the basics

Confession: I can't stay in one place for an extended period of time. Maybe it's the fact that I grew up in a military family, or maybe I'm just a little flighty by nature. Truth is, I think I just get the itch to move around more than most people. This makes my job absolutely perfect.

I work as a military trainer for a major defense contractor, which entails traveling from base to base sharing my 24 years of wisdom with soldiers. This comes with some incredible perks, like not having to hang out in a cubicle every day and accumulating an obnoxious amount of Hilton points. I like to focus on these positives, and it's not too hard- I can honestly say that I love my job.

That said, there are a few things that make day-to-day hotel living a bit challenging.

• I'm inappropriately messy. I sometimes go through phases where I pretend I'm organized, but this is my natural state. I'm very generous to our hotel housekeepers-- and THAT'S how I sleep at night.

  

One of my hotel rooms, circa November 2010

• I'm always far away from people I love. My family's in Alabama, my best friend is in Pennsylvania (check out A Glimpse of the Gouglers), my college classmates are mostly in Texas, and my handsome boyfriend is in Afghanistan (and is always accepting snacks and WWE paraphernalia). For lack of a better phrase, it does suck. Thankfully, technology is my friend. I've become a big fan of Skype dates, rollover minutes, excessive use of someecards, and Mark Zuckerberg.  

...get it??!

• I'm a vegan. Not really for moral reasons (I do love animals, but I don't belong to PETA ), and not because I don't like steak and cheese fries (I mean, I worked at Outback Steakhouse for 3 years). One day I just decided that I might feel better if I cut out the meat, dairy and egg products that I eat, and sho 'nuff... my body is much happier. If I decide tomorrow that I want a burger, then I'll have no problem devouring one. But until that urge strikes, I'll just carry on without the beef. Learning to adhere to a vegan diet while constantly traveling has been easier than I thought, but it definitely has its interesting moments. These can't be summed up in a paragraph, and my mission to whip up milk-and-butter-less mashed potatoes will definitely be a recurring theme.

My fridge, complete with almond "mozzarella," rice milk and quinoa

Maybe I'm biased, but I think I live a pretty interesting life... At least when it comes to eating, keeping a cool head and actually having fun while living out of a suitcase (or four).