You know those times in life where you think about doing something that would be really amazing, but you think about the million different obstacles that will prevent you from doing said thing?  Well, as Randy Pausch said in The Last Lecture, “Obstacles are there to show you how bad you want something.”  How true this is….

This year, I decided to stop letting those obstacles get in the way.  Life is short, and it can change in the blink of an eye.  I have ALWAYS wanted to pack my bags and travel the world for an extended period.  Not just a couple week vacation, but an extended time period to explore a lot of places.  There has always been obstacles… jobs that I love, finances, people I will miss etc, etc etc.  Well what I have learned is that, in life, there is never really a PERFECT time to drop everything and just go and do something like this. TAKE CHANCES.  

SO I am super excited to announce that Brent and I are going to be packing our bags and spending November to May travelling the world!! (insert ridiculously embarrassing dance and squeal).

Was it really really hard to ask for a leave of absence at my nursing job? Hell yes.  Was it awful turning away clients and referring them to other amazing colleagues because I would be gone for their wedding? YES.  It was SO awful, and still hurts my soul each time I have to tell clients that I will be unavailable.  Was it hard for Brent to ask for a leave of absence from his new job that he LOVES after only working there for 6 months?  Absolutely, there were many sleepless nights and uncertainties, but we knew, the only thing that was certain is that we were going to check a giant box off of our bucket list.  We knew that the worst thing that could happen, was that we would be told “no”.  There are no words to express how grateful we are for the support we have received (and continue to receive now).

After JUST booking our first flights, I can share some of our plans!

The Very Loose Itinerary:

November-December – Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar)

January – Australia (East Coast)

February – New Zealand (North and South Islands)

March – April – South America (Peru, Bolivia and then ???)

I will be starting to take on additional clients after May 14, 2016, and will be coming right back for wedding season, kicking the season off with Amanda and Jason’s wedding in Cuba soon after we get back!

We are BEYOND excited about this next adventure…and I can’t wait to share the adventures with you guys! I will be posting on Instagram, Facebook, and blogging our adventures while we are away. And because I love a good quote, this one from Free People’s blog makes me smile:  “And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of new beginnings.” I cannot wait to chase adventure for 6 months 🙂