Guess where I went? Ronda, boiiii! Join me on the hot, hot, hot day I spent exploring this incredible city. Even tired as heck, I pushed myself to check out the creepy catacombs and tackle a sweat-inducing hike for that incredible view of the famous bridge. It’s okay, I slept like 10 hours that night to recover.

I'm so excited to share with you all my recent trip to southern Spain (the part after my mom and Ralph left)! In this video, I take you on a journey through Granada, Jaén/Bedmar, and Córdoba. I'll show you the highlights, the challenges, and everything in between.

I'm stoked to finally share my recent trip to Spain with my family (mom, Ralph, and my sister). We had quite the experience exploring a teeny tinsy bit of Madrid, and more of Granada before my mom and Ralph left.

Closing out a language writing challenge, my first actually! It was a twist on NaNoWriMo, and it was quite successful, if I do say so myself.

So, I just finished the Pimsleur lessons for European Portuguese and it turns out there are 60 lessons available, even though I thought there were only 30… But I was still super excited to start learning this beautiful language since I’ll be travelling there soon enough. I know I’m only going to be in Portugal for a few days, but I wanted to learn at least a little bit. I mean, how difficult could it be, right?

I've been learning Spanish for the past three years, so I'm hoping some of that will translate over. I'm not expecting to be fluent in 30 days, but… what if?

So I finally mustered up the courage to share our worst experience on our Arizona trip to hike the Grand Canyon. The good news is that it had nothing to do with the hike itself, but the bad news is that it lasted a whole day and involved anxiety and lots of money that we had to say goodbye to. It was definitely a struggle, but I'm so grateful that Austin was there with me the entire awful day. We were able to support each other and keep each other standing (barely), even when it felt like everything was falling apart. I'm glad we made it through together and can look back on it now and laugh (sort of). Not something that we’ll soon forget, but we live and learn, huh?

So, it's already January, but I'm finally sitting down to set my 2023 goals. I know it might seem a little late in the game, but hey, better late than never, right? These are the things I want to focus on this year, and while I hope to achieve them, I know that for me, goals are more of a moving target. The important thing is that I have something to work towards and strive for. I'm excited to see where this year takes us…What are your goals for the year?

So at the beginning of the year, I had all these grand resolutions and goals that I was super hyped about. But then I then I quickly remember that life sometimes has other plans, and I ended up all over the place. But now that we're nearing the end of the year, I've been reflecting on what I did manage to accomplish (because I did do a lot), what I still need to work on, and what I'm just not feeling up to doing anymore. The phrase “people change” comes to mind here… It's been wild, but I'm excited to share my progress with you and hear about yours too! Also, hit me up with some of your favorite books that have been enjoying! I’m always looking for more.

My recent hike through the Grand Canyon National Park, from the South Rim to the North Rim, was an incredible learning experience. I shared some of the hard lessons I have learned from this adventure last week, but wait! There’s more! Looking back on the trip, I came up with another list of do;s and don'ts that I would follow if I ever got the chance to visit again. These lessons include the importance of proper footwear, the significance of trail etiquette, and the need for a well-planned itinerary. Overall, my time hiking through the Grand Canyon has given me a newfound appreciation for nature and the importance of being prepared for future outdoor adventures.

After hiking the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, for the first time, and it being my first time backpacking, I learned a few things. I had done a lot of research prior to this trip to Arizona, and some of these things I didn’t learn still. I hope this will prove useful to a future traveler down the road.

We’re gonna be hiking the Grand Canyon, Rim to Rim (South to North), and it’s a long time coming. This is our fourth year applying for the opportunity to hike in and come back out the other side. I didn’t much care which direction we would be travelling, only that it wouldn’t be just one day to do the whole thing. I wanted time to enjoy my surroundings, and not struggle… too much. Our longest day will still be 12 miles, so some training was involved.

Another month, another challenge. It’s been a few years, and yes, I’m still learning Spanish. There are a variety of tools to use to learn a language, but this one didn’t use anything but a recording device. It wasn’t so much that I was learning the language through this challenge, but more that I was learning where my weaknesses lie within the scope of that language. And it was super effective.

Visiting my sister in Portland included yet another adventure when we started to look for Latinx-owned restaurants. I think it’s fun, and important, to support local businesses and minority-owned businesses, so this is how we kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month this year.

Visiting my sister in Portland included yet another adventure when we started to look for Latinx-owned restaurants. I think it’s fun, and important, to support local businesses and minority-owned businesses, so this is how we kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month this year.

With only a few days' notice, we packed up and went to Olympic National Park. We decided with such short notice, knowing we would be camping, but not knowing which days. It’s difficult to plan things with what we thought was going to be a group trip. It ended up being a sister trip and a very successful one at that.

Two years really passed by faster than I thought. A lot has happened, lots more has changed. It makes sense that the pandemic has really affected the process and video upload frequency, but I wouldn’t have thought about it as an immediate factor. The support I get from family and friends has been instrumental during this time and I appreciate all that I get. They not only cheer me on, but also put up with all of my filming! :)

Both my mom and dad speak Spanish, and yet I was raised with English as a first language, and no Spanish at all apart from the high school Spanish that is forgotten (by most) within a few years. I’ve been learning Spanish since the beginning of the pandemic, and now comes the moment when I can actually talk to my parents in Spanish. To some level, at least.

James Clear. That is all. Almost. There is such wisdom in these pages that goes much deeper than simply changing habits, which as it turns out isn’t that simple at all. Or it’s not as intuitive and as frustrating as relying on one’s own self-discipline. At some point, adding and removing various habits creates the person that we have always strived to be, and in that way we can be anything we want to be.

After three years of submitting an application for a backcountry permit to hike the Grand Canyon, rim to rim, we’ve come to my fourth attempt. It’s a pretty discouraging process to hear, year after year, that my application has been denied when I only want to visit the Grand Canyon and do the infamous hike. Here’s how it went.

Bite size chunks is how I’m getting through Duolingo. It’s quite the challenge, and takes lots of determination and persistence. This is the second checkpoint on my way to complete the entire Spanish series. Last time, I finished all of the stories available, and this time I’ve finished all of the lessons for level one. There are 6 levels, so I still have quite a bit to complete, and wanted to share a bit about my progress.