In nearly every life situation–whether personal or professional–there are ups and downs. It’s the rollercoaster of life that we all get to ride. Sometimes things are looking up and sometimes, they’re not.

And holding on to keep yourself steady is the hardest part of all.

There are those days when everything’s going great. The sun is shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky. People are driving with the windows down and the music up. Kids are playing in the front yard and people are riding their bikes in the park. Neighbors wave hello to each other. Drivers let you over into their lane without honking (and even wave back after you wave to thank them). Everyone’s smiling, generous, thoughtful, polite, nice and happy. Everything seems easy. And you think to yourself, “Life is good.”

That is, until you get a nasty e-mail from a client or coworker, lose your keys, get rear-ended in the parking lot, trip over a step and snap the heel off your new pumps, have to stay late at work, spill soup down the front of your shirt, sit in traffic for over an hour, forget to pick up your dry cleaning, have no time to go to the gym, get a paper cut, sit on your glasses or somehow get a virus on your computer. Or have a looming, huge life-changing decision that you need to make.

You’re no longer riding the high you felt when your day was filled with sunshine, music and happiness. At this point, all you want to do is draw the curtains closed, turn off the lights, crawl into bed, pull the sheets over your head and never. come. out.

We’ve all had these kinds of days.

It’s a never-ending (and sometimes scary) rollercoaster ride.

No one tells you that grown-up life is going to be this way. People say you graduate from high school, go off to college, graduate and get a job. It seems so clear and easy. But the thing they don’t tell you, is that those grey, what-do-I-do-if-this-or-that-happens areas aren’t clearly defined at all. You learn to figure everything out along the way.

Things change. People change. Life changes. You change.

I’m not at the same place I was a year ago, two years ago or when I graduated from college. I have new desires, needs, ambitions and dreams. And right now, that’s my biggest struggle.

Do I embrace some new change even with the glaring uncertainty that my rollercoaster could take a big turn and head south? Or do I take a chance and brave the ride for the possibility of some incredible relief, accomplishment and happiness at the end? I guess for now, I just hold on tight.

Plus, we all know rollercoasters can be scary–and this one’s a big one.

- L

Remember that whole I’m-going-on-vacation-and-swearing-off-technology-for-10-days idea? First of all, let me be the first to tell you… that is NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE to accomplish.

With the exception of a few phone calls home to the boyfriend, the occasional e-mail checking and updates to Facebook and Twitter less than a handful of times, I’d say I did fairly well overall. But boy was it difficult. There were many instances when I would head off in the morning for the day and leave my iPhone at the hotel. Traveling technology-less is much harder than I originally thought but as I imagined, being disconnected was incredibly liberating.

Not only did it allow me to appreciate my surroundings much more (heck, I was in Europe for goodness sake) but I was partaking in a much more stress-free lifestyle. It’s amazing how much technology influences nearly every aspect of my everyday life. (I’ll also admit here that throughout the trip, I kept thinking to myself, “Oh my gosh, why aren’t I checking in on Foursquare?!” I was in the middle of Europe experiencing Foursquare withdrawal–I know, it’s quite the problem.)

Now the trip has officially come to an end and I’m sifting through 200+ blog posts I need to catch up on in Google Reader, 400+ e-mails and missing Europe terribly. Why must vacations always go by so quickly?

On to the good stuff

You might ask, “Where did you go on this European vacay?” Well folks, my travels took me to London, Normandy and Paris. While I’ve been to both London and Paris a couple of times before, it was my first time visiting Normandy. Here’s a little breakdown of the trip:

London: Aug. 10-12
- Milestone Hotel
- Fish and chips
- Hair
- Buckingham Palace/Changing of the Guard
- Windsor Castle
- Billy Elliot
- Tower of London
- Local English pubs
- Harrod’s
- Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms

Normandy: Aug. 13-14
- Omaha Beach
- Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
- Lots of fresh seafood
- Quaint little chateau in the middle of nowhere

Paris: Aug. 14-17
- Hôtel de Crillon
- Monet’s home in Giverny
- Musée de l’Orangeries des Tuileries
- Versailles
- Champagne
- Crêpes
- The Louvre
- Behind-the-scenes tour of the Eiffel Tower
- Dinner cruise on the Seine River

Pics, perhaps?

Siblings in London. Tower Bridge.

Stonehenge.

Pretty excited for the behind-the-scenes Eiffel Tower tour.

View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower.

It just felt nice to get away.

Sometimes you need to leave all the technology behind and breathe. And that’s exactly what I did on this trip. I had a chance to spend quality time with my family, see some terrific sights, eat delicious food and travel. While the schedule was pretty jam-packed with sight-seeing, simply being away from the hustle and bustle of home, my daily responsibilities, my job and my “real” life was much needed and very much worthwhile.

What now?

For the first time all year, I don’t have a trip scheduled in my planner (yes, I still use a planner). And to be honest, I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. With the exception of a couple weddings, birthday parties, weekends with the boyfriend and scheduled events, my planner is mostly clean of pink and purple highlighter. Truthfully, I’m kind of excited about it.

The thought of cuddling at home with Louipup, spending time with friends, getting back into Bikram yoga, catching up on some reading, getting ready for fall (where did the summer go?) and staying put for a little while sounds pretty nice. So for now, it’s back to the grind and back to business. Vacation was fun, but it always feels nice to be home.

- L

Last weekend I met my friend J for dinner. While eating delicious Italian cuisine and discussing men, food, movies, friends, family and gossip, J mentioned that her friend recently moved to Qatar.

I cleared my throat in utter shock. “I’m sorry, did you say QATAR?”

“Yep, Qatar.”

J proceeds to tell me this enchanting story of how her friend was sent to work on an architectural project in Qatar and met the man of her dreams. Over the period of several months, she met and fell in love with an Irish lad also working in architecture in Qatar.

Minor detail: he lives there permanently.

So what does J’s friend do? SHE MOVES TO QATAR.

She came back to the U.S., packed up her stuff, moved to Qatar and they are now engaged to be married.

In an Irish castle.

You see the thing that I can’t get over (besides the fact that she’s going to be married in an Irish castle–clearly, I’m jealous) is the fact that she moved to Qatar permanently. If I came home one day and was like, “Hey family, I’m moving to Qatar,” my family would immediately lock me in a room. Sure, parents are crazy but the thought of moving to Qatar also sounds a little bit crazy. So I wouldn’t necessarily blame them for this kind of reaction.

And yes, I know people move all the time for love.

It’s common, I know. Job transfer, graduate school, armed forces, new adventures… I get it. I’d move to a new city or state, move halfway across the country and maybe even consider Canada (that’s a bit of a stretch) but I can safely say I probably wouldn’t ever consider moving to Qatar. I’m not talking about a study abroad program or a little travel… I’m talking about moving my entire life.

Plus, I like wearing shorts and skirts. I like tank tops and sleeveless dresses. I like being able to live in an affordable apartment (in Qatar, her’s is $2,000/month). I like being able to drive down the road or take a short flight to see my family and friends. I’m totally up for living in new places–heck, you only live once–but this whole Qatar concept just baffles me.

Would you do this? Would you move to Qatar for love? Would you pick up your entire life? Would you even hesitate?

And don’t let the whole Irish castle thing sway you… I know, it sounds pretty fabulous.

- L

As you know, Ashley and I recently swapped blog posts. Well, I realized that I never shared my post with all of you!

When you get a moment, I’d love for you to check out the post I wrote for Ashley’s Going Like Mad blog. Titled “Landing Your Dream Job,” this post was 110 percent inspired by a recent conversation I had with my gal Megan about life and career changes.

Landing Your Dream Job

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

- L