Sometimes I wish I could just bring my life in Valencia to a safe little place like Chordeleg, until that happens I will make the best of it here!
This month was really great for me!
I started salsa dancing again after nearly a year and a half without it. Okay, it is a salsa casino course, but it is full of people who love the dance and music as much as I do, and I am hoping that they will be organizing some social dance events soon!
I started going to the gym regularly again thanks to good workout buddies. I am also tracking my daily fitness with the MyFitnessPal app. This helps me think about making good choices (ie. only one glass of wine and a light dinner if I didn’t go to the gym).
I went to a nice breakfast at the Hesperia for the first time in several months with some of my friends. It is always a good idea to treat yourself and be social when we spend so much time cooped up in our apartments for safety reasons. While we were at the Hesperia we made plans for massages and mani/pedis to keep the treats flowing!
I also got a package from home (technically it arrived on the 29th of February, but whatever). It is so nice when you get presents from home (even late Christmas presents!) because you know that someone was thinking about you. My mom also forwarded some things that I had bought online for myself- sweet! I’m most excited for my new external hard drive that is compatible with my MacBook Air so I can use TimeMachine again.
Around the Web:
Sometimes I dream that in a couple of years I will have saved enough money that I can take a year off and volunteer my way around the world. How cool would that be?! This girl did it.
For all of us international travelers out there, I thought this post on Lifehacker about a duplicate passport was a great idea!
Another important Lifehacker post is about a massive VPN comparison sheet. This is important for anyone moving to China or those expats who just want to watch their Netflix and Amazon Prime shows.
Obama went to Cuba and more Americans are heading that way. I can’t wait to visit a year from now!
While I do not doubt that Mr. Trump will not be elected President if everyone votes, it does scare me quite a bit when I think of it as a possibility. I loved reading Adventurous Kate’s options for 15 ways to leave the US if Mr. Trump is elected!
Or if you are like me, you just want to travel for fun! Check out these 5 places to travel while the dollar is strong.
Books:
This month, among a few others, I read the first three books of the 4 book series called Witching Savannah, by JD Horn. I think I read “The Line” (Book 1 in the series) in just under two days (including the time I spent at work). It immediately hooked me in. The series reminds me a bit of True Blood if it were written about witches instead of vampires… just minus a lot of sex. But who knows, maybe Horn gets around to writing the sex in the later two books. ::shrug::
“The Source” (Book 2) was equally enthralling. I’m looking forward to reading the next two books in the series. “The Void” was very intriguing with many time continuum sci fi type of plot lines throw in. I can’t wait for book four which is due to come out next month.
I read all of these through Kindle Unlimted (which you can try for 30 Days Free if you haven’t already checked it out).
Music:
I was poking around on Youtube and I came across this lovely version of James Bay singing “Running”. I found some live versions of it from 2014 so it isn’t exactly new, but somehow I’ve never heard it before this month! “Running” reminds me of my Uncle Jeff singing in front of the campfire whenever we went camping or just jamming in his house. I think it is perfect for expats who are thinking about going home in a couple of months for the summer.
Then, of course, one thing led to another and suddenly I listened to everything I could find by him. I really enjoyed everything of his that I listened to especially “Scars” and “Let It Go“, but this one is very powerful too:
Movies:
I finally watched Spotlight, the film that won Best Picture at the Oscars. It is a movie based on real events surrounding widespread pedophilia and systemic cover-up by the Catholic Church in Boston and the investigative journalism by the Boston Globe that brought it to light. I may have cried a few times while I watched it.
TV:
This month I got waaaayyy behind on my TV watching because there are so many great shows on (also because I generally can only focus on one episode a night)! House of Cards, Daredevil, and Bosch all came out this month not to mention other shows that I love to watch like Quantico and Blindspot.
The new season of House of Cards is available on Netflix! Whoo! Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright do evil so well. I know Scandal is sort of political as well, but this is the only show that I watch where politics and the behind the scenes manipulation pay such a huge role. It is also fun to binge watch a whole season in a short amount of time.
Teaching Wanderlust 