Starting the New Year off with a vacation!

If we were having coffee we’d probably be sharing — yes, sharing! — this cup of coffee. This is an $11 latte — the most expensive cup of coffee I’ve ever purchased. They recommended the mocha, but I’d imagine it would be even more expensive. The barista explained that they make their own chocolate or something like that. There were no prices posted on menu so I was price-shocked when I was about to pay at the counter. Was this latte worth the price tag? Unfortunately, no. But the coffee shop was beautiful.

Currently we are in Seattle for a couple days visiting my husband’s extended family. This trip was almost three years in the making. Initially we wanted to visit his extended family back in December 2020 when Lana was a few weeks old. My husband wanted to rent this large van (I call it a bus) to fit in his five siblings, their kids, and their matriarch. We even extended the invite to our friends to join us and reward them a trophy for sticking around the entire trip. My husband put a hold on that van and we (my husband and I) planned the route. I even texted my other friends that I was going to stop by their towns and organized meetups. As December got closer, the plans fell apart due to low-to-no interest. We canceled that trip and thankfully no funds were lost. Phew.

We attempted a big group trip about three more times but again no interest. So my husband and I decided let’s plan a date to go. Why make it so complicated? Any tips on how to organize large distance trips? Comment below!

This trip has been a nice and relaxing. We booked our hotel in downtown Seattle. We spend our days exploring and sight-seeing by public transit or on foot. In the evenings we spend time with his extended family for dinner because that’s usually the time they finish work and/or they pick up their kids from school.

Though Seattle is known for its rain, it hasn’t rained that much. His cousin reminded me, the rain here is more like drizzles. In California, the rain there for the past week have been pouring buckets. In LA, it’s been raining since after Christmas to now. Because of the rain, I wait until the rain stops to walk the dogs. I don’t care if it’s 9 pm, as long as there is no rain they get their walk.

New Years Eve was relaxing. We went to the Discovery Cube to celebrate Noon Year’s Eve. The Discovery Cube is this interactive STEM educational center with exhibits on near our house. On New Year’s Eve they hosted a party in the late morning to early afternoon. Right before noon we do a countdown for the “New Year” and right then there’s a balloon drop. We all had a lot of fun. It was funny how we tricked a lot of people. People texted us “where are you? How is it the New Year now?” I enjoy the New Year’s festivities, but I don’t think Lana would be able to stay up until midnight so Noon Year’s Eve was a good fun alternative.

I do have a word of the year for 2023, but I’ll share more about it when I come back home. I decided my 2023 word of the year is “First.” I was a little hesitant to make it my word of the year because it sounded so bold but also it comes off as selfish. It also comes off as contradicting because I am mom and all my jobs have been in the business of serving others. I explored other contenders, but I felt as though those would hold me back and I won’t grow how I want.As they say, if your dreams don’t scare you, you’re not dreaming enough.

Side note: I did not bring my laptop for this trip. This entire post has been written on my phone.

Tags: Weekend Coffee Share, PPAC