Weekly Photo Challenges Archives

February 10, 2017April 10, 2019

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Six Years of Blogging and Leaving Behind a Shadow of Me

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow”. – Helen Keller

When I started my blog on a whim back in January 2011, I honestly had no idea what on earth I was doing. As a stay-at-home mom of two young children, I was desperately looking for a little piece of me. An outlet. A voice. A way of doing something different than changing diapers and playing with legos and dolls. I had done a lot of traveling and had kept my stories in a series of hard-covered journals stuffed in a dusty box in the back of the closet.

Yet a life-changing trip to Nepal in November 2010 was the defining moment that pushed me into action and prompted me to put away my pen and paper and do something more daring. To share my stories online for anyone to read. I typed up my first series of posts (which looking back now admittedly are not very good but I can’t delete them for nostalgic reasons) and have never stopped writing since.

Fast forward six years and my blog has become an enormous part of my life. I have shared over 1,200 stories and thousands of pictures documenting the highs and lows, adventures and misadventures of my life. I have made amazing connections with new friends from all over the world, and have experienced new opportunities that never would have come my way without my blog. It has opened doors and also has opened my own mind and heart to some of the injustices in the world.

My blog has literally changed my life in so many profound ways, and in an essence my blog has become a shadow of me.

“When walking through a valley of shadows, remember that shadows are cast by a light.” – H.K Barclay

Traveling to India in the spring of 2013 as part of Mom Bloggers for Social Good where I visited slums and saw light, darkness, pain and hope. Seeing hope and light within the dark shadows changed my life. I continued to explore this avenue of social good and advocacy work by visiting Haiti, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Tanzania. And I hope to do more!

February 5, 2017April 10, 2019

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The Solitude of a Minnesota Winter

“Solitude is the soul’s holiday, an opportunity to stop doing for others and to surprise and delight ourselves instead”. – Katrina Kenison

As I opened my inbox this morning and saw that the topic for the Weekly Photo Challenge was solitude, I could hardly believe my eyes. Ironically, solitude is something I have been spending a great deal of time thinking about the past couple of weeks as the depths of winter carries on.

As I run around my favorite urban lake or walk the dog upon its frozen ice, I am aware of how alone I am as Minnesotans go into their traditional winter hibernation. Only the real diehards like me are out every single day in the cold, and at times it feels bittersweet.

A morning walk on the frozen ice of Lake Harriet with our aptly named dog, Winter.

Winter is our dog Winter’s favorite season. The colder the better!

I miss the movement of people, the voices, and the noise. At times I feel lonely wishing more people would be out like they are on a beautiful summer day. But then I snap out of it and realize there is beauty and strength in solitude. I just need to embrace it. I remember my favorite quote and think of winter solitude differently.

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer”. – Albert Camus

The bench overlooking the lake on a sunny day.

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January 27, 2017April 6, 2019

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The Ingenuity of Repurposing Metal into Art

Two years ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Haiti as part of a program to view Macy’s Heart of Haiti products and meet the artisans behind the beautiful art. It was an incredible trip in many ways as it opened my heart and mind to a different side of Haiti that is often not discussed in the press. Instead of seeing tragedy, hardship and destruction I saw amazing resilience, hope and creativity through the arts. While many challenges remain for the people of Haiti – it still is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere – there also lies opportunity and beauty especially through its vibrant, dynamic arts much that is made from repurposed materials that would otherwise send up in the trash.

One such community that is ingeniously using scraps of metal to create beautiful works of art is Croix-des-Bouquet a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Over 60 years ago, Georges Liautaud began a movement in creating metal art from recycled products that became the thriving metal artisan community of Croix-des-Bouquet.

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Today, Croix-des-Bouquet has over 1,000 metal artisans making their fabulous metal art with over 60 different shops and studios creating social change and opportunity in this growing community in Port-au-Prince. Croix-des-Bouquet is where the most famous, accomplished metal artisans reside who have traveled the world with their art and have become instrumental within the community by creating apprenticeship opportunities for Haitians to learn their trade.

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January 22, 2017April 9, 2018

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The Graceful Beauty of a Rainforest Flower

“Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen… yourself, right now, right down here on Earth”. – Bradley Whitford

As I am filled with utter dread about the stark reality that our nation now has a leader who appears to be against every single thing that matters to me and my beliefs, I search the darkness for a shimmering light. A candle in the unknown that glows and grows within me.

I was not able to attend the Women’s March in DC yesterday nor the local one here in St. Paul, Minnesota. I doubted my choice over and over again but despite not physically being present I was there 100% in spirit. When I browsed over my Facebook feed late last night, I felt nothing but pride. There were all my amazing friends and fellow advocates, all around the world out there standing up for their beliefs. None of the protests that they attended were violent or disrespectful. They were all full of beauty and grace.

It restored my faith in democracy, and it gave me hope again in humanity. I fully believe that every person should be able to have their own beliefs, even if I don’t agree with them. However, I am not going to support a government that does not respect human rights and our planet nor am I going to become complacent. I have joined several causes -even more than ever before – to get educated on what I need to know and what I need to do. I am not going to give up quietly. There is too much at stake.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”. – Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963.

In the meantime, I wanted to leave some photos of the gorgeous flowers I found in the rainforest of Costa Rica. Their graceful, fragile beauty symbolize the beauty of the women I know and have never met who have fought so hard to be treated as equals.

At yesterday’s Women’s March in Saint Paul, Minnesota (with record attendance of over 90,000 making it one of the largest political marches in Minnesota history) Newly elected State Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minneapolis (the first Somali woman in the United States to be elected to public office) poetically said:

“I hope to remind people that it is our differences that make our country beautiful.”

“Sooner or later, even the fastest runners have to stand and fight”. – Stephen King

Global Issues Humanitarian SOCIAL GOOD TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY Weekly Photo Challenges Women and Girls

January 13, 2017January 21, 2019

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Finding Serenity in the Jungle of Costa Rica

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees”. – John Muir

Slowly I’ve been trying my best to readjust to being back home to a vastly different life. I spent seven days in the remote jungle of the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, a place that contains 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity and is Mother Nature at her best. I basically lived outside for a week, spending my days immersed in rainforests, waterfalls and the sea, and sleeping almost open-air each night to the music of the jungle. The sounds, smells, and sense of being completely engulfed in nature filled my wary soul with much needed rejuvenation and life. It was a magical trip to a stunning place alive with awe and wonder.

I deeply miss the sounds of the jungle – a symphony of music lulling me to sleep each night and waking me as the jungle came alive each sunrise. I miss the pure simple pleasure of the morning sun touching my face and the sweet fragrance of tropical flowers floating over me as I gingerly woke up each day. Most of all, I miss the sublime peace I felt being away from it all. No internet, no distractions, no worries or concerns except for a few itchy bug bites. A feeling of deep, pure freedom and the utter joy of being alive. The simple act of being, observing, enjoying and embracing.

I can hardly wait to share it all and introduce you to some of the most remote corners of Costa Rica. In the meantime, here are a few photos to inspire you to be patient and wait for the plethora of stories to come and entice you to experience Costa Rica through my eyes.

Sunrise 5 am over the Osa Peninsula

We rose at 3:30 am and hiked up to the top of the rainforest to watch the sunrise and the jungle come to life. Slowly everything woke up and we heard the howler monkeys roar, a pair of scarlet macaws flew overhead and the birds sung to greet another day in paradise.

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December 26, 2016April 9, 2018

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The Path Ahead

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives”. – Henry David Thoreau

As 2016 draws to a close, it is time to reflect on where I’ve been and where I’ve yet to go. It always comes as a surprise that the year has moved along so quickly. Time seems to flow faster and faster each and every year. It astounds me.

As my children grow older I realize that the years they have left at home are less than those difficult exhausting years behind us when each day felt like an eternity. Now when I look back with nostalgic eyes, I wonder where the days of diapers, meltdowns and sweet moments of kisses and cuddles all went. I miss those days yet I didn’t have a lot of time for myself.

Now it is time to plan for the path ahead. The words of poet Mary Oliver sing inside my head, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Those words both inspire and haunt me as I find myself at a crossroads a bit unsure of which direction I want to take. Will it come to me before it is too late? Before I settle in to the comforts of life? Let’s hope so. I don’t ever want to look back with regrets of the path not taken.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Every every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley”.- Theodore Roethke

Happy New Year!

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December 18, 2016April 9, 2018

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Anticipation of the Year Ahead

“We must go ahead and see for ourselves” – Jacques Cousteau

As yet another year draws to a close it is hard not to anticipate the year ahead. For me, the year ahead comes with deep, dark apprehension as we bring in a leader whose policies on everything I stand for frighten me. Our planet, our rights, our tolerance and acceptance of others, and our relationships with powers in the world. The election was a very dark day for me. I have tried desperately to understand but it is impossible. Instead, I will focus my efforts as I always have in the past: Continuing to use my voice to advocate for the voiceless and stand up for my beliefs. I refuse to be silenced.

I will continue to live in the moment and practice gratitude for every blessing I have: My family, my health, my freedom, my ability to follow my dreams and my quest to make a difference in the world even if it is small. Everything counts – perhaps more than ever before.

As we move into full blown winter, I end my post with some of my favorite captures of nature at its best. These were all taken last week as winter finally arrived full force into Minnesota. I don’t recall ever seeing such a surreal sight. We had a huge snowfall and then suddenly the temperature dropped to a mind numbing -24 F wind chill. The lake had not yet frozen over so in the morning steam was rising from the open water into the sunlight.

I layered up in two pairs of long underwear, two face masks, wool socks and hat and went on a run around my favorite urban lake. I admit that the first five minutes were bone chilling cold yet as I rounded the corner and saw this unearthly view it was worth it. All the darkness lifted and an enormous smile of gratitude crossed my frozen face. There is so much beauty in the world if only we can see it, breathe it, feel it and embrace it.

“Our way is not soft grass, it’s a mountain path with lots of rocks. But it goes upwards, forward, toward the sun.” – Ruth Westheimer

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November 6, 2016April 9, 2018

— 43 Comments

The Turbulence and Chaos of the US Election

“Americans may cringe watching their own election at close range. But the world’s reaction has been even more poignant and foreboding. People in small and distant countries who count on the U.S. to stand up for democratic values have been astonished to see the essential components – a free press, the rule of law, respect for the outcome of elections – trammeled. Long-standing allies have been left to wonder whether the essential American character has changed, and whether the United States can be relied on when it counts”. – Washington Post, “World Watches, Winces”.

If you are like me, then you are probably sick and tired of even thinking about the horrendous United States Presidential Election. Never before have we experienced such a chaotic, turbulent election fit only for a trashy reality tv show. It is darn right deplorable and I have done my best to not discuss it on my blog which has been very difficult for me since my blog is all about using my voice.

We are sadly at a time when you must be extremely careful using your voice and even mentioning politics. A time where people go after you if you view things differently. Where journalists on “the other side” are targeted with hostility, hate and death threats if they speak up. What on earth has happened to our so-called democracy? What has happened to the founding belief in freedom, liberty and justice for all? We have made a laughingstock of ourselves and our beliefs. We live in fear where the media plays on us to make more money by sputtering nonsense. We can’t even put up a political lawn sign or comment on Facebook for fears that we will be mocked, targeted and trolled. This is not the America I’ve always believed in. This is not the America I want my children to be raised in.

I am so utterly disgusted, saddened and heartbroken by what has become of our country. At times I feel so hopeless, I just want to give up. Pack our bags and leave. But sadly it is not only America that is threatened. Europe too is feeling strained and stretched with an ever growing refugee crisis and a rise themselves in the extreme right and nationalistic sentiments. Scary things are happening there too. Hatred, intolerance and disrespect for humankind is growing other places besides the backwaters of the United States.

So I ask where is the utopia?

There are a few places that may fit the bill but we all know that utopia does not truly exist. Certainly the devil’s advocate and my inner traveling voice tell me that there are so many places that are so much worse. Think of all the places where people are dying every single day and have no hope. Think of other countries where you can’t even speak up against authority in threat of imprisionment or death. Yes it could be so much worse. Yet I still am truly frightened for our future, no matter who wins. I am terrified of what we have become and what my children will inherit.

I have always been an optimistic dreamer. Let’s hope that we will be able to mend ourselves after all the damage that has been done and somehow move forward as a nation. Let’s hope.

This post was inspired by the Weekly Photo Challenge: Chaos.

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October 29, 2016April 14, 2018

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How traveling the world has opened my eyes

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends”. – Maya Angelou

By far, the most profound impact travel has made on my life is it has opened my eyes to humanity. In today’s world of fierce hatred of differences, there is nothing more important than accepting and understanding our fellow human beings. Without aiming to get too political, I believe strongly that in order to become a better world we must embrace and accept our differences. Hatred only acts to destroy the very world we are trying to create.

The world is not only made up of white Catholic privilege. The world is an amazingly diverse and beautiful place filled with people of all different colors, ethnicities, religions, beliefs and backgrounds. Travel has taught me that we must be open to accepting others and realizing that we are all truly one: Humankind.

I am fearful of the world we have become. I don’t know how to explain it to my children who are questioning the hatred they are seeing and hearing about in the news. The only hope I have as a parent is that they too can see the world and realize that it is a beautiful place filled with people who despite their differences, all want the same things out of life: Love, happiness, health and prosperity for their families. We really aren’t as different as we may seem.

In Ethiopia at Mosebo Village. June 2014

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”. – . Saint Augustine

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October 23, 2016October 31, 2018

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The Shine of Fall

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot

This morning I took a run around my favorite urban lake and was amazed to see how fast the leaves were falling. We had just returned from a week away in the heat and sun of Florida and in that week it feels as if autumn has come and gone. Despite the warm weather, the leaves are past their prime and falling like rain throughout the air. Swirling colors or red, orange and yellow fly through the sky like birds and land piled up on the sidewalk.

The shine of fall is on its way out and there are only a few more weeks left until we reach the barren browns of November. Fall is always one of my favorite seasons in Minnesota as the light is so intense and the colors are truly a testament of the magic of Mother Nature. The air is pure and I feel so alive with energy. I try to take as much of it as I can possibly can, and store it inside me to help get me through the cold, colorless days of winter that lie ahead.

Sometimes it works. But usually I have to fly south at least once during the winter months for a break. I am lucky I can otherwise I would find it very difficult to survive a long Minnesota winter without walking barefoot in the sand or feeling the wind against my legs.

As for now, I reflect on the gorgeous colors of the shine of fall and what remains. Here are some of my favorite photos from fall in Minnesota.

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”. – Albert Camus

“Now Autumn’s fire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leaves fall and melt”. – William Allingham

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October 7, 2016April 14, 2018

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Have Water Dog, Will Travel

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water”. – Rabindranath Tagore

All of my life I have lived near water. Except for a nine month stint in Paris, I have never been more than a couple blocks away from a lake. Water is a part of who I am. The smell of fresh lake water fills me with warmth and nostalgia of a childhood growing up in Minnesota, the land of over 10,000 lakes. It also reminds me of my college years spent living near Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin and my blissful twenties living near Lake Michigan in Chicago. For the past sixteen years living in Southwest Minneapolis, I have continued to live very close to a lake and it is no coincidence given my love for the water that when we finally decided to get a family dog, he would be a true water dog.

Our seven-month old puppy, Winter, is half golden retriever half lab and gravitates towards the water every time he is near it. He first jumped into Lake Harriet when he was four months old and we haven’t been able to keep him out of it since. Summer was easy for entertaining him as long as we let him go in the water. However, when it came time to plan our first family vacation with a dog, we found that our options were a bit limited. First, we couldn’t go too far away from home because we would have to drive and our dog gets carsick. Second, we needed to find a place that would actually take dogs and would be fun for the entire family.

Fortuitously a timely article came out in the travel section of our local newspaper listing resources for finding pet-friendly resorts in Minnesota. We did a search and found the perfect place called the Northernair Lodge in Ely, about a five-hour drive north of Minneapolis and near the Canadian border. Better yet, it was right on a lake! We tried it out this past July and had such an amazing time that we decided to go again for the fall colors. We went this past weekend at the peak of fall colors, and Winter was in puppy paradise.

Winter swimming in the pool of water

Our mornings were spent leisurely at the beach where Winter dug in the sand and retrieved sticks in the lake. He also enjoyed watching the ducks in the distance. Our afternoons were spent hiking on nearby trails and our evenings were spent once again at the lake.

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October 2, 2016April 9, 2018

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Nostalgic for Fall

The colors have come alive with magic this weekend in Northern Minnesota reminding me of all the fall weekend trips I did as a child up north. It was a family tradition that was so special that I’ve continued it with my own children.

This weekend we drove about five hours north of Minneapolis to Ely, one of the launching off points to the Boundary Waters Wilderness and Canoe Area. The pristine air, lakes and forests is breathtaking and reminds me so much of my youth growing up in Minnesota.

Fall is the time of year I feel so alive with energy as the light graces the changing colors of the leaves and the deep blue sky is vibrant and pure. The fresh scent of the air or even the smoke of a campfire fills me with warmth and nostalgia.

Here are a few photos from our weekend up north. Many more will come soon. It is way too beautiful here not to share.

“Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower” -Albert Camus