Change

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I’ve written. Truthfully, due to my lack of involvement, and mostly by default, I had just decided I was going to retire this blog. However, on this rainy morning in Georgia, I felt the need to write, so here I am.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the past year lately, and decided that I missed having the log of my life that this blog represented, and missed all of you. But, should I just come back here? Start something new? Find another way to log my life?

I started thinking about it, and I decided to come back here, but I would expect this blog is going to manifest itself in a slightly different way. When I titled this blog “Life, Love, and the Pursuit of the Next Great Vacation”, I had intended to make this a mix of a blog of my life and, of course, travel. Truthfully, though, I’m not sure my life was quite exciting enough living in small-town upper Midwest, while going to school. School, work, school, work, the occasional vacation. :)

Life has changed a lot, though, in the past year. I graduated with my MBA, and for the first time in my life, wasn’t in school anymore. I moved across the country, leaving behind that small town upper Midwest life, and moving to a former confederate state (talk about a culture shock!) and into a big city. I started a new job, for which I lived out of a hotel for four months, and have been having a lot of fun doing it (the job that is. Not the commuting). I have watched my sister find out she was pregnant, suffer through a BRUTAL pregnancy, and then give us the greatest gift my family has ever received—my sweet little niece. Then, I stood beside her as the matron of honor in her wedding. We’ve visited several countries, cities, and states, and have flown over 32,000 miles in the past three months alone. We’ve met new friends, and set up a little life in this city (well, as much of a life as airline employees set up in any particular city, that is).

This has been a year of change, so I think it’s time for this blog to change a little too. While before my focus was on pretty hotel photos, I rarely search for pretty hotels anymore. Non Rev (non revenue=free travel=employees and their associated family members) travel means booking whichever hotel is available when you find out you’re getting on the airplane at the airport via your IPhone (don’t worry—I haven’t forgone my standards! It’s just that the research is now very last minute). And while I would previously spend months (maybe even years!) researching a big vacation, it’s now “Hmmmm…which flights are open this weekend?”, and then reading a few pages in a guidebook on the flight over.

So, how will this blog change? First of all, it’s going to more of a blog of my life. If you’re thinking “Well, Ashley, what about the travel?” Don’t worry, my friends. Travel is not only a huge part of my life, it’s a part of who I am. Instead of the pretty hotel photos I previously mentioned, you’ll be my seeing trip photos and real life reviews and tips. Additionally, I’ll be posting favorites from my new city (in case you ever visit!), writing about friends, family, every day life, maybe throwing up some decorating photos (another thing I’m pretty interested in), and just generally trying to get back to loving blogging.

If you’re still out there (I’d be shocked if you were!), I hope you’ll stick around to follow things around here. Hopefully you’ll find these changes to your liking, and I’ll be much more active.

I’ve missed you, after all.

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