yes to madrid! #readytoplay

i admit it…i’m a creature of habit. it eases me. some might call it control. routine has been my comfort…maybe even a crutch? i’m sure i’m not alone in this…right? but don’t sleep, i will surprise you. so when friends proposed the idea of bringing in the new year in madrid, i pulled a shonda rhimes and started my own ‘year of yes! (click on the link…trust me!) it was the best decision i’ve ever made.

imagine it – 12 americans, in spain for 6 days, spread out in 4 apartments, to ring in the new year. it was bliss. literally one of my top 3 trips in life. i rode a carousel, learned that ice can be sexy and had the best potatoes in my life. and if you know me, you know that i love potatoes – fried, stewed, roasted, baked, mashed…okay you get it, i love em! it was so great, i made a big photographer mistake – i lost a memory card with nearly 500 pictures. i wasn’t mad though. every memory isn’t visual. the greatest ones are lessons. like learning that you don’t always have to know everything…it’s okay to go with it. or that it really doesn’t take a whole lot to be satisfied. in sum, madrid taught me to relax; to be led even.

it was nice to end 2016 and bring in 2017 in an unfamiliar place. it wasn’t habit. it made me more excited about 2017 – i turn 40, have a few things in the works and reconnecting with some of my first loves. there’s nothing wrong with habit or comfort. that was another ‘madridian’ (inside joke) lesson – no need to change too much. so with that, i lost a memory card but the ‘habit’ in me captured lots of memories in my phone. here’s to us all embracing being a little bit uncomfortable. happy clicks!