To summarize: TRAVEL.

Sometimes I don't even know where to begin when it's been awhile since my last update. Right before leaving on vacation, I was trying so hard to stay on top of everything that blogging absolutely took a backseat. And while we were in SE Asia? Pfft - forget about it. I was too busy eating delicious things, mostly. So here are some highlights, as best as I can put them together. These are a very poor representation of all the wondrous and incredible things we saw and did, so just...use your imagination to fill in the gaps where hundreds of pictures and stories are missing. Or, you know, check out the whole album on facebook.

Somebody last week asked me what my favourite part was. Hardest question ever. So let's see if I can list them out a bit:

1. The food? Pretty freakin' amazing. Curries, noodles, street-meat, coconut ice-cream served melting in the shell from a cart...nothing I really enjoy like sampling random foods from street vendors in foreign places!

2. Angkor Wat and all of the ruins around Siem Reap in Cambodia? Breathtakingly beautiful and unforgettable. Of all the wonders I've been privileged enough to see, this was certainly the best. Put it on your bucket list. NOW. Cambodia in general was probably one of my top highlights. LOVED the people, culture, natural beauty, everything.

3. Playing in the waterfalls and experiencing the markets and laid-back culture of Chiang Mai in the North of Thailand. Such a cool little place!

4. Scuba. Diving is one of my favourite things, but these were challenging dives, and all the better for it. I cannot even begin to describe the rush of exploring an underwater cave 75 feet below with no light and no sense of anything around you except for your own breathing. Terrifying and absolutely thrilling! And wreck-diving at 100+ feet? I loved it the first time and adored it the second. Exploring rusted old wrecks overcome by marine life on the ocean floor with limited light and visibility is awesome! I think I see a specialization in our futures.

5. Quality time with my lover. Nothing, NOTHING beats as many days as possible of solid time together exploring the world and getting to know new sides of each other. This is one of life's true joys and something I can't wait to continue doing for many, many years to come.

In pictures: 

Temples and Ruins.

Angkor Wat

Mind-blowing amounts of good food.

Lok Lak and Amok (Cambodian tasty dishes!)

Relaxation.

One of MANY massages. Support local economy, meet new people, feel amazing...why not?

Quality time!

In our tuk tuk on the way to Bayon Temple.

Motorbikes and mountains.

Cruising up Doi Suthep to see the Wat at the top.

Monuments and Temples.

Wat Phra Doi Suthep outside of Chiang Mai. Definitely the most..."golden" one we saw.

Long, sweet friendships.

Visiting with Briggs in Chiang Mai!

Waterfalls.

Relaxing at the bottom of the limestone waterfalls!

The Andaman Sea!

Koh Doc Mai (Flower Island).

Scuba!

Doing our pre-dive check: BWRAF - Bangkok Women Really Are Fellas. I'll never forget that acronym again.

Last dive - ready for hot coffee and reliving the rush!

After our long flights back across the Pacific, I was at home for all of 11 hours before taking off (pun intended) again. But man - jetlag was my friend. There was no way I could have done all that I needed to do if I wasn't wide-awake from 3am - on. So in those 11 hours, I unpacked from SE Asia, repacked for a business trip, did 2 loads of laundry, went for a run, did a CrossFit WOD, ate breakfast and showered, uploaded and edited all of our vacation pictures, slept for 4 hours, skyped for an hour with Nate in Beijing (jetlag win for the difference in timezones!), caught up on all work email from vacation, breathed a big sigh of exhaustion, then drove back to the airport to board my flight to Chicago.

Needless to say, those first 2 days were rough, especially after 1 more night of only 3 hours' sleep. I think the room service guy who brought my breakfast thought I was insane. 

But! Once I adjusted, it was fantastic. Honestly the most peaceful and rejuvenating work experience I've ever had, and that includes a day of lunch and facials at my old job. Seriously. We had someone from the SIY institute at Google teach us about mindfulness and meditation, and practiced it every day, several times a day. I did yoga with my boss one of the mornings, and learned to eat my meals slowly and enjoy the breeze during a hot Chicago day. Mindfulness: best lesson ever. I'm still working on putting it into practice. 

I also had an awesome time getting to know my colleagues better and especially my new boss, who I've  already praised to the high heavens on here, so I'll spare you the sappiness. But really - makes me sad that work can't always be this way. At least I'm excited about the good things we're doing on our team this year!

My super-fantastic boss and I! Love her!

Coming home was tough. It was SO good to see Nolan (and Milo, I guess), and I was so relieved to be home for good...but I was exhausted and a little bit wrecked. So Saturday was kind of a wash - I was productive and did restorative things like walk to the froyo shop and snack on it very slowly while people-watching in the sunshine. Even a little self-restoration takes time, though. Finally by Sunday I was back to my normal self. And I woke up to this after all my manic-cleaning on Saturday:

Sigh. I can never have truly clean things.

Today was my first day back in the office in 3 weeks, and I went for a little walk on lunch to see what's changed - because in San Francisco, change is constant. Sure enough - they've now installed a bike-share program (I saw it in Palo Alto last night too, so it's all of the Bay Area!). So now I really need an excuse to use one of these babies.

Bike-share! So much prettier than the DC bikes!

As if my boss wasn't great enough, she brought me this little souvenir today from Chicago as a reminder of mindfulness. One of the analogies used that really stuck with me was that our mind is like a snowglobe - sometimes there is a lot of stuff going on, but if you just wait and remain calm and focused, you'll see the still water again. The still water was always there, it's just a matter of focusing on the water instead of focusing on the "snow" floating around chaotically. So now I have this thoughtful little reminder sitting square in front of me at my desk, to remind me to focus on the water and not the snow.

What a busy, crazy, fun and exciting few weeks these have been!