I kicked off 2017 by attending my first Travel and Adventure Show at the L.A. Convention Center. Covering this event was the ideal way to get some major ideas for travel in the new year and so many fun photo ops and swag to entice me to new lands. I knew that we were going to Hawaii in the summer, but I was seriously considering trekking to some National Parks in the Southwest. It was also lovely to talk to representatives from such bucket list places as Nepal and Africa. When this event comes to your city, I recommend going for a day.
So all that traveling I was going to do in 2017…umm well it got trumped by the fact that I landed my dream job. And with a new job, especially in government, you don’t exactly earn vacation time right away. Thank goodness they had a heart and let me take my already planned Hawaii trip a month into the job. But amidst all of the chaos of starting a new job and getting some intense training, I realized that I was placed smack dab into the center of my city and I have been finding new ways to fall in love with L.A. all over again. I get to walk past my favorite museums on my lunch break and grab a coffee in the arts district on the way to one of my satellite workspaces. I am so grateful for seizing yet another wonderful opportunity. I also managed to fit one quick, girls weekend to Palm Springs into my life in between jobs.
A Distant Mentality survived its first year! I joked after my daughter turned one, that it was a miracle that I was able to keep a human alive for a year and I kinda felt the same about the blog. It is clearly a piece of my daily life even if I only post articles weekly or biweekly and figuring out how to keep creative juices flowing while working a “real” full-time job (and few part-time jobs) was challenging. I got to collaborate with some fun and talented people and brands, which was all new to me but very rewarding. And clearly, I loved this dress in 2017.
This Maui trip was one of those vacations were you plan nothing and do as you please. Perfection. Maui was just as beautiful as it always has been and we had the best-extended family trip, reuniting with old friends and making new ones. I had to go back and look at my blog posts, because I pretty much only remember eating my way through the island this time around (which is pretty much what I wrote about!).
In a year of firsts, my latest venture is starting a podcast with my BFF and fellow forensic psychologist, Dr. Scott. A little bit dark and a lotta bit twisted, it has nothing to do with travel but everything to do with our jobs working as mental health professionals in the criminal justice system. We relate our experiences to true crime stories (for which we are total nerds) and examine the TV and film related to the much-loved genre. If this sounds like your jam, check out L.A. Not So Confidential on Itunes.
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