Writer. Traveler. Tea Drinker.

I don’t know how old I was, but at some point (maybe 12-13?) I got one of those giant plastic Coke bottle banks. For years every time I had any change I threw it into the bottle. I never spent any of it, but instead save it for my future self. The younger me imagined [...]

I spent a few days outside on my land doing nothing but observing, appreciating and reflecting. I did manage to take a few nice pictures I wanted to show off thought you might like. I always tend to think of traveling as getting outside of the familiar to a new exotic place, but sometimes you [...]

We’re getting down to the home stretch on moving to China. We’re working hard to get things done now because we know that time is running out. I’ve got a bunch of things on order that I’m expecting in the mail including our visas, some business software, and a years worth of medicine. That’s why [...]

When I tell people that we will probably be gone for a year they are always shocked and say something along the lines of, “That’s a really long time.” But is it? I’m not so sure. Originally, when I was just dreaming about this trip, I did think a year was a long time. I [...]

Every weekend is dedicated to ripping apart some part of the house and getting rid of all the unnecessary stuff. What’s amazing is that even though I have cleaned out a certain area, like the bathroom closet, I go back and find all new stuff to throw away. Here is a small sampling of what [...]

Call me cold-hearted but I’m not going to miss much when I’m gone. I’ll see my house, my cats, my friends and family soon enough. In fact, I’m looking forward to not seeing them all for awhile. Part of the fun of traveling is getting away from the familiar places and people. But there is [...]

We still have over a month left before we leave our house, but I can say, without a doubt, that this trip has been worthwhile. Even if we hate it (which I doubt) or cancel at the last minute (which we won’t) just the simple act of planning on traveling has forced so many positive [...]

Normally throughout the summer I’m busy snipping off bits of one herb or another to dry and enjoy in cups of tea throughout the year. But this year I decided not to bother. After all, I won’t be here this winter to enjoy it and dried herbs, if properly stored, only last for a year. [...]

As of today we have one month and 14 days till our plane takes off. On one hand this summer is flying by (I have so much to do!) on the other hand, it’s a slow, painful crawl. Last month I got laid off from my job, but I was able to go back to [...]

When we originally started planning on moving to China, there was one giant obstacle in our way: money. We’ve never made much money and pretty much spend what we made on our bills and living expenses. Since I work freelance, I don’t have vacation days so even if we go away for a week, I [...]