Bored until I bored

 Bored until I board
 I'm sitting in the Tampa Florida airport waiting for my plane to arrive. Mother nature decided to sprinkle tornadoes and thunderstorms in my area to keep me grounded.  Over the last few days, I have spent hours listening to experts in the field of obsessive compulsive disorder. My decision to add this to my knowledge base is in part of my dedication to serving an underserved population in the Austin Texas  community. I am confident that I will be able to serve the individuals and families who suffer from this condition of hoarding. It's not an easy treatment and it takes endurance and patience.  I plan to offer free workshops to the community you to learn more about hoarding and opportunities for treatment. I hope to form small groups therapeutic groups for individuals and continue to offer help home based counseling for those seeking individual treatment.
Www.iocdf.org

SAMHSA News - Trauma-Informed Care - New Publication

SAMHSA News - Trauma-Informed Care - New Publication

Summer Travel: Start with planning

Bergen, Norway

When my family and I moved to Scandinavia last September, it occurred to my husband and I, that we would have an incredible opportunity to travel in Europe. Although flying to major cities was affordable and quick, we had in mind they best way to travel. The way we did back in Texas...Road Trippin'.           

Preparing for the Journey

As the months grew nearer, Paul and I spent hours researching places in Germany. I went to the library and checked out travel books, explored The Lonely Planet and even mapped out our route using Google Maps.  Wanna see our map? It was really interesting to talk to Europeans about our plans. EVERYONE had a strong opinion.  They were all great advocates for their home country; whether it was The Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland, or Germany it seriously affected our planning. From the get go, Paul and I had to plan for our kids to have "kid" time. 

It is not uncommon for Paul and I to subscribe to a VERY efficient planning tool for travel. For example, our spreadsheet. Yeah, I know. It took 10 years to truly appreciate this, but I DO!

I utilized booking.com for our lodging. I was very pleased with the selection and quality of the on-line service and the partners. The traveling would not have been as stress free without this.

I have spent many hours the last few days with my iPhone listening to podcasts from the TED radio hour. This stuff is just blowing my mind.
TED talks...listen

I get inspired by these interviews.  I hope many of you already listen or will consider taking in a few.

Learning Norwegian

Hei Hei,

Jeg forstar lit norsk. Jeg ikke snakke Norsk.

My new location.  My Garmin tells me that I am N 59º 55.697'  E 010º44.127' elevation 58m.  This is the farthest north location experience.  When I dreamed of travel I honestly pictured France or Italy.  Even Greece was a favorite travel destination.  But Oslo, Norway had not come into dream radar.

My new home for two years.  Me and my family are to live in Northern Europe.  When I spoke of it over the last several weeks, it was as if reading a from a script.  Now, as I write it, it seems more integrated.  What seems even more connected is the past and present. For example, earlier today I was driving to pick up the children. A radio station is trapped in the 80's and plays tunes that tap into tracks of memory laid in my latent years. The years that provided to me optimism, näive notions of adult life, magnificent views of my life.  Funny how those past feelings are connected to these very moments NOW.  The bridge between them is Time.

So many moments leading up to this one.

Two posts but same groove

Fredag/Friday afternoon in Oslo. My headphones are on listening to jazz and I am inspired to write.  being in Europe listening to jazz is dreams coming true.  Earlier today while driving to pick up children from school, I was transported to 1984.  My young life was beginning and I had visions of a future that had travel and adventure.  In those moments of Whitney Houston, Chicago, and others, I realized my dream.

It has only been 14 days since our arrival, but it feels like a month. Perhaps all the excitement of settling in has filled so many moments.  We are in an apartment/flat in the urban district of Bislet is Oslo.  Location