Cats out of the bag

Alright, now for specifics. The cat is out of the bag. I am leaving my job to travel for about 4 months and then pursuing work opportunities abroad.

First, I will be heading back to Haiti to do some monitoring and evaluation work with the organization I have been volunteering with through Pacific Crossroads Church. After that I'm heading to Thailand to meet up with Greg and our friend Parvis. Next...Tanzania...and beyond!

It's all very, very exciting and as you can imagine, there are lots of details to be sorted. Between moving out of LA and planning long term travel, the to-do lists are long. I'm going home for a friend's wedding this week and Malibu (my cat) will be joining. You have to obtain a certificate of health to give to the airlines. Here is Malibu getting ready to give his bag a try. He hated it by the way so advanced apologies to all Southwest customers on my flight this Wednesday.

H2O Free Beauty

After Haiti, I will be meeting up the guys who, thanks to genetics and gender, can get by with zero "up keep". I would love to say I'm leaving all beauty supplies behind but let's be honest, it's just the guys who should be growing out their facial hair (just joking, but seriously). Traveling with just a backpack can be challenging when it comes to all the liquid limiting rules. Thanks to google and all the great backpack blogs out there I've found a few great resources:
This little bar of shampoo lasts for about 50 washes, lathers well, and takes up little space!

http://www.lushusa.com/Squeaky-Green/02736,en_US,pd.html?start=10&cgid=solid-shampoos

By necessity, I am a "wash your hair everyday" kind of girl but this has been my go to on past trips to Haiti when somehow my day turns into 48 hours.

http://www.sephora.com/pronto-dry-shampoo-P254307?skuId=914101

Last, I'd love to pretend I could leave my face alone for 4 months and not get the Frieda Kahlo look going but that's just not true. Enter Sally Hansen wax strips. They're quick, cheap and take up zero space!

http://www.amazon.com/Sally-Hansen-Naturally-Waxing-Spaces-44/dp/B002B9V7MS

Leaps of Faith

You know that moment when you have to, "go big or go home"? I'm there. I'm going "big". Technically i'm going big AND going home...then going big again.

For the last 3 1/2 years I have been working hard, learning a lot and growing an immense amount in a professional setting. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given at work. I'd imagine at times, it took a lot of patience to work with me.

Now, I have been given new opportunities that don't really fall in the professional realm. And although my choices deviate from conventional next steps, I am excited to take "leaps of faith" and see where I end up...