En Route to New Zealand: the Land of the Kiwi's

So I'm off to New Zealand!!! --finally!!!  I was able to get a pretty "affordable" one-way ticket, becasuse I had 2 very long layovers, one in L.A. (save me), and one in Honolulu, HI--yaayyy.
I certainly had a few bumps along the way, was a bit frustrating but that is life, and you need to be very flexible when traveling, am I right?

Honolulu, Hawaii beach

I was using a pretty worn out backpack as my small one, for my electronics, snacks, journal etc. It finally decided to rip in the top..ope. I used good old duck tape to temporarily fix it. I was grateful I was flying tyhrouh the small airport in my area, Minneapolis- St Paul (MSP airport), I used to work there...ugh. The best thing working there were some cool co workers, hanging out in a book store (was one of my several jobs there), and all the many registered therapy dogs. It was a very easy small airport to get through security, the other location was so big by the time you got to the table to unpack for security you had to hurry to get it all out, then repack it ...phew. I arrived to L.A. late at night, sadlay my rain guard of my locvely NEW (Bday gift) 35 L gregory backpack, had somehow come off between it being loaded into the plane and off of it...maybe it was too full...idk.and got a taxi to my hostel, man I should've looked at reviews clolser. The hostel was  hot mess, and just eh. I was happy to leave late morning the next day. Then I was off to Honolulu...yaay!

I arrived to Honolulu a bit later that night, and got settled in my hostel, the beds were creaky..cringe. And the rooms didn't have the best air circulation, and being  a midwetern Minnesotan girl, it was a bit hot for me. The next morning I took a cold shower and went walking to the beach...which took 5 minutes--it was glorious!! Can't wait to travel and or live on warm islands agagin "cough" Thailand. I grabbed a delicious Soon I was off to the airport, for one final time on this way of the journey to the land of the hobbits, ie New Zealand!!! I landed in Auckland, after another about 8 hour flight, I was actually grateful I choose to do a 3 part trip, so I was less cooped up in a plane and I could walk around alot more.

I'm not a lover of coffee, but when in Rome, coffee is huge in NZ!
At a cute cafe by below park

I finally land in Auckland, was dissapointed to find out that was NOT the airport where there is a huge hanging art piece of golum catching fish...that is in Wellington..shoot. I got my bags, and went through the lovely and well planned out Immigration of New Zealand. Sadly didn't get a stamp in my passport, though I =now know there is a town here that is independent in the country that can stamp bkfastthem (papamamoa...?). I scanned my passport at a computer, they got my picture or something, and I went through that...bags after..my bad. Then I had to walk through with my declaration card, any international traveler is well aware of this. So you have to declare liquor, so much ciaaraeetes, plant or animal materiatls...new zealand having a delicate eco system which has been sadly ravaged my lots of invasive, and not always accidentally introducted animals (possum ugh), has killed lots of the birds here...alot with other predators (more on that later...). In the end they looked at my bags for some things they thought were honey, I did my research ahead of time and was  a bit annoyed that one lady assumed I was dumb and had it ...it was witch hazel, and a coconut charcoal toothpaste (homemade), they said oh...that's fine. I had my hiking boots on which had been in American soil somewhat recently, so to be safe I showed them, and I stepped in soapy water and they washed them off...well done New Zealand!

Lovely Park in Auckland

Off I was...I almost got a taxi just for myself because I was so tired, but a lovely Kiwi gentleman (they are some of the friendliest people ever...along with Scottish people), had me join his large van for cheaper. I arrived to my hostel pretty late..a.after midmight, thank god the bigger cities hostel receptionist are open 24/7...I hadn't realized I made a sort of major mistake...I forgot about the time different and accidentally didn't re look at my date of arrival...which of course is more than the flight time...going west. So my booking had been canceled sincce I "no showed", bugger. They were able to s=till get me a room for the night, and the next am while enjoying free bkfast with hot black tea (my favorite drink ever), got me sorted fot the rest of my stay in Auckland. I waited for my phone to charge, journaled about my adventures up to the point and was off for the day.

New Zealnd, which I already knew =had pretty similar weather to the U.k., to me it is the idea of a southern hemisphere U.K., rightly so...weather is similar, lots of british immigrated people, pubs, and town names...Dunedin anyone? (Gaelic name for my favorite Scottish city-- Edinburgh!!). I packed a sweatshirt, scarf, and my raincoat...along with a charger, converter just in case. I grabbed smoe NZ cash, and got a replacement backpack first of all....phew,. important to have good working gear. I didn't do alot on the first day...
though i had a facebook made friend, from the group Girls Love Travel (GLT), say she would show me around part of the area )love kiwi's). I walked around found the cutest side street righy by the hostel...Vulcan street, very popular. Not at ton i liked about Auckland, just  a large gray city without alot of personality...ask any new zealander NOT living in Auckland --ha.

Cute boutique I gor some grear clothes at
Vulcan Street, Auckland, NZ

I enjoyed some shopping for fun. Made pals with a canadian who lives tehre...she was the shop lady who was heloing me. Invested in some nice things...a super pretty light green dress, slits up the side so it does cover my knees...so i jyust need to cover my chest and shoulders at temples in asia and the like :) also got a cute white t shirt, adorable but so hard to keep clean...they had no other colors..saying wild and free...portion of the proceeds went to...helping women? Was starving, I need to eat about every 3 hours...shrug. I got a nice lunch of salad at an adorable french cafe...just up the street. I know it was  good genuine french place...a french guy was working there, I know because he spoke french to a c=ute french family :) he asked, while he was ringiing up my bill, what I was doing the rest of the day...took me a while AFTER to realize that he was probably fliritng /hitting on me...oops.  haaaa

BBQ DUCK Cafe - Auckland, NZ

Found Queen street ghe main shopping street in Auckland...all the super expensive stores haaa. Not my style but I got a laugh out of it. Found some gorgeous New Zealand wool and possum mix sweaters, need to still invest in a good one..they are way warmer =than just merino wool by itself.

Later I was still hungry, salad fills me up if there is alot of protein on it. I found a great little asian restaurant . Called duck bbq? check... Love great asian places to eat, any type of asian, ususally fabulous food, great people working there, and inexpensive! I got meat bao buns, a great soup, and spring rolls, sooo yummy.

Next blog post: evening with a friend, and further Auckland adventures

Inspirational Women: great reads about brave women

Let's talk about women travelers. I have, for a majority of my life, been obsessed with traveling and when we got the Sunday paper, always collected the Travel section. I was so excited to learn about exotic places, different cultures, foods, art and more. I hadn't even been on a plan until we, my sister and I, were about 11 or 12, we took a small trip to San Francisco...pretty cool place.  I fell in the ocean, when we were going for a photo op...I always have fun awkward stories to tell of my travels, makes talking about my trips that more interesting and fun.

Years ago, I heard about the book "Eat, Pray, Love",  an autobiography by Elizabeth Gilbert, which is a lovely true story about a lady who isn't happy, leaves her partner and wants to travel. So she sets off on a year adventure, 4 months in Italy, India and Bali, Indonesia. The movie is quite good too. A while later I found a book "Tales of a Female Nomad", by Rita Golden Gelman... a great book about a lady's travels, not having a permanent home, staying with locals all over, and her incredible experiences. Before I giver my list of favorite ones I've read, I want to explain more about why I love some of them.

Girl stop apologizing... great book, by the author who also wrote "Girl, wash your face". Fabulous read, and appropriately titled book, about empowering women to go after their dreams, despite societal expectations.

What I was doing while you were breeding... this is a hilarious compilation of the author's travels and intimate relations with men, and all the other adventures in between. Great quick read for those of you wanting an honest travel single women book.

Very similarly, is the book No one told you this is about the author's life, she is single, 40 and can do what she pleases-- very good read.


So I have compiled a list of fabulous books about Women Travelers, and general books about empowered women, non fiction, and fiction.

Non Fiction:
- Eat, pray, love  By: Elizabeth Gilbert

- What i was doing while you were breeding  by: Kristin Newman

-Tales of a Female Nomad  By: Rita Golden Gelman

-girl who drovce through India in a small yellow car? *couldn't find title


-Bodie on the Road  By: Belinda Jones.

-No one told you this  by: Glynnis MacNicol

-Seducing and killing nazis  By: Sophie Poldermans

-Girl stop apologizing  By: Rachel Harris

Fiction:

.-resistance women  By: Jennifer Chiaverini

- the nightingale  By: Kristina Hannah

Preparing to Move Abroad

(So let's talk about moving abroad. Years ago, in 2010, I had studied abroad in the bonny country of Caledonia (ie Scotland). I am glad I could get a working visa there, by a certain age, because I really need to go back, it;s great there!

Great online example of
Moving Abroad Checklist
https://meetthewards.com/checklistformovingabroad/

So what to start with prepping for moving abroad...finding information from other lovely people who have done the same is a good starting point, including my awesome sister who taught English in Korea for 3 years.

Certain aspects of this were easier for me, I didn't have a car, house, partner, pets. You can still do it if you do though, you'll just have to prioritize and focus.

So for moving abroad I focused on what should be done, chronologically.

I started with some simple things, such as making COLOR copies of important paperwork, such as passport, birth certificate etc, having those on hand, and saving them electronically. That way if something happens to my passport, as long as a I have a good color copy, in case of an emergency that'll help.

Next I made sure I had everything I needed to apply for my working holiday visa. For New Zealand specifically see here, , https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas , otherwise, you can google immigration _insert country name here__. After that, I started working tons, saving for the trip, and paying off lots of school loans (thank you failed American education system). Overall I hit a majority of my goals very well before I was off to New Zealand--which was a relief--because traveling with lots of loans was a scary thought to me.

Working on Preping for the Move... tea, scone and passport with paperwork

*Side note: I think I forgot to mention, but another major reason why I wanted to move abroad, in general, was to have a better way of life. A majority of countries, even 3rd world ones, have free excellent universal health care, free education (including university), good public spaces and transportation, paid required parental leave, better work life balance...to name a few.

Besides these major above points, I have listed a lot of the things I went through on my list, and further sources and examples are at the bottom.

List...

.Final Doctor's appointments

-travel clinic, need shots?

-make copies (color for IDs) of: passport, visa, shots, Rx letter from dr, traveler's insurance (have with you, online and with family back home).

-Passport, when does it expire? needs to be good for at least 6 months after you plan to leave a country
-research visa options: I was doing a working holiday visa

-what do I want to keep?

-Sell/donate the rest
-Final Doctor, Dentist and eye appointments

-8 weeks prior...apply for working holiday visa (age limit)

-6 weeks prior give part time job notice

Awesome Gregory 35L pack
that I got for my Birthday

-book travelers insurance (thanks www.worldnomads.com )

-4 weeks prior 1 month notice for moving out

-4 weeks prior, give 2 weeks notice to primary job

-mail forwarded

-book accommodation in first city, Auckland , NZ.

-practice packing...it's trickier when you're going somewhere with lots of weather extremes, vs SE Asia, where it is almost always nice and warm

-get up to a 3 month supply on all needed prescriptions

Other Great Sources:
- great checklist of what to do, and what to pack

https://www.tourleader.nz/new-zealand-travel-planner/new-zealand-travel-checklist

-helpful check list from the New Zealand immigration website itself
https://www.new-zealand-immigration.com/migrate-to-new-zealand/immigrating-to-new-zealand/moving-checklist/

-http://www.workingin-australia.com/move/moving-checklist#.UyJ0SvmwJcQ
used this as an idea, but only could find the Australia one again

Coming Up...
My Adventures in New Zealand

The Traveling Herbalist

So it has certainly been a long time since I've written.

Lots has happened. I was working multiple jobs at a time, to pay off a lot of school loans (yay American school system--you fail), and save for my major trip. I am currently on a working holiday visa in the gorgeous country of -- New Zealand! I have already been here almost 6 months, and am absolutely loving it! The people are super friendly, the food is amazing, delicious local wine and cider, and every landscape is stupid pretty. I was just about to start another hostel job, in Fox glacier, in the south island, when the lovely NZ prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced a lockdown starting on Wednesday, March 25th, 2020. At the time this was announced, it was Monday and my boss and I were trying to figure out how many hours I could get, since the borders were closed , or what to do. Even thought they were listed as an essential business, and needed to stay open, they closed since the PM said businesses must close (go figure).
So currently I am doing my best to find a remote job, in customer service, as a virtual assistant or something along those lines...till than, I have a lot of free time, and figured why not write --since I love it.

Where to start...guess the beginning...

Almost 6 years ago now, I saw this incredible picture of someone on some mountain hike. I found that location was Mt Aspiring, on the south island in New Zealand. So that, plus my sister wanting to help me go in the right direction, sent me an article about a famous blog couple living and working in New Zealand. I decided to print the hike picture out, and on the sides drew lines, to represent my trip savings.

Mt Aspiring National Park Hike.

 https://youngadventuress.com/2020/01/hikes-in-mt-aspiring.html

Only thing was, my income wasn't that great. Paying off loans was hardly feasible at the time, let alone saving for a international trip to an expensive country. As luck would have it I was working at a food co op, great place, pay was ok...eventually I was laid off, budget issues (facepalm). Eventually I would learn this was a good thing. I got a job at a local gym, also not the best place to work...but I was desperate. Eventually, through a friend recommending me, I got a job at the Minneapolis airport (interesting and exhausting place to work in general).

I worked multiple jobs at a time...saved tons of money, wrote up a paid off goal sheet, time line for trip...etc. This helped me keep track of money goals; I had a lovely sheet written in black, that I'd mark off in red once I paid off a loan, credit card etc. Once I got into a good rhythm, of working, and paying things off, it felt very good to pay in full loans--oh man! Repeat this for almost 3 years. Friends, and family, including my sister asked me, "how do you do it?". Well I am very very driven to reach goals, I ate well, had not much of a life outside of work, and when I worked at the airport, they had a lot of registered therapy dogs. Instant de-stresser!

A lovely dog at my Airport

I was on very good track with saving for my New Zealand trip, and paying off loans--woot!
Through lots of more hard work, quitting one bad job at the airport, I got hired with a temp agency to work for a health insurance company--very hard job but quite rewarding --helping people. I was hired on in the spring, since I started working for them via  employment agency.
Start the countdown---T minus 6 months to New Zealand! Now it get's fun, and even a bit more challenging. Work two jobs, minimize, sell, and pack up … what I was keeping, or taking with me abroad. I've gotta say, I need to move more often again, to minimize some things I have...one reason I miss college.

This Blog's Summary:
-keep on working towards your goals, even if it takes a while
-never give up
-stay focused
-Do it even if it sounds crazy to some

Coming Up:
- prepping for living and working abroad

Plants through Travel: herbs as food, medicine and beauty abroad

Hi there everyone.

So I've been very busy lately with other life goals, and sadly didn't work on writing on my blog at least. This being said I am going to write as much as possible, every single day. I really miss my creative outlet, writing, basket weaving, gardening...I am doing them to a minor extent but it's not enough.

Anyways. Lots of fun and crazy things happening lately. A major re occurring theme has been someone's life passion, what you are meant to do...etc. My greatest passions in life are herbal medicine, so writing about this field and helping others heal like I have from the plant medicine; also travel.
I am working on how to combine those into a great blog so I can travel the world, learn, write, experience and live life!

I am thinking of still dividing this blog by food, and health, even though they are very related and integrated but to include more info..i'll also have them in different parts of my blog.

So I will talk about alot of my favorite travels, but in reference to herbs in food and herbal medicine, as well as nature in general.

Take Japan for example, gorgeous simple country, with a rich history. They have tea all the time, tea is medicinally valuable and useful in food as well. So I will work on an article for those topics. Also, Thailand, I have now been there twice and I absolutely loved it!! The quote "food is medicine and medicine is food" -- Hippocrates , comes to mind. Their food is packed with curry spices, ginger, garlic and more; and those are very medicinally useful, and their tea...don't get me started...so many amazing locally grown teas that are packed with nutrients.

will write more soon.

thanks!

Simplicity & Following Your Dreams!

            My sincere apologies for not posting any blogs in a long time, I have gone through a few major life events, its been incredibly hard, but incredible, none-the-less. I finally moved out of my parents’ house almost 1 ½ years ago, into a pretty cool old house in Minneapolis. I also successfully paid off one small college loan, and am working on the next few! Also more related to my 2014 new years resolution, within the next year or two, I will be doing a Working Holiday Visa (of 1 year) in New Zealand!!! So I can visit all “The Hobbit” and LOTR filming sites, do amazing hikes, see the Maori culture, make a bone carved necklace, and much more.

            I’m getting ahead of myself though. The most incredible thing that has positively influenced me the most in the past 7-8 months was the fact that I read Marie Kondo’s book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”   (link to amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing/dp/1607747308/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445961310&sr=8-1&keywords=marie+kondo   ).

            I am ever grateful that my sister, while we were skyping mentioned that she had started reading this really cool book, by a Japanese organizing specialist. After this conversation, hearing so many good things about her, and her recently published and super popular book, I looked up all I could on her. I read numerous articles reviewing her book, and praising her professional skills as a consultant (that’s her job-helping people tidy up their places & thus their lives). As soon as I could I received a copy of Marie Kondo’s book from the library, which took a while, since it was so popular. So on a cold night in February, I was quickly reading through her book, and started to tackle all my stuff—or tidy up—as Marie Kondo would probably say. Her method is simple, but extremely easy to use, and really makes sense once you get started.

Her steps are as follows: https://www.onekingslane.com/live-love-home/marie-kondo-book-declutter/

1) tackle categories, not rooms: this is an easier way to deal with clutter, otherwise you’ll never seem to be able to diminish the chaos

2) respect your belongings: consider your clothing’s feelings, are they rolled up on the floor or shoved into the closet.

3) Nostalgia—is not your friend: focus on one category at a time, and don’t let your emotions get a hold of your project

4) Purging Feels SO very good: pile everything of one category on the floor, say clothing, then channel your energy and go through it in one go. If it doesn’t give you joy ditch it, donate/sell it whatever, but don’t let it linger. If you feel on the fence about it, you are probably feeling guilt (which she does mention as one of two reasons we feel we should hold onto stuff), but it’ll pass…so kick it to the curb. You’ll feel lighter!

5) Fold, Don’t Hang:  to better respect your clothing Kondo prefers a certain type of folding method,

6) The Fold: and placing items into shoeboxes (without the lid of course). I found this to help keep everything looking fresher, and much tidier.

7) Fall in Love with Your Closet:there is breathing roome for your clothing, for you itehat to wear.

8) Rediscover your Personal-Style: when you narrow down your clothing, decorations, books and everything else, you are left with your favorite things—what gives you the most joy! With that said, it is easy to find more happiness in having fewer items, but of what you cherish more.

           

Once this was in Place…I had the time, space, and mental capacity to pursue other personal endeavors, passions…etc. This is still a bit of a working process for me, because for some more major or nicer items, I am keeping out some hope that I can sell them, versus just donating them and hoping to get a tax break.

            After working on applying for really cool full-time jobs, so I didn’t have to work two part-time jobs anymore (they weren’t hiring for full time-ironically), I finally caught/got a break!! I was offered a full time position at a local food co-op here, starting in front end, and I finally was able to transfer to a more preferred department (to produce—though my top is HBC but that’s another story). I really do love the produce department, I get to work at my own pace, move around a lot, work with incredible people, and it is not a particularly mentally-taxing position at all. This being said, I had the mental energy to pursue my true passions, writing, herbs & my small business. I submitted, hopefully they will publish it, an article about Elderberry for the upcoming winter/flu/cold-season to the ever popular Western Herbal medicine journal “Plant Healer”. My most exciting news apart from finally landing a full-time job at a cool place, is that I got an incredibly well paid part-time writing/administrative position with an Herbal School. So far I have completed social media updates for them to post, and a newsletter, and will soon be completing a second newsletter!

         I am very happy and excited that I have successfully accomplished several major life goals recently, hoping for many more quickly (like paying off loans then travel), but I still have many more long-term goals to reach. Wanting to travel for me is one of the top few things I LOVE to do, along with anything herbal and gardening-related, and writing. A book I adore entitled “Less is More”, co-authored by Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska, beautifully “Travel has become one of my greatest passions and one of those indulgences that I permit myself several times a year. For me, transporting myself to a different world, a different culture, brings home to me the importance of the here and now—living in the moment… I want to feel that I am truly in the moment and not just recording it” (pg 112).

         What I want to get to is the feeling of “I no longer dream of escaping to a better life. This is a good life. It will still change, evolve in different and surprising ways, but the restlessness is gone. It may seem simplistic to say, but living life in accordance with one’s values is a deeply satisfying thing” (pg 113).

         So what are those long-term goals for me? Here it is in a nutshell. In the next two years, work very hard to pay off most of the rest of my college loans, and save for New Zealand. Then year three, work and travel in New Zealand, year four travel and work through Australia & South East Asia. Travel back home for a bit, then work abroad a lot in Europe, I really want to learn from herbal companies there, get more farming and gardening skills, and just enjoy travel, life, different cultures (see above quote). Otherwise, I want to find a cool place to settle in, get a little land, garden, do permaculture, and have TONS of herbs. Start up my herb business (successfully) and do that, plus writing for myself and other organizations…maybe I even want to have an herbal practice. I want to be a healing-pillar in my community, so to speak.

          Will write again soon, cheers for now!

References/Further Information:

Pinterest Board https://www.pinterest.com/conrad0417/marie-kondo-konmari-method-of-organizing/

Review of her Method via Today Show http://www.today.com/home/life-changing-magic-tidying-testing-marie-kondos-method-t21356

Marie Kondo’s website http://tidyingup.com/

How to with Pictures http://goop.com/the-illustrated-guide-to-the-kondo-mari-method/

https://makespace.com/blog/posts/marie-kondo-facts-konmari/

 “Less is More” by Cecile Andrews & Wanda Urbanska

2014 New Year's Resolutions!!

It has come to my attention that I have not posted a blog in, a while, the fact that I have to think really hard about when means it’s been “too long”. SO firstly, I apologize, I have been insanely busy with two major customer-service based jobs, not trying to make excuses, just to explain. Thanks to those who kept viewing my pasts blogs despite this break in posts, otherwise I hope you can look forward to more posts monthly/bi-monthly from now on.

            With that said, here is my first blog of the New Year! The topic appropriately with the new year having just started is about my resolutions, and I felt ten of them was a nice solid number, not too many to get overwhelmed, nor too few.

My 2014 New Years Resolution(s)~

1)      Actually ‘take’ days off, not just have a day off and jam-pack it with to-do lists, seeing friends (whom I love dearly but I need to prioritize myself too!), and running errands. I am making a promise to myself to 3-4 days a month, read books in my pjs all day, get a massage, go for a long walk, eat chocolate, whatever—just chill out!

For your own ideas see this lovely article: http://www.motherearthliving.com/health-and-wellness/mind-and-body/day-of-rest-zmez13jfzmel.aspx

(Picture source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m8jc HjVNIA/UOt3hTHnQcI/AAAAAAAAAeE/TCNdYlS9ljA/s1600/try%2Bslowing%2Bdown.JPG)

     2)  Run several 5ks! I have been getting back into running due to an awesome job with a bank which I love, having lots of confidence in what I do, and having a semi-grown up profession/career path, I got insanely motivated to run 3-4 hrs a week, and cook even better food! This makes me feel physically good, I have a lot of energy, I sleep well and thus perform very well at both of my jobs. So I decided hey, lets make a goal of running a few 5ks with my mom! So here are several ideas for races to do: the Irish one, the National Running day, and the fall Monster dash, though I know there aren’t all the races in Minnesota for the year, just some main ones! https://www.tcmevents.org/events/

3) not worry so much about what is in the future, just be in the present, and have fun!

“Happiness can only be found if you free yourself from all other distractions” –Saul Bellow

 (http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?sid=232  -source of above quote)

4) Be more grateful, gracious, and realize how awesome I have it! I heard of this inspirational and uplifting little project you can do called “the 365 grateful project”, via www.upworthy.com, I believe. I have been doing this project for the past two weeks and have found even the smallest things really do make a huge difference in my level of happiness, in how grateful I am: example…during the coldest part of the winter (so far), I didn’t realize how grateful I am for nice hot food (egg, cheese, potato, ham bake to be exact)! The website is: http://365grateful.com/. 

a gorgeous japanese garden, I believe near kyoto, I always think of
Japan when I think of relaxation, and peacefulness... (taken by me)

5) PAY back parents, and some college loans! This may seem trivial, or oh well why pay it back now…so on. If you have college loans you’ll understand the feeling, finally making and saving enough to start paying back my parents, and college loans, of which is the rough equivalent of a decent house—no joke—it is such an incredibly-stress-relieving action, sure its money leaving my bank account BUT it is the peace of mind knowing I won’t be gaining x-amount of interest, so I’m really saving money, sanity, stress…etc. I got really motivated to do this by a dear friend who is resourceful, a health nut, frugal (not cheap-just money smart), friend who introduced the “Total Money Makeover” by David Ramsey. (http://www.daveramsey.com/store/books/dave-s-bestsellers/the-total-money-makeover/prodtmmoclassic.html) Though I had to read it 2 times for it to click, man, it has really been a godsend! Knowing that I’ll be debt free that much sooner, makes me actually start to see the light at the end of the long and crazy tunel. Also see the ‘debt snowball’ tool on his website:  http://www.daveramsey.com/article/get-out-of-debt-with-the-debt-snowball-plan/

6) Do other fun volunteering things I love! I love my two current jobs, but of course outside of work I enjoy working on my etsy business, an in the Minnesota based North Country Herbalist guild (www.nchg.org), but I need to make MORE time to enjoy cooking health food, making kombucha, water kefir and fermented veggies; removing invasives at the native plant sanctuary Eloise Butler Garden, and go to Weston A. Price chapter meetings (find yours www.westonapricefoundation.com) 

7) Take a few awesome trips & plan future trips! Now that I have a good paying job where I actually—gasp—get PTO (paid-time-off/vacation) I can plan…for the future! What a relief, for a minute I was starting to worry.

            Save to visit my dear friend in New Zealand! Having been the filming country for the LOTR, Lord of the Rings trilogy, and now the first 2 of 3 The Hobbit movies, we need to visit where the hobbit village took place!

 http://www.worldwanderingkiwi.com/2012/11/new-zealand-visit-the-hobbiton-film-set/ (above picture source)

& http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-tourism-new-zealand-143234

8) Research, take classes, and save to get educated in: naturopathy, nutrition, and permaculture. Paying someone to take a class seems easy and cheap, but recently I've been coming to the relization that here in the states we LOVE to pay someone to do ______for us (From haircuts, growing food, making beauty/cleaning products, and teaching us), this being said I am going to invest lots of time, energy and hopefully get places to try out, permaculture, vermi-composting, strawbale house making, to vertical gardening. Also, I am reading alot about nutrition, from reading the book "eating on the wild side", to learning the benefits of kombucha, water kefir, and foraging some own food each year. Being able to teach/help-myself, and be resourceful, teach others than once I know it well enough, is such a lost art, and very important! *side note, one of 
my favorite permaculture books is here...http://www.amazon.com/Sepp-Holzers-Permaculture-Small-Scale-Integrative/dp/160358370X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389897694&sr=8-1&keywords=sepp+holzer%27s+permaculture+a+practical+guide+to+small-scale+integrative+farming+and+gardening

http://www.patternliteracy.com/files/2011/09/gaias_garden.jpg

9) MOVE OUT into an apartment/house, which means moving out of my parents’ house.

Thanks to the above David Ramsey book, combined with health-nut eating frugal friends, I have been very confident in my ability to: save enough money before moving out in case of a job switch/emergency, and to save for the future. On top of that, I am really feeling good about living on a budget, due to some awesome friends saying hey I'm in this food co-op, here are prices for organic produce, want to order some with me and we'll have healthy good quality food for cheap!?...yes please 

Also, paying off my parents, as stated above, and others help to up my savings (having lots of money saved, but also lots of debts is counter-productive), helps with some fear and stress of moving out, having less debt...well means just that...less debt! Alot of this also worked because I started to buy primarily with cash, or do all my errands one day a week and leave my cards at home (credit & debit).
Back to the food buying, I buy in bulk from locally started food co-ops, make my own menu plans, and soon I will even take measuring spoons and a calculator to grocery stores, buy with cash, leave plastic (debit/c.cards) at home….etc

           And last but not least # 10...which is an article on "20 things to let go of before new year" 
 http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11973/20-things-to-let-go-of-before-the-new-year.html

Enjoy, Cheers & Happy New Year!!