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Practicing Deep Appreciation and Mindfulness While Traveling

Over the years, I’ve always loved travelling, something about new places, people, food, ideas, things, languages, etc has always drawn me to want to explore every single area of earth where people live and exist. As I’ve gotten older, I came to realize that the memories I created during my travels have become some of my most cherished, and even some of the more challenging and even terrifying experiences have shaped me in ways that make me smile when I think about them. Here are some tips for practicing mindfulness and deep appreciation while traveling:

Slow Down

Make time to slow down and take in your surroundings, rather than rushing from place to place.

When I am traveling, I like to have some days that are packed, because I do know that I may never make it back to that city to see everything I’ve always wanted to see there. However, I also make it a point to have one to three days in a week-long trip be minimally scheduled. Maybe I only schedule my meals (so I don’t go over budget on food) or maybe I schedule “time for a walk” or “time by the pool,” but I ensure that I leave abundant time for pure leisure so that I can be more open to discovery and appreciate my surroundings rather than clock-watching and rushing to catch the next bus or train to my next attraction. I find that because I have done this in the past, it leaves me open to trying new things I hadn’t thought of before arriving and I also tend to meet new people during this time. For example, last time I was in Las Vegas, I decided to go for a long walk up the strip. I got caught in the rain (yes, actual rain- in the dessert- and it was pouring!) so I stopped by Caesar’s and I ended up having a great time because I met someone else who was really into fitness and tech, so we ended up chatting for nearly an hour as the rain fell and people rushed around seeking shelter and transportation. We both preferred to wait it out rather than wait in line for a taxi.

Notice

Take time to notice and appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of your destination, and try to be fully present in the moment.

This is something I can definitely do better with, but one thing I do often enough is stand and smell the air. Every place smells different. It’s kind of beautiful. (Unless it’s not, and even then, at least it’s memorable- lookin at you, Matanza River, in Buenos Aires. Honestly, the irony of it being in “buenos aires“)

One of my favorite things to do when I spend time in a new place is to wake up with the sun and see what the sunrise looks like wherever I am. So far, Argentina is the winner. I was on the roof of my ex’s aunt’s house in Banfeld (a neighborhood in Buenos Aires) near the corner of Roma and Coronel Lynch street. And I could see its beauty. 5:30am. Of course, maybe I shouldn’t spend so much time staring at the sun, but we’re all gonna get cataracts eventually anyhow, so I might as well enjoy my life.

I couldn’t find my photo of the sunrise, but here is a picture from Iguazu, Argentina

Use Your Senses

Use your senses to engage with the environment, such as by touching the bark of a tree or tasting a local delicacy.

This is a given. One of the greatest pleasures of traveling, and indeed of life is the tastes of different foods. My favorite food of all time was actually discovered while traveling. When I was in China, I discovered lotus root. It is delicious, sort of tastes like a water chestnut, but better. The lotus root is only in season for a short time every year, and the variety I had is actually an early harvest of the plant called “Ou Dai,” which translates to lotus belt and is a specialty of the province of Hubei, which makes complete sense because that is where I had it. Nearly every single day, since the day I first discovered it while I was there, I at least tried to order it. Sometimes it was available, sometimes it was sold out, but I always tried. I loved it. Had it as often as I could. It was about 8 kuai, which was a little over a dollar at the time. I know you didn’t ask, but my favorite beer was “Snow Beer,” and it was the most common one sold there. I wish I could have brought some home- same with the lotus root, I suppose, but at least you can find lotus root here. It’s impossible to find Snow Beer.

The white dish in the back, not the fancy-lookin’ fish in front is the lotus root.

When I was in Argentina the first time, I was staying with my (now ex) boyfriend’s family and they went up the street to the carniceria to buy “meats” which was literally a bag of random meat from a cow. Every type of meat that wasn’t a specific cut was in there. Mostly things you wouldn’t think to eat necessarily like tongue, heart, and intestines. I had the intestines, they were actually pretty good! And I appreciated the new experience for what it was- plus it was cooked in the asado tradition (I hope I’m saying that right) and it was interesting to watch. It was a big stone barbecue and it looked a lot like these ones.

When I was in Paris, I was 15. I was with a group of other kids in my class, typically assigned two to a room, but I was by myself. The teachers kept a pretty close eye on us, but once everyone was sent to their respective rooms to go to sleep, of course, since I was alone I did not go to sleep. Instead, I left the hotel, and walked around Paris at night for a couple of hours. I still remember the lights and the noise of the big city, the street signs, the smell of the night air, the architecture of the old buildings, the windiness of the roads, and almost getting hit by a car while crossing the street. For whatever reason, no one noticed I had left, and I am grateful for the alone time I had while everyone else slept.

The point of all these experiences are the senses and the memories that are created and can be recalled with vivid detail whenever the notion strikes. Travel bestows upon us, many gifts, and one of those is the memories we create. And one great way to create them is to take the time to notice with all our senses everything that surrounds us.

Be Grateful

Practice gratitude and appreciation for the experiences and opportunities that traveling offers.

In the previous few paragraphs, I described some experiences that I had while traveling that involved my senses. I am grateful for all of those experiences. I have had many wonderful and exciting experiences while travelling and am very grateful for all of them- even the experiences that scared me.

For example, the second time I was in Argentina, and I was traveling alone. I met many friends, but on this occasion, I may have made an error in judgement… You see, I decided to take a ride with these 4 guys in their car, and maybe they drove kind of far out of the city of Mar Del Plata, which was where I was staying at the time. Anyways, we went back to their place, and we were hanging out, but then I kind of felt like they were surrounding me, so I made an excuse and got the heck out of there, but it was about 6pm and starting to get dark and I was pretty far out of town like I said. One thing about Mar Del Plata, is that it is a coastal city. And the shoreline is forever long. Thankfully, their place was kind of higher-ish on the elevation-side of things. So, because of the higher elevation, I was able to quickly find the shoreline, which, if followed for long enough, I would eventually find myself back in town. Unfortunately, it was a 30-minute drive, which was probably a 4.5 hour or longer walk. In that time, it would have gotten dark and more dangerous for a young, single, foreign, and at the time, blonde girl to be walking along a windy, mountainside road. Fortunately, and what probably saved my life, was that, within maybe 15 minutes of walking down this road I saw, and was able to flag down a taxi cab. Honestly, very shocking, since I imagine most of the business comes from the tourists, who frankly don’t and probably shouldn’t be wanting or needing to go into the mountain-y areas where a lot of the locals live. Anyways, I spent about a month here and definitely made friends, but did not make that same mistake again and kept my social activities to groups of one or two. I know it probably doesn’t make sense, but I’m grateful for that experience.

Also, because I spent so much time in Argentina, my Spanish got really decent. On my way back, I decided to stop in Miami for another week or two of vacation time. Unfortunately, my luggage was lost and I needed to visit the Lost Luggage counter in Miami. In front of me was a family of four whose luggage (shocking) was also lost. What was actually surprising to me was that the lady employed at the Miami airport Lost Luggage counter did not speak any Spanish at all. Seeing them struggling to be understood back and forth, I appointed myself interpreter and spent about 20 minutes going back and forth between the agent and this family on how they’d like to receive their luggage which had been lost, but was on its way to Miami via another flight. I told them they could come by later to pick it up, or they could tell the airport staff where they were staying and someone would drive it out to them. They chose to leave the address of the hotel at which they were staying and the luggage, I imagine was eventually reunited with them. I was very grateful that I had gotten a chance to use my Spanish in such a way that was so helpful and the family was grateful that I could help. The airline staffer couldn’t have given two fucks, but she moved swiftly on to assist me with my lost luggage.

Be Curious

Cultivate a sense of curiosity and openness to new experiences and people.

This is a point that many of you, if you’re reading this will already be conscious of, and indeed practicing. If you already have a high level of openness to new experiences and people, then it will not be much for you to try to turn it up a notch. However, if you’re not one of those people, this might be more difficult for you. If you’re someone who enjoys going somewhere, but staying on the resort and laying by the beach, in order to create more memories and increase levels of wellbeing and improve the relative enjoyment of travel you experience, I must recommend increasing your levels of openness to new experiences and people.

Easier said than done. If you’re not especially open to new people and experiences, you may not even realize that this can affect your enjoyment of travel. Even if you can only make it from not wanting to try a local delicacy to trying it and disliking it, that can impact your holistic experience of that trip, increase your confidence levels and improve your connection with others present.

Another way you can slowly improve your openness to experience is by attempting to learn a few key sentences from the language that is spoken natively where you’re headed. “Where is the bathroom?” is honestly so useful. Even though you’ll have a very thick accent, I’ve never visited a country where it wasn’t at least somewhat appreciated that I tried to speak their language. In many cases, not only was it appreciated, people were genuinely impressed. I experienced this once in France, and a few times in China. Having these types of experiences though, requires a small amount of cultural interest and time investment.

Openness and curiosity are intertwined. I promise you’ll enjoy your trips more if you attempt to cultivate a little more of both.

Practice Self Care

Take care of your physical and emotional well-being, such as by eating well, getting enough sleep, and managing stress.

What’s so funny about vacations is that while they’re supposed to be relaxing, calming, and fun, but often times, they can end up adding stress to our lives and we return from our time away with added stress instead of less.

I remember travelling back to Canada last February and after the added stress of having my rental car get a flat tire on the highway, I’ll never go back to Canada in the winter again unless I am able to drive there with my own car. It basically ruined my plans and I went back home with less energy than I had started my vacation with originally.

In order to prevent this lapse in energy, it would have helped me to use better stress management. I could have spent time talking to friends, instead of sitting in the car worrying that the tow would not arrive before I ran out of gas. I could have done a quick meditation- or even a long one- while I waited for the tow truck. Sometimes, flat tires can’t be prevented. But how you react to a situation can affect your mood and your energy levels for the rest of the trip. What else can you think of that I could have done to have a better reaction and better managed my stress levels during this difficult situation?

Of course, a vacation is not a vacation without some “fun foods.” And I think it’s necessary to indulge! You’re on vacation, afterall! But taking care to eat some healthy meals will keep your energy levels high and help you enjoy other aspects of your vacation. Same with sleep: We love to stay out late and enjoy the local nightlife, but getting adequate sleep is important to our general well-being and our ability to enjoy the trip as a whole. I can’t imagine being on vacation and being exhausted the entire time just because I thought it would be fun to stay out all night- every night.

Final thoughts on this are all about balance. Sometimes, stressful things will happen, but we need to manage our reactions to those stressors in order to move past them quickly and enjoy the rest of our vacation. Yes, sometimes we need to stay up all night and other times we need to try the double deep fried oreo, but we also need to take care of ourselves in all the usual ways even in unusual situations. Balance in all things.

Set aside time for quiet reflection or meditation, such as by sitting in a park or by the ocean.

This is something I could do better on, honestly. I made sure to make time for it on my last vacation when I went to Vegas and I spent time just reflecting, sitting alone, thinking, but I actually want to make it a daily or at least an alternate day practice. I took about 2 and a half hours, a sat alone, thinking at the spa, relaxing on the heated stone lounge chairs.

I think it’s important to make a point of slowing down- especially when things can seem so hurried rushing from place to place trying to make every reservation when on vacation in a new- and probably expensive- city.

Take time to enjoy the flowers. These are some I found in China.

Connect with others, such as by striking up a conversation with a local or sharing a meal with a fellow traveler.

This is seriously my favorite thing to do. In China, I tried to do it everywhere I went, although it could be difficult at times due to the language barrier. My Chinese was good, decent even, especially as the time in immersion grew longer, but I could still not have any in-depth conversations about any complex topics. Probably for the best, as much small talk is surface level, but it was a little overwhelming at times when I wasn’t able to express myself using the words I wanted to as I quickly thought in English and hastily translated to spoken Chinese. Regardless, some of the best memories I have from China include the locals I met and the interesting situations that came about from having met and gotten to know them. For example, there was this one restaurant/ bar called K798. Here are some photos we took in that bar.

Be Present

Enjoy the present moment and let go of any expectations or preconceived notions of what your trip should be like

Sometimes, we have this picture in our head of what our vacation is supposed to look like or feel like. This can cause cognitive dissonance when things don’t go our way- which happens all the time when travelling- and that causes stress, which can severely hamper our feelings of gratitude. Comparing what we thought our vacation would or should look like to what actually ends up happening can be disappointing and cause feelings of sadness and regret.

Fortunately, we can nip these in the bud by preparing for how we will react to setbacks. When travelling, it’s important to expect setbacks, plan for them as much as we can, but expect them and then plan for how we will react. For example, I have missed my flight in the past. For whatever reason, while leaving Las Vegas in 2012, I had booked myself on a 7am flight, but in my head, it was a 7pm flight. When I got to the airport at 5pm to catch my flight, my future husband carrying my luggage behind me, I realized my mistake and took charge. I changed my flight for a couple days later, paid the fee and decided to enjoy more time in Vegas. He once told me that the way I handled the problem was one of the main things that attracted him to me. He said I approached it with poise and determination. I think I handled it like a badass. Same thing.

I could have let that little setback ruin my good time. Honestly, I could have panicked or gotten angry with my past self- or even worse, the poor ticket counter lady who was just doing her job. But I didn’t. I fixed the problem the best I could, and I moved on. Sometimes, it’s difficult to focus on having a good time when things go wrong. But it’s the best thing to do- especially when things aren’t going your way. Another thing I can recommend is making friends with locals or other tourists when things go wrong. They’ll take your mind off things and help you live presently.

Take Photos

Taking photos can help you remember your travels and allow you to share your experiences with others.

Some of my most cherished photos are photos from trips I have taken. You never know what you’ll capture, what you may have missed or how beautiful that countryside really looked if you forget to take pictures along the way. While it’s important to remain in the moment, taking photos are an important tool to remember all the beautiful places you visited and people you met.

Go Local

Engage with the local culture: Talk to the locals, try the local food, and participate in local activities to get a deeper understanding of the place you are visiting.

This is one of my favorite tips! I love, love, LOVE meeting new people!! One of the best ways to figure out what is going on locally is to meet new people! You can ask them what the best restaurants are, and where the locals go to have a great evening out. For example, I live in Memphis, and all the guides will tell you that Beale street is the place to be, and frankly, sometimes it is. But, most locals will tell you that midtown has some amazing options food-wise and it’s very popular with the college students since it is closer to the University of Memphis and Rhodes College. I’m not sure how much cheaper it is, but there’s no fee to enter Madison Ave. in Memphis, but there is on Beale on weekends after dark.

So, talking to the locals, and making friends is literally one of my favorite things to do when I travel. You never know who you’ll meet- I’ve encountered some fascinating characters on the road- and you never know what you’ll learn. I specifically remember being in Shanghai and meeting this Hongkonger who spoke immaculate English (said he’d been seriously studying since grade-school) who helped me understand why it was so tough to find a taxi in Shanghai and walked me to an area where I could easily find one to drive me back to my hotel. Definitely gained some perspective plus he was really cool to talk to. Sure did swear a lot though 😂

I definitely feel grateful for every single friend I have met on my travels. There are kind, open-minded and helpful people everywhere in the world just waiting for you to find them!

Look for the unique and unusual: Seek out the local gems and hidden corners of a place rather than just visiting the tourist attractions.

This tip is not only good for your memories, appreciation and well-being, it’s also good for your wallet! A lot like the last tip but relying mostly on yourself to find these hidden gems, this tip can help you appreciate your own sense of wonder and curiosity. Explore. Get lost (okay, maybe not too lost). Try something new, something that’s not in the books. Experience a sense of adventure. Revel in the newness of everything that’s around you. Take a trip down the road less travelled. The novelty of the situations in which you’ll find yourself are sure to create memories that you’ll cherish forever.

Conclusion

Well that’s what I got for y’all today. It was a lot but it was fun to take a trip down memory lane. Do you have any tips for practicing mindfulness while traveling? I feel like it is more than just good practice for your mental health- it’s also a great way to create memories. If you’re 100% focussed on what is going on, then you’re more likely to commit it to memory. Photos are great- and they’re very important, which is why I recommend taking as many as you can, but reflection in the moment can be powerful. I hope you find yourself slowing down more often to take everything in while you’re on the go.

Happy Trails!

My Trip to Corinth, MS

Hello friends!

This is my FIRST trip of the year and I am so excited! I wasn’t planning to go anywhere until a couple of Fridays from now when I have a Microblading appointment in Nashville (more about that later!) BUT I saw Boogie2988 tweet that he was going to be in Corinth for their Comic Con, and I have been wanting to go see him at one of the Retropalooza’s for years, but it just never worked out with my schedule- I always had something else going on. I made a note for when the next Retropalooza was happening, but the events are held in Texas, which is a 6 or 7 hour drive for me. It’s really not that bad, but it isn’t something I can do to have a fun day-trip, so when I heard that he was going to be literally an hour away, I made plans to make a fun day-trip out of it.

So, I did my hair, and got on the road at around 7:45am. The trip to Corinth is an hour and fifteen minutes, and I would have gotten there by 9-ish, but I had to take a mental health break about 15 minutes away because I got debilitating anxiety on my way. I started feeling some anxiety, pulled into a nearby gas station, got a bottle of water and sat in their parking lot for nearly 30 minutes doing Headspace breathing exercises and watching Randy Feltface comedy until I felt better. Got back on the road, and ended up feeling really good about the way I was able to manage my anxiety.

I did some research and the top things to do in Corinth included going to the Civil War Interpretive Center, so, I planned on checking that out first. I walked in at about 9:45am and they said that since I was the first person there, they’d start the film for me whenever I’d like. I went to the washroom first, which was very large, modern and clean, then I headed to the small projection room and watched a 20-minute film that explained, in an interesting way, how important Corinth was to the South in the Civil War and why there were battles in Corinth.

After the short film, I walked my way around the exhibits, which were mostly large posters with information and a lot of older artifacts from the Civil War like guns, and the personal belongings of some of the higher ranking men. What I found interesting was a few posters depicting letters home describing Christmas Day and what it had been like for the soldiers in service.

Another topic I found particularly interesting was the concept of the “Contraband Camp” which was a camp set up by freed slaves who worked on the camp in agriculture to earn money and learn to read and maintained services needed for daily living among the population of a few thousand people. I thought it was really interesting and I plan to visit the preserved site in the future. I had no idea it existed until today. In fact, as a Canadian, I have only so much knowledge of American history. I have taken college classes, and I do read, but my knowledge is still limited. However, I’ll take this time to recommend Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States. I haven’t read it in years, but most of what I know is in that book. In reading some of the recent critical reviews, I am glad it is not the only source of information I have consulted. Personal Note, feel free to skip ahead: I have developed a keen interest in the history of the early 1900’s and have dove into some of the main characters of that era and every rabbit hole I explore just seems to get deeper and deeper. I read the entire agriculture report from the USDA from 1906. I read a paper on the discussion of the Gold Standard in England when studying why America abandoned it because England gave it up first and the paper was written by some pretty prominent economists at the time. All I am saying, I guess is that there is so much information out there, it’s not wise to rely on one source, but it also is not wise to follow every single rabbit hole to find out where it leads, because the answer is probably another rabbit hole.

I bought a magnet, I collect magnets 🙂 And they were giving out free bookmarks!

I left the Civil War Interpretive Center at about 11:00 AM and did my makeup in the car. It turned out okay, but I think I’ll do it at home before I leave next time.

My next stop was the Crossroads Arena. Steven was going to be there at 12pm for a Q&A and he started with a brief introduction and, as usual, no one wanted to ask the first question. Thankfully, I am that person. Another personal story, if you’ll indulge me: I remember being in grade school, I was just naturally scholastically talented and I always knew the answers. However, I never raised my hand- EXCEPT- from time to time, and especially at the start of a school year, a teacher would be absolutely struggling to get any class participation, and I loved being that person who would raise my hand after a minute of complete and awkward silence from everyone else. It helped the teacher out and it got the ball rolling and people started participating after that. Sometimes, the teachers even thanked me. Steven thanked me later when I went to speak with him after the session.

So, I asked my question, which was about social media and growth. I wish I could take the advice, which is basically to find your people and nevermind what others think, but I don’t know if I have that ability. I probably should try to get better at not caring, but it’s not about me. I wish it was. I wish I cared about what people thought because what other people think about me should be important, but I care because I never want to make anyone feel badly or hurt ever. And the truth is, as my therapist is always telling me: You can’t control how other people feel. So, if I say something, even if I mean it in the kindest, most helpful way possible, there is a chance that someone will misinterpret what I have said and take it personally- and I have had that happen many times and no matter how much I explain that I didn’t mean for it to come across that way, they continue to be offended or hurt or whatever the case may be and it truly breaks my heart. Because I am very much not out here just trying to hurt anyone and truthfully, I audit my statements very carefully as much as possible to avoid hurting anyone. I just know what it feels like to be hurt and I hate to think that I have ever caused anyone any pain. So, I think simply not caring is quite out of the cards for me. But I continue to try to take the advice of my therapist and recognize that others will have feelings about things I say and I can’t be held responsible for every negative reaction to everything I say or do.

After the Q&A which was all-together entertaining, political, inspirational, informative, I walked around the convention a spell and took in all the sights and sounds. There was some fantastic banter between friends overheard, I enjoyed watching people in their costumes taking photos with one another, I spoke with a couple of vendors and I debated buying a snack because honestly, at this point: I was famished. However, I wanted to wait to at least make sure I talked to Steven to ask him what his favorite Stephen King book was, because he had mentioned that he was his favorite author. I told him my favorite was The Long Walk, and we talked about the Bachman books for a bit (Bachman was a King pseudonym) and moved on to other topics. We took a “photo” (actually a video, but I am choosing my favorite still frame) and I left because a giant line of people was forming behind me and I was completely unaware. Also: Did I mention that I was starving?

My next stop was food- Thank goodness! I had not eaten all day, and I really, really needed to eat! Plus, I was so excited to go to this really old restaurant, Borroums, that used to be a drugstore that was established in 1843 and modernized in the mid 1970’s. They don’t sell drugs anymore, but they are famous for their Slug Burgers, which is fried pork on a bun with pickles, onions, lettuce and mustard. I liked it a lot, but if I could make a suggestion: make the bun a sesame seed bun and the mustard Dijon and charge more for it. The milkshake was incredible. They even let you have the “extra,” and I am actually worried they’re losing money on it because it was so cheap. I drank half of it… then, I decided to not feel guilty about drinking the rest, because I literally never have milkshakes and this one was particularly special and delicious.

Can I take a second to talk about the service? It was incredible. Everyone was so, so kind. And they complimented my outfit and wondered what I was doing in town, so I told them about the Comic Con, and let them know they might could expect a few interesting characters to show up as this (the restaurant) is listed among the most interesting things to do in Corinth. I finished my delicious meal, bought a t-shirt, paid, and left.

Also wanting to take some time here to talk about how adorable and quaint their city center was. All the little shops were so cute, they even had a baby store called “Ginger Snaps” that I really wanted to step into, but couldn’t because I simply did not have the time. It is on my list for next time. As is Shiloh, walking around downtown in general, the Coke Museum, which tragically is not open on weekends, the Curlee House and the Crossroads Museum. I’d also like to pay a visit to the Old Time Soda shop, to buy some exotic sweet drinks! Let me know if there’s anything you think I should be on the lookout for!

After lunch, I did go back to the arena, because I said I would, and I am a woman of my word. I had some fun chats, said my au revoirs, checked out this cool tabletop game that I might want to buy (I’ll let you know if I do) and hit the road- making my way back to Memphis.

The drive back, was uneventful- I listened to Randy Feltface and laughed all the way home. The Gumtree Bookshelf story gets me every time.

Have you ever been to Corinth? Ever even heard of it? It’s a really lovely place with kind people all around. I am already planning my next trip. Will try to make it on a Friday so I can visit the Coke Museum too. I hope this has inspired you to make the trek if you’re in the area- or even if you’re not!

PS: I made a YouTube video about this trip. I also discuss my anxiety and ramble about introversion vs extroversion.

PPS: I actually wanted to add a quick blurb here about the total cost of my day trip. I am trying to travel more this year, but I want to provide an example of how affordable travel can actually be, so…

Item	Cost
Gas	$25 (approx)
Civil War Interpretive Center Admission and Souvenir	Free admission, with a donation bin ($2) and $7 for the magnet
Corinth Comic Con	$15
Borroums (Lunch: milkshake, Slugburger, souvenir t-shirt +tip)	$40
Total	$89

The 24-Hour Rule for Finding Cheap Flights

I have recently become obsessed with finding cheap flights to literally anywhere but you never know 100% whether you’ll actually be able to commit when you see an insane deal!

That’s where the 24-hour rule can help!

The 24-Hour Rule

If your flight reservation meets some minimal requirements, you can, without penalty cancel your booked reservation within 24 hours. So, let’s say you spot an AMAZING fare to Jakarta and would love to go, but aren’t sure you’ll be able to get those specific days off- No problem! Book the flight to capture the amazing rate and ask your boss ASAP if you can take a little trip out East. If your boss says yes, sweet, you just scored yourself a great fare to a grand adventure. Of course, if the answer is no, you can just get a full refund.

This rule is a courtesy of the US Department of Transportation who introduced the legislation in 2012. A copy of guidance for the rule can be found here: Guidance on the 24-hour Reservation Requirement A webpage explaining the rule in plain English can be found here: Refunds for Airline Travel Consumers

The exact text of the rule is “Allowing reservations to be held at the quoted fare without payment, or cancelled without penalty, for at least twenty-four hours after the reservation is made if the reservation is made one week or more prior to a flight’s departure;” and it can be found here, it is a PDF and a part of a government document, the entirety of which is available here.

Limitations

Basically, if you book a flight with an airline- any airline- and you cancel within 24 hours, you’ll be able to get a refund. This applies only to airline with whom you actually book the trip and not with travel agencies and not with airlines who opt to let you do a 24-hour price hold instead of the 24-hour cancellation. A note on that one: All the ones in the table below offer the cancellation and refund rather* than a price-hold. I wonder why that is? If you’re in the industry, let me know in the comments!

This also only applies to flights that leave or arrive in the US. Any airline, foreign or domestic, but they have to be coming or going from the US- and you’ll have to have booked directly with them. Also: No last minute deals. If it was booked less than a week before departure, you’re not legally entitled to a refund. Never hurts to ask, but technically, they don’t have to.

*American Airlines offers both a convenient 24-hour hold and a 24-hour cancellation. It also appears that all airlines have moved towards the cancellation rather than the hold policy in the time that has passed since the legislation was enacted.

Airline Policies

If you ever have trouble getting your refund, you can call the airline and quote them their own policy by clicking on these links that take you to the exact place on the webpage where the policies may be found. I hope this table helps you! the Aeroméxico one was legitimately difficult to locate on their website. It’s like they don’t want you to know 🤔

Airline	Exact Place Where You Can Find Their Cancelation Policy
American Airlines	https://bit.ly/3PErBFD
Delta Air Lines	https://bit.ly/3j30rfj
United Airlines	https://bit.ly/3V3L9UY
Southwest Airlines	https://bit.ly/3hkqdeB
Air Canada	https://bit.ly/3uQKY4I
Alaska Airlines	https://bit.ly/3UX0rdY
JetBlue Airways	https://bit.ly/3PGVTaN
Spirit Airlines	https://bit.ly/3BCq1ho
WestJet	https://bit.ly/3FwoCdk
Volaris	https://bit.ly/3FzLt87
Frontier Airlines	https://bit.ly/3V4WTX0
Aeroméxico	https://bit.ly/3BDsEje
Allegiant Air	https://bit.ly/3YoStND
VivaAerobus	https://bit.ly/3Pvbc68
Hawaiian Airlines	https://bit.ly/3BDM730
Sun Country Airlines	https://bit.ly/3BDUD21 Page 34, the very end of this PDF document (I was unable to link the exact spot, because it is a PDF)

What to do if the 24-hour rule isn’t honored

If they still refuse to issue you a refund, you can report them to the USDOT by filling out this form: Airline Complaint Form. The airline is required to respond to these and a public database is maintained about which airlines are receiving complaints and a general sense of what these complaints are about. You can peruse the reports here. It might take a while, but if you are entitled to a refund, you should be able to get one through this process.

Let me know if you have anymore questions about this trick or the process and I hope the table above helped you!

PS: This was a little heavy at times. If I got any of the facts wrong, please correct me in the comments so everyone has the right information and so that I can improve! I would really appreciate any corrections!

Spring / Summer 2022

Hello! It has been a while! But then again, what is new?

Just wanted to write a little about what is going on with me. Of course. So, last time I wrote I said I was working on a Christmas wreath, so, I’ll put a little picture here. Not very “spring/summer-y” of me, but I haven’t been here in a while and I want to show that I did the thing.

I continued- until just this week- to be in therapy twice a week and have worked through a lot of the stuff about my dad. Finding his medical records and finally understanding everything he was going through was helpful. I am hoping to get access to some other paperwork but I don’t know if I legally can.

I continue to work on myself, even without a therapist, and trying to understand myself and my issues. Right now I am working on being less emotionally sensitive. I can be reactive sometimes and if I understand why, I can probably become better at regulating my emotions.

I want to apply for my American Citizenship soon- but I need to gather all sorts of paperwork- it will be time consuming. I would also like to get Savannah her Canadian citizenship, which is a less strenuous process but the wait time is very long at the moment due to Covid.

I recently started attending grad school, and hope to have my MBA in a couple of years. Grad school is tough, it’s not that the work is hard, specifically, it’s just that it is labour/ time intensive.

I want to talk about how I am feeling, but it’s all just very intense and I think I need to save it for another time. But, I decided to take a break from therapy after going twice a week for over a year now- I know I need some type of help, but if I am not feeling better, I don’t see the value in it. I have decided instead to focus on things that made me happy in the past. Connecting with people, focusing on self-care, trying to keep/ adopt healthy behaviors like eating healthfully, making sure I am taking my vitamins, meditating, and exercising. It’s not easy to keep up with these things when you’re feeling sad, or deflated. But I am pretty good at forcing myself through things, I guess I just got used to that part of life.

I want to put some cute pics of Savannah in here, since, as a mom, I am basically just so proud of her at all times. She is doing so well! I know I have mentioned, if not on here, at least on Twitter that she has a speech delay and she works with a speech pathologist 3x/week. She is getting really good at trying to say things and she has most of her numbers now, one through five and she tries to say eight and can say ten. She says ‘open’ and ‘hippo’ and has ‘pink, purple and blue’ pretty good.

I hope you like them. She is my favorite.

I have a lot to look forward to, despite my general mood. We are all going to Atlanta in August, the flight is only an hour long, so it will be a good “test” to see how Savannah flies. If she does well, I will bring her to Canada next time I visit. If not, we may have to wait until she is a little older. My husband and I are also going to Vegas in August, it will be a hoot. Celebrating ten years. Can you believe it?

Anyways, I just wanted to do a little update. I enjoy writing, and I probably should do it more often. I hope you’re having a beautiful day!

Fall, fun & Finding myself

Hello friends!

I just wanted to update you on the how I’m doing and what is up side of my life. I hope this finds you well and thriving!

Fall is upon us! Baby’s birthday & mine have passed, here are some family photos from the occasion

Savannah loved it when I lifted her up like this and plopped her down!

My mother in law gifted me with one of those crazy huge birthday signs and Savannah loved playing in it!

It made quite the impression! A few of the neighbors even wished me a happy birthday!

I did a whole vlog on Savannah’s birthday!

Lately, for fun, I’ve been starting to get back into crafting- since fall and Christmas-themed crafts are my favorite ones to do! I started it off simple with a little bulletin board to get the ball rolling!

This is not the final place where this is going to live, but I am testing the string to make sure it will hold before I put it up high on a wall somewhere.

Next, I plan to make a Christmas wreath!

Fall is in full swing! Savannah is having the time of her life!

Grandma & Grandpa took the day off to take the baby to Jones Orchard

On a personal note, I’ve been spending a lot of time working on myself. I’m still working hard in therapy, and I recently started physical therapy for my neck and upper back & shoulders. Just working on a lot of stuff- still dealing with stuff about my dad, my grandma passed away in early September and of course, I continue to work on my anxiety. Recently, I’ve been having some trouble sleeping. Even with all that- I think my mental health is in a better place than it ever has been before and my anxiety levels are lower than usual. I am very proud of all the progress I’ve made this year. It’s a lot. I plan to talk about it more in the future, but that’s all I’ve got for now.

I hope you are having a wonderful day and look forward to hearing from you in the comments or on Twitter 🙂

How it’s going

Hello Internet friends!

I’ve been gone a while. I was moving. I used to move all the time when I was younger, in college, all the time, and it never seemed to be such a big deal- even moving to the States, two thousand miles away didn’t seem like such a big deal logistically- the paperwork on the other hand was a headache and a half but never mind that for now… I just feel like I’ve had so much experience moving that it shouldn’t be such a big deal. But this time, when I even actually had movers helping me, and as much lead time as I needed, it was the most difficult move I’ve ever had.

Seeing everything in boxes never seemed so bad to me, and this time all they are is a reminder of everything that needs to get done. To be fair, there is more than ever. We have my stuff, the baby’s stuff, my husband’s stuff, the dog’s stuff- okay, she doesn’t have that much- and it just seems daunting to go ahead and unpack everything and put it away properly. The layout of this house is so completely different than our last home that, while there is plenty of space, it seems like there is no “place” for everything to be perfectly organized. Now, I know that this is just a cognitive error. Of course, in a house with much more (in fact, double) the square footage of my old house, surely there is a place for everything… I just haven’t made all the decisions as to what goes where yet and I think it’s all those decisions that are causing stress. So, meanwhile, there are boxes everywhere and I am trying to live an organized life in a complex disorganized house. It’s impossible. I just can’t wait until everything is unpacked and has a “home.” Then I can finally feel at home.

This place doesn’t feel like it’s mine. It’s too big. It’s too different. I’ve never had a garage before. First world problems, am i right? The toilet broke and flooded a bunch of the first floor. The irrigation system doesn’t appear to be functional. The contractor hasn’t installed the kitchen sink yet.

At least the baby is adjusting well. In daycare for the first time ever since Covid squashed those plans. Apparently she’s an angel. I’m excited for all the learning she is going to do! Every day they have activities and music and yoga(?) and they learn the letters of the alphabet. It’s great for her, I think. I don’t know how you get 18-month olds to do yoga, but it’s a wonderful tool to have for the future. There have been studies that show the benefits of yoga for kids. They send me pictures of her throughout the day, but never during yoga.. maybe I’ll ask for one.

Here’s a couple photos from daycare:

Speaking of Yoga: I bought a “Mirror” by Lululemon, so keep an eye out for a full review on my other website. Spoiler alert: I kind of love it, so far.

Let’s take a minute to chat mental health. I have to tell you, I’m not in the best place. I’m better than I was a month ago, as we were preparing to move, but I am still not “there” yet- wherever “There” is, but I’m not where I want to be. I have gone from therapy every two weeks to once a week, but I’m not sure how much it’s helping with my anxiety, So, I booked an appointment with a Psychiatrist group and I hope that having fresh eyes on my issues will help guide me to new treatments and solutions. We’ll see, I’m hopeful.

As far as anything else: I don’t have time for any new projects right now. I am working on getting unpacked and organized at home. The article about Lululemon’s Mirror is upcoming, and I have some video ideas, but nothing I have time to implement. … unfortunately. I miss the platform, but it takes me a while to produce anything.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Hello Spring

So excited for the great weather coming! The baby loves to walk outside, and I am enjoying seeing her become more and more independent.

Springtime means springtime crafts- it’s a hobby I rediscovered during quarantine. When I was a little girl, I used to love making little crafts, but never really did any DIYs as an adult. It turns out, I still really enjoy being creative and working with my hands. Here are a couple of things I’ve made so far this Spring.

Mostly greenery from Michaels, vase filler from Dollar Tree and the tiny bath tub is from Michaels too

Doesn’t look like it but this basket is a plastic one from Dollar Tree, I wrapped it in twine several times, then put basic cotton fabric from Walmart inside and over the sides, it is glued in place. Then I hot glued the twine with the little leafs on the edges to hide the fact that they’re not finished. Then, I used a tool to punch holes and fit grommets in the fabric and add the little “towels” label. Then I added the hand towels which are from Walmart. It’s actually in my bathroom, but I took a pic in the living room.

This is what I started with for the “Towels” basket- plus the fabric, not pictured

The bin is from Hobby Lobby, as well as the bunny. I used wooden letters from Dollar Tree that I painted pink. The greenery is a combination of Michaels, Dollar Tree and I think even some from Hobby Lobby.

Tiny watering can from Dollar Tree. I have a purple one too that I plan to something similar to. Mostly Michaels greenery.

This isn’t a craft. It’s just hot chocolate with bunny-shaped marshmallows I got from Target.

So, life is moving forward. I am getting ready to move. I will seriously miss my house, but we need more room, and the new neighborhood will be nice. I will share more once we close on the new house. I have even been thinking of making a comeback to YouTube 😯 just to share our new house/ adventures in mommy-hood.

How’s Your Winter Going? 🥶

So, now that I live in the South, I’ve become accustomed to certain creature comforts. One of these is a lack of snow and a general above zero temperature threshold. No ice- ever. However, once in a while- like maybe once every 5 years, something like today happens and we are officially iced. Schools are closed. Probably some businesses too but I am staying in so I am not checking for them. A friend of ours up the street has their power out. Whenever trees fall or large branches break off, that happens.

Iced “trees” over our fence from the neighbor’s yard.

Last time this happened I was stuck at home for 3 days. My car does not have snow tires and does not “do” ice. (Well, I am pretty sure it won’t- we never get ice here so I haven’t tried my new-to-me car on the ice at all ever.) I just hope this doesn’t last long. I like being able to go do groceries and get my morning Starbucks. I have no Starbucks and am subsisting on Diet Cherry Coke and Cream of Earl Grey tea from David’s Tea.

Not a whole lot been going on here lately. Father-in-Law got vaccinated because he works in a hospital but my mother-in-law recently retired, so she is not yet vaccinated. We are remaining vigilant. 💪

I am starting my Spring and Easter-related crafts and plan to do another diorama soon! I am already excited! Got some new materials and planning to go shopping for more! I just have so much fun with this stuff. It is something I have always considered myself to be good at- even if I am not. 😆

I am continuing to write. My book has gone from 10K words to 14K in a week. I did 500, then 700, then 1200 one day when she took an epic nap (!) then another 700… etc… I am very proud of myself. One way I have gotten myself to do some extra writing is to tell myself that these things don’t need to be written in the exact order that the book is going to be read. Like I can write chapter 6 even if chapter 3 isn’t done yet and that’s okay. Sometimes I feel like writing about certain things and not about others. Some days I’d rather write about security than SEO. Some days I’d rather be writing a blog post. And that’s okay, as long as I am getting something done. Something is better than nothing!

Keeping track of the little one is harder now that she walks – and she’s pretty fast too! 😂

Anyways, that’s what’s up over here, let me know how your Winter is going in the comments or on Twitter! I am LululemonExpert everywhere.

Merry Holidays to You & Yours

T’is the season and I just want to say that I hope you are somewhere safe, cozy, warm and with someone you love. Whether that’s your spouse, child, furry family member, or anyone else- I just hope you are able to be there with each other this holiday season. Wherever you are, I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, even given the difficult circumstances. 2021 can’t come soon enough. Here’s to a Merry Christmas and a Happy, HAPPY New Year.

I hope you are having an amazing day so far! I just wanted to check in and tell you how everything is going. Last time I wrote we were planting our winter garden, and I was discovering my inner Martha Stewart (like, a super low budget version) and starting to work on some Christmas crafts. Well, I did finish them, so here’s a couple of photos!

We’ve also begun harvesting some turnips from the garden, but the brussel sprouts and cabbages… haven’t really been doing much. We’ll probably end up with more garlic than we could ever use though. Next year my mother-in-law will be mostly retired, so we’ll have even more time to perfect our gardening.

Oh! I almost forgot: we’re thinking about moving! I genuinely love our house. I mean, we gutted the kitchen and the bathrooms, tore down two walls and put up another one, and built out a sunroom in the backyard. So, suffice it to say that we’ve done a lot to the place and we have thoroughly enjoyed all the renovations. Well, the results, anyways. The process is always messy. In any case, we’ve made our mark on our home and it will be sad to leave. But we really need a bigger place if we’re going to have another little one. No, I am not pregnant, we’re not even trying, but I will want an extra room (or even two) if we’re going to have more babies. I am already dreaming up how the new house will look! So excited, even though the move is probably not even going to happen until later next year.

The baby is growing up fast. She’s walking everywhere now. I am so so proud of her. She isn’t really talking much yet, but last week she said her second word “up.” (Her first word was “mama.”) It’s so cute because she has been saying it with an ‘h’ in front, like “Hup.” I thought for sure her next word would be “dog” or “daddy” or something else I am constantly repeating. I don’t really say ‘up’ that often. At least she’s found a useful word and didn’t learn penguin or stencil or something lol. Anyways, here are some pics of her because it’s my blog and I get to post whatever I want.

I also want to share some things with you about the pandemic, how I’m holding up, mental-health-wise, and how I’m doing with some of my goals.

So, with my weight loss: It’s stagnant- still at 165, so basically no news. I tried Noom and cancelled after a couple of months because it is basically just a calorie-counting app and I already have MyFitnessPal for that. The “Coaches” don’t really offer a lot of assistance (much of the time it sounds like they have a lot of pre-written responses) and there seems to be a lot of positivity in the group chat, which is great but it doesn’t really feel like people are being their authentic selves. Oh, and the group chats weren’t very active at all anyways. I actually felt bad because there was this one lady who would always respond to the prompts asked by the coaches and I almost never did and neither did anyone else, so it would always be just the one lady always replying to everything. I guess I just prefer the weight loss Facebook groups I belong to.

I had put the task of writing the book off for about two months. I was writing a ton, and then my computer started acting up, and life was happening (my baby was in some pivotal moments in her development and needed me more often), so I put off having my computer repaired (it is now), and I put off writing. I love to write. I miss it. I can’t wait to start back into getting my book out there. I am really over half-way through writing it. I was going to make a ton of YouTube tutorials to be published along-side it, but I am just going to work on writing the book and getting it out there because this is really important to me and even though I am scared- I am more passionate that every single person out there should have a blog than I am scared that someone won’t like my book.

There’s one more thing that’s been keeping me from writing at all. I haven’t written here. I haven’t been writing on my Lululemon blog, and I haven’t been writing my book. I love to write. It is my passion. But there is one thing that’s kept me away. And I just want to tell you: It’s Okay to not be Okay.

And I haven’t been okay. All the stress of the pandemic. The hypervigilance, worrying if I am going to catch the virus and give it to my in-laws, who are in a high-risk category; not being able to see my mom for over a year, not being able to visit my grandma in the hospital, not being able to visit any of my brothers or sisters or cousins; not being able to help great-grandpa celebrate his 100th birthday… Not to mention not being able to visit my friends. On top of all this, I spent time worrying about the emotional well-being of my daughter and her development without being able to be around other children….All these things weighed heavily on my heart and mind the last few months. So much so that I noticed changes in my mood. I became sad, and was more anxious more often.

I decided it was time to do something about it. I usually use exercise to help manage my anxiety, but I can’t go to the gym. I had been going for walks, but the weather is getting cold and I have a young baby who can’t tell me if she is uncomfortable or not, so I am reluctant to take her out. I did a couple of days ago, when the weather was pleasant, but when it dips below freezing, I get apprehensive about taking her out with me.

I have been using HeadSpace more often. I really like this app for meditating during the day, stretching at night, stress during the day, their anxiety course is good too.

I also decided to go back to therapy. I had stopped at the beginning of the pandemic due to fear and also because I was uncomfortable with online therapy services. I also stopped because I felt like I wanted to reflect on the progress we had already made. I was going once or sometimes twice a week and I really felt like we had made a lot of progress. Regardless, I thought it would be a good idea to go back to therapy to continue to work on myself and to understand why I have been more anxious and how to better manage my anxiety. I’ve been to a couple of sessions and am already feeling better.

Anyways, I know this was kind of a long post, but that was the point. I am back at it. Writing will always be there for me when I need it. Thanks for reading 🙂