let's start again

i miss this blog.

i miss posts that i deleted out of anger and now are gone.

i miss the connections with others through blogging, especially other travelers.

i could lie and say that it's because i didn't think i was doing anything "blog worthy", but the reality is i didn't like who i was becoming. 

and frankly, i'm beyond glad i didn't document the last few years. 

but, here we are. 

and in talking with friends + family, the ones who love and support you no matter what...and in talking with myself, i'm back.

and who cares if it's not "blog worthy"? 

this is for myself, right? 

creative expression, records and memories.

mine.

here's a recap of the monumental things i can remember from the past two years:

-watched my grandmother get sick and die very quickly.

-realized life is s fucking short and there's nothing you can do to slow it down.

-after said epiphany, booked a plane ticket to Germany to let certain people know how much i love them.

-realized i need to live abroad again, start applying for jobs.

-started a business, two actually! photography + art classes. balancing three jobs will drive you crazy.

-best friend gets engaged...planning and celebrating ensue. 

-quit my job teaching preschool. ten years was a long time and i feel like my twenties are almost gone (they weren't that fun, actually) and i still have a lot of the world i want to see.

-reevaluate life choices, a lot.

-best friend gets married last weekend...we'll have lots to blog about.

-decide i'm going to throw together a janky, scattered post about bullshit and throw it onto the internet.

That time my computer crashed and I lost everything...

This is the sad story of how I spent two weeks with my German host family here in California showing them around my hometown and then travelling the Californian Coast up to Oregon and finally into Portland...and have no pictures to show for it.

How I spent a week in Lake Tahoe with my family for our annual summer trip...and have absolutely no pictures to show for it.

And finally how I spent a long weekend in the beautiful city of Chicago to celebrate my great-grandmother's 100th Birthday and surprise...no pictures.

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Right before Christmas I was working on my gifts for my students and their parents, [personalized photo calendars] and when I went to print out their quotes I heard a "zap" type of sound and then that was it...my laptop would not turn back on.  I could have taken care of it right away, but since procrastination is key with me [side-eye] I didn't take it in tot he store until precisely three weeks ago.  When they told me they'd have to send it into the manufacturer I was also told that it shouldn't effect my hard drive.  But of course, they restored it to it's factory settings. 

Since I prepared myself for the worse, I'm handling it better than expected.  I can pay a pretty penny for a data recovery, but it may not work.  Since I am going to Palm Springs this weekend, I'll deal with recovery attempts when I get home.  For now, iphone pictures will just have to suffice :)

That being said, some things that I'll be blogging about in the near future:

 Giants games...of course ;)

Christmas festivities

CHICAGO!

summer 2013

and all of life's little happenings along the way...

fingers crossed I get the pictures back and if not...lesson learned! 

From now on I will be backing up the hard drive weekly.

i'm still here

A year since my last posting, a long time of neglect for this little corner of the internet. 

I find it rather comical, yet unsurprising that my last post was a determination to blog everyday in the month of May and yet here I am, almost 12 months later. There could be a million reasons, a million excuses, a million promises to myself and anyone still reading that I will be back to regular posting here but let's be honest, a lot has changed in my life. This space was once filled with my travels and daily life in Germany, and later consisted of everyday musings of life back home in California. I had a vision of what I wanted in life, of who I was going to be, where I would be, and who I would be spending my days with. But, things changed, as they always do. It is the one constant in life and I have become very okay and happy with where my life is now.  Lately I have been struggling with the future of this blog and how I would fit in my desire to write and share my life in a space that is not as relevant as it used to be. Do I delete the blog? Do I start over with a new one? There were pros and cons to each scenario and in the end I decided that I want to be here, I want to keep sharing my story and I want to keep the history of this blog available at least for me, for my own memories. I enjoy the connections I have with readers, with other bloggers, some that have become real life friends, so I am here, and I am going to blog again.

Obviously this blog needs some updates, mostly personal information about my life and its changes, but more so I have become aware of what I want to do with my free time and future and instead of focusing on a certain topic or trying to please people, I'm just going to go with the flow as you will in terms of what I'll be writing about and sharing. 

Maybe this is ending up to be a random run on of thoughts and that's alright.  Lately the idea of starting to blog again has been weighing heavily on my mind and even just typing this now feels like a good start.

I still have a love and need for travel, even in the small form of day trips around California.  But other passions I've been investing time into include, decor and design, scrapbooking, cooking, DIY-ing, and living frugally. I say this because I want to remember this stuff but also because I am sure this is where most of these new posts will be headed.

So, to end one of the most jumbled and random posts ever, I am still here, still wanting to share, and keep these connections going. Hopefully you will all stick around for the next chapter :)

p.s. Happy Opening Day! Go Giants!

blogging everyday in may

don't let the title of this post fool you.

in true hayley fashion, i am already behind schedule seeing, as it's may fourth.

but, i think that jenni's idea is pretty awesome, and i'm enjoying following along with other participants.

she has prompted 31 blog posts to be written and posted each day in may, but with my lack of organization and time consuming job and school...i won't make that promise.

instead, i'll try my best to do as much as possible, or maybe just my favorites. 

so, first up: your life story in 250 words or less.

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i was born in the morning on the twenty seventh of august, nineteen eighty nine, the first of three children for my parents. over the next ten years we lived in the east bay area, i became the proud big sister of two brothers and spent my picturesque childhood playing basketball, racing in the local pools, and road tripping through california with my family. we moved to a affluent bubble outside of sacramento when i was ten, and my parents split up about a year after. both remarried, my dad had a son, brother numero tres for me, and after i graduated high school i got the taste of europe i needed and decided i must go back. i moved to germany in july of 2010 and spent a year as an au pair, the best of my life really. i met a boy, moved back home, showed him my country, and fell in love. now i'm here, he is there, and soon we'll be here together. i scrapbook like a mad woman, love the san francisco giants, curse like a sailor, and spend my days with small children in my classroom...and usually need a beer afterward.

the boys are back

it's that time of year again, opening week is well under way.

and as i type this my boys just lost 14-3 against the cardinals.

yikes!

regardless, if you follow me on pinterest or instagram, you know my deep love for the san francisco giants.

especially this man:

if you are anything like me, regardless of your team, you'll probably have/want/need some gear to support your team. 

here are some of my favorite things i have found around the internet that i may need to have for my collection:

              

baseball tee's from this site

Bling Tank

Fan Banner

(made by a students mom, and my friend, so cute!)

miSFit Bracelet

this print needs to live with me

and of course, the victoria's secret leggings

although, truth be told i am not a fan of this year's vs pink: mlb line. too skanky

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i am thrilled to be going to a few games this season, and to watch all of the others with friends, family, and some ice cold beer :)

it gets crazy up in this house during the season.

are you a fanatic too?

which team does your heart belong too, and what will you be sporting this season?

p.s. go giants!