Take 2 - living on the high seas or Pirate Rachel

I took some time off from the blog.
And I did a lot of living.

South America for 4 months.
Home for 1 month.
Galapagos Ecuador to teach English 4 months.
Home for 1.5 months.
Florida to pursue yachting 1.5 months.
Florida working on a yacht 3.5 months.

And that's where we jump off from...I'm off to start what is a dream job on a world traveling yacht.

I'll keep you posted!

- Rachel

I live in Galapagos.

It feels so freaking COOL to get to say that.

I could stop posting there.

It would be true and it could be enough. 

Secret... It hasn't been all boobies and tortoises here though. It hasn't been only a paradise. 

Nothing ever is 100% any one thing though 

right? The cynical would ask me, "what did you expect?" Or talk about how going back to work after 4 months of 'vacation' would be difficult for anyone. Let alone in another country.

It's a beautiful place.

I want to tell you all about it.

The good and the bad. The beautiful paradise and the 3rd world. My physical paradise and mental hell.

-Rachel 

I've heard good things about this school

If I had a yen to hit SE Asia, I'd definitely take a look at this organization.

http://www.hess.com.tw/en/

Does anyone have any other recommendations?

-Rachel

Starting again in Salento, Colombia

It's been a while.

I couldn't write.

I'd say that I was busy, but that's not the whole truth.

I couldn't write.

I've been hiking up ridiculously high mountains in Peru, visiting Bolivia's beautiful Salar de Uyuni, learning Spanish in Cusco, celebrating Christmas with new friends and flying to Colombia to salsa into 2015 with old new friends. I've also been thinking. Stewing. Marinating. Talking it out. Starting to watercolor paint.

And today I started my journal again.

Cramming for the upcoming holidays

The holidays have never meant much to me.
When I worked retail - I was happy to pull a 10 hour shift. The time flew with the crazies, although the 4 am start wasn't anything to leap for joy about.

I'm going to be gone this holiday season though. And it's hitting me harder than I thought it would.
People are posting their open invites for Thanksgiving, and there are more than a couple that I would have loved to attend.
Leaving makes me realize how much I love my friends.
If I can build that here - then I need to have faith that I can do that wherever I land. That's a lot to believe in, and sustained belief.

To take care of some things for me, and for my family, I'm pre-loading the holidays.

I made cookies. Peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip. Yum. I ate 3 of them and I've pretty much filled my quota for cookies. Good thing I have friends!

My mom was lovely enough to bring Thanksgiving to me last weekend. She packed up the crock-pot, brought my beloved jellied cranberry sauce (can-shaped of course), and mashed pounds of potatoes. They drove down to Minneapolis, and I was able to invite friends to share as well. It was lovely, and after enjoying a final hit of pumpkin pie, and bundling my parents back up to the North, R1 (former roommate and all around badass) lit a fire in the backyard fire pit. It was a beautiful version of the holiday.

I got to wrap up a gift for my mom yesterday. It's all a surprise but it feels all warm and tingly to know that even while I'm so far away that they'll have something from me here.

Just a little taste of the holidays while the snow flies for me. Sending me off with a good 6 inches and a final kick in the snow pants.

-Rachel

You Are Allowed

I found this today. Some of the statements vibrate at my same frequency. Read through them and see if it's the same. If you like what you read - take a look at Mara Glatzel's website: maraglatzel.com

you are allowed

OCTOBER 23, 2014

You are allowed to rest.

You are allowed to go through the effort of going to the store, buying the ingredients, and spending time cooking your favorite meal… even if you’re the only one there to eat it.

You are allowed to prefer the company of people who lift you up to those that drag you down.

You are allowed to cry.

You are allowed to believe in the magic of the moon and tide and seasons.

You are allowed to be wildly sexy… even if you aren’t “skinny” or “hot” or “perfect.”

You are allowed to be unproductive or to delve into something utterly “useless” that delights your spirit.

You are allowed to not have it all figured out.

You are allowed to be selfish, and not just this once. 

You are allowed to be imperfect. To show up messy. To feel vulnerable when a perceived flaw is revealed.

You are allowed to want your coffee a certain way. (Brewed dark with dollops of coconut cream, thank you very much.) And, you are allowed to be absurdly weird about the mug that you drink your coffee out of.

You are allowed to buy yourself really nice sheets to sleep in every night.

You are allowed to like succulents and flower crowns, even when they are painfully on trend and you’d really like to pretend you are too cool for them.

You are allowed to be uncool.

You are allowed to curate your life as if it is your greatest masterpiece. It is.

You are allowed to throw away all of the underwear in your drawer that has holes in it.

You are allowed to shine brightly, even it it is intimidating to someone else or makes them jealous.

You are allowed to be unendingly specific as you attend to the details of what is around you.

You are allowed to say no. To change your mind. To realize mid-process that something isn’t right for you.

You are allowed to recalibrate your course at a moment’s notice.

You are allowed to choose what you make things mean.

You are allowed to have a bad day. 

You are allowed to be ridiculously happy, even if everyone around you is struggling.

You are allowed to be too much. To be irrational. To be highly sensitive.

You are allowed to ask for what you need.

You are allowed to have needs. 

You are allowed to love yourself, bravely, no matter what.

You are allowed to make up your own mind about what you’d like to do – without asking anyone else.

You are allowed to make mistakes.

You are allowed to be deliciously, ridiculously, and messily human.

From the blog'osphere to book'osphere

I have been rambling around the internet and blogs for the last year.

I found this little number and I think that EVERYONE SHOULD RUN OUT AND BEG, STEAL, OR BORROW THIS BOOK ==> Adulting How To Become A Grown-Up In 468 Easy-ISH Steps
by Kelly Williams Brown.

Bam.
Mic drop.

She started as a blog and has made adulthood just that much easier and a whole lotta more entertaining.
One of my favorite easy-ish steps is #188

She is SO right. How often do you do this? Stop it. You're worth the compliment. And so is someone else. If you have something nice to say - then say it. You better believe that when people don't have something nice to say - they feel no desire to stifle that. It works both ways, and the world could always use more kindness.

-Rachel