oh darling, let's be adventurers

Greetings friends! Robbie and I arrived safely back in the US of A on March 1st. Since then, we've driven over 3,000 miles, found a place to temporarily stay and are getting lots of work. Things are going well and life is good. We were very sad to leave Australia (especially our friends and the warm weather) but it was great to see old friends, visit our families and (maybe best of all) eat at some of our favorite Chicago restaurants! Mexican food nor Chicago style deep dish has ever tasted so good :)

We thought we'd come back and immediately want to throw down our roots after traveling for more than six months. Interestingly, we both loved the idea of doing some more traveling at home and ended up living out of suitcases again for the first month we were home. We've decided that we both like the idea of being lifelong vagabonds...not sure how that'll transpire in the future but it sounds exciting!

Unfortunately, our car broke down and we're having to shelf out some serious cash to get it fixed. We've decided to rent out a spare room from some friends for the month of April just to get our feet on the ground and figure out the next step. It's a good lesson of reality: you can't control what happens to you, only the way you react. I've chosen to cultivate a grateful spirit and to focus on all the wonderful opportunities that have presented themselves and the strong support system we have in our lives.

Speaking of opportunities, I got a paid internship for the summer through the Chicago Botanic Gardens with a program called Green Youth Farms. I'll be spending my summer teaching youth how to farm in the city! I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity. I think it will propel my career in the right direction and will allow me to use the skills I learned in Australia to empower young people back home. I feel like getting this internship was a big 'ol wink from the Universe and I'm so very grateful.