Goals: 2018 Edition

It's hard to believe we're almost to the end of February.  Is it just me or does time seem to be speeding up - like warp speed?  Maybe it gets faster when you have kids because Nora has changed so much lately, it's hard to believe!  So with the new year comes new goals: I'm super pumped for 2018 and what it has in store, and I'm excited to share with y'all what I hope to get up to this year.  Herrrrre we go!

1. Take three photography classes - I'm about to wrap up my first class (Mastering Manual Exposure) this week!  I've learned so much in just a few short weeks and am totally hooked.  I know I want to continue to take more classes and keep on learning.  My next class will probably be an editing class and beyond that, who knows!  But what I do know is that I'm excited.  I took my class through Click Photo School and I highly recommend them!  Here's a few photos I've taken for my class that are straight from my camera (no editing or filters!).

2. To continue with the photography theme: I want to shoot (at least!) four practice sessions.  The only way to truly hone my skills is to practice, practice, practice!  Of course I practice on Nora and Jonathan all the time, but actually going out for a real shoot is what's going to further my skills.  I had my first practice session last week while we were in San Diego.  I took newborn photos of my new nephew, Jordy (see my last blog post for some of my fave shots from our shoot).  We had so much fun during the session and I can't wait to do more.  Calling all Oki friends, who's willing to let me practice on you?!?!

Seriously, how beautiful is my sister-in-law?!  She's totally glowing!

3. Take {at least!} four trips to mainland Japan.  The past year and a half we've done a lot of traveling, but most of it was outside of Japan.  This year we really want to focus on mainland Japan.  We haven't finalized our list yet, but we're thinking: Hokkaido, Tokyo, Nagano and Kyoto (again, we didn't see enough the last time we went!).  We can't wait to explore more of mainland!

4. Visit one new place in Okinawa each month.  For a tiny little island, Okinawa has a lot to offer and we have only scratched the surface.  We tend to stick to the places we know (creatures of habit, I know!), but now that Nora is more agreeable in the car, we can venture farther out and take longer trips.  So now we're making an Okinawa bucket list of must-sees on the island before we leave.  Oki friends, any places we have to see and visit while we're here?  In January we hiked in Onna, visited the Cosmos fields in Kin, and saw the cherry blossoms in Nago.

View from our hike in Onna 

5. Heal my knee while keeping active.  Goodness this whole getting old business is the pits!  I've been struggling with knee problems for the last few months - so frustrating.  We thought it might be a meniscus tear, but the MRI didn't show a tear (which is good news, but a bummer that we still don't have a definite answer).  Probably just a severe case of tendonitis, but man is it causing me trouble and just pissing me off in general.  Because most of y'all know me pretty well, you know that I have to move my body regularly.  I'm just a happier person and better mom and wife when I exercise.  Since I haven't been able to run, I've starting going to spin class in the mornings.  It's definitely a struggle to wake up at 4:45 in the morning, but it's the perfect way to start my day.  I want to make sure I keep that up and also add in a yoga class on the weekend as well.  Some of my problems could be because I need to limber up my legs again, and what better way to do that than yoga class?!  And I need to commit to physical therapy.  I've been creating all sorts of excuses for not going, but I'd rather do anything I can to avoid a cortisone injection or scoping my knee.  It sounds like dry needling to could be a good option, anyone out there have experience with dry needling (particularly in the knee?).

That's what I'm working on for 2018.  I'm going to put out a 5 year goal as well.  My palms are sweaty just thinking about sharing it, but what's a big goal if it doesn't scare you, right?  In 5 years I want to do a shoot for a children's brand.  I love to shop small and I follow so many small kids clothing businesses on Instagram.  It would be my DREAM to shoot for one of their releases.  Eeekkk!  What are you working towards in 2018 (and beyond!)?

Welcome to the World Jordan "Jordy" Mathews

Hello from beautiful Southern California!  You know, when we moved to Okinawa we said we wouldn't be coming back to the states - we would rather use our time off and money on vacations somewhere in Asia.  Buuuttt, my brother and sister-in-law announced last year that they were having a baby and I just knew I had to come visit them.  There's no way I was going to miss seeing my baby brother become a dad.  And on January 25 at 10:16 pm Jordan "Jordy" Thomas Mathews made his debut to the world.  What an incredible experience it's been to see Travis (and my sister-in-law, Sarah) become parents.  They have handled this new world of parenthood with such grace and ease, it's been magical to see the transformation in them - I'm getting teary-eyed just writing it out.

As we were planning our trip out, Travis and Sarah asked me if I would be willing to take some newborn photos of Jordy.  Of course I said yes (and then immediately got super nervous because I wanted to deliver some amazing photos for them but I'm still such a beginner).  I did as much research as I could and just told myself to chill - Jordy is freaking adorable and I would definitely get a few good shots.  And boy did we get some good ones!  Jordy was awake the whole time, but he was so content and laid back, he was cool as a cucumber the whole time.  Here are a few of my faves.

Trav and Sare, thank you so much for trusting me to take these photos.  I'm so happy for you both and am incredibly proud of the wonderful parents you've become!  Love you!

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary - Chiang Mai, Thailand

So we just got home a few days ago from our two-week long vacation: we visited Singapore, Chiang Mai, and Hong Kong.  I love traveling and going on these magical trips; but man, there's just nothing like coming back to your own home!  Now that I'm home, I'm going through the thousands (yes, thousands!) of photos we took throughout this trip.  And as I was scrolling through, the ones that made me most excited were from our day at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary!  So I knew this was the first thing I'd have to blog about and share with y'all.

For years I've wanted to go to Thailand and visiting an elephant sanctuary was number one on my Thailand bucket list.  We made sure to do some serious research when we were looking into which sanctuary to visit.  We wanted to choose a location that was ethical and kind to these beautiful animals.  There are many places that offer elephant riding as part of the experience.  However, these places do not treat the elephants with respect: they are grossly mistreated, and humans riding on elephants causes serious damage to their spines.  So if you are planning an elephant visit, please do your research and choose a location that does not allow riding.

We decided to visit Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and we were so happy with our decision!  It was clear from the moment we arrived how much these guys love their elephants and how much pride they take in the work they do.  We purchased the half-day tour and found that it was plenty of time to get our fill of elephants.

Our morning started bright and early as they picked us up from our AirBnB and drove us about two hours outside of Chiang Mai to the sanctuary.  After we arrived we were briefed about the elephants at our camp and a little about the work they do there.  As they were talking all the elephants walked by as they came to the area for us to feed them.

Nora was the first person to touch the elephants.  As our guide was briefing us, another guide was holding Nora and letting her pet the elephants as they walked by.

This gal snagged a lil snack on her way up to us :)

Once all the elephants arrived, we changed into traditional Karen clothing (the little ponchos we're wearing) and began feeding the elephants.  We fed them squash, bananas, pumpkins and greens.

After feeding them, we took the elephants to the "mud spa."  There we covered the elephants with mud and just had a good time getting dirty!

 "Free Hugs" This guy was seriously my favorite!

Then we took another little walk to the river to wash the elephants (and ourselves!).  We even got showered from an elephant's trunk!

Seriously, this was easily one of the top moments of my life.  I will never forget looking into these elephants eyes - I swear when they looked at me they could see right into my soul.  We will for sure be making another trip to Thailand to visit the elephants again soon.  Until then, a few more of my favorite phots of the elephants that I can't stop coming back to.

this sweet baby is just one year old and was the cutest!! 

squash mouth  

probably one of my favorite shots - love their feet and wrinkly skin!