11 FREE Things To Do That Will Make You Feel Good

My favorite word.  FREE!  It's not that I don't like the word PAY, but FREE gives you a warm feeling inside.

Like this FREE glass of ice water from Wall Drug! What a treat!

Even though there is little risk, you will receive great rewards by doing things that are FREE.  I like to seek out free activities, especially when traveling since just stepping into your car is like setting the pay meter down in a taxi.  It's going to cost you.  You don't have to travel to get the same rewards and benefits that you will get on the road by doing free things in your local area.

Yesterday, I started chipping away at my garage to complete my goal of selling or donating everything inside of it.  I sorted through most of my clothes in bins and got rid of 90% of them.  I packed them up and donated them yesterday.  What a great feeling that was!  I am going to do this little by little this month in order to achieve my goal of living with a lot less.  It feels so much better.

On that note, I started thinking of other things that are free that can give you a good feeling.  Here are a few you might want to try out this weekend:

1.) Give it to a new home.
You know that you are not going to wear that tshirt or pair of jeans that are in the back of your closet or stuffed in the back on your drawer.  Pack it up and donate it.  Thinking that someday you might be able to fit in it again is only taxing on the brain that you are not good enough as you are...right this moment.  Just ditch it.  By the time you fit into them again, you will want a new pair, or someone else's old pair. The same idea goes for furniture, cars, "treasures," and your general "stuff" you have that takes up your life space. Or, have a clothes swap party with your friends!  You will end up with FREE clothes.

2.) Get some culture
Most museums have a free day during the month.  At our local Long Beach Museum of Art, Fridays are FREE.  You can find free days in your area by clicking on the city.  There are free museums in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco,  New York City, and other cities that you can search from HERE.

3.) Go Camping
Camping seems like a cheap way to travel, but there are costs associated with it.  You can find free places to camp if you own an RV by clicking here, or if you have a tent, you can find free sites here.  Get away from your home base for a while to clear your head.

4.) Help save a marriage
Offer to help out for a night with your friends kiddos so they can go out alone together. If you don't have kids, you might have a new appreciation for why you don't see them as often.

5.) See a concert
Summer time screams free concerts!  There are musicians everywhere wanting to perform for you.  Concerts in the park, musicians on the streets, performances at coffee shops.  They are everywhere.

6.) Get outside
It's wildflower time!  They are popping out all over the place!  Time to get out of your house to go see them.  It's like a free garden for you to admire without all of the work. Go to the beach, visit a free park, look at some trees, breathe the fresh air.

7.) Learn something new
Libraries are FREE.  You can sign up and check out as many books as you want.  Learn something new.  Have you always wondered about the history of your city or why people thought it was cool to wear neon colors in the 80's?  Ditch the computer and do it the old fashioned way, walk or ride your bike to the library to see for yourself.

8.) Become the CEO of your life
Write down your personal mission statement.  Goals are best achieved when you take the time to organize your thoughts and write down what you really want to accomplish in life.

9.) Get Creative
There are free art classes out there.  Learn how to paint, draw, or sculpt. Not sure where to start?  Take a stroll at a local art fair or art walk that happens most every week in your town.  See what others are doing and if something looks interesting to you, talk to the artist.  You might just meet a new friend in the meantime.

10.) Take Pictures
If you own any type of digital camera, taking pictures is FREE.  Get out and explore your neighborhood looking for things that seem interesting to you.  You will see everything in an entirely new light.  It will get you outside and force you to see things in a way that you didn't before.  Get close, look at new textures, look at the ground you are walking on, look up at the sky. Once you are done, send a few pictures to friends to let them know you were thinking of them. Or get silly and set the camera on a timer and jump around in the shot to see what happens?  It's a guaranteed smile, especially if you do this in a crowd. Want to learn from a professional? Get inspired and attend a FREE smug mug meeting in your area to listen to a professional speak.

11.) Volunteer
Clean up the beach, feed those in need, or help homeless animals.  Use your time to help others in need.

I hope this list sparked up some ideas in your head to get out and enjoy something free.  What do you like to do that's free?

Manifesting Dreams In Joshua Tree National Park

There is something about an idea in your head.  The more you think about the idea, the more you see it right in front of you.  I think this assumption has  always been there, but recently with "The Secret" phenomenon, we can learn that we have the power within ourselves to manifest anything in our lives once we put our mind to something.  Sometimes the whole idea sounds far fetched, but you never know. You may or may not believe it's true, but it "sorta" happened to my twice over the weekend.

As you know, it's a dream of mine to own an airstream and perhaps get a fancy camera (don't read this post my little trusty point and click!), specifically the Canon 5D Mark II.

When I was touring Salvation Mountain, I was snapping away when a young woman in her early 20's asked me to take a picture of her and her friends.  Of course I said yes!  Then it happened.  She handed me her Canon 5D Mark II and asked me to snap away.  I had to get a picture of the group with my camera as well so I had my point and click in one hand and her...sigh...Canon 5D Mark II in the other.  I told her how much I wanted that camera and she said it was the most expensive thing she owns.  She lives in a house with nine other kids her age in order to afford it.  Wow, did I just say "kids?"  Whew...getting old already. The same night I logged on the computer and 2 people wrote status updates that their new 5D came in the mail.

The following day, I headed to Joshua Tree and look what appears out of nowhere, a piece of land with a vintage airstream just sitting there, looking pretty.  I took pictures of it and stood there for a moment to day dream.  Sigh.

I visited Joshua Tree for the first time last Thanksgiving and my second time last weekend.  It really is a beautiful place.  If you are into rock climbing (I know I'm not!), this is the place for you.  If you would rather stay low to the ground (I know I would!) there are miles and miles of desert to walk on and hundreds of cactus...all with seemingly different personalities.

I have found that you really can't beat our beautiful National Parks.  I ranked my favorites here and I look forward to visiting more this year.

Of course this morning I woke up to the today show talking about airstreams and how celebrities are "downsizing" their life to have one of these trailers (click here to view).  Anytime they get bored of theirs and want to get rid of it as a charitable donation, I would gladly take it off of their hands.

Specifically, the Ocean Breeze International 16 model. Ahhhh, she's the one.

It's My Birthday!

It's my birthday today so I thought I would share some facts about myself that you may or may not know about me.  Since I am on a 39 goals on my 39th year kick, I put a list of 39 little tidbits about myself.  Can you relate to any of these?  I mean...haven't you sat in your trash can filled with cold water on a hot summer day?  Was I the only one?

Here are a few other fun facts about yours truly.

1. I used to be a synchronized swimmer
2. I love old school rap music
3. My dream is to own an airstream and put it on a piece of land and live off grid
4. I am horrible at math
5. I was an assistant basketball coach for a college team
6. I sold girl scout cookies
7. I have the entire star wars figure collection
8. My all time favorite musician is Elvis Costello and met him once.
9. I’ve never broken a bone
10. I don’t have tonsils
11. I had stitches between my toes
12. I slept as my neighbors house burned down
13. I was a lifeguard
14. I won an apple peeling contest
15. Public speaking is my worst fear
16. I don’t have a tattoo
17. I bite my nails
18. I don’t like crowds
19. I haven’t used a blow dryer in years
20. I don’t iron
21. I dread shopping
22. Coconut is my favorite scent
23. I drink coffee everyday
24. I grew up camping under the Hollywood sign
25. I’ve never traveled to Europe
26. I want to adopt every dog I see at the shelter
27. I played college basketball
28. I was a fencer
29. I haven’t eaten a mammal in over 15 years
30. I would rather text than talk on the phone
31. 32 is my favorite number
32. I am allergic to eggplant
33. My first job was to tell people not to touch the plants at a county fair
34. Since I didn’t have a pool growing up, I filled our trash cans and sat in them during  summer months
35. I love all things weird
36. In 5 days It will mark one year without alcohol
37. King Crab legs are my favorite meal
38. I like to take pictures (can you tell?)
39. I love brussel sprouts

The Salton Sea Revisited

Every now and then I visit a place that stays with me enough that I feel the need to explore it again.  This was the case of the Salton Sea.  I've always wanted to go to this "sea" in the middle of the desert but didn't really have a reason to.  It's out in the middle of nowhere, but has a rich history that you wouldn't know about unless you sought it out.

It's beautiful and a bit sad at the same time.  Bombay Beach is one of my favorite places since it looks like it stands in time.  There are wrecked buildings everywhere that stay put from where they were built, old chairs, computers, water towers...all in their place among the wreckage.

Nearby is a town called Nyland where you can find Salvation Mountain and Slab City.  Slab City is a not really a city at all but a small community of drifters living on the land together.  I would describe it as a mini burning man that stays there year round.

I loved it.

If you are thinking about touring a place that you won't soon forget, visit the Salton Sea.  You can see more pictures from my visit HERE.

Salvation Mountain "God Is Love"

Over the weekend, I took another tour of the Salton Sea and surrounding cities.  This time, the tour took me to Niland to visit Slab City and Salvation Mountain.  What a sight to see!  You will know you have arrived when you see an entire mountain covered in paint with "God is Love" etched everywhere. The artist is Leonard Knight and I was lucky enough to meet him and get a personal guided tour of his creation.  Right when you walk up to the mountain, you will be greeted by a gentleman saying, "Hello, make yourself at home."  That gentleman would be Leonard Knight.

Please take a visit if you are in the area.  Leonard will greet you and make you feel at home.


This was truly a sight to see.  For more pictures of my visit, click
HERE.

Las Olas Surf School and La Playa

I blogged about what a wonderful experience I had when I decided to surf with a bunch of strangers in my "Stepping out of Comfort and Into Growth" blog.

Las Olas (Surf Safaris for Women) has a new blog in town!  You can learn more about the wonderful women behind the scenes on their new blog, La Playa (A Community Of Women Who Love To Surf).

Lucky for me, I was featured under their "Saluting Surf Sisters" tab with my story.  Thank you Bev for creating such a wonderful community where women can come together, learn to surf, make new friends and leave home with the belief that anything is possible.

To read my story and others in the Las Olas community, please click HERE.

We Can Do It Too!

I love stories of women achieving their dreams.  There really isn't anything we can't do once we put our mind to it.  We are so fortunate in America to be able to do what we want to do.  We can set forth and achieve any goal we wish with hard work and determination, unlike many women in other countries.

At this moment, 16 year old Abby Sunderland is setting sail to reach her personal goal; to sail around the world solo.  You can read about her journey on her blog by clicking here.

How inspiring to young women!  She realized her dream and is living it at such a young age. Also, how great is it that her parents are supportive of that?  At 16, I was crossing my fingers and hoping to pass classes so I could graduate high school.

I always played sports growing up and my family enjoyed camping together when I was young.  I have one brother who is 7 years older so as I child I learned how to entertain myself and explore on my own.  It could be a reason why I enjoy wandering and exploring new places today, at 38.  It's just inside of me.

The thing is...it's never too late to do what you have always dreamed of doing.  I have to admit that it is easier for me since I chose not to have kids.  Instead, I worked right out of college and continued to work hard and climb a corporate ladder until I just couldn't stand it anymore.  The suits and heels weren't me.  I was pushing a product that didn't inspire or excite me.  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the opportunity I had and I learned a lot in the process but even as I left the company, most people knew and commented that the job just wasn't a reflection of who I was.

Who am I?  Well, I am a work in progress, as we all are.  I know that I am enjoying taking pictures and traveling.  Camping and being in nature rank high on my list of things that bring me joy.  As I mentioned with a previous blog, I met up with a group of strangers with one thing in common: we all had silver trailers and a love of the outdoors and camping.  A common topic of discussion among the group was how great it was for them to ditch their "normal" lives to come and spend a weekend with other women to talk about ideas, life and support each other with the belief of yes, we can do it too!  There were stories of how men would be in control of hitching and towing and that they never had the chance to do it or the opportunity to learn how to do it.  This was their chance to learn something new, feel empowered and leave with a sense of hope that they can achieve anything they set their mind to.

I am thankful to all of the women who paved the way for title 9 so I was able to have the opportunity to play basketball in college.  There are so many women who stuck their neck out to be trailblazers for a realization that yes, we can do it too.

I started a group on facebook for women who have a shared interest in camping and the outdoors.  If this is you, please click here to join (there is also a widget on the right of the blog).  No fees, just fun.

Today I am thankful for all of the women who took a chance so we are able to do the same.

Humans In Their Habitat

I love people watching.  There are some great places to people watch like the airport, county fair, festivals, cities and most any place where there is a gathering of humans.  As you know, I was in New York City over the weekend and that could be the top place to sit and watch people living their lives.

Of course, I love to snap pictures of all people doing their thing.  Most of the time, I go unnoticed but on occasion, they spot me taking their photograph.  I wonder what they do and what their life is like.  You can sit there and imagine how people live their lives and a lot of the time, you might be right according to the way they dress or carry themselves.

I love it especially when someone is dressed up...different from the crowd.  The fashion trends vary from state to state and when you get to New York, you have everything mixed together.  I picked up a rental sheet from one of the blocks I wandered on and after seeing the housing costs, I wondered how people can even afford to live there.

When I am home, I like to sit in a coffee shop and watch people come and go.  It's what I am doing right now. I wonder what they are working on, what they do, where they live.  It's all so interesting to me.

Perhaps I've had too much coffee writing this post, but when was the last time you took a moment to sit and observe?  It's a great form of entertainment and best of all, it's FREE!  Here are a few pictures I took of people living their life in their own habitat.  I have more from my travels HERE.  Perhaps you are in one of them.

Music On The Street

There are artists everywhere.  As much as I enjoy going to art shows on the street, I also love to listen to solo performers and bands jam outside on corners or busy intersections.
I especially enjoy it when the performer is just hanging out by himself/herself and is there for the music and perhaps some cash if you can spare a buck or two.

Music is life.  Sometimes I get in a rut and listen to the same artist over or the same station on Pandora that usually plays the same songs.  It's refreshing to hear something new that you wouldn't listen to otherwise.  You can change your entire mood by putting something different on in your home.  Try classical or jazz if you like rap (I know I do...I'm a big fan of old school rap), or opera if you usually listen to country. You get the drift. When you're not plugged into your ipod, there is music all around us...especially in the city.

My New York trip was unforgettable.  There is so much energy coming from the streets, it's hard not to feel a buzz flow through your body when you find a quiet space at the end of the day.  For me, it can be a little overwhelming since there is so much stimulation everywhere you look.  In fact, it would take me about 30 minutes to walk 3 blocks with my camera out...snapping away at everything that seems interesting. In the city, everything seems interesting to me. There is something going on in every direction at every moment.

Complete coordinated chaos.

You can find street musicians everywhere.  I've heard them on the streets of Los Angeles, Austin, New Orleans, New York and Boston...just to name a few on my travels.  I've included some photographs of my favorite performers on this blog.

Get out.  Listen.  You might find something you really enjoy.

Life In New York City

Yesterday, I spent the day walking around the city.  I've done it a few times before, but yesterday was a different experience.  What I loved to do best was to sit in a park, on a bench, or a stoop somewhere and just watch people and feel the energy all around.  Of course there are tourist spots and places where locals only go and I hope to do a little of both.

The day was spent in the Bryant Park area and Times Square.  I look forward to doing it all over again today.  Here are a few pictures I took as I wandered around.  To see more, please click HERE.