Home is Wherever I'm With You

One last treat, our favorite song whilst traveling together, Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros:

Home is wherever I'm with you.

Great Wide Somewhere

As I've been planning out posts and sorting through old photos, cleaning our house in preparation to leave Seoul, I am left feeling calm and grateful.  I used to spin around in my backyard as a child, pretending to be Belle in my favorite Disney flick Beauty in the Beast, singing these lyrics over and over again.

I recently talked to my mom and she said I was the child that told her "I'm never leaving mom, I'm staying right here." My, how things change.  I think I was always a secret adventurer, and now again I'm spreading my wings and taking flight.

I can't wait to be back on the blog to share our Eurotrek journey.  It feels like I'm saying my final goodbye to an old friend today, but I know it is for the best that we close down blogger for a bit and just enjoy the open road.

See you soon;) Off to Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere.

The Kissing Bridge

It was rumored that if you kissed on this bridge on WKU's campus, you would be together forever.  

Well, it worked for us!  Last blast from the past picture:

Getting to Know You

Getting to know all about you.

Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me.

Ryan and I learned long-distance love skills early on in our relationship.  Even in our high school years of dating we lived an hour apart.  However this made the time we did spend together precious, and every date was a fun new journey together; the good and the bad! A few firsts:

• First dress up date: Ginji's Steakhouse, we liked the cool soup spoons so much we may or may not have put them in my purse!
• Failed date: Ryan tried to take me to Cirque du Soleil.  The map quest directions of downtown C-bus were confusing.  Thankfully we saw finally saw Ka in Vegas in April 2011.
• First date I paid for: A trip to watch The Phantom of the Opera, and eat at Spaghetti Warehouse in Dayton.
• And of course, the DANCES! Homecoming and Prom during our Senior year:

My mama made my red dress for me!

Senior pictures!  

Anchors Away

The 10 year blast from the past continues!

Us at 18 in this picture, about to graduate high school;)

Ryan and I met in a rather unlikely place, but it has always given us a great story to tell. Both of us were on spring break our junior year of high school in 2003, and cruising on the Carnival Sensation.

On the first night of the cruise, one of Ryan's friends "stole" my camera, and I went to retrieve it. Turns out the friend was rooming with Ryan, only four doors down from my cabin.  I knocked on the door, and Ryan is the one that answered.

We spent quite a bit of time together that week, staying up late talking under the stairwell, playing cards in the hallway, and going to the shows together.  It was ironic we were both Ohio natives, living an hour apart.  We exchanged digits...the rest is history!

A 10 Year Home Run

Before leaving, I had to do a few Blast from the Past posts, especially THIS month! May 2013 marks

  10 years since I first met that man o' mine.  Pretty amazing that we've known one another that long, and grown from wee 17 year oldie's to worldly 27 together. Hope you have as much fun as I did looking back at these kiddos!

Here is the story of our first date:

I lured Ryan down to Dayton for the first time with the promise of Dayton Dragon Baseball tickets (I was a dugout dancer there) in May 2003.  The invite morphed into a weekend of fun with a few crazy highlights:

• After the game we ate taco bell, and I accidentally spilled Dr. Pepper ALL over the inside of his new car! He was very forgiving.
• Ryan made his famous french toast for us on Saturday morning...the way to my heart is definitely good food!
• We learned that we're both spontaneous (or at least up for a challenge) as we cross-dressed our clothes. Ryan's still pretty handsome in a skirt...and rode bicycles to Valley Forge Elementary playground.  I got a bloody nose over the jungle gym, and romance began.

Meandering May

Hello! I'm loving time to catch up on the blog before we leave for vacay (typing this on 4-21-13).  The month of April isn't even over yet, but it's 5 days before we depart Seoul and I'm feeling good about our last month in this fantastic place.  We did so much! Check it out~ 

My goals in April were...

Jobs (and fun) to be done in...

April! 

1.) Send the last of Korea packages & write 10 cards: Yup, done and sent! It felt good to write and send out a little last-minute love!

2.) Dance classes & Yoga, try for three a week (schedule them): I did more dance than yoga, but it was still a really great way to blow off some steam and reframe my mind.  

3.) Clear photos and hooks off the walls: A BIG part of moving on for me is taking down those personal touches, blowing them a kiss good bye until I get to re-hang them on Hawaiian walls!

4.) Prep moves: : After I finish merrily typing this I have to go wipe down a few more cabinets, but the travel bag is organized, personal shipping out, and unaccompanied GONE: woot!

1. Personal Shipping 2. Unaccompanied 3. HHG 4. Travel bag

5.) Celebrate my 27th birthday!!: Yeah I did! With prom, with a 1920s party, with a quiet dinner date with my man, 27 is going to be a fantastic year.

6.) Next Big Adventure reveal: Very thankful for this opportunity to travel.

7.) Create 10-12 early posts for the blog: Doing this now, lol;) 

8.) Last of Korea 

1. Princess Cafe: With Kate! Done!

 2. Wandering Gal Walk: Many of these to clear my head.

 3. Bike the Han : One last look at cherry blossoms.

4. Noribang : Done! AND we sang "Hey Jude" carrying on the family tradition!

5. Dobongsan Hike: NOPE. Just couldn't fit it in.

 6. Body Scrub at the Jimjilbang: YES! Squeeky clean am I;)

 7. Dance Pass: YES! Loved the chance to release and dance this past month.

 8. Kate Day: Many a Kate-day was enjoyed.

 9. Photo Walk : Nope, couldn't squeeze this in.

10. Namdaemun: Yup, secured those last-favorite items. (I am stocked on Korean bath mitts for a good long time!)

9.) Prep travel documents (and research) : This took WAY longer than I thought it would, but I am glad I invested my time into it, in hopes we would have a better idea of what we wanted to see/do and how to get there! 

10.) Keep using up kitchen ingredients, throw a little gathering to hand out the rest!: No gathering, but utilized our kitchen for as long as we could.

11.) Stay grounded, present, enjoy the end. : I had a few very intense days where I just felt overwhelmed by this process, but none so many as when I left from Cali to come to Korea.  I think practice does make not perfect, but certainly better.

Now it is MAY and I have only a few goals to attend to:

May Ambitions:

1. Enjoy our travels! Be patient with one another, take breaks.  Traveling is NOT so much fun when you are on a perilous march.  Take your time and savor it.  You will never be able to see it all.

2. Reunite with KATIE! 

3. Get to Hawaii and start apartment searching;)

4. Send out weekly email updates to family and friends.

5. Live, live, live bravely and boldly.  

For Ryan and I this month: 

You are my traveling man, my best friend, and an uninterrupted month with you is something I am going to treasure for a lifetime. Love you, darling man.