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Book your Dream vacation!

If you know me, you know I loooooove to travel! But what a lot of people don’t know is that I travel on a budget so that I can travel more often. So I figured why not share what I do with you. Therefore you can travel and experience the world also!

Does you love to visit new countries? Who likes to save money while doing that? Well you’re in luck. Today I decided to write about my experience of booking my trip to Thailand to help you with tips on how to book your dream vacation and save money in the process.

The first and most important piece of the trip is deciding where to go. Maybe you have that dream spot that you’ve always been dreaming of or maybe you’re on a budget. There are a few things to consider when determining where to go.

  1. Safety of the location
  2. Weather
  3. Culture

Once you decide where to go, you need a way to get there and a place to stay. Look for the following:

  1. Combo deals – Book flight and hotel together. As most people know, you can often find better deals by booking these two together. When you do find a good deal, ensure the security of the site. There are a lot of scams out there these days. The reputability of the company is also important. Do they make it easy to do business with?
  2. Fare watch – There are websites out there like SkyScanner that will look at different dates and watch flights. You can also set up alerts on many websites. Some sites I recommend are Kayak, justfly, orbitz, expedia, etc. With many of these sites you can fare watch to see when prices go up or down.
  3. Read reviews – You can also read reviews of the airline or hotels on the search sites or on the main site of the hotel. I like to look at recent reviews of hotels. This will give you ideas about location, quality, food, etc. Often times, people will talk about the food or how long it took them to get to major attractions. Take it all with a grain of salt though. Different people have different preferences.

Now you know when and where you are going! Fabulous! It’s time to create an itinerary.

What do you want to accomplish when you get there? Are you looking to eat a particular cuisine, see historic sites, go on a specific expedition? I love watching YouTube videos before I go to see what the area has to offer. It also gets me more excited for the trip and shows me what I might want to do or avoid when I get there. What activities is offered in that location. TripAdvisor gives some great advice and many top lists of things to do.

Next, book your excursions. If you’re not on a time constraint, then I recommend booking the excursions when you arrive. Often times, you can negotiate a deal when you’re there rather than paying the set price they have online. Most tourist areas will have excursions available to book right at the hotel.

So now that we reviewed how to decide where to go on your next vacation, how to book a flight and hotel and lastly create your itinerary, you are all equipped with the tools and resources to create your dream vacation. I chose to go to Thailand for my next trip. Where will you go?

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Top 10 Ways Gratitude Enhances Your Life

Sometimes in order to create your Best Lyfe Ever, you must start with where you are. Everyone, no matter the circumstances, is able to find something in their life they are grateful for. For instance, everyone can start with the fact that their heart is beating. Without your heart, you are not alive. It works day and night without thought. If nothing else, start here.

Abundance surrounds you in so many ways. Regardless of your station in life, there are many things that gratify you. What are you thankful for? Take a moment to ponder them.

Consider the ways that having gratitude makes your life better:

  1. You’ll be more enthusiastic. Research shows that when subjects recorded what they were thankful for in a journal on a regular basis, they reported having a larger sense of enthusiasm for their life than those who didn’t write about their gratitude. Acknowledge your gratitude. You’ll be glad you did!
  2. You’ll feel more determined to achieve your goals. When you take notice of the good things you have, you’re more likely to put your nose to the grindstone and keep working for whatever else you desire.
  3. Your level of optimism will soar. According to several studies, those who documented what they were thankful for were much more positive about how their life was going and how it would proceed. Being optimistic will fuel your passion to construct the life you deserve.
  4. Energy levels increase. If you have gratitude, you’ll have more energy to create the life you desire. Being aware of what you’re thankful for galvanizes your efforts to discover all that your life can be.
  5. You’ll pay more attention. Being thankful ensures you’ll be more alert and aware of how your life is going, what you’re doing, and how you can continue to build the life you seek.
  6. Levels of stress drop. As you live a life of gratitude, things that used to stress you out will lose their power. Instead, you’ll be entrenched in the wonderful world you’re living in.
  7. You’ll feel more content with life. Those who consciously have gratitude experience reduced levels of depression.
  8. You’ll exercise more. Those who show a sense of thankfulness had higher reports of exercising more than those who weren’t keeping a gratitude journal.
  9. Providing aid to others will come easier to you. When you notice all the positive things surrounding you, you’ll reach out to help others more often. When your soul is flooded with light and positivity, you’ll feel more like being there for others.
  10. You’ll discover the life you truly want. As unusual as it may sound, the research about gratitude indicates that those who have thankfulness in their hearts are more likely to achieve their goals. As your thankfulness grows, your dream life is built.

Open your eyes to the bounties that grace your world. When you do, you’ll live a more fulfilling life. Allow yourself to feel passion about the color of the fall leaves, the peacefulness of the snow falling, or the beauty of the blue sky. Notice the feel of a warm coat against your skin or the love in your child’s hug. Maybe you’re even grateful for that first cup of morning coffee.

Are you ready to start to create your Best Lyfe Ever? Get started today on your own gratitude journal. Write about everything that you’re grateful for. As you begin to give thanks, you’ll find your dreams coming true.

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What’s Your Story?

I remember when one of the first times I told someone that I wanted to write a book and help other women achieve their dreams. The person I told asked me “what’s your story?”  I looked at him blankly like he was speaking a foreign language. “My story?” He told me of his overseas military story and how others have cheated death or recovered from addiction and asked again “So what’s your story?” I then responded by telling him I didn’t have anything special to tell or a special story. He then reminded me that I wouldn’t be able to influence people because I didn’t have a “story”. 

This became my story and sat in my head for a few years. I allowed it to become part of my reality. I then got hives and while it sucked, it still didn’t define me. I made it through and learned a lot about diet and lifestyle. I even went to school, started coaching clients, and started a business. But something was missing. It wasn’t me and I wasn’t being authentic. 

I remember about two years later when I finally had that “ah ha” moment. You know, that moment when everything gets clear and you feel like a dark cloud has been removed. This was my moment. “Screw him!” I said aloud. This is my story! I’m just an average girl who’s done some pretty incredible things like served in the military, rose up in the corporate world, created a six figure income, was named “top 40 young business professionals” in my local area and now am starting that business he told me I couldn’t do. 

That’s my story! I’m an average girl with a ton to share with the world. I choose to live my life to the fullest everyday and I’ve only just begun to create my BEST LYFE EVER! This is for all those other girls out there that feel just like me, like they’ve got something more in them. They know they’re capable of more and are ready to take their life to the next level. I’m so excited to share this journey with all of you. This is just the beginning of my story. What will your story be?