The Big Reveal -- Mini-Vagabonding!

Deek and I have been teasing a little online about a big surprise coming up! Well, it's here!

So what's going on? You know that Deek and I want to become "professional" vagabonds in the future, right? Well, we have some very important reasons why we can't do that full time right now. However, it got us thinking...why can't we do a mini-vagabond? So, Deek got permission to work remotely (I already work remotely), and now we're spending a month--pets too--at the BEACH!!!!

Everyone loves the ocean!

OMG! I am so, so, so excited! We both *love* the beach, and the notion that we get to spend all this time here blows my mind. When we wrapped up work, we went for a two hour walk on the beach, hand in hand. So romantic and a perfect way to end the evening. 

But the evening kept being awesome when we also got to have dinner with my dad. Because guess what?? We inspired our parents to vagabond too! So, we'll be spending extra time with both Deek's parents and my parents over the course of the month. We have some pretty cool adventures planned with them, so I'm stoked about that too!!

We are both blessed with super cool, super fun parents 

who all get along swimmingly with each other!

And let me give you some Dave Ramsey-esque tips:

--Plan, plan plan: Deek and I have been planning and budgeting for this trip for a year. He requested permission to work remotely in December of 2018 in preparation. We've also been saving and allocating budget funds to this trip since then. So, everything is paid for, and we're here to have fun without financial worries!

Planning: 

It gives you such peace of mind to know

you aren't racking up debt on your adventures!

--AirBnB: If you rent a place for a whole month from AirBnB, it's cheaper than renting for two week (sometimes cheaper than renting for one week!). You can get anywhere from 30-75% off your stay just for booking for a month. So, Deek and I were able to get one of those huge markdowns. We are living it up in style in a beautiful home right by the beach, and we obtained permission to bring both our cat and our dog (for no extra charge!). 

I'd say they like their new digs!

--A great practice in minimalism: We don't own much that is of value because we don't place value in stuff. And since 2014, we've been working on paring our lives down and becoming minimalists. Being able to bring only what you can fit in your car, for a whole month of living, is a great minimalist test. I, for one, am thrilled because I've been wanting to test out the capsule wardrobe concept. I only brought pieces that I love and that can be mixed and matched, and I'm going to see how I do wearing only those clothes for a month. If I "pass" my own test, I'll be getting rid of what I didn't bring and start doing the minimalist wardrobe!

I am so excited to be on this adventure, to take a break from our regular life and do something different and out of the box. But more than anything, I'm SO very thankful to be doing it with my family, the people I love the most. And I am STOKED to be here with Deek--my best friend, my partner, and my true love! He makes everything in life so much fun!

I adore this man so much!

The Rhews Go International!

Y'all, Deek and I made our first international trip! SUCH a serious and total blast!

As you may or may not know, I am *terrified* of flying. I mean it's phobic level. When I was young, I was on a flight that almost crashed, and it scarred me. My parents had elected to get us an earlier flight that day, and because of that, they were sitting at the emergency exits. I remember them frantically reading the manuals as we became weightless from falling out of the sky. I remember the really old lady beside me gasping for air and clutching her chest with fear, and I worried she'd die before the rest of us hit the ground. It was awful. AWFUL!

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay 

But Deek and I have big plans for travel, now and in the future, and I don't want my fears to hold me back. So, when work afforded us the opportunity to travel internationally, we took it.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay 

I am X number of years old and have never left the US of A. So, I had to go get my very first passport, like a big girl. I was TOTALLY stoked to have a real, live passport and be officially sanction to travel the world whenever I choose.

Image by Pam Patterson from Pixabay 

The momentous day finally arrived, and it was time for me to get on a plane again. I can't even tell you how grateful I am that Deek was by my side. He was so loving and encouraging. He helped me through each flight, explained things when I had questions, and held me when I was scared. He was my rock. I adore this man more than I can say, and every day, I find reasons to adore him more!

I love this man so much!

Holy crap. I'm on an airplane.

We always ended up sitting near the flight attendants.

This worked out well for me because I figured if they looked like all was well, it probably was.

And they cheered for me when we landed. LOL!

Yeah, not thrilled.

I peeked out the window occasionally.

Deek is my rock!

He's so calm, so patient, so loving, and so very encouraging!

I don't like flying, but I do like airports.

Philly's was really cool!

Liquid courage. LOL!

And we're on the second flight. Lawd Jesus.

Peeking out again

I always feel safe when he's around.

Finally, the reward!

We landed safely, took a little nap, and then....

I got to have a special outdoor dinner with the most handsome man in the world!

Stay tuned for more about the Rhews' first international adventure!! 

The Rhews Go To Washington...DC, that is.

I know Deek already told you a little about our trip to DC, but here I am tagging along on his coattails. Ha!

I'm from the South, so when we say Washington, we mean DC. If we want to indicate the state, we say Washington state. But when I lived in the PNW, I found out that Washington means the state there, and DC is what they call Washington DC. Confusing, huh? But Deek and I managed to get those wires uncrossed. Now, we both say Washington state and Washington DC to be most clear.

Washington state

Washington DC

So, join me as we tour the nation's capital!


The first day, we went to AwesomeCon! We'd considered getting a booth there, but someone advised us to visit it first. So we did! Since it was near my birthday, Deek surprised me with an autograph session with Val Kilmer--my lifelong crush. I turned around and surprised him with an autograph session with Weird Al--one of his all-time favs. And since everyone was getting something, we bought his parents a photo session with the cast of Star Trek Next Generation since his dad is a huge Trekkie (as are we)!

I think this is some teenage dream come true for Deek! Haha!

They let me come in and meet Weird Al too! 

His staff was so kind, and he was beyond sweet!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

I met Val Kilmer (sadly he didn't do selfies)!!

We stayed at an apartment complex that rented out rooms until all the units got sold. 

A very cool concept, and a VERY nice place. 

It had rooftop balcony with a fire pit overlooking the Capital building. 

Um, yes, please!

I love this pic of them!

Did I mention I have some rockin' in-laws! <3

The second day, we focused on military sites. My father-in-law is career military, but this was his first visit to DC.

No words for this...

Or this...

Pentagon Memorial

The next day, we went to see monuments.

Many iconic moments happened here.

Love him! 

I'm so glad my husband modeled himself after such an amazing man! <3

Mr. Lincoln

Anyone else want to sing the Hamilton?

And then my mom texted me a pic of where she was... LOL!

The next day, we went to appointments at the three branches of government. Shoutout to our congressman's office for putting that part of the trip together for us and getting us all of our security clearances!

We started the day bright and early at the White House.

Deek was so excited to be there!

I was relieved to have made it past the eighteen levels of security without incident!

Deek's parents in the Green Room.

Such history in those walls!

Next, we had a surprisingly entertaining lecture at the Supreme Court.

I learned a lot!

Kissing in front of the Capital Building before our tour.

And we found a lovely surprise!

The Shakespeare museum...be still my heart!

The next day, we took it a little easy and visited the Washington Zoo. It's free!

Deek and iguanas is a running joke in our family, 

so we had to get this picture!

The baby gorilla was *SO* cute!

The tunnel o'doom!

Then, we spent the following day at museums.

The Bat Mobile

First Ladies Collection

Top hat worn by Lincoln on the night of his assassination

The Holocaust Museum -- there are no words

Smithsonian Castle

Deek and I hung out on the rooftop balcony 

and chatted by firelight with a view of the city!

And of course, no trip to DC would be complete without seeing the Air and Space Museum. We learned that it's the 3rd most visited museum in the *world*!! 

Space shuttle

Amelia Earhart Exhibit

Wright Brothers first plane -- the original

These two Trekkies love this exhibit! 

(PS. I did too--total Trekkie girl)

When you've walked 10+ miles for days and days,

sometimes you need a pick-me-up!

For perspective...

this is how big the inside of the Smithsonian Castle is!

Those little dots are me and Deek!

We found a *really* cool restaurant to eat at!

Titanic Memorial.

I had no idea they had one in DC!

Walking and smooching along the Potomac River

After that, it was time to say goodbye--to DC and to Deek's parents. We *loved* getting to spend that time with them and look forward to seeing them again very soon. Thankfully we live in a technologically advanced world, so goodbye isn't really goodbye anymore. It's more like, "See you in a few days on FaceTime, and see you again in real in a few months."

So, when you do keto, you have a lot of bacon... LOL!

On the train again.

Back to life, back to reality.

PS. Ain't my man sexy in his new Superman glasses?

Traveling essentials...

Sooooo super embarrassing picture, 

but it highlights what keto has done for me (2015 vs 2019).

No, I don't get money from keto or sell products (those aren't legit anyway).

I'm just someone for whom it made all the difference.

If you get the chance to go to DC, I highly recommend it. There is so much to see and do there, and most of it is free.

Until next time, adventure on!