Hooray for Friday! I hope yours is treating you well. I’m back from Belize as of Tuesday, but leaving again today for Fort Worth, Texas, for some freelance work. I guess I won’t be gathering any moss, if the adage is right.
Here’s what I’ve been loving lately. I hope you love it, too!
—
1.) Alaska Ruined My Life
This blog post recently made the rounds among my former tour directing coworkers, spawning a fresh wave of nostalgia and pining for the Great Land. It’s hard to understand unless you’ve been there, but especially for those of us who have lived or spent significant time in Alaska and the Yukon Territory, something about that place lodges itself into your heart and won’t let go. As Robert Service said in his poem “The Spell of the Yukon”:
The freshness, the freedom, the farness—O God! how I’m stuck on it all.
It’s been almost seven years since I left the Land of the Midnight Sun and it still crosses my mind in some way every day. I long to fuel up at Glacial Smoothies and conquer a mountain outside of Skagway. I yearn to grab a beer with friends at a bar in Dawson City and watch our guests become members of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club. I ache to see Denali National Park in the fall colors, when the hillsides turn crimson, the tree are arrayed in gold, and the mountain for which the park is named shines a brilliant white against a clear blue sky. I hope that you’ve known some of the joy that Alaska can bring you, and, if not, I hope you will someday!
2.) Molly’s Birthday Cake
Don’t tell her I told you, but my BFF and road trip buddy, Molly, turned the big 3-0 a little while ago. To celebrate, her boyfriend and sister planned a fun surprise party where the second star of the show (after the birthday girl, of course) was this gorgeous cake:
It’s perfect for a world traveler: a brown leather suitcase with stamps and emblems from some of her trips! The ribbon on the handle celebrates the fact that she’s one state away from hitting all fifty in the USA; three stamps represent the states in which she has lived; and her past destinations of Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, and Argentina all make an appearance in beautiful detail. It was so pretty that I felt bad when we cut into it… until a plated slice hit my hand and my sweet tooth quieted my guilt!
3.) A Current Events Detox
I’m behind on what has been happening in the world over the past week and a half, and to be honest, it has felt glorious. I usually pride myself on being well-educated on the social, environmental, and political goings-on in the United States and overseas, but I used being out of the country last week as an excuse to take a much needed break from current events. Sometimes it takes a brief respite like mine to realize how much the constant barrage of news – so much of it negative, sensationalized, or misleading – can affect your attitude and worldview on a daily basis. I found that I felt so much lighter, happier, and optimistic as a result of not being constantly inundated by negative news reports and the polarized, enraged social media responses to whatever has happened that day.
(The warm temperatures and tropical sun also may have helped 🙂 )
It’s good and honorable to be aware of what is going on in our communities, country, and planet; to support causes that we feel are worthy; and to oppose injustices when we encounter them. But if you’ve been feeling heavy, downtrodden, pessimistic, or despairing lately, try taking a break from current events. Turn off social media (even simply disabling push notifications on your phone helps tremendously), flip away from the news station, and let yourself breathe for a short period of time, even if it’s just a day. I guarantee you’ll feel better.
And if that doesn’t work, I’ll help you plan a tropical getaway 😉
—
Thanks again for checking in with me! I hope you’ve had a great week and that an even better weekend is around the corner! See you Monday!
XO,
Gwen
—
What have you been loving lately?
Is there a place that has “ruined” your life?
How do you stay informed without letting media negativity affect your happiness?
—
Read More:
Did you miss Week 3? Check out what I was loving last week!
How to Plan a Trip (With Examples!)
Great post. Amen to the #3!
Right?? I should be reminding myself of this daily.
Bahhh number 1 is SO accurate. I miss that place so much. And I was literally thinking about the chocolate/peanut butter/banana smoothie yesterday. We need to go back!
Also, I love the shout-out! 🙂
It’s incredible the hold Alaska can have on you – I’m ready to go back whenever you are! It will also be great to experience it for a longer amount of time as a free citizen, without having a tour looming around the corner!
Also, thanks again for letting me share your birthday cake on the internet 😉