rejoice in the now

"Rather than appreciate where we are, we continually struggle to nurture our dissatisfaction. It’s like trying to get flowers to grow by pouring cement on the garden." - Pema Chodron

In an effort to appreciate where I am right now, here's a list of a few things I'm grateful for this morning:

I woke up today. a miracle in and of itself.

I woke up next to the love of my life, Robbie. what a gift he is to me. every single day.

I have a warm bed.

I have hot coffee to enjoy.

I have nothing to do and no where to be.

the sun is shining.

I have money in the bank and a roof over my head.

I feel inspired and abundant.

I'm able to freely enjoy this day physically, mentally and spiritually.

ordinary courage

I was introduced to Brene Brown by my father who suggested I watch her TED talk on The Power of Vulnerability. Her talk moved me. Her poignancy moved me. Her willingness to be authentic and real moved me. She inspired me to think about authenticity and what it means to be vulnerable in a world that expects perfection and breeds fear. Needless to say, I love her blog entitled Ordinary Courage. She uses the blog as a space to talk about her family, her career, her powerful work on shame and vulnerability and her daily life. I find her work completely fascinating and her blog is a good reminder to choose to be my wholehearted, authentic self.

o dear brother, you are a poet

My brother is an artist of all sorts. One part musician, one part filmmaker, one part poet, one part writer, whole parts dreamer and bringer of joy. He inspires me to connect with my creativity. I love how he grapples with death by writing poetic lyrics and singing it loud and proud. Talk about brave. I am so proud of him.

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.

the people we've met

We've seen some incredible things on our trip: the greenest greens, the bluest blues, black sand beaches, beautiful mountains, deserted beaches, the great barrier reef, quaint little surf towns, inspiring national parks, glow worm caves, incredible wildlife, the oldest rainforest in the world....the list goes on. But the best thing about the trip has been (by far) the people we've met and learned from on our journey. We've met people from all over the world. Many of them I know we'll keep in touch with. I truly believe that people come in and out of your life to teach you something. I am so grateful for the relationships we've made on our journey. We've learned so much from them and now we have places to stay all over the world! What a gift.

Peter (Australia) was our host at Ironbark Grange. He taught us about permaculture, how to garden, salsa dance, brew beer, make cheese, bread, yogurt and how to cook amazing Asian meals from scratch. He taught us to work hard but play harder. This guy knows how to live life to the fullest.

Rob (originally from Holland, but has lived in Australia for over 20 years) was our host at the Rainforest Hideaway B&B. He's an amazing builder and artist. He taught us how to work with concrete and live in the rainforest. His calm demeanor taught us how to be at peace with our surroundings. He taught us not to be afraid of scary rainforest creatures and to just laugh off the small stuff in life.

Marco (France) and Lisa (Japan) were our flatmates in Cairns. They met in Australia while traveling. She doesn't speak French and he doesn't speak Japanese, so they communicate in English. They are incredibly sweet and we spent a lot of time comparing notes with them about where to go and what to see. They taught us to be open to whatever experiences come our way on the trip.

Pierre (France) was another flatmate of ours in Cairns. He had been traveling for a while and was studying to become a PADI certified dive master. We had some very good conversations with Pierre about politics and life. He was definitely a free spirit.

This is Matteo and his girlfriend, Michela (Italy). Matteo worked at Ironbark Grange with us in Brisbane and Michela met up with him later in Melbourne. They are from Northern Italy near Venice and we can't wait to visit. They're hysterical and fight like crazy. Matteo taught us that it's okay to eat bread with every meal and what it means to be a true friend. Yeah buddy! (or as he would say yeah boddy!)

Peter and Amanda (Vancouver, Canada) were our flatmates in Melbourne. They bought our car about a month ago and started their journey to Perth. We really enjoyed getting to know them. We laughed a lot, had some awesome conversations and they're both really good people.

Yusuf (Mauritius) is one of our flatmates in Melbourne. He is a 21 year old college student and he and Robbie are brothers from another mother. He has taught us how to cook all kinds of wonderful things and has been incredibly generous to us. Before we met Yusuf, we'd never even heard of Mauritius (it's a little island off the coast of Madagascar) but now we can't wait to visit some day. We will always know him and be grateful for the time that we got to know him. Through his generosity, he's taught us that the substance of life is sharing what you can (time, energy, spirit, money, a ride, a listening ear, a smile, whatever...) to other people.

This is Yusuf (right) with Fahad (middle) and Ali (left). Fahad and Ali are originally from Pakistan and moved to Australia to work and study. Fahad cooked us an incredible Pakistani curry dish one day. Ali loves movies and his favorite actor is Al Pacino. His family nicknamed him "Ali Pacino." They've become good friends. Ali is moving to Toronto to study accounting so hopefully, we'll see him states side at some point. They've helped reaffirm our belief that people, regardless of culture or upbringing, are fundamentally more the same than different.

Isabelle (Isa) and Alan are our flatmates from France. They are so silly and have taught us to be more light hearted and playful. They are always laughing, playing and making things into a game for fun. They are so fun to be around and their energy is infectious. We've really enjoyed our time with them and have learned so much from them. We hope to visit them in France someday!

There were many other people we met along the way who we met very briefly or who we just never snapped a picture of. We'll always remember them, recount their stories and be thankful for the lessons they taught us. It's been an incredible journey. I wouldn't change a thing.

he liked it. so, he put a ring on it.

Robbie let me know quite a while ago that he was planning something special for Valentine's day. A week before V-day, he started giving me these love letters. The letters started with a word, then a definition of that word and finally, a letter about how that word has been lived out in our relationship. The words included honesty, loyalty, friendship, comfortable, beautiful, passion and everything. For seven days in a row, he'd leave these letters for me to find along with a chocolate rose (i'm not that crazy about flowers but I'm gaga for chocolate).

On Valentine's day, Robbie took me to a nearby town called Williamstown where we got Thai food to-go, then had a romantic picnic on the beach. Here's me totally oblivious and unassuming enjoying my wine:

Robbie said he was going to give me my last love letter and I had to turn around when I was finished. The word was love. When I turned around he had written, 'lulu, will you marry me?' in the sand and was down on one knee.

Of course, I said yes. It was amazing, smart, clever, sweet and so romantic. We laughed, cried and watched the sun go down on the beach. It was lovely and perfect. I'll never forget it.

Already, we're overwhelmed at the outpouring of love and support we've received from friends and family who've watched our relationship grow over the past five years. We're so grateful to have each other and all the amazing people (you!) to share this wonderful, juicy, whirlwind-of-a-life with.

Matt Nelson Visits Melbourne!

Our good friend and keyboardist, Matt Nelson, was just on tour down under with hiphop sensation Lupe Fiasco for the Big Day Out Festival (the Australia & New Zealand equivalent to Lollapalooza). They had a three-day stop in Melbourne so we got to big kick it! It was so amazing to see a familiar face and to share our adventure with someone from back home. Matt was able to hook it up and get us into two shows and so we got to shake our booties a little bit too. It was a blast!

Yay! Matt's in Australia!

Matt killin' it with Lupe

The crowd at Big Day Out Festival

Matt channeling the karate kid on the beach

The crowd at the second show @ the Palace

I want to thank Matt for spending his off time with us and for getting us tickets to the shows. We had so much fun and will never forget the time we spent with you halfway across the globe!

Australian Open

Robbie and I were able to attend the Australian Open for an evening. We got to watch the two following matches at the Margaret Court Arena:

Men's Singles - 1st Round Robin Soderling(SWE)[4] def. Potito Starace(ITA)	6-4 6-2 6-2
Complete

Not Before:7:00 PM Men's Singles - 1st Round Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA)[13] def. Philipp Petzschner(GER)

4-6 2-6 6-2 6-3 6-4

It was by far the best sporting event I've ever been to. The experience was totally different live than on television. I grew up playing tennis with my dad and brother and I remember my dad watching the grand slam tournaments on TV. I was surprised at how small the court looked in real life. We were amazed at the power and athleticism of the players - something that's easy to take for granted when you're watching on television. The Tsonga vs. Petzschner match lasted for over three hours. Tsonga was the crowd favorite and was able to come back and win in the end after being down two sets. It was very exciting!

Penguins at Phillip Island

Phillip Island is a nature reserve about two and a half hours from Melbourne. The island is famous for it's beautiful landscapes and wildlife. It's home to thousands of of Little Penguins (the world's smallest penguin) who, each night, waddle out of the water to sleep on land. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of the penguin "parade" but we caught two penguins nestled in their burrow during the day:

It was amazing watching all the penguins run up the beach and waddle to their nests! There were several baby penguins and we watched the mama penguins feed their young. They were so cute.

There were some beautiful beaches and great lookout spots along the way. Here's a few photos of the island:

Melbourne: A Place to [temporarily] Call Home

So after we ended our time in Sydney, it was time for Robbie's folks to go back to the US. We debated back and forth about what the next step should be. We had a few more WWOOF spots lined up but we were pretty sure they couldn't top our last experience at Ironbark Grange. Besides, we had spent over a month sleeping in the back of our car and peeing at rest stops. We were ready to put some roots down, so to speak.

We discovered that we could afford to get an apartment and hunker down for the rest of our trip. So, we made our way to Melbourne and moved into a flat. We have four flatmates: Nathan (from Australia), Peter & Amanda (from Vancouver, Canada) and Yusuf (from Mauritius). Our place is very nice and get this: we have our own bathroom! Yippppeeeeeee! We've loved having time to sleep, think, and dream. We've loved going to the beach and getting to know our flatmates. We even sold our car to the lovely Canadians we live with - amazing! The travel Gods have bestowed their blessings upon us. Melbourne is definitely one of the coolest cities we've ever been to. It's artsy yet down to earth. It's cheaper and less glamorous than Sydney. The architecture is incredible. There are lots of free things to do and it's always bustling with people...street performers...cafe goers...people from all over the world.

We arrived right before the holidays so the city was decked out in Christmas garb. It was so strange to experience the holiday season in 80 degree weather and shorts. Here are some pictures of Melbourne during our first weeks exploring the city:

Robbie relaxing in Federation Square

The Metro

A great little cafe in Fitzroy

A beautiful flower cart on Swanston St.

Gorgeous sunset downtown Melbourne (it was 101 degrees that day!)

Multi-colored beach shacks on Brighton Beach (a 30 minute train ride from our flat)

That's it for now. We only have four weeks left in Melbourne until we come back to the US. It's incredible how fast it's gone. Six months really does fly by.

The Blue Mountains

Hi everyone. Happy Australia Day! It's the anniversary of the date that Captain Cook discovered Australia. It's a public holiday and the Aussies usually celebrate with barbeque and beer (similar to our 4th of July). Today, we're going to have a barbeque with our flatemates and maybe we'll go see some fireworks later. Here are some photos of the Blue Mountains which are located just a couple hours west of Sydney. The highlight is a rock formation called the Three Sisters (see first photo below). We arrived on a clear day just before the sun went down. The view was incredible.

Well, that's all for now. I'll post again in a few days. We got some bbq eatin and beer drinkin to do! Cheers, mate! Happy Australia Day!

great barrier reef

Robbie's parents arrived in Brisbane on December 2nd. We were so happy to see them and be able to spend two whole weeks with them. Robbie and his dad are scuba certified and so he waited for his dad/dive buddy to experience the Great Barrier Reef. After an unsuccessful attempt to dive out of 1770 (due to torrential downpours), we decided to try a jaunt to Lady Elliot Island.

We flew to the tiny island on an eight-passenger puddle jumper airplane. We only flew about 600 feet and it took about 35 minutes to get there. We landed on a grass runway. Here's a view of the island from the window of the plane:

We spent the day diving and snorkeling. The coral went as far as the eye could see. There were enormous schools of colorful fish. We saw beautiful starfish. The best part, though, was the sea turtles. We swam with them and got to touch the back of their shells. They're amazing creatures; they swim so gracefully. I learned that the sea turtles always go back to the same beach on which they were hatched to lay their own eggs as an adult. It was an unforgettable experience being so close to them in the wild. Here's a shot of a sea turtle coming up to the surface for air:

This is a photo of the glass bottomed boat that took us out snorkeling (can you believe that blue water?!?!) :

sydney in pictures

Byron Bay

Before we even got on the plane, we kept hearing about Byron Bay. Over and over again, people told us how amazing it was, how laid-back it was, how great the beach was. Everyone we talked to had something to say about Byron Bay. So, needless to say, expectations were high as we drove into the little hippie town.

Byron is a funky, down to earth community filled with hippies, shops that smell of nag champa, cafes and surf shops. People from all walks of life roam the streets... most don't bother to wear shoes. The beach overlooks the bay with the Byron Bay lighthouse on the southern cliff.

We took Robbie's folks to our favorite fish and chips joint right on the beach: Fish heads. Best seafood we've had in Australia by far. Everything is take away and you eat out of a cardboard box but it still has a way of tasting gourmet. Maybe it's the herbed mayo they serve with your chips?

After dinner, we went to the Byron Bay lighthouse. The southern cliff at Byron is the most Eastern point of Australia. The shoreline is absolutely beautiful and they have some of the best surfing in Australia. We heard that Jack Johnson has a house there which makes complete sense. If you could take Jack Johnson and make him a town, that would be Byron Bay.

The lighthouse on top of the cliff at Byron Bay.