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Habits
No big deal, I’m just over here trying to be a better human, and it’s a struggle. I’m always trying to lose weight, it’s a sad fact of my entire adult life, and a lot of other women’s for that matter. It’s annoying really. I obsess about it. I’ve read a thousand articles. I’m educated. I’ve tried lots of diets, exercise programs, cleanses, lifestyles, etc. (I’ve also been thinking that the word ‘diet’ had just been re-branded with the word(s) ‘healthy lifestyle’…..but that rant is for another time). I’m in my own head so much about food, what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat next, thinking about…
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Africa – Part 5
I am not sure how many ‘parts’ will be in my Africa series. As I write more and more, I keep thinking of more things to document. I have never made a trip like this in my life and may never again and I never want to forget it. I really should’ve kept a journal over there! This will have to do for now. Once we were complete with the bridge, we had a BBQ for our team and the community bridge committee, who did a TON of work and without them, we would have never gotten as far as we did. Where I come from – a BBQ usually consists of…
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Africa – Part 4
I cannot believe I haven’t finished this yet! It has already been almost 3 months since our trip to Rwanda! So…here goes….the rest of the build…. Once we hung the swings, our structure really started looking like a bridge, which was pretty exciting for me. Our work was really starting to look like we were making progress. All that board cutting, drilling and pounding was starting to come to life. It was actually pretty amazing that we could do all of this in such a short amount of time, without resources we are used to having. (i.e. power and toilets) Once we got the swings hung (which are the cross…
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Africa – Part 3
They call Rwanda ‘the land of 1,000 hills”. It is a pretty fitting name. Most of the country is pretty mountainous with rolling (large) hills as far as the eye can see. One of the ladies on our team called them the ‘quilted mountains’. I thought that was so clever. They were a patchwork of farmed fields, dirt and trees. Even though I have sent the last almost 20 years working for a construction company, I haven’t been physically working on construction sites, ie: swinging a hammer, using a shovel, etc. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have spent most of my time behind a desk in the job trailer or walking…
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Africa – Part 2
I was over the moon excited to be selected to go to Africa on this trip. I knew several months in advance and started prepping for my trip mentally and physically. By physically, I mean, I didn’t start working out, I mean I had to get almost every vaccine known to man, I say that in a joking manner – but I did have to get a lot of shots. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the vaccines you should get prior to traveling to Rwanda. I also went to an organization called Passport Health to help me through the process. In the end I was vaccinated with Yellow…
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Africa – Part 1
I recently had the opportunity to travel with 9 other women to other side of the world to Rwanda, Africa. I have never traveled that far in my entire life, so to say that it was a life-changing experience for me, is an understatement. Before I completely forget about all of the specifics of the experiences, I want to write as much down as I possibly can. Most of the women that I traveled with were smart enough to keep a daily journal while we were there, I’m not that smart. (side note: nor do I even know how to keep a journal. I feel like journaling is helpful though. …