I'm back!

I'm back! It always seems that when I have the most free time, I have the least motivation to publish. The truth is, I've started a draft several times online and even more times in my head. Does anyone else find themselves thinking their blog throughout the day? When I'm jogging, everything from the bright spring colors and fellow joggers to the various scents that I consume along the way spur first paragraphs. Meals that I cook, friends that I hear from, magazines and the plethora of videos and news articles that I catch online spark themes and even the evening conversations with my parents can be poetic.

And yet... here I am, more than 2 months later! In the mean time, January brought the battery charging visit by my dearest Alisa. One week of relaxation, exploration and wandering. Seven days of cheek splitting smiles, tummy clenching laughter and one photo-shoot after another (I swear we must have set a record!) That is not to mention our riotous and racy romp north of the border! With a 'blue' theme (yes, we have themes :) we spent the first day stopping in nearly every shop along the road to the coast. Thanks to Alisa's skillful internet research we had a fantastic room with a balcony overlooking the sea and the city, just blocks from the water in a chic area of Vancouver. Our first thought after getting our bearings, was that we hadn't given ourselves nearly enough time to try all of the sumptuous offerings! One by one, we were bombarded by the aromas from the cookie shop, the shawarma shop, the chocolate cafe, the pizzaria, and the cupcake store! How to decide?? (hint: we didn't ;)

Next up, a stroll along the waterfront including a hilarious set of statues (photos taken), skeletal tree silhouettes (photos taken), the famous symbol of Vancouver and subsequently the 2010 Winter Olympics, Inukshuk (photos taken) and even a giant set of engagement rings in the park (photos AND a video of Alisa's version of "Single Ladies" taken :). All that and we were left with no choice but to stop in a couple of our favorite shops on the way back to the hotel... to stimulate the poor Canadian economy of course... and perhaps a little sugar for our dancin' feet!

Playing dress-up is something that Alisa and I never left behind in our childhoods (one could make the argument that we've just extended our childhood - another reason we get along so well ;). In fact, dressing up has become a veritable requirement of any reunion. Thus, Vancouverites witnessed these two American girls dressed head to toe in blue (and a little black and silver thrown in the mix), hit the town. We tracked down a super-secret, ultra-posh restaurant down town, along the way meeting a magician that mysteriously made ash appear on my very own closed hand! How could we not fall in love with this place!

Our last day was spent exploring more of Vancouver, especially the Olympic Venues. Vancouver is such a lovely city! Everybody that we met was, as cliché as it sounds, so polite and helpful. They were smartly dressed and friendly and truly seemed happy. If it wasn't as rainy as Washington, I could see myself spending some serious time there! Alas, all good things must come to an end and Alisa must return to her family. Skype video chats just weren't enough for her adorable little boy :). I always miss her, but feel so proud of us for making these reunions happen every year. Love ya Lis!

The day she left was the day I had told myself that I needed to start finding my new path - a fairly ambiguous goal. I'll save the trials and tribulations of this quest for later entries, but it has definitely been a challenge to nail anything down. Do I continue traveling? There are still so many places that I have yet to see and languages to learn and people to meet and foods to taste... Do I focus on finding a permanent job abroad? Do I commit to a job in the States for a time? Finally, get a place of my own that I can decorate and feel, as foreign a concept as it is, at home? And then there is the matter of defining my true north. What are my most poignant passions? When am I the most satisfied and what are my talents? ...so many questions.

So! As I continue my journey, I've picked up a new side job. I have plenty of time these days to work on getting back in physical shape so I have been running consistently (met my goal of a half-marathon in Feb :), using Wii Fit for yoga and strength training and I've found a dance class that I absolutely love! About a month into attending classes, the instructor, whom I admire a great deal - this girl can move! - asked if I had ever considered teaching. Absolutely made my day! I took some time to mull it over and next thing you know, I was choreographing 14 songs including hiphop, salsa, reggaeton, bachata, bollywood and I've even thrown in a Greek song for the fun of it. I had my first class on the first of March and I am simply loving it! I get a wonderful workout AND I get to share my music and moves with a group of lovely ladies!

I'll try to stay more current from now on. I've got a blog coming up with some awesome products that I've come across and also... drumroll please... a possible international trip coming up!! Stay tuned ;)