Month: September 2015

Exactly What You Need

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This year I’ve been very conscious of stepping outside of my day-to-day routine. It’s easy with kids, soccer schedules and work to get caught up in the same tasks week in and week out. For the planner I am, there is definitely comfort in those routines. However, I’ve also come to realize I need to push those boundaries and make the most of unplanned moments. 

Last week my best friend from high school texted me out of the blue. Her first words were “don’t give me an answer without seriously considering. . .” Needless to say she had my attention. Someone backed out of the Madonna concert she was going to on Saturday night and would I make the journey to Washington DC to go with her. Was I desperate to see Madonna in concert? Eh. Would I make the trip to spend an unexpected weekend with my BFF? Absolutely!

  
I packed my bag, threw on the ridiculously overpriced red Converse sneakers I bought in Rome when my feet hurt so bad I could barely walk (worth EVERY Euro BTW), and headed for the airport. I’m at airports a lot for work travel. I have my routines. I know how long security will take and exactly how much time I need to get from the parking lot to my gate. The feel of that routine was so different this time. I was seizing the moment and taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity that was being presented to me.

It turns out the weekend was just what I needed in so many ways. There is nothing like spending a lazy day talking, chatting and catching up with a friend who has known you for 30 years. So much is said and understood without really having to say a lot. The laughter is deeper and the familiarity is like a big hug that wraps around you. 

  
We had a really fun night. Dinner was great. Madonna was everything you’d expect her to be.  People watching was fantastic. The variety of gay/straight, old/young, conservative/outlandishly dressed people to watch and observe was probably my favorite part of the night. Even the ride home provided an unexpected treat when we drove by the Washinton Monument and were able to capture this really cool picture.

  
The weekend was a great reminder to stay open to the possibility of what may be. Making the spur of the moment decision, hopping on a plane and being open to the experience gave me so much more than the thrill of adventure. I got time with one of my favorite people in the world and a great memory to add to the many we have created over the years. Funny how those red sneakers took me exactly where I needed to be!

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Rise and Shine

Published on by joycew23Leave a comment

Let me just say upfront – I am not a morning person. The solitude of a quiet house at midnight has always held more appeal than peaceful early morning hours. I can be quite productive late at night, which is in stark contrast to the fog that clouds my brain when I first wake up in the morning. Jet lag and business travel, however, have a funny way of forcing you out of your normal rhythms.

My travel last week brought me to Idaho for the first time. I’m always excited to cross another state off my list of places visited, so I was looking forward to the trip. The three day visit and two hour time difference really didn’t make adjusting to the time zone very efficient, so I pretty much stayed on East Coast time. This meant early morning wake up at about 5am and a quick discovery of the benefit in doing so.

As our meetings didn’t start until 9am, my colleagues and I were able to discover some fantastic breakfast venues. I don’t usually think of trying new restaurants for breakfast when I travel for work. I’ve had some amazing dinners in really cool places all around the world, but breakfast, if I’m honest, is whatever I can grab running out the door. This time I took full advantage of the jet lag and made the most of my early mornings.


First stop was Bacon. Yes, an entire restaurant based on bacon. My kids would have thought they’d died and gone to heaven. There were about a dozen different types of bacon and a wide variety of breakfast items on the menu. I got the Eggs & Berryhill Bacon which were heavenly. The eggs were steamed, cheesy and served with salsa fresca, Berryhill bacon, potatoes & toast with honey butter. The scrambled eggs were honestly the best I’ve ever eaten and the bacon was sweet, salty and spicy all in one bite. The coffee was fantastic too – you can’t beat a better breakfast combination. It was amazing what a great meal did to put me in the right frame of mind for the day of meetings ahead of me.

After talking with the locals about our first breakfast adventure, we were quickly given a couple of other places to try. With only one more morning in town, we decided on Goldy’s due to the rave reviews for their Eggs Benedict. I’ll just say they lived up to the hype. Their Hollandaise sauce is homemade and you can taste it. The Black Forest ham perfectly balanced out the creamy sauce. As delicious as the Eggs Benedict were, the best part was you could get a half order, which made for a perfect, slightly less guilty way to enjoy the yumminess. This was a very good thing because the potatoes were totally worth the extra calories – crispy and tender all at the same time.


The was a trip filled with unforeseen food adventures. Mornings are not my natural time of day to be looking for new things to discover nor am I usually in the frame of mind to fully take advantage of them. This trip gave me a totally new appreciation for taking a gift of time and making the most of it. I’m going to think long and hard the next time I’ve got jet lag working in my favor and make the most of this opportunity for unexpected travel.