



I always have new places to visit when I go and this time will be no exception. I have a couple of Thai islands that I want to explore (and will keep them "my secret" for now:-) ) and will return to Laos and VIetnam again to visit new areas I did not make on my last visit there. India is also an option now as I recently had an invite from very good friends who live there for 6 months of the year- there is nothing like seeing a new place through the eyes of the locals ! and India has always been one of those places that has hauntingly beckoned me for many years..I think it is time...





I am also excited to conduct my second annual "Live Laugh Love Tour" that will take me and my group to Bangkok, the Thai island of Ko Lanta , Kuala Lumpur, and Bali. It is a dream come true for me to show friends some of my favorite spots in the world and I can only hope they will return home with wonderful stories and memories to share with their friends and loved ones...check out this link if you want to come join us ! www.livelaughlovetours.blogspot.com



But perhaps what I am most looking forward to on my trip is the "detaching" from my usual day-to-day "busy-ness" and taking more time out to take care of "me"...I have realized that these trips have been amazingly useful for me in that I always come home so much more energized and rejuvenated with so much more creativity and energy to give to others. It is like I leave Hawaii with my "vessel" almost "empty" and return 3-4 months later on "full". It feels like such a wonderful reward and gift to myself after working so hard all year.




and yes, I feel an amazing amount of gratitude as well...

for my health holding up so I could work all year to get to this point..



for my friends and family who support me 100% and who understand why I need to do this...



for all my friends overseas in Thailand and elsewhere who always welcome me as if I am family when I return...









and of course there is always a special feeling of gratitude for my mom and dad who instilled the spirit of fearless exploration in me at such an amazingly young age.

I am forever indebted to them both..



thanks Mom and Dad....

and to all those of you who are reading this- know that the world is always your oyster...

just make a plan and make it happen..