Almost Gypsy Soul

I've wanted to get back to blogging, but every time I open it up, all I see is a giant list of posts that I haven't completed or published. So in effort to get back to writing without overwhelming myself, you're getting the closet clean-out of 2018. All the awesome things that I was able to do, but never got around to writing about, but are still awesome and deserve a shout out on Almost Gypsy Soul. Costa Rica - Pura Vida I was invited to a friends wedding in Costa Rica, they are great friends and I'd never been to Costa Rica so I jumped at the chance. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and my only regret is that I didn't spend more time there. We spent our time in the Guancaste region, louging by the pool, drinking beers, jet skis, deep sea fishing, oh and a wedding too! It was beautiful and I'm so happy for my friends, the Cowboy and the Indian. New Orleans - The Big Easy We went with the Cowboy and the Indian to New Orleans that fall to celebrate...

....with Old Glory. I am absolutely in love with this photo of Franklin that Nick Duncombe captured on our Memorial Day camping trip last year. I even got a copy of it for the wall for Christmas last year.

Well its hard to believe its been nearly a year since I packed my bags and headed to Florida for my best friend's wedding! I tacked on a few extra days to catch some sunshine and sights...I mean who would I be if I didn't do a little sightseeing??? Florida was beautiful and meeting up with old friends was great, and made some new friends along the way. Its always interesting to me, how we can have one thing common, ie. a mutual friend, and then we proceed to get along like long lost friends. I flew into Orlando and got a rental car. I knew I didn't have time for everything, as usual, but I'm happy with my choices of entertainment. I spent an entire day at Kennedy Space Center. I was there when it opened and I really didn't have enough time to take it all in. And I just did the things that were included with admission! My favorite attractions was the Atlantis museum, the bus tour to the launch pads and the Shuttle Experience. The shuttle experience is like a th...

I've been around hunting as long as I can remember and I enjoyed it. Not so much the kill part always, as I'm my own worst critic and am always concerned with making good, ethical shots. I like to take my time and sometimes that makes it very hard for me to come away with meat in the freezer. I went through a couple of years of not pulling the trigger because I wasn't confident in myself to make the good shot. The part of hunting that I enjoy most is not pulling the trigger, rather I look forward to being outdoors with the people I choose to go with me. I like the feel of the crisp air on my face, followed by sunshine. I like watching wildlife. I like having wild game in the freezer to eat all year long. I even enjoy processing the game meat to fill the freezer. This year, I met a boy who loves to hunt and he drug me out to remind me how much I enjoyed it as well. I made some good shots this year, renewing my confidence in myself. Coyote then Antelope. Most people don...

I really enjoyed Puerto Rico, but some of my all time favorite things from my time in Puerto Rico. COFFEE! Puerto Rico is known for its coffee, strong and black! I loved it and had to buy another suitcase to get it all back to the States with me. Cafe Oro, resturant, cafe and processing, Lares Cafe Lareno, Lares   Flowering Trees We were told that the trees were just starting to flower again in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. I loved the beautiful vibrant colors that were everywhere you looked. The orange flowers of the Flamboyan were some of my favorite! Flamboyan   The farmers and Puerto Rican FSA staff. Although I struggled to communicate with a majority of the farmers that I worked with without an interpreter, I found many of them to be just like home. Salt of the Earth. They were a joy to work with and so grateful for us to be there helping them get back on their feet. This was one picture shared with me by a grower, a mango tree left in ...

Hotel accommodations were a problem during my tour of duty in Puerto Rico. Often times, we were driving back to San Juan over the weekend to have a place to stay for a night or two. We tried to plan our meals around things we wanted to see/do on our route. These are some of the sights we managed to squeeze in on our drives or for dinner. Sometimes dinner was a nice restaurant on the beach, sometimes it was a granola bar and a beer in our hotel room. Birth of the New World, Arecibo Dinner view at Playa Brava Restaurant, Arecibo Las Salinas (Salt Flats), Cabo Rojo Gozalandia Waterfall, San Sebastion La Cordillera Centra (drive between Utuado and Adjuntas) Playa de Hilton Beach at Ponce

Teaser The work part now on to the fun part....my 200 hours of "See Puerto Rico" Fajardo Its safe to say that Fajardo is exactly what one thinks of when they see the postcard perfect pictures of Puerto Rico. Beautiful, crystal clear waters, sun shine and sandy beaches. Our first Sunday we opted for a catamaran cruise to an island complete with rum punch, snorkeling and a sunburn. After a very stressful first week, it was exactly what the Dr. ordered. Our vessel was the Catamaran Spread Eagle II. El Yunque National Forest El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the National Forest System and also one of the smallest at 29,000 acres. Parts of the forest were still closed due to damage from Hurricane Maria, but some parts had been recently opened. It was beautiful, trees as far as the eye could see and waterfalls gurgling around what seemed like every corner.    After dashing to the El Yunque, the plan was to grab some dinner and then head out to ...

Let's be honest, I've got some serious catching up to do. I'm going to attempt to hit on all the highlights of the last several months since I've shared my life with you. Of course, these shares will mostly be fun, awesome stuff because who really want to hear/re-live the not so awesome parts of life...can I get a Heck Ya!? I was feeling pretty blah last summer and thought that something out of my comfort zone might be just what I needed to get back on track. Read my teaser here .... I signed up to head to Puerto Rico on a Hurricane Maria Relief detail with the Farm Service Agency. I was gone for 4 weeks, worked in 4 offices for an approximate 275 hours of work. I worked exclusively on a new program for hurricane relief called WHIP. WHIP provided growers assistance who lost both crops and a means for production. The most common crops we dealt with were coffee, plantains, bananas and mangos. Most of these crops do not produce the first crop until 18 months to 3 year...

  I just wanna go on more adventures. Connect with good people. Learn new positive things. Grow strong. So it was a Tuesday and I was sitting at my desk with a pretty bleak outlook on the day, mainly because of the state of my to-do list. I was talking with an Oklahoman co-worker when he said...."They need CEDs in Puerto Rico to work on hurricane programs." Four hours later, yes four, I was tentatively signed up to go to Puerto Rico on a hurricane detail. So for future reference, the government can move quickly when they want to.  Since those first four hours, planning has slowed quite a bit. I haven't received my temporary duty location, so I'm still not sure where I'll be headed, but I have dates....so its pretty official.  I'm really looking forward to working in Puerto Rico and being able to help the agriculture community that was ravaged by Hurricane Maria last year. I've been warned that the work is long and hurried, bu...

I just wanna go on more adventures. Fishing...not so much, I'm the one that won't be caught with a rod and without a book....just in case. Now catching? Count me in! My 30-something 29th birthday fell on a Thursday this year. Repeat after me...lame! I desperately wanted a reason NOT to go to work on my birthday well because its my birthday and I shouldn't have to go to work, so when I got invited to go fishing, I grabbed my book and I went! Turns out, not a page was read and even though it was a little chilly it was a super fun day! I jokingly said all I wanted for my 29th birthday was to catch a 29 lb fish....check! Everything we caught was 20+ lbs and I insisted on pictures with every single one of them, even the "babies". While I'm not too shabby at reeling 'em in....my actual setting the hook and catching could use some work. We polished off my birthday with some bowling......where I got one strike....the very first frame. They ...

I just wanna go on more adventures. Adventure led me to the ice, after dark. I went on my first real ice fishing excursion to an undisclosed location.....I think it was a test from my fearless guide to see if I would leak the secrets.....I'm gonna pass the test. I was informed it was a slow night, but I was just excited to catch fish. No monsters, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I never understood ice fishing....lets put on every layer we own, go sit out on the ice and shiver for a few hours and call it fun.....well ice fishing doesn't have to be like that. I was outfitted with a chair, a heater blowing in my face, a hut roof over my head, a beer in one hand and a fishing rod in the other.I didn't even have to wear gloves most of the night. As the saying goes, "Don't knock it 'til ya try it." And just like that it was 11:30 and we were packing up to head home. I couldn't believe how fast 6 hours just flew by. I found...